New Living Spaces, New Friendly Faces.

King was dressed up in his usual attire his suit prim and proper with his top hat and cane in his hand as he finally got back from that boring clan meeting, now that Rainer was the official head of the Clan and Wolf was the Alpha of the pet portion of the Clan he didn't need to sit in on every single clan meeting anymore. Thus this was his last one and he was quite happy to be done, he enjoyed leading the clan but the war had turned what most would see as a blessing into a curse. The loss of his pack members put pressure on him and honestly he didn't know if he could lead effectively any longer. Sure if necessary he would do so, but now he was much more jaded. Unlike most he didn't blame the Dobutsu, if anything he understood why they destroyed the village in their eyes it was their territory originally and the shinobi had stolen it from them they were only reclaiming it.

So while most people hated them, he didn't and if they weren't so genocidal he would empathize with them. He would turn as Wolf walked up to him in her human form before wrapping her arms around his waist and kissing him on his cheek in an attempt to bring him out of his brooding. Yeah..I know what's done is done right. he said thinking out loud causing her to tip toe and put her head on his shoulder. It was now very rare to see her out of her unique version of the Beast Human Clone technique, in fact he was sure most of the Shogunate shinobi probably thought she was just a mute member of the Hokkai clan rather than a Zinogre. He didn't object to that it allowed a lot more liberties with them being able to express their relationship, likewise the clan didn't mind as they found that living in the wild had opened their minds to realize that life was much to short to judge pack members due to their choices.

Now that she couldn't live in Dipugakure, Rika had no choice to reside in the dorms at the academy, and frankly... she hated it. She thought she was done living in the cramped little rooms with absolutely no privacy a long time ago, and being back just brought back bad memories of her time as a student. Things had gotten rough for anyone swearing allegiance to the shogun, they had been pushed into the western continent and lost most of their hold on the shinobi world, which was Rika's home, and that was likely why it bothered her so much. She missed looking deep into the dark and beautiful ocean from dipugakure's various domes. She wanted her home back, more than anything, but she had done a good job of keeping her personal feelings from affecting her judgement as a Blade, and she wasn't gonna start now.

Rika was wearing her standard uniform, a white shirt with a black skirt, and a jacket that had symbols marking her rank, her two swords strapped to either side of her. She was getting back from a very boring and unimportant meeting about various things that needed to be taken care of around the academy. On her way to her room however she spotted someone in the halls, she didn't recognize him but he was way too old to be a student, and alongside him was a female she also didn't recognize. Rika approached him and gave a courteous bow. "Hello, I don't think I have seen you around, my name is Rika Ryuude." she said. Rika gave a smile to the girl before turning her attention back to him.

Wolf's ear's would twitch slightly though it was only minor due to her current appearance and she would turn as she heard footsteps in the distance before seeing a woman come closer to where her and King were standing she would wait until the woman said something before giving King an affectionate nip before letting go and waving at the girl. King would likewise turn before smiling faintly and deciding to introduce himself as well. Ah, I'm King Hokkai, she's Wolf Hokkai my girlfriend, we along with the other members of our clan moved here about a month ago. Judging by the look of that weapon you are a Blade, in that case you must be familiar with Rainer Hokkai? He's now the clan head and thus our loyalty is now with the Shogunate. he said with a bow of his own before extending his right hand for a shake.

Wolf would study the girl, trying to get a read on her, while likewise being slightly protective over King as recently she felt she could express her claim over him more so now that she was physically similar to him. Normally she was possessive even in her true form but she couldn't escape others from simply seeing her as an overly affectionate pet, now.. it was different she could be affectionate and others would understand that he was her and hers alone.

Rika listened carefully to how he had ended up with the shogun and such, and smiled politely at Wolf when she established her affection and ownership for King. "Well I may be slightly late, but welcome to the West Continent, it's a pleasure to meet you both. And yes you are correct I am a Blade, the holder of the sewing needle sword, Nuibari." she said to them. She wasn't entirely knowledgeable about the Hokkai, but she did know they were an esteemed clan and likely would prove to be useful allies. King was clearly a higher ranking member of the clan, but she wasn't exactly sure how high.

"I'm sure you're aware that things are a little difficult for us around here, the war hasn't been exactly friendly to us. Between you and me I think this is the time to act, we haven't struck at the shinobi council's forces in far too long, and we need to take back the land for the Shogun, we need more clans like yours on our side though, and more people willing to take up arms. A surprising number of us prefers sitting here in the western continent and growing fat." she said, the more awareness she raised to their allies the easier it would be to rally them together and create a force against their enemies. "May I ask your ranking in your clan? Out of curiosity mainly."

Wolf would notice that Rika got the message and thus would back off instead deciding to lean against the wall considering she couldn't talk to Rika even if she wanted to, sure she wasn't mute it was just her cover. But since all that could come out of her mouth were growls and barks it was best she didn't try to speak at all, she was thankful King took the time out to teach her sign language it made her more able to pass off as if she was incapable of speaking. King would withdraw his hand as she didn't seem like she wanted to shake his hand, smart after all shaking strangers was risky though he tended to offer it just in case someone ever decided to humor him.

Thank you for the welcome and ah so that must mean you are quite skilled yourself, right now I am now nothing more than a Beta.. hmm second in command I suppose is the equivalence? Wolf however is an Alpha, she is the co-leader along with Rainer before the transition to the west continent I was acting Alpha now not so much. Besides I would rather be on the field than have to lead the entire clan. However you bring up a good point, fighting on the side of the Anti-Shogunate..was a mistake, based on bad intelligence and I suppose a general mistrust of the Shogunate after the events of the Chunnin Exams. I'm willing to assist you if you want to strike at the Shinobi Council I hold no love for other villages, and Ibaragakure is now.. gone as well. King said with Wolf sighing and pushing off the wall.

Not your fault. Stop Blaming yourself, we couldn't of known that the Dobutsu would prove that powerful, if anything we made a valiant effort you saw how that clan from Himei was slaughtered enmasse. Wolf projected instinctively through their pack bond King turning to look at her before his mood changed from slightly depressed to somber. It is obvious however that now that the Shogunate has no footing in their land they will attempt to deal with the Dobutsu problem as it is probably the most immediate threat to their independence. We could.. take advantage of that use the sea to take back the Land of Abyss thus cutting off valuable allies to their cause.

Rika turned her attention to Wolf curiously. "This girl is that high in command? Interesting..." She listened to what he had to say and found it saddening, she hadn't thought about what it would be like to have lost so much, sure she considered Dipugakure her home, but getting it back was still within their grasp. "I am sorry that you two have lost your homeland. I am however glad to have come across such esteemed members of the hokkai clan, I see that Rainer has been putting work in. I myself don't originate from a clan like him, my family is wealthy but there is hardly anything special about them." she said with a sigh.

As he explained how the shinobi would be busy with the Dobutsu, Rika mulled it over in her mind. He was right, she hadn't thought of it that way, she wanted to get Dipugakure back but she didn't realize it was actually the perfect place to strike at the moment. "I... see, and have you talked to Rainer about this? If not you should as soon as possible, any other Blades that would be willing to help should know as well. We should have a meeting of some sort, in fact. If you are right then we need to act soon. Have you said this to anyone else?" she asked him. She was getting slightly excited, the opportunity to get out of the damned western continent was finally showing itself, and more importantly to bring back the Shogun's power to the shinobi world. She was still inexperienced as a leader in war, most of her time was spent taking jobs and missions for the shogun, she wasn't the type to lead troops.

I have yet to see him, I think he is avoiding me after all we haven't spoken since he left for the Shogunate Academy but I would of liked to think we were close back then. Time changes people and I fear that he is dreading our meeting as much as I am. But no, you are the first person I have told outside of Wolf and some of the members of my clan which proved themselves during the war. Originally I was considering making a meeting with the Shogun, I am rather interested in the last remaining Blade, but I figured I should prove myself more in combat before even thinking of trying to integrate myself in the ranks. King said noticing that she was actually eager thanks to his news if he had known that it would provoke such a reaction perhaps he would of opened with it. But.. perhaps you could share the information among your fellow Blades, if you like you can pass it off as your own information or perhaps not, either way I don't mind. I was getting stir crazy cooped up in these dorms anyways with only Wolf as company. King said with Wolf reaching out to hit him before he would duck out of the way.

Kidding Kidding, you know I love hanging out with you, babe. King said as he fully moved into his "light" personality as he had been borderline switching to "dark" due to the subject matter. Wolf noticed hence why she had bothered to hit him so as to distract him and pretend the early transition, as there was no need for that to come out right now.

Rika smiled at him when he expressed his desire to one day maybe become a blade. "I think you would make a fantastic addition, of course I won't push you to make any life changing decisions. If you decide to apply however, I'll happily vouch for you to the shogun." she replied. She wondered what had happened between him and Rainer, but it wasn't her business so she decided not to ask about it. "I'll can try to gather them together, but I'd like you to join me in telling them the situation, of course it will be from you, it wasn't my idea, you should gain the credit for it. As for Rainer, well you two are going to have to reunite soon, I hope it goes well between you two, personal affiliations between allies can be a drag." she said.

Rika laughed when he lightened up and joked around with wolf. She too hated being in the dorms, it was terrible, although Kimiko wasn't too bad to live with. "I'm not a fan of these rooms either, it's too cramped and there is little personal space. My time here as a child was more than enough for me... well... I guess I'm still young, but I like to think that I'm older than I am." she admitted. Rika didn't want to call the meeting right away, they looked like they had recently got back from something uninteresting and likely wanted to relax before going straight back to business matters. "Would you two like to join me at the spa? It's not the nicest one in the world but it's relaxing. And it's mixed gender so you two wouldn't have to part from one another."

I'm glad you think so, likewise thanks for the support. Um, sure why not, I suppose I can do that, and yeah I think we will figure it out, Wolf will probably stay as a mediator in case things actually get bad, but occasionally things just need to be settled between us guys in an old fashioned fist fight. King said prompting Wolf to roll her eyes and would respond to Rika's question by walking past King while trailing her hand back to grab him and pull him in the direction of the spa. Perhaps that, was one of the best things about her technique she got to experience awesome new things like spa's and pedicures, sure apparently it was more for the civilians but still it was so relaxing. She tried to get King to come with her the last time but couldn't find him, though knowing him he probably caught her intentions from the pack bond and promptly ran as far and fast as he could away from her.

Well I suppose I don't have a choice then, I would say lead the way but I guess she knows where it is, she probably scoped it out while I was resting, Kami knows how she finds the time for stuff like that anyways. King said allowing Wolf to drag him while looking back towards Rika. So tell me about yourself, you mentioned something about thinking your older than you are I take it that translates to your rank then? Being forced to grow up quicker due to your skill level is perhaps the one thing any good shinobi can relate to.

Rika laughed as Wolf grabbed king and began walking in the direction of the spa. The bond they shared was cute. Rika sighed, she had never had anything like that, she didn't have the time for a relationship, plus she was terrible at flirting and talking to guys. The closest thing she ever had to a love interest was Jasmine, and that would have never happened anyways. She followed behind King and Wolf to the spa. She enjoyed occasionally splurging and doing things like going to the spa, and apparently so did Wolf. The girl hadn't spoken a word since the three had met, and she didn't seem like the shy type, so Rika assumed she was mute. The best thing to do would be to acknowledge her and not inquire about her lack of speech, it didn't matter. Unfortunately Rika didn't know any kind of sign language, but King could likely translate to Rika what Wolf had to say.

King asked a personal question, which meant the time for business talk was over. She wasn't so good at being social but she would try her best. "Well... not necessarily. I became a Blade at an early age, pretty much straight out of the Academy, and my specialization is umm... assassination." she paused. She wasn't proud of what she did, but someone had to do it, and she knew that. "You see, outside of being a Blade I'm an Elite Hunter nin, and our work isn't always pretty. I guess doing that kind of stuff for so long scarred me into being more mature than my age, I didn't really have a childhood."

Wolf would make a turn remembering where she last saw the spa during her wandering, one of the first things she had did upon getting to the Shogunate Academy was set up a perimeter along with the rest of the pack, something ingrained in her even more so thanks to the war. Even though she knew intellectually that they were safe here, her instincts were what she had come to rely on even more when her, King and the rest of the pack had to survive in the forest so it was even harder to transition back to normal. She supposed she was much less domesticated now seeing as they had been fighting for a couple of months against opponents who knew not of surrender or taking prisoners it caused her to train seriously and until now she and the others hadn't had a break. Though King understood her, seeing as he hadn't had a break in months either, it was eat or be eaten out in the Land of the Forsaken now and while he couldn't wait to get back into the fight she was more apprehensive.

Ah, pity, being a kid is fun while it lasts. I've known Wolf perhaps all my life, grew up together ranked up together stuff like that. Then again the Hokkai Clan is pretty much a big family, even though we have our own rankings it only ever matters when things are serious. I'm a physical specialist, more specifically taijutsu, got so good at using my fists that I suppose if Ibaragakure still stood I'd have a shot at being Kage. But guess it wasn't to be, just going to stay Sannin forever now I guess. Wolf's a Combat Medical Nin, she claims she might of as well learned to patch me up professionally considering I tended to punch things first and ask questions later while we were growing up. King said with Wolf snorting as she reminisced, perhaps out of everyone she had saved from from the brink more than any of the other hokkai medics, he was lucky she was able to separate her panicking from her treatment otherwise his fighting would of gotten him killed a long time ago. It wasn't that he was reckless, no, it was simply that they were outnumbered and for every hokkai their were twenty dobutsu, and him being the acting Alpha had thought it his obligation to fight double the amount as the others, if not that the clan was naturally good at working together in combat they wouldn't of survived.

As she thought back to her past, perhaps it wasn't too bad, there is nothing wrong with maturing quicker, the less time spent being obliviously happy in a dark and fucked up world the better. She could start trying to have an impact on the course of life at a younger age. While the chances of her dying in combat within the next 10 years were fairly high, she would try to make the most of the time she had to fight towards peace. Fighting towards peace, she thought it was a funny phrase. The fact that you had to do the opposite of something in order to achieve it was a sad realization.

"Well you two are very cute together, you're lucky to have someone close to you in that way. For some it may never happen." she said, trailing off with the last thing she said. As much as Rika was a soldier, she was still a girl deep down, and she wanted what every other girl did. She spent her life fighting for the happiness of others and half the nation turned against her, now it was hard to feel like she had done anything for anyone, but the fight wasn't over. If she helped the shogun win the war and take back the shinobi world, would there truly be peace and happiness? Or would history repeat itself and send the world spiraling into depression again. Perhaps peace was a lost cause. Rika remembered back to when she was pressured into becoming a kunoichi, she had never wanted to be one. It was too late now, too late to go back, and perhaps it was too late for her to find happiness for herself as well.

Wolf would finally arrive at the spa before turning and glancing at Rika and noticing that she was deep in thought, perhaps it was instinct but Zinogre like most canines were unusually empathetic towards certain emotions and she would let go of King's hand to reach for Rika's. Nothing like female bonding to cheer a fellow girl up, perhaps a distraction was in order, she would make sure to pick up a clip board so they could communicate as it was doubtful that Rika knew sign language. It wasn't really that spread out among shinobi other than the ones used for Hunter Nin which was vastly different from the generic signs deaf and mute people used. Baka, can't you see she conflicted between congratulating us and worrying if she'll ever find someone. Change the topic. Wolf said through the pack bond prompting King to cough before rubbing the back of his head slightly nervously.

So uh...how is this going to go. There are three of us, mixed baths, some how this seems like the introduction to one of those Icha Ic-You finish that sentence and I'll cut your dick off only to reattach it after 12 hours of watching you scream in agony.[/color] Wolf stiffening and shooting a death glare at King causing him to pale instantly at what she said to him without words. He quickly cleared his mind instead of replying with a kinky, no he couldn't even think about it because then she'd know and she'd really do it, she was cruel like that when it came to punishment. It was probably that inner Stygian within her all that bottled up rage hidden behind a nice albeit slightly possessive demeanor.

Ahem...so errr what now.

Well Kimiko was a little saddened how she couldn't return to her home of Dipugakure. She has been told that she would reside in the dorms, which at this point might as well be her home as she had spent her time there at these dorms for years. As for Dipu, she was only 'home' for a few months.  These dorms were more of her home than Dipu these days, especially now since she was basically living there now. She even had a roommate! Her senpai, Rikaaaaaaaa. Oh well... After the events of the war was over, she wasn't left with much to do so she enhanced herself. After all most of the Shogun's rule had receded into basically nonexistent territory on the mainland... Oh well! Less of politics more on her! She became a med nin and developed a new sasori bead as well as awakening her Blade weapon in the year since we last did anything! Things were going good for her and she was happy with her progress.

She was dressed in a short black kimono that was adorned with a floral pattern on it and some basic ninja sandals, her blade rested on her back as her beads adorned her neck. It was modest in her opinion but hey it's not like anyone cared. She ran out of her room from her daily afternoon meditation and wondered what she should do today. She already prepared everything she could at the moment, as in training wise. She felt like she needed a day off to pamper herself... She was drawing a blank... So she would do something that she had been doing for awhile... ASK RIKA-SENPAI! She went off to go explore and find Rika-senpai. Hoping she would be close... Rika said something before she left that morning... Something about... relaxing... SPA! She headed there and well it was easy to find senpai than. She waved out with both hands, Riiika-senpai! She ran up to her and smiled to her senpai. I finished my meditation and wanted to join you in the spa! She than noticed the people she was with and bowed. I'm Kimiko Verin... Nice to meet you both... I see you're friends of Rika-senpai! That makes me glad and i hope to befriend you as well! Sure she was assuming that but Rika was always so nice, with her magnetic personality she assumed making friends was normal for her. She rose her head and stood next to Rika. Just being her bubbly self and swaying on spot.

Rika looked at the spa as they arrived, it had been awhile since she had done something like this, she knew it would be a nice change of pace. She was comforted by Wolf who seemed to have noticed what Rika was thinking about. Rika smiled at her and lightly squeezed her hand in response. King went on to make a comment about their situation, but he stopped randomly. She wasn't sure what caused him to bite his tongue, or where he was going with that, but she just waved it off. "Well I imagine us ladies will head to the women's changing room and you will go to the males? They provide bathing suits for you, so you don't have to worry about that." she said, with a gesture to the nearby buildings that housed the changing rooms.

It was now that she heard a familiar voice call out her name. Rika smiled as Kimi approached and reached out to hug the younger girl. "Well I'm glad you came, this is King and Wolf, they are members of the Hokkai clan and our new allies." she introduced them. She was glad Kimi had come, she enjoyed spending time with her, and she was one of Rika's few friends. She hardly talked to the other Blades, and if she did it was concerning business matters only. She felt like the past year they had spent together had done a good job of bringing them closer. Rika hardly considered Kimi an apprentice anymore, as she had quickly become a fully realized Med nin. "Well we should go get prepared, shall we?" Rika said as she lightly pulled Wolf in the direction of the female changing rooms before letting go of her hand.

Okay seriously you can't even blame me this time, she practically leaped into the situation- King began before inhaling..then inhaling deeper..deeper..deeper. Hey how's it go- It's a trap! King said stepping back and pointing causing Wolf too tilt her head to the side before sniffing as well her eyes widening before she would leave Rika and move over to Kimiko and inspect her all around, whoever did her surgery did it very well, hmm perhaps she could ask around for pointers she was always looking to see if she could develop a means for her to actually get pregnant if they could make such a transition that it almost fooled a Hokkai nose then she needed to be their student. Meanwhile King simply stood there pointing, still in shock, his mind having betrayed him, who knew his thoughts would lead him astray but his nose it never lied. This always happened to him one moment he's having a good time and a random girl comes and introduces herself all happy and giggly and then a sniff later and viola.

[b]Stop thinking about it and it's rude to point, your embarrassing her and seriously your one to judge, if she wants to be a girl then let her be a girl. You don't seem to mind that I want to be a human or when my transformation ends because you get to exi-[b] Wolf said through the bond before King would clear his throat causing her to give him a patronizing look before rolling her eyes and following after Rika. ...I'll go get ready King said trudging off to the men's side, leaving the girls with themselves for a bit. Wolf on the other hand would spot a clipboard and would pull a marker out of her pocket just in case, luckily it was the quick eraser type so she would actually be able to communicate with someone other than King. She had practiced her handwriting in this form to the point that it was at least legible albeit very loopy and in script.

Kimiko smiled at Rika as the man came to introduce himself and than all hell broke loose... He took in a deep breath and started to point at her calling her a trap... Sure she was naive but ever since she knew after her procedure, she knew what he was referring too... Her face grew beet red as the woman got close to her and started sniffing her too...She was deathly embarrassed... She started a rant in her head... Hokkai... the animal clan? Can they smell it... That disgusting smell of my former life? It isn't fair! I was raised like this... I love being a girl! I am a girl! Now anyway... It isn't fair! Why can't i be normal! I mean i love being a girl but... RAAAAH! I'm a girl! I'm a Girl! I'M A GIRL! I'M A GIRL! I'M A GIRL!!! She was so red and warm it seemed like steam would start rising off her at any second. All she could do was stare at the ground before King had let himself go... Kimiko decided to do the same... She spoke quietly and refined yet still shaky... "Sen- ... Senpai... I'll s-see you t-two inside... I need this spa more than ever now... She basically mumbled and tripped all over her words just to say. She than exited stage right and went into the women side.

She entered the woman's locker room and got a key, she would start undressing as she started to undress and put her clothes neatly away in a locker as she put on a bathing suit and wrapped herself in a towel. She waited for Rika to come in as Kimiko finally calmed down enough were she was a light rose color. She sat on the bench, refusing to go in without Rika. She started to let her mind wander as she waited. She hadn't gone to a spa in ages, maybe the last time she was in one was at Dipu before the war hit it of... Oh boy... She started to feel more and more stressed as previous predicament started to flood her mind. Quicker the girls got ready for the spa, the better. She was still flustered as all hell over the trap issue... God what if people ask... What if people other than Hokkai can tell. Oh god... She couldn't stay thinking anymore so she just went into the spa and just sat into the first pool she saw and tried getting an edge off and relax a bit.

As Kimiko arrived, King responded to her oddly, it surprised her but he shouted something that didn't make sense at Kimiko. The poor girl then began yelling about how she was a girl and something about a past life. It was all very confusing to Rika, as for some reason she felt completely in the dark about something. "Ki...Kimi?" she muttered as Kimiko ran away to the changing room. Rika glanced at Wolf and rubbed her head. "I've never seen her act like that, I honestly have no idea what just happened. I guess it's best we pretend it didn't." she said as she walked with Wolf to the changing room. As they arrived Kimiko was already done and headed over to the spa without a word. Rika sighed and stepped inside.

Inside it was warm and there were several stalls for changing and a rack with bathing suits hanging from it. She looked through them and picked one she liked. Rika waved off Wolf for the time being and got in one of the stalls and began undressing. Once she was finished she put on the bathing suit she had grabbed and wrapped herself in a towel. Stepping out of the stall she would wait for Wolf to finish before heading outside to meet up with Kimiko and King.

King would find his way into the male changing room before finding a place to change and taking off his suit carefully folding it up and storing it in a locker before wrapping a towel around his waist and would wait a moment still thinking about what Wolf said to him. He had just called out a poor girl for no reason at all, just for being different him of all people should understand what that was about seeing as his relationship with Wolf was considered by many to be immoral at the least and disgusting and possibly pathetic when judged the worst. He would apologize to her immediately, he had reacted without thinking and now he ended up causing a person pain and ruining a potential friendship before it even begun. He would make up his mind and would walk out into the spa before sitting next to her. Hey.. sorry about what I said earlier it was stupid and juvenile. For what it's worth, I'm glad you set out to do whatever you wanted to do, I wish I could be more open about what I truly want in life rather than hide it. It's brave, yeah definitely braver than I am at least. King said his voice low, but enough that if Kimiko was paying attention she would be able to hear him it was done so that only she would be able to hear him so as not to attract any more attention.

Meanwhile Wolf would quickly strip as she had gotten used to wearing clothes over her transformation and wasn't shy about her body seeing as in her natural state she was naked if not for the flak jacket she wore. She would bunch up the towel around her chest as the last time she had kept it around her waist and it hadn't been appropriate, too bad they waited until after she walked outside to tell her that it wasn't okay to go bare chested as a female. How was she to know about human culture, it was so weird because King went topless all the time and he had teats just like she did. Biased because one produces milk and the other doesn't or perhaps it was because certain people over sexualized a food producing organ so it became perverted to bare them in public. She was snapped out of her thoughts as she finally processed what Rika said causing her to write "Okay" on the clipboard before writing "Ready to go?" When she saw Rika had opted to go with a bathing suit rather than just a thin towel like herself. She would follow Rika only to see that King was sitting next to Kimiko though thanks to the pack bond she understood why and wouldn't say anything.

Kimiko had closed her eyes and thought about her situation.... She had to accept it... It was a part of her. Not one she was particularly proud of but it was still there... She heard King sit down and opened her eyes as she sunk into the water a bit more. She listened to his apology and well... Decided to vent. To be honest... I didn't have a lot of choice in the matter. I was raised like this so when it became official, I didn't really notice a difference... Though... Thanks to me maturing a bit I realized what if me being like this isn't what I want... I don't know... I'm still confused myself about it. Just the way I was brought up was so different than the truth of it all. It's a tough thing to think about... But... Thanks... Sorry for overreacting and getting so embarrassed... I haven't really told anyone about it. Part of me just hopes this doubt and frustration just fades away... She said in a tone that only king could hear. That's how she felt at the moment anyway... She started to splash water into her face and smacked her cheeks as she gained her smile. Actually telling someone felt pretty good! A weight lifted off her shoulder! She went back to being her bubbly self at least for the moment.

She turned at the exclamation of Wolf having to cover up, her smile only brightened up again. She looked back to see both Rika and Wolf and would start waving at them. Rika-senpai!! Over here! Join us! Quuuuuickly! She giggled a little as she turned back and sank into the water up to the point where her whole body was in the water except for her nose and above. She looked back at king as she resubmerged a little. The Water is nice... Aren't you getting in as well? She said with her little signature smile. She just continued to sink her mouth into the water to get the full enjoyment of the hot water. She started feeling more and more relaxed.

Rika read the note that Wolf held up to her, confirming Rika's assumption that the girl was mute. "Yep lets go." she replied as she walked outside to see Kimiko and King next to each other. It seems the two had made up, so that was good, they could put whatever had made Kimiko so upset behind them now. Rika was proud of Kimi for talking to King afterwards, the girl really was maturing. She thought back to the first time she met Kimi. There was a meeting between the Blades and the shogun and she arrived and bravely asked to shogun himself to be a Blade. From that moment Rika had gained a great interest in Kimi and had asked to be the girls mentor and partner. She wasn't sure what she felt the relationship between the two of them was, she figured the closest thing would be big sister and little sister. The thought brought a warm smile to Rika's face.

Approaching the water Rika pointed her toe towards the water and dunked it in. Deciding it didn't feel too hot she took off the towel and neatly folded it, placing it on the ground just outside the spa. Rika then sat on the edge and slowly slipped in next to Kimi. The water was hot at first, but after a couple seconds it became warm and felt nice to soak in. "Ahh... you're right, it's great. I really needed this." she said, leaning her head back on the bank and closing her eyes.

King would simply listen the girl obviously needed to get it off her chest and it was surprising that she had kept it all bottled up with no one else to explain it to as was evident by the fact that after telling him this her body seemed more free. He would smile faintly before turning as he saw Rika and Wolf walk in the latter of whom radiated happy emotions at the fact that he had made up with Kimiko, his attention was of course broken by said girl asking whether or not he too would come in causing him to shake his head as he preferred to merely soak his feet in the water while remaining by the edge.

Wolf on the other hand would head over to the heated portion of the water before removing her towel and sinking all the way in so that only her face was above the water surface while the rest of her body was concealed by a mixture of both steam and water. She had placed her clipboard and marker near the edge as well just in case she needed to speak. King seeing that she was alone however would pick himself up before moving closer to her still stopping a bit away so he wasn't completely isolated from Rika and Kimiko but close enough that Wolf wouldn't feel alone.

OOC: Sorry Xander some fam stuff popped up and i just got to it

Kimiko purely let herself soak as she let go, soon closing her own eyes... She let go of everything that was aching and soon... Relief... She opened her eyes and she let her buoyancy take effect and she was floating across the water, she was a ways sways from Rika. She didn't freak out as she seen a lot of people who let themselves float do. She was a dipu nin and her childhood was filled with swimming classes and the like. No reason to lose face here. After all she was just relaxing! Soon enough she would start to swim a bit. She would let herself pump into Rika and smiled a bit as she looked at the steamy overhead. Senpai... it's been awhile since we just simply relaxed... It's nice... She said with a content smile as she just floated on.

She than adjusted herself and swam in wolf's direction, stopping before colliding into her. She would turn over and sit in front of Wolf. She continued her sweet smile as she was curious about her. The only person she hadn't spoken too. Wolf-tan! I haven't spoken to you yet... Oops... Sorry i mean... Argh first real thing i say to you and it refers to talking... Sorry! Uh... I just wanted to know more about you! You seemed really refined lady of stature! She was embarrassing herself and she went to bow and went to deeply and dunked her face into the water... She was quick to bring it back up and rub the water out of her face. Clearly flustered all she could do was say a small. Sorry....

As Rika sat still and let her body soak in the nice hot water, she heard Kimiko swimming around, eventually getting closer to Rika. As the girl drew near, Rika lifted her head and smiled at her. "Yes it's a nice change of pace, isn't it Kimi." she said with a content sigh. As Kimiko floated over to wolf, Rika closed her eyes again and was silent. Breathing in the steam warmed her on the inside as well and it was a very comfortable feeling. Her worries were edging away, although it would only be momentarily, she had the opportunity to throw her concerns out the window and live a little for the night. She had been thinking a lot about different ways that she could assist the shogun and help increase the power. She knew that increasing her own strength could only go so far. She was at the highest possible rank she could achieve, but she knew there was still a lot of room for growth, she just had to take the initiative and find it.

After several minutes of soaking in silence, and nearly falling asleep, Rika opened her eyes and waded over to the others. Kimi seemed busy talking to Wolf, so she directed her attention to King. "So what were the dobutsu like? I haven't fought any, all of my focus has been against the shinobi council. I know they are animal like, and violent, but certainly there is more to it than that?" she asked him. She didn't lie, she had yet to come across dobutsu, but she had heard that the leaders in their groups were fearsome and not something anyone would want to come across.

Wolf would close her eyes relaxing her body sinking downward due to her actual weight so she decided to remain in the shallow portion closer to the wall, before she could fully relax however Kimiko had swam up to her seemingly asking her if she wanted to chat. Yet became embarrassed due to the word choice causing Wolf bite her lip while keeping her laughter inward, it wouldn't do to let out her actual laughter as it sounded distinctly canine. Once she calmed down however she would reach for her clipboard careful to make sure she didn't come completely out of the water, not that she was ashamed or shy it was more so that she didn't upset others who weren't as okay with the thought of a naked woman. "Um.. so what do you want to talk about?" Wolf wrote showing it to Kimiko before wiping it away and then writing something else "It's fine you didn't offend me."

King would turn as Rika asked him a question his smile turning into a sigh before he would place his head in his hands and stare off into the distance for a bit. Violent is a misconception, they are actually less violent than we are for the most part, the reason why it seems that they are is because like any animal they are ferocious when defending their territory. They deemed the entire continent their territory, we Hokkai knew this and any other clan which are close to animals, not those bastards Kurogane though fucking imitators. Sorry, going off topic. The Dobutsu are..the closest to nature, it's evident in the way they move, fight and think. Perhaps the reason we lasted so long was because we Hokkai are also close to nature, the ones I've fought were typically mammal like most using lightning though they were occasionally supposed by avian types which used wind to constantly batter us with distractions. he said as he would close his eyes picturing the battled vividly.

They fought very savagely yet with the grace of a natural predator, it wasn't fighting for them it was hunting, and they used animals and creatures to their advantage. While we were able to speak to fauna and form partnerships with them they would not assist us to fight the Dobutsu. They called them.. the Blessed of Gaia. There was one of such battles where they actually managed to convince freshly bonded pets to sit out of the battle until their partner Hokkai clan members were killed and then welcomed them to their side. It was....difficult to hate them, I don't personally, Wolf doesn't either, the animals and creatures practically whispered their praises and the only reason they didn't sell us out is because we had always been kind to them. My clan ..we don't hunt unnecessarily and when we do we eat every edible part of an animal or creature so that their is no waste I'd like to think if not for them utterly hating humanity as a whole it would of been possible for Hokkai and Dobutsu to get along.