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Iri's face stays neutral as she speaks.

"I guess Bao Steel told you that? Well, Ren, that's a half truth. And a half truth is as good as a lie."

She sighs and runs a hand over the top of her head, collecting her thoughts for just a moment.

"When Kaimen became headmaster, he did destroy each original dojo. If I remember correctly, though, he extracted the items within each dojo before he destroyed them. I still have the bag of stuff he got from the old Kaze place. Whether these things were returned to all of the original owners, I don't know. A lot of the original owners are no longer around. After he destroyed each dojo, he rebuilt them. Kind of remodeled the entire GNA."

Iri's face loses some of its neutrality. Now she seems a little torn.

"I don't say I totally agree with what Kaimen did. I kind of felt like it was an excuse to through his power around. But his intentions were good. The GNA had lost a big chunk of its members. And some of the lesser used dojos were run down. I guess he felt he could breathe some life back into the GNA by destroying it and rebuilding it. Kind of like a phoenix."

She quirks a brow and tilts her head, the usual expression of curiosity.

"What else did Bao Steel tell you?"

Something white, large, and soft is suddenly in Ren's path. Iri wraps him up in a wing and holds him back. The impact and her grip won't hurt, thanks to the thick layer of feathers. But Iri's wings are strong enough to keep a boy like Ren in place.

"Simmer down, young 'un."

She snaps her fingers to get his attention. Her expression is stern now, but still kind.

"Do you know how easy it is to spy on someone? Especially with a scroll? Doesn't matter what one tells you it does, something else entirely could be hidden on it. That thing has Bao's energy signature. I assume he gave it to you. And considering he tried to turn you against your late instructor, that thing is probably part of a plan to turn you against us. To use you. I realize you don't appreciate it being taken from you, but it's necessary. We're only trying to protect you and the rest of the Academy, Ren. Please, think about it."

As soon as Tut saw Ren run for the scroll, he quickly moved it up higher in the air to a point near impossible to simply jump for it.

It was then that he noticed Iri had stopped him in time. A soft, yet deep, sigh.

"I take it you're the kid. Listen to me, if anything touches that sphere without my permission...well...it'll be extremely painful. How painful? Imagine each cell that touches it being ripped apart cell by cell."

Closing his eyes and squatting down onto the ground, legs crossed, he opened his palm and allowed Juro to rest in there. After a moment, he opens his eyes again and stared at the spot where the boy would be or rather, where his eyes would be.

"Ren, come here and sit. I think there's some explanations on your part as to how and why you received this scroll. We're not accusing you of anything, we just want to make sure we know what's gone on.

Also, who is Bao? The name rings a small bell, but I can't remember."

"Bao Steel." Iri answeres Tutsumi first. "He's made attacks on the Academy. He played a part in Kaimen's death. Orchestrated it, actually, though it didn't happen at his hands. And he's the one that took Ren."

She looks back to Ren, eyes sympathetic, though her expression is a little sterner than before.

"I never once treated you like you're 'brainwashed', Ren. This Bao character seems to have a knack for persuasion and manipulation. For example, without even trying, and though you may not realize it, he's persuaded you to lie to us."

Yes, Iri can tell he's lied. With her wing wrapped around Ren's body so tightly, she can feel his pulse and his heartbeat, both of which change when one lies. It's only natural, and can't be stopped when one is in as obviously a distressed state as Ren is. Her Fury senses, particularly her more accute sense of smell, pick up on pheromones that typically betray a lie. Also, she sees and hears the uncertainty in his choice of words. Really, it's obvious. Iri usually wouldn't call someone out on a lie right away in this situation, but she needs to let Ren know that he won't be able to pull it off. That he should be wiser than that.

Iri lets go of the boy and her wing folds to her back. But she stays in a position in which she is ready to react. Should he take off, Iri will stop him.

"It's true, some form of an energy signature will be left behind when someone merely touches an object. That's natural. But the energy within that scroll is too much to be nothing more than a touch or even an investigative thing. It's been used for something. It has a purpose." She pauses, and asks, "Do you think you'll be in trouble for having it? Or that we won't trust you for it? Because that's not true, Ren. As long as you're honest with us, no one has any reason to be angry with you or distrust you. I'm only interested in making sure no one can be hurt thanks to that thing's existence."

Reeve crosses his arms again, trying to look neutral as to the kid lying. The results are less than stellar.
"What is it with ninja lying lately? When we were young 'uns, we pulled a lot of shenanigans but we never had to lie, especially to each other..." There's a bitter tone to his voice, and it's obvious that Ren is not the only one in that boat.

(( BAH. Ish finally posts and I have to wait on the rest of the world! xp ))

Tutsumi's right eye twitched lightly, a heavy sense of energy starting to flood the area. It wasn't the negative type like before, but more of a, "Sit down and pay attention", type of feeling.

"You know, half the time I see these kids putting on their bloodlines with their eyes, I kinda want to just poke them in their eyes..."

Looking towards both Iri and Reeve, Tutsumi then pointed two fingers toward Ren.

"Ketsu."

A square light violet box surrounds Ren, encasing him on all sides including both above and below him, not too large but not small enough that he can't move around just a little either. At this level, it's also fairly fragile. Well, fragile enough that it'll take a good few hits from what he assumes Ren's level to be.

Pointing the same two fingers towards a few blades of grass a few feet away from Ren, he made a smaller version of the 'box' along the top level of the grass, and then muttered something softly under his breath.

"Metsu."

The grass was suddenly cut to the edge where the box was, nothing left behind.

He pointed the fingers back to Ren.

"Stop lying and talk to US. Not your friends who apparently lie as well."

The last line that Ren said, however, didn't leave him much to really think about other than someone was spying on them from a distance.

It was at that point that he felt another figure rushing towards their location from the forest.

"What the--..."