A Rose by any other Face. [Private]

[Kazumi]

For some reason, Suzume had not expected her return to the village to be so... eventful. Now that she was in the thick of it however, standing outside of Adagaeshi, Suzume felt more trepidation than she had in her days since leaving Tea Country. Standing out there, looking up at the sign that distinguished it from the other seedy businesses, Suzume felt a tinge of jealousy. Naoki's family had a normal business doing normal and mundane things. Suzume didn't have anything like that to fall back on, and while she had never seriously desired it before, thinking of it now caused her blood to softly simmer.

A wiry man slid past her into the place, seeming to not even notice the hapless girl's existence, jarring her from her moment of self-indulgence. Shaking her head to cast the thoughts aside, Suzume took a deep breath and followed in after him, steeling herself for whatever it was to come. She quickly slid the door open, stepped inside and quietly closed it behind her with a quick smooth motion. It was past noon, a few regular patrons having their low-class meals here, but it would be a far cry to call this place bustling. Suzume proceeded to scope out the room, trying to find Naoki or her aunt. She was not overly familiar with the woman, but it didn't take long to identify her among the patrons.

With another deep breath to calm her nerves, Suzume strode though the establishment towards the woman as she tended a pair of customers sitting at their own private booth. "Oriza!" she called out a bit too loudly, as she approached, raising her hand to try and get the woman's attention. "Is Naoki around?" She had momentarily forgotten that the woman wouldn't recognize her, either by face or voice, but with as many people who came in and out of this place as they did, surely she wouldn't question a single stranger on something so simple. "Need to talk to her." Suzume's tone was urgent but friendly, having gotten comfortable enough around Naoki's aunt to keep her from deferring to rigid formality.

 

[Samejima]

The musty atmosphere of the "cafe," as it looked in the day, wasn't terribly off-putting, but it wasn't exactly welcoming. The expression of the woman chatting up a storm with her customers however, was even less so after seeing who was addressing her is such a casual manner. Eyes narrowing, she straightened up to her full height (5-inch geta included), and looked the new girl up and down with cold, piercing eyes, a sight much different to behold than the Oriza who usually tended the bar.

"Don't forget the -san, girl. Show your elders some goddamn respect. I swear, kids these days..."
​

She walked over to the stairs, craning her neck up to call for Naoki in the loudest manner possible though she knew her niece did not require so much effort to summon. It was an old lady thing, Naoki was told, when she protested about how embarrassing it was to be yelled at. "NAOKI!" The throatiness of her voice was not one a newcomer would expect when hearing her regular voice, but all those in the vicinity were used to it, including Suzume if she had been over here more than half a dozen times. The woman in question barreled down the stairs, eager to put a reason to the ringing in her ears. "Yeah, comin' down!"

After crashing her way down, she skidded to a stop and assessed the situation. She had been in the middle of rumination on where she could possibly have lost Suzume, but judging by the fact that she had not been called upon for execution or even trial by combat, the girl must have caught a ship home and just never told her or something. Meanwhile, she had other shinobi duties to attend to, like... shinobi-ing. Yep. So she was justified in going home early, because of course Suzume was smart enough to be able to figure out how to get home on her own. She couldn't remember much outside of tailing the girl, but she felt like it wasn't a big deal that she lost the little one out in the city of Kurosawa, possibly the largest city she had ever been to and certainly not the safest. "This girl was looking for you. My suggestion is to get friends who show a little more decorum," she sniffed, turning back to her customers.

Naoki turned her attention to the only young lady in the establishment outside of her aunt of course, definitely still a young lady and asked, "Ah hi. Do I know you?" The woman racked her brains to figure out whom this might have been, not recalling any of the people she'd worked for in the past week having been a young lady. "If you're here about old man Nabo's fence, I'll get that done as soon as I finish Mrs. Watanabe's repairs. She's got kids to tend to, see, so..."

 

[Kazumi]

As soon as the woman turned to summon Naoki, she would receive a stuck out tongue of spite from the disrespectful girl she had just chastised. She hadn't ever disliked the woman, but for a multitude of reasons, she was feeling less than giving today. As the old woman walked over to the stairs, Suzume prepared herself to stand and wait patiently, only to have her ears painfully assaulted by the woman's gutteral roar of a summons. More than a few of the eyes across the establishment were drawn towards Oriza, but quickly turned away after sating their moment of curiosity. While not directed at her, this too poked a needle of spite into Suzume's head, momentarily turning her grimace to a scowl as she glared over towards the woman who, thankfully, still had her back turned towards Suzume.

That trace of hate was quickly wiped away as she heard that familiar voice calling down, replacing it with eager excitement. Without paying it much attention, Suzume straightened her outfit and tries to affix stray bits of hair that had gotten scattered across her head. Most of the sand that had caked onto her skin from her journey to Sunagakure had been brushed off earlier, and her clothes no longer held pockets full of sand, but she still did not look the most presentable of parts, one might say she could fit in --too-- well in the district. Regardless, she beamed an almost stupid looking grin as Naoki hurried her way down the stairs, her pleasure unable to be marred by the old hag's backhanded comment. Suzume doubted that Oriza presumed she couldn't hear, only adding to her annoyance. Giving an exaggerated bow to the woman, even if she didn't notice, Suzume spoke her gratitude in the most sickly sweet tone she could conjure, "thank you ever so much, Oriza-sama." That gave her a bit of pleasure, even if the crow didn't notice, which would have been for the best anyway.

Turning her attention back to Naoki, her grin once again returned as she caught herself from leaping into the beautiful young woman's arms. She didn't even know who Suzume was, and yet here she was, being kind and considerate, just as she would expect from someone as wonderful as she. "No I... can we go up to your room to talk? I um..." she paused, realizing she didn't think to plan the thing out in its entirety. What was she supposed to say anyway? Surely Naoki would believe her, right? Even if she did, would she be mad at her? She couldn't pretend to just be a stranger forever, just the logistics of that would make it impossible for more than a few days. Biting her lip, Suzume continued, "it's um... about Suzume." It felt strange saying the name so objectively, but it seemed to be the best plan of action, how else would she get Naoki to trust her enough to bring her somewhere private enough to explain herself without dozens of prying eyes staring down at her.

 

[Samejima]

The owner of the establishment raised an eyebrow and smirked, turning away and reverting to her normal demeanor. "Now, where did you drop off with that riveting tale, Kishi-san?"

Naoki scratched her head. "Well, the room upstairs is shared between me and Oriza-san, and uh..." she grinned a little nervously, punctuating the sentence ineffectively. "I know a nice spot that I like to chill out in; It's a bit of a walk but we can talk on the way or something. What do I call you?" she asked, accustomed to the mannerisms of the "cafe" in that people might not want to give out their real names. If the girl complied, she would take her out behind the cafe itself, and through a little nook where she usually spent her time when not being hounded by customers trying to grab at her or her aunt. Though the latter seemed nonchalant about such advances, Naoki made it a point to make sure the customers knew her aunt was not to be trifled with, at least when she was around. Otherwise, she would ask where a good alternative place might be, as she wasn't one to invite people upstairs without her aunt's express approval given the nature of the business (ledgers and notes of course, nothing illegal).

 

[Kazumi]

Instinctively she nearly blurted out her own, but caught herself just as her vocal chords tightened to let loose that little secret. It wasn't a secret though, was it? She just didn't know how Naoki would react, and she figured someone with less people would be the easiest way to reveal the truth of the matter. Besides, it would give her more time to think of an excuse, something she should have done far before she had ever entered the village. "Erika," she quickly replied, which was the name of the girl who Suzume used to be, or rather, this body used to be. That was something she was still very confused about. She knew who she was, could differentiate between Erika's and her own memories, but she had access to both.

Erika nodded in agreement with the alternative meeting location, looking to follow after Naoki wherever she would lead her. It likely might have been a bit odd for Naoki, having a stranger come here and asking for her, but the quickened heart rate and enamoured smile were difficult to hide, even if they made her seem all the more strange or suspicious.

Following after Naoki quietly, she ruminated the thoughts around in her head, trying to figure out what exactly to say. Should she go into a deep discussion about Lord Jashin? That would need to be brought up eventually, especially with all of the misunderstandings about the Great Lord that were abound. No no, another time. Perhaps she should simply give a detailed account of what transpired? Maybe layering a lie atop it all would be best, say she had gotten lost and explain the whole situation away with... something, she could think of something, certainly.

Once the time came, nestled into the out of the way nook that Naoki had led them to, she took her plans, the deep thoughts and well laid out ideas and watched them fly right out of the window as she half-lunged towards Naoki, trying to latch onto the woman in an awkward hug. "I'm sorry!" She exclaimed, trying to bury her face into Naoki's chest, if she hadn't landed straight onto the floor, that is. "I'm so so sorry! I... I don't..." Internally, she didn't even know what she was doing. What did she hope to achieve this way? She must look like a crazy mess of a miserable person right now, and the tears that tried to stain Naoki's outfit were only making things worse.

 

[Samejima]

Naoki grinned and gave "Erika" a nod before beckoning her toward the back door of the establishment. While it was unlikely that the girl would be able to hear through the closed door as Naoki walked back to close it after her, Naoki was able to hear a few whispers about how cute she was when she wasn't glowering at the customers who'd dared to leer so wrong at Oriza that she alerts her little bodyguard about it. Instinctively rolling her eyes, Naoki would disregard such commentary. How dare they call her cute.

"W-whoa! Hey, what's wrong?" Surprised as she was by the sudden lunge, Naoki's response to a sudden burst of noise where she had expected hushed tones caused her to trip a little to try and balance herself and catch the girl at the same time, so they ended up on the ground next to the somewhat-cushioned fabric of an old sofa that Naoki found and cleaned up before dragging it back behind the cafe. The nook itself wasn't a place a regular villager would be able to get to without access to the back door of the cafe, walled off on all sides by the buildings surrounding it, so they could be sure that they were alone here if nothing else. There was also an old fence near the back of the nook, behind which was some space and the aforementioned seating arrangement. Still, this position was a little uncomfortable for the woman, with Naoki on the ground having just landed her backside on some pretty tough flooring, also known as the centuries-old dirt floor of the old sandworm dwelling that Sunagakure was rebuilt the first time in. Not knowing what else to do, she wrapped her arms around the girl and started patting her back to try and soothe her. "Here, why don't you sit over there? Just take a minute or two to calm down, and you can tell me what happened from the beginning. I haven't met you before, so there's nothing to apologize about, okay?"

Assuming the girl took her seat, which could only comfortably seat one person, Naoki would sit on the ground facing her.

[MFT]

 

[Kazumi]

Even the hard fall was not much of a deterrrant towards the girl, reaffirming her cling even after the rocky landing. There was something familiar about this, something that helped her feel more at ease than she had been during her entire return to Sunagakure. The warmpth, the smell, even if Naoki was confused and more than a little repulsed by the stranger latching onto her. So, when Naoki made the attempt to redirect Suzume off of her, she ignored the recommendation and burried hre face a little harder into the girl. These days, the symbol in her pocket was her biggest form of strength, but right now it paled in comparison to the soothing sensation that this woman offered her, even if reluctantly.

There was an awkward silence for a long dozen moments between them, Naoki likely left wondering what was going on with this crazy girl as she continued to latch onto her. The silence was eventually broken as she relented her hold just enough so that she could turn her head away from Naoki's chest and catch a little air. "It's me," she quietly remarked between nuzzles of her head against Naoki's chest. "Your little sparrow." It felt nice to say that, and while she wasn't sure why, it was a comforting nickname that Naoki had given her during their delirious state back in Tea Country. Having said her piece, she turned her head and nuzzled it back into Naoki's chest, that is, if the woman didn't eject her from her warm soft perch.

 

[Samejima]

Hrm... I guess she's just needing the contact right now? I mean, I don't really mind or anything... The woman, while still a little taken aback, proceeded to put her arms around the girl and try to comfort her. She may have just gone through some incredibly troubling event after all, and the last thing she would want to do is make the girl feel even worse. It wasn't a very tight hug, considering there is still the possibility that this girl wasn't who she appeared to be, but Naoki did try and pat her on the back softly as she clung, nestling her face into Naoki's chest which was, admittedly, getting to be somewhat painful due to the bindings underneath. She rocked slowly and gently, hoping the girl wasn't an assassin of some sort, until Erika started to pull back a little to face her.

Naoki wasn't looking directly at the girl, rather, she was facing straight ahead, but when she mentioned the pet name she'd used all of twice with the girl whom she'd been trying to put out of her mind for some time now, Naoki's attention snapped back down to that of this unfamiliar face. "W... what..." She instinctively began to push the girl away, but after realizing that they'd been hugging for some time and she hadn't been severely jolted at all, she held Suzume close and nuzzled her face against the girl's shoulder. "You're okay! Is it really you? I was so worried, I thought you weren't going to come back or that something bad happened to you, there were explosions around and I--"

She froze. Naoki realized that she wasn't supposed to tell Suzume about her troubles in tracking the girl down. She had agreed to give her a day of freedom in Kurosawa after all, but she had been so worried that she decided to tail the girl after she'd left. "I-I... uh..." What should I say? Did she notice? Should I just change the subject? Aaaaaah why am I like this?! "W-well, I'm... I'm happy you're safe. Sorry I left you behind on Tea Country, but I had to come back to be sure I didn't break my probationary period and I figured you were smart enough to get back home with what you had on hand..."

Naoki thought long and hard about what she had to do. She had assumed Suzume was the one who set off those explosions, but in hindsight, how could she have? It's not like she was well-versed in explosion jutsu to begin with, and she didn't seem like the type to endanger hapless civilians to get away from her tail. That was mostly why she left, out of indignance that she was found out and figuring Suzume probably wouldn't have wanted anything more to do with her after that fiasco. But that conclusion left her with many questions still... Not least of which was, "why didn't I go back after I figured out she didn't set off those explosions?"

[MFT]

 

[Kazumi]

The fact that she was not surreptitiously thrown over Naoki's shoulder, or at the very least wasn't pushed away, bore a huge weight from Suzume's shoulders. Her mind was racing too quickly to understand most of what Naoki was saying, but she didn't need to listen to her right now, hearing her voice was enough. If everything else fell through with her clan, her family and the village... well, at least one person seemed to understand, even if she objectively shouldn't.

A part of her wanted to cry more, to unleash a torrent of pent up frustration, confusion and sadness all over the poor woman, but when she attempted to tap into it... the wells were dry. She felt immensely relieved that Naoki was standing here for her, and even reciprocating, but something felt off. Hollow. Her mind retreated for a moment as she pulled her head away from Naoki's chest, looking blankly at it as if in a trance. The strange silent stare persisted for a few seconds before she finally broke it with a small genuine smile as she peered up at Naoki's face. "Thank you," she muttered softly, her eyes faintly red from the now vacant tears.

Eventually she released the woman, awkwardly stepping back and looking very out of place. Her voice was so different, her skin color, her clothes and well... everything about her. Those thoughts before were confusing and jarring, most certainly, but their reality did not fully set in until now, as she stood there in front of Naoki, her right hand subtly shifting into her pocket to caress the metal symbol of her Lord for support. This was a burden and a blessing from and for her Lord, and she felt horrible for momentarily doubting her new position.

"You... you believe me?" Suzume asked suddenly and quietly, her shoulders slumping and her head tilting down as she reflexively tried to curl in on herself while remaining upright. Either Naoki was far more trusting than any shinobi had the right to be, or perhaps there was something intangible there between them, something that only the blind woman could see so clearly?

 

[Samejima]

The guilt having passed for now, she realized with a twisted feeling in her gut that this might not actually be the Suzume she had beaten herself up over for the past week or so. "I-I... well..." I don't know, you come directly here wanting to talk to me alone and you knew the thing and I just-- Naoki couldn't explain why she was so quick to trust that this random girl who didn't jolt her whatsoever or seem anything like the Suzume she remembered. All she knew was that she felt a rush of relief when the connection clicked and she didn't want to think about the fact that she might actually have been the most irresponsible adult Sunan shinobi the village had ever seen, with her neglect actually causing the disappearance of the one person she had been entrusted in the time she'd been back from her hiatus, not to mention...

"I guess... I need to believe you're actually okay. I..." Naoki lowered her face, facing the ground now to try and hide her face. "I know you're probably really confused about all this, but... I'm pretty sure--no, I'm 100% positive! Th-that..." She straightened up, drawing in a deep breath, "That I love you!" She then exhaled, most of her courage now leaving her body as she teetered over to a nearby wall to lean on it. Once she had calmed down a little, she continued, "I couldn't stand thinking that I'd abandoned you to your fate or something like that, and I guess... I guess I needed to believe I didn't lose you for good..."

The genin stood straight once more, walking over to the person she presumed was Suzume and taking her hands. "Please... tell me what happened out there. Why do you look so different? Did anyone hurt you? And why aren't I being jolted out of my skin right now?" That last one was half-joking, but she needed to know if whatever happened in Tea Country somehow cursed the lady Oushi-Ouja out of her birthright.

 

[Kazumi]

Hearing Naoki begin to speak once more, Suzume hesitantly looked up towards the woman, looking quite unsure of herself at the moment. Then, as the kunocihi drew in breath and burst out the sudden confession, Suzume took an unconscious step backwards in surprise. Speechless, Suzume stared at her as she leaned against the wall to try and recover. What could she say? What did she want to say? Neither mattered, as she failed to get her voice working before Naoki began once more.

"You didn't abandon me!" She suddenly exclaimed, louder than she had actually intended as her words reverberated off the nearby stone walls. Her words were cut off once again as Naoki took her hands, drawing the younger girl's eyes up towards her own as she Suzume's voice failed her. It was then that the crux of the situation began to unfold.

Of course Naoki deserved to know what happened. She can't, she might believe you now, but what about after you tell her? Will she still trust you? Should she? How will she react? How do you even explain everything when you don't even understand everything yourself?

These and dozens of more questions rebounded through her head as she attempted to reason through them all.

So, with a deep breath, her lungs quavering with the stiff air that filled this dark and unsettled place, she began. She told Naoki of the sudden abduction, of the three members of the Chains of Jashin. She tried to explain how Jashin was misunderstood, and was a corrupted shell of his former self that sacrificed his purity to save humanity. She told her what she knew of the ritual that gave her this new body, how hers had been consumed by some black flame. The burden of the corruption of humanity she now bore.

Suzume's words did not appear to be that of a brainwashed youth, but one of sincere conviction. One who took up this burden and responsibility, albeit hastily and without due recourse, willingly. She finally told Naoki that she didn't understand everything, and that she would tell Naoki anything she wanted to know, but even she was overwhelmed at everything. Ultimately, however, she told Naoki that she was still the same person as before, just with new purpose and responsibility. One that, if not fulfilled, could eventually doom humanity to a fate of either eternal suffering or complete oblivion.

By the end of it all, Suzume was exhausted. She had told the Steward bits and pieces of this, but she did not dare tell him everything, everything that she knew presently. There were still parts of her new position in life that she would not understand until later, parts that may very well drive her from the clan, drive Naoki from her, and perhaps even from the village itself... but for now, she hoped that at least the woman who had just professed love for her would understand, if only for now. Even if only out of pity.

 

[Samejima]

Naoki listened intently as the girl spoke. Her grip tightened as she heard of Jashin, whom she wasn't very familiar with, but she recalled a few people she'd had to kill calling her a "blessing of Jashin," though she'd had no idea if that was supposed to be an insult or a compliment as she heard their dying breaths. Hearing this young maiden speak so fervently of him however, you'd think he was the tragic hero of particularly impactful show--she believed it was her duty now to shoulder all that? If it were true, anyway, but she wasn't about to interrupt Suzume as she retold what happened to her out there.

The girl's voice seemed to grow to a crescendo before ebbing out as the story ended, and Naoki could feel the devotion she emanated. While she wanted to wholeheartedly believe her little sparrow, there was no denying that she had been under pressure, and that she may not have been thinking as clearly as she would have liked prior to being indoctrinated. Still, the fact that she had been moved this much... She seemed spent after the tale. "Did you... want to sit down for a bit?" Naoki would walk her to the couch and sit next to her at a comfortable distance if it was an affirmative, but would otherwise continue to hold Suzume's hands.

Naoki understood that Suzume was in despair over not being able to control her storm before, and now it seems she doesn't have to. She wondered still whether or not her family would be resistant, and if she would fight for her place in the Oushi-Ouja clan, but the poor girl already had so much to think about. She wouldn't ask anything about the family just yet. "That's uh... quite a lot that you went through..." Naoki paused, unsure if she should be asking questions or just comforting Suzume at this point. "I'm going to need some time to digest all that to be honest, but these people... Do they have a place somewhere in Suna where you can learn more about all this? Another base or something?" Naoki was confused. What exactly did all this mean for the whisperings she had heard in the past about Jashin? While she was never very religious at all, she wanted to thank at least the people who did the ritual for giving Suzume new purpose beyond being thrown headfirst into responsibilities as a leader of a clan as soon as she discovered some latent power she couldn't control and had little to no guidance with.

[MFT]

 

[Kazumi]

Suzume allowed herself to be lead over to the old couch, dazed from the outpouring with her mind slowly piecing itself back together. As they sat, the old couch sank lower than it should in the center, causing Suzume to incidentally lean over heavily onto Naoki; Suzume didn't seem to notice or case as she half-slumped against the older girl. "Not that I know of," she muttered, starting to snuggle faintly against the soft source of warmth. "Most of them wander around the Countries." She was unsure why the Chains did not keep better track of its members, or perhaps they did and she was not yet allowed to be trusted with the information.

The Oushi-Ouja girl let out a soft, shaky if contented sigh as she continued to lean over. "Naoki," she suddenly began after a dozen seconds of blissful silence, "if it doesn't go over well with my clan... can I live with you?" The question was sudden and bold, but not completely unreasonable given the circumstances. Just as everything else, she had not considered the implications and repercussions of such an arrangement. "I don't think they will throw me out... but just in case they do... would you?" She turned her head and looked up towards Naoki, her eyes till puffy from the many tears that were shed earlier as she stared quietly hopeful into the woman's sightless eyes.

 

[Samejima]

The woman's form stiffened as the girl slumped against her, heart pounding at a mile a minute. She had just hugged Suzume and that was okay, but that had been when she didn't know whom she was hugging. The thought that she was once again this close, and that she'd let her guard down so much, was somewhat disconcerting to Naoki. It was strange to think that anyone could be this unguarded with someone who could easily overpower them. She remembered the last time she did that, and it did not end well at all. The memory haunted her, but she knew it didn't apply to this situation. Suzume is a smart girl, and she wouldn't let her guard down with people who might pose danger to her, that must be it...

In response to Suzume's trust, she put her arm around her little sparrow's shoulder, pulling her closer and giving said shoulder reassuring rubs. She wanted to say something during the silence, but it seemed like the girl was content with just relaxing for the moment, and Naoki wasn't about to jolt (pun intended) the girl out of her state of calm. When Suzume spoke next, Naoki had been half asleep as she had been working tirelessly to try and stop the guilt from gnawing on her conscience. "You wanna... have a sleepover?" Naoki mumbled, somewhat sleepily. Then Suzume continued, mentioning the fact that her clan might throw her out, and Naoki's conscience went into overdrive, assuming the situation had something to do with their encounter. Did they find out about us? Oh Mother Suna, do they expect her to take responsibility for my actions? I can't let that happen! She shouldn't have to suffer because I couldn't... c-couldn't... She couldn't even finish the thought. That she had taken advantage of the girl in such a way... And after what she had been through herself all those years ago...

No tears could stream from her nonfunctional eyes, but the pain in Naoki's voice was apparent in how strained it became. "S-Suzume... chan... I'm really sorry, about that. What happened between us, I mean... I shouldn't have..." She trailed off, trying to word it in a way that wouldn't hint at what the woman went through at Suzume's age. "I hope you'll be able to forgive me, for what I... for what I did to you. I know it was wrong of me to just force myself on you like that, but I just couldn't..." She shook her head, moving onto the more important part of her speech. Gripping the girl's shoulders, facing her, Naoki begged, "Please, let me talk to the head of your clan, or whoever is in charge of it right now. I will take responsibility for my actions. I can't let them force you out of your own family for my lack of self-control!" It didn't seem to register in Naoki's mind that a different belief system, especially one so controversial, could constitute being kicked out of one's clan, let alone losing the powers that made one the next in line to be the leader.

 

[Kazumi]

The sudden shift of Naoki's demeanor caught Suzume completely by surprise, shocking her from her own worries. She sat up straighter and repeated Naoki's name a few times as she tried to slow the woman down to get a word in. Eventually she did manage to do so eventually as Naoki gripped purposefully onto her shoulders. "No no, you.. you have it all wrong." Her confidence wavered as she again reflected on her worries, but having Naoki freaking out about her helped the girl to push past it, if only for the moment. "No, I mean... I was blessed before with Oushi-Ouja's Storm..."

Suzume had to pause a moment, both to collect her thoughts and her words. "I do not possess that blessing anymore. I can no longer summon electricity at a touch as I used to. I do not think it is simply a matter of getting control... the Suzume that I used to be died back there. This girl... she was no heir of Oushi-Ouja, and I basically stole her body and her life from her." She had been told many times that her sacrifice was willing and that she had been justly provided for the exchange, but she still felt pangs of guilt. "She is no Heir of Oushi-Ouja. I am no longer... I don't even know if I am welcome in the clan, cause.. yanno... I am not even related to them anymore. I am some local girl from Tea Country that just happens to have these memories."

She took a long deep breath and leaned backwards once again, trying to keep herself under control. "I am sorry for like... worrying you with all of this, and for the misunderstanding. Maybe I am overthinking it, but I won't really know until I talk to them... huh?" She looked towards Naoki, hopeful once more. She wasn't sure what she wanted the woman to say, if she wanted her to say anything at all. This was just something that she would have to deal with, and Lord Jashin willing, she might make it through alright...

 

[Samejima]

"O-oh..." Naoki exhaled a sigh of relief, but now she was even more at a loss as to what to tell the girl. She had no experience with the clan itself, and it was doubtful that there would be any sort of leniency if Suzume's abilities were all they valued, given how she'd witnessed other clans treat their young. Man... what should I tell her? Should I just give it to her straight? Maybe tell her I would talk to them about... No, they don't even know me... And I had recently gotten back from a loooong disappearance so I have zero credibility... Crossing her arms in thought, the woman would appear to be deep in thought as she racked her brains for something to tell Suzume. Something to reassure her.

"Y'know what, if your clan doesn't want to take you back in after discovering your not-deadness, then you can totally come live with me! Heck I bet Oriza-san will be glad for the extra hand out here! And we can still train together, if that was something you were still interested in after... well..." Recalling the fact that Suzume's hard work was mostly meant to help her control the powers she had lost, she scratched her head in frustration. Why do I hafta be so damn inconsiderate?! "I-I mean, you can still be a great member of the shinobi force, even without some age-old blessing to electrocute anyone you touched. And I'd be able to keep you company a lot more often, if that was something you were comfortable with," she smiled at this, then stuttered, "I-in a friendship kind of way, I mean!" She was flailing about somewhat frantically, attempting to make herself seem non-threatening but instead coming off as slightly deranged.