---

As Yopparai walked over the puddles of shit, piss and whatever else was in the sewers, he heard a loud bang in front of them, followed by the sound of collapsing. They must've created an exit.. or put a bunch of shit in his way. Just his luck, and that of the village. They'd have to spend the next month repairing all this damage. So much for being the good guys, Konoha. Causing innocent civilians to spend a month with their feet in shit and piss. That's real cool, Yopparai muttered to himself as he started running and approached the roadblock.. more like sewer block he thought to himself, grinning as he found his own little joke quite amusing. Perhaps a bit too much.

He slowed down to a halt before inspecting the blockage in front of him, stopping him from trailing the enemies even further. Slowly a sigh escaped his mouth. Did they have to make it this hard? He just wanted some Byakugan.. how annoying. He went into his pouch and grabbed explosive tags, planting them on the ceiling and them walking away a few feet before forming the tiger seal. “KAI!” he yelled as he made the tags explode, causing a gaping hole in the middle of the street. It seemed there would be almost no end to the explosions tonight, as could be heard from the local shinobi making great efforts to find out just what the hell was going on here.

In doing this, and escaping out his self created hole, he evaded the trap that N.C.4. would've laid for him and Tsukiya, after all, the trap was placed after the barrier and as such there was no real way to activate the trap, unless the explosion had set it off. In which case, the explosive tags probably didn't have enough reach to do any damage to Yopparai either way. He looked around, but couldn't find a trace of the targets.. well, he knew that that mist kid was somewhere in the village still. Yopparai partly expected him to pop up and attempt to do some dumb shit again. While waiting for that, however, Yopparai simply waited for his de-facto leader, Tsukiya, in order to figure out what to do.

---

The two walked through the rain, both wearing jackets and wielding umbrellas to shield themselves from the water. Shin glanced over to his father a few times, but both men remained quiet as they walked to the teahouse for the meeting. It was only once they reached the door that Kaito spoke up. "Remember what I told you at home," Kaito instructed, prompting a nod from Shin. The two stepped inside, closing their umbrellas and leaving them at the door. Kaito was quick to scan the room, not only the faces but also examining the walls and the ceiling. Shin, on the other hand, kept his gaze focused on the center table and its occupants. He recognized a few, such as Yamato and Daiki and their families, but for the most part he didn't know anyone there aside from name.

Kaito took a seat at the table, but rather than sit next to him Shin remained standing behind him. The young man had an imposing frame, and it served to make Kaito look more serious. The other important families may not think much of the small display, but it was to maintain an authoritative outlook over the other clans. The two waited quietly and patiently as Reijo and Anna spoke, but Kaito raised an eyebrow when Yamato voiced his opinion. He seemed surprised that the teen was given the time, but didn't interrupt him or otherwise bother about it regardless. Once Anna confessed her decision to stay neutral on the subject, a shady move as far as Kaito was concerned, the bespectacled man cleared his throat.

"Speaking as the leader of the Maru clan and as the former Superintendent of Konoha's shinobi police, I do not accept Ayame Choko as our new Hokage," Kaito said plainly, before turning his head to look directly at Saburo in the corner. After staring the boy down for a moment, he returned his gaze to the others gathered around the table. "Over ten years ago, I had advocated against the admission of the Choko siblings into our armed forces, as I did for all immigrant shinobi. Had my warning been heeded, we would not be discussing this situation as it is. Foreign shinobi that integrate into Konoha are, and always will be, a danger to Konoha. Loyalty is harder to trace than heritage, but the two often correlate."

Kaito looked over his shoulder at Shin for a moment, as if making sure that he was paying attention. Shin nodded, as he certainly was. Paying attention to both his father's words and everyone else's reactions. "Their ideal that our nation will improve through strife is equally fantastical as Zeno's ideal that we will improve through camaraderie. However..." Kaito placed his elbows on the table and leaned forward slightly, tapping his fingertips against each other in front of his face. "Konoha needs an iron grip. We need a leader that can maintain control on all levels. The greatest threat to any nation is from within its own borders. Order, and consequently peace and growth, cannot be achieved if there is any chaos. If anything is out of hand, not under control."

"That is why I will not endorse the idea of forcing Ayame or Fujitora Choko out of power, for now." Kaito's left hand motioned toward Yamato. "Reijo's boy has the right idea. Right now we are in a state of disarray. Starting another revolt will only further compound our problems. Our population will remain divided and our forces will be weakened overall. Konoha's state of weakness would gather much attention in the international community. Knocking ourselves off our own pedestal, even temporarily, will surely be the catalyst to a great downfall in the future." The older man lowered his hand now, taking a moment for everyone to let his words sink in. "While I have no legal power over any of you, I still have my connections. I will not allow chaos to break out, even from where I stand now."

Kaito leaned back and adjusted his glasses before resting his hands on the table before him. "That is all I have to say on the subject." He took a moment to look each and every person sitting at the table in the eyes before resigning himself with a deep breath. "Anything else, Shin?" Kaito asked his son quietly. The young man tensed up. While Kaito had always been a calm and collected person with an almost unmovable resolve, Shin was not used to politics, let alone being given so much attention to discuss them.

"Well..." Shin began, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his head. It was clear that he was hesitating, but Kaito didn't turn around to face him. "I used to hold Ayame and Fujitora in pretty high esteem. They had always done well for Konoha, as far as I knew. I wouldn't know any better to be able to fault their motivation for doing what they did, but... how they went about it was completely unacceptable." Kaito raised an eyebrow now, turning his head slightly to see Shin with his peripherals. While Shin still had his composure, it was clear that his words were growing more emotional. "Brutally murdering a man who only wished for the best, regardless of whether you agreed with his methods or not, is unacceptable behavior for anyone in power. I may not have much say for what goes on, anywhere, but as the heir of the Maru clan... I disagree with my father and say they should be punished immediately."

Shin looked down at his father, only to find he was glaring at him. He knew that he had disobeyed Kaito. He was told to simply agree and to keep a level head for the duration of this meeting, and he had thrown that away now. With a sigh, Kaito put his elbows on the table and began rubbing his temples. Shin put his hands behind his back and stood up straight, showing no signs of repentance for his words.

---

---

The wild woman tied her hair back, a look many would find unusual on her. But Tsukiko's choice in hair style was less for fashion but more for function, to keep her hair out of her face on the hunt. After handling her hair she picked up the map she had procured and took a glance at it. The map was of some territory in another country, specifically an area where one could find giant tigers in the wild. Tsukiko folded the paper and stuffed it in one of her pouches. She instinctively moved to adjust the sword and spear on her back, but alas the spear was not there. "Goddamn Fujitora..." Tsukiko grumbled to herself as she looked out the window.

The rain technique that Ayame had used was still going on. Either it wasn't a very chakra-intensive technique or Ayame had a ton of chakra to work with. Regardless the rain was going to be annoying. Tsukiko didn't plan on bringing much equipment, but she still didn't want to risk catching a cold or something stupid. The woman put on an old-looking hooded parka, to protect most of her body from the rain. I look stupid in this, Tsukiko thought, examining herself in the mirror on the back of her bedroom door. But after the rain I can use this for shelter. So I guess it isn't so bad. Anyways... where is that girl? Tsukiko pulled out her phone and turned it on. She could see several notifications for missed calls and texts over the past few days, as her phone had been turned off. Rather than check any of them, Tsukiko sent out a quick text to Akio Tendou.

you coming or not

---

Daisuke stood unmoving in the road, head tilted back the rain splattering against his face. He knew that he should start moving again, after all he was only a little ways away from the entrance to Konohagakure, but he couldn’t shake the ominous feeling that had been slowly building for the past few kilometers. For a reason that he could not place, given that rain was never exactly uncommon in Konoha, the droplets made him feel uneasy. It is simply nerves, that’s all. I have been away for the better part of three years, it would only make sense to get nervous about returning. After all there is the chance that no one I knew will still be here. But I can’t falter, not when I am so close. I must keep pressing onward.. Gaining resolve from his inner monologue he forced first one foot forward shortly followed by the other as his head returned to a normal position. His painstakingly slow pace increased with each movement, until he was finally moving at a civilian walk.

Within thirty minutes he was standing before the entrance to the city, his former home and soon his current home once more at least he hoped. As he approached he noticed another individual moving to intercept him a little ways from the entrance. Without waiting to be told Daisuke reached into his pocket and retrieved his identification papers. Once the pair reached each other he quickly handed them over to the other man who looked through them quickly. A moment later another man, judging from the voice, hollered from his position closer to the city.

”Well? Are we letting him through or what?”

The man in front of Daisuke turned his head towards the entrance as he handed the papers back to Daisuke. ”They are a bit outdated but they check out.’” Returning his attention to Daisuke he waved a hand towards Konoha. ”Welcome back to Konoha, a lot has changed.”

Daisuke merely raised an eyebrow at the comment before pocketing his papers once more. It was strange, carrying them around in his pocket rather than elsewhere, but he had left everything behind when he departed for the Land of Earth just as he had done when he left Konoha the first time. Without further ado he stepped around the man proceeding to make his way into the city at a much faster pace than before.

Rather than take time to refamiliarize himself with Konoha he made a beeline to the Hokage Mansion, going as far as jumping from roof to roof rather than walk as he had been most of his way back to the city. With the constant rain making many of the surfaces slick he was grateful for the fact that he had kept up his training while he was away rather than slack off as it prevented more than one accident. Upon nearly reaching his destination he made his way to ground level, opting to walk the rest of the short distance. He couldn’t help but smile as he reached the doors, knowing that this was the first stop of many he had to make to restart his life here. With a quick push he opened the door and squeezed his shoulder together as he made his way in, smile still bright.

Until it suddenly fell from the sight within. What awaited him behind the doorway was a line, a massive line at that. He heaved a heavy sigh before taking his place at the back cursing his luck. With nothing better to do as the line moved at a snail’s pace he decided to take in the surrounding area, his ominous feeling from earlier still present despite his pep talk. After a couple of passes he noticed a small feminine form moving around the area in front of a miscellaneous door, jumping from one square to another as if she couldn’t touch the lines. For some reason the odd mannerism seemed to echo within his memories, though it took another second of staring before he made the connection.

”Aoi?” He said softly to himself, before speaking up loud enough for the sound to carry over the chit chat of the various people in the line. ”Aoi is that you?”

'Shit' was the only though that crossed his mind as he felt weightless and was pulled into the earthy storm along with the surrounding mist. He begun to fly about, being pelted with the debris from earlier. 'What to do what to dooo...' As he covered himself from the debris he thought about how to get himself out of the situation. It was only a moment before he had an idea. He brought his hands together and begun to make his mist senbon needles a little ways in front and angled so that he can place his foot down on the longer side rather then the point. Because of how dense they were they may give him something to hold onto. As he approached it he kicked his foot down, applying the chakra necessary to grip water. He felt himself lurch forward before loosing grip again. 'This could work. He began to make the needles in a spiral wall like pattern, all the way down to this figure as it moved with the wind, to help him avoid being hit anymore with debris.

As he had approached the beginning of the wall he applied the chakra necessary and stepped down, the needles then pointing away from him to give a smooth surface. After he would pass over them, they would turn inward towards the figure at an angle that allowed the momentum of the needles, as well as the wind, to project them at an incredible rate directly at the figure. As the wind continued to circle him he moved with it but down the makeshift wall of needles. He would activate his Sukkaikata, the lightning chakra coursing through it with a low hum with the few chirps here and there. Gin had neared the man and then applied chakra necessary to activate chidorigatana, which when it would connect, would not only slice into an opponent but numb the body as well. And with the Sukkaikata already a chidorigatana like blade, its effects would be amplified. As he hit the botto needle, which was a foot or two behind the figure. He would slash across the mans torso. Because of the reitively close distance and the length of the blade. It would surely cut into the man. Also, with the votex moving around him, the slash would go around the body. It may not cut him in to, but it would leave a ring of red around him.

Gin would then put a few handseals together and one of his own and activate the Crimson Mist jutsu. The blood and chakra from the wound would begin to rise up into the mist vortex, turning it red and limiting any sensing ability that the foe may or may not have.

---

Chen woke up in his small apartment and sighed. He went over yesterday's events and smiled contently as he thought about the new Hokage. It was still raining outside so he decided to open up a window. Chen stuck his head outside and surveyed the city. It didn't look any different but the rain really did add a whole new layer to the world.

He closed the window and went through his daily routine. He read up on Chakra Theory for an hour, ate breakfast (some toast, bacon, and eggs), practiced his kicks and punches for 2 hours, took a shower, and sharpened and cleaned his sword for half an hour. By the time Chen was finished it was 9:00 and he was ready to head out into the city to go figure out what his assignment would be today.

He left his house with his gear on and a light sweater to protect him from the rain and headed towards... somewhere. He was really just wandering around today if he was being honest. Chen had thought about it and realized that he probably wasn't going to be getting assigned anything today considering yesterday's events. He instead decided to head towards the Mighty Naruto and splurge on some junk food.

He walked into the restaurant and sat down at the bar. He ordered some Pork Ramen and a Root Beer. He wasn't a big fan of drinking. After ten minutes he got his order and ate in silence. He stood out in the place as it was surprisingly empty today and he had his sword with him strapped to his thigh. He finished his food and looked at the time. It was about time to go to the stupid meeting. He ate for another half an hour.

By the time he showed up the meeting was already in progress and they were talking about whether they would accept the new Hokage or not. Chen shook his head and sighed. He didn't really feel like weighing in on this conversation as either side he took would he making enemies, powerful enemies too. His stance was that he fully supported this new Hokage but it was in his own best interest to just stay quiet and listen to everyone else. If the majority shared his views then he would speak out. If the majority was against him then he would just stay quiet. He did want to say one thing though.

Chen stood up and cleared his throat. Even in full battle gear and drenched he looked amazingly professional and composed. "This coup has already left us significantly weaker than before. While many accept this new Hokage, it was still very demoralizing to see the now deceased Hokage being murdered so brutally. We have been crippled mentally whether the new Hokage meant it that way or not. If another coup was staged, we would likely be crippled from a military standpoint. That would give other more powerful villages an opportunity to take us down. And they will likely spring on that opportunity. And make no mistake, we would be destroyed." Chen explained his logic and sat back down. Now to see everyone's reactions.

Katsu watched the man quickly jump up, after the rain had started and sighed "Rain...why is it always rain with the damn people..." getting flashbacks of things that had happened earlier in his life, he threw his cigarette down and stomped it out. Jumping up after him, they landed at Ayame's? Fuji's? home and Fuji quickly went inside, motioning for him to come in. Taking his shoes off, he ran a hand through his wet hair and stepped inside, putting his shoes down and catching the towel. Taking off his coat and hanging it, he put the towel over his head and laughed "Hey Fuji, do you remember that one time, when we had to deal with the bandit nin outside the village and one of them used a rain jutsu? Remember what we did to those guys?" walking into living room, he sat down and sighed "times fly eh?" he called out to Fuji as he heard the guy shuffling around in the kitchen, before bringing to tea out.

With Katsu getting accustomed to his surroundings, Fujitora would pour some tea into a small cup presented before the couch he'd be invited to sit on. The ex commander sat himself comfortably on the opposing singular chair before pouring himself the same, burning hot tea he had given to his long time friend. As the blonde man recollected the events brought upon by the Hyuuga, he took a quick sip of said mint tea to test just how hot it really was. His brief drink would translate quite the level of heat indeed.

"We killed them. They were belligerent."

He responded rather coldly, but he was obviously holding back on something. His gaze was obviously betraying him to that point as it seemed like he was about to complete the rest of the story after a second sip, a much longer one this time.

"Killed them with seven pints of Kumo Beer, that is. Assholes were already all rosey like pigs when we found 'em, so the nearest pub surely did the job, aye?"

He added a bit of laughter at the end of his humorous comeback, the tone of the discussion finally being established. For now Fujitora still considered the man to be his friend, probably a major advantage given the situation. The casual Fuji was in the house, for now.

Laughing to tears, Katsu wiped tears from his eyes and leaned his head back looking at the ceiling "Ah...man that was a fun time in our lives, now everything is all...what's the word? Adult? I mean I guess that would imply that I'm capable of being an adult in that sense, but hey where's the fun in that right?" pulling out a pack of cigarettes "Do you mind?"

Pulling out his trademark silver lighter, he'd righteously light it and approach it to the smoke Katsu was going to pull out as Fujitora nodded in acceptance. With that done, he picked a smoke out of the Hyuuga's pack and served himself, after all it was his crib.

"Being a adult doesn't mean jack shit if you're going to make a fuss about everything. Or if you're going to resist change with every left turn."

His attitude from casual to downright confronting was rather staggering, the brutal shift being more than just visible by observation but his tone gave off an intimidating warning that Katsu was going to venture in something that wouldn't be all fun and pubs. He'd inhale a puff of smoke as he lit his own chosen cigarette and proceeded to do as his friend did.

"Easy there cap'n no need to go all intimidation on me, I came here cause I'm your friend, remember? Ah that reminds me, remember those Hidden Sand girls? I know I do, guess what I got in my mail yesterday, a letter from the one I was talking to in the bar and she was asking me when I was gunna come back, and the worst part is I forgot her name up until now...and then at the end she signed it and it clicked in my head, you get any letters from yours?"

He took a drag of his cig, and blew out slowly, the smoke reminding him of times when he was a little younger and didn't have as many responsbilities "I wonder if I had become Hyuga clan leader, if things would be hugely different...who am i kidding of course they would be..." take another drag, he put his cig into the ashtray and took his tea, looking around at the house "thanks for the tea, by the way."

"Cut the crap. Suna, drinking, whatever, we both know it's bullshit in the end. Look, we had a little laugh, we're still friends, now we do business. You wanted answers, I await your questions, Katsu."

Fujitora crushed the searing tip of his cigarette against the ashtray just as he strated to smoke it, evidently no longer in the mood for some beating around the bush. He'd however take another sip from his tea and feel his nerves slowly release in pressure, his appearance looking a little less intimidating than it did beforehand.

Katsu shrugged, putting his tea down, and took another cig out, lighting it and smoking once again "Well Fuji, looks like a casual conversation wont be happening, truth be told we haven't talked in a long time, but I guess that's for another time" sitting up and putting his elbows on his legs, he bent over and looked at Fuji.

"You know what my questions are, they stand like they did before, you and your sister preach for power, and I have loyality to many things in this village, My brother, my Clan, you and this village, and my biggest concern is teaching the youth, because well...I'm a teacher and that's what I do, care for the youth, the younger generation."

Taking another drag "Listen Fuji, I want to make it clear, I will follow you because I trust your judgement, and because I am your friend, at least I hope, but my questions stand, with what you're talking about, this whole persona you've seemed to have stirred up, I cannot say that it does not exist, that Konoha is at a point in time, that peace has been a bigger picture. I can agree with your sister, Konoha is but a shell of what it was, but my I ask why this has become such a problem, that you decided to take it into your own hands in this way? Looking around at what has been built, does making a show out of killing the Hokage, send the right message? That this will be for the better, for the change of Hidden Leaf? Does showing that by killing people who stand for another purpose show to the younger generation? I know, they aren't dumb and they will make their own choices, but showing that you can kill someone to change something drastically like this, shows to the younger children that killing is something without meaning."

As Katsu approached his tobacco charged breath by leaning forward, Fujitora leaned back against his leather throne and let the Hyuuga speak his mind and essentially repeat what's been said previously. The blonde man took a second to collect himself and as he'd respond, he'd get off his chair and head toward the nearby window where the rain poured itself against it. He'd stare through said window and captured the view of Konoha drenched in the merciless endless rain of Amegakure. What a wonderful sight it was.

"His death is a symbol. A symbol that cannot be interpreted any other way than how it's been recorded right now. History will not forget the moment peace was refuted once more ever since the Orange Hokage's reign. We are not afraid to show what we stand for, and because of that we're not afraid to show our very bloody nature to the seeds of the future."

He'd turn to face Katsu, picking up a cigarette of his own out of his back pocket and lit it up before resuming his charged speech.

"How does it make you feel that people like Reijo Minamoru, nobodies that exploit the system, are almost at the peak of honor your clan barely holds ever since Mariko, huh? A bunch of nobodies, now exploiting the system made for people like this. These. These ... Scum."

He grimaced at the end of his rant, slowly accumulating in emotional intensity. After that he'd take a large chunk out of his cigarette and kept it in for a brief moment before releasong the majority in one go. He was pretty anxious from the thoughts he was having, but he sure did look passionate at this point.

"Only in this so-called 'peace' can thieves and barbarians can be bought to such a high prestige. Despicable."

"All I am saying Fuji, is that teaching a child that violence is the only course of action, is not healthy in any ways, it shows that the only way to win is violence and we both know that's not tru-"

"Just stop it. We're Shinobi for the Sage's sake. We kill for a living and say it was for the best after waving our Konoha morals here and there. We chose violence because no other way worked with Zeno who happened to have the same kind of tone as you're having, you see. And what did it bring? Your mother was exiled like she was some kind of abomination, and we give this Kumo asshole a death in the battlefield. That's a million times more honorable and worthy of the youth's attention."

"Careful what you say about that woman Fuji, she is not someone I compare myself to because of the obvious reasons, mentioning her only opens wounds that did not need to be reopened. As for your reasoning for interrupting me, while we are shinobi, and i understand what you mean, but what I am trying to say is, violence can hopefully be rid with from the world of the shinobi in a world that is perfect, and I know that it cant be obtained, however if we teach the younger ones, if we show the youngers ones that we can solve things in more then one way of violence that is one step towards that ideal place, because I don't know about you Fuji, but I am tired of watching some of my students, some of my comrades, some of my friends and family, die."

Stopping himself from getting too passionate "From the beginning, I've never been so prideful about my clan, do i like the fact that someone like Reijo has damn near the same power as the Hyuga do, no of course not, but to call him scum is a whole new level of hatred that I just do not feel, I would like him to be behind bars Fuji, but I don't not wish him dead, and not because im a peace loving tree huger, but because there are other ways of dealing with him, know what I mean. Listen Fujitora, I dont mean to argue, I just wanted an understanding before I choose what to do with the situation at hand, I understand your points better then you just killing the Hokage, so I will go on to say-" putting out his cig, he looked at the man "I will follow you in whatever you do Fuji, I hope you understand what that means old friend."

Chuckling a bit, Fujitora wasn't too pleased with what he was hearing before Katsu's strange accordance with the ex commander's actions. this seemed rather off given the ideals he was bearing and the way he saw his mother.

"If both Ayame and I saw no other option, there wasn't another option, Katsu. You know this very well."

He added before walking back to the small table where his tea got a bit cold, but he finished it anyway with a couple of sips and gulps.

"But I have high hopes for this new path Konoha is taking. Your help will be invaluable."

Standing up, he walked past Fuji and patted his shoulder "Just realize, you might have sparked the wrong type of heat from other nin Fuji, you know where to find me, and now I guess that I have said what I said, I'm gunna be found a lot, being an adult eh?" he joked and went to the front, putting his jacket and walking out.

---

Chihiro looked back at Jun, as they grabbed her shoulder and looked back at the hand then to Jun's face. "We aren't going to leave Gin to die Jun, if this situation had been reversed, if I was in there hands, would you leave me? If yes then so be it, but the fact that I know the answer would be that you would still sacrifice Gin, to save me, means you value my life above his and that is no way of thinking about a comrade Jun. He might not do his job, but Gin is a ninja of the hidden leaf and in turn, we cannot leave him here, even if it is to retrieve his body, I cannot lose more friends Jun. Are you really, really okay with leaving Gin, please say no, please say that doesn't sit right with you, I understand there's a mission at stake, but he's out team member and we cant just leave him out to get tortured or worse killed. I dont know about you but that will be on my already fucked conscious, now come on, we don't have time to argue about thi-"

Stopping she heard Gin speak through his communicator and she stopped not understanding. Talking back into the headset unaware he wasn't going to respond back "Hoi, mother fucker you don't have a right to speak back at me, the fuck are you going on about I'm going to be dead to you. Don't you dare speak to me about doing a job, my job right now is making sure we all get out of this alive, don't you ever try to tell me different Gin" using her Byakugan, she searched for Gin and saw the dumbass try to fight the obviously superior nin, only to be swept up in an attack "You fucking dumbass! What the fuck is with you two? Do neither of your lives mean anything to you?" tears welled in her eyes "all because they want my fucking eyes..." wiping her eyes "alright...if that's how it's gunna be then, then so be it, the dumbass wants to be a hero, then he's going to be the dumbest fucking hero ever, and you" looking at Jun "this now means I am doing what you tell me, at some point, I hope you'll return the favor" running past her, she didn't care if Jun was following, she was quickly just trying to get away from the situation that happened behind her.

"Why do people like to put me up on a pedestal? I haven't done anything, I am a Hyuga yes, but does that mean I am higer then them? No, I'm a person in a team just like them, to me everyone is important, everyone plays a part. Because one person doesn't follow their part, doesn't make them useless..." she stopped and took a breath "I won't let this fucking happen again, people are not going to sacrifice themselves for my sake, or the sake of a damn mission..." expecting Jun to be near her, however speaking into the headset just in case "So what's your plan Jun."

---

In the car towards the tea house, Iwao looked at Katsu who was smoking "Hoi, dont smoke in the tea hous-"

"Yeah im very aware little brother, dont forget who taught you those values that you hold so dear" Katsu put out the cig and looked at him "Do you know what you're going to say? Seeing as you have only discussed this with Sis and not anyone else, which is going to lead me to to ask, are you going to ever include me and Takeo on things? I understand you dont like me and what not, but Takeo follows you religiously, I would expect you to at least respect our little brother's opinion and go to him for advise Iwao."

Iwao glared at him, before sighing and putting a hand on his temple "Katsu, have you seen the shape im in, my face is old, my hair is getting grey, people think im over 45, being clan leader is beyond a stressor. I dont have time to ask every single persons opinion on the situation at hand, as this has only happened within a couple of hours, this is why I have Koyuki to help me. I now understand why you didn't take this burden and I have to say, I wish I didn't either, I miss looking young...the fact that people think I am older then you also is quite funny..."

"Yes it is, but it does have it's perks." The car pulled up to the tea house and Iwao, then Katsu got out. Walking in, no one seemed to take the seat at the end, and Iwao took it, staring at the others as the meeting unfolded. Wearing his typical attire, Katsu wore a suit with the Hyuga crest on the shoulder, as there was also on on Iwao's jacket. Listening to the people speak before taking his time to talk. "It is a pleasure to be here today, always good to see faces every now and then and relatively new ones" he nodded towards the Hōjō and continued "After considering your points, The Hyūga, has decided to stay side with Ayame" Katsu looked at Iwao, conceling how shocked he was that Iwao of all people actually condoned the idea of Ayame being Hokage "I have many reasons to side with her, but the biggest one, is that the Hyuga are dealing with problems, going against the Hokage however, is not a smart idea for us right now. The Hyuga are one of the oldest clans sitting at this table as of right now, however after...Hokage Mariko, our name has been...well tarnished somewhat and that is quite obvious. I would also like to point out, we do not approve of what Ayame or her brother did, in any shape or form, killing and coup in such a way is in no form acceptable to us. As for the matter of them being foreign village nin, I do not have an opinion on such a matter, as to my knowledge, and check me if I am wrong, The Hidden leaf is quite diverse regardless and saying that they dont belong is well...in my opinion not very politically correct Kaito, we do in fact have a couple of foreign ninja in this very room, that is all on my side."

Katsu stood next to Iwao "I agree with my little brother, I am here in place of Chihiro Hyuga who is missing, as most of you know since before the coup, so if you don't mind me giving my opinion as our clans representative. I do not in any shape or form agree with what happened yesterday, I have had a conversation with Fujitora Choko after the matter as well to better grasp why he and his sister has done what they have. I will however follow Fujitora Choko, because of my friendship with the man, I have come to realize Fujitora Choko would not have killed Zeno if he had no other option, in his eyes, yes he did not, in mine there could have been many other ways of approaching it, but a coup does catch more then enough attention. However, where I stand is with Fujitora and as such Ayame," Inside he silently beat himself up "Man I hope people don't hate me because of this lie..."

The morning after the murder of Zeno, Akio was waking up feeling rather conflicted by the attitude of her lover after the events. While there are many times she wished for the girl to be more serious about things, the way she had acted yesterday in regards to everythung was . . . slightly unnerving to say the least. And yet, despite this unease, she notice how her lover felt more at peace than before, especially when they were out in the rain. Maybe it had something to do with her Ame heritage, but the harlequin seemed strangely content with what had happened.

Akio herself, however, was not so accepting of their new leader, though she wasn't going to state it openly like others had, most visibly being that Lava-bearing genin.

What an idiot to go challenging her like that, but he did say what a lot of people were thinking: That Ayame's take-over was most certainly a very foreign way of doing things in Konoha. Not only that, but I have to deal with this stupid rain now, though how long can the bitch keep it up for? Far as I can tell, it hasn't ket up since yesterday. Hope nothing gets flooded, cause this village wasn't built with constant heavy rainfall in mind.

With another sight, Akio got her hunting gear, a mixed bag of ninja wire, throwings knives, etc, etc, everything she could need as lobg as she couod hold on. Aoi had went out earlier, as bith having said their good-byex earlier, but Akio still opened up her cell and sent her lover a text.

I'm going out with Tsuki-nee, see you in about a week or so. Will miss you
-Love Akio
(P.S.: If it's still raining when I get back, I'm going to fucking scream. You may like the rain, but it keeps causing myy hair to stick to my face)

After the text was sent, Akio made her way to the place her and Tsuki-nee were supposed to meet up. Onnher way, however, she got a text from tge wild woman, and replied quickly, so as to prevent her from beong left behind.

On my way as we speak

The message was sent,,and a few minutes after Tsukiko would get the test, Akio would appear in the area, a light pack onmher back as she wore a heavy, hooded jacket to protect against rain, her hair tied up and stuffed under a beanie with a few stray tufts poking outnhere and there along the bottom.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting Tsuki-nee, took longer than I thought to get ready, but now that we're here, let's get put of this damn rain already. I don't know about you, but it's fucking annoying as hell to me."

@Savato

@j8cob

---

Saburo’s appearance had nearly prompted another fit of rage from Daiki, his mouth twisted and widen into a roar but was quickly stopped by the Uchiha’s willingness to call him Naito. It was instantaneous, just that simple gesture of being recognized as a Naito had cooled his temper. Even still, it raised a thread of suspicion in him. He sighed and his gold eyes narrowed in on the Uchiha’s Gunbai.

I won’t be fooled into attacking him head on again … not as long as he has that weapon in hand. Wait, what!

The man’s request was insane. It was out of the question, and yet it pulled on some string, some tightly roped knot that he hadn’t known was there. Deep inside of his heart he had always wondered what it was like to be an Uchiha, a full-fledged member of the clan. His fist clenched though, his eyes flickering towards the ground out of reflex.

“Troubles?” he asked quietly, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Though he had missed, Seiichi. He had grown out of his attachment to the guy a long time ago. Seeing him would not be a deal breaker. The rain fell over him, weighing his hair down over his face.

He lowered his eyes to the ground, ignoring the crowd around him. The 11th corps were sure to be watching and eventually news would reach Ayame. For some reason, he dreaded having to hear Yamato’s mouth about this the most. Such an unfiltered mouth. Inside, he shivered. When his sedated expression turned grim, Daiki pulled a hand out his pocket and slowly reached it out towards the Sword of Kusanagi.

What happened today will rock the world. His eyes glanced over to the 11th corps and then back to Saburo. He knows more about this than I do right now. I won’t deny that my personal feelings are in this decision as well. But for the greater good of the leaf, I’ll see that this is something I can approve of with my own eyes. With my own Sharingan. Daiki’s clone popped out of existence his first step towards the Uchiha.

“I think if this village is changing, so should I. If that’s what you want than I’ll accept your offer. I’ll renounce my ties to the Naito and become a full-fledged Uchiha.” His jaw visibly tightened at the words he was about say, as if his mouth was fighting against it. He pried it open with a force of will.

“…Daiki Uchiha, it has a eerie ring to it. Like a lonely wind.” He felt what he said had come from the heart, that this agreement he had made out of the interest of the leaf, had somehow condemned him to loneliness.



The agreement of yesterday was weighing heavily on Daiki. As he attended the requested meeting with his adopted-mother and head of the Naito clan, he could barely keep his calm. He had told her what had happened and she had accepted it with a bit of shock; wonder too. She brought up the question of just how far Saburo was willing to take their agreement. Something he wondered as well. When the Uchiha had showed himself at the meeting, Daiki acknowledged him lightly.

Nariko and himself remained silent through the discussion. Mainly because of the both of them hadn’t much to say on the topic. As Naito, they would remain loyal to the leaf. It was never really about the Hokage to them, more so the warfare of the entire village. Everyone knew where their loyalty would fall. When it came her turn, she raised out her seat and bowed very deeply to the other respectable figures. She glanced around the room with indifference, her hands obscured by the silk of her formal kimono.

“This is a part of life. Changes happen and as humans we are to roll with them … to adapt. Ayame,” She seemed to linger on her name, her eyes falling into the beyond. “She has taken our throne but claim to lead us to a new path. I’ve decided that for now, the Naito will follow. Until we see that the path she walks will lead to Konoha’s destruction, she has our support.” The dark eyed woman blinked—showcasing the small wrinkles near her lashes—before leaning back.

“What about you, Son?” She glanced over her shoulder at her embraced child.

Daiki lifted his head, his stoic eyes challenging the others before him. The fury in them seemed like a rumbling in the distance. It was there hidden by a fragile calm. His slender, bony hand raked the side of his hair before pausing there. His thoughts were organizing into some form of understandable language. He sighed once, then twice before finally speaking.

“I’m not afraid to admit I’m scared,” he started. “This is something new to me. Killing, being a shinobi, I can do that. But witnessing change like this, being apart of something like this … it’s truly frightening. Ayame and Fuitora …” He dropped the honorifics out of necessity, no longer sure if he could trust them or not. “Have any one of you truly thought about what would happen? While trying to prevent further chaos, I think we've forgotten about the upheaval that’s already occurred. That's to come.”

His eyes fell on the newcomers that wished to be neutral. “Tch! And you, you’re not even capable of making a decision. You’re tossing yourself to the hounds. We’re sitting here wracking our heads about who our enemies are, and the thing is, we’re all in the same room!” he growled, his hands tightening around his locks. When they loosened, and his arm fell to his side, he struggled to regain the little composure he let slip from him.

“You all know the real reason Rejio called this meeting. He want to size up his competition, gather comrades that he can and will dispose of to further his own goals. I won’t be a part of this game. Chuck me up to whichever side you want.” He raised out his chair roughly, letting the chair slide out and hit the ground before sauntering towards the door. He had enough. Enough of picking sides, the Clan’s games, and most of all, of feeling confused.

---

---

Three knocks rapped on the wood of his room. “You coming?” his father asked, his voice holding a true but worried wonderment. “I know how you must feel, Giichi. If you must, then stay here. Sachi will stay aswell.”

Giichi had not responded to his father, only sat beneath the white linen of his bed, his back against the headboard. He was wrapped in bandages, his side and arm more-so. Though several layers were wrapped around his head as well. His dull blue eyes searched the folds of his covers, looking for a plausible, nay, an acceptable reason for this. Why, when he finally had established a name for himself?

For the umpteenth time, a lingering tear fell down his face and dampened his sheets. He didn’t wipe the tear.

A heavy, disheartened sigh blew from behind his door. “I’ll be leaving then, Giichi. I’ll be back as soon the meeting is over.”

“What could I have done different? What would he have done?” he asked himself.



Taichi sat alone in the meeting, his own hands interwined as the others spoke. When Daiki finished, Taichi, admittedly distracted stood up slowly and spoke his peace quickly. “The Uzumaki’s...” He paused for several seconds. “We, like many others, despise their methods. But I know at this moment in time, it would be foolish to go up against them. Ayame and Fujitora will have nothing to worry about from us. I have no further words, my opinions won’t change anything.” he said with a weak chuckle before sitting back down.

---

---

Tsukiya was not amused, in fact, he had become … angered. As he sensed this man moved through his vortex and attempt to near him, he gathered the locations of the man’s needles within his sphere and pulled out a kunai to defend himself. In the same moment of his own attack, which he sensed and could time, Tsukiya leaped out of range, flying in the air as the man passed by. His counterattack was near instant.

With a swipe of his hand, he directed the mass of debris and rocks in the vortex to crash down onto the man. Tons of earthly minerals would fall down on him, nearing the same speeds of his vortex to begin with. Avoiding it was a near impossible task, especially considering how the youth had lacked many of the advantages Tsukiya held. Honestly, if he had not wasted so much chakra attempting to find them earlier, he would have Botched the kid's heart out earlier. But he lacked the chakra for that move now.

Even if he had found some way to escape, which he doubted, the earth beneath his feet would soon swallow his ankles in a surprise attack and trap him to the earth. Not even his blade could cut through the amount of rock crashing down on him. He hadn't the speed to do so. Or so Tsukiya believed.

“Die with some dignity won’t you?”

---

The previous day was almost a blur to Aoi, sure she remembered most of it but couldn't recall why she behaved the way she did, especially toward Akio. The next morning she had to get up early, but these thoughts that slowly morphed into regret kept her mind in shambles and thus the night wasn't too grandiose. When the sun began to rise, she awoke while leaving her lover to have a prolonged rest, especially after what happened the other day. Quickly packing her things and dressing up as any clown-Jonin hybrid would, colorful but formal. As she stepped out of hr home, she noticed that the rain was still here, and yes she could hit it bang on the roof and the windows, but the drops were just as thick as the time when Ayame summoned the drizzle. The effects were not the same on Aoi anymore, the clown didn't have the shocked reaction as she did the day before. No, it lacked the brutality and the symbol, it just felt like rain at this point. Grabbing an umbrella left hanging on a raincoat, she'd proceeded to go do what she had to do.

She had to get to the Hokage's mansion early today, apparently bureaucratic duties were not entirely cancelled despite the blatant coup d'Etat that occurred less than 24 hours ago. She wasn't in a hurry though, her rendez-vous wasn't one with a fixed appointment but there was a deadline for her, so she got up extra early to meet that limit without any issues, something quite responsible for someone like her. There were a lot less people on the street and a lot more shinobi on guard at the outskirts and the heavily frequented areas of the city. It didn't strike Aoi too much, but such details couldn't just be ignored by her ninja spirit. Finally arriving at the quite large Hokage residence, she skipped down a couple of neighboring buildings and hopped down to land on her feet, the umbrella slowly drifting down over her before she'd catch it by standing back normally. Just about that time, her phone vibrated. When the name of her lover popped out, she felt somewhat disinterested in opening it, mainly because she already knew what it was going to say. It made her feel bad deep down, that'd she'd be left alone, especially after what happened, but she kept it to herself for now.

The building had just opened and the peace and quiet the mansion would usually have was quickly overwhelmed by the flood of people wanting to drop complaints or express their concerns about x thing. A lot seemed quite deluded to the fact that the Hokage spot was usurped, many just coming here for the daily grind or similar mundane things. Aoi was here for typical Jonin work, getting papers done to get Genin and Chuunin formalized and ready for whatever the council wanted them for. Today the harlequin had to fill out forms regarding a certain Akimichi who needed his Chuunin papers reevaluated before being sent to future missions. Apparently a heir of some sort, but that detail didn't matter, what mattered was that the required secretary was late. Again. Aoi waited, as always, and quickly got bored to the point where the lines in the tiling became a lot more interesting than her. And thus the line game came to be: She had to dodge every line as she walked from left to right, back and forth to kill time.

In the midst of her silly antics, an astonishingly familiar voice echoed through her mind. A voice she hadn't heard since at least highschool. At first she looked around the crowd of people lined up at the front desk, barely recognizing anyone. But with the second more powerful call, she'd capture a glimpse of a very tall, bald man she didn't recognize at all at first. But by associating two ideas together, a name finally emerged in her tiny, clueless mind.

"Daisuke-Senpai?"

She asked with a grimace that translated dumb confusion more than anything else as she fixated the man for a brief moment. Her head tilted to the right as she thoroughly assessed just what was going on. But finally, upon seeing his distinct facial structure and the fact that very few were as tall as him around these parts, the reality of the situation struck her head like an Akimichi rushing to the nearest BBQ restaurant.

"Senpai?! What the where were y-... WHERE IS YOUR HAIR?!"

Her eyes widened when Daisuke's status of cueball was as confirmed as Half-Hidan 3. She rushed toward him before performing the inevitable 'glomp', or better known as a hug tackle for the hermits nearby, attempting to squeeze the life out of the male despite his big size. Her small arms wouldn't be able to do half his circumference, but it didn't matter it was her Senpai after all. Looking up at him, she seemed overwhelmed by joy to see him.

"Wow it's been so long! Where the heck were you?! Hey let's talk at erm... The lounge yeah! I can help you too ya want~"

She proposed as she tugged on the man's forearm, attempting to drag him over to the nearby Jonin lounge where coffee was shared and couches were abused by the slackers. She didn't have doubts that he'd follow, anywhere would likely be better than this never ending line. Once inside, she'd quickly jump on the free couch since there was barely any staff member around considering the recent circumstances. She tapped on a spot next to her, inviting the man to sit.

"C'mon! Tell all about your life, I'm in a gossipy mood right now so be ready boi-senpai!"

---

---

The cold eyes of N.C.4 seemed to show complete apathy toward what Chihiro was trying to communicate in regards to Gin's value as a comrade and human being. To the robot, he was a sacrificial tool from the start and this outcome was more than just anticipated by the board, let alone the being capable of calculating probabilities. N.C.4 was almost fazing out Chihiro's pleas with a much different thought process at this point as it evaluated their current possibilities. Considering they had seemingly shrugged off one of the assailants and the other was much farther away where Gin was, it would be safe to say their area of operations wasn't as thin as it was a few minutes ago. When Chihiro had finished her moral session and Gin promptly confirmed his willingness to sacrifice himself for the good of the mission, the humanoid machine would take the opportunity to remind the Hyuuga of the situation.

"Hiro. Mister Gin is neither from Konoha nor a priority. You and the pendant are. Both he and I will die to exact this objective, like it or not. Perhaps the Quiet Game you eerily speak off may be adequate for such a dire situation, especially if you'd elaborate on it, don't you think?"

N.C.4's obvious lack of sympathy toward Chihiro's convictions would likely encourage the Hyuuga heir even more to act irrationally. As it would be translated with her resulting words and actions. Though she seemed to finally comply with the only sensible alternative, her tone did show an undeniable externality: Her current emotional state. Although a liability wouldn't be the right term, she certainly was a difficulty added to the already deadly dilemma they were confronted to. She wanted to run off, but it wouldn't be hard for the robot to grab her forearm in order to stop her from going any further.

"Do not hasten this, Hiro. I suggest you collect yourself and listen. Feedback is always welcome. The plan is we Henge ourselves and blend into the spooked crowd. They'll likely be unable to differentiate us from the masses and the upcoming local shinobi will provide distractions."

As it announced its train of though, it pulled Chihiro along with it before forming the Kai seal. It had slightly modified its appearance and had itself where a hoodie to appear as inconspicuous as possible in such a shady time of the night. Chihiro would be invited to do the same, a good hood to hide her active Byakugan which would be their best asset in getting away from the scene. Walking through the curious and worried masses that would swarm the nearest representatives of authority for guidance. Panic was also a great tool to get around with, many people rushing and acting irrationally would easily conceal individuals trying to escape. This would be amplified with Yooparai's recent explosive attack to get out of the sewers.

"Keep en eye on them. The Shinobi are visibly closing in on the seismic activity and the explosions. This is good, the perimeter's holes are thicker than ever at this point. We should be able to escape."

As they were nearing the outskirts of town, the darkness of the night would make it easy to get around surveillance, especially with both of them having visual prowess that allowed them to predict patrols from a good distance away. They were nearly out, but it wasn't safe just yet, they still had a long trip ahead of them and given Chihiro's condition, it may be another issue the robot would have to address.

---

A frown momentarily creased Daisuke’s face as he watched Aoi moving her head down the line thinking that the colorful young woman had forgotten what he looked like. Finally her eyes found their way to him after his second call, though it did nothing to alleviate the damper on his mood. Despite remembering his name she seemed thoroughly confused. Considering the fact that he had been gone for as long as he had managed to cheer up a bit, and upon further reflection he recalled that at times it took the clown sometime to process exactly what was occurring. By the time he had brought his mood back up it appeared that Aoi had finally connected the dots as well. A deep rumbling laugh burst through his lips as the tiny clown noticed his chrome dome. He had almost forgotten that he used to have hair.

”I haven't had hair in about a year Aoi-ko...Oof!”

Daisuke exhaled sharply as he was suddenly assaulted by a small torpedo in the form of Aoi colliding with his torso in a flying hug. With the massive difference in size between the two he didn't even move from his spot in the line, it was simply the surprise that caused the air to leave his lung abruptly. Again his laughter filled the air as he reached down and patted the clown on her head after she had released her hold on him. Rather than attempt to answer the questions presented he opted instead to follow her as she began dragging him off in the direction of the lounge. He had to admit that anywhere would have been better than standing in that line any longer.

Taking the seat offered, he sat in silence for a moment trying to decide where to start in regard to answering her questions and feeding her curiosity. As he thought the euphoria from meeting up with someone he knew dwindled enough that the ominous feeling from before had room to creep back in. Realizing that he had his own questions to ask he chose to push them aside until the end, knowing that Aoi was waiting.

”After my parents passed away last year I went on a journey to the Land of Earth, my grandparents were originally from that area. Most of the past year I spent out in the middle of nowhere, it was very peaceful. Of course I had my run-ins with individuals who apparently got a kick out of disrupting my peace, but overall it was a relaxing time period. That’s also when I started shaving my head, as you noticed earlier.”

While recounting the past year, Daisuke remembered his originally purpose for coming to the Hokage Mansion. With most of her questions answered he turned his head to the side to look down at Aoi.

”By the way what has been happening in the city? When I was coming in one of the guards mentioned that a lot has changed. I admit that I was in a rush to get here, but nothing appeared to have been that different. And while we are on the topic I need to get reinstated as a shinobi here, I retired from active duty when I left, any chance you are able to help?”

---

Yamato listened carefully to the words the people at the table said. Most of them were trying as hard to deceive the others as Reijo, his father, was. So for that reason he didn't listen to just the words, he listened to how they were said, which words were picked and who said them. Reijo seemed relatively calm, but Yamato could feel the anger in him rising as the Hojo woman spoke. Something knacked for Yamato, but he managed to stay calm for the time being, listening to the next one that spoke. ..Maru.. This time it wasn't Yamato that seemed irked, it was Reijo. He squinted with his eyes and looked at Kaito Maru, but ultimately his face cleared when it became clear that Kaito was actually being agreeable. Reijo and Kaito had had 'trouble' before, and it wasn't something easily forgotten by Reijo.

Next was the Hyuga, politically correct as always, ignoring that Kaito did have a point. But they sided with the same side that Reijo was on, a good sign for Reijo. Yamato was pleased, also. Not because of the Hyuga support, but because Chihiro was apparently missing. One less cursed child with a kekkei genkai in this village, he softly thought to himself as he sat in his chair, switching his gaze to the Naito ruler. The Naito-Minamoru feud had only grown larger ever since the incident surrounding the paint on the Minamoru's household. Ever since, most of the Minamoru members had blamed Daiki, Yamato included. It was a disrespectful act, and it wouldn't be forgotten. The Minamoru remember the things others did to them, both good and bad..

Reijo similarily looked at the woman with distrust. She spoke short. Didn't offer information, or knowledge, no wisdom or opinions. Just short answers. She supported Ayame. It was good enough for now, as there was more to worry about than paint on walls. She gave the word to Daiki.. and suddenly, Yamato found his vision blurred. He recognised it.. it was tunnel vision. His entire vision was limited to Daiki, only able to look at him and that damn set of eyes of his.. even without the sharingan, Yamato could recognise it mentally. He was scum, trash, cursed. His eyebrows dove inwards and he frowned deeply at Daiki, listening to his words but refusing to acknowledge them. Even when Daiki spoke sense, when he berated the Hojo for being too cowardly to make a choice, Yamato breezed in anger, silently to himself. Reijo shot Yamato a quick glance, noticing something was off, but hadn't the time or the moment to say something. He was forced to watch as Yamato internally made ready for conflict.

It was when Daiki slid his chair back that Yamato stood up quickly, and with great force, pushing his chair back similarily, sending it sliding across the hall, before crashing against the wall with a thud. His fist went up and then down, crashing into the table, shaking the entire structure of the table. He was breezing with anger, now, the wheezing sound spreading throughout the entire hall. Reijo's hand shot out towards the side, attempting to pacify Yamato, but his hand missed his mark and by then it was too late to do anything. Reijo's stern face was maintained aimed at the center of the table, trying to come up with an idea how to minimize this outburst. But Yamato spoke too quickly, rather, yelled too quickly. “OI! DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE, YOU COWARD!” he yelled, his fist slowly going up before pointing out a finger towards Daiki.

“This isn't about you.. you idiot.. this is about Konoha. If you think, for just a moment, that me or my father is here to safeguard our own interests, then you are wrong! We are here to protect those we hold closely! Don't you dare say another word about my father. He is a more honorable man, a more honorable father than your piece of shit father ever was...” The entire hall was now dipped in silence as they heard Yamato speak out against Daiki, an eternal rival, an eternal enemy of Yamato. Yamato then looked at the Naito leader, waiting for a reply that he was sure wasn't going to come. He looked her in the eyes and spoke the words that no mother would ever want to hear. The words were spoken like venom, not intending to bring a point across or to discuss a matter, no, they were meant to hurt both the Naito leader, and Daiki. “Daiki.. he's not your son. Because that would mean that, while the Naito are all scum and bastards, they atleast have a shred of honour to go toe to toe with the mighty Minamoru.. the Feud of the Dogs and the Tiger they call it. I don't like you, or your clan. But I respect you, like Madara Uchiha respected Hashirama Senju, despite being enemies.”

“No, Daiki.. Daiki is much worse than that. I can't even respect him. He is not a Naito, he is an Uchiha. He has abandoned your clan just like he abandons Konohagakure by walking away from this meeting. He is a coward, a scumbag, a bastard with no shred of honour or respect for those that fought and died to sustain this village. He's an Uchiha. I don't even know why he is with you, since he's not a Naito anymore. He's not worthy of that title. The Uchiha are cursed, as many other clans.”

At this point, Yamato's father saw that the others likely wouldn't appreciate or agree with Yamato, and grabbed his arm, pulling him back harshly and with great anger, forcefully making Yamato look at him by doing so. It was a moment that showed that Reijo hadn't always treated Yamato with the same kindness that he'd treated Rei with, as Yamato had been raised with the fist, and anger, and not the kind hearted family man that he was to Rei. “Yamato! Enough.” he said snidely, causing Yamato to look at his father in anger before looking back at Daiki. He figured going after Daiki even more would likely cause more troubles than it's worth, so Yamato redirected his anger towards the Hojo. “And you.. what kind of coward are you, that you don't even wish to choose a side. Are you waiting for one side to assasinate the others, and then make your choice? A sound strategy. But it won't work. I can assure you that.” He looked at Yuna in slight anger, then switched his gaze to the others in that god forsaken clan. The anger was clearly showing, carrying over from Daiki to the rest. Yamato had returned to his normal self.

Something seemed to have sparked him to get more angry. Perhaps it was conflict in the foreseeable future. “Only cowards refuse to fight for what they believe in. People like Daiki. Pick a side. Fight for what you think is truth, not for what you believe to be the best option.”

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

The cave was freezing, but the air was still thick enough to throw off Shouken's breathing slightly. He readied himself for anything, drawing his blade to a frontal defensive position assuming something was going to attack him, however quite the opposite happened. A loud voice, much louder than Hakeisha's, filled the cave with echoed waves. Shouken cringed at the loud noise, but soon recovered. He opened his eyes to see another massive spider staring him dead in the face. He was so close, Shouken could feel the heat coming from his breathe and was able to see directly into his eyes.

This spider occupied about the same amount of space as Hakeisha but was much lower and what looked like more fluid. If Shouken could relate the image to humanity it would seem as if Hakeisha was a mighty warrior while this spider was more of an assassin type.

"Who might you be?"

The monster's words were soft, however carried much weight, almost forcing Shouken to regain his balance. It was clear the spider had 8 eyes, yet he only held 2 open. They were a bloodshot purple and looked like the eyes of a demon, which Shouken wasn't quite convinced that he wasn't...

"I am Shouken Washi of the Sand, shinobi of the Leaf..." Shouken finally built up the courage to speak and delivered it with a bold tone to not show any weakness. The spider only laughed after his answer and within a matter of seconds all the spider's eyes were open and glaring at Shouken. The beast sniffed at Shouken and delivered a response.

"Kumo sent you here, but why?" The spider's eerie voice along with his knowledge of Kumo sending him, rattled Shouken's mind and drove a small bit of fear into his heart. However, he bit back on his emotion and stood tall.

"I want to save my village.." Shouken had a lot more to say, but this was all to come from his mouth. The spider halted his laughter and raised the right 4 "eyebrows" whilst observing the boy.

"Save your village? There is no saving the Leaf! Your Will of Fire has been extinguished and Shinobi like you dwindle down. All your ranks bow down to Ayame now."

Shouken paused briefly to take in that he knew of the Leaf the day of the attack. Putting the thought on hold, he thought of his trial, but before bringing it up, the spider continued..

"But who am I to dampen your spirit? I love to see destruction in any form, good or evil, it's all the same to me..." The spider cracked another grin as he got even more into Shouken's face. Sniffing once again, the spider spoke, "However, your heart is pure.. This is rare nowadays...It reminds me a lot of Kumo."

The spider then raised his front right leg and tapped Shouken on the center of the chest. All his eyes closed and with a quick flicker, the lit places on the rocky wall were all extinguished and only the purple chakra from the tip of his leg lit up the entire room. Shouken didn't feel any different and was quite confused on when the difficult part of his trial was supposed to come into play.

Upon retracting his leg, the spider widened his eyes back to normal. He let out a calm grin and spoke yet again.

"You will do great things, Shinobi, never lose sight of what's important...I made that mistake and ended up here. Send Kumo my regards..You have passed your trial..."

It all happened so fast and Shouken was unsure of what to say next. The spider gave the boy no time to speak and retreated back to the complete darkness in an instant.

"Release!"

~~

Shouken awoke in a bed, stripped down to nothing but his boxers. He had a massive headache and wasn't quite sure if what had happened was a reality or just in his head. After gathering his bearings, he leaned up to a sitting position on the bed. He noticed a figure dressed in a classic ninja attire with a scroll on his back. It was Kumo, but Shouken could only tell by the greasy black hair he had bushed up.

Kumo was staring out the window, and without turning around, spoke to Shouken.

"So you're finally awake. How was it?"

Shouken rubbed his pounding head and replied to Kumo who was still wasn't facing the boy.

"Quick. Odd. Horrifying." Shouken didn't really know how to describe it. He was still dumbfounded about his trial and had millions of questions. "I spoke to Hakeisha who sent me on a trial of some sorts to meet some other huge ass spider."

Kumo scoffed and turned to Shouken quickly.

"Another huge spider?" It was clear Kumo had heard of him as he had heard of Kumo as well.

Shouken nodded and smiled, "Yeah, he seemed to have known you fairly well."

Kumo turned back to the windown and stared outside silently.

So Hakeisha sent him to Mashin...Lucky he's a quiet kid and didn't piss him off. I wouldn't be having this conversation right now.

"So you met Mashin? Yes, he was my trial as well, however, I didn't best him with words. I was a powerful ninja in my youth and he was still a young and arrogant leader. I traveled there to learn the techniques and he got smart assy with me. While deciding my trial, I lost my nerve and spoke out against him. I 'asked' him to be my trial, and Mashin being the spider he was, accepted. We fought for 3 whole days until I finally beat him with some tricky moves..."

He smiled, thinking back to his adventures, and turned back to Shouken who was already out of bed and getting dressed. Kumo dropped his grin and knew that the boy was on a mission.

"We start our journey now. Ill take you to my hidden training ground in the Grass village and once I feel you're ready, your training will be complete."

Shouken didnt acknowledge Kumo, but soaked in the information. He finished putting on his gear and followed Kumo, who was making his way downstairs and through his shop. The made it too the sandy streets and headed for the closest gate. After walking a little ways, Shouken began thinking hard about his statement.

Save my village? What the hell can 1 person do against a whole village of supporting shinobi.

He began realizing that his goal wasn't difficult, it was impossible...

---

The day seemed to pass by like lightning for Nobunaga. For most of it had been out cold due to the medicine he had to take before surgery on his arm was preformed. The hospital was easily able to heal the wounds upon his thighs and hand due to Yuna's intervention. Now his wound upon his left arm was dire indeed but fixable. Konoha was top in the medical field thanks to Sakura Haruno and Tsunade's teaching. Bone was mended, veins were repaired, nerves healed from the damage, and skin piecing itself back together. Unfortunately the diagnosis declared that Nobu would have to keep his arm in a cast and sling for the next couple days or a week. His body would heal over time but for now he only had one usable arm.

The young Inuzuka stood at the window of the hospital room, staring the glory of the village that sat below his gaze. He wondered how Konoha would progress now. Would they be able to change their ways to follow the mad woman that took residence in the Hokage's Office or would they keep strong to the legacy of the Orange Hokage of the past? It was a worrying thought that only grew as a certain entered the hospital room, his mother. A beast of a woman, strong and proud but wild and violent like the very companions they trained with. Oichi ears perked up as Iva entered the room with her own Wolf Companion, Oichi's father. They mingled together easily and it showed a stronger then most human relationships especially the one about to speak to each other currently.

"I see my little man has a boo boo. I heard about the stupid stunt you pulled."

"Stunt? I watched a loyal man die for nothing. That woman is not Hokage."

"Shut your mouth. You lack the knowledge of what you speak. That woman is Hokage and rightfully so. I've been given the words she spoke from Hibiki and she speaks unsettling truth."

Truth? What truth? This era of peace has kept us together."

"This "peace" has done nothing but dull the fangs of the Inuzuka."

"Fang?" Nobunaga spoke the word in confusion, angry confusion. Even his mother could see his personality was not exactly what it used to be."IS THAT ALL YOU CARE ABOUT!? VIOLENCE SO YOU CAN BE A BEAST!? THAT'S THE ONLY THING YOUR LITTLE BRAIN CAN MUSTER!

Nobunaga's were in poor taste and Iva face twisted from a smile to utter anger. SHe pushed forward, pushing the bed out of her way, getting as close to her son as she could. She grabbed by the collar of his shirt, nearly lifting him off the ground. "You watch your damn mouth. We are beasts for Kononha. We follow the ways of the village no matter who the Hokage is."

"I bet our humble leader is groveling at Ayame's feet like the dogs we are."

---

The two former colleagues and friends were finally comfortable and seated, able to discuss their many adventures life had brought upon them during the period they had not seen each other. Daisuke promptly responded with clear detail as to what happened to him during that time he was absent and away from the village. Aoi could only frown when the death of his parents was mentioned in his explanation for she remembered quite well Mister and Misses Yama. She didn't feel too bad toward the fact that they were dead, by the time she'd be desensitized by all the deaths that occurred ever since she was promoted to Chuunin. The clown did however feel noticeably bad for Daisuke, after all he had lost people close to him, something Aoi wished would never happen to her ever.

"Awwh, I'm sorry Dai-Senpai... You okay?"

This shed of concern would quickly turn into an expression drenched in perplexity and confusion when the question of the village emerged in their conversation. Daisuke had been notified of a possible shift in paradigm of the massive leaf village to the point where his curiosity pushed him to ask this question right away. Aoi poked her lower lip as she contemplated the subject, unsure as to how she should approach it, especially with how she behaved the day before when Ayame brought Amegakure to Konoha's front door. He then followed with the reason why he came to the chaotic mansion in the first place: He needed a bunch of forms filled to be officially a working shinobi again, much like the reason why she was here in the first place. She'd basically have to do two of them at once, not that it was a problem because it would definitely beat having to come back and do one at a time.

"Erm, one sec, lemme get something and I'll get you all sorted~"

She skipped out of the lounge, leaving Daisuke alone as it slowly filled with random Jonin who wanted their morning coffee or just checked their mail boxes to see if they received anything. Luckily for Aoi, the secretary she waited for had just arrived and would pass her the documents she required to complete Chokashi's final papers as well as a fresh set of forms for Daisuke. When she'd return into the Jonin break room, she'd be seen walking on her hands while the docs were being held by her shoes. Fortunately for everyone, her mucus powers would have shed the dirt on her feet before she had done such a stunt. She was always one to display her grand tricks to everyone when she could. Now with everything set, she'd take the same seat she had beforehand, a pen in her left hand and a solid magazine serving as support basis to write on. Since Daisuke was here, she'd start with him.

"So Senpai, just gimme your motivations for leaving and your previous ID and I'll do the rest~"

She'd tell her friend as she started to write down bits of information she already knew about him such as name, age, birthplace, location of graduation and so on. Her hand writing was somewhat grotesque, typical of someone who never quite new how to master neither reading nor writing, but at least she could do it. The harlequin would however prove to be rather efficient at multitasking between filling out more complex information and discussing things at the same time.

"And like ... I don't know if you heard but Zeno-Kage was murdered yesterday. Yup yup, we tried to save him but Ayame-sama and Fujitora-sama had already planned everything. So now they run the place and it rains all the time now ... I don't know what it means but Konoha feels kinda weird now ... Oh! I'll also need a recent picture of you! Especially if you stay bald~"

She seemed a bit more hesitant with her tone when she spoke of the recent events, likely due to how she felt about it still. Aoi still didn't quite understand what was going on herself, but she could at least brief Daisuke on the events and let him make his own conclusions. All the while she crossed many options on the forms, some that involved psychological evaluations and such. Usually they would need to evaluate the condition of the person coming back, but most never really did it if the returner was a loyal shinobi from the beginning and justified the leave from the start. She obviously finished with a positive touch, as she always did in her speech pattern.

---

Upon noticing Aoi’s lips fall into a frown at the mention of his parents’ passing Daisuke graced her with a slight smile. He appreciated her concern for him, but even when the event was fresh it hadn’t stung. Both of his parents had lived longer than most that pursue a life as Shinobi, and they had the added bonus of going in their sleep after accomplishing their only dream. There really wasn’t a better way to leave this world in his eyes.

”I am just fine, while I miss seeing them I know that they were ready to leave. It would have been selfish to make them stay any longer.”

He sunk further into the couch, his ever persistent guard dropping momentarily as thoughts of his family drifted lazily through his mind. For the first time in the past year he realized that as far as he knew, he was the last living Yama. His grandparents had long since been deceased, and his parents were gone as well. With many people these thoughts would likely instill a sense of loneliness, the only effect they had on Daisuke was to strengthen his resolve. Being the last of his line it fell upon his shoulders to live a life that his predecessors could be proud of. So engrossed was he in these thoughts and memories he didn’t even notice the clown’s shift in mood.

He finally snapped out of his time of reflection when she told him to sit tight. With Aoi gone he began to feel a bit uncomfortable and out of place. This place was reserved for the Jounin of the village and he couldn’t help but look around a bit aimlessly as a few higher ranked Shinobi began drifting in, going about their business. Many of the faces were vaguely familiar, though he couldn’t place faces with names. A few waved to him, but none came over to scold him nor even just speak. He realized that they really didn’t care and had more important things to do then wonder why he was in there with them.

Relaxing slightly he waited for Aoi to return, eager to get his career back on track and potentially get his question answered. He wasn’t prepared for her to return to the room walking on her hands however, and he couldn’t help but chuckle. With her sitting be side him once more, paperwork now in hand rather than foot, he focused his attention on her fully.

”It is a tradition in my family for the children to go on a year long hermitage when their parents die, though it wasn’t easy to leave the village I had to follow tradition. My previous ID was 053972.”

Her next words stunned him, though he had enough grace to prevent his mouth from hanging open. He couldn’t believe that the Hokage had been killed, just a day before his arrival. He finally understood what the guard had meant, and why the rain had made him feel so uneasy. Even though wishing he could have been here too aid the others in protecting Zeno there was a part of him that was grateful he hadn’t been. If he had arrived earlier than he did he knew that he would either be dead or consumed by his failure to protect Zeno-Sama. He almost missed the last bit of what Aoi said, and it took him a moment to fully register it.

”Oh...ah no I think I will put off getting a new picture taken. I only shaved as part of the tradition. Now that I am back I will be growing it out again. Thank you again for all of your help. If you hadn’t been around I would have been set back for quite a while waiting in that line. I still have to get to the bank and find a place to stay.”

Yuna remained silent as she listened to the other clans state their positions on the grave matter at hand. Most were either for or against the Chokos. A very polarizing situation with whom only the Hojo clan stood to remain neutral. Yuna's eye fluttered around the room as she restlessly began tapping her foot against the floor. That was until Kaito Maru and his son gave their opinions on the matter. She agreed with them, probably more than anyone, even her own clan. But ultimately, she'd align with whichever side would provide the greatest safety for her child.

“Tch! And you, you’re not even capable of making a decision. You’re tossing yourself to the hounds. We’re sitting here wracking our heads about who our enemies are, and the thing is, we’re all in the same room!”

Yuna's sister Hanako stood up and glared at him, but she tamed her tongue when she used her peripherals to look at her mother. Anna remained seated and only smiled. Her legs were crossed elegantly over one another and her finger was seductively placed against her lip. She looked to her daughter, motioning with one hand for her to sit back down. "My lovely daughter Hanako, relax. Children speak nonsense, It's what they do".

"Mother please...", Yuna whispered under her breath.

Anna brought her long draping kimono sleeves over her mouth, an obvious grin being hidden by the expensive silk. Her eyelashes fluttered exaggeratedly. "What? Me?". Yuna rolled her eyes and shook her head in annoyance, the shameless sarcasm spewing from Anna's soft chuckling was just going to further upset someone. And it didn't help that naturally tensions were already high.

Surprisingly the Uzumaki clan didn't have much to say on the matter, which was shocking seeing as the Uzumakis were probably the most famed of the ninja clans and one of the most boisterous thanks to the legend of Naruto Uzumaki. His name was even known in Getsugakure. But when Yamato of the Minamoru's spoke, or rather, yelled, it seemed all bets were off.

“And you.. what kind of coward are you, that you don't even wish to choose a side. Are you waiting for one side to assasinate the others, and then make your choice? A sound strategy. But it won't work. I can assure you that.”

"Watch your mouth mut", Hanako retorted harshly. She had already been standing since having been provoked by the Naito, and now, her almost sinister gaze had fallen upon the Minamoru. "We will do what we must in order to survive in this village. And the rants of some insolent child are not going to change that. I'd be careful if I were you. You have no idea who you are dealing with, so stand down."

Anna's persistent grin remained, as if proud, though now her coy eyes were plastered on the Minamoru instead of the Naito. After all, these were really the only two clans were putting on a pretty big performance. But that was only until the real performance began, which prompted Yuna to rest her hand on her sisters arm. "Hanako listen to mother. Relax...". Unfortunately, Yuna's sister was not hearing it. And when Yamato continued on ranting, it really stirred the pot. "Hell no!", she barked loudly, her aggressive tone echoing throughout the teahouse. Yuna stood up once shit really got real, and motioned toward her sister who suddenly pulled out a kunai from her jonin uniform and jabbed it into the table. She was having some kind of panic attack, kicking her chair down, rattling the table wildly with her hands, stomping madly and screaming at the top of her lunges. "Do you hear this bastard mother?!!! Do you hear what this motherfucker?! Some nerve to speak of our family like he has a clue! Well let me just tell you bitch...", she continued on, her wailing causing her to form rage-induced tears to fall down her cheeks. Anna remained silent, as did everyone else who was watching the sudden, vulgar, and chaotic outburst.

Yuna stood to her sister and tried to calm her down. "Hana...rel..". She was becoming so embarrassed.

Hanako slapped away Yuna's hand. "No! Don't touch me!". She was literally running her hands through her hair like a wild animal, yanking at it as she did so! "Did you hear him Yuna? Did you?!"

Yuna reached out for her sister once more, grappling her hands gently around Hanako's beat red and fuming face. She was huffing and puffing, almost as if she were on the verge of hyperventilating. If this was a cartoon, steam would surely be blowing from her ears. "Yes...Yes, I heard him. But let's just calm down and count the number of raindrops okay? You like counting things. 1...2.."

Hanako briefly fidgeted against her younger sister's touch, but ultimately gave in to Yuna's calming tactic and her quivering lip ceased. "The rain...the rain...1...2..3...4". The silhouette of Yuna's hands glowed with a white aura as her sister suddenly found herself in a eurphoric daze, as if she were enveloped in an intense high. The calming sensation immediately took over her entire body. Yuna kept her glowing hands on her sisters face for several seconds, tuning out those around her as she focused on using her secret medical technique to calm Hanako. Picking up the chair, Yuna slowly managed her now tranquilized sister back to her seat, quickly pulling out the kunai from the table and hiding it inside her own kimono as she stood behind her sister and gently massaged her shoulders. Anxiously, she kept her eyes relatively still. It was awkwardly quiet for several seconds, until Anna broke the silence.

With blank eyes, she briefly looked towards her daughter Yuna, "Thank you my dear", and then turned her attention back to Yamato. Yuna's countenance remained cold and her mother's previously amused smile, faded into a sternness. "Yamato Minamoru. I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't belittle our comely clan and our decisions. Ayame made her decision and so have we. We all have our reasons and it is not your place to judge something you do not understand. So as I stated before, The Hojo will remain neutral. Thank you darling."

Yuna continued massaging her sedated sister's shoulders, and only had one thing to say.

"Please, lets remain calm. No more yelling."

---

Chen shook his head as everyone began to argue and get aggressive. 'I can't believe everyone thinks I'm a sociopath. I could've sworn this meeting was to make sure we didn't end up in a civil war.' He stood up and pushed out his chair. He looked over at the Hojo clan and nodded.

"I approve of the Hojo Clan's stance. While I may not share their stance, I can respect the want to stay neutral. Not everyone here wants to enter some insane civil war." He then turned his head to Yamato and Daiki.

"And is anyone going to stop these two? Or at least move them outside? I love fighting, but now is the time for talk." Chen shook his head and sat down.

He looked at Saburo and motioned towards Yamato and Daiki. "That would be your job today correct? Defending this meeting? If I were more politically inclined I would say that it reflects poorly on the Hokage, when her representative fails to do his assigned job." Chen smiled at this line. This would be a nice test of his character.

He awoke to the sound of rain tapping against his window. After yesterday's events he wasn't surprised that it would be raining today as well. They had lost a great man and a wonderful hokage, however the thoughts on the matter with the Akimichi stayed within the compound unless otherwise told by Chokuto Akimichi, the current leader of the clan and Chokashi's father. He sat up and looked out the window, rubbing his tired eyes and scratching the back of his scalp. With a loud yawn he hopped out of bed and made for the shower. About fifteen minutes went by when he came out and had gotten dressed. He dawned a pair the traditional blue sandals with long brown cargo pants that were taped at the bottom of his shin. Above that he wore a blue zip up sweater with the sleeves rolled up just above the forearm. Stitched into the back of the sweater was the kanji for "food" in big red letters however it was covered by the green chuunin vest. On the sleeve of the jacket was the Konaha leaf symbol as well as on the hiate he adorned on his head. His hair fell loosely down to his waist.

No sooner had he begun to make his way over to the door of his room had it begun to open, his father standing there, a small smile on his face. Though he knew his father well enough to tell that it was only to hide the fact that he still mourned for the previous hokage. The late hokage was always welcomed to the Akimichi Open Barbeque and had a seat designated to him at the head table. So it was no surprise to Chokashi that his father would not accept that this "Ayame" had taken charge, however. To maintain the integrity and reputation of the Akimichi clan with it's loyalties to the Hokage or, in this case, the leader of the village, Chokuto had chosen to follow suit with the other respectable clans however, he and Chokashi both, within the confines of the compound, agreed with the Uzumaki's that this was an atrocity. The Nara's believed, to Chokuto's understanding, that this was not the way to go as it would strain and even break ties of clans and cause unrest. But the Nara went along with the Akimichi in their decision. The other reason was the fact that what had happened, happened and at the present moment nothing could be done about it.

His father looked at him with a light nod. "Kashi m'boy. Off to get your papers taken care of?" He gave a light chuckle.
Chokashi rolled his eyes and smirked. "Yeah pop. About to go meet with Aoi-sensei to finalize the paperwork." His father tilted his head slightly to the side. "Aoi-sensei? You mean that clown ninja became a Jounin already?" Chokashi laughed lightly. "Pop she deserves it. Have you ever seen her fight..err...spar? She's pretty good." His father shook his head as he wrapped an arm around his shoulder, kinda taking Chokashi off balance a bit. "Guess that means you need to train longer and harder, huh? She's younger then you right?" Chokashi groaned as he walked away, waving his hand. "Yeah, yeah don't remind me, huh?" His father gave a light sniff and scratched his head before realizing why he came to the room in the first place. "Cho-Chokashi...Wait!"

Chokashi made his way down stairs and down the hallway, greeting those he came across with a quick hello as he made his way to the front of the house, his father making his way on the top floor to the front balcony in an attempt to intercept his son. As Cho made his way down the front staircase he heard his father from the top balcony calling down for him. "Kashi! I almost forgot! Despite the weather we will still be hosting the monthly barbeque! We will just hold it indoors at the mess hall! Be sure to see if Aoi or her family want to also perform as well! He shook his head as he turned away for a second to sneeze. "I'll let everyone know but as for Aoi-sensei I don't think she has the time to do that nor do I think she does it anymore but I'll ask anyway! "Let her know that we'll pay her-" "I got it, I got it. I mean why don't we just host the performance ourselves! I mean I haven't been taking odaiko lessons for nothing you know!" He yelled back as he walked away from the house. His father just shaking his head as he walked back in the house.

The walk to the hokage's place was not too far if you were a ninja. A simple hop across some buildings and you were there. But a regular civilian would take a little bit of time. However Chokashi decided to just take the civilian route and enjoy the peace that was the rain. Sure, it would take some time getting there but that was so he could stop by one of the local vendors and grab some food on the way. A small bento box wit rice, six pieces of sushi and a small cup of miso soup. He decided to pick up something for Aoi assuming she hadn't eaten yet. If she didn't want it she could give it to someone else or eat it at a later time. About another 5 minutes of walking and he had made it to the hokage's building. Such a large structure for such a large pair of shoes to fill, it was fitting. He was stopped at the entrance by a guard. "State the reason for your visit." The man said with authority. "I'm Chokashi Akimichi. I'm here to get my chuunin papers finalized." He replied with a bit of confusion in his voice. The man gave him a look as he took the older papers from Cho and looked at them. It was a brief moment before he nodded and gestured to him to go inside. Cho gave the man a light nod before dipping his head low to avoid the door frame as he made is way down the hallway. He looked at each nameplate on the outside of each door, looking for where he might find her only to hear a voice that sounded like her in a room designated for Jounin, something about not having hair. He peeked his head in to find her speaking with a rather tall fellow, slightly taller than him but not as wide....and bald. He opened his mouth to say something at first but grinned and stepped in with a respectable bow. "Aoi-sensei. I'm sorry it took me longer to get here. I decided to stop for some food and I figured I'd bring something for ya. Don't know if you had eaten or not so..." He then stood straight up and smiled before his attention was drawn to the bald man. He looked over and bowed once more, this time to the man. "Heya. Name's Chokashi Hodan Akimichi. Pleasure to meet ya. And don't worry I have enough hair for the both of us." He chuckled.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



Die with some dignity will you.'......no' Everything slowed down for him as he watched the man jump back and fly off, only to see the destruction that had been caused caused earlier to come down his way. "No....No...NO...NOT YET! NOT NOW! NOT NOWNOTNOWNOTNOWNOTNOOO" He begun to slash at everything that came his way with blinding speed, pumping as much chakra into his blade as he could. He could hear the blade screeching and chirping at this point, putting it to the test with its cutting ability. He had made some progress within the debris before the last moment, when he had attempted to pull out a few explosive-. He had been hit hard by a a large piece of debris across his head before dropping to the ground. The last sound he could hear was that of falling debris. He was covered in what seemed to be a makeshift grave. A piece of his blade broke off ad laid outside of it with a small pool of blood seeping out from underneath a rock.



OOOOOOOOOOOOW!"Gin had awoken in a forest with a yell and a gasp. It's beautiful trees and flowing river gave off a nice sound as the breeze hit it. He looked over to see a figure laying on the ground next to him. He furrowed his eyes as he sat up and cocked his head to the side. The man wore what seemed to be an ANBU uniform. White hair flowing behind him. "Yo. Long time, no see.....Very long time." Gin was about to open his mouth until the figure had taken off his mask in which Gin's only response was to sit there, a surprised and bewildered look on his face. "Wouldn't you say so, ne, Junior."

---

Another chair toppled over. For a moment, he believed it to be his mother’s but he should have known better than that. Yamato’s loud voice brought his leave to a halt. He stared at the door leading out to the rain-soaked Konoha, the gray behind it had painted it with clear trails and droplets. A sigh left his nostril as he felt something from his past raise again.

Though he couldn’t pin-point it exactly, he knew that it was justified anger. Something … vengeful. When Yamato spoke on the face of the meeting, he turned his side to the guy and stared him directly, ignoring the disapproval of the others.

“If you think that, then you’re truly blind,” He smirked to hide the growing fury, though his eyes failed to be anything but accusing daggers. “You and you’re clan, you’ve never been about anything but yourselves. This mask that you’re holding up is cracked and broken. Has been ever since that Jashin incident. You may be able to fool these other clans, but the Naito know. We’ve always known.” His body, though wholly still, seemed to move with a control passion as he spoke.

Nariko looked towards him but didn’t speak a word, instead her feral black brows came together with disapproval.

Yamato continued on. Defending his father before stabbing a spear of reality through Daiki’s life-long situation. The auburn-haired youth’s eyes went wide with rage as he pulled his hands from his pocket, revealing his clenched fist. It would have been fine if his words were directed towards him; if his venom had not touched his mother, but they had. And it brought the accusation to light.

Chakra burst through the floodgates and dyed his eyes red. In the room, he saw masses of charka and realized that everyone was moving in very predictable motions. As Rejio reacted, grabbing Yamato and pulling him back, Daiki strode forth with a single goal in mind. The screams of Hojo was dulled in his ears, the newcomer that seemed as fickle a caged-animal was ignored. Anyone looking would see the intent in his stride.

His mother reached out towards him, standing and his wrist with both hands. The touch was tender for she knew all too well how the Naito could view any agitation as a threat in their rage. “Daiki, you too,” she said pointedly.

Daiki staid himself mid-stride, staring pointed blades towards the two Minamoru. By this time, the meeting had faded into quiet. One that was filled with the visceral tension between Yamato and him. “Never assume to know my beliefs. he said calmly to Yamato, for once his words filled with a daring superiority. “This is why I will never believe you. This mighty bullshit. This pride that gets you nowhere. You’re so caught up in yourself that you don’t have time to care for anything else.

“That is as true as me being an Uchiha. You and your father, you hide behind this façade but the only reason you even care is what? Your investments are here. Or maybe it’s the Yakuza that your father is involved with. I don’t believe—for a single moment—that your father is holding this meeting for anything but his own gain. And neither should they.

He remembered something that Yamato said and felt that he should defend it, now that he had decided to accept it. “You called the Uchiha cursed, he reiterated, a lightly pulled smile on his face. “That’s fitting actually. But you've got the afflicted wrong. Its always been people like you and your father--cowards who tried to annihilate them, alienate them. It’s okay to be afraid, Yamato, cause regardless, the results will be the same. I'll still end up being better than you.” He pulled his arm from his mother’s grasp then and started heading for the door again.

Nariko stood up then, bowed deeply to the table, and followed suit. Showing her loyalty to the Uchiha/Naito boy.

Momoi felt the vibe everywhere she went, well it was just hours after Zeno's death. The streets were silent with nothing but the rain pouring down. The blonde woman continued to make her way towards the Uzumaki residence, moving in different direction as the street paths lead her from one end of the village to the other. The gypsy was thankful that Takeshi's coat was keeping her warm and dry, she knew that she wore next to nothing most of the time. But getting a cold would not be best for her.

Soon she reached her destination "Damn, pretty big house." then her eyes soon noticed someone leaving the house before taking of. Waiting for the coast to be clear, she briskly walked towards the gate that lead to the house and knocked on the door, hopefully she knocked hard enough to let anyone inside that she was there.

@Renny