1 Back In The Academy [Bokuden/Private/Flashback] Wed Apr 02, 2014 6:53 pm
Misoka
D-rank
Friday. Saturday. Sunday.
Absent-mindedly, Misoka continued brushing her long golden hair, counting the remaining days she was going to spend in the lightning country. From the following week on, her so-called vacation was over. The moment she had been both awaiting and fearing for so long drew closer and closer. She couldn’t hide forever. She didn’t want to.
Putting the brush aside, she rose from her bed and left the room.
Downstairs, she found her father was sitting at the kitchen table and reading the newspaper.
Misoka raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you be at work like Nami? It’s already 11 am.” How come she hadn’t seen him lurking around when she’d come back from training half an hour ago? She was neither blind nor deaf after all.
Her father gave her an answer to that unspoken question as well. Looking up lazily, he explained, “I’m on night duty today. And I went to get the newspaper while you were out.” A long sigh. “I hate this job. Should really start looking for a better one. I just don’t want to live off Nami’s money. As a florist, she’s not exactly the carrier woman.”
“Mhm.” Thoughtfully, Misoka took a seat opposite him. A moment of silence stretched between them before an idea came to her mind. “Wait, didn’t Nami mention this morning that she’ll be alone in the shop? I mean, her employee Sara got sick, didn’t she?”
The initial confusion on her father’s face turned into a frown as he shook his head. “No, you are not-”
She cut him off, “Yes, I am going to help her out today. I owe her that much.” In one single movement, she got up. “Where’s the flower shop again?”
“Don’t,” her father groaned, still shaking his head. “You shouldn’t show yourself in public like that. What if they find you?”
Misoka was only half-listening. “If they do, I’ll at least find out whether my training pays off.” She glanced down at her clothes and cringed inside – black leggings, a plain grey shirt, just definitely not flowery enough for what she intended to do. Light colours and a skirt were a must. “Nah, I’ll be careful, Dad. Gotta change first, then I’m out.”
~~
There was one problem she hadn’t considered. One problem which made her almost stop and turn around again – only if she were a coward of course.
As a matter of fact, the flower shop was located next to the shinobi academy, where Bokuden met up with his date today. Wonderful. Misoka grimaced. She didn’t really want to run into them by any chance. In the end, they might call her a stalker of sorts. Plus, who was she to ruin Bokuden’s date and make him unhappy? If that Shiori woman found out that Bokuden was still friends with his ex-girlfriend, he would have a hell of a lot to explain and justify. Oh, the drama… no, thanks.
A mess of childlike voices right in front of her snapped Misoka out of her thoughts. She halted abruptly, noticing that she’d come awfully close to the academy playground.
“Alright, what are you doing,” she whined in silence. “Don’t stop. Just walk past the academy and straight to the flower shop. Don’t even look.”
Easier thought than done. Carefully, she took a step forward, casting a glance at the large playground on her left side. There was everything a child could dream of: slides, swings, monkey bars and even various dummies you would usually find on the training grounds. They were located a bit farther away from the rest of course and probably meant for the more experienced academy students who wanted to practise their fighting skills.
Misoka’s eyes scanned the area briefly. Dozens of children were playing here, but she couldn’t spot Bokuden anywhere. Maybe he hadn’t come after all or the bit about him starting to like kids had just been a lie. Either way, this was her chance to get to the flower shop unnoticed.
Before she continued her walk, however, one of the female academy teachers grabbed her attention. In contrast to the other old hag sitting on a bench, there was also a young brunette talking to a little boy at the moment. Could that be Bokuden’s date? Misoka examined the woman more closely. Relatively tall, slender figure, hair tied up in a bun. Yes, she looked quite pretty… from afar.
Of course Misoka knew that she shouldn’t do that. Of course she knew that all she had to do right now was go and help Nami. But… the little boy seemed to cry! Perhaps Bokuden had only put on his rose-coloured glasses and Shiori wasn’t such a nice teacher after all.
Using that as an excuse, Misoka let her curiousity take the better of her and crept closer, past groups of laughing and playing children, always walking in the shades of the huge trees around the area.
When she was within earshot, she stopped to listen.
“I wanted to play with the rocking horse! I got there first, but Masaru just pushed me away! Really hard, my arm hurts a lot!”
“He did? Now that’s not nice. But don’t cry Daichi, uncle Bokuden will talk to him.”
Wait, what? At that moment, a very familiar person left the academy building and joined Shiori and Daichi.
“Crap,” Misoka hissed under her breath, immediately hiding behind a tree. So Bokuden was there! He’d probably been to the… toilet or something. Heart pounding wildly against her chest, she stayed where she was in fear of getting caught. “Okay, calm down,” she thought, “He’s not a sage, he can’t sense your chakra. You’re fine. You only have to make sure they don’t see you. If they come too close, you go find another hiding spot until it’s safe to leave altogether.”
Thank God all the children were so busy playing that neither cared to pay any attention to her.
Absent-mindedly, Misoka continued brushing her long golden hair, counting the remaining days she was going to spend in the lightning country. From the following week on, her so-called vacation was over. The moment she had been both awaiting and fearing for so long drew closer and closer. She couldn’t hide forever. She didn’t want to.
Putting the brush aside, she rose from her bed and left the room.
Downstairs, she found her father was sitting at the kitchen table and reading the newspaper.
Misoka raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you be at work like Nami? It’s already 11 am.” How come she hadn’t seen him lurking around when she’d come back from training half an hour ago? She was neither blind nor deaf after all.
Her father gave her an answer to that unspoken question as well. Looking up lazily, he explained, “I’m on night duty today. And I went to get the newspaper while you were out.” A long sigh. “I hate this job. Should really start looking for a better one. I just don’t want to live off Nami’s money. As a florist, she’s not exactly the carrier woman.”
“Mhm.” Thoughtfully, Misoka took a seat opposite him. A moment of silence stretched between them before an idea came to her mind. “Wait, didn’t Nami mention this morning that she’ll be alone in the shop? I mean, her employee Sara got sick, didn’t she?”
The initial confusion on her father’s face turned into a frown as he shook his head. “No, you are not-”
She cut him off, “Yes, I am going to help her out today. I owe her that much.” In one single movement, she got up. “Where’s the flower shop again?”
“Don’t,” her father groaned, still shaking his head. “You shouldn’t show yourself in public like that. What if they find you?”
Misoka was only half-listening. “If they do, I’ll at least find out whether my training pays off.” She glanced down at her clothes and cringed inside – black leggings, a plain grey shirt, just definitely not flowery enough for what she intended to do. Light colours and a skirt were a must. “Nah, I’ll be careful, Dad. Gotta change first, then I’m out.”
~~
There was one problem she hadn’t considered. One problem which made her almost stop and turn around again – only if she were a coward of course.
As a matter of fact, the flower shop was located next to the shinobi academy, where Bokuden met up with his date today. Wonderful. Misoka grimaced. She didn’t really want to run into them by any chance. In the end, they might call her a stalker of sorts. Plus, who was she to ruin Bokuden’s date and make him unhappy? If that Shiori woman found out that Bokuden was still friends with his ex-girlfriend, he would have a hell of a lot to explain and justify. Oh, the drama… no, thanks.
A mess of childlike voices right in front of her snapped Misoka out of her thoughts. She halted abruptly, noticing that she’d come awfully close to the academy playground.
“Alright, what are you doing,” she whined in silence. “Don’t stop. Just walk past the academy and straight to the flower shop. Don’t even look.”
Easier thought than done. Carefully, she took a step forward, casting a glance at the large playground on her left side. There was everything a child could dream of: slides, swings, monkey bars and even various dummies you would usually find on the training grounds. They were located a bit farther away from the rest of course and probably meant for the more experienced academy students who wanted to practise their fighting skills.
Misoka’s eyes scanned the area briefly. Dozens of children were playing here, but she couldn’t spot Bokuden anywhere. Maybe he hadn’t come after all or the bit about him starting to like kids had just been a lie. Either way, this was her chance to get to the flower shop unnoticed.
Before she continued her walk, however, one of the female academy teachers grabbed her attention. In contrast to the other old hag sitting on a bench, there was also a young brunette talking to a little boy at the moment. Could that be Bokuden’s date? Misoka examined the woman more closely. Relatively tall, slender figure, hair tied up in a bun. Yes, she looked quite pretty… from afar.
Of course Misoka knew that she shouldn’t do that. Of course she knew that all she had to do right now was go and help Nami. But… the little boy seemed to cry! Perhaps Bokuden had only put on his rose-coloured glasses and Shiori wasn’t such a nice teacher after all.
Using that as an excuse, Misoka let her curiousity take the better of her and crept closer, past groups of laughing and playing children, always walking in the shades of the huge trees around the area.
When she was within earshot, she stopped to listen.
“I wanted to play with the rocking horse! I got there first, but Masaru just pushed me away! Really hard, my arm hurts a lot!”
“He did? Now that’s not nice. But don’t cry Daichi, uncle Bokuden will talk to him.”
Wait, what? At that moment, a very familiar person left the academy building and joined Shiori and Daichi.
“Crap,” Misoka hissed under her breath, immediately hiding behind a tree. So Bokuden was there! He’d probably been to the… toilet or something. Heart pounding wildly against her chest, she stayed where she was in fear of getting caught. “Okay, calm down,” she thought, “He’s not a sage, he can’t sense your chakra. You’re fine. You only have to make sure they don’t see you. If they come too close, you go find another hiding spot until it’s safe to leave altogether.”
Thank God all the children were so busy playing that neither cared to pay any attention to her.