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Kiyoshi-san is... A promise of protection from a powerful family was always rare. Generally granted by the head of family or possibly the heir - Yuumei after all still carried the amulet given to her by the head of Hyuuga family: Lady Yokou, from so many years ago.

It was a normal amulet but forged of fine onyx and Hyuga clamshell...the yin-yang insignia set in the center, which is in turn set in the board with the markings of the divination field. For Hyuuga clan, the amulet would be recognizable to any as their divination field, along with a very light engraving of a modified version of the clan symbol on the yin-yang insignia itself (courtesy of Lady Yokou): the cloud portion, coloured in a solid dark colour against the lighter yang background while set with white against the yin portion of the background.

That would mean Kiyoshi was a high-ranking member of the Takani clan. It was a bit curious, to be certain, considering she still had the keepsake from the Hyuuga queen. Yuumei nodded, taking the rings. The stone was a strange colour...and even more curious, the kanji beneath. She slipped one onto her left middle finger. But there was no hesitation, or even inspecting the ring first.

That trust...

Yuumei smiled. An open trusting smile. It was clear, she didn't care either...whatever nasty legend or rumor was attached to the Takani family. They had helped her, they had saved Akeru...and now Kiyoshi-san was so kind as to offer shelter. It was more than enough. If she hadn't minded Akeru even when Lady Saiya warned Uchiha had an unpleasant history, why would she mind for any other?

"When Aki-chan wakes up, I'll give the other to him."

Yuumei was suddenly reminded to as just exactly how drained she was... She and Kiroshiro...during the chase, they had nothing but frantically prepared food. Half-raw meat... Because she generally consumed no meat, it was almost...a disgusting thought. But the reminder in her head that to save Akeru, she needed her strength, allowed her to stomach the half-cooked food. "Will it be ok? I feel like a freeloader..." Yuumei murmured, frowning slightly. GROWL.

Her face flushed, hand to stomach.

Guessed without preoccupanies, her stomach took the chance to complain.

The expression on Yuumei's face was that of embarrassment. "Ah...v-vegetarian..." It was rare after all...the higher-ups generally do consume meat often...the protein for strength. But Yuumei...judging from her looks and the way she moved... Also with the fact that she came from the Odoriko clan, dancers don't quite need that same brute strength Taijutsu families generally display.

Yuumei was staring at Kiyoshi now, a strangely contemplative expression on her face. Now that she thought about it... There was something oddly familiar about the doctor. Oh. A sharp intake of breath, partly recognition... Something from her memory was tugging... Ah. That's right. She recognizes that face... After all, she was once a medic student in Konoha, under Hyuuga Yokou-sama's tutelage. Among the Hyuuga head of family's co-workers... "Ito-na-mi-san..." A soft, bare whisper. "That's right." It was noticeable how soft...almost childish...that the Odoriko Sannin's voice was (like Lacus Clyne from Gundam Seed).

A soft smile. "I owe the Takani clan greatly." Iwa wasn't the first time around when she had trouble with the sentries. Lady Yokou might've been exceptionally kind...but her clansmen were fiercely...downright unreasonable. Especially the Hyuuga sentries.

The memory from a few years ago surfaced, when she first wandered into the great forest surrounding Konoha. But because she was injured on the ankle from one of the traps, thus saving Kiroshiro from receiving the injury instead...Yuumei was unable to move when the sentries took her in for questioning. Fortunately, the Hyuuga head of family was heading out to gather herbs...when overhearing Yuumei's white tiger companion threatening to eat the sentries if they don't do something for his mistress... Needless to say...Yokou was not pleased with the suspicious manner they treated an injured person. She mentioned something about 'the Hokage' and 'hospitality rule'...and the sentries allowed Yuumei and Kiroshiro into the village.

That time, it had been Yokou who led the way to the hospital. But as the head medic, she didn't do the actual healing - the Hyuuga lady had numerous patients to care for and irritatingly enough, clan business piled above - her co-worker did so instead. That was the first time she met a member of the Takani clan...Itonami Takani.

The woman looked about for a few moments, taking a slow drag off her cigar. She looked from one person to the next as they all glared to her for a long moment. The village of stone was as stubborn as ever. A slow growl began to leave her throat as she looked from one to the other.

“I asked a question… where’s my property?”

A nurse stepped up and bowed respectfully, “Ma’am. I’m not sure of what your talking about but I don’t believe anything here belongs to you…”

“Anything here…?” An arched brow now rose upon the face of the Henka woman. Her tail began to swing a big freely and soon a grin crossed her lips. Her minions began a unison laugh that she cut short by stomping her feet, “Look love, the only reason things here don’t belong to me is because I don’t want any of it. But there is some of my property here. I’m lookin for an idiot by the name of Marcus. Any of yous folks know what room he’s in?”

The faces in the lobby began to shift in a noticeable manor. She had spoken a name that these folks were accustom too. She knew that Marcus was from this village, just like her but for them to take this kind of reaction… they knew about him and what room he was in as well. This was going to be a bit easier than she thought, or maybe not, either way she didn’t care. It was all just to pass time really.

“T…Taida Marcus?” one of the patients in the lobby spoke up.

“Yea… that’s him. You know where he is?”

“Shut up you fool! You’d dare betray a member of the Stone?!” the nurse cut the man a cold look and he grew quiet.

The woman grinned a bit… they were hiding him. Of course, she knew he was here, she had already scouted but she wasn’t sure what room. She simply shrugged, “Bah, no difference. Boy’s, search the joint. Find’m for me would ya?”

With that, the goons began to vanish in clouds of smoke.

“W… what do you want with him?!” the nurse asked gripping a kunai from under her apron. Out of no where, a Sai was soon at her throat.

”He’s my property… that’s all you need to know. Now if you want to keep that pretty little face of yourse, I wouldn’t do anything stupid…”

One of the goons soon came back and began to whisper in her ear. “Ahhh good work. Now watch these fools. Make sure they don’t do nothing… regrettable.”

She began to wave to the people as she headed up the stairs to Marcus’ room. When some of the nurses tried to stop her, the goons appeared to block their path.

”Hmmmm the uppity floor. Guess that’s to be ‘spected considerin his lineage but still… thought they disowned him long’go…” She soon came to a door with the guards already missing, the work of her goons. She opened the door and began to walk in, “Well well well…look what the cat spit up. Been a while Marcus.”

His back was turned to her as he was laying on his stomach. She began to walk through the room, ignoring all else there in and moved to the man’s back. She looked to the bandages around him and noticed the extra packing around what use to be an open wound. She then jabbed her hand into it and Marcus winced, “Walk up boy… you’ve been on vacation long enough. Time you came back to work…” She then placed a hand onto Marcus’ back and extended her claws. Small red welps began to appear as she dragged them down his back. She would do it repeatedly, following the same lines till she broke skin…

[[where are Zephyr and Yokou ]]

His gaze hardened. "Don't be foolish." The grip to her head was rough, far different from the initial gentle brush to her forehead. She had refused to meet his gaze, so he forced her to make eye contact. But he took care that the grip to the side of her head didn't hurt her, but still maintained enough force that she couldn't turn her gaze away. Green gold eyes burned into dragonpearl ones. "Don't you ever dare say that again." Zephyr's voice was cold. "Not worthy saving? Just who did you think Shikamori almost died for?"

The question would sting, Zephyr knew. The wounds Museifu left...both physical on the Nara and emotional for Yokou...they were as freshly bleeding as they were two and half years ago.

"Had he ever stopped standing by your side, even after enduring the Tsukuyomi? Even after knowing...his feelings would be unrequited? Even..." His eyes grew heavy. He let her go. "...even him. His mind may have gone wrong but...even so..." There was no need to continue. Yokou would understand. Museifu might have gone about the wrong way doing it, but for his 'special person', he was willing to give up everything... All the ties, the restrictions binding him to Konoha and Uchiha...even betraying his own family... And that was also why, in that valley...before the final blow... The pity that had welled up...he had failed his vow to avenge Rasen.

He couldn't kill Museifu. Somehow, even though hew knew from the first day that child would one day stray from the path...he still had hoped... Perhaps...perhaps... If it was Sensei, Rasen could. But he wasn't Rasen...he could do nothing to even save his prize pupil.

A slight lowering of the head - dark bangs hiding his expression. "If you don't hold on to your precious people, closely this time, Yokou..." A soft pause. "With the wind, they will disappear." Like Sensei... An image floated into his mind, from a memory long ago.

"Hey brat. Who do you think would take care of the village, when I die?"

It was a casual question. But Zephyr always hated it when Rasen started talking about his 'fate'. In his opinion, the Fujiko shamaness who did his reading was wrong - dead wrong. The old man (not really old, was in his twenties) was invincible. The child snorted, disdainfully, before casting his gaze to the tarot card deck. "The Sun...The Justice...The Death..." His eyes grew cold as he picked up the card that supposedly determined Rasen's future.

RIIIIP.

The child had ripped the last card cleanly in two, before angrily flinging it to the wind.

A smack met his cheek. "Zephyr! I still have to give that deck back! You..."

He didn't meet Rasen's gaze then. Now looking back...Zephyr wondered. What would he have seen, in the Hyuuga Hokage's eyes.

"Who's going..." He began.

From his seat on the meadow grass, the young Senju got up. "Nobody's going to...I won't cry for you when you're dead!"

As he fled the meadow, the rest of the tarot cards were allowed to scatter with the wind.

But later...

"You're crying again, aren't you?"

Zephyr glared at Rasen, wiping furiously at his eyes. "Who's crying? Old man, your vision is going wrong!"

"...you know..."

A gentle hand...now a cruelly distant touch...ruffled his hair.

"...you know, I would be perfectly content...to die protecting people I love..."

Angry tears had slipped down his cheeks. "I hate this village..." Zephyr had said. "They don't deserve you to die for them...I wish...I wish Konoha would burn..."

A frown was on Rasen's face at those words. A fist contacted with the child's head. The Senju child would wince, along with an 'ow!' but Rasen would stand there, still holding up the smarting hand... The Hyuuga had utilized all his strength in that bop. "Baka."

"But it's true! If the village is gone, you won't have to die - not that I believe that b***h's prediction anyways!"

"Senju Zephyr - how dare you use profanity in my presence, you brat. And don't go slandering the Fujiko shamaness... Her family's famous for divinations." Another bop met the child's head. "Do you have so few brains cells, that you have not considered..." But Rasen stopped short of his rant. That's right...this child had no one else. An orphan, both father and mother dead... Zephyr only had his sensei, who was the closest figure to a father he had ever known.

But neither could that selfishness be condoned.

"Idiot..." A rueful smile, as he ruffled the child's hair again. "Do you know..." A voice lowered to a whisper. "I would be happiest...if I can die protecting people I love..."

Through his half lidded gaze, the expression that met Yokou was somewhat mixed with pity. Back then, he had not understood why...but... "Yokou no baka. People protect others, because they love them. No matter..." His voice trailed off. "No matter how pitiful...how tragic others think of it... You don't have to understand it now."

Diplomacy
DC: 1d20 + 5
Successes: 1/3

"But what about my feelings?" Her voice, quiet at first, but rose in tone - growing closer to a scream. "Knowing that something can be done, yet it wasn't...what dream, what dream to be a medic - what medic of sorts would endanger people...!" Wildly, she gripped the Senju by the collar. "Knowing that you were weak, could do nothing, and only watch as the people most precious are struck down - one by one!"

The fire at the Hyuuga estate, during the night they attempted to flee the Fire Master... Shikamori barely holding her back, so unconsolable she was as she struggled trying to reach the child's room, screaming for her daughter... Akane leaving, and she could do nothing but watch... Shikamori ran through by Museifu's katana... And blood...blood in the air...falling, falling... Marcus falling to the ground.

Bluff
DC: 24
1d20 (2) + 4

The words sank in slowly.

"Made...sure of...?"

Didn't Sensei...didn't Sensei hate the medic field?

Zephyr beamed. "Of course. The hospital was a bit shorthanded, so I worked along with the doctors during the operation." He looked a bit thoughtful, winding a lock of dark hair around his finger. "Hm...yeah. The head medic said they'll be doing transfusions now. But anyways, Marcus should be up and running by the end of the day." He purposely neglected to mention the severity of the wound, or exactly how much blood loss, plus the major chakra consumption it took... But anyways, it would probably be a good idea to have Yokou check out anyways. Just in the case that the healing wasn't enough...

Diplomacy
DC: 1d20 + 5
Successes: 2/3

"Let me see him then!" This time, her expression was pleading, as she shook the Senju king in his Henge. "If he's fine, then there is nothing wrong with such a request, right? Because..." Her voice trailed off, as she hid her face with her hands. "...if he isn't all right, I can never forgive myself..."

Bluff:
DC: 20
1d20 + 4

Zephyr scratched the back of his head, looking uncomfortable. "Well, I really don't see a problem with it. The doctors might not be happy...hm..." The Senju pretended to look thoughtful but then his eyes curled to happy upside-down 'U's. "Oh, shucks. Who cares about them! Let's go, then~" Smiling, the "child" reached his hand out to Yokou. "Well, come then, princess. Cause I'm not carrying you."

Diplomacy
DC: 1d20 + 5
Successes: 3/3