المسرح الأسود (كيلاكيت تانى مرة)

Alchemy and Engineering are Civilian only Professions.

Did you start to RP?

Lyon set out for a walk around the walls of the village. It actually wasn't just any walk, it was a mission. A quite easy one too, for someone of his skill. All he had to do was set out traps around the village and it was done. Obviously, it wouldn't be that simple, but after the Samurai attack on the village he wanted to do something to protect it. And, to be honest, loads of traps around the walls would probably be able to stop a few samurai. He was wearing his usual white cloak, with a hood that somehow resembled the head of a hawk. He was also wearing a cape, which was covering his left arm, one of hid hidden blades, and a small poach they gave him at the mission centre. This poach containd the basic items for setting out traps, from the simple ninja wire and explosive tags to the more complex chakra sealing and sleep spore tags. All of which were expensive materials that he couldn't afford to lose. Lyon wanted his student to be there with him right now, so she could learn from him about how to set traps efficiently, but unfortunately Azami was nowhere to be found. Perhaps she'd come and meet him later? Or maybe she wouldn't. Setting traps wasn't really her style either, she was more the kind of girl to hit and smash everything on her way until she got what she wanted. Oh well, that really wasn't his style, but he had a feeling that it would probably be easier to conquer the world alone than changing that girl's battle style. She seemed to like it...

...tho Lyon wasn't sure about how she ended up after that battle against the army. Was it too much blood for a child to see? Probably, but she was a ninja nevertheless. Lyon sighed. He needed to get away from this place for a while. Not now, but he wanted to take some time out for himself and explore the world out there...and by "exploring", he meant it as in "Not-on-an-assassination-mission". So many thoughts crossed his head as he walked through the gates...

[Post 1]

Lyon crossed the gates and turned to his right side. He was going to cover the entire perimeter...by himself. This would probably take a few hours, but he didn't mind. He needed to think, a lot. Was what he was living for worth dying for? Only a few days ago, the village had been attacked by a group of Samurai, and people who were close to him were also quite close to Lady Death herself. It was almost ironic, wasn't it? Him, a trained and professional Assassin, part of the Elite of Konoha, so used to deal with Death, was now worried about having important friends being killed. Lyon never considered his line of work as "bad". He killed because he was ordered to do so, he killed because he believed it was the right hing to do. Every death caused by his blades would bring benefits to him and his village somehow. Someone had to do the dirty work...and if that was him, the blue eyed Jounin wouldn't mind. Yet he wondered if this was really the right environment to train and make decisions...the village was dangerous, and they didn't even quite understood what happened. They should get out and speak to other villages. They had to.

The man took a few steps into the forest, without ever losing sight of the wall. It was not like he would get lost if the wall suddenly disappeared, but to set out a good perimeter of traps Lyon needed them to be at specific distances from certain points of the wall. He had been trained to do this as well, in the academy, but this was a bit more complex. As he approached the first tree and took out a kunai to stab it and set a trap with wire, he heard a bird singing and flying away from a tree branch. Instinctively, he looked up, and saw a nest. He couldn't blow up that tree...it wouldn't be fair. Silently, he chuckled and laughed at his own innocence, a false one. He could just set the trap underground anyway, right?

[Post 2]

He could feel the earth putting a small pressure on his hand, as he used a small shovel, also provided by the village, to dig a small hole. A land mine would have to do for that place. It was a clearing, no trees around for the enemy to just swing around in the branches. It was a rare area, a clearing within the forests. From there, he could see the wall. Genins would usually play and train in clearings like this, but this one was so close to the Forest of Death that no Genin would ever come close to it. And the Jounins would just have to read the traps report carefully in order to know exactly which terrains they can and can not step on. And he knew they would do this...either that or they'd have to find new legs.

The earth was offering litle resistance, and so it was easy to distribute mines around that area, setting the tags for explosion only under a certain amount of weight. He didn't want bunnies and other...cute things, to go boom in that area and alert the whole village. These things needed to be done carefully and with careful planning, which was why it was an S-rank mission. They couldn't just trust any Genin with mines to plant around the village now, could they?

Lyon would then take his time around the walls of the village, taking even a few hours. It was a mission, but the truth was he could rest, eat some snacks and even recover. These past few days had been brutal to him and the village, and they all needed a break. Of course, being an S-rank jounin didn't allow him to have any breaks at all. So he was left with little option but to rest while working. It was a deadly affair, setting up traps, but it was such a calm and nice day that it even felt good to be outside, feeling the earth under his feet and touching the grass and trees with his hands. He glanced back...he was halfway done with the village walls. All that was left was the left side, and then he'd be able to go to the borders and set traps there as well.

[Post 3]

The Assassin walked by the gates once again. This time, however, he didn't cross over to the inside of the village, he simply kept on walking by the gates, to reach the left side of the village. That would be where he would set another type of traps. He knew the ninja that came from the East side of the village would either be from Kumogakure no Sato or Kirigakure. And even if they weren't ninjas, they would be used to a certain environment, different from the people from Sunagakure, or Iwagakure refugees. They would think differently, and thus not all kinds of traps would work against them. In fact, it would be a dumb move to use earth related traps on the west side of the wall...but on the other hand, it would probably be a good idea to use them on the East side...Kirigakure no Sato and Kumogakure people wouldn't be so used to the Earth Element, and earth based traps. Lyon was an assassin, a hunter for prey, and he was trained, or rather trained himself, to learn how his prey thought. It was an important strategy for an Assassin. He needed to be able to kill a prey silently and without a big fuss. And that required these kinds of skills.

The traps he was setting out now were different from the ones he set out previously. These were a bit more complex, relaying on sleeping tags and the forest trees to cover them. The branches would make the perfect hiding spot for a small wire to activate a tags barrier. A bush nearby a small pond would be perfect for a kunai bomb...all of this Lyon could see just by looking at the environment around him. This was natural talent, mixed with years of experience and tons of battles. This experience told him to make sure the traps would be set far from the main roads, or any other roads. They didn't want to kill innocent travellers, did they? Well, to be honest, there weren't many roads going precisely around the village walls, to it was fairly easy to cover this side of the village without worrying too much about it...and so he did, in about 1 hour. Lyon would always take his time and relax, there was no use in doing things in a hurry...

[Post 4]

He was now outside the village, far from the wall ring. From his position, he couldn't see the wall any more, yet that zone was still regularly patrolled by ninjas. There was a pattern in Konohagakure's traps that only an experienced ninja from Konohagakure, who had set traps before, could have known. And Lyon had completed this mission countless times before. In fact, it was the first A-ranked mission he ever completed, as a Jounin. At first, he had a mentor helping him. Because quite honestly, the system had been perfectly created, leaving close to none, space to be be polished at all. Everywhere where a regular person would step, from the frontier to the walls, there were traps set that were separated by a certain distance. That distance, X as the Weapon Experts usually called it, would be gradually reduced from the frontier to the village, meaning that the village had it's traps closer to each other, while the frontier had less, and more distant traps. Lyon admired the person who invented this system, though he would never know who that person was. It's work would live forever within the ranks of the village. Every Genin knew they should stick to roads after an attack, that the village would raise the protections and traps, and that it could be dangerous to go out in the wild. And every Jounin knew there was a nearly perfect trap system that would be quickly activated after the attack...though only a few knew exactly where the traps were set. Most of these "few" people were part of the Assassination Squads. Knowing where the traps had been set was vital, for making an escape from another country. As soon as the border had been crossed, if the Assassin was still being pursued, he or she could lead it's pursuers into the traps and reduce their numbers, making them quite easier to deal with. Not to mention, it would also reduce the pursuers' speed, as they would have to be far more careful.

Understanding the importance of their mission was vital for shinobis, and Lyon understood the importance of his. So even though he was moving slowly and taking his time, he was also being quite careful and aware of his surroundings.

[Post 5]

Azami’s feet tapped along the pavement as she walked. The street was mostly deserted. After the attacks of not so long ago, most of the civilians were still out of the city or still too afraid to go outside for anything but the necessities. It felt as if Azami had the whole city to herself, and she liked that feeling. She was not prone to loneliness. Her blonde pig-tails swayed in the wind that wisped through the buildings, swinging her hair about her shoulders.

Her eyes scanned around, looking not for anything in particular. For the past few days she had kept inside mostly, and it had quickly driven to boredom and what to Azami felt like something akin to “The Shinning”. So now she got some most needed fresh air. Something tugged at the back of her mind trying to remind her of some forgotten duty, but so excited was she to be out and about that she did not pay much mind to the thoughts.

She had been roaming around near the gates when of the gatekeepers noticed her and recognized her. There was nothing notable there, she was probably the darkest skinned girl in the whole village, people tended to remember her. He gestured her over, and Azami approached with a roll of her eyes, not really liking being pulled out of her funk, “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,” she said not-so gratefully.

She walked over, leaning her dark arms against the counter of their post, “Hey,” said the chūnin man, cheerfully, apparently undeterred by her stand-off personality, “Your sensei is the hooded man, right? Lyon-san?” Azami nodded her head in confirmation, “Well he went by here not too long ago. Went on some mission, it sounded local though. He can’t be too far ahead and I don’t think he’s going far. I was wondering why you weren’t tagging along. I thought it was odd. Is it just you two, or do you have other members of your team?”

Azami shrugged off the questions, “I was late,” she lied smoothly, wanting to end the conversation with the too friendly and familiar man, “I’m just going to head out after him, alright?” she querried to avoid another string of friendly questions, before he answered she was already making her way out the gates.

“Yeah, alright! Have fun!” he called after her as she vanished out the gates.

Once outside she huffed and rolled her eyes. She knew it was his job to ask questions, but she thought he was way too friendly, and most certainly too happy, “What’s he got to be happy about anyway?” she grumbled out loud to herself as she launched into the high branches of the trees, “He has a crappy desk job.”

She jumped from tree-to-tree searching for her sensei. Though no sensor, she was pretty good at finding people, she had keen eyes and she was patient. After a few minutes of searching she spotted him. They were pretty far from the gates.

She dropped down, so she was sitting on the branch her bare-legs hanging over. Her clothing was colorful and she wasn’t trying to be stealthy. It wouldn’t take her alert sensei long to spot her, if he hadn’t already. She watched him as he went about his business. It looked like he was planting land mines, “That’s kinda dangerous,” She thought, “I wonder what he’s doing that for?”

Lyon lifted his head and saw Azami. She seemed fine, even after that blood bath...she seemed, Lyon hoped she was. Before saying anything, however, he looked back at the tree where he was planting another tag. Azami was an important visit at this moment, but not more important than placing these traps properly. It didn't take him long to finish it, only a few more seconds. These were relatively simple too. Once he was done setting this final trap, he lifted up his head and spoke to the child.
"Oh, there you are. I was wondering where you had gone. You couldn't possibly leave the village without permission..." Lyon made a brief pause, perhaps to enjoy this moment and evaluate the swift actions of his student. "...yet you did. May ask how?"

They were once again playing a game of words. Lyon wondered if he could turn this girl into a master assassin, if she would be willing to take lives like he was. His guess was, that she had the skills, but wouldn't have the will to do so. And that was alright. After, he was a mere sensei, his job was to provide his student with the tools. What she decided to do with them, was her decision alone. And Life would go on, with or without a new generation of Death Rippers.

With a swift movement, Lyon jumped to a tree branch. He was unsure of what to do now...should he return to the village and get Azami to safety, or proceed with his mission and head out to Kumogakure no Sato? either way, he would have to make take a decision soon enough. In the end, it was the fact that she had managed to leave the village without his permission that influenced the Jounin to allow her to go with him, if she wished to do so. Yet he decided to hear her out before leaking out any details of what they were going to do in Kumogakure no Sato.

Azami dangled her legs and pretended to look thoughtful. She liked this banter that had started between her and her sensei. Most people either bossed her around or ignored her, not many bothered to talk to her.

“Well,” she drawled, accenting her Fire Nation country accent that she had not lost though she had lived here since young childhood, “It was really quiet easy. The overly friendly guard saw you leave and told me. I told him that I was late, and was supposed to meet up with you, and he just let me out.” She shrugged. It put the emphasis more on her using trickery to get out, which was not quiet the case, but it was close enough to the truth as to not be lying so Azami felt no guilt.

Observing his actions with her piercing blue eyes, she queried, “Just what exactly are you doing? Planning on blowing off someone’s knee caps?” She easily recognized what he was planting as landmines.

He jumped to the branch next to her, and her eyes followed him. She wondered what they would be doing next. Yes, they. She intended to follow him like a lost puppy. There was nothing else interesting to do today, anyways.

Lyon was aware that his actions were being watched, and that a regular student would take his actions as an example. He wasn't expecting her to do that, however. Not at all. He was expecting Azami to do what she wanted, the way she wanted. Her will was like this strong metal wall that can not be bent by any force. So he would need to learn how to outsmart her. That said, he didn't scold her for leaving the village without permission.
"I see. You did well, though you did take your sweet time to show up..." Lyon chuckled, with a slight nod of disapproval. Obviously he wasn't mad at her, but he let a slight, incredibly wave of disappointment, slide through his expression, as in a "Good, not awesome" kind of disappointment.

The Jounin then answered her questions. "Blowing off someone's knee caps...yes, I guess you can put it like that. These are traps, as you probably noticed. Step on them and go boom, quite simple actually. Their purpose is...well, keeping Samurai armies from attacking while we're recovering."

Lyon also wondered what she would be doing next. Yes, she. He already had a plan for the next couple of weeks, but he wasn't so sure he wanted her to tag along with him. They hadn't had any contact with any of the other villages ever since the Samurai attack was launched. so it was now his mission to set out for Kumogakure no Sato and check how things were there...but it could get dangerous. Lyon launched an hesitating look at Azami. Was it really responsible to let her tag along?

Azami dangled her legs thoughtfully, choosing to outwardly ignore the look of disappointment that she perceived in his face, “He couldn’t mad at me for leaving the village because he’s not yelling… huh… was I not sneaky enough to impress him? I’ll have to keep that in mind…”

She looked up at the tree tops and thought about the samurai invasion, and how, in her opinion, how pathetically she had handled it. She would have to work on handling those kind of situations, “Huh…” she thought, realizing something. Aloud, she said, “We haven’t heard from the other nations since the attack have we? Or at least, I haven’t seen anything in the papers about them. The samurai weren’t just angry at us, they were angry at all ninja-kind. So they wouldn’t just attack Leaf would they? So are the other nations also under attack? If so, shouldn’t we have heard something from the countries we are allied with? But if they did just attack Leaf, why? I didn’t think we had a particularly bad relationship with them. Not enough to warrant an attack so out of their way. And isn’t it kind of odd that would attack just out of the blue like this? Or were there things leading up to this that us “lower” ninjas and civilians weren’t told about?” She asked not in a rushed manner, but in a thoughtful pondering way. These were questions that had been bubbling around her head for a while, but just now was she able to form them in a concise way in her mind. The whole affair, as far as Azami, was odd.

"Poof" was the sound that resounded throughout the area as Raeburn's Shadow Clone dispersed into a cloud of smoke next to another Shadow Clone. It would appear instantly after the first's dispersing through Body Flicker and super Taijutsu mastery speed that could cover the unidentifiable and undiscoverable distance Raeburn kept his originalness hidden in. Emerging from the smoke would be Riku Kaguya and Mia Uchiha as well respectively. Of course, the Hokage had no knowledge on what they were since they had been incapacitated swiftly and effectively. At this time, the two Kirigakure ninja would be gripped by the scuff of their necks in the right and left palms of the Hokage. Indeed, the Hokage knew at least that the shinobi were from Kirigakure. Mia in his left hand and Riku in his right would have both their necks having pressure applied to them to keep the ninja knocked out. Even though Raeburn had identified the intruders as Kirigakure ninja he made sure to let that information be incapable of being leaked any further. He enjoyed stripping the female earlier for her Kirigakure possessions that he now kept locked away in a Generic Sealing Technique on his chest veiled by a massive black cloak. On the other hand, the small Riku child...Oh...And he was small indeed...Yes, that child wasn't such a fun body to venture for suspicious items. But, nonetheless, both the children had all their possessions identifying them as Kirigakure inside a Generic Sealing Technique on the Hokage's chest. So the two weren't naked; the Kirigakure ninja had white cloaks covering the entirety of their bodies including their faces. Of course, that was courtesy of the kind kind Hokage-chan.

Peacefully, the Hokage had emerged with his captured ninja as he was unidentifiable to the common folk with his ANBU cloak and ANBU mask. Clawing his nails into the intruders, he'd be chuckling as he approached Lyon. The highest officially ranked ninja in his village would hold out the intruders to the respectable Uchiha before him. No words needed to be spoken hopefully. Blood trickling down the nails of the children would hopefully indicate their importance to the Hokage and what he wanted. Interrogating them would be a swift procedure for the Uchiha. But, the Hokage didn't want to interfere with whatever activity he had going on at the moment. So, he'd let his high ranking ninja have the intruders whisper their secrets to their new holder that would begin to view them flying towards Lyon. Not opting to have the totally disregarded Azami listen in on them; the old men would flee to a stationary position far out of Lyon's recognition normally. Watching, they would be a few 100 of meters away analyzing the swift interrogation that would take place. Once Lyon left, the old man would make his move to where he previously occupied himself so he may grab some note that would tell of the findings of Lyon.

Lyon simply watched as the Hokage turned up with new prisoners. They were just kids, Lyon could tell by the size of the two white cloaks covering their bodies. So, the prisoners had already had their items stolen and confiscated by the village...It was a common practice, among the Hidden Villages, tho it wasn't one that particularly please Lyon. He didn't like to make prisoners...not because he was a cold person, but because he thought it was cruel. In his own sense of justice, he would either take a target's life or let it run free. Most times, the first option would be required. Either way, Lyon knew exactly what his Kage wanted. Information. It was always what they were all searching for, information. Information was always so...precious. It could definitely allow the village to take new, and justified courses of action...but did Lyon like those courses? So far everything was alright, but he kept wondering when that was going to change.

He didn't want to interrogate the kids while his student was there, but it wasn't like he had much of a choice. With a single blink, he activated his sharingan, and lifted part of the white cloaks, allowing them to see each one of the kid's heads. They were still alive, it seemed that they hadn't yet died in the Hokage's process of "information gathering". Nevertheless they were in pretty bad shape... Physically torturing people, especially kids, really wasn't Lyon's style. Instead, he would try to break their minds, with Illusions. Physical pain was very limiting, it could only go to a certain extent, and there were limits that one just couldn't pass, or the risk of death would be too great. With Genjutsu, there were also limits and the risk to permanently break someone's mind, but the possibilities were far greater, at least in Lyon's head. Plus, he didn't quite enjoy physically hurting anyone for information. If what he wanted was inside a victim's brain, that's where he'd go get it.

With a quick hand-seal, he placed a genjutsu on both of the kids, and used his left hand to open their eyes and look into them, making visual contact. This one was actually quite simple...all he needed to do was use the Demonic Illusion: False surroundings technique to create the perfect scenario for the kids to reveal the information. This time, it was the Mizukage's office. Lyon simply stodd quiet as they spoke, of what they had done, whispering as their hurt bodies let them. He learnt of their actions, objective and purpose inside Konoha. Usually it would have been a lot harder to get this kind of information out of someone, but they were mere genin and their bodies were in such a condition that their minds offered no resistance to the thought of home and safety. Lyon wondered if they would be released after this...probably not. Sad was a shinobi's destiny. And a shiver ran across his spine as the thought of his own students laying like that in some foreign country crossed his mind. He wrote everything down in a piece of paper, as they spoke, he would write. It would take them about 15 minutes to reveal what they knew, and at the end of those 15 minutes, Lyon had more information than what he would be willing to share. He knew the boy was a Kaguya, and that the girl was an Uchiha. He didn't care for the Kaguya Clan, but the Uchiha were his own blood, he wouldn't see the Sharingan being disrespected like that. He wrote everything down, except for the fact that she was an Uchiha. Then, he would slip the note inside Mia's cloak, deactivate his sharingan, and leave the two kids there. He knew the Kage would be back for them eventually. Then, he would approach Azami and signal her it was time to go.

Azami was surprised to see that the Hokage had appeared and with two bodies. She peered at them curiously but they were cloaked so that she could not make out their identities. He was laughing, which made Azami uneasy. What exactly was going on? Who were these people? What was the Hokage doing with them? Why was her sensei involved? Her first instinct was to start questioning her sensei, especially when the Hokage moved away. But she kept her tongue in check as her sensei moved over to the bodies and began examining them. He wouldn’t answer her questions, not with the Hokage watching him and he had a task to perform.

“What is he doing?” she wondered as he lifted their hoods and activated his sharingan, “What does his- oh, it’s not just a battle tool. He can use it for other things. I thought he needed eye contact. He must be interrogating them…

Azami shuddered at the idea of such an invasion of privacy. Her eyes examined the small bodies from her perch in the tree. They weren’t moving, and Azami could only assume that they were alive given by the assumption that he could not read a dead mind, “I wonder if they know what’s going on…” she shuddered again, being unable to do anything while someone picked your brain was pretty frightening. She hoped they weren’t awake for it.

“I wonder who they are? I doubt their citizens or ninjas of Leaf. They wouldn’t be knocked unconsciousness, I wouldn’t think if they were being interrogated. So maybe they’re prisoners of war?” Her eyes rescanned them quickly, “They wouldn’t be samurai. They’re shapes suggest that they’re children or women. So… then they’d be spies.”
Azami’s analytical thoughts were interrupted by her sensei indicating her to jump down and follow him. She swung down from her branch, landing lithely on the ground and followed him, obediently. Once they were out of hearing range of the Hokage she asked, “Was that an interrogation?”

(OOC: Don't know I'm Hokage blah blah.)

Sheesh, Lyon's such a slow ass. The Hokage had to sit there for 15 minutes watching this guy interrogate! Wasn't he a Genjutsu master or something? SHEESH what a slow poke. Raeburn held in his laugh as Lyon even wrote down the information gained himself. Really, if the old man knew Genjutsu he'd have slaves do everything for him. Fuck writing a piece of paper. Sitting next to the original Raeburn was his clone achieving just as much irritation and entertainment in his psyche. Hesitating to move himself by almost getting up from his hidden position from Lyon and Azami...The Hokage almoooost forgot about his habit to not enter direct confrontations by himself. Signaling his clone the chakra being would make the hand seals for the Transformation Technique out of the line of sights of Azami and Lyon. The transformation would consist of a big breasted female ANBU with long hair. It had an ANBU mask and the fake female could be considered beautiful in a feminine way.

So, the "girl" circled around 100 meters away from Raeburn and back to the captured intruders. Looking down at them with contempt; Ms. Hokage snatched the children up by the scruff of their necks and resumed choking them with one hand occupying their necks each. Of course, they weren't being harmed enough to die or anything that didn't benefit Raeburn. They were just being kept unconscious in case they woke up angry and hostile. Upon the retrieval being completed the two Hokages would make a swift exit. There would be no glance to the directions of Lyon and his student as they weren't a priority at the moment when the village had been attacked sooooooo much. So, two Body Flickers towards Kirigakure would occur after evasion measures had been used to look like the Kages were heading towards another village or location entirely. Well, as cautious as Raeburn was he didn't even let Azami and Lyon see him get out of his hidden location to Body Flicker to Kirigakure.

(Exit)

"Aye, it is an interrogation. A rather swift method of doing so as well...you see, breaking minds is a lot less...primitive, and actually keeps the subjects alive." Lyon made a pause, as he answered Azami. "Well, in most cases anyway." It was a simple and short answer. Lyon stepped out of that area, quickly. Right now the man was just thinking about leaving that place. His mission was finally completed, even after a minor setback, and he was now ready to travel to Kumogakure no Sato- finally, too. Once again, he wasn't sure whether Azami was going to tag along or not, but he decided she was old enough- or rather, skilled enough, to know what to do on her own. she would know the risks, and would have to make her decision.

With swift movements, Lyon entered deeper into the forest, leaving that area. Soon he would reach the border, and there the terrain would be altered. The trees would vanish, giving place to rocky fields, mountains and stone formations. Curious things shaped by the Wind itself, over thousands, even millions of years. Lyon wasn't truly excited for seeing these mountains again, he was excited...because, he was going to meet the so called "Storm Gods" of the Hidden Cloud Village. Were they strong? Possibly. Lyon wasn't all that interested in direct combat, instead he preferred to observe and see what these people were actually capable of. Poor Assassin, he had no idea of the kind of trouble he could potential find once he got there. Not because it was actually dangerous for him, but because it would be so...troublesome.

-exit-

(my email apparently decided this was spam, haven't been getting any emails and I've been sitting on my hands going "WTF?". Never trust technology.)

Azami listened to what her sensei had to say. She nodded her head along with his response and quietly absorbed it. Her mind was going a million different directions with the events that transpired and she decided it would be best to keep her thoughts to herself. She rarely had anything of any meaning to say anyone. The puzzles she was working through were probably very obvious to anyone else looking at it. Or so she thought, anyway. She followed her sensei dutifully, not willing to be left behind to explain herself when she came back alone.

-Exit