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Kiriko Gekkō

"Choose a path for your life, or watch as it is chosen for you. Control your life, or watch it control you until it consumes everything you stand for. That is life."

0 · 1,346 views · located in Naruto Universe

a character in “Naruto: End of Attrition”, as played by JokerofSpades

Description




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Lady of the Mist, Moonbeam
"War will never leave those that arm themselves; even during the times of peace, violence and anger will continue to fester. The only difference is whether or not it is physical, or emotional warfare.




Theme

Disturbed || The Night
Within Temptation || Where is the Edge
Asking Alexandria || Dear Insanity
Abingdon Boys School || Innocent Sorrow




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"I had always wanted to stand out - yet here I am, in a profession in which I must attempt to blend back in"




Nickname
[ Kiri | Demon Eyes | Ko ]

Age
[ 24 ]

Gender
[ Female ]

Village
[ Kumogakure ]

Clan
[ None ]

Kekkei Genkai
[ Storm Release ]

Chakra Nature
[ Lightening | Water ]

Ninja Rank
[ Jounin/Sensory Kunoichi ]

Role:
[ The Partner/The Watch Dog ]

Face Claim:
[ Shiki Ryōgi | Kara no Kyōkai ]




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A person's body masks much of their true nature: you would be best to avoid making presumptions.




Hair Color
[ Black ]

Eye Color
[ Iridescent Blue ]

Skin Tone
[ Pale ]

Height
[ 5'2 ]

Weight
[ 100ish lbs ]

Physical Description
[ Kiriko is a peculiar woman whose stature has persuaded more than one drunken fool to believe her to be weak, only to be beaten senseless merely seconds later. Her pale complexion is quite the opposite from many of her kinfolk, especially with her rumored lineage, making blushes, scars and blemishes protrude quite prominently on her face and body. However, her complexion has often confused many of her actual origins - even those of her own village sometimes forget she is one of there own. One could take that as an insult, but Kiri takes it as a perk - it quite helps with her line of work as a kunoichi, and especially helps with her fighting style.

As mentioned earlier, Kiriko's physique is seen as simply petite in almost all forms, save a few. Many from afar have complimented her on how delicate and fair she looks, yet up close many retract their statements. Her hands, while small, house many scars and callouses from the constant need to train. Her arms and legs are toned and sturdy, an oxymoron to what many see in her. In the feminine sense of physique, she considers herself a deadly twig; in reality, her physique boasts more of a pear shape, with more curves below than above. Kiri finds this as the perfect body size for her line of work, seeing as she is not weighed down by unnecessary amounts of fat (she has been known to call other women of more busty features out as well).

Her face is simple, yet there is always beauty in simplicity and efficiency. Her midnight black hair is cut off below her chin line, allowing her to be known as a female while keeping it out of the way. Her bangs have been known to fall in front of her eyes, but they cannot mask them from the world; how they pierce through the night. Kiri has often been complimented on how radiant her eyes are, yet they are just an oddity she will never understand, nor known how she acquired them. While many compliment her, others have noted that her piercing gaze has been known to bring about the fear of men, even if she has no visual abilities whatsoever. Her chin is pointed, as her cheekbones are defined and rugged, with a singular cut running along the base of her left cheek due to the war. While she earned more than her fair share of scars in the war, many of them did not last, or are on her body, which she has refused to let another see for some time now. ]




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"I have a skill set in which I specialize in, and I don't hesitate to use it.




Potential Interest
Know your place.: Currently, Kiriko has no love interest, mostly due to her negative attitude towards most people. Well, it doesn't help that she has murderous tendencies and hates to be touched. So there's that.

Skills

    Sensory || Kiriko was defined at a young age as an possibly brilliant sensory-nin. Very few masking techniques work with her, as she not only is able to pick up on a person's chakra, but her abilities to observe her surroundings are top of the line. Very little gets past her, and those that do are either applauded or murdered.
    Stealth || Accompanying her above skill is her ability to be sneaky. As a sensory-nin, she knows how others detect chakras and goes to great lengths to mask her own from the world around her. That isn't to say she is always attempting to cover herself, but she certainly enjoys getting the job done without a whisper.
    Mid-range combat || Kiriko, while still able to put up an impressive display in combat, ultimately is better known for her brutally masterful ability at mid-ranged combat - aka, Ninjutsu. Her ability to combine the two chakra natures to form a kekkei genkai, along with her mastery of each have allowed her to strike fear into those much bigger than herself.

Ninjutsu


Nintaijutsu

Kekkei Genkai
    Raiton: Reizā Sākasu || Storm Release: Laser Circus
    Hōryū Raika no Jutsu || Discharge Lightning Calamity
    Raiton: Reizā Gādian || Storm Release: Laser Guardian - A technique she created herself - Kiriko focuses the lasers created to swirl around herself, and then firing them outwards. Great for removing close enemies and creating distance.




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I cannot do everything, much to my chagrin. What I can do, however, is deadly.




Other:
  • Gekko is not actually her last name: in fact, Kiriko has no last name. She gave it to herself so that people would not think herself in relation to those that have no last name, such as her mother. Kiriko doesn't like the idea of people realizing who her actual parentage is, as she feels that others might come to expect more from her.
  • Kiriko has no hatred towards Konohagakure: hell, she has very little patriotism towards her own hometown. It is the people that are within the city that she lives for, not the name in which it was given.
  • Kiriko is often found in a kamino if not in murder attire: this is because she doesn't actually enjoy tight fitting clothing. While she understands it and loves its usefulness, she would rather wear looser clothing.
  • Kiriko has a burning desire to visit Kirigakure, as not only does she share a similar name to the village, but also utilizes techniques used by the old Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. It is her goal to one day learn from them some of their ways, such as the Mist techniques and hidden killings.

Habits

    Spying || Not her fault, she swears! Kiriko just has an annoying habit of needing to know what is going on throughout the world by any means necessary. She will constantly be seen perched up on high buildings, watching the average folks as they maneuver through their existences - some consider her quite nosy, while others see this as a creepy form of protection.
    Daydreaming || For a woman who composes herself nearly all day with a steeled expression, this habit of hers is one that is easily laughed at by her friends and scorned by herself. She won't even mean to, but will simply lose her train of thought instantly at certain trigger words that remind her of other things.
    Defense || Unless she knows you personally - and by that, meaning you are on a first name basis with her - Kiri is not one to enjoy being touched by random folks. Constantly she has had to send people to the nearest medical-nin due to her overreactions at the simplest of touches.




Likes
    Respect || She only gives it to those she finds worth, and demands it from those she doesn't. Simplistic enough.
    Training || Kiriko likes to train simply because it is what she does. She enjoys the need to improve herself to protect those around her, while also improving herself to be able to kill her enemies that much more efficiently. Kind of brutal, but that is just how she likes it.
    Dressing up || While this does sound quite shallow, Kiriko enjoys going to formal events simply because she gets to dress up in something other than battle gear. Something about kimonos or just fancy dresses that really makes her giddy - even if she hides it profusely. There is a rumored reason, however, that she enjoys the looser outfits so that she can hide poisons and whatnot within them, but she tries her best to shrug off that possibly true rumor.
    MoonlightSomething about the moonlight mystifies Kiri, like all of her problems can simply melt away with the night. It is the reason why she has her fake last name, literally translating to Moonbeam.

Dislikes
    Herself || A secret only known to a few, but Kiriko is quite aware of her brutal/psychopathic tendencies, and isn't too fond of herself because of it. She keeps a front up to make sure nobody knows of her self - loathing, but to those that she has opened to, it is quite apparent.
    Food || While food is necessary for life, Kiri doesn't entirely enjoy the concept of constantly having to fuel her body. It takes time, binds her to objects that she must constantly forage or hunt for if out in the wilderness, and is overall a pain. Sure, some foods taste fantastic, but the concept of food annoys her. Especially people that eat too much.
    Failure || A given, Kiriko does not fail; if she does, it is considered pointless to continue. Failure in missions are not options for her, for many of her previous missions had been high level and secretive - the kind that if you failed, you died. Since she isn't to the point where death is the only way out, Kiriko refuses to fail.




Strengths
    Brutality || Kiriko does not understand the concepts of mercy in a battlefield, which were quite obvious back during the war. She doesn't give her opponents any breaks, and if she did it was only to bait them into another tactic to completely destroy them. She has been called many times a monster by those on both sides, but she shrugged them off as a necessity of war.
    Senses || Kiriko was trained as a sensory ninja for most of her young life, which made her attune to sensing the chakra around her. However, to combat the threats of genjutsus, Kiriko trained herself in the art of senses. She has trained both blind and deaf to heighten her abilities in hearing and sight, so that she refuses to rely on one sense alone. It makes her masterful at tracking and stealth.
    Speed || She makes up for her lack of strength with not only her ability to perform numerous ninjutsu, but also being lightening quick.

Weaknesses
    Brutality || A double edged sword if one existed. Kiri's brutality has made it difficult for her to understand others, and because of this she comes off as aloof and evil. Makes it hard to also connect with others, so she has few friends that can actually understand and trust her.
    Size || While Kiriko will never admit it, her size is a serious weakness - especially if she went up against the Raikage. Her small form makes physical fights extremely difficult for her if the opponent is much larger than her. Nevertheless, that won't stop her from trying to punch him in the face anyway. This is the reason why close combat isn't her thing: the only real weapon she can wield is a sword and kunai. But why bother when you can drown a legion of faceless people?
    Stubbornness || Some would call this a Strength: for Kiriko, however, it is a weakness. She will refuse to do things simply to be stubborn, which again doesn't help her inability to connect with others. It also makes co-operative missions with her painful.




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"I cannot really describe who I am or what I am: I just have existed.




Personality
Protective | Blunt | Aloof | Deceptive | Curious

Kiriko is many things in this world, and many things aren't her. The amount of layers can have many people believing her to be quite complex and therefore complicated and deep to understand. In reality, that is not really the case.

The first layer of Kiri is what she gives those on the outside: a cold, harsh, exterior. Her demeanor demands respect, even if she never says it: the ways she stands and how she carries herself speak volumes. Kiri will give absurd missions to those below her, for she believes that it is only through hardships and difficulty that one can truly train and become a better version of themselves. Yet at the same time, she is always in the background, never truly in the spotlight, silently demanding the respect of those below her. She will speak only when either spoken to or in need of something; otherwise, to most of the ninja she will remain silent and behind the leader. It isn't that she doesn't talk: simply that she observes more often. Her eyes always seem to be watching those that are conversing, as if she could peer into their very souls.

Contrary to that layer, however, is her actual personality amongst those that she has deemed worthy of respect. Usually, this is through warfare, but it came be achieved through wit or even arguments in which she loses. Nevertheless, Kiriko opens up significantly to those of equal caliber. Instead of just cold, she is blunt and stubborn, refusing to believe herself wrong unless proven (which is often enough for her not to engage in many arguments anymore) While she still has difficulty connecting with her fellow nin, she does interact with them more often; albeit in a very odd manner. Seeing as how she doesn't entirely think in the same way, her call and response times vary, and her answers can either be much too short for their own good or completely off topic. Nevertheless, Kiriko actually looks as if she cares about those in front of her at this layer, actively participating in discussions, even if she is brief.

There are few that have seen her at this next layer, in which most of her world crashes down. In reality, Kiriko is a self-loathing woman, confused as to why she acts the way she does. She wants to love, yet hates the idea of it. She wants to have friends, but can't bring herself to actually interacting with those she deems inferior. She can't get over how much she wants to butcher some people, yet knows she really shouldn't. Kirko comes off as easily fluster when she is this open to others, as most people that have seen her at her worst will sometimes poke fun of her about it.

The reason she is self-loathing is because of her flipside personality. While it doesn't go as far to say that she has a split personality, Kiriko's violent and brutal streaks happen enough to install the fear that she wanted yet hated. In any form of violence, Kiriko lets all of the reins loose to fight her opponents, brutally taking them down each peg until they are either dead at her feet or begging for mercy, in which they will still end up like the number one option. Kiriko isn't entirely sure what started this moody, sociopathic side to her: only that it is her greatest strength and weakness.




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"I have done inexplicable horrors, yet I regret none of them. Each death was necessary to preserve my own life, yet each death will continue to haunt me as I remember each face."




History
Kiriko, the sole daughter of a love interest between a legendary tutor of the Raikage, and a mysterious Mist ninja. Sounds like a bad rumor, but would be shockingly true if Kiriko let it out.

Kiriko was born into wilderness, the only face she really knew and saw was of her mother, and aloof and strange hermit lady by the name of Kai: as in, the daughter of Darui, the Black Lightning user. While the origins of her father were held in mystery, as Kiriko never met the man, growing up in the forest below the village of Kumogakure was more than strange. It certainly didn't help that at the time Kiri can truly remember anything, another boy was with her growing up: Hiko, the boy wonder. Kiri didn't really know what it feels like to grow up a singular child, for while Hiko was trained harshly by her mother, Kai still treated him with similar love that she gave to her daughter. This did irritate the young kunoichi for a lot of her life, as jealousy towards Hiko's natural abilities and Kai's attention to the lad caused Kiri to want to train with them. She refused to be left behind while Hiko became a masterful ninja, as she saw this as the product of her mother's love. Needless to say, Kiri dove headfirst into a den she shouldn't have, and was promptly reminded of her young place constantly. However, that didn't stop her from constantly training in the hopes to catch up to her brother figure; funny how strong a friendship can form from a petty, one sided rivalry.

As Kiriko aged, she began to stop trying to beat him, seeing as how Hiko began to dwarf her in size. Realizing that she would never truly win in any fight, Kiri began to specialize in something else: sensory training. Her mother was shocked that her daughter had a natural affinity for sensory, but trained her in ways that would enhance her skills nevertheless. Kiriko trained blind and deaf, hoping to strengthen her sensory abilities while working on her ninjutsu, seeing as she inherited the kekkei genkai Storm Release from her mother. She stopped seeing Hiko as a rival, and more of as a friend that she would cherish for all times and respect, as he continued to climb the ladder of greatness while she was still too short to reach the next rung.

So how did such a dainty girl get a penchant for murder? While Hiko decided to prance around the country, Kiriko decided to become a ninja of Kumogakure. She quickly ascended the ranks, seeing as she trained with a future Raikage - most of the others her age were not nearly close enough to her standard of expertise, which gave her the cold demeanor: hard to make friends when you were climbing the ranks faster than those your age. It was one mission, however, that shattered any form of normalcy within her, and brought forth the murderous girl of today. The mission had been simple: she accompanied a group of nin on a task to recover a few scrolls stolen from the archives, and to retrieve them. Instead, however, it quickly turned into an ambush: the rogue ninjas had used the scrolls to attract higher level jounin to capture, extract information and jutsus, and then disappear with their new-found skills while leaving a path of death behind them. Kiriko was forced to watch as they interrogated, tortured and slew each and every one of the others until it was down herself, and a medical nin. Kiriko doesn't even remember the name of the man that saved her, the medical nin who freed himself and attacked to let her run off, only to be taken down easily.

Kiriko had always been a little more harsh in her ways; however, seeing those killed around her just because they wanted to cheat the system and steal jutsus made her snap. Unlike most trauma patients, Kiri remembers everything she did to them: every cut she caused, every body she electrocuted, every man drowned. Kiriko left that place with every scroll, and death everywhere behind her.

As you can imagine, not many wanted to approach her after hearing the stories upon her return. She was finally appointed jounin, and was given special jurisdiction over missions where stealth and sensory were crucial. Unlike her friend, she did not gallivant across the country: she silent moved throughout certain cities, performing silent missions that required a lack of mercy and witnesses. It wasn't until the war that she was allowed to 'go loud', and loud she did: butchering her way through legions of soldiers by the way of water, lightening or lasers. It wasn't until the previous Raikage was slew that she truly realized the cost of war, and the weight of her actions were thrust into the background of her mind even thought she tried her best to ignore them. When Hiko finally came to be the next Raikage, she was asked to be his partner for the Double Lariat: ever since, Kiriko has started to realize how much of a monster she has become, and wonders if she will ever be able to truly open back up to Hiko again like she did years before.




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"There is no going back to the way I was before: there is only continuing forward the way I have become."



So begins...

Kiriko Gekkō's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Zetsubō Kosan Character Portrait: Kiriko Gekkō Character Portrait: Katsuro Uchiha Character Portrait: Naomichi Yuhara Character Portrait: Rei Hinode Character Portrait: Akira Aburame
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Mizuki Kawagure, Eighth Hokage, surveyed the young shinobi before her with a critical eye. They were Konohagakure’s best and brightest, in one way or another, though to call any of them ideal for this mission was a stretch. She’d had to balance her need to pick the people most likely to be able to handle the Raikage’s party with the competing need to encourage diplomacy rather than violence. The Council was insistent that these peace talks go well, and she knew the newly-minted Raikage had scored himself serious points in the eyes of the rest of the world by being the first to extend his hand in this fashion… and by agreeing to a negotiation scenario that would be against he and his people from the very start. It was on her turf, surrounded by her people, and almost entirely on her terms.

She fully planned on taking advantage of that.

But in order to make sure things went as they needed to, his people would have to be watched without being caged, and for that, she needed these personnel. Kiyoko Uzumaki was the youngest, but also the most likely to succeed at being diplomatic and controlling herself, so she was nominally in charge of the team. The rest were there because they were either exceptionally talented or else because they had some ability that would be advantageous in such a scenario as this one. The Aburame’s bugs, the Tsukino’s eyes… and well, to be honest Yuhara was there because he wouldn’t hesitate to kill them if he needed to and the Uchiha present because the Hokage took great pleasure in watching him squirm… and because the Raikage was a Jinchūriki.

Folding her hands behind her back, the Hokage tossed back her rose-colored ponytail and stared them down silently for a moment. “I trust,” she said slowly, her voice on a lower register for a woman, so calm it could only be the kind of thing that masked something else. “That I do not have to remind you that the future of your village rests on this.” And because of how important their village was, the future of much of the world, not just its ninja. There was no overestimating the importance of it. “You are to be as hospitable as you possibly know how,” the sardonic inflection, ever so slight, gave away that she knew some of them weren’t capable of much in that department. “And as polite as you can pretend. Until such time as any of them act untowardly, they are honored guests. If they make trouble, you are authorized to use exactly as much force as is necessary to stop that trouble. You will meet them outside the gates, escort them to the guest facility, and see that they eat. Then, you will bring them here. Other than that, do as Uzumaki tells you. Am I understood?”

She wouldn’t usually be so stern about it, but she had a reputation for not suffering fools lightly, and she certainly would not tolerate any foolishness here. These shinobi were ANBU, medics, members of village nobility, and sometimes even teachers. Now, they would have to be diplomats. Difficult as it may be for some of them, it was imperative. Obtaining what she deemed to be the required amount of assent, the Hokage nodded. “Then you are dismissed.”

Kiyoko stood before the eight Hokage, her lips pursed deeply together as the older woman surveyed the team. Being the youngest of the group, would have normally caused her to be a little more temperamental, however; this mission required her to be at her utmost behavoir. She was to lead one of the best teams at the moment, to ensure that everything went as smoothly as it could possibly go. She wasn't sure she was exactly the best person to handle the situation, but then again, it might as well be her. Naruto was, after all, her grandfather, and that alone should have stripped her from even leading this team. But a part of her was glad that she was being given that chance to do something good, something he would have wanted.

She remained quiet as Mizuki spoke, her eyes focused on the Hokage. She absorbed the information, sorting it out into the proper order before she nodded her head. They were going to escort the Kumogakure shinobi to their facilities, feed them, and then bring them here to her. Seemed simple enough, however; she glanced over the group that was under her guidance. Akira, Ryuu, Naomichi, and Katsuro. She almost snorted at the last face she landed on. Katsuro didn't seem too pleased to be here, but she was glad he was, in a weird sort of way. She focused her attention back to Mizuki and saluted the Hokage, a grin settling on her lips.

"Leave it to us, Mizu," she replied, standing out in front of her team before folding her arms against her chest. "You heard the woman. Everything and anything I say, goes, and if any of you have anything to say about that, well," she spoke, her head tilting to the side as a bright smile crossed her face. "You are free to express it, but I don't guarantee I'll take it into consideration," she stated, the smile never fading from her face. If they had anything to say about her and her leadership, they were free to state as such, however; it didn't mean she had to listen to it. For all she cared, they could take it and shove it, even if they were all on good terms. Or at least somewhat on good terms as far as she could tell.

"Unless Mizu here has anything else to say, shall we go meet our new friends?" she questioned, taking a glance over her shoulder towards Mizuki before turning her attention back to her comrades, her eyes lingering just a moment longer on Katsuro with evident amusement.

The Hokage rolled her eyes, but waved a hand anyway. Uzumaki was like that—and probably the only person who could get away with calling her Mizu. Probably because her grandfather had been Mizuki’s teacher and so she’d been around a lot when Kiyoko was growing up. The nickname was an old one. “I already told you to leave, Uzumaki. Don’t be late—we could hardly make a bad first impression on our guests. That she was not especially happy that the Raikage and four of his best would be in the middle of her village for an unknown period of time should have surprised no one.




In sharp contrast to his counterpart on Konohagakure, the Raikage wore a big smile on his face. In all fairness, pretty much everything about him was big, and so his smiles should probably be no exception. The journey here from Kumo had taken the better part of a week, even moving at the pace of very highly-trained, very fast shinobi. It was, after all, quite a distance from one country to the other. He didn’t mind the inconvenience, though—the people he was travelling with were among his closest friends and strongest allies, and that made the distance seem shorter, at least to his mind. Perhaps some would say that mind was just simple, and in truth, perhaps Takehiko would even agree. He didn’t really see a problem with simple, after all.

“What do you think, Rei?” he asked the kunoichi immediately behind him, tilting his head back over his shoulder to glance at her from the corner of his uncovered eye. The smile didn’t disappear, even if it might have been a shade unnerving, given the fact that his eyeteeth were slightly larger than normal, and pointed. It was all Mata’s fault anyhow.

“We’re close,” the medic-nin replied, flexing one of her hands. The thin white scars on the back of her hand pulled taut, then eased when she relaxed her fingers. She was the one who had most recently been to the place, and the only one who would remember its exact location. None of the fighting had ever quite reached either village. “I don’t expect they’ll just let us walk in through the front gate, though… not by ourselves.”

“Mm… probably not,” Takko consented easily enough. “But you never know… we might just make ourselves some friends out of the deal, hm?” His grin widened, and that was how she knew there was more to what he said than a simple, naively-optimistic sentiment. Simple he might be, but Rei knew very well that he was a far cry short of stupid.

"Yeah, well you guys have your work cut out for you then. I don't need to make friends, I already have friends," Nariko replied, shoving her hands behind her head as she stared up at the sky. Her mother was related to the Nara of the Konohagakure village, however; give that she was his grandchild, she might not be as welcomed as she thought she might be. She, after all, did fight in the war too. She killed her fair share of shinobi from Konoha, and she wouldn't be able to wash that away. "Oh look, here's the welcome party now," she stated, lowering her gaze to spot the gates of Konoha in the distance. She could see the outline of five people, and one in particular caused her to grin.

Kiyoko stared at the group coming into view, standing with her arms crossed against her chest. She narrowed her eyes slightly to get a better look, and sighed. She could make the faint outline of something large, and human. If she had to guess, he was either a body guard, or he was the actual Raikage of Kumo. She was going to go with body guard. That left one of the others to be the Raikage, though it ruled out the three kunoichi. If she remembered correctly, the brief said he, not she. That left the shorter, less large male of the group. Sighing, she waited for the group to approach, glancing back towards Nariko and frowned. It had been a while since she'd seen the Kaneshiro, but now was not the time fore reminiscing.

"Alright guys, you know the drill. Be nice, introduce yourselves, and be nice," Kiyoko stated. She shifted so that her arms were at her sides now, and waited for the shinobi from Kumogakure to approach. Once they did, she remained silent for a moment, tilting her head as she regarded the large one, almost tempted to ask about the eye, however; it would be unprofessional and she couldn't exactly just ask. Instead, she cleared her throat and placed a hand on her hip. "Welcome to Konoha. I trust that your trip was pleasant," she started, putting an emphasis on the last word before glancing over her shoulder.

"Kiyoko Uzumaki, at your service. This is my team," she stated, jabbing her thumb in the direction of the others. "We are here to accompany you into the village," and in some way, babysit them, though she wasn't going to say that. She glanced back at her team, waiting for them to introduce themselves. It would be good to know everyones names first, rather than just saying hey you all the time.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Zetsubō Kosan Character Portrait: Kiriko Gekkō Character Portrait: Rei Hinode Character Portrait: Takehiko Yamamoto Character Portrait: Kiyoko Uzumaki Character Portrait: Nariko Kaneshiro
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#, as written by Taunbon



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For all the failures and faults of Konohagakure that Kosan was able to drag forth from his bitter memory, there was one thing he could not fault them. Their land was beautiful. It was almost mockingly so as Kumogakure was a pale comparison to the magnificent forest and green grass that swept the landscape as far as his sharp blue eyes could see. It was almost as if the land itself were mocking him as they were walking through it, the grass bending and sweeping under their feet, carrying them towards their destination, to talk of peace in their enemies' village. Kosan did not consider himself to be an expert in diplomacy, but he understood that meeting someone in their power base instead of a neutral location was a clear sign of dominance.

They were asking for a peace treaty from Konohagakure, and it revolted him. But there was nothing he could, or would, do to stop the talks. If Takehiko desired peace then he would do his best to see it done, but there was something far more important waiting in that village. Every footstep brought him one step closer to where the being that had haunted his dreams for years lived. Whenever he pondered on it, it brought upon a odd mixture of emotions from rage to anticipation and even fear of the confrontation.

Kosan snapped out of his thoughts when Takko spoke to Rei. He hadn't caught what, only her name and his voice had reached him from the dark corners of his mind. From their small interaction, he was able to hear the words he had been anticipating and dreading in equal measures to hear, they were close. Turning his blue eyes forward, he chose to ignore Takko's comment on making friends as he had no desire to make friends, if he had it his way, the city would be burning and the skies filled with the screams of newly created orphans, but perhaps that is why Takehiko was his Raikage, he was strong, but he had a good heart.

Turning his eyes to the left, he glanced at Rei for a second briefly wondering what she was thinking at this moment. How did she feel as they got closer? He knew a little of what she went through at the place, and Kosan felt remiss that he had not given her the attention he should have had as she must have felt something at returning to a place and people that had tortured her, but even if he had, what could he have given her save for empty words? The sudden spike of chakra nearly had Kosan reaching for his hilt, but he stayed his hand as he was on a mission for peace. He ran his blue eyes over the group before him, a few stood out instantly, one with an eyepatch that almost made him want to see him and Takko get in a staring contest, a red headed woman who, given her speech, was obviously the leader, and a very large blond man. Without measuring, it seemed he was a few inches taller then he was. Kosan turned his head to look at his Raikage, waiting for him to give his own introduction.




While the main pack continued their descent on the forest like nation that was the Hidden Leaf Village, Kiriko brought up the rear for obvious reasons: as a sensor, she could tell when others were approaching from behind. As the ‘Guardian’ of the Raikage, it was her duty to make sure that all sections were protected; even if she knew well enough that not many of those selected would need it. Nevertheless, she continued her duties correctly and without hesitation - especially since she had been assigned it by Hiko himself. It was probably to make sure she didn’t start a conversation with one of the others and start an inner war with those that she didn’t know entirely. Her kimono flowed with the wind as her head continued to swerve and observe the landscape - she had initially refused to care about its beauty, but ultimately had to give the place some credit.

The mission gave her much time to ponder her worries, but mostly attempt to figure out just why this mission existed. Why bother attempt a peace treaty, when it was obvious that the Leaf would attempt something shifty? Hiko had gone out of his way to make sure that it looked one sided, and Kiri knew that if she were the Leaf, she would take advantage of that power instantly. Granted, she wasn’t one to really talk: she cared for no village. Villages were simply a collection of people with the same ideals under a ruler that was deemed strongest. The idea that they would fight against another village simply because the leaders have different symbols on their foreheads was absurd. Yet she knew that patriotism was a thing amongst others, so she would have to factor it in if a blood bath was destined to occur.

Of course, Kiriko heard what Hiko and Rei spoke of, and focused on the arrival that was deemed imminent. There was only a sliver of nervousness, simply because she had been told strictly by Hiko to ‘keep her mouth closed and not stare at like you want to kill them so often’. She could even hear the hint of laughter in his voice, which had made her nostalgic. The fact that Hiko was so carefree and full of life made her envious of him, but she knew that he didn’t have it any better than she: the only difference was that she was labeled a monster, and he a hero. However, her thoughts were torn as the chakra she had sensed a while away finally came into focus, and she began the chakra signatures. For a supposed welcome party, the amount of raw power that emanated from their beings did not make her feel any more welcome than when she tried killing them in the war.

They arrived in front of the Leaf nin quite rapidly, and then she began to profile them from the back, and already deemed herself to be the smallest one of them all. Not that it bothered her, as being the smallest always had perks in the ninja world: fitting through small spaces, lighter footprints, hacking at their ankles. Yet despite this, she couldn’t help but shrink at the size of them, even their one woman was massive. Nevertheless, the one named Uzumaki - most likely the descendent of the deceased - addressed the Raikage. Only she addressed Kosan, the swordsman, instead. Kiriko couldn’t help it as she snaked her way beside Hiko to stare the woman straight in the eye and speak - breaking the rule she was supposed to keep. At least she tried her hardest not to harden her eyes - but that didn't stop her voice from sounding a little dead.

”It would be wise for you to address the right person as Raikage if you wish to discuss a peace treaty, don’t you think?”




From the way Uzumaki-san was positioned just slightly oriented towards Kosan, Takehiko suspected that she might have come to the conclusion that he was the Raikage. He did look more the part, perhaps, with a bit of refinement to him, like an actual leader was probably supposed to have. Takko… well, he looked more like someone’s hired muscle, really, and it was perhaps just one more sign that he wasn’t really suited to this job. But… nevertheless, it was his and he had to do it properly, so he would.

His thoughts were interrupted by movement from behind him, and for a moment, he just blinked down at Kiriko next to him, and down was the operative word, considering the difference in height between them. He’d half-jokingly asked her not to say much, if only because he was afraid that she might be a little too… forthright and get herself in trouble, but he wasn’t upset with her, not in the slightest. Instead, he smiled, and reached up a hand to lay on her head, an old gesture from their shared youth. “It’s all right, Kiriko,” he said mildly, directing his attention to the redheaded woman who had spoken first. “I’m still quite new, after all.”

Clearing his throat, he raised his other hand to about shoulder level and waved it almost sheepishly. “Nice to meet you, Uzumaki-san. I would be Takehiko Yamamoto.” The emphasis was only very slight, indicating a lack of offense. Perhaps his name had made it into whatever briefing they’d been given. Then again… perhaps not. He supposed the Hokage must have no great like of any of them. But this was exactly what he was here to fix, and so he wasn’t here to let it bother him. “These are my very best ninja, and I’m pleased to be here.”

From the opposite side of him to Kiriko, Rei spoke up, inclining her head slightly. She was… not disposed to bow, even if it might have been a little more polite. There was still a little too much tension for her to dare taking her eyes off anyone for that long. “Rei Hinode.” She decided against saying anything else, and instead simply adjusted the sleeves of her uniform.




Nariko kept a clamped hand over her mouth, trying to stifle a laugh at the misconception of who was Raikage. Really, it wasn't Takehiko's fault he was so damn huge, but she couldn't really put it past her friend for the mistaken identity. If he wasn't so large, maybe it wouldn't have happened. She blinked, instead, when Kiriko spoke, and raised an eyebrow. Still the ever mouth on her. Nariko shrugged her shoulders lightly, and waited for everyone to speak. It wasn't as if she needed an introduction though. She knew Kiyoko, slightly knew the Uchiha (if barely), but the others, she didn't know. She rolled her shoulders slightly and mimicked the Konoha kunoichi by placing her own hand on her hip.

"Nariko Kaneshiro, but you already knew that," she stated, folding her arms behind her back and rocked on the heels of her feet. "Though, I really wouldn't say the best," she muttered beneath her breath. They were all good, granted, but she wouldn't go so far as to say the were the best. Takehiko was nice like that, she supposed. But to say they were the best? Now that was just being modest. She'd let it go for now, though. It wasn't worth her thoughts. "It's been awhile, Koko," she stated, smirking just lightly at the old nickname she'd given the redhead years ago. She could almost see the scowl on Kiyoko's face, but had turned her attention towards Kosan.

"Silent beauty over there," she stated, jabbing her thumb towards Kosan, who had remained silent through most of the talking, "is Zetsubo, or Kosan, whichever you prefer." Might as well introduce him now. Still, one of these days, her mouth was going to get her into trouble. She knew she shouldn't just speak for people, but an old habit was hard to kill.




Kosan was able to pierce together that Uzumaki seemed to think he was the Raikage, he was by no means a fool, but he didn't wish to draw attention to it as the thought of him being the Raikage was a terrifying enough proposal enough. He never fancied himself being anything more then he was now, he had no desire nor inklings for more responsibilities when he could barely keep up with the ones he had. He was going to let Takehiko vanish that idea as it only seemed, but it seemed someone else had other plans. He couldn't help the slight tug at the corner of his lips as his blue eyes watched Kiriko step forward to correct the mistake. Her stern words made Kosan's hand twitch expecting it to cause some trouble, but he wasn't sure what he had been expecting from Kiriko. He did not know her very well, but he had high regards for her abilities which was often enough.

He would be lying if he said he did not feel disappointment when Takko answered Uzumaki, Kosan had been hoping this would cause a tension that would have ended in a fight. He knew his mission, and he would do his best to help his Raikage complete his mission, but he wasn't opposed to shedding some blood with the Konohagakure, in fact, quite the opposite. It seemed Rei was on board as well as she spoke her name. He wasn't sure what he felt at Rei bowing her head slightly to the Shin, he knew it was more of out social courtesy then anything else but even that felt like too much. Kosan turned his eyes back to the red head and opened his mouth to give his own introduction when Nariko stepped forward, and it seemed the two had met before, well, wasn't that information that would have been nice to know before hand? In fact, it seemed Nariko went the extra step and introduced him... for him?

"At least I am beautiful. Whatever would I do if I was hideous? I wouldn't be half as interesting and no one would bother with learning my name," Kosan said raising an eyebrow at his 'companion'. He always enjoyed straight-forward and brash natures like hers. It was always refreshing to not have to worry about secret thoughts and agendas, half truths and lies, while the truth could be a cool breeze on a summer day, it could also be a knife in the heart, but he preferred both so long as the person plunging the knife into his heart looked him in the eyes.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kiriko Gekkō Character Portrait: Katsuro Uchiha Character Portrait: Naomichi Yuhara Character Portrait: Rei Hinode Character Portrait: Akira Aburame Character Portrait: Takehiko Yamamoto
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A blonde figure towered over most of the current shinobi present. Only two were taller than her, one significantly and one just barely. Of course, the only person in the entire world she would expect to tower over her was in fact that man, the Raikage himself. Contrary to many others around her, she was not dressed like a ninja. She wore a black suit adorned with white pin-stripes. The white shirt underneath was untouched in color, save for the red tie right down the center. Across her forehead was a string that tied down her otherwise messy blonde hair. That string tied to a mask in the shape of a fox, clearly identifiable as an ANBU Black Ops mask. Eyes of red looked over everyone arriving from Kumogakure. Her look was not one of malice, but not one of trust either. Even if she was not under orders, she would not have outright attacked them. They were here to create peace, end the killing of each other's comrades. For that reason alone, she would be civil.

Anyone standing near the blonde giant would faintly smell strawberry. It was from the strawberry brandy she had sampled from the night before that helped her keep a smile plastered on her face. A fake smile, and one certainly not caused by her visitors... but a smile nonetheless. A couple of introductions went over Akira's head as she wasn't quite paying perfect attention until someone from Kumogakure had spoken up and told the Uzumaki girl to address the proper guy. Her eyes focused around those talking as she would finally begin paying attention. First to Takehiko Yamamoto, the Raikage. It seemed like she chose the right time to pay attention. Then came the introduction of Nariko Kaneshiro, who in turn introduced Kosan. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about any of them thus far, but at least the Raikage seemed charismatic.

At this point, nobody but Kiyoko from Konoha had introduced themselves. It would seem that this would be up to her. Stepping forward, she puffed out her (regretfully small) chest and adjust her tie. With a clear of her throat, she spoke up. "My name is Akira Aburame, next in line for head of the noble Aburame Clan. I am..." She could not think of a polite and honest adjective to describe it, so she would lie. "I am absolutely happy to have you in our village. In my home." She seemed to assert that point. "Me casa es su casa. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask. It is my job after all to make sure that you are all well-taken care of." She also seemed to assert that it was her job, and that she took little pleasure in it. Looking to the sky, a purple-winged butterfly fluttered by and down. She held out her finger for a perch for the beautiful insect. Smiling at it, she let the genuine smile from the bug carry over to the Raikage specifically. "Welcome to Konohagakure."

As Naomichi approached the designated meeting place for the meeting of the peace treaty, his mind began to wander as the cool breeze blew past the relatively plain looking shinobi. How was he selected to go on such an important mission when he himself was only good at slaughter? Could it be for protection if things turned sour? It couldn't be since he clearly expressed his distaste for anymore violence than is necessary. And he wasn't the brightest or the most socially adept of anyone in the village - in fact he was one of the worst. I guess they only wanted me for killing then... Naomichi quietly thought to himself as he heaved a light sigh and lowered his head in a sorrowful manor.

By the time he reached the Kumogakure shinobi he regained a professional look about him. Despite being a top assassin for ANBU, he didn't really look the part. His black, tattered trench coat sat open on his defined muscles, and his eye-patch didn't serve him any better to look more normal. He looked more like a street thug than anything, and the only thing that defined him from being one was the white wolf mask resting on his belt loop, the eye slits giving an intimidating glare towards the others. He felt gross compared to how nice his companions looked around him.

As he scanned the the Kumo shinobi, he found relief that there was another man with an eye-patch like him. Phew, I don't look like a crazy freak now! Thank you Mr. Patchy! Despite his relatively innocent thoughts, Naomichi looked serious and threatening like he would be ready to take on anyone that even stepped out of place. All he was doing was staring down the man with the eye-patch, giving off a vibe that he really wasn't comfortable with the guy. Unfortunately for Naomichi, all he was doing was trying to have a staring contest with him - which he wasn't noticing.

When the man stepped forward though, Naomichi snapped from his trance and listened to what he had to say. Takehiko the Raikage huh? The man definitely matched his predecessors before him in every sense of appearance. He couldn't see anything wrong with him. In fact, there seemed to be nothing wrong with any of them. They all seemed perfectly nice, despite some obvious hostile looks. They probably were not as bad as Naomichi, and if he wanted to be forgiven of his past actions, he must treat them with the kindness and respect he feels they deserve. He even chuckled quietly at their jabs at one another. He felt that they all were just a happy family... something he always wanted.

When Akira introduced himself, Naomichi felt comfort that the only person who he had any relations with was first; Plus he wasn't first to begin with anyway - that would have just been weird with him. He knew that because of their solid teamwork he would be able to springboard off his introduction with enough grace to earn him a perfect score from the Kumo shinobi. After his sincere greeting to Kohana, Naomichi felt it was time for him to step in. He was proud, strong, and ready for anything. He raised his right hand to give a polite wave to the Kumo shinobi as he stepped forward. "Yo..." And then he choked for a moment. He hadn't planned beyond that. He was sweating bullets and he knew it. "I'm... Naomichi Yuhara?" His lip began to twitch at this moment. He wanted to be strong but he didn't even know what to do. "Welcome to our humble village where we plan to have peace one way or another..." And after saying that he just clammed up and slowly slid back into the line to drift back into obscurity.

Akira noticed the partner of many of her missions step forward and introduce himself. In this moment he said more than she had probably heard him speak in her entire time with him. Countless missions he generally remained silent and distant, listening to her plans and generally only confirming them with a nod. Smirking, she gave him a firm pat on his left shoulder as a way to commend him. Naomichi let a soft sigh come out as Akira patted him on his shoulder, slumping his shoulders down and letting his head hang for his failure.

A stretch to the right. A stretch to the left. A shake to the legs. A big yawn to finish it all up. Yes, that is what the infamous Jōnin known to many as Ryuu Tsukino was doing as Mizuki (never the kind to do with titles and honorifics) was explaining why he and the quadro-muppets (likes giving nicknames) were there right before her or even why they were gathered as a team. Really, he could care less about the details or the pleasantries which are needed to be abide. Furthermore, this was a repetitive scene to him. It was like a broken skit which played over and over again until the audience could not bear it anymore. So, do expect some tomatoes to be thrown. That was probably the only reason he had come at all to catch the tomatoes and make some nice ketchup for his omurice. Ah... this was making him hungry.

"I have something to say teacher!" Ryuu eagerly raised his hand with the accompaniment of a broad smile. It only made his handsome face be a bit more than ever. Kiyoko did after all say they can speak freely, so he will take the opportunity to do so. He even waved his hand in the air vigorously akin to a child and he was far from that. Whether he was fully aware or ignoring the the mission they were being entrusted with, no one can tell for certain. "Can I be excused? I'm hungry..." There it is... His fickle sickness known as laziness. This was one of the primary reasons he had not been designated to be an ANBU despite his skill sets being viable for such an occupation. He was also too unpredictable and has a clear disregard for authority even towards their own Hokage which causes her no ends of grief.

"You can handle those Kumo guys by yourselves... So, too--" He was immediately cut off as someone grabbed his ear and literally dragged him away. There were even a few reprimands along the way. Technically, that is how he had come to be in front of the one called Raikage and his entourage. Well, he could also say groupies. They were also told to be nice. Come now, nice was overrated in his personal opinion. However, he did not voice that out and instead held the ear which was still red. As he stood there, he released yet another yawn, clearly uncaring about the significance of this endeavor. In truth, he was already aware what this would entail. So, why not play along in his own way.

Kiyoko stepped up to the plate by introducing herself first. He shrugged his shoulders at this. This is why he called her Teacher. It reminded him of classroom introductions. More than that, he has no need for such things really. He already knew who the Raikage and Kumogakure ninjas are which was not shared by their esteemed redhead leader. As a result, there were a few chuckles on both sides, on their part? It came from him with a smirk on his face. Anyway, their visitors introduced themselves matched with a comedy routine. Well if the peace treaty does not work, they could always find work in entertainment. That's an upside, less death, more money too.

Anyways, it was their turn as Akira started it off with a lie. Then, it was followed by the socially-awkward Naomichi. For now, he still needed those training wheels in conversing. Still, not bad at all. Ryuu then noticed the eyes of his teammates on him. His turn, huh? Among them, he was the tallest and was not hard to spot with his mismatched colored eyes of blue and gold. He wore the standard Jōnin uniform but even then, it fitted him in a way a model would. After all, he is one of the pretty boys. Taking a step forward, he gave a smile. This one rather than a lie or an empty one. It held a blurry meaning. "Tsukino Ryuu. We're here to babysit you guys. Because let's face it, scars will always be scars."

Unlike Kiyoko who would withhold her tongue under the pressure of professionalism, Ryuu was not that kind. He had always pushed the borders and that would not change anytime soon. But then again, things had already been decided as far as he is concerned.

“Tch,”the scoff at Ryuu’s words came from the Konoha ninja furthest away from him, also in the ANBU uniform, a hawklike mask attached to his belt. Katsuro didn’t like standing anywhere near that guy, because he creeped him out, mostly. There was something off about him, like all that careless laziness was some kind of sickly saccharine illusion over something else. Personally, Katsu thought the Tsukino was just as much of an asshole as he was, but covered it up with that act of his. It was stupid. At least Uzumaki was really like that, annoying as it may be. Crossing his arms over his chest, he flicked a grey-eyed glance over the assembled nin. The eyes narrowed and he tilted his head slightly to the side.

Eventually, he shrugged. It was pointless trying to form opinions on someone from just an introduction, anyway. What kind of idiot would only rely on the first impression of someone to reach a conclusion? People were certainly more complicated than that. Of course, he’d seldom met one that he didn’t hate, but he supposed even that didn’t mean he never would. “Uchiha,” was all he gave by way of introduction, and then he threw an aside glance to Uzumaki. Standing out here making awkward small talk wasn’t going to help them any.

As all of the members of her team introduced themselves, Kiyoko could feel a light twitch on her eyebrow. She turned, slowly, to stare at Ryuu, her eyes narrowing just slightly. One of these days... just one of these days she was going to break something. Shaking her head, she sighed softly and turned back to the group, and raised a brow at the kunoichi who had spoken before the actual Raikage spoke. She made to shrug her shoulders, but caught herself, and instead, rolled them back. Couldn't be too disrespectful, not yet at least. She did, however, roll her eyes at the nickname, Nariko produced. She would not fall for that, she had to keep telling herself. Once everyone was finished with their introductions, Kiyoko cleared her throat once more and glanced, properly this time, at the Raikage.

"Now that everyone is formally introduced, I think it's time we show you to where you will all be staying. After that, you, I assume, may be hungry. We will show you to the cafeteria where you and your team may get something to eat, and for the record, Kiriko," she stated, turning her attention towards the dark-haired kunoichi. "I am not the one discussing the peace treaty. That would be your Raikage, and the Hokage, so no, I do not think I should have to do either of that," she replied, a bright smile lingering on her face. Not exactly the most ideal thing to say to the Kumogakure shinobi, but it was true. She wasn't the one going to discuss anything; that was the Raikage and Hokage.

"If there is nothing else to be said," she paused and glared at Ryuu, "then if you follow us, we shall show you the way."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Zetsubō Kosan Character Portrait: Kiriko Gekkō Character Portrait: Katsuro Uchiha Character Portrait: Naomichi Yuhara Character Portrait: Rei Hinode Character Portrait: Akira Aburame
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For the most part, Takehiko absorbed what was said without much discernible reaction. He was not a man who prided himself on being unreadable, as there honestly wasn’t much of a point to subtlety and dissembling when you were made like a sledgehammer anyway. But just because he didn’t make a point of showing off how clever he was didn’t mean he couldn’t see the implications behind some of the words, read a little into the way people stood or talked. He wasn’t the best at it, but his position would soon demand that he became very good. It was something he liked to think the others might help him with a little, or at least the ones any better off than he was. He couldn’t say he was especially pleased with their reception, but it was better than he was expecting. He knew he should be grateful it hadn’t already ended in bloodshed, though that was not to say it wouldn’t.

Choosing to ignore the varying implications, including the one that they needed babysitters, of all things, Takko smiled affably and nodded. “Well, now that we’re all introduced, some food sounds excellent. Lead on, Uzumaki-san, and we shall follow.” The kunoichi did just that, though the route took them through a good portion of the village itself. He had to admit, it was a very beautiful place. The homes were built almost exclusively from wood, which he supposed must be in abundance, given the natural forest surrounding them with all its resources and greenery. Kumogakure was by contrast very austere, the facades carved mainly into the stone of the mountain that kept them so high up in the air. What forest they had was much sparser and more hardscrabble, and the colors of his youth were more grey and bleached-out red than all this green and rich mahogany.

He had the thought that this village would burn much more easily than his own, but he was not sure how it made him feel. It was a fact, he’d been taught, that the things that were nicest to look at were often the most fragile. Not always, but often. Austerity, by the philosophy of the first Raikage, was a form of strength. Have no more than you need to survive, and all living will eventually become living well. Or something like that. But… the people here wore softer faces than those he had seen around his own village. Many of them, he suspected, had never needed to worry where their next meal was going to come from. He doubted the Hokage ever had to send her people on resource retrieval missions when trade became too slow. Takko’s jaw tightened, but he shook himself out of it. Envy didn’t become him, and he didn’t like it, besides. He was here for peace, because more than anything, that was what his people needed now, and as their Raikage, it was his duty to put them first, to provide for that need.

“It’s as nice as I’d heard,” he remarked to the kunoichi leading the procession. He found himself strangely glad it had not been destroyed in the course of the war, despite his jealousy of its abundance. After all… the people here would not wear such content expressions if the war had reached their doorsteps.

Kiyoko nodded her head and led the Kumogakure team through the village. It had been a relatively silent leading, something she was a little grateful for. She knew Katsuro would remain silent, and Naomichi wasn't exactly talkative. Akira could be a little talkative when she needed to be, but Ryuu... Ryuu was a different story, and she had to keep checking over her shoulder to ensure the Shinobi wasn't causing any trouble. Satisfied, she blinked slowly when Takehiko's voice brought her out of her stupor. She raised an eyebrow, her lips pursing into a fine line, and tried to decide how to respond to it. As nice as he'd heard? How was anything as nice as he'd heard? Instead of asking that, though, she sighed softly and slowed her steps so that she was walking beside him. It was a little odd, really, standing next to someone who was almost twice her size.

"It's Konoha, I don't see what's so nice about it," she replied with a shrug of her shoulders. She didn't see it as he did, perhaps because she'd never actually seen other villages. The only village she could recall ever seeing, was Sunagakure when her grandfather used to take her to visit his old friend. Even on missions, it hardly required going to another village. It was more of going to towns to do their business than the actual village itself. "Once everyone is fed, we will be escorting you and your team to the Hokage's office," she stated, instead, resisting the urge to stare at the eye patch. One, it was rude, and two, it would not go over well with the Hokage if she knew that Kiyoko poked at it.

"Before that, though, you will be shown your living quarters for the remainder of your stay," she stated, stopping momentarily to gaze down the streets, before taking a left. "Once everyone is shown, the eating area will be next. It's not quite that large, so I'd advise telling your team of seating arrangements. Sounds odd, but," she stated, shrugging her shoulders in the process. They weren't children, they could sit wherever they wanted, however; they wouldn't all be able to sit together. Konohagakure wasn't built for large people, after all.

The quarters they were staying in turned out to be in what was apparently formerly the Uchiha compound, or so Takko assumed based on the fact that the crest on the gates matched the one the self-proclaimed Uchiha wore on the sleeve of his uniform. The buildings were quite well-crafted, as far as he knew of such architectural details, but he guessed it had been chosen mostly for the fact that it was relatively apart from the main part of the village, presumably to contain their damage if they caused any. He wondered how the man whose home they were invading felt about that, but decided not to ask. Everyone in his party received a room in the same hallway, though none of them were forced to stay in the same one. It was a small courtesy, but one he appreciated all the same.

Once they’d had a chance to stow their unnecessary belongings, they were led to a mess hall, whereupon food was laid out on a long table, still hot enough to consume. There was, despite Uzumaki-san’s worries, plenty of room for everyone, and Takko did not bother to legislate where his people chose to sit—he was not a micromanager in that sense. They were all smart enough to decide what to do for themselves. He personally bypassed the head of the table and sat to the right of it. The extraneous trappings of his authority had never sat well with him, after all.

When everyone was situated, he took note of the fact that the Konohagakure shinobi still stood, loosely arranged around the room in a way that could only be described as “awkward.” Frowning to himself, the Raikage tipped his head slightly to one side, declining for the moment to pick up his chopsticks. “I’m, uh… not really sure what rumors you heard about us,” he started, looking at the truly massive quantity of food before them, “but we certainly won’t be eating this much. Now, if I have my guess here, your mission is to make sure we don’t do anything… rash, and I’m guessing you can do that just as easily if you’re sitting here eating with us instead of standing there making things feel awkward as all get-out.” He shrugged, half smiling. “So… eat. Drink. Try not to kill each other for a few more minutes. I figure we can manage it if you can.”

"Depends exactly on what you mean heard. I, for one, have head a lot, but that doesn't play into this, now does it?" Kiyoko started, allowing a small tilt of her lips to grace her face. It wasn't a smirk, and yet it wasn't a complete smile. She glanced at her team, noticing what Takehiko seemed to have, and sighed. This was supposed to be as smooth as possible. If tensions were already rising, then she would have failed her mission. And if there was one thing Kiyoko Uzumaki didn't like, it was failing. It was a trait, perhaps, inherited by all Uzumaki, or from what she heard of her grandfather's clan. Stubborn? Not so much. Resilient? Maybe. "Well, you heard the Takko," she replied, staring at her group with her head lightly tilted to the side. She wasn't going to say no, she loved food. She could eat almost as much as the Raikage looked like he ate, if she were to be honest. Food now would be, perhaps, a good thing. Wouldn't want to take on shinobi on an empty stomach, now would she?

"Go eat."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Zetsubō Kosan Character Portrait: Kiriko Gekkō Character Portrait: Katsuro Uchiha Character Portrait: Naomichi Yuhara Character Portrait: Rei Hinode Character Portrait: Akira Aburame
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Former enemies or not, Akira was not one to turn down an offer when the word "drink" was used. Without hesitation, she shrugged and sat right down in a rather sloppy motion that looked more like falling straight to her bottom. Sitting across from her was the woman named Rei. Dark skin was not something she had seen too often, save for her spy missions near Kumogakure. She thought to herself that it was honestly rather pleasant to look at as she poured herself some of whatever alcohol was in front of her, she cared not what it was. "There's a goddamn elephant in this room. Maybe some of this will help clear it out..." She said this loud enough for those around her to hear as she finished pouring. To anyone who would hold out their cup to her, she also poured it for them, Kumo or Konoha alike. It was only after that she quickly downed the contents of her own cup and begin pouring another. It wasn't sweet, and burned a little bit going down. But at this point, if it helped her loosen up a bit, she didn't care if she was drinking acid. "Thank you for complimenting my village, by the way. It's the same as complimenting my home. I work hard to preserve it how it is..." That was a decent enough attempt at initiating some small talk, right?

Naomichi's only orders from the Hokage were to fight back if they were to strike, not to go and interact with the Kumo shinobi. So when he was told to go and join them for dinner, he was really unsure how to handle himself in such a situation. He had never really had dinner with anyone else before, so he followed Akira like a frightened child clings their parent on the first day of school. While he may not have shown it in the way he walked to the table, strong and unashamed, he was terrified inside. With a comfortable thump onto the cushion, Naomichi crossed his legs and immediately grabbed his cup and took whatever Akira was offering to the group. Alcohol would calm his nerves and at least make him a bit more manageable if anything. He immediately downed his first cup, grabbing the bottle and quickly refilling it again. With his second cup, he was willing to take his time with it as he listened to the Kumo kunoichi's analysis of who they were.

Heard the Takko. He wasn't sure why, but Kosan found that remark oddly amusing. It wasn't incredibly clever nor did it hold a large amount of wit, but he couldn't help the small tug at the corner of his lip, at least the red headed Uzumaki seemed to have a sense of humor. Of course, the entire situation was almost laughable. As far as he was concerned, they were wasting their time; he had never desired to see their village in any shape save for in flames. The people had looked so.. content, as if the war was some far distant thought to them that it had been a harsh blow. Kosan wasn't sure what he had expected during the walk. Stifling silence, perhaps, but the odd looks he was given from the villagers was not what he expected. Having things thrown at him, being called a monster, those were things he expected and could handle, but indifference was something else entirely. Almost as if the people were doing their best to not stare at him. It was disconcerting if nothing else.

The building, itself, was large, if he had to guess, it seemed nearly six times as large as his own small, modest home that he shared with Seiko. If it weren't for the Raikage's bulk, it would, indeed, be very roomy, but one couldn't demand so much when sitting next to a mountain of muscle except to not be crushed when they feel the urge to move. Kosan didn't consider himself a small man, but the Raikage had a way of making everyone small and this did include the two Konoha Shinobi who had more then a few inches on him as well.

Still, all his pondering could not stop him from his current problem, where in the world was he to sit? His blue eyes ran over the forming groups until they landed on Rei. Although he was not close enough to truly see, his mind instantly placed the small scars on her body that she had gotten during the war marring her once flawless skin, but the scars suited her. His kimono moved around his legs as he made his way over to Rei's table, barely taking note of the tall blond man and other man with the eye-patch, his reasoning for coming over purely selfish. If he was forced to 'indulge' himself with these Konoha shinobi then he would do so with Rei nearby. He trusted himself more in her presence.

‘Elephant’ might well have been the correct word, but Rei at least was not comfortable enough to imbibe, though she appreciated the gesture, insofar as she could. It was easy to forget that it was not these people who had wronged her—or insofar as it was, they had been acting in a time of war. Just as she and her comrades had been. So she told herself—but nevertheless, the instinct to distrust was a difficult one to tamp down on. Even so, she managed something polite by way of declination, and did not glower at the Konoha shinobi as they settled themselves across the table from herself and Kosan, who was on her left.

The girl - possibly named Rei - looked... cute to Naomichi? She definitely was an attractive woman and her forwardness was definitely a good quality too. He had no idea why she was with the Raikage on this mission though. He never heard a single thing about her during the war - like she never existed.

As for the man, Kosan, Naomichi recognized him instantly. The Blood Lotus was someone he observed when sent out on recon and he would need to be someone that was watched. He wanted to put faith into everyone around him, but this man was just... unstable. Naomichi was more than intimidated by his presence since he knew the man wouldn't hold back on him even if he tried to talk him back down.

The topic of the village itself did seem to be innocuous enough, and Rei supposed that going with it would be better than eating in oppressive silence, so she raised an eyebrow slightly. “You said your name was Aburame, right? I suppose that would make you kind of a custodian of the place.” She referred, of course, to the fact that the Aburame were one of the four noble lineages in Konoha, a fact that any half-educated Kumo shinobi would know by this point. “Come to think of it, I’ve heard the name Yuhara somewhere, too…” Not in the same context though. Perhaps it was a battlefield reputation rather than a family one.

Akira seemed to be in thought a moment when asked the question, but eventually nodded. "I suppose that is one way to call it. Not the term I would use, but it's not entirely inaccurate."

Naomichi was snapped back into the dinner when Rei brought up his name. "My name is fairly common lady, It could be someone else that was a demon or somethin" The thought of someone knowing how cruel he could be made him down another glass. He didn't want to be known as a monster or anything.

Kosan waved off the offered drink, he was not one for alcohol. While he would drink under special circumstances, he did not consider this a special circumstance. Any one of them could be the ones he was looking for and, more so, he did not have a desire to drink in the midst of his enemies' seat of power. Reaching out he brought a small cup to himself and poured some of the heated water conventionally placed at the center of the table, in an unassuming little pot, into it before lowing a bag of tea leaves into it. He gently tugged on the small string, lifting it out of the darkening water just to slowly lower it back in.

He looked up from his work, his blue eyes watching the eye-patched shinobi, Yuhara as Rei so helpfully supplied, just finish watching him. Kosan had a few ideas as to why, although Yuhara did not look like someone he knew or heard about, given his job in the ANBU it fit that he would not be aware of the man's history as it would defeat the purpose of being in ANBU if everyone knew of their exploits, or at least, it would render the mask pointless. Kosan, on the other hand, as the 'Blood Lotus' wasn't someone who could be so unassuming.

On reflex, his eyes followed Yuhara's one to Rei, running over her body as he did. Rei was attractive, to deny they was to be blind, and at this distance, he could see the scars, both large and small, that marked her skin, each holding a story of their own, each adding just another interesting piece of the puzzle that made Rei who she was.

The clan name of Aburame caught his attention, and Kosan snapped his blue eyes to the tall, thin blond man that was seated and away from Rei's figure, "Aburame? I have heard of your clan's abilities, and they have always sounded impressive. I do not believe I ever met with an Aburame during the war, but I must admit I have always been rather curious as to how their abilities truly look," Leaning forward over the table, Kosan pushed his tea out of the way, forgotten for the moment in the pursuit for an interesting subject for his next tale, not even his distaste for the village in the leafs could stand in the way of a good story. "Would you be willing to give a small demonstration?"

When Naomichi heard Kosan's request, he set his drink down and repositioned himself to watch his partner at work. If it was one thing he was good at, it was working with bugs. He was proud to be his partner and wasn't ashamed to hide it.

Rei sighed softly, having a feeling she knew where this was going, and judiciously set down her bowl and chopsticks, covering the first with an upside-down plate and the second with a cloth napkin. She really didn’t want any stray insects in her food.

Akira looked up at Kosan as he addressed her, only to meet his conversation with a smirk. "Of course you didn't meet any Aburame, doll. Like our insectoid friends, we try not to make ourselves known too much... In fact, many of my clansmen complain that they never get noticed. Even by their own teammates. My great-uncle Shino Aburame especially..." She said the name and immediately realized right after that doing so had absolutely no point to it. But she shrugged, leaned back and cracked her fingers all at once after weaving them together and pushing out her wrists. "Of course, I do this for the sake of improving relations. And not showing off or anything."

"Of course," Kosan said almost on reflex as his blue eyes watched her movements, his attention hers to command.

She sat up on her knees and unbutton the pin-striped suit jacket, then unbuttoned the lower buttons on the white dressy shirt beneath it. Lifting up the left side revealed several holes on flat, smooth skin. Four bugs crawled out of four different holes and climbed onto her finger. "Meet the Bikochu, Kidaichu, Kikaichu, and the Nano-sized Venomous Insect. Not proper names, but the names of the kinds of bugs. They all feed off of my chakra and obey my whims in return. Pretty sweet, huh?" The bugs returned through the holes, though Akira kept the shirt lifted up. Looking to her partner, Naomichi, she gave a playful wink before making one more command to the bugs. From the revealed holes, and many hidden holes all over her body, masses of insects began flying out, coagulating into a purple-colored cloud along the ceiling. Buzzing of all sorts of kinds would fill the room, replacing any lingering silence before they would fly behind Akira.

"Incredibly so," he replied unsure of how to respond to something said being 'sweet', but it was fascinating. He was a little disappointed that the holes were not on her arm or some other less personal area as he would have liked to feel them.

The purple cloud of insects began taking a shape behind her, at first a purple silhouette. Quickly, details would be added as the Insect Clone took the appearance of Kosan himself. Nodding, she would speak. "Check this out, though." She stood up with a soft grunt and turned to face the clone. Clenching her right hand into a fist, she shot it straight through the clone's head. She pulled her hand away and watched the detailed head turn into a purple coagulation again before reforming to mimic Kosan again. Turning around once more, she smirked and held up her hand to the clone, which slapped hers back. Akira sat back down as sloppy as she had the first time and let her insects return to a cloud and begin filing back into her body. She also decided to leave her pin-striped jacket off as well. Her tie became looser as well as she tugged on it and poured another drink. "Enjoy your demonstration?"

Both of Rei’s eyebrows ascended her forehead as she watched the Kosan-shaped mass of insects reform itself after being damaged. “Interesting. But… wouldn’t they be very susceptible to ninjutsu? Fire and water and all that?” It was asked with a tone of genuine curiosity, academic and pragmatic more than anything. There was, indeed, no hint of a threat in it at all.

"It's a clone, you know? They're not exactly built to be sturdy. Losing them is not a big deal... Bugs don't live long and they reproduce more than rabbits." She let out a laugh with this explanation. "They don't like water at all, and they do like fire. Not that it's particularly good for them..."

Rei actually managed a small smile at that, then shrugged. “Fair enough."

"And that's what makes Akira such a good partner. Kickass bugs with a brain to boot. What's not to like?" Naomichi sat smugly with one arm propping him up. With a few drinks in him at this point he was allowing himself to become looser and more talkative with the group. He was slightly worried with the person who the bugs took the form of, but he knew Akira had reasons for doing it so he wouldn't object.

"I did, I truly enjoyed the way you hit me in the face, very good form," Kosan said leaning back once more to lift his once forgotten tea to his lips, pausing only for a moment to check the contents to ensure no stray bug had 'accidentally' been left in his cup. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the clone having been made to his likeness. A statement or was he the choice because he was the one who asked the question? Well, it didn't truly matter, his curiosity was somewhat sated for the moment.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kiriko Gekkō Character Portrait: Takehiko Yamamoto Character Portrait: Kiyoko Uzumaki
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Kiyoko smiled softly when she spotted her team actually immersing themselves with the Kumo nin. Things were tense, she could tell, but at least there was an effort to pacify it, if only temporarily. She was worried, still, that someone would say something, or worse, do something. She knew she certainly would say something. Curiosity was not a trait she inherited that she could control, and it got the better of her at times. She shook her head, sighing heavily as her shoulders slumped. This should have been easier than it was turning out to be. Well, the least she could do was follow her team's example, and take a seat with the other Kumogakure shinobi. She scanned the area, a frown pulling at her lips as she noticed the only other spot available, was with the Raikage himself, and Kiriko. She had nothing against the Kunoichi; she was just doing her job. There was nothing wrong with doing one's job, and Kiyoko made the conscious decision to sit with them.

"Don't mind if I do," she stated, putting herself in between the Raikage and Kiriko. She glanced at both of them, first Kirko, then the Raikage, before turning to her plate. She took a few bites from her plate before turning to face Kiriko first. Her eyes stared at the girl, almost as if she were trying to read her, however; she merely shrugged her shoulders. "You know, you have really weird eyes, but they are pretty," she stated, shrugging her shoulders again in the process. Kiriko did, actually, have a pretty set of eyes, and Kiyoko wasn't going to not say that. She was just... modest didn't seem like the proper word to use. She turned her gaze back to the larger male beside her and regarded him with a flat look. He was huge, and Kiyoko wasn't so sure she'd ever seen someone as tall (or bulky really) as he was.

"How is it that you are even a shinobi? I mean, you don't look very shinobi-like," she stated a little too forwardly.

Kiriko was more than irritated when the redhead decided to sit between herself and Hiko. It was just something she had done with his becoming of Raikage, and yet this Yoko character decided that she could just show up. However, Kiri knew that inciting a few death threats usually didn’t end well, so she didn’t say a word and instead stared at the meager food she took. Many usually considered her lack of interest in food as a disorder, but it really wasn’t: just an uncaring attitude. The little jab at her eyes, made her turn a little to stare at Yoko, and she couldn’t help herself but mumble out a few words as the girl turned away. “They help me see idiots.” Kiri knew that she shouldn’t be insulting people already, but to be fair Yoko did call her eyes weird.

If the question was too forward, Takehiko gave no indication of it, glancing down at Kiriko for a moment and then shrugging. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard something like that, and it wouldn’t be the last. It was actually a comparatively mild way of putting the observation, really. Sometimes, it occurred to him that maybe he should be somewhat embarrassed about his size, but he couldn’t seem to muster the shame. He was as he was, and there wasn’t really any shrinking himself. He supposed he could lose muscle mass if he really tried, but this was the shape his body took when he trained in the ways necessary to maintain his skillset, so… why would he do something like that just to fit the impression of what a ninja should be?

“I was actually a runt, when I was a little kid,” he admitted with a shrug, careful not to knock his elbow into the flame-haired kunoichi beside him. He wasn’t sure why she’d chosen to sit between himself and Kiri rather than across from them, as seemed to be the pattern elsewhere, but he didn’t mind. He could hardly expect people to accept that he had his own ways of doing things and then not accept the same about them, now could he? Of course, there were always those little seeds of doubt… about whether what he was doing was really the right thing, but he supposed those were inescapable. “Shot up like a weed when I was a teenager, and then grew out after that, yanno?”

It was at this point that he noted that the mild confrontation a few tables over had resulted in one of the Konoha ninja tossing a kunai in what he supposed was meant to look like a careless manner. Moving so that it wouldn’t hit either of the other two, Takko casually caught it between his teeth, raising an arm in a friendly gesture, as if of thanks, and grinning as he extracted it from his jaws. Iron was not the most pleasant of tastes. Picking up a plum, he sliced into it with the edge and offered Kiyoko a wedge. “But on the more interesting topic, yes. Kiri’s eyes are beautiful, aren’t they?” He smiled affably, content to ignore what he could have taken offense to. It would take much more than an effort like that to shake his resolve in what they were doing here. Hell, though he wouldn’t say it, especially not to his own people, they could try to kill him and he’d stay.

Because none of this was for him or even about him. And that was just Takko’s way of being Raikage.

Kiriko watched as the knife soared through the air, and Hiko caught it with his mouth - seemingly without a care in the world. Kiri, however, thought otherwise - her death stare instantly searched over towards the table that housed Nari, the Uchiha (his chakra was sickeningly beautiful) and that weird man with two coloured eyes and odd chakra signature. Kiriko stared at all three, regardless of whether or not they were looking at her, and spoke low. “Next person to throw a kunai at the Raikage gets three to the eye.” While it probably wasn’t audible to those all the way over by Nariko’s table - unless they had acute senses, of course - Takko and Yoko most definitely heard her. She didn’t care at the moment if she started a war: not many tried to make a petty attempt at the Raikage’s life and got away with it. In fact, nobody had gotten away with it yet, until now. But then Hiko had to go and pull another stunt: calling her eyes beautiful. As always when it came to compliments, Kiriko instantly began to blush a light pink and quickly turned her eyes away. While the burning hatred for the man who threw that kunai was still apparent, she was trying hard not to giggle at how stupid his comment was, or how out of place it was. Damn that Hiko, always making stupid comments when they should be focused on the fact that there was an attack on his damned life. With that notion, she brought herself back to normalcy, but not before turning to Takko. "I appreciate the compliment, even if it is uncalled for."

Takko resisted the urge to sigh, shaking his head slightly. Uncalled for, was it? He didn't see how. Was it really such a bad thing for him to compliment people? Well, perhaps she would think so, given the situation. “Ah, sorry Kiri," he said, though he didn't sound all that apologetic when it came right down to it. He knew she was likely to think that he wasn't taking this seriously enough, and in truth it was a fair assessment. But Takehiko wasn't a statesman or a diplomat--he could only do things the way he knew how, and what he knew more than anything was that he didn't want to risk harm to them by making a scene. “I'll make sure all my compliments are called for from now on." He grinned facetiously, but hid it with the rim of his bowl, raising it to scrape out the last of his rice.

Kiriko narrowed her eyes towards Takko as she resettled back into her seat; he really did have a perfect rebuttal for everything, didn't he? It wasn't that she didn't enjoy his compliments, it was that she usually found them quite... out of place, like he was trying to make fun of her or something. Or worse, was actually trying to compliment her: like that actually could happen. Nevertheless, Kiriko couldn't leave the conversation hanging on a thread - well, in reality, she couldn't let Hiko have the last statement and make a fool out of her. So Kiriko gave Hiko a rare lopsided smile before speaking. "Very well, but only if you actually take something in the office seriously for once." While her smile faded just as fast as it arrived - they never lasted long on her face - she was obviously making a point about his work ethic.

If Kiyoko had been insulted, it did not show. Instead, the kunoichi grinned broadly before clasping her hand over her mouth. A snort escaped her and she giggled into her hand. "Well then, I suppose you're right. Though, fair warning, we are everywhere," Kiyoko replied with a shrug of her shoulders before turning her attention back to Takehiko. She opened her mouth to reply to his statement about being a runt, however; immediately, she closed it and glared at Ryuu. Did he just throw a kunai at the Raikage? She felt a shiver go down her spine as a small vein pulsed on her head, clenching her plate tightly. She had half a mind to throw it at Ryuu's head, however; Takehiko caught it with his... teeth? Kiyoko raised a brow in almost astonishment, and frowned when he played it off.

"For once, I will agree with Kiriko, here," she spoke, her voice flat as she referred to the three kunai to the eye. Of course, she wouldn't be so nice about it as Kiriko had made it sound. She would deal with it later. There was a reason some people actually feared her temper. She rolled her eyes, instead, and glanced back to the two Kumo shinobi conversing to each other, and grinned lightly. At least no one was killing each other so far (accident excluded), and poked at her food. "Well, if she can see idiots with them, then yes they really are," she countered to Kiriko's eyes. She chuckled lightly again and turned towards Kiriko. She raised a brow when the Kunoichi had blushed at Takehiko's statement, and the grin on her face only grew.

"Oh, so that's why you said that. I didn't know," she continued, grinning larger if it were possible. Maybe she was jumping to a conclusion, but no one really blushed like that unless there was a underlying meaning behind it. And maybe she was jumping to the wrong conclusion, but it was oddly... cute? Maybe not the right word, but that's how she saw it. "You should have said something sooner, otherwise I wouldn't have sat between the both of you," she continued, the grin never leaving her face.

Takko, being Takko, missed the implication entirely, and shrugged as if to indicate that her presence was not especially bothersome. It was debatable whether he found anything especially bothersome, actually. “Don’t worry about it?” He blinked, glancing around the room and noting that the meal seemed to be coming to an end, for better or worse. “Looks like it might be time for me to face the Hokage, huh? I hear she’s a pretty terrifying lady.” This didn’t faze him at all, really; he’d been raised by a terrifying lady, and his female friends and companions all had various degrees of the trait themselves. He could hack it. More importantly, he had to. He may have come here and ceded the territorial advantage, but that didn’t mean he was going to roll over and expose his throat to the wolves.

Easygoing and genial as he may be, after all, he wasn’t especially pleasant to deal with when his ire was roused, and little did that like the thought of his people being exploited.

Kirko turned to the Leaf nin as she spoke, an annoying grin forming on her face: it reminded her too much of Hiko's grin. The kind that was stupidly likeable to most people around, and seemed to be infectious. Good thing Kiriko had a strong immune system to that sort of thing. Nevertheless, at the redhead's words Kiriko raised an eyebrow in aggravated confusion. Just what on earth was she commenting about? What other reason would she have for saying that she would butcher another simply because they endangered the Raikage? Yet it was Yoko's statement about how she wouldn't have sat between the two of them that everything in her brain clicked, and a groan of irritation nearly slipped her lips. Of course, to one that was not aware of the relationship between Hiko and Kiri, naturally she would jump to a conclusion. It certainly didn't help that Kiriko's face lit up like a flame, which wasn't entirely her fault; she just naturally blushed at any attempts at compliments and when those that she trusted spoke of her. Not that she would admit if she ever did have feelings for Hiko: besides, it would be a little odd seeing as how they practically grew up together. Nevertheless, Kiri gave Yoko a dead stare as Takko completely missed the innuendo as he naturally did. Ignoring Yoko for the time being, Kiriko turned to Takko to acknowledge his departure. "Very well. Please do remember to at least try to listen; I will not be available to catch the important bits should you accidentally doze off." Her tone held a slight smug air, as it had happened before that Takko would zone out completely of one important piece of information, simply because meetings weren't really his thing.

Once he left, however, she addressed Yoko. 'Before you continue to make any other brash assumptions, I grew up with the Raikage; I serve as his partner, and that is the extent of our relationship. Is that clear?" Kiriko hadn't meant to, but a slightly harsh undertone crept into that last sentence, as if she had become a team leader commanding her students. She cared not how this redhead would view the two of them, but she would have rather set the record straight now before a fight broke out because of a misunderstanding.

"But don't they always say to marry your best friend?" Kiyoko retorted as the grin turned into a smirk. The undertone beneath the other kunoichi's tone was not missed, however; Kiyoko merely shrugged her shoulders in the process. It's not like it bothered her. The Uchiha was much worse and he was the closest thing she had to a friend. Sure she had friends, but it wasn't quite the same. Maybe it was because he was her rival more-so than her friend. "You say that now, Kiri, but just you watch," she stated, pushing herself away from the table as she stood. She glanced at Kiriko before turning her attention to the Raikage.

"Mizu isn't all that frightening. A little temperamental, but not frightening," she replied, or maybe because she was the only one who say Mizuki that way. Very little scared Kiyoko, and Mizuki was not one of them. Maybe she should be just a little more wary of the Hokage? "Ah, but I suppose you're right. We shouldn't keep her waiting for too long. Shall we?"

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Character Portrait: Kiriko Gekkō Character Portrait: Akira Aburame
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"You're really quite bad at this, you know. I don't know why you even try for Sagehood, Akira." A rather dark, feminine voice spoke at the giant blonde woman meditating. Akira had taken herself to a grassy patch somewhere on the edge of the small river that ran through the village. The moon was high in the sky and rare was it that a creature stirred at this hour. It was at this peak hour that Akira could attempt some mastery over her Sage Form. With everyone sleeping, it made it easy to not worry about being seen if she failed. And she did fail quite a lot. To this date, she has had zero successes with achieving a full sage form. "Anyone can summon, you know. Few can attain Sage Mastery. There's no shame in it, you know." "Arachne, babe, you know I love you. But for the love of everything, could ya wait until I actually try before you start belittling me?" Akira laughed to try and calm herself down, as she could feel herself getting legitimately upset. Sober Akira did not take too kindly to this kind of behavior while she was trying to focus. "I'll take that as permission to continue when you do fail, then." The large arachnid figure beside her grinned and said nothing more.

Akira scoffed at the Drider and closed her eyes, trying to sort out her chakras. What bits remained that had not been eaten away at by the bugs had begun balancing each other, Mental and Physical energy. When she felt that was stable, she had found stability and began remaining completely still. It took a while before she actually became still, but she had been through the process of taking in Nature Chakra before. The only issue was...

"No, that's way not even close to enough, you dunce. Really, now. I'll ask again. Why do you bother trying to attain Sage Mode? Utterly useless." Arachne was not a very forgiving teacher. Especially when her student turned herself into a literal giant tarantula with her head in front where the eyes and fangs go. "Really now. If you want a body like mine, you have to PROPERLY take in the chakra."

Akira groaned at the Drider summon's chastising. She really seemed to enjoy scolding. Though given the nature of the Spider Bosses, it was not incredibly surprising. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it. Can you just help me get back? That's why you're here in the first place..."

Arachne did not do so without a few more minutes of ridicule and shaming. Shortly enough though, she reached down and sank her fangs into one of Akira's eight legs and begin draining out the Nature Chakra. Within a half minute's time, Akira was back to her large, fully-human self. She was breathing deeply from the chakra expenditure. "There has to be something I'm doing wrong..." She muttered to herself, crawling to the river to splash some water in her face.

"I'm telling you, Akira, you just aren't capable of Sage. Get over it, doll. Stick to summoning me and my babies to do your work for you, I say!" This was Arachne's way of trying to get Akira to keep trying, ironically. It seemed to be working thus far at least. Arachne truly did like Akira, and if anyone were to become the next Spider Sage, she wanted it to be her. In a pout though, Akira pressed her hands together to unsummon Arachne and spread her large self out in the grass.

"There's got to be some missing factor... Something I'm not taking into account. I balance out my chakras... I intake the Nature chakra... It always seems like enough... What am I doing wrong?" She reflected on herself after failures. Unfortunately, no answers ever came. It certainly was not like the wind around her was going to deliver the answers...

“Perhaps it is because you have yet to see all of the factors.” A small yet deadly blunt voice came from the few trees that surrounded the river to reveal a petite form sitting on a branch staring longingly out towards the moon. Kiriko had been out of the Uchiha residential area for some time, forgetting to inform her guard of desired destination; while she did check in with her guard, she had a feeling that the poor soul was out searching for her somewhere else while she suppressed her own chakra. Nevertheless, she had accidentally stumbled across Akira while watching the water flow, who was seemingly chastised by a grotesque arachnid thing. Kiriko had never truly seen a creature of that stature before: even in her studies of summoned animals, this one stood out as an oddity. Where did it come from, and how did it not get documented? Kiriko could hardly think that the Aburame girl had simply created a summoned creature, and then created her own Sage Art; mostly because she looked as if she was struggling immensely with the task.

Kiriko finally turned her gaze to Akira, and explained herself promptly. ”I had no intentions of finding you, before you ask. I enjoy moonlight, so I decided to descend upon Konohagakure and see the moon. Besides, I was beginning to feel cramped within the quarters given to me.” Her eyes reflected the moonlight in a perfect shimmer, as if they were meant for collecting moonrays as she swung her legs to look down on the Konoha ninja. ’You were attempting to unlock the Sage Arts, yes?”

Akira's rhetoricals were interrupted by an answer. It was a small voice for sure, and looking up it belonged to a small girl. It was that short one from Kumogakure, and Akira just barely recalled her name as Kiriko. "Of course that's the case. I just don't know what it is yet... Ah well!" She sat up in one swift motion, crossing her legs and resting her hands on her knees. "It'll come in time, right? I'm a patient girl."

Akira was not exactly jumping at the sight of her company being from Kumogakure, especially one without their guard. But since the girl was doing no harm to anyone, she decided to let it go. She really wished she had remembered to bring along some sake or something, though. Akira simply shrugged off Kiriko's explanation as to why she was there as Akira already didn't care as long as she wasn't causing trouble. "Yeah. It's something I have been working on in secret. If you saw any of that, you'll understand why. My teacher's kind of rude and I'm kind of really bad at it. But it is what it is, I suppose... I'll take my time with it, you know? No real rush. I have a lot of life left to live and now that you Kumo shinobi are here, I have more free time than usual. I haven't been called off on any missions because of that. So uh, thanks for the break!" Akira gave a half-salute with a laugh to hopefully lighten any unpleasant atmosphere. She loathed awkwardness and made it her goal to ignore it at all costs.

Kiriko's eyes shimmered beautifully. Akira could not deny that, even if she didn't find the girl herself to be super great. As if they trapped moonlight, they just seemed to glow with some alien beauty. Akira liked that. "Sorry the accomodations aren't to your liking, I guess. I'll be blunt with you here, but if I trusted any of you Kumo shinobi, I'd make some proper accomodations at the Aburame side of town. But that's my family. I have to play nice. I don't know if they will be so willing... Can't have you waking up in a room filled with bugs... Hokage'd be on my ass quicker than you can call me a pest."

Kiriko watched as the girl named Akira began to explain a few things to her: her ‘gratefulness’ to them for allowing her to practice more, her ungrateful teacher, more and more exposition and words that Kiriko cared little to nothing about. What Kiriko did find interesting was the size of Akira, and the unique attempt at a rare Sage Mode. It was a real treat for a curious girl such as herself to witness something so rare - though the inclusion of the failed Sage Mode wasn’t something considered pleasant. ”I can appreciate the offer, but I do not believe that it will change much: no matter where one goes, if they remain within a village, they will be surrounded by people constantly which is something I could do without.” Her voice was flat as she swung her legs a little, looking back up at the moonlight before falling to the ground gracefully.

It wasn’t until she was on the same playing level as Akira that she was reminded of how gargantuan of a woman she was: seriously, breaking 6 feet didn’t seem natural in the slightest for somebody barely breaking 5 feet. Craning her neck even at a distance, Kiriko directed her thoughts to Akira. ”I must take your teacher’s word, however, at your current state: with those kinds of attempts, you may barely pull of a Sage Mode before they put you in the grave for old age." She was unapologetic with her harshness, for she felt that if she was at least going to give this woman advice, it better be correct. “Then again, your mentor is of no help either. She seems to have forgotten not only that your larger than average size can affect how chakra flows internally. Not only that, but since you are Aburame, have you taken into consideration that you may have to not only balance out your own chakra, but the natural instincts of your insects? After all, if what I’ve heard is correct, they are just as much a part of you as my eyes are to me.” Kiriko really was only speculating on much of these, as she had never truly seen a Sage Mode performed. Sage Mode was something that seemed to be always appearing in the Land of Fire, and rarely anywhere else: Naruto, Hashirama, Jiraiya were just a few of the past to access this, and all originated in Konohagakure. The only real knowledge Kiriko had was that she was a sensor, and could read chakra signatures extremely well.

Akira's once-joyful expression turned sour quickly when Kiriko began talking again. "You must be a real joy at parties, hm?" Akira was kind of sarcastic when people were being blunt with her. She was not exactly angry, but she would be lying if she said that she wasn't bothered. "But I guess I can't deny that you're probably right. Arachne isn't being too helpful. She just scolds me when I fail. And--"

She cut herself off in realization. "What was that you mentioned about... Hey! You might be on to something here! I am a pretty big girl. Hell, I've got a lot of the village's men beaten in height. And I've got lots of bugs in me that feed on chakra. They may be taking to the Nature Chakra as I take it in... Yeah, that's got to be it!" She snapped her fingers to mark her epiphany. Akira stood up to full height and quickly came up on the Kumo ninja. In excitement, she tried to snatch her up into a hug. "You may have just helped me get that much closer to perfecting my Sage Mode! You're like, the second-best thing to come out of the Kumo visit!" That was apart from the peace treaty, of course.

Kiriko hadn't planned on really helping another: she was just pointing out the facts as she saw them. And yet, apparently, according to Akira's remark of excitement, it seemed that Kiriko had gotten something right about the nature chakra and sage mode. However, Kiriko didn't have to be a genius to realize what Akira's intentions were as she bound for her. Naturally, Kiriko began to backstep rapidly to hopefully deter the girl from hugging her; yet her massive strides and long arms caught Kiriko in a massive hug before the poor girl could get fast enough away. Normally, Kiriko would throw people around if they even touched her, let alone hug her - but that was a tad too difficult for Kiriko to throw a girl twice her own size over her head. So she endured the squeezing of bodies, but not before mumbling "Okay. Let go." She had hoped that this would deter the girl, make her realize that Kiriko was dangerously close to shanking her with the kunai closest to her free hand. Kiriko had nothing against Akira - well, at the moment, she had one thing against her, and that was that she was holding her.

"Err, right. Sorry there." Akira relinquished her hold on Kiriko and took a step back, a big grin spread across her face as she rubbed her left arm in a somewhat nervous gesture. That, too, stopped quickly as she shrugged. She did not seem to be bothered by anything anymore, thinking that Kiriko's suggestion had to be the answer. She had never taken her stature and insect guests into account when testing Sage Mode before. "I get excited sometimes. And I've been trying to figure this out for a long while, y'know? Dang this realization feels good." She gushed about it for a few more seconds before turning to Kiriko. "I gotta repay you for this idea. Do you drink? Because I could really use one. Come on, I'll buy. What do you say?" If anyone were to squander money on an excuse to drink, it would certainly be Akira. She decided that if she were to be up in the middle of the night and not training, she may as well have a drink or two. And drinking alone is a hell of a lot less fun than drinking with someone else. "It'll help improve, uh... You know, Kumo-Konoha relations and all of that if we get along, right?"

Kiriko was at an impasse that she didn't like: while she really had no need for Akira to be in her debt, she'd rather not upset a woman so enthralled. Would it be rude to decline a drink? Then again, since when did she care about being rude to others? Kiriko paused after opening her mouth to think for a second. She would rather not consume alcohol, for the only time she had done that was with Hiko; needless to say, she was rather a mess after that day and more than one embarrassing moment came out of it. She had been reluctant to drink even before then, and was quite reluctant now. Yet this Akira seemed so intent on having a drink and sharing in her happiness that Kiriko almost felt sorry for her. So would she accept out of pity? That wasn't her thing. Yet she felt compelled to at least accompany her, if only for an accuse to give her 'guardian' that she was with a Konoha ninja. "While I'm not one for a lot of alcohol, I will accompany you for a drink" She did not acknowledge that she had helped the girl, for she felt no need to: she was excited at the idea that Kiriko had given, and Kiriko personally cared not if she decided to utilize it or not. However, she was wary that if she did achieve Sage Mode, it may come back to bite her later if they became enemies. But that was what the drinks were for, right? "Well, lead on."

Setting

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Character Portrait: Kiriko Gekkō Character Portrait: Katsuro Uchiha Character Portrait: Kiyoko Uzumaki
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Kiyoko sighed softly, running a hand through her crimson locks to get the tangles out. Once the tangles were gone, she pulled the long strands over her shoulder, pulling them up so that she didn't trip while she walked. She pulled her hair into three sections, threading them together so that they were braided. She then threw it back over her shoulder, nodding in satisfaction that it was no longer touching the ground. She released another sigh, glancing up towards the sky to watch the clouds roll by. She didn't have an assignment today, and had been wandering the village a majority of the day. Most of the Kumo ninja seemed to be blending in rather well in the compound, even getting acquainted with the Konoha ninja. It was something that had caused her to smile, when she had learned of some of the excursions that had happened.

To know that they were even attempting that, meant that at least something was going good, right? She didn't how the meetings were going, and only hoped they were going as good as the socializations. Shaking her head softly, she allowed her feet to carry her with no particular destination in mind. She stopped occasionally to say hello to a few of the people she knew, but nonetheless, continued forward. She blinked owlishly when she found where her feet led her to, and pursed her lips together. She was at the Uchiha compound where the Kumogakure ninja were currently housed. Well, it wouldn't hurt to check up on them, would it? With her mind made up, Kiyoko trekked forward, a bright smile on her face as she walked, not paying much attention to where she was going.

Kiriko had recovered from her night out with Akira a while ago, having returned to the Uchiha residence not that long after the fact to 'fix' herself. She had only had one drink, but it felt like the world around her was slowly crumbling into a disorganized, chaotic mess of unhappiness and bubbly attitudes. It had been horrifying, hence the reason she had stayed within her room for so long to make sure she was presentable. Nevertheless, Kiriko watched the world from the edge of the residence, in which she sat on a branch not far from the wall surrounding the compound. It was still restrictive, being stuck within these walls, but she would be able to manage for now.

However, this had seriously begun to bore her after a while: it was intriguing to watch other people as they continued their business, and yet she found it too mundane to be doing so. What was the point of being here if all she did was steal information and watch out for her Kumo-nin? It didn't bode well that the others were gleefully joining in with the crowds, leaving her as an odd duck of sorts that didn't overly care to make friends. So you could guess her confusion at the large chakra signature as it bounded towards the compound, one that seemed to be the redhead Yoko from earlier. She seemed to be the one in charge, and yet the group had always done their own thing and disobeyed her. Was it because she was a bogus leader, or perhaps another reason?

Needless to say, Kiriko was silent as she watched the redhead intently. Just what exactly was she doing at this time of day anyway? There was no reason for her to be there, as most of the Kumo-nin seemed to be behaving themselves for the most part, and she seemed to disappear quite often. Kiri's curiousity got the better of her as she swung down from the tree and landed softly, only to ruin the peaceful silence with sound. "So what does the Jinchūriki of the Nine Tails owe this visit to?" Kiriko had landed quite a bit behind Yoko, but spoke loud enough for her to hear. To be honest, she had no real reason to aggravate or tempt Yoko, but her curiousty got the better of her - even though it made her sound suspicious of her movements.

Kiyoko, happily content to stare at the sky, craned her neck back to regard the new presence, and grinned. "Well, I don't really need a reason to visit do I? I am, afer all, in charge of keeping an eye on all of you," she replied, the grin disappearing and replaced by an owlish stare. She blinked slowly, then tapped a finger to her chin in a thoughtful manner. She shrugged her shoulders in response before slumping them. "Honestly, I was bored. All of you seem to be getting along well, so there really isn't much for me to do. Taking a walk is the only way, I suppose, that I could feel useful," she continued, placing a hand on her hip and releasing a deep sigh in the process. She really didn't have anything better to do, and with everyone getting along, she felt like she was shirking her responsibilities.

"What about you, Kiri-chan? How are you finding everything? I hope everyone is treating you well. You could tell me if they weren't... though I can't be too sure why anyone would want to bother you. You just reek of Back-off," she continued, speaking a little too forwardly. She folded her hands behind her back, and rocked on her feet. "Not that it's a bad thing," she quickly added, rubbing the back of her neck in a sheepish manner. She released a nervous chuckle as well, before sighing dejectedly.

Kiriko narrowed her eyes at the nickname, finding it not only unamusing but also slightly irritating. Was she trying to mock her name by adding the adorable suffix, or was she just trying to be cute? Kiri wasn't sure, but one thing was certain: Yoko did get the metaphor of her apparent smell correct; back off, while effective, was a little weak in explaining the vibe she usually gave people. However, Kiri would have rather she didn't speak the way that she had, as if having a harsher exterior was a bad thing; with the ninja world that they lived in, how was being upright and strict a bad thing? Being a 'hard ass' got missions done and saved lives. Being soft killed people.

Nevertheless, Yoko attempted to take back her statement, even though Kiriko knew that she really was just trying to cover for herself. There was no need though: Kiri noticed it, and planned on calling her out. "To be quite clear with you, I would rather have an attitude that causes dislike than one that creates a false sense of security. Nothing worse than creating a false sense of hope or peace for the people if they all have to lie to themselves in order for it to happen." Kiriko was quite bland in her words, which probably would either throw off Yoko or possibly infuriate; she wasn't sure. Kiri rarely cared for how others reacted, which was solidified in the next sentence. "To be fair, however, my mannerisms are not meant to be used nor liked by everyone; I could care less if they were enjoyed. They are there because they need to, or else many things might have not been accomplished." In hindsight, Kiriko could have left out the last statement, for it felt a little open ended as to what she meant; it could either mean that she was the one that executed missions, or executed her people. Regardless of which way, Kiriko stood silently afterwards, pondering the different responses that one might give to such a statement.

Kiyoko's smile dimmed, something sad pulling behind her eyes. It must have been quite a life for Kiriko to believe the words she spoke, and Kiyoko could only disagree with them. One didn't have to be like that, if the world they lived in had not been the way it was. Her grandfather had wanted nothing more than for the world to grow together, to be as one, however; all of it was shattered when they killed him. Perhaps, in a way, she should hate these Kumo nin, for taking away the one precious life she had cherished above all others. But she didn't, and she knew she couldn't, even if she should. She took a slow breath in, and shook her head.

"You know, I know someone like you. Just like that person, I bet you used to have a beautiful smile," because as a child, he did. It was very rare, and very little could make him smile, but when he did... Kiyoko shook the thought from her head. That was a long time ago now, and to have changed so drastically, a part of her wondered if the world would ever turn out the way her grandfather wanted it to be. Instead, she turned to fully face the Kumogakure kunoichi, her face pulled away from the light demeanor it had held. It was replaced by something serious. This wasn't her best idea, however; there were more than a few ways to bond with someone.

"A wager then," she spoke, her voice strong with conviction. "I propose a spar of sorts. If you win, you may ask anything of me, however," she paused, glancing into Kiriko's eyes to search for something, anything really, a flicker of her former self. She found none. "If I win, you have to smile. Just once," she stated, the corners of her lips tugging up just lightly.

Needless to say, Kiriko was taken aback by almost everything that was spoken by the redheaded girl in front of her. For starters, she seemed to become visibly saddened by her response, something that Kiriko hadn't expected; after all, how was she to know that the other girl would suddenly feel sad after hearing one answer? It was, however, made clear soon afterwards when she stated that she knew someone similar to herself, which caused Kiriko to pause. Was that the source of the sadness, or did she naturally get depressed when she remembered those that she cared for?

It was the comment about her smile that caused her to fumble through her own thoughts until they grinded to a halt. Never before had people thought of her smile as beautiful; in fact, the last time she did, Kiriko was deemed a monster and a psychopath by those around her. While it was most likely because it was on the battlefield, that was besides the point. What was the point was that Kiriko could not think of any rebuttal to that statement. How could she? To Kiriko, her face was nothing of importance: in fact, it was less than beautiful, for no monster could ever be considered beautiful. Kiri's thoughts were interrupted by a stance change that accompanied a tone change. Her body language shifted to something Kiriko was more familiar with; seriousness.

It goes without saying that Kiriko was more than a little confused by the wager offer, and her eyes narrowed profusely at what she would have to do if she lost. Why was it that she got a free question from this red head, and yet she demanded that she give up something as precious as a smile? Smiles were rare from her for a reason: she never found anything was worth smiling about in public, unless she wasn't within a large group. But Yoko knew what she was doing, and Kiriko nearly bit her lip in frustration. On one hand, she could decline and leave, but that would not help her pride nor her image whatsoever - besides, she was itching to fight something. Then again, if she lost to this woman, she would be entitled to give away a smile in front of possibly more than just Takko. The thought alone nearly caused her cheeks to begin to burn, but she was lucky enough to avoid the embarrassment.

A sigh escaped her lips before the one side began to tug into a deadly smirk. Her stance changed as well, as the kimono drifted across her body as she shifted. She instantly returned her face to normal and her tone to flat to speak. "Very well. I accept the terms of this agreement, and shall uphold them if I am deemed the loser. Her stance continued to shift until it was in a comfortable position for fighting in a kimono before finishing. "I would like to add, however, that I am not one for friendly spars. Your overall health at the end of this is not my responsibility." While it sounded weird, Kiriko was essentially warning Yoko that she had the possibility of dying because of a friendly spar, simply because she rarely saw sparring as friendly.

“Uzumaki’s pretty used to that, actually,” came a new voice. Katsuro hadn’t made any special effort to conceal himself as he approached—doubtless, both of them were aware that he was headed in their direction, but that was not the same thing as being expected to contribute to the conversation, if it could be called that. Kiyoko was pushy and annoying, but those traits made it possible for her to speak with others that generally preferred to hold silence. “Because her sparring partner is usually me. That wager’s one of her favorites.” He did not appear to be joking—in fact, his face was every bit as grim as Kiriko’s. Needless to say, he had a collection of weird and irrelevant facts about Uzumaki—since he never really asked her anything important—and as far as anyone knew, he was completely incapable of the muscle movements required for a smile.

“Don’t mind me; I’m just here so that if she dies, everyone will know she asked for it, and there won’t be a lot of…” he made a generally dismissive gesture, probably to indicate the absolute insanity that would result from one of the Kumo ninja killing or severely injuring Naruto’s very own granddaughter. Well, there was another one, but the younger Uzumaki was only a Chūnin at the moment, and thus nowhere near here.

As good as his word, Katsuro hopped into a nearby tree, crouching on a low branch and draping his arms over his knees. He’d give an official signal to start, if they needed one, but he somehow doubted they would, really. He wasn’t exactly as indifferent to Kiyoko’s fate as he seemed, but he was nobody’s knight, nobody’s protector. What Uzumaki got herself into, she got out of—or not—by her own strength, and nobody else’s. It was one of the reasons he could stand her at all in the first place.

Kiyoko opened her mouth to accept the terms, however; Katsuro's voice cut in, and she turned and frowned at him. He was right, though, she was used to terms such as those. He, like he said, was her sparring partner, and he certainly didn't go easy on her. She wouldn't have it any other way, though. Why should someone hold back just because they are sparring? Pushing the thought aside, the frown turned to a grin as she cocked her head to the side, sparing Katsuro a glance before turning her attention back to Kiriko. She took a slow breath, clearing the rest of her thoughts as she too, took a stance. It was evident she was going to use the Jūken, or otherwise known as the Gentle Fist.

"Katsu-teme is right about that, I am used to it. I would not expect anything less from a Kumogakure shinobi. I want only the best, and if this friendly spar turns out more than just that, well..," she paused, shifting in her spot before continuing. "Then that'll be on me and no one else," she stated, the smirk on her face never leaving. "Katsu-teme can tell them, if you kill me, that it wasn't out of ill intent," though it probably wouldn't look that way. Plus, she had no intent on dying today, nor any day after this. She had a dream, after all, to achieve that required her to be alive. She would see her family again, but not today, and not any time soon.

"Shall we?" she stated, the smirk widening. Instead of waiting for Kiriko to make the first move, as she should have, Kiyoko moved first, relying on her taijutsu for now.

Kiri had noticed the Uchiha from quite a distance away, but had originally thought nothing of the man: after all, she had assumed that he would simply continue on his own path. Instead, however, he decided to join in on the festivities and create his own input. At least he was blunt on his stance for the fight, and went to the nearest tree to watch instead. In all honesty, Kiriko would rather interact with said man that decided to opt out of the fight than fight the brat in front of him. His mannerisms just seemed so familiar and blunt, as if Kiriko could actually connect with such a man or something. However, it didn't seem to be likely considering she accepted the challenge, and the redhead was beginning to talk again about how she would take full responsibility for everything that happened. Kiriko especially enjoyed the touching 'if' that she added, as if she felt that Kiriko wouldn't be able to hit her.

Nevertheless, Kiriko could sense the movements in the young lady as she moved towards her, against most normal fashions that he who started a spar would attack second. It seemed that even basic class was lost on the woman, but Kiriko would forgive her for now. Instead, she simply sidestepped Yoko's first move gracefully before speaking. "I never said anything about killing you." Kiriko mumbled loudly, referencing to her usual problem with incapacitating her opponents in a spar, rather than killing them as some psychos did. To hopefully avoid such problems, Kiriko refused to activate her Lightning Armor, as well as relied solely on her sight rather than her sensory abilities. Hopefully she could avoid drawing blood from her opponent, so that she wouldn't get into a bit of a crazed frenzy. Too bad she couldn't make any promises, as the spar was already getting her blood pumping as she counter-attacked through taijutsu as well. Best not to use anything violent.

Kiyoko merely smiled when Kiriko side-stepped, twisting her body so that she could bring her arm back around. "But it was implied when you said my overall health wasn't your concern, meaning you might kill me even if it's done unintentionally," she retorted back. She managed to block a few of Kiriko's attacks, however; there were some that landed, causing her to drop her guard a bit, and cringe. The smile, however, never left her face. She hadn't had much time with the Kumogakure ninja as the others seemed to have, and if this was the only way she'd be able to spend something with at least one of them, Kiyoko would take the beating. It's not like she couldn't, given who her usual partner was. Even if she lost, she would do so with a smile. Though, there was only one person she ever lost to, and she didn't plan on losing to anyone else. If she did...

"You just might be my new rival if I lose to you," she stated, sparing a glance towards the tree Katsuro was in, a smirk crossing her features before she brought her arms up to block another attack. She pondered, for a moment, whether or not she should implement some of her ninjutsu to these attacks, however; it was just a friendly spar. It wouldn't be too wise to start blowing places up with their ninjutsu. She didn't even know what Kiriko's chakra natures were to be able to provide a decent defense against it.

Kiriko narrowed her eyes, the persistence in this woman's need to always correct something that wasn't needed was beginning to annoy her. Implications were for people that had to beat around the bush: Kiriko thought she had made it obvious that such things were not needed with her. However, it seemed that Yoko was one to imply too much, and apparently miss the obvious. What made it odd was the freaky smile that was planted on her face: it wasn't like hers, one that was full of violence and a sadistic pleasure, but instead of true happiness. That bugged her extensively - what in the world could this woman be so happy about to feel the need to smile throughout a spar? Was she trying to prove a point or something? Even when hits were landed, she kept the smile on.

Kiriko nearly lost focus of restraining herself when Yoko spoke of becoming her rival. She had no need for a rival, so who did this woman think she was to simply superimpose herself as her rival? Kiriko's next attacks were easily blocked as she tried to refocus, allowing for Yoko to land on on her, effectively throwing off her chakra control as the Gentle Fist did. If this kept up, she would start using ninjutsu, or even her Lightening Armor, and that wouldn't end well for anybody. She either needed to end this soon, or find a stalemate. "I have no intentions of taking a rival, regardless of the outcome of this petty contest.". This was going to get out of hand soon, and Kiriko would rather not have that.

"Intent or not, you would still have one depending on the outcome of this battle," and she meant it. She had only ever lost to one person in particular, and he could attest to how serious she was about taking on a rival. If she wasn't strong enough to defeat someone at least once, she would train and spar until she could. This would be no different. Kumo shinobi or not, responsible for her grandfather's death or not, she would still take the Kumo kunoichi as her rival. They continued to exchange blows, the hits landing a bit harder with each passing one, and Kiyoko was finding herself a little drained. She sighed softly, turning to block another in coming attack. It wasn't a petty contest.

"It is not a contest, Kiriko. A contest entails that the we are competing. Is that what we are doing here? Because I could have sworn it was just a sparring session?" she retorted, really not mindful of the way she said it. To her, that was all this was. Perhaps, it might seem like a competition, because Kiyoko was certainly competitive, however; she didn't see the spar that way. What this was, was two people merely training, and honing themselves against each other. Whatever the outcome, it would only make them that much stronger against each other. She could feel some of her muscles becoming sore from the length of the spar, but she wasn't going to relent, not quite yet. But that didn't mean it shouldn't end soon.

"How about we finish this then?" she stated, the smile vanishing from her face as she took one last defensive stance. Inhaling a deep breath, she held it until Kiriko made one of the last moves.

Katsu could only wonder if Kiyoko's persistent need to have the last word (sometimes by saying things that made very little sense) was half as annoying to Kiriko as it was to him. Well, he'd probably be finding out in the next few seconds, anyway.

Kiriko was starting to realize why the man known as Katsuro talked as little as he did: with a girl such as Kiyoko in his presence all day, how could one even get a word in? Her constant need to comment on everything was pushing Kiriko over the edge, and her need to maim or break something was starting to really push through her mind. She needed a release, and she needed it soon: else somebody was losing a limb. It certainly didn't help that Yoko was starting to talk about contests, which made Kiriko desperate for some form of competition - at least then she would be able to blow off some steam. With a 'friendly' spar, Kiriko had to focus on not maiming her partners, which was so much more difficult than just letting her go wild.

Nevertheless, Yoko sounded as if she was beginning to wind down, even though her chakra levels seemed to be fine. Either she was doing this on purpose, or her muscular system was starting to get slightly fatigued. Either way, Kiriko wasn't finished yet. Leaping out of her sandals, she flew through the air towards the Konoha-nin, kimono gracefully remaining on her body as she spun into a kick towards the woman's head. The woman blocked the attack easily, but that wasn't what Kiriko wanted, and it wasn't until she heard a snap within the arm bones of her opponent that she truly felt the stress leave her body. Call it sadistic, but Kiriko could feel satisfaction and a peace of mind wash over her as she confirmed that she had broken the other woman's arm. Pushing off and landing a few paces away, Kiriko began to regain her breath from a ragged pattern. One would mistaken it for fatigue, but in reality it was from her amount of concentration in just trying not to take this fight to a level of dangerous proportions. After all, control wasn't usually within her best interests.

Looking slightly shaken - though not for reasons one might think - Kiriko regained her composure to speak. "I agree; ending this now would be wise." Kiriko let the guilt and shame wash over her as her face steeled itself as it always did, as she knew that Hiko would be most disappointed in her once he found out. Hopefully he would at least understand that she tried to restrain herself.

The crack was all she needed to know that her arm was broken, and Kiyoko bit hard on her lip. She'd broken worse parts on her body thanks to the war, but that didn't mean it didn't stop hurting. She was lucky enough she didn't scream out in the pain, but instead, merely grimmaced through it. Kiriko pushed back, and agreed to ending the spar. Kiyoko lost, in a way, but she merely shook her head and smiled. Her arm was pulsing, and it hurt, but she could take care of it in a minute. She was, after all, a medic-nin, and it wouldn't be too much to heal herself. Though, she might actually need another set of arms to completely heal her arm. She glanced down at said arm, then back up at Kiriko, a bright smile still plaguing her lips. She smiled too much, if anything, and she knew that. Still, it was something she felt the need to do. That was why she had named her terms. Even if she gave them often to Katsuro, she just wanted to see people smile more. It was almost sad that people were forgetting how to do that with everything that has happened.

"Thank you, Kiriko, for the spar," she stated, bowing in respect towards the victor. "It seems I have lost this wager," she stated, shaking her head softly. "Don't worry, though. I am not going to pursue you as a rival, but... thank you for at least this much," she continued, waving her good hand in front of her.

Kiriko was more than confused when Yoko gave her another one of her smiles, and then proceeded to bow and thank her. There was no honor in her win; there was no real victory there. It was more or less finished before it even started, and yet here Yoko was, calling it a victory for her. Kiriko stood somewhat flabbergasted as she continued to speak, not sure really what to say until Yoko finally stopped talking. Kiriko let the silence sink in for a second, before looking at her opponent with somewhat softer eyes than she had originally intended. "While I personally disagree that there even was a victor, I shall take what I have been given." Kiriko paused, still not bowing to her opponent even though she had earned a small dose of respect from the girl. She turned to leave, but turned back around when she remembered the other part of her statement. "However, I shall remain ahold of the question that I am allowed to pose to you for now. You never know when something like that might come in handy. A small smile threatened to creep onto her face, but it was dashed away a few moments later as she spun around to leave.

"Good day, Kiyoko Uzumaki. May we never attempt another spar."

Setting

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Character Portrait: Kiriko Gekkō Character Portrait: Katsuro Uchiha Character Portrait: Ryuu Tsukino
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Katsuro had been on a morning patrol route around the perimeter of the village with Uzumaki when the explosion happened, so closely that it actually picked the pair of them off their feet and threw them into the air. The Uchiha himself twisted so as to land on his feet rather than his ass, dropping into a crouch. He hadn’t sensed anyone nearby, which either meant they were especially good at hiding or the explosives had been planted at an earlier time and detonated from afar. The strangest part was that there didn’t seem to be a reason to let them off here—they’d destroyed part of a wall and rained shrapnel on a few outer buildings, but there was nothing important here.

He was left to assume that it was some kind of diversion.

“Uzumaki—the Kumo ninja.” Though he was not a man much given to trust, he trusted that Kiyoko would take his meaning. Either the Kumo shinobi were likely to be targeted by this… or they were responsible. Why else attack now, during the treaty negotiations? “I’ll handle this part, just go.” Katsuro’s eyes darkened, the color morphing from a light grey to deep red, the tomoe in his irises taking the characteristic pinwheel shape of his kekkei genkai. He could still spot nobody, at least not until Uzumaki was gone, whereupon five figures seemed to materialize from thin air.

“The Total Concealment jutsu. Useful, wouldn’t you say?” The voice came from the central figure, though they were all dressed the same, covered head to toe in robes, with color variation. One was black, two red, and two gold. The garments had hoods, which made it difficult to discern their facial features. Well, difficult for ordinary eyes. Katsuro wasn’t having quite as much difficulty, not that being able to discern their features was very helpful.

He supposed this was the point where he was supposed to engage the man in conversation, perhaps get a name or a purpose out of him, but in all honesty, he didn’t really care. They were invading the village on his patrol, so they were going to die. The Uchiha’s hand went to the blade sheathed at his waist, and he lowered himself into an iaido-like stance. “Sure,” he muttered. “Right until you stop using it.”

Kiriko had decided that her best duties would most likely to not be hovering over Hiko throughout the day - after all, while she did know her duty, she did know the man was a grown up, and could take care of himself. Yet it still felt weird scouting out the village folk throughout the day, as if she were planning an invasion. Granted, the looks she got from some of the villagers suggested that they thought the same idea: after all, a few of them probably remembered her face from the war, given the dirty faces she received.

Nevertheless, she continued her recon expedition - that is, until an explosion occurred not too far off from her location. She was close to the perimeter, finishing up the rest of the recon when it happened. Instantly, her mind raced towards Hiko, and why she couldn't sense anybody within the area besides Yoko and the Uchiha. Was this a distraction to bring the Kumo away from the Raikage, and then assassinate him? Seemed like too farfetched, honestly, but she couldn't be certain with the Leaf now; in reality, she only wanted to simply race to Hiko to serve and protect-

A rustle of the leaves near her caught her attention, and something moving deadly fast swung towards her head. She managed to block it just in time, but it still connected with her small body, sending her flying towards the explosion. Regaining herself, she landed nimbly around the explosion site to the site of her attacker, who appeared out of thin air. Odd, she couldn't sense the man just a moment ago, which previously had been deemed nigh impossible on many levels due to her sensory abilities. Yet here was a man who could; correction, there were multiples, as many signatures appeared suddenly behind her as a man spoke of the Total Concealment technique, one she had never heard of. Mind racing, she narrowed her eyes as her lips curled into a snarl. "You'll regret this, you lowlife." She knew that this wasn't going to be a simple battle of wits, but a full on brawl, one that she was most accustomed to and always sickeningly enjoyed in the past: it just depended on whether or not she retained her sanity throughout.

What a wonderful way to wake up in the morning, the smell of burnt toast and the sound of thunder. Well, it would have been wonderful if that was really it. With one eye opened, Ryuu looked at the smoke coming not far from his current position. Unfortunately, it was the cause of an explosive planted by someone who was either completely bored of the calm or just wanted some attention. It could even be both. ‘Who cares?’ He released a rather disinterested sigh. Such a sight only meant that there was trouble brewing. Despite the most popular reputation of his to always be in such mischief and to plunge into danger, he was not that enthusiastic about it. Because quite frankly, he is not really a morning person by choice. He wanted to sleep in more than anything. The futon was far more enticing than any object or reason combined. Anyway, he was pretty sure the guys and gals could handle it. That was the best idea ever. He is very satisfied with that decision.

And so, he turned his back from the view from the veranda where his room was located. It seemed he had left it opened as he covered himself in his blanket and allowed the sandman to return him to dreamland. But, he seemed to have been born under the star of adversity. Why is that? The building he was in was suddenly devastated by an invisible force which acted much like a guillotine. As such, it cut through the wooden manse effectively. At the same time, it certainly woke him up in the worst possible manner. Those mismatched eyes glazed in irritation as he stood from his now destroyed futon. Actually, an ominous presence was surrounding his form. Something which is rarely seen by anyone at all. After all, he is the kind who always fluidly places a mask on his face in any given situation. His true intentions and blatant emotions are hidden with ambiguity. Perhaps, the only exception would be the mornings.

“Water Dragon…" He started as a very large water dragon formed behind him. To be noted, there was no water available at such close vicinity which boasted his skill in harnessing such great amount of liquid. He went towards the demolished veranda where the debris was falling to the ground. Those gold and blue eyes held a very sinister look within them. Something akin to that of a demon, no, it is of a demon. His yukata was in a disheveled state as his right shoulder was exposed as the sleeve stuck precariously to his flesh. Well, there was also his chest, but regardless, he was clearly woken up and was in a bad mood. He looked for the likely perpetrator of such an act, because right now he was going to devour that person until not even a bone remains. Uchiha and Gekkō were present along with five hooded individuals below. He was certain the latter group was responsible. The other two would rather die than have anything to do with him. Good call for them. “Bullet Technique.” His voice held great animosity as the water dragon plunged towards the aforementioned group with great power and rage.

Power and rage or no, it was clearly not just any amateurs that the bullets were leveled against, and the ninja being targeted simply moved out of the way of the flashy attack, breaking ranks for the first time. One of the red-robes went to join the gold-robed figure that had stopped Gekkō from leaving, presumably to see to the Raikage. Katsuro would have even believed that wise, but it seemed it was impermissible for now. The other two flanking figures split off and headed for Tsukino, one of them already forming a handsign that Katsuro recognized as belonging to an immobilizing jutsu, one that used earth as the conduit. The other seemed to be trying to pin him into the trap with a barrage of abnormal numbers of weapons.

The ones going for Gekkō, on the other hand, seemed more inclined to press her with taijutsu, probably due to her size disadvantage. He wasn’t really in a position to be offering either of them any assistance, however, because predictably enough, that left the chatty one for him to deal with. His sword rang free of the sheath in a flashing arc, aimed for nothing more sophisticated that to take off the man’s head, but it was stopped, not by another weapon, but by the thumb and first two fingers of the cloaked man’s left hand. His head tilted to the side, and for the first time, their eyes met.

He almost reminded Katsu of Tsukino, the way his eyes were two different colors, one blue and one gold. The golden one, however, also sported a black sclera rather than the usual white one. “Tch,” The Uchiha wrenched at his sword, which the other man seemed willing enough to let go, then used his chakra to surround the blade with lightning. The characteristic chirping sound identified it as the Chidori Kōken technique, and this time when he swung, the man ducked rather than attempting to catch it, as the same maneuver a second time would result in a rather nasty shock.

Blurringly fast, the man’s fist slammed into Katsuro’s chest, sending him flying backward into the wall of the nearest building. The impact was loud and destructive to say the least, and robbed Katsu of his breath for several seconds as he tried to process what had just happened. He’d seen what was coming, if only barely, due to his Sharingan, but… he simply hadn’t had enough time to react. It was rare that he was outmatched to that degree in speed, and if he’d been even a second slower, that hit might well have caved his ribcage in. Hopping down from the crater he’d made in the wall, he shook himself off and stalked back to his foe, who seemed disinclined to press his advantage. “Who the hell are you?”

The man smiled, a close-lipped thing that resembled the rictus of a corpse more than anything alive. “I am Nobuo, and we are Kyūkanchi.” Well, that was direct, if terribly uninformative. Katsuro supposed it wouldn’t matter in the end, because one of them would be dead, and then his name and purpose would not matter anymore.

The amount of research that these hooligans had done on her was more extensive than she had thought, for instead of engaging her one at a time from a distance with ninjutsu, two goons came at her with taijutsu. How absolutely ludicrous that these thugs somehow knew her dossier well enough; either that, or they were assuming that since she was small, they would be able to thrash her. Wrinkling her nose in absolute disgust, she evaded both of their attacks as she tried to weave signs, only to have them block her. It seemed that they refused to let her even use one handed signs, for they made sure that both of her arms were kept busy with constant barrages of attacks. While they were by no means fast enough to land more than a few bruising hits on her, it was evident to anybody watching that she was increasingly aggravated, curses constantly being spoken under her breath at their very existence.

After one scraped her across the head, Kiriko had had enough - their existence no longer mattered, and her ability to care for their lives became null: it was time to go to war. While they went for an odd technique that required both of them rushing her, she muttered a simple phrase: ”Lightning Release Armor.” Instantly, her body was coated in a flash of lightning, and she dodged both of their attacks instantly to the side. They had underestimated her ability to perform taijutsu, and they were going to pay with their lives. Changing direction at a perilously fast speed, she charged both of them while they were caught off guard, and ran right through them, sending both flying. She knew that this wouldn't kill them, but it didn’t matter: her hair was slowly beginning to stand on end as her wicked grin slowly formed on her face. ”Get up! You wanted this!” Her words spat poison as she moved towards the enemy as they were returning to a standing position. Kiriko knew they were no ordinary ninjas, so there was no need to hold anything back: they could be elite forces, so there was no point in trying to reason with either her or them right now. She could sense them, and she planned on changing that for good.

Ryuu clicked his tongue in annoyance. His intended desire did not come to pass. It meant he had to work and really, he does not like doing so, especially when he is in a very very bad mood. He really hated it when his meal jumps around and do unnecessary things. Because in the end, all they had to do was to stay still and to be devoured by him in every delicious manner of such a deed. His eyes did not relent from its deathly gaze as two robed individuals, the hell he could care about their preference for color, went towards him. Well, this would save him a lot of trouble from the get-go. He would not waste his energy chasing them around as if they were worth it from the very beginning. For honestly, they do not.

A rain of weapons hurled towards his position as he did not move without even a hint of fear in his form. He was not going to dodge anything. Due to such decision, all of the weapons hit him without missing a spot. This meant certain death; no one could survive being a human pin cushion. ”Idiots.” That was the only word he muttered with irritation as his body disintegrated into water. It was nothing more, but a dummy. As for the real one, he was now behind the two robed figures. ”Beast Tearing Gale Palm.” Once that was said, a massive demonic-claw infused with his chakra appeared and extended towards his two assailants. He grabbed them as if they were a tube of toothpaste and then dragged them across the ground without much finesse or care. Why would he care anyway? Then, he smashed them on one of the remaining intact walls with great force and sealed with his anger. Although, he did destroy the walls in the process. But, he could care less. Right now, he simply wanted to end the existence of the ones who disturbed his wonderful sleep.

Of course, the enemies Ryuu hit were also clones, these ones composed of lightning, which upon impact lanced up the claw he had been using to drag them. One of them suddenly appeared behind him, delivering a solid roundhouse kick to the side of his head, propelling him to the side and into a wall. Or rather, it would have, had the other not had a water prison jutsu waiting to catch him in the air. Rather than relying upon it to hold him, however, the first ninja just shot more lightning at it.

Kiriko’s opponents, on the other hand, backed off quite quickly when she released her lightning armor. One of them seemed to be nursing a wound from the initial impact, when she’d sent them both flying, but it didn’t look like anything was broken, and indeed with an uncomfortable grinding noise, he popped his shoulder back into the joint. Wisely choosing not to engage at close range when there was so much electricity around, they moved back to mid-range, one of them launching a barrage of fireballs to try and force her left, whilst the other bit her thumb and summoned forth a nest of large, venomous snakes, warping the earth beneath their feet so that it swallowed them up and allowed them to travel without fear of being hit by the release armor.

They did not reappear for some time.

Kiriko stood as she watched her opponents run off from her to recover from the initial attack, and began to study them rapidly. Something about them was off: perhaps it was the fact that she could feel nothing from them. She wasn't talking about their chakra, as she could sense that: but after that? Nothing. Their chakra gave off nothing, besides the fact that they had quite a bit of it. There was no affinity she could sense, no warmth, no feeling; only power. She narrowed her eyes in annoyance at the entire situation. Of course, it had to be ninjas that had some special defect that were attacking; who else would be bold enough to cause an explosion during the day? Granted, their leader's chakra signature was still jarring her senses. Kiriko wasn't sure what was up with him, but even she was a little timid of the enormity of his signature; something about him wasn't right, wasn't normal. Then again, the whole situation wasn't normal.

Nevertheless, her opponents recovered and decided to attack midranged with ninjutsu instead of risk the taijutsu. A smirk came to her face as she watched the fireballs expell from the one's mouth and snakes tunnel into the ground. Perhaps she had overestimated them before, as they couldn't have completely read her dossier if they thought they could beat her with this. Remaining in her lightning armor, she began to quickly weave signs with her hands and spoke. "Water Release: Formation Wall." The fireballs were instantly hit by the massive wave of water created from her mouth, dispelling them and creating a hefty amount of steam as they were dispelled. Using the wave as a distraction as it roared towards the two enemies, Kiriko quickly began to weave more signs for her next jutsu: "Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder!" At her words, lightning ripped from her hands in the desired direction: all around her. She deduced that much of her technique would catch the water and race towards her enemies, while the rest would enter the soaked earth and flush out many of the snakes that resided within. The exact number, however, was not something she could determine.

Upon the collision of the lightning which was intensified by water, the expectation of a bloody and a burned corpse was rather high. Even more so when a scream of pain echoed. After all, the attacks connected without hindrance. This should signify effective incapacitation whether permanent or now. However, there was a sound resembling that of a balloon popping and smoke scattering about. It was but a mere clone and another four of him appeared with two on each enemy. ”Imbeciles.” Those eyes of blue and gold held a certain glint of malice and at the same time a predictable reckoning. But then again, it could also just mean that he is simply very angry about being rudely awakened, especially, when he could care less about what is going on around him for today.

The four Ryuus began to tackle their chosen enemies by releasing another set of claws infused with wind chakra. One of each pair grabbed hold of the enemies and the other pairs ensured that there would be no escape in any way. ”Flight of the Obliterating Water.” This technique resonated with all four as the area around them began to solidify and form thousands and thousands of needles. In addition to that, he had infused a certain trait in this chosen technique. It would only target the two enemies before him and would not stop from forming until the targets are dead or Ryuu had been exhausted from his chakra. The latter part was a bit debatable at best when that would be.

Indeed, Kiriko’s technique was a direct hit on both foes, one of whom proved to be nothing more interesting than a log, used for a substitution jutsu, but the other was indeed the real ninja. The one she had not hit, on the other hand, charged her from behind in what must have seemed a suicidal rush, moving in close to interrupt her with a barrage of kicks and punches. Though he did seem to be susceptible to the electricity of the armor, he fought through it for the most part, his motions occasionally erratic but not entirely without threat even so. The kunoichi that had been hit with the combination attack fell to her hands and knees, using the distraction her partner provided to regain her breath at the jutsu’s termination. Her frame was wracked with shudders, but even despite this, she stood, directing the snakes that had not been outright killed by the electricity to drive upwards at Kiriko’s feet, to ensnare and bite.

Neither they nor either of Ryuu’s opponents ever gave the slightest inclination that they were feeling pain. It was true that, when they were injured, their injured body parts would function suboptimally, but never once did any of them cry out or pull a face or in any way indicate that they felt what was happening to them in any significant way. The ones aimed at by Ryuu simply chose to endure the barrage, each cloaking himself in fire to soften the blows, but aside from this, they made no effort to dodge, and even when hit, did not fall. Due to the cloaks, neither took any hits to excessively vial areas, though their arms and legs became quite bloody.

Glancing once at each other, they seemed to mutually shrug, then both moved together, this time one making his hand signs and causing a column of earth to wrap around Ryuu’s feet, once more pinning him, while the other shot a point-blank lightning bolt for the spot. His words and insults fell only on deaf ears, as though they were just as impervious to the discouragement that another might feel at persistently targeting clones as they were to physical pain.

It was a property that Katsuro was currently wishing he had. To call what was happening between himself and the leader of these people a fight was to be quite kind. It was more like a thrashing, and the Uchiha was not used to being on the receiving end of those. From very early in his life, it had been made rather clear to him that he was just better at the ninja arts than most of those around him could ever hope to be, but that hypothesis did not seem to be holding much water in this particular field test at all. On the contrary, he was sporting a broken wrist, several large, bleeding wounds, and at least one cracked rib, but his opponent was thus far entirely unscathed. The accuracy of Katsu’s Sharingan was all that was presently keeping him alive, as it allowed him to generally dodge well enough to blunt the blows so that they were not fatal, but he was not fast enough to attack and succeed.

“I’m disappointed,” the man called Nobuo admitted, lashing his wrist such as to flick some of Katsu’s blood off his fingers. “I’d been told to expect more of you, Katsuro Uchiha. Could it be that you’ve become complacent in your quest for strength, assumed it was enough to be able to match the people here? To be able to overcome obstacles by working with them? How unsavory.”

Kiriko has miscalculated how brash her opponents could get: granted, the numerous tricks that these people seemed to be pulling out of their sleeves was messing with her. Looking towards the two opponents to whom she had hoped to fry, she was more than disappointed that only one really existed, and that the other was a log. However, that quickly lead to another question: where did the real ninja go? She couldn't sense anything yet, and since she couldn't pick up on the warmth of their chakra it made it even more difficult to find them. She didn't wait long, however, as she quickly spun around to see the missing nin appear and charge from behind her. Kiriko had barely enough time to react as she blocked his attack rather than using her superior speed, as she had no idea that they would bother trying to attack through her lightening armour. Then again, nothing about them was ordinary, so they did anyway.

It became obviously clear then that Kiriko was going to get outmatched if she couldn't either get some range: while the man wasn't as large as Takko for instance, he was big enough to easily flatten her into the floor if he so wished, and his attacks were getting stronger as he kept hitting her blocks. It was a miracle how he wasn't in serious pain from the lightening armour, but apparently they seemed to not care for pain at all. If I don't get some range soon- Her thoughts were cut off as she heard an eruption from the ground as snakes poured out. They had no chakra signature, so how was Kiriko supposed to know that so many were still alive? Now the fight was going sour fast, as she knew that she had to jump now, or face being strangled and bitten from below. Only problem was that her other opponent wasn't giving up, and if she tried to jump away now, her best guess was that he would capitalize on her opening and clock her hard.

Kiriko did the only thing that she could do, naturally: hit the guy ahead of her and hope the lightening armour would hold off the snakes long enough to let her escape. Capitalizing on the harsh blow the man landed to her blocked arm - he placed more power since she was startled, which takes longer to recover - Kiriko quickly ducked and spun around so that her dominant arm was now turned into a backhanded chop, and she roared as she crossed him in the ribcage. "Lightning Oppression Horizontal!" Kiriko knew she did some serious damage, as the man instantly was thrown back quite a few feet by the simple backhanded attack. While she wasn't nearly as powerful as the Third or Fourth Raikage and their nintaijutsu, it still hurt like hell. Thing was, Kiriko didn't have time to worry about the amount of damage done, as two fangs pierced her ankle; the armour held off many, but ultimately one snake found its way through and bit her.

Muffling a scream, Kiriko turned her attention to the female and bolted at her with surprising speed, although she was feeling slightly off balanced. She wasn't sure what the snake's venom potency or effects were, but she knew she would have to attempt to finish this off quick, or else the effects of the venom may drag her to the abyss below before she could finish her objective. Kiriko's smile returned to her face, although the venom made it slightly pained as she charged at her enemy with the attempts of performing a Lariat. She wasn't sure how fast her opponent was, but she knew that if she wasn't fast enough, her enemy would be toast.

Kiriko’s opponent tried her best to get out of the way of the Lariat, but the Kumogakure shinobi, while comparatively lacking in physical strength, was in fact faster than she was, and she was forced to take the hit, albeit at a slightly-awkward angle that meant it didn’t do its full damage. Still the technique was a devastating one by its very nature, and the electricity surging through her body from be brutal application of lightning dropped her where she stood, and she lay on the ground thereafter, unmoving. Whether she was dead or just unconscious was hard to discern, and whatever the case, Kiriko did not have time for a coups de grâce, because the woman’s counter part was back, and furthermore, the poison in the snakebite was beginning to take effect. It was a neurotoxin, in fact, and would make it very difficult for Kiriko to move. For some reason, however, the male shinobi did not take advantage of her incapacitation, rather using the opportunity to scoop up his counterpart and throw her over his shoulder.

He looked over Kiriko’s head at something, the angle such that she would be able to make out his features beneath the hood. He was young-looking, somewhere above twenty five but under thirty, perhaps, and his face was as carefully blank as an ANBU mask was meant to be. Whatever he saw when he looked behind him caused him to glance back at Kiriko for just a moment with flat blue eyes, but then he took off, using her hampered state to make a clean getaway, his partner in tow.

Heterochromatic eyes narrowed in observation. It would seem that these opponents of his were either invulnerable to pain or zombies. Yes, he had been reading some comics about an apocalyptic end. It was interesting really. Anyway, there were no signs from his enemies that they were bothered by the damages rendered to their bodies. Normally, he would not be bothered by it. In truth, he would have enjoyed it because that meant the fun would last for a very long time. However, he was in a sullen and terrible mood. So, he found such reactions completely annoying and edges his temper to a higher level.

But of course, as everyone who has a sound mind would know, an emotionally driven psyche is not advisable against enemies, no matter how strong they are. Recklessness was also not prudent. Well, these sagely sentiments were thrown long ago by Ryuu and were only exemplified more at this very moment. He allowed more of his chakra to be taken from him due to the endless barrage. However, there was a certain folly to this choice. His awareness now lack in its refinement. He was caught unaware as a pillar wrapped around his feet implanting him heavily to the spot.

Despite that, he should be able to deflect that lightning bolt directed to him. However, his chosen actions had interfered with an integral balance. His eyes glowed eerily merging into one unified color and the archaic symbol once more present instead of his irises. Instinctively, he covered his eyes from anyone’s observation and his chakra fluctuated very dangerously. A warning and a vision overtook his entire being as the clones disintegrated into smoke and the rain of needles was put to stop. And without interference, the bolt hit its mark as he a surge of electrifying and burning pain flooded his senses.

He fell to his knees but it was not mainly due to the attack. Rather, it was mostly from the exhaustion and complimentary intake of his life. His breathing ragged as his eyes had now returned to its normal visage. There are notable damages inwardly to his body that much he is certain. After all, he could feel blood coming out of his throat. Looking at his opponents, he gritted his teeth and his hands closed into tight fists. The path had already been set. Earthen pillars which held him in place crumbled away as he managed to regain his bearing and stand on his feet once more. Blood dripped from his lips as he wiped it away with a thumb. ”I guess, we know what to do now.” He raised his right hand towards the sky as a screeching sound began to fill the area. Someone was going to be very angry at him. He could already imagine it. Enormous amount of chakra began to form around him along with the howls of wind echoing and a vortex forming around him.

The two ninja facing Ryuu appeared to examine the forming jutsu, though neither had much visible reaction to it. One cocked his head to the side, however, and met the other one’s eyes, motioning with a jerk of an injured hand to the left, closer to where Katsuro was fighting the leader of this little party. Both nodded, and with simultaneous handsigns, sunk deep into the earth, away from their would be killer.

A hand came down on Katsuro’s head, the fingers weaving dispassionately into his hair and hauling him upright by it, depositing him on increasingly-unsteady feet. He swayed dangerously, his vision fading in and out as he struggled to keep his chakra output even enough to maintain the mangekyō. It went out in one eye anyway, and he closed that one against the peculiar double-vision that resulted. With his other hand, Nobuo ran a thumb along the edge of the new cut along his cheekbone, the digit coming away with a smear of blood on it. It would seem that the Uchiha had managed to injure him after all, though not nearly so much as he himself was even now suffering. He was actually somewhat impressed that the boy was still conscious, considering just how much of him was broken, twisted, or ruptured. Still, it was disappointing. He was far from ready to fulfill his purpose. None of them were. Nobuo would have to drive them to it, like a shepherd drove sheep.

“Pathetic.” A hand shot out to wrap around the Uchiha’s neck, the feeble attempt to dodge rendered entirely moot. He squeezed the child’s windpipe until he was wheezing, one Sharingan eye defiantly glaring at him even as the precious oxygen was denied to his body. He’d been told to expect that much, at least. “If I so desired it, I could raze this pathetic village to the ground, and slaughter every last person within it. Including you. Fortunately, there are yet other designs for which its purpose can be greater than as a heap of ashes and bones.” He squeezed tighter, and the second Sharingan eye faded back into that keen, flinty silver instead. “Grow stronger, Katsuro Uchiha, you and the rest, else next we meet, all of you will perish.”

Sending a signal to the rest of his organization within the village, he signaled a withdrawal. The test had proceeded as planned, but the results had been a complete failure on the part of this place to live up to its reputation. Was this really what a ninja village was? How easy, then, it would be, to destroy every last one of them. Their complacency would do them in.

And he would be only too happy to help.

Dropping Katsuro to the ground, Nobuo made a series of signs, and then he and his entire battle party simply disappeared from the senses.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kiriko Gekkō Character Portrait: Katsuro Uchiha Character Portrait: Rei Hinode Character Portrait: Ryuu Tsukino
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Kiriko revelled in the connection between her fist and the other nin: it was something she was missing, the ability to literally rip apart her opponent, even if her opponent was still in one piece. Panting more heavily than she was used to, Kiriko gave one last smile before taking an attempt to walk forward, only to collapse. Her eyes wide, Kiriko barely got her hands down in time in an attempt to catch herself, but ultimately just fell down. What... What's going on? That was her last thought before the feeling in her legs disappeared completely, only to be replaced by an intense buring sensation. Another muffled scream was emitted as it felt like her legs simply had erupted in flames; or more specifically, the chakra of her legs was replaced with fire. Kiriko could feel the fire slowly creep past her legs and slowly make it to the torso, all the while her body was slowly losing motor function.

Kiriko was finally able to tilt her head enough to see her opponent, who instead of finishing her off like any normal person would, instead grabbed his partner and vanished. His face was still ingrained in her mind as she swore at him profusely; she had dragged her limp body towards where he had taken off before her arms simply refused their master, and she was stopped. All she could do now was muffle her screams with the ground itself while the poison continued its conquest of her body, seemingly setting her insides on fire while disabling her ability to move. She simply laid there now, unable to writhe in pain, unable to see anything as she was only able to stare at the unchanging dirt.

As her vision blurred and her speech began to slur, all she could think of was Takko and her failure. Was there any real point in continuing now that she had failed? Was this an attack on the two Kages to remove the talks of peace? Kiriko didn't really care what their motives were; it didn't matter now anyway. She was no longer fit to be the partner of the Raikage: she was supposed to be his protector and partner, his eyes where he could not see. If she could not beat rogue ninjas that threatened his life, what good was she? As the poison overtook her once again, she couldn't muffle her scream this time as her jaw no longer completely followed her directions. Her mind was cleared, as if the poison burned her thoughts away, and left her with only two words which she struggled to say. "End.... Me...."

“Not today.” The voice, as it turned out, belonged to Rei. Her team had suffered damage, certainly, including impressive cracks to the Raikage’s granite armor and her own broken leg, but a quick application of healing chakra and she was at least functional enough to go check on the other members of her team, leaving Takko and Kosan in care of Kiyoko’s abilities. But she wasn’t taking the chance that some Leaf medics would arrive and not prioritize the treatment of Kiriko or Nari, wherever they were, and let them die for that reason.

As it happened, she’d found Kiriko first, and from the state of her, that was a good thing—she didn’t look to be in good shape, and someone with as much willpower as she had wouldn’t be down like this unless there was just no way she could possibly stand again. Her pride wouldn’t allow for it, or at least that was how Rei saw things. The cause of this state was evident enough when she saw the bite wound on Kiriko’s ankle, and the medic-nin grimaced. A quick scan of the area revealed that Katsuro was unconscious—she’d have to check on him next. He had helped Zetsu out in his information hunt, after all. Ryuu was also there, but considering that he was conscious and not facedown in the dirt, she’d have to wait on asking after him either.

“Takko’s fine,” she said, knowing that Kiri’s first priority would likely be the Raikage. That was as it should be, and Rei understood it perfectly. “So is Zetsubō, but I’m not sure where Nariko is. She may have gotten caught up somewhere in the fighting.” Never one to waste time, Rei worked as she talked, reaching into the pouch tied to her thigh and drawing out a small vial of a dark fluid. Usually, this technique required that someone be restrained, because of the pain of it, but judging from the way Kiri wasn’t moving anyway, thrashing was not going to be an issue.

“Sorry, Gekkō, but this is going to hurt,” Rei informed her calmly, using a chakra scalpel to open the bite wound wider, connecting the two points of entry on her teammate’s ankle. The painful part, though, was when she had to force the fluid into Kiri’s bloodstream, using it to draw and suspend all of the poison in her arteries and veins. It was not a nice process, not in the slightest, but it did draw out the remainder of the toxin, and Rei ushered it back into the vial, which she corked. The whole thing took extreme precision even for a medic, but it worked. “I’ll have a proper antidote in a few hours tops, so take it easy until then.” Most of Kiri’s motor function would be back already, but for full recovery, the antidote was advised, but she’d need time to make it, even after she’d finished checking over everyone else.

Kiriko was genuinely surprised when she heard a voice from overhead, especially one that she recognized. She would have moved her head to acknowledge the voice, but it didn't matter even if she could: Kiriko recognized Rei's voice even if she couldn't see her. Kiriko didn't know how to respond to Rei's counteractive statement to her own -she remained motionless as Rei continued to work, unable to really focus on the words that Rei really spoke besides the fact that Takko was alive and well. While the feeling of relief washed over her, guilt instantly replaced it as she realized that she had been useless to him; her job was as his protector, and if she couldn't manage that task, what good was she? Kiri's whole life had been dedicated to finishing missions flawlessly to protect those she cared for, and yet here she was: basically a dead weight.

Kiriko heard another mumble from Rei - the word 'hurt' was used, if she heard correctly - before a dull pain ripped through her ankle near the cut. What happened next, Kiriko could not aptly describe with words: all she felt was searing pain, as if her insides were being forced out of her body through a narrow tube. The pain instantly caught her off guard, and her screams pierced the previously still air until she was able to muffle them. The next few moments of searing pain were in muffled silence as Kiri's body writhed weakly in distress, until it suddenly stopped. Panting, Kiri heard words in the distance, as each word became more and more clear; something about a proper antidote and taking it easy if she recalled correctly. Slowly, her body began to revitalize itself, and the feeling that she was actually alive began to creep its way back.

Not one for taking advice from others, as soon as Kiri felt she was strong enough to raise herself, she struggled to prop her head up from the ground so that she could see the world, and Rei as she left. Before she was out of earshot, however, Kiriko mumbled out a few coherent words: "I.... Thank you, Rei." It sounded much more bashful than she had anticipated, but it mattered not; she could always use the excuse that she had just been poisoned. Nevertheless, she wanted to get to Hiko as fast as she could - then again, it was hard to do so when your legs felt weaker than the leaves of the trees in autumn. She would have to wait, no matter how hard she pushed herself.

Rei, sensitive to Kiriko’s attitude towards such things, didn’t make a big deal out of her tone, nor of the circumstances under which she’d found her. “Not a problem, Kiriko.” At this point, she figured the other woman was best left to decide how she wanted to handle the situation herself, though Rei was sure that Takko would be glad to see her. Rather than saying this directly, however, she simply moved onto the next patient—the Uchiha.

He was in shit shape, to be completely honest, and she could hardly fault him for the fact that he was barely conscious. Kiriko’s screaming had produced some kind of instinctive reaction in him from the look of things, as he seemed to have been trying to orient himself in that direction, as if to help. Of course, there was nothing to help with, but he was hardly in a position to know that. Still, looking at him now, half-curled in on himself, bleeding from no fewer than two dozen wounds, unfocused eyes still locked in the direction from which he’d heard the pained cries of another human being… she wondered if he was really so cold as he wanted everyone else to think. Well, perhaps it wasn’t any of her business in the first place, but she couldn’t help but feel that it was when people were really trodden down that they showed you their true colors, and his just looked more red than black to her.

She put the thought from her mind, though, as she knelt at his side, talking even though she was uncertain whether he’d even be able to process her words. A voice in the proximity, lacking panic, was sometimes enough to be of assistance. “Hang in there, Uchiha, I’ve got you.” She wondered where his own village’s triage teams were, though honestly they were probably overtaxed, working from the inside out, and wouldn’t be this far to the edge of the village for a while yet.

She didn’t want to risk moving him too much, for fear of aggravating his injuries, but she did need to get a look at them. The uniform shirt he was wearing came off easily enough under the edge of a chakra scalpel, and the fact that she had to peel it off his skin was not a good sign. She heard him make a sound, something like a hiss, when she removed it as efficiently as possible, and she winced at the crosshatched wounds. Whomever he’d been against had not been kind to him—this looked more like ritualized torture than a real fight, and Rei swallowed thickly. She knew the difference better than most people would ever have to. “I’ve got you,” she repeated, the words Shizu had once spoken to her the only ones easy to her lips in this particular moment.

Putting him back together as well as she could wasn’t quite the advanced process that poison extraction was, but she had no doubt that it was taking a lot out of her. She’d used a considerable amount of chakra already today, and while she was always working on increasing her reserves of it, she was only a bit better than the average ninja in that area at the moment. By the time the worst of Katsu’s wounds—the largest slashes and the most shattered of the breakages—were done, she’d had to use her chakra to empty his lungs of blood three times, and that took a bit more than healing the average cut.

He was out cold by then, the strain no doubt more than his body could really take at present, and she was just glad he had so much chakra of his own to work with—almost as much as Takko had, actually, when he claimed Matatabi was being a bit more cooperative than she usually was. That much meant that however brutal the battle, it had not been all used up, and she could put some of it to work helping heal his body.

Rei sat back, exhaling in a sigh and wiping the back of a hand across her head, turning to the last of the shinobi still present. “Anything I can do for you, Tsukino?” she asked, though she was showing signs that her fatigue was catching up with her. Her breaths were steady, but abnormally deep, and she’d forgone the crouch to sit seiza, so as to conserve energy.

Ryuu looked towards the voice who addressed him. His mismatched eyes were glazed with something. However, it quickly dissipated and reflected the visage of someone he knew well about. It was none other than her. He noticed that she was not exhausted by physical effort, but of tending to the wounded shinobi present in the area. She apparently used her chakra intensely and judging by that, it only meant those two suffered heavy injuries. In any case, his answer to the question did not come easily as he prioritized looking at the others who had been treated already. Uchiha was still alive as well as Gekkō. Of course, they should be. It was expected on his part.

"I'm fine."It was a short answer as he turned his back on her and began to walk away. Right now, he would like to be alone and get some sleep which had been unceremoniously disturbed. Yet, he ignored the fact that he has some internal bleeding and more importantly, his hand and arm were now sporting cellular damages from the jutsu he was about to use earlier. It was a backlash he had expected when it was not thrown away or even stabilized. That is why he had concluded before that there would be a furious scolding from that person. Well, he would accept that.

Midway in his walk, he stopped as blood came out of his mouth. He covered with his other hand as the other was now unusable until proper treatment had been done to it. If not, he would probably be maimed but that was not his concern at all. "Tsk." He clicked his tongue as he wiped his mouth with the back of his uninjured arm and continued to walk on. It would seem that he needed some medical assistance, but, he would not be seeking the one who had offered if she can do anything for him. Instead, he would be seeking the help of another. That should not be difficult, however; the question is if he will reach there with enough provisions of his present condition.

He was simply being stubborn at the wrong time. It seemed his bad mood was still a continuing process.

Rei didn’t miss the faint splash that accompanied a few drops of blood hitting the ground, nor could she mistake the sound for anything else. Sighing, she glanced down at Katsuro. “Are all of you Konoha shinobi this stubborn, or did I just get stuck dealing with the proud fools?” Being unconscious, there was of course no way he could answer her, and she sighed again, knowing this was going to be murder on her still-tender foot. But it wasn’t like anyone else was in a fit state to do it. So it was with some difficulty that she lifted the taller—though not much taller, thankfully—Uchiha, slinging him over her back and leaning forward slightly so that gravity would do some of her work for her.

Glancing over at Kiriko, she pressed her lips into a grim line. “I’ve got to get this one to the hospital for more treatment. Do you think you can go check on Takko?” She expected that the Raikage would be fine, in all honesty, but Kiri really needed to see that for herself, if Rei’s intuition about her current mental state was anywhere near correct.

Fortunately, the hospital, located near to the Hokage’s building, seemed to be the general direction in which Ryuu was heading as well. Birds, meet stone. Jogging a bit so as to catch up, she tried not to wince when the pressure on her foot sent little needles of pain up from her ankle. They really hadn’t been kind with that one, had they? “Oh for goodness’ sake,” she groused, shaking her head upon observing the blood streaking across the back of his one arm and how the other hung uselessly at his side. “It’s fine if you trust one of your own village’s medics more than me. I won’t be offended. But at least let me stabilize you so you can make it to one of them.”

Kiriko did not acknowledge Rei's first comment as she went to help out the other fighters that were just as unlucky as Kiriko, but in a completely different manner. Kiriko struggled to keep her head up as she watched Rei walk over to the absolutely battered Uchiha, and studied the reclusive man. He reminded her of herself, really - only with a chakra that was so potent with potential it was sickening. The fact that she was able to sense his chakra once again meant that she was regaining a lot of her cognitive abilities as well, even if the sense was somewhat dull for the amount of chakra she had read off of him earlier. Kiriko used that as a marker that she should be able to move soon, and made the mistake of attempting to prop up to a possible standing position. Instead, her body collapsed on her, and she was instead on her elbows, panting. Seemed as if the poison's effects felt like holding on for the fun of it, and weren't the speediest to give her back the strength to get up yet.

As she struggled to get to a standing position, her mind wandered into some seriously dangerous territory - almost as dangerous as after the war. The faces of her new enemies kept going through her head as she finally made it to a sitting position. Their every feature would be engrained into her mind as she knew she would hunt them to the ends of the earth. She had no other purpose if she didn't; Hiko would find somebody more suitable to guard him, seeing as how she failed miserably at performing a simple task, and she would devote her life to the extermination of those that dared to ruin her reputation. Kiriko's mind continued to dwell as she finall pushed herself up into a shakey standing position as she began to envision how she would find them, what she would do to them: she could even taste the blood that they would gush after she was done-

Rei's comment took Kiriko out of her dark corner, to which she was silently grateful for. That was a place in which she rarely came out of, for it required Hiko to make a comment, her mother scolded her for brooding or some sheer willpower, which she had none currently. Kiriko made a stern nod in Rei's direction - as stern as one coming off of the effects of a neurotoxin could, anyway - and watched as Rei hobbled off with the Uchiha. With her sensory ability limited, Kiriko had to guess that Hiko was still in the Compound, and began the slow walk over. For onlookers, Kiriko probably looked like a frail old woman with little to no ability to walk; her head was only tilted up enough to make sure she didn't run into things, her back hunched over, her pace slow and jagged. Each step was exhausting, but at least her legs were obeying her and moving at a pace, instead of lying limp beside her. Count the small blessings, she guessed. Her train of thought began to wander a bit as the walk painfully continued forward, as she mulled over how horrid her kimono must look from the outside, with its new stains and tears as well as her missing sandals.

When Kiriko thought that she would have been out of the village by now, she looked up a little more to realize she almost ran into the pole to the Uchiha Compound, and gave a ragged sigh of relief. Putting up a hand on the pole to stabalize herself, Kiriko caught her breath before moving towards the building she had been sleeping in for a while now. She couldn't really see the destruction that had been caused, nor did she care. Her thoughts became narrow as she reached the door and nearly collapsed in exhaustion, panting profusely as she thought of only one thing: finding Hiko.

There it was again, the persistence which Ryuu currently does not appreciate at the moment. If it has been any other day or perhaps even time, he would have taken such a trait as an interesting note. Unfortunately, he was not in the mood to say at the very least. His wounds? Injuries? They were inconsequential to him. Really, they were. He was not going to die from them. That fact was pretty much he was certain of. So to effect, there was really no need for her pestering. Yes, he was starting to see her as a pest. "Should you not treat yourself first?" He stated with a tone wrapped in concession without even looking at her direction as he continued with his pace. It would appear that he had noticed her condition even if it had appeared that he did not care about anything around him right now.

His two-colored eyes reflected the visage of the hospital which meant that they were near. All he had to do was to endure a bit more and soon enough, this will be over. However, his body failed him a bit as he made a sudden stop. With his available hand, he covered his mouth as blood spilled forth much like a riveting fountain. As it would appear, the internal damage caused by getting hit directly by that lightning jutsu did more than he had anticipated. Really, he would like nothing more but to crush those attackers until there would be no traces of them even bones. Yes, that would be fun. Yet, there was a different intended course for them to take and he must allow them.

There was another fit of vomiting blood as he ultimately sat on the ground unceremoniously. He was getting tired from such actions and soon enough made himself comfortable by lying down. Closing his eyes, he felt the aches, pain, and the tiredness engulfing his entire body. It was probably due to the adrenaline pumping within him earlier had already dissipated. "Hinode-san." He stated with a voice akin to that of child with a dislike of waking up early. "You shouldn't force yourself too much." There was once again his mask put into place that even beyond those fictitious smile provided a tint of concern. "I just need rest." He decided on that as his breathing seemed to endure a normal pace. However, his wounds would not heal without the needed stimulation by the medics. "So do you."

She wasn’t sure what was the cause of this stubborn insistence on being fine. Sometimes it was a pride thing, usually a male pride thing, though women could have it too. Sometimes, other shinobi considered the skills of medical nin to be somehow inferior, because their skills were not the flashiest or most straightforwardly combative, and apparently some people took that to mean they were less respectable. Still others had a paranoia about others interfering with their own bodies. While this might just be some kind of pride, she was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the other possibilities, leaving the other option to be that he just had some personal issue with her.

Well, fine, but whatever it was, it wasn’t a good reason to refuse help, and she shook her head. They were both heading to the hospital anyway, and she just decided that if something happened on the way, she’d address it, and if not, she’d let him have his way. Shifting the Uchiha slightly on her back, she responded with the sort of calm straightforwardness that characterized her medical training. “I have treated myself. My leg’s a bit tender, but if you’d seen it before, you’d understand.” She left it at that—there was no need to whine or waste too much breath. It would probably only annoy them both at this point.

She drew the line, however, when he collapsed into a seated position on the ground. Lowering herself a little more carefully, mindful of her passenger, she eased Katsuro onto the ground so that she could move a little more freely. “Sure we do,” she agreed readily enough. “And we’ll both get it—when we walk into the hospital under our own steam. I can’t carry two of you.” She raised an eyebrow and half-smiled, but it was pretty clear that she was entertaining exactly no objections about whether or not she was allowed to stem that internal bleeding. Her hands were already encased in the needed chakra, and she splayed her fingers over his back, where his lungs were located, such that her hand was lodged against the ground, and her other hand mirrored the positioning in front.

It wasn’t a full heal by any means, just enough to stem the flow of his internal lacerations. She could not help but notice, however, the extensive cellular damage he’d undergone, and traces of scarring from the same, over an extended period of time, as though he repeatedly did something that caused him serious internal injury. It was similar in principle almost to a technique she knew for rapid cellular regeneration, one that called on the body’s ability to replace all of its cells early. There were a finite number of such things in any person’s lifetime, just like there was a finite number of times he’d be able to do… whatever it was, before he expired.

He had to know. There was no way you could do that to your body and not be aware that something was terribly wrong. She could only assume it was the side effect of some jutsu or another, but it seemed a steep price to pay. Her lips pressed together, but she remained silent on the matter. It wasn’t really any of her business—he owed her no explanations. So once she was sure he’d stopped bleeding and could breathe more easily, she withdrew her hands. “There. Wasn’t so terrible, I hope?”

That was pretty much useless for having his bravado about not receiving any kind of her aid. There are certain reasons in which he did not like her to help him. Of course, he could not say that outright to her. Which would be odd if one is judging of his persona, well, it was just temporary. Eventually, he will be able to say it or she would find out. But, it was not now. In any case, he could not help but sigh in light irritation as he closed his eyes. This time, he did not resist nor say anything against her initiative to stop his internal bleeding. Actually, it truly helped as his body felt a bit better. He could not deny her an answer as she asked about his opinion in regards to her assistance. "You just can't keep your hands off me, can you?" There was a smile filled with mischief upon his face and a tone which insinuated a certain matter.

Regardless, he stood from his position. It is true that she stabilized his condition. So, he was not a person without manners. Actually, he really was as it is more fun. But then again, he is aware of his responsibility. Instead, he looked at the unconscious Uchiha. The prodigy was beaten rather badly. There was no doubt in his mind that Katsuro's pride had been damaged. Anyone will suffer the same outcome as the enemy group left them in a complete bind. It seemed like they were nothing more, but a toy when they are bored. Well, it was fine. The people will rebuild what was lost. So, there should be no problems. For now...

"I will be taking him." With one arm, he heaved Katsuro to his shoulder without even an ounce of delicacy. Well, he was knew that Uchicha was tough. So, that should be no problem. In addition, he would not be taking any complaints from her, this is simply how it is needed to be done. His mismatched eyes glanced at her form. He knew that she had been presented with something odd about his personal health. But, this would remain a secret and he does not owe her anything to explain. Moreover, he has no intentions for anyone to know about his odd condition. So, it will remain the same. Although, there will be something he will do. "Thanks." Without much warning, he placed a kiss on her forehead and then fluidly went on his way to the hospital.

Rei sighed, bringing a hand to her forehead for a moment before she dropped it again. “Weirdo."

Setting

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Character Portrait: Zetsubō Kosan Character Portrait: Kiriko Gekkō Character Portrait: Takehiko Yamamoto Character Portrait: Kiyoko Uzumaki
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Kiyoko sighed, allowing her shoulders to slump as she scanned the area. Rei had left to take care of the others, leaving her with Kosan and the Raikage. She could at least tend to their wounds while she could. She applied the necessary means to at least fix her arm so it wouldn't be completely useless. She'd need both arms regardless to heal whatever injuries Kosan and the Raikage suffered. She glanced at the both of them, assessing which one would need treatment first, and decided to heal Kosan. The Raikage was a Jinchūriki, he'd be fine for now. A Jinchūriki's ability to heal on their own was good enough that she could tend to the ones who weren't so lucky. She approached Kosan tentatively, tilting her head to the side and raised a brow.

"You get to be the first one receiving treatment," she spoke, casting a side glance towards Takehiko before returning her attention back to Kosan. "And don't say 'help him first because he's the Raikage,' either. He will be fine on his own until you are taken care of first," she stated, jabbing a finger in Takehiko's direction in the process. She blinked mildly, glanced towards Takehiko, and waved, assuring him that she was going to work on Kosan first.

Kosan waited a few moments to ensure she was not coming back for letting his Tempest fall, the crackling and howling of wind dying down as quickly as it had erupted which left his hair in quite the state of disarray. He had not had time to tie it back as he normally did, and he could only wince at the thought of brushing it later and the sheer amount of knots that he would find. But the hair was his, and he was loath to cut it.

The assassins had been... odd, but it seemed they weren't the only ones attacked, but he still could not grasp the why of the situation. Why had they announced their presence so boldly? Why hadn't they used the element of surprise? Why hadn't they all sought to overwhelm them? Why? The woman... her power was impressive, and Kosan was sure she was holding back as he and Takko had been doing, the idea that there could be more people of her level was distressing. He was pulled out of his musings by the sudden flare of pain in his ribs, the adrenaline no longer dulling the pain to where his mind could ignore it. Looking down, there was a large purple bruise covering a good portion of his right ribs, moving his hands down, he probed them feeling for any broken bones before pulling his hand back as he let out a sharp hiss through his clenched teeth. Nothing too serious, seems she had hit him with one of her Earth Jutsu, he was no medic, but if he had to guess, a few of his ribs had hairline fractures.

Kosan's blue eyes snapped up to Kiyoko as she closed the distance between them and made her demands clear. He could not help but think, once again, that her hair truly did match her personality. He let his blue eyes roam her face before meeting her own, yes, it seemed he wasn't going to be able to tell her off even if he could, "I would never turn down your offer," Kosan said his half smile falling to a hiss of annoyance as the words causes his ribs to expand and shake, putting pressure on the fractures, "I value my life far too much to risk it against your... fiery wrath."

Takko only chuckled at the medic’s demands. Kosan wasn’t nearly as stubborn or prideful as some of the others when it came to accepting the help of medic-nin, perhaps because he’d been married to one and his best friend was another. Perhaps it was only because his quest for vengeance tended to injure him a lot, and he’d simply accepted that needing their assistance was the price he paid for that. Whatever the case, he was not at all difficult to convince, and the Raikage was glad. It pulled at him in a way little else did to see his friends in pain—and that was what most people would think was his first mistake. To him, they were not and never had been purely subordinates. They were his friends, his family, even, and that made him vulnerable in ways no amount of stoneskin could protect him against.

But there was little he could do about it, and nothing he would. He preferred things this way, even if he was more vulnerable because of it. Takehiko fully and genuinely believed that a person fought better when they were fighting for the things they truly cared about. Maybe not with better technique or more elegant execution, but better in the sense that defeat was not accepted. And that willpower was worth whatever pain he had to endure, because they were worth it.

Glancing down, he examined himself in a cursory fashion. He had a tendency not to notice when he was becoming injured, so it was always important to check. He noted that his granite “skin” was cracked in a few places, and raised an eyebrow. That was impressive, and took much more strength than the average shinobi would ever possess. “Would you look at that,” he murmured. It would seem that his life really had been in considerable danger. He counted himself a fortunate man that things had ended when they had. This whole exchange struck him as more of a feint than an actual blow, but he wondered what they were supposed to be missing, when their attention turned to it. What was the real attack to be, and why?

He let the jutsu fade, his flesh returning to normal, as unblemished as it ever got, considering the number of scars he sported, most of them white lines crosshatching his tanned, callused skin. A few of them were blotchier, like old burns, or pink in color instead of pearly. He flexed his hands a few times, about to glance back over at the other two, when a small noise caught his attention. Turning, his visible eye widened in surprise when he caught sight of Kiriko, looking much worse for wear and leaning against the architecture to support herself. “Kiri.” The word was spoken low and urgent, entirely lacking his usual bombastic cheer, and he was beside her as fast as he could be, which considering just who and what he was, meant nearly instantaneously.

A large hand found its way carefully to her shoulder, providing additional support for her to lean on, though gently enough that he wouldn’t inadvertently aggravate any injuries. “Are you all right? Have you been treated?” His expression was one of undisguised worry, and why should it not be?

Kiriko had barely entered the building before a large hand grasped her shoulder gently, which caused her to stiffen instantly until relaxing at the knowledge of who the other person was; it seemed that Hiko would find her first, rather than the other way around. While she wasn’t normally one to use him as a giant, vertical bed, Kiri found herself leaning against him to keep her balance. She was still panting a little heavy, but a small smile found its way to her lips as she relaxed just a little against him. The words he spoke were low and troubled, and Kiriko had difficulty not giving a bark of laughter from the situation, even though she knew it would seriously hurt if she did. "I don’t recall seeing that face whenever a meeting was going on. How the tables have turned, huh...” The sarcasm and harsh undertone she threw at herself was subtle, yet blatant. The fact that she was requiring another to stand was obvious enough that she wasn’t good enough for the job.

Her legs got weak again as she tried to look up and focus on Hiko’s face, but got a little dizzy and decided against it as she thought of how to actually answer Hiko’s question. ”Being all right is subjective; I don’t think I’ve been alright for a while. Pretty sure Mom knew that too.” Kiri’s mind was wandering again, her path of interaction diverting at the smallest change in thought, as it seemed to do. She finally met Takko’s eyes, the piercing blue now seemingly clouded as she couldn’t think straight still. "Currently, I’m not fine. I...” Kiriko’s mind clouded over as she recounted all of the details again, and her head fell back down to look at the dirt. "I failed, Hiko. I... failed. Hard.” The words came out softly, almost painfully, but they were the truth; she had failed.

Kiyoko raised an amused brow, the corners of her lips tilting up slightly as she regarded Kosan. "Fiery wrath?" she questioned, rolling up her sleeves in the process. "My wrath shouldn't be what you are concerned about," she stated, a small smirk forming at her lips. "And you'd better not turn down my offer. I only offer it once," she continued, smirking fully as she placed a hand on her hip. She shook her head softly and sighed, moving her arms so that she could fully assess the situation. It was a good thing he wasn't wearing his shirt, otherwise she'd have had to ask him to remove it. This way, she could see the damage already and get to work quickly. She could see already, on his right side, the large bruise on his side forming. She pursed her lips together, placing her forefinger and index finger along the side to feel against it.

"Well, I'm sure you're already aware that your ribs are partially broken," she muttered more to herself than to him. She continued feeling against his ribs to find how far the damage went, and was satisfied that the damage wasn't too severe. Her eyes glanced towards Takehiko as he walked away, spotting Kiriko off into the distance, before returning her attention back to Kosan. She sighed and summoned her chakra to her hand, waiting for it to manifest correctly before she began applying her Shōsen Jutsu. Once his ribs were taken care of, she grinned broadly and placed her hand back against her hip. "There, that should do it. Anything else I can do for you?" she stated, raising a brow in the process.

Kosan raised an eyebrow in curiosity, not afraid of her wrath? Well, did that mean he should tremble at her generosity? He opened his mouth to tell her something truly witty, or at least, it sounded so in his mind, but his thoughts were cut off when she touched his rib with her fingers, the light pressure earning a small hiss that escaped from his clenched teeth. It was easy to ignore pain in battle or when he was focused on it, but he had not been prepared for it which was more his fault then hers.

The pain was short lived, and his attention was quickly nabbed by the appearance of his fellow Kumo Shinobi, Kiriko, she did... not look well. If anything, she looked far worse then either Raikage or himself. It confirmed his belief that they weren't the only group targeted which made the situation slightly more... complex if nothing else. Still, he was surprised to see her in such a condition, she was a fierce Shinobi.

Kosan eyed the two of them, ignoring the feeling of the alien chakra entering his system, or the slight unsettling feeling that came with bones being fused back together. It was a fairly short process, and it wasn't his first time being injured, so it was something he had grown accustomed to coping with.

He turned his blue eyes back towards Kiyoko, "Unless you have a spare shirt and a cup of tea hidden somewhere on your person, I believe I shall be fine. Kiriko, however, does not look to be in prime condition."

Takehiko looked less than pleased; in truth it was Kiri's words that upset him most of all. Still, here and now was not the time to be having this discussion. She was obviously in need of rest, and he still had to find and ensure the safety of the rest of his cohort. Then there would probably be meetings, and accusations... he wasn't looking forward to any of it. But first things were first.

“Okay, well... everyone go rest. I'll find Rei and Nari and get them back here, too. In the meantime, focus on recovering, and don't answer any questions without me here. I'm not sure who is responsible for this, beyond those people we just fought, but it's clear that they knew where we were, and probably why, so we have to be careful." He looked down at Kiri, feeling very strongly the urge to pull her into a hug, but he was also worried about what that might do to her injuries--and perhaps her dignity. She took her duty very seriously, and he didn't want her to think that he was any less serious about it than she was. He'd never invalidate the effort she or anyone else put forward, especially not when it was on his behalf.

So for now, it was business. But later... later he would be tracking her down. Because she hadn't failed at all, and she needed to understand that.

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Character Portrait: Kiriko Gekkō Character Portrait: Takehiko Yamamoto
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A day and a half after the attack, Takehiko was finally free for more than five minutes at once. There had been a lot of tense negotiations to deal with, including the painstaking process of establishing that he and his ninja had nothing to do with the attack. They’d figured out, once Katsuro had woken up and been able to give a statement of what he’d learned, that even between all of them, there wasn’t much information. But there was enough that they had great reason to be concerned.

Those ninja not only possessed large amounts of very strange chakra, as Kiriko reported, but also seemed to be capable of recovering very quickly from wounds that should have been fatal. There was no accounting for it—even the Hokage’s own rapid cellular regeneration techniques weren’t that effective. It was also difficult to get a handle on the group’s goal—they’d attacked an entire village with about thirty soldiers and three commanders, and in truth, they’d only been repelled because they’d chosen to leave. While a few of the most experienced and powerful shinobi here had held their own relatively well, that was definitely not the case for the vast majority—even skilled jōnin and ANBU operatives. In total, more than fifty Leaf shinobi had been killed, representing a significant dent in their fighting forces. The village, like his own, was simply not that large.

It was clear that, whatever else might be true, they were going to need all the help they could get to figure this out and stop it from happening again. It was Takehiko’s first instinct to offer his help and that of his people, for there was no reason to believe they would not become targets as well. But… he also could not forget the reason he was here in the first place, and so he’d been forced to place a price on his aid: namely, a neutral peace treaty and a trade contract that left both villages better off but neither at a significant advantage. He hated negotiating like that, but he had to keep the security of his people in mind, and at the very least, this attack had the benefit of making the Council much more amenable to his requests… and much faster at deciding things.

So, done with that for the time being but with the promise of more meetings looming over his head for tomorrow, Takehiko decided to spend his evening addressing something that had been nagging at him the whole time. For now foregoing much-needed sleep, he searched for Kiriko. He wasn’t a sensor by any means, and his chakra-reading abilities were a crude metric at best, but he knew hers better than anyone’s, for obvious reasons, and so he was eventually able to find her, through a process of refining his directions as he got closer.

The evening was cool, and rather quiet, absent the usual drinking parties or clandestine excursions of lovers or sneaking children out past their curfews. Everyone was spending too much time working to restore what was destroyed to have much time for leisure. When he found her, Takehiko strolled to a stop beside her, crossing his arms casually over his chest. “Feeling any better?” He inquired, stealing a sidelong glance down at her from his uncovered eye.

Kiriko, during the last day and a half, had spent most of it recovering; and basically being the prime example to their case that the Kumo nin had nothing to do with the attack. Rei had eventually given her an antidote, which caused enough of a disturbance within her stomach to cause her to puke not too long after it had digested. Kiri assumed that it was to purge her body of any remaining poison, but she certainly wished that it didn't have to burn that much. While Kiriko hadn't planned on sharing any of her knowledge outside of her select few, it became obvious that she was going to be needed to report to the Kage about the interesting nin. She hadn't been feeling the greatest throughout her report, which became obvious when they released her as she began to sway from weakeness. Sure enough, Kiri left the room promptly, and fell asleep soon after returning to her room.

Today had been not that much different - only instead of weakness, she felt despair. The weakness had left most of her body, but it began to remind her of her own shortcomings. She watched from above as mere civilians gave their assistance in the reconstruction, while she did nothing. Sure, Hiko had negotiated that the Kumo nin were allowed to help (Kiri was actually shocked at his sudden dipolomatic skills) yet Kiriko refused to assist. There was something about how the villagers looked at her, or how she looked at them; she looked at them with indifference, they looked at her with distrust. So she assisted them from the shadows, resupplying items that she knew she could, and musing over her own thoughts.

Her musings took her deep into the night without her knowledge, and she only truly noticed the world around her at the familiar tone of Hiko's voice. She had already known he was coming, but had never bothered to register it nor pay attention. "Physically, yes. Realistically, no." She looked down in her silence, noticing that she was hugging her kneels. Her kimono looking a little better now that it wasn't caked in dirt. She began to relive the moments of the battle from those days ago, her anger at herself and those that hurt her welling as she stared forward. "I failed. I lost against two pathetic excuses for ninja simply because they know their neurotoxins." Obviously, Kiriko was bitter about it - even if the two ninja she was fighting weren't as weak nor as pathetic as she was making them out to be. Her stubborness and pride, however, refused to let her see them as anything but lower rank.

Her hatred continued as she seethed internally, as she mused over the next time they fought; she would train effortlessly, day and night until she saw them again. She almost started to visualize what she would do to them, but realized what she was doing and stopped cold to hang her head, the images not entirely leaving her. "I'm a failure at being a protector; yet I can't stop thinking about the next time I see them, what I would do to them. I just..." Kiriko stopped midsentence, knowing that she wasn't helping her case, and just kept her head down in annoyance. The whole situation was messed up, and it didn't look like it was getting better.

Takehiko sighed heavily, dropping down in place so that he was sitting next to her rather than standing. While it cut his height effectively in half to do so, he was still at a pretty lofty altitude compared to her. The palm of his large hand found the crown of her head, and his fingers mussed her hair a little, the calluses catching just a little on the strands. Well, what could he say? He was made for rougher things than trying to help people feel better. He somehow always managed to feel like bull in a china shop in situations that were more about diplomacy. Even a lot of what he’d managed here had come from old advice from his teacher and more specific suggestions from Rei, who was much better at getting people to do what she wanted than he’d ever been.

But still… it was this stuff that was really important. More important than being able to take a guy out or master a new jutsu. At least… he was becoming increasingly convinced of that. “There’s no need to beat yourself up about this, Kiri,” he said, his tone patient and careful rather than inflected with his usual careless boisterousness. “I mean, if you think about it one way, nobody really succeeded this time—none of us were prepared for what we were facing, but they clearly knew a great deal about us. It’s enough that we survived.” It was certainly true that not all the Leaf ninja had, after all. Things could have gone much worse.

“But if you prefer to think about it differently… your mission was to protect me, right? To make sure I didn’t die? Well…” he spread his free arm out to his side and shrugged, a subtle smile playing at his mouth. “Here I am, alive and well.” And who was to say? Perhaps those two she had fought, if they’d reached him, would have made the difference between his life and his death. Battle was far too chaotic and unpredictable to know these things for certain. Even the strongest shinobi could be overwhelmed by another, if the circumstances were right. “And, just as importantly, here you are, and you’re alive too. That means there’s still a chance to put things right.” Or so Kai had always told them, anyway. As long as they lived one more day, they had one more chance. It was important not to squander them, because everyone ran out eventually.

"Since when did your diplomatic comforting skills suddenly spike?" Kiriko's words were dry as she gave him a half hearted smile, jabbing at his usual inability to form words that represented anything close to a diplomatic mindset. Granted, Kiriko didn't either; the difference was that Kirko knew how to and had before, while Hiko always seemed to bumble it up. His hand did feel nice on her head though, even if he could easily pick her up if pressure was added by his gargantuan hands. The scenario reminded her of the days before he had left to transverse the world - it felt like a different timeline, parallel to the current events that she was forced with. "You almost sound like Mom when you do that." Her way of being blunt while weaving her words around in a clever way had always been something Kiriko envied, but was never able to completely comprehend.

However, Kirko gave a sigh and dropped her head lower into her own knees as she stared out at the world. "You don't get it, do you? In my line of work, if I don't complete the objective, I fail; there is no draw. The fact that you are alive is not because of my abilities, but because of your own; ergo, I failed." Kiriko stared out at the world, her eyes burning at the stars. "If this were the past, I would be dead for this kind of failure; but since I'm not dead, I can still remove them. I can still repay their kindness for keeping me alive." Her tone dropped as the sentence wore on until her voice sounded like a deadweight. It was then that a shiver ran through her spine as she mentally shook herself; she had almost forgotten that Hiko was there, she was that mad. "I... nevermind." Kiri mumbled the rest, crestfallen at her situation; she was losing it again, just after she thought she was on the mend.

“Hey now,” Takehiko replied, managing to sound vaguely offended and not at all serious at the same time. “I’m not bad with people generally, you know. Just boring old people.” He grinned for a moment before it faded again, his head tilting to the side as she continued to speak. So that’s how she thought this worked, huh? If she didn’t save him herself, she’d somehow failed?

He made a sound suspiciously like a scoff at the back of his throat. “And what am I? Chopped liver? Just because your Raikage’s an idiot who prefers to throw himself into the fight instead of waiting for the cavalry to come by and save him doesn’t mean you’ve failed at anything, Kiri.” He probably did sound a lot like Kai right now, the one they both sometimes referred to as their mother. He dropped the hand on her head to her far shoulder and pulled her slightly sideways, into his side. He knew she wasn’t exactly the hugging type, and to be fair, he couldn’t exactly say that he was, either, but that was with other people. She was Kiri—and for him at least, that meant she wasn’t like other people at all. They’d known each other practically all their lives, been raised together, more or less. And though every last one of his friends and subordinates was important to him, she’d always be different because of that.

Leaning over and down, he propped his chin on her head instead, sighing heavily. “Well, in that case I’m sure glad I’m not them. You’re kinda scary sometimes, Kiri.” Despite his words, he didn’t sound afraid of her at all—and why should he be? It was definitely true that she had her issues, just like anyone did. The war, and their lives in general, had left none of them without scars. Some wore them on their skin, and some… some wore them in their minds and on their hearts. Huh—that was pretty good. He should write that down. “Just don’t forget to come back after it’s done, yeah?” That was the thing about her lapses that actually bothered him—the fear that one day, she wouldn't return from that state. That she’d leave him as surely as Kai had.

And then where would he be?

Kiriko tried hard to resist the urge to punch Hiko lightly in the side; after all, he did just call the diplomatic side of being Raikage boring, which wasn't a light offense to many. Yet a small, crooked smile appeared on her lips as she lowered her fist, happy to hear the humor that Hiko could bring about when he was bored. He continued to sound like Mother, as he even did the scoff to sound offended; then tried to piece what she had said together into a rebuttal, which wasn't as strong as Kiri had hoped. Granted, Hiko never truly understood her job, or her loyalty towards it, so she should have known that he would create many reasons why she hadn't failed.

Nevertheless, Kiriko's shoulder felt the brush of another hand as Hiko pulled her towards him. While normally this would have gotten the man flipped, Kiri almost fit into the large contours of his stomach perfectly, as she had done before. Hiko was the only person to ever truly hug her constantly, so Kiri had gotten used to the man's touch - even if it was rough, in a nice, soft way. Kiriko felt Hiko's chin on her head, almost boxing her in to his large physique, but she relented easily, as if she was melting into him. Perhaps it was due to her fatigue, or just because they hadn't done this in a long time, but Kiri relished in the contact, content to simply disappear into the world for the time being.

Her tiny body shook with her soft laughter when Hiko called her scary with such a monotonous voice; truly, how could he say such a thing so deadpan? It made it hard to truly trust whether or not he was telling the truth, but Kiriko didn't mind; Hiko was known for getting the wrong verbal annotations and expression. However, it did make her think slightly as he continued about her coming back, causing the reverberations to slowly dwindle into deep thought, a crease forming on her face. Damn straight she planned on getting it done. There was nothing that would stop her, besides her training to accomplish the mission at hand. She would be silent, and she would be deadly; without mercy, and without any hesitation.

Yet something dragged her out of that dark place; perhaps it was the warmth of Hiko, perhaps it was simply because she knew he was around. Regardless, Kiriko returned to the real world, and spoke after a few seconds of daze. "You're awfully stiff, Hiko - but that's what a lack of sleep does to you." She mused softly, as she seemed to lose train of thought as she could tell he hadn't slept for a while as she began to melt into his ribs. However, she was still rigid enough to support his head, as his chin was still on her crown. A moment passed, before a soft voice came from her once again. "I shall return, as there will be no stopping me." Kiriko stared at the world with hard eyes, only softened by the situation and her slight fatigue. She knew that to extract what she wanted from those that had beaten her, she would have to have every skill she could posess, every talent honed to a point; every lineage exploited.

"Hiko. Teach me the Black Lightning."

Takehiko was unusually silent for a long moment, before he nodded slowly, a motion she would not be able to see, but could feel considering their positioning. “If you want,” he replied, “we can start tomorrow, first thing in the morning.” But not just then. He needed a bit of a break, and more than that, she did too, whether she knew it or not.

Yawning after the manner of a large cat, he let his eyes fall half-shut. “You’re warm, you know that?” he half mumbled, apparently pleased with this observation of his.

"Good." A soft murmur came from her mouth, sounding slightly pleased with his decision. In truth, she had never understood why Kai had never taught her the Black Lightning; while they had technically taken it from the Raikage of the past, her bloodline inherited it as their own. She brushed the thought away though; it mattered not now, as by tomorrow she would begin her training to learn it.

Whether Kiriko meant to or not, her eyes drooped slowly as Hiko yawned, as if his fatigue was contagious. At his words, Kiriko was nearly asleep, but heard them still and gave a sad smile; it had been years since anybody had ever considered her warm - in any way. A soft laugh rumbled her body as she felt herself slowly slip into sleep, but not before adding a little word before doing so. "Hard not to be when I'm attached to a massive furnace." A pause, before she fell asleep completely. "Thank you, Hiko." were her last words before falling asleep, using him as her massive pillow.