Some time had passed since the incident at the forest with the Hokage and Academy boys. Reicheru had been able to avoid telling her mother about it, telling her that she had been out training with Hiroshi when Akane asked why she was out so late. She couldn't bring herself to say that she had put herself in such a position, ultimately getting scolded by a Sennin - the Sennin of her own mother's branch at that. While she was filled with anxiety in the days that followed that her mother may hear about it, the days passed by peacefully and so it seemed as though Kenshin had not said anything to her. Were it not for the presence of the boys at the academy, she may have almost entirely forgotten about the whole thing.
Ultimately, fate would not be so kind nor let her get off so easily. Arriving home late one night, Reicheru slowed as she approached the door, hearing tense voices from the other side. A few scenarios flashed through her mind, most of them involving intruders; and so she reached in her pouch and gripped a kunai before mustering her nerve and opening the door. Suddenly, half a dozen sets of eyes landed on her. Scanning the room with a furrowed brow, her courage melted into confusion as recognition set in. "Obaasan? Ojiisan?" In the center of the room, her maternal grandparents stood with command, causing the others to almost blend into the background. Her mother, standing nearest to the door, moved to put herself between her parents and Reicheru. Her mother's brother, Uncle Daisuke, and his wife, Aunt Kaori, sat on the opposite side of the room, their son Hiroshi behind them. Their voices had quieted when Reicheru entered, but each face was tight and tense. Her grandparents never came around, and when they did things were often strained, but not quite like this. "What's…what's going on?" she finally managed to get out.
"Incredible. Tell me, are you playing dumb or are you really that dense?" her grandmother spat, her words dripping with contempt. "I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised; I had truly hoped that you would take after your mother, but you've clearly inherited as much of his brains as you have his looks." Looking her granddaughter up and down, the Nanjirou woman shook her head and sighed. "My god, it's like he was cloned. What a shame."
"Alright Mama, that's enough." Reicheru's mother inserted herself, moving to stand more directly between the two. "No, I have held my tongue long enough-" "Held your tongue?!" Akane practically erupted, "For fifteen years I've taken your judgment, your prideful dismissal of my family and my choices-" "And do you like where those choices have gotten you?" the grandmother shot back, continuing on and not allowing her daughter to interrupt again, "Married to a nobody, a full grown man who never ranked past Chuunin and made a living teaching children how to make a basic clone. The fifth son of a no-name shop keep whose own family couldn't seem to keep itself alive, with one brother not a competent enough shinobi to make it out alive during a mission, and the other too sickly to ever even become one!"
Reicheru's mind was reeling; how could she speak about her father that way? No one had ever said a bad word about Gorou; he had been among the kindest men in the village, always going above and beyond the call of duty in every area of his life. She couldn't see her mother's face, and so turned to her aunt and uncle; the last comment seemed to strike a chord, as they looked first to each other and then to Hiroshi. Reicheru recalled her cousin telling her about the winter he had almost died as a toddler from a rare illness. It had left a mark, and though he survived he struggled to come back from sicknesses that most shinobi would have no trouble with. Her cousin seemed as shocked to hear the condemnation from their grandmother as she was, his face a mixture of hurt and anger.
"Looks like it runs in the family, not being able to keep himself alive during a mission!" their grandmother mused, hand to her chin. Reicheru's mother clenched her fist, and opened her mouth without a sound coming out. Wrenching her neck to the side, Reicheru could see a tear streaming down her mother's face.
[WC: 744]
Ultimately, fate would not be so kind nor let her get off so easily. Arriving home late one night, Reicheru slowed as she approached the door, hearing tense voices from the other side. A few scenarios flashed through her mind, most of them involving intruders; and so she reached in her pouch and gripped a kunai before mustering her nerve and opening the door. Suddenly, half a dozen sets of eyes landed on her. Scanning the room with a furrowed brow, her courage melted into confusion as recognition set in. "Obaasan? Ojiisan?" In the center of the room, her maternal grandparents stood with command, causing the others to almost blend into the background. Her mother, standing nearest to the door, moved to put herself between her parents and Reicheru. Her mother's brother, Uncle Daisuke, and his wife, Aunt Kaori, sat on the opposite side of the room, their son Hiroshi behind them. Their voices had quieted when Reicheru entered, but each face was tight and tense. Her grandparents never came around, and when they did things were often strained, but not quite like this. "What's…what's going on?" she finally managed to get out.
"Incredible. Tell me, are you playing dumb or are you really that dense?" her grandmother spat, her words dripping with contempt. "I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised; I had truly hoped that you would take after your mother, but you've clearly inherited as much of his brains as you have his looks." Looking her granddaughter up and down, the Nanjirou woman shook her head and sighed. "My god, it's like he was cloned. What a shame."
"Alright Mama, that's enough." Reicheru's mother inserted herself, moving to stand more directly between the two. "No, I have held my tongue long enough-" "Held your tongue?!" Akane practically erupted, "For fifteen years I've taken your judgment, your prideful dismissal of my family and my choices-" "And do you like where those choices have gotten you?" the grandmother shot back, continuing on and not allowing her daughter to interrupt again, "Married to a nobody, a full grown man who never ranked past Chuunin and made a living teaching children how to make a basic clone. The fifth son of a no-name shop keep whose own family couldn't seem to keep itself alive, with one brother not a competent enough shinobi to make it out alive during a mission, and the other too sickly to ever even become one!"
Reicheru's mind was reeling; how could she speak about her father that way? No one had ever said a bad word about Gorou; he had been among the kindest men in the village, always going above and beyond the call of duty in every area of his life. She couldn't see her mother's face, and so turned to her aunt and uncle; the last comment seemed to strike a chord, as they looked first to each other and then to Hiroshi. Reicheru recalled her cousin telling her about the winter he had almost died as a toddler from a rare illness. It had left a mark, and though he survived he struggled to come back from sicknesses that most shinobi would have no trouble with. Her cousin seemed as shocked to hear the condemnation from their grandmother as she was, his face a mixture of hurt and anger.
"Looks like it runs in the family, not being able to keep himself alive during a mission!" their grandmother mused, hand to her chin. Reicheru's mother clenched her fist, and opened her mouth without a sound coming out. Wrenching her neck to the side, Reicheru could see a tear streaming down her mother's face.
[WC: 744]