026 - On addiction withdrawal and falling low (I want my cuddle bug back!)
It's been another four months, and I've had time to know my team better. I have to admit, I was kind of wrong about them. They are even worse than I feared. It's not the veiled hostility I couldn't care less about. It's not the constant attempts at verbally putting me down, which have petered out as they finally internalize that no, I wasn't going to be the one getting burned. It's not even the blatant attempts at holding me down, even if that's annoying as all hell.
It's their Ganon-damned
laziness!!
No matter the plan for the day, we never gather before seven, and when we do, we waste a full hour in warm-up exercises. What the hell do they do at home? After that, during training days they either avoid including me (blatant attempts at holding me down) or come up with ridiculously unfavorable conditions for me, that they later squander. Because, as I've already mentioned, they're Ganon-damned lazy.
During mission days things are a bit different. During those we actually work together. Or our best approximation, because they're still refusing to show their true strength, so I have to dance around the slowpokes to get things actually done. For some reason the jerk of Cyclops-sensei doesn't seem very happy at that, going as far as accusing me of hogging the merit of the mission. The nerve of some…
Not that it matters too much, because missions only happen once a week,
at best.
Fortunately, not
everything is against me. I've found out a legal way to skip team training. This would've never flown in Konoha, but I won't complain too much since it works in my favor. It's not like I would've needed to do this if I was in Konoha, anyway.
The magic solution has a name: 'Solo missions'.
Yup! Any fresh-eyed, half-baked, lemming-brained genin can take on solo missions, provided they pass a ridiculously lenient aptitude test. They even excuse you from team training and a lot of other shit, these are the real money-makers of the village, after all. There are some limits, of course, I need to be available for team missions and all that but, as I've already mentioned, those only happen once in a blue moon.
Have I mentioned my team is lazy as fuck? Because they are.
I wonder what they do in the evenings? It's when we're supposed to develop our secret techniques in the privacy of our own homes, and frankly I don't know what to think of them. Will they squander their evenings as they do their days? Will their ridiculous paranoia come from their super-strict secret training they don't want to show off?
It would be cool if it was the last, but I'm not holding my breath. Because… I was wrong about my team. We aren't Team Six-eyes, this is Team Half-ass.
"Shimada."
I turn towards the voice. It's Ryūzetsu, sitting on a terrace with Muku and… Whatshisface.
"Yo." I join them, grabbing an empty chair and plopping on it. "How's it going?"
If you'd told me three years ago that I'd be rubbing shoulders with them like this, I would've nodded and slowly stepped back without sudden movements. But here we are! Honestly, they aren't that bad. And if I pay for the drinks, they listen to me rant about the unfairness of life.Sometimes they even have joint missions or training with Karin's team, and they tell me about it.
"If you're asking about Uzumaki, we haven't met in a while." She answers, crushing my hopes. "I think her team left for a long-term mission or something."
"Ugh…!" I cross my arms on the table, sinking my head between them with a groan."One would think in five months I would've found a chance to spend an evening with her at some point, right? When she's free I'm training, when I take a day off she's on a mission outside the village. When we try to set a date,
something comes up… It's a conspiracy, I tell you!"
"It can't be that bad, you still sleep in the same home."
"And she's always out like a light when I'm done for the day! You've told me how hard she tries everyday, I'm not going to wake her up just get my fix!"
"You're a damn addict, Shimada."
"And damn proud of it." I slam the table with my hand, minding my own strength. My reputation really doesn't need me to have to foot the bill for even more private property. Then I slump back into my chair. "... Man I miss my cuddle bug."
"Such is life, things should calm down a bit when we make chunin, or after a couple of years." That's Muku, the boy always has something reasonable-sounding to say. Even if just because he remains silent otherwise. "There'll be much less expectations pressing on us by then."
"But that doesn't help me
now!" I don't whine, I'm far too dignified for that. "To heck with it, I'm getting drunk! You guys up for something a bit stronger than coloured water?"
"But Shimada-san!" Whatshisface protests. "We're still twelve, we can't drink yet!"
"Old enough to kill, old enough to get plastered. The bill's still on me and I'm drinking anyway, so you guys with me or not?"
They look at each other as if drawing resolve from the team, before turning to nod at me. Formalities out of the way, I order some sake and drop a bag of ryo in the waiter's hand to keep it coming. Solo missions bitch, I'm swimming in money!!
I look around after a while, spying blushing faces and dopey smiles. They haven't drank half of what I've done, between the three of them. And yet I'm barely feeling the buzz and they're already in their happy place, it's not fair.
Stupid Shimada blood.
Deciding enough is enough, I move to claim my cuddles.
"Shimada!" I hear Ryūzetsu screech. "What are you doing in Muku's lap?"
"I want m'fix of cuddles, Muku's th' cutestest here."
"You harpy! Get your paws away from my b— from my friend!"
Oooooh, she's gettin' all jelus now!!. That's actually kinda cute, comin' from Ryūzetsu.
"Get bent Shimada! You're drunk!" Oops, did I say that out loud?
"You're drunk too, and jelus." Because I'm not above petty namecalling right now.
She tries to retort, but only spluttering denials come out. I can't help a fit of giggles, this is just too fun!
"Okay, youre cute enuf!!" I announce, taking advantage of her lowered guard to pounce at her and snake my arms around her waist, before pulling back into Muku's lap. "You get cuddles too!"
The situation devolves from there, and we somehow end up sprawled on the grass beside the terrace, Muku and me making a Ryūzetsu sandwich while whatshisface looks from his seat, making a face like he's been caught inside an undispellable genjutsu. As we try to get our breath back, the lack of redhead cuties by my side sinks in once more.
"I miss Karin." I whimper. Ryūzetsu pats me in the back, it's strangely reassuring.
That evening, I was in my super secret lab doing super secret things (and mixing some highly volatile acidic gases for one of my modified containment tags) when I felt Karin's chakra getting home. I push back the urge to get out to meet her, reminding myself for the umptenth time that I wouldn't be doing anyone any favour with that, and how angry at me Karin got the last time I neglected my training to try and spend time with her.
So far, business like usual. Well, except for the mildly sick feeling I've come to associate with the consequences of heavy drinking. I try to focus back on what I was doing, this is actually a delicate step and I still haven't got the hang of it. I don't miss how her steps are a bit heavier than usual though, seems like I'm not the only one having a difficult day.
A couple of hours later I'm finally done, putting my chemistry set back into the highly secure containment seal I keep hidden within the room, and the stuff I'm not supposed to have into the
really secure containment seal that's not hidden
within the room. With a sigh, go straight to the bathroom. Turns out acidic gas is killer for the hair, who could've known?
The water in the tub has gotten cold, but judicious application of fire transformation solves that. Once the room is nice and steamy, I sit on the stool and grab the shampoo, groaning in pleasure as I start massaging my scalp.
I think about it less and less every year, but judging those not-quite-memories from my last life, I wasn't a bath kind of person back then. Having grown up in a traditional japanese home this time around though, I can't really see the appeal of a shower over the real thing. Sure, it's expeditive, but I don't bathe to get clean.
… I mean, not
just to be clean. The relaxation it induces is at least as important as personal higiene. And trust me, after today, I really need a bit of relaxation.
So focused am I on this, I don't notice the other presence until they open the sliding door and get into the bath with me.
"Karin?" I try to turn to face her, but she prevents it with a hand on my shoulder.
Instead of giving an explanation, she kneels behind me and starts scrubbing my back with a soapy sponge. Okay…
This is, most likely, not what it seems. Twelve years of social incompetence haven't managed to make me think like a proper japanese person, or whatever close approximation Grass culture is, but has at least given me the awareness.
Sharing a bath is a sign of closeness and intimacy, sure, but not necessarily
that sort of intimacy. She's probably gathering her courage to tell me something hard to say. So instead of letting my lower parts do the thinking and jump her, I put my hands on my knees and let her wash me up, doing my best not to think about how my body is reacting to her attentions.
She goes all the way through it, only after rinsing me clean does she lean closer, hugging me and puting her chin on my shoulder.
"All my team died." She manages to get out, before she breaks down crying.
… Sometimes I hate being right.
