"I do not take a step before seeing where my foot will land, Ra. I have a plan." Shoko responded to her adviser. Her worries were sound, the rebels had considerable influence, and with the Hokage now backing them they were not a force she could ignore. Regardless, she was not concerned, if a few setbacks was all it took to ruin her empire, then she would have failed long ago. "Suna is nearly on our side as we speak. The citizens have taken notice of the changes since I took control. Before, Sunagakure was faced with an economic catastrophe, due to my guidance, that is no longer an issue. Also, during the war between Iwagakure and Takigakure, Iwa was threatening to annex Suna, just as Taki had plans to forcible invade The Land of Fire. War is easy to wage, but those people had no tact. They may call me as cruel as they wish, but waging war in populated areas is unacceptable..." Shoko tapped her nails on the desk in front of her, unknowingly digging up chips of wood. "No one else needs to perish, I will convince this village to side with me, and then move on to Iwa to do the same." He fingers stopped renovating the desk, and she turned to Ra. "Gather as many people as you can so I may address them... Use your spies to help spread the news, if need be."

[center]~~~[/center]

As soon as Chizuma's eyes targeted Kaede, she had wrapped her arms around her to give her a hug bears would find tight. "Kaede, it's great to see you! Natsumi's in the back, she may not seem excited to see you, but she's a little down right now. Cheer her up, eh?" Natsumi's mother patted Kaede on the back, directing her towards her daughter's room. Makoto had just left, saying she had some kinks to work out of a new technique, so she was alone right now. A boy had followed in behind Kaede, He introduced himself, and fumbling over his words, he left a fairly shaky first impression. Chizuma's smile turned sinister, and her eyes narrowed like the gates of hell closing. "Oh, nice to meet you, Pervzan. Natsumi isn't quite ready to show herself to strangers yet, it's a girl thing, ya know? Kaede should have her ready to come out soon. In the meantime, why don't you tell me about yourself, eh Pervzan?"

Natsumi's eyes lit up as she saw Kaede enter the medical bay. She held back a smile, feeling it would be rude to assume she could present herself in such a positive manner. She had nearly killed a friend right in front of her, the entire time acting like a rabid beast. Kaede was a forgiving person, one of the most kind she knew, but she still doubted that she could be forgiven so easily. "H-hi..." She whispered, her eyes avoiding Kaede's like a rabbit fleeing a snake. "You're... here to heal my arms, right? You umm... don't have to just because of my father. I don't deserve it..."