[Sora Minami]

Silence. That was all that greeted Sora after her voice died down: a cold, oppressive silence that spoke of anger, of disdain, of annoyance and disgust. Mentally, the pink-haired Jounin readied herself for the castigating reprimand that was surely coming, building like a storm inside her Kage’s throat as he rose to his feet, looming over her with all the might of a nation. And then, with a quiet voice and six simple words, Toru flipped her entire world on its head. Again.

What? She thought, staring at the linen bed sheets for a long moment before daring to look up, sky-blue gaze seeing, not a wrathful avenger, not a furious lord… but a tired young man, weighed down and weary, but standing firm. His face stoic, but not unfeeling; there was concern there, concern and confusion and, perhaps, contrition. No words came to her in the long pause between the boy-Kage’s statements, no thoughts filtered down, and even the storm in her chest had grown oddly still, lulled to a stunned silence by the sheer emotional whiplash of the moment.

Eventually, however, Sora regained enough of her faculties to speak, her lips parting in slow motion as she took in a low breath and said, quietly, "Thank you, sir."

I promise, I won’t let this opportunity go to waste.

Kaguya Toru yamaguchi daichi

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Sora Minami yamaguchi daichi

"You will thank me with rest."

Toru watched Sora for a moment longer after she had thanked him, continuing to stand there unmoving and unbending as a mountain. Once he was certain that the energy in the room felt calm he would move away from Daichi, no longer needing to have his physical touch to read what was going on.

The entire encounter had made Toru exhausted, he never weighed on things with his emotions but her actions had made him feel more than he usually felt. Speak more than he usually spoke. A quiet sigh left him as he felt tension and anger bleed away from his shoulders.

Though he had sat here and waited for her to be okay and to wake up he still had a lot of work to do. So he closed his eyes for a moment, steeling himself for what would inevitably be a long night. Toru turned to flick the bottom of Daichi's shoe to try and get his bodyguard to stir so that the two could return to their looming tower.

The leader was indicating the way back now, giving Sora a slight nod of acknowledgment as he turned to leave.

"If you will excuse me, I still have some work," He spoke lightly, undermining the amount of work he had to do. "Do get proper rest."

And just like that he opened the door to the hospital room and disappeared down the corridor.

OWL

[yamaguchi daichi]

Daichi maintained his sleepy charade all through Sora and Toru’s exchange, stirring only when the Mizukage flicked his shoe to get his attention. His acting while getting up was lack-luster, notably missing the tell-tale signs of a sleepy boy waking up from a nap, and he flashed a guilty grin at Sora as he got to his feet and stretched out his aching hip and shoulder. Sora looked… he didn’t know how Sora looked. He closed his Eye as he got up, finally re-allowing Sora her promised privacy and feeling sick with guilt for the deception. He didn’t know if he had done the right thing, or if his interference had been necessary or helpful at all—both Sora and Toru looked exhausted, beyond just what the surface-level events of the day would inspire. "Take care, sensei,” he said softly, pausing in the threshold of the doorway before he followed Toru out. "Good luck out there.” Quick to flee to avoid the risk of interrogation and desperately wishing to avoid Sora’s potential ire if she found out what he had done, Daichi was hot on Toru’s heels, exiting the hospital alongside him as they went back to the tower. It would be a fool’s errand to try to talk him out of going back to work, Daichi knew, but he could do his best to keep Toru fed and hydrated and caffeinated, elbow-deep in the work right alongside him for however long it took. [exit.]

Kaguya Toru Sora Minami -- 243

LAIKA OF THQ

[Sora Minami]

Sora watched Toru and Daichi leave, her tear streaked face twisted in a mixture of shell-shocked surprise and intense confusion. She had no words, nothing to say beyond what she had already expressed; the seconds ticked by, slowly turning to minutes as she sat there, knees on the floor, gaze distant. She had no idea what had been the catalyst for Toru’s change of heart; perhaps it had been her outburst, or perhaps Daichi had put in a good word for her. She truly didn’t know and, perhaps, it was better that she didn’t. She had her permission, now. For good or ill, she would follow this trail of breadcrumbs wherever it led… and if it turned into yet another dead end, then at least she could say she had tried.

Rising to her feet, the Jounin stretched her aching muscles and headed out the door, collecting her sandals and Samidare along the way; the hospital staff knew better than to take it, no matter how far she had gone. And so, with her sword by her side and her way cleared, Sora headed home- to pack, and to prepare.

fin