— 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀.

⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⌠ ⠀𝑹𝑶𝑲𝑼𝑫𝑨𝑰𝑴𝑬 𝑲𝑨𝒁𝑬𝑲𝑨𝑮𝑬⠀ ⌡ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

[— 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀. @SandHeir]

╔────── ¤ ◎ - ◎ ¤ ──────╗
𝘽𝙇𝘼𝘾𝙆 𝙄𝙍𝙊𝙉 𝙒𝙄𝙉𝙂𝙎
╚────── ¤ ◎ - ◎ ¤ ──────╝

✦✧✧ 𝙎𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞 ✧✧✦

➷ Nᴏ sᴍᴜᴛ.
➷ Sʜɪᴘs ᴡ/ ᴄʜᴇᴍ.
➷ Sᴇᴍɪ-Dᴇsᴄʀɪᴘᴛɪᴠᴇ.

↻& ♡

[— 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀. @SandHeir]

My father sent me. I don't intend on staying long.

[𝑺𝑨𝑲𝑼𝑹𝑨. @headmcdic]

hey there, kiddo. what brings you to the leaf?

[— 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀. @SandHeir]

Hm.

[— 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀. @SandHeir]

❝Hm.❞

Silent for a moment. Keeping a hold of his hand, but adjusting his grip.

❝It's fine.❞

[𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐢𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐫. @LieutenantBriar]

❝ H-Hey, Shinki-kun ... Sorry for that. ❞ 😅

[— 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀. @SandHeir]

Grabs his hand.

[𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐢𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐫. @LieutenantBriar]

pokes @SandHeir

[— 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀. @SandHeir]

. . . .

[ᅟᅟᅟ𝙐𝙕𝙐𝙈𝘼𝙆𝙄 , 𝘽𝙊𝙍𝙐𝙏𝙊. @uzumckisun]

🗣 SHINKI IS THAT YOU . . .

[— 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀. @SandHeir]

Appears from a cloud of iron sand.

Quiet for a moment, eyes focused on Araya.

❝You have something on your mind.❞

[ᅟᅟᅟ𝗣𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥.ᅟᅟᅟ @chakrathread]

sighs.

[— 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀. @SandHeir]

His squad was gone. One of two friends he truly had.

[— 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀. @SandHeir]

❝. . . Placing my father in a seal to protect him, and getting myself caught instead.❞

When he made the decision, it felt obvious. Of course he would protect his father without thought. But this time, that decision had consequences he never imagined.

Now. . . A third of →

[‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝒎𝒊𝖘𝒂𝒌𝒊.̲ @KUNOllCHl]

the sight tugs at her heart a little, she's watched this boy grow up as much as gaara and kankurō both have. thoughts already racing with ingredients to get him to sleep ...

" what decision are we talking about? "

[— 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀. @SandHeir]

A sign of repressed emotion struggling to stay within.

❝Please, father. Let us take the offensive and prove that our village is not weak before we lose more people.❞

[— 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀. @SandHeir]

Shinki's fists clenched tighter, gritting his teeth in frustration. As much as he listened to his father's words and always tried to absorb the advice given to him, he couldn't stand being this patient.

❝Father—❞

The heir closed his eyes for a moment, taking a breath →

[我愛�� || 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐓 * @thesandoflove]

will, neither let guilt over
things that weren't able to be
changed under your hand to
consume you. ❞

[— 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀. @SandHeir]

Against the people that threaten us.

Our enemies laugh at us, father. Look at us like we're weak because of how dependent we've become on Konohagakure and their shinobi.❞

As he spoke, a mixture of anger and passion laced his words. The tiniest drop appeared in his eye, →

[— 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀. @SandHeir]

Turning around now, the heir of the sand finally focused his eyes on the puppet master. His eyes looked tired, and he wasn't wearing his usual face paint.

❝Do you believe I made the right decision?❞

[‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 𝒎𝒊𝖘𝒂𝒌𝒊.̲ @KUNOllCHl]

carefully picking herbs she needs, setting them all in a neat pile. she does pause to put her full attention on the boy while keeping some distance. " well, you can always talk to me, shinki. "

[— 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀. @SandHeir]

A hotel to stay while we aren't training.❞

[— 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀. @SandHeir]

❝I would rather avoid it as well, but my father has his reasons.❞

Shinki gave a small shrug in response. He understood Yodo's reasoning for not wanting to visit the Leaf, even if she didn't say it outright.

❝It will only be for three days. And the three of us will have →

[ᅟᅟᅟᅟ𝒴𝙾𝙳𝙾.ᅟᅟᅟᅟᅟ @SUNASOCHI]

to train , I hate the hidden leaf . ❜

she says , her arms now folded .

[— 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀. @SandHeir]

Hm. It would be amusing to be the one looking down when he's around Kagura.

[𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐢𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐫. @LieutenantBriar]

Still, at this rate, he's sure the Sand heir will surpass him one day. A light smile while thinking so.

[— 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙀. @SandHeir]

He's probably a little taller, yes. . .

Still shorter than Kagura.

[𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐢𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐫. @LieutenantBriar]

Is it just him, or does @SandHeir look taller than the last time he saw him ? 🤔