Naruto: Shadow of the Beast

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If Koriyama was pissed, he certainly did well with not showing it. This boy was infuriating. Of course Koriyama wouldn't kill him right now. His master hadn't given him the order to, but it wasn't like Koriyama hadn't killed before. He was strong, strong enough to take on this boy and he'd killed before. Animals, people. It all blended together now and Koriyama had lost count of how many innocent's blood stained his hands. He didn't care anymore. He was nothing short of a killing machine all thanks to his master, the man he looked up to and the only one he had a debt to. For his sister. Koriyama didn't bother with a response to Marako as they continued walking through the forest. He had a task to complete and Koriyama absolutely hated lose ends.

Things were going a little too smoothly for Koriyama's liking, however. The boy was plotting something. He could tell. He'd been too quiet on their way to the village and as they drew nearer, Koriyama could feel that something was going to happen. Heterochromatic eyes bore into Marako's form as the boy looks down on the ground, a hint of a smile on his face. Koriyama raises an eyebrow as he stares at Marako for a minute before the words, "Something funny?" leave his mouth. The two thugs looked over at Koriyama, wondering if the boy was talking to them, but his gaze never left Marako. This confirmed it. The boy was plotting something. Now Koriyama just had to figure out what it was.
 
"Yeah," Marako glanced back at him a confident grin on his face,"Your fucking face." Then he used his leg to sweep those of the thugs and kicked Koriyama quickly. Knowing Koriyama he plausibly dodged it, but once his hands were away from the rope, or his grasp was weakened Marako sprinted off, he zig zagged between the trees sprinting as fast as he could to get through the tree lines. He glanced up and noticed Chiko pouncing from branch to branch, keeping up with him. After a few minutes of running he jumped up into a tree where Chiko was and showed him the rope, "Hey, Chiko, I know this may be a very unlikely question here, and I'm not really sure if you understand me. But do you have anything to break me free buddy?"

Chiko chittered and Marako heard a snap of twigs nearby. Marako looked at him worried, "Please Chiko, come on buddy!" He whispered fear in his voice. Chiko chittered again and took hold of the rope, gnawing at it with his sharp teeth. It slowly started to rip then he heard the sounds of footsteps. He glanced down and noticed one of the thugs were able to catch up. It was a tall and skinny man, with a few strains of hair left on his white and balding head. "Come out ere' little feller'," He reached into his back pocket for a knife, "We ain't gon' hurt you buddy," His accent was thick. Marako knew off the bat that this man wasn't that smart.

Another man ran up besides him, he was stout and definitely out of breath. But his intonation was a lot smoother and sounded much more intelligent in manner, "Did you find him? Where in blue hell did he go?"

Finally the rope snapped and he smirked, he stood up and Chiko climbed up to his shoulder. "Hey, you imbeciles!"

They both looked up, stunned, the fat one was surprised that he broke free and the other one was wondering why he had a lemur on his shoulder. He began to form signs with his hands and jumped as high as he can, "Fire Release: Scorching Earth Jutsu!" A ball began to form in his hand and he released it down onto the men who screamed in pain when it hit them. The impact was powerful but it was a very short radius since that was the first time he used it. It took a lot of chakra out of him, adding up to the amount of chakra drained with the rope as well. He jumped down on the scorched floor, the grass burned and so did trees. He looked away from the corpses of the two men , the once white skin was now pink, mushy, and burnt in a matter of minutes. But what he saw next was almost just as terrifying. That boy was walking towards him, very calm, very slow. "Are you serious dude? Just walk away, unless you want to end up like your friends!" He shouted hoping it would scare him off, and held his fists up, but shook viciously. He wasn't good at sensing chakra, but Koriyama's was so high it scared him. Even Chiko shook and jumped into Marako's shirt in fear, only furtively peeking his eyes out and his ears flopped down in defeat.
 
Koriyama had anticipated it. The insult made him narrow his eyes, but he jumped out of the way of the boy's kick, watching as the guards when down wiht little fight. He shook his head. His master was right: never send a thug to do a ninja's job. As the boy took off into the forest, Koriyama was rather close behind him. In the moment he took to look back at the thugs, he'd lost sight of him, but white was a rare color in the forest and it wouldn't take Koriyama long to find him. He sprinted through the forest, his heterochromatic eyes scanning the area for the white hair. He spotted the boy, aiming a warning kunai at him as he came closer, spotting a small animal gnawing through the rope. He skidded to a halt, walking as two more thugs approached the boy. Koriyama waited it out, if the boy went against them first, Koriyama could gauge his skills and see which jutsu would best combat the boy.

Koriyama didn't even need to defend against the weak jutsu. He walked towards the boy and his small animal friend slowly, menacingly as ifhe was hunting prey--mostly because he was. At the half-threat the boy gave, Koriyama chuckled, "I don't have friends here." Koriyama answered, "So I think I'll be fine." He didn't form any hand signs but leaned forward and seemingly teleported. Koriyama appeared behind Marako and aimed a chakra-strengthened kick at the boy, he was so fast, not giving Marako any time to dodge. The boy went flying into a nearby tree, the crash of the whole thing coming down shaking the ground. "Yeah, I think I'll be just fine... but ah, I shouldn't damage the bait so much... or maybe..."

Maybe they'd be more willing to hand over the stronger members when they saw how badly they'd treated their teammate. Beating him within an inch of his life could persuade anyone to do anything. "Get up." Koriyama called out, "I know you're not that hurt." He walked towards him, guard half up.
 
Marako reached into his pouch and hauled out a kunai that he held horizontally, blade outward in a thwarting demeanor. It was to no use though, the leisurely strut ended almost immediately as the boy seemingly teleported somewhere. Marako's eyes broadened and the clutch on his kunai stiffened, he felt the boy's strong presence behind him, and before he could dive out of the way a kick viciously made impact with his spine. He went flying into a tree. There was a loud snap, his stomach made direct contact with the big oak that shook then fell over onto its side. While Marako groaned in pain, clutching his stomach, Chiko crawled out of his shirt and took flight. Koriyama threw a Kunai that almost grazed the small lemur on the tail. Chiko gasped in fear and began fluttering his wings promptly, he was going to go get help as fast as he could.

Marako hastily opened his eyes, his visions hazy at first and once he focused he noticed his mask resting out in front of him. The forest around him had a red tint due to the fire jutsu he used. The sound of burning trees and leaves surrounded them and he heard the boys voice. "Get up"

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The white haired boy growled in anger, his pride getting the better of him. He formed fists with his hands and pounded it against the ground in frustration. He grasped the mask and rolled opposite of Koriyama getting up, slightly crouched. He slipped the wooden mask on, it's bright white face besmirched by red pain and two horns almost made him feel like a whole other person entirely. It gave him even more of a confident boost, the hero of Konoha in the flesh. He tightened the Hitai-ate around his dark purple neck scarf. When he opened his eyes inside of the mask, it made his pupils emanate a haunting orange glow.

"What's your name?" Marako asked, his voice much more serious. Seems like he was done playing around and there was no longer fear in his voice. It was probably more confidence than it was power. "I'm Marako Arita, the future hero of Konoha! Remember the name." He pointed at the pale boy, suddenly a surge of chakra formed within Marako. Nothing Koriyama should worry about yet. But he definitely had potential to turn the tables in this fight.

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"Sensei..." Hyosuke was glaring out of the window while being seated in a chair, as Ritsuko tended to an unconscious Maiko who was slumped over on the couch. He pointed out into the forest somewhere, where black smoke filled the air, "Look!" Then he also noticed something very distant getting closer. It was Chiko, "Chiko?!". The tall boy jumped up onto his feet and ran out the door.

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Junzo sat on top of a green hilltop and then turned around noticing the smoke. He cocked an eyebrow and stood up to check on what it was, "Koriyama?" He mumbled to himself, "And that boy..." He thought deeply and growled, "Their so similar I could mistake them as brothers. Twins even. Slaughter him Koriyama, we can't allow him to ever get stronger." He told himself even though Koriyama couldn't hear him.
 
This looked to be an easy fight. Koriyama didn't want to underestimate the boy, but he also knew that he wasn't much to begin with, if he was so easily captured by these men. Still… he approached the boy with caution. He was still a ninja and no matter how untrained, Koriyama could still be in for some trouble if he allowed the boy to have any leeway. Even this, allowing him to stand on his own could be considered dangerous, but then again, Koriyama didn't like weak opponents and this boy might be strong, Koriyama would have to see. He was inwardly delighted when the boy stood, pushing away the broken tree to roll into a standing position, sizing up Koriyama from a distance. He had endurance. That was good.

Koriyama smirked despite himself, a little surprised by the sudden surge of confidence the boy got from hiding behind his mask, though his eyes were something sharp and burning. Koriyama didn't like the way they bore into him, but he wasn't one to back down from a challenge. "I guess you deserve to know who will bring your life close to its end." Koriyama began. "I am Koriyama Mamoru… a shadow descendant that will awaken the beast."

Koriyama felt something strange, as if his master was speaking to him. A wave crashed over him and he knew that he couldn't lose this fight. With that in mind, the two boys, for the very same reason, ran at each other, their fists colliding and creating a large shockwave of air that blew them both back as well as knocking branches off trees and small trees over. When both boys looked up, a small crater was in the earth where they had once met. This, however, didn't stop them as they ran forward towards each other, both only thinking one thing:

'I won't lose!' screamed their inner consciences. 'I can't lose!'
--

At Hyosuke's mention of Chiko and the boy running out of the house. Ritsuko looked around. "Maiko, stay here—er, you're unconscious, right yeah! Uh, Ayako! Watch her!" Ritsuko ran after her student, finding Hyosuke siting awkwardly on the ground with Chiko in his arms. "Chiko?" Ritsuko runs up to them, bending at the knees to lean over Hyosuke's shoulder. "Wasn't he with us this whole time?" She swore she'd seen the lemur around them somewhere.

"He was…" Hyosuke's eyes widen as he turns to look at Ritsuko. "He was with Marako!" Hyosuke fell onto his butt from the impact of the shockwave while Ritsuko looked up. "Ch-Chiko says that he's fighting a guy with weird eyes!" Chiko chitters a little more, wildly waving his tiny paws and Hyosuke nods, "He says when he left, Marako was slammed into a tree..."

Ritsuko didn't say anything about how Chiko left Marako behind, but by the way the little lemur was moving about, he knew his decision was the best one but it wasn't the one he wanted to make. Ritsuko nodded as Chiko chitter, pointing wildly. It was clear that he intended to go back. "Chiko, show me." Ritsuko urges the small animal. He chitters, hopping out of Hyosuke's arms and heading back towards Marako. "Tend to Maiko, we'll be back soon!"

'Weird eyes…' Ritsuko taps her chin, 'Who…?'
 
Both boys sent a powerful, chakra filled kick at one another, their feet colliding sending another shock wave through the thicket. They were frozen in that position for a while, Koriyama's red and blue eyes glistened and Marako's beady orange eyes having a battle of their own. They stood like that for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. It was a stare down. Then suddenly Marako sweeped his leg down trying to take Koriyama off his feet, the black haired boy jumped up and as he landed on his two feet Marako viciously threw multiple punches. Koriyama swiftly moved out of the way of every punch and lifted his knee, causing Marako to bend over in pain, gasping for air. Then he sent a punch aimed towards his jaw, causing him to fall down. Koriyama looked over the boy, who struggled to get himself up on both feet.

His legs shook, but he wasn't done yet. "Are you serious?" Koriyama growled and went to throw a punch but Marako took hold of the fist, surprising the boy with the strange eyes. He looked up at him, those evil eyes making contact with his again.

"It's a pleasure, Koriyama," Then he sent a punch towards him. Koriyama grasped it with the other hand and smirked.

"That isn't gonna work with-" Then Marako sent a vicious headbutt to his nose. Koriyama covered it and walked backwards, blood spilling out of it.

'Why didn't I see that coming? I'm going to kill him!' Koriyama thought to himself, but when he looked back up Marako sent an uppercut his way.

Koriyama flipped in the air but instead of falling down he caught himself and on his feet. The two boys stared at each other once more. Then went at it again, making contact with their fists, forming another shock wave.
 
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Koriyama had a bad habit of underestimating his opponents, even when he didn't want to. Maybe it was some kind of complex he'd developed as a result of training with his master, whom he deemed a perfect human being. His master was the only one that Koriyama looked up to, aside from God, the man they were trying to bring back. Koriyama didn't know much about him, but he knew that everything would be better once he was back. A great man returning after the evils of the world destroyed him. Koriyama wipes the blood from off of his mouth after their shockwave battle. They were evenly matched on occasion, it was almost astounding to Koriyama, and how this boy could match him so evenly. Was the mask some sort of power source? Because while he was mostly the same, there was definitely something different about him now.

Marako makes a move, eyes gleaming, he goes to form hand signs for a fire-release jutsu and Koriyama's eyes flash, his pupils spinning. Quicker than he'd ever moved, Koriyama slams Marako by hooking his arm around the other boy's neck. Marako coughs, hacking up blood as he's slammed down hard enough to form a crater. "I'm done playing around…" Koriyama tells him, "I shouldn't have underestimated you, I see that now. And so…" Koriyama slams his foot into Marako's gut, keeping him in place for a moment.

He removes his foot, picking the boy up and slamming him into a nearby tree. "It's time to end this."

--

There was something strange about this area. Ritsuko and Chiko hopped through the trees at a fast pace, the lemur being able to keep up with Ritsuko's pace with little trouble. The shockwave brought their attention forward once more. The two hurried, it was clear there was a turn of events. Marako was losing now and Ritsuko had to hurry.
 
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Marako's eyes broadened, he heard his spine crackle a little bit and his legs gave way as he was slammed into the ground. His vision grew fuzzy under the burning trees. He was looking up at the sky that had cleared, there wasn't any rain after the jutsu he used earlier to burn those goons alive. But hell, maybe it would've been fitting if there was. Ha...imagine that. The great Marako Arita, dying during a storm. What was he thinking? He was really accepting death. There's no way he could've died here.

The white haired boy was ready to jump up, but a sharp pain ensued as a stomp met his abdomen. He gasped for air, the kick he garnered was stark enough to leave him breathless. At this point the boy was sweating profoundly, breathing heavily, his lungs had a overpowering sensation of wanting and needing oxygen. Was he really going to die here? Koriyama grabbed Marako around the neck, lifting him up, then throwing the skinny boy towards a tree without much trouble. He had a serious glance in his eyes, wrapping his cold fingers around Marako's mask. He lifted it up and over his face, throwing it to the side.

"I'm done negotiating. Once I'm done with you, we'll just collect those villagers on our own. We will succeed with our cause. We will bring back the beast, and then we will bring back our god." Koriyama was talking, but he was speaking more to himself rather than directly to Marako.

"So, it ends here!" He began to form signs with his hands, at first starting slow then picking up speed. "Darkness Release: Death Bomb Jut-" There was a tight grasp on his wrist, made by hands much smaller than his. When he looked over he saw a blonde haired woman, short haired, and very tiny in size compared to him. Koriyama furrowed his eyebrows and tried yanking away his arm from her, but couldn't and she forced his hand upwards.

"That's enough," Koriyama scrutinized the lady, looking at what she wore then it hit him. This was a Konoha ninja, and not just a ninja, but a Sensei. The boy had to get away, he couldn't let her take him in, that would ruin their plans. His master would be disappointing. He had to fight, or at least make her think that he wanted to. Marako was looking between the two, finally regaining his breath and energy.

He slowly stood up on two feet and put most of his weight up against the tree he was thrown against, luckily for him it didn't catch fire like most of the other trees. But the fire was finally giving way. "It's over, Koriyama."

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Koriyama tried throwing a kick at Ritsuko but she grabbed his leg and redirected one of her own. The boy went rolling against the ground, but then when he jumped up he ran without a thought. Marako was aghast and in a fit of rage grabbed his mask and tried hurrying after him.

"Marako no!" Marako stopped and turned around, breathing heavily in anger, yet listening to his sensei. "Don't go after him. We need to get back to Konoha."

"Bu-"

"That's enough Marako. We're going to need to talk soon enough, you have some things to tell me about whoever this Koriyama boy is."

Marako looked back over to where he last saw Koriyama then at his sensei, he bowed his head. He weakly and unwillingly walked over to Ritsuko and she nodded at him as they began to walk at a slow pace back to the village.

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Hyosuke was resting on a mahogany chair, over watching the couch in which Maiko was still unconsciously resting. Then suddenly her hand slowly rose and she was reaching for something, anything. Hyosuke's eyes widened and he grabbed her hand with a smile, "Hey, it's alright I'm here."

Maiko slowly opened her eyes as she came to see Hyosuke's freckled face and dark purple eyes. Maiko's cheeks reddened quite a bit as her markings faintly glowed, "Hyo," She called him by some what of a nickname, "We did it." She smiled and started to laugh ,"We beat them."

"Yeah...we did," He smiled back at her. A few seconds went by of silence and them holding hands. But suddenly Maiko let go and cleared her voice as she sat up, the coloring of her cheeks faded, "Where's Ritsuko sensei?"

Ayako stepped in from the kitchen, she gave her a weak smile, "Your heroic sensei ran off into the woods, to get Marako wasn't it?"

Hyosuke nodded and glanced over at Maiko who just glanced out of the window from the couch she sat up on. 'Ritsuko Sensei...' The girl went into deep thought. Her sensei was really a hero, but what did she experience to get this strong. There must've been something. Everyone has a story. It was starting to dawn to her now, that even Ritsuko had her own.
 
Koriyama disappeared into the trees, cursing at how their plan was failing. He hadn't expected that sensei to come to rescue her students and Koriyama was so close to ending his life. Either way, the situation was bad--but maybe this was for the best. If the sensei hadn't shown up and Koriyama killed Marako, he would've envoked the wrath of the entirety of Konohagakure and he really didn't want them knowing about their plans--no matter how vaguely informed Koriyama himself was. There were things that you should and should not do and this, letting others who were not directly involved in on the plan would've been bad. At least, he thought as he stopped, resting against a tree and breathing in the smoke-tinted air of the burning trees, at least he wasn't dead and Marako hardly knew anything about him. He'd only told him his position. Marako knew nothing of what their goal was, he knew nothing of Koriyama aside from his name and Koriyama didn't belong to any villages, so it wasn't like they'd be able to find a record of him. He and his master were sercretive ninja, they only showed themselves when they had to.

Koriyama grunted, pressing a hand to the wound on his stomach. He needed to bandage these before he went up against his master... or maybe it was better to leave them as is. He knew that once his master was told what happened, Koriyama would be in for a beating. 'Discipline', his master called it, but a beating was what it was in its most basic form. Koriyama closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. It wouldn't do to alert that sensei if they were still trying to follow him. He stood once he deemed himself calm enough and retreated back to Arc's hideout in order to wait for his master. Maybe they had pain pills.

--

Ritsuko and Marako walked through the forest at a leisurely pace. Every single part of Marako screamed out in pain, but the boy kept walking. He felt a need to show his sensei that he was strong, but damn, it was hard just keeping silent. Every so often, a small grunt or whimper of pain would release itself from Marako's mouth and he was bleeding, he could tell by the wet slickness on his sides and rolling down his face. It wasn't enough to make him lose consciousness but he knew that would happen soon enough. Maybe Hyosuke could patch him up when they got back? Marako pressed a hand to his side, remembering how it felt to be underneath Koriyama. The boy was strong, he'd give him that. Marako clenched his blood-covered fist. If he ever saw Koriyama again--and he had a strong feeling he would--Marako would make the boy pay. In his mind, they were already rivals.

Chiko rested on top of Ritsuko's head, his adrenaline wearing down and he was tired, but not as tired as Marako. He felt bad, the boy needed to be carried and--"Woah!" Marako was surprised when Ritsuko picked him up. "Sensei I--!" Ritsuko smacked him, effectively knocking the boy out. She sighs, shaking her head and taking to the trees. It would've taken much longer to arrive at the village if she would've allowed Marako to keep on limping his way there.

"C'mon, Chiko." The small lemur hopped off of Ritsuko's head, keeping pace with her as the two raced towards the village. Marako was losing a lot of blood and he needed help, right away.

--

Ritsuko opened the door, making a big clatter that probably ruined the nice mood. Hyosuke stood up, approaching the two, not even bothering to ask what had happened to the boy, he only pointed towards the sink, "Ayako, get a bowl of hot water ready for me, please?" Ritsuko set the boy down onto the couch, Maiko having moved to make room for her injured teammate. Ayako placed the bowl on the small coffee table and readied a sheet underneath Marako. Ritsuko put the unconscious boy down and sighed, sitting down in the arm chair Hyosuke had occupied moments ago. "I wish I could be of more help to you, Hyosuke." Ritsuko told him as she watched the boy ready bandages. "But I'm not much of a medic... back on my three-man cell, I was the heavy-hitter so I don't know much on how to do that.."

"It's fine..." Hyosuke mumbled, only half paying attention. He discarded Marako's mask and weapons pack, tearing away what remained of the boy's shirt to look at the wounds. "He's been in a fight, mostly bruises though some are bad..." He turns Marako over slightly, feeling along his spine. "...Spine's undamaged luckily..." He grabs a cloth, dipping it in the bowl. "I'll do what I can for him here but we'll need to get to Konoha as soon as possible so they can check him out more seriously..."

Maiko watched in awe as Hyosuke worked while Ritsuko thought back to that boy. His eyes were odd and he seemed... She shook her head. There was hardly anything she could do now. She'd let the boy get away and they had more pressing matters to attend to now. The story of that boy would have to wait until Marako woke up. For now she had to stay attentive, the village could still be attacked at anytime.
 
Seconds turned to minutes, minutes turned into a half an hour. Ayako pressed her weight against the wall, watching Hyosuke working. He would submerge the rag in water,delicately messaging it against any cuts and open wounds. Then he would hover his hands over them, focusing chakra to speed up the healing process. The room was solemn and silent, unlike outside. The villagers were marching back and forth. Some of the men started rounding up all the unconscious thugs and tying them up, not allowing them to get away. It just turned into noon, hours of fighting have passed. This marked the groups second day outside of Konoha and stuck inside of Takakumo village.

Marako's skin was pale, his body was strong for a young boy, yet marginally scarred. Surely with the cuts he received, it would add a little bit to his "collection". His abs were solid, his arms were slightly muscular, and had a young chiseled chest. His ribs protruded a bit, proving he was a lot skinnier than assumed at first glance. Yet his breathing was steady when Hyosuke wasn't rubbing his wounds with water to clean the blood. Hyosuke was focused on Marako, his tan face didn't turn to look at anyone else, Marako was his top priority now.

Maiko sat on the large rug that was settled beneath the coffee table, the table, along with the chair seemed to be made by hand. Both were crafted by wood, more than likely mahogany. But hell, what did Maiko know? She hardly knew what she was going to have for breakfast tomorrow. In fact, she hasn't eaten since lunch yesterday. She looked over at Ayako who caught her eyes, Ayako had light brown eyes, and they were still filled of sadness. But the poor girl had no time to grieve over her father. As Maiko went to look away, her stomach growled and it made Ayako smile a little bit.

"Hungry?" She questioned the purple haired girl, a soft smile on her lips. Maiko looked up again, and redirected a smile her way, she nodded lightly. "I'll get you guys something to eat. I'm sure you're all...hungry." She turned around and stepped into the kitchen where she fumbled through the cabinets to make something.

The room persisted on being mumed, she abstained herself from speaking not trying to ruin the moment. Despite the ruffling in the kitchen, it was finally silent. It hasn't been silent since...well...forever. At least for her. There would always be someone at the Orphanage yelling, or playing, or making noise. Even when it was bed time, the kids would always whisper to each other until one person fell asleep. She surveyed the room, Chiko the cute little black stripped lemur, with snow white fur was laying with his back on the table. He was snoring and his stomach rose and fell with every breath, a little snot bubble manifested itself. Then she looked over at Ritsuko Sensei, she had her feet up on the side of the couch that Marako didn't take up, her hands were resting upon her tummy and she was slowly falling asleep. Hyosuke was knelt down in front of Ritsuko, his back facing her, as he went to work with Marako.

"He sure has been through hell, huh?" Silent superseded, no reply, "He saved Ayako."

"It wasn't a smart move," Ritsuko replied coldly.

"He saved lives, he did what we're meant to do."

"He disobeyed orders."

"Ritsuko sensei, why are you so hard on him? He saved lives!" Maiko repeated, she didn't yell, but she made sure to say what she had to with a bit of force behind it.

"He risked more lives than he saved, including his own."

"What even happened out there? Other than he got into a fight? What if he had it under control?"

Ritsuko turned to look at Maiko, she focused in on her yellow eyes, "Maiko," Her voice was soft, "If...it weren't for Chiko. If he had never left, to find Marako, for the mistakes he made. He wouldn't even be here. He wouldn't be on earth. The Marako Arita you know, would've been dead. I don't know what you know about death, or who've you lost. But once you lose someone, it isn't the same. He wouldn't of risked it, if he would've only followed orders."

The room was silent once again. Maiko only bowed her head, looking to the floor. Twenty minutes later Ayako stepped into the kitchen with a bowl of white rice, corn, and chicken. "I know it isn't much, but well, it's what we have left." She passed around the grub. Hyosuke stopped working on Marako, seeing as he was healed enough to where blood will no longer leak. He would make it, for sure.

"He's going to be fine," Hyosuke declared with a smile, taking hold of his bowl of food.
 
Despite the tenseness that still permeated the room's atmosphere heavily, things stayed quiet and nobody made much of a move. The fact that Marako was going to be okay did little to change the atmosphere, since Ritsuko's harsh words still hung heavy in the air. Maiko kept to herself, only occasionally glancing over at Marako's resting form while Ayako stared out the window. Hyosuke ate, his eyes never leaving Marako's broken form as the boy slept seemingly peaceful. Ritsuko only stared at her bowl. They would be fine. Her words had to be said. She wasn't to prevent as many casualties as she could, that's why she took this job. She wanted to help the youth, instead of it turning out like how her... she clutched the spoon, shoveling food into her mouth angrily while Chiko pawed at her. Making sure Ayako wasn't looking, Ritsuko spooned some more of the food and held it out to the lemur. He eagerly licked at it, chittered in content before coiling up on her lap. She was surprised at how quickly Chiko had taken to everyone on the team, usually it took some time for something like that, but she guessed it was because the lemur was smart, and he knew that everyone on the team was there to help.

A loud noise suddenly brought Ritsuko, as well as Maiko to their feet. The two moved towards the window, surprised at what they saw. Hyosuke, too, stood up and Chiko raised himself on his hind legs, staring out the window. There, in the town square, were a few other konoha ninja. "What...?" Ritsuko breathed. They could hear the loud cheers and shouts of triumph from in the house. "Hyosuke, watch Marako." Ritsuko commanded as she moved towards the door. Maiko made a move to follow, but decided against it when Hyosuke called out to her. She frowned, looking away. Maybe it wsa best she stayed behind right now. Ritsuko entered the town square, looking around.

"Captain--er, Ritsuko-sensei." One of the men called. "I'd heard someone of a similar description to you was here..." He met her halfway, grasping her forearm in a greeting. Ritsuko did the same, nodding tightly.

"Yes..." Ritsuko responded, confused, "I was... here with my team--how did you know to come here?" She hadn't set off any flares or called and Marako's chakra, though explosive at the time, probably wouldn't have been felt all the way in Konoha, not enough to alert an elite team like this.

"A man from this village journeyed to Konoha." He replied, "And we came as soon as we could, but it looks like you and your team have accomplished what we set out to do already." He looks at the handiwork of the team; all of the thugs they'd managed to capture neatly tied up and immobile. "That was good work, they're genin, right?"

"Yeah..." Ritsuko trailed. "You have a medic with you?" He nods, "One of my students is injured. We patched him up, but..."

"Maki!" The man called, "We've got another one! One of the Captain's!" Maki turned, red hair whipping behind him as he nodded.

"We're in the house over there." Ritsuko pointed towards the house. The loud cheers of joy still filled the air as there was talk of a large celebration that night. "Come after you've looked at the townspeople, Maki." The man only nods, turning back to what he was doing. "Sooner he's looked at, sooner we can leave." Ritsuko sighs in relief.
 
Thirty minutes after everything's past Marako was awake, he was still flopped over the couch and was just getting food into his mouth. Hyosuke suggested he didn't move too much to reopen any of his bandaged wounds to Ayako fed him. Suddenly Maki stepped in, his hair long red hair bobbed side to side with every following step he took. His heavy boots made the floor creek with each step after leisurely walking into the door, he waved two of his men off to wait at the door and then crossed his arms.

It was eerily silent now, everybody just started conversing prior to him coming in. But now, it was nothing but oddly hushed. He scrutinized the room,from the girl who sat on the chair only offering a quick glimpse, then spoon feeding a white haired boy to the well known Ritsuko Akera. He reached up and fixed the hitai-ate that he wore wrapped around his forehead. "Good evening, I am Maki Remus, a Jonin Hancho rank 3." Maki took another look around the room, but no one replied.

Well, until Ritsuko spoke up, "We appreciate the help Maki, but can we speed this process up a little bit?"

Maki chuckled, "As subtle and irritating as always, huh Ritsuko?" The older man fiddled through a notepad and pulled a pen that was wedged between his ear. He licked the tip and looked up at the young genins, "Names please."

"Hyosuke Yamanoue," Hyosuke answered bashfully, his voice low and solemn. Chiko chittered and climbed up onto the boys shoulder, noticing his shy tone and tried making him more comfortable by cuddling up to his cheek.

"Hyosuke, is it? I know your brother. Strong boy, lots of talent, from what we see here I'm sure your just as skilled. With a sensei like that though..." He chuckled when Ritsuko gave him that look," I'm just teasing. You'll be alright. What about you girl?" He asked smiling down at Maiko who sat on the floor with his back against the wall.

"Maiko."

"Last name?"

"No last name, I'm the demon of Konoha."

That drew a look from both Ayako and Maki, both were wide eyed, and their pupils dilated. The group prepared for criticism from the two, especially Maiko. She doesn't usually get words of kindness with the label of a demon. But Maki gave a hearty laugh then a toothy smile, "Guess Konoha better find a different name for you, because after what the citizens say, you're an angel." Then he glanced over to the boy on the couch, "And you?"

"Marako Arita."

"Shizi is your father right? Good man. Raised a hero too," Then after getting Ayako's information down he got the full story on what happened. The fighting, the weird jutsu, the fat man, everything. Even the information about the "god".

After Marako was interviewed he got changed in a new pair of clothes, not ninja gear either. It was normal slacks, a tee shirt, and sandals because his equipment was teared apart by the fight and Hyosuke when they treated his wounds. He pulled his backpack on and waited for the Maki guy to finish talking.

Finally he got to Ayako and Ayako stopped and looked over at the three heroes of Takakumo. "I have it from here, I'll speak to Mr.Remus and make sure my father gets a proper funeral. Listen, thank you guys. The three-"

"Four," Hyosuke corrected her as Chiko face palmed (a little trick Hyosuke taught him a while back).

She giggled,"The four of you really helped this village out, I couldn't thank you enough."

"It's all in a days work," Marako smiled.

"For team Bakuhatsu Ban-Ban. Right Sensei?" Maiko happily beamed at her, gently elbowing the shorter sensei's side.
 
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"Exactly." Ritsuko nodded, "Although this wasn't exactly what we set out to accomplish, I'm glad this reign of tyranny is over." Ritsuko punched Maki on the arm. If the man hurt from it, he clearly didn't show it aside from a slight grimace. "I'll see ya later, Mack." Ritsuko looked back at her team before sighing and shaking her head, "Alright, kids, let's move out. We wanna get back to Konoha before it's dark." The three nodded as Chiko chittered and Maki turned, raising an eyebrow at Ritsuko's words. Hyosuke helped Marako up and off the couch, supporting half his weight on Hyosuke's shoulder. "To Mount. Yama!"

"...you know there's a path, right?" Maki asked. The three students shot him a look that showed that they didn't know there was a path.

"....what?" Marako asked. He only glanced at Maki once before looking over at Ritsuko, who didn't seem in the slighest bothered by the look. "What do you mean there's a path? The only way to get here--is... it's by climbing that mountain, right?"

"Mmm... no." Maki answered. "Through the village's south gate there's a path that branches off to Konoha. It's pretty obvious-looking too, but it's know for bandits... which is odd, considering the mountain should be... but that's how it is. There's a path. It only takes about an hour to two hours to traverse." The three students exchanged looks before turning to their sensei, who seems to be looking anywhere but at them. "Who told you there was only one path?"

"Sensei!" Ritsuko looked over at Marako, an eyebrow raised. "You lied?!"

"I didn't lie..." Ritsuko scratched at her face, "I never said there wasn't a path... I said that this was the best path. Besides, you needed the training." She looks back at the group once more, "So we're going up Yama Mountain once more."

"No!" Marako howled, "I'm injured!"

"You can stand, you're fine. Besides, consider this punishment for what you've done." Ritsuko turns, "Let's move out!"

"Sensei!" Marako whines as the group leaves the house with goodbyes to Ayako. She smiles, waving after them before she turns to Maki, who shakes his head.

"I know exactly what that's like..." He mumbled, "She's one scary teacher..." Ayako chuckles at his words. "So, I don't want to take up too much of your time... let's get started, shall we?"
 
"Come on Marako!" Maiko sighed slapped her own tights in frustration, "Your still down there?! We're at the top!" She was yelling down to the white haired boy, his eyes were closed , hanging onto his mask and looking down in fear. He was shaking his head his body shaking.

"Why didn't we take the path?!"

"Training!" Ritsuko simply shouted from above the edge, looking down at the boy. She was grinning childishly, and Hyosuke attempted his best to not jest at how funny Marako looked right now. Chiko was up in one of the apple trees, knocking apples down and dragging them over to Hyosuke. He pulled on his pants legs and pointed at the apples, wanting the boy to save them for later.

Hyosuke looked down and smiled, grabbing the apples and stuffing one into his bag, "You guys want some apples?" Chiko gasped and chittered uncontrollably reaching up for his apples.

"Yeah I'll take an apple," Maiko nodded

"I mean, this is gonna take a while, so why not?" Ritsuko took one and the three took a bite out of them simultaneously.

Chiko gasped and sat down on his butt, his ears drooped down and his tail hanged as he nibbled at his remaining apple resting besides him.

"Am I the only one that thinks these last few days felt like months?" Maiko asked, glancing over at the other two.

"Nope," Hyosuke shook his head.

"Nah," Ritsuko agreed and shrugged, as the three of them took another bite.

"HEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEE!" Marako cried, taking slow nervous steps up the mountain. This, was the hero of Konoha and Takakumo. This was Konoha's future. These kids were Konoha's future. God help us.

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Ever since returning from Takakumo two weeks ago, things had been pretty boring. All their missions turned out to be what they were--there wasn't any daring-dos to be had and while Hyosuke kind of missed the whole Takakumo mess, he didn't really want to go back, considering his uncle had phoned his mother and the only thing he could talk about was how Hyosuke took charge and whether or not Maiko was free to date his cousin Kuzhan. And like his mother told his uncle more than fifty times, Maiko probably wasn't interested in a farm boy anyway... not to mention Kuzhan was 25. He shuddered, thinking of Maiko and Kuzhan together. He'd best not mention this to Maiko or anyone... ever. That was he wouldn't get hurt just because they were related.

Though if there was one good thing that came out of it, it was that Takakumo didn't seem to be afraid of ninja no longer, and they were thriving, or starting to. Ayako had come by just last week to tell them she was leaving Takakumo to go to the big city and start a career as someone in show business. They'd wished her good luck and she'd been on her way. Hyosuke really hoped that she made it. He glanced at the picture on his night-stand. Ritsuko had been stingy with the pictures and the only good one went to herself, since she had beaten them all in Rock-Paper-Scissors. So, they had all been saddled with the blurry picture that came moments after that awful sneeze. But it was fine to Hyosuke, he could still make out everyone's faces and it was sort of... endearing. But he had no time to get sentimental. "Chiko, we're going now." Hyosuke called. The small lemur moved from his place in the sunlight and joined Hyosuke, running beside him as the boy left his home. "Mom, we're leaving." Hyosuke called as he ran down the steps, ducking underneath his brother, who had come flying into the hall from the kitchen.

He smacked into the wall and Hyosuke sighed, shaking his head, "My dearest Hyocchan!" Yori, his older brother and the only other ninja in the family whined, "Why did you dodge me like that? I mean... I'm glad your reflexes are good but... I'm your brother!" Yori latched onto Hyosuke's back, large fat tears rolling down his face, "We should love each other!"

"Mom, tell Yori to leave me alone." Hyosuke dragged his brother with him into the kitchen. He peered into the dining room where his father sat at the head of the table while his siblings all congregated around him. The younger kids--there were about four of them with two being twins--sat on the left side, making a mess as they ate and the older kids--consisting of one sibling older than Yori and three younger than Yori-- sat on the right, doing pretty much the same thing.

"Yori, don't you have a mission to go on or something?" Seika swept into the room, a large plate of food in her hands, which she set down in the middle of the table. "Hyosuke, I've prepared your lunch."

"I'm free all day! So I can hang out with my favorite sibling!" Yori practically sang.

"Can someone get him off of me?!" Hyosuke nearly yelled. The large group watched him for a moment before Sachiko, the younger of the twins, spoke up.

"Better you than us." She said, shoveling an egg into her mouth. "Yori's creepy."

"That's mean, Sacchi!" Yori seemed offended by her words, but the others only laughed as removed himself from Hyosuke and picked up Sacchi, spinning her around and tickling her. Hyosuke called out a goodbye as he quickly grabbed his lunch box--which was a lot larger than normal--and left the house with Chiko in tow. His destination: the training grounds.
 
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Life after Takakumo for Maiko? It was...fun. Not for the missions, or the life she knows within these orphanage walls, but because she spent time with her group. With Ritsuko Sensei, Hyosuke-Chan, and yes, even that irritable shrimp Marako-Kun. At this point she wouldn't get carried away and call them family, but they were undoubtedly her friends. She was in a deep sleep, the sheets were wrapped around comfortably on her body. She was snuggled up besides the teddy bear her "imaginary friend" (as people at the orphanage called him) Shinji gifted her.

Suddenly a loud buzzing rung out in her room, since she was old enough the orphanage gifted her a room. But not one of the best quality. Probably because of the incident that occurred two weeks prior, or simply for the fact that everyone there hated her guts. She peered one eye open and sat up, her lavender hair hung in front of her like a messy mane. Her yellow eyes, just like those of a predator gathered themselves. The hazy vision centered itself on the blinking lights of her alarm clock that rested on the floor. Her room was cold to the touch, the only room in the building without heating. The walls were cracked, no wall paper, and infested by insects. Her floor was probably the best part of the room, except there was the casual cockroach roaming around. She had no counters, and no bed sheets to sleep above. Luckily she was able to convince one of the workers to let her use her old bed from the previous room, or else more than likely she wouldn't of had one at all.

She took a deep breath in, then exhaled. Cold air escaped her lips, causing a fog, a gentle shiver tickling her spine. Her ebony skin prickled up, a bristle of goosebumps permeated her skin. The windows to her room were those like the ones in Jail cells, rectangular and only up high near the ceiling, she couldn't look outside unless she was standing on her own bed. Even then, there wasn't much to see but a playground, in which she was never allowed in. Her markings glowed dimly, something she's been learning to control through meditation whenever she had the time. This was a good way to heat up her body. Once her eyes were fixed on the time, she noticed it just became four o clock. A half smile materialized upon her lips, as she slithered out of the heavy sheets. She wasn't wearing much, a sports bra and some pretty long panties, almost long enough to be considered boxers. She looked down at the teddy bear and perched him up against the wall to make it seem like he was sitting there, "I'll be back soon," She blushed realizing how dumb it felt to be talking to some lame teddy bear. But she couldn't help it, she was attached.

She stepped over to the corner of her room, closest to the door and dug into her bag for her tooth brush and clothes. She rattled around until she found her toothbrush and a wooden brush she bought a week ago when she was having one of her daily strolls around the market area. She noiselessly opened the door, giving up nothing but a creak as she made way to the bathroom before any of the other children woke up. It was all to herself, she stood before the mirror and brushed her teeth, taking about ten minutes to floss with care. Then she scampered her hair to one side, as always, and smiled at herself. This was something she couldn't do for a while. But ever since last month, she's been smiling every day. This has definitely been the best part of her year. Probably the best time of her life since Shinji at least.

But she took her usual precaution wrapping her legs and arms, covering any markings she could. She was ashamed of these marks, this body, the body everyone hated. People were becoming more accepting, either that or they're scared to say anything. But she couldn't live knowing these markings besmirched her skin. So she used the wrappings as a facade to hide this reality, that she was a jinchuuriki. She wrapped her right forearm to the center of her elbow, her left hand, and her right calf. Hiding all that she could. Hey, at least her embarrassment hid the fact that she was a walking firefly at this time of day. After taking thirty minutes to get dressed she was off to the training grounds.

When she arrived after taking her usual jog, she rushed over to the water to drop off her gorge but then caught a glance of her reflection. The markings on her face made her ponder, and she took a seat, touching them gently with her fingers. What she thought was seconds ended up becoming two hours. And before she knew it, it was six, and she hadn't even gotten her early training in.
 
The Mid-October air felt good on Hyosuke's tanned skin as he jumped on the rooftops of buildings. They didn't have training until around 8, and with it being only a a good ten, maybe fifteen minutes before then, Hyosuke was free to take the long was towards the training ground. He liked the sights and smells that could only be obtained through jumping along rooftops. Despite it being rather early, the whole downtown area was bustling with noise and people. It was loud and cheerful, bringing a smile to Hyosuke's face, "You can't go, Chiko." Hyosuke lightly scolded the small lemur, who had been leering towards the edge of the roof, ready to drop down into one of the stores and cause enough ruckus to get out with some food. When Chiko chittered at him sassily, Hyosuke only shook his head, grabbing a branch and flipping over it. He was close, so close to the village's south exit, where the training grounds were located.

At this time of morning, the training grounds were usually desolate, well mostly desolate. Marako didn't show up until a few moments before they were supposed to meet usually and Ritsuko showed up shortly afterwards, a different excuse and the smell of alcohol on her lips, but Hyosuke didn't mind, because despite all things, he knew she was a good sensei, he'd seen her in action, after all. Hyosuke landed rather gracefully with Chiko right by his side.

He probably wasn't the first person, that usually went to Maiko, who seemed to have nothing better to do than come early. She was dedicated, much more than she needed to be and that drove Hyosuke to try and come earlier and earlier in order to match her. But she was already so far ahead, he knew that he and Marako (who was slightly better than he) were only steps behind her. Metaphorically, Hyosuke was running, trying to catch up with Maiko who was already so far ahead, leaving him in the dust. Every step of hers equated to about two or three steps of his own, and yet he still never caught up. Maybe it was because she was older? Or maybe it was her demon blood?

At this point, Hyosuke didn't even care. All he knew was that he couldn't, under any circumstances become dead weight to the team. He hated being a burden of any kind. Chiko's chittering brought Hyosuke out of his musings and he turned, hearing the rush of water behind the trees. Hyosuke walekd slowly towards the trees, he had time, it wasn't like Marako and his sensei were going to show up right at this moment. The two were rather late-comers. Hyosuke and Chiko made their way through the trees, approaching the babbling brook and seeing the purple-haired girl sitting there, staring at herself. She looked up upon seeing them and Hyosuke offered a shy wave as Chiko crossed the water, splashing about as he jumped into Maiko's lap, making himself comfortable.

"You're always here early." Hyosuke said instead of a greeting, taking a seat on the opposite side of the river from her. His eyes looked to the fish swimming about, letting the river guide them or fighting against the stream. Briefly, Hyosuke thought that he was one of the fish following the river, but Maiko and Marako, were the ones fighting it. He desperately wanted to be one of the fish fighting, but it would take him some time. "Ready for today?"
 
Maiko was lifting up pebbles, gently flicking her wrist when throwing them so they could perfectly skid across the water. An aura of sadness emanating from her face, her markings still glowing obtusely. She was a bit startled when she heard a snap coming from abaft. But once she heard a familiar chittering, she let out a breath of relief. She turned to look at the two, Hyosuke was perched underneath the orange and yellow tree, looking at her with soft eyes. But something was in his eyes, and it told her that he was contemplative. About what? She did not yet know. But running excitedly towards her, with his ears erected and pointed, was the little lemur Chiko. He leaped off of the ground and ricocheted into her lap, rubbing his head against her shirt and making lovable noises.

Maiko gave the little Lemur a soft smile, kneading his soft fur, before looking up at Hyosuke who sat across from her on the other side of the river bank. Her smile faded unintentionally as she looked back into the water. Her reflection shifted with every ripple in the water, and every fish swimming by. Her markings, these fucking symbols, this is why she's different. But why her? All the years of having these markings and she has never figured out why it must be her. She had to be the unlucky one, to behold the powers of a Jinchuriki.

Finally Hyosuke's words snapped her out of it, she let out a breath of air and looked up at him. His freckled face, his dark purple eyes watched those of Maiko. She nodded lightly, "Oh yeah, of course. We can't help but be ready when Ritsuko Sensei is our teacher," She gave a fake giggle but then shook her head lightly.

"Hyosuke, Uhm..." She blushed and dug her fingers into the wet soil besides the patch of grass she sat on. "How does it feel, to have a family?" Chiko looked up at Maiko then back at Hyosuke, engrossed to see how this would play out.
 
Maiko's question caught him off guard. Sure, Hyosuke knew that Maiko didn't have a family to speak of--and Hyosuke himself had more than enough family to speak of. This conversation would be awkward, he knew it. Anything he said could be considered bragging. If he said only good things, that could make her sad. If he said only bad things and complained, she would get upset, telling him that at least he had someone to complain about. Hyosuke stared at the river once more, taking in his reflection. Deep purple eyes stared back at him and tanned skin, dotted with freckles were what he saw next. His hair, black and cropped in a crew-cut like hairstyle. He then noticed his eyebrows, a small smile coming to his face as he remembered the story behind it. "When I was, like six or seven," Hyosuke began, "I, um, I decided that I was going to run away." Chiko knew this, he'd been there and he'd been the one Hyosuke had brought along with him. "I was tired of being the middle child, the one nobody really paid attention too. Like the middle of the week."

He sighed, chuckling as Maiko waited for him to get to the point, though she seemed interested in the story, wondering how it related to the question she'd asked. "So, picture this." Hyosuke crosses his legs, hands out in front of him, "Six-year-old me walking through the woods at night with Chiko, thinking I'm gonna make it to Kawa when BAM! I'm attacked by a bunch of bandits. There were at least seven or eight of them. I was so scared." He looks to Chiko for a moment, "And they were really big--really strong looking guys too, I mean huge."

"So," Hyosuke continues, "I try to run, but they capture me and I bite one of the guys, he lets go, but I end up tripping as I'm trying to get away and I hit my head on a rock, get this cut, right?" Hyosuke points to his cut eyebrow, "And they come advance on me and out of nowhere my mom--and you've seen her, comes flying in with this crazy battle cry and she smacks the leader with a frying pan." Maiko laughs despite herself, "Now I'm all cut up and bleeding from my run and I'm watching my mom pound this guy with a frying pan and then she yells 'now!' and all my siblings--I've got, like, nine other siblings now, but at the time, I only had about six--and they just start pouring out of the forest and fighting these guys."

"And after they'd beaten them and everything, my whole family was upset, but they were happy and everyone was crying." Hyosuke concluded the story with a fond smile, "I never ran away again, because I realized how much they cared for me--enough to come after me and potentially be killed by a group of bandits. So... I guess what I'm trying to say is that having a family means even when you think you're left out, you're not. A family is willing to do whatever they can for you, if they can. And I think that's a nice feeling, uh, you get me?" Hyosuke finished awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. He hoped Maiko's reaction was a good one, because Hyosuke was running out of things to say.
 
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Maiko glanced up and frowned when Hyosuke went deep into thought, was there really nothing he could say? But a smile came upon his face and he began to talk. That frown became a gentle grin, as he began telling the little tale. She glimpsed downward at Chiko whose ear twitched as he looked back up at her, shrugging. This was the little fella who attempted to run away with Hyosuke. She watched the boy as he told the suspenseful story, about the bandits, and suddenly felt something deep in her chest. Her heart was beating fast, but she couldn't place her finger on what this feeling was. He mentioned the part about when his mom appeared with the frying pan and she gave a toothy smile.

Her eyes picked at him, she scrutinized the boy, picking at every contouring feature. His black crew-cut, dark purple eyes, tanned face with blotches of freckles. A blush tickled at her cheek bones, and she looked back down into the water. A family...she giggled and glanced back up at him, after he mentioned the park about his family beating the bandits off. Finally, his story was done and she was smiling at him like an idiot. Her face was flushed and her markings were glowing brightly, almost brighter than the early sun that was still low in the east.

She was fiddling her fingers against Chiko's stripped fur, rubbing his belly with her ring and middle finger as he nibbled on the middle one, lapping his small pink tongue against it. "Yeah, I get it...wow. That sounds, amazing," She giggled and looked down at Chiko, rubbing the lemur some more. "So you have a big family?"

"Yeah," He stuck his hands out and started counting, "There's my mom, Seika, you met her, my dad, Yuusuke, now get ready for this because I'm breezing through it," He joked then took in a gulp of air, "Daichi, Yori, Makino, Misaki, Hiro, Sachiko, Toya, Hidemaru, and Hotaru!" He smiled up at her holding up 10 fingers, "The tenth one is me by the way, the middle child, but you probably could've f-figured that from the story," He stuttered and scratched the back of his head, worried that he might've spoken too much.

But she smiled at him, "It sounds like it must be busy at your house, especially for your mom."

( Stop the music here and start this one
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"Yeah but-" Suddenly there was a yawn, abrupting their conversation and that familiar white hair was spotted behind Maiko. He was crouched over so that only his hair would pop out from above her head.

Maiko turned around, and it was Marako looking at them all bored like, "You guys have been talking forever, too busy looking at the water that you didn't even realize I was here till now Hyo." He gave a toothy smile and jumped onto his feet stretching his arms.

"How much did you hear?" Maiko asked, blushing, but with a furious look on her face. Chiko jumped onto her shoulder as she got onto her feet.

"Calm down, calm down, I got here when he mentioned someone named Hiro, then he kept saying a whole bunch of names," He held his hands out nervously.

"You brat!" She growled and Marako flushed, taking back steps while laughing nervously.

"Why don't we just talk, hehehe, I mean, I don't think Hyosuke would want you to beat me up. Right Hyo!" Marako laughed nervously getting backed up into a tree.
 
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