Akiko had grown up in the Slums of Sunagakure, the hostile and competitive nature of the area had been partially responsible for her margin of success as a Kunoichi, and the rest had been her late father’s teachings, his guidance in her life. However, the success she had attained felt empty without his loving actions and calming words, without him her recently bestowed title of Chuunin felt empty and void of meaning. Akiko remembered a time when her favorite place in all of Sunagakure was their quaint little home, she remembered when her mother smiled, and she remembered the sweet smell of roses her father would bring home for his wife. Those were just memories now almost to the point of a myth because of a single event caused by a single man, a man who had once protected Sunagakure, Uzumaki Trilby. He had slaughtered Akiko’s father and was the cause of her despising of her home, the agony inflicted upon her mother, and the scent of death eternally replacing the sweet smell of flora. Akiko hated Trilby for his actions and felt the beginnings of hatred towards all Uzumaki for their lack of action, and she felt a twinge of resentment towards the Kazekage for not seeing this reaction coming from her own husband. Without realizing it fully, Akiko had begun giving herself over to the age old curse that inflicted suffering on her clan for generations, she had allowed the Curse of Hatred to take root in her heart, she drew from that pain to push her to succeed as a Kunoichi and one day allow her to take vengeance.

It was the disgust of being in the source of such horrendous agony that caused Akiko to leave the shelter of her household to catch a short breath of fresh air amongst those who knew suffering. Akiko slowly strolled through the crowded slums, she looked upon war veterans who had lost limbs in small battles or skirmishes, widows who had their reason for living ripped prematurely from their grasps, orphans who begged for food just to fill their starving bellies and she felt at home. These people who had tasted loss, who knew the bitter taste it brought and the horrendous memories of happiness lost, it was those people who she felt relation to, they had become her family. It was for that reason Akiko refused to allow her pain to spread to those that were unworthy, for the first time in her life she felt a need to shield them from the additional suffering, she felt the need to be their guardian. This feeling spread to cause the first act of charity she had even given another being outside of her family, Akiko had given fifteen Ryo to a small boy to allow him to buy single bread roll to eat and fill his emaciated form with some small form of nutrition.

As Akiko walked amongst those who shared her pain, she couldn’t help but wonder why had she been forced to suffer such a terrible fate? Why had fate selected her to bear the eternal weight of such tremendous suffering? What did destiny have in store for her that would require her to ache this deeply and this badly?

Jezzi woke up in a bit of a foul mood. It would seem that her team had fallen apart and it was getting her down in the dumps. Not only that, but her condition was getting worse, she was getting sicker and the medicine she took didn't even seem to be working as well anymore. So with an empty feeling in her heart she pulled herself out of bed, and gradually put away her bed roll. She took her pill and sat in her dark abandoned shack. "How did this all happen?" she asked herself. Her usually chide inner voice didn't answer. Jezzi figured she should have been used to it by now. Back when she still lived as a vagrant she was also alone. She figured it was her lot in life.

Eventually Jezzi decided that she'd only worsen her isolation-based depression if she continued to mope around in her dark, beaten up shack, and decided to drag herself out to see if she could do some solo training. She headed out into the slums, allowing herself not to be noticed thanks to her short stature. However her mind was on other things and unfortunately she could barely tell where she was going. It seemed her life up until that point could be summed up in that one sentence: not knowing where to go. Eventually she was knocked back into reality... literally. She had no idea what happened except that she was now on the ground looking up at a serious-looking dark haired girl who was merely a few years older than her; however, like most people she knew, this girl stood above her by nearly a foot.

Jezzi seemed stunned and sat on the ground for a moment before getting up and brushing herself off. "S-sorry.." she said, though she didn't sound like her heart was in that apology. She looked at the girl as if in deep thought. She looked familiar somehow, she was certain the girl was a ninja and that she had spotted her before but that's not what seemed so familiar... Something about her reminded her of something or someone else...

Akiko’s musings had been cut short when she turned to take in more of the wretched and mournful forms that surrounded her. A young green haired child unintentionally had tasted Akiko’s elbow as a combination of both turning and placing her hand on her Katana’s pommel in a relax fashion placed her elbow directly in the path of the girl’s chin. Although she saw the young girl at the last possible moment, there was little she could do to prevent the collision course, the force of her elbow and the younger girl’s face colliding was surprising. The end result was this strange, short, green haired girl laying down in front of Akiko whether by the surprise of sudden connection of the two forces or the combined speed of both the girl’s pace and her own turn Akiko wasn’t sure. However, there was one thing she was completely positive of, whoever this girl was, she didn’t pay much attention to her surroundings a fatal error in the life Akiko assumed they both shared.

No hand of aid would be extended as Akiko stared down at the girl. In fact Akiko felt a little insulted that this woman was so mindlessly strolling about, apparently without the sense to observe where her feet were leading her. Akiko instantly judged the girl as incompetent and a risk to the village, someone unworthy of a headband, someone unworthy to serve Sunagakure as a Kunoichi and a risk to the village as a whole.

“Are you blind or just daft?” Akiko spat as her dark eyes gazed down at the small girl.

(Sorry for the short reply, I pick up as conversations spark in social threads XD)

Jezzi heard what the girl said but seemed rather distant. It took a while for her to really
absorb the rude comment that was directed at her. She simply sat on her knees, her eyes distant - almost vacant. She felt weak and the world around her was dizzy and darkened. She held her head for a brief moment before pulling herself back to her feet. She looked up at the taller girl, trying to put her finger on the familiarity of her. Why did she feel like she should have recognised here? She realised her half-hearted apology hadn't been well received and frowned.

"I-I..." she stammered for a moment before realising that she had just been more or less insulted by this stranger. Her hazy confusion soon turned to irritation as her eyes turned aware and insulted and her mouth turned into an angry pout. How dare she?! She doesn't even know me! Jezzi wasn't an angry person by nature, but she had a short fuse and had little patience for rudeness. "Well pardon me, princess, it's not like you were aware enough to lug yourself out of the way so don't go throwing judgements around!" She retorted fiercely, whilst dusting herself off. "At least I had the self-awareness to apologise!" She gave her the best evil stare she could muster (though her small size and her pitiful look caused her to be not very threatening). However, at the very least she wasn't as catatonic as she was before.