Actual Sunlight (p, Kinzoku)

The last chill of spring drifted through the air on its last legs. Warmth slowly filtered in through the leaves, temperatures rising with an incandescent sun. She breathed in. Breathed out. She was wearing her regular village attire- a simple dark teal kimono top with leggings and sandals. She was not wearing her headband or jounin vest- after all, she had yet to be reinstated after her disastrous mission and injury about a year ago. Lachesis, for better or for worse, was just a civilian right now. An incredibly dangerous civilian, but not a ninja nonetheless. She observed her last surviving student- Touya- silently from a few blocks behind, her astute ears picking up on his conversation. She knew she didn't need to hover like this- but her paranoia had only deepened since her temporary retirement. After satisfied that he could take care of himself, she stretched hugely and slowly made her way over to the central building of the Village Hidden in the Leaves- the Hokage's tower. She had been called there a few days ago for an appointment scheduled today- though the former jounin didn't know what the Nazar wanted to discuss with her. Nonetheless, her habit of timeliness had carried over from her days on duty- she found herself approaching the building around thirty minutes early. She passed many odd salesmen, genin teams, civilians... None seemed to notice her. The Yuki's posture was a calculated straightness, meant to portray confidence but not necessarily a predatory threat. Old habits die hard.

Her arrival at the building was about five minutes before the intended appointment- something she was grateful for. She pushed open the doors and walked in, nodding at the receptionist as she did so. The woman must've recognized her- or at least knew of her description from Kinzoku. She had never officially met the man she called Hokage, on a mission or otherwise- most of their interactions were in passing. Part of her vaguely wondered if he still insisted on wearing the wide brimmed hat. She ascended the stairs in a timely manner, footsteps making all but no noise. She looked down at her hands. Though still thickly calloused from her time as a soldier, they had ultimately lost a bit of muscle. An odd feeling welled up in her chest. Inhale. Exhale. After two more minutes, she found herself in front of a large set of double doors. This was it. The moment she had been waiting for.

She gently opened the door with a knock.

"Lord Hokage?"

WC: 422
Total WC: 422

It was a relieving time of year for the Nazar with the melting of the snow that once blanketed the village. In a few weeks time the village would be returning to its normal climate. Not too hot yet not too cold either. For a foreigner from Suna such as Kinzoku, even warm weather in Konoha was somewhat chilly for him. But he'd take chilly over freezing anytime of the year. Today the cool air had a refreshing feeling to it. One that allowed Kinzoku to keep a few of the windows behind his desk propped open to let it into the office. It help the Nazar feel as though he were outside even though he was cooped up in his office for most hours of the day. However today he at least had something to look forward to. It wouldn't be the usual paper work for the majority of the day with the occasional meeting of someone needing something. Instead, today the Nazar had a meeting he had requested. A nice respite from the usual day to day work.

His gaze shifted to his relatively clean desk to the clock hanging from the wall. Almost on queue, there was a knock on the door with a slight creak from the hinges following suit. "Mrs. Onomori" Kinzoku replied to the voice of the former kunoichi, "please come in. Have a seat" he motioned with his right, non-metallic arm. On the desk was a platter with a jug of water and two glasses already filled, if Lachesis felt the need. She would see the Nazar dressed plainly with a sleeveless black vest unbuttoned with a long sleeved black shirt beneath it. He wore his usual boots with blanks pants over it, topped off with his family hat. He observed the former Jounin as she entered the office, only now realizing that she was quite tall. From his current position, it seemed as though she may even be as tall as the Nazar himself. 

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" he asked with a friendly smile, starting the meeting off with some small talk to ease into the rendezvous. All things considered, this was actually the first time the two ever interacted with one another. Every other time it was simply a passing by thing. "How have you been?" He'd wait for her to answer assuming she did. Once she spoke, he follow up with another question. "Do you know why I've asked for you to meet me today?"

The woman looked upon her military dictator, nodding slightly when he called her name. She sat down when ordered to- she was a loyal kunoichi after all. The water cups sat untouched in front of her- drinking things she didn't pour herself made her uneasy. His attire- a black suit vest and matching attire matched his signature hat. She eyed his metal arm- she hadn't noticed that particular detail before, though it likely wasn't a recent development. The former jounin tilted her head to look the man in his eyes, realizing that he had just asked her a question. "Yes. Almost a year, at least." She paused, taking in his next words. "I'm recovering nicely. I can perform most of my usual exercises and warm ups without too much pain or stress." of course, the huge jagged scars running up and down her torso remained hidden beneath her top. She had been hit in the stomach with a half formed raikiri- enough to scramble her organs and nerves around, though not quite enough to prove lethal. Physical therapy was long and arduous, and was made more difficult with the chuunin exams and the past invasion.

"No, I do not know why I was called here." She had a few ideas- reinstation was possible, but she figured it to be unlikely. Maybe she'd be made an academy teacher or something- that happened to injured shinobi, right? And after her disastrous last genin team, it was unlikely she'd be provided with another. Of course, this was all theory- in truth, she just didn't know what to do with herself. It was odd not having a sense of purpose- but she'd managed. Inhale. Exhale. "Do you plan to reinstate me?" she asked earnestly. Might as well ask upfront- no point in beating around the bush.

WC: 302
Total WC:725

He watched closely as the former Jounin entered the office and methodically made her way to one of the two seats ahead of Kinzoku. Unconsciously so, Kinzoku had been studying the kunoichi. It had become a force of habit for the Nazar. Something he eyes and mind did whether he wanted to or not. This was no different from any other day. He knew her story and what had happened to her. After all it was all detailed fairly well in her file. Why she was a "former" Jounin. All things considered she seemed to be carrying herself pretty well at the moment. Whether she was simply doing an exceptional job at hiding it, or she had simply healed Kinzoku could not tell. As she took her seat he noticed her attention shift to his metallic arm for just a moment. It was nothing the Nazar wasn't use to. Most, if not everyone he's met have done it in their first encounter with the foreigner. 

She replied to the Kage's remark in kind, stating it had been a year or so since they've last seen one another. Kinzoku did not know how long it had actually been but her statement seemed accurate. He studied her face closely to see how close to the truth she was speaking, searching for any hints of a possible lie. He wasn't expecting Lachesis to lie out of spite. More so to protect herself and make it seem she was better off than she actually was. Assuming she was lying at all. At this point in time the Nazar wasn't sure. "Good to hear" he added with a smile. "I'm sure in do time you'll be back in shape." He was genuinely glad to hear she was getting better. It meant she was trying to get back to who she was before. Back to being a shinobi. 

The conversation went on, Lachesis stating at first that she did not know why Kinzoku had called this meeting. But he refrained from responding right away. Surely she had a few ideas as to what they could be. So he allowed her to run through her own thoughts as silence engulfed the room. A silence Kinzoku was all to comfortable with. Once she was done sorting through her thoughts she gave what was the most likely response to which Kinzoku returned a smile. "Among other things" Kinzoku replied, "but yes. That is why I've called you here today."

He took another moment to study her reaction, if there were any at all. "I'm sure you know what that would mean" the Nazar continued. "You'd reprise all former responsibilities. Village security. Missions. Most importantly, leading a team of your own..." he added before taking a pause to let his words sink in. There was no secret here. No elephant in the room. They were both aware of what happened in the past. So he asked one important question that would allow Kinzoku some insight in Lachesis own current state of mind. "Do you think this is something you're ready for?"

The conversation continued fruitlessly. Apparently, the kage had to go somewhere urgently, though she didn't know why. She hummed to herself, dismissed from the leader's office, and returned to her home. She hadn't written her brother in a while, after all. Maybe it was time to send him something? An ice trinket of some sort sounded appropriate. Lachesis scratched the side of her head. Yeah, that sounded nice. She pulled out a piece of parchment and started writing.

(Exit)

WC: 78
Total WC: 803
Claiming: 4 stats, 803 words to http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t25092-certain-kill-ice-spears

Approved

[Exit]

Not making any claims for this. Totes forgot about it

Its cool

and feel free to make claims as long as it is before any big event you may or may not be going to.

Approved.