[Deleted]

[googlefont=Fira+Sans|Playfair+Display]

PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT,

It didn't feel right, being here.

It had been a month and a half at most, but here they were: he and his team out on a mission there. Despite what Akira had said some time back, he hadn't anticipated Stone Country being able to afford it. But someone had, and they were there.

Negative number one? Akira hadn't anticipated the smell. Over a month and a half of a rotting, dead beast: while it had brought tourists, it had certainly not worked for long given the smell. It had brought all manner of beasts - that was its own mission, and a reoccurring one for the size of it. But people were dealing with it now. Much of the difficulty had past. The second issue, was that very little of the beast was actually usable: aside from what potential caves and systems that existed inside it, or whether there were any jewels to be had, nobody could tell without actually getting up and close. But it was passing out, looking more like a skeleton as time went by.

"Heave." Akira helped, pulling his back into it as he helped hoist a heavy crate on the back of a truck - using a pulley system, he was the only one needing to do it. He was speaking to himself. A small sheen of sweat visible from his back, a line going down the back of his top. Akira was dressed modestly, khaki trousers, and a white shirt tucked into it with a belt - bandages wrapped around him, plus Iwagakure's sash - his sash.

When he'd gotten to the village, he'd simply instructed his Genin to put on a mask, and to get out and help the people. Akira himself? This was more of a punishment to him. The village looked like shit, but people were stubborn and not willing to move on, they still had their quarries (though, from when Akira had checked, wasn't very significant).

But undoubtedly, despite the landscape having changed permanently, buildings were starting to come back to the sense of normality although many buildings still walled up, from the damage that had been created. Nobody even knew Akira, or what he'd done for this town. But he still felt responsible, and was helping out in any way he could.

This was a mission, and an excuse to get out of Iwagakure no Sato some. "Nice job, guys!" Akira waved them off, and they were taking off. More trade. Akira had been here twice himself before, only from about two weeks ago of his own volition.

Akira kept himself away from the inn that he'd stayed at, not even looking at it as he passed, avoiding it psychologically distancing himself from the memory in his mind, from the forest he'd come through. He wanted to say that he was doing better. But was he?

"Heave." Akira would say a second time, using the pulley system again.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

AND MINE IS THE FURY

dandy ♫

[Deleted]

Kasumi had made trips out here multiple times since the incident to survey the recovery from the worm's rampage. And each time, the damn thing upped the ante on the assault to her senses. The corpse was an eyesore, the smell of rot was otherworldly, and the sheer mass of the thing made it a pain in the ass to clean up. Not even just the remains, but the village around it. Its thrashing and throwing had left a crater full of blood and debris and even more than a month later, the people around here were still feeling the effects and being forced to deal with the aftermath. The elements and scavengers had done a number on the scene, too. It was messy beyond measure.

It'd been a mammoth struggle. Something for the history texts, for sure, with such an ancient creature springing from its lair in the earth. Kasumi was, on some level, fascinated by it and the damage it'd wrought. Part of being a girl of the wilds growing up. She'd seen and hunted and wrestled with all kinds of animals, but dancing with a giant worm straight from the deepest annals of Kaze no Kuni? What a sight it must've been.

This interest remained at the back of her mind, though, as front and center was the concern for the people the attack had affected. Kasumi typically corralled her check-ins to Kaze no Kuni's borders, but given her daughter's personal involvement in this situation, she'd since made several trips out to Stone Country to oversee and aid the recovery efforts as they progressed. And today was one of those trips.

She had shown up not alone, but with five jounin. They were directed to help as needed and keep a watch on the area during her stay. She'd only be here for the afternoon--it was all she could spare with what Takato had on his plate. Kasumi noted the presence of Iwagakure shinobi--not surprising, with how close their country was. With her entourage busy working nearby, Kasumi began pitching in herself, loading crates and carts, helping dispose of some of the remains that were still actively hindering efforts in the village proper--or what was left of it. They were still rebuilding--but it was going to take a while for the place to look normal again.

It was as she helped lift a crate filled with stone onto a wagon that she picked up a familiar scent on the already-irritating breeze. Akira. She turned, and sure enough there he was, surrounded by younger ones from his village, all helping out. Well, wasn't that nice. Kasumi felt a burning anger, at first, seeing the man. But much of her fury concerning Arashi had cooled in the weeks following this incident specifically, so she wouldn't be starting any fights today.

No, there were bigger fish to fry.

Kasumi hauled another stone toward a new crate, the previous wagon wheeled off elsewhere for transport. She would pass by Akira as she went, glancing at him and tossing over "Good of you to help." Her tone was observational--no more, no less. Assuming he was out here on an assignment--as many others appeared to be--he'd had the option to refuse. But he was out here anyway.

The rock was placed down, and she moved to put a second set of hands on a pry bar being used by one of the others--working to lift a giant piece of earth away from some of the remains.

---

@akira ❤ HEX: #edb040 ❤ No notes!

[Deleted]

[googlefont=Fira+Sans|Playfair+Display]

PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT,

It did feel good to him that he was helping it look better: like cleaning his house, there was satisfaction in knowing it was done, and seeing the progress from bringing something up from nothing. In this case, it was fixing something that was broken and seeing it working once more.

Akira was so busy with his own stuff that he'd only noticed Kasumi until she'd made herself known by speaking to her. 'Just like her.' Akira watched as she walked past, fully grown as woman. He took a deep breath in, feeling a rumble of nervousness in front of the Jonin Hancho again. But it was not her. It was of no surprise that it was littered between aid from Iwagakure no Sato and Sunagakure no Sato, so for once, although somewhat tense between their interactions - everyone was working toward a common goal.

"Kasumi-sama," he wasn't surprised at all to see her, given the relevance of the fallout and who it was relating to, the nature of how close it was to their borders and well... the particular involvement. He wasn't afraid of her very much any more. The same thing had happened with most of the other Lords, Ryu, Minako, Takara. All those that he'd been involved with was beginning to soften his view toward them. Kasumi had only garnered a particular reaction from Akira because of how they'd first met, and how he'd been off guard. And upset, too.

But he was still nervous - yet, He wasn't about to shy away from a conversation with her and would also go to help on the opposite side of the pry bar that she had taken place at: offering up a third person and pushing down. His eyes coolly laid over his Genin who were looking at him nervously. There was nothing to fear, him talking with a Sunagakure Shinobi. Akira could later, and easily explain it was diplomacy: given who it was, that Akira had chosen to speak to. Now, Akira could've been a show-off and simply demolished the rock with his newly used steam abilities, but this was providing time, for him.

"Because I feel guilty." Kasumi didn't need to know that Akira had paid out of his own pocket to reimburse them for the mission, so Iwagakure got their money, and the people got to keep theirs. He would be able to continue visiting and helping out where he could. Akira didn't even try to hide it or mask it, trying to lie to the woman was pointless: it wasn't like she wouldn't be aware of his and Arashi's involvement of the death of the death worm.

"These people have no idea." He'd said through a heave of effort- mouth pursed as he grunted, his body pushing down on the bar. Rather than looking down at the bar, he looked up - locking eyes with the woman if she were up to the task. "These people are suffering through my actions, so it's my duty to these people, and their families." His words while bold and noble were only for her, and the only other person who might've heard was the third hand on the pry bar who by that point had wandered off to help actually move the damn thing, now that it had been displaced. A small sigh - but not one of being upset.

He could've been here on entirely different terms, if the worm in one form or another had woken up - and perhaps was only a manner of time, as opposed to how it had awoken. Irrespective of which, Arashi and Akira had taken care of it. "It doesn't help that it smells terrible." She would note that he wasn't wearing a mask, unlike his Genin and some of the other people around. A small manner of punishment, he thought. At the same time, it was probably singing his nose enough that he wouldn't be able to smell it in due course.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

AND MINE IS THE FURY

dandy ♫

[Deleted]

Guilt, was it? She snorted with a shake of her head, forcing her attention to the bar as the combined sets of hand worked to provide enough leverage against the stone. Kasumi wasn't fully convinced it was just that, but she kept her mouth shut, her eyes only snapping back to him when he spoke again.

He was right. They were suffering and it was his duty to mend things. How he chose to do that was pretty direct, and she could respect that he'd come out here himself to pitch in. But that didn't excuse that he'd been involved to begin with.

"You and my daughter both," she said, her tone low, hushed, and displeased. It hurt her more as a mother than as the hanchou to have had Arashi directly contribute to something this large and devastating. The two fighting the worm and ultimately killing it wasn't some huge victory in her head. It was the culmination of a series of poor choices that had led to worse consequences.

"And she wouldn't have been out here to begin with if it wasn't for you," she added in her head. But diplomacy would have her bite her tongue.

They loosed the stone and Kasumi released the bar as the piece of earth was scooted back and then onto a tarp, where another three people began dragging it away toward one of the wagons. Akira commented on the smell out here, which got an amused chortle from her. "Yeah? It's a lot worse on my nose." She tapped the tip of it for emphasis. Saeko senses were really great for hunting and tracking scents on the wind. But in a place like this? It was a constant assault. "I can just about taste that thing," she added, her expression contorting in mild disgust.

She went to the wagon nearby and began helping load more debris onto the platform. "That your team of little ones over there giving me the eye?" she asked, gesturing with a jerk of her head to the genin a bit further out. They weren't actually "little" in age but to Kasumi they were still pups. "Maybe I should deck you one to ease the tension?" She shot him a smirk and turned back around to lift another piece of earth up and over the side of the wagon.

She'd been kidding. Mostly.

---

@akira ❤ HEX: #edb040 ❤ No notes!

[Deleted]

Satori Akira

It was obvious enough that it didn't just concern Akira, as was to be expected. Their sense of smells were also similar, so Akira would come to note. Incredibly powerful: but then again, the worm was emitting a very powerful smell.

Perhaps she was egging him on? Akira still went to help alongside her, being close: but not on her as he helped with an additional piece of debris from around the town.

"That's them." Akira would chuckle, but went to help her as well. "Is that your team of little ones also eyeing us?" He replied back to her in the name of her other Jonin, still sitting around. He'd spent enough time being followed by ANBU to see a few hidden faces where they didn't want to be seen.

But she hadn't spoken to make light of the situation. The smile fell from Akira's face. She was upset, he could appreciate. In what was trying to come across as a joke certainly hadn't - but Akira still didn't shy away from the woman.

"Kasumi-sama, your daughter came out here because I asked her to. Irrespective of that fact or not, the worm would've come about sooner or later- and those attackers in the town were going to be there whether or not we were." He knew she would likely turn, feeling the emotion in the "room" as it were, that she might turn back on him with harsher words than before: but before she were about to square up to him he would already be there in striking distance, arms folded.

Not that it'd be a terrible idea to do that. "But I don't feel like that's the reason for your cause of tone. I'm a big boy, and I can take a verbal lashing." No, he felt like there was something a bit more impasse on her - weighing on her.

'Should I tell her I'm the Jinchuuriki? Well. Why would that be relevant? It might get her to not be so combative. Maybe. But Arashi being one - eh. I'm not sure.' The thoughts wandered across his mind, seeing if there was any benefit to it. There were some that he could see. But that would also mean being put on Sunagakure's radar: Arashi had kept his status a secret. Was that a risk he was willing to face?

---

INFO SHEET

SPOILER: Click to show ABILITIES: Jinchūriki, Stalwart Hide, Bukijutsu Maverick, Hawkeyes, Seal Weaver [Always Active] Genjutsu Innovator [Inactive] Genjutsu Subterfuge [Inactive] Political Orator [Inactive] JUTSU: n/a EQUIPMENT: n/a

i hate that i love

?

[Deleted]

Her little ones? Ah, yes, the jounin. She smirked. "Don't mind them. They're sweet on anyone I talk to." Making light of the security measure, but noting it nonetheless. Kasumi didn't need it--and she'd only brought them to help the cleanup efforts. But there'd be no harm in the added manpower if anyone came to blows.

Kasumi continued lifting yet another chunk of stone but would turn to Akira when he spoke on the worm and on her daughter. Would the beast have reared its head at some point regardless? Maybe. Except Arashi had been the one to give access to it right then, on that day, at that time. She'd been directly involved with its release. And the fact the girl had come out this way because someone had "asked her to" had not sat well with the hanchou--nor did the reminder Akira chose to give her now.

He insisted he could take a verbal lashing--which was almost funny to her. If only he knew the honed edge of wrath her husband possessed.

Kasumi braced one hand on the side of the wagon, gripping it firmly as she spoke, golden eyes boring into the man. Her tone was sharp like steel and low in pitch--an articulate baring of teeth. "A big boy with a small worldview if you think the inevitability of a conflict means triggering it sooner excuses or lessens the gravity of it. She knowingly let that thing loose, she knowingly left without authorization, she knowingly made a grand display of herself--all of it a stone's throw from enemy territory. So don't patronize me, boy. I know precisely what the situation was. You have no excuse for causing her to break protocol and nearly get the both of you killed."

The political weight of that kind of tragedy would have sent a shockwave through the continent. And Kasumi had enough messes to clean up at home--she didn't need one that spread beyond her own borders.

Kasumi turned and was given a large bucket by one of the volunteers. She lifted it over the back of the wagon. One of her jounin approached, placed a hunk of earth down as well--not bothering to hide the glance in Akira's direction--and made his way back to another section.

---

@akira ❤ HEX: #edb040 ❤ No notes!

[Deleted]

Satori Akira

She might've found it funny but Akira took into consideration keeping his Genin safe and himself, against a team of Jonin. Unlikely, really. But that wouldn't happen, not for as long as he chose to keep his words wise and his temperament firm.

"I wouldn't be here now if it I was resolute in placement of guilt. I'm sorry." Akira apologised to her - but it was done. There was no point trying to fade away in the hows and whys because he understood the gravity of his actions. But he didn't think it didn't excuse his point: it would've gone off. Only, it was Akira and Arashi catching the

Of course, her disappearing act wasn't lost to Akira: he didn't know of what other things she got up to, because they were still from enemy nations. He had done the same thing, but it had not yet caught up with him. The Jinchūriki certainly had been told off many a time. He nodded along with her, his eyes taut on the terrain in front of him. He crossed his arms, not really sure how to help aid the situation. Should he leave it there? He said he could take a verbal lashing, after all...

But he'd turn to the woman once she'd suggested he put her in danger, and walked to her side, and began to whisper. It was hard to not sound angry in how he was keeping his volume tempered to only her, but still emoting in his words. "I would die for her, and you are mistaken. Arashi didn't kill it, she only finished it off. It was me who leapt inside its mouth and killed it from the inside." Akira caught eyes with the Jonin as he passed, staring at them as they dared to do the same and keeping eye contact.

'Tell her. It's serious.' He thought to himself, daring to stare at her and meet her gaze with equal challenge. 'But it serves no purpose. She won't care. It has no baring on your fault in this situation.' Like a secret he wanted to tell, but once more fought against his better interests. It would prove the inverse of the gravity of his own death, but could also put her sights on to him as a target to be swayed through the use of other people.

"I say that as Iwagakure's Jinchuuriki." 'Kami fucking damn it, Akira.' But he had said it - and there was no taking it back now. His need to be recognised won here. He continued his whispering, and he could feel many watchful gazes on his back. Even so, he felt his words would buy him some time of thought as she recalculated his position in the world with the new information, or she would do exactly the opposite and only berate him further for wasting his potential, or do the same for the same actions as Iwagakure's Jinchuuriki. He had no idea. "You told me to air it out, I did. I'm not happy with the circumstances of how it happened but it's done." It brought up the painful memory of him sitting in the same bar, again. The difference between his last meeting with Kasumi and now, was that he wasn't going to talk about his feelings, nor of what had happened. She had found her peace, he was still searching for his. And that's all he knew on the subject.

---

INFO SHEET

SPOILER: Click to show ABILITIES: Jinchūriki, Stalwart Hide, Bukijutsu Maverick, Hawkeyes, Seal Weaver [Always Active] Genjutsu Innovator [Inactive] Genjutsu Subterfuge [Inactive] Political Orator [Inactive] JUTSU: n/a EQUIPMENT: n/a

i hate that i love

?

[Deleted]

An apology. Kasumi would huff the air through her nose, unamused and only mildly accepting of the gesture. A better "sorry" would've been not tempting her daughter out into Stone Country in the first place despite all the turmoil he'd stirred up. Young people and their love letters...

The hanchou straightened her posture as Akira walked over to her, both unbothered and unintimidated. He would "die" for Arashi? Was she supposed to believe that? The woman quirked a brow. His detailing how the fight had gone did absolutely nothing. He was making excuses--for himself and for Arashi--and she didn't appreciate it. "Irrelevant," she said with a scoff, catching a scent on the breeze and wrinkling her nose somewhat. That corpse was really something else.

But what Akira said next was...well. Surprising, to say the least. He was the jinchuuriki of Iwagakure? The hanchou's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. That fact--if it really was a fact--didn't change what had happened.

But it would change how things went in the future.

Kasumi's expression would tighten, eyes narrowing sharply as she studied him. "What you've just told me is the equivalent of running a kunai through your own foot, dear boy." Was this his definition of "airing things out"? Outing his identity to an enemy nation? Was he that desperate to make a point in Arashi's defense that he'd stoop to that level of stupidity? Did he think it would give him more sway? Did he think she'd back down?

Pure naivety.

"My daughter's not the only one with reckless tendencies, it seems." The observation was more to scold his choice than anything else. "I'm surprised Iwagakure doesn't keep a tighter leash on its biggest hound. Rest assured that your little stunt helped tighten the collar on ours." She shot him a harsh glare and turned away, helping one of the volunteers load another large stone into the wagon. Finally the batch was wheeled away, only for another empty wagon to be rolled into place.

---

@akira ❤ HEX: #edb040 ❤ No notes!

[Deleted]

Satori Akira

Akira had only managed to frustrate himself because he had already called what her reaction would be and still ended up putting himself in it either way. He was being self-destructive. But he didn't see it that way. He understood her point, but no.

But by Kami, she had annoyed him by suggesting that he was a hound - though they were all military dogs, a fashionable term used by Shinobi. But to call Arashi a dog? The caveman part of his brain didn't like that. The funny thing was, he didn't feel too far behind in skill to the woman herself - and he wasn't. He was growing ever closer to being able to decimate through armies: and he's been inches from beating another Kage. What was this woman to him?

He began to power walk towards her, to cut off her movement: but another Sunagakure Jonin would step in front of him, blocking his path to her. Akira could only squint, and Akira wasn't quite ready to break some heads together.

"If I wasn't fully capable of handling myself I wouldn't be out here. All I see is my name spreading far and wide. You don't have to take what I said before at face value, but I think it proves my seriousness!" His voice was louder now, not intentionally for their surroundings but caught by more and speaking past the Jonin in his way. He had spoken to Kasumi of peace, and he was growing to be in a position where that would be possible. She wouldn't have known before, but he was only a Special Jonin during their last meeting. Now? So much closer to his goals.

Some further proof was a leaking of his chakra with the intensity of his emotions which was a familiar feeling for those in the area who had interacted with a Jinchuuriki before: their absolute vastness of chakra spreading around like wildfire.

"If I had an opportunity to prove I was trustworthy, then I'd do it. But I will not be called a hound by any mortal." She had the opportunity to make it right there, or not: to benefit from the situation and his feelings. But that was her choice.

---

INFO SHEET

SPOILER: Click to show ABILITIES: Jinchūriki, Stalwart Hide, Bukijutsu Maverick, Hawkeyes, Seal Weaver [Always Active] Genjutsu Innovator [Inactive] Genjutsu Subterfuge [Inactive] Political Orator [Inactive] JUTSU: n/a EQUIPMENT: n/a

i hate that i love

?

[Deleted]

Kasumi was mid-heave on another set of stones when she registered the movement toward her. She finished what she was doing, though, knowing one of her men would step in. And he did, cutting Akira off in the middle of whatever showy saunter he'd been attempting. But for all the strength poured into his words and feet, his words fell short.

His name spreading far and wide? That was his point of relevance here? There were many things that could've proven he was "serious" about this situation--and with Arashi--but that wasn't it. Fame and renown were shallow things. And a quick cut to the Iwagakure boy's ego was all it took to rile him up--just like banging on the cage of a dog. Not the image he wanted for himself, she was sure.

Kasumi would observe him from behind the jounin, and without any cue from her, two more would approach as well, forming a loose wall between the two of them. Kasumi stepped closer, but only because one of the volunteers was coming to hand her a wooden box with debris inside it.

"Careful, young man," she warned, taking note of the slippage in his chakra. "Your youth is showing." Only someone young and dumb would try to make a power play in this kind of environment--a civilian territory, surrounded by allies and enemies alike, face to face with the hanchou of an enemy nation and the Kazekage's wife, no less. But Akira stating he "wouldn't" be called a hound by a mortal was enough of an argument against the points he'd been trying to make. Serious? Capable of handling himself? His display right now was proving the opposite.

"If you think you're more a man than a hound, prove me wrong and stop snarling. I'm out here as an envoy of Sunagakure's aid, not to play damage control for an unchecked ego. Funnel your energy into helping like the rest of us." She carried the box to the wagon, taking her eyes off of him and focusing on the task at hand--for she knew she could afford to do it. Kasumi wasn't fazed by him nor his pissy yip-yaps. She'd been civil despite having more than enough reason not to be, and Akira's short fuse was not going to be her problem today.

---

@akira ❤ HEX: #edb040 ❤ No notes!

[Deleted]

Satori Akira

The fact that she didn't face him only added to his frustrations like he wasn't worth the time of day. 'It's because she doesn't know you. You're the enemy gallivanting with her daughter.' That was the reason. Akira knew his worth and that how easily he could shred through the Jonin in the town if he needed to.

Two more would join the first, and they would need to if they wanted try and stop him, if he wanted to get serious. "That's exactly what I had been doing before you took offence to my apologies." But Akira wasn't any ordinary Shinobi.

What he wanted to do was summon a platoon of clones, a petty response to her words - and have them do exactly as she'd wanted him to in the first place which was aid in their rebuilding efforts. "Remember, Lord Fourth became the Kazekage when he was 20, and you the same. Don't be so sure to convince yourself that my response is the burden of youth, and not the fact that what you said was disrespectful, irrespective of age or rank." he stared with the glint of a challenge to the three Jonin.

'Try it.' The expression on his face was clear. They couldn't handle him. If they'd given him the opportunity to cool off, he would've been better. If she had nothing more to say, nothing more to add: no fuel to add to the fire then he could cool off. 'I have Genin to take care of.'

It seems he'd drawn a blank on the fact that he had to take into consideration the welfare of his kids, and would disengage, taking some steps back wordlessly. They might've taken it as a turn of submission. It was, in a way. "Take me seriously. Or not. But I say what I say because I'm passionate." Akira would put that passion and energy into rebuilding: as was his mission to, and as was his duty to as well. That was all he could do.

---

INFO SHEET

SPOILER: Click to show ABILITIES: Jinchūriki, Stalwart Hide, Bukijutsu Maverick, Hawkeyes, Seal Weaver [Always Active] Genjutsu Innovator [Inactive] Genjutsu Subterfuge [Inactive] Political Orator [Inactive] JUTSU: n/a EQUIPMENT: n/a

i hate that i love

?

[Yutakako Takara]

Trouble in Stone Country ► Ishigakure Forces Enroute ◄

Tipped off by one of the ANBU tailing Akira, Ishigakure forces have suited up and begun travel to intercept enemy forces on their territory. Without exiting soon the Sunagakure forces will find themselves trapped among enemy forces, as Iwagakure ANBU although hidden stand ready. Only waiting for the odds to tip to strike. NOTES // WORDS // ETC // BOINK OF GS

[Deleted]

Who was he to try to lecture her, and on her husband's arrival to office? Kasumi shot him an incredulous look, catching the way he was giving her team the eye. He was fluffing his feathers out--and for what? There was no sense in forcibly heating things here. Doing so would jeopardize more than just the clean-up effort.

Akira would retreat from the conversation, though, eventually choosing the wiser option in continuing to help load up the wagons. Kasumi was approached by one of her jounin, a genjutsu specialist she'd brought along who knew plenty more than she did about chakra sensory. Low and behold, more bad news. Forces incoming, and with how close they were to Ishigakure? Kasumi wasn't going to hang around and dig her own hole. She'd only come out this way to assist because of her daughter's fuck up. But things would get infinitely worse if she never made it back.

"Duty calls," she said, giving a casual, almost friendly wave to Akira. Almost. In reality she was simply trying not to tip him off to what her sensor had alerted her to. But she wouldn't linger, a quick gesture to her team and they were off, heading south to Kaze no Kuni at break-neck speeds. Whatever was about to come down on Iwagakure's jinchuuriki, she wasn't going to be there to be a part of it.

As much as she would have liked to capture him--on principle--Kasumi hadn't brought the manpower with her to do such a thing. Running into Akira had been unexpected, finding out his status even more so. But the information she'd gained today? Invaluable. Not only did she know the identity of Iwagakure's jinchuuriki, she also knew what would set him off. And he'd revealed more than he'd meant to in regards to his level of control--or lack of it.

And to think--this was the boy her daughter had been writing letters to and sneaking away against protocol to visit.

She'd be having an interesting chat with Takato as soon as she got back home.


- Exit -

---

@akira ❤ HEX: #edb040 ❤ byeeeee

[Deleted]

Satori Akira

That would be the end of it and Akira would return to his duties, waving away the conversation with his Genin - only giving structured responses about keeping the peace, as he was allegedly meant to have never met Kasumi before, and he wasn't about to let that fact slip to Genin of all people.

But he'd kept his eye on her, and the other Jonin in sight. She'd even had the decency to say goodbye, but Akira knew better than that as he watched them take off.

That was fast. Too fast to not be a worrying sight: whether an emergency of their own kind or . Akira wasn't oblivious, no matter how hard she kept it to herself, all five of them taking off quickly? They hadn't even gathered any things, and to go from packing one thing and leaving the next: Akira also didn't want to stick around to find out. He'd jog to his team.

"We're leaving. Drop your things, now." There was a worry in his voice as he spoke to them, eyes glued to their scenery rather than looking at them in the eyes. Akira would form some seals, and five clones popped into existence. Two would follow them, the other three remained behind. They held a triangle formation around his Genin with a clone at the front and him on the left hand side at the back.

It didn't look good on either nation that two sets of ninja were fleeing, and would certainly unsettle some people - but there wasn't anything further they could do about it than pray that it wasn't another hit to the stomach after what they'd gone through.

And eventually, the Ishigakure shinobi would find Akira 'working' as they looked after the village - and nothing to show for it. But, Akira did wonder where they got their intelligence from.

EXIT/END

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INFO SHEET

SPOILER: Click to show ABILITIES: Jinchūriki, Stalwart Hide, Bukijutsu Maverick, Hawkeyes, Seal Weaver [Always Active] Genjutsu Innovator [Inactive] Genjutsu Subterfuge [Inactive] Political Orator [Inactive] JUTSU: Kage Bunshin EQUIPMENT: n/a

i hate that i love

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[Yutakako Takara]

Stone Country ► Ishigakure Shinobi Arrival ◄

Two small units of Ishigakure shinobi would arrive on the scene to the three clones. One would immediately split to make a perimeter, as the other would split to confront the Iwagakure shinobi's clones and the villages. The one in charge immediately approaching the closest version of Akira. "Where's the Sunagakure shinobi?" If Akira provided an answer or not a follow up question would immediately follow. "Where's your team?" The Ishigakure shinobi would with that question jump backwards. Retrieving a kunai from their equipment they'd glare down the Iwagakure shinobi. Listening carefully for an answer, but regardless of Akira delivering one. An answer would be given as one of the villagers explained everything they'd seen, the information given to a different shinobi who'd come over to the man questioning Akira. They'd explain everything they'd been told, but the Ishigakure team still didn't leave immediately. Instead another shinobi would approach from the other group, explaining they found no signs of trailing enemies and other than the clones present the village was vacant. This would cause the one leading to make their decision. "Well then our targets south, let's make sure they're out of our borders. This won't be forgotten Iwagakure shinobi..." The Ishigakure shinobi in charge would state as both teams would head south. With or without the cooperation of the Jinchuuriki. NOTES // WORDS // ETC // BOINK OF GS