say hello to the bad guy

[BADMAN]

A wooden table suspended in air but nothing but their fists which tore through the polished surface sending splinters spraying out ward. On one side of the table was Badō, a lack of expression on his face, on the other side was a young girl with short black hair, giving it her all as she matched Badō's punches as they passed through the wood between them blow for blow. Her small knuckles cracked every time they collided with Badō's battle worn paws. She continued forth through the pain, wincing and growling.

The table was nothing more than scraps and splinters in the air, wood chips that were produced from their traded blows. There was no longer anything between them, they could see one another, and the shield that the girl had hoped would keep Badō at bay was gone. The look in the older male's eyes was that of a predator staring down his prey. A whimper slipped from her throat, she fell back into a retreat, but it was all for naught--

Badō slipped his hands in his pockets, charging forth through the wood chips that bounced off his form, the scent of her blood and flesh upon the air seemed to excite the monster. She took the opportunity presented to her, she saw that Badō was off his guard, charging straight in with his hands bound in his pockets--

Sliding across the wooden floor of the room they were in as she came to a stop, putting a halt to her retreat--

Her leg came up, her foot was launched with a long sweeping motion, aimed for the side of Badō's face--

Badō's nose flared, his lips curling into a perverted smirk, having ducked under, catching a glimpse of the younger girl's panties due to her skirt flying up during the kick--

The girl swore under her breath, moaning, the kick had placed her with her back to him, bent over--

"Ah--?" Badō was surprised as her leg came straight outward at him, following up with the first kick with a second. It was genius, she lured him low to stunt his evasive maneuvers and now she was launching a blindingly fast attack that in and of itself would have been hard to detect and avoid--

Still, the girl's genius was not skill. She jumped, peering at Badō from her underside, the man watched her reaction, holding her foot in his hand. "Better...you almost had me at 50%..."

With one fluid motion, the girl found herself in mid-air, horizontally spinning like a top. Badō was already walking toward the sliding door of the small dojo when the girl came crashing down on her side. "Hnn...wait...one more time...!!" The girl muttered, trying to lift herself from the wooden panels below, rubbing her sore shoulder.

"Nah, I'm bored...if you need me I'll be up on the roof." Muttered Badō, plucking a small balm from his pocket, cracking the seal and opening the bottle with a frown. The girl sat there in the center of the dojo, the sound of the door sliding close on the dojo could be heard.

It wasn't but a minute later that Badō could be found atop of his home and dojo, seated atop of the snow caked roof, applying the balm to the many bruises that dressed his body. It was easy to tell that not all of these injuries were accumulated at the same time, but the sheer mass of them would tell a story of just how many fights Badō got into. The bruises had length, and along with bruises there were small lacerations, meaning they were most likely gained in a fight with some sort of wooden sword, most likely a bokken.

The cold air bit at his tanned skin, the snow nipped at his wounds. His breath visible upon the air, he pressed two fingers to a large bruise on his abdomen, rubbing it in small circles. It was a wonder who the younger lady was who he was apparently sparring with or what she was doing in his home. Once he was done, he would dip the two fingers in the balm that was placed upon his knee.

"Slow day..." Sighed the bored blond, pondering on whether he should go looking for trouble today like he did so many other days.

[Senkyo Izumida]

'It's so cooold...'

As he walked down the street back home, Izumida's thoughts were centered around that one concept. Closing his eyes briefly, he stopped walking and tried to focus on keeping his warmth inside him. Hands in his pockets, hat nearly over his eyes, etc. He took a couple of steps before opening his eyes again, and his breath was quickly caught in his throat.

What had been a flat street suddenly became a sharp incline, eventually leading up to an ominous wooden manor. He blinked and was suddenly standing in the courtyard of said manor, the ground around him littered with little wooden dummies. Holding the sides of his heads with both hands, Izumida squeezed his eyes shut, thinking he was under some sort of Genjutsu and that ignoring it would let him out.

When he opened them again, a crazy-looking old man was standing in front of him. His face was red and his hands were tightly balled into fists. He quickly dashed forward and Izumida took a staggered step back. When it became apparent what the man was going to do, Izumida only had time to throw his arms up in front of his face and scream.

"SHIKOOOMEE!!!!" he cried, scared for his life.

When he felt nothing, he slowly dropped his arms and opened his eyes. He was standing back on the street in Kiri, exactly where he was to begin with. Rubbing his temples, he took a deep breath (through his nose, since when you breathe through there the blood vessels in your nasal cavity warm the air before it enters your trachea) and looked up. Through the falling snow, he could somewhat see a man on the roof, apparently touching himself in some way. But what was weird about it was that though Izumida had never seen this man in his life, he felt like he knew him. Was he involved in that Genjutsu...?

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[BADMAN]

Just then, the door to the small dojo slid open and a young woman stepped through, this one different than the first. She was obviously older, taller, and much more mean-looking than the first who seemed much more focused on fighting and timid than this one. She looked down upon the child who was out in the snow in front of the home, narrowing her eyes.

"Who're you and what do you want?" Adorable kid, but definitely a weirdo if she'd ever seen one. Up above, Badō could hear one of his wards speak below, but the child was out of view to Badō.

"Who is it, Miyami?"

"I'unno', some squirt..." She answered, tucking her hair behind her ear.

[Mr. Blue Sky]

Izumida looked up at the woman that had approached him. He had screamed the name of his sister at the top of his lungs, so this was a confrontation that was only natural. What was not natural, however, was the woman's attitude and general demeanor. Before he could respond to her rudely stated question, however, the scenery changed again.

He found himself standing right in front of the woman that was questioning him. A fist that was not his own may as well have fused itself to her face, it hit her so hard. As she was thrown through the air from the force of the punch, the scene dissipated, and she was once again standing directly in front of him with that look on her face.

"I--I'm Fakeru Namuu." he stammered out, repeating the fake name that his sister told him to begin using. As he spoke he began inching away from the woman, but remained out of sight of Bado.

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[BADMAN]

"What? Are you sellin' cookies, squirt?" She cocked her head to the side, slightly tilting it back. She placed her hands upon her hips, her lips wrinkling while skeptically watching the seemingly nervous by before her. Fakeru Namuu? She caught on, but it wasn't like there was anyone after them, so why would he announce himself with a fake name? Not only that, the kid was short, even if he was here to do some sort of harm, what could he do? Bite her ankle?

"I'm goin' to lie down." Badō groaned, not even in his usual spot could he find peace this evening, and for some reason he wasn't thinking about actually getting any. Not that his wards were willing to give him any, anyhow. The hunt itself put him off to even attempting. Popping the small hatch, he tucked the balm away in his pants, the cold tiles pressing to his back as he rolled into the hatch, dropping into the hallway below, taking a glance back, taking a quick glance at Izumida's visible hair.

[Senkyo Izumida]

"I--I'm not selling anything." Izumida muttered, semi-annoyed at the idea that he looked like one of those annoying Shinobi Scouts. "I was calling to my sister...she said she'd be around here somewhere." he continued, slinking slowly away from the woman. She was big and tall and scary and ugly, and Izumida wanted nothing to do with this treacherous creature.

As he edged away from the building, Badō came into his field of vision. When he looked up at him, he suddenly felt a terrible jolt in his head, as well as a spell of dizziness. Words began flowing out of his mouth mechanically, and he had absolutely no control over what he was saying, nor any idea of what he was saying. He spoke loud enough that Badō would hear him loud and clear.

"Emishi Badō, born June 6th, age nineteen. No known relatives. Chūnin of Kirigakure no Sato, registration #532683, no existing cell roster. Five feet and seven inches tall, 140 pounds in weight. Futon-natured chakra. A bad, bad man."

When he finished speaking, his eyes drooped slightly and he stumbled backwards a step or two. A hand went to his head, rubbing the side of it.

"Nnhhh..."

[BADMAN]

Badō's eyes widened as he cited information on him like a computer, spinning on his heel, he waddled at a fast pace toward the door, bumping the cold-hearted witch that was standing in the doorway interrogating the boy forward. She herself was shocked, it was a little weird for such a kid to know such things.

"What...what was that? Who are you?!" The woman asked, her brow trembling as she regained her footing. Badō gripped the doorframe around him and peeking around the taller woman with a child-like smile.

"Don't you see?! He's like--a robot, ha?!" Badō chuckled, that creepy smile took up the lower half of his face.

"Ro...ba...to?" The woman pronounced, looking over her shoulder at Badō, disturbed. Robot? Was he just making up things now?

[S h i k o]

"Hey!"

A voice called out down the path, not too far from where the above scene was taking place. There was the tiny form of a girl, panting for breath and waving her arm high and wide. "Oi! Izumida!" Shikome resumed her slow jog toward her little brother and the lady to whom he was talking. She'd instructed him several times never to talk to strangers, but this woman didn't look to threatening.

However, as she neared them she noticed a very odd guy standing behind the lady, smiling in such and unnerving way that it sent chills up her spine. Just before Izumida could possibly answer them, she stepped up between him and the two interrogating him, hugging Izumida close. He seemed distraught and disoriented.

"Hey, you okay Short Man?" she whispered, putting a hand to his forehead. It was warm, like he had a fever. Spinning back around, she locked eyes with the woman. "What happened to him?"

[BADMAN]

Badō stepped from around his student, he tilted his head to the side. The second girl hurried to the small meeting that was happening upon the dojo's stoop. "Ara...he went all robot then got all sick and stuff..." Badō spoke, not really caring for the boy's well-being at all. The small girl who popped up took notice of Izumida with genuine worry.

"Ah~! I'll get him some water!!" She suddenly said before running off, Badō took a quick glance back at the younger of his two wards and looked back to Izumida and the woman who suddenly popped up.

"What're you, his mom?" That wasn't insulting, at all. At least, that's not how Badō meant to come off when he asked if Shikome was the mother of this young boy. He smirked, it was obvious, especially to the people who knew him that something dirty crossed his mind.

"It's probably his sister, he mentioned something about his sister before he...got sick, I guess?" Miyami said with an arched brow, "Is the little squirt gonna' be okay?"

[Senkyo Izumida]

Izumida's eyelids half-closed and he lost more of his balance, leaning more onto Shikome. "I...don't know what happened..." he said to her, trying in vain to raise his head and look up. When Badō spoke again, his half-closed eyelids shot open, and he took a very sudden, very deep breath.

"Emishi Saki!"

He cried sharply, taking a sudden shallow breath. Seconds later he completely collapsed into Shikome's arms, completely unconscious.

[S h i k o]

"Who?" Shikome inquired as he spent the last of his breath in that moment exclaiming some random woman's name. As she collapsed, she held the small boy in her arms, trying to prop him up. "Hey, no. Short man. Hey, wake up!" Shikome tapped his face to try and wake him.

"Can I get some help here???"

The girl looked over her shoulder at the strange guy, then to the woman standing beside him. What was wrong with them? Couldn't they see what was happening?

[BADMAN]

Badō bit down on his teeth, his eyes narrowing as the boy exclaimed that woman's name. He knew it, he knew it well. He snapped, motioning to the boy, "Mi-chan, show 'er the way to the guest room, eh?"

Time passed slowly, Izumida was laid out in the guest room and the visitors wouldn't see hide nor hair of Badō for the half-hour they'd been there or so. The room was rather roomy for such a small manor, but there weren't many rooms to begin with. The two girls shared a room and Badō slept in the larger of the two bedroom's. The mats were arranged neatly, white tea leaves printed upon the green mats. The smaller of his two wards, the young girl who ran to get Izumida a cup of water was seated in the room, trying to keep the boy company, but appeared to be creating nothing more than awkward silence.

"Uh..." The girl spoke up, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of her face, "my name's Haikō." She introduced herself, seemingly timid, she wasn't very talkative, at all.

Meanwhile, up the hallway, Miyami intruded on Badō's personal space, entering the kitchen he was held up in with a bottle of water and a bowl of steaming ramen, two chopsticks waded on the top of the bowl.

"So, was she some sort of chick you got hitched with?" Miyami asked with a smirk, but as generally curious who this 'Saki' character was.

"Why? Jealous?" Badō queried, lazily staring at the bowl of noodles with a frown. The tall woman sneered down at his back, she hated how he did that, acted so high and mighty, yet she knew that's what drew her to him.

"Tch, whatever..." She muttered under her breath, turning away and almost threateningly taking a step into the hallway before her.

"Whatever, then." Badō dismissively retorted, reaching into his bowl with the chopsticks, stirring the noodles around.

"Just tell me who the bitch was..." She became more aggressive, turning around, her lips tied up in a knot.

"I thought it was whatever." Badō glanced over his shoulder at Miyami, his lazy demeanor seemed so much more...hostile. This hostile aura was usually hidden behind his lazy demeanor, yet, here it was, present, and it struck Miyami straight through the chest like an arrow. Badō turned back to his bowl, pointing at the bubbling pot on the stove with his chopsticks. "Serve the guests."

"I'm not your maid." She spat.

"But you are my ward."

The woman just glared, truth was she loved how he talked to her and it was sickening. She loved every bit of it and she didn't understand why. She toyed with the thought that she may have an actual thing for him, but he made it known that any thing between them would remain unrequited. With a sigh, she made her way over to the stove, murmuring swears upon the air.

[S h i k o]

Shikome sat on her knees by her brother, staring blankly down at him. He was breathing. His vitals seemed normal. He was sweating, though, as if the fever was breaking. It was strange. She'd never seen him like this, at least, not that she could remember.

As she sat there in the silence that was much less awkward for her than for the young girl, she thought back to her contract with Raigyo. Had he done something to Izumida while she was away from him for that short amount of time? No. He would not harm him. Not if he wanted Shikome to come back to TU. Or, could it be her punishment for missing so many advisory board meetings? So many questions ran recklessly through her psyche that she had barely noticed the small girl attempting to make conversation.

"Mm. Shikome," was all she could muster.

[BADMAN]

Haikō stood from where she was seated, looking down at the boy with a frown. "Uh...I'll get some towels...!" She turned and hurried out the door, Miyami who was coming from the kitchen narrowly avoided the shorter girl, lifting the bowls above Haikō's head as she rotated into the room with an annoyed grumble, only to hear a distant apology from the girl who was halfway up the hall.

"Miso ramen for the guests, orders of el capitan." Miyami muttered sarcastically, approaching Shikome from the other side of the room, offering her a small bowl that had nice wooden chopsticks bridged across the bowl's sides, the chopsticks were squared off and smoothed out down toward the ends. "So, what is the squirt?" The blunt woman asked, eyeballing the weird kid who was laying in the guest bed.

"I'm back! I've got the towels!" Haikō huffed, hurrying into the room with a small stack of towels in one arm and a small wash cloth type rag submerged in a bowl of water.

[S h i k o]

Shikome still didn't look up, even when the ramen was brought into the room, which was strange indeed. On the budget she and Izumida were on, eating was a luxury, and she and he would have taken that time to scarf down whatever was set in front of them. She was way too preoccupied now.

"Yeah, thanks," was the only other thing she muttered. It did not answer the woman's question at all.

When the smaller girl came in, she finally looked up, but turned her gaze to the door. "Who is Saki?" Was all she asked. She felt like the name had something to do with his overload, and she wanted to know who to blame so she could kick their ass. Fuck being a good house guest. She wanted to get to the bottom of this. "Where is that guy?" Without waiting for an answer to either of these questions, she stood and pushed past the woman, and almost stepped on the girl, as she walked out of the door and down the hallway of the manor, not knowing exactly where she was going.

"HEY. WHO IS SAKI?" She exclaimed, her fists clinched in bloody anticipation to an answer to her question. This Saki person had better show their face. So she could punch it.