Sliding in a Winter Wonderland (Nomo)

The blonde woman’s shift in position indicated she had finally noticed the duo were with her on the ice, although with the momentum at which she was flying it seemed as if she still would land quite harshly against either the woman or the wall, or perhaps she’d end up still hitting both. Hikari did not try to dodge to the side as the girl's trajectory changed, since she still felt obligated by her desire to help people and knew breaking or lessening the girl’s damage was still what she was called to do. Yet even the Hyuuga had not predicted the blonde kunoichi to grasp her arms instead of ramming into her, and two were spun around in several loops before they broke free. The puppeteer was flung to one side of the rink and Hikari to the other, both their backs sliding until they collided with the hard surface of the barrier, although that collision was slowed down by their sliding across the ice first.

Apology after apology was thrown her way as the girl wanted to reconcile what had happened, explaining why she had been running and how she was too preoccupied to notice Hikari skating along on the ice. A soft smile crept up on her face as the girl continued to worry about her, “I am alright, thank you for asking. Are you okay? Were you injured anywhere?” She used the wall to slowly propel herself up onto her legs, gripping the ledge until she felt confident enough in her balance to release it. “I can’t believe those people were chasing you with spears, seems terribly excessive! Especially given the holiday spirit of this town…”  She trailed off as the girl was checking her ankle and noticed her skate had broken, until the girl focused on the broken wood and more seemed to grow from around her legs/boots to help keep the broken wood together.

She gave a light shake of her head and crossed her arms over her chest in disdain for the terrible behavior of the guards. Hikari couldn’t believe the guards in such a happy go lucky place would be as vicious as those men had been, and she couldn’t think of anything that could possibly warrant that kind of reaction from them.

Then the girl seemed to mutter to herself, mentioning how she shouldn’t have chosen this option since it was the worst one and uttered the word Saya at the beginning. Hikari thought that was the girl's name but wouldn’t use it unless the girl introduced herself since it would’ve felt rude to call her by Saya, especially if that was not a name she felt comfortable with others calling her.

“I think you picked the right option, because now you get to experience ice skating in case you haven’t been able to before, like me!” She grinned at the girl as she did a small spin in her skates, with her hands above her head as she spun around. “My apologies, I seemed to have forgotten to introduce myself! My name is Hikari Hyuuga and this is my companion, Kuro. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” At the mention of his name the wolf skated forward to be on Hikari’s left side, his crimson eyes looking around before settling on the girl across from them. It seemed they were destined to have this fateful encounter today.

The snowy haired woman sighed in relief as the other woman shrugged off what happened, further explaining how she was accustomed to running and learned how to properly fall in order to take the least amount of damage possible. Hikari was about to reach out and offer the girl a hand when her companions beat her to the punch, helping the blonde to her feet and one of them handing the Hyuuga a sign. She giggled lightly at the words written as she handed the person the sign back. It didn't phase her that the figure chose not to speak, since it was not for her to inquire as to why they did not/ For all she knew they could’ve been unable to utilize their vocal chords to make sounds, and inquiring about it would’ve only brought back potentially painful memories.

When the blonde made it back to her feet she began to slide, much like Hikari herself had when she first stepped out onto the rink. The adrenaline of escape had left the girl’s body and now she had to focus on the ice, making it harder to stand her ground than when her thoughts were preoccupied with the chase, at least that is what it seemed like to the white haired girl as she watched the group before her. The girl’s sister knew exactly what to say in order to calm her down and get her to think straight, and within seconds the blonde was back to skating as perfectly as she had been just moments prior.

It did make sense why they would use large pointy spears instead of short little knives on their guard duty, it helped them seem more intimidating than they actually were given their shorter stature. This was something she was far too familiar with. People always loved to underestimate the short ones, although it helped give them the element of surprise.

Soft chuckles escaped her lips at Saya’s joke, the irony of it all causing the Hyuuga to laugh. “Guess they were trained by the tiny guards here!” Hikari added onto the joke as the blonde skated closer and started to make a circle around her. “I am glad you and your companions didn’t need to worry at all.” Her voice was soft and sincere, she truly meant it when she said she was glad they didn’t have to worry anymore. “Are you enjoying the festivities so far?”

A refreshing wave washed over her as she learned the girl was from her former village, for it meant the Hyuuga’s name, and the potential bounty on it, had not reached all shinobi of Kirigakure yet. Perhaps the fear of a bounty on her head was ridiculous after all; perhaps even the new Mizukage had no record of her existence. It would have been a gift if Xyxer had never taken her name to the registry, but it also meant the letter she was to send to the new Mizukage could wind up being the noose around her neck. If they weren’t looking for her before the letter, they sure as hell would after receiving news of a Kiri Missing-nin, even if the Hyuuga did not know any of the secrets from the Mist.

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, all four of you.” She gave a polite bow to them after she spoke, the soft smile never leaving her face. Hikari placed formalities and etiquette high up on the list of things one should always do, right next to saying please and thank you. At the mention of a puppet she had connected the dots, or so she thought, about why the coach had not vocalized anything thus far; because as a puppet he was unable to speak. Hikari, being a novice to puppetry, did not know that they could also be given voice boxes to add to the illusion of them being human. “What is your hometown like? Is it really right next to the ocean?”

Once she felt the sensation of cool threads wrapping around her the veins around her eyes began to bulge as she activated her clan’s doujutsu, watching as threads from Saya’s fingertips attached themselves to her arms and legs. Hikari had never encountered a puppet user before and was a little weary at first, but weighed the pros and cons and ultimately figured the girl meant her no harm. “I would greatly appreciate it, and I am alright with you using your chakra threads to help teach me.” She hoped she would be ready for what happened next.

(AP: 400 -5 Byakugan = 395)

A soft laughter escaped her lips at the comment from Saya’s older sister, as she could imagine someone of as high status as a kage being thoroughly upset with ruckus going on in their village. Hikari didn’t know Lady Mizukage so instead she pictured how Xyxer would’ve reacted to the scene of one of his shinobi performing for the villagers and stopping traffic. She shuddered at the thought of what the blunette would’ve done, not being too keen on having fun in a nonviolent way… although maybe being chased by guards would have been a little close to his definition of excitement.

“Oh wow, your experience was a lot different from mine. Although the delicious cookies part stayed the same. I was approached by a fox-man named Yoi and asked to protect his bakery. Maybe you not accepting Izumi’s request was why no one attacked the bakery I was at.” It was a curious thought that perhaps the girl before her was the sole reason that her first mission with her group went off without a hitch, although the Hyuuga couldn’t be sure if there were others tasked with the same kinds of missions. Maybe there was an underlying war stewing between Yoi and Izumi, and the shinobi summoned were merely their pawns.

The snowy haired women’s ears perked up as Freyja mentioned Saya not originally being from Kiri, having found someone in a similar predicament as her own. Without giving away her own secrets, Hikari wondered if she could get some advice from the traveler as to how she was able to get permission from the Mizukage to stay as a shinobi. The Komekage of Tanbogakure, Yasahiro, had needed a lot of convincing from her in order to even contemplate the idea of welcoming a Missing-Nin into his home; and even then she still had get permission from the Mizukage in order to become a shinobi of the Rice Village.

It was a strange feeling to hear someone describe a place she had been before and knew quite well. Hikari could picture the shops in the center of the village, the ships docked at the harbor, the splashing of the salty water as she traversed one of the many beaches the island had to offer. The people were the one thing she missed most about Kiri, they were the ones who helped her feel a sense of belonging in the foreign land and helped distract her from the thoughts of Salzem’s last breath.

“I do not mean to pry, it is just that I’ve never heard of a shinobi changing villages…How were you able to convince the kage of your last village to allow you to be a shinobi of Kiri? I had always thought that once you left a village they would send shinobi after you?” There was a brief pause as she glanced around at the shops buzzing past them in a blur, “Your new hometown sounds amazing and a lovely place to live. If possible I would love to someday visit Kiri, to see all of the magnificent technologies and beautiful sights it has to offer.”

The threads around her limbs grew taut and went to work on directing her, guiding her body across the ice as it was now Saya’s turn to inquire about Hikari’s life. “I am from Tanbogakure, it is a small village that is located north of Fire Country. It used to be mostly farmland and rice paddies, but now has paved roads and castle-like buildings. There aren’t mountains or the ocean nearby; despite how quaint it is, it has a very warm and homey feel to it.” Her lips curled upward into a smile as she remiscineted about the town she was fighting so desperately to become a member of. “As you might expect, there isn’t a lot of snow or ice skating in Tanbo either. I think we should change that about our homes! Maybe we could bring ice skating rinks to them or try and get them built in the villages!”

Her voice grew louder as the chakra threads pulled her this way and that, her feet gliding effortlessly across the once rough terrain. Now it felt like she had been doing this her entire life as Saya guided her with finesse. For someone who had never skated before, the blonde was a real prodigy.

Hikari loved the feeling of the wind through her tresses as the duo slid gracefully down the ice and spun, now facing one another with grins on their faces. Her eyes glanced at the chakra threads and her mind wandered, drifting to the endless ideas of what she could move if she had the ability like the Kiri kunoichi. Could she also move people with ease and allow them to experience something they had never been given the chance to before? “I’ve never encountered these threads before, but they are amazing! So versatile and incredibly useful, even for something like this… Is there any chance you would be able to please teach me how to make them?” She gave Saya her best attempt at puppy dog eyes, hoping to convince her with cuteness.

(AP: 395 -5 Byakugan = 390)