Undercover...Sorta

Kurai walked along the path, wearing things quite different from her usual attire. She wore a pair of tattered jeans and a black tank top with a rip at the stomach. Her hair was out of its ponytail and blowing in the wind at waist height and her bangs covered her right eye. Her left eye, which was visible, shone a vibrant green. She got a few looks from guys who passed her for her pale skin, but in the Snow you were hardly going to get a tan. She ignored the attention she was getting and walked on.

She tried to weave her way through the mass of people, most of which decided to stare at her. Whether they recognised her as Yukikage, or were just curious to see a new face, she wasnt quite sure. Ahead, she saw a boy about her age who seemed just as bemused as she was. Slightly relieved that she wasnt the only one, she continued to walk on, murmuring 'excuse me' and 'sorry' now and again when she tried to get past. Why was this place so busy? If it was anything to do with her, it was safe to say that she would never live it down.

A single feather from the little bird floated on the wind and landed on the top of Kurai's head. She blinked and picked it off, tilting her head to the side curiously. She smiled slightly and held it in the palm of her hand then blew out gently, causing it to flutter away on the wind again. The path was becoming a little easier to move around in now. She breathed out a sigh of relief, causing her bangs to flutter up a little bit before returning to their original position.

She looked at the boy with a slightly surprised expression. Hang on, he's probably asking if i'm the Yukikage...But he looks so familiar...Maybe.... She nodded slightly, putting one hand in one of the pockets in her jeans. "Kurai Niwa? Yeah, that'll be me," She replied calmly, risking it and smiling at him slightly so he'd be reassured that she didnt think he was weird for just walking up and asking her.

It took a minute to register, but then an equally wide smile inched across her face as she put a hand to her lips. "Manzo...? Yes, of course i remember you!" She laughed as she hugged her old friend happily. "Its been so long! You've really changed, but i expected that. How have you been?!" She rambled on, so excited to see him again that she basically left all formalities back on that old trail.

She laughed with him, lightly cuffing him on the head. "So many questions! Which one to answer first," She thought about it for a moment. "Well, i've been pretty great myself. A hell of a lot has happened since we last saw each other, it HAS been 10 years after all," She said, sticking out her tongue. "And no, for your information i havent got married yet," She chuckled. "Why, of all things, would you ask that?"

"A weird question," She corrected him as she laughed again. She seemed to happy to see him again. It felt like, even if they'd only met once, they were very close. She couldnt quite remember since the massacre had taken up a lot of her memories of the past, but she felt like she was good friends with this boy back then. "What about you? You married yet?" She said, more as a joke. "I'll send your regards to the Snow, shall i?"

She chuckled and flicked his forehead with her index finger. "C'mon, i bet youre more responsible than you think you are," She bit her lips slightly. "I suppose you could call it 'settling'...They accepted me as their new Kage," She said with an embarassed grin. "And...Uhm, its best if you dont send your regards to my family," She added as she cleared her throat.

"Yep, no idea how i got there though," She said truthfully. "I mean, it wasnt even a year ago but i became the Kage so fast i had no idea what was going on," Her expression gradually changed into a warm smile. "But...I wouldnt change it if i could. It's nice to have so many people surround you. Like one big family," She said, then bit her lip as she realised she was rambling. "Uh..I mean, forget it. Its not important,"

She laughed slightly. "Well, maybe. I cant be certain," She chuckled again modestly. She wasnt used to the attention. The only attention she usually got was from her villagers, and that was respect. She shook her head. "Enough about me," She continued, not wanting him to ask too many questions about what had happened over the ten years they'd been apart. "Tell me, what are these 'records' that you've managed to break?" She smiled.

"Wow! Congratulations, that's a big achievment," She said, ruffling his hair with a grin. "Arent you the little prodigy?" She chuckled, noticing how proud he was of his swift rise through the ranks. "I knew there was something about you when we met. I know talent when i see it," She told him. "By the way, you can let go whenever you want, it sorta stops us from moving anywhere," She laughed.

"I thought that getting away from all the ice and snow would do me good. I prefer the smaller villages so i thought i'd take this route," She explained. "I couldnt wear my proper clothes or people would notice me a mile away so i wore this," She gestured to her ripped tank top and her scruffy jeans. "It makes me look more like a regular ninja," She ran a hand through her long hair. "I didnt think i'd run into you here, but i'm glad that i did," She looked around, smiling as she saw the lush vegitation. It was a nice change.

"A place to stay?" She blinked. She hadnt thought of that when she left. That made her look a bit stupid, in her opinion. "Yeah, yeah i think so. I forgot to plan that out before i left. I didnt think it would take this long to get here," She explained sheepishly. Even if she was the Kage, she was still a teenager. Pretty scatterbrained but her intentions were good. "You know anywhere i could stay until i head back?"

Her eyes lit up at the mention of hotsprings. "Really? Ah, hotsprings would be great! You dont get opportunities like that in the snow, that'd be perfect," She smiled brightly. "Could you show me where it is? Don't worry, i've got enough money to pay for my stay there," She said as she tapped one of her pockets, which made the coins inside jingle.

"Oh yeah! I see it," She said as she nodded, taking note of the structure he was looking at. Her eyes glinted mischievously. "Say, how about a little competition for old times sake? We'll see who can get there first. Whoever loses has to do whatever theyre told to do by the winner. You in?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him and grinning. "I'm sure a big, strong Jounin like you could easily beat me," She teased.

She just smirked, crouching down slightly and squaring her shoulders. "Alright then...On your marks...Get set," She took off. "GO!" She laughed and bolted along the path, being careful to avoid everyone else. "C'mon Manzo! I thought you said you were gonna win!"

"Surely that doesnt matter! You said you were gonna win so prove it!" She chuckled as she kept running, rapidly progressing towards the inn even though she could tell Manzo was hot on her heels. People did stare, but only for a moment since she was gone before they could get a proper look at her.

ooc: we should wait till Zak gets back

She blinked in surprise, hearing someone shout her. "What the--" She skidded to a halt, not really caring if Manzo passed her now. She looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. Whoever they were, would they even recognise her in her different attire with her hair down? She tried to look through the crowds, but couldnt really point out where the voice had come from.

She rubbed the back of her neck and tried to get her breath back. "Heh...Sorry, got a little too competitive," She smiled. "Minoru, this is Manzo," She said, gesturing to Manzo. "Manzo, this is Minoru," She said, gesturing to Minoru. "We WILL finish that race later," She grinned.

She frowned. "Minoru, be a little nicer will you? He's an old friend of mine, we go way back. I'd like it if you treated him with some respect.." She said, looking between the two. She could tell that they probably werent going to get along but she would try and make it work.

She sighed slightly, not saying anything more. Maybe they'd sort things out by themselves, she'd try and calm down any fighting until then. She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, waiting for a responce from Manzo

Kurai felt the increase of chakra and flinched, her dark hair falling in front of her face since it wasnt tied back. She raised a hand up to her mothers locket and grasped it to gain some sort of comfort. "Uhm...Y-Yeah..Sure," She said in reply, daring to glance at Minoru after she had said so.

She flinched again, not expecting an angry tone of voice from him. She was treading on eggshells now and she knew it. She didnt want to irritate or anger him, in fact she was even afraid to do so. "W-We ran into each other and s-since i'm staying here for a couple of days he's showing me to one of the inns..." She explained quietly.

She gasped and swiftly drew her hand back when Minoru smacked it away from Manzos, taking an involuntary step back. "...." She said nothing, just continued to clutch at her locket as her other hand touched at her concealed eye from behind her bangs. She didnt dare say anything, she was too frightened to do so.

She bit her lip and took a step forward again, essentialy putting a barrier between the two of them using herself. "I'd appreciate if the two of you didnt fight in the middle of the village," She murmured softly. "I really dont like it. I'd appreciate it if the two of you left it at that," She didnt look at either of them when she said this, her attention was focused on the ground.

She didnt seem to mind if Minoru tagged alone, she just wanted the fighting to stop. She nodded silently and looked at Manzo, nodding again to let him know that she was ready to get going. "I hope i havent caused you any trouble, Manzo," She said quietly.

She shook her head. "No," She replied. "Things have settled, or so it seems..." She sighed. "I wanted to get away for a while...To escape everything," She said the last part loud enough for both to hear, although it was unintentional. She looked straight ahead, noticing that the inn was in sight.

She blinked as she felt something wet drip down onto her hair. She looked up. Rain. She sighed as another droplet landed on her cheek. She looked ahead again and picked up her pace slightly, giving Manzo a small yet convincing smile. "I'll be fine. I always am," She said simply, not wanting to get too deep into this particular conversation.

She put a hand to her head, feeling another one of her demon-induced headaches coming on. "Manzo...Can we hurry up and check in, i'm feelng a little light headed," She muttered, rubbing her temples. "Maybe it was from the journey or something," She added, lying through her teeth. She hated lying but she didnt want people worrying about her.

She stumbled once or twice, but managed to get herself to the doors pretty well. She leaned against the structure for support, feeling it turn into more of a migraine. It rarely got this bad. "I need to lie down..." She murmured to nobody in particular, more of a mental note than anything else.

She shook her head, then regretted it since it felt like her head was going to explode. "I think i just need rest..." She said, pushing herself off of the wall and shakily walking over to the stairs. "Its not a regular headache.." She tried to explain.

"I dont mind who it is but can someone help me get up the stairs. I can barely see my hand in front of my face," She admitted, trying her hardest to keep her eyes open. She hoped that it wouldnt cause too much of a stir between the two but she needed help getting to her room.

She wasnt sure which one of them had picked her up, she was guessing it was Manzo since she heard his voice. She just shut her eyes, trying not to strain herself since it would make things worse. She just wanted to lie down and get a glass of water. This sort of headache wouldnt go away with mixtures or pills. You needed to wait, and that was the agonising part.

A smile fluttered across her face for a split second before it gave way to a grimace of pain. It was ebbing away a little, she thought. She could open her eyes at least. Her bangs fell away as she opened them, leaving her kekkei genkai inflicted eye visible to the two of them.

She raised a hand to her one blue eye. "Kekkei genkai...I ended up trying to master it so much..That its permanently there...Thats why i hide my right eye with my hair..." She explained, her breathing calming as the pain continued to get less and less mind numbing. She could see the difference between the two boys now at least.

She looked up at the ceiling blearily, taking slow, deep breaths to try and calm herself down. It had only been this bad one or two times, both recently. Why was it getting so much worse all of a sudden? She couldnt be sure, but it definitely wasnt a good sign. She shut her eyes again.

"All 3 of them wont stop bickering...Theyre trying to outdo each other using their chakra and its too much for my body to handle..." She muttered, shaking her head. "Theyre calming down a little, but my head is still pounding. The Spirit one is doing the most damage,"

She shook her head. "In their present state, any more chakra coming into contact with my body would make things worse. I just need to bide my time and wait for them to calm down.." She replied softly. She looked at Manzo as he walked in, hoping he didnt go to too much trouble for her.

"Its fine," She said to Minoru. "Manzo...Can you stay? You still have to show me around and it doesnt seem fair to just let you go after everything you've done..." She murmured, trying to sit up so she could get a proper look at him. It hurt but she managed. She looked at the two boys, her expression thankful but still pretty bleary.

She was about to speak when she leaned forward, coughing violently. She shuddered, taking her hand away from her mouth when she was sure she was done. What the hell was THAT!? Her eyes widened a little. She'd never coughed like that along with the headache. Something weird was definitely going on.

She shook her head. "No, never...Coughings never been one of the symptoms..." She bit her lip, her eyes slightly glazed. What was happening? This had never happened before. The temperature, the coughing, the shaking. Sounded like the flu or something...But she was perfectly healthy not even 2 hours ago. She couldnt have caught a full blown flu that quickly. There mustve been something else.

"Its my own fault for thinking i can host 3 demons and suffer no consequences," She replied, before another bout of coughing. "Dammit..." She shook her head. "Maybe the two of you should leave for a little while. You'll worry too much if you keep hearing me coughing and looking like a wreck,"

"And i told you to leave and i meant it," She replied, looking at him with her piercing blue eye as the silver dots in them glinted weakly. "Minoru, there isnt anything anyone can do. No company, medicine or anything else is going to make this better. All i can do is wait until they calm down. Right now, its up to them. Not me, not you, not Manzo. Them," She muttered.

"Thanks," She replied quietly. As soon as the door closed, she sighed and tried to push herself up again. She wondered if she could walk. Or if the coughing had stopped. She needed water though, so she'd have to try and get up eventually. Gradually, she pushed herself out of bed. Her legs felt like lead as she shuffled over to the sink and got herself a glass of water.

She sat on the edge of the bed, sipping her water with care. She felt that she was about to cough again but clamped a hand over her mouth so they wouldnt hear. When she was sure it was alright, she lowered her hand again. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and gasped lightly when she saw her green eye was slowly fading into purple.

She heard them outside and sighed slightly, pushing her rising panic to the back of her mind as she rooted through the drawers to find something else to change into. It better calm down before tomorrow...I dont wanna have to spend my few days off in bed with a migraine having a coughing fit.

She found something from the drawers and pulled it out, grimacing a bit. She wasnt going to like wearing this at all. However, that wasnt her primary concern right now. She needed to get changed then convince the two of them that all was well and then, hopefully, the fighting would stop. Or at least be less severe. She sighed and began getting changed, dumping her clothes at the foot of the bed.

Kurai frowned, smoothing down her new attire before opening the door. She didnt feel completely fine, but she looked normal enough. She looked between the two of them, not saying a word. She didnt need to. She wasnt angry at them, or disappointed. She just wanted them to stop before they hurt one another.

Kurai:

Spoiler:

ooc: told ya i'd use the pic, Zak xD

Its surprising how quickly they stop bickering whenever i show my face... She thought, then decided to take it easy on them. You can't get along with everyone. Thats just life. "I'm fine, i told you guys that you worry too much," She said with a slight shrug. She cleared her throat, stepping past the two chairs that were positioned by her door and flashing them both a smile.

She sighed. "Minoru, we've been through this. You know i'm quite capable of taking care of myself," She said, equally stubborn. She turned to Manzo. "Yeah, i thought i'd go down in a little while, not just yet though. I'm gonna go take a look around town first and get aqquainted with things," She explained. "I don't wanna get lost or anything,"