Third person pov
Ino had expected Arron to get nervous eventually. Maybe her confidence or passion would wear off, but as she met the other ten women residing in the home, plus their kids, the strong personality that had been pulled out seemed to solidify into place, anchored by sheer determination from what Ino could tell. The Yamanaka was just about to run off to go get her father so he could see the effect the home and the people in it had on her. Ino was pretty sure Arron wouldn't know she'd left.
Miss Himiko had opened Arron in with open arms. The woman knew, and Ino could tell. She saw the trauma swimming in Arron's eyes, and she recognized the overwhelming urge to help. The fearlessness that stemmed from what she'd been through. Her want to protect others. Arron was not a quiet person at heart, Ino realized. She was a confident, leader of a girl who'd been beaten down and weathered away by years of untold horrors.
Arron seemed to know what to do without being asked. Her shadows had darted out across the house, racing along the walls. They'd pop from the ground, their 2D forms becoming three dimensional in seconds. They'd pick up toys, dust shelves, retrieve trash. Ino hadn't realized just how far Arron's powers expanded, or how much control she'd retained over them practicing under that three while herself and her teammates trained with Asuma-sensei. She'd been busy, and she was stronger than she showed.
Ino thought the shadows would scare the kids. There were seven children here, all of them under the age of seven. The Yamanaka had even assumed the woman seeking shelter here would be a little frightened by the power. But they weren't. They seemed to derive comfort from them, knowing they were Arron's. Arron and Trexx, together, had brought a true sense of safety over the home. Though it hadn't truly settled over everyone until the incident.
It was common that a drunken husband or angry boyfriend would come here seeking one of the women. Some frequented the home, coming in every week to stay a few nights after being beat to a bloody pulp. It happened almost everyday, so Ino wasn't surprised when a large man stumbled through their front door, a bottle of liquor in tow and an angry expression on his face.
Miss Himiko had asked him to leave. The man drunkenly declared that he wanted his 'bitch wife' to give back his kids and hurry the hell up and come home. That she was trash, along with a slew of other insults that made Ino cringe and shy away from him. He wasn't small, either, reaching a height of nearly six feet. He had a muscled body, too. A construction worker of some sort, she presumed.
Even though it had been hours since, Ino could remember trying to stop the man as he shuffled into the living room, where all of the women were seated, talking in a group circle. Arron had situated herself in the corner to listen. Ino had never seen such rage twist its way onto her face as he grabbed at a terrified woman and her now-crying three year old son and four year old daughter.
Arron had moved across the room like death itself, rage dancing in her eyes wildly. Her expression, otherwise, was the definition of cold composure. Her lips didn't twitch. Her brows didn't furrow. She simply glared up at him, shadows swirling around her feet. A certain feeling had blanketed over the entire room, silencing the crying children, and the drunken man.
"Get out." Her voice had sent shivers down Ino's spine. Shadows sprung up behind her, rising up behind her in silent threat. Trexx didn't even have to interfere, sitting unnoticed by the man in the corner, staring up at the light. He seemed to understand when Arron needed protection. Now was not one of those times, evidently. Arron continued. "Awron."
In could only assume that meant now. The man didn't hesitate to turn tail and leave, and that's when the women present knew that they couldn't be touched so long as Arron was here.
But now Ino was faced with a problem.
"Arron, I was supposed to drop you off ten minutes ago. Shikamaru is going to lose it if we don't go now!" Ino insisted as Arron shifted through paperwork concerning bills and such on the house. It was a rented home, and they were behind three months. Arron somehow knew how to work out a financial plan. Ino wasn't sure she wanted to know.
"Okay." Arron acknowledged, though she didn't move. Ino groaned.
"Arron, he'll kill me." Ino stressed.
"Sounds like a personal problem." She murmured, more to herself than to Ino. The Yamanaka almost laughed, but groaned again instead, this one more exaggerated and dramatic than the last. Arron gnawed on her bottom lip, sifting through some other papers. She was smart, but she also hadn't been to school in ages. Though she had been in charge of paying the bills on a house one of her temporary owners had owned. She didn't know a whole lot, but enough to know that Miss Himiko would be losing the house if they didn't do something.
"Arron, let's go!" Ino exclaimed. "I bet Shikamaru is crying. Real tears. Right out of his eyes. Going down his cheeks."
Arron twitched at that, setting the papers down. She glanced at the entrance to the living room, and then at Trexx, and then at Ino. "One secondiant." She whispered, bringing her hands up.
Ino watched with mild interest as a shadow began to form. It extended out, around a foot or so thick, maybe more. It was long, like some sort of udon noodle. Ino watched it stretch until it was nearly eight feet in length, small horns popping out on the sides of one end. Four legs popped out, two in the front, and two in the back. Ino jumped slightly when two, beady white eyes popped open.
"Skronk!" It squirmed, falling to the ground with a thump. It looked around wildly. "Skronk?"
"Skronk." Arron tested the odd word out. If it even was a word. The long creature looked up at her questionably, but seemed as though it knew Arron. Ino tried to catch her breath. She wasn't sure what was happening anymore. "Protect."
"Amddiffyn." It seemed to agree. Arron smiled down at it softly before looking to Ino. The Yamanaka took one last glance at the noddle-y shadow before reaching over and grabbing Arron's hand, pulling her towards the door. Shikamaru was going to absolutely murder her for being late.
~
Only two more shadows to go. We've got Trexx the original. Mothball the destroyer. Noot the Shikamaru killer. And now, Skronk the protector ig. You guys are really going to love the last two though ((I hope akldhlsk))
Rough sketch of Skronk on a sticky note so y'all can't kind of understand ahdlkahsd
He's an eight foot long protection noodle basically.