Let's Go Training! (Private: Shizuka and Oushi)

[Shimamura Yosuke]

Yosuke didn’t know how to react to Oushi’s strange behavior. He came to all flustered and damn near jumped out of his skin to get away from Shizuka. He stared at the purple haired boy, ashamed of his behavior and feeling a little angry at him. “Oushi,” His eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes betrayed the friendship they created over the last few months. “W-” He looked at Shizuka, who was obviously defeated and back at him, “What’s wrong with you dude?” He mouthed, so that Shizuka couldn’t hear.

He tried consolidating his Senju friend, running over to her and gently grabbing both her shoulders. “Hey come on now,” He shook her lightly with a smile, “You can’t just win your fight and not face the champion, right?” He laughed nervously and frowned when it didn’t work as well as he thought it would. “He didn’t mean what he said, maybe he’s just shy around girls, y-yeah!”

He tried to reassure her nothing was wrong with her, nodding over and over, “Yeah that must be it! He must like you or something so he gets really shy!” He stood in her way so she couldn’t leave the training spot, “Right Oushi?” He glanced back over to him, his face betraying the compassion he showed towards Shizuka for anger directed towards him.

 

[Tsuyo Oushi]

‘Oh no.’ Instantly, he felt the gravity of a sunken pit in his stomach. He’d done it now. His natural instinct to flee had won over, and the hurt expression on Shizuka’s face was the reward. A terrible, terrible prize. A hand ran through the loose hair that hung by the right side of his head, still a little muddy from the clone the Senju girl had made. Now that he had distanced himself, he had calmed down just in time to perceive the damage his actions had done, despite losing the fight.

They were supposed to be friends and tarnished it. Even Yosuke looked angry with him, mouthing the question that very well needed answering. Stumbling to his feet, Oushi cautiously walked closer. “N-No, it’s fine. Really.” In truth, the boy was a little sore all over, but he’d get over it. He stopped a few feet short, keeping more than an arms distance between him and both of his friends. This was probably safest because Yosuke looked like he was going to clock him one if he didn’t have a good answer.

Was this it? He was going to have to tell them why he acted the way he did. Really, Oushi should have known better than to put it off, but they were still getting to know each other. How was he to know how they would possibly react to his stupid condition? His caramel brown eyes stared downcast at the muddy ground, not quite sure he could look either of them in the eye. To a degree, Yosuke was kinda spot on. Yeah, he was shy, but it went further than that.

“It’s not your fault, Shizuka. It’s all on me. I’d let you hit me harder for the way I’ve made you feel, but...I’d probably just run for it since we’re not actually fighting anymore.” His frame tensed, almost expecting to be struck for his behaviour. “Yosuke’s right…,” he managed “I’m just...really shy around girls. If anybody should leave...it’d be me.” Maybe he could get by with saying that much...if he was lucky.

 

[Senju Shizuka]

Already on her way to disappear from the training ground, she found herself stopped by Yosuke. It took her quite some effort to form a weak smile at his obvious attempt to distract her from what had happened. Nervously turning to see if Oushi was still shocked, she felt her insides tremble like bits of freshly shattered glass. Perhaps Yosuke was right, and the guy was just shy. But no, she could vividly remember the panic in his eyes, and something else, there had been something else too. Had it been disgust?

And now, all he had to say was that it was ‘fine’?

No, he wouldn’t get to go that easily. She frowned, hurt turning into anger.

“It’s not fine! The way you.. the way you looked at me, it wasn’t shyness! You were disgusted by me!” The words came out harder than she had expected them too. But growling was all she could do to refrain from crying. And that she wouldn’t do, not here.

“What is it about girls that makes you feel this way? Why..?” The pain, sadness, and panic. His emotions had exploded in his eyes, escaping them so quickly, and hitting her right in the face. So, now, she gritted her teeth, clenched her fist, and growled.

“What’s your problem, Oushi?” Somehow she felt like she had the right to know. In fact, both of them did. Should the three want to remain friends it was best to talk. Communication was key in every sort of relation. Should this be a misunderstanding then it would fade, in case that it wasn’t, well, Shizuka didn’t plan to stick around someone who couldn’t stand her for whatever mysterious reason.


**

 

[Tsuyo Oushi]

Oushi flinched, taken aback by the switch of emotion in Shizuka’s expression. Had his words only made it worse? He gulped, reflexively taking a single step back with his right foot. Of course there would be no way that the boy would be so lucky as to get away with the lackluster of an explanation he had given her. Her words were harsher than he had ever heard her speak before though. Did she really have to speak to him like that?!

The purple haired boy struggled to keep his brow from scrunching up, not wanting to make the situation worse. What right did he have to come off as angry too? He had started it after all. Still, she was painting him feelings he didn’t feel at all! Disgust? No! It was nothing like that. Oushi never felt like that whenever close contact with a girl managed to happen. It was all just...a subconscious instinct to pull away, not wanting to be hurt like before.

He was feeling pressured now, things he’d rather not talk about bubbling up. His caramel gaze flicked between the two, a sense of panic setting in, gradually changing into frustration. Was...was he going to lose his friends over this? That was stupid! “No! I wasn’t disgusted by you! You don’t understand!” The boy blurted out, the building pressure finding its release with his words. He hadn’t noticed, but the step he had initially taken back, moved forward with a little more confidence. If he was going to explain anything, he had do at least that much. Showing weakness would only make it worse.

“I...I’m scared of close contact with girls! There, I said it! You happy?! Does that explain it enough for you?! Go ahead, laugh! People always do when they figure it out! Might as well get it over and done with.” His face was reddened, a cocktail of embarrassment, frustration and other such things. He looked hurt, expecting the judgement. This wasn’t really how he’d wanted to explain it.

 

[Shimamura Yosuke]

Yosuke stood between his two friends, at first he tried comforting Shizuka but it seemed like it wasn’t working. The blood was boiling between both of his friends, as Oushi apologized Shizuka barked her frustrations towards him, showing her true anger. The Senju rage that Yosuke grew very well accustomed to. All of her fits of anger, ‘bossing’ him around, and even the rage she showed back in the tea when she kicked him for pulling her into the water. He often compared her to her mother, who he saw often when he would hang out at her place. She was one scary lady, one of the three girls he fears in life. Shizuka, Shizuka’s mom, and the blue haired witch.

“What’s your problem Oushi?” Those words would sound over and over in his ears, his jaw dropped as the words stung even his own ears and his very heart fell to the core of his stomach.

“Shizuka, that’s a little harsh,” He mumbled, not knowing what to do. He could see the pain in Oushi’s eyes following the short girl’s words. He flinched, appearing a little shaken, and fairly upset. “Guys, calm down…” He tried stepping in between the two, even though they weren’t very close to one another. But suddenly, just as silence was filling the forest, Oushi snapped revealing the truth.

A hush ensued, no sound could be heard all throughout the forest except for the hooting of owls and chirping of crickets. He was shocked, and stared at Oushi. ‘Scared of girls?’ He then looked over at Shizuka. ‘He’s scared of Shizuka…?’

‘That explains all of his weird mannerisms…’

 

[Senju Shizuka]

Of course she didn’t understand. Shizuka rolled her eyes in exasperation, but found herself hit by the tone he was using. What came next had her turn to fully face her purple haired friend. Confusion and worry shot across her face. There was nothing even close to amusement coming from her. Startled she blinked, and waited.

“Why?” She found herself wondering aloud.

Slowly her stance turned into a less hostile one. Muscles relaxed, she breathed. The frown forming on her forehead deepened. It made sense for him to worry about being laughed at, but they were friends here. She wouldn’t laugh at him because it would hurt his feelings and aside from that it wouldn’t really make things better. Instead of mocking Oushi, she wanted to understand him. Perhaps that way she could help the guy with his problem, or at least take it into account.

“I wasn’t planning on hurting you, you’re aware of that, right?”

With her anger quickly fading and worry taking its place, she took a step closer to her friend. There was still plenty of space between them, but she wanted to show him that talking could be a solution here.

The redness in his face was a contrast to her paleness. She hesitated, then looked to Yosuke for some help. Perhaps if the guy would nudge their friend it would be easier for the latter to explain more. Surely if a male supported a male both felt stronger. No? Didn’t confidence grow when being backed up. And in this case, more specifically, if one’s feelings weren’t being broken down.

C’mon, encourage him, her eyes told Yosuke.


**

 

[Shimamura Yosuke]

Yosuke remained in the middle of his two best friends, no longer worried about Shizuka’s wrath, but rather confused by Oushi’s fear. His muscles relaxed when he saw the shift in Shizuka’s demeanor. The anger had left her body and she began stepping towards Oushi, a little apologetically, and maybe just as confused as Yosuke was. Just...maybe.

It didn’t take long for her to look back for some support. The redness in her face didn’t help the position Yosuke was in. He scratched the back of his head, and blushed as well, not knowing what to say. After another awkward moment of silence he began to speak up, “Dude, you should know us by now,” he stepped forward, and patted his purple haired friend on the shoulder, “We wouldn’t make fun of you. “

He looked back at Shizuka, with a smile and then back to Oushi with the same warm grin, “We aren’t like everyone else, we’re best friends. Please, never forget that. Shizuka may be a girl, but I’m sure she isn’t like most girls you don’t necessarily like. We’ve hung out together a bunch, and every time you guys had a blast-together.” He cleared his throat, hoping all this mushy talk would work because he was feeling awkward, “So there’s no need to fear her, or even think we’d judge you for anything.”

 

[Tsuyo Oushi]

It felt like a small weight had been lifted from his shoulders, though the anxiety still remained. Now he would have to face it head on, now that he blurted out his personal secret, or his personal hell, he wasn’t sure how best to describe it. Oushi could feel an inkling of shame though amidst his confusing feelings. The human mind perceived things so...weirdly, sometimes. Of course Shizuka wasn’t going to intentionally hurt him after their spar. She wasn’t a copy of his older sisters. They were friends, so why would she hurt him? It wasn’t her fault he was afflicted so. He hadn’t been exposed to many females in the stretch of his years, but the few he had been...had not been kind. Teasing. Being bullied around into doing extra work...amongst other things, and that was just his sisters. Their friends around the village were sheep, following after.

A knot tied itself up in his stomach just from the thought, causing his face to pale. The purple haired boy took a slow breath, trying to calm himself down before he got light headed. He had to remind himself that Shizuka was in fact not like what he had known. She had never intentionally aimed to hurt him or cause him real pain, but when his instinctual reaction was to distance himself, it was hard to control. He gave a slow nod. “I...I know, but it’s not so easy to adjust when it’s something that has hung around you for the majority of your life.”

No one was laughing. If anything, the two had been the most supportive figures in his life to date and the only two who he had sort of willingly told about this. Awkward silence passed and he could feel Yosuke pat his hand against his shoulder. His smile was warm as he looked from Shizuka to Oushi, and he was beginning to find comfort in it. ‘Best...friends?’ The boy’s caramel brown eyes noticeably cleared up, glad to hear that his condition had not completely tarnished their friendship due to his unintentionally rude behavior. He gave a lively nod to show he understood, his untameable cowlick bouncing with the movement.

Oushi gave pause, debating if he should try and explain further about his reactions. If he didn’t, then how would they understand? They were friends after all, and he knew he could trust them not to hold it all over his head now. “It...it’s not that I dislike girls...m-maybe I’m indifferent since I don’t know how to properly act around them...b-but it’s like,” his brow furrowed as he tried to process how to explain it, “my fight or flight instincts have been messed with?” He scratched lightly at the side of his face, still wondering if that was really in the right direction. “S-Shizuka isn’t the cause...and I know that. Majority of girls aren’t...but because it’s like the way it is, my mind and body instinctively tell me to keep my distance so I don’t get...hurt.”

The purple haired boy suddenly bowed his head, palms firmly pressed together in front of his face like he was asking for forgiveness. “I...I hope you both will be able to be patient with me.”

 

[Senju Shizuka]

Nodding to show that she agreed with Yosuke about not making fun out of him Shizuka waited, impatiently but distantly. The mixture of feelings in her chest caused her to feel slightly nauseous. Like a string that nauseousness shook a little when either of them spoke. It caused her to debate in the back of her mind if leaving right now was still an option. Perhaps it would be easier on both her and Oushi if the latter got to talk with Yosuke, alone.

No, no. It wouldn’t do. She was a part of this problem, of this odd situation she hadn’t expected at all, and running away from it wouldn’t help. Now that Oushi was opening up, she had to stay and help her friend through whatever he was dealing with. Aside from that, it would also explain his reaction and help her to place her own confused feelings.

“Hmm,” she hummed, eyes a bit sad. “I’m sorry to hear that,” Gesturing with her hand as if that would help her find the right words she paused briefly. “if you want to talk about what happened we’re here for you, but eh,” Throwing a quick look at Yosuke she felt worried for Oushi and whatever he had been through. “if you would rather talk to him, I understand.”

Some females had hurt him badly enough for him to still be afraid of them. It was insane.

Scalding fury settled itself deep in her chest. It burned away all the other feelings from before. She wanted to hurt the ones who had caused this discomfort to her friend. With fists tightening in this storm of anger she slowly inhaled to make sure that she didn’t lash out - she didn’t want for Oushi to think that this anger was directed at him.

“Should you tell me who they are I’ll take care of them.” Brighter than the usual jade her eyes turned into hard, shining green garnet. With them being slightly narrowed she looked the more like the predator she rarely was. The smile offered to her friends was razor sharp - white teeth offering a sneak peek of what could be when those close to her get touched.

“I promise you that they’ll regret their actions.” Whoever they were and whatever they had done, she would make them pay. Just the way she had made that kid pay for bullying her little niece.


**

 

[Tsuyo Oushi]

There was no going back now. His secret was out for his friend’s to see, and yet...they were still accepting of him. It was probably the most single greatest relief he had ever felt. Lifting his head from the bow, he offered Shizuka a lopsided smile, still a little anxious. It wasn’t as bad as it had been though, now that he knew he was in the presence of friends he could trust. “No, no, it’s fine. I think I would be okay talking to the both of you about it. You’re both my friends, after all...a-and it wouldn’t be fair if I talked to one or the other solely about this now...I know you’re not trying to hurt me, Shizuka...and I don’t want to hurt your feelings like that again. I’d be a terrible friend if I did.”

He rubbed the back of his head in thought, looking down at the ground. On top of still being quite tired from their spar, this whole thing had become emotionally draining on top of it. It turned out for the better in the end, but nonetheless, Oushi could only take so much more in one sitting. “I...I’d be up for talking about it...but maybe some other time.” They’d get it out of him eventually, the only difference being now it would voluntarily.

As his caramel orbs drew up from the ground, the boy took notice of the Senju girl’s body language. Was she...angry? Her gaze looked hardened, more determined to get things done. Her words hit him and hit him hard. She was angry for him. He almost feared that if he by chance slipped the names of his sister’s that her actions would be true to her words. Oushi would have to be careful to not speak who prematurely. It wasn’t the solution he was looking for, having someone else deal with his problems for him. Clearing his throat, the purple haired boy took his time to finding his voice. “I...appreciate the thought...but if you do that...it won’t solve anything. I don’t know how to fix it myself right now, but if you can support me while I figure it out, that would be...nice.”

Oushi hoped that would do in order to calm Shizuka down, at least for the moment. Those were his true thoughts after all. If someone else were to face the cause of his problems for him, he felt that it wouldn’t really make things better. What he needed to do was find the strength to face his sisters, but only after he could truthfully say that he wasn’t scared of them anymore. That still felt a ways off, but if his friends supported him...maybe it was closer than he thought.

 

[Shimamura Yosuke]

Yosuke felt the anger radiating off of his short Senju friend, and a shiver rushed up and down his spine. He’s seen this anger before, when they went on their trip to the tea and he was the receiver of a boot to the gut for getting her wet. When Shizuka gets like this, she means business. He rose his hands, an awkward sweat droplet falling from his forehead as he tried disarming the bomb that was the wrath of a Senju, “Hey, calm down Shizuka,” He waved his hands and laughed awkwardly, “Fighting won’t solve anything. At least not in this situation!”

Then he turned back to face Oushi, and gave a confident nod. His eyes were half lidded, per usual, but the smile on his face was one full of self-assuredness. “I’ll be here forever Oushi, I don’t have many friends, but that’s what I learned from the few I do have.” He pressed his fist against his chest, and then looked at both of them, nodding one more time, “And that’s a promise.”

The glimpse of his watch caught his attention, and when he looked down he noticed the time. He practically jumped out of his skin, “Ugh-guys, don’t want to cut this short or anything,” He swallowed nervously, “We have ten minutes to get back before Shizuka and I get in trouble, and who knows if the Academy guards will take notice of Oushi being missing!”

He turned on his heels and started running, stopped, then looked back, “Well come on then, we’ll continue this some other time!” Then he ran off again, expecting them to follow.

[Thread: Left and Closed after Their Reply]

 

[Tsuyo Oushi]

Oushi couldn’t help but beam a little, his mouth forming a smile. It meant a lot for him to hear that from Yosuke. Not to mention how Shizuka had gotten so angry for his sake. It wasn’t something he had ever quite experienced before, and honestly, it took him a while to adjust to it. In the end though, the feeling he felt welling up inside him was welcomed. These two friends he had been fortunate enough to meet, were the most supportive people he had met of yet. They took the time to try and understand him, of course, once things were explained a little it made it easier to manage. His smile transformed into a grin, not being able to help it. “Thank you. Both of you.”

The pink haired boy’s sudden reaction to the time startled him a bit, but upon realizing the reasoning behind it, also began to panic. He didn’t want either Yosuke or Shizuka to get in trouble for being out too late, and he definitely didn’t want to be caught by the guards being out of room too late either. “Ah! R-Right!” Quickly, he followed after Yosuke in a run, not wanting to be left behind. Oushi had to admit, there was a bit of a thrill of cutting it close to curfew. He could feel his heart beating heavily in his chest.

After a while, he had to leave the other two as they went their separate ways. They had their own homes to get to, as he had to get back to the Academy. Sprinting for the wall, the purple haired boy climbed it and peered over the top to make sure the coast was clear. Once he deemed it so, he vaulted over it and sneaked over to dorm, focusing his chakra into the soles of his feet while and climbed up the side till he reached the window of his room. Slipping through the open window, he let out a quiet sigh of relief, glad he seemed to have made it without alerting anyone. Looking down at his clothes, Oushi realized he was still kinda dirty from the mud clone exploding on him. ‘Oh...right.’ Laundry was inevitable.
[Left unless stopped]

 

[Senju Shizuka]

She disagreed with Yosuke, but did so in silence. Fighting could solve quite a lot. Unfortunately, Oushi didn’t seem to be willing to tell them who was the cause of his current ‘issues’, if one could call his conflicted feelings toward females like that. All in all, she thought to understand that, perhaps, a part of him wanted to deal with whoever had caused him such stress early on in his life himself. It would make sense. That, however, didn’t mean that she wasn’t furious with the people in the shadow who had hurt her friend. In time they would pay, whether it would be him who’ll make them suffer or someone else was yet to be seen. Only one thing was certain if she wouldn’t get home fast her mother would cross her arms in front of her chest in that terrifying way she always did when Shizuka had messed up something.

“Coming!” she laughed, taking off behind the guys while replaying the events of the past hour. It bugged her a little to not have noticed, or rather realized, that Oushi found the presence of females disturbing. In a way, he was quite good at hiding it. Until today, that is.

A bit soaked and quite hungry she landed on the porch, carefully shaking off as much mud as she could from her shoes before entering the house. The smell of food had her swallow hard while she put away her shoes -knowing that mother would want her to clean them, but shoving that responsibility aside, for later- then moved on to the kitchen area.

“You don’t look like you guys have been studying..” mother casually mentioned while putting an extra cup on the table. The tone she used relaxed Shizuka who knew that this wasn’t to become a lecture, her mother simply wanted her to know that the truth was already out. “Ugh.. well, what should I look like then?” Grinning slyly she got herself a flick on the forehead before being ushered out of the kitchen and into the bathroom.

“Go clean up, and take those shoes with you.”

Pfff, she always had to do that.


**
Words: 360
MFT
Left Topic - End