Hidden Villages

I: Confrontation

C left the home of the other noble family before the first ray of sun appeared. The woman who took over as head from her dead husband didn't come with him, but he honestly preferred it this way. His eyes remained on the ground, and as such he didn't at first see the person waiting next to where he exited from.

A gut feeling made C lift up his head. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of Darui watching him from where he leaned against the wall lazying about. He said nothing and instead started walking back towards his family home, yet in the back of his head C knew what Darui would do next. "We need to talk."

"About what?"

"Are you going to be this dull?"

"I honestly don't understand what you mean by that." C continued walking towards the family home knowing the bad with his research was still in his room, and he needed to pick up the bag.

"What I mean is this. Are you going to pretend you don't know what I'm talking about?"

C stopped walking, but felt his hands clench together forming a pair of fists. He turned slightly so he might look Darui in the eye. "You want to talk about that? How about I simply say what you want to talk about is none of your business, but you had no right following me like you did. We're supposed to be partners and working together, but how can I trust you if you happen to follow me like that?"

Darui took a deep breath. He walked over so he was only a few inches away from C. His one hand reached out and grabbed onto C's shoulder and forced C to turn around so he could easily poke him in the chest. "Don't talk to me about trust when you hid something like this from me."

The blond-haired shinobi stared for a bit before deciding to turn away. "I don't see why this is a big deal."

"How dull." Darui let his eyes roll into the back of his head. He walked a bit faster despite the fact he'd rather be lazing about. This allowed him to step in front of his partner and turn so he was walking backing backward a few steps. A ray of sun started peeking over the horizon, but soon the shinobi who weren't on some kind of night duty would be stirring. He placed a hand against C's chest to get him to stop. "It is a big deal."

C glared at his partner, but no words came out of his mouth.

"Are you going to say something?"

"I'm not sure what to say."

"You have no response to what I just said."

"Do I have a response? Shinobi aren't supposed to show emotions."

"Are you saying this isn't a big deal because shinobi aren't supposed to show emotions?"

"No. I'm saying the response I have is mute because shinobi aren't supposed to have emotions."

One of Darui's eyebrows shot up and his mouth twisted into a frown. "Say what? Okay, look. You are my partner. I am supposed to know if you are having any emotion stuff."

"Why?"

"So I can better read you and react in a given situation."

C stared at Darui. After a few seconds he spoke. "My reaction to your question is to wonder why it's such a big deal to you. It's not to me."

"It's a big deal to me because you're my partner, but you're being used."

"So?"

Darui's jaw dropped. "What?"

"So what if I'm being used?" C saw Darui simply stare at him. His hand reached up and pushed his partner's hand away before he started walking away. While he had predicted Darui's earlier action he did not predict what happened next.