Sand Village Streets

The busy streets in the Sand Village where everything outside occurs within the village's walls.

Chieko runs back in to the center of town and skids to a stop still looking for her sensei. A couple of locals stare at her for her damp clothes and then go off to their business. She keeps looking then turns back towards Kojima before running again in the direction she was going.
'Where are you?'

Koku ran from the outside the village he keep running until he found himself in a ruined section of the town. He was scared what if he hurt Chieko. He sat down on one of the ruined building's roof. He looked up at the sky and started to talk to himself. "What if i'm not fit to be Chieko's sensei. I could hurt her by accident again." He sat there looking in the sky.

She keeps running as her breath starts to shorten on her and begins to pant over her thoughts. She feels her eyes begin to water feeling a bit desperate to find him.
'It's because of me! Now he might not come back! Where are you?!' She thinks in her head as eyes shut tight.
"Koku-sensei!!" Her voice echoes through town.

Koku sat there all noise from the town drowned out. He moved to the tallest building of the ruined area. He was on top of the building looking down at all the people going about there buisness. Koku didn't even know if he should go back to the village. He started to think about his entire life and what he sis wrong throughout it.

*Following behind Chieko, becoming more and more concerned for her well being, Kojima bites hard on his lip wondering what exactly was going on with these two that had this genin so hopelessly and desperately attached. Reluctant to interfere, he simply followed behind her, not truly caring if they found him, more simply concerned that nothing happened to her. The fact that he wasn't comfortable in the sand village to begin with didn't make it any easier, but it couldn't be helped*

"Koku!" She pants hard between calls.
"Koku!!"
Her eyes begin to water after wandering aimlessly throughout town. By now she was for sure she was lost. The towns people could only stare as she ran by yelling out loud. Her legs begin to ache after running straight for who knows how long and begins to weaken into a jog and her yells turn into small cries. She begins to wonder if he has left already or is hiding from her on purpose.
"Koku!..."

Koku started to jump from building to building hoping to calm down and try to think clearly. He didn't see her but he passes above Chieko. He slipped on a roof nearby and fell into an alley way. He was fine but he figured he fit in among the trash.

*hearing a scrape on the roof above them, Kojima looks up in time to see a figure leaping past them. He wasn't moving particularly fast, and Kojima recognized him as Koku-sensei. Sighing, he looked over again at the exhausted tear ridden Chieko, and with a groan of annoyance, he leapt up onto the roof, and used the shunshin technique Washi-sensei had drilled into him, landing in behind Koku-sensei just as he fell. Kojima jumped down next to him and sat there staring at him for a few seconds*

Almost as if on cue, at the same time Koku fell into the alley way, Chieko herself steps on her loosening scarf and trips down landing on her arms. She tenses up, struggling to hold herself up by her arms and starts to see the tears fall onto the ground as she anchors herself up by her hands. She coughs lightly from the dusty road and lets her arms give out letting her fall back onto the ground.

*Kojima stands there for a moment longer before chewing his lip harder than usual and kicking Koku-sensei's leg, eyes narrowing slightly. A fine place he picked, here among the trash, Kojima thought to himself.* "What are you doing?"

"To tell you the truth kid I don't know." Koku said while looking at the boy with a face that looks like its holding back tears. "I'm not sure if i'm really fit to be Chieko's sensei. I'm not sure if all im good at doing is protecting my self. I thought I told you and Chieko to go train without me."

*Kojima sets his lips in a firm line, knowing if he chewed them now he may very well ruin them. Kicking Koku-sensei again for simple effect, he speaks in a cool tone, though it seemed more firm than usual. More forceful, sounding more mature, save for the still relatively high pitch to his voice.* "I planned on it. But Chieko took off. She's been running around the village for damn near an hour looking for you, crying as she goes. If you're going to sit here with the rest of the trash while she kills herself worrying about you, then you're right, you're NOT fit to be her sensei, or anyone else's. When you took that responsibility, you made a decision to put your students before yourself. You playing hide and seek with a little girl is doing far more damage than that fireball would have."

She struggles back to her feet once more, noticing the sound of Kojima's foot steps where gone too.
'I lost him too?...' She lets out a soft sigh and limps lightly to the wall of a close by building looking over the dirt and scratches she received from her fall and leaned against it, as she slide down onto the ground.
'It'll heal...' She thought to herself looking at a bleeding scratch. She began to think about if he would be able to heal from his mistake, too.
'It was only an accident Sensei...'

Koku thought for a second and grabbed Kojima by his shirt. "Wait here you told me she freaking out about me, having a break down and you left her." Koku dropped the boy and ran outside the alley. He spots Chieko nearby and hugged her from behind.

Her eyes grow wide at a sudden hug and looks down at the arms around her. She pulls away and turns around look down from his feet up into his face.
"Koku!" She yells as she jumps into his arms. She holds him tightly letting her tear soaked cheek dampen a spot on his clothes.

*Kojima scowls as he is thrown to the ground, landing with a thud, watching Koku take off with a flash of anger in his eyes. 'Pretty quick to yell at me for neglecting her...But if I hadn't come to get your sorry ass, how much worse would things have gotten before they got better?' Getting up and dusting himself off, Kojima buttons up his shirt which came undone when Koku sensei grabbed him, stalking out of the alley chewing his lip with his hands stuffed in his pockets, leaving to look for matsutsu and Washi-sensei, not feeling like being around the deranged Koku-sensei any longer*

dragoon continues wandering then spots kojima and then walks up to him "excuse me could you tell me where the hell i am?!"

"I'm sorry Chieko i'm nothing but scum. I understand how much I disgust you. I'm sorry i'll do my best to become better I promised." Koku let her cry on his shoulder as he comforted her the best he could. Koku actually cried a few tears.

*Looking up slightly from chewing the hell out of his lip, Kojima shrugs as he answers the person shortly, clearly not in a good mood* "Sand Village. Ask a local for more details."

"ok thanks anyway" dragoon runs and jumps onto a roof then starts jumping from roof to roof

Chieko began to cry and started to pound at Koku's chest weakly. It almost as if she was whining like a child she is as she hit him between sentences.
"D-Don't even l-leave me like that! I've never felt so horr-horrible! I've n-never been so scared!"

Her legs also began to give out on her as her face started to turn red from her crying and the lack of air she was receiving.

Koku rubbed Chieko back and said in a gentle voice "I won't leave you like that ever again. Now calm down i'm here now I want to see your smile again." Koko said with a small smile on his face. "Now is there anything I can get you a cup of water,are you hungry, or would you like to take a nap." He said with concern tone to his voice.

She sniffled lightly and rubbed the tears out of her eyes. Her face was still red from crying and tried to force down the involuntary hiccups that crying gave her voice. She tried to smile a little seeing him smile first and narrowed her eyes a little as she let out a yawn.
"A nap.. sounds nice.."
She felt exhausted for running up till now and crying only made her energy drain even more.

"I'll go get a room in a inn. You look like hell little Chieko." Koku said with his smile returning Koku carried Chieko into a inn and buys a room. Koku sets Chieko on the bed and he layed down in the corner of the room.