Deep in the forest a call was sounding... he felt compelled to turn his back upon the fire and the beaten earth around it.
Korogaru just snorted at Makoto’s weird ideas about family. “You get what you give with me and yeah, I guess grumpy is a nice way of describing how I feel.”
“We’ll never know, will we?” Korogaru responded icily to her sister’s assumption about their father. There was something accusing in the flick of her eyes towards the Mist Ninja as she spoke. The good soldier she remembered might have obeyed any order but what would he have to say about it now? Would death have put anything in perspective for him or would he still be the same stubborn-
“I am not lost!” She insisted as she folded her arms across her chest in a bit of a huff. “I was asked to come this way to provide backup for you all but I can see you’ve got it handled.”
Nomi let out a moan of complaint as he sauntered lazily out of the woods off in the distance behind her. She agreed with her bear… this “mission” seemed more like busywork than anything truly useful.
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Makoto truly had no clue if she'd stepped into the middle of a family feud or if she was just being played for a fool. Had this all been some elaborate joke at her expense, she was still waiting for the punchline. Any minute now another Inuzuka would pop out of the underbrush and start singing a merry tune, right?
Not exactly. But there was...a bear. Wait. What?
Visibly tensing as soon as she caught wind of the approaching beast, the Mist jounin lost all interest in the conversation taking place. Feeling another predator waltz up so confidently sent her primal senses on high alert, the kunoichi's entire body tingling with anticipation. It was a natural reaction to her lessons in the wilderness, forcing her to react before she could even think.
Makoto sprung toward Korogaru in a mad rush, an air of ferocity pouring out from her movements. Initially it seemed like she was going to jump the woman in retaliation for something she said, but the jounin's burst of speed sent her past the Cloud ninja. And, as it turned out, closer to the bear.
"You!"
Makoto growled as she threw herself in front of the dangerous, hulking, totally bloodthirsty beast.
An ugly snort sound from the woman's nostrils, a crooked smirk hanging in a playful slant at her lips. If anyone was sending "back-up" it was likely her fellow chunin to flicker off only a moment ago, and the thought that the woman might think to send her sister to assist was her charitable act of laundry folding was honestly? Pretty funny.[break][break]
Kyuu's humor glistened in her eyes, a hand reaching blind for the garment to be lift toward her fingers by her canine companion.[break][break]
In a blink, it seemed Makoto was gone, though her sudden launch for the forbidden bear proved less than enough to startled the humored little sister. Kyuu simply watched on, gaze lingering toward her sister as the Mist kunoichi throw herself in the path of the humorless beast.[break][break]
❝ 'Course I do! Laundry's always been my hidden talent! ❞[break][break]
Because every mundane task just happened to be the woman's "hidden talent."[break][break]
The threat of a scrap between Nomi and Miyako seemed of little concern for the laid back Kumo shinobi. Rather than worry over potential damages, the silver-haired do-gooder turned her eyes for the freshly dried garment in her grasp, fingers working delicately to see it folded atop the pile. With the line nearly bare for their efforts, the savory scent of sweet dough and savory stewed pork drift from the humble of the elder's home, smoke wafting up from the building's chimney.[break][break]
If the pair wanted to start a scrap, Kyuu was keeping out of it, business well enough kept as she reached for the last of the sheets to flutter from the line. It was only her faithful hound, Ginmaru, that thought to keep an eye on things. Lips weighed in a grouchy frown, whiskered brows heavy over his eyes, the storm-pelted mutt held his gaze steeled toward Makoto and Nomi, jaw setting subtle with irritation.
Deep in the forest a call was sounding... he felt compelled to turn his back upon the fire and the beaten earth around it.
Nomi settled down on his haunches, pulling up some berries with his claws and licking them happily. His snout turned to look at the sudden sound of movement and the bear’s eyes went wide. The bear tumbled onto his back with a startled groan.
"What are you-?" Korogaru looked over her shoulder with curiosity. The dark haired lady seemed pretty eager to play with her bear and that was fine. She’d probably abandon her post too… if it got her out of doing laundry. She supposed she couldn’t leave her sister hanging out to dry so she picked up a blouse or something and folded it sloppily.
Nomi rolled back onto his feet but now he was facing the wrong direction so he bent his head back to peek at Makoto from behind his massive back side and tiny nub tail. He waddled around to face her and let out a friendly growl of hello.
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At first glance, Makoto thought the bear was something else entirely. Her instincts didn't tell her it was a wild beast but more so an old acquaintance, to be specific. Their appearances were strikingly similar, as was the scent, but those details proved superficial in the end. The longer she held her ground and stared the animal down, the more she began to understand.
"You." Makoto grumbled again in a low tone, taking a few cautious steps toward the lumbering ball of fur. Then she repeated the same words firmly, practically gritting her teeth. "You are..." Given the peculiar intensity of her stare and the way she was postured, it seemed well within reason that she'd try to subdue to the beast. Yet instead she just beamed with joy when lunging toward Nomi, "...such a handsome boy, ain'tcha!"
Looking utterly bewildered by the bear's friendly attitude, the Mist jounin was far too eager to stroke its fur and provide a couple scratches behind the ears. She showed no fear being face-to-face with the impressive muzzle either, finding it all too adorable to ignore. "Look at'chu! So big n' strong!" the kunoichi complimented with more playful scratches. That cold behavior she'd been showing until now had just melted away in a matter of moments, the thrill and joy now quite visible in her expression.
"Where'd this one come from? He smells like one of ours." She posed that question to the others while continuing to shower the beast with affection, unable to pull herself away from that fuzzy face.
Nomi's friendly growl earned a humored glance from Kyuu, the crooked tilt of her smile easing a bit as she watch the beast from the corner of her eyes. There was subtle tension hidden in the curl of her smile, a sense of regret surfacing in the resigned distance to dampen the twinkle in her eyes. At the same time, her shoulders eased, and the breath to escape her nostrils sound of nothing but relief as the Mist shinobi shower the fuzzy mountain of muscle with affection.[break][break]
Her eyes showed hopeful as she met Korogaru's gaze, the corners of her lips hinting a bit higher as she saw to reignite the usual light to brighten her stare. The warm smile she offered was one of encouragement, her basket shown forward in offer so her sister could hand off her lumpy fold of a blouse.[break][break]
❝ Floor's yours, Koro. ❞[break][break]
The chipper ring of her voice had reigned itself in a bit, and after holding her focus toward her sister a moment - her attention shift, a discreet means of stepping herself out of the conversation as her focus lift for the house.[break][break]
❝ I'm gonna see 'bout getting these to the old lady. ❞[break][break]
Hoisting the basket a little ways higher on her hip, her steps fell lazy and slow as she make her way for the door. Ginmaru, who seemed to have glared the whole exchange down, turned his face away and lift himself to his feet, padding gently after his partner.[break][break]
