Private Catching up with old acquaintances... kinda.

[Uchiha Asuka]

As she looked onwards the village she kept thinking on the girl next to her at the Ramen shop. For some reason something didn't feel right with her. Looking at her file alone brought red flags all around. But also similarities. She did see a bit of herself in her. At least just a bit. Looking over the maple district she basically locked her eyes on the place. At least that's where her file said she had residency. Scratching the back of her head she knew it wasn't a good idea but she did need to see. Or at least make sure that she had everything in order. Otherwise?

Even her thoughts paused for a moment. "Otherwise what?" That was a good question. Otherwise what. She couldn't exactly make her change her ways. Wasn't as easy as that. In the end it wouldn't matter though. She would just wing it like she always did. Looking over at the kids window she took a deep breath, vanishing from the rooftops. Moments later appearing inside the apartment. Taking a moment it was surprisingly empty, not much from furniture aside from the small wooden table. That she was floating on top of... or rather... she teleported above the table. She messed up.

Crashing down upon the wooden table there was a loud crack as it splintered in multiple places. Staying on the ground for a few moments she rubbed the back of her head a couple of times. "Ouch." She still wasn't entirely used to having her abilities back. She needed more practice to avoid doing stuff like this. Next time, she might teleport in between walls. "God damn it." As she slowly stood up, cleaning off the debri from her Kimono as she looked around for the child.

[Summoning Otami]

 

[Uzu]

The tall blond laid in her bed lost in thoughts for a change. Normally sleep was something Otami very much looked forward to but, tonight, it was like trying to catch a desert hare; impossible in the dark. She tossed and turned on the futon more than half a dozen times before finally throwing off the blankets in frustration. The Wildling’s bare feet padded against the bare floor as she stalked around in the dark clothed in the loose fitting kimono that hung off her frame comically; she wasn’t great at buying clothes....or really, anything that involved humans, she thought to herself as she opened up a window to let the cool night air in. A refreshing breeze soothed some of her stress but non of the reasons for the stress. Lately she had begun to think about her debt to Konohagakure, how ill she fit in, and how most of the things people tried to teach went over Otami’s head. How to ‘act like a person,’ how to ‘eat like a normal human’…how to make friends; it all eluded the princess. She was still much more comfortable around animals and the forested wilds beyond the Village Gate. Humans, to her, were chaos incarnate. No real order outside of a military and laws; and the latter only mattered if you were caught. The desert brought justice and order in a natural way that couldn’t be pushed against. What people thought of as a “society” was just sheer flaunting to the very laws she lived by.

Leaning against the windowsill a little, the girl let out a tired sigh as she looked down over the poorer district of Maple Town. A little bit away she could smell someone burning something funny, hear someone crying, and feel someone’s music being played too loudly….but couldn’t understand the why. She felt like a creature trapped in a cage, unable to associate with people the way they wanted her, and there was this deep feeling inside that it would never come to pass. That she would always be the Wolf Princess; that damn desert Wildling. Of course these thoughts eventually tracked back to her own parents. A mother that had been terrified of her and what her father could have turned her into…and a father that was, well, Tama. The man was such an enigma that even she couldn’t quite understand why they had to be seperated but, between the two - the mother she had lived with for 13 years and the father she had known for 1 - she missed the latter more.

Despite what many would think, Tama was actually not the worst Dad in the world. He was eccentric as all get-out, sure, and incredibly dubious in his morals; however when it came to Otami, he was like another man all together. It was Okibi he had problems with, and those problems would often spill out in ways that many would have considered a negative impact for their precious bean of a child that had no prior human contact. Tama also had a penchant for using the things closest to him for nefarious deeds and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say he could have used Otami to somehow get revenge on a slight Okibi made against him nearly 17 years ago…which was also incredibly probable. And that hurt. She couldn’t trust either of her parents and had might as well not have any at all. She was here, now, in another village far away from those who had the right to raise her and they hadn’t even so much as sent a letter. Neither of them. Where she had been placed wasn’t a secret, who she was even less so. There was no real reason for such absent silence and yet…another sigh escaped her lips as the teen pushed the thoughts away and locked them down. To ponder on the “whys” and “what if’s” of life was not how one survived 13 years in the Wind Country wilds.

Right as she was about to give up and try sleeping again, the most curious thing happened. She got an intruder. She smelled Asuka before she saw her, the moment the former Hokage appeared her scent jolting Otami’s body like a shock of electricity. As soon as Asuka crashed through the breakfast table Otami was in the corner of the room on the ceiling, staring down at whoever was dumb enough to break into her house. Having been mixed in with the scents from the ramen shop, she couldn’t recognize the very woman who took her in originally, and in the darkness the 5th was but a shadowy form. From that corner she began a deep warning growl that would send most people into a state of frozen terror to hear such sounds coming from the ceiling. Her hands clung hard to the rafters, her feet planted into the wall ready to spring; three large canines and a broken one bared for Asuka.

[MFT = 800+]

 

[Uchiha Asuka]

Asuka felt the atmosphere change as she very faintly heard someone on the corner of the room. Growling. Slowly raised her hands up, hopefully seeming harmless. Without turning around she gave a sigh. "Sorry sorry." She said with a slight giggle. "My jump was supposed to land on the floor, on my feet... but sometimes I miscalculate and end up... well." She gave a slight point to the table. Slowly moving towards the light that shined through the door she started touching the walls. Finally feeling a small lump she smiled. Flipping the switch. The lights coming on. She kept her hand up. "It's just me, we met at the Ramen shop not so long ago." She gave a slight smile, lowering her arms she looked over to the damage she had caused. She gave a nervous, embarrassed laugh. Well, she had planned something different... more in the slow and steady but she could make it work.

"I'll fix it... meanwhile..." Her sharingan activated, she slowly made the broken table disappear from the room. Now safely tucked away in her pocket dimension. Rummaging through her pink kimono sleeves she continued to talk. Dropping storage seals as she tried finding the right one. "When we met. You intrigued me and that's not an easy fit mind you." Accidently activating one, an old, but well kept, blue Kimono fell out. Yep. That was the wrong one. Being non-chalante, or trying to be, she continued. Keeping her eyes on Otami, waiting in case she pounced. "Coming from Sand. What some people would call "feral". Talented but hard to get along. " She gave a triumphant smile as she took out a seal, quite a bit larger than the rest and placed it on the floor. Sitting on her knees she placed her hand upon it, charging Asuka unto it and with the poof of smoke dissipating it was revealed. A new table. Similar in size. Ordained and elegant. Four comfortable pillows lay on each side of the table, clearly meant for them to sit Clapping her hands together with a giggle she gave a happy sigh. "There. New table. Do hope you like it? Took me a while to find it to be honest." Giving a small scooch she sat herself at one of the pillows. Bringing out another seal, this time smaller.

With another poof of smoke there was a white kettle, hot to the touch. Blue markings surrounded it giving the false impression of sea waves. Two tea cups surrounded it. Asuka simply grabbed the kettle, a friendly smile on her face. "You remind me of myself." She simply said pouring tea in the tea cup next to her. "So, I thought it would be fun if we had a tea party." She giggled. Pouring tea into her own cup. Picking it up. "Kind of those first bonding moments of when two loners get to know one another." She took a sip from her tea. Giving a side glance to Otami. Tapping the pillow next to her, inviting her to sit.

 

[Uzu]

Asuka raising her hands instantly stopped Otami’s growls. She remained planted in the corner without using an ounce of chakra, the flow of her coil in her natural instincts a beautiful thing to witness. Golden hued, powerful but with lots of room for refinement, and the sense of a powerful beast lurking further still in the depths. The tone of her chakra relaxed once the lights were on, but the girl still remained stuck to the wall. Her eyes watched Asuka carefully, and edge of fear in them now as she recognized the woman that had appeared in her lair.

Lady 5th’s powers unsettled the Wildling, but what more was the fact that it was Asuka sitting in her lair that put an edge of fear in the blond’s eyes. Had that fabled punishment finally come to roost? Yet it was clear to even an idiot like her that her intruder was going out of their way to promote a calm atmosphere. Once she had replaced Otami’s table and brought out a rich scented, heated liquid Otami couldn’t help but relax a little; out of a politeness if nothing else. Strange occurrences like this were ‘par for the course’, so to speak, when it came to the Wildling. Having lived in a desert full of demons, giant worms, dinosaurs, and all assorted kinds of other monsters, the Hokage popping into her apartment felt really low on the list of things to be concerned about.

Still top 10.

Otami lowered herself down the wall by sliding down on the chakra coming from her palms as her feet touched the floor. The girl dropped down to all fours, moving towards the pillow seat with a grace that would belie the concept of her humanity. She was still very much that wild girl from the desert who thought she was an animal. Otami tapped the pillow a few times to test it and then scurried right up, sitting down on her knees but still hunched and defensive.

“So…why care?” she asked with blunt honesty, “Loners, we stay so ’cause hurt others by being live. It choice. One with few…” the blond’s face scrunched up for a second as she searched for the word, “…pack mates?” she answered forgetting how to say the word for friends. “Am just…Otami. Alone better than hurt mates.”

She said it with surprising calmness. As if being alone by such a choice was simply a matter of fact and what was truly best for everyone. There was a deep aching in the girl’s blue eyes but it wasn’t sad. Just lonely.

 

[Uchiha Asuka]

Asuka gave a smile. This was precisely what she liked. Blunt. To the point. No filter. The world was covered in lies and deceit. People being stubborn enough to go to their graves rather than seeing things from another perspective. But she knew how that felt. Spent years hiding behind the façade of Asuka. People always denying her existence. Just the replacement. But, she had been on both ends of the spectrum. Alone and with people who cared for her. Which one was the best choice? That was the question.

Seeing the girl look at the Tea while she spoke made her smile. Usually people drank her tea out of respect alone... or fear... whichever rocked their boat. But in the end they drank. Otami didn't. She didn't care for titles or statue. To her Asuka was simply an intruder. "It is indeed a choice." She gave her a slight smile. Thinking for a few moments on how to continue she remembered her own time as a loner. How trusting was a privilege she couldn't afford. That was reserved for those that could live their lives without hurting others. "But are you happy being alone?" She asked leaning on her hand. "Do you even know what happiness is?" She gave a slight giggle as she drank a sip from her tea. "Besides, it's not like you could hurt me. I could force you into that Kimono and you wouldn't be able to do anything about it." Asuka laughed as she pointed to the one she had dropped earlier. "You wouldn't like it, but it would be really funny."

"See, being a loner does come with it's advantages. You don't hurt anyone and in turn no one hurts you." She looked up for a moment as she gave a sigh. "But, as the word suggest. It's lonely. Never experiencing joy, laughter, love. Never learning from those willing to teach. Never being able to bicker with a sibling." She gave a laugh. Remembering the times she laughed with Nanjirou Soku. Those were good times. "Never growing up." She turned to Otami, twiddling her thumb on the edges of the tea cup. Would she listen? It was hard to tell. She felt herself letting her guard down. The copy being replaced by the real her. Asuka letting go and turning back into Rayne.

"I used to be like you. Only coming out when needed. A loner. Thinking that people were safer and happier if I just stayed out the way. Protected the one I cared about." She gave a slight smile "Even though the only thing she wanted was to get rid of me at the start." She took another sip from her tea. Hopefully getting through to her. "But then I met someone. The first one who saw me for who I was. I prefer having mates over being a loner. Any day. Life is still painful but I learned the meaning of it." She took a deep breath. "We gather pieces of happiness, precious and fragile, only to lose them. Then start again."

 

[Uzu]

Loneliness…yeah, that was something Otami got.

The desert was rarely a friendly environment. The only way one could survive in such desolation was by being stronger than the sands themselves, or to join with other creatures and huddle in the darkness; because the hot-ass daytime was right out. Yet, even running with a wolf pack most of her natural life, Otami was warned through the entirety of it that she wasn’t a wolf. She was a person who was being raised by, mostly, wolves. Her mother was the other human in the pack and she tried everything to ensure her daughter realized the difference between herself and the canine they followed for protection. In the end it just made the feral blond realize just how alone she really was. She couldn’t relate to her mother, or especially her father. The ones she could relate to, she wasn’t allowed to. When the incident came to pass where she had become possessed with Earth Chakra and killed an entire group of human bandits, and the wolf pack exiled her and her mother; Otami realized quickly how unique she really was...and the loneliness that came with it.

Now Asuka was offering wisdom she hadn’t heard before. Pieces of happiness…it made sense to even the Wildling. One couldn’t always make a meal out of a single kill, sometimes you had to hunt many things all at once to feed the pack. Juxtaposing herself as the “pack” in this scenario, it was happily easy to imagine pieces of happiness as a metaphor for food, and something about what Asuka said just made sense.

Though she was still wary about that kimono comment. It was too damn hot for that crap.

Otami witnessed the recent Hokage enjoying her tea and playing with the rim of the cup, wondering if she should also do the same; trying to act more human than wolf. It finally occurred that maybe Asuka was offering her a drink, and the night was hot. When she touched the cup she felt her hands draw back in reflex at the heat; it was unexpected. She gently gripped the handle, and the outside of the cup feeling the warmth through the prociline without burning her fingertips. She didn’t know this, but it was clear the tea set the Hokage liked to pull out of non-existance was a really well made. Otami raised the hot beverage to her lips and sipped gently. Then began coughing,

“What drink?? Bee water?!” she exclaimed as her face started to turn a little red, hives began to pop up over her skin causing the canine-inclined girl to start kicking her foot at her neck - trying to scratch at the sudden allergic reaction. The fluid itself wasn’t overly hot, pleasant actually as it turned out, but whatever Asuka had made the tea from did not interact well with Otami’s body. It stung her tongue, swallowed like glass, and in general just did not sit well with her pallate. Perhaps the oil of the plant or even some trace pollen - either way, clearly the blond was allergic.

 

[Uchiha Asuka]

It made Asuka happy that Otami had finally figured out that it wasn't poison that she was trying to offer her. Or even just considering it. She knew that one of the few things that she had learned a while back was that even though being alone would be able to teach some skills that aren't usually taught. Force one self to grow and survive is the only thing available to do. Nothing else matters.

But, Asuka had learned that it wasn't the only way to go. Her growth hit an exponential rise when she met those who had taught her, guided her, fought with her. She learned stuff that she never would've thought about while being alone. That she never would've even assumed. THAT was precisely what she wanted to do with Otami. Show her that knowing those survival skills was good, but it was essential to learn from others other than herself.

"Bee water?" Asuka questioned looking over at the girl. Looking at her reaction to her tea she gave quite the frown. Of all the things. She could've had a double personality, world conquest, genocide, psycopathic tendencies. Anything at all. But no. The person she wanted to take care of had to be allergic to tea. Or to be more precise, at least, Sakura trees. "God damn it." She sighed loudly pinching the birdge of her nose. Of course she would have that sort of reaction and unfortunately she forgot her usual kit... Asuka thought for a moment. She could, with the seals in her sleeves, make a canon. Or a musket. Had everything to build a house. But she didn't have a first aid kit.... she really needed to get her priorities straight. "Allright kid." She said quickly walking over to her, grabbing her shoulder. "We're going to the hospital." And with that they both vanished.

[Topic Left, sorry!]

 

[Uzu]

Before Otami knew what had happened, she was adopted.

The trip to the hospital was so quick she didn’t even get a chance to think. One moment she was in her apartment, the next she was in the Boyin getting emergency treatment for her new found allergy. Asuka remained by her side the entire time. Thankfully, the staff caught it before it got bad or she had attempted to drink anymore of that specific kind of tea, but seeing the woman at her bedside through the entire experience was, in of itself, an experience. Otami wasn’t a girl who knew what the comfort of a doting parent. Her own mother was broken, and that was putting it kindly, so she wasn’t exactly always the most loving or supportive; mostly because she wasn’t sure how to be. The only thing Okibi cared for was that her child stay as far away from Suna as she could get until said child became so saturated with Earth Chakra she could no longer ignore the specialized training Otami would need. Then there was Tama, her father, and that was a whole different bag of bad parenting potential. It might have been the very least the Hokage could do at that moment, but it meant a lot to the Wildling.

The next day, Otami showed up at Asuka’s house with her things of her own volition. The event had reminded the teenager what it was like to run in a pack and to have a family to depend on. She had very little in the means of friends at the time, and was more than happy to accept Asuka’s offer after mulling it over little more than an hour. The estate that the ex-Hokage resided in was huge, though, and there were maids everywhere that insisted on the girl wearing more clothes than she usually bothered with; kimonos in particular. It was too damn hot to wear them, in her opinion, and before Asuka left on a mission for diplomacy, she had managed to wrestle the teenager into exactly one, for about a full ten minutes, before the Wildling literally burst out of the silk garments and went into hiding for a week; like some feral cat.

As the weeks and months passed the maids and Otami came to terms on things. She began to wear more actual clothing around the house and started to eat actual food beyond candy more often; which started to develop muscles she didn’t know could look that well toned. The only thing Asuka’s staff and Otami still didn’t fully agree on was bathing.
In the desert, whenever she felt gross or had to get blood off of her skin, she took a dirt bath. Rolling around got all the oils and yuck off, and due to her natural lean into Earth Chakra, a simple tap and it all fell off to reveal a surprisingly clean teenager. The staff just could not understand how it worked, though they did profess she was indeed clean afterwards, it just wouldn’t click with their training. So once a month, from Asuka’s corner of the compound, there would be a terrible fit of screaming, swearing, growling in tones that would make an Inuzuka blush, and crashing all over as the staff tried to drag Otami into a bathtub full of bubbles, scents, and relaxing candles that most others would kill for. It wasn’t that she didn’t understand what they were trying to accomplish, it was that she didn’t see the value of getting into freaking hot water. To her, water was to cool off and escape the heat, or to hydrate and avoid death - there was no in between.

Would she be more ladylike by the time Asuka got back? Only time would tell….

[Topic Left]