We're Home [P]

Upon arrival at the village gates, the young girl would drop by the little guardhouse and clarified anything that needed to be clarified. The journey was exceptionally quiet; being one of not many words, she didn’t attempt to strike a conversation. It felt somewhat awkward at first, but that didn’t matter. Maybe she should have taken the initiative to be a bit more diplomatic and make him feel more comfortable? Or maybe it was the right decision to stay quiet? What ifs and rhetorical questions—oh don't we all love them?

Taking a deep breath of the humid air, she closed her eyes for a split second, feeling the soft breeze on her skin followed by the rustling of leaves. It was nice being back home after quite some time. Turning around to meet the eyes of Salzem, she would softly say, “I’ll direct you to the Hokage office.” It made sense to send him to the Hokage's office, right? She was sure the Hokage would like to have a word with him, be it a welcome or maybe a serious conversation—who knows. Leading the way, she assumed that the male would trail along.

Salzem had never forgotten what Konoha had looked like since his year in isolation up in Sunagakure, but the sensation of the cool breeze running over his pale skin, the sound of the rustling leaves in the wind, the feeling of walking on land that wasn't sand... those were just ghosts of memories revitalized in the spur of the moment. It felt grand to be back here again, despite the circumstances that brought him here. He was no longer trying to hide it; Salzem was openly smiling now. He had missed the wonderful rustling green, he had missed the cool breezes, he missed the sounds of birds chirping and the smell of fresh oxygen. Salzem was home at last, enjoying everything he had left behind before. Oh, he couldn't wait to tell Kasai all about this, to hear his voice again. He- Then, his pleasure ended, the spring in his step melting to sludge. His heart seemed to shrivel up in the span of a few seconds as he remembered his old teacher had died. 2 of his friends murdered for reasons never told. Kasai deemed himself a traitor, Isshin was brutally killed without mercy... He had two graves to visit when... IF... he survives the encounter with the Hokage. All the goodness in the surrounding area seemed to fade away into a tunnel of heavy blackness, the only visible things being the road in front of his feet. His body felt so much heavier..., like he was wearing weighted clothing... In his moment of brooding, the girl who had escorted him, said that she was going to escort him to the Hokage's chambers. Right... Jason.... that guy who was never around when you needed him... He supposed that he shouldn't have been surprised it took him so long to send someone after him then. Guy couldn't even be bothered to spend 5 measly minutes discussing whether or not Salzem could leave the leaf. It was like the Jason never cared about the ninja under his charge. It was going to hurt to face him, seeing as he never lost his identity as a leaf ninja, but he was determined to keep his temper and not lash out. It would only hurt his chances at walking away alive.

"I know where the office is." the lycan grumbled, but didn't openly resist her escort.

It was a nice walk down the streets of Konohagakure until Salzem broke the short-lived silence. Questions swirled in her head as the boy trailing behind her announced that he knew where the office was after Ayumi had told him that she would be sending him to the Hokage's office. Is he telling me to leave? Should I leave him on his merry way then? Should I ignore him? Should I pretend like I did not hear what he said and take him to the office like I'm taking a kindergartner to school? Decisions. Ayumi side-eyed the boy having decided to ignore him. Like it or not, I'm taking you there, the girl thought to herself as she kept her mouth shut. If he were to have gotten a bad impression of her because of it, then oh well—life goes on; there is no need to be hung up over that.

Upon arrival at the administration building, she'd bid him farewell before making her merry way home.

[Exiting unless stopped]

The girl didn't respond to his comment and instead, continued to lead him up to the hokage's office, as slilent as ever. Whatever... it wasn't like she was making this trip unbearable or something. The moment they reached the outside of the office, the girl bid him farewell and disappeared into the populous pf his home. Time to face the monster, huh? With only the slightest hesitation, Salzem stepped into the office building, ready to face Jason Senju.

(Exit unless stopped)