(Afro's POV)
In a small hut in the middle of the forest, Afro sat cross-legged against a nearby tree, his katana resting on his lap, breathing softly, trying to meditate, though his brow was still slightly furrowed.
The next moment, he opened his eyes. Sitting atop the hut, Toji was sitting cross-legged, resting his chin on his hand, looking directly at Afro.
Afro blinked, slightly confused that he hadn't noticed Toji approaching this time.
Neither of them moved, just staring at each other, but soon Afro's eyes slowly began to turn dangerous, his hand already gripping the hilt of his katana and the other holding the sheath.
Even so, Toji didn't move. Slowly, Afro's eyes grew more and more confused, he saw no interest in battle in Toji, so his hand gripping the hilt slowly loosened, though Afro didn't actually let go of the sword.
They remained like that for a few minutes, until Toji moved, causing Afro's hand to tighten again. Toji jumped off the roof and landed on his feet, slowly walking towards Afro. The dark-haired man didn't move, merely staring at Toji's slow approach, still sensing no desire to fight from the man.
Toji stopped in front of Afro, who finally couldn't take it anymore and asked. -What do you want?
Toji remained silent for a few more seconds, his eyes fixed on Afro's, but finally spoke. -Your master, why did you kill him?
Afro's eyes turned fierce as he drew his blade and attacked Toji directly, aiming for his unprotected neck.
Toji didn't move an inch, even when the blade stopped at his neck.
Afro stood there, the blade so close it seemed to touch Toji's neck, but it didn't, millimeters away, as if it were stuck there.
It wasn't a Toji's jutsu, Afro simply stopped. He still didn't see any desire to fight from Toji, nor even any desire to move. It was as if he was certain Afro wouldn't attack.
Afro's eyes grew increasingly confused, though his expression didn't change. Afro finally removed the blade from Toji's neck, but didn't sheath it. One hand gripped the katana's hilt, the other the scabbard, they simply stood there, staring at each other.
-Why?- Afro finally couldn't resist asking.
He didn't explicitly ask his question, but it was clear nonetheless.
-You're not a murderer.- Toji replied calmly, as if that explained everything.
Afro became even more confused, not understanding the reason for all this, the fight against Toji, the man's appearance now, he couldn't understand Toji at all.
Silence enveloped them once more, broken only by the sounds of cicadas and birds, and the gentle breeze ruffling the dark-haired man's afro.
Toji finally spoke again, sensing that they would be there for a long time if he continued to remain silent. He wasn't doing this on purpose, he was simply curious about Afro and knew that a direct conversation wouldn't lead anywhere, so he was trying to decipher the man through observation.
-You're not a murderer.- Toji repeated. -But you're known as one, a man who killed his master and stole his sword.
It wasn't a question, it was a direct statement.
Afro narrowed his eyes, tightening his grip on the hilt of his blade even more, but in the end the grip tightened again, he felt no desire to fight from Toji and did not want to kill an unarmed man.
He sheathed his katana and spoke as he began to walk past Toji, heading towards his house. - Go away.
Toji didn't move, he just watched the figure walk away, his curiosity growing.
His head slowly turned as he watched Afro's figure enter the house and close the door gently.
He tilted his head slightly, his curiosity only growing, and in the next moment, the place was empty again, with only the sounds of nature surrounding the small hut.
//-//
(Nanami's POV)
Nanami dodged as several jets of silk fell from the sky, while Fuu was already flying with her beetle wings.
-Yahoo! Go! Go! Go! - She continued to shout while throwing silk all over the field, Nanami could only concentrate on running, sweat already dripping down her face.
Suddenly a jet of silk expanded like spider silk, there was no room to escape!
-Gotcha!- Fuu shouted excitedly.
Nanami screamed as she was wrapped in silk, but the next moment, in her wrapped position, it was a tree trunk that had been trapped.
Behind Fuu, Nanami pulled out eight shurikens, four in each hand, throwing them all at once.
Fuu had sensed this and calmly dodged, flying upwards, but Nanami seemed to have anticipated it, there were wires coming out of the shurikens. With a whiplash motion, Nanami screamed as she changed the direction of the kunai to pursue Fuu.
Fuu's eyes widened as she pointed both hands forward, her silk expanding and pushing the Shurikens away.
Nanami clicked her tongue in irritation, released the threads as she dodged the jet of silk that caught the Shurikens and continued to advance towards her.
Just as she was ready to continue running in another direction, a voice sounded behind her. - Gotcha, hehe!
Fuu appeared behind Nanami, shocking her. Before Nanami could react, Fuu had already woven a cocoon around Nanami, imprisoning her. Only Nanami's face remained visible as she fell to the ground.
Nanami groaned in pain from the fall as Fuu lowered her head and spoke. - Come on! Give up and be my friend!
Whether it was Nanami or the audience, everyone's lips trembled.
Shibuki, Leader of Takigakure, in his own booth with his guards, hid his completely red face, filled with shame.
Nanami didn't know what to say for a moment. Should she be angry? She wanted to, but seeing Fuu's cheerful and sincere smile, for a moment she didn't know what to feel.
-Hahahaha! - Fuu raised her head and began to laugh with her hands on her hips, clearly either delighted or having a nervous breakdown.