[center][h2]Akio Tendou[/h2][/center]

Akio chose not to respond to Saburo's factual response, partially because she had nothing to say, but mostly because she knew she'd probably curse the him out in her frustration. It wasn't like anything he said wasn't at least somewhat true(though she thought she could take the guy herself if it came down to it), it was just not what she wanted to hear right now. As such, she merely settled with clicking her teeth in annoyance as she responded to his evaluations.

"Whatever, doesn't give him an excuse to treat people like shit." She muttered under her breath as they moved through the trees towards Kumogakure. Shifting her eyes towards Hideyoshi, she couldn't help but wonder. [i]What must it be like, being a prodigy and all. All the praise, the glory and respect, it must be intoxicating. And yet, imagine all the pressure you have to be under, constantly under everyone's gaze as they expect you to never be wrong, to never fail, . . . to be absolutely . . . perfect.[/i] 

For a split second, the Sawada boy was replaced in her mines eye with a slender man with burning gold for eyes and a shining smile, bright as the sun. Again, she couldn't help but wonder. [i]Is that what pushed you over the edge, Kokatsu-nii, was the pressure of perfection too much for you, or was that just who you really were all along?[/i]