[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/oZBnJ69.png[/img]
[COLOR=silver][sup][b]Isles of Mist | Tokubetsu Jōnin | Squad Four[/b][/sup][/COLOR][/center][hr][INDENT][sup][COLOR=silver][b]TIME:[/b] [i]Present Day - 8:58AM-9:01[/i] | [b]LOCATION:[/b] [i]Amegakure - The Great Hall[/i] | [b]INTERACTION:[/b] [i]Squad Four[/i] [sup][@BladeSS4][@Odin][@MesuOkami][/sup][/COLOR][/sup][/INDENT]

[i]Sakana sure seems like the dramatic type[/i], Koko thought to herself as she curled her fingers under her chin in a thoughtful pose. If she was a brute, she would have struck him right in the face by now, and if she was particularly emotional, she would have raised her voice quite quickly. Alas, Koko was neither, and she held her thoughtful pose, scrunching up her nose and flicking her eyes towards the ceiling – more so to ignore his further tangent in a semi-polite manner rather than any actual need to think over his words.

But now that she was staring at the ceiling with her fingers propped under her chin, little thoughts flitted to the forefront of her mind – perhaps there was a technique to this pose that caused her to focus more intensely on thought. Sakana was a fish, so surely he knows that Koko means stork? Or do they perhaps not have storks in the Empire of Stone? Due to the Isles of Mist’s professional relationship with the Empire, Koko had visited the country on multiple missions and occasions. However, it never occurred to her to look at the fauna of the place. 

The distant commotion of a Konoha shinobi caught Koko’s attention. The brunet sped to his own squad amongst his shouting and, writing him off as nonthreatening at the moment, Koko turned her observance to the conversation continuing around her. While she was intentionally unintentionally preoccupied, Sakana had let his chokehold on the squad’s communication go and handed the proverbial reigns to the other Kiri shinobi (or, in this metaphor, would it be the proverbial arm stronghold?). Koko smiled politely at her fellow shinobi, but let his cold voice buzz into the background.

From what she has gathered thus far into the rather pointless conversation – or, at least, pointless to her – Sakana seemed to be the most sociable of the bunch. Meanwhile, Shinji appeared to be most businesslike and could quite possibly be the oldest among them. The third member, Miyako, was quite polite and a tad like stale bread. Koko might have worried about Sakana becoming an irritant to the other members of Squad Four, but it seemed quite pointless to fret over it when the other two were perfectly blank to his brash behavior.

[b][color=gray]“– is that you bring to the table?”[/color][/b]

Koko blinked dumbly before tilting her head towards Miyako to show she heard her. Humming, Koko tapped the pipe at her hip, if only to prevent her from lighting it. It wouldn’t be good to bring out something that was technically considered a weapon in a room full of paranoid shinobi. Paranoid shinobi who don’t recognize the importance of relaxing and tobacco.

[b][color=EB9675]“What do I bring to the table?”[/color][/b] Koko mimicked, if only to buy her some time to find the appropriate response. If Miyako expected her to wax lyrically about her skills, then she would best prepare to be disappointed. However, it would be dumb to refuse to share what she can do as it could bereft the squad of trust and offend the other girl. Koko’s small polite smile became wider and she adjusted her straw hat in faux-sheepishness. [b][color=EB9675]“Like Sakana-kun said, I’m just a grunt – a sword for hire!”[/color][/b]

Thankfully, before the conversation could be carried any further, they all were urged to take their seats for the briefing. Koko slunk into a seat, draping her calf over her other knee and slouching back into the seat with half-lidded eyes. 

Most of it was boring details; as her feelings are for most things, Koko was mostly bored at the details of the mission. She supposes there is some excitement into going to the New Continent, but she didn’t want to let her hype grow to substantial amounts only to be disappointed later. It was best to stay subdued until she was sure the New Continent was worth what everyone thought it was. 

Despite her wishes to remain uninterested to avoid a total let down, Koko couldn’t help but lean forward in curiosity at the bio-terrorist attacks. Koko wasn’t the type to mess with biology; she preferred only messing with simple plants and poisons. However, the airborne contagion that was plaguing the nations was undoubtedly deadly and the concept of a poison that could achieve the same effects was riveting. With her, albeit limited, knowledge of medicine, it would be interesting if she could apply any knowledge found about the contagion to creating a poison. However, it was equally extremely unlikely. 

Koko tried not to pout when the briefing was over, and the bio-terrorist attack victims no longer being presented to her. To cover up any lingering disappointment and attempting to inject a nice healthy dose of friendliness amongst her new comrades, Koko flashed a happy grin to the others as she gracefully wobbled towards the location of the VTOL.

[b][color=EB9675]“Yeah, let’s get going, kiddies.”[/color][/b] Koko smirked, beckoning the others forward with a wave of her hand. As if in afterthought, Koko paused and cast a warm yet casual glance towards Miyako. [b][color=EB9675]"And feel free to take the role of leader. Giving orders and doing all that leader-ly stuff isn't really my strong suit."[/color][/b]

Following orders from foreign shinobi is probably not her forte, either, but Koko felt mentioning so would be more detrimental than helpful. It wasn't that she would openly defy Miyako - she just wouldn't give going against them a second thought if her orders were stupid. Pragmatism, really.