Sliding in a Winter Wonderland (Nomo)

“I didn’t personally try any of them, but my teammates did and they were perfectly fine! There wasn’t poison in the ones we were guarding at least. My friends thought they were very yummy! I really wish I had tried one before we were rushed to another mission.” As she was forced away by the chakra threads Hikari was left to ponder on the possibility that they truly had been pitted against each other, with one side being lied to in order to convince them to partake in the endeavor.

The snowy haired woman’s heart sank a little bit as she listened to the tale from her blonde companion. Their situations were nothing alike, leaving Hikari to go back to the drawing board. She tried not to let her disappointment show as she softly smiled at Saya, because despite the looming futility of her situation she was really happy the other woman was able to find her home amongst the shinobi of Kiri. Saya belonged there and had been accepted easily, and for Kiri to let her into their ranks was a major accomplishment. “I am so glad you were accepted by the Mizukage, you definitely deserve your title as kunoichi! I may not know what tricks you have up your sleeves but from what I’ve seen so far it is very obvious you are a genius! I mean the way you so effortlessly skated for the first time without even thinking about it is proof enough!”

“I wonder if I know your friend, what is their name?” Her question hung in the air, waiting for an answer that never came. Instead they began to intricately weave themselves in various patterns across the ice, although her favorite was when they both created the shape of the number eight and passed each other during the part where the two lines intersect. “I bet I would love her too! She sounds like a very lovely and wonderful kage!” Although if she is even ten percent like Xyxer then I am really worried…

“I hope your friend can help you create one, it would be so fun! Maybe we could even make a worldwide competition for it and give out medals to the best skaters for their hard work!” They continued to skate smoothly across the ice, wood and metal creating hundreds of lines against the rough surface of the frozen water. It was starting to feel more natural to the Hyuuga, how her knees began to know how much to bend and twist during the turns and how she no longer felt nervous going fast across the rink. It took her a while to realize the chakra threads attached to her arms and legs were limp, the illusion of them moving was due to her own body’s swaying as they flew through the oval shaped area. “Woah, I-i can do it on my own! Saya, Kuro- look! I’m actually skating!” It was hard for the young woman to conceal her excitement at having finally gotten the hang of it.

Hikari noticed the guards as Saya was talking, her Byakugan having picked them up. Her eyes narrowed as Saya cut off her sentence, the lilac tinted orbs glaring at the guards for interrupting their peaceful skate time, especially over something so trivial and meaningless. Did they not have anything better to do with their time?

There was nothing she could do to stop the puppet user from making her escape, she knew it would be best for her to get a head start since the guards lacked reason or logic. They were not going to listen to her explain herself- her plea and truth would fall on deaf ears. “IT WAS SO NICE TO MEET YOU TOO SAYA AND FRIENDS! I HOPE WE CAN HANGOUT AGAIN SOON! I’LL TRY TO VISIT YOU, AND IF YOU ARE IN FIRE COUNTRY COME SAY HI!”

Her voice echoed throughout the otherwise hushed area, followed by the thunderous footsteps of the guards as they tried to catch up the woman who was already long gone. Hikari couldn’t stop herself from grinning at her escape artist friend and the quizzical looks of the men with spears as they argued about which way she had vanished.

“C’mon Kuro, now it’s time for us to skate together!” Her wolven companion, who had been skating along behind them this entire time, barked happily and glided over to Hikari. Then they started where they had left off before their encounter with Saya, this time with Hikari in the middle of the rink instead of hugging the walls for dear life. Her body still recalled the lessons it had been given just moments prior, and The Hyuuga knew she would always remember the people she had met in this snowy abode.

(Exit)
(Claiming:

500/500 Fuinjutsu Lock (D)
250/250 Mind Read (E)
1000/1000 Lightning Upper Cut (C)
1000/1000 Lightning Jab (C)
1000/1000 Whirlwind Pirouette Kick (C)
250/250 Elemental Arrow (E)

-------------------------------------------------
Claiming 40 stat points

Hikari’s New Stats: 20 points
Chakra:  50 + 10 = 60
Vigor: 50
Speed: 26 + 10 = 36
Strength: 25


Kuro’s New Stats: 20 points
Vigor: 7 + 5 = 12
Chakra: 8 + 5 = 13
Speed: 7 + 5 = 12
Strength: 7 + 5 = 21
)