[i]‘That’s not the entire truth, is it?’[/i] Kaede would keep her thoughts to herself, but was more than used to that single, momentary pause an individual would use to come up with something proper to say. Whatever his reasons might have been, the Hyuga was able to recognize that what he was avoiding was something shameful or embarrassing, perhaps just both. Deterred from going on, the portion that Chizuma had provided to her was eaten slowly and without much enthusiasm in spite of the fact it felt like it had been several days since her last meal. Chaos took a lot out of her spiritually and she was by no means currently depressed, simply wondering how many more lives had to be taken for this to conclude. For a path dedicated to seeing life prosper, it was unfortunate she was growing up in a period that demanded it be taken for the benefit of so many others. She understood her duties, but didn’t like what she had witnessed today. Reckless anger from her peers and a desperate attempt to succeed without any concern for the life they were about to take. There wasn’t any thinking about it; Kenta was the enemy, certainly, but no one except Natsumi bothered to hesitate and even then it was Natsumi herself who came the closest to killing him in front of everyone. Missing the humorous exchange between Chizuma and Natsumi, Kaede’s eyes moved from her plate to the ground. 

[b]“Some of us more than others.”[/b] responded a voice that was certainly not Kaede's. 

Widened eyes and a light jolt, Kaede looked to her immediate left to discover the presence of a young woman around the same age of all those present, dressed in the attire of the ANBU unit. Normally dressed in the attire closely linked to the Aburame clan, this person had not hidden behind that sort of outfit for quite some time. Without a mask she had the neutral stare of someone who had no fear, no hope, no happiness, and no pain. Neutrality in all things was essentially what Juri Aburame had become, and though her golden eyes looked across Kaede and Natsumi both, she didn’t appear to recognize them as once being friends. This was how they knew her now and as unfortunate as it was Kaede didn’t believe there was any way they could get Juri to speak to others any more. Ever since the loss Konoha suffered six months ago she had appeared to go into an extended period of solitude, often not even seen in her own compound and instead among some of the villages most veteran of shinobi and tacticians. Classified as ‘The Elders’ to a majority of the village, they were second only to the Hokage and Jonin Commander in authority, but were willing to go directly to the daimyo for requests they feared the Hokage would not authorize. They were not as popular among some of Konoha’s youth as one might expect, but they gained the respect of the shinobi for their cunning and decision-making in times of great pressure in the past. Kaede wasn’t able to know too much about them, in fact most information beyond that was difficult to acquire, but they seemed to have a knack for recruiting only the best. That was where Juri had come in, apparently.

[b]“J-Juri, you scared me. How have you been?”[/b] Kaede hoped to start some conversation among them and help introduce an old friend, but the Aburame appeared to look right past her and bring her attention beyond her. Following the gaze, Kaede noticed that Juri’s piercing eyes lingered on Natsumi for several seconds and seemed to look beyond her as well. 

It wasn’t Natsumi she was looking at.

[b]“All this time and nothing to show for your gifts other than a tantrum. Several months of naivety.”[/b] The months of solitude had done little to withhold Juri’s strong opinions of others, much less caring about the feelings of those she commented on and if it hurt them. Kaede was prepared to try and diffuse the situation, but the elite Aburame picked a new target fairly quickly. ANBU and ROOT’s joint operation was short and by the books, scaling across the perimeter of Konoha in order to silence all stationed Imperials surrounding the village’s immediate vicinity. After the Hokage’s attack towards the now-smoldering garrison, she was encouraged by her superiors to monitor Natsumi closely, while also maintaining a close eye on the village to ensure no one had gotten through. Not only was she a witness to Natsumi’s pitiful performance, but also happened to catch what little participation Ryozan had placed in the fight. She didn’t know much about it, but he was far too comfortable sitting among those who bothered to become involved even if one of the two had been an utter failure in utilizing her true power. 

Brushing her onyx black hair lightly aside, her views on Ryozan were hardly as negative as Natsumi’s but were not much higher either. She respected the ability to carry out an order and execute a mission without flaws, yet was unable to see him providing any use to the Hidden Leaf anytime soon. Returning her stare to Natsumi, Juri had shut her eyes and nodded her head towards the doorway. [b]“The Elders request that your mother be present for a special demonstration.”[/b]