疾風迅雷 忍び道

      “ Hey, Hajime-kun! And Midori-kun too, glad you came along after all~ ” Tetora initially greets them in a friendly manner, but is quick to put on the air of a dignity as the sole representative of the dojo present at the moment... which Hajime points out by mentioning Kuro’s absence, to which Tetora can’t help but give a bit of a vague smile. 

      “ Ah, yeah... Well, I think he’s doin’ a li’l better now, but he told me he had some important business and wouldn’t be able to make it today, so you’ll just have to settle for me. ” His words came across as more self-deprecatory than intended, since he’d been trying to consciously fight off those feelings of helplessness after losing his position as leader of RYUSEITAI-N and now, being unable to help Kuro.

      He feels that there’s something that he’s missing here, whether it be from his own obliviousness or his seniors are intentionally keeping it from him, but in the case of the latter, he didn’t want to doubt them either. He’s come to realize that there are things he shouldn’t meddle in, or else he’d likely complicate things further, so maybe this was just one of those instances... 

      Still, isn’t he allowed to be worried? He has faith in his seniors, but he’d like to be of some use to them when they’re in a pinch. He’s torn, but whatever’s going on, surely, they’ll be able to settle it... right? Right, of course. There’s no reason to doubt them. And it’s with that thought in mind that the fog in his mind begins to clear and he regains his usual disposition, especially since he doesn’t want either of his friends to see him in a funk like that. 

      “ ...I’m sure it’ll be alright, haha~ ” While it’s supposed to be a reassuring gesture, somehow it felt as if he’s speaking out loud to himself rather than the two present. “ Taishou can handle himself just fine, but right now, it’s my responsibility to oversee the dojo, so let’s just get right down to it, alright? I think this is the first time I’ve gotten to train you guys myself, so I’ll do my best! You guys better give it your all too~ ” 

      One of the first things he did as soon as he got home was set up the floating house Kanata had given him in Peachy and Thunder’s tank, with his frogs immediately taking refuge in their new home. What an upgrade! Shinobu couldn’t help but be amused by Kanata giving his frogs a gift for his birthday, but to Shinobu, it’s the thought that counts, and his senpai clearly thought of what’s most dear to him. 

      ‘ Shinkai-dono is a strange one... but he is truly a kind, thoughtful senpai~ I’m very happy to have received a gift from him for Peachy and Thunder~ ’

      Chiaki’s gift is a DVD of Shuriken Sentai Ninninger, a series that had caught his eye since it had been announced and while Shinobu had watched it, he didn’t expect to actually own it on DVD for himself! One of these days, he’d have to watch it with Chiaki. He’s grateful to him for many things, but it’s how easy it is to get along with him, and how he’s always looking out for him that made him appreciate him even more. 

      ‘ The commonality between Taichou-dono and I still surprises me... but he inspires me to overcome my weaknesses and grow! Taichou-dono, I swear I will uphold the honor of the title Ryusei Yellow~ ’ 

      Then there’s Yuta’s gift, a demo reel of a little melody made, the electronic sound and traditional influences creating a delightful mix that Shinobu appreciated, almost like a combination between their individual styles. He’s listened to it on repeat for at least half an hour before he went to sleep - heck, he could fall asleep to it if he really wanted to. After all, this is something Yuta made, for him. He’s always cherished Yuta’s friendship, but it’s moments like these that made him realize that the feelings were mutual. 

      ‘ You are my first friend outside of Ryuseitai, Yuta-kun... I didn’t think I would be able to make friends with my classmates, but you proved otherwise. I’m truly happy that we’re friends~ ’

      He feels tears start to brim at the corners of his eyes unexpectedly, prompting him to wipe them away as soon as they came. He isn’t sure where they came from, as he’s not particularly sad or lonely... no it’s the opposite.

      “ Ahaha, what a strange phenomenon this is, to be shedding tears of pure happiness...! ” He says out loud to no one in particular, though Peachy and Thunder haven’t taken their eyes off of him from inside their new home. Unable to hold back his tears any longer, he lets them flow freely, clutching all of the gifts close to his chest, feeling a comforting warmth in his heart that lets him eventually drift off into a peaceful slumber.

“Just don’t do it again.” Keito replied with a grumpy huff, fully knowing that Tetora would be running through the halls again in the future. Energetic kids, they’re so cute, and he meant that both ways. But, most importantly, Tetora had actually believed his half-lie, relieving Keito of his own worries about the truth behind Kuro’s disappearance getting out.

“Yes, that’s all it was. Now, don’t worry about him too much; he’s going to feel embarrassed about it, if he knew.” Keito repeated, confirming his earlier response, then lightly chuckled, and was about to dismiss Tetora when the boy turned back and asked one more question. It was enough to make Keito visibly twitch.

Why did this boy decide to be nosy today??

“At the dojo? Why, did something happen?” Keito asked, feigning innocent curiosity with his question.

      “ Ah- ” Caught off-guard by the question being redirected at him, Tetora realizes that he probably should’ve thought it through a bit more. ‘ That’s what I’m asking you! ’ is what he wanted to say, but for once, his brain-to-mouth filter actually worked, if only because he’s more self-conscious about his behavior around the strict leader of Akatsuki. 

      “ Uh... How do I put this? ” ‘ Man, if Hiiro were here, he’d probably just bluntly say ‘there’s the smell of blood in the dojo’ wouldn’t he? But how do I say that without coming across as suspicious? ’ He does manage to collect himself however, and finds a way to phrase what he meant to say, providing proper context.

      “ A friend of mine - I mean, Hiiro-kun said he smelled something... weird, and we were wondering if there was some kinda accident? Like, we noticed that everything looked super tidied up too, so we figured it’s been taken care of and all... but we still wanna make sure everything’s alright. ”

Just as Keito and Rei were about to head to Kuro’s room, the sound of footsteps approaching them so fast was more than enough to make Rei find a quick exit to hide himself away, which turned out to be a maintenance hatch up on the ceiling. Using his newly-regained physical prowess, Rei was able to nimbly leap up and slink himself into the open hatch, waiting for the person to pass by and away.

—–

That left Keito to meet the approaching person, and as luck would have it, it was none other than Tetora, the last person Keito wanted to see right now.

“Nagumo! No running in the hallways!” Keito was quick to scold his junior, his usual scowl on his face. “Incorrigible; what am I to do with you rowdy lot…”

As to be expected, however, Tetora was looking for Kuro, and his desperation was so obvious, it hurt to see that distressed face. Keito didn’t want to deceive him, but there’s a secret that must be protected.

“Kiryu? He’s feeling a little under the weather today, so he’s retreated to his room.” At least that wasn’t a complete lie. “He’s asked not to be disturbed for the time being.”

“Worry not, Nagumo; he’ll be fine after having some proper bed rest.”

      “ S-Sorry! ” He didn’t realize just how much he’d been running around, and quickly bows his head in an apologetic manner before facing Keito again, distress evident in his expression and frantic manner of speech. However, he does buy Keito’s half-lie, and all tension seems to be released from his body at once as he lets out a heavy sigh of relief and laughs. 

      “ Ahaha, so that’s all it was...? Guess I was getting worked up for nothing after all, but that’s fine, as long as Taishou’s alright! ” He’s quick to bounce back to his usual enthusiastic self, bowing once again before Keito, this time in gratitude. “ Thank you, Hasumi-senpai! I’ll definitely respect Taishou’s wishes and give him some space so he can get the rest he needs. ”

      “ Hm! It would seem something is amiss! Tetora-kun, you seem rather distressed, running around as if you’re looking for something? ”

      “ ...He’s still not answering. That’s really weird, this isn’t like him... ” Tetora sets his phone down after yet another call is directed to Kuro’s voicemail instead. Similarly, he’s left a handful of text messages asking where he is, if he’s running late... but no response, not even a ‘read’ indicator. They were supposed to meet after school for a training session, so what gives...? 

      “ Sorry about that, Hiiro-kun. I guess we might have to start without him... ...Hiiro-kun? You alright? You’ve been staring off into space for a while now- ”

      He could only scoff; he’s absolutely sick of it all. 

“It’s kinda hard not to notice…I almost thought I was at the studio when I smelled it.”

“A healing perfume, you say…? Uh-oh…Better not let Morisawa-senpai hear that; I dun wanna have to use perfumes…”

      “ Oh, Shinobu-kun noticed the other day too. I was only trying it out, not to mention I didn’t put it on myself so I don’t want any misunderstandings, but I did consider finding a ‘manlier’ perfume! ...Wait, that’s just cologne, isn’t it? Shinobu-kun wanted to find a ‘ninja-like’ perfume, not that I know what that entails, but I’m gonna ask Narukami-senpai for suggestions~ ”

“Tetora-kun seems to smell kinda…sweet lately. Is he wearing perfume…?”

Leo felt stupid, more than stupid, really, and he couldn’t quite look up and meet Rei’s eyes head-on. Sometimes it felt like he could look straight through him. He had a similar feeling when it came to Madara, but he was more used to Madara since they lived together and therefore were closer to each other than he was with Rei. Well, the difference wasn’t that big, he highly treasured Rei too, that much was for certain. It was just a little bit harder for him to express that fondness out loud. It wasn’t even that Rei was all that intimidating: his family name held weight, of course it did, but so did Madara’s. It wasn’t like Leo’s family name, a name that was scorned and looked down on in the village at large, that much was for certain.

“If… If you’re sure,” he mumbled, staring down at his hands, chipped nails and all. Leo did have a bad habit of biting his nails when nervous, and he was nervous a lot more often than he would like for people to know.

(Of course Madara knew though. Of course he did.)

And speaking of Madara… Leo suddenly felt a familiar hand on top of his, and he blinked, startled, and smiled a wavering smile at Madara as the latter kept needling Rei. He was definitely being silly, wasn’t he?

“We’re ready!” One twin chirped.

“Let’s go!” The other laughed.

Leo thought it was pretty easy to tell the twins apart, but he didn’t want to say that out loud. The boys both had scars, faint, sure, but they were there, and they were in no way identical. Hinata had a pale, thin one that ran at the back of his neck, partially hidden by his hair. Yuuta had one that circled the lower part of his left arm, not quite down at his wrist, but close enough. (Also, wasn’t Yuuta left-handed?)

“Okay!!” Chiaki punched the air. “Let’s go!! Time for me to win this!! In it to win it, oh yeah!!”

***

And then… Twenty minutes later… Much of the gusto had deflated from the brunet…

“I can’t believe I’m last again?!!”

Leo, whose spirits had definitely improved, was rolling around on the ground, laughing.

“You’re so dumb, Morisawa! So duuuuumb!! Did you really think you’d win? You hardly know your way around here! DUMMY! DUMMY!!”

“HEEEEEY!!”

      “ Kuu, this heat is unbearable... Truly, my worst enemy...! ” Completely worn-out, Rei practically flopped face-down onto the ground as soon as the game had concluded, content to simply lay in the shade until nightfall... but even if his old bones couldn’t keep up with the youthful vigor of the other club members, their cheers and laughter certainly rejuvenated the spirit, and he couldn't help but smile at them.

      However, one member’s boisterous presence was suspiciously... absent. For him to suddenly disappear at the end of the game meant that he must’ve had something in store for them but even then, something felt off about it that Rei couldn’t quite shake off...

      “ ...Say, where is Mikejima-kun? He started off in the lead, yet he is nowhere to be found- ” And as if right on cue, a cacophony of plastic, aluminum and metal bins falling and crashing onto the ground could be heard coming from the above, in the school’s attic... where  the Aoi twins’ had set up a trap. While Chiaki was usually the one who fell victim to these, to his credit he had managed to avoid it this time around. But if it had been activated just now, while all club members (sans one) were present, then-

      “ Waaaaaaaah, Mama messed up~ ☆ I can’t believe I fell for it! How silly of me~ ” Sitting in the middle of a pile of assorted bins, one of which had landed on his head and now worn like a ridiculous-looking hat, Mama beamed, seemingly very content with himself with not only losing the game, but stumbling into a trap he could have easily avoided. This was either beyond careless, or completely intentional... when it came to Madara, who knew?

      “ Mikejima-kun, what on earth... ” Rei managed to crawl his way up to the attic to check on the situation, but upon seeing his friend in that state, he could only give him an incredulous look. “ And here I thought that a cat had snuck into the attic. ”

      “ But Mama is a cat, Rei-san! Nya nyaaa~ Anywaaay, this just means that I’m a big loser cat, right~? Darn, guess I’ll just have to accept defeat this time, uhuhuhu~! ” 

“I… I like that! That we have a secret that’s just our own! …That’s so p-p-presumptuous of me, oh no, I’m talking too much, I’m sorry!! I…” He fidgeted a little, his breathing being more and more strained. Oh. He kind of had to calm down or he’d sit here and have a minor asthma attack in front of this kid and that just wouldn’t do. 

He smiled instead, or tried. “I heard it in the Anohana anime first, but it’s apparently an old song? I think it’s really nice and bittersweet…” He blushed, eyes widening. 

“…You r-really think my singing v-voice is nice? Really? Tha–thank you…” Did he tear up from a simple little praise? …Seems like he did.

      His smile widened ever so slightly at the positive affirmation, but he shook his head and his hands in front of him to dissuade the other from apologizing, “ Oh no no, it’s alright...! I don’t mind it at all, really. I... I actually do like having someone to talk to like this, so... ” Few people went out of their way to acknowledge him, and even if they did, it was mostly because they took pity on him... something he had to learn the hard way. But even if they both seemed to be the socially awkward sort, Shinobu couldn’t help but hope that they could become friends after getting to know each other, perhaps...?

      " Anohana... Ah, I’ve definitely seen a promotion for it here and there, but I never thought to see it myself. Perhaps I’ll look into it now, seeing as I ought to branch out interest-wise... I-I mostly watch action-adventure shows and even historical period dramas, you see... ” Although hesitant to bring up anything related to his interests, Shinobu tried to think of something to keep the flow of conversation - maybe it’d let them open up to each other... or at least show that they were both engaged.

Chiaki found his own nervous features melt into a smile as Shinobu introduced himself and he followed him shyly, glancing around himself every now and then just in case, just in case those guys still lingered about close enough that they would spot them. But… So far so good. It definitely helped that they took so many odd twists and turns on the way over to the bridge, enough that Chiaki’s brain began to think up all sorts of scenarios. He was a champion of justice, on a mission in enemy territory! He had gotten the information he needed, now he needed to make an escape without being noticed! Thankfully a ninja boy, a local who didn’t belong to the enemy faction, had volunteered to help him! Oh, this was exciting! Chiaki almost forgot being scared as he got caught up in his fantasies for real. 

This helped, because the trek to the riverbank was long, but for Chiaki, it felt like almost no time had passed. His breathing was a little bit strained, sure, but he hoped it would straighten itself up soon enough. He sat down on the stone slab and smiled at Shinobu. “It’s r-really nice here, S-s-sengoku-kun! It’s like a s-secret base…! D-do you know that s-song? Kimi to natsu no owari shourai no yume… ♪” He shut up. How nerdy was that?? Who in their right mind started singing something right out of the blue like that? Chiaki blushed heavily and stared down at his feet, the tips of his ears burning.

      “ I... I’m glad you think so... When you put it like that, I’m inclined to agree. Not to mention you’re the first person I brought here, so now it’ll be... our little secret, hehe. ” He let out a quiet chuckle as he awkwardly twiddled his thumbs, feeling self-conscious over every little thing he said... but it seemed as if the older boy felt the same way, if the way he immediately stopped singing as soon as he started was any indication - not that Shinobu minded. Rather, he listened intently, even if for only a moment, before giving Chiaki a curious tilt of the head to show his interest.