It was one of those cool days in the Country of Lightning with this cold wind constantly blowing and messing with Akai‘s hair. Even though the sun was shining up in the sky rather brightly, it seemed that it was covered by some invisible veil, so that the sunrays were not able to reach the skin properly in order to provide a feeling of warmth to it. Akai was having the goose skin effect due to the cold atmosphere she was feeling. Every time the wind would blow, she would shiver immediately, like some fragile leaf on the tree. Then she would just wrap her arms around herself tightly trying to avoid that unpleasant cold touch of the blowing wind.  However, that did not help at all, as her thin silky kimono material was in no way suited for the weather like this. The only thing that Akai wished for at this moment was just to find a decent place, where she could relax and warm herlsef up, as well as prepare her plans for the upcoming journey to the village of Kumo.

Despite the rather cold weather, the resort on Mount Ikkyu was full of people turning the calm natured mountain into a melting pot of ninjas, a noisy and crowded place, just like all other places which had been damaged due to the touch of human beings. Some of them were buying food from the food stalls in a wide street where the market bussiness took place. Others were arguing about the upcoming matches of Chuunin Exams, trying to agree on who will win or who will lose. Some were placing some bets near the betting table, waving their money raised up high in the air. Ones were shouting louder than others, trying to be heard clearly from the back line. The whole atmosphere felt as if the mountain was possessed by evil Chuunin Exam spirit. However, none of these things seemed to interest the red head girl at all. If not for one person, she would not have gotten anywhere close to Mout Ikkyu at all. If not him, she would be caught up in a huge strom alone and, in that case, who knew what would have happened. Thinking about that,  Akai felt very thankful, as the fate sent her people like him. “One day. I hope I could decently repay you.“


Making her way through the crowded market street of the resort in Mount Ikkyu, Akai noticed one stall which caught her interest immediately. There was an old man standing by it, selling all kinds of head pieces, gloves, ropes, small shurikens, kunais and many more other ninja accesories. The girl stopped by the stall and guided her eyes through all of the items that were on display carefully. Her white eyes locked up onto this black ninja robe with a huge hood attached to it. That was a perfect piece for this kind of weather as it was long and rather wide. As well as for hiding herself from the curious eye, which Akai felt staring at her everytime she passed a person. It was not surprising though, most of the locals here had light skin, light silvery hair, were dressed in light clothes as well, and possesing red hair, a pair of extraordinary white eyes, being dressed in red luxurious kimono, Akai seemed like a black sheep in this place.

Akai took the money out of the back of her obi and gave it to an old man in exchange of that black robe she was eager to have. The man smiled while taking the money, however even him could not take his eyes from Akai‘s appearance, slowly scrutinizing every detail of her look. Akai felt somehow uncomfortable, thus she grabbed the black robe in reflex and quickly walked away from the stall.  While getting her way through the crowd of Mount Ikkyu market street, she was putting on the robe at the same time. “No more eyes, no more stares, enough of that already...“ After the robe was already on, Akai put on the hood, in order just to make sure that she had done everything to properly disquise herself from all of unpleasant stares. Who knew, maybe someone from this crowd could be the assasins, who were following her to the Country of Lighning, but never caught up to her, even though they could easily done so. Perhaps that was a their strategy, maybe they were lagging behind on purpose in order wait and seek her our when the night time would creep in, when she would be off her guard, in the most vulnerable moment.

Thus, there she was, walking with the black robe and a hood on, looking like an absolute black spot in the crowd, unrecogniseable at all. The robe was reaching the ground, and its sleeves were too long for Akai‘s fingers to be left revealed. The hood was covering almost half of her face and with her head lowered down, it hid her extraordinary eyes completely. Only some strands of red hair were fluttering caressly outside the hood. However, even though it was a perfect disquise, it had one major disadvantage while walking with this hood on. Akai, with her eyes covered by the robe‘s heavy material, could barely see what was in front of her, so she had either trust her sences, or activate her byakugan. The second choice was rejected immediately as it would consume too much energy. So in that case, she was using her ability to sense chakra and the result was that everytime Akai felt some warmth of the chakra nearby, she would jump to the side and keep walking forward. Ironic, but now the red head drew even more attention to herself than before. Walking like a crazy person, jumping from side to side once in a while or almost crashing into people, Akai looked like a person with a coordination disorder.

It was going rather smoothly for a while until suddenly, Akai felt a hard bump into her head. As it appeared, she was pacing so much that as a result, she crashed herself into someone. Due to rather hard hit, Akai fell on the ground and trying to support herself with her palms, landed on her butt.  Though still with the hood on, the read head raised her head immediately to look at who was in front of her, as well as in order to apologise to that person. After her eyes met those of the person, Akai froze in surprise. The face, the hair, those eyes...all of that seemed already familiar to her.

“ It‘s .... It‘s You .... but ... how? “

Akai was blown away by the unexpected turn of events.  She could neither speak properly, nor make a move. Akai remained sitting on the ground like a statue made of stone, only the pair of two white eyes were gazig in curiousity.

______________
WC 1158

However many days ago since he had last seen Hyuga Akai was the last time that he had performed his training in a place where anyone would be able to find him. Now, he spent most of his time at the Battle Plateau, or at around the Tower of Heaven to find himself combating against other shinobi who were of his level, just like how he had in the past, but this time he came more frequently in the hopes of finding the same people to have a duel with. It would allow them to measure each others growth and would allow them to become closer as individuals... No doubt to eventually become friends. The previous days he had encountered quite a few people who were able to match his skill, and although it bothered him without a doubt, he was the equivalent of a Genin, and he had to realize that when he went to these places to do combat with others. This wasn't the Academy in Konohagakure no Sato, this was the real world and people would be out there to win.

Of course the young shinobi knew that, every day of his life he had been living it to the fullest in order to surpass everyone who was in his way for a better future. A better future for himself and those who were around him. A better future for everyone in the Land of Fire, no, the entirety of the world. His mother still lived in the Land of Fire, he figured that she had already moved from the hamlet that was located half a day away from the Hidden Leaf Village, and had finally moved into the confines of the actual Ninja Village. Without his father there with her, it was no doubt better to be living in a village that contained plenty of high ranked ninja, she was an Uchiha after all, and she had the eyes, but she never showed them. He could remember that much about his mother, and although if he returned home he knew she'd tell him all he wanted, he didn't want to return home just yet, he wanted to impress his mother. Plus, he felt like it'd be cheating if he were to simply return home for the information that he'd be yearning for these last few years.

It was his own mission, a personal mission that required him to unlock the sharingan on his own, and after unlocking it, train it himself, gather those people who he could call friends, and finally return to his mother, but he didn't think he'd be able to bring everyone that he wanted with him. And, to what end? He wouldn't know what to do if he had had friends that would follow him to the end of the planet with him all the time, after all, Atasüke was more of a follower himself rather than a leader. He was only able to take care of himself and maybe one other person based on his interaction with the Hyuga girl from the Hidden Leaf, Akai he remembered with a sudden clarity, but he didn't know how he would fare compared to more than three. Not long he supposed, not long at all.

Atasüke was beginning his travel towards Mt. Ikkyu in order to have a day of relaxation. It had been quite some time since he had actually rested within something that had actually had a hot springs within it's confines, and although he didn't seem like a person who enjoyed them, and nor did he frequent them, the handful of other times that he had gone to the hot springs had left him feeling fresh and healthy for the next few days, rejuvenated almost. And he remembered the feeling that he had had when he had gone to train. It had felt almost as if he had a larger reservoir of chakra, something that stayed with him the next few days after visiting the springs.

That had been in the Hidden Leaf though. The Hot Springs in Konohagakure were ones that were frequented a lot by plenty of people that were his age for whatever reasons they had. Sometimes, when he wandered he tried to picture himself in a ninja squad with people who would cover his back while he covered theirs, and in truth, it was a dream of his to be supported by friends and those he could trust, but he could never truly imagine it. Not wholly, he didn't have the experience of being supported himself to know what it'd be like to support others, or to imagine what it'd be like to have all of what a squad did around him.

He had finally exited out of the Hidden Cloud Village and had begun his true ascent towards Mt. Ikkyu. Ahead of him he saw the waterfalls as he started to finally close the distance from Kumogakure no Sato and the Mountain Resort, he saw the waterfall and he remembered his encounter with the Moukuton user Zennyo. The man had been so willing to give out his name for whatever reason, and although he didn't know if he was lying or not, he still remembered as to how he had been reacting when Atasüke had accused him of being from the Hidden Leaf Village. The ebony eyed male had saw the man bathing underneath the power of the waterfall in the dead of night when all of it's other occupants throughout the day had clearly vacated it. It was on the same day that he had seen him throwing up a wooden house on the edge of the Hidden Cloud Village for no apparent reason, and at that point in time Atasüke had determined that this guy, Zennyo, was indeed a high leveled shinobi for being able to construct an entire building within a heartbeat, and he remembered how he had disappeared and had no doubt begun building the inside of the house...

Shaking his head, he continued up towards the mountain and within the hour he had passed through the gates wearing his new black cloak. Instead of the Uchiha Clan Insignia being in the dead centre of his back, it wasn't even seen at all this time, he had learned to conceal it when he was in public. Ahead of him, it seemed like there was a fallen over cart and so the entrance into the hot springs was temporarily blocked, and as he begun to turn around, someone crashed into his back, and he was forced forwards by a bit of a half step, more in a surprise than due to the force of her pushing him. His arms involuntarily were revealed as he spun around on his heels for a quick response, and when he saw no one behind him he looked downwards and saw the familiar features of a girl around his age looking up to him. Those eyes still seem so bright. He lowered his arm downwards. He had begun wearing the bandages all the way down the length of his arm from a few inches above the elbow instead of simply being on his forearm. Even his hands were covered.

His head came downwards, and whether she gave it to him or not, he slowly helped her back up to her feet as he looked into her eyes with the faintest glimmer of a smile on his face. "Lady Akai," he said kindly enough, adopting to refer to her with more of a tease than anything else. "It's been some time, hasn't it?"

In the back of his mind, he wondered why she was wearing a cloak similar to his own, but his thoughts were easily settled when he decided that he had made an impression her.

WC: 1327

While Akai‘s body still seemed to feel frozen, her mind remembered the face which was now looking down upon her. Raven black hair, strict facial features, strong eyes, minimalistic clothing style. It indeed was Atasuke, the man she freshly met just the couple of days before. However, she did not expect to meet him again so soon or at least not under that kind of circumstances, which was, crashing into him like a totally mad person. Compared to Akai, Atasuke did not seem to be so surprised like the girl herself was. Even the opposite, he seemed to be kind of amused about the unexpected ruen of events, putting a playful smile on his lips.  In this situation, he could have laughed at her badly, but instead of that, Atasuke offered his helping hand without any hesitation at all. This gesture was just another one thing prooving that he indeed was a kind hearted person, who was always willing to help.

While he kindly attempted to help the girl get on her feet again, Akai noticed a strange thing. It was solely for a second or so, but she got a close look to his arms and saw them being totally covered in bandages. This caused her to worry for a bit. Did he get hurt after they separated to follow their own paths that day? As Akai remembered, she did not notice those bandages back then. Though, she did not pay much attention to any details then due to herself being too concerned about other matters, which caused unnecessary pressure at that moment.

While helping Akai out, Atasuke spoke in a teasing manner. He called her a lady and that brough back some of her old memories from her past. Back in her home village, people always used to call Akai a lady or a princess. But being called like that always created a distance between her and that other person. Like it was already decided earlier, that is the higher figure, the untouchable and no closer relationship could be ever created. There was no trouble in Atasuke calling her a lady though, even if that was only for a tease, it did not bother her at all. However, the bothering thing was that he did pronounce her name fully and perhaps a little too loud for her liking. Due to that, she suddenly jumped as if being shocked by electricity. Akai immediately threw her one hand around Atasuke‘s shoulders, while with other one, pressed her index finger to his lips gently.

“Shhhh...Don‘t mention THAT name out loud. Otherwise you will get us in trouble.“

She turned him around and started dragging him along with her to the randomly chosen direction. Akai was not angry at all, just a little bit concerned though. As some said, even the walls  could have ears and eyes, thus they both needed to be more careful for their own sake. She was goind like this for a while and after some more seconds had passed, Akai found herself in an akwards position. That was because the red head realised that she was still tightly clinging to Atasuke while walking. That was one of main bad habits Akai had, which was not minding the decent distance between people. Even now, she crossed the limit and got too close to him again. However, trying to undo her mistake, the read head loosened her arms and let go of Atasuke, jumping several steps away from him at the same time.

Her heart started to race and her cheeks got colored in bright red. Fortunatelly, all of that could be hardly noticed as the black hood was covering pretty much all parts of her face. Speaking of clothes, Akai and Atasuke both were wearing surprinsingly similar robes. Come to look at them from afar, standing there together, they looked like two lost pieces coming into reunion again, both in long, black robes, with hoods covering their heads, both surrounded by many other people, who did not matter at all. After noticing this similarity, Akai became even more nervious than before.

The red head took a huge breath in order to calm helself down and turned her head to the other side, away from Atasuke. The purpose behind that was to hide her face completely as Akai did not wish for Atasuke to see her getting so shy all of a sudden. And especially, for him to ask what was the reason behind such an expression. While turning to the side, the girl noticed this old building with a huge sign on top of it, saying „Hot Springs“ in bright red wooden letters. Suddenly, an idea popped into Akai‘s mind. She had never been to hot springs in her life. As she remembered, she always pleaded her father to let her go there with her classmates, though he always used to turn that plea down. Having all those men guide her to the academy and back home everyday, there was no chance for Akai of sneaking to those hot springs as well. And in this situation, as Akai came to thinking, she and Atasuke needed a calm and intimate place where they both would  be able to talk freely. Thus hot springs seemed like one of such perfect places for that matter. It would also be useful for warming themselves up as the weather was really windy and rather cold. Suddenly Akai tugged Atasuke‘s hand and pointed her finger to the building.

“Atasuke...Could we? I have never been to the hot springs actually.“

Akai simply assumed that they would hang out for the rest of the day together as they already met in the market street. Though she did not ask directly if Atasuke wanted to do so or what kind of bussiness he had while staying at Mount Ikkyu.  Maybe she was too quick to assume and he did not want to spend his time with her at all or had some essiantial plans to pursue alone on that particular day.

“I mean, if you are not too busy or something. For an hour or two.“

She added those words caressly as if not wanting to sound too hopeful about this. However, Akai truly wished for him to rather accept the offer, than go his own ways. Who knows when the next time would come and she would get the chance to see him again. The answer also could turn to be never. This thought made Akai frown  and now the only thing she desired for was solely to hear a positive answer.

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WC 1103 + 1158 =2261

From the angle that she was at on the ground, the light shone on her face just enough so that he was able to see the expression that was located there. It reminded the Uchiha of when he had been with his father on that last day, the recognition that had been on the faces of both parties, recognition to the faces of his former squad mates, and best friends. Things and people that Atasüke in his life had never experienced, something that he hadn't yearned for since graduating from the Shinobi Academy in the Land of Fire. Something that he couldn't even remember yearning for. Time and time again the thought of having a squad and friends to support him had made a course through his mind, and time and time again, those same thoughts had met a cliff with no signs that explained the dangers ahead and they had raced off of the cliff and out of his mind. So to speak.

The recognition was something that he wanted to wipe away from her face, simply because he didn't want to think of his father, and he expertly pushed down the thoughts of his father's face before it dampened the mood of seeing something that he had met a few days ago. It was something that he constantly did in his spare time. He'd conjure up the thoughts of his family to the fore front of his mind and then crush them with little to no trouble at all. He had no care for the Uchiha Clan, but then again mere days he wore a black cloak that clearly advertised his ancestry. It made sense to him at the time, in the way that it was nostalgic to his way of life back home, but as he grew older he knew that it wasn't at all what he needed. If he were to stay incognito to other members of the Clan and to those who hunted Doujutsu, then it was best to wear a clan neutral cloak... So to speak.

After the words of greeting that had exited his mouth moments ago, Akai had seemingly sprung to life as if she had been shocked back to life by a pair of defibrillators, and she had wrapped an arm around his shoulder, something that he didn't expect but he accepted nonetheless since he felt that she didn't mean him harm, but his eyes widened when her fingers had been pressed on his lip, an action that he had certainly not given her permission to do, but he'd let her know that after. Evidently she hadn't taken note of his intense passion of not being touched by strangers. Even though she wasn't really one anymore, he still had issues with it, although it was more muscle memory than anything else.

Of course he wasn't against physical interactions with other people, especially women, it was just that he had strict rules where it was perfectly fine to allow himself to invade another's space without permission, but if it was his own, it was a forbidden rule that shouldn't have been broken, and although it was considered to be worse than a childish view, it was one that he maintained and couldn't help to part himself with since he had so few interactions with other human beings, let alone sentient life.

"Wha-?" He said in surprise when she had begun to pull him with her, with her hand over his mouth all the while, not liking it as much as he would've previously thought. When they finally stopped it had apparently occurred to the red headed Hyuga that he didn't like the close interaction, and all though he did simply because she wasn't bad to look at, she had hopped back away for him, and for that simply remembrance of his personality he inclined a head in thanks. "What trouble could I possibly get us in?" He wondered aloud, perfectly whitened teeth grating over each other as he watched her with an irritated look in his eyes. He didn't like to be dragged along, but deep down, he knew that he wasn't much of a leader, not yet anyway, and that was why he had accepted her pulling him so calmly. Plus, he didn't like to cause a scene, simply because causing a scene involved quite a bit of noise and a lot of attention being drawn to you, and since they were already two darkly clad figures in a public area, it looked bad enough, but if her hood had come down and people had seen her red head, it would've been even worse if a scene had happened to come to fruition.

Good thing I'm so tame, he thought to himself with a bit of amusement, the mirth evident on his face as a sudden smile appeared on his face despite his words that had passed from his lips moments before. "What have you been up to since we last so each other? Are you threatened, even now?" Taking account of her past words of getting them both in trouble, he took a step forwards as if to protect her from an unseen enemy, but he soon stopped as he realized how silly that seemed. Certainly she was more experienced than he was underneath that quiet exterior of hers and could no doubt hold her own, but his ever active brain just so happened to remember in that moment as to how she had been fleeing for her life when they had first met.

The step that he had taken before that had turned to a half step towards her had brought them slightly closer together, minimizing the distance to the point that the distance she had made between then had become minimal again. When he finally looked her up and down again, seemingly just realizing what she was wearing, he placed a hand on his hip and leaned to the side a bit as he said in passing, "You look good," the same teasing tone in his voice as when they had originally been brought together again only moments ago. A teasing comment, it passed, and then he continued with whatever was going on at that moment.

What? She had grasped his hand and had begun pointing to the wooden sign that spelled out Hot Springs. This is what he had come for after all, and he couldn't help but smirk inwardly as she seemed so excited about it. Thinking back on it again, he didn't go often to the hot springs, so there was no reason for him to not... Go with her, plus, she seemed quite excited about it. Before he had been able to open up his mouth to give her an answer, she amended the demanding nature of her first statement and had said if he wanted.

He paused.

He normally didn't get an option in whether he wanted to do something or not, and the fact that he was getting one right now brought a smile to his face and he pulled his hood off of his head. For a moment, a scar appeared over one of his eyes, before he tilted his head in a way that would have his hair over the mark on his forehead. He hadn't even realized that it had been revealed, and for a split second he wondered as to whether she had seen it, but even if she did he still said with as much slyness that he could gather...

"As long as the beautiful Akai is with me."

WC: 1296

As if seeing that Akai was intimidated at some point, Atasuke took the hoodie off of his face and came closer to her with a little teasing compliment about her black robe. Keeping silent after all the teasing words Atasuke had said, Akai kept rolling her eyes once in a while, simply trying hard to keep her mouth shut. She had a sharp tongue herself, though most of the times her sharp comments ended up putting her in at least minor fight with the person.  As sharp as her tongue was, it could not be compared with the sharpness of her eyes, so in that brief moment of him taking off his hoodie, they caught something of strange shape on Atasuke’s forehead, covered by his hair. It was some sort of mark, similar to that of a scar, though Akai could not see clearly, the moment of exposure was too brief.

After reasonably ignoring the teasing comment, Akai finally heard the answer she was waiting for so much. Atasuke would go with her and that was all she needed to know at that moment. Her face brightened at instance and being not able to keep herself together, the girl clapped with her hands, expressing her joy openly and revealing her hands out of the sleeves of the cloack.

”What are we waiting for then? Come on, quickly, let’s go inside! “

Akai pulled Atasukes hand again being a little too impatient about the thing she was going to experience for the first time in her life. New adventures always gave her thrill, and the thrill always produced the feeling of pleasure, of freedom to choose, of being alive in general. However, while gently pulling Atasuke’s hand in order to encourage him to step forward faster, Akai briefly brushed her finger against the bandage material. The thought of him being hurt had bothered her since she was still knocked out on the ground, which was the first time she noticed his hands. After they settle smoothly in soothing hot water, this will be the first mystery the girl would like to unfold.

As Akai stepped inside the building, it seemed rather simple to her eyes. Everything was made of stone and wood, looked as natural as it could. There was a huge desk in the middle of the room and a young silver haired woman sitting behind it. Must be the receptionist. Behind the reception desk, there were multiple entrances, which must be guiding to the different kind of hot springs themselves. Assuming that Atasuke followed her inside the building, Akai approached the reception desk without having to turn her head back in order to look at him. She finally took of her hoddie thinking that it would be not polite to keep it on, as well as seeing that there were no other people in this room, just the three of them.  She ran her fingers through her hair quickly in order to make sure if they were not a total mess. Soon enough, Akai started speaking in a silent, almost whispering voice.

”Ah, excuse us, but we would like…”

However, even before Akai had not finished her sentence yet, the young woman jumped out of her seat and got too close to Akai, leaving a tiny gab between them. Her eyes were shining in excitement as if nobody had come in for about a year or so and Atasuke with Akai were the very first clients of these hot springs here. The young woman started to squeak in a loud and annoying voice.

”AH! THE LOVEBIRDS! COME, COME, WE HAVE JUST A PERFECT OFFER FOR YOU TWO! AND EVEN THE SPECIAL DISCOUNT OFFER FOR LOVERS ONLY!”

Akai backed away in reflex and her mouth dropped open after the receptionist finished her promoting talk. While backing away, she bumped into Atasuke lightly. Her surprised eyes glanced at him immediately to see if he was annoyed, angry or surprised as well. Akai herself was not able to say a word at that moment having her mind occupied with the words young woman had said. Only her eyebrow was twitching while she kept throwing her gaze at Atasuke, then at the silver headed woman again. Though after a brief moment, the young woman made a playful smile and approached them again with a bunch of other awkward offers.

” There, there, no need to be shy around me, I understand all of lovey-dovey things. So, what is it going to be? We can additionally leave a kit for intimate massage if you would like. Will you two need a room after?”

That has done it. Akai’s cheeks turned into full circles of red and she started shaking her head and waving her hands in denial. ”What is wrong with this lady here?” Akai turned her head to Atasuke with the gaze of “would you say something to her already”. This was too much for Akai to handle alone as all she wanted was to order some time to relax in hot water and to have an honest talk with a friend. However, now, after that crazy woman spoke all of those crazy ideas, Akai started imagining things herself. Unfortunately, when it came to imagination, she had quite a wild one. After being intimidated by her own thoughts, Akai shook her head again in denial and made a worthless attempt to answer this lady.

”Ah…um…we…this…not quite…I mean…”

Akai was going like a stuck record, being not able to say things clearly. The reason behind her behavior was that she could not get rid of some images, which kept popping inti her head and kept triggering the further confusion. The read head just made a deep breath as if she was giving up trying. She gazed at Atasuke again, with her cheeks blushing in embarrassment and eyes full of hope. The girl tugged the corner of his long sleeve gently and spoke in a trembling voice.

”Atasuke?...”

This was meant to be a plea to get things back into control again. As Akai experienced before, when they met for the first time, Atasuke seemed like a way more calm person compared to her, with rather cold nerves and great logical thinking. Even though Akai was always on her own, trying to deal with all unfortunate circumstances in pure solitude, now, in this very situation, she just stepped back a little in order to appear behind Atasuke and hide herself partly. This was the time, when she would give her trust to other person in order for him to take full control and deal with the situation for both of them completely. After all, he was no ordinary person and as impossible as it sounded, Akai had already developed that feeling as if she could entrust her entire life for him.

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WC 1144 +2261 = 3405

If his memory was true, the last time had had truly been to a Hot Springs was back in Konohagakure no Sato, but even then it had just been satisfactory. The ebony haired Uchiha Atasüke wasn't one to spend time in a place like that, even back when his father was alive and well. He snorted at her enthusiasm when she had finally had a repsonse to his acceptance. So she wanted to go that bad? He figured she'd never been to one. With his limited experience with them in the Hidden Leaf Village he may as well have been going for his first time as well considering the circumstances. Plus, he felt as if he was a new person since then, the old Uchiha Atasüke had long since passed on in to another life as this version of himself had emerged from the ashes, so to speak.

Simply due to because of her featureless white eyes that were trademarked to all Hyuga, he simply wasn't sure as to where she was looking when he realized his hair had had a bit of a slip up and revealed the scar that he had held for quite a while. Then they were on their way into the building that she had pointed to before with the wooden sign that indicated it was the hot springs they had originally been going to before they had even came across each others paths for the second time.

"Alright," he said as he followed a mere step behind the excited red head, allowing her to guide him inside, making sure to stay aware of his surroundings all the while. It was best to always remain aware, even though no one would have much of a reason to attack him, or so he thought, he simply thought it paid better to be safe. And said payment was life, so he didn't see the problem in such. I do like living life. Soon enough once they were inside they had encountered a secretary of some sort who after Akai had made their presence known, started speaking with a fairly loud voice. "Should've just let me take the lead," he muttered underneath his breath, intertwining his exhalation with it so perfectly it was almost as if it were the wind itself saying the words.

Uchiha Atasüke shook his head, raising a spare hand to cover his facial features as he wondered at the mess that they had gotten themselves into. So this is what happens when you're a follower huh? Awkward situations? But he was interested, he wanted to see as to how Hyuga Akai would respond to this woman behind the desk. Barely paying attention, he realized his companion had bumped into him after having taken steps backward in surprise at the words of the receptionist. This is why I do my own talking.

Folding his arms over his chest, he listened to the next promotional activities that the woman was offering them, still curious as to how Akai was going to handle the situation they had gotten them into. And then Akai finally started to speak, and when she did, for the most part it was simply stutters and he sighed, because soon after she had turned her head to him and said his name, leaving a question at the end of it. He snorted in amusement, it was almost as if she were a child who needed the help of their parent. "We're going to have to talk after," he whispered softly to her as he took a step past Akai and shook his head at all the things that were offered. A massage was certainly not what he wanted, he had come to soak and to possibly talk to others who wanted to socialize if it had come to that. The reason why he had never had this problem was because aroudn the time that Mt. Ikkyu had been opened, Atasuke had found his way to the resort and had avoided the front area where the receptionist was. That was why there weren't that many people there, because people already knew where to go after the first time and weren't that interested in having an... Intimate massage? He refrained from shuddering, resting his bandaged digits on opposing elbows as they remained crossed over his chest.

His plan was to operate on the same level of briefness that he had with Akemi Hauro when they had first met. It had been when they had been parting, Atasuke had something to do and he had somewhere else to be, specifically training, and for that exact reason he had kept the departure short. They weren't friends or anything, they had only had a single conversation, and for that reason they were little more than acquaintances.

"No."

A single word, ebony hair framing the pale complexion that came with his face. It was said firmly, almost as if he were an adult with plenty of authority almost as if he were a King, and he moved down the hallway to the direction of the Hot Springs, figuring that his companion would follow after him in the next few moments.

WC: 885

Akai was standing behind Atasuke and her eyebrows rised in surprise. She was taken aback  by how awesome and calm he was while overving the whole situation. It seemed like Atasuke was the only adult here with much more experience than the red head herself had. Akai gazed up to him as if he would be some kind of authority she admired and wanted to follow. Was it a duty or any danger of any kind, Akai could handle those types of things without getting too emotional pretty well. However, in such plain situations like this one at the reception, the red head kind of felt useless due to the lack of simple everyday communication skills. Through all of her childhood up to the point when she left, Akai was was raised as an expensive bird kept in a golden cage, she was day by day nurtured to hide her emotions so that they would not get in a way. The whole life was based on the idea of so called duty she had to pursue both for the family and the clan, not to mention that most of the time the settings she was allowed to exchange her golden cage into were pretty much nothing diverse, solely mere formalities. Thus, appearing in a more social setting, was something Akai was not used to, something totally new for her.

Soon enough Akai heard a cold and firm „No“ coming from Atasuke, directed at the receptionist. To the red head‘s thinking, it could not be handled any better and seeing how firm Atasuke stood, the receptionist gave up immediately. The young woman went back to her desk and burried her face in some kind of book, at times still raising her eyes up to the visitors while writing something down. Atasuke did not waste any more time and proceeded to walk to the other room. Even though he did not say anything to Akai, except for earlier that they would have a talk later, the red head understood that she needed to follow. She was following slowly and gazing at Atasuke‘s back at the same time. The whole time Akai kept silent as now some thoughts bothered her mind. She got herself wondering what did Atasuke mean by saying that they would need to talk later. Was that a friendly get to know talk which he meant or was he mad about something and this talk would be not a pleasant one. Though, his voice and tone did sound soft and harmless while saying that statement, maybe the red head was overthinking the situation again. “I need to finally stop doing that to myself.“

Suddenly, the chain of thoughs vanished like a thin air as both of them reached the destination. There were two doors in from of them, one having a japanese character of woman written on it and another one had a japanese character of man as well. Those two must be guiding to some kind of preparation room, where people could undress and take care of other things like slippers and towels. Suddenly, Akai took her black cloak off and for a second there she was gazing at herself, or at her kimono to be precise, thinking if behind those doors there would be any human being who could help her undo her tightly tied obi type ribbon, which was on the back of the gown. The red head thought back to the moment they both entered into the reception and remembered that the place seemed pretty empty for her, no noise indicating that any human being would be enjoying hot springs at that time of the day. Akai, hesitating to plea Atasuke for help again, though having no other choice, turned her back to him and gazed over her left shoulder. She brushed the red hair with her fingers lightly and gathered them all in one hand, taking them forth to the front side of her body. Soon after doing that, she tilted her head to the side and spoke in a soft voice.

“Just before entering the dressing room, could you help me undo my obi? You just need to pull this with a little strenght until the whole thing goes down.“

While saying it, she pointed her index finger to the tightly tied ribbon on the back of her kimono. Akai turned her eyes away from Atasuke and was waiting for him to lend a hand, or remembering that he was not that fond of touching others, simply to refuse. She was worried that he might misunderstand her and think of her as useless due to not being able to do anything by herself today. Though that was the problem with wearing a fully prepared kimono, it was almost impossible to reach the back of it, not to mention to untie the part which keeps it wrapped together just by herself.

While standing still and waiting, Akai was breathing uneveanly. Thinking some moments ahead, she was trying to imagine what their time at hot springs would look like. The red head was getting nervious with each second she spent waiting as the more she thought about her next steps, the more of new questions were popping into her head. Akai wondered how the whole procedure should go, what she should do when she entered the dressing room alone. She had no other clothes on her, except for this black heavy cloak. Akai kind of knew that they both were going into mixed hot springs, which meant that men and women are allowed to relax in one place together. Though she had heard that when it was one type hot spring, people did not wear any clothes at all. Having to wonder about it, Akai‘s cheeks turned red and her heart started pounding loudly. The read head gazed at Atasuke over her shoulder again and spoke.

“Atasuke-san, I have an urgent question.“

She stated, though after that a huge pause of silence took place. It seemed as if Akai was hesitating to ask due to being concerned that Atasuke might think she was some kind of weirdo, who had never been out anywhere in her whole life and had no common sense. Sadly, but most of it was partly true. However, Akai continued in almost whispering voice.

“Say... How do we... um... dress for hot springs... I mean... Um... Do we go... naked?“

The last wors was a total whisper, but Akai finnally let the question out of herself and took a deep sigh. Her breathing was still uneaven and heart was still beating louder than normal. Though Akai solely hoped that it was not too loud for anyone else to hear.

_____________________________
WC 1120 + 3405 = 4525

The ebony haired male recalled at how times in the past he wouldn’t have ever even bothered to have helped out Akai, especially back in the beginning when she had suddenly appeared out of the shrubbery, but a part of Atasüke was curious as to who she was, he was too keen on finding as to who she was and why she was there, and by the end of their interaction they had ran off in another direction that was in the general direction of Kumogakure no Sato before it had actually begun to rain. It certainly hadn’t been an event that Atasüke was used to taking part in, and yet he partook anyway, the old love for adventure in the depth of his heart as it wondered as to what was going to come along.

In this current event however he didn’t want to waste anymore time letting Hyuga Akai handle it. Even with those eyes that could potentially unsettle most people, it seemed in all of the interactions that he had seen the woman take part in, she was the one who was unsettled, always seeming to be unsure as to how to react in a normal and under the radar manner, which left little room for wonder as to why she had supposedly been in danger the previous day. Drawing in a breath, he slowed down his pace by a few steps so that by the time they got to the end of the hallway there were doors that designated as to which entrance the both of them should be taking. For a moment, he wondered as to how his Hyuga counterpart was going to react. She had been nervous in a situation where she had been asking questions, how would she respond when she was in a situation with people who were wearing even less clothing? Was it a good idea to accept this idea of hers? The front of his teeth clamped down on the front of his tongue, simply to prevent himself from letting that sentiment out for public hearing.

He didn’t want to hurt their feelings. After all, they were… More than acquaintances.

In a brief moment the black cloak that Atasüke had been wearing was off of his shoulders and folded in his arms perfectly, a set of moves that he had practiced many times over his life in solitude out in the wild, and it was one that had been particularly enjoyable to do whenever it had been completed. Crouching down to the floor, he undid the straps on the azure shinobi sandals that were on each of his feet, and once done he slipped out of them fairly easily. The place that they had previously been in had been quite empty, but the dark haired male thought nothing of it, if anything it would only mean that there were plenty of people inside, but then again it could also mean that there was relatively few people. Either way, they would find out when they passed through their respective thresholds anyway.

Slowly rising back up to his feet, he hadn’t really been paying attention to the words that had exited from Akai’s mouth. It wasn’t that he was ignoring her, it was that he didn’t pay attention to people when he was within his own thoughts. Daydreaming I guess you could call it. He heard the words completely and he even comprehended them, the problem was that he just didn’t acknowledge them with an actual response until a few moments after, and after she had brought her hair around her shoulder and had made her plea for aid, he didn’t respond until several moments later, consumed within his own thoughts of the past and the potential future. The past is locked, impossible to change. The future is impossible to determine. It’s not as easy to figure out what shall happen… Not as easy as people think. It occurred to him that a familiar voice had been speaking to him, telling him what to do and he glanced over his shoulder to Akai, taking note of her stance as if she were waiting for something. Wondering as to where all of her hair went, he glanced down to the floor, surprised that it had been cut, and when he saw nothing on the ground his black gaze floated up to just above her shoulder and saw that she was holding her hair.

Oh.

Usually when he went back to living life as he normally would, he wouldn’t pay attention to the obvious cues, and would temporarily remain in a stupor, wondering as to how certain things or people disappeared while he was in public places, or even worse, in relatively private environments where it was only the two of them. Blinking, her words slowly came back to him about her obi and he took a single step towards her, raising his arms simultaneously as he pulled delicately so as not to pull her towards him, but firmly enough so as to actually complete the task at hand. He gently whispered over her shoulder, “I’m quite familiar with obis, Akai.” Before he resumed his previous position before, allowing her to take the obi from his hands whenever she was ready, his hands never lingering on her body for a moment too long. Once his back was completely turned to her, he started to unravel the bandages that were on his arms from a few inches above his elbows to the very tips of his fingers. It was done in a fair amount of time, and he placed the two bundles on the top of his black robe and he picked them up along with his shinobi sandals, just as Akai warned him of another impending question. The metaphysical form of Atasüke’s ears perked up as if he were a cat listening for the continued noise from a previous sound. He made no response of acknowledging her statement, allowing her to continue speaking unimpeded.

So she really hasn’t… The same thought came to his mind and he finally rose up to his full height and leaned his back on the wall beside the door that he was going to be entering. Really has to make it weird, huh? Heh, Atasüke made no immediate answer, doing his best to discipline his facial expressions as a tinge of crimson touched his cheeks. “You came to the hot springs without knowing what to wear?” He tilted his head to the side in curiosity. Had she really? Or did she have the clothes already and was unsure as to how to proceed… To say there was much uncertainty as to how to continue in this situation was certain, but in the next few moments he was sure he’d have an answer. “A bathing suit is considered… Satisfactory,” he said, the final word being used in a teasing manner. From there, he took a half step and started to push open the door with his back, all the while saying just loud enough for her to hear. “Stay calm and it’ll be fine.” He of course was speaking about how she shouldn’t make a scene, but it’d be up to her to figure out what he went in the next few moments as he disappeared inside the changing room and got the rest of his appearance sorted.

WC: 1228

Akai was standing still while she felt several gentle pulls from behind of her back. Suddenly she felt that she could breathe more easily now as the part which was giving some pressure to her diafragma area was loosened, untill it finally went down. Akai took the piece gently into her hand trying to make the contact as brief as she coud, still remembering that Atasuke was not that fond of touches. The red head released her hair with another hand and then took a grip of the cloth in front, just to make sure it would not fall open unexpectedly. She gazed back at him over her shoulder and said her thanks.

“Thank you for the help, Atasuke-san.“

However, while doing that she noticed that Atasuke was starting to take of his bandages without even hiding them anymore, as it would have seemed to her before. Akai‘s brief gaze gradually changed into curious and rather long stare. She was wondering what those bandages could be covering there. Akai had met people like that before, though most of them had severe skin condition covered by those bandages, something like high degree burns or huge scars. Even the man, who was appointed to act as a supervisor while Akai was still attending the academy, he had his whole body, including half of his face, covered. She always thought that he was hiding his identity by doing so,though as he revealed later, while still being a child, his familie‘s house was set on fire on purpose and he barely escaped the fire, resulting in more than eighty percent of his body being severely burnt. Akai was watching Atasuke carefully expexting to see some similar things on his body, however she turned her gaze away quickly before that happened. Even though Akai was curious, the red head decided that it would be  not polite just to stare like that and anyways, she would see all of it later when they would be already enjoying the soothing water.

Soon after, Akai received an answer to her question and she felt much more relieved. Akai completelly ignored the teasing comment about her not knowing what to wear, yet still going to the hot springs. The red head was simply enjoying her freedom and desired to experience everything she had not experienced yet. Even though it would not compensate the whole time she spent just pursuing her duty back home, there was never too late to learn something fresh. Up until now, the red head somehow had this crazy image of hot springs in her mind, where all of people were involved into too much of nudity for her liking. That was why she got so concerned all of a sudden. Though, all of that concern was put to rest as soon as Atasuke spoke of bathing suits. He also encouraged her to stay calm and entered the dressing room without waiting for her response. Akai was attempting to thank him again, though she was too slow to react at that time.

Akai left the hall soon after Atasuke had disappeared and entered the room, where she was supposed to change into proper clothing. The red head turned around to see if there were any people inside, though she found the room to be completely empty. It was full of lockers, though all of them were left open as if unused for some time. Akai went by one and placed the piece of her obi inside together with her black cloack and golden hairpin. She quickly changed herself into appropiate clothing being aware of her own environment the whole time. Her eyes went back and forth from one side to another as the walls of this changing room were made of wooden planks, which had small gaps between them, making the possibility to peek inside very easy. Soon after changing into bathing suit, Akai wrapped herself in a towel quickly, which was hung onto each and every door of the locker. She took her hairpin and fixated her hair up, so that they would not get wet. Now with her hair up, the read head felt kind of revealed as her neck and shoulders felt too open than she was used to. Akai streched herslef lightly and proceeded to the exit, which guided to the hot springs finally.

Right where the door was, the red head stopped for a second with her hand hesitating to open them. She once more tightened the towel  a little and ran her hand though her skin lightly, simply to make sure she lookeed appropriate. Akai was somehow nervious as this was the most intimate experience since those several she had up until the tragedy, which she was trying so hard to never think about. Just thinkng would not bring the person back or would not answer any questions that were lingering somewhere deep for a long time now. Thus, it was totally pointless to even go back in memories at that point. It was best to just put those into oblivion.

Finally, Akai gathered the strenght and felt ready to enter. She slid the door open and stepped onto the rocky ground. The ball of hot steam hit her, making her face hot and red immediately. She turned around to see if Atasuke was there already, though she found herself still being alone. Probably it took longer to get those badanges off, than for her to undress her kimono. Akai made a deep sigh and decided to make herself comfortable in the water before Atasuke entered the place. Simply being afraid to appear even more akward in front of him, than she already did so many times before.


Akai dropped her towel of on the ground and the whole body now was revealed. There was nothing to be shy about as the red head had slim figure with enough of womanly curves. Though most of that was always carefully covered with many layers of traditional clohing, withough revealing even little area of bare skin. Thus, now Akai felt kind of weird, as if being pushed out of her shell. She checked the water with the tip of her toe gracefully and found it to be indeed hot. She wondered if she could take this kind of heat without fainting, though the red head was willing to take a risk.

Just the moment she wanted to fully step in, she heard a sound of door cracking. Akai attempted to turn around and look if that was Atasuke coming in, though she failed again. Her foot  slipped onto slippery rock and that knocked her out of her balance. The last thing she could hear was herself heavily splashing into the hot water, which caused some pain to her back, appearantly where the hot water and her skin got in contact too suddenly. As soon as she could, Akai got herself back onto balance again and leaned to the side of the hot springs, supporting her body by getting a grip onto rocks with both hands. The pain on her back was getting more and more intence with each second as that made the red head realise, that she must have burnt her skin a little. Though, ignoring that fact, she bursted in laugh all of a sudden. Akai found this situation somehow funny. She threw her gaze up to see if Atasuke saw this fail and then shouted in amused voice.

“Be careful, Atasuke-san. The floor seems to be rather slippery here!“

____________________
WC 1255

The only acknowledgement that showed he had heard her words when she had thanked him was an inclination of his head. Normally, he wasn't a man of too many words, but he supposed that in this situation he was going to be a man of plenty of words, at least, just for this afternoon. Why she had required his help to remove the obi was beyond him, but he did the task required of him without complaint, besides, to be as close to a female who looked like this must've definitely been a goal for many other males back in the Hidden Leaf Village he speculated. It was only speculation however, and as soon as he had undid that sash of hers, he had handed it to her with as minimal contact as possible, and he had soon enough unwrapped those bandages from his arms and then disappeared into the male changing room to complete his transformation.

Once the door was safely closed behind him, he started to walk through the relatively empty locker room, and once he had found a suitable bench in some corner of the room, he had opened up the locker and started to place his things inside. First it was his cloak, pants, shirt, and then bandages, all piled atop of each other in the order that he was going to put them on. It was one that he had decided long ago, and had stuck to it for so long that it simply became a second nature for him to order his clothes in a specific way. The bandages of course covered nothing on the male's arms, except his flesh of course. They were simply tools that he would one day use in close quarters combat in order to ruin whatever stance his victim chose to utilize against him. For the most part, his flesh was unmarred, there were no scars or scratches anywhere, except that one spot on his forehead that was almost always concealed by the cusp of his hood, or the strands of hair that hung over that forehead of his. Most days, he forgot about the existence of the scar, but he soon came to remember what it was, where it came from, and when he had gotten it usually when he feels that he, Atasüke, had titled his head too far, or it was angled in a way that his hair temporarily revealed the scar across his face.

Once he was in his appropriate clothing, which was simply a bathing suit that may as well have been shorts, he started to rearrange his hair as best he could without a mirror, simply to make sure that the scar remained hidden. If those all seeing white eyes of hers caught sight of them, he wondered if Hyuga Akai would question him about it. Drawing a hand across his jawline, when he thought of Lady Akai, it was less as a shinobi, and more as a motherly figure, although not for him. It just seemed that she was generally worried for him, and from what he guessed those she cared about, and he figured she would fret over him like a mother hen if she caught a whiff of the marring on his face. Of course, he could handle himself, at least when it came to social situations, which they both knew Akai was horrendous at.

Pushing his hair into the correct position one last time, he started to walk towards the mixed pools area, grabbing a freshly folded towel from the table, he strode through the doorway, and allowed his ebony gaze to search for the red headed Hyuga. Once catching sight of her heading to the water, he strode to one of the many wooden cubby holes that was closest to him and he placed his neatly folded white towel into the cubby as he turned around to start walking at his companion.

This time, he didn't make a move to help the woman that he had come to the hot springs with, not that he could've. He didn't even realize what was going on until she had fallen into the water, and even then his gaze furrowed into one of confusion and annoyance. How did one even fall into the water like that? Childish actions like that were ones that irritated him, one of the many reasons why he hadn't returned to the Hidden Leaf Village and had instead remained in solitude wherever his travels took him. Konohagakure no Sato was one of the great ninja villages, in fact, it was the first one to ever exist, and all the others had taken after it... In truth, they were mere copies when it came to the Hidden Leaf Village and the ninja villages, but Atasüke had yet to get into that debate with anyone.

Ignoring Akai's words almost completely as he walked towards her, his feet took him over the water almost perfectly, almost as if he was using the Supernatural Walking Technique. He wasn't, it wasn't simply a balance that he had had his whole entire life, and a few feet away from Akai, he slipped into the water without hesitation. Probably not the best of his ideas, but it was too late as the water rushed into his fairly cool skin... At least it was before the moisture from the steam had built up on it, and the heat from the water rushed through him and his teeth clenched. It was like entering into extremely cold temperatures, but instead of that, it was the opposite and he entered hot ones.

He exhaled the pent up breath that he had immediately gathered when the temperature changed, and after a few moments of disciplining his physical self, he settled onto the ledge, and glanced to his side at Akai.

"How do you manage to fall like that?" Was there even a possible explanation? If there was, he wasn't sure he wanted to hear it.

WC: 1009

Akai pressed her back to the side of the stone, which was going around the pond of hot water, expecting it to have a rather soothing and cooling effect to her skin. The main purpose behind this action was to hide her back from the sight completely, as the skin there was burning in red and still felt painful due to the clumsy splash into the water before. Though, she almost was sure that Atasuke had not noticed it and it made her emit a deep sigh of relief. At the same time, while ignoring the pain, the red head was watching Atasuke getting into the hot water carefully. She was scrutinizing his body and was mainly searching for any signs of severe skin condition, which she had assumed he would have because of those bandages she had seen on his hands before. However, both to her surprise and relief, his body was completely fine and healthy, she could not notice any scars or wounds of any kind. Akai exhaled a deep breath as the biggest part of her previous concern was put at ease once she saw Atasuke not being hurt. At least not physically hurt.

Akai sank into the hot water more and now she felt how it finally started to have an effect onto her body. All of her musles loosened up gradually and she almost could feel as light as if she would be a simple butterfy, fluttering higher and thither in the air, to all intents and purposes of a butterfly, being only conscious about butterfly‘s happiness, and unaware about her own self. The hot steam, going up from the surface of the water, was surrounding Akai‘s face and hitting her her head with extreme heat, which she was not used to at all. Her head was starting to feel dizzy with each minute and it caused the woman to take deeper breaths than she normally did. Due to the heat, Akai‘s face became flushed as well. Even though this heat was quite hard to endure for her, she felt relaxed, to that level of relaxing, which was most of the time solely reached by drinking a decent amount of alcohol. Indeed, this hot spring experience gave the read head a feeling as if she would have drank the whole bottle of finest sake alone.

Being in this form of complete chill, Akai felt that she was able to talk about anything now as this water was somehow acting not only as the purifying essence of body pressure, but it also reached up the soul and purified it at the same time. It gave Akai this feeling as if her soul would be completely naked now, which meant that she was put at peace with her own existance for a moment. After experiencing this, the read head finally reached the understanding why poeople went and enjoyed hot springs so much. It was the ability to erase the limits whithin own self and whithin other people what made this place so special. Now as the first one was already reached, it was about time for making the later one to happen. Thus, Akai locked her eyes onto Atasuke and carefully observed him.

Soon after Atasuke got in the water himself and found a comfortable place near her side, Akai heard a comment directed to her previous failure. Seeing how serious his expression was, she assumed that those words were meant to simply stess the extreme clumsiness of hers, and as it seemed to Akai, with the intension to express his annoyance with her. Perhaps all of her failures thoughout this day had been coming together into one glass of patience, which suddenly got overfilled by her last slip. Avoiding the possibility to irritate Atasuke further, Akai just ignored the question and kept silent for a while without explaining the details how the whole thing happened. The amused expression she had before was fading away with each second, until it was completely replaced by a serious look instead.

There was one thing which kept bothering Akai‘s mind at the moment though. She remembered how Atasuke had mentioned earlier that they both would need to have a talk once they would settle themselves in the water. Akai was not confident if it was the best time to inquire about it right now, however, she felt that something not so pleasant might be up, and she wanted to figure it out as soon as possible. The woman had worried herlsef to the point where she even started to consider, that perhaps Atasuke desired to have nothing to do with her anymore only because of her hard to handle personality. If that was the case indeed, then what would he think of Akai if she told him more details about herself such as her past and the things she had done before.

The red head took a deep breath as if she would be mentally preparing for the worst answer and worst scenario she could have thought of in that messed up head of hers. Just to postpone the talk a little, Akai changed her postition and turned her body around, so that her chest would be against the rock now, and the back would be all open to see. The red head got simply tired from the previous body position and  even though she still felt some of the pain there on the back, she was not able to see how it looked. The only way for her to be comfortable and turn around was to hope that at least the redness of the skin had faded away and it was safe to reveal it now. Akai leaned forward and pressed herself against the rocky side of the hot springs, placing her hands crossed onto the surface of it and kind of laying her head to rest onto them. She turned her head to the side in order to face Atasuke, which granted her the chance to be able to be gazing at his eyes all the time, so that she could observe his emotions more easily.  As soon as she felt comfortable enought in her new body position, Akai finally felt ready to start talking. She pierced at Atasuke‘s eyes still trying to see right through him in order to understand him more. Though her eyes seemed to emit some kind of a sad vibe at the moment.

“Hey, Atasuke-san...You mentioned that we would have to talk once we‘re here. Did you have something particular in mind?“

Akai took a deep breath and exhaled almost all of the essence she had in her lungs, which, after coming outside of her, became a big ball of steam. She gazed down upon Atasuke‘s skin on the neck, then traced her eyes to the shoulders carefully. The red head sighed again and made another inquiry in a rather silent and calm voice.

“I‘m sorry if this is too personal and you don‘t have to answer if it is. But I‘m just curious, you don‘t seem to have any scars or any wounds on your skin. What‘s up with all the bandages then? Have you been hurt in the past or something?“

It was the first personal question Akai had asked and she was not sure how Atasuke would react to it, whether he would answer it honestly or whether he would just state that this was none of her bussiness. However, despite those little fears Akai had, she was quite proud of herself, as the atmosphere for them became more natural and she was finally able to make the first step towards the getting to know each other better part, which leads to the better understanding of each other as well.

________________________
WC 1304 + 1255 = 2559

What annoyed him more than people who were consistently clumsy, were people that ignored him and his questions. In the last few years of his life, Atasüke had been ignored constantly, regarded as nothing but a dangerous person who always wore black. Who always wore the symbol of the Uchiha Clan set in the middle of his cloak, right between his shoulder blades and most definitely right atop of his spinal cord. It was a time when he didn't want to bothered by those who were around him, he only wanted to get things that were essential to his continued existence and to live in solitude until the eternal darkness came to take him.

Instead, the Chunin Selection Exams were announced, and with that announcement came the clarity to see that if he was to further himself in the world of shinobi, if he was to find other members of his Clan, he would have to do certain things that involved socializing to get them. He had to interact with those from other villages to become a better ninja. He would be able to learn from them, and the possibility of making friends with some of them was there. Potential comrades that could watch his back, something that he never experienced whilst he wandered the Land of Fire in the company of his father while his mother remained at home... Doing what, he had never asked, it never interested him. Perhaps, if the day were to come that he did see his mother again he would ask her... But until then he had other things to deal with. Talking to Akai was one of those things.

While she tried to stare him down, Atasüke could only watch with an expectant look in his face. He was waiting for her to answer his previous question of how she had fallen so easily into the water? Was it because she slipped? Was she purely clumsy and tripped on flat surfaces? All he wanted was an answer, and his reaction had been nothing more than an impulsive one, but he still felt the irritation at her not answering his question. In her eyes there was a sad look in them, and for that he looked away from her and sighed just as she had began to speak. Why there would be a sad look in her eyes he had no idea, but even so, he looked away to look at the relatively empty heated water before he swung his gaze back around and on Hyuga Akai.

The question she was asking was referring quite a few minutes ago. Back when they had just entered the facility and were heading past the receptionist, instead of passing her by as Atasüke had wanted, the Lady Akai had instead stopped and had given the secretary time to ask questions, something that most people had figured out not to do so as not to be forced into taking deals or to waste time. It had also been around the time that the young Uchiha had said that he wanted to talk to her. Now that he thought of it, he didn't really remember what he wanted to talk about, so when she asked him he was stumped for a few moments.

"I was simply going to say that you shouldn't rush into things and if you're new to something to allow whoever you're with to take over." He paused as his ebony gaze dropped back into her own white ones. "You're not exactly the best when it comes to ending a social interaction." The same could be said for me. He didn't say that much, but to anyone who knew him, which was thankfully no one, they would find it hypocritical as to how he spoke to her. His words were calm however, he meant no disrespect. Just as a tip so as not to waste time in the future. When he thought back on it, it was perhaps a little rude to make mention of, but on a metaphysical level he shrugged his shoulders. What he had wanted to say had been said, and that was it.

After that, she continued on with another string of words. To what end, he knew not, but he soon got an answer when she asked him as to whether he had ever been hurt in his life time.

This brought pause to the ever cycling mind of Atasüke. What brought this question about he couldn't say, but he knew that he had never been harmed, and with that answer in mind he shook his head. "I've never been harmed in my life," the scar that was on his forehead was completely out of mind. It was something that he rarely remembered, and only seemed to recall when his hair was moved out of place, but he always seemed to put it out of his mind when it wasn't in plain view. It was a self-conscious thing for him. The scar was there for him to be ashamed of himself. He hadn't been able to save his father, nor was he able to awaken his sharingan even after witnessing his father's death, and for the simple fact that it was the only blemish on his otherwise unmarred flesh. It was embarrassing in a way.

At least to him.

"The bandages are simply a style of combat that I'm working on." He shrugged his shoulders as he glanced to the side at her. It was well known that the members of the Hyuga Clan were revered taijutsu users. "Maybe... One day we can spar each other?" If only so that he'd be able to test his own techniques upon hers. Plus, if the time came that he was ready to actually use the technique that he was planning, he'd be able to become a force to be reckoned with in the taijutsu aspect of the shinobi world.

While he answered her questions, his previous irritation had disappeared, seemingly vanished from the world as he spoke. At some points in his speaking, his lips would curve ever so slightly upwards in the shape of a smile and he sighed when he came to the end, thinking of the next thing to ask. When he came up with it, he exhaled a breath of air that he didn't realize he was holding.

"If the day were to come that I returned... To the Land of Fire, would you help me?" To what he spoke of he didn't specify, not just yet. "To restore my clan..."

WC: 1118

Akai was still resting her head on her arms while waiting for an answer. She was yet not used to the heat surrounding her body, thus she needed to support her head with her hands to make sure she would not get dizzy, lose her balance and colapse unexpectedly. Especially not in front of Atasuke and not now, when she was about to hear what he had to say to her. Atasuke had been silent for a brief period of time and she wondered if the reason behind it was that she had crossed the limits with her last question. However, soon Akai‘s concern was put to rest as she heard Atasuke speak in a casual tone. The whole time before it, Akai had this uneasy feeling that the talk would be something serious or even unpleasant one. She imagined that Atasuke would interrogate her why she had left the village, who were the men following her when they were back at the border, or in general what kind of trouble now she was in, especially after realising that he might be dragged into the same trouble himself. Though the thing the man spoke about was rather neutral and casual, or even kind of soft. Even though it might have sounded like a critique at first, it more resembled an honest advice for Akai regarding the previous social situation. The red head did not know now whether it was the effect of the hot water or something else, but a warm feeling overflew her body. She was glad to hear these words from Atasuke interpreting the gesture as an expression of care for her, by teaching her something she was knew to. Akai simply nodded her head to him, having this look of appreciation in her eyes, as if she would be accepting everything he said, as well as admitting his criticising remark about her previous behavior. There was no point in hiding anynting now, even those bad personality traits, which had revealed themselves in front of him already. Afterwards, people see themselves as they really are, and not merely as they might like to be. Thus, If they were to become friends, she needed to get rid of her embarassment and become more honest.

The next thing Akai witnessed while carefully watching Atasuke‘s face, was him shaking his head and it made her wonder if he was having any unpleasant thoughts whcih he wanted to shake off of his head. Though after a second of a brief pause, he spoke again, stating that he was never harmed in his life. Hearing this answer a deep breath of relief escaped Akai‘s mouth. She was glad that at least bigger physical pain was absent from his life. Though she still could not get rid of the feeling that it was not quite true about the harm in general. There were two types of harm in life and  the physical one was only cosidered to be the lesser one. Though the second type of harm was on a higher level, way more dangerous than simply getting some scars or losing an arm. It was a different kind of loss. So now it made Akai wonder if Atasuke had experienced this kind of harm and if it was the main reason why he was not in the Land of Fire at the moment. However, her previous question did not involve that kind of meaning of different kind of harm, thus it was pointless to expect to hear something more detailed than Atasuke had explained.

As the man was continuing to speak, Akai changed her position again. Now she swam in the middle of the hot springs and streched herself horizontally in order to lie on her back wishing to be able to lightly float on the surface of hot water. Her body was already accustomed to the heat and it did not bring any pain to her previously burnt skin on the back anymore, which let the red head move in hot water freely. While doing that Akai listened how Atasuke explained that the purpose of those bandages were simply a technique which he was working on. The girl was impressed as she had never met a person who used bandages for fighting reasons, thus she was curious to see how that might look.  The same second she imagined the fight involving this kind of technigue, Atasuke asked if they could someday have a simple spar with each other, like he was reading her mind or something. Akai, while still floating with her whole body streched on the surface of the water, made a tiny splash with her fingers directed at Atasuke‘s side.

“Sure we can. But in that case, even though I have warm feelings towards you, do not expect me to go easy on you.“ Akai made a friendly chuckle at Atasuke. Thinking about the spar, she remembered seeing Atasuke training back then, though it was too brief to evaluate the rank and level of skills. Considering his behavior in all the situations Akai had seen, he seemed really mature and that made her assume, that he might be stronger than her physically as well. Though, it was always the thing with Akai. The clumsiness most of the times was meant to make the red head appear as rather a fragile being in order to mislead others about the real things she was capable of.  She tended to hide everyhting that might give her away as being a skilled shinobi, thus she did not carry any of shinoby tools, continued to dress in kimonos and wear silky flat footwear, which logically seemed as impossible to make shinobi moves with. Considering those details, to most people Akai met in her way, she always appeared as a simple peasant, or a member of some kind of roalty in the village, who was nowhere close to being a shinobi, risking her life for various unnecessary reasons.

Now when Akai was starting to feel completely relaxed, she noticed a slight smile on Atasuke‘s face. Perhaps he as well was feeling the effect of the hot water or maybe that was a reaction to a tiny chuckle she gave before. However, soon he spoke of a question again, which knocked the red head out of balance and she sank into the water immediately. That question was something Akai did not expect to hear as it held more meanings for her than Atasuke himself probably wanted to imply. He was asking if she would give him a helping hand if he would one day return to the Land of Fire for what seemed to Akai, an unheard purpose like restoring the clan. Well, at first it looked as a normal thing a friend would ask, but thinking deeper, it meant that Akai would have to return to the Land of Fire as well. Now she was wondering if she ever would be able to do that after what she did. A chain of new questions forced itself into her head. Would she be even able to return to her homeland after what she did? How could she go back home after betraying her own village and family? What kind of life would await her there? Or more important question was, would she even want to ever return there one day? With the experiences and feelings she had towards her family and her whole clan, the answer would be a strong „no“ to that. However, Akai did not want to show the doubts this one question caused, thus, she shifter her attention at Atasuke, who due to her changed body position again was not right in front of her.

“I would do anything for a friend.“ She smiled and answered in an understanding voice, expressing that she would agree to help Atasuke basically with everyhting he would need in his life. Then she continued.“However, there cannot be any friendship without being open. Why did you leave the Land of Fire in the first place? Did something awful happen?“ Akai finally voiced the question which was pressing her mind for a while now. She was eager to know the reason behind Atasuke‘s departure, maybe because she wanted to see if he was just the same as her. Akai felt that this might actually bring them closer together as most of the time a stronger friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: "What! You too? I thought that no one else, but myself…”. In case Atasuke really had a similar reason and experience like Akai, their bond would become stronger. And to have a strong bond was what the red head truly wished for.

Thinking about the purpose Atasuke mentioned following his inquiry if Akai would help him back in the Land of Fire, she assumed that he as well was not that fond of his clan or at least saw several bad flaws in it. Though, she was not sure what he meant by saying that he wanted to restore it. Was his clan too scattered or on the extremity of being extinct? Compared to Akai, she also wished to do something better with her clan, to remove the circle of elite, change the rules or anything what might help to inscribe a new  better meaning and purpose to it. However, she knew that it was not even close to being possible as the effort of one person alone was equal to zero.

Akai now sank into the water even deeper as if she would be trying to drown her own thoughts. She went until her shoulders were completely under water and then lips parted to speak again. ”Why would you want to restore your clan? Is the situation that bad, that it needs restoration or are you feeling some uneasiness towards the way it is now?” Akai’s eyes were all into Atasuke’s ebony ones, in which Akai saw a reflection of her own face. It made her feel as if she would be looking at herself. Now she simply waited for an answer, which would finally make her understand the man on a deeper level and see if they indeed had the common wounds to share. Perhaps, only perhaps, both of them having the same wound would mean that it might be easier to cure. In the end, that was what friends are, one soul dwellig in two different bodies. Whatever the dark experience Atasuke might have to share with her, she would rather walk in the dark with a friend, then in alone in the light.

_________________________________
WC 1773 + 2559 = 4332

Atasüke for the most part was careful with his words in most instances. He had never been one to over step the boundaries when it came to insulting someone or when it came to combat, not unless he thought he was within the right, and even then he wouldn't use actual insults. Throughout his entire life he had always been a sort of calm child, solitary in his days in the Academy, only truly showing a personality when it came to utilizing ninja tools and the physical parts of training. The physical testing fell into ninjutsu, taijutsu, and the use of a variety of items he was extremely familiar with.

Kunai, senbon, shuriken, wire, smoke bombs, all of it. They were all items that he was proficient in while he had been in the Academy and on the road with his father, he practiced them more than anything else, and he was proud of his growth with them. However, a love for weapons came before his true love for taijutsu. A love that he realized was necessary only recently, he knew he'd have to develop his own ninjutsu techniques or learn from someone else, a task that was most definitely strenuous. He had already thought of asking Akai for help, but he had already asked of a similar thing from Uzumaki Manami a while ago, and he definitely didn't want to impose on this girl as well.

When it came to taijutsu and ninjutsu, Atasüke felt as if Taijutsu specialists and techniques had more creativity. They were able to create techniques that had never been seen before, hard combos that could be near impossible to follow. For the most part Ninjutsu was quite straightforward with direct and flashy strikes, at least with the elements that he had found himself born with.

He was brought out of his thoughts as he spoke however, simply due to when the words had been flowing past his lips, the girl, Akai, had slipped away from his side on her back. She had changed her position and was floating on her back in the water, something that he hadn't expected her to do, mostly because she had never been in the hot springs before, and he was certain that she had relatively few encounters at a pool. He didn't know much about the Hyuga, and he wouldn't, but judging simply from the name they sounded uptight. Basing the entirety of her Clan based on how she acts, he figured she was acting out against the norm, a personality trait that wasn't seen frequently. However, he had kept talking, even if he had thought it was rude.

In response to him talking about them having a specifically taijutsu fight, he had at first thought she was going to decline his request, but then she had flicked water at him which brought a raise of an eyebrow to his face, and then she made mention of her apparent warm feelings towards him. Did he have the same thing for her? He supposed since he was there with her, and a smile crossed his face once she had said she wouldn't go easy on him. In response to that bold statement he shrugged his shoulders and said, "It shouldn't be any other way." After all, you didn't want to test yourself against someone who wasn't even using their full potential against you, even if it was dangerous. The taijutsu techniques of the Hyuga were dangerous, but he was confident enough that even if he was in a life or death situation with a member of that doujutsu clan he'd be able to survive.

Life doesn't go easy on you, so why should a sparring partner?

It appeared that Akai was restless, and due to her constant movement in the water, he simply focused on random points in the room, that ebony gaze of his pinpointing doorknobs, towels, or sandals all throughout the room while he spoke. He looked for the most subtle of details if only to develop his own visual sense with the intent of seeing the truth behind the things that he looked at. It wasn't everyday that you saw someone swimming around in the hot springs, and he knew why people didn't do it. The water was shallow, there was no point in being in it other than to soak and not to splash around as she made her attempts at swimming. It was... Annoying to say the least, just like how she had fallen into the water and when he had asked her about it she ignored his question. She didn't even bother to decline answering verbally... Just ignored with silence.

But he put the thought of his mind once he had been done speaking... Specifically after he had asked his final question about the Uchiha Clan Restoration. For a moment he had thought she was going to decline, and he wouldn't have blamed her for such a thing. It was a great feat to do, and not to mention something that was quite far down the path for the Uchiha. First, he needed to find those that would support his notion of bringing the Uchiha back to the Hidden Leaf Village, and then he would have to find actual Uchiha from all around the Shinobi world. He knew he'd have to visit every ninja village to find every single trace of the Uchiha Bloodline. Iwagakure no Sato, Sunagakure no Sato, Kirigakure no Sato, and to even investigate deeper into Kumogakure no Sato, because he was certain there was a strain of Uchiha blood based off of his interaction with that one girl in the hotel atop Mount Ikkyu.

Turning his head, he allowed his gaze to settle upon the girl that was with him, that dark gaze of his staring into her own eyes. Soon after, she had said she would do anything for a friend, but with the same breath had made mention that there couldn't be a friendship without them being open with each other. She asked him about the Land of Fire and why he had left. To that, his previous bright features collapsed into an impassive and neutral look. His tone was no longer as warm as it had been, but instead it was calm and quiet, but there was a tinge of coldness to it. "Your words seem fairly hypocritical. Especially since you have yet to tell me why you would flee from the Hidden Leaf Village along with your Clan." A simple trail of thought from the words that she had first spoken to him in the Wilderness of Kaminari no Kuni. "A true friend would allow the past to remain the past and to not delve into it," he said softly, although that cold tone of his was gone at that point. Instead, the faintest glimmers of a smirk, came onto his face as he leaned backwards, and raised his arms above his head as he shrugged his shoulders. "But since you want to know why, I'll tell you."

"My father was killed less than five years ago. I have recently found out the ones who did it were former friends, squad mates of his who had gone Missing Nin." Despite the smirk on his face his teeth grinded upon each other as he exhaled what felt like hot air infused with the katon chakra infused in his body. It feels so hot... He thought to himself as he continued speaking. "Do you know what it's like to be spared while someone else dies, simply because you do not possess something they want?" Anger for the briefest of moments passed through that ebony gaze of his as his eyebrows curved downwards, and hands that were behind his head turned into fists.

He recalled how she had made mention also of why he would want to restore his clan. His closed eyes finally opened up again, and his head came forwards as he locked his gaze with hers, a determined and steely look in his eyes.

"It is dangerous to be alone in this hell of an Earth. Anyone will kill you, especially if you have something they want... The Uchiha are few compared to the entirety of the world... It's just... Safety in numbers."

WC: 1408

Akai was too curious to find out the answer which Atasuke would soon provide, but not wishing to get him distracted, she was soaking in water patiently, making as less unnecessary movements as she could. Her ghostly looking eyes were all the time into Atasuke’s ebony ones, as if they would be waiting for any emotions to appear, which she could absorb into herself if needed, just to give the feeling of support, which she was presumably feeling for no particular reason yet. The first thing Atasuke said, even though it was voiced in a calm and rather cold manner, caused a massive wrinkle of dissatisfaction to appear on the read head’s forehead. Akai was not sure if she got mad because he actually called her kind of a hypocrite or if it was because he was totally right with this little remark of his. At first the red head thought that he was simply being arrogant all of the sudden and she wanted to voice a comment regarding that hypocrite thing, something like a denial or an explanation at least. However, she kept her promise to herself to be patient and kept respectfully listening to Atasuke’s speech. After hearing that part of speech till the end, Akai’s expression softened as she somehow felt ashamed of her own behaviour. Coming to think about it carefully, the woman would press this newly met person to reveal her so many personal and rather intimate things about his life, though she was doing it without having to provide none of that kind of information about her own self, that vital information, where he could build the foundation of trust on.  It was no surprise that he got pissed off by it so suddenly.

Even though the speech started quite calm and cold, soon Akai felt somehow intensified and too hot for her linking. Most probably it was because the things Atasuke continued to speak of. The more he went with his story, the more Akai felt that she pressed the wrong button by asking that kind of personal thing before. She saw Atasuke emitting some heavy breaths and getting more and more intensified by each word which would come out of his mouth. As it gradually appeared, he was enduring the pain of losing his father, followed by the betrayal of his father’s former friends. However, according to the way how he spoke about it, it seemed that he was much angrier at himself due to being not able to do anything while an unfortunate event took its place.  All words and hurtful emotions, which were carefully controlled and hidden by Atasuke in these ebony eyes of his, somehow transferred and went deep into Akai’s soul. Even though she did not actually lose her own family, she still had the same feeling of loss, thus could closely relate to him and was capable of imagining the pain and despair he might be feeling towards the story he had just told. Akai felt an unexplainable urge to say something, to do something, to comfort him so that even for a brief moment this anger and potential hatred would leave his bright face away. However, she found herself paralyzed by her own demons of being afraid to reveal her compassionate side.

As the story was already out to the daylight, Akai could not take her eyes from Atasuke waiting for the emotion to reach its peak and burst in some crazy form. However, the thing she saw next was his eyes closing slowly and then opening with a very new perspective in them. For Akai, as for an observer, it seemed that by closing his eyes he shut away the image of the unfortunate story into the past again and came back with the new strength. The energy that was present in his ebony eyes now was way different than before. Now his eyes shone with the strongest feeling of determination, which made Akai admire this person in front of her even more than she did before. Even though he had experienced such loss in his life, he was still capable of gathering this much energy to look forward, to plan something great. That was something Akai deep inside herself knew she was still lacking of.  

The gaze was so strong, that it was hard for Akai to take; however, it had such a captivating power, that she could not turn her eyes away even if she wanted to. It seemed that in this moment, she would agree with any plan that Atasuke would offer, would it be revenge or anything else, she would not find the strength to say no to it. In response, she slowly brought her hot arms out of the water and pressed her palms against her burning cheeks. The red head closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“You know, you‘re indeed an extraodrinary person, Atasuke. Being able to have this energy and determination after all that has happened to you, it‘s the thing I admire so much. Even so that it makes me want to become better. If you‘ll just continue with the attitude you showed right now, anything would be at your reach.“ The words were actually coming from the bottom of Akai‘s soul, as she felt the honest connection at the moment. Her ghostly eyes opened again and pierced into his ebony ones as if the eye contact would be the sign of making a secret packt between them both. She still had not forgotten the main question that Atasuke asked. “As long as it is not for the purpose of hatred or revenge, but as long as it is for the purpose of greater good and getting rid of the nastiness of this world, you can always find me there, watching your back.“

After voicing her honest speech, the red head still felt that she owns some explanation as she had not yet explained why she ran away from her village and acted so strange back then, when they were near the Kaminari no Kuni border. Akai slowly made her way closer to Atasuke and keeping a little distance beetween their actual bodies, pressed her forehead against his hot shoulder, as if he would be there to support her from cracking. “I know, I know...but please, I need this, just this once.“ She whispered, knowing so well that Atasuke was not fond of any touching happening. However, now she needed to hide her gaze and emotions from his potencially judging look, she did not want him to see how bad she handles her problems, even though he already must know that by the way the red head just approached him. “I lost my father to the power and wealth. Lost my mother to a man, who she worships more than she loves her own children. Lost my brother to hatred and jealousy.“

Akai gasped for air to swallow the bitter feeling which could not be ignored any longer. She made a brief pause in order to prepare herself to continue. Her face was still selfishly hidden. “ And I lost my friend... She stopped there due to the habit of bitting her lower lip in an uneasy manner. "Actually, I don‘t even get the access to the information if he is alive or not, or in that case, where does his dead body lie...and on top of that, I was expected to fulfill a duty of becoming a man‘s accesory, a man‘s, who‘s twice as old as me and who I have no feeling for. Actually, that is the only reason I'm being hunted right now. Do you know how it feels to know, that you're searched for not because people might miss you, but because there is  a duty you need to fulfill? “

Finally Akai finished speaking with a slighly trembling voice. However, now as the story was told, the red head was finally ready to face Atasuke again and see if he was compassionate or rather disgusted by the reasons she had pointed out. It was only for a brief moment that her ghostly eyes would linger on those ebony ones, soon they turned to gaze at the horizon. “Even though those are not the direct losses like death, the biggest loss was the feeling of belonging. I did not feel I belonged there anymore. The whole nastiness of my clan and its system could only be seen and experienced from the very inside of it, though I did not feel I was a part of that inside circle from the very beginging.“ Akai made a rather long pause after that, while contemplating herself on the things she had revealed. It was a very personal and intimate thing after all and she felt kind of naked at the moment, thus she still couldn‘t bring her gaze back to Atasuke. “But...should I have stayed? Was I wrong to go away?“ A silent doubt excaped her trembling lips. “ As you said, it‘s dangerous to be in this hell of the Earth alone, that the safety‘s in numbers, but...what‘s there left to do for someone, who is all alone in its own mess?“ The red head finished her speech with a question or more with an undirect plea of understanding or some kind of advice.

_____________________________
WC 1572

For the first few moments, Atasüke didn't really know what else to say to his Hyuga companion. Even so, he continued to look into her pale white eyes. He wondered why she was looking at him so intently. Was she truly so interested in what he had to say? The ebony haired boy was almost certain that he wasn't that interesting, but he figured his next words would be the judge of that. He suddenly thought of them combating against each other, primarily in taijutsu, but that was a thought that he had already imagined and he soon came back to his thoughts as spoke.

There was indeed coldness in his voice. He didn't know why, and in the future if he were to be asked as to why that was so, he didn't think he'd be able to answer truly, let alone wholly. At times Akai seemed much more mature than her age would suggest, and then other times, with how she had been looking at him she seemed almost childish. It was something that intrigued, it was something that gave him pause, but he continued nevertheless with the words that he was speaking.

Atasüke blinked.

He wondered what it'd be like if he had had a sibling. Did Akai have siblings? It hadn't been a discussion topic. He blinked again almost as if he wasn't paying attention to the world that was around him. Was she speaking? He focused in, and he nodded to himself inwardly. No, she hadn't done so yet. Would I be the younger or older sibling? He cleared his throat and then looked back to Akai. Looking her in the eyes, from them he could derive that there was recognition there. Does she see something in me? He blinked, that same steely determined look in his ebony eyes. Inside, he did feel determined. His words were the only truth that he could follow, the only goal in his mind that he felt he could ever potentially follow. It wasn't hope, no, to him hope didn't exist...

It was only something that the weak had. Underneath the water his left hand clenched, he would never be weak. Even if he had to be strong for the entirety of the Uchiha Clan. Wasn't that a sentiment that he already believed in? He thought so, but that resolve had only been strengthened after his discussion with the woman in the baths with him.

She closed her eyes.

The ebony eyed boy with hair to match blinked. Now she was speaking. He blinked again in surprise. When he heard and understood her words he had been surprised. He expected her first words to be against his own. His initial thoughts were that she would leave when she felt the coldness of his tone, but he had been wrong. Had he underestimated her friendship? It was rare when Atasüke would question his own thoughts and actions, but here he was, doing it repeatedly, one after the other. Her words happened to be kind, understanding, supportive. She would stand behind him? Without even noticing it, his full lips broke out into a smile, a genuine one that slowly reached his eyes. "I'm glad that you'll be with me," he said softly.

After those words had passed his lips, when he looked into her face he felt as if Hyuga Akai was preparing herself for something. He tilted his head to the side. He believed she was finally going to tell him what he wanted to know. His back rested against the wall of the bathing house and he made sure to listen intently. He could only expect the reasoning to be grim. For a brief moment surprise crossed his features. She was moving closer to him? What was happening? Her forehead was placed on his shoulder, almost as if she didn't want to look him in the eyes, as if speaking and not looking directly at him would be a better way to deliver the information. It made sense to him. Eye contact made many interactions more... Personal. He guessed that it mattered what sort of situation it was, whether it was romantic it'd be more intimate and loving, and how he had been staring into her eyes before, it could also better translate your feelings and emotions. He blinked again. Would I awaken my sharingan if I felt more? He couldn't help but notice that she was keeping the rest of her body away from his own, as if she were taking note of his lack of positive responses to their previous physical interactions. He blinked and suppressed a smile as she began to speak.

Her words had only reinforced his previous thoughts.

Simultaneously when she started to speak, Atasüke's hand slowly raised out of the water. If Akai didn't pull away, he'd set his hand over her back and bring her closer to him. It wasn't an action that he would normally do, but it didn't matter this time around. He allowed her body to come closer until they were actually connected. All throughout, he didn't say anything unless it was required of him. There were many pauses. He supposed that that should have been expected. If he had been in her situation, maybe he'd be the same way. If I was sensitive, he couldn't help thinking as he held her.

When she started to lift her head the Uchiha didn't hinder her movement and instead held whatever eye contact she sought to make. What she would find in those eyes wasn't disgust, but understanding, respect, and compassion all rolled into one face. If she had looked long enough, she would see the smile that had broken out across his face, and it was quite clearly a genuine one as it evidently reached those previously dead ebony eyes of his. Now, as they looked at her in a supportive manner, they seemed much more lively. The things he had said before hand left as if they had never happened.

Instead of answering her questions immediately, if she persisted in not looking to him the Uchiha would do his best to grasp her attention by lifting her chin and pointing it in his direction. Internally, he felt as if he were being raised to another level, and he only felt that it was right he sat a bit straighter as he prepared himself to help her with his next words. Was this a leader was supposed to feel?

"It is impossible to compare losses," he said gently. "So, do not do it. Ever. We are all people that feel things on a different level. My loss of a father compared to your own seems to be nothing in my eyes." He briefly paused as if he were recollecting his thoughts. "I can't answer as to whether if you were right or wrong in your leaving your clan," the words were said softly again, as if he didn't want to shatter her whole reality. "All I can say is that, if what you said is true, then you left others behind who do not quite understand what is going on instead of helping them." He closed his eyes, a faint smile breached his face as he reopened them, seemingly reinvigorated.

"It appears that we'll have people to help when we return to the Land of Fire," he said with a smile. Was he even prepared to be a leader? He couldn't say, he supposed it didn't matter what he thought, as long as those who followed him believed it were so.

WC: 1307

Through the whole time of explaining her situation, Akai’s face was resting onto Atasuke’s shoulder up until the moment she finished her speech and turned her gaze away. Due to that, the Hyuuga was kind of nervous as she couldn’t see the reaction of his or any emotions that would reflect in his eyes and give away what he might be thinking about the whole situation. While gazing at the blue horizon and rethinking the words she had said just now, Akai started to imagine various scenarios in her head about what might happen next and what might Atasuke reply to her. Most of them were revolving around him standing up, saying some constructive criticism and leaving immediately or something similar at some point.  Some kind of sudden fear struck her and her body shivered in almost invisible manner. Even though it was hot water everywhere, the body felt a brief moment of coldness surrounding it. Maybe it was nothing external actually, but rather just a reaction caused by the inside feeling towards the words Akai spoke herself.  

At the moment Akai was scared to turn around in order to finally meet Atasuke’s eyes and see her own image in them drowned in the emotion of disrespect or even disgust.  This sense of something bad coming or probably just a simple loss of trust in human beings in general even caused her to regret her before actions a little.”Silly me caught by emotions, should have kept silent for our own good. Now after knowing the true me, there is no way we’d make any kind of relationship at all.”She truly believed that any moral person would despise her behavior considering it as the betrayal of her own village, clan and family, even though the reasons behind all that were quite heavy. And she indeed considered Atasuke to be such a moral one by so far.

Though having a quick flashback to some moment ago, there was something that would calm Akai down at this moment and reduce the self-criticism. Through the whole time of speaking, remembering how he was not fond of physical interactions before, instead of pushing her away immediately, Atasuke did not do such a thing. He actually made a move and brought her closer, which, to think about it closely, was a great surprise to the Hyuuga lady. Remembering this somehow warmed Akai’s heart. It gave her an inner feeling of slight hope that this could be the sign of understanding, acceptance and support, or at least at some point it was. Or maybe it was a sign that nevertheless those complex pasts they both had, there indeed appeared some kind of relationship to be developing, creating a solid base for great future growth. Akai suddenly felt more confident both about herself and the new bond she was trying to create so far. The red head had convinced herself to finally turn around and face the person again. No matter the reaction, she must be prepared to handle it anyway, there was no place to hide and no turning back now.

However, just the moment Akai thought of doing this, she felt an unexpected feathering touch onto her chin, which the intensified a little and gently guided her face to turn to certain direction. After letting the touch guide her, the Hyuuga was even more taken by surprise, when her gaze met a pair of ebony eyes, she suddenly realized that it was nothing else, but Atasuke himself initiating the move.  He seemed straight, strong and determined, with such confident energy shining through his eyes, so that it even made Akai blush and feel a little bit ashamed of her own doubts from before.  ”I guess he just naturally has it in him.” That energy was indeed captivating, there was no chance Akai could push his hand away or escape his piercing eyes. Getting lost in this gaze, she was somehow calmed down immediately and motivated to stand stronger at the same time. Finally, Akai felt more alive in an actual moment and more mature inside than she did ever before through this day.  Maybe this actually was that special thing which friends, comrades or whatever one would call someone dear, shared. It was these relationships in which they saw and feel themselves grow not just by simply being there, but by simultaneously helping each other to do so.

Akai stood there captivated and it was nothing left to do, but to listen to of what Atasuke was going to say. All his words were actually true. There could not be any possible comparison between losses; it was really stupid for her to say that earlier. And even to her know seemed that her own loss was not that big as it felt, having the company to share it with. Though, there appeared a slight moment of confusion in Akai’s ghostly eyes, when the rest of the speech was voiced out. Especially about the part where she was considered to had left her people without having to help them first. Akai always tortured herself with the thoughts of what she could have done to change the situation instead of running away from it. Though, thinking of it carefully, it seemed that nothing could have been done. At least not so alone as she was. Her father was so obsessed with power; he did not listen or react to anything anyone would say, even if that anyone would be his wife or children. Actually, he was ready to sacrifice them for the position in Hyuuga’s court. He was just the way the clan environment most of the time made the person to be. The same went for Akai’s brother, there was no way he could have turned out to be other than he did due to lack of the parental love. As much as Akai loved her brother, that love just drove him away instead. Thus, in this light of situation, the only thing Akai could come up with was, what if the only way to help was to tear the whole clan system down . And the most important question was if there would be anyone willing to watch Akai’s back in the process.
With that question in mind, the emotion it caused transcended onto her gaze. Akai was onto Atasuke’s eyes all the time while he was speaking, showing the interest and agreement to what he had said, but now her gaze was full of confusion. Not for long though. As if he would have seen right through her, the last part of the speech put Akai’s question at ease. ”There’ll be people to help when we’ll return to Konoha ga kure no sato? There really will be?”Akai repeatedly asked the same question to herself. This could only mean that Atasuke was ready to watch her back, just like she was ready to watch his. They both had great plans to pursue, but no one would want to start alone. That was why they found each other and felt this immediate connection.  Now Akai was completely calm as she knew that even if they would go their own ways for now, was only to become stronger, and after they would definitely meet soon to live up to the promises they indirectly made for each other.

In response to that, Akai nodded and gave a big smile to Atasuke. ”Let’s make all of that happen. Together….” But as soon as she started speaking, she suddenly jumped and turned around as if she would be scared by someone standing from behind, a kind of ghost it seemed. Though, not even one living soul, except for her and Atasuke, could be seen around them. Akai started scanning the place suspiciously and when she turned back to face Atasuke again, her gaze and eyes in general were way different than they were before. The veins around them were intensified and the gaze itself emitted the slight feeling of concern. Akai felt some familiar chakra lingering somewhere around, something that due to the engagement into this honest conversation she almost had forgotten about.  However, after having her eyes to help a bit, she felt relieved seeing that the threat is not somewhere near. Or at least not yet.

Feeling intensified all of a sudden, Akai grabbed Atasuke’s shoulders and put a slight pressure on them. She pierced into him with her Byakugan eyes for the first time. Even though she was not fond of using her clan techniques in front of others, mainly for the purpose of hiding herself away, now was not the time to think about her own wellbeing only. ”Listen…we cannot stay here any longer, I feel them near…we cannot stay together any longer as well, at least not for now…. or else they would seek you and it’ll be the end.” Akai voiced her concern out loud while it was still not too late to protect him from unnecessary battles, those which are not his to fight in the first place. The Hyuuga relaxed her eyes and touch on Atasuke’s shoulders soon enough and continued with a much softer voice and much softer expression on her face, which now emitted the feeling of care.  ”Take care of yourself well, Atasuke, and get stronger until we meet again. Maybe already in Konoha next time. “ Akai took a deep breath and made a brief pause, giving some time for Atasuke to understand why she is saying her goodbyes all of a sudden. She simply hoped that he would understand and accept that she wouldn’t like to get him involved in the whole being hunted deal. It was her own mess and no one else should suffer the consequences of having to spend time and talk with her. The most important things already had been told, the base of trust had been developed, it was all that mattered for Akai now. She hoped that it simultaneously did for Atasuke as well.

The Hyuuga leaned towards him again and voiced one more thing. ”Let’s never forget our promises.” And then she would gently hug him pressing herself tightly fearing of no rejection anymore. It was only for a brief moment, as simple as it could be, though it gave much warmth to Akai. She was encouraged to move forward and pursue her plans, because she felt now that she was not responsible only for her own self. There were people entangled in her story as she mutually was entangled in theirs. This is what would get her going, getting stronger and stronger every day.  

After a moment, which passed as fast as a blink of an eye, Akai gently pushed herself away from Atasuke giving him the final, but not the last smile. She would not wait for his response and goodbyes, because there simply was no time to spare for waiting anymore. The Hyuuga jumped out of the water and made her way toward the door guiding to the dressing area. Stopping there for a tiny second, the Hyuuga lady voiced her final words.

”Hey, Atasuke…This is definitely not a goodbye yet.” Saying it in rather cheerful voice, Akai pushed the doors and disappeared behind them, leaving Atasuke safe and sound.

Jutsu used:

Spoiler:

WC 1897

TOTAL WC 12326/ 12 EP Chuunin exam event

Using for Ninjutsu B-A 3000, A-S 4000, so 12326 minus 7000 is 5326 left.

5326 used for Fuuton B-A 3000, so 5326 minus 3000 is 2326 left

2326 UNUSED WC