Mission Stories

Title: Season of Kisses
Fandom: Naruto
Characters: Yoshi Aoki, Akimitsu Sugimoto
Pairing: MAJOR HINTS
Ratings: K+
Warnings: Minor OOC
Author Notes: :u #noregerts

Yoshi looked around the village, seeing all sorts of people pairing off or hanging out with their friends. He couldn't help but smile as he saw most of the couples around him holding hands and trying to make more memorable moments with one another. He also couldn't help but feel envious as he watched them. He frowned, watching as most of the couples walked around. He was fidgeting with his bangles, just mindlessly rubbing his thumb over the one of his right wrist. He did want to spend time with someone but... with how everything was, he was more scared for it to happen. What if something happened to him or the person he cared for? Yoshi was sure he wouldn't be able to forgive himself either way.

"Aoki?" A familiar voice asked. He looked over to see Akimitisu and his face lit up.

"Hey, Aki!" He said, smiling at her. "What are you doing?" She held up a bag of lanterns.

"What about you?" She asked, looking around.

"Just people watching." He said. She looked at him for a moment before shrugging and looking around.

"Lots of couples..." She sighed.

Yoshi looked at her for a moment. She didn't notice the glance anyways but his fingers just gripped the edges around his bangle. He could feel it hurting the joints of his finger but wasn't paying too much attention. He just looked at her and was remembering everything his brother had told him. Everything he said that Yoshi should do. Admit his feelings for her and be at peace with it. Though the more his brother talked about it, the less Yoshi wanted to pursue it. He did care for her quite a bit and did buy a rather pricey necklace for her a while back. His gaze dropped from Akimitsu towards the ground, his eyebrows were furrowed together, and he was scowling at the ground.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked, shaking him a little as she grabbed onto his shoulder. He snapped back to reality and gave her one of his usual smiles.

"I'm fine!" He said. "My brother's been driving me crazy lately with him and his fiancée."

"I can imagine." She sighed. "Aina's been doing the same."

Yoshi watched Akimitsu as she talked about her sister again. Whether she realized it or not, she was rather envious of Aina. Yoshi didn't have to ask or pester her about it. It was just something he noticed through their interactions, how she spoke about her sister, or even how she acted when she spoke about Aina. Yoshi could see it again as she spoke now. The slightly twitch her fingers made, the nearly subtle sigh she let go after each sentence, and the look in her ruby eyes. It was the same thing Yoshi noticed whenever his brother was talking about him. Ryouichi would tell anyone who would listen all the things Yoshi had done -- which he didn't mind, he just wished his tales weren't so romanticized.

"And then she and her boyfriend left me to go and find something to eat." Akimitsu groaned.

"I'm sorry." He said. "Oh! We can go eat if you want, my treat as usual!"

She was silent for a moment before nodding. He got up from where he was sitting and let her take the lead to wherever she wanted to go. They talked about the recent weather, finding it pleasant and unexpected. Yoshi also mentioned that he really liked the chocolates she made for him the other day. He also admitted that Aina's were good too but way too sweet for his liking. She felt rather prideful about it and couldn't stop smiling for a while. Yoshi didn't mind it, he did like when she was happy and smiling. It made him feel more upbeat and the world seemed better because of it. They walked towards a tea shop that she liked and sat down at a table nearby.

"So, there's a lot of koinobori around the village." Yoshi said. "I think some people are getting a little too into the season and the festivities."

"Ugh, Aina wouldn't stop pointing them out earlier." Akimitsu sighed.

"Well, the weather's right for it I guess." He shrugged and looked at the menu for which tea he wanted.

Yoshi was too busy looking at the various types of tea that he didn't notice the look Akimitsu was giving him. It wasn't her usual scowl or the disappointed look he often gave him and Aina whenever they did something childish. It was softer. He looked up at her, only to miss her gaze. He gave her a worried look before glancing back at the menu. The moment he looked away, she glimpsed at him again. His face was in it's usual scrunched stature as he contemplated which tea he wanted. She looked down at her menu again, knowing which tea she wanted but couldn't decide on what she wanted with it. A waitress came over to take their orders a moment later and then left.

"So, my training with puppets has gotten better." Yoshi said. "I know you don't like hearing about it, but I think I finally figured out how to use Manipura and Yūrei together. Not that a certain someone didn't want to help me figure it out..."

"Well that's good, more opportunity to scare people." She frowned.

"You know I do that on purpose and besides, I don't do it all that often." He said. "Though, I should do it to Ryu... maybe he'd stop telling tall tales about some of the missions we go on."

"He's just proud of his little brother." Akimitsu said.

"Well, it does beat the alternative but still." Yoshi sighed. "I didn't get rid of all those bandits at Kōsetsumura by myself. Hardly did anything about it now that I think about it..."

"You helped back then too." She said, remembering the first time they went to Kōsetsumura. "I also remember you hit your head on a tree and made Aina carry you."

"How did I force her to do anything if I was unconscious?" He asked.

"You fell unconscious." She repeated.

"How was I supposed to know that there were trees down that hill?" He sighed. "Besides, at least we know I'm hard-headed!"

"You're something." She muttered as the waitress came by with their tea.

Yoshi and Akimitsu had little to disagree on when it came to tea. They often tried new blends together or bought some for one another. They loved drinking tea almost as much as they loved talking about lanterns -- which was quite often. Yoshi poured some tea for her before pouring a cup for himself. It was nice and warm but Yoshi didn't drink from it yet, it was pretty warm just by pouring it from the kettle. He looked at Akimitsu, who was doing the same, she was mindlessly fidgeting with the necklace he had given her. He liked that she liked it, it made him really happy to have given it to her.

"Oh! I'm getting better at mastering that second nature transformation." She said.

"That's good!" He smiled. "So, are you gonna sweep the Akarikage off his feet with it one day?"

"I don't know about that." She said. "But, with the technique I'm working on, I could probably blind him."

"Aki, flashing people is frowned upon." He said, trying to look disappointed and trying his best to not laugh.

"Very funny, Aoki." She frowned. "But I can't wait to be able to master it and join the Lantern Sages."

"At least you'll be able to become a lantern then!" He laughed. She shot him a look and he raised his hands in defense.

Joking aside, he was happy for her though. He knew how much she wanted to join the Lantern Sages, which was something Yoshi wanted to do when he was younger too. He loved hearing about the infamous Tannosuke and hearing what Hideaki Takashi could do with their legendary abilities. However, he remembered hearing that most of the initiates that joined had a fire nature affinity or were required to have one. So Yoshi was upset he couldn't join their ranks but was excited by the idea once more after he met Akimitsu. Even if she were joining for her own reasons, at least he could share the experience. That was enough for him at least.

Though, Akimitsu's determination to join the Lantern Sages was enough for him to become determined about another goal. He found joining the Shikaku Seiei would be just as rewarding; serving his village felt like a higher calling to him. It was something most didn't look to well on but everyone knew someone would end up joining them sooner or later. So he wasn't too broken up about having to renounce his heritage if it meant he could protect his home from anyone or anything that wanted to cause harm to it. He was ready to sacrifice himself for his village, his clan, his family, his friends, and his... He looked at Akimitsu again. His hands were under the table, so she couldn't see how hard his was clenching them together.

"Yoshi?" Akimitsu asked, looking worried again. He brushed it off with another fake smile and waved his hands.

"Sorry! I was just thinking about a Tannosuke story." He lied. "It was the one where he fathered all those supposed orphans again."

"With all the kids in the village, I wouldn't doubt it." She sighed. "I mean, there's a lot of people that are like that. But I'm glad you're not. Unlike some of the other people I know."

Yoshi couldn't help but smile at her compliment. He knew he was more calm than most of the people she encountered or had met but hearing it still meant a lot to him. Though, he knew she preferred spending time with him than anyone -- they've known each other for a long time. So trying to push away a bond like the one they had was difficult. So many memories, all the good, the bad, and the ugly. You can't just throw something like that away without feeling upset about it. Though Yoshi also preferred spending time with her as well, despite the teasing and hard times he would often give her, he did like being around her. She always made everything somewhat better, not to say his friends couldn't but it was just something he couldn't explain.

The two drank their tea, ate, and talked about various things. He listened as she was talking about something she learned during her Seishitsu Henka training. He remembered hearing she had a tough time learning her second nature affinity and even finding it at first. Though he did find that it being a wind affinity was a good thing, there was a chance her fire jutsu could be that much stronger. Not that he was looking to fight her or anything but it did present an interesting challenge. He wondered what his affinity would be though... He knew his first was earth, something common amongst the members of his clan. Maybe it was wind too? Or water? It was probably something he would never find out. Learning a second chakra affinity was difficult after all and not many people could go through the rigorous training it required. Though, those that did often became remembered or legends even.

Yoshi paid for their meal and walked out of the shop. There were various people outside, more than there were previously anyways. Most were huddled together for warmth, despite it not being that cold, or they were laughing and throwing snow at one another. The pair didn't pay much attention to those around them but they did keep close. Yoshi listening intently on how hard her training was and how happy she was that it paid off finally. She started to talk about how she'd one day be able to probably beat him and his puppets in a fight. However, Yoshi was more convinced that if they were to go head-to-head, he'd have to rebuild his puppets afterwards because he knew she'd burn them. Though that reminded him to probably ask his sensei if there was any fire-proof material he could use later.

"Look!" Akimitsu said, pointing at a group of children making snowmen.

"They look so cute!" He smiled.

"I know!" She agreed.

She looked around and grabbed Yoshi's arm. She then dragged him towards an empty space, well it wasn't entirely empty. There were a few people around them but they were too busy having fun to noticed anything around them. Akimitsu started to push the snow around, trying to make a giant ball. Yoshi helped her and both were patting the snow trying to make a base for the snowman. They quickly made a slightly smaller one to go on top of it and then another for the snowman's head. Akimitsu took her cloak off and put it around the snowman. Yoshi then grabbed a couple of rocks and put them in a line going down his chest. They took a step back and put rocks on his face to make a pair of eyes and then added a smile to his face. They used another rock for its nose and took a couple of steps back to look at it.

"He's so cute!" She smiled.

"He is!" Yoshi smiled.

He looked at her and could see her visibly shaking from the cold. Not violently but her body was starting to get a little jittery now that it was accumulating to the weather. He took his cloak off and wrapped it around her. They didn't move, well aside from Yoshi adjusting the cloak so it wouldn't fall off. They looked at one another for a moment. Height wasn't an exact issue, Yoshi was slightly taller than her if they weren't wearing footwear but he was noticeably taller at the moment. Feeling a little embarrassed, Yoshi pulled away from her -- to give her some space. She did the same and looked away, feeling embarrassed.

"Sorry about that." He said, smiling once more.

"It's okay, Aoki..." She muttered, her face was starting to get a little rosy though Yoshi blamed the weather.

"Hey, lemme walk you home?" He offered. "I could get your cloak back afterwards and give it to you tomorrow."

"Assuming a Hibiki doesn't find it." She scoffed.

"Well, stealing is stealing." He said and started to walk her home.

The two walked and talked about this and that. They went over how some people in the village were starting to pair off lately. It wasn't odd but the timing was about right. The faction stuff caused a lot of disinterest and a lot of mistrust throughout the village... well to Yoshi's knowledge at least. Regardless, he was happy that it was over for the most part. The two walked through the snow and started laughing about the various stories and tales they could think of. He was glad to see she was happy and in a good mood, it certainly made him dealing with the weather a little more bearable.

"Well here we are..." Akimitsu said as they arrived at her home. She turned to look at him.

"It appears so." He nodded. He looked at her for a moment, his face going between a smile and something serious. He cleared his throat and scratched his head for a few second.

"Aki, there's something I want to tell you... though I'm not really how to explain it..." He started.

"Well... take your time? I guess?" She said, giving him a weird look. He contemplated things for a moment before waving his head and shaking his head.

"Nevermind, it's not important anyways." He said. "I guess I'll see you later then!"

He smiled at her and started to back away. He tripped over his feet and almost fell back. Akimitsu quickly grabbed him and helped him balance himself. She started to scold him but he wasn't listening. He just looked at her. As she spoke he just thought about what he wanted to tell her, he wasn't sure how to really say it but all of the feelings he had for her were starting to well up. So he caved into the feelings for a moment and kissed her. She just froze and, when they parted, her face just burned up. She pushed him away and ran into her home. Yoshi just stood there before walking off towards his home. Well at least he told her what was going to say earlier.