TangentOne: Hey Two, have you tried sleep? It's this weird thing humans do when they need to rest. They spend one third of their life doing it.
TangentTwo: Why the hell would they want to do that? Less time for everything else. Like fucking.
TangentOne: Try it. *Taps Two's Forehead*
*Twenty Years Later*
TangentTwo: Oh. My. Tangent.
TangentOne: You slept a long time.
TangentTwo: I want to go back! Take me back!
Hokage's Office: 14:00 - Wednesday | Three Days Later
"So, Iwa knows about the Valley of the End's library." Hiruzen leans back into his office chair, mentally preparing for the loads of work that were to come. "You two did well. At the very least, they won't be going there without a larger force, and that would be tantamount to war."
"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, I don't believe we should leave it undefended moving forward." Shikon returns. "They got there uncontested, and had you not sent us, would have gotten whatever they came for."
Hiruzen nods assent. "I'll assign an ANBU team to be stationed there and rotated monthly. Now, have you given any thought to your team, Shikon?"
"Ah! Yes, I have. I would like Hyuga Hinata to begin with. I need to consider some of her classmates before I have a full roster, but Daishin made a solid case when he suggested her." Shikon informs, cogs turning in his head.
"Interesting." Hiruzen glances at his best friend's grandson for a moment. "Well, she is free, so consider your team quickly if you wish to keep her."
Shikon bows politely. "Thank you. Now, I think I'm due for some pot roast, Hokage-sama."
"Go then, I'd be remiss to hold you from your meal." Hiruzen relents, amused with the man's specific food choice.
Shikon ambles out of the office with a pep in his step. Once he leaves, the ancient Shinobi's gaze slides over to Daishin.
"Is there something you wish to tell me, Daishin?" Hiruzen asks as Daishin stayed behind.
"Not that I know of Hokage-sama." Daishin answers truthfully, awaiting the response.
Hiruzen considers the ANBU. "Your team choice, I expect you'll turn them into loyal shinobi."
"I shall do my utmost for you and the village Hokage-sama." Daishin promises his Kage, back straightening with his words.
"As your grandfather does." Hiruzen agrees. "However, I will not allow them a tattoo, if you understand my meaning." The man's eyes narrow a fraction, a silent threat towards Danzo being thrown into the fray.
Daishin nods. "It had not crossed my mind Hokage-sama."
The Hokage's expression does not change. "I would rather well hope so, Daishin. For yours and Danzo's sake. You are dismissed."
"Yes Hokage-sama." Daishin bows and exits the office through the door, not in a swirl of leaves and mist.
Chiura Residence: 15:00 - Wednesday | Same Day
Shikon barges into Hitomi's apartment, making her jump from her spot on the couch. "What the hell! Bloody Shikon, knock you dunce!" Hitomi shouts, startled. She had been absorbed in a good part of the show on the television, a little too engrossed in the drama by her reaction.
Shikon, casual as ever, just marches in her apartment and shuts the door behind him with his foot. "Say, do you mind making some food? I'm starving! Haven't eaten since… ah, well since I was last here." He then scratches the back of his head sheepishly.
Hitomi grimaces. "You need to eat more often, Shikon. You'll grow thin."
With that revelation, she grabs the remote to pause the TV recording and strolls to the kitchen. It's only then that Shikon realizes she's only wearing a robe.
"Did I catch you right before you were going to sleep?" Shikon asks as he makes his way to the dining table.
"You did." She says after a large yawn. "It's been a pretty hectic day, I pulled an all nighter. I was going to go to bed early." Hitomi informs while she puts together a sandwich.
Shikon gives a knowing nod. "I've had those moments. Never really got to do it when I wanted to though, there had always been some sort of interruption whenever I tried." He hears a sigh and laughs.
The window opens mysteriously, and a certain leafy mist fills the windowsill. Daishin appears in the dining area with a grumbling stomach.
"I heard 'pot roast' and figured I'd invite myself." Daishin voices, looking to his teammate and distinctly rubs at his stomach
Hitomi sighs for the second time in the span of a minute. Her teammates were being a pain, just the way they usually are. "Fortunately for me, it takes a lot longer than a few minutes to prepare pot roast. You'll have to settle for a sandwich."
"I can wait, don't worry." Daishin smiles and assures her, thinking of how nice it tastes.
"Like hell. You're getting a sandwich or nothing." Hitomi retorts with a raised voice.
"I'll just lay here until it's ready, don't mind me." Daishin says as he sits on the tiled floor then leans back and gets himself comfortable.
Hitomi finishes Shikon's sandwich and sits down at the dining table. "I told you it's a sandwich or nothing, now you'll have to make your own food, and do it quick, there's something I want to tell you both."
"But you made his." Daishin points to Shikon from his prone position.
Shikon nods happily. "And I'm damn well happy she did."
"See? Shikon appreciates whatever food I make." Hitomi berates her childish teammate.
"Fine, I'll starve, I'm sure the servants will have food when I return home. Now what did you want to tell us?" Daishin refuses to move on the issue.
Shikon gasps dramatically. "But this sandwich is sagelike." He threatens, accentuating the promise with a munch. "I bet even the Sage would kill to eat this."
"What's the point if I make it? It won't be as nice." Daishin continues the unrelenting guilt trip.
Hitomi gives in to the pressure. "Fine! Get your ass off the floor and sit down. I'll make you a Kami damned sandwich."
"If only the Iwa-nin was so easy to use." Daishin winks at Shikon as he sits himself up from the floor.
Hitomi ignores him, choosing to, in Daishin's own words, poison the sandwich. She graces the buns with the best of meats, pastrami. Then a bunch of accessories, including bleu cheese and pickles. Done with the sandwich, she serves it to the patiently waiting Shimura who is having a casual conversation with Shikon. Gracefully taking her seat, she gives him a knowing smile.
Daishin picks up the sandwich and as he is about to take a bite, he stops. "You bitch, you put damned cheese on it!"
"That I did. It's my favorite, considering your comment earlier, I thought I should serve my best sandwich!" Hitomi says with a smile belying her actions.
Daishin places the sandwich back onto the plate and looks to Hitomi. "So I take that you want it? Because I sure don't."
"I will, seeing as you think I'm easy to use." Hitomi motions toward the plate.
But as she does Daishin pulls it away, quickly using a single hand seal and sets the sandwich alight. "Ah, damn it seems to be on fire, it can happen to anyone."
"You utter deplorable! I thought your grandpappy would have raised you better!" Hitomi curses before resigning in defeat. "You're paying for that."
"Well I guess I could seeing as how poor you are." Daishin winks at her, moving from the chair back to the floor.
"You never cease to impress me with how childish you can be for a Shimura." Hitomi leans back in the dining chair, frowning when the smell of burning sandwich hit her nose.
Shikon, now finished with his sandwich, speaks plainly. "This never fails to amuse me."
"Oh haha, mister 'I'm always nice to Hitomi for food', you could at least say thank you once in a while!" Hitomi retorts.
Shikon stands up suddenly and kneels on the ground. "I am sorry oh great cooking one, I shall never disrespect you again!" The second Shikon's forehead hits the ground, the fire alarm goes off. "The Kami have spoken!" He shouts over the sound of the alarm.
"Put a sock in it." Hitomi frowns, the alarm making her ears ring. She looks to Daishin who is in the process to disperse the smoke with a severely underpowered wind Ninjutsu. Once the ringing stops, she takes the plate with the sandwich remains and dumps it in the garbage. "Now, back to what I need to tell you, go sit on the couch." Hitomi suggests.
"I'm good." Daishin waves dismissively. "You have a surprisingly soft floor." The man admits, getting even more comfortable.
Shikon shrugs and sits back at the dining table. "It can't be that bad. At least nothing as bad as Daishin's manners."
"Well, it certainly isn't bad. I just don't think you two will like it." Hitomi twirls a bit of her hair, a nervous tic of hers that her two teammates have picked up on over the years.
"I'll set your house alight if you keep stalling." Daishin threatens with ease, a flame coming to life on his fingertip once again.
Hitomi audibly sighs. "I have a boyfriend."
Shikon suddenly sits upright in his seat, stunned, whilst Daishin springs to life and sits up with a great deal of speed.
"He's a really nice guy, he works in the hospital with me. We've been working together for just over three years, and well... it's led to this. I'd like you two to meet him eventually, as you're all the family I have… so just, don't make it awkward." Hitomi explains.
"I have work to do." Daishin voices rigidly, swiftly turning into a leafy mist that disappears.
Hitomi looks to Shikon. "Why did he leave like that? Did I say something wrong?"
"He's… I don't know. I'm happy for you, and I'll meet him of course. You make a date and I'll be there. I'm going to make sure Daishin doesn't topple another building." Shikon nods to Hitomi and darts out the window in a rather unimpressive body flicker.
Training Ground 24: 21:00 - Wednesday | Same Day
'A tree explodes in a forest with no one around to hear, is the sound heard?' Daishin wonders in his mind just as someone once did. He notices Shikon to his right, suddenly appearing out of thin air.
"You know, if you hide your chakra signature it makes it difficult for me to find you." Shikon informs nonchalantly, sauntering up to his steaming friend.
"I swear you need to learn social cues." Daishin mutters to himself, ignoring his friends presence.
"You left pretty quick, and I think I have an idea why. I've had this idea for quite a while, in fact." Shikon continues, knowing that he is treading deep waters.
Daishin continues to ignore Shikon, gazing into the sky, his fists forming into tight balls.
The wind sways in the forest and the moonlight glares through the treeline. "You love her, don't you?"
"It doesn't matter now, but I'll be damned if I'm meeting him. I doubt I could control my blade." The wind blows Daishin's hair from his face, showing the immense frustration in his features.
Shikon sighs in time with the wind. "You'd upset her if you don't show up. Far more than I think you would care for."
Silence reigns supreme over the two for a while before Daishin responds, voice monotone in effort to control his whirling emotions. "I can assure you it'll hurt her less than his dead body."
"Fucks sake Daishin, you did this to yourself. Don't upset her because of your mistakes. If you don't show up, I'll be more mad than she will. I can promise you that." Shikon promises, brokering no argument in his rare serious nature. With those words, Shikon body flickers off, leaving the man to himself.
"That idiot will be the death of me, I swear it." Daishin groans as he stands up and follows suit.
Chiura Residence: 21:15 - Wednesday | Same Day
Daishin now sits on Hitomi's windowsill, watching her with tender eyes as she sleeps. Mulling over his many mistakes, and how he should have handled things. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a note, places it on the floor, and fades away into the leafy mist.
Hokage's Office: 15:00 - Friday | Two Days Later
Shikon makes his way into the Hokage's office with the same grace and fortitude that he offers Hitomi. "Hey, Hokage-sama! How are you faring?" The man asks his leader.
Hiruzen looks up from his mountain of paperwork and stares daggers into Shikon's soul. "You need to learn to knock, it makes the person inside aware of your presence before you crash in."
Shikon nods to show he heard, but that didn't mean he was going to listen. "I'll knock when I'm dead. Doors are stupid, in my opinion. They don't stop anything. Just take a look at me!"
The most powerful man in the village sets down his pen and gazes at his shinobi, withholding his sigh of annoyance. "What do you need?"
"I came to inform you of my team choice. I would like Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino, if available." Shikon lists off from his mind, lifting a finger to indicate each student.
"And why those three? Another suggestion from your friend?" The Hokage asks innocently enough.
Shikon shakes his head. "No, I chose them because it makes the most sense. I came to you with the idea of making a tracker team, and from the academy students present, those three would make the best."
Hiruzen nods his head. "Fine choices, however, Yūhi Kurenai has chosen those three as well. Of course, neither of you have sent in official paperwork, adding on to my workload, so figure it out between you two."
Shikon considers the Hokage's words. "So if I put in the paperwork first… then I get the team?"
"If you are able, yes." Hiruzen accepts.
"What do I have to do?" A sparkle appears in Shikon's eye.
The Hokage brings out a stack of papers as high as his desk with sadistic glory and puts them on the edge of said desk. "These ones."
Shikon gulps, regretting his choice. "Ah, well… screw it." He strides to the Hokage's desk and puts the papers in a seal. "I'll be back in a few hours." With that he begins to walk off.
"Knock next time." Hiruzen orders, granting him only a wave from Shikon as he closes the Hokage's doors.
Chiura Residence: 18:30 - Friday | Same Day
Shikon slams Hitomi's front door open again, rattling the hinges. "Good afternoon Hitomi!"
Both her and her supposed boyfriend are sitting on the couch. Her livid face is a sight to behold, as Shikon is rarely the one to bring it. However, her boyfriend's confused and slightly terrified look makes up for it all.
"Knock you fucking dunce!" Hitomi roars at him, standing up and pointing at the door frame. "You need to get me new hinges. Again!"
Shikon shrugs. "It's only the thirty eighth time."
Instantly Hitomi falls back into the couch, as if she's dealt with this for years and has learned to cope with it. "Yeah, this month."
"Psh, semantics." Shikon supplies, shutting the door just as suddenly, making the other man jump slightly. Shikon moves over to the couch and twirls around a dining chair to face the couple.
"Shikon meet Eikichi, Eikichi meet Shikon." Hitomi greets the two, immediately regretting her choice to have them meet.
"I've heard a lot about you, Shikon-san." Eikichi says with a smile.
"All good, I bet." Shikon returns with a smile.
Eikichi's expression wavers slightly. "Er, you could say that."
Silence reigns in the small apartment for a moment. "She hasn't told you about fortune day, has she?" Shikon asks seriously.
"Fortune day?" Eikichi asks slowly, turning his head to Hitomi with a quizzical look.
Hitomi's eyes sparkle in delight at the chance to embarrass Shikon. "Well, you see there was this-"
"NO! No, no, no, absolutely not!" Shikon cuts her off, his face red from embarrassment. "You will not tell this man about that day, or anyone about that day. Ever!"
Hitomi pouts. "I'll tell whomever I damn well please. Luckily for you, I'm feeling nice today."
Eikichi scratches his cheek with a confused smile.
"So, Eikichi. You work at the hospital, and I see your hitai-ate. What do you do?" Shikon asks, turning slightly serious for a moment.
Startled by the sudden question, Eikichi answers a little late. "I specialize in heart and blood, I'm one of the few in Konoha who can transplant a heart."
Shikon nods. "Good, I'm glad you're not a deadbeat."
At that, Eikichi seems to flatten a little.
"Are you saying I'd only go for a deadbeat?" Hitomi asks her ex-teammate.
"It would explain a lot." Daishin fazes into existence on the windowsill behind the couch with a mask void of any animal.
Eikichi jumps in surprise whilst Hitomi gives him the eyes of death. "Can you two both stop scaring my boyfriend?"
"No." They say in unison.
Daishin jumps over the couch and next to Shikon, grabbing his own chair to sit in. The atmosphere went from pleasantly threatening to threateningly pleasant in a moment. Eikichi nearly ran out the door then, these two shinobi are far more than Hitomi had explained. They'll be nice, she said. You'll like meeting them, she said. 'You need to give these two more credit, Hitomi-san.' Eikichi thinks to himself with a small smile.
"ANBU-san?" Eikichi asks the animal-less masked ANBU in the seat next to Shikon.
"Yes… I swear I was told your name." Daishin asks before failing to recaling his name.
Shikon glances at Daishin. "Really? You're choosing now of all times to forget something? If I didn't know better I'd say you have an eidetic memory."
Daishin quickly punches Shikon in the leg and acts like nothing happened. "So what did you want to ask?"
"Who you were… hehe?" Eikichi nervously asks.
Hitomi stands and kicks off Daishin's mask, bringing her foot dangerously close to his nose. "It's just Daishin. Again, a Shimura with this attitude." She sighs again and flops back onto the couch.
"Ah… well, I'm Arakawa Eikichi. Nice to meet you, Shimura Daishin." He says formally, trying to bridge the relationship with etiquette.
"We'll see. What rank are you?" Daishin switches from his somewhat playful demour to that of a interrogator.
Eikichi swallows. "I'm a Chunin." He answers, sure that it is the wrong answer.
"So you're just about to become a Jonin or?" Daishin furthers his question, as he wasn't satisfied with the answer.
Sweat begins to form on Eikichi's brow. "I might be getting my Special Jonin soon, I put in the request." He returns, hoping that staves off the Jonin absentmindedly leaking killing intent.
Shikon pats Daishin's shoulder with a grimace. "You're leaking, bud."
Hitomi glares daggers into Daishin's soul as he does so.
Daishin leans over to whisper in Shikon's ear. "I can't help it, you know how I feel about weak willed men."
Shikon gives a knowing nod. "Try. It's for Hitomi."
"I'm already trying, it's hard." Daishin voices, glaring at Eikichi from the corner of his eyes.
"Shall we eat?" Hitomi asks, grating on her words. "After we have a talk, Daishin?"
Shikon nods vigorously. "You do that, talk to him. I'll set up the table."
"What did I do?" Daishin asks aloud, looking to Shikon for support.
"You know what you did." Hitomi stands and drags the man out of her apartment, nearly breaking the door off the hinges.
"Soooo, Eikichi. Care to help set up the table?" Shikon asks the withering Chunin.
"Is he always that… intense? And Murdery?" The medic-nin asks, concerned for his wellbeing.
"No. Only with- nevermind. Yes." Shikon says, trying to abate the man's worries before realizing that would be too difficult.
Outside: Same Day
"Care to explain yourself?" Hitomi interrogates her friend.
The breeze picks up as Daishin stands there for a moment, thinking. "Not particularly, I'm fine as it is."
"Then you can leave. I'm not dealing with this. Not today." Hitomi turns to re-enter her home.
"I can't, it'll only add to your problems." Daishin swiftly explains in an effort to keep the emotion from his voice before disappearing in his leafy mist.
Hitomi looks back, surprised. Daishin has never left like that before. Her mind switches back to the food inside, she'll dwell on this later.
Inside: Same Day
"So then Daishin said, 'I'll gut you like a fish'!" Shikon bursts into laughter, to where Eikichi chuckles politely, not understanding the punch line.
"Help yourself, you two. Daishin left." Hitomi informs them both.
Shikon looks at her seriously. "Did he say why?"
"I'd rather not think about it right now, let's just have a good dinner." She sits at the dining table, opposite of Shikon in her usual spot and grabs a plate of turkey and accessories.
Shikon inwardly sighs, and makes an effort to get to know the Chunin to his right.
Training Ground 24: 21:15 - Friday | Same Day
Shikon body flickers right behind Daishin, punching him in the back of the head and sending him through a few trees. "You are a coward, Daishin." He spits at his friend angrily.
Daishin lands on his feet, his chakra coils readying themselves. "A coward? Ha, perhaps you are right for a change." Daishins pulls out his sword and enters his combat stance, his chakra now flowing into his blade.
"The first time you run away and it has to be for something our teammate cares about! Gate of Opening!" With the words spoken, Shikon's muscles tense, allowing for one hundred percent muscle use, as opposed to the twenty percent regulated by this tenketsu. "I also know from experience that you're better than just the first gate, The Gate of Healing!" Now the earth shakes, beginning to crumble at his feet. "Or just Healing. The Gate of Life!" Shikon's skin turns dark red, and again his muscles tense, cratering the ground when he takes a step. "You better fight to kill, Daishin." Another step. "Because I am."
Daishin stands himself upright, looking Shikon in the eyes. "You brought this on yourself." Daishin pushes more chakra into his blade than he would normally, creating a blade thick with wind nature chakra.
Shikon launches forward, the ground cracking severely with his first step, spraying earth debris backwards that topples trees. Daishin simply launches himself upward, sending several wind shears towards Shikon, who expertly dodges them before launching himself upward, ground caving in on itself with the force of his jump. When Shikon reaches Daishin, he launches a fist to his stomach, blocked entirely by Daishin's chakra laced sword. He reaches the dart around the punch and punctures Shikon's forearm with it, piercing easily into flesh with the wind nature enhancement.
Shikon grimaces, eyes flickering to the dart, but doesn't halt in his assault. Spinning mid air, he kicks Daishin in the side of his torso, sending him flying back down to the ground and through another tree,the dart falling out of his forearm as he does so. Daishin recovers quickly, his cracked seventh rib barely producing enough pain for him to notice.
"Earth and Lightning Combo Release: Shouldered arm!" Shikon roars, and with a single half rat seal, his right arm covers itself in earth, lightning coursing through it. The lightning begins to flake the earth off, but his gauntlet supplements the technique with enough to survive.
In the span of half a second, Shikon blazes from his spot in the sky to where Daishin stands plowing the attack home. The earth below cracks and craters, dwarfing the movement craters from before, but Daishin was quick on the draw and dodged just in time, now floating barely above Shikon's punching form.
He sends multiple wind torrents into his friends back, carving it up before Shikon responds. He pushes off the ground after he realized that his attack failed and twirling kicks Daishin into the air. Shikon follows after a moment of touching the ground and lands several quick jabs on Daishin's torso before throwing him back to the ground. The earth trembles as Daishin hits the ground, and seconds later, Shikon is on top of him.
From the ground, Daishin kicks his legs up and with his right hand alone jumps up to his feet acrobatically, meeting Shikon's next punch with his own defensive blade. Shikon tries for another, but Daishin pushes him back just far enough for the flat side of his sword to connect with Shikon's head, sending him flying and bouncing off the ground for over a hundred meters, stopped abruptly by a misplaced stone. He coughs up a little blood as he does so.
"It's been a long time since we fought like this." Shikon announces as he puts a hand on his knee and hauls himself to his feet.
"I've barely started." As Daishin let's silence fall over, his wind blade grows larger and begins to encompases his entire blade in a blue chakra.
"You're going further, eh? I can do that too. Gate of Pain!" With this declaration, the rock that just stopped him disintegrated, and a calm washes over Shikon.
The two launch forward on a silent signal, a monsterous gust of wind kicking up from the force, and gauntlet meets blade's edge. The two unstoppable forces collide and the ground loses twenty feet in the form of a depression. The amount of chakra being thrown at one another draws a crowd, admittingly only three Chunin, but it was still noticed by passersby. Every two seconds, the crater deepens another twenty feet, widening further from the center, felling trees by the edge as it expands.
The earth begins to rumble and shake, and bits and pieces of the ground start flying into the air. Pressure from the clashing powers causes the Chunin watchers to move back. A white glowing aura surrounds them both, each of their own respective power. Metal on metal grating sounds fills the air, piercing the ears of all present to hear.
"You couldn't just push through it. could you?!" Shikon roars at his best friend.
"Would you have?" Daishin flips the question on Shikon, yelling in his own unique way.
"For you—for Hitomi, I would do anything!" Shikon retorts, pushing harder on the opposing force.
Both Daishin and Shikon stop their attack abruptly, though not because they chose too. Both of their heads were punched simultaneously by a deeply livid Hitomi. They were sent toppling over, laying in the crater, dazed and confused as to why their heads felt so much pain and where their opponent was.
"What the bloody hell are you two doing?!" Hitomi rages, stomping up the deep crater to stare at both in the eye. "Even non-sensors could feel that through the whole village!"
Shikon released all four gates he had opened, his muscles feeling sore instantly afterwards, most likely ripped to shreds. Daishin returns the chakra from his sword back into his tenketsu and sits up.
"You could of just asked nicely you know." Daishin sasses while rubbing his head.
Shikon nods and slowly sits up as well, causing himself deep pain. "I agree with him."
"I couldn't give less of a shit about asking! You nearly brought this massive crater into the residential area!" She twirls on spot with her arms outstretched, motioning to the near a half-mile wide depression in the ground.
"That wasn't us, that was those three." Daishin points to the three Chunin watching on.
Shikon nods vigorously in agreeance. "Those three are the culprits."
All three Chunin chuckle at the childlike Jonin trying to frame them. "You really expect me to believe that? Considering I punched you to stop it?" Hitomi asks, her rage building ever so slowly to it's breaking point.
"We punched them to stop it, and we were trying to control their out of control jutsu. So we're basically village heros!" Daishin keeps acting, much to Hitomi's annoyance.
"Village heroes my fucking paycheck!" Hitomi declares, to both men's dismay. "I'm taking you to the Hokage."
"Oh come on, at least take them for questioning!" Daishin tries, but to no avail.
Shikon gives in. "Okay, but only if you heal my torn muscles first."
Hitomi gives him a quizzical look. "Why are your muscles torn?"
"Fourth gate." Shikon says begrudgingly, not willing to admit the fight went that far.
"Fourth gate?" Hitomi nearly loses her mind. "Fourth fucking gate? You two fought that hard? What the hell brought this on?" She rages while stomping over to Shikon to fix him up.
"Nothing much." Shikon answers, trying to protect Daishin even if he hated lying to Hitomi.
"He called me a twat." Daishin jokes, knowing she's going to keep pushing for the real answer, even if it's not today.
"You called me a cunt first." Shikon retorts, grimacing in discomfort as Hitomi's medical chakra invades his system.
"I don't care who called who what. You two are going to be the death of me, I swear it. No food from me for a month." Hitomi declares, both shinobi's jaws drop.
"No, no! Oh no, please Kami, NO!" Shikon tries to reason, albeit without reason.
"What about our soon to be Genin teams?" Daishin asks with a sly smile.
"They can eat, but if I see them even try to feed you, that's another month." Hitomi retorts, ignoring Shikon's pleas.
"You can't be serious, Hitomi!" Shikon presses. "That's two weeks more than I've ever had to deal with!"
"Good. It'll teach you to behave." Hitomi puts the finishing touches on Shikon's muscles. "Feel better?"
Shikon bounces up onto his feet. "Much."
She punches him for good measure. "Good, now we're going to see Hokage-sama." Hitomi announces.
Both grown men groan in annoyance and Shikon rubs his arm—Hitomi could hit like a brick.