Of course, as Kaji said... that was the idea. If she put down her life for him, and he made sure she was healed and didn't die, then it would be impossible for them to lose. Theoretically, at least. This was the intent behind the 3 laws of medical the shinobi. [break][break]
Before long, they were soon joined by Yukimaru, the platoon leader's ninken companion. Clearly, the dog needed healing. Kyoufu stayed on guard, keeping her kunai held fast in her palm. Kaji would be vulnerable for at least a few seconds while he provided medical treatment, granted Kyoufu knew first hand how astoundingly fast Kaji's medical treatment was since she had experienced it herself.[break][break]
"Who's...?" as she stood guard for her companion, Kyoufu noticed someone off in the distance. There was an older man in a jerkin who seemed to be frozen, in a sense. And he was terribly close to them... he was staring straight at them, but he had yet to make a move.[break][break]
Damn it![break][break]
Why hadn't he moved already? Things would be so much easier if he was running away. Instead, he was standing there like some kind of moron. Kaji hadn't noticed him yet and Kyoufu wasn't about to mention it. Kaji needed to give the heal. Kyoufu needed to stay on the offensive.[break][break]
"Well, here it goes," she wasn't going to sit around and wait. The man needed to make a decision of some sort: flee, fight, or die. Kyoufu was going to force him to make one. With that, she tossed a singular kunai straight for his gut. If she hit him, she wasn't sure if it would kill him or not, but he would have to react in some way, right? A strong part of her hoped that he wouldn't counter attack, but that was certainly a possibility.
Kaji was quick to move and ran toward the tree. Kyoufu was just as quick to follow him. That said, she was a bit surprised by Kaji's reactions to the situation. He seemed pretty shaken. Like her, he'd never been in a true combat situation, that said the two of them had both been through a lot in their life times. And at the end of the day, it was her fault that he was out here, but she knew that the support he could provide to the team was likely better than anyone else, especially if they found themselves in a bind. [break][break]
She followed him until the two had made way behind the nearby tree. Kyoufu took a deep breath. She thought back to her days in the academy before she knew what real fear felt like. She knew it was still somewhere, even if it was deep down. She needed to draw upon it because she had to be strong for Kaji.[break][break]
"The three rules of medical shinobi... you've heard them right?" she spoke lightly, hoping not to draw attention from potential enemies. "Rule number 1: No medic ninja shall ever stand on the front lines."[break][break]
And it was true, and if Kaji was a medical shinobi in their platoon, then this was just as true for him. He should not feel shame for hiding behind a tree. He was a shinobi.[break][break]
"Rule number 2: A medical shinobi shall never stop medical treatment until the lives of their party members have come to an end."[break][break]
She nodded reassuringly and then gently took him by the hand.[break][break]
"And Rule number 3: No medic ninja shall ever die until they are the last of their platoon," in her free hand, she drew a kunai. "However this goes, I will make sure that my death will come long before yours. I will protect you with my life, Kaji, so stay with me."
"At least we'll die together, right?" Kyoufu teased, having heard Kaji's internal monologue. If anyone was to die here, she had a feeling it wouldn't be him. After all, he could bite himself to restore to full health, right? It was pretty cool that he could autoheal like that. However, even better would be if they could keep him safe so that other members of the team could use him to heal... or at least so that Kyoufu could do so herself.[break][break]
She did feel like it was somewhat of a bad idea for her to have dragged Kaji into this situation. In fact, she hadn't done so intentionally. It wasn't like he was a shinobi of a particular village, but he did want to keep her safe; and she wanted to stay safe. So in a way it was to both of their advantage.[break][break]
Their team leader was had brought two shinobi dogs with him, making their squad much larger than it otherwise could have been. However, Kyoufu was a bit worried about his ninken. Shinobi tended to travel in small squads so that they would be harder to detect... so didn't bringing ninken defeat that purpose? But this was answered for her when she saw their amazing assault.[break][break]
"Kaji, lets hang back for a sec." she rested her arm on his shoulder blade whilst they watched his assault on the horsemen. "We'll let someone on our team with more firepower deal with this. Lets focus on medical support, and I'll be your protection."
Well, Tsukiya with his white-eyed self was certainly pereceptive. He hadn't even needed his Byakugan to deduce that Kaji was a member of the Uzumaki Clan, leading Kyoufu to wonder if she should have predicted it all the same as well. Of course, she didn't have to predict it as Kaji had told her fairly early after they had met. [break][break]
"I'm pretty sure this is like the square and rectangle situation... being a square makes you a rectangle but being a rectangle doesn't make you a square. Uzumaki's are squares.."[break][break]
At the same time, it really made little difference because Tsukiya had been right... and in the shinobi world Red hair was a pretty rare thing.[break][break]
"In any case... shouldn't we do some training or something?" Kyoufu questioned. "I don't really even know where to start... should we just have a spar? Or should we work on techniques?"[break][break]
That was always the toughest place to start, and the truth of the matter was that Kyoufu really didn't remember much from her old days. She hadn't formed a hand seal in nearly a decade.
"Yo" and "Sup?" Great conversation starters from her male companions. Kyoufu was surprised that neither Tsukiya nor Kaji set off to really try to introduce themselves to one another, and it was clear that she would have to take the reigns. Of course, she was okay with that considering that they were both friends of hers who were coming together at this point in time for something very special.[break][break]
"Oi! Tsukiya-kun!" Kyoufu said with a charming smile. "Glad you could make it today! I hope you don't mind that I brought my new friend, Kaji! He's a very special person, but you'll come to learn that soon for yourself!"[break][break]
Kyoufu wanted to just spill the beans on everything, but she also thought it a bit improper to just go off sharing all of Kaji's secrets right off the bat. Kaji might want to retain some of his mystery, after all. [break][break]
For whatever reason Kyoufu couldn't shake that giddy feeling she got just from seeing Tsukiya. He had a way of bringing out Kyoufu's more childish side. He certainly reminded her of better times, even if he was cooler now than he had ever been and she was much lamer. [break][break]
"And of course, Kaji-san, this is Tsukiya! He's basically my oldest and bestest friend!"
If Tsukiya didn't want to be friends with them... well, she didn't care much to be friends with them either. Even though this area seemed so foreign to her, it seemed Tsukiya fit right in. It wasn't long before they made it to the place that he seemed most familiar with... his work? [break][break]
"You mean you play card games for a living?" she asked in amazement. To Kyoufu such a job was unfathomable. It sounded like all of Tsukiya's jobs might have come true. She'd never really thought about it before, but it made her wonder if his Byaugan could actually decipher what was on cards. It was X-ray vision... but could X-ray vision read cards?[break][break]
Kyoufu released her grip of his arm.[break][break]
"So did you bring me here so that we could play cards then?" she asked him curiously. "I was never good at cards.." it was the honest and humble truth. To her memory, the main reason she had played was because Tsukiya had been so enthusiastic about it... and the only way she could ever stand a chance at beating him was if he let her.[break][break]
Walking through this district with Tsukiya was strange to say the least. For someone who hadn't lived much of a life since she was eight years old, this type of atmosphere was confusing, if nothing else. The girls in short kimonos and the men in military gear really didn't click to her for what it actually may have been. To her it was just strange and she didn't quite know what to make of it. [break][break]
What was most confusing of all was how this area was in such a thick mist, exclusively... as though it was being cast by an actual jutsu of some sort to protect it.[break][break]
"It seems you have a lot of friends here," Kyoufu said... inching a bit closer to Tsukiya as she noticed she was getting some strange looks from certain people, mostly men... this was until she decided to take Tsukiya's arm. All of this didn't quite make her feel like she belonged here, but she was happy that Tsukiya had brought her nonetheless. She wanted to see what his life was like... and now that they would be a part of the same team on account of Tengfei, she was looking forward to uncovering the mysteries of this world.[break][break]
"Is this a good place for me to make friends too?" she asked sheepishly. As a matter of fact, she wavering quite a bit on whether she needed more friends in the first place.
Kyoufu could tell that Kaji was a little apprehensive about this training session that they were supposed to have today... and it made sense. After all, he didn't have any kind of shinobi training at all, so working with shinobi should be a daunting experience. Shinobi spars alone carried some risk because if they were going to train and grow any stronger themselves then they would have to put their bodies at risk in order to be properly compared for real combat. That said, they did put the kid gloves on to some extent.[break][break]
Kyoufu pat Kaji lightly on the back hoping that it would help him to soothe his nerves. It was a funny thing, before meeting Kaji it had always been Kyoufu who had been timid and shy. Kaji had helped her to grow a little bit more confident in her own abilities than she had previously been.[break][break]
"Yeah, just follow my lead and don't do anything you don't feel at least somewhat ready for. You're the healer here, but unfortunately I have no healing abilities if you get hurt yourself."[break][break]
Kyoufu looked off into the distance, wondering how long it would take for Tsukiya to arrive. He wasn't late by any means, and Kyoufu and Kaji had set out early because their distance to this particular spot was somewhat longer than Tsukiya's likely was.[break][break]
Kyoufu now did find herself wishing that her dad was still around to teach her how to cook. It seemed like such a daunting task to try to learn something like that by herself. Could people even learn how to cook by themselves? She wasn't quite so sure. She was too afraid of burning her humble home down to try it. So far she'd been lucky that Tengfei had given her a place to get food from. Furthermore, she'd also been relying on instant ramen almost daily for quite some time.[break][break]
"Well, that sounds like a plan then. You'll come, learn how to cook, and in return I'll try to help you learn ninjutsu," she said confidently. She still wasn't sure what kind of job he would want to try to find or what kind of work he would want to do... but she also wasn't particularly concerned. Now that things had been settled and she'd been allowed to take back residence at her parent's old home, she wasn't particularly strained for money. She just needed enough to get by and she could rest easy with that. More so, she just wanted to be useful to her village and her friends. This meant proving her worth to Tengfei and being a good friend to Tsukiya.[break][break]
Of course, in the back of her mind she still did occasionally think about what amazing world she could make in the future if she was to master her Wood Release techniques, but that was more of an longshot ambition that seemed farther away now than it had ever been. It was a pipe dream, but that didn't mean she had given up on it completely.[break][break.]
"I have a feeling you'll surprise everyone and become one of the strongest shinobi in the village!" she said excitedly. "And if not then I guess you'll have to settle for being my personal chef!"
Waking up early in the morning was something that Kyoufu needed to get used to. No one had been forcing her to wake up early since she'd come to the Hidden Mist Village. Back when she lived in the Dungeons, it really didn't matter when she woke up... but now that she was getting ready to work and be a ninja again she had to live by a schedule. And although this was technically her day off, Kyoufu had agreed to work with Tsukiya to develop her skills and talents. What Tsukiya didn't know was that today Kyoufu was bringing a friend with her... someone Tsukiya had definitely never met before.[break][break]
Kyoufu was now standing in a cleared area just on the outskirts of Kirigakure no Sato. Alongside her was the tall red-headed Uzumaki who went by the name of Kaji. [break][break]
The two of them were both geared up, Kyoufu wearing her typical green cloak with an orange jumpsuit beneath it. Shinobi sandals as well. She also had with her the Fuuma Wind Shuriken which had become her weapon of choice back when she was at the academy. [break][break]
Kyoufu had also given Kaji some shinobi gear as well.. suiting him up in her dad's old shinobi gear, including two katanas (a real one as well as wooden katana for training), shuriken, and a kunai. Kyoufu wasn't sure how much Kaji would like fighting with swords, but she figured he could try it out until he found something that was more his style. [break][break]
"You're gonna love Tsukiya-kun, Kaji-san. He was my best friend back when we were kids," Kyoufu explained. "He's from the Hyuga Clan, or at least he's related to it. They have an ability called the Byakugan which gives them 360 degrees of X-Ray vision. And they can see chakra! So if we spar or something today you'll have to be careful."
Wasting her time? That was an impossibility. Kyoufu had learned from Tsukiya that friends could not waste each other's time. Friendship was something that would last forever, and in the long run friendships would help them to learn more skills and develop more comrades. In the world of shinobi, this meant that friendships equated to longer life spans, right? Kyoufu was certain of the fact, even if no one had ever formally taught it to her.[break][break]
There was something about Kaji that really drew Kyoufu to him... she wasn't sure what it was, but it was something strong. It had to be that shared experience... or maybe it was something deeper. Maybe their chakras were connected in a way. As a matter of fact, now that Kyoufu thought about it, their chakra had been connected before. She snickered at the thought. Every time she bit him in the past, a piece of his chakra entered inside of her to make her stronger. In a way, that was kind of intimate, wasn't it?[break][break]
"Whether you learn jutsu or not, with an ability like your's you'd make an amazing medical ninja, wouldn't you?" she said. "Or maybe you could learn how to cook like my dad did! If you're a good cook then you're always valuable to everyone!"
Made sense that he was without many talents. Kyoufu felt the same way. She had started learning the basics of ninjutsu, but now she wasn't particularly talented with those either, specially compared to the people who were once her peers. Now she was at the bottom of the barrel and would be lucky not to die on a shinobi mission. Of course, this still didn't discourage her from trying. She was going to jump at a mission in the first opportunity that she received.[break][break]
"Well that's good. Outside of ninjutsu I was never particularly gifted athletically... at least part of that might be due to my height, since I'm not particularly tall.. I am flexible though," she explained. "Also, my chakara is pretty strong. I think I inherited that from my great great great, and I don't know how many great's, grandfather. I'm related to the First Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village."[break][break]
She nodded. If he knew anything about history then he would know that the First Hokage was the one who had first created the Hidden Villages, and he was a shinobi known for the rare and unique ability to create and control trees from his chakra. [break][break]
"We'll certainly get something figured out for you. Maybe I can even teach you a ninjutsu or two," she gave him a grin.
Her savior didn't seem particularly interested in her. Whatever he was doing, clearly this was all business for him. Kyoufu was generally good at analyzing situations. She didn't know what this situation was, however she knew she was more at the periphery than the center. Still, she was thankful for being rescued. She could only imagine how much longer her life could have gone on within the confines of this dungeon. No one should have to live their entire life in isolation.[break][break]
Somehow she'd managed to keep her sanity through all of the torture, and even she herself wasn't sure how. [break][break]
"Kyoufu... of the Senju Clan," she answered his question, however the Senju weren't much of a clan these days so far as she was aware. Still, it was a royal heritage in a way, and since he asked for her Clan she figured she would answer his question appropriately. "Uhhh.. Age? I don't know..."[break][break]
The girl held up her fingers and tried to count on them, however it wasn't really aiding her at all when there were too many factors she was unaware of.[break][break]
"Maybe... thirteen? Twelve? I think. No, I'm pretty sure I'm thirteen," she finally settled on the number like she knew for certain. It had never been that important to her to count days while in her cell.[break][break]
"I need to go home. My parents are Senju Daisuke and Chiaki. They're really strong jounin. If you're from Kirigakure you must have heard of them."
Being around Tsukiya again after all this time brought a certain warmth to Kyoufu's heart. While she hadn't thought of him much during her time in captivity, she now realized that she missed him more than she had ever known and having him here was a part of what made her feel like she was back home... especially since she would never see her parents again. She was so glad right now that Tengfei had brought her back to the Hidden Mist Village, even if she was an incompetent kunoichi who was probably going to die on her first mission.[break][break]
He removed his head from her scalp and as he began to walk away, her eyes trailed him. She didn't follow, given that he essentially asked her to remain in place, however she did watch the pursuing altercation... his discussion with this gruff-looking man. Kyoufu had never expected to see such a commanding side of Tsukiya before. And she never would have expected a man nearly twice his size looking like he was praying for forgiveness right in front of him.[break][break]
When Tsukiya was finished and explained himself, the blonde was left with more questions than answers.[break][break]
"You're being so cryptic, Tsukiya-kun," she said. "What was it?"
