Welcome to Gaia! ::

"I...Uh...Well...yeah," he said, feeling defeated. He couldn't help it. She was just so beautiful that no matter what he did, he couldn't help but blush when he looked at her. Sighing, he walked to the door and opened it up. Looking back at Aki, he smiled and started to head out. "So, are you planning to come back here, or are you going back to your place," he asked softly. He was afraid of the answer, but then again, he wouldn't be surprised if she went home.

His lips tingled from her kiss. Smiling, he started to move when he noticed sudden movement coming from his left side. He quickly drew a kunai, preparing to attack when suddenly his parents stepped out from the woods, holding a large scroll. He sighed heavily, and put the kunai away, walking toward his parents.

"What in the world were you two doing? Why'd you sneak up on me," he asked, his face growing hot. He was angry, yet he was also happy to see them. He hadn't gotten to speak to them before they left, and he didn't want to leave them a note, preferring to speak to them directly.

"Well," Ryo started, "We were out getting something for you. This is a scroll that we've had hidden away in a secret place. We don't want anyone to find it, or they could learn one of our many secrets. You see, this is a summoning scroll." He unfurled the scroll, laying it down in front on Shuji. It was gigantic in size, and had many names and hand prints on it. "In order to use this summon, you'll need to write your name in blood on the scroll, and then make a hand print of the hand you wish to summon with. This is up to you, and you don't have to sign the scroll if you don't wish to."

Shuji stared down at the scroll and then looked up to his father, smiling brightly. He wanted to summon very badly, and had almost done some stupid things in order to have that ability. Looking at the scroll again, he lifted his right hand, and bit his thumb sharply, making it bleed. Taking his bleeding thumb, he then wrote his name down on the scroll, and made an imprint of the five fingers on his right hand. He had done everything his father said, but now he needed to learn how to summon.

"Now, the hand seals needed for this are Boar, Dog, Monkey, Bird, Sheep. After you havemade these seals, call out Kyuichose No Jutsu, and you've just completed the summoning technique. Now, go practice the technique while we go hide the scroll again." With a smile, they both jumped into the air, and vanished.

Head down and arms crossed, Aona made her way down the street towards Shuji's. Her mind was a whirlwind, and the bags under her eyes and her tousled hair indicated that she hadn't been resting well lately. It was because of this that she didn't even notice Manndar's presence until he started yelling Shuji's name; her instinctive reaction was to duck around the nearest corner, pressing herself against it. Her heart rate had shot up, her senses suddenly alert. What is he doing here? she wondered. And why did he have to pick right now to be here?

Actually, she'd come hoping to ask Shuji about Manndar, but that didn't mean that she wanted to see him face to face. She would just... wait a while, until he left. Slowly, she lowered herself to the ground, resting her head in her crossed arms while leaning against the fence that she'd hidden behind.

"Your parents are right." Manndar said as he entered the house. "I made a fool of myself the other day. I don't know what I was thinking. I still have no idea whats going on with me now adays."

Manndar gratefully accepted the tea. "The only thing I'm 100% sure of is that my head hurts worse than that time I decided to break that boulder with my head."

Manndar then sat on the floor and gave a deep sigh. "Shuji, you seem to know alot. What do you think I should do to make things better with Aona."

Manndar has known Aona for along time, even before he came to the village. In fact, Manndar had hitched a ride with her family to come here. In Manndar's opinion the two were family, brother and sister. And now, he screwed up big time and was at a loss.

"I've trained my body and my mind to become as strong as possible. I have been through more physical pain than the majority will ever go through........ But I'm just so confused. I messed up horribly, and I don't know what to do. I've never felt so weak."

To be honest, Shuji really had no idea how Manndar should try to patch things up with Aona. He figured that his best bet would be to go and talk to her. Talking always seemed to be the way that people were able to fix whatever was going on between them. With a sigh, Shuji took a sip of his tea and then looked down to Manndar.

"My best guess...because I don't know for sure, would be to just talk to her. Try to come to an understanding about what happened. I mean...I don't even know what happened, and I don't expect you to tell me, but I figure...that would be the best way. She'll either want to talk to you or she wont. If you guys are as good of friends as I've seen, then she'll be more than willing to talk. It might just take some time."

Taking another sip from the tea, Shuji offered a smile. Tomoyo had slowly made her way out of Shuji's bedroom, having heard an unfamiliar voice. She crept slowly out and sat quietly next to Shuji's leg. She'd ask for breakfast either after Manndar left or when she became so hungry she could no longer stay quiet.

"So, just give it time. That's all I can really say," he said, sipping his tea again.

"Later," Shuji said as he watched Manndar exit and then fall down the steps. With a sigh, Shuji closed his door, and looked at his tea cup and the pot as they sat on the table. He didn't really know what to do at this point. He had never thought of himself as being a particularly good friend, seeing as how he hadn't really made too many in his time being a student. With another sigh, he sat back down at the table and poured himself another cup.

"I guess...I must be halfway decent at this whole friend thing. I mean...I've got Kitsu, Manndar, Aona, and Rai. Not to mention Shinji," he said, starting to trail off. Shinji, how long had it been since they had last spoken? It had been a while. Maybe a visit was in order. Shrugging, Shuji took a sip of the freshly poured tea and pondered.