When you wish upon a star...

Kazuo, who’d been lurking on the borders of Kumogakure, had noticed irregular movements of the village’s populous, particularly its ninja. Really, he longed for some sort of purpose in life, and as of late, this was all he could do to keep himself sated To sit here and watch, as it seemed he always did. Amegakure was a village that he recognized, having visited it once before. His introduction to its people had been... Well, it had been disheartening. Still, all the more reason for him to investigate. He was tired of sitting around in silence, watching the world go round without him.

Standing from the spot in the forest that he'd sat, he would brush himself off, the scar on his hand ever present in his vision. The letters A.K. across the back of his right hand, long weathered and partially healed with time, acted like a brand. It was distinctive enough that Kazuo could be recognized by the mark, but he'd never given an opponent enough time to notice it. Since he'd left the village in The Land of Iron, he'd cut down every opponent he'd met. 

As he walked, his Meigan active and surveying the area for threats, he thought about the people he'd killed. From his home, he'd murdered countless samurai to avenge his name, people he'd grown up with, people he'd spent his life training with. Kazuo had shown no remorse for them as he slaughtered his former comrades. And then there was the people who'd picked fights with him on the borders. Even Neku, the one who'd killed Aika, had fallen at his feet. Aika had been avenged, truly. Still, why did Kazuo feel empty inside? Like he'd lost his purpose?
"There's no need to be so hard on yourself, Kazuo." Cooed a familiar, soothing voice. "You did what you did because it was necessary." She assured him. As Kazuo walked, he shook his head.
"What would Aika or Miyamoto say if they could see what I've become, Yuumei? I don't think they'd be proud of what they saw." He said bleakly. 
"That's not true. They'd see a survivor. Someone who had the to press on, against all the adversity they faced. Despite all the odds, you're still here, Kazuo, surviving. That's not nothing." Yuumei explained coolly. A sigh from Kazuo indicated that these words didn't hold much weight with him.
"And all the bodies I had to step over to stay alive?" He asked her, doubtful. "Were they nothing?" He added. Yuumei did seem fazed by his response, for once. She kept quite for a moment, as if collecting herself. Then, as if verbally shrugging, she answered quite simply.
"A necessary sacrifice, Kazuo. It was you or them, and you weren't going down without a fight. It's what Aika and Miyakoto would have wanted. You know that." She cooed, coercing him ever so gently to accept her point of view. Maybe it was working. Resisting her efforts, Kazuo promptly changed the subject.

"You know, I've been thinking. Isn't it kind of dumb that I call you Yuumei?" He asked, quite bluntly. Taken aback, Yuumei took a moment to figure out how to reply. 
"I... I'm not sure I follow you, Kazuo." She pondered.
"Well, it'd be like if you called me "Human" all the time. I'm basically just calling you what you are, instead of who you are." he explained, with nothing but silence to answer him. "I dunno. Maybe it's just because I'm a samurai, and we're really into titles and all that shit, but it seems odd to just call you "Yuumei." Especially when I rock a name like Kazuo Kemuri-Shinkou, of the Sen no Ken, Flashblade, and Singing Blade, apprentice to Miyamoto." He explained, getting rather theatrical with his own, long winded and extended title, that he swore he would never actually use. Yuumei giggled as he continued. "And this is Yuumei."

[color:3689=pink.]"Okay, maybe I see your point. What would you call me, then?" She asked him. Kazuo froze. 
"Uh, there isn't a name that you'd want? I figured you'd have one in mind, being an ancient spirit made of dark energy and all that." He said. She shook her head, though Kazuo couldn't see it, obviously, so she clarified.
"Names don't really matter to me. What if you called me... Aika?" She purred. Kazou's face contorted in momentary rage, which quickly subsided as he regained his composure. "...Was that a no?"

"Definitely a no. Never ask me that again, please." Kazuo responded, now focusing on his travels. He'd made significant progress through the mountains of kumogakure to the bear country, which Kazuo could only assume was named for its local fauna, or perhaps the unbearable lack of anything interesting in this country. The path seemed to stretch into eternity, and there wasn't much of anything to look at. 

Walking along the paths now, Kazuo noticed that the coniferous woods around him were starting to warp and mutilate into marshes and swamps, the ones he remembered from his previous trip. He half wondered if he'd encounter a musical put on just for him by the seemingly desperate for attention kage that had once inhabited the village. She'd been rather creepy, but nice enough, he supposed. He doubted he'd be coming to the village proper any time soon though, just to avoid the theatrics of the welcome wagon. Well, here he was.

(901/900 required Wc to insta travel to Ame)
(Also exit, obviously)