The Witch and the Cat [Riku & Satori]

Riku was early for class, as usual. The yard outside the Academy was dirt packed and contained a few benches around the perimeter. Thin wisps of mist stretched through the humid air, curling around the trees and blurring the edges of the building. A few sedges grew at the outskirts of the yard, their grassy fronds bent and decorated with dew drops. Nearby one of these plants, Riku crouched. Her backpack sat off to the side, in her hands she held a small notebook and graphite stick.

Her thin brows were knit together in concentration while she carefully wrote her observations of the sedge. The humidity and moderate heat had already made the girl sweat a little, slicking her blue hair against her rounded cheeks. The rest of her short, blue locks seemed to float around her head, frizzy and wavy. A light flush colored her pale face.

Riku tugged at the collar of her yellow turtleneck before resuming her task. Carefully, she sketched a rough version of the plant before her and detailed its color and appearance beside the drawing. The girl paused her writing again to reach out and feel one of the sedge’s fronds between her fingers for a moment. She closed her eyes in concentration for a few seconds before writing some more. After adding a few more notes, Riku let her fingers rest and watched the plant, as if waiting for it to do something. She was surprisingly still and focused for a nine-year-old, poised as if in deep thought.

Riku flipped a page and continued to write, carefully forming each stroke of the hiragana characters she used for her notes. Then, she tucked her paper and graphite away, rolled up her sleeves and stuck her slightly chubby fingers into the dirt. The little girl dug around in the wet soil until her hands closed around something solid and pulled it up along with the roots of the plant. She walked over to a puddle, leaving the ruined sedge behind, and dunked her fists into the water to rinse of what she’d found. Upon closer inspection --squinting included-- Riku determined that she had found water chestnuts.

The blue haired girl smiled to herself. She’d been taking notes on this plant for the last three mornings and compared them with her mother’s gardening books and the plants in the greenhouses at her home in order to identify this plant. Her hypothesis was correct!

Satori was walking idly along the road toward the Academy, he was early, as usual. The boy held an ivory sheathed katana along his shoulders where his wrists rested, hands hanging over its edge. The walk from his clans compound was a fair distance away from the Academy near the outskirts of the village, and the walk meant that he usually had to leave early if he wanted to make it there on time. He had to wake up early in order to properly get in his morning regimen anyway, so it all worked out in the end.

However, today was a bit odd, and as he walked along the road he blinked-- usually he was alone, but this time was different-- a young girl was kneeling down by the side of the road, examining something before walking toward the water to rinse it off. Tilting his head curiously, he meandered toward the girl as he noticed the smile forming on her lips, blinking a bit as his shadow would suddenly cast over her. Revealing the tall boy leaning over her slightly to examine what was in her hands.

“Water chestnuts?” he pondered idly, curiosity evident in his voice. He wasn’t exactly an herbalist, but he did have some knowledge of medicines and plants, since his clan believed in harvesting, gathering, and hunting for everything they ate only it was something drilled into him early. He knew some, though he was no expert. He was more of a hunter than a gatherer, after all. Still, his interest was piqued, and as he leaned down to examine it he would allow his gaze to trail down.

He didn’t recognize her, but then he hadn’t exactly paid much attention to those around him if he was entirely honest with himself. He had a bad habit of getting tunnel vision on the lessons and his training, a pang of slight guilt formed, he should probably learn about the people he was so desperate to protect, right? Tilting his head a bit as feline crimson eyes stared down at her, he would offer a grin, elongated canines flashing in the light.

“Yo’, I’m Satori, what’re you up to?” he inquired curiously, shifting his weight onto one leg as his arms remained lax against the sheath of his blade across his shoulders. The bright blue hair was unusual, but not to the point of being something he could recognize, he didn’t really know every clan and family in the village anyway. That was probably something he should research on as well, his mom would be annoyed if he neglected his broad knowledge and focused only on combat and jutsu.

A balance was key, she always said, so he supposed it was something he should focus on along with learning a few peoples names.

Riku looked up when a person shaped shadow fell over her. Large brown eyes fixed themselves on the shins of a person, a boy her age from the sound of his voice. She nodded to confirm his guess that she was indeed holding water chestnuts. Riku tilted her head up further so she could peer at Satori’s face. She scanned his features, taking in the wild hair, sharp toothed smile, and facial piercings with a critical eye. Her hands itched to retrieve her notebook and start a new profile.

Resisting the urge, Riku stood and offered the boy a close lipped smile. He was being friendly so far, so he likely didn't mean immediate physical harm.

“My name is Riku. Nice to meet you Satori-san.” She slipped the water chestnuts into her pocket and wiped her hands on her navy blue leggings, leaving slight dirt smears on the fabric.
“I'm practicing telling plants apart,” she explained in a matter of fact tone.

Riku continued to observe the boy. He wasn't just tall, he was giant like. She had to crane her neck to meet his gaze even while standing! His eyes were strange too, with slitted pupils like a cat’s. Despite his height, his face and voice suggested Satori was close to her age.

“Are you an Academy student?” the blue haired girl asked.

She seemed nice enough, a bit quiet, but that was fine. Sniffing the air curiously, he got the scent of her chakra and kept it to the back of his mind before he would grin as she craned her neck to look up at him. “Sorry,” he apologized simply, there wasn’t much else he could say sadly, he could squad down but that just seemed rude, so instead he just apologized and then moved on casually as she explained her goal.

“Oh? Are you a herbalist?” he asked curiously, turning a bit and nodding toward the road, a silent suggestion that they could walk and talk at the same time. He’d wait for her to gather anything she needed first, however, but if they lingered too long they may be late and he doubted either of them wanted that. Once they were settled to start moving he would finally answer the question she had offered him.

“Yeah, I’m in my last year, I think I’ve seen you,” his head tilted as he stared up at the sky, contemplating for a few moments. He felt fairly sure that the blue hair was familiar, but he couldn’t quite place a name or face on it. Shrugging, he would glance back down to her as he grinned slightly, “It’s nice to meetcha’ though Riku. I don’t see many people looking into plants, it’s nice seeing someone else paying attention to things like that,” shifting his grip on the blade he would idly slide it into the belt on his back so he could tuck his hands into his pockets while they walked.

“I’m in Handashi-sensei’s class, what about you?” he inquired curiously, the sound of his large feet clicking against the ground filling the air as the sounds of other children rousing and starting to leave for the Academy began to slowly fill the air.

Riku shrugged off the apology and stooped to grab the strap of her backpack and slung it over her shoulders. Straightening, she joined the taller student and walked with him along the edge of the yard. She took faster steps to keep up with his longer ones, occasionally glancing away from their path to look up at Satori's face.

“My kaa-san is. I'm learning everything she knows,” Riku replied a hint of pride in her voice, “I even get to help make the medicine for her patients. Kaa-san only lets me help if I keep up with my studies and the homework she gives me.”

She flashed the tall boy a toothy smile. “I graduate soon, too! I'm in Nanami-sensei’s class.”

So far Satori seemed like a friendly kid and smart for a boy. Other boys in her class thought plants and flowers were for girls or were silly. Riku pushed those thoughts aside in favor of pressing for more information. She straightened her sleeves, fingers lingering on the red trimmed cuffs for a moment.

“What do you think the genin exam will be like?” Riku looked up again to check Satori's facial expressions. She wanted to remember as much of this interaction as possible so she could take notes later. She had short profiles for almost all the students in her class, and even a couple from other classes, but nothing about Satori. He looked familiar, though, so Riku was determined to fix her oversight.

Satori allowed that grin to return to his lips as she commented on her mother being a Herbalist, letting out an amused chuckle as he would tuck carefully lower his pace a bit to make it easier on the smaller girls legs.

“Yours is one too, huh?” His gaze would trail upward as he contemplated this new information, it was interesting knowing that more than his own mother practiced such. Then again, almost every woman in his clan were herbalists, medics, and similar positions. Tilting his head a bit he would glance down as she explained that she was learning all her mother had to teach her, a grin returning to his lips.

“That’s interesting, mom taught me a few things but I’ve been more focused on lessons with my dad. Maybe you can show me a few things sometimes, I wouldn’t mind expanding my knowledge. Maybe I can show you a few useful things.” Moving forward casually, he would blink again and glance down once more as she drew his attention in a more solid state. Nanami-sensei was someone he knew, and that suddenly helped him place her, blinking and making a short “ah”, as he realized he recalled her face now.

She was usually quiet, and he could vaguely recall the fact others tended to avoid her for some reason. Still, her question on the genin exam made him lift his eyes from her to examine the sky quietly for a few moments.

“It’s decent enough,” he finally stated, shaking his head a bit. “I believe in the strong weeding out the weak, don’t get me wrong, but half the kids here have no idea of their actual potential. This is a better way to keep lives of soldiers up, and encourage talent instead of harsh training.” Unlike other kids, Satori didn’t even blink at the idea of killing, that wasn’t what was bothering him and that was evident. His tone was casual talking about the murder, and for good reason. He had already taken many lives so far, as was custom within his clan.

He just thought it was far too early for most to kill at the age of a student, at least for most. Satori knew his clan was different, the kids he’d interacted with here in the village center were nothing like him. Soft, weak.

His gaze trailed down, examining her as he debated her question before one of his brows lifted, the piercing glinting slightly in the light of the rising sun. “Why do you ask?”

Riku nodded along with Satori’s suggestion. “Sure, I can show you a thing or two.” Inwardly, the girl was excited. She would be able to continue observing Satori and put together a detailed profile about him. That aside, he didn’t seem put off like other kids in her class. He might be an ally. Her steps got a little lighter, as Riku thought about the possibilities until she was almost skipping. Her boots scuffed against the wet ground, smearing them with mud, but Riku paid it little mind. Working with plants usually involved a fair amount of dirt, so the girl was quite used to it.

The blue haired girl met Satori’s gaze unflinchingly, expression more neutral.

“I ask because I’m worried about it.”

Riku wasn’t the strongest or fastest kid in her class, something that rankled her to no end. She was, however, one of the cleverest. Riku paid attention not only to Nanami-sensei’s words, but her classmates as well. She knew what they excelled in, what gave them trouble, how to get under their skin. She even knew some of their food allergies. Riku hated the idea of being pit up against her classmates, those kids would only be too eager to slaughter each other. Too happy to send her to the afterlife.

The girl’s hands tensed, forming fists. “I want to be the best prepared person there.” They would regret laughing at her. No one would call her a witch to her face with that ugly sneer ever again. Those kids, the ones who survived would instead whisper her title in fear, glancing over their shoulders as if she might appear just to curse them.

Riku looked up at Satori with determination on her soft, childish features. “I want to excel and teach everyone there that they can’t step on me.”

Satori listened quietly, his head tilted slightly as the girl explained her meaning, explained her weakness, and revealed a surprising streak of anxiety. Though he supposed it made sense, he knew a lot of adults, let alone kids, struggled with such things. He’d never really experienced it, but he could understand the fear, the uncertainty, but even more than that her words resonated well within him-- because he had a similar determination.

“Hmm,” he murmured briefly, to show he had listened and was contemplating her words. After a few moments, he would slowly trail his eyes downward, relaxed despite the words he was about to speak.

“Being resolute is a more powerful weapon than any prodigy, intellect, strength, or speed. If you truly want to survive, if you truly want to become more, then you will.” Slowly he lifted his shoulders, “That is a law of nature. It’s why the alpha of a pack isn’t always the largest or the fastest, but the wolf that has survived the longest and won the most battles. Keep that glint in your eye, and you’ll do fine,” with this he would allow a grin to for over his lips as he examined her.

“Besides, I like you. I won’t let you die anyway. Even if you slip up, I’ll make sure you survive.” It was a casual statement, and yet there was no hint of deceit or mockery in his tone, his voice was calm, his body language relaxed, and his eyes honest. After all, he only intended to kill those that he had to in order to pass, and nothing more. Smiling a bit as they neared the Academy, he would halt briefly and raise a hand from his pocket, offering it to her.

“After class, I usually go out to the back training rings, how about we meet up there? I’d be interesting to talk with you more, and maybe we can trade a few tricks,” stating this with a smile, the claws decorating his fingers notably slid into his fingertips to ensure she didn’t get nicked if she accepted his hand.

Satori’s simple encouragement caused the smaller child to relax, expression sliding from concerned into an easy smile. Her brown eyes searched the boy’s expression for a few moments. With trust and openness that only a child could possess, Riku looked him in the face and believed him. She decided to trust this tall boy for now. He could, at the very least, protect her from the petty bullies in the Academy. His offer to train together solidified his good intentions.

“Thanks. I like you, too.”

Riku’s eyes flickered to Satori’s hand, watching the claws retract with fascination. She gripped his large hand with her smaller digits, doing her best to hold on properly, and gave Satori’s hand a firm shake.

“It’s a deal. We’ll train together and make sure nobody knocks off the other.”

The prospect of making a new friend was exciting, no matter how cautious and jaded Riku tried to be, she was still only nine. The desire for true friends hadn't been stamped out of her fully.

As their hands fell, the blue haired girl left her hand near Satori's, close enough that their fingers could brush together while they walked through the morning haze. Once they finished walking along the yard and the Academy’s doors were in sight, Riku glanced up at her new friend.

“See you later?”

Satori smiled as the girl accepted his hand, giving it a firm, but gentle shake before he would tuck his hands back into his pockets, nodding his head slightly in agreement. “Sounds good to me,” he stated with a slight grin before he would motion for her to go first. Following after her casually and giving her a simple wave when they parted in the hallway, whistling casually as he went toward his classroom.

A few hours later, it was lunch time, and Satori was carefully perched at a lunch table, giving him a bit of space from the rest as he wanted to relax in peace. Of course, this was short-lived, as within a few moments Satori could hear laughter, his keen ears twitching slightly as his gaze slowly lifted upward to examine the direction. Not because of the laughter, but because of a familiar soft voice that he had heard earlier that day.

A blue head was barely visible from around a group of about four, and he heard the term “witch” used several times, causing the boy to release a slow breath as his teeth sank into the large shrimp. The tail hanging from his lips, he would rise up causing a slight stir around him as the large body meandered toward the group casually, his gaze relaxed as usual, but there was an annoying light glowing within the crimson irises. He hated when little fucks did this shit, bullying was so stupid.

If they wanted to prove they were stronger or better then they should do it properly, on the battlefield against other enemies. Not against their peers, what kind of village thought that raising internal conflict was a good idea?

Riku glared coolly at the kids surrounding her, her bento held protectively against her chest with crossed arms.

They were taller and older than her, maybe even stronger, and they knew it.

“How did you do it, little witch?” the boy furthest to her left sneered. He was barely taller than Riku, but he looked down the crooked bridge of his nose at the blue haired girl. Hands on his hips, feet apart, Sora’s stance was clearly aggressive. He was only talking down to her with such confidence because he was with the other three --Sora could barely look Riku in the eye without flinching when he was alone.

Riku pressed her lips together firmly. She had long since learned straight answers wouldn’t get her very far.

“What’s the matter? Forget how to talk?” Sora continued.

The other three kids, Yuuto, Hana, and Ichika, snickered.

“She’s just dumb.” Hana flipped her hair over one shoulder, causing the glossy black strands to flutter.

Ichika gasped. “You better be careful or the witch will curse you,” she stage whispered before smirking.

“Yeah right,” Yuuto chimed in, “she’s nothing special.”

“Tell us, witch,” Sora pressed onward, “why is Aoi home sick?”

“He must have a cold,” Riku deadpanned. She leaned back afterwards, as if she’d known Ichika would try to slap her.

The red head sneered. “Why’d you flinch, witch?”

“What’s that in her hands?” Yuuto leaned in, leer half obscured by dull brown hair that flopped into his eyes.

“I think it’s her lunch!” Hana snatched the bento away from Riku.

The blue haired girl didn’t resist.Instead, she stomped on Hana’s foot as hard as she could, aiming her heel for the shorter girl’s instep.

Hana yowled and dropped to the ground.

Riku caught her lunch before it could fall to the ground. She narrowly evaded Sora’s sandled foot coming at her face by hopping backwards. One hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of Ichika’s hair, yanking on the red locks with prejudice.

Hana pulled away, but a few strands were left behind, falling from in between Riku’s fingers.

Yuuta grabbed Riku around the waist, spurring the blue haired girl to go limp. The sudden force of her bodyweight forced the brunette to drop her.

Riku rolled away, but not before Yuuta could stomp on her arm. Sharp pain radiated from the limb as it was harshly shoved into her ribs by the force of the brunette’s foot. Eyes watering, Riku got to her feet and kicked Yuuta in the stomach. The boy grunted and stumbled.

Sora grabbed Riku’s hair, but the girl twisted and bit his arm with all the force she could manage.

Sora pushed Riku away and screamed.

They had started about the time that Satori arrived, and he didn’t intervene initially, watching Riku’s movements carefully. It was disrespectful to interfere in a battle unless the other party truly needed help, and as it was, it was on the fence. However, they only had so much time for lunch, and honestly, them ganging up on her bothered him a bit. Certainly, pack hunting was a tactic, but only when it was really required. Riku had done nothing to warrant such attention as far as he could tell.

In short, this entire situation was stupid, and so as Sora backpedaled screaming, he was abruptly shut up by a massive hand closing over his head. The boy blinked in confusion before he was lifted clear off the ground by his head. The pop of the joints in his neck sounded, along with his scream of pain from the muscles being strained, but Satori didn’t even flinch at the noise as the others jumped out of their skin, looking from Riku to Satori.

Feral eyes narrowed, his pupils like slits as he stared down at them. “I can respect understanding your own weakness to attack a stronger opponent, but you know,” Satori’s grip tightened, and crimson streams began to run down the boys head as Satori’s head tilted slowly to the side. Instantly, the other children felt a chill run down their spines, as if an animal was in the room with them, not another child.

“You really shouldn’t start a fight unless you’re willing to see it through,” as he murmured this, his hand tightened further as his claws dug into the screaming boys head and face, more crimson began to run as the others began to waver, falling back with their impromptu leader screaming and being half-mauled in front of them. “Can you kill her?” he murmured simply, his gaze lazily trailing from one to the other. “Because I can kill you,” His claws pierced the boys face entirely, he’d have four holes in his right cheek as his scream hit a crescendo, and the children scattered in fear. After a moment, Satori dropped the boy who crashed into the ground, holding his face wailing in pain before his gaze slowly trailed back toward Riku, licking the blood from his fingertips.

“You alright, Riku? They got yer’ arm pretty good,” leaning down, he would offer her his hand that wasn’t dripping with crimson fluid, unconcerned even as the teachers finally arrived on the scene after the others had gone yelling, and sprinting down the hallway.

Thanks,” Riku grunted. She set her bento down --the boxed lunch bearing dents from her intense grip-- and used her uninjured arm to push herself into a crouch. Now that the bullies were gone and her adrenaline was starting to fade, tears trailed her cheeks. Stubbornly, the blue haired girl used her sleeve to wipe away the salty tracks before the teacher could see.

“I think it’s broken.”

The arm hung at her side, dirt smearing the sleeve where Yuuta’s foot had landed. It throbbed painfully when Riku tried to flex the muscles.

She reached up with her good arm and slipped her hand into Satori’s larger one, allowing him to pull her to her feet. Her hair was messy, parts of it sticking up on end while other sections were mashed into her skull while her clothing hadn’t fared much better.

Nanami watched them quietly until the three remaining children turned their attention to her. The instructor folded her arms across her stomach and gave them all a slight frown.

“What happened here?” the dark haired woman asked, grey eyes sweeping between Satori, the unusually tall boy from Handashi’s class and a couple of her own students. Riku and Sora. The wounds on the boy’s head, from what she could see, didn’t match Riku’s teeth, meaning Satori was likely responsible for the injuries despite having no blood on his hands. The red stains on the blue haired girl’s face indicated that she, too, had been part of a physical altercation.

Nanami could already feel the beginnings of a headache. It was no secret that Riku wasn’t on the friendliest terms with her classmates, but the limpness of one of the little girl’s arms and the wounds on Sora’s head indicated something far more serious than a schoolyard scuffle.

Satori examined Riku’s arm carefully as she stood, raising a hand as a silent statement he was going to lift it, before taking it with surprisingly careful movements. His fingertips carefully tracing her arm along the bone, it was going to be uncomfortable likely, but not painful. Showing how often the boy had done this as he would make a face of distaste, “It’s not a complete break at least. But it’s definitely fractured,” he clarified calmly before straightening and looking at Nanami as the woman approached.

Her question caused Satori to tilt his head calmly, “They attacked her, I was going to let them fight, but they broke her arm so I intervened. He has minor puncture wounds to his face, and I probably pulled the muscles in his neck and back. I’ll carry him to the medical office if you want, but I won’t apologize.” The boy's voice was calm and deadly serious. Happy to take responsibility for his actions, but refusing to apologize for doing what was in his eyes, the right thing to do.

Perhaps he’d been a bit excessive, but he could have broken the boy's skull instead to match the break of Riku’s arm. As he stated this he glanced back at Riku and would tug off his jacket and start to carefully wrap her arm before wrapping it around her neck. His hoodie was ten sizes too large for the girl, easily, but that was fine. In this case, it helped since it made it a far more effective sling.

“Just until the nurse gives you something more proper, you need to keep it up after all,” he stated idly, before tracing his gaze toward their instructor calmly, waiting for her decision as he tucked his hands back into his pockets. He didn’t insult the teacher by saying it was her job to make sure things like this didn’t happen, but his eyes said more than enough from the disappointment emanating from them. Still, he remained respectful, he had been taught to be kind to his elders, even if they didn’t deserve it sometimes.

Riku winced as Satori prodded at her arm, but didn’t let any more tears fall. She had been enough of a crybaby already. Even a single tear was one too many for the blue haired girl. He was gentle, which Riku was begrudgingly grateful for --she would have felt better if she had managed to stay stoic the entire time.

The young girl bit her lip to keep from crying out as Satori wrapped her arm for him. When he was done she gave him a grateful albeit watery look. She avoided Nanami’s gaze and instead focussed on Satori’s response. This wasn’t the first problem she’d had with her classmates, just the worst.

Nanami sighed and massaged her temple. “Alright. If you would be so kind,” the instructor glanced down at the bloodied boy on the ground to indicate that she did indeed expect Satori to carry Sora, “I’ll let Handashi-sensei decide for himself if your actions warrant punishment. Come along you three.” She turned and began to lead them deeper into the Academy, towards the infirmary.

With her back to the students, the dark haired woman allowed her face to relax some from its stern expression. The children responsible for the scuffle would learn to regret their actions. She had warned each of the kids who bullied Riku most about harassing their fellow students. Now, she could make good on those threats. They would all have to explain to their parents, her, and the head instructor why they felt ganging up on Riku was an appropriate course of action. Then, they would sweep, mop, and scrub the Academy until their fingers bled. Perhaps the head instructor would allow for an even harsher sentence. Nanami had hoped that Riku would find a way to stand up for herself, but that courage had come too late, it seemed.

They entered the infirmary without fanfare. “Akita-sensei,” Nanami’s soft voice drew the attention of the school physician. “Could you heal a couple students for me? They were involved in a fight.”

Satori smiled softly as Riku gave him the tear-filled, but grateful look, his hand gently patting her head to fix her hair and ease her before his gaze trailed toward the downed boy who was now a whimpering mess. Grunting he would step forward and grab the boy by the back of his shirt, “Maybe next time challenge her to a fuckin’ spar like normal, why do you think they exist, dumbass,” he stated in an annoyed tone before he would lift him up and lay him against this back as if he was carrying a backpack over his shoulder.

Making sure Riku walked in front of him, with the teacher in the front to protect the girl, he would walk forward along the familiar path to the nurse's office. As the door was pushed open, revealing the medical bay and Nanami called for her, the middle-aged man poked his head out curiously and immediately his eyes were drawn to Satori who stood above the other two.

“Satori! Not again, didn’t I tell you to stop injuring these poor kids? The Ryuutei clan’s teachings don’t carry over here, you know that!” The man quickly moved forward, gathering the boy as Satori dumped him on the ground next to him, the man quickly getting to work. Hands glowing a dim green light that was familiar to Satori who’s gaze trailed toward Riku, “Sensei, she’s far more seriously injured ya’ know,” he stated idly, not even addressing the man’s initial reaction to him, causing the man to blink and raise his gaze up.

“Ah, my apologies, I’m so used to him just dragging them here.” A kind smile formed on the man’s face as he gathered the boy up carefully and examined Riku with a frown, “An arm injury hm, in a sling-- sprung?” “Fractured,” Satori commented in an idle tone, his gaze trailing along the familiar walls of the infirmary as he glanced down at Riku and would meander alongside the girl protectively, whenever she sat on a medical bed he would lean against its foot.

Akita took notice of the behavior and arched a brow, “What happened this time?” he inquired, glancing from Satori, to Riku, and then Nanami questioningly as he halted the bleeding of the groaning boys face before moving toward Riku to begin dealing with her more serious injury instead.

Nanami frowned at Satori’s rough treatment of Sora, but didn’t comment. Instead, she leaned against the doorframe. When Akita mentioned Satori’s clan, the teacher realized why his behavior was so unusual. He was from the Ryuutei clan. She’d heard a bit of gossip about the kids from that clan, but had put it out of her mind until now.

Riku sat on an unoccupied bed, careful not to jostle her arm --it hurt enough on its own. She felt far less concerned with Satori’s lack of care for the bully Akita-sensei was tending to. He had gotten what he deserved in her opinion. Some petty part of herself felt immensely pleased to see how badly shaken Sora was. The girl’s brown eyes snapped to the healer’s face when he posed the question.

“We had a disagreement. I defended myself until they broke my arm and then Satori-san scared them away,” she said seriously.

Before anyone could ask who ‘they’ were, Riku turned her head to look Nanami in the eye. “Hana, Ichika, and Yuuta,” she intoned the names of her tormentors. “Hana probably has a bit of a limp; look for scabbing on Ichika’s head on the left hand side, above her ear; Yuuta should have at least some tenderness on his abdomen if no bruises. Proof that they attacked me, too. Satori can also identify them.”

Nanami nodded slowly, resisting the urge to give the blue haired girl an approving look.

“Well, I’ll leave you in Akita-sensei’s care. I need to report this incident before returning to class. You may go home after classes if you are not feeling well. A messenger will inform your parents about the parent-teacher conference that will surely follow this incident.”

With one last glance towards Akita and a bow in his direction, the dark haired instructor excused herself and left.

Satori remained silent as Riku explained everything if she wanted to talk for him that saved him the trouble. Besides, she would know the exact locations that she had hit better than anyone anyway, and as he relaxed slowly he would allow his body to lower and sit at the foot of the bed. Resting his chin in his palm he would allow his gaze to trail to the side, examining Akita as he went to work carefully unwrapping the girl's arm and beginning to carefully repair the damage.

“I see, you were protecting someone for once, huh?” the man murmured under his breath curiously, before glancing toward Satori and arching a brow. “Why, have a crush on her?”

This caused the boy to blink once, before slowly lifting his gaze up and seriously contemplating the question, causing the man to blink and then wave a hand for a moment, “Satori it was a jok--” “Maybe,” he stated bluntly, causing the man to stare at him even as his gaze and face remained casual as ever. Slowly clearing his throat before going back to working on Riku with a bemused expression.

He would never understand the Ryuutei, if the boy was anything to go by. He’d never met a child that was so forward and blunt before, it was equal parts intriguing and confusing. Most boys would become either a stuttering mess or overreact in their refusal to such a statement, but Satori simply took it in stride as a casual conversation topic. Satori didn’t seem concerned as he instead would look toward Riku and allow a brief grin to form on his lips.

“Good job on their names. Hopefully, they get their shit together. If they need me to clarify I will, I’m sure a few people in the area saw it all as well, I’ll make sure no one lies to protect them.” Akita groaned at the way he said this, glancing over at the boy, “Satori, nothing drastic please, you give me enough work as it is, boy!”

Satori simply shrugged, “It’s not my fault so many of the students are idiots or lack the resolve to handle situations properly,” Akita released a sigh.

“Oh, so the five kids you put in physical therapy for a month because my jutsu couldn’t fix all the damage wasn’t your fault?” Akita inquired with an annoyed expression, causing Satori to shrug a bit in response, obviously not considering the topic even worth his time arguing and instead he would meander around to sit on the bed beside Riku, though facing the opposite direction.

“How’s her arm?” he inquired curiously, causing Akita to glance at him before shaking his head with a sigh and focusing on Riku’s limb once more. “A minor fracture, easily fixable, you’ll need to be easy on it for a few days though, medical jutsu repairs damage but it’s not a miracle maker. Make sure you intake some extra calcium the next few days as well, alright?” Offering a slight smile to the girl, he would continue carefully healing the wound decorating her limb.

Riku watched with interest as Akita's hands hovered over her injured limb. The feeling of his chakra was tingly in a pins and needles sort of way, a pleasant sensation in comparison with the throbbing she'd felt before he started to repair her limb. The tension pinching at her face relaxed, leaving a somewhat tired expression in its place. The scuffle earlier had taken a lot out of her. The girl half listened to Satori and Akita-sensei’s conversation. The tall boy's casual admission that he might have a crush on her made Riku's face turn bright red.

She stayed quiet, however, willing her blush to fade. Fortunately the intense pins and needles sensation helped distract the girl from the idea that a boy might like her.

Riku smiled vaguely as Satori promised to make sure her bullies were held accountable. This was the first time someone had decided to be loyal to her upon their first meeting. Her observations so far indicated that Satori was trustworthy and could even be considered a friend. Of course, the girl would write down her observations and review them again, but these were pleasing preliminary findings.

The banter between the tall boy and the doctor continued, eliciting a giggle from Riku.

Even though Akita's advice was something her mother had told her at least thrice, Riku appreciated it. The reminder would help her remember it better in the long term.

“Okay, I'll make sure I'm careful. Thank you Akita-sensei.”

The girl was blushing, and he found that odd, and yet at the same time, it was a curious sensation. A tightness in his chest, similar to the sensation he had when he found a kitten and wanted to play with it, but different. The same pleasant sensation, but it was a bit more primal, a strange sensation he had never dealt with.

His thoughts were interrupted by Akita’s answer, and Satori nodded a bit, glad that the damage wasn’t severe as he would instead trail his gaze downward to examine Riku as she giggled. The noise was curious, causing him to tilt his head slightly in thought, it sounded like small bells or chimes in the wind. A single blink caused him to come to a conclusion, especially with the sensation of tightness in his chest, this was similar to how his father described the love for his mothers.

“I do,” he stated suddenly, causing Akita to blink and arch a brow to look back up toward Satori.

“You do?”

“I have a crush on her,” he clarified simply, causing the man to halt entirely, staring at the boy in complete confusion.

“You were just uncertain though, Satori, what are you talking about?” Akita’s tone was confused, surprised, and absolutely off-balance.

“Yeah, but then she laughed and blushed. She didn’t show me anything like that before. I like it.” Satori stated bluntly, curiously leaning closer to Riku, large crimson eyes staring into her own shamelessly as his head tilted a bit, like a great cat studying a mouse.

“Satori, that’s not how that works, you don’t just change your mind in the blink of an eye based on a few physical traits. You can certainly find someone more appealing, but--” “I like it. I like her.” Satori interrupted without concern as he would continue staring into Riku’s eyes, as if clarifying what he had just said for himself, causing Akita to simply stare in complete bafflement. After a few moments, Satori nodded, seeming content with this realization and would straighten as his gaze lifted back to Akita.

“Akita-sensei your medical jutsu stopped,” he commented idly, the man, busy staring at him in complete disbelief, utterly baffled. How on earth was the poor girl going to react to this?

“Huh?” Was Riku's oh so intelligible response to the conversation at hand and Satori's sudden proximity. His face was close --very much so, close enough for Riku to see the limbal ring in his irises and the way his piercings reflected the light. Her face felt hot, too hot. The blue haired girl just knew she was blushing. The bright red of her face clashed interestingly with her hair.

Despite her clear flusterment, the girl didn't move away from Satori. Instead, she'd leaned in a fraction until their noses touched.

“Is this how it works?”

She blinked owlishly, seemingly captivated by Satori's stare.

“Can I keep you?” Riku asked bluntly, despite the heat tinging her cheeks red. She reached up with her good arm and set a small hand on the tall boy's hair, fingers sliding into the thick spikes.

Her gaze dropped. “I um… I like your face.”

Satori’s head tilted at the response, her face was red, and her eyes were transfixed into his own. That was a familiar expression, many that he stared down had similar reactions, though this one was different. Instead of fear, it was something else. Curious, he would feel her nose touch his own as she asked if “this is how it works”, before tilting his head a bit in the opposing direction and asked if she could ‘keep him’.

Humming lightly, he would draw himself back a bit and pull his legs up, resting his hands on his lap as he debated the question.

“You’d have to share,” he stated, explaining it as the teacher just stared in complete confusion. “My clan makes us take multiple wives, cus our kids die a lot,” he explained idly, not concerned in the slightest as he would raise a hand to hold his chin slowly.

“But, you’d be able to keep them too whenever I ended up with other wives, so I guess you could in a roundabout way?” As he pondered this, he would blink and then lower his gaze back down to her. He didn’t really care about marriage, but he knew that his clan's teachings were important, he couldn’t have a single wife. It would be risking the clan's survival, and that wasn’t acceptable with so few male heirs ever making it into adulthood such as he had.

His father had told him ‘not to worry about girls for now’, and he had agreed as he had little interest in them. Was this fine though? It wasn’t as though they would go get married right this moment, that wasn’t how it worked, that much he knew. Contemplating this, he would lower his gaze before shrugging.

“Well, for now, we can leave it at that I guess. There’s no reason to rush anything, my dad said I should take my time, so I think both of us liking each other is good enough for now, right?” Allowing a grin to spread across his lips, Akita was taken aback by how-- well, logical and calm the boy was about the entire situation. Not just the lack of embarrassment, but the fact he analyzed his own standing, goals, and likely Riku’s as well to come to that conclusion.

It was a surprisingly healthy choice, he had been prepared to have to intervene and talk them out of doing something stupid like getting betrothed at such a young age when they were to become shinobi. Releasing a relieved breath, he would return to his healing, letting the two have their discussion without his intervention, at least for now.

Riku pouted when Satori pulled away. She'd liked the warmth of his breath washing over her face. Despite that, the girl stayed put and listened to Satori talk about his clan’s traditions. Idly, she wondered what her mother's family thought about marriage. Her head tilted to the side in confusion. Her father has passed away long before Riku was able to understand such relationships. Did they have to get married to stay close?

“I think so.” The blue haired girl’s face scrunched up a bit in confusion.

Multiple wives? Sharing? Riku wasn't very good at sharing with anyone except Tsughi, her little sister. She hadn't even been thinking of marriage when she asked to keep Satori. Her thoughts had gone as far as making sure she got to play and train with him everyday. Then again, if he liked her then they could spend time together, so she would get to “keep” him in the sense that she wanted to.

Then, the girl nodded. “Yeah. I don't want to marry you right now. We can still hang out, right?” She gave Satori a concerned look. Her mother hadn't discussed boys very much with Riku and the girl hadn't thought about them much either. Her cousins didn't count.

“Friends?”

She offered Satori her extended pinky.

“Yeah,” he answered simply, and his own massive pinky extended to wrap around her own with a grin, before drawing his hand back and placing it on the bed while she continued to be healed. However, once Akita was done, the boy would grin a bit and rise up.

“I can’t show you much when your arm is like that, but we could focus on some of your herbology knowledge,” he pondered idly before Akita could interject on the importance of her not using that arm too much. Releasing a sigh of relief he would carefully write out the notes, handing them to both before placing his fists on his hips.

“Satori, try to learn some restraint. In these situations, it’s important that you’re the bigger man.” Satori, at this, slowly allowed his gaze to trail over and focus on the man for a few moments, contemplating the statement before his eyes would slowly lower to meet the man’s gaze evenly.

“That’s why everyone is so weak. There isn’t anything stupid as being a “bigger man”, Akita-sensei. In a real fight, you kill the other people, period. No morals, no restraint, no mercy. Because they’re thinking the same thing. Being idealistic fits a teacher, but don’t expect me to be that way. I’m not going to be an instructor,” his hand lifted, pointing upward. “I’m aiming for much higher, after all.” With these words, he would turn and meander toward the door to the medical room.

Akita didn’t really have a way to tell the boy otherwise, his words were true, but at the same time, he worried about a child that already had that mentality. Usually, it took years for shinobi to get that way, and they became jaded and harsh. Somehow, that boy already had that mentality while retaining many traits of a child at the same time. It was unnerving.

Meanwhile, as Satori exited the door he would glance down to Riku and offer a slight grin. “Where do you wanna go? We could go back to class, but ditching and doing something more worth our time sounds better to me,” he usually didn’t get much out of class, most of what they taught him his clan already had. The classes he stuck around for were based on Ninjutsu and chakra and those were at the start of the day so students had time to get their energy back for physical training.

Riku watched Akita and Satori interact and once again wished she had her notebook. This would be an interesting interaction to analyze later.

“Thank you for healing my arm, Akita-sensei,” Riku said with a smile. The relief of having an arm that felt like it had fallen asleep compared to it being broken was almost enough to bring the girl to tears again. She got off the bed and followed Satori, making a mental note to write down that he was ambitious.

“Well,” the blue haired girl hesitated. She thought about the lessons they would miss. She shuffled from foot to foot a bit. Riku actually liked classes because of what she could learn about the topic and they allowed her to observe her classmates and update their profiles. However, Satori was offering her information that might not be available in classes. Besides, physical training was Riku's least favorite subject. She liked to throw things, but Taijutsu and conditioning were too distracting for her to get a good read on her classmates.

“Let's get out of here,” the blue haired girl said with a nod. “Where do you wanna go, Satori-san?”

Riku scuffed at the floor with the toe of her boot and inclined her head so she could look up at the taller boy’s face. Then, her stomach growled and cramped, drawing a grimace across her face.

“I left my lunch in the hallway,” Riku mourned. “Can we go get that first?”