p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"If Shino were a more expressive person, he would have undoubtedly let out a fond sigh at her reply. With several parks in Konoha, just saying 'the' park wasn't likely to do a person good. However, having been well acquainted with the young woman for several years by that point, he knew which of the parks she meant./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"It was growing later in the evening, and with something clearly weighing on her mind, it was only natural she not be fully present when typing a response. Still, he hoped whatever was weighing on her mind wasn't, as Shikamaru might put it, too troublesome. Shino knew only too well how burdensome spending time in solitude with less-than-happy thoughts could be, after all./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Good evening, Kiyoshi-san," he was to the point, greeting the dark haired girl the moment he saw her (he had, in fact, guessed correctly which park she meant). "Would you prefer to sit? Or would walking be best? I do not have a preference myself." He was making strides in changing his speech patterns from the strict formula of 'statement, the question of why, then explanation' that he had followed so stringently in his younger days. Yet, there would always be that lingering formality to his speech, no doubt./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"That was partially an Aburame trait, just as their kekkei genkai was. Shino waited patiently for not only her answer to that questions, but to see if Kiyoshi would explain without any further prompting why she'd called him out that night to talk./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"—-/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Farther West, across the forest and halfway through the desert, Gaara was sitting just as uneasily with his own thoughts as Kiyoshi. The meeting went as well as could be expected, though it ran over by a significant amount of time, as it always did. For some reason, it was always the meeting over finance and not any other subject which caused the most strife amongst the council (and, by extension, himself)./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"While the outcome was favorable enough in the Kazekage's opinion, he nevertheless arrived in his rooms at home with a raging headache and a fierce desire to hear from Kiyoshi. That was why, before he so much as discarded his formal robes of office, he brought out his phone and allowed his fingers to tap out a message on the keys./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"I hope your evening is proving more enjoyable than mine. He pressed send before he had time to overthink and delete it, or chicken out and put the phone away altogether. It was a piece of advice from his brash older brother that had actually served him well in some aspects of human interaction since he was reformed by his encounter with the blond knucklehead all those years ago. Although really, not trying to murder everyone on sight was the biggest olive branch, he supposed. The thirst for blood had largely abated, which helped immensely in his efforts, though he would obviously crush anyone with glee should they try and hurt one of his precious people or his village./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Instead of sitting anxiously, staring at the device and waiting for a reply, the redhead forced himself to put the phone down and head towards the bathroom. A hot shower to wash off the dust (and grimy feeling he always got from interacting with certain council members) would go a long way, he hoped./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"_/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I highly doubt that anything you have to share is less interesting than what I've got," Fuyumi giggled. "But I guess it won't hurt for me to go first," she winked, grinning cheekily as she started in on her own piece of gossip. "So, you know that asshole civilian doctor who always shit talks the ninja medics when he thinks we're not around?" The man truly was a fool, thinking it wouldn't get back to any of them. "Well, I caught him and that nurse who got transferred out of the pediatric ward going at it!" And so, she continued divulging all the juicy details. So she enjoyed a bit of vengeful gossip, sue her! She could have turned into an alcoholic like the Hokage, but at least Fuyumi's vice was a bit less damaging to her liver./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""So," the brunette leaned in ever so slightly once she'd finished her sordid little bit of gossip, "Now it's your turn! Tell me everything." Or at least, as much as she could- any ninja past the Academy knew there was some information that couldn't be divulged to others, even if they shared rank or a division. Ino undoubtedly saw plenty of things in TI that Fuyumi would (thankfully) never have to deal with./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"With any luck, the news wouldn't be a long-term mission, and she could propose a girls' night of sorts. Even though she formed sort of a disaster bisexual duo with Shisui Uchiha (Sasuke's cousin was so much more fun than literally any other Uchiha to walk the planet), she wasn't totally inept when it came to reading the room. So she was more than aware of the weird tension between Ino and Sakura- it sort of felt like their academy days, when they were starting into their fight over the aforementioned littlest Uchiha. Yet, she was still stupid enough to not realize the tension was over her; rather, she was starting to worry that maybe what she and the pink haired medic had going on was… Not what she thought? Maybe Sakura thought she was into girls and had changed her mind? And now there was a boy the two were going to fight over again?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Despite those turbulent thoughts, Fuyumi tried not to let her dampened mood show, instead focusing wholly on what the blonde was about to tell her. Ino deserved her full attention, and dammit, she was going to be a great, supportive friend!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"_/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Kiyoshi was disturbed from her thoughts when Shino greeted her, a brief look of startlement present before softening (although confliction was still evident in her deep blues.) She felt the distinct vibration from her mobile device, indicating someone attempting to get ahold of her. Kiyoshi exhaled a petite chortle knowing fully well whom it was contacting her at such an hour without having to glance at her screen. It wasn't uncommon for her and Gaara to be up until well into the night talking about nothing and everything (a phone call taking place once or twice solely so Kiyoshi could listen to the low, raspy rumble of Gaara's voice.)/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Please, sit." Kiyoshi insisted, urging him to join her in the swing beside her. During the time Shino took to situate himself, Kiyoshi withdrew her phone to formulate a brief response. On any other occasion Kiyoshi would've never been bold enough to text directly in front of others, but with Gaara she had found herself slipping a plethora of times- especially in the company of those she was relaxed around. Kiyoshi scanned the screen swiftly, fingers fervently clicking at her keys./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"'I wouldn't say enjoyable as...eventful. Council members having big emotions today, haha? Anything I can do to help?' Kiyoshi sent her response, swiveling around to face Shino as if she were a child getting caught in the cookie jar, "My apologies, it's already so late- I might as well be direct as I can." Kiyoshi began, combing over her words delicately, "I'm an accomplished kunoichi, I've proudly addressed the hidden leaf as my home for sixteen years now. I don't have things to feel solemn about..."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Kiyoshi averted her gaze from Shino to gaze at the display of stars twinkling above them. She was certain Gaara would be surveying them as well and the same ache panged at her chest again, "Why is it I feel empty, Shino?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"_/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Ino just about died when Fuyumi spilled about the prick of a doctor that almost made it a goal to piss off the ninja medics, "You're kidding?! Noooo! I knew there was something there!" Ino's voice cracked with excitement, her whole frame beaming with animation from the sheer joy of the conversation. Copious amounts of inquiries littered her dome and she blurted the next one to rotate through, "What'd position did he even have her in to go at it at the hospital?!"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Ino was floored, almost forgetting about her own topic entirely until Fuyumi prodded a bit. Dialing herself back in, Ino took a sip of her tea as she calculated just what to tell her, "Thing is- Lady Tsunade wants me to compose a squad to retrieve information and an antidote for the virus going around from the hidden water." She began, her eyes hazing over briefly as she overthunk her dilemma before she released herself from thoughts- instead opting to offer Fuyumi a beverage, or snacks herself./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I've already pulled your file and was gonna give you first choice to be on the squad going" Ino confessed a little sheepishly, stifling the details about Sakura having already been selected by Tsunade as the medic going./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"_/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Sakura had made it home around nine-ish, discarding her shoes by the door before shuffling through the dark to turn on the hallway light. From there she went to stow away her work for the day, loosely rummaged around enough to find comfy house-wear and then proceeded to the kitchen to prepare supper. While prepping chicken for that night's stew, Sakura made the decision to message Fuyumi./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"After a few written and deleted messages, fiddling with her ingredients for the meal she was making, and fumbling to formulate a resolve- Sakura made the choice to keep it sweet and brief. Throughout portions of the day when Sakura had had time to collect and process herself, at some point she had come to the conclusion that she needed to ease the tension that had been created today between her and Fuyumi. The friction between her and Ino over Fuyumi had propelled itself into new territory and Sakura had noticed it taking a toll on what she and Fuyumi had been developing./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Hey...I wanted to apologize for this morning. I wasn't being myself and you didn't deserve the awkwardness. I'm making dinner, if you'd like to join me it'll be ready in an hour... Dinner and a movie, maybe?" Sakura sent out as an attempt for reconciliation- her heart rattling her cage enough to make it burn slightly./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"_/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Shino's lips quirked from behind the collar of his coat upon seeing his friend typing furiously fast at her keypad. It could only be a message from one person, the way she was willing to divert her attention from a friend who was sitting right next to her. People may have been under the assumption that Shino was socially unaware, or impervious to gossip, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. In actuality, he likely had enough blackmail material to fuel TI for years. Yet, he never did anything much with the information people were foolish enough to let slip around him- perhaps he'd blackmailed Kiba into doing a few things here and there, but other than that? He simply collected the information, without distributing any of it. Some secrets would simply go with him to the grave./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He knew it wasn't anyone in Leaf she was messaging, and while he had his suspicions, Shino couldn't say with absolute certainty that the new Kazekage was her partner (or soon to be partner; whoever Kiyoshi was talking to always drew such reactions from her that there was no other outcome to conclude), but he was more than half certain. It was her desire to talk to possibly-Gaara, her seeming energy for life renewing before all their eyes everytime she opened a message from that person, that made his shock greater when she finally put the phone down and asked him her question./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""You are, as you say, very accomplished as a shinobi, and a welcome addition to all our lives," the Aburame wasn't shy about expressing such sentiments as others in their group might have been, even if he did phrase things in that stilted way of his. "Yet you say you feel empty. Why? I cannot say for certain." He paused only for a moment before pressing on. "However, I suspect it may be because you are missing a deeper connection. With someone in particular." She didn't need to tell him who (he'd get his confirmation eventually), but that was, from all appearances, the root of the problem. Friendship was a wonderful, necessary connection they all needed, but wasn't a life partner essential for most, as well?br /_/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"His bright hair, hidden behind the towel he'd tossed over his damp locks upon emerging from the bathroom, dripped a few water droplets onto the floor as he made a beeline for his phone. For someone who'd thought about a long, relaxing bath, he'd found he couldn't truly focus enough to do more than a quick shower, only staying long enough to ensure everything was properly scrubbed and cleaned… And maybe a few extra minutes for stress relief. Nonetheless, he was feeling at least a bit more refreshed and completely eager to see what she'd sent him while he was cleaning up./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"'They're unbelievably childish sometimes.' His cheeks were the faintest shade of pink as he typed out his grousing response. She had offered to help, she wanted to do something for him! It made his chest constrict in that funny, slightly panic-inducing way it always did whenever Kiyoshi was involved. He wasn't sure how he'd survive their next in-person encounter./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"'Just being able to talk to you helps.' He hit send before he could delete the message, heart continuing to race. Was that too strong? Would she be repulsed? Laugh at him? He was typically confident in his own skin nowadays, after leading his country for so long, but Kiyoshi… He wanted no other person to hold, to stand by. It was honestly pathetic, how worked up he was getting, wasn't it? For someone who'd been molded into a brutal killing machine and emotionally stunted since birth, was it too much to hope for? Of course, he could never just come outright and say it! Especially not when he was so mixed up over his own feelings. There was a lot to sort through, after all./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"_/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Me?" The prospect of an actual out-of-village mission was exciting, she still managed the odd courier mission and client escort from time to time, but to be out and about with some of her friends? A grin stretched across her face, Fuyumi unaware of how it lit up her features when she did so. "Of course I'll come! We haven't gotten to run any missions together in ages." She groaned dramatically, flopping over onto Ino for dramatic effect for a brief moment, only to pop back up with a wink and laugh. "Have you figured out anyone else?" Anyone on Ino's old genin team would be a good fit, since Ino-Shika-Cho were always specifically put together for information gathering purposes. But Kiba, Shino, and Hinata were all good at tracking, and Sakura, even if there was a weird tension, was the medical expert and could probably best identify what combinations of herbs were needed./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"And speaking of Sakura, having forgotten to completely silence her phone, she heard the sound of a text coming in, and the tone was the one she used just for the rosette's messages./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""It's Sakura," she announced as she read the message. "I guess we're having dinner tonight." The slightest pink tinged her cheeks and the tips of her ears. "We have some things we need to talk about." Things that, for the moment, were between herself and the pinkette. The young woman typed a quick 'At Ino's. I'll be over in fifteen.' Ino lived farther from Sakura than Fuyumi did, so it was only fair to give her a heads up that she'd take a little longer to arrive. Yet, with that, her attention snapped back to Ino, and she gave the blonde a quick parting hug./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I'm definitely coming along! Just text me the details on when we're leaving, okay? It's going to be a walk in the park for our superior skills." With that cheeky comment, she winked and slipped back out into the night. She unconsciously used her chakra to enhance her speed as she hopped along the rooftops, nervous energy filling her as the apartment she was due to be at drew closer./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"In the end, she made it in eight minutes, nearly halving her time, and using some of the spare few moments to pause outside Sakura's door and collect her racing heartbeat and thoughts. Then, after a long moment, she raised her hand and knocked. Even if Sakura would have likely sensed her arrival, those manners were key. Especially when they hadn't parted on the best of terms at the hospital that day. But they would talk it through and fix it, they just had to!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Hey," Fuyumi's smile was soft as her favorite person opened the door. She just couldn't help but melt at the sight of her friend (her something- they really did need to talk about that situation)./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"It was growing later in the evening, and with something clearly weighing on her mind, it was only natural she not be fully present when typing a response. Still, he hoped whatever was weighing on her mind wasn't, as Shikamaru might put it, too troublesome. Shino knew only too well how burdensome spending time in solitude with less-than-happy thoughts could be, after all./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Good evening, Kiyoshi-san," he was to the point, greeting the dark haired girl the moment he saw her (he had, in fact, guessed correctly which park she meant). "Would you prefer to sit? Or would walking be best? I do not have a preference myself." He was making strides in changing his speech patterns from the strict formula of 'statement, the question of why, then explanation' that he had followed so stringently in his younger days. Yet, there would always be that lingering formality to his speech, no doubt./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"That was partially an Aburame trait, just as their kekkei genkai was. Shino waited patiently for not only her answer to that questions, but to see if Kiyoshi would explain without any further prompting why she'd called him out that night to talk./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"—-/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Farther West, across the forest and halfway through the desert, Gaara was sitting just as uneasily with his own thoughts as Kiyoshi. The meeting went as well as could be expected, though it ran over by a significant amount of time, as it always did. For some reason, it was always the meeting over finance and not any other subject which caused the most strife amongst the council (and, by extension, himself)./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"While the outcome was favorable enough in the Kazekage's opinion, he nevertheless arrived in his rooms at home with a raging headache and a fierce desire to hear from Kiyoshi. That was why, before he so much as discarded his formal robes of office, he brought out his phone and allowed his fingers to tap out a message on the keys./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"I hope your evening is proving more enjoyable than mine. He pressed send before he had time to overthink and delete it, or chicken out and put the phone away altogether. It was a piece of advice from his brash older brother that had actually served him well in some aspects of human interaction since he was reformed by his encounter with the blond knucklehead all those years ago. Although really, not trying to murder everyone on sight was the biggest olive branch, he supposed. The thirst for blood had largely abated, which helped immensely in his efforts, though he would obviously crush anyone with glee should they try and hurt one of his precious people or his village./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Instead of sitting anxiously, staring at the device and waiting for a reply, the redhead forced himself to put the phone down and head towards the bathroom. A hot shower to wash off the dust (and grimy feeling he always got from interacting with certain council members) would go a long way, he hoped./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"_/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I highly doubt that anything you have to share is less interesting than what I've got," Fuyumi giggled. "But I guess it won't hurt for me to go first," she winked, grinning cheekily as she started in on her own piece of gossip. "So, you know that asshole civilian doctor who always shit talks the ninja medics when he thinks we're not around?" The man truly was a fool, thinking it wouldn't get back to any of them. "Well, I caught him and that nurse who got transferred out of the pediatric ward going at it!" And so, she continued divulging all the juicy details. So she enjoyed a bit of vengeful gossip, sue her! She could have turned into an alcoholic like the Hokage, but at least Fuyumi's vice was a bit less damaging to her liver./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""So," the brunette leaned in ever so slightly once she'd finished her sordid little bit of gossip, "Now it's your turn! Tell me everything." Or at least, as much as she could- any ninja past the Academy knew there was some information that couldn't be divulged to others, even if they shared rank or a division. Ino undoubtedly saw plenty of things in TI that Fuyumi would (thankfully) never have to deal with./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"With any luck, the news wouldn't be a long-term mission, and she could propose a girls' night of sorts. Even though she formed sort of a disaster bisexual duo with Shisui Uchiha (Sasuke's cousin was so much more fun than literally any other Uchiha to walk the planet), she wasn't totally inept when it came to reading the room. So she was more than aware of the weird tension between Ino and Sakura- it sort of felt like their academy days, when they were starting into their fight over the aforementioned littlest Uchiha. Yet, she was still stupid enough to not realize the tension was over her; rather, she was starting to worry that maybe what she and the pink haired medic had going on was… Not what she thought? Maybe Sakura thought she was into girls and had changed her mind? And now there was a boy the two were going to fight over again?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Despite those turbulent thoughts, Fuyumi tried not to let her dampened mood show, instead focusing wholly on what the blonde was about to tell her. Ino deserved her full attention, and dammit, she was going to be a great, supportive friend!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"_/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Kiyoshi was disturbed from her thoughts when Shino greeted her, a brief look of startlement present before softening (although confliction was still evident in her deep blues.) She felt the distinct vibration from her mobile device, indicating someone attempting to get ahold of her. Kiyoshi exhaled a petite chortle knowing fully well whom it was contacting her at such an hour without having to glance at her screen. It wasn't uncommon for her and Gaara to be up until well into the night talking about nothing and everything (a phone call taking place once or twice solely so Kiyoshi could listen to the low, raspy rumble of Gaara's voice.)/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Please, sit." Kiyoshi insisted, urging him to join her in the swing beside her. During the time Shino took to situate himself, Kiyoshi withdrew her phone to formulate a brief response. On any other occasion Kiyoshi would've never been bold enough to text directly in front of others, but with Gaara she had found herself slipping a plethora of times- especially in the company of those she was relaxed around. Kiyoshi scanned the screen swiftly, fingers fervently clicking at her keys./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"'I wouldn't say enjoyable as...eventful. Council members having big emotions today, haha? Anything I can do to help?' Kiyoshi sent her response, swiveling around to face Shino as if she were a child getting caught in the cookie jar, "My apologies, it's already so late- I might as well be direct as I can." Kiyoshi began, combing over her words delicately, "I'm an accomplished kunoichi, I've proudly addressed the hidden leaf as my home for sixteen years now. I don't have things to feel solemn about..."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Kiyoshi averted her gaze from Shino to gaze at the display of stars twinkling above them. She was certain Gaara would be surveying them as well and the same ache panged at her chest again, "Why is it I feel empty, Shino?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"_/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Ino just about died when Fuyumi spilled about the prick of a doctor that almost made it a goal to piss off the ninja medics, "You're kidding?! Noooo! I knew there was something there!" Ino's voice cracked with excitement, her whole frame beaming with animation from the sheer joy of the conversation. Copious amounts of inquiries littered her dome and she blurted the next one to rotate through, "What'd position did he even have her in to go at it at the hospital?!"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Ino was floored, almost forgetting about her own topic entirely until Fuyumi prodded a bit. Dialing herself back in, Ino took a sip of her tea as she calculated just what to tell her, "Thing is- Lady Tsunade wants me to compose a squad to retrieve information and an antidote for the virus going around from the hidden water." She began, her eyes hazing over briefly as she overthunk her dilemma before she released herself from thoughts- instead opting to offer Fuyumi a beverage, or snacks herself./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I've already pulled your file and was gonna give you first choice to be on the squad going" Ino confessed a little sheepishly, stifling the details about Sakura having already been selected by Tsunade as the medic going./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"_/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Sakura had made it home around nine-ish, discarding her shoes by the door before shuffling through the dark to turn on the hallway light. From there she went to stow away her work for the day, loosely rummaged around enough to find comfy house-wear and then proceeded to the kitchen to prepare supper. While prepping chicken for that night's stew, Sakura made the decision to message Fuyumi./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"After a few written and deleted messages, fiddling with her ingredients for the meal she was making, and fumbling to formulate a resolve- Sakura made the choice to keep it sweet and brief. Throughout portions of the day when Sakura had had time to collect and process herself, at some point she had come to the conclusion that she needed to ease the tension that had been created today between her and Fuyumi. The friction between her and Ino over Fuyumi had propelled itself into new territory and Sakura had noticed it taking a toll on what she and Fuyumi had been developing./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Hey...I wanted to apologize for this morning. I wasn't being myself and you didn't deserve the awkwardness. I'm making dinner, if you'd like to join me it'll be ready in an hour... Dinner and a movie, maybe?" Sakura sent out as an attempt for reconciliation- her heart rattling her cage enough to make it burn slightly./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"_/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Shino's lips quirked from behind the collar of his coat upon seeing his friend typing furiously fast at her keypad. It could only be a message from one person, the way she was willing to divert her attention from a friend who was sitting right next to her. People may have been under the assumption that Shino was socially unaware, or impervious to gossip, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. In actuality, he likely had enough blackmail material to fuel TI for years. Yet, he never did anything much with the information people were foolish enough to let slip around him- perhaps he'd blackmailed Kiba into doing a few things here and there, but other than that? He simply collected the information, without distributing any of it. Some secrets would simply go with him to the grave./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He knew it wasn't anyone in Leaf she was messaging, and while he had his suspicions, Shino couldn't say with absolute certainty that the new Kazekage was her partner (or soon to be partner; whoever Kiyoshi was talking to always drew such reactions from her that there was no other outcome to conclude), but he was more than half certain. It was her desire to talk to possibly-Gaara, her seeming energy for life renewing before all their eyes everytime she opened a message from that person, that made his shock greater when she finally put the phone down and asked him her question./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""You are, as you say, very accomplished as a shinobi, and a welcome addition to all our lives," the Aburame wasn't shy about expressing such sentiments as others in their group might have been, even if he did phrase things in that stilted way of his. "Yet you say you feel empty. Why? I cannot say for certain." He paused only for a moment before pressing on. "However, I suspect it may be because you are missing a deeper connection. With someone in particular." She didn't need to tell him who (he'd get his confirmation eventually), but that was, from all appearances, the root of the problem. Friendship was a wonderful, necessary connection they all needed, but wasn't a life partner essential for most, as well?br /_/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"His bright hair, hidden behind the towel he'd tossed over his damp locks upon emerging from the bathroom, dripped a few water droplets onto the floor as he made a beeline for his phone. For someone who'd thought about a long, relaxing bath, he'd found he couldn't truly focus enough to do more than a quick shower, only staying long enough to ensure everything was properly scrubbed and cleaned… And maybe a few extra minutes for stress relief. Nonetheless, he was feeling at least a bit more refreshed and completely eager to see what she'd sent him while he was cleaning up./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"'They're unbelievably childish sometimes.' His cheeks were the faintest shade of pink as he typed out his grousing response. She had offered to help, she wanted to do something for him! It made his chest constrict in that funny, slightly panic-inducing way it always did whenever Kiyoshi was involved. He wasn't sure how he'd survive their next in-person encounter./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"'Just being able to talk to you helps.' He hit send before he could delete the message, heart continuing to race. Was that too strong? Would she be repulsed? Laugh at him? He was typically confident in his own skin nowadays, after leading his country for so long, but Kiyoshi… He wanted no other person to hold, to stand by. It was honestly pathetic, how worked up he was getting, wasn't it? For someone who'd been molded into a brutal killing machine and emotionally stunted since birth, was it too much to hope for? Of course, he could never just come outright and say it! Especially not when he was so mixed up over his own feelings. There was a lot to sort through, after all./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"_/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Me?" The prospect of an actual out-of-village mission was exciting, she still managed the odd courier mission and client escort from time to time, but to be out and about with some of her friends? A grin stretched across her face, Fuyumi unaware of how it lit up her features when she did so. "Of course I'll come! We haven't gotten to run any missions together in ages." She groaned dramatically, flopping over onto Ino for dramatic effect for a brief moment, only to pop back up with a wink and laugh. "Have you figured out anyone else?" Anyone on Ino's old genin team would be a good fit, since Ino-Shika-Cho were always specifically put together for information gathering purposes. But Kiba, Shino, and Hinata were all good at tracking, and Sakura, even if there was a weird tension, was the medical expert and could probably best identify what combinations of herbs were needed./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"And speaking of Sakura, having forgotten to completely silence her phone, she heard the sound of a text coming in, and the tone was the one she used just for the rosette's messages./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""It's Sakura," she announced as she read the message. "I guess we're having dinner tonight." The slightest pink tinged her cheeks and the tips of her ears. "We have some things we need to talk about." Things that, for the moment, were between herself and the pinkette. The young woman typed a quick 'At Ino's. I'll be over in fifteen.' Ino lived farther from Sakura than Fuyumi did, so it was only fair to give her a heads up that she'd take a little longer to arrive. Yet, with that, her attention snapped back to Ino, and she gave the blonde a quick parting hug./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I'm definitely coming along! Just text me the details on when we're leaving, okay? It's going to be a walk in the park for our superior skills." With that cheeky comment, she winked and slipped back out into the night. She unconsciously used her chakra to enhance her speed as she hopped along the rooftops, nervous energy filling her as the apartment she was due to be at drew closer./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"In the end, she made it in eight minutes, nearly halving her time, and using some of the spare few moments to pause outside Sakura's door and collect her racing heartbeat and thoughts. Then, after a long moment, she raised her hand and knocked. Even if Sakura would have likely sensed her arrival, those manners were key. Especially when they hadn't parted on the best of terms at the hospital that day. But they would talk it through and fix it, they just had to!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Hey," Fuyumi's smile was soft as her favorite person opened the door. She just couldn't help but melt at the sight of her friend (her something- they really did need to talk about that situation)./p