The Test Tube Baby and the Phantom Beast

[Taiga]

Mariya, very few in the village can understand what he's going through, let alone help him. I want you to be a good friend to him.

Her mind raced through her orders as she drew a pcoket watch from her flask jacket, checking the time.

Late. Very.

This isn't a mission. I want you to be friends- make friends. It'll be fun.

Mariya kicked at the dirt digging her heels into it and looking up to the sky as she leaned against a fence post. Not generally one to question orders having been raised by Tada Banri to be a weapon, she obeyed her father's wishes though a feeling she wasn't used was bubbling up inside. Rebellious feelings. It seemed Mariya still had a chance at being a normal teenage girl. With a few eye rolls, the girl looked out to the horizon, spotting no one, then back down, hanging her head as she waited to the Jinchuuriki to show up. She was told he could be a handful.

Meeting new people sucked.

[Texas]

*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP* Aki's head lifted up in the air. He swung his right hand to his eyes and gently rubbed both of them. The crust slightly fell off which followed up with a loud and obnoxious yawn. What the young boy didn't realize was that his alarm wasn't waking him up on time... he had slept through seven different snoozes which would mean...

"I'm Late!!!" He yelled as he whipped the blankets that were keeping him warm from his body.

With haste the Genin threw on his favorite gear and ran to the bathroom. The host took the toothbrush and pushed the bristles throughout his teeth the clean them. After a mere 30 seconds, he threw his toothbrush in the sink and sprinted out of his room. Following left and right, Aki ran down the stairs and swiped an apple from the kitchen before heading through the front door. Leaving his residence and sprinting to the grounds where he was told the day prior to meet, the young boy took a bite out of his apple and continued to run.

The time of travel took Aki longer than he had anticipated. However, he had finally arrived. As Aki showed up, he ran up to the meeting spot. Mid-step, he took a bite out of the apple and began to chew. When he saw Mariya more clearly, he sucked in the air in order to speak out his name. Unfortunately, he had yet finished chewing. So while breathing for air, a chunk of apple got stuck in his throat. The idiot was choking before speaking out a word.

[Taiga]

Mariya's eyes widened as she saw a haphazard excuse for a genin approaching. This kind of behaviour, appearance, and general lack of being well put together would have never been accepted Banri's Black Ops. Her gaze quickly tightened as the child came before her. He was about to shout out his aisatsu when the food he had also decided to eat became an obstacle... to his breathing. She watched silently for a moment as the boy began to choke... perhaps her black ops training left her lacking compassion. It was something she would need to learn... because instead of saving him right away she went into a rant.

"Shinobi protect time. Being late is in violation of the shinobi rules; article IV paragraph 2 sentence b. You need to get your act together." After a few seconds she would go up to the boy and give him a well-placed thwack on his back, or however many she needed to do a pseudo-heimlich and force him to cough up his apple chunk. Ignoring the fact that the boy had almost just died, she would continue.

"I've been appointed a mentor of sorts. Father says your friend, but let's not kid why we're here. My abilities can help you control yourself." Mariya said as she began to pace back and forth. "Least that's my guess as to why I've been paired up with you as your Jounin mentor." she would stop her pacing and then ask one posed question.

"Do you have any questions?"

[Texas]

The whack on the back was exactly what the boy needed. It allowed him to cough up the apple on the ground. Aki grinned slightly as he wiped up the drool from his mouth with his sleeve. He gazed upon the chuunin as she recited an article that he genuinely had no clue even existed. The young delinquent couldn't hold his tongue and had... diarrhea of the mouth before he could truly ask any quests.

"Ouch thank you. Ma'am you need to lighten up a little bit. You seem tense."

After finishing that sentence he got slight chill down his spine and shook a time bit as if he could feel something. After the few seconds of shaking, he continued on.

"As for my question... I guess I should ask who are you? What kind of mentor are you going to be? Will there be snacks? And lastly what do you like to do for fun? Maybe we should get to know each other better!"

Akihiko suffered a little bit with having a scattered mind. Although he could be loud and seeking attention, at the end of the day he does mean well.... he just likes to get recognized for it. However, his mind was racing with what kind of person she was and in his own way tried to truly figure out who she was. Now, how it is received would be totally acceptable due to the young one not being the best with speaking or conveying a fluid thought when he talks.

[Taiga]

Mariya's eyes tightened at the boys comment but she had to admit he was right. She took a few deep breaths before sighing and looking him over. Was this really the boy meant to be a weapon and host for the village. Hmph. Relaxing her posture she took a step forward and physically patted the boy on the back, aiming to check that he was okay from his choking, with a nod that meant to say sorry. This boy was not a black ops recruit and this was not a shadow mission. This was a normal kid put in a situation that he couldn't begin to comprehend, and if that didn't make them similar, what did?

"There could be snacks involved, but you're going to have to be real impressive for me to buy you snacks." Mariya said with a giggle.

So... what now...

Mariya looked back the boy and decided to just be blunt.

"How are you adjusting to being the Jinchuuriki?"

[Texas]

As she walked over to him, he slightly flinched. It took only a short time to realize she was trying to comfort him. Maybe something had gotten through to her. A normal child would accept this, but Aki found this to be a future opportunity to pull a lack luster prank. Those thoughts were quickly fleeted when she mentioned snacks. The boy got extremely excited. Clenched his fist and did a mini little hop. "Really?? Hopefully something good! The healthy stuff tastes so bad and puts me on a toilet for a while. You know what I mean?" He gave a wink with his right eye and attempted to nudge the mentor with his right elbow hoping she would agree with him.

When Aki was asked about his Genma, he couldn't help but look at Mariya in an odd way. In fact, it completely changed his demeanor from the snack conversation. This was something that Aki had been struggling with. His crinkled nose and crinkled eyebrow made it hard to tell if he was thinking or pooping. While thinking of the right thing to say, Ryeunso gave his two cents. 'You know, if you were competent enough to use my power we could bug her a great deal.' It was an easy response, but Aki simply told the gemna 'I have no clue what you even do Ryeunso.'

Aki, wiped the ugly look from his face and spoke up. "Well... uhmmm you see.. So far we only communicate about pranks and tricks. We haven't really gotten that far in learning what we could do. As of now, he pretty much just gives me ideas when I can't think of anything fun to do.." Aki spoke in a tone that was borderline disappointed. He knew that he could do more, but Ryeunso was really only feeding into his delinquent side. Being paired with the Genma and living granted the shinobi the opportunity to be more than just a shinobi, but a symbol of power. Although he liked to have fun, the brat throught that maybe in the process he could become a strong foe. After he finished his sentence, he looked up to her. "Why do you ask? Is this normal... to have troubles in the beginning?"

[Taiga]

If Mariya was a normal girl she probably would have laughed at the boy flinching when she got close to him. Alas, she was grown in a test tube and raised to be an assassin by the vile Tada Banri. So, really, all of the intricate dynamics of boys and girls went right over her head. When he made the poop joke and nudged her with his shoulder, she would lean in even closer only to give him a gentle "karate chop" the head. It was something instinctual like an older sister to her younger brother or a mentor to a student. "Going to the toilet is a good thing- healthy food has fiber." She said before she would turn and begin to walk, gesturing for him to join her.

They'd go get some healthy snacks first and see where that took them. Maybe, if Aki was a good buy, he'd get some ohagi or other red bean sweat. Mabye. As they'd walk she'd continue to address his questions, but first scold him.

"You shouldn't admit to being a jinchuuriki and talk about it so openly you know. You didn't even check my forehead protectors chain code or anything to confirm I am in fact Mariya or the person you were supposed to meet." she said sternly. Some people were out to get the Jinchuuriki. Some real bad people. "But yes- the early months can be the worst. Most hosts kind of go nuclear and implode by now." she said. It would sound like teasing but it wasn't. It was Mariya lacking the sensitivities to not tell a child most people in his shoes died.

[Texas]

He felt the chop on the head from Mariya, but it wasn't hard at all. It felt more like a physical cue to communicate. With the chop a distant thought, Aki followed the girl to the point where they were side by side. She was to his left and he tried to match her steps kind of like a game. Going left foot and right, there were times that seemed like he skipped, but that was simply a physical tactic to try to match her steps. When she explained that healthy snacks are good the young delinquent couldn't help but stick out his tongue and make a yuck like noise that sounded like "Ble".

Aki looked up at the girl as she spoke to him in regards to revealing he was a genma host. The boy had a large debriefing on what he could and couldn't disclose... however, all he could think about was what cool thing he could do as the Host of the Genma. However, he has yet to truly figure out what new powers were bestowed upon him. With those words cutting slightly deep the boy continued to look at her. "I didn't realize that I had compromised myself... but if you know who I am then what exactly are you? How do you know so much about this kind of stuff?" Aki chose to ask specifically in that way to indicate that there must have been a reason they were paired up.

Childish games were the only thing Aki did to get attention. It was why he dyed his hair as well. Due to his own mouth, the child seemed to not be the best with making friends. So when it came to interactions, he normally was relatively behaved. This was unless he felt as though the person he was interacting with wasn't respecting him. The child placed his right hand on the side of his head with a wincing face; only to hear the Genma act up. 'Child she will only lie to you, lets ditch her and get a real snack. Maybe we could knock over a few carts and have her clean the mess in the process'

[Taiga]

Mariya was robotic in her response to the boy and recited the code to the boy first.

"A jinchuuriki is never to reveal who they are within the village, least not until they reach a complete level of mastery. Under no circumstances are you to reveal your existence to those outside the village. This is for both the safety of the village and your own." she said as she continued into an explanation. Children always needed explanations. "There are those out there as we speak who wish to kill you and take what's inside of you. Until you are powerful enough to stop them you must be wise." she said as the pair continued to walk.

"I know who you are because I am... well, it is complicated but I am a Jounin who has some abilities that could prove useful to you and the daughter of Lord Raikage. I have been asked to be a mentor to you." she said, leaving it at that. He didn't need to know she was raised in a test tube, actually had two fathers, and also was filled with knowledge artificially as she grew in the tube to become a perfect Black Ops agent. He also didn't need to know she was a failed attempt to make a new breed of Jinchuuriki either.

Mariya quickly noticed the boy grab his side as he winced in pain, stopping her from lecturing any more.

"Are you okay? Perhaps you're really hungry. Maybe you can have a dango as your first snack. They're nice and sweet but not too unhealthy." she said as she continued to walk on.

[Texas]

The boy actually listened to Mariya and nodded to show he was paying attention. Maybe it was due to her behavior, but it gave Aki the feeling of security and attention that the young delinquent was desperately looking for. What resonated most with him was that he was to keep his host situation under wraps until he was strong enough to defend himself. This caused an immediate reaction, his face quenched as if he was thinking hard and responded lightly. "Stronger? Huh" Not that it didn't make sense, but Aki knew that he was nowhere near as strong as he could be. Especially since he didn't fully grasp what he could actually do. With those thoughts flowing for him, his face relaxed a bit as she continued to speak.

Aki was listening until she mentioned that the Raikage was her father. The Raikage?!?! Once again this pushed an instant reaction out of Aki that caused him to blurt out loud with unidentified irony spewing out, "That pain in the butt??". Aki loathed the Raikage, not for any good reason. Mainly because the young genin couldn't get a reaction out of him no matter what he said or did. In fact, a big motivator of getting stronger is to wipe that smirk he had when he picked him out of the clothing store. Even the thought triggered his Genma to speak up about the matter 'Ahh a rightful thought. Don't worry tiny child, I know what to do the next time we encounter that man. Just let me do all of the work'. A frightening thought to say the least.

The nice gesture was great to get a good snack, but he didn't want to fully admit why his head was hurting. Aki could see why other hosts have failed, if it wasn't for his genes, he would not be able to hold his standing with the Genma. He looked forward to where they were walking with his hands moved to be by his side. He did get excited about a tasty treat, maybe he will milk it in the future. "Yes that sounds good! Do you have any experiences with Genma in general? Also.... how do you know so much?"

[Taiga]

There was a marked improvement in the boy's demeanor as Mariya began to explain who she was and why the boy needed to keep his secret safe. She would gradually open her body language but never once smirk- her face seemingly dead in expression. It seemed he had some questions for himself about being stronger, and then he became lost in his own thread, the boy had become increasingly quieter. She could imagine the reason was that he was communing with the eons old demon inside of him. What was the demon inside of her, though? She was supposed to be a jinchuuriki and despite having not become in the end Mariya had to wonder what was wrong with her.


Before long the two would approach near a sweets cart/stall outside on one of the mountainous paths and ridges. Mariya would order just one for Aki, and as the two would wait she would answer the rest of his questions. Oh- she'd also order two drinks, green tea. She was a little thirsty and was sure the dango would make Aki thirsty as-well. Who was she exactly? How did she know so much? Aki's question was no doubt one even Mariya had trouble answering, especially given that she was physically younger than the boy. Her finger raised to her lip as she sat silently for a moment, mulling over what to say.


"I was uh, considered to be a Jinchuuriki, trained for it from the moment I was... since I existed. So much knowledge was given to me." Mariya said as her mind saw something else. It was her, in a tube, floating in god knows what, many things attached to her spine and head. She was grown there- fed with visions of the Genma and knowledge by Banri- it was so cold. So... lonely. Her mind snapped her back to the present. "Anyhow, it wasn't the path for me... but I do have abilities that can perhaps help you in your predicament." she said before getting the dango and tea from the man and handing Aki his share.


"I can't pretend to know what you're going through personally, but I do know quite a bit. I have my own flaws and I suspect my father matched me with you as a mentor in order to fix those perceived flaws." she said with a straight face, still not a single sense of emotion. She couldn't have been more correct- Hayate wished for Mariya to have a childhood. To have emotions. Who could have possibly been better than the host of Chaos and a repetitive prankster punk?

[Texas]

The boy's eyes widened immensely as the food and drink was ordered. In fact, was the only thing he could truly think of. So much so drool slowly rolled from the boy's mouth. His arms went almost limp and his back hunched a little bit. 'It would taste better if we just stole it, if you were strong you would be able to take it from the cart itself' muttered the Genma in Aki's head. This snapped him back into reality. He shook his head and looked at the girl speaking about her knowledge. The delinquent didn't fully grasp what she was saying. The concept of learning, but what Aki didn't understand was how someone who looked young like him could know so much.

What was a moment of intrigue, turned to confusion. Aki placed his right hand on his chin and scrunched his eye brows as he looked upon the girl. He, not so gracefully, spoke out after she finished speaking about her gain of knowledge. "Hmm that sounds terrible." The boy closed his eyes almost like he was deep in thought and nodded his head multiple times. "I didn't mean to say it like that.. I am courteous though." Hopefully Mariya understood he meant curious. "What exactly does that mean? Do you have a mother? Or any friends from the Academy?"

Akihiko's attention went from the food to the girl. Something about her truly interested the boy. She had the demeanor of a veteran ninja, but looked like a child. This was an appearance that didn't fully translate. Her nature seemed to be secretive, but Aki wanted to learn and understand better.

[Taiga]

The girl nearly giggled at the sight of the boy's reaction to the food. His antics and perhaps over-the-top behaviour were enough to activate something primal and natural in the girl- laughter. It was something humans were exceptional at and even if you were raised in a test tube, it was hard to go against human nature. She watched him carefully as he yet again seemed to slip away from reality and enter his own little world. She had initially taken an educated guess that Aki was talking with his Genma, but she was beginning to suspect that assumption was wrong and the boy was perhaps just a bit of an airhead. Ironically her observations were taking her in the wrong way.

Eventually, he responded to Mariya, and then asked a question that caught her very off guard. She paused. She wasn't sure what to say, so to start with, she'd answer his queries with brevity and logic.

"Curteous? Anyhow, I'm not sure myself what it means. I don't think I had a mother, but scientifically that's improbable. I never went to the academy. I..." she paused at his last question. Until she had reached that point she had spit words like a machine-gun rapidly answer like it was something she had rehearsed a thousand times, but the last question left her stuck. Her face would read cannot computer as it went blank and she gazed at the boy, looking at him, but not looking at him.

"I only ever had my father, Tada Ba-" her lips stopped on the last word. Tada Banri was the first father figure she ever had. He was all she knew, but he was a very bad man. He had committed the worst war crimes in the village's history and was disposed of as a despot... it was a name she was recommended not to share with others when speaking of her family.

"I only ever had my father, the lord emperor. But I never met him until very recently... so I guess I had no one." she said simply as she received the food, handing Aki his share. It was Mariya's turn to be a little curious.

"What about you? Did you have many friends at the academy? What is life like in the village? How was growing up, what is your family like?" She had never actually experienced any of that- her knowledge bound only to the training she had received, which unfortunately taught things like "family is a dagger to be twisted in your back" and "the academies of Kumogakure have made our shinobi weak, spineless fools."

[Texas]

Akihiko watched as the girl stuttered and fumbled around her words. It was clear to the boy that the person in front of him was different in many ways. Although every story was different, maybe some day he would get the full story. Listening to one name after another, Aki got a little confused and scrunched his face a bit. It was his common face when he had to use more than a few braincells. He once again placed his hand on his chin. "You know what Mariya-San, I think if its something you don't feel comfortable talking about you can say its complicated. Usually I say that when I don't want to talk about something. It works really well with adults!" Aki couldn't help but giggle a little bit. Maybe some his tricks will rub off on her.

The young delinquent looked upon her as his face changed back from being scrunched to normal. In a short time Aki had grown to respect Mariya. Some form of trust was forming, however she was someone that he would need to get to know better to understand her true past. He nodded his head as she asked the questions. If Akihiko loved anything it was attention and answering these would surely give him the spotlight for a few minutes. "Well I have a mom and dad, but they are usually doing their clan duties as Jounin. Then there is my prodigy older brother.. As a Ishiguro clan member I pretty much had been training since I was even smaller." The child scratched his head with his right hand and continued talking. "The academy wasn't my favorite place. I didn't really make that many friends and because my off time was training, school was a little too easy. But that boredom was filled with fun activities! My professor and classmates weren't the biggest fans but they were a great audience!" The child gave a smirk, followed by a mischievous look. "Maybe some day if you get more comfortable we could pull a prank on your father figure Raikage. His face was born to be surprised." Like a comic book character, Akihiko got lost in the moment and rubbed his hands together as if he was thinking of a million ways to prank the man that he vowed to get revenge on for ignoring him.

'Boy if we could jump scare the raikage, it would be done flawlessly with the girl involved.' The boy had a blank expression and nodded from the outside but spoke back to the Genma 'you know I'm up for any good ideas Ryeunso.' With a shake of his head and the back to earth look that gazed through his eyes, he smiled and looked at the girl. The boy strategically avoided the question what is life like in the village. He had some issues with trying to fit in but nothing he would admit openly. His answer wouldn't have been genuine anyways. Aki decided to continue the conversation with some more questions. He was genuinely enjoying the talk they were having. "This might sound corny, but I was wondering... what kind of goals do you have for your future. I think both of us in different ways have goals set out to us from adults, but do you have anything you want to achieve that hasn't been set for you?" It was rare moments Akihiko could sound normal. He was curious if she had any goals of her own. Akihiko had goals set by his family and clan... now with the Genma he had goals set by the village as well, so meeting someone different but similar really made the boy wonder what was going on.

[Taiga]

Complicated. The words lingered in Mariya's mind. Complicated. Yeah, that wasn't half bad and it was certainly easier than sorting out her feelings for one Tada Banri- genocidal maniac that was also the first father figure she ever had in her life. She'd nod, finding it odd how the young boy had such wisdom, but realizing that some things couldn't be injected into a tube. Conceding to his way of thinking, she would note "Ah... then yes, it's complicated Akki" before suddenly being willed to break her programming a little and order some sweets for herself from the cart. Though her initial assessment of the boy was that he was a loose cannon, she had begun to form a bond with him, perhaps her first ever in the village.

Hearing what he had to say about his life was interesting and Mariya listened with great intent as he spoke about his mom and a dad. His brother. This concept was so clear to her in her knowledge, but so foreign to her experience. A woman in relation to her child or children- that was a mother. The words, like pages of a dictionary, were there, and yet she felt hollow hearing them. What did having a mother feel like? What was a brother like? She paused to ponder it for but a moment, still listening to the boy.

His days in the academy were, as she could have guessed, not his best. She could only imagine he was some sort of class clown. The type who loved to get attention. She was taken aback however at the suggestion of pranking the Raikage, but not for the reason one would expect. She didn't really understand "pranks" or "practical culture". So she would ask. "What's a prank?" she'd call out to the boy.

As there conversation continued he would pose a difficult question to Mariya. What... was her own personal goal? Her mind raced.

A goal, not given to me any others? Not by adults? Mariya racked her mind. The only thing she could think of was Banri... what he had become. She was as much his kin as she was Hayate and that was a frightful thing she would have to live with. She wasn't sure what her goal was, but for now, she knew she didn't want to be her father Banri. Hayate was a man who had put much good in the world but his hands too were dipped in blood- such was the way for legendary warriors, war heroes, and champions of combat.

Could she be different than the people whose DNA gave her life?

"I just want to do good in the world- do right by those who need it."

[Texas]

Akihiko was a little distracted by the food, with his eyes large and mouth somewhat watering from the smell he was about to jump into the cart itself! When he finished speaking about pranking the Raikage, Aki watched her reaction. He was slightly shocked that she didn't have any reaction either way. No excitement, no anger, in fact what he saw was a slight state of confusion. Did the boy jumble his words a little too much? Before the boy could finish thinking one of the most complicated questions Akihiko could have ever heard escaped from Mariya's mouth. A wave of confusion and excitement. These conflicting thoughts caused Akihiko to put himself in a deep and odd physical position. The boy widened his stance and bent his knees while moving his arms down to his waist. He bent his elbows so that his hands were angled up almost as if he was "powering up". Well, that's what the boy thought it looked like. If anything he appeared as if he was going to send a turd to the ground in a fast manner.

"What's a prank??" he almost shouted while in the ridiculous stance. In a matter of seconds the stand changed to him placing his hands on his knees and lifting up his head to look at the girl. Only to excitedly express his passion for the quickest way to truly gain attention, whether it was negative or positive. "Pranks are the best ever! It is tricking someone in a fun way that catches them off guard. A common one is like a jump scare. Don't you think it would be a little bit funny to see the Raikage surprised!" The boy giggled and continued "The look on his face would be absolutely priceless!" Aki's fixation on getting Hayate's recognition was something deeper and psychological, but nothing that child could truly grasp. At least.... at this age.

Later in the conversation Aki listened to her say something about protecting he village. He stood up straight and nodded his head in agreement. "I think as shinobi we all want to protect the village and its people. Help others in need. For example, for me I want to be a master of my clan and its techniques. After that my overall goal is to be a spectacle and a protector of the village as well. My brother had a goal, but I haven't talked to him in a while." It didn't take much to distract Aki, but he couldn't help but smell the food again and be fully entranced.

[Taiga]

Akihiko's reaction was so strange to Mariya. Her eyes narrowed to slits in skepticism as the boy looked like he was being exorcised of a demon as he began to rapidly move between a wide stance, to his hands at his knees, to a strong, open, and defiant stance glowing... no, radiating with energy. Was this his genma? Mariya's hands slowly moved together preparing to channel, preparing for the worst. She would execute the routine 234z.a modification B12 if need be to protect the village. Before she could continue though, the boy luckily spoke. It was clear it was not his genma because the genma would never say anything so foolish.

As he regaled the meaning of prank, Mariya realized it referred to some sort of practical joke. And more interestingly, she picked up on a weird desire to pull one off on the Raikage. Akihiko had seemed fixated on that, come to think of it. But such an idea was highly illogical. Mariya's ears angled upwards as she looked with increased skepticism at the young genin.

"That is highly improbable- likely illogical. My father cannot be "pranked"." Mariya said as she jumped into a tactical analysis of the legend, the man, the myth, Ninth Raikage and Emperor of Lighting Country Nakajima Hayate.

"The first thing is his sensory, granted by the Starforce, gives him an immense knowledge of what is going on around him. Simply hiding around a corner will never work on him..." she said as she continued rattling off the reasons why Akihiko would fail, completely unaware that he had tried something similar to the situation she was describing. After a few reasons, she would stop. For Akihiko, this would likely confirm his thought process. With Mariya on his side, or at least to blab on everything her father could do, they could find all the gaps in the Raikage's armor and perhaps pull off the ultimate prank.


Receiving her food, she began to walk away from the cart and took a bite. It was... sweet. A farcry from the healthy food a tip-top shinobi should eat... and yet it called to her soul. It was "delicious". As for the goals, she noted Akihiko's intentions were all behind a desire for fame, or to be noticed. ...To be a spectacle...

"How are your... studies, then? To be a spectacle you will need to train a considerable amount!" Mariya said, trying to move the topic from pranking for now,

[Texas]

Akihiko picked the food up that was handed to him a while ago, he left it to his side when he was deep in conversation. However, the boy began to eat when Mariya did. Not out of being polite, but more so he got lost in the conversation they were having. The boy started to look at her as he ate. She rattled off some important information that Aki had never heard before. With half of his food in his mouth, the delinquent spoke up. "Hmm you eem to kn a lt abt the Kagi." He of course swallowed his food after he spoke almost causing himself to choke. With a couple of coughs, Aki hit his stomach with his right hand and winced his eyes almost shut. "Whoops, almost choked again ha ha ha." The awkward fake laugh was his attempt to make a call back joke.

The boy continued looking at her as he continued his thought with food in his mouth. "Maybe if we put your knowledge and my pranking experience we could pull one over on your old daddio!!" As he finished the word daddio, Aki's eye brows went up and down twice. It was combined with a shit eating grin that could be seen a mile away. What he meant was true, maybe together in the future they could come up with a way to utterly surprise that man.

The genin could tell that Mariya wanted to move on with the conversation. He started drinking the tea she gave him and simply listened to her question. It soaked in heavily. He knew what he wanted to learn. He had a clear cut idea. With his right arm moving to the back of his head to itch it as if he was feeling a little bit awkward. Aki muttered "well there are two things I want to start focusing on. Things that I can't just learn in the compound where my family lives. I want to work on the Art of Assassination techniques like being quiet while looking at my surroundings and I want to master this thing inside me." When the boy finished his sentence, he placed both of hands on his stomach and looked down. It is where he associated the Genma, however it felt as though it was more in his head than anywhere else.

[Taiga]

"Hmm you eem to kn a lt abt the Kagi."

What was this fool trying to say? Mariya sighed, as he let out a series of coughs. Yet again he almost choked on his own food. Perhaps speaking was more important than breathing for this child. She'd shoot him a sharp look but ultimately, learning to live a little, let it go. It was almost humorous that he didn't learn his listens, but, Mariya noted, maybe that's what childhood was supposed to be. She smiled gently at that thought, not that Aki would know why or have any reason to suspect her grin was not due to his callback joke.

"Maybe we could..." she said, hoping the conversation on pranking their Lord Emperor would end, and gracefully, Aki did shift the conversation. She made a mental note though of his deep desire to pull one over on Hayate... this was a motivation. As Banri had taught her, motivations were powerful things for making men work. As he spoke about his desires to learn, Mariya's eyes widened with interest. These were things she could teach. These were the ways of a black ops operative.

"That friend of yours inside you makes you exceptionally powerful at stealth..." she paused. Would there really even be anything for her to teach or show to someone who could disappear from the realm they knew? It seemed that mastering his genma alone would make him quite the assassin... and with that, she was sure she could help.

"I would guess my father set this meeting with that intent- I am able to help you with your... peculiar ability. Make sure the seals hold." Mariya said. She'd pause to eat a little, before starting off.

"How bout we start tomorrow, Aki? Let's learn to get the drop on anyone, even the Emperor himself."

[Texas]

Akihiko watched every movement and listened to every word of the girl next to him. Although she might look at him differently, he surely saw her as a friend at this point. Not having many, this was something that Aki would appreciate. His body stiffened for a slight moment before he responded to her. 'You think she will help you? How about we steal her treat and run away. That would be a better use of our time. It would be funnier too.' Aki's overall demeanor changed after the Genma had spoken to him. "You mean to tell me you can help?" Mariya would probably notice the stiff body language drastically change into excitement. Even Aki's face lit up in a way that exploded with pure joy. "YES! LETS DO IT!!"

If the young lad was anything, he wore his emotions on his sleeve. Not the most ideal for someone who claimed that he wanted to learn assassin techniques. The Host's aspiration wasn't to become an assassin. However, it was the techniques of being an Assassin that Aki knew he could utilize. A great way to protect the village. Whether it meant out in the field or within the walls. With that being said Aki spoke out with his excitement still surging through his veins. "You tell me where and when. I'll be there. I actually will be there on time." This statement was followed up with a sincerely awkward smile.