And so, the trivial game of cat and mouse had come and went, with the cats managing to seek out their prey thanks to power in numbers.
Katsuo intended to keep his word, and take the two on in a sparring match. Unfortunately, it was revealed that they would be leaving the village soon, and needed to make preparations to do so.
Very well. If Katsuo were to keep his promise, he would have to go with the two Kunoichi in the morning.
The only downside? Telling his mother...
———
“Excuse me...you’re going on a trip? And who gave you permission?” Ichiko attempted to hold a calm demeanor, despite the tables shaking slightly as she spoke. After the events of these last few days, she wasn’t about to let her son risk his life going out into the world for no good reason.
“Well...ya see, I wanted to travel with these two girls who-“ And before the Traveler-Nin could finish his explanation, his mothers ‘cool exterior’ finally erupted.
“OF COURSE ITS GIRLS! NOW YOU'RE TELLING ME YOU WANNA RISK YOUR LIFE FOR A....A DOUBLE DATE?! THE ANSWER IS NOOO!” With that, the Water-Nin began storming out of the room, only to be stopped short by the voice of her husband.
“Chi, we should let him go.” Kido spoke up, his statement causing all eyes to shift onto him.
“What? What do you mean, Kido?”
“Chi...baby. Look at our son. He’s a warrior...an explorer...a learner. We can’t take that away from him. He knows the risks, and yet he’s still determined. This is his ninja way.”
“Dad...” Katsuo was stunned by his father’s words. The man had only known his son for a few short months, yet he was able to read him like a book. Indeed, Kido Denki was a highly perceptive and very intelligent Shinobi. The young Traveler-Nin admired that greatly.
“Kido...I’m sorry, I can’t let him leave. We almost lost both of them once, I won’t let it happen again...” And with that, she slid into her bedroom, not even pondering on her husbands words.
While Katsuo didn’t wanna hear this, he knew that his mother was drive by her emotions, quite unlike his father. They perfectly balanced one another in that respect.
“Sorry, Katsuo. I may be your father, but she’s been...so much more than a parent. I can’t overrule her word.” The Lightning Shinobi gave his son a pat on the back, attempting to comfort the boy as best he could.
“It’s okay Dad...I expected this.”
———
It was now pitch black in the Leaf Village, and the sun wouldn’t be rising for another hour or so, yet Katsuo was awake and about.
The young man had packed a brown sack with a few essential belongings, and had started creeping towards the entrance of the house.
Unlike most rebellious kids who snuck out, Katsuo had to be absolutely silent, as his mothers senses were incredibly advanced, even while sound asleep.
Slowly, Katsuo crept through the creeky house, molding his chakra into cushions beneath his feet in hopes of lessening their impact.
“Just gotta open the door...” The Traveler-Nin attempted to reassure himself, but to no avail. Apprehensively, he grasped the door handle, holding onto it for what seemed like hours, before finally...sliding it open.
Ft~
“What was that?” Katsuo’s ears caught wind of what sounded like metal releasing from wood. Instantly, the boy’s body went into overdrive. Not concerned with conserving energy, his chakra exploded throughout his body, causing the world around him to slow down.
His eyes darted back and forth, helplessly looking for the source of the disturbance.
“Hah!” A small metallic flicker from the corner of Katsuo’s eye gave it away. He looked over to see a Senbon falling towards towards the floor. His mother had known he would attempt to leave, so she set up an alarm system only she could track. The sound of a pin dropping.
What would the boy do? His eyes were fast enough to track the senbon, yes, but his body wasn’t quick enough to catch it at this point without making noise.
There was only one solution. With a fraction of a second remaining, the boy instinctively slid his foot out, lining it up with the senbon’s trajectory. Said senbon proceeded to land point first on the boy’s toe, sinking into his flesh with ease.
Katsuo’s eyes widened from the sensation, but he didn’t dare make a noise. Without even addressing the weapon sticking out of his foot, he slid out the door, closing it with a massive sigh of relief. He’d escaped.
“...your mother will kill you when she finds out, you know~”
Once again, Katsuo froze in place. He peered over his shoulder, his eyes latching onto the outline of his father, who was seated in a rocking chair on the front porch. Katsuo had been caught.
“When...she finds out? Meaning you don’t plan to stop me?” Katsuo questioned, despite the pounding in his ears and the pain in his big toe, not quite sure what his father was getting at.
“No, I’m not gonna tell her. I love your mother, but Ichiko has let emotion cloud her judgement. You need to be out there, exploring the world. Not here, locked away like a sitting duck.” Kido spoke in that familiar smooth, all-knowing tone he always had, gently rocking the chair as he did so.
“Thanks Dad...I promise I’ll be safe. And the next time you see me, I’ll be a stronger ninja.” With that, Katsuo went to step off the front porch, only to freeze up as his father’s presence vanished, before reappearing right behind the boy.
“You might wanna take this.” Kido muttered, holding out a bright orange scroll.
“That’s...”
“Yes. The scroll containing your mother’s cauterization technique. I hope you won’t need it, but...you never know.”
Katsuo was dumbfounded. His father, a man he’d come to know as incredibly careful, was helping him sneak away. An act like this simply reinforced how perceptive the man was. Katsuo deeply appreciated how his father respected his opinions, not as a child, but as a ninja.
As unconventional as their relationship was, the young man wouldn’t have asked for a better father.
“Again...thank you, Dad.”
“You’re welcome. Now leave, your mother will be up soon and you’ll need to put as much distance between you and her as possible.”
“Right.” And with that, Katsuo disappeared into the back streets of Konaha, plucking the senbon from his foot as he did so.
“Ouch!”
———
After a few brief moments of walking, Katsuo finally reached the meetup location. The boy was still about an hour early however, so he decided scale up a nearby tree, resting on one of the higher branches.
The hour passed quickly, so quickly that the cloudy haired boy hadn’t even noticed Sagiso’s arrival, that is until Amari made her presence known as well.
“Xia, huh? What’s wrong with Sagiso?” Katsuo cut in, dropping from the tree as he did so to make it appear as if he’d effectively materialized from thin air.
