Rippa had finally heard of one of his friends getting promoted. At least he considered her a friend. Risu had been promoted to Special Jounin recently. However he did not hear this news from her. After their last mission together things had seemed a little complicated. He wasn't avoiding her but that battle had been to close for him to just brush away that memory. Instead of following orders he had no power to give she had risked herself to save him and engaged the enemy. The mission had been considered a shining success but still he felt like some sort of connection between them was unclear. So he had given her space. He didn't know if she was mad at him for it or not. But so far they had not communicated since. He heard about her promotion through the grapevine. After all a man of his status in a family of its status doesn't have a hard time learning of such simple things. Still he was intending to congratulate her in person.

For the occasion he had decided to dress formally. She had never seen him outside of his typical mission gear so he figured a change in outfit might at least spark some new conversation. And draw her attention away from memories of the mission. He was dressed in all black except a red tie. Black shoes, slacks, button up shirt and black suit jacket. All in all he looked more responsible up until it clashed rather harshly with his white hair. Which hung about his head as wild as ever. Still he was well dressed. He walked himself to the place his information suggested she lived. Upon arriving he spoke introducing himself in warm and pleasant voice to the first Guard or member of the family he saw.

"Good evening. I wish to call upon the lady Risu for the evening. Please tell her A Mr. Rippa is here."

After she had woken up and taken a soothing bath in The Orochi House's private onsen, Risu took some time to admire herself in front of the mirror in the dressing room. It was quite a sight to behold, as in the last few months the young girl had without a doubt grown into a young woman, losing her flat, snakelike slenderness for already a more formfitting, slightly curved body of an adolescent woman. She had finally started growing into a woman in all aspects, both in mind as well as in body. though not completely an adult yet, the difference was quite tremendous.

"Bye bye training bra, hello adult underwear," Risu chuckled, while lifting her arms a bit, admiring herself in the new black silk set of underwear she had bought a few days earlier from a fabric merchant at the market. She was quite pleased with the result, noticing that she had grown at least one inch taller and was really turning into a spitting image of her mother, who without a doubt was a beautiful woman despite her family's rare appearance difference with ordinary humans. The fact that the young Orochi Lady's hair had yet again grown to a great length only made her appearance more fitting for a girl her age. "At least I wont be mistaken for an academy student this way

Only pulling on a loose fitting yukata without an obi, the young kunoichi went to her room, glad that she had decided to spend the weekend at her family residence in the Ouroboros clan's compound, because she planned to check out some stuff regarding her uncle and try to learn a bit more from the scrolls within the clan's library.

Meanwhile, outside the Orochi family's estate, the two Hebi guards standing at the gate to the large private domain of the Ouroboros clan head and their family encountered a young man who seemed impeccably dressed and requested for the future Ouroboros clan head to be notified of his arrival. One of the guards simply nodded, opened the gate and requested that Rippa would follow him through the magnificent traditional garden towards the large manor built in traditional style.

"If you want something to drink, you may simply ask one of the servants, while I notify lady Risu of your presence," The guard answered friendly, making a swift bow before walking up the broad staircase at the center of the main entrance hall.

When arriving at the young Lady Orochi's room, the guard knocked twice and opened the door, immediately shielding his eyes when he noticed that the snake girl was sitting at her desk wearing nothing more than her underwear, with the yukata hanging over the chair behind her.

"Milady, there's a young man in the lobby waiting for you," The guard quickly spoke without a pause, ready to leave the room as quickly as possible. "He calls himself Rippa and guessing by the way he is dressed might I suggest wearing something more...formal for this meeting?"

Simply hearing the name Rippa made Risu look up from the repots she was reading with a pleasant smile. The fact that he was at the Orochi residence for her, made her warm up completely. Adding to that, the fact that she was required to wear something formal only made her more anxious to go and meet him.

So, she quickly got back to the dressing room's mirror, carrying a purple cocktail dress, with a long split at the side and white, highheel strapped sandals, putting on her make up and completing her appearance with the jade and silver magatama earrings, Risu tried to get to the entrance hall's stairs, almost sliding accross the floor when reaching it and nearly tripping over herself before she finally descended down towards the lobby.

"Goodday, Lord Chi," The now completely dressed up Risu said softly when coming through the door to the lobby. "What's the occasion of your visit and why did the guards suggest wearing formal clothing, do we have something to celebrate?"

687~

Rippa was asked to follow and did so with a warm smile. His dark outfit seemed to suit him rather well despite the way it clashed with his pale skin and white hair. It didn't offend the eye at all. Still he was not used to being formal and the tie seemed to tug at his neck. So he distracted himself as they walked towards the large manor through the garden. Marking which plants had uses as herbs and which had toxic qualities to them. He knew a great deal about such things due to his time studying in the wild. He didn't just study books but plant life as well. Still once they entered the manor that distraction faded.

The guard informed him to ask the servants should he require anything to drink and then bowed. Rippa held himself from bowing just as low and simply nodded his head in response. He was heir to the Chi's Tenshi branch after all. And of the three families they held the most wealth by a great margin. After all an entire family of medical professionals was bound to have money and be owed a few favors. Still Rippa refused to indulge in it often. And aside from a small allowance his trust fund was pretty much out of his reach after he tried insisting on donating it all to charity. Still he was not ignorant of the customs. Still he waited there for a time while Risu was informed and dressed accordingly. His hands crossed in front of him while he admired a piece of art involving pearl white snakes in some sort of tropical setting.

Still the sound of heels drawing closer drew his attention to the door. No sooner had he turned with a warm smile then a very well dressed and attractive woman entered. It took him just a moment for him to recognize Risu, Mostly thanks to her voice. Some how she had grown a little since their last meeting. Or he had never noticed while they were in battle gear. Still she was shorter then him by a bit. Still he smiled and his whole expression showed it. He was one of the few people who didn't fake happiness at seeing another. His blue eyes shining like the blue sky even as it was late in the day. still his warm voice emerged as he spoke in reply to her.

"Lady Orochi. It's good to see you as always. As for having something to celebrate, We have your promotion of course. You surpassed me already. So as the runner up I must treat you to dinner. Or rather that is my new found policy."

It was a great surprise to see Rippa so completely dressed up. He seemed so slick and the appearance only made him seem more appealing than usual. Even if the man maybe did not hear it in her voice, Risu's heart was pounding heavily and rapidly in her chest, even making it so that there was a soft, glossy rose teint on her cheeks for a short moment when their eyes meet, her golden snake-eyes looking straight into his blue eyes.

"It is too much honor to celebrate me for my promotion, Rippa-san," The young woman chuckled, waving at the guard who had come to warn her of Rippa's arrival earlier, motioning him to come to them. "Rito, If my uncle comes home before I do, could you tell him I'm having dinner with a...friend?"

Rito, the guard simply nodded and made a bow, retreating himself back to his position at the front gate, so he could inform his colleague just in case.

Meanwhile Risu turned back to Rippa, offering him her hand while trying to drag him to the garden. She so wanted to enjoy him being at her home to the fullest. Maybe if she was lucky, she could muster up enough energy and enough courage to tell him what she thought of him, what she felt everytime she laid eyes on him.

She tried to get him through the garden and out of the Orochi Estate as fast as she could, getting out of the compound itself was less important, but she couldn't stay in that large house with him, she needed air, something to take her mind off of the question that was burning on her lips or rather the still lingering feeling of when she tried to kiss him, so many months ago already.

"So, I'm curious," The Orochi lady said with a soft smile on her face, her eyes now averting from Rippa's just to avoid herself from blushing again. "Where do you plan to take me?"

1029~

Rippa chuckled a little at her words. He was oblivious to women and relationships and everything in between but one thing he held in high regard was friendship. Still he smiled and watched as she spoke to her guard. Two things in what little she said to the man brought him comfort. First was that She called him her friend. It meant something to have an unspoken friendship but sometimes hearing it be confirmed was a shining light in the darkness. The second was that she knew the mans name. A lot of wealthy people lost themselves in their own power and those around them like servants and guards were just those and had no name. He never liked those people.

Still without another word she had him running with her through the garden, Or as fast as one could go in heels anyway. Part of what through his mind was how much damage those heels must be doing to her feet. And how uncomfortable it must be. He rather wished she didn't make herself suffer just for him. Of course he had never worn heels so his assumption was based off of medical theory with out actual information other then the physical lay out of the foot. Still he kept up with her easily enough. The sun was setting as they exited the compound and he smiled as finally they slowed down enough for her to actually talk. He smiled and offered her the crook of his arm. Then began to walk a leisurely pace towards their destination as they spoke. After all it wasn't far. Only a couple of blocks from the residences. Prime marketing area after all. Still his voice was warm and filled with humor.

"Too much honor? I would hardly say spending time with me is an honor. But this is bigger then just reaching the rank of Chunnin. Your world of possibilities just opened up. And I reserved a private table at the Shushaya pub just for us. So you can tell me all about what you plan to do now."

Even though at first, she was leading him through the garden, eventually it was the young man who lead Risu to their apparent destination for that evening: the Shushuya pub, which despite its name was quite a well known and respected establishment near the village's market district.

Somehow it seemed that the Chi clanmember and future head was surprised that Risu had called him a friend, as well as the fact that she knew the guard by name. Admitted, she did not know all guards and servants by name, but at least tried to remember them when possible, knowing fully well it would make the people working for her in the future feel more comfortable with her presence.

Well, besides all of that, she found it rather funny to have Rippa look at her feet for a while, the snake girl did not know why he was looking at them, but she reckoned he had just never seen her wearing high heels or a dress for that matter, but at the same time, she could say the very same thing, with Rippa being dressed in a perfectly fitting suit combined with that bloodred tie, he really looked like a dream in the eyes of Risu.

"I hope reserving a table did not cost you too much," The Orochi lady said calmly, while they arrived at the establishment. "I would feel rather bad if you throw away money for me."

For a moment, she looked straight into Rippa's eyes again, her own golden snake eyes sparkling with joy. She was simply head over heels, in this case high heels.

"I am probably going to join the ANBU some time soon," The young kunoichi answered to the Chi member's question, though with a pleasant smile on her face, not letting his eyes go from hers. "It's tradition in my family appearantly that every head should have at least served as an ANBU for once. There are other reasons but those aren't important. Apart from the ANBU, I'd like to find the Ryuuji Cave, ever heard of it?"

1380~

Rippa walked with her as she spoke. A grin coming to his features as she mentioned the cost of reserving a table. Just a small show of amusement at the idea. After all they both came from wealthy families. In comparison to living on estates the cost of reserving a table was small. It was like she had forgotten his family held a golden spoon that matched hers. Still that was good though. He didn't usually let himself be associated with that kind of wealth. In fact he actively avoided extravagant spending. People seemed to like him more when they didn't know his family was high class society.

Still she spoke of her plans with the ANBU and how it was a family tradition. Personally he didn't like the ANBU much. It was the nations way of keeping secrets, even from their own. And giving up who you are in order to keep those secrets. He frowned a little but kept listening. He wasn't about to down her dreams. Still the conversation was paused for the moment they had arrived at their destination. It took only a minute for them to be led to the private room he had reserved. Just a separate room with it's own table. Sake was set out for them and their orders taken before they were left alone in the room again. The room itself had solid walls instead of the thin paper ones of tradition. The room was obviously meant for more private discussions. He could still faintly smell the cigar smoke lingering on the walls. Still he answered her earlier question before sipping on some Sake.

"I understand tradition. My family consists entirely of medical professionals. Everything from doctors to veterinarians. Let me tell you the cousin who turned to helping animals was not well thought of by most. I myself am bound for the medical division that just opened a few months ago. I hope to be it's first member.  As for the....cave. I am afraid my local lore is lacking."

1458 WC

when they were brought to the seperate room, Risu was quite pleasantly surprised. This was really a more expensive private table, given the fact that it was practically soundproof compared to the traditional seperate rooms in the pub and in cheaper establishments with their paper and wood sliding doors. This was quite an experience for the young woman, as it gave her a rather intimate feeling to be in the same room with Rippa in such fine clothes and with no one else except for a waiter sometimes interrupting their privacy.

"My first time ever, drinking sake," Risu chuckled when she took the small bottle and poored a bit in her small scale, drinking upthe ricewine in one sip and almost resulting in a loud cough. Luckily she managed to control it a bit, so she only ended up in a sort of growl and a crooked grin. "Well, this is different from tea or coffee."

With a soft smile, Risu listened to the young man's words with a feint smile on her face and her eyes slightly closed, though still looking straight into Rippa's eyes as he continued. As a matter of fact, she was almost drowning inside those blue eyes, when she remembered that they were having a conversation and had to force herself to listen to his words again, rather than be daydreaming.

"I've been brought up for the most part by my uncle, so I do know a lot about customs and tradition," The Orochi lady chuckled in her reply to Rippa's last words. "But with or without traditions, it is nice to have a goal or dream to work for. After all, traditions and customs are the results of other people's dreams and goals, but now we need to find our own...eh, tradition?"

2684

Rippa nearly chuckled as she mentioned it was her first time drinking Sake. If that was the case she was in for a surprise. And so it appeared that it was indeed the case. He watched as she drank it far to quickly and then watched her struggle to maintain appearances. His smile was a wide one as he quietly felt amused at the moment. His blue eyes reflecting the mirth. That was one of the nice things about Rippa. He was always upfront and honest when he could be with out hurting anyone. Though sometimes he was just quiet instead. It was good that he had no intentions of going ANBU. His emotions on his sleeve and his rare jutsu would point out who he was quickly. He would of just practiced medicine had the world allowed that but it didn't. The world was far to harsh so he was a ninjutsu specialist as well. His power scared the shit out of most of his enemies but he never really wanted to scare people. So he figured he would become infamous as the blood Sannin of Konoha. It was a goal far away from him but it was a goal none the less. Still her mention of how different it was from tea and coffee brought him back. He smiled once more and spoke softly.

"Aye it is. Usually they would serve us tea but I requested Sake. A grown up drink for a grown woman. You sip it by the way."

She spoke again and this time about traditions. About this uncle of her and how he had taught her traditions. How she believed traditions were the end result of the goals of their ancestors. And how their goals could lead to their own traditions. After she finished speaking there was a knock at the door and then it opened. In came a platter with empty plates and chop sticks. On the platter was fish, pork , chicken, beef and rice. Quietly they sat it between Risu and Rippa. Rippa Idly thanked them before they left. His mind on something else to the point where he forgot to put anything on a plate. His blue eyes just staring into the Sake. His thoughts drifting back and forth. He had fallen behind Risu. He was close to a promotion himself but it felt very far off. But something else was on his mind. He seemed to speak softly into the Sake in his hand. before looking up as if realizing he was still in the room with her. He tended to zone out into his thoughts sometimes.

"And what of this cave? What is it's significance?"

WC 1904

When the plates, cups and chopsticks were brought to the table in silence, Risu simply held her breath, almost extatically looking at the several dishes that were brought to the table by an almost invisible person, who was quite good in remaining unnoticed. Certainly those techniques came from a lifelong servitude under the arms of someone wealthy and powerful, though not giving any remarks or any comments, the snake girl's eyes were simply glancing over the various choices, happiness glistening in her golden snake-eyes.

"Itadakimasu," Risu laughed, clapping her hands together and making a slight not with her head. She was quite hungry and this was food paid in honor of her promotion, it all made the food taste even better than it already was. Without taking a long time to choose, Risu started using her chopsticks to peel the skin off her makrel, taking the steamy white meat to her mouth, making a soft squealing sound of joy when the soft and slightly salty taste of the fish reached the tastebuds on her tongue. "Rippa, this really is heavenly."

When the Chi clanmember asked her what cave she was talking about earlier, during the questions about her future plans, the Orochi Lady looked up, chopsticks still inside her mouth, slowly pulling them out from the corner of her lips, deciding to first swallow the last piece of makrel she had eaten before replying to the young man's question.

"The Ryuuji cave is the cave where Orochimaru and Kabuto have trained their Senjutsu under the guidance of the great white snake, Risu recited the words she had read inside one of the tomes from the Ouroboros clan's library. Though the tomes weren't rare nor the information itself, certain aspects had gone lost through time and senjutsu despite its increase in use, was still fairly uncommon among shinobi. "The Ryuuji cave itself is shrouded in mystery, both in contents and as well in its actual location. However, I have found a journal in the library which details the location and even if I were to be unfit to learn senjutsu, I still want to find that cave, as it is a unique opportunity, a chance to surpass my parents and my uncle."

Silent for a moment, Risu took some rice and some beef, dripping some soy sauce on the rice and some of the meat's juice on the beef cutlets, looking at Rippa for a moment.

"Well, surpassing my uncle might take some more than only learning senjutsu," She chuckled, picking one of the cutlets, dipping it in the jouci and rolling in up with some rice stuck in it, before placing it in her mouth. "After all, how do you expect to explain the fact that a medical oriented family such as yours, hires him for the daily care of your father?"

3162

Rippa watched her prepare her plate and listened to her words. The great white snake had taught both of two of the most feared criminals in history the rumored sage mode. He had never seen senjutsu himself but the stories he had read, More often then not Senjutsu changed people. Sometimes for the better or for the worse. But the Snake sages of history had moved armies and tried to kill hundreds. In a way had let their obsessions almost destroy the world. To the point were they had killed more then one Kage. Their goals were only stoppable once they saw a new path. But they had changed from the near innocence of what they had once been.

Still he reached out and with his chop sticks picked at some of the pork and set it in lines on his plate. Before taking the wooden spoon in the rice to scoop two balls of rice on top of the pork. Then he scooped an indent into the top of the rice and put some of the chicken in the indents to let the juiced soak in. He quietly began to eat his rice and smiled letting the worry that the snake would change her go and just listened as she spoke of he uncle again. He wasn't so close to his own uncle. He just got messages from him every once in a while. And then she mentioned his father and he stopped moving. His chop sticks hovering just above his food. A moment of silence passed before he set down the chop sticks neatly. Having only eaten two or three bites before he picked up the sake saucer cup of his and sipped down what was left of it before refilling it with the bottle. His eyes staring into the rice wine as if looking for an escape His voice was a little cold when he spoke. Unusual for him.

"It's not easy for family members to make dying comfortable for some one." He said as if he had already decided Enaka could not save his father. No one could. His father was already dead in his mind.

When Rippa's voice seemed to stiffen, sounding colder and far less pleasant than earlier, Risu looked up from her plate, forcing herself to remain silent, so she wouldn't say anything wrong anymore. She placed the chopsticks next to the plate, filled the sake saucer cup with a gulp of the ricewine and chucked it backwards through her lips.

"I…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned something like that," The snake girl almost choked in her own words when noticing the tensed look in the young Chi's eyes. Her own eyes quickly averted again, somewhat in shame for what she had just done by mentioning the young man's terminal father. "I…I really am sorry about saying something insensitive like that."

Even though she knew it would've been smarter to avoid any more talking, Risu also knew she was the one who had created this awkward silence and extreme moodswing. So she decided to reassure the young man that her Uncle, despite his quirky behavior, constant smiling and hang for tradition, was still one of the most progressive men of both her clan and the village. After all it was well known that he had once been part of the ANBU, that he had enough insight in the medical profession to act as a lecturer on the medical division's annual conventions and also be hired by those who had enough money to investigate on certain diseases and poisons, which were after all his expertise.

"I'm sure your father will get better," Risu said with a shallow tone of voice, as she tried to be carefull with her words. "If there's anyone of my clan who has a grasp of both healing and combat medical jutsu, it would be him. He's probably hired to identify the disease and form a possible remedy for it."

For a moment she kept quiet, filled her cup again and looked at the mirroring surface of the rice wine, while whispering just a few words:"At least you still have a father."

3508

Rippa would stare quietly into the Sake for another moment before setting it down. A long sigh escaped his lips before he cleared his throat. He was sulking again and the night wasn't about that. Gradually he forced the thoughts away as she spoke. Much like how he had done time and time again before. Taking a deep breath as she chucked down some sake and apologized. His words were less cold this time as he spoke.

"Ahh well. It is rare that people think on such things when they are distracted. This night is not about me and mine after all"

He smiled and picked up his chop sticks as if to begin eating but his bites were small. A piece of meat and some rice in proportions equal to each other. Still he was eating at least. Still he listened as she tried to reconcile him. He swallowed before letting out a sigh. Before speaking once more.

"He may, Your uncle could discover what generations in my family could not. It's a blood disease some how brought on by our affinity to the blood element in our jutsu. A genetic disease that kills us before we can grow old. I try not to think of my father dying because there is a high chance if I live that long I will die drowning in my own blood as well. And watching how you will die is not pleasant."

That was only half the reason but still. It should be enough to convince her he no longer cared for the subject. Instead he clapped his hands together and smiled before pouring some more sake for each of them before setting the bottle down and lifting his own saucer. Smiling warmly as he spoke.

"Enough of that though. We are not here to be depressed. We are here to celebrate. A toast! To my friend Risu and to the recognition of how incredible she is."

A quick look at the future Chi clan head, was enough to slightly better the mood again, as it seemed he was not willing to spoil an evening full of enjoyment and throw it into a pool of neverending desillusions of freedom and peace. In stead he seemed quite bend on making this evening enjoyable again, by explaining everything that's happening to his father, as well as revealing the dangers of his own bloodline, practically shocking Risu deeply, though quickly lifting the gloom with a toast in her honor, probably trying to remove her own sense of guilt.

"Allright, allright," Risu chuckled softly, while filling another saucer cup with sake, raising it high in accordance to Rippa's toast. "You're right let's have fun rather than continue on about the darker things in life."

Again it was obvious that Risu was far from being an experienced drinker, as when she chucked down the sake, she coughed a few times, almost falling into an uncontrollable giggle before she could manage to regain her composure a bit.

"How does it feel to be beaten in rank by someone as young as me?" The snake girl asked on a silky tone, with a whispering hush blended in her voice. "Don't you dare fall to far behind on me, Rippa. I wont forgive you if you do."

With another giggle, she filled a third saucer cup with sake, swallowed the contents in a single gulp and gave a deep sigh. She suddenly leaned a bit forward, balancing her head on her hands and looking straight towards Rippa with a kind of strange, clearly drunk hazyness in her eyes.

"You really are extremely good looking, you know?" A rethorical question from her side, yet many people know that it's the drunk people who always tell the truth. "I bet you've got many of us kunoichi dwelling around you and drooling at the very sight of you."

3835

Rippa listened to her speak as he felt a little bit of relief that the were finally getting away from the topic he so despised. She spoke of having fun and ignoring the darker things in life. Which suited him well enough. He wasn't one to enjoy brooding very much. So instead he lifted his saucer and drank deeply from it. He felt it sting down his throat as it went down and sit in his belly like something warm was nestled there. His blue eyes observed her as she giggled uncontrollably. Perhaps it was about time to cut her off? He was feeling a little bit of it himself. After all as a medical practitioner he rarely drank. In case he was needed for something important.

He poured some more of the sake into his dish and chuckled as she spoke of falling behind her. Whispering as if it was a secret that he had better not fall too far behind her. He smiled and looked at her with happiness and a little bit of a drunken haze in his eyes once more. Before speaking. His voice only showing a hint of his buzzed state.

"Hmm. No worries about that dear Risu. Soon enough I will be applying for another promotion. See if I don't catch up to you aye?"

He watched as she poured the last of the sake into her saucer and drank it like it was water. Surely if he was feeling it she was too. Perhaps even more then him. He lifted his last little bit of sake to his lips and poured it into her mouth before hearing what she said. The surprise of it sending him into a fit of coughs before he blinked looking at her surprised.

"I um...it never really crossed my mind....and I mostly just spend time with you....most other people are afraid of me."

With a mind cluttered with thoughts about how cute Rippa was seemingly looking in his classy outfit, spurred by the alcohol which completely erased all common sense and all restraints on her behavior, Risu continued to lean her head on her hands, her golden snake-eyes gazing straight into rippa's light blue eyes. She felt like she would drown in those pools of blue and as she felt her lips getting dry, she simply had to let the tip of her tongue slide accross them, not thinking about how it would look to the man or in that case how it would make her look, as she wasn't really thinking straight at that point.

"It…heh…would be nice if you would catch up, Rippa," Risu sighed out those words, as if talking really took a toll on her energy, with the words coming out of her mouth in a sly manner. "It would be a good excuse to spend more time with you on missions…heh."

Though certainly lightheaded and nolonger completely in control of her actions, the young woman was still capable enough to register every word the attractive man spoke though she had to let them sink in a bit before understanding what he had exactly said. When he said he almost spend no time with others except with her, the Orochi girl's eyes went wide open for just a single instant, while in a rare moment, the paleness of her skin had been graced by a slightly pinkish hue when she was blushing because of the impact of those words.

Without saying even a single word, Risu tried to lean back, but in stead stumbled and fell off her chair, unable to maintain or regain her balance the girl dropped to the floor, giggling when she realized one of the straps of her dress had broken, revealing a bit more of her alabaster skin than usual, as well as offering a glance to any helping hand of her newly bought black silk set of her first 'real' women's underwear.

"I…think I…eh…had a bit to much of that…wine-thingy," Risu gigled, trying to stand up again, grabbing the table with one of her hands, yet not really comfortable with the long dress and her high heels, she simply dropped herself back on her chair in a rather unelegant manner, tearing up the side of her dress in the process. "Oh god, did I just tear up my dress…?"

4253 unused

Rippa watched as if a little hazy himself. The slight buzz almost on the verge of a dizzy spell preying about his mind for only a moment. He didn't usually drink as drinking had a heavy tendency to dull ones senses. That and he was fully aware of the functions of the liver. And how too much alcohol could overwork how much it processed and destroy the liver. Which led to a slow and inevitable death. Still he let himself go just a little on such an occasion. Still not as much as she had though. He figured she had a great deal of stress in her daily life so just enjoying such a social occasion was probably the only thing making her smile. He nodded at her words  while a little absent minded about going on more missions with him. His ignorance towards women and their emotions was likely to get him in trouble one day. It wasn't hard to scorn a woman out of ignorance.

Still as she fell out of her chair he seemed to find some level of clarity. The slight buzz fogging his thoughts whipped away with a sudden rush of concern for her well being. His professional side emerging more so then ever as he moved out of his chair to her side. Slowly easing her upright. His eyes hardly noticed the flash of pale skin or the underwear. As a medical professional they did not register as part of the diagnosis. Her dress ripped on the way up and he sat her down in her chair. One hand moved to her forehead to feel for heat. She was a little flushed but arguably that could be from the booze. His blue eyes scanned her for any cuts before he smiled and spoke.

"Ahh well. It looks like your at your limit for the night. Lets get you home shall we? I bet I can get you passed your guards without them ever noticing we arrived. Come on now."

With that he took off his coat. Wrapping it around her so that if any lesser minded individuals were to be interested in a peak the coat would keep her decent. While ignoring any protests he scooped her tiny form up all wrapped in his coat into his arms. The table and meal were already paid for so he didn't need to announce their exit. Instead he made his way into the hall with her and out the back. Walking down the back streets and alleys back towards her residence. He figured she wouldn't thank him if she made the tabloids.

WC total 3343
Endurance
E ~> E-1, 75/75
E-1 ~> E-2, 150/150
E-2 ~> E-3, 225/225
E-3 ~> D, 300/300

D ~> D-1, 325/325
D-1 ~> D-2, 400/400
D-2 ~> D-3, 450/450
D-3 ~> C, 525/525

Strength
D ~> D-1, 325/325
D-1 ~> D-2, 400/400
D-2 ~> D-3, 168/450

She could register Rippa's slightly cold hand touching her forehead, yet her eyes were still locked into hiss, even when he was looking away to put his coat over her, she either looked at his eyes or his lips, as even now she could feel the softness of those two red lines, the warmth of his breath caressing her skin when he was laying unconscious that time. She had cherished that feeling for so long now, just remembering it made her feel slightly dizzy and fuzzy or was that the alcohol coarsing through her bloodstream?

Risu noticed that he picked her up with his strong arms, lifting her higher and carrying her like a bride through the tresshold of the pub's exit at the back. While he did this, her heart skipped a beat, pounding like crazy within her chest, as if it wanted to jump out of it that very instant.

"Hmm," She hummed slightly when Rippa was carrying her through the alleys, her hand slowly rising to his cheek and softly stroking it. In doing so, her heart only started beating even faster and louder, a feeling she had never felt before spread out through her entire body, a feeling of excitement, joy and a bit of curiosity. "Why do I always want to touch you, why do I always see your face when I'm alone…why do I always feel so…strange when you're around, Rippa?"

It was a serious and honest question, coming from the deepest and most treasured part of her heart, yet she did not wait for an answer, as she slightly lifted herself within his grasp, suddenly pressing her lips against his for only a second with her eyes closed and as she opened them after that single gesture, a few words escaped her lips when she seemingly dozed off again. "Why am I in love?"

Endurance 450/450 D-2->D-3 completed
Endurance 525/525 D-3->C-0 completed
Strength 450/450 D-2->D-3 completed
Strength 525/525 D-3->C-0 completed
Speed 575/575 C-0->C-1 completed
Speed 600/600 C-1->C-2 completed
Speed 700/700 C-2->C-3 completed
Speed 700/700 C-3->B-0 completed
45 unused

Rippa carried her quietly. Listening to her speak. Her voice barely above a mumble In a way he berated himself for letting her drink so much. The celebration itself was short. Still he smiled as they moved along. He could feel her weight in his arms as she seemed to drowsy to help him hold her up. Still he figured it had been a good night. People needed to celebrate more often. Enjoy what they could.

Still it came as a bit of a surprise to him how upfront she was. Heat flushed into his cheeks for a moment. He had never really considered having feelings for anyone else. Always he had chosen to lead his profession over anything romantic. Still when she leaned up and gave him a peck on the lips and whispered about loving him he felt something stir inside of him. And then sweet relief as she seemed to pass out. He didn't have any answers. And he didn't want to make her angry. Really he needed to think about it. After all, They both had professional goals and upcoming family responsibilities. He doubted they had time for....each other.

He swallowed hard and tried not to think about it. Rather glad she seemed to have dozed off. When he arrived at her estate he jumped the western wall and evaded the guards with relative ease. Sneaking into the manor and then through the dark halls until he found the one room with what appeared to be some more feminine products like make up and female clothing. Quietly he set her in the bed and took off her heels so she didn't hurt herself in her sleep wearing shoes or wake up with cramps. Setting them in a nearby chair he pulled the covers over her but left his coat there like an extra pillow. But he couldn't stay. If he was caught there then the accusations would likely come quickly. So he snuck out of the estate like a whisper. Walking for hours as he thought about the night before finally going home exhausted both mentally and physically.

Strength
D-2 ~> D-3, 450/450

Exit thread

The next morning, Risu would be waking up in her own room at the Orochi estate in the Ouroboros compound. Her head seemed as if it would burst out in pieces, with the sun shining through the windows in the snake girl's eyes.

It was apparent that she wasn't really good at coping with the hangover she had, as she stumbled out of her bed, trying to get to the bathroom to get a soothing and relaxing bad and try and remember what had happened the day before.

With that in mind, Risu started summarizing the past evening in thought, hoping to figure out how she had ended up in her room at the main family's house, which she found strange was that she had the feeling that she had said something which lifted a burden from her heart.

Soaking in the water of a nice hot bath, the young woman suddenly realized what had happened the day before, even though it was only in bits and pieces, she could remember one simple thing: a kiss.

"What have I done?" The Orochi Lady said to herself in silence, her face getting a slightly pinkish hue, while she caressed her lips with the slender fingers of her left hand, before she lowered herself to her lips in the water. "I hope I didn't do anything stupid."

(exit thread)