"You can tame a dog with food, and you can raise a man with money. But no one can tame a wolf of Mibu."

Hajime Saito

Mikito blinked open her eyes, sighing in relief as she felt the cool blades of grass brush against her back. She discarded her haori, which wasn't allowed. But she didn't care, she jut ran over one thousand laps around the compound, not counting all the push ups. sit ups, and pull ups she did before and after those laps. She was beat beyond her own belief, she never felt so tired and drained before, her mother and father were strict on her schedule and since she was their daughter she had a lot of high expectations to meet.

Souji was just turning one, he was already walking at nine months, wasn't talking quite yet or speaking baby gibberish. She remembered when her life had been easy, well easy for a shinobi anyways. Souji would begin his training in three years, just before he turned four, the same period she like all their kinsmen began their training. She stretched her arms out, wincing as her elbows cracked followed by her shoulders and wrists. "Hey!" A voice yanked her from her sky gazing, she flicked a loose bang from in front of her eyes, turning to her side spotting a young man about thee years older than she was.

He was lean, his muscles already developing. Which wasn't at all strange considering they ran around in these weighted clothes twenty four hours of the day almost. He wore the same outfit she did except he wore a dark gray kimono and black haori over it, his hakama a shade of black. His face was well proportioned and his eyes were a shape dark blue. His hair was black kept up in a low ponytail to avoid it sticking to his skin when he was sweating and to keep himself cool. He let out a small laugh watching Mikito drop herself on the grass again, he took a seat next to her. "Miki-kun, I see you're hard at work!"

"Gentatsu-kun! " Mikito lifted her head beaming as she cupped her hands behind her head, letting a small smile grace her face. "I'm finished for the day, not sure how much more I could take."

"You may be in line to become leader soon." Gentatsu said, pulling out some grass as he situated himself next to her, leaning back on his elbows. "Well, I guess we all are, but your parents have high expectations for you." He shrugged. "You know you have to keep that on?"

"Don't tell my parents." Mikito pleaded, eyes big as she looked into his.. "I needed a five minute break."

"I won't tell." He grinned cheekily flicking her on the forehead. "But, you only have five minutes. I am not going to take the blame and have to run another five thousand laps around the compound."

"Ow!" Mikito recoiled, almost flipping on her backside. "Thanks Gentatsu-kun!" She smiled back at him, turning her gaze back up at the sky. "Five minutes not a second longer." They both lapsed into silence, just enjoying the peaceful scenery and gazing up at the sky, it was so blue and vast they could stare at it forever. "So, um, how's your training coming along?"

"Leaps and bounds." Gentatsu replied. "The strength training has started I'll be running laps with this heavy clothing plus three hundred pounds extra on my back." He chuckled seeing disbelief flash in Mikito's round eyes. "Aw, come on what's with that look? It's not that much!"

"Six hundred pounds isn't that much!?" Mikito asked, eyes wide. She was still in the regular haori that they all wore to begin with which was roughly one hundred to one hundred and twenty pounds, she couldn't begin to imagine upping it by more than five hundred pounds.

"Actually, it's five hundred and forty." Gentatsu corrected, putting up one finger. "It was heavy at first, but once you get the hang of it..." He paused, dropping his head slightly. "Who am I kidding? It's super heavy!"

"I'll tell my father to stop being so hard on you!" Mikito suggested, jumping up to her feet with a purpose. Even if it was small and was a simple talk she was still motivated to do so.

"No! Don't!" Gentatsu dived for her leg, grabbing her ankles. "You can't tell him that, especially just for me!" Mikito frowned for a moment, deliberating what to do next, Gentatsu could see it she was going to go through with it. "Miki-kun..."

"But, I'm worried." Mikito relented sitting down. "What if you fall and can't get back up?"

"I'll be like a turtle then." Gentatsu laughed, pulling out a few strands of grass and tossing them to the side. "I guess it'd be kind of cool, you know?"

"How?" Mikito tilted her head. "You can't move. You'll be hungry, thirsty... What about using the bathroom?"

Gentatsu cleared his throat softly, he didn't think that one too far ahead. He wasn't going to pee his pants, but holding it was out of the question as well. If you had to go, you had to go and he wasn't going to hold it for a second. "Okay, maybe it's not so cool..."

"Mhm." Mikito pouted. "How can it be cool being a turtle? You move ultra slow, you have a tiny head, and you get stuck on your back and-" she paused in her explanation watching Gentatsu laugh at her expense. Of course she was only three and didn't get why he was laughing, she was being serious, and to show that she was listing off logical reasons why it wasn't 'cool'.

"Miki-kun, that's why you're my best buddy." Gentatsu said, holding his laughter back for a moment until he seen confusion on Mikito's face and laughed loudly.

"Aye..." Mikito huffed, looking away. "What did I say that was so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing." He ruffled up her hair, making her pout up at him. "Just promise me, you won't change."

Madara grumbled something incoherent as he stood over Mikito who figeted in her sleep muttering 'Gentatsu, Gentatsu, turtles' over and over again. He had no idea what she was going on about, he figured it was sleep talking-as silly as it sounded he couldn't deduce it as anything else except one of her ways to rile him up. "Mikito!" He shook her harder this time, sighing as her eyes shot open looking into his. "Finally, I was getting tired of saying your name." He grumbled turning away from her and moving to his bed.

"Ugh..." She rubbed her head, shaking the sleep from her hazy mind. "What time is it?"

"A quarter passed seven." Madara replied.

"Oh!" Mikito rose from her bed, stretching her arms over her head. "What's on the agenda for today? We should devise a plan to quell this Tachibana and Hageshii dispute, if we can even call it that."

"Hardly." Madara snorted, compared to him they were mere ants. He looked at her nodding. "Now, you're talking sense." Madara said, for once he didn't sound arrogant or annoyed. "We should get on that right away. That is our top priority of the day. Devising a plan, though I've already devised one myself." Mikito tried not to roll her eyes, the arrogance it was back.

"Care to fill me in?"

"It's simple." Madara shrugged. "We attack the Tachibana with our full strength and wipe them all out. We take them by surprise, ending their petty dispute with the Hageshii and possibly Shainingu, and provided we eliminate the former as well." Madara spoke calmly as if he was talking about the weather, or was just another day and this was just one of those things. It almost surprised Mikito. However, Genocide was a daily thing in this era, entire clans were wiped out like a wildfire, gone from the world.

"Do we have to resort to that?" Mikito asked, face passive as she spoke. "I'm... Not against it, but if there's a way to settle this without death then we should try to do it."

Madara snorted, shaking his head at the statement. "That's the funniest thing I've heard you say." He said sarcasm dripping on every word. "We are going to take care of the problem quickly and efficiently, the damiyo wants this nuisance gone and it is going to be taken care of..." He narrowed his eye, in no mood for a debate so early in the morning, maybe later but not now. "Don't tell me you were going to suggest something as silly and trivial as a truce..."

"Well, a civil union..." Mikito said lamely, glancing away for a moment. Sure, it sounded silly-okay it sounded completely ridiculous, the Tachibana and Hageshii, possibly the Shainingu would sooner kill each other before coming to a truce and Madara would sooner wipe them all out before even pondering the idea for a truce. Mikito twirled a few of her long bangs in her finger, sighing softly. "No?"

"Um, no..." Madara shook his head, folding his arms across his chest. "We will make sure they don't cause any problems ever again, then once that is done and over with we will take our leave." He gestured to her current outfit, which was all black garb that she wore as pajamas. "Bring your units' leader to the conference room we have a few things to go over in terms of strategy."

"Madara." Mikito spoke softly, cupping her hands in front of her, tilting her head sideways.

"What?"

"Say please."

Please my ass... Madara closed his eyes for a moment, reigning himself in. "Conference room. Fifth teen minutes."

"I heard you the first time boss man."

"Don't call me that!"

Tobirama looked at the two older men with an emotionless gaze, his ruby eyes boring into them. He didn't know what to expect. He was trained to expect the unexpected always but, in this situation it was different than a battle. The Shainingu were one of the prominent clans in this area, he rarely crossed paths with them due in part to their enmity with the Hageshii.

Tunochi folded his hand, interlocking his fingers, gaze stern. He looked over each of the men gathered before him. "So, I see the famous Senju and Subatsu brothers, and even Usagi..." He looked at each one for a moment, as if calculating something internally. "However, I was expecting you to be a bit... Older."

Syrus took a deep breath, there it was again. "Moving onto business..." He paused, narrowing his eyes.

"I must thank you for coming!" Hashirama said, a small smile on his face as he reclined forward. A truce could be accomplished there would be no bloodshed, and the damiyo's land wouldn't be effected by the war any longer. It was a win-win situation for him.

"Hajime Hageshii has agreed to come to a truce." Haji spoke, tone impassive bringing this conversation forward before it was taken three steps back by Tomoyuki's condescending manner. He'd tolerate for the simple fact he couldn't cut him down right now where he stood, and fighting would get nothing resolved at this point-one side was willing to agree, it was a matter of patience.

"Hajime?" Tunoichi asked, spitting the word, shivering slightly in disgust. "I find it hard to believe..." He couldn't even think of coming to a truce in all honesty, those swines, they disgusted him. Too many died to simply let bygones be bygones, but perhaps this could be favorable in his regard.

"He has agreed." Tobirama replied succinctly, folding his arms over his chest. "He disagreed at first, but is now convinced a truce is in order." Tobirama wasn't going to give him the full details of their conversation, he wasn't going to afford this man to have something over his head. Though, Tomoyuki and Tunoichi both came, which showed they were willing, both were cunning. He noticed the narrow eyed second in command, a slight twitch in his brows.

"So, I presume you spoke with Hajime prior to this meeting? Correct me if I'm wrong." Tomoyuki spoke up.

"That is correct." Hashirama responded, nodding his head to further show that was indeed what happened.

Tunoichii exhaled softly, but briskly. "Show me the truce..." He struggled to say the word, it was unfamiliar. He didn't like it, since he was a boy he was in conflict, this... What would this solve? But, he was willing to looked beyond his pride, if everything was within a reasonable radius, but knowing Hajime something had to be outrageous. He turned to Syrus, then Hashirama, his facial expression patient but expectant.

Hashirama slid what would be truce over the length of the oak table, his expression passive as he retracted his arm. There was the basic there would be no fighting between the clans-naturally, but there would be a bit more. The enmity between the two clans would be problematic in this endeavor, there was a keen note of neither of the two stepping foot on a few hundred kilometer area of wilderness that separated their compounds. Competition for land and food in the area was what drove their battles to the extreme lengths they were getting, with that noted the conflict would slowly cease.

It was a sound plan, they were half way there, all that needed to be verified was Tunoichi's agreement to the truce, then the two leaders would have to meet, which would be the biggest problem.

Several moments of silence passed over, nobody spoke all of them waiting for an answer or contemplating what would happen next. Tobirama was ever observant taking in whatever he could of the duo's discomfort, annoyance, any small emotion he could pick up on. Surprisingly he couldn't read anything, both of the men kept their facial expressions studied. Haji just watched them, searching for any hint of deceit, he knew how cunning Tunoichi was, that carried over into every aspect, like this talk for instance. Syrus just looked at noting in particular just waiting to hear their response so they could move forward with one method. And, Usagi for her part looked interested as the two older men read, but as the minutes crept by she grew anxious.

"Hmm..." Tunoichi grunted, focusing his attention on the table. A strange gesture, but nobody present questioned it. He stretched his arm to the side, handing the piece of starch paper over to his second in command, resting his chin on his wrists. Another several minutes of silence crept by, Usagi did her best not to fidget, talk about suspense!

"We have a few..." Tomoyuki paused for a moment looking over those gathered. "Questions."

Here we go... Tobirama sighed mentally.

"Is there anything to really question?" Syrus asked, tone sharp but clipped. He observed the two older men having their silent conversation in front of him, if he had to guess there was something about what they read they didn't like. He couldn't say he was surprised pride was a funny thing, drove people to great lengths. Could the Shainingu put their differences aside with the Hageshii, agree to this truce, and avoid an even greater conflict? He doubted it, in all honesty. "Hajime agreed to it, you just simply need to agree as well, which isn't very complicated." He didn't care if he sounded condescending, he was telling it like it was. If they agreed they'd live to see another day, but if they disagreed and continued to fight, they would be dealt with.

"There is." Tunoichi grunted, anger flashing in his eyes for a long moment.

Tobirama closed his eyes for a moment. "What is there to question?" He asked the obvious.

Sighing softly, Tunoichi closed his eyes his brows knitting together, increasing the wrinkles on his face. He was silent for a moment, nodding to Tomoyuki. "Everything... Is reasonable..." He sounded weary, not completely trusting-one could say shady would best describe his demeanor. "However, thirty percent of that wilderness belongs to us, it is our land. The Hagehshii just moved onto it, claiming it as their own, and even dug a line that separates us." His dark eyes flashed with anger for a second, just thinking about it was sickening. "If anyone dares cross they will get their leg cut off!"

Hashirama nearly jerked in shock, his face almost aghast as he listened to the man speak. He knew it wasn't going to be easy-it would be the hardest thing he's had to do. But, there was a chance of success, it gave him hope... But, what could he say to that? A leg getting cut off was mild to the wide majority, death was always a certainty. But, what could he say to that? It wasn't as if it was Tobirama getting his leg cut off. "It is... Unfortunate." Hashirama looked deep in thought. "However, with this all of it that will cease. You wouldn't have that piece of land, nor would they..." It sounded harsh-even ridiculous. But, he was an honest man.

Tunoichi looked visibly shaken as he heard it said out loud. He was proud, but he could see if for what it was worth. Their land had been pursued by the Hageshii, it was the Hageshii who drew the line in the dirt-quite literally. He was not going to just give up that piece of land, it was his the Hageshii moved onto it, seeking conflict was only inevitable and natural, especially when it came down to resources. "It is a most generous proposal..." He Tunoichi said gruffly, taking the sheet of parchment from Tomoyuki and smacking it down on the table, sliding it a few inches in front of him. "However, there is one major problem, one that I will not simply overlook.."

Hashirama looked almost wounded, the words impacting him greater than they should have. He didn't need to ask what he meant by that, he already knew what that meant. Tunoichi didn't agree, the conflict would continue. "I..." He muttered.

"So, you do not agree?" Tobirama asked, stern faced, his tone clipped. He wasn't going to allow his brother to demean himself, he was always nervous under pressure, and his pacifist nature made him readily agreeable to anything for the sake of peace. But, he wouldn't allow him to bow his head to such foul men, they couldn't see passed their pride, stuck in their ways-one could argue convicted. Seeking revenge. He wasn't going to tiptoe around it, or skirt around the bush. The implications behind his last statement were dully noted by the white haired Senju, but he wanted to hear Tunoichi say indefinitely.

"Absolutely not." Tomoyuki said, eyes narrowed as he spoke. "That is our territory."

Syrus had been holding back greatly. Tunoichi and Tomoyuki were being unreasonable, their constant condescending. For the sake of a civil debate for lack of a better word he stayed silent, having nothing to say on the matter as long as an agreement was made. Simple right? Of course not; things could never be that simple. He locked eyes with Tunoichi, flicking them to Tomoyuki. There was a village not even twenty five miles away from the Shainingu's territory, that was only a few hours travel for a shinobi not even that. "That is unfortunate to hear..." He leaned back. "We won't waste anymore of your time. However, just answer this before you excuse yourselves." Seeing they were still in place he continued. "Do you intend on pushing this battle deeper into the damiyo's domain?" That was his number one concern and priority next to the Two Tails, the damiyo only wanted peace, even if it was just within his domain.

"Sometimes..." Tunoichi stood up, leveling a stern gaze with all of them. "Well, you know the saying. Sacrifices are necessary. There will not be peace until every last one of those swines are all dead."

Tobirama tightened his arms around his chest, subtly flowing chakra to his arms and legs. At this point, Tunoichi or Tomoyuki couldn't be trusted to keep things civil, he'd act swiftly and efficiently. He growled softly, spotting a glint in Tomoyuki's eyes-killing intent. He coiled his body like a snake, ready to strike. "Brother..." It was Hashirama, speaking softly, but stern. "Be at ease."

"They are dangerous..." Tobirama whispered back, but relaxed his posture, stopping the kneading of his massive chakra.

"I suppose, making due with what you have, and going to the nearest village when you need supplies is out of the question as well." Haji stated, looking at the two Shainingu sternly for a moment before flicking his eyes to the side, looking at nothing in particular.

"We will take our leave..." Tomoyuki and Tunoichi opened the door, shutting it swiftly. Once they were certain they were out of ear shot Tomoyuki spoke in a whisper. "Tunoichi-sama, you weren't going to really go through with that truce were you?"

"That isn't any of your concern..." Tunouchi growled warningly, keeping his eyes trained forward. "But, as you can see I didn't even if I was considering it. We will still move forward just as we planned. With the Tachibana backing us we will wipe out the entire Hageshii clan in one month's time."

Usagi looked between the four men in the room, each with a different expression. Hashirama looked downtrodden-sad even. Tobirama held a stern and emotionless expression as always. Haji looked extremely annoyed and tired, which she could sympathize after dealing with Hajime and then Tunoichi and Tomoyuki, she was rather annoyed with the duo but kept quiet. Lastly, Syrus just stared at the piece of parchment with a level of disdain. He didn't want the truce in the first place it'd only prolong the issue in his mind. "Okay, guys!" Usagi spoke up, breaking the silence.

"I'll be in my room meditating." Tobirama excused himself, swiftly exiting the room.

"I guess it's my fault." Hashirama lamented. "I shouldn't have put that in there."

"That area in particular is the center for all of their conflicts. You did the right thing, Hashirama-san." Haji defended, strange as it was for the spiky haired man. "By neither entering that area or the radius around it the conflict would cease in due time."

"Why couldn't he see it like that?" Hashirama wondered out loud, rubbing his chin with both fingers.

"Well, we did try at least!" Usagi spoke up trying to lighten the atmosphere it was starting to reek of disappointment and anger. "Everything was reasonable, from what I read on that piece of paper, it's just one of those things..." She shrugged, she probably sounded foolish trying to cheer Hashirama up while laying out more negativity.

"One of those things..." Hashirama echoed.

"My sister makes an excellent point, and the only point." Syrus folded his arms. "Those two were boneheaded, they insulted us, and then turned it down completely. They only have themselves to blame for their folly, and they have no intention of keeping their battle out of the damiyo's domain..." He let the thought sink in for a moment, continuing. "They will need to be dealt with..."

"There has to be another way!" Hashirama protested. "There has to be!"

"We already tried doing things the nice and civil way." Syrus locked eyes with him. "That failed, it was an epic failure! The Shainingu have made their intentions clear with their declaration Hashirama. The time for talking is over..."

"No!" Hashirama whirled on him, "we can't...!"

"Look, arguing is going to get us nowhere. We tried getting a truce in the works and it failed. Tunoichi and Tomoyuki have made it clear they will continue their battles, they will push into the damiyo's domain." She took a breath, scratching the back of her head. "Something needs to be done about them however, we can't let them push their conflict any further in the damiyo's domain. A dozen people have been injured because of it and three were deemed dead." She heard Hashirama inhale sharply tearing his gaze from her brother's and staring at the table.

"Civilians will not be dragged in." Haji said with a stern tone. "But, it's been a long day we should all get some rest at the very least for a few hours." Syrus nodded in agreement thinking of his smoking pipe right at his bedside on a nightstand.

"You're right..." Hashirama nodded, smiling slightly. "We did try. I'll be out soon."

"Are you sure?" Usagi asked.

"I need to speak with you about something anyways." Syrus said, looking into her eyes. "It's rather important."

"Really!? Well, don't keep me in the dark!" She beamed with excitement, closing the door behind her leaving Hashirama alone deep in thought.

"There has to be a way." He murmured softly, clenching the parchment. "To end all of this fighting..."

"Guess that settles that." Tsugi, dressed in black ninja garb said with a small shrug, his expression calm but observant. "Tunoichi and Tomoyuki really said that?"

"Pretty much." Haji nodded, sipping sweet sake from a saucer cup. "Their intentions are clear now, we never could get them to agree to a truce." Haji looked impassive but felt a hint of disappointment. "It was a waste of time, from the beginning those two were only concerned about gaining something..."

"So, we're going to bust some heads." Ryoku smirked. Thrilled at the prospect of getting into another battle, it had been far too long. "Hey, for what it's worth you put in a good effort, honestly I'm surprised you tolerated it so long, let alone Syrus-san."

Osen just rolled her eyes at Ryoku's statement. "So, moving forward from this. We need a course of action, I give it a few days one month tops before we have the entire Shainingu clan on the damiyo's doorstep fighting without any reservations to the civilians."

"We'll need to firstly survey the situation." Disuke joined in on the conversation, leaning against a wall just a few inches away from Osen. He had been content to let them discuss it among themselves-he cared about the severity of the situation but felt no need to voice that concern. "One thing that wasn't mentioned was the line drawn between the two clans-people have gotten their legs cut off for simply stepping foot over it."

"They are apoplectic..." Haji muttered, sighing softly. "Disuke-san, what do you foresee?" Haji was naturally curious of what the quiet and stoic man thought. He was one of the older men in their units-next to Tsugi, Hesui, and Ryoku. Osen and Toka were in the mid twenties. Hesui and Toka weren't present at the moment, none of them really questioned it though they found it strange.

"If and when they plan to attack. We can expect one of two things." He looked at each person in tow, silent for a moment. "The first is they attack with their full strength, the battle will be pushed into the damiyo's domain and we will be forced to act against both the Hageshii and Shainngu." He took a sip of wine, preferring it over sake, setting his cup down. "The second and more unlikely course of action would be that Tunoichi and Tomoyuki will ally themselves with a clan close by, take the Hageshii by surprise and turn the tide of their war."

Osen nodded in understanding. "So, we need to keep track of any clans nearby and deduce which would likely ally themselves with the Shainingu..." Disuke gave a curt nod, sipping from his cup of wine. "Nothing is ever simple is it?" She was skeptical about the truce before, quite frankly she found it to be a load of bull. What and who would abide by everything on that piece of paper? But, now she wanted Tunoichi to agree, but it was too late.

"Precisely." Disuke closed his eyes, savoring the smooth but rich taste, settling the glass down and filling it up again. "Now, I've done enough talking for the day." Everyone gathered nodded in understanding. Getting a nod or grunt from Disuke was the closest thing one would get to actual communication. He was a man of few words, soft spoken, but his skills spoke volumes louder than any speech could.

"Sure thing, guy." Tsugi gave a thumbs up, to which Disuke stared silently for a moment before turning his focus back to his wine. "Yo, Haji."

"Tsugi?" Haji inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"You ever wonder about the little lady?" He questioned, smirking when he caught the widening of eyes for just a split second.

"Princess Hitomi?" Ryoku asked, his only answer silence and Tsugi's chuckling. It was enough of an answer to know he hit the nail on the head. "Damn shame she had to get married off to that fat pompous bastard." The lightning damyo was a lecherous and lavish man-known widely as a womanizer and even beat his wives. Which was one reason why he constantly married.

"I haven't..." Haji muttered, keeping his feelings in check. In truth Hitomi was all he could think about for the last forty eight hours! "It is unfortunate, but it happens." He brushed off Tsugi's knowing smile.

"Things will work out." Osen supplied, smiling slightly. "You, I'm hungry. Let's go." She tugged on Ryoku's hard upper arm. Ryoku excused himself exiting the room with Osen keeping a firm grasp on his upper arm.

"I have been wondering something." Tsugi broke the silence after a few moments. "Where are your brother and sister?"

"Syrus needed to speak with her in private." Haji replied nodding curtly. "I'm not sure what the nature of this discussion is, but it was important and Usagi was happy to hear it out." Which wasn't a complete surprise to him since Usagi jumped at the chance to go on missions, especially more dangerous one where'd she showcase her prowess and get good ol revenge on those who dared to challenge their clan.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Better?" Syrus asked, looking down at his sister as he twisted a knot out of his neck, sighing contently.

"I was anxious." Usagi admitted, sheathing her sword swiftly back into its sheath. She smiled wiping beads of sweat from her forehead. "I feel a lot better now after that spar!"

"Excellent!" Syrus couldn't hide his smile as he ruffled her hair, causing her to scowl up at him and swat his hand away. Talking to her would be a lot easier now that she wasn't so wounded tightly like a coiled spring. "Now we can talk." He made his way over to a large rock, situated by a grouping of massive trees in the background. He took a seat gesturing her over.

"What's going on?" She asked, interested as she took a seat on the grass, crossing one leg over the other. She flickered her eyes to the side, spotting a man just a few years older than Syrus hand over a slip of paper quickly advancing away. Once the man disappeared in the forest, Syrus cleared his throat gently rolling it open.

"It seems there is..." He paused, looking into her eyes. "A small in the Lightning country-" he was about to continue, but Usagi cut him off.

"Cho and those damn Inuzuka!?"

"Sister..." Syrus said lowly, a warning in his tone. He wasn't comfortable with her being within five hundred feet of that damiyo. He was overprotective, sure, but this was for an extremely good reason. Usagi shut her mouth, looking a bit sheepish as silent minutes passed by. Finally, Syrus relaxed his posture. "There is Cho and the Inuzuka, but there's a bigger problem besides that pack of mutts." He paused. "Hitomi. It seems she wasn't happy with the damiyo and ran away."

"I wonder why?" She spat sarcastically, shivering in disgust.

"That brings me to my next statement." Syrus held up his hand, quieting her. "I am by no means comfortable with you going there..."

"Brother..." Usagi did he best not to sigh and start clawing her dark tresses of hair out. She could see it for what it really was, he was worried about her being around the damiyo. It didn't help he had a great hate for the man, but as the saying goes money talks, and the damiyo paid them handsomely every time. "I'll be just fine! I'll take Tsugi and Ryoku with me too!" Tsugi was like a second father to her and Ryoku was always ready and willing.

"Hn..." He grunted, form rigid. "I want you to be careful don't be within the same room as the fat swine alone, Tsugi or Ryoku have to be with you." He exhaled, standing up from his perch turning away from her. "Actually, both of them have to be present."

"Brother!" Usagi cried, jumping up to her feet and swatting at his shoulder. "That's overboard and you know it." She giggled hearing a loud sigh escape his lips, by no means did he want her to go. But, he had his own concerns here and couldn't afford to take his leave. Usagi threw herself into him, squeezing his torso with all her strength, Syrus returned her embrace with one arm, their height difference almost comical. "I couldn't ask for a better brother! I'll be back here in no time with princess Hitomi! And, Cho and his pack will be dealt with."

"I know..." Ryu exhaled, taking a step back from her. "I'm not going to rush you away, take your time and make sure you have everything."

"Kay!" Usagi beamed, grinning. "Can you come with me somewhere?"

"Where to?"

"I seen this shop that has pastries and sweets!" Usagi's eyes glittered with stars.

"You know I hate sweets."

"But, I like them! And, you can't say no to me!" Usagi gripped his sleeve tugging him along before he could just that. Say no. "They even have pudding!"