"I can't believe how long it took you to just get on the stupid rock." Koichi was lying on the floor of the common area, hands behind his head, a book about the history of the Land of Water spread over his face.
Aside from a venomous glare, Utakata did not reply, but he did shoot Rei a brief glance that she couldn't interpret. "By the way," Koichi continued, rolling over and letting the book fall to the floor. "Why 'mashed potatoes'?"
"Hm?" Headmaster Iwa looked up from his never-ending paperwork.
"I said, why 'mashed potatoes'?"
"Why mashed potatoes for what?"
Koichi dropped his forehead to the floor, so Rei took a seat next to the Headmaster at the table. "Why was 'mashed potatoes' one of the key phrases that would paralyze Utakata?"
"Oh." A small grin. "I was starving when I was writing the Jutsu, and it was all I could think about."
Utakata took the seat next to Rei, giving her a not-unfriendly side-eye. "When can you undo it? It's such a ridiculous thing to be paralyzed for."
"Not only paralyzed," Koichi said, hopping up and joining them. "Everybody with a Curse Mark got the message that you were a traitor."
"For saying 'mashed potatoes'?" Rei asked, looking between the three of them. "I didn't know that would happen."
"It's like this." Headmaster Iwa bent back to his work, talking while he wrote. Rei had a feeling that he would regret that later. "The Curse Marks are encoded to a specific series of words, but also to the speaker's intentions. Chakra is very unique in the way that it can sense someone's future actions. In Utakata's case, if he were to say the word 'mashed potatoes,' describe mashed potatoes, or seriously intend to tell anyone about mashed potatoes who didn't have the same Seal, his body would freeze and render him incapacitated until the original caster were to free him. In addition, an automatic chakra signal would be sent to anyone with the Seal to notify them that Utakata had betrayed them."
When neither of her teammates looked surprised, she said, "Seriously?"
"It's the same premise with our Curse Marks," he continued, making a sloppy scratch that Rei assumed was his signature on a file. "The same thing would happen if one of us were to speak of our plans against the Mizukage to someone outside of the foundation. The paralysis wouldn't even be released under torture."
"Which brings me back to my original question." Utakata's fingers were tightly clenched. Rei wondered if he was ever un-stressed. Even when he put on that totally relaxed front, something about him was tense.
"It all depends on when Rei is feeling up to it. She lost a lot of chakra to put that Seal on you. It could take a couple of days."
Rei smiled when Koichi said, "I definitely know what we're eating tonight. Wanna guess, tight-wad?"
"I hope you're not joking. I love potatoes," Headmaster Iwa said absently while turning a page.
While the boys bickered, Headmaster Iwa looked up and gave Rei a warm smile. "You have accomplished something big today. The council was very impressed." Rei looked down at her lap. A warmth of usefulness, success washed through her. "I wouldn't be surprised if you were out on a mission this time next week."