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 Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2012 8:12 pm
Aito bowed his head in acknowledgement of the woman's words once more. It was a good sign that he was one the woman's good side, but he could never be certain. Her eyes betrayed nothing besides her pleasant and honorable expression. If she was plotting to murder him on his way home at this moment, he would be none the wiser. He couldn't read her like he could captured enemy ninja on his various missions through the countries of the ninja land. The elderly woman would be a force to reckon with if she was still a ninja and his enemy. "I appreciate the offer, Lady Hachi, but I must humbly decline your offer. I have left three teenagers at home, and I wish to make sure they are all right." The black-haired ninja gave both Hachi Clanswomen sincere apologetic looks. As tempting as staying the night at the Hachi Estate was, Aito had responsibilities elsewhere and could not neglect them. He needed to make sure Ace and Sakuya returned home safely, and Akahana did not damage their apartment.
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 11:35 am
Watching with a overly careful set of indigo eyes, they glanced away for a mere second to lock on Hani. The young woman seemed unerved. Worried in a way? Disappointed perhaps. The girl herself was also good at hiding emotions. However, she still had a long way to go. Age taught more then experience. "That is perfectly acceptable young man. Just take care. Would not wish for anything to happen to you." Taking a step back, Tenmei headed back up towards her previous seat upon a deep red cushion. However she turned her direction towards a bright gold door to the right. This led to her own personal chambers. Turning back she smiled. "Hani, we are to visit the Hokage tomorrow. Please, if you will, to get some rest darling." The door was pushed open and through it the elegant woman went, shutting it behind her.
Hani had kept quiet the entire time. Listening the the coversation which hid so much more within lightly spoken words. "Yes grandmother~" The light smooth voice came from between her lips. Watching the beautiful woman leave behind the solid gold door. Those velvet eyes turned to Aito. The smile on her face lightened. A short upturned of lips. Not much but it illuminated the curves of her face. "That went much better then I would have expected~" A hand stretched out and placed itself on his cheek. "She likes you~"
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 12:08 pm
[We need a Hokage.]
Aito's eyes immediately found Hani's velvet orbs as soon as Lady Tenmei had passed through the golden doors. Placing his hand over hers, he looked at her with some reserved worry, but a look of confidence. He gave the woman a small smile. The elderly woman liked him? He couldn't tell if she thought he was a piece of trash or a demigod. It was a good sign that she approved of him, but it still didn't change the matter between the black-haired ninja and the Hachi princess, especially since Hani was going to see the Hokage tomorrow. "I couldn't tell, but she's a pleasant woman, I must say." He wondered what Hani and her grandmother would discuss with the Hokage. Hani herself informed him that the women of the Hachi Clan only produced children with the strongest ninja of the Leaf Village, and the Hokage is the strongest. Would they discuss continuing the Hachi Clan's bloodline? That was a highly probably case, but they could also be going over a mission for the Hachi woman. He wouldn't know until he—if he—saw her again, and even then it would be unlikely that Hani would tell him.
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 3:38 pm
There was something going on in Aito's head that Hani could read on the man's face. Just what it was the Hachi would have no clue. With all the physical abilities the woman had, being able to read minds was not one of them. She could control a man with an invisble aura and a single pinky, but was not able of getting into people's heads. It would make being a ninja so much easier. Being a willow warrior wasn't as easy as people thought. Tilting that gentle face to the side, Hani spoke. "What's wrong?" For majority of the past few hours, the Hachi woman had been able to make this man smile and truly laugh. Something she knew was a great achievment. All of a sudden all she was getting was a simple small smile and words. Even the air around them was different and she didn't like it. Naturally curious, she wanted information. Rather, wanted to know. It was worrying her. It was amazing how much different she acted when around him. Usually she was regal and kept herself held up high. Around Aito, she was more calm and able to put out emotion and not hide it. Example, when she burst out everything she had been holding in for so long, to him. Someone she barely knew. Someone her grandmother knew more about then herself.
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 3:51 pm
Aito took both of Hani's hands in his hands and returned her concerned look with one of pure humbled confidence. Now wasn't the time to be getting jealous or petty. "I'll be leaving the Leaf for a few months, and I don't know when I'll see you again. That's what's wrong. Can't a guy worry about not knowing when he'll see his new special friend?" He was half-teasing, half-serious. It was true he was leaving on several long-term missions tomorrow, and he didn't know if he'll ever see her again. He might die on one of his missions, though he highly doubted he would perish. Try as his enemies might, they wouldn't be able to kill him; his secrets kept them off-guard and dead. "Now Hani, am I suppose to walk back to the front gates alone, or will I have company? It's dreadfully dark and scary outside. I'll need a one-woman protection detail." Shifting subjects, he ninja grinned broadly, dispelling any trace of his previous jealous and petty thoughts connected with Hani and the Hokage. What may come will come, and he could not possibly prevent it. He knew that and accepted it reluctantly.
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 2:39 pm
The calm expression the Hachi woman had quickly faded away upon hearing the dreaded answer to a simple question. Hani's mouth almost dropped when Aito was informing her he would be leaving for a few months. Not knowing when he'd be coming back. The thought alone of him being gone so long already bugged her. Why? That was a new mystery. She barely even knew him. It wasn't the time to think that way. Aito and her had done a few things that would have taken a normal couple months to get to. Couple.. They were 'special friends' as he put it. He would be leaving and he would be the worried one? "You'll be leaving?" If Hani hadn't been paying attention to her voice it would have been shaky. But no, this was straight out to stuttering, nothing. She was still concerned and it showed. If he was being serious it wasn't funny. A ninja life was brutal. Hani had the easier job of the ninja world. If you call undercover and sexual appeal work easy. ISimply changing the topic was not going to fly with her. Why couldn't he had told her earlier. She.. Was feeling abandoned. She wasn't sure why. "Thought a tough nin like you could defend yourself~ You'd surely be alright~" Pulling her hands from his, she didn't feel comfortable touching him physically at the moment. Thoughts cramming her head as she pulled off a smile. Fake, but not noticeable. Grandmother technique. "But if you insist on the helf of a woman, I'll go with you~" Laughing a tad did however feel good.
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 3:00 pm
Aito nodded, a small, impish smile on his sharp features. Guess the news really took her by surprise. He had thought his work-alcoholic reputation was known to her. He was wrong. "Yes, I'm leaving, but I'll be fine." He felt slightly empty when Hani pulled her hands from his, but he could live with it. She was upset and fretting because of him, and he felt some guilt for it, but he couldn't allow his feelings to overrun him now. "A woman's help is all I need." He started walking through the path they had recently walked down together, keeping his pace slow and languid. Thoughts of leaving Hani for months on end filled his heart with loneliness and sorrow; however, he pushed them aside easily and expertly and placed a bright smile on his face for the Hachi woman. Once he left the gates of the Hachi Estate. he would become the killer ninja he had raised himself to be, and he could forsake all forms of emotion as he has done in the past. An emotional ninja was a dead ninja. He wouldn't survive a mission if he was distracted by thoughts of Hani and his feelings for her.
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 4:39 pm
Once again, hands behind that thin frame interlocked fingers. "You better be fine... Or I'll hurt you myself." Letting herself smile Han kept up with Aito, being as he was walking a little slow. Seeemd to draw out the time for them to be together and talk. As they did so the guards did not even pay them attention. Knowing that the Hachi would be safe. They had been informed. How quick this place worked. Those velvet eyes glanced around, spotting Muni slink through a dark corridor, the collar shining in the light of the moon. Mani had to be somewhere. It wasn't ery often they were separated. Unless of course one of them was busy. Guard tigers were a little bit more lazy then dogs. But, of course they would be. Nobody would dare going toe to claws with a tiger. Much less their size. "I bet you need a woman's help with a lot of things~" Oh it was playtime. Not necessarily a good time to play. But it was to lighten the mood and make her feel better.
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 5:05 pm
Aito caught the glistening collar of the tiger called...Muni? Yes, Muni. He best remembered the tigers names because they were important to remember. Most people he never remembered names because they weren't important, they weren't significant enough for him. From early childhood, he learned that remembering names was pointless, and painful. The names of all his comrades that died on missions from his younger days would haunt him on the most depressing of days. It was the constant piling of names that help birth the bad habit of his. Significant people on his life were his superiors, lady Tenmei, Akahana, Akahana's family—because really, they weren't his relatives— the Hokage, and the medical ninjas, and now Hani and her tigers. "I fear your wrath, Princess Hachi. I truly fear you." He smiled, sending her a wink before his eyes traveled around the moonlit path, and the trees and flowers within the garden they walked through. His nostrils were filled with the scent of the orange tree and cherry blossom tree planted behind them. Their sweet fragrance was distracting, yet soothing to him. If Aito still lived in his first home with his adopted parents, a quaint little five-bedroom house with a backyard, he'd have planted several trees for their fruits and fragrances such as the ones in the Hachi Estate. "You jest, Princess, though, I must admit humbly that I am in dire need of a woman's help in many aspects of life, such as deciding the difference between black and black." He had a debate with Akahana when they went shopping for curtains, and somehow they ended up arguing about the differences in black. He saw many black curtains that looked the same to him, but Akahana had insisted that each curtain was a different black. It was an argument that lasted for a length of time, and they settled on a bubbly power-blue curtain with yellow bubbles on it for the kitchen window.
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 3:28 pm
It was going to be hard for Hani to coupe with knowing Aito is out on dangerous missions. The woman hadn't even known him that long. Though now it felt as if she had known him her entire life. It's amazing how fast things moved. Or could move. Letting out a low sigh those velvet eyes looked up to the dark sky, wondering what the next few days would be like. Thinking about what was to come tomorrow. The Hachi woman already knew what the meeting with the Hokage would be about. The manner of the brothel. How she was still trying to deal with the memories and nightmares. The long get away mission slash vacation helped out a bit. Just getting back from that. However, it was time to get back to work. Other little matters would have to be adressed. The contract for one thing. Hani's time would run out soon. She would be fine for a couple of years. Pushing away thoughts a smile wrenched itself on her face. "Mmm a wrath in what way~" It wasn't truly a time to play, but it would lighten the mood indeed. Good enough. Taking a deep breath she laughed. She couldn't take anything serious at the moment. Watching him the entire time he said that one sentence, was hilarious. Black and black? There were plenty of shades of "black" but it shouldn't matter. "Where did that come from?" She was really wondering now.
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 3:43 pm
Forcing himself from grinning broadly, Aito set his face in a serious manner as he responded. "From curtain shopping with Akahana. In the end, we chose yellow with blue bubbles." Having Hani around really loosened the ninja from his usual sour and regimented life. He could only remember a time like this back when Hana was a little girl, and when she thought he was her entire world. Playing games wasn't something the black-haired many often did, and he was a novice at such games as the one he played with Hani, but he could still learn with incredible speed. "Now, tell me, what is the difference between black and black? I can't fathom how it irks me that I am unable to discern the difference." He kept his hands at his side so he wouldn't wrap them around Hani's shoulders. It was tempting and felt right to do so, but he would not. They had their places in society, and they could only be an orphan and Clanswoman never meant to be together. A love story that was never published, a tale left for the imagination never to reveal. As he looked at the blonde ninja, he could only suppress his affections for her in formality and jokes. They could only be friends.
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Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2012 2:45 pm
There was so many things Hani wished to say. So many things Hani could say. Plenty of things to do. Or plenty of things she wished to do. But there was a time and place for everything. Right now was not the time for any of what she wished. One of the many things was to just put her arms around Aito's neck and take his lips as her's. It simply could not happen. It was a form of taboo. Though taboos were often broken. To go against the laws of the Hachi clan was thought as betrayal in her mind. So engraved into her skull it was rediculous. How she wished to get over such a things. Feelings were stronger than anything. Even if it was simply a few mere hours. Love had no bounds correct? No, it wasn't love. But it could be. It was forbidden. Then a thought occured to her. Her grandmother brought up Aito's IQ. Once before Tenmei had said the Hokage wasn't always the strongest. Could be. But brains were fear the most. Had her grandmother picked up on her feelings? Had whoever she sent to if she sent anyone, know what happened. Impossible! "Shades of a dark grey to the blackest of black. Though, I understand it, black is simply black." The though of him leaving still clouded her mind. Hidden behind that mask she put up. A face which she had trained to have since her first start as a ninja. Those dainty hands clenched into fists. She wished she could hit something and scream. It was un lady like and would not happen. Sighing, she'd figure it out somehow. The gate was coming up soon. The main gate. It would be over soon He would be leaving. She would ever see him again. Something could happen to him. He could die. Or just never meet up. Friends or not. It would be awkward. Lifting a hand to her chest she wanted to cry. Faking as if she had something caught in her throat, hands returned to behind her back. Velvet eyes staring forever onward.
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Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2012 11:20 pm
Aito snorted as Hani explained the difference between black and black. "I don't see how dark grey could be considered 'black' by anyone. It's distinct from black." But he was smiling as he spoke, and his chocolate-brown eyes danced with unsaid laughter at the utter nonsense of their conversation. "We're at the first gate already." He said without a trace of sadness as they approached the inner gate of the Hachi clan's vast estate. The main house was behind them, and soon the outside part of the estate would be visible, and he'd walk down its path to the streets of the Leaf. After this gate, he was one step closer to probably never seeing Hani Hachi again, maybe no one ever again, yet he wasn't bothered like he had felt moments earlier. It was the ninja life he had chosen as a child, and he shouldn't expect to feel anguish and sorrow for leaving the Leaf on another mission to protect it and its citizens. Many ninja before him died in battle, and if he died as well, then he would just be joining the hundreds of other ninja that died for their home's sake.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 2:59 pm
There was something about the feeling in the air. It was making Hani's stomach churn and she wasn't liking it. The feel made the Hachi flat out feel sick. Already at the inner estate gate, it brought forth the thoughts of one again never seeing him again. Unlacing her fingers she covered her mouth. It was the thought of all this that was making her feel this way. The woman didn't know what was wrong with her. This was so unlady like it wasn't even funny. If the guards were around they'd stop and question them. However they knew Hani was home and nothing would be going wrong. Even with a stranger here. Closing her eyes tight she played it off as if she was laughing about the previous conversation topic. You wouldn't think grey was considered a black, however it was. Now it was getting too much. Biting her bottom lip and uncovering her mouth, one of those gentle hands took a hold of Aito's. That's when she started to pull him to the left of them towards one of the larger buildings. It was sort of a storage building. At the pace she was taken them it didn't take that long to get there. Opening it and getting inside, she just the door behind them. That's when her arms wrapped around Aito's midsection. Hiding her face in his chest, you wouldn't be able to see the tears about to brim her eyes. That honey smooth voice was quite muffled but easily heard in the silence of the building. "I don't wish for you to go..." This was a risky and stupid move to bring them in here but she wouldn't be able to do such a thing outside.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 3:54 pm
Aito had not been expecting Hani's next moves as she took his hand and pulled them both inside a nearby building. He couldn't say anything for several moments when she wrapped her arms around his midsection and pressed her head against his chest. Recovering from the initial shock, he wrapped her arms around her smooth shoulders, hugging her closer to him. He was tempted to press his head against the top of her head, but the chance that the poison-laced chopsticks would pierce him was too great of a risk. He wanted desperately to make her feel happy again, and to ease her worries about him leaving the Leaf for the next few months. It was always difficult for him to say for sure that all the missions he had racked up would go smoothly, but he wanted Hani to know that he'll return safely to the Leaf Village alive and well. "I know, neither do I, Hani, but I'll be back, I'm sure of it." He whispered quietly, vaguely aware of the danger of being caught by the guards, the tigers, or Lady Tenmei herself.
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