"WHILE WE'RE YOUNG, IBUKI!"

Makoto eyed the clock again. If everything was right in the world she'd be finished with the Fei long movie and already fast asleep to wake up early to spend the entire Saturday fixing up the dojo. Instead, Ibuki just had to insist on 'painting the town red tonight'. Whatever the expression meant is still a mystery. All Makoto could hope for is that it doesn't mean vandalism.

The ninja stowed herself away in the bathroom almost forty minutes ago just to freshen up. In comparison, Makoto changed into a more casual outfit consisting of her loose fitting gi bottom, a black athletic shirt, and her usual hachimaki in just three minutes. Ibuki, who finally emerged from the bathroom, dressed in her casual attire of ripped jeans and a white t-shirt, "Sorry for the wait. You know what they say. There's no rushing perfection."

Makoto snorted, "Perfection? All ya did was change yer clothes."

Ibuki wrung the remaining water from her ponytail, "I washed up too. I can't go around smelling like sawdust and sweat unlike somebody I know." Ibuki said, taking the lead as she walked out the door.

"What can I say? I like smelling like hard work."

The trek into town felt shorter than normal. Perhaps it was due to this sense of impending doom looming over Makoto. She just couldn't imagine herself running around her hometown like some sort of delinquent. As someone who was raised to live and die by discipline and respect it would bring great shame to her family to be dragged into acts of degeneracy.

And yet, she still followed into the night behind Ibuki who sauntered on without a care in the world. Ibuki lived like the world was her oyster and she's more than happy to treat it like one. Ever since they met, Makoto has kept an eye on her. Wary that the ninja would start some sort of trouble.

"Tell me. Is there a place where I can sink my teeth into a big, juicy burger? Oooh! And fries cooked in hot bubbling grease served with tangy ketchup! Yum!" Ibuki clasped her hands together and licked her lips. Makoto sighs, "There's no reason we should be eating that type of food. It doesn't exactly fit into a martial artist's diet."

"Speak for yourself," Ibuki stopped in her tracks, "I survived on nothing but ramen noodles and blueberry muffins for years and still beat your ass."

Makoto grumbled then elbowed Ibuki's side, "Tch. Ya just got lucky. Next time we fight I'll be more wise to yer tricks." A few steps later, Makoto spun around with a competitive glare, "Since ya want junk food so bad. I know just the place. Ya gotta beat me there first!" Makoto then exploded into a full on sprint down the street then around the corner, "Seriously? Does everything have to be a competition to her...Wait up!"

The already exhausted Ibuki wasn't much of a match for Makoto's bottomless well of endurance. Within seconds the scruffy haired girl was already out of eyesight. Ibuki took this time to redirect to her own methods. She took to the rooftops and jumped from building to building while Makoto dashed along the sidewalks. "Almost there," Makoto looked back to not see Ibuki trailing behind, "Guess she gave up. Goes to show-"

Suddenly, Makoto felt the impact of what she quickly deduced as another person. They tumbled along the ground for a split second before Makoto jumped to her feet and rushed towards the person she ran into, "Oh no! Yer aren't hurt are ya? I'm so sorry! ...Elena?"

The white haired woman stood up, not dressed in the hospital garb they first met her in, but more casual attire; A white shirt, red pants, and black shoes, "Hello, Makoto. Funny bumping into you this evening. I was starting to wonder when I'd see you again." Elena's warm, charming smile let Makoto know she's okay.

A voice from above joined the conversation, "We can't let ourselves end up in the hospital everyday." Elena looked up to see Ibuki sitting on a nearby rooftop. She jumped down and shook hands with Elena, "Good to see that you healed up nicely. I had no idea you were so nimble."

"What can I say? I'm full of surprises." Elena and Ibuki shared a laugh while Makoto examined the Kenyan woman closer. She experienced a similar curiosity akin to when she first laid eyes on Ibuki. The muscled shoulders, defined biceps and forearms, and a sprinkle of battle scars visible along the exposed skin, "I knew it! Ya fight too don't ya?"

Elena threw her hands behind her head with a bashful smile, "You've got such good eyes on you. I do like to fight as a way of meeting new people. I've made so many friends doing so."

Makoto proudly stuck her hands to her sides, "Let me guess. Your style is capoeira."

Elena's eyes widened by surprise, "So observant! How did you know?"

"I've got a way of figuring these things out," she cracked her neck, "I can't wait to see this!" Makoto shot her finger forward, "Elena, I challenge you to show me your mo-", Elena scooped up Makoto from underneath her arms leaving her feet dangling in the air and examined her closely in return, "You look all roughed up. You should heal up before we fight."

"Besides, Mako. We're supposed to be getting dinner, remember?" Added Ibuki, "Wanna join us, Elena?"

Elena returned Ibuki's smile, "I'd love to!"

"Put me down!" grumbled Makoto.

After their unexpected encounter, Makoto took the lead and guided them to the diner that specialized in the junk food Ibuki craved. Ibuki's meal was everything she hoped for, delicious, simple, and satisfying. Elena and Makoto received their meals positively as well. Much to Ibuki's happiness that Makoto didn't raise a stink the entire time like she feared.

"Welp, that was fun," Makoto stretched her arms, "But I'm beat. Let's go home." Ibuki, quick to protest, grabbed Makoto by the shoulder, "What?! We can't go home yet. The night's still young and there's another place I really wanna go. C'mon." Makoto sighed in defeat. Elena joined Ibuki in happily skipping to their next destination.

Rattlesnake, run by none other than Kenjiro Tsuda, is the destination. The bar itself was sparsely populated that night. Just a group of elder worker's chatting amongst themselves in the corner and one other person reclined in a seat with their eyes glued to the television.

"Makoto! Not in a million years did I expect to see you in here!" Kenjiro's enthusiasm about Makoto's presence made her blush, "I-It's not my idea. I was just following along with them. That's all." He chuckled, "Relax. There's nothing to be ashamed of here. It's a bar, a place of honorable business. Let me make good on my promise and let the first round be on the house."

Kenjiro served them three shot glasses filled with grapefruit and Ibuki finished their shots as soon as they received them while Elena sipped on hers. Makoto took notice, "Yer taking yer sweet time with that." Elena tilted her head, "Oh? Is that a challenge?" Confidence surged through Makoto forcing a cocky smile on her lips, "Obviously. Wouldn't be hard to drink ya under the table." Elena smiled once again, firmly patting her new friend on the shoulder, "You're on."

While Makoto and Elena headed over to the bar, Ibuki looked amongst the near vacant scenery of the place. Paintings and photos of what she could assume were longtime regulars, personal vacation photos, and other such nonsense. By the television, Ibuki spotted a familiar head of hair sticking from the chair, "So this is what you do when you're not stumbling around the farmer's market."

"Eh? Ibuki?" Yuta turned around appearing surprised and a little offended by the comment.

"Just so you know I don't "stumble" around places. I search for intel. Which reminds me, I got some information you'd like to know." Yuta gestured towards the back of the bar, "Follow me." Ibuki followed Yuta up a set of stairs into a hallway with several doors on each side, "Now I know what you're thinking. But don't let it fool you. The rooms are more spacious than you'd think."

Yuta proudly flung the door open to show the extent of his words. Ibuki reflected merely a miniscule fraction of his enthusiasm, immediately unimpressed by the state of the room, "It's certainly bigger than a broom closet", she remarked. Upon stepping in the space of the room went down to one-third of its size, "I know it looks rough, but check this out!" Yuta gestured over to the kitchen area which just had a small sink and a microwave, "My kitchen sink has a stainless steel backsplash!" Ibuki pursed her lips. The walls and ceiling were a stale white and lacked any personality except for the large painting of a fisherman on a boat hung next to the window, "Gee, how did you manage to snatch up this little slice of heaven?"

"Kenjiro is letting me live here rent free as long as I work for him," He winked, "Yup, I've got things all figured out...for now anyways."

Ibuki stretched and sat down on the futon, "So what's the intel you got?" Yuta turned around with a smile of showmanship, "Check. This. Out." He moved the painting from the wall to reveal an entire cork board with pictures and red string connecting details to one another. Astonished, Ibuki drew herself in closer, taking in the put together effort Yuta has made for quite some time, "Woah. Look at you, Mr. Resourceful."

He happily wagged his finger, "I've got a bead on another person who lived in our clan. They're somewhere in Metro City."

"Metro City...that's far," Ibuki blinked, "Any closer leads?"

"None really come to mind. I'll keep looking though. I won't give up until we're ALL back together." Yuta proudly smiled. Ibuki shared the same sentiment, "Once we get connected with everyone we can take revenge against the Geki." Yuta's smile faded, "R-revenge? Ibuki, I know this is the last thing you want to hear, but I think we should let it go."

"Yuta," Ibuki threw her arms in the air, "Those people murdered our clan. Our brother and sisters...our family. And you just want to let it go?" He sat back and crossed his arms. His foot tapped on the ground in agitation, "It's been so long since the attack has happened. They've probably grown in numbers while we've...existed. Besides, I can barely remember the last time we did some real ninjutsu training. The best I can do is stay in shape."

Ibuki slapped the sides of her thighs in frustration, "There has to be something we can do! Do you have anything on the leader at least?" Yuta shook his head, his brow furrowed, "The only thing I can think of from that night would be the symbol on their clothing." He pulled open a nearby drawer and handed Ibuki a crude drawing of the symbool.

"Drew it straight from memory. Look familiar enough?" He asked. Ibuki analyzed the drawing closer. Aside from a few minor details, it was impressively spot on. "The best that we can do is to survive. After we connect with the others. That may be it. But you're thinking about possibly five of us going against a whole clan of assassins?" warned Yuta. Ibuki sighed, "It won't have to be a whole clan. Just the top dog."

"Taking down the top dog means killing the top dog. Murder." Yuta emphasized.

"Don't you think I know that?! He needs to pay for what he did!" she executed her sentence with a foot stomp that shook the floor.

"Ibuki...", not ever in her life had she seen someone so disappointed in her. While they were trained in the deadly art of Ninjutsu they were always instructed that taking another life would be a last resort. Often resulting in lifelong psychological issues.

"Here. Take a copy of the symbol," Yuta said, hardly making eye contact with his friend, "Keep yourself out of trouble, ok?" Ibuki turned towards the door somberly, "No promises."

Back down at the bar, Ibuki found the place emptier than when she entered. The four old men were which only left Elena sitting by her lonesome. "There you are!" The sight of Elena's friendly smile did little to lift Ibuki's spirits, "We were worried you ran off." Ibuki slipped Yuta's drawing into her pocket, "Sorry about that. Just catching up with an old friend. Where's Makoto?"

"Right *hic* here..." From the floor, Makoto wrapped her arms around the barstool and held on for dear life. "She challenged me to a drinking contest," Elena answered, "As you can see the winner is still standing." Makoto shot up to her feet, stumbled forward, and wrapped her arms around Elena's waist for support, "Ya gotta feel 'er hair, it feelsssh nice."

"Please do not touch my hair again." Elena gently barked.

As much as Ibuki enjoyed the sight before her, the sour mood she was in needed to come to an end, "If it's all the same to you guys. I'm ready to call it a night." Elena nodded and carried Makoto out of the bar.

"Be sure she gets plenty of water," advised Elena before splitting off to go home.

Ibuki and the inebriated Makoto went their own way through town. Throughout, Ibuki's stature didn't have it's relaxed nature. She was slightly hunched over as if there was a weight pressed down on her shoulders. Makoto stumbled in front of her friend then came to a stop, "Oi! What's with the serious look? I thought we were having fun tonight," Makoto's slurred speech clashed with her Tosan accent. Regardless, Ibuki still understood what she said, but didn't answer. She continued to walk on.

"No wait!" Makoto sloppily jumped in front of Ibuki. Makoto's eyes were barely able to keep focus on Ibuki before drifting off elsewhere, "Ya were in a good mood until ya went with that guy. Did he do something to you cause I'll-".

"It's nothing..." Ibuki flatly stated. She grabbed Makoto by the shoulders, spun her around, and gave her a firm shove, "Now let's get home. You really need to get some water."