[h1][color=Gold]Akio Tendou[/color][/h1]

[i]Before The End?[/i]

Akio coughed a little at the sudden assault on her mouth by a biscuit, taking the time to chew it down as she listened to Aoi talk. She had to nod in agreement with the clown girl's analysis on Sentou being a little crazy(why else would she strip down at nearly every opprotunity, or be willing bunk with Shin wearing nothing but a bikini). To be honest, though, Aoi was quite the character herself with her constant antics and somewhat child-ish personality.

"Yeah, lucky not to get his perverted ass electricuted the moment he tries anything." Akio said with a giggle, though that was interrupted by getting a face full of tent ceiling and Aoi's over exaggerated yawning. [i]This girl does everything in excess, doesn't she? I wonder if that's because she was raised in a circus, or just how she is.[/i] As Akio pondered this, Aoi attempted to spook her with a creepy face and a flashlight, only to be met with no reaction except an amused smile. "I'll give you an A for effort, but it's going to take a lot more than that to scare me. That being said, can you teach me how to get my own 'magic place'. Would be really helpful in carry a bunch of crap for missions and whatnot."

Akio giggled again at the clown girl's antics, though she sovered up rather quick at the mention of the party. She averted her eyes for a moment, rubbing her arm nervously before answering. 

"I know this'll probably sound like an excuse but . . . I just didn't feel ready to be around a bunch of people in a social setting yet. The idea terrified me, and still does to be honest. I just don't do well in big groups, and since I hardly knew anyone there, I didn't think I'd be missed." After saying that, a small smile formed on her face as she pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "I'm glad that I wasn't completely right, though. Anyway, when we get back to Konoha, why don't we have a hang out day to make up for it, just me and you. Sound good?"

[i]After the End?[/i]

Akio was waiting for her harlequin companion at the Mighty Naruto, dressed up in a slightly less baggy variant of her mission wear, eating a bowl of ramen while she did so. She was a little nervous, this being the first time she'd hung out with someone her own age in quite awhile outside of missions. She was sure that everything would be just fine, but in the back of her mind was that ever doubtful 'what if' mentality that was great for shinobi work, but terrible for social interactions. It made her more than a little nervous as she thought of everything that could go wrong today. [i]Stop worrying yourself to death, Akio, everything's going to be fine, you're going to have fun, and you'll be cementing a friendship. Just need to keep calm and not panic.[/i] Easy words to thunk, much harder to put them into action.

[@Savato]