Laxy had always been his problem, beneath the heard working and harder pushing rough and grumbly angry dog-man persona was a child that just wanted to be lazy and enjoy what life he had left; there was no telling how many years of his life the incident with his... uncle... had shaved off, let alone the years spent laying in a hospital bed in and out of comas and various other illnesses; and now this most recent bout with death; years in the wilderness with no one to take care of him when he nearly died of pneumonia and whatever else he'd picked up...

Gods, Amaya was going to hate him when he found her and she realized how bad he'd gotten.

That was for... later; though. He was avoiding going fully back into the village just yet; there were too many questions that he knew he'd get hit with, to which he didn't, or couldn't, answer; and for once he was letting himself be a little afraid of that. He'd never let himself be afraid of things; and maybe fear wasn't even the right name for the motion he was feeling... more, trepidation. He worried, more than feared. He had almost no real family before he left; the idea that they would reject him now that he was back... it was a bit scary, yes; but more worrying, troubling. He could handle fear, he just wasn't ever good with rejection. It wasn't like he wasn't a dead man walking anyway. A few small changes to his appearence and he could go become some nameless wandering hunter or something in the deep woods and no one would be the wiser.

Still, that didn't sit right with him. He wanted to come home, to e home and feel home and have his family and some semblance of his life back.

Yeah.

He could retire and just... enjoy the time he had left.

Or something.

Weeeeeee.

At least the woods where homely. He'd lived and stalked and loved and lost in these woods his entire life, and they would always been welcoming. The ancient oaks and towering pines gave him strength and peace, they never changed, and with any luck they never would. Forever a moment of peace, forever the home of the heart of the Inuzuka clan. Yeah, that was a nice thought. Something immutable and unchanging in this world of disaster and racing pacing life. Not his style, not anymore. Not unless it had to be.

He wouldn't mind getting his hat back. He wasn't aiming for it; not so long as there was a good man standing at the head of the village. Or woman; he didn't discriminate on gender lines. So long as they where qualified, he was happy. He could let himself rest. Maybe.

Maybe.

Was that bush rustling?

He wasn't smelling anything animal... maybe he'd stumbled on a ninja...

Or he was going insane.

Either way.

"I can see you, and hear you. Come out, before I drown you.~"

WC: 521

"I can see you, and hear you. Come out, before I drown you.~"

Aisling, who had been hiding from her older cousin Jinx, poked her head out of the bush she had been hiding in and looked toward the individual who had spoken of drowning her. The girl was very pale skinned, and roughly six years old, with long waist length white hair and the same red eyes that her mother Amaya had. She was dressed in a variety of greens and browns, pants and a long sleeved top with a tunic over top: far warmer than the weather dictated. Around the young female's eyes were dark circles; indicitive of either a lack of sleep or sickness, both being a mixture of the truth in her case. Without thinking the young child responded in her usual fashion, which was to say through telepathy, "What if I had been a fish? You can't drown a fish." This was followed by a mental child-like giggle before she went silent again.

In the distance came Jinx's voice. "Aisling...! Come out! Come on... Aunt Amaya is going to whoop me if we don't stick together." Jinx was coming closer, pushing branches out of her way and not bothering to keep herself silent. She had been tasked with keeping an eye on Aisling today while Amaya was busy elsewhere, and Aisling had given her the slip.

Aisling, hearing her cousin, looked between the individual who had told her to come out of hiding and then in the direction of her cousin as if weighing her options. This guy was clearly much older than her, and she had no idea who he was or what he wanted, but she also didn't want to be found by her cousin just yet. She didn't often get to come outside since she was always sick so she didn't want to have to go back in so soon.

"Aaiiiisssslllliiiing! Come out..."

"No..." Giggle. "You come find me!" Aisling ducked back into the bush, clearly more worried about hiding then coming out, just as Jinx walked into the clearing.

Jinx stopped upon seeing Kenta and then glanced sideways to the bush that had clearly moved. Black eyes shifted back toward Kenta as what had been a smile on her face turned impassive. Unlike her cousin Jinx was far less child-minded: a stranger in the woods wasn't something she would automatically look at in passing - especially not when her little cousin was nearby. "Who are you?", she asked curiously

Suddenly, Uchiha babies. Wow, that was... not what he'd expected. He was expecting some genin kid's or something; there was chakra to be sensed, but not a huge amount; on par with a genin or really young chuunin, but now that he saw uchiha kids... that made more sense.

How did he know they were Uchiha?

Simple; his last living friends/family were a mix of Uchiha, Inuzuka, and Kamizuki. He'd known Naota and Amaya for many years, and he loved them like the siblings he'd never had; ontop of them being his bodyguards, personal medic, best man and maid of honor respectively at his wedding, etc etc. So he knew his way around Uchiha and Uchiha babies very, very well.

More to the point, he knew these particular babies.

He'd changed their diapers.

Jinx was a damn near clone of her father, but she did have her bitch mother's features to a small degree. Damn good thing she took so heavily after her father. Same eyes, same hidden power, same... smell, to her chakra. She was definitely Daddy's girl.

Little Aisling... tiny, sickly, baby Aisling. A literal clone of her mother, such a tiny, beautiful thing. Such potential buried by illness and an overprotective mother. How he understood her, he was much the same; minus the overprotective mother. His own mother had never coddled him, but she did keep him safe...

Hnnn... painful memories; bittersweet emotions and feelings and god he missed his mother and father sometimes, so very much.

"Babychicks, you don't remember me anymore? I have been gone a while, so I'm not surprised." That, and he was hidden behind the shadows of the cowl of his cloak; face a mask of darkness behind which he was fighting back tears of joy and pain. He was able to compose himself in the moments before he lifted the cowl from his head and revealed himself to them; the wind rustling through the trees allowing a flicker of sunlight to filter into the clearing in which he stood before them, allowing the golden of his hair and eyes to flash and the bright red of the fang mark on his face to be easily visible to either of the girls that was looking at him, if either was. "I guess this old dog has been forgotten, then.~"

I mean really, it would be more surprising if either of them remembered him, he'd left when they were very, very young; so really, there was no reason for either to be able to; outside of Uchiha being strange, powerful creatures. Still, he didn't mind; they were Uchiha he liked, and that was rare for him; Uchiha or otherwise, he didn't really like anyone, but they were family, and he liked family.

"Jinx dear, I just saw your father not long ago. Does he know you're playing out here? Aisling, my little one, how is your mother? I haven't seen Amaya yet, and I'm willing to bet she doesn't know you're out here in the woods. Did you sneak away again, hm? Or am I wrong and she's given you a bit of freedom over the years. Last I saw of you she wouldn't let you more than three feet away at any given time unless you were with Naota or I."

And now was the time for sitting. He was in no rush to move on, and if they didn't flee from this stranger Inuzuka that knew them and their parents and acted like family and old friend but they might and likely didn't remember, he wanted to be comfortable to talk and play and whatever else. He wasn't kidding about not being in a hurry; running into Naota had given him time to slow down and just... think; he needed to take things slowly, and not rush in with his head askew and wrong; he needed to not rush in angry and hurting and in a mindset that would break Michi's heart. That didn't help him; he couldn't bare to hurt Michizuka more than he already had.

Better to sit and rest and maybe cheer up with his godchildren, yes.

WC: 720

720 + 521 = 1241

Aisling peaked back out from the bush she had hidden herself back in. Jinx's back was to her, and Jinx's body language spoke of... protecting? Over-protective cousin was over-protective. Aisling looked back toward the male as he spoke as if he knew them. In truth Aisling couldn't exactly place his face though the single fang marking on his face definitely spoke volumes. Still, she was going to follow Jinx's lead on this to save her cousin from additional stress.

Jinx stared at Kenta a moment longer before his words, the fact that he clearly knew them and their parents, struck a cord. She had been rather young when Kenta had disappeared, but not as young at Aisling. Not young enough not to remember him now that her memory had been jarred. "Ken... Kenta?" That was all Jinx needed before she launched herself across the distance that separated him and all but fell to her knees hugging the now sitting man happily. "Yay! You're home!" Oh yes, the happy Uchiha was very happy now.

Aisling, seeing Jinx's reaction, and hearing her pronounce who this man who knew them was slowly untangled herself from the bush, ignoring the leaves now littering her long white hair. Once free of the bush - something that took a moment because of the many layers of warm clothing she was wearing - she wandered over at a slower but still excited pace. She sat down gingerly on the other side of Kenta, taking care as if she were afraid of breaking herself. "Momma doesn't know I'm out here. She's busy doing something at the hospital, so she had Jinx keep an eye on me... and I kind of slipped away."

Jinx, after watching her cousin carefully as if afraid she might explode or break into pieces, stuck her tongue out. "You won't get away so easily next time." Jinx was humming with energy and excitement now, and barely able to keep herself from bouncing in place happily as she released Kenta from her hug.

Aisling, meanwhile, was the very sign of stillness and calm. That didn't mean of course she wasn't excited to see Kenta, she was just almost completely opposite from her cousin. While Jinx was bouncy and full of energy Aisling was quite and reserved. "Does my momma know you're here, yet?", Aisling would ask Kenta quietly, preferring to use her voice, a rarity for her, and a sort of gift in a way as so few actually got to hear it.

Ah yes, this was what he needed, happy faces and smiling hearts; family and friends and people he loved around him again. Lonely wasn't good for an Inuzuka, they were pack beasts through and through, so being separated from any semblance of family and clan was difficult and soul shattering. Even just a trickle of familial warmth and love was enough to invigorate the golden dog's spirit and lift the darkness just a little bit. He was returning the hug with equal parts of enthusiasm; although being very careful to not crush the little one. He might not be the strongest Inuzuka around, and Uchiha were a sturdy bunch, but he was still significantly larger and stronger than she was; so he could conceivably hurt her pretty badly if he wasn't careful. "Yes, little Jinx. I'm home, finally. I'm sorry I was gone for so long; I hadn't meant to be. Things are complicated when you're an adult, nothing ever works how you want it to, not always anyway."

Aisling moving toward him more cautiously was expected; she had been such a little thing when he'd left, her not being thoroughly convinced he was safe to approach, even in light of her cousin's tacklehug, was understandable; more so since he was an unknown in relation to illnesses and such he could be carrying at the moment; always a danger to someone like her. But the she was physically speaking and he could have cried; she was so like his son, he didn't physically speak either very other; or hadn't when he'd left; and without any context to know otherwise, he was defaulting to what he did know, which made hearing her voice amazing and glorious and just... heartbreaking in a good way, if that made any sense to anyone but him. "Not yet, child. Not unless your uncle has already told her; but knowing him he won't say anything until I do. I've been gone a long time, he would understand that throwing me directly into a hospital room while Amaya rips me apart for not taking care of myself isn't high on my list of priorities. Don't misunderstand, I would love to see her after so long; I just need a bit longer before she demolishes me and I get to stare at a ceiling for a month." His tone was light and joking in the way only an Inuzuka's could be; growled and deep (for him) and all in the eyes yet still an audible tone somehow.

"How have you been, girls? What have I missed, hm?"

WC: 446

446 + 1241 = 1687

Aisling and Jinx listened as Kenta said that he was home, and apologized for being gone so long. Aisling, feeling more comfortable now, looked up at Kenta and reached up to touch the fang marking on his cheek. He was coming back to her memory slowly; far more so than Jinx given how much younger she had been when he left. But, she was remembering him nonetheless and this was causing her to feel far more comfortable around him. After a moment she would simply smile from ear to ear and lean against him, pausing only long enough to cover her mouth and cough before getting settled and comfortable: clearly back to being entirely content.

"Momma would probably make you all better, then whoop you." Aisling settled on saying with a giggle.

Jinx, hearing her cousin cough, kept looking at her intently for a second before she was content and comfortable. She turned her attention onto Kenta and shrugged. "I'm just glad you're home: i'm sure everyone else will be too." At Kenta's question she squirmed a bit uncomfortably. "Well... Not a whole lot. I'm not living with my mom anymore... just dad. I graduated too!" Perking right up she reached into her bag and pulled out her headband to then show Kenta. "See?! I keep forgetting to put it on..."

Aisling giggled at Jinx as she hastily tied the headband around her neck. "I get to be home now; no more in the hospital.... not unless I get bad again." Neither girl for a moment asked why he had left; they were both glad to just have him back - both believed strongly in family, and Kenta was definitely family.

He shifted a bit to allow the girls to settle and rest against him, reaching to his neck to tug at the hidden catch that kept his cloak held together and covering his entire form, allowing it to fall open enough for it to be used like a blanket for either of them if they wanted; and revealing the mass of furs and tanned leather clothing he'd made for himself when his old ninja garb had fallen apart years ago. His father had taught him as a child how to tan leather and preserve furs to use as clothing; he wasn't great, but necessity was the mother of innovation, and he'd learned quickly how to make clothing that held together in the wilds. Heavy bear pelts served as warm, and watertight, overlayers, with deer and rabbit for softness and bulk below. It was comfortable, and it kept him from getting soaking wet in the rains; a death sentence for someone like him. It also hid his nature dog scent; wearing these furs he smelled like a wet bear, not a wet dog, and that made it easier to pass by. A dog was out of place in the deep woods; but not a bear, or a deer, or whatever other large animals stalked that particular region.

"She will, in time. There's no escaping it, not without vanishing again; and I don't plan to leave for a while; not without taking my family this time anyway." He nodded thoughtfully, fully convinced of his own words. He wouldn't leave the village again without taking the people he cared about with him; but there shouldn't be a reason to leave again. Not without some serious bullshit, anyway. "I'm rather glad that things have been calm. Better to be calm and peaceful than otherwise, yes. Even more so that you're no longer stuck with your... mother." The only time he ever chewed and spat the word mother was in relation to the 'woman' that had carried Jinx. She wasn't much of a mother, and Kenta didn't hide his distaste for her at all. Kenta was an equal opportunity type of person; he didn't discriminate on gender lines at all; but that also meant that he was totally comfortable being a raging asshole to any female creature that deserved it. Jinx's mother did that just.

"I remember when I was finally able to go home after I was sick... the first night in my own bed was... glorious." He wasn't entirely lying; he'd had some small... hiccups over sleeping in his childhood bed that first night; what with everything that had happened in that house, it was no wonder he'd left as soon as he could. "Being able to breath the fresh air and feel the warm sun whenever I wanted was wonderful. As was a break from that bland hospital food. I don't care how healthy it's supposed to be; forcing an Inuzuka to be borderline vegetarian isn't healthy for anyone around him." Might explain why he was still nearly a pure carnivore; he had nothing personally against other foods, he just heavily prefered his meats and such; although he'd eat breads and such all day every day if he could.

"I bet if I bring you home, she won't get mad at you. She'll be too busy being mad at me to remember to be upset that you snuck off."

WC: 590

590 + 1687 = 2277

Jinx frowned a bit, more thoughtful than sad as she contemplated Kenta's words. "All of your family? Like... us too, and Aunt Amaya, and my dad?" She didn't want Kenta to disappear again, not without taking them with: family was supposed to stick together, despite her mother having a hand in raising her it was something that had been ingrained in her since she was born. Of course, she was over-looking the fact that her father and aunt would definitely want a say in this, too...

Aisling, meanwhile, simply snuggled in deeper to Kenta's side, using the cloak much like a blanket as the wind picked up a bit. A shiver ran through the young child before she all but disappeared beneath the cloak and away from the wind's grip. "Yes, take us with if you leave.", came Aisling's voice from beneath everything. Aisling pondered over what else Kenta had said, about her mother being more mad at him than her: she had a feeling her mother would be a lot of things at seeing Kenta, but angry likely wouldn't be topping that list.

Jinx nodded her head, obviously agreeing, as she watched Aisling duck and hide from the wind. It didn't bother her, in fact it felt quite nice, but she knew well enough by now the difference between herself and Aisling. It was why Jinx was so over-protective over her young cousin as well - though, not quite as much as Amaya herself was.

"Oh yes, of course little one. Everyone I care for, all of my family. That's you both, your parents, my children... everyone. No one gets left behind if I leave again. The only reason I had to go alone was because it was too dangerous for you all to come with me; what with you two and the triplets being babies, among other issues. I left to protect you and the village; but it would seem I was gone far longer than I needed to be. Things did not happen as planned, sadly; and I was never told it was safe to return home. So I came home on my own; I refuse to be exiled due to the neglect of my successors. Takao was a good kid, but from what i've heard... it's been a string of one failure after another since he stepped down; right up to this new Senju that seems to be rather... sparse on the grounds; at least according to what sources I could contact while I was gone. Sad, really; but the village itself seems to be doing alright."

He yawned softly then, he was rather worn out from the meeting with Naota earlier; and he really could use some sleep eventually; but he was enjoying the girls company too much to get up. "So, you've made Genin then, Jinx. How badly did you trounce your class, hm? Easy graduation, I'd bet. Did you break your father's records, eh? Or did you coast through and enjoy yourself? That's what I did; I coasted pretty hard through my year or so in the academy; I was so late to join because of how sick I was for so long; but I still ended up finishing supremely early. They just don't push the kids hard enough anymore; least they didn't when I was a student. Everything was so easy; even in the advanced classes you could sleep through most of it if you had a decent eye for books and a lick of talent. Even the non-clanners could get ahead with a bit of book study and a lick of talent. I watched some kids who came from a family of merchants wipe one of your cousin's butts at shurikenjutsu; it was the best thing I'd ever seen, given how famous Uchiha tend to be with shurikenjutsu. Fun times..."

WC: 405

405 + 2277 = 2682

"Oh yes, of course little one. Everyone I care for, all of my family. That's you both, your parents, my children... everyone. No one gets left behind if I leave again..." This was good, this was very good. Jinx was quite happy to hear this. She didn't like the idea of their family being separated: she didn't even know if she could actually properly handle that idea and process it. Even thinking about it now caused her heart to ache, and her head to hurt. She loved and cared about every member of her family; extended or otherwise. Of course, Jinx wasn't so unwise to the ways of the world to not realize what all of them leaving would mean: if they didn't get permission it meant they'd all be in trouble. Of course, that was to be handled later, and she was sure it was something the adults would discuss if it came to that. So, pushing the thought from her mind she focused on the rest of their discussion.

"I got through the Academy quite easily, actually. With my dad's help and Aunt Amaya's and everyone else's it was easy. I knew most of the stuff before I went in there..." This actually caused her to frown; clearly she had been hoping to learn something new and interesting, but that hadn't actually been the case. "It was kind of disappointing."

Aisling, now that the wind was blowing peaked her head back out from beneath of Kenta's cloak and grinned at him. "I heard my momma grumbling about the lack of leadership... maybe one of you should wear the funny hat." Oh yes, the innocent views of a young child, how simple and easy she made things sound. "Momma won't let me in the Academy... I keep asking her and she keeps saying no."

"Sounds right. You have too much potential to need the academy for longer than the bare minimum time required. I mean really; it should be easier to sped through the place if you can handle the work and prove that you've got the skills and maturity. Many of the best ninja in history outright skipped the academy all together, or else finished in less than a year; and early at that. I bet Naota only put you in to look good on the records; neither of you really need the place, you're better trained than the Chunnin running it anyway."

Hmmm, with that wind blowing, he should get them home soon; before Aisling caught a cold and Amaya skinned him alive a second time. It wasn't like she couldn't kill him, revive him, skin him, revive him again, and skin him again after all. Yep, not fun.

"It was better when I wore the hat, yeah. Things got done, wars didn't have to be fought over stupid things, the village was prosperous. Or so I've been told; I really need to spend some time catching up on the last few years." Or just skim a file and pretend that he remembered any of it; he wasn't much for caring about policy or tradition; how could he, with all the ways he was contra-policy. "We'll see, I may wear it again soon..."

Okay, that wind was making him cool down, and that was saying something; what with his icy cold chakra nature and thick clothing. Yeah. "Come on girls, let's get home before one or more of us catches our deaths. You can get a giggle out of Amaya turning me into a wall ornament." He didn't even have to shift them around, merely slipping arms around them and lifting them up to ride on his shoulders. He wasn't the tallest male around; but he was well above average, and it would make for a nice ride for them. Scrawny he was, but he had wide shoulders; far more so than was altogether good for a speed-focused fighter; he lost some aerodynamic potential because of his broad build, but that was the price he paid for being an Inuzuka-Ookamizuka. No use crying over genetic, really.

"So, where is Amaya at, hm? Office, or properly working?"

WC: 400

400 + 2682 = 3082

"... You.....", the single word cracked like thunder filled with all kinds of raging emotions: fear, anger, sadness, relief - mostly relief. Even from a distance she recognized Kenta. His voice, his face, the way she saw him. She knew it was him. Standing there, holding her little sister and her neice on his shoulders as if it were every other day.

What was Amaya doing there? Well, she had been looking for her niece and little sister ever since she had returned from her office. She had tracked them here just in time to hear the last of what Kenta was saying and see him pick the two children up. Amaya was stunned: she had had no idea that he was back, no idea that he was coming back. Amaya was struck still for the moment while her hyper active brain attempted to process what it was she was seeing and come up with an appropriate reaction.

And then it happened. She processed what was going on, and her mind and body came up with a response. With tears running down her cheeks she launched herself the twenty feet or so across the distance that separated herself and Kenta. When she reached him, were he not to move, she would wrap her arms around him in a hug while trying to get a hold of herself. "You stupid... you...so... stupid... leaving like that... Just... stupid dog..." Amaya's words broke off for a moment into incoherent mumbling as she sniffled and attempted to really get control over her emotions: this wasn't like her at all. Normally Amaya was pretty good at controlling herself, her emotions, in fact she was thinking she was likely startling her niece and sister as they would have never seen her like this except when dealing with the death of Ashi and even then that had been a day filled with more rage than tears.

After several seconds she would release Kenta from the hug and step back while reaching up to wipe away the tears as if they were an annoyance. She sniffled once, twice, and then would get a hold of herself long enough to glare at him and give him a good and proper look over. "What were you thinking leaving like that?! Come on.. you're coming to my house. I'm going to give you a good meal, make sure you're not hurt, and then I might just kick your ass old man.."

Jinx and Aisling seemed healthy and fine despite wandering out into the forest alone, so for now she didn't threaten to whoop either of their asses for taking off as they had. "i'm not taking no for an answer by the way... even if I have to drag you kicking and screaming. Does anyone else know you're back?"

Word count: 474

.... Suddenly Amaya.

A very upset, angry and crying, Amaya. Joy.

Jinx was already trying to formulate some excuse, some reasoning as to why it should be okay for her and Aisling to have wandered this deep into the forest. They shouldn't have gone, she should have been keeping a better eye on Aisling: she shouldn't have allowed her to just wander off like that. No, none of this should have happened.

Not that she could regret it since they had found Kenta, but yeah.

Yet, Amaya didn't even question their location. No, instead she started to cry, to cry and launch herself at Kenta in what was an obvious attempt at a hug. She was bawling her eyes out, something that neither child had seen before. Amaya was always the perfect face of calmness, even when she was raging, it was what made her so terrifying. You never truly knew what she was thinking or about to do with how good of a grip she had on her emotions.

Yet, here she was freaking out, breaking down. It took her Aunt Amaya a moment before she seemed able to control herself again and then when she did she spoke of them coming back to her house: and how she wasn't going to take no for an answer. All before asking if anyone else knew that Kenta was back yet. Jinx and Aisling kept quiet and simply focused their attention onto Kenta as they waited for his response.

Oh, he was caught. Well, if anything, this would go down a bit better than him strolling into someone's house/office and causing an official uproar. The more people outside the family that saw him, the more likely the military police or ANBU would be dragged into the hullabaloo, and that was something no one wanted. Really; he was either listed as KIA, MIA, or Defected; and none of those came with fun times when official procedures came into play. In the instant before she reached him he seemed to double; he'd popped a shadow clone to hold the girls so that he didn't accidentally drop them if she knocked him off balance; which given he was tired and old was possible.

Well, old for being.... 29? 24? Jesus, how old was he again? That was mildly depressing.

"Like I'd bother fighting you." He was wrapping her up in what would be a bone crushing hug if he had the strength to crush her bones; she was sturdier than he ever was, so she could take him on his best day, of which this was not. "A steak or twelve, a hot bath, some clean clothes, and just a chance to relax before we deal with the paperwork of all this would be... heavenly. Specially if someone can find Michi and the kids for me. I would have gone right to them after running into Naota a bit ago; but I found the girls first. Priorities, mine are strange."

He released her when she began backing away; finally getting a good look at her after the tackle hug was over; familiar face was bringing joy to his heart and raising his spirits higher. It was enough to bring some color to his pale skin; he was tanned by the wilds, sure; but he was still pale as all hell compared to 'normal' for him. After a few days he'd be back to normal; a good washing and some sun would fix his hair too; and he'd finally look like himself again.

"You know I didn't leave because I wanted too. I did it to keep everyone safe. Takao was supposed to send for me to come home when things settled, but I guess shit went to hell after I left. Someone can fill me in later, right now let's get these two home before they get sick, yeah?" He took the girls from his clone and resettled them as it disappeared from existence, settling them before turning toward the village, "Speaking of, let's let the girls slide for sneaking out this time, hm? They found me, so they did good.~"

WC: 450

450 + 3082 = 3532

Amaya laughed softly, feeling life and happiness fill her once more. Oh, she hadn't lived a sad life in the past few years, and had plenty to be happy for, but this was the kind of happiness that reached the soul. One of her best friends, someone she considered a brother, was back - there was no better feeling in the world than that. "We'll make it twelve steaks, then.", she said with a grin.

"Naota knows your back?" Good, this was good. Things would be more comfortable then, and less surprises to have to deal with. "When we get back to the village I'll send for them." She was sure Jinx or Aisling would want to go get them, and that was fine, if not she would: the less people who knew about this the definite better until Kenta was ready to deal with all the storm that was about to happen.

"I knew you wouldn't have left unless you had too, especially without your family. But... let's not discuss that now. Might give me more reason to begin to hate this village." Oh yes, she trusted Kenta enough to voice her opinions in front of him. She hadn't cared for Konoha for a long while, at least not with the things that had been going on. Their current Hokage hadn't been seen in quite a long time, and that was only furthering Amaya's agitation. Plus, there were other reasons she didn't quite want to get into just yet - not in front of the girls, specifically her little sister.

"Eh, I can't blame them. I used to do it too when I was little and sick. Can't count the amount of times I had to be tracked down and found." Amaya grinned suddenly, leading the way as she talked out of the forest. She headed toward the village but not directly; there was a path that led to her house that would keep them from going through the village - which would mean less people to see Kenta. "Used to give my parents quite the gray hair... It was fun, too. After a while Naota knew all my favorite spots to hide so he'd have to find my new ones. After a while it was like a game for us; I'd run off and hide even when I didn't have to.." She would look suddenly at Aisling, eyeing her. "Not that that means you should start doing it young lady.. I was older than you when I pulled those kinds of stunts." Her grin would appear once more, her house nearing in the distance. "Home sweet home. I... moved to the outskirts a while back. Being in the middle of everything.. I didn't like it. I prefer the peace.", she would explain on the location change.

"Come on, this wind is.. off." It was getting colder; and not just because of Kenta's natural coldness. It was like a storm was coming, or perhaps the nature around them was responding in ways that nature often did when things were about to happen. The door would be unlocked and opened, as Amaya held it open for them all to enter. "Jinx, would you go get Michi and them please? Don't tell them why... I... well, I don't know how they're going to react, and I don't want people asking questions. Go ahead and get comfortable Kenta; my house is your house."

Word count: 580 + 474 = 1,054

Jinx and Aisling giggled at the twelve steaks comment: they weren't surprised by it, mearly amused. They lived around some big eaters, so it was no shock that someone could honestly down that many steaks in one sitting. Even Aisling with her own picky eating habits could down some food when she got the motivation to do so. They were quite happy with the ride on Kenta's shoulders, and the fact that neither one of them would have to walk: it was faster this way anyway given their much smaller legs then the adults present.

The girls stayed quiet as they listened to the conversation at hand. They didn't have to be told not to repeat anything, they knew better. What happened within the family remained in the family, it was as simple as that. Secrets were secrets. The girls did exchange a glance when Amaya spoke of her obvious growing dislike of the village, but it was more of a curiosity than anything: they didn't know the whole story behind it, and clearly as Amaya went silent on that particular topic it was something that they weren't meant to know.

Amaya led the way, and assuming Kenta followed, they would be at Amaya's house fairly soon. At Amaya's instructions she would nod. "I'll try and find them."

"I want to come, too!" If neither girl was told no, and Kenta put them down, the pair would disappear as quick as they could off in the obvious direction of where Michi and the children were living: they would try there first and then keep up the search if they couldn't find them.

He followed without question, he figured things would have changed in the years while he was gone; so taking a different path to her home wasn't unexpected. Even less so when she told him that she'd moved outside of the village proper; he'd barely even approached the edge of the village when he and Michizuka had found a house together; he couldn't stay in his childhood home in the clan compound after he'd recovered enough to be on his own, so he'd basically put himself at the bare minimum distance from the crowds he could stand and still afford a good sized place for them.

He had no reason to stop the girls from going together, it was safer in pairs, and knowing Michi they might have to go pretty far out to find them if they weren't at home; Michi might be a Kamizuki, but he married into the Inuzuka and Kenta had done a good job of toughening him up. He'd make sure the kids got the training they needed to be Inuzuka, on top of the Kamizuki mental training, so there was a 50-50 chance Michi and the kids were waaaaaaaay out in the deep forests right now.

Setting the girls down was easy enough; neither of them was heavy alone, and together they barely registered to his muscles. Deciding to be an adorable godfather/uncle person, he used his rather insane physical contortion skills to bend backwards so far that the girls could slide off his shoulders without having to fall; their feet would be touching the ground and they would be positioned properly to just stand up. Once they where clear he rotated just right to let him flip around himself mid-air, giving the girls a little show before they moved off. "If you have to go further than the pack's land to find them, come home. You won't find them if they're out in the deep woods on survival training, trust me. I trained Michizuka myself, and I push harder than my cousins do."

He watched them run off before following Amaya into the house, finding the first chair that looked like he could get back out of without crying and sprawling out in that way he always did. He was a dog at heart, so sitting 'normally' wasn't in his skillset. Nope, he was settled nice and far back, with a leg thrown over the armrest, a foot propped up on the small table in front of the chair, and head thrown back across the top of the backrest in a position that would have let him pass out for days if he'd been aiming too. No, he was just resting, not looking to pass out or whatever; just settle in and remember what being 'human' was. "What's it been now, 10 years? Damn close, I think. I lost count of the days after the first year. I wasn't expecting to be gone even that long; I only stayed gone this long because all the news I could find was horrible, and I thought it was still too dangerous for me to come back. Seems like I overestimated my own importance; did they just forget about me, or what? Takao wouldn't; but I don't know who the frick took over from him. Something about an Uchiha? Or was it an Uzumaki? I think I heard a Senju was running the show now."

Yeah, a bit of business, but it was fair questions. He'd been Hokage when he left, it was his job to ask about things like this. He had every intention of taking the spot back, eventually; so he'd need to catch up everything. "But frick that for now; how have you been? Aisling and Jinx and Naota and everyone? He and I didn't really get a chance to talk... he sort of ran off to cover my ass and buy me some time before the ANBU came looking. How's my pack doing? Your clan? Etc etc. I wanna know who I need to hurt before I turn myself in and deal with that headache. Did they KIA me, or am I a Nuke-nin now? Tell me everything, yeah?"

WC: 721

721 + 3532 = 4253

Amaya watched Kenta put the girls down in a fashion that she figured would leave them giggling up a storm before they both took off to find Michi and the children. Amaya had no problem with Aisling going, and figured it would be good for her to get out some more. As much as Amaya wanted to shelter her baby sister she knew eventually the girl was going to spread her proverbial wings and start doing things her own way - sick or not. Shaking her head with a sigh Amaya headed into the kitchen while Kenta got comfortable.

Quick work was made with removing the needed meat and ingredients for the food she planned on making Kenta. Given the open concept of her house - Amaya didn't like feeling restrained or blocked in - it would be more than easy enough to prep the food and get it started while still being able to hold a conversation.

Kenta had a lot of questions and she didn't blame him; she would too had she been gone that long. She wasn't going to ask anything of him, yet, but soon enough: she was sure everyone was going to want to hear the answers, so there was no point in him having to say things over and over again. "Uh.. let's see. The last I honestly bothered to pay attention to anything going on in the village outside of family you were labeled as MIA. It wasn't quite a decade that you were gone, but close. I really can't say I've been paying all that much attention: the longer I've been able to be gone the better. Let's just say I haven't been agreeing with the way things were run for a while: 'course we both know speaking out is a bad thing to do. As far as the Senju who has the hat now? I have never seen him. Ever. It's like he exists but doesn't. The fact that the village hasn't fallen to pieces surprises almost everyone at this point."

Off of business and onto the more important things - at least that's how she knew they both saw it. Family trumped all. "As far as the family goes... things have been touch and go. Aisling spent almost a year straight in the hospital this last time around until I decided to move her permanently into my house: better that way. Now she doesn't have to be stuck in the hospital and can at least get some basic comforts... Jinx has been good too. Her mother... kind of lost her shit one day, and had Naota almost burning his own apartment down. That was the last straw for everyone, so Jinx moved in permanently with him: in fact her mother wouldn't even let her back in the house to get her things. Naota has been... Naota...", she paused with a chuckle. [color=red]"Hot temper, protective... he's been teaching me Taijutsu. I figured it was about time to started learning how to kick ass in new ways. Everything else has been going smoothly... or as smoothly as it can with a kage who's been gone for... god, months? A year? I don't even know anymore... Honestly, I think that's why you haven't been given any trouble yet. No one knows what's going on anymore, there's no organization."

While Amaya spoke she worked, and as she neared the end she looked down at her work instead of Kenta despite not needing to see her excellent knife skills at this point. There was... something... on Amaya's mind, something she knew would show through her very facial expressions if she allowed anyone to see it. Things had been bothering her badly lately, so much so that she had been contemplating events and choices that would cause a lot of problems later on. "Gotta be honest with you Kenta... this whole situation has been making me... think about somethings."

Word Count: 654 + 1,054 = 1,708

.oO(OOC Note: Skip me for a few rounds. I don't want to hold up the thread, and besides I'm out looking for peoples so it makes sense I'd be gone a bit~)

Okay, so he was MIA. That much was good, that was what the plan originally was. He was supposed to be listed MIA unless a certain set of requirements were met, at which point he as to be upgraded to KIA and a specially made doppleganger body released to be found and inspected by anyone. Oh, it wouldn't have anything useful; it was sealed using a modified version of the Hyuuga's old branch seal, so if anyone unsavory got ahold of it they'd get at best a DNA sample and nothing more; but the dental and blood and everything would have matched him perfectly; so it would have been enough to convince most that the blonde was actually dead.

If that protocol had been activated, he would have been reverse summoned to the village instantly and they would likely have gone to war; because the only way someone would have found the doppelganger at that point was if they where looking for it specifically; and only the people coming for him would be looking for it. Given the other special treatments of the doppleganger body... yeah. They'd know who they were after. Hell, for a while there he'd almost wished that would have happened; he was so homesick and tired of being alone in the deep woodlands...

"That's... stupid. How the frick can a Kage do their job if no one ever sees them; specially the Sannin and high ranking ninja that have to be the conduit to the lower ranks and the civilian adjuncts? Meeeh. That's never been the Konoha way, to hide and be a faceless shadow hidden away from the people. The Hokage is a figurehead and a leader, and you can't be either without being upfront with your people." He was ranting a bit, he knew she felt the same as him, so there was no real reason for it; but it made him feel better, and it was something to fill the silence. "No wonder there's dissidence in the ranks. Who's actually running the show? Jounin Council? ANBU? Did the MP's finally stage a coup? Or has it been every many for themselves? It's the latter, yeah? I'd be more surprised if it was anything else; the council was already in tatters when I left due to all the retirements and deaths, and the ANBU hasn't been in great shape either for a long time. If anything, the MP's could at least run the show a bit; but I didn't see any signs of martial law being instated."

Hnnn... The want to leave the village was something he would always have problem with; loyalty was the hallmark of his clan and his family, but there was only so far that went. Blind their loyalty was not, and even he could see there needed to be some serious changes before the village would be at even a shell of it's former glory. He could sympathize with her want to avoid the bullshit. "If I can fix things... I plan to do that; but even I know when a cause is lost. If I can fix thing, I will; but... frick, if I have to I'll get the family out of here before shit goes to hell. We might be a significant chunk of the local military might, but we're no army, and we're not going to be martyrs for a government that has forsaken us. Hell... we always could coup ourselves; I was definitely popular enough to bring the ranks back under control after a hostile regime change, and the people loved my social programs and focus on getting the civilian economy stable and growing." Still just bullshitting, sort of; his words were truth, but there was no fire behind them yet; he was talking, but not truly plotting anything.

WC: 654

654 + 4253 = 4907

Missions. She didn't like them, even if she had to do them. Okay, not all missions were bad: she rather liked the ones she would do with her brother and sister. But solo boring missions that consisted of doing chores for some old lady, or moving around dusty boxes? Boooooring!

Temaki pushed her wild looking long blond hair back over her shoulder as she continued on at a quick pace toward her destination, ignoring the few strands that got snagged on the straps of her jean overalls.

"Bleah, everyone's probably off training still... maybe Jinx and Aisling are home and want to train.", Temaki muttered to herself as she walked up toward the backdoor of Amaya's house. She never bothered with knocking; family didn't knock, family was expected to just walk right in. It had been an unspoken rule since she was a very little girl - not that she wasn't still little. So, as she reached the back door she glanced down at her bare feet in time to see that... well they were rather dirty. Frowning a bit, and not wanting to make a mess of Aunt Amaya's floor, she rubbed her feet on the door mat as much as possible before simply shrugging her shoulders and giving up on the attempt.

A hand was reached forward which grasped the doorknob, turned it, and pushed the door in. She stepped inside and closed the door behind herself as she blinked against the lighting difference: feeling almost blind for several seconds as her eyes quickly adjusted from the brightness outside to the mild darkness of Aunt Amaya's house. "Hey, is Jinx or Aisling around, I finished early----", she had been turning back around as she spoke only to spot someone very familiar sitting quite comfortably in one of Amaya's chairs while Amaya herself seemed busy preparing food. Her brain blanked for a second, confusion setting in. Dad... was here? Sitting here? Like it was any other kind of day?

A mass of questions formed in her mind but they were driven back by an undeniable urge... Acting on instinct alone Temaki launched herself through Amaya's kitchen, into the living room area, and into her father's arms: holding on to him as if she were afraid he'd disappear or slip through her fingers and vanish. "DADDY!" Tears lined her eyes and then spilled over and down her cheeks, dripping off of her chin as she simply closed her eyes and burrowed herself as close to her father as she could.

Wordcount: 425

Amaya kept working on preparing the food making sure while she did so that she made enough food for everyone: living around Inuzuka taught her one thing and that was there was never enough food. Amaya herself had gained a larger appetite than she used to have but it was nothing compared to the food the kids could throw down, and that was still nothing compared to some of the adults she knew. So, lot of food? Lot of food. Not that she would ever complain: taking care of their extended family was a joy she had and making sure everyone was well fed and cared for was all part of making sure the family was well taken care of.

Amaya was listening to Kenta speak while thinking about her own response - as it seemed Kenta had hit the nail on the head with what Amaya's thoughts were - when suddenly she heard movement outside of the back door. It sounded like something rubbing against the mat outside of the door before the door was opened and an all too familiar blond child stepped in: Temaki. Well, this was going to make things more interesting - apparently not the entire family was off and away.

Temaki began to ask about JInx and Aisling's location when she spotted Kenta and stopped herself from speaking. Amaya watched as the child went from confused to tears as she launched herself across the distance that separated her from her father. The girl clung to her father as she cried and Amaya couldn't help but smile: it was good to have Kenta back.

Wanting to give them their space she kept working on the food and kept quiet for now so that Kenta could give his daughter his complete attention.

Word Count: 295 + 1,708 = 2,003

Bare feet scraping... mud? Or just damp earth in general, he could smell it even through closed doors and slightly stale air; anything inside was stale to him after all the years spent in the wild; open doors and windows didn't do justice to cleansing the trapped air of the stench humanity took for granted. Not that Amaya's house was unpleasant, it smelled like home to him and that was what mattered; but it did smell of humanity and human things, and that came with it's own special... musk, for lack of a better term, one that was far different from anything any other animal creatures could create. Given it was only one set of feet... it couldn't be Jinx or Aisling yet, could it? Possibly, they were both feet of foot and agile, so they might have made it out to the edge of the search space and back by now. Not very likely, though; so maybe another clan cousin or some such? He couldn't tell anything by his nose, the humanness of the home was a tad overwhelming in it's own ri-...

"Daddy!"

But... he hadn't...

It made sense, though; his kids would smell of clean nature and dog and oh gods he could smell Michi now oh her too too and how had he missed her coming up on the house!?

Golden eyes shot wide as he shot upright with enough speed and power to make the rest of the world fall into a slow motion of sorts. With his outright obscene natural speed and nearly godly perception and reaction abilities, it was almost common for this effect to happen to him in the heat of battle; but never like this before. He was in pure shock; more so over his daughter, his perfect little daughter that wasn't so little and for the first time in his memory appeared to be shocked and confused instead of devious and happy and it broke his heart to see the pain and confusion that warred with the explosion of love and boundless joy that painted her face at that moment. His own face was likely some feral mix of mess; conflicting emotions mixing with the dirt and weariness of the wild trying to wash itself away into something more appropriate to the man he had been when he left; the father he had been and wanted nothing more than to be again but wasn't sure he ever could be; it had been a long time, and there was nothing to say that after this moment of reunion she would want anything to do with him because he left her, he left them and that was unforgivable but she was here and he was crying too and in the long moments that she flew through the air toward him he was moving too so that he was out of the chair and kneeling to catch her without ever a coherent though crossing his mind; pure instinct forcing him to move and then he was holding her for the first time in nearly a decade and it was all he could do to remember that oxygen was something that his ravaged body needed; it wasn't like he ever had enough of it so what did another day without any mean; but he needed to inhale to talk, and all he could do was sob softly and whisper her name while he tried not to crush her in a bearhug while simultaneously petting her hair and nuzzling against her face and being all the affectionate dog he could be because this was his baby, little Temaki the youngest that was now massive and reconciling the reality of her now with his memories of what she was and it made the years hurt so much worse but that didn't matter, not now, not for this moment of infinity where he could just hold her and be Daddy again, just for a few moments before the weight of the years and pain hit again; no, this was pure and real and perfect and she was here and he was home and he was home... this was home, this was what he'd waited for, and nothing but having her brother and sister and Daddy here could make this moment better but that would have it's own time, she could take him home and they could have that moment of perfection a second time and he would spend the entirety of the good karma he'd ever accumulated over every life he'd ever lived and ever would just to have that moment a second time in one life...

"Temaki, my little Temaki, I'm so sorry I was gone for so long... I'm home now little one, I'm home and I'm not leaving again without you and your siblings and your Daddy and the rest of the family; never again my little one."

WC: 840

840 + 4907 = 5747

-Exiting because this is dead.-

STR B0-A2 5550/5550

197 remaining.