[Nara Shikajin]

the worst case scenario is you

It wasn't a plant? That was kind of surprising, though considering it was sitting at the bottom of the bag she brought that didn't make too much sense in hindsight. No matter, what was more important was that Inoyami wanted to see his room at some point, and it was not in the best of shape at the moment. Not trashy, but obvious that the chunin had moved around quite a bit of stuff preparing his bag for his deer activities, and where he once would have been able to tidy things well before anyone would see his room --not that many people did-- there was next to no time to move around anything before his teammate set foot in there.

Alas, they had a bit of time before that would happen as they had quite a few sweets left to go through. Shikajin would open up one of the untouched boxes: an assortment of chocolates. Excellent. Biting into one revealed that it was filled with nougat, another caramel. Inoyami had really outdone herself bringing a variety of flavors for them to enjoy. A silent, mouth-filled thanks for the glass of water that was oh so needed after stuffing his face for the past few minutes.

The Yamanaka would throw out the idea of a training session, no ninjutsu only hand to hand combat. She was correct that a true hit from either of their hijutsu would all but end the bout in an instant so it made sense to use a style that would at least take a couple hits to take someone down. A hand reflexively went to the Nara's thigh as he remembered his last taijutsu training session with a woman named Inari. Her cheery attitude reminded him a lot of the blonde sitting across from him and though he had technically won that sparring session his body had felt the effects for some days afterwards.

Alas, Shikajin had told himself that he would look into his clan's taijutsu style after that fight so he wouldn't be such a liability in close combat situations and this would be a perfect opportunity to try some of those moves out. "Yeah we can go a few rounds." He'd reply. It seemed that Inoyami had been no slouch in the physical arts as she had went up against her brother and not surprisingly lost, but the effort had been put in. "I'm sure it wasn't that bad." It was probably was. Neither of them were all that great in taijutsu, preferring to lean towards ninjutsu and other specialties, so there would be no clear cut favorite making this either of the shinobi's fight to win.

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[Deleted]

Inoyami took another bite of one of the chocolates as Shikajin agreed to training. She nodded, giving a thumbs up since her mouth was full. There was no way she'd ever be all that proficient in it, but she could definitely work at sucking less than she currently did. She could do all the basics--punches, kicks, projectile work. Everyone had the base level of skill for graduation, and she'd passed the same as everyone else. But if she went against someone with above average skill in that area? She'd be dead if they got close. At the least, she wanted to focus more on speed. Little by little, she could improve it. It just meant bugging her teammate now and again.

"It was that bad. I have the bruises to prove it," she said, covering her mouth as she spoke. Kiyo began digging at one of the pieces of plastic on the table, only to shove it in her cheek pouch to store for later--for no purpose other than it was the only thing she could get her little claws on and her owner was busy.

"Anyway. You been staying out of trouble?" she asked. And with this, she was specifically referring to his dealings with a certain fox whom Kazuto had warned the two of them about. She didn't need details, really, but she was curious if the two had ended up meeting again after what Shikajin had mentioned at lunch with the Senju not long ago. Shikajin was smart enough to read the question for its subtlety, unless the sweets had clogged his brain and he took it at face value--in which case, she'd just sound like "that mom friend." Again.

---

Nara Shikajin ❤ HEX: #db9320 ❤ No notes!

[Nara Shikajin]

the worst case scenario is you

Shikajin had intended to spare the woman's feelings even though he was well aware that a fight between his teammate and her brother could only end one way and rubbing it in wouldn't have helped matters. 'Yori, for all his current ailments, had been a strong shinobi from all the stories Inoyami shared, regardless if anyone had asked to hear them or not, so as long as his mental state wasn't giving him problems there weren't too many people the Nara knew who would be able to beat him in a fight.

Shikajin would take note of the squirrel meddling about as Inoyami asked a subtle but not really subtle question. The chunin wasn't one to get himself into any type of trouble, or do much of anything outside of his responsibilities as a shinobi, member of the Nara clan, and medic of Konoha... Hm, well maybe he did have quite a bit on his plate. Regardless, he knew that the Yamanaka was talking about his dealings with Sada. Neither she or Kazuto seemed particularly thrilled when he told them they had hung out, shocked perhaps, but not thrilled. In honesty it was an attempt to keep the woman out of his clan compound turned... other things, but he wasn't going to let his teammate in on that information. Shikajin wasn't quite sure of what to make of it all himself to be honest. The woman was interesting, different than most of the people he had interacted with at some point in his life, and had brought out a side in him that had never seen the light of day. He didn't enjoy how invasive --perhaps entitled may have been a better term-- Sada was about the very ground she walked on, making anything in her path hers to toy with as she pleased, but beyond that she wasn't a terrible conversationalist and in the right circumstances could have maybe even been... tolerable to be around.

These were dark times indeed if one such as Shikajin was even considering seeing a woman such as Sada a second time. Yes, they had only met the once and hadn't been in contact since that day. Some of it was the Senju's warning and his story of Sada's physicality, the other being more simple: their paths simply hadn't crossed again.

"Are you and Kazuto the only ones allowed to deal with matters of the heart?" The Nara would inquire as his hand hovered above the dessert spread, unsure of what to pick at first but eventually settling on a shortbread cookie. "I haven't seen her in quite some time, for whatever reason, so I guess to answer your question... yes, I am staying out of trouble." There wasn't too much else the chunin could add without getting into details Inoyami probably didn't want to hear. His initial words made it seem like he may have had feelings for the woman but the Nara simply found her interesting was all.

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[Deleted]

Matters of the heart? What did that mean? Inoyami took another bite of one of her treats, completely oblivious to what Kiyo was doing as Shikajin expanded on his answer. Apparently he hadn't run into the woman again. The blonde chewed her chocolate, eyes narrowing a bit, and for a few moments she just stared him down, chewing in silence, very clearly trying to decide if she believed him or not.

And then, finally, "Okay."

She wasn't trying to pry, but more or less make sure someone else really wasn't giving him a hard time. Inoyami also did enjoy talking on friendships and relationships and if Shikajin had news in either of those categories, she would have been all ears. It tended to come across as a desire for gossip, but that wasn't quite it. Ino thoroughly liked learning about people. Plus, there was the ingrained perspective of the clan that the more you knew about someone, the more you could use against them. So information gathering came almost as second nature to her, in a way.

Looking down at her squirrel, now, Inoyami realized the animal had stuffed something in her mouth. She cleared her throat. "Riki. What did you eat."

The squirrel continued scratching at the table for a bit, but it would eventually look up at her owner, spotting the piece of plastic wrapper she'd had on the piece of chocolate she'd just finished eating. The blonde followed the creature's stare to the plastic, then slowly held it down, puzzled. Kiyoriki grabbed it like it was a chunk of precious gold and stuffed it into her other cheek pouch.

Inoyami's mouth fell open. "No! Bad! You can't eat that!" But at the woman's raise in voice, Kiyoriki flew off the table and began running in circles around her chair...only to dart off through the kitchen and skitter around the rest of the house to destinations unknown.

The blonde groaned. "Maybe it's better I give you that gift sooner rather than later...before she starts finding things of yours to chew on." Kiyoriki was fairly domestic as squirrels went but her urge to chew on things wasn't something to be tamed, and leaving her to her own devices for too long would no doubt result in various furniture or trim being gnawed to pieces. It had taken her forever to realize Ino's home wasn't just a giant tree.

---

Nara Shikajin ❤ HEX: #db9320 ❤ No notes!

[Nara Shikajin]

the worst case scenario is you

There was an awkward near silence for a while, with the only sounds being that of chewing and whatever that damned squirrel was doing. Shikajin realized that his statement had been out of left field and was it even possible to be a matter of the heart after only being around someone once? Not to mention a majority of that one time being suspicious of the other person and trying to get them to leave; though the other half was... something else. The experience in general was foreign to him and every now and then the chunin took time trying to figure out what exactly had gone down in that forest. Sada was a strange woman, powerful not only because of what lie in her but her demeanor as well. It piqued the Nara's interest more than just about anything else she could offer.

Had he told Inoyami that they had been spending more time together, or expounded on what they had done in their first meeting he was positive she'd be in the middle of a twenty question rapid fire session, but instead the woman simply let things be. It wasn't like her and the young man almost fell into the trap of asking why she didn't pry more, which would have in turn forced him to reveal certain details, but being around the Yamanaka all these years had made Shikajin a little more wise to her ways.

With the questioning over, for the moment at least, attention would turn to the squirrel who couldn't help but join in on the snacking as well, though instead of chocolate or cookies preferring to just stuff its cheeks full of plastic. Weird little creature. The scolding from Inoyami merely excited the creature as it bounded off the table and darted around the immediate vicinity, its tiny clawed feet pitter pattering on the hardwood floors. So long as it didn't cause any noticeable damage then all was well, but he'd have to keep an eye out if its movements took it towards his room.

The Yamanaka, possibly sensing that she'd have to go chase after her familiar sooner rather than later, brought up the gift once more. Ah yes, the not flower. It had been Shikajin's one and only guess and he was honestly a little miffed about being wrong but at the same time intrigued on what could have been in the box. "Well, you have my undivided attention." He would reply while picking up another cookie. Inoyami would have most of his attention as sweets would forever hold a special place in his heart.

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[Deleted]

Shikajin didn't seem all too annoyed about her pet running amok, but he would be if Kiyo ended up destroying something. So, time was of the essence. She could give him his gift and then retrieve the squirrel from whatever part of the house she was off trying to bury the plastic in.

Reaching down into the bag next to her, she took out the wooden box housing it. The box doubled as a gift box, but in fact she'd only bought it too so that the thing inside wouldn't get broken on the way. Putting in on the table, she slid it forward among the treats. It was unmarked and only had a ribbon keeping the lid on, so it wouldn't be tough to open.

"I was out shopping and this made me think of you. If you hate it, tell me, I'll take it back. It was a spur of the moment thing." She shrugged and grabbed a cookie, nibbling on it as he'd open the box.

What laid inside was glass in the shape of an anatomically correct heart. The glass contained small layers of smaller glass rods and cones in other colors, effectively making it appear rainbow at a glance. The heart could fit in the palm of his hand and also had a string attached to one of the valves at the top--meaning the item could either be set on a window sill or dangled from the ceiling.

After a few moments of letting him look at it--or wonder what the heck it was--she swallowed her bite of cookie and chimed in, "It's a prism! It'll reflect sunlight alllllll over your room and make it super pretty!" There had been a glass-worker traveling through the area not long ago, and this piece had instantly caught her eye. The man had also been selling tiny glass animals--and Inoyami had picked herself up little figurines of every forest creature he'd been selling. The true-to-life heart just felt like it'd be perfect for a medic.

---

Nara Shikajin ❤ HEX: #db9320 ❤ No notes!

[Nara Shikajin]

the worst case scenario is you

It may not have been excitement that was filling Shikajin at the moment, perhaps more anticipation than anything, but he was definitely feeling something as Inoyami slid the ribbon covered box over to him. There could have been a myriad of things that the woman could have found during one of her shopping sprees that reminded her of the Nara so there was really no telling what was waiting for him. Slowly removing the ribbon and placing it to the side the chunin would slide off the top of the box revealing... a heart. A glass heart that, perhaps most intriguing, was anatomically correct. Not one of those commercial ones that most everyone used, but one that more or less mirrored what the one beating in his chest looked like.

The light shining through the kitchen windows and into the dining area reflected through the internal rods of the sculpture giving off a whole host of colors, seven in reality, but as he twisted the piece around there would be some interesting mixes. Inoyami spoke of how the prism effect would light up his room, no doubt filling his little piece of privacy with the colors of the wind. If it hadn't been clear before that the Yamanaka cared about her teammate and truly paid attention to their interests and hobbies then this gift was the cherry on top.

"I.. thank you." Was about all he could manage to get out at the moment. His mind instantly pivoted to just where he was going to put the heart, though, as he assumed Inoyami would now be making somewhat regular checks to ensure that her gift was still being properly appreciated. There wasn't much in terms of color or pizzazz in Shikajin's room. It was very matter of fact and, aside from today, clean and proper minus the many medical books he had laying everywhere.

"I guess I need to start thinking of a place to hang it." He would add. By a window made the most sense and since it was sunrise facing his mornings would now be filled with color which... Shikajin supposed he'd have to just get used to. It would have been quite the sight to wake up to but sleep wasn't something that came easily for the man.

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[Deleted]

His words were few, but Inoyami could tell he liked the gift. She grinned, watching him as he looked it over and mused on where exactly he was going to hang it. The obvious place was his room, though she figured he meant the "where" of that specifically.

"I could help you decide where to put it if you want?" she offered. "I'm good with that feng shui stuff." She took a small bite of cookie. "Ya know, assuming you don't mind having a girl in your room." She smiled playfully, knowing he wouldn't take offense to such a childish jab. Inoyami had been over here before through the years but she hadn't been to his room recently. There was no telling what kind of shape it was in...

The heart was basically a multi purpose gift. There was the obvious symbolism of affection (a heart), the obvious nod to his career as a medic (the fact it was a real heart and not a cartoonized one), and then the fact the prism would reflect sunlight everywhere around it, filling his personal space with something bright. Inoyami liked spreading cheer and sunshine if she could, even in the little ways. And despite her teammate's known difficulties with sleep, her idea was that his mornings would be a little brighter and a little more colorful.

Flowers might have done the same, for a while. But flowers died. Glass didn't.

---

Nara Shikajin ❤ HEX: #db9320 ❤ No notes!

[Nara Shikajin]

the worst case scenario is you

There weren't too many other directions that his statement could have driven the conversation and it was inevitable that Inoyami would want to see the room in order to help find the best place for his gift. He didn't really care that it'd be a woman coming into his space, no, Sada had shattered that hesitation all by herself a while back, but he wouldn't speak on that in front of the Yamanaka; she'd definitely want more information then. If it had been any other day and not one where Shikajin wasn't expecting company due to his clan duties then having her in the room wouldn't be a problem. He was tidy enough, probably not as much as his teammate, but everything had its place and it wasn't difficult to maneuver around... for the most part.

Today, however, was a different story. Boxes were laid out in varying states of fullness as the chunin prepared his bag for his check ups on the deer and he hadn't given a second thought to putting anything away which left things quite messy. Alas, if all that would come from the current state of his room was a joke or two he'd survive, and hell maybe Inoyami would be so taken aback that she'd offer to clean it for him... and he wouldn't refuse.

"Yeah.. yeah that's fine. But keep in mind when you walk in that I wasn't expecting company." Shikajin would reply with the one small caveat hoping to keep the teasing to a minimum. He'd push himself back from the table before rising from the chair and walking towards his room. He could have told Inoyami told wait for a few minutes while he tidied things up, and had it been anyone else other than his teammate of many years then perhaps he would have, but not in these circumstances.

Assuming the woman followed suit once the Nara opened the door to his room it'd be an interesting sight. The first thing one would see would be various boxes, bags, and unused equipment meant for harvesting strewn about. For such docile and simple creatures they really were complex in their care taking. Getting past that, the room itself was decent in size with a forest green motif. Some color but mostly dark green, brown, and black. His bed lay near the window and it was perhaps the most untouched thing in the room for obvious reasons. There were also multiple bookcases placed next to each other reaching just a bit higher than the Nara was tall. On them were various books ranging from the human body to animal care, all filled with a bunch of jargon and diagrams. There were dressers and all of that other stuff, of course, but everyone had that. Finally, a sturdy oak desk that the chunin sat at on a daily basis.

"Well... here you go."

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[Deleted]

Not expecting company. "I figured," she said with a shrug. That much had been obvious by the state of the rest of the house she'd seen walking in. She knew she'd interrupted him--he'd just been nice enough to let her stay. The tote bag of treats had probably cemented his generosity but she wasn't going to make a big deal of it.

Inoyami followed him to his room and the mess inside was...a little more than she'd expected. The blonde stepped in and walked around, stepping over tools and equipment that she couldn't have guessed the purposes for on sight. It all looked really complicated. And a little intimidating. What did this stuff do?

Her blues were set to the room as a whole, though, as she moved around and stood at different points to survey the rest of the space. "Hmmmmm...." She spun and went to another spot. Then the corner. Then to the window. Then another corner, all the while stepping and hopping over anything in her path.

Finally, she went to a place near the window, pointing at a very specific spot on the ceiling directly above her. "Right here!" she proclaimed. "This spot will catch the most light and also reach your work desk." She smiled. "You got a hook?"

Finally, the woman's squirrel found them. Kiyoriki skittered in as if she'd been chased by something, dashing around and avoiding the tools before zipping up Ino's leg and perching on her shoulder. The plastic was gone. She had definitely buried it somewhere in the house "for later." Probably the couch cushions.

---

Nara Shikajin ❤ HEX: #db9320 ❤ No notes!

[Nara Shikajin]

the worst case scenario is you

Shikajin would have been lying if he said he wasn't expecting a more boisterous reaction from his teammates. Inoyami was easily excitable, for better or worse, and anything that could illicit an emotional response from the woman would though his dirty room didn't get much more than a hum. Maybe it was due to just what was making the room messy? It wasn't clothes, towels and normal stuff that cluttered rooms but instead tools and instruments that had purpose. It was hard to be mad at someone that was messy with a purpose.

The Nara watched as the Yamanaka went from side to side, corner to corner trying to pick the best spot to hang the heart. He imagined this was the same process she used for her room except for every single item she owned which sounded like torture. Eventually the woman would settle on a spot next to the window that would strategically shine the prism colors on his desk. A whole host of colors splashed onto his books was exactly what the chunin needed, a veritable reading rainbow. Dark hues would scan the area between the window and his desk possibly looking for a less intrusive spot but none could be found that he'd be able to come up with a decent excuse for.

"Should be one in this drawer here." He'd reply while carefully stepping around some of the equipment strewn about his floor. Shikajin tried to be as self sufficient as possible when it came to his own space and kept a small collection of various tools and what not. Any large projects would of course require a handyman, but he could at least handle the small stuff. Fishing the hook and accompanying screw from the drawer he would wait for either Inoyami to take it or tell him where exactly to place the thing and in time they'd get the heart set in the right position. He supposed one could call it a centerpiece, or at the very least it would be a conversation starter should anyone else ever get the chance to step foot in his room which was... unlikely. But Inoyami knew it was there and that was all that mattered.

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[Deleted]

Inoyami volunteered to take the hook and screw herself, since she was already standing right where she'd determined the heart should go. She was just short enough that she couldn't reach up and touch the ceiling, though, which meant she'd need to jump up and twist the hook in from the ceiling itself. She could've asked for a chair, probably the one at his desk, but a quick leap was faster.

The blonde knotted her dress skirt to one side and jumped on up, using the chakra in her feet to keep her stuck as she knelt down, and would screw in the hook while upside down, tapping at it and giving it a tug once she was done to make sure the weight of the glass wouldn't cause it to fall back out. It was in there pretty tight. Her position was a little awkward, and if Shikajin were some other guy she might have fretted about him looking up the front of her dress. But it was him--and he wouldn't. Probably.

"Prism, please!" she chirped, holding her hand out expectantly. When the heart was handed to her, she slipped the loop over the hook, tapped it gently, made sure it wasn't going to fall, and then hopped down. Smoothing out her dress once more, she put a hand on her hip and gave a nod. It was already catching a little of the sunlight and reflecting multi-colored dots everywhere. Though the most beautiful display would be closer to dawn. What they were getting now was more of a tiny preview.

"There we go!" she said with a smile, and would hold her index finger up. "By the way, your ceiling's a little dusty. Might wanna give your space a once-over when you're done with your tools." She winked. "I'll let you borrow one of my kitty cleaning masks if you want." She snickered at this, knowing he'd refuse. But it would be something to see.

---

Nara Shikajin ❤ HEX: #db9320 ❤ No notes!

[Nara Shikajin]

the worst case scenario is you

Ah yes, chakra. Shikajin hadn't thought about just sticking to the ceiling and hanging the heart himself but Inoyami would make quick work of the instillation while hopefully not leaving dirty footprints on his ceiling. If he hadn't needed to clean his room top to bottom before he definitely did now. Not that the Yamanaka was diseased or anything but... feet on his ceiling. Once all of that was taken care of and the sunlight gleamed through the heart a small patch of rainbow could be seen on his desk, well wasn't that quaint? Given the time of day this was probably the extent of the light show until dawn came 'round again at which point his room would be filled with color.

Inoyami would comment on how the man needed to clean his ceiling yet would only offer to let him borrow one of her cat masks, probably similar to the one she had utilized during their cleaning mission at the hospital a while back. "I'll pass." He replied calmly. On the mask, of course. His room was definitely getting cleaned sooner rather than later. Feet... on his ceiling.

With that task now complete there wasn't much else Shikajin needed in the realm of handiwork done in his room, or around the house in general. Inoyami was more or less free to look about the room as she pleased and peruse the various wares and books that her teammate owned, and if she had questions Shikajin would do his best to answer so long as it didn't pertain to clan secrets. He really needed to take the time to organize his materials for his own sake. Research was always a part of a medics life and about a third of it was looking for the book or scroll in question. Soon, hopefully, that problem would be solved with a little help from a certain Senju, though that was neither here nor there.

If there were no questions, or no further interest in his room then Shikajin would return to the dining room to enjoy more treats. They still had so many left to try!

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[Deleted]

With the gift hung up and Kiyoriki back on her shoulder, the blonde had finished with what she'd set out to do. She was so happy he actually liked the thing. Returning it would've been a headache, because tracking down that particular merchant was, well, not easy. But he'd liked it, it was up, and he'd get to enjoy it every morning in the sunlight, now. What a treat~

Not surprisingly Shikajin refused her offer of a kitty mask. "Aww, but it'd be so cute," she teased, poking at both of her own cheeks with two fingers on each side. "With the little whiskers and all." She broke into a fit of laughter and turned, walking out of the room. "More for me!" She'd only have to buy more sooner if she shared them, anyway.

The blonde scanned over their table of snacks and heaved a contented sigh. "Well, I'm going to leave this mountain of sugar to you," she announced. "I have a few things to go do yet today, one of which is meeting with my brother for something. He said it was a surprise but I have this sneaky suspicion it's more training." Kiyoriki moved to the woman's other shoulder, batting her in the face with her tail in the process. Inoyami seemed not to notice. She'd long grown immune to tail thwacks to the face.

She was on her way to the door in short time, slipping her shoes on and giving another look to some of the supplies he'd had out. "Say hello to the deer for me whenever you get out there. We're off!" And out the door she went, a blonde on a sugar high and a squirrel playing parrot enthusiastically from her shoulder.

---

Nara Shikajin ❤ HEX: #db9320 ❤ No notes!

[Nara Shikajin]

the worst case scenario is you

Inoyami joked about the cat themed cleaning masks but Shikajin was having none of it, mostly blocking out the girl until she switched subjects. He wouldn't be caught dead in one of those things, not in public nor in the privacy of his house, not even in front of a mouse. He thought about making the Yamanaka clean the footprints she had left on his sealing, not that they could really be seen by anyone who didn't already know they were already there but... footprints on his ceiling. Alas, that'd probably be a losing battle and he would have preferred his room being cleaned after a chance to tidy up a bit. There was still a piece missing that was vital for helping the Nara clear the clutter in his room and he hoped that Kazuto would be finished with it soon.

His teammate would offer to leave the remaining sweets with him causing Shikajin to nearly chuckle, as if they were ever going to leave the house in the first place. Sure, Inoyami could wrap a few in a napkin to take with her, but that was about all the chunin was willing to part with. "I'm sure it won't be that bad, just keep on your toes and you shouldn't end up with too many bruises." He replied plainly. Enabling the woman to lie to herself that she wasn't about to be put through the gauntlet by her older brother would have been a disservice to all parties involved, and perhaps if she got in the mindset of training early enough she'd fare a little better. Doubtful, but a man could dream.

Shikajin would walk a few steps behind the woman as she and the squirrel made their way to the door, a final request to tell the deer hello for her before darting off to go do whatever else it was she had to do today. Closing the door behind them, Shikajin would sigh as he turned to look at the pack of supplies that he had planned to utilize today. Oh well, tomorrow offered a new opportunity, but for now there were snacks to tend to.

--End--

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