Private/Closed Naruto AU: Roleplay

[kyuukestu]

Sagisō

"My memory of the situation...could be better. I was pretty hooped up on anesthesia, and whatever else I'd been given in the name of treatment."

With that, she waved off Kiro's question. The exquisite gift box vanished into a dimension of chakra sustained spatial storage, and Sagiso, her hand now free, immediately put them to work in a few muted gestures. She mimed out the number of gifts she'd already prepared, and the number still left to be collected. While her next stop was Zaku, she speculated that the most effective way to get through her list was to accrue the relevant people on that list, as quickly as possible. This meant it was high time she made a nuisance of herself and went over to find and push all of Tayuya's buttons. Her eyes shifted towards Kiro at her side; stellar progress already.

Leading the way, Sagisō tracked the Sound Kunoichi, finding her in the midst of preparation for the upcoming concert. Although the concert was in merely an hour, it was still an entire hour, just enough time to play hooky for thirty minutes longer...or fifty. Either way, there was no need to start preparing this early in the morning, and so the Nadeshiko kunoichi made their presence known with an opening quip.

"We're going to visit Sir Blowsalot, care to join?"

 

[OmnipotentOnion]

Senji quietly watched as two more people joined the trio, one of them introducing himself as Taiyo, a friend of Raiku, and the other having been addressed as Furijia by Amari. He gave a small bow in greeting and introduced himself to both.

"My name's Senji Yoshida; it's nice to meet you both."

As he introduced himself and the group conversed among themselves, the teen quickly studied the faces of the people around him, making sure his action was unnoticed. Due to his enjoyment of fighting, Senji couldn't help but attempt to analyze their fighting skill and imagine what it would be like should he spar against them. However, the sound of Furijia's voice snapped him back into reality, and upon hearing the girl's suggestion--going to the Kage stone faces for scenery and a better view of what they could do--Senji shrugged and nodded in agreement. There really was nothing he could think of for what to do, so he was fine with whatever.

"Sounds like a solid plan; if we get bored up there too, we can just look around for something else to do since our field of view will be widened up there.

 

[Retro Master]

"I see. So you didn't really know what you're talking about then."

How ironic. Acting like she knew better than him while being high on some medical drugs. Sagisō really was clueless and he couldn't blame her. She'd learn eventually. In any case, there was no use in crying over spilt milk. Kiro simply cracked his knuckles to relieve himself of any tension he may have unintentionally built up before following the Skillful Star. Surprisingly, his arm no longer bothered him anymore. The popsicle stick thrown at him must've somehow dealt with the numbness from Sagisō's assault. Unless it was actually the work of Sagisō, he'd have to thank his mysterious later as they'd arrived at the next stop. Kiro didn't even hesitate when he saw a singer he knew all too well.

"Oh? Getting ready to sing as well, Tayuya? I mean, you're pretty good at that so I'm not surprised."

His tone was a rather jovial one as he seemed to compliment the red head before him. This was going to be fun. Hanging out with two of his favorite women on such a special day. How much better could this day even get? Speaking of which, Sagisō mentioned there was someone else she wanted to visit.

"Anyways, who's this Sir Blowsalot?"

 

[sSoul]

Seiun
The cold wind blew harshly as he stood in his stocks, it seems that all he could do was reflect on how he got here...
Flashback
Fun was had that day, for after Seiun was taught the Bird and Ram hand-seals, he and Zheng played dodgeball, but the balls were made out of electric chakra as opposed to traditional ball material. After their latest match of their game, Seiun’s father had entered the room to observe the progress that his son had made.

“I see that you’ve taken the delicate practice of jutsu and found a way to turn it into a playground game,” Mr. Yasei mused with a palpable note of disdain in his voice, “Boy, show me what this old man has taught you,”

The young boy turned to his master, who gave an approving, if resigned, nod to allow the rain-nin to demonstrate what he has learned.

I should show dad that I’m capable of using the Lightning Ball now first. That’s possibly the most direct example of progress.

Tightening his focus, Seiun first executed the Bird hand-seal(this time actually pulling it off correctly) before transitioning to the Snake hand-seal. After doing the Monkey hand-seal, he finally transitioned into the Ram hand seal with meticulously, for he did not wish to mess up in his performance. The rain-nin's attention to detail was rewarded as he was able to successfully fire a ball of blue electricity towards an unsuspecting wall.

"Your speed needs work, but it's a definite improvement," Mr. Yasei noted as he gently clapped, causing Seiun to smile. He went to move on to the next technique: Electromagnetic Murder. He took a deep breath, hoping that he wouldn't disappoint his father before he began again. First he did a newer hand-seal called the Boar before transitioning into the familiar Ram hand-seal. After which, he performed yet another familiar hand-seal(the Snake) before transitioning to the most difficult hand seal for him: the Horse. Fortunately, he's had enough practice to perform the seal, even if he had to be deliberate in the placements of his fingers. After he did the dragon hand seal, the final one necessary for the jutsu, he used his hands to create a wave of electricity. However due to his inexperience in channeling chakra, the wave he released was rather weak.

"Hmm..the strength of your jutsu leaves something to be desired and once again, your performance of seals is slow," Mr. Yasei seemed to be running thin, causing Seiun to feel stressed.

"Surely you know stronger techniques that these," Seiun's father said, a tinge of frustration palpable in his voice. To his dismay, Seiun lowered his head and nodded no.

"You old relic…" Mr. Yasei approached Zheng to deck him in the face, "How is it that my son only knows two, weak techniques when his brother knew how to do the Thunderbolt on the first lesson?!"

Zhengjian gulped since he was well accustomed to the rage of Hueici Yasei, so he decided to carefully consider his words.

"Sir, everyone learns at a different place, I-" He was cut off by another punch to the jaw.

"I WILL NOT TOLERATE EXCUSES!" Hueici then delivered a hard jab to the elderly man, causing him to fall on the ground.

I...I've gotta do something...but what?

Impulsively, Seiun found himself firing a Lightning Ball at his own father, much to his own confusion.

"WHO DID THAT?!" It didn't take Mr. Yasei long to find out the answer, for when he turned to his son, he noticed that he obviously had fired a projectile recently.

"My own son…" The father muttered before snapping his fingers, "Men, make sure this little shit doesn't receive food until the old coot manages to get his act together," His servants nodded to this command, much to the little boy's dismay.

"Insolence must be eliminated when spotted my son. Let that be a lesson to you," After he said that, Seiun's father stormed off in a huff.

Oh sure, I'll learn from it alright, 'Father'

 

[kyuukestu]

Sagisō

'Is that what you think..?'

Although she didn't voice her dissent, Kiro's words had inevitably caused her mind to pull up her memories of that day. Although they were murked and mired by the hallucinogenic effects of her pain suppressant, her knowledge of the events of the day were crystal clear. Through the second-hand reports and recollection of various Hyuga who'd been at the scene, performing in the impromptu concern or otherwise, she'd been able to fill in and touch up the areas where her own memories were blank or foggy.

Like a gust of wind, Kiro's subsequent words swept her idle thoughts away, and it was brought to her attention that Kiro hadn't picked up on the identity of one Sir Blowsalot.

"Huh..? You know...Sir Blowsalot? Three holes are better than one? Loud mouth, Louder blow holes? Gave that Suna kid a blow job during the Chunin exams, right through the arms too..."

 

[Retro Master]

Kiro had a very confused expression on his face as Sagisō gave her vague descriptions. Three holes are better than one? Loud mouth, louder blow holes? None of this was making any logical sense. The next one barely helped as well. Sagisō had almost lost him at blow job. Whatever she meant by that. He didn’t want to assume.

“Okay, I don’t get it. So you gave the Suna kid a blow job? Tomiko’s boyfriend? Birdboy is the only one I know from Suna who also got a few holes blown into him. That was due to his fight with Zaku.”

Yasu did nearly fit all the pieces. He had gotten at least three holes on him. Zaku and him could never stop bickering. It was also his recklessness that exposed the team sent after Zaku and Kiro. Jumping in to rescue Tomiko could also be considered with rest of traits for a “loud mouth”. Did those feathers he had count as as a blow hole? Kiro skipped that and went to the last descriptor. His confused expression had lessened to a degree as he continued to look at Sagisō, deep in thought. He knew there was still a question or two that needed to be asked in order for this puzzle to be solved.

“What exactly do you mean by blow job and how does it relate to Sir Blowsalot?”

 

[kyuukestu]

Sagisō

Every crease, curve, and contour of Kiro's expression was reflected in Sagisō's steady pupils. Her gaze had been fixated on the Uchiha's expression, reading it for any inkling of falsity. He wasn't serious...right? Whether intentionally or not, Kiro's words had certainly given the Nadeshiko kunoichi slight pause. It then became evident by the confusion Kiro expressed that he hadn't been the most educated when it came to matters between lovers...come to think of it, Zaku had shared that same ignorance.

Having no time to appropriately explain the meaning of her terms, Sagisō jumped straight to the point.

"Zaku. I'm talking about Zaku. He's Sir Blowsalot."

 

[Retro Master]

"Oh. Zaku. Why didn't you just say that?"

It appeared that Zaku was being held at the Inuzuka clan. While it would be good to catch up with an old ally, Kiro did wonder if they would even let Tayuya and him in. The only way he could see the Inuzuka letting them enter is if they saw this as an opportunity to extract information out of them. They were still considered prisoners of the Sound after all so it would be reasonable to assume some information might be exchanged. Of course, with Sagisō there, it was unlikely Zaku would be foolish enough to mention anything at all. Even if was she wasn't there, the Inuzuka would no doubt be listening in. Either way, Kiro would be sure not to let his guard down. Not that he had at all in his time being trapped in enemy territory. The time he got assaulted by that little girl didn't count.

Noticeably, Sagisō still hadn't denied providing a service for Yasu. Come to think of it, in the medical wing during the Sound invasion, Kiro recalled Zaku saying something along the lines of Sagisō wanting to date him as well. Even Dosu had been confused. It was hard to believe she was trying out two guys at around the same time. How many other guys was she linked too? The only thing preventing him from believing such an unseemly idea was the Nadeshiko culture itself. There were a set of virtues that he was certain Sagisō wouldn't so easily betray, unless they had all already made their case. He didn't know about Yasu, but considering Zaku was able to hold off both Azumi and Sagisō on his own, that made the most sense. Nodding slightly to himself, Kiro believed his theory to be accurate.

"Well, you probably don't want to keep him waiting much longer. Come on Tayuya, let's get moving."

Kiro glanced understandingly at Sagisō first, then Tayuya, who he presumed would be joining them. Luckily, just before he could make the fatal mistake of turning to walk towards their destination, the realization of not knowing the location of the Inuzuka clan soon dawned upon him. He would not make a fool out of himself this time. Neither would he expose himself by asking for her help. Rather, he kept a straight voice, revealing nothing, as he followed up on his comment. This one to both of them.

"Whenever you two are ready of course."

 

[Godjacob]

Minus one unconscious feel of his face, as if he had something on it from a meal he had not eaten yet, Kenji quickly shook his head and nodded along as he allowed Taji inside and shut the door behind her.

Aisha greeted her with a friendly wave. "Hello Taji, I hope you slept well."

Kenji cleared space on a couch so both could sit on it if they desired to, which was immediate taken advantage of by Luna & Sky as the wolves laid on the couch as Kenji scowled their direction before he sighed to face Taji & Aisha.

----------
As Tomiko, her parents and friends gathered around the living room in preparation the festives, Naomi glanced up with eager eyes upon Tomiko as she seemed to want to share her "gift" even if by their economic standards it wasn't much as she seemed the most excited.

"Now now, before we begin we have a little something to share with you~" Atsuko said with a touch of excitement as she and Kuro departed to the kitchen which left a mystery as to just what the two had in mind. The other kids gossiped among themsevles, though Ren had his eyes out the window with a frown as if he noticed something which caused Tomiko to grow curious.

"Something wrong?" Tomiko asked, as all she saw was a nearby building next to them with nothing on it, Ren quickly turned and nodded no though he also got up.

"No, but I did forget something. I'll be back quickly, give your folks the word." Ren said before he moved out to get whatever item he seemed to forget which confused Naomi though nobody paid it much concern or additional thought.

Well, nobody but Tomiko.

-----​

Several figures had moved about the rooftops of local buildings, not so much with ninja swiftness but rather rough parkour talents as these young individuals seemed to wear matching bandannas with a crude "shark" design painted upon it as they wore all black.

Their clothing had been tattered, they wore ill-fitting and worn out shoes for the cold and seemed a bit malnourished beyond their attempts at an intimidating presentation and possession of knives; none of which mattered for now.

As they had their eyes set on a trio of arrivals. Those from the more wealthy main city, as they seemed to have bags of goodies for the holidays. Ample prizes they'd have chance to make claim to. The headbands that they had was pause for some concern, as if these guys especially the two older ones had been legit ninja this may have been a suicidal run.

"Come on, time to show these punks what happens when they crash our turf!"

But mob mentality ego and desperation allowed one to toss caution to the wind, as the group of about a dozen or so young man and women jumped down and raised their knives, chains and knuckles or whatever else they had as they halted Mori's family on the road.

"Give us your valuables, and nobody gets hurt. You hear!" One of them, the leader who seemed a young man Mori's age with black hair and matching colored eyes who rocked an old dagger as they tried to get the travelers to surrender their goods while they surrounded them...from a cautious distance.

----------
Akihiko's comment went unnoticed as Kou seemed to be lost to the glamour of all that was around him which caused him to raise an eyebrow in confusion though Sakura saw this and had a light smile in response. She noticed his reaction to what seemed to be some puppet show as she crouched down by the young boy.

"Did you want to watch the show up close?" Sakura asked with a gentle tone to her voice.

-----
Tayuya had been lounging around by the stage, as it seemed they were not set to go for an hour but she figured if she was there she was away from the pestering group so she had some space to herself.

"We're going to visit Sir Blowsalot, care to join?"
​

A space that had been invaded by at this point the usual bunch, as Sagiso turned the Oto-nin's attention to them as she offered an invite to what she guessed was an insult towards the airwave ass. One she needed to note for future use though it seemed a snark contest developed between her and the Uchiha. Tayuya had been blank faced during all of this as she tried to keep from losing brain cells hearing both ends of this convo before she finally decided to speak after a sigh escaped her lips.

"And you found out where they kept the blowhard how?" Tayuya asked simply, as no piece of gossip on inside secret seemed to escape this group which had made her curious.

----------
Hana rolled her eyes as she seemed more amused by the reaction than anything else as she'd tail Zaku along with her companion as the smell would lead them to the kitchen. Where several dishes of well cooked meals had been prepared; mostly meats, though vegies and other sides had been presented showing more variety than one might have expected from the Inuzuka.

Tsume had been present, as she prepared some plates for the ninja dogs which Hana's moved over to join in as she saw the pair arrive in. "I see you decided to join us. Well, help yourself." Tsume replied as she was an observer not his personal chef as the food was there ready for one to serve their own plate how they saw fit.

----------
"Seems to be the most logical action, though are you sure you won't be bothered by the occasional micro sensor that may buzz past your point of view, Lady Hyuga?" The Aburame Head spoke up as she called back to the last encounter between the two in her quarters.

"Seems easy enough, I'll be sure to have a nose kept on our little Oto-guest during this period. I personally doubt there is much connection, though about this newcomer shouldn't the Yamanak have picked up on their presence before anyone? I figured we had that sensor division for a reason?" Hisao as her gazed shifted to Inoichi who almost seemed to expect this reply as he merely released a sigh and faced all present.

"That is the part that concerns me. Our clan currently is evaluating the field around the village to pick up any more unauthorized arrivals and keep a head count, but how this one escaped detection from both Yamanak and Hyuga even if but a rogue is troubling. I will see to it this mystery is unraveled and ensure nothing else gets the drop again." Inoichi replied, though he hoped Lady Hokage would arrive to divulge these details and more onto.

 

[kyuukestu]

Sagisō

A vicious retort flecked the tip of her tongue, but Sagisō swallowed it. She imagined Kiro's less than clever misconstruals of her words had been his way of trying to get back at her, and she didn't plan to give him the satisfaction of a response, or even an acknowledgment. She simply watched as the Uchiha waxed his eloquence, slipping in yet another dig at her. How snide his speech was, implying that she waited up Zaku or his earlier insinuation that she would do such things with her lips to a person who'd yet to rise to her station. Inwardly, she scoffed. Brushing off Kiro's words as she instead picked up with Tayuya,

"I asked."

It truly had been as simple as that. The host clans of the various Otogakure prisoners were no well-guarded secret. A casual query into matters kept Sagisō aware of general matters pertaining to Zaku. He'd been taken to the medical ward for stabilization, and then given to the Inuzuka as a 'guest'. Though...then again, judging by Tayuya's expression, it would appear the sound kunoichi found it almost...strange that Zaku's location would be so easily divulged to her. Preempting the questions that may have been formed in Tayuya's mind, Sagisō briefly orated,

"I'm a Hyūga Princess, so this much is within my ability."

Although she held no real authority, that which she had obtained by proxy was more than enough to look into minor matters. Although she wouldn't go so far as to say she was well respected within the Leaf village, her status was at least acknowledged. The smoothness in which it had been codified and canonized, was aided in no small part by the restrictively seal scripted into her back. The caged bird seal was a guarantee of non-aggression, if not muted loyalty, and had easily placed her into the Leaf's good graces. Or, as far into those graces as an outsider would be allowed.

Without delaying too much, Sagisō began heading in the direction of the Inuzuka Clan. She'd taken out her gift for Zaku before they'd even reached the gates of the clan. Mostly to avoid suspicion. This being the second time she'd arrived here for the day, she presumed the guards on duty wouldn't have forgotten her face already.

"Hello again, might your guest be a little more accommodating this time?"

Minding her manners, she addressed to the guard.

Hinagiku

After awaiting all commentary, Hinagiku addressed them. For Masa, she dismissed such concerns by leaving it up to the Aburame's discretion. "I trust you'll have propriety, Lady Aburame."

With Hisao, she supported and reinforced her point. "Appreciated. The best eyes in the village are also on the lookout, I doubt any of these guests have to gall to act wildly...any more wildly, but prevention is always better than cure."

A helpless smile was, however, all that awaited Inoichi. The punctuality, or lack thereof, of the Hokage was not something she intended to comment on. It was best the matter be skipped entirely, in favor of something more productive. Clearing her through once more, both to regather attention as well as to preempt the change in topic, Hinagiku started.

"Moving on from such drab topics...the Land of Fire has always been filled with resources and fertility, and it does pain my heart to see such potential go to waste."

Retrieving a map from her sleeve, she unfurled the detailed topography of the Land of Fire. Her fingers fell, drawing attention to a single mountainous area.

"These are the Jofuku Mountains, the only known breeding ground for the similarly titled Jofuku Flowers. The pollen of these flowers possesses strange and quite frankly unheard of attributes, and that it had caught the village's eye before, resource allocation towards it was...minimal. At the moment only a single Medical researcher is stationed there, but I plan to change that. Given your assistance, I'd like to form a partnership between the Hyūga, Aburame, Nara, Sarutobi, and Inuzuka Clans, to fund and staff a research facility."

She sent out a ream of pamphlets, detailing the work-distribution and profit distribution that she'd calculated based on the Clan's specialties. The Hyūga and Nara Clans were alotted to 25% of the earnings, while the Aburame Clan synched 20%, and lastly, the Sarutobi and Inuzuka Clans would both earn 15%.

The dividend of earnings had been based on the distribution of work during the process. The Hyūga and Nara Clan would pour their abilities and knowledge into the actual research of the plan and development of new products, while the Aburame, Inuzuka, and Sarutobi would 'work the fields' so to speak. Rich volcanic soil produced by the Sarutobi Hiden, would serve as the basis for the cultivating field where the flowers would be pollinated carefully by the Aburame's bugs, and draw steady nutrients from the Inuzuku's...fertilizer.

Purchasing excrements for 15% of the final profit was rather...extravagant, in Hinagiku's own opinion, but it couldn't be said that she hadn't given the Clan due respect and consideration.

"The land in question has already been bequeathed with the signature of the Lady Hokage, and logistical estimations suggest the facility will be operational in as little as a month; provided you agree, of course."

With that said, the Hyūga head leaned back into her seat, allowing the other Clan Heads to ponder over her offer. She did note that the Sarutobi Clan had no representatives in attendance, but perhaps they were simply running late.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Kou blushed when he was caught looking at the puppet show, shaking his head and looking straight on. Wasn’t looking at anything in particular, just away from the show. He didn’t want to seem like he loved kiddy things. Boss would probably tease him about it later.

“Uh...what show? I didn’t see one.”

The sound village, while a home, wasn’t exactly a place to encourage childhood. It forced the residents to grow and mature quickly else conditions would become harsh. Which was okay, as it was far better than the streets, as they have food everyday, medical treatment, as well as training. Plus Uncle Orochimaru seemed to make sure things were extra special for him. So guess that was okay.

At this point, Kou’s Rat brother put a paw to it’s face and shook his head. It seemed to know a bit more about social interaction and how to keep a secret despite being a well...a RAT.


.......



Zaku looked at the food presented on the table, seemingly not worrying about any possible trap this might have been. If they are gonna poison me then I can try that new feature Kabuto put in, so it might not be fatal. Meh, I doubt these mutt worshipers are that smart anyway.

“Ya know, for a clan all about dogs, sharp teeth, and pissin’ where you please, there’s a lot more than just meat here.” Zaku mused. “Not a dog treat in sight either.”

Forever the snarky one, he elected to pick up one of their plates and began to move through the line. He put some obvious ones such as ham, Rice, and calamari on his plate. One thing stood out to him however, carrots. Suddenly, he got an idea. An improvised weapon. As he grabbed a handful of them, one of them in the pile ‘accudentally’ Went a little ways down his tube, effectively loading it.

 

[DarkHydraT]

Nodding once, Taji stepped inside and waved back at Aisha. "Hello Aisha. I've had better nights, I'm afraid. Couldn't fall asleep for a long time due to pent-up adrenaline from yesterday's discovery, as I am sure you can understand. In fact, that's why I'm here. I've got some...questions that I want to tell you about, hopefully we can solve these issues and ease at least my mind. I do hope that you and Kenji had a good night's rest though."

Sitting down on the couch that was cleared for a couple of seconds after closing the door behind her, she patted Luna and Sky before facing Kenji and Aisha who undoubtedly would be very confused as to why she visited. "Although I'm sure that you know this, I still want to bring this up. There was a reason as to why the activity we saw yesterday was secret, and if it ever leaks out that we were there, we could be in very serious danger. The main reason I can imagine behind the secrecy is to not inform potential spies from other villages, and they would do anything to get information on that jinchuriki. I want all four of you, including Luna and Sky, to keep your mouth shut about this when talking to someone. If there are no spies to interrogate us or our conversation partner, the Raikage would probably not be pleased to find out about us. Am I clear?"

Looking left and right whilst silently cursing the lack of silencer seals, she began talking again. Hushed and alert, but easy to be understood by the people in the room. "I am usually not someone who questions the decisions of Lord Raikage, but I've put my fair share of question marks behind this action. First of all, jinchuriki are immensely powerful and can turn a war into someone's favor, but you've told me that Rika doesn't like to fight and instead wants to become a medic-nin. Whilst she surely knows the basics, wouldn't it make a lot more sense to pick someone who does want to be on the battlefield? Someone who is fearsome enough on their own but not too close to the Raikage for them to get hurt in case of a terrorist attack or something? Not to mention it surely has to be a threat to patients if she becomes a certified medic, I can't imagine that Tailed Beast chakra would be healthy if it is used for the Healing jutsu. What possible advantage did this decision give the Raikage? All I can think of is that no one would suspect her of being the jinchuriki, but that's it. And then I wonder about how parental consent works in a situation like this, surely her parents would not agree to this. But did they even have a choice to begin with?"

As she spewed out the questions that were burning in her mind, she slowly became aware of how she must appear to Aisha and Kenji. She stopped her ramblings and coughed once to clear her throat. "Apologies, I did not intend to rant there. Any input you might have would be appreciated. And one last thing, if you see Rika acting differently, I'd like all of us to try and get her spirits a bit lifted. I'm sure that you all can imagine what a burden this must be for her, and I wouldn't be surprised if she appreciates the support. It doesn't have to be over the top, something as subtle as a smile should do fine too. I'd like for Kenji to introduce us to her and try to get us on her good side, that way we can keep an eye on her and she won't become suspicious. That's all I ask of you. Oh, and Kenji? I doubt that you'd tell them in the first place, but keep this topic away from your parents. They didn't approve of your decision to become a ninja in the first place, so I dread to imagine how they would react to this news."
----------

"Left, then straight for a while, and then a right. That should be it until we arrive."

The Utamara family made their way through the slums, gifts and all, as Mori led them towards the bakery of Tomiko's parents. They were eager to arrive and see the reactions of the gang and Tomiko's parents, and the time was almost there!

...or atleast it would have been, if it wasn't for the sudden appearance of about a dozen of young men and women jumped down with weapons raised. A robbery. It was to be expected, the gifts were an eyesore and the neighborhood was not exactly a friendly one. "I doubt that these are members of Tomiko's group, what do you say Mori?" Iwao asked as he looked at the group with surprise more than anything really, their headbands should be a big warning for any robber that would try and rob them. Were they this desperate? Judging by the distance the group kept whilst having their weapons drawn, they didn't abandon all caution when they saw the bag he carried. He smiled, caution was a good thing to have, even if the situation they were in was a bit messy.

Mori drew his own tanto, ready to fight if things got messy. "They aren't, Tomiko's group doesn't have those bandanas and they know me well enough to not try and rob me. These guys are from another gang, one with a dress code by the looks of it. And if I had to guess, I'd say that this gang is called the Sharks, based on those bandanas. I haven't met them before, but I expected to get mugged here sooner or later. Guess the desperation is at an all time high for a whole group to appear and try and rob three ninja in broad daylight. They appear a lot more ruthless than anyone I've met here before, so be....huh?"

Mori's instructions were cut off as Kasumi placed a hand on his shoulders and spoke up. "Not to be rude, but you aren't exactly in a position to make threats. Our headbands are clearly visible and both my husband and I have quite some years of experience underneath our belts. And you all know what you were getting yourselves into, given the fact you're all keeping your distance. I am willing to talk about this, and I don't think you can deny the offer. We are capable of wiping you all off the map, but we chose to talk instead because you're not exactly doing a good job at intimidating us. You seem about the age of my son and his posture is much better than yours, so forgive me if all that I see is a copy of my son who slacked off during the academy." She smiled at the group leader, though there was a thin layer of killing intent in the air to make sure that the gang knew who they were dealing with. "Oh forgive me, where are my manners? I am Kasumi Utamara, ninja rank jonin. The man with the bag over his shoulder is my husband Iwao Utamara, ninja rank jonin and my son here is called Mori Utamara, ninja rank genin. Now, why won't you sit down and talk about why you were so reckless to try and rob us with such low-quality weapons? It may work on people without ninja training, but you've clearly met your match."

Kasumi sat down and motioned for the gang to do the same, seemingly relaxed about the whole situation. Mori was a bit less eager to sit down, but trusted his mother's judgment and sat down on the left side of her.. Iwao placed the bag of gifts on the ground to the right of Kasumi and sat down behind it. The two jonin were not worried, although Iwao was curious to see what Kasumi had planned.

 

[Retro Master]

It really did seem as if Sagisō lacked the capability to answer a genuine question from him. Kiro was sure his inquiry had sounded like an honest one at least. Unlike in the jewelry store, she didn't even bother to respond this time. He took her silence to mean she was possibly miffed about something. Perhaps offended by his display of what may have been hollow generosity. A fair assumption. Maybe she felt as if he somehow misinterpreted her own words. However, the prisoner had just gone off what she stated herself. If the Nadeshiko wanted to correct him, then all she had to do was simply state the needed facts. Of course, none of that was worth her time and she quickly moved on to the next thing of interest.

'She's definitely a princess...'

This "Hyūga Princess" answered Tayuya's question like she was simply saying the sky was blue. During her time in the Leaf, from what he could tell, Sagisō seemed to have grown quite accustomed to being royalty and was making good use of her regal privileges. So much so that she must've forgotten that most wouldn't exactly be privy to the same intelligence as the nobles. They had an abundance of knowledge, wealth, and power to top it all off. The unlucky could only imagine what it was like to have nearly everything at their fingertips just because of blood. Not that Kiro could complain considering it was him who had firmly rejected his own bloodline and by default, all the bonuses that came with nobility. Fortunately, he didn't need to rely on any of those pathetic prerogatives to get around. Neither of them did.

In any case, they eventually reached the Inuzuka clan in short time. The greeting offered by Sagisō did make it apparent that she had been there sometime earlier. Kiro just stood quietly by the two girls, still unsure if they'd even be allowed in. Then again, who were these guards to deny the graceful princess before them? While it sure would be funny if they did, he doubted there would be much of a reaction out of Sagisō either way. Should the two prisoners be accepted inside, Kiro only hoped those feculent muts stayed a good distance away, for both of their sakes. At the very least, he'd prefer not to have some filthy claws at his throat again.

 

[kyuukestu]

Mei

Cold and chill were the usual affairs in Mist Village, but this morning it was even more so. The heavy, opaque mist concealed a snow-covered landscape, frosted buildings, ice-glazed roads, and glaucous greenery. It was a white Christmas if ever one had been described, and though the imagery evoked by those words was oft associated with wonderment, that was hardly the case here for when all was blanketed white, the trees and buildings masqueraded as twins*. And yet, despite the lack of scenery to enjoy, one person seemed to enjoy it all the same from her circular balcony that overlooked the village.

The Mizukage's blue-green eyes swept across the village. Hidden beneath the mist were the village's most recent scars; damages dealt to crook and flail**. That children could still romp through the snow, despite the atrocity of recent events, was a testament to the village's resilience, and the effectiveness of emergency measures. However, a band-aid was no substitute to the mystic palm, and any medical ninja worth their pay knew that injuries left suppressed could resurface at any, worse than they had been the first time. The same principle also applied to governance, and though she was now surgeon, Mei had every intent to operate on her village.

*Knock Knock Knock*

Three dull knocks preceded the click and creak of the opening door.

"Lady Mizukage, Elder Genji has arrived."

"Thank you, Ruka. I trust my letters have also been sent?"

A curt response and affirmative nod concluded the reserved medical nin's interactions with the Mizukage. With the news of the Elder's arrival, Mei departed from her balcony, receiving the elderly man with a warm smile.

"You've arrived, Sir."

The elderly man hobbled into the Mizukage's abode, supporting himself with a goblined walking stick as he was lead into a meeting room. He took a seat, not at the central table, but instead, in an elevated chair that overlooked the table. His role was to preside and observe the meeting to come.

It was at this time that the messengers would've arrived before the four noble clans. The contents of their message was simple, and each message was identical to the next. The Clan Heads were invited to the Mizukage's manner, where a joint meeting would be held, presided over by Elder Genji.

=================================================
Foot Notes:
* Maaqueraded as twins; an idiom referring to how everything looked the same.

** The crook & flail; representations of Authority and fertility.

 

[sSoul]

Taiyo
The Leaf-nin nodded towards Senji as to acknowledge his introduction of himself. Now that a plan was in mind, Taiyo decided to make an attempt to steer everyone on that purse of action.

"So...are we waiting for anyone," He projected his voice to Senji and Raiku, implying that he wanted an answer from either of them. Afterwards, Taiyo found his foot tapping rapidly due to impatience, yet he saw no need to control this habit.

You know for a bunch of kids who specialize in speed and efficiency, we take way too long to get things done.
Tsuki
Due to not having the benefit of protection via any sort of object, the Yuki was forced to make a tactical retreat, but she soon found out that Kai had turned the projectile into one that could home in on it's target; this revelation came about when she found herself hit by the snowy orb.

Chances are that Kai used his ice chakra to make this snowball into a homing projectile. This means that I too, can influence the movement of the snow. Naturally, I should find some cover and formulate a counter strategy.

While she should find no cover, the Yuki refused to give up, so she came up with a backup plan.

"Ice Wall Jutsu!" After she cried that out, she seemed to have erected a wall from the ground, though in reality, it was more like she just created some new snow. After the wall was formed, Tsuki then sculpted it to have two slots at the top from which she could observe her surroundings or launch a snowball. Once she was done, she gathered as much snow as she could into a ball before peeking out one of the slots to find the bench that Kai was hiding behind.

"You've made a good effort Kai, but allow me to show you how it's done~" Imbuing her snowy, softball-sized projectile with chakra(finding that the process was similar to making one of Hama's ice needles), she officially began her attack.

"Yuki style secret technique: Heavy Snowball!" Once this was said, she took her shot, confident that she would hit her target.

 

[Godjacob]

"S-shut it you old hag! Nobody asked for your opinion. Ninja or not we are the Sharks nobody fucks with us!" The leader cried out, though much as he denied it her observations had proven correct. The mere mention that they had been Jonin was enough to make most of the sharks take a step back as they knew they had bitten off way more than they could chew.

Still, they had desperation and pride in spite of their fear. So they may have had desire to try and use this mercy as a means to "negotiate." To both save face and their own lives. So some members kept heir guard as the leader made a nod behind his mask as he faced the ninja family.

"But since you seem willing to talk, we can consider this act and..." He began to say, before without warning one of the members yelped as he was yanked by some unseen force and moved to the shadows of the side.

"The hell....where is, what happened!?" The leader cursed.

One by one, members of the group were pulled back into the shadows of the ally as loud thumbs and clangs were heard as the leader ordered members to search only for them to vanish. The leader became more and more nerved as he searched all around him as he tried to spot whatever or whoever had been doing this.

"S-show yourself you coward!" The leader barked out, and from behind them a figure wearing a black cloak and an old skull mask walked out with a baseball bat in hand as he eyed the leader who stepped back sheepishly at this though held his old knife as he sneered his way.

"W-who the hell are you!?" The leader spat, as the figure held the back over his shoulders and behind his head; relaxed as can be as he seemed to not acknowledge Mori and his family before he spoke.

"No one of consequence. Though I see you are giving these people trouble, consider this a favor in that I don't let these professionals you foolishly try to rob as corpses on the road. So take this chance and scram while you only have some bruises to concern yourself with." The guy spoke, using a raspy voice that had been near impossible to trace as the leader frowned and kept his guard.

"Why should I listen to you, bone head!" The leader spat, though as scathing as his middle school insult had been bodies of his crew flung from either side of the road as his crew with bruise marks and some damage scattered about and moaned as they seemed to have been taken out by this figure. How the leader had no clue and this caused panic as the skull-masked figure kept his focus on him.

"Like I said, scram while you can." The figure said, and with some regret the writing had been on the wall all the same as he got his crew up and they bailed screaming how they'd make him pay for this before they vanished. The figure then glanced over Mori's way as he eyed him and his family.

"Apologies for that. I hope you have a safe journey." The figure said before a smoke bomb went off and he vanished. Moments later, Tomiko arrived on the scene with her gauntlets in hand.

"All right you stinking sharks who wants a piece of....!" Tomiko yelled out, before she saw nothing but an empty road with Mori and company there. She had felt tremors with her seismic sense and rushed over worried Ren tried to play the hero when he bailed or something else went wrong. But then her worry turned to confusion as she scanned around but found no trace of anything. She turned to her friend and visitors.

"M-mori?"

----------
"Your guess is as good as mine. Nothing about Rika stood out to be this, she was a better candidate than me and top of the class in academics but she is a medic so this whole thing seems confusing." Kenji admitted, as Taji had a good read on the situation and really as far as viable candidates had been concerned Rika seemed to not fit the part.

"Look I doubt your leader would pick someone ill for the job just because, he likely has a reason we don't know about. More importantly we can't dwell on why alone as it has happened we can't change that. We should try to just piece together what we can and move on, maybe she will be willing to share details with us if she feels comfortable enough." Aisha tried to advice both Kenji and Taji.

----------

"I'm a Hyūga Princess, so this much is within my ability."
​

This had been enough to get the Oto kunoichi to raise a lone eyebrow, as this seemed a bit out of character for Sagiso. Not the idea that one would use clout to get some juicy info, that she figured was natural for people of all nations. But the fact she had been so open of it and referred to her "royal" status to boot as that had not been the type of personality who'd flaunt that to get ahead. No she'd be a bit more mischievous about this, or had her own twisted ploy she'd play about this but whatever reservation she had about that she figured a chance to walk around was preferred to sitting by a stage with nothing to do so she'd follow Sagiso to the Inuzuka compound.

At said compound, the same Inuzuka guards stood on alert as Sagiso had made yet another visit their way. The man scanned the party present before his gaze returned to Sagiso herself. "I presume to pay the latest...guest a visit? Are you certain everyone in your party can refrain causing a volatile reaction from him? " The man asked, as he seemed to eye Tayuya with that comment who frowned in kind as he seemed a bit hesitant to let them in but had not rejected them either. "If you wish to come inside you will be expected to be on your best behavior, and that accounts for all present party." The man said as he glanced to Kiro in kind while his ninja dog eyed them suspiciously though he had not rejected their request once more.

Then they picked up an additional scent, and as they traced it a thought crossed the guard's mind. Huh, so Lady Hina has been busy...

-----​

"Oh uh, o-okay well if you are sure..." Sakura said a bit confused by the reaction, as Kou seemed to try and deny he had been watching the show when he clearly had been. Before any other comment had been made a new arrival appeared to the little scene as Takato with Mittens in his arms walked over as the latter seemed to gaze everyone curiously before she saw the brother of Kou and her eyes had grown wide.

"Well wondered if you were gonna arrive. I see you brought friends..." Takato said to Ino before he glanced at Kou. Wasn't he that kid who clung to Oto earlier? Why had he been with Sakura?

-----​

"Congrats, you learned the world doesn't revolve around stereotypes. Good to know your sharp mind can pick up on these things so quickly..." Tsume said with dry sarcasm as she took a big bite of her chicken leg. As Zaku selected his dishes Tsume noticed he picked out an unusual number of carrots but her expression betrayed no knowledge of this as she had not even passed a serious look his way.

Hana herself prepared a dish with some pork slices and a side of lettuce as she glanced Zaku's way.

----------
Heh, figured she'd find a way to turn this meeting into a business venture.

Much to the surprise, or lack thereof especially in the case of Oasmu, Hinagiku had shifted topics once the immediate emergency of the mysterious break in character had at least been discussed to some capacity. Not enough in the mind of Inoichi, but that had not stopped him nor anyone present from listening in to Hina as she laid out her presentation. The details of the Jofuku Flowers, the benefits they'd have for the village as well as percentage shares of profits among the clans who'd join in to help with setting up and managing a research facility in the one known location they could be found. Even accounting for the shared work each clan would do in order to earn their share of this.

Daichi wondered how much free time Hina had spent working out the numbers for this passion project, but decided not to wrap his head on that as it'd be a bit of a headache just trying to imagine it.

Still, it seemed to be tempting and in spite of Hina probably having the most to gain out of this she still seemed interested to share the work and profits though Hisao guessed it was to make it easier on the Hyuga so they'd avoid having to fill all the roles; not that they lacked capacity, but a matter of convenience. Still it seemed tempting and at least the offer had been given to them as the clan heads each thought this over among themselves.

Though, a pair of questions naturally came up.

"How will labor work be distributed? As in how many representatives among our clans would go up to the location to tend to the work, and for what hours?" Inoichi asked, as he focused on the practical work labor cost this would cause and they'd need to properly account for. But there was another matter which concerned Daichi even if his expression at best sold a neutral indifference.

"Shouldn't this be discussed when the Sarutobi Head arrives? And what of the Uchiha? Had they refused your offer or did they not meet your internal quota calculations?" Daichi asked curious why another of the famous Dojutsu clans had been excluded from this offer Hina had laid out.

 

[DarkHydraT]

Kasumi merely clacked her tongue as the leader of the Sharks insulted her, at the age of 35 she couldn't really be considered an old hag, but she decided to let it slide given the circumstances of the gang. Their language could use some work too, but this was not her place to talk. She silently approved of the leader considering her offer, though said approval quickly made place for disbelief when gang members started to disappear. "Guys, defensive formation. Something is not right." She jumped up with Iwao and Mori following her example soon after, their backs against each other.

Soon after taking their positions, Kasumi saw the presumed culprit. Someone with an old skull mask, a black cloak and a baseball bat. Weaving her hand into the seal of confrontation, she prepared for a fight. But the fight never came, the figure didn't even acknowledge them directly and instead was focused on the leader of the Sharks. The leader seemed to be smart enough to leave before he shared the faith of his gang, and as he fled the figure turned to look at the family. Still hesitant about this masked person, she didn't lower her seal of confrontation. "Thanks, I guess. Who are you though?" But before she could get an answer, the person was gone.

"Who was that person? I've never seen them around, they seem capable of holding their own though. Are they a ninja?" Mori wondered out loud as he let out a sigh of relief.

"I don't know son, I know my fair share of Iwa-nin but none of them use a skull mask. Perhaps they were a vigilante, I would not be too surprised if that turned out to be true. We already saw it happen with Tomiko's group." Iwao bit his thumb and wove a strong of handsigns, the signs of Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey and Ram before putting his hand on the ground. A cloud of smoke erupted from the ground as a moderately-sized hawk with a buff-colored belly and underside of the wings and tail and a brown back and top. Its tail was broad and fan-like and its wings were stretched out to their full wingspan before they were folded up again.

"Long time no see Iwao, what do you need me for?" The hawk asked in a voice that resembled that of a teenage boy.

"It's good to see you again Liumaru, I need you to fly over the slums and see if you find someone with a black cloak, a skull mask and a baseball bat. They mopped the floor with some muggers, but left before we could discover their identity. If they do end up being trouble, I want to know where they last were seen."

"Muggers? That ain't too good, lemme see if I can sniff them out. Get it? Sniff them out, even though I am a hawk?"

"Why don't you leave the bad jokes to me? Get to work." Iwao stretched out his arm and let Liumaru land on it before swaying it up in the air to give the hawk a lift into the air, a lift he used as he flew up into the sky and began his assigned task.

Mori looked at the hawk with terribly concealed amazement. "So cool! I wish I could summon a hawk like that!"

Iwao chuckled. "Let's get you to properly control your chakra before you start summoning. Knowing you, you'd use all your chakra and end up summoning a chick or an egg. Besides, hawks could not even be your creature. It could be a slug for all you know."

"A slug? That's lame, slugs are not cool at all."

Iwao flicked Mori's nose as he corrected his only child. "Slugs are the summoning animal of one of the Three Sannin, Tsunade the Slug Princess. A highly respected kunoichi and medic who served in the Second Great Ninja War, that book you got for Hoshi should say something about her. I thought you read up on history, you should know this stuff."

"Ow! Don't you do that ever again!" Mori rubbed his nose as he looked his father in the eyes.

"Or what? You'll put my hand in a bowl with water when I'm asleep?" Iwao's eyes lit up as he waited for his son to make some kind of threat that he wouldn't go through with as Kasumi just shook her head.

"No, I'll-" Before Mori could say his threat, Tomiko entered the scene, ready to fight some sharks before realising there were no sharks around. He scratched the back of his head as Tomiko said his name. "H-hey there Tomiko, looking for something?" He asked as Kasumi and Iwao shared a knowing wink.
----------
"Maybe you're right, I've been overthinking this and probably bothered you. And sorry if I stink Aisha, did a morning workout before getting here. Didn't really expect you to be here and when I realised that you were, it was kinda hard to take a bath." Taji said with a wry smile as she petted Luna and Sky again. "They feel right at home here, did they come here before?" She asked as she scratched both wolves underneath their chins.

"So, what are your plans for today? We could train and spar, or we could try and find Rika or-. That's it, why didn't I think of that? Aisha, since you're a member of Kumo now, how about a visit to Parhelic Circle? It's an old Kumor belief that getting a tattoo is a rite of passage, though one rarely practiced today. And if you dare say that you're not really a Kumor, then let me ask you the following questions. Are you in Kumo, have you done work in Kumo, are you friends with Kumor and do those Kumor respect you? If the answer is yes to all of them, then that used to be enough to get a tattoo. Of course I don't want to force you into anything, there are plenty of different shops there. I was planning on checking up on some new stock anyway."

 

[kyuukestu]

Yasu

Beneath the radiance of the desert sun, the sands of Sunagakure shifted underfoot as people mulled about. Despite all appearances, the village was rather chilly. So much so, that Yasu had donned an additional overcoat of feathers. His eyes shiftily scanned the crowd, keeping his head down as he surreptitiously glanced at each face. It wasn't long before he noted Madoka's familiar figure, emerging from the throng of people. Their conversation yesterday had left him curious as to her intentions, which she hadn't seen fit to reveal, however, her sudden interest in the border had certainly caught his attention.

Hinagiku

The flourish and shutter of a small hand fan set a steady tempo for their discussion. As the Clan Heads around her spoke their minds, one by one, Hina held her tongue. Her pause gave anyone else time to consider, to decide whether to speak their mind or remain an observer. When it was clear that all considerations had been voiced, she proceeded.

"The distribution of labour...though I'd like to, it would've been foolhardy to set expectations before this meeting. Whatever resources can be spared from your Clans, the Hyūga will match. That is to say, we'll match whatever labour specifications you have devised amongst yourselves. That will also go for work duration."

This seemed the most reasonable approach to the Hyūga Matriarch, not only as a matter of logistics but also in public relations.

Another flourish of her fan concealed the bemused expression on her lips. That such concerns would come from a Clan she had not called to be related in this endeavor was...interesting, to say the least. As for other concerns...

"The basics will need to be rehashed when the Sarutobi Head arrives, of course, but as for the Uchiha. What do you propose their contribution might be?"

Lowering her fan, Hinagiku trained her expression on Daichi, curious as to what he had in mind. Did he perhaps see some benefit to including the Uchiha that she did not?

Sagisō

Receiving the seal of approval, or more accurately, assuming approval from a lack of rejection, Sagisō stepped passed the Inuzuka guard, entering into the Clan compound...or perhaps it would simply be the Clan pound? The thought brought a snicker to her lips. She glanced around the Clan for a moment, before she began to gather chakra in her eyes. Even as the veins began to creep across her face, the Nadeshiko kunoichi caught herself. She turned back to the Inuzuka guard, speaking plainly.

"Do you mind if I take a look around?"

 

[Godjacob]

The Inuzuka Guard glanced over at Sagiso who stepped in without saying a word which caused his companion to growl at her but he quelled it in a hurry as he listened to Sagiso as she asked for permission to look around inside.

"Depends, can you assure that you will be a respectful guest and avoid causing trouble. And that your party will do the same, especially in light of certain "residents" here and your party." The Inuzuka guard asked as it seemed if he got assurance on this front they'd be allowed inside. His look naturally glanced to Sagiso but also Tayuya and Kiro as Tayuya stuck her tongue out at him. Really they'd have their noses and senses trained so there was no danger of anything going hectic there but he needed to at least assure this group would abide by these basic rules or provide justification for why they'd allow two prisoners of the Hyuga inside with another prisoner of their own.

 

[Retro Master]

‘What the hell is that dog looking at?’

As the Inuzuka guard and Sagisō conversed over their approval to enter, Kiro did not miss the suspicious look he was given by the animal and returned a fierce glare of his own. It was annoying that the guard had previously looked his way when stating to be on their best behavior. They were acting like he was some troublesome child. Nevertheless, Kiro continued to stare down the creature, who somehow still had the nerve to look at him. A feat worthy of his respect. However, the prisoner wasn’t about to back down to some house pet and accepted it’s challenge.

 

[kyuukestu]

Sagisō

Wariness filled the gaze Sagisō passed over the growling ninken. She swiftly raised the roll of roasted venison in her hand, well out of the dog's reach.

"No, you can't have any!"

The beast was clearly after the meat she'd reserved for Zaku. It was only when the Inuzuka guard had restrained his partner, that Sagisō put away her suspicions and properly considered his words. The first part of his request was reasonable, of course. She hadn't come here to cause trouble, and her mother had already expressly forbidden her from doing so. However, it was the second part of the guard's statements that caught her attention. He'd spoken to her about Kiro and Tayuya's behaviour. Although she found it...understandable, she still frowned slightly at his implications. It appeared that she would be held accountable for Kiro and Tayuya's behaviour while they enjoyed their visit.

Though troublesome, Sagisō imagined it couldn't be too bad. However, as her eyes shifted over to the duo that would be placed under her care, her expression darkened, distress creases forming along her brow. Her lips curled into a scowl as she saw Tayuya making faces at the guard while Kiro stared passionately at one of the dogs, purportedly trying to woo the beast with his fabled Uchiha Charms. Did he always have a thing for dogs?

The Nadeshiko kunoichi shook off the thought, returning her focus to the Inuzuka guard. She was indecisive, but only for a moment before she grit her teeth and squeezed out.

"Fine...I'll make sure they behave."

Having now received permission from the guard, she moved a few steps deeper into Inuzuka territory, chakra once again gathering in her eyes. Within moments she'd scouted out Zaku's location. The sound shinobi hovered around servings of food, loading his plate with meats and starches, half-way to a balanced breakfast. All he'd need now were some fruits and vegetables, but as the Sound Shinobi made his way over to the vegetables, apparently set on a pile of carrots, his expression began to change.

It was all well and good for a boy to enjoy his veggies, they were vital to a strong and healthy body after all! Sagisō herself enjoyed several fruits and vegetables, or at the very least, didn't find them as distasteful as her little sister did. HOWEVER, this! This was a bit too much enjoyment, even for the Nadeshiko Kunoichi's standards. Sagisō watched, horrified, as Zaku proceeded to penetrate himself with the carrot. He'd tried to make it seem mere coincidence, perhaps even accidental, but his precise actions could in no way escape Sagisō's superior vision and neither could the musing expression on his face, the picture of perverse self-satisfaction.

Sagisō's jaw dropped. She would never have believed Zaku was so backed up —or was it him backing himself up?— that he'd stoop to such... skewered acts.

Her legs weakened, stumbled forward a few steps as the realization hit her. It was her fault! She very clearly remembered that Zaku was unlearned in the affairs of love and romance. How could she not? She herself had been the one to set him on the righteous path. However, in her negligence, she'd failed to inform Zaku in full, and now...and now...now he'd fallen to pleasuring himself with vegetables...

Tears almost came to her eyes as she watched her friend and protege so villainously stuff himself. This was not the correct way to stuff himself with food...or anything for that matter, and by her honor, she would correct this fallacy!

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Smirking as his snowball landed heavily on Tsuki, he felt a triumphant boost to his morale. Aha! She cannot beat a Yuki Prince in combat! However, Kai soon stood surprised as Tsuki erected an ice wall, skidding to a halt. What? Has she learned to make structures that quickly? To think a few months ago she was just learning to walk on water...

Soon enough, she emerged from her ice wall, wanting to show Kai how it was done...in an eerily similar fashion to how Hama would speak. She created a softball sized projectile of snow, chucking it in his direction. Quickly jumping up and over the attack, Kai grew confident.

“Did you really think that would-“

*SPLAT!!*

From behind, the snowball had curved 180° and impacted the Yuki on the back. This sent him flying into the snow covered ground below. He shook his head, snow particles fluttering away from his Black hair. Hama’s Technique, the ice needle. All about precision and Manual control. I should have been more careful...

“Ha ha...” Kai uttered. “Hahaha!”

There was Kai, laughing like an idiot in the middle of town, joyful laughter coming from him in the first time in years. A few doors opened, some kids who had watched the whole thing running out to play, throwing snowballs at each other, some cheering for Tsuki, whom had landed the finishing blow to kai. Their parents smiled on from the doorways, glad to see a smile on their child’s faces in such a harsh time. It seemed that this Christmas Day was starting to get it’s spark back.



........


“Hmph.”

Jin walked down the snowy walkway, passing by a chilly harbor and toward the Mizukage’s manner. His presence was requested, alongside he other clan heads for some type of joint meeting. He entered the manner, approaching the meeting hall alongside some other familiar faces. Pressing his hand toward the door to the meeting room, he let himself in.



.........

Kou gave a sigh of relief as his interest in the puppet show had been pushed to the side. He’d never hear the end of it from Boss. Before he could dwell on it any longer, Takato and his cat came walking up to the scene. Kou’s brother’s tail stood straight up and it’s eyes became tense. It scurried up to The top of Kou’s head and stood on two legs, balling it’s fists like it was ready for a fist fight.

“Do I...know you? You kinda look familiar.” Kou said, having very vauge memories of this new arrival.




...........



“Stereotypes are useful lady, like akamichi is to a pile of lard, You guys are to dog treats. Who knows? Maybe it’s for desert.” Zaku teased.

Heh, they don’t know any better! Soon with this concealed weapon I can surely penetrate the defenses without the need of a powerful blast! I need to be covert, which will be tricky, but not impossi-

*Wump! Wump!*

Heavy steps came forward, heavy enough to draw Zaku’s attention. There was Sagiso, an absolutely horrified expression on her face as her legs grew weaker and eyes more and more strained. To be frank, he was surprised to see her here, let alone in this condition. He’d Play it cool, getting a smirk on his face.

“What? Quaking in your boots to finally see someone of my caliber in person? Looks like I made an impression on you since last time.”

 

[kyuukestu]

Sagisō

On second thought, Zaku probably deserved whatever he had coming to him.

Having her intentions dashed to the wayside rather quickly soured the Nadeshiko kunoichi's pure and noble intentions. She'd forgotten how cocky Zaku usually was. His smug words and cocky expression were just begging to be wiped off his face...and who was she to deny him?

"Your caliber is only so-so, only a few millimeters...I guess I can understand why you'd prefer the carrot."

She gazed below Zaku's waist, making no effort to disguise the direction of her vision and focus. Her voice was laced with disdain, but not letting up, she fired another shot.

"How about you give Tayuya's flute a shot? It'd be a lot more satisfying than that small-caliber equipment you're packing."

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Given a second of panic on his face when she said carrot, it took him a few moments to realized she was talking about ‘that’ carrot. A wave of relief washed over him, only to be replaced by his competitive and unyielding snicker.

“Heh, You know what they say about carrots, some grow much longer than others. But I see you just couldn’t help yourself to look at mine. Maybe it’s because you really wanted to marry me, tortured by our distance apart.”

He was lucky the inzuka didn’t catch on to what she was actually talking about. She was playing with Fire, and she knew what she was doing. He had to dance around the ammunition he had loaded in his arm as long as possible.

 

[kyuukestu]

Sagisō

Despite Zaku's clearly well-thought-out and horribly scathing comeback, Sagisō had naught but the most self-satisfied of grins on her face. Zaku might not have realized it, but he'd just very clearly equated his equipment to a carrot, and Sagisō had no intention of ever letting him live this one down.

"No one says that —but you're not wrong, some carrots are longer than others. But, you know the drill little carrot—"

She lingered on the name a bit longer, making sure Zaku well and realized this was his new nickname and musing over the odd circumstances of fate. Tayuya was Little Kosho, a pepper, and Zaku was now a carrot, at this rate, shouldn't she rather call them the vegetable ninja rather than sound ninja? She believed there was a Land of vegetables, maybe if she poked around there she'd find Orochimaru's base. A giggle escaped her lips, but she soon stifled it as she continued.

"—if you want to marry me, you'll need to beat me."

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

...hold up.

Little carrot?

He didn’t know quite how it got to the point in the conversation or how it even evolved to this. He was going to retort this with a witty remark of his own of her little experience with carrots when she proposed to fight once more for the right of marriage.

“Heh...I nearly beat you when you had help of the winner of the exam helping you out. What makes you think you can beat me, eh?”

At this point they had started to make a scene, most of everyone in the food gallery paying attention to their rather...unorthodox guests

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Walking through the streets along the bustling crowd of the festival, Shura, in due course, made it to the candy store he usually goes to. As he took a step in, the Hyuga caught a glance of something from the corner oh his eye, Susei, Taiyo's little sister. "Hmm, isn't that the little girl that fire guy was with when they showed up at the manor? From what I could tell, they were siblings." Shura thought to himself. "Why is she wandering around the village by herself?"

As these thoughts ran through Shura's mind, something else caught his attention. A conspicuous looking man behind the young girl. If one were to pay attention to him, it was blatantly obvious the man was following the little girl by her lonesome. "They better not be using the festival as a cover for suspicious activities." Shura mumbled to himself with an annoyed tone as he stepped out of the candy store and began tailing the man following Susei.

 

[kyuukestu]

Sagisō

"Doesn't count for much when you managed to lose to Woody and his friend. You're making me look bad here carrot-top."

Shrugging while flashing a sly smile, Sagisō retorted to Zaku's 'claims'. Having experience Kiro's curse mark, she was actually quite confident in dealing with Zaku's, given its short duration, and the lack of mobility approaching anywhere close to Kiro's Lightning cloaked curse mark form. In any case, Azumi hadn't interfered much in their fight. The rain kunoichi's strength was yet unfathomable, as even the finals of the examination, Sagisō doubted Kiro had pushed her to her limits.

Licking her lips, she coated them in a gloss. Rather than Zaku, Sagisō itched for a shot at Azumi herself.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

“Could say the same about you, forfeiting a match just to get a chance to marry me. Gotta say, that’s some serious dedication.”

It was a fair point, as she did throw the match against Katsuo only to immediately fight Zaku afterwards. Sagiso seemed more confident now than before, even Zaku could see that. But how much was bluffing and how much was real? That was yet to be determined

 

[kyuukestu]

Sagisō

"What can I say? I'm a generous person. If I didn't marry you, then who would? You should be thanking me on your knees —well, after you manage to beat me."

With her piece said, Sagisō stifled a giggle and hoisted the wrapped package in her hand.

"By the way, I got ya something, catch!"

Disregarding that Zaku's hands might've been filled with plates and carrots, amongst other things, Sagisō gave her package a light toss. The package was, of course, the roasted venison she'd prepared earlier. It was still warm, and though she wasn't sure, she heard venison went well with carrots.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

“On my knees? After beating you? What kind of world do you live in lady?”

As Sagiso hoisted the package up, she gave Zaku a warning before hurling it his way. Catching would be difficult a full plate of food on him though. He held his plate away with his right hand while he grabbed the package with his left. A string smell hit him, something rich with flavor, something meaty like a steak. And by the feel of the package...still warm!

“Huh, his uncharacteristicly nice of you.” Zaku was remarked. “Better food than rations if you know what I mean. Make it just for me, eh?”

 

[kyuukestu]

Sagisō

"Uncharacteristically? How rude, I'm the definition of nice and magnanimous. Haven't I been the one taking care of all you joke— I mean, you could hardly find another person as helpful as I."

Sagisō casually played off her slip of the tongue, holding a hand to her chest as she displayed the essence of a kind and demure woman. She wasn't lying per se, she firmly believed she'd helped quite a number of persons regardless of their affiliations, albeit often incidentally. Moving on, however, she immediately took offense at Zaku's words.

"Of course. How could rations compare to my cooking?"

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

“....Ahuh...”

Zaku tried to ignore her first comment, as she seemed to be making some type of point he didn’t understand all that well, so he’d let the wench from Nadeshiko talk to herself. His mind began to space out before she became offended, asking how her cooking could be compared to rations. He shrugged.

“Just an expression lady, though if your that defensive I should be worried.” He joked. “Not like it’s laced with cyanide.”

 

[sSoul]

Tsuki
At first, Tsuki felt a bit of shock from seeing the Snowball curve backwards to hit Kai. In truth she was still unused to controlling this with her Chakra, seeing as she didn't know how else to instruct her objects beyond "follow a person until you hit something or someone". She then heard Kai begin to laugh, upon which she was initially confused, but that confusion was suppressed by hearing some kids cheering for her, causing a boost for her self-esteem.

They...enjoyed it? Kai's enjoying this too, even though he lost. Th...this is nice...

For some reason, the Yuki-nin couldn't help but find herself chuckling as well, when she approached Kai she extended her arm and asked a question.

"You wanna go for round two? Maybe you could get one of the kids to help you~" Tsuki gently teased, while also subtly hoping that this habit of hers wouldn't push Kai away, that would be the last thing that she'd want .
Susei
Overall, the young academy student found that she was having a great time at the festival. In fact, Susei had just won a prize from one of the games the Hyūga set up. As she was carrying her prize back to the would-be stage, her pursuer found his opportunity.

"Hey, little girl" Susei found the voice of a grown man behind her, much to Susei's confusion.

"Who are you?" She immediately found herself suspicious of this strange man(rightly so seeing as normal people don't follow little girls around a festival).

"I just wanted to talk, that's all..." The man said nonchalantly, looking around to see if anyone else was watching.

"Before you continue, you should look over there," Susei pointed off into the middle distance as she said this. To her partial surprise, he actually looked over where she directed him too, allowing her to do the tiger hand-seal, which was thankfully all she needed to fire a Water Bullet. After she did this, she turned around and screamed as loud as she could.

"SOMEONE HELP!!" Immediately after her proclamation, she was pinned against the wall as well has her mouth covered.

"Let's try this again..." The man raised his fist slowly, "I just. want. To talk!" The man moved to punch Susei in the face.
Taiyo
As he found himself waiting, Taiyo heard a scream for help. While this was bad enough, it was made worse by the fact that he recognized the voice it came from.

"Excuse me everyone, I'll be right back," Taiyo said calmly as he activated Orange FBS. Immediately afterwards, he used the technique to reach the would-be stage.

Figures that this'd happen. This is just what I get for putting trust in my sis...

This isn't her fault though.

I know, it's ours.

 

[Godjacob]

I'm not sure who I hate more after that conversation.

Tayuya managed to avoid a verbal response, even if a certain comment seemed to use her name in regard, but as the new group arrived and Sagiso and Zaku had their verbal exchange the two Inuzuka women which had been a lot to take in.

"You know, there is a door here to knock on before you barge into the kitchen like this." Tsume said, though in truth she had almost been amused by this little lover's quarrel while Hana had been openly amused as she grinned and scanned the group of young ninja.

"Well what do you know, a fan club. And here I thought any friend you had would be imaginary." Hana said in full playfulness as her dogs sniffed the guests curiously while Tayuya scowled.

"Don't make assumptions." Tayuya muttered back as Hana scanned Sagiso and Zaku.

"So what, this how you spend your dates?" Hana asked given the subject of their convo. Though weather she meant that literally or had been cheeky was hard to tell.

 

[Retro Master]

It seemed his conjecture on the connection between Zaku and Sagisō was growing more likely. Something which the others in the room also managed to pick up on. Kiro simply pinned their squabble as part of some unorthodox long distance relationship thing they had going. At least Zaku still didn’t seem willing to easily bow to the “princess”. He’d have to pay his respects to the Sound prisoner later. Having little interest in their bickering, Kiro had shifted his focus to the table of food and was now checking it out.

“Surprising. Thought I’d only find dog food here...”

Kiro muttered under his breath as he checked out the plethora of food choices. The chicken legs and pork slices didn’t look or smell half bad. Of course, it didn’t take long for the dogs to be attracted by him, again. This time, one of the them came up to sniff him. Did he look like a meal to them? The dumb bitches just couldn’t leave him alone for a moment! It must’ve been that Uchiha disease Sagisō mentioned to him in the prison. Instead of smacking the little cretin away, Kiro managed to retain his composure. He then calmly looked over to the Inuzuka ladies enjoying the show and spoke up in a well mannered tone.

“Excuse me women, I respectfully ask if you could have your dogs stay away from me while I’m here. Is that cool with you all?”

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Kai was welcomed with the sight of Tsuki’s hand reaching down to help him up, playing the tease about needing a kid to help him win a snowball fight. He scoffed, taking the hand.

“Beginners luck you little brat.” He laughed.

I’m surprised how far she has come. Just what is Hama feeding her?

Hama looked at their scene from a far away window, a smile slowly stretching across her face. Her eyes fixated on Tsuki. Beating Kai, even in a snowball fight was hefty progress for a first year.

“Wonder what Jin would say if I had a competitor for the next Kage position? Hehe...Then there is the slave, Seiun...I wonder if...”


.........


"So what, this how you spend your dates?" Hana asked the pair.

“Nah, usually there’s a whole lot more fighting and dead women.” Zaku chuckled, despite the grim subject matter. “Usually there’s another girl too.”

Referring to Azumi of course, Zaku couldn’t help but wonder if she were in the leaf too, as seemingly Sagiso stayed well over her expected due. Maybe it was time for another crack at that marriage.

 

[kyuukestu]

Sagisō

"No, of course not, a date would involve much more fighting."

Sagisō replied matter-of-factly. She was once again reminded of how foolish and uneducated the people from the Great Nations were —Che, some Great nations. No wonder their progeny were so feeble. There was a noticeable lack of Inuzuka presence during the Chūnin exams. In fact, the only decent Inuzuka Sagisō had met was the wild girl who'd been raised by the ferals and would obviously know that courtship was a matter of strength and dominance.

"Though, I never imagined I'd hear Carrot call herself a dead woman."

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

What...even was that burn attempt? That’s the cringest possible comeback....

Zaku just looked at her like she was the biggest idiot in the room. At least he had originality and dare he say Class with his jabs. Sagiso’s was just...bad. Maybe her skilled dulled with time. After a uncomfortable awkward silence, Zaku chuckled.

“It’s okay sweet cheeks, you can think of a better one next time. Now go make me a sandwich.”

 

[kyuukestu]

Sagisō

A slight twitch attacked the edge of Sagisō's lip, and for a while, she stayed silent. She had held her head down, though whether shamefully or contemplatively was unapparent. However, her silence didn't last long as she soon raised her head and smiled brightly at Zaku.

"Sure Honey, would you like some carrots with that sandwich? I can use yours."

The wind trilled at the formation of a blade between her fingers, practically invisible, and betrayed only by the sound of its presence. It wouldn't be hard for her to actually turn Zaku into a dead woman, and she had no qualms justifying her earlier words with action. She closed in on Zaku with steady steps, the smile on her lips as threatening as it was friendly.