A Little Bit Over It

Thwack.

The kunai landed on the ground, having clipped the tree but not solidly hit it. Mara's shoulders slumped a little as she walked over to pick it up. "Ugggghhhh."

She wasn't annoyed at missing. She'd barely tried to hit it honestly. The whole exercise was just an attempt to keep her mind off her all consuming boredom. The last few days since her illumination had been cycles of the same behavior. Wake up, practice, get bored, wander off, repeat. The other exam fights were a break in the monotony for sure, and it was nice to see her fellow Kumo ninjas advancing. But the fights were brief and far between.

She wasn't entirely sure what she'd be doing in her spare time at home either. Reading a book maybe. But she hadn't had the foresight to bring one. And she didn't have the money to buy a new one.

She'd just about reached the kunai when her foot caught on a root and brought her to the ground in a dusty thud. She just groaned and flopped for a moment. "I am so over everything right now."

The Leaf Village was fancy and well maintained, but that also meant it didn't have any weird old rundown buildings to explore. Usually she'd head outside the village walls and explore the surrounding mountain side. But in a foreign land, surround by ninjas from each of the great villages, she decided that might not be the best call.

She got up, brushed herself off, and retrieved the stray projectile. It was a fairly warm day, so she decided to just try and just wander the town. With a brush of her hand, she dismissed her large cloak using her storage displacement technique, but left her weapon pouches around. She didn't want to risk being unarmed if something happened. She'd worn her usual blue-grey jacket and skirt outfit rather than her exam outfit, mostly for a change of look. It was more casual and less aggressive looking.

Heading out of the Training Area and toward the large meeting area she saw earlier. She didn't really have a plan, just wanted to have a change of scenery.

[WC: 363]

The sun kept the snowy haired kunoichi warm as she walked down the bustling streets of Konoha, the crowd growing larger with each passing day thanks to the chuunin exams attracting more and more people to the village. It wasn’t every day that all four of the major villages gathered in one place, nor did many often get the chance to visit the village hidden in the leaves and gap in amazement at how green and full of natural beauty it was made up of. Hikari had met a few shinobi already who admitted how gorgeous Konoha was, a mysterious man from Hoshi being one of the first she encountered. He had orange, cross shaped eyes and had been sitting on a staff upon the Hokage rock when she met him.

Despite her hatred for the village and its people she was thankful for the opportunity it was gifting her, allowing the Hyuuga to interact freely with their guests was the only perk she gained from being a shinobi here, otherwise she couldn’t care less about the summery land, prefering to go back to the watery, blue world of Kirigakure where she could forget about her murdered brother and the hatred for a single aburame she held in her heart.

She shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the darker thoughts tucking at the corners of her mind, as she moved away from the throngs of people to find a more secluded place. One could only handle being around hundreds of people for a short while before needing a break, and Hikari was no exception. Yet with no particular place in mind she allowed her short, slender legs to guide her absentmindedly.

It wasn’t until she was at the outside meeting that she tuned back into where she was, having been lost in thought once again. She hadn’t been worried about being attacked, there were too many people for someone to strike without being noticed, and she had faith in her abilities to keep herself safe from harm. Kuro, her wolven companion with raven fur and scarlet eyes, walked alongside her, the beast being as tall as her hips, which might not be saying much given her short stature of four foot and nine inches.

The duo noticed a blonde haired shinobi emerge from the training grounds shortly after they arrived. Hikari didn’t recognize the woman and figured she was from another village, although which one she couldn’t make out from the distance they at. Her own headband kept her hair out of her face atop her head, in a similar fashion to a long forgotten pinkette, and a purple diamond shaped marking was visible on her forehead, although she doubted many knew what it was from. She had trained numerous hours, studied medical book after book, and practiced in the Konoha Hospital to earn one of the strongest medical-ninjutsu techniques in the world: Creation Rebirth; and that marking was a signature sign of the jutsu, if one knew of it.

“Hello!” She called out to the approaching kunoichi, a gentle wave of her right hand accompanying her words. Hikari wasn’t sure what to say to the other female, but didn’t want to miss the opportunity to meet another shinobi from the other villages, for her encounters thus far had all proven to be quite fruitful. However, she waited to say more until the other woman reacted to her greeting, in case she had no interest in interacting with the Hyuuga. After all why waste her time if the other party was uninterested?

(WC: 595)

And uninterested is exactly what she was it seemed, for the Hyuuga was unable to grab her attention. Hikari didn’t really mind, knowing full well that some people just weren’t interested in getting to know members of the other villages. With that in mind the snowy haired woman kept walking, not giving up her search to find new people to get to know, even if she faced the same reaction over and over again.

(Exit)
(TWC: 669)
(Claims using max stat discount:
200 words for Rain Tiger at Will, putting it at 3000/3000, previous wc from here
and the remaining 469 words towards Great Fireball Shower, placing it at 2261/3000, previous wc from here)

Approved.