A Gentle Body of Hyd- Oof [Private]

Seems I'm lost. Hibiya thought to himself with as much worry as the still waters nearby. The forest in the nighttime was beautiful when the leaves were coated in beautiful starlight, it gave the trees a special touch that only nature could fulfill. While he was here, he might as well follow the river to see where it took him. Surely he'd find the walls of his village when the water ends. So he continued to move with light steps, his breathing calm and his chakra on a low-profile, keeping it compressed to prevent heavy sensory. Right now, he'd rather not be caught and be labeled a missing-ninja, it was a genuine mistake he'd love to fix, but why kill the beauty that was the forest?

Of course, traveling further from the village was the luck he had on this unfair night. The trees made a hallway of infinity that the lost soul could only navigate via the river and nothing else. But the blonde kept his curious small smile equipped as he let the water guide him. And at last a destination was found, hopefully.

The river was blocked by a massive number of bushes, so much so that he felt the need to execute actual force onto the many prickly sticks just so the blonde could shove his way through. It was another maze, a somewhat painful one at that. Had the man been gifted with chakra-enhanced eyes, he imagined that this would be far less a terrible crossing. But he managed to finish off the bushes and found himself on the other side.

This time the waters in the river were far more still, leading up to a massive waterfall flowing into a circular pool. Moonlight being infamous for reflecting so nicely on the water caught his eye, enticing him to move his body forwards to the location before he circled around the pool. Now his interests aimed for the waterfall, more specifically what was behind it. Was there a cave? Secret treasure and he struck the jackpot? Curious as the blonde was, he silently walked towards the side of the waterfall, peering his head first by leaning his body to the right, now looking behind the waterfall.

Behind the waterfall there was indeed a cave, but more importantly there was someone there. On the smooth rock ledge jutting from the cave toward the back of the waterfall, a girl stood leaning forward with her head beneath the cool waters. Chakra focused in her feet kept her from slipping off the stone and plummeting into the pool, though she wouldn't have minded if it'd happened. The black hair on her head was short, which meant the special shampoo she'd been using had long since been washed out, but she chose to keep enjoying the rinse.

Who knows how much longer she would have stayed in that position. Sensing a presence nearby, the girl pulled herself back and gave her hair silky locks a shake, sending glittering drops soaring. In the moonlight that made the mist seem like jewels behind the falls, it was hard to tell who it was. She assumed it was someone she knew, given the sacred and private location. Her hair suddenly extended down to mid back, bangs remaining to frame her her features.

"Hirashi?" she called, thinking the boyish silhouette resembled a clansmen that would be nearby. Normally, in this situation, this would be highly alarming to a girl bathing in full vulnerability...but Yori's chill took more than that to disturb. "I already told you to stop watching me. It's creepy." She walked around to meet him, hair twisting and squeezing water out of itself. Suddenly, Yori stopped short, blue eyes focusing on an unfamiliar face. What a surprise!

"Oh, hello, random dude," she greeted, offering a small smile. Might as well see what he was up do before she jumped to any conclusions. Mikami Falls hadn't been visited by an outsider for hundreds of years. He didn't seem to have any ill intent, though who really could against such a beautiful place? The Nishizaka were under the radar enough that there was no reason to attack them. The only thing that could draw someone here intent on disturbing their peace would be her... Nah.

"Welcome to the sacred grounds, I guess?"

Around the corner would at first be the outline of the body, female likely considering the outline of the upper half of her body. With the cave and waterfalls to overshadow any color, it seemed like a shadowy warning to not proceed any further. Women naturally react rashly should they catch someone watching them while they were cleansing. But this was different! Hibiya was genuinely lost and wanted to go into a cave! Now he must undo his sin quickly and move back. Turning himself around as slowly and lightly as he could to prevent any noise, he wanted to slowly walk back and out of there before he was caught invading her privacy.

It was too late, as she then welcomed him to the "Sacred grounds". All his body froze, shaking with agitation with a complete loss of thought, unable to think clearly despite swiftly picking his mind for options. So now that he was acting on instinct for a brief second, he turned his body back around to see... Oh...

The neutral lips he had unlocked into a worried small "o" shape as he looked directly at the face of the one who addressed him with a collected tone surprisingly. Something about this seems extremely wrong, wouldn't she try to bash his skull through the dirt at this point? While trying to keep his eyes locked onto her forehead to prevent straying eyes, the peripheral vision was more than enough to cause his cheeks to burn itself a foreign shade of red to the Ayano clan.

"I-I... Uh." Tongue-tied to a bloody pulp, the blonde stepped back a little to avoid invading the privacy he clearly stepped far past over, though this didn't help in the slightest thanks to his peripheral vision now gaining ground for the rest of her body. "S-sacred?" He asked, bowing his head forward formally up and down. "S-Sorry! Please spare me!" The Ayano panicked, closing his eyes and desperately wishing he wasn't so nosy. Thanks to this level of invasion of privacy, his usually calm and confident persona has been dwindled down to nothing but a humble flustered mess. "I-I'll do anything, I ask for forgiveness...

If anything, Yori seemed even more amused. She didn't sense anyone else around, but she scanned with her eyes just to make sure. Her clan were all pretty laid back, but the patrol team the leaders of old had put together to make sure the sacred areas weren't disturbed would act first and question later. Since they never had to work, apparently they'd gotten lazy. Lucky for this guy. No one enjoyed a hair whip.

"Hm. Spare you?" she asked, actually completely forgetting her lack of modesty was probably more of the issue here. "I don't know... you may have disturbed Mikami's blessing. We could all go bald now that the sacred earth is tainted..." she mused, her hair tying itself into a bun on top of her head. She was joking, though there was a small part of her that made the joke because of her deep rooted fear of becoming hairless again herself.

Finally she noticed the blush, becoming aware of the real reason he looked as if he was about to keel over. She chuckled lightly, having mercy on him. "Oh, actually, I guess I should apologize instead!" Yori moved over to the rock nearby her clothes were splayed out on, swiftly pulling her mesh and black spandex undergarments on. Now that her more taboo areas were shielded from innocent eyes, it should make him more comfortable, right? "Is this easier?"

The tone of her voice, so mellow and calm. Even adding a bit of tease to lightly brush some water against the wound rather than grating salt into the bloody cut. A way with words to calm the nerves of one who feared for his life and reputation for accidentally carrying out an act so unpure. A slight nervous chuckle emitted from his lips from her joke, not at all sure of what she meant, but he would rather not anger her by not playing along. Standing as still as he could until she carried on, he waiting for the judge to give him his verdict for the invasion.

An... Apology? No, was she serious!? "Wait. w-what!?" The blonde would blurt with much confusion, but it took only a few seconds to clothe herself in front of him again, putting them both on equal ground again. At this point, he was at a loss for words, unable to say a thing for the moment. But at least his eyes could drink in the full view of this girl, and he felt the burning of his face slowly retreat. His nerves were losing their chaotic nature and she seemed far less intimidating to him in the clothing she wore. In front of him was an elegant young lady with a shameless personality.

"I... I guess." Hibiya replied to her question. Still, he was at her mercy, but at least he could talk to her normally. After taking a small moment to cool down, he felt a bit calmer than before. "Again... I'm sorry about that. I owe you my name at least." Out of genuine respect, he might as well given her something to address him by. Closing his eyes for a moment to inhale and exhale, then opened his eyes to look back at the young lady in front of him. '"Hibiya Ayano. Is there anything I can do for you for doing what I have done?"

Ah, a polite one. This blond boy was the best type of intruder, one that was unwitting and repentant. Even when embarrassed and anticipating punishment he wasn't a flailing idiot like most boys her age. Hibiya had some wits about him, and that she could certainly appreciate.

"Accept my name in return?" she answered questioningly, resting her hands on her hips. "I'm Yori Nishizaka," the girl supplied, walking closer as if she could learn more about him by proximity. Not too close, though. She didn't want to freak him out any more than she already had. From just a glance she inferred he was probably a shinobi like her, though his rank was a mystery. Funny how you could live as part of Konohagakure since birth and still not know most of the people its shared between.

"Now that we know each other, I guess I can ask you not to tell anyone you came here. It is sorta off limits, and if you went telling everyone how beautiful it is here we may have more trespassers. That'd be really troublesome, especially since everyone bathes naked," Yori spoke calmly, ending with another smile. It was good to see he'd calmed. Too much stress on the body inhibited the natural flow, leading to health problems. "How did you end up here, anyway? Most people take care to avoid it, even though I feel Konoha would have more chill people if it was open for everyone to visit. But rules are rules."

Definitely not one with the mind of a merchant, but a humble and kind soul instead. That's the girl she portrayed herself to be, despite the very bad footing it started off with. It mad for a great transition for her to give her name to him, though it was a bit unfortunate that she didn't actually ask for a favor. Pressing for a favor however would only hurt him, so the blonde let it go and proceeded to let his ears listen to every word. "Yori Nishizaka, that's a nice name." The Ayano would reply to her, a small calm smile returning on his face. It wasn't collected nor calm, but it was sincere.

The young lady walked closer to him, though safely placed herself at a comfortable distant. Though the way she was eyeing him was unusual and uncomfortable, asking for a personal space bubble was the last thing Hibiya would be allowed to tell anyone. So just this once, he stood still and kept his eyes on her until she moved the topics along.

Ah, a real favor at last. Fine, a secret for him to keep is far better than having to do manual labor for a set amount of time. "Of course I can keep it a hidden truth." The blonde replied, voice quiet, but just barely above that of a whisper. He placed his hands in his pockets as she continued to explain that they can't have trespassers here. Now the question is... Who were these other people? And where were they specifically. "Simply put, I'm lost. Can't find my village from here and I just happened to walk here. Went to find that cave and instead found... Well... And Silence.

You said "we", where are the others around you right now? How much time do I have left? He asked, tensing up a little as he realized that it would be a great idea to either find a place to hide, or to find a way out of the forest without getting caught by any of the people mentioned?

Yori was quiet for a moment, observing the forested area she knew even better than the back of her hand. She opened her senses. A fresh breeze rose a symphony of moonlit bathed leaves, complimenting the white-noise hush of the waterfall and subsequent lapping of the pool's ripples ticking its earthen edges. The shadows produced told her the time, which she matched with the patrol pattern that hadn't deviated once in her whole lifetime. Training her ears toward the part of the area covered in expansive estates, she heard the first footfall. It wasn't urgent by any means, since the patrol was more formality than a necessity. It was comical to think what the guard's reaction would be, finding the first known trespasser. How long would it take him to react? If Hibiya had been a bother, she may have stalled just to find out, but that seemed mean to do to such a nice guy.

Moving back to her clothes, she began getting fully dressed. "Oh, about as long as it takes me to put this on," she replied coolly, finally slipping into her boots. The guy that was coming wasn't particularly perceptive, so they had time. His lantern was only just now a pinpoint in the shadows of the trees beyond. Now that she was completely decent, she turned to Hibiya and motioned him to follow her.

"He never checks the caves. If we go this way, we should surface in a hillside west of the gate. You are from Konoha, right?" she asked, though she abruptly stopped moving and turned her head to the left. She sighed heavily, making a startling split second decision.

"I got him!" she called lightly, whirling to face poor Hibiya. Her hair exploded from its neat bun, extending the eight or so feet between them to wrap around him, completely encasing his body from the neck down. This might seem like a betrayal of the very, very small bud of trust they'd been growing, but if he looked to his left, he'd see hair tendrils of brown and blond receding back into the shadows just before the two attached to them appeared. It was two boys about her age, unapologetically disappointed that she had snatched their prey up before they could whip him.

"Aw, couldn't you let us have any fun?" the brunette whined.

"No, Hiyashi," she sighed again, finding this all getting too complicated. "Besides, you were just coming here to--"

"W-What's going on here!?" the Nishizaka patrolman sputtered, just as flustered as she expected at finding the very first stranger to these parts.

"Everyone!" Yori called over the rising roar of voices, poor Hibiya still wrapped. She gave it a tug, trying to knock him over so he could be dragged. "The incident is handled. I'll take him back."

All eyes turned on the captive. "You'll have to give a formal account at the head household," the guard informed the lost blond boy, while the other two could barely resist whipping him anyway. "Who sent you!" Hirashi's companion demanded dramatically, as if he was an official interrogator, when really he'd just watched too many movies. Still, it was clear that these usually chill people didn't care much for their sacred grounds being touched by normal folk, and that Yori was not enjoying the vibe.

"Seems I'm not too far from home if you managed to assume such a thing. Yes, I'm from Konoha." Hibiya explain, tilting his head to the side a small amount. But she explained that through the caves would be where he would return back home, and at last he would leave the sacred territory to the clan she belonged to. When she motioned him to follow her, he made sure to keep his steps as light as possible. The instant that he took his eyes off of her felt like the second of sudden betrayal. With a dropped guard and being wrapped from his blindside, he would find himself covered in chakra-enhanced hair to lock him in place before screaming "I got him!"

No... No no no no NO! Though an opening was formed at the side, he didn't bother to look to the side. With the sheer panic and beginning of hopelessness sinking in, he remembered that he was at her mercy, and she decided to trick him into execution. Chakra blades had little space among the hair, he wasn't about to cut through it without cutting himself in the process, which was critical if he aimed to make a break for it. Two kids were claiming they wanted to have some fun with him, sadistic little pricks. Soon a patrol officer arrived on the scene as well, more members arriving. How many more of them were in on Yori's sick prank?

To add insult to injury, she dropped him to the ground with a sudden pull that lifted his weight below his feet so that he landed hard against the rocky surface below him. "I'll take him back. Her words rang, though now confused as to what her stance on this was.

Question time, but Hibiya knew better than to make the village look back for the mistake he made. He's going to have to answer this as if he had no alliance. "No one. Check around the area to see if I brought other guests." Hibiya explained. Fortunately, that was the truth. They'll have a hard time framing him if he had no one around to act like a spy. As for things on his body, not even so much as a weapon. A stroll required no fighting, so why bring Lynir. If this fool keeps asking questions like that, Hibiya will likely get off with a beating only, but he doubts Yori will let that happen... She'd probably push for something even worse... Hibiya thought to himself bitterly.

Yori dragged him forward a bit, toward the inhabited area instead of the cave. She seemed to be preoccupied, while the other three heckled him with inexperienced and obviously hollow threats. So afraid that somehow one benign person would break the favor bestowed upon them and bring about unending years of unattractive baldness...they didn't even know what that was like. It was misery, but livable. She wasn't so superstitious that she entertained even for a moment that Hibiya being here would cause such a catastrophe. If the situation was that fickle, it was only natural they'd all go bald eventually anyway, trespasser or no.

"I'll take him, now," she breathed peacefully, somehow the quiet sound sapped the excitement out of the air. "Carry on."

"We'll come with-"

Yori stiffened, acting as if she'd heard or noticed something in the distance. "No...it can't be..." she seeped in dread, ominously peering into the forest beyond her clansmen. "He lied! There are more! I can sense them...They're coming!" she continued. The three gasped and sprung into action, heading in the direction of her eyes and disappearing from sight, all the while yelling at the invisible intruders to stop where they were.

Once they were out of earshot, Yori snorted a laugh and changed direction, dragging Hibiya back toward the majestic waterfall. Once around the back and in the cave, her hair released him and hung around her shoulders. "Sorry about all that. We should hurry before they realize there isn't anyone else out in the woods."

They loved to hear themselves talk. It would explain why they were saying all the stupid things they we, but the Ayano clan would be ashamed to see her fell to people who seemed to have a tough persona with soft roasts. Whatever, this was beginning to get boring. Perhaps cutting himself out of this cacoon was worth it. One chakra blade for each of them and Hibiya can fight on his own. But he then heard her claim she'll take him. Weird... It was almost as if-

His body shook when she screamed the last words he wanted her to scream out loud. But... He wasn't lying, Yori had no proof. It would be long before those idiots came back to see that what she said was a damn lie. But of course, when they left, she bailed with him being dragged against the rocky surface. No way... This girl couldn't possibly be...

She let him go at last, leaving the both of them alone in the cave. What an emotional roller coaster he wishes to never ride again. "Sorry for doubting you. I'm really not myself today..." He explained. "That was insane... And what about your clan, what'll happen to you when they find out that there was no one?" The blonde sat down" leaning his back against the rocky wall and his legs spread out now that they had space to move.

She leaned against the damp cave wall as well, willing the stress of the moment to leave her. Really, all that was pretty dumb. At least Hibiya wasn't running for the hills. It wouldn't be strange if he did. That was the least chill she'd seen her people since she was just a small, hairless, panic inducing child.

"Eh, my own clan believed me. I don't fault you for doubting. They aren't used to so much excitement, but they meant well. My clan is awesome, they just get too wound up about the ritual and the sacred forest. They aren't usually so insane, but first impressions mean a lot, don't they?" Yori muttered a little defensively, though she was collecting herself. She'd assumed he'd be more miffed about her stunt, even if it was for his own good. He hadn't been in a super dangerous situation, but the scolding and paperwork would probably be more painful than any wimpy hair lashing those two knuckleheads could dish out.

"As for me... I'll probably just stay in my apartment in the village for a while until they forget about it. They're used to me being gone for periods of time anyway, so it'll be forgiven. And if not, I'll take the heat and make up something embarrassing to get out of it," the short girl grinned impishly, brushing away any worry about the subject. She'd already concocted a couple versions of embarrassing lies that would gloss over the situation completely.

At this point, he just wanted to go home. The mental stress placed onto him stacked up to the point where nature didn't seem like such a relaxing idea anymore. Yori seemed decent for now, despite her very extreme methods of doing things. Collected characters have a twisted way of thinking, but it would be hypocritical for him not to fall into that category in a different sense. Besides, she assumed a somewhat calming aura around her when in a relaxed state, and he was too tired to even feel emotion at this point.

"Sounds nice, but that first impression could have been done better to say the least." Hibiya replied, letting it slip that his first interaction with this girl was seeing her bare, only the classiest of meetings. "No doubt they'll likely find some other stray blonde man and do the same to him."

At the mention of her staying in the village and the fact that she had an apartment, he tilted his head to the left. "So you own property here. You can only do that as a member of the village, meaning... " He cut off the sentence, the silence being more than enough to imply what he would say. Funny, did he miscalculate something in his village roster? Yori didn't sound like a familiar name based on his findings. "Well, hopefully there's something in the village to keep you entertained."

His eyes lightened a bit at hearing she'll covering up her tracks with a few embarassing.stories, and he certainly could use a good bit of entertainment. Placing his palms over his stomach, he turned his eyes to the side to look at the Nishizaka clansman. "Enlighten me with some stories. This has to be good." He dared with a small smile equipped, but out of interest instead of humility.

And here he thought he was getting off scot-free. Well, if he insisted. She leaned forward, cool as a cucumber, though her eyes held the slightest glint of deviousness.

"They know what a busy jounin I am and how much stress it puts on me, constantly trying to avert destruction while keeping my team alive. It wouldn't be unheard of for a young woman to blow off steam in a natural way," she began, her voice drawling for effect. She twirled a smooth strand around her finger before giving it a flip behind her shoulder. "I'm still young. Perhaps I had a lapse of judgement, upset over the day's mission, and brought someone close to me to the only place on earth I feel most peaceful and safe. I knew it was against our rules, but I was desperate to feel something other than violence and death, so I brought you in under the shadow of night, knowing everyone else would be done with their routines. I wanted to show you the very foundation of my existence. I wanted someone to really know me," Yori was really ramping it up, her tone dripping with wistful romance and dreaminess.

"In the moonlight's twin gaze, passion stirred within us," she paused, placing a hand dramatically over her heart. "Our heartbeats were our song. You were a gentleman, but a man's hot blood can only be held at bay for so long, and I was all too vulnerable to give in. My wicked folly clouded my mind, making time irrelevant to me, but not to the nightly patrolman. Just as I succumbed to my deepest desires, two perverts surprised us and the patrolman arrived. Too embarrassed to admit all my mistakes, I pretended to catch you..." she trailed off..

"I think you know how it goes from there," she cut off abruptly, her tone returning to its normal zen softness, completely unruffled by the romance novel-esque narrative she'd just convincingly weaved. She never thought she'd think this, but it was a good thing her sensei had made them read those cringey romance books as punishment. "The more details added, the better. What do you think? I think I'll probably get halfway through before they cut me off and tell me to forget it."

Something about her intrigued him in the sense that she was interesting. So relaxed and even playful during a time like this, where they could perhaps be hunted down and those two boys with hair whips will likely try to get him hung by the end of their stupid games. And yet here this girl was, at first completely comfortable with the fact that a stranger saw her in the middle of her shower and managed to be friendly with him afterwards. Deceit and that out of the way, the intent of the plan was to keep Hibiya safe. On top of this, she then decides that the best embarrassing story to tell was the one where she craved for something more in life than the stressful things, so it must be fulfilled with a feeling.

Her eyes seemed to dance based on his observations, mischief likely none too far from them right now as she dramatically continued to explain the tales of the lady looking for love falling for lust with a stranger. As a bonus, Hibiya got to be that stranger. The collected Ayano snickered a bit at the thought, taking the story very well as she then finished it off with the obvious.

It wasn't necessarily impossible for that to have happened either. Based on what's he can see, her figure was appealing to the eyes and she wore a face that screamed bloody innocence that seemed gullible enough to give a first time away to a blonde stranger. Not exactly the best one considering he was more for brains of brawn, but he didn't think he looked unconvincing enough for the role.

Placing the back of his own palm against his forehead and placing as much persona as he could to match the character she portrayed him to be, he played a line for her with as much a dramatic tone as he could for her. "But I do not understand. Why must such an sacred area tear us from a lover's dream?" A small hiccup of a laugh would slip before he continued, lifting his free hand up with the palm facing up and the fingers curled as if he were holding her hand. "Let us unite in this sacred realm and become one."

Afterwards, he went back out of character and smiled, not the slightest bit bothered by her story. She had a sense of humor for the both of them, which he enjoyed. Peace began to restore in his mind, not even thinking of the dangers of being in caves that have been forbade to him by the Nishizaka clan, especially now considering he violated that law. "Thanks for that, I really needed it." Hibiya blurted randomly, this time his words being genuine. "I owe you still, I'm not going to drop that until I pay you back somehow."

Hibiya was a good sport about it, which brought a brilliant smile to her face. The average person she met beyond the tree line would normally have nearly spazzed themselves into oblivion. “You’re welcome,” she replied easily, bowing slightly as if she was a performer.

Even Yori had to admit their meeting was quite the unusual scenario. The blond seemed likable enough, so much so that a part of her truly hoped the weirdness hadn’t damaged his impression of her so much that they couldn’t become friends. He had seen her naked afterall. That seemed like grounds to build a friendship on, especially since none of her actual friends had had the pleasure. At the very least, this boy would remember their meeting, as well as to avoid the Nishizaka property.

Leaning off the wall, she gazed into the tunnel leading away from the waterfall. “I’ll tell you what. Once I get you back to the village, we’ll discuss my repayment. Are those agreeable terms?” asked Yori, picking up a flashlight from a pile of random junk behind a stone. She clicked it on, shining it into the glittering abyss. The stones and geodes lining the cave walls picked up the light and played with it, like light through a stained glass window. Being on hallowed ground, there’d been no miners and artisans to steal the earth’s natural treasures.

Seems they were ready to press on, allowing him to lean against the wall and use his legs to slowly slide up. Though the rocks were rough, he was used to the feeling of having his back being scratched by those damn annoying training swords his family members would whack him with. Once the blonde was back up on his feet, his eyes would focus on where the flashlight pointed, further into the empty cave that lead them towards the village. Should this girl be telling the truth and lead him back home, he perhaps could try to keep in touch with her.

Then Yori came up with a proposal about the repayment for her, in which he nodded his head to assist his answer. "Sounds good to me, and save any hope for me forgetting." Hibiya replied, placing his right pointer finger and poking twice at the side of his forehead. "I'll remember all this, you know." Studying and retaining information were two of the most crucial things an Ayano must possess if they wish to use their abilities correctly. On their own, they are nothing but mere strings for a rusty violin. Add some notes and great musicality and the chakra blade dance slaughters nations.

Placing his hands in his pockets, he looked towards the young lady with trusting blue eyes. "Lead the way, I'll follow you." Hibiya stated, a true fact.

"How could you not remember all of this?" Yori bantered, motioning to her body before breaking into a good-natured giggle. Whether it was true or not, their hiccup meeting felt as though it had put them on an advanced track to familiarity. Sort of like the most awkward situation for the average person had already happened, so anything else following that was easy. Growing up, making friends had been hard. With her schedule, there hadn't been a lot of time for it. As a chuunin, she had been too young to be on friendly or equal terms with most, and those she was...well, they no longer spoke, though she wasn't sure if it was because of her or them.

As she walked along, her fingers caused the crystals in the walls to emit tiny tinkling sounds. So far, the cave was fairly straight and even, as much as a cave could be. "So, Hibiya," began the young woman, looking over at him curiously, "you know a little bit about me. Can you tell me a little about you? Stuff you wouldn't mind a stranger knowing?" she asked, not wanting to pry. Some people were private, and she respected that. Other than the sacred area, Nishizakas weren't very mysterious. Her time as a shinobi of the leaf village had run her across many different types of people, quite a few of which weren't nearly as zen as she. Yori was an open book, which actually seemed to make closed books exceptionally uncomfortable. Stressing people out wasn't her thing.

Hibiya nodded in humble agreement as she averted his attention to her body, recalling a small flashback to ten minutes ago. Oh yeah, that image was burned in the back of his head now. Shaking his head from side to side, he forced the thought away from his mind and recollected his composure so that he doesn't become a stupid flustered mess like before. Yori was too calm about that moment for comfort, and she was the one that was seen that way. Had the roles been reversed, the Ayano may have avoided her like the plague out of shame.

As the both of them were walking, he hummed a little bit to the tunes of the cave, enticed by nature's music and it's elegant melody. Mid-hum, the Nishizaka told him to tell her a bit about himself since he knew about her. "About me? Hm..." The Ayano placed the tip of his right finger against his chin, collected blue eyes halfway shut and his smile still equipped. He tilted his head upwards as he thought of some things to tell her to make up for the information that she gave him. After a few seconds of silence, he figured he might as well tell her as much as he knew about his clan.

"Well, you know my name. Have you ever heard of the Ayano clan?" The blonde asked, tilting his head back down and looking at the back of her head so that his voice would reach her ears more clearly. "We're small in Konoha, maybe two or three households and that's about it. But we take pride in that. And we can do this." Immediately, he swiftly swiped his left arm to the side with an open palm facing the ground, five blades of chakra circling around his body. "We take pride in weaponry, and I intend to become one of the best swordsmen in this world. Who knows, maybe give Ayano a name that means something to people."

After that, he would sheathe the blades of chakra back into his body. Unfortunately, he didn't know anything of his family tree and why there are so few of them. There are people like the Uchiha's and the Senju who were popular, and he was born in such a humble family without any reason to have a name. "I... Don't know much about my clan though. None of them go past my parents." A bit of private information for her in exchange for her privacy being invaded on many levels.

Yori's eyes lit up at the information and even more when he demonstrated his abilities. Ayano clan, hm? She was pretty sure she'd never heard of them, but that felt like such a shame. It seemed a lovely and extremely useful ability. One that now made her eternally grateful he hadn't freaked out when she wrapped him in hair. She wasn't sure if it could cut her locks, but the possibility made her insides tense.

"You have noble goals. We may have just met, but I hope you get to do it. No better way to get a name known than be the best at something," she responded warmly. "Then you'll get to write your clan's story." It was a nice thought. She'd never aimed to be the best at anything. All she had wanted was to keep up with a surpass those that had made fun of her when she was most vulnerable. Anything past that was just rewards for hard work. It didn't matter what she did, she couldn't really affect her clan's past, but maybe she could give them worth. "And to think, I've met the world's number one swordsman before his fame and glory. Funny how clans can exist in the same village and ever meet," she mused, coming to a halt at a fork in the tunnel's path.

"Sometimes I wonder if it isn't for the best to not know a lot about your clan. For instance, we know everything down to the legend of how we received our kekkei genkai. Every up and every down. Every victory and every failure. Every prodigy and every dumbass. Sometimes I wish we didn't know. We'd have more free time...I'd have had a lot more free time," she half joked. Nishizaka history was rife with interesting and embarrassing information, but it didn't change how proud she was to be one. No family is perfect.

How nice of her to say that, even going further into it and saying he'd be the best. The thought was amusing, a small chuckle would emit from his lips as he thought about that. Being the best, that's going to take a lot of strength and effort. Well, at least he had one fan that he would disappoint if that was something he didn't reach for in the future. But the words that followed... "Write my clan's story. Now that sounds lovely. But where to begin, the chapters I start off with are rather empty for now." He admitted, considering there is little to no reason people should care for him. But focusing his eyes back onto her from behind, he found that the statement was mostly true if those words she told him were. Still, they were just one step above strangers, but her words that lightly spilled into his ears soothed him.

"Let's find out where this gift takes me then." The blonde mused upon the thought of being the best, conquering a literal mountain of bodies for the others to witness before challenging him. The waltz was dangerous in more ways than one, perhaps that could have been the goal when Lynir was driven through the hearts of those he face.

Yori then explained her past to him, causing the small smile on his face to lock into a neutral blank one. With the blessing of having the knowledge to know her origins and her family, she was unhappy with it, saying that maybe it was best for him to not know. The Ayano didn't want to believe that to be the reason that he's never known the history, because of something tragic that happened to them. "Maybe. But things must have happened, otherwise I wouldn't be here." Hibiya explained, placing his hands in his pockets and looking down a small amount, eyes blanking for a bit as he was lost in thought. If something truly did happen, he wanted to rewrite the history of the clan to be one of victory. Something to remind the world that they were not done. "Besides, what would you prefer to do with that free time?"

"Well, as a kid I'd have made friends. A lot of Nishizaka time is spent observing the rituals Mikami passed down in the beginning. I especially spent a lot of time in the shrine and meditating in the forest while the other kids were finished and playing," answered the kunoichi honestly, though leaving out the reason she had had to spend so much extra time doing those things.

After the moment's pause at the fork, she chose the right path and started down a slight decline. "More recently, sometimes it's tough to make it back here when my workload is heavy. But I feel like I have to because...it's just always been this way. I love it, but that expectation lingering in the back of your mind can be stressful, and stress is unhealthy. Sometimes kicking back with a bowl of miso soup after a hard mission would be nice," Yori added thoughtfully. More time. It was an interesting thought, but ultimately something that wouldn't change. Wishing to change it would only bring her troubles, so acceptance was the best route to go. Besides, the waterfall was something she enjoyed as well.

The decline evened out, leading them to a cavern with a luminous lake. Despite the dark and moist atmosphere, there was some plant life growing among the rocks, as well as fungi and algae. As she passed by, she gathered a variety of them and placed them in her bag. "You should grab some of these," she said to him, holding up a long stem with a dark purple blossom on the tip. "Everything in here makes the best shampoo. Your pretty blond hair would thank you."

Her priorities in time seemed to be normal, there was no reason for him to question having more time to do things that most children would have done. As for now, she seemed near his age if not exactly on the mark, meaning that now she was burdened with responsibility. But if what she said was true, she was never truly free to be some happy child doing something she liked. Despite knowing her clan and their history, it seemed she lead the more unfortunate one of the two. For him, he had three siblings in his household, he was never particularly lonely when he was a child. Now, they were all doing their own things, their own missions and the family bond just kind of dyed off. If Hibiya were to be killed, it perhaps would take his family a couple of days to realize that had been the case. But this girl, she never had the moment where she could have some family... Not that he knew of anyways.

"Miso soup does sound good right now to be honest." Hibiya added, thinking of how relaxing it would be to just have a nice little munch on perhaps a riceball or two. Unconsciously, he licked his lips slightly at the thought before his eyes began to daze once again in wandering thought bubbles. It didn't take too long for him to be snapped back into reality when he was told to take a few of the items around the cave and that they'll make a nice shampoo.

Taking a look at said items, he internally declined the offer nearly instantly. For one thing, he didn't know anything involving medicine or alchemy, so he was unable to make a shampoo out of these items. Even if he did... Maybe she was used to just getting these materials and placing them in her hair, but he preferred to not have to make them, no matter how natural they seemed. Still however, he would like to take a momento with him. "I don't know about pretty blond hair, but I certainly like this flower over here." Hibiya replied to her before gently plucking a little white magnolia from the rocks that it survived. A tough little fella to keep in his pocket, it was a nice little momento for the magnificent caves he gets to walk through perhaps only once. "It's elegant and resilient, now that's beautiful. Hopefully you won't mind keeping this as a little memory charm from the caves. It'll be the last time I'm here, right?"

"Hmm...probably. Unless you remember this way and sneak back in. No one gathers stuff at night," she shrugged, inspecting the flower he'd picked and nodding in approval. It may only be good for scenting oils and cleansers, but it was beautiful. At least he had good taste. Peering around, Yori's eyes landed on another magnolia, which she took for herself. "Now we can have matching mementos of his fateful day."

With her gathering complete, she motioned toward the narrower opening of a tunnel. "Come on. We should be getting close to the end," Yori chirped, disappearing around an abrupt turn in the snaking path. Her voice continued to echo. "Do you live inside the village walls?"

This new path wasn't as pretty. Just plain stone, winding and starting to incline. Salamanders scampered around, and here and there were tufts of grass and small bushes. A good sign that they were approaching the other end, and therefore that much closer to the gate.

He smiled with approval when she said that the both of them now had matching momentos to remember this fateful day. The Ayano laughed a little, thinking that maybe that wording was a bit much, so he took it as a joke for this moment. "Oh yes, as if there was not enough reason for me to remember you." Hibiya replied cooly, referencing the one moment they easily get back too. Something tells him that this was going to be a common inside joke for the both of them to enjoy as long as they hanged aroune each other a lot, which he certainly wouldn't kind.

"Yes I do reside in the village. Proudly in fact, I'm a genin for now. But that won't matter soon enough." The blinde explained with no doubt. A bit of a spark flared within him as she explained that they were close. Cutting the corner with her, he then bailed straight forward before finding the outside where moonlight shined brightly. Should .she follow him, they both will find themselves outside of the caves and near the village. Familiar territory at last. "Yori, you are a life saver. Thank you again... So tell me how I repay you."