The Hobo Magical Girl comes home.

Thu Jun 02, 2022 11:01 am

Well, this had been a long road, hadn't it?

Upon the dusty desert road, the Kunochi known as Hikari Namikaze came walking down the main road toward the village hidden among the stars. It had taken some months since she had started on her voyage from the land of the dead, but after some time, the Akari Assassin found her way back to where she had started her career nearly 5 years ago. The road the Akari walked was littered with fallen debris and from the nearby mountain cliff and wooden constructs from the battle that had just taken place. Hikari had seen the start of the assault on the village go down, and hid amongst the rubble nearby in order to see if she could help the village at all. However it would seem like the battle was over before she had the chance to react.

With her walking stick in hand, the former deputy kage would look down at the clothes she had been wearing. She wasn't in her formal attire, nor her combat uniform from when she was the head of the Nova's, but old and tattered traveling winter clothes. The old tattered fabric had been torn from her various clashes with bandits on the way across the continent and to the village. Covering her right eye was a single torn piece of cloth that acted as an eyepatch to cover the transplanted byakugan eye she had. her other eye would be a unique golden color, the natural color an Akari's eye would take once one unlocked the mystery of the golden eye.
Her hair would be covered by an old brown hood, as her long golden blonde hair would be tied up in a bun. The little bit of Hikari's face one could see underneath the hood would show no signs of makeup, but a pile of of dirt and grime caked over her features.

On her back would be a single backpack that had seen better days. A couple of dusty kunai knifes, A few stale loafs of bread the the Kunochi had been able to scrounge up, her old Alpha uniform and mask, and her Hoshigakure headband would be all that was inside the barely held together bag. Any body looking at her would have very little reason to assume that this woman was anything other than a homeless refugee, seeking a sanctuary from the harsh Haven desert.

Approaching the front gate, there would be many soldiers and queensmen running around, preparing for a second wave or perhaps organizing a team to clean up the marks of battle that had been created over the past few hours. Having been a gate guard for multitude of years, The Kunochi knew where to go in order to get through the customs line. Of course no one was currently in the line, nor was anyone actually at the check-in counter due to the attack that had happened, but Hikari would still wait for some time to see if anyone showed up. After about 30 minutes, if no one showed up or approached the Akari, the Kunoichi would make her way into the village, and just try to find Hogokage Yasaki at his estate.

[Entering Hoshi unless stopped]

Thu Jun 02, 2022 5:17 pm

What seemed to last an eternity was over before they knew it. The darkness of the battle quickly turned into the light of the victory as the Hoshigakure forces successfully averted the attack and eliminated any possible threat. Rumbling became crumbling, the opposing giant falling to Dusk his Kanzeon, those atop the construct either breathing their last breath or running for their lives. Those standing on the village walls witnessed the outcome, cheers all around as the invasion slowly came to an end. "Don't relax just yet, there are still civilians in need of help" the Red Nova called out to those who had gathered.

Minutes passed, Akaboshi scanned the surrounding area as he looked at the aftermath. The assault failed, Hoshigakure won. Perhaps there was a God out there after all, watching over the Land of Haven and protecting it from any harm. He was far from the religious type, but after beating Stein of Konoha and now coming out victorious once again perhaps it was time to have a little bit of faith. "Keep up the good work everyone, it's almost over". Finding himself at the tower, he'd keep watch as far as his eyes would reach, staring into the distance in case another surprise decided to show up.

The thought barely left his mind or his premonition came true. "What now?" the Nova Commander sighed, maintaining sight of an individual that slowly approached the village gates. He would quickly make his way over, determined to find out who else found their way to Hoshigakure. As he arrived, Akaboshi noticed the image of a young woman, perhaps in an even worse state than the village. A walking stick, winter clothes, an eyepatch covering one of her eyes, if he didn't know better he'd think it was someone coming to beg and earn some extra coin. Safe to say, the female had seen better days.

With his white cloak firmly around his body the Nova Captain would approach the woman, maintaining a distance of a couple of meters. "You look like you've been through hell". Assuming she had a lot to tell, Akaboshi would allow her a moment to find the right words to say.

(WC: 366)

Thu Jun 02, 2022 6:24 pm

Stationed to the right of Akaboshi, Tsuna bared witness to the inevitable victory of Hoshigakure. It felt like a lifetime to him, from the moment this attempt at an invasion took place before their gates. The forces of Hoshi, lead by his master, Ayato proven to be the more potent. Dusk, a member of Nova showed excellent timing and execution in his actions, nothing was wasted that Tsuna could pick up on. Akabayashi another of the Nova stayed his hand until he was needed to make their victory absolute. Tsuna couldn’t really say why, but he had a feeling that it was because of Akabayashi that the self destruct attempt of one of the assailants failed - leading to Yamato landing the deciding blow, ultimately killing them. Sebastian, perhaps the most brave of all of them found his way to keep up with the sorcery afoot. The outsider, Fu, proven herself. Something that Tsuna, of all Hoshigakure inhabitants was most interested in seeing. It’s not everyday that someone outside the village earns its trust so flawlessly.

He would let out a relieving sigh, only to tense up the moment Akaboshi spoke. He was swift in his command and even swifter in his movements. Tsuna replied. “I cover your six, Lord Akaboshi.” Forming a set of hand seals. The Hoshimura and his equipment would vanish completely, bending the moisture in the air to hide them successfully. His presence, signature, sound all other means to sense him was completely gone. To add to this, he would raise from the ground a few feet using his WOSAC technique. He was nothing more than a phantom at this point.

As the minutes passed, Tsuna stuck to his position of a meter behind the Nova Commander. Guarding his flank, while scanning for chakra signature up to 20 meters radius of his location passively. When he spoke to Akaboshi, or whenever he was required to he would speak low enough only for him and him alone to hear. The almost annoyed, yet subtle outburst of the commander drawn his eyes. He didn’t have to ask what was wrong, for he saw in the distance what it was. “Did someone manage to bypass the perimeter scouts? Yet alone the eyes of Master Ayato?” He questioned, lowly. He would simply discard the thought, for it didn’t matter. He wouldn’t rely on Ayato to be the sole scout when there were so many others that was capable. He included.

As the commander approached, so did Tsuna behind him, hovering a 1.5 feet above ground. The moment the strange woman crossed the threshold of his sensory radar he would have a fix on her. Despite her appearance her chakra was above decent. However, he wouldn’t make a remark on such, it was irrelevant. He would continue to observe for now, until he had to make his presence known.

Thu Jun 02, 2022 8:23 pm

While it wouldn't take long for the Kunochi to be met, the lack of movement and the standing within the summer sun's heat caused a bead of sweat to form on the woman's brow. While some clouds had formed in the sky some time ago, it seemed like they started to dissipate some time ago. Perhaps they had been caused by a jutsu that had been preformed during the battle?

Well, hopefully the Kunochi could get out of the summer sun soon, as a teenager approached the woman and made a rather rude remark about her appearance. Perhaps under better conditions, Hikari would have scolded the boy on his choice of words, but clearly this was not the time for that.

"Well, I'll tell you that it certainly felt like I have. Making my way here from the Nanmen was quite a walk for any traveler..." The Kunochi would explain, reaching up to her hood and pulling it down so the teenager could get a better look at the woman's face. "And then to find my destination was under a joint attack by not one but two different villages? I honestly was scared there that my life was just going to be an endless walking nightmare."

Taking a second to look around and see all of the queensmen running around, the Akari Assassin would continue to speak her request, "Anyways, Sorry for such a strange request while he is obviously busy, but I was actually hoping to speak to Lord Hogokage. My name is Hikari Namikaze, I'm a member of the QueensGuard. I've been out of action for sometime now, and as strange as it might be, I was hoping to give him a status update on my position and condition."

The Akari would speak in a calm clear voice, despite fidgeting on the inside. The Kunochi knew that even though this was probably one of the most awkward returns from a mission she had ever had, that the woman's cool demeaner would be the best chance for her to see her Uchiha Kage again.

Mon Jun 06, 2022 3:03 pm

Aware that Tsunayoshi remained close by, Akaboshi waited and watched as the young woman removed her hood and revealed her face in the process. Through that, the young Nova Commander was able to notice the little spots of dirt covering the female. Her long, blonde hair would stand out the most, similar to the princesses from those fairy tales his mother used to read to him when he was but a child. "Yes indeed, as you can see we have been busy. I wish I could tell you it was the first time something like this happened". Although not sharing any details but merely mentioning the turbulent times Hoshigakure had seen, it would be a reference to the time when Stein of Konoha attacked.

It appeared the woman was rather straightforward and if asked how best to describe her, Akaboshi would have no better way of doing so. In a hurry and cutting right to the chase, that's the first impression she decided to go with. It was at that moment the situation turned even more interesting than it had already been, the blonde female introducing herself as she finally gave the Nova Captain her name, one that sounded all too familiar. "Miss Namikaze, I've heard a lot about you from late Lord Yasaki and Lady Shina". Both the previous Hogokage as well as the female Uzumaki had shared plenty of information on the person standing in front of him.

Given how long she had been away from Hoshigakure it wasn't that out of the ordinary that important news pertaining the village, such as the death of Yasaki or the disbanding of the organization, hadn't reached Hikari's ears. "I'm afraid such a title no longer holds any value considering the Queensguard is no more. Oh right, where are my manners? Akaboshi, Second Commander of the Nova Corps". With a slight bow he formally introduced himself to the woman whose appearance was far from the image of a once proud member of Haven. A lot had changed during her absence, not that out of the ordinary considering how long she had been gone, but that was something Hikari would come to realize sooner rather than later.

Standing tall once again, Akaboshi had no other choice than to inform her of another event having taken place in Hoshigakure, one that involved the village's leadership. "As for your request, I'm sure you'll be able to find our Hogokage somewhere around here, especially since he was leading our defense against the invaders. But," and the Red Nova took a brief pause, "it won't be the one you expect to find" he hinted, only a couple of words needed to imply something happened to Yasaki while she went missing.

(WC: 454, TWC: 820)

Mon Jun 06, 2022 4:25 pm

Still closely observing the woman, reading her expressions when responding and being responded to, Tsuna wanted to leave nothing up to chance. Granted she was a young woman, she did not strike him as harmless. He wouldn’t speak, noticing that Akaboshi was within his zone with the exchange in words.

The timing of it all was coincidental, at least that was what he believed. There was not for sure way of knowing truly. And giving the circumstances, Tsuna was not within his means to just be lax about it all. She made claim of making her way all the way from Nanmen, and by foot no less. Tsuna couldn’t help but to acknowledgment that a lonely woman traveling from close to wind country all the way to Hoshi alone was…intriguing.

Analyzing her over, he didn’t notice any signs of roughing up, aside from wear and tear of her clothing from the walking and the dirt all over. Yet, he couldn’t help but to noticed, the way that she spoke seemed to come off as rehearsed, or veiled. Something about it seemed, odd to him. Perhaps he was overthinking, but he always found answers within thinking.

As he name was announced, he recalled it, from the archives. But not just there, she was also a former member of Nova. Tsuna knew all about her, as he followed the feats of each. However, when it came to Hikari’s…one would frown upon her return to the village. With good reason. Yet, Akaboshi did not seem too concerned, and so neither did Tsuna. And with that, with introduction being made, the Hoshimura would reveal himself, lowering hos feet to connect with the surface. Standing a meter behind Akaboshi donning his Bittersteel armor and his arsenal of weapons positioned where they were. His blonde and silver strands of hair would sway in the breeze. His stoic expression would follow with his words. “I am Tsunayoshi Hoshimura. Lord Hogokage’s protégé.” His suspicions did not outweigh his manners. Thus he would offer her a slight bow of his own.

The Hoshimura clad in steel and royal blue cloth. His chakra still suppressed due to his armors and his technique. Further listening to what was being said by his superior.

He couldn’t help but to notice something else…Akaboshi Nova cloak looked badass.

Tue Jun 07, 2022 5:08 pm

The Kunochi would wait and listen as the young man would continue to speak of his knowledge of her. "Yes, they would both be quite familiar with me. Lady Shina and I became friends from when we created Sigila Foritudinem together. Then, Lord Yasaki and I....." The Kunochi would start to speak of the Hogokage, before she would suddenly feel her heart drop. The small hint of a smile that had started to form on her face slowly turned into a frown. The woman would stumble for a moment before correcting her posture. "I'm sorry, did... did you just say late? As in, he passed on? I... I'm so sorry to hear. What happened?"

As the Swordsman infront of her explained who he was and his title, the woman would be taken aback slightly, not just by a tall metallic covered man who would appear behind the Nova and introduce himself, but by the title the swordsman would give to her. She would still have enough wearwithall to return the noble gesture with a curtsy of her own, but this revelation did leave some questions to be answered. "Oh, a Nova captain? I'm sorry, that caught me off guard. So... information about the Nova Corps is unclassified now? When I was last in Haven, it was considered a Black Ops group that very few were aware of. I suppose if you can say it publicly, then there isn't much of a reason to hide it from someone of your rank. I was a member of the Novas as well. The Queensguard was actually disbanded under Hogokage Snow some years ago, but the name was kept around as a cover for some Nova members." Hikari was still slightly confused though since she had actually been the second commander of said division after the Ragdoll, but there was no way the purple haired swordsman would know about the Nova Corps unless he was who he said he was, or the information was publicly available. Also... his cloak had an eerie resemblance to the cloak's the Queensguards used to wear about 5 years ago, but had clearly been altered in a manner and was not representing the same faction. The current version seemed a bit more padded and less Shinobi like and more knight like. It was a look that honestly the Assassin would have a problem seeing herself in, but was significantly more appealing to the woman's personal taste. "Thank you for letting me know that, It might have been strange if I had to continue dancing on eggshells with that information as classified."

As the man would continue about the current Hogokage, Hikari would take a minute to ponder who it might be. Thinking back to the various mission reports she had read during her time as deputy kage, the only name she could think of that would have been a good choice was Dusk Tachibana, but surely the council would have learned their lessons from Kyousuke Snow and Valen and learn to pick someone that was at least slightly older than that Senju, right?

"Well, with how you said that, I am assuming you aren't going to tell me who the new Hogokage is? Well, I'm sure I will meet them soon either way. If it is all the same to you, if they are out here on the front line, then it might be best if I step into the guard station and await for them. I'd rather not wait in the sun any longer than needed. If now isn't a good time, I can find a hotel and report to the Hogokage's office tommorow for a debriefing." The Akari would ask. She hadn't been given much of a clue about if she was being detained or not, but either way was hoping to get out of the summer heat.

WC: 641
TWC: 1,522

Wed Jun 08, 2022 6:08 pm

Her reaction upon hearing Yasaki's name was exactly what Akaboshi expected from a woman who used to be rather close to the man, or at least that's how the previous Hogokage painted the relationship between the two. "Yes, I'm afraid so. A good man has left us too early". He'd allow another pause to come over the conversation, his thoughts with one of the first people who believed in him. However, with more urgent matters requiring his attention he quickly returned to the situation at hand. "I can tell you all about it, but not here, not now". Some things should be discussed at a more appropriate scene after all.

By then young Tsunayoshi had made his appearance, undoing his invisibility technique upon making sure their visitor meant no harm. Akaboshi's mention of the Nova Corps left Hikari visibly confused, the blonde kunoichi explaining and inquiring both at the same time. "Yes, I wouldn't be walking around wearing this cloak if we wanted to keep it a secret" he responded with a gentle smile. The woman's curiosity appeared to get the better of her before taking peace with the fact that the Nova Commander wouldn't reveal the identity of the current Hogokage just yet.

He couldn't help but laugh, even if only for a little. "Forgive me. It's not that I don't want to tell you but I believe such matters should be discussed somewhere else and not where a battle just took place". After all, it was only moments ago that the Hoshigakure forces were able to take care of the opposing party and one could never be too certain it had finally come to an end. "I understand you have a lot of questions, but so do we. Your disappearance, one that lasted quite some time, and your sudden reappearance can be considered surprising to say the least". Even though the timing would be far from ideal, they still required answers.

Taking a deep breath, mulling things over, Akaboshi pondered and contemplated how to proceed and move from there. "But, it is as you say, such should be done at a later time. Right now everyone needs to rest, you've come from far and we've all been through a lot recently. A hotel does sound nice, I'm sure you still know the way?" the Nova Commander said jokingly. A warm bath, a new set of clothes, perhaps it could do wonders. "However, we'll still require you to come in for further questioning. Nothing to worry about but I'm sure you understand there's a lot that needs to be cleared up". Akaboshi chose his words carefully, aware that Hikari couldn't wait to leave the summer heat and finally return home.

(WC: 451, TWC: 1271)

Fri Jun 10, 2022 3:28 pm

Hikari was quite depressed hearing about the death of the 6th Hogokage, one that she personally felt like did more than any Hogokage since Lady Second. Despite being his deputy, Hikari had never actually met the 5th Hogokage, being out recovering from her wounds and defending Sunagakure from the Joint offensive might of Kirigakure and Konoha. Kyousuke, while having done alot to bolster the morale of the soldiers in Hoshigakure, didn't do much other than that, and did end up causing the village much grief in his final moments of life. And her betrothed. well, even if one removed the whole betrayal of the village aspect, Hikari personally had to take care of most of the village affairs besides the 5-kage summit. And the few things that the fourth had done personally ended up being small disasters in their own right. Lord Yasaki, at least to her, had been the greatest Hogokage in her adult career. "I'm... well... I can't say I am more shocked to hear about this. I'll be sure to send his family my best wishes.... Oh wow, this has to be hard on them."

As the Nova Captain continued to explain about what was going on, the Kunochi would give a nod in agreement. "Yes, Normally I would be more pressing to see the Hogokage immediately, but nothing that I have to tell them is more urgent than the current situation we find ourselves in. Also, I'm sure much of the information I have will be needing to be made classified and shouldn't be spoken in public. So waiting will be for the best."

With that, the Kunoichi would pause for a second, thinking about what sort of connections she would still have in the city. "If it is to your agreement, one of my retired students has a Tavern in the northern part of the city which he would probably let me stay at for while I'm getting back on my feet. I believe it was called 'The Sunset Way'. When the Hogokage is ready to deal with me, they can send either Sir Dusk or Lady Shina their to pick me up, and I'll report to the Hogokage's office. I won't be hiding my chakra presencse, so it shouldn't be hard to find me even if I end up in another part of the city. If I don't hear back from anyone in.... I think I'll be set up and fully operational within a week? I'll report in then."

With that, The Kunochi would raise her hood over her head to try to disguise her blonde hair, which was a rarity in Hoshigakure unless you were a member of the royal family. She didn't want to drag to much attention to herself at the moment. She would push a smile onto her fatigued face as she spoke, ""Well, Captain Akaboshi, It has been an honor to meet you." The Akari Assassin would then turn to to the handsome young man standing behind the captain, "You as well, Sir Tsunayoshi. I'm sure we will be meeting again at some point in the near future."

Unless either of the Star Shinobi had anything else to say, or do, the Kunochi would would turn over and start to make her way into the village, quite surprised about the information she had recived, and the ease that she had been allowed back into the village. Quite understandable with the circumstances involved, but still quite surprising.

[Entering Hoshigakure unless interrupted]

Claims
565 WC
2087 TWC
- Claims:
194 WC To Hair Needle Senbon Completing it without max stat discount. (Rest of links to this technique can be found on my page. I trained the rest before I got max stats which is why I am doing this now.) (Just 1 AP. RIP!)
750 WC to Hikarition: Projection (Max Stat discount)
750 WC used to learn Diamond Release (With Max Stat Discount)
Remaining 393 WC to Sage Art Reduction (Max stat discount, not completed yet, but no AP gained because of that.)