That was when the pair noticed us. "Good evening, Nagisa-san. Keisuke-san. How do you do?" he asked as he looked down. He was still pretty self-conscious. We both greeted him warmly. The apothecary raised his head and asked "Is this visit having to do with Mio-san I don't see her?" "No. We are getting married to 2 very pretty young ladies. The tailor just measured us for the montsuki." I said quickly. I did not want to give something away that could put Yasu back in his mission. Keisuke said "I wish we could stay, but we can't. It's getting late and we want to make curfew." The apothecary nodded and said "Yes. I understand. It was nice meeting you." We began to walk down the street when he called out to us. We stopped and looked at him. He took an embarrassed step back. "Oh... it was nothing." he said. Yasu pushed him forward. "They don't bite. Tell them what you wanted." he instructed firmly. The young man took a breath. "Congratulations on getting married!" he yelled out with all his might. Many people turned to him. He ran inside. We just waved to Yasu. He gave one too.
It was time to leave. The guards would lock up and try to arrest us of we stayed any later. We retuned a day and a half later. Going at ninja pace was just more efficient that walking. When we returned to the village Chihiro was there. "Hey! It's the oldest baby of the village. Nagisa-chan is back." he called out to his friends and direct family members. I noticed that he really stressed the "chan" there. I groaned. "What are you talking about? I just got back. Can you give me time to rest before I have to kick your ass?" I asked out loud to no one in particular. He smirked. "You can talk big now, but everyone knows. You haven't had your Efude Naderu Yoru yet!" I had almost forgot about that crap. "Shut up, Chihiro. I beat you weeks ago. And yeah, I was a baby then. If that's your claim to fame, so be it. The weak chunin that lost to a wanderer genin who didn't even have the ceremony. Everyone knows it now." I scolded. Everyone looked at him like a loser. "Wait! I'm not the problem here. You want to get married, and you still have your maidenhood. How pathetic is that for a man!?" he spat.
Fumihito took that moment to appear. "Chihiro. I think that's enough teasing. Nagisa-kun is a valuable member of the clan now." he said firmly. Chihiro could only bow his head and excuse himself. With him gone, things went back to normal. "Don't mind him. Chihiro-kun is a willful boy, but he means well." he said. I nodded. "That does bring me to what I wanted to speak to you about." he continued. I wondered what he would want to talk about. He dismissed Keisuke and he left without a fuss. When they were alone, he asked "Are the rumors true? You did not have the ceremony?" I groaned and he gave a polite grin. "It must be tiring, but this is important." he said. I just looked at him and said "I am a 17-year-old wander. I have been wandering for longer than you could imagine. I did not know that the ceremony even existed until 3 days ago." The elder stroked his chin for a bit. "Can you follow me please?" he requested. I could hardly refuse an elder. I followed him to a large house. "Ah. This is my home. You are a loyal and good fighter. I just have some concerns at the moment." he said.
