Welcome to Gaia! ::

✠-✠-✠ The ocean turned to red
xxx✠-✠-✠ In the fall, in the fall
xxxxxx✠-✠-✠ when the tide took them all



Letting out a small gasp as the cloth wrap around her wound and applied some pressure. She looked up at her cousin as he continued to attend to her wound. She gave a huff, before looking up at him. He seemed a lot more gentle than he was before, almost like he was going to spare her from the murder he seems to bring to people. With a sigh, she got up off the ground. She nodded as he shared her thought about getting out of the Academy, oh how she loved how she wasn't the only one trying to get out of here. She nodded in agreement as he took her hand and began to lead her away. Dropping her hand, he continued to walk away. She was a fairly quiet person, so she simply walked along side him. She was just hardly half his height, but that didn't matter. She just focused on her training to get out of there.

"Your welcome. You are my cousin afterall..." Nova replied. She simply continued on next to him. It was hard to find a good place to train when everyone was being so noisy, and lots of people around to distract them. With a sigh, Nova looked up to Myoutsu. She raised an eyebrow, wondering what it was he was going to do in the near future. So she decided to ask him. She had a few theories on what it was he was going to do, but she didn't know if it was right. It was a guess depending on how he acted and his personality.

"So, Myoutsu-San. Are you planning on killing everyone of the Volcano? Or is there something else you have in mind?"

✠-✠-✠ The ocean turned to red
xxx✠-✠-✠ In the fall, in the fall
xxxxxx✠-✠-✠ when the tide took them all



Oh, so she was right. She had just taken a shot in the dark, and it seemed like her guesses were right. She looked down at the ground and listened to her cousin begin to tell her his master plan, right off the bat. Did that mean he trusted her in the slightest? She doubted it. But he did just finish saying he was thinking about not killing her. With a sigh, she continued to listen as he went on and on. Oh yes, she knew about Rikiya Suzaku, but she never did form an opinion on him. He seemed okay, but all she knew were the stories she had heard from villagers. Yes, he had killed his parents, but what else did he do? Nothing. As far as Nova was concerned, he was just fighting for something he wanted. But something else caught her attention. It wasn't the fact that Myoutsu wanted to kill all Suzaku members, or the fact that he wanted to track down this small child. No, not at all. It was who came between them. Xio Zoto. Her sister. She didn't care much for her sister, nor did she care much if she was alive or dead. Nova didn't hate her as much as Myoutsu seemed to, she did resent her for once again being the favorite. Even when she was young, her older sister had everything. Nova kept an emotionless face on as she looked up. Her classmates were looking at her, her shoulder was bloody, her neck had a few scratches on it, Myoutsu had blood all over him. They must look really odd, almost like they tried to beat the crap out of each other. When the crazy boy finished, Nova took hold of his hand and jerked him to the side, walking into the forest. she dragged him along, out of sight from the other children. Once they were far enough away from them, Nova let go of his hand, walked a few paces in front of him and turned to him. She held out her hands, as if she was going to give him a hug. She looked up with a rather angry gleam in her eye, as she waited a few moments.

"Go ahead and kill me if you want. But I assure you, I could have been a great help to you. But do not, for one second, think you can control me. Not only am I a Suzaku clan member..." She paused for a moment, wondering if this was a good idea. She was ready for death, she always had been, but now she was simply hoping her brains could get her out of it. Even if he did plan on killing her in the future, she wouldn't go down without a fight. "...I'm related to Xio."

☢ ☢ ☢ xxxxxxxx Ϻӯσυтʂυ Șυȥɑκυ ☢xxxxxxxxxxxxx

PLEASE DON'T STEAL!
JUST ASK!

☠ ☠ ☠Branded like an animal!
xxx☠ ☠ ☠I can still feel the burn in my mind!
xxxxxx☠ ☠ ☠I do believe that you made your message clear!
xxxxxxxxx☠ ☠ ☠I think I'm losin' my mind, I think I'm losin' my mind!

Myoutsu was somewhat thinking of how they will train… What will they train about? He knew just what. “A Cloning jutsu?,” He asked to nobody in particularly and he then began to do the needed handsign. He made two duplicate of himself, and he did the same thing again and again and again. He was doing it until he had 5 duplicate and that was when he couldn’t make more… No he was weak at the moment. He threw his Katana on the ground and let the blade stick on the grassy floor, Pulling out two kunai’s from his pouch he ran to her. He ran forward and threw one of the kunai at her shoulder just barely missing her, no this was training, he was holding back… She was his cousin and she had use for him, he wasn’t going to kill her right now. He ran to her ready to slash at her cheek with his kunai, his free hand back in the pouch, he had a good defense so right now he didn’t have problems.

...Don't know how much I can take☣ ☣ ☣
...Secret thoughts inside me wake☣ ☣ ☣xxx
...I've lost what was within me☣ ☣ ☣xxxxxx
...Oh sweet insanity☣ ☣ ☣xxxxxxxxx

Five boys, all born just minutes apart. Each one held their own story as well as their own personality, having been raised in particular ways to diversify their likeness. They were born in Hidden Heaven under the Soshi Clan, a clan imbued with strong elemental powers. However, unlike the other families where they would span from at most 2 elements, these brothers each held their own elemental affinity. The eldest was named Kasshoku Yousai, nicknamed Terra. He was raised to believe in the spirits of the Earth and to respect all life as they were. He grew up to be kind, loving, yet very defendant of his brothers or the planet itself. His understanding of the spiritual world that involves the Earth knows almost no bounds when it comes to the spirits that he bothered to care about and he grew to be rather stoic when it came to fighting. The second eldest was Aoi Yousai, nicknamed Aquis. He held the affinity for water so he learned the flow of life. How the river of time affected all things and how water brings forth life as well as carves it away. He was granted the knowledge of all sea life that he could possibly hope to learn but at the same time, he was taught to be diligent in his studies and hold the most intelligence of the group. The third eldest was a flashy playboy named Koushoku Yousai, nicknamed Procella. Gifted in the affinity of lightning, was sent to the temple of the Lightning God where he was surrounded by teachers and nuns, mainly female, who taught him the very essence of the Gods. Though he was to learn how to control lightning, learning on how to woo the women was a bit greater in his mind. Of course, this goes without saying that he would get scolded and hit every time which only added to his cravings for female attention in the… more loving manner. The second youngest brother is Niiro, aka Pyros. His prowess in the art of fire was so great when he was young, he was taught to control fire far before his other brothers. However, he became corrupted from its destructive powers and craved for the destruction of things. Burning things in secret, he fed his greatest desire to watch everything and everyone to burn but still managed to keep it in check whenever his brothers were around. How he would learn to control fire to the point where he could engulf the entire world, he could only dream in his blood and gore filled mind. The final brother was Ao, otherwise known as Ventus. A boy granted the power of wind, he was taught to understand the sky at the highest point of the mountain, watching as the birds and the dragons as they were able to fly into the sky. He learned of how the wind flows like rivers in the sky at high points and how wind would only blow in certain directions under the right conditions. He grew lean and able to glide along with the wind as he ran, allowing him to be the fastest moving out of them all.

It was not long for the brothers to master their initial training in learning and understanding their elements but as soon as they reached the age of 16, they were allowed to leave the village and train within the Shinobi Academy.

Aquis took his first step onto the premises of the Academy and took in a deep breath of air, holding it for a second before letting out in a satisfied sigh. There was nothing like it to him, the smell of knowledge. He looked towards his brothers and proceeded to say,

"Is this great or what? Not only are we going to be called ninja at the end of our training here but we will be able to finally go out into the world! Think of all the good we can do when we become Shinobi!"
"You know very well Aquis that a job of a Shinobi is to kill. I just can not wait until I am able to see the soul of a person be ripped from their bodies when I pull their still beating hearts out of their chests."
"Yeah, yeah we get it Pyros. You are an evil, evil man. Whatever. Just do it in a way where it is fun for all of us alright?"
"And not to destroy the Mushi or the environment."
"Oh please, not this crap again. How many times do we have to tell you that those creatures you claim to see are NOT REAL. No one can see them that we know about so I swear. Shut up about them!"
"Pyros, why do you even care? Let the man get high and see what he damn well wants to see. Speaking of seeing things, I see a prize that I would enjoy to wrap my hands around..."

With that, Procella swept over to a young looking girl, holding her right hand lightly with his left hand and his right arm wrapped around her waist as he gazed into her eyes with a soft look of passion. He leaned closely in front of her before whispering,

"You are quite the lady, so young, pure... Innocent. How your emerald green eyes call to me to show you love the only way I know how..."

Procella started to move to give her a kiss before a hand gripped him on the shoulder rather tightly. He jerked his head around to see that Terra had him gripped at a pressure point. The man shook his head, a roll of paper with greens inside, smoking at the tip. Procella made a mental curse towards Terra before looking back towards Nigimay and brought her back into a normal standing position before saying with disdain,

"My apologies, it seems that I have gotten carried away. My name is Koushoku Yousai. But you, my dear, can call me Procella."
"My name is Aoi Yousai, otherwise known as Aquis. A pleasure to meet you."
"I am Ao Yousai. But everyone calls me Ventus. Nice to meet cha!"
"Kasshoku Yousai. Like my brothers, people call me Terra. Nice to make your acquaintance."
"Niiro Yousai. Pyros. Just do not go snitching on me if I do something or I will rip your eyes and tongue out and feed them to the dogs."
"Bastards... Trying to make me look bad in front of women..."

Aquis' shoulder slumped as she did not call his name amongst his brothers. Obviously, he was not the most noticeable amongst his brothers but that will change one day... He could only hope at the very least. The thought amongst all the brothers were pretty much the same at that point after she introduced herself. Her mindset was that equal to a child's. If it was lower, they would find out eventually but that was never a friendship breaker. In Pyro's case, it just meant he would not be feeling a bit regretful if he were to burn her into a crisp. On that note, his right eyebrow raised as he heard her comment about all of the animal kingdom will come to attack and kill him. He grinned a toothy smile.

"I welcome their challenge then. I will make sure to feast well upon their charred hides when I am through burning this world to the ground."
"What did I tell you about the balance of nature Pyros?"
"That is something to play around with and tilt in the favor of your cause?"
"Pyros, you know better. Anyways, I do not believe that we have met you or vice versa. As for that tail of yours, it appears you are a Kitsune are you not? If you are not, then maybe you are of kin?"

Ventus was actually eying her tail and ears, wondering if they were attached to just part of a greater costume that this girl occasionally wears. She seemed to be a bit childish for someone past the age of 8.

((Sorry for the wait, didn't have much drive to post until now. >_<; ))






Aquis straightened up as she said that he should not slouch as he was too cute for it. A slight blush crossed over his face as he turned away, scratching at his chin with a sheepish smile, not knowing what to say in response. It was the first time he had been complimented like that before. As for Pyros, he only rolled his eyes. It would be hard to breed when they are on fire. He decided not to respond as that was going to only cause her to reply in her childish manner. It was a never ending fight that no one will win so long as both sides fight like children. That was something he did not care to bother with when he could be causing chaos and destruction but no... He was stuck here because of his brothers and their idiocy. He looked over to Procella who had his backed turned and his face had the look of complete jealousy that his brother was the one that got the praise from a woman and it was not him. He was not used to that at all, that was for sure.

Terra watched as she quickly sniffed them all while the majority were distracted with premeditation or thought before moving back to think about their smell... She really was like an animal, and of that, she was really like something from the canine family. She had a fox tail, but she does not call herself a Kitsune... What could she be then? A rare case of a human and a Mushi interbreeding? Terra took in a breath and blew out some smoke, trying to figure out what she was if not a Kitsune. As for Ventus, he walked up to the girl with a smile on his face and said,

"Well, whether or not you are or are related to the Kitsune, you still look pretty cute."

"Hmm hm hm la la hm laa!" The slightly off-key humming could be heard before the person doing it could be seen. A moment later, a pair of yellow fox ears could be seen twitching on the far side of the low wall that ran across the entirety of the Academy's front. It was no security measure, just about any could just hop over it without the slightest bit of effort. No, it was just for decoration, or possibly some esoteric branch of feng shui. Regardless, it was tall enough to almost hide the young fox girl from sight. Almost.

Eventually, she reached the gate and passed through, still humming as she skipped down the way. She looked for all the world like just another youngster sent to study Ninjutsu and stuff like that, to become a ninja and bring greater wealth and prestige to her home village. Of course, while she was acting like a normal youngster, there were a few differences. The most obvious of which were her ears and tails. Yes, plural tails, she had more than one. The exact number was actually a secret, only two were visible at the moment. Though even that seemed a bit much, considering just how wonderfully fluffy they seemed. More than one person almost found themselves approaching her tails and making grabby hands at them, before they caught themselves, coughed awkwardly, and forced themselves to walk away. She was used to it by now, it happened more often than you would think.

As she approached the Academy's door, she looked up at it for a moment. It was certainly a... big Academy. Was that good? Or had they become so industrialized that the true point of the place was long since transitioned out? Really, the economic viability of the 'cookie cutter ninja' was trifling at best, and the potential ramifications of non-versatility was enough to make anyone sit up and take notice. Why, the stock dividends alone could plummet over twenty points if the true nature of the Academy became publically known!

Oops, there she went again. She was supposed to be acting like a kid, thinking about stuff like that was a rather big breach of protocol. And there was no excuse for it, either. She had had months, years of practice at staying in character! To mess up without any provocation was just... well, it just wasn't done! Shaking her head, she forced herself back on topic, and back into the proper mindset of a somewhat precocious newbie ninja cadet, eager to learn and make friends. That was more or less what was called for, yes? So she plastered a big, sparkly smile on her face and skipped- actually skipped!- the rest of the way to the steps leading up to the Academy.

Along the way, she saw a few other students, ones who appeared just a few years older than her. So she skidded to a stop before greeting them warmly, as if she had known them her entire life. They were a little less enthusiastic in returning the reply, but that was alright. She was in oblivious little kid mode, she wouldn't notice something like that. So she made sure to just skate the edge of bragging as she mentioned how her entire village thought she should come here, to be the best ninja she could be. One of them muttered that it couldn't possibly be to get rid of her instead, and she forced down an urge to smack the child for their temerity. Really, that was just insulting!

Instead of giving vent to her perfectly justified anger, she instead ignored the comment before taking her leave, saying that she didn't want to be late on her very first day. And then she was gone, through the door, a flash of yellow fur all that remained in the confused students' eyes.

Walking down the hall, she heaved a large sigh before taking a better look at her surroundings. So this was the Academy, then? It looked rather sub-par, considering what it was supposed to represent. Wasn't this single institution commissioned with bringing up every new generation of ninjas, from every village? And as a neutral ground, didn't it's masters fear the eventual hostile action from those who figured they had less to lose than others from economic sanctions or other political penalties? If she were in charge of a smaller nation, and her own populations were just not producing enough able-bodied soldiers to fight her wars, then the Academy would become a very tempting target. Young, impressionable minds, not yet inculcated against certain actions, or taught of various taboos. Those would make the perfect foundation for a proper army, once they had been conditioned of course. That was a process that could technically work on someone of any age. It was just that much easier to do when the recipient was young.

There she went again! This was proving to be frustrating. Maybe she was just unused to all the noise, from so many youngsters running around, shrieking and yelling. Where would be a good place to hide from the ruckus? Of course, the one place where the students were supposed to be! The classroom! Now she just had to figure out which one was hers, from the scrap of paper that provided her schedule. For a place as important as this, the basic curriculum wasn't particularly impressive. No advanced classes, or at least none that had been offered to her. Likewise no alternative methods of learning, or even access to extra training or study materials. Really, it seemed this entire Academy served only one purpose, and poorly at that. All it seemed fit to do was to get it's students' proverbial feet wet, to give them the bare minimum of schooling required before setting them loose on the world. Teach them just enough to be dangerous, to themselves just as much as to others. Then leave their respective villages to take care of them from there. To learn control and personal responsibility, among other things. It was almost disgusting, come to think of it.

Really, if this was the best that they could do, when given such a sizeable budget and a prime location, the entire infrastructure could use some major overhauling. If only she had the time and patience to infiltrate it and take it upon herself, she could get this place in tip-top shape. But that wasn't an option. Not just yet. She had other tasks on her list, things that she needed to take care of before indulging in any extra-curricular excursions such as that. The world of politics was a savage one, and she would need to work on accumulating enough favors and allies before even attempting to get her foot in the door in order to make a decent bit of headway. So no, she would not attempt to stage a coup, at least not now.

For now, all she had to do was find her classroom, and wait for the lessons to begin. How hard could that be? She had good luck most of the time, but when bad luck eventually found her, it attacked with full force. Sort of a feast or famine approach, in that things either went pretty good for her, or very bad. Hopefully this would be the former, she wasn't in the mood to deal with any true problems.

Digging out the scrap of paper, she deciphered the scribble on it. No, she wasn't the one who had done that, that was how she had received it. Whoever wrote it had the penmanship of a doctor! Nonetheless, she was making headway, and eventually figured it out, at least enough of it to know where she was supposed to go. The third classroom on the right, still on the ground floor. That wasn't so bad. She set off at once, and found it in short order.

Opening the door, she let herself in even before taking a moment to look around, much to her regret. As it turned out, she had not been the only new student to think of arriving early to avoid the chaos. Nor was she the first to think of it. There were already a handful of other students, each of whom looked up at her entry, scanning her for a moment before returning to what they had been working on. None of them seemed to view her as a threat, which was good. It meant that her disguise was still working, at any rate.

So she waved and greeted them all energetically, earning a second wary glance from a few of them. As she did, she took the time to return the favor, giving each of them a quick once-over, to see if any of them would bear special attention, to keep an eye on them in the case of trouble. So far, it seemed none of them qualified for that, but that could change easily enough. After all, it certainly wasn't true for her, regardless of how it appeared. Appearances were deceiving, a constant and universal truth. She had learned that before ever stepping foot in this place, had any of the others? Time would tell.

Dashing up to one of the students at random, she greeted them more personally. There was no real reason for this, save to continue to keep up appearances. They returned her greeting a bit more warmly than she had expected, maybe they would be worth cultivating as a contact later? While they didn't wear a convenient hitai-ate for identification, she still had a certain confidence that she knew where they were from. By and large, this certainty was based on the information that lay before her. The cut of her clothes, as well as the thickness and quality of the cloth. The hue of their skin, being lightly tanned instead of pale. That meant that they spent a good deal of time outside. The lean muscle tone seemed to signify they either worked out a lot, or held down a job. Either way, a serious enough individual. Yet this, combined with their relatively warm greeting? They had to have led a sheltered life, to react so instantly to a warm greeting. This, combined with their overall fitness was a bit unusual, but not impossible. It was more likely than not that they came from a small village, where even the children had to work. Less time for play, and likely not as many children as other villages of the same size.

All of this passed through her mind in an instant, even as she seemed to simply glance down at her potential new friend for a merest moment. Finally, she had her answer. Unless she missed her guess, they were from Hidden Star. It's isolated nature and fairly rigorous demands were not lost on it's children, thus explaining much of what she had seen. Though... there was one bit of missing information. She already knew about the sacred stone that was almost worshipped as a god by the villagers of Hidden Star. From what she remembered, if any of them were to leave it's presence, they would grow sick. Just as they would by staying too close to it for too long. Interesting parallels there. Nonetheless, this youth certainly didn't carry it with them, not even a fragment. Were they merely consigned to death, or had they not yet begun to integrate it's presence into their life? She couldn't just ask, but she still wanted to find out. She'd have to take a bit of a gamble, but wait for the right opportunity to let a hint drop, some small comment that could draw her new friend out of their shell, and potentially give up more information than they should.

But her continued information gathering would have to wait, class was beginning. As she smiled and waved goodbye to her potential new friend, she braced herself for what would almost certainly be an intensely boring class. What made it so much worse, was that she had to act like it was the best class ever, to keep up appearances for her disguise. She would be expected to ask questions and know answers, to volunteer and overall act like a potential teacher's pet. At the same time, she couldn't lay it on too thick, or she would earn the ire of most of her classmates.

Even as she thought that, however, she felt a flicker of animosity. She hadn't lived as long as she had by not being aware of such feelings. Even so, this one had been so fleeting, so brief, that she almost thought it was her imagination. But no, it had been real. Somebody had been focused on her, and not in a positive way. But who? She tried to surreptitiously scan her classmates, but nobody looked like an obvious enemy. It could even be the girl from Hidden Star, come to think of it. There was just no way to know for sure, not this early into her time spent with these other students. She couldn't even be completely sure that it wasn't the instructor, for that matter. She would have to be careful, if she had already gained an enemy, then either they were frighteningly perceptive, or she had messed up so badly that her entire effort was in vain.

For now, though, she would have to stay in character. If there was any chance at all that the feeling had been a mistake, then she couldn't break character now. She needed real proof that she had an enemy before she could do that. This game just got a whole lot more interesting. Just who was this mystery enemy, and what issue did they have with her? Even in her home, nobody really disliked her. She had made an art out of avoiding suspicion, and had made sure to avoid making anyone an actual enemy. Yet now, in one instant, that might have all changed.

Well, if they were an enemy, they were biting off more than they could chew. It had been quite some time since she last cut loose, maybe things would come to a head with an actual fight? That would be a refreshing chance, relying on her strength of arms rather than her strength of will or mind. So come, unseen enemy, take your best shot! But be careful, because it just may be the last thing you'll ever do! She almost chuckled there and then, and quickly schooled her expression as she returned to pretending to pay attention to the instructor. He was still talking about just what chakra was; this was going to be a long day.

Class had only lasted four hours, but already, Tamamo was utterly exhausted. She wanted nothing more than to just collapse onto her desk and take a nice long nap, but she couldn't. No, she was still worried over that potential enemy. She needed to move among the other students, try once more to figure out just which, if any, bore her any ill will. So that's what she did. Class had dismissed, but most of the students had remained to gossip and chat with each other. There were plenty of the normal gossip topics, relationships and feuds, stuff like that. Also a fair bit of bragging based on where each student came from. There was even on who claimed to be from Hidden Leaf, Konohagakura. And not just that, that they were an Uchiha to boot.

Tamamo looked at them surreptitiously out of the corner of one eye. They couldn't be an Uchiha. This was not a simple snap judgment, she had looked for any of the several traits that all Uchiha seemed to tend toward. Their hair was red, not black like all Uchiha had. They didn't wear anything that bore the paper fan, the sign of the Uchiha clan. Their eyes did not have a manifested Sharingan, though that was not proof in and of itself. But it, combined with all of the other clues, made it all too obvious to her. Even so, she didn't say anything, she didn't call their bluff. No, information like that was best kept until needed. Right now, the supposed Uchiha was getting swamped with attention by much of the rest of the class. So let them foster admiration and jealousy while they could. That would just make them desperate for her to keep their secret later, if she ever called them on it.

She finally got up and went for a walk. None of the remaining students had set off any warning bells, so it probably wasn't one of them. She couldn't be absolutely sure, but it was just a feeling, none of these were her enemy. So she went in search of any of the other students. Some of them had already gone home for the day, nothing she could do about that now. But if by chance her enemy was still on the grounds, she would find them.

Or at least, that was what she had thought. Her walk had taken over an hour, but nothing had triggered another instance of hostility. Whoever her enemy was, there was a pretty good chance that they were aware of her being wary. They would lay low for a while longer yet, let her drop her guard. But if thatw as their plan, that gave her a chance to make her own plan. If she only seemed to leave her guard down, and for long enough, then the unknown enemy would act while she was actually ready for them. All that mattered now, was who would blink first.

Her ruminations were spoiled an instant later as a cry burst from her mouth unbidden. "Kyah!" Whirling around, she saw someone grabbing one of her tails. She shivered, before trying to get them to let go. "H-hey, let go, please? It... That feels weird!" Finally, they let her tail go, and she curled it around her waist, making it look like an enormous, fluffy belt. "What's the big idea?"

She blinked when she realized there had actually been two people who had grabbed her tail, no wonder it had felt weird! They were twins, that much was obvious because of their having similar appearances and outfits. She remembered them now, they had been in her class, too. They both seemed sorry enough, and did apologize. "Sorry, but it just..." "...looked so fluffy, we just had to!" And they even finished each other's sentences! She couldn't stay mad, not after something different like that! Plus, as annoying as it could be, she was used to it.

"Well, it's okay, but just try not to do it again. My name's Tama, what's yours?" She curtsied a little, continuing to keep up her guise as an overly-energetic child.

"I'm Sion!" "And I'm Rion!" They both returned her curtsy with two of their own. Though with them it seemed more like they were just having fun, rather than it being anything proper or formal. No matter, they wouldn't be the first to subtly or not so subtly mock her own mannerisms. She didn't mind, that was generally a pretty good indicator that they had fallen for her guise, that they truly believed she was just some little kid with tails and a bit too much energy. All the better for her own purposes.

Now that they had been introduced, the conversation gradually shifted over into small talk. The twins seemed rather disingenuous, they were forthright in really any question she cared to ask. They were from Hidden Sound, from the Kon clan. That would certainly explain their being twins. And in turn, she told them more of her own story. How she was from Hidden Kitsuna, in Hidden Federation. No surprise there. Though the twins did seem to share a bit of a mischievous grin when she mentioned that a good portion of the villagers enjoyed a good prank, especially on outsiders and travelers. That grin told her that they were no novices to the art of the prank, she might have to see about garnering their aid in a future trick of her own. She hadn't been planning it until just that moment, but the opportunity had presented itself, and now the idea almost demanded it be carried out.

But how to go about asking them? She couldn't just say 'Hey, want to help me prank the rest of the school?' could she? At the least, she would need to have a better idea of just what type of prank she wanted to pull. And more, to what purpose she would want the twins to help, to explain their presence. Pranksters were pretty paranoid at times, if they thought she wanted them to join in without a purpose, they would probably assume she was arranging things for them to take the blame. They would probably be right, too. So she would have to get things figured out first before she finally broached the subject.

That meant now could remain devoted to a simple talk. She learned a few more pieces of information about Hidden Sound, how even now it carried a stigma of being Orochimaru's village, that rogue Sannin. She knew a bit about that situation, there was a rather similar vibe to one of her own home's neighboring villages, Hidden Orochi. As far as her own home, outsiders generally seemed to think Hidden Kitsune a very closed-off village, they didn't really take well to outsiders. They wouldn't be hostile, but it was obvious enough that they would be just as happy to see the outsiders leave sooner rather than later. Though that was more the rest of the older generation, the ones who had personally endured the trials of the outside world on one of the few occasions that the Kyuubi had gone wild. The younger Kitsune, and her as well, were generally more friendly and eager to know more about the outside world.

As the trio talked, they walked, putting more distance between them and the Academy. Time passed, and they eventually realized it was getting a bit dark out. "Evening already? Goodness, we're..." "...going to be late for supper. We should get going." Tamamo offered to treat them, but they politely declined, saying they already had made arrangements. So she waved goodbye as they went off down a different street, while she went her own way.

She had debated following them to see where they lived, but that was a bit too risky, especially so early into their friendship. What would she say if they spotted her following them? No, she could always follow them the next time. And there would be a next time, she was fairly confident of that. For now, though, she just wanted to relax. Unwind and just not have to worry about maintaining appearances for a while.

The place she stopped in front of was her home, albeit just a temporary one. In her long life, she had amassed a decent sum of wealth, so renting a single-person dwelling on the outskirts of the Academy for just two to three weeks was no great trouble at all. It was a comfortable place, already furnished and stocked. And more, it was fairly isolated. Oh, there were other buildings around, but none of the neighbors had seemed particularly nosy or outgoing, she wouldn't have to worry about them bothering her during her downtime.

Unlocking the door, she let herself in. A moment later, she was already feeling much better. The door was locked, the blinds drawn, and she had lowered her illusions. All of her tails were now visible, and she no longer appeared to be just a little girl. She still looked on the young side, to be sure, but not quite as much as before. Flopping down in an armchair, she just remained there for a time, luxuriating in the simple refreshing feeling of not keeping her illusions up non-stop like she would outside of the doors.

"So, it would seem there might be a few worthies in the class after all... But how best to cultivate the little buds, to make them bloom?" She continued to ruminate for a time, beginning to plot just how best to get what she wanted. It would take time, and work. But that had hardly stopped her before, and it wouldn't do so now, either.
[4080 x 3 + 0 = 12,240 out of ??? ]