Jizouko sighed heavily as she popped yet another soldier pill into her mouth. Even though they did give her all the nutrients she needed, her stomach still craved real food. She had hardly stopped to drink water in the past few days, fully intent on escaping her pursuer; two guesses who that could be…
I thought he'd still be training for the next few days…she thought as she took a moment to breathe deeply.
A sharp cry broke her from her thoughts and she looked up to see the same hawk from before. She squared her shoulders as she looked the bird straight in its sharp green eyes.
"Tell him I'll be waiting," she said calmly before sitting down on a nearby rock.
"So, she found you out," Takashi asked with a slight half-smile. "Why am I not surprised?"
The hawk gave a sharp cry before disappearing in a puff of smoke. He sighed as he rolled his shoulders and continued through the trees. She was about three kilometers away; he could make it before nightfall.
Jizouko sat staring into the small fire she had made to ward off the chill of the night, waiting for Takashi to show so she could put an end to this chase. The soft crunch of dead leaves behind her signaled his arrival and she stood up with her back still to him.
"Takashi," she started as she began to turn around, "I –" but she didn't finish her sentence.
Instead of her green-eyed teammate she saw Isamu. What was he doing so far from civilization?
"Jizouko-chan?" he blinked his golden eyes with a slight frown. "What're you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," she said as she looked him over.
He wasn't dressed like he was going on a journey like most people would if they were found this deep in the wilderness. In fact, it looked like he was just out for an evening stroll.
"You first," he said as he assumed a confrontational stance.
"I…" she trailed off as she thought for a moment. She what? Was looking for someone who left a note on her windowsill? In truth she didn't know what she was doing out here, she should be back in Konoha where she belonged. She did belong there, right?
"I'm not sure," she admitted after a pause. "I thought I knew, but I don't know anymore…"
Isamu looked at her for a long moment before reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"My home is nearby, come and rest there," he offered.
Jizouko allowed herself to be led away as she gazed back at the fire she had made; maybe it was for the best if she didn't meet with Takashi. Her resolve to find answers would be shattered for sure if she did.
Takashi angrily kicked at the glowing embers on the ground. He had been so close!
"Stupid idiot!" he hissed to himself. Why did he believe even for a moment that she would stay in one place?
I was a fool to even think that! He chastised himself as he looked around the clearing.
She could have gone in literally any direction from where he was standing, and it didn't help that he couldn't sense her chakra nearby. True, she did have a strange chakra signature, but he had thought that he had grown sensitive to it over the years. Was she suppressing her chakra? Was she actually kilometers away by now? Again, he was a fool.
He glared at the sparks flying in the night air. No matter how he felt about it he had to return to Konoha; his time limit was up.
Mirai sat on the couch in her living room, trying to figure out what exactly her mother was trying to teach her by drinking tea.
"Why are we doing this?" she asked finally.
"It's to calm your inner turmoil," her mother said as she sipped at the steaming liquid in her cup.
"What inner turmoil?" she asked sharply as she made a face.
"Oh don't even start that with me," her mother scoffed as she set down her cup with a thunk. "We both know that you're upset. And since you won't tell my anything you get to sit here and think about it."
Mirai glared at the blonde woman over the rim of her cup, but continued to drink anyways.
"I'm done," she said after a while, breaking the tense silence that had fallen between them. "Now what?"
"Gove me your cup," her mother ordered with an outstretched hand.
Mirai complied and crossed her arms over her chest as she waited for what would come next. Her mother inspected the bottom of the cup for a moment before refilling it and handing it back to her.
"Drink," she ordered as she sat back in her seat.
"What?" Mirai demanded, "I just did!"
"Do as I say," her mother said in a deadly calm. "Drink."
Mirai glared at the woman as she contemplated spilling the hot tea on her. She decided instead to drain the contents of her cup in one quick gulp.
"There," she grunted as she set the cup down on the table, wincing at the bitter taste combined with the temperature of the liquid.
Her mother leaned forward and refilled the cup.
"Again," she ordered.
"Okay, really?" Mirai demanded as she stood up from her seat. "I thought you said that you were going to train me! What is this? Are you trying to see how much I can drink?"
"For my training you must be calm and composed," her mother explained evenly as she too stood from her seat. "Right now you are neither, so drink the tea and shut up."
The tension in the air was palpable as the two matched gazes, one furious and one calm; the frustration barely visible beneath the surface.
"Whatever," Mirai grunted as she turned around to leave.
"Where will you go?" her mother asked as she reached for the door. "Your so-called friends are gone."
"It doesn't matter," she said as she jerked the door open angrily, "so long as I get away from you!" she punctuated her statement with a slam of the door behind her.
