Meeting New Friends (Open to All)

It's been a really long while since sakuragi had any training. Years ago, he was very serious with his trainings. He never missed a day without training. The young boy has grown a bit taller and older too and it seems age has gotten eaten up his zeal for training. He wasn't  too sure what happened and why he feels reluctant to train, he hasn't  given up on his dream to become the strongest ninja.  Sakuragi's would appear to have grown longer too, being more darker too. The young boy has seriously aged. Still a chunin, he wanted to get stronger than ever to learn more powerful techs.  It was a chilly evening and the wind is blowing gently, Sakuragi felt he hadn't trained in months. Could it be because the Kiri nins that went to the suna war came back?.  He wasn't sure. Something is wrong somewhere, this isn't typical of sakuragi. 
However, it seem his zeal that had been eaten up by an unknown event would be revive tonight. A lot going through his mind as he sat thinking of what to do. It was true that it was late, but that doesn't matter. He would still do what he wanted to do.  He felt like getting back to training and he wouldn't even wait till tomorrow day break. He went inside and got dressed in his usual attire. He still wear bandages around his right arm and right leg. His blue shinobi sandals was tightly worn. He loved what was about to be set up tonight. He was about to set the fire of training In his heart again.  There was no one at Home, saved he alone. His father and mother and elder brother travelled. They trust sakuragi to be able to keep the home save. He is mature now. 
The young shinobi is now ready, it's really late and he was still unsure where to train... 
He would brace his mind for what lay ahead of him. Though it's been a while since he had any training, he didn't forget his usual training grounds and spot.  The sea bank, he often train his ice jutsu or any other water related jutsu here.  The atmosphere there gives him inspiration. Even on scorching days, the sea bank is uniquely chilly and cool.  It's one of  Sakuragi favourite spot.
The Forest of wind, another spot where he enjoys training. The forest is said to be the home of several weird creatures.  Despite the crazy rumours about this forest, sakuragi still love to train here. Though he doesn't has too many wind jutsu in his arsenal, he love training his wind release jutsu here. The trees tend to serve as a wind breaker. Sakuragi also has another spot, a high mountain. He very seldom uses this place but it's still one of his favourite.  He uses this place for meditation and learning jutsu that are not really offensive and require a lot of concentration. He loves quietness when learning such jutsu.  He is not limited to this three spots when training but these three are his favourite.  
His zeal to train is blazing hot,  he had all his ninja stuff on him. His ninja bag was carried across his back.  He step out of the house and headed for a training spot.  He would probably go to Sea bank, his mind keep directing him there.  However another thought crossed his mind...  “The Kiri ninjas that just came back from Kiri, where the hell are they? ”. The boy was super curious.  He hadn't really met any of them or maybe he did and didn't recognise them.  Kirigakure is a big village, wide, large with almost no end , big houses and whatever description you could give to a beautiful populous big village. Sakuragi had to train but he needs to check around first,  he hasn't got any clue about any of those who went with the mizuakage to the war. Even the Mizukage himself hasn't return yet. He wanted to ask some questions from those who went to the war, he had never fought in any war. He probably wanted to know how it feels and all that. What happened in the war, he wanted to know all of this kids if he come across a willingly ninja. Sakuragi is just a curious , it's time to make some friends. He wander about in his village, looking for clue to answer his questions... 


WC : 744

It was yet another cool, misty day on the island nation as the snowy haired Jounin and her midnight black wolf companion made their way through the bustling streets of the village. This had become her daily routine since coming back from Sunagakure, or what remained of the once glorious nation that is. She hadn’t heard any news of Xyxer coming back and felt lost because of that. He was supposed to be her teacher and train her to become stronger just like himself, yet now he just suddenly up and vanished without a trace. To make matters even worse, she hadn’t been in contact with Kotsuzui in a while, and the stress of not knowing if he were alive or dead was eating away at her. If she didn’t even have him as her crutch in this foreign place she wasn’t so sure she could handle being around all of these strangers alone. Not when they knew nothing of what she’d gone through and no amount of talking could ever get them to understand fully the trauma she endured.

Her fist tightened as she walked, her thoughts of that day clawing at the corners of her mind, but she couldn’t let those memories get the best of her again. She had to be numb to everything, especially her past for it was what could destroy her and everything she has worked for up until now, and Hikari couldn’t afford to lose when she had given up so much to get this far. So she took a deep breath and unclutched her white knuckles, her the same hand through Kuro’s fur in an effort to distract herself. He was accustomed to her doing such a thing by now and could sense her distraught, as it was a special ability he had picked up from being around her for so long now. He could always tell what she was feeling by being near her, and always knew just how to make her feel better, even if it was only a little bit. He had been able to piece together what had happened that day during the war and knew she was suffering greatly on the inside despite not letting it show.

“Nothing really seems interesting here, huh Kuro? Should we go somewhere else then?” Her soft voice broke through the loud throngs of people as her companion’s ears perked up at the sound of her voice. Even though it was hard for a human to hear her over the roar on the streets, his enhanced senses came in handy and allowed him to hear her crystal clear. Their eyes made contact and she could tell he agreed they should go elsewhere. Her light colored hair bobbed gently as she nodded her head in understanding of his reply before she lead them to a more quiet and secluded section where less people were hustling about. There were still stalls set up for people to buy wares from, but there was also a nice scenic view of the ocean on this side of the shopping area.

The duo usually came here when the main shopping district overloaded Hikari’s senses for it was more tranquil and gave her time to rest and recharge herself. “This is much better, and the ocean looks nice today too.” Her words were short and sweet to get her point across, or at least that was what she liked to believe. In all honesty if she spoke of the way the waves crashed soothingly against the rocks below for longer than she had, it would’ve been much harder to stop her voice from cracking. Being able to witness the wonders of beauty was always pleasant for a moment but always turned sour when her mind reprimanded her from being awed at something her brother could no longer take part in enjoying. She was always reminded of how cruel the world truly was and of that fact that she wasn’t allowed happiness, not when he had his life cut short and couldn’t find such joy himself.

Damn it all. She cursed to herself as she bit her lip and looked away from the horizon, her dress swaying with the movement as she decided to travel closer to the road in order to keep her mind off of him. A gentle breeze blew as they walked aimlessly, dancing through her hair and dress but not making her feel cold at all. It was still fairly warm outside and as such she wore her usual ninja attire that consisted of an ombre purple dress with a long-sleeved purple cardigan to match and a white ribbon tied around her slender waist. Her hair was up in a high ponytail but still flowed well down her back with her Kirigakure headband sitting atop her head to keep her hair out of her face and her shoes made no noise as she walked due to her wearing her silencing boots in the form of black high-heeled ninja boots.

(WC: 835)

Whether it was a dream or an illusion, Sakuragi can't be sure. All his plans seem to be going to another direction.  The long ponytail haired boy seem not to understand what's really going on as he wander about the village. There was place that seem cool to quench his lust and burning zeal to get stronger. Suddenly that zeal was replaced with curiosity to make new friends. The young lad  walked about the village. It was a bit cool here at this region of the village. Sakuragi was walking a T Junction. He was coming out of an alley. When he reached the Junction. A fairly pale girl walked some distance away from him. She probably didn't see Sakuragi he believed, Sakuragi saw her with an animal companion walking ahead of him, with her back facing sakuragi.  She seems to be no ordinary girl. She was wearing the village head band and Her footsteps gives no sound , this makes sakuragi to be highly intrigued. His eyes would be fixed on the girls legs as she walk. There was nothing odd about her legs, just some boots. How could she walk without giving ound?  Probably with the help of a special technique, but why would she be using such technique here. What's she aiming at?.  The girl doesn't seem to be too tall. She has a baby face too, which makes Sakuragi think that he is old enough to be her older brother. His confidence to meet her and talk to her grew even strong with the mentality that he was older than.  
Sakuragi would yelled “ Hey Hey Hey” while staying where he was, if the girl didn't stop then he would run towards her while still yelling “Hey”.  She seem to be a ninja. The fact that she's wearing the village head band means she's a ninja. There was virtually no person in this area at this point in time,  save these two young folks, so talking to the girl should probably be easy. Sakuragi hopes he doesn't scare or get her angry by yelling at her like that. He believes it is kinda of rude to yell at someone like that. Sakuragi barely noticed her animal companion until the girl looked at her. 
Once Sakuragi gets her attention and get the girl to look at him,  a bright smile would appear on his face,  “ I'm sorry I yelled on you like that, my name is Sakuragi. Can I meet you? ”. He said fixing his eyes steadily on the girl eyes. Sakuragi wasn't good with words, he was curious about the girl's response. Sakuragi made sure he didn't get in the way of her companion that was standing beside her .


“ It's a pretty cool daytime. I was going to train some techniques when I changed my mind. Did you know that Kiri ninjas that went to the Suna war are back, except for Xyxer?. I was just wondering about to see if I can meet of one those who went to the war when I came across. There's something unique in the way you walk, your footstep makes practically no sound. Is that a ninja chnique you're using or what?” Sakuragi would ask with much Curiousity.  Perhaps he could learn from this girl, maybe the first thing he would learn from her was how to walk without making a single sound. Sakuragi stood there with his arms in his pocket expecting a response from the girl. He was so calm , his long ponytail hair, dangling left and right side of Sakuragi. 
The spot that the two folks are,  together with the animal companion wasn't too far away from the sea bank. Perhaps they would take a walk to the beach or the forest of wind or the mountain if the kuniochi and her companion  agrees. 



TWC: 1387

When someone called out to her, shouting hey several times, she stopped walking but didn’t turn around. Instead, the veins around her eyes bulged as she activated her Byakugan and looked at the person who had wanted her attention through her clan’s famous doujutsu. They were taller than she, with a black ponytail and crystal blue eyes, and looked rather young in her eyes. Full of innocence and dreams. A sign they hadn’t truly experienced the shinobi world, felt it tear at their hopes and shatter whatever remnants of joy they clung to. She almost pitied him for the path he unknowingly chose to walk down in life. Almost but not all the way. Getting emotional about each and every single shinobi she encountered would slowly chip away at her until nothing remained but a hollow husk of what little humanity had remained within.

A couple moments passed before he spoke up again, introducing himself as Sakuragi and apologizing for yelling at her. It seemed to her that he had some sense left, but it could’ve been a little too late had she been anyone else for some people don’t take as kindly as she to being abruptly stopped while minding their own business.

“I hope you know thinking so recklessly like that could get you killed in this world.” She said as she sighed quietly and deactivated her Byakugan, not feeling the least bit threatened by his presence. He seemed to be just an overly excited and naive young man who thought it wise to yell at strangers. How foolish. She thought to herself as she finally turned around to face him, her lilac hued eyes meeting his aquatic ones. “Fortunately for you I could care less about, but just keep in mind for next time that not everyone is okay with being yelled down.”

Instead of answering his second question about meeting her, she gestured with her hand for him to come closer. He had already interrupted her so the least he could do was walk the distance to greet her properly. It was hardly appropriate to have a conversation by yelling back and forth.

Should Sakuragi move closer to her and start speaking again, asking her about the shinobi that went to Suna and her boots then Hikari would cross her arms over her chest, face lacking any sort of emotion. “It’s just your lucky day then for you’ve just met one of the shinobi that went to Suna. I’m Hikari Hyuuga and it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Then after a brief pause she would gesture down to her shoes and, once he was looking at them, would transform the shoes from their high heeled ninja boot form to a pair of regular high heels with a strap around her ankle and a three inch thin heel on the back. “The reason my steps make no sound are because of the ability these shoes have, although it doesn’t last forever. I did not make these shoes, I bought them from a vendor on the streets years ago but I haven’t seen them since. Perhaps you might be able to use that luck of yours to find them or make your own if you are good at that sort of thing. There may even be techniques already created that also silence one’s steps, although I personally do not know of any.”

She shrugged her shoulders lightly and waited for his reply, already preparing herself for what he may ask her about Sunagakure or the whereabouts of Xyxer. Too bad he wouldn’t know until she answered how disappointed he’ll be at her words. She hadn’t experienced the fighting during Suna, just stayed on the sidelines and waiting for her time to shine yet it never came. They left Suna as quickly as they had decided to go. More irritating than that was Xyxer leaving on his own to do who knows what. News of him conquering another village hadn’t spread nor had any villages claimed to have his head so she assumed he hadn’t gone the war route like usual, although anything she thought was mere speculation and nothing more.

(WC: 1,530)

Perhaps he was clumsy or rusty or if there's  any better better or worse word to describe his recklessness. Yelling at a stranger like that isn't so nice, though he couldn't think of a better way to get the girl's attention. It seems there's something special about the girl, Hikari. She has some special abilities that sakuragi may never have seen before. It may also seems like Hikari didn't like the way he yell at her.  “I didn't mean to yell you down like that, I just couldn't think of a better way to get your attention. What would you have done if you were in my shoes?” sakuragi would say as he walked closer and closer to hikari after she gestured to him to move closer. Sakuragi kept a bright warm face. Hikari would tell him her name and sakuragi seems pleased.  Hoping that she now already know his name, there would be no need for any other special introduction. It's likely Hikari even knew what he wanted to ask, he wasn't sure, but he just assume she knew. He was gonna ask her some really important questions one by one, not sounding interrogative and at the same time not taking much of her time as she could be heading somewhere important . 


The cool wind blew around the surrounding,  following the question sakuragi asked about the soundless shoe, the girl would gestured to her shoe and make some sort of transformation which sakuragi doesn't really seem to understand. His eyes slightly frowned out of curiosity and the shoe transformed. “ It's really lovely, I mean the soundless shoes, this will come handy in battle. It would be a great thing if your opponent can't hear you as you move in battle, that leaves them open to sneak attacks”  sakuragi would say. He wasn't trying to sound like a teacher to her , though she may think that's what he's trying to do. He was just giving his perspective about the shoe and how great they are. He would want one of those type, but not now, he could get them later or learn a technique that make him walk soundlessly or even Create one himself. He would fix his gaze steadily on the girl's eyes, “these eyes looks special, would it be a bad idea if I ask her about them or would that sound like an insult? ” Sakuragi would say to himself while still keeping his composure. Being only a 2 ft away from the girl at this moment, he would finaly ask her, “ I'm glad I met someone who went to the suna war. You know I've never been to a war before. I don't know what it feels like. I hope to know that feeling of war someday. So tell me, what was it like there?,  did you meet deadly foes there?,  did you kill somebody?. Tell me your experience at the war, I mean everything. I hope I'm not taking too much of your time?” he would say/asked, “ by the way, where is the mizukage, why hasn't he returned back from war?. Since you went together, I was expecting to see him too here, but I haven't seen him in weeks since you guys came back”. At this rate, sakuragi might as well sound like a talkative to the young girl, he was probably asking too many questions at a time or maybe they aren't too maybe for the young girl to answer, this were only his speculations anyway. This girl maybe also be more matured Than he thought she was. She seems so composed, all the while,  sakuragi was two feet away from hikari and his eyes were fixed on her face. He hope to really get along well with her and he wouldn't even mind following her to wherever she goes today just to make her his friend. There were no passerby in the surrounding environment where these two are. It's only quiet here, only the sound of the cool blowing wind could be heard.



TWC: 2063

While the raven haired man approached her he said something that made the short Jounin reflect for a moment, pondering how she would’ve handled the situation if she had been in his shoes. There weren’t many options she could come up with that didn’t result in the wrath of the other party, and for that, she decided to cut him some slack for how he tried to get her attention.

“You do have quite the point there and honestly the only thing I would’ve probably done differently than you would be what I yelled out.” She took a moment to pause and looked the young man in the eyes before continuing. “Instead I would have said excuse me miss or sir, something a bit less harsh than just hey.” Hikari gave a small smile as she finished her words in order to show the boy that she wasn’t cross with him or felt any sort of ill emotions towards him, after all the last thing she needed in this village was enemies and having someone think she loathed them probably counted as more of an enemy than a friend.

Then came time for her to demonstrate the ability of her shoes, which until now she had never actually done before now that she thought about it. Sakuragi was the first person to notice how she sometimes made no sound as she walked, which was a peculiar thing to think about that he of all the people she had interacted with had commented on it. However, it seemed simply showing him the shoe's ability wasn’t enough to satiate his curiosity as his eyes narrowed, but alas he didn’t inquire more from her about them despite his body language saying otherwise.

“I agree, they are quite handy to have, especially as a ninja since obviously being stealthy helps keep us alive.” Her shoulders rose and fell gently as she gave a soft shrug, rather indifferent about the whole matter with her seemingly magical shoes, though she knew the second part of their conversation was just about to begin. She braced herself for the onslaught of questions she knew he would ask, wondering what happened in Suna, where Xyxer was, and everything one could possibly ask about war, for those who are fortunate enough to not participate in it are always far too eager to experience it second hand from those who weren’t so lucky.

Thus with an inward sigh, for she couldn’t allow him to know her true thoughts on the matter since they were in the place that loved bloodshed more than life itself, the Hyuuga began delving into the topic he was truly excited about. “Alright, I’ll try to answer everything as best I can. Firstly, this war was anything but interesting. It felt as if the moment we arrived we were already leaving and as far as I know, a majority of those who went didn’t even fight, myself included. However this was not my first war to be in, I participated in the war with Konoha and that one was more eventful.” Hikari took a deep breath to control her voice from wavering at the mention of such a hellish war to keep her facade strong. No one could find out she was not originally from Kiri, not if she dared to live long enough to murder Yensung.

After a second or two she parted her rosy lips and her confident voice rang through the air once again, “During that war, I didn’t kill anyone but saw a couple deaths that my comrades partook in if that counts for anything. I didn’t meet any deadly foes against Konoha sadly, but that was to be expected from that pathetic village. They wounded maybe one of our shinobi while we took out several of theirs, including the Hokage.” She let her words sink in to the foolish person across from her, knowing no matter what she was about to say he wouldn’t care. All of Kiri had grown up in violence, bathed in the warmth of fresh blood and relished in the cries of their victims, so trying to convince them that murder and war were meaningless constructs that could be avoided was a hopeless cause. Yet she tried nonetheless, grasping on to a thin strand of hope that maybe this boy wasn’t too far gone, that his soul could still be salvaged from the corruption, “Why do you hope to experience war one day? What is so great about it? I know I’m slightly biased here, being a medic that values life in a world that finds such life as expendable, but I’m still trying to understand the mindsets of others like you.”

Her eyes wandered to the sea during the pause between her own questions and his responses, a mix of emotions swirling in the pupil-less orbs as she contemplated how he might react. Sakuragi didn’t seem like the type who would immediately resort to violence at someone provoking him but with people one could never be too certain, after all the Mizukage is, or was, a person she thought she understood until he began to open up to her and revealed sides of himself that she thought never existed. He was kinder to a degree and could show warmth despite being known as a monster and murder. Like a man in love with blood could be gentle, a man as nice as a dove could be cruel.

“I’m not sure where the Mizukage is, he didn’t return with us on the ships after Sunagakure and I haven’t sensed his chakra presence since we came back. I’m not sure if any other higher-ups have heard from him, but as far as I know he went on some rogue mission and is still there. I don’t even know if he took any other shinobi with him or if he went alone.” She herself hated that no one seemed to have any answers on his whereabouts or what he was up to, but most of all she hated being left in the dark. He agreed to be her teacher yet immediately went on his own to do fuck knows what without mentioning anything, not even when he would be back. How could a leader keep such secrets from everyone in his village and leave it without someone in charge, for from what she could tell no one else had taken the mantle to lead in his absence. “It’s a mystery where he went and when he’ll be back, but I guess that was how the Mizukage always lived since everything about him is a secret...” Her voice held a bit of sentiment in it as she recalled the aforementioned man. She didn’t hate him even though she knew that was what she should feel, but in truth, she didn’t entirely mind his presence when they were around each other. He demanded authority and got whatever he wanted, and ended up as a role model for the person she so desperately wanted, no needed, to become.

(WC: 2,705)

The zeal of love, the passion and lust for peace, the hate of pain,  these are what drives sakuragi. 
He left home to train at one of his favourite training spot,or  wherever his spirit leads him, but his curiosity caught up with him. He came across a very fine kuniochi, one he probably hasn't seen before in Kirigakure. This is probably the first time these two will meet, or Hikari may be one of those random faces that Sakuragi see everyday but never took notice. Anyway, nature brought them together today and these two may actually become friends. His curiosity drived him to wanna know a lot of things, that includes knowing everything that happened during the suna war if they are worth knowing, meeting as many people as possible that went to suna war to tell him their war stories. Luckily, he came across this young Kunoichi whom sakuragi believes is younger than he is, mostly because she was a cute little pumpkin. He had thrown a question at her as to how she would had reacted if she was in his shoes, as it seems the young kunoichi wasn't that all OK with the way Sakuragi yelled at her. Not that she held any resentment or ill-willed towards him, but she believed he could have been nicer than that. Well, Her response to his question seems to make sense. There is always a sensible way to do things, as well as a stupid way to do everything. Sakuragi isn't really the type who admits his wrongs easily unless there's a vivid evidence of him being wrong. Even if he admit his wrongs, he won't apologise openly to whoever he wronged, he would only admit his wrong in his heart and make amend, very seldom does he apologise for his wrong doing or mistakes. However, it seem today is quite different, Sakuragi saw some sense in what the girl said. “I think you're right. I could have been nicer than that. It's not cool to yell at someone like that” he replied. This is quite unusual, but it's  probably because he considered this as something so little. 

Every other conversation that doesn't involve them talking about the suna war sounds like chit chat to sakuragi. The main reason he walked up to him in the first was because of this, tho the soundless shoe was what caught his attention. Hikari would go ahead show him work the shoe. It's cool to have this on especially in battles, being stealthy is cool. 
Sakuragi consider himself a genius, being able to remain calm even in tensed and difficult situation. Not that he was in a tensed situation, but he was just too calm here and doesn't seem to be bothered about anything. His instinct tells him that the girl already know his questions before he even asked them, she seems mature than the age sakuragi thought she was. It would be rude to ask her about her about her age. They are meeting for the first time and she may take offense at that. 
As Hikari started to tell him what he really wanted to know, he realised that Hikari and many others who went to the war didn't even fight or kill anyone. A smirk would appear on his face “Well, what kind of war is that anyway, a love war ?”. In war, there is always bloodshed, there is always loss of loved ones,  but it seems the suna war wasn't as brutal as he thought it was. If it wasn't a brutal war, why on earth the xyxter followed the Kiri squad in the first place, if this is a love war, what's the point of even calling it a war?.  Several thoughts began to run through his mind, still he remained calm. He waited for her response and pause for a while before he talked again .




Konoha war sounds eventful. I guess you didn't kill anyone because you didn't have enough nerves to do it or because you're just too kind and loving. Also you make it sounds like Konoha is village inhabited by feeble ninjas. If you guys took out the hokage that easy as it sounds, then the hokage must be very weak. If the leader of a village is a feeble shinobi then every other shinobi in it will be feeble”. He said and then remain muted. 


After a while, he fold his arms and looked straight into the girls eyes, not out of anger at the question she asked him or anything, but out of seriousness. “ you asked me what is so great about war, I ask you, what is a shinobi’S life made of if not war. War completes a Shinobi. What's the purpose of learning all the great and strong jutsu if there's no subject to test them on. That's what war does. It gives you subjects to test how weak or strong you are”.  A smirk appeared on his face with his arms still folded.  Hikari obvious doesn't really know the exact location of Xxyter, he's probably somewhere doing something stupid again. But where ever he is right now, Sakuragi doesn't seem to care so much. Still expecting to have a longer conversation with the kunoichi, Sakuragi allowed her time to respond, being careful not to get her pissed off by asking her too many questions at a time. They have been standing on the same spot for a while, sakuragi simply ignored the kunoichi companion, he or she doesn't seem to be harmful. “Emmm, Hikari ...  Can we walk together to wherever you're going while we continue taking? ” he asked, expecting a yes from the girl. This he said, so as not to make her late, should incase she's going somewhere important.




TWC: 3028

Her eyes widened slightly as he admitted the error in his ways instead of shrugging off the suggestion and disregarding her in general. It took her a moment for Hikari to regain her composure as he had caught her off guard, although he wouldn’t be able to tell that since she kept the mask she wore secure and her emotions hidden beneath it. “It’s a good thing you learned for next time, and don’t worry about it in regards to me. I’m not bothered by it.” Came her response a minute or so after he finished talking, in her usual monotonous voice that seemed to be all she ever spoke in nowadays unless she was alone with Kuro. He’s the only one who could truly bring out her real self, both a blessing and a curse.

Things went by relatively smoothly for the next several minutes as she demonstrated the ability of her shoes and thought he would ask more about them, but to her disappointment, he wanted to hear more about the war than her silencing boots. Despite not wanting to talk about it she did so anyway, forcing herself to try and play the role of a proud Kirigakure warrior that just came back from a siege.

After she finished talking about the Suna war, he smirked disgustingly and called it a meaningless love war. It bothered her a bit that he could shrug off war so easily, but she made herself forget about it and pushed those feelings to the back of her mind. She had to focus, training herself to feel nothing for situations like these. He was the perfect way to practice her resolve and she couldn’t waste such an opportunity for who knows when she would get another chance to do so.

“I don’t even think it could be described as any kind of war, not even one for love, with how pathetic it was.” The words felt foreign as they left her lips, things she never imagined saying coming out, albeit sounding a little more robotic than she had hoped. Truth be told it was a miracle for them to even sound like that and not how they had sounded in her head; revolting. To mask her slight mistake she tried her best to smirk like him, wanting him to believe the part she was playing more than anything right now. She couldn’t afford for her act to be found out by someone that appeared to be a lower ranking shinobi, otherwise, she would have no chance of fooling the stronger people in the village that could easily kill her in one swift movement.

As he moved on to discuss the Kono war, she couldn’t quite tell if he had meant to be offensive. If he truly thought she was from Kiri there was no way she could be kind and loving, but if he was trying to be sincere in that compliment then she got worried about how she was appearing to others. Hikari didn’t believe she had done anything to warrant such a description from him, rather she felt she had done well enough in being colder than usual.

While she was preoccupied with the second sentence he had said, the last one reverberated in her head and replaced all her previous thoughts. It took everything in her being to remain composed while he spoke ill words about Risako, a woman stronger than anyone she had ever known, even Xyxer for her strength was something far different from just physical. The Hokage tried so hard to keep her people alive, the very people that turned their backs on her the moment she was down...the same bastards that had sworn to protect her tried to kill her. Yet he called her feeble, weak, not any better than the dirt she was dropped upon after her back was shattered by the Hyuuga’s new kage.

This son of a bitch! She released her anger out inside her mind, venting the frustrations mentally rather than to the man in question. Revealing her actual thoughts of Risako and him would only cause her harm, potentially even death if the wrong ears heard of this, so all she could do was grit her teeth and put on a neutral facade.

“Since I am a medic I was tasked with healing the shinobi rather than fighting, yet I wouldn’t have needed to fight anyways. Kiri is far too strong to be defeated, so even though Konoha wasn’t as feeble as I had made it sound, they still didn’t stand a chance against the Bloody Mist. After all, we had Lord Mizukage, the strongest man I’ve ever seen, so even though their Hokage wasn’t incredibly weak, she was no match for him. It was just a shame they didn’t surrender to begin with, would’ve saved everyone the headache.” The snowy woman tried to choose her words carefully, reflecting on how other shinobi from Kiri she had encountered spoke of the war and their captives. Most were indifferent, some even pitying the stupidly prideful leaf village ninja for believing they could overcome the impossible. Some of her words she did think to be true, especially how she felt about them surrendering. So much bloodshed could have been avoided had they listened to their orders instead of trying to stand up for a lost cause. Recklessness caused only pain and misfortune, something they had to learn the hard way.

It was proving to rather difficult being something she spent two decades of her life practicing against, and parts of herself broke through as she tried to disregard his comments on the Kono war, even going so far as to ask him why he felt so inclined to experience the horrors of war someday. Although Hikari soon came to realize even that was a mistake to ask, bringing only more anger and horror instead of meaningful understanding.

She was left speechless at his answer, bewildered by how savage and cruel his thoughts were, and a million thoughts raced through her mind as they kept their eye contact and he began smirking yet again. Could a child really believe in such atrocious things? It has to be the fault of this damned Bloody Mist...but why the fuck am I so surprised? I knew people were like that here so why did I hope those were all rumors? Why do I care all this time later? I shouldn’t, not for monsters...like him...like me.

“Life has so much more potential than throwing it away for something as whimsical as war. Sure wars can be won or lost, but ownership of a place changes constantly like the sea tide, so what’s the point in sacrificing yourself for a cause that is sure to be forgotten?” Her voice held a bit sharper of an edge than usual but the rest of her body language remained calm, as if she wasn’t fighting the urge to glare daggers into him. “A shinobi’s life could be made of more than just fighting, like friends or family or even just the thrill of exploring new places.” She took a moment to pause, coming to her senses and cursing herself mentally for becoming too involved in the affairs of another. “If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you anyway? I myself am 22.”

It felt like the sensible thing to at least find out the age of someone she was getting a little too passionate in her debating with, for all she knew he could’ve been older than she and at that point, anything she was saying would just cause an argument. Hikari couldn’t come off as trying to teach someone a lesson, especially if they were older than she, however, if they were younger than her, she might have a chance at convincing them that life was precious and shouldn’t be thrown away because some leader decided they were expendable at the drop of a hat.

Minutes passed between the two as they continued conversing until they came to a stop, whether that be of agreeance or acceptance that neither was willing to budge was yet to be decided. Yet as they both reflected in the silence, Sakuragi, if he should still decide to follow through with this action, piped up and asked if they could walk together to wherever she had been heading, seemingly tired of standing in the same spot now.

Everything in her being screamed at her to say no and to avoid getting close to the people of this village, especially when they were so gung-ho to enter the cold embrace of death so early on. Yet Kuro sensed these feelings budding within her and nuzzled her hand softly, informing her in his own way that he thought she should say yes and go against the words gnawing at the back of her throat. It was hard to say no to the wishful eyes of the large canine as she glanced briefly down at him before letting a small sigh escape her rosy lips.

“Sure why not, although we didn’t have any place, in particular, to go to...” Her voice trailed off as Kuro moved from her side and towards the direction of the beach, not moving far from the duo but enough of a distance for at least one of them to catch his drift. “Well I guess I spoke too soon, it seems Kuro has a place in mind.” If Sakuragi didn’t protest following the wolf, she would turn on her heels and walk towards the large ball of fluff, possibly with the younger shinobi by her side.

(WC: 4,318)
(Mid thread claims:

3000/3000 for Reaper & 188/188 for Willow, using max stat discount.

Also 15 stats for Kuro.

New WC left unused: 1,130)

Approved @ Hikari

Openly admitting his mistakes or wrong doings wasn't something sakuragi would choose to do on a normal day. Today was just one of those few unusual days of him admitting he was wrong. However, he didn't seem to be bothered with anything the girl said about him agreeing with hikari that he could have been nicer. Hikari herself wasn't bothered, she doesn't in anyway appear to be annoyed with Sakuragi's reckless attitude that could have gotten him killed assuming it was somebody else. Hikari is sure gonna make a good friend. A good friend will correct her friend in love. A good friend will be patient and kind, she will not envy, she will not boast. But which Kiri shinobi would have all these qualities?. Kirigakure is a mighty village inhabited by bloodthirsty ninjas, all they seek to do is to devour, destroy and kill. Even sakuragi may not be an exception. But even though Kiri ninjas are bloodthirsty demons, they are  still humans and they have a heart. A heart that can feel love and hatred. Even the most bloodthirsty nins of Kiri still feel some sort of love no matter how small. That means there's still a place of love in these people's heart. Sakuragi can't be so sure that Hikari would have all of these these qualities, maybe some, but not all. It seems as he gets closer to her, he will get to know her more and she may become a very good friend, or even a sister, a younger sister if she is younger or an older sister if she's older than sakuragi. Sakuragi is the type that devote all his energy into friendship with anyone that got lucky go be his friend. 

Sakuragi would remain muted after Hikari told him that she wasn't bothered in anyway about his yelling earlier. His arms are still folded as he looked at the young girl. She would continue to show Sakuragi her silencing boot. It was true that the soundless boot caught sakuragi’S attention but that wasn't what he was excited about right now. The streams of war and it's stories are what runs through his veins right now. It's like his body was on fire and the words of war that Hikari would speak would be the water to quench the fire on his body. He hadn't  really experienced the shinobi world. He's still a young lad struggling to get stronger. He has no sensei and getting stronger alone without a teacher or sensei wouldn't be easy. He would have to do a lot of work and training alone. He is still on the search for a sensei but he obviously hasn't come across any strong person in Kiri to train him to become stronger. He wouldn't be discourage If he didn't eventually find anyone, he would go ahead and just train alone.  

Hikari eventually moved to that part that intrigue Sakuragi, all his veins was cooled and chilled as she talked about the war thing in suna and konoha. Sakuragi attentively listened to all hikari said, he watched as her rosy lips danced and utter the words he was suppose to be excited about. She appears to be very calm to the ponytailed boy, although she may only be pretending to be calm. For now, Sakuragi seems not to be bothered whether she's calm or not as long as she utter the words he wanted to hear. After the up and down, to and fro talks about suna and konoha war, the calmed ponytail arms folded young boy would speak in response to all hikari had said. Sakuragi who had expected to hear more blood shed stories about the two nation Wars seems to be displeased, tho he tried not to show that expression of dissatisfaction. Hikari would probably notice it as his eyes narrowed a bit. “ I expected to hear more than this from you, I expected you to speak about how you beheaded or crushed someone who got into your way, or someone you healed with your medical jutsu, or someone you brought back to life with your medic jutsu. I expected thrilling war stories about suna and konoha. Unfortunately, everything you just said right now doesn't even sound like a war” , he said and paused for a second or two and observed the girl's reaction and facial expression before he talked again , he wanted to be sure that his words were not offensive here, he wanted to be sure that the girl was not  pissed off by the wholesome sense or shit he was saying, if at all that was shit anyway, “Kirigakure is strongest village ever ” he said. 


Hikari said something about fighting for something that could be forgotten. At this very point in time, Sakuragi would smirk and for some seconds he appeared to be dazzled by her question. That was probably something he never thought about. He tried to find a way to reply the girl sensibly without sounding harsh and rude,  “whether the ownership of a place changes or not doesn't matter. As long as you make a name for your self, your cause can never be forgotten and Xxyter had done just that. Even if Konoha no longer belong to Kiri, his cause cannot be forgotten, he made a name for himself that will forever be remembered” he reply. 


The moment Hikari said that a shinobi 'S life involves can be made more than fighting, Sakuragi gave the girl a very weird look like she just spat out junks. Several thought ran through the boy's mind,  “how stupid is this girl to think that a shinobi's life can be made more than fighting. We fight everyday as shinobis...” he thought to himself. Sakuragi with his arms still folded, tried to be as calm as he could be right here. He wasn't angry with what the girl said, he just believe the girl's way of thinking is kinda weird. She is from Kiri and there's barely any nature of Kiri in her. To think the life of a shinobi involves more than fighting isn't typical of any Kiri ninjas he knew.  Sakuragi would speak up “ the way you're sounding right now makes me feel like you're a foreigner in Kiri. If you think the life of a shinobi can be made of more than fighting and gaining powers to get stronger, why train, why learn jutsu?. I'd pretend I didn't hear this from you”. The calmed arms folded boy let out another smirk at his last words. He wasn't angry, the girl's mentality is just weird. If Sakuragi wanna explore anywhere, it's either some place to gain power and learn powerful jutsu which is of top priority to him, his dream is to be the strongest ninja that ever walked the face of the earth or some place where he would make friends that would be helpful and beneficial to him.

For some seconds, Sakuragi's mouth was slightly opened in awe of the girl's age, his long folded arms was loosed such that  his hands are now inside both pockets that in the corners of what seems to be like a black jacket attire he was wearing. He never expected this little girl to be that old, not that she was old, but he never thought she was older than he was. She has a baby face, so it's even hard to tell that she was older than he was.  She was freaking twenty two years and sakuragi finds it difficult to believe that, she's shorter but seems matured that any age sakuragi would have thought she was.  “ I am 15 years old, lady hikari. You are very beautiful, lady Hikari” he said with a warm smile. The compliment wasn't to impress her, it was just the truth that she was beautiful and the boy was for real, she had the skin of a fifteen year old girl, fortunately or unfortunately, she's not Sakuragi's mate, she's a lot older. Sakuragi deem it fit to use the right honorifics for someone who is old enough to be an elder sister to him. He only have one elder brother, who less of a ninja. His elder brother is more of an agriculturalist tho he has some skills in his clan ninjutsu element, ice release. Sakuragi’S eyes blinked for some seconds and his eyes shifted to hikari's wolf companion before he shifted his focus back to hikari. 


The beach was to their left hand side and several metres away from their right hand side was the the forest of wind, which was home for several monstrous creatures. Just as sakuragi's eyes shifted back to hikari, his eyes sighted two flying insects flying towards hikari, behind her, left hand side and right hand side, of which sakuragi wasn't sure what they were, if they were bees or just another crazy insects. But even if he wasn't sure, it's better they don't bite or sting her. Sakuragi wasn't so sure that either hikari or her companion had noticed these two flying insects, they only appeared to be a few inches big in size and they made no sound as they move in the air. Could it be that someone who was trying to assault her or him or even both of them or these are just two insect roaming about on their own?.  Sakuragi wasn't sure but he couldn't afford to take any risk. The  two black insects appear to be kinda harmful with what look like small spikes around their heads. The moment the boy's eyes sighted the insects, if hikari or her companion does not notice anything, he would immediately and carefully draw out two senbons from his weapon pouch and throw the senbons at the insects, each senbon aimed at each insect while simultaneously yelling at hikari “don't move!!!”. At least, if not anything else, this should show the girl that he wasn't just some talking bag saying junky junks about war, this should show that he had some skills and procieffency in the use of senbon. It seems rather weird to  throw something towards someone's direction and yelled at them not move, his actions may seem weird but the boy has good intentions towards hikari, tho sakuragi wasn't sure the girl would stand still, she may see it as an assault and may take offence , should she not notice anything.  Sakuragi had quite some accuracy. The senbons he threw which was few inches long flew past both sides of hikari,  pierce the black insects  and pinned themto the ground. The insects wouldn't be able to survive the hit and would thereafter die after some few seconds unless something saves them or unless hikari tries to be stupid by saving the insects from dying by healing them with her medical jutsu. As far as he knows medical ninjutsu can also heal animals and not only humans. 

It thus seem like hikari doesn't particularly have any place to go, she was probably wandering about before sakuragi stumbled upon her. Well, it doesn't seem like sakuragi himself had any particular place to go in the first place . The wolf companion that had been standing by hikari started to move away but not too far, what the hell could have happened?. Was the wolf tired of these two and now wanted to get some space, he couldn't be sure but he believed hikari understands her own companion better than he will ever do. Hikari eventually revealed that the wolf has got a place in mind, a prove to him that she understands her own companion better than he will ever do. Hikari would start walking and sakuragi would walk beside her. “It seems there's a way you communicate with your companion, is that a telepathy jutsu or you guys just naturally understand each others? By the way, what does your wolf has in mind?. Sakuragi would ask as he walked beside Hikari. 










TWC: 5025