Forming a Bond

Takara waited patiently for Valen to arrive; he would seek her out, she was certain, and the water-shinobi had chosen the central square to wait for him so she would be easy to find. Everything was in order; she had each part of the event planned out, and a solid theory about what would be happening during each part of it. She was also wearing something that would stand out compared to her traditional blue outfits, and it was a bit of a fancier red outfit that definitely caught the eye. She hadn’t been waiting idly for him though, and had arranged several different venues and made reservations for different things, even though many of them she didn’t see them actually doing. Back up plans, of course.

She had also been completing the research on relationships, the different types, the dynamics of each, and which one would best suit them both. He had made it abundantly clear that he didn’t think he was capable of an emotional attachment, and that he would likely continue to see other women. A part of her didn’t like that, but more than her dislike for his choice, she truly had to take a look at society and dig into why they thought that way in the first place to truly understand the freedom that breaking that mold could bring, and why it was more natural for him than anything else. It had taken a bit of processing, but she knew that she could bring more to the table than what he had right now. Whether he would be on board with that… time would tell.

There was a solid chance that everything would end disastrously, but that was a risk she was willing to take for the sake of his growth and stepping away from the slave mindset. Mentally preparing, she took a gaze at the slowly dwindling sunlight, the night beginning to cast the first bits of purple into the sky. It was a full moon tonight… and despite a few festival goers milling about, she was almost dismissive of the people around her, scanning the crowd for her friend.

[1]

Valen had returned from Kirigakure to find a number of things had changed for him since he had been gone for the week or so he had been. First and foremost he had been informed that a room had opened up in a different hotel. The concierge at the front desk remembered that he was sharing a room with someone else due to a mishap on the hotel’s side of things. Valen had immediately called the hotel and reserved the room. Without even thinking further along, he figured Takara wanted to have more privacy than what she currently got with the two of them having to share one and this would make things easier for them. Although she would probably know he had reserved a room at another hotel this time around if she wanted to join him there still she had the option to.

Another was that he had been promoted to Special Jounin. A position he had never expected to be promoted to and it gave him a certain amount of excitement. Although he had kept the information close to his chest. He wouldn’t tell Takara tonight, she had won the bet after all and that meant she was running the show tonight. If he told her of his promotion it would be akin to him pulling the rug out from under her. He had enough knowledge of social cues at this point to recognize that. Finally, his cleaner here at the Emporium had accidentally thrown his kimono’s out with a batch of clothing that couldn’t be cleaned or repaired. Mortified they had paid for a set of clothing for him that they felt he would like just as well. Since the original maker of his kimono’s was gone from the Emporium now, being all partied out and deciding to go home.

As such Valen wore a black suit with a red tie, his long hair was combed and a red handkerchief was settled into a breast pocket. Learning how to tie the tie had taken a few minutes but he’d figured it out and overall he liked the look of the attire. He had requested one alteration though, and the Kirigakure symbol was once again embroidered upon the back of the suit jacket in black satin. The evening air was warm with the Emporium being over the ocean at the moment and the sun was almost gone from the horizon, dipping below it to plunge their side of the world into darkness when he arrived at the Square. It did not take long for him to look around and find Takara. Although her outfit choice had changed at least they matched somewhat. What with the red and all. Moving over to her he would nod his head in greeting to the woman. “As agreed Takara, I’m here and the night is yours. We do what you want.” He would say with a small smile. He had lost the bet to find more of the children and this had been what the bet was.

[1]

Takara had to double take Valen when she finally spotted him. He seemed a little taller, and his hair a smidge longer than she remembered when they first met, but mostly it was his attire. The young man was in an actual suit, and she had to stop herself from staring as he approached, shaking her head to rid herself of other thoughts as she got to her feet, not letting her be distracted. She offered him a small smile, noting the change. “You look awesome.” It was a bit of an understatement considering things, but it would have to do for now. The dark-skinned Shinobi took a moment to recollect her thoughts, and decided what was best next was to address what she had planned. The thought of how it could culminate flickered through her mind for a moment, but she quickly dismissed it knowing it very well could not go that way too.

“So, the event we are going to undertake is a multi-part date between the two of us. I have a few events planned and backup plans if something either doesn’t pan out or you don’t feel like doing a particular event, but I need you to be open with me if we do something you like or dislike. The first item should be a simple one though; dinner. I have a place picked out and reservations made, and it has an all you can eat option, so we should be fine even with our appetites.” With that said, she would wait for him to respond, and then if everything was fine with that, begin to lead the way away from the square and towards the place she had picked out. It wasn’t a massive fancy restaurant, but actually the opposite. A nice little hole in the wall place that she had discovered had an amazing selection of food and drink for them to feast on.

[2]

Valen would look down at his attire at her words and shrug nonchalantly at her. “Frankly, I’d prefer my kimono but the cleaner accidentally threw it out with a batch of clothes that couldn’t be salvaged. They paid for this to be made in recompense and bought me some other attire to wear too.” Idly his red eyed gaze would move up her form “You look pretty awesome too.” He would say, a mild sense of desire coming into his gaze. Although he would repress it carefully. When she commented on the evening he would nod his head. This was her show after all, although he felt like she had forgotten that he didn’t really care what he was doing at any given time. That would make it hard to know if he was enjoying himself because he was pretty ambivalent to most, if not all, things. But that just meant the chances were her first set of plans would pan out and that would be it.

He would follow her to the restaurant, the first item of business being dinner apparently and she would lead him to a small place with a variety of foods on the menu. Entering with her he would look around to find a seat..

[2]

Takara smiled again, and almost giggled, at his comment about his own attire. “Well I can say it is a nice change of pace.” As he commented on her own attire, she lifted a single foot and did a small twirl, showing it off a little bit. She had, after all, spent a few hours finding just the right outfit, and she had found the red both eye-catching and made her sapphire eyes stand out just a little more. Not to mention the time it had taken to get her hair the way it was, so showing off just a little bit was sort of required. That being said, it was time for them to move to their first venue, and she lead the way gently, avoiding the tempting to take his hand for their date… at least, not yet. She would need to explain things over dinner first.

The place she lead them to was well kept and strong looking, but very old. The wood and brick of the structure showed the signs of age that no amount of hard work could prevent, and it was obvious that the place would need to be remodeled from the ground up in the next couple of years if not sooner. However, the inside was a completely different story. Maroon tile floors shined with polish, the candles decorating the walls and using mirrors for their backdrop lit the room very well, and it looked like normally there would have been about five tables total with four chairs each, but today the layout was different. There was a single table in the center with two chairs and a candle, and the other four chairs were all covered in various different types of food, some of which Valen will have never seen before.

Valen’s chair was with his back towards a wall, eye on the door, and the lack of actual windows made it a more secure location than most. Two people emerged from the back room where the kitchen was, obviously twins, their grey hair matching as they moved to either side of the table, each smiling. “What can we get started for you two to drink first?” they asked in unison, part of the gimmick of the restaurant. It was obviously reserved just for the pair of them. “Just water for me for now, thanks.” She waited for it all to sink in for Valen, and him to react to her reserving the entire restaurant for the pair of them.

[3]

The inside of the restaurant was clearly much better taken care of than the outside and the location and within there was only a single table set up in the center of the dining area. The table had a candle and four chairs surrounding it were covered in food of all sorts. Some of which the swordsman had never seen or considered and he was looking around in mild to moderate confusion for a time as he tried to piece together where the other customers, or even the other tables, were. Sitting down, his back toward the wall and facing the door he would note the lack of windows and when two individuals coming out of the kitchen enter the room. Both were attractive women and both looking completely identical. That would take him aback for a moment before recognizing them as twins and they came to the table and stood on either side of it, both smiling and asking for their drink choices.

Takara chose water, Valen himself however decided that he wanted something different. “Root Beer please.” He would say, his eyes returning to Takara in mild confusion as he still worked to figure out what was going on here. She had said she had made reservations but this restaurant only had one ta-. It was at that point that he recognized the four chairs all the food was set up on as the same type of chairs they were sitting on. Meaning this restaurant clearly had more than one table. Blinking he realized she had reserved the entire restaurant for their dinner and he looked to her in confusion at that. Why? What was the purpose of using so much money for the purpose of a dinner? Sure he used his money flagrantly at times but it was generally in terms of simply buying people food and such. Not reserving entire buildings for two people. Still, this was her night to do with as she pleased and he had lost the bet. So it was her decision what they did and if she wanted to have a more or less private dinner with him as part of the night then that was her decision. Still, he couldn’t help asking the question. “Why?” He would ask, his tone curious, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. The waitresses had left to get their drinks so they were alone as they were going to get so the question shouldn’t be a problem.

[3]

Takara watched Valen carefully as he worked out the restaurant, trying to predict his line of thought as he worked through each part of the environment before finally he spoke up, asking the question that she had known would be coming. It was nice to be right, only because normally the swordsman was so difficult to read compared to most people. Thanks to the series of back to back missions and getting to know him better through that, she was finally starting to be able to read what he was actually thinking… sometimes. “Well, I like privacy, and I am planning to talk about some things that require it, at least for me. I worked with the owner yesterday to arrange this, and all it cost me was a day of errands. Worth it to me.” She then paused, letting him digest that information.

Then she would move on. “Let’s get started. I got a full assortment of things, and I’d like you to try at least a bite of each and let me know which ones you like more than the others. Don’t worry about anything left over if we don’t finish, I have plans for that to be donated to one of the Orphanages and the Hospital here.” And the twins would begin serving food to them both, a flurry of activity as things were placed and such. After a few minutes more, she would finally pop the question. “What do you know about the word Polyamory?” she said simply between bites, watching his reactions carefully.

[4]

Her answer to his question would be met with a simple shrug and so he would nod his head in acceptance. When she spoke of wanting him try to a bit of everything and tell her what he liked and disliked he would nod in acceptance of that as well. Then the twins would begin filling plates with food. As they did Takara would finally ask a question that allowed him to answer with something but he would blink in response to the question. That was a word he had never heard before, he went through the individual reading tricks he had been shown. ‘Poly’ was ‘many’ in the same way that ‘mono’ was singular. So whatever the word ‘Polyamory’ meant it would mean ‘many something’. He considered that further, moving through the process.

‘Amor’ was love wasn’t it? He didn’t love anyone so ‘many loves’ didn’t make much sense but if he broke that down to ‘many lovers’ instead it would make sense given the context of their last meal together. He tilted his head as he considered for a time before nodding his head in satisfaction to himself before asking. “Polyamory means ‘many lovers’ right? In that case, you’re asking how I feel about having multiple sexual partners?” He would ask, wanting to double check what he was hearing. If that was the extent of it, simply multiple sexual partners, then he was fine with that. It was essentially what he was already doing anyway. However if she wanted more than he didn’t know if he would be able to help her in that regard.

[4]

Takara would start on the food while Valen worked out in his head what she was talking about, and tried to work out what the word meant for himself. His explanation allowed her to nod, and she could see the trail of breadcrumbs he had used to put together that little puzzle, and would wait a moment to finish what she had bitten into and swallow before explaining further. It really was top notch food, and it made her wonder what they would be capable of in a new facility with updated cookware. “It is a type of relationship where there is a possibility of more than one partner. Considering your situation, and the way I feel about you, I want to explore the possibility of you and I being in a relationship, and see if I can give rise to the same feelings within you for me. That would make it an actual relationship in the truest sense, but I also know that it would be asking far too much for you to just be with me. I don’t want to tie you down like that.” She waited a moment for him to digest that information before proceeding with the next part of what she would have to say.

“I won’t pressure you into anything you don’t want to do, but I feel like if you are willing to try this with me, it could go a long way to helping you grow as a person, and even if you don’t find that meaningful connection with me, it would help you find it in the person that it will matter with.” The ball was squarely in his court now, whether he wanted to try something like this or not. It would definitely determine the outcome of the night, surely, and despite what her body wanted and how she felt, she would respect his decision either way. Even if they spent most of the meal bantering back and forth and explaining things, that was fine with her because a good, informed decision was better than a rushed one that wound up going badly.

[5]

He would listen to Takara as she spoke, taking in her words and considering them. ‘The way she felt about him?’ implied she felt strongly of him for some reason or other. Why he wasn’t certain but he didn’t really care about that. If it was how the woman felt it was how she felt. Still he wasn’t sure how this ‘relationship’ thing would work out between them given the fact that he had a current master. As she continued to explain her thoughts and her feelings that she felt doing this ‘relationship’ with her would help him grow as a person his head would tilt in curiosity. When she finished he stayed silent for a long time, eating as he thought.

“Relationships have rules don’t they? Boun..Boundaries?” He would test, trying to get the word right and looking toward her for confirmation. Provided he obtained it he would nod before continuing. “What would be those rules or boundaries for this one?” He would ask, his tone curious more than anything. Once the question was asked he would take a drink before continuing to eat. The twin helping him would continue to keep his glass full and his plate full as well from the various other platters of food surrounding them. His question for Takara though was important, as certain limitations he just couldn’t accept. Not because he wouldn’t be willing to give it a try normally, but because of his relationship with his master.

[5]

Takara took some time to consider his words, eating a bit as she processed it and thought about exactly what he was looking for before responding, and nodded when he got the word ‘boundaries’ correct. “Some, sure… but not many. Any rules would be agreed upon by us both, simple as that. And we both have the power to ask the other for anything they want to implement as a rule, and discuss it. Compromise is essential in almost all aspects of life, but more so in a relationship. As an example, I don’t mind if you see other people on two conditions: you are open and honest with me on who they are and you provide details if I ask, and if I want to meet them, we try to arrange that to happen. If you want to be with someone else, I want to see what you see in them too. Perhaps even join you in your escapade, if that is what we agree on. I am not adverse to the idea of more than one partner, so long as we are open and honest with one another.” That was honestly the most important part too, being honest. Any information withheld would be like a wound, and the longer it went untreated, the more likely it would become infected and destroy them.

The dark-skinned Genin let that information sink in and allowed him time to process it for a moment before following up with another aspect of this that she was certain he was curious about; why? “I like you, and would like to invest some time, effort and energy into discovering if we are compatible on the three levels two people can be; physically, emotionally and mentally. Because of your unique upbringing, I also want to teach you what people are capable of in regards to relationships and how it can be more than a simple outlet for physical desire. Something more… transcendent.” The ball was now back in his court, allowing him an opportunity to respond and ask questions as Takara ate a bit more food.

[6]

Valen would listen intently, nodding to acknowledge her own nod when he got the word correct. That would mean that he had added another word to his repertoire although he would need to continue to add more in order to progress his education. As she spoke, speaking of rules that the two would have to agree upon together. She used the word ‘compromise’ which is one he had heard once or twice within the Emporium. Usually from merchants or people trying to buy from them when they were trying to get to the best deal that both were willing to agree upon. So that was the definition he would apply to it. So essentially, she was telling him that if they disagreed on some things then they could come to an amicable arrangement more than likely so long as they spoke to one another.

All in all, this sounded pretty good to him so far. However he would continue to listen. He would consider any possible hurdles that any such deal would come across and one would come to his mind. His master, Sayuri. Any deal he and Takara made would obviously not be able to include her by virtue of him not being able to agree for her. “There’s only one issue, or at least there’s one thing that I can’t agree on fully.” He would begin, his red eyes looking into her blue ones, they weren’t judging, they were simply looking, and he was speaking honestly. “You spoke of not minding me seeing other people upon two conditions. Being honest with you, and providing details if you ask. However my master Sayuri would have to be outside that rule. I never know when she’s going to want me. I never know when she’s going to want me to take her. The possibility is always there. If you can live with one individual being outside of that agreement, then I don’t care if I tell you of others or you ask questions in regards to them. But I cannot agree to such terms in regards to my master.” He would say, taking another bite of food once he had finished speaking.

[6]

There it was. Takara had suspected that he was still following old habits, as they were something that were hard to shake when you grew up around them. She had done a substantial amount of reading into the human psyche and had a particular focus to the information found about how slaves tended to operate once freed. Those who had freedom before generally were able to create decent lives, but those who were born into slavery, where it was all they knew, tended to latch onto people and consider them a ‘master’ just to ensure they had something familiar to hold on to. She considered the information for a moment, especially with the name that he had attached to the word master in the first place. Sayuri. One of the Princess’ of the Kirigakure Village. That made this infinitely more complicated, but this is where the skill of compromise would begin it’s first test.

“Continuing that relationship, as is, for the moment is fine. All I would ask is that I be given the opportunity to meet her and discuss how it would work moving forward. There is a chance, since this individual is important to you, that she may be included into the actual relationship and not be someone on the same level as a one-time individual when it comes to what we are trying to build with one another.” She would then pause, hoping that he would find these part of the terms acceptable considering it would hopefully broker a way to discover what Sayuri thought of him as well. Would she join them, or walk away? Anything was possible… but she wanted to preserve a good working relationship regardless considering that she was one of the leaders of the village, and that meant being open with her intentions. Eating still continued, the pair of them were making short work of the food and dishes were being cleared, so she wanted to make sure that they knew what was coming next. “I was thinking a hot-spring bath after this, if that is alright by you? I know a place we can go, although I wasn’t able to reserve it for just us like I wanted.”’

[7]

Her words would cause him to tilt his head in confusion. Sayuri was one of the leaders of the village. By rights Sayuri was theoretically easy to get a hold of if one wanted. So Takara could meet the woman whenever she wished. So he would shrug at her his expression quirking into an ‘Alright’ expression before speaking. “You can meet Sayuri whenever you wish theoretically, you can make appointments. Discuss what you will with her.” He said simply. For a time they would eat in silence, food being consumed as plated will refilled and glasses refilled as beverages were imbibed. It would take awhile before Takara spoke up of plans for them to go to a hot spring together. Although she seemed troubled by the fact that she wasn't able to reserve a private one.

That of course would cause Valen, who in fact had a private hot spring on the roof of his hotel room, to shrug. “We can go to my hotel room, it’s on the top floor of the particular hotel and there's a private hot tub on the roof. Accessible only via my room's balcony.” He would say, finishing his next plate and letting the twin who was assisting him fill it once more. The twins had kept their composure during their conversation thus far although the faint blushes across both of their faces spoke of their own thoughts in regards to the topic of discussion. However Valen wouldn’t really bother with noticing.

[7]

Getting his permission to meet with Sayuri was something that was more of a courtesy than anything, providing Valen the opportunity to join them in order to discuss how their relationship would be working moving forward. If he didn’t want to be there, that was fine too, and it was honestly nice to see how relaxed he was about the situation that had honestly brought Takara a fair amount of anxiety. After all, this was her very first relationship of any kind, and it was not the traditional one that her mother and father had taught her when she was younger. She knew that this was only the first step, but she also knew that in her heart this was the right move. He was the first person to make her feel the way she did, and it was something that she wanted to experience and explore.

The next topic made her blink a couple of times. “You got that room?” It was quite obvious from her tone she knew exactly which room he was talking about, as it was something she had looked into when she first was trying to arrange all of this, but she hadn’t been able to secure it at the time. “That works wonderfully, actually. Privacy and convenience all in one place. We can head over there once we have both eaten our fill… this food is amazing by the way.” She directed the last comment towards the twins, noting that she would be giving them a hefty tip for all of this. It had made the experience so much better just being able to get what she was worried about off her chest over the course of some absolutely astounding food.

[8]

At her reaction he would shrug his expression saying little more than ‘I guess’. He would of course add words to the expression however. “Yeah, the concierge downstairs in the hotel we shared called up to the room one night while you were gone and told me about an opening in another hotel because of the misunderstanding with double booking us. So I looked into the room and bought it. It’s not like I’m using the money anyway so I figured I might as well.” He would say simply before turning back to his food. From what he knew there were various rooms in the Emporium that had such rooms with private hot springs on the roof of the buildings. All the better to see the view of the sky.

At her comments on the privacy and convenience, as well as the food he would nod his head in agreement. He had worked his way through a fair portion of the food already and both twins had needed to head back into the kitchen to get another pitcher of each of their respective drinks twice now. Valen however was starting to get full and he counted the plates under his. Seven plates thus far, he could probably put another one or two away. Which would start then as the twin serving him set him up with another plate. He began to dig into it, in his mind the prevailing topic of conversation now completed seeing as they now had a plan for where to go next and she seemed content with the state of things in general.

[8]

Takara nodded quietly as he explained the situation, not really understanding the concept of blowing money for no reason simply because she had been taught to try to be frugal whenever possible so that when she did want to splurge on something, she could. But if that's his prerogative that was fine. Just because they had officially started dating, in an awkward way, didn’t mean that she had to make a joint account for all their Ryo. Absolutely ludicrous. That was something reserved for final relationships and marriage, and if she was being completely honest, she knew from her reading that most first relationships were not the ones that lasted simply due to inexperience. While she hoped that wasn’t the case, she felt armed with the information so there wouldn’t be any surprises when it came right down to it.

The rest of the meal went off without a hitch, even so much so that a small slew of deserts were brought out towards the end, to which Valen might note something interesting about Takara. She absolutely loved sweets, and seemed positively thrilled with most of what she tried, a surefire way to make her happy in most any situation. Enjoying the treats thoroughly and eating them with gusto despite being mostly full resulted in her feeling rather comatose for a moment, if it hadn’t been for the fact that she had a full fledged idea of what was to come. She didn’t know if it was going to work out exactly how she planned it, but she was hoping to finally scratch that itch she had been feeling for quite a while now… one that yearned for Valen’s touch.

[9]

Valen would watch as Takara ingested a large number of sweets, honestly surprised by how much more room she managed to create seemingly for them alone. He himself was not overly fond of sweet foods so he refrained and waited patiently as she ate her fill of the sugary concoctions. When she was done he would wait for her to tell him it was time to go. She had won the bet for the night after all and ignoring that would be rude indeed. They would leave when she said they would and not a moment sooner. Once she had done so however Valen would lead her to his hotel room, provided she followed him he would lead her upstairs to the hot spring and grassy area upon the roof of the hotel that was accessible only via his balcony.

The stars were out in full by then, the various constellations filling up the night sky with their majesty and provided Takara herself was willing they would both have quite an enjoyable night with both waking up satiated within his bed in the morning. If she wasn’t then that was fine too, it never really bothered him when such plans did not pan out and he would simply spend the next day in the training grounds. Regardless, during the walk to his hotel room he would inform her of his promotion to Special Jounin, and beyond that would not drop anymore bombshells of information upon her.

[Exit]
[9]

The night progressed much as one might guess, with more questions and answers flying back and forth, and ultimately, Takara making an advance on Valen. The pool, the bed, the floor... anything was fair game, and it was not a stretch to say that the housekeepers were not going to be thrilled at the mess they would need to clean up the next day after they checked out. The dark-skinned ninja found herself immensely enjoying Valen's company, so much so that she now was firmly making a plan to help him become a true partner if she could, someone who was more than the shell of a man the cruel world had left him as. For now, though, she was simply going to enjoy the moment, enjoy his company, and live her life to the fullest. This was only complicated, however, by discovering that the person she had chosen for all of this was now far outranking her.

Would that bring about any complications? It was possible, but since Sayuri was one of his partners, perhaps she could work that angle and work things out that way. That was the plan anyway, at least, once everything at the Heavenly Emporium calmed down a little bit. She didn't know it yet, but the Emporium was about to become under siege, and things were going to go sideways a whole lot before they were up and down again. She would play a role in that, despite the fact that she was less than capable when it came to direct combat. She was also more than glad that she had prepared herself as much as she could before the encounter as the knowledge she had gleaned had been extremely useful in shaking off the fears of giving Valen her first time. For now though, blissful sleep.

[10]
[10 Posts x 20 EXP/Post = 200 EXP]