Akisame sat there on the ground with the man and lady next to him, trying to 
sort things out, "Ok...things come and try to kill me...get saved...kill some 
stuff...leave....guy comes...SWAT team comes...guy goes in, most of SWAT 
runs...entire place turns into a raging ball of fire and yet here we 
are...perfectly normal...what the HELL just happened?"

The man sat up and leaned back on his hands, thinking to himself for a 
reasonable answer before coming up with, "Your guess is as good as mine..."

The lady sighed to herself and smiled slightly, "It's a long story..."

[[It's all so clear now.]]

"Shut up"  Akisame said absently, trying to concentrate.

"Excuse me?"  The other two responded.

[[You're like the mouse that just keeps trying to grab the electrified piece 
of cheese.]]

Akisame grumbled something about Nac under his breath and began to make his 
way to his feet, "Nothing...just figured it's better I don't ask a lot of 
questions.  Weird stuffs been happening and I'm gonna get weird answers...and 
I don't need that right now.  What I need is something to eat...man I'm 
hungry...while you two are contemplating...whatever I'm gonna go grab 
something to eat."

The man spoke quickly before Akisame began to walk away, "Wait, I've got some 
food in my car, you can help yourself to it if you'd like."

Akisame smiled down at him and gave a pat on the back, "Yur a good guy...oh 
yeah lady, sorry bout the pill...."

Quickly she spoke to reassure him, "Don't worry about it...you can keep the 
envelope I gave you...no thanks required."

"Alright...must be my lucky day...I'm just...gonna go to the car..."  They 
nodded as he began to walk away, talking over his shoulder.

He pulled on the handle and opened the door, after some foraging he managed 
to find some dried fruit, a few rice balls, some rolls and a few containers 
of water.  He reached in and grabbed a few rolls and a bottle of water, then 
leaned against the car and took a bite of the roll and a long drink of the 
water.  

A drop of water fell from his chin and splashed into a puddle at his feet, 
probably formed from a previous shower.  He looked down into the puddle's 
reflection and saw himself, some dried blood and mud on the right side of his 
face, along with a few bangs and bruises that covered the rest of his body.  
Something was happening, he could feel it...a strange feeling, not good nor 
bad.  He took the bottle, tilted his head back and let the water splash on 
his face, rolling down his neck, chest and back, washing away some of the 
black and red that was once apart of him.  He shook his head, rattling his 
braids and looked again into the reflection.  He saw his purple eyes...the 
beads that covered the braids of his hair...

[[Let me tell you, you're lucky Namahs strengthened your skeletal structure 
like he did, I thought for sure...Akisame are you listening to me?]]

Akisame blinked out of his trance and responded, "Huh?  Yeah...last week..."

[[You didn't hear a word I said did you?]]

Akisame took another bite of his roll, "Strong skeletal structure, don't 
worry I heard ya."

[[I will say though...as hard as it is, somewhere in your infinite 
idiocy...you did well.]]

He thought about it for a moment, then noticed he was feeling much better 
then he should, "Hmm...your right...I had RAGE set at 25%...what's my current 
body temperature?"

[[You were holding at around 102 the whole time, it's dropped down to 101.2 
currently.  Really quite phenomenal.]]

"Heh...that's great...I'll master this piece of tin yet..."

[[Does that mean you'll stop trying to remove the implants?]]

Akisame chuckled lightly, "I wouldn't go that far."  He looked down at 
himself again and realized what a mess he was, "Yeesh...I gotta sew my 
clothes back up...not to mention take a bath...a LONG one."

Grabbing a few more rolls and rice balls for the road he was about to turn to 
the other couple, but when he saw they were engaged in a conversation, he 
decided to just keep silent and walk back to the dojo.

"Once again..." he began with a mouthful of food, "...Japan's hero comes out 
on top."

[[Oh brother...]]

He wandered into town, walking down the street, his supply of food depleted, 
"Almost there...almost...ah, here we go..." he said in relief as he spotted 
the dojo just ahead.  At the door the stranger from earlier still sat, 
"I...won't bother her...well maybe later...bath comes first, I'm not talking 
to anyone like this...ahha, the back door..."

He went around back and slipped inside the house, made his way to the 
bathroom, and turned on the hot water.  Laying his beaten and torn clothing 
in a pile on the ground, he slipped into the comforting warmth of the bath.

"Ahhhh..."