We're Not So Different, You and I

Sakaiza took the lead, guiding the way to the noodle shop. As the words from his question left his mouth, he could tell it struck a bad chord with Ash. She wasn't too good at keeping a poker face when she was upset, so Sakaiza could read her like a book. When he asked the question, she seemed to have a similar bodily reaction as she did earlier when Sakaiza initially brought up the subject of her family. It was obviously a rough topic for her, but Sakaiza really wanted to know, yet he didn't want to pry. But his curiosity seemed to get the best of him. However he felt bad asking, it was clear to him that Ash was tensing up and now that the question was already out there, he couldn't take it back. But instead, she seemed to warm up to him. She asked if Sakaiza would feel any differently about her based off of her family history. 

"Will anything change," he repeated while creating some suspense by pausing, "Of course not. I couldn't judge you based off of what your family has done or who they are. You're your own person, Ash. Remember that."

Finishing, his response he realized that his Byakugan was still active. Just as he was about to deactivate it, he noted that Ash had seemed to move money to one pocket. She was probably planning on paying for the tab, but Sakaiza already wouldn't allow it. Therefore, he began to concoct a scheme in the back of his mind as the two drew nearer to the ramen shop. He deactivated his Byakugan, restoring his irises to their normal grey and slightly purple tone, then continued to walk alongside Ash. The pair were probably a block and some change away from the shop, so there was still plenty of time for Sakaiza to learn at least a summary of where Ash came from.

(WC: 321)

She smiled a little bit, it gave her some sort of consolation that he wouldn't despise or treat her any differently than now. She nodded before tilting her head back up taking a deep breath, the truth, something she wasn't trusting in many people. She thought back to Kyoto, there was so much she hadn't told her...she deserved a little more than that. Even Yen didn't know everything, they only sat down for a few minutes before she had to leave Konoha. Zero was the only one who knew who she was, where she came from, what powers she had, and still treated her like a normal person. Something had nudged Ashie to trust Sakaiza, he was just like Zero, the only reason why their friendship started off rough was only because of Ashie's lying. Here it goes, time to kick that nasty habit before it steamrolls into something ugly.

"My Father is Viper Uchiha, my mother is Akina Hyuuga. I am the youngest, my brother Samuru, is back at our Uncle's house right now." She admitted, but that's all she was saying for now, she wasn't going to delve too deep into everyone's life story. It was too painful to say over and over again. Her brother had turned out to have suffered some sort of memory loss. She wasn't sure what happened, as soon as he woke up from his grief induced slumber, he went into a fit of horror and fear. That was, of course, after they found out their uncle's have passed. Echo was like a second father to Samuru, but their father only told Ashie what happened to the other. He killed him...but only because her father had threatened the world and Navi gave his life to save it. Her father locked himself in Asgard. She didn't notice how blank her face looked, so she shift her eyes up at Sakaiza, waiting for his reaction.

(322)

When Ash would finally reveal who her parents were, Sakaiza just stopped walking in place. The names of her parents had literally meant nothing at all to him. Viper Uchiha. A breakdown of his name would give Sakaiza the impression that her father was an actual snake, born with the ability to use the Sharingan. The likelihood of that being the actual case was slim to none, although Sakaiza did recently come across a wolf that could speak English, so it wouldn't be the weirdest thing he had seen. As for her mother, Akina Hyuuga, her name meant nothing to Sakaiza as well. The only significance it held was that they may have the smallest degree of relation in their family lineage. However, she did have quite the beautiful name. It flowed much better than even his own mother's name. Sakaiza could already picture Ash's mother being a loving one, but he only hoped that was the case for Ash's well being. Truthfully, Sakaiza only stopped in place to build suspense for what he was about to say. What Sakaiza was about to say held no weight at all, but he knew that he could get a slight scare out of Ash from overdramatizing it .


"Ash...." he began in a slightly lower tone with his head hung low, just enough so that she couldn't see his eyes. "Your parents...." continuing, slightly smiling while trying to hold back his laughter. He was well aware that his poker face was awful at this point, but he tried to really drag it out. "Your parents....I don't even know who they are. Stop worrying!" He quickly let out while lifting his head and smiling quite a goofy smile at Ash. He then turned his body and pointed at the shop right next to where he had stopped walking. 

"This right here is Ram's Ramen! It'll be sure to lift your spirits and take your mind off whatever's heavy on it. Oh, and you'll be nice and full!" 

Sakaiza had still been smiling. He realized that it took a lot of courage and a lot of nerve for Ash to work up in order to be able to tell the truth. But he wanted Ash to know that it didn't matter to him who she came from. It didn't matter to him primarily because he didn't know who they were, but also he had taken a liking of Ash. She was his friend, and he would treat her as such. There was no reason for her to feel as if Sakaiza would stop appreciating her. Therefore, he kept his smile up, sort of to let her know that everything was going to be OK. "So, you coming or not?"


(WC: 455)

As soon as Ashie saw Saka stop walking she took a couple step forward before she could fully stop and turn her body slightly, her eyes widened with fear as she saw his head slumped down in defeat, she thought to herself, 'b-but...he just said nothing would change! Did he...lie...?' With this she heard him utter up his nickname that he had given her. His tone was dark as if realizing who she was, and that he was about to destroy her hopes that she had for the people in this world. Only then did she see his shoulder's shudder with laughter. Her look of fear melted into a glare of wrath, her Masutaai tomoes spinning counter clockwise in his general direction. He was lucky she hadn't fully mastered the tenketsu needle, or else she'd make him regret teaching it to her. When he had said that he didn't know who her parents were, and that they didn't mean anything to him, it was kind of a relief. Her facial expression lightened as she pointed to the door he was in front of, Ram's Ramen. That's why he stopped, because they reached their destination, but he used it to trick her. She puffed up her cheeks and closed her eyes unfocusing her chakra so she may turn off her Masutaai, when she opened them again her normal greyish blue eyes. Normally if her hair were long they would be hidden by her bangs, but since Ashie took a kunai to it the other day her eyes were easier to see. She heard him ask her whether she was going to join him or not she saw his smile, her face dropped in awe, it was a genuine smile, just like Zero's. One that meant everything was going to be okay, the smile her father had given her when she made Samuru mad at her. She smiled back, this world wasn't so bad after all. She walk towards him ready to go into the shop,

"I'm starving! Lets go in!"

(341)

Still laughing to himself, he could tell that he really got one over on his new friend. She seemed to not have taken his response as a joke, for her eyes seemed fiery initially. Not just from anger, but it seemed to be natural. Perhaps this was the was the true extent of her kekkei genkai. The tomoes clearly seen on her eyes began to spiral, almost as if her life as in danger or she was preparing for combat. Was she actually this angry, or was she simply out of control of when her kekkei genkai would activate. Nevertheless, Sakaiza's face now seemed slightly worried. He didn't mean to offend Ash, he only meant to make light of the situation that she seemed so distraught by. 

But the expression upon her face signified to him that everything was okay, as she was now smiling. She seemed ready to go into the ramen shop, and Sakaiza was born ready. He lifted his fist up for Ash to give him a fist bump. Upon getting the fist bump, he would then lead the way into the ramen shop.

"Ram!"

"Sakaiza!"

"My man! I need two bowls of your best ramen, and put it on my tab. You owe me from last time still!"

"Yeah, you got it Sakaiza! But after this we're even!"

Sakaiza nodded and sent Ram a thumbs up. He then would sit down at a table and would wait for Ash to sit down across from him. He felt like he had been the one asking all the questions and leading the conversation, so Sakaiza would simply wait for Ash to start up a conversation. He was curious to see what she was interested in talking about. He would twiddle his thumbs slightly and look towards the front counter, awaiting for his food and for Ash to start speaking, whichever would occur first.

(WC: 315)

Ashie followed behind Saka, he already asked the cook to put the orders on his tab. Damnit! That sly dog must've seen her put money into her pocket! She saw him sit down at a table and she sat right across from him, its funny how she didn't ask him any questions, should she start asking? She didn't want to pry. Maybe it'll help him trust in her more? In any case sitting in silence until the food came was not going to do. She twiddled her thumbs on the table thinking of something nice to ask. Nothing came to mind though, so she might as well start from the beginning. She cleared her throat,

"So! Seeing as how Hyuuga is primarily in Konoha, what made you move to Suna? Is it just you, or did you move with your family too?" She folded her hands on the table in front of them, minding her manners while in an eating establishment. She didn't want him to feel alone, he found out a little about her and her family now it was Ashie's turn. She wondered if Zero had any family, she knew he was an adult that has been a ninja a lot longer than she has, but she didn't know if they were still with him was the question. Same with Saka, he knew he was a young adult, but the trick was if he were here alone? Or with family?

(242)

(entering because these people are so nice to let me lol)

Salzem, at this point, had just gotten back from his last hunting session out in Suna's desert. Although there were plenty of people to pray upon, hunting animals had proven much more fruitful. In this outing, the great wolf had caught no less than 3 lizards and two vultures, giving him quite enough meat to sustain him for the rest of the day. As one would expect, the wolf ate his food right there, but he had the decency to wash the blood from his Snow-white fur first. He had enjoyed his time here int he land of the sand, even though he thoroughly wasn't made for the climate. The people were kind, the Kazekage was a guardian angel, and he'd made plenty of friends in the Sand to replace the ones he held a grudge against in the Leaf. It was all looking good here except.... The wolf had to move on. Sunagakure was a haven, but it wasn't home. He had to look elsewhere. Before he did that, however, Salzem needed one last look around town, say goodbye to some people, etc, etc.

It was while doing this that he saw Sakaiza and some girl Salzem didn't know chowing down at the local Ramen Establishment. Although back when he was human Salzem would have jumped at the chance to eat ramen, in his wolven form, he could only described the smell of cooked food revolting. Regardless, the white wolf would hold in his vomit and duck his large wolven head under the flags separating the shop from the outside world, not fully entering, but just sticking his head in.

"Hey there Sakaiza. Got something to talk to you about..." Salzem's sanguine, beastial eyes would then fall on the girl, some ancient gears whirling in his head. He thought she looked something like someone but his shattered, twisted mind couldn't quite put the pieces together... "Who's this you're talking to?"

Slightly taken back by Ash's question, Sakaiza reflected on it. What was the reason his family had moved to Sunaga?

"Well, to be honest I wasn't born yet when my family came here" beginning and taking a slight pause to figure out where he was going with this, "but my parents told me that they originally were a part of the great Hyuuga Clan in Konoha. My father, Avon Hyuuga, was one of the more skilled members of the clan. He had the gentle fist perfected and thus was entrusted with the role of being an instructor to the younger members. My mother, Sakashi Hyuuga, wasn't as talented, and the clan seemed to remind her of it daily."

Sakaiza paused again to see that they're food was being brought out. Ram served the set of bowls to the pair and gave his buddy Sakaiza a pat on the back. 

Separating his chopsticks and twisting noodles around them, he continued "But I don't think they were liked there. They weren't noble and struggled with money. Apparently their parents had put them in a bad situation so my parents owed a debt to the clan. After they had finally paid it, they left the clan and came here to start a branch here, but I think I'm the only progress they made. My father passed some time ago so....*slurp*" Sakaiza took a mouthful of some noodles to prevent himself from getting slightly choked up. He didn't really want to talk about his father but at this point he already delved himself deep enough in his history to begin.

Just then, it seemed as if his friend Salzem had saved the day. Slurping up the last noodle and swallowing it down, Sakaiza let out a "Sal! It's good to see you!" he said while waving the wolf over to sit with the pair although he seemed reluctant to enter the shop. "This is Ash! Ash, this is Sal! He's quite the shinobi." Sakaiza said, clearly omitting the obvious fact that he was a wolf.

"What'd you want to talk about?"

(WC: 347)

The girl upon seeing the ramen set in front of her made her stomach growl, she blushed and thanked Ram for the meal. Upon picking up her chop sticks in her hand gently grabbing a small mass of noodles to be devoured she heard Saka speaking about his origins. She listened to the whole thing, but what made her almost drop her chop sticks was hearing that his father had passed away. Their dreams, were to start a friendlier, humbler Hyuuga here in the Sand. A very pleasant and warm dream. He spoke of his birth as a 'small' progress, but Ashie saw that as a huge progress and he was the start of a new branch. She heard someone call out to Saka, that's when she looked over where Saka was speaking, now that made her drop her chop sticks. Ashie's eyes widened, her heart beat quickened as she bowed her head to the fellow Shinobi. Saka had introduced her as his nickname that he gave her, but this would not do, she did not want to be rude.

"Ashie, my name is Ashie Uchiha, it's very nice to meat you Mr. Sal." She was nervous, it would be obvious to Saka, she always had the best manners when she's nervous. Not just because there was this huge Wolf/Man shinobi standing in front of her, but because he was staring at her...with those red eyes, almost as red as her father's sharingan. She had to keep telling herself that it wasn't a sharingan, that she didn't need to activate her eyes out of defense. She only saw things like this in her books, he meant no harm, he just wanted to speak with Saka.

(287)

"Ashie hm....." Salzem would stare at her for a moment longer, SURE that he knew her from somewhere... He had a deep feeling any Konoha shinobi would know who this was and he was the only one dense enough not to know himself. At any rate, Salzem would turn his attention back to Sakai, noting  his signal to sit down with them at the bar. The white wolf, however did not for two reasons: 1, he needed a quick escape from these greasy cooking fumes and 2, if he sat down in there, a high probability states that either the chair would break or he'd be too big to get out of the restaurant unawkwardly. No, instead, he continued standing there, half inside the restaurant, no doubt, from the outside looking like a large white dog looking for table scraps.

"Yeah... uh... I'm leaving Sunagakure soon. Thought you'd want to have one last spar before I...uh...  'disappear.' It seems to be what everyone wants to do anyway."  The wolf couldn't help but turn his gaze back to the mysterious uchiha. His determination wouldn't let him. Salzem felt that he was THIS close to figuring out.... something. Apparently he was wrong because it kept teasing him every time he made a lunge for it. Frustrated, he forced his mind into silence, attempting to take a purely empty view on the girl, as if they had just met, just like they had a few moments ago. He turned his head back in Sakaiza's direction, awaiting his answer. It was at this point that the expression on Salzem's face signified a sort of impatience. He wasn't going to stand around and tollerate the smell of Ramen in his nose for much longer. It would be a shame if Salzem were to vomit up what he had eaten recently in here. It would be very..... red.