Welcome to Gaia! ::

Michio laughed lightly when Sythril made his comment about Noriko, “No no, it's not that.” And then grimaced when Sythril said he had no insurance on the place. “That... sucks man. I think the apartment manager does have insurance though. Hopefully they're not asinine enough to make you pay for it. I'd tell them to go f*ck themselves.” Then when he returned after gathering up his things and asked what the job was, Michio pointed towards the outskirts of the village. “We have to go and save a group of people who are trapped by flooding and the lightning in a house about two miles from here. Nobumoto requested us personally because apparently we're the best the village has to offer. So let's not disappoint him and save the villagers.” He said, then grinned suddenly, nudging his partner in the arm with his elbow, “Besides, I heard there was a pretty hot girl there waiting to be saved.” Michio chuckled to himself and stepped down onto the water, using his chakra to make him stay on top of the liquid rather than in it, and waited for Sythril to get ready to go, waving his hand out in front of him, preparing to follow when Sythril moved.

Michio shrugged, “Just one I think, but it's a rather large house if it's the one I'm thinking of...” Michio lightly clapped Sythril on the back and nodded his head to the direction they needed to go. “Let's get going before they're dead before we get there.” He took off running, then leaped onto the rooftops and began to run along them towards the village gate. He rushed through, sure that Sythril was hot on his heels, leaping over the sandbag barricade that was placed in the doorway. “Hurry Michio! Hurry Sythril! They need your help! Yamanaka Hitani is already there with a team of medical ninja!” one of the gate guards called to the pair of them, and Michio nodded, wiping a thick layer of water from his face as he ran.

After ten minutes of travel at high sprinting speeds (thank you shinobi academy!), he arrived at the medical site. “Reporting, Hitani-sama.” he said. Noriko's father turned and looked at him and nodded, “Alright Michio-kun. This is what you need to do. There are a bunch of people trapped inside that building. Noriko ran in to help, but then the storm became much more ferocious, and now she's trapped in there too. If they don't get out, the flooding will become too severe and entry through the main entrances will become impossible. And the roof is made of pure stone. You'd need a jackhammer to break through that. So here's what I need for you to do. Run in there, and carry them out. It sounds simple, but the lightning poses a problem as well as the flooding. If it strikes the water, they're fried.”

Michio nodded in understanding, then had a brilliant idea as to how to keep the lightning from presenting too much of a danger. “Sythri-kun, remember that lightning jutsu you learned from Furai? I need for you to use it to divert the electric energy to the drier patches of land out here and away from the water. Do you think you can handle that, partner?” Without waiting for a reply, he ran forward, focusing chakra into his feet as he ran onto the river of water that was moving rather fast. After about two minutes of carefully placing his feet on the water and fighting the current, he made it to the front door, which was wide open. He spotted Noriko and smiled, “Why am I always saving your butt?” She scowled at him with a false anger and sent one of the captive villagers to him. “I'm gonna keep you safe and get you across, okay?” he told the villager, who nodded, “Stay on my back and hold tightly!”

"There are about six to eight more, including Noriko." he said, and turned to run back across the river, glad that they had made it across safely. "Time for a few more trips. I'll try taking two this time." He ran back inside the flooded house and grabbed the hands of two villagers. "Let's go, come on." He turned to Noriko and shouted her name over the thunder, she brushed a wet lock of hair out of her eyes and looked at him. "What?" she asked, and he gave her a stern look, "Try to keep their heads above water if it rises too high." She gave him a 'No s**t, really?' look and he smirked, then lifted the two villagers on his back. "Hold tight!" he said, then began his trek across the water.

Michio laughed out loud and nodded, “Oh I'll be sure to tell her. And then I'll clean my neck for the guillotine.” He ran back to the house and was sad to discover that the water had risen by a foot. It was a little more difficult to get into the house. “Alright, we need to all move out now. Noriko, can you handle two of them?” he said, and frowned when she shook her head. “No, I can only carry one at best.” He thought for a moment, then made the Dog, Ox, Bird hand signs and created three physical clones of himself. “Alright, you carry your one. I'll carry four of them. Let's get prepared to go!” he said, and each of the clones took a villager onto their backs, exiting the room and standing on the high water level of the flood river's rapids. As soon as Noriko exited, he nodded to her, then he, Noriko, and all three of his clones began to move across the water to the other side, where the medical team was waiting to receive them and do their part of the job.

The children cried out for their older brother, who had been turned into Oto-barbeque by a stray lightning bolt. He walked over and patted Sythril on the shoulder, “Don't beat yourself up about it. You tried.” After the clones had set the villagers down, he heard a scream coming from the house again. He set his villager down and turned to Noriko. “Were there any other people in the house?” he asked hastily, and she shook her head, but the nearest child tugged on Michio's shirt. “Mister... our sisters... Mitsuko and Satomi... they're still in the house! Please save them!” he said, beginning to cry. Michio knelt down and placed his hand on the child's head and grinned, “Just leave it to me!” He dispersed the clones and ran across the water again, forgetting to tell Sythril to keep the lightning at bay. He received a bolt in the face and flopped into the water, but emerged only seconds later, running under the cover of the awnings to the house and breaking in through a window, as the door had become submerged.

He found the girls in the upstairs bedrooms and called them over. “Hold on! Don't let go!” They climbed on him and he held them tightly, then leaped through the window, using his body to protect them from the shards of glass as he burst through it. The glass sliced up his cheek and his forehead pretty good, and as blood began to trickle, he found his determination was stronger than ever. He ran across the river, hoping he wouldn't drop one of the slippery girls.

As they reached the halfway point, the girl on his left side slipped and even though he lunged with his arm, she fell into the water and was swept downstream. Michio stood in the water, shocked at his failure that had cost a human life... hell one of his fellow villager's lives... and then he remembered he still had one to save. He gritted his teeth and pushed on, finally making it to the shore and setting the girl down. Once she was on safe, solid land, Michio stood next to the river and stared down the current, sadness and sorrow in his eyes mixed with anger at himself for not taking better care to avoid their deaths.

Michio glared at the girl as she entered and ranted about how she was not a failure at being a shinobi just because she was female, but Michio's previous experience said otherwise. That girl in the academy, Noriko, the several female chuunin and jounin who proved unwilling to perform outside of their assigned duties, they all proved otherwise, and it was likely that this little girl was no different. Then she began to talk s**t on his wife, who she knew nothing about. This drove Michio into an hardly controlled rage that caused him to leap from his seat moments after her addressing Nobumoto, and in a flash he was grabbing her, pinning her against the wall with his left hand gripping her by the throat just under her jaw and extending his outer two bone claws, stabbing them into the wall on either side of her head, sliding past her ears. He slowly extended his middle claw until it was pressing into the gap between her eyebrows in the middle of her head, pressing firmly but not painfully. After all, his claws were blunt on the tips... it was simply the strength of his jab that forced them through and/or into objects and tissues. “Every woman in this village has been nothing but a disappointment. My one failure is nothing compared to the years of tyranny and hardship this village was freed from when my partner and I removed Sasagawa Kuronada, leader of the Cobras, the most feared gang in Rice Country, from power. They are weak, prissy entitlement queens that think that just because they graduated the shinobi academy makes them a ninja of equal standing with everyone else, regardless of their own failures and lack of ability. You're proving yourself to be no different. I certainly hope this is not so, because if it is, you'll be dead before you even reach your second mission. And if you ever... EVER... speak poorly about my family again... Nobumoto need not worry about reassigning you, because there won't even be anything left for him to reassign. Not even to the crematorium. Is. That. Understood?” he growled, killing intent in his eyes as he extended the bone a little further with each of the last three words, now causing slight discomfort to the nerves over the bone in the middle of her eyebrows. After a moment of instilling his seriousness, he retracted his claws, pulled her away from the wall, still lifting her up by her jaw, then set her on the floor. He removed his hand slowly, noting that there were red marks were his fingers had gripped her throat in a manner that neither cut off blood nor oxygen circulation. “Nobumoto, I have severe doubts about this one. If she cannot accept criticism without issuing death threats, she should not be a consideration for the life of a shinobi. She should be a consideration for the jail or the insane asylum.” Michio asked as he held his gaze to her emerald eyes, his own eyes still red and his breathing still heavy from his almost suppression-less anger.

Nobumoto had watched the whole scene play out and frowned as Michio seemed to intend upon killing her, but his tension relaxed when the shinobi before him not only released her, but did so in a manner that expressed more respect for her than his words had. He scowled and slammed his fist on the desk, “You are in no position to argue, Michio. She is to be your partner, and that is final. Make of it what you will, but if you kill her, know that you'll be banished from Otogakure forever. And that goes the same for you, Kokoro. Is THAT understood?” Michio glared ahead at Kiyomi for a moment, then nodded.

“Very good. Now then, there is a specific reason for my calling you here. Korinobu has requested to see the both of you. You are to report at the ramen shop immediately to receive your orders from him.” Nobumoto said, waving them away, “Go on, get out of here.”

Michio stared at Kiyomi for a moment longer, then walked past her without a word and stepped outside, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and lighting one up. Damn women... they're all nothing but troublesome burdens... the only reason Noriko is a forgivable burden is my love for her... and for our child... he thought, inhaling deeply, then exhaling moments later, waiting for Kiyomi to exit as well. Now what the hell could Korinobu-sensei want after all of this time...?

She smiled as she stood there, watching the man's reactions to everything she had said. It had worked. IT was all very simple. She didn't care for any of the women of this village. She never had, for the most part, the man was even correct in calling them useless. She was just different, an exception. And he would come to realize that, this she knew very well. She had just tried to rile him up to see how easy it would be. She felt his hand wrap around her throat and as he pressed her against the wall she reveled in the feel of his strong hands. She burst into laughter as she was pressed on the wall and she even tilted her head against the bone that he pressed in between her eyes, the pain of it growing until there was even a slight leak of blood from the blunt bone pressing against her skin. As he talked about killing her she just continued to laugh in the man's face, completely unafraid. "I hope you know, that this was all a test. I don't give two shits about the women of this village, nor do I care about what you think of me as a woman. I only care about getting the respect that I deserve. And you will learn to give it, as I am very assured I will give mine to you in due time as well. You're quick." She said, grinning even as the blood dripped slowly from her forehead. "But so am I." She stated. The man had foolishly charged forward and grabbed her by the throat in his rage, and even preoccupied his second hand with the bone on her forehead. She tapped him on the groin with a kunai that she had positioned there, the blade was right agains the fabric, but she had placed it so skillfully that there was no pressure, and he would not have even noticed it until it had been driven through his member, if she had decided to do so. Instead she merely tapped the tip of the blade on his crotch and withdrew it as he lifted her off of the wall. "You know nothing of me, my attitude and who I am are completely different from what you just saw. However, I got to see what you are like. And Nobumoto, I think this guy is the one who is going to be your issue. He is weak. Extremely weak, and very prone to emotional outbreaks at the question of his pride. He is not worth your time." She stated, shrugging her shoulders. "But I don't mind teaming up with him. I will do whatever it is you want me to, as long as it proves to be exciting enough." She said with a grin, she looked at Michio with a bright smile and winked at him as he left the office. Her test had gone off without issue, she had the ninja right where she wanted him. He couldn't argue that she had caught him in his own weakness.

"Mark my words." She said, turning to Nobumoto as Michio left. "I will turn this idiot into a much sharper tool for your disposal. Put us on some hard missions old man, because he is going to need them to get back into his game. As weak as he is mentally and emotionally...he has a lot of talent, I will give him that. So put your petty differences aside and give the man the tools he needs to become better." She growled. "And really...threatening me with banishment from this village? You know how much I hate this place, why would I care?" She asked with a laugh as she blew a kiss at the man and winked before leaving. When she exited the shop she looked at him with a laugh. "Michio...whereas I don't like you, and I don't respect you. And I sure as hell don't appreciate your s**t temper. It was out of my place to talk about your wife that way. And I do apologize for that. I am sure she is a great woman. It was all for the sake of seeing whether or not you could keep your cool. Which...well...that is something you will have to work on. All things I will be around to help with. One way or another." She said, the last words she spoke holding a venomous and dangerous tone. "Now, lets get to the shop shall we?" She asked with a grin as she walked off without another word or waiting for a response. She made her way to the Ramen shop, sitting down and ordering herself a bowl, waiting for Michio to arrive. They had gotten off on some very bad footing, but it would change. It would just take a lot of time, seeing as they were both so damn stubborn. But she almost laughed as she waited for the ramen to arrive. The man was perfect. His thick head might just turn out to be a good partner. But that would have to be seen in time.

Michio glared at her as she apologized and waved her off, still upset at her outburst. As she left, he stood there a moment and finished his cigarette, then put it out in the dirt and tossed the butt into a trash can. He walked slowly to the ramen shop, forcing his anger to subside, and as he did, a voice popped into his head.

I see you've got a new friend, eh Michio? the voice said, and Michio scoffed... a friend? Not even close. She had insulted his only family, then insulted his outbursts of rage, the only thing that had driven him to survive the battle with Kuronada as long as he did. And though she may have sounded sincere in her apology, Michio wasn't having it. Not yet. Only through work would she be able to atone for her words. He glared at the sky, and watched as a giant ball of fire fell from it to Michio's side, colliding with the ground. Out of the flames stepped... er floated rather... a new avatar of Kagutsuchi, the god of fire. Or an avatar of him that is, for if Kagutsuchi were to really set foot on the earth, everything for miles would be instantly incinerated. Hence why he was confined to his fiery domain and could only send avatars to the land.



“I really wish you wouldn't do that. What if someone fire aligned sees you and takes off running? The last thing we need is a panic just because you popped in to visit.” Michio mumbled to the flaming creature. Kagutsuchi laughed, his voice deep and booming. “Yeah, and if they do, they'll be considered a crazy person. It's not uncommon that I'm spotted by a random civilian. They just stare, then I suppose they assume that I'm the result of a summoning jutsu or something.” Michio pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, then walked on, Kagutsuchi at his side.

“So you and Noriko, huh?” he stated more than asked, and grinned, “You're child's a cute one. Fire aligned, if I felt right, just like his father.” Michio grinned in turn and nodded, “Yeah. He's a little terror. Already sprouting bones from his body in places that I didn't think they could sprout from. And no, it's not dirty, so don't even start with that, ero-sennin.” The entire time Michio spoke to his old mentor, he whispered and mumbled, then he finally reached the Ramen shop.

“Alright, Kagatsuchi-sama, you are going to have to keep the comments to a minimum if you're gonna be around here, and I can't really reply without looking like I'm completely mental.” Michio said, and Kagutsuchi's flaming face formed into a smile. “Oh but that's half of the fun.”

He shook his head and walked inside, Kagutsuchi on his heels. The fire god pushed Michio lightly, shoving him into the counter. After he recovered, he glared back at Kagutsuchi with irritation, then realized that he was staring at something that everyone else was unable to see.
“I really wish you wouldn't do that. What if someone fire aligned sees you and takes off running? The last thing we need is a panic just because you popped in to visit.” Michio mumbled to the flaming creature. Kagutsuchi laughed, his voice deep and booming. “Yeah, and if they do, they'll be considered a crazy person. It's not uncommon that I'm spotted by a random civilian. They just stare, then I suppose they assume that I'm the result of a summoning jutsu or something.” Michio pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, then walked on, Kagutsuchi at his side.

“So you and Noriko, huh?” he stated more than asked, and grinned, “You're child's a cute one. Fire aligned, if I felt right, just like his father.” Michio grinned in turn and nodded, “Yeah. He's a little terror. Already sprouting bones from his body in places that I didn't think they could sprout from. And no, it's not dirty, so don't even start with that, ero-sennin.” The entire time Michio spoke to his old mentor, he whispered and mumbled, then he finally reached the Ramen shop.

“Alright, Kagatsuchi-sama, you are going to have to keep the comments to a minimum if you're gonna be around here, and I can't really reply without looking like I'm completely mental.” Michio said, and Kagutsuchi's flaming face formed into a smile. “Oh but that's half of the fun.”

He shook his head and walked inside, Kagutsuchi on his heels. The fire god pushed Michio lightly, shoving him into the counter. After he recovered, he glared back at Kagutsuchi with irritation, then realized that he was staring at something that everyone else was unable to see.

Kiyomi had almost wanted to laugh as she sat with her bowl of ramen. The man had fallen into her trap, and she could see the anger written on his face when she had apologized and left. He would need to fix his emotional vulnerability if he ever wanted to be the man that he dreamed of. She could tell by his personality that he aimed high. He had a lot of pride, and most of it was there for a reason, he just hadn't been given the proper chance to excel yet. But that would come. Definitely. She sighed as she leaned back in her chair and scratched the back of her neck. She took off her jacket, sitting in nothing but her skin-tight leather one piece and her combat boots. A man from across the table looked at her with a pervy grin and she grit her teeth together. She wanted so badly to do it...to kill him like she had killed those men last night. But she would have to wait, she couldn't do it now, she was smart about her murders. She planned them and she executed them cleanly. She heaved a sigh as she looked at him and then began to eat again. She was minding her own business, just waiting for Michio to arrive so they could get whatever this was over with. However, as she ate, the man slowly began to shift down the bench, getting closer and closer to her until he was sitting beside her. "Listen Ma'am. I couldn't help but notice you from across the--" He didn't get the chance to finish what he was saying as she grabbed the back of his head and slammed it down on the table, causing her bowl of ramen to jump slightly and spill a little on to the counter, though nothing a napkin wouldn't fix. She had bounced the man's head pretty good, but she didn't do it so hard that it would cause any irreparable damage. "If a woman doesn't with anything favorable after you meet eyes for the first time, it means she is not interested. If you fail to understand that...well, you are going to loathe the consequence. Now get out of my sight." The man groggily issued his apologies and stumbled out of the ramen shop past Michio as he walked in. She could hear him talking to someone, but she hadn't looked to see what or who it was. But as she lifted her arm to take another bite of the ramen he came flying in and hit the counter, bouncing her arm and sending the ramen down her chest. She cried out in pain from the heat on her breasts, but it was quick, and more of an irritated yelp than anything.

She turned to him with fire in those green eyes and smirked. She grabbed the zipper at the top of her one piece and she zipped it down to the point where her breasts created a very large amount of cleavage. She smiled as she looked down, the exposed flesh wet with ramen broth. "Now look what you've done Michio." She said with a mock seductive tone to her voice. "Are you going to clean it up for me?" She asked, waving those big kohonas in front of him. She knew that he was probably only going to take offense to the joke, and might even be pissed off because she was tempting him, and she was definitely not his wife. Either way, she was having fun with herself. She took a napkin and dabbled at her chest and her leather suit before she turned back with a laugh to her bowl of ramen and zipped up the one piece. The man behind the counter looked at her in awe as she did the zipper up and shook his head. "And you wonder why men try to come after you? You're beautiful, one of the most beautiful women I have seen around here, and you flaunt yourself like you wanted every man to have a piece. But then you reject every one of them with a violent outburst. I don't get you lady." The man said, shaking his head. She just laughed and tossed him a wink. "I am a complicated girl. I have my motives, just be glad you're one of the few people who don't trying anything funny. You're a decent guy." She said with a laugh as she leaned back, finishing her bowl of ramen and looking to Michio. "Now that you're here." She said, noticing that he was glaring at something and she quirked her eyebrow. "What are you....nevermind. Now that you are here, lets get started. She was nervous about seeing Korinobu. The man had been the first person she had opened up to and actually seemed to be nice with in years. Back in the academy...and then he had left her without a word. He hadn't cared at all, and opening up even that little bit. To show some sort of connection or happiness. IT had been big, and she hadn't faced him since. She wanted to get this over with.

Michio scowled at her display and shook his head, sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose.Great... she's a whore on top of everything else... just what I needed... dammit Nobumoto, you just had to stick me with this crap, didn't you? he thought, then sat in the chair next to her, ordering the shop's finest ramen and sushi side dish. As he waited for the food to cook, he turned to Kiyomi. “In response to what you said earlier about getting the respect you deserve, know this, Kokoro.” he said, using her last name in formality, “Respect is earned, not given. And my respect is not easily earned. On top of being fresh out of the academy, you also have to prove you're not one of the worthless women here. No easy feat. But you're not taking any steps in the right direction by attempting to tempt me, a happily married man, with your cleavage, regardless of how much of a canyon it may be. Other men may be less resistant to your charms, but I've been through my hormone phase, and having a child steals your sex drive. Do that again and I'll melt that zipper shut to ensure you never do it again. Got it?”

Kagutsuchi laughed, “How the hell do you plan to do that, Michio? Are you gonna use that fireball jutsu I taught you? You'll burn her hair off as well as her clothes, and then she'll really be mad. You might want to be careful of this one though, because she's got the scent of blood on her. Not a detectable amount by any mortal means... the blood is stained on her soul. This one has been through a hardship that caused her great pain.. and she's taken lives before... whether it's because of the incident or through a sadistic enjoyment, I don't know. But she's definitely one you need to keep your eye on, even if she does gain your respect.”

“Yeah... yeah... I know...” Michio muttered instinctively, then flushed, realizing that he had spoken to the... man(?) that no one could see. He grumbled about stupid invisible god avatars in his mind, and Kagutsuchi flicked his ear with a flaming finger, moving the cartilage back and forth. “I can hear your thoughts when I want to, Michio. So watch what you think.” Michio smirked as his food was served, resisting the urge to rub the spot where he had been flicked. He dug into his food and nearly swallowed the whole meal whole.

When he finished his food, he turned and saw Korinobu enter the building. “Alright students... er... I mean Genin... I have a special mission for you. It is a reconnaissance mission. A known serial killer named Nara Takeyoshi has been spotted just outside the village, and what I need for you to do is figure out where, and then report to Nobumoto at the mission office of the criminal's whereabouts. Now, I don't think I should have to tell you this, but the Nara clan specializes in manipulating shadows. And Nara Vaun, one of the most well known shinobi legends, famous to some, infamous to others, was rumored to be Nara Takeyoshi's first teacher over thirty years ago. Nara Vaun specialized in harsh, nearly unbreakable genjutsu, and likely taught his student several techniques that are designed to disable and disorient you while he gets close with his puppets and rips you to shreds. Do not engage the enemy. Simply observe, record, and report. And if you can, without getting caught, find out what he's doing here in Rice Country after all of these years.” Michio nodded and paid for Michio's and Kiyomi's food. Genjutsu huh...? Man... if he wasn't our enemy, I'd consider requesting a few lessons... but such is life... he said, frowning as Kagutsuchi looked at Korinobu. Korinobu turned to the fiery demon and nodded in acknowledgement, and Kagutsuchi did the same to Korinobu, which made Michio do a double-take.

The hell?!? They know each other!?! I didn't know Korinobu was fire attuned! Michio thought, then turned to Kiyomi after recovering from the mind f*ck. “Time for you to start proving yourself.” he said, standing up, “Don't disappoint me, Kokoro.”

The scowl that she had received had been exactly what she figured that she would be rewarded with. The man was a square, a straight arrow that could not be deterred. All of this was tests. She had to make sure she could trust the man...well...she probably wouldn't ever trust him...but she had to make sure she could work with him without the urge to kill him. He was a perfect partner for her, and he was sure Nobumoto had seen that as the case. She listened to his little blurb about how she was not going in the right direction to earn his respect and she smiled as she sat there, he really was a good guy it seemed. There weren't enough men like him around. His wife was a lucky woman, she had successfully captured a gentleman. Even if he was an egotistical, sexist, a*****e sometimes. She laughed to herself as she thought about him and shook her head. When he was finished talking about melting her zipper shut she took a deep breath and ordered a bottle of sake. She chugged back a mouthful and nodded to him. "Alright Michio. All games aside. I am continuously trying you, testing you to find out if we are going to work as teammates. I haven't had anyone who has worked out with me yet..but you...you are different. I can see that already, your personality completely counters mine in a way that is going to make us very valuable to each other. I promise not to tempt you again, or try to rather, for I know that it won't work on you. I had already figured as much, but I had to make sure. I had to see for myself that you weren't tainted. I couldn't work with you if you were." She said, sighing as if she was relieving something heavy from her chest. She sat in silence for a bit and then all of a sudden he blurted out that he knew...though nobody had said anything to him. She wasn't an idiot. There was something he was communicating to, but she didn't know what. "Who are you talking to Michio? I saw you staring off at something earlier, you rammed yourself into the counter on the way in, now you are talking to nothing at all. You may think I am a fool, but I am not. What is it you're communicating with?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

She listened to their briefing as Korinobu spoke to them about the mission that he was sending them on. A recon mission...it sounded fun. She was always good at recon, hell, it was what she did in her spare time. With a side of violent homicide of course. She had heard the name before, hell, she knew of a lot of ninja from back in the day, she had read a lot about the kages of that era, Nara Vaun was a feared man, a very skilled and dangerous shinobi. She grinned at the idea of fighting one of the people that he had trained. Perhaps she wouldn't be fighting him now, but if they were being sent to spy on him, soon he would need to be taken out she was sure, and when he needed to be taken out she was sure they would be sent to do it. They were one of the few teams that had any sort of potential in this village. She had done her research on the team before she had gone to the meeting. As he looked at her and told her not to disappoint him she had to make something clear. She grabbed his shoulder and looked into his eyes, a very serious expression on her face. "I need you to know something. If we are going to work together. I need you to stop acting like you are my superior. You are on a team with me, and we are of the same rank, though you have more experience you are not the leader of this time. And I am sure as hell not trying to impress you. I WILL earn your respect. But not because I am trying to. I will earn it because I deserve it and you will see that when you see me at work. That is all. So stop acting like you are king s**t okay? It's tiresome." She said, patting the shoulder she had grabbed, though she had not grabbed it lightly, everything about what she said was light, not in the least bit threatening. Hell...it almost sounded friendly. She stood outside the ramen shop and took a deep breath, tossing her hands behind her head. "So where do we start? I know he is not too far outside of the village, but we need a little more direction than that." She said as she pondered.

Korinobu nodded at her, a look of cheerfulness in his expression. Kiyomi was turning out to be quite mature for the chip she had on her shoulder only a year ago. Michio must have made a good impression on her after all. “Like I said, he's on the outskirts somewhere. If we knew where he was, we'd send our ANBU to capture him and bring him in. But since we're not aware of his location, you are going to find out for us. Michio, Kiyomi, you might need all members of your party on this mission to trim down the amount of time it'll take to find his location. You might try starting in the forest in the northeast section of the village's outskirts and start your search combing the forest heading westward.”

Michio nodded, turning to Kiyomi, “Meet me at the village's northeast gate in twenty minutes, and then we'll move out.” He then walked out of the store, rushing off to go fetch Sythril. He arrived at his other partner's house, which he had recently moved to in the past few months. He pounded on the door, but after a few minutes he heard no answer. He tried it again, but again, no answer. Michio frowned, “Hm... where the hell could he be?” He shrugged and walked to his apartment where Noriko was changing their son, Kaguya Shimikiri.

“Hey there, honey.” Noriko said cheerfully as Michio entered the apartment looking perplexed, “How was your sparring with Sythril-kun?” Michio smiled and shook his head, walking to the fridge and opening it, grabbing a cold soda pop from the middle shelf. “Never happened. I was summoned to the registration office in mid-travel.” He replied, opening the can and chugging it's contents. Noriko's head hung as she got the last strap closed on the diaper, “Don't tell me they misplaced your file again... that's the third time this year...” Michio laughed and took another sip, then said, “Yeah, that's what I thought too, but no, apparently I have a new partner. And man is she a pain the a**. She plays more head games than the entire village's population of women combined, I think, and she issues out more tests than all of the years of the shinobi academy in total. Top that with an overdeveloped sense of self-worth and a desire to receive respect for little to no work thus far, and you've got my new partner...” Noriko giggled and picked Shimikiri up, who looked around the room and finally settled his eyes on Michio's soda, “Sounds like the perfect partner for your tempermental, brash a**.” Michio grunted and downed the rest of the soda and placed the can on the counter, and Noriko marched over and swatted him on the arm, “I just cleaned this house! Don't you go dirtying it up again! You put that can in the recycle bin!” Michio chuckled and did so, then walked to his closet. “So I need to go meet her at the gate for a mission from Korinobu. Can you hold down the fort well enough while I'm gone?” She scoffed and placed the baby under her shirt and began to breast feed Shimikiri, who had begun to groan agitatedly at the lack of distribution of soda to his lips. “Michio, honey, I hold the fort down better when you're not here than when you are. Go and do your mission. I don't have to be at work for two more hours, and our nanny isn't gonna be here for another hour. So I've got this, you go do your thing.” He grinned and walked over, giving her a loving kiss before grabbing his chameleon cloak, his kanji hood, and his magnifying lens eyepiece and headed out the door.

He walked by Sythril's house and pounded on the door one more time, but still no answer. “I wonder what he's doing that's so important he can't be home when I need him...” Michio wondered, then continued down the street. It was a nice warm morning, the sun just coming overhead as it became closer to noon. Within minutes, he was at the gate and waiting for Kiyomi to show up.

The smile on the mans face had unsettled her. She didn't know what to make of it. She just looked away with a sort of awkwardness that you almost would expect impossible of a woman like her. She seemed like an impenetrable fortress of emotion, like she was locked up so tightly that you couldn't possibly hurt her, or stun her. Like she was just a shell. She took a deep breath and she listened to everything that was said and she nodded back to Michio when he told her to meet him at the northeast gate. "I will see you there." She said with a quick nod and with that she was gone. She ran off into the dark to figure herself out. A lot had happened in the last couple of hours for her. She had joined a team, and she had discovered that she was not as damn impossible as she thought she was. Human beings trusted, it was not something that was negotiable or something that could be changed. Everyone needed someone to talk to, even if it was themselves. She had locked herself away for years, and now, this man...god damn him for doing this to her. The entire time that she was testing him, she had kept her cool, kept her cocky facade. But now that she was alone she let the emotion pour over the brink. She tore down an alleyway towards her house, running until she had reached her front door. She slammed it shut and leaned against it. "Why the ******** do I care so much!?" She yelled as she punched the door, the wood splintering slightly. "Why do I care about his respect or acknowledgment at all. He is just another stupid god damn man. Just another one of those chauvinistic assholes that thought she couldn't do the job as well as them. So why did she want to prove so badly that she could? Usually she would be fine with just shrugging it off and moving on, going on to other things and letting it slide of her back. Maybe it was because he was the first guy she had met in a long time that didn't look at her like a hungry dog. She liked that...a lot. He wasn't the kind of guy who was going to turn around and do something to hurt the woman he loved. He wasn't the kind of guy who was going to turn around and do something to her...he was just different. She smirked as she stood there and heaved a sigh as she walked into her bedroom. "Thought these feelings had died out a long time ago. But...I am sure that they will go away again soon enough." She said with a laugh as she opened her closet. There was an array of weapons there, hanging in the closet, built into the walls, shoved into piles of loose clothes. She began to pick through them, grabbing a few kunai that she lines the inside of her jacket with. She could fit a few dozen knives in the coat, it was always full when she was going on a hunt. She had gotten good at throwing them, and she could take people out at a fair distance with a toss.

She opened up her fridge and took a swig out of a bottle of milk, but as she did it brought back memories of her hunt last night, killing those men. She smirked as she drank the milk and thought about it, reveling in the massacre that had occurred. "Well, at least I know that I haven't lost the emotions that I loved so much before. Hate and brutality and the likes." She said aloud as she put the milk away and left the apartment with a sadistic grin upon her face. Though she never truly thought of herself as a person who enjoyed to kill, she knew she didn't mind it when it was for a good cause. And protecting the young women from rapists...or perverts--killing them off before they could do anything to those poor girls...that was all the justification she needed. She walked to the northeast gate, and she climbed into the branches of a tree, Michio had taken longer than her, since she had merely gone home, got her knives and come to the meeting spot. She lay on one of the lower branches, staring at the sky as she waited, and when Michio finally arrived she dropped from the tree and solemnly nodded to him. "Alright, ready to start searching for this guy?" She asked with a smirk.


Michio had arrived at the gate and stood around waiting for a couple of minutes before Kiyomi dropped from a branch and asked him if he was ready. He nodded, putting on the cloak and hood, as well as his eyepiece, looking like an odd cybernetic drifter. He made the bird symbol and the cloak's fabric faded from sight.... but so did the parts of Michio that were covered by it. “Little gift from my parents... and that makes me sound very Harry Potter... but no, I was given this by the Kage because my parents had apparently owned it at one point and time and lent it to the Kage, who no longer needed it. It really helps with stupid missions like chasing Hiroki...” He looked around suddenly, as if searching for something, but nothing out of the ordinary was in sight... unless you counted the big flaming companion next to him, Kagutsuchi. “Let's go.” Michio said, and took off out of the gate, then into the vast forest, leaping into tree branches and beginning to hop from tree to tree as he began his travel to locate the Rank A criminal whereabouts.

Kagutsuchi floated alongside him, offering a second pair of eyes to search. “Michio, you must not take Korinobu's words lightly. This man, Takeyoshi, is a killer. He used to be a Konohagakure shinobi, but betrayed his village by killing hundreds of it's non-shinobi citizens, then left for the village of Tsuchigakure. It was there that he's rumored to have met his untimely death, and his presence was not known for many years. I know for a fact that he did die. And somehow, he fought his way out of the afterlife. If this man has the capability to die and come back from beyond the grave, he is no one to trifle with. I'm only giving you this lecture because I know how prone you are to request shinobi who are powerful in genjutsu to teach you a couple of techniques. This man would sooner send you into a genjutsu that makes you slowly imagine you're being ripped to pieces and lock you into it until you starved to death or your mind could no longer take it and destroy itself to release itself from the pain... neither of which he would still be around for. Remember that, and don't try to make contact. This is simply a recon mission.”

Michio nodded and frowned, deactivating his cloak's invisibility power so that Kiyomi would not lose sight of him as he traveled the forest, passing over rivers, berry bushes, and forest wildlife.

“You know, Furai-sama... Kiyomi knows you're around but just can't see you. And I don't wanna come off as a crazy person or insult her intelligence. Would you kindly reveal yourself to her when she catches up to us?” Michio asked, taking care not to get his foot caught between branches as he leaped from tree to tree. Kagutsuchi nodded, “Oh I suppose... Just remember, once she can see me, she can also feel me, and I'm not above smacking a b***h if she gets mouthy.” Michio grinned, “Good, because neither am I.”

He stopped on a branch about a mile in and stood on it, turning and waiting for Kiyomi to catch up.


As Kiyomi dropped from the branches she nodded to him with a small smile as she stretched. The little sit that she had in the tree was relaxing and it refreshed her before their little mission. She watched as he put on his cloak and strange eyepieces and quirked a brow. What ninja needed to use machinery to do all of those things? Shouldn't he have the capability to use jutsu to turn invisible, or to increase the range of sight. She sighed, perhaps this man wasn't as good as she had thought after all. Besides, after all, any ninja worth their weight in gold could easily pick up on chakra signatures, everyone had their own individual signature, and even if they couldn't see you, they could pick up on the signature. That was why you needed to suppress your chakra, something that few could do well, but she had heard a lot about it and dabbled in it over the last year, trying to learn how to do it. She could dim it ever so slightly, but not to the point that would make the skill useful, not yet. But eventually she would be able to snuff out the chakra, containing it inside of her but not letting any be traceable. She nodded to him as he explained the origins of the cape and she smirked. "It is a very interesting piece, though I don't know if I would risk putting my life on machinery, if it falters you are dead. However, if you use jutsu, it is only your skill that you have to worry about. If you are not capable enough you will fail, but if you know you are, then you know you are safe. Machines can have glitches or falter without cause. They can get you killed." She stated as she ran up the trunk of a tree to the thicker branches and began to bound across them, leaping through the forest not far from Michio. As she ran from tree to tree, leaping from the branches and swinging from them at times, moving through easily as fast as her male counterpart. Her eyes were peeling, always scanning the area for anything that she could find, anything that could possibly help them. She was interested in meeting this guy, this Takeyoshi guy, it would be a promising encounter, that was certain. She had been staying not far from Michio, just running a little to the left, but parallel with him. As he deactivated his cloak she grinned as she looked at him, having followed him perfectly. "Sight isn't even the usual method of finding a ninja Michio. People can track your chakra signature. I can follow you even if I can't see you, so don't worry about that.

But as she stood there looking at him, something else began to ease into her focus. It was like a section of the branch that Michio was standing on had become blurry, and her vision had to adjust, and as it did it took the form of a man, a red energy seeming to hover around him slightly, the man looked like a martial artist, but she could feel the chakra pressure from him...he was no ordinary being. "So this is who you've been talking to huh? It is good to finally be introduced. You know my name, so I won't bother with that, what is yours?" She asked with a quirked her brow, interested in who the ninja was. Perhaps it was their third member...but he was way too strong to be with them as a team mate. She just shrugged her shoulders as she stood there and smiled as she looked at them. “Either way, we are headed the right direction, but we need to go east from here as we continue north, I could see a very light trail through the woods, the criminals are probably using the cover of the forest to transport product of whatever sort they may be carrying. Or, perhaps it is a mere hiking trail that I saw. There were no people on it at the present time. But that is the only lead that I picked up. What do you guys think? Or is the road a diversion they have set to make us go the wrong way. Lots of options, I suppose we need to think quick. Do we split up to cover more ground?”

Michio laughed at her monologue about how his tools were utterly useless if they failed to function. “Are you implying that a shinobi should never use tools to increase their rate of success on the mission at hand? If I did not need to use these tools, I wouldn't bring them along. Skill can only count for so much before something superhuman demands a tool, be it a nut screwed on too tight or an invisible enemy who's concealing their chakra that you need to have thermal goggles to see. Concealing your chakra is a very important skill, to be sure, but it's not a cure all, and unless you're one of the most knowledgeable shinobi in the land, chances are a tool is going to pick up the slack where your skill ends. True enough, if the tool fails to function, chances are you're dead. But if you're only using the tool when you would be dead anyway, it's not as big of a loss as relying on it alone to fix your problems.” He turned to Furai, who shrugged. “I don't know jack s**t about all of these tools you're talking about. They're just mortal attempts at being one step closer to godhood.”

Furai turned to look at Kiyomi and nodded at her in acknowledgment, “I am Togashi Furai, a monk of the Order of the Flaming Fist monastery just south of Otogakure. As for your second question, I must meditate on this. You two go on ahead, but a word of advice: I wouldn't split up. A solitary target is an easier target.”

((Collaboration of Raven, Sythril, and myself.))

Kiyomi had walked around the village aimlessly since Michio had started to wake up, she was glad the guy was okay, that was for sure. She would still be on a team, and her teammate was going to recover. It would just take a little bit of time she was sure. She had eventually returned home where she had run a hot shower and cleaned herself up before plopping down on her bed and laying back, staring at the ceiling. "Man, this s**t is going to get really intense from here on in...I can feel it." She said with a smirk as she looked out her window, closing her eyes. She knew there was a storm coming, not only for her team, but for a lot of shinobi in the world. Kiyomi was going to have to get stronger...much stronger than she was currently. They were all going to need to get stronger. Sound Village was going to need to pump up its ranks, get the members stronger and have a real shinobi division instead of all these dead beats that claimed to be shinobi. The only team with any skill was her and Michio and Sythril, and they honestly, were not all that strong.

Michio smiled at the doctor and nodded, "Yes Ma'am. I'll probably only need them for a week with how fast I heal, but I'll be sure to check in with you first." He looked to his wife and grinned at her, and she sighed heavily, then stood up and nodded towards the door. "Let's go, Michio-kun. We need to get home so I can get dinner started. I'm cooking Teriyaki chicken mixed with vegetables over rice, and it takes at least an hour to cook up. And, it's getting late. We don't need to be walking through the village after dark, even with the Cobra gang gone." Noriko said, smiling at him and wrapping up Shimikiri tighter, as it would be cold outside. Winter was coming, and Michio was glad he had a warm apartment that they could seek shelter in. "Mmmmm!" he emphasized, rubbing his stomach and licking his lips, "Sounds tasty! Alright then, we'd best be on our way!" He got up from the bed suddenly, forgetting about the crutches, and fell face first onto the floor. Noriko sighed and grumbled "Your face... goddammit..." at him, then helped him off of the floor with one hand as she held their three month old child in the other arm. They walked out of the hospital and headed home, walking slowly as to not aggravate Michio's leg injury.

Michio awoke a few days after he was released from the hospital, then noticed he still had the cast on his leg. He grumbled and then tore the bandage off, slicing it cleanly with one of his bone claws, careful to not cut his leg in the process. Noriko stirred in the bed next to him and mumbled in her sleep about taking the turkey out or something like that, and Michio smiled, admiring her beauty as she slept. He rose from the bed moments later, testing his weight on his leg, and was pleasantly surprised to find that he could put his whole weight on it without trouble. Michio began to pace the room, giving his leg a full workout again, and while the muscles were a little stiff from being locked into place for a few days, they functioned without error. Michio dressed himself and walked to the hospital to show the doctor and get his medical case closed.

"You tore the bandage off?" the doctor, Shuri, asked him, her eyebrow twitching, "You Oto-nin just don't know the meaning of full recovery do you?" She inspected his leg professionally, then nodded, making several notations on a clipboard. "Well, the leg is still going to be sore, but you should be able to perform basic missions. No fighting, though, at least not for a few more days. Any excessive strain could damage the muscles in the leg and/or ankle, and as much as I think you're baby is cute, Michio-san, I grow tired of seeing you in here." Michio frowned at her, and then she waved his expression off, explaning, "You've come in here every day for the past six days, asking if your leg was doing any better. Each day, I had to explain to you that healing takes time, and each day after that you've been coming in with the same routine. Anyone in their right mind would grow frustrated with that. Now get out of here, I have more patients to see. Go on! Get!" Michio nodded and exited the hospital, running towards Sythril's apartment to rouse him from whatever it was he was doing.

When he arrived, he knocked on Sythril's door politely at first, but after he didn't hear anyone coming to the door, he pounded on it, trying to wake up his partner.

Sythril yawned exhausted as he entered through the villages front gates. He was happy to be back to that which he called home. It had been a little over a year since he had had to leave for his fathers funeral and take over as head of household, and looking around he noticed the much needed changes to the village. “looks like Michio’s been busy while iv been gone.” He said chuckling to himself. Deciding to walk the streets and re-familiarize himself with the village, he walked the streets stopping here and there to say hello. After letting most of the shopkeepers know he was back, especially the civilian clothing store owner which he liked to playfully flirt with, he headed towards his old home. Imagining just how dirty it must be.

Upon reaching the corner to his home he saw his companion at the door banging at it as he always did when something was amiss with Noriko and a grin came to his face as he thought back to the letter he had received at the family residence of his friends new family. “Easy there, just because im rich now doesn’t mean I want to deal with that Pr*ck of a manager.” He yelled up to his friend leaping to the second floor landing and dropping his travel sack to face Michio. “looks like things have been going good for the village while iv been gone, by the way…you weren’t trying to break the door down because Noriko is playing damsel in distress again is she?” He sighed thinking back to the month before he had left and how close it had come to his partner losing his life. "bah lets talk about this over those drinks i promised when we first teamed up." He said chuckling again. "then after we can find me a new place....itl have to be a bit large i plan on moving my mother and family over here, makes it easier for me to run family matters and keep an eye on the business records." He let out an exhausted sigh.

Kiyomi sighed as she stood there, it had been a week and Michio still hadn't said a word to her. She wasn't sure if she had done something wrong, or if he was embarrassed that she had had to carry him back to the village like she had, but either way, it was awkward. But, when she stopped to think about it, it made sense that he hadn't talked to her, she hadn't stayed for him to wake up out of fear of being in a vulnerable position where she looked like she cared about him, and she didn't want that situation to pop up...ever. She just sighed as she walked through the village, wondering what to do, she had secretly been avoiding contact with Michio anyways, so she figured it was time to stop the silly games and just go and see how the chump was doing. She pushed the rose-tinted sunglasses up her slender nose with a sweet smile as she walked down the street, moving towards the hospital. Shuri was there waiting for her when she arrived. Well, not exactly waiting for her, she was more rushing madly around trying to tend to all of the patients that she could, and do paperwork, and deal with visitors all at the same time. "Hey Shuri." She mumbled when she got into the hospital. "Darling!" Shuri cried with a grin. "I haven't seen you since you brought your partner in, where have you been?" "I have been around, that's all that matters." She said again, scratching nervously at the back of her head. "How is he doing? I imagine he is probably up and about by now huh?" Shuri grinned again as she looked at Kiyomi and shook her head. "Yes, he is up and about, alive and well, and to tell you the truth, I don't think that he is ever going to admit that you played a role in his recovery, pride tends to stop that from happening. But, he rushed out of here today after I told him that he was recovering well. God damn idiot too his cast off before even coming to see me first. Shinobi these days, I swear." Shuri said with a laugh. "What do you mean "these days" you talk like an old crone, you are still young and in your prime, look at you." Kiyomi said with a smirk. "I am surprised you hadn't put your finger on it yet." Shuri stated, a tricky grin playing across her lips. "I may look your age, a young little shinobi of your generation. In all honesty, I am one of the oldest shinobi in this village. I use harmless unnatural means to stay alive. When I get too old in a certain body, a dying shinobi can give me consent to use their body as a new vessel. I have been the head medical nin at this hospital for centuries." She said with a laugh. The color drained from Kiyomi's face in shock and she shook her head. "That is insane. But very interesting. So..the original you. Who were you?""Another story for another time dear." She said with a wink. "Go find your rowdy companion. I am sure he isn't far. Try Sythril's house, he is your other teammate."

Kiyomi nodded to her with a small smile and she left the hospital after getting directions from Shuri. She smiled a little more as she walked, some sort of happiness coursing through her that she had not felt in a long time. This whole situation since the year out of her academy had changed everything. She hadn't gone out hunting in a couple nights, and that seemed weird for her, but she didn't mind. It didn't take long to arrive on scene where Michio was banging away at Sythril's door, and when the other man answered she looked with wide eyes. She immediately corrected her expression as she gawked at Sythril and turned away, both of the others having not seen her yet. She maintained composure and a few moments later rounded the corner she had hid behind and walked towards them. "Top of the morning." She called out sarcastically. "How is the leg?" She asked Michio, and then turned to Sythril. "It is good to meet you finally." She said with a coy smile. "I am Kiyomi."

Michio heard Sythril's salutation to him and turned, “I thought you'd have gotten rid of that manager a long time ago, Sythril-kun. Moving your mother in, huh? That could be troublesome if you try to do anything she wouldn't approve of in your own home. I remember Noriko's mother was quite adamant about us never sleeping in the same bed pre-marriage, despite the fact that Noriko was already pregnant.” Michio grinned and nodded, “Yes, drinks sound like a good idea. We don't have any missions today, so a day of celebration of your safe return sounds in order.” The young Kaguya looked around at the neighborhood that Sythril had moved into well over a year ago and had somehow kept himself from getting kicked out of on account of the nosy, bull-headed manager. He then heard a familiar voice shout out "Top of the morning! How is the leg?" and turned to see Kiyomi advancing on them. I didn't even sense her coming... either I'm slacking off or she's one stealthy broad... he thought, then gave her a wave. “Ohayu, Kiyomi-chan. It's been at least a week! My leg is fine, now, but Doctor Shuri demanded that I still not do any strenuous activity.” he said, and then watched as she introduced herself to Sythril. Well, now all of the members of the team have met each other, maybe we can really start training soon. he thought, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Yea, I have been...busy." She lied, it was obvious, hell she wasn't even trying to make it seem like she wasn't lying. She just wasn't going to let the truth out, no damn way. Hell, he didn't share any sort of emotion with her, why should she be all open about her inner feelings. ******** that...not only was she not going to share that, but she wouldn't let herself slip up with it either, not ever. She nodded to him with a smirk, keeping her happy smiles to herself. "Well, it is good to see that you're doing alright. I wouldn't want you holding me up on our next mission, whenever that happens." She stated, though it was really hard not to sound friendly. She really didn't mind this team, working with Michio has been pleasant, to her own surprise. As he said that Shuri had told him he couldn't go on with any strenuous activity she chuckled to herself. "Yea, sounds like Shuri. She is the one who actually sent me over here to check out where you were. I figured we hadn't seen each other in a while, and it was time to meet back up and prepare. I am sure with your leg making such a speedy recovery Korinobu will have us out and about sooner than later." She stated. She had taken her time after she spoke to Michio to introduce herself to Sythril and she narrowed her eyes as the man began to speak. He had made a grave error already, it was going to be a very rough start between the two of them, like it was between her and Sythril, however, Michio and Kiyomi had quickly figured out where they stood with each other and acted accordingly, they were civil and they could actually learn to get along she was sure, however, this man was starting off on a pretty bad note, and she could only hope that he bounced back like Michio had. But as he began to speak her eyebrow twitched and she glared at the man. "Shut your ******** mouth." She spat with narrowed eyes. "One, I am not, and never would be with Michio. Two, you are a god damn pig, if you want to flirt with multiple women go to a brothel, though with your woman skills I am sure it is a place you have to frequent in order to gain any release." She stated with a smirk as she looked over to Michio and shook her head.

"Seriously? Does every male ninja in this village have to be a chauvinistic pigs?" She asked. "Or was I just put on a team with the two most arrogant assholes around?" She asked, when she looked at Michio she had a playful expression on her face, as to show him she had already had this conversation with him, and she didn't think so badly of him. However, when she turned back to Sythril her expression was deadly serious. As he continued to talk about Michio and her having plans she smiled and laughed. Though the laugh was short lived and sarcastic as she locked eyes with Sythril. "Listen up, and listen up good. I may be a woman, but I am not just a piece of a**, nor am I inferior to you, something I have already discussed with Michio and made very clear. If you treat me as such I will end your ******** existence without a second thought. Y'savvy?" She asked with a grin as she twirled a kunai in her finger, thinking about pinning it through the man's shirt by his neck to get her point across. But she decided against it in the end, instead she just put the knife on the inside of her jacket where the rest of them were hidden. "I suppose coming along will at least give me the chance to see if this team will work out now that we are all here and I can make a proper assessment." She said with a shrug. "Michio. I apologize for the confrontation here. I am sure it won't happen again." She said, glancing over her shoulder at Sythril with a look that screamed "will it!?".

Michio quickly put his hand on his face as Sythril hinted that Kiyomi and Michio had been fooling around, mainly because he and Sythril both knew that Michio would never do that to Noriko, but secondly because he knew a cosmic shitstorm was about to erupt. “Aw hell... first day back and you're already getting into trouble, huh Sythril?” He then heard Kiyomi's rant at him and grinned.

"Listen up, and listen up good. I may be a woman, but I am not just a piece of a**, nor am I inferior to you, something I have already discussed with Michio and made very clear. If you treat me as such I will end your ******** existence without a second thought. Y'savvy?"

He sighed, then shook his head, “Kiyomi, to be fair, I still think you're weak. I'm sure that'll change, but for now, you're still a pansy a** to me.” He grinned at her wider to indicate he was just messing with her for the sake of pulling on her chain, then his grin faded, “And honestly, it's no big problem. This confrontation wasn't nearly as dangerous as the one we had. Even with your knife to my genitals, all it would've taken was a lapse in control for you to be breathing out of a different hole in your head. Anyways, we should get going, otherwise the bar could close before we get there.” He grinned again, knowing full well that the bar wouldn't close until two 'o clock in the morning, and jumped down from the second floor balcony to the street below. “Let's get goi-” he started, then turned and stared at the roof of one of the nearby apartments, having sensed something. “The hell?” he asked aloud, then leaped onto the roof... but there was nothing there. “I could've sworn I felt someone up here...” he mumbled, then continued to look around the rooftop, searching for whomever he thought was spying on them.

She smirked as he seemed to just fluff off most of what she was saying, it seemed this guy was better at keeping his cool than Michio was. She liked him more so far, though she didn't say that. She smirked as she jumped off of the railing and landed in the combat boots, her one piece leather outfit gripped every curve of her body as she stood there, the fur-lined trench coat she wore over the leather flapped gently in the wind and she pushed the rose glasses up her nose once more, covering the emerald eyes with a tint of pink. "Sythril." She called with a smirk as she walked towards him. "I am impressed. You pass the test that Michio utterly failed. You can keep your cool well in front of assholes poking your buttons. I am glad that you're not so sexist as your partner is. You at least don't judge right off the bat when it comes to a woman. Though I could care less what you think of any other woman but me." She said with a laugh as she walked ahead of him. "But for the record." She said, looking over her shoulder. "Even if you flirt around with multiple women though you do not want either, or if you want one or the other or both, it doesn't matter. You are a pig. What happens if the two women fall for you, and you crush them? Though I suppose some people have no tact these days." She said with a smirk, winking at him as she turned around. She stopped as she watched Michio begin to search for someone, and her eyes widened as she looked around as well, trying to figure out where this person was. She knew he wouldn't have run off if he hadn't felt or seen something, so it was likely there was some bad news around, and if there was this guy was going to need to get his a** out of their way. Michio couldn't fight full force right now, he was still in danger of overexerting his muscles."Who is it? Any idea?" She called as she scanned the area around them. And as she did she saw a dark shadow flick across the alley not too far from them and she took off. "This way!" She yelled. The woman was quick, that was sure. Her physical strength was low, but she was very quick, and even moreso talented with ninjutsu.

The alley passed by in a flash as she ran, the woman was agile, and she had no issues leaping off of random items and articles to get better positions be it on roofs or swinging from protrusions from buildings around her. She could see the figure moving through the streets, but it seemed that whoever it was was faster than her and it continued to pull away from her. "Someone was watching us! He's right over here! But I am going to lose him without help!" She called out, alerting Sythril and Michio to where she was while she was running after whoever had followed them. Though she maintained constantly vigilant, ready for any sorts of traps or surprises.

Michio ran after the figure and Kiyomi, forgetting to not overexert himself, but his leg didn't hurt as he ran faster than the both of them. He pulled his eye piece out of his ninja tools fanny pouch and put it on, and what he saw made his eyes widen with a jolt of shock. “It's a damned clone... a real clone.. probably a shadow clone... but a clone nonetheless... Who the hell would know the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu in Otogakure? I thought we had Gohan Bunshin no Jutsu users... It's an intruder!” he said to himself, and extended his claws, swinging in the air in front of him and launching his claws at the figure. It dodged two of them, but the third caught the shadow clone in the back, and the clone collapsed to the ground, then erupted into a puff of smoke. “What the hell... maybe it was Takeyoshi? No... Takeyoshi's dossier stated that he doesn't use clones to do anything... who the hell would that be?” he wondered as he collected his claws, pushing them back into his forearm.

“Kiyomi! We need to report to Kurinobu-sama immediately! We have another intruder!” Michio yelled to her as he ran to her. “He used a shadow clone, but I was unable to capture it. The Nara criminal doesn't use clones, so that means that Takeyoshi is collaborating with one or more additional people. This doesn't spell good news for Otogakure.” He sighed and looked to the town, which had paid no attention to them and had gotten along with their lives while Michio and Kiyomi had chased the clone. He then grunted and dropped to one knee as a sharp pain shot through his calf. “Argh! Damn this leg!” he grumbled, then massaged the muscles for a minute before rising to his feet again. “Let's go collect Sythril and report.”

Sythril sighed as the two returned, “So much for relaxation and celebration after the long journey back.” He complained as Michio and Kiyomi explained the situation. “Hmm, there was nobody but me on the road here, ahead of me or behind my guess is whoever you were chasing has been camped out for at least a day or longer nearby.” As the three started to walk away he noticed Michio favoring his leg as if he had been injured. “Hold up, give me a second theres still a couple things I need to do before we take off.” He turned and entered the apartment building next to them over the door a sign read “Management”, a few moments later he had reappeared and seemed rather grumpy. “Damn old man, it’s a bloody rip off for that price I could buy a small house instead of renting this dump.” He continued to complain to himself as he leaped to the second floors balcony and unlocked his door disappearing again this time into his own room. Shortly after he returned with his usual gear on after catching up with the other two he put his hand into his pack and removed a bottle which he tossed to Michio. “Here, it’s a new product the company is putting out at the end of the month. Supposedly its supposed to loosen muscles and reduce pain enough to allow civilians and shinobi alike to continue their day without worrying to much about pain and work out knocks or other muscle issues they may have. I’ll tell you now though, They’ve not tested it on a Kaguya.”

Kiyomi had been watching the movements of the shinobi in front of them, though she could tell the b*****d wasn't a full person, she hoped that he would lead her back towards where the man was, or if he chose the opposite route, he would lead them into the middle of nowhere, probably in the exact opposite direction, with that thinking she was hoping that she could call out and get Michio to travel in the opposite direction with Sythril, and then they could cover both of the options, hopefully weeding out where the b*****d was hiding, but there was no time for that now, as soon as she had figured it all out for herself she saw a bone get flung and spike through the back of it, causing it to disappear. "********!" She growled as she stopped mid-stride. There was no way of knowing if that strategy would have worked now. They would have to wait until there was some other sign from the people who were intruding on their territory. "Well, think about this." She said, looking over to Michio as he talked about there being more than one intruder. "We know that there are at least two of them, but when you think of a guy like Takeyoshi, would he really partner up with someone to go after this country, I don't think that he would choose to go along with just one person for the common goal. If he is with more than one person, I am willing to bet that the man is with a group that he has been somehow forced into. Which worries me even more...because if he is stuck in a group of shinobi that he doesn't think he could take out by himself, then this village is in for either a massacre or the fight of its life." She said with a heavy sigh as she watched him begin to massage his leg. "And stop being so damn careless with your injury. If you don't start paying a little more attention I will have Shuri confine you to the hospital wing until it is healed beyond a doubt." She said with a smirk as she left without him, he had to massage his leg for a minute, but in that time she had already run back to Sythril and let him know what was happening. As Sythril was told about their situation he said he needed to take care of some things and she narrowed her eyes as she watched him go and talk ot his landlord and throw his stuff into his apartment. "Come on now. You can't afford to take care of personal business when times like these are popping up, these guys could be preparing to wipe out our village, we need to report without any setbacks. Listen, you help him with the salve, I will meet you two there. I have to give Korinobu this information right away.

She took off, not waiting for Michio to apply whatever medicine it was that Sythril was giving him. Pain killers were a dangerous thing for prideful shinobi like Michio though, considering that it would allow them to move and continue using damaged limbs like Michio had, and not feel the pain that was telling them that it was getting worse. It could put him into a much worse situation. It didn't take her long after she had left to get to Korinobu, she arrived breathing heavily, barging into his office. "Who the hell do you think you are!? You better have a damn good reason for barging into this office like you own the place Kiyomi!" Korinobu bellowed as she stood before him. She bowed in respect, something that didn't happen often and she nodded to him. "I apologize, but Michio, Sythril, and I just found a man in the village, or rather a clone. A Kage Bunshin that does not belong within our walls. But it can not be Takeyoshi. I have reason to believe that Takeyoshi has multiple collaborators on this, though I could easily be wrong, it is just a hunch. We know there are two, I believe there may be more. Just from Takeyoshi's profile, I don't think that he would enter into a partnership unless he was forced. So either there are multiple shinobi he could not take out all alone, or one who is extremely powerful, moreso than him. These are my own suspicions, but you can decide the course of action for yourself. I thought I would report as soon as I could though." She said, bowing in apology once more.

Michio inspected the medicine that Sythril gave him and cocked an eyebrow, “This will take away the pain, huh? But you've never tested it on a Kaguya? Maybe that's because I'm the only one for miles, if at all?” Michio had never encountered another Kaguya in his entire life, so he assumed that it was possible that he was the only one left in the entire world, and if so, that would make him a rare find for anyone looking to get their hands on his abilities. “Well... I'm not usually keen to taking medicine, but the mission always comes first, and I'll be damned if I'm a burden again just because I don't find medicine a necessity to heal... f*ck it, here goes nothing.” he said, upending the bottle into his mouth. After downing the entire bottle, he then felt a shiver go through his body, making the pain in his leg go away... but so did the feeling of everything else. “The hell is wrong with me?” he wondered, and read the dosage amounts on the bottle.... and found that he had just injested seven dosages... “Oh crap....” he said, and then hunched over as his entire front of his torso began to burn and cramp up. He grunted with terrible agony and could feel his skin begin to crawl as waves of nerve killing electric jolts shot through his nervous system to his chest where the pain was extreme. He lifted his shirt to see what was happening, and saw that the skin from his stomach to the top of his chest had formed a fire shaped discoloration, the skin having turned jet black. He rubbed at the mark, and though it didn't hurt to touch, it was as if it were a tattoo, for even as dead skin fell off, there was more black markings underneath. “What the f*ck...” he asked, and as soon as it came, the pain was gone. Michio rose and walked to a store to go into their bathroom, and as he checked the mark in the mirror, he noticed that the areas under his eyes had also been discolored black.

“That's the last time I overdose on untested medicine...” he grumbled to himself, then walked back out to meet Sythril in the street. “That was dumb...” he said bluntly, picking up the bottle. “How the hell is Noriko gonna accept that I look like I haven't gotten sleep in a century for the rest of my life?” He sighed and shook his head, “Oh well... let's just go report to Korinobu before Kiyomi gets us put on a pervert hunting mission...”

He took off to Korinobu's office and walked into the open door, seeing Kiyomi and Korinobu deep in conversation about the extra set of hands that Takeyoshi had working with him.

((Collaboration of Sythril, Raven, and myself.))