The night after their clean up mission had come and gone rather quickly, but the consequences of their evening together seemed to be longer lasting. Having opened up quite a bit in the course of that meal, amongst them, it seemed that Team Yoroi had passed quite a few hurdles in the long race that was teamwork, partnership and complicity. And even though while they were fairly closer, at this point, the lethargy that quickly set in whenever they were separated, once more, slowly crept up on them, leaving each side isolated, unconnected.

But while this time that same began to occur, it was stopped in its track before it could fully spread, its contagion halted by a single person – a blond haired young woman, with light blue eyes and a friendly demeanor.
While Genji seemed to be somewhat busy, Nomi had taken upon herself to invite Yuushi to partake on a mission with her. Something simple, she had said, just so the two of them could get along better and become more familiar with each other. Her nervousness and volatile way of behaving manifested itself once more, as it usually did when she attempted something like this, when she knocked on Yuushi’s door and exposed the situation to him. At once, Yuushi agreed to it, with a smile on his face. Nomi seemed to have always kept coming up with these situations to hang around him – dinner invitations, missions, and so on. And while he was entirely clueless about the why, he had given up the notion of trying to understand something before experiencing it. The time he had spent with his new teammates and sensei had taught him that overthinking things, while beneficial in some situations, was entirely unnecessary and detrimental to his relationship with others. So, why not go on a simple mission with his comrade?

At his acceptance, Nomi’s smile widened and, at once, the duo left the apartment complex they both lived in. Soon enough, they were leaving the Administration Building, having received a letter with directions regarding their newly obtained mission. Having read it carefully, it didn’t seem to Yuushi to be a particularly difficult mission – delivering a bunch of documents to a representative was, at best, being a glorified mailman. And that was perfectly fine, as at least they didn’t have to clean a whole forest once more.

Starting to walk towards their destination, that was located a mere twenty miles from the village gates, they quickly made their way to the meeting place. It seemed that they were to meet up with a Daimyo representative to deliver him documents of political nature. In Yuushi’s mind, these documents surely could not be important in the least. On one hand, they had two mere Genins, who barely had started their Ninja career, carrying these papers. On the other, the representative was newly appointed and, inevitably, it would possibly be unwise to trust him or her with things or grave importance this early. Naturally, it was safe to assume that whoever was nominated for such a role already had to have quite a bit of trust put into them by their superiors and the officials of the Royal House. But, regardless, when all of it was put together, Yuushi could only assume that this was more of a formality than anything else. Otherwise, if they were to be as important as implied in the mission briefing, why not send the whole Team Yoroi, Sennin included?

Whatever the case may be, they had been given this mission and, so, they were to carry it out. Early into their walk, Yuushi noticed Nomi glancing in his direction, before posing a question to him. Looking back at her, he pondered for a second and, then, gave her his reply.
”You are right, I am mostly a loner when it comes to these kinds of things. But that is exactly why I had to take up this opportunity. We’re on a team now, I can’t be selfish to the point of staying in my safe zone and wanting to just stick to my own world, expecting everyone else to be able to make up for it with their own work. No, that cannot be. That is why, before my mind has the time to ponder and come up with a ‘No’ for an answer, my mouth says a ‘Yes’. That way, there is no escaping. Furthermore… I needed a break from training, and I’m not the kind of person to linger at home, procrastinating…” he answered, looking forwards and facing the path they were on now. His right hand reached to his left wrist, distractedly, where the single only burn mark still remained, unhealed, from their first training incident. Pushing himself to his limit lately, with his physical training, he had been compensating his dextrality by impulsively overworking his left side. Being naturally weaker, his arm often gave in, resulting in scrapes and abrasions to his left arm, burnt wrist included. Still looking ahead, his mouth continued speaking by itself, as his mind got lost in his own thoughts.

”I’m glad you enjoy my company, though. It’s… been a while since I’ve had someone I could call a friend.” he added, before consciously stopping himself from saying anything further that he did not mean, while trying to ignore this last remark. Equally ignoring the stinging pain that now erupted from his arm, due to him focusing on it, he turned once more towards his companion and asked her a question, returning the favor as a way to avoid keeping the attention on himself, his eyes glancing towards hers, as the path they were following took a mild left turn to circumvent a small brush area..
”How about you, Nomi? I have noticed you’ve been… fairly insistent in inviting me along with what you do. Why is that so? I understand you inviting Genji – you two are friends. But why me, when we were practically strangers?”

Nomi’s reaction to his answer had been slightly unexpected. While he figured she would be pleased with his newly gained consideration for her and the fact that he was willing to spend more time with her, the degree of this happiness was surpassed by far. It was quickly apparent to Yuushi that his little sentence, the one he had unwillingly said, had the most impact on her – her focus shifted once more to him and a bright smile filled her lips and her eyes, as if gratefulness had taken over, overcoming even her usual slightly jittery demeanor. In fact, ever since meeting Nomi, this was the first time he had ever felt like they were truly beginning to get closer. Of course, most of what had gotten in the way of that closeness was his own way of reacting to just about everything she said and did. Somehow, it always seemed to have quite a deep effect on him, resurfacing the buried memories and feelings, the one he had spend years and months to hide away and overcome. There was something in her he could not put his finger on yet, something that made these primal memories return to haunt his waking mind.

Thankfully, though, that seemed to be something of the past. Naturally, these memories still returned and reared their ugly, untamed head but, at this point, and much thanks to his newly-found determination and will to succeed, he was completely able to still those thoughts and overcome them with sheer will power. Nomi’s initial reply, as it was voiced by her, sounded so ludicrous that Yuushi couldn’t help but chuckle out loud. It sounded just like her to come up with such reasoning and base her whole invitation to come on a mission on it. Not that it was a bad thing – it was just funny. The second part of it, however, rang much closer to home. Nomi was the kind of person that someone who didn’t know her well would immediately dismiss as an airhead. She was somewhat clumsy, she was excitable and skittish, and to classify her as a girl who would never amount to much would’ve been fairly easy, for someone watching from afar.

But, by now, Yuushi knew better. Even if Yuushi had never personally felt that way, he had been extremely surprised by her, ever since meeting her. She had displayed a tremendous mental ability – even if still inexperienced – and intelligence during their first official team exercise and, as they got to know each other better, Yuushi could not help but feel like these kinds of thoughts were tremendous injustices. If her intelligence and great determination were strong sides of her personality, nothing would ever overcome her sheer compassion, her will to help others no matter who they were and what they’ve done, her own way of always putting her friends above herself. She was easily the most selfless, altruistic person Yuushi ever met which, granted, was undoubtedly a small number.
”I see.” Yuushi simply replied, shaking his head at himself for having chuckled at Nomi’s first response, only to get blown away by her insight afterwards. Turning towards her, as the horizon was slowly filled with the small town they were aiming to reach to accomplish their mission, he smiled back at her warmly and finished his sentence, ”You are right, Nomi. We… All of us, we are alone. Outsiders, in the middle of a crowd, unheard and unfelt. The bridges we’ve build over the past few months, the ones we almost burned in our first exercise – they are the bridges to our salvation, our passageways out of solitude. Thank you for inviting me to do this mission with you, Nomi. I am now more glad than ever that I accepted.”

They were getting closer to their goal by now and, so, his head turned forwards once more, facing the modest village that they had been looking for. Silence established itself between him and Nomi after that exchange, but it wasn’t the usual awkward silence that used to appear, before. This one was more of a hushed acknowledgement, as if no words were necessary for the duo to communicate, for them to understand each other. Soon enough, they had passed the wooden gates of the township, entering it, and aiming immediately for the largest building – the inn. Entering it at once, Yuushi scanned his surroundings, looking for some sort of hint as to who the representative was. Perhaps, his stereotypes were beginning to play tricks on him, but truthfully, he couldn’t manage to see anyone who would fit the way he imagined this official representative to be. No overly imposing burly man, no old geezer with a long beard and a warm smile, and most definitely no multitude of official guards that he would’ve assumed that accompanied such a figure. In fact, the inn showed itself to be mostly empty, with only a handful of patrons, quietly sipping at their drinks. Now, where was this representative? Could he possibly be late?

Some movement registered to Yuushi’s right and, turning in that direction, he was one of the clients move. This tall, thin young man with long green hair, bright eyes and clear skin turned towards the duo and, immediately, his face lit up. His eyes fixed on Nomi, he advanced towards that and warmly greeted them. No… he warmly greeted Nomi, essentially ignoring Yuushi in the process. And as he addressed her, something rang through the air, a crystal tone, much like a song, that filled the air – his voice. A voice which caused Nomi to jump in her place, her jittery self being dragged back into the present time. Or, perhaps, it wasn’t the voice, but the content of the greeting. Nomi-onee.
Her brother. Whoever this person was, not only the expression, but the familiarity in his tone, the longing in his voice, could only be from someone close to her. Keeping his jaw from dropping at the notion of meeting Nomi’s brother, he barely kept it together when he realized it was him they were to meet – the representative. What the heck was going on?

At a second glance, one could not deny the similarity. The hair and eye color was wrong, but the fairness of the skin and the general shape of the face could not be denied. By his tone and expressions, he seemed to be the younger of the two of them and, yet, he somehow behaved as if he was the older one, an older brother caring for his baby sister, picking her up from the ground and spinning her around. Then, as he remained flabbergasted, the young man’s attention turned to Yuushi, finally noticing that he existed, extending his hand to him in greeting.

”Oh, um… Hello, Atomaru. My name is… Yuushi, it’s a… Great pleasure to meet you.” he barely managed to voice, as this whole notion overtook his rational side, while his hand extended to meet Atomaru’s and shook it vigorously. Then, Yuushi saw the green haired man’s hand turn towards Nomi, as she deposited the envelope with the supposed important documents in his hands, sealing the deal. But, to Yuushi, this whole notion was still entirely unsound. He had always felt that, much like himself, even if not in the same degree, Nomi had avoided bringing up her childhood or her family. It was as if something had been purposefully hidden by her, keeping her roots away from Yuushi and perhaps even Genji. Yuushi, coming from the cursed family he came from, could only appreciate the notion. He had seriously doubted that, whatever her provenience was, it could possibly be as troublesome as his but, regardless the situation, he could appreciate the fact that it was her decision to keep it hidden.

But now, it seemed like these roots were almost coming out on their own, with this chanceful meeting with her brother. And, while he did not want to force the issue, he could not deny that there was a tinge of curiosity and inquisitiveness welling from deep inside of him, demanding to be answered.
”That is… quite a surprise, Nomi.” he said, shifting his eyes from Atomaru to Nomi, a warm smile on his face, trying to reassure her and calm down her reappearing nerves, ”I didn’t know you had a brother. More importantly, I had no idea your brother was the Daimyo’s representative. Well, seemingly, neither did you, but… Friends in high places, right?”

Nomi’s noncommittal reply to his question only sharpened his interest further. Of course, this naturally meant that, somehow, she had something to hide. Something that was worth keeping secret to the point of practically ignoring his enquire altogether, only to move her attention back to her brother. At this point, Yuushi decided to give up on this whole quandary. It wasn’t his place to try to reach information that was not meant for him to know and, even as the beast that was curiosity welled up inside of him, trying to overtake his whole being, unrelentlessly consuming his mind, he resisted the urge. Figuratively taking a step back, he once more returned to simply observing this conversation from afar. Whatever went on between these two siblings, it wasn’t something he should meddle with and this fact was quickly made apparent to him, as a silent exchange of expressions and body language occurred between them, though most of it happened on Nomi’s side of the barricade.

Suspicion and sarcasm dominated her speech, as if she was, too, trying to uncover some kind of hidden information that she didn’t have access to, at the moment. Her brother’s reply, in turn, was as nonchalant as they come. Matter-of-factly, even, close to the tone one assumes when reading out of a history book. Clearly, his promotion to Jounin seemed completely lacking in surprise, most likely something he had expected for a while now. Still, in other times, to have such a young Jounin stand in front of him, Yuushi might have been surprised. But, once one considers that fact that Yuushi and Nomi’s new sensei, Yoroi, happened to be around the same age and even far above Jounin, this surprise was completely blotted out. Instead, Yuushi simply brushed it off, turning to face Nomi, who’s visage was completely transfigured. The sarcasm and slight mischievousness were completely gone and, in their place, surprise and even a sting of resentment - no, jealousy – was uncoverable.

Was Nomi upset by the fact that her younger brother had already surpassed her this much, when she knew she still struggled on her own, to do some of the simplest things? Naturally, for someone like Nomi, who was searching for her own identity and her independence , to find out that your younger sibling seemed to be naturally better than you at something so crucial as being a ninja would be extremely upsetting, if not disturbing. Even now, as Yuushi pondered this, her body language sharpened, as her emotions darkened even further, letting Yuushi – and anyone willing to pay attention to her – decipher that she had only fallen deeper into whatever abyss these declarations by her brother had casted her into. Not that Yuushi, personally, saw it that way. To Yuushi, it was natural to have someone be instinctively better at something than you. Even he, having spent most of his childhood in a concrete prison, isolated from the world by his own parents, was painfully aware that determination and hard work only get you so far. It is, naturally, a big factor in improving one’s own abilities – but that is the extent of its influence. Without inherent abilities and without the necessary tenacity, the moxie to combine all of those factors, determination alone becomes nigh meaningless. The same, however, could be said about innate talent. In fact, if there was a blatant case of that situation, it would have to be their own sensei, whose sheer untamed talent had brought him so far, so quickly.

Yoroi was around their age and, still, he surpassed them in a gargantuan manner, in about every ninja skill imaginable. So – why was Nomi upset about this revelation by her sibling, and not this other case? Perhaps this was related to the reason why Nomi had left her home, in the first place. He had already established to himself that, based on certain traits of her personality and behavior, she had led a reasonably sheltered childhood, even if a hard one at points. She had been coddled and catered to her whole life until, now, deciding to attempt reaching her own independence.

Feeling like he was, once more, delving too deeply into Nomi’s personal business, overtaken and self-indulging in his own curiosity, Yuushi inconspicuously shook his head, chasing away the desire to pursue these questions, reminding himself not to dwell in other people’s business, lest they dwell in his. And he knew how terrible that could turn out to be. Returning to reality just in time, he heard the ending of Atomaru’s sentence and, with it, witnessed Nomi’s expression and demeanor change completely. Disappointment shifted to surprise, jealousy morphed into expectancy, melancholy contorted into longing. It seemed Atomaru, too, had been closely monitoring his big sister. Whatever he had cryptically said in the sentence that Yuushi could not fully understand – though he had his own conjecture about the messaged deeply embedded into it -, it clearly had an effect on Nomi’s behavior and mood, completely changing into something that could, possibly, be better. Though she still had a fair share of uncertainty in her eyes and a sadness to her face, most of the dark feelings were gone, leaving space for better, brighter ones to develop. Whatever message she had just been entrusted with, Nomi had clearly taken it as a small shining orb of hope, floating in mid air, illuminating the darkest depths of despair she had been deposited into by this whole haphazard meeting.

Regardless, this happening had been brought to its end and, as Atomaru said goodbye to Yuushi and his sister, Nomi seemed to become determined to leave that very moment, as well. Silently, Yuushi simply nodded and followed the blond girl outside. Once more resuming their trip, trekking all the way back home, Yuushi found himself absorbed into his own thoughts. Despite the fact that this mission had merely began as a designless event, as something to do on a free day with a new friend, it quickly had turned into a mess of misshapen emotions, misinterpreted relationships and misadjusted expectations – especially for his companion, Nomi. Turning back towards her, the sadness that blatantly filled her face remained, even if there was an apparent attempt at hiding it. This young girl, the one that, in the short time they had been together as a team, had always been there for him and Genji, always brightening their day whenever it seemed like a large shadow had enclosed them, was now covered by the shade, herself. It was the first time that Yuushi had ever seen her this affected by something and, quite honestly, to see someone as radiantly cheery and gleeful as her behave this way was heart-wrenching. Taking a single step sideways, as they walked, he approached her and, for the first time since they had met, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, gently, which in turn brought her face upwards to face him.

”Whatever happened back there, Nomi… It’s going to be alright, okay? Regardless of what Atomaru accomplishes… You’re still the smartest member of Team Yoroi. Granted, that is not particularly difficult, considering the other two members are me and Genji… but hey, it has to amount to something, no?” he told her, in a mellow tone, a silly smile on his face, attempting to cheer her up a bit, as they made their way back home, continuing to follow a forest-wrapped dirt road that led directly to Konoha.
”Besides, you’ve just began this difficult process yourself. I’m sure you have a bright future ahead of you. We’ll just have to train harder and harder. Don’t worry, we’ll both get there. Now – what do you say to one of those dinners at your place? I can cook.” he added, patting her back twice and facing forward, as a sharp bend in the road took them to their left, Konoha finally appearing on the horizon.