Back Home, For Now.

From the hard creaking wooden planks of a ship to the rough solid ground of Konoha, Kotsuzui and Hikari were home. Luckily for them, Konoha did not have the same protective barriers which surrounded Kiri. As a result it allow Kotsuzui to teleport himself and Hikari right into the heart of Konoha. Although beneficial for him at this moment in time, it could prove to be something the village should invest in for the future. He allowed a brief moment for himself and Hikari. This would allow Hikari to gather herself if need be as she may not be use to the sudden chance in scenario from such a technique. Or maybe she was, Kotsuzui's wasn't entirely sure. But he also took the moment for himself. To take in the beating rays of the sun and feel them once more on his face, the smell in the air so different from that salty one of Kiri. It felt cleaner in a way, maybe because his senses were use to it. To feel the hard soil beneath his feet again made the Kaguya finally feel at home. With his eyes closed he took in one long deep breath of air, relishing it in as long as he could hold before letting it all out. It was good to be home.

As he opened his eyes, he looked around him to see the sudden shock and surprise on the citizen's faces due to two people appearing out of no where. Though most paid them no mind. They simply chucked it up to some shinobi shenanigans. Kotsuzui paid them no mind as well, turning his attention to the building directly in front of him. The Hokage's building. He knew the proper thing to do would have been to arrive at the village gates and enter through do-process. But what a waste of time that would have been. His lack of doing so may alert the Hokage of their dire need to get the same protective barriers Kiri had.

"I figured the Hokage would want to see us at once" Kotsuzui spoke after he allowed the both of them a moment, "so here we are." With that he would take a few steps forward before opening the door and allowing Hikari in before entering himself. He dropped his sack of belongings on the floor next to a waiting chair before proceeding to the receptionist desk and informing her of where they had come from and their business. They were instructed to proceed to the floor of the Hokage's office where they were to meet with her secretary. Yeah, apparently she now had a secretary seated directly in front of her office. Things could have changed since he was gone, supposedly. 

Knowing the way there, Kotsuzui would proceed to the Hokage's chambers alongside Hikari. He hadn't seen Risako since the day Kiri attacked. He knew she had recovered from the events of that day, but how well could some truly recover from that. Both physically and mental. He tried his best to keep his face as neutral as possible, but a trained eye would see he was bothered. This was going to be his first time facing the Hokage after his failure to protect her and the village. He couldn't possibly know how she would react to his return home, to seeing him for the first time since the attack as well. He quickly cleared the doubt from his mind as best as possible once he reached the door leading to the secretary's office. He knocked twice to inform the secretary of their presence before opening the door to reveal both her and another door leading to the Hokage's office. There he would wait alongside the Hyuuga until the Hokage let them in.

Miko simply motioned for the man to go through to Risako's office once he stated his business. "I don't believe she's busy right now," the plump woman said.

Today was rather uneventful. When she overheard the conversation between Miko and Kotsuzui take place in the other room, she hardly bothered to look busy. Presuming Kotsuzui and Hikari would enter the room together, they'd be greeted by the sight of Risako's robes sprawled across her desk, while she leaned back in her chair with her feet kicked up on the window sill. Next to her feet was a small electric fan, causing a breeze to accumulate from the open window. Her black hair shifted every now and then as it caught a glance of wind. With a sigh, she pulled herself away from the fantasy paradise she created in her head, and turned to face the duo. In a genuinely warm tone, she said "Welcome home, we've got a small bit of business to discuss."

Standing from her chair, she motioned them both to sit down in the chairs across from her own desk. Afterwards, she began to smooth out the folds on her blue shirt and grey shorts before taking her seat again.

In an instant they were transported from the humid, grey islands of Kirigakure to the warm, green land of Konoha. The two villages could not have been more opposite in their scenery and climate, reflections of what the other village lacks. Kiri, with its dull hues and minimal plant life, knew not what it meant to show complete and total warmth to another, while Konoha, with its vibrant tones and abundance of greenery, had learned the hard way what it was like to embrace the cold and brutal ways of violence from others.

Hikari had to blink a couple times for her eyes to adjust to the drastic color changes and brightness of the sun, having grown accustomed to the darkness of Kiri. She was amazed at how fast they had traveled, covering a large distance in mere seconds with little to no effort on their part. If she was able to, she would have liked to learn such a technique from Kots, but she knew without even asking that the ability to teleport would be a high ranked jutsu to master, and one she was likely not able to train in without sacrificing a piece of herself. She wouldn’t want to give up on her medical ninjutsu, taijutsu, or the ability to tap into her elemental affinities.

It took her several seconds to even register that they were in the heart of Konoha, the Hokage’s Chambers towering above them and watching their every move. For a brief moment it reminded her of just that morning, when she had joined Xyxer upon the roof top of his own kage chambers, their legs dangling carelessly over the ledge of the building. The Mizukage had been in deep thought during their short lived meeting, and she had been wondering what had been on his mind to distract him so, especially while in the presence of someone who should’ve hated him.

The kunoichi felt confused by her own feelings, having asked herself at least a dozen times why she didn’t feel resentment towards the blunette. He ordered the war and her brother’s death in all technicalities, but she didn’t blame him for any of it. Instead she blamed one of her fellow shinobi, or previous brethren really because she felt no connection to a majority of the ninja currently residing in the village now. They had betrayed her and she could never forgive them…

Or did she betray them?

Kots seemed to think they had all been defending The Will of Fire, their sacred ideology and the one thing that sets them apart from the other villages the most, yet she just couldn’t see it that way. She couldn’t, or wouldn’t, believe that their teachings would allow for them to disobey the Hokage and sacrifice so many lives for a lost cause...But to them it wasn’t a lost cause, it was a chance for them to fight back against all odds. She just didn’t understand why so many lives were worth it, and how many more would have to die for them to be satisfied. Would they rebel against Kiri and get the entire village slaughtered?

Hikari didn’t know, but she easily believed they would do something like that to protect the ideology, even if it meant the death of everyone, civilians and shinobi alike. The mere thought of more innocents dying made her blood boil, and her fingers tightened around her knuckles as she clenched her hands into fists. It seemed the sight of Konoha was negatively affecting her health, and she needed to try and reign her seething hatred for a few of its residents in, least she become distracted.

Kotsuzui’s long sigh as he exhaled and opened his eyes brought the smaller shinobi back to her senses, allowing her to calm her agitated nerves and relax her hands, her fingers uncurling to lay straight at her side. It was then that she noticed the widened eyes and dropped jaws from a few of the civilians around them, which was a reasonable reaction given that they had just poofed into existence in the middle of a populated street.

Fortunately many of the passersby were only momentarily shocked, if at all, and quickly went back to their own business. Kots mentioned that he figured Lady Hokage would likely want to see them since they had both been in Kiri for quite some time without any knowledge of what was happening back in their village. She nodded her head, giving him a sign that she heard him and agreed with what they were about to do next, believing it was a logical idea to head straight to the Hokage upon their arrival back.

The mohawked man took a couple strides to the door, easily beating her smaller strides and holding the large door open for her to step inside first. “Thank you.” She said as she passed through the entrance, using her hand to keep it open for him to walk through as well, since that was the most she could really do at the moment. He laid his bag of items down on the floorboard before approaching the woman behind the desk, informing her of their reason for needing to see the Hokage as soon as possible. The receptionist told them they would need to speak with Risako’s personal secretary outside of her office about meeting with her, so they went up the flights of stairs to the Hokage’s office floor all the while her high heeled ninja boots clacked with each step she took on the hardwood floors. She didn't mind the white noise of her heels and hoped no one else in the building cared.

The pair made it to the first door for the secretary in an impressive amount of time and Kots knocked to let their presence be known in order for them to have an audience with Risako. Then he opened the door and the two of them walked in, waiting for their turn to see the woman in her office behind the second set of doors. Hikari hoped the raven haired kage was available to meet with them so they could get the debriefing out of the way, although a part of her didn’t mind having to wait if it meant she wouldn’t have to wander the streets of Konoha and chance upon running into the dwarven bastard of Konoha.

It was just their luck, or misfortune, that Risako wasn’t busy at the moment, the secretary waving them toward the big, closed wooden doors. Hikari, hopefully with Kots in tow, would open one of the doors and step into the room. This would be her second time being in the office of the Hokage since Risako was placed in charge, and there was no doubt that the woman spent most of her day in the spacious room. She didn’t understand how someone could spend countless hours doing paperwork, or dealing with the stress of managing the entire village and its people.

What piqued her interest was how comfortable a laid back the dark haired kunoichi seemed to be, with her robes strewn across her desk and her feet propped up on the window sill. She even had a fan blowing cool air, which mixed with the warmer breeze brought in through the open window from outside, across her relaxed form. Lady Hokage sighed as they entered and withdrew from her comfortable position, greeting them in a summeresque warmth that Hikari never would’ve expected from her, notifying them that they had some business to go over.

Risako rose and gestured for the two returning shinobi to become seated across from her. Hikari, not wanting to waste the important woman’s time, immediately crossed the room and lightly lowered herself onto the left chair, presumably meaning Kots would take the right chair if he chose to sit down as well. After that, the Hokage sat down once more and their important discussion would begin. Hikari wasn’t sure what to say in this situation, having never deliberated with a kage before. It was a surprising new experience to partake in, and one she didn’t want to ruin over misspeaking. Thus she waited patiently for Risako to continue speaking or probe them for questions, whatever it is that she needed to do for the small business they had to deal with.

(WC: 1,393)

The secretary informed them that the Hokage was no busy and they go go ahead and enter. At the moment the Kaguya's heart began to beat just a little quicker, its rhythm picking up with every passing second. He'd be lying if he wasn't nervous to be face to face with the Hokage for the first time after what happened. Whether or not Hikari had picked up on the Kaguya hesitating to proceed into the office did not matter for she went ahead and did so. The mere action itself help Kotsuzui get over his own fear and follow into the office behind her only to reveal Risako relaxing with her feet up on the window sill and enjoying the cool blowing of a fan. Kotsuzui could only wonder how she was going to react when she turned to see one of her guests was him.

But as she turned, the two looking at one anothers face to face since the war, she warmly welcomed them back home. Almost like that, all of Kotsuzui fear had gone. Was he simply overthinking the whole situation? Perhaps. Or maybe the Hokage was doing a good job at hiding her true thoughts on the Kaguya. Following her welcome, she informed the two shinobi returning home that there was some business that needed discussing.

Kotsuzui followed Hikari's lead as he took the seat to her right now both being seated in front of the fine desk Risako was seated behind. The mention of business and the fact it concerned two people who recently came back from Kiri and spent some time around Xyxer had the Kaguya thinking that the business was revolved around the man him. Xyxer. So he sat there quietly, waiting for their Hokage to discuss the matter at hand.

Once the duo took their seat and everyone settled, Risako allowed them a second to relax before discussing her plans with them. "I've no clue if you have heard, but there's a summit tomorrow. This includes all four of the current Kage, and each man or woman is to be accompanied by two guards." For a second she paused, hoping the two would make the connection on their own. Regardless, she would continue by saying "You're both going to accompany me on the trip. Hikari, you're dismissed to make preparations." It was after some internal debate that she decided to reward Kots for being one of the few in the village to jump to her defense during the invasion.

If and when Hikari did leave the room, Risako separated her hands and lifted her left high into the air. She brought it down to strike the surface of her desk with enough force to make the drawer to her left pop open with an audible clunk. For a moment, she excused herself to rummage around the drawer, before producing a package. Normally, this would be done in a ceremony to celebrate the new recruit, but the time couldn't be found. Clutching the package close to her chest, she stood from her chair, bumping the drawer shut with her knee. "You were the only other person to put themselves in harm's way for me when that monstrosity wrapped itself around my body." Normally Risako would toss something if she wanted to hand it to someone. Normally, she would avoid eye contact if she wanted to talk to someone. Unusually, the woman locked her steely grey eyes in with Kots' own before handing him the package. "There's three masks inside, choose one by the time we make it home from the summit and we'll set up your status as an operative of the ANBU Black Ops. Dismissed." It may have been jumping the gun, as the promotion from Chuunin to ANBU was a rather large leap, but she was confident he wouldn't disappoint. Unless he had questions, she would sit back in her seat and turn to kick her feet up once again.

[Exit]

A moment of silence befell the group as everyone took a moment to settle down and prepare for the meeting before it began, thus giving Risako the time to straighten her clothing and lightly take a seat once more, following the customs of traditional meetings where all parties involved refrain from standing until the end. Hikari, in the few minutes she had to herself, pondered on what topic they might be covering in their coming conversation. She felt it would be about their time in Kiri, or that the Lady Hokage was informing them of a grave incident that occurred while they were away. The silvery haired woman hoped it was the former for she knew their village could only take so many negative actions before a riot would begin to break out, after all what shinobi would allow their home to be continuously beaten and harmed?

The words that dribbled out of the coal haired woman’s mouth were a pleasant surprise to her ears as it meant tragedy had not paid them another visit so soon. She inwardly sighed out of relief at the news before the cogs in her head turned, causing her to realize what Risako’s words had actually meant.

Kotsuzui and her were to be the Hokage’s bodyguards during the summit.

Hikari sat in silent disbelief, amazed that she was selected from amongst all of their shinobi to protect Risako. It was an honor that the Hokage had chosen her for such an important task, the most important task within the village currently at that. 

Yet doubt crept into her mind seconds later. She hadn’t able to protect the person closest to her, so why would she be able to keep the leader of their village safe if the time came for her to do so? Hikari was weak just a few months ago and had barely done enough training for her to believe anything changed. Someone couldn’t become strong overnight, it took years of harsh training and strict workouts to achieve the level of power she needed.

Why had the Hokage chosen a lowly medic like her for this task when there had to be more qualified shinobi? 

A medic that didn’t even fight during the war... A medic whose emotions were played with, causing her own life to be in danger just because she cared too much for the lives of those around her… A medic that shouldn’t even be alive anymore…

Risako’s dismissal broke through her degrading thoughts before they could lower the woman’s self esteem even more than it already was. Hikari released her slightly clenched fists, confused as to when they had clasped in her lap, as her voice calmly replied to the Hokage, “Thank you, Lady Hokage. I will make preparations right away.”

She rose from her chair, relieved that her voice didn’t betray the emotions still fighting to claim her heart, and Hikari bowed to the woman in front of her, making sure to not hit her head on anything as she lowered the top half of her body for the bow. “I promise that I won’t disappoint you as your bodyguard, Lady Hokage.” After her voice quieted to silence again she straightened her back, glancing over at Kotsuzui with a gentle smile across her lips.

She might’ve felt insecure about becoming Ris’s bodyguard, but she knew he would be an amazing guardian to the Hokage. Kots was strong and fierceless, willing to sacrifice everything for the people of Konoha. Even Xyxer recognized his power, wanting to personally train him under his wing. Hikari had indeed picked up on the man’s anxiousness when they were still in the lobby, and she had a vague idea of why he felt that way.

When the two of them officially met it was on the battlefield where she healed his injuries. He had defended the Hokage, taking a potentially fatal attack in the process. Their second meeting was after the war, atop the wall connected to the village gates. It was there that they truly got to know each other, finding out how the other felt in response to Kirigakure defeating them. Kots divulged in their conversation how he thought of himself as weak because he couldn’t take out the Mizukage or protect their home from the destruction. Despite all of it she disagreed with him, believing the pinkette was stronger than he gave himself credit for. He had done what others didn’t, what she couldn’t, and that strength was what a majority of their shinobi lacked, a crucial attribute one could only learn through the experiences in their lives. 

The smile upon her lips was meant to reassure him, silently saying that he would be able to succeed as Risako’s defender. Hikari had faith in him more than she did in herself, and that didn’t matter to her. Caring for others was her only goal as a medical nin, and that entailed raising them up even when they felt they were the lowest of the low. She didn’t need someone to lift her up so long as she was able to support those around her.

After her eyes hopefully met with Kotsuzui’s, she took large steps to the door and exit the room, giving the two remaining shinobi the privacy for their own discussion. She had no knowledge of what it could be about so she could only hope it was positive news. Even if she felt like her world had ended, Hikari didn’t want Kots to feel the same way, and in her case, misery did not love company. 

(Exit)
(TWC: 2,324)
(Claims: May I please make these when I get on a laptop so I can properly link the things I would like to claim? ^^’)

The seconds that the Hokage allowed the pair before getting to the matter at hand had in fact helped the Kaguya calm himself. Enough to bring him down to a normal state of mind. Then the Hokage began. A summit was being held tomorrow and all four Kages would be attending it. Each one to be accompanied by at most two guards. It didn't take a genius to figure out why the Hokage was telling this to Hikari and Kotsuzui. They were going to be her guards and escort for the Kage Summit. "Good timing" Kotsuzui thought to himself. Then the realization hit him like a brick. "This must be why Xyxer sent both of us back home" the Kaguya thought, wondering if this whole thing had not been organized by the man himself. It wouldn't surprise him in the least. Just like that the Hokage informed the two they were to accompany her to the Kage Summit.

A multitude of thoughts began running through the Kaguya's head. Such as the fact, as before, that he had failed to protect the Hokage during the war. Now he was to protect her once more. Except those were not the more prevalent thoughts, no. Instead of the fear he felt before, he felt excitement now. He felt excited for the simple fact that this Kage Summit was likely to be a gathering of the strongest shinobi from each nation. The possibilities were endless. It took everything he had to reign himself in and not show his excitement. Priority number one was making sure the Hokage remained safe, not seeing the strengths of everyone else. Besides, this Kage Summit was likely to be some form of peace talks or so he believed. But with a man like the Mizukage attending, who knew how things were going to unravel. Then there were the additional factors that Kotsuzui had no idea who the other Kages were and the unknown was always dangerous, yet tantalizing at the same time.

The Hokage followed up by dismissing Hikari. But not Kotsuzui. Just like this, his heart beat just a little quicker. Here it was, his punishment for his failure. It would only be deserving, he thought. So he sat there, trying his hardest not to show any nerves and he prepared himself. As Hikari would exit the room, he quickly glanced over to her almost as a reflex. As he looked up at the Hyuuga and her lilac eyes he saw that she was smiling to him. The smile was warm and comforting, something Kotsuzui hadn't seen in quite some time. Not from others, but not from Hikari either. And just like that, the Kaguya seemed to calm down, his muscles and nerves becoming less tense. Following the departure of the Hyuuga, the Hokage smacked her desk and opened a drawer. Whether that was a show of force to intimidate the Kaguya or simply trying to be flashy, he did not know. He was half expecting a blade to come out the drawer.  

She produced a package from the desk as she simultaneously closed the drawer and stood, beginning her explanation of what she was currently holding. Just as he was expecting, Risako brought up the night of the attack. Next was the blade to be retrieved from the black package. Though the conversation came up as he expected, it took a turn he did not see coming. Not by a long shot. As she spoke he raised his eyes to look at hers and judging by the look of them, she had no intentions of punishing the Chuunin. But his purple eyes met her grey just as she handed him to package. He steadily grabbed the package from the Hokage and brought it down in front of him. Before getting the opportunity to open the package, Risako explained what it what. His gaze fell from the package back to the Hokage, a look of sudden surprise on the Kaguya's face. But there was no time for anything else other than to dismiss the Kaguya.

However he sat there for a second longer. "This..." Kotsuzui uttered in a low tone but quickly cutting himself off to dwell on his own thoughts. He was being promoted to ANBU for being the one to aid her in the fight against the Mizukage. But was that really enough? He hadn't actually defended her, at all. He was taken out by a stay kunai he missed to spot. The only reason he had the opportunity to fight Xyxer, was because he spared him his life. Twice. Yet here he was, being promoted for failing. It was hard for Kotsuzui to think at this moment. On one hand he could understand why the Hokage was doing this, yet on the other hand he couldn't. But Kotsuzui was confused, about why he was so confused. This is what he's always wanted. It is what he has dreamed of since the day he became an academy student. So why was he filled with so much doubt? He quickly snapped out of it, deciding it was impossible to sort through everything at this very moment. Especially with the matters at hand. Without opening the package to observe the three masks inside, he stood from his seat and prepared to leave. "Thank you Lady Hokage. I'll be ready tomorrow" was all he said he turned and exited to the office. Package in hand, thoughts eating away at him. 

[EXIT]
TWC: 1209
1075 words into  8 Inner Gates (1500/1500)
134 words into Gate of Opening (134/750)

Ris you want claims?

No, sorry Court, you don't get anything

Approved

Claims since I'm finally at a comp:
1294 words towards Tai as my 3rd spec, putting it at 4000/4000 (with the previous words from here),
1030 towards Eight Trigrams: Mountain Crusher, putting it at 3656/4000 (with the previous words from here and from here too)

Approved