The Elders' meeting room was stifled with the stench of tobacco as Ino sat alongside of Sumiko. As Ino waited for the Elders to quit mumbling to themselves, she whispered to Sumiko, "How long are we supposed to wait?"

"The Elders must decide first if you're worth speaking to," Sumiko shrugged, "Don't be offended, they do this to everyone."

Ino grimaced. She hated it when people were so judgmental especially when they held a position of power. Finally, one of the Elder females looked to Ino, "We do not like the revealing clothing you wear."

She glanced down to her normal purple outfit that did show her mid-drift. When she was about to exclaim her lack of different clothing, she noticed Sumiko slide a poncho over to Ino discretely. Ino smiled to Sumiko as she pulled the poncho over herself and instantly regretted it. For one, it was itchy! Secondly, she didn't like the coloring of how poop-brown it was. Ino sighed as she looked to the Elders, "Is this better, then?"

"We approve," the Elders answered in unison.

"I'd like to start by saying that you have a wonderful village and my friend and I have found your village very peaceful," Ino wanted to feed into their ego, "In my village, the only peace we have is during the night and even then it's not as peaceful as one would believe."

"We pride ourselves with our seclusion," one of the male Elders boasted, "Keeping to our culture and traditions has kept our village in line for centuries. We have trained our shinobi in the ways of the silent mountain so that they will indoctrinate these teachings to the next generation. It is unfortunate that the Guardians have fallen to their illness, their protection was vital and very important to our culture. It was said that their ancestors were the original creators of this village."

Ino would glance at Sumiko for a brief moment to take note of her reactions. So far, Sumiko sat as a stone wall and listened attentively to what the Elders had to say. She then decided that it was time to dive deeper into how they felt about the Guardians, "It seems as if the Guardians are the heart beat of this village. But it looks like from the loss of their kekkei-genkai, even the children from their homes aren't even capable of performing their blood-born abilities. What will your village do for protection now that you've opened the doors to your village?"

"Silly girl, do you think we will keep the doors to our village open for good?" the other female Elder spoke, almost taunting Ino, "Just because we all you and your friend inside to help the Guardians doesn't mean that we will be inviting the world inside."

"It just doesn't make sense that the Guardians have lost their kekkei-genkai which means your protection is at a new low, so then how are you going to salvage some type of protection?" Ino raised her voice as she rested her hands on the table in front of her.

"What business did you really want to speak about, child?" one of the male Elders raised his own voice at her, "Did you want to discuss the Guardians or the safety of our village? Which is it because you are wasting our time!"

That was it. Ino slammed her palms into the table, ready to yell at them until she felt Sumiko pull on her poncho back to her seat. Sumiko then stood up, "My apologies, Elders. Ino is simply worried for our village since she now feels as if she were apart of us. As her guide, I will escort her around the village and we will seek a meeting with you soon."

"We are humbled for her new love for our village and we are happy to see her here, but we do not think it wise to discuss such a delicate matter with a new member just yet," the same Elder who had raised his voice to Ino spoke to Sumiko, "The matter of the Guardians will be discussed at a later time."

It was far from over. Ino watched as the Elders began to talk amongst themselves when she grabbed Sumiko's wrist, "Catch me."

"Wha-?" Sumiko was about to question Ino then watched as she performed a jutsu she didn't understand.

Ino, sending her spirit to an Elder woman directly in front of her, had fallen from her spirit leaving her body. Sumiko caught Ino as three of the four Elders turned to witness Ino 'fainting'. One of the Elder males, "Is she alright?"

"I believe she has worked throughout the night and just fainted," Sumiko responded, "I will return her to her room to rest."

"Be careful with her," Ino's new host beckoned to Sumiko, "She could awaken at any moment."

Being inside an old body was easily comparable to wearing a wet blanket. Her skin was tough and wrinkly while held a fat guy on her torso. She followed the other Elders out of the meeting room and back out to the village. So far it was as if she were just taking a stroll until she realized they were going back to a larger home. It must be for them because the other woman began saying how she was going to enjoy her lunch while the two older men brought out their pipes. Ino waited until they were all inside when she followed the other old woman to the kitchen, "It is a shame about those guardians."

"Shame?" the other old woman spat as she went to the fridge, "All they wanted was to go see the outside world, and now look at them. They should see this as a curse upon them for their curiosity."

This was new. Ino sat at the table, she could smell her body and it was causing her to want to be sick. However, she had a good hold on this woman's spirit so it would be awhile before she needed to leave her host. The old woman then continued, "I don't feel that the Guardians deserve their fate, but they knew better than to try and get the village to seek out the world. It's dangerous outside this village and they were the only ones who could face those dangers. We certainly couldn't and why put the innocent in danger for their careless choices? Praise be to Kami for not giving them a fatal consequence."

As the old woman began to feast upon her meal, Ino knew she had to gather the other opinions. Right as she was about to stand up the other old woman then asked, "Your Sumiko is tempting fate as well. It is best if you remind her of her good fortune for not being one of the Guardians."

"Huh?... Oh, yes, I will remind her," Ino attempted to agree, did she have a relative of Sumiko's as a host? She wanted to know more, perhaps if she just asked a few questions, "Sumiko is a bright one, I doubt she is in any real danger of venturing out."

"Really, Ayame? Just yesterday you were threatening to beat her with your cane for volunteering to be those outsider's guides. A granddaughter born of such bad circumstances should keep her head low, isn't that what you said?" the old woman raised a brow.

Ino fought back her temper and put on her best act, "It just looks like she's trying to turn a new leaf. Perhaps if she meets the right person she'll learn a bit of humility."

This seemed to agree with the other old woman, though Ino was ready to kick some ass. She left the kitchen to find the to male Elders smoking their pipe in the main room of the house. Ino approached them and sat on the couch next to one of the men, "This weather today is quite nice, isn't it?"

"First sunny week we've had in centuries," the old man next to her snorted, "Kami must not be pleased with us. Surely this is a bad omen to come."

Ino cringed within her host. These people were absolutely terrified of the unknown that it crippled them. She waved their smoke away from her face as she leaned back in her seat, "Perhaps we were too hard on that foreigner today. Surely we must be able to trust someone that is not from our village."

"Ayame, don't let your granddaughter's words get to your head. You said you had rallied her to be an obedient member of this village, perhaps you are wavering..." the old man that sat furthest away from her had such beady eyes as he peered at her.

"I hardly agree," Ino sniffed as she stared right back, "I am just trying to see it from a different perspective-"

"These foreigners only serve one purpose and that is to fix whatever problem the Guardians have gotten themselves into," the old man next to Ino stated as he smoked his pipe, "As for your granddaughter, she is lucky that you are your grandmother. If it were not for your position among us, she would have been tossed down the mountains by the Guardians."

Ino stiffened. What exactly was Sumiko that had her pinned against both the Elders and the Guardians? Finished with her information, Ino excused herself to go upstairs to find a random room. She placed her host on the bed facing upward as she left the host to return to her body. Her kekkei-genkai had gotten easier to control over her years of training though waking up was the hardest part. Ino yawned as she blinked her eyes open, both elated and comforted to be back in her youthful body. She then noticed she was in her bed and Sumiko was sitting on Sakura's bed as she sat up, "Thanks for waiting, I got all the information I needed."

"Did the Elders plan this?" Sumiko's voice was serious, her eyes fixated on Ino.

The look of distrust was east to spot in Sumiko's features in that moment. Just like the Elders and the rest of the villagers, Sumiko was just as mistrustful towards the Elders as it seemed. Ino shook her head gently, "They have their own opinions of the Elders and saying that Kami was the one who cursed them with this virus, but no, they were not the ones who did this to them."

Sumiko's shoulders slumped as her eyes went to the floor in dismay. Ino went over to her and sat next to Sumiko, putting an arm around her shoulders, "Hey, don't look so down. I'll find the cause of this virus even if it means that i'll stay here forever."

She then felt Sumiko slowly pull away from Ino's touch. Ino instinctively retracted her arm though she was confused why Sumiko would reject her forwardness. Perhaps it was just the disappointment of not knowing the root cause of all this that had Sumiko acting differently. Then again, she hardly knew the woman, perhaps she was temperamental like this on occasion. Sumiko then looked to Ino as she turned her head slightly, "What did the Elders say?"

Too much. Ino didn't want to openly ask about Sumiko's history with the Guardians or her grandmother in the Elders, but she wouldn't know unless she asked, right? She shifted her weight on the bed before standing up to fix her hair, "Ayame is your grandmother, and that-"

"Don't say anything else, please," Sumiko immediately stood up and stated with such fury, "Whatever you heard in there, don't you ever repeat it."

Ino, taken back by Sumiko's anger, had spun around to face Sumiko. But, she was already walking passed her in a hurry and out of the room. She hadn't expected to have angered her so easily. Her spirit dampened, Ino sighed as she went to help Sakura with the blood samples.

Meanwhile, Sakura had just finished with her blood samples and had begun to gather herbs that the Guardians provided for an anesthetic. To her dismay there wasn't enough for everyone. Sakura got up from her seat and sought out Sumiko, finding her with the other Guardians in the main room, "Uhm...Sumiko, I was wondering if we could go and get more of these herbs. There is enough here for half of those in this household and i'll need more when we go to the other houses."

Sumiko whispered something to one of the Guardians before nodding wordlessly and went to the front door. Sakura, confused, followed without question Sumiko out of the door and up the mountain. With each leap, it appeared as if Sumiko was going as fast as she could to get away from the village. Was she upset about something? There was so much Sakura felt as if she should know about, but the village was clouded in a mist of secrets that she feared there would be just too much. Sakura managed to keep up until they were in a small patch of forest on the mountain where Sumiko leaned against a tree, "There should be the same herbs you're looking for here."

She was definitely upset about something. Sumiko had her arms crossed tightly on her chest with her jacket zipped up all the way to her neck this time instead of her casual place around her breasts. Sakura grimaced, how did she know about where Sumiko normally kept her zipper placement yet didn't know this woman's history in the village. As she gathered more herbs from one of the bushes, she realized she was out of bags and all the other bags she had on her were full of herbs. She stood up, and saw that Sumiko had pulled off her satchel and handed it to Sakura, "Here, use mine. It should be big enough to carry all that you need."

"Thanks," Sakura smiled, taking the satchel in her grasp.

She began to go back to picking the herbs before glancing up to see a small smile on Sumiko's lips as well. Even if it was just a small conversation, she was happy to see that Sumiko was getting in a better mood. When she finished, Sakura was about to head down when Sumiko softly took her arm, "Could we stay up here for a few minutes? I'm...not really in a rush to go back just yet. The virus isn't going away today and no one is dying."

"...Yeah, no problem," Sakura took a step back and sat on the ground, "Is something wrong, Sumiko?"

"No," Sumiko's answer was swift at first, then her shoulders eased downward as she uncrossed her arms, "Yes. Your friend, Ino, used some jutsu and took over one of the bodies of the Elders and apparently found out about a few secrets about myself. I didn't want these secrets to be known to either of you since it doesn't involve your reasoning to be here. I just thought when we became better friends then I'd tell you."

Sakura watched as Sumiko sat next to her and allowed her to continue, "The body Ino took over was my grandmother, Ayame. She has been with the Elders since my birth and in a way I am both thankful and resentful of her positioning."

She didn't want to interrupt Sumiko in fear that she wouldn't get this time alone again. Though Sumiko was her guide in this village, she was starting to see that Sumiko was more than just a proud villager. Sumiko then looked to Sakura, "The Elders are not the only ones who are stubborn. Even though I agree with the Guardian's thirst for exploration and allowing the village to be open to the world, they also believe that Kami made them who they were specifically because they were meant to be the best of the best. In this ideology about themselves, they are strict on who is allowed to be among them."

There had been tales in Konoha of families that had a kekkei-genkai that would have arranged marriages so that the potential offspring would have the best set of DNA. Sakura had heard about friends that were dating members of a the Hyuuga household, but the parents found out and forbade the couple if the outside person was deemed inadequate. Sumiko took a breath before gazing off into the village far below them, "Ayame is my maternal grandmother, my mother was a normal, older villager who was having an affair with one of the highest ranking Jonin in the Guardians, who was also married. As you can see that was completely taboo and even worse when she became pregnant. Ayame had just been accepted into the Elders when my mother turned to her for advice. She sent my mother away from the village in secret during her pregnancy with me to survive for the nine months on her own."

"That's terrible!" Sakura exclaimed, her blood boiling just at the thought, "How did your mother survive?"

"My father had heard about it and would sneak out to bring her food and clean water. She stayed in one of the cave on the mountain side prepare clothes for me. Then, one day near her due date, my father went out to check on her only to find me wrapped up in many clothes and body of my lifeless mother," Sumiko wrapped the up story by drawing her knees to her chest and resting her head on her arms, "I've heard he lived a long time with his family and died when I was around 13. There were many funerals that I had to attend with Ayame so maybe I went to it."

"But you're one of the Guardians by blood, so you ought to be able to join their ranks," Sakura sat on her knees as she faced Sumiko, "The Elders trust you and-"

"I can't be one the Guardians," Sumiko sighed as she returned Sakura's gaze, "They would kill me on the spot, well if they could at least since i'm the only one who still has a kekkei-genkai. You see, when my father found me he took me to Ayame and the Elders. He explained the affair and that's when they told him to forget about me and my mother, to go back to his family and move on. Ayame was then sworn to secrecy and the whole ordeal forgotten in time. They know me as Ayame's granddaughter by blood, but the village knows me as Ayame's granddaughter by adoption."

There was a long pause as Sakura took in all the information. Growing up must've been hard for Sumiko. Sakura reached over and held Sumiko's shoulder, then felt Sumiko lean onto her. At first Sakura was about to push her away gently, but decided against it. She put her arm around Sumiko's shoulders and asked, "When did you find out about all of this?"

"Going up in the ranks as a Chunin," Sumiko shrugged, moving closer onto Sakura, "Ayame told me just the day before the Guardians gave me the new title of Jonin. She said if I would be one of the many ninja to fight along side the Guardians that I ought to know that they are my family."

Though they would kill her if they found out she was actually one of them. Sakura gazed down the mountain at the village that Sumiko called her home. If she had grown up in Konoha, affairs such as her mother's would have passed over in a few years or at least better hidden without Sumiko's isolation. Sakura felt Sumiko sigh as she sunk deeper onto her. She was so warm and yet she wore the beige jacket, maybe it was very light? Her hand went from Sumiko's shoulder down to her hip as she kept Sumiko in place next to her. Now she understood why Sumiko was the way she was. She was proud of her village because it made her stronger in many ways rather than one. With the strength of the mountain and the core soft and malleable, Sumiko was no different than a kunoichi that was wounded.

"Sakura," Sumiko broke Sakura's train of thought.

Sakura looked down to see Sumiko smiling up at her with softened eyes, "Thank you for listening. I know it sounds strange, but I had a feeling you'd be the first to know when I met you."

Was her head inching closer to hers? Sakura felt her cheeks flare as she noticed Sumiko's face closing in on hers. Could she kiss another woman? I mean Sumiko just opened up to her, but it was hardly a sentimental moment! She kept her head still, then realized Sumiko had just fixed her head placement to next to Sakura's. The pink-haired kunoichi felt instant relief though she did feel a tinge of disappointment as well.

"Sakura," Sumiko breathed, "I am glad to have you as a friend. Maybe when this is all over, I will visit you in Konoha."

All feelings and emotions aside, Sakura felt herself warming up to Sumiko. Yes, she enjoyed feeling Sumiko against her and loved how Sumiko would look at her, but beyond that she felt a good connection between them. Sakura gave Sumiko a small squeeze, "I'd like that."

With a few moments minutes sitting together like that, Sakura holding Sumiko close to her, the two kunoichi decided it was time to head back to Yama Village. Sumiko went to grab a few items from the grocery store while Sakura went back to the Guardian's district. When she entered, Ino was the first to approach her, "Is she still mad at me? Can I see her? Where did Sumiko go? Damn, damn, damn! I knew I messed up!"

"Ino, calm down, what are you talking about? Sumiko isn't mad at you," Sakura reassured her friend, only to see Ino trying to brush away the tears from her eyes, "Ino?"

"She pulled away from me earlier," Ino spoke an octave above a whisper, "Then I began to tell her what I heard and she stormed off. Maybe I was coming on too fast..."

"I think that's exactly it," Sakura wanted to steer Ino away from getting hurt, "You have to remember she's really worried about the situation with the Guardian's."

Ino brushed away the tears from her eyes, her shoulders still slumped. Sakura could see that she had really taken to Sumiko in the last few days if Ino was this upset about Sumiko. Then again, she had been upset as well when she thought she had angered Sumiko. A small fear formed inside of Sakura as she began to understand that Sumiko could cause a rift between her and Ino. She tossed that idea to the side, in order for Sumiko to be a rift there had to be mutual emotions. So far, Sakura couldn't tell what she felt for Sumiko besides that they were getting to be friends.

Sumiko had lied when she said she was going to pick up food to cook for her and the two other kunoicihs. Instead, she went to the cave outside the village where her mother had died from blood-loss. She stood motionless though she felt more at home in the cave than she did in her own village. For once, she actually felt as if she were at peace though her entire world was in a turmoil. In her world, fighting with the Guardians and now taking care of them were apart of her responsibility. As a kunoichi among them she stood by them as an ally. And, secretly, as their family, it was her duty to try to find a way to cure them of this virus.

But why was she not affected by the virus?

"I had a hunch you'd be here," Ayame's voice echoed in the cave.

Sumiko turned slightly to see the pink sky and Ayame's wrinkled features. Her eyes down-casted, the rules of honor did not apply outside the village. At least not to Sumiko at the moment. Ayame went to a nearby boulder and let out a groan, her body was no longer able to make the trek to visit her daughter's grave as easily as she used to be able to. Sumiko stood still for a few moments before going to her grandmother, "I don't like secrets, Grandmother. I told Sakura today of my affiliation to the Guardians."

She had expected Ayame to be angry or rage, but her grandmother's face was very similar to a stone. Her features were unreadable before she nodded, "I had another hunch that you would. I tried to make the village live inside you and yet being born in the wild you have taken the outside world's curiosity."

Though Sumiko felt that her gran's words were gibberish, she did have a point. Those born inside the village were better at holding secrets and emotions in while, being born in the wild, her natural curiosity blossomed and her emotions sometimes got the better of her. Though she was working on her temperament. Ayame sighed as she turned her eyes to the pink sky, "I have no doubt that Sakura and her big-voiced friend will find a cure for the Guardians, but I must implore you to not make it known to anyone else. Telling her may help them find something."

"I thought so, too," Sumiko commented as she sat next to Ayame, then teased, "I am surprised you made it down here without going into withdrawal from being outside the village."

"I wasn't always the way I am now," Ayame's voice was stern as she turned her attention to Sumiko, "At one point I was a kunoichi that wanted to see the world. But my love for Yama Village was bigger than my curiosity. Sumiko, I know you want to explore the world, but it is dangerous. People will use you and hurt you because of your beauty and naivety. I see a future among the Elders in your future if you remain in Yama Village."

Sumiko didn't say a word. Becoming one of the Elders was the highest honor and no other authority topped an Elder. To many people it was a dream that was far from their reach. But, because of Ayame's affiliation with the Elders and her being one of them, Sumiko had a better chance to become one of the Elders. It just wasn't what she saw for herself. Sumiko put her knees together as she summed up the courage to say, "I want to settle down one day and have a family...just outside the village."

Ayame gave another groan before frowning, "I thought the same way at one point. You will be surprised at who you find in this village. Someone will dash all your previous ambitions away and you'll find yourself making new ones just for them."

To this Ayame gave a snort of a chuckle, the most amusement Sumiko had ever seen out of her typically stern grandmother. The old woman then released a long breath, "I believe in fate and that we are all given a certain destiny. You, Sumiko, wanted to be born too early. Kami knew he couldn't keep you until you were ready so you jumped at the first opportunity and had my daughter birth you. If you had waited, you would have been born as one of the Guardians."

"Except i'm this," Sumiko then stood up, "How long am I going to suffer for a consequence I did not commit?"

This had been a fight that had been said too many times. So many times that Ayame had lost count. Why Sumiko could not use her kekkei-genkai with pride like the Guardians, why she had to keep her true nature as someone who was curious of the outside world under her skin, or why she would never feel as if she belonged to the village? Ayame placed her cane between her legs and stood up, focusing on her balance before she decided to leave the cave. Some questions did not have answers. Some questions didn't need answers.

Sumiko put her thumb to her mouth and bit down hard on her flesh. She did not want to return to Yama Village, but for the Guardians she had to. Plus, she wanted to see Sakura again before she went to bed.

Sakura and Ino continued analyzing the blood samples until late into the evening. Sumiko had returned and prepared supper for them, but the plates had gone cold as neither girl had touched a bite to keep on working. Finally, Sakura peeled herself away from her work and began to eat the food prepared for her. There was still one more blood to analyze and compare, and that was Sumiko's blood. She didn't want to analyze Sumiko's blood early one since she wanted to observe the changes in the others. So far, the Guardians' blood samples were all normal. Their kekkei-genkai was there, it just wasn't active. Something was causing them to remain dormant.

"This is really good," Ino dug into the plate as well, "Sumiko can cook."

"It'd probably taste even better if we had eaten it fresh," Sakura commented, the food was great but it was meant to be a hot meal, "I just have to go over one more sample and i'll head to bed. How about you?"

"I'm all finished," Ino could barely put her plate down, "Nothing abnormal yet. I haven't seen this type of thing before. The whole thing is there, we can see how they're all similar but nothing is happening."

"There's a good chance that we will have to report back this is a warfare," Sakura finished her plate and leaned back in the hard, wooden chair, "We know the Elders see this as a curse on the Guardians, but what do the Guardians think of the Elders? I don't want to rule out anything until we gather all the information that we can find."

"I don't disagree," Ino looked to Sakura as she, too, finished her plate, "Why don't you talk to the Guardians here and i'll keep up the work."

"Alright," Sakura could hear the sharpness in Ino's voice though she could tell that Ino was being subtle.

Ino walked off to head to their room as Sakura turned back to her work station. She placed the blood sample beneath the filter of her microscope and began to analyze Sumiko's blood. As she had suspected, Sumiko's kekkei-genkai was active. This only meant one thing; biological warfare. If this were a virus only for those who carried this kekkei-genkai, then it would have spread to all who had it. However, since the households were the only ones infected and leaving Sumiko excluded, the Guardians were targets. Sakura sat back in her seat. There was no one to tell because it could put herself and others in danger since the culprit had to be someone in the village.

Her first guess were the Elders, but that didn't seem accurate. Sakura sighed, she had to get some sleep and now she had to deal with this. Ino had to be told. She stood up from her seat and went to their bedroom only to find it empty. Odd... Sakura didn't question this and figured she wanted to be alone like she had the other night. Instead, she turned off the light and prepared for bed.

Ino stood outside Sumiko's bedroom, her heart racing in her chest as she knocked on Sumiko's door. She heard the soft footsteps as Sumiko went to the door and opened it. At first, she saw the excited anticipation in her eyes and watched the emotion fade when Sumiko realized it was Ino. Ino felt her gut drop as she scratched the back of her head, "Sorry for disturbing you, I just thought we could hang out for a little bit. I'm not really that tired and-"

"I'm sorry, but I'm kind of tired myself," Sumiko held the door as she looked away from Ino.

It was a cold day in hell if Ino was rejected. She felt her heart want Sumiko more than just a friend. On the first day, she had seen how Sumiko had interacted with her and wanted to feel that again. Ino noticed Sumiko beginning to shut the door and took a step forward, "You had said that no one is allowed to show public display of affections, but how about now? I want to show you how I'm beginning to feel for you and you're pushing me away!"

"Not tonight, Ino," Sumiko's voice was firm, but Ino could hear the first signs of wavering.

Ino approached Sumiko in a towering manner and gently held Sumiko's shoulders, who did not turn away, "I thought you were interested in me? Do you care about someone else?"

"Just stop, Ino!" Sumiko stated as she took a step back, "Just-"

"Let me prove it to you!" Ino took Sumiko's wrist, "At least be courteous enough to say you had given me a shot, that's all i'm asking."

She watched Sumiko's features on her face calculating. There was something going on in Sumiko's mind that Ino was hoping for would be in her favor. Sumiko pulled her wrist away and whispered, "One chance, but then that's it. If there's nothing, then no more."

"Thank you," Ino breathed a sigh of relief.

"Come, I'll show you something no one outside the Guardians gets to experience," Sumiko walked passed Ino and out of the bedroom.

They had walked a few good miles outside the village and into a corner of a mountain where three sides had several stories tall of stone blocking the view. On the stones were pictures that were carved beautifully and with such elegance that it had to be from one of the Guardians. Ino watched as Sumiko shrugged off her jacket, admiring the slight muscular build the young woman had. All she wanted was to caress her skin and perhaps hold her at some point in the evening. If she could at least... Well, Ino decided she'd better take her time before she thought of all the things she wanted to do to Sumiko.

Sumiko placed her hand on the art and closed her eyes. Ino could feel a slight hum beneath her feet as she witnessed the designs on the stones beginning to glow a baby blue. Then, as if transferring energy, the baby blue coloring cascaded onto Sumiko's arm and caused the tattoos to glow their navy blue color. Ino's eyes were wide, was this how the Guardians were given their tattoos? Or was this some type of ritual where they connect with the mountain? She then noticed Sumiko extend her hand out to Ino, Sumiko's eyes glowing the baby blue. Without hesitation, Ino grasped Sumiko's hand. As soon as their flesh touched, Ino felt something stab her spirit. Not just once, but a hundred times at once. Something was wrong! Her skin felt as if it were peeling off of her muscles, her muscles felt as if they were on fire from her bones, and her bones felt as if they were shattering to tiny, miniscule pieces all at once. The pain was so intense that it felt as if her eye balls were going to explode as she released a scream that could only match a dying wild animal.

Then, it all went black.