忍ぶ感情 Shinobu Kanjyo
Title: Part 3: Shinobu Kanjyo
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Jun/Ohno, Sho/Nino
Genre: action, AU
Chapter: sixteen
Disclaimer: I guess Johnny’s technically owns Arashi, huh? Not me.
Summary: Ohno Satoshi is the student of a strong ninja lord who has lived his life following his teacher’s strict guidance. But what happens when he slowly learns he has to live for himself?
Part 1: Shinobu Ishi ( Chapter one, Chapter two, Chapter three, Chapter four, Chapter five, Chapter six, Chapter seven)
Part 2: Shinobu Kokoro ( Chapter eight, Chapter nine, Chapter ten, Chapter eleven, Chapter twelve, Chapter thirteen, Chapter fourteen)
Part 3: Shinobu Kanjyo ( Chapter fifteen,
Ohno’s new apprentice, as it turned out, was a recently arrived recruit from a neighboring village. Leader didn’t say much about him, but Jun went out of his way to watch the pair while they were training, which was almost every other day, and even when he wasn’t with Ohno, Jun tried to keep his eye on his rival.
Right now, Jun was hiding in the bushes with Nino, watching the pair practice in the clearing that Arashi had designated as their own. Aiba and Sho were nowhere to be seen and so, had the two troublemakers not been hiding nearby, the other ninja would have been alone.
Training seemed to be going smoothly. Ohno would demonstrate a move and his student would imitate him to the best of his ability. Most of the time the swordmaster would have to correct something with a light touch to the arm or a re-demonstration of the move, and although that should have made Jun feel better about the whole thing, it only made him more jealous.
The new guy wasn’t bad, really. In fact, Nino had just said that he was probably as good as he himself was, but Jun could tell that the recruit was nowhere near as skilled as Ohno. Then again, the illusionist had never met anyone who could best Leader in a swordfight.
But despite the fact that this boy wasn’t nearly as good as Ohno (which was obviously why he needed training from him), he was a bunch of other things that Jun hated.
He was tall. He was good looking, pretty even. He had a shy smile and treated Ohno with blatant respect. He was dedicated to his job, as were the rest of them, and seemed to draw just as much attention from the girls of the village as Arashi did.
He seemed perfect and Jun despised him for it.
“He’s too tall,” Nino was whispering to him. “Don’t worry about it. Look, he’s towering over Oh-chan.”
“Nino, you realize I’m almost as tall as him?” Jun mumbled back with a depressed attitude.
His friend hesitated with an unsure smile on his face. “No, you’re- I mean, you’re waaay shorter than him. Like, you’re barely taller than me-“
Jun rolled his eyes, not buying anything of what Nino was saying. The smaller ninja was just trying to make him feel better about the situation because this new boy was more than equal competition to the illusionist. And he was getting plenty of one on one time with their captain, something that Jun greatly missed since he had grown up from the weak prince that he had once been.
+++
“Did you find out where he’s from?” Jun asked Aiba, the two of them watching the new guy from a darkened alley facing the general store, where their target was purchasing flour with a light smile directed at the store owner. Even though Jun had never really talked with her much, he couldn’t help but feel defensive about the man moving in on his territory in this area, too.
“No… I don’t even know how he got here…” Aiba admitted with pouted lips. He had told Jun earlier that he’d ask around at some of the shops, where the herbalist had made good friends with many of the residents of the village, but apparently nothing had turned up.
Which wasn’t surprising, since it had only been a few days since his rival had appeared anyway.
And although Aiba was all for helping Jun with any potential competitors, at the same time he was itching to make friends with the new swordsman-in-training.
“Why don’t we just ask him?” he said suddenly, his face showing that he’d just had an epiphany. He smiled widely and nodded, trying to convince Jun to follow his request with his expression alone.
But the younger man’s eye widened and his body stiffened. “Absolutely not,” he replied incredulously, looking back from Aiba to the general store and seeming offended at the mere suggestion.
“Okay, okay. I’ll go and introduce myself under the pretense of wanting to be friends! Then I can ask him a lot of questions, right?” he continued enthusiastically and Jun rolled his eyes at him.
“You just want a new friend…”
“No! I mean, new friends are always nice, but… No, I want to help you,” Aiba tried to argue. He dropped his hand on Jun’s shoulder and gave him a serious look. “Jun, I really want you and Ohno to be happy, okay? And even though I know that Oh-chan isn’t going to go for this new kid, I want to do everything I can to help you feel better about it, okay?”
The illusionist’s eyes flickered up to meet Aiba’s and he eventually nodded, feeling his friend’s sincerity.
“It’s settled, then. I’ll just pop over there and be right back, okay?” he said with a grin and then dashed off, leaving Jun alone in the shadows of the alleyway.
Aiba had never been good at acting, so when he stumbled into the general store looking around the room distractedly as if he’d never been in there, the shop owner gave him a lopsided smile.
“Aiba-chan?” she asked. She was at the counter with the new boy, who was just getting ready to pay for his purchase.
“Ah, Muroi-san, it’s been a while!” the man grinned in return, rubbing the back of his head. He glanced around nervously and then picked up the closest item, examining it absentmindedly. “I just came to grab some…picked herring,” his face dropped when he saw the bottle in his hand, but the smile immediately came back to his face as he looked at the pair staring at him.
“Ah… I see…” the shop keeper replied tentatively with a raised eyebrow. “You’ve never bought that before…” But she was looking amused at the herbalist’s embarrassed attitude and was evidently trying not to hold back a hearty laugh.
“Well, uh… It’s for Ohno, yeah. He really likes these,” Aiba offered, fidgeting with the bottle in his grasp, and then walked briskly over to the counter and set it down, looking pointedly at the boy who was his current target. “Speaking of Ohno, you’re his new student, right?” his tone turned conversational instead of tense like he’d been just a moment before.
“Yes, that’s correct,” the young man replied, a tiny smile on his face. But he didn’t disclose any more information than that.
“I thought so, yeah…” Aiba smiled and then glanced quickly at the shop owner who was looking at him in amusement again, like she knew he was up to no good. “Where’re you from? You only came a few days ago, right?”
The mysterious man’s eyes darted to the counter before turning back to Aiba.
“I’m from Ogura-san’s-“ he started slowly, but the herbalist perked up at the familiar name and interrupted him.
“Ah, Sho-chan’s from there! Maybe you know him! He’s almost as tall as me, his hair is getting sort of long-“ he said enthusiastically, motioning widely with his hands to show his friend’s height and the shape of his hair, or at least how he imagined it should look.
“Aiba-chan,” Muroi said softly, and he quickly turned to her, looking apprehensive. “How long ago was it that Sho came here? It’s been over ten years, hasn’t it? I’m sure he didn’t look like that then.”
The Arashi member rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah, you’re right…”
He glanced back at the new boy who was smirking lightheartedly at him.
“Well, he’s an archer… I think he was really good when he came here anyway…” Aiba offered with shifting eyes, his face burning in humiliation. Muroi stifled another laugh.
“Sorry, I don’t know him. I wasn’t with Ogura quite that long,” was the neutral reply.
He nodded in understanding and stared at his feet with a serious expression, trying to think of another topic of conversation.
“Well, thank you,” the unknown man smiled at the shop owner, dipping his head to show his gratitude, and she sent him off with a wave of her hand as he headed for the door.
“Hey, wait!” Aiba turned back to him and raised his arm, trying to stop the man from escaping.
He paused and turned back with a curious, warm expression, as if he was amused by the other man but wouldn’t say so.
“Yes?” he asked when no other words left Aiba’s mouth.
“What’s your name?” he asked distractedly.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Yokoyama Yuu. Nice to meet you,” he gave Aiba a polite bow and the herbalist mirrored him.
“Aiba Masaki,” he replied with a tentative grin. He wasn’t sure why, but he was suddenly apprehensive about the whole thing. He liked it when people talked, but this boy was acting stoic like Ohno did all the time. He wondered if he’d always been that way or if Yuu was already picking up habits from the older ninja. “Nice to meet you, too.”
“Well,” Yuu said, his smile widening just a fraction as he lifted his bag up and motioned that he was leaving.
Aiba didn’t say any more and was about to follow him when the shop owner called out, asking if he was going to purchase the pickled herring for Ohno or not.
+++
“Yokoyama, huh?” Jun repeated after Aiba finished his rundown of the short conversation he’d had with the man in the shop. “He said he’s from Ogura’s village?”
“But that he hadn’t been there for very long… I’m sorry, I couldn’t get anything else out of him…” Aiba was biting on his lip nervously, staring at the shop across from them and twisting the bottle of pickled herring in his hands.
“Hmmm. I don’t like it.”
But of course Jun knew that he wouldn’t like whatever results Aiba came back with. If he’d been the pride and joy of one of Johnny’s associates, he’d be pissed off because he was too celestial, but if he came back with something suspicious, Jun would be wary of the results. Even though this was in the middle of the two extremes, Jun just couldn’t be content with the situation.
“Do you think he’s going to train with Oh-chan now?” Aiba asked, with a tinge of worry to his voice. Jun shrugged.
“He has to go home first, right? We should see where he’s staying.”
As he said those words, Jun exited the alley and jumped into the street, taking the path that Yuu had tread just a few minutes earlier.
The two of them rushed through the crowds, brushing off anyone who offered them a greeting (Aiba yelled an apology and said they were in a hurry), and finally found the head they were looking for in the sea of people. They followed a few feet behind Yokoyama, making sure that they weren’t detected, and then when the suspicious man darted off the wide path, they continued after him with more caution.
He approached a house that was a little farther off of the main street and the Arashi members ducked behind a tree that was planted nearby as they continued to stalk him.
“That’s Touma’s place,” Jun said immediately, and he wondered if Yuu was living with his two friends. When they had rebuilt their house, they had made it a little bigger, enough to house four men comfortably, but there was no doubt room for one more if things were rearranged. And right now there was a lot of demand for housing in the village, so it wasn’t completely unfathomable that Yokoyama was paying rent to Jun’s friends for a place to stay.
At least now he could grill Touma and Yamapi for information, too.
When Yokoyama didn’t resurface again Aiba commented with a tone of finality, “Well, I guess that’s it. Should we go back to the Main Building?”
Jun sighed.
He was tired of trailing the new guy anyway.
Even though he knew Leader wouldn’t be cooperative, Jun wanted to find Ohno and see if he could pry any information out of him regarding his student. He’d probably just tell Jun to stop worrying about Yuu and to focus on his training or something else that Jun didn’t feel like hearing.
They started back to their home, but stopped as they saw Nino and Sho trudging into the edge of town with a group of people behind them. The pair had been on a mission, one that only required two ninja, and Jun wasn’t surprised to see the haggard men and women behind them.
It had been a rescue mission, a genre which was becoming more and more popular with Jyani, since they usually brought him in some recruits but were simple enough that he could spread out his men a little farther than he normally would. So Arashi hadn’t taken the mission as a group, the other three opting to stay behind and help around the village or practice. Besides, as long as he was training Yuu, even if it was only every other day, Ohno wouldn’t be able to take anything longer than over night missions. Nino and Sho had been gone for several days, and Aiba jumped as he noticed them, too.
Jun followed him quickly and saw Ohno coming from the other way, on the path that led to the Main Building. Nino waved to the swordmaster first and then turned to Jun and Aiba with a tired smile as the group came together.
“Hey, Jyani asked me to come meet you,” their leader offered first. “I can take these people to see him and you two can get some rest.”
“Sure,” Nino replied sleepily, stifling a yawn. “That sounds very nice, thank you.”
Jun and Aiba watched as the weapons master pulled off the oversized traveling pack from his back, which held a variety of supplies used to treat wounded and emergency rations to feed those that had been starved, and handed it to Jun.
The illusionist took it without a second thought, and Aiba reached over to grab Sho’s. They seemed particularly tired and Jun was more than willing to help out with the end of their mission so his friends could take a break.
“Well, you two go ahead, then,” Jun said with a sigh, pausing to ruffle Nino’s hair in a way that he knew the smaller man hated.
As usual, his hand was batted away with an irritated look and Nino grabbed Sho’s arm, heading the same way that Ohno had just come.
Leader turned to the group of men and women, which in total was less than ten people, and Jun and Aiba did the same, ready to help him with whatever needed to be done. They would probably take them to the main building first and let Jyani give them a brief orientation and then training to see who would be a ninja and who should live their new life as something less exciting.
“Jun?”
A woman’s voice drifted from the back of the group, and two of the men in front were pushed aside as a young lady came forward. Jun stared as she approached him, trying to place the voice in his panicked state.
Outside of the village, the only people that should know him were from his castle, but he had been declared dead four years ago. This could be a problem.
Ohno and Aiba seemed to be thinking the same thing.
“Ah, it is you! Matsu-“ the woman started with a bright smile, but Jun stumbled forward and pressed his hand over her mouth. She looked startled at the movement, but her eyes were suddenly shining with tears and her arms were gripping the illusionist’s wrists tightly.
Jun released her when he thought that she wouldn’t speak, and she didn’t, only tried to hold back tears from dripping down her dirtied face.
He didn’t recognize her, though, no matter how he looked at her. Ohno and Aiba were watching the two of them curiously, obviously not knowing what to do in this particular situation.
“Jun, I thought you were dead…” she rubbed her eyes, but was still smiling brightly.
There was something nostalgic about her smile, but still… Jun couldn’t quite…
“It’s me, Mao.”
His mouth almost fell open and he looked over the woman’s face again. She was filthy and her hair was much longer than he remembered it, not to mention she had grown (just barely, she was almost just as tiny as the last time he’d seen her), but there was no mistaking his childhood friend.
“Mao-chan?” he asked, not able to believe what this girl had told him. But now that he was properly examining her, he knew that there was no mistaking it. A gentle smile came to his face. “What’re you doing here?” he asked, pulling the girl close to him in a hug.
“After you left-“ she started in a shaky voice as she looked up at him, but Jun suddenly shushed her. She knew a lot of stuff that could get him in trouble right now, so it was better to catch up in private.
He turned back to Ohno and Aiba, and their captain immediately averted his eyes. Aiba was looking torn between being happy that Jun had found someone he knew and feeling sorry for Ohno.
“Alright, let’s get going, then,” Leader said loudly to the rest of the group, moving his hand towards the Main Building. Without looking at Jun again, he led the remaining men and women down the same path that Nino and Sho had just taken.
“I’ll help Oh-chan, okay?” Aiba said in a nervous tone, then turned and brought up the rear of the group, offering to take a child from a haggard looking woman who had been carrying him.
Jun faced Mao again and gave her a nervous smile. She’d just messed up all the work he’d been putting into not flirting with girls since he’d had his talk with Nino and she didn’t even know it.
But he’d forgive her.
“Well, let’s go talk, shall we?” he asked, leading the way to the forest.
Although his friend looked tired, she followed Jun without complaint and even gave him a few more smiles as they made light talk about the ninja village.
Once they were in the protection of the woods, Jun found a dead trunk turned on its side and motioned for Mao to sit. Once she had taken a spot, Jun followed her, resting a few feet farther away than he would have with any of his teammates. He didn’t want to give her any ideas, although he knew that girls tended to come up with enough of those without prompting.
“I thought you were dead,” she started with a sigh, forcing a new grin and rubbing her hands together in front of her.
“That was the intention,” he replied, looking down at his feet, unable to meet the eyes of the woman sitting next to him.
“Everything fell apart after you were taken. I tried to stay at the castle, but after protecting it from raiders for almost a month, I ended up watching the remaining servants steal what they could and run.” Her eyes were still sparkling, but the tears hadn’t started yet. Jun looked at her with a torn expression; he was curious about her story but also not willing to bring up too much of the past that he had just started to get over.
“What did you do?” he asked softly.
Mao had been a maidservant in his house for as long as he could remember, even though they were somewhat close to the same age. Her father had been a scribe for Jun’s family and so her becoming part of the staff just fell into place. But Jun remembered playing in the nursery with her when she was still just a baby, and it wasn’t until she had turned seven or eight that she had been given any particular tasks other than a playmate for the young lord.
“Well, you know my family moved just before the attack on your father’s castle,” she started, and Jun remembered that instance exactly.
Her father had had something resembling a mid-life crisis and had suddenly decided he wanted to become a fisherman. He had intended to take the family with him, but Mao had insisted that she wanted to continue working for the Matsumoto family. Jun had found out right after they had left that she simply wanted to keep one of them firmly employed, since her family had always had problems with money through their whole life, and Jun hadn’t really minded her decision. She had been a dear friend, but at that point her chores had increased and Jun was old enough to begin his own studies and the two of them had started to drift apart.
“Well, I wanted to stay behind and look after your father’s things until you came back…” she continued, glancing down at her hands. “I tried to, but there were too many bandits and the other servants weren’t much help, knowing that your uncle had a firm hold on you. Eventually I ended up moving into the village and taking up a job making weapons with Shota’s father.”
Jun nodded. That occupation fit Mao somehow, even though he knew it was hard work.
“And when I heard you were dead… Well, I was sad, you know. But it was probably best that way, instead of your uncle ruling over all that land and you being stuck in prison…” she added after a second of looking dejectedly at her intertwined fingers.
“That’s what I thought, too. I was really lucky that I got to die without really dying,” Jun swallowed and fiddled with the knee of his pants, trying not to act too nervous around this girl that he hadn’t seen in several years. “What’re you doing here, though?”
“Just a little while ago, we were attacked, Shota’s family and me. He lives out in the countryside, you know? Anyway, I was taken by bandits. They were going to sell me as a slave in the main city, but I was rescued by…” she trailed off, looking to the illusionist to fill in the rest of her sentence.
“Sho and Nino, yeah,” Jun offered the names of his dear friends.
“Yes. They gave me the choice of either coming here or fending for myself, so I thought, maybe being a ninja won’t be that hard.” She laughed nervously at her admission and then sent Jun a shy look. “What’re you doing here, anyway?”
Jun swallowed and chuckled himself, unsure how much to say and which parts were most important.
He started with being rescued by Arashi himself and then the confrontation that had come with his uncle, and how he had been present but not caught. Mao laughed loudly at that part and knocked him on the head, telling him that he’d always been an idiot like that.
After that story was wrapped up, Jun started into an explanation of his friends, telling her about the village and that she would surely like it here.
She nodded and her wet eyes eventually dried. She kept repeating that she was simply happy that Jun was alive and in such a nice situation.
“But please, don’t tell anyone about me,” he pleaded seriously. “No one here knows that I’m a Matsumoto besides Ohno, Aiba, Nino, and Sho. I don’t want to cause any trouble, you know?”
Mao nodded and swore that she’d keep her lips sealed.
Since the sun was setting, Jun suggested they return to the Main Building, and Mao agreed immediately, stifling a large yawn. The illusionist laughed at her and she giggled in embarrassment, and the two slowly walked back side by side, chatting about their old friends and what they had been up to when Jun was forced to leave.
They were standing in front of the mission hall door far too quickly and Jun rapped on the door lightly, explaining that Mao had been left out of the introduction earlier.
“Ah, Jun-kun, there you are!” Aiba said, running towards him from down the hallway with a relaxed expression on his face. Ohno was following a few feet behind him, looking a little irritated but otherwise was wearing his usual bored face.
Jun turned to them with a smile and introduced his friend.
“This is Mao. She used to… live with me. She was a servant for my father,” he explained, trying to make it as vague as possible. He was sure that the two of them would understand, though, knowing where the youngest of them came from.
“Nice to meet you,” she offered immediately with a curt bow, and the two ninja returned the action.
The man that Jun had been speaking with cleared his throat, and so he turned back to him with an apologetic smile.
The ninja allowed Mao into the room and she turned back to Jun, then Ohno and Aiba, offering them all a small wave.
“Ask for me if you need anything,” Jun called behind her as she disappeared.
The door was shut in his face and he turned back to this team mates with a nervous smile.
“Sorry about that… I guess I was gone for a while…” He first glanced at Ohno, who was absentmindedly looking at his feet, then at Aiba, who was grinning widely at him.
“That’s okay,” he immediately responded, discarding Jun’s apology. “She seems really nice! You knew her before us, huh?”
Jun perked up and immediately took the presented topic of conversation.
“Yeah, I’ve known her since she was born, I guess… She’s really great-she’s funny and-“ Jun stopped his nervous rattling, realizing too late that he was only digging himself a hole.
But Ohno was looking up and him and forcing a smile. “Lucky you got to see her again, huh?” he said in a strained voice, then immediately dropped his expression and turned to leave down the hallway.
“Leader,” Jun called, following him. “It’s not like that,” he offered under his breath when Ohno stopped. He touched the swordmaster’s hand lightly with his own and admitted bluntly, “I’m only interested in you.”
Ohno looked flustered for a second, but frowned and continued down the hallway.
Jun sighed and rubbed his head. Now was not the time for Leader to be getting jealous. He’d put so much effort into doing just that up until now, but Mao was an honest-to-God friend and he didn’t want every minute with her to be packed with guilt.
Aiba was suddenly behind him, patting him on the shoulder and looking pretty regretful himself.
+++
Despite the apprehension sitting in the pit of his stomach, Jun spent the next day showing Mao around with the help of Aiba. Nino and Sho hadn’t poked out their futon yet, although Jun was pretty sure that wasn’t even remotely due to being tired from the day before.
It had been decided that Mao would join the rank of the ninja and Jun was excited at the prospect. Mao was a girl full of fire after all, and she would definitely be levelheaded enough to complete missions without a problem. In fact, Jun was only thinking if he’d somehow made it as far as he had, Mao could certainly do the same.
While they were headed through the town, looking for a place for the girl to stay, the group ran into several people they knew, the first being Yokoyama.
Jun had nearly forgotten about him, between the excitement of his childhood friend’s appearance and trying not to make Leader upset.
“Ah, hey there… Yokoyama-kun,” Aiba offered with a nervous smile. As the recruit nodded at him, the herbalist looked over at the other group members. “This is Jun and Mao. Jun is part of Arashi with me and Ohno.”
“I know that,” Yuu replied with a mysterious smile, then ducked his head at the illusionist and the woman next to him in greeting.
He was carrying something in his hand and was obviously headed home, so he mumbled an excuse and continued on his way with no objections from the rest of them.
So they proceeded down the street with Jun’s brows furrowed, his friends on either side of him. But after no one else said anything about the previous man, Mao asked cautiously, “Jun? Do you not like him?”
“Huh?” he asked in a dazed voice and turned his attention to her, his frown immediately neutralized at the worried tone.
“You were glaring at him. You looked angry or something…”
Jun stared forward again, and his cheeks were burning as he suddenly got flustered at the tentative question. “No, it’s nothing like-“
“It’s because they’re rivals,” Aiba offered with a bright grin, looking past Jun and at their female companion.
“Rivals?” she asked curiously.
“In love,” Aiba continued, shifting his gaze to Jun to see his reaction.
Jun floundered for a second and then jumped at him, far more distressed at that hint from Aiba than he’d been at Mao’s concern. He clobbered his friend on the head in what was meant to be a serious attack, even though it wasn’t nearly hard enough to hurt. “Shut up!” he said, louder than necessary, and drew the stares of a few people passing by.
“Love?” Mao asked curiously as the two of them fell into step beside her once more, a gleam in her eye.
Jun could tell she was disappointed, too, though. She’d probably come up with some mushy thoughts about their reunion last night, and so it was only better if he got this out of the way now compared to later.
But still, Aiba had absolutely no tact.
“Yeah, the person Jun likes-“ the herbalist started again, wound up from the previous effect, and Jun immediately stopped and shoved his hand over his friend’s mouth.
“It’s nothing,” Jun tried to explain, but he could tell that Mao was already on the scent and would probably over analyze everyone that Jun talked to that day until she figured out the answer.
“Ah, Touma!” Jun suddenly called out over the crowd, glad that there was someone to draw the attention away from himself. His apprentice buddy turned to find the voice and then grinned when he saw the group. He walked over from where he’d been examining something in a shop window, waving his hand brightly.
Jun introduced him to Mao, and then immediately began asking him about Yokoyama.
Touma looked thoughtful, but shrugged, as if he couldn’t offer his friend very much information.
“Oh, yeah. He’s staying with us. He came into town a little over a week ago and was asking around for a place to live. I guess Nakai told him to talk with me.”
“Nakai?”
“Yeah. Since we built that house a little bigger than our older one, I just moved my stuff into Yamapi’s room and we’ve both been staying in there.”
Aiba whooped loudly at the news and elbowed a mortified Touma in the side.
“Do you know anything about him? Where he’s from?” Jun asked, ignoring the news that Touma might have made some progression in his own relationship with their mutual friend.
The other ninja shrugged. “Not really. He uses a sword… He’s been out on a few missions the last week. He goes alone, though, and they aren’t more than a day long…He really keeps to himself, you know?”
Jun sighed, running his hands through his hair in an unsettled fashion.
“Ohno’s training him right now…” he said in an almost depressed voice.
“Eh, really? Ohno’s never trained anyone before, right?”
“Nope, never…” Jun replied and shrugged. “Well, thanks anyway.”
“I’ll keep an eye on him?” Touma offered in an unsure tone. Jun patted his friend on the back and said he was grateful for the thought.
Touma casually waved at the others as he retreated back to the shop and Jun started down the street again, distractedly analyzing the new, although still sparse, information he’d gotten through the meeting.
“Ohno, huh?” Mao asked with a smirk and Jun suddenly stiffened.
“Yeah, he’s our group Leader,” Aiba started to explain, but Jun kicked him lightly in the shin before he could get any farther.
+++
A/N: Wow, it was a busy chapter! A lot of people thought the apprentice would be Chinen, so I hope you're okay with my decision. ^__^; And random Mao in there the shake things up even more, lol. And Tomapi. :D
By the way, I'm having a contest right now, open to anyone. It's to celebrate members of my community, but you don't have to be a member to participate! There are two sections, making something Arashic (fanfiction/fanart/icons/etc) and leaving a word prompt for something I'll be writing in celebration! So head over there and leave a comment! The prize is something by meeee~ :DD
Otherwise I think I gained 5 lbs of chocolate weight over the holidays. >A< And I'm always open to criticism!!
To chapter seventeen
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Jun/Ohno, Sho/Nino
Genre: action, AU
Chapter: sixteen
Disclaimer: I guess Johnny’s technically owns Arashi, huh? Not me.
Summary: Ohno Satoshi is the student of a strong ninja lord who has lived his life following his teacher’s strict guidance. But what happens when he slowly learns he has to live for himself?
Part 1: Shinobu Ishi ( Chapter one, Chapter two, Chapter three, Chapter four, Chapter five, Chapter six, Chapter seven)
Part 2: Shinobu Kokoro ( Chapter eight, Chapter nine, Chapter ten, Chapter eleven, Chapter twelve, Chapter thirteen, Chapter fourteen)
Part 3: Shinobu Kanjyo ( Chapter fifteen,
Ohno’s new apprentice, as it turned out, was a recently arrived recruit from a neighboring village. Leader didn’t say much about him, but Jun went out of his way to watch the pair while they were training, which was almost every other day, and even when he wasn’t with Ohno, Jun tried to keep his eye on his rival.
Right now, Jun was hiding in the bushes with Nino, watching the pair practice in the clearing that Arashi had designated as their own. Aiba and Sho were nowhere to be seen and so, had the two troublemakers not been hiding nearby, the other ninja would have been alone.
Training seemed to be going smoothly. Ohno would demonstrate a move and his student would imitate him to the best of his ability. Most of the time the swordmaster would have to correct something with a light touch to the arm or a re-demonstration of the move, and although that should have made Jun feel better about the whole thing, it only made him more jealous.
The new guy wasn’t bad, really. In fact, Nino had just said that he was probably as good as he himself was, but Jun could tell that the recruit was nowhere near as skilled as Ohno. Then again, the illusionist had never met anyone who could best Leader in a swordfight.
But despite the fact that this boy wasn’t nearly as good as Ohno (which was obviously why he needed training from him), he was a bunch of other things that Jun hated.
He was tall. He was good looking, pretty even. He had a shy smile and treated Ohno with blatant respect. He was dedicated to his job, as were the rest of them, and seemed to draw just as much attention from the girls of the village as Arashi did.
He seemed perfect and Jun despised him for it.
“He’s too tall,” Nino was whispering to him. “Don’t worry about it. Look, he’s towering over Oh-chan.”
“Nino, you realize I’m almost as tall as him?” Jun mumbled back with a depressed attitude.
His friend hesitated with an unsure smile on his face. “No, you’re- I mean, you’re waaay shorter than him. Like, you’re barely taller than me-“
Jun rolled his eyes, not buying anything of what Nino was saying. The smaller ninja was just trying to make him feel better about the situation because this new boy was more than equal competition to the illusionist. And he was getting plenty of one on one time with their captain, something that Jun greatly missed since he had grown up from the weak prince that he had once been.
+++
“Did you find out where he’s from?” Jun asked Aiba, the two of them watching the new guy from a darkened alley facing the general store, where their target was purchasing flour with a light smile directed at the store owner. Even though Jun had never really talked with her much, he couldn’t help but feel defensive about the man moving in on his territory in this area, too.
“No… I don’t even know how he got here…” Aiba admitted with pouted lips. He had told Jun earlier that he’d ask around at some of the shops, where the herbalist had made good friends with many of the residents of the village, but apparently nothing had turned up.
Which wasn’t surprising, since it had only been a few days since his rival had appeared anyway.
And although Aiba was all for helping Jun with any potential competitors, at the same time he was itching to make friends with the new swordsman-in-training.
“Why don’t we just ask him?” he said suddenly, his face showing that he’d just had an epiphany. He smiled widely and nodded, trying to convince Jun to follow his request with his expression alone.
But the younger man’s eye widened and his body stiffened. “Absolutely not,” he replied incredulously, looking back from Aiba to the general store and seeming offended at the mere suggestion.
“Okay, okay. I’ll go and introduce myself under the pretense of wanting to be friends! Then I can ask him a lot of questions, right?” he continued enthusiastically and Jun rolled his eyes at him.
“You just want a new friend…”
“No! I mean, new friends are always nice, but… No, I want to help you,” Aiba tried to argue. He dropped his hand on Jun’s shoulder and gave him a serious look. “Jun, I really want you and Ohno to be happy, okay? And even though I know that Oh-chan isn’t going to go for this new kid, I want to do everything I can to help you feel better about it, okay?”
The illusionist’s eyes flickered up to meet Aiba’s and he eventually nodded, feeling his friend’s sincerity.
“It’s settled, then. I’ll just pop over there and be right back, okay?” he said with a grin and then dashed off, leaving Jun alone in the shadows of the alleyway.
Aiba had never been good at acting, so when he stumbled into the general store looking around the room distractedly as if he’d never been in there, the shop owner gave him a lopsided smile.
“Aiba-chan?” she asked. She was at the counter with the new boy, who was just getting ready to pay for his purchase.
“Ah, Muroi-san, it’s been a while!” the man grinned in return, rubbing the back of his head. He glanced around nervously and then picked up the closest item, examining it absentmindedly. “I just came to grab some…picked herring,” his face dropped when he saw the bottle in his hand, but the smile immediately came back to his face as he looked at the pair staring at him.
“Ah… I see…” the shop keeper replied tentatively with a raised eyebrow. “You’ve never bought that before…” But she was looking amused at the herbalist’s embarrassed attitude and was evidently trying not to hold back a hearty laugh.
“Well, uh… It’s for Ohno, yeah. He really likes these,” Aiba offered, fidgeting with the bottle in his grasp, and then walked briskly over to the counter and set it down, looking pointedly at the boy who was his current target. “Speaking of Ohno, you’re his new student, right?” his tone turned conversational instead of tense like he’d been just a moment before.
“Yes, that’s correct,” the young man replied, a tiny smile on his face. But he didn’t disclose any more information than that.
“I thought so, yeah…” Aiba smiled and then glanced quickly at the shop owner who was looking at him in amusement again, like she knew he was up to no good. “Where’re you from? You only came a few days ago, right?”
The mysterious man’s eyes darted to the counter before turning back to Aiba.
“I’m from Ogura-san’s-“ he started slowly, but the herbalist perked up at the familiar name and interrupted him.
“Ah, Sho-chan’s from there! Maybe you know him! He’s almost as tall as me, his hair is getting sort of long-“ he said enthusiastically, motioning widely with his hands to show his friend’s height and the shape of his hair, or at least how he imagined it should look.
“Aiba-chan,” Muroi said softly, and he quickly turned to her, looking apprehensive. “How long ago was it that Sho came here? It’s been over ten years, hasn’t it? I’m sure he didn’t look like that then.”
The Arashi member rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah, you’re right…”
He glanced back at the new boy who was smirking lightheartedly at him.
“Well, he’s an archer… I think he was really good when he came here anyway…” Aiba offered with shifting eyes, his face burning in humiliation. Muroi stifled another laugh.
“Sorry, I don’t know him. I wasn’t with Ogura quite that long,” was the neutral reply.
He nodded in understanding and stared at his feet with a serious expression, trying to think of another topic of conversation.
“Well, thank you,” the unknown man smiled at the shop owner, dipping his head to show his gratitude, and she sent him off with a wave of her hand as he headed for the door.
“Hey, wait!” Aiba turned back to him and raised his arm, trying to stop the man from escaping.
He paused and turned back with a curious, warm expression, as if he was amused by the other man but wouldn’t say so.
“Yes?” he asked when no other words left Aiba’s mouth.
“What’s your name?” he asked distractedly.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Yokoyama Yuu. Nice to meet you,” he gave Aiba a polite bow and the herbalist mirrored him.
“Aiba Masaki,” he replied with a tentative grin. He wasn’t sure why, but he was suddenly apprehensive about the whole thing. He liked it when people talked, but this boy was acting stoic like Ohno did all the time. He wondered if he’d always been that way or if Yuu was already picking up habits from the older ninja. “Nice to meet you, too.”
“Well,” Yuu said, his smile widening just a fraction as he lifted his bag up and motioned that he was leaving.
Aiba didn’t say any more and was about to follow him when the shop owner called out, asking if he was going to purchase the pickled herring for Ohno or not.
+++
“Yokoyama, huh?” Jun repeated after Aiba finished his rundown of the short conversation he’d had with the man in the shop. “He said he’s from Ogura’s village?”
“But that he hadn’t been there for very long… I’m sorry, I couldn’t get anything else out of him…” Aiba was biting on his lip nervously, staring at the shop across from them and twisting the bottle of pickled herring in his hands.
“Hmmm. I don’t like it.”
But of course Jun knew that he wouldn’t like whatever results Aiba came back with. If he’d been the pride and joy of one of Johnny’s associates, he’d be pissed off because he was too celestial, but if he came back with something suspicious, Jun would be wary of the results. Even though this was in the middle of the two extremes, Jun just couldn’t be content with the situation.
“Do you think he’s going to train with Oh-chan now?” Aiba asked, with a tinge of worry to his voice. Jun shrugged.
“He has to go home first, right? We should see where he’s staying.”
As he said those words, Jun exited the alley and jumped into the street, taking the path that Yuu had tread just a few minutes earlier.
The two of them rushed through the crowds, brushing off anyone who offered them a greeting (Aiba yelled an apology and said they were in a hurry), and finally found the head they were looking for in the sea of people. They followed a few feet behind Yokoyama, making sure that they weren’t detected, and then when the suspicious man darted off the wide path, they continued after him with more caution.
He approached a house that was a little farther off of the main street and the Arashi members ducked behind a tree that was planted nearby as they continued to stalk him.
“That’s Touma’s place,” Jun said immediately, and he wondered if Yuu was living with his two friends. When they had rebuilt their house, they had made it a little bigger, enough to house four men comfortably, but there was no doubt room for one more if things were rearranged. And right now there was a lot of demand for housing in the village, so it wasn’t completely unfathomable that Yokoyama was paying rent to Jun’s friends for a place to stay.
At least now he could grill Touma and Yamapi for information, too.
When Yokoyama didn’t resurface again Aiba commented with a tone of finality, “Well, I guess that’s it. Should we go back to the Main Building?”
Jun sighed.
He was tired of trailing the new guy anyway.
Even though he knew Leader wouldn’t be cooperative, Jun wanted to find Ohno and see if he could pry any information out of him regarding his student. He’d probably just tell Jun to stop worrying about Yuu and to focus on his training or something else that Jun didn’t feel like hearing.
They started back to their home, but stopped as they saw Nino and Sho trudging into the edge of town with a group of people behind them. The pair had been on a mission, one that only required two ninja, and Jun wasn’t surprised to see the haggard men and women behind them.
It had been a rescue mission, a genre which was becoming more and more popular with Jyani, since they usually brought him in some recruits but were simple enough that he could spread out his men a little farther than he normally would. So Arashi hadn’t taken the mission as a group, the other three opting to stay behind and help around the village or practice. Besides, as long as he was training Yuu, even if it was only every other day, Ohno wouldn’t be able to take anything longer than over night missions. Nino and Sho had been gone for several days, and Aiba jumped as he noticed them, too.
Jun followed him quickly and saw Ohno coming from the other way, on the path that led to the Main Building. Nino waved to the swordmaster first and then turned to Jun and Aiba with a tired smile as the group came together.
“Hey, Jyani asked me to come meet you,” their leader offered first. “I can take these people to see him and you two can get some rest.”
“Sure,” Nino replied sleepily, stifling a yawn. “That sounds very nice, thank you.”
Jun and Aiba watched as the weapons master pulled off the oversized traveling pack from his back, which held a variety of supplies used to treat wounded and emergency rations to feed those that had been starved, and handed it to Jun.
The illusionist took it without a second thought, and Aiba reached over to grab Sho’s. They seemed particularly tired and Jun was more than willing to help out with the end of their mission so his friends could take a break.
“Well, you two go ahead, then,” Jun said with a sigh, pausing to ruffle Nino’s hair in a way that he knew the smaller man hated.
As usual, his hand was batted away with an irritated look and Nino grabbed Sho’s arm, heading the same way that Ohno had just come.
Leader turned to the group of men and women, which in total was less than ten people, and Jun and Aiba did the same, ready to help him with whatever needed to be done. They would probably take them to the main building first and let Jyani give them a brief orientation and then training to see who would be a ninja and who should live their new life as something less exciting.
“Jun?”
A woman’s voice drifted from the back of the group, and two of the men in front were pushed aside as a young lady came forward. Jun stared as she approached him, trying to place the voice in his panicked state.
Outside of the village, the only people that should know him were from his castle, but he had been declared dead four years ago. This could be a problem.
Ohno and Aiba seemed to be thinking the same thing.
“Ah, it is you! Matsu-“ the woman started with a bright smile, but Jun stumbled forward and pressed his hand over her mouth. She looked startled at the movement, but her eyes were suddenly shining with tears and her arms were gripping the illusionist’s wrists tightly.
Jun released her when he thought that she wouldn’t speak, and she didn’t, only tried to hold back tears from dripping down her dirtied face.
He didn’t recognize her, though, no matter how he looked at her. Ohno and Aiba were watching the two of them curiously, obviously not knowing what to do in this particular situation.
“Jun, I thought you were dead…” she rubbed her eyes, but was still smiling brightly.
There was something nostalgic about her smile, but still… Jun couldn’t quite…
“It’s me, Mao.”
His mouth almost fell open and he looked over the woman’s face again. She was filthy and her hair was much longer than he remembered it, not to mention she had grown (just barely, she was almost just as tiny as the last time he’d seen her), but there was no mistaking his childhood friend.
“Mao-chan?” he asked, not able to believe what this girl had told him. But now that he was properly examining her, he knew that there was no mistaking it. A gentle smile came to his face. “What’re you doing here?” he asked, pulling the girl close to him in a hug.
“After you left-“ she started in a shaky voice as she looked up at him, but Jun suddenly shushed her. She knew a lot of stuff that could get him in trouble right now, so it was better to catch up in private.
He turned back to Ohno and Aiba, and their captain immediately averted his eyes. Aiba was looking torn between being happy that Jun had found someone he knew and feeling sorry for Ohno.
“Alright, let’s get going, then,” Leader said loudly to the rest of the group, moving his hand towards the Main Building. Without looking at Jun again, he led the remaining men and women down the same path that Nino and Sho had just taken.
“I’ll help Oh-chan, okay?” Aiba said in a nervous tone, then turned and brought up the rear of the group, offering to take a child from a haggard looking woman who had been carrying him.
Jun faced Mao again and gave her a nervous smile. She’d just messed up all the work he’d been putting into not flirting with girls since he’d had his talk with Nino and she didn’t even know it.
But he’d forgive her.
“Well, let’s go talk, shall we?” he asked, leading the way to the forest.
Although his friend looked tired, she followed Jun without complaint and even gave him a few more smiles as they made light talk about the ninja village.
Once they were in the protection of the woods, Jun found a dead trunk turned on its side and motioned for Mao to sit. Once she had taken a spot, Jun followed her, resting a few feet farther away than he would have with any of his teammates. He didn’t want to give her any ideas, although he knew that girls tended to come up with enough of those without prompting.
“I thought you were dead,” she started with a sigh, forcing a new grin and rubbing her hands together in front of her.
“That was the intention,” he replied, looking down at his feet, unable to meet the eyes of the woman sitting next to him.
“Everything fell apart after you were taken. I tried to stay at the castle, but after protecting it from raiders for almost a month, I ended up watching the remaining servants steal what they could and run.” Her eyes were still sparkling, but the tears hadn’t started yet. Jun looked at her with a torn expression; he was curious about her story but also not willing to bring up too much of the past that he had just started to get over.
“What did you do?” he asked softly.
Mao had been a maidservant in his house for as long as he could remember, even though they were somewhat close to the same age. Her father had been a scribe for Jun’s family and so her becoming part of the staff just fell into place. But Jun remembered playing in the nursery with her when she was still just a baby, and it wasn’t until she had turned seven or eight that she had been given any particular tasks other than a playmate for the young lord.
“Well, you know my family moved just before the attack on your father’s castle,” she started, and Jun remembered that instance exactly.
Her father had had something resembling a mid-life crisis and had suddenly decided he wanted to become a fisherman. He had intended to take the family with him, but Mao had insisted that she wanted to continue working for the Matsumoto family. Jun had found out right after they had left that she simply wanted to keep one of them firmly employed, since her family had always had problems with money through their whole life, and Jun hadn’t really minded her decision. She had been a dear friend, but at that point her chores had increased and Jun was old enough to begin his own studies and the two of them had started to drift apart.
“Well, I wanted to stay behind and look after your father’s things until you came back…” she continued, glancing down at her hands. “I tried to, but there were too many bandits and the other servants weren’t much help, knowing that your uncle had a firm hold on you. Eventually I ended up moving into the village and taking up a job making weapons with Shota’s father.”
Jun nodded. That occupation fit Mao somehow, even though he knew it was hard work.
“And when I heard you were dead… Well, I was sad, you know. But it was probably best that way, instead of your uncle ruling over all that land and you being stuck in prison…” she added after a second of looking dejectedly at her intertwined fingers.
“That’s what I thought, too. I was really lucky that I got to die without really dying,” Jun swallowed and fiddled with the knee of his pants, trying not to act too nervous around this girl that he hadn’t seen in several years. “What’re you doing here, though?”
“Just a little while ago, we were attacked, Shota’s family and me. He lives out in the countryside, you know? Anyway, I was taken by bandits. They were going to sell me as a slave in the main city, but I was rescued by…” she trailed off, looking to the illusionist to fill in the rest of her sentence.
“Sho and Nino, yeah,” Jun offered the names of his dear friends.
“Yes. They gave me the choice of either coming here or fending for myself, so I thought, maybe being a ninja won’t be that hard.” She laughed nervously at her admission and then sent Jun a shy look. “What’re you doing here, anyway?”
Jun swallowed and chuckled himself, unsure how much to say and which parts were most important.
He started with being rescued by Arashi himself and then the confrontation that had come with his uncle, and how he had been present but not caught. Mao laughed loudly at that part and knocked him on the head, telling him that he’d always been an idiot like that.
After that story was wrapped up, Jun started into an explanation of his friends, telling her about the village and that she would surely like it here.
She nodded and her wet eyes eventually dried. She kept repeating that she was simply happy that Jun was alive and in such a nice situation.
“But please, don’t tell anyone about me,” he pleaded seriously. “No one here knows that I’m a Matsumoto besides Ohno, Aiba, Nino, and Sho. I don’t want to cause any trouble, you know?”
Mao nodded and swore that she’d keep her lips sealed.
Since the sun was setting, Jun suggested they return to the Main Building, and Mao agreed immediately, stifling a large yawn. The illusionist laughed at her and she giggled in embarrassment, and the two slowly walked back side by side, chatting about their old friends and what they had been up to when Jun was forced to leave.
They were standing in front of the mission hall door far too quickly and Jun rapped on the door lightly, explaining that Mao had been left out of the introduction earlier.
“Ah, Jun-kun, there you are!” Aiba said, running towards him from down the hallway with a relaxed expression on his face. Ohno was following a few feet behind him, looking a little irritated but otherwise was wearing his usual bored face.
Jun turned to them with a smile and introduced his friend.
“This is Mao. She used to… live with me. She was a servant for my father,” he explained, trying to make it as vague as possible. He was sure that the two of them would understand, though, knowing where the youngest of them came from.
“Nice to meet you,” she offered immediately with a curt bow, and the two ninja returned the action.
The man that Jun had been speaking with cleared his throat, and so he turned back to him with an apologetic smile.
The ninja allowed Mao into the room and she turned back to Jun, then Ohno and Aiba, offering them all a small wave.
“Ask for me if you need anything,” Jun called behind her as she disappeared.
The door was shut in his face and he turned back to this team mates with a nervous smile.
“Sorry about that… I guess I was gone for a while…” He first glanced at Ohno, who was absentmindedly looking at his feet, then at Aiba, who was grinning widely at him.
“That’s okay,” he immediately responded, discarding Jun’s apology. “She seems really nice! You knew her before us, huh?”
Jun perked up and immediately took the presented topic of conversation.
“Yeah, I’ve known her since she was born, I guess… She’s really great-she’s funny and-“ Jun stopped his nervous rattling, realizing too late that he was only digging himself a hole.
But Ohno was looking up and him and forcing a smile. “Lucky you got to see her again, huh?” he said in a strained voice, then immediately dropped his expression and turned to leave down the hallway.
“Leader,” Jun called, following him. “It’s not like that,” he offered under his breath when Ohno stopped. He touched the swordmaster’s hand lightly with his own and admitted bluntly, “I’m only interested in you.”
Ohno looked flustered for a second, but frowned and continued down the hallway.
Jun sighed and rubbed his head. Now was not the time for Leader to be getting jealous. He’d put so much effort into doing just that up until now, but Mao was an honest-to-God friend and he didn’t want every minute with her to be packed with guilt.
Aiba was suddenly behind him, patting him on the shoulder and looking pretty regretful himself.
+++
Despite the apprehension sitting in the pit of his stomach, Jun spent the next day showing Mao around with the help of Aiba. Nino and Sho hadn’t poked out their futon yet, although Jun was pretty sure that wasn’t even remotely due to being tired from the day before.
It had been decided that Mao would join the rank of the ninja and Jun was excited at the prospect. Mao was a girl full of fire after all, and she would definitely be levelheaded enough to complete missions without a problem. In fact, Jun was only thinking if he’d somehow made it as far as he had, Mao could certainly do the same.
While they were headed through the town, looking for a place for the girl to stay, the group ran into several people they knew, the first being Yokoyama.
Jun had nearly forgotten about him, between the excitement of his childhood friend’s appearance and trying not to make Leader upset.
“Ah, hey there… Yokoyama-kun,” Aiba offered with a nervous smile. As the recruit nodded at him, the herbalist looked over at the other group members. “This is Jun and Mao. Jun is part of Arashi with me and Ohno.”
“I know that,” Yuu replied with a mysterious smile, then ducked his head at the illusionist and the woman next to him in greeting.
He was carrying something in his hand and was obviously headed home, so he mumbled an excuse and continued on his way with no objections from the rest of them.
So they proceeded down the street with Jun’s brows furrowed, his friends on either side of him. But after no one else said anything about the previous man, Mao asked cautiously, “Jun? Do you not like him?”
“Huh?” he asked in a dazed voice and turned his attention to her, his frown immediately neutralized at the worried tone.
“You were glaring at him. You looked angry or something…”
Jun stared forward again, and his cheeks were burning as he suddenly got flustered at the tentative question. “No, it’s nothing like-“
“It’s because they’re rivals,” Aiba offered with a bright grin, looking past Jun and at their female companion.
“Rivals?” she asked curiously.
“In love,” Aiba continued, shifting his gaze to Jun to see his reaction.
Jun floundered for a second and then jumped at him, far more distressed at that hint from Aiba than he’d been at Mao’s concern. He clobbered his friend on the head in what was meant to be a serious attack, even though it wasn’t nearly hard enough to hurt. “Shut up!” he said, louder than necessary, and drew the stares of a few people passing by.
“Love?” Mao asked curiously as the two of them fell into step beside her once more, a gleam in her eye.
Jun could tell she was disappointed, too, though. She’d probably come up with some mushy thoughts about their reunion last night, and so it was only better if he got this out of the way now compared to later.
But still, Aiba had absolutely no tact.
“Yeah, the person Jun likes-“ the herbalist started again, wound up from the previous effect, and Jun immediately stopped and shoved his hand over his friend’s mouth.
“It’s nothing,” Jun tried to explain, but he could tell that Mao was already on the scent and would probably over analyze everyone that Jun talked to that day until she figured out the answer.
“Ah, Touma!” Jun suddenly called out over the crowd, glad that there was someone to draw the attention away from himself. His apprentice buddy turned to find the voice and then grinned when he saw the group. He walked over from where he’d been examining something in a shop window, waving his hand brightly.
Jun introduced him to Mao, and then immediately began asking him about Yokoyama.
Touma looked thoughtful, but shrugged, as if he couldn’t offer his friend very much information.
“Oh, yeah. He’s staying with us. He came into town a little over a week ago and was asking around for a place to live. I guess Nakai told him to talk with me.”
“Nakai?”
“Yeah. Since we built that house a little bigger than our older one, I just moved my stuff into Yamapi’s room and we’ve both been staying in there.”
Aiba whooped loudly at the news and elbowed a mortified Touma in the side.
“Do you know anything about him? Where he’s from?” Jun asked, ignoring the news that Touma might have made some progression in his own relationship with their mutual friend.
The other ninja shrugged. “Not really. He uses a sword… He’s been out on a few missions the last week. He goes alone, though, and they aren’t more than a day long…He really keeps to himself, you know?”
Jun sighed, running his hands through his hair in an unsettled fashion.
“Ohno’s training him right now…” he said in an almost depressed voice.
“Eh, really? Ohno’s never trained anyone before, right?”
“Nope, never…” Jun replied and shrugged. “Well, thanks anyway.”
“I’ll keep an eye on him?” Touma offered in an unsure tone. Jun patted his friend on the back and said he was grateful for the thought.
Touma casually waved at the others as he retreated back to the shop and Jun started down the street again, distractedly analyzing the new, although still sparse, information he’d gotten through the meeting.
“Ohno, huh?” Mao asked with a smirk and Jun suddenly stiffened.
“Yeah, he’s our group Leader,” Aiba started to explain, but Jun kicked him lightly in the shin before he could get any farther.
+++
A/N: Wow, it was a busy chapter! A lot of people thought the apprentice would be Chinen, so I hope you're okay with my decision. ^__^; And random Mao in there the shake things up even more, lol. And Tomapi. :D
By the way, I'm having a contest right now, open to anyone. It's to celebrate members of my community, but you don't have to be a member to participate! There are two sections, making something Arashic (fanfiction/fanart/icons/etc) and leaving a word prompt for something I'll be writing in celebration! So head over there and leave a comment! The prize is something by meeee~ :DD
Otherwise I think I gained 5 lbs of chocolate weight over the holidays. >A< And I'm always open to criticism!!
To chapter seventeen