strangevisitor
ANBU Squad Leader
Only a man looking for a dream
Posts: 1,754
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Post by strangevisitor on May 6, 2010 1:39:36 GMT -5
"I had been out for a while. It feels good to sit up after all that time... Besides." Utsuro replied, glancing towards the door as if half expecting the aforementioned Hokage to be there, watching silently. "Hokage-dono said I should attempt eating before resting again, so I must wait for a nurse and some form of food before I even think of sleeping more. And I can think of no better way to spend that time than with my friend." He did let go, reluctantly, and sat back against the pillows a bit. "Thank you for the concern, though." Utsuro smiled softly.
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Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on May 6, 2010 1:51:24 GMT -5
Ayaka nodded, a familiar feeling washing over her at the mention of Tsutomegi needing food, and suddenly she was up on her feet and halfway across the room. "You need food?" she repeated in what was almost her waitress voice. "I'll get you something right... away.... ah. "Uh. Right. We're not in the cafe." She sighed, embarrassed, and returned to her seat on the edge of the mattress. "But... you said a nurse can get stuff, right? So, if you need something, just tell me and I'll go find one."
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strangevisitor
ANBU Squad Leader
Only a man looking for a dream
Posts: 1,754
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Post by strangevisitor on May 6, 2010 2:01:11 GMT -5
Utsuro blinked as she leaped into action. The blinking turned to a smile, and the smile to soft laughter. "Yes, Ayaka-san, we are not in the cafe. Especially not with this arrangement. I had heard of maid cafes in my travels, but never nurse cafes." He agreed with her, still chuckling softly, even though the idea of a hospital-themed restaurant was probably a surefire way to make him lose any appetite he might have possessed. "You have been working too much, though. So by no means am I asking you to do anything other than sit here with me. A nurse will come eventually, so I can wait until then. Tell me about your day instead."
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Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on May 6, 2010 2:21:34 GMT -5
Ayaka blinked. Was Tsutomegi... laughing at her? It didn't seem like he was making fun of her, though, and he still wanted her to sit with him. So.. was it a different kind of laugh? He really was a weird kid. How was it funny that she'd tried to be a waitress in a hospital room? Well, if she put it like that, then maybe..... But it was still weird. "Well," she began in response to his question about her day, shifting her weight on the mattress so she could be comfortable without inconveniencing her friend too much, "there isn't that much to tell." But she told it anyways, starting off somewhat awkwardly but becoming increasingly animated as her story progressed. After wishing Tsutomegi good luck with his hospital appointment, she had gone to work. She was getting better at carrying more trays and plates at once, and could take care of a lot more customers at once than she used to. Hikaru-kun had started creating new dishes, which he'd make for the owners and employees of the cafe to try, since he couldn't really try stuff like that out on the customers. She really enjoyed her lunches because of that, because she never knew what he would make, but it was always good. Oyaji was still spoiling her with the best dinners he could make. It felt like everyone was trying to stuff her full of food for some reason, but it made her really happy that she had so many people who cared about her. Obaa-chan was worried that she would work herself too hard and burn out, so she'd been cutting back on the number of hours she worked. "That's why I got back earlier than usual," she explained, starting to look a little uncomfortable. "I arrived back at the tent, saw your note, and... you know the rest."
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strangevisitor
ANBU Squad Leader
Only a man looking for a dream
Posts: 1,754
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Post by strangevisitor on May 6, 2010 2:39:27 GMT -5
Seeming to hang on her every word, Utsuro nodded softly now and again as he drank in her tale as if it were the most important information in the world. As she spoke more and more lively of it, his smile grew, drawing his legs up to rest his chin upon his knees, arms wrapped around them. "Obaa-chan and Oyaji...even Hikaru-san...they seem to care a lot about you. I am very glad you got the job there, it seems as if since you have had them to look after you, you have...become more.." He paused, searching for words. What was it, exactly, that was different about her? "Vibrant. Lively, even. It makes me very happy to see."
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Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on May 6, 2010 2:59:06 GMT -5
"Eh, you think so?" Ayaka asked happily. "It's true that I feel different now than I did before I started working there. Better. Happier, y'know? "But... y'know... I'm not the only one," she observed. "The way you talk is different. And you smile more, and laugh more. You even call people other than me -san," she pointed out with a grin. "It's like we said that one time. Coming here is doing something to us. It's weird, and kinda scary, but... somehow I'm starting to think it might be okay to let it. "As for me..." She sighed, and just stared into her lap for a moment before she finally made up her mind to continue, albeit in a softer voice. "It's not just the job that changed me. You're my first friend. And you're the first person to know about how I was born and still want me around. Having even just one friend, and knowing that even if it's just to that one person, I'm not unwanted or useless... "Feeling those things for the first time made me think that maybe it's okay to do things like tie my hair back or wear a skirt or even learn to be a ninja. So... thanks."
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strangevisitor
ANBU Squad Leader
Only a man looking for a dream
Posts: 1,754
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Post by strangevisitor on May 6, 2010 3:33:17 GMT -5
Had he really changed that much? Utsuro could not say he really payed all that much attention to himself. Just enough to known when he might be bothering someone else, really. But he was glad to hear that she was doing better. Even though he wanted to look to her as she spoke with words that resonated so deeply in his chest, he found himself instead looking to the window, and the motes of light that where speckled about the glowing moon. His hand reached out to rest atop hers, squeezing gently as the words left his throat faintly of their own accord. "And...maybe it is okay...for a boy with bad luck...from someplace no one has ever heard of...to reach for the stars...right?"
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Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on May 6, 2010 20:14:09 GMT -5
"Yeah," Ayaka agreed just as softly, giving his hand a squeeze in return. Holding hands like that wasn't something she was used to by any means, but it was comforting. Ayaka could see why people liked it. She turned to look at him, but turned back around to follow his gaze out the window as soon as she saw where he was looking. "The stars sure are pretty tonight," she observed. "And if it's you, Tsutomegi, I'm sure you can catch them."
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strangevisitor
ANBU Squad Leader
Only a man looking for a dream
Posts: 1,754
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Post by strangevisitor on May 6, 2010 20:44:09 GMT -5
"Maybe I will..maybe I won't..." Utsuro replied, nodding softly in response to her comment on the heavenly lights before he turned back to look at her. "But I will not stop trying, because my friend tells me I can. And if she believes in me, maybe...just maybe...there is something worth believing in about me after all.."
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Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on May 6, 2010 20:54:08 GMT -5
Ayaka's smile got brighter and brighter. There it was again: that feeling of having done something good for her friend. Of being worth something. Of being wanted. And so before she knew it, she was hugging her friend tightly. It wasn't long, though, before she remembered where they were, and jumped back hurriedly. "Ah! I'm sorry!" she gasped. "Here you've just had surgery and I just came flying at you like that...! Are you okay? I'm sorry, Tsutomegi..."
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strangevisitor
ANBU Squad Leader
Only a man looking for a dream
Posts: 1,754
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Post by strangevisitor on May 6, 2010 21:21:01 GMT -5
Geeze, the heck did you do to flip HER happy switch?!Utsuro just smiled a little more, right up until he was all but pounced in a tight hug, when his eyes went wide. It was not that it hurt or anything...In all honesty he wasn't sure WHAT had been done during this surgery...but even after the tree incident it was a very surprising action out of her. But he hugged back all the same. He remembered hugging his family members, so many years ago, and it was an expression that he had sorely missed during his travels. That time, he had barely believed what was happening, the whole situation had been somewhat surreal. This time, while still strange, Utsuro enjoyed every moment of the embrace, just like the one before it. What was it about her that made him come out of his shell so much? He shook his head, just smiling. "I am fine, Ayaka-san. You do not have to apologize for that."
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Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on May 7, 2010 3:30:01 GMT -5
"Are you sure?" Ayaka asked, still looking concerned. "Well, if you say so. I still feel bad, though." She paused, looking almost confusedly at her friend. "You really don't see it?" she asked, blinking at him. "Well, in that case," she continued with a grin, holding out her little finger. "I know it's kinda for little kids, but I never had a friend to try this with. If we're going to keep each other from being alone, I'll have to follow you up there - " she glanced to the window and back " - to do it. So we'll do it together. Promise?"
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strangevisitor
ANBU Squad Leader
Only a man looking for a dream
Posts: 1,754
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Post by strangevisitor on May 8, 2010 20:09:47 GMT -5
So we'll do it together. Promise?Utsuro canted his head slightly, staring at his friend's extended finger. There was that impending feeling in the air again, that something was occurring that he should very well know about, yet didn't. This feeling usually preceded getting laughed at for being different. And yet.. Someone to reach for the stars with. Someone who WANTED to accompany him on such an impossible errand for one such as Tsutomegi Utsuro..that was what a friend was, wasn't it? Someone to stay by your side, regardless of what happened? So he had heard, anyway.. It sounded good. Very good. "Nn. Promise." Utsuro nodded, hesitantly grabbing hold of her finger.
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Tensei Kaori
Hokage
Konoha's #1 Henge Master
Taking over the world, one bishie at a time...
Posts: 7,888
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Post by Tensei Kaori on May 9, 2010 1:15:35 GMT -5
What are you thinking, Ayaka? You should have realized he might not know what that is!Ayaka felt bad all of a sudden, having exposed to her friend to something that might have put him on edge. She had seen how unfamiliar things affected him sometimes, and he was like Ayaka in that neither of them had grown up normally, so she should have known better. Still, there was just something about his improvised gesture that made Ayaka smile happily. "Sorry," she told him a little abashedly, though still grinning. "I should have thought that maybe you'd never seen this before. It's how the other kids in my old village made promises, but I never got to try it before. Here, I'll show you." Leaving the hand with the extended little finger where it was, Ayaka reached with her free hand and took hold of his. "It's like this, see? Curl your fingers up, but leave this one out, and then..." she explained, guiding his hand into the proper position as she spoke, until at last, their little fingers were interlocked. "There," she said with nod and a warm smile. "Now it's a promise."
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strangevisitor
ANBU Squad Leader
Only a man looking for a dream
Posts: 1,754
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Post by strangevisitor on May 11, 2010 21:37:45 GMT -5
Staying silent, Utsuro watched as she guided his hand into what was apparently the appropriate position for this strange ritual. He had never heard of it before tonight, but even then it seemed...odd to him. Plus, he felt...strange....almost warm..as Ayaka-san held his hand. Was he that embarrassed? It didn't feel like it. Still, when all was said and done, he looked down at their hands and blinked in realization. "Ah!...it is...like links in a chain, yes? A binding act. I see..Yes. A promise." Utsuro nodded with a smile of his own.
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