Her eyelids fluttered open as she felt sunrays tickling her skin. It was early in the morning, the sun slowly went up and let the big trees throw their shadows again.
Misoka got to her feet. She still felt a bit tired since she hadn't slept too well. Her first night in Kumo, spent under a big tree at the outskirts of town. The weather was nice, though, she had to admit.
After letting out her usual morning yawn, Misoka went to the nearby river and washed her face. Then she slipped out of her torn and dirty coat and replaced it with the new clothes she had bought the other day. It was nothing special: a simple dark-blue T-shirt and short pants. She had to be careful with her money. There wasn't too much left anyway. But who would've expected her to be out for more than two months? If necessary, she would have to look for some work and make some earnings that way.

Back at her sleeping place, Misoka shouldered her backpack and went into town, more aimlessly than anything else. After some time, she found herself on a small mountain with a tree on its top. Something about this tree made her feel uneasy though she couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly it was.

So for a while, then, she simply stood there and watched the tree as if it would reveal its secret sooner or later. Her lips curled into a thin smile. Nonsense. She shouldn't waste her time like that. 
With a sigh, the girl sat down in the grass, letting her mind wander. Yesterday, she had first met some Kumo shinobis. Bokuden, Jishin, Nagare and his twin. Although not all of them seemed too happy about hanging out with her, it was really refreshing to talk to people again. While she did need time for herself, she had never been much of a loner and craved human company.
And hey, she really liked Kumo so far! The village and its inhabitants. She could honestly picture herself staying here a bit longer.
In any case, she had to see this sword tournament in a few days!

Smiling, she leaned back and closed her eyes for a few moments of bliss, only listening to the nature around her.

TRAINING :

Kenji was cleaning his sword, it now shined as if related to the royal family of stars. Kenji sheathed it in his blue scabbard and placed it on his waist. After Kenji's first time at the Durian tree, he was unfortunately distracted from his true goal; this time however he was hoping there was no one there eager to put another hole in his chest. Kenji slipped his backpack on, as always he had multiple snacks in his bag for his mini trip to the mysterious local. His ensemble was capped off with his gloves of reflection that were lustrous as always. He had on his loose white pants with a sleeveless white shirt. After equipping himself with his ninja tools around his waist he left and made his way to the Durian tree.

Kenji has had a number of bizarre and exciting experiences ever since moving into the village of Kumogakure; it was refreshing, seeing how he spent the rest of his time taking D rank missions and training. Kenji made his way up the mountain that housed the Durian tree, up ahead Kenji could see a girl with light orange hair sitting under the tree; even though Kenji was relatively new to the village he had been here long enough to know he hadn't seen her. Kenji was a little less than 15 meters away from the tree and closing, the girl sitting under the tree had her eyes closed and seemed to be in a tranquil state. "At least someone is enjoying the area" Kenji thought. He ruffled his blue hair as he was uncertain how to go on with his plans. Kenji decided to announce his presence, just as Kenji was about to introduce himself, "Exc..." he was interrupted by rustling in the bushes about 5 meters to his right. A critter exploded out and was heading right for the girl under the tree. The critter appeared to be a wild squirrel; before the squirrel got too far ahead of him he threw a shuriken right in front of the squirrels projected path and he simultaneously took off in a burst of speed and as the squirrel was forced to change direction after being startled by the projectile, Kenji grabbed its tail and dangled it. He sat the critter on down and tapped it with his foot sending it scurrying in the opposite direction.

TRAINING JUTSU: 400/1250

The calmness around her was soon interrupted by a male voice. "Exc-" Misoka opened her eyes and sprang up, standing face to face with a blue-haired boy. At the same moment, a squirrel jumped out of the bushes and ran her way - something must have startled it as they were usually shy animals. For a split second, Misoka almost forgot about the boy in front of her and focused on the brown squirrel, which was undeniably cute.
"Oh little one, you're all right?" She whispered, a smile planted all over her face although she was sure the squirrel wouldn't stay any longer than necessary. It was then that Misoka remembered the boy; well, when he threw some shurikens to stop the squirrel in its tracks. Needless to say, it got quite a shock from the sudden attack - not only the squirrel, though - and as the boy even grabbed it by its tail, Misoka could almost feel the poor animal's heart pounding out of fear.
All her manners vanished at that moment. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?" She demanded in an angry tone, reaching out for the animal to free it from the boy's grab. This proved to be unnecessary, though, as said person dropped the squirrel then anyway.

After it was gone, there was quite an awkward silence between her and the newcomer. He seemed to be around her age with blue eyes and hair and judging from the shurikens he threw and his sword, he was a shinobi as well. The way he had treated a helpless animal had left a sour taste in her mouth. And hang on, he wanted to ask her something.. At least she believed the "Exc" had meant to be an "Excuse me".

"Misoka?"
Upon hearing her name, the girl turned her gaze into the voice's direction and spotted Bokuden and Satomi coming over to her. Her face lit up. Perhaps it was ridiculous to think like that, but she was happy that Bokuden remembered her and her name and that he took the time to greet her. She couldn't have made such a bad first impression then.

"Hey Bokuden! And hello Satomi!" She was extra careful to address the wolf as well now that she knew its name. "Nice to meet you two! Um, that's..." Her eyes went back to the boy in front of her, to whom she had not been very polite so far. Nervously, she scratched the back of her head for a second - and, by the way, snatched some of the leaves out of her hair - and wanted to apologize when Bokuden raised his voice once more. This time, however, his words weren't directed at her.
"Still as jumpy as ever, Kenji?"

Misoka looked back and forth between the boys, surprised that they knew each other. But then again, Bokuden was a well-known Kumo shinobi - that much she had caught up on during their first meeting - so of course he would know his shinobi fellows.
Still, Bokuden didn't seem to be too thrilled to meet Kenji here.

Misoka decided to keep her mouth shut and let the blue-haired boy answer first.

The girl was extremely unsettled by Kenji's means of ridding the area of the squirrel; Kenji began to smile at her passion and affection towards the animal. He picked up his shuriken and tried to explain his actions; "Sorry for startling you, this area is very mysterious and even the cutest of species act... unnatural. Anyway..." Kenji was interrupted, Kenji exhaled exasperatedly as he heard a voice he had became very familiar with. A nuisance had called out a name, "Misoka", he assumed it was the name of the girl. Followed was another one of his irritating comments, "Still as jumpy as ever, Kenji?" Kenji's face began to twitch and a scowl came onto his face, neither the girl or Bokuden could see this; Misoka at this point had disregarded the words Kenji had spoke for the most part and ran to Bokuden who Kenji had yet to turn around and acknowledge. Kenji stretched and turned around to face... "A wolf?!" Kenji cocked an eyebrow at it, and then swung his backpack half off, then decided to put it back on, "I think I'll wait a little longer to have my snack." He said as he glared at Bokuden, who had ruined too many of his meal supplements.

How awkward, Kenji thought; all the Genin wanted to do was come to the Durian tree and meditate a bit, but that would unlikely happen once again. The thing that intrigued Kenji the most was how Bokuden knew the lady; the only explanation would be that they met very recently. Kenji decided to address the presence of the wolf first, he heard Misoka say a second name when she went to greet Bokuden, "Satomi". "Hello Bokuden and... Satomi" he said in a monotone. He thought about leaving it there actually and taken advantage of the little reunion between the three and accomplish what he had set out to. However, he wasn't quite ready to isolate himself; "So what brings you tw.. three here?" Including the wolf in the inquiry.


TRAINING JUTSU: 728/1250

It appeared as though Misoka was about as thrilled as Satomi was with Kenji after his little stunt with the squirrel. She jumped up, no doubt startled by waking up to the sight of shuriken flying and Kenji standing right in front of her. She seemed prepared to scold Kenji for his actions, but cut herself short upon seeing Bokuden. Her reaction to Bokuden this time was much different then their first encounter, she was no longer avoiding eye contact or being unnecessarily formal. In fact, the look on her face and her tone of voice seemed almost gleeful, it was a welcome change from the other day. Bokuden approached her, walking right past Kenji without acknowledging him, with a smile on his face and returned her greeting, "It's nice to see you too Misoka, and smiling no less. It's a good look on you. Are those the new clothes you brought the other day?"


The look on Kenji's face throughout the whole situation seemed confused. Bokuden had almost forgotten that despite their numerous encounters he had never met Satomi. Bokuden found amusement in Kenji's comment about his snack, but chose to ignore it as well as everything else Kenji said. It wasn't that he wasn't listening, he heard everything, but he knew that Kenji hated to be ignored and after their numerous encounters recently Bokuden found enjoyment in antagonizing Kenji. Satomi was not particularly inclined to talk to either of them, but went along with Bokuden and responded to Misoka in a polite tone, "Nice to see you as well, Misoka."

"Thank you. And yes - yes they are," Misoka replied, looking down on her T-shirt. While she knew that the clothes weren't exactly what you would call 'glamorous', she felt great in them, more comfortable than in that torn coat for sure.

The boy's, Kenji's, eyes fixated on Bokuden and his wolf pet, asking them what they were doing here. However, he didn't get an answer. Bokuden straight out ignored him, which confirmed her assumption: They weren't ... well, friends. Or was that just a usual teasing between them?

Satomi stepped forward a bit and greeted her politely. Misoka had to admit that she had never seen a speaking wolf before in Suna. She wondered whether they were specifically bred for that speaking ability and if Bokuden would use Satomi as combat partner. Perhaps he already did and the wolf just looked young (and adorable!). In any case, the animal had yet to rise to an intimidating size like the Inuzuka dogs Misoka had heard about.
"Thank you, Satomi. You're looking well." She gave her an honest smile before turning her attention back to the others.

No-one of them had responded to Kenji who was rather annoyed by now. Despite his inappropriate behaviour towards the squirrel, she had compassion on him because he probably felt rejected by everyone.


"The name's Kenji, isn't it?" Misoka looked to him, the smile more polite as she was always a bit insecure when meeting new people. "What was it you wanted to know? I remember you saying something like 'Excuse me'..."

"Talking wolf, I've seen cooler" He hadn't but he wasn't in the mood to give Bokuden anything that resembled a complement, even if he was just thinking. Kenji had little to prove that he even existed at this point, so after his question fell to the ground before reaching their ears apparently; he began shuffling his feet as Misoka, Satomi, and Bokuden continued talking amongst themselves. "Oh well, I tried." Kenji said to himself in reference to his attempt to be cordial. The blue haired shinobi initiated a swivel to head to the tree and as his back faced the others someone decided to confirm his existence, "The name's Kenji isn't it?" Kenji turned his head around, his body soon following, "What was it you wanted to know? I remember you saying something like, 'Excuse me'..." Kenji almost didn't know how to react to someone speaking to him, "Yes it is, and I was just making my presence known to you... But I guess I did that anyway, with the squirrel and all." An embarrassed expression came onto his face as he finally realized how bad of a first impression he must have made on the girl and the talking wolf. "Also, I've never seen you before; but I'm glad you've already met..." Kenji gulped as he wouldn't wish meeting Bokuden on his worst enemy; which was currently Bokuden. "Bokuden he's a really nice guy" the words came spilling out at 100m/s, in hopes that no one  could make out what he said. Kenji was not interested in continuing the petty feud between the two of them in front of a stranger, to him anyways. The three of them seemed to be really excited seeing each other; Kenji didn't want to intrude, so after he spoke he began to remove his gloves and put them in his pocket, he did this to stall and see if they were content on the party they had. If nothing was spoken that implied otherwise, Kenji would go on about his business. But he didn't want to seem anti-social by just leaving after he spoke, so he would give them a moment to respond.


TRAINING JUTSU: 1103/1250

After responding to Bokuden's greeting Misoka looked over to Kenji with a concerned look on her face. It seemed as though she felt bad for Kenji and after her reaction to the squirrel incident it became evident that Misoka was a far more compassionate person than Bokuden. While Bokuden had been trained his whole life to view compassion as weakness, it was not a repulsive feeling that he experienced in response to Misoka's actions. In fact, it was a strangely endearing quality. Bokuden had never shared his clan's beliefs, but after years of being told things are a certain way he eventually started to believe it. Bokuden had always found himself a bit jealous of those who could empathize with others whom they knew nothing about or had anything in common. 

As Kenji replied to Misoka's acknowledgment of him it was clear that he was more than a little uncomfortable with the whole situation. Kenji was nearly stumbling over himself as he tried to speak about Bokuden in a positive tone. The sight of which Bokuden found infinite amusement as all he could do was stand there with a smirk. "Well, as much I'm enjoying watching Kenji struggle to pretend that he likes me I think it is time to dispel some of the awkwardness," Bokuden thought to himself as he stepped forward to interject into the conversation. It was clear at this point that the quiet day he had planned with Satomi was not going to happen. "Awww Kenji I didn't know you cared," Bokuden said in a joking manner in response to Kenji's answer to Misoka, "But where are my manners? Satomi and Misoka, this is Kenji. Kenji, Satomi and Misoka."

As Kenji turned around and replied with an embarrassed expression on his face, Misoka realized that he couldn't be the arrogant person he'd appeared to be. The way he mentioned the squirrel made it seem like he was actually apologizing for it.
He went on, saying that he'd never seen her around and then added,"..but I'm glad you've already met... Bokuden he's a really nice guy!"
Misoka couldn't hide her grin at that. Why would Kenji lie and say he liked Bokuden? From what she'd seen so far, they couldn't quite stand each other. Or was this only a facade? Her smile turned into a thoughtful expression, looking from Kenji to Bokuden and back. She wondered what exactly had happened between them.
Then Bokuden stepped forward and (after making a joke about Kenji's words) officially introduced the three to each other.
Misoka was glad that he chose to involve Kenji in their conversation after all. She didn't want anyone to feel like an outsider.
With a bow to the blue-haired boy, she added to Bokuden's introduction,"I arrived in Kumo yesterday. I don't know how long I can...will stay, but so far I've taken quite a liking to the village."
She looked up again, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Heh, her father would love it here as well.. he'd be so excited about the tournament. He'd watch all of the sword fights, analyzing every bit of them and betting on his favourite fighter to win.
One day, on the day of their reunion, she would tell him about it and about all the nice people she'd met.

Kenji was introduced to everyone by Bokuden, and Misoka went on to explain that she just arrived in Kumogakure the other day and she was enjoying herself so far. Kenji nodded with a grin on his face, he was happy she was enjoying her time here. Kenji was wondering if he should randomly throw them in a genjutsu, just for kicks; but soon decided that would be in bad taste. Therefore, Kenji decided to take a more logical action and inquire on how Misoka and Bokuden met and how she has spent her time in Kumogakure. "So, how did you and Bokuden meet?" Kenji asked in a polite tone, he also wanted more information on the wolf, but he was a little apprehensive about engaging in conversation with a predominately wild and vicious animal. Kenji stood as he waited for her response.


TRAINING JUTSU: 1245/1250

Misoka seemed happy to hear Kenji speak positively of Bokuden, which seemed  a bit strange to Bokuden. He wondered why she took such an interest in he and Kenji's relationship, but his curiosity was brought to an abrupt halt by Satomi who whipped her tail softly against Bokuden's back to make her presence known as she walked over to the tree and laid down in the shade. "You all can stand out in the sun and speak if you want, but if anyone needs me I'll be under the tree. I am covered with entirely too much fur to be sun bathing~" She always get's like this when she's hungry, Bokuden thought to himself as he walked over to Satomi and reached into his coat, pulling out a large bone-shaped snack and threw it on the ground next to her. She immediately began chewing on it as Bokuden took a seat under the shade with his back against the tree. He sat with his left leg extended fully and the right bent at the knee with his right elbow rested on his knee, allowing his right hand, wrist and forearm to hang freely. He sat and waited for Misoka to answer Kenji's question. He could have answered it himself, but the question was directed towards her and besides, he was interested in getting her perspective of the whole situation. If things got a bit too awkward or uncomfortable for her, he could jump in anyway. 

"Oh, that..." She paused for a moment, thinking about how exactly she should formulate her answer. Well, after my short stay in Iwa, where I got my leg bitten bloody by a ninja wolf, I decided to move on to Kumo. Arriving there in torn and blood-stained clothes, Bokuden must have felt compassion for a vagrant like me and invited me to lunch. 
...She better changed this a bit.
"I was looking for a market in Kumo because I ... hadn't eaten in a few days - Ehh, I'd run out of supplies on the way - and then Bokuden must have seen I was in need of help. He came over to talk to me." An amused smile spread over her face. "At first, I thought he was going to accuse me of my clothes.. I mean, in comparison to his expensive coat. I must've looked awful." 
Kenji seemed much more comfortable now, a playful grin on his lips. She found that he was quite easy to talk to. Still, she felt a bit embarrassed that she accidentally told him about the 'zero supplies'-thing. This had never happened to her before. She was usually well organised.

While she'd been telling Kenji about her first meeting with Bokuden, the latter and Satomi had sat down in the big tree's shade.
Misoka let out a small laugh at the wolf's words; Satomi's reaction was totally understandable, though. As a furry animal, being exposed to strong sunshine for too long must be really troublesome.

"I'm sure that's all you've come here for, Satomi!" Misoka joked or let's say she tried to refer to the wolf's behaviour in a funny way. Sadly, few of her so-called jokes had others laughing or they only did because she looked "adorable" whilst trying to come up with one.

(OOC~ Latika is the girl from Kenji's history that he presumed was dead. She is a Kuroka who is obviously very skilled in Genjutsu, she is also adept in escape tactics (Body Flicker). Also, doing this to give inkling to a little bit of his history as well as train my mf jutsu.)

"I was looking for a market in Kumo because I ... hadn't eaten in a few days - Ehh, I'd run out of supplies on the way - and then Bokuden must have seen I was in need of help. He came over to talk to me. At first, I thought he was going to accuse me of my clothes.. I mean, in comparison to his expensive coat. I must've looked awful." Kenji listened attentively; after she finished her recount of how she met Bokuden, Satomi expressed her discomfort at being in the sun considering her furry coat. The two of them made their way over to the tree to obtain shelter from the sun. "That wolf got some sass." Kenji thought to himself, "I'm sure that's all you've come here for, Satomi!" Kenji couldn't help but let a small smile surface at her comment, he wasn't quite sure why he found it amusing. The blue haired Genin slowly turned around signalling to Misoka that they should also go under the shade of the tree. As he began to walk, he felt a similar feeling that he felt when he was walking in night a few days ago. "LATIKA" He stopped in his tracks, he didn't know if Bokuden was aware of her presence; he had no idea where she was but he knew she was there.

As Misoka walked ahead apparently unaware of Kenji stopping. As soon as he stopped he weaved the necessary hand seals and performed a genjutsu he just recently developed and didn't know if it would work. He didn't even know if Latika was within range, but evidently she was, he felt his chakra reach hers, and based on her brain activity, the genjutsu was doing what it was supposed to do. "Gotcha" She would surely know she was in a genjutsu and flee as a result; as he expected he soon felt her leave the range of his gennjutsu. "Why has she been stalking me lately. Why not just talk to me, why the secrecy?" Kenji was hoping that the jutsu wasn't obvious; all he did was form a few hand seals which Misoka probably didn't see, and stood still for a few moments. He was conscious of the fact that it might've look a bit peculiar... He was also worried that Bokuden was able to sense the girl due to his impressive hearing, his wolf as well may have been capable of sensing Latika via smell or some other means.





TRAINING JUTSU: 1676/1250

+25% DUE TO KKG





TRAINING COMPLETE!!

135/150= Jutsu Trained:

While Misoka explained the situation to Kenji, Satomi picked up the scent of another stranger hiding in the area. "Bokuden," Satomi said to draw his attention as she motioned with her head in the direction the scent was coming from. Looking out in that direction from the corner of his eyes Bokuden saw nothing, but knew better than to doubt Satomi's nose. Whoever it was they were out of Bokuden's passive range, so he would have to expend some energy to locate them.   When Misoka and Kenji seemingly finished talking they walked over to where Bokuden and Satomi were located, but Kenji stopped in his tracks weaving a sequence of hand seals as Misoka had her back turned. Bokuden and Satomi immediately darted out from under the tree in different directions. 


Satomi followed the girl's scent she had picked up, finding her attempting to flee out of the shrubbery she had hid herself in. Wrapping her long tail around the girls leg, Satomi tripped the girl to halt her departure and began dragging her along the grass back to the tree. Bokuden made a beeline straight for Kenji as he began making hand signs, drawing his blade and pressing the tip softly against Kenji's Adam's apple. "Anything you want to tell me? Like why you are trying to weave hand signs in secret?" Bokuden said coldly, pressing his sword slightly harder against Kenji's throat. glancing over his shoulder, Bokuden could see Satomi bringing the girl over to their location. He then turned his stare back towards Kenji and inquired, "Someone you know?"

As Misoka made her way to the tree, she immediately caught up on Satomi's and her master's anxiousness. Something must have changed in less than a minute since she had talked to Kenji in the meantime. She stopped in her tracks, the half-smile on her face replaced by a serious expression.
Before she could formulate another thought, both Bokuden and Satomi rushed into different directions, which left Misoka absolutely assured that the nice and light talk was over. She pulled out a kunai and made a fist with her other hand - her taijutsu abilities should not be underestimated.
Then Satomi dragged a girl to their place; she had wrapped her tail around the girl's struggling body. Without a doubt, the newcomer was a shinobi herself.
Misoka didn't hesitate. Quickly, she leaped forward and pressed the kunai against the stranger's throat. Her eyes grew cold as she hissed,"Who are you? And why have you been sneaking up on us?"
Before the girl could answer, Misoka heard Bokuden accusing Kenji of knowing the person. Was that true? Was this all some kind of trap?
She turned her head back to the girl, glaring at her. "Talk."

The difference between Misoka's usual kindness and her dead seriousness when she was on 'duty' couldn't be greater. The months being on her own had only widened that gap. She always had to be on guard. They could be coming at her at any time.

Kenji finished his genjutsu on his "friend", just as he assumed, Satomi was able to sense Latika. The wolf jetted off to track down Latika who was trying to escape. Satomi had her tail wrapped around Latika dragging her to where the rest of them were. Shortly after Latika was dragged in Kenji's vicinity Misoka had lunged over and put a kunai to her throat. Everything was happening so fast, "Damn Latika, why are you even here?" Then before Kenji could say a word Bokuden placed his katana against the blue haired shinobi's throat, "Anything you want to tell me? Like why you are trying to weave hand signs in secret? Someone you know?" Kenji stood there, and he slowly lifted his head to meet Bokuden's glare. "I felt the person coming, so I set a genjutsu trap; scaring whoever it was away." Kenji turned his head while the katana rubbed against his throat."I don't know who that is" He really didn't, he was sure whoever that girl was couldn't have been the Latika he knew; Kenji had yet to confirm her identity so he wasn't lying. Suddenly something ghastly happened, "Latika"'s bandaged leg detached and in that moment she locked on her eyes on Misoka, whatever she did, it seemed to stun Misoka long enough to prevent Misoka from stopping Latika from rolling away, while she rolled she threw a smoke bomb concealing her actions. After the smoke cleared, she was gone."She probably used the Demonic illuison: Hell viewing genjutsu... I remember helping her perfect it..."

Kenji let out a sigh, Kenji was not interested in getting into another squabble and even less interested in further explaining what happened. If he didn't believe him, so what. "It seems we all did our part in getting rid of that girl. Is everyone okay?" Now that Latika was gone, Kenji was sure that the effects of the genjutsu that was put on Misoka would dissipate. "I'm sure I'll see her again; when I do I'm going to get some answers."

Bokuden narrowed his eyes, not convinced with Kenji's answer. "This is the wrong day to play games with me Kenji," Bokuden said suspiciously, pressing hi sword further into Kenji's throat, though not hard enough to pierce the skin. Judging from Satomi's reaction, whoever this girl was she didn't seem to mean them harm. If Satomi had sensed malicious intent everyone would have known it by now. Suddenly, Bokuden heard Satomi let out a loud growl and turned to see what had prompted such a reaction. As he turned in their direction he witnessed the girl rolling away after removing what seemed to be a prosthetic leg and Satomi preparing to pounce on her. Bokuden raised his right eyebrow at the situation and made a motion with his left hand, "Satomi, hold." Satomi assumed a less offensive stance and watched as the girl performed some jutsu to escape. Bokuden threw one last glare in Kenji's direction before running over to Satomi and Misoka. "Watch him," Bokuden told Satomi, obviously referring to Kenji before turning his attention to Misoka, "Are you all right?"

"Impressive. So she's quite the genjutsu expert," Misoka mumbled to herself before nodding in Bokuden's direction. "Yeah, I'm fine."
She ran her hand through her hair, feeling a bit annoyed that she had fallen for the genjutsu. In her defense, the stranger girl must surely be of a higher rank than Genin and apart from that, Misoka wasn't used to fighting genjutsu users. Another thing it might be good to prepare for.
Still in a serious mood, she stood up, wiped off the dust from her shorts and threw a glance at Kenji. "I can't believe you," she declared bluntly, her eyes fixated on the boy as though she could see through him that way. "Why do I get this feeling that you haven't told us everything? You formed hand seals in secret in order to, supposedly, set a genjutsu trap for the girl. All that even though you must've known that Satomi would be able to scent her anyway. That sneakiness makes you more than suspicious."
Her voice was filled with distrust and hints of disappointment as well. There she'd thought Kenji wasn't that bad as Bokuden had suggested and shortly after, he performed a jutsu right behind her back.
She shook her head slightly while her tenseness subsided, now that the supposed threat was gone.

Kenji could feel persecution from all directions; the space in which he stood in seemed to be deprived of air as Kenji slowly turned around in reaction to the questions from Misoka. He stared at her with a solemn look unable to fully mask his emotions. "Alright, whoever that girl is... she's been stalking me. She actually attacked me a week ago. After I countered her sneak attack with a replacement she put me under a Genjutsu and made me think she was someone else. I soon realized the Genjutsu and bit my tongue to break it. When I came back to reality before me stood a girl bandaged heavily; before I could question her as to why she had attacked me she vanished." Kenji stood there with a sparkle in his eyes, as he failed to mention that the person she was pretending to be was his best friend that died when he was a child. Kenji shrugged as to indicate there was nothing else to say about the whole thing. "I set the Genjutsu trap because I knew if Satomi tracked her down, her being a wolf and all it wouldn't be pretty. You, Bokuden, Satomi, nor me know how strong that girl is. As you already know Misoka, she is not an ordinary Genin with Genjutsu of that level, I'm a Genjutsu specialist and even I struggled to free myself of her grip. If I didn't encourage her to flee, Satomi would have been charging an alert enemy; it was because of what I did that the enemy was on the run with her guard down. Even with that advantage she was able to escape. Your wolf is lucky Bokuden; that prosthetic leg, how she was able to detach so easily, was obviously a result of puppetry. And puppeteers are notorious for equipping themselves and their puppets with weapons." Kenji was now at the tree with his back against it as he was now almost completely isolated from the others. "But hey, I don't need anyone's approval nor confidence..." Kenji had finished his exposition and he swung off his backpack and unwrapped a granola bar and began to eat it.

Clearly annoyed with Kenji's tone, Bokuden charged raiton chakra into his fingers and fired one of his shock bullets at the hand Kenji was holding his granola bar in. The impact would shatter Kenji's snack and force him to drop it when the shock hit his hand. "I suggest you change your attitude Kenji and stop patting yourself on the back pretending you were of use," Bokuden declared, his eyes narrowed and locked in on Kenji as he pointed his arm at Kenji's head readying another round.


Infuriated with Kenji's insinuation that she was fortunate to have received his aid, Satomi began to growl viciously as she slowly approached Kenji. "Insolent brat! How dare you? It was thanks to you that I was able to apprehend that girl? I was LUCKY? Do you think me some child incapable of defending myself? Perhaps the reason that YOU struggled to free yourself from her grip is because you are weak. A rank amateur from the rice patties, strutting about, masquerading as a shinobi. If what you said is true then that girl was after you in the first place, yet you sit there pretending that you deserve some recognition for being a burden on the rest of us? Don't look so surprised. You didn't think Bokuden told me about you?"


"That's enough Satomi," Bokuden interjected, "You're don't have to go that far." Upon hearing Bokuden's words Satomi took a step back from Kenji, blowing air from her nose violently before turning away from him. Bokuden glared at Kenji before speaking, "But Satomi is right. The reason that she was able to get away was because I ordered Satomi to stand down. She didn't "escape", I let her go. And if you insult my partner again, I'll kill you myself." Bokuden threatened Kenji with a smile on his face, allowing his killing intent to spill out. 

Chakra: 140/150:

Stalking? Misoka tilted her head thoughtfully whilst listening to Kenji's first encounter with the girl. She was quick to notice the arising contradiction: Although he had been attacked by that girl, there was an underlying emotion in his voice, clearly suggesting that he felt something other than hostility towards her.
How strange... Unless he had experienced one of these rare loves at first sight, he must, in fact, know the girl longer than he admitted to.
Still avoiding the whole truth, huh? Or was there something else that made him choose his words so carefully?
Then again, everyone had secrets they wanted to keep - and she, of all people, should understand that - so Misoka let it go.

As Kenji started talking smugly about his genjutsu and how he helped Satomi out in a tight spot, it was no wonder that both Bokuden and his wolf partner took offense at his words.
Still, the intensity of their reactions surprised even Misoka.
Bokuden fired off a shock bullet which hit Kenji's hand (and, by the way, sent his snack flying) and Satomi gave vent to her anger verbally.

Oh dear... Misoka swallowed, glad she wasn't in Kenji's position right now. Of course she knew about Satomi's short temper - given that the wolf had once snapped at her too, back in the restaurant - , but this outburst took it to a whole different level. 
She might look small and cute, but you definitely don't want to mess with that wolf.

Before Satomi could do any more than spit verbal insults, Bokuden called her back, yet he made no attempt to ease the tension. 
"And if you insult my partner again, I'll kill you myself."
Misoka turned to him bewildered and watched an almost blood-thirsty smile form across his lips. Nothing about him indicated that he would back out from a death fight with Kenji. He really meant it.

This realization left a sick feeling in her stomach. She remembered the time in the restaurant where he had been challenged to another death match. Did he enjoy fighting for his life? Was it fun 'to kill or be killed instead'?


"Now, now..." She interjected sheepishly and walked in between Bokuden and Kenji, trying to settle the quarrel this way. "Isn't this some... um... sacred place? I mean, look at this tremendous tree!" Misoka raised her hands with open palms, a gesture to calm both of them down, and let out a nervous laugh. Still, she couldn't bring herself to meet Bokuden's gaze just yet - she didn't exactly wanted to be reminded of the killing intent radiating from him.

(OOC~ Dang Satomi, hurting my feelings and all; make a guy wanna confess)

After Kenji finished speaking Bokuden out of anger shot some lightning bullet; Kenji knew he would do something so “threatening”. His granola bar shattered; I’m sure Misoka knows what he meant now about losing snacks. Then the dog went on a rant about how she was insulted at the notion that she needed Kenji’s help to apprehend the girl. She began to speculate about why Kenji couldn’t hold his own against the girl; showing her irrationality and her sensitive emotions. Satomi went on to talk about Kenji’s origins as if growing up on the farm was a shame? Kenji was confused by the rant in a whole. While Satomi spoke Kenji paid little attention and removed the gloves he put in his pocket earlier and put them on. Then Bokuden made an idle threat about how he would kill Kenji if he “insulted” Satomi again. Kenji adjusted his gloves. “I apologize for offending you Satomi; and to you as well Bokuden.”



 “I have nothing to hide; I have no need for secrets. It has been my pride that has prevented me thus far from telling the truth. I am not a liar; so allow me to redeem myself.” Kenji took a deep breath. “Truly, that girl was a child hood friend. We were attacked; I received these scars that are on my face, and I thought she lost her life. But recently; she has returned, and what she wants with me I don’t know. Truthfully, the reason I set the trap is because I know how strong you are Bokuden. And I assumed that your wolf was equal if not greater in ability. So, to save her life is why I did what I did.” Kenji’s deepest feelings began to surface; he fancied it to be therapeutic, if they had no care it wouldn’t bother him, but at least the truth was out. The reason he had held back earlier was a result of being defensive and insecure. “Just like you how you care for Satomi is how I cared for Latika…” He realized that he uttered her name. Kenji had spilled his guts; Ooame wouldn’t allow his ambassador to have anything negative attached to him; so Kenji had no choice but to reveal the truth. “I have a meeting with the leader of the Chikara to talk about how we will resolve the issue. I assure you all; this will not have to concern you. I and the Chikara will deal with the issue appropriately.”



He had no idea how they would react to such a shameful confession; a sign of weakness that Kenji would have rather taken to his grave. But, if this situation persisted; he would have received great punishment for being a poor ambassador, worse than death. There were rumors about what Ooame was capable of, and Kenji decided keeping a secret wasn’t worth his well being.

Before things could go any further Misoka interjected, walking between the two of them and raising her arms while trying to change the subject. Bokuden could hear the nervousness in her voice as she spoke. He stopped exerting his killing intent and a frown formed across his face. Misoka seemed hesitant to look him in the eyes again after what he did, it was just like when they first met, like she didn't know him. Looks like we're back to square one, huh?, Bokuden thought to himself, regretting going that far in front of her.

Kenji then proceeded to apologize and explain the truth behind situation. It was more emotional than Bokuden expected, having fully anticipated Kenji to try and continue his tough guy act. Bokuden let out a sigh and broke the silence after Kenji's confession, "Well, you aren't the first guy to do something stupid because of a girl." Bokuden paused for a moment, running his fingers back through his hair before continuing, "I don't know what this Latika means to you Kenji, but you aren't inspiring a lot of confidence in me regarding your clan. If it was just a crush then it wouldn't be an "issue" that needed resolving. It also doesn't sound like this leader of the Chikara cares about her the way you claim you once did. There is obviously more to this then you are telling us, but it isn't any of my business.  I will tell you this however: You have already lost this girl once, you have been given a gift that the rest of us don't receive. If you really care about this girl don't lose her again, there likely won't be another chance." 

"So that's how it was..." Misoka whispered to herself, regarding Kenji thoughtfully as he explained the whole situation. His voice was soaked in emotion, passionate, but in a way doleful as well. She tried to put herself in his position: meeting a supposedly deceased person after all these years with the feelings you've once had for her flaming up again.
Surely there was confusion, questions leading to the two most important of how she had survived and why she had attacked him.
This was understandable. This put a different light on Kenji's strange behaviour.

When the boy mentioned his clan, the Chikaras, Misoka frowned for an instant. She had a bad feeling about how the Chikara leader would deal with this issue appropriately. What she knew for sure was that some clan systems turned out to be far crueler than ever expected.

Everyone grew quiet for a while after Kenji's confession until Bokuden raised his voice. The deep hostility toward Kenji had significantly subsided, Misoka noticed with relief, and then, much to her surprise, his words were meant to be encouraging.

She listened attentively, a smile forming across her lips soon enough. It was good to hear that they shared the same opinion. With two people suggesting the same piece of advice, Kenji might listen.

"I agree," Misoka spoke up after Bokuden had finished. "You should find and talk to her on your own. From what you have told us, I'm sure Latika will be much more comfortable with you than with your clan leader. For now, no-one can tell how she'd survived, but you should take it as a twist of fate." She paused for a moment, her smile widening. "Haha, isn't that romantic."

From the sounds of it, it sure was. Well, hopefully, Latika would feel the same, but why shouldn't she? It wasn't rare that childhood friends hooked up when they were older... at least she thought so. Not like she understood anything about love. Under the current circumstances, she would either be a fugitive forever (which was not very likely) or have to face her clan sooner or later. And how should she defeat a group of highly ranked Shinobis who showed no mercy whatsoever? Dozens of girls had been already sold and they wouldn't pass the chance to make extra money by selling someone with sparkling kekkei genkai eyes.
In the end, she would be with that old Uchiha man after all.

Realizing that her thoughts had been far away, combined with a worried expression, she quickly composed herself and regained her smile.