[Getsugakure] Tsukimikyuu

[Bloodedge]

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Tsukimikyuu (Moon-viewing Palace) rests at the edge of Tsukigakure. It is not only a single palace meant to house whatever family is considered the current rulers of the Oborozuki clan, but also a subdivision for esteemed members of the clan overall. This area connects directly to the village, as well as the water canal leading to the other side of the island.

[Apollymi]

Within the Tsukimikyuu was a young woman of about thirty years old. She had long white hair which was currently being wound into large pigtails by some young women who were attending her. Pairs of decorative chopsticks were being used to pick up the ridiculously long and luxurious locks as they framed her face and head and lifted the hair from its beyond ankle length to a more manageable calf-length. This sort of ritual took place every day, and was part of the woman's ritualistic dressing. As was the lightly flavored smoke coming off of her long pipe which she tapped with long black painted nails. "Are you done yet?" she asked the women who soon were able to finish after several minutes of work. Meanwhile, outside this area a large group of children were chasing each other about. Apparently having already decided the rules of whatever game they were choosing to play. Which the young woman was looking out at from her window seeming to find it amusing at the very least.

[Bloodedge]

As this woman looked into the open subdivision of the village, perhaps she would take note of a particular figure approaching. Most in the vicinity likely would. After a long journey from the outskirts of the island, Katsuhara Youko returned to the place he'd not visited since years prior, when he and his ward slayed the tyrannical Blood Cult. He walked calmly toward the palace, clad in his typical garbs adorned with symbols of the old Hunter Branch of this clan, including his armor. If this alone didn't give away his identity, the markings upon his face and wrists - which proved his completion of numerous trials within said clan branch - certainly would to any who looked his way.

[Apollymi]

As she looked out the window she noted the playing of the children and the approach of a lone male, whom she hadn't seen in more than a decade. Beyond that point, the small children who were playing around took note of his dress and began giggling only to scatter soon after. Such play was normal for them but all who looked in this man's direction seemed to flee for whatever reason. The exception being the young woman looking out her window who soon recovered from her shock and shook her helpers as they finished her hair. "Oh! I never expected to see him here!~" she chimed as she headed out to greet this man in particular seemingly being the only person in this entire village who wasn't immediately fearful. Once outside she paused before the man who walked in seeming not to know what was going on. As a group of children whispered and pointed before running off. "Long time no see~" she approached stopping shy and flashed the full moon at this man, apparently something which was done as a matter of tradition. She was dressed in a open kimono with long sleeves and big straps crossing over her chest with a small red chrystanthemum in the middle of her chest. Her hair overly exaggerated and quite long piled up recently into to large pigtails held up by pins with various moon decorated ends.

[Bloodedge]

When he finally reached the palace, Youko was greeted immediately, and surprisingly from a very familiar face. "Natsumi?" was his initial reaction as he stopped in his tracks. With her showing of Oborozuki in its full moon state, Youko did the same whilst making direct eye contact. This ritual, seeming to be a simple standoff, occurred with the man holding his left arm akimbo, and letting his right arm hang free at his side. "So, you're the Lady of the Moon now. Congratulations," he said, offering a bit of small talk.

[Apollymi]

The man known as Youko returned Natsumi's eye contact, it was a bit of a standoff, but she didn't seem to mind at all. At the congratulations offered her, the young woman could do nothing but shrug. "Arigatou Gozaimasu, though honestly I should be thanking you. It wouldn't be the case if not for you." The young woman chimed. She had a surprisingly interesting history with the man before her, and though he probably realized it already, since he was the one who defeated the Cult of the Blood Moon, he was also almost directly responsible for Natsumi's rise to power. If anyone happened to be observing this particular interaction they might note that none had bowed out yet, but this was likely due to the fact that neither had pushed in this little show to figure out who was actually suited to lead whom.

[Bloodedge]

"I'm owed no thanks. Whether I had anything to do with the fall of the cult or not, these people letting you be named their Lady is something that only your own power over them could allow. I just took out the thing that was in the way," Youko said in response to this alleged owe of thanks. More to the point, this standoff ritual was a bit tiresome for the man. He knew there was only one way for this woman to lay claim to the title "Lady" among this clan, and she was now refraining from showcasing it. "This little stare of yours must work on everyone else here, huh? Come on. Show me what you're hiding."

[Apollymi]

"Fine. I was never really going to argue about it anyways." she said not bothering with more thanking of this man. She knew him well enough to know that he'd get his way about it, regardless of what she had to say. When the conversation shifted though, it seemed that he had grown tired of their staring contest, she smiled when he said it. "Oh, like you can talk." she scoffed seeming to find something odd about the way he spoke of her stare. "It's just a bit unfair. But since you asked." When she spoke her moon shifted the full moon turning a milky pink color. Such a thing normally completely overpowered whoever she happened to be looking at, but would also trigger the person it was connected to. "And you? Because we all know you're hiding something~" she mentioned, having noted that the man before her showed only his full moon as well, without anything special.

[Bloodedge]

Incredible amounts of eye contact continued as Natsumi argued that he, too, held back his true highest form of Oborozuki. A faux sneer ensued, but it seemed she would acquiesce and showcase her higher state of being first. Seeing this made Youko's brow furrow. "I was hoping that wasn't what I would see. You found someone else to pair up with you for that atrocious thing?" he asked. Youko apparently had an incredible distaste for this particular moon, but more importantly, he still owed a show from his own end. Without breaking the ongoing eye contact, he allowed the moons in his eyes to shift to a red color, as if they were pools filling with blood. Within him at that time, was the chakra of all who fell to Youko while he was in this state. This included the entirety of the Blood Cult, as they were called. "Of course I was hiding something. I didn't expect to have to share any honors."

[Apollymi]

"Oh you wound me. And you still don't like it~" she said, seeming to not have a problem with the way he referred to her moon. They had at some point already discussed this, and given that, she already knew about how she felt about it. Even so, it didn't change the fact that she possessed this moon and had indeed found someone else to share it with. "I paired with Kichi~ He was always willing to take it, I simply had to accept him. I did eventually~" she said of the man who was her partner. But soon after she was confronted by Youko's Blood Moon which was quite intense. The power of it was enough to cause the young woman to look away. "That's really intense. We always stayed away from them for exactly that reason." she said. "Okaerinasai, Youko~" she said as she completed her bow and allowed her moons to fade back into her normally teal colored eyes.

[Bloodedge]

"Why would I? I'm all for strength in pairs, but the other half of that trade isn't something I could ever allow myself to take part in." Whatever abilities this moon had, this was Youko's opinion of them. Natsumi went on to mention who she'd partnered up with to gain this power, which caused Youko to raise a curious brow. "Fujiwara Kichirou? I like that even less. I hope he's at least become decent enough to not be a burden, in that case." When their greeting ritual came to its official end, Youko stood over Natsumi's bow. He deactivated his Doujutsu only when she rose from said bow, and took a few steps closer to the palace. "Tadaima. I should say ahead of time, I'm here for business. Where's Kichirou? I don't want him being... well, him, while I make my point."

[Apollymi]

Natsumi had indeed had this conversation well ahead of time with this man, so she did know that he felt this way. And while she respected his decision she still didn't really understand why he thought so badly of the trade off. "Yes, I know. You definitely explained that before, but this is what I got, and it's quite fun, if I do say so myself~" she said of her Moon. She seemed to be rather free-spirited and didn't take personally the white haired males personal dislike of the Moon she bore, nor did she harbor him any ill-will for not wanting to be the one to accept the connection to her. Moving right along though it seemed that he had a problem with the man she had chosen as her partner and it was also something she knew about. "Oh, cut Kichi some slack already. Of course he isn't a burden, we're partners, and married." she said of her pairing of her special moon with another individual. When their ceremony came to an end Youko turned and walked towards the palace and of course, Natsumi joined him.

As he then made it clear that he was here for business she couldn't help but chuckle. "Of course, couldn't expect just a happy little visit." she said of his obvious wandering nature. This man never seemed to settle for anything, not that they hadn't already had that conversation as well. When he questioned the whereabouts of Kichirou she couldn't help but smile. "He's off island right now... he went to be all diplomatic with the Land of Water. And I couldn't be bothered to travel, so that~" she chimed about the whereabouts of her husband. "So, what kinda business did you come here for?" she asked as a curiosity.

[Bloodedge]

Natsumi's assertion that she'd married this man named Kichirou warranted a momentary scoff from Youko. "I'm not surprised. You've always been the type to take bonds like that to their extremes. No offense; I'm just saying," he replied. Only a moment later, he was entering the palace and addressing the woman's curiosities about his appearance here. "Obviously I didn't expect to find you here in the palace. I came specifically to find the current rulers, because I need the clan's secrets. I want the Tsuki no Shin scrolls."

[Apollymi]

"You really wound me Youko. Assuming it was my idea, and all." The woman said, this was mostly a joke, she knew that she was the type to take her bonds to an extreme most people wouldn't. Even so, being married was something she'd always wanted, so when the opportunity presented itself she took it. All joking would soon come to an end though, as Youko stated what he'd actually come here for, which was something she hadn't expected to hear from anyone aside from someone who ruled the clan. "How... do you know about that?" She asked, having come to a complete halt because it was so surprising to hear such a thing, she almost didn't know what to expect from the man as he claimed to need something he shouldn't even know about existing.

[Bloodedge]

"Whether it was your idea or not, you agreed to it. Kichirou must be hiding some skill I couldn't have foreseen him having," Youko said as he went to find a seat in the entry hall. Instead of immediately addressing his desires, Natsumi chose to bring forth the question of how he knew these scrolls existed. While sprawled out on a long chair, Youko slung his arms over its back, and laid his right ankle atop his left knee. "I know a lot of things this clan keeps secret. I've found most of them, but never thought I'd need that one until recently. So... where is it?"

[Apollymi]

"You just keep doing this, you can't help yourself can you?" she asked of him, the question being mostly rhetorical. As he entered the palace entrance hall and took a seat she did the same, slipping a pipe from within her robe and taking a single hit from it as the man explained how he knew of the scrolls which were supposed to be the clans most closely guarded secrets. She found herself frowning deeply, given he had this information already there was little she could do about it, but... its location was a secret known only to the royal family and even they'd never actually laid eyes on the actual scrolls themselves, for a very peculiar reason, that no one else needed to know. "Now, don't think I am being difficult, because really I am not. But I can't take you there, only the royal family is allowed there. Gomen." Natsumi concluded, for her part she really wasn't trying to be difficult but this was something she couldn't do for him.

[Bloodedge]

"You keep making openings." All jest aside, Natsumi finally got around to answering his concern in a direct way. However, her response was not a favorable one for him. To hear that the royal family were the only ones allowed in the location of these scrolls, would not be something to deter the man after his trip here. There was far too much he needed to know. "Yare yare. I really need what's in those scrolls. What do I have to do to earn an exception? Run through another trial? Get you off? Dethrone you and Kichirou? I'm willing to go to extremes this time."

[Apollymi]

Youko seemed to be quite stressed by needing the information in those scrolls. And given this Natsumi was made curious about his need for this. But she couldn't allow her simple curiosity to get the best of her in this case. As he went on to list things he was willing to do to obtain the information he sought the white haired woman nearly choked. "WHAT? What kind of shit is that to say?" Natsumi was surprised by his actions, but she wouldn't directly turn down any of his offers. She the moved on to the matter of him earning his exception, she could think of one thing could accept for the information he sought, which would be fair for what he was asking. "You already know a lot of secret clan stuff, yes? You could probably just help me out, and it will be fair... a trade if you have the information I'm looking for, I'll trade it to you for what you're looking for." she said, feeling that this was best, since she already knew what he was looking for, she'd at least tell him what she was looking for. "We're looking for the Blue Moon Sage, if you know where he is, I'll trade that information for the location you're seeking~" and on paper it was a very fair deal. Both of them were looking for something they shouldn't know about and shouldn't be able to find.

[Bloodedge]

"The true kind, obviously," Youko replied with a glance in the woman's direction. Waving his hand about in a casual manner, he emphasized his next statement. "All offers are on the table. This isn't something I can afford to leave without." In response to his offers, Natsumi had demands of her own. She somehow knew of the Blue Moon Sage, and for some unknown reason, she and Kichirou had been seeking the man. This knowledge of hers was something that made Youko's eyes narrow. "Interesting offer. I was hoping for one of the first two options I gave, but I do have the information you're looking for. Tell me, though, what do you two think you'll be able to get from the sage?"

[Apollymi]

"Uh-huh." Natsumi was truly stunned. Whatever reason Youko had for needing this information it was obviously rather important to him. She wanted to help him out quite a bit, but she obviously couldn't do something for nothing. There were protocols to follow and all of them needed to happen. Her counter offer got her narrowed eyes before the man answered her. She shrank back just a bit, though not in a very serious manner. "Oh that look isn't nice, Youko~" she chimed, assuming the man was just as shocked by someone else having the same kind of secret information that he was obviously so used to having. Moving right along, he seemed to find the counter offer interesting. "Alright, you were hoping for a trial or getting me off. Well, that's fine and all, and wouldn't mind a go for fun, but the information is what I want in exchange." She said first finding it more than a bit amusing that these were things he wanted. "As for what we'll get, we don't really know, nothing solid is ever mentioned, only that something special comes from communing with him, so we want it. Everyone assumes it's some sort of power, but even if it's not, possessing it would solidify the power structure. And to be fair, you left quite a vacuum taking out the Blood Cult, we want to make sure we can look after everyone." she said. To be fair they sought the Blue Moon Sage to make sure they could squash any uprising like the one which caused them in the first place, since they hadn't been the ones to take out the Blood Cult, it was necessary to make sure they'd be strong enough to nip in the bud anything like it for the future.

[Bloodedge]

"Yare yare daze," Youko said with a sigh. "First, good job just slipping right past that first sentence. Second..." He paused there, knowing already that these two were on a path toward nothing. Natsumi had a fully evolved Oborozuki, and by association, Kichirou did as well. Another sigh escaped Youko before he continued. "The sage has nothing to give you. You're just not strong enough to gain anything from him. Trust me; you two will do fine without any more power anyways. There won't be another uprising."

[Apollymi]

A sigh escaped the white haired young woman as she rested in a very comfortable chair. It seemed that Youko had noticed how easily she'd slipped in the first sentence of her statement, and of course it caused her to chuckle. "Oh you would notice that." She concluded though she wasn't at all stressed about it. Beyond this, it seemed that Youko could give them the information they sought, but wouldn't due to it apparently not working for the pair of them for whatever reason. "Not that I wouldn't just take your word for it, but why aren't we strong enough to get anything from him?" She questioned this because the statement was rather specific. And to be fair, this island was presently full of orphans and broken or newly made families. She didn't technically fear an uprising either, it was just insurance given the rather tenuous nature of her moon. "And if you aren't giving up the information, then... you just talked yourself back to square one~"

[Bloodedge]

"Of course I would. I'm on an upswing again, but I've been in a rut recently. Besides," he carried on, giving the Lady of the island a single once-over glance. "Looks like you went through even more development since we last met." Despite his words, Natsumi was not likely to be deterred; this much he could tell. True enough, she immediately expressed curiosity toward the apparent weakness he spoke of. There was also mention of him cycling his way back to the beginning of this bargaining session. "I never said I wouldn't give you the information. If you want the truth, I am the sage you seek. You aren't strong enough because no one is strong enough anymore. To learn from the sage, after already acquiring an advanced Oborozuki, requires mastery of all forms of the Kekkei Genkai."

[Apollymi]

"You in a rut? That's actually possible?!" she said a face brimming with surprise. Even so, she supposed him being back on an upswing was probably for the best regardless of what else had transpired. His once over glance of her and statements about her development wouldn't go unnoticed either, a chuckle would come from the lass as he made his statements. "Yeah, well, I figure most people in their late teens figure they'll get a bit taller or something like that. I got these~" she said with an open handed gesture towards her chest, which hadn't been very small to begin with. Soon enough their conversation switched back to a more serious mode, and it seemed that Youko was claiming that he was the sage they'd been seeking and beyond that, the reason given for why they couldn't expect anything else from him was that to get anything else required master of the entirety of the Kekkei Genkai.

"You're the Blue Moon Sage? I thought that was supposed to be some random hermit guy. I mean, you're a wanderer, and all but..." something about that information was shocking. Still she had no reason to not believe the man and as such he'd more than fulfilled his side of the bargain. "Ugh, you make it sound like it's impossible for anything else to happen, it can't even be possible for someone to master all forms of the Kekkei Genkai anymore. Your standards are too high." she said, still that was one thing which was marked off the list. Knowing this information she was more than equipped to tell him anything he'd need to know, she'd also lead him to the secret place which held the scrolls he sought but there was a catch one which kind of loomed in the background. "I suppose that is the information I was looking for, disappointing though it may be, at least I didn't have to go anywhere to find it out." she said, thinking about it, she would have been upset to go on a journey just to find out it ended in nothing, and for the same reason, she'd tell Youko something very specific. "I'll take you to the place that the scrolls are kept... but you won't be able to get in. I thought I'd warn you of that, since you've saved me a trip."

[Bloodedge]

"It's a very long story. I'll bore you with the details later," he said. For now, he was very intent on fishing for information he could use to resurrect his daughter, as well as figure out the mystery behind both of his children in general. To accomplish this, he'd first have to deal with Natsumi and her power-seeking. "They aren't my standards. That's just the way it is. Besides, I think you may be mistaken... the forms I'm talking about are very different to what you've seen, and they are very easily mastered." Even while being all but shut down on her request, Natsumi agreed to take Youko to the location of the scrolls. However, she warned that he would be incapable of entering this location. "One way or another, I'm getting in. They're under the palace, aren't they?"

[Apollymi]

"Hai hai~" she said of the long story he'd apparently tell her at some other point in time. As they kept talking it seemed that Youko didn't think his standards unfair, nor did he clam them as his own. He also claimed that the forms he mentioned could be mastered very easily, which made her frown a little. "Uh-huh, well then you might have to explain that later too, because I'm not exactly sure what you mean." the young woman said, seeming to find it a bit weird that he'd explain it in such a way. She looked out and noticed the darkening sky and nodded. "Eh, not exactly, just come on. We can go now~" she said standing she headed not for the front of the house but towards the back, where they'd leave out and head up a slight mountain path lightly hidden from view which would lead to an opening and a large scale Moon dial set up in the courtyard and an opening which was visible but obviously sealed in a way no one could open. "This is the entrance. And I don't think anyone's used it in a very long time. We tried when we first got here, but we can't open it. I don't think anyone whose been in charge in generations has been able to. So... we're pretty sure they told everyone only the royals could come here, figuring eventually one of them would have the right moon to open it." she said. The Moon dial itself needed resonance at its points to open the door, but one of them was unattainable. They were set up at various corners of the open space, each corresponding to a moon and one which corresponded to a moon which no one had possessed in generations.

[Bloodedge]

"If this place you're taking me to is anything like the others I've found, then I'm sure you'll understand what I mean soon," he said, being somewhat familiar with the clan's ancient practices and requirements. Finding out that they were able to go to this location now, with the moon rising, did wonders for Youko's assumption of this. He followed Natsumi up the path behind the palace, stumbling upon the moon dial seal, and finding it familiar at only a glance. "I was right. This doesn't require royalty, or any sort of special version of Oborozuki. Here. I'll show you." Silence ensued for a few minutes, until the moon shone perfectly over the dial they stood next to. The eight resonance points around the area gleamed in the moonlight, and Youko activated his Kekkei Genkai in its Full Moon state to link himself to the first. It subsequently glowed, fading to be replaced with its neighbor as he regressed to Gibbous state. The same was repeated with Quarter, then Crescent. One would note that, on this platform, there was only one point for the full moon, two for each other stage, and one empty space. This was what Youko needed to unlock last.

"This clan's ways were lost long ago. In all this power-seeking, there's no balance left. Here. It's not that no one has the moon required to unlock this; it's that no one remembers the other half of what comes naturally to us." With that said, Youko regressed his Kekkei Genkai even further, gaining moons black as night, as if they had vanished entirely. This triggered the activation of the eighth point, and therefore the unsealing of the chamber below. "Crescent Moon is no weaker than Gibbous, in actuality. The emptier the moon, the stronger the Genjutsu, and vice versa."

[Apollymi]

Apparently Youko had a great deal of familiarity with the kind of place she was taking him to. And soon enough his own explanation proved it. This let Natsumi know that the man before her really did know what he was talking about and beyond all that, he would soon enough showcase the ability which he seemed to find most of their clan had forgotten. This display would come along with a lesson which had the kind of tone that Natsumi had expected from the Blue Moon Sage. "Balance huh?" she seemed to be thinking about this, watching as the stages of Youko's moons regressed from full all the way down to one which was completely black and empty. This was a bit startling and unlike anything she'd ever seen before this point. There was only one thing this could be. "New Moon and it focuses genjutsu? Really? That's... umm..." she wanted to protest this moons existence, but the door which none had been able to enter prior to this seemed to open all on its own. "Well, I guess it makes sense. Why didn't anyone else think of that?" she seemed to think it a bit strange that in all the time this place had been locked up, it was completely unfathomable that no one had thought to try and force a full dark moon. Then again, no one really thought about genjutsu, except in figuring out when it was applied. "And for the record, that was a really 'sage-y' conversation. I didn't know ya' had it in you."

[Bloodedge]

"Balance," he repeated. According to Natsumi, his speech was quite sage-like in nature, but this was simply his understanding as given by the sitting Blue Moon Sage. As he took steps toward entering the chamber, he continued to speak with this woman, whom he assumed would be accompanying him to the scrolls. "Well, you know how much I like to surprise. Anyway, there are a lot of other places across the island like this. All of them require this entry, except for the newer ones made by specific branches. They usually hold secret techniques that have been lost to the ages by now. By the way, what I'm telling you now totally counts as payment for bringing me here."

[Apollymi]

It seemed he was quite sold on this balance thing, and she supposed it made sense. After all, everyone who possessed their Kekkei Genkai had the ability to use it in ways that required a bit of knowledge and balance, and for a longer than she'd been alive everyone had been favoring the physical aspects, probably in light of the Blood Cult. When she thought about it, getting back to the original balance intended might be good for everyone overall, and help keep any more disastrous cults from forming in search of power. She was a firm believer in the usefulness of versatility, her own moon dictated this. As she thought this over she followed Youko into this opening, mostly because she didn't intend to be left behind for such a thing, when he mentioned that all she was being told was technically in payment for being brought here she scoffed. "Definitely surprising. I'll give you that one." She said of his intentions. To the rest of his statement she had something different to say. "Yeah, I suppose it is fair, I can probably figure out that other moon too, so it seems to have worked out in my favor~ And I even get to see inside here, which is something that has been bugging me since we moved in." she mentioned. Having never been inside one of these chambers she decided she might go on a bit of a hunt around the island to find some of the lost techniques if she could enter the chambers now.

[Bloodedge]

"It doesn't take much. All you have to do is focus on the opposite end of your chakra. Make it go the other direction, toward Yin, when you shift," he said about the New Moon state of Oborozuki. "Fun fact: Our ancestors started their development at Quarter, and went in whatever direction they leaned naturally. Not everyone had New and Crescent, and not everyone had Gibbous and Full. Starting at Crescent is something I think happened over time, when we started focusing on Ninjutsu specifically." With that said, Youko continued wandering through the chamber. It was dark; incredibly so. In fact, Youko only knew where he was going with his Doujutsu active, as there was a distinct layer of old chakra surrounding everything in the vicinity. With these eyes, everything in the chamber looked to be draped in moonlight.

"Here," he said upon finding and opening one of many scrolls in the room. "The Moonborn Child of prophecy... who holds the unstoppable and unknowable moonlight. The child of everything, and of nothing. But... only one."

[Apollymi]

As they made their way into this place, Natsumi reactivated her eye, if only to make sure that she could see around the place during it's darkness. Like Youko, the entirety of the place looked like it was draped in moonlight and as such she felt completely comfortable following him around in here. As they walked Youko was more than content to give a bit of a lesson in the earlier forms of their clan's progressions. "Hmm, that's interesting. I wonder if it will end up that way again, with no one forcing anything." she said of the developments of people. She knew for a fact neither she, nor Kichirou was doing much by way of force with anyone living in the Tsukimikyuu. As this was the case there were some very different kind of children and young teens running around right now, by comparison to what it would have been like a decade ago.

Upon reaching the chamber it seemed that Youko found what he was looking for. But his words didn't make much sense to her. It seemed what he was looking for were scrolls concerning a child a prophecy. "Moonborn Child of Prophecy, that's the information you were willing to go to extremes for?" she asked. The man had always been very nice but she couldn't imagine him having come across a random child and needing these scrolls to confirm its existence.

[Bloodedge]

"Anything's possible. I saw kids outside playing when I arrived. That's something I haven't seen since we used to sneak out of our branches," Youko said while continuing to read the scroll for details. He found much information about this child of prophecy, but everything involved a single person. There were no possible clauses included to involve a pair of twins, but perhaps Benihime's findings could be combined with his own to come to new conclusions... if he was at all right about their children being of the prophecy. "Yes. I think the prophecy is now, but I can't be entirely sure. Anyway... I think this is all I need."

[Apollymi]

"Sneaking out? I haven't done that in ages~ That used to be all kinds of fun." she said thinking about how the pair of them used to sneak out of their branch houses and find time to spend together on the island. About the children she supposed his statements about their playing was rather true. "Hm, I suppose it has been quite a while since children felt comfortable running around outside. They are likely still playing... a lot of them do whatever they want for a really long time. It's strange." Natsumi concluded, thinking about one odd thing about these children she felt she'd share the information only after having a hearty giggle though. She had no problem with children, but she felt really far detached from them overall. The ones who were in the village were kind of strange, they were orphans from clans which had fallen or were nearly hunted to extinction so they got to live freely within the Tsukimikyuu. "You know, the kids around here, all have a nickname for you, it's pretty funny, I'm surprised you weren't bombarded. Maybe the brave ones were taking a nap." She giggled again, it was funny. It seemed that Youko had what he was looking for, and thought this to be the apparent time of prophecy discussed by the scrolls. "Uh-huh, you think this is the time of prophecy. Alright then."

[Bloodedge]

"Yeah, it was. That's why I didn't stop doing it. You should give it a shot again, too." With a glance at a few more scrolls for general purposes, Youko had more than what he needed coming here. As such, he moved toward the exit of the chamber, continuing the conversation with Natsumi as he moved. "A nickname, you say? That's just wonderful," he said sarcastically. "I'm assuming they've got one for you as well, then. What is it? Bringer of the milk feast?"

[Apollymi]

A grin crossed Natsumi's face. "Me, sneak out? And go where exactly... if you hadn't noticed, I am kind of not the type who can just get away with leaving anymore~" she said. It used to be the case that she'd leave places for extended periods of time, and her absence would go unnoticed for a while, now... if she was gone for more than an hour or two, someone would likely come looking for her. As it seemed Youko had found all he was looking for, she followed him out of this place, still having a laugh at this supposed nickname. "No really it's cool, it's just funny 'cause... well I know you. And I doubt they'd call me anything so cool, not that I've heard anything~" she said stifling another giggle. "Raijuu no Zangetsu~" she chimed finding it funny, that the children on the island referred to him as Thunder Beast the Moon Slayer. It was rather accurate, but they had even gone so far as to exaggerate that he was some sort of man-eater who devoured the naughty moonbearers.

To go along with this by the time they exited this chamber, a small girl with a purple hood on would be approaching the exit. She could be no more than seven or eight years old and the normal state of her eyes was a deep purple color, were presently full gibbous moons, also a bit of a feat for one so young. She had a very interesting set of markings on her face, three on each cheek all exceedingly thin and one over the bridge of her nose, marking her as a future elite warrior, having completed many trials to get to this point, most of which shouldn't have been done by a child so young. And she would upon seeing Youko have her eyes go wide aiming to touch his pants leg and immediately run away as if winning a prize. That being said, the small girl would subsequently trip and begin to freak out. "Gomen gomen, please don't eat me!~" she seemed to think this man some kind of scary man eater, but he was of legend so she had to touch him, because the others claimed they were too scared to approach him, and this wasn't how she was.

[Bloodedge]

"And go anywhere. With that hairstyle you've got going on now, you could slip out for half a day, and they'd probably assume you were getting that done," he stated with a snicker. "If you want, I can teach you a seal that will transport you anywhere you've left it. That'll make it easy to be gone and back before anyone knows." As they passed the threshold of this chamber, Youko received the name Oborozuki clan children now had for him. It was creative; he'd give him that. However, he felt there was a bit of bite behind it, as if the story behind the name was the reason the children disappeared when he arrived. "Raijuu no Zangetsu, huh. That's going to be a problem for me, isn't it?" he asked.

As if on cue, there was then a small girl approaching quickly. This lass encroached upon Youko with the simple gesture of touching his hakama, only to then trip and fall upon running away. Her words afterwards gave credence to Youko's assumption. "Yep." With that said, he utilized the Body Flicker Technique to instantly maneuver to this child's fore, reaching out to her with his right hand when he arrived. "I don't, I don't... I don't eat people."

[Apollymi]

"Don't laugh, it takes ages. I was still getting it finished up when you arrived." she said of her ridiculous hair. Whatever technique he claimed to have that would transport people from place to place, seemed like it would be good, but also a bit bothersome. "A seal that does something like that... you've been busy~" she chimed, suddenly remembering something important. "Oh, and we have stuff of yours, we found it all over the house when we first moved in... you can have it back." Natsumi chimed, she could only chuckle as Youko went on to mention that his apparent nickname would be some kind of bothersome and a small child approached him in a way that would make him feel it was indeed so.

"Well, I mean... I do try to dissuade them of the idea that you eat people. But kids like to exaggerate." Natsumi said nonchalantly as Youko used a jutsu which would allow him to appear in front of the small girl who'd come to tag him and apparently run away. This was a child that Natsumi was indeed familiar with and as such she would simply watch to see how this played out. The small girl had the man appear before her, even before she could see it happen. She was utterly stunned, but soon enough he was stating that he didn't eat people which made the girl's face wrinkle up in childlike confusion. "But but but... you're Raijuu no Zangetsu. You eat the naughty moon-bearers." The girl stated as she looked up from her place on the ground with gibbous moons in her eyes. It was very strange to think such a man didn't do what the rumors said. But she was also a small child, she couldn't remember where she'd even heard such a thing. "If ya' don't then there was no point in me coming here, and being brave enough to touch you." She said, seemingly cross at the idea that this man wasn't nearly as scary as everyone claimed. Obviously this was some sort of game for the children, they didn't think Youko to be a bad man, and instead thought him some kind of dark hero.

[Bloodedge]

"No, I don't. Well... I ate the Blood Cult, technically... but that's different." The more he thought about it, the more Youko understood where these rumors could have come from. It was actually a difficult thing to argue against, knowing the technicalities of what he'd done the last time he visited this island. More importantly, looking at this girl directly was a shocking ordeal for the man. Not only had her Kekkei Genkai developed at an alarming rate, but she bore the markings of an established warrior, the likes of which he hadn't seen since his own brother. "Sugoi. Should they even think you're brave for doing that? Those trials you've gone through are nothing to take lightly. If our customs were slightly different, you and I would be equals. I'm impressed."

[Apollymi]

"Doesn't sound different." The small girl said with a marked bit of determination. Given her attitude it would be easy to see why she bore the markings she did. It seemed that Youko was a bit stunned by what the small girl had been doing as far as her trials were concerned. The development of her moon was also rather stunning to most, people but in typical child fashion the small girl puffed her chest out a little and scoffed. "Well, bravery is different for kids and grown-ups. Grown-ups are always scared of the trials, they weren't bad though. But kids have different stuff we gotta do to prove ourselves to each other, and most kids are scared of you." The small girl explained, it seemed the society of children was run a bit differently from regular society, but that was to be expected, children seemed to have different rules for dealing with each other. She also seemed to be capable of completely leaving out the fact that she was in fact at least a little scared herself until a few seconds ago. Still the girl couldn't help but feel proud of herself given that apparently Raijuu no Zangetsu was impressed by her. A tiny blush came to her face as she managed to pull herself up. "The customs are fun, they let me boss around old people, but you and I will be equal by them soon enough, I'm Miyako!" the small girl said as she dusted herself off, apparently very sure of her own abilities and progress. "But... everyone around here calls me Miya."

[Bloodedge]

"Hmm. I guess you're right. Still, I didn't get my markings until a few years later than you. Brag to your friends about that," he said, reaching out to place a hand atop the head of this lass. When she spoke of becoming his equal, he grinned, finding her aspirations respectable. "I await the day. I'll be seeing you, Miyako." And with that, he stepped away from the girl, returning to Natsumi. Remembering what he'd said to her most recently, he produced two heavy-weight, three-pronged kunai from within his armor.

"These. This is a self-summoning seal I was taught years ago. I had it applied to these special kunai, so this is possible." Youko's next movement was an upward toss of the kunai in his left hand. It flew high into the sky, and Youko vanished from where he stood to reappear holding the item. It was then that he threw the other one, aiming it deep into the narrow valley behind Tsukimikyuu. When this was done, Youko tossed the remaining kunai toward the ground in front of Natsumi, and returned to it once more. "There. There's no range limitation at all, so I could go to where I tossed that other one right now."

[Apollymi]

The small girl apparently known as Miyako had a look at Youko. His markings were rather uncommon but she recognized them at least to belong to a set of trials she hadn't gone through herself. Even so, she could brag to her friends about this. Soon enough the small girl was patted on the head which was a rather calm show of affection. "Hai hai, ja~" Miyako said before running off to keep playing as children on the island always seemed to do.

Natsumi had to admit, that she'd not known what to expect from Youko as far as dealing with kids, but at the very least he seemed capable of it. It was comforting to see. Beyond all this though, the man came back to explain what he meant by a seal which was used to 'self-summon' as he called it. It was something he was apparently taught and that he used to great effect right in front of her. "Sugoi!~" she said as white flashes accompanied the man's movements around. "So you can just go anywhere you want, and go back home or to some other place, with no down time. That's gotta be fun and oddly useful for a wanderer like you." the white haired woman said. She had to admit the ability to go and comeback without the downtime of travel would make it rather easy for her to come and go as she pleased.

[Bloodedge]

"I don't do much wandering nowadays, surprisingly. I've settled in... mostly," he said. After showcasing the abilities of the Hiraishin technique, Natsumi's astonishment led to Youko picking up the remaining kunai and twirling it around his left forefinger. This was done simply to draw attention to it, as it was key in his next statement toward the woman. "You're right, though. A casual moonlit stroll could turn into an adventure, just by leaving one of these behind. Go figure, I'm usually one to offer a lift, if needed. Want one?"

[Apollymi]

"EH!?" The news that the wandering blacksmith had mostly settled in somewhere was surprising to Natsumi. She supposed people always changed a bit, but never really expected such things from Youko. The man went on to explain that a moonlit stroll could become an adventure and offered the woman a ride. Being in the situation she was in, she'd accept such a thing without much question. "Well, I can't really turn down an offer like that~" she said her eyes at first drawn to the twirling of the kunai and then to the man himself. To be fair it'd been quite some time since she'd last seen him and they'd always been on amiable terms. Though she was essentially running away from home for a short period of time, she didn't actually see a problem with it.

[Bloodedge]

"Sounds like a plan then," Youko said. Before going through with this, though, he had to check on something. As such, he handed his present kunai off to Natsumi, and vanished once more. He'd return to the white-haired woman only a moment later, immediately slinging an arm around her middle torso. "All clear. Going now." Without further warning, Youko transported the pair of them to the location of his distant kunai. They would appear at the side of a river, with a surprisingly ample shoreline to traverse if they so chose. "Before you ask... I had to pull the kunai out of a tree before I accidentally screwed us both on that transport."

[Apollymi]

"Hai hai!" The white haired woman agreed, it seemed they'd be hanging out a bit longer, but not before something strange happened. Youko soon enough would give her the kunai he was holding and disappear if only for a second. When he reappeared his arm was slung around her torso much to her shock and she was transported to a distant space. A small squeal would escape the young woman as she hadn't expected the random transport. Once the arrived he made the reason for his initial leaving known. "Ah, okay. So, you say that, but what I hear is... you're showing off~" she said offering the man a smile. "Nice to see some things don't change~" To Youko's credit this was a very nice spot for a moonlit walk.

[Bloodedge]

Following their appearance on the shoreline, Youko retrieved his kunai, choosing to leave the other one in Natsumi's care. As he began to walk along the side of the river, he spared a sideways glance in the woman's direction, taking note of her most recent statement. "A little. Maybe. Still accurate, though, unless you don't mind falling through tree branches. I just had the feeling you weren't geared up for that sort of trip."

[Apollymi]

"You're right, totally not even ready for a fall through trees." Natsumi mentioned as she took up walking at Youko's side along the river. She always found this sort of thing to be unusually fun. "Not that I can think of gear that would make such a fall okay." She joked as they moved this sort of thing was always interesting to her. This man had changed quite a bit since the last time she'd seen him, but she still considered him to be a friend to her without putting much thought behind it. Kunai still in hand she found herself playing with it, though she never favored bladed weapons herself, she could see the use of one like this.

[Bloodedge]

With Natsumi speaking of gear that would allow such a fall to be reasonable, Youko gave the concept a moment of thought. What he came up with was something very simplistic, yet unrealistic to him. "I'd say armor. I would have been fine taking that fall, but... I think you'd have problems getting it fitted to you, considering. But hey, I'm a blacksmith. I'll take your measurements and make armor that'll let you fall through a hundred trees unfazed!" he joked. Youko had also taken to toying with the kunai in his hand, though for him, it was a subconscious matter. It wasn't often he went so long without needing to use his hands for something, and this was a decent enough placeholder.

[Apollymi]

"Ha! You're funny." she said her eyes darting towards the man as he joked that he would be capable of taking her measurements and fitting her for armor that would allow her to take a fall from through a hundred trees unfazed. "Sounds like an excuse to take my measurements. We both know, I am not wearing armor." She said with a decisive nod and a smile on her face. To be fair she couldn't imagine the added weight going over well, her back wouldn't be able to take it. Moving right along she noticed the constant moving of Youko's hands and found it to be another thing of his which hadn't changed too much since the last time they'd seen each other.

[Bloodedge]

"Call it an excuse if you want. We both know that if I cared for the numbers, I'd get them one way or another," he said while tossing his kunai over his head repeatedly, catching it in his other hand each time. "For the record, I can make armor that's almost weightless. Thin doesn't always mean weak, y'know?" As he spoke these words, Youko continued walking, though now while facing Natsumi. Once again, he inspected the woman's frame. "Hell, I could even make it fit into your usual state of... undress."

[Apollymi]

"Well, when you say it like that, sounds perfectly reasonable." She said of the man finding out her measurements by any means if it was something he was truly set on knowing. He then went on to explain that he could make her light armor if she wanted it, and turned around to have a look at her frame before continuing that he could even make it suit her general low cloth look. "Oh, still showing off then?~" She questioned rhetorically, as the man's claim of making her weightless armor seemed almost far-fetched. That being said, she knew him well enough to know that if he said he could do something, he'd be able to do it. "Also don't think you're slick, I am not in a state of undress~ " she chimed sticking her tongue out at the man. She was generally prone to dressing like she was presently dressed and saw no reason for it to change, it wasn't as if she needed the extra coverage.

[Bloodedge]

"Of course it does. Everything I say is perfectly reasonable," he said. Somehow, there was still the claim of him showing off. In this particular case, he only intended to make a statement, but if it worked, he would not be one to argue. As for Natsumi claiming to not be in any state of undress, despite the woman technically being clothed where it truly mattered for public perception, he could do nothing but argue his point. "Oh come off it! You've got more hair than clothes. One slip of anything, and what little you leave to the imagination is open for anyone to see. And I do mean there's little left to the imagination. It's almost like you do it on purpose."

[Apollymi]

"Everything?" She chose to question that word specifically, but it was mostly rhetorical. These chats were always interesting, because the man before her always seemed to think himself innocent in these matters. As proof of such a moment, he went on to claim the woman was indeed in a state of undress and felt to justify it by pointing out how easily she could be made into a state of undress by a simple slip of something or another. "I've done nothing on purpose, it was the natural progress of gaining these kinds of proportions." she said, though there was one more thing she felt the need to address. "I will concede to having more hair than clothes. But obviously something was going to get all of my time, I'll take hair care to clothing choices any day~" she said, and true enough this was an obvious trade off made by this young woman.

[Bloodedge]

"You've got to be kidding," he argued. For a bit of emphasis, Youko used the kunai in his hand to point at various locations along the woman's so-called clothing. "None of what you're saying even helps your argument. Right now, if I cut just two spaces, you've got nothing left. Frankly, your choice of clothing had me considering it a few minutes ago. I could have even played it off as an accident. But, since you're married now, and you obviously took a very long time to do your hair... I decided against it."

[Apollymi]

"Why would I even be kidding~" the woman argued from her own perspective. Youko then came to a stop, pointing out places where her clothing could be removed with a great deal of ease, seeming to think that two cuts alone would be enough to rid her of the clothing she wore. She couldn't help but laugh at this man before her. She couldn't help it, his supposed argument just let her know nothing about the way he thought had seriously changed very much. "Yep, totally all you, considering trying to get me naked and blaming it on an accident." She chuckled just a little. "I thank you for the consideration, for my hair at least, that would have been a nightmare. But what does me being married have to do with anything?" she questioned this specifically. Mostly because it didn't seem like Youko would ever be the sort to care about such things, and then because her marriage to Kichirou was likely very different from what most people expected of marriages in general.

[Bloodedge]

"Because reasons," was all Youko had to say about the woman's initial statement. He returned to a straightforward stride then, breathing in deeply the air of this place he once knew as home while Natsumi spoke. It was a bit surreal to be here in the island's wilderness without the smell of blood polluting the air. Frankly, he'd never experienced it. This refreshing moment Youko was taking in would be cut short by the query of Natsumi, causing him to turn his head toward her with a raised brow. "That's hardly my question to answer, is it? Married people are usually the ones with the issue in that regard, and you used to seem quite into the marriage thing."

[Apollymi]

A chuckle would ensue, because this man really was funny. He seemed to be enjoying himself and as such the young woman with him wouldn't interrupt, instead she seemed to be quite happy to have someone to converse with. When the topic shifted to that of her marriage she looked at him curiously, she supposed it'd been a while, so she likely should explain. "Oh what's that look for?" she scoffed. "Yes, I do like being married, it's fun and all. And it was sort of a really big deal to me when I was younger." She gave this opening clause to get it out of the way, and acknowledge that she'd been a bit crazed about the idea as a young woman, but she assumed this to be the case for most young women at some point during their lives. "But, like I said, Kichi is my partner, and we don't think about stuff in the..." she seemed to be struggling to find a word to properly decide it. "Traditional way." that seemed right so she continued. "As long as we're honest with each other, what we do extra doesn't tend to matter. Hell, we do it together sometimes. It's all in good fun.~"

[Bloodedge]

"That's... unexpected. I was always under the impression that you were the monogamous type," Youko said as he shifted his gaze back to the chosen path. This was a truly surprising discovery for the man. If there was one future he couldn't foresee, it was one where the teenage lass he once knew would be part of an open marriage. Of course, the state of said marriage was not something which mattered to him. He'd dealt with properly monogamous individuals in the past, and it had never hindered any advances. "You know, I almost want to make the assumption that Kichirou doesn't make the cut. That's just pride talking, of course."

[Apollymi]

Youko's response to what Natsumi had to say made her laugh as she looked at him. Honestly she hadn't known what he'd say, but in this instance she was well and truly surprised. "You should see your face, you look so shocked!~" She said seeming to find this all to be in good fun. But with that out of the way she had no problem with anything else that could possibly happen this day. His follow up comment made her shake her head. "Seriously, you can't help yourself. You're so bad." She said seeming to find this to be a most amusing comment. Obviously her husband made the cut, she'd like to think if he didn't they wouldn't actually work as a couple. But, Youko had always had some slight problem with Kichirou not that she cared to delve into it too much, there was more potential fun to be had, than such a conversation would allow.

[Bloodedge]

"That doesn't mean I'm not right," he said in a most casual manner. "You're not arguing against it very much, is all I'm saying. Call me bad for it, but us dogs are pretty big on pride sometime." The more he spoke, the slower Youko walked. By the end of his most recent clause, he seemed to be walking at only one step every other second, while being less than a meter away from the waterfront. "You're right, though. I can't help myself."

[Apollymi]

"And again, the jabs keep coming~" she mentioned. It was like watching an animal pick apart a carcass, he couldn't help but poke at it. To be fair she had no problem with her sex life and enjoyed sex with Kichirou but didn't feel the need to justify this to the man before her. He went on to refer to himself as a dog of some sort. "Oh, so you're like a dog with a bone then~" she chimed. "There isn't much need for me to interfere. Too much noise doesn't prove anything, just makes you look suspicious. I am above suspicion if that clears things up~" she mentioned. Somehow it still seemed odd to discuss one of these men with the other, but it didn't really matter much to her. She wouldn't notice initially that Youko had slowed a bit and by the time she did, she had to turn around to face him. "But if you can't help yourself, I'll only call you bad, while you're being bad~ That seems fair."

[Bloodedge]

"I've always been a dog with a bone, depending on your outlook," he replied. Despite his own slowed pace, it seemed Natsumi would be keeping her same speed of movement, until she had to turn around to face him. When she did, he was nearly at a standstill, but he would then take a step out onto a rock protruding from the water. "Does that make me below suspicion? Because I'm down for whatever ideas you have. Feel free to call me whatever you want in the meantime."

[Apollymi]

"Okay, you said that, I didn't," she said of his commentary about being a dog with a bone, there was a dirty joke in that which was rather obvious. She didn't figure most people would have accepted such a title with the kind of attitude he seemed to have, but then again, she supposed he'd always kind of been the way he'd mentioned. When asked if he was below suspicion her brows drew together, it took her a moment or two to realize what he meant by it and when she did she simply looked shocked. "Oh, that's dirty, more so than I would have imagined. Though I have feeling you've always been this way, and I didn't notice as much before~" she mentioned of the man's attitude as he'd come to a stop and took a step across a rock towards the water, she had her own answer to his banter. "I figured this was all you, what with your talks of sneaking out, getting me naked, moonlit walks, and adventures, I figured you were seducing me, I was gonna leave you to it~" She said watching him stand on this rock he'd chosen for whatever reason.

[Bloodedge]

"Right... I think it was you who said the jabs keep coming though, right?" he asked, simultaneously stepping backwards onto another stone, all while pulling his armor overhead. He used the Hiraishin seal attached to the kunai in Natsumi's hand to transport said armor to the ground next to her, and otherwise kept stepping onto adjacent stones. "And I'm not seducing anyone. You're the naked one here."

[Apollymi]

"I suppose I said something like that, not exactly what I meant but..." she seemed to let that thought linger, as Youko moved further out and removed his armor his thought pattern became more clear. Obviously he was going for a moonlit swim, which seemed fun in theory. Soon enough that same armor ended up right at her side, and the man before her made some odd commentary about her nudity and his lack of seductive tactic. "You're not seducing me? Yeah right! You're getting naked, I'm not naked~" She chimed content to watch him. "Seems like seduction, or maybe temptation, not really sure. Though by all means don't let that stop you."

[Bloodedge]

"But now that you're hearing the potential meaning, you're changing your mind about what you meant?" he asked in rhetoric. He then waited for Natsumi's response to his statement about her nudity; more specifically, her denial of being naked. It was then that he produced a pair of kunai in his left hand. Both were thrown toward Natsumi, though in a very indirect manner. One would aim to slice the strap over her right shoulder, while the other would cut through the bow holding the bottom half of her clothing together. It was Youko's intention to have her wardrobe fall apart with this simple motion. "Gomen. You were saying something about nudity?"

[Apollymi]

"I didn't say that..." she said figuring like most cases it would go much smoother for her if she didn't press this too much in any particular way. Obviously this man was rather content to twist her words around quite a bit. More so than that, he seemed content to prove his point, as two kunai flew her way she soon found two essential pieces of her clothing cut, and the remainder of them falling away from her person. This would indeed leave her stark naked but this wasn't really the point. "Well, you made that happen, that isn't really fair is it?" She said feeling that since she was now naked anyways, she might as well enjoy it, she began hopping across the rocks as well, having dropped the kunai she'd been playing with beside her now ripped clothing. "However this happened, I am now naked and you are completely to blame~"

[Bloodedge]

"Did I? I'm pretty sure you've been like that the whole time," he replied. Apparently, Youko was content to abandon all blame by simply acting as if he never had anything to do with Natsumi's sudden nudity. He continued stepping from rock to rock until he reached the center of the river. Once there, he stopped moving. "You know, one would think you'd be unable to hold those up without constant support. Didn't think they'd manage to look even bigger without the straps."

[Apollymi]

"Yeah, right... do you really believe that?" she asked him as she hopped from rock to rock naked trailing a few behind him for obvious reasons. "No better question, did you think you could make me believe that?" she asked him as she moved forward. In the meantime it seemed that her chest looked larger to him since being freed from the confines of the clothing she chose to use to cover it. She could only chuckle a bit as she shrugged it off. "Are you offering to hold them up for me? 'Cause I mean, you do seem to not know what to do with yourself while your hands aren't occupied." she replied in a manner most casual. "Eh, optical illusion." she offered. "So are you going in or are you gonna move, I'm kinda stuck here until you decide~" she mentioned, in nudity limbo over water and all.

[Bloodedge]

"I could make you believe anything I want, but I wouldn't bother doing it. Then what sort of fun would I have?" Following this statement, and Natsumi's response to his commentary about her bust size, Youko once again utilized the Body Flicker Technique to move behind her. He stood not on a rock, but on the water itself, as he reached beneath the woman's arms to grab her breasts. At the same time, he pressed himself against her rear. "It's probably your fault I have that issue. You always did give me plenty of things to use my hands on, after all. Even now, I need more hands just for these. I'm sure you've picked up some new tricks using these incredible assets, neh?"

[Apollymi]

Natsumi couldn't help but scoff at the man's commentary about his apparent fun. Of course, he soon moved out of her way, by use of a jutsu which placed him behind her and thus standing on the water's surface. And soon after that he had his hands on her chest and was pressed against her back side saying some rather interesting things close to her face. "Oh? I don't think I can be blamed for that, you were always handsy, it's probably your fault they ended up this big~" she said deflecting blame right back to the man without any real issue. Soon enough she found herself swooning just a bit moving against his person. "Just making assumptions~ I mean you aren't wrong, but no idea why you would think that~" she said reaching back to have a feel of his manhood more directly.

[Bloodedge]

"You are dead set on throwing blame my way, huh? That's pretty harsh." Natsumi wasted no time before reaching to his groin from behind herself, so in response, Youko wasted no further time before properly groping her chest. According to the woman, he wasn't wrong in his assumptions, whether she knew why he would think that or not. "Well, there's a lot to draw assumptions from, considering. So..." he continued, abandoning the efforts of his right hand to slip it into the crevice between this woman's legs. "What sort of tricks are we talking?"

[Apollymi]

"Well, I mean... you're so good at accepting it, seemed like the right thing to do~" she said of the blame she was apparently pushing his way. Still she got a nice feel for what Youko had going on, and she had to say it was what she remembered and amazing by virtue of size. Apparently her own advancement started one of his as well, leading his right hand to her nether which was quite pleasant causing a small sound to fall from her face. "Aah~ The kind you can only pull off with 'assets' like these~" she said choosing to use his word as a description. "Not like I am going to tell you ahead of time~" she concluded content to let this progress as it would to see if it would get to such a point as to make her new tricks necessary.

[Bloodedge]

"You would say something along those lines." The chatter continued, and as it did, Youko had the middle finger of his right hand twirling circles around Natsumi's place of maximum sensitivity, while his left hand's grip of her breast was accompanied by its forefinger performing similar motions on her nipple. His efforts would not be halted, though he could not go without addressing Natsumi's retort. "That's a shame. I guess I just have to hope I'll find out, huh?"

[Apollymi]

"Um-hm." Natsumi said of her own statement. One couldn't help but notice the busyness of Youko's hands, an increased amount of sensation was being sent through her body. Such a feeling let her know that Youko was still the same person he had been all those years ago, and beyond this that a finish was very near in a very short amount of time for the woman. "Hope is good,~" the woman managed to say as an oncoming flourish made itself known, her entire body tensing against the feel of pleasure.

[Bloodedge]

Likely much to expectation, Youko couldn't keep himself from busying his hands. This would become evident when he switched the efforts of his right middle finger to his thumb, and transferred his middle and forefinger to Natsumi's interior. Once there, he moved said fingers in a continuous curling motion, and let his face rest against the left side of the woman's neck. "Sure it is. When it pays off, at least," he said just before his tongue emerged from his mouth, tracing an upward line from the bottom of Natsumi's neck to her jawline.

[Apollymi]

Much like Natsumi thought, Youko was completely incapable of keeping his hands still, and soon enough their movements changed to include something very different though not unexpected. As fingers slipped into her depths, Natsumi couldn't help herself, their motions combined with the gentle tongue tracing up her neck was more than enough to send the woman over the edge of her first peak. Her flourish would be accompanied by the tightening of her nether and a touch of added moisture along with a moan from the woman's mouth. "Aaaah~" it seemed she was well and good for one, which wasn't at all unexpected from Youko, and she supposed she should be trying a little for something more than a gentle stroking of his rod. Soon enough her hand would slip into his hakama and she'd pull herself together a bit more though her knees were admittedly a bit weak. "So, if you're actually trying to find out about these new skills I got, we're going to have to change this up a bit~" she mentioned. She fully intended to use her assets to give a bit of pleasure to her partner of choice, given this, a change in position would be necessary. If her wishes were acquiesced to, their position would end with Youko seated and naked as well and the woman would next be see squeezing her chest together around his member occasionally looking up into his face as the tip of him come in and out of crevice created for this time.

[Bloodedge]

Though his efforts were rewarded almost instantly, but by the time Natsumi reached into his hakama to grip his manhood directly, she was speaking of changing their present setup. Considering his own curiosity for whatever skills the woman picked up since their last encounter, he would quickly acquiesce. After moving away, he discarded all remaining articles he wore to the shoreline. Moments later, he was sat upon a stone with this woman's chest wrapped around his cock. "You know, we could have always just gone back to Tsukimikyuu."

[Apollymi]

"Yeah, but this is kinda fun this way~" mentioned the woman as she went about her work, given the more than ample size of her bosom this practice normally didn't involve much else, but with the extra length Youko had to offer she occasionally found herself allowing her tongue to flicker across the tip of him as his cock emerged from between her cleavage. She seemed to be concentrating quite a bit, but enjoying it just the same, occasionally shifting the way she moved her breasts around while she found a rhythm which was both sustainable and pleasurable for the man she was with. All while she got to enjoy the cool feeling of the water near the shore, which provided her a great deal of comfort.

[Bloodedge]

"I couldn't agree more. I should have known you wouldn't have any issue with it. I guess this is far from the strangest place we've been," Youko said. While Natsumi went about applying these services to his shaft, Youko was content to bask in a bit of nostalgia on their previous encounters. This provided a decent little distraction from the sensation provided by Natsumi's new and improved physique. She'd even managed to make use of her tongue during this, making it seem as if she intended to waste no efforts at all. "Not holding much back, huh? No complaints, of course."

[Apollymi]

"Um-hm~" she felt that agreeing in this case was the only way. When they were younger she'd gone along with a lot of what Youko wanted to do, including sneaking out of her part of the village and having run-ins not unlike the one they were presently invested in. It was quite a nice thought as she flicked her tongue over the tip of him again. This was a rather interesting experience for the young woman, as she shifted the movements of her chest it seemed the man with her had taken notice of her new skills. "Hm, well I figured you'd want a good first hand experience. Can't leave too much to your imagination~" she mentioned this time when Youko's cock made its appearance between her breasts she'd take the whole of its tip into her mouth beginning to move each of her breasts individually against the sides as she applied suction to the tip. After a few moments of this she'd let go after giving it a final tongue lashing. Concluding that this was altogether amusing with the combination of her chest-size and Youko's endowment.

[Bloodedge]

"Oh? How thoughtful of you," he said with a smirk. With that, he continued to enjoy the satisfaction of the woman's efforts, though he was very conscious of potential progression. When he was finally allowed escape from the confines of Natsumi's mouth, Youko leaned back his head and sighed away his contentment, choosing then to slip his lower body under the water's surface while grabbing the woman by the hips. "You deserve a medal. That's enough of that though, neh? I'm willing to move on from it, unless you're looking to get a clone involved. I can do that now."

[Apollymi]

Soon enough there was a great deal of contentment released from Youko as she finally let go of him. This whole thing seemed to come with a compliment of her abilities which made her smile. All the same he'd slipped into the water and grabbed onto her hips, and apparently he was quite ready to move on. There was mention of a clone and it made Natsumi's eyes widen. "A clone?! Of you?! That..." she had to think about it, but given what she knew Youko to be capable of she didn't think she was at all ready to handle that sort of attention. "Is way too much, one of you is almost too much. We're good to move on, what did ya' have in mind~" Natsumi asked as she moved in closer, seeming to already know as she opened her legs a bit to allow for easier entry.

[Bloodedge]

When Natsumi gave her response, Youko raised a brow and chuckled. From what he recalled of her, this was a bit of a surprise to hear. "Really? Where did all that sense of adventure go?" he asked mostly in rhetoric. As for what he had in mind for their upcoming shift, it seemed Natsumi was already on board. From the sudden spacing of her legs, he knew it to be the time for progression. As such, he immediately used his hold on her hips to pull her down onto his lap. "Do you really have to ask?" he spoke as penetration occurred from this most recent shift.

[Apollymi]

"I am plenty adventurous but that doesn't really sound like a normal sort of adventure~" she said mostly rhetorically. If she had any more of an explanation to go along with this, she wouldn't get a chance to voice it. Natsumi thought herself prepared for Youko, she'd even re acclimated herself so she knew mentally what she was getting into. Even so, as his shift finally allowed him to enter her person, she felt a feeling akin to something she hadn't felt since the very first time it'd happened. An almost instantaneous filling sensation which she wasn't prepared for would cause a flourish the likes of which her body wasn't prepared for. "Ah~" she chimed as she leaned a bit further into Youko, she needed a moment to gather herself before this continued, because of the difference in feeling she was presently experiencing. There were stars in her vision as she felt rather light headed, she seemed to be almost on the verge of fainting. Almost.

[Bloodedge]

"I'm sure it would be, if you kept up to speed on the adventures," said the male as he chuckled the matter away. Moving on, fate dictated that Natsumi would achieve her second finish of the night upon Youko's entry. Not only was this the case, but she also leaned against his torso following said flourish. Youko couldn't help but notice in this moment that there was no movement of the woman's hips occurring, as if she needed a moment of recovery right from the start. "Oi, oi. Don't get weak legs on me now; we're just getting started."

[Apollymi]

"Ah~ Just, gimme a second, alright~ I wasn't ready, I almost fainted..." she mentioned. Such a thing hadn't rightly occurred with this particular young woman in quite a while. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time an act so simple as this nearly caused her to lose consciousness. But such was generally the case with their interactions with there were long stretches of time between them. After a moment or two the woman seemed to be back to herself enough to start the gentle rocking of her own hips against the man, and this would of course, help her get better acclimated to the situation taking place. A deep breath would lead the young woman as she finally leaned away a bit and had a look at the man presently within her. "Okay, back in business~" and with that her motions would become even more steady as she was now properly ready to get into this act in earnest.

[Bloodedge]

"You still do that? That's cute," he said, snickering yet again. "Really, I mean that." He was well aware that this woman required a moment of adjustment, and frankly, he would have been in the same boat if he hadn't come to terms with his wife very recently. This left him content to remain still during Natsumi's recovery, which didn't seem to take long at all. Soon enough, she had begun to move, only to then steady her own pace and find a rhythm most satisfying. "That's the spirit."

[Apollymi]

"Really? You're teasing me... right just now?" Natsumi asked, completely rhetorically as she soon found the pace she'd enjoy with this man below her. Seemingly making a good go of it she raised and lowered herself while moving her hips enjoying a mildly paced ride which presently allowed her to control the depth of this man's entry and exit, if only to keep from fainting in the middle of this endeavor. The longer this went on though the closer she would come to another flourish. Having been given a bit of praise, she figured it was worth continuing this way, and so she would until her next peak was reached.

[Bloodedge]

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" When Natsumi found her stride, Youko removed his hands from her hips to relinquish full control of her movements, believing her to be more than capable of pleasing both parties without any interference from his end. Of course, he was correct in this assumption. When the flourish she sought was reached, Youko was notified by an added slippery sensation to her interior. This was something he could notice even beneath the water's surface, and something which spurred his initiative to grab Natsumi by the legs and lift her with him while standing up. With a firm grip of her bottom, achieved by slipping his arms beneath her thighs, he began raising and lowering the woman onto his groin. He had even managed to find the perfect elevation to allow both of their lower regions to collide just at the water's surface each time Natsumi was brought down.

[Apollymi]

"Oh I don't know~" the woman managed, after her next peak, Youko took over, and began to control her movements on his cock with his arms. The feeling of the pair of them meeting just at the water's edge was sort of new and exciting. She hadn't expected this sort of shift, and now that she was no longer having to do any work for this, she could appreciate the strength shown by Youko. A moan would escape the woman as she'd soon find herself orgasming among the splashes at the surface of the water. "Aaaah! I'm cumming!~" Such a sensation would be accompanied by the tightening of her nether and added moisture there in, and Natsumi would see something like stars in her eyes, though not accompanied with the light-headedness which had been part of the start of this endeavor.

[Bloodedge]

Youko's choice in positions seemed to pay dividends rather quickly, in the form of another finish from his partner of choice. If the feeling around his cock didn't give it away already, the sound and words falling from Natsumi's mouth did. Of course, this wasn't something that caused Youko to consider a stop or change in position again. Instead, he decided to go for an increase in haste and force, and even added matching thrusts of his own hips at a high velocity to follow up. "Having fun, I take it."

[Apollymi]

As Natsumi tried to recover she soon found herself receiving even more treatment. This time in the form of faster and more forceful stroking. If she thought to immediately respond to the words that Youko said, she couldn't. Instead another moan would fall from her mouth first, as she seemed to try to gather herself, and begin moving her hips to meet this increased pace, which only seemed to make this more vigorous. "Yep, definitely fun~ Or... you're trying on purpose to make me pass out~" she mused, not that she'd have a problem if that was the outcome, after all, it'd been quite a while since the last time, this amount work, she couldn't help that as they continued she'd peak once more, managing to keep a hold of her consciousness even as time progressed.

[Bloodedge]

"Why would I want that?" he asked between breaths. He could understand the assumption, given their history together and his own bragging about the woman passing out in their initial bout once. However, there was much reason for him to not want this happening again, and he would make this known when walking toward another rock formation, still moving Natsumi up and down his cock. "If you pass out, the fun stops. I wouldn't want that at all, especially after so long~" he concluded. With that being said, he used a large stone to support Natsumi's back when placing her atop it. Using his arms to move her legs as far back as possible, he continued his efforts in earnest, plunging with reckless abandon into the woman's canal, to his absolute limit each time.

[Apollymi]

Youko stated rather obviously that he didn't wish the woman passing out. Apparently this would stop his fun too soon. "So you say~" she mused as she was shifted into a position which would contradict his desire to keep her from passing out. She held out as she was spread eagle against a rock formation and then, plunged into in a manner most reckless. She couldn't help but enjoy this, but it was a ridiculous thing to even attempt to hold out against. It would only take a few moments of this rather vigorous attention for the woman to reach another flourish at this man's hands. "Aaaah!~"

[Bloodedge]

By the time he found a proper stride in this new position, Youko decided to give himself an extra edge for his movements. He used his chakra control to keep his feet against the water's surface, and placed his hands against the rock while his arms kept Natsumi's legs in place. This afforded him the luxury of using gravity for his movements, and though it slowed his pace after the most recent finish of the woman, it allowed him to take on winding and more purposeful motions to shift himself around within her.

[Apollymi]

After her most recent peak Natsumi assumed she'd be given a bit more of a break, given the slowing of Youko's movements. But she was quite wrong about this thought pattern. Instead of the recklessness which had caused her most recent orgasm, she got a more purposeful winding motion which served the purpose of stirring her up in a different way. For all the man's claims that he wasn't trying to make her pass out, he was doing a good job of making her feel like that was exactly what he was going for. Still her body couldn't resist the movements and soon her own hips were pushing forward to meet him. The coming flourish was more than she'd felt in quite a while. "Ah~ Youko~" the tightening of her walls would mark this moment for her in a way which was filled with nostalgia.

[Bloodedge]

This method of thrusting was to continue for quite some time, as it seemed to be putting in a remarkable bit of work. Eventually though, a change occurred. This resulted in Youko being hunched over Natsumi's backside, having flipped her front onto the rock. From this angle, he plunged himself again and again into her wet hole from behind, all while supporting his own weight with his right hand against the stone, and using his left hand to keep a firm grasp on her loosened hair near the roots. All the while, his head was placed against the right side of her neck, and some time into this pose, he decided it was a grand idea to open his mouth and sink his teeth into the woman's flesh.

[Apollymi]

The work being done between these two was something which had carried on for quite a while. Sometime during this a switch had been made, and Natsumi found herself bent over the rocks instead being thrust into from behind with a lot of vigor with Youko's hands wound into her hair. This progressive roughness seemed to be doing quite a bit of work for the young woman who seemed startling close to another climax. While this happened she found herself pushing back against him repeatedly, meeting his thrusts with increasing intensity, but sometime into this, Youko sank his teeth into her flesh which seemed to flip some kind of switch for the woman. Her next climax was reached as a result of this happening and her entire body tensed a flush of blood to her face and neck would be immediately followed by a black out which would last a full minute after such a finish was reached.

[Bloodedge]

Whether he desired this to be the outcome or not, Natsumi's final climax was accompanied by her passing out. Youko failed to realize this for a moment, and continued his movements. When he realized, however, he slowed to a stop and removed himself from her folds. A cheeky laugh escaped him as he moved away and dressed himself, deciding to make use of the time Natsumi was out cold. Once dressed, he would sit on the rock next to this island and clan's queen, awaiting the moment she woke.

[Apollymi]

Approximately one minute after her climax was reached Natsumi came to, it took her a few seconds to open her eyes, as it seemed she really was quite out of it. Beyond that she was still stretched out over a rock and very much naked and half submerged in water. When she opened her eyes however, Youko was dressed and waiting nearby. Her face flushed intensely. "Really!? I actually passed out didn't I?" she asked, seemingly disappointed in this particular outcome, but for all intents and purposes she couldn't actually be upset with the way this day had turned out. In fact, she finally pulled herself out of the water and gathered her things managing to fit the articles around herself to avoid complete nudity. That being said there was no saving her hairstyle which left her with a great deal of hair at ground level.

[Bloodedge]

It didn't take very long for Natsumi to recover, much to Youko's expectation. When she did, she chose to question the reality of her passing out. Youko laughed again. "You did. It's been about twenty minutes. I didn't know what to do this time, so I came deep inside you. You're probably pregnant now," he said. As Natsumi pieced together her torn articles of so-called clothing, Youko stood and moved toward her rear, moving hair out of his way as he went about speaking into her ear directly. "I'm kidding. It's only been a minute, but I did almost keep going. Almost."

[Apollymi]

It seemed that Natsumi did indeed pass out, when she was told the amount of time, and what happened while she was out her face went ghostly white and she paused all movements, and she was mid tying together a couple of things to keep her clothes together. The idea of being pregnant was truly frightening to the young woman, even beyond that, the man moved closer to her, moving her hair out the way and speaking directly into the side of her face. She was immediately relieved and feeling a bit spiteful. "Youko you jerk! You scared the hell out of me." she mentioned as she took a moment to nudge him in his stomach under his armor seeming to have a pretty good memory of its placement. Now having pieced together enough of her clothing to be considered decent, she headed back towards the Tsukimikyuu. "I swear, you don't know when to quit~" she said seemingly amused now that she was no longer mortally dreading the last few moments.

[Bloodedge]

When Natsumi responded to his joke with a nudge to his abdomen, Youko laughed hardily. His fun had been had for the moment, so he trailed closely behind Natsumi on her way home. "Oh, please. You were only afraid for your figure. We both know Sei-kun would have been the one you put in charge of the baby if you even had one."

[Apollymi]

Natsumi soon found her way back to the Tsukimikyuu with Youko trailing closely behind her. It seemed her former companion only really thought she was against having children for the sake of her figure she scoffed at it as an idea. "Of course, I wouldn't stick Sei-chan with that kind of responsibility. Kids are just really strange to me... even now, I don't think I have any kind of maternal instinct." she said calmly as she walked into the doorway of the place. This was rather true of course, and always had been, she didn't see herself as much of a mother figure. Still her clothes were barely holding together as it was. "Anyway, you were just trying to make me faint again."

[Bloodedge]

"Hmm. You know, you're not the first person who's said something like that to me," Youko said as they approached the Tsukimikyuu. When they stepped inside, Natsumi brought up his alleged attempts to make her faint again. It was surprising to the man that she'd loop back to this discussion, but his shock would not keep him from the retort. "I was not. If you want me to try for that, though, I'd be happy to start up again."

Moments after Youko spoke, and only a few more moments since they entered the building, a green streak of light zipped by Natsumi numerous times, moving at unfathomable speeds. During each of these trips, the woman would be draped in another article of clothing, until she could be considered her usual level of "decent" as it were. Following this, a green-eyed member of the Oborozuki clan appeared before the woman, bowing immediately. He was clad in a long drape that covered his entire body, with a green keffiyeh on his head. He was a man of average size with very pale skin, and freckles intersecting the bridge of his nose. "My lady, you should be mindful of your appearance when outside Tsukimikyuu. People are always watching you."

[Apollymi]

"Oh? Somehow that is kind of surprising. I figured most women would want to have kids~" She said, not expecting anyone else to have taken her stance against children as seriously as she did. Moving right along though, Youko was shocked by the statements which looped back to their original conversation, but still seemed to be capable of finding a comeback for the woman. "Oh that would be what you'd say." Natsumi commented shortly before something very odd took place about her person. But it obviously wasn't anything unusual to her, as she soon found herself completely dressed again without having to do any work for it herself.

"Kae-kun, I'm pretty sure you're the only one watching me all the time~" She said, seemingly amused by the lengths he'd taken to restore her clothing to its usual status. "Thank you though~ I do appreciate it. That seems like a new record for you~ Do you know Youko?" she asked of him motioning to the man behind her. After a second she remembered something. "Oh could you get that stuff that was here when we moved in, in all the scrolls, please~ It's for him." she said with a nod in the man's direction.

[Bloodedge]

"It is my job," the younger male replied. "But, you are the queen. The entire island is going to look your way when you venture outside." Following this brief chatter, the apparent attendant of Natsumi was asked if he knew the Jounin of Sunagakure. When they looked at one another, Youko was the first to initiate their clan's greeting ritual by activating his Full Moon Oborozuki. Kaede, Natsumi's attendant, responded with the same tier of moon. Youko knew this man to be hiding something as well, and progressed his Doujutsu to its infamous red form. This caused the younger man's eyes to widen, and his brows to furrow thereafter. This moment was interrupted by Natsumi's request to retrieve a set of scrolls. "... Hai, Fujiwara-dono." he said to begin his leave of the room.

Once they were alone again, Youko stood with a raised brow. This interaction with Natsumi's attendant was quite strange, even for those who detested the thing colloquially referred to as the "Blood Moon." He looked toward the woman with much curiosity in his eyes, deactivating the Kekkei Genkai. "What's the deal with him?"

[Apollymi]

Natsumi shrugged off the idea that everyone was watching her any time she went outside. Mostly because that would be exceedingly tiring as a thing to think about. She usually held herself to a decent standard, but she couldn't allow the idea of leading this country to become an all consuming thing. People like Kaede were along to help her out in this endeavor anyways. It seemed that Youko and Kaede indeed didn't know each other and so their clan ritual greeting began, but was soon interrupted by Natsumi's own speech, rather coincidentally timed with Kaede's reaction to the sight of the Blood Moon. She wasn't sure how he felt about it, and hadn't really thought about what that was going to be like for either of them. But as usual, Kaede ran off to do what she'd asked without any fuss. "Natsumi!~" she called after him, knowing full well it was likely still an uphill battle to get this man to call her by her name.

Soon Youko was questioning this man's existence. "He's my attendant, he looks after me. A nice guy helps with all the annoying stuff~" she said knowing well she wasn't actually answering this man's question in a way he'd like. "I'm sure that isn't what you meant though. Kaede's branch was hunted nearly to extinction by the Blood Cult."

[Bloodedge]

"I gathered that much," he said about the other man being Natsumi's attendant. Given Kaede's demeanor, he assumed nothing less. Natsumi did go on to properly answer his question, which gave him all the information he needed to understand the brief interaction he had with Kaede. "Sou ka. Which one was he then? Egg? Frost?" he asked. From his memory, the Blood Cult formerly known as Hunters had nearly wiped numerous branches of the clan from existence. As such, it was rather difficult to make an assumption of Kaede's branch based on this information alone.

[Apollymi]

Natsumi seemed to find it a bit funny that the man had responded in such a way, and took it as fair payment for the annoying joke he'd played on her earlier. Moving right along though, it seemed he was more keen to figure out what kind of moon the green eyed man possessed since he'd fled before properly getting a look. It was quite true that the Blood Cult had hunted many moons to near extinction but none to a greater extent than the one which was about to be named. "Actually, Kae-kun has the Tsubutsuki." She said. And though she knew the others that Youko had mentioned, Kaede was actually the only one with the aforementioned moon that she'd ever met before. She was almost certain he was the only one with it at this point.

[Bloodedge]

"Tsubutsuki..." he repeated, his eyes widening as he made the mental connection to the moon Natsumi referenced. Frankly, this was one he never expected to hear about again. He was under the assumption that said branch truly no longer existed. To find out that even one member of it still existed, was an utter shock. "Wow... that name is ancient. The cult hunted them down to the ends of the Earth, thinking that without them around, the other branches would have to come out of hiding to gather their own food. No wonder he gave me that look," he said.

Moments later, Kaede stepped into the room once more. In his arms, he held a full stack of large scrolls, all wrapped neatly into a bundle with ropes. "These are all the scrolls. There were boxes as well, but I sealed them into separate scrolls using our own methods."

[Apollymi]

It seemed that Youko had at least heard of the Moon referenced by Natsumi. This wasn't surprising considering Youko was more traveled than anyone else on the island. Even so, Natsumi herself had no idea what his moon could offer until actually seeing it for herself. The fact that Youko knew of it, and went on to explain the look he'd gotten made her nod her understanding. "Sou ka, I didn't know it was that bad. To be fair the Blood Cult was out to get everyone." she said, knowing it to be true.

Soon enough Kaede returned and carrying several neatly sealed scrolls. He commented that there had been boxes before but he'd sealed them in as well. "Sou ka, they were still just back there huh? Arigatou gozaimasu~" the young woman said. "These are yours, or rather, it was all the stuff that was here when we got here. We've got no one else to give it to and no one on the island will take them~" she mentioned. It was rather obvious why but the scrolls contained all the furs, weapons and armors of the Blood Cult and many other things which had been in their possession before the island was reestablished.

[Bloodedge]

"True... but aside from the Hunters, they were the only ones capable of feeding all the branches at the time. They prioritized their slaughter of his people above anything else." Youko stopped speaking just in time to avoid the ear of Kaede during the latter's return. Kaede offered Youko the set of scrolls with a bow, and as he took them into his own hands, Youko received a few words from the attendant. "Sumimasen. I meant nothing by my reaction; it's just-" Youko raised a hand to stop the young man, finding his apology utterly pointless. "Iie. Your actions are justified. Arigatou gozaimasu." With that said, Youko claimed the scrolls, and even while being this man's superior by way of their clan's customs, he bowed. Kaede did not question this, knowing what Youko meant with this gesture. "... Arigatou gozaimashita. Is there anything either of you requires?"

[Apollymi]

"Oh..." when Natsumi thought about it, she supposed Kaede had been quite a secretive individual initially. She supposed now she knew why this was the case, soon enough they were rejoined by the green eyed male who was content to address Youko and explain away his actions of earlier. As Natsumi watched this interaction, she was not at all surprised by Youko's reaction. She was quite fond of the man and knew what he was like and was quite happy when others got to see it. Moving right along she was asked if she needed anything else and she shrugged. "No, I'm pretty sure I'm good, arigatou gozaimasu~." she said thinking about it more she decided she really didn't need anything else. She also had to address the scrolls Youko was presently holding. "Yeah, don't be alarmed by the other seals in there, they are a bit strange... I'd never seen anything like them before they were done~" she said, knowing that the four symbol seal was on some of the scrolls not sealed by Kaede.

[Bloodedge]

"I'm also fine. Thanks for the offer," was Youko's reply to Kaede. When it was mentioned to him that he should not be alarmed by the seals not of Kaede's creation, Youko took it upon himself to inspect the stack of large scrolls more thoroughly. Upon doing so, his eyes widened. Across the majority of these scrolls was a seal he was incredibly familiar with. This was, in fact, a seal created by the Uzumaki clan. "That's not possible. I know this seal, and there should be no way you have it here."

[Apollymi]

It seemed that Youko and Kaede had finished their conversation. Even so, Youko had his eyes widen at the other seals on the scrolls given to him. He went on to say that he was familiar with these seals and that there was no way they could have them here. She looked at the man her eyes widen and scoffed. "Literally, I just said don't be alarmed." She repeated, thinking about it more she decided to explain. "Obviously someone else did them. Not from here~" she mentioned knowing that they were quite isolated in this way, she decided to explain the situation a bit better. "Around the time we were getting settled in here something strange happened. A little redhead girl washed up on shore riding a bone raft." She said thinking about it. "She was really nice, helped us get settled in here, played with the children, sealed up all the things from the older houses, and helped us move them here. She wanted to take a boat to the Land of Water, but helped us out before she left." She seemed to have thought about this quite a bit, but a new face around an island like this caused quite a stir. "I was curious about the seals, I had never seen them before, and she said her family used them a lot."

[Bloodedge]

Natsumi gave her explanation about how they received this seal, but things still weren't lining up to Youko. The physical description given, though, was spot-on for the only individuals who could have such a seal. However, one of these included the seal's creator, his wife. The other two should have also been out of the question, but he could only think of them as potential options after removing his own wife from the equation. "It's not that her family uses them a lot. There are only four people who know this seal." As he spoke, Youko removed his armor and kimono. Afterwards, he turned around and moved his hair aside, showing the very same seal stretched across his upper back. "Shishou Fuuin. I was given this seal by its creator, and barely managed to pick up its secrets. This is the most powerful seal that could possibly be used to seal something in a human body, but it obviously isn't limited to just people and beasts. It was only taught directly to two people... a pair of twins, who went on to become members of Akatsuki. The one you met has to be the missing one, so I'm going to need more detail, if you don't mind. How long ago did she leave? Did she mention having any plans beyond just going to the Land of Water?"

[Apollymi]

Youko soon went on to explain his knowledge of the seal, by giving a physical example of one which he also had on the upper part of his back. It was quite a strange place to see a seal. Natsumi's eyes widened just a tad as she thought about what a seal like that would have to be used for. "Sou ka, I thought your chakra looked a bit weird." She said thinking about it. He went on to specifically question the actions of the twin who had shown up here, and what she planned to do next. This caused Natsumi to have to think, it'd been years since this happened had occurred and it was only remembered now because of how strange it was to have a little redhead walking around in a seal of white haired people. "She mentioned a twin, called the other girl her other half, and was really sad about being separated from her. Said their family had a bunch of people in it, and they always came in pairs. She said she didn't really know what to do on her own. It was one of the odder things about her." she said, describing the girl who would be known by any who knew her as one of the younger siblings of the Kazekage, who'd gone missing from the village about eight years prior to this one. "She also mentioned the Akatsuki, told us if we ever saw anyone else in the coat she was wearing when she washed up, to kill them on sight. Kind of strange considering she was such a kind girl..." she said, thinking about all of this now just made the interaction between the girl and the rest of this area even more strange. "Anyways, this had to be around the time we actually settled in up here, like six years ago. And she said she was going to the Land of Water because that was here her other half intended for her to go. She said, that she had something that belonged there, so she'd go there and make herself better so she could help her other half. Also apparently she felt bad about something that happened, but she never really said what it was. It was a really sweet sounding idea." mentioned the white haired woman as she thought about it more.

[Bloodedge]

"Mm. I am the Hachibi Jinchuuriki. This was the seal used to place it inside me years ago, before that girl went missing," Youko clarified. The more Natsumi went into detail, the more Youko became certain that this was no one other than the twin of Mariketa, whom he'd encountered in recent days. He knew others had been on the lookout for this young woman for quite some time now, and he now had a lead toward finding her. "Six years ago... She hasn't encountered this 'other half' still, so there's every chance she's still in the Land of Water. You said Kichirou was there now, right? I assume you were meant to be going at some point as well. Would you mind just keeping an eye open for her, as a favor to me when you go?"

[Apollymi]

"Sou ka." Natsumi was a bit stunned by the idea that Youko had become a Jinchuuriki but she supposed, there were worse things. And he was a wanderer, so it wasn't really that unusual a thought that he'd end up in a few interesting situations. It seemed that Youko was quite interested in finding this girl, and made a few deductive leaps which led him to the idea that she might still be in the Land of Water. As it settled in it seemed that Youko also figured out what the plan for Kichirou and Natsumi was in their peace negotiations. "Um-hmm, I can do that as a favor for you," said Natsumi, without a second of extra thought, even about how to contact Youko in the case of actually finding the girl he apparently sought.

[Bloodedge]

"Arigatou," Youko said with an informal bow toward the woman. When he rose from said bow, he casually tossed one of his Hiraishin kunai in Natsumi's direction. "Keep that kunai handy. Call me if you need anything, or if you find anything out." With that said, Youko scooped up the scrolls that were given to him, and placed a hand on his armor and kimono. "Ja ne." Suddenly, he vanished in a white flash of light. This left Kaede standing at Natsumi's side, his eyes closed and his hands each tucked into the opposite arm's sleeve. There was a casual smile upon his face when he spoke in Youko's absence. "Fujiwara-dono... your hair is still out of order."

[Apollymi]

Natsumi soon found herself catching one of the Hiraishin Kunai. She thought about it, and given how they seemed to work, she could likely bring the man to her directly if she found the person he was looking for. A bit of a chuckle came from her as she tucked it into the folds of the lower half of her kimono. The informal bow she was given made her chuckle. "Hai hai. Later Youko~" she said only to have the man disappear in a flash of white light with all of this things. Such a strange situation was this one. And soon enough her attendant was speaking about her hair still being messed up. She thought about it now, and it was being done in the first place so she could leave the Tsukimikyuu. "Ah, I forgot. Okay okay, I'll get some of the girls to fix it back the way it was. We have a boat to catch in a bit~" she said and that would be that.

[Bloodedge]

"Iie," he replied. When told that Natsumi would have her hair fixed by the lasses who normally tended to it, Kaede tilted his head slightly, continuing to smile at the woman with closed eyes. Suddenly, there was an electrical storm surging outside, as if to add an air of foreboding to the young man's following statement. "We only have a short amount of time left. I will attend to your hair on the boat."

[Apollymi]

At Kaede's chant of no, Natsumi looked towards him and found him to be in one of his creepier modes. This was done as he stated that they didn't have much time left and as such he'd attend to her hair while they traveled. The strike of an electrical storm outside gave the young woman shivers as she looked at Kaede seemingly afraid. "Kae-kun... surely we aren't that short on time." she said, edging around the fact that she quite obviously didn't want this man to be the one who fixed her hair, for whatever reason, but mostly it was this current creepiness and horrid memories of the last time he'd had to do something about the loose locks of the Queen of the Land of the Moon.

[Bloodedge]

Natsumi's obvious issue with Kaede doing her hair would not be enough to dissuade him from taking matters into his own hands here. Without further ado, he turned away from the woman. The lightning strikes seemed to come to an abrupt end, but a dark and ominous aura remained around Kaede's person as he spoke. "Pack your things, Fujiwara-dono. We must go." And with that, Kaede was off to the ship they had prepared for this journey.

[Apollymi]

"Hai." Natsumi's voice had never sounded so small and defeated as it did, when she agreed to this. She noted the ominous aura about the man, and gave up completely. Obviously it was going to happen regardless of how she felt about it. But she didn't understand why the man had to be so good at doing everything while being so unnecessarily rough. Even so, a minor bit of packing would ensue as the young woman moved about her house, and soon enough the pair would depart for the boat which would take them to the land of water to meet up with her husband and younger brother.

[Bloodedge]

Long after Youko's visit to the Land of the Moon, he returned once again. This trip was not of the same nature as its predecessor, and he was not alone. In fact, Youko was in the company of his entire immediate family from Sunagakure, by means of teleportation used by the young Nin Hakudoshi. The group arrived in a location outside of the land's major village area, a mere stroll away from civilization. Hakudoshi didn't seem too concerned with where he landed them, but Youko looked out to the buildings in the distance while rubbing his head. "Huh... Alright, I guess we're walking the rest of the way. When did you become interested in sightseeing, Haku?"

[Apollymi]

Benihime arrived with the group at large along with Aiko and Kanna. Both of the female children of this group looked around where they'd landed. Aiko, had seen this island at least once before in her life, but prior to this moment, it hadn't looked quite so peaceful. Though she wouldn't ever admit it, she'd had a great deal to do with the chaos which had occurred here before. Irrespective of this, she also found it strange that Hakudoshi hadn't just dropped them in front of the highest authority in the land and it would be Kanna who clarified. The girl with her blank moon eyes looked off into the distance while sticking close to Youko's side. "Okaa-sama likes sightseeing," she said of the red haired woman. And sure enough Benihime was full on gawking at the place as a whole, hands on her hips as she turned her head to look around. Among other things she felt a strange prickle of new chakra along her skin and couldn't help but be amazed. "Sugoi, this is a pretty nice place. It feels great~" she mused having completely missed the discussion of her apparent love of sightseeing. Aiko had a raised brow at the words chosen by the Kazekage, but she supposed she'd not really traveled with her adopted big sister figure before this moment. "Hm, I don't think I've ever gone anywhere with you, you hadn't been before..." Aiko said finding this woman's reactions to be a bit strange.

The entirety of the island felt serene to Benihime, and Kanna also knew why this was. The girl's eyes were trained on the distance as if she could see very far past what was directly in front of her. Her face showed outright confusion as she looked this way and she took a couple of steps away from Youko's side as she stared into the distance. Her tiny face would turn back to Youko and she look up at him studying his face, but seeming not to make sense of something.

[Bloodedge]

"Hoh? Well... I guess that's as good a reason as any. Taking in the sights is refreshing whenever you get the chance," Youko replied to the thoughts of Hakudoshi spoken through Kanna's mouth. Frankly, he could also appreciate the visual of his homeland when it wasn't overrun with literal blood-lust and carnage. Hakudoshi scanned the island with his eyes to see what it was his mother found pleasant about such things, and it seemed for a moment that Kanna had taken up the same pastime. However, she was soon looking to Youko with a confused expression. "What's the matter? It's just an island."

[Apollymi]

Benihime's eyes wandered along the distance. The mountain ranges. The waterfalls. The sound of children laughing closer in near the houses. The sights, sounds, and smells of this place were all new to her, and there was something exciting about that, especially when travel time and undo closeness to strangers wasn't involved. The random things Benihime tended to enjoy about travel were the newness of these situations, and it seemed everyone could appreciate it, even the children in their own ways, but Kanna was soon staring at Youko with confusion all across her face. In the face of his questioning Kanna answered the only way she could. "Your sister doesn't look like you." she calmly said still presently confused. "Why?"

Aiko's eyes widened slightly at the young girl's question. She'd never heard of Youko having a sister, and given that he treated her as his sister it would be news indeed. She couldn't even bring herself to question this aloud, nor did she directly question Kanna, because much like Hakudoshi she didn't assume the girl would be wrong about such things at the end. Benihime heard this and questioned it mentally, her tongue sliding over the roof her mouth as if she was tasting the air, and it did seem quite familiar this tingle she felt in her skin, perhaps this was the familiarity of kinship. Regardless as the group at large awaited Youko's answer movements of the people around the island seemed to acknowledge the large group of visitors recently landed.

[Bloodedge]

Of all the things Kanna could have been concerned about, she chose to focus on something that Youko couldn't even begin to understand. The girl spoke of his sister and her lack of likeness to him visually, but... the only proper sister Youko could even think of was the next person he looked toward: Aiko. "Well, Aiko isn't my sister by birth. We became siblings by ritual though, so our Chakras are connected the way siblings usually are." When Youko said this, Hakudoshi looked in the direction of Tsukimikyuu, tilting his head while examining a very specific sight. "She means your real sister. That one, in the big building," he said while pointing.

"Eh? I... don't have an actual sister. Aiko is as close as it gets," Youko replied. Hakudoshi sighed upon hearing this, but had nothing more to say, deciding it was a matter best left to someone more interested in the topic at hand.

[Apollymi]

Kanna looked at her father strangely in this moment, she hadn't been referring to Aiko. Hakudoshi realized this immediately and spoke of the person she was actually meaning. Her normally impassive face showed a mild bit of frustration. She wondered if this was the thing, her more worldly sibling had warned her about before. "Haku is this what you meant?" she asked in direct reference to the idea of the adult people in their lives being dumb randomly.

"Yare yare, Hakudoshi gave up already... would I be right in assuming that big building is the living space of whoever is in charge?" she asked, seeming to leave the topic of Youko's sibling. Why she did this was probably just for future amusement. Now that she thought about it, the serenity of this place was very similar to another she'd experienced somewhat recently. "Hai, it's changed recently too. His sister is in charge now... it's why I am confused," Kanna stated in a manner most huffy and childlike. It made Benihime's face break into a large smile she could hardly contain. And as such she could make the assumption that their children were correct in deducing the identity of whoever was presently in that building and drawing their young twin's attention. "Come on, lead the way then~ I'm curious now..." Benihime mentioned, which was the absolute truth. She wished now to lay eyes on Youko's supposed sister as well as the other people moving around on the island. "Onee-sama, are you ever not curious?" Aiko posed this question rhetorically and Benihime managed to shrug, unsure of why that would even be a real question.

[Bloodedge]

Youko managed to become even more confused as the chat between himself and the young lass progressed. Hakudoshi saw this coming, hence his abandonment of the topic as a whole. "Hai," the boy said. Youko racked his brain for some sort of answer as to who Kanna could have been referring to. He was quite certain there was no person alive who could be considered closely related to him enough to be a sister figure, bar Aiko after their bonding rituals. Just the same, for it to be said that things had changed recently, and his sister was now in charge of the island, left him only Natsumi to think of. That simply couldn't be right. There was nothing left to do but figure this out, and with that in mind, Youko began walking. Not much time passed before he was leading the group along the same path he treaded on his previous visit, directly toward Tsukimikyuu.

[Apollymi]

On the path directly towards the Tsukimikyuu the children were playing in large clusters. The sight of the sea of white haired young ones brought a smile to Benihime's face. She had a good feeling about this place, given the random number of children moving about could have two possible outcomes. One in which the children held a lot of freedom because there was no longer any need for them to be afraid, and one in which children were roaming because there were no adults. She was hoping for the former. And soon enough they'd been greeted by a face at least familiar to Youko. A small girl of about six or seven years old with snow white hair hidden behind a purple hood exited the palace seemingly excited. Across her face several marks which denoted her as a warrior of the clan. "Sugoi! Raijuu no Zangetsu! Tennyo said it was you and that you brought people with you. She wants to see you..." she said calmly looking from face to face and settling on both Kanna and Hakudoshi and being more than a little surprised. She looked at their full moons with her Gibbous and bowed to both of the children. Such a ritual was strange for Benihime to behold, and she had many things to say immediately. "First, that name is hilarious and you're never living it down. Second, why she is bowing to our kids? And third what is a Tennyo?" she asked in rapid succession while fighting the immediate desire to examine the lines present on this small child's face.

[Bloodedge]

After a short trip by foot, the family reached the village and, eventually, they came upon the most important building in the land. Youko had been greeted prior to entering the Tsukimikyuu during his previous visit, but he didn't expect a greeting to come from this familiar face. "Miya-chan?" he questioned immediately. He expected this one to become something important on the island, but for her to be greeting them from the palace, things truly had undergone some sort of change.

Hakudoshi experienced a moment of eye contact with the marked lass, thinking it strange that she bowed to himself and his sister after activating her own Doujutsu. A quick peek into her mind let him understand why this was happening, which caused him to press his fists against his sides and inflate his chest. "Hmph!" he muttered, smugly. Meanwhile, Benihime had a few inquiries for Youko, who looked as stunned as ever. "First... noted. Second, there is a custom among clansmen here to reveal their Doujutsu to one another when meeting. The stronger one of the two is the senior. Third..." he paused, looking toward Miyako with narrowed eyes. "Tennyo is something that shouldn't exist now. Take me to her."

[Apollymi]

"Hai! You remember me too," the young girl looked slightly abashed by this, she'd only briefly met this man before. "I'm Tennyo's personal guard and messenger, she told me to escort everyone inside," she mentioned, seeming to take her job very seriously. Benihime found this entire thing amusing, and noted that her son seemed to appreciate whatever he knew of this greeting ritual, which led her to believe it was in some way merit based. An explanation from Youko would follow that this ritual was indeed merit based, and marked individual members of the clan as senior to each other by virtue of who was stronger. She supposed this was a better way than having two people fight outright. Aiko of course found this to be a different matter entirely. "So, I shouldn't do the thing right, any moon would suffice?" she asked for clarification sake. She knew this island had some very ill feelings towards at least one of the moons she possessed.

Kanna for her part also nodded and held a similar pose to Hakudoshi with her hands on her hips. This was a newer feeling for the small girl but she appreciated why her twin liked it so much. Benihime watched the pair of them with a wide grin on her face and accepted what Youko had to say. "Yare yare, you're making that face again... You'll scare children if you keep that up," she said to her husband of his narrowed gaze. "Hai hai, I was taking you to her anyways..." she said beckoning the group at large forward that they might eventually reach the throne room. In the middle would be seated a young woman in the most ornate robes anyone would ever been seen in. She had flowing white hair done up in the most ornate way possible with several head pieces adorning it. She looked to this group as they entered and a bright smile broke out over her face. Her eyes in their normal state were a deep lavender in color. A purple moon was apparent on her forehead, her eyebrows were little and circular. She was very young but her clothing and look seemed a bit out of time. Beyond this her hands were hidden beyond a wide expanse of fabric but she seemed to be happy. "Okaerinasai, Nii-san." the young woman said. Whether it was common knowledge or not she was at least familiar with Youko and had been seen by him a couple of times in his life, while she was being held as a puppet for the Blood Cult. Now it was something entirely different. The small girl Miyako gave a bow to the group before joining this young woman's side and receiving a pat on the head for her troubles. "Arigatou, Miya-chan."

[Bloodedge]

"There's a new Tennyo, and you're her guard? Interesting..." Youko had many qualms with everything he was hearing now, none coming close to the idea of a new 'Tennyo' being present so soon after his most recent visit. His only break in this train of thought was heralded by Aiko's query, regarding the state of her Kekkei Genkai used in greeting clansmen. "Humble yourself from that, but never forget to be respectfully overpowering," he said in passing, quickly alluding to an early bout of training between the two. With that, Youko was content to follow the young girl into the palace. Once within the throne room, he was greeted by a face he couldn't really call recognizable. His skepticism remained at its maximum as his Doujutsu showed its full white state, foregoing his - at the moment - preferred Hunter's Moon. "Ohayou gozaimasu, Tennyo. Let's skip the part where we chat about how there should be no person alive capable of claiming that title right now. At least the clothes fit. Who are you, where are the others, and what are you doing on that throne?"

[Apollymi]

Miyako managed to nod about being the guard of this particular individual. "Hai, she said I was best suited, but I'm not the only one or anything. I'm still just a kid after all..." she said, knowing that there was help for her was apparently a good thing. Benihime was putting together the things she heard from this child, and whoever her leader was, she had a pretty good idea of the kind of person she was. There was a nice feeling in this place one of absolute tranquility, beyond that though, were the words spoken by Youko to Aiko which the girl seemed to take with a smirk on her face. She'd heard these words before on a couple of occasions and knew what they were meant to convey. "Hai hai." she said knowing that she was to use full moons to greet but not the Blood Moon for the sake of intimidation.

It seemed that they were fated to meet this Tennyo sooner rather than later and Benihime gave a look over this individual and wondered what everyone's obsession with clothing was, but managed to say nothing about this. Instead she found herself studying this woman where she sat. The look on her face and the feelings she had at Youko's questioning seemed to make her a bit sad. "Sou ka, you really don't know who I am at all..." she sounded thoroughly disappointed, but she knew clearing this up now would be better than letting it stand until later. As such in the face of the fullness of Youko's white moons her own eyes phased into moons of a deep purple and shifting magenta with the fluid property of slow moving sap. "Yare yare, you hurt her feelings..." Benihime managed rubbing the back of her neck shaking away that feeling. "My name is Asakura Narumi and I was the child held by the Blood Cult as their stand in Queen. You remember I saw you a couple of times, told you about the hidden chambers and to visit Ojii-sama. He said he saw you recently..." she said in reference to the Blue Moon Sage. "The others, I am going to assume you mean Ichika and the one in charge when I arrived. They are doing their real jobs, I did nothing to them. I am on the throne because they respect my legitimacy to rule. As do all of the others..." she said noting Youko's skepticism she stood. "Miya-chan go get the others, I don't want Nii-san thinking I harmed them..." she said which made the small girl bow and disappear further within this building. "Ojii-sama probably saw this potentially happening, he gave me this and said you would understand when you saw it," she said turning her neck to the right side to show a sealing mark which looked incredibly similar to the cursed seals created by Youko and worked as part of her claim to rule as well as a connecting piece between herself and the Blue Moon Sage. "You let me go when you wiped out the Blood Cult," she said feeling extreme sadness that she went without being remembered. But she was rather small when all of that happened so she supposed it wouldn't be unheard of it she wasn't recognized. Benihime began an internal struggle not to immediately approach this woman to look at the seal on her neck much closer than she needed to. The feeling she got from looking at her with her moons active was like the tranquility of the island magnified. "Sou ka, I've never seen that one before either... it feels nice and a bit familiar what is it?" unlike her younger siblings she could at least resist the initial urge to touch new things without permission.

[Bloodedge]

"Why exactly should I know who you are..." he said, though he was more wondering aloud than posing a proper question. In response to Youko's showing of his own Kekkei Genkai, this young woman showed him a form that should have been wiped from existence before he was even born. There was but a single reason this individual could possess such a thing while there were no Hunters alive on the island. "... Sou ka," he said with much understanding. The girl's words only further proved her existence, and further proof yet came when she unveiled the seal on her neck. With his Doujutsu, he could see every strand of his own influence in it, as well as the Blue Moon Sage's. Youko's eyes closed while he let his Doujutsu fade away, and he spoke to the curious redhead beside him. "Shinkaku no Juin. It's a seal that can only be created by, and held by, a Sage that stands among the others here as a god." As he spoke these words, Youko lowered himself onto his right knee, simultaneously crossing his right hand over his chest. His head bowed before the woman he could properly acknowledge as Tennyo, as himself one who had previously pledged himself to this individual under different circumstances from their initial meeting. "Gomennasai. Tadaima, my Tennyo."

[Apollymi]

Youko soon enough met the weight of Narumi's gaze and found himself able to answer his almost rhetorical question. Aiko watched and after hearing what was being said remembered this young woman as a child she'd seen while they were on this island together in their shared previous trip. "Sou ka, she's that person then..." Aiko murmured having this memory she along with everyone else got to watch as Youko pledged himself to the lass anew. Such a ritual was strange to Benihime but she supposed she'd get a proper explanation in due time. For now the seal on the girl's neck had been named as one which could only be worn by sage like people who were noted as gods among their clan. "Hm, strange, but I don't think I can comment..." she said thinking about her current ranking within her clan.

Narumi smiled in this moment and was truly happy. It seemed Youko remembered her at least enough to remember that he was going to pledge himself to her service. And at the moment this small victory was enough for her. "Arigatou, Nii-san. It's fine by the way... I expected a bit of skepticism considering... now then..." she said while having her gaze shift between the kids. "What brings you home? With such an interesting and large group of people," the young leader of the Getsugakure asked. Benihime watched this and smirked. Kanna found herself looking back into this woman's eyes for the seconds they made contact and found the meaning in her words.

[Bloodedge]

"You definitely can't," the man said to his wife. When he was addressed by Narumi again, his head rose that he might look upon the Tennyo. The only thing left for him to figure out was how he was related to the girl named Narumi. He chose to address this as his response to Narumi's question. "First, I don't understand something. You've been calling me nii-san, even since then. That's not too weird for me, but... I happen to have a couple of kids here who've been calling you my sister since before the rest of us knew who we'd be finding. Where did you come from exactly?" he asked, taking that same time to stand up with his arms akimbo. "Oh, and this... This is my family. We're here because I sort of agreed to help this land make and use weapons, so Kichi and Natsu would give up on doing something stupid like trying to get the Tentai Mizu and give it to some psychopath with a sister complex."

[Apollymi]

"Well I mean I could... but I won't," Benihime said flippantly. Of course, she wouldn't because of how her more recent trip home had turned out, god/goddess worship, and divine right to rule were among the things she left completely alone. And soon enough the conversation was progressing enough that Youko felt the need to question his relation to this young woman. She managed to look abashed in this moment and then rather curious and such curiosity would be spread directly into the mind of Kanna when she was looking at her. "Because I heard you thinking you would finally get to see your big brother and talk to him and I was confused because you don't look like him. And I look like my brother and Okaa-sama looks like her brothers. It doesn't make sense," said the girl who looked back at Narumi meeting her gaze. This made the woman's eyes widen because she realized several references made to her own mind which she hadn't stated aloud. "I ah... okay. I have never encountered anything like that before..." she said blankly not knowing how to feel about what Kanna had to say. "Welcome to the club..." Benihime said amused by all present. "Also Kanna, twins tend to look a bit more alike than other siblings in general. All of my siblings were parented by two sets of identical twins so we all look more alike than we probably should. If that clears it up for you," Benihime explained the situation surrounding her family to the small girl who turned and looked at her. Kanna searched her mother's mind for images to go along with her explanation and after she got everything she needed she simply nodded. Narumi looked at the redhead in the group for a while longer than was necessary as well but didn't immediately say anything about her. "Gomennasai, Nii-san, I should explain. I came from the same place you did. Ojii-sama is father of both of us, though we have different surnames. He had to send me here though and made sure nothing bad happened to me while I was here. And I always knew you were my brother, but I couldn't say anything before, it might have put you in more danger," she mentioned which made Benihime's eyes widen by the news.

"Ara ara, I didn't know Getsu-ojii got down like that..." said in her flippant manner before covering her mouth when Aiko turned to look at her. "Shit that fell out... also rude," said the redhead who then went back to innocently looking around, but taking a note to address what Youko had to say about the 3rd and 4th Mizukage. The kinship between Narumi and Youko was obvious to her now, in the same way it'd been hinted at before. Narumi looked and went on to finish her statement. "Your family is very.... different. You did something strange I think, but that is fine," the girl said pleased to have this man around. "I'm glad you were around to stop something crazy from happening. The Tentai Mizu shouldn't be shared especially not with anyone like that, but I knew peace talks went well, so if you were responsible then you have nothing but my thanks," said Narumi who beyond all reason could find no wrong in any of the actions of the day. "Anyway you are free to do whatever you wish while you are here, along with your family," she said to the man though she harbored a bit of curiosity about his wife and children it seemed rude to just question them openly for existing. She was also curious about the woman's mention of her father because she spoke as if she'd met the man and that was in and of itself a strange occurance. Whatever the case she was harboring extreme curiosity about this situation and there was hardly anything to do to sate it.

[Bloodedge]

One more person was officially added to the list of people being surprised by the young twins' abilities. For that person to be this island's deity among mortals was laughable, and Youko could hardly restrain himself after managing to calm down. Strange things were still to come, though. For whatever reason, Youko had never once considered his own ancestry aside from his mother. Apparently though, the Sage that had been guiding him to being a successor all this time was his very own father, as well as the father of Narumi. Benihime's outburst was thus met by a statement of agreement from Youko. "If it makes you feel any better, I didn't know he did either. I never questioned the identity of my father, and he never mentioned. I bet that explains all those fuzzy memories. He's got a lot of birthdays to answer for, too..."

He seemed to not be too bothered by this new wave of information. He had a sister, and that was fine. The Sage of the Blue Moon was his father, and that was also fine. Nothing really had to change at all. As he looked toward Narumi though, he raised a brow in the wake of her assertions. "Of course they're different. I wouldn't settle for ordinary. So, you can feel free to say whatever it is you were thinking of saying just now."

[Apollymi]

If anyone would agree with Benihime, it made perfect sense for it to be Youko. A brief second of eye contact made her chuckle. "Glad I am not the only one surprised by that. Though... thinking about it now, it does make sense..." Benihime said, her own mind seemed to wander back to the feeling of chakra presented by both males, and the quality of it. And the connection was direct as a stream flowing into a river for the red haired woman. The Blue Moon Sage's power had been greatly comforting to her when she'd been around it, likely because she already took great comfort from Youko's existence at her side. This moment of joking between Youko and his wife was noted by Narumi, she thought it nice he found someone to be happy with in such a way. But that only made her curiosity a bit greater than the norm.

Youko seemed to accept this news about their kinship way better than initially expected. In fact, he seemed to have no problem with it, and even urged the young woman to say whatever had actually come to mind about the people standing before her. "Ano... your wife and your children are very different. I know moons when I see them, and I don't know those..." she said of the twins, causing Kanna to feel the same momentary pride that seemed to be shown by Hakudoshi whenever his prowess was mentioned. "Also does your wife have a moon? Because it seems like she's connected to you but not in a way I recognize either," the girl seemed to all and all just be very curious about the nature of this man's family. "I wanted to ask what you did, but it seemed rude to question them just for existing...." Narumi finished up. She could see with her eyes the intensity of their chakra, and she was just young enough that she didn't know about Youko's possession of a handler and thus the already established connection to Benihime before that of her Moon.

[Bloodedge]

"I guess it does. Still, I'm going to be needing a lot of explanations from him now. Well... that's nothing new, but now I can be a petulant child about it," Youko said while considering the outcome of his next meeting with the sage. It even crossed his mind that the man had not told him of their relation to one another because he knew how Youko would behave from then on. If that were the case, though, Youko would be sure to give him more than he could have bargained for when next they met.

The Tennyo noted the strangeness of Youko's family from her perspective. This was something Youko always knew in the back of his mind, but never brought to the forefront without a moment like this to prod the thoughts. In particular, the mutated forms of Oborozuki wielded by the twin children was a topic he could barely address. "Haku and Kanna are... different, yes. Kanna only just returned to us, but hers and Hakudoshi's seem to function both the same - and opposite - of each other. Our dear father had no answers when I asked about Hakudoshi; they seem to just be mutations made by our Kekkei Genkai crossing paths," he said, pausing briefly before acknowledging the curiosity surrounding his wife. "Sou ka... the last Tsuyutsuki. We're connected by your technique, but I guess you've never had a reason to use it, huh? But... also, yes. Kariitsuki."

[Apollymi]

"Hm, you are feeling really devious right now... I'd tell you to behave but I don't think it will make much of a difference," Benihime said in response to Youko's assertion that he was allowed a bit of petulance in dealing with his father for some reason. She could hardly comment about the way people acted with their parents anyways, especially considering her own dislike of her mother went to an extreme which bordered dangerously upon homicidal.

Moving right along, Youko soon found himself explaining to his younger sister about the nature of his children's Kekkei Genkai. She found it strange that the simple mixing of two people's powers caused this problem, but she supposed it was as much of an explanation as she could expect given their father hadn't had anything resembling an answer. "Sou ka," she said to the first explanation. The secondary one caused her left brow to raise as Youko explained that Benihime was tied to him, using a technique that she should know, but had no reason to ever use. "She's... your handler!?" there was much surprise coming from this young woman in this moment, and it caused Benihime to chuckle just a tad, but she had no reason to understand the depth of this achievement. "And she doesn't have this moon... but she wrote herself into the seal. I didn't even know that could work and you're right, I have no reason to use anything like that. I doubt there is anyone else... who could receive that seal. I am surprised you have it, such things were abandoned long before us," she said finding the whole thing to be utterly surprising. But there were some potential upsides to this ones which she could address. "Can I..." the Tennyo was about to ask to see the moon belonging to the redhead as well and see if she could glean any information about seals from her. But, before anything could be said Miyako the small white haired girl returned and in the company of what had been the sitting queen before and whoever else was with them. "You wanted to see us?" the woman asked seeming to find nothing out of the ordinary enough to speak on it too much.