Order Meets Chaos

Discovering Yuii had been quite a surprise for the young Kage, and an obstacle he had to overcome since she was such a sensitive child, but fortunately with help from Rikka, Chiaki, Shira, and Mako, things went a whole lot smoother, and in the back of his mind, he knew that Rikka would make him pay for it in the end; it would be worth it, though. When everything had settled and Chiaki had returned with the dress and food, Yuii was easy after that. Once Rikka had shown Joji to where he would be staying, one of the guest rooms he had wandered through earlier, he set Yuii in the bed and sung her a lullaby that his mother used to sing him when he was just a child. She was out in no time and after she was tucked in, Joji left to bathe himself after all the excessive traveling and discovered a new companion in the larger of the two wolves, Shira, who always seemed to be right behind him at every corner.

Rikka had kept her distance, as far as confronting Joji about Yuii and her relation to her, and for that he was thankful. After checking out all the work he would need to start on the following day, he changed into a pair of cotton sleep pants Chiaki had been so kind to bring him after the discovery of Joji's lack of wardrobe, and he found a comfortable place on the floor next to the bed Yuii was slumbering in. Shira kept him company, curled up next to him and eventually Joji slipped into a well-deserved sleep. At some point in the night, Yuii had left the bed, dragging Renren and the blanket with her, and she had curled up on Joji's side where he found her after he had roused from his lethargy; Shira was up when Joji was.

"Silly girl." He whispered as he gently lifted the child up and put her back in the bed, tucking her in once more. He sang to her for a few minutes, making sure she remained asleep, and when he stopped, a shadow clone poofed into existence behind him. Not even having to speak, it knew what Joji wanted it to do, and it took a spot in the bed next to Yuii, it leaning up against the oak headboard watching the child, humming softly.

Joji changed into his traveling pants, knowing that they'd double well as work pants, still ignoring his shirt for whatever reason, and he set off into the room he knew was going to be a bar, but not before grabbing his leather satchel. The marble counter top was still a block on the floor and he knew he would have to shape it and install it, making sure it would never budge. Keeping to his pride as a stone worker, he undid two clasps on his bag and it folded out into a set of stone working tools, just like him to carry something so random. Measurements, design, placement, weight balance, so much more to consider and it was barely even light out, but that might have been normal for Leaf, noon being when it got the brightest.

Despite that, Chiaki was at her station up front and Rikka was making her rounds, cleaning the springs as she often did early in the morning, and to Joji's surprise, she hadn't come to bother him; probably Yuii being his saving grace.

_
Yuii awoke once more long enough to ask for a glass of water and to make sure Renren was still tucked in with her. If she remembered climbing onto the floor she didn’t fuss over being back on the bed. Her fine hair had managed to defy gravity by this point, the top right half of it sticking straight up and the left side sticking out I one great big loop. Whoever manages to tame her unruly hair each morning had to have been a magician in their own rights. When she fell back asleep again, it was to the sound of a nice tune and she mumbled something about liking it before she was back in her semi comatose state.

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Ming Yue


Ming could hardly believe her own stupidity. Onsen, Onsenkage; how could she not have put those two together. The Inn had been helpful enough to supply her with a map detailing ever Onsen within a half days walk that would allow visitors to stay the night. On second thought, knowing Joji, she asked for the sleepy desk clerk to also circle any that wouldn’t have rooms just in case. One never knew, he could have charmed his way into- no, no she wouldn’t dare think of that.

Ming, who was not usually a morning person, could hardly contain her excitement. It had been a sleepless night with out her bag. She was like a child without their teddy bear, best friend and mother all wrapped up in one and all she could do was fret. Had he gone through it, had he found anything embarrassing? Could he have pawned off one of her… oh no it was too horrible to think about and she just didn’t want to demonize Joji in that way.

The brunette tried the first place but she could tell even before she described Joji to a bleary eyed clerk, that Joji wouldn’t have been at this sort of place. It was badly taken care of, the own looked like he needed to be using his own Onsen, or perhaps that was the problem. There was a layer of grime to the place that only those forced into it could stand.

The second Onsen seemed like a sister building to the Inn she was staying at and Ming was just as quick to dismiss it, though she still asked around a bit. Joji stood out just enough that she was certain that any owner would recognize him well enough. Besides, most places too down passport records of their visitors just in case.

Ming was starting to wonder if her moment of brilliance had not been so brilliant after all, the third and fourth places seemed alright enough but neither knew of anyone by Joji’s name or description. One woman was downright hostile and Ming thought perhaps the way she spoke had something to do with it. Racism wasn’t uncommon when you hailed from Mist.

As a forethought she stopped long enough to purchase a couple plum Onigiri to eat for breakfast while she searched. On a whim she inquired to the shop keeper if he had seen anyone by Joji’s description pass by: no.

The sun was starting to climb into the sky and soon enough the Kage’s would start their meeting, If Ming had any hope of finding Joji she would need to hurry. She took to the roof tops to avoid the crowds of people that were beginning to form and made her way to the fifth building.

This one, she decided, was just right or at least it seemed so. The building was lovely but it wasn’t so extravagant as to turn Joji away. It seemed welcoming even to her, and Ming had a hard time feeling welcomed anywhere. Best of all, she could feel the heavy presence of good, clean water that was a comfort to her. Without hesitating her stepped through the door way to find the receptionist, a young woman, up front.

“I’m sorry, I was wondering if you’ve seen a men. He’s about-” she held her hand up to approximately Joji’s height,” this tall, well built, tanned uhm… white hair…quite handsome and answer to Joji or Onsen…Kage?”



Arakawa Chiaki


It was as beautiful a Fire Country morning than any other, surely the Fire Goddess had blessed them with the brilliance of her warmth. There was easily something about the nice starts to the day that helped Chiaki keep her beaming smile ever so bright. When she had gotten in, she checked up on Joji and the little girl staying with him, only to find them both cuddled up on the floor in the most adorable of poses, swept the entrance and the halls, made sure there were clean linens in each of the changing rooms, and took her post at the front desk while Rikka did the rest of the opening work.

There were enough early risers in Leaf that they had a fair share of people arrive to get in an early morning soak or use one of their bathing facilities before having to go to work; it was mostly shop owners and retirees at that time, though.

Soon, another girl entered, and it was one Chiaki didn't recognize, but what was odd was that she was looking for Joji. Nodding, giving Ming a warm smile, she replied, "Ah, yes, Isakura-sama arrived sometime yesterday, and he should be awake by now." She stepped away from her station, standing in front of one of the entrances into the bowels of the springs, "Follow this hall all the way down, make a right and keep going until you hit a paper door with a sign on it, go on in, and if you get lost, listen for Isakura-sama's singing; it's quite hard to miss, especially since he's been singing for at least two hours to his nee."

And the cat, or in this case, the Yuii was out of the bag.

Now, if only the world wouldn't come crashing around the young Onsenkage.

Speaking of which, he was diligently working on the piece of stone he had set out to finish in the evening, it now having been worked down to the proper size. Switching between his tools regularly, as he needed to, he was ready to get onto the design of the stone itself and he would be sure to make it unforgettable.

---

Ming blinked back surprise at the used of the word nee, not entirely certain what she could mean. But the name fit and the description fit which meant Ming had finally found him. Whatever messed up situation had led to the addition of a “Nee” Ming wasn’t going to inquire about. That was Joji’s personal business after all. Singing though, she wondered about that.

Quickly Ming darted down the hall Chiaki had pointed down. She turned right at the end and kept walking. The sound of Joji’s familiar voice began to ring in her ears. It was the same voice that had sung to her for a long time after she had passed out on the ship. She felt a pang of jealousy for whatever woman had managed to earn his singing. Chiaki had told her to go right in and Ming took that literally. Without a moments hesitation she pushed aside the paper door and stepped her way inside.

But it wasn’t Joji but Yuii who first greeted her eyes. Yuii, who was pushing herself up from bed with the unmistakeable Renren under one arm. Yuii, whose eyes lit up at the sight of her and bounded forward to greet her with a squeeze around her knees. To say Ming was stunned was not the half of it.

On impulse she knelt and gathered Yuii up into a tight hug, nearly too tight, even as her mind tried to wrap around the little girl being there. She had said goodbye to Yuii nearly two weeks ago, leaving her safely with the Kiyano’s while she was away. The Anbu turned mother had a son Yuii’s age was always Jinko was sympathetic when it came to Ming’s balancing yield work. Yuii had cried and complained so much the it had prompted her to give up Renren who had more signifigence then Ming could have hoped to convey to Yuii.

With a shaky hand she smoothed over Yuii’s blue curls and while her gaze went to Joji clone with a plea for answers. All the while Yuii babbled about how she had hidden away, about her bath and then finally she ended with a plea the be let free.

“Nii, Nii I need to be to the bathroom! Let go, let go!” It took Ming a moment to react and she was hesitant to let Yuii go anywhere but it seemed like an emergency. The left her with Joji’s clone.

“Wa-was she really in the bag? I mean she had hidden in it before but never like this. I can’t even begin to imagine how…Kiyano-san must be having a fit right now. Th-theres no way how did she, what did she eat? Should couldn’t ha-” Ming clutched at her head, her breathes coming in as shallow gasps and a panic attack began to set in. If anyone ever questioned if she cared about Yuii, this moment was a good show against. Her mind couldn’t wrap around the idea that for nearly a week a small child had managed to fool three grown, powerful shinobi, and a genin, while they travelled from one end of the country to the other. She had put food in her bag of course, be she had also gone through it mostly and she couldn’t even imagine what that had left Yuii to eat. No, on second thought she knew. Ming had assumed Shiro was the thief but this made…. well no it just didn’t make sense.

“Le-letter. I have to send Kiyano-s-san a letter and tell her Yuii is here… Oh! Letter!” Ming’s eyes fell the the letter she had been clutching against her chest. Quickly she tossed it at Joji as if it were made of fire. ”Its for the meeting, it’s for today.”
---

Whenever someone was enraptured by their love, Joji's being stone working, everything else around them seemed to fade away, out of existence and loss its relevance. His movments were fluid, as if he were performing tai-chi in the form of etching mineral, his tool dancing across the emboldened black surface of the counter-top that would belong to the bar. Due to the type of stone, the way the line left in it reacted with light was amazing, almost sparkling like diamonds.

Despite his intense focus, something snapped him out of it, a voice, a realization that he could afford to continue his leisurely work. Slipping his carving tool back into its proper place, the satchel having been wrapped around his waist and acting as a tool belt now, he stood up, dusting himself off, but not before grabbing a rag and wiping his hands clean of the oils he had been using to help shape the mineral.

The clone caught the envelope, but didn't do much else other than stare at Ming, the singing having stopped. Shira had been present, but scurried after Yuii when she parted so quickly. From behind her, Joji could tell she was panic-stricken with Yuii there, and it answered one of his many question about the child being there, and he was relieved. Taking in a breath, he took two long strides and came up from behind Ming, putting a hand on her shoulder and moving around in front of her slowly, his other hand coming to rest on vacant space of her remaining shoulder. She wouldn't be able to do much if she remained in the state she was, and understandably so, but it wouldn't do anyone any good. Leaning his half naked body towards her, he whispered to her in such a soft, angelic voice that could have moved mountains, almost enchanted were his words, "Caaaaaaaaalm, Ming-san."

In a way the words did have a very soothing influence, and something most people didn't know, Joji himself including, but he had mixed a combination of genjutsu into those words, just to help ease of the tension; nothing intrusive in any way.

"Yuii-chan is fine, and that's all that matters right?" He leaned his head down a little to catch her panicking gaze, "If she comes back here and sees you all riled up, she's only going to become upset and scared. Take a deep breath." Joji's own breathing slowed, and his broad chest moved up and down in a slow, rhythmic pattern, his breaths leaving his lips in controlled burst, "Relax."




Ming nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand touched her shoulder and it took for a moment to connect together the fact that the first Joji had just been one of his clones. She had seen him use them so often, it should have just clicked a little easier. Afterall; when had Joji sat still like that in the couple weeks she'd known him. Perhaps even that time it had been a close too.

Why did that matter all of a sudden?

"C-calm? You want me to be....but how can I be!? She was in the bag the whole time!" Ming's eye's widened impossibly wide and she looked, for a moment, like Yuii did when she was just about to cry. She wanted to cry and shout and throw a tantrum and give Yuii a spanking she would never forget. She wanted someone real to blame for this, not a little girl who though she was being impressive. What was had done -was- impressive, Ming still couldn't wrap her head around it.

But she couldn't, Joji didn't deserve to deal with the breakdown and well

"You're right... Yuii will be upset. She's just a little girl, she doesn't understand. I Mustn't upset her," she sucked in a deep breath as he had instructed. For some reason she just couldn't seem to get enough oxygen, her heart was just moving to fast. She could here it drumming away against her chest trying to leap out. Worse  still,the more her mind calmed down the more Ming was aware of how close Joji was to her. And the more aware of this she was the more attention she began to pay to the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt and that he had the smell of a man who'd being working outside. She caught herself enjoying it, panicked over liking it then was calmed back down again in a nerve racking cycle.

the space under her nose began to weet a little wet, and she absent mindedly wiped it away only to be faced with a streak of blood. All at once the panic was replaced with embarassment and Ming quickly turned away to hide her face.

"Eyah, Joji put a shirt on please!! There's a letter for you from the Hokage. I think it's about the meeting. Kiyo sent me to find you and I wanted to offer...A shirt please!?"

Elsewhere, Yuii had dashed off the find the toilet, her child's common sense leading her to the proper place almost immediately. She was so very pleased with herself, Nii had looked so very surprised to see her. Yuii had been afraid that Nii and Oba had seen her earlier and were just playing, but she had really done it!

There was no stool, but she could just barely reach the tap and soup  but it was too hard to close the tap so it was left to run just a little after she was gone.

When she went to the door to leave though, there was Shira there to stop Yuii dead in her tracks. Shyly she peered from the cracked open doorway at the big wolf, afraid to move forward lest she be eaten in three big bites. Maybe it would be four, she had gotten pretty big. After a moment Yuii tried the only thing she could think of, at least at that moment and she built her courage up before saying it, "Ni-nice Wolfie... uwah too big please go! Shoo, shoo I'm not afraid of you. Go away! "

At Ming's comment, the shadow clone was already half way to throwing him one of the shirts Chiaki had left for him. Sighing somewhat, he slid the shirt he had just caught over top his torso and turned just in time to watch the clone underhand him one of the wash clothes stacked near the end of the bed, they had originally been brought in for him to use while he worked, but he really only needed one or two.

Extending his arm past Ming's shoulder, the linen gripped between his forefinger and thumb, he apologized, "Gomen, Ming-san. It's a habit when I work since it's easier to stay cool."

Clearly, he wasn't used to this type of reaction, and he seemed dumbstruck, unsure of how to go about things. Instead of trying to figure out how to deal with Ming, his attention shifted over to the clone reading the now open envelope on the bed.

" 'After breakfast', it says."

Joji nodded, watching the clone poof into a cloud of white smoke, the letter fluttering lazily to the bed. Honestly, he hadn't expected a formal invite to the Meeting that was to take place, his arrival having been a complete surprise, but perhaps the ones responsible for the gathering had slipped up and assumed he was suppose to be there. Perhaps this would save Kiyo some trouble and have her avoid the need to convince them to join. If he arrived on his own accord, it would only be his own problem.

"Thank you for bringing me the letter, Ming-san...and again...gomen.." In one moment, he went from calm and collected to downright bashful. Joji was as crazy as any other teenager his age.

However, it seemed Shira still hadn't been able to convince Yuii she wasn't any sort of threat. At her dismissal, the wolf retreated into the springs, vanishing from sight, but done so purposefully. Joji had charged her with watching the child, and she would do so, but at a distance instead of on her heel, observing from the ends of the long hallways, keeping out of the child's peripherals, but keeping up with her. Whenever she would make it back to Joji's room, Shira would just move on past her and settled back down on the floor next to the bed.

Yuii watches as Shira dissapeared behind the corner then cautiously she slipped out through the door. She trotted down the hall quickly, worried the big wold would come back and goggle her up. Without Jo-nii to pick her up high and tell Shire not to eat her, she might be mistaken for a wolf snack. It was entirely possible that wolves ate snakes in the shape of little girls; Yuii loved to eat Usagi apples.

Yuii's pace slowed as her stomach suddenly growled. Oh, of course she hadn't eaten breakfast yet. Nii would make her breakfast wouldn't she? That wasn't a nice thought but with no tea house around and no Obas that made excellent muffins, Ming was sure to try and cook. Key word try, sometimes when Nii cooked, Yuii wondered if she didn't love her anymore and that she wanted to kill her.

Swollowing hard, Yuii gathered her courage and slipped back inside. Her fear was as clear as her bright blue eyes but it was easy enough to assume she was afraid of punishment rather then a bad meal.

Meanwhile Ming had gained control of herself enough to stop her bleeding nose. Her cheeks were burning hot though and she couldn't help but feel if he cracked an egg on her face it would cook. How embarrassing, she had not meant to act out like that. "I understand, I'm envious," she answered softly in an attempt to defuse the situation herself. She meant if ability to remove his shirt in hot weather but the entire thing had just come out so.... wrong

She was very thankful when he brought up the letter. It said the same thing about breakfast which brushed aside one of her eating concerns and also set her curiousity straight. Without thinking she walked across the room and picked up his letter. She didn't read it or even really look at it, just went to tuck it into a bag that didn't exist and ended up setting it in her pocket instead.  "I-I think Kiyo-sama was going to stall while I searched for you. After breakfast is very...open ended.It wasn't any trouble, I should have checked the Onsen yesterday. "

Warily Ming thought of trying to express her offer again but she'd just shown an awful lack of self control. How could she expect him to want her around after something like that. It would be awkward and uncomfortable and Ming abhored such situations. She avoided discomfort like she avoided Mist''s Anbu.

"Thank-you for looking after Yuii. I hope she wasn't any trouble." her eyes went to Renren who'd been left behind, rightfully, while Yuii went on her quest for the bathroom. With a sad smile she picked the stuffed wolf up and smoothed his fake fur back. Of course this would be the stuffed animal Yuii would fall in love with, the only one she had been against giving up. Already he was beginning to look worn, would that have amused the man it was named for or annoyed him? Did dead men care about such things?

The door to the room pushed open and Yuii came trotting in with her kicked kitten face. The panic attack Joji had saved her from earlier could never have stood up to such a sweet little face but certainly he had helped add years to her life. Trying her best to be every bit the kindhearted mother she had replaced, Ming held out her arms for Yuii and scooped up her little sister in a tight embrace when Yuii approached. Renren was deposited back into Yuii's arms and Ming began to sign to Yuii as she had done that first day when they had met Joji. Yuii answered with nods or monosyllables until finally she broke away to smile at Joji.

"Nii is going to take Yuii for breakfast! Oba has a different guard so Nii play!" Yuii seemed pleased as a puppy with a toy but Ming could hardly contain her disappointment behind her passive face. There was something discouraging about having been passed over; perhaps it was the realization that she had just been a convenient stand-in or perhaps it was the idea that she had been duped into thinking she might somehow be important.

"We should leave you to your breakfast, I'll take Yuii and my bag...."

As predicted, Shira had returned soon after Yuii, but instead of going all the way into the room, she took up position just behind Joji, sitting upright like a well-trained canine should. Tucking his offered towel into his back pocket, he was all but glad that Ming hadn't decided to scold Yuii a she had previously threatened to. There was something about teaching children a proper lesson shouting and punishment didn't always do right, and doing it right was all that mattered.

"After all of the trouble you've gone through? No! I won't have it!" Joji's voice expressed a certain stern tone along with his usual exuberant energy, as if he wasn't going to budge, "Besides, you were kind enough to take me to breakfast when I was a stranger in your village, the very least I can do is repay the favor. Besides, the hostess brought me enough food to feed me for a week. Might as well have a few guests over, right?"

Turning his back to them, he looked backwards, gesturing with one hand over his shoulder for them to follow.

"There's a kitchen just down the hall that's still part of the construction, but the only things missing are the counter tops...tomorrow's project." Stepping with unusual pep, he left his room and sauntered on down the hall where one of the doors remained closed shut, so people wouldn't attempt to steal anything.

The kitchen itself was beautiful, all dark grain oak for cabinets that shined with polished brilliance, the stove was cast iron, but too polished to a beautiful black finish. There was a large walk-in refrigator, and at that point, a copy of Joji was walking out, an assortment of various colorful vegetables in his hands. Curiously enough, there were no counter tops whatsoever, but there were pieces of stone in place where they normally would be; a quick fix by Joji until he could actually work on them.

On the farther side, opposite the kitchen itself, was a large traditional japanese table, able to sit ten at a time; it was meant for the staff as the guests had alcoves in their rooms meant for eating. Other than the usual table settings, there was a large bowl of fruit and a plate filled with small finger pastries that Chiaki had brought for Joji earlier this morning.

Waving his hand towards the table, hoping Ming had followed with Yuii, he went into the kitchen along side his clone, who was chopping red and green peppers for the dish he would prepare for breakfast. Cooking was an important thing, and having only his mother bring him up, a skill he had mastered early on in life; some even joking that Joji would turn out to be a better wife than most woman because of it.

Shira trotted in, nudging the large door to the cooler shut, and sat down next to the start of the counter where Joji worked.

Dexterously, Joji tossed a pan up into the air, reaching below for some other items he would need to start cooking, and it looked as if the pan would surely come crashing down unto his head. However, as it descended, his clone reached backwards, still chopping with one hand, and caught it, holding it long enough for Joji to take it from its hand after he had set down all the spices he had gathered.

Set on the counter were a few items, various spices, several eggs, a block of bright orange cheese, a few other vegetables the clone hadn't gotten to yet, and the very large cast iron skillet that had threatened to knock Joji unconscious.

"Would you guys like something to drink? Tea, Orange Juice, Milk?" He asked while searching through the many cabinets of the kitchen, trying to find something he knew was there, but just couldn't find.

“I…” Ming started to protest, only wanting to return to the room at the Inn and report to Kiyo. Perhaps she might have time to help the Raikage dress. It was unfair to leave a blind woman to dress for a lifetime event all by herself and while Kiyo would say it was fine she couldn’t help feeling inadequate.

“Breakfast!” the joy for something Yuii usually grumbled over stopped Ming dead though and she turned to peer at her excited little sister as if afraid she might be a trick. But no one could mimic the unique smell of Yuii, nor the adoring eyes she turned for once, not towards her Nii but Joji.

Looking up again as Joji gestured them to follow Ming wondered if she saw the same person as Yuii. Since beginning their travels she’d started to appreciate the toned muscles in his back and legs. She would catch herself staring when he smiled or spoke which was more often then not and of course his voice was always soothing. He was so practical and easy going about everything, she bet even when Yuii popped out of her bag he had simply picked her up and dealt with it. She loved how well he and Yuii got along.

Yuii wiggled free and fetched Ming’s bag for her and Ming picked them both up before following Joji.

What made Ming the most uneasy was that he didn’t frighten her the way most men did. Joji lacked the quality she saw in most faces, the potential to do those terrible things she was most afraid of. Worse still, thinking of him made her feel warm. Ming was inexperience with love, there had been a time once in Mist she thought she might have been but he had died too soon before she could explore her emotions. For now she just wanted to follow him and make certain he was alright; she was hardly the type of person Joji would want.

“Nii, your face is red are you okay?” Yuii pressed her soft, cool cheek against hers and Ming ruffled Yuii’s hair playfully as they followed Joji into the breath taking kitchen. Certainly the owner of the hot springs had money to spare if she could afford such a kitchen for just her staff. Even lacking real counter tops, it was charming beyond belief.

It was while she was settling Yuii down into her own chair that Ming realized she was beginning to get used to the stone in Cloud so that so much wood was beginning to be a special treat. The kitchen at home had been wood as well but time had polished the carvings in the wood there down to rounded bumps and even the lattice in her attic window had been in need of repair.

Yuii was more distracted by Joji’s showy way of making breakfast and she stood on her chair excitedly watching as the clone and Joji worked. Of course she felt extremely lucky to have avoided one of her big sister’s breakfasts and now this. Yuii was certain Joji would make the best food, how could someone be so comfortable in the kitchen and not. She gasped when the pan almost hit Joji in the head and cheered loudly when the clone caught it for him.

“Nii, may Yuii have juice?” Yuii turned her face up to stare at Ming pleadingly and she just didn’t have the piece of mind to argue with her. The child couldn’t have eaten very healthy during the trip here and putting anything into her little sisters stomach was better then nothing. The more Ming looked at her the thinner and malnourished she seemed. It was all her fault for trying to leave Yuii alone like that, it was her fault for not being absolutely sure Yuii was happy with her sitter.

“Yes,” Ming answered softly, turning her eyes down to stare at the table. Yuii didn’t seem at all put off though and cheered loudly.

“Juice for Yuii…please~!”

"Right away, Miss Yuii!" Joji called out, taking a moment to wash his hands free of any stone dust that may still be clinging to him, and he whistled to the clone, nodding towards the fridge. Relquinishing its place cutting vegetables, the copy of Joji went back into the cooler and soon re-emerged with three oranges. Giving up on his search for the moment, the kage retrieved a glass from one of the cabinets, took an orange from the clone, and walked over to the table; it was time for some more Joji magic.

Moving right up next to Yuii, he set the glass down on the table and held up the orange between them, "This isn't orange juice is it?" He shook his head, knowing full well it wasn't, "But you wanted juice! I'll have to punish the orange!" He grinned, knowing that these kinds of tricks always bewildered the kids. Putting the fruit in the palm of one hand, he took his other hand and cupped it over the sphere. He started to pressed down on it, and with the amount of force it looked like he was applying, that the orange itself might explode in his hands. Giving a final, overly showy Hmph!, he unclasped both hands to reveal the orange was gone.

"Silly orange!" He exclaimed before taking the glass from the table, and placing the same hand that had held the orange over top of it. With one tightly clenched fist, he twisted his hand, like he had a grip on something, and as if by magic, juice start to pour from the bottom of his hand, slowly filling the glass up. Once it was filled, he opened his hand, revealing that there was nothing there, not even any juice on his hands in case Ming had been concerned with the cleanliness of the trick; it was all sleight of hand, but what people didn't know never hurt them.

"There you go, Yuii-chan! Fresh squeezed orange juice!" Grinning once more, he gave her a pat on the head and set the glass down upon the table just near her. If anything, Joji was good with kids because of his mother, always having raised him to be friends with everyone, and for the fact Joji was a big kid at heart, he loved to make them smile.

Returning to his clone, who was finishing up dicing the vegetables up, Joji set to taking a stick of butter onto the iron skillet he had procured, making sure that whatever was going in wouldn't stick. Quickly finishing that off, he retrieved a bowl and set it on the forward counter, towards Ming and Yuii, scooping up the seven eggs and setting them down near the same bowl. Smiling again, he picked up an egg and tossed it into the air, grabbing another, he did the same. As the first came down, he caught it and threw it back up, doing the same with the second, and it was painfully obvious that Joji knew how to juggle. He didn't stop at two, though, and he continued to add another egg every new rotation until he had all seven in the air. Now, with a free hand, he adjusted the bowl's position on the stone slab and looked up and down, as if lining them up. The next part took some skill, and fortunately, being as nimble-fingered as he was, he could handle it. As an egg descended towards the bowl, he blew some air from his lips, just barely noticeable, but using some of his chakra, he made it dense and the egg split in half as it was bisected by the air blade. The insides and both pieces of the shell now were dropping, the next whole egg just behind it, and with hands that seemed impossibly fast, Joji grabbed both halves of the shell, avoiding the egg itself, and tossed the shells back into the rotation, adding two more things to juggle. Then the next egg came, and he did it again, and the next and so on and so fourth until he was juggling fourteen half shells in the air. Shira, who had gotten up at some point in the show, had nudged a trash can over towards Joji and he let the shells all deftly drop into the receptacle.

There was a sharp whistle, and that was when the clone stopped and turned its attention to the stove where a tea kettle was spitting steam. On the counter, just near the stove itself, was a tea pot with three cups on it, pouring the boiling water into the pot, the clone dropped into the tea leaves and what appeared to be petals of a flower before going back to its preparations.

Everything came together rather quickly from that point on, Joji and his clone adding, sprinkling, mixing, and layering everything until it was all one complete mass in the large skillet; there had even been a few points where Joji was blowing fire from his mouth to help increase the heat in the oven.

Once the concoction was tossed into the belly of the stove, the clone poofed and Joji joined them over at the table, carrying the tray of tea with him. Pouring two cups, he set one down in front of Ming, holding the other in his hand. The contents were a bold cerise, almost even hard to tell it was tea. However, while the color was eye-catching, what was most prevalent was its aroma, giving off a subtle floral hint, that, when focused on enough, could be made out to be that of roses.

Before moving away from Ming, he leaned it a bit to make sure Yuii couldn't hear him completely, "It'll help relax you." Again, he smiled, his pearly whites shining before he took a few steps away and sat next to Yuii, still sipping from his cup.

"How's the juice, Yuii-chan?"

There was something about how Joji lived his life that made it seem like he didn't have a care in the world, and while he may stress out over his title as Kage, or worry about being the best leader he could be, it didn't ever effect him in the end. Things always seemed to work out, and because of that, he lived his life in a state of complete peace; if only troubled by others own problems, but certainly not from his own.

Popping a small pastry in his mouth, he two a few chews and swallowed, missing the fact some of the powdered sugar managed to stick to a corner of his mouth.
Yuii bounced excitedly, her face lighting up when she realised Joji was about to perform another trick for her. It had been so long since Nii had let her have just juice at breakfast and now this was proving to be the most exciting glass of juice she had ever received.  She gasped and winced as her squeezed the poor orange, knowing full well that it didn’t deserve such treatment but she was entrapped by trying to figure out the trick. Her eyes followed his hands better then most children her age might have. Soon she was so lost in trying to figure out his trick she almost missed out on enjoying it. Of course she gasped and cheered when the juice was poured into a glass, how could she not?

Ming had rested her elbow on the table and was watching Joji’s trick while keeping an eye on Yuii. She tended to get over excited sometimes and there was the possibility of her falling. The truth was, she didn’t want to catch herself watching him too closely anymore. The more her brain turned the more unnerving it was and Ming wasn’t the type to face her feelings head on. Having to repeatedly witness how amazing he could be even with such small things only upset her more.

Yuii giggled when he ruffled her hair and dropped to sitting. She was quick to grab the magical juice and drag it over to sit in front of her. First she sniffed it, it smelled good; then she dipped her finger in it and popped that into her mouth. Yup it tasted like juice. Finger still in her mouth she turned her wide blue eyes to look at Ming who had been watching Yuii with an amused grin. Ming opened her eyes wide at Yuii and stuck her tongue out her, earning an amused nose wrinkle from Yuii whom pulled her finger from her mouth with a ‘pop‘.

Ming gestured with her chin towards Joji who’d just begun making breakfast and Yuii was quick to turn her head to watch Joji while still cradling her orange juice. “Neh, Jo-nii what’re you making?” she asked while her eyes watched the spinning eggs. Eggs were fairly common food at home because they were the closest thing to fresh food in the mountains when late winter came. Ming hadn’t done very well the last time she’d attempted to cook said eggs, but if it was Jo-nii it was certain to be delicious. The presence of the wolf Shira wasn’t all that scary when her Nii was sitting there and Jo-nii was in the kitchen; nothing would happen to her with them around.

Yuii settled back and sipped her juice, delighting in who absolutely fresh it tasted. Then again, it could have tasted like water and she would have been entranced by the fact that it was magical. That didn’t stop her from making exaggerated sounds of pleasure and ending each drink with an ‘ah~’. She looked up from fishing bits of pulp from her beverage when Joji came over but since it was just with tea she went right back to what she was doing. Her favorites were this bits that hadn’t been crushed and she could pop them between her teeth.

She glanced up to see Jo-nii whispering to Nii and didn’t think much of it until Nii started to turn a light pink colour again. She blinked once or twice then furrowed her brow over the matter. That was the second time Nii had turned red like that and Jo-nii had brought tea. Maybe Nii was getting sick, it was the first time she’d actually seen her big sister in a little while.

Little did she know that Ming was fighting back another nose bleed while trying to remain perfectly calm. The tea was warm in her hands and it smelled like roses; did he even know flower language?  It was soothing even while the heat of it burned her hands and her dry throat thought it might like a taste of Yuii’s juice more. She forced a polite smile and sipped the drink anyways and found she genuinely enjoyed the taste of it. Even still she found herself abandoning it on the table so her nerves didn’t ruin perfectly good tea.

Joji caught Yuii‘s attention quickly enough with a question and she turned to him with wide eyes before her face split into a grin, “Yuii loves it!” she chirped, taking a long drink of her tea. She showed enough enthusiasm and gratitude for the both of them and the big smile she turned on Joji was , rimmed with orange juice, was nothing but pure joy. “I love orange and blue and green and yellow. Jo-nii what’s your favorite colour?”

And Ming was left to try and silently ignore bit of pastry on his mouth and how adora- no she had to ignore it. Tea, she had to think about the tea or maybe about how she would break to Kiyo about Yuii’s arrival.
"Ohh tough question..." He said, thoughtfully sipping from his cup, "Well, I love all colors, but if I had to pick..." There was a moment where he paused, a flash of memories rushing his psyche as if they had been long forgetten, and he broke out into a smile, "Blue, but like the ocean!" Something about it seemed to trigger a random observation he had made at one point during his travels with Kiyo and Ming, and sure enough, he was sure to mention it, "The same pretty color as your Nii-chan's eyes. See?" Lowering his head next to Yuii's he pointed with a finger over to Ming, the hue of her eyes had to mistake.

Shira was busy still moving around in the kitchen, doing little things to make it orderly as was taught to her by her former master, and in essence the same man that was sitting at the table. Hopping up and down off of the counter from time to time, she put all the spices back into their proper places and made sure all the trash was put where it belonged. She was quite the diligent wolf.

Returning to the oblivious Kage, not knowing exactly what his comments were doing, or his simply being there for that matter, he continued to entertain Yuii, taking endless pleasure from the task. It was mostly with picking up one of the pieces of diced apple that were on the table, making them jump from hand to hand, pulling them from her ears, pulling them out of his nose, popping them into his mouth, and all before he would snap his fingers and have it fall down from the ceiling and into his hand, like it was raining, finally leading up to his eating it.

As he popped the last piece into the air, it descending upon him, Shira leaped up into his lap, laying her powerful legs across Joji and snapping the apple out the air like it had been planned from the beginning.

The Kage smiled at the large canine, able to appreciate how bright the animal was, and even more thoughtful than most humans. Scratching behind her ears, Joji reached over the large beast and flipped a small pastry backwards which Shira caught and gobbled down with ease. For some reason, it was just an easy existence with the wolf, like she had been a family pet. Wagging tail, and with excited breaths, she stared across the threshold towards the other two, almost as if expecting something from them, but perhaps she was just looking at Ming who had been lost from Joji's attention due to Yuii.


Ming had been watching intently as Joji spoke, the urge to reach over and wipe the corner of his mouth crushing against her will power from all sides. She could see it, the gesture wouldn’t be any different then when she cleaned away food from Yuii’s face. She would use her thumb and wipe casually but her finger would linger a moment and she would hold his gaze. The Yuii would be Yuii and interrupt the moment in the way all small children did. But then perhaps she might have succeeded in expressing… just a little interest. It would be embarrassing but if he ignored her then Ming would know his answer and she could set about purging her own emotions.

But no, she couldn’t do it and so instead Ming busied her hands with her tea cup. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, she just couldn’t. It was enough to be here anyways, she took pleasure in the fact that Yuii was happy and to her knowledge so was Joji. He seemed the type to enjoy having an audience and no one was better at appreciating one child but another.

She caught Yuii talking about colours and turned to tease her a little about having liked pink only a few weeks ago.  Everything had needed to be pink; her clothes, her hair ribbons, her room, her dolls and she had even tried on one occasion to colour Ming’s bag with a pink crayon. Apparently her new favorites

“Ohh! Yuii likes that colour too, Jo-nii!” Yuii exclaimed, her face breaking out into a wide smile. This time she wasn`t at all concerned about the colour her big sister began to turn, Yuii enjoyed embarrassing her Nii, it was fun.. Yuii giggled and turned her head to give Joji a kiss on the cheek then sat back in her chair. “Are Yuii’s eyes pretty blue Jo-nii?” It was entirely for play and no matter his answer Yuii would’t get angry. Joji quickly moved to entertaining her with the apple. She made shocked and sickened faces at exactly the right times, exclaiming over how icky nose apple would taste even as she giggled about it. At first when Shira joined the game Yuii recoiled and sat quiet but the way she sat in Joji’s lap and wagged her tail proved too alluring to Yuii and soon she was tentatively reaching out her little had to pat Shira’s wet nose. She was much cooler then the Renren sitting limply in her lap, he never caught apple.

And whilst they played Ming turned over Joji’s words again and again in her mind while her cool hand pressed against her right eyelid. She was caught and trapped between embarrassment, joy, anger and a many more she couldn’t hope to identify. Her heart was fighting to excape her body it seemed and the room had definitely gotten too warm for the island girl’s taste. The tea would be too warm but desperately she reached for it to calm her nerves. The cup didn’t want to stay still, was the table shaking? Slowly she bent forward to take a sip from the cup’s edge but as she did so Ming made the mistake of looking over to the playful pair and the cup just sort of…. slipped from her hands to rest in her lap.

The liquid was cold a second after it touched her lap but the sudden wetness shocked to standing. The brunette could have simply pulled the liquid away from the fabric with no chance of a stain then asked for a new cup of tea. She could sit down, ask for a new cup of tea and continue on as she was. That would have been simple if her head was screwed on right as was she could barely contain her tears over the entire mess up. She couldn’t have looked more incompetent if she tried and to top it off she had ruined the tea Joji had made for her. She stared at her lap, hands shaking until Yuii turned and broke the silence.

“Nii, what’s wrong?”

Ming startled, shook her head then with a determined frown turned and fled the kitchen. She didn’t know exactly where in the labirinth like building she meant to be but it needed to be away long enough to clear her head.

Breakfast was almost ready, the smell of all the wonderful ingredients permeating the air in the kitchen and it was starting to make the Kage's stomach rumble, ignoring the fact he had been snacking the entire time keeping Yuii busy. However, when Ming dropped her tea, it seemed to fall in slow motion, and with Shira sitting on top of him, there wasn't much he could do other than watch as Yuii addressed her older sister.

When Ming burst up from her seat, leaving them alone rather quickly, Joji's senses sharpened as if he had just entered combat. Under a muffled breath, a shadow clone appeared in the kitchen, and in blur of shinobi technique, the clone was sitting in Joji's chair with Shira in its lap without a single falter or clue to anyone else in the room; his skill was obvious with how smooth the transition had been. Quickly, Joji exited the room, not sure where Ming could have vanished to, but he turned down a hall he thought she may have went through and tried to find her. After a certain point, it was all a matter of following his instincts, just trying to sense her, but there were so many other people in the springs so early in the morning, it was hard to pinpoint anything more than a gut feeling.

Ming, having left in such a hurry, lost herself quickly in the maze of wooden corridors and without her wits about her, she soon walked head first into someone.

Of all people...

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Sokkenai Rikka


"Are you okay?"

When it came to people of her same sex, Rikka was a very polite person, and it was often times when she ran into a disgruntled woman springs-goer did a peeping tom need to be punished or chilled out. Finding out her problem would make that all the easier, especially since Rikka was feeling particularly feisty that morning, wishing should could have had a piece of the Kage staying on her property; if only the child hadn't popped up.

"You seemed to be in an awful rush, hun."

The collision was all Joji needed in order to find them, but he didn't dare turn the corner into the hall, knowing full-well it would only be his metaphorical demise. Instead, he waited on the corner, eyes closed, ears open, listening.

Back in the kitchen, the clone was just as entertaining, if not more so than the real Joji if only because he was involving Shira more; something the creator could have done given the chance. In the free space of the kitchen, the clone and Shira were doing back flips and catching previously launched food projectiles, often times encouraging Yuii to throw something at them to catch in their mouths; eventually, it became a contest between clone and wolf to see who could get the most while breakfast finished cooking.

Ming's foot falls echoed loudly through the corridors as she stomped down one hall then another, then another until she could not have returned if she wanted Key word being IF and Ming wasn't feeling that if too hard at the moment. She wasn't a person who took personal embarrassment well, clumsiness in the ninja world was a sure way to never get hired, ever. Who wanted to send a Kunoichi into a delicate mission if she was going to trip over her own legs of dump tea on the man she was meant to be watching. No one liked a klutz, no one.

Angry tears bubbled up in the corner of her eyes but Ming refused to let them fall. The angry brunette scrubbed furiously under her dripping nose until it turned bright red from irritation as well as embarrassment.

"No, no I’m not okay!" Ming spoke, the flood of emotions that plagued her threaded through her voice where they did not show in her face. With a swipe of her hand the stain on her dress came free, formed a dozen tiny frozen balls and dropped to the ground. "Men are such idiots!!" Suddenly her grief had real weight and Ming sunk to her knees and covered her head with her arms. Perhaps if she covered her head these thoughts would stop plaguing her.

A moment later Ming realised she had melted down in front of a complete stranger. More then just her nose turned red then and she scrambled to get to her feet. The only thing worse then breaking down in front of someone was dealing with someone who suddenly broke down on you. This lady didn’t deserve to see her upset like this, it was a surprise she had even asked to begin with, “Ah, s-sorry I didn’t mean to…” Ming sniffled and pushed herself up to standing yet her knees still felt a little bit weak, “I mean, I should be getting back, Yuii will be worried.” It was manic of her but Ming had no clue what to do with herself and in these moments Yuii became her focus point. Unfortunately that meant having to face Joji again but breakfast would be done and then she could make an excuse to leave. As was she would be hard pressed to explain dashing out like that.

At first Yuii stared out the door where her sister had gone, real concern pinching her little face. She had just found her big sister and now Ming had rushed off like that without a word. Yuii had seen Ming dump tea on herself before, there had never been an issue before. But Ming wouldn’t leave Yuii behind, so she must be going to find a new dress or needed to go to the bathroom. No, Ming would definitely never leave her behind without telling Yuii, not her Nii.

“I hope Nii is alright,” Yuii commented, even as she was being pulled into the games Joji and Shira had began. Of course Joji would be more concerned for her Nii too if he thought Nii wasn’t alright. He certainly wouldn’t be here playing with Yuii like Ming had left the room like a calm person.

Yuii tried tossing three pastries at once when prompted, her eyes wide with anticipation. Joji and Shira were amazing, she definitely liked both of them. She even tried tossing Renren to see if Joji would try to eat him but of course Yuii would insist on having him right back.

Thoughts of Ming melted away with the fun.

[unfnished]