Manami had opinions on all of Daisuke's friends. Jabari was a nice boy who made an effort to be polite in spite of his... less cultured... upbringing. Ino was halfway to being adopted, whatever her father said. Sakura was... also there.
But Yui?
Yui was a tricky one. On the one hand, excellent manners, and a spine etched out of steel. But on the other, she was...
was...
there really was no word for it other than smart. And normally that wasn't an insult. But when the girl in question smiled that infuriating, I-know-better-than-you smile, it left Manami wanting nothing more than to strangle her. Possibly with her own kimono. It wasn't very charitable, she knew. But she'd never been a charitable woman before, why the hell should she start now?
But that smile wasn't there now. In and of itself, that felt like reason enough to celebrate. She hid her gloating behind a polite, slightly chilly purse of the lips.
"Yui, dear," she murmered. "So lovely to see you."
"And you as well, Lady Satomura," came the pitch-perfect response.
Wait, no. That wasn't pitch perfect. Manami's eyes flickered over the girl's face; a brow ever-so-slightly furrowed despite every effort to unfurrow it. The slightest twist of the lips downward. A hint-
Manami almost gasped.
-a hint of puffy redness around the eyes, still showing through carefully applied eye make-up. Yui was upset. That was... unexpected, from a child always so composed.
"Is Daisuke at home?" Yui asked.
"I'm afraid not," Manami replied. "He's training with Gai-Sama and his... delightful kohai." Yes. Good description of Lee there. Solid.
Yui's polite smile didn't drop, but there was a flicker around her eyes. "I see. I'm sorry to have bothered you."
Something... utterly unexpected unfurled inside Manami's chest. Yui. Infuriating Yui. Utterly composed, precise, irritating Yui. Was upset. And clearly looking for someone to confide in. Yui. Daisuke's friend, Yui.
...HER Yui. You did NOT upset Manami's son's friends, you just didn't. This was not going to stand. She'd have to act fast, though; the girl was already leaving. More than that, she had her (admittedly merited) pride.
"Before you go," she said, smoothing her tone to cover the abruptness, "could I trouble you for a favour? I've made a little too much tea to finish myself. It would be a shame to let it go to waste. Would you have some with me?"
It was a long way from the most elegant invitation she'd ever given. She was losing her edge out of court, she really was; ninja were always so direct about things. But it seemed to land well enough. Yui turned, looked at her with a hint of confusion visible under her smile.
"I would be honoured, Lady Manami," she said.
Manami held the door open for her, and the little girl (Kunoichi, remember that, she's graduated now) came inside, bowing politely at the hearth. Manami bowed back, and brought her into the kitchen.
(A little secret; Manami kept a pot of tea brewing every day, just for situations like this. It was a far better social lubricant than alcohol. Admittedly she went through tea leaves like a hungry panda, but such was the cost of social niceties. Tsume apparently did the same thing with sake, although that had to keep better.)
The tea went into two clear glass cups, fashionable these days, and they bowed over the refreshments. A clear, heady, minty scent flooded their nostrils. They rose, took their cups in two hands, and sipped.
"Thank you again, Lady Manami," said Yui. Manami waved the compliment away.
"Oh, please, just Manami," she said. "And it's always nice to spend time in civilised company. How are you, dear? All alright?"
Yui nodded, hiding her expression behind her cup. Good move, that. "All is continuing as expected, yes. And yourself?"
"Oh yes, you know. Muddling along." That was better than the invitation, at least- familiar tone, mild expression of weakness without any actual details to use against her, slight hint of since it's just us girls... Yes. She was waking up a bit. "I'm given to understand you haven't seen much of poor Daisuke?"
"Sadly not," replied Yui, tone pleasantly unreadable. "I came to remedy that."
And then the poor thing slipped up.
"With the business with Sak- with exams, and of course the history projects-"
Manami watched the poor girl desperately try to cover. That was... poor. Very poor, actually; the child could do far better than that. Something was clearly very wrong.
Ninja were direct about things. For all the girl was clearly properly brought up, she was a kunoichi. if this was to get anywhere, Manami would have to treat her as such.
She winced in sympathy, and made no move to hide it. Yui didn't quite stare, but it was a close thing. Then Manami put her tea down, and leaned forward slightly.
"Yui, dear," she said, gently. "Look at me."
Yui stared into her teacup. All of a sudden, she seemed very small.
"Yui."
At last, the girl looked up.
"What's wrong?"
A long pause. This, apparently, was not expected. There were so many ways it could go wrong, clearly. But...
"Sakura," she said, in a tiny voice.
"What about her?"
"She... she won't talk to me anymore."
Manami sighed internally. This again. She like Ino, she really did, but whatever had possessed her to associate with that pink haired little idiot? No. Focus.
"I'm very sorry to hear that," she said, careful to keep even a hint of a patronising tone out of her voice. "What happened?"
"I was... I was talking to her. About how much she's improved, and... and how she needs to stop- stop fighting with Ino. And she just... she just exploded, Manami-san. She told me to... to..."
"To go away," Manami finished gently. Yui nodded, staring into her teacup.
This was clearly a lot for the poor girl. Give her a second. Let her collect herself. Manami drank her tea to fill the silence.
"I know," said Yui bitterly. "I know how silly it is to be upset by... by that, of all things. She didn't call me names, or... or say anything uncouth-"
"It's not silly at all," said Manami, calmly. "Not when it's coming from a friend."
"You wouldn't have let it stop you."
"I have been doing this for far longer than you. It's different."
Yui nodded, sniffed, visibly fought back tears. She was clearly not going to let herself lose control in front of Manami. She could respect that.
"I don't know what to do," said Yui, eventually. "It was... it was amusing to start with. But now it's- I don't want them to keep arguing. We're graduating soon. Then we'll have our Genin squads. We won't see each other if we don't make an effort to. I don't want everyone to... to just drift apart."
Manami nodded. "Very sensible thing to worry about," she soothed.
That did it. Yui's face crumpled into sobs. Manami was around the table before she'd even realised she'd moved, arm cradling the girl. Yui for her part was clinging to her like a limpet, crying hot, ugly tears. Manami rocked her back and forth, making soothing noises. Let the poor thing ride it out.
The tears went on a while. Then Yui stilled, and started to put herself back together. Manami, unasked, fetched her makeup kit and mirror. Yui nodded in thanks, but before her hand could touch the brush Manami started gently applying foundation.
Yui stilled. For a moment, Manami thought she could have objected. But she let Manami paint her face, concealing every hint of tears with a master's finesse. Then, she undid the girl's hair, brushed it out, and then carefully bound it up again.
"Please... please don't tell anyone I cried," said Yui, in a tiny voice.
"Of course I won't," said Manami, brisk but gentle. "These things are no-one's business but ours."
"Thank you."
They were done, at last. They finished their cold tea without comment.
"Will you tell Daisuke I was here?"
"Certainly. As soon as he gets home."
"Thank you. And thank you for the tea."
"Oh, come now. You were doing me a favour."
Yui half-smiled. It looked good on her, Manami noted somewhere in the back of her mind. No smugness, just a little melancholy and a lot of appreciation. The girl rose, made her farewells, and left. Her head held high, her walk an exercise in grace and decorum. Good. Good girl. Never let them see you bleed.
She closed the door. This stupid business between Ino and Sakura had gone on too long. Clearly, Manami would have to solve it for them. She stalked towards her kitchen table, and started to scheme.
