It's been ages! I've been busy with the obstacles on the road of life! (And I cannot believe I used that. Nevertheless it is true. And I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Also, and happy holidays to those who celebrate other holidays)

Chapter 38

The first thing that greets Tamashii and Mitarashi Tsukiko was a frantic shriek that somehow resembles words like 'What do you mean you don't know?!' though how Tamashii could understand that he dreads to know. With a glance towards the girl besides him he heads over towards the booth where he can see his teammates and the other Mitarashi sitting. He almost does a double take when he sees that there are two Oretzi sitting at the table before he rationalizes that it's Tsukiko.

Er, the wolf demon Tsukiko… He frowns at his confused thoughts and wonders how the team will keep the two Tsukiko straight. "Hoshi," he starts, "do you think you can lower your voice down so Sunagakure doesn't complain about the noise level?" He gets an indignant look from his teammate before he smiles to let her know that he's only joking. Yet, when he sees that it's not working he wonders if he made a misstep.

"Talk to her!" Hoshi exclaims in an exasperated tone as she slides out of the booth to let Tamashii take her seat. "She's not listening to me!"

"What?" he asks, confused before she gestures at the hanyou who was picking off some food from the grill, an excited grin - wait what?! "ORETZI?!" he shouts when he sees the shine of the small and near noticeable hoops on her lower lip. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOURSELF?!"

The hanyou blinks and rubs her ear, "Wow, I think Sunagakure really will make that complaint."

"You-you!"

"Got piercings. Multiple," Tsukiko completes for the Hyuuga boy with a hint of a tone that suggests approval for the new look. Oretzi gave her a grin that lifted one side. Tamashii's eyes snap over to the rest of the girl's features, taking in the ones in her ears, the three in her right wolf ear, the two in her left wolf ear as well as the one in her left human ear. Six ear piercings and… four - count them! Four lip piercings!

"Why?!"

"I liked it," the hanyou comments in an off handed way that had the boy gawking at her in a manner that is most unfitting for a Hyuuga. That is, if he had been behaving like a Hyuuga. As it was his expression is actually appropriate for his new demeanor.

"Wha-what?"

"I'd save your breath," Tsuki comments from her corner, already over halfway down with her steak.

"Aw, Tsuki!" Oretzi whines at the demon, though she did get a response from the other Tsukiko. "Don't you like my earrings?"

"I'd like for you to stop being this giddy," Tsuki remarks drily. "Ane-chan said you were a puppy once but I never thought I'd see it again after so long."

Oretzi pouts at her, her lower lip jutting out slightly. Strangely enough, despite the new piercings, the expression still worked. It gave her an apologetic mischievous look while combining with the pleading eyes to create something that wasn't anywhere near innocent but still workable. Tsuki sighs and mumbles something in either wolf or demon - the human audience couldn't tell - that makes the hanyou smile happily again.

"This day is just weird," Tamashii mutters as he shakes his head in disbelief. "First Anko-sensei came to the compound to throw my ass right over the compound wall while I'm still in my boxers, then her long lost nieces comes to town, and now this?"

Haruko started laughing, "You got thrown out in your boxers?" Oretzi giggled along, commenting that she was to partially blame for that one. "Oh, nice," Haruko laughs as she reaches over for a high five.

"Don't encourage her!" Hoshi squeaks, her cheeks a curious shade of red.

"Why not, Hoshi-chan?" Oretzi pouts, "You pranked us all the time." The chunin in question blushes when Haruko smirks at her, amused by the 'innocent's' protests. Needless to say Hoshi didn't say anything in response to that. Oretzi waves down a waiter to order more food for the newcomers and within moments - well, however long it took for the meat to cook - they were all enjoying their late lunch.

~Kazama~

Oretzi's high faded by the time the group was done and she started bouncing in place, her eyes completely wide as she begins to realize something. Of course, by the time this started to happen Tamashii and Hoshi are the first to notice and naturally are the first one to chew the hanyou out before dragging her back to the Inuzuka Compound to get the 'torture' over with. Tsuki - as the wolf demon will be referred to from that point on among Team 13 and co. - trots along after the trio with Haruko and her twin along her.

The Mitarashi twins - naturally curious as to why this wolf demon is casual among humans - bombarded the white wolf with questions regarding the circumstances that led to her living with Oretzi instead of the other wolves. Questions that mainly led to other questions in a manner that was nearly endless until one of them asked a question that Tsuki refuses to answer because it wasn't her place.

Of course, by the time that issue came around they were already arriving at the doors to the Inuzuka Compound. Just in time too because Team 13 just entered the main house with Oretzi dragging her feet in a way to prolong the inevitable. Sometimes, her ability to make decisions on the fly seems to come around to bite her tails. This being one of the best examples of said disadvantage. Tsuki quickly enters the main house right behind her companion, with the Mitarashi girls on her heels, just barely managing to catch the fireworks in action.

"Tsume-san," Tamashii calls respectfully for the matriarch of the Inuzuka clan. The woman left the kitchen where she was cooking dinner for the family - an amazing shocker for anyone who lives outside the compound - but before anyone could say anything to the older shinobi her eyes widen as she takes in her daughter's appearance. The earrings in ears and the hoops in her lower lips.

"INUZUKA-KAZAMA ORETZI!" Tsume shouts as the hanyou as her teammates back up from the doomed girl. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR FACE?! AND YOUR EARS?!" The hanyou's ears went flat against her skull as Tsume ranted about the possible damage that can happen in the middle of a fight. How people can rip them out in the middle of a fight and such.

Needless to say, Oretzi felt and visibly looked small as she kneels in front of her okaa-san. Her ears flat against her skull as her tails press against her legs. She was slightly hunched over, not quite showing her submission but definitely showing no aggressiveness in the face of her okaa-san's wrath. When Tsume realizes that her youngest - yet tallest - daughter was pulling in on herself the matriarch sighs and kneels down to meet Oretzi's gaze.

"Hey," she starts as she brushes the girl's bangs out of her eyes. "Explain to me why you went and got your ears… and lip pierced? Without asking me?"

"I…" Oretzi mutters something in a low tongue that no one caught except maybe Tsuki. The wolf demon chuckles under her breath and mutters something back for her. "I've always felt… like I needed something to store away some…" she confesses softly to her okaa-san. "I know I should've asked for permission but… it was…" she mutters something again that has Tsume sighing as she runs her hand through her daughter's hair.

"I understand," she tells her, "but no more, ok? This… it's a lot."

"I know," Oretzi agrees, "I only meant to get three. Then… I ended up with ten. But… it feels better. Like I'm not struggling as much." Wide brown eyes meet calm and understanding eyes. "It's like… I can relax a little knowing that I don't have to put so much pressure on myself…"

Tsume nods her head in understanding before sternly telling her that she is grounded for a week for getting the piercings - which translates into house chores for the hanyou. Oretzi winces in distaste at the prospect of some of the chores but nods her head in acceptance. She quickly bids her teammates and the twins farewells before getting started on her chores, creating at least four Kage Bunshin for the purpose of speeding along the process.

~Kazama~

Oretzi moves quietly and with purpose as her mind directs the movements of her limbs. No thoughts are required at that moment due to the fact that Tai Chi has been so ingrained within her that it is easy for her to simply move as she lets the troubles of the day slide right off.

A handy tool for relaxation and meditation. She had finished the chores for the morning already and she knows that Anko will be by to pick her up for training. She finds it almost hard to believe that less than twenty four hours ago Anko had been drinking her concerns about her brother's children discovering her after who knows how many years.

"Nee-chan," she hears Tsuki call out to her, "Anko-sensei is here."

Oretzi lingers in the kata she is currently in before allowing her limbs to settle by her side, her feet shuffling to restore her back to her 'proper' height now that they are not nearly sprawled out. Better for balance yet uncomfortable."Ok, Tsuki-chan, let her know that I'm going to change first," she calls back to her companion before she hops up to the second floor and slips through the open window.

She quickly changes out of the sweat soaked clothes, tossing them into the laundry basket, before she puts on her training outfit. Consisting mainly of loose shorts - she has to tie the drawstrings in order to prevent them from slipping off - and a tight sleeveless shirt. She almost runs out of the room but stops when she sees her reflection in the mirror, her hand bringing the shirt back up so she can peer at the changing black markings. There is a gradual change in the vine markings, the black giving way to the red.

Yet she cannot begin to figure out the reason for the change. She honestly doesn't even know when it started to change just that it must have started sometime before the Chunin exams but after the first C-Rank mission. She distinctly remembers that they were still a solid black color at that time.

"I don't know what's happening," she mutters to herself, "but I don't think it's anything good." She glances at the symbol on her wrist, having a distinctive feeling that whatever the reason for the change, the second the red turns the symbol something will happen. Whether it's a bad or good change she has no idea.

She shakes her head and runs out of the room, quickly putting her hair back in a tight ponytail now that it has a tendency to fly into her face at the worst opportune moment. She'll need to get her bangs trimmed a bit to keep the locks from getting into her eyes but everything else should be fine. She runs down the stairs and out of the house where she finds her sensei chatting casually with Tsuki, her back to the door - to her. And she realizes for the first time since Tsuki called out to her that Anko has yet to see her new piercings and worries what her reaction would be.

"Hey Ga-," Anko starts as she turns, cutting herself off when she sees the piercings, her eyes widening in shock before it morphs into outrage."Oretzi!" the woman shouts as she stomps forward, her hand reaching out to snag the taller girl's ear. She pinches the sensitive wolf ear and with a hard yank Oretzi is forced to lean down, brown meeting angered lavender eyes. "What's the meaning of this?!"

The hanyou doesn't answer at first, her face contorted into a painful grimace, but when Anko growls at her the girl quickly gives her the same reason she gave her okaa-san. She doesn't expect her to let her go but she was grateful for it, rubbing her extra-sensitive ears. "Mah," the girl whines softly as she drops to her knees, her face angled up towards the woman.

Anko's eyes widen at the expression on the girl's face and found that her natural charm and appearance hasn't been hindered at all by the new changes. With a gulp she leans down, bending over the younger girl as she cups her face, her thoughts all over the place. "It looks good on you," she mutters as she brushes her thumb over the shark bites, watching Oretzi's eyes flutter shut at the touch.

Her mind takes a minute to catch up but once it does the alarms blare loudly within the safety of her own head and she forces herself to back away from her chunin. Watching how Oretzi blinks several times at the loss of contact before she pushes herself up off her knees. "Let's go Gaki. We need to get your teammates and you back on a regular training schedule." She does an about face so quickly that Oretzi is left staring at her sensei in confusion before she jogs after her. Whining questions at her companion as she tries to understand what happened.

A half hour later everyone was gathered in the training grounds - not the Forest of Death, to Oretzi's immense relief - and are ordered to start with the Ki Nobori no Shugyou for twenty laps before switching to Suimen Hokou no Gyou for combat - with Oretzi being exempt for the time being from the combat.

Tsukiko and Haruko are panting by the time they completed twenty laps on the tallest trees available in the training grounds. Despite their initial thoughts they aren't targeted specifically by Anko since Team 13 typically chooses the tallest since anything else would result in them being ranted at by their sensei as she throws kunai blades at them. Even Tsuki joins them in the exercise to improve her own control over youki, though she is usually forced to pick a few trees over since her youki has the potential to destroy the insides of the trees unlike Oretzi's.

"You do this every day?" Tsukiko questions the trio as they move easily towards the lake, showing no visible signs of chakra exhaustion though Oretzi does look a bit pale. Then again, she has been ordered to take it lightly with the training and no matter how she looks at it, twenty laps up and down the tallest tree in Training Ground 13 is not an easy feat.

"Every other day," Hoshi corrects with a gentle laugh.

"The other days we're running her obstacle course and weapon throwing," Tamashii adds in while Oretzi bounces excitedly on the balls of her feet.

"If we're not doing that then we're sparring each other," Oretzi comments happily. The perfect picture of an overgrown puppy jumping around as it begs for play time or a special treat.

"How can you guys even function?" Haruko pants. The twins were used to tough training practices due to their parents pushing them hard but this was extreme.

"More like, how are they normal?" Tsukiko corrects before jumping when Anko yells at them to move their lazy butts. Actually she said asses. The twins quickly moved to the lake where they are soon joined by the amused and relaxed Team 13 - sans Oretzi who is to be their referee until she's cleared for the strenuous aspects of their training.

"You get used to it," Oretzi calls over to the pair from where she stood by the edge with Anko sitting nearby. Already helping herself to a plate of her favorite dangos and oshiruko bean soup."Alright, Tamashii and Hoshi should already know the rules," she starts, nearly shouting to be heard by the group on the water, "so for Haruko-san and Tsukiko-san I'll explain them so we don't have any mishaps.

"The first rule is if you sink into the water, even if it was just one inch, you will be punished by five laps around the lake as Anko-sensei throws kunai blades and whatever sort of weapon she happened to have on her at that moment. Second rule is that this is a battle royal spar. To clarify you can pair up with anyone but ultimately there will be only one victor. Third rule, anyone who is knocked out or into the waters will be punished by ten laps once they have regained their breath and their balance." The hanyou looks at their jonin sensei. "Did I forget anything else?"

"Mm… Fourth rule."

"Ah right," the hanyou mutters, smacking herself on the forehead. "Fourth rule, there will be no ninjutsu allowed. This is a taijutsu restricted match. That means no elemental chakra once so ever," she glares at Tamashii at this. "Anyone who uses their elemental chakra for an advantage will be punished by fifteen laps."

"Uh," Tsukiko starts, curious, "Why can't we use our elemental affinities?"

"Because Tamashii has an affinity with Raiton," Oretzi states simply. "And I have an affinity for Suiton as well as a few others." She crosses her arms and gives the twins a small grin. "Not to mention that you and your twin have an affinity for Raiton yourself."

"What? How did you-?" Haruko blurts out.

"Gaki is a sensitive sensor," Anko speaks up from her perch on a medium sized boulder. "She can detect a person's affinities from their chakra. Not to mention in their scents as well."

Oretzi chuckled awkwardly as she scratches the back of her neck. "It's mostly their scents that gave it away," she comments. "Both of you have a forest scent that differs from each other. Haruko, you smell like a forest that has experienced a damaging fire storm with an overpowering sense of lightning. Tsukiko, you smell like a forest with a thunderstorm pouring down on it. Wet with a powerful sense of lightning as well." She shrugs her shoulders carelessly, "My best guess is that your Raiton affinities are stronger than Tamashii-san's and he's a double. Haruko's Katon and Tsukiko's Suiton are still powerful in their own rights though."

"I just realized something," Anko starts, catching her students and nieces' attentions. "With each one of you we have someone who can use an elemental jutsu in collaboration with the other. Tamashii's Raiton, Hoshi's Fuuton, Oretzi's Doton, Haruko's Katon, and Tsukiko's Suiton should create something very powerful."

Oretzi started laughing, amused. "With everyone using a jutsu from those respective elements we might actually start imitating my mother," she laughs, reminding Anko of the fact that the Hokou is well known for its abilities to manipulate the five elements.

"Who's your mother?" one of the twins asked, Oretzi couldn't tell from where she was standing.

"Why, she's the Hokou, the white five tailed wolf of the Nine Bijuu Lords." Even from a distance she could see the twins gob smacked by the reveal she had just given them. Then again, they knew that she was a hanyou but she hadn't gotten around to sharing with them the fact that she is the daughter of a Bijuu.

Anko clears her throat before the her nieces could start asking the hanyou questions, "Can we please resume training?"

"Oh, right, sorry," Oretzi apologizes to the woman before clapping her hands together. "Let's see, I was covering rule number four, which included no elemental affinities… Oh, now I remember," she muttered to herself. "Okay, rule number five, no kekkei genkai. I don't know if the Mitarashi clan has any but Akino and Tamashii have one themselves so if you suspect they're using theirs…" she gets nods from the twins. "Is that everything, Anko-sensei?"

"Yep. Start the match!" Oretzi gives them the green flag to the group and stood back as things started to get crazy.

She knew from past experience that even though Hoshi isn't allowed to use her kekkei genkai she still has the advantage of having the imprints of her past usages. The double swords she just pulled from the inter-dimensions seals within her jacket pockets are not just for show. The traces left from the imprint from Suterareta enables her to use pretty much any weapon with semi-efficient ease that improves with time and personal experience.

She also knows that Tamashii rarely ever relied on his kekkei genkai anymore so he was a very skilled shinobi at taijutsu. Perhaps not at the level of Might Gai but no one could be as good as that man. He's a maniac. For anyone not used to Tamashii he can be pretty intense in a taijutsu spar. His lean muscles are not for show. Sometimes she wonders if he picked up the intensity from Might Gai, just without the 'Flames of Youth!' rant the jonin likes to go on about.

She knows nothing about the Mitarashi pair but watching them band together against her teammates gave her a generalize idea of how they fight. They don't move as two separate units working for the same common goal but like they are one with each other. For a second she wondered if it's because they're twins but pretty much struck that idea out when she considers that Tamashii, Hoshi, and herself are capable of moving together like that. Concluding that it may partially be a result of being twins but largely on the fact that they were trained together as soon as they were old enough to train seriously with whoever taught them.

All in all she felt restless to actually join in on the fun. Tsuki, who had decided that with Oretzi out of the match she wasn't going to waste her time sparring with the four humans, could literally sense the vibration rolling off the hanyou. She had to sit on the hanyou's lap like a common lap dog just to ensure that she doesn't jump up and recklessly join in with the fighting. Aside from that it was a rather successful training session for everyone with Oretzi slowly but surely improving her body and getting it back to the level it was prior her illness.

~Kazama~

A month went by with the group slowly but surely learning to mash with each other. Oretzi and Tsuki's style of fighting was suitable to adjusting to anyone else's. Their instincts allowing them to detect their teammates' movements and move out of the way or even provide back up. Hoshi's wildcard status in the team - due to her picking up skills from her 'victims' and adapting to them as well as her teammates meant that she could take any position and stick to it well. Tamashii's position as a taijutsu specialist meant that he was often in the front line with Oretzi though he lacks the speed that she is capable of moving at.

He is the taijutsu specialist, Oretzi is the genjutsu/ninjutsu specialist with a strong handle on the Inuzuka clan techniques as well as her instinctive taijutsu style, and Hoshi as the wildcard, the Joukaa. Haruko and Tsukiko's style of fighting was like an extension of themselves. They were the best at fighting in union with each other. Having been alone with each other for at least a year and half it was harder for them to adjust to the presence of at least three others. But they were determined to stick it out. (1)

It was a new experience for Anko the most. Not because of trying to mesh five different styles into one but because she had two teenage nieces in her life. Granted, she didn't even remember her own aniki, so that excuses her partially. In either case, their presences in her life meant that she couldn't live in an apartment anymore. After all, it wasn't fitting for the Mitarashi clan to be cooped up in a two bedroom apartment.

So with the help of her friends she was able to acquire a four bedroom house so that everyone could have their own room - with the trio converting the last room into a training room after Oretzi reinforced it with chakra absorbing seals and silencing seals. She also gifted the twins with black trench coats, with their respective favorite colors lining the insides. For Haruko that meant red. For Tsukiko that meant green. Stating that trench coats are a must for anyone who is a Mitarashi.

In Oretzi's opinion it was an excuse to get more people to wear them. But the twins liked it - especially after the hanyou added her personal twist on storage seals. Now, whenever they walk among the civilians no one can really tell the differences between them and the average civilian - unless they are wearing their brand new hiati-ate - due to the fact that all of their weapons are stored within the pocket dimensions. For Team 13 she lined their pockets with the seals, enabling them to carry as much as they need without the worry about the weight and strain. A personal design she is currently reserving to the team only since she doesn't trust the Hokage to use it for the purpose it is meant for.

"Alright team," Anko calls out to the group, smirking when all six of them turns towards her, "Yesterday I went to Hokage-sama to put us back on the active duty roster and today we have a mission." The only one who looked uneasy with this was Oretzi, the girl already expecting something bad to happen. Her personal record of their missions shows that something is likely to go wrong on this mission. "We're headed to Mori no Kuni," she continues with a curious look at the nervous hanyou, "to pick up a traveling merchant and escort him back to Konoha."

"Meet me at the Southern gate in two hours. Pack enough supplies for two months. After we picked up the merchant we'll be moving at his pace and it'll take roughly six weeks to make the return journey," their sensei instructs the group before dismissing them.

Oretzi frowned before she made to leave. "Not you gaki, we both know you probably have a whole arsenal stashed away on you." With a sigh she stays behind, jumping onto the railing, her tails helping her keep her balance while Anko walks up to her. "So, care to explain to me why you're behaving like this? You're usually excited to have a mission."

"…. Mori no Kuni borders Oni no Kuni," Oretzi mutters, "Both of which has been claimed by the Lunar wolves."

"My parents," Tsuki mutters, joining the conversation as she understands her partner's unease, "When I was left with Oretzi, I was essentially forbidden from entering the pack lands."

"But isn't Oretzi an honorary member of the pack?" Anko questions with a puzzled frown. Sad to say she didn't understand the issue.

"She is, but I'm not."

"So... this mission wouldn't be a good idea at all would it?" Anko comments with a frown.

"If I want Tsuki dead then no it's a great idea!" Oretzi mutters sarcastically to no one specific. But the woman heard her and smacked her for the attitude. "Ow," the hanyou whines as she rubs the offended spot.

"That did not hurt, gaki."

"Let me do it to you and see for yourself whether or not it hurts," the girl pouts as she looks up to the woman.

"Do it and you're on the sideline for a month."

"Never mind!" the hanyou declares quickly at the threat, taking back her previous comment. She had just barely gotten back the ok to start really push herself, she wasn't going to miss out on the chance to take a C-rank mission. Even if she has a few misgivings about the whole thing.

"That's what I thought," Anko smirks in victory before she reminds herself of the original point of this conversation. "Anyway, back on topic. What should we do? Do you want to stay behind on this mission, girls?" she questions the pair. As partners their skills are best when they work together, their jutsu feeding off each other.

In either case she didn't know if Oretzi would be okay with leaving her partner behind for roughly two months. The hanyou had mentioned to her that she didn't know what the villagers or shinobi would do if Tsukiko was left to her own devices. And considering their track record with Naruto, Anko couldn't fault her for being worried. "What do you think?" Oretzi questions her companion, "Do you want to experience your homeland?"

"I don't know… As far as I'm concern, Konoha is my homeland."

"But it isn't the place where you were born. Pack lands… it's a beautiful place."

"No fair!" Tsukiko whines at her, "Don't tell me how it looks because I'm going to want to see it!" Oretzi started laughing, falling off the railing in the process as she lost her concentration. "Ha!" the wolf demon exclaims as the hanyou groans, "Serves you right!"

"Do I want to know?" Anko asks, her voice convoying her amusement at the scene.

"Probably not," Tsuki answers as the hanyou stands up again.

The hanyou crossed her arms as she stood in front of her companion for a long moment, causing both the wolf demon and Anko to stare at her as they wait for her to say something. "Tsukiko, I swear on my life that I would not let anyone in the Lunar Wolves hurt you physically. If any of your brothers or sisters start to put you down I will defend you for you are my family," a thoughtful look crosses on Oretzi's face before she continues, "I swear this upon the River of Hatred, upon the Styx, that I will do everything I can to protect you."

There was a loud rumble in the skies above them at her vow and she felt what seemed to be a brand of hot molten lava around the bicep of her left arm before it fades away. 'So mote it be' she hears the Moirai sisters declare in her mind. Is that going to happen every time she makes a vow on the river? If it is, she is definitely won't be using the river that often unless it's really urgent.

"That… what was that?" Tsukiko whispers in awe as she shook her head in an attempt to get the ringing out.

"That was me making a vow that I cannot break. If I fail in keeping it, I'll face the consequences. Don't know what they'll be but I can imagine they won't be fun."

"Gaki…" Anko starts in a low voice that has the hanyou flinching away from the woman before her wolf ears could be grabbed in one of her famous pinching moves. "I swear that if you die because you broke a vow I will drag you back from whatever hell you went to and kill you myself."

Oretzi meekly nods her head while Tsukiko laughs. "Doesn't that beat the purpose of dragging her back to life?" the wolf demon questions.

"She's not allowed to die, period."

"Yet it is part of the cycle of life." She probably would've continued to argue her point if Anko hadn't shot her one of her death glares at the wolf demon. Shutting her up before she could anger the Snake Mistress any further. Oretzi hadn't spoken a word since the woman had started speaking in that low warning voice that she had adopted, and has yet dropped.

"You two are dismissed until we meet up at the Southern Gate," the jonin instructor informs the pair. She points at Oretzi, "Bring everything you think we might need!" The hanyou salutes her before darting off with her partner right behind her. The pair firing words off to each other in their native languages. With an amused laugh to herself she returns to the house to grab her supplies and put them in the inter-dimensions in her jackets. There are times where she wants to kiss the gaki for being such a genius with fuuinjutsu.

Of course, she meant the kissing thing as a kiss on the cheek, not on the - she cuts herself off as she tries to figure out why she is trying to explain what she meant to no one but her own mind. She grimaces as she realizes that she's thinking too much about her youngest student again. "Kami-sama, give me strength," she mutters up to the skies.

~Kazama~

(1) Joukaa - Joker