Private/Closed Naruto AU: Roleplay

[Godjacob]

Damn her!

Those were the only thoughts that flashed through the archer's mind as she suddenly felt her shot thrown off as her arrows sailed harmlessly through the air as her footing sunk into the ground and instantly she knew it had been that girl who clogged up the entrance path as the Earth manipulation mirrored this move. Quick as a flash she reached for a knife she charged with electricity aiming to turn to hold up a guard with the aim to halt any attack attempt to go for a counter.

Slash!

But her thoughts and her plan fell apart much as her body had, as Baiyan's strike proved just a step quicker and without stable ground to move herself properly the her wind blade cut though her body clean in two as broken arrows and blood splattered over the muddy ground.

Woosh!

The masked caravan brute focused merely on slaughter as his one and only goal was to crush the throat of the intruder with little regard for his own well being as far as the metal that dug into his arms had been concerned. But this single minded mentality proved costly, as he was not even made away of the scythe that slowly rose then shot for his head until it had been too late and sure enough the scythe stabbed into the back of his head as blood shot out as his skull was slashed. Amazingly, his body held the choke and given gave one last unconscious squeeze before the giant's body finally flopped to the floor dead.

Crack!

Okabe had only just gottan a hand up to guard his side but it proved far from enough to avoid Azumi's wrath as her umbrella slammed into it as bones in the right arm broke from the impacted of the hardened umbrella as Okabe had been sent flying and crashed into a wall as his family hidden away felt the thud as the boys grabbed Chiziwa's shirt and buried their faces into her chest as she hugged them both close; fear evident among the three though Chiziwa tried to remain strong if silent.

The fear was also evident in the faces of the remaining caravan members, as Okabe was slow to stand 2 of the "big 3" members were killed and their leader seemed beaten. Some froze in place, others moved to guard and a couple broke their weak formations to try and flee as Azumi shot a glare their way.

----------

"Summoning Jutsu!"
​

During the pre-fight preparations, Tayuya had made a simply preparation as she bit her thumb and slammed it into the ground as clouds of smoke covered the area. As they dissipated three monstrous figures stood as the Doki trio were revealed while Tayuya pulled out her flute.

"Nobody asked you to. And I ain't your sister got it?" Tayuya replied, though Sagiso was quickly on the move as she fired a wave of kunai and charged ahead looking for a melee chakra-boost kunai strike as she tried to mask herself in the wave. Tayuya was quick to respond as she began to play a melody as her Doki responded in kind.

The one with twin strapped claws swung with two ferocious swings; picking up some wind with the aim to knock the kunai away with the current so they'd fall or be pushed away harmlessly; blocking whatever ones that managed to slip through itself.

The Doki with its arms bound slammed into the ground with a thunderous stomp, which aimed to rock the immediate area around Tayuya to try and knock Sagiso off balance.

And the Doki with a club merely aimed to try and smack Sagiso away before she could strike....though to avoid any legal issues with Hina Tayuya would alter her tune to pull back its blow enough to avoid killing her if it connected.

Naturally, all were in a defensive position around Tayuya; like a swarm of bees to protect the queen from invaders as they aimed to answer back Sagiso's offense and drive it away while pressing a counter attack.

-----​

Masa's expression had not shifted as she was once more urged to go to the Uchiha for answers as whatever Hina had in the mind she refused to share herself. Irregardless the numbers began to show up as Hina made her first offer towards the Aburame head for the clan's services as she thought over the numbers though her expression betrayed nothing.

"Given my clan will be handling the main labor for this project, it feels such a disservice for such a minor percent of the revenue over it. 40%." Masa said, as she made her counter offer back to Hinagiku as she seemed to want to maximize her revenue.

 

[kyuukestu]

Hinagiku

“No can do.”

Shaking her head, she directly rejected Masa’s counter-proposal.

“You’ve assumed far too great a stance, you’re neither the main workforce, nor the only deal I’ve left to broker. If you’re not willing to make do with 20%, then just treat it as if I’d never brought it up.”

Sagisō

Sagisō’s vision swam across the three-giant summons, calm, calculating, as she sought the best way to advance her assault. Her approach appeared lax, a hum rising from her throat, a rhythm to her words, a song amidst battle.

“Falling in the pit of sin, through pleasures face I met her grace~”

“Like a clone she looked like me, who could it be~?”

Her voice trilled beneath the rush of air as the twin-clawed giant swung, ferocious winds rebuffing the hail of kunai. Although it was somewhat drowned, the Nadeshiko knew she was just loud enough for Tayuya to hear her clearly.

Having been repelled haphazardly, some of the kunai had been marked 'return to sender', their rebound sending them back towards Sagisō. Using her free hand, Sagisō plucked three kunai from the air, her fingers finding the loops in their handles.

She noted that although most of her tools had been repelled, a few had still struck the aberration, and most importantly of all, its previous wide, forceful swings, left it in no position for an immediate follow-up.

Her path shifted, and Sagisō charted a course for the twin-clawed warrior. She immediately accelerated to her utmost, relying on her speed and agility to weave past the aberrant's arms while they were still overextended from its swing.

She had, of course, also taken note of the remaining two aberrations. As the thunderous stomp shook the ground, Sagisō sought to leap onto the clawed warrior, using the kunai embedded in flesh as foot-holds as she bound her way up its body.

Her eyes remained keen, observing the motion of the clubbed warrior. Should it continue its swing, even at the risk of its ally, Sagisō was confident she could dodge it. The swing was...slower than she’d expected, restrained even.

From her current position on the body of the clawed giant, she was sure she could perform a back-flip over the club as it slammed into its brethren. She imagined the rebound from the blow would leave the club in just the right place for her to land on, and then vault from.

However, that was all hypothetical.

Her immediate goal would be to swiftly disable the offensive power of these giants. Gauging the tender inside of the clawed aberrant’s elbow joint, she wondered whether an explosive tag would deal enough damage to put the limb out of commission.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Shura looked at Tayuya as she exited the room and continued to make her way to the training fields to meet up with Sagiso. As the Hyuga expected, she brushed off his warning. “Damn it.” He muttered to himself as he also ran out the room.

Shura grabbed the bundle of hair he dropped then ran into another nearby room and put the hair on of the hooks inside. “Now no one will mistake it for trash on the ground and throw it away.” He thought to himself before turning back to the matter at hand. Spinning around, Shura made his way outside.

Arriving at the field that was currently occupied by the two Kunoichi, Shura got to the scene right as their fight was about to commence. He flipped onto the roof of a nearby structure and settled down on it, eyes observing the exchange in front of him.

 

[Godjacob]

As Tayuya noticed Sagiso's adaptive counter to her moves, Sagiso would discover that the Oto-Prisoner was lightning quick with reactions and in an instant she seamlessly shifted to a new melody to give a command her Doki would follow in kind.

First, the clawed Doki began to rock violently while Sagiso was onto its being; using its forceful brute force to try and rock her footing and shake her off while it moved into a defensive guard position

The Doki with the club simply stopped its swing, as if the momentum just came to a stop before it could accidentally strike its ally which seemed to further highlight just how unnatural these beings were, as it free hand shot out with shocking speed as Tayuya needed not worry about holding this back as her aim was to have it simply grasp Sagiso by the leg while she had been busy hanging onto the fellow clawed Doki.

Speaking of that Doki, it moved in position behind Sagiso as it seemed ready to deliver a kick; either it would have Tayuya gauge where Sagiso would dodge to strike then or if the clubbed companion could actually grasp at her it would swing it over to it where it would deliver a kick in a display of teamwork to try and beat the Hyuga into submission.

---------
Masa remained silent as Hinagiku offered her clarification, as it appeared the Hyuga Head was in no position to haggle shares as it seemed she had other suitors on the mind which made it a "deal or no deal" situation.

"I see. And what deals to this point have you secured? So I can be aware of who the Aburame would possibly be working with for this little joint project of yours? Or do you merely look to find the first to say yes and leave them with the sole share of the profits?" Masa asked as it would be necessary to know who else in Konoha her clan mates would be working with if anyone at all.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

"So....what do you often do with your free time? Or ever desired to do with it I should ask..."

Kou looked to Sakura, surprised she asked that. He never really had to explain it before, except briefly to Zaku amongst a mission. He cleared his throat.

“Oh um...I used to kick a can down the street and try to beat my record of how many bumps it took to lose the thing.” Kou spoke softly. “There was also bets on who could take the most valuable thing in half an hour...though usually they would just follow each other and try to steal from the other guys. And uh...”

He shifted in his seat, pressing his two index fingers to each other. His nervousness was obvious, he wasn’t used to sharing these type of things, especially not out in the open.

“Uh...also do a little bit of dancing...”



......


B.O.S.E.C. Swirled over to Seiun, grasping his mouth, however visually as he couldn’t interact with Seiun’s actual face.

“Shh̢hh̕.͏.̸..t͜h͏e͞re wil̛l be ͡t͘ime̕ fór̕ ̸e̡very҉th͘i͠ng͠..͘.͝bè ̢p̕a͡ti̴e͡nt͏.͜

..........


Kin’s Head cocked to the side, giving an intense stare to Madoka. It seemed as though she were contemplating her next move. She licked her moist lips and showed her fangs, a grin showing.

“So good dog, sit, roll over? Is that how it is? I’ll bite. Just what’s stoppin’ you from offing me after I drop the snake cold, eh? Yeah sure your offer looks all nice and shiny, but if I’m still gonna get killed off when you don’t need me anymore, what’s the DAMN POINT?!?”

She hissed, her canine’s flaring up, lurching over in her bonds. She seemed directly speaking to Madoka at this point, seeming almost testing her, a instinctual game of chicken that Kin planned on winning.


......

 

[DarkHydraT]

"Gotta get permission of who I assume to be the leader, it's called manners." Mori flashed a grin as he leaned forward. "A quick disclaimer before I start, if you have doubts about the information I told you then you can always check with Tomiko. After all we both were there. Everyone ready? Okay, then here is how we got to the mission location and details around it."

"After you lot crashed into me with that sled of yours, I asked Tomiko if she wanted to come on this mission with me. I already volunteered for the mission, even if Lord Tsuchikage didn't find my entrance quite as amusing as I did. Guess the window is off limits for now." The genin said with a chuckle. "Soon after she arrived at the Tsuchikage's office, we met the third member of our group to be. A boy called Katsuo, and our first meeting didn't go too smooth. Pulled a sword out on him, he took it well though and didn't hold it against me which I am grateful for. Inside of the office, we met our group leader. I've heard of her before thanks to my parents, but I didn't know what she looked like. The moment I saw her, I realised her reputation was not exaggerated. Lady Guren was a woman who took no nonsense from anyone and was ready to leave for the mission. After some introductions took place we were on our way to the Land of Water." Iwao's ears perked up at the mention of the Crystal Style user.

Mori tore five pages out of his noteblock and draw the outline of the five Great Nations on them, each nation on a seperate page. Laying them down in the correct location, he pointed at the Land of Earth. "This is where we are and this," He moved his finger to the Land of Water, "was our goal. Pretty far away as you can see, and just for clarification, our target came from here." The finger pointed at the Land of Lightning now. "She didn't like how she was being treated there and left, and because of her strength all the nations tried to get her on their side." His eyes locked on Tomiko for a second, continuing with the lie that Tomiko told them before leaving whilst still telling the truth.

Kasumi pondered on the words of Kuro. "Hmm, might not be a bad idea. Training never hurts and if she can motivate Mori enough to shake his ways of truancy, she might also be willing to have him as a training partner. This of course all depends on her decision and your willingness to let your daughter train under a stranger, and I will respect that decision."

"Of course, we wanted to be there as fast as possible and no one was willing to walk that far as it would take a month or so. So Lady Guren decided to pull one of the most incredible moves I've seen and created a crystal dragon out of thin air! Not only that, but it was capable to carry all four of us to the Land of Water in an amazing time! Once we landed, I faced one of my worst enemies that was everywhere where I looked." Mori stopped for a moment for the drama set in before continuing. "Water. Because I can't swim, I was not looking forward to landing as the Land of Water consists of multiple islands. Water was something we had to deal with, so I just had to shut up and move forward." He admitted as he scratched the back of his head with a big grin. "Who or what we encountered afterwards and if we succeeded in our mission will be told tomorrow I assume, so be sure to nag Tomiko's ears off to get her to tell it earlier." The genin pointed to his earplugs with a grin, finding the subtle hint to his hearing damage and the joke on ears hilarious.
-----------

Taji was positively surprised by how Aisha learned to talk, it was an ingenuitive method and this info should mean that she is capable of solving some problems from an unique perspective. But said appreciation was hard to keep up as she gorged upon her food in a manner that would put her wolves to shame. The waiter returned to their table to place down two bowls of water for Sky and Luna and if he was repulsed by her eating habits, he didn't show it and left after his delivery was made.

She grabbed two chopsticks, said a quiet 'Itadakimasu' and ate her fish in a much more calm and proper manner, forming a interesting contrast between the two kunoichi. "I have to tell you this Kenji, you were right about the quality of the food here. It is really quite good." The genin said after she finished a bite, keeping her manners in check. After all, someone had to be the responsible one.

 

[kyuukestu]

Sagisō

Tayuya’s reaction was quick, and the aberrant’s even quicker. They reacted in a way that defied physics and the Nadeshiko’s conventional understanding of momentum, reeling in attacks with impeccable control.

Taking in all their actions at once should’ve been simplicity —had her Byakugan been activated— but her eyes, in their base state, found trouble capturing so many simultaneous occurrences. Perhaps she’d become over reliant.

By the time she’d soaked in all the movements, the doki’s arm was far too close for comfort. She couldn’t dodge from this distance. She marveled at the predicament she was in, allowing her appreciation to leak into her lyrics.

"Such a pearl, a genuine girl...”

However, despite that, appreciation was all the Nadeshiko would give. Chakra kept her firm to the clawed giant’s body, held fast even as it attempted to shake her loose. Through unsteady footing, she lowered her stance at the knees, bending to retain form as well as generate power. She twisted at the waist, spinning her torso toward the approaching arm and releasing the explosive punch she’d kept in store. The exertion was noticeable, her following words almost grunted out.

“Will only fall and turn to a doll..."

Her strike fell short, bombarding the open air rather than the center of the incoming palm that she’d aimed for. Still, that was enough. The fist blow had generated shock-waves with enough might to snap trees, and they rippled outward to meet the doki’s outstretched arm.

Confident that the strike would —if not stop the beast in its tracks— at least buy her an opportunity to evade, Sagisō fished out a smoke bomb, tagging the clawed doki. The bomb exploded next to her, and Sagisō moved with the burst of smoke.

Under the cover of smoke, she leaped through the air, aiming for the elongated shadow of the club-warrior's weapon, still frozen in space. Sagisō had a hunch that the three beasts, controlled by Tayuya, could not accurately aim at a target that their puppeteer could not see.

Though, the sound kunoichi would likely still hear her, as she made no effort to silence her song.

"All the chains that keep you tied...”

Her voice was on the move. As she sought to run across the doki’s outstretched club, chakra gathered at her soles, allowing her to maintain a sufficient foot hold.

“I'll break their pride!"

The three kunai she’d pluck earlier on now found themselves armed with paper bombs. Observing the hulking silhouettes' through the smoke, Sagisō launched her projectiles aiming one paper bomb each, at the legs and knees of the aberrations.

Hinagiku

“The Taketori Clan, of course, offers their assistance. We’ve been generational allies, so I would hardly leave them out.”

As a Clan not originating in the Leaf, Hinagiku mentioned them first, getting them out of the way. As for Clan within the Leaf, she had her mind on a few...

“The Nara Clan are a prime candidate, their ancestral grounds are known to have rare herbs, so their expertise is most welcomed. Last, but not least, the Sarutobi. I’ve a theory I’d like to test with their Hiden techniques.”

Including the Aburame, that accounted for four clans, and counting themselves, five. It went without saying that 1/5th shares was already as fair as it got.

 

[Godjacob]

Naturally the gang all listened to Mori's account of the mission he and Tomiko had been part of as Mori's story sucked in their interest right away. Even one with a more visibly serious look like Ren could not help but take in Mori's account of the journey especially when he revealed certain details.

"G-guren!? The crystal ninja?" Jirou asked in shock and as Mori continued his story a visible banging was head on the table as Hoshi seemed upset over something.

"Man, you got to ride a crystal dragon Tomiko? You are so lucky!" Hoshi whined which was enough to get twin giggles from the twins as Tomiko merely had a shrug and a cheeky grin on her face.

"I mean hey comes with the territory. Ninja stuff tend to do cool stuff so way of the life, though of course you have to factor in the danger of the mission. And there was much danger, but that is a story for tomorrow." Tomiko said with a tease as clearly Mori's info baited them enough to want more.

"I appreciate you are willing to let us have say in this matter. I know one thing about my girl, when she is driven there is simply no stopping here so I am merely thankful she ended up being who she is rather than falling in bad habits. I suppose I would like to have a chance to get to know you two better, though what I see so far gives me no reason not to assume the best. I would ask for an address but the practicality of a pair of bakers in the....lower districts going up to the main city if need be seems dubious even if I would gladly drop everything for my little power pumpkin if she needed hep." Kuro said with a sheepish grin once more as he rubbed the back of his head.

----------
"Regardless of my reputation I do have a habit of knowing my way around town. No need to thank me believe me it is a treat on its own..." Kenji said, a bit literal with that as he'd take a bite of his meal while Aisha and along her companions chomped down on their meals in an almost exaggerated manner.

"Next time we take you out I am gonna have to remember to bring extra napkins." Kenji said with a sweat drop as Aisha had a cheeky grin after she chewed down a bite.

"Hey, with food this good why would I not indulge myself? I think we all earned that after such a big mission." Aisha said in defense as Kenji shook his head though he had an amused grin on his face all the same.

----------
Sakura listened as Kou recounted his little day to day favorites, able to display some inventiveness with making things within a half hour challenge and able to find enjoyment in stuff that would be something most would not think about. Such as kicking cans to see how far they'd rock and for someone like Sakura who had been fortunate enough to be in a good situation growing up it was decent insight on that kind of life.

Then Kou confessed to his desire/enjoyment for dancing, which caused an eyebrow to be raised as she had not expected to hear that. But soon it gave way to a warm smile.

"Really? Funny I always wanted to learn how to dance. But I tend to have bricks for feet when it comes to that kind of thing." Sakura said with a slight chuckle, recalling when Ino first tried her to dance after they became friends. Not nearly as "graceful" as her friend to have put that incredibly kindly....

----------
"Same thing I suppose stopping you from being killed now. Seeing if there is a chance you can prove value to the nation. As it stands now you can either sit here and accept an assured death, or work with the nation and give yourself a chance to avoid it altogether if you are deemed an asset rather than a danger. But I can't decide what you do so really you just do what you think is best." Madoka replied simply bold and her face fearless as it kept the same relaxed expression even as Kin spat that threat at her.

Simply put Madoka laid out the path for Kin. Either she refused and died now, or she considered working with them for a chance to live & make a new life for herself one day. It seemed an easy choice if Madoka had been in her position but how the Oto-kunoichi would respond remained to be seen.

---------
The blow to the hand landed, though oddly no cry of pain or physical reaction from the damage done to the arm, but it had stalled it in the moment needed for Sagiso to crush the smoke bombs as the clouding vapor filled the air.

As the smoke bomb blew up the view of Tayuya's gaze was obstructed, which would normally have made it harder for her to track where Sagiso had been but thankfully Sagiso still had the urge to complete this little song of hers and for the Oto-ninja & musician tracking sound had been but second nature for her so it had not taken long for her to respond in kind.

A new tune from Tayuya caused the clawed Doki to act, as he performed consecutive air slashes and the lumbering giant produced shockwaves that aimed to blow out the smoke that Sagiso had produced in the direction of her song and cleared the area as now Tayuya had a visual just as Sagiso managed to get on the club and tossed the paper bombs towards its knees.

Tayuya responded in kind, she would have the clubbed Doki aim to jump to move away from the explosives aimed for its joints, and at the same time work to have it slam the club into the ground in the effort to strike and pin Sagiso there before she could jump off and bounce around them like she had to this point.

As for the other Doki? In that same new tune Tayuya jumped back to gain distance as she pulled the armless Doki and the clawed Doki with her in the hopes to both have them avoid the bombs and to move them by her in a guard position in one seamless evasion.

----------
Masa listened to Hinagiku as she heard her plans for branches. From those that seemed like a done deal in the Taketori to those that seemed yet to be determined such as the Aburame and the Sarutobi.

Either way, it appeared a hypothetical 1/5 of the share would be the best the Aburame could manage. After a moment of silence as she weight the pros and cons of such an arrangement Masa soon came to a decision as her expression never shifted but her gaze turned to Hinagiku's own.

"Very well lady Hyuga, for such compensation our clan will offer such services in this matter. Though we have a right to dictate who and what we send to accomplish our needed part in this project of yours. Fair enough?" Masa asked the Hyuga Head as she agreed to her offer.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Kou’s Eyes lit up a little when Sakura expressed an interest in dancing. The only place where people had actually been approving of this was back at the sound, so hearing the encouragement sent a twinge if excitement down his spine.

“S-so you are interested?” He said, perking up. “Well...I could teach you if you like! It’s not that hard once you get used to it. You just um...hold on.”

He got up from the seat, making it to the street facing the ramen shop. He inhaled deeply before exhaling.

“Dancing I kinda felt like was a way of expressing yourself. Every dance style kinda brings that out in whoever is dancing it. Like, I always thought traditional dances are kinda uptight and dull...so I prefer a more bouncy one.”

His bare feet skid across the ground before they clicked heels with each other. He then stepped toe the left, then right, and then left in a rapid succession before twirling in place using his tippy-toes, which seemed hard without shoes. But regardless, he stuck it, twirling around five times before flipping to Sakura. With a grin on his face. The grin slowly faded to a sheepish smile as he realized he may have done too much.

“Uhm, so yeah, it’s all about how you feel and what you want to do ya know? I know it’s not a very good way of describing it, but...”



......



“UGH!”

Kin made an audible groan of annoyance, looking to the side wall rather than as Madoka. As much as the jinchurki hated to admit it, she had a point. Fighting her would only get her killed, as they already had her chained down in a secure location. She tapped her talons against the floor, mulling it over.

“Mrrrrg...”

Seconds ticked by. Her teeth grinding against each other. She gave a groan, turning over to pakura and Madoka again, her face looking greatly annoyed.

“Whatever! I’ll do your whole song and dance routine, but i’ll Be a partner, not some lap dog! And I AM going to kill the snake weather you like it or not.”


.....


Reaver was releaved by the execution of the man, at least what he could make of it from his blurry eyes. The man kept his tension, even Beyond death, which turned Reaver’s face red. As the man fell to the cold floor, so did Reaver. His face grew numb as the blood circulation had been cut off to his brain, and his vision began to fade to black.

“No...get up! I won’t allow this! NEVER!

It’s okay.

It’s fine.

No matter what happens...

I’ll still be with you. No matter what road you take.

Even in death. You cannot Escape...

...Yourself.

 

[kyuukestu]

Furījia

Blue eyes bounced between Taiyo and the Hyūga Guardsman, much like her own twin-tails bounced with nervous energy and she hopped from foot to foot. The guard seemed to bristle like a cat, his armor rattling as he took a minor step backward.

“Never seen a punk as self-righteous as you...”

The voice that entered Furījia’s ears was thick with bewilderment. She watched as he seemed to stare down at Taiyo through the holes in his visor, almost intrigued by the young man’s defense.

“So you come into our clan, blow off our young Miss’ clothes, and then claim to have the best intentions in mind?”

At those words Furījia froze, everything clicked into place as memories flushing through her mind as she remembered Taiyo’s last visit to the Hyūga Clan. The Guards actions now made a lot more sense. Sense she probably would’ve seen if what had been brought up wasn’t one of the most embarrassing moments in her life.

“Eeeeeeeekkkk!”

Frantically she scrambling, her arms waving in a fluster.

“Noooo! Y-you..! N-none of you allowed to bring that up anymore!”

The Guards chuckled at her hectic movements, but their eyes never left Taiyo...

Sagisō

The Nadeshiko’s eyes narrowed, long eyelashes protecting the sensitive pupils from dust and debris. Through squinted lenses she observed the puppeteer and her three giant dolls. The three darted backwards avoiding her kunai, while sweeping blows swept up the smoke.

Tayuya’s actions only seemed to confirm her hunches. She’d blown away the smoke before pressing her assault. The puppeteer herself needed the vision with which to guide and direct her meaty puppets. This made things...interesting...

Slowing, Sagisō dropped to her knees, steadying herself with her hand as the doki swung its club, her platform, in a smash towards the ground. With no two ways around it, the kunoichi leapt, thrown into the air via the brute force of the swing.

While her advance had been broken, her song was not. There was an enigmatic smile on her lips, as she tried to lock eyes with Tayuya, despite the distance between them.

“And suddenly I'm seeing everything.

Free in the air, flying and fluttering”

Although they were merely lyrics, she found amusement in the irony. With the universe making a small jab at her expense, Sagisō shifted into the following tunes.

“Someone unknown, yet there’s just me.

One last breath and then I set her soul free”

She landed on her feet, with what appeared to be a slight stumble. She couldn’t quite neutralize the momentum granted to her body by the aberrant’s ferocious swing and so, despite no desire to do so, she stumbled backward. Even then, the trouble this caused her was fleeting, hardly even noticed. Bowling into a lane of acrobatics, she regained steady footing while her body twisted in somersaults and hand-springs.

Stable once more, Sagisō eyes returned to Tayuya, a more meaningful edge in her voice.

"I have never heard anything like this!"

"Oh, really? Didn't you hear the bliss?"

"Quickly now."

"Hurry up."

"You can't dwell, just abandon your shell."

"You're unhappy, so I’ll give the love you need.”

She’d drawn out a few notes, just in case the sound kunoichi had yet to pick up on the target of these lyrics. She’d never expected to find a song so fitting for the foul-mouthed girl, but was more than pleased to use it to push her points. Tayuya would be observant enough to pick out the hints, and such an opponent was not one to be dallied against.

Shuffling around, Sagisō flipped another trio of kunai into her hands, taking advantage of the arsenal which had been scattered around the field. Licking her lips with anticipation, she continued her song while directing her blades toward her opponent.

”Let's proceed~"

Hinagiku

“As long as it doesn’t interfere with our efficiency, then you’re free to do whatever you want.”

A lazy wave dismissed Masa’s concerns. Micromanaging the operations of the 5 Clans was not something the Lady Hyūga wanted to deal with. In fact, she was only the forefront of this operation in name alone. As soon as the facility was up and running, the work would be shifted to Natsu.

Hinagiku wasn’t keen in adding more to her already burdensome shoulders. Things had been so troublesome as of lately. Everything was just so— Swish

Arriving like a shadow, was a Hyūga maid. Different than the other maids who wore assortments of red and green in festive designs, this maid wore a dark green dress with the spiny texture of Holly Berry. The dress was just dark enough that she seemed to melt out of the shadows.

“Your Grace...”

She leaned closer, whispering something into Hinagiku’s ears. Whatever it was that she’d said, it caused the Hyūga mistress to sigh, and respond listlessly.

“Don’t interfere...yet. Keep an eye on them, don’t let things get out of hand.”

The maid stepped backward, vanishing just as quickly as she’d come. Hinagiku gazed thoughtfully in the direction the maid had left. “Can’t that girl sit still for a minute?” Soft mumbles of complaint gave way to another sigh. Then, she turned to Masa.

“Then...will that be all?”

 

[sSoul]

Taiyo
After giving his speech, he notice the main guard take a little step backwards. To the Leaf-nin it was a victory indicating that the guard was weakening in his reeolve.

“Never seen a punk as self-righteous as you...”

However, this line of dialouge caused Taiyo to stagger in his own right. He watched the guard stare him down to the point that the FBS could see the high horse he was riding.

“So you come into our clan, blow off our young Miss’ clothes, and then claim to have the best intentions in mind?”

Taiyo had no response for that, looking away from the Hyuga guardsmen in embarrassment. Fourtunately for him, his embarrassment was shared by Furījia. After she gave a flustered order to the guardsmen to not bring it up again, a familiar voice reached out to Taiyo.

I've had enough of their bullshit. Can I express how we really feel now?

Go ahead...

The Leaf-nin let out a chuckle, like the guardsmen did, although it wasn't towards Furījia's latest display of cuteness.

"Well forgive me Mr. Guardsmen," Taiyo began in a voice seeped in an unusually high amount of venom, "But intentions don't always match the actions that transpire. For example, Im sure all of you had the intention of following your lady's orders after her clothes were destroyed. But you know what you all did? Jack. Shit,"

Taiyo took a moment to let what he said sink into the Hyuga guardsmen, to give his words time to pierce the thick armor around them. Once he was satisfied with the silence, he continued his speech.

"You heard me. You all sat on your hands and let me work things out, and you still decide to hate me for what I csn only assume to be pure stupidity. The fact that I got away was your fault. Don't hate me for you ineffectiveness," The genin took one last pause before delivering the final part to his speech, "When I made my first visit here, I casually opened the door, like I belonged there. And you know how I was greeted? Every single Hyuga lining up with weapons ready to kill me. You all lack that initiative. Sure, I may be a 'self-righteous punk' but I'll take that any day of the week over being a hyprocritial embarrassment to the name of the Hyuga clan,"

Taiyo took a deep breath after his tirade, being much longer than before.

That was...surprisingly satisfying.

Isn't it fun when you express how you truly feel?

It is...

 

[DarkHydraT]

"It is that I already know the story, or else I would be there tomorrow to listen. Or maybe I'll pop in and add details that Tomiko forgot, who knows?" Mori shrugged as a playful smile donned his face, enjoying teasing the kids. Even stone-faced Ren was interested, and that meant that he did a good job.

"It is nothing special, she is still your daughter and her parents should be there to give advice about the route to take. It is her decision in the end though, even if that is hard to accept." Kasumi said as her eyes trailed off into nothingness for a moment.

"You don't have to worry about appearances. We live in one of the ninja districts and everyone there just minds their own business, visitors are glanced at once and never again. Just act polite and you can go a long way. Bring up the offer to her whenever you feel like it and use Maralo to contact us."
----------

"I am unaware of your reputation, so I won't comment on that." Taji deadpanned as she took another bite. "And Aisha, whilst I share the sentiment of deserving some kind of reward after the mission, do you think you can eat a bit slower? Not just because of manners, but also to prevent you from hacking your guts out. I doubt that anyone who allows you to spend the night in their home will appreciate that...'gift' of yours, same goes for any inns you might reside in."

When faced with something unusual or intimidating, Taji always began to talk in a fashion that was way too formal for someone her age. Aisha's eating habits, although expected, were unnerving to watch. Her mind involuntarily made a connection between her and savage wolves that tore a deer apart, but she shook the thought away and focused on her own meal.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Stepping up beside Madoka, Rasa patted the Gennin's shoulder in a congratulatory way while muttering in a low voice "Well done." He then stepped up against the door and stared down upon Kin with a stern look. "So finally decided to cooperate huh. Good choice. But I'll have you know you won't be let go for free just because you're agreeing to cooperate." He mercilessly informed the captive Jinchuriki.

In the front courtyard of the Hyuga compound, a rather tall man with short black hair and wearing the holiday colors was moving about. He noticed at the situation at the front gate and walked up to the scene. "Hey umm, what's going on here?" He asked in a rather meek tone. "Should you really be causing trouble for our guest here? I mean isn't there still a lot of work to be done in preparation for tomorrow?"

 

[Godjacob]

With his top two in command fell, and the majority of the Caravan had either been killed or had the will to fight severely weakened Okabe knew when there had been a lost cause and at this point all that mattered to him was to preserve as many lives as he could. He faced Azumi and this terrible trio as he clurched his side from the broken ribs of Azumi's umbrella blow and met that cold stare of hers.

"Enough....the battle is yours. Just stop this, stop...and I will concede to your demands. Enough blood has been shed today." Okabe said, as he made his surrender much as it had pained him but pride was secondary to the safety of the Caravan and his family who remained hidden and practically frozen with fear. Azumi remained expressionless the entire while as the other Caravan members around Okabe remained still and focused on the trio as she gazed their direction slowly going though each member left; an intimidation tactic they suspected but Azumi seemed to have differed motives.

13...

Azumi glanced back at Okabe as she kept silent for what felt like ages. Though eventually she would speak up with her deathly gaze focused squarely on the leader.

"In that case, you will first reveal your contact and all the details of your arrangement with said contact..."
------------
"This story sounds so cool. You guys better deliver the full story tomorrow." Hoshi replied, with excitement but also his arms folded as he did not want to be kept out of the dark as Tomiko had a light chuckle over that. "Of course, so long as you are on your best behavior~"

"So we are doomed?" Jirou replied with a deadpan.

"Shut it nobody asked you!" Hoshi snapped back as Naomi tried to play peace maker while the twins had a laugh. Ren glanced over to Tomiko as the trip tomorrow had left a couple questions.

"So where are we going anyway?" Ren asked as Tomiko glanced over to the oldest of the group and merely had a sly smirk. "Let's just say beyond the Village Gate and leave it at that~" Tomiko said with a big of cheekiness to it as Ren had an eyebrow raised but said nothing more.

"We are grateful you feel that way, though I think we'd still like to be somewhat presentable. If it comes to that we will do our best to at least blend in." Atsuko assured as she was grateful for the consideration.

"Indeed. We can only offer our advice on it but if she can go off on missions she is responsible enough to make these decisions." Kuro replied as well as he agreed with that general sentiment.

------------
"Well for one thing I won't be "hacking" anything, though I appreciate the concern. Besides, I tend to savor any meal as the life in the wild is like life as a ninja..." Aisha said, downing a bite of her meat before she took a drink of her water as she let out a sigh before she faced the pair with a grin.

"...you never know when your next day will be your last. So treat every meal as if it were." Aisha said with a toothy grin. Kenji shook his head, the advice...had some weight to it, though Aisha pigging out was not one to help better her odds of living to that next day. With that said...

"In that case, then rushing is equally fool-hearty. After all there is no sense to rush though if the end comes tomorrow. Just means you cheated yourself a chance to savor and enjoy the moment all the more no?" Kenji asked, before he took a bite of his meal as Aisha rolled her eyes though on account of Taji and Kenji's words slowed her pace. To a degree.

------------
Madoka was honestly shocked at this turn of events, as she had not expected Kin to actually make that kind of agreement with Suna even if it had come with her insisted conditions. Madoka merely wanted to learn of Kin's background and motive for what she did but it seemed that Suna had a tentative new "ally" if it worked out.

Either way, she got a hand on the shoulder and praise from the Kazekage himself which was enough to practically make her jaw drop but somehow she kept her composure and merely nodded. If only barley.

-----------
Sakura was curious what Kou had in mind as he seemed almost inspired by Sakura's previous dancing experience and got up to move in front of the Ramen Stand. Sakura had an eyebrow raised, before Kou began to explain that true dancing was about emotion and how one felt before he began a demonstration and danced before her; twirling in place as he step on his toes to the left and right all the while he had a big grin on his face.

For a kid with no formal background, it was earnest and rather beautiful to watch. Something reflected in her smile, and Sakura seemed not the only one who thought that.

"Well well, got a real performer in our midst. I think you've earned a meal for that little show." Teuichi said with a smile as he and Ayame brought out the two ramen places for the pair as clearly they seemed to enjoy the dance much as Sakura had.

-----------
Tayuya muttered under her breath as Sagiso lept away again. Seemed the girl was too quick for her basic melody to have much effect as the power of the Doki mattered little if they could not touch her. A simply adjustment was needed to get around this but Tayuya seemed more annoyed with the girl's song than her movements. Tayuya wondered what the point of it was before Sagiso seemed to make a point to stand across from her and sing key lyrics with greater emphasis.

Tayuya was a bit temperamental and had a sharp tongue, but that did not mean she was an idiot and instantly knew who Sagiso had been singing in part to about as she frowned. Great, she was now the target of a personal song as Sagiso seemed to try and send a message to Tayuya who thought over the message of this as Tayuya quickly shook her head.

If she thinks she can psyche me out with this feel good nonsense she is trying to preach then she has another thing coming.

Tayuya would quickly form a new melody, as her Doki began to move in position. The one without arms held back to act as a guard for Tayuya while the clawed and clubbed Doki moved ahead as it seemed to be a straight forward 2 on one charge. Before they stopped, as Tayuya had been mindful of the paper bombs Sagiso left in her wake and moved to her true plan.

Slam!

The Doki with the club to slam it on the ground, which cracked it and caused a rumble that shot to Sagiso's direction as the rumble would aim to knock the Hyuga off balance. The ground seemed to split from the violent impact as the crack moved by Sagiso's position showing the unearthly strength of these beasts as Tayuya had the Doki put its full swing into it as debris shot into the air; some the size of a human waist. At the same time, the clawed Doki jumped off the shoulder of its ally to leap into the air as it jumped towards Sagiso as it aimed to try to race down using its size and momentum from the jump off its ally to drive the Hyuga into the ground and slash at her.

The clubbed Doki in turn was not done, as it dug the club into the ground picking up the large debris that it knocked up and used its free hand to toss them at Sagiso which turned them into high speed projectiles as just another thing the Hyuga would have to contend with given this new coordinated assault.

-----------
"Normally yes, but it is so wise to let them tussle like this? Pardon my but I've been having certain eyes on the field and it seems questionable to allow one of the prisoners such free reigns in this sense."

Masa naturally referred to what this attendant of Hinagiku's had informed the clan head about. The little "spar" between Tayuya and Sagiso, which seemed to only up its intensity. Masa naturally curious why Hinagiku even allowed this to take place, especially given one of the figures involved seemed to be one of the prisoners from Oto who now had a perfect excuse for legalized brutality.

 

[Retro Master]

‘Well this has been a waste of my time.’

Kiro had been standing silently to the side of the two clan heads for what felt like an eternity. His presence seemed to have been forgotten entirely by the Hyūga Head. It wasn’t as if he could blame her. Hinagiku put on quite an entertaining performance for both Masa and him. She had a perfect response for nearly everything the Aburame Head sent her way. Something which seemed to be effortless for her.

‘These women...’

The relaxed vibe they both shared masked any possible tension from being apparent. One could argue this was a testament to their skill. The two clan heads even allowing a prisoner such as him to listen into their exchange had been a head scratcher. Was he so insignificant that they could afford to speak openly on such important topics relating to the Leaf and their clans? Perhaps this was a sign of trust or something.

In any case, it seemed they had finally come to some sort of agreement. Hinagiku basically got what she wanted in the end with the deal. That didn’t mean Masa got nothing in return. She had managed to procure some information relating to their recent mission. Mainly the two cloaked figures he had seen on the beach. Hinagiku wasted no time connecting them to the Mist even though she likely lacked substantial evidence to prove so. Kiro on the other hand...

‘If that guy was him, then she might be onto something.’

Of course, Masa wasted no time with an excellent follow up. It was common procedure for shinobi, especially squad captains, to submit a report on the mission. Did the Hyūga Head think she was above that? Probably not. However, Masa had the right to be suspicious. It made Kiro wonder if the suspicion would be intensified should Hinagiku’s actions on the mission be made public. Speaking of the mission, Kiro had something in his pockets that he preferred to rid himself of and hand back to Hinagiku.

Other than Hinagiku’s mentions of the Uchiha, there wasn’t much else. However, just when things seemed about ready to wrap up between the two, a maid seemed to appear from the shadows. Her dark clothing made it apparent she was different from the other more festively dressed maids. The mysterious maid whispered in the ears of Hinagiku which eventually prompted a subtle response from her. However, it was actually Masa’s response that gained his full attention.

First off, this clan head made no attempt to hide her blatant eavesdropping. There wasn’t even any consideration. Second and most importantly, she had ‘certain eyes’ watching over the Hyūga? Kiro didn’t know what to think. Did Hinagiku know about this? Were the Hyūga willingly allowing themselves to be spied on? Clearly the Aburame specialized in spying and possibly hunting with their precious insects. If they could have eyes in the Hyūga, they could have them everywhere!

‘Fuck, am I being watched by them too?!’

Cautiously, Kiro attempted to check his surroundings. His eyes scanned the area for any insects. From what he could tell, Masa had none on her. In her was another question he did not want to think about. His eyes wandered to Hinagiku and they soon became attracted to the long, velvety black hair which flowed fluidly behind her. Beautiful hair which managed to remind him of someone else. Though her hair wasn’t as boundless as Sagisō’s once was, it was sufficient enough to camouflage any of those pesky little insects.

After giving up his search through Hinagiku’s hair and checking the guandao, Kiro found himself back to square one. Perhaps he was just being paranoid. Besides, why should he care? He already had a whole clan of stalkers watching him anyways. What difference does one bug make? It wasn’t as if he had the childish fear of insects anyways. The sensation of those few little legs crawling over one’s skin was nothing to be wary about...

Then Kiro felt something light touch his arm. Immediately a shiver went down his spine before he froze up. He had been right to be suspicious. Masa had gotten him where he least expected it. Kiro had been so focused on what was around him that he hadn’t focused on what was on him! That or maybe he was just feeling things after thinking about it too much.

Either way, the boy remained still as he tried determining how to proceed. He just knew if it was a huge ass beetle, someone was getting smacked by it. His first action was to check his arm. Not wanting to give away his suspicion to the two clan heads, Kiro slightly moved his arm before giving a glance towards it. There was nothing there. He looked again. Nope.

‘Alright hold up. What the fuck am I doing right now?‘

It was then Kiro began to realize how far into boredom he had gone into. This is what spending months as a prisoner in the Leaf had reduced him too.

‘I really need to get the hell out of this place...’

 

[kyuukestu]

Furijia/Hyuga Guard

The Hyuga heiress staggered from Taiyo’s jaw-dropping rebuttal. His response shocked her, even impressed her. So perfect was it that the guards wouldn’t even be able to pursue the point without further validating his point…and they knew it. She could see it in their faces, flushed red with blood.

Her eyes pierced right through their armor, white irises focusing intently. The sudden and unintentional sight of the guards stripped to their undies reeled the girl back to reality. Her Byakugan had activated itself, an instinctive reaction to emotion. She was now keenly aware of the anxiety that crawled under her skin, a nest of angry hornets. Now keenly aware of the eyes that crawled across her back.

“…don’t… inside…”

Her voice was a dry rasp. Barely audible and almost unintelligible. Her heart was in her throat; she couldn’t speak, she couldn’t breathe.

-----

“What a sharp tongue…”

Teeth ground like coffee, and Taiyo’s words a fresh cup of it; hitter and hard to swallow. Never could he have imagined the young, quite frankly foolish looking, genin would have been able to present a rebuttal with such sagacity. His own tongue twisted in his mouth, and he sputtered for a response.

“You lowlife…”

“…scene….disgraceful…”

‘—Huh, what was that..?’

The guard strained, tilting his head left then right, trying to better angle his ears. Nothing came to ear, save for the murmur of the crowd and shuffling of feet. Hmm, it must’ve been nothing…

The guard returned to Taiyo, the brief pause allowing him to reorganize his thoughts. Just as he moved to respond, a meek voice beat him to it.

"Hey umm, what's going on here?"

Expressions shifted uneasily around the guard detachment. The leading guard creaked around slowly, coming face to face with Shu. His expression twitched uneasily, he wasn’t good at dealing with this man. He couldn’t oppose him, the Clan’s hierarchy was much too strict to allow that. However, somehow, it felt all the more humiliating to pay respects to someone like… like this.

Still, orders were orders. With precise movements, the guard pulled off his helmet, giving Shu a differential bow.

“Lord Shu…this,” He searched for words, refusing to acknowledge Taiyo as any guest of the Clan, “ruffian…has a history of crime, it would be improper to allow him inside at such a time…don’t you agree?”

-----

She could see it now. The shuffling crowds seemed less aimless, the whispers less trivial, the crowd no longer a backdrop but… a gallery. Furijia craned her neck, white with horror she looked into the crowd. Every shift of hands, a pointed finger; Every peal of laughter, spitting with mockery; Every low mutter, ripe with disappointment.

It was happening again, they were doing it again. She could feel it on her skin. Smell it in the air. See it on their faces.

Judgment.

They were judging her. She’d caused this, a disgraceful scene, made worst by their location. Plop in-front of the Hyuga’s gates, besmirching the Clan’s illustrious name.

She turned back to the confrontation…trembling. It was her fault. She needed to do something, she needed to stop this, she needed to…

“stop…please…I’m begging…”

Her voice was easily lost in the wind. Much too soft for anyone to hear. Her legs shook and she almost sunk to her knees. The voices were louder now, ringing in her head.

‘So this is Lady Hina’s daughter…’

‘Why isn’t she doing anything..?’

‘Her Grace would’ve never let this happen…’
…

The whispers blurred her vision, welling in her eyes and spilling as liquid. She could feel it coming, as it always did. Soft, as it always was. Impactful, as it always would be.

A heavy sigh, so familiar and yet so chillingly detached, like she’d never heard it before.

Her pigtails thrashed, carried by the desperate shakes of her head.

“stop it…”
Her voice was pleading, and yet, she could tell, ineffective.

Of all the cruelties she knew, perhaps the cruelest were those of her own mind. In that ever familiar motherly voice, the one she’d known for 14 years, her mind whispered.

“Just… STOP!!!”

She screamed, but to no avail, and those words came, as they always did…

‘How… disappointing…’

-----

The Guard flinched, the desperate shriek seizing him by the heart. His expression fell and got only an instant, he gazed upon the young lady. Just as quickly, he averted his eyes. Lowering his head with grimy shame. He cursed his own thoughtlessness. Just a bit of thought and he could’ve foreseen this, avoided it even. But blinded by anger, they’d erred.

This… had gone on long enough.

Swallowing what pride he still retained, the guard gave Taiyo a bitter look, but slinked back into the clan. The tension in the air seemed to fizzle to a halt, and all it took, was one girl’s suffering…

-----

While the situation had finally been dealt with, the damage had been done. Furijia hugged her shoulders, slumped, heavy with negativity.

“I…need to see my mother.”

She didn’t look at Taiyo, yet the address had clearly been meant for him. She hadn’t waited up for him either, breaking into a jog as she vanished between the Clan’s gates. The guards stood solemnly, and the path was opened for all who sought it.

Hinagiku

‘How rude…’

Masa’s intent to dispense with courtesies had been received in full by the Hyuga Head, and to. Masa’s words, she had but a single response.

“You have until the end of the day to remove such eyes from the vicinity of the Hyuga Clan.”

She sealed the deal with a smile, regardless of Masa’s opinion, refusal was not an option. Shadows shifted in the room, a number of hidden maids departing in silence.

“Much obliged darling.”

Just like that, it’d been decided. Satisfied with this outcome, Hinagiku straightened her back; the shifting weight of her body shook loose the dust in the floorboards; the wood groaned in sweet relief, the heavy moon reclining blade no longer its burden as Hinagiku paced towards the door.

“If you must know,” she continued, assuming the nosey Aburame head would follow, “this is prime opportunity to study the workings of the curse marks. Next to Orochimaru, we’re the most adept with curse marks.”

She pulled lightly at her collar, exposing a tidbit of the flesh of her bosom. She had not suddenly awakened an interest in exhibitionism, what she was showing off was not her cleavage, but instead the intricate weaving of green lines across her skin. The caged bird seal, the Hyuga’s curse mark of choice. Her own seal was positioned on her left breast, it’s pattern was complex, much more so that the simple ‘X’ that adorned most other members. As she removed her hand, the seal vanished beneath her clothing .

“The best data is gathered during, or as a result of, combat.”

Post Sagiso’s battle with Kiro, and partially because of all the data they’d been able to collect after the battle, such bouts between the prison were accepted, and on the down-low, even encouraged.

“Remnants of chakra can be gathered and studied, and it makes blood samples easier to collect. It’s a risky but worthwhile trade off.”

Sagiso

The moment the Doki begun their charge forward, a calculative smirk came to Sagiso’s lips. She eyed the kunai embedded in the ground, gauging their distance to Tayuya and her doki. The rumble of earth shook at her feet, ungodly might causing it the cave beneath the weight of the Doki’s strike. Sagiso paid it little mind, her eyes instead focused on the airborne doki with claws.

Sagiso loosened her body, falling into gravity’s hold. As her body sunk through the air her Chakra swept into her veins, triggering the sealing mark on her arm. She gave her waist a twist, turning in mid air as she gave Tayuya a fleeting glance.

She held her song this time, knowing there was no way Tayuya could hear her over what was about to happen. Her fingers coiled into the release symbol, and explosions filled the air. The three paper bombs roared to life, repelling the storm of shrapnel. In the same instant, an explosion of smoke occurred right above her, a fuma Shuriken proofing from her seal.

Wielding the leverage from her fall, she seesawed her leg upward, chakra sucking the fuma to her sole and sling-shotting it towards the Doki as a whirling blander of steel and finely ground chakra. The attack had been launched before she’d even hit the ground.

Firing off the shuriken with her legs, the arm which hadn’t formed the release seal was free to catch her. As her palm made contact with the ground, and her bodied steadied, she took a deep breathe. The release sign on her fingers came to her mouth, functioning as a snake hand seal.

‘Nadeshiko Style: Violent Whirlwind!’

She expelled the breath from her lungs, a ferocious jet-stream that wrapped around the fuma, multiplying it’s speed. The weapon moved, quite literally, like on the wind. It was a blur of steel that would be upon the Doki in a second.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Kou looked at the ramen man, a small streak of red appearing along his cheeks. He couldn’t believe he just did that, caught up in the moment. Sheepishly he returned to his seat, his shoulders a bit stiff as he did so.

“...Thanks...”

Looking into the liquid in the bowl before him, he took out the chopsticks, not exactly sure what they were doing there. Maybe some kind of topper? Placing it to the side he plucked a still bit of noodle and pork out with one hand and placed it in his mouth...

Just then, his face lit up. He never experienced such flavor in his life! He quickly looked back to the bowl, and began to shovel more and more food down his throat with his hands. Why didn’t anyone tell him that restaurant uppity food was THIS good??


.......

“̴S͞h̶h̨hh.͜.̵.͞i͠f yǫu͏ ̷ẃan͏t yóùr̀ ̵fre͜ed͢o̶m y̷ou must ͠be pat̢ien͟t͘.͏ Let̵’s ̕see͜ ̨w҉h͠ere͠ ̧thi͞s̴ go̶eş.҉”

the Mist Guard’s came around to Seiun, gripping his arms as they were quick to escort the captive slave toward Mei’s office...

After several minutes of walking, they had arrived at the Kage mansion. Bypassing some supcious looking ice on the wall nearby her room, they entered her main chamber.

“Mrs. Mei!” The lead one spoke, straightening his back. “This one has been spotted trying to kill the historian of the great mist museum!”



.......


"So finally decided to cooperate huh. Good choice. But I'll have you know you won't be let go for free just because you're agreeing to cooperate." He mercilessly informed the captive Jinchuriki.

Kin’s begrudgingly cooperative demeanor slowly seemed to degrade once Rasa opened his mouth. Her eyes became more fierce and body became more tense. Like a predator who had just determined prey.

“What the hell?!? That’s what I figured out of that! Go back in the nursing home old man, I hated the other two less!” Kin hissed.

His apperance had made her struggle more in her bonds, scraping her talons on the chains and lunging to the left and right to break the chains from the walls

 

[Retro Master]

It seemed Hinagiku did not appreciate that Masa had eyes watching the Hyūga. Her response to this knowledge had been straightforward. The bugs were to be removed from the clan by the end of the day. Though Hinagiku was smiling, Kiro knew this was more of a demand than a request. Whether or not the Aburame Head held an explanation for her rather suspect actions remained to be seen.

Hinagiku, however, just continued to move on. Quite literally in fact. After the departure of the maids who were hidden within the shadows, she simply turned and began walking to the exit. Confused, Kiro could only watch as the woman walked away. Not once in the past few minutes had she even acknowledged his presence.

That was fair considering the discussion which had taken place. It was a welcome surprise the two clan heads had even allowed him to listen in. However, Kiro had figured once their exchange was over with, Hinagiku would finish what she started and eventually hand over the reward he came for. Unfortunately, it would seem her attention was required elsewhere once again. This time it was for a fight consisting of someone with the curse mark.

‘Must be Tayuya. I wonder who really pissed her off this time.’

The mention of the curse mark all but confirmed this suspicion. He knew the Hyūga would’ve used his fight with Sagisō to study the inner workings of the curse mark. It only made sense for them to do the same as before. As far as he knew, Tayuya was the only one on Hyūga grounds with a curse mark besides himself. Actually, there was another one currently in use. It was then that Hinagiku showed them something quite unexpected. Something which helped to jog his memory. Part of her left breast.

Once Kiro took a closer look at the specific area Hinagiku revealed to them, he could make out the thin green lines on her chest. They were woven together to construct what looked like a seal of some sorts. Obviously, Hinagiku’s intent was not to reveal her superior, well endowed figure. This meant the only reasoning for the display was to provide them with another example of a curse mark.

‘Oh. The caged bird seal?’

This was the first time he’d actually laid eyes on that specific curse mark. From what he knew, when a Hyūga died, their byakugan would be sealed away to protect its secrets from falling into enemy hands. The design on Hinagiku was much different from the much more common ones. Perhaps this was one only exclusive to the clan head. One which probably added to her control of the Hyūga.

There was a dark meaning behind it’s given name. Before Hinagiku had taken over, there was a time when only members of the branch house were branded with the cursed seal. Members of the main house had the power to discipline, potentially even kill branch members by destroying their brain cells. Like a caged bird, the only way to attain freedom would be through death. Though Kiro despised such an idea, he understood why the seal was necessary.

For now, Kiro just continued to remain still and watch Hinagiku even after she covered herself back up. He was unsure what to do here. Should he follow her? Kiro wouldn’t mind seeing Tayuya get handled by Hinagiku or whoever she was currently fighting. But was he even allowed to follow? For all he knew, their discussion was over and any further attempts to communicate with Hinagiku could see him dealing with those shadow maids. He supposed his best option would be to wait and see whether she had forgotten him or not.

 

[DarkHydraT]

Mori listened to Tomiko taunting her friends as he rolled his eyes in a good-hearted fashion. He was no better than her in the teasing department, and was curious to see where this would go. "Outside of the village? I dread to think what horrors you all will unleash on the mountain range. Next thing you know we will be living in the Village Clearly Surrounded By Rubble or something." He taunted light-heartedly, expecting at least Tomiko to get a bit riled up by his doubting of her sense of responsibility. He didn't know why, but seeing her like that was soothing for some reason.


"I can see where you're coming from, so I won't persuade you from doing what you want to do. Don't worry about any stains or holes that might be in your clothes, everyone there has returned home with some blood of their previous target on their clothing at least once." Kasumi said with a reassuring smile on her face.

"Now, if Tomiko decides to take up the offer, I'd like to know what I am getting into and what her strengths and weaknesses are. I have gotten some info about her from Mori, but I doubt that his information is unbiased and true to reality. I've found out that she seems to be a leader figure from her interactions with the group of children and Mori, but I feel like you as parents are my most trustworthy source. Of course, you can tell me once she accepts it if you two want. If a stranger asked me to tell them about the strengths and weaknesses of Mori, they'd be more likely to get kicked out than to get an ounce of information."
------------

"Whilst it is true that today might be your last day, you should not let that influence every action of your life. Rushing to do something could get you killed whilst taking your time and savoring the moment makes you an easy target. Balance is the key, enjoy the moment but don't hang around too long. After all, memories won't be of any use when your head is a few feet away from the rest of your body." Taji said as she started to glance at the clock on the wall more and more often, speeding up her own eating pace a bit.

 

[Godjacob]

"A true friend to the end I can tell. Don't worry was not my intent to break the landscape on this trip. Though if you are so concerned as you seem to lack the trust you can always make sure to keep my head on straight and make sure we don't go too far. You are the master worry wort after all." Tomiko said, with playful but innocent teasing back. Though such teases had been taken in another direction given the youngest Naomi's own point of view.

Oh how romantic, I wonder what their children will look like~

"I-I appreciate the concern. I do hope not to drag down the neighborhood if we decided to visit." Atsuko said with a sheepish grin as she and Kuro listened to the explanation of wanting to see Tomiko's strengths and weaknesses. A bit of a weird data driven thing for a visit and training but neither had been ninja and hey Tomiko clearly had aspirations to reach the top level of ninja so some analysis from a pair of elites might be beneficial.

"Well some advice I am sure she'd be appreciative of. She is always one to take a critique and use it as motivation so she may thank you when you give that. Though some encouragement as well of what she is doing right would also be appreciated. So long as we are given say on this arrangement I see no issue with it." Kuro replied to the ninja as he gave his views on it and the one needed concession which seemed understandable on both sides.

-----------
Aisha listened to Kenji and Taji as they gave their peace, and while she still had a desire to gorge and she didn't go as slow as they did she could concede that they had a point to things which caused her to slow her eating down.

"I suppose that is fair. But how I act eating some food is not an accurate tale of how I fight. I am aggressive and fast pace, but I do not charge into a kunai head first." Aisha replied with a cheeky smirk.

As they ate, another figure walked over to a table away from them. Having not ordered a meal but merely asked for a drink. She seemed a little young though quickly she was able to sway their view on the matter as she clearly felt she was in need of one.

After all, being the next "in line" was a radical shift in her life so how but a little early alcohol could do even more damage?

----------
"Seems you got on her bad sad." Pakura mused with a cheeky grin towards her Kazekage before she decided to speak up as it was clear this girl was quite emotional so there was something to tread over to avoid a self detonation.

"Consider it a trust exercise. One that would be temporary measure at most so long as your fury on your enemies will become a non factor and up for negotiation to alter." Pakura clarified to Kin, as they needed to proceed with caution but made it clear if Kin kept her end of the word then such measures will not need to be acted upon. If nothing else this girl needed to feel comfortable if she was gonna work with them which seemed like an actual possibility which five-minutes ago she had no way to guess.

----------
Sakura herself turned to Teuichi and Ayame and nodded with a smile. "Thank you, it looks wonderful~" Sakura complimented though that had been expected for the pink haired kunoichi by this point.

Though, before she even had a taste her focus and that of everyone else had shifted to Kou. Who began to wolf down his ramen without chopsticks as he ate as if he never had anything to eat before in his life. This caused both Sakura and Ayame to have wide eyes though Teuichi seemed more amused.

"I take it the art of chopsticks is not a secret on the streets?"

----------
"So, what are we waiting on again?"

"As I explained, the seal is secure. Which on top of the Genjutsu should keep him asleep for the needed time. At this stage we need to know more about this mark and sample its unique attributes."

"Yeah yeah, so we can know what the hell the snake is doing and how to combat it best right?"

"A sharp one indeed Lady Inuzuka. So in this case, I figure a certain two helpers would be key with this. Especially since Lord Yamanaka is off with matters at the gate."

Kakashi had been in a conversation with Hisao Inuzuka after Inoichi had departed and once Kakashi finished with the protective seal to keep the Curse Mark from lashing out at them wildly. With Yugao keeping guard word had been sent out to go seek a pair of experts on this matter....one with the most on hand experience of what a Curse Mark can do and the other the prided Genjutsu specialist who may help with getting it exposed enough for a planned sample.

And soon enough, the two figures in question...Anko Mitarashi and Kurenai Yuhi.

----------
Tayuya observed the scene with interest, her flute on her lips as her Doki and projectiles raced to try to close the distance on Sagiso; though it appeared that the Hyuga even in this situation had something on the mind. What Tayuya was unsure of but the Oto-nin was known for a loud mouth and while no Kidomaru she had a wit enough about her to sense something was amiss.

Something confirmed to her as Sagiso shot her a side glance, which caused her eyes to widen as instantly the alarm sounded.

Shit!

Before the first bomb burst, Tayuya sensed a trap and acted to get out a shift in her melody quickly with the basic command being to move back and away from the area. Though the specifics were met with an annoying distracting noise as the first bomb exploded but the principle seemed to run true on them to act.

For the clubbed Doki, it was simple as the explosions began to shoot it simply jumped back with some force as it worked to close the distance between it and Tayuya along with the armless Doki. The clawed Doki had a bit more issue, given it had been airborne so it did what was natural to it given Tayuya's command as it aimed to take advantage of some upgrades Tayuya had worked on since her fight with Kai. One that technically ended inconclusively but given a Genin nearly bested her flat out she may as well have considered it a loss. Irregardless among her personal Taijutsu training she also worked to give upgrades to her demonic summons.

In the case of this Doki...

Woosh!

As it swiped the air to knock some smoke while the bombs exploded, it shot out one of its twin claws to the side as a new cable seemed infused in some sort of primitive launching system; one coiled back to add some force to the shot as it fired like a rocket and the claws stuck the ground away from the carnage. And it would trigger an automatic pull back as Tayuya's command.

However, as it pulled itself out of the sky it found some complications. Namely under the mask of the explosions Sagiso had produced what seemed to be a demon wind shiruken which she seamlessly kicked its way as it flew at high speeds; given the Doki had the jump it would have avoided it just barley normally....but the sudden vortex that Sagiso produced in rapid succession not only made its escape a bit wobbly but also shot the shiruken even faster.

So it had little alternative but to reach for a block attempt, as it would move its claw to block it. "Attempt" being the most accurate word because....

Slice!

As the Doki propelled itself to the ground, the shiruken managed to cut into its beefy arm as the vortex shiruken proved too fast for it to get up a guard especially when it was commanded by instincts as the smoke that had yet to be blown away observed Tayuya for those needed moments. It was bread to butter, as even with the unearthly properties the flesh was sliced in its left arm cutting much of the surface flesh as this oddly colored liquid presumed to be blood spilled out. The vortex knocked the beast back as it crashed onto the ground with authority; making a creator.

And yet, no cry of pain escaped its lips. Though in part that had been because they were sown shut. But irregardless with one command of her flute, the Doki popped up and moved back into a defensive formation with the clubbed Doki and the armless Doki.

-----​

"While I can appreciate the concern and sympathize with that I should clarify that we do not make a habit to spy on you. My little eye on the wall only came with me for this trip mostly because of the two guests you had here and will be gone when I set out. It was always a temporary measure given the excitement in the air of your clan at the current day."

Masa made her clarification to her earlier comment and sought to verbally ease the Hyuga Head. Though she failed to see why she needed to, after all if her aim was to keep an eye on the clan why would she make it known flat out to the head herself? Either way Masa made her point of emphasis clear to Hinagiku as she tailed her all the same.

 

[sSoul]

Taiyo
Almost as a direct counterpoint to his expression of how he truly felt, the genin changed his expression to that of a poker face. This was so that the Hyuga guard would not get the satisfaction of seeing any sort of doubt or weakness in Taiyo.

“What a sharp tongue…”

Inwardly, Taiyo was smirking at the remark, he even came uo with a response that would only exist in his mind.

My tounge is sharper then those sticks you call spears will ever be.

The FBS master allowed himself an eyeroll due to the Hyuga guard calling him a lowlfe.

Well now he's just repeating himself. I love it when I make jerks like him at a loss for words.

The guard seemed to be preparing a retort, but before he could, an older man seemed to have interrupted him.

Who's that?

From there, the two Hyūga discussed what to do with the Leaf-nin, while Taiyo was taking the time to check on Susei when a familiar voice screamed.

“Just… STOP!!!”

Taiyo was startled by the scream, and furthermore, the anguish-filled shout that came from the Hyuga heiress made him concerned.

....

...

Silence then filled the room as the Hyuga guard finally let Taiyo pass, but not before giving him one last look of disdain.

“I…need to see my mother.”

The tone Furījia had used suggested that Taiyo should accompany her, although judging by her pace, she wasn't exactly waiting for him. Allowing himself a solemn shrug, Taiyo jogged after the heiress, his mind being anything but clear in the moment.

Somehow...I feel like this is my fault...

 

[DarkHydraT]

"Someone needs to be the responsible one, and I decided to take that role. If you can 'refuel my ambition tank', then I believe that I can keep you from causing collaterral damage. To some extent that is, we all know that you have a determination that is stronger than I am. If the rest is okay with it, I suppose I could tag along and keep you somewhat in line." Mori returned the taunting whilst slipping a compliment into it.

Kasumi listened carefully as she made a mental note on how to treat her potential student-to-be, refusing to make any mistakes in training her. "I see, I'll keep it in mind. If she accepts, you can expect progress reports after each session in case Tomiko comes home too tired to tell you about her day. Your daughter will be in good hands if she decides to accept." She added with a comforting smile. "Oh, and don't worry about dragging down the neighborhood. It isn't like you're going to visit the Tsuchikage or something."
-----------

"I hope you are speaking the truth. Why? Because if you aren't, then this might really be your last dinner and that would be tragic." Taji felt anxiety creep up the back of her neck as time ticked on. "Kenji, is this place well known?" She asked in between bites, eyes drifting through the building and seemingly blind to the new visitor.

 

[kyuukestu]

Hinagiku

"That's hardly any better. Do mind your manners as a guest of the Hyuga Clan. Please remove them with all due haste."

Temporary or not, Hina didn't find Masa's actions acceptable; it was not in her jurisdiction to monitor the Hyuga in any capacity. She leveled her tone with geniality, and kept her words soft. With that addressed, in what she presumed to be terms that couldn't have been clearer, Hinagiku finally turned to Kiro.

"Enjoying the view?"

The Uchiha appeared quite taken with her appearance, for whatever reason, as his gazed remained fixed on her long after she'd covered herself. She supposed he'd been left in an awkward position due to Masa's untoward appearance, but that couldn't be helped. Waving Kiro to her side, she proceeded.

"Come along little one, your reward is this way."

Sagiso

Sagiso was...floored. Frustration and helplessness flashed through her eyes for the briefest of moments. 'Ah...I forgot the paper bombs...'

The Fuma shuriken she'd intended to pull out would've been the Fuma she usually used for her Exploding Lotus Dance, and Seven Stars Accompanying the Moon. The key detail of both these attacks was that the finisher ended things off with a bang. A bang which, judging by the doki's current predicament, would've claim its arm. The lack of explosions certainly did...complicate things.

She leered at the Fuma embedded in the doki's arm...'Time for Plan B?'

Hmm, yes. If she'd created a plan B, or even a plan A for that matter, then she would've seamlessly switched to it. However, this battle was one she was kinda...winging —not that she didn't excel at that nonetheless.

She quickly corrected her position. Her body stabilized, hunkered onto all fours. The steadier positioning allowed her to shift the Violent Whirlwind in Tayuya's direction; dust, shuriken, rocks, debris, anything that'd been laying on the floor now took to the air. Sagiso narrowed her lips, and the whirlwind was forced through a passage that became tighter and tighter. The stream of wind howled its response. The violent whirlwind shrinking into a violent jet-stream. The winds had grown stronger at no additional cost to Sagiso; she'd traded breadth for power.

Once more, a smokescreen had been kicked up. This one a massive dust-devil that easily dwarfed the three doki.

As her lungs petered out, the wind came to a stop, but Sagiso was just getting started. Flexing her limbs, the Skillful Star leapt into action.

 

[SageNeb]

Raiku prepared to finish eating the delectable lunch his sweet mother had generously prepared for him. His scrumptious meal had consisted of just under a dozen fried homemade takoyakis which were sprinkled with a bit of dried green seaweed and bonito flakes on top. Adding the slight saltiness of takoyaki sauce gave the balls a mouthwatering scent. A soft crunch was heard as Raiku bit it's crisp outside, allowing an exquisite, savory flavor to burst into his mouth. Delicious would be an understatement for his mother’s food. After finishing the last one, Raiku thanked his mother before heading out to take a walk around the village.

As he was walking through the streets of Konoha he looked around at the people of his village. He smiled at the sight of families together, children playing, lovers happy, overall peace in his home. Despite the recent attack the people of the Leaf can still enjoy their lives without having to be in fear. He thought about the joy that was able to be made between people and the Police Force that kept the order in the village.
Us Uchiha have been chosen to defend the citizens of my home by the Second Hokage himself. One day I hope to be able to join the members of my clan in helping Konoha... but for now I’m still just a ninja. However even so I do have a duty to do missions. Wait... I also have another responsibility... I’m supposed to check up on Kiro for Lord Fugaku!

Raiku stopped walking around and instead looked up. He began jumping on the top of roofs of buildings in the direction of the Hyuga Manor to bypass having to walk through the crowds of people. As he neared it he began dropping down and then walked a little to finish reaching his destination.

As he began walking through the gates he gave a small nod to the guards as a greeting before proceeding through. He remembered that Kiro usually was observing the Hyuga at the Training Grounds or Hall but did not find him there. He eventually made full circle back to where he started and sighed. He went to the nearest Hyuga he could find and asked him, "Hello, do you know where Kiro Uchiha might be?"

-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Sema had followed the Kazekage into the room where the prisoner was and stayed mostly quiet. She observed the interaction between Pakura, Kin, Madoka, and Rasa and stayed silent, in the outside portraying boredom but in reality she was curious on what would be the end result. She eventually heard the Jinchuriki agreeing to help the village and smiled at that. Then Kin once more began moving erratically, disturbed by the Kazekage's words which caused Sema to sigh internally

If she was convinced before I'm sure she will be convinced again. Though her temper could prove to be detrimental in the future, if she were to actually help us...

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

“Negotiation? You mean the politician’s way of saying go screw yourself!” Kin hissed. “It’s ways going to be compromised with negotiation, no guarantees! Don’t take the carpet from under me you hack!”

She bit down on a chain, hard enough where blood came from her gums, mixing with the acid that poured out mixed with her saliva. He let the chain go after teething on it for a few seconds.

“I want guarantees, not some political ‘we’ll see’ nonsense! I’m not an idiot!”


.......



Kou took a small break from devouring the food in front of him, his eyes peeking up, looking to the left and right as he was addressed by the ramen man. He swallowed down what was in his mouth before he would talk.

“That’s fancy stuff, I guess I never needed to learn how. Much quicker to eat with your hands so no one can steal your food.”

Kou as quick as he took his talking break went right back into the food, devouring noodle after noodle and pork bits after pork. The chopsticks still lay next to his bowl, untouched. His fears and anxieties seem to have left him, at least for the time being. Kou hardly had the time to be a kid with so many concerns and worries weighing him down.


..........



“Hehehe....”

A laughter echoed through the ominous halls of the sound village. Kabuto walked toward the source of the sound, which resonated across the steel walls. It could only be one person. Kabuto opened a door at the end of the hall, inside Orochimaru sat upon his chair, a contemplative posture with the back of his hand propping up his chin.

“What’s so funny?” Kabuto inquired.

“Yes...this plan is going better than I could have imagined.”

Kabuto sighed inwardly. This again. He adjusted his glasses by pushing them back to the bridge of his nose, the grey sound ninja scowling.

“Forgive me if I doubt those words. The invasion of the leaf was a colossal failure, the loss of two jinchurki, Jirobo and Dosu’s deaths, the loss of tayuya, Kiro, and Zaku-“

“And the boy.”

“...Sure. It seems like it’s one blunder after another for the sound village. What is your plan exactly?”

“The deaths of pawns is nothing to that of a king. As long as they fulfill their role, they can be sacrificed. While the invasion was an unfortunate turn of events, I hear minato is out of commission...a deep coma so I hear. Without their precious yellow flash, the stabilizing backbone of the leaf will waver.”

“And what about the missing ninja? Was that also according to plan?”

“Certainly. Tayuya was caught in the crossfire, but that is irrelevant. Kiro’s resolve will harden and his ambitions will grow under the mistreatment of the leaf and the mist’s overbearing demeanor. Being banished from your home is a great motivator. Zaku is along for the ride, it’s the boy that concerns me.”

“...the boy?” Kabuto blinked. “He has shown no prowess in any fighting style. His taijustu couldn’t even stand to Tayuya’s.”

“Certainly. But there are qualities about people you have always overlooked Kabuto, potential. All this he is experiencing right now is pivotal. His trust in me is shaken. This little prison trip will harden his resolve as well. If all goes according to plan, he could rope in our little ikeda friend as well.”

Kabuto blinked. “Katsuo? As in the better Kiro?”

“Hehehe...cull your favoritism, the rest of my plan will become clearer in time. But in the meantime, I need you to contact our friend in the leaf.”

Kabuto’s eyes widened. It started to make sense. He didn’t like it, but it could work. Kabuto crosses his arms.

“A risky play, but possible. Didn’t think we’d call on his services this early.”

“Believe me. We Will be growing far closer. And when we do...” Orochimaru spoke, his tounge extending out in his signature way. “...Kohona will be at my mercy!”

 

[Retro Master]

“That’s flattering.”

Kiro silently murmured to himself upon hearing the excuse from Masa. Clearly this clan head saw him as some sort of threat. Why else would she find it necessary to bring her own security in an already secure location? Unless, she didn’t even trust the Hyūga to begin with. That idea didn’t seemed too far-fetched from what he knew. First the Nara and now possibly the Aburame.

‘Guess that makes two...’

In any case, it seemed that the Hyūga Head had finally remembered his presence. Took her long enough. She had caught him at the perfect time, while he was lost in thought, still gazing at her body. Her first comment too Kiro was one which caused him to simply roll his eyes and give what should seem like an adequate reply.

“Yeah, I found the sudden display to be quite intriguing. Yours must definitely be on another level when compared to those inferior. Only someone like you can have such a special form it seems...”

Following along with Hinagiku, his hands remained pocketed for the moment. One of them, however, began scouring for something. After a quick search, his hand finally located the item he was looking for. Kiro grasped the object and prepared to pull it out for Hinagiku while continuing to speak.

“Don’t let your mind wander now, Lady Hinagiku. I’m talking about your Caged Bird Seal of course. It’s design is significantly different from what I’ve seen, which is probably due to your position as clan head. But that doesn’t matter anymore. There’s other important things we can discuss while we’re moving, such as my reward and this. Here, catch.”

Casually, Kiro tossed a metallic tag towards Hinagiku, expecting her to catch the device. It was the same mysterious tag she had given both Tayuya and him at the start of their previous mission. He figured it was some sort of device to track them but couldn’t be sure. Kiro decided now would be a good time to return the tag since there was no longer any need for him to keep it.

“And since we’re done with that mission, is it fair for me to ask about the true function of that tag?”

 

[Godjacob]

"Well I thank you for such a generous act on your end, I am sure you will be both relieved and disappointed that you will see a rather by the book day as I assure you nothing will go wrong due to deliberate act on my end." Tomiko said with a grin as she seemed to speak with conviction though what she had planned tomorrow remained to be seen.

"Well just habit I suppose with the possibility of going to the main city." Atsuko said with a sweat drop but she was touched by the kunoichi's assurance on the issue.

"Thank you, I am sure once we know you well if tonight was any indication we can comfortably trust our daughter in good hands if that situation comes up." Kuro added on with a smile of his own as he seemed more comfortable with this arrangement...well, if Tomiko wanted to go through with it naturally.

----------
"Am I the type to lie?" Aisha asked with tha toothy but earnest grin as Sky glanced over at the new arrival but Luna was focused on her meal and Sky returned with a similar mindset just as quickly.

"It's about the most famous place to eat in the district, so I'd say it attracts a crowd. Thankfully we caught it here on a slower day." Kenji said, as he noticed a figure approach the bar but disregarded it as he took another bite. That was till he glanced her way again.

Is...is that Rika?

----------
"As has already been made clear, guarantee simply is that you avoid death with cooperation. This isn't a magic carpet ride, but a chance for you to prove yourself and earn those guarantees that will come if you show us reason to extend the olive branch." Pakura said, as the offer to live and get vengeance was still there and that had not changed but Pakura also wanted it to be clear that Kin first needed to show that she was worthy of greater guarantees before they were handed out.

But the option for them would be there, and really between that and death one seemed the indefinably preferable option. What Kin would pick remained to be seen.

----------
"Oh boy..." Ayame said, knowing she had to clean up any spills that came from this as Teuichi had a good chuckle before he moved over to pick up the chopsticks.

"Fancy stuff? Actually the trade secret with these things is that they are rather basic to use. It just looks fancy." Teuichi said as he glanced over Sakura's way.

"Perhaps you can show him. Learning something new even if it seems mundane is another experience to help one grow after all." Teuichi asked as Sakura was surprised but gave a nod as she turned Kou's way.

"Alright...just keep your eyes on the fingers." Sakura said, giving a simple demonstration as she grasped the chopsticks in a slow, step by step process for Kou to see for visual reference as she went to use it to take a bite of the bowl.

---------
She is a creative one, that much I'll have to credit.

Tayuya was quick to responded, as Sagiso looked to alter her twister she formed a defensive position in kind as the new melody caused the armless Doki to stomp down and the clubbed Doki to swing on the ground as both blows caused the ground to crack and rumble though this was no attempt to rock Sagiao. Rather it was used to loosen the ground as the clawed Doki, arm that had been cut and all, stabbed both his claws into the loosened ground as it performed a modified Earth release technique.

In that it used its brute strength to lift an elevation of the ground up to create a make-shift barrier as the elevation would be a blockade for the twister and the various debris as it smacked into it but they could not keep back the smoke as once more Sagiso blocked the visual cue of the area as Tayuya reacted quickly to shift the Doki to a defensive position counting on the elevation to protect from the twister for the moment though as she moved her Doki she became inspired with the smoke around her as she focused her ears and began to play a tune seemingly ready to launch a counter offensive with those monsters once more.

From the smoke, what appeared to be a hulking figure moved through it as the melody played as Tayuya appeared to try and sniff out Sagiso's position that her trained Byakugan would see it appeared to be the clubbed Doki that charged her area and seemed prepped to swing her area and try to smack her as it swung into the smoke by her.

-----​

"Believe me it will be gone with haste. I thank you for your time." Masa declared, as she already sent a signal for that little eye in the sky to return to her finger as she bowed respectfully before she left Hina with whatever business she had with the Kiri prisoner.

It was an interesting visit, and she got more than she expected coming into it but her day was far from done. With one of the elite Dojutsu clan heads down that left the other open for her to pay a visit. And as time it was time to go to the Uchiha Clan...

----------
"....and you are certain of this?"

"Yes, the mark is a different design than mine. And if what I have seen at the exams and what you told here is true then it has its own differed power."

"I see. Kurenai?"

"I should be able to elicit the desired reaction. Though I trust you can reactivate your defense seal if need be?"

"Oh I can handle that. Just so long as the room is secure."

The conversation between Kakashi, Anko and Kurenai reached its tail end with a plan made. Especially to try and procure a "sample" of the curse mark power in the most controlled method possibly. And as Kurenai moved by Zaku who had been gently but firmly restrained on the bed while he was in his previous Genjutsu slumber she placed two fingers along his head and began to paint a dream in Zaku's head. One that would help to drive that energy from his body...

 

[DarkHydraT]

Mori snorted. "By the book? I didn't know you ever finished a book, let alone follow the rules. I'd like to see that, could be a once in a lifetime display. And disappointed? I will only be that when you don't keep your word, and if you can't hold your own against someone you can beat in a fight." Of course, all the things he said were in good spirit but he really wanted to spar with her one day.

"I am in no position to force you to wear something, after all it is your decision in the end. I'll be looking forward to you visiting us, although I doubt that we can come close to the magnificent pie you two have baked." Kasumi made a circle with her index finger and thumb to show just how good it was. "I will wait patiently, and if you don't like it after a while you can always cancel the training. We don't mind."

Iwao on the other hand looked at his son bantering with Tomiko and had a smile that was just a bit too knowning. Those taunts were very familiar, and a scene in a restaurant with two friends of him the booth next to his when he hung out with Kasumi played through his head.

'I can see what's happening,
And they haven't got a clue.
They'll fall in love and here's the bottom line.
Our trio's down to two.

The sweet caress of twilight,
There's magic everywhere.
And with all this romantic atmosphere,
Disaster's in the air!

And if he falls in love tonight,
It can be assumed.
His carefree days with us are history,
In short our pal is doomed.'

The jonin stifled a chuckle in his throat as his mind went back to the times of old. Despite the prediction of his friends, the only disaster that happened was when he decided to treat Kasumi to home cooked dinner. That night was the night his kitchen had to be refurnished and a new fire extinguisher had to be bought.
----------

"If our mission is any indicator, then no. But I'd like to refrain from putting a stamp on you this early." Taji fiddled with her fingers as her eyes flit to the door and her plate every so often. Kenji's information didn't help soothe her nerves, instead it made her more nervous. Why did she run away from home? She was gonna get caught and locked in her room and shewouldnotbeallowedtogoonmissions...

Taji inhaled sharply and mentally counted to fifteen when the slamming of a door made her flinch. She turned her head to see who entered, but a customer only left the toilet. She cursed herself inwardly, ninja were not supposed to show emotion or to be caught off-guard. What was she doing? "Excuse me for a moment." She stood up and made her way to the toilets.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Rasa listened to the Jinchuriki’s provocations and let out a light scoff. The Kazekage the heard the prisoner’s demands of a guarantee. “You want a guarantee? I’ll give you one.” He began as he leaned back with his arms crossed. “As Pakura has said, your cooperation will ensure you get to keep your life, but that is not all that is to this deal. Your life is still an optional investment, we could very easily replace you with a more willing candidate for the Tailed Beast.” He spoke bluntly. “If I hear you cause any trouble in the village, and I mean any problem, you are done. Is your mind able to comprehend this?”

Shu was about to say something back to the guard until the sudden outburst of the Hyuga heiress caught him off guard and caused him to jump a bit. “Whoa, the heiress rarely ever raise her voice. She must really be feeling bad right now.” He thought. Before the man could say anything, Furijia ran off. The same thing happened with the guard and Taiyo. “Darn, they all left. Now how am I supposed to know what happened.” He thought himself before getting interrupted by a Uchiha boy wondering where Kiro was. “Hmm? You mean that prisoner? You’re an Uchiha right? I guess it’s logical for you to check up on someone from the same clan as you.” He was mostly taking to himself. “Oh sorry about that, I’m not sure where Kiro is exactly but...” Shu activated his Byakugan and quickly scanned the clan grounds. “Oh he’s with the clan head, this way.” He lead the way for Raiku.

 

[kyuukestu]

Sagisō

Wild air-currents and the dervish of dust that dance along them; rushing air-flows barely distinguishable as they whipped past each other. All that, lay below the Nadeshiko. Her ascent had been swift, fueled by the spring of muscles in her arms and legs, and hidden deeply by the storm of dust. Here, she regained a familiar overview of the battlefield, able to take in everything at once —almost as good as a Byakugan, she reckoned.

She could hear the agony of the land and even see the outline of earthen flesh torn from its surface. None of it mattered too much, her altitude leaving her safe from whatever counter attack Tayuya would surely launch...or so she thought.

Defying all expectation, she’d somehow been spotted. A doki now followed her in aerial flight. Its club swung haphazardly. Within the smoke, hand seals flashed and a clone appeared. The mirror images bounced off each other, avoiding the doki as a consequence.

Losing altitude, Sagisō gave a final glance at the doki. Coincidence...perhaps? The right stack of variables could’ve led to an ‘accidental’ catch...but Sagisō could hardly suspend her disbelief long enough to entertain that thought.

She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, and her clone echoed it. The duo landed, already armed with kunai and wire threads. In sync the mirror images wove together a silver web; Nadeshiko Style: White Spider Lily!

Anchoring the ‘web’ to the ground at certain points, the pair created a net of threads that stretched around them with a radius of 10 meters.

Of course, now that her vocals were free, she continued with her song, playing duet with her clone as she made up for lost time.

"Tell me honestly, have you found your joy?"

"But on what grounds are you asking for?"

"That's because."

"Between us."

"It's because of the girl you've become..."

"That man, you could love and betray him."

"Such thing was not forgiven."

"Is it so?"

"Although..."

Her words trailed off into the dust, their meaning left to the listener's discretion.

Hinagiku

A finger twitched; chakra emitted as flashing blue flames. They devoured the metallic tag in mid-air, and it scattered to dust.

“Playing footsie with an old Lady like myself...”

She hadn’t missed the boy’s more sexual undertones, despite his efforts to play it down. It’d taken her by surprise; rarely did anyone speak so frankly to her. Mirth & candor formed her expression but—

“I hardly have the time to help you through puberty.”

Such were her thoughts.

“If you look carefully, you should see them.”

She was referring to the strands of chakra that floated wispily, between her and the dust of the tag. Almost like a compass that pointed in her direction.

 

[Retro Master]

“What? How does that even...?”

Kiro had paused after hearing the choice words this “old lady” had for him. He remained in thought for the briefest of moments before simply shaking his head. Even after he explicitly stated not to let her mind wander, she did so anyways. The somewhat surprised expression hadn’t gone unnoticed either. Wasn’t it a bit too late for her prudish act?

Rather than quip back at the Hyūga Head, Kiro diverted his focus towards the remnants of chakra that continued to drift steadily in the air.

“As I suspected, it seems like destroying the tag would’ve been counterintuitive on my part.”

After a quick assessment, Kiro believed he had the base functions down. His original assumptions didn’t seem too far off the mark. The tag itself wasn’t exactly functioned to track him. That duty belonged to a component hidden within the device.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but the tracker seems to rely on the chakra from inside. I’m guessing had my chakra interacted with the chakra imbued in the tag, some sort of connection would’ve been formed. Which must be why the lingering chakra is pointing towards you. It’s probably a safe bet to assume the chakra from the tag was also yours. Meaning that you’ll still be able to receive a response no matter the distance.”

As Kiro drew the conjecture to a close, his steady gaze was now fixated on the line of chakra pointing directly towards the Hyūga Head. Of course, Hinagiku was probably using the tags to monitor their movements the entire time. It was better than expending chakra by having the byakugan constantly active. However, that meant with the byakugan deactivated, her only visual would be the tags.

“One thing I probably don’t understand and consider a flaw is that for the connection to be made, the tag needs to be destroyed. What if I were to simply drop the tag and escape the range of your byakugan? Of course, I doubt you’d even let me get that far. But still, how would you be able to track my movements at that point?”

 

[Mystic Zander]

It has been a long and grueling day for Katsuo. And like any other stressful day, he found himself wandering the streets of the Leaf, lost in thought.

It was true that a new determination was sparked inside of him, but what does that even mean? He knew he’d have to become stronger, but just how much stronger? He knew he had to stop Orochimaru, but what does that snake even want from him?
All these questions made Katsuo feel something he hadn’t felt in quite a long time. Helplessness.

Tak~

The morally confused ninja was pulled from his thoughts, feeling the terrain beneath his feet shift from smooth stone to rough packed dirt. He looked up, taking note of where his thoughts had led him.

“Leaf Village Ninja Academy…” The shaggy-haired boy muttered under his breath as he gaze danced along the large, aged building. This is where it all began.

~~~7 Years Ago~~~

“Pffft. Please. You wanna be a powerful ninja? You can’t even create multiple clones.” Shouted a small, black haired child, wagging his finger at Katsuo condescendingly.


“I can do anything you can do! I’m gonna be really strong, you’ll see!” Katsuo retorted with tears welling up as he spoke, his face contorting between anger and sadness.


“Come on Katsuo, he has a point. Your chakra is puny. How do you plan to become powerful with so little?” Added a girl who had been standing beside the black haired child making fun of Katsuo, a look of pity peeking through her mostly vacant expression.


“MY CHAKRA ISN’T PUNY! I'LL PROVE IT!” Katsuo erupted in tears, casting a basic set of hand signs somewhat sloppily due to his hysteria.


Poof~


Standing beside Katsuo was a perfectly identical clone of himself, and beside that clone…rested a shriveled up projection of Katsuo, barely recognizable compared to the first.


“Hahaha! What was that?!?” The black haired boy shouted in laughter, clasping his hands together at the site of Katsuo’s failed attempt at creating multiple clones, before continuing in an equally wicked tone, “Just face it Katsuo, your pathetic.”


“No…” Katsuo dropped to his knees, visibly winded after attempting such a basic technique. Tears began rolling down the defeated boys face, signifying a loss of hope.


“Don’t stress to much Katsuo. Being a ninja isn’t for everyone…” The young girl interjected once more, her face gradually revealing more and more guilt as the moment passed, “Maybe it would be best for you to drop out, and save yourself from all this heartache.” She finished, signifying she wanted to remove herself from this situation by tugging on the black haired boys sleeve.


“Let’s get out of here. If he’s smart, he’ll take your advice and leave this academy~”


Katsuo slowly collected himself after the two departed, falling from his knees into a seated position where he proceeded to silently cry for what seemed like hours.


“Why...? Why am I so weak?!? Why can’t I just be STRONGER?!?!” The young Water-nin growled, digging his knuckles into the dirt as his pain slowly morphed into rage.


“...no…I won’t accept it…” he finally added, dragging himself to his feet, “I WILL be stronger! I’ll increase my power a whole lot, and then I’ll be just like mom and never show fear again! A real ninja fear’s nothing!”


~~~Present Day~~~

“A real ninja fear’s nothing...heh...those were the days.” Katsuo mumbled whilst recalling the hardships he had faced to get this far. If he hadn’t given up then, he can’t give up now.

“Water Style! Water Clone Jutsu!”

Three shimmering clones slowly took the shape of Katsuo, all with a somewhat confused look on there face. There was no enemy, no threat. Why were they here?

“Attack me.” The original Katsuo demanded, giving each clone a knowing glance.

“...right.” All three clones said in unison, charging there original at slightly different angles, completely prepared to fulfill his request.
A flurry of punches and kicks faster than the human eye could see were thrown, dodged, deflected, and intercepted within mere seconds, gradually kicking up dust off the field.
This exchange continued for nearly half an hour, until finally…

“Now!” Shouted one of the clones, causing all three to roll into a flip where they pressed off the ground with there hands, bringing one of there legs high in the air.

“Damn.” The original Katsuo thought as he attempted to bring his arms up above his head with the minimal reaction time he was provided.
Unfortunately he wasn’t quite quick enough. The clones performed a simultaneous heel drop right over Katsuo, who had only just managed to deflect the middle kick with his forearm. As this occurred, the other two clones heels went soaring into the water-nins shoulders at tremendous speeds.
In fact, the impact force was so high that both attacking clones burst from the pressure.

“Kcht!” Katsuo bit down on his lip, restraining a grunt as the force of the kicks sent him sliding on his back along the dirt ground.

“Had enough?” The last clone spoke up, giving his original a satisfied grin.

“Don’t think so.” Katsuo mumbled as he pressed off the ground, flipping backwards onto his feet as he did so. The boys shirt was tattered and dirty, and a long gash on the base of his collarbone had slowly began to stain the right shoulder of his sleeve, yet...he wore a bigger grin than he had all day.

“Now it’s just you and me.”

 

[Godjacob]

"Guys, let's save the pre-school banter for tomorrow." Jirou said with a sweat drop and a sigh, as while others were amused by the light hearted exchange of words she had grown a bit tired of it. Tomiko turned to her with a slight grin on her face.

"Oh come now, all in good fun. Besides if Mori wants to see how capable I am I do have a demonstration spar planned though not a partner so he might be ideal~" Tomiko said simply with an eager but oh so competitive grin.

"We appreciate the gesture, means a lot. And do not worry we are sure whatever food provided will be lovely in its own right." Atsuko said with a smile as for a first meeting she had already gotten good signs from Mori's parents which only made the bonding between their children all the more endearing.

----------
Kenji was frankly speechless. First, he sees Rika off on her own and seemingly downcast which had been shocking enough by itself and a lot to process. But then it was made worse then Taji out of nowhere made a rather sudden departure to the toilet as Kenji and Aisha had been left there as a bit of awkward tension hit the air.

"Uh, can I get a couple chicken legs?"

Aisha decided to not involve herself in this drama with a convenient request for a side as Kenji let out a sigh. Seemed he'd have to step up till Aisha decided to join in and as such he quickly produced a lightning clone as he shot it to go over towards the bathroom while he himself moved by where Rika sat.

"Uh, are you okay?" Kenji asked as Rika blinked and then had widened eyes when she realized it was Kenji after she snapped out of her daze.

"K-kenji?"

Meanwhile, the clone gave a gentle knock on the door. "Hey, you alive in there?"

----------
Tayuya, who had just made it out of the smoke as she played what seemed to be a command song for the Doki inside could not help but listen to the lyrics that Sagiso continued to sing her way; the Hyuga determined to keep up the therapy by song even as the battle dragged on. Tayuya made no visible reaction to this and simply continued her song, though one would be lying if the lyric choice had not given any pause for possible thought later...

Either way, within the smoke the clubbed Doki appeared to swing and miss as it slammed into the ground. An audible rumble heard as it began to swing wildly in the air around it as if it looked for something to hit. Though admit the gentle melody the beast seemed to have some intent behind it beyond the hopeful lucky strike as from Sagiso's view the gas seemed to move from each swing as if it tried to clear it with brute force and boosted wing swings of its mighty club.

As the wind seemed to knock some of the gas aside and it walked forward mindless; said smoke began to drift up towards Sagiso; in specifically the feeling that it seemed so subtly drift into her nostrils and mouth...

----------
Within what seemed to be some sort of underground lab, with Zaku standing across some sort of sparring area along with some nameless test subjects that acted as "sparring partners" for some exercise that seemed to be devised by none other than his own Lord Orochimaru.

"Impressive you were able to evade Leaf containment. But as always I look for your best in any situation, now show me the worth of that mark I blessed upon you...show me your mastery of its strength~" Orochimaru said, with that same tone that to most would come off as slimy if not creepy but to its followers was this oddly pulling charisma that made one only desire to please him. And Zaku had to act quick as a pair of subjects charged him ready to strike.

 

[DarkHydraT]

A big grin appeared to be slapped onto Mori's face. "A demonstration spar? Count me in! When and where can I beat you in a fight?" A competitive gleam shimmered in his eyes as he turned to his father so fast it was a wonder his neck didn't crack. "Dad, I have a request. Do you know where to get clay or gunpowder?"

Iwao was taken aback by the sudden question, but did his best to answer truthfully nontheless. "I have an idea, but what's this all about? To my knowledge, you never used clay or gunpowder before and I find it hard to believe that you would use it now. Especially when you just decided on a spar. And before you get any help from me, you need to promise to me that you won't create bombs to use against Tomiko."

Mori feigned pain and betrayal at the suspicion of his father. "How could my own father think so lowly of me? I would never do anything to put Tomiko in danger, I promise."

Iwao nodded, although it was unsure if the smile upon his face was because he was satisfied with the answer or if he saw something a bit more delicate than his son's promise. "You better keep that promise, or I'll bury you headfirst."

Kasumi just smiled at the comment of Atsuko. "We'll see. Now with the serious stuff out of the way, I have gotten quite curious about you two. How did you two meet and what made you own a bakery in the slums? It's certainly not a common choice to be made."
----------

Taji was sitting against the locked door, her legs curled up and her arms wrapped around them. Her breathing was fast and shallow, clearly from stress. The knock made her flinch, but thankfully the person knocking wasn't someone waiting to use the toilet or one of her parents. ".....Yes.."

A full minute of silence passed.

"....Did I make a mistake?" Taji asked, her voice devoid of any emotion just when they were in the Land of Water. "I did, didn't I? I shouldn't have ran away. But it was so alluring, and before I knew it I was outside." She couldn't see how Kenji's face must look by now, but she could imagine it contorting in disbelief and preparing to yell at her for being so reckless.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Kou paused his gorging down of food, swallowing what already filled his cheeks. He looked to the two shop owners who seemed...amused and concerned. He didn’t know why. No one had said anything before about it. Thinking twice, he looked to the chopsticks, which sakura instructed him to use.

He careful grabbed the pair of sticks, arching a brow. Slowly but surely he listened to what she had to say. Shakily picking up a grain of rice. He began to twitch.

“It’s so much faster to just eat it by hand than one grain at a time...” he complained



......




Kin laughed lowly as the Suna Slugs babbled on about her freedoms and that they are only alive because they allowed it. Her talons dug into the chain, harshly. Three actual wedges in said chain were now noticeable. She was making slow but steady progress. Her lippped curled and eyes twitched.

“So not guaranteed is that right? And I could be replaced if I refuse...”

Suddenly, she lunged, snapping at them with feral teeth and able claws. Her chains the only thing keeping her back as her acidic saliva had begun to coat around their feet.

“BULLSHIT! I am the only one in a nation’s radius with as much motivation to kill the damn snake! Want to replace me? Go on ahead! Their brain will shatter into billions of little pieces, or if your lucky, will end up just like me! Hahahaha!!!”

She cackled manically like a raving hyena. She figured herself in a good position. They needed her. It would take forever to find a suitable host for the jinchurki, and see them not turned just like her. Not only that, but she already retained the ability to go into the cloaked state at will. Something that would have to be taught, and the sand didn’t exactly have a Jirayia or Orochimaru to teach them. Knowledge was in short supply for this arena, and Kin already acquired it.



.....


Drip drip.

Zaku blinked, his surroundings changing. A ghastly fog faded the dim world from a blurry darkness to a scene of metal. The sound village. Orochimaru ahead with nameless individuals surrounding him, pressuningly sparring partners. This was so sudden. Wasn’t he in the leaf before? Did he somehow get taken back to the sound while he was unconscious? What was going on?

“Lord Orochimaru, what happened? How did we escape the leaf?”

 

[kyuukestu]

Hinagiku

"No, I meant actually look closely."

Exasperated, she implored the boy to look again. It seems even the Uchiha prodigy couldn't always be on the ball. Should the Uchiha use the vision his clan was renowned for, he would then be able to pick upon the more detailed aspects of the tag. He would notice the changes in chakra flow. It might’ve been difficult to spot, but as the chakra she’d left infused in the tag, and the chakra she’d used to destroy it begun to meld, the former gradually began to devour the latter.

The implications of this...well, she wouldn’t bother explaining. Kiro would need to ponder it himself.

Mei

The Mizukage leaned back into her chair, having expected this garrison to arrive. Leaning into the chair’s armrest, she observed the guards momentarily, and then nodded.

“Very well. He shall be punished for all his crimes in accordance with Mist Law.”

With that, she dismissed the guard detail.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Rasa continued to stare down upon Kin, unfazed by the beast’s violent lashings. Her problematic demeanour had started to grow stale for the Kazekage as she lashed out more and more.

Instead, his attention slowly turned away from the Jinchuriki as his eyes rolled downward. He turned his head towards Pakura. “When we’re done here, could you go tell the architects to invest some time to reinforce the cracks around the doors? If we let this leak out in big quantities it could cause a problem.” A finger extended from the Kazekage’s crossed arms as he lazily pointed down at the acidic puddle leaking out of the prison cell.

“It would also be useful if we need to keep more prisoners who has liquid based techniques like our guest here. If we allow the substance to leak out freely it would be as if we’re letting them use their abilities.” He explained. “Would also help against air based techniques to an extend.” He added.

 

[Retro Master]

“Oh...”

Betraying the confidence Kiro previously spoke with, his voice had now lowered to a more softer tone. A subtle expression which exhibited his displeasure. He let out a sigh before reluctantly allowing the black of his eyes to dye itself red. The exceptions being a pair of small, black, comma-like swirls in each eye.

Following through with Hinagiku’s advice, Kiro used the distinguished kekkei genkai of the Uchiha to take a much more closer look. At first glance, he could see the chakra interacting with each other. Seemingly acting on its own, however, was the chakra from the tag. Steadily, it began to consume the chakra from Hinagiku and merge together.

Perhaps his prior hypothesis on the tag needing to destroy itself had been wrong. If the chakra imbued within the tag was capable of acting on its own accord, then there was a chance only a strong enough chakra was required for the absorption to take effect.

In fact, had Kiro destroyed the tag, he might’ve played himself right into the hands of Hinagiku. That would basically be the equivalent of him willingly handing his chakra over. There was also a possibility that the chakra he expended during their scuffle with the jinchuriki was enough to be absorbed by the tag.

Of course, with this information, his mind soon formulated another example. It was pretty simple actually and he hoped Hinagiku could confirm his suspicions. However, Kiro seemed to hesitate for a moment before he spoke.

“I know you’ve seen, unfortunately, my strongest lightning technique at the moment. Had I used that at any point during the mission, am I correct in assuming the tag would’ve been able to interact and absorb my chakra even if it wasn’t destroyed?”

There was a slight bit of uneasiness in his voice, almost as if he was ashamed to bring up certain contents of his idea to the Hyūga Head...

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Kai growled in irritation at the blank pages in front of him. I already gave it a pure mist blood drop, why are these pages refusing to show themselves? The puzzle was getting to the Yuki, both to his patience and to his head. He tried putting another drop of blood on the page, only for nothing to happen.

Surely there’s more to it? What could possibly be the key to revealing these pages? Must be an important set of information to be safeguarded so well and intricately...maybe if my father were willing to let me see what lies within these pages I wouldn’t have to go searching for these obscure answers. Or my mother.

Kai paused. It had been a long time since he thought back to his mother. With all the craziness that had happened recently, it wasn’t an option to reflect back on the past. His teeth grinded together as some of these memories resurfaced. He shook his head trying to get his mind off them.

What...? Sadness? No. That’s NOT what hunter-nin feel. We are strong pillars, we mustn’t falter. If we do, who supports the mist? Suddenly, kiro’s face flashed into his brain as well. No. No. Psychology...yes. The more we set in or brain not to think about something the more we end up thinking about it. Yes. So I must simply clear my head and meditate.

*drip*

...What?

He looked down at the book in front of him. A wet stain lay on the book, and within seconds, text began to form upon the pages. He laughed out loud for a second, not believing his good fortune.

“Outstanding...! Wherever the fluid came from managed to reveal the pages. Now to find out what it-“

Before he could finish his sentence, he touched his face. His face was wet, or rather under his eyes. At that moment he knew what the fluid was. Tears...? Really? Over something so...trivial...I must keep my emotions in check. Why the book rewards such a thing I don’t understand, but I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

With that, he carefully began to read the pages before him.....




**********
**********
In the past...
**********
**********

“Jako.”

The head of the Yuki, Jin walked up to the younger Yuki, who sat near a tree overlooking a cliffside. The sun was hanging over them, nearing sunset lighting up a beach ahead. Jako didn’t look back at Jin nor answer. Jin frowned, approaching the resting Yuki. He stood over Jako, who leaned on the tree in a lax matter, focused on the sunset. The elder Yuki sighed.

“The rest of the corps are worried about you. You’ve been skipping all the daily practices, purposely failing spars, and actually rejecting missions for the first time in your career as a ninja.”

Jako didn’t respond, instead he simply stared ahead, unaffected by Jin’s words. The Yuki clan head furrowed his brow, not used to this behavior.

“Your the brightest of all the guard. You know that right?”

No response.

“The Yuki Honor Guard of Heart. That’s what you are. You are the master of your feelings and wills and can build up anyone’s and crush anyone’s you so desire. Then how is it that you are afflicted by this...”

Jako’s head lowered. A sniff was heard, and a grunt.

“Speak. That’s an order.”

“...they were there.”

Jin blinked, confused. “Who were?”

“My...family...”

Jin put two and two together, his face becoming more stern and strict, his muscles tensing.

“You have no family. You severed your ties with your past life when you became an honor guard. You must-“

“It’s different when their mangled bodies are in front of you! Tangling hairs and fleshy tounge...entire limbs made of their gums and teeth...their veins slithering along underneath their skin...!”

“Your beyond such things. The ritual purified your heart and solicited your resolve-“

“The ritual is a lie!” Jako Interrupted. “It’s all a lie! You can’t severe the bonds that a mother has for a child, a brother has for a brother, or a father and his son! You of all know that blood is thicker than anything else, no ritual can change that!”

“That is ENOUGH!”

Jin’s voice boomed. Jako quieted, but his expression filled sustain seemed to say more than words could offer. Jin looked down upon him.

“Stand. Up.”

Jako begrudgingly complied, rising up as the sun set. He looked at the ground, Jin walked up to him, passing him by as the head Yuki approached the cliffside.

“Follow.”

Jako crept closer to Jin, stopping as they became parallel, standing a foot from the side of the cliff. They stood their in silence for several seconds before Jin opened his mouth, not making eye contact with him, staring straight on.

“I will make this simple. I shall grant you the chance to redeem yourself, and give you a crossroads. You can leave with me here and leave all of this nonsense right here and now, or you will continue walking straight until you can’t any longer.”

Jin then turned around, slowly walking away. Five seconds past since the ultimatum. Ten. Fifteen. Twenty. Twenty five. And when the time struck the thirdeth second...

“Tyranny must be opposed.”

Jin’s eye’s flapped wise open, as he flipped around to Jako, he saw Jako do exactly as he instructed. He took a single step forward. That’s all it took, his body falling out of view. Jin rushed to the cliffside. Looking down to see...Jako. His body facing up at Jin, the impact of his body trickling blood across the ground. The sun had set, cloaking the land in the darkness of night. Jin put hands to either side of his head.

“What...what have I done...”




Thus the hope inside the Frozen King fell
Upon the first death he caused his kins
And just as the obsidian gate opened to hell
He knew he could never escape his sins

- Poem of Damos

 

[kyuukestu]

Hyōryugetsu

Emerging from the ocean mists, Hyōryugetsu trekked the shores of the land of fire. The earth squelched beneath her feet as grains of sand shifted between her toes, gritty and ticklish. She kicked them off, mildly annoyed as her body seemed all-to-willing to sink beneath the porous soil.

A scowl settled onto her lips, just as a thick fog began to crawl across the land.

“Let’s get this over with…Hiding in Mist…”

An unnaturally somber mood seemed to hang over the village, just as the unnaturally humid air dimmed the sun.

Natsu

Stepping into the hearth of the Kage’s abode, Natsu bowed cordially.

“Well-met, your Ladyship.”

If she’d smelt the ambient odor of liquor in the air, Natsu didn’t show it. Her expression remained neutral, and her green locks stayed unruffled.

“Apologies, to have disturbed you in your festives. At the behest of my Lady, I’ve come to deliver two initiatives of the Hyūga Clan.”

In short, concise words she started off with the main point. The construction of a facility in the Jofuku Mountains, and the lease of the land to be utilized. The idea was simple, by using the abundant resources that existed within the land of fire the Hyūgas intended to begin research and productive intensive projects.

Of course, the village was entitled to a third of all the produce of the facility, free of charge.

The second initiative involved the Clan’s re-organized operations. They requested the right to deploy village-approved missions, the cost of which would, of course, be funded by the clan itself.

Hinagiku

‘It is pretty unfortunate isn’t it?’

Idle thoughts —most of which some might consider rude— provided sardonic commentary. The double entendre tickled a sense of humor residing in her core, producing a fizzle, no, a tingle of gaiety that pulled her lips into the faintest of smiles. Her levity had almost bubbled over into a chuckle; restrained by the strict metronome of her gait. Her bare feet thumped against polished wood; single crotchets in 4/4 time. Her breath in minims; a simple legato.

The steady rhythm of movements anchored her being. Even her voice as she responded kept tempo.

“You’re correct. Well Done.”

The pseudo-chakra-mode would have, indeed, inadvertently activated her chakra tags. That, she was willing to confirm. Had he been one of her daughters, her praises would've been more pronounced. Silky black strands of hair were, after all, ripe for the tousling. In fact, she'd almost done that very thing. If her hands hadn't held her hefty weapon, or her impulses suppressed beneath her nirvanic poise then perhaps...

Sagisō

The earth splintered with an audible crack; Sagisō’s pupils adjusted in the dust, dilating ...quivering ...observing. Subtly, her fingers twitched, and a burble of surprise emerged on the Nadeshiko’s expression. The swirling cloud of dust appeared to close in on her, and her once enigmatic features collapsed into a fit of chokes and coughs.

The feeling of dust in her lungs was beyond unpleasant, yet she was determined to continue her song. The following stanza’s the Nadeshiko seemed to take particularly seriously, as her voice, in places, appeared to mimic Tayuya’s own. Between her and her clone, they quickly traipsed across 12 lines and 2 stanzas.

Spoiler: Legend

Italics — Sagisō Voice
Bold — Tayuya mimicry
Bolded-Italics — combination

“All this bait, it fills my plate and wears a dress of fraud and distress”

“Am I a fool? Or someone’s tool? Will this affect...what to expect?”

“Playing again, unfolding everything”

“Free in the air, flying and fluttering”

“You’re burdened with all of their sins.”

“You’re the one...who walks where darkness begins...”

“Tell me, Lord above, which of us you’ll judge?”

“I’m in the wong and I bear no grudge.”

“Stop it, please.”

“It’s enough”

“You should pause, I get Ill, all because.”

“Will I always, just remain a doll to you? From your view?”