Ten and Twenty[Requesting Exit]

[Kagetsu Yuii]

[spoilername="The Night Before"]The night before had been a struggle for Yuii Kagetsu.

She'd started the day by saying goodbye to her husband at the Dragon Tooth Pass as he begun he journey to the land of Tea. There had been no tears, they would see each other soon enough, but even the handful of days ahead would leave a hole where her heart should be. Rather than dwell on what was missing, Yuii dove forward towards the future. There was a trip to pack for, a baby to care for and a whole village that needed her. Kaji was her sun, but Yuii was no flower that wilted in winter darkness.

And so she filled most of her day tending to last-minute arrangements- food, supplies, those extra fluffy pillows that Ayumu apparently loved, bandages for the inevitable scuffles, an extra bottle of booze to hind beneath her cot: essentials. There was also the matter of making sure Kumogakure was in good hands while she was gone- or at least still there when they all returned. The line of command, unfortunately, outlined the mistake Yuii had made some time ago: As Hand, Saeko would rule the roost.

At least she would think she did.

In truth, her secretaries, in conjuncture with Ayumu's staff would make nothing but construction paper, tinfoil and crayons large enough she could shove them up her nose would up it up to the hallway she would call an office. The people would have their interim leader, the chain of command would be respected, and Yuii's daughter would still have a home to come back to when the tournament was done.

Then came the night, her lonely house and baby Umeko who would not settle without the soothing snuggle she normally received from her father. There wasn't much routine to their lives, but their time at night was a ritual the baby had already gotten used to and Yuii was NOT a proper fill in. Then, to make matters worse, the shirt of Kaji's she had set aside in Umeko's room for exactly this moment had gone missing sometime in the day. She was certain she had put it there. Yuii had to strip a pillowcase to placate the troubled babe; the one time she cursed Kaji's militant cleanliness.

Except he'd left a mess in the kitchen, which was unlike him. There were granite cake crumbs left scattered across the kitchen table and the container had been left wide open. Yuii would have suspected the cats that hung around the house, but there was a plate in the sink. That was how you got ants.

The same went for their room. The bed was a mess on his side, the covers were thrown back and some of their drawers were ajar. Yuii had thought, briefly, they had been robbed but nothing important was gone and none of the alarms had been set off. Nobody could have possibly gotten into their house that wasn't supposed to be there. Not even a ghost. It had to be an error caused by the strain of leaving them.

Yuii had finally finished packing an hour after midnight, Umeko had settled into sleep in her tiny cradle beside Yuii after a brief feeding, and Yuii had curled into their living room with a cup of chamomile tea to ease herself to sleep. For the first time the silence feeling of loss set in. It was just a few days, but her chest hurt. She needed this time with Kaji as much as Umako had needed him before- they were both hopeless.

Then there was the sound of smashed glass from across the house.

Yuii had the sleeping babe up and in her arms before she could process the thought to do so. The raven-haired babe had mewled angrily but settled as Yuii cautiously inched down the call to her child's own room. There she found a smashed photo recently placed up of her little family, and nothing else. Again, no wire tripped, no cat, not even a spirit stirred.

Was this what normal people felt when haunted, she wondered.

And so Yuii had spent the rest of the night half-awake, struggling to stay aware enough to protect slumbering Umeko who she kept within arms reach always. It was a long night of checking every trap between minutes of rest and waking to every sound in the forest, but any shinobi worth their rank could do a night without sleep. There were no more incidences though unless one counted an odd dream of an aged Umeko glaring from down the hall, her little face filled with hatred. Stress, she reasoned, what else could it be?[/spoilername]
---------

Which brought Yuii to now, bed-headed and with smudged under eyes, stumbling around the gates like a shambling drunk, Dressed in simple grey toned travel clothes instead of her usual gaudy clothing with a green coloured scarf tied tight against her face against the cold, she'd travelled to the gates with Umeko and their gear as soon as false dawn began to light the forest. There had been no point in lingering, she'd reasoned after checking the snow for footprints (there were none), not with strange things afoot in her home. Besides, Umeko was still fussed to be without Kaji and being outside of their house seemed to calm her.

Oniyuri would take care of the intruder while she was away.

Her gear was set amongst the rest of the supplies meant to travel down the mountain to their ship- a wagon needed to be supplied for all the excess- to be shipped along. Mother and daughter spent another hour double checking the temporary passports, wandering after guards as they tried to ready themselves for the influx of children and the Raikage himself, and generally wasted time until last the signal was given for them to leave. Anything to remind the slight anxiety the night before had given her.

There would be no kisses and gentle goodbyes today, Yuii was reminded, as she submitted her passport for the standard look and stamp, just the open road ahead. Somehow she was okay with that as long as it led to home.

Spoiler

--Requesting Exit
--Hi ho, Hi ho it's off to Tea we go.

 

[Okada Kaji]

Small hands pressed, searching for a loose brick in the foundation behind that yellow house at the brink of the ancient forest. A frail little girl with silky obsidian hair blowing in the wind, a freckled tan complexion, and icy blue eyes was kneeling there. She wore an adult-sized wool sweater in canary yellow that hung low enough to double as a dress, but it was tattered with wear and tear; she paired it with black leggings and muddy, white Nindidas sneakers. A stray black cat rubbed against her leg, bringing a jingle of the bell on her red collar. The brick wasn’t exactly where she thought, just a few spaces over. It slid out with ease and hit the ground with a heavy thud. An ornate bronze key with a jade inlaid in the shape of a lion was hidden within a shallow space. Though times had changed, the child knew her papa’s information would prove correct.

And so, with a push and a twist, the back door of the Okada home opened, creaking as it revealed the child. Having the key meant not having to be concerned with traps rigged in the door. Having the lineage of Okada and Kagetsu meant waltzing by any guardian spirits without their angst. She entered as if she’d been there many times before. The pint-sized little brat closed and locked the door behind her, and kicked off her low-tops in the doorway. She came in with a tune she hymned, one called the mountain song, and it came from a land far, far away. All through the house, she was skipping with her song breaking the silence, doing as she pleased and taking from the shelves fearlessly.

Who didn’t love granite cakes?
At least the crumb snatcher used a plate when she flopped on the living room sofa and munched on the pastries. She made repeated trips to the kitchen as if she hadn’t eaten in days. There was a collection of VHS tapes on the shelf and she found her a favorite, “Kill Biru: Part One.” She didn’t even squint at the bloodshed in the violent action flick, but she did spread a mess of crumbs with all the exciting twists on screen. Leave it to a child to get caught up in all the fun.
After her snack and the movie, the little home invader moved her operation into the furthest back room; the master suite and bedroom of the Okada couple. Rounding out her stay, the resourceful kidlet did her share of impulsive bed-jumping, a solid two-hour nap, and a much-needed wardrobe change. And… she might have been responsible for a bit more during her little tour, but nothing too crazy.

Once it was all said and done she had to make like all good guests and be on her way… She jumped back into her shoes with stomps and a pulls on their heels. The kitchen exit door slammed behind her, locked it like she found it, and she even put the key back behind the loose brick. She was sure papa and mama wouldn’t mind, and ultimately, everything was so she’d be ready for the big trip tomorrow.

The next morning, the same little girl was blending into the many bright young smiles gathered at Dragontooth Pass. The mysterious child with the frigid blue orbs was a short little creature who mixed in perfectly amongst a few new peers. She bound her black hair into a long single braid, cropped to bangs in front, and traded the canary yellow for a grey color more in-tune with the Hidden Cloud color scheme. The child came with a travel bag but it was full of nonsense she brought just to make it look full, but at least her Passport was legitimate when she passed the guard sweeping the crowd. With all those passes to check, the guards didn’t consider just how rare the Okada name really was…
It was like she had natural stealth, or knew how to shrink her presence as she moved amongst the crowd, eagerly keeping an eye on the blue woman and her child from afar. Yuii as busy as you’d expect, herding children like sheep into their massive wagon. Whenever other pupils brushed shoulder with the girl, she gave them an insincere smile and answered whatever it took to lose their attention.
“Yuii-sensei is so cool,” said an intrigued student who noticed the child staring at their Sennin. “Do you know her?”
“No, not really” answered the girl in a deceptively sweet tone. “But I’d like to.”

-- Looks like Yuii has a secret admirer.
-- Exit Granted.
-- Have fun in Tea.

 

[Kagetsu Yuii]

They were set. It had taken some cajoling, but the group was shuffling along at a snail's pace from the gate. The excited chatter from groups of children, some of whom had never seen the outside world and others who had not left since arriving at the village, buzzed at a low hum, punctuated by the odd shout. Yuii watched on with mild amusement, her head feeling like heavy cotton and her mind adrift to the promises made for when she arrived in the land of Tea. This was a once in a lifetime trip, one of those rare jewels that came from the shinobi life., even for Yuii.

"Everything is set then?" she questioned no one, in particular, pulling on a set of gloves to combat the cold. Her eye caught a mop of black in the crowd of students, and somehow the look of it itched at her senses. Delerium, she decided, or a fondness for the colour brought upon by her new motherhood status. Her love and anxiety for Umeko care were clearly manifesting in paranoia that was taking on familiar qualities. A therapist would have a field day right now.

With that thought, she set off, though Yuii would soon find that the haunting of her home was the least of her problems to come.

-Onwards!

-Exited.