Growing Pains

Chapter 26

To Shinrai, this was his first experience of the 'valuable girl time': both Araile and Ayame were talking so fast and giggling Shinrai couldn't understand a word; let alone get one word in. The poor boy looked at Teuchi with a shocked expression, and the elderly man just smiled and shook his head.

Apparently this is what all women did.

Back in the Land of Iron, Araile had barely spoken any words to anyone. As the years went on, she began to open up little by little. Shinrai was eager to talk to someone besides Kazoku or even Seishin. He didn't talk to Meiyo a lot; she was too bubbly and hyper to take anything seriously. Taiyo always berated the poor boy, so he stayed far away from the hormonal teen.

Shinrai sighed and brushed a few strands of purple hair behind his ear. He still couldn't believe his luck in finding his friend. When the small group returned from Konoha to the Land of Iron, Shinrai silently fell into a pit of depression and vowed to find Araile again. The world was a bit duller without her presence.

The only one to notice the boy's distress was Kazoku. The kind woman knew he missed Araile terribly, and decided then to send the distraught boy back to Konoha. She worked on the portal for months behind everyone's backs until it was ready for Shinrai. Beckoning Shinrai to follow her one day, Kazoku led the boy to a small and isolated clearing in the forest. She had said to go back and find his 'ray of sunshine', smiled and pushed the confused boy through.

Shinrai couldn't thank the woman enough as she had helped him to find Araile. If it wasn't for Kazoku he would still be in the Land of Iron, never knowing how Araile was, if she even survived the preliminaries and living with constant heartbreak.

He would forever be indebted to Kazoku.

Shaking his head, Shinrai smiled to himself as he watched how happy his love interest was while talking with Ayame. He loved how animated Araile got when talking about anything, how her eyes crinkled shut as she laughed, or how she got annoyed when Ayame prodded at a certain part of their conversation.

"-rai? Shinrai! Hey!" a voice broke through the boys train of thought.

"Huh? Oh sorry, I was thinking too hard," Shinrai said, a line of heat racing across his nose.

"Anyways, we have to go. Bye Ayame! Mister Teuchi!" Araile said as she pulled Shinrai away from the two older people.

"Whew! That was nice catching up with Ayame," she chirped as she let go of Shinrai's wrist, much to the boys disappointment.

"How long have you known them?" Shinrai asked as the duo walked through the busy street.

"Since I was small," she said as she stopped to look at a stand filled with different fabrics, hats and scarves.

"Look! This bandana is so cute!" she exclaimed to Shinrai.

The bandana was a triangular piece of fabric that was dyed a deep purple. White thread stitched intricate patterns that were a stark contrast to the deep background. The seller beamed at the compliment and insisted Araile have it for free. 

Tying it across her head, she smiled as it fit just right. It was as if it was made for her. It covered her ears so that the villagers that didn't know her would not be able to tell she had pointed ears.

"Why did you buy it?" Shinrai asked as he watched Araile put it on.

"Well..when I was little, people used to always stare at my ears. Kakashi said not to worry about it, but I hated it. Even though I'm older and it's been awhile since I was in the village, people still stare," Araile said, eyes downcast.

Shinrai kept silent, waiting for her to finish.

"I feel like I'm still treated differently than everyone else. I'm 14, and yet still some people treat me like a weird alien and not Araile...but with this bandana on people won't notice my ears!" Araile said with a small forced smile on her face.

"I like your ears the way they are," Shinrai said, causing her to look away with a faint blush.