Naruto: Shadow of the Beast

[Kattekerma]

"So, I'm pretty sure you all know you failed." Ritsuko starts. Hyosuke nodded solemnly. "As a group, you guys did well, but you didn't act like a real team. You tried to, and that's more than what I can say for Kishara's kids." Ritsuko commented, "But anyway, you've got your glaring faults as a team and I'm sure I don't have to say anything more about that." And there it was. Hyosuke knew what they did wrong. He also wasn't at all surprised that they failed.

"Now that we've talked about y'all as a whole, let's move into individuals. Let's start with you, Maiko," Ritsuko crossed her arms, "I know it's embarrassing--for all of you--and you don't want these two to know about your weakness, but you're all on this team indefinitely and these weaknesses won't be weaknesses forever." She looked the girl up and down for a moment. Hyosuke's eyes went over to Maiko, then to Marako. He was the one who hardly had a scratch on him. Was it because he was weak? He'd only done so much. Saved Maiko once, healed Marako and trapped Ritsuko. Despite his prowess at close combat, Hyosuke didn't even get a hit in or on himself. Was she treating him differently because he seemed weaker? The thought made some unknown emotion rise up in the pit of Hyosuke's stomach. Was he even cut out for this?

"So," Ritsuko continued, "Before I get into the bad stuff and make you guys hate me, let's talk about the good things. Maiko, your effort was commendable. You taijutsu would work well against kids around your age, but someone older and more experienced? Not so much. You seemed cold and aloof, but you did show some signs of worry and care for your teammates, so that's good too." She smiled, "Now let's talk about your shortcomings. Your guard was weak, and there were at least four holes in your stance. Four, Maiko." Ritsuko dropped into her one-handed fighting stance, "You have to keep yourself tight yet loose. Keep your guard up at all times, doesn't matter who you're fighting. You were also confident in your ability to put up a fight, but were unable to land a hit on me. The thing about your taijutsu is that it's predictable, so you need to work on that. You've got a gourd full of water for protection. Use it. It's not about being cocky. It won't show that you're weak. Being compared to the Godaime Kazekage just because of similarities isn't enough. You have to be strong too. Sure, he could fight close combat, but his real power lied within distance. His ability to manipulate sand."

Her face softened for a moment, "You can manipulate water, Maiko. Training for close combat is good, and we'll work on that, but I want you to practice using your water. Your moves should be so effortless that it's like an extension of yourself. You should be able to," She thrust out her arm, "Thrust your arm out and water's there, ready to act as an extra length. Don't shun your abilities, use them." Her words were harsh. Hyosuke almost felt bad that he was hearing this, it was obviously so personal and in depth. Hyosuke almost couldn't believe she'd only gotten this from a day and night of watching them. Truly, she was amazing. "You can take my advice or leave it, whatever suits you." She concluded, then turned to Hyosuke.

"You're up next, kiddo." Ritsuko said, "What can I even say? I didn't get to see you fight, so I can't say anything about your fighting stance, but you were quick to heal up Marako and you did a great job on such short notice. Marako, you'll have to get that checked out though. I'm no medical ninja." She cast a glance at the other boy before returning her gaze to Hyosuke. "You doubt yourself. It's in the way you carry yourself. You don't think you're up to par with Maiko and Marako, but that's not true. You held together when Marako got hurt and your quick thinking allowed you to get away by use of that jutsu. However, you reacted quickly. You were too quick to jump to Maiko's aide, even though you knew it might not have been her. If you had come any closer, I could've easily attacked you. Raise your guard more. Be cautious. If it wasn't for Marako, you would've been the injured one and I'm sure it would've turned out to be the same, maybe worse. Who knows?"

Hyosuke nodded as she spoke, "Train your lemur, too. He only helped out a little as opposed to what ninja animals can do." Chiko whined sadly. Hyosuke reached up to pet him, "He did his best, though. And you, you hesitated, Hyosuke. Right when I had my clone attack both you and Marako, you hesitated to throw that kunai until after I was done with Marako. Don't hesitate. You can't wait for someone else to make decisions, Hyosuke. Sometimes, you've got to do them yourself, especially with an injured teammate and a missing one. You're probably used to being the one in the back of the classroom, doing the leftover work and labor, but not on this team. There's no leader--if there was, it'd be me but that's besides the point--so you have no reason to hide your ideas and thoughts. Don't be intimidated by these two. You're all teammates now." Hyosuke looked down. Wow, this lady was brutal.

 

[Ultra Paradox]

Maiko's eyes narrowed as she started with her, pulling out all of her flaws. It almost made her flinch every time she mentioned something about her, the way her stance was far too loose in the aspect she could've hit her in five different places. She even mentioned the fact that Maiko couldn't land a punch on her at all, what was that going to show the other two about her damn it. Marako shifted his eyes towards Maiko before looking back at Ritsuko Sensei. She kept talking about Maiko and how her power was her downfall.

Tears of anguish formed in Maiko's eyes as Ritsuko spoke to her. She felt very emotional over her failure during their first training session. Then she heard her voice soften up and nodded her head as her sensei let her know what she needed to do to improve her skills. She nodded slightly, "Yes, Ritsuko Sensei," then followed with a bow before looking over at Hyosuke. In the following week she will be working on manipulating the water and she'll work hard on her Taijutsu.

She felt bad for what she said to the awkward boy and his lemur. Especially Chiko, he did his very best in his efforts to help the group. It wasn't necessarily his fault for any of this, he wasn't trained properly. Marako on the other hand thought that Chiko had to be a bit smarter with his choices. Chiko was the reason for the kunai slicing into his foot and the reason why they all had to wait a night in this predicament. He knew that if Chiko might've acted more like a Ninja and less like a pet, this wouldn't of been a problem.

After Hyosuke's turn Marako knew he was next and he feared that he would probably suffer the most scolding out of the group. He looked at the other two and stepped forward ready for anything Ritsuko Sensei would say. Maiko just watched with her arms crossed, "This went terribly wrong." She mumbled then looked over at Hyosuke, "Do you think he's going to get it the worst? Or is she just going to congratulate the 'hero' for doing the most."

It was obvious she had the slightest hint of jealousy in her voice, but what would you really expect from somebody who had nothing at all being in the same group as somebody who was praised by everyone. Chiko whined slightly and flicked his tail lightly against Hyosuke's neck. He chittered a thing or two, letting him know that he could tell Marako wasn't too fond of him. The lumer whimpered slightly, before his striped tail laid limp on his owner's shoulder. Poor Chiko was obviously saddened that he failed his new comrades.

 

[Kattekerma]

"Y-Yes, sensei." Hyosuke responded as loudly and clearly as he could. Ritsuko nodded, smiling slightly at him. He didn't necessarily hate her, but at this point he hated that he knew she was right. And it stung. It stung him and Chiko. He was only doing his best. Maybe Hyosuke should stop coddling him and let him train with the other ninja animals a bit. He'd have to talk to Chiko, but he knew the lemur would mostly likely agree. He snapped his head up when Maiko began talking to him. She was pretty affected by their sensei's words as well. "I honestly don't know." Hyosuke whispered back, looking over at Marako before glancing at their sensei. He rubbed the small lemur and frowned. Her words hurt, but they were what he needed to hear and he hoped that she wouldn't coddle the hero like everyone else did.

"Finally, Marako." She turned her gaze on the white-haired boy. "Good job."

Hyosuke froze. Wait, what? What did she mean good job? He was about to speak up when Ritsuko stepped forward, apparently she wasn't done. "I really like how you're probably thinking of blaming this on Chiko--he's young and has a lot to learn, so he can't sniff out all the traps. You were careless, this is partially your fault." Ritsuko began, "So, good job at judging based on one trial test. Your jutsu needs more work, your throws weren't very accurate. Clearly the term 'hero''s meaning has diminished over time. I'm not saying this to be mean, but you need to leave behind the expectations of others. Yes, it's commendable that you wanted to go back and help Maiko, but why did you do it? Because it's your obligation? You should do things because you want to, not because it's what's expected of you. While yes, expectations can help you push yourself, but you were too quick. You jump the gun and think you're in the right because you were praised and regarded as a hero for something that happened a long while ago."

"I'm not saying that you should give up your dream of being a hero, I'm saying that you've got people to look out for you now," Ritsuko said, "You don't need to run off into the face of danger alone. You don't need to make decisions alone. You've got two people here for an added perspective. You thought you'd won just by throwing a measly fireball attack at me? Anybody could've seen that wasn't going to work, but you're so sure of yourself you throw caution to the wind because you're a hero and hero's always win and save the day. I'm sure if you would've looked at Hyosuke, you would've seen that I wasn't done. And maybe you would've been able to get a hit on me." She shook her head, "But you didn't. Because you're a hero, well, starting today. If you're all going to stay on this team, you won't be what they think you are."

Ritsuko takes another step forward. "On this team, you're not a hero who saves everyone and can do no wrong." She turned to look Maiko, "On this team, you're not an outcast or a beast who should be feared." She then turned to Hyosuke. "On this team, you're not the timid kid who sits in the back of the class. On this team, you're Marako Arita. You're Maiko. And you're Hyosuke Yamanoue and Chiko the lemur. You guys are Team Four and if you're going to be team four, you need to leave your old selves behind and start forging a path into the people I know you can be." She held out her hand, "Now, who wants to stay on this team after I've torn you all to shreds? They do have replacement sensei's, ya know."

 

[Ultra Paradox]

Maiko was completely stunned when she heard those words,"Good Job," Her cheeks glowed slightly and she was ready to snap and shout at her sensei for being so incompetent with her thought process. But she quickly noticed the look on her face and the yellow glow on her cheeks faded, she dropped her fist that she held out in the air and watched rather dumbfounded. Marako stood there with his mouth open when he realized she knew exactly what he was thinking.

He bit down on his lip then tried cutting her off mid sentence, but she wouldn't stop talking about how he was so careless and could've done things better. What hurt the most was, everything she said was true. He turned around to save Maiko because if he didn't he wouldn't be much of a hero. He thought he beated a sensei with one measly fire ball jutsu. He didn't even worry about the health of his own teammates. When it came to the action it was just him and him alone, and that was wrong.

He took a step back and aligned himself with his allies, watching his sensei speak. Both him and Maiko stood in awe, her words bringing courage into his heart. Maiko's heart started to beat quickly, this feeling of love. She knew it all too well from knowing Shinji, and she could feel it with this lady. She has only known them for a day and she could already tell, she felt passionate about each and every one of them. She looked down at her fist and clutched it tightly.

Finally, the question came up, who was going to stay on the team? They all stood there silently, air blew against the mountain as the grass shifted slightly. The morning sun was just starting to really rise over the horizon behind Ritsuko Sensei. Nobody moved, until suddenly Hyosuke put his hand in first. Marako looked at him and his lemur, and it was obvious the two were determined. Marako then smiled softly and he put his hand in, but another couple of minutes went by and Maiko still didn't accept.

"Well...then this is it?" Marako whispered, frowning slightly.

(

)

Just as everyone thought it has been decided and Maiko was willing to leave, she rolled her eyes at them. She huffed up a bit of air and with a cocky smile said, "You guys really thought I wouldn't tag along?" She put her hand in and sighed looking at the two boys, "We are a team after all aren't we?" Marako's eyes started to tear up slightly as he remembered what they told her at the Ramen place.

-Flashback-

"Maiko?" Hyosuke spoke up,"Come sit with us."

"Yeah! Come on! We're partners, aren't we?"

-Flashback end-

"Yeah...we sure are." Marako nodded, wiping the tears away with his other hand. Chiko hopped down on top of all of their hands chittering in happiness as his tail flickered to and fro. This was group four, team Bakuhatsu Ban-Ban.

 

[Kattekerma]

As they held their breath, waiting for Maiko to put her hand in, Hyosuke laughed, sniffling slightly as Ritsuko looked at all of them, "Look at you guys! Aw!" She moved forward, Chiko running back up onto Hyosuke's shoulder. Ritsuko pulled them all in for a hug, spinning them around before setting them down. "Oh! This is gonna be so much fun!" She smiled widely, secretly glad that they all decided to stick around for a while. "We're gonna go on missions and train together and go on camping trips and--!" She picked up Chiko, spinning him around as she went off in a tangent.

Hyosuke looked at them, then laughed. "I guess we're officially Team Fo--I mean, Bakuhatsu Ban-Ban, huh?" Ritsuko tossed Chiko up in the air, the little lemur squeaking as he landed safely in her arms. Now Hyosuke was feeling tired. All that pumped up adrenaline that coursed through his body was draining out. He needed food. And maybe somewhere to lay down for a minute... or two... or a day. Any was fine. But Hyosuke knew he probably wouldn't get up after a minute of laying down. His mom was probably going to kill him--she would say something like 'girls won't like you if you look like you're dead!' But that was fine, Hyosuke was still young. He didn't need to worry about girls right now. He needed to worry about being a ninja.

"Anyway," Ritsuko stopped spinning Chiko around and let the small animal scamper over to Maiko, curling his tail around her leg. "I think it's best if you guys got some rest. We'll meet tomorrow and start our training. Make sure you eat properly." Ritsuko told them with a wag of her finger. She then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

After she was gone, Hyosuke turned to his two teammates, seeing Marako's tear-stained face. "You should get to the hospital." He said, kneeling down and applying pressure to the boy's leg. A soothing feeling passed over Marako at Hyosuke's touch. "It should be healed enough that you can jog on it, but you can't run or jump yet."

After all was said and done, the three headed off back to the village. This was going to definitely be different than what they were used to.

------------------------------------------------
Team Four's First Mission?!
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It had been nearly a week since they first started training and Hyosuke thought they were getting better. Working as a team. Sure, they weren't exactly perfect. Maiko would get upset and attack them more harshly--he and Marako were lucky to survive some days--but they were workng it out. Marako still acted like a hero and occasionally, Hyosuke took a backseat in things, but they were trying. Hyosuke spoke more, Maiko wouldn't act as aloof and helped out and Marako took advice from others. So, Ritsuko's words did have an affect on them. If only they could have an affect on her and get the damn sensei to show up on time. Hyosuke swore up and down that Ritsuko had an excuse for everything. It'd only been a week and a few days since they'd known each other, but Hyosuke had heard at least twenty different excuses each time she dissappeared.

But they all knew from shared looks and whispered talks that Ritsuko usually left for food... or to buy a perverted book... or was lost taking a nap somewhere. Honestly, the woman should've been a better liar for a ninja. But that was alright too. Even people as great as her has to have a downside, right? Hyosuke touched down on their training grounds, looking around. He was never the first to arrive, but he'd woken up pretty early that day in preparation of a surprise that Ritsuko said she would have for them. He was curious about it, wondering what it could be. Chiko ran down his leg, chittering. Ah, how could Hyosuke forget? Chiko. The little animal was getting better too. Better at finding traps and was using sign language more and more often. Clearly Ritsuko's words were taken to the lemur's heart as well. Hyosuke looked around. There was nothing left to do but wait.

--

"C'mon, Kishara." Ritsuko followed the other sensei down the hall. "Trade with me." She'd been trying this with every sensei that she'd seen so far, which had only been the mysterious sensei of the third team, who didn't even spare her a glance, and the Teams Five and Six senseis. But no-one wanted to hear her out. Ritsuko whined loudly, "I thought we were friends! You can't trade with me?" She grabbed onto the woman's flak jacket, whining loudly. It couldn't be like this! It just couldn't! She'd tried so hard to wake up early, really, she did! She just... well, those late night programs and re-runs are really funny and captivating and... no! 'No time for excuses, just action!'

"Kishara, hear me out." Ritsuko stopped whining, standing in front of the woman. "C'mon, I got three beautiful kids at home. We need to eat!" She had to get this mission! It was much better than the last few that were left to pick from. She couldn't believe the hokage wouldn't take her bribes. What a jerk. After all these years, he still wasn't interested in her bribes? They were good! Ritsuko's cooking had improved so much since the first batch that nearly turned half Konoha into zombies, but that was in the past. "C'mon, Kishara. Just. Please?"

 

[Ultra Paradox]

It had been a week after Maiko suffered a embarrassing defeat from the hands of her sensei Ritsuko, but at the same time learned a valuable lesson. Treat your team like you will treat family, because when your life is on the line they will be the only ones there to help you. So that's what Maiko did, or at least what she attempted to do. Obviously, she didn't learn how to control that rage within her in a week, so she still blew up against Marako and Hyosuke at times. But they were good sports over it, and she was starting to get close to them. Almost as if they were friends, but not exactly yet.

She spent most of her time away from the Orphanage and near the river of the village, training her skills and bending water and training her body alongside a very determined Marako. On occasions the two would spar when Ritsuko Sensei wasn't around because she disapproved of any hand to hand combat unless she was around. Marako always insisted that it would always be light combat, but Ritsuko was very hesitant and the persistent Sensei would always shake her head no and scold the two. Never did stop them from doing it, and whenever somebody got too hurt they would call up Hyosuke so that Ritsuko Sensei would never know a thing.

Marako saw this as improvement for the group, not only does he get to work on his taijutsu with Maiko, he works on his jutsus and Hyosuke works on his healing abilities. All at they bond, so Maiko really didn't see any damage within it all. Today was another ordinary day for Maiko though, after running three laps and doing five hundred situps and pushups she would practice her taijutsu by hitting a tree or sparring with Marako. The only thing that was different was that Marako wanted to go through her morning regime with her. He ended up only doing one lap, one hundred sit ups, and one hundred fifty pushups. He couldn't believe that Maiko would do what she did on a daily basis, and every time he asked how she could do it she would answer by saying, "It's the willpower."

On this day, they started off with some sparring and once again Marako was losing. Marako wobbled back and forth, trying to hold himself up as a smile was plastered on his face. He swung at her but she swiped his hand away and tried going for a kick. He bent down and swept away her legs from underneath her. She fell on her back and broke out into laughter, "Good move!" when she sat up she sighed, "Where's Hyosuke?"

"I'll call him up," Marako told her, he was happy that she was actually started to form a bond with them. When they first met, he thought he would never get her to laugh. He reached into his sack and pulled out a old mobile phone, quickly dialing Hyosuke's number, "Hey Hyo, it's me, where are you? We're waiting for you by the river."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"No," Kishara walked down the stairs and sighed when Ritsuko kept following her,"No," They walked down the hallway and Ritsuko persisted and wouldn't stop. "No, damn it, no. Look Ritsuko." She turned around and touched her shoulder, "I've known you forever, we were in the same group as Genin's for crying out loud, but your not taking this mission away from my pupils." She stood there arms crossed listening to her reasons for why she needed the mission. But she knew damn well what she did the last night to stop her from getting any good missions for her kids, she probably sat at the pub drinking her coins away and before she realized it she had a bad hangover and overslept.

Kishara tied her black hair up into a tight ponytail and shook her head, "Look, I like what you're doing with Hero boy, beast girl, and shy kid or whatever you call them. They're a bunch of good kids and with you they're only going to get better. But my kids have a future too. A future i'm not ruining because you want me to do you a favor," Then she chuckled lightly and shook her head, "Plus, what're you going to do for me? Make me some of your food and possibly kill me? You're going to have to look somewhere else Ritsuko. Sorry," Kishara winked then walked off, hoping she wouldn't follow.

 

[Kattekerma]

Hyosuke had only just sat down when his phone started ringing. It wasn't new, but it wasn't completely old either. He flipped it open, answering the phone. "Maiko? Oh, yeah, I'm coming." He said after a beat. A few more words and the two hung up. He looked down at Chiko, clicking his tongue and heading towards the river. He didn't know how late Ritsuko-sensei would be--probably a few hours after their normal meeting time. Which always gave Hyosuke's parents an excuse to work him even more than normal. He was getting stronger, yeah, but not in the way he wanted. Sure, his healing techniques were getting stronger, but Hyosuke needed something that was his and his alone. He didn't have speed and super cool jutsu like Marako and he didn't have that gourd water magic like Maiko. All he had was healing.

Hyosuke walked towards the river, eventually spotting the two, he waved, running over as he did so. "Hey," He greeted with a smile. He looked between the two, it seemed as though they had been training. Usually, he'd frown but today was different. "Sensei said she had something for us," He started, "You guys know what it is?" It couldn't have been a mission... could it? They weren't ready for one in his opinion--scratch that, he didn't think he was ready. Marako and Maiko were good. Marako could hold his own against Maiko easily while Hyosuke still struggled. Maybe he should take up long-range combat instead? Maybe a weapon? But that would require more training--actually, maybe that's what he would do. Maybe he would get a weapon and see how well he did with that.

--

Ritsuko nearly cried at Kishara's words. Eventually she frowned and stopped following Kishara. "I understand..." That didn't make her happy about the predicament though. She really needed to stop drinking. But how could she? It was a great past-time! Ritsuko shook her head. Now she would have to devise a plan to make sure the kids didn't find out about her blunder. Which was pretty bad. "Damn..." She ran a hand through her short hair and turned, walking in the opposite direction of Kishara. She'd get Kishara later. "Especially for that crack on my cooking!" Ritsuko angrily stomped into the mission room where the hokage sat, talking with a few advisors in front of another team.

"Old man!" Ritsuko slammed the door open. The team of children standing in front of the hokage and advisors jumped when she opened the door. Ritsuko stepped in, her hand leaving the door as it fell off the hinges but stayed indented in the wall. The hokage sighed. Now he was going to have to buy a new door.

"That's out of your paycheck, Ritsuko-kun." The hokage said, frowning. "Now what is it you need? I'm busy."

"I don't care," Ritsuko responded as she walked up to the desk. "I, um..." She came closer, squatting in front of the desk with her hands on the edge. "I need a favor."

"No."

"You haven't even heard what it is!" Ritsuko whined, standing up and slamming her fists on the desk. Luckily this desk was made with stronger material than the door. The team of genin and their sensei watched Ritsuko, the team almost surprised while the sensei appeared agitated by Ritsuko's behavior.

"Akera-san!" Komine-sensei stepped forward, pulling the woman back, "How dare you talk to the hokage like that?" Ritsuko looked back, rolling her eyes upon seeing who it was.

"...oh," Ritsuko deadpanned, "It's you, Ahomine."

"It's Komine!" The man snapped, a vein popping into view on his head. Ritsuko scratched her cheek, looking away from him.

"Whatever," Ritsuko crossed her arms, "I don't have time to mess around with you, Shohomine." Ritsuko turned away from him to look back at the hokage. "Gimme a bangin-ass mission worthy of my students, old man! You're not deaf yet, I know you can hear my request!" Ritsuko demanded, slamming her hands down on the table. The hokage rolled his eyes and picked up a scroll, handing it to her. She gave him a straight-faced look, frowning. "You didn't even look at it. That's a shitty mission, isn't it?"

"It's what left for the sensei who shows up two hours after her scheduled time and in showing up," He glances past her, "Breaks my fuckin' door." The students and advisors were surprised at the fact that the hokage just... cursed. They'd never heard the man utter such a word. One advisor gasped. Ritsuko rolled her eyes. This man had the mouth of a sailor.

Ristuko rolled her eyes, "C'mon, it's a door. Not like it's that priceless porcelain dog statue you were so obsessed with that me and my team broke when we were genin." Ritsuko turned to look at Komine's students, "Yeah, this guy got me good for that," She rolled up her sleeve to expose the long scar on her arm, "Pretty bad." She shook her head and let her sleeve drop. "C'mon, give me a better one. I know you wanna."

"What did I tell you all those years ago?" The hokage stroked his chin. Ritsuko sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Any mission's a good mission if you take the opportunity..." She recited, snatching the scroll from him. She broke the seal, reading the contents before shrugging. "Maybe I can lie or something. Don't give Shishimine a good mission either." Ritsuko eyed the man before walking out. "Damn old man, always giving me the short end of the stick..."

"Ritsuko, bring me my candy, you don't deserve it!" He called after her.

"I can't hear you, I'm helping today's youth with the great opportunity!" Ritsuko countered, running down the hall The hokage sighed, waving a hand to his two advisors.

"Can you get someone to fix that door?" He then looked back to Komine, "So, Nyanmine-sensei." Komine's three students looked up at him. Was every adult going to call him anything but his name?

 

[Ultra Paradox]

Maiko sat on the floor in her crop top she usually wore whenever she went out training. It was cut off when it reached her waist and instead of the sleeves being cut off they were long down to her wrists. She was dossing herself off with some water from the gorge, sweat sliding down her abs as she waved over Hyosuke. Marako on the other hand seemed to have lost that sparring match, he was bruised against her cheek and had scratches on his legs. He sat there still breathing heavily as he drank water out of his water bottle.

He wiped the sweat from his eyes and smiled when he saw Hyosuke, "Hey! Hyo, we need some of your magical healing." He told him and looked over Maiko, a playful look of fear in his eyes. When Hyosuke asked why he took such a beating today out of all days he answered by saying," I accidently punched her in a touch area, let's just say that."

Maiko narrowed her eyes at him when he made the comment before cracking a smile, she stood up from the ground and rubbed chiko's little head, "It would be best to heal him up now, before Ritsuko Sensei arrives." She told Hyosuke as she continued to work on bending the water in the ways she wanted. She lifted water up in the air and formed its appearance into an icicle before launching it at a tree. It was right through the tree trunk, cutting a perfect circle directly through. "Hyosuke, would you like to spar with me one day?"

Marako grunted when she asked Hyosuke that question. Today he wasn't in his fighting clothes, he wore his daily shorts and just a t-shirt that was probably a size too big for him. "Don't listen to her, she doesn't know what light sparring is." He told him, rolling his eyes,"You would be better off sparring with me." Little did the kids know they were talking about sparring with Ritsuko Sensei sitting in a tree right besides them, watching them.

"Oh shit," Maiko mumbled and turned around, it took her longer than usual to sense Ritsuko's power nearby. She blushed and sighed. Marako already knew they were caught, but Ritsuko seemed to have a weird expression on her face. She didn't seem to be worried about them sparring, more so as to what she was holding in her hand. It was a scroll, but Marako wondered what was in it.

 

[Kattekerma]

"That's just like you." Hyosuke comments, shaking his head at Marako's explanation. At least Hyosuke was cautious about certain things, especially when it came to the temperamental Maiko. Hyosuke sighed, pulling his sling bag off of his back. "You guys need to be more careful. While it's good practice, Ritsuko-sensei is gonna find out, if she doesn't already know..." He unzipped the bag, digging through it for the correct supplies. Once he found them, he looked up staring at Maiko once she asked if he'd like to spar with her. He wasn't surprised at her being able to cut trees in half, he'd seen the technique a few times since she started developing it and by now he wasn't at all surprised. Maybe in awe at how her control had improved, but he was used to the attack by now.

Hyosuke laughed, "I didn't know I was such a hot commodity." He hardly sparred with the two outside of regular training--mostly because his parents didn't want to lose their best farmhand, but he would have to put that second. "Sure--to both of you." He agreed, unconsciously giving the two a dazzling smiling. What a charmer, this kid. It was almost immediately afterward that he felt Ritsuko's presence.

"I see my kids like to disobey authority." She jumped from the tree, shaking her head, "Haa, what did I expect?" She crossed her arms, "Me and my team were the same way, of course... disobeying all the time will lead you to being someone's lackeys... well," She looked away, "In my personal experience anyway..." She clapped her hands, holding up the scroll. "Well! Have I got something for you kids!" She walked forward, stopping just short of Hyosuke and Marako. "First," She waved her hand, a large gust of wind billowing past her and knocking Marako into the river. "You're atrocious at hiding the fact that you've been sparring. Maiko and Hyosuke are much better, granted, Hyosuke hasn't sparred with you outside of training but... at least Maiko has the decency to conserve her energy."

Hyosuke stood up, helping Marako out of the river as he tried his hardest not to laugh at the boy. Once Marako was out, the two stood in front of their sensei. "Pack yourselves an overnight bag cause we're goin' on a mission!" She held out the scroll labeled with a strange mark. Hyosuke'd never seen it before, but it looked pretty important.

"Wait," Hyosuke paused, "A mission?!" He stared at Ritsuko in shock. The woman nodded, smiling widely.

"Yeah, we'll be heading to Takakumo, it's just a few hours' travel by foot from here." Ritsuko replied, "This is a super-secret mission, so you can't tell a soul. And I can't tell you what it entails until we get there. So," Ritsuko clapped her hands once more, "We'll have training like normal and we'll leave tomorrow morning at dawn, hm?"

 

[Ultra Paradox]

Marako quickly splashed around in water before poking his head out, he was blushing slightly. "Why must you always embarrass me sensei," He joked sitting up in the water. Hyosuke ran over and helped him out of the tributary, he was able to distinguish that look on his face, he was ready to burst into laughter. Marako ignored it and got out of the water with his happy, quickly getting out of the water to dry off.

Maiko didn't bother to continue the conversation about disobeying orders, she was far more engrossed by the idea of finally having a mission to do. But she knew something seemed fishy when she started to mention how it was all a secret mission. Maiko put her hands on her hips, her toned abs glistened slightly in the sun, she was definitely in the best shape she's ever been in her young life. "Super secret huh?"

Maiko crossed her arms and sighed, she had a feeling something was wrong with that mission of hers. "You sure you can't tell us about it now?" She asked and Marako nodded agreeing with Maiko. If the mission was so important at a Genin level what exactly could it be. A druglord? Maybe a bandit king? It must be something exciting like that!

Chiko chittered a bit as he ran towards Maiko's shoulders. He observed the scroll, trying to sniff at the air to get the slightest hint of what it could be. But he still couldn't get any idea for what it was. Maiko looked over at Marako, trying to see if he was suspicious too. But the boy was more so excited than suspicious.

 

[Kattekerma]

Ritsuko started to sweat. She assumed the idea of a mission would blind the three from trying to find out what it was. But apparently Maiko--and subsequently Hyosuke--were much smarter than that. At least one was under the spell of a mission. "Uh.. yeah?" She then said, "Maiko, it's a super-secret mission. I wouldn't use those words if it wasn't."

"Somehow, I doubt that..." Hyosuke mumbled, scratching his cheek. He just didn't think that this mission was all that important as Ritsuko was saying it was. She seemed like the type to make something up. "Takakumo is a small farming village. What could possibly be so important there?" Hyosuke only knew of the small village--it was only so big and had recently been put on the maps--because he had family there. Often times he was sent over there to gather supplies with his younger siblings. It wouldn't be much more than an hour to an hour and a half's walk for him since he knew the path like the back of his hand. "It's over the mountains and the terrain in the mountains changes often. Tomorrow's Wednesday so we should take the west path. The east's path has wild animals roaming and boulders often fall on Wednesday."

"It's a super important mission!" Ritsuko winked, "Takaukumo's gotten bigger, y'know." Ritsuko said as if that would help, "But it seems like you know alot about Takakumo and the mountains, Shijima." Hyosuke only looked away, rubbing the back of his head. "Okay then," Ritsuko's eyes shined at a sudden idea, "We should do something fun while we're getting there. It'll count as training too!"

Hyosuke suddenly felt scared. Anything that had to do with Ritsuko and a mountain certainly wasn't good.

 

[Ultra Paradox]

"Training and a mission! Hell yeah! I'll go pack my bags right away!" Marako ran over to his bag and picked it up, slumping it over his shoulders. The excited boy jumped up and down, his snow white hair hobbled behind him as he waved at the group. He ran off home, his irrational thinking was his downfall. He never thought things through, it wasn't that he was dumb, he just never took a second to think about something someone was telling him.

Maiko watched him run down the dirt path leading towards the village before turning her attention back to her Sensei. She gave her a very doubtful look and tapped her foot against the ground, "Look, I'm not a fan of staying here doing nothing. But a mission that takes place in a farming village doesn't sound too super secret to me," She turned around and squatted over her bag and pulled out an energy bar she bought every morning at a store nearby the orphanage.

She split the bar with Hyosuke,"Share with Chiko," she told him before turning her attention back to her. "We're not really as dull as Marako is, you realize that right?" Chiko hopped down and picked at his fur. He rushed over towards Ritsuko sensei and looked up at the scroll trying to get a sniff at it. When he did his ear twitched and he ran back over to Hyosuke. Chiko could tell she was lying about it too, which shows that his skills were becoming much greater. "But maybe this fun training along the way will make up for it. What exactly will we be doing actually?"

 

[Kattekerma]

"Hahaha!" Ritsuko rubbed the back of her head. Her laughter sounded fake. If it wasn't obvious before, it was completely obvious now, "I don't know what you're talking about, Maiko. It's a super secret mission. Ya know. The best of the best that all genin go through. Rite of passage and all that." She crossed her arms, sticking out her tongue at the girl. "Fishing villages can be fun! There's fish!" Hyosuke shook his head, taking the bar from Maiko with small thanks and practically giving most of it to Chiko. The lemur ate it up, snatching the last bit from Hyosuke just as he was about to toss it into his mouth. He frowned, shaking his head at the lemur.

"You're going to get fat, you had breakfast already." Hyosuke scolded the lemur who didn't really seem to care, "But Maiko is right, sensei." He looked a the girl, "I mean, Takakumo isn't exactly a place where big things happen. Marako's going to get a wake up call once we get there, though." It had to be something easy like farming or helping someone with something. It couldn't be taking down a bandit king or something. Nothing really good. Hyosuke's hopes weren't exactly dashed. They'd be going on a mission. And that meant pay. And pay meant he could finally buy all of the supplies he needed. A goofy smile overtook his face. Being prepared, wasn't that such a dream?

Ritsuko watched Hyosuke for a moment before the boy snapped out of it and blushing harshly. She coughed, looking away from him, "Anyway, since Marako was too quick to stay, I guess you'll get a bit of a heads up." Ritsuko put her hands on her hips, "We're gonna walk up the mountain."

"What?" Hyosuke asked, confused. "Aren't we going up the mountain anyway?"

"No, you don't understand." Ritsuko said, "We're walking up the mountain."

 

[Ultra Paradox]

Maiko smiled softly and a small laugh escaped her lips, "She means we're going to have to focus chakra onto her feet and then walk up the mountain." Maiko always was very knowledgable when it came to jutsus and fighting, shows you how serious she was when it came to being a Ninja. Then she laughed even louder,"H-Hey Hyosuke! Isn't Marako scared of heights! Oh god sensei, you're really going to disappoint our poor hero." She said that while laughing at her Sensei, I guess she could consider this a little bit of payback for sticking her tongue out at Maiko.

The lumer licked his lips after eating the bar, enjoying every second of the chocolate as it melted in his mouth. He flicked his tail and grabbed his stomach, looking down at the bulge. Maybe he was getting a little fat, but he didn't care much. He quickly squeaked and saw Marako who seemed to be back with a stuff full of items,a book in his hands, and his mask on his face. He walked calmly, reading his book through the eye holes in that dumb tiki mask of his.

He got the mask for his birthday after around two years of being trained by his father, his dad told him he won that for never giving up when it came to being a ninja. It was just a crappy excuse for getting him a cheap present since his family didn't have money, but he still loved it more than anything else they've ever gotten him. This was two years before the big event that made him the village "hero".

-Flashback-

"Just give me the money and none of you will get hurt!" The bandit held out a cleaver, pointing it at the flower shop owner. He was wearing a black ski mask and he grabbed a bunch of money out of the cashier's hand. He rushed out the door and pushed through the crowds of people, there were no police around and Marako was one of the people in the crowd he shoved through.

Nobody wanted to help so he quickly slipped his mask on and followed the man. The man rushed into an double ended alley way and Marako quickly stopped him by sweeping his leg out from under him. The man fell on his back, a groan escaping his lips. "What the hell...a kid?"

Those were the only words he was able to let out because Marako's fist came down and slammed into his face. It knocked the untrained man unconscious. Later at the scene the police found him there standing besides the unconscious man, thus, the hero was born.

-Flashback End-

"I'm ready for the mission sensei!" He yelled out, waving at them all, he stuffed his book into his bag and ran up to the group. This time he was dressed in his ninja gear.

 

[Kattekerma]

"That's exactly right, Maiko." Ritsuko said, smiling at the girl. "We're going to walk on every available surface on that mountain until you can do it in your sleep." Hyosuke opened his mouth only for Ritsuko to cut him off, "And I mean that quite literally." Hyosuke tried not to laugh at Maiko's words, "Oh shit," Ritsuko looked lost for a moment in realization. "I forgot the kid doesn't like heights." She shook her head, "It's a shame, really. Ninja do all this jumping around and climbing things and what not. How can you be afraid of heights as a ninja."

"What's more is that he didn't even listen." Hyosuke shrugged, "You said we were leaving tomorrow but he went to pack and bring his stuff today." THe three looked back just as Marako arrived, Ritsuko sighing as she put a hand on her head. Jeez, this kid was a disaster. Hyosuke laughed lightly. "Marako," He said, "You do know we're leaving tomorrow morning, right?" He didn't want to burst the boy's bubble, but...

"And why are you wearing that mask?" Ritsuko asked, "It's daytime and we already know who you are." She didn't necessarily care what he was wearing--since she'd seen some ninja with much stranger clothes than this, but it was impractical at the moment. She walked over, smacking him on the back of the head with enough force to make him stumble. "You need to listen too, kid. Hyosuke's right. I said training today and more training as well as the mission tomorrow." She shook her head, "Well, let's begin our training for the day. Yesterday we were working Chakra control. It's very important for the training we're doing tomorrow, so you all need to get it down. You might know jutsu, but clearly they're not strong. You wanna be able to do something like," Ritsuko backed up, forming quick hands signs and breathing in, "Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!" She let loose a large breath of flame up in the direction of a nearby tree. When she finished, the tree was completely charred.

"Right now, Marako's fire jutsu can only leave scorch marks and severe burns. That's because you don't have much control. Maiko's water and ice jutsu as well as your earth jutsu, Hyosuke, can only do so much aright now." Hyosuke stared in awe at his sensei. "Chakra control can give you the strength to do that. And we'll be doing breathing today. So, let's stretch and meditate."

 

[Ultra Paradox]

Maiko smirked as Marako was hit in the back of the head and he took his mask off. "Ow," He murmured rubbing the back of his head where a small bump started to form up. He stuffed his mask into his bag, not liking how it always seemed like Ritsuko was out to get him. He blushed knowing how much of a fool he made out of his self, once again, not thinking got him absolutely humiliated. He uttered something as he stared at Maiko and Hyosuke before lining himself alongside them. He dropped his backpack to the side and got ready to listen to his sensei's teachings.

Maiko stood in awe at her Sensei's jutsu, it was astonishing how she could control her chakra with such tenacity. The way the fire danced in the humid air of this summer morning and charred the tree, it was just an amazing sight for her.She did a slow clap liking what she saw but Marako still had his cheeks puffed out in anger. He knew the trick was impressive, but he wasn't going to admit it, not with the way she just embarrassed himself.

Chiko stood up on his two hind legs and clapped wildly with his small hands, he chittered happily and his tail flicked back and forth. Then Maiko stopped clapping and listened closely to her lessons. "Meditate? I'm not good at sitting around without moving much..." She mumbled.

"Then you'll have to learn." Marako mumbled and Maiko growled she narrowed her eyes at him, he could feel her eyes, just picking which spot on his body she wanted to punch. But he ignored her, not in the mood to deal with her. They all took the same steps when it came to stretching, first arms side to side, then legs left/right/ then center, and then the neck along with the back. After the stretches they looked over at Ritsuko sensei to lead them with the meditation.

Throughout the warming up session Maiko couldn't help but think about this mission. Sure, climbing up a mountain was going to be fun and all, maybe a little easy but what exactly were they going to do? She better not be on a mission where she was going to be forced to help farm because she would really lose her cool. Pass the ninja academy, become a genin, and then help farmers. No, it better be something worth her time.

 

[Kattekerma]

Ritsuko bowed before her students. Ah, praise was always a good thing. Hyosuke stopped clapping after the woman bowed, chuckling at her antics. It was then that Ritsuko got serious for a moment. "Marako's right, Maiko." Ritsuko said, holding up a finger, "Not every aspect of being a ninja is awesome and getting to beat people up." Ritsuko glanced at Marako's bag for a moment before she sat down. Hyosuke followed suit, crossing his legs as he sat down. Chiko sat next to him, curling his tail around his body. No doubt Chiko would fall asleep while they were doing this.

Meditation was easy for him. He did it all the time, to be honest and it certainly helped when he had to deal with his family. Ritsuko watched them for a moment, Hyosuke could see the look on her face, she was formulating an idea. He really didn't want to know what it was, but he had a feeling that he would find out soon enough. "Start breathing, three in and three out. Deep breaths." Hyosuke slowed his breathing, allowing the chakra to flow freely throughout his body.

--

Once the training was over and Ritsuko was satisfied with their results, she smiled, clapping her hands. "Alright, kids!" She pulled Marako back, wrapping her arm around his shoulder and reaching over to grab Hyosuke, "I'll see you all tomorrow for our super special awesome mission!" She sang, smiling at the three students. Hyosuke only smiled softly, looking over at Marako. He felt bad for the boy, he was obviously ready to go on the mission today, and he missed the most important part. Ritsuko never said that they couldn't tell him, but it didn't seem like they were going to. Ritsuko let go, yawning loudly. "I'm gonna see if I can get Kishara and Hyomine to buy me lunch."

Hyosuke looked to his two teammates, his stomach rumbling. He hadn't had much to eat that morning and was getting hungry. "I think I'm going to go eat something too."

 

[Ultra Paradox]

Marako smiled as she held onto him, a blush rushed all over his face, staining his cheeks with a light pink color. He was excited for the mission, thinking it was all she said it would be. But Maiko, the only one not being pulled into this group hug was still on the floor. Everybody did a good job today, but out of all them, Maiko enjoyed it the less. She tried making eye contact with Hyosuke, wondering if they should tell Marako, but she just shook her head and thought that maybe it would be funny for him to find out on his own. "I can't wait for tomorrow," Marako told his sensei in a cheerful voice, still blushing until she let go of them.

Chiko was sitting on the top of Hyosuke's head now, and he chittered a thing or two into his ear. It was clear to Hyosuke his lemur was rather hungry too, even after stuffing his face earlier that morning. Even though he might be scolded for what he did earlier, Maiko couldn't help but find it adorable. "Now that you mention it," Maiko mumbled under her breath before speaking up, "I'm kind hungry too. But I need a shower, bad." The girl was still dripping of sweat from earlier and her smell wasn't too womanly. But since when was Maiko the type of girl who cared about her looks or smell? As far as the boys could tell, she just cared about training and eating.

They all waved their sensei goodbye as she went off to go bother her friends for some lunch, now it was just the three of them. Marako picked his bookbag off the ground and looked at the other two, a wide smile began to form on his lips as he started talking, "Maybe after Maiko takes a shower, we could all get lunch together?" Maiko still didn't consider the two as friends, but they were her teammates. Plus, free lunch for her sounds like it's worth it. She nodded and stood up, they all started to follow the trail back to the village enjoying small talk along the way. Marako's house was the closest to the gate, so he would be the first one gone.

"Give me a call when you guys are ready," He waved them off as he closed the door to his house. Maiko looked over at Hyosuke and gave him a gentle smile, "We're not going to tell him, huh?"

 

[Kattekerma]

As the two waved at Marako, Hyosuke turned to look at Maiko. He had a long way to go to get home, since his house was closer to the south gate. Hyosuke laughed at Maiko's words, "Guess not." Hyosuke shrugged. "He'll find out soon enough. I feel bad though," Hyosuke reached up to scratch Chiko, "Guy's afraid of heights and this mission isn't going to be at all what he wants it to be." It was bad, really. Marako was going to be made a fool of during this mission, Hyosuke was sure of it. "We shouldn't laugh at him or anything like that." Hyosuke knew that it would probably be hard since pretty much everything Marako did was pretty funny (even if he didn't mean it). He looked towards Maiko again, smiling once more. "Well, my house is closer to the south gate, so I'm gonna go this way," He pointed straight ahead. "I'll see you later, Maiko."

With that, Chiko chittered at Maiko happily before he and Hyosuke left, running down the path and taking a sharp left turn.

--

The next morning the sun wasn't even out when Hyosuke and Chiko were leaving the house. Hyosuke yawned, packing up the food his mother had given him for the mission. There were at least a few extras here, Hyosuke was sure. "Mom?" He turned, looking at the aging woman. She smiled, tying her apron around her waist. "It's like," Hyosuke glanced at the clock, "Four in the morning? Are you always up this early?"

"Oh!" The woman's voice was loud enough to wake up the entire house, but he knew it wouldn't. Despite all things, the Yamanoue were known for their ability to pretty much sleep through any and every loud sound or harsh attack. The only way to wake them up was by the gentlest of touches or quietest of sounds, which was strange. "Your first mission! I remember when you were a little baby!" The woman always overexaggerated on things like this. Hyosuke sighed, holding a hand to his head.

"What's with all this food, mom?" Hyosuke instead decided to ask. "I mean, we're only going to be gone for the day."

"Yeah," She replied, stepping into the kitchen and tying the bag, "But you've got three--" Chiko chittered, "Four hungry teammates to deal with! We have more than enough. It's mostly leftovers you can heat over a fire." Seika took Hyosuke's bag from him, unzipping it and pulling out all the contents. "You've got more supplies in here than anything! What do you stick in that medical pouch of yours?"

"Ninja stars." Hyosuke replied easily. Seika's head whipped around to look at him with wide eyes.

"No! No!" She dropped the bagm dissappearing into the hallway. Hyosuke looked at the mess the woman made before sighing. SHe was going to make him late. Soon after, Seika returned with another bag. "Strap this to your leg, it's for kunai and the like. Bundle these supplies up and put them in the pouch. The lunches and your clothes can go in the bag too." Seika ordered. Hyosuke frowned, doing as he was told until everything was neatly packed away. "Jeez, Suke-chan."

"Mom, don't call me that. I'm too old." Hyosuke whined. Seika snickered, pinching his cheek.

"You'll always be my little bubble boy!" He groaned at the nicknamed. "Now let's go!"

"Go?" Hyosuke paused, "What do you mean 'let's?"

"Well, duh," Seika laughed as if it was obvious. "I'm coming to meet your teammates and sensei!" Seika clapped her hands, "That Maiko girl sounds like a tough cookie. Your sensei sounds fun and that other kid--Moroccan?"

"Marako." Hyosuke corrected. He cast a glance at Chiko who didn't seem to even mind.

"Yes! He sounds like a very nice boy. Town hero, y'know?" Seika wagged her finger. "Oooh! Let me get my camera! This one's going in the scrapbook!" Hyosuke groaned. This was getting off to a great start. Seika returned soon after, holding up the camera with a smile. "Let's go Suke-chan!" Hyosuke sighed.

"Please don't call me Suke-chan or... bubble boy in front of my teammates, please."

"No promises!" Seika sang. Hyosuke frowned. Yeah, great start.

--

On the very rarest of occasions, Ritsuko could in fact get up on time. She sat perched on the desks by the front gate, chatting amiably with the two shinobi guards stationed there. They weren't in her group of genin--a year below her--but she knew them pretty well and they often held the key to a lot of gossip. And luckily, they were always willing to share. Ritsuko, too, had gossip to share, but often times Kishara and Kyamine just weren't the people to share it with. They were kinda boring. Sticks in the mud. Especially Shomine. He didn't seem to know when to take a joke. She was lucky that he was only in her genin group and not on her team. She wouldn't have been able to deal with him if he had been.

But that was in the past and currently, Ritsuko waited for her students to arrive so that they could go on their very first (and subsequently very disappointing) mission. She almost felt bad, but then again, her first mission was painting someone's house, so honestly, you can't always start with the best of the best, that was for sure. These kids needed to learnt that they had to earn their worth. Earn their missions (and maybe Ritsuko would contemplate waking up earlier or getting a good mission for them the day before, which ever came first) and prove their worth.

 

[Ultra Paradox]

Maiko woke up "late" this morning, she usually woke up at five but decided to sleep in until six which is when she would have to meet up with her Sensei. The night before she packed all her things, all of the other kids in the orphanage watching her. Lately they haven't been saying anything about her, hearing how much stronger she got but there was one boy named Ilona who constantly teased her. Maiko picked her book bag up and tightened her Hitai-ate around her waist. As she stepped out of the room Ilona stood there, arms crossed a smirk on his face.

"Hey beast girl," He mumbled as she walked past him, trying to control her anger to the best of her abilities. But then he grabbed her arm and that was a wrong move. Her cheeks quickly glowed and she turned around and held him by the throat, tightening her grip. He started to make choking noises and was able to tell her something before she went too far, "Go ahead-" He gagged, "Kill me, they'll just fear you more." She had to think about it for a second and when she turned around she gasped when she saw all the other children and some caretakers watching her.

She quickly let go of him and rushed towards the front door, nobody said anything, it was completely silent as she sprinted out the front door. She didn't look back, she just ran towards the meeting site, there was no way she was going to tell anybody about this. She couldn't, even though she may suffer some consequences when she returned tomorrow. "Damn it Maiko..." She told herself, holding behind some tears.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marako grabbed a sandwich out of the fridge that his mother left the day before, it looks like both of them were off at work already. He wasn't surprised, they always did work hard for what they needed, that's why they wished that Marako would one day become a big ninja. So that he could help them live their life without them having to spend another penny, that was a lot of pressure on the young boy. But as always, he was ready to take it on head first.

He stepped out of the house, his bag slumped over his shoulder, and he took a big bite out of his sandwich. His house was right besides the North gate so he was the first one that met with his Sensei, but before he could even say a word Maiko ran over besides them. "Wow, that was fast..." Marako whispered realizing she lived the farthest.

She was breathing heavily, but not because she was tired, something was wrong. "Well, I run every day," She laughed nervously and tried to calm her breathing down.