Flowers for Kitsune[Private]

[Takaki Saeko]

Kumogakure Academy Roster, Year 33 of Shogun Yoshinobu

Fox-Delta Homeroom

Homeroom Sensei:
Gorobei Keiji
Class Representative:
Zaibu Draikon

Unasi Kyoto
Hisakata Akatake
Reikon Dyu
Shinrya Kitsune
Ryuu Kichigai
Hachi Ban
Takaki Masao​

Looking at the yellowed page brought back memories, the majority of which were unpleasant. The Academy was still for all practical purposes a death sentence for the majority of children brought in by the Scouts or who had signed up with delusions of patriotism or who had simply been raised by their clans to see no other path in life besides that of the shinobi way. Masao himself had ran away from the village and hidden in the cities for years in an effort to avoid enrolling, although he had learned later that Kumogakure never really allowed a child with the slightest hint of chakra potential to really vanish out of its sight. The things he had learned on the streets of Port Cirrus and Kelmura had toughened him, which was probably why he had survived. What the roster didn’t show were the names of all the students in their homeroom who had perished before reaching senior year.

Of the names on that page out of the Academy roster, the sole living member of the Class of 33, Fox Delta Homeroom, was Kitsune. And in fact, Masao had assumed for most of his career that she had died after graduation – if not on a mission then almost certainly in the Demon Invasion. But she had in fact lived through all of the same things he had lived through, as he had found out when he came back from his first retirement. Something like nostalgia tugged at him as he placed the roster back down on his desk – he had been planning to select new candidates for the Headmaster position now that Fujinami had “left” – and he rose from his chair.

“I’m stepping out to the hospital for a bit,” he told a staffer as he left the Legation where his new offices were. There would be one stop before he got to his destination, however...

It was not too long until he came to the hospital – specifically, the research wing which had been Kitsune’s last listed duty assignment. The air smelled slightly yeasty, with hints of ammonia and benzene adding to the gag-factor – in other words, a typical academic biological sciences lab. So, she was still employed here, he noted as he came to the door marked “Shinrya Lab”. Without wasting time, he knocked courteously on the door before gently pushing it open. From behind his back, he produced a bouquet of scented geranium and offered it to the red-haired woman who resided within.

“Hello, Shinrya-hakase. I brought you something to freshen the air.”

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune being typical Kitsune, had been spending the entire day buried in her research or playing the violin, a hobby she had picked up not that long ago due to being bored one day. In the lab, there was also a few trays of food due to the immense appetite Kitsune demonstrated every single day. Unlike the last lab she had been in, this one was actually well lit due to being on the second floor instead of the basement. ”Time for a little break I think.” Kitsune muttered to herself and grabbed her violin and wolfed down an onigiri from one of the trays. ”Yum. Gladys and her staff aren’t half bad at these.” she smirked and started playing on the violin while sitting in her chair, with her back turned to the door.

When a knock came on the door, she stopped playing and said ”Enter” in a loud tone, so whomever knocked could hear it. As she heard the door open, she turned the chair around, still with the violin in her hand ”Well. If it isn’t Takaki-sama himself~” she said and grinned, being as youthful as ever, while placing her violin on the table. ”I hear you got promoted to Main Branch Sennin. Congratulations.” she added and accepted the flowers, walking over to the side and placing them in a flower pot, inhaling their fetching scent and smiling.

”Thanks for the flowers~ They’ll liven up this place.” she said and walked back over to her chair. ”Please, come in, have a seat.” she said and gestured to the chair before picking up her violin again. ”How’ve you been?” she asked with a smile as she played a few tones of one of the more well-known Kaminarian symphonies.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

"Glad you like them," said Masao in response to Kitsune's smile at the scent. Geraniums always brought a nice, citrusy scent wherever they were, which would probably help the place smell slightly better than the rest of the research wing. He was familiar in the broadest sense with what was studied here; genetic manipulation, surgical augmentation, and of course, the never-ending goal of weaponizing every aspect of humanity. Without the efforts of the mednins under Isaki, Kumogakure would fall behind in the biotech arms race and would lose out when the other shinobi installations scattered over the various hostile countries of the world inevitably attacked. However, the thought of what might go on in the deepest, darkest chambers of the place still gave him the shivers deep inside. "Ah thanks. I didn't expect the promotion myself. I'm pretty much at the end of my useful life as a shinobi. Too many fights, too much arthritis, and of course, the damned lung cancer that Karubin-sensei manages to keep at bay, and that I manage to keep advancing with every cigarette," he said, sighing.

"Funny thing about age - if myself from thirty years ago looked at me now, he'd probably say I was totally uncool. And I'd have to agree with him, sadly. I mean look at me. Now I'm the crotchety old bastard telling the young shinobi of the village they can't get drunk in public or grope each other in their briefings or wreck the Dawnbringer Plaza with a friendly spar. Whereas the first thing I did as a new genin was to cause a bar brawl and get arrested by an ANBU who I promptly tried to make out with. Then again, I'd probably have beaten the old me for his insolence..." he said, trailing off into thought. At Kitsune's invitation, he pulled out of the nearby rolling stools and sat on it, thankful for the rest it gave his knees. Like Shin, Kitsune also played a 'Strad. She was quite good at it too, which meant that she had probably had a lot of time to practice.

"The Raikage also plays as well. He's planning a conference at some point, some 'HayataFest of Peace' and he'd be interested in people who can perform music. I personally play the violoncello, so he's already drafted me, whether I like it or not. I suppose whether I participate will be decided by how many idiot missing nin decide to crash themselves against the gates in the coming months. I fully expect to lose my life against some asshole twenty years younger than me for no better reason than that I was in his way. But all fatalism aside, I'm doing okay for what I am. How about you?"

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune smirked at Masao’s words. ”Well, if me from thirty years ago looked at me, she’d probably say that I was looking good.” she said and grinned ”Then again. I haven’t changed one iota since I turned 21. An in regards to being at the end of your life, well, life can be extended. Ailments can be fixed. Heck, I think I might have a concoction in my private vault back at my mansion that can make a human body begin a complete repair of its internal structure. Everything from organs to tissue.” She eyed his reaction closely as he sat down, wondering if he was at all interested in being restored to physical fitness.

”I wasn’t aware that our dear Raikage played the violin. Huh, you learn something new every day~” she said and smiled, playing a few more tones. ”I’ve been playing this for a few years. I can’t say that I’ve really had the time to actually sit down and fully master the intricacies of violin playing. I’ve been far too busy being delicious. Erh I mean, doing research.” she said, with the last bit sounding like it came from some 80’s parody TV show. ”After all, doing research is kinda my specialty. I’ve discovered a few interesting things to say the least.”

She leaned back against her chair and smiled. ”As for how I’m doing… Well… I’m still just a med-nin, doing research, healing people, performing surgeries. I could imagine that I’m in line for a promotion soon. Of course, that all depends on Isaki-sama. But in regards to the loss of life thing, I intend to live forever. Or, at least for as long as inhumanly possible. I’m not sure if you remember, but I mentioned the reason for my unchanging body back when you and that inspector arrived on my doorstep to interrogate Keiji-kun. At the same time while I may not age, I do need a rather high input of food to maintain my body. she said with a smile As you can see, if you look over there.” Kitsune paused and pointed. ”You’ll see the two trays of food. Those two, have what I usually eat, just for lunch. So I’ve taken up cooking as well. Otherwise I’d be able to empty a restaurant in just a few hours. And no one wants that.”

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Hearing her words, he wondered what it would be like to go back to the beginning - to a time when he was youthful and strong and where his knees and back didn't hurt every time he moved them. To where his body wasn't a patchwork of scars and grafts and mesh. The thought appealed to him, of course - who among the old would not want a second chance at life and health? But at the same time, it also meant that as long as his life was prolonged beyond the means Karubin had given him already, he would always be serving the village. It would be an eternity more of slaughter and grief. No, he decided, one already-extended lifetime of being a Kumo shinobi was probably enough. Plus, Rin would probably never believe that such a high food intake was justified at all.

"I appreciate the generosity, Kitsune-chan. I really do. But as much as I might wish in my idle moments to be forever youthful like you, I also would not want to watch my children expire before me, or my wife for that matter. I think the cycle of being born, raising a family, getting old, and dying eventually is the right one for me, even if it is not the right one for you. But then again, I'm probably a bit premature when I talk like I'm going to keel over any moment. No, I certainly can hold my own against my enemies, if not through physical strength, than because I've killed many like them before," he said, drily.

"Speaking of which, have you ever had a family of your own? The last thing I remember was that you were dating the class rep in the academy, but it's been quite a while since that happened. I still don't know how and where he died. I hope it was honorable and without much pain."

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune cracked her neck a bit and thought up a few new things she could work on. Formulae to heal worn down organs and tissue in a matter of minutes instead of the one she had in her serum vault that took days to work. As she went over the thoughts, Masao started to speak again. “But as much as I might wish in my idle moments to be forever youthful like you, I also would not want to watch my children expire before me, or my wife for that matter. I think the cycle of being born, raising a family, getting old, and dying eventually is the right one for me, even if it is not the right one for you.”

”You misunderstood me Masao-san. I wasn’t offering you eternal life; that was a fluke on my part. I haven’t been able to recreate that formula since I created it by accident. No, see, what I was offering you…” she said and paused before smiling and continuing ”What I was offering, was a complete internal makeover, so to speak. Your organs, tissue, muscles, and so on, would be at the top of their game. And it would fix that pesky lung cancer of yours.”

She smiled at Masao, obviously, she wasn’t going to let this go, and she’d be saddened to see the only remaining classmate of hers pass away, even if it was in battle. Heck, even if the battle was broadcast throughout the entire country, it’d sadden her. When he then asked about family, she simply shook her head ”As you know, I lost my parents ages ago, they were all the family I ever had. I probably have some aunts and uncles somewhere, but they’re likely way out in the country as my parents took their fortune and moved to Kumo at the beginning of their relationship. In other words, no family. And as for the class rep. Well… We split up the week before he actually died. I didn’t learn of his passing until a few years later. Apparently he fell to an illness.” she said and sighed a bit.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

"I see," he said, somewhat relieved that the secret of eternal youth was actually still unattainable. For such a thing to be possible beyond one-in-a-century exceptions such as Kagetsu Kiyo's case or even the biological mishap that had affected Kitsune would fundamentally change the world in ways he dared not comprehend. "Well, I do not wish to place a burden on you. If I accept something like that I need to be able to provide proper recompense, which I cannot right now. Still, I will consider your offer carefully," he said, wondering how it might be to feel young again. Then again, for him to feel young again would tempt him to keep an iron grip on the reins of power in Kumogakure, which would definitely stagnate the progress of shinobi society as a whole. Part of the reason the village was a better place than it had been was because of the fact that the leadership changed, whether from good to bad or the reverse.

Ah, so Draikon Zaibu had died from illness. He wondered if the boy had any family of his own, or if he had been drawn to Kitsune due to the mutual attraction that the solitary felt for each other.

"Hopefully he was reincarnated into a more peaceful existence than that led by us shinobi. I only recently gave up my long search for Unasi Kyoto, myself. He disappeared after we all reached geninhood and I spent nearly my entire career searching for him, refusing to believe that he was dead or missing. Now that I'm older and wiser I simply pay my respects to his memorial stone in the back of my house, next to Dyu. I don't think anyone else in the village remembers them anymore. In a way, when I die, so too will they," he said, looking upwards as if to question the heavens. "Ah! But look at me, I've gone and totally killed your good mood with my babbling about our old times. My apologies... I should get going, anyway. Lots of work still left to do at the Legation," he said, rising from his chair. "Let me say, however, I always thought you were pretty back then, but now you look truly beautiful. I hope you find someone who can give you happiness," he said, before reaching for the door.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune smirked a bit as Masao politely declined her offer. She’d find a way to get Masao back to the top without his knowledge. One way or the other, she’d get the drug into him. ”Well, if you change your mind, let me know.” she said with a smile as she got up to place her violin back into its box. When Masao then opened his mouth and spoke of Draikon, she listened closely: ” Hopefully he was reincarnated into a more peaceful existence than that led by us shinobi. I only recently gave up my long search for Unasi Kyoto, myself. He disappeared after we all reached geninhood and I spent nearly my entire career searching for him, refusing to believe that he was dead or missing. Now that I'm older and wiser I simply pay my respects to his memorial stone in the back of my house, next to Dyu. I don't think anyone else in the village remembers them anymore. In a way, when I die, so too will they”

She nodded in agreement before smiling a bit ”One can only hope. And if not, well, we can hope that he makes it further than genin this time around.” she said and giggled at her own joke. ”Don’t be so morbid Masao-san.” she said, to which he said ” "Ah! But look at me, I've gone and totally killed your good mood with my babbling about our old times. My apologies... I should get going, anyway. Lots of work still left to do at the Legation”. But as Masao got up and reached for the door and said that he always considered her beautiful she blushed and grabbed his hand. ”Oh no you don’t. You don’t get to drop a bombshell like that, and leave.” she said ”You sit back down, and have some food. It’s on me.” she said in a tone that just screamed ‘don’t question me, and do as I say’.

With a few swift steps, she had placed herself between Masao and the door, and locked it, and with some more steps, she had moved over to the trays of food over by the wall, then, while her back was turned to Masao, so he couldn’t see what she was doing, she slipped the tissue reconstructor into some of the food, before placing a place, with the drugged food, in front of Masao. ”Enjoy. The quality of this food, isn’t as good as if I had made it myself, but it’s still very tasty.” she said and grabbed an onigiri from the tray instead of from the plate. ”Gladys knows her stuff around rice. And pasta. Heck, generally around food.”

[WC: 447; MFT]

 

[Takaki Saeko]

“Hah, I see that I’m still not at the age when a statement like that can be brushed off as the typical dirtiness of an old man,” he chuckled, hearing Kitsune’s reaction to his bombshell, as she put it. Really? Had she never been told something like this before? He lowered his hand from the doorknob and walked back as she locked it. “Anyway, I suppose my big mouth has gotten me in trouble with women again. I shall have to make it up to you somehow, and lunch is fine with me,” he said, taking the plate and pulling up a chair next to her.

“I’m surprised you’re not used to compliments like that, Kitsune-chan. I’d expect you to have a line of suitors telling you the same thing daily. To tell you the truth, I was just a little worried that the new Sennin Isaki would harass you, but then I got to know him better and let’s just say that he’s one of those people who engages in sex only for reproductive purposes when he absolutely has to,” he quipped, eating a piece of bread. He could detect no odd taste, but felt a slight tingling inside, which he brushed off as reflux.

“I hear you’ve taken on that boy Suzaku as your student. I am ashamed to say that we’ve not gotten any further in the investigation of his family’s murders. Not one of the witnesses or suspects could remember who told them to burn the house or who incited them. Trail’s gone completely cold. How’s he doing?” asked Masao.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

”Well, when you spend most of your time, either in an office, in the operating theatre, or in a lab, you tend to not get noticed.” Kitsune said and grinned ”If I spent more time being visible, then yes, I’d likely get more compliments, and have that line of suitors. And probably a pile of corpses in my backyard from my mansions automated defenses. I should probably tweak them so they don’t assume everyone is hostile…” she sighed and shook her head lightly, remembering how the last delivery guy got shot in the foot by an arrow because of it.

Kitsune giggled at what Masao had said about Kushin ”So that’s the kind of guy he is. Good to know.” she said and bit into the onigiri she had grabbed, heck, she wolfed it down within seconds. She was that hungry. ”You’ve been misinformed then, Masao-kun. Isaki-sama actually took him as his student, I took on a girl named Higa Kahako. She’s a hardworking kid, that’s for sure.” Kitsune said and smiled. ”As for how Keiji’s doing, well….. I think he’s doing alright. I might’ve teased him a bit too much during a studying session some time ago. Haven’t actually spoken to him since then.”

The drug that Kitsune had slipped into Masao’s food would start its work immediately upon consumption, but would take hours to actually have a noticeable effect. That way Masao wouldn’t immediately know that he was getting better, and Kitsune would – probably – be rather far away at that time. She wasn’t entirely sure how he’d react to having been drugged without his knowledge, but it wasn’t like this wouldn’t help him. After all, it’d cure his lungs, and restore his muscles to glory. Along with recreating cartilage and restoring ligaments to full functionality without any breakage.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

“Oh, so Isaki-sama poached him, eh? Well, look at it this way. Suzaku-kun is kind of a horny kid anyway, so perhaps it’s better for him to be with a guy all the time,” chuckled Masao. “I did hear about Higa Kahako from the Assistant Headmaster. She was one of the kids who got locked in the academy when the Nian broke in. Managed to get swallowed by an S-class danger beast and live to tell the tale – that’s no small accomplishment. Sounds like you have a potential winner right there, Kitsune-chan. “

A buzzing from his pocketwatch alerted him of the time. Ah, work was a neverending clusterfuck. The bakufuu, terrorists, the Norks, the Sorks, everyone seemed to exist solely to cause him trouble. There was only so much he could foist off on the Donut-fiend, after all.

“Ah, unfortunately, I do have to go now. Work calls, as I’m sure it does for you,” he said, rising and looking at the remains of his meal. “Ah, that was a good lunch, and for some reason I feel a lot better than before. I’ll have to return the favor sometime,” he said, quickly giving her a kiss on the cheek before turning to exit.

[Probably time to wrap it up, eh?]

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

”Heh. It seemed more like he was annoyed by the sight of bare skin.” Kitsune said grinning, recalling the study session in which her wardrobe had completely malfunctioned ”Not too long ago, I found Keiji studying at the hospital, and I decided to join him. Gotta keep those skills sharp, right? Anyways, a few hours later, after Kahako-chan had entered and joined us for studying, the buttons on my top decided to spring for freedom, and Keiji got to see, well, lots of skin.” she continued ”And go figure that when my clone had brought new clothes, Kahako fumbled when helping me, so Keiji got to see it once again. He really did seem pissed.”

She shrugged at put it out of her mind ”Yeah, I heard about that. It’s a wonder she didn’t get traumatized by it. Guess she’s made of stronger material than many kids today.” she said and smiled ”She’s also been my guinea pig for a bio-enhancer I made. She complained about feeling inadequate, so I gave her a vial. Apparently her aunt wasn’t too fond of the result.” she said, and shook her head a bit. ”Then again, as far as I’ve understood it, Kahako-chans aunt isn’t a shinobi, and doesn’t have the potential to mold chakra whatsoever. So I’ve just chalked it up to jealousy of Kahako-chans abilities.”

Kitsune blinked at hearing the buzzing from Masao’s pocket ”An alarm, eh? The life of a Sennin must be busy~” she said teasingly ”Makes me glad that I didn’t really care much for rank advancement until now. My next goal is to take the Med-Nin Chief exam and become the Chief Surgeon. To follow in Kimiko-sensei’s footsteps.” she said and sighed a bit, wishing that Kimiko hadn’t passed away. ”After that? Who knows~? I might even become Sennin at some point~” she said smirking.

As Masao kissed her on the cheek, Kitsune blinked before blushing profusely. She wasn’t opposed to being kissed, or even using her body to obtain what she wanted, but when the kiss was from someone she had known for ages, she didn’t know how to react, as she had never been in a real stable relationship. I.. Uh.. That is.. Hai… she stumbled over the words as Masao said he had to get back to work and turned towards the door, which was still locked, and she still held the key tightly in her closed hand.

[MFT; WC: 404]

 

[Takaki Saeko]

Bio enhancer? A girl feeling inadequate? I don’t want to know, he thought as he inwardly shook his head. This one had a fast and loose way with pharmaceuticals, that was for sure. Hell, now he wasn’t even sure he hadn’t been drugged. Well, even if he had, she wasn’t the type to poison an old acquaintance. Not if she wanted to become chief like Kimiko had been.

That was a name he hadn’t heard for a while. The last time he had really seen her was in the aftermath of the demon invasion as well. In truth, the two of them had not been very close – really, it was Rin who had invested any true friendship with the woman, but over the years they had lost touch. Especially since their retirement.

Kitsune’s reaction to his friendly peck was…quite overstated, to say the least. She was adorably more old-fashioned than he had made her out to be, as in the trendy capital of the nation, a simple kiss on the cheek was about as meaningful as a half-hearted handshake. It was a foreign custom that had been brought over by traders from those lands and had been adopted by the young in the noble and merchant classes.

“Ah, sorry to embarrass you like that. A bad habit from hanging around the bakufuu too much,” he smiled. “Ah, Kitsune-chan, would you unlock the door?” he said, pointing at her hand gripping a key.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune snapped out of her bluh-ness and nodded. ”Right! Of course.” she said and stepped over to the door, to unlock it, but as she turned the key, it snapped off in the lock. ”βλακείες …” she grumbled and sighed. ”Looks like the lock is broken. Any ideas that won’t destroy the building’s foundation?” she asked as she looked at Masao. Of course, they could just break the door, but she’d prefer it remained intact. It was quite expensive to get a new reinforced steel door after all.

”Don’t mistake my reaction before for being oldfashioned, by the way.” she said in a slightly more serious tone. ”I only get like that when it’s someone I’ve known for ages. And I do believe you qualify for ‘known for ages’ when the average lifespan of a ninja is shorter than a student is tall.”
She looked over at the door, trying to think of things she could do to get it to open without breaking it. ”Hey wait. I’ve got an idea. Give me a second.” she said and rushed over to one of the tables, grabbing a few of the beakers and bottles there, and then starting to mix specific chemicals together, to make a highly volatile acid, capable of melting the lock out of the door. It was cheaper to replace a lock than it was to replace an entire door after all.

”Okay. Stand back a bit.” she said as she walked over to the door, holding a glass bottle with a gloved hand. ”Make sure to cover your mouth, as this is highly toxic.” she added as she covered her own mouth, and then poured the acid onto the lock, watching with glee as it melted into nothingness. Her mixologist instincts had struck again. Successfully one might say.

 

[Takaki Saeko]

He shrugged in response to her question. Considering that her lab door was a pretty hefty thing and could probably withstand a direct hit from an A-level jutsu of at least four-thousand kilojoules, simply forcing it open was not going to be an easy task. Then again, they could perhaps simply attack the broken lock itself. It depended of course on the lock's construction but perhaps he could simply sever it with one of his hidden blades...

"You know, the greatest killer of shinobi is still apathy," he said in response to her. "Going inactive, shutting down... It deprives our kind of any sort of will to live. As much as we may hate certain aspects of our job, really, without work, we truly do fade away. What a strange existence that a long vacation can potentially be fatal" he nodded in agreement. "Hmm, I might be able to break the lock or at least pry it with a chakra blade," he said, materializing one of the shimmering, metallic-colored extensions of his own chakra from beneath his wrist and aiming it at the door.

”Hey wait. I’ve got an idea. Give me a second," she said, starting to perform some impromptu alchemy on a nearby workbench. He recognized the smell of sulfur emanating from the beaker. Uh oh, this could end badly.

He buried his nose and mouth into the crook of his elbow as she poured the substance into the lock with childish gusto, clearly savoring her own destructive work. That was Kitsune for you, after all. The lock melted into slag, as predicted. With a firm kick, Masao's boot impacted with the door, and it swung open with a slight creak of offended metal.

"Well, that's definitely one way to handle it, Sucy," he smirked, making a reference to another famous chemist of death. "Ah, sorry about your lock. I can have a smith come by and replace it if you need."

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune nodded at what Masao had said ”That’s true enough. Which is just another reason I keep myself as active as I can. If it helps the village, it’ll help me in the end.” she said and grinned ”And if you get any ideas about quitting, I’ll smack you with a 2x4. You’re one of the greatest shinobi in the village, AND my former classmate. If I allowed you to quit, I’d be hurting the village, as well as you, and even me in the end.” she said in a tone that was a tad more serious, but still playful and light.

Then, when he kicked the door open, she grinned. ”I have to commend the corporation that has made this door. They definitely know their stuff. I mean, considering that there isn’t even a dent in it from your kick.” she said and smiled. Then, when Masao referred to her as Sucy, she laughed. ”Yeah. I can see where that came from. I’ll take it as a compliment” she said and winked at him. ”Don’t worry about the lock; I’ll have an intern take care of it. They have to be somewhat useful to me after all.” she added and gave the Sennin a tight hug ”I gotta run as well. I had completely forgotten about the surgery I’m supposed to take care of in half an hour.” she said as she ran out the door. She did have to get ready and read up on what procedure she actually had to perform.

[Topic left~]

 

[Takaki Saeko]

"Well, I appreciate the sentiment. Hopefully I'll get a few more years to do my job. After all, we both know what happens when a Sennin of a branch suddenly packs up and leaves in order to prevent two slackers from failing History class in another universe," he remarked, memories of Nara Ryuujin's Excellent Adventure resurfacing in his mind from years before. Seriously, that had been the guy's excuse for going missing.

He returned Kitsune's hug, noting the size of her bust. There were doubtless many men who would have loved to be in his position right now, he was sure. Ah well, he was married and had Rin, and that was enough. He bid his farewell for now, promising to return in the future.

[TL]