She was pissed.

Of that much, Jun was certain. He could feel her eyes boring into his back and resisted the urge to spin about and apologize. He was many things- most of which the uncomplimentary term for had been directed towards him by others at least one time within his life- but a true and utter jerk was not one of them. Well, most of the time.

So, to face the hurt radiating from her frame when he lied to her face, then shouldered his way past her without another word, was more difficult than he could have imagined.

At the same time, it was the sort of mental war that he could shove away and easily conceal from his expression. Hurt or no hurt, this wasn't something he would change his stance on. Whatever she'd seen- or whatever he was rather certain she might be thinking- could and would die with time as long as he was careful not to stir anymore concern.

Which- considering that his only duty here was to accompany Saichi back to the Goto compound- seemed to be a rather straightforward and easy idea. Plus, if she was pissed at him, it should be easier to avoid her than when she was attempting to speak to her, right? Especially considering that once they'd departed from the ship it was only a day's journey to the compound...

Wrong.

As he jolted out of one of his nightmares on their last night traveling, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt, he was met with silence. Silence was strange as Saichi was almost always the person to be awake when he'd tear himself free. When his eyes flickered to where he expected to see the boy sitting by the fire he was met with a startling sight. Tenten, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully, was studying him from where she was kneeling with her feet curled beneath her. There was a stick in her hands- forgotten in her apparent intrigue with him. As he shifted uncomfortably, the unsettled feeling the nightmare always left fading in the wake of this new experience, words bubbled to his lips almost without thought.

"Your stick is on fire."

It worked like magic- Tenten jumped at the sound of his voice but tore her gaze away from him to the stick hanging lazily above the flames licking over the many tender logs at it's mercy. Select curses escaped her lips as she suddenly released the stick in her hand- a rather complimentary blush ghosting over her features as a response. Her eyes flickered back to him within a second, awareness shining behind them. It was all too easy for her to understand that he'd been offering a distraction from the matter at hand.

"... you had a nightmare?"

He shrugged, dismissing her question as quietly as it'd come. Instead, he shifted to his feet and lumbered over to his position next to the fire, sitting down and crossing his legs. She let him stew for a moment, simply watching as he rubbed the backs of his hands over his still slightly sleep filled eyes.

"Talking helps."

Once again, Jun simply shrugged.

His usual, playful smile was lacking. Perhaps it was because of the sleep still clouding his mind, or perhaps it was because of the situation in general, but the mask seemed to be too much of a bother at the moment. In all honesty, perhaps he could simply blame it on the fact that his dream had just forced him to face the idea of his sister shoving a sai blade in his gut once more. The dream hadn't cut away until the hot crimson had pooled over his chest, matting his shirt to his skin and reminding him of the pain such a wound caused. Part dream- part memory- the nightmare was honestly one of the worst his mind continued to thrust upon him. It wasn't a pleasant picture for any older brother to have- of his sister's slight, satisfied smirk as she dug the blade deeper, prompting a gasp from his lips.

He might not have been willing to voice the scene playing through his mind- but it was obvious that there was a problem. If it wasn't the lack of smile, it was in the way there was a slight, barely noticeable tremor to his hands. If Tenten hadn't- much to her chagrin as she was supposed to be angry with him at the moment- been taking more and more notice of him recently she never would have seen it. As it was, her eyes flickered from his face to his hands, watching as he used his elbows to prop his arms up atop his knees, settling his head in the cradle his hands formed a moment later.

"You're up late."

She blinked, startled by the curiosity in his tone- and the way his expression simply asked her to take the offered subject. Tenten complied, of course, as it honestly didn't move the topic away from the matter she'd already been musing questioning him on.

"I couldn't sleep so I offered to take the shift."

"Saichi allowed it?" Jun asked, surprised.

Tenten shrugged, glancing towards the bundle where a light, almost snore could be heard. At the realization that the noise was indeed coming from Saichi, Jun's lips almost twisted up in amusement. It was certainly a detail he wasn't going to forget the next time Saichi felt the need to needle him about something.

"Apparently he's more relaxed now that we're back in the Moon country," she replied. "He was out the second his head touched his bed roll."

Pondering over this for a moment, Jun allowed his eyes to shift back to the fire. So, there were times when Saichi was relaxed. Sure, the boy seemed at ease the majority of the time, but Jun had been rather certain this wasn't the case. Now he was completely certain. It was strange, noticing small details like this. Perhaps it was because of the fact that no matter how much he might deny certain facts, he and Saichi were similar in several ways.

Just not in the ones Saichi deemed important.

"Jun?"

He pursed his lips, considering pretending not to have heard her hesitant word, but then simply plastered on one of his smiles and cocked his head so that he could meet her eyes once more.

"Hm?"

"I... won't ask about it, not just now," Tenten informed him, her eyes narrowing slightly as she took in any reaction he might have- which turned out to be the slightest release of tension in his form. "But... I do want to know one thing."

"Which is?"

"You're a Kurama, right?"

Despite the way he'd stiffened instantly, Jun turned on an amused expression.

"Am I? I wasn't aware."

"Oh, shut up. It's just...I've been thinking."

"Always a dangerous pasttime."

"Jun...I said shut up. I was thining about... well, Yakuma-san... I learned a lot about her after we visited... is it possible that you.... No, I mean, are you alright? She was..."

Tenten trailed off, a slightly irritated expression flashing across her face when she couldn't find the right words. As such, she gave up with a shake of her head.

"Jun, should I be worried about you?" she asked bluntly.

He'd steadily grown more apprehensive as her line of questioning followed the one place he wanted her to stay away from. When she settled on what to ask, however, he blinked, then simply offered her one of his simple, close-eyed smiles.

"No, there's no need to worry. I'm fine."

Kurai burst out laughing, having chosen that moment to let himself be known.

"It was nothing, Tenten-chan."

____________________________________

"That's the compound just up ahead."

At Saichi's words, Jun's eyes flickered from their surroundings to the wooden gates that blocked off their path only about a hundred feet up the dirt walkway. His eyes quickly flickered over them, realizing that the compound's doors were almost as reinforced as the doors used for Konoha, something that both surprised and unsettled him. He'd known that the Goto had connections to the monarchy and were considered a noble family themselves- one of the main reasons that despite being part of the Moon village they were governed separately and lived a good distance outside of it- but he hadn't realized exactly what that had meant until it was staring him in the face.

Once inside, it would be difficult to leave if the Goto decided otherwise. Stifling an uneasy shiver, he cast a cheeky look towards Saichi who'd been explaining to Ai about his plans for taking her to her home.

"Those are some fancy walls. You guys a bit paranoid or something?"

Saichi paused, returning Jun's cheeky expression with the even look of someone explaining something to a child that should have been obvious to anyone else.

"We have more than the average number of enemies. Most would like to see our clan disappear. It's to our benefit to be difficult to touch," he answered simply.

That said, the group fell into silence, Tomoko eyeing Saichi with a more critical gaze than before given this news. Within moments they'd reached the doors which had swept open during their approach. Within a moment of their stepping inside, Saichi turned a gaze to one of the men shifting the doors back into place.

"Where's Subaru?"

The man's expression wrinkled in distaste. Instead of voicing his immediate question of why anyone would even want to find the arrogant boy- as the answer was obvious when the person in question was Saichi- he simply shrugged.

"Where else? He's in the courtyard at the main house. You need him for something. He's one of his moods, you know."

Saichi simply shrugged as the man had done, a gesture meant to question when Subaru wasn't in a mood. Ai sighed, rolling her eyes and placing her hands on her hips in the same manner. Her expression in that moment turned scolding.

"Honestly, be a bit nicer to Subaru-kun," she ordered. "He's not that bad!"

The man looked as if he might argue, but upon realizing who exactly was speaking, he simply put on an indulgent smile.

"I'm sorry, Ai-hime. I'll take that into consideration."

Satisfied, she looked to Saichi.

"And you?"

Saichi glanced at her, having already taken a few steps in the direction he'd been told to go. He simply rose a brow at the expectant edge to her expression.

"Aren't I already kind enough to him?" he questioned.

She let out a huff of air, turning about, about to demand that Momoe or Sadou explain to Saichi just exactly what the definition of kind was since he obviously didn't understand the meaning, to find a scene that had become rather familiar since the jounin had met up with them on the ship.

"Sadou-kun, are you sure you won't be staying here?" Momoe questioned, a mischievous expression on her face. "I have this horrible feeling that it's going to be cold in these Goto houses."

The man, having discovered that the best method to deal with Momoe's suggestive comments was to simply indulge her, offered an apologetic look in return.

"As appealing as the idea is, I really do have to depart with Ai-hime. We're expected back this evening. It causes trouble if we're not on time, Ai-hime being a rather valuable person and all."

Momoe's expression stayed the same, although due to some apprehensive feeling that crossed her in that moment- something she couldn't completely place- she studied the advisor more closely than before. His pale, blue-toned hair was swept to the back of his head in a rather nice lengthed ponytail, dark charcoal eyes meeting her gaze openly. His frame was- as usual- decorated with a deep green jacket, black pants, green traveling shoes and hands wrapped with bandages. There was nothing suspicious about the man. Momoe had even learned the cause of the bandages- he often attempted to practice some sort of hand-to-hand combat in an attempt to better serve the princess. The bandages helped cover his knuckles to protect the delicate skin as it wasn't used to fighting.

"...that's true."

Having come to the decision that interrupting them wouldn't do her any good, Ai spun on Jun instead.

"I'm right, aren't I?"

Jun blinked, then offered her a cheeky smile.

"Sorry, never seen them together, Ai-hime. I wouldn't know if he could do a bit to be nicer or not. I don't even know a Subaru."

She opened her mouth to protest this, then frowned a moment later and spun to face Saichi with an accusatory look, only to realize that he'd already closed quite a bit of the distance between where they were and where they obviously planned to go. Frowning, Ai took off after him.

"Saichi! No fair! I was scolding you, you know!"

Saichi's lips twisted up just slightly as he glanced at her over his shoulder once more.

"I was aware."

"Then wait, dammit!"

"Ai..."

"I don't care how a princess speaks! Don't give me that speech again," she complained. "Why haven't you told him about Subaru? You're friends, right? Friends tell each other about their twin brothers!"

Surprise flashed across the face of each Konoha shinobi as Tenten, Tomoko, and Jun started after the small group. All of them were aware that Momoe and Sadou would join them when their conversation had concluded. Jun was rather captured by the matter itself, completely forgetting to reject the idea of he and Saichi as friends.

"Twin brother?" Jun demanded. "You have a brother?A twin?"

Tomoko- in what seemed to be the typical reaction to this news- looked decidedly unsettled.

"There's another one of him?" she added under her breath.

"Goto Subaru," Saichi replied, his tone simple and rather dismissive. "A chuunin. Of little concern typically."

"That, that's it!" Ai cut in. "There. That's what I mean by you could be a bit nicer to him!"

"She's got a point, Saichi-kun," Jun added cheerfully. "You can't just talk about your family like that. They're your family, you know."

Saichi, rather than focus on Ai in that moment, flickered his gaze to Jun. He studied him for a moment, then offered a thin, closed-eyes smile in response as he turned his head back to their path.

"I see. I suppose you're of the opinion that they should be cherished despite whatever actions they may take, skill they may hold, or personality they may develop? An understandable stance in your circumstance, I suppose."

Jun stiffened, barely keeping from scowling at Saichi's back. How the boy managed to know everything about everything, he'd love to know. Details like those were kept quiet even in Konoha, hence the fact that the words had been met with Tenten studying Jun with a pursed lip gaze.

"So, why're we going to meet this mystery brother of yours, then?" Jun asked, switching the subject with another cheerful, cheeky grin. "If he's so unimportant, why should we care to meet him?"

Saichi shrugged.

"I must escort the princess home, he'll show you around the compound in my place."

"Correction," Ai announced shooting the boy a playful eye roll. "He doesn't have to escort me home, he's just too paranoid to let me go on my own. He's worried that some idiot will kidnap me. Like they'd do that with the threat of the Goto clan to deal with."

"H-he's right to be concerned," Noaki spoke up, startling all of them. The boy was so quiet and nervous half the time that it was easy to forget that he was even there. "There's many desperate pe-"

"I know, I know," Ai cut in, sighing as she ruffled her fiance's hair. "It's alright, I won't be stopping him from escorting us. I just wanted to point out that it was his choice, not mine."

"Worried that someone might think you want to spend time with me, Ai?" Saichi questioned.

She blinked, then flushed an indignant red, swatting the back of his head.

"Saichi, you idiot!"

He blinked, but didn't bother to turn around as Jun simply snickered.

"... did I do something wrong?"

"You did," Ai snapped. "You can't just be so... you!"

Jun's snickers turned into full out laughter as Saichi rose a questioning brow. At that same moment, however, their small group reached the edge of the main building, cutting off any thought he might have of questioning this matter. Instead, he focused on their path as he waved a few greetings, cutting his way through the buildings edging their path and into the courtyard that dominated the center of the structure.

"Subaru."

At the sound of his name, the lone figure standing before a target paused, turning to face the rather nice sized crowd that filed in. The boy's pitch black hair hung in well kept strands to his chin, his murky green eyes flickering over the majority of them in a dismissive manner, only slowing over Ai, Saichi, and Jun. His skin was pale, what one could easily term a sickly tone, and bandages periodically wrapped around his limbs. Such a sight wasn't uncommon in the Goto compound- as those who didn't take well to the poisons they were forced to endure as children often were left with scars as proof.

"You're back," he offered as a simple greeting. "How... great."

Oblivious to the slight edge to Subaru's greeting, Ai flung herself forward and gave the boy a tight hug.

"Subaru-kun! It's been forever!"

The boy stiffened, but didn't shove her away. After all, it would be rude to do as such, and given her station being rude to Ai wasn't something Subaru made a habit of. Which was rare- as he didn't bother to be even remotely friendly towards most. Where his brother was dismissive of others, Subaru tended to be openly rude.

"Ai," he greeted.

Ignoring the scene, Saichi gestured towards the others with an absent wave of his hands.

"I need you to show them around while I escort Ai and the others home."

Subaru's eyes narrowed, a sharp retort on the tip of his tongue, but one glance at Ai had him simply nodding agreement to his brother's request. As Ai began scolding Saichi on his manner of asking, Subaru simply glanced at the group.

"... I don't suppose you know what you want to see?"

At the lack of response to his question, the boy pursed his lips in annoyance. Not only had he been landed with escorting about people he couldn't care less about, but he'd been stuck doing it while his brother was escorting the princess home. How was it fair that he had to deal with the ants while his brother had the royalty?

"Then I guess we'll just start from the top."

None of the Konoha shinobi argued this decision, although Saichi did tear his gaze away from the princess long enough to give them a farewell nod.

"I should be back by nightfall," he informed them. "Subaru was to see about the rooms being prepared, so you should already have places to stay. If he hasn't already summoned you, I'll introduce you to my father upon my return."

That said, as soon as Ai, Noaki, and Sadou as he'd returned at that moment, bid them farewell, the group of Konoha shinobi trailed behind Subaru as he started towards the main house, having decided to start their tour with the building. Once all of them had stepped inside the large, expensive doors, he gestured around them, his expression shifting from the slightly accommodating one he'd been wearing to one that told them exactly how annoying being stuck with this duty was.

"This is the main house," he explained in an almost haughty tone. "Everything you see here belongs to the head family. Meaning, my father, brother, mother, and I. We're the best in the compound, so it makes sense that our house would be the best as well. Don't touch anything- I'd hate to see anything get broken or dirtied by your foreign touch."

"... well, aren't you a bundle of laughs," Jun said when the others exchanged bewildered glances over the boy's sudden shift in attitude.

"I'm a Goto," Subaru retorted instantly. "I wouldn't expect you to understand what that means."

Before the thought had crossed his mind, Jun clasped his hands behind his head and sent the boy a cheeky expression.

"Yeah? Well, I'm a Kurama. I wouldn't expect you to understand what that means."

The expression that flashed across Subaru's face was smug.

"Oh, but I do. See, I'm not as much as an idiot as you. I look into the background of the strays my brother picks up."

Jun stiffened, causing Tenten to shoot the boy a dirty look. Even Tomoko was left scowling at him. She might not have a love for Jun, but the idea of him being belittled by someone as instantly distasteful as this smug little brat rubbed her wrong. At the same time, she didn't bother to defend him. Jun could handle himself- and she didn't make a habit of giving him any reasons to think she liked him.

As it was, however, Jun was left simply studying Subaru with a narrowed gaze- a stark contrast to his usual dismissal of comments- and the boy simply turned and continued along, pleased to have seemingly won. The tour continued in a similar manner, their being lead into the other parts of the compound when Subaru had finished with the main building. By the time that dusk was beginning to approach, Jun was barely holding him temper back from actually snapping, Tenten had already snapped at the boy on several occasions, and Momoe had reigned in Tomoko when she'd come close to jumping at the boy when one of his smug, barbed comments had been directed her way.

"You remember where the dining hall was, don't you?" Subaru questioned them upon returning to the main house, continuing without waiting for an answer. "Tell them I'll be late."

Then, not bothering to offer an actual goodbye, he turned his back on them and started deeper into the building. Jun sighed, then turned on one of his cheerful smiles and spun to face Tenten.

"I remember the way!" he announced, hooking his arm around hers. "You're sitting next to me. Oh, and Tomo-chan~ You can sit on the other side of me if you'd like~."

She shot a glower at him as Tenten attempted to squirm her arm away from his, shooting the boy an exasperated expression.

"Don't push it," Tomoko growled.

He grinned, sticking his tongue out at her.

"You know you want to~!"

"Go to hell, Jun."

Momoe simply rolled her eyes, giving Jun's back a none-too-gentle shove to start him down the hall.

"Get moving."

A few wrong turns and sarcastic remarks about Jun's ability to lead later found the group stumbling into the dining hall. There were a few black-haired shinobi settled about the table that glanced up upon their arrival, the closest jumping to her feet and glancing over them before settling her gaze on Jun.

"You guys are the Konoha shinobi, right?" she questioned, not waiting for a response as she nodded to herself. "Right, yeah, you are. Which means you must be Kurama Jun, right? Susumu-sama asked that you dine with him, tonight. He's taken to his room as he does sometimes."

She looked rather pleased with herself for being the first to give the message, earning herself an eye-roll from someone seated nearby. Jun blinked, then cast a questioning look towards Momoe. She herself studied their messenger silently for a moment, rolling about the potential problems with this situation before inclining her head in agreement to the situation. She doubted that the man would be willing to jeopardize their good standing with the Leaf over a single genin.

Jun let out a dramatic sigh and released his arm from Tenten's.

"Looks like you'll have to eat without me," he told her, a pout forming. "Damn, and I was so looking forward to teasing you about how much you ate."

She rolled her eyes in turn and shoved him towards the girl who'd been telling her companion that she'd be back after showing Jun the way.

"Jerk. Just go."

"Yes, ma'am!"

_______________________

The instant that Jun stepped foot into the head of the Goto clan's room, his joking smile fell away. The elder man was settled at a small table towards the back of the space, a small table before him and his back against the wall. As Jun started towards him, Susumu's deep green eyes flickered open, watching the boy with a thoughtful expression.

"You may go."

The girl who'd shown Jun the way quickly offered a goodbye and disappeared through the door at the dismissal. Jun, pushing his playful look back in place, dropped to a sitting position opposite of the man.

"Guess I should take it as a pretty big compliment, huh?" he questioned. "The big boss wanting to have dinner with me over Momoe-sensei. Although, I suppose she can be a bit flirty. Guess it could be annoying to deal with that. I'm pretty sure I'm better company."

The man simply offered a thin-lipped smile in response, his gaze continuing to study Jun critically from head to toe as the boy spoke. Eventually, he dropped one hand to the table to pluck his cup from the surface, settling on how to start the conversation he'd been interested in having since Saichi had first brought up Jun to him.

"You hold your clan's bloodline limit?"

Jun blinked.

"... you're pretty blunt, huh? Guess Saichi-kun had to get that from somewhere."

Despite his light words, the boy had gone stiff, his hands clenching into fists in his lap. The elder's lips twisted up further in response.

"I see no reason not to get directly to the point. Small talk is annoying and pointless, no? Now, I'll take your avoidance as a confirmation, although Saichi had already told me as much. You're an intriguing creature, Jun, as I'm sure you're aware. A child your age, with such a strength in skill, being able to suppress it all and live as if there was no threat of insanity hanging over your head. In your situation, you should have broken by now."

Jun's expression drew cold, his nails biting into the skin of his palms.

"Intriguing is one word for it."

Susumu chuckled.

"I see you aren't fond of this topic."

"Can you blame me?" the boy countered. "I suspected it would be what would be discussed when I was first asked to come here with Saichi. There's no other reason for someone like you to be interested in me. Just because I came doesn't mean I'm welcoming of the idea."

The man inclined his head in acknowledgement of Jun's less than friendly response.

"That's understandable. I would like you to realize, however, that I'm only curious. I have no fear of you, or rather, my intrigue trumps it. A child like you is a one-in-a-million result of your family. Someone strong enough to handle their bloodline limit with no help from the outside. No guidance. Then with your background... your father's brutal massacre of your mother. Your sister's disappearance. Living in a town where everyone understands exactly how dangerous you could be and sees you the worst for it. A ticking bomb- who seems to have all intentions of being a normal boy."

Jun stayed silent.

"You're intriguing," he repeated. "You should have been broken into a million pieces by now. You should be ruled by the other personality. You should be dangerous- lethal even. Yet... you sit before me without the slightest touch of genjutsu hitting the air as the result of my less than gentle handling of this conversation. That shows strength.

"My family values strength."

Jun snorted.

"The strength of a monster?"

Susumu shrugged in response.

"That is of no concern, in my opinion. Is one personality more you than the other? You're the one speaking to me, but the other still exists? If the other were in play, would that be any less you than the you, you are now? Beyond that, who's to say that you will actually break, I wonder. Without the stress of attempting to be something you're not, of being able to use your ability as freely as you might naturally do, is there a need for the protective nature of your ability?"

Jun stared at him, having an idea of what he was saying, but not sure how to take it.

"I've studied the scrolls we have on your family- it's an intriguing matter, this madness that runs in your blood. Have you ever wondered where the basis for it comes from? I have my own theory. That amount of chakra and natural ability that runs through your veins, I believe that it is naturally attempting to protect itself. These personalities manifest as a part of you, no? As a reflection of your darker, more impulsive nature? Of a you that only cares for itself?"

Kurai snorted, choosing that moment to make himself known as he jumped to the top of the table.

"Who does this guy think he is?" he demanded.

Jun pursed his lips, but simply shifted where he sat, as to continue studying the Goto as he spoke.

"If there is no stress, no need for protection, no suppressed emotion, what need would there be for the insanity your people descend into? In the entire history of your clan, has someone with your skill ever been considered less than a dangerous creature to be steered for the best of the clan, but put down when it might turn on it's master?"

Kurai dropped to a sitting position between the untouched dinner plates, glancing between Jun and Susumu.

"You know, he has a point," the boy interjected cheerfully. "No one just let's someone like you be, Jun. It's always been believed that the stress was what made Yakuma kill her parents."

"What's your point?" Jun questioned, easily ignoring Kurai for once, his attention grabbed by what the man before him was offering. "Why tell me all of this?"

Susumu offered his thin-lipped smile once more.

"For my benefit, of course," he explained, spreading his hands in the air. "As I'm sure my son has told you, we are always welcoming to shinobi as strong as yourself. Our clan is a family, we protect each other. We may hold the reputation for being cold hearted- which is true in some ways- but we are a place without judgement. I'm simply reiterating the offer he's most likely given you, with my own opinion in the mix.

"Leave the Leaf and come here. Join with us, eventually perhaps find someone to start a family with which you'll probably have difficulties with in the Leaf with them knowing of you what they do. You'd be welcome here."

Jun opened his mouth to give the reflexive response he'd always had for Saichi- that he wasn't a traitor to his village and that he would never leave- but found the response dying before it'd even touched his lips.

A world where he didn't have to hide himself. Where there was no judgement in the eyes of others- where he didn't have to scramble for a reason for why something like had happened with the bandits occurred.

Should he really chain himself to a village that wanted to tame him?

At the same time, he had to wonder. Where these thoughts his own, or where they thoughts spurred on by Kurai's influence? The boy had been studying the elder with a grin, obviously intrigued by the offer.

"I..."

"Susumu-sama!"

A figure broke into the room, drawing an irritated look from the man. Nevertheless, he simply took the letter that the stranger offered him, growing still as he read the contents.

"... it would seem that Saichi won't be joining us for dinner," he announced after a moment.

Jun blinked.

"Why?"

Susumu lurched to his feet, a flash of annoyance at the protest his muscles gave crossing his expression, but started towards the door without pause.

"It would seem there was a bit of trouble. The king is wondering why his daughter hasn't arrived."

Jun scrambled to his feet, the words and their meaning occurring to him instantly.

"Ai-hime never made it back?"

"None of them did."

A/N: Tada! We're finally hitting the action! It's taken waaaaay too long in my opinion!