Private/Closed Naruto AU: Roleplay

[Godjacob]

"You tease!" Hoshi whined in response as Mori's little casual build up worked wonders as several of the group had more eager anticipation over the way Mori hung such information over their heads. Something Tomiko seemed amused with as Ren merely looked on curiously without saying much of anything though his expression was muted compared to the others.

"Oh come on, you can share a little something no? Mr. Snugglebottom and I won't tell?" Naomi asked as she held her stuffed companion close while she looked Mori in the eye.

"W-why thank you! A-and sure we have a menu, I will be happy to give one to you one to think over our items." Atsuko said, touched and with a big grin on her face at the generous words.

"Oh? I have to admit I didn't think we would make an impression for you to pull such strings on us from one dinner." Kuro admitted a bit shocked by Kasami's offer.

-----------
"Simple. I grew up with them. When I was young I was abandoned in the woods, never met my "birth" parents. I was taken in by the leader of a pack as they raised and helped me to survive, Luna and Sky were among the youngest pups in the pack and we just formed a connection." Aisha explained to Taji, and Kenji already began to picture some tribal kid speaking wolf which seemed a bit much for him but then again he had no idea how Inuzuka blood worked.

-----------
Tayuya would have snapped back, but Shura actually seemed to agree with her which caught her only slightly off guard but none the less merely gave a nod of confirmation. Seemed Shura despite his...antics, proved to be the most tolerable of the clan.

Odd that the guy who showed up with a cat randomly ends up being the one I find the least bothersome.

Then Tayuya heard Sagiso's little offer which instantly caused her head to snap back to her and her eyes to widen slightly. W-what did she want her to call her? Onee-sama? What purpose could this gain the Hyuga, was it some sort of power play she was not aware of? Was it some other tactic to humiliate her in some fashion?

Whatever it was, it forced Tayuya between the rock and hard place. At this point she half considered using Genjutsu on herself to just sleep through this but she figured that would only cause more problems as she weighed her options.

"....if I picked door A, what would the general topic be? If you can leak that before I say my choice." Tayuya asked after a minute of internal debate, not having made a choice but trying to see what was in store for her if she went with the prolonged convo.

------​

"Believe me Lady Hyuga I am not one to waste time on such matters. I will be mindful to keep the time between us short but meaningful." Masa urged as she made a bow out of respect before she walked inside the room as Hinagiku seemed to have two conversations going; one with the Uchiha that till now Masa had not paid much mind to.

"I"ll assume you are a bit literal on that comment. So I suppose I will work to trim the fat. "Seems that there have been quite a few recent developments that may impact the Leaf's future. Which are rumor, and which are in fact the truth I have yet to discern. Though from what I have been able to gather you seem the one with the most knowledge on what is going on." Masa replied matter of factly to the Hyuga Head as her expression or lack of one never shifted and her tone remained neutral even with what she seemed to presume Hinagiku had knowledge of.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Following his lines, Shura noticed Sagiso cast at him nothing more than a glance of disapproval. “Huh, for some reason I expected that to be how she would have reacted, works for me I guess.” He thought to himself. Moving on from stuff he expected to stuff he didn’t expect, Tayuya began acting a lot more docile than usual. “Huh, guess she really just want to be done with Sagiso, I better say what I have to say before this is fully over or speaking up would end up being pointless.” The Hyuga though.

“Anyways, even if you have your reasons, acting this secluded all the time isn’t good for you. You’ve been here for a few months now and dare I say you’ve done practically nothing in all that time.” Shura let out a sigh, still wondering why he’s bothering with all this. “Remember when I said frowning all the time will wrinkle your face? Well this is kind of like that. You’ve been rejecting everything offered to you without a second thought, this isn’t healthy either. Have you ever though what it would be like if you didn’t refuse everything?” Shura had a real sincere tone in his voice.

 

[kyuukestu]

Sagisō

A raised eyebrow revealed her queries, she wondered when Shura and Tayuya had grown so close. She noted the tone in his voice, one she hadn’t heard before, and a far cry from the dull, and quite frankly, boring, way he usually talked.

“Tomorrow’s the winter festival, and the Clan’s been preparing, I’m sure you’ve noticed. I’ll probably be asked to do a musical number, and so, would you be interested in putting that flute to use?”

Hinagiku

Hinagiku smiled, content to neither confirm nor deny Masa’s statements. She had little intention of spilling all that she knew simply because she was asked. Certain tasks required a higher degree of tact, the fewer people that knew, the better. And yet other tasks...it was simply not her place to comment on them.

“You’ll need to be more specific than that, which rumors have you taken note of?”

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Kou seemed hopefully after what Sakura had told him, balling his fists, nodding to her. He didn’t smile, but instead had a half anxious, half determined look about him. He wanted to be strong for Zaku, but it was clear he didn’t have any idea what to do. So Sakura was his only lead.

“Alright...lets go and meet him.”


........

Kin snarled at Madoka and consequently pakura as they rather forcefully demanded her to be civil. Her teeth shaped into a grin.

“Want me to break out the tea set and make crumpets too? FAT CHANCE!” Kin hissed, struggling in her bonds. “You desert slugs ain’t got a spine to do anything noways.”


......


A breeze passed through the hidden leaf village. A scent of honey fluttered with the wind, and amongst it, a single green leaf. The leaf fluttered along as the wind took it along the wall of the leaf. It had seemed that the leaf work crews were trying to repair reaver’s catastrophic damage to it. As the leaf kept traveling, it landed on the boot of a rather small figure.

The figure was not even four feet tall, wearing black boots, green pants, and a black beret. He wore a thick black coat with a rainbow chelate pattern on the inside with purple and yellow cuffs with white gloves. His face was freakishly boyish...too much so. His black eyes plastered on his face, void of emotion. He had a constant smile, looking down on the leaf village as his coat blew in the wind.

His smile widened as the boy looked toward the main plaza, for what reason was yet to be determined.

 

[DarkHydraT]

Mori grinned as Hoshi whined. "Need to keep you on your toes somehow, don't I?" He planted his elbow on the table and leaned forward. "But maybe I can share a bit, to get you more excited for that trip tomorrow. In the hope that Tomiko won't kick my behind back to my home, I'll tell you how we got there, the rest will be told tomorrow. Is that okay with you Tomiko?" The genin asked as he showed the palm of his left hand to the leader of the gang.

"Thank you very much, you may give it when you are ready." Iwao thanked the woman as he nodded at her.

"May I tell you a secret? I've seen what poverty does to a family and I want to help in my own way. I do not have any summons and I doubt that your daughter would be eager to spend multiple months with me to learn a new jutsu, so I decided to do this. Don't feel obliged to repay me, see it as a gift from an anonymous supporter." Kasumi said with a wink to Kuro.
-----------

"I see, that makes sense. Wolves are highly social creatures and are certainly not dumb, I could certainly see them taking in an orphaned human baby. But you wouldn't learn human language among them, how did you learn to talk? If you don't mind me asking of course." Taji began to get interested, this girl was a mystery to her with her background.

As the two girls talked, the waiter arrived with the food and put it down in front of them. "Enjoy your meal." The waiter said with a smile.

"Thank you, you too once you get your break." Taji replied as she covered the bill and gave a tip. "You heard the man, enjoy your meal."

 

[Retro Master]

‘She will give up to you the object of your struggles only after you have paid her price.’

That line would’ve been his response had he bothered to rudely interrupt the growing discussion between the two clan heads. Judging by the amiable expression Hinagiku continued to display, Kiro must’ve been following the trail she laid out for him quite well. The Hyūga Head even left the second part unspoken, expecting him to figure it out for himself.

If Kiro was going by literal terms and that smile still on her face, Hinagiku already knew exactly what he wanted. It was not the other way around. However, that didn’t bother him one bit. What he hoped to attain had a hefty price to go along with it. A price he was willing to pay. Perhaps some of that payment might be going to the Hyūga Head herself.

For now though, Kiro could only watch in both silence and intrigue as the clan heads continued their discussion. He found it especially ironic that the Aburame Head had chosen the indirect route immediately after noting to ‘trim the fat’. All she had divulged was the broad topic of the Leaf without once stating any basis for this speculation. Something which, as he expected, hadn’t gone unnoticed by Hinagiku and her everlasting smile.

The belief that the rumors held truth meant there was probably something more specific she could add. Perhaps it was his presence that restrained the Aburame Head from directly speaking of matters which pertained to the Leaf? He refused to believe that this clan head showed up only to engage in some gossip. As stated, it wasn't a coincidence she had chosen to meet with Hinagiku. It seemed she was also aware of the wealth of knowledge the Hyūga Head possessed.

Taking Hinagiku into account, if Kiro had to take a guess, the rumors probably had something to do with their mission. More specifically, what they had encountered on their way back. There was one peculiar situation that he was not liable to speak of. Not even if he wanted too. In fact, the person who prevented him from doing so was actually standing in this same room. This realization served to add another layer of amusement to the scene Hinagiku had generously allowed him to witness.

——————​

Upon hearing the sound of gentle knocking on the door, Shizune scrambled frantically to organize the dozens upon dozens of papers that had been scattered on the desk belonging to a certain woman. The lady who sat behind the desk was none other than the Hokage herself. There was a light shade of red on her cheeks as she took another sip of sake from a rather large bottle.

“Lady Tsunade, you should not be drinking that much!”

In a hushed tone, Shizune attempted to scold Tsunade and was followed up by Tonton making a grunting sound in agreement. Tsunade simply shook her head before resting the bottle on the desk behind a stack of papers.

“Relax. It’s the holiday season. I think I deserve a few drinks as well, don’t you think? Oh and you may come in!”

Tsunade attempted to reassure her advisor before cheerfully calling their visitor. That merry tone betrayed the malicious intent that was hidden within. It better not be that grinch or else she wasn’t sure if Shizune would be able to restrain her from smacking him with the bottle. Unbeknownst to her, their visitor was only one of the Hyūga maids.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Hearing Kin’s aggressive reply, Rasa turned towards Pakura and Madoka. “Trying to tell a simple minded, barbaric wild animal to be civil will most likely yield no fruitful results. I suggest you don’t bank on that hope.” He said before looking back into Kin’s cell. Rasa took a few moments to look at the beast within the compound of the prison, acting high and mighty despite her situation. This cause an annoyed growl to escape the Kazekage’s lips. “I assume from the outburst of a reply you just gave us you still don’t have any willingness to cooperate with us. Like I’ve just said, acting like this will buy you nothing, or is you mental capacity so low you can’t remember something that was told to you just a moment ago.” Rasa took a few steps closer to the cell. “You’re life can end as soon as I will it, so I suggest you think about what you’re about to say carefully.” Rasa had a cold and merciless tone in his voice.

 

[sSoul]

Seiun
“My.̶..̨aĺl you n̨ée̵ded͜ to d͝o wąś ͢d̷raw͡ a̕ litt́l̴e̴.͢ Yo҉u͢r e͡ǹt̡hus͜i͢asm͠ ͏h҉óweve̛r̴ ̵is mu͠c̴h a҉ppr̢éc̀iated́..̕.̴!”

Seiun chuckled at the comment that B.O.S.E.C made, as he was more focused on the glowing light that had come out of the armor. The light then transitioned into a smoke. When the smoke cleared, Seiun noticed a new object in the room: an ornate, two-foot tall stick. At first, Seiun was underwhelmed, but the construct seemed to have a different attitude towards the glorified stick.

“̵A̴ha,͏ ͘so̵ ̢the̢r̵e ͞ar͞e̡ ̵m̡ore ̕of ͞them...҉! Se҉i͘un͠,͡ ̨m͞ee̴t Ga͡he̛dra̷. Exp̨e̡r̨i͞ment͠a͝l͘ ͟cha͞k͝r̢a̧ ͢w̡e͟a͏pon̸.”̢

The Rainy Rouge slowly approached the weapon as B.O.S.E.C proceeded to give one of his signature history lessons.

“̛St͡o̴len͞ b̀y͘ ͞t͡he͏ Ka͝g̶uya͞ c̛l͢an d҉ur̶ing ҉one ̸o͞f҉ t́he͡ir ̛ŗa͠i͞ds ̷it̕ ̢se͝em̨s.̵ ̵The͡ ab̢iļit́y̨ ͜to͞ tu̡rn͏ ̢y͘ou͢r̸ ̧own͡ chakŕa ́i̕n͞t͢o͏ ̛a͢ h̷a͝r͞d̸l̸i͘g͢h̸t̷ w͜e͝a͟p̷o͝n.̷ ͞Weathér p͞u̸re ̷ch̴a͟kra ͠or ͝an̛ el̀e͡m̛e͞n̕t.̶ Eventual͟ly t̢hi̧s t͟e̕chn̷òl͝og҉y͝ wo̷u̡ld͟ be ͘use̛d ̧tǫ ͏man̡uf̡a̶ct͝u͞re ͏t̕he̛ ̷baseli̛n̸e̢ Yu҉ki Hono͝r ̧G͠u҉a҉r̸d ̢a͘r̕mor̷,̶ it’̸s͘ n͏o ́w̨o̡nd͏er t͘he̢ ͘ŕe̕st҉ o͏f͟ ̢th͘e͝s͘é ̸we͡a͟pons wer͘e͠ co͝nf̡is͞càte͠d̶.͞ ̡Care͝ ̢to͠ ̧giv͢e i̷t a̛ ͘whi̸rl͝~̕?̢”͏

Picking up the weapon, Seiun swung it around as if there was a blade attached to the handle, in hopes that a blade of chakra would appear.

Ok, so how does this thing work?

Taiyo
Susei was discouraged by Furijia's noise of startled surprise, thinking that she had scared her. Taiyo patted her in hopes of comforting her but the Hyuga's words did a better job of that.

“Errr, of course, take as much as you want...”

This caused a smile to grow on her face as she held out her palms for a piece of candy. Meanwhile, the leaf-nin gave her a concerned look before asking her a question.

"You wanna go back to the manor?"

 

[Godjacob]

"Hey I don't control what you say, though I do appreciate the heads up. If you want to share such information with the crew that is fine with me." Tomiko replied with a grin on her face as the crew seemed excited and eagerly waited to listen in. Naomi especially excited, though if one member had a contrasting look it was Ren who seemed more focused on what was said beyond just a good story time.

"Of course the least I can do~" Atsuko said with a grateful nod.

"W-wow..." Kuro said speechless as the revelations that the ninja had just left for him, unsure of what there was to say or really what he even could say in such a situation. With nothing more to add he merely gave a thankful nod to the man. "T-thank you, though my daughter tends to love training so how true that comment is mainly extends to the staying with you part. But don't underestimate her drive at any training opportunity." Kuro chuckled.

-----------
"That was the tricky part. I was young but had some memory of my parents. And their words, but beyond that my pack mainly hung around a place where a small village outside of Konoha's walls had been. So with that I observed the people and I guess as the pack taught me how to hunt & survive I learned how to speak watching them. Which in turn only made me more curious about who...or what, I really was." Aisha explained a bit. Kenji listened in and had a question of his own, but before that was asked the food arrived as Aisha had a toothy grin.

"Alright, let's pause the life story. Time to eat!" Aisha said as she licked her lips before she began to chow down on her meal while Kenji made a slice of his own as Aisha displayed her wild girl tendencies as she gorged on the meat as if she had not eaten ever before this.

----------
"Got some guts, or a lack of sense. Whatever it is hardly matters. The fact remains if you continue to play hard to get we will simply remove you from the equation and find someone who is willing to be a little more cooperative. So whatever you do is no skin off my bones if you believe it to be a mere bluff. I would take Lord Kazekage's word to heart because he is not one to make claims without intent to use the," Pakura replied, quite casually about Kin's possible fate. Madoka herself listened to Kin's frantic if not mad reply before she considered a response.

"I'm going to take a guess that all this stems from loyalty to your leader. Is there reason you remain so loyal to one who, from what I have seen of his nin, he is willing to disregard to easily?" Madoka asked, a basic question but an important one as it seemed Oto was not exactly known as a nation where their leader seemed to show much care for their own; if the mass & reckless full scale invasion leading to many causalities and this "team slaying" culture among them had been anything to go by.

----------
Sakura nodded, and moved up as she would extend a hand to Kou. Given his distrust of the Leaf in general she figured she could take the lead just as a way to keep him close and offer that security blanket. either way, she would work to get them out of the hospital and begin their venture into the main city of Konoha as she knew one place and one place only that had been her team's go to dinning spot.

Hopefully, some lunch would help everyone get over what happened just now.

-----​

"The seal should hold strong. How much it will held if things appear dire for him remain to be seen but at the bare minimum it should provide enough of an obstacle that he cannot access its power on command." Kakashi explained as he applied the last touches. Inoichi would have offered a comment before a signal passed through his head as he frowned.

"I naturally trust your judgement on this, but it appears we have a curious....observer. Danger or not uncertain but worth at least a distant observation. I shall return at a later time." Inoichi said, and before Kakashi could pass a comment he raised his fingers and in a puff of smoke vanished from the secured room.

His new goal, to get to the construction wall.

----------
Tayuya glanced over to Shura as he asked what honestly were a couple bigger questions, which was enough to get her to think even if she worked to betray no expression. As far as she could tell, the Hyuga had been a rather nosy and eccentric bunch but by that same token had been a far cry from the likes of Ibuki or others.

Still, Tayuya shook her head as she tried not to dwell on that. Dodging the question as she focused on Sagiso's explanation about this "fair" and asked if she could lend the flute to the performance. If she needed that why did she ask for her to sing in person earlier? Something seemed fishy but at this point Tayuya just dismissed it as paranoia though she would not dismiss it either as she folded her arms over her chest.

"So basically you want me to provide some instrumentals to this festival?" Tayuya asked, more so to check if that is all she'd be asked to do or if there had been more on the mind.

-----​

Masa figured this would be a matter of prodding and getting what information she could read between the lines and the Hyuga Head seemed just as eager to make things difficult for her. Though Masa's expression had not changed at all.

"Well, for one thing. Certain complications you and your team seemed to encounter on your mission. There have been some murmurs since yours and Kakashi's team returned from the gates. Certain figures in specific." Masa said, though what details on these figures she knew of or what knowledge she lacked she kept to herself as she made her vague question.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

B.O.S.E.C. Swirled both around seiun and Gahedra, watching as the former rain nin swished the handle in the air, pretending their was a blade on either end. The construct chuckled, flashing to the handle, putting a talon on it.

O̢f́ ͝co͟u̵r͝s͝e...͜sin̷c̡e͡ Gahedra ̛i͜s̨ f͟ul͘e̵d͟ by ͟c͏hakr̶a͟ an̵d͞ ̧ch̀akra ͠a͡lo͜ne, y̢ǫu ḩav̷e ͠t̕o p͡u͟mp them̸ ͏in w̷ith y̢our ͝h͜a͟nds. Pr̸éfera͢b̕l̢y b͝oth̸,͡ b̵u͠t ̷o̵ņe͡ ͡c̸o̵úld s͝uffic҉e ̶i͟f ͘yo̸u ar͡e sk̛illęd ͡enoug͝h͝.͜ Tr͞y ͞p͠um͡p̶i͟ng ͝it̡ ́throu̵gh ̢t̵he͢ ̸c͠en̢t͏ȩr̷.̡ G̸o ͠on.͢



.....


Kai was starting to get annoyed, getting his teeth at the Yuki Honor Guard in front of him. He couldn’t believe the hoops he’d have to jump through just to get information from this guy.

“You...you tricked me!”

“I do not trick, I can give those knowledge, but I cannot Force them to reveal or understand said knowledge.”

“Stop with your riddles, tell me how to read it!”

The Yuki honor guard never had eye contact with the young Yuki, instead, he opted to continue on with his work.

“The path of knowledge will reveal itself to those that search for it.”

Another riddle. Kai was furious. If he were facing a Xeno who said a similar thing, he’d try and kill them for sure. But out of principle, Kai gritted his teeth, storming out of the room. He didn’t leave however without slamming his Palm out of anger into a wall, ice pluming up in a crystal. He left the erratic ice crystal on the wall as he climbed the stairs in a huff. Meanwhile, the honor guard shook his head, pounding his spear on the ground for half a second, the ice instantly melting to water

Kai marched out of the compound, book in hand. What an irritating man. No matter, at least I have something to show for it...if this isn’t just some wild goose chase to distract me from the real book. We will find out soon enough.


......


Walking alongside Sakura, Kou was cautious, looking for any hidden leaf ninja that could interfere. Thankfully, there were none. As the ramen stand grew close, he turned to Sakura.

“...do you see him here?”

With Sakura at the wheel, he had an uneasy feeling. Weather his trust was correctly placed was yet to be determined, but she was all he got.


.......



Kin snarled at the likes of Rasa, not keen on his tone. She lunged at him, the chains catching her so that she couldn’t actually follow through. Drool ran down from her mouth, showing her feral maliciousness. Then after pakura smoothed this over slightly and brought up her loyalty to Orochimaru, Kin’s pupils becoming more intense, struggling in her bonds.

“HELL NO!” She spat. “Kabuto told us to go on a mission, and Orochimaru redirected us to snag some lowlife jinchurki, then Yukimaru went all emo and tried to kill me! If I ever learned one thing from all this business...it’s that the snake has reasons for doing things. If your gonna kill me or whatever at least get your Damn facts straight!”

Kin seemed less annoyed of the death threats from them rather than she did of their misinformation about Orochimaru and her so called ‘admiration’ of him. It would seem she didn’t care about death in general, so that method didn’t seem nearly as effective.

 

[kyuukestu]

Hinagiku

“Black cloaks speckled with red clouds...”

Muttering aloud, Hinagiku eyed Masa and shrugged.

“Sorry to leave you empty handed, but I don’t know much about them. At best, they seem to have some relationship with Kirigakure, but the specifics are uncertain.”



Sagisō

“That’s all you seem even remotely willing to do.”

Sagisō crossed her arms, each folded to her displeasure. She’d been hoping for a bit more from the sound kunoichi, but even this much could be considered spectacular progress.

 

[sSoul]

Seiun
The former rain-nin shrugged. At worst, the blade would be revealed to be a dud. At best however, Seiun would find himself with a weapon much more potent than a simple axe.

Well, I've nothing to lose in this scenario...

The rouge nin held the blade handle out in front of him to avoid possible injuries before pumping in some regular chakra. To his surprise, a light blue blade extended from the handle, almost like a certain other hard light weapon.

Cool...

Before Seiun retracted the weapon, he decided to do one more bit of testing with his new toy. He pumped more chakra into the blade, but this time he imagined using a lightning style jutsu. The result was the Gahedra's blade growing a little longer and darkening in shade. Once the blade stopped darkening, it also began to crackle with lightning.

Thank you B.O.S.E.C. But I have two questions: how do I retract the blade, and how are we supposed to get away?

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Be͢a̢u͟t̨if̷u͘l̶,̧ ̡i͝s ̶i̶t̕ n̴o͜t̕? ͏Engi͝nee̵ring ̷far ahead ̢o̸f it͏’̨s͡ ̀time̢.̶ ̶M͝ir̕acu̶lous w̸h̴at yo̴u can̡ ̸d͝o͡ ͝when̶ ͜t̡echnolo͜g͝y͘ ̕ąid͠ęs͡ ́on͜e̕’̴s̀ na̡t͘u͟ral͝ ch̴ak̢r͡a.

B.O.S.E.C. Whirled around Seiun, the second blade ignoring in the other end of Gahedra. With seiun’s chakra now pumping an element into the blades, they grew more erratic, the blades jumping in many different directions. They vibrated with a shocking intensity. It was like holding a lightning rod. A horsefly that was flying overhead was suddenly locked on by Gahedra, a small arc from the blade zapping it right in it’s tracks, killing it. That’s when Seiun made is question, which Seiun seemed to push to the side, bringing the weapon’s prowess to the forefront of his mind.

“͞Heh́eh̡e͠...̕don͝’t g͘et ah҉e͏ad͟ o̢f͡ ̸yo͞ur̴se͜lf.͢ ҉You̵ don͞’͠t́ e̛ven kn͢ow th̕ȩ li͟m͝it͟s͜ of ̨what͞ thi̴s ca̧n͘ d̸o.͝ ͞N̴o̡w t͞hat͠ yo͝ư ̀h̶ave ̛the ba̴s͏ics̀ ha͡ndl҉ed͡, ̶try̨ ͢u͡t̷i̷li͠z͝i̴ng̢ ̛th̨is͟ new̴f͞ou̢nd͡ ̵to͜o͜l̕ to do͜ th̨ing̛s ̢tha̧t̕ w̡ere͝ pŕevi̕ous͜ĺy̕ out̢sid̵e y̶ou͝r ͜l̷ìmits҉.͟ W͞i̷t̸h ̷Gąhȩdr̸a,̕ ͠you ̕h͠av̧e ͟g̡r͞èa͝ter͞,͘ ͝re͘f͜i͢ne͟d,͜ c҉ont̷r͘o̶l.͜ ̧A̵nd҉ ̨wit͏h̢ y͟o͜u̷r ͏e͞l҉ect́rici̛ty͞, ̧tŕy͟ ͘t̶o͜ z͝áp̵ ̕ar҉ou͠nd̡ ͟t͟h̛at ̢cor͝n̷e̸r̷.͡”

It swirled in place, it’s lone talon pointing at the wall nearby that was a blind corner. It seemed he wanted a little field test.

 

[kyuukestu]

Furijia

Furijia placed a sand dango into Susei's outstretched hand, supplemented by a small vial of Kirin Nectar. Her distraction, presumably, by the sticky delicacy, allowed Furijia to refocus her attention from Susei to Taiyo.

"The mannor..?"

She balked at the casual way in which the boy had mentioned her home. For the briefest of moments, she wondered which of them was actually the Hyuga heir.

"I guess..."

She rubbed awkwardly at her arms. She was in no rush to head home, but hadn't much reason to remain on the road.

 

[Godjacob]

The caravan archer cursed as once more the intruder managed to evade her strike; no worse she managed to flip it and alter the substance of the surface and used it to clog the entrance!

However, she was not one to be cut off so easily. With the situation this dire there had been one emergency means of traveling towards base as she held up a hand sign and moments later she vanished in a puff of smoke. Her aim to take advantage of a certain Reverse Summon transport system developed among the high end caravan members.

Clash!

Azumi had been forced to let go of the muscular giant of the caravan, who despite the wound now aimed to try and drive his ax into Reaver's chest as she avoided wind blades from Okabe as they traded blows with Azumi's umbrella. The two seemed evenly matched though it appeared at a glance Okabe had been pressuring Azumi back.

Even if her face seemed oddly unconcerned.

-----------
Pakura had been about to speak up, once she made not of the information that Kin had provided them in that rant of hers, but before she had a chance Madoka decided to speak up at the mention of "misinformation" about her question.

"I see. You speak of ill on someone who but I presume days ago was a trusted teammate. Do you hold such hostility against him or your team in general on that mission?" Madoka asked curiously enough.

----------
"I don't think so yet. And well uh get ready to wait cause he is one to be late....quite often, and for quite prolonged periods." Sakura replied, a sense of dread in her tone that had been far too convincing to be fake or even misleading as she moved to a pair of open seats and motioned for Kou to join her.

"Ah, hello there Ms. Haruno. What can I do you for?" The owner of Ramen Ichiraku said as the friendly old cook smiled at her before he glanced down to the young boy.

"Oh, who is this?" Teuchi asked as Sakura rubbed her head sheepishly.

"He's uh friend of mine. His name is Kou and I was just showing him a place to eat. Best in the village, so I decided to take him here." Sakura said as she introduced Teuchi to Kou before she turned to Kou.

"This is Teuchi. Owner of Ramen Ichiraku and probably the best cook in the entire village. You'll love his food." Sakura assured Kou as she introduced him to Teuchi.

---------
Tayuya was silent for the longest time, contemplating her request before she let out a sigh.

"Fine. I guess I can do it. I'm gonna die here anyway, so I may as well do the one thing I've always been rather decent at..." Tayuya said, with a lower tone than usual as she accepted Sagiso's offer shockingly enough while she stared out the window to her room as she was reminded of the various times she turned to comfort with her flute even in the worst situations. This whole festival was annoying, but given the options a chance to play her flute was not one she'd pass up.

-----​

"I see. Have you sent word of this yet on your mission report to Lady Hokage? Or are you waiting on something?" Masa asked as her expression shifted not in the least even as she took in the description of their appearance on top of Hina's theory about their allegiance.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

“Hmm.” Hearing what Kin said in her outburst, Rasa took a step away from her cell and began staring down at her with his usual serious demeanour. “So you have no loyalty to the snake. Why do you refuse to cooperate if you hold no rich ties to your old allies?”

Shura looked at Tayuya as she gave her final answer to Sagiso and let out a sigh. “Well, it’s good that she didn’t refuse again, but she is still hung up on her possible death as a certainty. I do wish she would be less pessimistic.” He though to himself. “Alright was that so hard? Open up at your own pace, you don’t have to accept everything from the start.” He said as he adjusted back the hair around his arm to make sure they don’t slide off.

 

[sSoul]

Taiyo
As his little sister was enjoying the delicacies that Furījia had provided, Taiyo had decided to listen to what the Hyuga had to say.

"The mannor..?"

The way she said the word implied to Taiyo that she didn't want to go back home, for some reason or another. Even though she later followed it up with a phrase of agreement, he still felt a little guilty.

"We don't have to go to the manor, I was just sugessting it," Taiyo said, taking a pause to think, "I dont wanna force you to go anywhere you dont want to, so Ill let you take me somewhere you want to go. And if its the manor, that's fine with me,"

After he said this, Susei gave him a look that indicated that she was going to tease him about this later.

Figures.

Well if she didn't tease me every now and then, she'd be failing in her job as a little sister.

 

[kyuukestu]

Hinagiku

It was rather bold of Masa to assume Hinagiku would’ve dispatched a mission report to the Lady Hokage, for she most certainly had not. Surely Kakashi would’ve done that, or rather, it was his prerogative, for she would not. Her reasons were, admittedly, few, but that made them no less valid. The mission's proceedings, and in particular, how the Jinchuriki had been handled, were a somewhat sensitive matter.

To minimize confusion, she'd left the bulk of explanation to Kakashi. Anything else of note she would supplement at tomorrow's dinner. In her judgment, it was better that way.

Still, she provided Masa a response she would be happy with.

“My team will submit a report, naturally.”

Kiro would be all too happy to write it.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Kou just nodded to Sakura’s response, carefully eyeing the crowd for this Kakashi guy they were to meet. He felt uncomfortable being away from Zaku, especially in such a place that he was considered an enemy. He was snapped out from his thoughts when a man from behind the ramen stand’s counter came up.

"Ah, hello there Ms. Haruno. What can I do you for?" The owner of Ramen Ichiraku said as the friendly old cook smiled at her before he glanced down to the young boy.

"Oh, who is this?" Teuchi asked as Sakura rubbed her head sheepishly.

"He's uh friend of mine. His name is Kou and I was just showing him a place to eat. Best in the village, so I decided to take him here." Sakura said as she introduced Teuchi to Kou before she turned to Kou.

"This is Teuchi. Owner of Ramen Ichiraku and probably the best cook in the entire village. You'll love his food." Sakura assured Kou as she introduced him to Teuchi.

Kou gave a sheepish wave to Teuchi, not quite sure how else to respond. He didn’t respond verbally...until he heard food. The mention of it made him do a double take. ...Is she actually offering food? No, it can’t be. He wasn’t used to free food in the leaf, having been on the streets without help.

“But I don’t have any money...”


.......

"I see. You speak of ill on someone who but I presume days ago was a trusted teammate. Do you hold such hostility against him or your team in general on that mission?" Madoka asked curiously.

Kin grew a wide, toothy grin on her face as she heard those words. She cackled in her bonds, a trail of drool escaping from her lips. Isn’t he middle of her cackle she lunged at Madoka, the chains stopping her from mauling the puppet user.

“ill?! ILL?! He tried to kill me and flung me a mile, hitting every possible thing on the way, leaving me nearly a corpse! Damn well i’m ill!”

She snarled at the notion, spitting at madoka’s feet, the saliva sizzling as it hit the coarse sand and brick, becoming a thick acidic mush.



....


Reaver was facing an axe that headed right at him to burrow in his chest. His eyes focused, enraged as an open palm reaches out right as the axe came in.

*BANG!*

The axe landed on his palm...though no visible blood was seen. A low bellowing laugh camr from reaver. At closer inspection, the front of the axe that was sharpened had now melted into Reaver’s hands, cushioning the blow. The metal manipulating ninja then look directly into the man’s eyes.

“GAME. OVER.”

At that moment, the axe that was in his palm as well as held by the man was knocked back by Reaver’s other hand. The impact of the hand on the metal split it into two thick spearheads of metal. Both ripped right through the muscular man’s hands and kept flying to his head

 

[kyuukestu]

Furijia

“Oh no! I wasn’t— Umm…”

The sudden spotlight startled her, and Furijia fumbled for words. Deferentially, the choice was now hers. Though, to be honest, she didn’t want it.
She winced, recoiling from the grip on her arm —her own grip. She loosened her fingers, then tightened them in the tangles of her hair. She hid her indecision with a curtain of her locks, flashing Taiyo a sheepish, but fleeting, smile. Her impromptu seclusion ended shortly thereafter, and her hair fell from her face revealing a slight blush.

“Mnn, I’ll head home now, I- I can introduce you to Mother.”

Sagiso

“Hmmm, do you intend to die in servitude of your lord? What was his name… Orochi– whatever. Is he that important to you? You know, if you betrayed him, your survival would be assured. I can guarantee it.”

Mirth-fully, Sagiso threw out a tempting offer. She leaned back, her demeanor beyond confident. From what she’d seen of the Leaf, she was certain she could pull Tayuya from them, all it would require on the part of the sound kunoichi was an act of betrayal.

 

[Godjacob]

"Perish!"
​

The brute finally spoke audible words, not out of pain even as his hand was sliced by the broken bits of his ax or to cry in terror as it raced towards him but rather of pure malice as some chakra gathered and a flame "barrier" appeared which more or less shot out from his body to "push" the harmful debris away so they'd just miss their target.

In that same motion, the monstrous masked caravan member charged and moved his good arm forward as he aimed to grasp Reaver's neck and try to crush that throat of this metal-specialist monster.

Okabe in turn seemed to have Azumi cornered by a wall. Okabe had to strike now while Azumi seemed immobile. Though his attempt at a forward charge was thwarted as Azumi shot a shadow forward which forced him to step back. Azumi charged as her shadow withdrew with her umbrella as Okabe blocked the blow before he blocked and knocked it into the air seemingly disarming the Ame-nin. Who then charged with his wind blade aimed for her throat.

This is the end!!!

-----------
"Perhaps we should consider a safe guard for that..." Pakura whispered subtly to Rasa on account of the spit as that was bound to be a bother for not just them but for any guard who passes by.

Madoka herself managed to move her foot away from the spot of the spit as Kin let out all of her loose aggression when it came to this teammate she held to such disdain. Madoka kept a blank expression through all of this even as Kin spat literal venom as she processed the words spoken to her.

"I presume then you'd like nothing more than to lash out at enemies such as that who had done wrong to you?" Madoka asked herself and waited for the bound Jinchuriki to respond.

----------
"Which is why I am here. Earned a decent pay from the last job so I have more than enough to cover us both." Sakura assured Kou with a friendly smile, as really she had no intent to let him pay for this. Though even as she made this comment Teuchi had his eyes trained on Kou; having not said a word as he scanned the kid up and down as his shy demeanor and appearance seemed to tell a story.

Even without much context, it had not taken long for the Raman owner to make up his mind.

"Actually you don't need to worry about that. Consider this one on the house." Teuchi said with a smile as Sakura seemed shocked by that.

"A-are you sure? I-I don't mind paying really it isn't a big deal..." Sakura tried to say only for Teuchi to raise a hand as a warm energy seemed to shine from him.

"No need to worry. Believe me it is my pleasure." Teuchi said with an assured nod. To both Sakura...and Kou, as he seemed honest as a young woman appeared from behind and handed out a pair of menus for the two.

"Welcome to Ramen Ichiraku hope you enjoy your stay." The woman, Teuchi's granddaughter Ayame said before she moved to the back ready to help cook whatever would be ordered.

----------
Masa listened to Hinagiku as she clarified that she had not sent the report herself but rather seemed to pass it off to her team to handle. Not the most unusual situation, especially with another Jonin part of the mission that one could pawn the work off towards with that but given the rumors about the severity of the mission this seemed like one with as many accounts recommended as needed.

But it seemed Hinagiku saw differently. Not that Masa's expression cast any judgement.

"I see. Perhaps lax but understandable. So long as Lady Hokage is given an accurate account of what happened I suppose it matters not. Though there are matters beyond those islands that have my interest." Masa added on as her gaze never left the Hyuga Head.

"You pinned a rather curious letter today, or one of your clan to be more accurate. I am uncertain about whether you'd reveal its contents in context by other means but I would be interested in discussing it to hear from your words in person. If that is not too much to ask of course." Masa asked, referring to the leader that had been pinned for the Uchiha to gaze upon that her little friend had seen earlier.

-----​

Tayuya's head snapped over to Sagiso as she casually made mention of dying on Orochimaru's sword not even bothering to say his name properly. She had a frown and the impulse to spit as curse at Sagiso before she heard the Hyuga's offer. This chance to avoid death, to save herself possibly and not meet her end rotting in a cell waiting for the rope was one she had not even considered before now. That escape from her grim fate was quickly slammed by thoughts to her Lord Orochimaru as she shook her head while they clashed with each other. Eventually she glanced up at the others in teh room and her eyes focused intently on Sagiso's.

"In a shitty world, one that isn't afraid to feed you to the wolves at the drop of a hat, the only one to place value in you holds high honor. You don't know the first thing about him so don't act like you understand a thing." Tayuya spat with hiss, if killing intent alone measured strength everyone in the room would have dropped dead. Though after she said said her piece to the group she turned away to avoid eye contact. As she gazed out the window once more she once more felt those conflicted thoughts hit her head as she tried to shake them out.

"Life betraying Orochimaru. Life without him....what even would that be?" Tayuya asked herself in her personal moment of crisis with a low tone that would only just be heard by the others present. On one hand, deep in her core Tayuya desired to live as she did not want to die like this; unceremoniously and a failure to these Leaf nin. On the other, Orochimaru was the only one to place value in her being; to not see her as a waste to discard and she was a valued tool to him. Who else would outside of him? Even if she did escape what then? What would she do and who could she show any worth too.

 

[kyuukestu]

Sagiso

A faint tremor passed through the Skillful Star’s body, betrayed only be the quiver of her pupils and the clench of her fists. ‘What heavy killing intent…’ Her body had instinctively tensed, reacting to Tayuya’s hissing malice. Soft and wet, her tongue moistened her lips, and beads of cold sweat damped her back. Chills and goosebumps slowly thawed, smote by the fire in her veins. Kindling in her eyes was smoldering passion.

The glisten on her lips was no longer pensive, but instead, thirsty. The clench of her fists fueled no more by apprehension, but expectancy. The cautious quiver of her eyes now predatory.

‘Mnn, yes. That’s the gaze a foe should hold. I wonder if you can hold your own just as well?’

But then Tayuya shifted, the spell broken as her eyes found interest in the nearby window. The effect was immediate, Sagiso stilled, burying her impulses beneath a mask of calculation. With mind and heart under her firm control, she could now make full usage of her faculties.

“Orochimaru… huh?”

Her voice was low, speaking more to herself than anyone else in the room. She stepped forward, the weight of her body creaking the floorboards. They groaned in protest, but Sagiso’s voice rose above them.

“Don’t underestimate me, I understand a great many things. Your Master, I have never met, but a man is beholden to his actions. Only through these can he be understood.”

She knew she would need to make things quick, too long and Tayuya would cut her off in her fury. She would be swift, sharp, powerful… effective. Wasn’t that the essence of the Skillful Star?

“Traitor to the Leaf Village, the Snake of the legendary Sannin. Couldn’t it be said that the very foundation of your village is betrayal?”

She started slowly, her voice a low hum. The groan of wood was louder, more punctuated, as she added weight to her approaching step.

“When your ‘allies’ encountered us in the wetlands, had they spared you a glance? No. They pursued their own interests, they did what you should be doing. Is that not how your village operates?”

She followed up decisively, giving Tayuya little time to think, to formulate a response, to seal the gaps through which the Nadeshiko sowed her doubt. The room groaned. It was heavy.

“Your Lord and Master values that type of selfish judgment in a person...Am I wrong? Isn’t that how he is. Isn’t that how he operates. Isn’t that why…he chose Kiro? Why he…continues to choose Kiro—”

—over you.

She left her final words unsaid. Letting Tayuya fill in the blanks with her own self-turmoil.

The wood creaked, the loudest yet. Almost… too loud. Hidden from Tayuya’s view, her gaze focused elsewhere, Sagiso had transformed between steps. The footfalls that shook the room belonged not to the precocious Nadeshiko, but instead the effigy of serpents —Orochimaru.

“At least the Uchiha boy could make a crucial decision when it counted most.”

Her transformation held true, her voice raspy and tepid. Pale faced and with a looming presence, Orochimaru (Sagiso) hung over Tayuya, staring with his (her) piercing yellow eyes. In her envisioned tone of detachment, Sagiso drove the final nail into the coffin.

“You disappoint me… Tayuya.”

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Kou blinked, not quite registering what was happening. Are they...giving me free food? Is there some kind of catch? Is this ninja secret code word talk or-

His thoughts were interrupted when he was handed a menu. He looked up at the woman and the man, just now realizing they actually meant it. He was speechless. He had never been treated this way by a restaurant, as he had usually only seen the outside dumpsters of said places. Carefully handling the menu like some kind of prized possession, his eyes darted across the menu. All the scribblings on the menu...he realized one thing...

He didn’t know how to read.

Not knowing what to do, he tugged in sakura’s sleeve, he pointed to the menu.

“Um...what does this say?”


......



Reaver’s eyes lit up as blood spewed from the man’s hand. Right as his blood was boiling in anticipation for the kill...flames exploded seemingly from nowhere, throwing off the metal spear’s trajectory. He growled, metal from the axe coming back around, meshing together In noose like shape, similar to how he did just a bit earlier. Seeing the man suddenly lunge toward him, he flung the noose at him, only for it to mesh into the man’s hands than grasped his neck.

“GAH!”

Now in the grasp of the man, his breathe became sparse. The metal in the palms of the man’s hands rattling, trying to pry him off, to no avail. That’s when reaver got a different idea.

“Urk...D....DIE!”

suddenly, the metal rolled over to the man’s open hole in his hand, flattening like a sheet before suddenly netting inside, the metal net meshing grotesquely inside the man’s hands, meshing in with the bone and muscle. He would aim, now that he had control of the arm to break his other arm with stronger, more fortified force of that arm

 

[Grand Master Koop]

At Tayuya's reaction, Shura flinched where he stood. The overflowing killing intent emitting from the prisoner was even felt where he stood, which was a few steps further away from where Sagiso stood. Goosebumps began appearing on him as a cold tremor ran through his body, his instincts began emanating these reactions. He looked over to Sagiso as she was much closer to this sudden burst of bloodlust and, sure enough, seemed to be affected by it.

Her reaction that followed up truly surprised the Hyuga, from the subtle change in body language, Shura observed as Sagiso went from being fearful to being excited. Her body tensing from a different reason than fear. Shura continued to watch the scene in front of him silently, eyes widening as he watched Sagiso begin taunting Tayuya. "What the hell is she thinking?" He thought to himself, dumbfounded about what Sagiso was doing.

This whole situation went even more downhill as Shura looked at Sagiso slowly transform into the snake sannin in question that Tayuya was so loyal towards and start to taunt her on a much more personal level. "Why is she trying to provoque her like so? What is she..." Before he finished his thought, Shura stopped. Nothing will be accomplished if he stood around.

Dropping the bundle of hair he had wrapped around his arm, Shura's wide eyed dumbfounded expression narrowed into one that is serious and firm. He stared strait at the transformed Sagiso with a blank expressionless look. "I think you've said enough." Shura's voice was low, dry and cold.

 

[kyuukestu]

Hinagiku

“The message was only meant for its intended. Sensitive as its contents are, you must understand my reservations. The matter is, however, no longer in my hands. If it concerns you so, an audience with Fugaku shall be more forthcoming.”

Simply put, it was indeed too much to ask of her, for she would say nothing of the matter. Alternatively, there was another matter the Hyuga head wished to address.

“Speaking of discussion, I’ve an offer to present. A project if you will, and the Aburame’s assistance would streamline my proceedings. We’ve access to quite a few medicinal herbs, but are solely lacking in means to utilize. A fool and his wealth are soon parted, as they say. I’ve interest to enlist the Aburame in the pollination and horticulture of these crops, a lucrative endeavor, no doubt.”

 

[sSoul]

Taiyo
Once again, Taiyo had caused Furījia to stutter in her words. While it was something the leaf-nin found to be cute, it also caused him to worry a little for fear of msking her unessesarily uncomfortable.

“Mnn, I’ll head home now, I- I can introduce you to Mother.”

She said this with a fleeting smile and with the hair she usually hides behind revealing a slight blush.

"Well, lead the way. And by the way," The Leaf-nin paused to clear his throat, "You dont have to hide behind your hair all the time, it makes it harder to see your face," Naturally, his sister began to giggle with some sort of eagerness, much to the FBS master's embarrasment.
Seiun
To his surprise, the blade didn't keep a solid form once he pumped his elemenal chakra into the weapon. B.O.S.E.C however was ammused as it usually was.



“͞Heh́eh̡e͠...̕don͝’t g͘et ah҉e͏ad͟ o̢f͡ ̸yo͞ur̴se͜lf.͢ ҉You̵ don͞’͠t́ e̛ven kn͢ow th̕ȩ li͟m͝it͟s͜ of ̨what͞ thi̴s ca̧n͘ d̸o.͝ ͞N̴o̡w t͞hat͠ yo͝ư ̀h̶ave ̛the ba̴s͏ics̀ ha͡ndl҉ed͡, ̶try̨ ͢u͡t̷i̷li͠z͝i̴ng̢ ̛th̨is͟ new̴f͞ou̢nd͡ ̵to͜o͜l̕ to do͜ th̨ing̛s ̢tha̧t̕ w̡ere͝ pŕevi̕ous͜ĺy̕ out̢sid̵e y̶ou͝r ͜l̷ìmits҉.͟ W͞i̷t̸h ̷Gąhȩdr̸a,̕ ͠you ̕h͠av̧e ͟g̡r͞èa͝ter͞,͘ ͝re͘f͜i͢ne͟d,͜ c҉ont̷r͘o̶l.͜ ̧A̵nd҉ ̨wit͏h̢ y͟o͜u̷r ͏e͞l҉ect́rici̛ty͞, ̧tŕy͟ ͘t̶o͜ z͝áp̵ ̕ar҉ou͠nd̡ ͟t͟h̛at ̢cor͝n̷e̸r̷.͡”

Shrugging, the Rainy rouge decided to point the Gahedra towards the corner. Once again surprising him, a bolt of lightning zapped in the general area of the corner.

Cool...

 

[kyuukestu]

Furijia

Her blush strengthened slightly, immediately understanding the implications of Taiyo’s words. However, this time she looked back at him disapprovingly.

“Mother says flattery is the language of swindlers and con-artists.”

She gave a soft harrumph and turned away from Taiyo, setting off down the road towards the Hyuga Clan. Her shoulders shook slightly as she walked ahead, betraying her giggles as she led the way.

 

[Godjacob]

Slash!
​

Okabe's wind blade struck, and blood splattered as it clashed into something...but that something proved to be another caravan member, as Azumi had subtly locked a liquid shadow tendril into one and moved herself to place the member in her path as Okabe took down one of his own men. His eyes had widened, and while his wind blade cut through the flesh Azumi had moved behind him as she aimed to strike his side from behind with that bone crushing umbrella of hers.

The bruiser caravan member tried to crush Reaver's throat as quickly as he could, but his action had left the giant vulnerable as Reaver seemed to be able to manipulate that metal mesh as it quickly sunk into the wound on his arm. The masked caravan member made not even a groan in response, but it was not one that could be ignored as soon his arm became a puppet as it moved over to grasp at his other arm that had been around Reaver's throat as he tried to use his own arm to break his arm.

The monster groaned a bit, but even with this development his conviction remained strong as it applied more pressure around Reaver's throat; as it seemed willing to sacrifice its arm so long as it could crush Reaver's throat before it would be broken as it became a battle of wills and a race to see what would break first.

Unknown to either group, the caravan archer had summoned herself inside the caravan lair, as she moved into a hidden position as she pulled twin arrows with some electric crackles as she aimed to try and take down both Reaver & Azumi ready to strike them down with quick and ruthless precision.

----------
Sakura listened to Kou's request as it dawned on the kunoichi that the young kid may have lacked a chance to develop reading comprehension skills given his rather tragic and isolated upbringing. If that had been true Sakura would glance over to his menu to the item that Kou had pointed out.

"Pork Broth Ramen. Fresh cooked ramen made with boiled pork." Sakura said as she read the title and description to Kou.

----------
"That offer of yours sounds....suspiciously deflective, Lady Hyuga given the timing. It was not Lord Uchiha who wrote that letter and even if I went to him I'd probably only get one perspective and not perhaps the key one..." Masa pointed out even if her expression had not even swayed the slightest bit from the topic change.

Still, with that offer made Masa could not simply ignore it.

"Perhaps it'd be more lucrative once I hear what my clan would receive as compensation for these efforts. Since it would appear we'd be doing labor work for your clan I cannot allow such a service to be a voluntary one with no benefits. Something you can understand I am sure." Masa replied back to the Hyuga Head as she made her reasonable point that had to be addressed if her clan was to offer such a service on the benefit of the Hyuga.

-----​

Tayuya had avoided eye contact with Sagiso, Shura or really anyone in the room as she had not seen the reactions of Sagiso or Shura nerved by her killing intent earlier.

However, Sagiso recovered from it, and it had not taken long for the Hyuga from another nation to give a retort.

A scathing attack on not just Orochimaru, but her entire village she swore loyalty to. Everything from the way certain nin acted to its entire culture was categorized and judged by Sagiso as she outlined them as a band of backstabers and deserters who cared for their own self interests. That Orochimaru encouraged this attitude and actually chose individuals who showed more than others; claiming that was why Kiro was chosen above the others. Why he was chosen over her.

This elongated speech burning her entire village, her lord she admired and their very character got her teeth to rattle and clench as her fists balled together as Shura came up and criticized Sagiso's strong words.

"Oh no, if she wants to talk...I say she should fucking sing!"

Tayuya spat out and without warning lunged with speed beyond anything she had shown as she aimed to grasp Sagiso by the throat and work to try and pin her to a wall; her additional Taijutsu training at this Hyuga prison had served her well as she would easily be able to hold her up with one hand against the wall as the rage and look of pure malice in her eyes only added a boost.

"You sure love to run your fucking mouth on shit you know nothing about. You've been on that high horse of yours since the day I first saw you in this compound and it has gotten on my last nerve! I don't know what your plan here was but if it had been piss me off than congratulations you got the job done. So tell me genius what else is part of this master plan of yours, cause if it is a crushed windpipe it very well might be coming to unless you bother to tell me what the fucking point of your little story here was!" Tayuya spat, each word spoken with venom as she applied pressure to her attempted grab and would try to work answers out of this "all knowing" and unabashedly smug Hyuga.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Glancing off towards the side, Rasa looked at Pakura who had just whispered something to him. That something being the corrosive saliva leaking abundantly from the captive Jinchuriki's mouth as she flailed around. "Hmm, indeed. Something that needs to be looked into." The Kazekage responded.

When Madoka began speaking again, Rasa turned his head towards her, at first he didn't get why she was so interested in the prisoner's life story but he soo realized her possible intentions after listening to her word choice. "Ah, I see what she's trying to do. This could turn up a profit." He thought as his eyes widened slightly.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

Kou then made the connection with the pork ramen. Half out of shame and half out of shyness, he elected not to ask her to read off any other selections in the menu as to not highlight his lack of literature skills.

“Um...I would like that please.”

Still felt weird for him to be getting food like this...especially from a restaurant. He was a little nervous, like awaiting a robber to come out or switching to confess it was a con job.


.....


Kin urked, looking to pakura after she spoke those words. Her canine teeth began to show and thick acid began to pour from her tounge.

“No one gets to play me and live!” lashed out. “And when I get out of this hell hole im going to kill ‘em, that shadow guy, Kiro, and-“

Kin stopped in her long list of people to kill, her eyes narrowing on them. She was getting suspicious.

“And just why would YOU want to know?”



....


As Seiun shot the electricity, it arched violently, zapping beyond the bend and out of Seiun’s line of sight, it would seem his lighting had gotten not only more control and range, but accuracy around such a corner as well. Gahedra has overall improved his power with lighting immensely. B.O.S.E.C. Emerged from the corner, a black fake scorch mark on it’s talon.

“Y͠o̢u hit ̶ex͟áct̡ly̢ ͝o̧ņ ͘you̧r̀ m̀àrk.͝” B.O.S.E.C. Spoke. “͠G̷ahed͠ra̸ l̢o̶cks ͢i̧n̛to̢ a táŗg̕e̡t͟, n͢ot lett͘i̛n̢g t̴hem҉ go̧, constąnt̡l̸y̧ ͘şe̛eki̸ng̕ ̛them̧ oúţ ev͏en i̧f y̨ou͘ do̕n’͏t̵ ha̡ve̸ a̷ v́is͜ua͜l̕. Įt’́s p̵ra͏c̵t҉ic̵álly ̡a l̡ivi҉n͏g w̧eap̶o҉n,͘ l͏ooking on to ̴a ̨targèt͏’̡s biometr҉ic ͞sig҉n̛at͏ưre̷ ̨a̡nd̀ ̨neve̷r̛ stopp̕i̴ng͞ t̛h̶e̶ ҉a̛ssau̶l̵t. ̨If͝ ͜t̢h̡e Kagúy͜a ̕kne̷w one̶ ͞t͘h̡ing͠, ͞it ̀ẁas ̸to̸ b̡e̕ rȩlènt́ļess.̶”̀

Suddenly, footsteps were heard along the hallways...in several numbers. At least twelve sets of feet were on the way, seemingly in the nearby hallway.

“͞Look̢ś ͞ļi͏k̷e ҉w͝e’̴ll ̴h̴ave͘ ͠comp̢an͝y.͘.͘.͝ hm.̶ ̴L͞ook͡s̛ ͘lįk̶e͟ ̢I ẃi͡ll ͠have͡ ̴to ̡s̀k͞i̵p ̛t̶o̧ ho͞w ͘t̶o͟ ͡śt͞or͢e t͢h̛i͞s weap͝o̢n̶.̀ Lȩa̢v҉e i͘t̸ t́ò m͜e͝.”́

The construct glitched to seiun’s Front, it’s ‘eyes’ flashing bright white in a similar fashion as earlier. A transparent symbol very similar to the one one the suit of armor inscribed itself onto Seiun’s head. And in another bright flash...the weapon was gone.

“Halt!”

The guards arrived, chunnin and non-ninja with body armor. The surrounded him, aiming their spears at Him.

“We are to take you to custody and report you to Mei for a number of charges including: Attempted murder, Breaking and entering, and destruction of public property.”

They then reached in to grab his arms.


......

Reaver’s face turned red under the pressure. He wasn’t giving in so easily...neither was his enemy. It was a physical tug of war. His vision began to get blurry and his face grew numb. He began to doubt weather he could defeat him.

Please...Don’t do what you are thinking. Stop now while you still can.

Ignoring his inner voice, the scythe blade behind the man began to teeter, floating up slowly due to being in a choke hold. With one final movement, the blade flew right at the back of the man’s head. His arms restricted so they couldn’t interfere.

 

[kyuukestu]

Sagiso

Disgust flickered in Shura’s direction. Who did he think he was, butting into her business as he had a mind. ‘Defeated dogs should know their place! Tsk. Shut up and keep licking your wounds.’ The charged atmosphere left the kunoichi with a sharp edge. She only now noticed that Shura had carried bundles of her hair with him. Some sort of consolation prize? What kind of sick, perverted—

-Ugh

Sagiso choked, the wind knocked from her lungs as Tayuya decked her. A moment of distraction leaving her slammed against the wall, iron claws at her throat. Her eyes snapped back to Tayuya’s, yellow and serpentine, as she still wore the guise of Orochimaru. Melting away in a burst of smoke, the transformation was undone. With a snarling retort, the Nadeshiko bit back.

“Didn’t think you had it in you, attacking me while I still looked like your master.”

Sagiso turned and spat, a splatter of blood staining the floor as her earlier wounds were agitated.

“What’s wrong…did I touch a nerve?”

She continued to mock, steadily holding Tayuya’s gaze.

“Fuckidy Fuck Fuck Fuck! Heavens! I thought you were talking about yourself for a moment. Running your mouth and riding your high horse, why don’t you take a look in the mirror?”

Sneering, Sagiso’s chakra surged in her body, seeking to slip through the Chakra points along her neck and slip into Tayuya’s body, the sudden shock of chakra intended to briefly paralyze the kunoichi.

“If the shoe fits—”

The Nadeshiko lashed out with a kick. Intending to send Tayuya flying to the other side of the room. “—then wear it!”

Snorting and huffing, the kunoichi rubbed at her throat soothingly.

“Weren’t genjutsu users supposed to be smart? How comes you’re so fucking stupid?”

Pinning Tayuya to the ground with a gaze of sheer disappointment, Sagiso continued.

“Kidomaru would’ve never faltered like you did. He would've ‘betrayed’ Orochimaru on the spot, even just to pay lip service. A few word are hardly worth such a fuss. What are you preserving? Your honor? Honor among thieves? Are you joking? All the sound shinobi in the world and you’re the only one prattling like a little bitch. You know your bandaged friend? The one with the fur clothing? The Hyuga have his body, and do you know what we found out..? He died from a blow to the head, an explosive burst of… wind chakra. Ring any bells?”

Zaku, Kidomaru, the two Jinchuriki, each and every Oto-shinobi Sagiso had met was easily more willing to sacrifice that bit of integrity, comradery, whatever it was, to serve their lord. But oddly… Tayuya was not. She hadn’t even taken a direct opportunity to escape the leaf village. Who cares if she kept her word? She could’ve easily double-crossed and returned to Orochimaru after her escape. So what gives?

There was only really one conclusion.

“You’re cut from different cloth, you’re just too blind to see it. No, you refuse to see it. You know why you’re so angry?”

The kunoichi smirked, smugness hung on her lips and her voice was laced with absolute confidence. Everything was within her expectations, and Tayuya had been dancing to her tune… or so she made it seem. If there was one thing Sagiso was good it, it was bluffing. Tayuya and Kiro were only in prison because of her bluff, after all.

Stepping closer to Tayuya, her voice punctuated and self-gratifying, Sagiso picked up where she left off.

“You. Know. I’m. Right!”

She’d delivered her points as impactfully as she could, but now it was time to drive the final nail in the coffin and at the same time respond to Tayuya’s question.

“You and Kiro and no different, little pawns wrapped around someone’s pinky finger.”

She held out her own pinky pointedly.

“You want to know why I’m telling you all this?”

She withdrew her hand, placing her pinky on her lips, giving the nail a light, flirtatious chew.

“Then let’s hear it… O-N-E-E-S-A-M-A~”

 

[Grand Master Koop]

From behind the scene present, Shura had begun to move. After standing outside for the duration of the current confrontation, he was finally going to step into the room. His gaze kept its expressionless look as they homed in on Sagiso. "I don't think you heard me when I said I think you've said enough." His voice was devoid of emotions, almost monotonous. "I think I understand where you're getting at, but your method of conveying it is unnecessary." Shura was now standing close behind Sagiso. "You're also very obviously still pursuing your own desires." He added, commenting on Sagiso's last request towards Tayuya.

 

[Godjacob]

"I figure it would be a better topic to focus on desires towards your enemies than simply sitting in a cell waiting for possible death. Though when you get out? As it stands now you are on death row so if nothing changes you are destined to meet your end here while those who did you wrong get off scott free." Madoka replied blankly with a shrug, as if it had been so innocent. But in truth she had learned a lot from Kin in this exchange as she seemed to get a basic idea of how the girl operated. Naturally, she slipped in a point that unless Kin had done something now to alter her faith she very well would be denied revenge against those who stabbed her in the back.

Pakura watched in silence. Curious where this would go but said nothing for the moment.

-----------
"Alright. One pork ramen coming up, and for you my dear?" Teuichi asked as Sakura glanced at her menu momentarily before she settled on what had been her usual here.

"One Vegie Special Ramen please." Sakura said as the owner nodded as he took the menus and he and his granddaughter went to work preparing the food for the pair.

-----------
Tayuya groaned as she was flipped on her back and laid flat out as she wiggled a bit in place though her body sluggish to respond due to the Hyuga's body fuckery which only made her a bit adijiated as Sagiso once more began another of her annoying lectures.

Much as she hated to admit it, she was right about one thing. This entire prisoner situation made Tayuya a bit careless as just lying would have worked wonders to allow her to escape and regroup to Oto. She'd never admit this to the smug Hyuga, nor anyone else in the room but that was a point of carelessness she'd probably kick herself over.

Irregardless, she continued to listen to Sagiso chew her out. Insisting that Tayuya was "different" than the other Oto-nin and had some sense of honor among thieves. That she was frustrated mainly because deep down she knew Sagiso was "right" about her and to top it all off she went as far as to say there had been no difference between herself and Kiro.

No difference between herself and Kiro.

No difference....between herself.....and Kiro.

No. Difference.

"H-hehehehe....you know, I got you all wrong. All this time I thought you were some privileged blue blood with a stick shoved up your ass. You are still all those things, but now it appears that you proved to not be a ninja but a comedian instead. You are hilarious I cannot stop laughing. It's killing me...." Tayuya said with a cackle as she dug her nail into her palm and eyed the Hyuga as she refused to acknowledge the "onee-sama" comment.

"Why don't we find out for ourselves just how different I am from Kiro. And what better way to settle it than a match, we got some spare time for a friendly spar no?" Tayuya said, just hiding the malice in her voice though it remained present all the same as this little speech seemed to inspire Tayuya to make the open challenge to Sagiso.

 

[kyuukestu]

Sagiso

“I’m after my own interests, of course, this ain’t no charity.”

The Nadeshiko kunoichi huffed, her gaze eyes diverting slightly from her quarry.

“Don’t coddle her unless she asks for it, she’s a big girl.”

A point which Tayuya herself immediately backed up by pulling her own weight and speaking for herself. She offered a bold challenge, one Sagiso intended to accept without reservation. Tossing her shoulder, the Nadeshiko kunoichi gestured for Tayuya to follow, then she strut out of the house, making her way to a training field.

There she stood, eyes sealed shut. Oh... She would enjoy this!

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Shura Scoffed. "No charity huh, what you're offering isn't anything a charity would want in the first place." He thought to himself upon hearing Sagiso's reply. "My intension has nothing to do with coddling her, trust me I know she's capable of defending herself. I don't like what you're doing so I'm acting on it, simple as that." Shura replied.

Seeing Tayuya follow up with by issuing a challenge to Sagiso, Shura frowned his brows. After Sagiso left the room in the direction of the training halls, The Hyuga turned to look at Tayuya. "This is a horrible idea and you should know that. You are playing right into Sagiso's hands." He warned the sound ninja prisoner, unsure his warning would contribute to anything.

 

[Shen: King of Digimon]

“I’d love nothin’ better than to show them what I can do to my enemies...” kin growled. “Except some low life sand suckers are preventing from doing just that!”

She hissed, he talons causing light scratching in the chains, nothing to break them, but enough to cause visible wear, even if light. She struggled in her bonds, glaring up at Madoka. It seems as though she didn’t understand clearly why they were instigating her. It became clear how Yukimaru’s condition had escaped her mind for so long. She was an idiot.



.......



Kou nodded with what the man said, not even knowing what was coming his was really. He never had ramen before, though he had gotten scrounged pork before, albeit cold. But it was one of the better things one could find on the streets, so that had to count for something. He shifted in his seat, looking to the left and right for this Kakashi Guy to show his face.



..........



Kai stormed off, making it to his room in the Yuki compound with his book in hand. He opened the door to his obode, revealing the room. It was fairly simple structured, a bed at the far side of the room with a row of hunter nin masks identical to his he had on his hip over it. On the left there was a large desk with books on it, one being a limited edition book of all Xenos copy. One could guess how he aquired it.

There were paintings of koi fish, sunsets, and poster of a famous pop band that Kai enjoyed: the water wisps. A guilty please of his for sure, but now was hardly the time to dwell on bands or art, but rather the book he aquired, if one could call it that. He held it up in the air as he laid on his bed, frowing at the blank pages.

I need to solve this...Riddle. This would be much easier if Kanshi or Kiro were here...now they are both gone... Kai bitterly sighed Kanshi...his attitude and idealism while rambunctious was welcoming. You treated me the same as you rather than a prince. Kiro, you opened my eyes. Even if you weren’t of mist blood, I-“

Wait...

Kai has gotten an idea. He grabbed a senbon, lowering it to his palm, cutting enough of the skin for one drop of blood to emerge. He held it over the pages.

“Of course, one ingredient that Xenos could never accomplish in stealing...Pure mist blood.”

The droplet fell onto the page. For several seconds, nothing happened. He waited for baited breath for something to happen. After half a minute, the page began to ripple...text appearing... He stifled a laugh before quickly busing himself, not wanting anyone to find out he was there with the book. Taking what he could, he readied a shaky hand to the first page


.............
.............
.............
*********
10 Years Ago
*********

Have you ever wondered...what draws the line between life and death? When does one truly die? When their body stops functioning? When they cannot have memory? When they cease to give a pulse? Many of mankinds’s philosphies of life and death have been vauge at best...I never thought I would ever have to consider weather something was or wasn’t dead. it never occoured to me the horrors I saw that day were even possible.

I apologize, I haven’t even properly introduced myself. I am Jako Yuki, Honor Guard of Heart. As an honor guard, my sole loyalty is to the clan head, no other. You see, the Honor Guard of Heart’s role is to be a key advisor. To be the voice of the clan to the clan head. Not only that, but the master of raising our clan’s morale, knowing exactly what buttons to push, as well as knowing which kens would shatter the enemy’s morale. I have always been effective and timely about my duties.

The events of today were alarming, to say the least. After the death of lady Roanna, we mourned for her, and Haiahu of the Hü clan came to bid her sorrows and respects as well...or so it seemed. She quickly took the opportunity to take hostages once Jin had denied her revenge plot. Several hostages were taken from all around the village... including the families of my past life. As an honor guard we sever all contact with our past life. We put on our armor and never look back. No contact. No anything. We train to become a unified force built for our only goal. The kidnapping didn’t budge my resolve. Not in the slightest. As the Honor guard of heart it was my occupation to see through such morale shattering tactics.

After hours of delibeteration and planning, we set off to reclaim our forces, with Jin leading a stealth operation beforehand. It was unusual for the clan head to go a mission alone without a single honorguard to protect them, but we obeyed as loyal tools.

Soon enough, noise erupted from the compound, Jin had found hostages and were leading them out of the compound when Haiahu had found him. She had a large force of angry Hü to aid her. It would be a bloodbath....

...I didn’t know how accurate that term was.

If you had ever fought a Hü, you would think you would simply need to counter the enemy’s moves with help of your allies to overtake them. After all, with the numbers advantage we had it would have been easy.

That phrase could not have been more wrong.

They were savage, using their own blood and guts to forge weapons against us. I beared witness to dozens of men and women die by blood being Force down their throats and eyesockets. It’s an excruciating process, and the numb pain they were in...pure and utter evil

It didn’t stop there. Oh no. That's just the beginning. The Hü fought us with our own kind. Have you ever been restrained by the lower intenstines of your fallen comrades? Coiled with the mess of mop like hair and tounges, all tied up in a grosteque fashion. What’s the use of fighting an enemy if all the forces you bring are giving them fresh weapons to use? Numbers were useless.

Midway through the bloodiest fight in the mist village’s history, the Hü had unveiled a new weapon they had crafted. We coined them ‘Patchworks’. A Patchwork is where they took a single Hü and forced it to combine with hundreds or even thousands of pounds of meat and flesh, fusing them into gigantic forms made of pure msucle power. Some were crafted rather...delicately for a meat abomination, even having layers of skin to adorn them. Those seemed rather tame...but then came the latest wave. These Patchwork’s were rushed, like they cobbled them together in a hurry. There were still arms...HUMAN arms dangling from them. Ribs spikes through in several areas and even teeth lining the outer layer of the muscle. It had been abundantly clear that this wasn’t any ordinary meat. This was pure human meat.

They had so much of it, they must have been stockpiling them for years, decades even! They slithered, stomped, and squished onto the battlefield. Hordes of bugs followed their every moment, rotting flesh pouring from their orfices. The smell...Kami...the smell. It was what you would smell if you were in the Bottom most layer of hell.

One of these forms came my way, a fresh one by the looks of it. It had dark cyan hair dripping down from it’s ‘neck’...a rare hair color...but familiar. My own was cyan you see. A heavy coincidence. But then...my eye caught something heart wrenching. A wooden ring I had fashioned my mother from when I was six...was snuggly aroun a finger sticking out from the cheek of the creature. After all these years I had of trying to forget my past life and put it Behind me...she never forgot. Not even at the end...

I froze, falling to the ground. I yanked off my helmet and vomited on the gore covered ground. A nightmare. I was the Honor guard of Heart, unbrekable of will...broken. Just like that.



*
**
*****

“This story...it doesn’t appear to be related to Damos even in the slightest...” Kai complained. “No matter...I’m sure we can get through these accounts and onto what happens next...”

Kai flopped another page, only to find the next set blank. What the?? But I already solved it! Why is there no text?!?

 

[Godjacob]

"Well that the moment those same "low life sand suckers" are the only reason you are not dead yet at this point..." Madoka replied, Kin's simplicity over the situation quite clear as she was unphased by the mindless thrashing even as she threatened to whatever minor degree weaken the restraints that held her. Whether this was genuine uncaring about Kin's attempts to bust out or a convincing bluff was impossible to tell.

Pakura looked on as she felt she should speak but figured she wanted to know where Madoka would go next with this.

"Really your options are limited and grim. If you do not show any desire to do anything but curse at us and prove unworkable with then you will simply be replaced. And your dreams of vengeance die here on a flat note. I can't decide what you do with this all I can do is let you know where your current path leads you if you insist on following it without even a slight alteration." Madoka said with a shrug, she had picked up on much insight from Kin at this point as she simply left it on a table; if Kin continued to be difficult and refused any even remote consideration of working with them then it would lead to her death. Cut and period, and it wouldn't even disrupt Suna's operations and merely allow those she holds a grudge against to escape without "justice" at her hands. How this would impact Kin remained to be seen.

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

Sakura decided to break the silence with casual conversation, her expression looked as if she was also waiting on someone. A masterful acting job if there was one but she wanted to give something to talk about beyond that and opened up an innocent conversation starter.

-----------
Tayuya would be quick to get up, dusting her top for a moment before she followed Sagiso to where their little spar would take place. It didn't make much difference to the Oto prisoner as she had a lot of venting to do and the Hyuga would be the most pleasing punching bag to use for this end.

Course, Shura came up to her and voiced his thoughts on this. Claiming that she was simply playing into Sagiso's hands with this and that this had been a horrible idea. Tayuya's thoughts on that?

"I don't care. I get a chance to knock her teeth loose without getting in trouble, and I am gonna take it. Not like I have anything to lose." Tayuya countered to Shura as she seemed dead set on this match even if she seemed to know it had been Sagiso's plan.

 

[sSoul]

Seiun
The rouge-nin smiled as he witnessed the Gahedra in action.

“͠G̷ahed͠ra̸ l̢o̶cks ͢i̧n̛to̢ a táŗg̕e̡t͟, n͢ot lett͘i̛n̢g t̴hem҉ go̧, constąnt̡l̸y̧ ͘şe̛eki̸ng̕ ̛them̧ oúţ ev͏en i̧f y̨ou͘ do̕n’͏t̵ ha̡ve̸ a̷ v́is͜ua͜l̕. Įt’́s p̵ra͏c̵t҉ic̵álly ̡a l̡ivi҉n͏g w̧eap̶o҉n,͘ l͏ooking on to ̴a ̨targèt͏’̡s biometr҉ic ͞sig҉n̛at͏ưre̷ ̨a̡nd̀ ̨neve̷r̛ stopp̕i̴ng͞ t̛h̶e̶ ҉a̛ssau̶l̵t. ̨If͝ ͜t̢h̡e Kagúy͜a ̕kne̷w one̶ ͞t͘h̡ing͠, ͞it ̀ẁas ̸to̸ b̡e̕ rȩlènt́ļess.̶”̀

As Seiun nodded, he began to hear footsteps in the museum.

Oh don't tell me...

“͞Look̢ś ͞ļi͏k̷e ҉w͝e’̴ll ̴h̴ave͘ ͠comp̢an͝y.͘.͘.͝ hm.̶ ̴L͞ook͡s̛ ͘lįk̶e͟ ̢I ẃi͡ll ͠have͡ ̴to ̡s̀k͞i̵p ̛t̶o̧ ho͞w ͘t̶o͟ ͡śt͞or͢e t͢h̛i͞s weap͝o̢n̶.̀ Lȩa̢v҉e i͘t̸ t́ò m͜e͝.”́

To his displeasure, the former ame-nin was greeted by a bunch of guards, likely here at the request of that old man.

“Halt! We are to take you to custody and report you to Mei for a number of charges including: Attempted murder, Breaking and entering, and destruction of public property.”

Seiun gulped as his arms were seized. He was struggling, but didnt expect to break free from their hold.

So should I just let these guys take me, or can I stun them?
Taiyo
“Mother says flattery is the language of swindlers and con-artists.”

This, coupled with the harrumph noise set Taiyo in a state of confusion and panic. Clearly, this wasn't how she usually acted, unless it was and she was just being extra friendly for some reason. These thoughts swirled in his head as he made his way over to the Hyuga manor, his little sister fighting to contain her giggles.

 

[kyuukestu]

Hinagiku

“Deflective? Not at all. The answers you seek lie with the Uchiha. That’s all there is to it.”

Shifting her weight along her guandao, the Hyūga Matriarch adjusted herself, holding her weight against the weapon with only a single hand. With her other hand, she displayed two fingers.

“20% Of the final profits, sounds fair?”

Sagisō

“I don’t suppose you’ll mind if we get this started, do you~?”

The Fuinjutsu seals along her arm flashed, a pair of dark and translucent gloves appearing. The Nadeshiko slipped her fingers into them, the steely threads cool against her skin. She hadn’t bothered to sue her Silk-Steel gloves against Shura —deeming it cheating— but had no qualms using them here.

She had expected Tayuya to use the time preparing herself for combat, and thus, so no reason to delay the inevitable.

“Heavenly Skilful Star, Yan Yizhen. Little Sister should take care, I won’t be holding back!”

She advanced, not as she usually did, under the cover of a hail of shuriken, but in the most direct manor. A fierce approach from the front. Her fist clenched as her side, visible distortions surrounding her hand as wind chakra amassed. “Nadeshiko Style: Hardliner Gale Fist!”

She approached with the intent to deliver a knife-handed stab, straight towards the chest of the sound kunoichi.

Furījia/Hyūga Guard

The path back to the Hyūga mansion was short...shorter than it should’ve been. In no time at all Furījia was standing at the manor’s gates, the on-duty door guards noticing their approach.

…

“Halt! The Clan grounds are temp— Oh, young miss, you’ve returned, and I see you’ve brought...friends.”

The guard’s eyes flickered, landing on Susei first. The young missus had never brought a friend to the mansion. For that matter, she hardly left the mansion. Always cooped up at the training ground of clan hall, the duties of the young heiress were many, and she adhered to her routine strictly. He would know. He— no, they— had always been watching her. This girl who strained under the weight of their own well-being, shackling herself with a yolk not yet hers to carry.

The old mistress was...unorthodox, her means and methods even more so. While her methods were often...effective, many a times had their necessity been questioned. He had been there that fateful night. He had seen Furījia’s baptism of fire and seen the overnight change in the girl. He remembered fondly that, once upon a time, the young lady loved to spar with the guards, bringing them sweets and refreshments afterward. Although it wasn’t much, it was a welcome break from their strict duties.

Oftentimes, watching the simple joy and enthusiasm she applied to everything she did was rejuvenating. Even if the results were...less than ideal.

The guard shuddered, repressing a dark memory from many moons ago. Still whispered among the guard detail to this day, the mooncakes incident which had grounded an entire unit of the Xuanwu to the infirmary room.

Despite her flaws and vices, the little flower was a princess of the Hyūga (and far less of a headache than that pervy little minx), and the clan would always support her...if only she’d open up to them a bit more.

Breaking from his reminiscence, the guard’s eye landed on the final member of the trio...

…

Furījia tilted her head to one side, staring at the guard who’d gone woefully silent, his gaze rooted onto Taiyo. He seemed utterly baffled, like the very existence of the fiery shinobi conflicted with his world views. Bafflement soon become realization, and soon utter rage.

“YOOOUUUUU!!!”

Furījia recoiled in shock, the guard’s howl instantly alerting the other on-duty members. Reinforcements poured from the main doors, at first with concerned curiosity but as soon as their eyes landed on Taiyo, their stances grew hostile.

…

The guard burned with a belly of rage, his voice a deep bellow.

“So you came back for seconds, huh, punk!?”

In truth, for the guard regiment of the Hyūga Clan, there was no man more heinous than Akugami Taiyo. His escape on that day had been pure fluke, a stain on their record, the single most shameful moment of their careers.

For there was no man more infamous, more notorious, more legendary than Akugami Taiyo, the man who molested their young lady...and got away.

Baiyan

The girl lurked beneath the earth, staying hidden as she carefully scoped out the situation above-ground. She couldn’t charge rashly as she’d be going in blind, an act far too reckless for a situation such as this. Using the earth as an extension of her senses, the sightless shinobi began to take measure, the reverberation of steps (varied by weight) telling her the location and approximate weights of the combatants.

She double checked with the sensing technique, affirming the locations once again through the pulses of chakra rippling with their breaths. Azumi and Reaver seemed...engaged, but their steps were peppy, their frequency rapid, not at all like people who were gravely injured, or thus she concluded. She allowed her attention to drift from them, noting a few other chakra signals which didn’t engage in battle.

The moved to investigate, but quickly changed course as a chakra flare blipped on her radar. ‘The archer? So quickly?’ It figured that there would be other ways into the base, but Baiyan had hoped to buy a little more time with her ploy.

From the intensity and feel of the chakra as it gathered, she deduced the archer had drawn two more arrows. Though then again, was that not the obvious conclusion?

Swimming through the earthen embrace, Baiyan maneuvered herself behind the archer. She began pouring chakra into the earth, her hand slowly brought to the hilt of her blade.

Her intention was to collapse the archer’s footing, prompting the girl to fall backward into a small hole where she (her blade) would await while also interfering with her shot.

As soon as the ground had reached sufficient saturation, it caved away. She could now feel the warmth of light as it spilled across her face. Right on the archer’s heels, a hole had appeared, the crumbling earth nipping at her heels, where gravity’s pull would (hopefully) deliver her to death’s embrace. “Nadeshiko Style: Bloom and Sever!”

Holding nothing back, she swung. A sword strike like the wind, appearing in an instant, and then gone without a trace. Needless to say, her sword had also been coated in wind chakra, the sharpened edge extending her reach. On a good swing, she would cleave the archer in twain. On a slightly less good swing, she would settle for spilling her guts along the cavern floor.

 

[sSoul]

Taiyo
The confused thoughts that Furījia's tease had induced were stuffed under the rug as they approached the Hyuga manor. There seemed to be a guard on duty there who had noticed their presence.

“Halt! The Clan grounds are temp— Oh, young miss, you’ve returned, and I see you’ve brought...friends.”

Taiyo tilted his head until he realized the guard was studying his sister, for reasons unknown to the genin. Afterwards, the FBS master had noticed that the guard was taking a long time staring at him, like he was trying to accept thw fact that he existed. Finally, a single word had broken the silence.

“YOOOUUUUU!!!”

Me?
Me?

Not too long after, the firey shinobi found himself surrounded by a bunch of Hyuga guards, much to his displeasure.

The worst part is that this isn't even the first time a scenario like this happened.

“So you came back for seconds, huh, punk!?”

Putting down Susei, the FBS master cleared his throat before beginning a tirade.

"Seconds?! You haven't even served me firsts! I don't know why you just turned hostile all the sudden but lemme just clear something up: I am a friend of Furījia, and if I had hurt her in any way, dont hesitate to tell me, because I want to make sure that she is happy. Why? Simple, because I care!"