W-Who Are You? (Hikari, Hato)

Saln sat atop one of the wooden kicking logs, his hands formed into the tiger symbol as he practiced merely controlling his chakra. He'd need to know how if he was going to make a jutsu powerful enough to pacify the whole world after all! The boy tried to focus... but his dream kept flashing through his mind: a world without war, without battle or death... There wouldn't be any need for ninjas anymore because hostility would be at an end! Some of his colleagues might find it distressing, their own dreams overshadowed by the end-goal of Saln but he was dreaming BIG! He had plans! This was really important stuff!

He'd sat here for at least an hour so far, trying to focus... but all he could dream about was his world without war... It would be so beautiful... No more spilled blood! Could anyone even concieve of such a world? Everyone had just about given up on this dream, viewing it as just that: a fantasy. Not Saln... not while he could still weave signs!

...But how would he get there if he couldn't focus today? He had no idea! That was the problem with ideals... They kinda kept interrupting his training time! Blah... What was he gonna dooooo? Letting out an annoyed huff, Saln opened his sanguine eyes, bringing his hands down to rest in his lap. He looked around, observing the empty training grounds obscured in the dead of night... He had thought that if he came real early, he could bypass the daily hubub... It looks like he only traded one distraction for another.

"What am I gonna do...?" He whispered to himself, his voice muffled by the scarf that covered his lips. "I gotta focus... I'm never gonna get my headband at this rate..."

Chunin exams could only be possible because of goal individual shinobi's have. What was Hato's? Control. It always has been. She didn't want to be controlled anymore, she was through with it. No one was going to make her give up her own thoughts and actions. In fact, it would be the opposite. It would be her using people to gain control. What did that have to do with the chuunin exams? Power. She needed power. But she was patient, she'd bide her time for the right moment.

She was strolling around the village. She needed every moment to rest up for her next match. Upon reaching the village's training ground, she saw a boy sitting on top of a wooden pole. He even had a cute little scarf on. Heh, she had an idea that kind of just pleased her rather actually contributing to anything. She approached a pole near him and got into a fighting stance. Then hitting it a couple times, she started to atcually show off. Hato jumped back a couple feet only to jump back, higher than before. In mid air, she prepared for an Axe kick that would send this pole into splinters. The blonde, upon impacting the pole with her leg, split the pole with her kick. It would make a satisfying and powerful sound. She pulled her leg out of the rubble and stared at the pole. "I still got it." She's say with a snarky tone but also a kind of playful.

WC: 252

Saln's eyes shot wide as a woman came from outta nowhere and SPLIT a dummy in half with her foot, sending the boy FLYING partly with the sheer impact exploding next to him... most of it because of the complete shock! The boy hit the ground hard on his rumph, staring up at the utter devastation a mere kick could bring! Were that a person... well... there wouldn't be one there anymore! His gaze then turned on the woman who so smugly stood over him, unsure how to feel! He'd never seen her before in his life, not even her head-band looked recognizable! She wasn't from around here, that was for certain!

"Uh... H-hi...?" He offered meekly, waving up at the woman who caused more damage in an instant than he could in... like years. She was intimidating, he could tell that for certain... Just look at dat EGO! From the way she talked and held herself, she had the confidence of a seasoned warrior and she wasn't even a chuunin yet (he could tell by the lack of chuunin jacket)! He was almost afraid that if he said the wrong thing, this girl might mash him into paste like that dummy she'd just crushed!

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy... What was he gonna do....

"U-uhm... That dummy needs to be replaced now..." He noted somewhat dryly, looking over at the rubble. "...and the dirt needs to be replanted too..."

Well that got Sal's attention. She stood straight back up and as he spoke, he had a fearful crack in his voice, she looked at him with a warm smile. The boy was really cute, and not in a romantic way, but in a baby way. She wasn't about to form a crush with a minor. Ew. He mentioned that the dummy was going to need to be replaced and same with the dirt. That made Hato chuckle, "Yeah, maybe I took it too far," She reassure though, "But this is the training field, they should expect something like this."

Hato sat against the pole he sat, right by his dangling feet. Now that she got the attention she wanted, she need to make a character for him to know. To trust. "My name is Hato Sano. I'm from Kumo. I'm here for the chuunin exams." She looked up at him. "Your turn." It was in a playful tone.

WC: 163
TWC: 415

Sal tilted his head as the girl seemed to just laugh at his surprise, remarking that yeah... maybe she DID take it to far! REEEEEEEEEEALLY? The child's gaze flicked from the ruined dummy to the ground uprooted and thrown this way and that... to the girl who had caused it, wondering if this was an everyday occurrence where she came from... Apparently it was because her reaction to his shock was nothing more than a glorified "duh", remarking that they would have to do this anyway!

...uh huh... He had never seen anything like that before... not even when Salzem was beating these things up! The girl casually went over to the wooden dummy Sal had once sat upon, flopping down ever so casually against it as she asked for his name. The child blinked, surprised that she'd even care about such things from someone like him! He wasn't even a genin and yet a chuunin... and a FOREIGNER wanted to know who he was??? Wow! He must've been making impressions already!

"uh... I'm Saln!" He greeted with a smile, hopping up to his full, meager height! "I'm... uh... kinda learning how things work around here... Still in the academy and all that!

It was still dark out when the snowy haired woman violently awoke from her slumber, sweat rolling down her forehead as she sat up, her chest heaving frantically. Kuro aroused from his sleep the moment he felt her move beside him, his crimson eyes filled with worry.

“Damn it! Not again…” Frustration laced her words as she ran her fingers through her tresses and her hand through the dark fur of her companion to express she was okay. The wolf nuzzled her, wishing he could take away the nightmares that had been plaguing her since they returned from the land of iron. It was the same thing, over and over again, yet the way it happened was continuously changing. The horror remained unchanged however; two young people suffering the same fate of death, together.

One was Salzem, the other Kotetsu.

She had witnessed both their untimely deaths, and was paying the ultimate price for being too weak to change their fates. Watching helplessly as they died every night, only to awake the moment they took their last breaths. She was exhausted, but knew exactly what would be waiting if she tried to fall back asleep, and reliving their deaths twice in a night didn’t sound the least bit appealing to her.

So instead she got up, changing into her usual ninja attire which consisted of a purple, warm coat with a purple ombre dress and deep purple cardigan underneath it, and her Silencing Boots that were morphed into high heeled ninja boots. Her Konoha headband was wrapped around her head, keeping her hair out of her face, in a similar fashion to a pinkette kunoichi from the past. Then, with her canine companion in tow, she left her room in the Hyuuga district, the crisp night air hitting her as a breeze blew past. Hikari would be heading nowhere in particular, letting her slender legs take her around the village to clear her head. At least, that was the plan until she felt two unfamiliar chakra signature’s near the direction of the training grounds.

Thus she made her way towards them, wanting to meet the strangers whom she believed were from other villages. It didn’t take long for her short limbs to reach them, just in time to hear the smaller one exclaim they were still in the academy. They were a child, she had no doubts about that by his stature for he was only a little taller than herself and his voice was high pitched like one would expect at that age. He had shaggy dark hair, but he couldn’t see his eyes. The woman standing near him had blonde hair and was rather tall, towering over both the shorter shinobi.

“Well aren’t you two up fairly early today.” Her voice was calm and neutral, with a monotone expression across her lips and her voice just as dull.

(WC: 480)

The boys attitude changed, it was a lot more chippy and hype. That's a good sign of Sal feeling a lot more comfortable around this new woman. Sal gave his name and his rank. Academy student. "Ah, gotta love the younger shinobi, so full of energy. And each of them with their own story." That wasn't a lie, she did enjoy the younger generation and their stories but mostly because they are very easy to manipulate. Even better when they are struggling with a tough past. It's like a fresh wade of clay that Hato would be able to mold anything she wanted from.

All thoughts were interrupted by a very strong chakra. Hato would look at Hikari before she even presented her self. Her hair was brighter than Hato's however she was much vertically challenged than her. She seemed to be in pretty good shape and looked great. Judging from the chakra level, she must also be a shinobi. She'd mention that they were out early, which was true, but she sounded like she was the only suffering from it. "It's important to have training almost everyday." She'd stay seated but would introduce herself once again. "My name is Hato Sano of Kumogakure. Pleased to meet you." Hopefully her politeness would make a good first impression.

WC: 220
TWC: 635

Saln tilted his head as the woman before him merely remarked how WONDERFUL the "younger" generation was, how each of them had their own story. Oooooookay...... That seemed to come outta nowhere. He looked up at the girl, trying to understand where she was coming from and what kind of person she was... She didn't seem to give much away other than the fact that she liked kids for some reason so the younger ninja was left... perplexed... Maybe a little defensive even... maybe. He had very little experience with people from other villages and he wasn't quite sure if this cloud-ninja was making a good first impression...

Before he could pose a question, a NEW ninja came strolling out the the silent dark surrounding them, a... really SHORT one, but her size really didn't make a damper on her presence. A shiver shot up his spine as he whirled around to face the white-haired girl, the look on her face resembling the emotion in her voice: blank, cold, flat. It was as if she weren't a person at all, merely wearing the skin of one... She was like a walking puppet... That was really scary in the dead of night... Saln pulled his scarf up a little to hide his face, as if that would obscure him from the scary-girl's icy-blue eyes... He suddenly felt very unsafe out here, especially with scary people out tonight.

Hato, however, couldn't give a damn about two corn-cobs and addressed the newcomer as casually as she would've anyone else. Instantly, the boy started to scoot away from the cloud-ninja, as if trying to disassociate from her should her lack of respect ignite the temper of the smaller ninja! As far as he was concerned, they should be kneeling at her feet or something because she was... like... WAY stronger than them... Way stronger and apparently having a really bad early morning...

"U-uhm... I was... just out an- I mean I was training and.... I mean..." Saln stumbled over himself trying to come up with some kind of excuse that would shield him from this girl's wrath... He fidgited with his fingers meekly as his eyes flicked towards the ground...

Hato noticed that the boy was fumbling over all of his words. Was he scared of Hato or of the new shinobi arrival? She hoped that she didn't come off as threatening, that would ruin the whole act. "Relax kid, She won't hurt you. She wouldn't dare since you two are from the same village." Hato would stand up and face the kid. "Now, you said you were training, is there anything you'd learn? Maybe a spar?" She'd offer. Hato's curiosity ached for some back story and more character traits. So far, all she got was a scarred cat.
WC: 100
TWC: 735

Her comment was met with an explanation of training followed by an introduction from the blonde haired beauty, Hato Sano from Kumogakure. Hikari thought the other person would be from Kumo, thinking the duo knew each other and had decided to train this early together. However it didn’t seem to be the case as by the time her eyes found their ways to his sanguine orbs he was already scooting away from the kunoichi, either afraid of her or trying to let Hikari know he wasn’t with her. The snowy haired woman in question was in a moment of disbelief at the child, his face, even though it was sightly covered by a scarf, looked eerily similar to Salzem’s.

She rubbed her eyes thinking she wasn’t fully awake, the effects of her dream still affecting her, but when her lilac tinted eyes opened once more she knew it wasn’t just her imagination playing tricks on her. This shinobi truly did resemble Sal, the only difference being their height.

Kuro nuzzled her leg with his midnight muzzle, bringing her out of the shocked state with his familiar warmth. She had momentarily been lost to the thoughts of this child being a reincarnation of Sal or a child of his she didn’t know about, either option causing her heart to ache. One promised him back to her, but it didn’t guarantee his memories would also be back with him, and another meant he had kept a son hidden from her all these years. Could she handle being forgotten or realizing she wasn’t as important in his life as she thought?

The only way to find out was to know his name, since it was obvious he didn’t recognize her for her brother would’ve ran over immediately and enveloped her into his arms, embracing her with strong arms that vowed to never let her go again and a love that meant she always had a home to return to.

Thus with her mind made up on how to acquire the information she sought, she walked closer to the duo who had moved on from her initial presence and were discussing their training again, pondering the idea of a spar. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintances, my name is Hikari Hyuuga and I’m a Jounin of Konohagakure.” Her voice was gentle and a small smile slowly made its way across her face, giving her a friendlier appearance. “I may be able to assist you in your training, if you would like? What is it you were wanting to learn?” She stopped walking when she was within arms reach of the duo, Kuro having kept pace beside her. He didn’t want to be left out even if they were only conversing at the moment.

(WC: 940)