Shadows and Mist [Open]

[Kazu]

Ko had been cocky. Too cocky. The thrill of newly found power had excited him, and the curiosity to test the outer reaches of this power had made him blind. He'd grown drunk off of his own desire to understand himself, and because of that he'd become careless. As the woman moved closer to him, he slowly began to understand his mistake. His face changed from one of conviction and confidence to one of instant regret. He'd miscalculated. As her palms hit him cleanly in the gut, he could feel the wind being knocked out of him. The sudden change in momentum made his head reel a bit, and his eyes were having trouble keeping up with the changing speed. He wasn't sent backwards, but the changing direction and strikes together disoriented him quite a bit. He tried to figure out where he was, but by the time he figured out he was hurtling towards the wall it was too late to stop it. Desperately, he tried to disintegrate the ball of metal into sand again — he wanted to try to soften his blow as much as possible. He still slammed hard into the wall, rattling his body like a rag doll, but he wouldn't be suffering anything too severe. A bunch of bruises, and a sprained wrist or ankle perhaps, but he wouldn't need to be going to the hospital tonight.

Before he even had time to fully grasp what had actually happened, he felt the tips of what felt like a knife right against his throat. He froze, not keen to be turned to mince meat, and looked to see that they were actually shards more black and dark than the night sky. Another Shadow Element technique? He should have figured, she'd been using the element this entire fight. He noticed her standing there, waiting. For what, though? Ko took a moment to compose himself, and realized that she wanted him to admit defeat. A hot flash of indignation shot through the boy, his pride hurt. However, he was above letting such a petty emotion get in the way of what needed to be done. He swallowed, and locked eyes with her. He gave her a slight nod and waited as the black shards would back off, allowing him to move freely again.

Leaning against the wall for support, the young boy tried to steady his breathing. After a strike like that, he would need a few minutes before he was back to normal. He rubbed his neck and shoulders, trying to alleviate the soreness of having been slammed into a wall. He would be fine, he knew, but that didn't stop it from hurting now. The most important thing on his mind, though, was this woman. He hadn't averted his gaze since he'd lock his eyes with hers, and as far as he could tell she hadn't looked away either. It was hard to tell, though, with that mask. A lot of questions raced in his head, but he knew that only one really mattered to him right now. He took a breath, stabilizing his breathing, and spoke out to her. "My name is Sasaki Kotsuko. What's yours?" He'd been wondering the answer to that question since they'd started this fight. He could have asked if she was an ANBU, but the mask made that obvious.

No, the most important question was who she was. And a name was the first step to unraveling that ball of yarn.

 

[Tsuirakuya Shashu]

The boy's face flushed red with indignation at being forced to concede, but he quickly got over it and acquiesced with a nod. With that she allowed the shards to dissipate along with her shadow cloak, each individual swatch of darkness whisked away like sand on an unseen wind. At their disappearance the ANBU finally allowed herself to relax mentally. She could feel the whispers of shadow and mist recede to the back of her mind while her predatory instincts followed suit. She could still feel them there, like a slow murmur in the background, and knew they were only a hand's breadth away, metaphorically speaking. Where before her instincts had only risen on the hunt, now she felt as if she had only to reach for them.

Meanwhile, her erstwhile opponent seemed to have recovered somewhat from her throw. His gaze remained locked on hers as well despite his obvious discomfort. Fierce would be the wrong word to describe it. Focused, purposeful...perhaps a bit hungry. There was no hostility in it, but he did want something.

"My name is Sasaki Kotsuko. What's yours?"

She flexed a fist in contemplation. The ANBU felt as if she had accomplished what she came out here to accomplish. While it was probably true that any opponent would have served the same role, he was ultimately the one who had done so. And gotten beaten up in the bargain. It was only fair she return the favor in some way.

Her eyes narrowed with a mischievous smile. He did show some promise after all, and with some training there was a good chance he would turn out to be quite a serviceable ANBU. It wasn't like she had much experience with judging that sort of thing, but her instincts told her she wasn't wrong. And what was the point of all this if she wasn't going to listen to them in the first place? The ANBU nodded to herself and spoke for the first time since the fight began.

"You may call me Bikou, for now. Judging by your attitude I'd say you already understand why that is, as well as what this is." She tapped a finger against her mask. "So I'm not going to bother explaining that. That aside, I can tell you have some questions for me. So shoot."

The ANBU sat down on the sand and pulled up a small stone pillar from the earth to recline against. She had a feeling that she knew what sorts of questions he might have, but she was more comfortable letting Kotsuko carry the conversation. There was still a lot of night left. She had time.

[MFT: WC - 444]​

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Ayumu watched as the combat drew to a close as Shashu decided to end the fight. He had wondered how long she was going to allow it to go on, but at the same time he knew that she was testing the boy. Even if it was while she was having her own interesting idea of fun. The boy slammed into the wall, fortunately managing to soften the blow for himself slightly. If Ayumu hadn't known Shashu he might have intervened at this point but he wasn't concerned even when she sent the pointy shadow objects at the boy. As expected they stopped just short acting as a message to state that the spar was over. The boy seemed very hesitant to give in, but he was in no position to continue and he knew it. With reluctance, he nodded to indicate that he was throwing in the towel. Shashu withdrew her jutsu and allowed him to breath easy once again.

Now that the fight had ended, Ayumu was not so concerned with remaining hidden. He deactivated his stealth jutsu, though he made no effort to draw attention to himself either. Whether they noticed him quietly standing in the stands leaning against the guard rail on the second level was up to them. He was still watching for a moment, not wanting to interrupt. Shashu had clearly been testing Kotsuko, whose name Ayumu learned through his eavesdropping. Shashu in turn gave her codename, understandably. He chuckled at the way she responded. 'Trying to sound cool, aren't you?' he thought with a smirk as she spoke to the student. She opened herself up to some questions while Ayumu continued to listen.

'Jeeze, now I feel like a stalker... I just need to find the right moment to step in...' Ayumu thought, wondering if that was how Shashu felt on the numerous occasions when she followed him. He never really understood why she did that. Even as he had his own taste of watching people from afar now, he still didn't quite know why. He just felt like a creeper.

 

[Kazu]

"The Devil is in the Details"​

What is the difference between sending an encrypted message and talking? People often think that they're very different — an encrypted message requires one to know the code, the key, and the message that they are meant to be deciphering. Talking, however, required none of these things. It was easy to understand what someone was saying, everyone could do it, and you didn't need some sort of special knowledge to understand things. You just did. For most people, this statement would be true. To Ko, however, it couldn't be farther from the truth.

What did people mean when they said things? Why did they say it like that? Ko understood many things, and most knowledge came naturally to him. This realm, however, was foreign. He stepped lightly, careful not to poke and prod at the little gremlins named 'faux' and 'pas' as he wielded the pen as a sword. He held this tool with careful consideration, treating with as much deference as one might treat a family heirloom. It was because of this respect for the words that he spoke that the young man did not take others' words for granted. Each word had it's own meaning, and people used them as conduits for their true messages all the time. He always listened, always analyzed, and always did his best to decode the cryptology known as speaking. It was almost a game for the young man. However, this game could be deadly all the same. As much as words could be used to pass along hidden messages, so too could they be used to send false messages to deceive and trick. This was another thing to take into consideration when judging the intent and reason for someone using certain words.

When this woman spoke, Ko carefully analyzed the things she had to say. She assumed they were on the same page as to her role in the village, and she wasn't wrong. Ko understood very clearly why she wore a mask, and what she did for the village. Secrecy of the highest order. Becoming one with the shadows, invisible to all those around you. That was what she represented. She represented exactly what Kotsuko needed right now. She was his ticket in, he knew. She could vouch for him. But she had to like him to do that. How could he get that to happen? He had to think.

As the woman rested her back against a small stone pillar that she had created, Ko took that as a sign that he could rest as well. Slowly sliding down the wall, the young boy was ginger and careful not to cause himself any more pain than needed. He continued to think, looking like he was chewing on something. He was considering his question, wondering what the best way to phrase it was. He knew what he was going to ask, it was just about how he wanted to ask it. How could he get the most meaning across to her? Settling on an approach, the young boy decided that he would simply have to go for it. "For now, huh? Okay. I guess I should start with asking how I did? I mean, besides the last part..." His eyes retained that same level of focus, drive, and determination. His words were a message wrapped in a black veil, hopefully with enough transparency for her to see what he was truly asking. Was he good enough? Had he impressed her? Was he worthy of being considered for a call sign and a mask of his own? He would have to see how she reacted.

 

[Tsuirakuya Shashu]

"For now, huh? Okay. I guess I should start with asking how I did? I mean, besides the last part..."

Now word games weren't her forte, but she had a pretty good idea of what Kotsuko was really fishing for. The ANBU branch didn't advertise and one did not simply walk into the Sileo Tempestas and hand in an application. Assuming they knew where it was in the first place, most Shinobi would be turned away well before they set foot within the ANBU stronghold unless they had a damn good reason to be there. So how then did one become an ANBU? It was well known that Shinobi with enough skill, experience, or pull with their superiors could request a recommendation be sent, but it was equally well known just how likely those were to be met with denial as approval and not everyone was willing or capable enough to go that route.

However, there was a rumor, particularly popular among Academy Students, that there was a second way. 'The ANBU are always watching,' the rumor said, 'and if you're good enough to impress one they'll take you on as an ANBU in Training!'. She had heard the rumor herself as a student but hadn't been particularly interested until she had met the ANBU Sennin, Ayumu. She had been immediately impressed, or infatuated if she was to be honest, and did everything she could think of to impress the unseen ANBU who were supposedly 'always watching'. Ultimately it was a pretty random and strange event at a festival that had earned her place in the ranks, not anything she had set out to do, but it nonetheless proved the validity of that particular rumor. She had received a letter not long after congratulating her and ordering her to report to the Sileo for training.

So when Ko asked his question, she knew exactly what he was actually looking for. He certainly had the potential and she already intended to recommend him personally for ANBU training, but he didn't need to know that quite yet. She raised a finger to her mask and idly tapped one foot against the other. It was a bad habit, teasing people like this, but entirely too enjoyable to quit.

"Hrmm. Let's see...well, for starters your clone use is atrocious. A clone isn't much use if your opponent can plainly watch you create it and track both your movements, thus easily telling you apart. You committed to an attack too early without properly feeling out your opponent. Seizing the initiative like that only works if you and your opponent are evenly matched, or close enough that it could go either way. It took you entirely too long to clear the mist. If something isn't working for you, you should..." she continued on, ticking off on her fingers each time she raised another point. "...and that last move especially was a rookie mistake. You already knew it was dangerous to close with me, but you got cocky and did it anyway."

The ANBU stopped for a moment, stretching and glancing at Ko out of the corner of her eye. The boy was doing an admirable job trying to hide his disappointment; if she wasn't paying attention to body cues there would be little indication of his mounting displeasure. Entirely too enjoyable.

"That said you really didn't do too bad for a beginner. You have a solid grasp of the basics and I feel like you have a decent head for combat. Even though you seem to have forgotten all that at the end there. All you're really lacking in is experience and skill, and those only come with time and training."

A few compliments to soften the blow, but she couldn't resist teasing him a bit more.

"Did that answer your question? Is there anything else you want to ask me?"

Of course she hadn't answered the real question in all that, she wanted to watch him squirm a bit more until he asked the real question himself. If it weren't for her mask the look on her face would be a dead giveaway that she was messing with him. Definitely one of the better perks of being an ANBU.

[MFT: WC-705]​

 

[Kazu]

Ko gauged the woman. She had understood him perfectly. He knew it. He'd been watching her this whole time, trying to understand her thoughts since the first moment he'd approached her. While some people thought talking was the best way to understand a person, Ko knew much better than that. Talking was limited. Words can only describe so much, and only if you're good at using them. Words are deceptive, words can be lies, and words are often simply inaccurate. Talking to other people to try and understand yourself is life's biggest joke. Conflict is what makes the world go 'round. It's how people truly understand each other. Is it just a coincidence that the greatest level of understanding and compassion arise out of the ashes of war and struggle? Peaceful exchanges can never truly convey a person's heart. Ko knew this. His fight with the masked woman had done more for him than a month of talking. He knew what kind of person she was, more or less.

As she toyed with him, Ko was not surprised. All throughout the fight, she'd been toying with him. She reveled in it. She loved it. Ko simply sat there, and took it. His expression, stoic and concealing of his understanding of her actions, was perhaps convincing enough for her to continue. Admittedly, Ko got a kick out of all the creative things with which she could fault him on. As she counted off each individual mistake on her fingers, he had to keep himself from laughing at some of them. "Not having a proper war cry" and "trying too hard to be Magneto" were two of his favorites, though the list itself included far more mistakes. There was a moment, right before she went to find the silver lining in his performance, where she seemed to look to him for a reaction. She lived for those reactions, it seemed. Ko had a slight grin on his face, a knowing and sly grin. He knew her game, though he'd let her have her fun. He figured it could be her prize.

And then there was her last question. The final game. Ko actually smiled to this one, a mischievous and thoroughly too amused of a smile for the situation at hand. She wasn't the only one who got to have a bit of fun with this whole exchange. Sitting upright more, so as to speak more freely, the young boy looked her in the mask holes as he spoke with such conviction and purpose. "Πότε μπορώ να ξεκινήσω προπόνηση μου?" He assumed she'd know the language. Even if she didn't, she'd know its significance. She'd know what it would mean. He turned his head from her — not towards the figure of Ayumu who had yet to reveal himself, but towards the audience. That unspoken entity that always watched, from the shadows and from the unseen crevices that he and his fellow characters failed to see. "And so the pieces fall into place. The knight is closing in on the queen, and there's not a thing stopping it. Only time, strategy, and patience."<i></i> Looking as if he was about to turn back towards the scene before him, the young boy glanced back to add in one small amendment to his words: "Well, hopefully not too much patience."<i></i> He looked back to the masked woman, who would never know of those words spoken. He kept his smirk, though, as he added another piece of dialogue for the woman to hopefully recognize. "Έτσι, όταν ο φίλος σας πρόκειται να ενωθούν μαζί μας?" As he said it, he gestured up towards where Ayumu was standing. Ko was curious as to what he was doing there, and to who he was. It wasn't everyday that he dealt with anonymous characters late at night.
[spoilername="Ancient Kumo Translations"]"When do I start my training?"
"So, when is your friend going to join us?"[/spoilername]

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Ayumu continued to watch quietly, waiting for a moment to jump in. Perhaps the easiest thing to do would be to wait until one of them noticed him. It was only a matter of time now that he wasn't masking his presence. Meanwhile, the younger one asked for a review of his performance in the fight from Shashu. She was not holding back in her review, either. She counted off on her fingers different mistakes he had made against her. It was clear she was enjoying holding these over his head a bit. There was definitely a bit of a sadist in Shashu. As she drew to a close her list of mistakes he committed, she gave him a half-compliment, but given how harsh she was it could be safely taken as a pretty solid compliment really. Next, she asked a leading question. If there was anything else he wanted to ask. They were both dancing around the obvious prospect of Kotsuko becoming an ANBU in Training up until this point.

Even as he asked when his training would begin, he never mentioned what kind of training it would be. And even though he didn't even speak of ANBU, he kept his question in Ancient Kumo. That was the way ANBU liked to do things. It was all about subtlety... he would fit right in if he could handle the training. He even already knew Ancient Kumo, something strongly recommended for trainees to learn. Still speaking in Ancient Kumo, he finally acknowledged Ayumu standing quietly in the stands, gesturing to him. 'Well, I guess that's my cue then,' Ayumu thought, planting a hand on the rail and vaulting himself over it to drop into the arena.

"Good evening... Bikou," Ayumu greeted Shashu, using the name she had provided to Kotsuko. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" he said, assuming that she would recognize him by his voice if nothing else. He hoped that she wouldn't mind him popping up unexpectedly like this, but it really had been some time and he wanted to say hello even in the unusual circumstances they were in at the moment. "I see you're hunting prospects..." he noted, looking to Kotsuko. His choice of words there was entirely intentional. It always amused him how she handled things like this.

 

[Tsuirakuya Shashu]

Despite it all Ko didn't seem fazed; on the contrary he was smiling. Perhaps he thought he had a handle on her game, that he even had the upper hand here. A sentiment that was mirrored by his next statement.

"Πότε μπορώ να ξεκινήσω προπόνηση μου?"

While she didn't speak it, the ANBU had picked up more than a few words in Ancient Kumo from her studies in the great library and as such was able to puzzle out what he meant. The boy was a precocious little shit, she'd give him that, but it wouldn't do to let something like that go unanswered. He wanted to show off a little and speak from a higher position by impressing her with his knowledge of Ancient Kumo at his age or by confusing her if she didn't know it.

He muttered something to the shadows and turned back to her, saying something about a friend in the same tongue. It was perhaps a bit irritating to the ANBU, but if that was how he wanted to play it she could respond in kind. It'd give her a chance to use something she'd never had the occasion to with anyone but her mother to boot. Her next words came out in a much harsher tongue rife with hisses and clicks, sounding hardly like words at all:

But then she heard him, and her eyes immediately shot wide.

Shukun?!

The thought fluttered across her mind as she slowly turned, almost afraid to look lest it merely be a foul trick her ears had played on her. Her brain immediately went into overdrive, thinking a thousand things at once. There was no way it was him. Why here? Why now? Where had he been? Had he been watching her just now? If he had, was it good or bad? Should she feel pride or embarrassment? Would he look the same to her? Would she look the same to him? Had it really been so long that she should be worrying about all this? Was she overreacting? What if...

But the instant she saw his face all the questions meant nothing. He was different, somehow, but still the same, and more importantly still alive. Still alive, and still here. None of the horrid and fearful visions of his death had come true. All at once she could feel all the frustration, worry, and fear she had been keeping in well up and mingle with pure, unadulterated joy and relief. Her lips trembled, and tears swam in her vision. It was far too much for her to possibly hold in.

So she didn't.

"Shukun!" She shouted and full-body tackled him, all six arms wrapped around him in an impossibly strong bear-hug only she could provide. Her mask, completely forgotten, crumbled to dust as she hid her face against his chest, words tumbling out her mouth in a woefully inadequate attempt to vent the emotions bursting from within.

OhFaythIcantbelieveyourealiveImissedyousomuchIwassoworriedwhenyoudissapearedwithoutatraceandnobodywouldtellmewhere
youwereorwhereKahakowasandIcouldntfindyouIthoughtyouweredeadorworseandnobodywantedmetoknowsoIgotmadandyelled
attheRaikageandhepromisedtosearchforyoubutnowhesdeadsohecantdothatbutitdoesntmattercauseyourehearandyourenotdead
sonobodyhastosearchforyourhorriblymaimedbodycauseyoureobviouslyaliveandnothorriblymaimedoranythingwhichisgreatcause
thatwouldbeterribleandIdunnowhatIwoulddocauseImnotamedicandIdunnohowtofixstufflikethatbutnoneofthatmatterseitherbecause
youretotallyfineandohFaythImtalkingtoomuchIjustmissedyousomuchandImhappyyourealiveandIllshutupnow.

She was breathing heavily, fingers twisting into his shirt as she fought back tears, but she simply held tight to his chest, refusing to look up. She didn't want to risk it. She didn't want to see the look on his face. All she wanted was for him him to be...here, just like this. Nothing else mattered at the moment, nothing else could matter. So she simply held tight, and refused to let go.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Okay, so Ayumu had expected maybe a little bit of happiness to see him coming from the ANBU. I mean, it had been a while and it was a reunion of two friends. A little bit of happiness was to be expected. What came was way more than what Ayumu was prepared for. He couldn't see the tears with her mask in the way, but the way her voice wavered slightly caught his attention as she shouted her preferred title for him and began to run at him. This was unexpected. Ayumu tensed up and took one step back to plan a solid foot on the ground and avoid being bowled over. Shashu collided with the ANBU Captain who valiantly avoided being tackled fully to the ground as she hid her face against his chest and began a string of words barely able to be distinguished from one another.

From what he could understand, she at some point wondered whether he was dead or alive. Apparently, he had disappeared and he didn't even know it. Nobody would tell Shashu where he was, not even Shin. Something about a maimed body and not being a Med-nin. And lastly, she missed him a great deal and was happy to see him. Ayumu was taken aback by this sudden outpouring of emotions. Even after she had finished speaking, Shashu clung tightly to Ayumu so hard that it actually hurt a little. She did have six arms, after all. As the shock receded, Ayumu reached up to pat Shashu gently on the head. He had seen before that she had some level of respect for him, but this was far beyond what he had realized. Ayumu looked past her to Ko who was no doubt extremely confused, giving the boy an apologetic look.

"It's all right... I'm fine. I've been fine this whole time. I'm sorry we haven't seen each other in so long. I don't know what rumors you've heard about my disappearance, but I've been in Kumogakure for months taking care of Kahako and Susumu," Ayumu explained, trying to console his subordinate who still had her buried in his chest. He had noticed she let her mask disperse, so for now he was allowing this despite his discomfort if only to prevent her unintentionally revealing her identity. Ayumu himself had taken to not even wearing his mask sometimes. He had been publicly the ANBU Sennin for a while and so he felt there was really no point now. Anybody who he needed to be concerned about would already know he was in ANBU. Just then it occurred to Ayumu that Shashu might not know what he was talking about. If she had believed him disappeared without a trace, had she not heard?

"Wait, you haven't heard, then... Kahako and I had a son, Susumu. I took some time off because of an injury and ended up taking a bit more to stay home with them for a while. That's where I've been," Ayumu said, wondering how Shashu could have gotten so misinformed. He now had to wonder just what the Raikage had been telling people about him since he had resigned from his Senninship. Was he simply trying to give Ayumu some privacy, or was he maliciously misinforming people? Nah, Shin wasn't like that. It was bizarre, though. Unfortunately, they would never know why he had given birth to such a rumor now.

"Ah... but we should get back to your friend here. Would be unfair to keep him waiting, I just wanted to say hello," Ayumu said quickly, trying to turn the embarrassing attention off of himself. He also knew Ko probably wanted to get his potential recruitment back on track if he hadn't already changed his mind after seeing the bizarre display before him.

 

[Kazu]

Knight takes Bishop. Queen takes pawn.

Knight takes Rook. Queen moves in for the defense.

Knight moves forward. Check.

Kotsuko had been on the offensive in this conversation. He was breaking down barriers, stepping over lines, and pushing things as far as he could go. He had to, if he was to get himself into the inner-most circles of such a group. The ANBU were clouded by secrecy and mis-direction. If he wanted to have any sort of chance at making his way into their ranks, he would have to force his way in. Through strength or diplomacy, it didn't matter. This was his mindset.

However, it may be possible that he'd gone a tad bit too far. As he spoke the ancient words of Kumogakure's people, the masked woman seemed to have been upset by his actions. She seemed more menacing, somehow, and began to speak a language of clicks and hisses that reminded Kotsuko distinctly of a spider capturing and eating its prey. The hairs on his arm stood up as he recognized the threat.

Queen takes Knight. He'd miscalculated. Again.

As she turned her head away from him, Kotsuko let out a sigh of relief. He knew she wouldn't have harmed him, but perhaps he'd do best not to get on her bad side. The last thing he needed was her giving him a hard time. As he recovered from the oddly effective intimidation technique, he turned to see something even scarier: she was actually human.

Suddenly, a whole new side of her emerged. She was crying and talking way too fast, burying her head into the other man's chest. Kotsuko was thoroughly confused, jut looking at them with an inquisitive, yet not prying, look. The man seemed to pick up on this, and merely looked to him apologetically. Whatever. Kotsuko sat there and merely listened, trying not to get in the way of such a touching reunion. There were still questions that he had, but he figured that it might take a while for the conversation to shift back to the original focus; that is, if it would at all.

 

[Tsuirakuya Shashu]

Shashu sniffled and rubbed her eyes, relaxing a bit as Ayumu spoke. Apparently he had been been in Kumo this entire time and Shin had been lying to her about his whereabouts. Why former Raikage would do such a thing was beyond her. If he had intended to give Ayumu some private time Shin could still have told her where he was...it's not like she would have 'bothered' him per-se, as one could hardly consider spying on people you liked 'bothering' them. Really, the nerve. If Shin wasn't dead she would have had to storm into his office again and chew him out.

Despite Ayumu's insistence that he was fine Shashu was still a bit concerned. He seemed ok: he looked the same and sounded about normal. A bit of surreptitious poking revealed that he had lost a bit of muscle mass but was otherwise the same physically as far as she could tell. She was just beginning to blush a bit as she tried to figure out how to get a good sniff off him without being noticed when he dropped a bomb on her: he had a baby. He tried to turn the conversation back to Ko, but she was having none of it.

"Wait wait wait! You had a baby?!" Shashu exclaimed. She couldn't exactly put into words why, but the idea of Ayumu and Kahako having a baby together was probably the most exciting thing she had ever heard. She was practically bouncing with excitement. "He must be the most adorable thing ever! You said his name was Susumu? What's he like?"

She grabbed hold of his collar and jerked him down to eye level, suddenly serious.

"Do you have....pictures?"

[MFT:WC-284]​

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Despite all of Ayumu's assurances of his health, Shashu seemed none too ready to accept them without potentially having a Med-nin run some tests on him. He still couldn't believe she was so misinformed about where he had been all this time. He actually felt pretty guilty for not going out of his way to find her and let her know what was going on himself. Somehow he had just figured she would know. She always mysteriously seemed to know a lot about his life before he even had the chance to tell her. This was apparently the one exception. He had tried to play it off and turn attention back to the patiently? waiting student, but Shashu had gone completely off the rails with that revelation. Her voice seemed as though it suddenly went up an octave as she asked Ayumu to verify what he had just said.

"Yeah," Ayumu confirmed for her as she began to seemingly shake from excitement. Ayumu was fairly certain that even his own mother wasn't this excited by the news or even the birth itself. 'What have I done?' Ayumu thought as Shashu gushed forth questions, Ayumu simply nodding. She asked what the was like, but before Ayumu even had a chance to respond she had suddenly grabbed his collar and pulled him down to her level. With a very sincere look, she asked if Ayumu had pictures. Ayumu chuckled, shaking his head. "Of course, what kind of parent would I be if I didn't carry around pictures of my kid to show off?" he said, reaching for his wallet and pulling it out. He opened it up to a fold out chain of photos which tumbled down to reveal a few pictures of the infant Susumu. "You'll have to come see him at some point," Ayumu said, which would probably send Shashu rocketing to the moon with exuberance.

Ayumu turned his attention once more to the student who he had unintentionally hijacked Shashu from. Hopefully she would be distracted enough by the pictures to give Ayumu a moment's rest to talk. The kid had fought hard to gain the attention of ANBU, and he deserved more than to be ignored. "This was really unexpected, I assure you. I promise I'll force her to introduce you to the Sennin and if not that, I'll do it myself," Ayumu said to Ko, hopefully appeasing him. With some luck, the pictures provided to Shashu would have placated her and perhaps she would turn her attention back to Ko as well.

 

[Kazu]

How did things change so quickly? Just five minutes ago he was locked in mortal combat with the woman before him—the same one who, now, was freaking out over baby pictures. Ko wouldn't pretend like he understood what was happening. Nothing made sense to the young boy. Was it possible that she was clinically insane? He'd heard of people with dual personalities, where their two sides were incredibly different from each other. That would certainly explain a lot about her. It was also possible that she was just an incredibly eccentric, unusual, and otherwise oblivious person to the rest of the world around her. However, Ko thought the dual personality explanation was much, much better. It didn't take long for the poor man to look back over to him again, obviously uncomfortable with the way that things had played out. He mentioned that he we be personally putting in a name to the ANBU Sennin for him if this woman didn't do so. To Ko, that was wonderful news. He played it cool, though. "Thank you, I appreciate it." He gave the man a weak smile, but it instantly felt weird and so he stopped. That just wasn't who Ko was.

He looked over to the woman now, seeing if she would respond at all to him still being here. If he was honest, he was a bit annoyed with the woman. She was making him wait for her, which was not exactly something that he liked. He wasn't known for he patience, among friends, family, and even just acquaintances. The longer he had to wait for her, the more he contemplated just outright leaving. Still, he felt like the matter hadn't quite had the right closure. There was still something missing, that he hadn't quite gotten from her yet. He wasn't sure what it was, but for now he'd stick around. One more minute only, though. This was her last chance to say anything to him before he left. He couldn't be here all night, after all.

 

[Tsuirakuya Shashu]

The cascade of baby pictures fell like holy water to the starry-eyed ANBU. This time she did bounce in glee, clapping both hands over her mouth to stifle the uncharacteristic girly squees that threatened to force their way out.

"Oh Fayth he is the most adorable thing ever! Of course I'll come visit! I'd visit anyway! I'll even bring presents!" Shashu exclaimed in response to the invitation. No way was she going to miss seeing this magical creature up close. Her exuberance was cut short by Ayumu's words to Ko, who, as far as Shashu was concerned, had mysteriously disappeared for the past few minutes.

"Ahem," she coughed, pulling a fresh mask out of thin air before turning around. By the time Shashu faced Ayumu again her mask, voice, and body language were back to how they were before he showed up. "There'll be no need for that Shukun, I can handle it myself." She was a bit put out that his words had effectively ended any chance of messing with Ko on that front, but there would be other opportunities to tease the kid.

"As for you scrub," she walked forward to address Ko, tapping a finger on his nose. "Mind you don't get ahead of yourself. You've got potential, but that cocky attitude is more likely to land you face-down in the gutter than not." The ANBU leaned in close and added softly, "And if you so much as breathe a word of what I said to Ayumu-sama to anyone I will personally cut out your tongue and feed it back to you, the long way."

Straightening back up, Shashu swatted at her clothes in an attempt to dust off some the sand from the Colosseum. "Now then, as Shukun said I'll be putting a word in for you with the Sennin. He's a busy man, but I'll have him look over the footage from the fight." She tapped her head as she mentioned footage, if the kid was half as bright as he acted he'd understand the implication. "If he likes you I'll be in touch. Any last questions? I've got a nice comfy bed to get back to, and scrubs like you need their rest if you're ever going to amount to anything."

[MFT: WC-377]​

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Ko was noticeably and understandably uncomfortable, despite Ayumu's best efforts to return the focus back to his ANBU dreams. He offered thanks and a weak smile that quickly disappeared which Ayumu could only awkwardly return. Meanwhile, Shashu was flipping the fuck out over pictures of Susumu which had acted as a pretty decent distraction. She was now determined to visit and shower Susumu in presents which Ayumu was sure the child would be excited about if he wasn't basically a peeing, pooping, eating, crying vegetable that just kind of existed until he got older and realized he could do things by himself. That's what babies are like, right? But hey, he would probably smile and giggle or something. Fortunately, after Ayumu made his promise, Shashu under went another dramatic personality shift and went back to harsh but cool sempai mode again. Ayumu and Ko probably collectively breathed a sigh of relief as her stern voice returned insisting that she could handle Ko herself. Ayumu was fine with this, of course, as it meant less work for him.

Shashu turned her attention once more to Ko addressing him brusquely as she warned him about his cockiness. She also gave him a polite warning about not discussing the way he had seen her act with anybody. 'Is this how everyone else sees her? Man, I'd almost be a little intimidated she wasn't so excited about the prospect of seeing a baby a second ago," Ayumu thought as he watched the interaction between her and Ko. She informed him that she would be speaking to the Sennin on his behalf and showing him the footage from the fight. She had apparently recorded it with the snapshot jutsu. 'Oho... that required some forethought. Was she testing him from the very start?' Ayumu wondered, feeling slightly proud of the ANBU. At any rate, things seemed to be wrapping up and Ayumu needed to continue his rounds so he could head home himself.

"Well, it was good seeing you, Bikou, I enjoyed watching the fight. I can see your skills have grown a lot. I imagine I'll see you soon. Enjoy your night," he said to Shashu before cocking his head towards Ko. "Good luck," he said with sincerity, a perhaps worrying solemn look on his face as he said it. What did it mean? What was there for him to need luck for? Why was there a concerned look on Ayumu's face? Well, he'd just have to wonder. Ayumu pocketed his wallet, briefly wondering if he had noticed some pictures missing but dismissing the worry. With that, Ayumu turned and launched himself up into the air towards the stands with a chakra infused leap. Another bound from the top of one of the seat's backs and he disappeared into the night sky over the stands.

[Topic Left, unless stopped]

 

[Kazu]

It seemed the touchy-feely stuff was done with—good riddance. The spider-woman had seemed to come to her senses, ending her high-pitched tone and creating a new mask with which to cover her face. She seemed to be trying to backpedal her way out of what "Shukun" had said about reporting these events to the ANBU Sennin, though Kotsuko wasn't buying any of it. She liked to play with her food, true to her mentality as a hunter. Ko would play the game with her, but he was practically going through the motions with it at this point. That is, until the woman leaned down to speak with him...privately. Her words turned ice cold in an instant, tinged with the killer intent that could only exist from a natural born hunter. No wonder she was in the ANBU. Her words had sent an involuntary chill down his spine. He knew she meant it, and would very willingly knock him down a peg or two. Or five. He would have to make sure to be extra careful around her, as the wrong move from him could end everything. As she straightened up, the young boy gave her a quick nod. "Duly noted."

She shifted back to her "normal" mode, as if any part of that woman's psyche could be considered normal. This was, what, three different sides of her now? It was going to start becoming hard to keep track of if she kept pulling out new ones. Kotsuko was glad that there were only three of them. Her comments about sending the information off to the Sennin pleased Kotsuko, knowing that things should turn out about as well as expected. Considering her analysis earlier, the young boy felt more than confident in what would follow. She finished up by asking if he had any more questions, to which he merely shrugged. "None that I can think of. Thank you, though, for the spar. It was...interesting." Her friend—his name turned out to be Ayumu, and not Shukun—moved to make his departure, but stopped on his way out to wish the young boy luck. That wasn't the most comforting thing ever, and the young boy wondered if it really was that bad. It couldn't be, could it? Hopefully not.

Whatever. The young boy would have to just shrug these kinds of things off for now. Events were out of his hands, now, and all he'd be able to do was go home and rest. He'd have to be patient, and see what came of this whole event. Hopefully something good, but very possibly nothing at all. Kotsuko would have to see. It just sucked that waiting patiently was one of his worst skills imaginable.

[ooc: Topic Left Unless Stopped.]