Hatamoto Homestead

[Nishiko]

The home of the Natsue Hatamoto, the last remaining memberof the Hatamoto family. This is where Natsue can often be found training her techniques either alone, with other medics, or with her best friend Kai.

[kai]

Kai smiled that wide characteristic smile of his, trudging through the snow and stopping before the door of his friend, Natsue. He smiled, looking from side to side down the street to see who was coming. After a moment, he nodded, satisfied. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes… The next moment he exploded through the door of the home, tumbling in with a broad grin on his face and his arms open welcomingly.

“Natsue-chan!” He said loudly, smiling and setting his snowboard down on the wall beside the door. He kicked off his boots, leaving only his white tabi socks on his feet. He scratched the back of his neck, smirking and looking around. Where was she? He smirked, walking through the room. “Natsue-chan?” he said questioningly, poking his head around the corner. “Where are you?” Where was that girl hiding…

[Nishiko]

From the kitchen she heard what sounded like an explosion followed by Kai's voice. She didn't so much as turn around at the noise, and instead fetched a second teacup to place next to the one already on the counter. "If that was my door you can fix it right now or you won't be getting any tea!" She called back.

A silver platter was brough down from a shelf, a family heirloom from her mothers side of the family. She set both tea cups on it before fetching the whistling tea pot and carrying it into the kitchen. "Do you really have to destroy something every time you come Kai?" She teased as she slid the tray onto the living room table.

[kai]

“Well ya know.” Kai said, quietly repositioning the door back. “This way you always know it’s me.” He chuckled, fitting the door back into its hinges. “And see? All better.” He nodded and dusted off his hands with a satisfied air about him. Problem solved. He thought, turning to face his friend. “Nice to see you, Natsue.” He said, walking over and pulling her into a friendly hug. He drew back after a moment.

“How have you been?” He said, looking her over. As always, she looked good, and rather sexy in her minimal outfit. No! He thought, shaking those thoughts out of his head. No dirty thoughts about Natsue-chan. He smiled at her, crossing his arms and waiting for her to speak. She was his best, and pretty much only friend. He didn’t want to ruin that with his perverseness…

[Nishiko]

Natsue smiled as she filled the delicate tea cups and pushed one towards Kai. "Same as always. Lots of blood, lots of men who like getting a physical exam a little too much." She explained with a grin. "What about you? Still punching through doors and pretending your strong?" She teased as she poked Kai's arm as if looking for a muscle.

Kai was indeed her best and only friend. He'd been there for her through some hard times and truly cherished his friendship. Only recently had she been realizing how attractive he really is.

[kai]

He took the cup graciously, smiling and taking a swig from it. As always, Natsue made delicious tea. He smiled as she spoke, chuckling lightly. “Yeah… I can’t imagine why they would want one from such a beautiful girl… Hmm…” He frowned in mock concentration, sipping at his tea. He smirked, setting the cup down lightly. “You point me towards them and I’ll knock them about a bit, eh?”

He frowned lightly as she poked his arm. “Oh come on. You know I’m the sexiest, most dashing, daring, and hands down amazingly strong medic in all of Yuki.” He teased back, poking her arm. “Well, maybe not the sexiest.” He stuck out his tongue at her. It was something new, this flirting. He and Natsue never used to do this. Something now, though… It was attracting him to her, however he tried to fight it down.

[Nishiko]

"Mm, that's quite a title Kai, you sure you can live up to it?" She laughed as she sipped her tea. "Dashing, daring, and strong... yeah I can give you those. Sexiest though? Mm I'd have to think about that one!" Her tone was light, telling him easily that she was teasing. "You stole all the good title and left me with nothing, I'm so mad."

She smiled and shook her head as she refilled her tea cup. Flirting with Kai was wierd, a good wierd but wierd none the less. She had always thought of his as a friend but now that they were getting older she was seeing something more. Like someone had flipped a switch shining light all over Kai.

[kai]

“You can have the sexiest then.” He said, smirking and taking another swig of his tea. Kai brushed a hand through his hair, readjusting the headband slightly. It still felt strange to him sometimes, to have that headband there. Though he was a medical ninja, sometimes he didn’t truly feel like a shinobi at all… Just a simple teenager. A teenager with hormones. He grumbled internally, still blushing lightly. Damn it, Natsue… He thought… Why do you have to dress in so little? He felt his eyes trailing down the front of her shirt before he caught himself, shaking his head lightly and bringing his eyes back up to meet his.

“So what are your plans today, Natsue-chan?” He asked, lightly circling the ring of the teacup with his finger. He hummed quietly, his finger trailing idly around and around. Kai himself had no plans today, much like any other day. He took care of his home, and held the day free to complete missions, train, or whatever else seemed proper to him. Often, he would take hours out of the day to jump snowboard around, mastering the art of it. He glanced at the snowboard briefly, and then back to Natsue. However, if she was doing something, he’d be more than happy to join her…

[Nishiko]

"Sexiest? Me? We both know cute is all I pass for." She said with a laugh as she set her tea cup down gently. Natsue was by no means shy or naive, but she still knew she wasn't some sexy women like some of the girls in other villages, she was cute.

"Today? I don't know... train probably. I'm considering learning some Taijutus so I can be big and strong like you." Natsue said with a smile. "Besides it will save me money on trying to get blood off my clothes!" Like most medics the mention and sight of blood no longer fazed her. She'd seen enough in her day to be able to joke. She smiled slightly, wondering if Kai had caught the slight prod that he should be the one to teach her.

[kai]

Kai chuckled as she spoke, scratching the back of his head and blushing lightly. “Oh, I don’t know about that. I think you could pass for both sometimes. He placed his tea-cup down beside hers, smiling at her. What was he doing? Every time he opened his mouth, it seemed like he was flirting with his best friend… A best friend that was beautiful, witty, and attracting him more and more each day. Kai bit his lower lip lightly. Every time he thought about it…

“Eh. Strong like me, eh?” He smirked, looking over at her. “I could… teach you a few things.” He said, a hint of suggestiveness in his voice. Kai was surprised with himself. He never really considered himself to be suave or skilled with the ladies, but what flowed naturally right now didn’t seem to hurt… He wrinkled his nose as she mentioned blood, nodding. “Ugh. Tell me about it. At least you don’t have to deal with it like I do in taijutsu. It splatters when you punch people.” He stuck his tongue out at her. It was odd, to see them talk. However, blood, death, pain… When one becomes a medical ninja, they learn to deal with such things.

[Nishiko]

"I'd love for you to teach me." Her eyes never left the table as the suggestive comment left her mouth. A faint blush tinted her cheeks. Flirting with Kai had to top her 'wierdest things' list. He was her best friend, her neighbor, and now... now she didn't know what he is.

"Okay that's disgusting. At least the blood I get covered from isn't my own fault!" She said with a laugh. "We're a good balance though. Me with the healing techniques you with the killing techniques. We're two halves of a whole!"

[kai]

Kai froze for a moment, blushing deeper as she spoke. Was she… flirting back to him? It was obvious that they had been flirting for some time to him, but… She had responded quiet seriously right there. That was a major implication of the two of them doing… Kai blushed. How was she doing this to him? For sixteen years, this had never happened. Hell, there had been some awkward moments when he actually walked in on her changing or vice versa, but never had they affected each other like this…

“There’s lots to learn then, Natsue-chan.” Kai said quietly, his own eyes now directed downward. This was… He swallowed, feeling strangely nervous, but happy at the same time. He breathed a sigh of relief when she finally spoke again. “Hey, I’m serious. Like a squirt gun.” He froze again as she mentioned them as two halves of a whole. Oh god… He thought, fighting off the perverse images. “That’s one sweet whole.” He said.

[Nishiko]

"There's lots to learn then, Natsue-chan."

She looked up with an odd look in her eyes, she was at a loos for words as she stared at her friend. Sixteen long years they'd been there for each other. Whenever things got difficult Kai was there to smooth them out. He was the only who was there for her after the death of her father. But now, hearing these... implications from him, she felt confused. "Uhm... Kai... you know I..." She paused as her eyes went wide and she blushed. "Uhm, More tea?!" She quickly refilled both of their cups and shook her head. She had almost told him, almost said she liked him. But no, that wasn't allowed, risking their friendship wasn't wasn't worth the silly crush.

[kai]

Kai’s eyes watched as she blushed, her mouth opening as hesitant speech started to spill out of it. She… She what? He frowned lightly as she stumbled over herself, offering more tea and refilling the cups. Kai stroked his chin lightly, thinking it over. What was she going to say? He scratched his chin, confused. This was turning into one strange visit. He stopped scratching his chin, picking up the tea-cup from the tray and nodding in thanks.

“What were you saying there, Natsue-chan?” He wondered, no hoped, dared to think, what she might have been about to say. He bit his lip, brushing the images from his mind. Natsue wouldn’t take the chance of losing their friendship for that sort of thing… He frowned. Then why did he want to hear he say it so badly. He looked from side to side, almost unable to look at her when she answered…

[Nishiko]

Natsue bit down on her lip as he asked what she was trying to say. Her cheeks flushed darker as she stared intently at her teacup. "Uhm, hypothetically speaking... What do you think of friends, great friends, who become more than friends? Cuz uhm, my friend likes her friend and doesn't know what to do." A small smile crossed her face as she answered in what she thought was a clever trick.

She took a sip of her tea before setting the cup down and leaning back against the couch, thinking she had come up with the perfect deception to find the answer to her question.

[kai]

Kai’s eyebrows raised as she began to speak, introducing her hypothetical situation. They raised even higher as she continued to speak, laying out her… ‘situation’. … Kai thought, deadpanning. Are you serious? He shook his head lightly. He hoped she didn’t think that was actually deceptive. He thought over his next words carefully, trying to figure out what was next and making a show of stroking his chin.

“I think…” He began, quietly. “That as people get older, their relationships change, and they find they see people in new and different lights.” He paused, taking a sip from his tea. “It’s perfectly normal, and I see no problem with it. It’s beautiful that friendship can blossom into love. And if nothing else, they know they enjoy each other’s company.” He smiled at her knowingly. “I think her friend likes her just as much as she likes him.” He leaned back after a moment of staring into her eyes. “That’s just my two cents though.”

[Nishiko]

I think her friend likes her just as much as she likes him

Natsue coughed slightly. "How would you know?" She asked innocently, tilting her head to the side as she did so. The look in his eyes told her her deception had been in vain. She blushed again and looked away. "You're so evil." She muttered, mad that her fail-safe plan had... failed.

[kai]

He smirked, stepping up out of his chair and stretching out. He smiled down at her, slowly walking towards her, almost like a predator stalking it’s prey. He stopped before her, gently placing his fingers under her chin. He tilted her head up, to bring her face to look at his gently. He smirked down at her, his entire demeanor soft, yet quite obviously in control of the situation. Where ever the hell was this suaveness coming from?

“Let’s say he’s a good friend of mine, eh?” He smirked, staring into her eyes. “A very good friend.” He smirked and let his fingers drop, straightening up and crossing his arms. He let a moment of silence pass between them, as the moment sunk into their bones and their memories. “So what do we do now?” he asked softly, smirking at her. After all, he had barged into her home… It was her decision as to what they should do.

[Nishiko]

Natsue watched him move towards her with a look of confusion. Since when was he so... cool? Kai was never 'cool'. Kai was her friend, he never stood out like he seemed to now. The silence lingered over them before he asked his question.

Slowly she stood, looking him in the eye and not backing down from what she perceived as a silent challange. Her hand came to rest on his shoulder as her head tilted so her lips were near his ear. "Well, you said I have alot to learn," she said softly, a smirk tracing her lips.

[kai]

“Mm…” Kai said, his cheeks coloring again. Without really thinking about it, his hand moved free and rested on her waist. It was, figuratively speaking, getting hot in Natsue’s living room now, hotter than summer ever got here in Yuki no Kuni. In the back of his mind, he knew this wasn’t normal, this sort of behavior around Natsue. A small bit of him wondered where they were heading, getting physically close like this. It was crushed down, however, by the searing heat in his veins that demanded he stay right where he was.

His lips parted, forming soft words into her ear. “What would you like to learn first, Natsue-chan?” Kai said, his words dripping like a seductive waterfall down her ear, his cool breath tickling her neck. Kai’s smirk widened as he waited for her answer, his cheeks still a little flushed. He was enjoying himself, no more worries about the perverse and the inappropriate. He had been thinking about holding her like this for far too long…

“I can teach you whatever you want.” He said quietly, his seductive flow of speech once again caressing her ear. He shifted a little closer, his hand a little more comfortable resting on her side. He envied her right now, the way she could wear a single layer of clothing in Yukigakure. He felt more than a little warm in his own pants and jacket, though his muscular arms were bared to the elements. Although, wearing a single layer of clothing is considered rather revealing in the Village Hidden in the Snow… Not that he minded Natsue doing it at all…