[Senju Kazuyuki]

Sweat trickled down the side of his neck, marking a path on Kazuyuki’s pale skin before falling to the earth. If anybody could have seen him now, except for his cousin, they probably wouldn’t have believed it to be Kazuyuki. Nobody expected the spoiled young master of the Senju to work hard, let alone enough to work up a sweat. Blessed with excellent control and talent from a young age, he was simply naturally gifted. People never saw beyond that, especially since he encouraged them to see him that way. People? Seeing him sweat? Absolutely not. That was why he’d chosen a training ground out of the way, and especially one far from the Senju compound. His cousin knew he worked hard in his own way, but if Kazuto caught him training hard he’d probably make him do hellish drills until he couldn’t move anymore.

Kazuyuki was working on his physical abilities to offset his reliance on ninjutsu and barriers. He had limited chakra after all, and being able to fight without using chakra was always beneficial. Today was speed, since it paired well with how flexible he was. Mokuton had been used to create a temporary obstacle course spanning the entire training ground, and he’d been running the thing over and over again for a while now. This was his 23rd attempt thus far, and while he’d taken breaks between every single run, he could feel the drain on his stamina. It was hardly a bad thing, but it did make it troublesome if someone were to come across him in this moment.

There definitely wasn’t a way to make this look put together at that point. Unsticking his hair from where it had clumped with the sweat on his neck, the young Senju sighed. He had a long way to go if he wanted to be fast enough to really use that speed in combat. It was certainly a good workout, but he wasn’t used to running this much, and it showed. Maybe he should ask for help? No, no, he couldn’t do that. That would mean people would see him in this undignified state.

[Inuzuka Tsukimono]

    It was still strange being in the borders of Hi no Kuni for Tsukimono. Sure the Hyuuga were no longer actively hunting him, thanks to the good word of their new leader, and a childhood rival of Tsukimono's. Shigure's work was appreciated, clearing his name was something Tsukimono never thought possible, but unfortunately his work was far from over, and he needed to remain a missing-nin. His mother missed him dearly, but he had to work in the shadows, for the betterment of the village.

    Still, a lack of active anbu on his trail meant that Tsukimono was broadly able to travel the nations borders without too much worry. Although he needed to keep up appearances, and that meant never stepping foot in his village. At least not for a long time. 

   For that reason Tsukimono still avoided Hi no Kuni whenever possible. It reminded him too much of a life he could no longer live. This week, however, he had a contact he was supposed to meet outside the village. A report on the movements of the Yakuza. A branch family had been attempting to establish a few outposts within Hi no Kuni's borders, Tsuki was here to give as much information as he could on them. 

    The bigger issue was that he didn't know who exactly he was looking for. It meant he had to be extra careful. Majima, Saejima, Ichiban, and Kiryu by his side, only his best fighters could be trusted for a mission as important as this one. As he wandered the various training yards that dotted the lands near the village, but still far enough away to be beyond regular Anbu watchlists, he spotted Kazuyuki. Clearly a Konoha shinobi, clearly at least some what high ranking. Not wearing the mask, but that could simply be the idea of hiding in plain site. 

    Tsukimono had to at least find out. Majima stuck by his sidem while he had his other dogs take 3 seperate points in the tree-line. A box, with the fourth point being where Tsukimono entered from. 

    "Don't mean to interrupt," if he was the contact, he should know who Tsuki is, ask where the other dogs are. It wasn't until Tsukimono got closer, however, that he realized who it was he was talking to. This definitely wasn't who he was meant to meet. "oh... Kazuyuki. It's been years hasn't it." 

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[Senju Kazuyuki]

While Kazuyuki had certainly been hoping nobody would see him if he chose a training ground out of the way, he was startled from his concentration by the one thing he didn’t want to happen happening. He didn’t quite fall off the obstacle he’d been racing over, but it was a neat thing, and he struggled to regain his balance. He recovered quickly enough though, whirling around in a dramatic fashion that almost managed to cover how disheveled he was- key word being almost. The first sentence left him defensive, but as he laid eyes on the speaker, the second left his eyebrows migrating all the way up his forehead.

”I… Tsukimono? I want to ask how, but also, of course it would be you to find me when I’m purposefully trying not to be found. Damnit Inuzuka, you just had to show up, huh?” he ranted, ignoring the fact that he was rather sweaty and probably a little unpleasant to look at. Of all the people in Hi no Kuni who could’ve possibly found him, it was his childhood crush? This was almost as bad as Kazuto finding him out here. Actually, it was probably worse. Kazuto had seen him at his most undignified, whereas Tsukimono was someone he’d hoped would never see him in such a state. Clearly, Kazuyuki’s luck was abysmal today.

”What are you even doing here? I know you aren’t exactly public enemy number one anymore, but I’m pretty sure there are still Konoha nin who would eviscerate you on sight.” he asked, schooling his expression from his initial disbelief into something slightly more neutral and confident than he was actually feeling. Tsukimono hardly scared him, but him showing up this close to the village was pretty suspicious… and he really didn’t want to have to fight the man. He’d probably have tried flirting some information out of him if he were in a state that were slightly more attractive. He’d probably still flirt regardless, but it probably wouldn’t be as effective when he was sweaty and dirty.

Inuzuka Tsukimono

[Inuzuka Tsukimono]

    It was certainly a good question. Plenty of people in Konoha would be happy to put Tsukimono's head on a plate, but being that this wasn't his contact, and he couldn't exactly reveal his position in ROOT, there had to be some way out of this. The two shared a long silence for a few moments as Tsukimono thought carefully about his words. "True, a lot of people are out for blood," Tsuki laughed to himself before raising his hand and snapping his fingers.
    
    In an instant the other three of his wolves were at his side, teeth barred, a deep growl escaping each of their individual lips. "Would you wanna be the person fighting me though? I sure wouldn't." Tsukimono gave a sly grin before kneeling down and petting his mutts individually. The dogs would calm down, sitting don beside him. 

    "I mean I definitely know that it would take some fighting, but at the end of the day I have these little guys to protect me, best Bodyguard's in Hi no Kuni." He stood back up and gave a small bow to Kazu. "But, you asked why I was here. I still have friends in the village. It's just hard to ever meet up with them you know? So I know I'm supposed to see them sometime this week, somewhere near here, but we don't have much to go on besides that. How about you?"

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[Senju Kazuyuki]

When Tsukimono asked if he’d want to be the one fighting him, Kazuyuki almost laughed. That was a bit too rude, though, so he stuck to a deadpan. ”Tsukimono, I can turn my whole body into rock and reform it at will. If I felt like it, I could very easily beat you in a contest of who outlasts who.”

Tsukimono’s next response had him frowning though. An obvious deflection, but one he sensed the other wouldn’t appreciate being pressed on. So he dropped it, making his way closer instead. As he’d said, he was hardly scared of the man in front of him. ”You interrupted me in the middle of training, Inuzuka. Don’t you know it’s rude to pop in unannounced? Not that I mind the handsome company, but I tend to appreciate it more when I’m not sweaty and dirty.” he quipped, flicking more hair out of his face and casually unfolding a fan to at the very least cover some of the grime.

He was a mess, and in front of a man he’d been attracted to for a very long time, so he still had to at least try. Pausing for a moment, he returned the other man’s bow, though his was not quite as low in keeping with his status.

”I hope this friend you’re meeting is just Azarea or someone from our academy days. If you’re risking your neck for something unimportant, I’ll hunt you down to shake some sense into your head myself. As it is, I’ll be doing you a huge favor by not telling my cousin you were so close to the village.” Kazuyuki warned, his tone going darker for a moment before returning to it’s normal more bubbly state. He wasn’t sure he wanted to get involved in whatever the Inuzuka was up to, but he definitely didn’t want to see him dead either.

[Inuzuka Tsukimono]

    "It's cute you worry so much" Tsukimono shrugged his shoulders at Kazuyuki's argument. They weren't here to argue over who's strongest after all. Why was he here? It was strange to travel so far from the village just for training, but the more Kazu spoke the more Tsuki pieced it together. He couldn't truly imagine caring so much about keeping up appearances in front of others. He didn't have that luxury, but even before he had found himself living in the wilderness for so long, he hadn't cared much for his looks. And now, living as a Yakuza, the only real element of appearance he had to keep up was his "mad dog" persona.

    It was nice being able to drop that.

    "I didn't really know there was anyone to announce myself to. I figured this training ground would be empty until my friends arrived. It's pretty out of the way after all." the more serious tone that followed was one far from expected from the man. It almost made Tsukimono worry. The idea of Kazuto arriving wasn't exactly welcome. No matter how cleared Tsukimono's name had been within the Hyuuga, he was still a missing nin, and Kazuto had a job to do. 

    "Kazuto was always a problem wasn't he. He still the same grumpy bastard he was back when I worked for the Anbu?" it wasn't often that he got to talk about his days in the Anbu. It wasn't like he could talk to the Yakuza about how his job in Konoha had explicitly been in infiltrations and deception. Would probably make them less likely to trust him. 

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[Senju Kazuyuki]

Kazuyuki’s face seemed to momentarily take on an expression like he’d just bitten into a lemon upon hearing an insult to his cousin. However, just as quickly he turned that momentary anger into a pout. ”Don’t be rude, Tsukimono. He’s still my cousin, and I do love him,” he stated, whiny and a little petulant. However, he did still end up answering the second part of Tsukimono’s question. ”He’s a dad now, by the way. He and Miho married and had kids. Babies are kinda gross, though,”he said, now close enough to Tsukimono that he could probably reach out and touch him.

However, he knew that touching the other man was probably a bad idea, even for him. He was already talking to a wanted criminal without reporting him, after all. Kazuto would probably have his hide if he ever found out. He’d never be let out of the house again. That in mind, he had extra incentive not to tell Kazuto he’d spoken with Tsukimono. But, that didn’t mean the man could insult his cousin to him. While it wasn’t wrong Kazuyuki was a major headache to the man, he did truly love his older cousin and wanted the best for him. Even if that meant admonishing his longtime crush for a simple remark.

Face still hidden behind his fan somewhat, his expression was at least partially hidden from view. He still hadn’t fixed his hair, though he’d been tugging at his clothes to at least try and make them look somewhat okay. He doubted he’d get them to look completely good at this stage, and it wasn’t like Tsukimono had ever seemed to notice his more provocative looks before.

[Inuzuka Tsukimono]

    "No need to worry." he laughed a bit as he spoke. He understood the reaction but it was hard for him to take it too seriously when Kazuyuki was acting so weird. Getting so close to him. It was taking all that Tsukimono had not to burst out laughing at the awkward motions of the situation. It reminded him of his days at the Academy. He remembered so many times people would act weird around him. 

    "If I didn't respect Kazuto I wouldn't have worked for him," Tsukimono was certainly telling the truth. He had never taken a job for someone he didn't at least partly respect. Even when he had taken that job with Toshizou. 

    His head throbbed. He was sure he had just been thinking of something. It was gone though. Something about his job. 

    "But a guys gotta be able to vent about his boss, it's just healthy." Tsukimono began to walk deeper into the training god. Passing by Kazuyuki as he took a look around. Surely there was a reason he was here right? Was it just talk to Kazuyuki? He remembered coming here for a purpose though.

    _{"Kazuyuki, do you know Issei?"}

    He turned around, he went to open his mouth. The question he was about to ask seemed to fade away as soon as it formed. "It's nice bumping into you. I'm never gonna be back in Konoha, those bridges are long burned down. Just cause the village is long behind me, doesn't mean I can't enjoy things like you."

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