Uzushiogakure

[Apollymi]

http://i1053.photobucket.com/albums/s474/benihime469/RPU/Naruto/8d272abd-b8ac-4c77-bc4d-10c644e25113_zpsq8u7cpzl.png

A village once proud and standing was nearly wiped off the map by a large tidal wave about three decades ago. Now, it seems to have a few developments cropping up, and survivors from branches of the Uzumaki Clan coming home to help with the efforts. It is being rebuilt presently under the efforts of all people present there.

[Bloodedge]

With his apparent dislike of the idea involving travel via boat to the Land of Whirlpools, the young boy by the name of Katsuhara Hakudoshi brought his mother, Benihime, to the outskirts of Uzushiogakure via his mysterious teleportation method. When they appeared here, his cheeks remained puffy, as they had been prior to this maneuver. "I'm better than boats," he murmured while taking the first step forward.

[Apollymi]

Benihime found herself soon enough, standing on an island she'd only been to once before in her life. She looked around, then hearing her son's words she couldn't help but look stunned. "Ara ara, you can go this far?!" she seemed utterly surprised. Though she couldn't deny that she was quite pleased with not having to take a boat. A grin would soon cross her face though as she just shrugged off her own question and followed behind the small lad after he took his first step. "Definitely way better than a boat~" she chimed rubbing the hair on his head.

She couldn't help but notice there was quite a bit of change to the island since the last time she'd seen it. Building were going up all over the place and aside from the complete wreckage at the very opening of the island it seemed to be trying to build itself back into a more bustling village. "Oh... they're rebuilding it." she said. It was very odd, but something about this was comforting. Further in a red haired woman with a deep tan was sitting at a table in the back garden of a rather large, half finished estate. She was here, waiting for tea, and reviewing plans for several other buildings in the area with a group of other redhead people moving around her. The walls of this garden decorated by the symbols of the village and the island itself, the symbol of the clan she was part of. She was attired in red with gold trim and seemed to have a smirk on her face as she busied herself with the work going on here.

[Bloodedge]

"Hai hai," Hakudoshi said nonchalantly while skipping onward. It seemed Benihime was content to trail behind him for whatever reason, but he didn't much care. In only a minute or so, he set foot in the garden which housed the older redhead they sought here, and stopped in his tracks to point at her. "There!"

[Apollymi]

Benihime was content to trail behind her son, mostly because she realized that he would likely just lead her where she wanted to go, even if she didn't ask him directly. And soon enough her thought pattern was rewarded with a vision of a woman she hadn't seen in about two decades. There was a rather sudden amount of distaste in the Kazekage. Still her son pointing and speaking, had brought up the attention of the woman in the courtyard. "Hime-chan?!" the woman suddenly seemed excited and rather relieved to see her eldest daughter. Then immediately after she seemed confused about the presence of the white haired child, with the Sand Village Headband around his waist. "Why do are you being accompanied by a child ninja and more importantly where's your other half?" the older woman asked.

Benihime instead of answering any of those questions approached the woman and sat across from her but not without spinning her chair around so she could be comfortable. "Oh? Hi, Tsubaki, haven't seen ya' in a decade or more, definitely the first set of questions you should ask." the woman said seemingly cross. Which only caused her mother to look at her strangely. The voice of her daughter saying her name with so much contempt was nothing new to her, still it seemed to irk the woman. "I'm your mother you shouldn't call me that." she said seeming to ignore the rest of what was said. "And I'm your daughter, and I've told you repeatedly, I don't like when you call me that." the two women sat across from each other, locked in a bit of a stare. "Fine, have it your way, Benihime." she said crossing her arms over her chest. Having won her argument Benihime leaned against the front of her chair and sighed. "Hai, Okaa-san." the woman said. There was still the matter of the woman's questions, which the small redhead would answer in order. "I am being accompanied by this child ninja, because I am not allowed to leave the Village without a Jounin Level guard. Katsuhara Hakudoshi is his name." she mentioned which lead to the woman looking at the small child and thinking that it was a bit odd to see a white haired child in the sea of red which was this place, but there were worse things than being required to have a guard. Whatever her daughter had gotten into, she was only lead to wonder why she even needed a guard in the first place. "My other half, is dead. Sumimasen. I had to kill him... he went crazy and killed Otou-sama, among other things. Which...probably makes that news worse. Sorry." Her mother then managed to look both confused and shocked, while feeling both of those things in earnest and Benihime could tell.

[Bloodedge]

Upon reaching the woman they sought, Hakudoshi began skipping around the immediate area. He seemed displeased by being referred to as a child by this woman, but he would not speak on the matter. He had taken it upon himself to perform a task; one not previously discussed by himself and Benihime, but one he thought suited his new job description as a shinobi of Sunagakure. The lad seemed to be mindlessly playing around during the opening phases of his mother and grandmother's conversation, but one particular moment in which Benihime's father was brought into question, made him speak upon prodding the mind of this "Tsubaki" woman. "He's not dead. He's helping move pillars on the outskirts."

[Apollymi]

The young boy appeared to be playing, but Benihime had a feeling he wouldn't be doing just that. She wondered what he would do with his specialization and title and it appeared that he knew exactly what to do, even without having it be discussed. This truly was a good test run for his skills, and as such when he mentioned that her father wasn't dead and was instead, moving pillars on the outskirts she smiled, feeling a little relieved. "Sou ka, must have been his other half then." she said of the man she'd thought had been killed by her brother. Regardless, the death of her brother was one which seemed to affect her mother a bit more. "Wait, how did he know that?" she asked of the small boy who seemed to rather suddenly spout information about her husband. This made Benihime smile, and so, she praised the boy while explaining, in a very smug way. "It's his job to know, he's doing his job." The woman said, which made her mother scoff. The only idea she could come up with, was a child with sensory abilities strong enough to cover the whole of the island and that was simply too outrageous to be true.

Even so, she'd accept a bit of insolence from her daughter, the death of one's twin wasn't an easy thing to deal with. She couldn't imagine how the girl must have felt to actually have to kill her own twin. "Sou ka, I didn't know what happened to Talon. He'd come looking for us and demanded to be released. We did so against our better judgement, assuming that he'd be alright alone in the desert with you. To lose your other half is hard, I'm sorry." her mother mentioned. And such a thing felt a bit better. It was still mostly sincere, but Benihime knew she was specifically not mentioning the genjutsu they'd all been put under, in fact, her mind spoke of genjutsu applied to each of her children to fix their supposed personality defects as they tried to help them be mated to different kinds of people. In search of the perfect pair of beings.

"It's fine, I've had plenty of time to get over it. So, what aren't you telling me?" the girl questioned her mother with a most impassive look on her face, and the older redhead to her credit didn't flinch. "I don't know what you do now, but speaking to me like that won't work. You're still a child, even with the loss of your other half, telling you anything isn't necessary." her mother said, this made a wide grin come across Benihime's face. "I knew you'd say something like that... your attitude is still shitty, Tsubaki. This is why I didn't bother trying to come home, after you guys threw me out." This seemed to poke the older redhead the wrong way. "You killed my other half. Even in self-defense that is an automatic exile." Benihime looked at her mother and sighed. "That logic is still flawed, even after all this time. But that isn't really the point. I'm going to need you to give me information, and I don't really have the patience or time to argue with you about it." Benihime said, she didn't know why she bothered trying to discuss things civilly with her mother. "I don't even want to deal with this, I'll just talk to Otou-sama." As she spoke tea was being served for two, and was rather obvious the person coming outside with the tray didn't expect to find Benihime opposite her mother.

[Bloodedge]

Even while he was the topic of discussion for a moment, the boy remained silent and continued toying around in this land so new to him. Of course, this never stopped him from looking directly into the mind of the woman with necessary information. Each time Benihime questioned her mother, Hakudoshi learned something new. He'd even gathered information about other siblings, whole or half, of the woman he called mother. "Baa-chan, keeping information isn't necessary either," he said ever so casually as he passed the woman by. He would then go on to remove the necessity of Benihime speaking to her father instead, by telling her what wasn't being told by the older woman. "Talon wanted them to undo the Genjutsu they used on him. All of you had one. He knew about his."

[Apollymi]

"Baa-chan?!" the woman seemed more distressed by the fact that she'd been addressed as an old woman, and less at the fact that this boy was still spouting information as if he knew it first hand. Benihime, to her credit immediately covered her mouth and the grin which formed there at the woman's reaction to being called an old woman, in less than friendly terms. "Hakudoshi, that was a bit rude." she mentioned to the young boy. "Well, I never... how..." she started to speak. Her mother prepared to argue this point and Benihime just held up her hand. "He thinks I am old, you're probably considered ancient by his standards. Just let it go." the woman still couldn't believe it. And when Hakudoshi went on to explain that the woman was leaving out the bit about the genjutsu on Talon, she couldn't help but look to the little boy stunned. "This child can read minds?!" she was beyond herself, as she came to this realization. "Yes." This was all Benihime said, instead of speaking more to the woman before her she turned to her son to confirm on own suspicions. "So, am I right to assume, Talon's genjutsu functioned the same way mine did, and was meant to stop him from feeling everyone else's chakra?" she said. "And that she assumes he went crazy as a direct result of not being able to deal with that." the older redhead was sitting across from Benihime thorougly upset that she was presently being excluded from the conversation. If Hakudoshi peered into this woman's mind, he would find the correctness of his mother's assertions. "You can't just exclude me, I am sitting right here!" the woman stated as if she'd never been unacknowledged before.

[Bloodedge]

"She's rude," was Hakudoshi's simple, yet direct retort about the alleged rudeness of his statement. He normally would have taken his mother's words into consideration, but he was just mature enough to have his own hard opinion on this matter, specifically. He didn't quite appreciate the demeanor of the woman whose mind he'd been reading for the past few minutes, so there would obviously be no remorse from the lad this day. Benihime went on to question him for confirmation on her mother's thoughts, and when she did, he stopped his skipping to stare at the older woman. "Hai."

[Apollymi]

"I can't argue against that statement. But, you should aim to be better than people. Especially people like her, both in power and attitude." She offered the life advice to her son, without further pointing out any issue she had with his speech to her mother. Benitsubaki, to her credit found something in this speech to be a bit familiar, not so much in words as in attitude. It felt like something she might have said herself to any of her children. As far as Benihime was concerned, her son was quite right, her mother was exceedingly rude, and to the redhead's knowledge, had simply always been this way. Beyond this point, it seemed that the woman didn't like to be excluded, and found the young boy's prying into her mind to be far too much. To her protest, Benihime turned back to her after receiving confirmation on her own assumptions. "I can, and will exclude you. So long as you are intent on not answering my questions. I didn't come here intending to be rude, but I won't allow you to act any way you please. So, if you wish to keep being impudent by all means, I'll find out what I need to know and leave without your help."

The woman looked at her eldest daughter and seethed. It was completely unheard of for such insolence to take place before her. She figured they'd simply been too lenient with their children, raising them out in the desert had made them wild, uncivilized, and downright disrespectful. This one wasn't even capable of using jutsu but felt the need to act high and mighty before her. She had no right to speak to her like this. Their clan was merit based, and her daughter had no merit. "You have no right to speak to me like that. You bring in an outsider to usurp the rules. And have the nerve to speak to me however you wish. I won't tolerate it, I don't know how you managed to kill Kou, but the same won't happen to me. If you really wish to challenge me in such a way, do it like an adult if you even can." her mother spoke these words standing up and emitting something dangerously close to murderous intent, but it lacked the edge of what it felt from people who were truly killers. A smirk came to the younger redhead's face as she spoke a single sentence that only addressed a very small part of the other woman's statement. "Hakudoshi isn't an outsider, any more than I am."

[Bloodedge]

"... Sou ka," was his only response. He didn't seem to be alright with treating this woman any better still, but he would at least be making an attempt by the wishes of his mother. Still, he didn't think Benihime's attitude to be any better than his own. Perhaps there was something he was missing. Moving along, Hakudoshi no longer felt the need to skip around. His brow furrowed when he was addressed as an outsider, and did so more when Benitsubaki claimed herself unkillable. His response, however, would be delayed until Benihime addressed his presence as one not to be considered an "outsider" in these lands. "Ba-... Obaa-chan. I'm stronger than you. Make me an adult!"

[Apollymi]

Her son, seemed to be thinking a lot about what she'd said previously. So while her mother threw a tantrum about the respect being given that she didn't earn. Benihime allowed her chin to rest on the front of the chair she was posted up in. "What!?" there was a mixture of confusion and curiosity in this woman. She was stunned by the fact that Hakudoshi hadn't addressed her rudely again, after being somewhat told off by his mother, but beyond this, the boy demanded to be an adult here, which didn't make sense. "My son wants to be made an adult. He's strong enough to be considered a Jounin, you might as well let him show you." Said the redhead. "I'll do it with him, doesn't really matter to me." Her mother looked a bit stunned for a second, trying to put together the pieces to a puzzle sitting right in front of her. "Your... son?" she said of the boy. The woman's eyes fluttered and she almost fainted on the spot. Surprisingly enough, Benihime herself rose from her chair, moving forward and catching the woman with more speed than the older redhead could have known she was capable of. "How... why... what?" she asked, which only made Benihime chuckle harder as she sat the woman back in her chair. "Ara ara, I'm sure I don't actually have to explain to you where babies come from. You have enough of your own to know better." she said, which made the older redhead look at her with wide eyes, then back to the young white haired male, then back to her own daughter. "No, that doesn't make sense. This child looks nothing like you. Where's his red hair, and his other half." she said seemingly confused. 'She doesn't even like men, who actually knocked her up? Maybe I didn't give enough credit to Taro when he made his suggestion.' she thought she might have owed her husband an apology.

"He didn't get red hair. I know... I was a bit miffed about it myself. Imagine carrying two for nine months just to have them look exactly like their dad." she said with a minor eye roll. "As for his other half, that is kind of why I am here. But you won't answer my questions, so I don't feel the need to explain further."

[Bloodedge]

"Two halves need to do the ritual. Taro needs to be here for that," Hakudoshi said, seeming to repeat a thought from the mind of Benitsubaki. Once he'd done this, the father of Benihime and husband to Benitsubaki, appeared in the garden with his left arm raised, as if he was meant to be carrying something on his shoulder. "Wha-... What the hell!?" the man said immediately, having no clue how he appeared here. Without hesitation, Hakudoshi touched the man's right hand, sending into his mind all necessary information about the ongoing exchange. Immediately after this, he also reached out to touch the flesh of Benitsubaki. By making contact with both of these individuals, he intended to show them the story of his "other half" as they called it. "Ah... well... that's a lot to take in, but thank you for explaining it. Welcome, daughter and grandson. I hope the two of you won't disappoint."

[Apollymi]

Benihime heard out what her son had to say, and figured she'd either have to go find her father and bring him back here, or teleport with Hakudoshi to the man's location and talk him into coming back. But no... this wasn't the case. It seemed that her young son, had enough of waiting around on the adults on this island, and decided teleported his grandfather to this place immediately. This stunned the Kazekage to no end. "Ara ara, so not only can you teleport yourself and others across long distances, but you can also just bring people to you? Anything else you can do that is gonna shock the hell outta me?" the woman asked her son, and the question was somewhat sarcastic. Meanwhile both her mother and father received all pertinent information regarding her lost daughter. "Oh... that is a strange sensation. Thank you, for that information. Does he do that to you too?" she asked after receiving the information.

"Iie, to be fair, I didn't know he could do that. But right now, he's trying not to go into my mind to read it or otherwise. I am sure if he wants to he'll show me something." she said of her son. Her father's words were a lot more what she expected in general and he made her happy. To be fair, she'd been quite pleased to discover he was still living. "Otou-sama! Nice to see you~" the young woman said to her father. As for being a disappointment or not she shrugged. Benitsubaki scoffed lightly, wondering what she had ever done to make her daughter dislike her so much. Even so, Benihime looked to her father and asked a single question. "This trial is still the same, yes?" she asked. Only to have her mother interject to ask a single question. "Are you sure you should allow a child of only five or six to take this trial. It could be bad, what if he burns his face?" she asked seeming to have a serious qualm with a child as small and pale as hers breathing fire from his face. "Hakudoshi is seven. And he can do what he wants. I made him a ninja, I'm not going to stop him from doing something so simple if he wants to." the Kazekage said with a sigh as she left her mother's side.

[Bloodedge]

"I can eat ice-cream without getting a headache!" Hakudoshi said with undue excitement when asked if there was anything else ridiculous he could do. As far as he was concerned, this was an incredible feat, which made it something he said with his chest out, and fists against his sides. He returned to his silence after this boast, seeming relatively expressionless until Benitsubaki thought him to be five or six years of age. This put the boy in a bit of a huff again.

Taro stood with his arms tucked into his sleeves, looking between Benihime and Hakudoshi as the decision was made for them to undergo the clan's rite of passage to adulthood. He had already resolved himself to take part in overseeing this, and would do so as customs dictated. "They are the same, yes. If the boy is to participate, as you know, he must have a parent of maturity among us. We can make an exception as the two of you being a pair for this rite, but this custom must remain intact."

[Apollymi]

"And just like that, I get to relish in the fact that you are actually seven." Benihime mentioned, with a smile on her face. She very occasionally got to enjoy the childishness of her son. And right at the moment was one of those. Moving right along it seemed that the custom for clan right of passage was exactly the same as it always had been. But, in this case it was demanded a very particular order be necessary for this rite taking place. "Sou ka, I guess that is fair. I can't have a kid who can boss me around~" she said almost jokingly offering a wink to her son, as she decided what jutsu she would use to prove her adultness by way of the clan.

Curiously enough, much like the Uchiha clan, this one had one which was a rite of fire. You simply had to prove you could a technique which featured fire, to prove that you were an adult in this clan. She looked up at the sky and stood back. Since her father decided to preside over this ordeal, she'd at least make it worth his while to watch. She was a rather proficient ninja, something they also didn't know. And beyond this, she was very good with her fire jutsu, even before her son gave her a proper flowing bit of chakra today. She gave a single cat like stretch as she moved away from her mother's side and shook loose her arms she stood before her father and bowed then bowed to her mother. Her hands then moved at lightning speed as she strung together seven hand seals to start a jutsu the pair had never seen before. Rat → Ox → Dog → Horse → Monkey → Boar → Tiger, the chakra within the redhead's body was kneaded into existence as fire and soon enough she'd have but one thing to say. "Katon: Gōka Messhitsu!" With the words, the woman would exhale a stream of fire aimed upwards and unlike her earlier use of the fireball jutsu, this one was much bigger, big enough to cover the sky over head for several dozen meters. The heat was intense and beyond that the stream was fed directly by the young woman and concentrated overhead. The ability to knead and force chakra out was much easier, so her techniques were getting much larger by association. Unlike her earlier use of the fireball jutsu she held nothing back in this one. She decided to show the full extent to a super massive jutsu like this one. "Hai, hai... that's enough right?" she asked. Looking back to see her mother look absolutely dumbfounded made this completely worthwhile.

[Bloodedge]

"Indeed. I'm glad you agree," the man said as he stepped into a proper viewing space for the trial to come. In only a matter of moments, he was astounded by the woman's mastery of hand seals. What came next, though...

"Mm..." he murmured while stroking either side of his chin, grazing the facial hair combination of his that was a mustache and mutton chops connected. This display was the epitome of Fire Release as he knew it, making him thing of one of his own personal techniques. When this thought crossed the man's mind, Hakudoshi shifted a gaze in his direction, grinning from ear to ear. "You've grown many leagues stronger. It is my honor to declare you an adult among us," the older male said with a bow to the Kazekage. "Now, the boy. Tsubaki."

With Taro moving out of the way, Hakudoshi stepped forward, still grinning widely. With a single use of the Tiger hand seal, he gathered chakra on the surface of his skin. This caused him to seem as if his body were catching fire slowly. Taro watched this with widening eyes, as this bore a striking resemblance to a jutsu he'd recently thought about. He then, of course, realized this boy could read minds. However... 'That can't be possible. Not in a million years,' he thought. Immediately after this crossed his mind, Hakudoshi spoke three words which widened the man's eyes to their maximum extent. "Katon! Ittou Kasou!"

The moment Hakudoshi declared his technique, he also erected barriers around Benihime, Taro, and even Benitsubaki. This was quite necessary, as this jutsu was destined to encompass all present. A massive eruption of fire engulfed the entire garden in which they resided, reaching high enough in the sky to be seen from outside the village, while taking the shape of a katana's tip.

[Apollymi]

"Arigatou Gozaimasu~" Benihime said of her father's appreciation of her technique, and her declaration of adulthood, which came likely much later than it usually did. That being said, there was much to be said for late blooming flowers. She got to take a small bit of pride in the fact, that if her father thought that this single jutsu proved she was many times better than before, knowing what she actually was, would likely cause the man to swoon a bit. But she'd keep that a bit longer, holding on to something just in case there was another layer to this she didn't realize.

Up next, it was Hakudoshi's turn, and Benihime was mostly prepared for something extreme. The young boy had learned a couple of hers and Aiko's jutsu already, which likely meant he could learn a couple of things. She hadn't really thought about the fact that he didn't seem to know any fire jutsu, but figured he'd simply take one of the less complicated ones from her mind. Boy was she wrong about this. As the boy used a jutsu she'd never seen before, she got to see surprise on the face of her father, and her mother looked like she'd faint. They were encompassed in flames which seemed to start at Hakudoshi himself as the starting point. She couldn't help but feel an extreme mark of pride, as her son protected them all from the flames but showed that he was perfectly capable.

Benitsubaki had wide eyes she simply couldn't help it. This child was smaller than he should be, and even now doing such amazing feats. "Impossible." she said, though Benihime didn't recognize that jutsu, her mother did. And it was one used by her husband through is sword on very rare occasions. "That... is..." she looked at the small boy and realized she couldn't argue with his adulthood. By their own standards, he was very much an adult. "Sou ka. It is my honor to declare you an adult among us." she said to the small boy offering him a bow. "Otou-sama, he stole your jutsu, yeah? Don't feel bad, he did the same thing to me the other day~" the younger redhead woman said to her father. Benihime looked at her son, and offered the small boy a high five. "Nice job, Little One~" she said, then she'd remember something very important. "Seventeen..." she looked at the boy and the only thought in her mind, was that she'd been seventeen before she could use a secondary nature release. And it was only at Machi's constant coaching that she actually made anything of it. She rubbed her hand over her face at her own failure, only her son could make her feel so proud and yet so useless while he was in place.

[Bloodedge]

"Mm!" the boy said with a raised right fist upon being declared an adult among the clan. He didn't quite get why this was the mark of adulthood, but if this was the sort of thing done everywhere, he would be much more satisfied with the world and its operations. With both parties coming to the village being declared adults, Hakudoshi was given information pertaining to when Benihime developed her secondary nature transformation. This was hard to fathom, but he had no choice but to do so when he could see it happening. "... Sou ka."

[Apollymi]

Benihime took a moment to wallow in her failures, her mother watched this happened and had no understanding as to why this would be the case, but the woman shrugged this off and crossed her own arms over her chest, waiting for whatever else was to come next. After a few seconds, Benihime seemed to get herself together again looking to her young son, she supposed she'd eventually be dealing with this same kind of feeling twice as much, so she might as well get used to it. "Welp, that is a confusing mess of sensations. Just gonna not think about it too much~" she said as she ruffled the small boy's hair. As she did with feeling background chakra over the last few months. "Okay, anyway, what I actually came here for. I birthed a set of twins and I only have one. Hakudoshi showed you what happened with the other one, why?" she asked of her mother and father. Obviously knowing how this came about would make it easier to fix it. Her mother had an answer, though it wasn't nearly as clear as the younger redhead would like. "Something like that is almost unheard of, it doesn't usually happen... it is technically possible that the little one remained connected after death to her other half. If proper rituals weren't performed after the death. Her body could have chosen to leech off the remaining twin. Leaving her soul to wander closely between. But no one currently alive would even know how to properly explain it. You'd have to seek the council of the Fire Cat. And we presently don't have one on the island." This statement caused the younger of the redhead's to wrinkle her nose a bit. "Umm, two things then, what rituals and Fire Cat?" Clan stuff was too complicated for her liking and having to do more to find out what she needed to know seemed stupid.

[Bloodedge]

What came next in the discussion between present adults was a topic Taro had not been briefed on by the youngest individual of the group. It seemed Benihime's concern was not the death of a child she bore, but the fact that this child remained connected to the one here on this day. Taro chose to forego any further explanation than what was given by Benitsubaki, but there was hardly more substance to the matter than what was mentioned. Instead, he spoke up when Benihime brought into question their rituals, and this "fire cat" reference. "I suppose you wouldn't know, but maybe that ended up being for the better. Our rituals involve the burning of dead bodies to keep one half from becoming a parasite to the other. As for the fire cat... Matatabi, the Nibi, has been sacred in our clan for generations. It is the highest honor for a pair to be chosen as her host, and that host's guardian. Sadly, the council cannot be held. Your youngest siblings are meant to fill the role, but we sadly lost Matatabi several years ago."

[Apollymi]

Benihime heard out what her mother and father had to say about her apparently undead child, as well as the bit about the seeking the council of the fire cat. This was quite interesting to hear, and apparently it was the case that bodies of twins should be burned to keep them from becoming parasitic. This wasn't something to worry about directly. "Sou ka, but they aren't parasitic. They are symbiotic. Kanna made Hakudoshi stronger, and when we saw Kanna she was the same size as Hakudoshi. So it isn't just one leeching off the other. Hm... now I gotta figure out if I'll be able to pull her body out from where I hid it." the woman said. She was already thinking about how to help the revival of her daughter, and with the idea that her body was still intact, it seemed like the sort of thing that should be simple enough if they could simply get the girl to manifest her soul in her own body. The redhead young woman paced, in a way which made her mother uneasy, she decidedly thought it was a bit like watching a cat as the younger redhead ran a hand through her hair. But as it was further explained what was meant by fire cat, she stopped. "Matatabi is sacred here? That's a bit weird. She attacked when I was fifteen, and a few rash decisions led to me sealing her. And you were gonna give her to Teri and Aki? Well, they'll be waiting a really long time then. Matatabi is the tailed beast I hold. We're friends, does that mean I only have to talk to her? I could have stayed home for that." she mentioned. Such news made her mother's eyes widen. "YOU?! You're holding the Nibi?" there was such shock in her woman's voice that Benihime was forced to turn around and face her. "Yes, I'm the Nibi Jinchuuriki. There are several tailed beasts in the Sunagakure, all of them held by people with direct connections to the office of the Kazekage."

[Bloodedge]

"Where you hid it?" the older male asked of Benihime. "What do you mean? Besides burning it, what made you choose not to bury the body?" Taro seemed to be greatly astounded that nothing conventional was done with Benihime's daughter upon her death, but there was another matter which shocked him more. Benihime claimed herself to be the Jinchuriki of the Two-Tailed Beast, which, given her age, would have disappeared around the same time she reported it as attacking Sunagakure. This would be an interesting tale to tell her younger siblings during their eventual return to the broken village. "Sou desu ka. To think, after all these years, you'd come back and make a statement that nullifies all the growth being pushed on those two. But, you know... the Fire Cat and Fire Rat must also undergo a trial to obtain the secrets of our most ancient prophecies."

[Apollymi]

Her father, to his credit seemed to think what she'd done with her daughter's body was a bit vague and questioned the young woman's motivations behind not either cremating or burying the child. The answer to this was simple, and still a bit complicated. But, Benihime had no choice but to explain. "It's my husband's clan ritual to seal their dead, probably to keep people from possessing their Doujutsu." she said in a rather off-handed manner. It seemed simple enough to the red haired young woman, her children had come out looking like her husband, and possessing his Kekkei Genkai, his clan customs made more sense to be applied to them.

Moving right along, it seemed her youngest siblings were being groomed to carry the two tails and look after each other. They wouldn't be doing this any time soon, but it would likely be annoying for them to come back and not be able to do the one thing they've been trying. "Ara ara, that's a bit messed up. I haven't seen either of them since they were little. If they are bent out of shape about it, send them to me." she said about her younger siblings. The conversation progressed and her father mentioned a different ritual altogether, which would give her access to clan prophecies. "That sounds amusing and all, but it sounds like unnecessary work." The Kazekage mentioned, which made her mother scoff. "Benihime you're being insolent." Such a statement only made the younger redhead look towards her mother passively as she paused to stretch. She didn't come here to participate in clan rituals or tie herself any further to the dealings of this island or her parents. She simply needed information to help her figure out how to bring her daughter back. Nothing else was very high up on her priorities list. "Hakudoshi, do you think this will be worthwhile?" the young woman asked her son. Obviously she didn't have her own twin, and nor did he presently so any trial they would have to undertake she'd have to do together. It was a good opportunity to see what kind of logic he came up with.

[Bloodedge]

"Well, it seems there is a conflict of interest here. You may want to figure out which is more important, should one of them fall later in life... provided the girl is brought back. I don't mean to sound grim, but do keep all possibilities in mind," spoke the woman's father. On the matter of Benihime's existence as the Jinchuriki of their sacred beast, there was no arguing with her holding the title. In fact, Taro felt a certain amount of pride in the woman, though he was quite attached to tradition. "Daughter, you may be against having to do this, but I cannot make an exception. As the sacred Fire Cat, you will have free reign if you choose to take it, but we will require nothing of you... We will only hold you in high regard among us. For the sake of the clan, though, I implore you to take on the role, at least," he asserted.

Hakudoshi was addressed during this ongoing topic, with his mother asking if he thought this to be a worthwhile endeavor. He understood that he would be paired with the woman who birthed him if he did agree, but he had nary a qualm with this. Such was especially the case when he looked toward Benitsubaki again. "Hai. Agni Kai sounds fun."

[Apollymi]

Benihime looked at her father. She supposed she could understand a bit of worry, but she'd seen what her son was capable of, and given that, she doubted there would be much if anything to worry about after her daughter was returned. "Hai hai, doing such things is my job anyways." she said on the matter of keeping all possibilities about her children's future in mind. She'd opened her eyes to look towards her father, and he'd mentioned that the Fire Cat was sacred, and thus she should be happy with the title. And that she'd be given free reign with nothing required of her if she did. He implored her to take on the role, and she felt the pride he felt in her. She supposed, she didn't really want to disappoint. And given she was more attached to her father than she would ever be of her mother, she could at least try a little to make him happy. The final nail in the coffin of this activity was that her son seemed to want to participate. His use of the word fun, made the older woman look towards him. He'd obviously taken the word of the ritual from one or both of the minds of the elder adults present. "I am not going to get used to that, am I?" Benitsubaki questioned of the young boy's abilities. "No." Agni Kai however was a phrase that the Kazekage wasn't familiar with at all, but her son's reaction gave her at least a small idea. "You think it's going to be fun, Hakudoshi. That doesn't bode well. It's a fight isn't it?" Something about the way her daughter asked her final question made Benitsubaki a bit wary. Mostly because these things were always done in pairs, her daughter was obviously worried about something.

[Bloodedge]

"It's a fire fight!" Hakuoshi said excitedly, having a brighter glisten in his eye than he had since discovering the majesty of ice-cream. At this point, he was quite hyper, knowing he could use this as an opportunity to develop proper Fire Release techniques, and become a better ninja because of it. But, he knew better, and would have to wait his turn to get a fight. "He's right. Agni Kai is a battle of only fire against two adults in our clan that is held at dawn or dusk, either to settle differences, or assert oneself among the more respected members. For generations, it has also been used as the proving for the Fire Cat, followed by the Fire Rat, the former's other half and keeper. The cat is expected to emerge victorious in terms of power and ability to call upon Matatabi, while the rat must only prove skillful enough to protect the cat... if necessary."

[Apollymi]

"Sou ka..." she said to her son, who was more excited in this moment than she knew he was capable of being. In fact, for one shimmering moment she could feel it, which was quite strange. "You're quite excited. Little One, more than I can say I've seen. I'm glad you're enjoying your birthday~" she said in a tone which was mild in its observational qualities. Her father then went on to explain the nature of this supposed fire fight. This Agni Kai was just a fire fight between adults of the clan, used as a proving for the Fire Cat and their other half. That was a rather strange idea, but she supposed there were worse things to have to do. Still, something about this seemed a bit open ended and she couldn't say she liked it. "Uh-huh, well, by that logic I am first, yeah? Come on then, Otou-sama~ Show me how's it done." Benihime unlike most, wasn't actually sure what kind of things her parents knew. She figured though, that this would be as good a time as any to find out. "Oh and rules... I need rules." Benihime mentioned, figuring there was some sort of fanfare involved with this battle that she wasn't prepared for. As a Kunoichi for the last decade of her life, she imagined they didn't just want her doing absolutely anything she could. She figured fire release only but any other minute details needed to be mentioned.

[Bloodedge]

"Mm!" was all Hakudoshi said as he raised his right fist again. He was indeed having a rather enjoyable birthday, but there was much more to come in the form of this Agni Kai. Taro, upon hearing about the young male's birthday, looked toward him. "It's your birthday, is it? Happy birthday to you, young man," he said. This prompted Hakudoshi to nod at the man who was apparently easier to get along with than his wife, both for Benihime and the boy. Instead of preparing to face off against Benihime, Taro turned away in preparation to return home. On his way, though, he spoke on these "rules" she asked about. "Only fire, and only at dusk or dawn, during the red sun hour. We must wait. Come... eat, rest. We will meet in our Agni Kai chamber when the time is right."

True enough, just before dusk, Taro stood in an open arena of rectangular design, split down the middle by a line. He occupied one side of the line, discarding his haori as he awaited Benihime's preparations, whether she had any or not. "On this day, we fight not for the restoration of honor, nor the protection of honor. We face each other for the acquisition of the highest honor available! Agni Kai!" If there was one thing to note about the individual known as Taro, it was likely the powerful presence he boasted. In the proper ninja world, he would only be classed a Jounin, or perhaps even a low-tier Kage. However, the way he carried himself in every way from the gristle of his voice, to his upright posture, was a thing which seemed to command respect.

[Apollymi]

Benihime looked to her rather excitable son, and was happy for him. There were moments where she worried about his developments, but right at the moment, he seemed to be alright. Her father even went so far as to wish the small boy a happy birthday, which was quite nice. Her mother also wished to tell the boy happy birthday, but had the sense it wouldn't mean as much coming from her, so she kept it to herself. Noting it for later so she might get the boy a present, if she could figure out something he'd like. Still there was the matter of the actual rules of this match up, which apparently revolved around the red sun hour, so it could only take place at dawn or dusk. Given this, it seemed that Benihime and her son, would be busing themselves on the island for the duration of the afternoon. A bit of a smirk came to her face. "Ah, okay then, I skipped breakfast anyway."

Around sunset the young red haired woman found herself entering an arena like set up with a long line down the middle. Her father stood across from her boasting a most powerful presence. This was something she could really understand, and in fact, his speech seemed to create a tingle of excitement in the young woman she hadn't felt like this in a quite a while. All while her father spoke she was stretching in a most luxurious manner. In fact, she'd been moving and stretching snapping to attention upon hearing the man speak. "Hai!" surprisingly enough the younger redhead woman had nothing more to say to her father, he didn't bring out of her the more patronizing and teasing speech she was used to dishing out on a regular basis. In fact, the way he spoke and carried himself, she felt the need to impress him and take on this honor, she felt like it was something desirable. When she thought about it more, she decided she should start well. She'd been thinking about something over the course of her day, and it was Hakudoshi's start up to the jutsu he'd taken from her father. With this in mind she began to channel chakra through her body, running it through her core and expelling it all over the same way she'd use chakra flow. This she'd expel through her hands and feet leading the young woman to gain flaming feet and hands as she looked down at them grinning to herself. A second later she launched herself forward, at a speed which was approximately a step above what a normal person could pull off. She was mostly testing the waters as her movements took place before reaching a very short distance to her father. She'd flip over on her hands, by way of her superior flexibility, to aim an upward kick towards his core, intending to knock him up into the air with the power of the thrust which included her flame channeling to add some additional force. The entire time the girl's mother watched from the outside seemingly stunned by her speed and power. She was also surprised by her ability to channel fire into her hands and feet.

[Bloodedge]

Benihime would be the one taking the initiative in this Agni Kai, doing so by using the strange form of Chakra Flow previously utilized by her son to gain flaming extremities. This sight warned Taro of incoming Taijutsu usage, prompting him to be on physical defense. When the woman moved, she did so in a very quick manner, and with the expected amount of agility for a Jinchuriki of Matatabi. While Taro could never hope to match this high maneuverability, his own melee experience would suffice to defend with his arms against the burning kick to his torso. Still, he was launched skyward, but allowing his forearms to take both the impact, and the fire, allowed him to gather chakra without the need to recover before landing. Taro performed a Tiger hand seal while airborn, kneading chakra into his lungs en masse, and completing this just at the peak of his vertical climb. "Katon: Ennetsu Jigoku!" Suddenly, the man exhaled seven fireballs, all of which spread around the area to create a ring of pillars upon hitting the ground. After being placed, these pillars of inferno seemed to be growing, as if they would eventually converge upon one another. When Taro landed at last, he placed a hand upon the katana at his left hip. "Very skillful. If this were a contest of Taijutsu, you would eventually best me with those movements. But, that is not why we are here."

[Apollymi]

Benihime's attack connected, but it seemed her father was a bit more ready to take a beating than she originally thought. While the old man was up in the air, he created several fire balls off a single hand seal. The landed around Benihime forming a circle of flames which began growing together. As the redhead straightened her posture, she bounced on her toes, and when her father finally landed, he complimented the girl's physical strength. "Arigatou Gozaimasu~" the young woman said as she smiled towards her father. She took note of her flaming prison and the movement of the chakra as well as the placement of her father's hand near his weapon. "This is interesting. I might take it for later. I don't have enough techniques like this." she said, of the flaming prison, which was a bit less straight forward kill than most of what the Kazekage had in her arsenal. Still this was a contest, of actual fire, and to prove her abilities as a jinchuuriki, her first attack had been to see what was necessary, her next would be something very different.

'Matatabi! A tail for a bit please?~' the woman said in her head. This stirred a rather large flaming blue cat into the forefront of the woman's mind. She had two different color eyes and dark markings but her voice would be rather respectful and a bit haunting. 'Of course, it is nice to work with you again, Benihime-sama.' The cat's replies were always ones which amused the Kazekage, but they could take about that later. At the moment a single blue flame tail with dark markings sprouted from her back. Within a second of this happening the Kazekage kneaded within herself, creating several small fireballs that looked a bit like mice which were aimed towards her father. "Nezumi Kedama!" They were burning and blue but had the odd ability to split and continue with the young woman's manipulations so that they would chase him about the arena aiming to make contact with and burn the man.

[Bloodedge]

"Imitation is flattery, I suppose." With a hand hovering over his blade, Taro awaited Benihime's next move. What he noted first, was her sprouting a single tail, belonging to Matatabi without a question. This alone showed a high degree of control as a Jinchuuriki, but this Agni Kai was about drawing out strong forces in combat. He would wait until she showed such ability before declaring the end of this battle. In the face of the blue fireballs, he drew his blade, which emerged from its sheathe with another inferno wrapped around it. "Katon: Joukaku Enjou no Jutsu!" Just as Benihime's fireball split, his own flames grew immensely, wrapping around the blue fire and Benihime herself to encase them in Taro's prison. Taro intended to use this as a lockout method, forcing Benihime to overcome one of his ultimate techniques. "I admire your control over Matatabi. But, do you have the power? This prison can keep a Kage trapped for a very long time, but I expect more of Matatabi's host."

[Apollymi]

"Hai!" The young woman said. It seemed though that her most recent attack wouldn't be allowed to reach fruition. Instead, her father claimed to admire her control of Matatabi and instead ask if she had the power to go along with it. She was soon imprisoned by fire and having to deal with the fact that she could no longer move freely. She could respect this tactic, and had even used it herself during some of the earlier training of her husband, though not exactly the same way. "Ara ara, I wouldn't say that..." Benihime said as she began pacing around the edges of her newly formed prison, seeming not to like the smallness of the space. Most of the Kages she knew of who could get around the rules of the Agni Kai wouldn't be held by such a thing, hell she could get out in two seconds without the rule of fire only. As such, it required of Benihime an interesting moment, for her to think of how to fight fire, with fire. 'Ugh, I could wait it out, but that would be annoying, it'd take like half an hour to weaken enough for me to walk through.' she thought as she tossed her hair around. For a person in a middle of a fight she didn't seem to pressed, by the flames or the warm of the area. If anything it only seemed to contribute to her current irritation, the power of these flames prickling along her skin. As this happened she kept pacing, an activity likely acquired from the demon cat she held within her body. But this pacing would give her time to think, think about what to do, if she didn't want to wait out the prison she was held in.

'Hmph, I doubt she'll think of a way out. Boring.' This was the thought held by Tsubaki as she watched her daughter pace in a small prison of her husband's creation. This had been going on for a few minutes. And as such she figured the lass probably wouldn't be able to come up with anything. Her daughter had made several great strides, but it seemed she still didn't have much to show for the power she should have. This led the older woman to believe any earlier showing from the girl was a fluke. Even from this distance Benihime could feel her mother's dissent from the distance. This was one of the main reasons she didn't like the woman presently, but unlike most, Benihime also enjoyed the idea that she'd be able to prove the woman wrong and leave her shocked. And the more she thought about it, the more the idea she had seemed to cement itself.

[Bloodedge]

Once his prison had been set in place, Taro stepped outside of the growing pillars he'd created earlier. By his approximation, the pillars would reach the flame encasement just as it was ready to dissipate naturally, leaving Benihime almost half an hour to clear the trial. Either she would pass or fail from this alone, and with that in mind, Taro sheathed his sword.

Hakudoshi had been watching the Agni Kai from Benitsubaki's side, though he was slightly behind her as to remain out of eyesight. When he noted that Benihime wasn't immediately breaking free of her prison, he looked in the older woman's direction, and masked his own chakra before teleporting into the flame cage. Once there, he looked his mother in the eye, tilting his head. "Why are you still in here?"

[Apollymi]

Benihime was putting together her idea, and had begun doing the necessary things with her own chakra and Matatabi's to create the thing she wanted to use. But right before she would have paused to launch it her son appeared before her, questioning why she was still within the prison. His impatience was very similar to her own, and as such she looked at him and smiled. "Ara ara, what's with the attitude?" she asked only to remember her son probably hadn't been looking in to figure out what she was doing and had likely become impatient waiting for his turn. "Sou ka, you still aren't reading my mind are you, Little One? I am trying to name this thing I am about to do." she said with a smile. She'd taken a while to decide what kind of fire technique she'd use to overcome her prison, and after she did, the last few minutes were spent just trying to think of what to call it. In that moment she reached over and patted his head, immediately thinking of what to call it. "Oh! I got it! Do me a favor and barrier my parents? I am not sure of the size, but I feel like it's going to be way bigger than anything else I've done in a while." she said with a smile. Sending the boy about his way.

Once he was gone. She'd allow her chakra to flow downwards towards her tail, a single use of the tiger seal, would expel all the extra energy she'd built up in the form of a blue wave of fire which spiraled out from her single tail as a point, growing to engulf the entire arena. Pushing past the fires which were her prison and even further still well past the initial flame wall created and towards all others in the vicinity intending to bathe the entire arena in a blast of blue fire which would decimate the surroundings. "Soukatsui!~"

[Bloodedge]

"It could have been my turn ten minutes ago," Hakudoshi replied with much dejection upon discovering that this had taken so long, simply because the woman wanted to name this new attack of hers. With a huff, he gave his suggestion. "Neko something," he said. A simple nod stated his agreement to providing a barrier, which he did for both elders while teleporting to his original location. On his arrival, he spoke to Benitsubaki. "It's my turn."

Meanwhile, Benihime was utilizing the technique she'd been working on, wiping out the opposing fires with her own, though its name was a bit disappointing to Hakudoshi. Such was the case only because its name didn't involve the word "neko" at all. Taro, when the decimation became apparent during the clearing of this "Soukatsui" attack, could only stroke his mustache. "Very impressive. I am honored to officially name you the host of the Fire Cat. You didn't have to destroy our Agni Kai chamber, but I'm actually impressed you did. Also, thank you, lad, for the barrier. I'm certain this was your doing," he said, directing these final words to Hakudoshi.

[Apollymi]

A smile came to her face, as her son realized that she could have done what she did several minutes before she did anything. Regardless there was quite a bit of fanfare around the strength of the attack created by the Kazekage. Her son seemed disappointed she looked to him and chuckled. "Don't worry Little One, I'll use your name suggestion for something better than that, and I'll even test it out on you~" she said of his naming suggestion. She took a moment to happily watch the blue flames while her son mentioned to Benitsubaki that it was his turn.

Benihime's mother, for her credit was more than a bit stunned by the attack her daughter came up with. The sheer destruction had made it more than well worth the wait, and inside, she was quite proud of the young woman. "Uh... yes. Thank you... for saving us." her mother seemed to realize in this moment that without Hakudoshi's interference everyone within the arena would have been incinerated by Benihime's choice in attack. The younger redhead to her credit acknowledged her father's words with a bow and a bit of a smirk. "Arigatou Gozaimasu." as to the statement that she didn't have to destroy the arena but he was impressed that she had, the Kazekage had but one thing to say, and she ran a hand through her hair as her tail disappeared and looked away. "Sumimasen, I'm still not used to how easy it is to make things. I either hold back too much, or I push too much forward. That was the latter, at least... I didn't do it with both tails, like I started to do." she said, realizing that the way she'd initially planned to use the attack would have decimated a corner of this island rather easily.

Her mother seemed to realize this and her eyes widened, the shock in the woman was palpable through her chakra and it made Benihime laugh aloud. "Relax Okaa-san, you're going to bust a blood vessel." she said to the woman who managed to her credit to shake off the surprise and move past the small girl towards the center of the recently destroyed arena. "Come then, though this isn't a test of strength. The skill of Fire Rat is what must be tested it isn't about how much power you have but what you do with it." she said even knowing the small boy could read her mind. Perhaps this was done instead as part of the ceremony and for Benihime's benefit. She stood across from the small boy and nodded taking a very odd stance. "The Proving of the Fire Rat begins now. Agni Kai." As a part of this, the woman strung together a set of hand seals rather proficiently, though not nearly with the speed shown by her daughter earlier. Ram → Horse → Snake → Dragon → Rat → Ox → Tiger, this combination would end in the woman breathing out a flame dragon complete with a head. It wasn't very large but it seemed to float about and around the child before aiming to crush him within its jaws.

[Bloodedge]

"Congratulations," the man said prior to clearing the arena for the next match. From the sidelines, he was content to see what this boy had in store, other than the apparent ability to replicate one of his strongest techniques in a way even he was incapable of.

Hakudoshi wasted no time, reaching his side of the decimated chamber via teleportation. When Benitsubaki gave her speech, he nodded, and the sword he wore on his back vanished. "Hai," he said. Prior to the woman's use of jutsu, he saw into her mind, then slipped into his mother's mind to see if she had the same technique in her arsenal. She did, and it was usable with less hand seals from what he saw there. As such, Hakudoshi formed the Ram seal, followed by the Tiger, beginning a split second before Benitsubaki did. Only having to use two seals, instead of seven, allowed him to finish before the woman, though he held off for just a moment on releasing. His timing allowed him to crash a slightly larger dragon of flames into Benitsubaki's, negating its push despite being released second. Once all flames were cleared between the two, Hakudoshi held out his right hand to create a Rasengan within it. "This isn't fire, but it isn't anything else. Can I use it?"

[Apollymi]

The girl was congratulated by her father, she found herself feeling a deep swelling of pride she couldn't say she'd ever felt before this moment in her life. It was very strange to her, but she decided she liked the feeling well enough, as she took up a place on the sidelines she lounged about, watching the Agni Kai take place between her mother and her son. It was apparently a test of skill, and surprisingly enough her mother didn't hold any punches against the small boy. Launching into an attack almost immediately though not with the speed which Benihime could use said technique. Not surprising to the younger redhead the older one's jutsu was soon overcome by one of the small boy's. The same one in fact, which used only two hand seals instead of just the one.

Benitsubaki's eyes widened. She found it most interesting he was capable of shutting down her attack with such ease. And surprised by his use of only two hand seals to do it. "You only used two hand seals to make it... that is strange." she said but she couldn't fault the boy's manipulation. It was indeed quite a skillful show, but he'd have to show a bit more before she could consider admitting his capabilities in being her daughter's keeper. The boy's next question was to ask if he could use a technique that Tsubaki had never seen before, it wasn't fire, but it apparently didn't have a chakra nature applied to it at all. She simply shook her head back and forth. "Iie, if a Fire Rat can't use fire then he doesn't deserve the title, nor a place in this battle." she was a stickler for the rules in this way, but she supposed if the young boy could adapt to this situation and stay within the rules it would be worthwhile. A single hand seal was used by the woman in the meantime and she'd exhale several small dragon head like bullets, launching them towards the small boy, either he'd think of something or he'd lose, but there wouldn't be any middle ground for the older woman. If nothing else, she was at least unflinching and this was something Benihime could respect even if she didn't like her mother very much.

[Bloodedge]

Hakudoshi's cheeks inflated when he was told he couldn't use the jutsu he intended to apply for this situation. He looked into his Rasengan with a furrowed brow, though he had an idea for a loophole to be abused. First, he tested his idea on his barrier, focusing his chakra flow into it when it was erected. This successfully created a flaming shield around him, which only grew stronger when struck by the dragon bullets Benitsubaki threw his way. Hakudoshi then banished the barrier, and suddenly, his Rasengan took on the fire element. "There. It's fire now," he said while forming a clone seal and abandoning the new Rasengan technique altogether. With the production of a single Shadow Clone out of the way, he and his clone each raised both hands, creating a gargantuan version of the flaming Rasengan overhead. Its size was great enough to be compared to a meteorite. The pair did not intend to use this Rasengan directly, choosing instead to bounce it high into the air. "Katon: Gouen Rasengan Nezuoppo Muchiuchi!" At his will, numerous holes opened in the Rasengan's shell, creating an opportunity for numerous tongues of fire to emerge and whip about the area. This threatened not only Benitsubaki and the others, but the very land itself. On the positive side, Hakudoshi had the sense to erect barriers around Benihime and her father.

[Apollymi]

Benihime watched her son pout, but figured he would get over it quickly enough. And not much to that woman's surprise, he did, first creating a flame barrier which was strengthened by the flames added by Benitsubaki. His subsequent actions gave fire to his rasengan in a way which previously hadn't been possible for Benihime who'd made the technique herself. This was a novel idea and she figured he'd stop there, but... then he created a shadow clone which made his mother's brow raise. "Oh, that isn't good." she said knowing that the boy only really created shadow clones when he wanted to do something he couldn't do by himself.

Benitsubaki got the pleasure of being on the recieving end of this. She watched as a boy who was merely a child by all acceptable standards, created a flame barrier which had no problem contesting her fire techniques. Beyond this, he went on to move past this and create a technique which used his original idea and added flame to it. This was a very adept technique, and one which the woman could respect, but... then he did something she didn't expect. She watched him create a shadow clone, and when he did, they made the orb grow larger than she could have imagined it being. "Nani!?" she was simply astounded. And stared even more blankly when the child named the technique and bounced it up into the air. Of course, when this happened the name actually made sense and though Benihime and Taro were protected from the coming flame lashings, Benitsubaki had to dodge. So dodge she did. Basically dancing about the battle field to avoid the coming damage. Her reflexes good enough to not take any of the first few lashings but by the time she got to about ten of them, she seemed to be slowing down a bit.

Benihime heard what her son decided to name the technique and face palmed. Though she was exceedingly proud and a tiny bit jealous of the splendor of the technique, she couldn't help but wonder how he'd come to give it such an insane name. "Hakudoshi, that name is way too long. When are you even going to have time to say it during a fight?" she said of his technique. Even if it fit, it would be impractical to say it any time you had to use it. Though looking at its present use it would be a good bit of flexibility training as well as reflex training.

[Bloodedge]

Hakudoshi took the time of Benitsubaki dodging flame tongues to string together the hand seals: Boar → Horse → Tiger. This allowed the boy to gather fire-elemental chakra in his lungs, and in reading Benitsubaki's mind to discover the location of her next dodge, target the location she would be moving to. That was where he aimed himself when unleashing a larger-than-average, perfectly spherical fireball, which traveled at an incredible speed along the ground toward on its intended path. Once this was unleashed, he looked toward Benihime with both innocence and confusion in his expression. "I'll say it when the other guy's burning to death."

[Apollymi]

As Benitsubaki dodged the small boy she faced off against, seemed to be on his way to something even more. Much to her relief, what happened was the creation of a fireball, though it was headed towards, her she didn't seem to bothered about it. Instead she simply had it at its approach, and since it was already expelled from the small boy reached out for it. With this much fire in her possession she turned the fireball upwards pushing adding her own to it and making it spread out like a flower blossoming in the sky as she sent it upwards towards his own attack. This took some rather precise timing, but it was about all she could manage to try, and stop the large attack overhead. If successful the flame attacks would cancel each other out and she'd be left dusting off her hand.

Meanwhile, Benihime was palming her face, and looking at her son. She wanted to argue with her son, but couldn't really bring herself to. He made a very valid point. "If it makes you happy." the young woman said to her son, with a mental note to herself that he wasn't allowed to name any attack she'd be forced to use. As this happened she got to watch her mother do something very interesting with the use of the Kekkei Genkai she possessed. Benitsubaki redirected Hakudoshi's large fireball up into his other attack to cancel the two and creating a large blossoming flower out of the fire. "Sou ka, that's pretty impressive. I didn't know you had it in ya'," she said about her mother, who simply looked at her daughter and rolled her eyes. Knowing full well this was intended as a compliment but not seeing as such, simply given how they usually spoke to each other. Her mother's attention soon diverted to Hakudoshi, who obviously didn't have to be too concentrated on anything. The idea that he could do all of this while still maintaining his ability to do other things, let her know his skills weren't to be questioned. "That is... oddly resourceful. I can't deny your skills. The title of Fire Rat is yours. Congratulations," she said bowing to the young boy. "Do look after your mother, she seems to listen to you at least." And with that Benitsubaki seemed to be done with this fighting deal. She truly was a great deal weaker, but she could at least have more than a fleeting bit of faith in this pair.

[Bloodedge]

The next thing Hakudoshi saw was the collision of his fireball with the Gouen Rasengan he'd been holding overhead. Though the former was sent into the latter by Benitsubaki, the boy knew it would not be enough to destroy it. However, he also knew this to be the end of his trial, and thus, he let the Rasengan fade. Once declared to be the Fire Rat of this clan, the white-haired lad grinned and raised his right fist. "Mm!" he said. Immediately afterwards, he held out both his hands, as if expecting something to come with this title. In fact, he already knew there was something meant for both Benihime and himself.

[Apollymi]

Benitsubaki looked at the boy who went from affirmation to holding his arms out. Such a thing was odd for her to see, and caused her to look at Benihime. "Why is he holding his arms out like that?" This question made Benihime shrug, she'd only seen such a thing once and it had been this morning. "He wants whatever it is he's supposed to get. He knows what it is already, you might as well just give it to him." she said conclusively. This made her mother scoff. "You don't get to surprise him do you?" she asked as she waved a hand up. The waving brought multiple red haired people into the area with multiple boxes and scrolls. And all seemed surprised by the amount of destruction around them but stopped behind Benitsubaki with the boxes and scrolls. "I don't really try to. The only person I know who has even slightly managed it is the other girl in our family, and I forgot to ask how she did it." she said of surprising her son.

Benitsubaki couldn't imagine that parenting with a mind reading child would be very easy. In this way, she felt a bit proud of her daughter for having managed so well. Moving right along, there were the people with all the boxes one of which she took from someone near by and placed into the outstretched arms of the small boy. It contained an outfit and full dress gear for the young man. Of course, it wasn't actually made for him, so he'd have to grow into it. "These things were made in anticipation of Aki and Teri, so they will have to be grown into on your part." she said of the small boy. Her son was at least a decade older than her grandson, so there was much growth to be done. Soon after a box and several sets of scrolls were handed to Benihime. Who took one and opened it looking over the garbs she scoffed just a little. "Ewww, what does Teri have against being able to breathe." she said looking over the gear and knowing the girl intended to be wrapped up tighter and more covered than the older redhead would ever like. Moving along though a few of the accessories looked more than a bit suitable to Benihime's style as such she closed the box and thanked her mother. "Arigatou Gozaimasu," she said as she took those and the scrolls and applied seals to them which would allow her to send them back to her office in the Sunagakure. While she kept a large blue and flame colored scarf with a cat motif, which she had fun wrapping around her neck.

[Bloodedge]

Soon enough, the box Hakudoshi awaited was placed in his hands. He placed it on the ground to open it, and upon looking inside, he was very disturbed by how much larger these robes were than his body. There was only one item he saw that could be worn, and it was a ring with spikes protruding from either side. This ring, however, was a greater size than what any finger he knew would allow, and thus, he was confused by its existence. "What do I do with this?" he asked of anyone willing to answer. It was then that Taro stepped up to Benihime's side, speaking to her while looking at the young lad. "Don't be too surprised, but Aki decided to grow a ponytail about a decade ago."

[Apollymi]

Hakudoshi had a question and Benihime looked at the article in question and while it seemed familiar it didn't look like one she'd seen in any reasonable amount of time. As her father stepped up and told her not to be surprised, that one of her brothers had decided to grow a ponytail the explanation of the article came rather easily. "Aki did? Hmm, didn't take him for that much of a free spirit. Though... he was a pretty interesting kid," she said of her little brother, who had been her favorite as a small child. She couldn't really imagine him with a ponytail but at least she could now tell her son how to use his new thing. "Pull the spikes out, it opens up, you put it around the long part of your hair, and put the spikes back," the woman explained. She'd never been much for ponytails herself, when her hair was a reasonable length but she at least knew how the devices to create them worked. Now that she thought about it, there was an ornate one in the box she had. "Eh, there's one in my box too, huh?" she said, having already found the one article she was attached to, she'd not bothered really looking at it. Though, she wouldn't know that her younger sister had become the exact opposite since becoming a teenager. Teri was a bit more free willed than she'd been originally, wearing her hair free except for a headband.

[Bloodedge]

"... Sou ka." With this information now available to him, Hakudoshi grabbed a tuft of hair at the crown of his head, putting it into a small ponytail to lay over the rest of his hair. He'd seen a hairstyle such as this worn by one of the wealthier individuals in Sunagakure. He couldn't tell what it looked like, and decided he'd glance around at the adults in the area for confirmation of this accessory decision. Taro, believing he shouldn't be one to be giving any fashion tips to a child, spoke instead about another matter. "Since they were being brought up to take on these roles, Akira and Teruko have the additional pieces of the garbs. However, they now venture to the Land of Fire to gather supplies for our village's return."

[Apollymi]

After receiving his explanation, it seemed Hakudoshi was more than prepared to do something about his own hair. When he finished it'd taken on a style Benihime had seen plenty before, but hadn't ever imagined on her son. A moment to think about it though, and she liked it. "Nice job, Little One." she said of his choice. She thought he looked adorable but didn't know how he'd feel about the word so she kept it to herself. Her mother on the other hand seemed to think it to be exceptionally good. "Aww, it's so cute~ None of you ever care so much about fashion, I never get to see this kind of choice." Benihime looked to her mother after she spoke this way and nodded. "Uh...huh. You aren't getting baby fever are ya'?" She commented before returning her sights to her father, while her mother managed to look startled before crossing her arms over her chest. The older gentleman mentioned that her younger siblings had more of the pieces to their outfits apparently. But they were presently on a trip to the Land of Fire. "Oh? Well, I am not really that stressed about it. But what kind of supplies?" She questioned wondering what this place could need and assuming she'd help a bit.

[Bloodedge]

"Hmph," the white-haired boy muttered with his fists against his sides, and his chest inflated. It seemed his new appearance was well-received, especially by the older woman of the surrounding group. With this bit of praise, the boy seemed to have a bit less of a problem with said individual. What he did have a problem with, was there being someone else in this family who had something that was now his, while said person was elsewhere. With a furrowed brow, Hakudoshi sought out this pair of twins, using his power to bring them back to Uzushiogakure instantly.

One of these twins was a male with a long, crimson ponytail. His eyes were closed, and he was mid-stride at the moment of his appearance. "Bleh! I'm not really into that kinda stuff, to be perfectly ho-" When his eyes finally opened, he realized he'd been brought to an entirely different location to what he'd seen most recently. More importantly, this place was his home. "... nest. What?"

[Apollymi]

It seemed her son had received his attention rather well. Given this Benihime was content to simply try and have a conversation with her father only to see something strange. The rather sudden appearance of a crimson haired male, dressed in blue apparently speaking on something she didn't. Along with the crimson haired male came a female. With wild hair tamed only by a headband and wide light blue eyes with small crimson rings near their centers. "Oi... don't..." she had also been walking about with her eyes closed for the duration of their conversation but when she opened them she found herself standing back home, and this was rather strange. "Did we just move? We just moved right?" she seemed to be stunned by their sudden traversing of distance. Benihime chuckled just a tad. "Your lack of patience Hakudoshi, is a bit startling." she said to the small boy, who'd apparently decided he wanted whatever item the male twin had which now belonged to him, even though it likely wouldn't fit him at all given his present size. "Ara ara, yeah you moved, gomen. Long time no see~" the older of the red haired siblings said in greeting to her two youngest siblings.

[Bloodedge]

Hakudoshi had no time for questions being asked, so he quickly tapped the flesh of each twin he'd brought to this location. In doing so, he unveiled all necessary information, up to the point of them being teleported. This caused the male, Akira, to stand with wide eyes, which blinked occasionally as he overcame the surprise of the situation. "Uh... um..." The male seemed to stutter for several moments after this information was placed in his mind. Eventually, he looked directly at Benihime, finding the words soon enough. "Aneki! Why... do you have a kid? No... why do you have a kid who can do THAT!?"

[Apollymi]

Hakudoshi apparently had no time to deal with the questions he was likely to get from the pair of twins, and instead chose to funnel all necessary information in their minds. The female twin seemed to find this stunning and was in complete silence for a few seconds. Her brother's initial reaction was one she could agree with. "Aneki, you're back!~" She chimed jumping into the other young woman to hug her. It'd been quite some time since she'd last seen this one and as such Benihime accepted this, while her younger brother chose to question the existence of her seven year old.

"Yare yare, I am really not explaining where babies come from to any of you." She said, finding it odd to be asked such questions every time someone figured out she had a child. To the more specific question of his abilities, she shrugged and looked at her little brother. "In general I blame his father for anything I can't connect directly to myself. You can do that too if ya' like, Aki-chan." she said offering the boy a bit of a grin. The female twin soon let go of her older sister and offered her a box containing two gold kenseiken. "The stuff in my head was about the pieces we had out of the boxes, yeah?" she said offering them to the older woman. "I don't like them much anyways." she said with a chuckle, which made Benihime smile. "Arigatou, I can't say I'll use them much more than you would though," the woman said as she slapped a seal on the box and sent it to the other stuff. "Aki we have a nephew!~"

[Bloodedge]

"You know what I meant!" was the male twin's initial reaction to Benihime's words. He was quite astounded by the existence of this child, but there was nothing to argue when he'd already been given the answers to all of his questions. In the end, he could only stand there and scratch his head while Teruko delivered her ornament to Benihime. Supposing he'd be giving his to Hakudoshi, he stepped toward the boy, who seemed to already be shaking his head in rejection. "Eh? You don't want the-" The final word of Akira's query was cut short by Hakudoshi, who quickly charged forward, sword bared by summoning it to his hands, with a slash aimed at the older male's torso. By sheer will of reflex alone, Akira drew the sword he wielded. The clang of metal striking metal resonated in the area as the swords collided, and the end result of said collision was Hakudoshi flying away from the redhead before landing on his feet beside Benihime. "Sugoi sugoi!" the boy chanted. "They don't think when they do stuff. Does that mean they're stupid?" he asked of his mother. Such a bold statement from inquiring minds left Akira dumbfounded, looking at his closest of kin with utter confusion after being assaulted by a child, and then belittled within the same minute of the former happening.

[Apollymi]

Benihime simply found herself chuckling at her youngest brother's reaction. She supposed she did know what he meant, but the little boy's existence wouldn't be brought now by this man saying this. As Teruko had already forked over the rest of what belonged to Benihime, Akira had expected to do the same with his gear, only instead he was attacked by Benihime's son. She'd had free reign to observe this interaction and her son's question about her brother made her wonder if the same applied to her sister. Teruko was wide eyed as her brother fended off an attack by her nephew. "Wow! That sword came out of nowhere." she said seemingly stunned by the younger child's abilities. Instead of answering her son's question, Benihime moved from his side, aiming a swift trio of kicks at her sister, only to find each blocked by the girl's arms and legs. Benihime grinned when this happened, while her sister was left astounded by her older sister's actions. "Aneki?" The girl seemed curious but instead of saying anything else, the Kazekage simply turned back to her son. "Iie, they aren't stupid. They react on reflex instead of thinking about their actions. It will make them better fighters than most, as their actions won't be predictable, and they will be able to move without the hindrance of thought. It will also make them fun to fight." she said, before realizing that she was analyzing her siblings abilities the same way she'd appraise any potential individual. "Gomen, gomen. You two are really good. Fighting as a reflex is a very interesting skill to have."

[Bloodedge]

Benihime's reaction to her son's question was not to immediately answer, but instead to attack Teruko. Of course, she followed this up with an explanation to the lad, which caused Akira to sigh. "I was just skill checked by a seven year-old. No offense, nephew. I can already tell you're a lot stronger than I'll ever be." This sort of statement brought about yet another victory stance from Hakudoshi, who went on to process his mother's explanation about these two and their abilities. He took another look into their minds, just to see if they had recently given any display of said skills. When he did, he was taken into their perspective in the Land of Fire, albeit with his own abilities intact. The boy suddenly received the first headache of his young life, and a splitting one, at that. His eyes began bleeding as he clenched at his skull, shutting himself out of something he'd noticed this time around. "Oi, oi! What's going on!?"

[Apollymi]

"You were just skill checked by a seven year old. Aneki, just used me to confirm what he said. I don't know if I should feel better or worse..." commented Teruko. It was quite odd to be on the receiving end of skill checks. She remembered for many years their older sister had been thought to be some sort of cast away, incapable of doing anything. But she didn't think this was the case now. Moving right along soon enough her little nephew was doing something which caused a distinct reaction in him unlike one she'd ever seen before. Benihime was also taken by surprise but for a very different reason. Hakudoshi was one of the few people she didn't feel like everyone else. She couldn't really tell anything about him because he always felt like everything. But right at the moment that his eyes started bleeding and he grabbing his head, she was doing something similar. "It's pain, I don't know what he just did, but it hurts. Ouch, Hakudoshi... I didn't know I could feel anything so specific from you." she said of her son. She immediately became curious, she'd only seen bleeding eyes from one individual before this and had them be alright. She wouldn't immediately question him though, figuring the small boy would eventually say something more when he'd collected himself. And she didn't move closer to comfort him for fear of feeling anything else before he got himself back to normal. Teruko watched this whole thing astounded, unsure of what to do, she looked to her twin as if confused.

[Bloodedge]

The white-haired boy had begun shaking where he stood, even falling to his knees as he fought off this entity that plagued him. Over time, he succeeded. The bleeding in his eyes stopped, and the headache gradually faded. When it seemed all was well, Hakudoshi looked toward the pair of twins to speak. "The forest is dangerous," was his only warning for the pair. With that said, he looked to his mother, having only one thing to say to her as well. "We should leave. It knows where I am."

[Apollymi]

It was a strange thing to see, Benihime had never witnessed her son struggle with anything, but soon enough he seemed to have conquered whatever it was that plagued him mentally. Given the events of the morning she wasn't even going to make assumptions about what he was fighting against. When he got himself together, he gave a rather dark warning to the twins. Teruko looked at her brother then back to the child then to her brother. "Hmm, that was ominous, yes?"

After this though, the young white haired boy turned to his mother and said something else which utterly surprised the redhead. Now that his eyes were no longer bleeding and he felt normal she went a bit closer laying a head on his hand. This boy, and been around when she'd been taken before, and hadn't flinched at all, given the proximity of Uchiha Yuichi, his statements about whatever entity he'd just been facing made the Kazekage worry for the young boy's safety in a way she'd never worried before this point. "Hakudoshi, are you scared?" she asked him very quietly placing a hand atop his head. Knowing that if it was something which could spook the small boy, they likely didn't want it following him to this island. There was no one here who could do anything against something that could scare this child. Still if they were leaving, she was fine with this, it was already after dark and she had all the scrolls and information she needed. "We can go now if you want, but if it knows where you are... won't it follow you?"

[Bloodedge]

"If I had to rate it one to ten on a scale, I'd say ominous," Akira replied to his twin, delivering this statement in a very queer manner. He had a rough idea what forest the boy spoke of, considering where they were about to travel when brought back to this land, but he knew they needed to get to Konohagakure. "The Forest of Death is always dangerous. We can't risk missing this trip to Konoha, though," he said.

Hakudoshi, while overcoming his moment of trauma, turned away from his mother. True enough, he had experienced fear for the first time, but he was a prideful child if nothing else. When asked if this thing would follow him if he moved locations, his brow furrowed. After that, the boy vanished where he stood.

[Apollymi]

"Just making sure it wasn't just me." Teruko mentioned in a semi joking manner. It was apparently her way of dealing with potential stress. Her twin affirmed that regardless they would need to visit the Konohagakure and their trip would take them through a place known as 'The Forest of Death"."Yeah, I know." the girl said affirming that she knew the trip they were taking had to be one they made. Still, by the time Benihime would have been allowed to comfort her son, he'd simply vanished from her side. While his random appearances and disappearances weren't at all unusual, given what had just happened she wondered if he'd been bruised as far as his ego was concerned. "Or, yeah, just disappear. That is totally cool." the eldest of the redhead trio of siblings said mostly to herself.

"The Forest of Death? Do they really still call it that?" she said about the forest which was part of the Land of Fire's property which was often used for their exams for their Chunin. It seemed like the sort of thing that could or should have already been abandoned. "Why do you two need to go the Konohagakure?" she asked the younger twins, curious as always.

[Bloodedge]

"Neh, having trouble controlling the kids?" Akira asked jokingly of his elder sister. Now, he had the thought that he and Teruko would have to find another boat and take the journey to the Land of Fire once again. This was a rather discouraging train of thought, but there wasn't much choice in the matter from what he knew. More to the point, he and Teruko were being questioned on their reasons by Benihime. Never one to leave the older woman's questions unanswered when able, Akira was the first to speak up. "Hai, it's still called that. We have to go because our village needs tools before it can start thriving again, even when we rebuild it. We lost all our blacksmiths, but we're on good terms with Konoha, so they're willing to work with us until we're back on track. That comes in exchange for a more official peace treaty between us, of course."

[Apollymi]

"My kid can read minds. There isn't a parenting book in the world made to cover that~" Benihime joked along with her brother. Moving right along, it seemed her siblings were at least still willing to answer her questions without any qualms. And it appeared they wished to build their village back up to something good, and were using positive ties with the Konohagakure to do that. A bit of a smirk came to her face. "Eh, that's a pretty solid move. They are terribly close by, it would be bad to be on negative terms with them. But..." she paused thinking about it from the perspective of someone who was actually in charge of such things and offered a bit more advice. "You shouldn't rely too heavily on that sort of thing, if they got a bad Hokage or went a bit deranged for any reason it could be bad for ya'." she said with a curt nod. "Tell ya' what, my husband is an excellent blacksmith... I'll see if he'll help ya' out finding or training someone to make better than crap tools for ya'. You'll get more and better traffic through here, if you have your own stuff to trade off. Especially if the quality is better than the nearest mainland stuff." She mentioned with a bit of a smile, she knew this to be the case, because people often visited the desert just to seek her husband's ability to make weapons. She also didn't seem to notice she'd mentioned being married, and wasn't aware of whether or not that was information which was included with what Hakudoshi told them earlier. Thinking about it now, she might want to visit here sometime without bugging her son, as such she tapped the lightning seal at her wrist summoning a large three pronged kunai and looking around. She soon threw it so it stuck in the upper wall of a nearby building. "Leave that there, I might wanna come back sometime."

[Bloodedge]

"No worries. I'll write one up for ya'. You know, I have infinite knowledge about parenting all types of children," said Akira. When told about their need of tools, Benihime claimed she had a husband who worked as a suitable blacksmith. This was very good information, and potential assistance, for the betterment of Uzushiogakure, but Akira had a very specific qualm with the concept overall. "First of all, you can't just keep talking past that. You've had kids AND gotten married!? Whoa, slow down! My heart can't take all this sudden change." As he spoke, Akira went through a very dramatic gesture, throwing his left arm out while his right hand clapped his chest over his heart. It was then that Benihime produced an odd-looking kunai, which she proceeded to lodge into a building and claim she'd potentially be returning at some point. "Going senile, too? What's that weird kunai got to do with you coming back here? Heirloom from your new family?"

[Apollymi]

Her brother joked that he'd write her a proper parenting book which made the older of the redheads laugh just a little. It was beyond funny to her that her siblings would say such a thing to her. As she went on chatting about the ins an out of potentially getting themselves a blacksmith, it seemed her brother took issue with the fact that she had a husband and a child. Much to her surprise her younger sister was also equally shocked. "ANEKI IS MARRIED?!" immediately followed the young man's speaking and caused the older of the redheads to palm her head as if abashed.

"Ara ara, making an awfully big deal of out this, ya' know. That is the second time someone's reacted like that to my being married, you're gonna give me a complex." She stated a blush coming to her face. "I figured Hakudoshi might have mentioned it, but I suppose he wouldn't see why he'd need to." she said about her son, and the apparent skipped information of her marriage. "So, yeah, I'm married, my husband's name is Youko, he's a blacksmith and Jounin Hancho in the Sunagakure." she said supplying necessary information. Luckily enough, her brother seemed to switch ideas pretty quickly, about the kunai she only shook her head from left to right. "Oi! I'm not old enough to be senile." she muttered seemingly distraught by the idea. "I mean, Youko made those for me, or rather us, but the reason they can return me here, is something different," she said as if to prove this point, she activated the jutsu which would allow her to flash out in a crimson flash, only to reappear standing atop the kunai so recently buried in the side of the building, she'd whistle to draw attention to herself. She then threw another after summoning it between the feet of the twins to reappear directly in the middle of them much to their surprise. "It's one of the jutsu I made up a while back. Pretty useful for travel, but only really works if I've already been there and can leave a seal behind."

[Bloodedge]

"Sou ka. Sounds like Suna is a pretty strong place. I've heard a few rumors, but I never had anything solid to go by," he said regarding the Sand Village. Still, there was an agreement to be upheld with Konohagakure; one which required Teruko and himself to be present as soon as possible to retrieve their end of the trade. Following Benihime's example of her transportation technique, Akira wondered if perhaps they could make use of such a thing, at least for a single trip. "Sugoi! That's pretty nifty stuff ya' got there. Any chance you could give us a jump start to Konoha with one of those?"

[Apollymi]

"What kinda rumors? I hope nothing too bad, I try to be good but I can never be sure..." she said thinking about it a bit more and deciding to simply leave it in favor of something much more entertaining to her. "Anyways, you both should drop by sometime~" she said to the pair of twins, she had no problem with her two younger siblings dropping by to say hello every once in a while. After she demonstrated the Hiraishin technique, she found it a bit strange that her brother would even ask her such a thing. "Hai, that'd be nice. Maybe after we're done with the Kono stuff, Aki~ We can go by and see Aneki, and catch a peek of the man she married." the girl added for interest, wondering intensely what sort of man their older sister had married. A bit of a chuckle came from the woman as she pulled her younger sister towards her person, and grinned. "Hai, I planned to do that anyways. After all, Hakudoshi did pop you out of nowhere, plus this way, you can avoid that Forest of Death for the night. Uhh, can't go to the one inside that village though... I'm not sure who is in charge anymore, and that could cause an international incident. I can however, drop ya' right outside the gates~" she said extending her hand to her little brother. If he took her hand, she'd pull him in as well, aiming to give both the twins an around the neck hug, in the way of a loving older sister. "Don't be strangers, ya'?" she'd say at last before disappearing with the trio of them in a crimson flash of light, headed to the Gates of the Konohagakure.

[Bloodedge]

After a long and arduous journey to Konohagakure in the Land of Fire, the pair of Suzukou twins - originally meant to become the sacred Fire Cat and Rat - made their return to Uzushio. The male, Akira, was the first to set foot in the ruins they called home, and he was markedly different compared to how he appeared upon leaving. To be more specific, his previously flawless face now bore a large, cross-shaped scar on its left cheek. Even though he physically seemed no worse for wear, both he and his sister had been through hell and back, and he now possessed this mark to prove it. "Mendokuse~. It's good to finally be back after all that. I'm glad we were able to get some more tools."

[Apollymi]

The female of this twin set, bore no ill marks, but still she also seemed relieved that they had finally made it home. "Hai, Fon-san was really nice, considering all he'd already done." she said of their extensive trip. It seemed the twins had been through a ridiculous experience, but they might have even grown from it at least a little bit. But before they could properly settle in for the day someone else appeared before them. They had red hair like everyone else in this place, but wore plain white robes which marked them as being messengers of the Council which was part of the government for the island. For whatever reason, this individual stopped in front of the twins. "The Council requests your presences..." there was a bow after the speech but something about the statement itself seemed a bit ominous. "Did we do something?" she asked her brother giving a sideways look at the bowing figure and wondering what on earth they could have done to attract the attention of the Council while they were away.

[Bloodedge]

When his sister spoke of the man named Fon, Akira raised a brow and looked toward her through the corner of his eye. He then quickly shifted in front of her as they walked, leaning forward to look her in the face skeptically. "Mm hmm. Fon-san, huh?" he replied. Moments later, Akira was turning around to see a messenger of their clan's council before them, summoning them to the aforementioned council. "I don't wanna. Kai-nii gets on my nerves when he says stuff."

[Apollymi]

Her brother's skepticism at what she chose to call their savior made the young girl rather a bit uncomfortable. "Oi, it isn't like that, hush up," she commented as she frowned into her twin's face. Beyond this the messenger seemed to demand their presence to that of the Council which helped govern the island. Her twin's response was not to her question but instead seemed to be aimed at a particular member of the Council for whom he did not bear a great deal of fondness. She sighed, having to agree. "Eh, I feel the same way, but... Kouha-kun..." she paused thinking of what to say and instead shrugging. "We should probably just go, yeah?" she said, not giving it much other thought, and she began walking towards the Council's chamber so that they could meet with the people inside. "I mean if we go ahead, and get it out the way... we can drop the tools and go see Aneki~"

[Bloodedge]

"Uuuugh~ mendokuse!" Akira said, seeming for a moment to have grown ill by the mere thought of going to the council chambers. Either way, if Teruko would go along, he would as well. He began following the lass without question, though he still did not look forward to the ordeal. "Fine, fine. Kai-nii is probably just being nosy anyway."

Little did they know, the chamber in which the council resided had undergone some very drastic changes since their last visit. At the center of the village, there was a large, circular wall. It had a single gate leading to its interior, and passing through said gate would lead one down a straight bridge across a great whirlpool, leading to the circular chamber at the center of it. Atop this flat-roofed chamber, there was a certain redhead sat comfortably. He had very long hair that was cut short specifically in the back, and wore three braids in his fringe. Atop this crimson-adorned head was a blue hat with a sapphire placed at the center of golden wings. He wore a strange, maija-style dress atop a pair of teal shorts, and various pieces of jewelry adorned with gemstones. There was a large sword behind him, seeming to belong to the young man who sat happily in wait of these twins' arrival.

[Apollymi]

"Or Kougyoku-chan~" she said on the matter of nosy behavior. Both of those individuals seemed to be constantly monitoring who came in and out of the island. Not that it should matter too much considering this pair of twins had called this place home for quite a long time by now. Even so, she was soon led by messenger to this new building which made her whistle. "Ooh, they redecorated." she said absently as they were led towards the building, only outside they saw something strange. A young male who seemed to dress rather femininely with three braids in the front of his hair and an odd little hat.

On the other side of the young man was a young woman, dressed in flowing kimono with a tight obi at her waist. Her hair up in several large loops and held up by a small clamp and a very large hair pin which seemed to have some little symbol on it in just the right light. She sleeves of her kimono covered her hands as she looked out towards the walkway waiting for the arrival of the twins she'd felt coming. "Oh! They're here!!" she said seemingly excited as she hid her face behind long sleeves so that only her eyes showed. Teruko looked up and the person in the white robe bowed before moving out of both of their way so they could stand before these two. "Ohayou gouzaimasu, Sanjikai~" Teruko said as she ruffled red locks before bowing before the council, one of its members conspicuously missing. But perhaps he didn't want to leave the sanctity of the indoors.

[Bloodedge]

"Yeah, they did," Akira said to share the observation that this location had changed. After a very short amount of time to inspect it, though, he gained a conclusive opinion of these changes. "I don't like it." Nevertheless, Akira continued alongside his twin, until they passed the gate and stumbled upon two of three council members. "Psh. Yo."

"Ohayou~! Long time no see~!" the male twin atop the building spoke as these two crossed the bridge. This male was the Kouha previously mentioned by Teruko, and upon seeing these two with his own eyes, he hopped down from the roof to greet them properly. Upon landing, he placed his hands on his hips and leaned forward, tilting his head while looking at these two with wide, curious eyes. When he spoke thereafter, his voice quickly transitioned from its former jovial nature into a not-so-friendly tone, though this was simply how his personality shifted from time to time. "... Oi. You two disappeared with some other chakra. How'd you do that?"

[Apollymi]

"Aki, don't be mean~" the girl said in response to his reply about the new building they were approaching. Of course, she agreed with his opinion but she would have tried to be a bit more respectful in how she phrased it. Of course, as they approached they were greeted by a pair of twins from the Council which had currently called for their presence. After the greeting from Kouha, Kougyouku spoke up as well. "Ohayou~" she said to both of the other twins content to let her twin speak for the most part.

And then everything changed. Kouha wasn't known to have the most stable of moods, and this would soon become obvious as his jovial mood became deathly serious as he questioned the comings, or rather goings of the pair with a chakra he apparently didn't recognize. The twins, themselves would have no reason to know why he didn't recognize the chakra of one of their siblings. But the change in his nature made Teruko look towards her own twin with her left brow raised. "How'd we do it? We didn't..." she said, it was true the twins didn't have anything to do with why they'd disappeared.

[Bloodedge]

When told it wasn't this pair who caused the disappearance, Kouha narrowed his eyes. Said eyes then shifted in Akira's direction. "She's right," he said. This caused Kouha to tilt his head in the opposite direction, as if confused. "Then who did? That scar on your face feels new... and weird. It's a little like whoever was with you when you came and left."

Akira sighed, understanding that this was the reason they had been called here. These two were obviously just being nosy about their sudden reappearance and disappearance. "Benihime and her son were here. The son brought us back. Aneki took us back to Konoha. Happy?" he answered. In response, Kouha simply turned his head, still tilted, toward Kougyoku. When he did, his eyes were wide and sparkly.

[Apollymi]

"Hmm, it does feel weird, Akkun." Kougyouku backed the other young man up about the scar present on Akira's face. She couldn't quite describe the difference but it was definitely something she'd never felt before. Things like this, made the pair of twins on the Council infinitely curious, especially with the other pair now present appearing and disappearing out of nowhere multiple times only to walk back when they finally felt like it.

But soon enough Akira gave the pair the information they sought, and by the time, Kouha had turned to Kougyoku with his eyes lit up, she was already looking towards him with the same look in her eyes her hands lowered in the excitement of the moment. "YES!" was Kougyoku's response to the question of they were happy. Of course, she was, they hadn't seen Benihime in many years, the idea that she came with something completely new. "Oh, what should we do... Sissy came back!~" she chimed happily.

[Bloodedge]

"Oh. This?" Akira replied as he brought his left hand to the scar on his face. "We were attacked by some really strong guy when we were leaving Konoha. He was way too powerful; we had to be saved by one of their Jounin just to make it out alive." Kouha no longer cared about the scar on Akira's face, or the situation that had just been explained. He had already shifted onto another topic, choosing to grant his full attention to the matter of Benihime's resurgence. "The hell with your scar, man! This is more important than your almost deaths! But... Hime-nee had kids? That never came to the Sanjikai," he said while pressing his right forefinger against his bottom lip, seeming distraught. "Even an exile should report to us. En-nii isn't going to like this."

[Apollymi]

The situation of the scar on Akira's face was described, but, Kougyoku had also shifted her attention. She was now holding up her hands in front of her face and speaking directly with her own twin. "En-nii, you think he'll be upset because she didn't come? Should we bring her back here so it isn't a problem?" she asked of Kouha.

Meanwhile, Teruko seemed to have a brow twitch just a tad. "Thanks Kouha-kun, nice to know our near death experience while doing something for this place is less important than what Aneki has been doing all alone in the desert," said Teruko. This whole thing was a bit ridiculous. And the idea that 'En' would be mad about it seemed even worse. "Koen-nii? What does he even have to do with this, shouldn't it be Koukai-nii?" the girl questioned, beyond this, it was already done. They'd met their nephew, and were going to meet their brother-in-law, so obviously this wasn't something which was going to change any time soon.

[Bloodedge]

"Oh, definitely! We have to make sure she comes back with her mate and children! We need to see them all!" Kouha said. He followed this statement with a curt nod, as if to validate his own words with the action. Kouha would then be seen waving his hand about overhead with a smile to brush off Teruko's words. "You're not dead though. It doesn't matter if you almost died. You were alive yesterday, you're alive today, so who cares!? Didn't you hear Hime-nee has kids now!?" he asked, as if these two weren't the ones who just gave him that very information.

Teruko, and judging by the look on his face, Akira as well, seemed confused by the mention of Koen. Though Teruko was the only one to question this aloud, it went for her twin as well. Kouha, in response, straightened his posture and pressed the backs of his wrists against his waist. "Oh, yeah... he's dead. Like... REALLY dead. Super dead. En-nii killed him good." Akira's eyes widened a great deal when Kouha spoke these words. He'd always known their cousin Kouen to be one of the strongest among their clansmen, but he was shocked to know that he'd defeated his supposedly stronger twin. "Impossible. When the hell did that happen!?" he asked, prompting Kouha to think it over for a moment. When he remembered the event, he smiled. "'Bout a week ago."

[Apollymi]

"Hai!" the young woman hiding behind her hands said. She then looked to the pair below and uttered a few words. "You two have to bring Sissy and her family back here," Kougyoku's words on this matter seemed to be final but it only made Teruko scoff. She hadn't seen her older sister in ages before this moment, even so, she knew how the young woman was. "And what are we supposed to tell her, hm? Aneki hasn't ever been much for authority, she's not going to come back because we tell her to. And if we tell her a Council wants her, she won't appear on principle. And we haven't even met her husband yet..." she said, remembering that their sister used to hide out in an oasis in the desert whenever their mother visited, simply because she didn't want to speak with her. She couldn't imagine exile had made the other woman any less disagreeable about such things.

Beyond this Kouha apparently thought near death experiences were simply a part of life and was still rather stuck on the children and mate of the eldest of her parents children. "Uh-huh, we told you that information, Kouha-kun," she muttered. The news that Koukai had been killed by Kouen was something a bit more stirring than normal. She couldn't help but go wide eyed as Kouha explained this to Akira and she looked at her own twin seemingly amazed. "En-nii killed Kai-nii a week ago," the sentence given because it seemed stunning. A week before now they'd been fighting off the man in the woods of Konohagakure. "Why?" she finally asked wanting to know what would possess anyone to kill their other half. She couldn't imagine ever wanting to.

[Bloodedge]

"I dunno. Find a reason," Kouha said. Whatever the cost, he expected these two to fetch the woman known as Benihime, and return her to this location along with this family of hers. As for his more immediate family, or more specifically the death of Koukai, there was the question of why he was killed by his twin. Kouha shrugged. "Dunno. En-nii had a better idea for how to run things, though. He lets me kill people that gross me out!"

[Apollymi]

Teruko found herself staring at her cousins in disbelief of their rather nonchalant attitude concerning something they wanted done. True enough the twins were planning on leaving to go see their eldest sister anyways, but there still wasn't any guarantee that it would work out to tell her that such people were looking for her. Regardless apparently this problem was being seated solely in the laps of the pair of twins so recently returned. "Mendokuse," Teruko chimed in a manner similar to her twin.

Afterwards, Kouha kind of explained the difference between Koukai and Kouen running things as it were, and it seemed like it was the sort of thing that would be the difference between the set of twins, but it also seemed a bit awkward. "Uh-huh..." there was much skepticism in this single word, even so, it didn't seem like something worth arguing about right just now. She looked to her own twin and sighed. "Eh, wanna drop these tools and get going then?" she asked of him, more than ready to leave the presence of these two twins. "You guys don't need anything else right?" she asked looking back to the pair.

[Bloodedge]

"Mendokuse," Akira said in unison with Teruko. These two were truly being quite the annoyance in their desires, but he supposed in the end, there was no real arguing with them. This was especially the case considering who now controlled the council, who was a man Akira dared not cross under any circumstance. "Fine. Let's go," he said, wasting no further time before turning away from the twins of the council. In the meantime, Kouha looked to Teruko while shaking his head. "Iie. Be back in time for the festival!"

[Apollymi]

"Hai hai," Teruko said to the final chime about being back in time for the festival. When she thought about it now, they might have a decent bit of luck convincing their sister to come back if there was something fun involved. She'd then turn and leave with her twin where they'd make preparations to leave on a trek through the desert to reach their elder sister. As they walked away she sighed. "Ya' know, we've gone from fated pair destined for glory. To a glorified messenger service," she said with something bordering sarcasm in her tone. She supposed it could be worse, but she wondered what other changes the man known as Kouen had in store for their blossoming village.