Suzume stared at him looking confused at his congratulation. Was that all really a test? Half of her believed it, but before she had time to decide how she felt on it, he waved for her to follow after him. Hesitating but a moment, she quickly followed after him through the halls of the academy. When he pointed out his dire need of new clothing, his state of undress finally dawned on her as well. Flushed slightly, she turned away from him, still following along, but trying to keep herself from looking at the nearly shirtless man, though she could not help but to sneak a peak or two at times... she had to keep pace with him, of course!
The specific halls they eventually found themselves in at the dojo were not familiar to her, but the architecture was something she grew up with, even if she did not commit the layout of the complex to memory. These particular parts were places she especially would not have gone on her own, should her kinsmen even have allowed her to. She did not know any personally, her kinsmen were highly protective and to let a feeble one as her hang around the unscrupulous Miroku was not something they would have even considered allowing. That in and of itself was alluring to her, and the thought of how furious her father might be knowing she was here helped to keep her fears of being here at bay.
"Of course I have." She half-lied, since he did not specify which here he meant. "Oh, I know. I can take care of myself though," vaguely getting one over on her father was lacing her tone with a smug air, but looking at him, her eyes were drawn to the mark on his chest before she once again came to her senses and quickly looked away, trying to appear nonchalant and failing. Once she was alone in the hallway, she kicked her feet idly, looking around the area at the seedy underbelly of the dojo. Why the clan allowed them to live here never made any sense, given what limited knowledge she had about them. She figured she should have guessed the guy would be super weird, even if he looked normal and acted friendly enough. The Miroku were to have eyes kept on them at all times after all.
The stranger began to stare at her, looking somewhat menacing, but Suzume was not intimidated. As he stared at her, she took the challenge and stared right back, hearkening back to such matched of will with her father, who could have crushed this man's head between his fingers. Thankfully her silent boast was cut short as Riyota stepped out from his room, freshly garbed and just in time to keep one of those two from beating the other senseless. "Yup," she replied, sounding more chipper than before, as she watched the man scurry off, "doing fine." As when they left the academy, it took her a moment to leave her perch and catch up with him, but after she did, she kept close pace with him to avoid getting too close to the less savory patrons.
She followed Riyota into the small side room, closing the door behind her so none of those weirdos could spy on her. What they would see or be looking for was a mystery, but better safe than sorry, besides, she trusted Riyota well enough, even if her upbringing would dictate otherwise... or especially so. She then watched him show er the few handseals, nodding quickly like she had already seen this part a hundred times, and that was not far from the truth. She had committed a few techniques to memory, even if she had never performed them successfully. "Yeah yeah, I got it. I know like... how to do it with your hands and stuff, I just can't do it, you know?"
As he withdrew the kunai and made his way a few steps away to prepare, she had a moment of hesitation. She did not relish the idea of being stabbed by that thing, but her teachers had said that necessity was the best teacher. It certainly was a better teacher than they were, as far as she was concerned, or else she wouldn't have ended up in this situation in the first place. "I guess so," she didn't sound ready but her words and a nod were enough to confirm she was at least going to try. She readied her hands near each other, and when she saw him move his arm she began making the seals. She was quick enough, having practiced this dozens of times, but the sharp edged blade connected with her shoulder and made a clean cut across her upper arm.
The cut was not deep, nor were any of the nine that followed them, but each left a small slice across her skin that was still quite painful. They also stained lines of red into her clothing around where it had cleanly sliced through the fabric. The similarity to back then did not strike her immediately, being granted five failures and five fresh cuts before the pain triggered that memory. She reached up and tugged on her top, making sure it was secure, her hand trembling slightly as she tried to block the memories out. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself, but she could still hear that voice in the back of her mind. "I am rather displeased I must undress you myself..." The next five attempts were sloppy at best, her hands shaking almost too much by the tenth to even form a single seal correctly. Her blood loss was very minor, with the cuts being too shallow to draw more than a trickle of blood thanks to Riyota's astute aim. There was no obvious sign for why she was acting so strangely.
Finally as the tenth kunai grazed her, she held her hands half up for a moment, wincing out in pain as she had the nearly dozen times before. "I-I need to stop. P-please, please stop!" Her voice quavered as she turned from him, wrapping her arms around herself as her hands pressed against the stinging lines on her arm. She couldn't focus or think well, the pain was distracting, certainly, but it was a welcome alternative to her mind continuing to torture her. It wasn't Riyota's fault, he didn't know why this was bothering her so badly. Suddenly she became very aware of the room that they were in, the door closed to keep the training away from prying eyes. She had closed the door, and he had no intention of doing anything like... that, but a panic was beginning to seize her as the mere through of it struck her like one of the kunai to her neck.
Her breathing suddenly sped up and she seemed like she was hyperventilating as she loudly demanded, "I-I need some air." She quickly turned and rushed to the door a short distance off, flung it open hard enough for it to rather loudly smack against the wall before she hurriedly rushed out. She did not go far, just outside the door into the larger training center. Just being out of that confined space was helping her to relax, but the stinging in her arms and legs were too fresh of a reminder to simply be forgotten so easily. Oblivious to any calls or questions of concern, she paced back and forth a few yards out from the room Riyota had selected, her hands wrapped around her once more as they tightly gripped her upper arms, the small amount of blood now coating her hands a light smearing of red.
