It's Been A Lifetime That I Last Saw You(p, Koaru)

A particularly clear night, one that allowed for the stars to dapple the night sky, pulled Suzume into the forest outside the village. Usually the absence of sunlight would draw her away from wandering alone here, but having a fantastically full moon act as a night light made it so that she could wander through without worrying that she wouldn't be able to see well enough that an enemy were to pursue her. What ruthless killer would go after a hardly defensible genin anyways? It'd be more fun to wait until they got the experience to fight and make a game of the scenario.

Crickets sang along with the occasional breezes that rustled the leaves and branches all around - the forest's nighttime song. Suzume had walked quite a far distance from the village, more than she would have been normally comfortable with. Though the experience of such wonderful hours of darkness had it that she didn't care how far she went. Suzume might even end up getting lost with the moment, but didn't care enough to do anything about it right away. If it were to happen, she'd deal with it then. Missing out on this surreal atmosphere could not be an option for her.

Fireflies, having the prime of summer to add more light of this night, sprinkled the surrounding area. One landed on Suzume's nose, lighting up ever so brightly - even for a firefly. After a moment of rest, it took off to fly in the direction of the edge of the woods. It wasn't difficult to track that specific bug, as it shined more than other nearby fireflies for some reason. Almost like a beckon, "Come follow me!"

As the bramble of the forest floor softly crackled and snapped beneath the tiny girl, she went along with the flying insect. It brought her to an opening, one where the trees gave way just enough to border one's view of the endless starry sky. Here is where Suzume chose to sit, not having complete knowledge of exactly where, or exactly how far from home it was - she didn't need to. She was so immersed in the current environment that nothing else could have mattered. It was a happy place of sorts.

Upon noticing an odd sound however, once certainly made by something - or someone - much larger than her, caused for her to turn her attention away. Looking all around, she couldn't find any wild beast in her vicinity. However, observing past some brier and shubbery, she noticed the silhouette of some rather large creature. Curiosity pulled her to hide behind the nearby oak tree, and peer from behind to get a better picture. Getting closer to the image gave a bit of a startle, "Eek!" Suzume would squeal, muffling herself by covering her mouth with her arm. "What are you?" she timidly asked, taking a tiny leap back.

On nights when sleep escaped him, Allegro wandered out into the forest to enjoy the calming environment. Under the comfort of the stars and warm embrace of the large green leaves on the forest's trees, the Uzumaki found a special kind of peace. He slipped away from his house in the small district in the slums of the village past the midnight hour. His smooth ebony skin seemed to glow under the luminescent moonlight, giving him a natural cover in the darkness. When he finally reached the forest, he would find the perfect spot among the tree tops to perch in. There he would rest his eyes and sleep for a spell under the warm droning sounds of the insects chirping and frogs croakingg.

That is, until he leaned to far while asleep and fell from his perch. He had landed in a bush, making a large thudding sound. That was enough to give the boy a very rude awakening. As he rubbed the lump that formed on top of his head, Allegro groaned loudly, still confused about where he was and how he ended up there. He heard the sound of a woman screaming not far from where he was. At first, Allegro thought this to be just an aftereffect of hitting his head a little too hard. Once he rose from the bush he had fell in, he was face to face with Feza. Surprised to see an old friend of his, Allegro would answer her question with a question of his own.

"F...Feza? Is that you? What are you doing way out here at this time of night?"

The cover of the tree tops made it more difficult to see, even with the moon’s vibrance shining down into the forest, that Suzume didn’t realize how close she was to Allegro. As the supposed monster spoke, the level of alarm rang more harshly throughout her body. Her bones rattled as she kept her hand covering her mouth, as if that did enough to hide how frightened she was. “Oh my goodness it speaks…” she gasped drastically. Suzume’s feet had her leap back nearly a yard, only for them to trip over themselves. Her face slammed into the dirt, making her nearly eat it. Quite the dimwitted scene she made for an old classmate, but he did just fall out of a tree after all. That, and Suzume had yet to recognize the man. The last she had seen him, from the time they sparred a while after graduating the academy together, he wasn’t as…buff…is what Suzume would described him now, if she were aware that Allegro was indeed himself and not a predator looking for a snack.

But as she got up from her fall and spat out the dirt, Suzume noticed that the creature had addressed her by name. The only way she could figure that could happen was if this thing had some mind bending jutsu ability. Noting that its silhouette was a lot taller than her, running wouldn’t have her last so long if she were pursued. Her most rational solution was to prepare to fight. Yet, from what she could remember of the last time she sparred the guy, it was pretty difficult managing to deflect what was tossed at her. That had been the last time she was matched up against someone much bigger than her, and so that was the comparion she made. What made these circumstances seem more dangerous, and so making Suzume more hostile, was the fact that she didn't improve as much as she had hoped to. Sure, she grew capable of some more difficult jutsu, but would that be enough to fend off a fiend? Her immediate reaction was to get into a fighting stance, which Suzume had done without a thought about it. “How do you know me, creature?” she breathed heavily, nearly choking on her fear.