The fox and the Kage

He had spent days in the forest without leaving. He didn't return home, he barely moved from his position. With the deaths of the bandits at his hands, staining his clothes, he had finally earned the favor of the spirits that he had been begging for. He knelt within the soft earth and he could hear them singing his praises, the blood that now fed the grasses growth was because of him. But he thirsted for more. For every moment he felt the spirits' presence and for every verse of their praises that they sung for him, he just wanted more.

It would be after the dawn of the third day in the forest that he would hear a crack in the twigs underfoot. Someone was coming, he would grab his bow and have an arrow appear from one of the trick pockets in his garbs and draw the arrow back as far as he could, aiming directly for the source of the noise. He didn't speak a word, he simply aimed and waited for the problem to show itself. It wasn't until he heard a rather familiar voice that he would lower his guard. Ren emerged from the thicket and he unotched the arrow and lowered his bow.

"What is it you want, Ren?" Ren would bow to him, and he would say that they had some work to do today, but this time it would be with a rather special guest. Kitsu's ears would perk up. "Special? What do you mean?" He asked, but he had a rather strong feeling in his stomach that he knew who he was speaking about. Ren would respond that it was exactly who Kitsu had been hoping it was. "Junko, eh?" Kitsu would say with a sly tinge to his voice. Ren would confirm, but he told him that he would first need to clean himself up.

Kitsu would look down at his garb, they were completely stained with blood, as was his skin at this point. He smelled of dried blood and viscera. Kitsu would flash Ren a wicked smile, "I suppose you're right. Can't be looking like this in front of the soon to be Kage, now can I?" His voice was far different than usual, as if he had been trying to charm the man before him, his creator. Ren didn't think anything of it at the time, he simply handed Kitsu a new set of clothes and asked to take his old clothes and he would get them washed.

Kitsu followed through with the request and disrobed himself, presenting Ren with hthe clothes that he had been wearing during the several massacres that he had been a part of. He donned the new clothes that had been presented to him. He armed himself with his weaponry, and he would continue with Ren to wherever they were supposed to be meeting Junko at. Kitsu's mind would be running a mile a minute, thinking of how perfect this was. He was going to be given the perfect chance to get close to Junko, to learn more of his prey. Before he began his true hunt.

WC: 525

It had been a miserable few days, waiting for Kitsu. Ren had stayed awake for the last few nights, begging for him to show back up at their door, but he never did. After the third day, he had been requested by Junko to accompany her with a few tasks that she had to accomplish, his darling Kiko would tell him that she would be there. So he figured he could help the Kage, and spend the day with his beloved, truly was no losing in that situation. He decided that he was going to go into the woods and find Kitsu. He wasn't going to let him just stay in the woods for the rest of his life.

He got out his and Kiko's bed, his darling was still sleeping at this time. He would try to wake her, but she responded telling him that she wasn't feeling very well. He knelt down beside the bed and he felt the temperature of her forehead with his lips. She did indeed feel quite hot. "My darling..." He would begin, caressing her face gently with his hand. "Hang on, my love. I will bring you a cool rag and place that on your forehead, just one moment." He would rush out of the room and go to the bathroom. He wet a rag with some cold water and brought it back to her.

He got back into the room and knelt down beside her once more and placed the rag on her forehead. It would be slightly painful at first, but he would use his free hand to rub her shoulder gently. He would climb into the bed and press his body against hers, snuggling with her gently as to not disturb her body and make her pains worse. He would kiss her on the cheek a half dozen times before he would lie there for a moment, just listening to her heartbeat. He knew that he had to go, but lying with her in their bed just felt so right it was hard to bring himself to do anything that he was supposed to do.

She would remind him that Junko would be waiting for him, so he would rise from the bed, kiss her on the forehead just one more time, and then he would leave after dressing himself. He walked down the steps, and he would see Junko there in the kitchen, seeming to be waiting for them to depart.

He would apologize to her, "Hey there. Good morning. Sorry for the delay. I need to grab Kitsu, it'll be good for him to leave the forest for a bit. But don't worry, I'll be back in just a minute." He would speak to her in a casual means. He knew that she was to be Kage soon, but to him, she was still just good ole' Junko. He didn't feel the need to be overly formal with her. When he was done with their interaction, he would leave the house and head towards the forest.

He would find Kitsu, talk him down from shooting him with an arrow. He would explain to his darling Kitsu that they had a mission to do today and that it involved the spending of some time with Junko. He was hoping that during this time, Kitsu would be able to get to know the Kage better. He would be relying on Kitsu to be a rather integral part of the village, so he was hoping that the two of them would get along well.

He would return to Junko's home with Kitsu in tow, with a freshly cleaned set of clothes and no more blood all over his body. He would greet Junko with a brief bow. "Junko. We are set to leave when you are. I do hope you are okay with my darling Kitsu joining us." He would then leave whenever Junko was prepared to do so as well.

WC: 660

Junko had been rather isolated as of late, after the situation things just weren’t the same. To those who inquired about her, she would just simply tell them that she was doing paperwork for the village. This wasn’t a complete lie, she was doing some of the paperwork but not enough to justify being in her room all day. Kiko reluctantly took over cooking the household meals but would accept help if offered. She felt horrible and could hardly bring herself to get out of bed.

However this morning an important job was coming up that she needed to pull herself together for. One of the local merchants wanted to meet up with her to discuss the construction of a handful of the districts he intended to build upon the creation of the village. He also asked if Junko would assist him in escorting him and his wife around one of the local markets, thinking that it would be a good place to speak about their upcoming plans. She knew making a deal with this man would be very beneficial to the village, so she had to make a great impression.

With the increase in bandit activity, Junko thought it wise to bring Ren along so if something happened he could teleport them to safety. Though she still felt a little odd being around him, she knew he’d be the best one for the mission. She would invite both him and Kiko to come, hoping it wouldn’t be too awkward for her clone. Thankfully both of them would agree, making Junko feel a bit more at ease with the situation.

The day would finally come, and Junko would attempt to get up before the sun rose like she had done previously. This was rather difficult for her since her sleep schedule had been completely thrown off. However, she’d pull herself out of bed and take a quick cold water shower to freshen up. She’d dress in her usual black sundress, and adorn herself with a bit of jewelry. After finishing her preparations Junko would head downstairs and make her way to the kitchen. She was a bit concerned when she realized Kiko hadn’t gotten up yet, but figured she’d check in with her later.

Ren would soon come downstairs as Junko was in the kitchen making herself some toast. She was a bit nervous about the day but hoped being around him would provide some sort of comfort. If she knew how well he and Kiko were getting along, maybe it’d make her feel a bit better. He would speak rather casually to her, informing Junko about his need to go find his clone. She’d of course wait for him but would ask about Kiko before he left the home. Junko would look a bit concerned if he informed her that Kiko had gotten sick, but would make no mention of it to him.

Soon Ren would return with Kitsu following behind. By this time she had been able to mentally prepare herself for the upcoming interaction and was able to feign happiness. As usual, Junko would seem very optimistic and confident as she introduced herself to Kitsu, remarking that she would be happy to bring him along. She would then inform both of them what the plan for the day was going to be, explaining that this was more of a diplomatic mission for herself than anything. As she briefed them she found it rather hard to look Ren in the eyes, though she knew she would have to keep up her confident demeanor.

The three of them would quickly make their way to the meeting point, where Junko would find the merchantman and his wife. Junko would greet both of them, obviously using her charms and way with words to mingle with them. After introducing herself, Ren, and Kitsu the group would begin meandering the busy streets in the market square. Junko and the man would discuss a handful of different business ventures, however, she attempted to persuade the man to stick to more traditional practices. She wanted to maintain a calming and peaceful home that didn’t interfere much with the environment around her.

Thankfully not much happened on their stroll around the market, so it wasn’t too stressful. Junko at one point would stop at a stall that looked to be selling herbs, after inspecting a few different ones she’d purchase a small variety of ingredients. She recently had learned a few things about making medicine, since Kiko had fallen ill she wanted to try her hand at making a remedy to help her. After roughly 3 hours of walking, talking, shopping, and negotiating they finally had completed the man's request. Their conversation would come to a close as his wife requested that they return home.

Goodbyes were said, handshakes exchanged, and the couple was off. As they left her eyesight, she’d turn to face Ren and Kitsu. She’d bow at both of them and smile sweetly before speaking in her regular melodic voice.

”Thank you both for coming with me, I know it didn’t seem like much, but he’s going to be helping with setting up some of the buildings I plan on making so this was a rather important task”

WC:878

"She's already defenseless. We could do it right now." Kitsu thought to himself as they met with the soon to be Kage. His mouth began to salivate, his mind raced, and his heart would struggle to stay within his chest, but he perservered. He knew this wasn't the right time, it was time to sit and to wait. His outward demeanor wouldn't change, he had been mastering the art of the facade. The mask that we wore now was quite sturdy as he had been honing it for some weeks. He would bow to the woman, his prey, and he would hold out his hand to gently shake hers.

He would come to a straight stance and smile warmly towards her. "My, my. Ren has told me you were beautiful, and I have seen you before, but the light hits you just right this morning, madame Junko. It is a pleasure to see you. I look forward to working with you today on this diplomatic mission." He would say after she explained what the job was today. She would then lead them to a meeting spot. There was a merchant that wanted to have Junko lead them through the village today.

Kitsu didn't care what they were doing, he just wanted to observe. He wanted to see how high her guard was at all times, and he could tell that it seemed to be quite low when she was around Ren. He would note this in his mind as they continued to follow along Junko and the other merchant through town. He didn't do much as there wasn't anything that was happening, but he didn't really care to listen to the conversation that Junko and the merchant were having as it didn't really sound interesting to him.

Then soon after they would shake hands and the conversation was over between the two of them. Junko would then turn to both Ren and Kitsu and thank them for coming with her. She would speak of the buildings that she planned on creating, within Kitsu's mind he would scowl at her, envisioning her precious village destroying the forests, killing even more spirits than what had been destroyed by those damned ruins. She's no better than Kurogane, she's just as ambitious, just as destructive. His outward appearance would have a slight smile on his face, with a mostly neutral look upon him.

He would bow to Junko once more when she thanked them, "I would love to continue whatever jobs you may have today. We are at your service, madame." He would then wait for Junko to lead them through whatever jobs they may have for the day.

WC: 445

Ren would pray that Kitsu would act somewhat normal around Junko. Just hoping that he didn't have to apologize for his behavior. The soon to be Kage would turn toward them both and explain to them what job that they had ahead of them. Ren would offer his hand for a handshake with Junko. Kitsu would say some rather honeyed words, something he wasn't expecting. Ren would smile, thanking Kitsu for speaking such kind words to her and actually showing someone respect. Ren would then follow Junko through the town as she explained that they were going to be meeting with a merchant from town.

Soon they would arrive at the meeting place and the merchant was already standing there, waiting for them to arrive. Ren would wave at the merchant, and both Junko and Ren would shake the merchant's hand after he would be introduced to the merchant and his wife. Ren would listen as the two would speak about the buildings that she wanted to have built. Something that wouldn't impact the environment as much and that would keep to the more traditional values of the village, something that he would certainly appreciate and he was sure the others would apprecaite as well.

They would walk, talk, and shop for 3 hours before they finally reach the end of their time together. They woudl return to the merchant's home and they would see them off. They would shake hands and depart, going the opposite direction. Junko would thank them both for coming once again, to which Ren would nod and tell that it was no problem, was rather nice to be on a walk with his darling Kitsu. This comment would make Kitsu cringe slightly, but he let it roll off. Kitsu would say more respectful things, and it would fill Ren with a sense of hope that he wasn't at a complete loss for his darling Kitsu to not be a total mess.

"Indeed, Junko. We shall continue with you to wherever you need us to go. Just lead the way, madame." He would smile at her, and walk alongside her for the time.

WC: 357

As they made their way back home the three of them were stopped by a young woman roughly the same age as Junko herself. She recognized the woman as somebody who had been doing a lot of work within the community lately. Junko had a bit of a connection with the woman from occasionally doing jobs together, so as they approached her Junko would give her a welcoming embrace. Some pleasantries were exchanged, but the woman would then shift gear as to why she beckoned the group in the first place.

She’d confide in Junko that she and her boyfriend had been having issues recently. Evidently, he and a few others had been attempting to push back the bandit threat and often found himself injured because of it. Junko could empathize as she recalled the times she spent tending to Ren’s wounds before the incident happened and how difficult it was to watch him be in such pain. The woman would continue to lament about the relationship, expressing how difficult it had been for her recently.

The woman would then ask what Junko would do in this situation which would cause her to think for a moment. Unlike with her situation with Ren, she couldn’t just tell the woman to alter the man's memories and the situation would figure itself out. No, this had to be handled delicately. After asking a few clarifying questions and allowing Ren to speak up if he wished, Junko would respond to the woman's question.

”Well, in my personal life I’ve found myself dedicated to protecting and serving those around me. I know I’m not the strongest combatant, instead, I’ve found a love for tending to any who would come to me injured. If he insists on combating the bandits, maybe accommodate him by learning some healing techniques. I could assist you if you’d like, I also would be able to teach you to create various things he could take into the field with him that could potentially help him in a tight spot.”

Junko would offer to assist her in learning a handful of techniques, which the woman would happily accept. Though Junko was unsure if this would fix all their issues, she knew that it may help them just a bit. After discussing a date and time to get together Junko would give her a quick hug once again before saying her goodbyes and then began heading back home.

She would inform Ren and Kitsu that she would be making some of her mother's famous stew tonight seeing as Kiko was under the weather, and would offer to make extra if they wanted to partake. Also, she would tell Ren that she planned on putting together some rather strong medicine for Kiko and request that he keep an eye on her throughout the night. Though she felt awkward about the whole situation, she knew that Kiko would much rather have Ren tend to her than she would Junko.

Once they arrived home, Junko thanked them both again for coming with her. Once inside she would begin preparing the medication for Kiko seeing as that was rather important to her. After the solution was finished developing Junko would find Ren and pass it off to him, along with some care instructions. Since Kiko’s body was exactly the same as hers, Junko hoped that the things that made her feel better would also apply to her clone.
If he accepted Junko would thank him for looking after Kiko and bow to him slightly before excusing herself quickly from the conversation. She then would begin making preparations for dinner.

(EXIT)

WC:607
Total WC: 1485

Mission Rewards:
2x C Rank missions: 8000 Ryo / 40 AP
Rewards doubled from Beloved Presence  16000 Ryo / 80 AP
80 AP Converted to 4,000 Ryo
C Rank Vagabond bonus Ryo: 2,000 x 2 = 4,000 Ryo
28,000 Ryo gained

WC claims
Strength of a Hundred Skill  1485 WC converted to 56 AP
Previous total: 568/600
New total 600/600

The conversation was over, and Junko would turn her attention to both Ren and Kitsu, the latter of the two would seem to warp back to this planet from some realm within his mind. They would all begin walking towards Junko's home once again, but they were soon stopped by a woman who seemed to have some sort of issue. She walked straight up to Junko and began to confide into her, giving her information about her and her significant other.

The very foundation of Kitsu's shook as he heard the story. He couldn't believe just how little that he cared for the woman's story. Internally his mind just thought of hilarious things that he could say. Thought of the many ways that he could simply kill the significant other and provide her the sweet release from his grasp. There was so little about her story that mattered, it was so sad in and of itself. Kitsu would laugh at his own thoughts. Internally wishing that he could just kill Junko and this woman right here. Thinking about how easy it would be for him to right now, just fire an arrow into Junko's delicate skull.

Damn Ren though, he knew that he would stop him. Kitsu knew that this wasn't the time, but he desperately wanted it to be. They would continue to listen to the woman's stories, then listen to Junko speak to the woman in a means to calm her down and bring her to a sense of calm in the situation, but Kitsu just wanted to have her speaking cease. On the outside, he would seem very calm and caring, as if he was hanging on to every word that she would say. Kitsu would walk toward the woman, his desire for her blood rising within his mind, causing him to sweat slightly.

"My poor friend. What Junko says is true. If you are able to heal his wounds through the form of Medical jutsu then your woes would be eased much easier, these bandits are so weak and feeble, their blades can barely do any damage, so even the weakest of medical jutsu could heal the wounds you find. Truly, it's so simple. Have a wonderful day!" He would say as he would throw a wave into the air and walk away.

He would not wait to be with Junko any longer, her very stench was causing him to become nauseated. So he decided to simply walk away from them all with a wave in the air. "See ya. I am needed elsewhere."

WC:431
TWC: 1401
EXIT

Claims:
Completion of 2 D rank missions
+16k ryo total
+80 AP total
Current AP bonus: 596

WC claims:
+28 AP (Total AP creation from this thread = 108)
+1367 towards Flower garden Illusion (Complete) (Previous Progress)
Dumping remaining WC

Their conversation would begin taking a new turn as they began walking back towards Junko's home. They didn't get very far as a woman would stop them, waving Junko down with some tears in her eyes. She immediately began speaking of an issue that they had been having with the bandits, her significant other had been taking it upon himself to combat them directly. While this isn't a bad thing by itself, the injuries that he was sustaining was causing her a lot of emotional turmoil and she wanted some advice from Junko on how to help their issues.

Ren did realize that Junko would be a good person to answer this question. She was a woman that had medical abilities and on top of that if she was to be Kage soon, then she was going to need to be able to answer the inquiries of her constituents, both within and outside of her own village's shinobi. Ren would patiently listen to the woman's concerns and to Junko's response. Ren would bow to the woman's story as she concluded, he would then hear Junko offer a day and time for them to meet and he would note it down in a small note pad that he had picked up recently. "Junko if you'd like I can help remind you of the time. You're going to be quite busy very soon, so I can make sure this is not forgotten, if you would like of course."

He would then turn to the woman, "Wounds sustained by the bandits can rack up in number, unfortuantely. But what we can do is provide some classes on medical techniques to all that would be interested. This way we can provide the lessons to many people at once. I will be able to run such a class in the future and I will keep you posted on when that type of class would operate. In the meantime, please keep us posted on the progress of the battles against the bandits and always feel free to speak to me on the issues that you may be having in the village."

Ren would bow to the woman. Kitsu would then walk up and say some very sarcastic, yet true statements. But before he could scold Kitsu, he left. Ren would apologize to the woman and leave with Junko.

Junko would explain that she would be making stew tonight, and some medicine for Kiko. Ren would offer his hand in the creation of the medicine, wanting to do everything he could to bringing his dearest Kiko back to a healthy state, hating to see her so miserable. When they arrived back to Junko's home, he would rush back to Kiko and check on her condition and swap the cold rag on her forehead. He would give her a kiss on her cheek before going back down the stairs to help Junko with the creation of the medicine.

He would bring the medicine and the stew up to his darling, and then he woudl turn in for the night rather early, wanting to just lay in bed with his beloved.

WC: 522
TWC: 1539
EXIT

Claims:
Completion of 2 C rank missions
16k ryo from mission doubled with BP
80 AP converted to 4k ryo (total of 20k ryo added)

WC Claims:
+15 Vigor for Sakoshi (bringing it to 146)
+1539 towards Seal of Absorption (For Sakoshi) (1539/2750)

Junko Tsukiko wrote:

(EXIT)

WC:607
Total WC: 1485

Mission Rewards:
2x C Rank missions: 8000 Ryo / 40 AP
Rewards doubled from Beloved Presence  16000 Ryo / 80 AP
80 AP Converted to 4,000 Ryo
C Rank Vagabond bonus Ryo: 2,000 x 2 = 4,000 Ryo
28,000 Ryo gained

WC claims
Strength of a Hundred Skill  1485 WC converted to 56 AP
Previous total: 568/600
New total 600/600

Approved