Nagare was on a casual stroll through the streets of Kumo he knew so well. Most of his squad was tired, he assumed, after a few days of training and missions (and he was just as tired, frankly), so he felt today would be a good day to relax. That morning, he had woken up pleasantly; he specifically hadn't activated his kekkei genkai at all since he awoke, for some alone time was in due after having Horui along with him for the last few weeks. He ate a hearty breakfast and actually acknowledging his parents as human beings. And he stepped out the door, into the sunlit streets, with a genuine smile.

The crimson-eyed boy stopped at a convenient bench overlooking a bluff surrounded by clouds, and sat down, admiring the scenery and taking deep, comfortable breaths as he propped his head on his hand, thinking about his plans. He was a Jounin, now; the only absolute left ahead was Sannin, as he had no desire to become an ANBU, at least not at the moment. Sannin would change his life; he'd be known throughout the village, even the country, as a legendary ninja. Did he want all of the attention? Maybe not, but the respect certainly appealed to him, in theory.

Off in the distance, Nagare noticed two large mountains, and between them, he could barely make out the figure of some sort of structure. A manmade one, perhaps? It wasn't that that drew his eyes to it, though, but rather the woman and the unusually large mass of clouds accompanying her. "Reika..." he said under his breath, with a half smile. He pulled a pitch-black scroll from his hip, and summoned Mohan. "Carry me to her." he said to the golden-furred creature. Mohan nodded, and flapped his wings until his shadow hung over Nagare, who grabbed his leg. They flew to the structure, which was apparently supported by cables embedded in the mountain, and landed on its roof, before Nagare sent Mohan back to his dimension.

He hopped into the fortress through an entrance on the roof, and his feet clanged against the metal as he landed. In front of him now stood the Raikage, the woman he had seen from afar. "Hello, Ms. Raikage. Why are you all the way up here, in this contraption?"

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275/300:

Reika wasn't feeling too well. Some...undesirables hurtled over the edge of the balcony, the east side of the Flying Fortress. The Lightning Shadow had to feel a little sorry for whatever unfortunate thing got hit by that.

Quite frankly, the retching sounds being uttered from her throat only sickened her more....thinking back, she could only find one explanation. Earlier that morning, she had been having her breakfast as usual....when she was overcome by a thirst. Everyone knew the feeling...when you were thirsty but couldn't just have water. So she opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of milk. She chugged the whole thing down. In her thirst, she didn't see the label on the bottle: Buttermilk.

Reika was used to eating a rather balanced diet....needless to say, all that fat and lactose at once did not sit well with her. She didn't want to dirty her office, nor did she want anyone to see her in such a state. Luckily, if her gut wasn't lying to her, the nausea and such were pretty much subsided. After three hours.

Suddenly, a metallic clanging resounded behind her. Turning around only after wiping anything left on her mouth, she gave a faint smile to....oh, who was it. Wracking her brain---she liked to know the name of everyone if she could---Reika approached the young man. Recognizing his facial features now, she greeted him, saying his name with a slight giggle after. "Nagare. I've...been a bit ill, to be honest. An isolated incident, I'd hope. I've been feeling better since the summit, but I've been slipping up on a bunch of normal things...like what happened today. I'd rather not talk about it. So what brings you here? Not often that even Kumogakurians find their way to this place."

Reika analyzed Nagare's face for just a moment, with a faint smile. She then said, quietly, "Nagare. I've...been a bit ill, to be honest. An isolated incident, I'd hope. I've been feeling better since the summit, but I've been slipping up on a bunch of normal things...like what happened today. I'd rather not talk about it. So what brings you here? Not often that even Kumogakurians find their way to this place." The summit. Nagare had completely forgotten about it. He assumed it went well, although he decided to wait a bit before asking her about it; she did seem a bit disoriented, signaling the illness she mentioned.

"I dunno, really. Just thought I saw a lot of clouds over here in the mountains, and then the cables; I just had to investigate." Nagare said as he looked around; this place was surprisingly big, for a hidden fortress. He liked it. He took a few more moments to take in his surroundings and the view, before looking back at the Raikage's crystal blue eyes. She must have been young; he had never really examined her with great care, and it looked as if she couldn't have been more than 20. He'd always seen her for missions he went on, and of course, all of his promotions up until his current rank, but she was always buried in paperwork, as expected of the Kage of such a large village.

The Jounin pushed his hair out of his eyes and continued, "Illness; I know the feeling, I was just sick last week. Food poisoning. I also know that it is not pleasant in the least. Is there anything that I can do to help, my Kage?" he was honestly honored that she was giving him her time of day. Getting to know the Shadow of the village he loved was something that meant the world to him.