?￢ﾜ ? ~ Chapter Eight — Snakes in the Grass ~ ?￢ﾜ ?

Damn that boy… she couldn't sleep because of him. She was too happy to sleep, if that made sense. It didn't, she knew it didn't. Since when do feelings make sense?

…

Yeah, thought so.

Yora placed a hand on her heart. The comforting beat made her already apparent smile grow.

She'd never been this close to someone before, not since her mother. Her father was distant and that was putting it mildly; other than that, she had herself to blame.

Friends were a luxury she couldn't indulge in due to her own choices. She needed to keep her promise…

…Which she broke. Her beating heart ached at the reminder. The fractures where her heart was still shattered stung the most.

But, the boy responsible for her sleepless night healed the wound… or numbed the hurt, at least. Shinrai was certainly keeping his promise. Letting out a small giggle she clenched her heart.

She wasn't lonely around him.

That made her happy.

Shinrai was the first person since her mother that she wanted to be around not just out of obligation.

He was the first person that she wanted to talk to.

He was the first person that made her truly smile.

Shinrai was her first true friend… and by the looks of things, it might end up becoming more than that.

—⊱✿⊰—

Blade's headquarters were in silent disarray. The number of guards on duty was tripled. Their medics were placed on standby. All sensors hid within the walls. Kowasu considered himself lucky to come across that girl, her seals made communication infinitely easier.

The news of the Kyuubi being within their borders spread like wildfire. Blade's forces were mobilizing, and within a day they found themselves ready to take on the Demon Among Demons, the Avatar of the Sun… melded into one.

Ryujin Hiyenzo was their target. There was no circumstance where he'd let him or Aiko escape this country.

Alive, that is.

He could care less about what happened to their corpses.

—⊱✿⊰—

Healing Shinrai was a… unique experience, to say the least. His constantly upbeat attitude was a welcome surprise. He enjoyed anything that she did to him, even the painful bits. Unfortunately for him, all of the painful procedures had passed.

Yora's hand was positioned on his chest as it shimmered green with the mystic palm. Physical contact wasn't required for the jutsu to work, and the difference it made in effectiveness was negligible.

But she did it anyway. He enjoyed the contact, and so did she. Her Mystic Palm wasn't needed to feel the infatuation Shinrai had for her. She could see his breathing shift, the way he could never keep eye contact for long—even though there was probably more to that.

She couldn't deny that she was a little disappointed that she couldn't stare into his eyes. His oxymoronic bright coal-black eyes. They reminded her of her father's eyes, except they were also their exact antithesis.

Coal eyes that cared, midnight eyes that didn't.

Unknowingly, she slightly increased the pressure of her palm on his chest, feeling the warmth hug her hand. Why am I doing this to myself? I know this isn't going to last…

Yora shook the thoughts away. The warmth she felt whenever he was near was something she never wished to let go of. What was worse, is that she knew she would have to, much sooner rather than later. She vowed to embrace the sun before night came.

"Shinrai, I have good news," Yora began, the green shimmer of her hands going dim, unlike the morning rays that peeked through the window.

He nodded along in excitement, sitting up in his bed.

"You can walk again!" she announced, clapping her hands together with a grin. The joy she felt seeing his recovery was undeniable.

"LET'S FUCKING GO IT'S BEEN TWO DAYS!"

Shinrai flexed his core and prepared to leap out of bed. Yora quickly placed her hand back on his chest to stop him. "No."

She glared at him with twinkling scarlet eyes. Her potent gaze was something she took pride in, inherited from her mother. That combined with his obvious crush, it was easy to assert control over him with a mere look.

The quickness of which he folded under the pressure of her look was greatly amusing. "Get up, slowly," she commanded, placing her eyes under the morning sunlight to make them glow like scarlet stained glass.

"Yes, ma'am." he said with a swallow.

Satisfied, Yora took her hand off his chest and granted him the freedom to move once again. Shinrai carefully sat up, then turned to the edge of the bed, allowing his feet to touch the carpet.

Once they did, he leaned forward and groaned as he stood to his full height, standing over Yora with a smirk. Her head only reached the base of his neck. "I'm taller than you."

I knew he was probably taller than me, but damn. Feeling her cheeks flush, she looked down at the carpeted floor. "Shut up…"

"Uh," he began. With her attention caught, she looked up at him. "Can you show me around Grass?"

"The entire country would take weeks," she said slyly.

He grunted. "I meant, here. This town," he specified as Yora giggled. "It looks nice."

"There are better places," she said with a shrug. Truthfully, there were better places, closer to the border, where it was less developed and had more nature, where Seed didn't get to developing. Aiko's town was one of the few exceptions... "Plus, Blade really doesn't like Konoha Shinobi."

In response, the Konoha Genin simply untied the headband from his head, and placed it on the nearby dresser. "Bam."

"You'll have to take everything else off too."

"Woah, woah, woah… woah," halted Shinrai.

"I mean your Shinobi gear!" she corrected, turning red. "Pervert…"

He scoffed. "Like you're one to talk."

"Shut up!" she yelled, looking Shinrai in the eyes, which immediately subdued him.

Shaking her head, she brought up a different point."We'll also have to make sure it's okay with Sir Ryujin and Ms. Aiko."

He nodded in agreement. "Let's go then!'

A short trip out the door and down a corridor later, Yora and Shinrai were the center of attention. Ryujin and Aiko exited their discussion of Akari's character on the couch, and Kusari looked up from the sketch she was working on at the dinner table.

Kusari smiled once she saw him moving. "You're better!"

"Getting better," Yora corrected.

Ryujin narrowed his eyes. "So, he's not ready to move yet?"

"No," she answered.

Ryujin sighed, but Aiko poked him in the shoulder. "It's okay Ryu, you're here, right? It'll be okay."

"Yeah, but there are also people trying to kill you here," Ryujin added, full of irritation.

"Well…" she began. "Didn't you say that you were in the top ten strongest Shinobi?"

"I am, but…"

"Then that means I'm safe with you," Aiko concluded. "I've been feeling a lot better since you came here."

"Fine," Ryujin grumbled.

Shinrai cleared his throat. "Wait, where's Gosei?"

"He went exploring," Aiko answered.

Shinrai grinned. "Oh, so that means it's okay if I do too!"

"Aren't you injured?!" Ryujin questioned incredulously. "Go lay back down!"

"Now that he can walk around, he should walk to prevent further muscle atrophy and get his body used to physical activity so he can properly move like he used to once the time comes," she explained in a scholarly tone.

Shinrai couldn't help but giggle.

Ryujin narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Fine… Just don't do anything rash, Shinrai."

Defensively, Shinrai opened his mouth to speak, but Yora answered for him. "He won't. I'm here."

Another giggle escaped Shinrai's breath as he scratched the back of his head.

"Is it alright if I come along?" Kusari asked.

"No!" Both Yora and Aiko answered.

Kusari pursed her lips. "Oh…"

"You being a Hyuuga is a dead giveaway that you're from Konoha," Aiko informed.

Yora agreed. "And the Hyuuga are especially disliked by Blade, even a lot of Seed have a distaste toward them."

"I see," she said simply.

Shinrai frowned. "Sorry, Kusari…"

"It's alright," she assured, her face not changing a bit as she returned to drawing.

Yora walked forward and looked back at Shinrai. "Let's go!"

With a sheepish smile, he followed Yora out the front door.

—⊱✿⊰—

The Senju traveled through the forest of tall grass. A comfortably chilly morning breeze blew his brown hair out of his face. He took a deep breath of the air and let out a satisfied smile. Gosei purposely got out of the town as soon as he exited Aiko's house.

The itch to be out in nature nagged at him like a bug bite every second he was trapped in that house. He was in an entirely different country and he didn't even get to explore the foreign flora.

At least that he was doing that now, not caring at all that he had to leave behind his Shinobi gear. Any Shinobi that relied solely on their tools shouldn't fix their mouths to call themself a true ninja.

His emerald eyes observed the blades of grass that towered over him like trees. He'd only seen pictures of Grass' Grass Forests, but seeing them in person was an entirely novel experience.

It was monumental. He wondered if this was how ants saw regular blades of grass… it was likely true. Gosei chuckled. To think a member of the Senju Clan would compare themself to an ant…

The tranquil sound of the breeze was broken by a sob. A child's sob.

With a raised brow, he turned his head toward the sound. Another cry broke the silence. He approached, walking a short amount to see a small boy on the ground crying by himself.

"Hey, what are you doing out here alone?" Gosei asked, no comfort in his tone but no hostility either.

The boy looked up, wiping tears from his eyes as he sobbed more. "I-I'm lost!"

"Ah, do you know where your parents are?"

The boy nodded, sniffling. "They're at home… b-but I don't know how to get to town from here!"

"I do," Gosei answered, sticking his hand out to help the boy up. "I'll lead you there."

A smile broke through the boy's crying face. "Thank you, sir!"

"No problem," he responded, the boy taking his hand. "Just follow me and you'll be alright."

The boy nodded again, now on his feet. "T-thank you, t-thank you so much!"

Gosei couldn't help but chuckle. "It's alright, I told you that it's no problem."

The Senju kept his promise, leading the boy back to town from the Grass Forest. However, they were not alone.

A phantom spied on them from plain sight, giggling to himself. "I thought he'd be more annoyed that I messed up his little nature walk…"

The masked man shook his head. "The boy isn't even real…"

Zero shrugged. "Oh well, that was a dud. No fun for me today."

He twirled on his feet and walked inside of the giant blade of grass as if he phased through it.

Zero did not appear on the other side.

—⊱✿⊰—

Ryu and Aiko sat next to each other on the couch in tranquil silence. It was lucky that they didn't need a constant conversation to bond or be comfortable with one another, he simply rested in the embers smoldering. Not that Ryu minded the occasional question.

"So, Ryu," Aiko started, gaining his attention. "How's the whole Hokage thing doing? You haven't really brought it up in your letters."

Kusari looked up from her drawing from the dinner table. "You want to become the Hokage, sensei?"

"Uh…" Ryu murmured, being put on the spot. He couldn't exactly say that he gave up… especially in front of Aiko. "Well, the Old Man hasn't dropped dead yet, so…"

Aiko cackled, and Kusari's eyes widened. "Sensei?! You can't say such things!"

"I've been your sensei for a month and you still can't understand my humor?"

Kusari let out a sigh. "But still, I was not aware that you have aspirations of becoming Hokage. Why didn't you say so before?"

"You haven't mentioned it?" Aiko questioned with a raised brow. "You used to tell everyone you met that you were gonna be the Hokage…"

Uncertain, Ryu opened his mouth to speak, but before the conversation could continue further, a knock at the door stopped it. Her Byakugan awakened, and she narrowed her eyes. "It's a Grass Nin."

Aiko looked back at her. "Get out of sight."

Ryujin removed the headband from his left arm and hid it under a pillow. Afterward, he went to the front door and opened it. "Hello."

The woman was dressed in full Kusa gear and glared at him with a fierce brown gaze. Ryujin tensed.

"Hiyenzo," she spat.

Ryujin kicked her in the gut while making a clone, which immediately went to protect Aiko. Kusari leapt from her hiding spot to join the clone. The woman flew away from the door due to the kick. Ryujin summoned a kunai made of flame and cut her neck open, killing her immediately.

Inside, Kusari and Ryujin's clone stood guard around Aiko, who curled in a ball with her back against the couch. The Hyuuga's activated eyes spied something rolling toward the group. A ball… a ball with chakra.

"Watch out!" she called before the ball exploded into a cloud of smoke. From the cloud of smoke a Grass Cutter pierced the air toward Aiko. Kusari and the clone reacted. The former struck the arm holding the blade with the Juken, while the latter grabbed the blade by the metal and directed it away from Aiko.

It pierced the couch while the person holding the Grass Cutter let go and leaped back only for his skull to be stabbed by a kunai of fire, and he fell to the carpet, lifeless.

"Is there anyone else?" Ryujin asked Kusari.

She shook her head. "No, it was just them."

"They knew I was here…" Ryujin clenched his fists as both the flaming kunai and clone dissipated. "How?"

"Ryu," Aiko called with a sickening tremble in her voice. "Is… is it over?"

He nearly snapped his neck looking toward her. His heart shattered. With tears in her eyes, she was quaking, her breaths were short and choppy, and the look in her eyes just cried out for help.

Ignoring the sadistic, demonic laughter inside of him, he rushed over to Aiko. "Yes, it's over. You're safe now," he assured… not believing the words he said.

Aiko wrapped her arms around Ryujin and squeezed. Chills went down his spine as Aiko's trembling shook him through her grip. Hesitantly, Ryu placed his hands on her back in an attempt to return the hug.

With a purse of her lips, Kusari walked away from the two, not daring to deactivate her Byakugan. "I'll keep watch," she murmured.

Her sensei nodded… and silence fell.

—⊱✿⊰—

Azure sky, milky clouds, and a golden sun. Crimson hair, coal eyes, midnight hair, scarlet eyes. Yoraika and Shinrai walked through the town Aiko called home. A modest town, it was. One-story houses and markets were scattered across dirt roads. The roads weren't crowded, but they also weren't desolate.

Shinrai couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Yora had finally let her hair out of the professional ponytail she'd always worn it in and, by all things in existence, she was beautiful. It was as if a starless night sky was woven into silk and placed onto her head, like a crown that flowed all the way down to the sword at her waist.

As the two walked, a masked man crossed their path. They didn't pay much mind to him, that was until he called to him, looking back with a featureless face of black.

"Good shit, man," he complimented in a casual tone of voice. "You got with a Shinobi girl, I heard that they're a handful…"

Shinrai laughed, and Yora blushed. "Of course I did!"

"Why would you—?!" she spattered as the masked man laughed.

With a grin, Shinrai pointed to his own face. "You have a cool mask, dude!"

"Thanks, I made it myself!" he said before turning his back and waving. "You two have a good time!"

Yora grabbed Shinrai's wrist and hid her face. "Why would you say that…" she groaned.

"Say whaaat?"

"That you…" she blushed even harder. "You know what, never mind. "

Shinrai chuckled. "No, no, say it."

"I hate you…"

"C'mon…" urged Shinrai with a sly smirk.

Yora let out a breath. The redness of her face made her eyes look colorless in comparison. "You agreed with him that we're together!"

"Well, are we not together right now? I'm here, you're here…"

"Stop using my humor against me!"

"No, I don't think I will, my…" Shinrai paused, debating whether he'd complete this sentence or not, his heartbeat racing as he mulled it over.

"Your what?" Yora asked, looking up at him with an inquisitive brow raised.

He took the leap of faith. "Lovely Girlfr—"

"...And we're going!" she interrupted with a blush redder than a bloody apple as she pulled Shinrai along by the wrist.

"Wait—where?!" questioned Shinrai as he nearly tripped.

Yora halted, and Shinrai nearly tripped again. "I am so sorry!" she apologized as she let go of his wrist and placed a green shimmering hand on his chest and his legs turned to jelly.

Yora paused when she touched his heart. "Oh my…"

"What?" A spike of panic rose within him.

"Your heart rate!" she exclaimed, pushing more chakra into her healing hand. Shinrai let out a breath as his heart slowed. Scarlet drifted to coal and Shinrai chuckled, while Yora herself was in obvious contemplation.

"Sorry…" he mumbled, sheepish, as he broke eye contact with a small sigh of relief. I can still barely hold eye contact with her.

Yora chuckled. "Why are you apologizing? I almost tripped you... twice."

"If I hadn't flustered you, then you wouldn't have been clumsy enough to almost trip me," Shinrai said, knowing exactly what he was doing as he battled all the nerves telling him not to say half the things he was saying.

Yora gave him a playfully unamused look. "Okay, Shinrai."

He laughed. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"A place I know," she said as she slowly slid her hand down Shinrai's chest. A chill went down his spine at her touch… a gentle slide that lasted for a few seconds but seemed like an eternity to him, an eon passing by the time the tip of her fingers lost contact with him.

Yora smiled. "It's an important place… to me."

"I'm looking forward to seeing it, then!" he responded with a toothy grin.

A hand drifted to his, and Shinrai's butterflies whirled as the soft palm of her hand grazed against his but only for a split second… and Yora walked ahead. The tease to something greater lit a fire in his chest, and the weight of his breath held him in place.

Looking back, Yora tilted her head. "You coming or not?"

"Oh—yeah!" he agreed, picking up the pace to match her stride as they walked. I am so holding her hand before I leave. With that declaration, he followed Yora for about fifteen minutes into the forest of dirt and tree-sized grass.

Up a hill they went, peeking above the grass. The wind blew at them, making Shinrai's hair flicker like a crimson candle while Yora's flowed like a midnight stream.

Yora took a seat on the hill, bringing her knees up to her chest with a hug from her arms. "I come here when I'm sad."

Shinrai sat next to her, his legs flat on the ground while his right arm dug into the dirt for support. "Are you sad right now?"

"If you weren't here, I might've been," she said, a small genuine smile on her face.

Shinrai chuckled. "I'm happy to have helped…"

"And I'm happy to have helped you," she said, and the sound of a blade exiting its sheath cut through the air.

Shinrai's heart skipped a beat as silver flashed across his vision.

"Sorry, Shinrai…" Yora apologized, holding her bloodied Grass Cutter.

With widened eyes and trembling pupils, Shinrai traced the blade of his namesake down. It was embedded in the dirt, with a white snake's head severed from its body.

"It was gonna bite you," she said. "White snakes are the most venomous."

Shinrai let out a breath and chuckled. "I thought you were gonna kill me…"

"That's why I apologized…" she said, wiping the snake's blood off her blade before sheathing it. "For scaring you…"

He placed a hand over his heart and looked to Yora. "Can you slow my heart again?"

A guilty whine was let out of her mouth, disguised as a giggle. "I'm sorry!" she apologized again as she placed her green, shimmering hand on his chest again. Shinrai was used to her hand on his chest at this point, but he didn't adore the feeling any less.

"It's fine! You saved my life."

"...Wouldn't be the first time."

Shinrai chuckled. "Right…"

"The hell are you two doing out here?"

Shinrai and Yora looked back to see a visibly confused Gosei staring down at them.

An internal groan signified the plummeting rock that was Shinrai's mood.

Yora looked back at Gosei. "Since Shinrai's able to walk again, he should exercise that ability to make sure that he's in top condition when he fully recovers."

"Hmph," grumbled the Senju, taking a seat next to Yora.

Shinrai's brow raised with suspicion. What does he want with her…?

"Yoraika, tell me about your perspective of the current conflict in Grass," he requested flatly. "I never got to hear it since Aiko interrupted you last time."

Shinrai hummed. He would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't curious.

"Alright," she agreed, taking a deep breath. "What Ms. Aiko said about Seed, I mostly agree with. They have the moral high ground here. They were attacked by a group of radicals with no prior warning. Blade, however… they're not as evil as Ms. Aiko made them out to be."

Gosei glared and Shinrai tensed as he felt the Senju's chakra rise. "After all they've done?! After all the lives they've taken for no reason?! You stand here defending them?"

Yoraika's scarlet eyes shimmered with a warning glare that she shot at Gosei. "Listen, Konoha Shinobi. You're not from here, so don't act like you know everything after reading a couple of books and talking to a handful of people."

Gosei's eyes narrowed.

"Blade's method of action is entirely unacceptable, that much is obvious. They've annihilated the country I call home. But… I can't bring myself to hate them."

Shinrai leaned forward. "Why not?"

"Because on the ideological front, I believe they're right. The government Seed is trying to preserve is a faulty one. A government that valued money over all else. Money over the wellbeing of their citizens, money over the environment, money over the pride of the nation…

"Ms. Aiko was rich when she came here; she never felt any of the faults that Seed's government held. Blade was created by a group of Shinobi who were sick of the mistreatment, who were sick of being treated like trash because they failed to bring in the profit that was deemed suitable by the state.

"They were sick of being treated subhuman… I was sick of seeing people I knew being treated subhuman. I became a Shinobi because I supported Blade. That was my motivation. It died the moment Blade became a terrorist organization," Yoraika sighed, feeling the shame starting to eat her alive.

"After that, my father and I joined Seed to prevent Grass from falling into chaos under the tyrannical rule that would surely be created under Blade. All I can do is hope that Seed wins this war and learns their lesson." She placed her chin on her knees.

"Is that a sufficient answer?" asked Yoraika as she glanced at Gosei.

He nodded slowly, clenching his fists as his face hardened. "We can win the war for Seed," Gosei declared.

"What?" Yoraika questioned.

"Yeah!" Shinrai agreed, not even registering the fact that he was on the same page as Gosei, of all people. "Ryu's really strong. He can definitely take down the heads of Blade by himself."

"How?!"

Gosei shook his head. "He instructed us not to say."

"Ms. Aiko did say that he was part of the top ten strongest Shinobi in the world…" she considered.

Shinrai nodded with a smirk. "Yeah, believe that it's the truth."

"Have you seen his strength?"

Both Gosei and Shinrai paused.

"Uhhhh…"

"...No."

Yoraika sighed. "No offense, but Sir Ryujin seems to be the type to have an ego."

"You're not incorrect," Gosei admitted.

"Then I'm not putting the future of my country into the hands of someone's ego."

"I mean… Ryu did say not to tell Aiko…" Shinrai reasoned. "As long as Aiko isn't there, we could tell the whole world."

Gosei pondered. "That isn't wrong…"

Yoraika looked between the boys. "What are you talking about?"

"Ryu is the Kyuubi Jinchuriki," Shinrai informed, and Yoraika paled. "Don't tell Aiko."

"Under any circumstance," Gosei stressed.

She nodded slowly. "I understand…" She gulped. "With that kind of power, then I don't see why he wouldn't be able to eradicate Blade for good."

"Exactly!" Shinrai exclaimed with a clap.

Yoraika stood. "Ms. Aiko is surely going to agree with this plan!"

Shinrai stood next. "Then she's gonna guilt trip Ryu into agreeing!"

Gosei stood last. "And then Grass will be saved!"

They cheered and Shinrai eccentrically pointed toward Aiko's house from the hilltop. "Onward!"

"Don't order me around," Gosei grumbled as he reluctantly walked down the hill—only not wanting to do it because Shinrai told him to do it.

As the three made their way to Aiko's home, they were watched by someone who had zero presence. He was in plain sight, yet as visible as the air he breathed.

"Well… isn't this an interesting development?" Zero muttered to himself. "Let's see how this turns out~"

With that, he trailed them as noticeably as a breezeless wind.

—⊱✿⊰—

Minutes later, Yoraika, Gosei and Shinrai stood collectively in front of Ryujin and Aiko in the living room, the latter much closer to Ryujin than any of the three had seen before. Ashes were spread in the front yard, and Kusari had her Byakugan active since before they arrived.

They knew something had happened.

Ryujin let out a sigh, looking at his two students. "If you two are on the same page, then this is surely going to be something…"

With a start, Gosei stepped forward. "We need you to eradicate Blade with your power," he declared, giving a knowing look toward his sensei.

"...Absolutely not," declined Ryujin, leaving no room for argument.

Shinrai made room. "You know that this conflict here has been hurting Aiko. Why not stop it if you have the strength?"

Ryujin looked toward Aiko… she was silent… conflicted… The Jinchuriki grit his teeth. "There was already an assassination attempt on Aiko's life today. I will not leave her side after that."

The trio's eyes widened, and Yoraika's heart plummeted. "Ms. Aiko… I'm so sorry," she immediately bowed.

"It's alright Yoraika," she assured. "Ryu was there."

Yoraika balled her hand into a fist and bit her lip. With a frown, Shinrai moved closer to her.

Gosei clenched his fist. "By eradicating Blade, you can prevent all future attempts on Aiko's life. Even if you drop her off at Konoha, you can return with reinforcements and stop the civil war."

"There's no way the Hokage would agree to that," Ryujin stated flatly. "Grass is not an allied country, so us as Konoha Shinobi, have no business interfering in their conflicts."

"That doesn't change the fact that it's the right thing to do!" argued the Senju with a righteous roar. "Yoraika, explain the conflict to him."

Yoraika stepped forward. "Sir Ryujin, in my short life I've lived under both the corruption of Seed and the tyranny of Blade."

That caught Aiko's attention. Silently, she intensified her focus on Yoraika as she continued. "If you're as powerful as you and your students say you are, then you can help.

"Blade has gone too far, and it's in the process of destroying the country I've called home my whole life and the country Ms. Aiko's called home for most of hers. Seed may be losing right now, but if you help us then they'll win. The fact that they were so close to a loss… means that they'll have hopefully learned that they need to change their ways." Yoraika bowed.

"Please, Sir Ryujin, save my country," she pleaded.

Aiko stared at Yoraika. "What do you mean by Blade having gone too far? They shouldn't have existed in the first place."

"Ms. Aiko…" she started, taking in a nervous breath. Shinrai's supportive hand on her shoulder allowed her to exhale. "Blade is not the power-hungry evil terrorist group you make it out to be."

Aiko glared. "Excuse me?!"

"Seed's government only ever valued money and those with it. You were one of those people. I was not. I've seen the innocent people treated less and less like people the less money they had and I hate it. Blade was formed by a group of people who were sick of that mistreatment. In every aspect but their method and morality they're right—"

Aiko stood, and her glare turned venomous. "How dare you say that in front of me!" she yelled, and everyone flinched—including Kusari, who watched from afar but especially Yoraika, who looked like she had just been stabbed through the heart.

"You dare support the faction that killed my father, that bastardized his fortune, and is aiming to kill me?!" she screamed, pointing an accusing finger that further pierced her.

Tears welled in Yoraika's eyes. "Ms. Aiko—"

"No, don't you dare speak my name, you snake. Did you help with the murder of my father?! You spent those sleepless nights worsening his condition little by little to make his death painful and slow?! Did you refuse to leave so keep an eye on me, acted so nice so kind to gain my trust?! Did you send those assassins after me today?!"

A tear fell down Yoraika's face, and she shook her head, denying it all. "No—no I would never!"

Aiko didn't believe not a word or action. "Don't give me those fake tears, you bitch! Blade is full of liars and deceivers, and you're no different! Leave! NOW!"

Yoraika ran out of the house in shambles and tears. Shinrai chased after her, but Ryujin grabbed his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. With gritted teeth, he flung himself out of Ryujin's grip and turned on Aiko. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

Aiko turned her glare to Shinrai and opened her mouth to speak, but Shinrai did first. "Yora dedicated everything she had to you and this is how you repay her?! By throwing her to the wayside over a fucking disagreement?!"

"What do you know, Shinrai?!" Aiko shouted back. "She must've spent all that time up there brainwashing you! Everything she ever told you was a lie!"

He clenched his fists, and his blood boiled. With a growl, he disregarded Aiko's words and stomped toward the room where he slept.

Ryujin let out a sigh and Aiko shut her eyes, sick to her stomach. "I just want to leave."

"Alright." Ryujin cleared his throat. "We leave for Konoha tomorrow morning."

With grit teeth and a sigh, Gosei nodded. "I'll try to convince the Hokage to interfere once we're there."

"Yes, sensei," Kusari agreed with a nod. "I'll go tell Shinrai."

Ryujin put a hand on Aiko's back. "I'm sorry."

"It's… okay, Ryu. It's not your fault."

Not one bit did he believe that.

?￢ﾜ ? ~ Chapter End ~ ?￢ﾜ ?