Some alone time... kind of.

[TyDie]

It had been a few days since their arrival in Konohagakure, and after a couple different interesting meet ups with Souta, Sakaki had finally argued with her father enough to get her true wish; a day without Souta. "Come oooonnnn! I'll bring Rokuro with me, so i'm still being watched over. Go look for your dog eared girlfriend or something, just give me one day!" With a heavy sigh, her father relented, and thus Sakaki was allowed to walk around the village and see the sights without the overbearing protection of her father. And of course, there was a reason she picked Rokuro over Kaede and Rika... he was the quiet one. It wasn't true alone time, but at least she had a silent guard instead of someone talking to her every minute of the day.

Shihihi, as if you're ever alone child. Well. There was always Shishire too.

With a long sigh and an eyeroll, all of which were no doubt seen by Rokuro as he was right next to her, Sakaki responded mentally. Of course. How could I forget about the consistent, unwelcome invader of my thoughts? You know, I got Souta to relent, could I get a day where you just stayed quiet for once? ...Don't hold your breath child. It'll be a cold day in hell before I give you such a comfort again. Shishire grew stern, mostly because at this point his ability to influence her was slipping. His overwhelming rage had been reduced to mere coals ever since she had attacked Souta, as if that last portion of his power had been too much for the beast to lose.

"You know Rokuro, we may not see eye to eye on everything, but I have to appreciate your silence. Finally, a chance for me to simply roam the village and explore, without someone telling me where I should go. Abrasive as you can be, in this case it's quite refreshing. I'm glad I picked you today." Sakaki smiled a wry grin at the man, clearly enjoying poking fun at him and his grumpy disposition. At the moment, they were walking down a strip of road, with various shops and stalls on either side of them. It was a common marketplace for the people of Konoha, and many smells were filling the air as local restaurants prepared to serve lunch. "I could go for a bite... Hey, how do you eat? Y'know, what with the uh..." Sakaki sort of waved her hand in front of her face, gesturing to her entire visage as a reference to the mask permanently plastered on Rokuro's skull.

[Willoria]

Ordinarily the weather would dictate whether or not Rokuro wore his cloak, but as he was visiting a foreign nation he and Souta had decided that his cloak was a constant requirement. After all, the man was, by most standards, intimidating enough with his mask, seeing his body with its scars and pieces of Tourmaline jutting out might be too much. As such he kept his cloak on as he walked silently alongside Sakaki, the hood down so his face was visible, as much of it as could be. He hadn't been exactly thrilled when Sakaki had begged for him to come along, he often preferred the days when she completely detested his presence, but as it was his literal job to keep an eye on her he never actually protested. He silently agreed to go with and walked beside her, shaking his head as she began to speak to him. He didn't respond at first. Though of course he had his own thoughts on the fact that she had insisted he come along as her silent guardian, and yet she seemed to insist upon trying to get a word out of him.

He relented from his silence as she finally brought up food and asked him an oddly touchy question. "Very carefully." was his cold response, his voice sounding low through his mask, though not quite as low as Souta's. His voice of course still carried more youth to it, though where kindness should be, was instead sadness. He glanced at the girl a moment, noticing the look she gave him and he couldn't help a bit of a sigh, but knowing the girl's favorites would at least get him out of the doghouse for that comment. "Our hosts recommended a sushi joint up the path, if you wish." he said, annoyance layered throughout his tone.

[TyDie]

Sakaki could tell immediately that the man wasn't too happy about the question she had asked him. Truth be told, in all the time she had known Rokuro, that mask of his had been a total mystery. She had asked Kaede and Souta once or twice about it, but the responses were never detailed. Kaede dismissed her, saying that Rokuro could hear them, and Souta simply said "ask Rokuro about it", which obviously she wasn't going to do. After all, it really wasn't her business, and at the end of the day the two didn't get along remotely well enough for her to ask such an obviously touchy question. Even asking how he ate was apparently too much. But he seemed to move past it well enough, and referenced a nearby sushi place that had been recommended by locals from the village.

"Hehe, that's another thing I like about you; when you do speak, it's always just as much as is needed. A great idea Rokuro, let's sit down for some sushi! I hope they make it as good as Souta does!" She giggled as they hurried down the road to the small shop, which only had about 5 seats total in front of a small bar where the owner, a young woman with red hair and green eyes, stood. "Good day! Oh, you're the entourage from Suna, yes?" The woman almost immediately noticed Sakaki's headband, which she had kept on display since her arrival in Konoha as a sort of identification, so the village knew she was from the sands. "Mhmm! We're from Wind Country, but we've heard you have some of the best sushi in the village. We're eager to try some, isn't that right Rokuro?"

She gave the man a playful nudge as she took a seat at the bar, and almost immediately her eyes fell on a bottle behind the sushi bar; sake. "Hehe, I wonder if I can get some of that too." Sakaki pointed to the bottle behind the table, but of course the woman shook her head. "Haha, I don't know how you people in Suna do it, but it's 18 here hun. I think you're a mite beneath that." Sakaki frowned and sighed, but nodded in understanding. "Fiiiine. Then give me your three best rolls please! And of course, whatever my friend here would like." She hadn't even realized she had called him friend, but the woman thought nothing of it and went right to work with a smile on her face.

While the woman worked, the two of them had a moment to themselves. "So... why don't you like me, Rokuro? I mean... Sure, im the host to Shishire and all, but you've been against me since the beginning. I don't think you've ever gotten to know me, or given me a chance to get to know you." She hadn't meant to get so serious, but she couldn't even approach a topic of interest with the man as she simply didn't know what they had in common. She didn't know what he liked, so how could they talk about anything? Then again, she had wanted quiet today... but maybe she really just wanted time away from everyone else.

[Willoria]

As Sakaki got excited over the prospect of sushi that her father didn't have to make special for her, Rokuro merely sighed and followed the girl silently. He walked into the restaurant with her, rolling his eyes visibly as she brought up drinking sake and smirking unseen behind his mask as the waitress confirmed it wasn't happening. He sat down beside Sakaki and let her do most of the talking. As the waitress turned to him for his order he had to quickly snatch up a small menu to peruse for an idea. "Shrimp Udon." he said rather quickly, frowning behind his mask. "And... uh... salmon roll I suppose." he said almost awkwardly, clearly feeling out of place.

As Sakaki quickly turned their subject to something more serious, Rokuro had to resist glaring daggers at the girl, and instead checked around them to make sure there was no one in earshot as he sighed audibly. "You assume it is personal. It is not." he told her rather curtly. With a heavy sigh he could see she wasn't going to let the subject go at that and so he spoke again. "You will fail." he told her, knowing that if Souta could hear him right now the large man would have slapped him upside the head. "Every host before you has, pattern and history suggests this isn't about 'if' you fail, it is all about 'when'. Someone among your guardians has to be ready for that, and clearly that will not be Souta. It must then be me." He sat in his chair for a moment in silence, looking across from them at the back of the bar itself, grimacing under his mask though Sakaki certainly wouldn't be able to see it. "Thankfully you have so far exceeded expectations however. Souta has not had to lose more as of yet."

[TyDie]

Sakaki watched carefully as the woman went to work making their food, slicing various meats and gathering steamed rice to make the rolls with. But a scowl crossed her face as Rokuro made clear that his disposition towards her wasn't a personal one, despite what it felt like to her. Instead his feeling towards her were based on this idea that she was destined to fail, that one day Shishire would win. Instead of getting angry though, she smiled wryly and let out a 'hmph'."At least you're honest. I can appreciate that much. But honesty doesn't change the fact that you're wrong." She glanced at him from the side with that grin still on her face, knowing that her response would get under his skin.

"The 8th Kazekage lived for a long time after his... ritual." She purposely kept it vague so as not to reveal her status as a Jinchuuriki. After all, they weren't in Suna anymore; Konoha didn't need to know what power she contained within her, at least not the civilians. "I'll do that too. Sure, eventually my time will come, but everyone's does. And hey, thanks for telling me a little bit about yourself finally." She gave the man a small wink with a laugh as she toyed with him, acting like she knew something he didn't intend to let her know. But she wasn't very good at holding on to that secret, it worked it's way out pretty fast.

"You have to purposely take steps to make sure you don't get attached to me, to be ready in case 'that day' ever comes, right? Well, that means that if you didn't take those steps, you might like me. So you're not such a hard ass after all, are you?" Sakaki grinned playfully at the man, leaning in close to his face until she was only a few inches away.

[Willoria]

Rokuro didn't look at Sakaki as she insisted he was wrong, instead he kept his gaze forward, even as another server stopped by and dropped off a teapot and two cups. He did, however, turn and flip over the cups to upright before pouring tea in each and setting one in front of Sakaki before taking the other for himself. For a moment he simply looked at it, frowning behind his mask at it as if it had offended him greatly. After a few silent minutes he reached up and moved his thumb across a couple parts of his mask, and pulled off a lower portion. This left his lips exposed, his scarred and somewhat deformed jaw, but his nose was still covered. But removing the piece allowed him to take an actual sip of his tea, and keeping part of it over his nose meant he could breathe that way, although it seemed to annoy him. He could almost feel Sakaki's stare, but tried to ignore it to instead reply to something she had said.

"I do what I have to because someone does, Sakaki." he said, his voice less muffled with his mouth exposed, but his voice almost seeming lower. It was clear even the sound of his voice has been somewhat affected by whatever had scarred him. "I know the promise Souta made you a long time ago, Sakaki. And I know he can't keep it, not now that he knows the truth. You're all he has left. It'll be up to me to keep his promise for him." He still didn't look at her, sipping his tea quietly as he waited for the food.

[TyDie]

Sakaki's playful demeanor slowly faded away as the man prepared the tea, and after a moment he revealed his face for the first time to her. It was... horrible. Disfiguring scars and chunks of crystal popping out of his flesh, truly a terrible fate had befallen him. She wasn't too bothered by it though, despite how bad it looked. After all, as the Soul Host, she had seen things that would cause most to lose their lunch, having even lost her friend Rika lose an arm and having dealt with numerous cadavers while studying advanced Iijutsu. Yes, she was an expert of the human body at this point, so the poor man's affliction truly fascinated her. "Wow..." Was all she uttered before she regained her composure and took a sip of her tea, bowing silently to Rokuro in appreciation.

"That... actually puts me at ease, believe it or not. After Sachiko, I can tell that Souta would be crushed if he had to do that to me. And it shows just how much you respect Souta, that you would be willing to take that evil unto yourself to protect him. Even though... he might hate you for it." Sakaki paused a moment as she looked deeply into her tea, then turned to face the man once again. "But why? Rokuro, why are you so enamored with Sou... father? Why do you respect him so much? I know little of your past with him." Their food was still cooking, and the woman preparing their meals had gone to the back. They had privacy, for the moment.

[Willoria]

He ignored her lapse in control as she saw his face, it was tamer than he had expected after all. He remained silent, sipping on his tea as she asked him another question. 'She's fond of the deeper questions it seems...' he thought to himself, musing over how to answer her as he sipped his tea deeply. He sipped perhaps too deeply, a rare and small sign of the CIPA the man suffered from the soul damage that caused his deformities. But so far he didn't burn himself, he only showed a little less caution than most might.

"He saved my life." he stated simply, turning to look at Sakaki briefly and he quickly realized that answer wasn't going to satisfy her. He sighed heavily, his frown more evident without his mask. "When I was hurt, when Sachiko lost control, it was Souta who stayed with me. He never left my side, from the moment I was hit, to when the medics began their work, and even in the hospital." He shook his head, clearing his throat before sipping his tea once more. "I woke up to one of his ridiculous little carvings at least once a week. My injuries stole everything from me that I thought gave me worth. Souta helped me get past all of it. Because of him I did more than survive."

He couldn't help a wry bit of a chuckle at that point. "I grew up like you, Sakaki. Orphanages. Shitty foster families. Souta was the first person to ever give a damn, and he is the only one who has ever been there exactly when I needed him." Realizing he had spoken so much more than he ever had to Sakaki, perhaps more than he had spoken since his injury, he fell quiet and frowned, staring at the wall across from them.

[TyDie]

Sakaki was shocked to her core to hear that Rokuro... was so much like her. Orphans, foster homes, no one to really care for you. Although, Sakaki had Miss Miami, but she knew that she was lucky... Many orphans didn't even have someone like her to be nice to them. But for Rokuro, Souta was that someone. The father he never had... Just like me. Sakaki let out a sigh as his story settled in her mind, and the woman came back with the rest of what she needed to finish preparing their rolls, a smile on her face as she slashed meat to pieces. "I never would have guessed we had that much in common Rokuro. See, we should talk more." Sakaki smiled down at her drink, but from the corner of her eye she saw the man take another drink... and of course, her eyes were drawn to the man's deformity.

"Alright, I have to address the elephant in the room, i'm sorry but... what happened to you?" She finally blurted it out without really thinking, covering her mouth a moment later as she realized what had slipped out. "I'm sorry, it forced it's way out. Forget I said anything, look at the woman use that knife. Her bladework is stunning, isn't it?" You? Bashful? It isn't like you child, how very interesting... Shihihihi. Of course Shishire waited until Sakaki presented a vulnerability to speak up... It was just like the genma.

[Willoria]

Rokuro took in a deep breath through his nose and let it out through his mouth slowly as Sakaki had her outburst. "I'm sure he could tell you all about it." he said sullenly, pausing for a drink of his tea and sighing heavily as he stared down at the empty place-mat in front of him. He could just leave his comments at that, he was sure Shishire would gladly brag about it, but he also knew the creature would gloat and paint it as something it wasn't. The beast would probably lie.

Rokuro let out another sigh and turned his head slightly, his deeply brown eyes sliding sideways to look at the girl beside him. "Her bladework is almost as good as mine, but that isn't what you really want to talk about." He frowned and turned his eyes forward again, thinking over that day so long ago. "It happened the day we first lost Sachiko." he finally told her. "She was a cute kid, I had a crush and rushed in too soon to try and help, not realizing it was too late to stop what we had to do. She took off my jaw, corrupted one of my own techniques and caused it to explode in my face." He frowned and fell into thought once more but this time he felt he didn't have much more to say. "My one moment of idiocy is why I'm like this. And why I can't breathe without this thing... or feel anything."

[TyDie]

The woman preparing their food came and delivered to Sakaki a series of different rolls; one filled with crab, salmon and celery, one with tuna and a spicy sauce, and one filled with shrimp and topped with some kind of green fruit. Truly, the display was beautiful, but the somber story that Rokuro had just told her had diminished her joy in regards to the woman's food. Still she put on a kind face as she took her first bite, which was admittedly not as good as Souta's but still not bad. "Delicious, thank you so much!" The red haired woman put on a proud smile and walked over to serve another group that had sat down on the other side of the bar. Now that no one was in earshot, they could continue their conversation.

"I... see. I think that may also be why you bear some resentment towards me, although I imagine it's subconscious. Since I bear host, I now possess the very thing that... scarred you for life. I mean, why wouldn't you hate me?" Sakaki looked to her food and sighed, her appetite having mostly left her. But suddenly an idea crossed her mind, as her eyes lit up with confusion. "But wait, why couldn't they heal you? I mean, it's a grisly wound sure, but we have some of the best hospitals in the world! Surely they could do something?" She looked with hope in her eyes; she was clearly interested in helping Rokuro now, having heard his horrible past.

[Willoria]

Rokuro didn't hate Sakaki, in truth he only hated the thing sealed inside of her. He hated that it was always the orphans and misunderstood that were sealed. They they were sacrificed. There were a lot of things Rokuro hated, but Sakaki wasn't on the list. He could have told her that, and he thought about it, but he didn't. He accepted his food from the waitress and thanked her quietly, trying to pretend he didn't see her expression when she saw his jaw. He pulled the udon closer to him and leaned over it to smell the soup even as he heard Sakaki suddenly get excited.

"Soul damage." he told her. "There was only so much they could do to heal me, the soul damage resisted much of the healing, so I'm lucky to be alive they say." he admitted. "There's also my corrupted jutsu." he added, glancing around again as he was suddenly worried someone might have gotten close enough to hear. So far no one had though. "My use of my clan's jutsu was corrupted, giving it a different effect, Souta was the one who first told me it made me stronger."

[TyDie]

While Sakaki listened to the man's explanation of what had happened to him, the creature within her laughed and taunted, as it always did. Shihihihi... I had forgotten about what I did to this man. In all honesty, when one has killed so many, one tends to lose track of each individual person. But yes, I recognize his wounds... there is nothing that could be done for him by any healer in your village. Sakaki turned sad for a moment, as it appeared that there was no way to save Rokuro from his crippled state... but as she thought carefully on Shishire's words, an idea formed, and with a snap of her fingers Sakaki responded aloud to the creature within.

"Heh, you're right... but i'm not just any healer, am I Shishire?" She said it quietly enough that only Rokuro would hear her, though even he was only getting one side of the conversation. Shishire, however, clearly disapproved. Do not dare to use my power to undo my work, child! I won't allow it! "When was the last time you had a choice in how I used your power? I'll do what I want." While the demon continued to rage within her, Sakaki tuned him out and turned to Rokuro with a look of determination. "Rokuro, i'm an incredibly skilled medic, you know that by now. Given who and what I am, if there's anyone in the world that can fix what's been done to you... it's me. It's only me. I might even be able to work it out that you keep part of the taint within you, so you don't lose the benefits."

Sakaki seemed so sure of herself, so sure that she could fix what the foul beast within her had done to someone. At the end of the day, her status as a jinchuuriki meant doing all she could to help the people of her village. And Rokuro was part of that too, even if his job was to deal with her if she ever posed a threat to the village she swore to protect. But at the end of the day, it was still his choice; she couldn't force him. "I won't twist your arm or anything... but I think I can do it. If you want me to, that is... I understand if you don't trust me... or, yknow, it. But... think about it. Okay?"

[Willoria]

As Sakaki conversed with Shishire, Rokuro fell quiet. He poked at his udon with this chopsticks a few moments before enjoying some of the noodles and eating the tempura shrimp out of it. He made quick work of his sushi roll, sipped on his tea, and froze as he heard Sakaki's offer. When he was first hurt, he had thought about it of course, but it had been made clear that the likelihood of a host coming along that would be strong enough was very low. Rokuro had buried any hopes he had into nothingness, even though every bit of his wounds ate at him. The worst of it was the CIPA. At first he had thought it would be great, to never feel physical pain, but over time he'd realized he couldn't feel anything else either, and even his emotions began to suffer. He could remember what it was like, and Kaede was the last woman he had held before it all happened.

He could remember what it was like to hold her.

And he could remember the moment it had never been the same again.

He didn't actually say much, but the idea of being able to feel again was, by itself, worth the risk. He turned his head nad looked at Sakaki a moment and nodded. "I'll talk to Souta and Kaede about it." he said quietly. "Souta will know more about the risks involved, and Kaede can help through it if we give it a try."

[TyDie]

Silence loomed over the two shinobi for an agonizing period of time, and before long Sakaki turned back to her food, a sort of sad look on her face. Had she overstepped her boundaries? Was he going to maintain his distance from her, as he had said before, in case the day ever came when he needed to fulfill Souta's promise to her? She used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of her sushi, a small sigh escaping from her as she prepared to take a bite. But as she was mid bite, her mouth still open in preparation to receive the food, Rokuro responded to her. She froze a moment, her mouth agape, before finally a smile crossed her face and she put the food down.

A moment later, she hugged him. And a moment after that, the hug was done.

A look of red embarrassment crossed her cheeks as her brain caught up to her feelings, and Sakaki stared down into her food, desperately trying to avoid the man's gaze. "...Tell no one what I just did." She tried to sound tough as she said it, but honestly it just came out sounding huffy and adorable.

[Willoria]

Rokuro was practically mid-slurp of his noodles when Sakaki hugged him and he froze in place. It wasn't just that the contact was unexpected, it was that, given his condition and the crystal chunks jutting out of his body in various places, he was afraid to move lest he wind up hurting her. He remained frozen, looking over at her as she sat back down and seemed clearly embarrassed and even surprised at her own actions. He couldn't help a bit of a smirk at her blush. He heard what she said and that smirk almost became a full smile. Almost.

He lifted his left hand and shifted it into a one-handed seal, holding it for near a full minute as he focused chakra through it. When he released the seal he moved his hand over to her place-mat to rest on it, though his palm didn't fully touch it. When he retracted his hand, he left behind the figure of a small fennec fox that appeared carved in black crystal, tourmaline. "I'll tell no one if you won't." he said quietly, going back to his food.

[TyDie]

Sakaki waited quietly for the man to make a response to her demand, waiting for him to no doubt berate or taunt her, or worse; state he had to inform Souta. That would've been the death of her for sure. But instead, he simply stated it was on her to tell anyone, before leaving her with a small fennec fox made of the blackened tourmaline he was known for. She took the stone in hand and smiled warmly at it, marveling at the details he was able to give it with such a simple hand seal. His control was paramount for certain. "This will look amazing back home, next to the wooden fennec Souta carved for me. Thank you, Rokuro." She smiled up at him now, while stowing the crystal away in her ninja pouch.

"...We should eat fast. I still have a full day of freedom, and many more places to drag you along to. Ooh, I could go shopping and make you hold my bags!" Sakaki beamed with joy as the idea dawned on her, turning Rokuro into her pack mule seemed perfect. To start the day with sushi lunch and proceed into a shopping spree... seemed like a great day for Sakaki to exercise a little freedom.