A Long Awaited Return [ Open | No Kill ]

Anshō took a deep breath of air as he set foot on the familiar docks of the Port of Dreams, closing his eyes for a moment to let the familiar smells wash over him, soothing his weary body. He was home now, and that was all that mattered at this point, and it felt good. It had been about a year since he had last set foot on the land of his village and it felt good, after how rough it had been. He had missed his home, and he had worried for a time that he might not get back to see it again. Yet, here he was and he smiled as he opened his eyes again, roving over the familiar stalls on the docks and port as he moved. Still as bustling as ever. The tourist industry must still be booming. He was glad to see that it had not stopped yet. He hummed as he dodged an individual carrying a crate, and proceeded to move through the crowds.

Perhaps he would stop by the home of his family before getting an airship to the main village to make his report and hear about the goings on of the village while he had been away. Or, perhaps not. He wasn't quite in the mood to see his family at the moment. After all, they'd probably berate him for his career choice, and he was much too tired to want anything to do with that. Who would want to be beaten while they were down anyway? He sighed and rolled his eyes, moving to the familiar airport. It was a simple matter of showing his ID and other papers, assuring them that, yes, despite his bruises, he was fine, and he really just needed to go home. Soon he found himself on an airship, and he leaned into his seat, turning his head slightly to look out the window. Wow... even a simple seat like this was comfortable. And somehow, he found himself dozing off for the relatively quick flight only to be jolted awake by the announcement that they had landed.

Blinking, Anshō rolled his shoulders and stepped out of the airship, making his way into the village, observing his surroundings and looking for differences. And, he found himself smiling, much to the disapproval to the bruise on his cheek that complained by giving him pain, as he walked through the village, meandering a bit as he made his way to the capitol to report in after such a long time.

”Ma'am. We're going to have to ask you to leave. You can't be in here with.. well, with your pet.”, came a hesitant voice in Emiko's right ear as Emiko was in the middle of taking a sip of her light tan colored coffee.

Emiko looked up with yellow colored cat eyes to the female waitress. According to her name tag she was in charge, and she looked and smelled scared. Emiko's eyes rolled, more in annoyance then anything. ”And why the fuckle not? I have all of her papers... she's completely clean.”

”She's scaring our other customers.”, the voice wasn't hesitant so much now as angry sounding: apparently she had expected Emiko to just pack up her things and leave right then and there, not ask questions back.

Emiko looked towards these other customers, and sure enough her and her tarantula sized black widow spider named Minerva had acquired the gazes of almost everyone in the little cafe. Joy. More paranoid bastards out to ruin her bit of fun. Minerva climbed off of the table and right up the top of the black sleeve of Emiko's turtle neck, coming to rest on her shoulder. The waitress, surprised by the sudden movement of the spider, jumped back with a shriek.

And then it was panic all around. Several customers got up, screaming, and left the cafe while others were clearing their chairs and backing up. ”You need to leave, now!”

”Oh for the love of the God's you people are pathetic...”, Emiko grumbled as she began to gather up her stuff, stuff it into her bag, and then throw her bag over her unoccupied shoulder. She glanced at her barely touched coffee and then to the waitress. ”Hope you don't expect to get paid for that... because you're not.” Emiko said, leaving before giving the waitress a chance to even response.

As soon as Emiko hit the streets those who had just come rushing out of the cafe gave her instantly a wide berth, and Emiko only could roll her eyes again and glance at her ninja pet. ”Come on Minerva... we'll just go make some coffee at home. Screw these people...”

Anshō yawned as he walked towards the Capitol, honestly wondering if it would be alright for him to return to his little apartment first, perhaps for a nap before reporting in. It probably wouldn't be a good thing to do, as he was sure that it was probably known that he was back at this point, but he was kind of tired after traveling home. He sighed before suddenly stopping, eyebrow raising as he watched people bustling out of a cafe with noises of fear and disgust.

"What in Susanoo's name?" He murmured under his breath, approaching the cafe to investigate, hearing murmurs of a spider. Some people even murmuring about someone being a freak for having such a pet. Now that peaked his interest. After being called a freak for his love of Octopi and other such creatures, he hated when people did the same to others. It was a cruel way of speaking of people who lived in the same village. Whether they realized it or not, it was a form of bullying, and he wasn't quite willing to forgive that.

With a sigh, he approached the clearly bothered individuals who quickly gave the girl leaving the cafe a wide birth and reached out to place a hand on her shoulder. He was going to deal with this right now, even though he was tired. "Enough!" He crowed through the crowd, making his voice loud. "Will someone explain to me what this scene that you all are making is about? Because from what I can hear the premise is quite abhorrent." He growled, his face turning from the cheery look it had been to a dangerous look, as if daring some of the crowd to debate with him.

Emiko had been ignoring the insults – or at least, she wasn't showing that it was bothering her as much as it was – and was all for walking away and heading home just as she had mentioned to Minerva. However, a hand on her shoulder brought her to a sudden halt. Blinking, and wondering who had the balls to try such a thing considering what was clearly on her opposite shoulder, she turned her yellow cat-like gaze onto the hand on her shoulder. She then shifted her body so that she could turn her head more and look upon the man that hand was attached to: he looked familiar, a Jounin she had seen around from time to time.

Emiko then shifted her gaze the other way, not even bothering to shake off the hand, and looked to Minerva. The spider shifted her body, as if she too were now looking at the hand touching Emiko, and yet the spider made no other move save for that – showing in a way a higher intelligence. Emiko then turned her gaze back onto the man in question, but as she was opening her mouth to speak the head waitress came out of the cafe. ”I asked her to leave. Her... pet... thing... was scaring my customers. Really, who keeps a pet spider?! And look at it! I know those markings from school! It's a black widow! It's dangerous. The damn thing should be destroyed.”

A very wicked glint appeared in Emiko's eye as her gaze snapped upon the woman. The small action of looking at her, was so sudden that the woman actually took a step back despite the nearly fifteen feet that already separated them. Emiko opened her mouth once more, as if she planned on speaking, when all of a sudden her head tilted to the side – towards Minerva. She paused, listening to the spider speak in the softest of voices, ”I don't want to be destroyed...”

”I won't allow it to happen...”, she whispered back. She then looked between the Jounin and the waitress. ”As I told you I have all of her papers and identification for her: she is listed as an official ninja pet – that gives her leave to go where I go. It's not my fault you have a twisted biased opinion against such creatures and therefore are incapable of noticing their benefit.”, Emiko's voice was like lethal venom at this point, but she was careful, very careful. The slightest bit of chakra would trigger what was considered a natural Genjutsu for her - and she had to ensure that that didn't happen, which means that despite how scary her voice might sound, it was like the calm before the storm; no yelling, no shouting, perfectly level.

If he was completely honest, Anshō would have preferred not to listen to the side that the waitress brought up. It was a horrific biased opinion for the waitress and the patrons to have, and it left a horrible taste in his mouth. He scowled, his stern expression intensifying, and he dropped his hand from the red head's shoulder, crossing his arms across his chest. He gave an annoyed sigh and shook his head. "Shinobi keep spiders, as well as a myriad of dangerous creatures as pets. I have a habit of keeping octopi as pets personally. It should not matter to you or your patrons what these pets are if there is proper documentation and behavior from said pet. What you have done here by asking this shinobi to leave is not only distasteful, but against the law. Unless the law protecting legal ninja-pets has been altered since I have been away."

With that Anshō looked down at Emiko and her spider for a moment and gave them a reassuring smile before looking back up at the accusing woman and the crowd. "The rest of you should be ashamed of yourselves, nosing into other people's business." He started, and he was not above reprimanding the group, so he continued. "You should feel more safe eating in an establishment with a shinobi and her splendid pet within the walls of that establisment. It is utterly ridiculous that you were afraid. They, like many others, puts their lives on the line for your safety. You would do better giving this shinobi and her pet respect rather than kicking them out."

That said, he looked pointedly at the waitress again, lifting one of his yellow clad fingers to point at her for a moment. "But here you are, having alienated one of the protectors of our village..." He paused for a moment to let that set in then made another snide comment, a smirk forming on his face.  "Perhaps you do not wish for more shinobi patrons, miss?"

Emiko listened to the man's words as he began to explain to the waitress, and those nosy enough to be sticking around and listening in, that shinobi kept all manner of dangerous beasts as pets. When he mentioned that he kept octopi as pets Emiko looked at him with more interest then before: most people liked canines, or felines, as pets. Not many bothered with the different ones like she herself did. When he looked at her and smiled reassuringly she returned it before glancing back over to the waitress: the woman was red in the face and clearly embarrassed: she hadn't really bothered to think about how illegal it was to ask Emiko to go, she had only been worried in that days profits and the fact that Emiko's choice of pet bothered people unfairly.

Minerva, feeling more comfortable with the situation already, climbed her way up the side of Emiko's hair and up to the top of her head where she perched herself quite comfortably. Emiko glanced up and grinned at the spider; Minerva leaned forward a bit to look down at Emiko and then settled herself down quite comfortably.

Emiko's attention then shifted once more onto the waitress as her fellow shinobi continued on in his speech, telling them that they should feel safe having a shinobi in their establishment. Emiko couldn't help but agree: especially with her method and fighting style – it was the least likely to cause damage considering she relied mostly in Genjutsu.

When the waitress was given the chance to speak again she stammered out a reply, ”I... I. Of course I have no issue with shinobi coming into my establishment; we just weren't expecting to see such a pet.” The waitress, despite her words, threw a distasteful glance towards the spider now comfortably sprawled on Emiko's head, and shuddered, as if she wondered how Emiko could stand being touched by such a thing.

Emiko glanced back up to Minerva again, reached up with her left hand, and lightly stroked Minerva from the top of her head down her body. Minerva stretched upwards and into the affectionate touch. A glance at the waitress showed the woman had visible goosebumps. Emiko didn't care of course: she had no more of an urge to go back into that cafe then she did to throw herself into a pit of fire: she would go elsewhere from now on to get her coffee.

An annoyed 'tch' noise escaped Anshō as he looked at the waitress, raising an eyebrow at her explanation, not quite believing her. People like her were horrifically opinionated, and it usually only brought harm. It wasn't something that he would tolerate. People like her allowed fear to guide them into bullying others were the worst. His brother was just the same, and he didn't tolerate it from him or the other members of his family, so he certainly wasn't going to tolerate it from a complete and total stranger. He glanced down at the girl, seeing the way the spider leaned into her hand, and, compared to the distaste that the others had felt, seeing their bond made his heart warm some. He looked up at the waitress and chuckled slightly at her attempt to backpedal, at least partially.

"I would hope that you wouldn't have an issue with shinobi coming into your establishment. However, this world is full of unexpected things. madam. You'd do much better if you didn't let prejudice based on fear corrupt your business. After all, the spider has not made a single move to harm yourself, or any of your patrons. In fact. Rather than protecting your customer base, you actually have lost a few, I believe, because of this display. Including, forgive me for speaking for her, this shinobi and myself." Anshō said calmly before giving a slight incline of his head to the woman. Considering the conversation with the woman finished, he gave a smile and a nod to the red head and her spider before turning on his heel and beginning to make his way through the crowd again.

Even though he had wanted to avoid such a thing with his own family, he had of course into the drama created by more prejudice. He'd wanted to avoid such things, but at least he had been able to put the woman in her place. He rolled his shoulders and yawned before rubbing at the bruise at his face as he moved to continue on his way. Perhaps he should get coffee before he reached the capitol so he'd last through that meeting ahead of him. He turned his head back, glancing at the red head. "Hey, Red." He hummed, since he was not entirely sure what to call her by yet. "Could I treat you to some coffee?"

Emiko nodded in agreement with the male's words: she had little to no interest in coming back to this cafe ever again – and that would hold true even if this waitress was fired. She doubted the waitress was the only one who felt that way about Minerva, and if Minerva wasn't wanted there then she surely wouldn't go either. ”You're quite right: I have no intentions of coming back here again.”, which was a pity for the waitress, as Emiko was a big believer in large tips for good service.

The waitress had nothing more that she could say: at least not to his face. Surely she would gossip and spin false tales later but for now her silence was just that, silent. She turned, embarrassed and looking nearly ready to burst into tears, and marched back into her little cafe – where she almost slammed the door behind herself; seeming to catch herself only at the very last second before she did so. She disappeared into the back of the cafe and out of sight.

Emiko's eyebrows raise and she gave the slightest shake of her head – being careful of course not to bother Minerva with it. Minerva lifted her front most left and right leg up and then back down, as if she were shrugging and washing her 'hands' of the situation as much as Emiko was.

Emiko was about to turn, seeing that the male had begun to make her way through the crowd, when she heard him call out to her. She turned her head, her yellow cat-like gaze falling on him once more as eyebrows raised in curiosity. She had been about to head home to fix her coffee addiction, but the idea of having a cup with the male who had actually not judged her, and who seemed to understand her, wasn't a bad idea at all. ”Sure, sounds fun.”, she called out, moving her way through the crowd and over to him with Minerva still resting on top of her head. ”My name's Emiko by the way, Emiko Sabure. And this..” she pointed with her left hand towards Minerva, “... is Minerva.” The black widow raised her front most right leg and gave what was a very obvious wave of hello.

Word Count: 382 + 1,227 = 1,609

Anshō raised an eyebrow as he heard the waitress retreat back into her little shop with such attitude, slamming the door and his gaze moved to the door. He watched the windowpanes rattle for a moment before turning his attention back to the brightly haired shinobi again. It was a wonder that anyone would be a patron of an establishment that housed such unfriendly staff. It was very unfortunate that there were such places in Amagakure. Then again, there seemed to be such places nearly everywhere. Cruelty and mistrust were rampant in their world, as much as it was a disappointing truth. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Emiko, Minerva. I would have liked to meet on better circumstances, but... such is life. I am glad that the village has developed such fine shinobi like yourself since I have been away." Anshō gave a small shrug and a smile. " I am Anshō Tako."

The elder shinobi turned his head to look in the direction that he had been moving. " If I recall correctly there is a rather nice cafe that we could stop by a few blocks along. Of course, I haven't been around in quite some time, and if Amagakure rings true to my past experiences, things change rather quickly around here, so I apologize if it's not still there." He mused a bit, rambling. He did hope that his coffee shop was there still, but change wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps there would be a new one in it's place. With that thought he began to move again.

Emiko threw a glance in the direction of the waitress in time to see the window shake and rattle from her slamming it shut so hard: all Emiko could do was shake her head with a disappointed look upon her face. She refused to leave her friend, Minerva, at home just because it made people uncomfortable. It wasn't like she was a wild creature; she was a trained shinobi pet and she demanded respect. Okay, well Minerva didn't exactly demand it, but Emiko demanded it for her. Spiders weren't disgusting, they were fascinating. Just the same as any other creature. They had a purpose, too, which only doubled their usefulness. But, whatever. Some people were just too scared of different things to be willing to give them a chance.

So, clearing her mind of that current train of thought she walked with Ansho with a smile on her face while Minerva moved around her body in a burst of happiness; she was enjoying the fact that someone else had so readily accepted her. "Actually, I think I know what café you're talking about. If I'm thinking correctly it's still there. It's another I was going to try."

"Do you? Wonderful. I'm glad it's still there. It was one that I would always stop by on my way to report in, like I'm going to do now, actually." Anshō smiled as he spoke and they moved through the crowds. He was certainly glad that it was still there. It had been one of the best little places for coffee in the village. Small and discreet, but with the best atmosphere that drew in lots of people. Enough to keep it going for a while, and he was glad that it had stuck out the slow periods in the lulls of tourists visiting their village. Tourists were the staple of the economy of Amagakure, as disappointing as that was sometimes. Though, perhaps that would change eventually.

The man lifted his light colored eyes lifted to trail over the signs of the buildings as they walked, gratified to see many of the same familiar shops, though some were obviously new. He smiled when they came across the sign of the little cafe and gave a soft hum. "There it is." He grinned. "I'm glad. It doesn't look like it's changed at all. It's great to see that the village has stayed somewhat similar. Familiarity is the best medicine after being away." He grinned before reaching to open the door for the younger shinobi, content as the smell of coffee and sweets wafted out towards them.

"I try and make it my business to know where all of the café's are since I love coffee and tea too much to go a day without it, plus I'm a bookworm and they're quiet enough to read at.", she admitted with a bit of a grin slipping across her face. Minerva simply turned her body in vertical circle in much the same way someone would roll their eyes: classic intelligent spider and all.

When Ansho opened the door she stepped inside with a nod of thanks and out of the way so that he too could enter. She took a quick glance around, finding the place to be moderately busy but not too insane: just the way she liked it. Minerva remained perched on her shoulder, something that drew the attention of a young Academy student and his Chuunin father. "Daddy, look! That girl has a giant spider! That's so cool! Can I get a spider?! Can I?" The boy's father simply chuckled, glanced over towards them and gave a nod of greeting before looking back to his son. "Perhaps we should start you off with something a little easier to take care of, eh? Then work our way up to spiders if that's what you want." The son just grinned from ear to ear, clearly ecstatic.

The change in atmosphere made Emiko grin a bit herself before looking off towards the counter above which they listed everything they had to offer.

Neo couldn't honestly understand how people drank coffee; it smelled funny, and didn't taste all that good without a whole bunch of cream and sugar in it. Now tea? Tea was something she could drink all day long and never tire of. Which, was precisely why she was in the café to begin with: her jones for some vanilla chai tea was high, and not something that could be ignored any longer. She had completed that mornings mission – a simple task of helping someone to clean up – and had nothing left to do for the rest of the day. So, a book and some tea? Yes please.

Of course, that was until she heard the bell above the door chime and looked up out of habit. Her mismatched gaze fell upon her father, whom she hadn't seen a very long time. A grin spread across her face and she dropped her book which due to it being so new closed automatically, thus causing her to lose her page – not that she cared. She nearly threw the table out of her way as she vaulted out of her chair and all but sprinted the few feet across the café and to her father.

Ignoring for a moment the girl with the spider and the conversation going on nearby she would hurl herself into her father's arms with an ear to ear grin as she hugged him tightly. "Daddy! Daddy you're back! I missed you!"

Anshō gave a chuckle at Emiko's comment about knowing where all the cafe's were so that she could have coffee and a nice place to read. Anshō had to admit that he enjoyed cafe's for similar reasons, but didn't have near as many chances to keep up with knowing where they were. After all, he hadn't even been home to the village for nearly a year, let alone a cafe. Being locked up by the enemy, he hadn't had the chance to, but now here he was again. Home, safe and lucky to be alive and well in a village that he ricked his life for. " I like them for similiar reasons, though I admit, I'm more of a people watcher while I am here in a cafe." He hummed as he followed the teen into the cafe, and found himself comforted by the familiar surroundings.

The conversation of the man and son made him smile before he was grinning at the familiar sound of his daughter's delighted voice. "Neo!" He cooed, as the girl hurled himself at him, pulling her into his arms and lifting her up so that she could wrap his legs around his waist. "My how you've grown! Look at you!" he murmured in slight awe, studying the girl that he had adopted. It hadn't seemed that long, but after a year she had changed so much. He wished that he had been able to see her grow. His duty always pulled him away from her though, leaving her behind. But, their lifestyle wasn't something that he would change for the world. "Emiko, allow me to introduce you to my daughter, Neo. Neo, this is Emiko."

Emiko had barely gotten a chance to properly look around when a shout followed by a blur of pink and brown went by and all but tackled Ansho. She turned her attention in time to see a young female hugging him. It was clear, considering what the young girl was saying, that Ansho was her father; and Emiko was guessing he had been gone away for quite a while to get a greeting such as that.

When Emiko was introduced she grinned and nodded. "It's nice to meet you, Neo." From her left shoulder, which was now where Minvera was perched, she offered the same sort of wave she had given Ansho when introduced; her way of saying hello.

Neo clung to her father: it had been too long since she had last been hugged by him, too long since she had last seen him. "I missed you, missed you, missed you!" Okay, so it wasn't necessarily normal for her to act so... young. In fact, she normally acted wiser beyond her years. But, this was her father, and she had gone a very long period of time without seeing him. So, she was going to act her age at least for a little while.

Upon hearing herself introduced however to the nearby female she shifted her attention off of her father and put her mismatched gaze upon Emiko. She noticed first of course the giant spider - a black widow from the medical knowledge she had, what little that was so far - that was on her being. "Hai there. Whose your spider friend there?" Nope, no weirdness about spiders from Neo: in fact, they were pretty fascinating to her, as were all creatures whose venom could be used as poison or medicine respectfully.

Finally, she would release her father, but remain at his side; nope, she wasn't going anywhere for a while. She was so excited she was even bouncing in place with a grin.

" I missed you too, Neo." Anshō crooned to his daughter, clinging to her, and hiding his face in her two toned hair for a few moments, giving a soft content sigh. He could feel how excited she was. The way that she seemed to tremble with excitement at him being home again. After a year of not being able to be a father to her, they would have a lot of catching up to do. He wondered how the past year had treated her, and he knew that he had to be a better father to her while he was in the village for the next while. He knew that it disappointed her when he had to leave to go on missions for a while. Though, spending an entire year away had been unplanned and quite disappointing. Being captured like that... it had been horrific.

Giving Neo a gentle squeeze he let Neo move herself back down to the floor where she proceeded to bounce up and down on her heels. He chuckled slightly and nodded to Emiko with a smile moving one of his hands to rest in Neo's hair for a moment before ruffling it affectionately, messing it up purposefully. His little girl was just like him, curious about the creatures of the world, wanting to work with them instead of harming them. He was glad that he had at least given her that through his sporadic parenting.

Emiko watched the exchange between the father and daughter with a smile on her face: she had never really had the chance of having a true family - her own parents had kicked her out when she was very young and then had tried several times since then along with the rest of her clan to kill her. So, it was nice to see a father and daughter bond like this, even if it did cause a slight ache to crop up in her chest.

Shaking it off, and trying not to let it show, she turned her gaze onto Neo, grinning at her words. "This is Minerva.", she said as she pointed towards the spider she was introducing. Minerva took that moment to climb from her shoulder and onto her head before she waved once more.

"Shall we find a table?" If they both were in agreement she would wave over one of the waitresses. "Table for three, please." she would said, the waitress nodding in return and leading them to a new table with more than enough room for all of them.

Neo turned her attention from her father and back onto the spider once more. She watched as the spider waved as she was introduced and grinned from ear to ear before returning the wave: she absolutely adored ninja pets, even though she didn't actually have one of her own, yet.

"Oh, oh! Lookie look!" She said with a grin before tugging down the collar of her jacket enough for her hitai-ate to show as she turned back towards her father: she didn't hide it on purpose, it just seemed to be the most comfortable place to wear it, but she also liked her jacket quite a lot despite its high collar. However, it was new, and good news: she had graduated from the Academy while her father was away, and was rather proud of the fact too. "I'm an official genin now.", she said, giving a silly pose with her hands on her hips.

She would then glance back off towards Emiko and the waitress that had popped up, all but skipping over her and gracefully 'throwing' herself down into a chair: beaming with happiness.

It was nice introducing the pair. Perhaps Neo would find a mentor in Emiko. Neo seemed completely fascinated with the spider. Perhaps sometime soon he would get her her first shinobi pet. Though, not quite yet. Shinobi pets were big responsibilities, and he wanted to make sure that she was definitely ready for one. If she wasn't, and couldn't work together properly with it, it would end badly, with one or both of them getting hurt or worse. So, waiting would be better. He gave Emiko a nod as she asked if they should get a table, smiling briefly at the waitress before turning his full attention to his daughter again.

Anshō''s eyes widened considerably when he saw the flash of metal from the hitai-ate. He knew what it was automatically. He'd seen enough of them during his days as a shinobi to know a hitai-ate from the slightest sight of one. His grin, if it were all possible grew even larger, the pride that he felt for his daughter quite obvious as the young teen struck her silly pose. It was wonderful, although melancholy. He wished that he'd been there to be able to see her graduation. It must have been splendid, and he hoped that pictures had been taken so that he would be able to see all that had gone on.

"Congratulations, Neo! I knew you could do it." He grinned after his daughter, following he to the table that Emiko had garnered for the both of them. He sat and studied his daughter for a few moments before gazing at the menu trying to focus on what he wanted to order. Though, it was a little difficult considering the news that Neo had just surprised him with. A genin. Perhaps she was ready for a shinobi pet then. Perhaps.... perhaps he would get her one as a graduation present. It would have to be a discussion for later though, when they were at home.

He smiled and looked at the waitress as she came back over to see if they were ready to order, closing his menu and handing it to her. "A simple black coffee for me, please." He hummed his order, knowing he'd add just a bit of sugar from the table to it, but not a lot. He knew he wouldn't be able to eat anything just yet, but coffee would be nice to keep him awake for the meeting that was still to come. .

It seemed that no sooner had Emiko sat down and looked at her menu that she suddenly found that what had been a group of three had suddenly turned into a group of five: the additional two being two ANBU members whom had appeared seemingly out of nowhere like they so often did. "Emiko Sabure..."

"That'd be me."

"Come with us, please."

Emiko would raise a brow; being a bit of a smart mouth and all she couldn't help herself from saying, "Do I actually have a choice?"

"It's for your own safety.", the other ANBU spoke.

Emiko would turn her attention back onto Ansho and Neo, smiling softly. "It was nice meeting you two. Perhaps we can bump into each other later on." She actually meant it; it was nice to meet two people who didn't have a problem with Minerva when the majority of the village did. With a sigh and a roll of her eyes she would turn her attention back onto the ANBU members and stand up, following the first out of the shop while the second followed behind.

Her father congradulated her, commenting that he knew she could do it, and it caused her to positively beam with happiness. Unlike the average child she hadn't been upset over her father missing her graduation; she knew that his job - and the job she had been working so hard towards having - required her father to be gone for long periods of time doing tasks that benefited the village and kept it safe. It was a dangerous job, and very demanding. But, it was a job she now could do - sort've.

She listened as her father ordered a coffee and then looked up to the waitress herself. "I'll take a banana nut muffin and a pumpkin spice tea, please..." Neo's voice suddenly trailed off as her mismatched gaze focused on the two ANBU who had arrived rather suddenly. Blinking in curiosity she listened to the quick conversation between them and Emiko before Emiko got up and followed them. The waitress, a bit shaken, took a moment to refocus on writing down their order before she disappeared.

Neo, brows furrowed, turned her attention back onto her father. [color#FF0099]"I wonder what that was about..."[/color], she mused out loud. They had mentioned that it was for Emiko's own safety... was someone after her? Was she in some kind of trouble? Neo knew as a lowly genin she likely wasn't going to get any answers if she even tried to ask, so there was no point, but she couldn't help but wonder.

Anshō’s gaze snapped away from the waitress and his daughter when he saw the pair of ANBU moving over to them, his brow pinching considerably. For a moment he studied the pair and then looked to Emiko, eyes that had been friendly and kind hardening a bit into a suspicious gaze. Had he taken kindly to a girl that he should not have? Years of being a shinobi surely would have given him pause if this girl was not a friendly. But… perhaps his heart was just too kind? Still, after all he had been through. Particularly in the past year where he had been held captive, surely he would have noticed something was up. The dark haired man frowned a little, suspicion boiling through him, but at the moment it was not his place to interrupt the ANBU’s actions. He would ask discrete questions at the administration building in order to find an answer for this predicament. He really didn’t want to think that the red head with the spider were malicious people after he had spent some time with them.

“It was nice meeting you too, Emiko. Perhaps we will meet again.” Anshō replied, though the kindheartedness that had been in his voice was now a bit clipped, a sternness there that hadn’t been. The voice of a hardened shinobi in the face of one that had possibly betrayed his kindness, not that he knew at all what her infraction that caused the ANBU of all things to get involved in was. He gave her a grim smile and inclined his head slightly to the ANBU in a move of politeness, knowing that there could very well be familiar faces under those masks. If he knew them, and they knew him it probably would spread even faster that he was back in the village now. The communication lines of the ANBU worked very fast.

That meant he probably shouldn’t linger here in the café. If anything, he didn’t want to accidentally be labeled as a traitor for not reporting in immediately. He sighed as he watched the figures trail out of the café, watching the red head for as long as he could see her, then he turned back to Neo, giving her a small nod.  “I wonder what that was about too, Neo. Perhaps I will get some answers when I go to report in.” He sighed, moving to stand up. As much as he wanted to sit there and simply have some time with his daughter in the café he knew that he shouldn’t put it off with ANBU milling about.  He sighed, knowing that the coffee would probably take a few more moments  to get out to them. “Which, I should probably go do now. All things considered. Would you get my coffee to go for me, Neo? I’ll meet you at home hopefully in an hour or two. If you don’t have anything else to do?”

Her father seemed likewise curious as to what that was about. Neo couldn't put her finger on it; was Emiko in some kind of trouble, or some kind of danger? Surely it had to be something big if ANBU was involved in the matter. Emiko hadn't seemed like a bad person, but then again shinobi were trained from the Academy to be able to decieve. Had that been what all of this was about? The very thought of it was enough to have her forehead wrinkling a bit in deep thought.

As her mind was beginning to wander she noticed movement from her father; he was standing up with a sigh. Was their little break over already? It was saddening in a way, given how long it had been since she had last seen her father, but she knew that their jobs were important - his more so than hers since he was a Jounin - and they were jobs that had to be completed.

Neo nodded her head yes when her father asked if she would get his coffee: she had no plans later on, and even if she had she would have canceled them for a chance to get to spend some more time with her father. "Sure no problem. I planned on heading home from here, anyway. I'll make something for dinner for when you get home, too.", she said, pepping right up again. Neo never stayed upset for long; their little cafe trip might have been cut short, but she would get to see her father again in an hour or so and she would simply have to be patient - or otherwise find something to distract herself with until then, such as cooking dinner.

Anshō really did wish that he didn’t have to abandon his daughter after only being with her for a few moments. But, he really did need to check in for the first time since he’d just gotten back after being away for so long. He smiled at his daughter apologetically, moving around the table to pull her into a hug and ruffle her hair again. “Thanks, Neo. Dinner sounds wonderful, you’ve probably become a even better cook during my time away.” He smiled before pulling away from the girl. “I’ll see you in just a little bit.” He assured before moving to exit the café.

Leaving the interior of the café, the dark haired man was hit by the cool air of their village that resided in the clouds, and a slight shiver did escape him, considering he had been in the comfortable café for some time, even if it had not been as long as he would have liked it to be. He sighed and rolled his shoulders. The meeting with Emiko and his daughter had indeed rejuvenated him a bit, but he had hoped for the coffee. He really had. But, life had other ideas, so his tiredness would have to linger until he was home and got his fingers on the coffee that Neo would bring home for him.

Stifling a yawn he made his way towards the Administration building, picking up his speed a bit because he simply wanted to get it over and done with. He remembered when he was younger having to do missions in the building, simple maintenance and such things. But as such, he had watched the building change over the years. And it had changed a little bit during his time away, surely, not that the exterior had changed very much. He smiled as he was greeted by the entrance and slowed, finding himself walking into the building.

The interior had changed a couple times during his time away it looked like. From what he could remember it had been a different shade of paint. Though, he could have been wrong. Still, he found his gaze trailing over the interior of the building again, taking in all of the details until he arrived at the main desk that one was to check in at whenever one went to the administration building. “Tako, Anshō here to report in. Is the Kage around?” He hummed, hoping that there wouldn’t be a huge fuss made, considering that he’d been missing for an entire year.