The Kirigakure afternoon is one of drear and depression for many, a cool breeze filled the air with the smell of salt from the ocean. Maigo made his way through the village, the 17 year old boy, just returned from the Chuunin Exams in Kumogakure and promoted to the rank of Chuunin because of his clever intuition. Well, that was what the higher ups called it, to Maigo, it was merely his intuition to find the path of least resistance in every scenario possible. He headed through the village towards the administration building, to report in and find out what he could. He'd be taking a higher class of mission now, and with that, more responsibility and more training to come along with it. But besides that, he didn't know what else he'd expect to find, it was more just the feeling that upon his promotion he should check in to work and support the village in any way that he could.

The village itself seemed quite as ever, it was grey and dreary out but it didn't seem to bother the people too much, the sidewalks and roads were damp as if it had rained earlier that morning and the cold humid was fairly dense, much more so than the mountain air of Kumogakure. Scattered about people and quiet chatter filled the village as Maigo made his way through, it had been about two days since his return to the village. On Maigo he wore some fairly basic clothes, a white jacket with short sleeves teal in color, and typical black pants that didn't reach to his ankles. Black sandals and some black forearm wraps also were there and his ninja pouch tied to his right leg and his sword tied around his waist with the handle to his right side for quick access. It moved slightly along his waist with each step, and Maigo held his hand on the hilt, slightly sliding it out an inch or two and letting it drop back into place. For whatever reason the sound of the clink it made distracted him while he walked and day dreamed through the village, if he were any good at it, Maigo would probably try to finish the cliche by whistling his way through the streets.

After arriving at the center of the village, Maigo walked up to the administration building, letting go of his sword and pushing against the large wooden door. The symbol and markings of the village imprinted upon it, the door pushed back to a reception area with a desk and secretary and a few ninja walking about. Jounin and the likes scattered about and a few others sitting and waiting, working on paperwork and the rest. It seemed like this building was more of a large scale business than a place for the ninja of the village to work from. A light flickered in the corner and caught Maigo's attention as he walked in, You think with all the capable people around here that they could at least fix a light. he thought to himself snidely as he walked in. At the front desk was a blonde haired woman with blue eyes and an attractive figure (by Maigo's standards of course), the same woman that connected him with his sensei Dameon Shikyo and helped set him up for the Chuunin Exams.

Despite all their encounters Maigo still never learned her name, and he found her very attractive, but Riss would kill him if she caught him flirting with a receptionist in the building. This was very much so a place she could end up, so as nonchalant as he could, he approached the desk and smiled, doing his best to preemptively think of ways to not use her name.

Maigo! Welcome back, I heard how you did in the exams, it's too bad you couldn't win. she smiled enthusiastically while she talked. In all honesty, she was probably the closest thing Maigo had to a sister, someone who cared but without the whole knowing anything embarrassing or openly harassing him or anything like that.

Yeah, I thought I would get further, but a broken leg really restricts how far you can go in the tournament and all. he continued to smile and spoke calmly, rubbing the back of his head for a second while talking about his embarrassing loss.

Yes, well, what can I do for you today? she said and looked towards the clock nearby her. It's a bit late in the morning, is something the matter?

No, I just thought I would check in or whatever, take any missions that needed to be done? Or any tasks that might need to be finished. I am a chuunin now, so I figured I should start pulling my weight.

She smiled at Maigo, and nodded, looking through a stack of papers and things, the sound of shuffling paper slowly became audible. She turned towards him with a neutral look on her face, No, it looks like all the short term missions for today are already filled, and you're not approved for any long term missions just yet. she spoke calmly with confidence.

Damn, I suppose I'll have to schedule my doctor's appointments earlier then. What about Dameon-sensei, is he around anywhere? Maybe I can get some training done. he asked. He lied about the doctor's appointment, really he had just wanted to sleep in and take the morning to himself, same nature as the old Maigo, but deep down he wanted to appear like he was beginning to change the mantra about himself.

She looked to the corner of her eye, pursing her lips to the side slightly as she thought and scratched at her cheek lightly. It was rather cartoon-ish, but once she was done, she gave a sharp look back towards Maigo, No, at least I haven't seen him recently, he might be away on a mission or a task of his own. her face ended with a confused look, one of uncertainty. I'd be more than happy to go check and see if he's around or if anyone's seen him?

She made the offer after seeing Maigo frown upon the idea, he nodded and thanked her and then took a seat in the waiting area. A few minutes later and she arrived back, re-affirming her apology that he wasn't around, Maigo thanked her anyways and she returned to the desk.

Maigo sat slumped in the chair, his sword sitting horizontally across his lap, he sighed loudly and stretched his neck for a second. No missions, no tasks from the village, Dameon's not around. What a horrible day to return and try to be productive. he spoke aloud to himself. Maybe I can find one of my squad-mates roaming around and try to get some productive training done. Or maybe I can go to the library and try to figure out the situation with my eyes. he continued to talk to himself. Standing up quickly at that chair, he slide the sword back onto his belt and began to tighten it to his body, resting his right hand on the hilt of it again.

[1219 words]

Aizou woke up that day sprawled on her bed, her blanket entangled with her limbs, but most importantly her tail. She never did like it whenever her tail got caught up in the bedsheets. It wasn’t a hassle to remove, but she liked being able to stretch her tail in the morning so much more than she liked being able to stretch her limbs, and that alone had put her in a slightly upsetting mood.

Oh, and she had also woken up at five fucking thirty in the morning. That one small detail would also be enough to be a bad start to a day, especially when her face looked so frazzled in her bathroom mirror that she almost felt the exhaustion seep into her from her poor reflection, and had been too tired to go back to sleep. Oh yes, how she loved waking up in the morning before the sun even rose even when she had absolutely nothing planned for the day, and when sleeping was the one thing that she had wanted to do this morning.

How sarcastically splendid.

Aizou lounged back in her couch in the living room. It had already been four or five hours since then, and she was enjoying her morning programmes on the large flatscreen television in front of her while sipping jasmine tea from a small piece of China that she left on a small stool beside her couch, while the teapot itself sat on the glass top table in front of her, supported by curving glossed wooden supports.

None of this had been cheap, but considering how much the old geezer had in his pocket alone that night, it had been enough to buy Aizou this posh apartment and more.

One of her fox ears twitched as she felt boredom settle in again. She seldom was so bored watching television. Normally, she could watch programmes for hours upon hours, so much so that she wondered why she wasn’t losing her figure because of it. Unfortunately, normal days normally didn’t involve waking up so early in the morning, and because of that alone, her mood had been spoilt. Watching TV an entire morning almost helped her get over it, but nothing really beat having a good, uninterrupted night’s sleep.

In fact, Aizou almost compared her current discomfort to those she was only used to feeling once a month.

She switched the television off and threw the remote onto the couch. It bounced against the back of the couch and landed onto the seat, before bouncing again and dropping onto the red carpet. She gave it no mind. If it broke, she had more than enough money in her bank to fix it anyway. Hell, she had so much money she could just buy another remote and another TV set, and still have so much leftover.

How did that old fart spend his money anyway? This was a hell lot of ryo.

After dressing up, she grabbed her midnight coloured coat and walked out the front door, hearing the automatic alarm systems lock up the house behind her before placing her hands into the pockets of her coat and taking the elevator down the apartment. All the way down, she wondered where she was even planning to go. She had no clue, to be honest. In fact, she just felt like a good walk, and maybe…

Wait, that was it! Maybe she could visit Shoji at the administration area! Maybe torment him at work for a few moments!

Mind made up, Aizou walked out of the elevator, which had just opened, and proceeded down the main road towards Kiri’s administration building.

Shoji Iseya was the man that had first inducted her into Kirigakure’s forces when she had been on the run from murderous gangsters who were out for blood after the death of their leader. While initially in debt to him, she had quickly cleared it when she learned that Shoji himself was a fun-loving pervert - but a pervert nonetheless - who couldn’t help but make snide comments about her figure whenever he had the chance.

Well, joke was on him today because Aizou was going to go to the administration building and distract the hell out of him while he tried - keyword being tried - to keep his attention on distributing missions and not on the many suggestive things she would be doing. And he still had until six in the evening. Hah! Serves him right.

Unfortunately, when Aizou arrived at the mildly packed area, she saw no sign of Shoji anywhere. She cocked her head in confusion, ignoring the few looks she got. Well, that was unexpected. She had thought that Shoji would be here.

Suddenly, however, a man shot up from his chair, a determined look on his face.

“And what’s up with you?” she asked, head cocked towards him and eyes questioningly staring at him from the corner of her eye, before she turned towards him as was proper.

WC: 838

As Maigo stood up and began to slide his katana into place, a voice sprang up from in front of him. “And what’s up with you?” he unexpectedly heard, his eyes gradually rolled up from looking at the placement of his katana to the woman standing in front of him, who at the same time turned to face Maigo. He rested his palm on the hilt of his sword while he quickly examined her, black hair and golden eyes... and cat ears? Or maybe fox ears? He didn't know the difference between any of them and there his eyes rested for a second. He probably would have spent more time in his typical fashion, gawking over her figure or making up scenarios in his head about how the next five sentences of their dialogue would go. Normally he might think of some suave or smooth thing to say to impress her or make her laugh, thinking he had some innate ability to guess a person's sense of humor from how they looked. But instead his eyes and attention fixed on a more prominent feature of hers, prominent in a different way of course, but none the less it confused him direly.

Quickly he snapped back to reality as fast as he could, leaving no more than a few seconds pause after she queried him. He gulped and shook his head slightly, "Umm... what's up with me?" he used his left thumb to point up at his face, keeping his arm at about the level of his chest and his right arm remained fixed and planted upon the swords hilt, further pressing his palm into it as he went on.

"Nothing, I don't think. What's up with you?" he put together quickly, his eyes gradually glanced up at her ear and he blinked a few times. His weight was shifted slightly back, he could feel the weight in his heels instead of evenly across his feet. He lowered his left hand slightly as he spoke and directed his pointer finger towards her, for the moment he did, he sent his yellow colored eyes to make eye contact with her. A small attempt at trying to be respectful (outside the pointing at her bit) from this point out, but he was still rather confused by it all.

More by her and her apparent anatomy more so than the fact that she was even asking him anything. A random stranger walking in, looking around, and picking Maigo (assumedly at random) to either pick a fight with or ask something or some other random event? And all Maigo could think about wasn't her figure or beauty like he might normally do, but instead upon her ears. Typical Maigo...

[461 words, 1680 words total]

Aizou stood waiting as she watched him scan her. She folded her arms as she noted interestingly that he seemed to be looking up at her fox ears, rather down at her cleavage. Planning to humor him, Aizou made sure that his attention was captivated by her ears before she gave them a playful twitch, her left ear bending down halfway and her right ear jerking further to the right, before they relaxed and returned to normal, following which Aizou let out a silent giggle. It wasn’t something that many men were able to boast, especially not around her, though to their credit she had been awfully flirty when she had tried to drill information out of their reluctant lips.

“Umm… what’s up with me? Nothing, I don’t think,” he answered, his left thumb pointing back at himself, while his right hand rested on the hilt of his sword that remained sheathed behind him. Satisfied with his answer, he pointed his left index finger at her person, before asking, “What’s up with you?”

Aizou raised one eyebrow questioningly before answering. “You stood up so suddenly. It’s like you saw a ghost,” she answered.

She noticed him effortfully keeping his own eyes on her yellow ones, and she grinned softly - the same grin that she normally gave to her patrons whenever her jobs or missions required a more womanly touch. She didn’t mean to put him on the spot, but it wasn’t like there was any other smile she knew of that she could as effortlessly put on.

“You know, I’ve always heard the saying that men often have problems keeping their eyes from wandering away from women’s faces,” she teased, crossing her arms and leaning to her right, balancing her weight on her right leg as her tail swished to the left before dropping back down. “But normally, whenever that happens to me, men usually end up looking down, not up.”

Call Aizou impressed with him, though. Her words held a large degree of truth to them. Most of the men she often met tried too hard to focus on her face, and eventually because of this effort their eyes would drop down to her figure against their will. This man was decidedly different, if by a bit. Granted, his curiosity was piqued by a pair of something else perched on her head, but to avoid skimming down her curves (and yes, Aizou could tell he had avoided that; she was fairly experienced in this field) bumped him slightly out of her strange list and landed him slightly in the small zone between respect and disappointment.

“You know, I came here looking for one of my friends to entertain me, but he seems to be absent today,” Aizou began after awhile of silence, her eyes roaming his body freely and without shame. The right side of her lip tugged upwards as she took in his well-built body, muscular and fit like your everyday above average ninja, rather than a living caveman. His face was sharp and angular, with a distinct lack of scars. Pity. Scars did always look and taste so unique. Her tongue flicked past her top lip unconsciously out of habit, so quick that if he weren’t paying attention he would’ve missed it. “So, how do you fancy keeping a girl like me company for the afternoon? I have to warn you though, if you’re looking for a spar that’s a one way ticket for ‘goodbye’ here.”

WC: 593/1431

The girls arms folded and her ears twitched as Maigo glanced towards them occasionally, followed by a small giggle, probably laughing at Maigo and his less than inquisitive attitude. She looked at him with an eyebrow raised, “You stood up so suddenly. It’s like you saw a ghost,” she said as she watched him stumble about in his own mind. Maigo rubbed the back of his head and smiled widely, almost laughing, "No, no ghost around here, unless you're a ghost..." he let on still laughing like an idiot. She grinned at him and continued on,

“You know, I’ve always heard the saying that men often have problems keeping their eyes from wandering away from women’s faces. But normally, whenever that happens to me, men usually end up looking down, not up." she said smiling, Maigo glanced down slightly while she spoke, his laughing stopped and he lowered his arm. He glanced down like she subtly suggested, like he could resist his own instincts for that long, her figure was near perfect, and he'd probably comment on it except for as she balanced onto one leg, a tail popped out. His eyes drew to it again, his head probably tilted some but he wouldn't notice as he quietly spoke, "I can only imagine..." he said at a barely audible level. his attention quickly returned back to her, going to make eye contact while he could before staring at something to get him in some serious trouble.

“You know, I came here looking for one of my friends to entertain me, but he seems to be absent today,” she said as she looked him over intently. Maigo's own eyes followed hers, watching them move about and take in his measure or whatever it was that she was doing. “So, how do you fancy keeping a girl like me company for the afternoon? I have to warn you though, if you’re looking for a spar that’s a one way ticket for ‘goodbye’ here.” she said and left off for him to respond. Maigo inhaled fairly heavily as he pulled his lips to the side and thought for a second, then followed by a heavy exhale. "Fighting... that seems like a lot of work, so you won't get that from me. But what sort of trouble did you have in mind?" he said with a small grin, part of him ignoring her tongue moving about her lip, and another part of him couldn't help but notice it.

He tried to have some dignity before it was too late, under normal circumstances he would have thought of a moment like this only happening a mere dream at best, or at least the prospect of meeting a gorgeous woman randomly who was all but irresistible, and he needed to get a grip on himself. He wouldn't even wait for her to respond, instead he would motion his arm to the door, "After you, by the way, my name's Maigo. Maigo Mugetsu... And what should I call you?" he let off before he assumed they would head out to wherever. He would put his hand down and placed his palm back into the hilt of his sword as they walked, he left off with his own name as a courtesy, thinking it would be something worth mentioning before it was too late.

[569 words, 2249 words total]

[OOC: So sorry about the wait on the reply, I'll try to keep my posts up quicker from here out~]

“Fighting… that seems like a lot of work, so you won’t get that from me. But what sort of trouble did you have in mind?” he had said, giving her a small grin as he did so.

“Hmm, making a woman choose? You’re already losing points there. And who ever mentioned anything about trouble? Someone's getting ahead of himself, and I wonder if I should be worried,” Aizou teased with a small wink, her arms still folded beneath her chest. Unconsciously, or maybe she just didn’t want to admit that she did it consciously, her arms squeezed together just a small bit, emphasising and amplifying her cleavage for awhile before she shifted her weight onto the other leg. “But I guess you are a gentleman for letting me choose, so I’ll give you some points there. Overall, you’re still at zero.”

Meanwhile, Aizou tried to think where she would want to go. Definitely not the red light district, though this guy seemed to be someone who would happily lap after her if she did decide to go there for whatever reason. Ugh, no. She hated those places. They brought up too many bad memories that she herself wanted to suppress, and it wasn’t doing her any good thinking about those places, much less considering going back there and heavens forbid actually going back there in the end. No, she needed to do something different for the day.

Besides, what fun was it to tease someone if you couldn’t do it knowing that getting caught was a complete disaster? If they were the ones on the receiving end of the stick, all the better!

“Hmm,” Aizou hummed.

Maybe she could have him take her on a tour of Kirigakure. For most her life she’d been working in a strip club anyway, selling herself off to others. Even though it had been a few years since she’d met Shoji, who’d managed to hide her from the gangs long enough for the entire commotion about their dead leader to die down, she still hadn’t been able to visit the entirety of Kirigakure. There were still large swathes of the village that she had been unable to visit, more so because she was too lazy to get up and head to those places, rather than anything serious. Making up her mind, and realising that her eyes had drifted down to survey his body again against her will (this time she was sure it was unconscious), she looked him in the eye again.

“How about you take me on a tour of Kirigakure?” she asked as she took a step towards him, leaving only a foot between them, arms still folded and weight shifted onto the other leg, her hips having swayed once as she walked. “It’s been so long since I’ve had the time to survey the village and its sights. And you’re going to take me on a tour of the village. Anywhere you want, so long as you don’t plan to do anything to wittle ol’ me.”

She deliberately mispronounced the ‘l’, and drawled it out for emphasis.

“After you, by the way, my name’s Maigo. Maigo Mugetsu… And what should I call you?” he asked, his right hand landing on the hilt of his sword once again.

Aizou let the silence between them draw out, as if she were considering his words, and himself, before she gave her own name. “It’s Aizou Kitsuchi. But you can call me Aizou. And this is for being such a gentleman.”

With that, she turned around, heading for the door. However, as she turned around, however, her tail brushed up against the side of his leg, up to his waist and stomach, before it left him as she continued walking towards the door.

Word count: 646/2077

OOC: It's fine. Lets me concentrate on my school work anyway haha!

“Hmm, making a woman choose? You’re already losing points there. And who ever mentioned anything about trouble? Someone's getting ahead of himself, and I wonder if I should be worried,” she winked at him and he noticed it. A bit of curiosity hit him as he was being deducted imaginary points already for trying his hardest not to get ahead of himself. But oh well, he must be stuck with that curse of forever speaking ahead of where he was running. She crossed her arms and began to flatter her figure, a position Maigo couldn't help but notice as she continued on, “But I guess you are a gentleman for letting me choose, so I’ll give you some points there. Overall, you’re still at zero.” Maigo sighed, closed his eyes, and scratched the side of his head at the thought. I guess it was a nice thing for her to award him the points he had lost back for the same reason he had lost it but it all sounded a bit confusing to him. As she began to think about whatever was to happen next, he spoke out, "You know, you can't take away points and then give them back for the same reason. That sounds like a contradiction, a confusion, indecision and that will certainly get you into some trouble one of these days." he said with a bit of chuckle in his voice. He was almost trying to tease and/or torment her and her decision making immediately, it was clear if nothing else that decision making might not be her strong suit. Still, the decision was hers and after a moment she would ring out with an idea, “How about you take me on a tour of Kirigakure?”

"Yeah, I can do that, and I think I'm more worried about you getting to me to be honest. So, a tour of the village from me, if that's really what you want to do..." he would lead on while she stepped forward towards him and began to explain why that decision and some other intricacies about not having time to see the village or anything of that nature, as well as some more subtle suggestions Maigo couldn't help but get distracted by. It was then they they exchanged greetings, Aizou Kitsuchi, sharing a similar name to that of the clan of the Mizukage but he had no time to think about that as her next action caught more of his attention. Her tail rubbed against his leg, he looked down and caught sight of it as she began to walk away out of the building, for a moment he watched without walking with her as she approached the door. After she took a few steps he sighed and began to slowly drag his feet after her, no idea as to the sort of trouble he was going to get himself into.

After they exited the administration building, he would speak, "Well, you already know this building. Ten stories high and no windows on the lower half, built to be like a fortress to fall back to and all in case that ever needs to be the case. How about we start with the city itself?" he would ask as he would lead on, the city itself didn't have much to offer except for the market that he planned on leading them through, and a few shops and things here and there. The city itself was like it always was, a huge wall closing it in from the outside world, though he wasn't sure this would be anything new to her, at least not if she's been in the village for a decent period of time. He would ask if they cut through the market, "So, how long have you been in the village? I mean, what have you seen already and what would be new to you?" he would ask politely but loud enough that she could hear him over the sound of the market.

[680 words, 2929 words total]

“Yeah, I can do that, and I think I’m more worried about you getting to me to be honest. So, a tour of the village from me, if that’s what you really want to do…” Maigo had said.

‘Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet,’ Aizou thought as she smiledIt wasn’t uncommon for her to act flirtatiously, and overly so, with people she had just met. It helped her study them better. Nothing told her more about a man than how he was acting when his primal instincts were off the charts, and knowing that she could do so with some fun just made it all the more appealing option than to slowly get to know someone over a cup of tea. No, it was better to get in their head first; that way, she wouldn’t need to get past most of the walls they put up. Being hot also helped, she supposed.

The two of them exited the administration building together, with Aizou having slowed down so she was walking to his right. It only made sense to walk side by side, since he was showing her the village, even if she did know the general surroundings of the administration building from experience. She was playful, but she wasn’t one who liked to queen others. Aizou knew the difference between being a stuck-up snot and just plain having fun with people’s brains. The line was very fine, but she believed she had it drawn.

Eh, probably.

“Well, you already know this building. Ten stories high and no windows on the lower half, built to be like a fortress to fall back to and all in case that ever needs to be the case. How about we start with the city itself?” Maigo asked as he stepped ahead of her.

Aizou eyed him for a while as she stood still, studying the man. Imaginary points or no, he did look like a delicious specimen, and so far he was acting… well, she would give him that slight leeway because he managed to catch her off guard several times, and say that he was acting like a gentleman. For now, at least. He seemed fit for a ninja, someone the ladies probably swooned over day and night. That probably explained his aversion to her charms. Experience always did help. Huh, he was only lucky she wasn’t planning to use her Jutsu on him.

“The city sounds lovely,” she said as they left the administration building’s grounds.

The first place he brought her to was the marketplace. Well, obviously she’d been here before, but the entire point of this was to study Maigo, instead of studying the village itself. Aizou already knew the village well, albeit not that well, and she was sure that the few sights to see in Kirigakure weren’t really meant for ninja like them. Even so, it gave her a great excuse to use on Maigo just in case. She did find him somewhat… intriguing. Perhaps she could snatch him away for a bit after she was done with her study. Mm, that was an interesting thought. And she might even let him live through it.

As they were crossing it, and Aizou let her eyes wander from his frame to some ornaments around them, some gold and others silver, Maigo spoke. “So, how long have you been in the village? I mean, what have you seen already and what would be new to you?”

It was polite and soft, but firm, and loud enough that she was able to hear it over the chitter chatter of bargains in the market. Personally, Aizou found it alluring.

“I’ve been in the village for all my life,” Aizou would state nonchalantly with a small smile. “I’ve just never had the pleasure of seeing the sights for myself. People don’t find fox ears and a tail very hot and hence socially acceptable when you’re thirteen. Not most, anyway.”

Part of her felt like that should be a regretful time, when discrimination was at an all-time high and even her own family members had picked on her for having a fox tail and matching ears. However, most of her instead felt bittersweet. Maybe that was why she said all that with a natural smile, without even trying to fake one. She used to be one of the lowest of the low, based off genetics, and then the lowest of the low based off her career as a forced prostitute, and now here she was, a respectable (mostly) member of Kirigakure’s ninja, and one who had enough wealth to buy her own island and live the rest of her life there in peace if she wanted to.

“Hmm, let me see,” Aizou said, truly in deep thought for awhile. “I’ve been to the marketplace,” she replied with a drawl. “I’ve been to the shinobi districts, Muraoka Road, where you basically have all the shops you could wish for, some of the clan compounds, though I don’t feel like visiting those today. And I guess that’s it. That’s all the places I’ve been to. Everywhere else would probably be new.”

Word count: 879/2956

OOC: Sorry I'm so late this time. Had a few exams to study for.

Maigo made the beginning of his tour of the village, the two of them left the administration building to which Aizou commented, “The city sounds lovely,” to which Maigo couldn't help but crack a smile to. "It really is, I can't imagine a place in the whole world as grand as our village." he spoke with nostalgia in his voice as if  he was breathing in the village. They continued their trek into the market, a place he imagined she had already been. I mean, who in the village hadn't been into the markets before? Especially a beautiful woman like her who probably had a hundred suitors all begging to buy her the next bigger and nicer thing, she had definitely been here before, but the tour wasn't so much meant to see that as it was to pass through it. After some silence Maigo spoke out intent to break the silence with some small talk, about her history in the village to which she responded with, “I’ve been in the village for all my life,” a smile accompanied it. Maigo became confused for a second, he narrowed his eyebrows and raised the other one, she continued on, “I’ve just never had the pleasure of seeing the sights for myself. People don’t find fox ears and a tail very hot and hence socially acceptable when you’re thirteen. Not most, anyway.”

Maigo scratched at his sideburn and temple with his right hand for a second while he looked towards her, "Yeah, I mean, sure it's not a usual quality people look for but is it that big of a deal? In the end, you do make up for it with that gorgeous smile of yours!" he spoke calmly at first but his last bit came off eccentric as he laughed to himself briefly. His attention then shifted, "Besides, a thirteen year old?!" he acted shocked for the moment, "Who in their right mind is even looking for a mate at that age besides other thirteen year olds?" he scoffed at the thought and his own logic about the situation. Shaking his head at the idea and sighing slightly afterwards as they headed through the market and reached the end of it.

As they neared the exit of the market, she spoke again, “Hmm, let me see, I’ve been to the marketplace, I’ve been to the shinobi districts, Muraoka Road, where you basically have all the shops you could wish for, some of the clan compounds, though I don’t feel like visiting those today. And I guess that’s it. That’s all the places I’ve been to. Everywhere else would probably be new.” he listened thoroughly to all the places she listed and checked them off the short list of icons and locations he had marked in his head. He thought to himself for a second, his eyes glancing down towards his feet in front of him as he thought, then once he was done he would turn to Aizou, "How do you feel about beautiful scenery then?" depending upon her response he would go further into detail about his idea.

---

If she was in favor of the idea, he would look up towards the sky and take measure of the sun, it was well past its peak and was descending from the sky rapidly. "We probably have an hour or so before it's time? So we'll take a short cut and check out the academy and Bloody Cemeteries, then there's a view of the ocean from on top the village wall near the back of the village that is beyond surreal while the sun is setting. If that's the kind of thing you'd like to see?" he would ask her. He rather enjoyed the scene, the wall was plenty high enough that the ocean was plainly visible but far enough away that there was no real threat from the ocean to it, and even if there was, it could stand up to some fairly powerful tidal waves, forget tides and things like that. If she agreed he would lead them from the market and lead them first towards the Hidden Mist Ninja Academy, often times referred to as the Bloody Academy.

It's description was as read, The ninja academy of old, long abandoned and now used as an outpost for higher ranking members, the academy is five stories tall boasting a watchtower at its top, inside it are empty classrooms and a courtyard where the bloody ninja trials used to and still to this day are performed. An interesting tidbit that Maigo would recite to her once they arrived, he of course spent his time training at the newer academy for the pre genin ninja trainees. But he had been there once or twice and had seen it a few times, but he had never really himself taken a moment to observe it and look at it from the perspective of a tourist or sight seer. "So, the Bloody Academy, what do you think of it?" he would ask assuming they took a second to stand outside it and take in its appearance.

[872 words, 3801 words total]

The two of them had been walking past the marketplace, and Aizou had responded to his inquiry of having lived in Kirigakure all her life, when he attempted something supposedly and apparently charming.

“Yeah, I mean, sure it’s not a usual quality people look for but is it that big of a deal? In the end, you do make up for it with that gorgeous smile of yours!”

Aizou nearly rolled her eyes at that. That was some charm alright. Not just anyone could slip something subtle like that into their conversation (okay, in retrospect, it was as subtle as a bomb on the Kage’s residence) though Aizou wasn’t new to this game. She had heard millions of such comments thrown her way back when she used to tend to the patrons of the now defunct Sacrilege strip club, and so she wasn’t taken aback by his comment whatsoever. She just continued walking beside him, half paying attention to him and half surveying the various goods that she could see around her. There were several goods that she found fairly intriguing, and the only thing stopping her from trotting over to inspect those was the far more interesting person she was inspecting at that very moment.

“Besides, a thirteen year old?! Who in their right mind is even looking for a mate at that age besides other thirteen year olds?”

The words were laced with humour, and despite Aizou’s less than humorous background at that age, she could appreciate such humour. It wasn’t as if she was still living in that time of her life, anyway; right now, her life was by leaps and bounds far better than she could have even hoped for. Gone was the ostracisation, gone was the isolation, and gone were the chains that bound her to the whims of someone else. That last one almost sent a shiver up her spine - almost - not out of fear but out of disgust; yeah, Aizou was still slightly traumatised by her years as a prostitute, no doubt about that.

Nevertheless, she took in his humour and replied nonchalantly humorously as well, “Well, my uncle Haru and aunt Tamami always did like it whenever I wagged my tails in their laps. Now that I think about it, they always did try to get overly touchy with me.”

‘Besides, you don’t get to hang out with other thirteen year olds when their parents think you’re a freak’, which was what she truly was thinking at the time in a momentary lapse of concentration, went unsaid.

With that, she sidled up next to him, nearly leaning on him as they walked. Her tail curled around his waist, pulling him lightly towards her as she let her cheek rest on his shoulder tenderly, one ear twitching just once against his ear for the fun of it.

“Of course, maybe it was my smile they were after,” she said, before removing herself from him.

Nearing the exit of the market, she listed down several of the places that she had gone to, though she was really only excited about Muraoka Road. Have you seen the gold bangles they made there? Forget the shine, these things were absolutely radiant! She made a mental note to return to Muraoka Road that week to throw some of her endless cash around again, when he asked the following:

“How do you feel about beautiful scenery then?”

“Assuming you don’t mean yourself, and I can tell you I am loving it,” she playfully replied, closing half the distance between them as they proceeded to the exit, before sashaying back away, “I’d love to see what you have in store.”

Maigo looked up at the sky, before saying, “We probably have an hour or so before it’s time? So we’ll take a short cut and check out the academy and Bloody Cemeteries, then there’s a view of the ocean from on top the village wall near the back of the village that is beyond surreal while the sun is setting. If that’s the kind of thing you’d like to see?”

“The Academy, the Bloody Cemeteries, and then the view of the ocean? My, my, Maigo, do you plan to keep me busy until well into the night?”

The Academy she was familiar with, if only by description. Supposedly it was a momento of the times where the Village Hidden in the Mist was known by a far less reputable title, ‘The Bloody Mist’, an unofficial term their village had garnered for itself when the Fourth Mizukage had begun butchering children, both those with Kekkei Genkai and those without (through the Academy) in what could only be called as a madman’s experiment. She didn’t really know what there was to see there, so it would probably be good experience. Besides, she doubted Maigo was trying to get her to see nothing, unless he was trying to get her somewhere alone. She almost grinned mischievously at the thought.

The Bloody Cemeteries she also didn’t know what they held. From their name, they seemed to have some sort of… relation to the Academy that Maigo was bringing her on. Perhaps it was the place that the children who failed their graduation exams, and consequently forfeited their lives not by choice, were buried? It didn’t really make sense to Aizou why he would want to bring her to a cemetery of all places, unless of course he was, once again, trying to get her alone. A second thought dawned on Aizou: the Academy, the Cemetery… Yeah, he had better not be planning a history lesson for her.

The only thing that even seemed mildly romantic and conducive was the ocean view he had invited her to look at. She had read in several women’s magazines that the view of the sunsets at those points was something spectacular to behold. The various critics who backed up that claim, and the few times she had heard women excitedly swoon over the fact that their boyfriends were bringing them to such places for what they believed were proposals seemed to speak highly of the place. She herself personally had never gone to the place or seen the sight of it; no point delaying it any further if Maigo was going to be a gentleman about it.

“I would love to visit those three places with you,” she replied.

They had first made their way to the Bloody Academy, making only very small, almost negligible and non-existent talk (it reminded her of those awkward dates she saw in movies, to be honest) along the way. It was only when they arrived that Maigo began his official introduction of the Bloody Academy.

“The ninja academy of old, long abandoned and now used as an outpost for higher ranking members, the academy is five stories tall boasting a watchtower at its top, inside it are empty classrooms and a courtyard where the bloody ninja trials used to and still to this day are performed.” A small moment of silence passed between them as they took in the sight of the academy, before he asked, “So, the Bloody Academy, what do you think of it?”

‘What did I think of it?’ Aizou thought as she looked up at the building. ‘‘It’s a goddamn abandoned building smelling like week-old mold that’s better off acting as a haunted house for Halloween to remind the kids Hoshigaki Kisame’s ghosts still roams the lands instead of falsely preparing ninja for sting operations overseas’ is what I think about it.’

“It’s… something, alright,” she replied out loud, still unsure what to make of the building in front of them. Remembering his words about their makeup point system, she then asked, “Was this… all you wanted to show me here?”

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OOC: This ended up much longer than I wanted it to. My bad if it's a lengthy read xD

They walked along and joked about the past and Maigo's own, what could only be failed, attempts at charm. They walked along quietly, Aizou half paying attention to him and the other half her surroundings. Maigo didn't mind it in the slightest, but he did notice it and followed suit as well, trying to make it seem like he also wasn't as devoted to their conversation. Maybe in some weird attempt to swoon her by ignoring her, it was a childish tactic at best, but it could work? Maigo made his comment about the thirteen year old though, heavy sarcasm in the undertone of his voice, he hoped not to offend her or anything though it seemed that they were moving into a very serious conversation here. After a brief pause, some serious thought on her part, like flashbacks to the past or something, it was obvious that Maigo had struck a bit of a nerve if nothing else. But she responded back without missing a beat, just as much humor focused in her words, “Well, my uncle Haru and aunt Tamami always did like it whenever I wagged my tails in their laps. Now that I think about it, they always did try to get overly touchy with me.” she spoke out. Maigo's eyes narrowed for a second in confusion as he heard the words, maybe widening a second after at the thought. She may have been joking but his mind turned serious in that instance, at first it started out only slightly less than innocent but by the end of it, Maigo had absolutely no idea how to respond.

He had given up on his idea of half listening and had re-devoted his attention towards her. She responded by using her tail to reach around and pull him in towards her, letting her cheek rest against his shoulder and her ear twitching against his. It sent a chill as it tickled against his ear, doing his best to cover it up while he listened to her continue on, “Of course, maybe it was my smile they were after,” she spoke as she then stepped away. Maigo smiled at the thought, "Yeah... that doesn't seem like they were into the smile as much..." he egged on, but wouldn't add anything further to the idea. Maigo then changed the subject to the idea of nice scenery as they exited the market, his hands rested on the back of his head like he was propping it up.

“Assuming you don’t mean yourself, and I can tell you I am loving it,” she responded by stepping in closer to him and then away just as quickly, “I’d love to see what you have in store.” Maigo chuckled at the idea, but declined to respond to it inherently, maybe he could bring it up later and turn it into its own inside joke but for now, he went into his explanation of it all, and what his plan was. She responded to his idea, “The Academy, the Bloody Cemeteries, and then the view of the ocean? My, my, Maigo, do you plan to keep me busy until well into the night?” the exotic flare in her words. Maigo pursed his lips to the side and scratched at his chin while he hummed in thought. None of the theatrics were necessary but he decided to exaggerate it none the less, "No, no, I value sleeping too much for any of that. Gotta get my beauty sleep and all that, otherwise the beautiful scenery would decline much too rapidly." he snickered at the thought and rubbed his upper lip.

Following suit, Aizou agreed to join him and they made their way towards the Bloody Academy first. He gave the little bit of history he knew of it as he stared towards it from the road, both hands in his pocket as he looked towards it. While Aizou spoke he declined to look towards her and stayed his gaze upon it, as if deep in thought. “It’s… something, alright,” she paused for a moment and continued on, “Was this… all you wanted to show me here?” he turned his gaze towards her, keeping his hands in his pocket. An inquisitive eye as he lowered an eyebrow while tilting his head slightly, "Hm?" he would ask out loud while he looked at her before turning his attention back towards the academy. "No, there was really no specific reason for coming her, just trying to kill time I suppose..." he shrugged. "Besides, I've never really seen these places in the viewpoint of scenery either, but we can go if you want to." he chuckled as he spoke and turned to smile at her. It was really up to her on how they killed time, "As much fun as the sights are, if you have a better idea, I'm open to suggestions? Since apparently my suggestions are only made up by how suave I am along with them..." he chuckled again at the thought. A bit of taunting at his ideas, he wasn't the best at coming to fruition with a plan, most women would have smacked him and tossed him aside by now. Very few times had he ever gotten someone to actually listen to his ranting and rambling and beyond that, the only one he seriously considered ended up almost killing him while they were training. He mentally shook his head at the thought of how bad he actually was at this, except for the flirting part. He had gotten that down quite well. If Aizou had any better ideas he would hear her out, maybe make some sarcastic comment or two? Otherwise he would lead them on to the Cemetery, only ten to fifteen minutes had been killed so far, at this pace they would get there early. And Maigo was never one to arrive at a party early, fashionably late was a motto of his and he was sure that Aizou had a bit of that mantra in herself as well.

[1019 words, 4100 words]

”Yeah… that doesn’t seem like they were into the smile as much…” was Maigo’s reply to her flirt.

Aizou couldn’t tell if it was his attempt at diffusing what he may have assumed was a sensitive question, or if he was taking his flirting one step further. The comment could have gone either way. On one hand, he could have meant that in an attempt to take her mind off of possibly a pedophiliac scenario in her youth. On the other hand, being a guy, his eyes could have wandered off, and what he let off was simply a Freudian slip.

Not being one to constantly dwell on the past, Aizou decided to assume that it was the latter instead of the former. “I guess not,” she replied in mock disappointment… before her lips twisted up into a smirk and she eyed Maigo from the corner of her eye, specifically admiring (in a completely professional sense) the sharp angle of his jaw. “They’re not you, after all.”

Her subsequent innuendo, however, was responded with much gusto, like the man he had been trying to sell himself off as the entire afternoon. “No, no, I value sleeping too much for any of that. Gotta’ get my beauty sleep and all that, otherwise the beautiful scenery would decline much too rapidly,” Maigo responded to her blatantly overt innuendo.

“Pity,” Aizou responded with another upward tug of her lips. “I love exploring beautiful scenery. Every. Single. Inch.”

At the Academy, Maigo himself seemed intrigued at the barren sight that lay before them. Perhaps he was into history? Or patriotism? Apart from that, Aizou couldn’t really fathom why someone would be as interested in the Academy, rundown as it was. It was nothing like the inflated and over-exaggerated landmark that tourist brochures and magazines made it out to be. Aizou knew she definitely wasn’t interested in it. Even someone who hadn’t witnessed the scene for themselves shouldn’t be this interested in a locale as the one set before them. Or, perhaps she herself had just been brought up differently; plain has never really been in her dictionary, whether by volition or not.

“Hm?” he had responded nonchalantly to her question. “No, there was really no specific reason for coming here, just trying to kill time I suppose. Besides, I’ve never really seen these places in the viewpoint of scenery either, but we can go if you want to. As much fun as the sights are, if you have a better idea, I’m open to suggestions? Since apparently my suggestions are only made up by how suave I am along with them.”

Aizou almost rolled her eyes at that comment. He was definitely smooth alright. Probably a little narcissistic, maybe a little self-centered, but definitely smooth. She almost wondered how many other women he liked to flirt with to have gotten it down to as fine an art as he seemed to be displaying… Definitely smooth, which made him that much more interesting of a specimen to flirt with. He also managed to keep things interesting (though maybe that wasn’t the entirely accurate word in this scenario), since he for sure didn’t respond the way Aizou predicted he would most of the time. Bringing her to this Academy was a prime example of how she was taken aback.

She tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, and glanced out at the view before her again. Her eyes slowly swept the landscape from left to right, and then to the left again, trying to find something that would have made it live up to the name that it had garnered among both the local and foreign populace as a ‘must visit’ among Kirigakure’s landmarks. Did it have something to do with the company? It wasn’t explicitly stated, but with all those magazines and spokespeople, one could almost surely expect to hear a ‘for you and your loved ones’ slipped into the conversation. Was this one of those places that she needed to ‘experience the moment’ with someone else before she would see the raw beauty that time had left on the world?

Well, Aizou had a cute guy standing next to her. Check. Aizou probably had a small crush - scratch that, interest - in him. Check. Was there anything she was missing?

… No, she couldn’t think of it. She also couldn’t think of a reason why this place would have gotten the reputation it did. Perhaps it really was a place that appealed only to aficionados of history and art.

Definitely not her cup of tea.

“Hmm… The view isn’t much, if you’re asking me,” she answered.

She checked off the Academy in her head as some place that she would likely not peruse in the future, and off the list of places that Maigo had planned to take her. Where else? He had mentioned the Bloody Cemetery and the view of the ocean, hadn’t he? It was almost certain that the Bloody Cemetery would bear the same amount of disappointment as the Academy had, but the view of the ocean was definitely something she was looking forward to. If nothing else, that would be the highlight of their small outing, and she’d milk him dry for that experience before she let him off.

Wait! Muraoka Road! It was always open until well past midnight, so if the Bloody Cemetery did turn out to be as little as she expected of it, she could always head to Muraoka Road afterward to bask in the night lights of the city. Yeah, screw going there next week; she was visiting that night.

And maybe she could take Maigo with her. She doubted he had never gone to Muraoka Road; anyone who’s anyone had at least stepped foot into the legendary shopping district at least once in their lifetimes. Given, the prices there were so high one could almost buy a diamond ring for what a meal would cost, but hey, she had that money.

Her tail flickered again, rubbing against Maigo’s back, before softly resting against his hip. “But it would be rude of me brush you off, since you are offering to take me around the village. But how does Muraoka Road sound? We can head over there after you show me the Bloody Cemetery and the charming view of the sunset. Assuming you don’t distract me from it,” she added with a wink.

Word count: 1093/5369

OOC: I don't like how this post turned out, but I have no clue how to fix it, so... yeah, sorry if it's bad quality XD

Aizou rolled her eyes at his comments, he almost imagined the sound of a scoff along with it. Maybe that was just because it was no strange sight when Maigo was talking to beautiful women, his ears had become accustomed to being blown off. No small amount of rejection comes along with a flirt of his level, but aside from the images that Maigo's brain was filling in, he turned to her. Wondering what was going on in her head, hoping for some clue in her expression. But nothing explicit came to him, she merely scanned over the academy, Maigo quickly turned his head back to himself before she could notice him looking her over again. “Hmm… The view isn’t much, if you’re asking me,” he chuckled slightly but didn't comment just yet, in his own mind he almost agreed with her. As a sight, it wasn't much, but the history it gave was certainly something to behold, the forming of the image supposedly. After another moment of thought, Maigo turned his head towards her, not caring if she noticed this time. He waited for something else, some thought, some other suggestion, really anything at all. Her tail flickered again and rubbed against his back, resting against his hip, he noticed it for a moment but let it happen anyways as he listened in.

“But it would be rude of me brush you off, since you are offering to take me around the village. But how does Muraoka Road sound? We can head over there after you show me the Bloody Cemetery and the charming view of the sunset. Assuming you don’t distract me from it,” she finished with a wink. Maigo gave a half smile from the right side of his mouth, a bit of a chuckle as he thought how to respond. His mind raced around for a quick second before he spoke out, stepping a bit closer to her and putting his arm around her, letting his hand rest on her far shoulder. "I don't know if I should be offended or give my thanks, since you don't want to blow me off but yet, apparently my choices normally aren't good enough to keep you around." he had a broad smile on now and was getting into the theatrics of the moment. "But anyways! If  you're stuck with me, then I'll be sure to take full advantage of the moment then!" he smiled and then released his arm from around her, standing straight now but not moving back at all. "If you wanted to know what I think, then I think we should forget the cemetery. Let's just head to this Muraoka Road place now, then we can go back again afterwards also," he held his smile just as widely as ever. "It'd be better for the both of us, I think... and I have no quarrels either way..." he let on, to be truthful, he had almost no expectations for where this was going or where he hoped it would go.

Most women would toss him aside at the first bit, but for once he wasn't being as obnoxious as he normally could bear himself to be. For reasons undetermined in his mind and without motivation for acting so secondary to his actual nature. So before she could respond, he would hold out his right arm towards her, his palm up and spoke out, "So, if that's fine with you, then you can show me around this place. Otherwise we can continue on to that old cemetery... the choice is yours." his own dramatic flair added to it. He smiled and winked as he gave her the choice. Taking his hand and dragging him to wherever this Muroaka Road is, it would be up to her to show him around it and lead on until the sunset, otherwise he would drag her on to that old cemetery and they would continue on as they had been.

[675 words, 4775 words total]

[OOC: Sorry it's so short, I figured I would leave it off at the junction rather than writing out two different scenarios on assumption. ALSO SORRY FOR TAKING FOREVER AGAIN!... That is all]

“Well then, to Muraoka Road we go!” Aizou responded, arguably a little more excited than she should have been at the prospect.

She had been mildly surprised that he was willing to ditch his plans of going to the cemetery and the beach to humour her destination of Muraoka Road itself, but what caught her by surprise by a great deal had been the amount of knowledge, or more accurately the absolute lack of it, that he had about Muraoka Road, if the tone he adopted had been any indication of his familiarity with the subject.

Aizou turned away from the Academy and began walking back towards the heart of Kirigakure, only paying one small glance behind her to ensure that Maigo was indeed following her. She may have also accidentally playfully slipped a wink in there.

Muraoka Road itself was located at the center of Kirigakure, at the heart of its business district where all the biggest businesses and all the latest fashion trends made their home. One could practically find anything at Muraoka Road, assuming that one had enough money, since everything there cost at least five times as much as what one would be able to find scattered around the Village Hidden in the Mists itself, considering it was usually a place reserved for either tourists or the financially wealthy.

Maybe that was why Maigo had been so oblivious as to what the place itself actually was. He was a local, after all, and while he didn’t look poor, she doubted he had enough money in his pockets to visit such a place, much less frequent it like she did. Even her money wasn’t all legitimately earned, but she had still been allowed to keep it on the account of accidentally taking out one of the larger threats that the Kirigakure administration had been tailing for awhile. Of course, she had had to pay a small fee since she had also made their only trail go cold, but with the decrease in crime that came from the gang’s activities following the loss of their primary leader, she had also been reimbursed generously for her efforts.

It was almost purely that reason that she had been able to live the high life, she supposed, as she led Maigo through town, ignoring the leers that she got along the way. Maigo’s attention was enough for now, and she’d be damned if she cut her investment in him just because she got a few pathetic looks from the guys she happened to come across.

She stopped in front of Muraoka Road. While there wasn’t exactly a large sign to show that they were there there, the place itself did almost scream different. All the buildings were three times higher than those of their surroundings, and were kept in much more pristine conditions as well, while the main road that cut through this compound was littered both with people seeking to buy some of the latest accessories, as well as people hoping to sell what would become the latest accessory.

Aizou let Maigo take in the sight for awhile. It was your typical ‘rich person’ place, but she doubted that Maigo had seen too many of those either. Most ninja’s lives revolved around keeping their village safe, and so they didn’t have much need for places such as this, which catered only to enhance the standards of living of those who could afford it. Aizou suspected that only someone way above the paygrade of a Jonin would normally even have money for a place like this, and at that rank the ninja was likely to have no time to make such a place their home.

“So, what do you think? A little too much?” she asked as she eyed a pair of boots from behind the transparent glass of one of the buildings closer to the entrance. “Try not to drool over all this. I want it all for myself,” she playfully responded as she skipped into the place, stopping to closer inspect the pair of brown boots that were gloriously on display from behind the glass window, ignoring the price tag beside it which made it cost even more than your average B-rank weapon.

Word count: 713/6082

Maigo waited to hear her response to his choice, he wasn't sure of anything at this point, perhaps the change of scenario would brighten her up some, since she seemed rather dull with their current adventure. But before he could further ponder where he was or anything for that matter, she shot up in her tone and stature and all but yelled out, “Well then, to Muraoka Road we go!” Maigo smiled and chuckled at her as he held his hand out for her to lead the way. She turned away and headed back towards the village and Maigo followed suit as stuck his hands behind his neck and interlocked his fingers to support his head. She turned back to check on him, seeing if he would actually follow suit with her, to which he responded by hurrying his step and getting to a point to where he was walking next to her rather than from behind her.

Once they arrived at their destination, Maigo drank in all that he could with his eyes, the visual aesthetic to it all. The buildings were taller and more well lit than most other places in the village and beyond that, it was all clean and well kept up with. As Aizou stopped in front of the place Maigo did too and glanced at her, with an eyebrow raised at her, as if she wanted to say something to him. The people walking around were also that of high society, they all seemed a bit rude at first glance, like the kind of people he might inherently try to avoid. Well, maybe not avoid, but rather they didn't seem like they would take well at all to his shenanigans or be the kind of people he could put up with for long. Maigo would follow her in closely, not knowing how to act or anything or if he was even dressed appropriately for a place like this. He would follow almost toe to heel as she would look around and he would take everything in, “So, what do you think? A little too much?” he said as his vision went towards the case and the boots in the store. “Try not to drool over all this. I want it all for myself,” He saw them, and supposed they looked nice? But they really looked kinda ordinary to him, so while she skipped in place Maigo just shook his head and eyed them a little closer. The price tag alone was enough to convince him that they weren't worth it, that they were more expensive than any of his weapons.

He just cracked a small smile and spoke up instead, "No, trust me, at that price you can have all of it! You won't here any complaints from me..." he laughed a bit to himself and stepped back a bit before squinting slightly a head. "I didn't know you had such fine tastes though, almost makes it seem like you're a bit of place hanging out with me." he began to jest towards her with a smile on his face. "I wouldn't worry though, the boots aren't the thing you should be worried about me drooling over." he held his smile and laughed a bit. Kinda cheesy to laugh at his own joke, but that was besides the point, anything to avoid having to talk about all the things he couldn't afford. And more turning the conversation to what he was interested in, meaning literally anything but shopping.

[593 words, 5368 words total]

“No, trust me, at that price, you can have all of it! You won’t hear any complaints from me…” he laughed.

Aizou looked at him through narrowed eyes, amusement clear on her face even as she kept her left hand flat against the glass that separated her from the pair of boots that haunted her dreams.

“I didn’t know you had such fine tastes, though, almost makes it seem like you’re a bit out of  place hanging out with me,” he smiled. “I wouldn’t worry though, the boots aren’t the thing you should be worried about me drooling over.”

“Oh, really, Maigo?” Aizou asked, her lips curving up into a teasing grin while her eyes flared with hunger, before sliding up in front of him. “And tell me… is this… ‘thing’ I should be worried about you drooling over… me?”

She finished with both hands wrapped around his neck, pulling her closer to him, their foreheads crashing together, her breath exhaling all over his face. Her body pressed against his, and she could feel the pressure from his sinewy chest on her breasts, sending a tingle up her spine that made her all the more aware of the need that was throbbing down below.

Somehow, she hadn’t noticed when, but somehow, he had wormed his way in. Not into her heart, heavens no, but there was something… that he had ignited. And Aizou was almost painfully aware of what it was.

Lust. Desire. Want. Passion. Ardor.

There were many ways to describe the thing she craved, and it all summed up to the man who was pressed against her, her own weapon having backfired with her the subject of her own teasings.

She felt her breath go heavy, and the two ears on her head twitched in excitement, while her tail wrapped itself around the two of them unconsciously tightly, trying to press him deeper into her regardless of the two articles of clothing that divided them and restricted her from what she coveted.

Stepping back, she felt the haze clouding her judgement lift slightly, but not enough to ease her breathing which sufficiently betrayed her excitement from the situation. She turned away, her tail once again brushing up against him as it had done the entire day, though this time jerking away upon contact as if it had been shocked.

Aizou’s breath hitched as she took a step away, and she turned around to look at Maigo over her shoulder. “Come on, I know a hotel in Muraoka that owes me something. You can take me shopping tomorrow, when the night’s over.”

There hadn’t been any innuendo forced into her words, but all the same her invitation was chalked to the brim with suggestion. Just the very thought caused her breathing to speed again, but she ignored it in favour of taking another few steps in the direction of the hotel she mentioned. She looked back one more time to make sure that he was following, never stopping in her walk but unable to stop the small jump in her heart when she caught sight of him, nor the spread of warmth beneath her when she imagined where his face would be.

The hotel she was referring to would be the Tatsuno Family Hotel, with the words embroidered in gold in classic font above the entrance, while the building itself rose a dozen floors. Short for a hotel, but the quality that they promised had never disappointed Aizou before when she had to make overnight trips to queue up for the latest and most pricey fashion trends, and it seemed the perfect place to take Maigo for the night, as she doubted he had any other lodgings in the area, while she certainly didn’t.

Walking up to the receptionist’s, she flashed a blue card in front of his face, and the boy’s features lit up with recognition. Not even waiting for a keycard, she strut into the elevator, waiting for Maigo to follow up to her room at the top, reserved for her on certain days of the month even if she wasn’t staying, a bargain she had managed to strike with the hotel manager, and one he had too eagerly accepted as thanks.

1262 was the room, and it was where she would lead him across corners and through corridors which would only confuse a three-year-old. The penthouse was luxuriously stocked with leather sofas, glass tables, and most charming of all, an open balcony equipped with a swimming pool for two. Obviously it wasn’t the first time Aizou had invited someone else up here, but that last one would be a story for another time, a tale of disagreement she didn’t let cloud her thoughts from the man she currently had her eyes on.

Walking into the suite, she removed the midnight coat that she had wrapped around her body the entire day, folding it in half and dropping it off on the couch, revealing herself wearing little more than a black dress that hugged her curves and left little to imagination, even with the lack of the expected low cut collar or openings.

Strutting into the home almost as familiar to herself as her own, she dropped onto a sofa at the far end of the room, pouring two glasses of light alcohol for herself and her guest, before lounging back on the couch, tapping the space beside her invitingly as she took a sip.

Word count: 925/7008

Aizou's Hotel Room:

The pair of them stood there with Maigo's taunts glaring within the conversation, Aizou standing at the window with the boots leaving a hand on them. "Oh, really, Maigo?" she stepped towards him with a seductive grin upon her face, “And tell me… is this… ‘thing’ I should be worried about you drooling over… me?” she had stepped up to him and had her arms wrapped around him. Her body fully pressed against his and her breathe on his face, his heart was racing now and his breathe intertwining with hers as they stood there. Maigo's forehead against hers he spoke quietly while they were there, all the feeling in his body was being pushed towards her. Any part of him not against hers began to fall numb and he spoke, his voice nearly trembling, "Well... hopefully not drooling, but I don't think you can blame me if I just can't help myself." he cracked a smile with his eyes focusing on what he could see of her face. His hands had fallen around to her waist, his left reached around to just below the small of her back and pulling her in a bit closer, and his right holding to her waist and keeping her and himself steady.

Then with some hesitation, he tilted his head to the right some, an pushed his lips towards hers to try for a simple kiss. It was all he could think to do in the moment, his mind was all but numb and he was just going for it, following his instinct and trying to make some show of how he was feeling. But all that came to mind was that he wanted her and wanted her now. Before he could make the final connection he would hesitate and open his eyes to hers before trying to pull back. If she wanted to go through with it, it would be up to her, but he wasn't going to force anything here, in this situation, no matter how much he just wanted to go for it.

He would gulp, regardless of what happened his mind rushing and hormones racing. The rest of the world would have faded away from his awareness, the only thing to him right now was Aizou. After the moment had passed she would step back, Maigo's eyes and head followed after her, bright eyed and heavy breathe. His thoughts were blank, focused on one single thing at the moment and that was her and the excitement going through his body in that moment. When she turned away he stepped forward, her tail jolting off of him, the tension felt high and he had no words for the moment.

She turned to Maigo over her shoulder, “Come on, I know a hotel in Muraoka that owes me something. You can take me shopping tomorrow, when the night’s over.” He nodded and stepped quickly to follow after her, feeling a drip, he felt at his upper lip and saw blood. A nose bleed at a time like this... curse himself. He grabbed a cloth from his pouch and pressed it against his nose to wipe away the blood and applied some pressure to stop the bleeding. If he was lucky it would close itself up quickly before Aizou would really take notice of it.

He followed her step for step, wiping his nose and applying pressure everytime he saw fresh blood. His excitement could hardly be contained at this point, his heart rushing at the thoughts of what was to come. His journey to the hotel was filled with fast steps, a goofy smile towards Aizou, and the occasional wiping away of his bloody nose when it became evident.

The hotel itself was merely background, entering into it, he didn't pay attention to the people around him more than nodding towards the doorman. Aizou had his attention at almost 100% and the closer they got in the hotel, the more apparent that became. He noticed the hotel was nice, clean, with a friendly staff and as Aizou walked up to the counter, flashing some card at the guy at the desk. Maigo just held a dopey smile on his face as he watched, lagging one step behind Aizou with each turn it seemed.

The elevator ride was much less dopey, where Maigo followed in behind her and stood next to her, leaned up against the back wall. With each floor that the elevator rose, Maigo could feel a pressure rising in his chest, like a dam about to burst. He could hardly control himself at this point, the excitement and adrenaline up to this point had been building at it was nearing it's peak. The elevator ride up seemed like it lasted forever, his eyes fixated upon the marker at the top, noting with each floor as they got closer, stopping on the number 12. The very top of the hotel.

The walk down the hallway was just as arduous in his mind, with every step he could only follow her with his eyes. Undressing her every curve and his heart racing at the very thought of the night about to unfold.

Aizou walked in first, Maigo just behind her taking his sandals off at the door, she dropped the coat she was wearing to reveal an elegant black dress that complimented her in such a manner that only further drive his desire. He held the cloth to his nose, folded into a square in his palm, his head leaned back as she walked ahead and his eyes rolled back as he breathed deeply. His emotions were as high as they had been in a long long time, and he was ready for whatever their night might present them. Aizou went to the couch and dropped her coat on the couch, while Maigo took a walk around the room, pretending to take in the aesthetic of it all. Really he was just stalling until she was ready, he approached the window, only partially open.

Maigo grabbed the curtain and threw each one to the side, revealing the sunset he originally planned on showing her, hues of orange and yellow splashed across the sky and fighting the other colors to be the dominant color. The clouds splashed with the same color, Maigo smiled to himself, it was always beautiful and the intertwining of the two colors of passion would be a great back drop for this night.

Maigo turned back around after stalling for so long, Aizou on the couch tapping the space next to her. "Didn't I tell you that the sunset was gonna be something" he said as he stepped slightly out of the way. Maigo smiled widely and began to walk back across the room towards her, grabbing the belt around his jacket and pulling it loose. Then sliding his arm out of it, he slid the jacket off and dropped it and the belt onto the chair as he walked by it. As he passed by, he took the kunai pouch of his pants and tossed it back, along with his sword, sloppily next to the chair. Landing with a thud to the floor, his golden eyes stayed trained on her as he walked to the couch and stepped into it. All that was left now was the bandages wrapped around his stomach and his black pants, but for how long that would last, who knew.

First he sat down next to her lightly, just getting his position, then he leaned in towards her slightly, reaching out to take the glass if she would let him. Resting his hand in the small space between them as he leaned in, the drink in his other hand. His eyes traced over her every curve and rested on her own eyes after he took a heavy sip of the clear liquid. A light vodka? It went down smoothly, more so than the kinds he had tried before, it was probably of a high quality given their location. His heart was racing, but his breathe was calm for the most part, the alcohol had burned at his throat as it went down still. Probably an affect that he wouldn't get past until he was an old man, but for now, his eyes were fixated on Aizou. And his only thought was where they were heading. Maigo smiled and chuckled to himself lightly, "So... nice place you have here." he said as he slid over slightly to close the distance between the two of them.

He was as excited as he had ever been, but from here on, it would be on here to make the move. That way he could be certain that it was her decision, but for Maigo and all his inexperience, there was almost nothing that wasn't on the table in his mind and it would be up to Aizou to lead the way. And with every thought, his mind raced far further than his body and with that, all the suave and calmness he had would go along with it. Leaving nothing but a boy with heavy breathe, shaky hands, and an unquenchable hunger for the woman next to him, off for an adventure he had only traversed a few times before now.

[1557 words, 6925 words total]

Aizou licked her lips.

It didn’t matter that to her right was a picturesque view of the sunset that she had been longing for all this while, failing to catch it at the right times. It didn’t matter that she had a glass of vodka in her hand, after handing Maigo his own. All that mattered to her was the man who was currently not one foot away from her, dressed in only his pants and some bandages, while she too was only restricted similarly by a single article of clothing that covered her from her shoulders to her thighs.

Call her lovestruck.

She didn’t care.

Her eyes drank in the sight of him, eager as she was, her breathing clearly growing heavy as the heat down below grew impossible to ignore. She just wanted him. She didn’t just want him there, on the couch, lying beneath her as she rode them both to a finish. She wanted him. She knew what lust felt like. She knew what it was like to grow all hot and bothered and completely at the whims of her partner, letting nothing cloud her judgment until her hunger for sex was sated. She knew what it was like, and she knew this wasn’t it.

There was a small… freshness in her heart. She felt the pounding of her heart in a manner completely distinct than the blood rushing through her ears and hazing her thoughts. There was a hint of unease in her chest, near the back of her spine, and a small voice questioned if she should really be here.

If she should really be fucking him.

It was scared. It was worried and afraid that something would go wrong. She was worried and afraid something would go wrong. She wanted Maigo, yes, she wanted him so bad, but unlike all her previous sexual encounters, she didn’t just want Maigo for a quick night of fun. She wanted him for something more. She wanted to explore what it was like to have someone there not just to satisfy her whenever she wanted, but also someone to share the experience of satisfaction in a manner that stepped beyond the domains of one’s sexual desires.

That small voice, however, was silenced by the much bigger throb that she felt, convincing her not only that she needed to take him, but that she needed to make sure he knew that she wanted him so much more than just for a simple night of quick, kinky intercourse. She didn’t want to just have sex. She wanted to make love.

She sounded like a child.

But even so, such a description wasn’t inaccurate, if the ludicrous desire for a knight in shining armour to save her from this tower of solitude spoke anything of a childlike nature that she had so long forsaken. She had never liked being the damsel in distress, her fate left to the caprice of whichever man thought himself to have tamed the wild vixen, but just once in her life she felt like she wanted to depend on someone other than herself for something more than survival.

For once in her life, she felt like dreaming more so than she should, and those were dangerous boundaries to tread for a ninja.

But Maigo… why did he make her want to dream? Was it the trip to the Bloody Academy, where his attempt to impress her had failed so utterly that she found it comedic? Or was it the nosebleed he tried to hide from her that helped her hide her excitement from him? If the two of them could bump into each other in the missions’ reception and get into bed the very same night, what’s to say they couldn’t bump into each other in the missions’ reception and go out together the very next day?

“So… nice place you have here,” Maigo started, the short silence between them having drawn out slightly as Aizou grappled with her own guileless emotions.

At this, Aizou would suppress a chuckle. It wasn’t condescending, it wasn’t patronising; it was genuine. She found it cute, hilarious, even. And she was afraid to show it, just like a schoolgirl having a crush on a boy she had just seen on the dance floor.

With this, she would, from her position beside him, lift one leg over his own to straddle him, taking the glass of vodka from him and setting it beside them carelessly, not a thought for if her couch got damped, for she was sure it would not suffer such from just the vodka. She let herself sit on his lap, aware of the proximity of their sexes, but even more so of the proximity of their faces. Her hands rested on his shoulders, almost insecurely so as she looked into those black eyes that promised so much light.

“Just shut up,” she would say, a smile breaking out on her face against her will as her right hand came up to caress his left cheek affectionately, before tilting it and bringing their lips together, feeling something so magical about the moment that if she wasn’t waist deep in it she would have teared at the prospect.

But as it was, her lips pressed against his, uncharacteristically gently and void of any of the passion and vigour that was to come during the night, allowing herself this one moment of magic.

---

Aizou awoke the next morning, dressed in only her undergarments, which she had lazily thrown back on after they had been done for the night.

She wouldn’t know if Maigo had awoken before her or not, but a quick glance onto the wall opposite the large glass door would show the hour hand of the clock nearly approaching the midpoint between seven and eight.

If Maigo was still asleep, wherever he was, she would walk off into the kitchen, not bothering to throw anything else on, as she had absolutely no more reason to. Dressed only in her black underwear, she sauntered off into the kitchen, stretching her limbs with the short walk before pulling the fridge open and being assaulted with a surprising lack of food. Making a mental note to inform the hotel management, she instead turned and walked to the ceiling cupboards, only giving the fridge door a slight shove that it almost, but not quite, closed.

Digging around, she found two packs of instant noodles – far from a healthy meal. But, in her euphoria, she couldn’t bring it within her to feel any sort of irritation at the lack of healthy dietary options. She felt a slight weakness hit her knees when she remembered exactly why she was so unbent this morning, feeling a slight itch between her legs that had her gripping the sink for support as water from the heater beside her filled the second noodle cup over to the brim.

Weakly, she stopped it and brought both cups to the dining table before she allowed herself to collapse onto a chair, feeling a momentary rush of excitement at the thought of the man who had just taken her last night, before such excitement was replaced by a soothing yet unnerving tranquility.

This was more than carnal desire.

She felt like a child again, her hormones not just making her act on the sheer pleasure of the flesh but now pushing for something that could reach where no physical contact could. She idly rested her right hand on her left breast and felt the quick beating of her heart, so reminiscent of a teenage girl falling head over heels for a boy she’d only just met, and so applicable to her.

Last night had been amazing. It was, and Aizou would almost surely admit this outright if not for her pride, one of the most intense nights of her life. She didn’t know what it was  about Maigo that left her quivering in the wee hours of the morning, but she was sure that this rhythmic beating within her chest was more than responsible for the unparalleled experience she just had, and she almost gasped when the memory assaulted her again, with the heat from the steaming cups of noodles inconducive to driving away such thoughts.

Last night had been on her. He’d waited for her to make the move, and that had been her area of expertise. She’d known how to make the skin tingle, but now, she was in foreign territory. She didn’t know how to deal with this at all. She didn’t know what to do about the beating in her heart, nor did she know if Maigo would accept it. She didn’t know how to not kick a guy out of her apartment after a night of going at it. She didn’t know how to tell a guy, subtly or not, that what she wanted was more than just a random frick here and there.

She… she had plans to visit Muraoka Road, did she not? Should she ask him then? Or do people just assume that they were together if they fucked each other and went out as a pair the next day? Were there rules for doing this? Were there guidelines? Anything? Or did they stay in her hotel and go at it again? Spend the day lounging around in the penthouse suite she had for what she could put off as for life, dousing themselves in the pool and waiting for nothing but room service to cater to their needs? But wait, surely he would have more plans? But they did agree to go out together, did they not?

Aizou’s ears had subconsciously closed in on themselves and her tail was curled beside her as her insecurities took charge, the emotions she were experiencing almost completely foreign to the girl whose life in puberty had been spent in a strip club. It was so much so that she consciously shook herself back in control, seeing the cup of noodles and deciding her mind would work better after she had something to eat.

She didn’t know how people were supposed to act in this situation, so all she could do was hope that Maigo did indeed decide to bring her on an adventure she had likely never ventured before.

Word count: 1741/8749

The two of them sat upon the couch, the alcohol in his hand was steady as he glanced over her every curve. His fingers were a bit rigid, if they moved they would shake like someone lost in the cold. But for him, his cold was the fervor of passion in his mind, for the woman next to him. He smirked at his own response, Aizou leaned in towards him and took his glass from his hand. Stepping over him at the same time and sitting into his lap, Maigo leaned back slightly and rested himself into the back of the couch. His heart would be racing and his hand lingering where he held the glass as she set it carelessly to the side. Her hands on his shoulders as they both stared into each others eyes, her yellow eyes pierced Maigo's yellow eyes. His breathe fell heavy as she spoke, every movement drove at it him, his very essence wanted to pour out. "Just shut up." she spoke as he let his right hand fall to her thigh, sliding it up to her waist and holding to her there, at the same time she took hold of his cheek and placed her lips upon his.

It was pure ecstasy as his heart sped up and his left hand dropped to her knee, he wanted it all right then and there. Guileless in his want of her, it had gone from more of a lustful want to a passionate need for Maigo. But for Maigo, this was only a small glimpse into the future, he wasn't thinking ahead to what would happen next or what he would do. Instead, he focused entirely upon every immediate action, knowing it couldn't be so but never wanting to move on. Wanting the kiss to last for ever, and wanting all the events for the rest of their night to last forever, like ecstasy filling his mind. And Maigo, well, he was already addicted with his own passion.

---

The next morning was quiet, his body felt empty, hollow, as if all the stress and worry he had was completely removed. Drawn out like a disease of some kind, he laid there in his black boxers, spread out a bit on his half of the bed and staring at the ceiling. His eyes opened slowly as the natural light of the sun began to fill the room and wake him. He yawned heavily and lifted his arms to reach for the ceiling, stretching them out and extending his back slightly. A small pop followed by another crack or two, he slunk back into a comfortable position as he exhaled in relief. His arms fell down and he realized that his partner from the previous night was missing, his head tilted to find the space next to him empty and he sighed again.

His mind raced for a second as he wondered, had she left already? Was that all she wanted from him and now was she gone to leave him to himself and his thoughts. It's not that he could blame her, they hadn't thoroughly gotten to really know each other despite having hung out. As much as a person's life could contain, the secrets and such, the history and even their interests. In terms of how much they got to know each other at a non physical level was relatively null. But as for the physical, they had gotten to know each other quite well, and for some that was enough.

Maigo slid his feet to the side of the bed and rotated his body as he rose to a sitting position, the clock on the wall showed that it was nearing eight o' clock now. He stretched and grabbed his pants before throwing them on, he looked around for his shirt but found nothing, probably left in the living room from the night before along with the rest of his stuff. As he exited the room, he glanced around, it was fairly quiet but in the kitchen, sat Aizou at the table. Maigo felt a heavy relief, he was glad she had stuck around, glad she wanted more than the one night.

But at the same time, his heart moved like it had when they were in the moment of it all. She was beautiful, and he was goofy, clumsy, a bit of a dunce, not all that suave, and for all of his alleged skill about the only thing he thought himself good at was only one sect of his ninja skills. Ignoring his own self doubt for the moment, if she hadn't noticed him yet, she would certainly hear his footsteps across the floor as he walked to the kitchen as well.

"Hey..." he spoke softly to either catch her attention or break the silence. He stood at the chair next to her and slid it back as he sat down. His eyes floated from the chair to Aizou as he sat down, a smile began to grow on his face, he could hardly control himself. He set his elbows on the table and crossed his arms, he was a bit infatuated with her, having given him one of the best nights he'd had in a long time. "So... what now? Where do we go from here?... With us I mean, if there is an us and all that." he was a bit soft-spoken over it but still got his point across.

Maybe it was a little too direct, but it was to the point, to say the least. Maigo was never one for beating around the bush, and this way it would all be laid out to bare for the both of them. Whatever the answer may be, Maigo was hooked on by her charm, by her physique, and the potential of having someone he could rely on at a level higher than a friend. Someone he could share his life with more intimately and a partner to fall back on in times of need and to share in the glory of his successes. Whether Aizou wanted to fill that role would be up to her. Maigo would just let his head fall onto his arms and look towards her while he awaited a response to what she thought of his most abstract question.

[1073 words, 7998 words total]

The pack of instant noodles lay in front of her, finished with the unhealthy soup gone cold. Maigo’s was still there though, waiting for him whenever he decided to wake up.

Aizou kept her eyes trained on it, still seeing some steam escape from the confines of his cup, more out of coincidence though. To her, she didn’t register even the sight of hot vapour rising steadily from his cup, the lid half-heartedly covered, but enough to trap most of the heat within so the noodles didn’t turn soggy too quickly.

Gah! What was she doing?! She was the Aizou Kitsuchi! She shouldn’t be stumbling around like a lost little girl!

Or, so she told herself as her eyes remained transfixed in front of her, that one bold mental statement backed up by nothing more than insecurity, self-doubt, and diffidence as well as unsurety of the entire situation. What was it about Maigo that made him different from the other men she’d had in her bed? What made him stubbornly remain in her head even after they’d had a night of fun? Aizou didn’t think that much had changed. She’d met a guy. She’d spent time with the guy. She’d fucked the guy.

That was the same formula that she’d been depending on for the last few years, and it was always an enjoyable one night stand before she’d show the gratuitous man to her door, willingly or otherwise. Was it the sex? She could tell last night had been one of the most mind-numbing experiences she’d ever had, but was it simply that? Was it simply a carnal craving within her that demanded to be filled? Or was she not mistaken by suspecting it had something to do with a less lustful and more loving side of her that only rare surfaced itself?

She heard several footsteps, and levelled her head to see Maigo entering the kitchen, dressed only in his black pants, his well-formed chest showing with some of the scars that marked him during his life as a ninja. She felt… no hunger. She didn’t feel the surge of desire course through her spine, pooling at the base of her stomach and sending goosebumps across her skin as she did when she toured Kirigakure with him, both of them dancing around each other like children around a campfire. She didn’t feel that painful heat between her legs that forced her to act on thoughts and feelings she was ready to comply with.

But… she did feel… something. Her heart sped up when she saw him, hair falling around his disheveled face, ungroomed for the day and fresh from bed. She saw the few nail marks slowly fading from the front of his body and felt some warmth in her cheeks as she imagined – no, recalled – that she had been the one to cause them. The thought of the passion they shared last night, best as it may be, didn’t spur her to sample it once more, but brought a blush to her cheeks with giddy thoughts that she wasn’t willing to face.

He took a seat down next to her, but Aizou couldn’t focus on, or rather didn’t even register, that smile he shot her.

‘He’s so close…’ she thought as she lost her eyes in his.

“So… what now?” he asked. “Where do we go from here? … With us, I mean, if there is an us and all that.”

Aizou almost didn’t hear his sentence end. Her breathing quickened when he implied the two of them together, and she was impossibly certain that lust had nothing to do with it. It didn’t help that she only just realised that she still remained in her black underwear with no decency, not even a shirt to at least cover her top…

Wait, why was she afraid? She had been naked in front of him last night. Hell, she’d done way more face-reddening acts than simply parading around in her birthday suit, and now she was worried he would see her without a shirt on? What was wrong with her? Unconsciously, her legs pressed together, not to eliminate any discomfort from between but rather to hide it. It took her to realise it with the pressure of both legs pressing against each other, but she once again mentally slapped herself.

Why was she hiding her sex? She flaunted it with everyone else. She boasted about her sexuality to near every man she passed by, wearing a coat because it was the simplest thing to remove and the simplest thing to tease with. A small wave of shame washed through her as she realised that was exactly how she had gotten Maigo into her bed – teasing and utter teasing.

There hadn’t been any emotional connection between the two of them. Every back-and-forth they’d had was simply the flirtings of two hormonal teenagers who wanted another bout of fun. There was no getting to know each other, no figuring out what she liked, nor figuring out what he liked. She was just a woman seeking a night of fun, and he was just a goofy but thoughtful flirt who’d scored her. They were nothing less, nothing more.

With this thought in mind, Aizou prepared to reject him even against her own will… “I…” she started, only she couldn’t because of the thought she had in her mind.

Goofy, thoughtful flirt?

Memories in the last twenty-four hours played out, of how Maigo winked at her so obviously, more playful than suggestive. She remembered standing at the Bloody Academy, bored, and him nudging her to take him to Muraoka even if it was boring. She remembered the way they fooled around with each other, those playful comments and inappropriate touches in such public places. Those smiles, the way she’d lost her way in them…

Maybe this was what it was like to like someone? Being lost in a sea of uncertainty? Wondering if anything could happen, and holding onto the hope that it could and would happen? That was how Aizou was now. Unsure, but hoping, hoping hoping. Even after she’d decided that it was unlikely, she was still hoping.

“I…” she repeated, before giving a short pause and flicking her eyes into the other direction, once more replaying her thoughts and coming back to the same decision. “I was supposed to take you to Muraoka Road today, right?” she asked, eyes still looking in the other direction.

“I’ll… go freshen up,” she said as she stood up. “Your breakfast is ready; just… just throw it in the trash when you’re done.”

She didn’t reply to him, she realised as she walked off. She grabbed a spare towel from the cupboard and threw another on the bed for him before locking herself in the showers. She didn’t reply to him. She didn’t give him an answer… or did she? She’d told him she wanted to spend time with him… Was that enough? She didn’t know how to pursue any heartfelt talk and she wasn’t one to pursue a heartfelt talk… but was this enough? Would he get the message that she wanted to be with him more than just in bed? Would he get it without her outright screaming it at him?

Would he, she wondered, as he sounds of the shower filled her senses.

Would he?

Word count: 1269/10018

Maigo sat there after posing his question in the most generic way possible, his head rested on his forearms as he watched and listened in. She fidgeted around in her seat, the reasons why probably extended to them both being half naked and sitting around, but that thought escaped Maigo. He of course noticed, but his attention wasn't drawn to her figure, so much as it was to her eyes and her face. Trying to read into what she thought and the emotions that would run across that gorgeous face. He did smile some though, just brimming at the edge, the cuteness of her dilemma was near adorable to the point where he almost couldn't contain himself. He listened intently with each syllable as she stammered through her thoughts, his question was greater than most things she might be used to after an evening like the one they had had.

Still, he hung onto every sound, waiting for the inevitable rejection as hard as it might come or a hopeful chance to continue their fun indefinitely into the future. “I…” her eyes flickered away from him, his eyes followed hers for a brief moment before returning, his chest began to build up as he waited for her answer. “I was supposed to take you to Muraoka Road today, right?” his chest sunk, almost dropping but without the relief of the answer he wanted. He merely spoke up, quietly from his spot, his head still resting on his arms, "Yeah, that was the plan." a small but disengaged smile accompanied it.

“I’ll… go freshen up, Your breakfast is ready; just… just throw it in the trash when you’re done.” she said and stood up, heading back to the room. Maigo nodded briefly as she walked, sitting up in his chair and leaning against the back of it, his head turning and watching her as she walked away from the table. Once she was gone he sighed heavily, his head falling up towards the ceiling looking at the smooth and clean surface that insulated it. He sat back up and looked towards the noodles, taking some chop sticks and sticking it in, the heat rising up from the cup as he pulled up some of the noodles. Stopping just as the food exited the cup, his thoughts taking over as he stared blankly at his hands and the noodles. It wasn't really an answer, was it? he thought to himself.

Blank expression for the brief moment as he thought about it, the noodles sat motionless just above the cup, his mind had a lot to run through. On one hand, she was still going to cater to him and spend at least the morning putting up with him. But was it out of pity? Not expecting him to still be around? On the other hand, it seemed a bit... apathetic to the situation. After all, she didn't even look at him as she spoke. His mind wandered to the cuts and burns on his stomach and side, but they had been together for an entire night, she would have been against it before then. He cursed himself for not just leaving them wrapped up the entire time, but that couldn't have been it. Could it?

He dropped the noodles and subsequently, the chopsticks, back into the cup and stood up, walking towards the balcony. The sun was just beginning to rise, he was in a very indifferent mood, not totally sure of what was to come or what to expect. His eyes glanced up, just above him, a hawk circling around and cawing in his direction, signaling to nearby ninja to report in. For what he couldn't even begin to estimate, probably just needing people to fill in for missions for the day, or perhaps some emergency. He was just beginning to work his way up in the village and into the hierarchy, it was probably best not to ignore it. He turned back around to the hotel room, quickly he gathered up his things and began to put them on. Tying his pouch around his right thigh, being as quiet as he could and taking all of his things with him. It wouldn't even be more than a minute or two before he was ready, Aizou back in the shower, hopefully unaware to his doings.

Maigo walked over to the nightstand and grabbed a notepad and pen that the hotel left there for whatever reason. He began to scribble away quickly, writing a quick note before he would venture off,

Aizou, I apologize for leaving unannounced and all. You'll have to venture this morning without me, but if you are interested in getting to know each other and all of that, then meet me in the lobby of this hotel tomorrow afternoon. 6:00 sound okay? You can drag me all over shopping for fancy and expensive boots then, if you'd like. Or maybe just a nice dinner. Your choice~

Maigo

Then ripping the paper off sloppily, he set the pad and pen down and left the note on the towel she left for him. Running his fingers through his hair to keep it down he headed for the door, sliding his black sandals on as he exited. He wanted to stay and get to know her, but he also wanted a bit of time to think as well, perhaps meeting back up later would be better. Leaving the noodles as they were on the table, chopsticks still sticking out from the cup and steam escaping from it. Taking the elevator downstairs and then walking calmly to the exit, the smell of Aizou's perfume still on his nostrils and her offer still on his mind. As soon as he was clear of the hotel he would dash off to the administration building to find out what was going on, his mind still thinking about the beautiful woman he had just left.

His mind was for sure too distracted for missions, hopefully he wouldn't have to do anything strenuous. That was until tomorrow night when he could put some of his worry and anxiety to rest. Hopefully Aizou would forgive his slipping away and will meet him at the hotel, assuming that she wasn't busy or anything. Dammit! he cursed himself again. Maybe she would be too busy... He sighed while dashing from roof to roof and scratched at his temple. Now he just had to hope that things would come together. Now it would be a test of hope and luck for this to continue on, and as far as he was concerned, he was not a very lucky person.

[1123 words, 9121 words total]
[Exit Thread]

Training:

She felt the water hit her skin but that didn’t make the goosebumps go away. She didn’t know how Maigo would take her previous invitation, but she tried to push it out of her mind as she continued washing soap down the length of her arm, leaving it outstretched and angled up so it wasn’t immediately washed away by the flowing water. The pounding in her chest wouldn’t stop or slow, and she felt giddy for the day that would come, even if it was likely going to be a slower, less flirtatious repeat of what they had done yesterday.

‘Just focus on the day… just focus on the day…’ she chanted in her head. ‘Just focus on the day…’

But focus on what, exactly? She knew she would be spending the day almost like she did yesterday, but was that really enough to help bridge whatever awkward gap had built itself in the last few hours? She would be spending an entire day with him, with him, close to him. She could barely contain herself from her embarrassment and childlike demeanor when he was in the kitchen; what made her think she would be able to handle trying to show Muraoka Road off to him? When she would be doing most of the talking and he would be the one standing by and looking bored…

Maybe Muraoka Road wasn’t that good of an idea. But… where else could she go? Frankly the only place she knew like the back of her hand as well as Muraoka Road was probably Siren’s Den, and she didn’t want to give him the wrong impression by dragging him to that place. Especially with the number of people there who would recognise her for her previous profession… it wasn’t something that she wanted Maigo to learn of just yet, especially considering how unsure they had both seemed about the other. Might as well break it out to him when they were more sure where they stood with each other, if something like that even came to pass between the two of them.

She turned off the showers to properly shampoo her hair, and that was when she heard it. The sound of the door closing. The door to her hotel wasn’t naturally loud, but she had gotten used to the small tweaks of this place that she recognised the odd sound that it made whenever it was opened and closed, and unless she was hallucinating, she was almost sure that it was the very same sound she had heard just now.

The door had closed. He had left. Forgetting her hair, grabbed the towel and dried herself off, wrapping it around herself before stepping out of the showers and seeing, true to her suspicions and to the shattering of her heart, no one there. She felt something… die inside her. She felt… What did she feel? There was so much she didn’t understand, there was a hole in her heart, she wanted to fill it up she was so confused what was going on whydidheleavewhatdidshedowrong-

Stop.

‘Stop,’ she told herself. ‘It’s… it’s okay. I’m sure… I’m…’

But no words came to mind. No self-comforting words came to mind. Her head dipped down and her tail drooped as she swallowed, her mouth dry and slightly agape as she came to terms with this. What was she expecting? One night of fucking and she was going to go ask him out? He was probably leaving to go have a drink with his friends and tell them how he’d bagged a girl, made her make a fool of herself, then left.

… She needed something… she needed someone to talk to. She needed support and she didn’t- Wait, was that something on the bed? She sat down beside the towel she had prepared for him and saw a small note, handwritten by Maigo himself if the signature at the end was anything. As she read it, her hands tightened around the piece of paper, but her stormy emotions didn’t calm down.

‘Leaving unannounced?’ she thought. ‘Dinner? Who does he think he is?!’

But regardless, she didn’t know what to think. He had left. He had something more important to do and he- Why was she so worried about this!? She was Aizou Kitsuchi, she shouldn’t be- But she was, why was this happening to her why why why whywhywhywhy-

“Stop!” she cried out, her hands balling into fists and hitting the bed on either side of her, with her left hand slamming onto the towel she had left for him and in the process tearing up his note. “Stop you stupid little girl!” she cried out again. “Just stop and shut up and listen to yourself! Why are you being so worried about a guy you’ve just met?! You idiot!”

It took her awhile, but she realised in her fit she had slunk down onto the floor, her back leaning against the edge of the bed. “Why am I like this?” she asked softly, staring onto the floor. Then, in a fit of rage, she stood up and grabbed the bedside lamp and flung it onto the floor, hearing the satisfying sound of it shattering against the floor. “WHY AM I LIKE THIS?!”

Fire chakra fueled her arms as she felt heat begin to spark on her fingertips, desperate for something to burn burn burn so she could get rid of some of her anger. Burn burn burn burn burn burn burn-

And then she dropped onto the ground on all fours, all energy lost. “What’s wrong with me, acting like a child over some stupid emotion? I… I should be stronger than this…”

Curling up into a ball and holding onto the hem of the towel that still covered her, Aizou let herself lean against one wall. Her right hand gently rose up, fragily rose up to grasp the sleek black phone on the table, before she dialled up a familiar number.

“Hello? Hyouga? This is Aizou... I need to talk..."

Word count: 1026/11044

–Exit–

- Strength from D-1 to D-3 (1700 words, 125 ryo)
- Speed from E-0 to D-3 (3850 words, 150 ryo)
- Endurance from E-0 to D-3 (3850 words, 150 ryo)
- Perception from E-0 to D-2 (3850 words, 150 ryo)