Two Moons, One Wolf

On this beautiful clear sky day Love was just wandering around this new village. Getting to know her new surrounds by making a mental map of the landscape. She would need to know where the stores were during her stay in this uber sunny place. Love had expected the people here to be darker given the climate but somehow their style of dress protected them. She didn't understand it but she'd research it some other time. The young kunoichi had yet to see anyone she knew on her tour around the town, maybe she'd meet someone new. Even if it was someone from Konoha that she'd never met before it would still be exciting.

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Salzem quietly contemplated the graveyard of his home and all the names waiting there, all the people he was never there to save. He got like this sometimes... some cruel off-shoot of sentimental when he'd think back on earlier events with a ghost of his pain still haunting him. He'd done a good job of forgetting it, perhaps even blurring some of the people away in his mind but then something would pop up that reminded him of Kasai... or Kouse... Isshin... And he'd almost burst into tears. He really couldn't help it. One should never tell a soldier to "grow-up", to "move-on" or "accept-the-past" because that soldier has seen more combat, killed more people, or seen far more of his friends die than you EVER had. The lycan had been seeing the local therapist (he hated them) because he thought- no, he DID need it. As much as it hurt, as much blood would flow and the tears, Salzem needed to open up those old wounds lest whatever progress he had made was lost... And he almost regretted going because the therapist said EXACTLY what one should never tell a soldier, just not in so many words.

He came looking for the hand of a stranger, a new, fresh shoulder he could cry on, someone that could help him understand himself but the man was just a war-hardened and crushed as Salzem was, though far older. A soldier should never council a soldier because the scars get in the way. Those still healing bleeds their blood on those they're trying to help and those healed are to stiff to run their fingers along their own scars... He tells him everything he should know, practical and no one could debate that, but if Salzem wanted to get beat with a stick, he'd go back to the graveyard... He wanted help, not discipline and that's exactly what he got... But just speaking about it helped... Even if the grizzled old therapist was a man hardened by war, even if he had forgotten what it felt like to bleed underneath all that scar-tissue... just venting it without breaking something or someone was... good. And he planned to go back, hopefully with someone softer if he was lucky...

It was after his 3rd session with this old man that Salzem was out today, his emotions still raw from having spilled them to this guy so recently, but over all, it was better out than in. For the first time in a long time, he'd had the smallest smile upon his lips as he walked out of that office and into the market... Everything felt fresher... things he was numb too he could feel if only a tiny bit. As he walked, he listened, he watched, he felt, though the one thing he wasn't watching was where he was going. He ended up colliding with a pink-haired girl a bit shorter than he, knocking them both out of their way rather roughly.

"Oh... Sorry." Salzem apologized, turning around to face the girl. His eyes fell on her headband. "You from the leaf?"

"Ow." Love said as someone had walked right into her. "No I wasn't paying attention either." She replied as he asked if she was from the hidden leaf village. "Yea, what about you?" She asked looking over the male standing before her who wasn't wearing a visible ninja headband, if he wore one at all. "I'm here for the jounin exams, but that's kind of obvious huh?" Love chuckled. "My name is Love but you may address me as Ai-sama." The young Hyuuga added with a smile as the male didn't seem to be older than her.

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He was glad the girl didn't tear him a new one for making an honest mistake. In fact, she was rather nonchalant about the whole thing and actually apologized herself, confessing that she wasn't looking where she was going either. Upon further inspection of the girl, the lycan noticed that her hair was actually more of a pinkish-red, though the amount of pink within far out weighed the red... Further more, if Salzem didn't see the Konoha headband across her forehead, he might've thought she belonged to Suna by her attire, all the whites and browns, though her blank, white eyes were another hint Salzem was surprised he missed. Where else would you find Hyuuga if not in Konoha? Upon answering his (now) obvious question, the girl's milky white eyes ran all over his body before finally landing on the headband that lay tied around his neck, now seeing that he too was from her village... To this end, he wouldn't respond with a simple yes-or-no answer, allowing his attire to speak for itself. Of course, if she belonged to Konoha, she would be here for the jounin exams. That would be the assumption given that was the reason they were here in the first place. He only wondered why she looked so young... 2 years younger to be exact.

Salzem  cocked his head to the side in wonder as the girl introduced herself as Love, but requested he refer to her as Ai-Sama... for reasons he didn't understand.

"I'm Salzem and I'm here for the Jounin Exam too... go figure." He shrugged his shoulders lightly as if it were no big deal before noticing the people around them were either held up or flowing about around the two ninja. "Hey. Uh... Ai-sama." He decided to humor her. "Lets get out of these people's way, huh? I know a nice little spot for us to chat. If she agreed to come along, Salzem would lead her to a nice little bench out in front of Suna's gates, small, but enough room to support two people comfortably. Salzem would take a seat on one side while offering the other to his new pink-haired companion before continuing.

"So. What's your story?"

Further examination of the male she found a leaf headband hanging around his neck. Looking up to his face she was mesmerized by his blood red eyes. Love then watch as the male tilted his head after she told him how to address her, she grinned briefly. "Cool maybe we'll get to fight each other. There seem to be a lot of Konoha ninja participating." She added before he suggested that the talk some place less crowded. "Sure." The red head would follow the dark haired male to where ever he lead them. Walking out of the village gates Love didn't know what kind of quite spot they would be going to but spotting a small bench, that the male would sit on and offer her a seat, she saw how this was a good spot. There weren't as many people walking around and it was a bit safer than actually being in the village because of the guards that were in plain sight. Following Salzem's example Love sat on the bench, looking out into the vast desert as she was asked another question. Love thought over the question a bit before answering. 

"There isn't much to it. I'm the daughter of the Hyuga clan leader, so life has been pretty comfortable for me. As you can see tradition isn't really my thing." She said with an airy laugh, as her style of dress was traditional but her skin and hair weren't. "Of course this has caused a grievance with some of the clansmen, but I don't let it get to me." She said, then turned and asked, "What about you?"

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Salzem raised his eyebrows in surprise as the girl explained that it was nothing special that she was the daughter of the head of the Hyuuga clan and that her life had been relatively comfortable. "Really...? The kid of the Hyuuga head...? Well.. uh... it's an honor to be in your presence...Ai-Sama" Salzem bowed his head a bit in a sort of respectful gesture. He didn't really know how to react to someone of this status. He knew that Kage's work on a general system of informality for the sake of those approaching but for the minor nobles... they might want a bit more respect. A moment later, she commented how she wasn't one for tradition and instantly, Salzem felt the slap of the stupid-stick on his cheek. Though, Love wasn't wrong and her appearance told the truth. Where the typical hyuuga was pale and had black/brown hair, Love's was tan-ish and pink. Were it not for her eyes, Salzem would never had guessed she was a hyuuga. Were it not for his, he could probably pass himself off as one.

Love further mentioned that because of her... unusual ways, she had stirred up something within the clan, though she'd be remiss to let it get under her skin. In this way, she was respectable enough, envious even... He could feel his skin being picked at from the inside, becoming thinner and thinner as the pieces fall away. When she asked about him, Salzem paused, almost as if he was shocked she'd turn the question on him despite it being the next logical step in the conversation. Perhaps he was hoping against hope that she wouldn't or something of that particular nature. He supposed he should say something as equally grandiose, go into his whole backstory on how his lungs were infected jell-o for most of his life or that he found out his mother hid another sibling from him... OR how his dad was killed by Konoha's equivalent to the Mafia. Any place would be a good leaping point for the truth, but he didn't really like any of them... Too... personal. He already spilled his guts to his councilor... not again today. So he made up his own.

"Well..." He started, his mind coming up with a story as he went. "I was born in Konoha to a people that could... uh... do this." Salzem raised an arm out before him, the limb suddenly morphing and contorting, bulging and stretching. White fur grew from his skin, his nails stretched and sharpened into claws, his arm becoming that of a ferocious beast momentarily. Salzem looked at it strangely, a mix of appreciation and sadness.

"My parents were normal besides... the obvious. No clan, no politics like yourself, but I had my own share of issues. People... thought I was kinda scary because I could do this and I started to hate them for it... Had a friend... he ended up dying to.... I don't even remember why... someone just killed him."

Salzem's story gradually altered to fit reality without him even noticing.

"Kept making more friends... found a teacher... nice guy... His name was Kasai... he-" He stopped, realizing he was rambling. "Ah.... but yeah... that's my story in a nut shell. As you can see, I'm not nearly as interesting."

Love smiled when Salzem, the way he paused while thinking of what say was funny to her. She shook her head still smiling when he bowed. Only one other person had done that, thinking of that other time made Love realize that she hadn't seen Maloren in a while. The girl waited as he paused before talking about himself, maybe he was trying to be mysterious or maybe his past wasn't all sunshine and smiles. Which would suck but as ninja it's something to be expected, yet that didn't make it any easier to live with.  Love perked up when he began to speak again. Watching his arm stretch and grow the red head was amazed when white fur sprouted from it. Her eyes wide, this meant he was like part dog right? She knew about the Inuzuka clan but his ability took that to a whole nother level.

Tuning back into his story, as choppy as it was she was able to keep up, she gathered that he was only giving her the cliff notes but as he continued on she understood why. She let him finish talking before adding in her thoughts, "I think that's an amazing ability but I can see how it would cause people to fear you. It sucks that you've lost people, I've had clansmen die but never any that I was close to. I don't think being a Hyuuga or the heir to a clan makes me that interesting it's just a fact." She paused looking back out into the desert. "What I find interesting is my other half, I know nothing about my mother's family. Just that they were dark like me, I know I have my maternal grandfather's hair but that's it." Love took up a few stands of her red locks in her hand. "People usually think I'm an Uzumaki until they see my eyes." She sighed but realized that she was rambling, he probably didn't want to hear about the minimal troubles of a rich kid.

"Let's talking about something exciting!" The tone of her voice matching her last word. "What kind of things can you do with that arm? Is it just that arm or does it affect your whole body!?" The Hyuuga was truly captivated by this. Her doujutsu has been hailed as one of the three most powerful eyes but she was more intrigued by kekkei genkai that effected other parts of the body.

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Salzem smiled a bit as Love gave her own input on his powers, luckily being praise of sorts. Though instead of her praise being intensely overstated, she instead commented how she could see why other people were afraid of him before, an honest viewpoint he certainly appreciated. Salzem listened intently as the girl commented how she herself had lost people, though no one she actually knew or cared about. Sure, when a clansmen died, it was sad, but it was nothing compared to losing a close friend, especially when one didn't even know the guy who was lost. The pair looked out into the desert, pausing a moment as if to offer the two  lost souls a moment of silence before continuing... a moment Salzem realized he'd never given until now. Love continued, mentioning that she never knew her "other half", referring to the other side of her family. It seemed from that branch her appearance fell, that that was where her skin tone was derived and from her grand-mother, her hair. He smiled somewhat when Love commented that before, people had mistaken her for an uzumaki before they looked into her eyes. He could see that... People often mistook Salzem as Uchiha with sharingan up! He was glad to have found someone who could connect with his (minor) problems, someone that understood more than a little.

Before Salzem could bring up another topic, the girl had beaten him too it, wondering if he could do more with his jutsu than just his arm. Well... of course he could and he'd certainly be willing to show her the full-body transformation if only the first form. The lycan smiled a bit more, getting up from his seat to give him some room for his jutsu to work.

"Sure. I can transform a limb, or my whole body... I'll show you." With about 1 and 1/2 meters between them, Salzem began to transform at speeds of 150, his entire, thinner frame expanding, growing more muscular, doggish, his head stretching outwards into that of a wolf's, his ears shifting to the top of his head and growing out like that of a canine. Hair sprouted, claws grew and in only a few moments, before the high-born Hyuuga stood a true-to-life werewolf, towering over where she sat. The Lycan still grinned, though it was a bit more gnarled in this form, harder to make perfect.

"Here it is..." He growled. He couldn't help it. He practically had to force his voice to sound human, to make his wolven growls and snorts understandable. "What do you think...?"

Love was practically on the edge of her seat when her companion said that he could do a full body transformation. She watched the male stand up creating distance between them and, what seemed instantaneously to Love, he transformed into a gigantic wolf. Okay maybe not gigantic but he was still pretty big especially since he was only a few inches taller than her before. Seeing him like that caused her to think how fun it would be to run around with those ears and a tail, but then she heard him speak. "You can talk!? That is by far the best transformation I've ever seen!" Love stood up and walked closer to him to pet his fur. It was soft and fluffy, a bit messy but she was still able to run her fingers through it. She could just imagine the chakra flowing through his body and the power and speed he could reach with these enhanced muscles, but she wasn't about to use her byakugan on him.

That would be a slight invasion of privacy since they had just met. "How long can you stay like this?" She asked, there were many things she now wanted to know. This body would be perfect for taijutsu although Love had spent the past few years trying to break away from tai and studying ninjutsu. But she couldn't help but be captivated, if only her kekkei genkai gave her a bodily transformation. And no creepy veins surrounding the eyes doesn't count, it's more of a defect if anything. Love would keep her hand on his fur until he changed back into his normal form. 

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Salzem would have blushed if his new face allowed it, Love's comment striking a certain nerve in him. Not many had complimented this form in general and found that he quite enjoyed the positive remarks. While he contemplated this, Love took the liberty of his distraction to run her fingers through some of his arm-fur, her fingers flowing through it almost as if it were the fluff of a cloud: Soft, gentle, warm, almost like that of a cat's, less course than a dog's.  He had to say... as weird as if was to admit it... Feeling someone's fingers running through his fur wasn't a BAD sensation. He would never admit that he ENJOYED it, however. He wasn't a dog despite his current shape.

With a certain sparkle of interest in her eye, Love asked how long could he stay in this form, and the lycan paused, never having thought about that before... His lycanthropy seemed to vary between combat or out of combat, or during that time where he couldn't change back that Koroshi ended up fixing....The lycan was silent for a few moments more, merely contemplating the question before he rolled his massive shoulders in a shrug.

"I.... Not long. It's not like the sharingan or the kaguyas and their bones... This is... harder to maintain." He looked at Love strangely, or as strangely as a man-beast such as himself was capable of, noticing her hand was still either stroking or just resting on his furry hand. He wondered that if he shaved it in this shape... would it stay that way after he shifted back...?

Regardless of this thought, the lycan would shrink back down into his full human shape, Love's arm dropping to her side as there was no more fluffy fur to stroke.

"Why were you petting me...?" He asked, confused whether to be angry (that she treated him like a mutt) or... something else.