The Country of the Eternal Hunt was a vast territory set in some of the most treacherous terrain in all the nations. Monstrous beasts roam its luscious green hills and deep dark forests. Monstrous beasts who were deemed 'Sacred' long ago. The people of this great country lived in harmony with the animals; running among the deer and horses, as if they were parts of the herds. No man had more than another, no man had less. They hunted only when the need arose, but that did not mean they had not the expertise. Their men were cunning warriors, both strong and fierce. Their women were the most skillful of trackers, both astute and persistent. The gates of the main village were constructed of massive logs, each standing well above the heights of the trees. The walls that surrounded the village were much the same as the gate, constructed not only to keep out intruders, but also to keep the Sacred beasts from plowing over their homes and reclaiming what was theirs so long ago.
CotEH page 1 - The Gathering
CotEH page 2 - The Feast
Akane, still keeping to herself, glanced over at Kami and Kano. What in the hell were they doing? Then she saw how stupid Kami's face looked, all red and sweaty. Stifling a snicker, she placed a gentle hand in front of her face, feeling the tender spot on her brow where she had been elbowed. Fuck, that still was tender...and even more swollen than earlier. She would be lucky if it didn't swell up around her eye completely. Damn her hallow bones. Her mind wandered off to the lesson she had with Ishiaki only just last week. He had spoken to her about training to be a medical ninja and taught her how to control her chakra into a healing process. Even though Akane wanted nothing to do with being a medic, she wondered if she would be able to perhaps heal her own wounds. Not wanting to be gawked at, Akane stood and winced at the soreness in her stomach. Kami had jabbed her a good three times during their brawl. Taking a deep breath, Akane jumped up into the tree and perched herself on a thick branch, hidden from view. Closing her eye, she began to control her thoughts and breath, meditating a bit as she gathered chakra slowly.
Ishiaki couldn't help but notice the severe change in locations of chakra pressure. He looked up from his plate. He could feel Kami and Kano moving together. He smirked gently at that thought, it was good that they had found comfort in each other. El and Oita seemed to be moving as well. He looked at the Daimyo, expecting the man to notice something at his own table.
"Young ones!" The Daimyo declared, noticing their intent with each other, though how remained to be seen. All he had noticed thus far was the food upon his plate. "Are you preparing to give us a show?"
"I shall attempt humour" was the only thing that
Oita said to El before he turned to the people around him, they were only just on the outskirts of the main stage area by now. This was just like one of his books, remember how the actors had done that. He smiled, something rather uncommon in itself, but this smile was... warm, laughing, as if he wasn't a short young boy but a man known for his good heart and faithfulness. It was the smile of someone you could trust. "gentlemen!" that would take every attention that was there to take, Oita's arms out wide, his hands only just reaching the edges of his pack "Inspired by today's victories and by... my fellow team member's own example..." there was a small laugh at this "My good friend El and myself have decided to... show each other some tricks. We are from different teams, so we are going into this blind, so this shall be a learning experience for all of us. I would like to invite the Daimyo, of course, to be the one to start the session. This is, of course, if my friend El can be persuaded to show us his talents." He waved a hand to El, his smile still there as the thick glasses examined the boy. Would he be up for a little show?
Akane was stunted in gathering chakra when she heard Oita's announcement. Turning her head, she peered through the leaves. She had to admit that she had never seen Oita so....social before. The kid always locked himself in his room and only would come out for food on rare occasions. Now he was starting some sort of stupid spectacle? Her eye spotted El, the small fry. Exhaling, she didn't even care to watch, not caring who won. Focusing again, Akane gathered her chakra as she sat perched in the tree. She even closed her eye, visualizing it shift and collect at her palms.
El smiled and adjusted his hat. "Very nice." El complimented. He had a performer's heart himself and strummed his guitar to life. "Would you like to preform a show rather than battle?" He asked. "You are a puppet master after all and I can easily provide musical accompaniment.
"
"Hmmmm..." Oita scratched his chin, then looked around towards the Daiymo "Well I suppose it is up to the people we are doing the show for!" He let out a loud laugh, but it wasn't his laugh, it was the laugh of the person he was imitating "So what will it be gentlemen? A battle? Or are you after a little... light entertainment?" He had a book on him, he was sure he could make something work with El, but he suspected that the people of the eternal hunt might want to witness a fight.
"Entertainment! We have our dinner, now provide a show!" The Daimyo shout with glee from his seat.
Ishiaki had a feeling he knew what they would do. Oita undoubtedly would perform a puppet show, either of his own creation or from one of his books, and El provide the musical accompaniment, it was a good plan.
"Have anything in mind?" El asked Oita. If they were lucky, he would know of the stroy Oita intended to use.
Oita was a little shy when he did it, but there was no real point in keeping it a secret. He put his pack to the floor, carefully removing a well used book from a small compartment near the head of the backpack. He handed it over to El "There are several stories in there. If you would like to find one you know, I will happily act it out with my puppets."
Akane was off in her own world, pulling her chakra together at her palms. Easing back, she reclined against the trunk of the tree. Her stomach muscles were the ones that hurt the most. Every movement she made, it felt like her abdominals were being torn in half. A minty green flow emitted from her hands and she hovered them above her stomach, slowly moving them down until her palms pressed flat against her skin.
"I know this book." el said. "Well not this one, but many of these stories are familiar fables. This one?" HE asked, handing the book back to oita. "A little romance may be enjoyable for the evenign."
"Alright" Oita said with a small nod to El "If you're happy with that one. Excuse me, I must... set up." Oita bowed to the Daimyo, grinned that show grin to El, then grabbed his pack and lifted it away, carrying it to the edge of the arena. He had to get himself prepared. He'd practised this... a thousand times already.
El Strummed his guitar, sounding almost like a small orchestra tuning up as he summoned depth and emotion into his guitar. He was fairly certain he could just do this off the cuff, after all, he often added musical interlude to even the most mundane of activities. Even going as far as to sit in the street and play little themes for the people he saw going about their lives.
It helped that Oita had chosen a book of puppet shows, they usually had music to because the actors couldn't speak. He did like to do the normal plays, there was usually a lot more emotion in them, but he could manage this... Anyway, he had his own musical backing. There was a quick slice of his hand and three puppets appeared. There was the short one, that looked a lot like himself but with a large bullseye instead of a backpack, the hulking figure of Casket, with his body large enough to conceal a man inside, and a tall, thin figure of cane, who was mostly made up of reeds. Next to each other they were quite a contrast... Now Oita would be only able to really make two move at once, but the other could stand there for a moment. It was all about synchronization.
Akane calmed her breathing and moved her hands over her stomach. She wanted to heal her stomach muscles first, those being the most painful and difficult to work in. Chakra moved down her arms, to her palms, emitting a small glow.
Something wasn't right...at least, it didn't feel right. Akane opened her eye slowly, but before she could take her hands away, there was an alarming pain in her gut. It felt as if a knife had sliced open her stomach from the inside. The glow faded and Akane jerked forward, grabbing her stomach. "Hurg~!" she grunted and tumbled out of the tree.
Ishiaki was there in a heartbeat. His place settings at the table were smashed with a large footprint in them, which he made when he took the leaping start towards the tree. He caught Akane just before she could hit the ground and sighed with relief. He didn't know what she was doing in the tree, but he could see a dark flare in her chakra network. Shit. he thought, she was trying to heal herself? "Akane, can you hear me?" He asked her urgently, he needed to be sure she was conscious.
"So how exactly did you sprain your wrist and ankle?" Kano asked her as he moved to the building with a red cross on the roof, it seemed some things were constants no matter what country you went to.
Tsu was standing there, staring at Akane in Ishiaki's arms, frowning hard. She'd seen the moment that Akane had fallen. "What happened?" she asked Ishiaki sharply, her cat eyes glaring down at Akane "Why was she up here alone?"
Ishiaki tilted his head up to 'look' at Tsu. "She was injured and attempted to heal herself, I assume. She is my responsibility." He rose to his feet, holding her softly, but firmly against his chest. The best place for her right now would be the medical building. He could tell kano and Kami were headed that way though...it might not do well to put her in the same room as Kami at the moment.
"Kicking... Punching..." Kami said quietly in Kano's arms, giving the consice answer. She didn;t have to tell him she;d done it on Akane's face and ribs.
Akane was huddling in a ball in Ishiaki's arms, not really sure what was going on or that the two teachers were around her. Fuck this hurt so much! "Hrrnnn~" she groaned, shutting her eye tight. It felt like her organs were in knots and then cut into little pieces, letting her stomach contents spill all over. What had went wrong? She focused her chakra just like she had done with the fish. Was her positioning off? Was there too much chakra? She really didn't know, nor could she think properly like this.
EL looked up from his guitar to see Akane fall and be rescued by her sensei. His entire body wanted to rush forward to assist her, but should he? The Daimyo was expecting a show and her sensei would see to her. He was torn between what to do.
Ishiaki carried Akane away from the others, not wanting to disturb the performance with this. He laid her down softly on the ground, "Akane, I need you to talk to me. Hrrnnn~ is not going to work." He told her with a gentle smirk, humor was after all a generalized medication that worked in mos cases. He had assumptions as to what was wrong, but he dare not attempt anything without knowing for sure. He thought he had taught her that much. You can't heal what you don't know.
Akane laid down and curled into a ball on her side, bringing her knees up to her chest. This was so embarrassing! She had to come clean with her mistake though- anything to make this pain go away. "I tried healing myself..." she grunted again and added, "-didn't work."
Ishiaki growled and straightened her back out. "Lay flat, try to keep still. I may only get the one chance at this." He told her the simple truth. He was not a medical ninja, he knew a little more than just the basics, but he did not have the necessary gifts or talents to be a truly skilled medic. He looked at her stomach and took a settling breath. He pressed his hands together and they began to glow a vibrant soft blue. He pressed his glowing hands to her abdomen and willed to repair
It hurt that most when she was on her back and flat on the ground. Akane closed her eye and winced as she felt chakra flow into her body. It was-... an odd sensation to say the least. She really hoped she hadn't severely messed something up in her stomach.
Oita turned his head to El as he spotted him stopping. He'd seen Akane being caught, he knew the boy must want to help her... but he couldn't do anything, and the Daimyo was waiting for a show. El had to get ready.
"Stay with me Akane. I need you to tell me if it gets worse." Ishiaki told her calmly as he focused on righting whatever she had done wrong. He was flying blind here, quite literally.
"How can this- ack... get any worse?" Akane asked, opening her eye and staring at her sensei. Didn't he know how to heal people?!
Her sensei was tending to her and no matter how much El wanted to help, there was nothing he could really do. He looked at Oita and nodded his head. He was ready, but he'd be thinking of Akane all while he played.
Oita twitched his fingers, two puppets walking out into the stage, bowing to each other, then to the crowd, as the third puppet and Oita held back. They turned to face each other, El needed to start the music before they would start to really move.
"If I do what you did, it can." Ishiaki told her stiffly. He kept his voice calm, not wanting his chakra to flare accidentally.
Akane felt like an idiot and was suffering for it. She knew she probably shouldn't have tried to heal herself only after one lesson, but she was too naive and prideful to think otherwise. Between winces, Akane muttered, "Sorry."
"Don't be." Ishiaki told her as he started to show progress. "We learn from our mistakes. We both have made some in this matter, I believe."
El began to play, though he did make a sour not or two at first because he wasn't thinking at the task at hand. His father had always told him that the show must go on, so he continued, concentrating on sound and quality rather than what was going on with Ishiaki and Akane.
Oita let the puppets began to move. Cane and the little copy of himself right now. It was a comedy at heart, a silent one, and rather a short one; Oita didn't like to think about what was happening a little way away with Akane. He was too busy making the two figures dance in that very practiced way that made them seem almost human. Then again it wasn't really dancing, more acting without words. El's music set the tone, that's all they needed.
"Really? I had no idea..." Kano responded to Kami's avoidance of an answer. He set her down on a bed in the medical hut and set about grabbing what he needed. Everyone was at the feast, too busy eating to worry about other things apparently. He knew what would be needed for setting splints though, simple sturdy sticks and fabric to tie with
"You're going to do it yourself?" Kami asked a bit nervously as she saw Kano searching around for the supplies he would need.
Akane stayed quiet, doing her best not to wince and appear weak in front of her sensei... even though he was blind.
"Yes?" Kano responded with a confused look on his face. "I do know how to set broken bones, setting splints for sprains is a cake walk in comparison." He smiled at her as he set the materials down and knelt at the base of the bed where he had placed her. He couldn't help but feel his cheeks flush as he looked at her slender legs.
Ishiaki's hands moved around gently on her stomach, pushing here, rubbing there. If it wasn't for the glow around his hands, one might think it was more intimate than that...
Akane winced a bit more when he applied pressure. She worried this was taking too long. How much damage did she really do? Gods, she hoped it was curable.
Kami's heart was beating a thunderous chorus inside her chest. If he planned to do this properly he would need to unwrap her foot. Her toes had already begun to turn blue from the severed blood vessels inside.
"Don't fret, I believe I am just about finished." Ishiaki tried to assure Akane. The reason it was taking so long, was because he had to probe and discover what had happened, and then repair it as he went. She had flooded her cells with chakra, an amateur mistake. It was what would make the fish explode in practice. She was lucky to be alive, a little more chakra and she would have ended the same as the fish.
Kano looked up at her from the bottom of the bed. He swallowed hard, "I will have to remove your wrappings in order to set your ankle. Is...is that alright?" He couldn't believe he had just stuttered...he never stuttered! The mere thought of holding her delicate leg sent wild images and thoughts through his brain.
"What did I do?" Akane winced, wanting to know the reason for her failure. She was reluctant to become a medical ninja, but her curiosity overshadowed it.
"You overloaded the cells of your stomach lining, spleen, and small intestines. Remember the first fish? You are very lucky. Somebody up there must like you, Akane." Ishiaki told her, pointing a thumb up towards the sky during that last part.
"It's alright." Kami told him quietly. She was so nervous... why was she nervous? He was only trying to help her ankle, it wasn't as if he was... well yeah he was. She'd liked him since she'd first seen him and now he was touching her.
With her permission, Kano set to unwrapping her delicate ankle from it's encasement. His face was beat red and he felt his heart skipping beats the entire time. He winced when he finally got the wrap off, her ankle was swollen, but because of the wrap it had no room to swell up.
Akane exhaled roughly out of her nose. When Ishiaki spoke, she thought of her mother. It didn't help though. If her mother was watching her right now, she would probably be disappointed in her. For crying out loud, Ishiaki just said she almost killed herself! How pathetic was this?!
Ishiaki patted her stomach gently. "You'll be alright now, Akane. Don't worry about it too much. You are new to this jutsu, mistakes will happen. I am sorry I did not train you well enough." He looked down at her, pity thick upon his face. "I will not fail my students again."
"well... if this drama is over" Tsu said softly, shaking her head and watching Ishiaki and Akane. She had decided not to leave them alone, watching these two interact was... intriguing. "Perhaps, Ishiaki, you should transfer akane to a medical ninja in order to learn this art? I believe they have.... pictures about this sort of thing, to show you why you shouldn't attempt this on yourself."
Akane sat up cautiously. "Thanks." she said to her teacher before looking at Tsu. "I don't really want to be a medical ninja to begin with. It's kind of stupid." she said very naively.
"So you just did an unknown jutsu on yourself for fun then hmmm? Don't lie Akane, it's not an attractive feature in a woman" tsu shook her head with a sigh "If you're going to try this akane, don't try it half-assed. Either never touch this jutsu again, or get some real training."
"No, I didn't just rip my stomach open for the fun of it." Akane said defensively, giving Tsu a stern look. She has had issues with this cat woman from the start. "I've had one lesson and I'll admit, it was a bit naive to try and heal myself up, but I assure you, I don't do anything half assed."
"She is my pupil, and I will teach her." Ishiaki told Tsu sternly. He was a bit perturbed at Tsu for scolding his student. He faced the little jonin and pointed away from there. "You should see to your own before bothering mine."
"Merely looking out for your students Ishiaki" Tsu said softly "My own students aren't almost killing themselves. I admit, I was a bit rash in scolding your students for you, but I wished to impress upon her the gravity of her actions."
Kami tried very hard not to hyperventilate as Kano unwrapped and looked upon her swollen ankle. "I've had worse." Was the only thing she could manage to say once she saw the damage."
"Given the nature of the error, I'd say it's safe to say she knows that already. If I had been a few seconds slower, I would have been too late." Ishiaki told her
Kano couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. But she was a ninja after all, so a sprain wouldn't have been that big of a deal. He gently rubbed the muscles around the ankle. "I know this hurts, but it's supposed to help, you know?"
"There is no limit to how much a person should beware of messing around with medical jutsus" Tsu said softly, shaking her head and shrugging at Ishiaki. Why was he being so defensive? "But if you insist I leave, I will go check my own students." She disappeared in a small blur of speed, she would look for Hinji and Kano. She knew where El was.
Akane was still standing near them. She wondered the same thing...why was he defending her like this? He always bickered at her for picking on Kami, yet he was firm in protecting her from Tsu. Akane, even though she was convinced she could take care of herself, she couldn't help but feel a bit... proud. She waited until Tsu was gone and said, "Thanks."
Kami winced and grit her teeth. "I know." She said threw tightened teeth. "It never makes it any easier to get used to though..."
Hinji saw the gathering of a few people around Akane's tree and saw her walking away. "I wonder what happened." he said as his raven took flight and went to investigate.
"Indeed." Kano told her with a smirk. He continued to massage her ankle with one hand as he grabbed the splints with the other. "You know, you really ought to be more careful."
"You're welcome, Akane." Ishiaki told her softly. He sighed, "When we get back, I shall find someone who can instruct you better in the healing arts. I am clearly not adequate to do it."
"What are you doing?" it was a bit more of a snap than Tsu had meant it to be, appearing behind Hinji all hunched up and a little cross looking. It wasn't him though, it was the fact she'd been told off for trying to help Ishiaki keep his students in line, something he was clearly having trouble with.
Hinji came around quickly when she spoke, he wasn't ready for someone to appear behind him. "I was looking out into the forest, trying to come up with a way to summon without exposing myself to enemies that have a powerful sense of smell."
"You really don't have to." Akane began. "I can't exactly improve my fighting by learning out to heal people." she confessed, clearly only wanting to learn fighting techniques.
"I know... Kami told Kano as he worked with her ankle. "But being a tiajutsu user what am I to do if I cannot kick? I have speed and flexibility, but no strength of joints to follow through... Perhaps I should just forget about taijutsu..."
"Are you doing anything dangerous or stupid that might accidentally kill you?" Tsu asked, still seeming a little ticked off "You're meant to be enjoying this feast, having fun."
"No Tsu sensei, nothing dangerous or stupid planned." Hinji said with a lift of his eyebrow. He didn't understand why she would ask him a question like that. "In my time with my mentor I was never allowed much involvement in any festivities, so any fun that I have is usually a charade."
"You should try to have some. It might come back to you after a while" Tsu sighed, seeming to relax a bit; Ishiaki had gotten under her skin a bit, she shouldn't allow that. "It's not all work work work. How are you going to meet a nice girl if you don't go out and do stuff?"
"What makes you think I want to meet a nice girl?" Hinji said as he looked back out over the village. "My art is my life, why would I wish to bring in a distraction."
"Because sometimes you need someone there for you when you're failing at your art, and you need someone to pick you up so you will start all over again instead of falling into a slump" Tsu sighed, shaking her head slowly "Trust me when I say this Hinji. Love's a damn foolish emotion, but it is what people run on."
"If I am failing at my art then I don't need to be practicing it. And my raven is the only thing I need to pick me back up." As if on cue, Hinji's raven landed on his shoulder and squawked at Tsu.
Tsu sighed, shaking his head at Hinji and the bird "Right... well, if you need someone to talk to I'll be... around." She sighed, giving a small shrug "Have fun... or not. Goodbye." She disappeared from the spot.
"You can use medical ninjutsu offensively, Akane." Ishiaki pointed out, though he couldn't believe she hadn't figured that part out, just from what had happened just now.
"You've got the speed, that just means you have to work on the power part. Have you tried weights?" Kano offered with a shrug as he tied the splint in place, tight and snug, but loose enough to not prevent blood flow.
"My sensei has mentioned them." Kami told him. "The ones he provided were far too heavy. He says he will try to find some that are more suited for me..."
"You have to start light with that sort of thing, work up to the heavier ones. No one in my village uses them though." Kano told her as he got up from the bottom of the bed. "I've thought about it though, quite a lot really. Now let's set that wrist of your's."
"Surely there is something stronger I can learn than giving my opponents stomach aches." Akane said.
"Indeed there is. If you want I could tell you about some of them right now, even show you a few." Ishiaki offered, wanting to make up for the mistake of not training her well enough the first time.
Akane's golden eye lit up a bit. "Definitely!" She was sore from her fight with Kami, but like hell she was going to pass that offer up.
Ishiaki smiled and motioned towards a now abandoned building. "It would be best if we did this somewhere, less open."
"Ishiaki Sensei says they will be of great help." Kami told him, offering her her wrist, which hurt almost as bad as her ankle. "I only hope he is right."
"He seems a wise man. He'll be right about the weights I'd say." Kano told her. He looked up at her from her wrist, "With your permission?" He asked, indicating that the wrap along her wrist would also have to come loose.
Akane followed her sensei towards the building, glancing back at the festival, "Will they mind that we are leaving for a moment?"
Ishiaki 'glanced' towards the table and winced slightly, "Probably. But as long as El and Oita put on a good show, I'm certain that we will not offend anyone too badly."
Kami nodded as he indicated her hand. "Go ahead." She told him and as the wraps came away he could see more bruised discoloration.
"Besides, Kami and her little boyfriend snuck off without a care." Akane said with a rather annoyed tone.
"I believe Kano was seeing to her wounds. Something the team medic should be doing, rather than inflicting them herself." Ishiaki scolded her softly. He smiled at her and shrugged, "He may be looking into becoming a medical ninja too. It would be nice to have one on every squad. But that's besides the point. You wanted to see what can be done with medical jutsu."
Kano immediately started to rub the muscle tissue in her wrist, well aware of the pain it was going to cause her
When they approached the building, Akane asked, "Wait, I thought you were going to teach me something awesome?" Hearing that it was a medical jutsu wasn't too thrilling to hear.
"Yes, yes I did." Ishiaki told her with a smile. He opened the door and held it for her. "There is much to the medical arts that you do not comprehend."
Kami hissed and pulled her wrist back before she could stop herself.
"Sorry!" Kano said, looking at her. He waited for her to relinquish her arm back. That was enough of the little massage, he supposed.
"Does it have to do with fish?" Akane asked, less than thrilled.
"Only if you want a faster way to fillet them." Ishiaki offered with with a shrug
Akane went quiet and followed him into the building. She wondered in fact why the hell there was an abandoned building in the middle of the city, but ignored that detail.
`
"I'm going to show you the chakra scalpel." Ishiaki informed her as he walked over and took an empty can from a nearby trash receptacle. He set it down on the table and cracked his knuckles. "It's a medical jutsu that can be used as an offensive jutsu, one of many really."
"Uh...no offense, but didn't you just say you should find someone else to teach me this stuff?" Akane asked.
"I'm not going to teach it to you. I'm going to show it to you. So you will see what the medical jutsus are capable of, besides healing." Ishiaki explained with an exasperated sigh.
"it's alright..." Kami said quietly handing him her hand back. "I'm sorry to be a burden..." She was always a burden, that's what her sister had told her any way... she was incline to believe it. Here was a comrade
, not even of her own team, fixing up her wounds that she never should have gotten in the first place... she was a burden...
Akane placed her hands behind her back. "Uhm, alright then." she said, obviously having misheard him earlier.
Ishiaki focused his chakra to his hand, just as he would if he were intending to heal someone. The light bluish green glow surrounded his hand quickly. He turned towards the can and swipe his hand in front of it. Nothing appeared to have happened for about 2 seconds, then the can toppled over, a slice diagonally cut clean through it's center.
"I saw you when we did that demo, I can only imagine you did even better on the real field of battle." Kano told her, "I would hardly call that a burden."
"OOooo...." Akane mused in awe. "Does that work on cutting bones and muscle too?" she asked eagerly.
"It all depends on how well you can focus it. The chakra scalpel is used in the medical arts as a way to cut without a blade." Ishiaki explained further, the light fading from around his hand. "Medical ninja will use it when surgery is required in the field and you don't have a scalpel, obviously."
"Hmm... I doubt that's how you've used it." Akane mused, doubting he would be able to preform any sort of surgery.
Boy... El really hoped the Daimyo was enjoying this little musical he and Oita had begun to preform. El did his best to play along with the puppets, adding dramatic or comedic notes depending on how they moved.
Ishiaki couldn't help but smirk at her. "Indeed. I do not have the skill, nor knowledge to use this jutsu for its intended purposes."
Akane smirked, "Still- that seems pretty awesomely lethal. Thanks a lot for showing it to me...and sorry again for making a scene earlier. It obviously wasn't my intent."
Shaking his head, Ishiaki smiled. "No need to apologize. I am just glad that we got that out of the way already. The Daimyo seemed to think the fight between you two was part of a show, so we did not offend him."
"Well that's good." Akane said, placing a hand on her eyebrow. It was still swollen. "He seems a bit slow, doesn't he?"
"It is not our place to discuss such things. Though he was enough to fool you three during the mission." Ishiaki pointed out to her
"It was really Oita who was fooled I suppose. I didn't even talk to the guy." Akane explained, wanting to appear better than she was.
Oita was keeping his motions smooth and natural, although he could only keep two puppets moving at the same time he was managing this story quite well. The people around seemed to be enjoying, but the story would be ending soon, though the feast was getting along. Maybe they'd call an end to it once the story was over...
"You fought just as the others did. You were fooled, Akane. Just admit it, there is no shame in admitting truth." Ishiaki told her with a very sage-like voice
"It's not that I was fooled. I just had no care to know who the hell we were transporting. He could have said who he was from the start, but that wouldn't have changed anything, really." Akane explained.
"It's not his identity I was referring to having fooled you with." Ishiaki told her with a chuckle.
"Uhh.... then what is?" Akane asked, her eyes narrowing on the blind sensei.
"It was his own people who attacked us. It was all an elaborate plan of his design to test your mettle, to see if whether or not it would be beneficial to them to join the Coalition." Ishiaki explained to her
"Oohh..." Akane lifted her head as she spoke. She had to admit, that DID come to a surprise. "Oh- shit, uhh...damn, that sucks. He didn't seem too upset."
"They died serving their Daimyo. It is an honorable death." Ishiaki told her, "Of course he wouldn't look upset, they did their duty."
"Still... did he perhaps not have trust that we were able to do such damage?" Akane asked, having her doubts.
"What better way to discover what your would be allies are capable of then to present them with a battle?" Ishiaki asked her
Kano finished setting Kami's wrist and looked up at her, "How's that feel?"
"Better." Kami told him. "But still sore." She reached for her wrappings and began to try and hide the work Kano had done. if she could steer clear of Akane then she might have a chance to heal without the girl finding out that she had hurt herself during their fight.
"I suppose so." Akane shrugged, placing her hands on her hips. She still didn't think this justified sending out your own people. Nevertheless, she didn't really care anyway. "Thanks again for showing me the chakra scalpel thing."
"Don't mention it, like I said, when we get back I'll try and find you a proper teacher. I am certain there is at the very least one person who could teach you more than the fundamentals." Ishiaki told her with a heartfelt smile.
"You ready to get back to the party then?" Kano asked her with a smirk
Akane still wasn't convinced on being a medical ninja, but she couldn't say anything to falter his kind smile. Ishiaki really did try his best and this was probably the first time Akane ever felt that he went out of his way to show her something like that. "So~" she took a breath and held her hands behind her back, "Should we get back now?"
"It would probably be best. I'd hate to let people think the worst of things." Ishiaki told her in a slightly perverted tone
"Hm? What do you mean?" Akane asked as they headed out.
"Yes please." Kami said slipping off her seat. She applied her weight to her wounded foot and tested the splint Kano had applied. It helped, but it was slightly visible beneath her wraps. Maybe Akane with her head in the clouds all the time wouldn't notice...
"As scantly clad as you are? The stories of me heard around the islands? People will more than likely assume we've gone off for nefarious deeds." Ishiaki explained to her. The stories of him mostly told of him being a bit of a womanizer, not a pedophile.
Kano held out his arm to her, "Can you walk alright? Or do you want an escort?"
"Nefarious deeds?" Akane looked down at herself and pulled out one of her fans opening it and holding it in front of her waist. Just HOW blind was her sensei? For crying out loud, he had "seen" her bathing a few weeks ago. "I'm going to be honest... that's really creepy of you, sensei."
"Just saying. It's not like I would ever think of doing something with one of my students, Akane." Ishiaki assured her, gently but urgently.
"You see through chakra channels, right?" Akane asked, dropping the subject. It made her a bit uncomfortable.
Oita wiped his brow as the show finished, sighing softly and making the puppets turn and bow as the song ended. rather a good show really, people laughed and were silent and did exactly what they should have. He smiled at El, his accompaniment for this; he'd done a good job in this.
"I think I will be FIIIiiINe..." Kami had put her weight on her foot to test it and a sharp pain traveled through her ankle and up her leg. She grabbed Kano for support.
"Among other things. I cannot really explain why I can see." Ishiaki told her with a shrug. "I can see the chakra networks. I can also sense things in the infrared spectrum. Think of that as a bit of heat vision."
Kano's arm snaked around her waist and he pulled her against him for support. "Don't worry, I've got you."
"So is that how you know what I'm wearing?" Akane asked, wondering to what extent could this man "see".
"Essentially." Ishiaki told her with a smirk. "I can see the heat coming from your bare skin. Your clothing absorbs most of the heat from your body, and therefore areas covered by your clothing appear cooler."
"Mhmm." Akane closed the fan in front of her pelvic region and cocked her head towards the door. "Let's take your own advice and get back before what you say comes true."
"Are you implying that you have certain notions about me?" Ishiaki asked her as he held the door open for her
He was just getting weirder and weirder. "Certain notions, maybe... not the ones you are probably hoping for." Akane replied, walking out the door and putting her fan back into the bow of her waist sash.
Kami's face was as red as a tomato. "Um... um... Oh look... a crutch!" She pointed to the corner where some other medical supplies had been stacked. There was an assortment of canes and crutches. Also known as awkward moment life savers.
"But wouldn't using a crutch be a guaranteed way to show you're injured?" Kano asked her curiously as he moved them towards the medical equipment.
"What are you implying, Akane?" Ishiaki asked as they headed back to the festivities
"So would using you..." Kami said. "I mean... I wouldn't want to give people the wrong impression...."
"Nothing, just forget about it." Akane wanted to say that Ishiaki was kind of creepy, but he WAS her sensei and he had just showed her a new trick and had shown interest in her. Akane didn't want to ruin that.
Stumble!