A wave of terror washed over me as I watched Garras hand shoot forward from the sand with something clutched in his fingers. At first I assumed this was the kuni I had thrown, however the pressure against my stab wound as well as the lowering of garras sand proved otherwise. "There that should help slow the bleeding but you need medical attention immediately, kankuro, tamri take him back to the leaf village i'll go on ahead to look for his squadmates." Garra spoke as he pressed a sterilized cloth against my wound, placing my own hand over it to keep the pressure as he stood up to speak to his brother and sister before doing just as he said and going on ahead by jumping from tree to tree. By this point my vision had begun to fade and my hearing began to become distorted. I felt myself being lifted up by kankuro and tamari before feeling the wind on my face as we began to move. "So this one guy managed to kill those five sound jonin by himself?" Tamri asked as we moved "You saw those guys, they were all cut up and impaled. It shouldn't be too surprising i heard a rumor he lost that arm in a fight with orochimaru and that he killed zabuza to claim kubikiriboco which we did find impaled in that tree back there tree.'' Kankuro responded. "Geeze remind me never to get on this guys bad side." this was the brief conversation i heard between kankuro and tamari before i blacked out completely, i was only unconscious for what felt like a few minutes however it quickly became obvious as i woke up it had been much much longer then that. Looking out the window it was midday judging by the height of the sun around two o'clock, the curtain around my bed was pushed aside as tsunade entered alongside kaen. "Oh good you're finally awake. Here drink this it will help." tsunade spoke as she walked to my bedside pouring me a small glass of what i found out the harsh was was saki, this shot of saki while it was an unpleasant surprise it did help my senses to return to me that much quicker so much so that i proceeded to down at least half the bottle set next to my bed. "Hey, I didn't bring the entire thing just for you!" Tsunade said this as she ripped the bottle away from me. "Now that you're awake we can discuss your punishment." This was quite startling and aggravating for me to hear, causing me to slowly sit up in the bed I was in, using my left arm for support as I leaned back against the backrest. "My punishment?" I asked things in an upset and annoyed tone. "Yes not only did you, senshi, and kaen act upon your own initiative with what you discovered, you yourself have been barred from being a shinobi thus this stunt of yours proves you won't listen to me. Not to mention that's not even bringing up the suspicious secret training and business deals senshi has been setting up for you, you and senshi are on incredibly thin ice not only with me but the feudal lord as well." Tsunade was not happy to see me drinking her saki and even less so when she heard my question, tsunade explained things a bit in a rather upset and angry tone only for kaen to step into the conversation before I could say anything in response. "Forgive me lady hokogae but if we had not acted when we did sasuke may very well be in the hands of orochimaru right now, not to mention katate not only held off but killed the sound four allowing me and senshi to catch up to and defeat kimimaru to retrieve sasuke. As for his training under senshi i can vouch that it was purely to aid katate, proven by when he was attacked by bandits on a delivery." kaens words came as a surprise to both myself and tsunade as we looked at him, resulting in a further explanation. "I do believe katate has been punished more than enough, the loss of his arm against orochimaru and the following restrictions were punishment enough, However after last night i believe he has more than redeemed himself i think he has proven that he's worthy of becoming a shinobi despise his incompetence when it comes to hand signs. Besides, with a dojutsu like his restricting his development of it is idiotic ." kaens words appeared to somewhat get through to tsunade as she spoke before exiting the room. "Well then my spouse we will just have to wait and see what happens with him. Regardless of why or what happened katate has disobeyed the law twice over now, a trial for him will be held in just a few days to decide how to move forward with him. If you think you have an argument good enough to convince the elders, possibly even the feudal lord if he arrives. Then you better prepare it." With that said tsunade spun around, being sure to snatch up her bottle of saki as she walked away from me and kaen. "So, you're suddenly on our side now?" I asked this question with a short laugh as I turned my attention towards kaen once tsunade had left the room. "I've always been on your side katate, but with you and senshi both being wild cards. Someone has to keep a level head and think about things rationally, that's why I stay on tsunade's good side while you and senshi are causing chaos." Kaen says this in response with a smile as he offers me a hand to help me out of my hospital bed. "I guess i can't really argue with that now can i." I spoke with another short laugh as i took kaens hand accepting his help up and out of the bed, the wound on my side not causing any pain. Upon a glance and moving my hospital gown out of the way, I saw a scar in place of the wound I had received from sakon. "Ya that guy got you pretty good, but from the sound of the report you gave a lot worse than you got. Although that's not saying you didn't have us worried, when you got brought in we didn't know if you were going to make it, then you were out for a few days. But you're up now so everything turned out alright, get yourself dressed and meet me outside. I'll treat you to some lunch now that you're awake, I think you've earned it." With that said kaen left the room allowing me to change into some clothing that had been brought to me from my house. It was just a simple pair of black pants and a red shirt as well as a leather jacket I had not worn in quite some time. Stepping outside i was momentarily blinded by the sun before my eyes adjusted. "So then what are you hungry for?" Kaen asked this question as we began to walk down the street away from the hospital. "Something hardy and filling with a lot of meat, I certainly feel like I have been out for a few days. Not really in the mood for ramen or anything like that." I answered kaen as we walked down the semi crowded streets of the leaf village, placing a hand on my stomach as we walked. "I get what you mean, don't worry I know the perfect place." After that kaen led me through the village to a rather high end bar and grill restaurant. "Saki And Flames, this place is expensive, I've only been here a few times." I said this to kaen as we were seated in our own personal booth in the back of the dining area, in a section reserved specifically for shinobi. "That's because it mainly serves shinobi, the public is more than welcome to eat here too. They just prioritize shinobi patrons more than normal citizens, that also means they hold their food and standards to a much higher degree than most other establishments. That results in the significant price increase when compared to their competition, but they have hands down the best food so most shinobi that can afford to heat here. Which is most of them, do." As kaen explained this too me our server approached the booth, she was quite tall, a few inches taller then both kaen and i. Her hair was ginger orange and she had three distinct dimples on her face. Her work attire was a black pair of kitchen pants as well as a black servers jacket with a red undershirt. "Good afternoon gentlemen, what can I get the two of you for drinks?" She asked with a smile. "Just water for me, thanks." I responded by writing my drink down before looking at kaen. "You don't have to tell me what you want, i know your usual." She said this as she wrote whatever kaens usual was down before tucking her notebook away. "You know i was starting to get worried, you stopped coming by for a while and i didn't hear anything from you." The server said this to kaen causing him to let out a short laugh. "Ya iv had a bunch of stuff come up the past few weeks, i'm sorry i never found a moment to write, i hope you didn't think i was dead." This was kaens response to the server causing a laugh in response from her. "More like i was worried you were cheating on me, I know no one out there can kill you." With that said the server gave kaen a kiss on his cheek before walking away to get our drinks. "Sounds like someone's into something serious, how long have you two been a thing, and why am I finding out like this?" I asked this with a friendly smile as I sat back in my seat, watching kaen look at me with a smile left over from his chat with the server. "Her name is Jaia, we have been seeing each other for about a year and a half now. She's a sweet and kind woman who just wants to live a normal and easy life, that's why i haven't introduced her to you or senshi. The two of you are crazy." Kaen explained this as shortly after Jaia returned with my water and a special cocktail for kaen, already having his order, I ordered the beef and chicken combo as it was labeled on the menu. "How does she feel about you being a shinobi, if she wants an easy and normal life that's kinda as far away as you can get." As I brought this up, Kane's expression dampened slightly. "She's on the fence about it, she has every right to look at the profession the way she does, with what happened to her father. But she understands that I'm required to be a shinobi, so she accepts that. Doesn't stop her from being paranoid whenever I go out on a mission though. Anyway, enough about my love life, let's talk about something else." Kaen spoke in a slightly more somber tone as he explained this, eventually waving the subject aside. "Fair enough, what about this trial I apparently now have, sounded like i'm in pretty deep water." Isaid this rubbing the back of my head as thoughts of what could happen raced through my mind. "Not that deep, its honestly more of a public performance then anything. Everyone is all riled up after what happened, senshi locking him and sasuke away in the uchiha compound didn't help anything either. The elders just want a trial so they can look at everyone and say, everything is ok, we figured out what happened. In the end tsunade has final say over everything, the elders are just advisers. So as long as we can convince her, all's good. Don't even bother getting worked up over the feudal lord either, that egotistical ass never shows up unless he's absolutely required to. So don't worry about the trial, it's all in the bag." Kaen spoke with an aura of confidence as he went over the specifics of the trial they would take place in a few days. "I see, I guess if you think my case is solid i can relax for now, but there is one thing I absolutely need to know. What happened to that guy who you and senshi chased after, doesn't seem like he gave you guys much trouble." This sparked a proper laugh from kaen as his smile returned thinking about the encounter. "In all honesty no he really didn't, there's not really too much to tell." As kaen begins to explain the events of the fight the camera panes up into a field where senshi and kaen faced down kimimaro, senshi having managed to cut kimimaro off and get in front of him. "My my how disappointing those four couldn't handle three shinobi pathetic, if your friend doesn't kill them i certainly will'' kimimaru spoke in a cold threatening tone while setting the barrel containing sasuke down, pulling a bone sword from his shoulder as he stood back up. Senshi and kaen looked at each other, nodding before kaen charged head on at kimimaro, the man raising his bone sword over his head for a downward slash. Seconds before the blade struck kaen senshi shot in front of him catching the blade of the bone sword between the palms of his hands, following this kaen slammed a precise punch into kimimaro side as he pivoted around senshi, before spinning around and slamming another into his back then once more to slam another into kimimaro's opposite side. With kimimaro stunned from kaens strikes senshi threw the bone blade to the side and lunged forward slamming a knee into kimimaro gut dropping the man to the ground, kimimaru tried to pick himself up as senshi jumped to the left only to be kicked across the face as kaen lunged past him to the right. Now on opposite sides of kimimaro kaen and senshi ran forward performing synchronized flips into powerful heel kicks straight down into kimimaro back before jumping away, leaving the man face down in the dirt. "He's pretty tough, we got to give him that." Senshi said to Kaen as Kimimaro slowly began to stand up, coughing in pain. "Ya he hardened his bones just before our assault began, looks like we are going to need to put some more effort into this." Kaen said this, shaking his hand from striking kimimaro before he rushed forward planting a kick into kimimaros chest only for it to be caught by bones that erupted forward to ensnare kaens leg, kaen spun to the side while shouting. "Flame rotation" causing a large dome of flames to erupt around him. Blasting kimimaro back as kaen broke his leg free from the bones, senshi prepared a fireball jutsu firing it off with devastating size and power. When the fire ball collided with the flame rotation they combined into an absolutely gigantic tornado of flames that engulfed and devastated the entire area, this flame tornado reached the size of the nearby mountain range leaving nothing but a wasteland of ash once it died down. Leaving senshi, kaen, and the barrel containing sasuke unscathed in the eye of the tornado. As the camera panned back down returning to the front of the saki and flames building, kaen and i walked out the front of the building as he finished explaining the details of the encounter with me. It was at this point when the two of us said our goodbye and went our separate ways for the remainder of the afternoon.