Nami's Home

If one knew the Kazama kid well enough, it's that he usually didn't like to go to such public places, parties, all that sort of noise. He doesn't mind socialising when the need arises, but he just doesn't see it as a pleasant activity to do compared to the average person. He wasn't aware about the Hozuki's "get-together" until his cousin had come home with a poster, claiming that they're around Kirigakure here and there. It didn't really spark much interest from Kaido, but his cousin told him that somebody was coming later on tonight, and he wanted Kaido gone for the night. His cousin suggested going to this little meet-up as a way to waste time somehow, especially since Kaido's friends in the village are lacking since he chose to be extremely closed-off from others during his time at the academy.

He still didn't want to go to the get together, but he still respected his cousin's wish for going out for the day at least, and went on a little walk around the village, getting a few looks from people with the wrappings around his mouth which was a justified reaction in his opinion, but he doesn't exactly want to breathe poison in a person's face after all, hence the reason he has the damn thing wrapped around his mouth. It's tight enough so that the poison can't come out, but not too tight so he can still talk normally without his voice being too muffled.

After doses of boredom started to hit him the more he walked around the village aimlessly, he decided to take his cousin's suggestion into consideration and actually go to this gathering, at worst, he can just politely excuse himself if he isn't enjoying himself. A few minutes of walking to the Hozuki clan distract had eventually landed him just a fair bit away from the front of the manor, to him being stopped by the guards. They would notice his attire, with him wearing the white wrappings around his mouth as previously stated, a mundane black shirt with short sleeves and the rest of his lower body is from his ninja outfit, which are the light grey pants which are just slightly below his knees, his feet covered gently by the zippered up blue sandals, exposing his toes and the remaining skin on his legs covered with the white wrappings.

When the guards asked the odd-looking individual for his reason to attend the gathering, he didn't exactly beat around the bush about it and gave a straightforward answer. "Because I'm bored, and I don't have too many people to hang out with. I guess I'm hoping to make friends, or something like that." he honestly wasn't here for making friends, rather just to waste time and see what the gathering is about. He's half-expecting that once he spends a good five minutes in the actual gathering itself, he'll just want to leave, but who knows? deep down, he's expecting something surprising that'll compel him to stay but with how pessimistic he can be, he doesn't really have high hopes for that.

Tsubaki found herself outside of the clan district today, only to wind up in one that is not her own. She had limited knowledge of the Hozuki clan. To her knowledge they kept to themselves and served somewhat as a major political figure for Kirigakure. They were the first clan to have their own official clan district, and to an extent she was jealous of it. It was kept in top condition despite being older. There was certainly a lot of wealth put into the district, as well as engineering minds creating their own extraordinary structures. But in a sense, each clan district held their own beauty. Nonetheless, she was indirectly invited to a get-together. Tsubaki was a bit on the fence of showing up. She was never completely fond of meeting new people. Especially outsiders of her own clan. The was weighed out by the fact that Nami Hozuki stayed in a manor, which was less a symbol of wealth to her and more a symbol of authority. Tsubaki was the princess of the Kaguya clan and lived within a palace. Although there were plenty of large houses in the Hozuki clan district, a manor was something that stood out.

In any case Tsubaki figured it would be smart to become friends with another clan leader within her same village. Having good ties with another clan meant potentially having political support in the future. Of course these ideas weren't on Tsubaki's mind entirely. Today, she just wanted to make a friend and enjoy some food.

Tsubaki approached the presumed manor, being in the residential area serving as the largest of the homes. It was no surprise to her when she saw the high security detail surrounding the manor; her palace had the same amount of guards serving its interior and exterior to catch any threats. The guards were not like your standard Shinobi. They were more approachable in the sense they weren't militarized. Stopping shortly before them Tsubaki would bow slightly. "Tsubaki Kaguya. I am here for the invite. Nami Hozuki I think her name was?" She mentioned alluding to the flyers all around the village. The response of the guards would determine her fate.

Not far behind Tsubaki stood a second woman, her scantily clad form seeming to radiated confidence as she walked down the street with a demure grin on her face, seemingly oblivious to the amount of attraction she was drawing everywhere she went.  

The source of the attention was the simple white leotard she was wearing. Tight and skimpy it barely covered the bottom of her ample bosom while leaving most of her cleavage and the top of her chest exposed.  

The only other thing she was wearing where some white gloves over her slender arms that extended up to the top of her leotard and long brown stockings that ran to just above her knees and of course a pair of transnational zori sandals.  

The contrast between the color of the outfit which suggested purity and yet the sheer sultriness it exuded seemed to suit her well.  This was by far the most scandalous thing she worn in months and she had to admit it felt good to let lose and be less constrained.  After Tsubaki had rebuked her for in her words “dressing like a skank.” Alkaid had been making an honest attempt to dress more modestly but today was a special occasion.

A get together hosted by the Hozuki clan was sure to draw many powerful man from far and wide, thus saving Alkaid the trouble of having to track them down.  Maybe one of them would be what she had been looking for but either way if she couldn’t show off for something like this then it’s just be a waste.  

“Alkaid Kaguya. Here for the party and with any luck to find a suitor.” She boldly declared her intentions to the guards.  To them it must have seemed odd that she didn’t have a single weapon on her, especially when her attire left little if any room to hide any.

The bandaged kid was surprised that they had accepted him in, he was half-expecting a denial of sorts due to how luxurious and pristine the manor and it's surrounding environment looked compared to his rather pitiful, casual outfit with Kaido practically being a nobody in the village as it is, unless somebody had done their research on him about his family once being a bandit gang but even then, he's really not that special. He gave a brief response back to the blue-haired Hozuki. "First arrival? that's surprising..." then again, the fact that the Hozuki from how Kaido hears it are big shots in the village, that fact alone might scare away the average commoner trying to attend this gathering since they might expect it for people who try to enter to have some known affiliation or renown.

He realised that it might've been actually appropriate to dress properly when he saw the two Kaguya females at the front asking to go in, hearing talks of their name being dropped around every now and then hence why Kaido knows about the Kaguya. Whatever Kaido has attended, he's got the feeling that it's partially pretty important as well if Hozuki and Kaguya clan members are attending it. He feels insignificant compared to them, as if he's just there for the purpose of being there with no other reason attached.

Nonetheless, the supposed importance of this gathering has piqued Kaido's interest for sure, and he's not planning to leave after five minutes like he thought he would, he planned to stick around for quite a bit and perhaps actually make friends with these people, it'll take him a bit considering his... attitude, but he hopes they're patient in some way to deal with him. He's self-aware about how he can be, but he really can't do much about it but he plans to put a throttle on it for this occasion.

He wouldn't acknowledge the Kaguya females however, as he's not sure about their behaviour and would wait for them to make the first introduction. He just didn't want to make the wrong move or the wrong type of manners considering their status. The blue-haired Hozuki seemed to be a bit more nice though and he's a bit comfortable with her, but he's currently a bit shy with the two new entries.

Tsubaki and Alkaid arrived relatively at the same time. Their attire were similar in the sense that they were revealing, Tsubaki's excuse being freedom of movement. Alkaid's motive was more provocative, and she made it rather clear she was finding a "male suitor" with whatever that meant. Tsubaki found Alkaid's behavior out of control sometimes. Although she did not believe in racial purity regarding the aesthetics of the clan she at least preferred her cousin above all else to keep her lineage clean. However she was in no position to boss her cousin around. She had sovereignty over her actions, and Tsubaki found it a hard to condemn her for anything. In the end, as long as she did not cause significant harm to herself or degraded the character of the Kaguya clan, she was fine.

Tsubaki passed a glance at Alkaid, smiling briefly before the door opened to acknowledge her presence. Tsubaki wanted to be a respectful guest. Certainly for somebody she is going to meet. Starting a conversation with Alkaid when meeting her host was bad mannerism. As the door opened the interior was rather humble compared to the Kaguya palace, though it was mainly the public parts that were flamboyant. Tsubaki grew up in a cozy atmosphere and preferred to live in one. There was a bandaged man and a blue haired woman. "You must be Nami?" Tsubaki said, fixing her eyes on the blue haired woman. Tsubaki approached the woman inside the house before bowing respectfully. She would also turn her head to the bandaged man and nod in his direction.

In standard conditions Tsubaki would avoid characters such as himself. He was suspect and gave off a creepy aura. He did not compare to the human shark, who disappeared after being sentenced on a mission from the former Mizukage, and that foul gray-skinned psychopath that was the unfortunate twin of Konami. Tsubaki had seen her share of odd characters in her day, so Kaido was tolerable. She was a respectful woman as it was. Expressing her dislike towards others was bad manners. And it would especially be troublesome in a home that is not her own.

Alkaid was impressed by how the guards didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow at her provocative appearance.  In her experience it didn’t take much to distract the average man or lead him astray so that just went to show how truly professional they where.

She had known Tsubaki long enough to tell that that her cousin had something to say to her but had refrained from doing so out loud.  The two of them where close and there where times like now it was almost as if they could read each others minds.  

She hadn’t spoken a word to the princess about her “special project.”  because she knew Tsubaki would be less the approving of it.  She wasn’t as stuck on the old was as the elders where, but habits died hard.  

Alkaid was the maverick of the family, having more exposure to the outside world then most due to her spy training which had lead to her being much more opened minded then most of her clan.  In her eyes their obsession with purity had ironically severed only to weaken their once mighty bloodline over time.   An occasional injection of fresh blood every now and then seemed like just the ticket.

As Tsubaki glanced back her her Alkaid flashed her a smile as if to say not to be worried, she was (for the most part anyway) only teasing.  She might act like a bit of a bad girl, but that was just what it was an act.  The truth was she was as far as promiscuous as you could get, saving herself for her eventually husband.

As Nami greeted them Alkaid was awestruck by her affable and radiant demeanor.  In a village that was mostly full of blood thirty battle maniacs and indifferent assholes it was truly a refreshing sight to see someone so genuinely friendly.   Alkaid decided then and there that she wanted to be friends without any consideration to politics or agendas.

“Salutations! I brought home made cookies!” said Alkaid excitedly as she offered up a small wrapped package taken from the basket she’d been carrying, holding it out for Nami to take and so that maybe they'd even shake hands afterwards. It wasn’t much but she’d figured she should at least bring something rather then show up completely empty handed

Glancing around the area she was disappointed by how deserted it seemed.  It was already getting into the evening so she would have assumed there would be more people here by now.   Where the cowards simply too afraid of the almighty Hozuki to show their faces.   Well at least there was one brave soul who’d decided to show up.

Alkaid quickly gave the bandaged boy a one over silently appraising him.  He seemed her age more or less. Based on the way he was dressed in ninja gear instead of a more casual outfit suggested that he might have arrived either fresh off of from training or a mission.   She had to give him points for having the balls to show up when so many others where clearly lacking them but what was up with the excessive amount of bandages he had going on?

“Not bad, but are you trying to cosplay as a Mummy or something?” she asked. Hopefully her jovial tone of voice should make it clear enough that she wasn’t seriously mocking him, but rather just throwing a light joke at him to see how he would react.

After Kaido was beginning to think that it might've been wrong to think it was worth sticking around, he started to feel like this little gathering became a bit more weird and out of place the more time he really just spent there, the Kaguya and Hozuki seem to fit pretty well with this event, and then compared to them you just had Kaido all quiet, which only made him look more weird considering the bandages he had wrapped over his face, which to his surprise nobody had asked about yet. The instant he went into a conversation with anyone, they would always ask about the bandages.

Kaido tried to stay relevant, looking for an opening in the small conversation that somewhat opened up between the Kaguya and Hozuki but he didn't want to be a buzzkill, so he really just kept to himself, silently the whole way through, not expressing a lot of emotion. He did take a quick glance at the cookies though and to him, they looked pretty good but he'd wait until he was offered one.

Finally, the question had made it's way into the conversation about Kaido's bandages, which prompted him to raise a hand to the bandages when he let out a light chuckle from the joke she made, which genuinely surprised him as not a lot of people made him nearly smile like that, perhaps because of how witty it was and he could appreciate that. "I was wondering when one of you would ask." he said, hinting that he's been asked the question many times before but he has no qualms about repeating the explanation.

"I don't know if you've ever heard about the Kazama, if not... it's a former bandit gang, their unique ability is breathing out the black salamanders poison, or when a cut is made on our body a poison cloud comes out that way too." he then scratched his head before resuming his explanation once more. "Though I should say... when it happens to me instead of "us", since I'm the last Kazama... and it's worth noting if I breath in the salamanders poison, it won't affect me since I'm immune." he wouldn't open up more about what he meant with his family however, and finally answered the question about why he's wearing the bandages. "I wear these wrappings so I can keep the poison in, I can't really control it so I doubt you'd want me breathing poison in your faces." and that was it, the full explanation.

If the others were to go inside like Nami offered, Kaido would go along as well.

It was always safe to make good first impressions. Tsubaki stuck to her formal introduction with no matter who she met, though she did not meet people very often. Nami dismissed the formalities continuing to state the occasion was casual. Tsubaki grinned as her words put her at ease. "I am Tsubaki Kaguya. This is my first cousin, Alkaid Kaguya." She said gesturing towards the voluptuous short-haired Kaguya. For the most part Alkaid and Tsubaki represented the Kaguya clan as a whole. They were perfect role models of everything that was expected of a Kaguya. Perfect genetics, balanced body frame, voluptuousness, and overall polite mannerism. Alkaid went above and beyond to bring cookies as well. The idea hadn't crossed her mind, though she hoped Alkaid made enough for all of them. Their cooking was exceptional in their own regards. Tsubaki did not specialize in sweets and pastries, something Alkaid was otherwise talented in. Instead the Kaguya Queen was interested in savory dishes, that were otherwise more nutritious. Though she had an uncontrollable sweet tooth she also believed in taking care of herself eating a balance diet coupled with a rigorous exercise routine.

Being drawn inside the manor, Nami asked rhetorically if they enjoyed hotpot. "I sure do!" Tsubaki said zealously. Shabu-Shabu was a dish that provided the body with everything it needed. With lots of vegetables, mushroom, protein, and carbs it was perfect following a hard day's work. Unfortunately, today was not one of those days. Aside from organizing a meeting with Konami and her clan's elders there was not much else done today besides getting ready for this get together. Alkaid spoke up regarding the masked man's odd appearance. It was a question that was perhaps on everybody's mind. She imagined the bandages were used to intimidate, a common feature worn by thuggish Shinobi. But in a setting as casual as this one she expected the boy to show some manner of respect. Of course after addressing the topic the boy was more than happy to indulge the group as to why that is.

Tsubaki learned something new today. Namely the boy's background and where he came from, but also the fact that he was indeed a toxic person in a literal sense. It was an odd feature to have, though the Kaguya were in no means the benchmark for normal, either. Tsubaki was certain the clan was capable of purging toxins from their bodies naturally, and wounds were simply regenerated. Drugs and medicines in a conventional sense did not even cooperate with their bodies all the way. "I see I see...That sounds inconvenient. What if you step on a thorn or scrape your knee? Do you still leak poison? Or if you get a paper cut? I can't imagine that would be something you'd want in a public space or around allies even." The thought brought Tsubaki back to their training session with the Mizukage. Although she was relatively unharmed her teammates were beaten badly. She could see the inconvenience of having a teammate leak like a broken gas line. It was an accident waiting to happen. Tsubaki would follow Nami, presumably with the rest of the party, into the manor.

Alkaid couldn’t help but give a grin about Nami’s comment about them arriving in waves. It was strangely appropriate remark considering they where in the land of water after all.   She almost wanted to make a joke about Nami was expecting them to arrive by boat but refrained at the last moment.    

She was acting as representative of the Kaguya clan right now,  thought she was naturally bubbly if she acted too unrestrained Tsubaki would be sure to give her a bop to the head latter coupled with a good scolding to boot.

If she’d known what Nami had been thinking about her outfit Alkaid would have had a good laugh. By her usual standards this was what passed for casual around her house.  She didn’t like to wear things like t-shirts when relaxing because she found them stuffy and restrictive.  She had to wear more normal outfits quite often for her disguises and usually couldn’t wait to strip out of them.  

Thanking her lucky stars they could dispense with the usual formalities Alkaid could feel the warmth of Nami’s palm as they shook hands.   She felt quite pleased that her little token had been so well received.  

“In that case please don’t call me miss. I’m too young for that.” she said sticking her tongue out playfully.  “Just Alkaid’s fine. I hope we can be good friends Nami.”  she said her voice full of genuine sincerity for once instead of faking it like she usually had to when acting out a role.

“I’m pretty good with any kind of pot as long as it’s not the kind you smoke.” replied Alkaid in a way that made it ambiguous if she was joking or not.  Drugs had virtually no effect on the people of her clan so it wouldn’t be that surprising that she had little interest in them, but at the same time as a spy there might be times she might have to use them in order to maintain her cover.

“Games huh…” Alkaid mused her voice trailing off as she thought about what they could play.  A few games came to mind, such as connect 4 and stratego but those where only two player.  They needed something that could accomidate at least 4 people otherwise someone was bound to be left out.  “How about poker?” she suggested seemingly at randomly, thought a slight twinkly in her eye hinted  there might be more behind it.

As they walked Alkaid’s eyes where practically sparkling with twinkles and she listend to Kaido explain the history behind his bandages.  Most Kaguya where Xenophobes, scorning outsides but she was the opposite and found them very exciting even when they might not be all that useful for her project.

“So you’ve basically got Venom breath! Man that’s so cool.” she said speaking in open admiration, seemingly unconcerned by all the little nick picking details that her cousin was going over.   It wasn’t often you heard of a former bandit turned shinobi which made Kaido seem all the more mysterious.

Too bad by the sounds of it his ability wasn’t so much genetic but a trick the former bandit gang had used to give themselves an edge.  The idea of lacing her bones with poison to make them even more deadly was an intriguing proposition.   Alas it was not to be.

“Well bad boy, have you got a name?” asked Alkaid.  “I’d rather not keep calling you mummy… that nickname isn’t rad enough for someone like you”  she added offhandedly.  There was more she wanted to say but it was hard holding a proper conservation with someone when you didn’t even know how to address them properly.

Fishing another packet of cookies out of her basket she held it out for Kaido, offering him to take it from her while patiently waiting for his reply.

Kaido gave a quick, nervous laugh when they mentioned about playing games, feeling home with them already, perhaps because they moved on from the courtesy attitude that might've been expected from them from being apart of the noble clans of Kirigakure, Kaido did always appreciate people who stopped beating around the bush and went straight to the point. The reason he really gave a nervous laugh earlier though was the mention of poker, it's something that he never was brought up with and honestly has no clue on how to play. "Sorry... I don't know how to play poker." he would be blunt about it, better to bite the damage on that embarrassment now then for him to try and wing it when they actually start playing.

After the mention of hotpot, Kaido wasn't particularly picky with food so he'd gladly take whatever she was offering for them to eat, and speaking about food, Alkaid had been kind enough to offer a packet of cookies she made made, along with a nice set of compliments towards her. He honestly didn't know if she was trying to push for something, but he did like the compliments nonetheless. "Sorry, I thought I already gave my name... Kaido, Kaido Kazama." he said, just enough so that the three of them would hear, he knew the names of the two Kaguya since Tsubaki had gone the task of introducing the both of them to the Hozuki female.

He turned to the Hozuki however as it seems she had a question of her own, which is a fair one since some people assumed it was something passed down in genetics. "It's a special mix that the Kazama drink when they're at a very young age, with a low survival rate, though it's worthy to note that there has been some cases of people inheriting some... better immunities from a venomous-induced Kazama, they don't breathe out the poison but their general resistance to poison is increased more so than the average human, which is cancelled out for Kazama if they drink the mix and survive but without the mix... I imagine they fare well against people who utilise poison as a weapon." though he meant it when he said only a few really inherited that resistance, some just come out as fully normal humans. He also guessed that revealing such information about how the Kazama gained their powers was a bad idea, but he didn't really care that much about preserving the Kazama's legacy anymore and the good thing is, no one else is alive in the Kazama to lecture him on it.

He quickly turned over to Tsubaki when she mentioned about accidentally scraping his knees, or for when an enemy does cut him and an ally is nearby to possibly smell in the poison. "That's a fair question, in the old gang we gave non-venomous ninja rebreathers to equip so they didn't breathe in the poison by accident, enemies did the same thing if they knew about our ability, I also tend to be careful of little things like that and work my way around them." but considering the one day that he might get placed with a squad, he'd make sure to tell them about the poison and to warn them in advance to wear a rebreather should they ever enter battle, or if they enter any are that might give him a cut.

Following along with the Hozuki and did quite like how fanciful and neat everything looked, the detail behind it compared to his cousins... questionable house, which wasn't particularly bad but it wasn't very home-ish, or very appealing to visitors. He didn't grow up with too much luxury so a place like this was curious to him, coming across the room of where the kotatsu is along with the pillows, four exactly... quite a coincidence, but he didn't think too much on that. When inquired about the drink though, he decided to pass on it. "I think it might be best if I don't drink anything, or eat for that matter... for obvious reasons." if he had to eat or drink, it meant taking off his wrappings and they knew what that meant.

A loud explosion tore through the air as glass rained down onto the streets, the source an apartment in Kirigakure on the third floor. The windows were blown out and the door off its hinges. A thick wafting purple smoke blew out of the windows and into the air. Stumbling out from the cloud of purple smoke and into the hallway was a figure of a young girl with long black hair. The young girl seemed no older than ten, maybe just barely in her teen years with a lithe, petite figure, appearing to be as light as a feather. She wore a light purple yukata with white cherry blossoms sown into the silk with a light blue sash around the thin waist to hold it in place, white tabi socks and straw waraji. The girl's hair was a mess, and thick black bags rested under her eyes. The yukata they wore was burnt and frayed from the explosion.

A dainty cough escaped thin rosy lips, as ruby red hues blinked innocently. Light purple smoke rose from her body as the thick smell of chemicals hung to on soft alabaster skin. The snow-white beauty waved a tiny hand in front, wafting away the poisonous fumes. The "girl" was Yumi, a shinobi of kirigakure, indicated by the headband tucked into her obi sash. The chemist stood outside their apartment allowing the fumes to disperse. They had been in the middle of an experiment, trying to craft a new poison when the chemical mixture exploded on her. With the fumes cleared, Yumi entered, heading to their laboratory, frowning at the sight of the destruction. The lab was in pieces, scorch marks on the wall and chemical bottles shattered on the ground. Most of her equipment had been destroyed in the explosion.

Scratching their head the chemist sighed, they would have to buy new equipment, but before that, a tiny rumble echoed from their stomach, it was time to eat. Heading to the kitchen, Yumi opened the fridge and frowned, it was empty. Tilting their head to the right, a confused expression appeared, had they forgotten to go shopping? They had to pick up new chemistry equipment so might as well get some groceries at the same time.

With a scratch of a head, the chemist left, heading to the nearest store to buy supplies. Not before equipping their shinobi gear, a holster on each wrist, beneath the sleeves, senbon concealed in hair, a tanto hidden in the sash, pouch attached to the right of their hip and an umbrella in hand. Stepping out of the apartment, making way down the stairs and onto the streets, Yumi raised a hand blocking the harsh sun. Taking the umbrella, Yumi popped it open. The umbrella was black no other colours an was large enough to cover Yumi's frame.

Making their way down the streets, the shinobi cross-dressing as a kunoichi came to a halt, outside of her main supplier. Looking at it, the shinobi raised a curious eyebrow, there was a calendar on the front of the door. More than a month had passed since Yumi had begun their experiments, no wonder the fridge was empty. The shinobi pondered about their team-mates briefly before shrugging shoulders and walking in. Time passed and the genin walked out with bags full of new equipment, beakers, bunsen burner, test tubes, mortar and pestle, various chemicals and a few other nondescript items.

Heading to the grocery store, the Genin came to a halt, a poster had caught their eye. The poster addressed shinobi and kunoichi alike about some get together at the Hozuki compound.  Scratching head with their free arm, Yumi pondered if she should go. Oblivious as people walked around her, hands over their mouths, gagging as the thick smell of chemicals wafting from their tiny body. Yumi had been locked up for a month, perhaps it would be good to socialise for a bit. Grabbing the poster the chemist headed towards the Hozuki compound, not before dropping off the supplies at home.

Once the gear was dropped off Yumi headed to the compound, umbrella in hand. On arrival, a set of guards blocked her path. The Genin who looked half dead in response held up the poster and showed their headbands, "Here for the party." Before the guards could say anything they gagged as a thick waft of purple mist hit their nose. They took a step back, tears forming from the smell of heavy chemicals. Yumi ignored the reaction and walked on into the compound. Yumi headed to what she presumed to be the main building, the largest and slid the door open and entered in with their dishevelled appearance, hair frizzled, black soot on cheeks, thick black bags like a racoon and the heavy smell of chemicals and poisons wafting from their tiny frame.

Tsubaki rolled her eyes as Alkaid mentioned "the pot that you smoke", otherwise known as cannabis. She was convinced she was just playing dumb as part of a joke. Either that or she was just not as fond as she was with cooking. Following the question of what to do to kill time Alkaid was quick to bring up poker. Card games were not something Tsubaki occupied herself with, or games in general. Especially since she has been super busy with her governing duties with her clan as well as being the accountant for Kirigakure. Tsubaki had to admit she was even having trouble catching up with her training as a result. Kaido was quick to shamelessly say he did not understand the game, Tsubaki nodded to back his response, though did not bother to say any more. If anything they would change games or she could learn with him.

The group made chit-chat as they followed Nami, Tsubaki hearing Kaido's response regarding her inquiries. It was all very odd to know a person could host such toxic chemicals. And in the end it was all very inconvenient to those around him. She could not imagine having to wear a clunky rebreather on her face just to be around her comrade. She imagined it caused more casualties than it was actually useful in battle, though seeing as it was a common practice for his group or band, it must have some effectiveness on the field. It was in a short moment they arrived in what would appear to be a guest room or family room. A Kotatsu sat in the middle on a rather cozy setup, with pillows spread and everything. She was glad she was driving away from her closed-minded teachings, heeding Konami's words and teachings at heart. Nami proved to be a wonderful person in the short time Tsubaki knew her.

She would nod as Nami went to bring drinks, the Kaguya seating herself on one of the pillows. Pulling the kotatsu blankets over a portion of her body she felt the warming embrace of the heavy wool blankets. Tsubaki would turn to Kaido as he refused to take part in eating in fear that he might contaminate others with his poison condition reinforcing her thoughts on the inconvenience of the poison. Still, she did feel bad if Kaido was left out as the others enjoyed themselves. "Hmm. Well you should definitely take some home." She said nodding. She was certain there would be leftovers with the hotpot and cookies at the end of the get together. He would at least be able to enjoy the food on his own if it weren't with them.

“Sen-sational! Maybe later we can paint each others nails try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!” replied Alkaid enthusiastically to Nami accepting her friendship request.   She was talking strictly about normal girl stuff because it was nice to pretent to be normal for once.

“And for the record Kaido you don’t really fit under the cute boy category.  You’re more the cool, dark and mysterious type.”  she said before the boy could get any funny ideas.   When he said he didn’t know how to play Poker she cursed inwardly but kept a straight face on the outside so as not to betray her inner intentions.

So much for her brilliant plan to lure them into the stripper variant of the game.  That would have been a riot.  Their was a lot of risk involved since she wasn’t wearing much closest to start but that would have been half of the thrill.

She wasn’t sure if Kaido was telling the truth or bluffing. Had he somehow sniffed out her intentions? Those bandages of his made him awfully hard to read.   Even if he didn’t know how to play he might end up surprisingly good at the game once he was shown the ropes.   She wouldn’t mind showing him but having to teach two people at once was a dicey prospect since Tsubaki apparently didn’t know how to play either.

The reason Alkaid knew was simple enough,  it was a handy skill for a spy to have for blending in so they’d her handler Zero had been sure to teach her.  She was just about to suggest a different game when suddenly Yumi entered the room looking rather worse for wear.  

“Hey Yumi, finally out of the hospital huh?”  From the look of things maybe she should have stayed a little while longer.  “Jeez girl did you walk thought a tornado to get here or something? Come over here and let me fix your hair.” said Alkaid as she sat on a cushion near the Kotatsu then patted her knee beckoning her teammate to come sit in her lap.

Reaching into her basket Alkaid pretended to be fishing for another set of cookies for a second.  With her hand out of sight she spat a bone out of the palm of her hand shaped like a simple comb. Once she was done she grabbed the cookies she’d been originally reaching for and pulled them out of the basket, offering them up to Yumi.  

“Maybe we should let Nami pick the game. It is her party after all.” suggested Alkaid.  Now that her youngest teammate was here their was no way she could subject such a sweet and innocent young girl to something so risque.  


“Wait, you mean to tell me you haven’t mastered the art of eating with your mask on?”  Alkaid asked Kaido, feeling mildly shocked .  Zero never seemed to take his off and yet everything on his plate would mysteriously vanish.

Kaido didn't believe that he was being flirted with in the first place, and Alkaid was simply nice but some doubts were in his head, until she made it clear that she wasn't interested in him like that. "Ah, good, not much of a romantic anyway with this... condition." referring back to his own poison, he doesn't believe in finding love or rushing towards it like some other people generally would, if it happens, it'll happen and if not, that's just simply how it is. He had agreed with that thought ages ago to not get such high hopes up for the smallest thing that might seem like flirting.

Soon enough, when the others started to sit on one of the blankets around the kotatsu, he followed and unzipped his light blue sandals, gently placing them off and exposed his bare feet. He then sat down on one of the blankets in the proper position and gently wrapped a part of the kotatsu blanket on a light portion of his body, similar to how Tsubaki did it. It seems they felt a bit bad for his condition as Tsubaki mentioned about him bringing leftovers home for him to eat. He was a bit surprised they were already welcoming and considerate on his unique condition. "Yeah... that would be nice, thank you."

Another light chuckle came out of Kaido when Alkaid asked her question towards him, it seems she doesn't really hold any restraints on what she's thinking which he doesn't mind. "I mean... I probably could, but that'd get the wrappings all greasy or messy and the tiniest bits of poison might slip through anyway... so I don't want to risk it." honestly, it was more then enough that they're being considerate enough about his condition and still let him stay, despite the thought that he might get bored in five minutes and leave, his other expectation was being asked to leave because of his condition to which he usually doesn't say no to. It's pretty much the first group that's treated his condition like "Oh hey, you breathe poison? cool! hang out with us anyway." and that did not go unnoticed for him, with a light respect from him being earned to everyone that's attended... well, he doesn't know about the small girl that just entered but if she knew Alkaid, she must be nice as well.

He noticed the drinks that were handed out accordingly in the centre of the table, they did look very appealing for him to drink one but alas, he had to put on a throttle on in the incident of poisoning the people that he's sitting with.

Yumi blinked tired eyes, thinking they had imagined a voice, only to realise someone had indeed called out to them. Looking for the source of the voice, Yumi found their would be team-mates Alkaid and Tsubaki sitting around a Kotatsu, with another by their side, a young man with bandages wrapped around his face. The medic raised a curious brow, did he have some sort of facial deformity, what was up with the face wrap? They weren't the only one as someone else walked out and sat down pitches of fluid, one Yumi assumed was lemonade the other chocolate milk, but they could be wrong. People drank all kinds of things in this day and age, what Yumi assumed was chocolate milk could be some weird form of tea for all they knew.

"I left the hospital weeks ago, I've been held up in my laboratory, I had a sudden rush of inspiration." Spoke the chemist as they approached the group. Alkaid brought up, Yumi's current appearance, asking if they had just walked through a tornado before patting their knee, beckoning the lolita to sit on their lap, allowing them to fix up their hair. The medic looked over their attire, realising the state they were in. Scratching a cheek sheepishly Yumi gave a cute chuckle, "Ah, my latest experiment blew up in my face, I was out buying supplies to start anew when I saw the poster and decided to come. My current state alluded me." explained the medic revealing why they looked the way they did. As for the bags around their eyes, it would be easy to guess the reason why.

Taking the offer, Yumi sat down on Alkaid's knee, unashamed, making sure to sit in a way to continue hiding their little secret. Yumi wasn't about to reject the offer, whether she or the other's could stand the smell coming from Yumi's tiny body was another thing. The medic was oblivious to it as they had a natural resistance to the chemical smell having spend hours inhaling it during countless experiments.