Getting the feet wet!

[TyDie]

Finally, Takuma's first mission for the Scribes... Granted, it was pretty simple overall; a routine examination of an ongoing archaeological dig by a ruin recently discovered on a routine mission by an unaffiliated shinobi team. Word got passed down to the Scribes, who then sent out a more seasoned team to scout the ruins, dismantle the traps, and establish a safe environment for the dig. Now it was mostly managed by civilians, but it had been over a week and it was high time for a scribe to check in on them.

Enter: Takuma.

Takuma would be travelling alongside a supply caravan, then once the caravan arrived at the dig site, he'd oversee the situation a little and learn how the Scribes managed a dig. "Man, I'm so excited to see these ruins with my own eyes. I wonder how old they are... I wonder what story they tell!" The boy was hardly able to contain himself as he walked alongside the camels drawing the small wagon through the dry, arid landscape. Of course, he wasn't alone; There were watchers with him, genma handlers ready to take care of him should the need arise. They were with him everywhere nowadays, but he hadn't had much time to spend with their leader; Meiyo, Souta. In fact, this was the first time he really got to meet the guy.

"Ha.... I'll tell you what though, the heat outside of the village is even worse. I was hoping my first trek beyond Suna's walls would be a bit more visually appealing. Just more sand and dry land... and an unforgiving sun." He'd hold out his canteen to take a drink, but of course it was empty. "Aww man..."

[Willoria]

Souta walked alongside the new genma host. He wore his cloak in spite of the heat, the hood pulled up to get him out of the direct heat a bit more. He saw Takuma go to take another swig of his canteen and couldn't help a chuckle, pulling a canteen from his own belt and holding it out to him. "It's good to have extra, but also try not to chug it. Little sips is key when you're out here. You need to stay hydrated but you also need to ration what you have. Running out is one of the worst things that can happen in this heat." he told him, glancing over at the caravan. "That said, we do have a supply with us, you'll be able to refill when we get there. It shouldn't be too big of a worry today, but it's good to keep in mind if you ever take a longer journey in the desert in the future."

He reached over and ruffled the boy's hair with one hand, before glancing at another part of the caravan where he saw Rokuro. He wasn't sure where in the caravan Kaede was but he knew she wasn't far away either. He'd heard some things from his team that had him worried about this particular host and had chosen to come along on this minor mission to see for himself if he was really that bad, or was Rokuro just being paranoid. So far he was hoping the two were just having a clash of personalities.

"So aside from thirsty and excited, how're you feeling about today? How's Jinesisu feeling?" he asked him fairly quietly.

[TyDie]

Takuma smiled at the cloaked man as he handed him his canteen, but a smug smirk quickly spread across the boy's face as he held up a hand to push the bottle back towards Souta. "Much appreciated, but I've got it handled. Most Kouseki can't do a thing with water but, yknow... you already know I'm not most Kouseki." With a grin, a small amount of black and white speckled chakra gathered around Takuma as he held out his empty canteen. A moment later, he sloshed the bottle back and forth a little, and the telltale sound of water moving about could be heard. "One of the first things she taught me... Water is one of the most basic creations, and it comes in almost any form. Ice, Water, Vapor... it's a great creation to learn first, as it gets me comfortable with everything else. Plus, in this harsh climate, you never know what might happen."

He wasn't trying to come off as a know it all or a smart ass, but he couldn't help but feel a little proud of himself. The genma's powers had already proven to be incredible, even at it's weakest form. "She's been quiet lately... I learned a few things, like that trick I just did, but otherwise she's content to sit back and watch. I don't know if that's good or bad, but it's a welcome change to her constant flirting."

"Haha, oh don't worry love, I'm still here. I'm always watching, always listening... And my oh my, I love seeing you use my gifts like that. Make sure he knows just how fantastic my power is. It's not cocky if it's true, right? Haha... Cocky." If it weren't for the sun beating down on him making him sweat, his blush would be very apparent as the spirit spoke up for the first time in days.

"Heh... she says hi..." Takuma muttered, nervous and embarrassed. "Of course she speaks up when she hears you."

"Mmmm... Of course I speak up when I hear him."

[Willoria]

Souta chuckled as Takuma showed off his new trick, pulling his hood back long enough to take a sip from his own canteen before securing it to his belt once more. When his hood was back in place he looked to the kid again and grinned. "At least you started with something useful. That's good, and it'll help you a lot out in places like this." he said. As Takuma went on to explain that the spirit had been quiet for a bit, Souta simply shrugged. "Sometimes they'll go quiet for weeks and you'll feel normal again, sometimes they just won't shut up and you'll feel like you're going mad. They go through moods like the rest of us, you'll get used to it. They can be fickle, and sometimes down right inconvenient." But he saw something in Takuma's expression change and knew what was coming before the kid said it.

"Well if you ever get tired of her relaying messages just let me know, I know a jutsu that would allow me to hear what she has to say. There might be times where I have to use it, but usually I try not to without permission." Of course he also knew that was a bit of a loaded request. After all, he knew how flirtatious that specific spirit could be, and Takuma would probably hear something he didn't want to hear.

"How're things going up here?"

Souta glanced over his shoulder at Rokuro who also had a cloak on with his hood pulled up. "Relax, Rokuro. We've been walking for all of an hour maybe. Hardly enough time to get into trouble." he said, smirking as he glanced back at the paranoid Kouseki. "Or are you worried for your clan-mate?"

Rokuro simply rolled his eyes.

[TyDie]

Takuma was admittedly happy to hear that Souta was pleased with his ability, a smile crossing the boy's face as he looked away, somewhat embarrassed by the realization. "Heh... I'll be honest, I needed to hear that, Souta." Takuma started, looking up to watch the path in front of them as he spoke. "Everyone's been so quick to tell me to be careful with this thing, but if I'm too careful I'll never make any progress with it. It's frustrating... Why go through the trouble and risk my life only to caution me so much that I'm afraid to even make a little water?" He let out a sigh as he finished, his hands crossing behind his head as they continued their trek. His galaxy eyes looked up to Souta as the walked, a light hearted smile on his face as he shook his head in regards to Souta speaking to the genma.

"Thanks for caring about my feelings regarding that. I don't know if I'm ready to have even more voices in my head, but it's nice to know I don't always have to play the messenger. Though... I think she's a bit too excited to be speaking to you right now. It'd just embarrass me more."

"Aww, but you're so cute when you're embarrassed, Taku!"

Suddenly the boy was stammering aloud, his hands crossing in front of his chest as he shook his head. "Man... Sometimes I wish I got the dark, scary one that Jun got..." Luckily, Rokuro's interruption broke his embarrassment, as the man inquired about their status. Souta was quick to set the man straight, much to Takuma's appreciation, but the young jinchuuriki still turned and addressed the man himself. "I don't know if anyone's ever told you this, but you really need to learn how to relax. What's gonna happen to me out here? Oh no, I might trip over a rock or get stung by a scorpion. The horror!"

The genma's playful nature was already rubbing off on Takuma it seemed; the old Kouseki wouldn't have spoken like that.

[Willoria]

Souta grinned as the boy thanked him and shook his head. "No thanks necessary. It's a delicate balance you live in now. You need to learn, to become strong. But you also house a being far more powerful than you realize and you have to know the difference between using it and it using you. In a lot of ways only you know the difference, but there are going to be moments we have to watch for you too. Some of us are more paranoid than others." As Souta mentioned paranoid he pointedly jerked his head in the direction of Rokuro with a smirk and a wink. "But I learned from the last Soul Host that without some risk at least, you'll learn nothing."

As Takuma admitted that the spirit in him often embarrassed him, Souta laughed. "Yeah she'll do that, and I won't help much. Last time she saw me I looked like an old man with grey hair...long story on how that changed."

Though as the two Kouseki verbally clashed, Souta turned away to hide his own grin. He knew he really should be chastising the two, but at the same time Takuma was only half wrong. After all, with a genma sealed in him there was no telling what could go wrong. Rokuro on the other hand simply glared at him and said nothing. "Careful, Takuma, you never know when I might leave you alone with him." Souta finally managed to say.

[TyDie]

Takuma felt so vindicated listening to Souta explain to him what the man had learned from the previous soul host. She must have understood that progress couldn't be made without some kind of understanding between host and spirit, and to achieve that understanding the two would have to get along on some level. Of course risk was involved, but if he lived scared of what might happen to him he'd never get anything done. "I'll be careful, Souta-sama. I just can't be so careful that I do nothing. I'm glad you understand that."

The mention of his appearance had Takuma tilting his head in curiosity. How on earth did someone's appearance change so drastically? "Uh... spa treatments and hair dye? Or something else entirely?" The boy was puzzled, that was for sure, but Janesisu didn't care what the cause was; she was only interested in the results. "Whatever it is, it's working for him, Love... And it's definitely working for me too, haha." Of course the spirit couldn't help herself, and Takuma's face reddened once more, the boy taking a large drink from his water to wash away his embarrassment.

Takuma didn't like the idea of being with Rokuro at all, let alone being alone with him. But out here, that might end up having to happen; The ruin was in sight now. Although, given that it was mostly an underground ruin, the most they saw on the outside was a small opening in the sands that was kept protected by stone barriers erected around the opening, clearly created via Doton ninjutsu to make sure the opening didn't get blown over and hidden by a sand storm. Within this makeshift cavern was a series of steps that lead down into the ruin, but standing just outside of this cavern was a figure clad in a full body cloak, with the mask of a fox over their face.

"Souta-sama. Rokuro-san. It's good to see you two." The female voice called out from behind the mask, stern but calm. Then as she looked down to the host, she gave only a small nod. "Remember me, little one?" Truth be told, at the moment Takuma really didn't... But given that she was part of the team that sealed the spirit within him in the first place, his memory of that night was fuzzy and unreliable at best. "...No, I don't. Sorry." The woman waved her hand dismissively, her right hand revealing itself for a moment. To Takuma's shock, it was revealed to be a prosthetic. He couldn't help but stare in shock and amazement at the arm, but as the woman realized he was staring she quickly hid it within her cloak again, a huff of annoyance escaping from behind her mask.

"Fox. Call me Fox." was all she said in her annoyance before walking down into the ruin. "Come on. Ill send men to retrieve the supplies."

[Willoria]

Though Souta greeted the woman with a smile and a nod, Rokuro visibly bristled when he saw her. He came up on the other side of Takuma as they got closer to her, almost as if feeling defensive of him suddenly. "She's the bitch who sealed you and almost killed Junpei during his sealing." he told him. He took a breath in his mask as if to say more, but a moment later Souta was beside him. The Bannin had moved fast, as if in the blink of an eye and was suddenly on Rokuro.

With a hand grabbing Rokuro by the arm he had him quiet, glaring at him. "If you're incapable of functioning as a guardian or with this team, tell me now, Rokuro." he practically snarled at him. "Because right now it sounds like you've lost your objectivity here."

Rokuro was stopped in place, frozen, but he didn't seem exactly afraid as he turned his head to return to Souta's glare. "If Fox had done the same during her sealing-."

"That statement is only making my point for me." Souta released Rokuro's arm but didn't move away. "Do I need to replace you?"

"...No."

Souta turned and followed Fox down into the ruin, but pulled her aside for a moment. "If Rokuro loses focus or causes problems during any of this, you let me know directly." he told her, before returning to Takuma and Rokuro as the pair would eventually make it down as well, with Rokuro of course being rather quiet by this point. "I have other areas I need to check on. Behave yourselves." he told them before smirking at Takuma. "That goes doubly for you and your headmate... but you're in good hands here. If Rokuro causes you any trouble... well he's not ticklish but you can always throw water or something at him to annoy him."

[TyDie]

Takuma was puzzled by the back and forth between the three handlers, tilting his head as they clearly had some kind of quarrel. Or at least, Rokuro had a quarrel with Fox. Fox, in turn, simply turned her head and scoffed as she went down into the ruins. "He lived, didn't he?" was the only defense she offered for her perceived missteps, and Souta was quick to reprimand Rokuro for his lack of decorum. "Jeez, my own handlers can't see eye to eye on anything..." "Heh, that's normal. Shishi's sealing are notoriously rough, and it seems the crass one takes issue with how the masked one handled things. But in the meantime, poor you is left to the wayside while your own guardians argue with each other. Just drives home how alone and without help you are, huh?" The genma chuckled as it concluded, showing Takuma that he was truly alone in all of this... And Takuma just sighed quietly as he went down into the tunnels.

As they moved deeper into the ruin, rounding a corner to arrive at the digsite, Souta went off to handle other business, leaving Takuma in the care of Rokuro and Fox. "You guys aren't going to rip each other's heads off, are you?" Fox simply scoffed and looked away towards the digsite, motioning for someone to come over. "That depends entirely on your clan mate. I did nothing wrong, I merely followed my orders." As the civilian got closer to fox, the woman gave a simple command - Round up some people and go collect their supplies. The man nodded and went off to gather a half dozen able bodied people to get the task done, leaving Takuma to finally inspect the ruins.

All along the walls were various symbols and carvings, no doubt this was some kind of burial ground for the honored dead of a nomadic tribe that frequented this section of the desert in ages gone by. "Wow... this place is beautiful. It's so old, judging by the carvings alone it predates the shinobi villages themselves. To think, people back then had only their normal strength and minds, and were able to construct this entire crypt out of sandstone. I can't imagine how they managed to build it, let alone how they got the sand stone here in the first place. I wonder if they've unearthed any remains... By the light, who knows what we might learn here!"

Takuma was totally nerding out by now, watching a few archaeologists digging proper in a sectioned off area of the crypt in search of artifacts and remains. Meanwhile, Fox was quiet, leaning against a wall as she watched the boy, her mask hiding whatever expressions she might be feeling.

[Willoria]

As Takuma expressed a concern about Rokuro and Fox working together, Rokuro simply snorted. "She's not worth the effort... or getting my ass kicked by Souta again." he admitted. Though Takuma wouldn't be able to tell that the man was frowning behind his rebreather, the corners of his eyes crinkled downward at the motion. The more time the boy spent around him, the more he'd eventually learn to tell when Rokuro was frowning by this small sign. When they were within the ruins Rokuro pulled his hood back so he could see better, running a hand through his hair to get it back under control as he staying fairly near the boy.

He listened to Takuma's excitement over what he saw and couldn't help a bit of a chuckle at it. "Sakaki would have loved to see this... honestly I couldn't tell one thing from another down here though." He produced a canteen from his own belt, though his had something like a straw attached to it that he slid through a small section of his rebreather in order to get a sip of his water before putting it back. As he walked along with Takuma and the boy started looking over parts of the ruin, Rokuro's hand shifted to his right wrist where he had a dark yellow ribbon tied around it. His fingers gingerly touched the ribbon, almost as if caressing it, though the ends of it appeared slightly stained.

[TyDie]

Takuma's hand stroked his chin in thought as he watched someone dusting off what appeared to be a rock at first glance, but a close inspection allowed Takuma to see that it was actually some kind of obelisk. It was too dusty to make out the carving and symbols on it, but it was clearly something unique. And even more interestingly, he could see exactly what it was made out of - Obsidian. "Wow... Obsidian in Wind Country? There's no active volcanoes nearby, wherever this came from was far away. Do you have any idea what the implications of that are Rokuro? These nomads went way, way beyond the desert!"

Takuma looked up to Rokuro, and both of his handlers would be able to see that the swirling galaxies that were his eyes were spinning rapidly in a circle, and the large star in the middle was glowing with power. "Oh...Right... Guess I didn't mention the eyes, huh?" Fox crossed her arms and tilted her head, clearly not sure what was going on but curious as to what the hell his eyes were doing. "Never seen a Heaven host's eyes do that before..."

"Yeah... She calls it the Bunsekigan. I can look at something and tell exactly what it's made out of. So like, I can tell that that obelisk is made of Obsidian, and these walls are made of sandstone, and... wait." Takuma trailed off for a moment as he looked to a particular section of the wall. At a glance from anyone else, it looked exactly like the rest of the walls... but there was something different about it. His spinning eyes were staring intently at the wall, squinting curiously. "Well that's odd... That's not sandstone."

[Willoria]

As Takuma asked Rokuro if he knew the implications of a particular stone's presence, the man simply shook his head. It wasn't his forte, he hardly had a clue beyond his own stones, the Labradorite in his forehead and the Tourmaline throughout his body. He watched and listened as the boy grew all the more excited and explained everything he was seeing. Though the sight of the boy's eyes was almost startling. He raised an eyebrow as he went on the explain the doujutsu but Rokuro only nodded. "That must make walking around the compound interesting... you can identify every clanmates stone on site." he remarked. He had to admit, that one actually made him a little jealous. He could hardly interact with his own clanmates anymore due to his unique situation. Most avoided him and that was the best case scenario. There was once a time he loved looking at other stones and talking about them, but he could hardly do that anymore.

He'd give anything to see with a doujutsu like Takuma's, with eyes like that he at least wouldn't miss out on part of his old life.

The thought made him sigh to himself quietly, in spite of his attempts to keep his own demeanor cold and detached as usual. He was glad for the distraction as Takuma suddenly had his attention pulled away by a particular section of wall. "If it's not sandstone, then what is it?"

[TyDie]

Takuma nodded to Rokuro as he mentioned the bit about understanding what stones are made of, taking a quick look away from the wall to him to analyze his own stones. "Black Tourmaline and Labradorite. The Tourmaline represents purification and the cleansing of the emotional body and Labradorite stimulates mental acuity. Both amazing stones... Makes me wonder what you were like before..." He trailed off, not sure how to approach the subject that had been plaguing Takuma since he met Rokuro. He knew that Rokuro was an asshole, he knew that the guy had a bad reputation among the Kouseki, but he had never figured out what exactly happened to the man.

"You know that crystal stuff is bunk, right?" Fox chimed in, pushing off of the wall to walk over towards Takuma. Takuma scoffed in response, turning to face Fox, which incidentally caused him and Rokuro to be facing the same direction - Almost like they were on the same side. "You wouldn't understand. You aren't a Kouseki. These crystals are as important to us as oxygen. Also, your arms are made of a combination of wood, iron and a few other trace elements like copper."

Fox instinctively retracted her hands and glared through her mask at the boy, letting out a grunt of annoyance before turning her back to him. This gave Takuma the chance he wanted to look at the wall closer, and as he did so he ran his fingers over it. "I'm not sure what it is... I've never seen a stone like this. Slate maybe? Granite? It's heavier, and a newer addition to the wall. But this section here is actually painted steel..." As his hand brushed over the steel, he pushed slightly, and the steel pushed into the hidden door, causing the wall to slide out of the way.

Takuma had just found an unexplored secret passage. "...Woahhh. Secret Tunnel!"

[Willoria]

Rokuro shifted a bit in discomfort as Takuma turned his doujutsu on him and accurately stated not only the stones embedded in his body but what they stood for and their properties. "Before Shishire nearly killed me." he said, finishing the sentence that Takuma didn't seem to know how to finish. He sighed a moment, but before he could explain further, Fox interrupted with a question that could very easily start an argument. His eyes narrowed but before he could say something it was Takuma who interjected. He looked down at the boy in surprise and couldn't help a mild chuckle in response as he watched Fox get flummoxed and frustrated enough to turn away.

As Takuma went back to his analysis, Rokuro turned to the wall and leaned against it, pushing hard against the stone until there was an audible crack. When he stood up straight a couple pieces of crystal fall to the ground from a chunk jutting out of his shoulder and he bent down to pick them up. One of them he took and, after getting her attention with a whistle, he tossed to Fox as he grinned behind his rebreather. "Maybe it'll bring you luck." he said sarcastically with a shake of his head. The other he offered to Takuma. "Don't worry, it isn't any of the corrupted shit." he explained. "It's as naturally occurring for me as bone at this point." Though it might have seemed a morbid gesture, at the same time the act of breaking it off hadn't caused Rokuro any pain at all.

Though as a secret tunnel was revealed Rokuro couldn't help a weary sigh. "This hasn't been cleared yet..." he remarked. He had a hunch though that if Takuma was as curious as Sakaki had been, reminding him of that wouldn't do any good. The kid was going to go down it anyway, and Rokuro was going to have to go with as his guardian.

[TyDie]

Takuma's mouth popped open for a moment as Rokuro explained what had happened to him... he could hardly believe it. He had been guardian to one of Shishire's hosts, and it nearly cost him his life. Worse yet, death may have been a blessing compared to what he was now. It was a tragedy, of that there was no doubt. The crunching of the crystal breaking off of Rokuro's body made Takuma cringe, his face contorting as he sucked in through his teeth. But apparently, it didn't hurt at all. As the chunk was thrown to fox first, she caught it out of reflex with her right hand, the puppet limb emerging fully as she did so. With a scoff she stuck it in her pocket. "I'll not contaminate the digsite with your shed crystals." she said with a huff. Meanwhile, Takuma took the crystal from him and smiled at the man, noticing that he seemed to be smiling too.

"Thank you... I'll be sure to set it in something later. Maybe a pendant..." He'd slip the crystal into his pocket as well, then turn towards the new tunnel, which a few other archaeologists had noticed. Takuma had already taken a step into it by the time Rokuro spoke, and Takuma sighed in sorrow. "But I found it, I should get to explore it first..."

"So do it." The voice in his head called out, seductively drawing him towards danger. "They're your guardians, they have to follow you right? So you'll be safe, love. They'll take good care of you..."

Takuma took another step forward. Then another. "I'm going in. I'll have both of you with me, so we'll be fine." Fox turned to Rokuro and sighed in response, pulling her cloak up over herself more. "Great... Taking a newly sealed host into uncharted ruins. What's the worst that could happen?" Fox would then follow just behind Takuma, clearly displeased with his curiosity.

[Willoria]

Rokuro rolled his eyes at Fox and rather pointedly flipped her off when he thought Takuma wasn't paying attention. Though Takuma's own reaction he was not only more pleased with, he was honestly rather surprised. The kid seemed outright happy to receive a piece of the crystal, and it left him outright smiling behind his mask. It had been a long time since anyone in the clan looked at his crystal with anything but disdain or disgust, and honestly he was glad to see it.

Though his happiness and relief that he felt was very brief. A moment later Takuma was stepping into the tunnel and after a moment's hesitation he made it clear that he intended to go down it. He sighed heavily, though Fox said enough for the both of them. Rokuro stepped through with her though he also quickly stepped past her in an effort to stay closer to Takuma. He found himself quickly feeling more protective of the boy than he had for previous Jinchuuriki that he had been guardian of, perhaps for their clan ties or their short interaction only a moment ago. He wasn't sure. All he knew was he really didn't like the idea of leaving Fox in the position to be the first to react if something went wrong here.

"Stay on your guard, Takuma. There's no telling what could be in these old ruins." he reminded the boy. "Spirits even have been found in these things before." He couldn't help a glance at Fox for a moment. "Did anyone see us go in at least?" he asked, knowing one thing worse than going in when it hadn't been checked, was going in without anyone knowing they had.

[TyDie]

Fox's only response to the man's finger was to roll her eyes and fall in behind Rokuro, watching their rear as they ventured forth into the tunnel. The trio would follow down the tunnel for quite a while, which ended up turning into more of a hallway then a tunnel. As they ventured deeper into the dark tunnel, their vision would be enveloped by darkness before long. But eventually, as if reacting to their presence, torches along the wall would ignite all on their own, illuminating the path forward. "Woah... This is so cool." Rokuro's cautions were heard of course, but the boy was too filled with wonder to truly take them to heart. "Well, I don't even have Tokage with me... But we'll be fine. I've got you guys with me, plus a few tricks I've learned with Janesisu, and a few nifty Shouton techniques."

Hubris was easily his biggest weakness...

As they moved along the tunnel, something became clear very quickly as Takuma searched the walls of the hallway. "Weird... All kinds of carvings and symbols in the previous room, but this hall is totally barren. I wonder why that is... although given how well hidden this hall was, maybe they never expected anyone to find it. Which probably means..." As if on cue, Takuma felt his foot sink into a stone in his path, and all three of the shinobi would hear a telltale sound...

*click*

"RUN!" Fox called out first, urging Takuma and Rokuro to dart down the path. As she expected, the path behind them closed completely, and above Takuma's head the ceiling would open. By the time they got running, a giant sphere of metal came rolling down from the ceiling. The slight angle of the hallway made sure that the ball would keep rolling, and at the far end they could see a doorway smaller than the sphere of metal. Problem was, that doorway was over 100 meters away. The distance wouldn't be much for Rokuro or Fox, but Takuma wasn't nearly as fast. And the orb was far too heavy to stop with standard tactics...

Their only choice was to run.

[Willoria]

The further they went, the more uneasy Rokuro was feeling. He was following a genin down blind tunnels and the fact that soon torches just started lighting themselves didn't ease his nerves at all. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword as they walked along, but as Takuma looked at the walls Rokuro was looking elsewhere. There had to be traps, he could feel it in his gut. But just as he turned and his eyes alighted on one, much to his dismay he saw Takuma's foot depress it. He heard Fox's yell and without thinking he scooped the genin up in his arms and started rushing forward as quickly as his feet could carry him.

"Hang on to me!" he urged Takuma as he ran, silently hoping he didn't accidentally hurt the boy as he went, but he knew whatever damage the crystal jutting out of his own body might do to the Jinchuuriki in his arms it was far less than the damage the trap would do if it caught up to them. He couldn't carry them both either however, he had to hope Fox could simply keep up so long as he kept moving as fast as he could manage. He didn't know the woman outside of the sealing chamber after all, he knew nothing of her capabilities.

Once to the doorway Rokuro would practically jump through it, skidding to a stop before setting Takuma down and drawing his sword to look around for more traps before looking at the boy. "You alright?!" he asked, panting as he caught his breath.

[TyDie]

Takuma tried to run, but there was no way his stubby legs would be able to get him away from that orb of death trailing behind them. Lucky for him, Rokuro was swift in his choice to scoop him up and run, the crystals jutting from his body only hurting a little bit as Rokuro flew down the hall towards the entry. Fox, surprisingly, was even faster than Rokuro, having crossed the threshold of the door with enough time to spare that she didn't have to dive or risk getting stuck alongside Rokuro. As the two Kouseki made their way in, the metal sphere hit the doorframe with a resounding "CRASH" before falling still. They definitely weren't going to be able to go back that way.

"By the light..." Was all Takuma could get out as he was set down, while Fox was quick to berate and discipline the boy. "This is why you let another team scout first! Damn it child, now we're stuck here, and who knows what lies ahead of us!? You're not invincible just because you have that spirit within you, stop acting like it!" Takuma looked to the ground in shame, a sniffle breaking the silence left by Fox's yelling. "...I'm sorry..."

Fox didn't bother to accept or even respond to Takuma's apology or sorrow; she was already busy getting the lay of the land and looking for an escape, or at least a path forward. The room they now found themselves in was small, a 10x10 meter square room with a 20 foot tall ceiling. On one end of the room was a door, the only foreseeable exit from the room.

[Willoria]

Rokuro shot a glare at Fox as she yelled at Takuma though he didn't snap at her, if only because more raised voices certainly weren't going to make the boy feel any better. 'When the hell did I become the voice of reason?' Slowly he started to feel like he know what Souta felt like around him from day one as he shook his head and turned his attention back to Takuma. He looked down at the boy and put a hand under his chin to get him to look up at him. "You alright?" he asked him again, more quietly this time. If there was a tear he'd quickly wipe it away with a thumb before looking the boy over quickly for any wounds. "I think I managed to keep from cutting you by accident at least... sorry, afraid it's a risk I had to take. Better than the rolling deathball, eh?" He sighed and glanced around the room as well, taking quick notice of the door.

He moved over to it to check it over, pausing by Fox to try and speak low so only she would hear. "Watch the yelling." he tried to tell her calmly. "Emotional outbursts can trigger reactions from the spirits in them. He's freshly sealed, keep yourself as even as you can. You might be the sealer, but I have more in field experience with these things." He walked back over to where Takuma was standing.

"I didn't see any traps on the door, can you check the materials for me before I go kicking it though? I don't need to go breaking my foot, I won't feel it if I do and I doubt you two want to carry my heavy ass."

[TyDie]

Takuma sniffled some more, wiping his eyes to rid himself of tears, but a moment later Rokuro came over to him and forced Takuma to look at him. But where he expected more ridicule, instead he got comfort - From Rokuro, of all people. "I... I think so. I'm really sorry..." He sniffled again, but when the man wiped away one of his tears he couldn't help but smile. "Yeah... yeah, a few scrapes is nothing. I'll be okay... Thanks Rokuro." As the man walked away to check on the door and speak to fox, Takuma was left with his thoughts - as well as the thoughts of his inner demon.

"Aww, How adorable. The man without a heart and the boy with two hearts, coming together. Talk about a beautiful, dramatic story." Shut up alright? He helped me, which is more then the masked lady can say. "Oh sure, he's helpful now, but just give it time love. He'll turn on you eventually, just like everyone else, especially when you make silly mistakes like what you just did. Fox was right to chide you, you know. Suna has a history of doing poorly with it's hosts, or did you forget the file you read hmm?" The spirit's laughter would trail off as it went silent again, and Takuma was left annoyed and dejected...

"I wouldn't yell if he'd get it together. I thought hosts were supposed to be the epitome of control and forethought. No, instead he rushes in, and gets us all stuck." Fox started, turning to look at him while Takuma was speaking to the spirit. "I didn't ask for your advice. Keep it to yourself, put that energy towards getting out of here." Fox crossed her arms and took a step back, making clear she was done talking about it. She clearly had a chip on her shoulder about something...

As Rokuro asked about the door, Takuma was brought from his thoughts and nodded with determination. "Right, got it." The boy spoke, before the stars in his eyes began to rotate again as he analyzed the door. "Looks like regular stone - Probably shouldn't kick it, but maybe there's a switch in here that'll open it? Lemme look around some more..." Takuma would begin to look around the room for a switch, and before long he'd find one on the opposite wall from the door - more painted steel. "There!" With a gleeful rush he'd run over to the switch and press it, waiting for the telltale opening of the door. And sure enough, as he pressed the button, the door did indeed slide open.

But dust began to fall from the ceiling above as a rumbling sound could be heard.

"Out, out, get out!" Takuma would yell out as he rushed for the open door, with Fox crossing the threshold first. As soon as all three had gotten out, the room could collapse on itself, sending dust and debris into the open doorway and covering all of them. Takuma would begin to hack and cough, but otherwise they were all safe...

[Willoria]

Rokuro rolled his eyes at Fox's comments. "Stupid bitch." he muttered under his breath. He only hoped Takuma didn't take what the woman said to heart any further. Sakaki had always been pretty good at ignoring him in the early days, he hoped that Takuma would learn to be the same in time. 'I guess that means I really do have to be the voice of reason for him then... just as Souta was for her... shit.' He was glad though that giving Takuma a job seemed to pull him out of it a bit, he even smiled himself as he watched the boy look around for the switch. "If it's a switch it'll probably trigger another trap too, so once you find it, be ready to move fast again." he commented as he looked around, wondering what was going to try and fall on them next.

Sure enough, the moment Takuma hit a switch it seemed like the ceiling was ready to fall on them again. This time he didn't seem to have to grab the boy though, he was quick at getting out of there but Rokuro made sure to be out after him. The one blessing of his rebreather however was that he wasn't coughing when they got out of there. "Get a drink of water, kid." he told Takuma as he heard the Jinch coughing, putting a hand on his shoulder once they were out and safe. "Wash it down before we move on. We need to find a way out of here, let the teams back in here before we go further." He glanced around for Fox, still making sure to keep himself between her and Takuma.

He just had a bad feeling about her attitude right now.

[TyDie]

Takuma couldn't speak, but he nodded in understanding as he reached for his water bottle and took a small sip before swishing and spitting it out to rid his mouth of the dust. Then, another sip to wet his throat, and he was back to normal after a quick clearing of the throat. "I'm good... I'm good." He finally choked out. Fox was fine as well, her mask preventing the dust from going down her throat, but all three were covered by the debris. "Damn the people who set this place up... What could they be protecting down here?" "Well... Typically, traps and defenses like these are deterrents to keep grave robbers from pilfering the possessions of the honored dead. It's likely that we'll find the bodies of nomadic elders deeper in th-"

"By the light, it was rhetorical kid. I don't care. No one really does."

Takuma paused mid sentence, or rather was interrupted by Fox, and immediately fell sullen and quiet. His eyes fell to the ground, as his interests were pushed aside as unimportant. He was feeling lower and lower with each passing second. "...Wish I hadn't even come down here..." The boy muttered to himself before following Fox's lead down another hallway. "She's right though. Why do you care about the dead of some tribe? Did you forget, your red haired friend got my creepy friend that deals with corpses! You've got some weird interests love..."

"...Shut up..." He muttered aloud to the spirit, though Fox and Rokuro would no doubt hear it.

As they entered the next room, Two prominent statues were the centerpiece of the room. Both five meters tall, they were both humanoids sitting in the 'lotus' position, their legs crossed. They sat back to back, with one holding a jug in it's lap and the other holding an offering plate. In front of them, an inscription could be read, and it was still legible. Fox would walk over to scan it aloud. "The elders demand payment for safe passage. Fill the jug with the desert's most valuable treasure, and fill the plate with untold riches."

[Willoria]

Rokuro leveled a glare at Fox as she interrupted Takuma, the more he hung around the woman the more he couldn't stand her. He looked down at the boy and his muttered utterance and sighed, shrugging. "You can always tell me, kid." he said simply. "Before she died, my girlfriend was all about this kind of stuff. She loved old ruins and stuff, she loved the old nomadic tribes especially. I may not always understand, you may have to dumb some of it down for me, but I'll listen anyway." He explained, for a moment his hand drifting again to the yellow ribbon on his wrist as they walked along.

They came to the statues and Rokuro couldn't help a smirk behind his mask. "A riddle." he stated simply, shaking his head. "Well clearly we need water for the jug, desert's most valuable treasure." But he looked at Takuma. "I can only guess at the untold riches part though, I just know riddles are never as straight forward as they seem so I doubt it means gold. Any ideas?"

[TyDie]

Takuma once more smiled up at Rokuro, as he was at least making an effort to engage him in his interests. His girlfriend though... who did he date that was into musty old ruins like Takuma was? "Heh... I wouldn't have expected you to date such an intellectual Rokuro. But... it sounds like it was a good match." He couldn't help but watch as the man's hand drifted to the yellow, stained ribbon. Without even thinking, Takuma's eyes began to spin again, and he realized that the ribbon was made of simple cotton... but the stains were blood. Oh... That's probably...

He didn't think to talk about it right now. This wasn't the time. Instead, Rokuro's attention was turned to the riddle, and thankfully he and Takuma came to the same conclusion. "Yup, definitely water. Leave it to me!" The boy said proudly, as he walked over to the large jug and took in a deep breath, flying through a set of hand seals as he called upon the Toukougenma's power again. A moment later, a large torrent of water would form over the jug, filling it to the brim. In response, the large buddha statue lit up with energy - clearly, it had worked.

The other was trickier; what would 'untold riches' be in a place like this? "Maybe it's a counter to the other statue? If that one wanted water, maybe this one wants food? But I don't know if I can make 'food' with my power... Hold on." Takuma would walk over to the other statue and perform another set of hand seals, holding out his hand over the plate as he focused on the genma's power again. And this time, as he focused on the power of the genma, he'd seek to make a simple 'food' that people ate all the time - Plant Matter. Specifically, a handful of palm leaves, like what one would find on a palm tree in Suna.

But the statue wouldn't light up. And suddenly, rumbling could be heard. A moment later, the statues would both begin to move, their legs outstretching and dropping their plates as they rose to their feets, standing a full 10 meters tall. "That was wrong!" Takuma would yell out as he quickly put distance between him and the statues. And Fox, cursing under her breath, would draw her swords and turn her attention towards one of the statues.

[Willoria]

Rokuro chuckled as Takuma commented on Sakaki as an intellectual. "Yeah, she outpaced me in a lot of ways... it was her kindness that drew me to her. She never saw this damn..." His words trailed off as his fingers toyed with the ribbon and shook his head as he cleared his throat and turned his mind back to the task. As Takuma filled the jug, Rokuro nodded in approval though he was just as perplexed as to how they were going to fill the other plate. He knew he didn't have rations or food on him and doubted the other two did either. As Takuma seemed to create palm leaves he hoped it would work, but pretty quickly it became apparent it wouldn't work.

"Behind me, Tak! Now!" Rokuro ordered as he drew his corruption blade and put himself between Takuma and one of the statues. A look of calm determination took over Rokuro's eyes quickly as he focused on the statue, and formed one handed seals in his free hand, forming a shimmering and blackened spear in his free hand before throwing it at the statue's great neck in an attempt to knock off its head.

Jutsu UsedShow

*[Toryu • Lethal Familiarity]
C-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
Many of the Toryu techniques would put the user in incredibly daring positions where a single mistake could instantly spell disaster for the swordsman. As a result, Toryu practitioners must train themselves constantly to avoid letting their fears distract them from their task. A practitioner with this technique has learned to shut out fear in the heat of combat, allowing them to perform attacks and techniques without the risk of failure due to fear responses.

*[Toryu • Ambidexterity]
D-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
After practicing for a long amount of time with the concept of using both of their hands with equal skill, the user has developed a level of ambidexterity that allows them to utilize both hands equally and as effectively without any penalty. This extends to other methods of combat or simple everyday life as well.

~Crystal Spear
C – Ranked Ninjutsu
The user will do a series of one handed hand seals while holding their other hand out, causing a crystal spear 3m in length to form in their hand. The spear can then be thrown, or used in close combat, but can defend against strikes with a strength up to [Control].

[TyDie]

Rokuro's spear would fly true, piercing straight through the skull of one of the large statues and taking it clean off of it's shoulders, the spear falling on the other side of the room with the head still impaled on it. That statue would quickly fall over, the energies animating it quickly leaving it's husk. However, the other statue was quick to act, aiming to smash Fox as she was the nearest combatant. With deft swiftness, Fox leapt to the side, unphased by the tremors caused by the statue's strike. She then quickly lashed out against the statue with her swords, aiming to chip away at it's leg with various slashes. However, she'd find that her swords did her little to no good, and eventually she'd leap back as the creature aimed to kick her away. "Damn..." the woman exclaimed, resheathing her swords as she thought of how to act.

Takuma, however, was already flying through seals. "I've got it!" Takuma would then extend his hand out to the headless remains of the first statue, and strings of chakra would flit from his hand towards the lifeless statue. He wouldn't be able to control it with any kind of grace, but he could at least throw one into the other. With a heave and a yell, the strings would move the statue with surprising swiftness over to the other statue, crashing into it and toppling it into the wall. Of course, both statues were now dead, and the collapsed wall revealed sunlight, but now the entire chamber was collapsing around them - the support had been ruined.

"Oh no, the chamber!" "Let's go!" Fox would cry out as she made for the newly made exit. Takuma looked to the other end of the room and saw something he simply couldn't leave behind though; a scroll, sitting on a pedestal. "Wait, I can save it!" Again, his strings would lash out towards the scroll, wrapping around it and bringing it towards him as the ceiling began to fall. Once it was in hand, he'd make for the exit too, leaving Rokuro to be the last one out.

JutsuShow

*[Puppetry Style • Initiate Puppetry Technique]
C-Rank Ninjutsu
The Puppetry Technique is a Ninjutsu technique used by puppeteers. By releasing chakra from their tenketsu, the puppeteer is able to release chakra strings from their finger. These strings are able to move 25 meters. This jutsu allows the puppeteer to attach their chakra strings to inanimate, chakra-less objects at [Control] Speed. While an inanimate object is being controlled, it’s treated as if it has a speed equal to the puppeteer’s control.

[Willoria]

When the statue fell to pieces, Rokuro grinned behind his mask and slammed his sword back into its sheath. As he looked over to see how Fox was faring against her statue he couldn't help a roll of his eyes. "Fucking nitwit." he muttered under his breath as he watched Takuma save the woman with a quick set of chakra seals and some quick thinking. Though moments later everything seemed to be crashing all around them. Fox and Takuma got out first, and Rokuro hardly noticed Takuma get the scroll out with him as he was trying to find his way out desperately.

Using bits of the statues as his stepping stones he leaped from one to the next piece of debris to jump his way out, all the way yelling, "Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!" with every jump and step until he was safely outside. When he finally got to solid ground and sand he rolled across it, laughing as he came to rest on his back. "Well will you look at that!" he said, panting between bouts of laughter as he looked back and up at Fox as he was still laying on his back. "All your bitchy bullshit and the kid had to save YOUR ass." He couldn't help pausing for another laugh. "Maybe you should tone down the cocky bullshit next time, rookie."

He finally rolled over on his stomach and pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, but as he tried to stand he dropped back to a knee to try and catch his breath. He didn't even notice blood dripping from his left side from a gash where a chunk of crystal had been ripped out of his flesh. It was certainly a wound that looked far worse than it actually was, leaving globs of blood in the sand, but Rokuro couldn't even feel it given his CIPA.

[TyDie]

While Fox was simply standing and waiting for the other two to show up, Takuma was panting on his hands and knees trying to catch his breath. When Rokuro made his escape, the two turned to look at him, and Takuma was initially all smiles as it was clear they all escaped. But as he looked at Rokuro's side, Takuma went pale. "Oh no, Rokuro!" Takuma cried out, running over to the man to see if he could help. Fox walked over too, but judging by appearance alone that was a fatal wound, and neither Takuma nor Fox knew Iijutsu. Rokuro may have called her a rookie, but now he was in trouble. "Don't use your last words to talk shit. It's bad luck." She stood above both Rokuro and Takuma, and her gaze fell to Takuma, who was already in tears.

"His bloods on your hands. If you hadn't dragged us down there, none of this would have happened." Takuma gasped harshly as the woman made clear where she felt the blame lay, and he looked at his hands in disbelief. "All this for a stupid scroll..." At the mention of the scroll, Takuma clutched the scroll tightly in his arms... And practically snarled at Fox as chakra began to well up around him. "Shut up." He squeezed tighter and tighter, almost breaking the scroll in his arms, the chakra gathering more and more around him. Before long, his body began to change...

All down his arms, thin lines began to form, as if his very flesh was turning to ribbons. His body would begin to glow vibrant with white chakra, his skin, hair and clothing turning pale white, while his stomach turned pitch black. "All you've done this entire time is whine and complain, and put all the blame on me! I'm sick of it! I'm not your fucking punching bag!" Finally, a small orb of white chakra, not unlike a star in the night sky, formed around the boy's head and began to slowly orbit, like a halo. The first of Janesisu's forms had been tapped into, and Takuma was barely in control.

"That's right, love. Tell her how you feel. Let me out, and I'll take care of her for you..."

"I wish it was you dying instead of Rokuro, at least he cares about me!!" The boy's screams alerted the people on the other side of the ruin, likely catching even Souta's attention. Meanwhile, Fox was drawing her blades, prepared to put the boy down. "Guess you weren't strong enough to control it... What a shame."

[Willoria]

Though Rokuro couldn't feel the pain, what he could feel was a sudden bout of dizziness. He shook his head to clear it as he forced himself up to his feet, confusion overtaking his expression as he saw Takuma's panic and heard Fox's words as well. "What the hell are you two-!" He dropped to a knee again and growled under his breath, and heard Fox mention blood. It was then that he noticed red out of the corner of his eye and he looked down to see what was running down his side. "....well, shit." His hand went to the wound and came away soaked in it. He hardly glanced as the other two started arguing and he took a quick assessment of himself and could tell the wound was actually from a piece of crystal that had been dislodged. The moment he realized it, he was far less worried. While still a wound he already knew these areas of his body tended to be coated underneath in cartilage, bone, or simply other skin. The immediate trauma always caused immediate bleeding but it was also always temporary. It was a side effect of his condition. 'But these two don't know that, and it looks worse than it is.'

By time he looked up he realized he had a far worse situation at hand than his own wound however. Takuma was losing control and going into form. Looking up Rokuro could see Souta and Kaede suddenly seeing them and coming towards them, but the person in the best position to respond was him and Fox, and when he looked at Fox he could see her response was going to be lethal. "No!"

Rokuro rushed in with his corrupted blade suddenly in hand to parry one of her blades aside and slam his knee into her gut to wind her. But he wasn't finished as he swiped her across the chest with his sword. He was cautious to make sure he only cut deep enough to affect her with the power of the blade but not mortally wound her. He just needed her out of the way so she didn't kill Takuma. Only when he was satisfied she was down did he spin and sheathe his sword to face Takuma directly.

"Tak!" He kept his hands open wide at his sides as he faced the Jinch. "Don't listen to her! I'm right here, and I'm okay! I'm not dying, and I'm not going anywhere." He pointed towards Souta and Kaede as they approached. "Kaede is right there! She has the Iijutsu to heal this." he told him. In truth he didn't even want to use Tenkujutsu to bind the boy, or have to knock him out. He knew if he could get Takuma to control the genma on his own it'd be better. But still he stepped closer, knowing that if he had to swing and knock him out, he'd do it. "That thing is inside of you, you have control of it! Not the other way around. Take a deep breath and force her down! You've got this!"

As Souta and Kaede drew closer they split from one another. Kaede moved closer to Rokuro while still leaving him the distance he needed to talk to Takuma and work with him if need be. But Souta himself stepped closer to Fox and looked down at her with an icy stare that strongly suggested she stay down. If she did try to get up, the Bannin would keep her from getting closer to Takuma.

Rokuro Jutsu UsedShow

*[Toryu • Sundering Gravel]
D-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite(s): 8 Strength.
Designed as a counterattack but also a potent attack by itself, the practitioner will first wait to block or parry an opponent's attack with their weapon. Then, the practitioner will quickly counter with a swift knee strike to the opponent's stomach or diaphragm to stun them or cause them to stagger by winding them, followed by a quick slash or stab to their chest or stomach. The practitioner may choose to use this as an attack instead by immediately leading off with the knee strike if they so wish. Opponents with equal or higher Endurance than the practitioner's Strength can resist being winded.

[TyDie]

The boy was lost in his own head, he could feel the reins slipping as Janesisu threatened to take over not only his body but his mind. It hurt, it hurt worse than anything he had ever felt. She was clawing and tearing at his mind, trying to free herself with this sudden burst of power. "Come on, love... It'd be sooo easy to just let go. Just let me take over, and you won't have to worry about anything else." For just a brief moment, he actually considered doing as Janesisu asked... he almost let go as Fox was about to come down with her sword.

But the sound of Fox's blade clashing with Rokuro's caused his eyes to open wide with shock. Fox's eyes widened as well, her breath cut short as the startled handler was hit in the stomach by Rokuro's knee. She gasped for breath and cried out as his blade crossed her stomach, for a moment believing he had just slain her. But instead, the corrupt power of his sword drained her dry, and though the wound wasn't mortal, her energy was completely sapped and she dropped to her knees. "What... is... this..." She fell to her hands, gripping the sand tightly in frustration as she tried to fight back to her feet in vein.

Rokuro's then looked to the boy, trying desperately to calm him down. When it became clear that he wasn't going to die, that they had a medic on their team, Takuma slowly smiled at the man. "Good... that's good... I'm glad." Without even thinking, in his empowered stupor, the boy took a single step towards Rokuro, putting him within range to touch the handler. And then, he fell forward into Rokuro, wrapping his arms around the man's waist in a hug. The crystals poked and prodded his skin and blood got on his light blue poncho, but he didn't care. He was just happy that Rokuro was going to be okay.

"Damn, so close... Ah well. I'll get you next time."

Takuma's eyes closed suddenly, and the genma's chakra left him as he lost consciousness and returned to normal. Meanwhile, Fox looked up at Souta with a glare as the man made clear she needed to stay down for now, scoffing in annoyance.

[Willoria]

As Takuma took a step closer to Rokuro, Rokuro reached out towards him and didn't fuss as the boy hugged him. He put his hands on his back to accept the hug and even hold him there. He knew the fight Takuma was having in his head right now was one that would drain him and eventually cause him to pass out. He wouldn't need any help in that regard. When he did finally lose consciousness, Rokuro breathed a sigh of relief and dropped to a knee, still holding Takuma as he carefully lowered the boy to the sand and checked him to make sure he was still alive, and checked his seal. "He's okay." he said quietly, knowing Kaede had just come up to his side to check his wound.

"You're still a reckless moron." Kaede muttered as her hands began to glow green with mystical palm, and she pressed them to his side. But there was a small smile on her face as she looked at him. "Good to see you in Souta's shoes for once though. The kid needed that."

"Yeah... feels kinda weird to be the voice of reason though for a change." Rokuro admitted as he pulled off his cloak, careful not to interrupt the healing from Kaede. He laid the cloak out in front of him before pulling Takuma's unconscious form onto it. Someone came to help him and he waved them off. "No. He's my charge, I'll carry him. If he sees someone else when he wakes up, he might panic."

"I guess Sakaki really did change you." Kaede whispered, the glow in her hands fading for a moment as she looked at Rokuro. She saw his hands pause for a moment and she simply smiled on him. "Relax, that was a compliment." she added before walking away.

Souta meanwhile finally reached out a hand to help Fox get to her feet. "What you just felt is the effect of Rokuro's sword... it's made from his own crystal, and the result of a near death experience with Shishire." he told her before glancing over at Rokuro as the man picked up Takuma carefully in his arms, after carefully placing a scroll in one of his pockets it seemed. He turned his attention back to Fox. "Your callous disregard for a host's life has a place in the sealing chamber, but not out here. Try to kill a host without cause again, and it's your life that's lost." he told her harshly. "We'll talk more back at the village."

Yet Souta turned towards Rokuro and motioned him over. "Get the kid back to be fully evaluated, make sure he's okay. In the meantime, I'll do the paperwork to make it official... but this was an evaluation. The team is yours, Rokuro. You're this team's leader."