Smile and Wave Boys

Upon exiting the cave she'd spent umpteen hours in fighting this bear, she happened to be riding, in order to sign the summoning contract Love witnessed that all of her fellow leaf ninjas had retreated to the village as Sunagakure had been under attack from Kumogakure. "What the hell? Just how long was I actually in there?" The mammal under her shrugged as if she'd actually been talking to him, causing her to grip tufts of his fur to maintain her balance. Normally she would go over and find out from some exactly just what was going on but after seeing Kyson and some other Suna ninja walking inside with one of the two foreigners she thought it best to leave with her people. But wait had she heard correct? Kyson was the new Kazekage? Wow to think that she had just fought that guy, she couldn't help but imagine what would've happened if she had won the fight. Of course, she knew she wouldn't be chosen to lead but would he still have been appointed if he lost? The girl's train of thought was interrupted by another's words. "Are we just gonna stand here all day? It's hot." These annoying words were being spoken to her by her bear summon Marezou. "No, we're leaving now." There were too many unanswered questions: Where was the old Kazekage, Koroshi? Why was Konoha leaving when their allies were in danger? Why did Kumo choose to attack Suna?

It was best that they get to safety and then have things explained when everything was calmer. Unfortunately for the newly appointed chunin she'd missed the escape bandwagon and would have to find the way back on her own. This usually wouldn't be an issue for the Hyuuga as she always made sure to pay attention to her surroundings when traveling but in the desert, there were no landmarks that could point her in the right direction. And Marezou was no help since he'd never been outside of that cave. "That looks like a good direction to go in." Marezou rolled his eyes, every direction looked the same, but he began to walk towards the space the kunoichi had pointed in. "Put a pep in your step, I don't wanna anyone catching us." He grumbled but complied as he would likely be dragged into a fight should one break out. Although he could de-summon himself he didn't want the girl learning how to reverse summon if she didn't already know that was a thing. Now running the wind blowing both of their hair as the sun began to set the pair made it to the edge of wind country. They could see the line of sand blurring into rocks and grass but they were both too hungry to go on. Sadly the red haired girl hadn't packed any extra snack since she didn't expect to be in the cave for so long. As she dismounted the bear Love pulled her sack over her head, looking inside she found the nearly empty jar of honey she'd used to seduce the creature. "There's not enough here for the both of us..." She looked from the jar to her companion, rock, paper, scissors could decide who gets it but it still wasn't enough to fill one person up. Marezou sighed. "Well, I'm going back home. I guess I could get you something while I'm there." He replied as if he had a choice, the girl had met his mother and there was no way he could lie to her which meant he'd be sent back with a ton of crap. "Just don't go wandering off." He told her before turning into a puff of smoke.

"Right because I'm dumb enough to cross country borders in the middle of the night." She said to herself now that she was alone. Though as she sat waiting she wished that they had stopped just a bit closer, it got really cold in the desert at night. "Well maybe just for a few seconds" As dangerous as it was she doubted that Marezou would bring back sticks for the fire and she would need to keep warm at least until he came back. Besides she was a shinobi she could defend herself against any creeps hanging around the edge of their country. So with that notion, the red head set out for the thicket. She used her ninja speed to quickly gather two large bundles of sticks. Though she moved fast it took quite a bit of time as many of the sticks she found were moist. Odd but she didn't think twice about it, she only made sure that no one was watching her. Back on the right side, Love dropped all of the firewood in a pile as she got excited about using the summoning jutsu for the first time. Performing the Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram seals after biting her thumb to draw blood the Hyuuga placed her hand on the ground away from the pile. "Summoning jutsu!" She said and then backed away, like before a cloud of smoke appeared. With it was Marezou standing on his hind legs with arms full of food. "How rude I didn't even get to say goodbye." He said and crumbs fell from his mouth. Love ignored it in this moment because her hunger was greater than her need to point out the beast's lack of manners.

"I'm sure whoever you were talking to is glad you're gone." The bear was the one to do the ignoring this time. The two sat on the cold ground in unison, while Love rummaged through the goods Marezou set fire to the gathered wood. "Oh cool, you have fire nature just like your dad." That comment slightly irritated the bear, just how much did they tell this human. "I'm surprised they didn't make you an honorary bear." The girl gave a confused look but he just shook his head indicating that it was nothing. After that, the two conversed idly before falling asleep. When Love awoke the next morning she instantly noticed that she was indoors and Marezou was back in the summon world. "I see you're an early riser as well." She heard a male voice say as she landed on his face, her guard had also jumped up. Hopefully, he wasn't a Kumo ninja who'd found her and taken her back to Suna. "I hope you don't mind I changed your clothes for you they were quite dirty." The girl was briefly confused, as she looked at her body and saw the loose fitting yukata Love pulled the cover closer to her figure. "I promise I didn't do anything... Well... I did take your measurements. But not for anything weird, I'm a tailor." Love was completely silent as the man spoke. "I made an outfit for you, it's hanging in the bathroom on the other side of that door." He told her motioning his head in the direction he was looking, his hands were busing knitting something. Thinking that she had nothing to lose Love got up to go see what the male was talking about. "There are towels and thing so feel free to shower." He announced from the other room. Maybe she was being too trusting but she didn't care it was better to think people were inherently good rather than malicious. Once she had bathed and changed Love searched for the male who'd moved from the bedroom to the kitchen. "It's not much but it's better than nothing." He said talking about the two boxes of cereal sitting on the table along side a bowl and spoon. "Thank you." The girl obliged as she declined to sit and the male retrieved the milk. She ate in silence while he continued to work on whatever he was making now. When she had finished the man smiled at her and took her dishes to the sink to wash them. "You wouldn't happen to know where Konohagakure is would you?" The man giggled at her question. "It's there just over the river." Love cautiously walked over near the sink to share his gaze through the window.

So it was. "Thank you, I have to be going now Mr?" "No mister, call me Hiromichi or just Michi." He said with a wink. Love bowed, "Right Hiro..Michi. Thanks for everything but I have to return to my village." Michi nodded. "Nice meeting you, and tell your friends about my shop!" He called after her as she exited the living part of his business. While looking at the sign she noticed an old newspaper article naming Ashi Inuzuka as the new Hokage. Ha, that was the name of the woman she'd met just before leaving for the jounin exam. Looks like everyone running into is become a kage, she thought before becoming a blur of speed headed for the Leaf. The closer she got the more confused she became; Why the hell was there a giant gamma radiated, dinosaur fish outside of the gates?

WC: 1,508 [Exit; Instant travel to Kono]

Approved