A Real Date

Xia was absolutely ecstatic. A word often used to describe her state of mind, as she was a fairly excitable person. But this time she was excited about something other than the newest game at the arcade, or the latest amazing cliffhanger in her favourite comic book. This time she was going on a date. A real one. She had spent the entire day getting ready. Carefully bathing and putting on the tiniest amount of perfume, a floral and woodsy combination of jasmine and saffron with hints of amber and cedar. It was her favourite perfume and she liked the slight spiciness of it. Arguably the most important part of her outfit, just in case Azzie decided to smell her again.

She kept her hair blonde and black, this time letting it flow down her back instead of tying it up. Her clothes were more subdued this time around, black on black on black. A fishnet shirt over a black cropped top with a black leather jacket. The jacket was just for show and it hung off her shoulders which allowed the tattoo on her back and arm to be seen. Tight black pants hugged her hips and black running shoes finished off the ensemble and her monochromatic look made her pale violet eyes stand out.

Xia’s mother noticed all of the preening and grilled her subtly for hours before Xia finally relented and told her mother everything. About the most beautiful man with long white hair, who made her blush whenever he paid attention to her. Xia’s mother would listen with interest as she heard her daughter talk about her first date. Finally she would give Xia a knowing smile and hug her tightly. “I’m so happy for you cupcake! Does your father know?” Xia would hug her mother and then look up in horror as she realized what her mother was actually asking; Is he going to approve?. “Well uh, no. I didn’t tell anyone. Oh no, what if he doesn’t like him! What if I’m never going to be able to see him again! What if. . .” Xia’s mother would gently place a hand on Xia’s cheek to get her attention and stop her panicking. “Don’t worry my little cupcake, I’ll take care of your father, you go have fun with Azzie.” She would then leave Xia to continue preparing with a wink before she faded from view.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Xia was confused. “What does that mean? Mom?!” She shouted after her but there was no reply, although she could swear she heard a quiet chuckle come from down the hall. “Well, it doesn’t matter.” Xia spoke to herself as she paced around her bedroom and tried to settle the butterflies in her stomach as she waited for Azzie to arrive. “This will be fun, and Mom can keep being weird as long as she keeps Dad from being grumpy. Oh. . . what if Azzie doesn’t show up?” The butterflies came back in full force as she realized there was a possibility that Azzie wouldn’t show at all.

Azzie had read up on the necessary material for what made a good date with a friend, as Xia and him had planned one shortly after he helped her get rid of her art on the Hyuuga clan district walls. A date, as far as he could tell, a good date always started with choosing the right location. Someplace fun would be ideal and after hours of investigation and people watching, he noticed some kids having fun in a place called an arcade. Hopefully, Xia would like it. The second thing the book had noted was to bring flowers, preferably something the date preferred, otherwise roses would do. It had taken him rushing out of Tengoku’s manor hours before the date to procure said flowers. There was a whole lot of mumbo jumbo in the book that said to be interesting, something about body language, and learning from the past… but Azzie barely read over that material.

Clad in his usual attire, the stuff he most comfortable wearing, Azzie began to make his way through the Hyuuga clan district towards Xia’s house. This time, he made sure to memorize the directions fully, so he would not have another adventure by getting lost in the village he was residing in. With flowers in hand, Azzie would approach the front door to Xia’s house and knock upon the door, waiting for an answer.

Xia was in her room, pacing back and forth, when there was a knock at the front door. She had been so wrapped up in worrying about her mother’s cryptic warning and whether or not Azzie would even show up that she hadn’t been prepared for when Azzie did show up. Instantly upon hearing the knock the butterflies flew away and she grabbed her jacket and hastily pulled it back on, during all her worrying she had considered changing her outfit. Many times. Yelling out a near panicked “I’ll get it!” she would rush as fast as she could to the front door, hoping to intercept anyone else that thought answering the door was a good idea.


Xia’s mother was already at the front door. She’d been there since she left Xia’s room, peeking out the window as she waited for Xia’s date to arrive. The short dark haired woman’s face lit up with excitement as she saw Azzie walk up to the door, and it would only be a single second between his hand rapping on the wood to when she flung the door wide with an approving smile on her face. “Well hello there! You must be Azzie, and. . . oh my! What beautiful flowers! Please, come in, come in.” She would usher the young white haired man into the house, her hand firmly on his back as she hoped to make him feel welcome while also giving him little choice in the matter.

With a smile that said she was meddlesome but clearly happy, Xia’s mother began asking Azzie questions. “So Azzie tell me about yourself, you’re not a troublemaker are you?” The question of whether he was a troublemaker or not was asked with a wink. The implication being that she probably wanted him to be one, and if he was that she didn’t mind at all. Azzie would have a few seconds to answer before Xia would come barreling down the stairs and around a corner, screeching to a halt as she saw Azzie standing with a bouquet of flowers. Xia would blush and smile shyly at her handsome date, nervously tugging at her clothing as she suddenly felt underdressed next to Azzie. With a quiet voice she would greet him, one hand raising in a tiny awkward wave. “Hi, Azzie.” Xia had been making such a ruckus getting to the door that she hadn’t heard her mother’s question or Azzie’s reply if he gave one, and so for now was relatively unaware of her mother’s meddling.

To say Azgodon was surprised at the milliseconds it took between his first knock to the door opening was… well, he wasn’t sure if he was surprised. He presumed Xia was prompt with her time, given that she showed up on time for their squad meeting, actually she had been early that day. The person to answer the door clearly was not Xia, but whom he presumed to be her mother by the look of it. Or was it an older sister? He couldn’t recall if Xia mentioned anything about siblings. It seemed like he had no chance to get a word out of greeting before the woman would usher Azzie inside, greeting him and commenting on the flowers as well.

The question that he was asked had a rather simple answer, he supposed. He hadn’t caused any trouble that he was aware of… well, with the exception of his very first day in the village when Tengoku had questioned him and then taken him in. “I guess I don’t need to introduce myself if Xia already told you who I am?” What would normally be a statement, certainly sounded like a question. She did know him as Azzie, which was a nickname, so he could assume she knew who he was. ”Um… well… you see… I don’t think I’m a troublemaker… but I did kind of… umm… uhh… Well, I did cause some trouble, unintentionally, of course, when I first arrived in the village. I think Tengoku-sensei is still kind of getting all of that settled.” As he finished speaking, he heard hurried steps and looked to see who it was. Noting that it was Xia, he would turn his attention to her, saying an “Excuse me.” To Xia’s mother as he would step towards Xia.

“Hello Xia, these are for you.” Azzie would slightly bow towards Xia as he extended the flowers out towards her. He would remain in that position until the flowers were extracted from his hold. “I was speaking to your… sister… mother? I’ll be honest, I don’t know which it is.” His words, that were meant for Xia, clearly were not quiet enough for her ears only. “Well, anyways… she let me in.” His mind rattled for a moment… remembering something from one of the books, ‘compliment her’. “You look lovely today!” There was a pause, as he realized an implication that could be taken in his words. “Well not that you don’t look good everyday… though… I don’t see you everyday… but you did look nice the other two times I’ve seen you!” Okay, that should remedy any wrong perceptions from what he had said.

Xia’s mother was meddling again. Again. And Xia was terrified of what embarrassing things her mother might have said in the few minutes that she hadn’t been around to do damage control. And she definitely would have started damage control right then and there had Azzie not immediately handed her a bouquet of flowers. Xia was stunned. No one had ever given her flowers before, least of all a boy she liked. Her cheeks turned bright crimson and she stammered out a quiet reply as she took the flowers and held them close. “T-thank you, Azzie. These are beautiful.”

When Azzie called Xia’s mother her sister, Xia’s mother let out an embarrassed laugh and stepped forward to give Azzie a quick pinch on the cheek. “Such a charming young man. He’s a good one Xia. A keeper.” She gave Xia a wink and a kiss on the cheek and then disappeared further into the house, giving the two privacy. “You kids have fun!” The call from the other room evoked a quiet groan from Xia as well as a muttered comment under her breath. “We’re not kids mom.”

With a final deep inhale of the bouquet of flowers she would try to get a handle on her fluttering heart and peek up at the white haired man from behind the blooms. “Thank you again, Azzie. You look lovely too. Everyday that I’ve seen you.” The blushing that she had managed to calm would come back in full force as she complimented Azzie. She didn’t want him to think that she was coming on too strong or anything, not that she understood exactly what that meant but she had heard that phrase a lot in reference to complimenting people. So she glanced around quickly for something to focus on, to try to distract from her comments. “Uh, I should put these in water. Yeah. That’s what you do with flowers, put them in water.”

As if she had never actually left and given the two of them any privacy, Xia’s mother came around the corner with a vase filled with water and swept the flowers from Xia’s grasp. “Let me take care of those for you dear. You go have fun. If you come back really late, just be quiet and come in through the back door, I’ll leave it unlocked for you.” And then she was gone again.

Now empty handed, Xia closed her mouth which had opened in shock as her mother reappeared, and turned back to Azzie. “Well alright, I guess that’s that then. Um. . . to the, uh, outside?” Xia wasn’t very eloquent, and even less so in Azzie’s presence. She would wait to see what Azzie wanted to do and follow along once he spoke up.

The pinching of his cheeks had turned Azzie’s attention away from Xia, who he happened to be taking out on a date, to Xia’s… mother? Or sister. He was still unsure. She did say him being a keeper. Azzie certainly was not a keeper… he was the keepee? Was keepee a word? Azzie made a mental note to look that up later, but he was certainly not the keeper, that was Tengoku who was looking after him. As the elder female gave Xia a kiss on the cheek and departed from the room, Azzie would utter “Should I tell her Tengoku-sensei is my keeper?” as he heard Xia say something, though he did confirm that the other female did happen to be Xia’s mother… or mom as she called her. Could Mom be a possible name? It was likely, though Azzie figured it was her mother.

“It’s not a problem at all.” He said regarding the flowers. “It would be silly of me not to bring you flowers. We are going out on a date after all.” The book had mentioned that flowers were optional, though highly preferred. So, Azzie figured the best way to have a good date with his squad mate would be to present her with flowers. “And thank you!” Azzie’s voice replied with glee. It was not often he was complimented, that he could remember. Maybe he was complimented before he lost his memories.

He would nod as Xia mentioned putting the flowers in water. Water was essential for the survival of flowers, as much as soil. Though before she could, Xia’s mother swept in and took the flowers with a parting comment. Her statement had Azzie a tad bit confused, though he would ask soon enough. “Ah, yes! To the outside!” Azzie would nod enthusiastically and turn towards the door he had come through. He would hold the door open for Xia as they would leave with a curious twinkle in his eyes. “Do you usually come hold late? Your mother mentioned something about leaving the door unlocked.” Once they were both outside, Azzie would begin to lead the way to the destination he had in mind. The arcade! He heard it was fun and wanted to try it out. Regardless of if Xia answered right away, he would turn towards Xia, but walk backwards (though, he really did not know his way around Konoha) and look at Xia. “Today’s going to be a lot of fun!”

Azzie was absolutely adorable and Xia couldn’t stop smiling. . . and blushing, every time he looked her way, or complimented her, or gave her flowers or. . . you know. . . existed. As Azzie walked backwards towards. . . somewhere, Xia smiled at him happily. She had a little inkling of where they might be headed and as she saw him clearly walking in the wrong direction, she didn’t say anything at first. Instead she answered his question about her meddling mother. “No, not usually. If anything I’m usually in bed pretty early, cuz you know, gotta train early and all that. Except tomorrow! And the day after and the day after that! I’m free for a few days because of the festivities. So now I can stay up as late as I want!”

When Azzie exclaimed that today was going to be a lot of fun, Xia wholeheartedly agreed. “It is! But uh. . . you know you’re going the wrong way right? I mean, of course you do. Wait, is this part of the fun?! Alright, I’ll take you to the right place!” Xia had mistakenly assumed that Azzie was taking her to the Festival at the Heavenly Emporium. She had also mistakenly assumed that she was supposed to guess that - as part of some game or other. Without pausing to check, she would clasp her hand in his and pull him along to the Heavenly Emporium to continue their date.

[Exit Thread]

“Oh, okay. That makes sense. Though…” Azzie’s left hand out raise up the tap his chin with his left hand twice. “Why would your mom expect you to come home late today?” He was unsure why Xia’s mother would say what she had said when Xia often goes to bed pretty early. Maybe she thought they would be at the arcade for a while, though Azzie was pretty sure the arcade closed just a little bit before the sun set.

When Xia mentioned they were going the wrong way, Azzie was confused. He was pretty sure they were heading towards the arcade, though Xia knew the village far better than he did. He had to constantly ask for directions to get anywhere in the village, really. Figuring Xia knew where they would be headed; as she did not give him a chance to respond to her questions, Azzie let himself be tugged as Xia clasped his hand in hers. “Alright, but if we get lost, it’s your fault now! Azzie has no control over where Xia is taking him.” Azzie did not talk about himself in third person, though he had read it in a book once, so he presumed some people did it from time to time. Regardless, he would let Xia lead the way… not to the arcade, but the Heavenly Emporium.

[exit thread]