After finishing her shift, Koto took some time to explore other parts of the village. She picked up some unique candies and found a music book that had some traditional Hidden Leaf Village songs. Soon it was time to gather her own goods to meet Sakura.

The women met at a table in the tea shop and Koto set down a bag of sea stones and laid out a few pieces of jewelry. She usually made bracelets and earrings, but there were some simple necklaces too.

"I lived along the beaches usually, and these beautiful sea stones are common," she explained.

"What made you pick these in particular?" Sakura asked.

"Do you see the slight swirling pattern when you hold these up to the light?" Koto asked, demonstrating. Sakura nodded. "That means these aren't pieces of glass or other minerals that broke apart. That means these came from chakra-channeling minerals. They're more common in the ocean than on land."

"Oh!" Sakura gasped. "That means they help amplify chakra, or control it better?" she asked.

Koto nodded. "Usually it's better control. That results in stronger jutsu."

The women sorted through the individual rocks, but Sakura was more interested in the jewelry. Koto recommended a simple necklace with a teardrop-shaped purple stone, wrapped in elegant silver swirls to brace it in place. "The silver in all of these pieces also comes from my land. I think it's shinier than most silver, but I'm biased," she chuckled.

"I guess Kakashi was kind of right," Sakura noted, putting the necklace on. "There are mysterious practices where you're from. I've heard of seals being placed in items, but not chakra modifiers."

Koto smiled. The potential of these rocks she discovered on her own - a few other people might know about it, but overall the knowledge wasn't well-known. "Yes, everywhere is unique. That's why I've been traveling."

"I haven't been to your homes yet, but I've been to a few places!" Sakura smiled.

"I suggest the hot springs - there's a lot of them, and they're beautiful. I worked at many of them growing up," Koto told her.

"Maybe you could help me plan a trip. I have a few friends who would also love to do that!" Sakura chirped. "You should meet them!"

Koto smiled. They decided to go visit a few and see if they could stop by a local bar. Koto could do with some devious fun. After putting her things away in her room, the two of them ventured out.

"I'll gather Ino and Hinata. Maybe Temari if she's in town," Sakura explained. She gave Koto the gist of these girls - Ino was stubborn and spicy, but nice; Hinata was quite shy but the gentlest soul (and was supposedly dating Naruto now); and Temari was from the sands, also a bit spicy but not as temperamental as Ino.

All of the girls were in town and Sakura made the introductions. "Oh my god, you're so pretty," Ino exclaimed. "How do you get your hair so wavy?" she asked.

Koto blushed, "Thank you, all of you are so beautiful too! Um… it's kind of natural, but saltwater also tends to make hair wavier," she explained.

"You grew up on beaches?" Temari asked.

"Stone beaches, yeah. The winters were really chilly, instead of staying warmer like beaches in some other regions. The rest of the year it was quite warm," Koto explained. "And we have a lot of hot springs which is nice!"

The women continued chatting until they got to the bar. They all took their seats and Ino ordered the drinks, immediately getting the party started.

The night proceeded as expected - lots of happy chatting, even from Hinata who got a bit more courageous through the night, and plenty of men approaching them. The other three were definitely trying to hook Koto up - they all had their romantic interests, so there wasn't anything in it for them that evening. Koto was quite insistent on turning them down that evening. She was wanting to have fun with new friends, not get a new hookup.

There was a stage at the bar and there was apparently an open mic night. Plenty of people went up to perform, usually singing, but one gentleman there had a stringed instrument that Koto was familiar with. People back home called it a violin, a friendly-sounding instrument that you dragged a bow over. "Hey, Koto, didn't you say you played some instruments?" Sakura asked, slurring slightly. "Do you know how to play that thing the guy over there has?"

Koto smiled, feeling flush from drinking. "Yeah, I actually do. It's a violin, it's an instrument I've played a lot."

"You have to play it," Ino declared, hitting the table. Hinata and Tamari nodded in agreement. "Hey, guy! C'mere!" Ino beckoned the gentleman over, and after some discussion, the instrument was handed Koto's way and she was herded to the stage. She sighed, hopping up on the platform and getting herself ready.

"Woo, go Koto!" Tamari hollered, the other girls joining in.

"Okay, okay…" Koto laughed. "This is a dancing song from the Land of Lightning. Please enjoy."

She began playing a quick, upbeat song - usually this was a song you'd swing partners around to, moving quickly and lightly to move in the way a jig usually required. Plenty of the patrons began clapping to the beat and most were dancing or suddenly more rowdy. Koto smiled - Kakashi had been a bit right on her jutsu. Her special abilities stemmed from her music, as she'd said. But her music wasn't used to control other items or dummies she'd put a spell on. Her music could control anyone. What she was doing now wasn't direct control - this music was both organically and using chakra influencing emotions. She could easily influence emotions, and even in intense situations, hypnotize and control others through her song. With this power she could easily manipulate anyone she wanted and be a hell of a salesman but she had taken the higher road to try and be as honest as possible.

When the song was done, everyone was exceptionally rowdy. She went ahead and played one more - still happy and upbeat, but much mellower, usually a song you'd sing to with friends. She knew a song that went with it, so she sang as best as she could in addition to playing. Many people began to simmer down, sitting down and swaying back and forth, or putting arms around the shoulders of their friends.

"When those waves come crashing in, and bring with it winds of sin, the sun shines down on our fortune, as we go with lovers back to our den…" she finished the song. It was a song celebrating summers by the beaches and the love-filled adventures that came along with the beautiful weather and the beautiful scenery. The crowd enjoyed it, some raising glasses to cheer. Koto hopped off the stage and returned the violin to the gentleman, thanking him profusely.

Returning to the table the girls clapped and cheered, hugging her as she sat down. "That was a lot of fun," Hinata said. "Even I was dancing!"

Koto smiled. "Thanks, you guys. I really love sharing music with everyone. It's fun!"

The rest of the evening was calmer and ended with them walking home. They were in a common area of the village and said their goodbyes, heading their separate ways. Koto turned to head back to the shop and her cozy room.

After a few moments, she sensed someone approaching her from behind. Being a ninja focused on influencing emotions and actions, she had other advanced senses, making her a sensory ninja. She stopped directly under a streetlamp and looked in the direction of the presence. It was a man, coming forward openly - not a threat. As he got closer she noticed it was that man, Kakashi.

"Kakashi, isn't it?" Koto asked.

He nodded. "Yep. That was some performance at the bar," he said.

"Why thank you, ya know, I play parties and shows for the right price," Koto joked, winking.

Kakashi looked down slightly. "Did you really just wander the countryside growing up, or is there more to it? Because usually orphans who wander don't become full-fledged ninjas."

She smiled. "You're right, there is a bit more to it than that. Want to talk about it sometime?"

He met her eyes again, his hand reaching behind his head to scratch his hair. "Yeah, I think that'd be nice…"

Koto chuckled. "Since you don't seem the kind to be forthright with these things, how about you meet me at the sushi place down the block from the tea house. Tomorrow, about 3pm. I'll be off work then."

"I can do that," he said, nodding. He stood there in silence.

Koto raised her eyebrows slightly. "Well… goodnight." She began walking away, shaking her head. Seems like such an awkward fellow.

The next day was uneventful through the morning. Koto woke with a bit of a headache, and Sakura and Ino stopped by the tea shop later with clearly worse headaches. They sipped on herbal tea and plain tea cakes, groaning occasionally. "For women younger than me, you seem to handle your liquor worse," Koto laughed.

"What? How much older than us could you be?!" Ino groaned.

"I'm currently 28," Koto chuckled. "How old are you guys? Like 20?"

"Close… 21," Sakura said.

"Well, we're not too far apart!" Koto chirped, getting the girls some more tea.

Her shift ending at 2pm, Koto went to her room to freshen up. She just re-situated her hair, made sure she smelled okay, and then settled down to study her new music book for a while. I should find some instruments and pick one up… she thought. What was the point of studying the music book if she wouldn't eventually play it on anything?

Before long she realized it was already 3pm. She hopped up, scurrying out the door to the sushi shop. She hoped she wasn't too late, even though she arrived only a few minutes after the hour.

Kakashi was walking up to the front of the building at the same time she was. He wasn't wearing the bulky green vest he normally wore - she guessed he wanted to be truly off-duty. Or it's his way of being able to eat more sushi, if the vest is tight… she thought to herself, amused.

After a brief greeting, Koto spoke with the hostess to earn the pair a comfortable booth in a more private portion of the restaurant. They ordered one small bottle of sake to share, water, and an assortment of sushi. While waiting for food to arrive, Kakashi began the conversation.

"I am not particularly nosy by nature… but I had to ask you for some information on yourself and your jutsu to satisfy a bit of curiosity," he started. "I've been privileged to have met a lot of people and heard a lot of stories, so when I hear a rumor I don't take it at face value. But when I meet someone who might be a part of those rumors… I like to see what I can learn."

"Partially because you're part of rumors and legends yourself?" Koto shot back. "People even in my small village knew of you, even if not by name. A lot of Konoha's ninja were known - you're an outgoing lot."

Kakashi shrugged. "We have our unique shinobi way. But what I want to know, to be more pointed, is if you're aware of the Siren of the Land of Lightning."

Koto smiled to herself. "Yeah, I'm aware of the Siren. Luring men and women to their deaths… or to battle, or to sleep. Someone who could control ninjas of almost any level with song. That one?" she whispered.

He nodded. "Yeah, that one."

She looked at him sadly. "Yeah, that'd be me."

"I've done my share of bad things, and my share of good things, Koto," he whispered. "What I want to hear is your story - not rumors. I've heard you've done some nightmarish things, but meeting you, I find it hard to believe you did it out of hatred you've harbored."

A waitress stopped by, dropping off drinks and food for them. The pair thanked her, and returned to each other. Koto poured them each a cup of sake and drank hers really quick before continuing. "I do have a story. I had some bad intentions along the way, but found the error of my ways…"

"If you're willing… I'd really love to hear it," Kakashi murmured. He pulled down his face cover and drank his cup, beginning to poke at sushi as he waited patiently for Koto to collect her thoughts.

"I don't remember much from when I was very young. My best memories were of being an alley rat in my small village, finding cellars to sleep in when it was cold, having things thrown at me. No one ever told me what happened to have me show up - if my parents abandoned me, or died. I just appeared. The "legends" that came after my reputation claimed I washed ashore, among the sea glass, and simply was. But before anything significant came of my life story, I was a nothing and was spit on. Sometimes literally." She stopped to drink some water and eat a bit of sushi.

"When I was a bit older, I remember singing, just folk songs I'd heard. At that point I'd hop between a few villages and had made friendly with a few shop owners by doing small chores for food or shelter. I'd sing, and a lot of people liked it - that's how I became a bit better than the trash they thought I was. I'd sing, and they'd listen, and they'd like me. One day the singing felt more special and everyone that was listening started looking funny. When I stopped, it took them a while before they came back to normal. I didn't know what had happened, but I began experimenting.

By the time I was 7 or 8 - I still don't have a birthday or year - I was able to sing and have people give me things, treat me well, or leave me alone. No one seemed to notice, because they'd act like nothing had happened afterwards. At that point, I was full of spite and hate towards the people in the village I started in. I returned from time to time, and would bring havoc to the worst offenders. The worst thing I did, when I was of my own mind, was have a shop owner burn down their own shop and their goods. They were probably ruined." She paused again, sighing.

"After a year or two of manipulating people, I hit the road. Along the way I got better at what I did and one day ran into a ninja who didn't fall under my spell, even though the rest of his team did. They were camping and I was trying to rob them of some food - it was winter and I was hungry. He acted hypnotized, but when I came out, he grabbed me. It turns out he was a part of the nation's black ops force. Luckily for me, he wanted to recruit me, train me from scratch, rather than kill me.

In about 3 years I had completed basic shinobi training, graduating at about 14 years of age. I was then part of the black ops unit, doing a lot of dirty work. The leadership then was very corrupt. I was usually just disarming enemies for the rest of the unit to do their dirty work, but sometimes I was made to kill people. Walking them off of cliffs, stabbing themselves, killing comrades… A variety of things.

My breaking point was when we were raiding a village. Trying to find an enemy of the state, I was told. But instead everyone was getting slaughtered. I don't even know what they brought me there for… but helpless civilians were being killed. One of my teammates was pretty unhappy that I was protesting, and he began beating me. I was just so upset at everything, I just remember screaming… the guy let go of me, and when I looked up, the people near me had been tearing at their own faces, pulling their hair out, trying to hurt themselves. Black ops members and civilians alike. So, while they were stunned… I left. Just began running. It's one of my biggest regrets, that I didn't stay to try and save the rest of the civilians… I don't know what happened to them. In between the beginning of my career and the end of it, there were plenty of disgusting missions I did, things I was made to do - both with physical and psychological threats - but ultimately I was able to escape. So I just spent the next many years traveling and trying to bring joy and happiness to people I met. I'm lucky I've been able to save people along the way, but I'll never forgive myself for what I've done." She was staring into the distance, but after a moment, sighed. She began poking at her sushi again. "What about you, what's your story?"

Kakashi had been sitting for a bit with his fingers tented, listening patiently. Koto was able to admire his face, almost in full - his cover was still down, and he was quite handsome. He took a deep breath in, preparing to speak. "Yeah, that all lines up. I'm sure there's a lot more to it than that… but that's how it always is, isn't it?" Koto nodded, looking down. "My story has some similar parts to it…" He began giving her the story of his life - his father, fallen comrades, career, notable events… Koto happily listened, her heart hurting when he told her of all of the loss he had faced. She had never been very close to anyone in particular, and didn't know that kind of hurt.

When he had finished, they stared at each other for a bit. Koto smirked. "It's nice being fucked up, isn't it?" She poured them each another cup of sake.

Kakashi nodded. "Definitely makes you… unique." They tapped their cups together, not sure what they were toasting to, but happy to have someone to relate their strange lives and struggles to.