Dez grinned when she was hugged back and then released her hold on the female. She looked between her father, Jr, Kinzoku and Emiko before snickering. "This is a very small world - we all know each other in some way." At least Emiko wasn't here to try and take Kinzoku away - though with the words Emiko spoke she found herself wondering if Emiko would end up joining them sooner rather than later. Surely that attitude, the fact that she was unwilling to take action against someone who had left her village, was going to end up getting her into trouble too - and possibly in the sort of trouble that would either land Emiko in prison, or cause her to flee her village.

Dez frowned somewhat. "Emiko... won't they put you in jail for refusing to take Kinzoku in though? I'm not saying you should... but you need to be careful. I've never busted someone out of jail before... but I'd do it, me and my new zombie pet."

Speaking of zombie pets, she had thought about feeding the dead ex-Kuraikage's body to the zombie... but if Emiko wanted it, she wasn't going to say no. "Wait, you're going to make a human puppet? That sounds amazing! I want to see it when you're finished!"

Jr relaxed, and his angry expression turned into one of curiosity. Another family member then, and she could fight with sand? Interesting. There was even more to her if she wanted to take smiley man's dead body and turn it into a puppet too. That was something he'd have to see.

The bird aura surrounding him disappeared as he calmed down. ”Well, I was just gonna torch the thing and blow the ashes off into the winds, but you'll get no argument from me if you wanna take that thing. I think i'd have to come back out to the desert and see it when you get done or something...”

His father and Kinzoku started heading toward the tower, and Jr started walking with them, giving a wave to Emiko beforehand...

”A kage summit, huh... I'm thinking that's something we should have one of our people at... I apologize for all the craziness going on right now, we'll have to all get better acquainted some other time, Emiko. If you want to take that corpse to go mess around with, feel free. He kept doing this circle thing with his hands; I think it's some kind of Genjutsu. If you figure out what kind of technique that is, let me know, huh? He had me kind of curious...”

Alec walked through the village, to see the expressions of fear, respect and admiration on the faces of some of the people he passed. He was considered a criminal, a villain, a bad guy, but he wasn't a warlord that would hurt any of them out of pleasure, or because they disobeyed him, or anything like that. He had all of their best interests at heart, and was prepared to wage war to make sure they remained safe.

”That guy would have caused problems for you all. I did what had to be done for all of your sake, nothing more, nothing less. Apologies to the people who saw what happened...”

Most of them understood, nodding their heads as Alec walked by, while some chose to just remain silent. He walked across the drawbridge over the moat to the front doors and stepped inside the tower, quite sure everyone else was with him. Alec made his way to the room that Avery was in, sitting next to her with a sigh.

”...The smiling man... he's no longer anyone to be worried about. So if you want the Kage spot back, it's yours. Makkura is back under our complete control.”

She was rather shocked for a moment to think that Kinzoku actually wanted her to tell Strafe; but if that was what he wished then she'd do it, and so she nodded. She just hoped Strafe didn't try sending her after him, because if that was the case he was going to find a big fat no thrown into his face. She glanced at Dez and shrugged. "What'll happen will happen... but it'll be slightly hard to throw me in prison if they can't touch me. So, if anything I'll end up leaving if things come to that."

"Maybe when this Kage Summit is finished I'll be able to stop by for a visit; not like I do much else in Yokuchi these days."

Emiko gave a nod to Jr and Alec before moving over to the body. The sand from her goard spewed forth, converging on the man. Normally when she used this technique it was to destroy something, to crush it to death, but this time the sand simply covered him completely, pulling him back into the shape of the gourd on her back for storage. She would have to find a better location for him between here and Niwa - but that could be handled on her way back to the Kage Summit.

With the body fully secured she gave a wave goodbye as the Kane's and Kinzoku were leaving and then headed towards the exit of the village - she had to get back to ensure nothing happened to Strafe on her watch after all.

-Exit.-

She had no idea why she had flown off the handle like that and had to leave; it wasn't like her to rage. Her family were a bunch of peace loving monks if truth be told, it wasn't in her blood to get angry like that or rage so quickly. But, there had been just something about that man that had caused her to instantly go over the edge like that - an edge she didn't care for being that close to. She wasn't a pacifist anymore, having killed quite a few people over the years, but rage like that wasn't in her - or so she had thought.

She looked up as Alec came in and sat down; she had been in the library of all places, attempting to focus on a book without success. She listened to him speak and thought over his words for a moment. She could easily take the Kage spot back now; but did she want it? She knew there were members of Alec's family, such as Jr. or Alec himself or even Dez for that matter, who were far stronger than she was - far better equipped to handling the Kuraikage position. "You know, as much of a tempting offer that is... I think it's time for someone else to lead. I took the position because you didn't want it at the time, and Demi didn't want it after realizing so many family members were here. But now, everyone has grown so much stronger - and far more capable of defending this place than I am. A leader should be the strongest person in the village, and I'm willing to admit that that's not me."

She closed the book she hadn't been able to focus on and placed it on the table next to her before looking back to Alec. She wondered what he'd say about her statements: it was how she felt. She was no longer one of the top strongest people in the village - especially given all of those with beasts sealed inside of them now - and so she felt it was time for her to step down. "I can't really explain why I acted how I did... there was something almost un-nerving about that man. Maybe it was the way he smiled, or maybe it was because he looked like the sort of person to attempt to destroy everything we had built. But, that anger had nothing to do with not being Kuraikage anymore."

Kinzoku came with the others to the tower, but he didn't go to the library with everyone else. They were probably going to discuss who should take the lead of the village, and also this Summit that Emiko mentioned. He was head of security now, and that was fine with him. The leaders should discuss leader-related business.

So Kinzoku remained in the main hall, taking his gourd off to have a seat. When everything was said and done, he was sure someone would come and inform him...

-Exit-

Dez watched via her Chakra Radar as Emiko used the sand to carry the body of the fallen Kuraikage before she left the village. Dez followed her family inside of the tower, already knowing where to head even as she followed her father to the library that Avery was in. She was quite curious as to Avery's reaction, though she hadn't been willing to ask about it - figuring it wasn't exactly her place.

She sprawled herself on one of the nearby large library couches; taking up less than half of the thing even as comfortable sprawled as she was. She wasn't worried about returning to her lab just yet; she wanted to see first hand who exactly was going to end up with the hat - especially as she heard Avery speak up about feeling that she wasn't strong enough for it. Avery was one of those rare people who amazed Dez: she had seen how cruel the world was since she was very little, and the fact that Avery seemed as selfless as she was, even though Alec was handing her back the title of she wanted it, caused her to feel awe-inspired by the female.

"......", Dez remained silent, simply curious to hear what the others had to say. She was too young for that hat, an eleven year old as a leader? It'd be a joke, and likely cause a ton of problems. No, it had to be someone else... someone in the family that they knew they could trust.

He walked next to his father into the tower and to the library. Jr looked though some of the old books on the shelves as he told Avery that the smiling man was no longer in the picture. The Kage title was hers again, but he was surprised that she didn't want it. He was also surprised to hear her admit that she knew she wasn't the strongest, but Jr wasn't one to brag, and he knew his father wasn't either.

”Bummer. Avery doesn't wanna be boss again, and if you take it dad, that could cause some problems from all that stuff you did back in the day. If you go to that summit Emiko was talking about, somebody might attack you or something. You'll fight back, and then a war might start... You said you didn't wanna war anymore, right? So who's gonna lead? I'm pretty sure Dez doesn't wanna, cause then she won't be able to play in her lab and stuff.”

Who else was there, then? Kinzoku just got here, and they didn't know him all too well. Jr was sure he wouldn't want that kind of responsibility this early on anyways...

”It isn't about who's the strongest here, Avery. I've never tried to act like I was above you or anyone. Jr and Dez know better than that too. But i'll respect your decision...”

Jr spoke up, and he was right. Alec figured if he were to put the hat on, there would be trouble. He'd kidnapped the loved ones of Kages, cut the legs off of Kages, bombed the villages of Kages. Although he'd love nothing more to engage in a ninja war, perhaps this wasn't the time for it.

”Alright then... how about you, Jr?... If it's really a strength factor, you're stronger than all of us. You also have thousands of years of wisdom and experience in the form of Hi No Seishin, she's part of you now. You have to get a hold on that temper of yours, but I think you'd make a great Kage. You up for it?"

It was the best idea he could come up with so far, since Avery didn't want the job anymore, and he was pretty positive that Destiny would turn it down as well.

Moving through the dark halls of the tower, Hanako was in a good mood. She hadn't been out much today, as she didn't really have anything to do. Continuing to walk aimlessly, she heard a few voices in the tower. She immediately recognized the voices of Alec and Jr. It seemed that they were talking to some others, which she didn't know. Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, she moved towards that area. Following the voices, she came to a room filled with members of the dark. So they were back together? She entered the room with a nod to Alec and Jr. "Did I miss anything?" She asked making sure she didn't miss any important decisions made.

The other people in the room were Dezzy, one of the younger members of the dark that was related to Alec, and Avery. Avery was the former kage of the village before 'The Dark' went their separate ways. All four of them being present meant that they were probably talking about something important. If she was lucky, Alec was deciding to take control of this village again.

Avery grinned, having figured Alec might say that. She knew it wasn't exactly about who was the strongest, at least not when it came to Alec - but, if it came to the other villages? That's exactly what it meant. She shifted more comfortably on the couch, raising a brow as she looked between Alec and Jr. Jr definitely was strong enough to take up the position; strong enough to protect the village.

"Jr would be perfect for the position.", she said in agreement with Alec's question to his son. She might not have seen eye to eye with Jr, mostly due to what had happened up on the rooftop back when they had first got to Makurra, but that didn't mean she held any ill will towards the kid, nor that she wouldn't be willing to admit that he was stronger than her, and perfect for the position. She looked up when another female who she had seen around in brief glimpses came in.

"Yes, yes! Jr. should do it! Jr. you should be Kuraikage!", said Dez excitedly, agreeing instantly with Alec's suggestion. She felt her brother was perfect for the job, definitely strong enough, and with the experience her father had mentioned in the form of the phoenix sealed inside of him: well, he'd do perfectly.

She picked up on the entrance of the female Hanako, and turned her head in her direction. She offered a friendly wave - at least until a little beep of an alarm went off, coming from her lab. "Baw, the zombie's trying to chew through his bars... he must've ran out of food. Someone let me know what's decided." With that she was up and out of the door; off to both shut off the alarm, which would happen moments after she left, and to throw the zombie some more food so it stopped trying to eat away at the inescapable cage it was in when she wasn't leading the thing around on the leash.

-Exit-

Jr was honestly surprised. He looked at all of the faces in the room and couldn't help but feel his begin to turn a slight shade of red. Him, as Kage? Jr never considered it. ”Me? But... everybody looks at you as the boss, dad. Me stronger than you? You're crazy, everybody knows you're the man. Look at how you did that smiley guy!”

But then again, being called the Kage would be pretty awesome. He wasn't looking forward to wearing that silly hat, but if they insisted, Jr was prepared for it. He turned to see Hanako come in, and remembered seeing her around a few times. His father told him about a incident a few days ago where he and Hanako went out into the wilderness to kill some bandits planning on taking over the village.

”Yeah, you missed a guy with a stupid smile on his face have his head chopped off...” he said as Destiny left, possibly to return to her lab...

”The smiley man got too close to me so he was pretty easy. If I were to face off against you, i'm pretty sure you'd get me by now; hell i'm sure Dez would kick my ass. I never said I was the best, just the best looking!”

Alec chuckled some, noticing the arrival of Hanako. Good, she would want to be here for this. The new plans for the village and the hierarchy had already come together.

”But, seriously. You're right Jr, I suppose people will always look at me as sort of the main authority figure, but if I took it on officially, it might cause trouble and get people killed. So, you take the hat for me, be my voice. Run things in my place, if you don't know what to do i'll tell you. Go to that Summit for me, see what it's all about. If those other villages are still worried about us trying to 'take over the world' or anything like that, let them know that's no longer the case. Don't blow up and let your temper fuck things up, son. Listen to what they have to say. Reassure them that The Land of Shadows is willing to co-exist, but if they give you shit? If they expect you to roll over so that they can fuck you, you also let them know that it's no problem to fight. If we have to go to war? Then so be it.”

Alec stood and rubbed the top of his son's head. He was moving up in the world, taking on such a big responsibility as such a young age. Alec always knew he would be something special, even before he was born. He felt the same way about all of his kids. Alec just hoped that things didn't get out of control at that summit.

”Hanako, the Saito Gekai smiling man that took the Kage position of this village is dead. Makkura is under the control of The Dark again. Avery no longer wants to be Kage, and there would be trouble if I did it, even though everyone looks at me as the leader anyways. So Jr will be the new Kage, and i'll run things through him. I was informed of a Kage Summit in Niwa. I want you and Kinzoku – he's the new guy, met him yet? - to escort Jr there as his bodyguards. Jr doesn't need anyone to guard him, but we'll do it anyway to keep up appearances. You all can head out anytime you're ready...”

Alec sat back on the couch again next to Avery. Later on he'd probably head upstairs to monitor things with the global radar...

[Exit]

Waving to Dezzy as she left, she listened to Jr speak up. Alec then explained exactly what happened, which brought a smile to the woman's face. It served him right. There was a way to try and help the village and parading around as a self-proclaimed Kage was not the way to do so. Alec mentioned that Jr was going to be the kage. She was absolutely fine with that. He was capable and probably the best suited for it. There was also talk of a summit. So a meeting between the five shadows was to take place? It sounded like an interesting little trip. She wouldn't mind going and keeping an eye on these people. Maybe she could get a little intel. "I'll be more than happy to go. I haven't met the new guy yet, but I'm sure we'll get along just fine." She said with a nod.

So, she would now be traveling to Niwa to be a bodyguard for the new kage of Makkura. It seemed that they really did trust her as a member of 'The Dark'. "I'm ready whenever you are, Jr." She said with a look to his direction. Jr had seen her fight previously when she first joined the group. He knew that she was more than capable of handling anyone that would try to attack him, though she wouldn't need to. People tended to underestimate younger shinobi and he was more than powerful enough to handle anyone.

Avery settled back into the couch; she really had nothing else to say on the matter. She completely agreed with Jr. being Kage and with that out of the way perhaps she'd be able to focus on the interesting book that she found. So, she got back into her comfortable spot, picked the book up, and started flipping through the pages... all while wondering exactly what was going to happen at this Kage Summit - and what the out come of it all would be.

-Exit.-

Jr was going to be the Kage, then. He wouldn't mind, especially now that his father said he'd really be the one calling the shots. Jr was fine with this. He took in and memorized everything his father told him. ”We should go now then, get it over with. Don't worry dad, if I get ahead of myself i'm sure Hi No will let me know,” said Jr. He stepped over near Hanako looking up at her. ”Hanako, right? I need to grab a few things before we go, i'll meet you and Kinzoku in the front room, yeah?”

Jr left out of the room and headed up several floors to freshen up and get ready....

\Exit\

"Ok, I'll see you there." She said with a nod before waving to them all and heading out of the room. She needed to grab her things as well. She didn't want to go to a Kage summit unprepared.

-Exit Thread-