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Naruto Saga » Kaminari no Kuni » Kumogakure » Back In The Academy [Bokuden/Private/Flashback]

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Misoka

Misoka


D-rank
Friday. Saturday. Sunday.
Absent-mindedly, Misoka continued brushing her long golden hair, counting the remaining days she was going to spend in the lightning country. From the following week on, her so-called vacation was over. The moment she had been both awaiting and fearing for so long drew closer and closer. She couldn’t hide forever. She didn’t want to.
Putting the brush aside, she rose from her bed and left the room.
Downstairs, she found her father was sitting at the kitchen table and reading the newspaper.
Misoka raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you be at work like Nami? It’s already 11 am.” How come she hadn’t seen him lurking around when she’d come back from training half an hour ago? She was neither blind nor deaf after all.
Her father gave her an answer to that unspoken question as well. Looking up lazily, he explained, “I’m on night duty today. And I went to get the newspaper while you were out.” A long sigh. “I hate this job. Should really start looking for a better one. I just don’t want to live off Nami’s money. As a florist, she’s not exactly the carrier woman.”
“Mhm.” Thoughtfully, Misoka took a seat opposite him. A moment of silence stretched between them before an idea came to her mind. “Wait, didn’t Nami mention this morning that she’ll be alone in the shop? I mean, her employee Sara got sick, didn’t she?”
The initial confusion on her father’s face turned into a frown as he shook his head. “No, you are not-”
She cut him off, “Yes, I am going to help her out today. I owe her that much.” In one single movement, she got up. “Where’s the flower shop again?”
“Don’t,” her father groaned, still shaking his head. “You shouldn’t show yourself in public like that. What if they find you?”
Misoka was only half-listening. “If they do, I’ll at least find out whether my training pays off.” She glanced down at her clothes and cringed inside – black leggings, a plain grey shirt, just definitely not flowery enough for what she intended to do. Light colours and a skirt were a must. “Nah, I’ll be careful, Dad. Gotta change first, then I’m out.”

~~

There was one problem she hadn’t considered. One problem which made her almost stop and turn around again – only if she were a coward of course.
As a matter of fact, the flower shop was located next to the shinobi academy, where Bokuden met up with his date today. Wonderful. Misoka grimaced. She didn’t really want to run into them by any chance. In the end, they might call her a stalker of sorts. Plus, who was she to ruin Bokuden’s date and make him unhappy? If that Shiori woman found out that Bokuden was still friends with his ex-girlfriend, he would have a hell of a lot to explain and justify. Oh, the drama… no, thanks.
A mess of childlike voices right in front of her snapped Misoka out of her thoughts. She halted abruptly, noticing that she’d come awfully close to the academy playground.
“Alright, what are you doing,” she whined in silence. “Don’t stop. Just walk past the academy and straight to the flower shop. Don’t even look.”
Easier thought than done. Carefully, she took a step forward, casting a glance at the large playground on her left side. There was everything a child could dream of: slides, swings, monkey bars and even various dummies you would usually find on the training grounds. They were located a bit farther away from the rest of course and probably meant for the more experienced academy students who wanted to practise their fighting skills.

Misoka’s eyes scanned the area briefly. Dozens of children were playing here, but she couldn’t spot Bokuden anywhere. Maybe he hadn’t come after all or the bit about him starting to like kids had just been a lie. Either way, this was her chance to get to the flower shop unnoticed.
Before she continued her walk, however, one of the female academy teachers grabbed her attention. In contrast to the other old hag sitting on a bench, there was also a young brunette talking to a little boy at the moment. Could that be Bokuden’s date? Misoka examined the woman more closely. Relatively tall, slender figure, hair tied up in a bun. Yes, she looked quite pretty… from afar.
Of course Misoka knew that she shouldn’t do that. Of course she knew that all she had to do right now was go and help Nami. But… the little boy seemed to cry! Perhaps Bokuden had only put on his rose-coloured glasses and Shiori wasn’t such a nice teacher after all.
Using that as an excuse, Misoka let her curiousity take the better of her and crept closer, past groups of laughing and playing children, always walking in the shades of the huge trees around the area.
When she was within earshot, she stopped to listen.
“I wanted to play with the rocking horse! I got there first, but Masaru just pushed me away! Really hard, my arm hurts a lot!”
“He did? Now that’s not nice. But don’t cry Daichi, uncle Bokuden will talk to him.”
Wait, what? At that moment, a very familiar person left the academy building and joined Shiori and Daichi.
“Crap,” Misoka hissed under her breath, immediately hiding behind a tree. So Bokuden was there! He’d probably been to the… toilet or something. Heart pounding wildly against her chest, she stayed where she was in fear of getting caught. “Okay, calm down,” she thought, “He’s not a sage, he can’t sense your chakra. You’re fine. You only have to make sure they don’t see you. If they come too close, you go find another hiding spot until it’s safe to leave altogether.”
Thank God all the children were so busy playing that neither cared to pay any attention to her.  


https://www.youtube.com/user/KanameXSisters?feature=mhee

Bokuden

Bokuden


D-rank
“Alright, all better now,” Bokuden said, kneeling as he finished treating the girl’s wound with a bit of medical ninjutsu, “Try to be more careful out there. Do you want to head back now?” The small girl would nod her head excitedly in response, a wide grin across her face. “Ok,” Bokuden continued, raising himself up and offering the child his hand, “Let’s go back together then.” The small girl took his hand gladly and got up from the chair she had been seated in previously as he treated her knee. The girl had long golden blonde hair with a blue ribbon in it and large crystal blue eyes, not unlike Bokuden’s. Walking back out to the playground from the Academy building Bokuden was greeted by the sound of crying and the voice of Shiori attempting to offer the boy some modicum of comfort.

Bokuden immediately made his way over to the situation, the young girl still clinging to his arm. “What’s the problem?” he inquired, looking to Shiori to fill him in on the situation. “Masaru, did you push Daichi down just to get to the rocking horse?” Bokuden said firmly, but not overly harsh, as one is meant to speak to a child in need of discipline as the boy reluctantly nodded his head, “Apologize and let Daichi play on the horse first. Now.” The boy would comply, slinking away from the toy horse after the apology to come back later, while the girl who Bokuden had treated had also went off to play. “My hero,” Shiori giggled as she latched onto Bokuden’s free arm and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, “Thank you for all of your help.”

“Of course,” he replied, leaning his head down to give her a peck on the lips in return, “I’m glad to be here.” Bokuden’s gaze shifted off to the side alertly as a familiar presence entered the range of his Current Perception. It was unmistakable, Misoka was definitely there behind one of the trees. What was she doing at the shinobi academy? Before he could go investigate for himself however, Shiori was had taken his arm and begun leading him to a nearby table where she had set out the food she had prepared for their lunch while the children played. Still wondering about Misoka’s presence, although he prevented himself from making any gesture that might seem out of the ordinary, he took a seat on the bench. Shiori immediately sat next to him, cozying up to him a bit as she opened up a bento box in front of them. “Open up,” she insisted playfully, offering Bokuden a sushi roll held in her chopsticks, “Come on, how’s my cooking?”

How could he say no to that smile? Happily, he complied, allowing her to feed him and praising her work, “Delicious, as always. Why even ask?”

She giggled at the response, “Because a girl likes to hear her work is appreciated even if she already knows it. And I know that you have no problem complimenting me.”

Bokuden pretended to scoff at the answer and replied playfully, “So you’re only with me for the ego boost then, huh?”

“Oh don’t be like that!” she replied jokingly, pretending to be apologetic as she reached over and turned Bokuden’s head to face her, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek once more, “That’s not the only reason. You’re also tall.”

Bokuden smirked at the response and began speaking before raising himself up from the table, “This is true. But you’ll have to excuse me for a second, I just want to check on something. I’ll be right back.” She looked at him curiously, but didn’t try to stop him as he made his way into the academy building, disappearing behind the fence. In truth however, he had just went in that direction to sneak around and investigate what he sensed from earlier. As he circled around from the back he would see Misoka hiding behind the tree, seemingly looking for someone. “Looking for something?” he would say with a smile on his face after sneaking up behind her, “I’m surprised to see you here.”



714~

Misoka

Misoka


D-rank
There was no way she could not roll her eyes at the couple’s exaggerated display of affection combined with their “unique” conversation. Such “come-you-can’t-eat-on-your-own-I’ll-feed-you” talk. Weren’t they at least embarrassed in front of the kids?
Misoka inched closer to another tree, trying to get away from the academy as inconspicuously as possible. And frankly speaking, why should she watch the two lovebirds any longer?
“How terribly cheesy,” she continued to ramble on in her mind whilst pressing herself against the second tree, “I’m glad our relationship wasn’t like that. Makes me actually appreciate all the angst back then.”
Her train of thought was cut short when a familiar person made his presence known behind her. Impossible.
Misoka jumped, whirling around to face Bokuden with a more than aghast expression. What was he doing here?! Just a moment ago, he’d been snuggling up to that Shiori girl and now… how could he have even found her? She’d made such an effort to stay hidden. All for nothing! And most importantly, what should she say? “Yeah, I recently got more in touch with my stalker side”? Blood rose in her cheeks, so intensively that she feared she might burn up any moment. She was screwed.
For a few seconds, her mouth only opened and closed without a sound emerging from it as she was fervently trying to give Bokuden a good explanation; one which didn’t include anything stalkery.

“Looking for…” Misoka repeated when the perfect idea suddenly came to her mind. Okay, not perfect by any means, but usable. “I was looking for Mrs. Yurakawa!”
Painting a wide fake smile on her lips, she left her hiding spot and walked over to the old hag sitting on the bench. “Good morning, Mrs. Yurakawa! There you are!”
Said woman looked up from her book in complete surprise, dark brown eyes widened, index finger pointing at herself. “Are you… talking to me? My name is not-”
“Yes, Mrs. Yurakawa, you wanted to buy some flowers from the florist next to the academy. Remember? Of course you do!” Misoka let out a hesitant chuckle and whispered to Bokuden, “Oh well, don’t be surprised, she has Alzheimer’s.”
Then she quickly turned back to the old woman as she couldn’t afford any more surely confusing words coming from the academy teacher. “Anyway, I sadly don’t have any tulips with me now… um, I sold my last flowers to some kids – uhh, joke! – to a man over there, BUT I’ll go get your order in a minute. I’ll be right back!”

After giving Bokuden a nervous nod, Misoka dashed off, stopping only in front of Nami’s flower shop. Why, oh WHY had she even gone to the academy playground? Why had she hidden behind a tree and eavesdropped on the girl’s conversation with one of her students? For what damn purpose? This was so unlike her.
A sigh escaped from her lips when Misoka entered the shop.
“Misoka?” Nami immediately called out upon seeing her. “How come you’re not at home? Did something happen?”
“No, no, everything’s okay,” Misoka replied, trying her best to put on a convincing smile. “I came to help you out. You’re all alone, after all. That’s the least I can do.”
At first Nami wanted to decline her offer of course, overusing her “I’m fine” phrase as always, but in the end, she finally agreed. “Well, alright dear. To be honest, there’s really something I need you to do.” A short pause. “I got a phone call from the academy’s principal this morning. She’d like to pretty up their classrooms. Could you bring her these bouquets of flowers, please?”
No. Misoka’s jaw dropped. Not again.
“U-um… sure,” she stuttered. “Who is the principal?”
Nami smiled. “Believe me, you can’t miss her, especially not after she hired so many young teachers. She’s 65 years old.”
NO WAY. So THAT was the principal? Misoka couldn’t believe it. So that old hag had REALLY wanted to buy flowers? At least her white lie hadn't been so bad, after all.

~~~

Needless to say, the worst part was to go back to the academy. Misoka approached the playground with reluctance, her hands full of different types of flowers.
However, as we all know, it can always get worse.
The bench was empty. Confused, Misoka looked around, but couldn’t see the old woman anywhere. The only people left were the children and Bokuden with his Shiori.
..What now? She should go ask them. It was the most sensible thing to do in her situation and still, she couldn’t bring herself to.
At that moment, a group of small girls noticed Misoka standing around like a moron.  
“Oooohhh, so beautiful flowers!!” one of them exclaimed and together, they all ran to Misoka. The girl who had been the first to call out touched her blonde head. “I wanna have a blue rose and stick it in my hair! Look, I already have a blue ribbon! Mommy says blue suits me so well. Pleeease, pretty please!”
Misoka winced quietly. What should she do now? She was supposed to sell the flowers to the principal, not give them to the kids. Because… let’s face it: If she gave ONE flower away, EVERY GIRL would want to have one as well.


https://www.youtube.com/user/KanameXSisters?feature=mhee

Bokuden

Bokuden


D-rank
Misoka’s reaction to seeing Bokuden was… surprising, to say the least. He had never seen Misoka so shocked and flustered before, and considering what they had been through together that was saying something. She couldn’t even seem to speak as her face grew beet red and he mouth struggled to conjure the words she needed to respond to this situation appropriately. It would be Bokuden’s turn to be surprised however, as Misoka walked over to the principal of the school and began to ramble on about selling her flowers… and addressing her by a name that did not belong to her. Bokuden made an effort to interject, but Misoka was in such haste that she was wrapping up her dialogue and darting away from the school before he could even get a word in edge wise. Confused and left without much recourse, Bokuden would head back to the table where he had previously sat with Shiori to eat.

~~~

A short while later Bokuden would notice Misoka returning to the school ground carrying a large assortment of flowers. She stood around seemingly lost for a short time in which Bokuden wasn’t sure if he should approach her. She had been so quick to run away from him before that he had begun to think he had done something wrong or offensive. His eyes would continue to shoot back and forth between Shiori, the food, and Misoka until a group of the girl student’s began to flock around Misoka and the flowers. It didn’t take long to realize that the girls had all congregated around Misoka in an attempt to get her to give out flowers, so Bokuden decided to intervene and rescue Misoka from the mob of children. “Come on girls, these flowers belong to the nice lady,” he said as he waded through the children and over to Misoka, “I’ll get you all your own flowers, ok?” After a bit of protesting the mob of girls would comply an scatter back to their respective playground areas.

“These kids really can be a handful,” he said to Misoka after the children had left, “But it’s not so bad. What brings you to the shinobi academy by the way? I imagine it wasn’t to bring me flowers. I don’t think I’ve done anything bouquet worthy lately. You left so quickly before that I barely even got to say hello. Seeing you out here is kind of a surprise. What’s going on?”



1135~

Misoka

Misoka


D-rank
“Come on girls, these flowers belong to the nice lady.”
Misoka looked up as Bokuden walked over to her and shooed the kids away. Surprised, she threw a glance at Shiori, who had simply been left behind at the table. Somehow... she hadn’t expected Bokuden to actually care given the fact that he was here with his girlfriend. Furthermore, he didn’t even seem to be offended in the slightest – come on, she was kinda disturbing his date, wasn't she?
Instead of snapping at her, however, he continued in a casual tone, asking about the flowers in her hands and why she had run off so quickly.
His calmness comforted Misoka. There was no animosity radiating off him, no annoyance evident in his features. He only wondered why she was here.
Sparks of relief lit within her, making her crack a genuine smile. “I’m helping out Nami today. She owns the flower shop next to the academy. And I have to bring these bouquets to the principal. Um...”
Misoka trailed off when she saw Shiori approach them with not the... happiest expression.
“Bokuden? What are you doing? Who is that?” the brunette called out inquiringly and it was impossible to miss that certain edge to her voice. Well, but could you really blame her? After all, her boyfriend had just “abandoned” her to talk to another woman; and because of her Karisuma heritage, Misoka knew Shiori might consider her a serious competition. Bokuden's girlfriend would surely give him a mouthful... except if...

“Oh!” Misoka exclaimed hastily, taking a red rose out of one bouquet and handing it to Bokuden with a ‘Play-along-or-you’ll-get-your-ass-kicked’ look. “This is so considerate of you.” She then turned to Shiori, who came to a halt beside Bokuden and seemed unsure about what to think of the whole situation.
Maintaining her cheerful tone, Misoka went on, “Sorry, I’m nobody important. What is important, though: He just came to buy a flower for you.”
“I... uh...” Shiori replied dumbfounded while her frown gradually turned into a smile. “You did, darling? Oh, it’s beautiful. Thank you so much.”
Hopefully, the principal wouldn’t mind that one flower was missing. Oh well... Misoka scratched the back of her head awkwardly. She felt very much out of place. And very much like a plain fool for pretending to be an ordinary florist. At least Bokuden wouldn’t get into trouble because of her. That was what mattered.
Meanwhile, Shiori insisted on them going back and finishing their lunch, impatiently tugging at his jacket’s sleeve.
But before they even had the chance to leave, Misoka took courage and blurted out, “Um, wait, do you know where I can find the principal?”


https://www.youtube.com/user/KanameXSisters?feature=mhee

Bokuden

Bokuden


D-rank
Nami owned the flower shop next to the Academy? Bokuden was surprised that he didn’t know that. It made sense considering how long it had been since he visited the area around the academy with any frequency (aka when he was still an academy student). The area had changed quite a bit since then; it was only natural that there would be new shops and shop owners around. That combined with the fact that he wasn’t one to frequent flower shops pretty much ensured that this was news to him. Thinking back on it, he probably should have done a more thorough background investigation on Nami, but that was neither here nor there.

Before he could continue on with the conversation, Shiori had left the table to join the discussion, grabbing onto Bokuden’s arm as she inquired about Misoka. For whatever reason Misoka didn’t want Shiori to know who she was, made evident by her expression towards Bokuden and the fake story she made up. It wasn’t all that convincing of an act and Bokuden didn’t have all that much incentive to follow it. Did she think that Shiori would get upset because Bokuden knew another woman? Shiori knew Bokuden for most of his life. His past exploits with women weren’t a huge secret to her. “I’m glad you like the flower, but…” he began, introducing Misoka, “This isn’t just some flower girl. Shiori, I’d like you to meet Misoka. She’s a good friend of mine. She is friends with the owner of the flower shop across the street. She’s here delivering these flowers to the principal.”

“Is that so?” Shiori replied, doing her best to smile in front of Bokuden, “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Shiori, Bokuden’s girlfriend.” Bokuden raised his eyebrow at that last part. It was true that they were dating now, but she’d never been so upfront about it before. There had never really been a reason to, so why now? “But we don’t want to keep you from your job, do we darling?” Shiori continued to Bokuden, “Let’s go back and have lunch and let her get back to work.” She pulled on his arm, trying to move Bokuden who wasn’t ready to go, but was interrupted by Misoka’s inquiry as to the location of the principal.

“Ah!” Bokuden answered with a smirk, “You mean Mrs. Yurakawa, don’t you? She went back to her office. I’ll take you to her.”

“Wait!” Shiori blurted out as she pulled him back, “I mean, the kids were so excited to have you come today. I don’t want them to miss out. They see me almost every day. I should be the one to show her to the principal’s office. I work here after all.”

Bokuden didn’t really get it, considering she was the teacher she should have been the one to stay with the kids, but he didn’t really see it to be a big deal. With a simple nod of his head he agreed and headed back to watch the children as Shiori led Misoka into the building.



1673~

Misoka

Misoka


D-rank
Oh no. Do I really have to?
Misoka’s eyes darted back and forth between a leaving Bokuden and a fake-smiling Shiori. It was obvious why the brunette offered to take her to the principal – of course not obvious enough for Bokuden.
“Well, let’s go, shall we?” Shiori chirped in such bittersweet kind of tone that it hurt. With reluctance, Misoka followed her into the academy building, both of them not saying a word for several moments whilst walking along the corridor; a silence which felt awkward and relieving at the same time.
At one point, however, the academy teacher apparently decided to raise her voice after all.
“So, you're close to my boyfriend?” she noted, stressing the last part. “Since when? How did you two meet? I’ve never seen you around here.”
May the inquiry-response cycle begin. Chewing on her lower lip nervously, Misoka thought about what to answer or to be more accurate, how much Shiori could handle. It really wasn’t fair. She neither wanted to provoke an argument by sticking to the complete truth nor let herself get intimidated by the girl. Surely enough, Shiori had some severe jealousy issues, which had to be taken into account.
“Oh, that,” Misoka started hesitantly, racking her brain for a convincing reply. “I’m from Suna, so we only see each other on rare occasions. Five years ago… umm… I was new to Kumo and he helped me find a market. Yeah, that’s how we met.”
She let out an anxious laugh and made an effort to constantly keep her gaze straight-ahead. Okay, seriously, how freaking long was that corridor?
“I see.”
A short glance Shiori's way confirmed Misoka’s worries. The brunette’s lips were curled up into a tense smile, her voice a low growl, eyes fixated on the person beside her.
Misoka could already anticipate what was about to happen – and unfortunately, she was right.

The moment Shiori opened her mouth, plenty of other questions, accusations even, blurted out.
“That’s all? That’s how you became friends? Sorry, I don’t buy it. You don’t have to lie to me, okay? I know Bokuden since the academy days and he’s always been a woman chaser. I’m not sure how many girls he’d had before me; heck, about 6 years ago or so, he’d even been with me already – for only a night, though, so he probably can’t remember. Just admit it that you’re no exception, you got laid by him. No big deal.” Except that her sharp tone suggested otherwise.
“Woah, wait a second!” Misoka burst out, stopping abruptly and holding her palms up – as far as that was possible with all these flowers. “You got it all wrong. I… I didn’t get laid by him. I promise!”
Much to her chagrin, she couldn’t do anything against the hue of red creeping onto her cheeks. An embarrassed reaction would only serve to strengthen her opponent’s suspicions even though right now, she was telling the truth. After all, Bokuden and she had never really gotten so far in their relationship… not that Shiori would take any of that.
“Of course,” the brunette huffed, the fake smile turning into a frown. It was amazing – for the lack of another word – how drastically the teacher’s kind demeanour could change when it comes to marking her territory. “I knew he couldn’t resist you. Not his immature younger self at least. But now he’s my boyfriend and I have all the privileges, so I'd like to tell you as nicely as I can: Back off.”

Privileges? Misoka raised an eyebrow, slowly following the other woman again as they continued their walk. The rudeness she’d just been confronted with irked her to the point of wanting to toss back a cutting remark, but Shiori would only use that to her advantage – whine about how impolite Misoka was and the like.
“Alright,” she therefore answered with a shrug of her shoulders, pretending not to care. “I’ll have to leave Kumo soon anyway.”
“When exactly?”
“In about three days. I’ve only got to discuss something with Bokuden this evening before I-”
Misoka bit her lip, but the damage was already done. She couldn’t say whether Bokuden had told Shiori about their meeting or not – Either way, she shouldn’t have mentioned it now. Now that she was alone with his overly jealous girlfriend.

https://www.youtube.com/user/KanameXSisters?feature=mhee

Bokuden

Bokuden


D-rank
“Something to discuss with Bokuden this evening?” Shiori would repeat with a tinge of aggression belying her voice, “You mean you’re the reason why he told me I couldn’t stay with him tonight?” She stopped in her tracks in the hallway, turning to face Misoka and glaring at her harshly. “So you’ve never been with him, but you are just coming over to his house at night like that is a normal thing to do? Do you honestly expect me to believe that you have no interest in him at all? I’m sure you want to tell me that all you plan to do is talk, when both of us know that you intend to get into his bed. But I’m sure you’ve been in his bed before.”

Shiori would place her hands Akimbo to her hip and scoff in an exaggerated manner, wincing her eyes as she continued, “Listen, I get the reasons you are after him. Hell, I was after him for the same reasons. Any woman would be, but I have spent too long getting him to fall for me to have it be interfered with by some blonde-haired floozy from the middle of nowhere. You can say you are his friend or whatever, but I’m not buying it. Do you think you are the first one to come along and try to steal what’s mine? Don’t let this job as a school teacher fool you. I’m not letting anyone take my prize. Whatever relationship you thought you had with Bokuden is over. He belongs to me now.”

The tension in the hallway could be cut with a knife, at least until a voice broke up the silence between Shiori’s words. “Ah, my flowers have finally arrived,” the principal of the school shouted, peeking her head out from her office and waving Misoka to come to her, “Please, bring them over here. I have everything ready for the flowers to be placed.” Misoka and Shiori clearly could not continue their fight right in front of the principal, especially if the fight was over a man. Shiori didn’t want to put her job in jeopardy by doing something outlandish in the middle of the school and Misoka surely wouldn’t want to reflect poorly on Nami’s business by retaliating against Shiori’s display, even if she deserved it.

“Ah yes, I found this woman outside looking to make a delivery,” Shiori would say to the principal, hiding her previous demeanor behind her typical smile and jovial tone, “She said that the flowers were for you, so I decided to show her the way to you myself. Now if you’ll excuse me, I don’t want to leave Bokuden by himself for too long.” After a respectful bow towards the principal and another glare from the corner of her eye directed at Misoka, Shiori would take her leave and return to the schoolyard.

“Yes, yes,” the principal answered, waving goodbye to Shiori as she left, “Don’t leave him alone for too long. I hope the children haven’t beaten him up too badly. Now then, please come in.” The principal would then motion for Misoka to come into her office.




2220~

Misoka

Misoka


D-rank
Do you know the difference between hot and cold anger? That type of anger which makes you explode, shout and throw things is usually over fairly quickly whereas cold fury persists in silence, sometimes never going away.
Even if the principal had not interrupted their argument, Misoka wouldn’t have tossed any insult back. She limited herself to an icy glare before stalking off to the old woman without so much as looking at Shiori.
The door behind them clicked shut.
“Oh, what beautiful flowers,” the principal chanted and took the bouquets, smiling at each one of them. “Thank you. Will you please send my regards to Watari-san? Here’s the 500 Ryo.”
“Yes, of course.” Misoka bowed briefly. “I will take my leave now if you excuse me.”
“Wait, are you Watari-san’s daughter? I thought she only has a son. She once told me how much she misses him ever since he moved to Kirigakure with his wife. Why won’t you stay a little and talk to me? I’ll make tea for the both of us and I also have cake left!”
For a moment, the direct question left Misoka speechless, especially because she felt reluctant to explain her relationship with Nami to a curious old bat. High time to go.
Putting on her best “I’m –so-sorry”-look, she shook her head and replied, “No, no, I’m only one of her employees. Unfortunately, I cannot stay any longer, there are other orders I have to deliver.”
“Ohh… that’s a pity, I  don’t have anyone to-”
“Yeah, bye!”

~~

After her successful escape from the principal, Misoka made her way back along the corridor when she suddenly heard voices coming from a classroom to her right. She wouldn’t have cared in the slightest if one of the two people talking wasn’t undoubtedly Shiori. She could make out that bittersweet sing-songy voice anywhere. But what was the academy teacher doing in there with another man? Suspicion rising inside her, Misoka slowly walked up to the door and leaned her ear against it to listen.
“You’re quite bold for bringing me here. If Bokuden caught us, he would kill you.” A hysterical giggle.
“Has he found out about any of our meetings yet? He’s probably busy cleaning his sword at home. One has to pay attention to a beautiful woman like you or someone else will steal her from him.” The male voice sounded amused.  

“But right now is a bad time, Yuso,” Shiori chuckled with him, her mischievous undertone impossible to miss. “He’s outside, playing with the kids. He might even be wondering what is taking me so long. Who knows, he might even be in front of the door right now, bump in and see us… you… over me… on the desk. But the best part is: I could put all the blame on you.”
The man let out an overly dramatic gasp. “Oh, you little naughty beast. You can’t scare me.” There was the sound of clothes rustling as Shiori apparently got off the desk. Her hushed voice followed, “Meet me tomorrow. Bokuden won’t be here. I have to go now.”

As fast as she could, Misoka hid in a small storeroom on her left. A broom tickled her nose and it felt like torture to resist a sneeze. Peeking through the crack of the door, she could see Shiori leave the classroom with a blonde man dressed in a suit beside her. That was Yuso then. Her love affair… or so it seemed. They exchanged quite the unique goodbye – the man giving Shiori a mock bow, which made her giggle violently in return – before they walked off in opposite directions.
The moment Shiori was gone, Misoka hopped out of her hiding place and … yes, she sneezed first.

All jokes aside, however, she had absolutely no idea what to do in her situation. Part of her wished she hadn’t even witnessed Shiori’s unfaithfulness; in that case, she wouldn’t have to make the decision whether to tell Bokuden or not. On the one hand, he had every right to know and she wanted him to break up with that bitch as soon as possible, but on the other hand she doubted he would really believe her without a proof. “Hey Bokuden, I accidentally saw your girlfriend with another man and it didn’t seem to be the first time she met him.”
A faint blush crossed her cheeks. If she told him like that, he would just assume she was jealous. And of course she wasn’t. She merely wanted to… ah, whatever.
The uneasy feeling rumbling in her stomach, Misoka left the academy building at last.

Outside, she could already see Shiori walking over to Bokuden with a wide smile. Perfect poker face. That girl didn’t even feel guilty. Oh well…
Misoka stopped in front of the school and watched them for a few moments.
“Bokuden! I missed you!” Shiori warbled, taking hold of his arm. Her voice was loud enough for Misoka to hear, but that was probably her intention anyway. “Are you sure I cannot stay at your place tonight? It’s the weekend after all. I get so…” She played with a strand of her hair. “…bored on weekends. You know what I mean, don't you?”


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Bokuden

Bokuden


D-rank
“Bokuden! I missed you!” Shiori called out emphatically as she latched onto his arm, apparently having taken her time showing Misoka to the principal’s office. He didn’t like to be kept waiting, but Shiori and Misoka spending that much time on simple delivery without any signs of trouble or complications made him happy. He was a bit worried that there might be some tension between them if Shiori were to find out about he and Misoka’s past, but there were no indications that it was an issue. The romance between them might have faded, but Misoka was still an extremely important person to Bokuden. If she and Shiori could become friends as well he would be overjoyed. Twirling a strand of hair with her finger seductively, Shiori would continue in a rather sultry voice, “Are you sure I cannot stay at your place tonight? It’s the weekend after all. I get so… bored on weekends. You know what I mean, don't you?”

Bokuden raised his eyebrows in a surprised fashion at the suddenly suggestive manner of how Shiori was behaving. Why was she doing this in the middle of the schoolyard. Fortunately the kids would be too young to understand the underlying meaning of her words. “I’m sorry Shiori, I already told you that my house would be unavailable tonight. I have some rather urgent business to take care of. I’ve put it off for as long as I could and it can’t wait any longer. You’ll have to forgive me, I can’t be with you tonight. You can come over tomorrow though, I’ll take care of you then.”

Seeing Misoka standing off near the exit of the building, looking over their way, Bokuden would smile at her before turning back to Shiori. “Hey, I’ll be back in a little bit,” he said with a smirk, “I have a promise I need to keep. I wouldn’t want the girls to think I’m a liar.” Sayomi pouted before reluctantly nodding her head in agreement. Knowing Misoka was still there however, she would place one hand  onto Bokuden’s cheek and hang the other around his neck to pull him closer to her, pulling him into a deep and passionate kiss. Aiming to make put on a display for Misoka, Shiori would kick a single leg up during the kiss in an exaggerated fashion. “Okay… really, what’s going on with her?” Bokuden would think to himself skeptically as the kiss ended and he made his way over towards Misoka.

“Hey,” Bokuden greeted Misoka as he walked over to her, “Would you mind if I went with you back to the flower shop? I need to buy some flowers. Ever since I told the girls I’d buy them flowers to get them away from you before I’ve been getting a sneaking suspicion that they aren’t going to let me go without keeping up my end of the deal. If I could give Nami some business at the same time, all the better, right?” He smiled and chuckled a bit, rubbing the back of his head as he posed the question.



2755~

Misoka

Misoka


D-rank
“Uh…” Misoka blinked, taking a moment to process his question. “The flowers! Yeah, sure! Let’s go.”
This actually came in handy. With a faint grin impossible to suppress, she sneaked a glance at Shiori before nodding once more and gesturing for Bokuden to follow her. She had to talk to him in private anyway – of course not to tell him the whole gruesome story, but perhaps feed him small bits and see how he handled it.
“Bye, Shiori! We’ll be right back!” Misoka called out mischievously, biting back a laugh when Shiori’s face contorted in anger.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Misoka took the chance to carefully approach the girlfriend and cheating topic.
“So…” she began in a rather casual tone and flashed Bokuden an innocent smile. Oh, and she made sure to make it a little sad smile as though she felt slightly disappointed about what she was going to say next. “Have you noticed that Shiori is more the jealous type?”
A short pause to gauge his reaction. “I think she doesn’t like me very much. At least she was quite straight-forward with that. Are you really sure we can meet up this evening?”
Few minutes later, they arrived at Nami’s flower shop, which Misoka considered a good opportunity for her words to sink in.
Nami let out a cry of joy, greeting both of them euphorically and her smile only widened when Bokuden bought so many flowers. “How nice of you, thank you a lot!”

They exchanged a couple of words and then left, Bokuden’s hands full of bouquets.
“You look ridiculous!” Misoka laughed, punching his shoulder playfully in hopes he would at least threaten to fall over, may it be solely out of surprise.
While maintaining her cheerful tone of voice, she brought up their topic from earlier. “You know what? I suggest you make it up to Shiori by coming over tomorrow morning. And it should be a surprise. Imagine how happy she'd be to see you. Well, I would like that.”
“You’re so evil. If he happens to see her with that Yuso guy, he’ll be heartbroken,” she thought to herself, but couldn’t suppress the surge of contentment among the guilt. Of course one might consider it a tad nasty to lead Bokuden into such a trap… and still, Shiori had dug her own grave the moment she’d decided to cheat on her boyfriend. It was just fair that she would have to face the consequences of her actions as well.
Misoka accompanied Bokuden to the kids, who didn’t hesitate to encircle their “uncle” and grab for the flowers in his hands, before she bid him goodbye. “Okay then, I’ll meet you at your house later on.” She smiled. “Try not to get squashed by the children.”
Having said that, she turned around and started walking away. From the corner of her eye, she could see Shiori hurry over to her man, face full of concern as if the little girls could steal him from her.

~~

In the early evening, Misoka would stand before Bokuden’s house and knock.




[Sorry for the wait >.< ]

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Bokuden

Bokuden


D-rank
“Eh?” Bokuden paused, pondering what Misoka meant by all of this, “Shiori? Jealous? Hmm, not much more than any normal woman that I’ve noticed. Why do you ask?” The wind was taken out of Bokuden’s sails when Misoka surmised that Shiori didn’t like her. From the sound of it, Misoka wasn’t particularly fond of her either. He let out a sigh and shook his head when he thought about it. This was the exact opposite of what he wanted to happen. “No, that can’t be,” Bokuden replied, “I can’t think of anyone that wouldn’t like you Misoka. There must have just been a misunderstanding. I’m sure of it. Don’t worry about Shiori. She has nothing to do with our plans or how we are going to deal with your clan. Just come over. We need to sort everything out eventually. We might as well start our planning as soon as possible.”

After leaving Nami’s flower shop, arms filled with bouquets of the assorted flowers he was bringing back for the academy girls, Misoka took a jab at Bokuden’s arm and made a joke about him with the flowers. She even brought up Shiori again, this time suggesting that he surprise her the next day at the school. Something he probably wasn’t going to do, but he was overjoyed to hear that there were no malicious feeling between Misoka and her, at least from Misoka’s side. He would probably just have to talk to Shiori about it later. He doubted anything would come of it.

The moment that he returned to the schoolyard with Misoka, flowers in hand, he would be swarmed by a sea of little girls all chomping at the bit to get the flowers they were promised. He turned to Misoka, hoping she could help him distribute the flowers, but she was already saying her farewell and walking away. Shiori however, would soon come rushing to him, taking a bundle of the bouquets and handing them out alongside him.

~~

A knock on the door signaled Misoka’s arrival to Bokuden’s home. He would head over to the door and open it to greet her. “I’m glad you made it, Misoka,” He said gesturing for her to come inside, “Please, come in.” Bokuden would lead her to the living room next, staying at the doorway instead of taking a seat, “Hey, I’ll be right back ok? Sit down, make yourself at home. I just have to go to the kitchen for a moment. Would you like something to eat or drink… preferably something not alcoholic?” He couldn’t help but tease her about the other night, but once he got her response he would head back to the kitchen to fetch whatever it is she asked for. When he entered the room he would also bring with him a bouquet of flowers. “I’m sorry Misoka,” he began, offering the flowers to her, “I bought flowers for every girl today except for you. I didn’t know what your favorite flower was so I spent a bit of time in Nami’s shop trying to pick out the right ones. I would have asked you, but you were on break or something when I got there. I picked these out. The flower’s called the desert rose. I thought it was fitting for you. I hope you like them.”



3331~

Misoka

Misoka


D-rank
“A desert rose…” Motionless, Misoka regarded the bouquet of Adenium flowers before her, flames of nostalgia warming her heart. The beautiful pink blooms took her back to a time when nothing else mattered but the upcoming Genin exam, the decision what to give her father as a birthday present and meeting her best friend Fuyako. Had Nami mentioned it? Did Bokuden know?
Her face overrun with a range of emotions that she didn’t yet have the ability to express verbally, Misoka limited herself to a short explanation, “My mother used to plant them in our garden. She was fascinated by their colourful flowers and their unusual, thick caudices. How can the sap of something so beautiful be so poisonous? That is what she would always wonder with a smile on her lips while watering the plants.”
Misoka fell silent, lost in thought for a moment. In a way, she felt that the flowers symbolized her clan: the beauty it was known for, its persistency as Akihiko built it up again after the assault of Karisuma Synn. And the poison deep within; the poison part of the clanspeople still had to endure.

“Thank you,” she said at last, giving Bokuden a nod and a sincere smile, but never losing her composure on the outside. She’d been poisoned for too long to show pain.
“So,” Misoka continued and took a sip from her glass of water. “Are we alone? Is Satomi not here?”
Truth be told, she feared seeing the wolf’s missing leg anyway. The knowledge that she was responsible for such a horrifying injury frightened her.
Acknowledging whatever answer Bokuden gave her with another nod, she would then approach the subject she was here for.
“Alright, what is your master plan?” She caught herself whispering and leaning forward as though another person could be eavesdropping close by.
Even in Bokuden’s house, she was still suspicious of giving away confidential information. Sometimes she wondered whether she would ever feel completely safe in one place.
Year by year, she had been chivvied towards distrustful behaviour that it had become a solid part of her.


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Bokuden

Bokuden


D-rank
After taking the flowers from Bokuden’s face Misoka would fall silent, staring down at them intently with the look on her face running the emotional gambit. There were so many subtle changes in her look that Bokuden couldn’t even pinpoint what she was feeling, but he knew it wasn’t the smile he had hoped it would put on her face. He listened silently as she explained the tie between this particular flower and her mother, dipping his head a bit as disappointment flowed through him. “I’m sorry Misoka,” he began, letting out a sigh, “Every time I try to do something nice for you, it ends up going badly. The flower reminded me of you and they looked nice, so I thought you might like them. I didn’t mean to inspire any painful thoughts or memories. I didn’t even know they were poisonous. I can get rid of them if you’d like. You don’t have to pretend you like them for my sake.”

Taking a seat on the couch opposite the one which he had offered Misoka a seat in Bokuden would reach below the coffee table that sat between them, revealing the manila folder from earlier that held all of the details about the Karisuma compound. “Yeah, we’re alone,” Bokuden replied, “Satomi is out. She tends to do her own thing around the village nowadays, ever since I disallowed her from going on missions with me. She probably knows the place better than I do by now. The people certainly are familiar with her." Bokuden raised an eyebrow as Misoka leaned forward and whispered as she inquired about the plan, almost as if trying to keep it a secret from somebody else. Knowing that his home was about as secure a location as there was for this meeting, Bokuden couldn’t help but smirk at her overly dramatic behavior.

“Hey, no need to be so secretive you know,” he said with a smile, gently pressing his right index finger against her nose as if to tell her not to lean in, “It’s just us here, why not just speak normally? This isn’t the first time you’ve been to my house Misoka, you remember don’t you? This place is as safe for you now as it was back then.” He would smile at her and then immediately turn his attention to the folder he placed on the table. “Ok, so we have complete blueprints of all of the Karisuma facilities in this folder. Through you we have personnel info and familiarity with our targets. We know that your clan head will hold one of these events he holds regularly in which he invites wealthy men from around the five great nations to the Karisuma compound in order to put the girls on display as potential brides, correct?”



3811

Misoka

Misoka


D-rank
“Don’t worry about it,” she quickly shrugged his apology off, a little embarrassed that he concerned himself with such a subtle mood change of hers. “It’s all good. I’m fine.”
When he then assured her that there was no need to be secretive, she had to agree and chuckled along with him for a moment, leaning back in her seat again. Of course it was kind of silly. Who should be possibly eavesdropping? Shiori perhaps? No chance… they would have surely noticed her presence more than a while ago.
..Except if the academy teacher possessed a very special technique or a way to make herself close to invisible, which was, let's be honest, unlikely.
Despite her effort to brush aside that kind of paranoia, Misoka couldn’t help but remember one of her own mantras which she had internalized over the years, “The only place I am truly safe in is my mind.”
“We know that your clan head will hold one of these events he holds regularly in which he invites wealthy men from around the five great nations to the Karisuma compound in order to put the girls on display as potential brides, correct?”
Misoka tilted her head to the side, wondering what Bokuden was going to do with that information. “Yes, correct.”
A sign of anger flickered across her face, yet fading as soon as it had arrived and thus leaving her typical, neutral expression behind.
“For usual, the man has already picked his favourite from the pictures he’d been sent. But he always has the chance to reconsider, so all female members have to attend the event.”
She paused, eyes shifting to the folder briefly before meeting Bokuden’s sapphire ones again. “Yet I believe I still don’t quite understand what your plan is about. As we said prior, those events are always very well guarded. We would need a good distraction to sneak in there unnoticed. Or have you thought of one?”


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Bokuden

Bokuden


D-rank
Bokuden smirked as Misoka mentioned the need for a distraction of sorts in order to sneak into the heavily guarded event. Everything she said was completely true. The events were likely to be heavily guarded, not only with shinobi of the Karisuma clan and any additional security they may have hired for an event like this, but also with the security of all of the individual guests; wealthy and influential men in their own right who tended to travel with their own entourage of samurai and ninja for hire. Trying to barge in there and accomplish their goal by force was not even a realistic possibility, at least not as long as Misoka was there. They were going to be outnumbered and while Bokuden was confident he could brush aside the cannon fodder that was employed as security, he couldn’t assume that he could fight seriously and protect Misoka at the same time. More importantly, going all out in such a confined area was likely too dangerous to do even if Misoka waited off to the side until the fighting had died down. He couldn’t risk letting the girls get caught in the crossfire.

The normal thing to do in a situation like this would be to utilize stealth to get inside. They are shinobi after all, aren’t they? It’s only natural that they use one of their greatest strengths to their advantage. That however, was not how Bokuden intended to go about this. They could of course, do it the “normal” way, but why do that when there was a much more interesting option that was laid out right before them. One that would mitigate the risk and allow Bokuden to greatly reduce the risk of retribution against either Misoka or the girls. “We won’t need a distraction at all,” he replied with an amused huff, “Because we won’t be sneaking in. You’re clan is going to extend us an invitation and treat us as honored guests.”




4146~

Misoka

Misoka


D-rank
The ridiculousness of his statement prompted her to laugh out loud. March in there as guests? Yeah, right.
“Nice one, Bokuden,” she teased him, an amused smirk remaining on her lips. “As if they ever let me in like that-” Every other word she’d planned to say aloud got stuck in her throat, similar to her smile, which vanished from one moment to the next.
That was when she understood: the true nature of Bokuden’s plan, the simplicity of his idea and the undeniable shrewdness at the same time.
“They won’t treat me as a guest, but...” Misoka looked up, eyes sparkling with realization. “You will play the role of the bidder!”
She paused a short moment, still amazed as she began to search for more words. “This could work out… Yes, I’m sure of it. You’re a genius.”
Only then, her face split with a relieved smile, a new wave of optimism passing through her. It was a start and a better start than the one she had thought of back in her room.
With Bokuden pretending to be interested in a Karisuma trophy wife, he shouldn’t have any problem to enter the compound, especially not if he knew how to show off with money. Once he was in, they would just have to find a way to get all the girls to safety.

The gleeful look on Misoka’s face faded gradually when her thoughts shifted to the difficulties of Bokuden’s plan.
“Hmm… alright, but what happens then?” she asked. “Let’s say you make it to the event. They let you in. Before you do anything reckless, however, you should take into account that there are around fifty innocents in the room with you. Fifty innocents that make great hostages.”
She cocked an eyebrow thoughtfully. “Regardless of how big the event is, the compound’s entries will still be very well guarded. But I guess I could fight my way in to help you.”


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Bokuden

Bokuden


D-rank
“Fight your way in?” Bokuden repeated curiously, shaking his head as he continued, “No, no, no. You won’t be fighting your way into anywhere. Did you think that I had thought of this plan and completely left you out of it? You’re going to be coming in with me. Every rich playboy needs an entourage, right?” He smirked as he made the comment in jest, getting up from his seat and walking over to a leather bag which was located by the right hand wall in the room. Kneeling down to open the bag and retrieve the contents of it which he needed, he would tuck another folder under his arm and slip a small container into his coat’s inside breast pocket.

Walking back over to the seating area where Misoka still sat on the couch, Bokuden would bring the folder in front of him, flip it open, and lay it down on the coffee table in front of her for her to see. “For the purposes of this mission, this is your new identity. You’ll be playing the part of my personal assistant, a representative of the Ryuzoji clan. A spoiled brat like me can’t be expected to handle his own paperwork after all. No one will think twice about me having an assistant around that will be involved in the transaction. This will give you complete access to me throughout the entirety of the operation. You can stay in my hotel suite, attend any meetings with me, and most importantly, attend the event itself.”

He paused for a moment to retrieve the small black container from his coat’s inside breast pocket, opening it up and pulling out its contents to reveal a pair of black framed women’s glasses. “Hey,” he began, motioning to get her attention before making his suggestion, “Stand up for a second? I need to see something.” Once she stood up to face him he would carefully line the glasses up with her face and slide them on for her. Picking up the folder from the table he would gesture over to the mirror on the wall and lead her over there. “Not a bad look for you, Missy,” he teased as both of them looked at her reflection in the mirror, “Now, you know the transformation technique, right? Look at the pictures here and try to get every last detail right.  All you have to worry about it the face and hair. Height, weight, and body shape for your new identity have already been lined up with your natural appearance. Go on, give it a try.”



4585~

Misoka

Misoka


D-rank
“I see...” Misoka muttered and rose from her seat. It made sense, yes. Perfect sense. A personal assistant wouldn’t  raise any suspicion. Every one of the suitors she’d come to know had their own troupes of shinobi and servants with them. If you were rich, you always had to be worried about somebody else trying to steal your money.
She held still when Bokuden slid the glasses on, not blinking once as her surroundings grew darker and less colourful. Silently, Misoka followed her friend to the mirror and regarded her appearance with a cocked eyebrow.
“Well, it does look... different,” she smirked in response to Bokuden’s taunt before forming a hand sign. “Hmm... transformation technique. Let’s see what I can think of.”
A moment of hesitation in which she went through the main aspects again. “Representative of the Ryuzoji clan. Face and hair. Alright.”

The loud “poof” sound that came next announced her new identity. As soon as the smoke had cleared, a young woman with straight raven-black hair stared back at her in the mirror, the nose sharper resembling a hawk’s beak, thin lips curling up into a smile, high cheekbones. Misoka had also made sure that her skin was the colour of honey now as though she enjoyed sunbathing and no longer the pale flawless face you would associate with a Karisuma.
“I think this should work,” she mused. “I look like a normal woman. Slightly aggressive maybe with the black hair and glasses... oh, and the nose.”
She allowed herself to let out one or two chuckles, striking a pose in front of the mirror, but when she spoke, her voice sounded serious again. “When will you come to Suna? We should decide on a meeting point.”

The decision to leave Kumo first and stay in her hometown for a while wasn’t the smartest one, she knew that. Nonetheless, it was her personal decision. If she really wanted to become stronger, she had to go there, disguise herself as she’d done the year before and undertake any mission she could get.
From the corner of her eye – unbeknownst to him – Misoka studied Bokuden’s expression and the almost visible strength radiating off him. When the time came to challenge her fate, she didn’t want to fall behind. She didn’t want someone else to do all the work even if it meant to expose herself to danger, even if it meant to be reckless. She would rather die than hide and watch - and losing the last bit of honour she possessed.
This is my fight. I must not forget that.  

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Bokuden

Bokuden


D-rank
Bokuden smirked and let out an amused huff as he listened to Misoka’s words after the transformation. “What exactly do you mean you look like a normal woman?” he teased, cocking an eyebrow for emphasis, “Are you implying that you didn’t look like a normal woman before?” Of course Misoka’s actual appearance was not something anyone could realistically classify as “normal”. Fortunately for them both she leaned heavily towards the positive side of abnormal than the negative. Misoka’s beauty might have caused her a great deal of trouble in her life, but he doubted that even she disliked being attractive. Whether or not that was how she intended that comment to come off, Bokuden would imply it all the same, not wanting to miss the opportunity to tease her. “I see you’ve finally come to accept everything that I’ve been telling you since we were kids then,” he said playfully before going back over the profile they had set up and making sure her transformation matched.

He paused immediately as she continued, lowering the folder and eyeing her suspiciously as he processed the words she spoke. “When am I coming to Suna?” he repeated in an obviously skeptical tone, “We should decide on a meeting point? Why would we need to do any of that when I’m going with you?” He already knew what kind of plan that she was going to suggest, just based off of her choice of words and it wasn’t one that he was particularly thrilled with. After everything that she had been through and all of this time, knowing that he blames himself for everything that happened to her for allowing her to go in the first place all of those years ago, she wanted to go back to Sunagakure by herself and put herself into the same danger that she had put herself in five years ago. More shocking was how she could say it so casually as if he was just going to sit back and watch her go again. It would be like reliving that same nightmare over again.

Closing the folder and turning to confront her face to face, Bokuden would let out a sigh before speaking. “Misoka, listen,” he began, attempting to sound as comforting and reassuring as he could in order to sway her into seeing things his way, “I don’t know what you are hoping to accomplish by returning to Suna alone, but whatever it is, I’m asking you not to go. We have everything we need to prepare for the plan here in Kumogakure without any of the risk. If these men are still looking for you, do you really want to get closer to them? I can’t let you go alone… not again. If there is something that is so important that you need to return to Suna then I should be going with you. The last time I let you walk through those village gates alone I almost lost you forever and I still regret it to this day. Please…” He stopped speaking as the words became a heavier and heavier burden to speak, but he needed to say something. This was not a part of the plan.




5129~

Misoka

Misoka


D-rank
She understood him.
Of course she did.
Of course she knew that returning to Suna on her own was a risky undertaking.
Of course everything she had achieved so far might be for nothing once they caught her again.
And yet… despite it all, despite the awareness of upsetting people she cared for, despite her own logical mind agreeing with Bokuden’s concerns, she felt – and this feeling was too strong to resist – that she had to go.
“This…” Misoka began calmly, the transformation technique still active, as she ran a hand through her black hair. “It is more complicated than that. I know you don’t want me to get hurt and I know you still blame yourself for what happened back then, but once again, this is different. I’m not a kid anymore. I have come to a point in my life where I have to take matters into my own two hands. I have to believe in myself… act with the confidence I didn’t used to possess.”
An almost pleading undertone crept into her voice. “I want to find out more about myself. What can I do? What am I really capable of? What part of me have they tried to suppress for so long? If I had to describe myself, what could I honestly say? Bokuden, I’m only asking you to have faith in me. I’ll be fine.”
At that point, she couldn’t help but let out a humourless laugh and pat Bokuden’s shoulder before walking back to the coffee table, “Sorry, I know I sound crazy. You can take me to the nut house all you want, but please after we’ve dealt with my clan. And after I’ve talked to the Kazekage.”

Considering this discussion to be over since she would never give in anyway, Misoka turned around and continued in a casual tone, “Alright, meeting point. I’d say inside the administration building. Hmm… two weeks from now? And I’ll be transformed into your lovely assistant again… does she have a name yet?” Her lips quirked up into an amused smile. “I’ll most probably use the transformation technique a lot of times. I should start thinking about the various roles I might get to play.” Misoka chuckled once more, hoping she could convince Bokuden that she neither feared getting caught in Suna nor needed a bodyguard tagging along.
Truth be told, she could already imagine the same conversation with her father later on. For some reason, however, Bokuden’s approval was much more important to her. She wished he would believe in her... believe that she was strong enough.  


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Bokuden

Bokuden


D-rank
Bokuden did nothing but stand in silence as he listened to Mioka’s explanation for her desire to return to Suna alone. The solemn expression on his face remained unwavering, even as she attempted to throw a smile or a chuckle his way as if it were going to make this easier. Despite all of his reservations and the countless reasons why Misoka’s plan was a bad idea, Bokuden knew that she wasn’t going to budge on it. Something certainly was different about her, he wouldn’t get this feeling from the Misoka he knew 5 years ago. Only when she had left the first time to go after her father had he ever sensed her to be this determined to do something. How could he tell her no now, even if it was for her own good?

He chose to ignore all of the extra information that she decided to throw out there, hearing it and making note of it, but he would not address anything else until they talked about this decision. Despite her commitment to this decision and how much she might have liked to skate on passed it without issue, it wasn’t something that Bokuden could just ignore. But still, as he heard her speak he knew that no matter what he said she would be going. What a predicament he had found himself in. He wanted to do what was best for her, but he didn’t know what that was anymore? Who was he to tell her what she should or shouldn’t do? What had his words brought her up to this point? Imprisonment, misery, the feeling that he had abandoned her. What had he even been to her since they were reunited but an annoyance? When they first found each other again he was just a silly boy with a crush, love that did not deserve to be requited. Even now he was just an obstacle standing in the way of her goals. Her staying in Kumo would make him happy, but was his own peace of mind worth hers?

Finally Bokuden would walk over to Misoka, his gaze and expression softening a bit as he drew in close to her. “Hey,” he began, raising his right hand up to her face and placed it on the fake glasses she was sporting, “I’m still not used to seeing you like this. It’s too weird to speak to you as Misoka while you have that transformation jutsu up. This is too important for me to say to a stranger. Let me see Misoka, not some made up women from a folder.” When she would comply and cancel the transformation he would slowly slide the glasses off of her face and smile, waiting for a moment before speaking the words he knew needed to be said.




5606~

Misoka

Misoka


D-rank
It was impossible to ignore the unsatisfied expression on Bokuden’s face. He didn’t appear to be happy with her decision to put it mildly, but at least he did his best to remain silent and spare himself a response.
“Bokuden…” Misoka spoke up after several moments of awkward silence between them, her voice no longer as firm and determined as it had been less than a minute ago. Now she was merely trying to explain herself once more to the best of her ability, a begging tone lurking underneath, “What I’m saying is… I don’t want to be someone you have to babysit, but someone you can fight with! Come on, does that really sound so far-fetched?”

A sigh left her lips, gaze shifting downwards, when she suddenly noticed Bokuden approach her and tell her to… change back into the “real Misoka”.
Uh… right. Because that was so important now to see her true appearance. It wasn’t like he didn’t know it was her; she simply looked different – where was the big deal in that?  
Nonetheless, Misoka didn’t complain on the outside – seriously, who would want to spoil the mood any further? – and formed the required hand sign to end the transformation technique.
Once she had done so, Bokuden went on to take off her glasses, his solemn frown finally fading, compelling her to smile as well.
“Alright, I’m back,” Misoka said with a shrug of her shoulders and quickly added, “And no, please don’t tell me to reconsider. I’ve already decided. Nothing you say will change my mind.”

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Bokuden

Bokuden


D-rank
Misoka’s stern expression and voice faltered a bit as she continued, almost pleading with Bokuden to let her go. He didn’t see the reason behind it, as the both of them knew that she was going to go regardless of what she said. Why should his approval even matter to her at all? She owed him nothing. He had done nothing for her but bring her disappointment. How was he supposed to respond?  “I’m not going to tell you to reconsider, Misoka,” Bokuden replied bluntly, “I’m not going to tell you to do anything. You’re a grown woman. I’m not your husband nor am I your father. I have no right to make demands out of you. All I can do is ask you not to go, but there wouldn’t be much of a point to that, now would there? You haven’t changed as much as you thought you have, you know. You can still be quite easy to read… but it’s not a bad thing. I can see that you are determined to do this and are doing it for yourself.”

He would pause for a moment, letting his words marinade for a moment before continuing the only way he could think of, “There was once a time where I said I was in love with you, Misoka. It wasn’t just because you had a pretty face. I admired you. You were strong. Even if your hands were shaking and your knees buckling beneath you as you lost all of your strength to stand you were still prepared to do what you had to do. Strength is not sheer power alone. I was powerful, but still I envied your strength. You were brave. Even knowing the risks you would take them if it meant protecting someone you cared about. Despite all of this you were kind. You cared about people and they cared about you in turn. I admired you and slightly envied your ability to become something I could not. I am what I am, but you could be more. Not a single one of those things is any less true today as it was then. When I said I loved you and that I wanted to be with you it wasn’t as a babysitter or your boss. We’re partners. Just because we’ve moved on to a point in our lives where we can’t be lovers doesn’t mean I admire you any less. I know you’ll be fine if something were to happen to you, Misoka. You’re strong. I just don’t know if I will be. But you don’t owe me anything. If this is how you want to do this I trust you, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to protect you. I have something to give you before you leave, a way to keep in contact with me no matter how far you go. That way if anything happens I can come back for you and do what I was unable to the first time you left. That’s all I ask, please give me that. I have faith in you Misoka, I just need you to have faith in me as well.”




6155~

Misoka

Misoka


D-rank
This was the first time in seemingly forever where she felt a stirring inside her chest, warm and curious along with the gratitude for the words that had just been spoken. A smile began to form on her lips.
“That’s all I’ve ever wanted to hear,” Misoka replied truthfully, extending her arms on a sudden impulse and pulling Bokuden into a gentle embrace. “Thank you. I got tired of people telling me what to do and what is best for me. I know I can do this. I won’t disappoint you. We’re partners.”
And only then she realized why she’d been so emotionally distanced over the past few weeks, why she had pushed Bokuden further and further away while pretending to do no such thing. What it all came down to in the end was her desire for freedom. Independency. Daredevilry. Feelings so strong that they must have always been part of her.
She couldn’t be tamed.
Put her in chains and she will even bite the hand that feeds her. If you let her go, however, she might come back to you in the end.
“Believe me, there’s nothing to worry about,” Misoka mumbled, face buried in his shoulder, still smiling. “This time, I truly know what I’m getting myself into. And I know how to avoid trouble. But I guess it’s still sweet that you care so much. I’m glad I can count on you.”

Yes… sweet… and amazing how he always managed to spill his heart like that. She doubted she could ever be so honest and tell him everything she felt within. Mostly, this wasn’t even a matter of being honest, rather the fact that she had no idea how to put it all in words. He had always been the more charismatic one of them. Just like five years ago… Wait. This was kind of getting out of control.
“Are you serious?” she thought, flustered. “Since when are you the type of girl who gets overly sentimental and nostalgic? Snap out of it.”
“Weell… yeah.” Perhaps a bit too hastily, Misoka stepped back and cleared her throat so that her voice switched from an emotional to a formal business tone again, “I should go then. But what is it you wanted to show me? A way to keep in contact? This sounds helpful, indeed.”


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