Tuesday : The Maw of Barnyx : 8:30 PM
Leaving the medical district and his former squad member Zenichi, it was now just him and Ginjiro. Ginjiro had been oddly quiet since leaving so Kage would do his best to ease the child's mind about the situation as they made their way out of the Sand village.
I know things may seem sudden, but that message basically said that we should return. I'm only leaving Zenichi because he chose to stay. I wont be held responsible for the choices he makes on his own and you shouldn't feel bad either. Not everyone works well with others. Me personally I prefer to work alone as well. As you can see with Mizuki and Zenichi I'm not exactly an inspiring team leader, but I work my ass off to make sure my teammates get home alive and well. But they have to be willing to follow me as well. Its a give and take. So Ginjiro, so long as you choose to follow me, I'll make sure you are safe. Thats my promise to you as your squad leader. Zenichi made his choice and I'm not upset with him for it. But I'm also not responsible for him anymore. If he doesn't understand the possible consequences for his actions, then he shouldn't have been so quick to make an adult choice with a child's mindset. So if he makes it home alive... good for him. If he doesn't, hopefully he'll have no regrets and understand that his end was brought about by his own choices. It was a bit deep for him to go that far into it, but he felt like he needed to clear the air between him and Ginjiro. Ginji had proven to be a spirited, intelligent, and valuable member of the team every step of the way and even though he was young, Kage could see much potential in the kid. Ironically enough, Kagemaru wasn't too much older then Ginjiro so perhaps he felt something more akin to a little brother. Kage was raised as a single child and didn't have many other friends growing up aside from Sumina and that attributed to how he treated others normally when he wasn't putting on a faux face for his missions. He was also still plagued by the thoughts of how the last time he was the leader of a team went south and his best friend lost an eye because of it. There was a lot of pressure building up on Kage's shoulders but he couldn't let his spirit waver because he didn't want to lose face in front of Ginjiro. He felt that the child looked up to him and Kagemaru would make sure that the boy grew up into a fine shinobi.
We're in a hurry so we'll be zooming past their gates. If they stop us, thats fine but it'll be faster if they don't. We're also going to stop back by the dojo to check on Mizuki. If he's stable enough to move, I'll carry him with us.
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