"I want Semaru to train me." Yasu's voice was soft, barely carrying over the noise in the restaurant. A set of chopsticks clattered noisily to the table and the sounds of someone chokeing on a piece of meat came from her left. Yasu ignored her sister's uncalled for reaction and ate another piece of stir fried vegetable. She was glad that their third teammate was not with them at the moment; she had voiced her request just as he had vanished into the men's bathroom.
"Why does my cute genin-chan want to train with him?" Nagare pouted at her from across the table. Yasu looked at him and frowned. She could just pick out his distaste for his other self.
"I feel that Semaru's skills are a better fit to my own." She reached out and pounded on Wakane's back with enough force to nearly push her off her chair; she hadn't stopped coughing and had been slowly turning blue. Without meat lodged in her throat, she took several heaving breaths before turning to her sister.
"The hell, Yasu? You know how he is. I don't want to be scrapeing you off the ground just because you decided training with that maniac was a good idea." Wakane gesticulated wildly as if she could get her point across better.
"Nagare-sensei, I know what I am getting into." Yasu ignored her sister, "I am willing to take the risk. I want to be prepared for the chuunin exams." She knew exactly what she was asking. The few times that they had been exposed to Nagare's other half had always resulted in at least one of the three being injured by Semaru's lack of inhibition. It had never been a pleasant experience. Even with Semaru's volatility, he was extremely skilled. To be honest Yasu liked Semaru more than the childish Nagare. Nagare sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes. He could feel Semaru's presence rise within him. He could deny Yasu all he wanted, but if Semaru really wanted to come out and play, then he would find a way. He looked at Yasu-who was staring him down-and frowned.
"If Semaru agrees to a few terms, then I will allow it." He nodded once before he grinned and stole a piece of meat from Wakane's plate. Yasu grinned.
"Thank you, Nagare-sensei." She inclined her head and continued her meal, ignoring her sister's loud complaints.
"Are you ready?" Nagare looked like he was about to be sick. Yasu nodded and motioned for him to release the seal that bound Semaru. It had been two weeks since Yasu had made her request. It had taken a week for Yasu to find out that Semaru had agreed to the terms-which she did not know-and another to make preparations for their trip deep into the middle of nowhere. Nagare had insisted that it would be safest to keep Semaru away from, well, everyone. No one knew where they were currently at; not even Wakane and Salos was privy to that information.
"Are you sure?" Nagare looked up at Yasu, eyes just a little to wide. The girl nodded again. She was prepared. Nagare had done nothing but tell her over and over again what not to do and to run if Semaru tried anything ungodly. She was tired of all of the warnings and simply wanted to get on with it. Nagare sighed and released the seal on his forehead. Chakra flared and multiplied, expanding from Nagare's body. With a flash of light bright enough to make Yasu close her eyes, the chakra evened out.
"Heeheehee, it feels so good to be out." Deep and smooth came the voice. Yasu blinked and looked up. Nagare's hair had darkened considerably and was now a dark blue and quite a bit longer. His eyes were now a dark red and his skin tone had darkened several shades. Semaru stood taller than his childish counterpart and very well muscled. His face was sharper, having lost the childish softness. Currently the man was rotating his shoulder and stretching. It took a moment for him to notice her.
"Hey there, girlie." He moved faster than she could track. His breath ghosted over her ear. "I guess I have to thank you for getting that brat to let me out." Yasu froze before forcing her muscles to relax. She was pretty sure that Semaru was forbidden from doing her any permanent harm.
"You can thank me by training me." Her voice came out less steady than she liked. She could feel his warm seep into her back.
"Hahaha, man you need to lighten up." She could feel his rumbling laugh. Yasu took a step away from the man and whirled around to face him. Frowning she crossed her arms over her chest.
"I want you to train me." She repeated, "If you don't I'm sure Nagare-sensei would be happy to come back." Her voice was icy. The laughter stopped. It was suddenly hard to breath.
"Don't you dare." Semaru hissed, breath ghosting over her face. One of Yasu's hands clutched at his wrist; the other found its way into her hip pouch. She tried to answer, but his grip was too tight on her throat. Spots had started dancing across her vision. Yasu merely plucked the first senbon out of her hip pouch and stabbed it sloppily into his arm. A curse was the last thing she heard before passing out.