A Meeting (Den&Min P/IO)

Minorin was lying down in her apartment. Lying on her couch. The couch that was facing the window.
The small white haired girl was lying face down, her long ivory locks wet and wavy from the shower she’d taken just ten minutes ago. She was wearing a pair of blue cotton shorts and a large hooded white jacket. She turned her head, her right cheek now resting on the cushion.

The girl was now looking out the window. She wondered if she could really call it a window, it was really more like a glass wall. She decided that was what she would call it from now on – a glass wall.

She’d seen Denkiteki the other day, in the street. She hadn’t really looked right at him; in fact, she’d almost walked right past the boy. Only she’d stopped right next to him instead of walking right on by like she would’ve liked to do. And not only did she stop, but she’d asked him to come see her today. Her voice had even cracked when asking him. It was an incredibly weak thing to do. And she hadn’t even waited for the boy’s answer. Instead she’d just walked right by after asking. She felt so stupid.

And now here she was, hair wet, nowhere near well-dressed, and her blue eyes were slightly puffy from crying in the shower. Which was the only place she ever allowed herself to cry.

She lay there, pathetically waiting. Half wanting the boy to come and explain himself, and half not – so that she might learn to forget about all that had happened.

It was three o’clock in the afternoon, her door was unlocked just in case the boy came.

Den hadn’t seen much of Min the past few days. He had been partially avoiding her, not sure as to what he should say about Kirigakure. Takehiko hadn’t talked to her as well, thinking that he should keep his distance until Den finally explained everything he knew to her.

Den had not known how long he would put off telling her, how long he would avoid her, but she had asked him to come by her home. Wearing a casual outfit, Den approached the door. He took a deep breath before entering, also brushing some of his dark hair out of his face. He wondered if Minorin would be angry, the main reason he didn’t want to talk to her was for fear that she might accidentally let the Gobi take over if he tried to explain everything.

Perhaps I should take her to Sanctuary, just to be safe. He would only do that if he thought Min might activate her cloak, though he hoped that Minorin had enough self control to not activate her cloak.

Opening the door, the first thing Den noticed was the incredibility large window. Shortly afterwards he saw the couch, and Minorin. She did not seem happy, though as far as he could tell she was more sad than angry.

“Minorin?” his voice was quiet, though Minorin would easily be able to hear it as the sound traveled through the otherwise silent room. Den closed the door behind himself, and began to walk towards the young girl from Kirigakure. He stopped roughly a meter away from the couch, standing still a she waited for Minorin to talk to him. Blue eyes would look upon her as she lay there, filled with regret. He should have told her, trying to protect her had ended up only making things worse.

“I… I’m so sorry.”

TWC: 307

Minorin slowly brought herself into a sitting position, still facing the window, her legs hanging off the side of the couch. Her toes just barely touching the floor. She’d heard the door open.

Whoever had opened the door would only be able to see the back of the small girl who was currently sitting on the couch. So Denkiteki hadn’t seen Minorin’s eyes yet, thankfully.

She’d heard his voice too, asking for her. Her name had been turned into a question. His tone seemed cautious to her, he was probably thinking she’d lose control. She almost wanted to laugh.

Then she heard him say something. Something that wouldn’t have made her angry under any other circumstance.

The small girl stood abruptly. Her hair flying as she pushed off of the couch and stood, twirling her body 180 degrees so that she could stare Denkiteki right in his eyes.

With her eyes narrowed like this it would be hard to tell that they were puffy, but right now she wasn’t worried about that. Who did he think he was? How dare he. How dare he claim to be sorry.

She stood there, a million things racing through her mind, a million ways to put him in his place. But she stood there, completely silent. She had a lump in her throat, thinking that boy had better be thankful for that stupid lump.

Light that had been pouring through the window and onto the couch would now be framing the small girl as she stood there. Her shadow slowly creeping across the couch.

She would bring her gaze away from Denkiteki’s eyes and stare instead at the floor, at the boy’s feet. A liar’s feet.

Min got off of the couch quickly, alarming Den. When she looked at his face, he could tell he had said something wrong. Den did not look away from the little girl however, though her accusing glare struck him at his very core. He knew he had no right to apologize, that what he had done was wrong. Though his intentions may have been good, in the end he had only hurt Minorin more. He had no right to ask her forgiveness, even though he wanted it so badly.

She eventually looked away from his eyes, down towards his feet. Sadness gripped the young man, this was his only friend, his student, and she hated him now. He might have cried, but he knew it was pointless and would in fact cause Min’s opinion of him to diminish further. A moment of silence passed as Den began worrying that she might try to cut ties with him, and he would be alone in this new village.

“I didn’t want you to get hurt. When I saw… that the village was gone I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want you to know, I thought if we stayed in Sanctuary you could just live there in ignorant bliss of what happened, and you wouldn’t have to know everyone… was gone.” His voice almost cracked when he mentioned everyone being gone, he remembered looking frantically for everyone he knew using the pond of Sanctuary, but stopped after he had discovered Attuu had been killed. He could only assume that Jashin had died, as well as the kids he had saved and everyone else.

TWC: 579

She stared at Denkiteki’s feet. It felt as though she’d stood there for years when she heard the boy speak at long last. She closed her eyes, clenched them shut. Ignorant bliss he said. She’d had that, and the whole time she had lived in ignorance Kirigakure had never left her mind. How could he. Did he really think she’d be content living in that world - dreaming of a home long gone forever? She couldn’t understand why he’d want to do that to her. To keep her caged up and fed nothing but lies.

Everyone was gone now. Her mind immediately went to the old couple who owned that lovely farm, their kind farmhands, then came thoughts of Attuu Uzumaki and Jashin, and then the old lady who always seemed to lose her cats; nice people like them were gone. All gone. She’d never see them again. Never get them back, no matter how hard she might try.

“Do you think even the Mizukage is gone?”

She was surprised that she’d spoken at all, and even more surprised that her voice had sounded so clear.

The small girl opened her eyes, lifting her head to meet Denkiteki’s gaze.

“Is Kirigakure really gone?” She remembered the boy Okonishi, hadn’t he said something like it might be underwater?

She gritted her teeth behind her lips, her facial expression desperate as she stared at Denkiteki.

The Mizukage. A man Denkiteki had once respected, but before leaving Kiri the Kage had forced quarantine over the entire village and ordered everyone outside or who tried to get outside killed.

“Yes, I know he perished as well. I found his body using Sanctuary. Though it’s location, and condition were unknown to me.” Den attempted to locate the body some time later as well, but the pond must have been behaving strangely, and he found a duck headed person instead.

As for Kiri being gone, Den had only known that it had ceased to exist in the area it once had. He had figured it had been destroyed, and quickly discovered that it had when using his pond to locate the bodies.

“Yes, I think someone sunk it. I tried to find some of my… old friends from my Genin days. Their bodies were deep under the ocean, and there was no land in sight when I teleported to the location of the village.” He looked at the ground as he said this. He should have stayed, he should have done something.

His chakra stirred around him, a mixture of anger and sadness causing the invisible field around him to shift noticeably. Min would probably feel it, almost like a draft had entered the room. Den’s own hair moved slightly as he looked towards the ground.

“I should have stayed. I could have left you in Sanctuary until things died down, I could have helped fight whoever attacked the village.” He started shaking, he had trained so hard to become powerful, to be someone who could protect people. In the end though, he failed everyone. “If I had stayed… I could have stopped them. I could have done something!” his voice cracked, a tear escaped and ran down his face as he continued to look at the floor, stopping at his chin before falling to the floor. He could have fallen to the ground and cried then and there, but he wasn’t here to whine about his failures to Minorin.

“I should have told you everything as soon as I knew. It was stupid of me to try and hide everything from you, to not tell you what happened to everyone..” He was a failure. He failed in his duty to protect his village, and he failed in his duties as Minorin’s friend as well. Was there anything he could do right?

TWC: 982

The way Denkiteki was speaking was so matter-of-fact. He didn’t sugar coat a single thing. Was he stupid or something? Couldn’t he tell that it hurt to hear such things? Especially in such an uncaring manner.

He didn’t have to explain how he knew Kirigakure was sunk, she felt like she was going to be ill. All she could do was shift her gaze to the boy’s feet again. She was staring on blankly as she felt Denkiteki’s chakra stir. She couldn’t make herself care for him at the moment. The way he was going about such an event was so disgusting, so inhuman.

Her legs felt weak, as if her knees might buckle and allow her to fall any moment now. Minorin wouldn’t allow that though, because soon anger filled her again as she silently listened to the boy known as Denkiteki. He was drowning in what sounded like self-pity. And he even thought that he should’ve stayed without her. How stupid was he? They were partners, even if she did think he was an idiot.

She looked up at the boy, he was shaking now. And his voice was cracking, she was pretty sure she’d seen a tear too. Someone who was supposedly her superior, someone who claimed to be her sensei was crying in her home.

Idiot, displaying weakness in front of your subordinate like this. And you would’ve died there anyways; if someone is powerful enough to sink an entire village they could probably rip your head off no problem…

But her eyes widened as he admitted that he should have told her everything as soon as he knew. He even admitted that he was stupid. His voice seemed to trail off and she hoped he was done, because if he wasn’t he wouldn’t be getting the chance to continue.
“Well, you’re definitely stupid.”

She’d turn around to face the window once again before sitting on the couch. Her back facing Denkiteki. She’d sat down because if she stood even a moment longer she would have fallen. But now was time to slap some sense into Den, not worry about standing.

“First reason why you’re an idiot is this, you thought you should’ve stayed and kept me away, right?” She would pause, “Wrong. You’re my sensei, partner, and friend. And if you stayed behind you would have died, dummy. So I guess we’re at two reasons now.”

She’d turn her face to her left, watching Denkiteki out of the corner of her eye – gesturing for him to come and sit with her. She felt brazen now that she’d witnessed Denkiteki’s stupidity. So she guessed she’d do her best at consoling, but she wouldn’t be too nice or anything. Because her superior should grow up to be way tougher than he currently was.

The small white haired girl sighed, “Reason three; don’t ever tell someone who is mourning about seeing dead peoples’ bodies. Doesn’t help.”

If the boy had chosen to come and sit by her she’d lean on his shoulder, her wet white hair probably soaking his clothes a bit. She knew the way she was speaking was horrible. She would always treat Denkiteki horribly. One day she’d change that. That day probably should’ve been today. But she hoped that by wanting to be close to him he’d know that she understood his intentions, no matter how misguided she thought they were. And that she was here for him, even if she did act like a total bitch towards him.

If he was sitting next to her she would whisper four small words to him; “Have you cried yet?”

Den continued to stare at the floor as Min stated that he was, in fact, stupid. He didn’t bother to argue, hadn’t he said he was that himself?

Minorin than began to explain why he was stupid, stating that he was dumb for thinking he could leave Min, and for thinking he could actually change the battle. I’d have rather died alongside the villagers, instead of living and wondering if I could have done anything to help them. He did not voice this thought however, he did not want to argue with Min when he was supposed to be apologizing. So he endured the assault upon his intelligence quietly, for Min’s sake.

Even though he hadn’t seen her gesture for him to sit, his chakra picked up the motion. Without lifting his head up, the young man slowly walked around the couch. Even though Minorin had insulted him, the fact that she had called him her friend had made him feel a lot better. At least, I haven’t failed to keep her friendship yet. though thought passed through his head as he sat down next to Minorin.

As he sat down, Minorin mentioned that she shouldn’t mention bodies to someone who is mourning, that it didn’t help. “I’ll make sure to remember that... sorry.” He spoke quietly, though he had managed to compose himself somewhat. He sounded somber still, though the tone was definitely fitting given their situation.

Min rested her head on his shoulder, and he looked down at the white haired girl as his sleeve was slowly getting soaked by her hair. He couldn’t see her face, so he wondered what it was she was doing. Was she trying to get him to comfort her, or was she just tired? Den didn’t know, it was one of the many problems he faced because he rarely hung out around people.

When Min asked if he had cried, he looked away from the young girl, staring out the window instead, “What good would that do?” Den had never stopped to cry, only ever allowing a few tears to escape him from time to time. If he let himself cry, let all of the pain he felt out, he believed it would drive him insane. Better to lock it away. Thoughts of revenge, and self loathing would dominate his mind rather than only occasionally occupying his thoughts. If he allowed those emotions of him to escape completely, he worried he would have problems with his Demonic form as he did before.

He remembered the massacre on the training grounds, where he had nearly gone on a rampage because he couldn’t control himself, control the strange power that flowed through him at all times. What would happen if he let himself be consumed with thoughts of the entire village’s destruction? Though he often worried about Minorin letting the Gob taking control, she was not the only one who needed to fear losing control.

TWC: 1473

The girl quietly sighed; she’d heard him respond to only the bit about bodies and crying. He hadn’t seemed to care about anything else she’d said. But he was sitting on the couch with her now, which was probably a good sign.

A blue feathered bird passed by the large window, the sun casting light onto its lustrous feathers as it flew.

As she sat there with Denkiteki she wondered how she should respond to his question. “What good would crying do?” Well, she could say a lot of things about crying. Considering she’d just cried not too long ago, it hadn’t been very much and she’d done her best to compose herself once she knew what was happening. But at the same time she had to admit that she’d let a few tears fall. It just felt good, even if she felt like she wasn’t allowed to do it yet. So she didn’t count her little slip up as crying, not just yet. The flood gates wouldn’t burst now, it wasn’t the right time.

She stared through the window, hoping the bird would fly by again, “I guess it just feels good. But you’re right, it won’t really do anything.”

Minorin wondered if Denkiteki was going through something similar to her. Feeling like she wasn’t allowed to care because she hadn’t been around. Was that why he refused? With Denkiteki it could be anything though, she just couldn’t figure out how he worked – even with all the time they’d spent together in Sanctuary.

Den wondered if that was true, would it really make him feel better? He wasn’t sure, he was still worried the pain would be to much. Maybe later I’ll try it, just find an empty spot in Sanctuary or something.. Thinking of Sanctuary, Den remembered that he had made a gift for Minorin. He wondered if he should tell her about it, or if he should wait until later.

After a moment, he decided he wanted to talk more, he could always show her the present later. He hadn’t talked to Min in quite some time, a lot had happened to him in the past few days and the only person he had been able to talk to about it with was Takehiko.

“I got assigned to a team, the new Team Zero of Tengakure.” He sighed as he thought about the 3 genin on his team. He had attempted to hold a meeting the other day, from what he had seen of the people that showed up he was quite worried. A murderer and a wanna-be-murderer on my squad. Just great.

“So, what have you been up too, They put you on a team yet?” he wondered if Minorin had retained her genin rank, despite her high level physical abilities and decent skill with Ninjutsu.

Den figured she was at least as powerful as he had been before leaving Kiri. Even without the Gobi, she was definitely stronger than he had been physically. I wonder if I could take her on now, with that new tech of mine. It was a curious thought, perhaps they would spar sometime to see what would happen. But Den knew without his technique, Minorin could rip him apart if she managed to get her hands on him. She was definitely more powerful than the average Genin, Den figured that unless the Tenkage had known she was a Genin, she might have been put into a position as a Chuunin or even a Jounin.

TWC: 1803