Starring:
Date: May 29, 2011
Summary:
The twins and their BFF are out for a relaxing day at the public baths, but it is soon interrupted by the arrival of two additional guests. Rinako's Mommy and Daddy issues are explored and a puppetteer makes a vow to reunite a shattered family.
WARNING: Contains foul language and nudity.
"The Parent Trap - Unexpected Rendezvous"
Sunagakure, Public Baths
The Land of Wind was beginning to recover economicly and militarily from it's not-so-distant misfortunes, and the people were once more beginning to feel a measure of peace. The shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Sand were more vigilant than ever. Well… most of them were, anyway. Three of the most adept kunoichi in the entire village were currently doing anything BUT standing guard duty. In fact, they were in the process of turning all pruny in one of the only substantial water reservoirs in the entire village! Which sometimes functioned as an auxiliary drinking reservoir in times of hardship. …Yuck.
Of course, Rurohashi Rinako not only didn't have to worry about turning pruny from excessive skin hydration, she could also stay submerged in the heated baths for over an hour, a trick which the caretakers and cleaners of the pools weren't very fond of. The jinchuuriki had a fondness of staying longer than she'd paid for and also of surfacing in a 'JAWS-like' manner when others ventured close to the bath. But for now, she was behaving herself. Sort of. Sure, she'd started a few splash fights with Kara and Ruri (mostly because she knew she could win), and even thought that snapping a towel at Ruri's bare butt when she was bending over would be the height of awesome fun times (it turned out to be the inverse of that), but on the whole, she was spending a relaxing day of 'gross girlish bonding crap', as she called it, with her team mates.
But for now, the dark-haired Jounin had her back to the pools edge, her head leaned back against the rocks surrounding the heated waters in the women's bath, her eyes closed and long hair spilling out over the stone behind her. Her body half-floated, half sat in a relaxed position. She had no towel (Ruri had taken it away from her), and looked for all the world as if she could quite simply sit there for all of eternity.
But it was not meant to be! For eventually her friend and her sister would start to suffer skin damage if they tried to stay for too long, and it would be time to leave. Once more time to skulk through the arid, hot, un-feel-good streets of her hometown. Soon it would be time to stand up, dry off, collect their things, change, and return to their homes. Unfortunately, Rinako hadn't found occasion to sneak off and hide-slash-destroy the other two women's clothes so they'd have to walk home in a towel. …Which would again be the height of hilarity. And probably earn her a black eye from her sister and eventual revenge from her friend. Instead, she shares some of her wisdom, gained in the few moments of silence between their usual banter.
"You guys ever just like… wish you could be an amoeba? All nice and liquidy?" Okay. Maybe she HAD been in the steam for too long!
Kara is wearing a towel (because it was not taken away from her), but she is actually wearing >two towels< (because she does not own any beach towels and that's the size that would be necessary to cover both top and bottom, considering certain parts of her). She is also soaking the hell out of herself, because, dammit, she is a genius Jounin Puppeteer, and she >deserves< to soak the hell out of herself!
She has sat around to some degree, but also gets in and out a few times, for various reasons. Such as rehydration! She is keeping a freezer chest full of ice and bottled water and also cans of juice off to the side, so that she can stay in the hot water longer without risking passing out. Also, because walking around in two small, soaking towels and showing off her >fabulous< body is the height of awesome fun times (though considering the likely absence of eyeing she is receiving, considering there are probably only her two team mates and best friends nearby, and they are used to Kara's flaunting of assets, this has probably turned out to not be quite so awesome-fun).
So, for now, she sits on the edge of the pool, legs in the water, while the rest of her gleaming, dark-toned skin cools a bit. She also does not cross her legs as would be lady-like as she faces Rinako. If the older of the twins winds up looking, she is welcome to get an eye-full!
"An amoeba? I dunno'… Don't they lack an anus? I think they just have a mouth for eating things they absorb and then they spit out what they can't digest. It's pretty inefficient in terms of obtaining energy, which is why they don't grow very big or live very long. But I might be thinking of a different single-celled organism." Kara totally read about that from one of Ruri's books, and doesn't really know much about biology or single-celled organisms or anything. But it >sounded< smart!
Ruri is wearing her towel because it exposes less skin to wet-towel-snapping. Otherwise, she would be as bare as her sister, because it is rare that anyone is going to spend the evening on a Friday night taking a bath with things as they are. Or maybe that's not true, and people are relaxing after a long work week. But either way, Ruri is not naked so it doesn't matter. She is sitting nearby Rinako, but not right next to her or anything. She is keeping her eyes closed for the most part, because she doesn't want to get beaten up by Rinako for oggling Kara. Though she also peeks at her sister.
And she is definitely not checking to make sure Rinako is not oggling Kara! She isn't jealous! She is just… Uhh… Appreciating her sister--No, wait. She is making sure Rinako is safe! Yes! Because… She might accidentally fall asleep and drown!
"An amoeba?" she asks at the question. "Are you on drugs? Why the hell would you want to be an amoeba? Amoebas have no eyes or hands or tongues or anything! They can't appreciate lingerie or icecream or change the channel on the television!" She frowns and shakes her head in disgust at her sister's out-of-her-head question. Then she says mockingly, "Oh, and what Kara said. No anus. Don't even try to tell me THAT'S not important to you."
The dark-haired Jounin's head does indeed come up, and she squints at Kara as if trying to see her from a vast distance, instead of the dozen or so feet she is actually sitting away, scrunching up her face as if she'd just bitten deeply into a lemon. After a moment of this squinty-faced peering, she responds. "Kar, only you would come up with 'not having a butthole' as a reason not to be someth-"
But as her sister's last comment registers in her head, the bijuu-bearing teenager whips around to give her sister a frown-faced glare. Finally, she just stands up, sloshing a bit of water as she does so, dripping even more of it from her fingertips, down her legs, and off of every strand of her soaked, sticky dark hair that now clings to her skin like some sort of stringy cloth hat, rather than vibrant and lustrous locks. "That's it! I'm getting out. And you can both kiss my anus!"
Rinako steps up onto the stones, turning her back on both puppeteer and tattooed teenager to begin stalking towards the exit of the baths, where the changing rooms where, occasionally turning back to make a face over her shoulder, muttering to herself about not needing a stupid tongue if she could just be living water for a little while. By the time she reaches the large, hanging curtains that leads into the changing rooms, and has flung them aside, she's come to a dead stop, her posture going rigid.
"Oh, come on~." Rurohashi Rurano's voice was like silken honey as he grinned, trying to cup his stronger wife's chin in his fingers and capture her lips. "The last time I sneak into a bath to peep at you, we were just teenagers. And not even married! I'm sure the hot springs workers have forgiven me by now."
Sure enough, there weren't many patrons here today, at least none so far to chase the male, who looked startlingly similar to an older, and male-er, version of the twins out of the women's dressing rooms. He had a towel wrapped about his waist, his lean, well-defined frame trying to trap that of his wife between himself and the cubbies where the other patron's clothes were kept. But at the sudden movement of curtains being drawn aside, he glances towards said movement… and then immediately looks towards the floor, abruptly leaning away from Rurohashi Rikako!
A moment of silence hangs in the air as parents are caught in what might have been about to be an intimate moment by their estranged daughter. A daughter who was standing there with a scowl on her face, naked no less. The dark-haired male seemed a bit embarassed at the whole situation to be sure, but something more than mere familial embarassment hung in the air. Rurano clears his throat, but other than that father and daughter don't make a sound, other than for Rinako to flick her eyes enough to look at her mother.
Kara crosses her arms and pouts a bit as Rinako dismisses her objection. "It's about biological efficiency! C'mon! We've spent >how< long evolving to get to this point, and you want to go >backwards<!? I mean, I could understand wanting to be a… A >turtle< or something, cause you already have a connection to them in that regard, but an >amoeba<?" She breaks off ranting eventually in order to eye Rinako (or her butt at least) when she storms off. Then it's just her and Ruri.
Getting into the water, Kara wades and half-swims across to the younger of the twins and sets herself up next to her, propping her elbows up behind her body, on the edge of the pool. Then she looks over at Ruri and mutters, "…So, do you think she was serious about that kissing thing? Because I'm pretty sure that I'd need consent from >both< of you before becoming involved like >that<…"
Ruri grumbles to herself as Rinako stomps off. She also notices where Kara's eyes go, and bristles a bit. When Kara comes swimming over to her, Ruri is frowning (like usual) and has her eyes narrowed, but doesn't say anything until the dark-skinned woman is propped up next to her. The way that Kara is leaning against the edge of the pool, bending her back and thrusting her chest out further, naturally leads Ruri's eyes gradually downwards… But she snaps them back up when Kara speaks to her.
"…What? NO! Of course she wasn't being serious! Listen, you…" She turns towards Kara and starts jabbing a finger accusatorily at Kara. "You keep your eyes and hands off my sister! She's MINE, got it!?" As her voice rises, so does the violence of her finger-jabbing, so that with each word she is pressing closer and angrier to her team mate. "NO. TOUCHING!" Then with that last word she accidentally pokes Kara right in the boob. She yanks her hand back quickly and scoots away a few feet, blushing and pretending nothing happened.
Then she notices Rinako is still standing there in the entrance to the women's changing room. "…What's wrong, Nee-chan?" she calls out, trying to change the subject.
Rikako is far too old to give in to childish temper-tantrums like the ones from her youth that more than once resulted in violence being visited upon her husband. But his prodding on the subject of being in the women's side of the baths with her is skirting the line of how far she is willing to let her 'maturity' last before she resorts to punching. While Rurano has most of the facial features that were passed on to his and Rikako's daughters, the hair and overall body-shape definitely came from the mother's side! She has deep black hair that is beginning to be streaked through with grey in places, but it is pulled up into a high-ponytail that then cascades down into a smooth mass so long that it almost looks like a hood and cape from behind, rather than the hair from her head. It terminates at around the backs of her knees. That is LONG hair!
Well, Rurano has SOME of the hair-related traits that the twins possess, as his is fairly spikey. But the sheer ABUNDANCE of rich, ebony, lustrous strands is from momma' Rurohashi for certain. Because she has had twins, she of course is not quite as smooth and 'perfect' skin-wise as her teenage daughters, but she is not some old hag either. There are no wrinkles, she still practices her Taijutsu regularly, and so she is in remarkable shape. She more resembles Rinako than Ruri, in that regard. Well-toned, firm muscles, and yet her curves are those of a fully-matured woman. Rinako will probably look very similar eventually, when she's older. Though the increase in size of certain anatomical features is likely due to the whole motherhood thing, and so Rinako will likely be without such unless she too has children.
Rikako's eyebrows are slender and long, and they are angled in such a way that they give her a near-constantly 'serious' or 'severe' look. Add to that that she frowns a lot, and things bounce back towards the end of the scale labeled 'Ruri's looks'. When she smiles, though… Her eyebrows raise and bend, turning into graceful arcs instead of stern lines, and her entire demeanor softens drastically.
Right now she is wearing a towel about her body, and she is definitely NOT smiling. "I said go to your own side! If someone catches you in here, we'll BOTH be thrown out--" then she becomes aware of movement nearby and turns to see one of her daughters standing there, curtains pulled aside, in a state of complete undress, and looking less than pleased to see her parents. After only a brief appraising glance, Rikako determines this must be Rinako. Ruri is scrawny and wimpy and has those DREADFUL tattoos. Rinako is fit and strong and has no tattoos. Also, Ruri isn't pissed at her parents, and Rinako looks pissed.
As her husband looks down and away from his and Rikako's elder daughter, Rikako takes a moment to reach out with her right hand and grip Rurano's face along the jaw and chin VERY firmly and basically hold his head off to the side and upwards at an angle that is probably rather painful. "Do you have no manners!?" she demands of her husband as she ensures his gaze is firmly directed AWAY. Then she lowers her voicetone and her frown diminishes as she inclines her head slightly. "Rin-chan, how lovely to see you. We hadn't known you were here tonight." A pause, and then she lets go of Rurano's face, hoping her point about not embarassing either her or Rinako is made clear. "I've just finished rinsing off. Shall we sit in the baths for awhile?" she asks much more gently than her more commonly fierce temperament is prone to producing.
Rinako, perhaps thankfully, isn't quite paying attention to what's going on behind her, or she might have a few words for her sister about the 'accidental' poke! And a few smug comments for Kara. But for now, her eyes remain on her mother, in a mild, flat stare of studied indifference. It was a look of such utter indifference that it was obviously NOT indifference. Still, she remains motionless as her mother turns her father's head up and away.
The male, to his credit, doesn't fight his wife's firm readjustment of his head, not that he'd physically be able to anyway. He was a genjutsuist by trade, a trait that neither of his daughters had picked up on, and thus, while by far stronger and faster than the average male, did not have the raw power that his wife, nor eldest daughter, possessed. He turns his back and, not having anything else to do with his hands, just sort of folds them in front of himself. Obviously his presence was making an already-uncomfortable situation worse, but… just walking away felt wrong somehow. Rurano's brain was wracked for something to say, something perfect and a little funny that would ease the tension. Instead, this is what came out:
"Ah… yes. I was just telling your mother that I would see her in a while. You could stay… Rinako-chan. And-"
He's crudely cut off by his child's chilled tone. "Leaving." The dark-haired kunoichi turns enough to scowl over her shoulder towards her sister and Kara. "Ru. Your parents are here." Though she doesn't emphasize the word 'your', it still hangs there accusatorily in the air as she disappears from her sister's view behind the curtain, studiously not looking at either of her parents, but only after giving them a final, icy glance, as she moves towards the cubby where she had stashed her clothing.
Rinako is grabbing for her clothes, Rurano is looking as uncomfortable as a man can be, shifting awkwardly from foot-to-foot as he looks helplessly towards his wife. It's that look that men perfect when they are so completely lost on how to proceed that they seem like infantile boys rather than men when faced with even the most trivial emotional conundrum. He could say so many things, but what could he say that hadn't already been said before? That hadn't already started a thousand different screaming matches? His form was almost as tense as their eldest daughter's.
But Rinako's case was entirely different. Her form stiff and tense, like a tightly-wound spring ready to unleash it's energy, but for a different reason than her father's.
Kara blinks at Ruri initially, but then pouts and looks hurt when the younger woman starts warning her off from admiring Rinako. "I know, I know. Geez." When a finger finds its way onto the bouyant and yet resilient surface of one of her breasts she looks down briefly in surprise. Ruri's hand jerks away quickly enough, of course, but she still takes the time to cross her arms in >just< the right way to boost her bust and smugly says, "What was that about 'no touching'?" She then turns to climb out of the pool and announces, "Perhaps I should tell your sister that you have been in intimate contact with another woman!" She is teasing, of course, but hopefully it will make Ruri freak out anyway!
While she's half-way through bouncing her way over to where the naked Rinako stands, she hears the news that Ruri's parents are here. She knows that there's issues between the twins and their parents, and internally she goes, 'Uh-oh'. But outwardly she just makes sure her silly, girlish mask is firmly in place and literally >skips< towards the changing room, "Ooo! I have yet to meet the dynamic duo!"
And so it is that she arrives in the changing room, intending to alleviate the tension and introduce some friendliness into the atmosphere, and maybe make Rinako not turn into a turtle and eat her parents. She bows towards both Rurano and Rikako in turn, not worrying about if anything shows in the process because there are >slightly< more important issues going on right now. "A pleasure to meet you, Mister Rurohashi and Missus Rurohashi! My name is Kara! I'm a team mate of your daughters'!" She straightens up and looks towards Rinako as she is getting her clothes. "Leaving already, Rinako-chan? I'm sorry, but you haven't become an amoeba yet. You're going to have to stay in the water awhile longer."
The dark-skinned teen then heads towards Rinako, preparing to karate chop her in the neck and drag her back to the water if she needs to. Rinako is very stubborn, and is unlikely to willingly hang around to talk with her parents. Kara is very nosy and is unlikely to let Rinako leave without talking to her parents more thoroughly. Thus her >genius plan< of karate chopping a jinchuuriki!
Ruri looks quite alarmed when Kara starts talking about telling her sister things that are completely false! She makes sure Rinako knows they are false by yelling out, "WHATEVER KARA IS GOING TO TELL YOU IS AN UTTER FUCKING LIE! DON'T LISTEN TO HER!" Her voice and words echo in the enclosed area, of course. When the echoes die down, around the time she is climbing out of the pool and trying to catch up to Kara without slipping and falling (running by the pool is dangerous), she hears Rinako announce that their parents are here. She almost stops in place (which would have caused her to fall for sure), but instead a renewed sense of urgency causes her to pick up the pace. She arrives at the changing room just as Kara is bowing, and ignores the older girl when she heads over to harass Rinako.
Ruri waves to her dad and mom, though Rurano has his back to her for some reason. "…Err, hi!" she calls out to make sure her father is aware she is there. Then she looks towards Rinako and her tensed body, generally unhappy body language, and the imminent kara-te chop (oh-hohoho! I made a pun! Kara-te! Like Karate, but it's Kara, like the Puppeteer, and 'te' means 'hand' in Japanese, and… Uhh… Okay, so it's not REALLY a pun technically, because Karate means 'Empty Hand' and so does 'Kara-te', but… Uhh… Look, shut up!). She hurries over to prevent this chopping from occurring, grabbing at any upraised appendage that is prepared to be brought down on an unsuspecting Rinako's neck. The LAST thing they need is the Jinchuuriki getting angry and turning into a turtle. If she was knocked out, that would still not be good, because she would wake up and immediately turn into a turtle. Turtles are a bad thing okay.
So she tries to act as a barrier between Rinako and Kara while at the same time hopefully being able to talk to her parents. "Didn't know you were in town. You staying awhile?" she asks. Rikako sighs a bit, having been prepared to walk over to Rinako and just hug the hell out of her because she has missed doing so and tell her that she has missed Rinako so much. But now there's Kara and Ruri in the way, and the moment is sort of lost. She says, "A pleasure, Kara-san." Then she looks towards Ruri and says, "We'll be here for a week or so, yes. We have some business in the Village. After that, we'll likely be on-duty again." She goes silent and lets it linger for a moment.
Ruri sighs and goes to dry off and get dressed as well, since it seems they're leaving. "Which hotel are you staying at? WE will stop by for a visit." She emphasizes the word 'we' rather obviously. Rikako responds with, "The Suna Inn. A rather unoriginal name for a hotel, but it gets the job done." She smirks slightly and makes sure her husband is still not looking while their OTHER daughter changes. When she looks back, she is ready to attempt the hug tactic a second time. But is Rinako still available for her to do so?
"Uh, nice to meet you, young lady." Rurano says with a small wave over his shoulder, still not looking back at what has by now become a gathering of women, most of whom he's familiar with. The new voice almost makes him turn around, but he wisely remembers the business end of his wife's fist and continues to have his back turned, supremely aware that he himself is standing there covered only by a towel. This entire situation had gone so far beyond awkward that it was almost palpable in the air! Aside from the general tension, just having a MALE presence in the WOMEN'S changing room was bad enough.
Rinako, meanwhile, has been garbing herself quite rapidly through this entire exchange. She doesn't even both to dry herself, allowing her generally dark-colored clothes to stick to her skin in wet patches. She yanks on her sleeveless tank top, then jams her legs and hips into her pants, fastening them in the front. She doesn't bother with her underwear, that would take too long! Instead, she simply grabs her shoes, socks, and unmentionables all in one hand and begins to stalk towards the exit, around the sudden mini-mob of people, as quickly as possible.
But her sister, as always, feels the need to converse with them. She almost ignores the implication that she will drop by to see their parents. Almost. "Just let me know when you and Kar go, then." She snipes, intentionally misinterpretting the 'we'.
Rurohashi Rurano, patron of the Rurohashi family, needed to do something, anything to repair his family. But the utter helplessness that only a parent can know was nearly stifling, practically suffocating his chest. He knew as much as he suffered, his wife, with a connection to their daughters only mothers could have, bore it even worse. And that was something he could not stand. "We'll stop by your place, Ruri-chan." he offers. It was their best bet of cornering their eldest daughter. "I heard you've been gathering some unusual pets that I simply must- Rinako, wait."
The dark-haired jinchuuriki's step almost, almost falters as her father turns towards her, gesturing as if he wanted to reach out and stop her, but she doesn't even give him, or her mother, a glance. "I'm busy, Rurano." Unless physically impeded, she's out the door, leaving her friends with her parents.
*A BIT OF A WALK LATER…*
The door to the apartment of Ruri and Rinako is slammed open by the dark-haired teenager. Rinako stalks into the room as if she were mad at it and stomping on her floor was her way of paying it back. She hadn't said a word the entire way back, just power-walked ahead, thwarting all attempts to get her to stop or slow down as if she were a single-minded machine capable only of one function: traveling. But here, in safety of her familiar, well-decorated, though a bit messy, apartment, she finally slows down and some of the tension eases out of her shoulders.
Her shoes are dropped next to the door, her fingers flexing, rolling her neck as she moves towards the dividing counter between kitchen and living-slash-dining room. A pent-up breath is let out, either in relief, or possibly steeling herself against what was sure to be an incoming lecture from her sister.
Kara is unhappy with the way in which she and the others departed. She is, by nature, a well-intentioned woman. Thus, though the situation between Rinako, Ruri, and the twins' parents was very awkward to be an outsider in the middle of, Kara can't help but shove her way into it anyway. Seeing the level of discomfort, pain, and frustration evident upon the faces of all involved, the dark-skinned teenager has decided silently that she will not back off. It has been far too long since the Rurohashi family has acted like such.
There is no way she is going to let this go on. Not during a time like this. Maybe Team 01 returned safely from the war between Fire and Water, but that same mood of… 'This might be the last time we see our home' has stuck with the Puppeteer. They don't know when the next time is that such a crisis might come up. Kara can't let her two best friends continue in this way without a resolution.
So as she enters the apartment, following closely behind Rinako, Kara wastes no time in setting her personal belongings aside, and turning towards the elder of the twins. "So, what age was it that you were going to stop being a child again? A hundred?" Great way to start things off, Kara.
Ruri is, strangely enough, NOT up for lecturing anyone right now. She just feels drained. She feels like her arms have lead weights tied to them. She feels like not even trying to start up the same old arguments as always this time around. Instead, she tosses her bathing articles on the floor without even an attempt at orderliness and walks laboriously towards the couch, dragging her feet, and then just falling down on it and lying there like a lump of Ruri. Which is basically what she is.
Kara's question makes Ruri's brow furrow, but mostly she just looks blankly straight ahead and across the room, at a painting on the wall that is probably cheap and by some artist who no one has ever heard of, but Ruri liked it so she bought it. The artist's name was like… 'Hay' or something. The picture is of a sunset as seen from a pier alongside the ocean.
She wishes she were there right now instead of in this apartment… Anywhere she could just forget her problems and become entranced sufficiently to stop thinking completely. She tries to imagine that this is actually the case, at least for a little while, and attempts to tune out the rest of the world. But it's unlikely that this will last, as her sister's voice will likely be more than enough to snap her out of it.
The older of the dark-haired twins an ill-intended frown towards the normally-jovial Kara. It was almost like meeting a new person, since she'd dropped the twenty-four-seven facade of perpetually-libidouos teenager. But right now she was almost definitely sure she would have preferred the facade hadn't been broken. "We never really grow up." She quips as she turns back around, moving towards the refridgerator. "We just learn how to act in public."
Practically tearing open the door, vaguely hearing her sibling throw herself roughly onto their couch, Rinako reaches into the cooling compartment and pulls out a pitcher of ice water. She doesn't bother with a glass, or even consider getting one. Instead, she simply uses the pitcher LIKE a glass, brings it to her lips, and begins drinking. And drinking. …And drinking. She should have had to come up for air by now, instead, the container goes from full, to half-full, to almost-empty, to bone dry! Even the ice cubes don't survive the onslaught, chewed noisily as they are come across. Finally, she kicks the door shut with her heel as she begins to refill the pitcher form the faucet through the magic of indoor plumbing.
Wiping the back of her hand, not even gasping for oxygen from her recent drinking ordeal, she shakes her head, still scowling. "Just don't start, Kar. It's over. Let sleeping dogs lie, because you don't even know about what's going on." Not that it was at all hard to figure out, considering Kara knew what Rinako was and what could possibly be a source of discomfort between her and her parents. It likely wasn't the twin's unique relationship if Ruri were still on speaking terms with them.
"I didn't ask either of you to leave with me, okay? If you wanted to stay behind and talk to those people, you could have." The jinchuuriki isn't quite aware that the pitcher is full until it begins to overflow onto her hand, at which point she looks down, shuts the water off, then pours a little out. Setting the container roughly on the counter, sloshing a bit more water out of it onto the granite-marble surface, she turns to yank on the freezer door, searching for icecubes. "It doesn't matter anymore. It's old news."
The older of the dark-haired twins an ill-intended frown towards the normally-jovial Kara. It was almost like meeting a new person, since she'd dropped the twenty-four-seven facade of perpetually-libidouos teenager. But right now she was almost definitely sure she would have preferred the facade hadn't been broken. "We never really grow up." She quips as she turns back around, moving towards the refridgerator. "We just learn how to act in public."
Practically tearing open the door, vaguely hearing her sibling throw herself roughly onto their couch, Rinako reaches into the cooling compartment and pulls out a pitcher of ice water. She doesn't bother with a glass, or even consider getting one. Instead, she simply uses the pitcher LIKE a glass, brings it to her lips, and begins drinking. And drinking. …And drinking. She should have had to come up for air by now, instead, the container goes from full, to half-full, to almost-empty, to bone dry! Even the ice cubes don't survive the onslaught, chewed noisily as they are come across. Finally, she kicks the door shut with her heel as she begins to refill the pitcher form the faucet through the magic of indoor plumbing.
Wiping the back of her hand, not even gasping for oxygen from her recent drinking ordeal, she shakes her head, still scowling. "Just don't start, Kar. It's over. Let sleeping dogs lie, because you don't even know about what's going on." Not that it was at all hard to figure out, considering Kara knew what Rinako was and what could possibly be a source of discomfort between her and her parents. It likely wasn't the twin's unique relationship if Ruri were still on speaking terms with them.
"I didn't ask either of you to leave with me, okay? If you wanted to stay behind and talk to those people, you could have." The jinchuuriki isn't quite aware that the pitcher is full until it begins to overflow onto her hand, at which point she looks down, shuts the water off, then pours a little out. Setting the container roughly on the counter, sloshing a bit more water out of it onto the granite-marble surface, she turns to yank on the freezer door, searching for icecubes. "It doesn't matter anymore. It's old news."
Kara listens to Rinako's words, but they sound a lot like excuses and reasons to avoid dealing with the problem to her ears. She follows Rinako over to the kitchen and stands there with her hands on her hips and her head slightly tilted to the side. She peers at the elder of the Rurohashi twins, and waits for the mock-calm psuedo-ranting to be done.
"Who said anything about >us< leaving being the problem?--Okay, look." She puts two fingers to the point where her nose meets her forehead and closes her eyes for a moment. Then she opens them, and lowers her hand. "Yes, I don't know what's been going on. So tell me." There is only a brief pause, then she gestures with both hands and says more insistently, rather than as a request, "Tell me what's been going on! If you're right, then you're right. If you have a good reason to be building and guarding a wall between yourself and your only living family members other than your sister, wouldn't I see your reasoning and agree with it? I'm not stupid, as you should be aware by now. A good reason to avoid your mother and father is a good reason, regardless of if I was involved or not before now."
Then a finger comes up and she says, ">But<, if the reason is bullshit, I am going to say so. Further, I'll pursue this like a freaking rabid wolverine until there's a resolution that makes you all a happy family again! So better be really confident in your excuse."
Ruri hears the droning, self-justificatory speech of Rinako but she doesn't want to. Maybe she can't stop herself from listening, but she can stop herself from hearing. So she plugs her ears. Or she tries, since one ear is pressed on the couch. Kind of hard to keep a finger in an ear that is against something already without it being uncomfortable. So she blocks it out for a bit, but her wrist starts to hurt, so she sits up.
'Maybe they're done--' she starts to think until she hears Kara. "I can tell you right now you're going to call bullshit on it." The words are out of her mouth without her realization. Like a direct portal to the little-known 'stupid lobe' of the brain had been opened and its exit point was her mouth. It was dumb to say that, dumb to start another fight she doesn't want, and just… Dumb. "--Forget I said that," she says quickly. "Nee-chan has a right to express her point of view. And further, maybe a fresh perspective from you will help BOTH of us figure some things out. So… Please explain to Kara what the problem is, Rinako."
"I just said it doesn't matter!" The dark-haired Jounin rips two of the ice-trays out of the freezer and whirls angrily in the direction of the pitcher, and partially the puppetteer. They are lifted up over the top, overturned, and then practically mauled into releasing their frozen contents into the room-temperature water. Though the word 'practically' likely does not fit, as the trays are actually mauled, the plastic containers ending up torn and broken by the time the jinchuuriki is done taking her anger out on them, left in four or five jagged pieces upon the countertop next to the gallon-sized container of now-iced water.
The elder of the twins plants her hands flat on the counter, heedless of the broken plastic, as she glares at first Kara, and then towards her sibling when she begins to pipe up. Rinako is already shaking her head before her sister has even finished speaking, turning away with the pitcher in her hands to place it back into the refridgerator for the next time she decided she was thirsty. After that's done, the door to the icebox slams mildly shut as the dark-haired teenager glares at the little post-its and pint-sized calender reminding them of important dates, appointments, and the like stuck onto the front of it with little fruit-shaped magnets. Finally, she turns away and begins to stalk out of the kitchen.
"Rurano and Rikako are the ones who allowed the bijuu to be placed inside me." She speaks as she walks on by, past the couch, past Kara, unless physically stopped, heading towards, and down, the hallway leading towards the bedrooms and bathrooms. "They allowed me to become what I am. They're the ones who put me through all of this. There, it's out now, every-fucking-one happy now? Rinako has Mommy and Daddy issues."
A scowl. "And I think everyone knows where they can shove their 'bullshits'. There's no 'fresh perspective', there's no solution. It's what happened. Nothing will change that."
Kara listens. She tries to remain impassive and patient. When Rinako starts to stalk off, however, Kara finally speaks up. "So, just to make sure I'm clear… You're holding some kind of grudge against them for a Bijuu being sealed in you… And yet if it hadn't been, would you have made the decision to help people regardless of if they are from Sunagakure or not? Would you have been >able< to help the people you have? Would you have the power to save all the lives you have? Would >you< still be alive?"
She turns to face Rinako's back, and crosses her arms over her chest. "If you hadn't had that extra power available to protect her, would your sister still be alive?" She waits a few seconds and then says, "Your parents and their 'allowing' gave you the means to do so much good. Yes, you've suffered because of it. Poor you. I'm sure you wouldn't have suffered at >all< without that creature, because being a ninja is all about >having fun<, right?" She lowers her arms and stomps forward, well aware that if she is pissing Rinako off the Jinchuuriki might whip around and punch Kara's head off her shoulders.
She jabs a finger at Rinako's back and yells, "If your 'suffering' and holding a grudge over it is more important than the two who gave you and your sister >life<, then why did you stay with Sunagakure? Why did you stay a ninja? Why didn't you just >run away< like a good little coward instead of facing reality and making your own way in life, regardless of who or what would be within you along the way!?" If Rinako has not turned around yet, Kara will try to get in front of her so they are face-to-face. Then she says, "I'll >tell< you why… It's because you're >not< a coward. You're >not< just a scared little child. And you >care< enough to risk your own well-being for those who wouldn't have a fighting chance without you there for them! You've taken your fate into your own hands, you've decided >not< to just be a servant of the Sand Village, and you've decided >not< to define yourself by the monster inside of you… So why the >hell< are you so pissed at the two people who made this all >possible<!?"
She then goes quiet, breathing heavily after her outburst, but not looking away from Rinako.
Ruri has, infact, not thought of all those points that Kara brought up before. She was too busy hating and blaming the Bastardkage. Just like her sister was too busy hating and blaming their parents. Twins. Whatcha' gonna' do? So, whether Rinako is stunned by Kara's counter-argument or not… Ruri sure is. She sits there and watches anxiously to see what happens next. But she is also prepared to act to seperate the two other kunoichi if violence erupts. She doesn't like Rinako being upset but she also doesn't want Kara to get hurt. Putting a wall between them might provide some breathing space for them both.
But hopefully that won't become necessary. So she waits and watches… And keeps two fingers on a Stored Wall tattoo.
The jinchuuriki's progress is only retarded when Kara scoots herself down the hall and stands in front of her just after she's pushed open the bedroom door and is preparing to stalk into it. This leaves the younger woman glaring at the older for several long, tense moments after the near-shouting lecture has died down, making the only sound for several moments the steady drip-drip of the partially-open faucet back in the sink. Finally, she explodes. Verbally, at least. Physical violence hasn't made itself known.
Yet.
"Are you insane!?" The shouting brunette look incredulous at the puppetteer. "I should be glad now that they did this to me!? I NEVER wanted this! I never NEEDED this! I would have found a way to protect my sister! I would have found a way to protect everyone I cared about! Why am I pissed!? Because I am who I am DESPITE what they did to me, NOT BECAUSE of it! Protect everyone!?" The elder twin scoffs, her voice rising enough to make her red in the face, her eyes beginning to turn blue. "I was their child, they should have protected ME!"
The young woman moves to brush past Kara and enter the bedroom, her voice at least lowering several octaves and probably releasing her sister from the imminent need to throw out a wall in the middle of their own apartment by virtue of not being as loud. The tension in her body is apparent, however, that of a coiled spring ready to be set loose, and her eyes do not return to their natural brown color.
"Just because I made some good happen does not excuse what was done to me by those two. I decided to protect others. They didn't raise me, they don't get any damned credit for any of the good I do. You'll never understand what it is to have a mind that isn't your own, to have to share your soul. Much less as a child. I could have been killed, consumed, they allowed it so their leader could have a weapon. There is no excuse for that."
Kara scowls through Rinako's retort-speech, even knowing that she's not especially well-equipped for defending herself right now. Infact, outside of the basic ninja techniques -- clone, replacement, henge -- she has >nothing< to protect her from the wrath of an angry Jinchuuriki. Thankfully for Kara, she is both smart enough to recognize the signs of danger and >not< stubborn enough to push the subject despite very >real< fear for her personal safety when she sees Rinako's eyes changing. Still, she shows this fear not a whit upon her face, allowing Rinako to push past her without interference, waiting until the elder of the twins is in her bedroom before doing anything else.
And what she does is simply to walk away towards the door and pick up her personal belongings. She then calls back, "I've resented and hated >my< father for most of >my< life too! I've avoided him, and I even refused to use his surname! But then I realized that if he dies tommorow or >I< die tommorow, one or the other will regret never making ammends for the rest of our lives! Sure, you hate them now, but what happens when they're gone forever and you'll never hear them say they love you again even when they >know< that you offer them only hatred in response!? >Do you think you can live with that!?<"
She may be yelling and red-faced, but for someone who has interjected herself into familial issues that have nothing to do with her the faint wetness in her eyes indicates she is more emotionally invested than some might suspect. Of course, Rinako wouldn't see that. Because Kara turns quickly, pulls open the door and storms out, slamming it behind her.
The yelling is bad enough when it's her and Rinako. When it's her sister, she is too angry to be bothered by it at the time. But being a bystander… She imagines it's what watching one's parents fight must feel like. It's just this miserable, hollow, sickening feeling of 'bad'. She wants to cry too, but she keeps it under control. With Kara gone, she decides to count off 60 seconds and then join her sister in their bedroom.
She does so. And when she joins Rinako, it is without words. She simply undresses, gets into bed, and waits for her sister to do the same. Maybe she agrees with Kara about her parents not being at fault… But she thinks enough has been said for one night. So instead she will simply rub her big sister to help her relax, listen to anything she wants to say, and just hug her until they both fall asleep.
Things won't change instantly just because Kara has joined in… Not in a single night. Some wounds don't heal on their own. Time can fix some, but others can only be repaired with love. She plans to provide all the love she can.
