An Act of Charity (Private)

Akuma was exploring again, her little tour map in her back pockets so that she couldn’t get lost, but today was not just a random sight-seeing expidtion, but one with purpose. She was walking casually through the streets, but was drawing some awkward stares; these weren’t the ones she was used to, as normally these stares were because of her form-fitting clothing, rediculous figure and massive mane of blonde hair that was not all that common for a ninja, something made obvious from her belt-buckle that was emblazoned with the leaf symbol on it, declaring her a Ninja of the village. Not, it probably had to do with the fact that she was walking around with a buck deer on her back, using a single hand holding a pair of legs to keep it there, as casually as though she were holding a jacket over her shoulder. What she was looking for was a butcher, a profession that apparently specialized in dealing with handling meats and such. It wasn’t that she wasn’t capable of gutting the deer and taking care of it herself, but more than she wanted to see how a human would do it versus the way she was taught, which was simply ripping it apart and collecting the good meat.

It was fairly early in the morning, but not so early that shops weren’t open, so she was occasionally talking to people and looking for a butcher that was open, and it took her a bit of time to find one. It wasn’t an establishment, per-say; it was a guy and a cart near the outskirts of the main strip of road that had all the shops. He already had a variety of meats for sale, but saw Akuma approaching and seemed to smile at what she was carrying, which was a nice reaction to what was being done. Approaching, they engaged in subtle conversation, talking about what she wanted to have done, and what it would cost. After a bit of back and forth, bartering, the man finally agreed that he would simply take a portion of the meat to sell as payment of ‘showing her how it’s done’, and would give the rest to her to eat later. Akuma watched with great interest as the man carefully carved the deer, asking questions occasionally and learning much in the way of butchery, and had to admit that it seemed superior to the way she was taught, even if the Dragon method was far more quick. After some time, she carefully bagged up the meat that she managed to keep, and was on her way.

She didn’t go too far; only a short distance to where she knew the orphanage was nearby, a place that she had a bit of a soft spot for. Technically, she had been an orphan herself, so she liked to help them when she could, and considering she had a vast supply of meat, there was no reason for her not to be able to share, and she borrowed their firepit to do it with their permission. The smell of cooked deer drew a lot of curious noses, and for the day, she made the orphans happy with a supply of venison that they could eat until they were completely full. Most of them went back inside and were doing whatever chores they needed to work on by the time that Akuma decided to partake in the meat herself, her elongated cuspids flashing a bit as she tore into a particularly large hunk of the deer meat as she sat on a log near the firepit, still roasting bits of it and placing it on her large platter of a plate, unaware that she had drawn the attention of more than just curious bystanders and children.

Fumiko's day started early. She had crashed out at her grandparents the night before, this way she could shower in the morning. However, Baba and Jiji had different ideas for her. The elderly couple had ambushed the young Jonin with several tasks to earn her shower and food in the morning from them. Which included, but was not limited to taking out the trash, sweeping, helping reorganize the attic, and such. When she was finally allowed to take a shower, Fumiko was ready to crawl back in bed. She let the warm water cascade over her chilled body, it wasn't the fact she had to do chores. She loved to help her Baba and Jiji. Fumiko just wished they would let her sleep a bit more. Today was her day off, so it was one of the few days she could sleep in. Letting it go, Fumi washed her body with haste so she could go ahead and get started with her own tasks.

After shutting the water off and grabbing the towel set to the side for her, Fumiko patted her body dry. While she was in the shower, her Baba had placed a new outfit in the bathroom on top of the basket. "Aww... Baba..." Fumi smiled. Fumi wrapped her long pink hair up in the towel she used before turning her attention to getting dressed. The new outfit Baba had gotten her was a short, black, half thought, turtle neck sweater and a pair of sheer leggings to go with it. She had slid the leggings on first. Then, Fumiko danced herself into the dress, every bit of it tightly stretched against her curves, but due to her height, the sleeves ended beyond her wrists and the body of the sweater ended just below where her ass meets her thighs. Unfurling the towel from her hair, she took the brush and brushed out all the knots. I guess I look presentable, Fumi thought to herself. She cleaned up the mess she had made in the bathroom and placed her pajamas into the hamper.

When Fumiko returned to the living area of her grandparents' home, there was a large bag beside the front door with a note on top. Fumi raised a brow and went to investigate. Picking the note up off the bag, she brought it close to read. After she was finished, she peered back down at the bag and opened it. It was several clothes and shoes ready to be donated just as the note stated. Fumi sighed then smiled, her grandparents always thought of others. She discarded their note and grabbed her flak jacket from the hook by the door, feeling quite naked going out without it. Ensuring herself that the donation was just a quick task prior to starting her day, Fumiko slid her sandals on. She tapped the tip of the sandals on the ground, ensuring her feet were comfortably settled in, one foot at a time. Once she deemed herself ready, Fumiko scooped the bag up and tossed it over her shoulder. Shifting so she could comfortably carry it one-handed, she opened the door and left.

Making sure the door was shut firmly behind her, Fumiko started off into the village. Her grandparents lived a few minutes away from the market, and not too far from that was the orphanage where the clothes and shoes were requested to be dropped off. The closer she became to her destination, the more the air filled with the sweet smell of food. Fumiko's stomach rumbled, reminding her that she had forgotten to eat prior to leaving her grandparents' house. As the smell grew stronger, it just left Fumiko salivating. She adjusted the turtle neck of her dress to attempt to cover her nose. It didn't smell bad, but it was distracting her from the task at hand.

It wasn't until Fumiko was upon the orphanage did she realize what, or rather this case who was causing her to drool on herself. There was a blonde-haired woman near the firepit chowing down on some food. Fumi's stomach rubbled, and with hot cheeks, she hurried past the area to go up to the door. She slid the bag off of her shoulder to sit beside her as she knocked on the door to summon someone from inside.

Akuma was casually munching on her food, enjoying the flavoring that the guy at the butcher suggested to season the meat with that gave it an amazing flavor, some kind of mixture of onion powder, salt and something else that she couldn’t remember. She was going to have to get the recipe off of him so that she could go and find the ingredients and make it herself. She was mid-way through another piece when her violet eyes tracked movement in her peripheral vision, and just based on that she knew that it wasn’t another child; too big. Looking up, she noted a young pink-haired woman who approached with a bag, so she paused and watched her for a moment, curious what she was up to. Then she noted that the bag seemed to be full of clothes, and thought for a moment; she had seen this before when someone was dropping off some used clothing that the children could use and wear. Donation was the word, if she recalled correctly, which was not to be confused with tribute, which was something else entirely.

And then she heard the young woman’s stomach rumble a bit.

Akuma, being the blunt force of nature that she was, simply stood up, that bit of meat still sticking out of her mouth, as she collected a few other slabs and put it on the paper plate she had been provided to feed the kids with. They were all full and happy, and there was plenty left, so she didn’t see the harm in sharing with someone else who happened to be hungry as a bit of forward paid good will towards someone who was doing some good for these kids. After collecting a healthy plateful, she approached the smaller woman, whom she was literally head and shoulders taller than, and tapped her on the shoulder. The bit of meat she had been munching on was gone, chewed and swallowed in the time it had taken Akuma to gather the food for this pink-haired stranger, and as such, she was able to give the woman a warm smile, which incidentally showed off her slightly elongated cuspids, making the smile a bit more vicious than it was intended.

“Hey there. You sound hungry… have a plate, since you are doin’ right by these kids, I figure you earned it.” And naturally, Akuma being who she was, there was no arguing with her; she had all but put the plate directly into the woman’s hands without giving her a chance to refuse. Then her nose twitched, and she took a moment to take a deep inhalation slowly through her nose. Peaches… honey… and her Chakra wasn’t the weak variation she had sensed from other people… no, this woman had potential. So much so that Akuma wasn’t entirely certain who would win in a spar as it stood right now if she didn’t use her Sage or Nature abilities. Someone she wouldn’t mind getting to know better. “I’m Akuma… sorta new here. You a Shinobi? Your Chakra is impressive.” She gave another smile and blatantly looked the woman up and down, not just because she didn’t mind the woman’s figure, but because she was sizing her up as a possible opponent. Akuma with her own rediculous curvature was almost putting her own chest in the woman’s face, only because of the height difference, but that hadn’t been her intent.

Fumiko jumped at the sudden touch of her shoulder, completely unprepared to be bothered. When she realized it was the - now just noticing - rather tall, blonde woman who was cooking the meat. Her face was full of cleavage, "You sound hungry" and looking down, Fumi's blue eyes widen at the fact the woman legitimately shoved a plate of food into her hands. Fumiko was definitely caught off guard. Only able to stand there with dumbfound face.

"H-hello, Akuma..." Fumiko took two and a half steps back from the woman, to be able to peer over her large chest. "I am a shinobi," she answered with a bright smile. She would have tugged at her flak jacket, but since her hands were full of the massive plate Akuma handed her, she just proudly puffed out her chest. "I am a Jonin, and thank you?" Her tone of voice raised inquisitively. She hadn't been told her chakra was impressive before. She was unsure on how to take it, Fumiko noticed Akuma was looking her over - which caused the young Jonin to blush briefly. "I'm Fumiko, by the way." She shuffled the plate to one hand - careful not to spill any of the food and held out the other in the form of a handshake.

Her stomach had rumbled again, reminding her not only was the food near but was offered to her. However, she wanted to ensure the bag for donation got inside with an adult. A small bite before the door opens shouldn't hurt... right? Fumiko turned her back to the front door, unable to wait any longer to nourish her body. She snatched a quick bite off of one of the chunks and begun to chew. Mmm... It had been a long time since she had deer meat. Covering her mouth with her free hand, Fumiko looked up at Akuma, "Where did you buy this?" She hadn't fully finished chewing. The seasonings of the meat and the smell of the fire tickled her nose as she ate. Definitely, after that one bite, Fumiko's stomach had already settled down and stopped complaining.

Just in time too, once the front door of the orphanage swung open, Fumiko swirled back around and explained about the bag to the gentleman who opened the door. She grabbed it up off the ground to hand it to the gentleman. After the transaction finished, Fumiko swiveled turning her attention back to Akuma.

"Ack!" Fumiko stumbled back - nearly running into Akuma's assets and spilling the rest of the food, just nearly. "You creep up close, don't ya?" Fumiko smiled and laughed off her embarrassment. She picked up a piece of meat and took another bite out of it. This time a bit bigger than her first. Putting the meat back on the paper plate, she motions back to the yard for her and Akuma to continue their conversation, since Fumiko's task at the front door was finished.

Akuma didn’t flinch when the pink-haired woman jumped, simply continuing what she was doing and giving the woman some food, but noticing that she had caught her off guard so easily.  Based on the woman’s attire and considering the fact that she had seen a few Shinobi thus far, the blonde wagered that she was having what was known as a ‘day off’ of her duties, and thus more relaxed.  That would certainly explain how, even though Akuma hadn’t been sneaking, she had crept up on her so easily.

She nodded quietly once she confirmed she was a shinobi and had to say that the bright smile had been a pleasant change of pace.  Most people thought that Akuma’s direct and blunt manner of conversing was a bit odd, but that didn’t seem to be stopping this one, who puffed out her chest and proudly proclaimed herself to be a Jounin.  Fumiko… finally, a name.  Easy enough to remember fairly easily too, and offered a hand for shaking.  Akuma took it with a warm smile, squeezing just enough to be firm but not as a show of power, something that had taken her some time to perfect.  Thus far, Akuma liked this one already; friendly, not intimidated by her size, musculature, or stature, and overall seemed to have a good head on her shoulders despite being a Jounin.

Akuma snickered as the woman asked where she bought the meat after taking a bite, shaking her head, causing her massive mane of blonde hair to swing side to side a bit.  “I bought the seasoning, but the deer I hunted down myself.”  She crossed her arms under her chest, which resulted in her assets only becoming more pronounced, and cocked one hip to the side, smiling again and obviously proud of the deed.  But that was about when the door opened and pulled the pink-haired woman’s attention the other direction, and Akuma smiled at the man who accepted the donation gratefully, and once their transaction was complete, she turned and almost ran into the blonde, which would have resulted in a faceful of cleavage, but avoided contact if only barely.  The accusation though made her raise an eyebrow.  “I haven’t moved…” she declared, shaking her head in amusement and taking the woman’s suggestion to move back to the area where the cooking was being conducted.

There were several logs that worked as seats, some cut to where they were flat-topped like individual seats and others on their sides like bench seats.  Seeing that they were going to be talking together, Akuma decided on the bench-style and patted the spot next to her so they could sit together.  In her mind, it only made sense because she could talk with her easily and not need to raise her voice, but it didn’t even register that their hips would literally be touching and might be an invasion of personal space, mostly because she didn’t have any concept of personal space.

Taking another bite out of the hunk of meat she had, she quickly tore into the meat and chewed, thinking about what she wanted to talk about next, leaning back a bit and showing off her belt-buckle that had been given to her in the form of a Head-Band.  “Jounin is the next rank after Chuunin, right?  That’s what the Hokage gave me was Chuunin, although I’m not sure how I feel about it.  Might need to see about getting to the next rank, but I think he wants to see if I can be trusted or something first.”  Shrugging it off as no big deal, she took another bite of meat.

Fumiko blushed slightly at the comment made of having not moved. However, the color and heat left quickly from her cheeks. Still holding the plate of food, and slowly - but surely - taking bites and taking her time to chew. She sat down next to Akuma. When the women's hips touch, the hair on the back of her neck bristled, and she scooted an inch or two closer to the edge of the log. Once her personal bubble was restored, Fumi relaxed again. Small in stature, she was glad that she was able to still sit on the log and not be falling off. "You cook very well." Fumiko grinned, a full belly, a happy Fumi.

When Akuma showed off her belt-buckle, Fumiko raised a brow. She has seen alternate ways of wearing the forehead protectors, however, she is pretty standard with hers - either around her forehead or her neck. When Fumiko reached for hers, a slight alarm went off in her head - she forgot to grab it from her grandparents' house. She groaned, knowing she definitely had to go back to get it. "I don't have mine on me today..." she admitted in an almost defeated tone of voice. It was an accident, she knew it. Fumiko perked up and cocked her head to the side when Akuma talked about the Hokage bestowing a Chuunin rank to her. "Yea... Jonin is the rank after Chuunin." The information she provided piqued Fumi's interest, "Are you not from here? Did you not go to the Academy?" She heard of incidents like this occurring before but hasn't personally met someone who was going through it.

Fumiko remained courteous, making sure that she wasn't eating as she fired off her questions. However, sunk her teeth back into the second piece on the plate once she was done with her questions. Her mind swirled around, and covering her mouth like before, "Where are you from? Do you live here, now? You're very pretty - where'd you learn how to cook?" Her questions circling back around to the food. It was very satisfying, and Fumiko couldn't decide if it was because Akuma was a good cook, or if she was just that hungry. She settled on the former as the answer.

She looked over the large woman, she towered Fumiko's short frame easily even when sitting. She was studying the woman's features - her large hips, chest, face - committing to memory of what her new friend looks like. It hit her right in the self-confidence for a moment, dare say a twang of jealousy. However, it passed quickly and she went right back to munching on the plate of food before her. Almost half-way through it.

Akuma had to admit, Fumiko was particularly cute when she blushed like that. Not that she could dream of doing it to the woman on purpose, with her being completely off the table when it came to having a meaningful relationship with anyone who was human. Between her ineptitude and her genetic predisposition, it would be almost impossible for her to even have a chance at something like that, and rather than shoot at the odds, it was probably better for both parties for it to remain something she kept internal. As if to emphasize that point, Fumiko decided to scoot just a little bit further away, then distract her by complimenting her cooking, still scarfing down what had been given.

Akuma paid it no mind; she had long since accepted that such a thing would likely be the norm for her. Watching her reach for her headband and come up empty, then explaining that she didn't have it on her at the moment, Akuma only smiled and shook her head. "No big deal. It's called a 'day off' right? When you don't have to do whatever so you can be more casual. And no, I'm not from here at all... I don't even know where I was born in... my mother never told me. And my education was definitely not in your Academy." If it could even be called that; Niv-Mizzet's Halls of Knowledge made their schoolhouse look like it was nothing more than a feeble attempt at education, so the bar was pretty high when it came to that sort of thing.

Another bite of meat, and then the inquiries began, and she smirked, keeping track of them in her mind and answering them one at a time. "I'm from another realm called the Blind Eternities, home of the Dragons, who raised me since I was a baby. I decided to come live here to try to establish good relations with humans so that they can once again come to and fro from this plan... and I learned to cook myself there. I didn't have the seasoning, but Dragons make for very bad cooks; everything is either raw or burnt to a crisp." Then something else clicked in her brain, and she stopped eating outright and turned her lavender gaze towards her realizing that she must have misheard that bit right in the middle of the questions, and needed to clarify.

"Wait... did you call me pretty, or was that just some wishful thinking on my part?" she asked, looking genuinely confused as to if she had truly heard it or not. She was pretty sure it had been a figment of her imagination, but once again her word-choice betrayed her feelings, not even having noticed that she had basically said that she had hoped that she did call her pretty, even if she had dismissed herself as a possible person that could have a relationship only moments ago.

Fumiko nodded to Akuma's words, it was true. It's her day off - but every shinobi should be proud to wear their mark of identification. She bit her bottom lip, to keep it from quivering and pouting more about an honest mistake. She shook off her petty blues and continued to listen to Akuma. She was curious about where the large-statured woman was from, Fumi didn't have to wait long to find out. When the blonde told Fumiko that she was from another realm, she looked at her like she was crazy. Mouth agape, "I'm sorry where?" Dragons? At this point she was fairly certain that Akuma had lost it, or was lost ...

Then this woman had the gall to just blow right past she told Fumiko that dragons were real. Her mind still reeling, another Realm? Dragons? No way. Haaa, some one was pulling on her leg. Fumiko's mouth open to say something but nothing came out. She simply shut it to keep from looking like a fool even more. Fumiko sat her plate in her lap, and debated on getting up to go home, with how nice Akuma had been to her... She felt that the woman may have had a screw or two loose. However, when Akura asked her a question of her own, the young Jonin remained still.

Does she not think she's pretty? Fumiko's heart felt a pang of sympathy. She struggled, well more accurately struggles, with her self-confidence as well. She placed her small hand on the woman's knee. "Course I called you pretty, cause you are." Fumiko smiled brightly at the woman. Even if she felt like she was a little unstable, Haha, dragons... Fumiko wouldn't say anything about her disbelief, mainly because (even in her own opinion) it being such an iota amount of her being wrong, she didn't want to breed animosity for not believing, in the incredibly small chance she was wrong.

Fumiko's nose wrinkled when a thought flashed into her mind, "Why don't you think you're pretty?" Actually, if Fumiko was being honest with herself, the woman was quite a bit more than pretty. She was very attractive, and Fumi felt a twang of jealousy again when her blue eyes landed on the woman's golden mane.It quickly dissipated, because Fumiko knew of what her own long pink locks could do. However, she would have needed a mass amounts of brushing and product...

Akuma blinked, realizing that it probably was a larger pill to swallow than some people were associated with, and decided maybe some comparisons would be in order. “Yea, it’s called the Blind Eternities. You know how summons work, yea? Well they come from their home when they get summoned by us. The frogs are in some mountain somewhere, and I think the snakes have a secret cave they stay in… but the Dragons are from another realm called the Blind Eternities. It’s where my mother, Lathliss, the Mother of all Dragons, raised me. She had some help from Niv-Mizzet and a few others, but she’s the reason I’m still alive. I’m a Dragon Sage.” There was no waiver in her voice, no lack of confidence that the words coming out of her were absolute fact, only emphasized by the fact that she casually took another bite of her food.

She blinked again, however, her violet gaze moving downwards as she felt something, realizing that the woman was touching her knee, and once more looked up into the woman’s eyes, but there was a moment of confusion and vulnerability in her own violet gaze as she listened to the words being spoken. She took a moment to remember to breath, and then heard the follow-up question that went with it and took in a deep breath and sighed. “Because, according to humans, I’m a monster. A Cursed One of the Nature Clan.” She held up her right hand, ensuring that it would be as far away from Fumiko without requiring her to move since the young woman was sitting on her left. Slowly, the skin darkened, turning grey and then almost black and as tough as leather, orange veins beginning to show themselves and pulse like a heartbeat along the enhanced and enlarged muscles and large claws, sharper and stronger than any kunai, ending each finger in a display that looked like it would be home to a nightmare rather than real life.

She held the hand there, watching Fumiko’s reaction carefully as she explained.

“When I was born as a Cursed One, the villagers told my mother that if she didn’t get rid of me, they would kill both of us. She gave me the best chance she could, and delivered me to a nearby ‘Spirit of the Forest’, whom was actually a Dragon named Dramoka. He contacted Lathliss, and she took me to her home in the Blind Eternities.” This wasn’t some guarded secret, and it didn’t contain as much pain as something like that normally should have, but it was something important, something sacred that she was sharing. She was showing Fumiko some personal vulnerability in hopes of helping her understand where Akuma was coming from. Her violet eyes never left Fumiko once, watching her body language carefully; she wasn’t all that experienced with it, but she knew that it could often reveal the truth once you learned someone even if their words were false.

When she didn’t flinch, a spark of hope lit in Akuma’s chest, but she needed to be sure. So, slowly, she reached across her body with the enlarged limb, putting the massive clawed hand within easy reach and inspection range for the pink-haired woman, but not letting it fall and rest in the woman’s lap. That might send her over the edge, and the blonde had just barely begun to hope, just a little bit… she didn’t want to scare her off now.

Fumiko's face turned to stone, emotionless, as she listened to Akuma's explanation. It made sense, at least enough sense she couldn't really argue with it. However - it certainly was a large pill to swallow to find out dragons were real. Honestly, she was still wrapping her head around it, and while she sat there processing, her hand remained on Akuma's knee. Her blue eyes hyper-focused and it almost seemed like she slipped into a daze. Fumiko pulled herself out of it when she heard Akuma speak, catching 'one of the Nature Clan.'

The Nature Clan? Fumiko thought, furrowing her brows. Honestly, she thought that a lot that had been said was just rumors. Her blue eyes followed the moment of Akuma's hand. In front of her eyes, she saw the transformation. The act of Akuma's hand changing left Fumiko in awe, her blue eyes as wide as saucers. She didn't flinch or move away, in fact, Fumiko leaned in closer.

Akuma spoke again, but this time, Fumiko spoke up. "Excuse me? Get rid of you?" Her family - well her grandparents had always taught her that every child was a blessing and should be loved and cared for, one of the reasons she harbors resentment to her own mother. But a whole village telling a mother to get rid of a child? It made her blood boil. Fumiko had to remind herself to calm down. The past wasn't something she could fix, but damn, did it make her mad.

When she realized Akuma was offering her transformed hand, her eyes sparkled. She grabbed ahold of it and twisted the poor woman's arm as if she forgot that the arm was attached to a human. Fumiko rubbed against the skin, making note of the texture. Tapped on it with her fingernails, knocking on it, seeing if she could even pinch the skin. "So... is this a jutsu? A sage transformation? How'd you manage only a partial transformation?" Her questions felt endless. "If it's a jutsu, it seems pretty solid..." she muttered to herself. Still twisting and turning the transformed hand.

Akuma nodded as the woman responded to and seemed shocked by the fact that the village wanted her gone, even as an infant, no matter the cost. “Nature Clan… untrained Cursed One’s rather, are susceptible to extreme bouts of battle-lust and even a slight waver in our emotions can cause us to transform completely, and we literally lose our minds and will kill any human in the area. My father apparently had done something similar and the village barely survived, so they weren’t going to take any chances with me… or so I’m told. I likely would have had a tantrum and killed my mother and many more if things hadn’t played out how they did.” There was some grim silver-lining there, knowing that it had saved many people by what had happened.

She couldn’t help but smile a little though when Fumiko grabbed her transformed hand without hesitation and began to inspect it, intensely curious, but shook her head, correcting her. “This is no Jutsu, just a part of my transformation of Nature Clan, and we are adept at only transforming what of our body we need, even without the bloodline if we want once we master it. Using my Sage state is different. I can show you that after you are finished with this.” The hand was tough, the skin like leather, claws like diamonds, and the muscle beneath like braided steel, and she didn’t flinch as the woman poked, knocked and prodded in her little experiment. Luckily her reach was extensive, but the pull had brought their hips back together, not that Akuma noticed.

This had to be the most interesting reaction she had seen thus far out of anyone she had met. Perhaps she was secretly some kind of scientist type person? It was possible, surely, but the chakra told the blonde that this pink-haired woman was not to be underestimated. Still, for the moment, she was simply happy that someone wasn’t terrified of this side of her, and let her do as she liked to her hand for as long as she wanted. Akuma would wait patiently for her to ask any additional questions and answer them to the best of her ability. But she too wanted to ask some questions.

“I have seen indifference, someone appraising a weapon, and I’ve seen fear… never awe and curiosity when someone sees this sort of thing. What makes you different from everyone else that this doesn’t make you fall into one of those categories?” she asked, tilting her head down so that her face was generally in the woman’s view on the side, allowing her lavender eyes to lock onto hers once more and hopefully gain her attention properly. This was something important that Akuma wanted to know because if it was possible for one person to see her that way, perhaps there was a method to make more people not see her as the monster that she felt like she was.

Fumiko's nose wrinkled up, she still thought it was very wrong. If you knew someone had a habit of losing control... shouldn't you help instead of banishing them into the world or just ending them? She gritted her teeth together while she continued to inspect the hand. She decided not to say anything more on the matter, it would be the best course of action at this point. Again, there isn't much for her to do for things that had played out in the past.

While Fumiko was taking mental notes on how everything was. She even would glace down to Akuma's normal hand for almost side-by-side comparisons. She made sure to remember the answers to her questions as well. When she finished examining the larger hand, she let go and would allow Akuma to take her hand back. "It's very interesting." She simply stated, running through all the data she had collected so far.

Fumiko's face twisted into a frown after Akuma told her she was examined as a weapon and feared - indifference was just unfortunate. "I just..." Fumiko started when she was asked why she was so different, "I just have a different acceptance level I guess." She laughed and ran her hand through her pink hair. "Information gathering is a key component of being a ninja." Fumiko pursed her lips together and looked up to the side in thought. There was still quite a bit she was attempting to wrap her head around.

She looked down at her plate and tsked. She couldn't finish the meal before she became full. "Well, I guess I should thank you for the meal." She started, patting Akuma's knee again, "It was very kind of you to share." She beamed a bright smile at the blonde woman. "I don't suppose you have anything to do today, hmm?"

When she released the hand, noting how interested the young woman was in taking notes about her hand, she kept it before her and regressed the transformation. Claws shrank back into fingernails, muscle receeded in size, and slowly the hue of the skin turned back to normal, allowing her to watch the process as much as she liked as the hand resumed looking human once more. She waited patiently, however, as the young woman tried to think of what truly made her different from everyone else, thinking about what she did that was odd and whatnot. When she finally gave her answer, Akuma smiled a bit and shook her head.

“I think it’s more than that… you have a kind soul. I can tell.” With that said she leaned over a little bit, and took a deep inhale through her nose as she closed her eyes for a moment, and when she leaned back, her eyes opened revealing a pair of Dragon Eyes staring at her for a moment, but after a couple of blinks, they were back to their normal violet human eyes, as though nothing had happened. “Your potential is through the roof…” she said, almost in a whisper, and then a smile crossed her face that said she was truly happy.

“I’ve done what I needed to do today sharing this deer with the kids and yourself. You got something in mind?” she asked, standing up, now truly towering over the woman, anxious and curious what she wanted to do. It was a very nice thing, making new friends. And that was what Akuma truly considered Fumiko now, and whether she truly knew it or not, that meant that even if the world was burning down around them, she had a friend that wouldn’t abandon her for any reason. She had fucked up and shown Akuma human kindness, and now she was going to be stuck with her for the foreseeable future.

Fumiko watched, her blue eyes sparkling with interest. "It's definitely different," she muttered. She personally hadn't seen anyone transform up close before, and today she has seen it twice. Or at least a partial transformation. Once Akuma's hand returned to normal, she faced the woman and tilted her head to the side. Curious about why Akuma shook her head at the answer Fumi gave her.

Fumiko blushed at Akuma's kind words and looked down at her feet. By the time she looked up, Akuma's violet eyes were gone and she was being stared at by a different set of eyes. Golden, with a large black slit. Fumiko kind of froze under the slightly intimidating gaze. She didn't flinch or move away, just looked back into the golden orbs that pierced her soul. Thankfully, when Akuma leaned back, her eyes returned to the original shade of purple. Much less intimidating than the golden ones she just displayed. "How'd you-" Fumi shelved her question, figuring it was the same as the instance as transforming her hand. Fumiko leaned forward a bit, to begin to stand up. However, she stopped when she caught the first part of Akuma's whispered sentence, but not the full. A blush stretched across her face again. "My potential? I just strive to be the best I can be," Fumiko smiled softly, "I don't plan on being anyone of significance." Her ears and cheeks warming with embarrassment.

Her eyes followed Akuma as she stood. "I don't have any particular plans. I just had to donate that bag. I was either going to go on a walk or just return home." Fumiko answered Akuma's question with a shrug. "I know I have to return to my grandparents' at one point to retrieve my headband." The pink-haired woman rubbed the back of her neck, bringing a guest back to her grandparents without their permission was not something she wanted to do. Minus the fact, she knew their house was clean, it was still something drilled into her to ask before you do.

Fumiko pushed herself up off the log the two had been sharing as a seat and dusted her back end off. When she stood, Fumiko's blue eyes met up with Akuma's violet and she proposed the question, "Would you like to join me since you have nothing left to do?"

Akuma noted how she froze, and couldn’t blame her; meeting a new dragon for the first time growing up there was more than a few times where she froze when they got close and peered into her soul with those same eyes. She started with a question, and then stopped herself partway… and then diverted with another statement. Akuma would address them both. “I am what you would call a Sage. A Dragon Sage to be more accurate. In the Blind Eternities, it’s known as a Dragonborn. And despite you not planning on being anyone significant, you have the potential to be. What you choose to do with your potential is completely up to you, but I could think of a few things I wouldn’t mind seeing.”

The words had come out of her mouth before she could stop them, and revealed just a hint of her own personal feelings that she normally suppressed, but now that they were out there, nothing could be done. If she asked questions, Akuma would answer. If she didn’t, the Dragonborn would drop it entirely unless it came up again. For now, she simply wanted to let that particular bit pass by. Hearing that she didn’t have any particular plans, Akuma smiled warmly, noting that she did have one more task at her grandparent’s home yet to do, but it not being a very high priority. Then the smaller pink-haired woman asked a question that made the warm smile on her face widen to a full-on, megawatt smile. “I’d like that very much, thank you,” she said politely, a bit of enthusiastic energy in her words.

It was only now, upon accepting the request to join Fumiko, that Akuma realized how much she enjoyed the idea of spending more time with her. This woman accepted her for who she was, didn’t shy away from her nightmarish bloodline, was willing to accept that Dragons were real, even if it was a little disbelieving just yet, and was probably one of the more friendly humans she had come across so far in her travels. A large part of her wanted nothing more than to try to spend as much time with her as possible, and another part of her wished to try to see if she was open to the idea of courting. Akuma had never imagined finding a mate candidate this early on in her journey, but Fumiko could be the exception to that rule.

Fumiko was curious about what Akuma meant on a few things she wouldn't mind seeing. However, she didn't press the woman for answers. With how open the blonde has been with her, Fumi figured she would share if she cared too. Fumiko did a bit of a stretch, waiting to see if Akuma would join her. Honestly, she had been mulling about what she'd like to do in the day. A walk around Konoha was tempting, but so does curling up on her couch with a good book. Getting some training in too sounded like a fair thing to get done today.

When Akuma gave her answer, Fumiko nodded. "It's not a problem at all," the young Jonin smiled at Akuma, sweetly. Knowing she wasn't going to leave anything behind that didn't need to be, she bent down to pick up the area the ladies have been chit-chatting in. It would be awfully rude to leave a mess.

After the clean up was finished, Fumiko looked over her shoulder at Akuma. "Well... I got a couple of things that can be done. Some exercise would be good, so either training or a walk, but relaxing at home doesn't sound too bad either." Fumiko brushed her pink hair behind her ear and out of her face. "Since I have a guest tagging along, I am somewhat leaning more towards a walk or even some training. Do you have a preference?" She motioned for the blonde to follow her as Fumiko began to walk away.

When Fumiko didn’t immediately react, negatively or positively, to her mention about seeing more of her Akuma mentally breathed a sigh of relief. Either it went over her head, or she ignored it, and it wouldn’t take long either way for the blonde to figure it out, that much she was certain of. Standing up and simply resisting the urge to tickle the smaller woman while she stretched, an odd instinctive desire that she wasn’t entirely certain as to where it originated from, she began to help clean up the area, storing away leftover meat and putting it into the window where the kids would notice it and grab it for later, and stamping out the fire, and making sure that the kids wouldn’t need to be picking up after either of them.

And then the pink-haired woman proposed several ideas, and Akuma rolled them around in her mind a few times, considering each one carefully. “To be honest, I accomplished what I set out to do today. Anything from here out is a bonus, so whatever sounds best to you. And don’t shirk away from relaxin’ at home on my account. If that’s what you wanna do, I’m game for whatever the day brings. Hanging out with you just makes whatever we do better.” She smiled widely, approaching the smaller woman and considering for a moment what she truly wanted to do, and decided that it was time to be a little playful.

In a swift motion, Akuma stepped behind Fumiko and stooped down low, then stepped forwards quickly and stood up, resulting in the pink-haired woman being lifted off her feet and onto the blonde’s shoulders, not bothering to ask for permission and fully aware that she could get pummeled a bit because of it. But Fumiko had been able to accept Akuma for who she was thus far, and that made the blonde want to expand on that tentative friendship they were building. A part of that was Akuma was naturally a bit playful, and that came from the lack of socialization as a child; she never really got to be a kid before and was exploring the sensation. Akuma laughed a little bit in a good-natured way and then looked towards the main road. “Alright… which way we going?” she asked, fully ready to simply start walking any direction that Fumiko asked her to and be her steed for the moment.

Fumiko nodded at Akuma’s statement, understanding that the blonde had no preference on what they would do. She fiddled with the hem of her sweater, thinking over the possibilities, “Well, there is a lake in the Senju forest, I’m pretty sure?” Fumiko muttered, perhaps she could practice her Suiton jutsu there. “Does that sound like a better idea?” she asked, at least wanting to do something that would tickle both of their fancies. Fumiko was about to turn towards the tall blonde, but was rendered unable due to Akuma scooping her up and having her sit atop of the woman's shoulders.

Fumiko’s entire face turned a bright red and goosebumps lined her arms and legs. She heard Akuma’s question, but completely disregarded it for a moment to ask in a squeak, ”What the…?” She found herself gripping onto her knees for a quick balance, which placed the back of Akuma’s head against her diaphragm, and her calves tucked back under Akuma’s arms instinctively. Once that Fumiko felt like she wasn’t going to fall, she released her knees and sat up straight, ”What’s this for?” Her voice would return to normal with this question.

Every time that she began to feel off balance, Fumiko’s legs would squeeze against Akuma. Her calves squeezing her muscular body and her thighs pressing against the side of the woman's head. She didn’t ask to get down. At least, not yet, allowing Akuma’s attempt to be playful with her be successful. She wasn’t sure how long it would last though, especially with Akuma’s hair tickling her thigh with each movement she made through the sheer leggings she wore. With a deep breath, Fumi finally answered Akuma’s question, ”I guess let’s just go to the lake.”

A lake in the Senju Forest. Akuma hadn’t been to the Senju Forest yet, but she had heard of it, and knew the general direction, but that was it. That was alright though, because now, with the woman on top of her shoulders, she could provide directions with ease, the only regret was that she couldn’t see the smaller woman’s face for her reaction. Her question, however, made her chuckle. “Seemed like fun,” she declared, feeling the goosebumps on the woman’s skin from the contact of her thighs against her neck and cheeks. Akuma, to her credit, was extremely stable, and as if to ensure that Fumiko felt extra secure, she brought her hands up and wrapped them around the woman’s ankles, holding her in place so she wouldn’t slip.

Akuma had to admit that having Fumiko in this position did put her in a certain level of power, and she started walking casually towards the Senju Forest. Without even meaning to, her thumb began to slowly rub on the woman’s ankle, but it could have easily been mistaken as her simply trying to ensure that she was secure on her shoulders. Akuma also had to admit that she enjoyed having Fumiko up there more than she had expected; she had never done this with anyone before, but had witnessed some of the bigger children doing it earlier at the orphanage for some of the smaller ones, and had been intrigued by the idea, which had led to the situation that they were now in.

“To the lake! I kinda know where Senju Forest is, but might need directions, so feel free to help out with that. Or would you prefer to fly?” she asked, her tone genuinely curious. Flying wasn’t for everyone, but she thought she would offer considering that it was easily within her personal capabilities. Besides, how often did it happen around in the human realm that someone could grant the wish to fly to someone else? She was relatively certain that it wasn’t very often as the skies were almost always clear, something that was very odd to her still considering that in the Blind Eternities there was always someone flying around.

Fumiko felt the heat in her cheeks increase. She had finally found a position that helped her maintain her balance. She was not entirely enjoying being up higher than normal, she was fairly certain she was short for a reason. However, she didn’t want to ruin her new friends' fun. Sitting atop of Akuma’s shoulders, Fumiko ran her fingers through some of her hair. Feeling the soft curls between her fingers. ”Your hair is very soft,” she muttered softly.

When Akuma announced they were off to the lake, Fumiko smiled and giggled a bit. ”I can help you find the way,” she said with a shrug, ”However, I don’t think we could fly there.” She paused and thought about what she had just said. Telling the Dragon Sage, Akuma, that they couldn’t fly may have presented itself as a challenge. Surely, if she could transform her hand and arm, she could produce wings? Fumiko was curious to find out, even though a bit hesitant. ”I wouldn’t be on your shoulders if you did, right?” she asked in an inquisitive tone. ”Would it be safe to even do so? We wouldn’t fall, would we?”

Honestly, if Akuma could produce wings and fly… Fumiko was curious if she’d even be able to handle such a thing. Not the fact that she could, but the heights, and how herself would be with Akuma. Would the woman carry her in her arms? Would Fumiko have to hold on? Would she ride on Akuma’s back? Or would she just meet her at the lake as Akuma flew. No, she asked me if I preferred to fly... Fumiko scratched her head, reserving to answer the question after Akuma had answered hers.

Akuma didn’t miss the compliment, and as a two-part reply, shook her head side-to-side just a little bit to rub her wild hair against Fumiko’s skin. “I take a lot of time with that wild mess… glad I’m doin’ somethin’ right.” She chuckled a little bit, which had the side-effect of making Fumiko vibrate just a bit on her shoulders, and then heard the woman issue something that could have only been interpreted as some kind of challenge, and caused the blonde to pause in her tracks. Fumiko wouldn’t be able to see it, but would likely feel the grin spread on her face as the muscles in her cheeks contracted against the woman’s thighs.

Without hesitation, she focused her abilities and behind them a pair of black wings began to emerge, growing larger and stretching outwards until she had a set of large, black-grey wings that very much looked like they could belong to some black dragon. They flapped idly, just a means of getting a feel for the wings, generating a bit of a breeze for a moment before they tucked against her back, for now, waiting for the woman’s reply to the new development, but then hearing her concerns. They were relatively sound, considering that she was thinking about her first-ever flight, and she waited until they were all out there before speaking up and giving her the answers.

“You could stay on my shoulders or I could carry you in my arms, but it’ll feel less disorienting up there because you can control how tight you hold on. Don’t worry about squishing my head; I’m pretty tough.” She didn’t mention that she very much enjoyed feeling the woman’s thighs against her head, nor that she could feel the woman’s heartbeat through them… she didn’t want to make it too awkward. “And it is quite safe, no risk of falling or anything. That’s a promise.” With that all said, she tilted her head back a bit, her violet eyes looking up at her and waiting for her reply.

Fumiko’s blue eyes went wide, should she have been surprised? Probably not after watching Akuma’s hand transform. However she was amazed and surprised to see wings emerge. She leaned forward, pressing the back of Akuma’s head into her rib cage while her pink hair cascaded down onto Akuma’s shoulder. She was looking over her shoulder to see the wings form. She wanted to turn and touch them, but she resisted the urge.

When she felt Akuma’s head turn, she leaned back again. Careful not to lean too far back since the wings folded against Akuma’s back. Fumiko studied Akuma’s face. Her breath caught in her throat, becoming visibly nervous. She bit down onto her bottom lip, mulling over the thought of flight. Part of her was extremely nervous, the other was curious. Surely it wasn’t too much different than jumping from tree to tree? Just much higher right?

”Are you sure?” Fumiko’s voice was low, her heart hammering in her chest with anxiety. She wasn’t very sure that being atop the shoulders would be safer. However, with Akuma’s promise of things being safe. Her body relaxed a bit, the rhythmic thumping of her heart slowing down back to her normal heart rate. With a deep breath, she would nod her head. ”I trust you, so, I guess… let’s go?”

Akuma saw the woman looking at her wings and couldn’t help herself; considering the way she had reacted to her arm, she likely wanted to touch them and get a feel for their texture. One wing leaned forward next to her, allowing her to get a feel for them for a few moments; the frame of the wings were strong, muscle and bone from the feel of it while the other was a thick leathery membrane that made up the part of the wing that generated lift. Once Fumiko’s curiosity was satisfied, she moved on to stretching the wings outwards as the woman asked if it was truly going to be safe.

“Swear on my name Akuma Ryujin, even if you try to jump off, I won’t let you fall.” She waited, and once permission was given, she raised those massive wings up once, and then beat them down, sending a tremendous amount of air scattering along the ground. Another beat, and their feet were off the ground, but only a foot or so, and then another, and another, and soon they were just barely above the rooftops, and that was when she started to glide forward gently. This was a height that any normal ninja could reach, and a good starting point.

She gave the woman’s thigh a squeeze as she tilted her head to the side. “You good? You want to go higher?” she asked, not wanting to go too fast, too high and all too quickly for her to be able to handle it. Not everyone was good about heights and flights. Akuma had used her real name earlier, something she only rarely did, and she wondered what the woman thought of it. But that was something that could wait until she got to the lake, where they would have a bit more privacy and could talk more freely.

When Akuma’s wing came close to her, Fumiko took it as permission to investigate. She didn’t go as thorough as she did when Akuma transformed her arm. Fumiko tried thinking of other things that she had touched that felt similar, but none came off the top of her head.

When Akuma swore that she would be safe, Fumiko smiled softly, ”Okay…” However, when they began to come up off the ground, Fumi’s muscles tensed. Her thighs pressing against Akuma’s head. This was much different than just running up a tree or even scaling the mountain. Her heart hammered in her chest, “I’m good so far, just… Not used to my feet not attached to something…” Fumiko would laugh at herself as she responded to the first half of Akuma’s question.

It definitely was a new sensation. She tucked her feet against Akuma’s back, attempting to feel some type of normality. Part of her was curious about how much further up Akuma would take her, the other part of her didn’t want to know at all and was perfectly content with the current height.

Akuma had waited patiently while Fumiko inspected her wing, more than willing to wait until she was satisfied with learning what she could in the time she had before moving, and enjoying the sensation of the tentative touch on her wing that held an almost child-like wonder to it. Akuma didn’t have a lot of positive human contact, so this was a nice change of pace, and something that she wouldn’t vocalize, but wouldn’t discourage either.

And then they were off, and the blonde felt Fumiko’s thighs squish thoroughly against her head, fully aware that she wasn’t doing it for any other reason than to keep herself aloft but enjoying the sensation none-the-less. The nervous reaction coupled with the woman’s response to it was all Akuma needed to know that it probably wasn’t a great idea to take Fumiko up too much higher, at least not for her first ride. Maybe next time, when they were more comfortable, they would be able to risk increasing the elevation just a bit.

The lake was easy to spot once they were in the air, and a wicked idea came to mind, something that had happened to her the first time she had ever ridden a dragon back in the Blind Eternities. The advantage that Fumiko had was that she could most likely swim, while Akuma hadn’t been able to when she took her first dunk and had required rescue. Swimming had been one of the first lessons after that, naturally. Flying low over the lake, Akuma rolled her shoulders, the only warning that Fumiko would get before she rose just a bit and performed a barrel roll, tucking her wings in for just a second as she did.

Fumiko had two options. Cling onto Akuma for dear life and use her reaction time to stay attached, or fall off and take a dip in the lake due to the sudden movement and surprise. Either way it would be fun, and Akuma would have passed on the rite of passage for the first time riding a dragon onto someone new.