Titled [NK; IO]

Love found herself standing on a rooftop viewing the Hokage of past. She wondered how they would've reacted to the recent turn of events. Standing face to face with these legends she wasn't too far from the academy; she wanted to learn another Hyuuga jutsu. If she had been home the other night she would've continued learning it when she was training the one hundred and twenty-eight palms. Training late into the night was fun for her, heck any kind of training at all was fun even when it was to teach others. She also loved going on missions, particularly the missions where she got to use her jutsu but her time in River Country with the younger ninja of her village had felt somewhat like a mission. That was bad because it meant she had to be on guard at all time in case anyone was after them yet good because she'd never been on an escort mission. Scaling down the wall of the building she had climbed Love would walk over to the academy to see if there were any students there for her to watch train. It was always nice to be reminded of your youth, for Love it was better payment than the ryo received from missions. Seeing the people of this village safe and happy motivated her to continue working as a ninja; Even though she was gone during a crucial time she never stopped.

WC: 240

The rain ceased to cascade for quite some time now, the storm having passed over the shamble of a village that Konohagakure was. The repairs were almost finished by now, the shinobi of both lands having worked in harmony to rebuild the fallen, yet the damage Kirigakure had done could not be erased when the debris was cleared, no their scars ran deeper, to the very core of every shinobi that had been there on the fateful day of their ruin. Hikari couldn’t bring herself to harbor hate for the village, despite the disdain she felt for its shinobi, even though it was the reason her brother no longer stood by her side.

Salzem…

Every day she was reminded of him through her training or the people she passed on the streets, reminded of the horror he was forced to endure, all because of Yensung Aburame. If it weren’t for that man, Salzem might have survived, or they would have all perished together, displaying the ultimate sacrifice for the Will of Fire. Yet they were cowards and she was too weak to save him and destroy his murderers. None of them knew the torment they had put her through, the ultimate hell his death had brought. But one day, they would know what it was like to slowly bleed to death, forced to embrace the darkness of eternal slumber as Sal had to. Hikari lived solely for that day when she was strong enough to avenge the young man.

Hikari gritted her teeth as she face of her enemy flashed before her eyes, rage filling her lilac tinted eyes for but a brief moment. As she was walking through the village she took a couple of deep breaths and calmed her racing heartbeat, the adrenaline slowly easing its way out of her body. She needed to keep her composure if she were to survive in the shinobi world, no one could know that Salzem had been her only weakness. Hikari had to be firm, cold, and frightening, just like Xyxer. Although he was the Mizukage, he was the one she looked up to the most due to his immense power, for it was that kind of power the young Hyuuga needed to harness in order to make her plans reality.

It was around this time that Hikari noted a slim figure scaling down the side of a building, their red hair dancing as the wind lifted her tresses behind her. Had Hikari not noticed it was most definitely a woman, she could have mistaken the red head for a young academy student she had met not too long after the Fire vs. Water tournament, Koaru. He was an excellent shinobi, being able to control chakra with amazing finesse and his ability to learn new things was incredible. The red headed woman drew nearer as she appeared to be heading towards the academy, which laid to the right of the snowy haired kunoichi. At the rate they were both walking, they would intersect each other’s paths unless one of them altered their pace, yet the Hyuuga had not taken note of this fact as she continued straight ahead, her thoughts preoccupied with the tasks she needed to complete.

(WC: 537)

After descending from the building Love noticed another person in the area, a female. From afar she didn't look very old based on her height and gentle features. Among those soft features where the pupilless eyes of the Hyuuga that the other female would also notice Love shared with her. The snowy haired girl didn't look familiar to Love but being Hyuuga they've probably been in the same place at the same time before. The girl opposite her seemed to be a bit out of it, but who wasn't nowadays however unless one of them moved they'd collide. Not being confrontational but Love wasn't about to be the one to alter her course. Stopping dead in her tracks just feet away from the girl Love looked down at the woman-child she was nearly a foot taller than. "Hey." She said to the body hopefully snapping it out of the whirlwind of thoughts it was being consumed by.

WC: 157
(I know Hikari is 20 now but idk if you also made her taller so I'm going off the height on the app 4'9" and Love is 5'8".)

She had not realized how close the two of them were until a stern yet gentle voice called out to her, simply saying hey. Hikari was brought back to reality by the voice interrupting her thoughts, and her eyes wandered up to the face that loomed over her while she stopped her movements, not wanting to crash into the woman before her. Upon looking at the red headed shinobi it was evident they were clanmates due to her similar pupilless eyes. It was an interesting coincidence to have run into, almost literally, another Hyuuga. She had not met another of their blood since the Kirigakure shinobi, Aryll, who was a rather kind woman despite everything that had happened to her. Hikari briefly wondered what kind of person the waller kunoichi was; kind like Aryll or rougher around the edges like Draconis, her brother.

“My apologies for almost running into you, I need to pay better attention of where I am going…” She sheepishly admitted, embarrassed at herself for causing a problem. Hikari had never been so careless or clumsy in her whole life, and the shame of her actions swelled inside of her while she kept a small smile across her rosy lips. She couldn’t bare the thought of someone she didn’t even know being able to tell how she truly felt, only Kotsuzui was able to know the darkest secrets she kept hidden inside. He was there for her when she needed it the most, and became her only trusted ally in the village thus far. Despite not being as close to Salzem as she had, he understood far greater than anyone else the grief his death had caused and even agreed that Salzem died an untimely death. The Kaguya even went so far as to teach her an ability that would aid her when she sought out Yensung Aburame to claim revenge.

In the moment of silence or before the other Hyuuga spoke, if she did, Hikari took in the woman’s clothing. It consisted of mostly white fabric, with a tan apron like piece attached around the waist and black ninja sandals. Her attire was similar to Hikari’s former outfit two years ago; she had a pink mini skirt paired with a pink strapless crop top, similar unattached pink arm bands, and a few extra items that were more decorative than anything else. Her new, usual clothes were more formal and elegant, in ombre blue/purple. She wore a strapless dress with a white bow tied around her waist, a purple cardigan like garment that covered her sleeves and kept her slightly warmer in the winter breeze, black high heeled ninja boots, and her blue konoha headband laid across the top of her head, kept in place by her high ponytail.

(WC: 1,000)
(Look how perfect that is, and I didn’t even plan it XD)
(I thought about making her taller but I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to or not, so yeah she is still 4’9 atm lol. Love is so much taller than her, it’s great haha)

"Hm... It's ok, no one was hurt." She replied to the apologizing woman. "I'm Love by the way, but you can call me Ai-sama." She said as she folded her arms across her chest in her own sort of superhero pose. If the girl extended her hand to shake Love would do so but for now she would stand in her signature pose. Observing the shorter woman's attire Love noted that it was rather prim, cute but not quite suited for a shinobi. Easily noting the sad expressing on the girl's face Love would offer her confidence to vent her clearly pent up emotions. "If you don't mind me asking," She started. "What's bothering you?" The red haired Hyuuga would ask of her clanmate. She didn't yet know if or how much help she would be to the woman but just listening was good enough for some people and after hearing the girl's troubles there might be an experience of her own that Love could share to comfort her. Even though the earlier rain had tainted the sky it was still rather early and Love had time to kill so it would be no burden for her.

Besides what kind of future clan leader would she be if she couldn't hear and help solve the problems of her people. Love was also up for getting to know new people especially ones that she shared loose blood ties with. However, if the woman didn't want to talk about it then Love would find another way to take her mind off of whatever was causing her unease. If that turned out to be the case Love would begin to think of distractions in the back of her mind, stopping only if the woman accepted her offer. As much as she hated people that overshared and talked too much in general Love wasn't cold. She wouldn't turn her back on someone in need especially since lending a hand was one of her duties as a ninja.

WC: 333
(Your high wc puts me to shame lol.)

Her head bobbed slightly in agreeance of the other woman’s words, she was lucky no one had been harmed due to her mistakes, although if they had been she would have easily been able to heal them due to her multiple medical-ninjutsu techniques. Hell, she could even revive someone if they had recently died, which would have been a very useful technique to have had during the war, then countless shinobi would not have had to perish for the futile fight between Kirigakure and Konohagakure. She continued speaking then, introducing herself as Love, or Ai-sama, both of which were very unique names. She was unsure how to address Love, since she addressed herself as both names, so she ended up picking the latter.

Hikari would have extended her hand in a formal greeting to Love, however the aforementioned person had just crossed their arms over their chest and she did not want to bother them with moving to shake hands. Instead she just softly replied, the smile remaining, “My name is Hikari and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ai-sama.” Moments later Love began again, starting with a rather foreboding statement and ending with Hikari’s most dreaded question: what is bothering her? She couldn’t possibly tell the woman the truth, not when they met mere minutes ago. Besides, even if she did tell the truth, there was nothing either of them could do about the situation, it would only complicate things and sour at least her mood even more so than it already had. “Ah nothing is bothering me, Ai-sama, but thank you for worrying and trying to help.” Her words were sincere, it was pleasant to meet someone who cared about the wellbeing of others just as much as she did.

Not trying to change the subject but also feeling guilty about ehr actions from earlier, Hikari proposed an idea to Love and hoped she would accept it, “Is there any way I could make it up to you for almost running into you?” It was the polite and proper thing for her to do after almost harming Love, and Hikari, no matter her state of mind, tried to keep her manners as much as possible, it was something her family valued almost as much as saving lives. It was part of her identity, and she couldn’t afford to lose herself completely least she become a savage.

(WC: 1,400)
(Lol don’t worry about it, I’m kinda known for having high WC’s in threads/posts XD)

Love smiled at the girl when she called her Ai-sama, that always made her feel good even though right now she wasn't the one that needed a boost. "Likewise." She replied before asking the taboo question. Love sighed as she looked down and to the left when the girl lied about being disturbed but still smiled when she looked back up at her. It was always better to talk things out rather than to keep emotions bottled up even good ones but Love understood. They had only known each other for mere moments and this girl, Hikari, probably didn't want to spill her guts to a stranger or much less place an unnecessary burden on them. "Hmm...I wonder..." Love said thinking aloud as she once again looked to her left, and the girl's right there stood their ninja academy. It was currently empty which if the girl's answer to Love's next question was yes would be beneficially for her and possibly Hikari as well.

She didn't know the girl well so Love couldn't say if she was the kind of person that vented their anger or other negative feelings through physical means but it couldn't hurt to try. The last time Love came across a sad leaf ninja she had helped him by doing this very thing. "We can spar if you're up for it." It had been far too long since the red haired Hyuuga had spared with one of her own. "Or if you have the lightning nature there's a jutsu I've been wanting to learn. However I don't know it's name, what I do know is that it causes the user's body to glow slightly and greatly increases their speed and strength. Do you know it?" Love hoped that her description wasn't too vague. "It also doesn't require any hand seals." She added trying to help give a better understanding of the technique to Hikari but other than that there was nothing else she could say to describe it. So Love would simply wait for the girl's answer.

WC: 341

It seemed she had chosen the right name to call her red headed clanmate as the woman smiled in response when Hikari said Ai-sama. She was relieved to have picked correctly, but her relief ended as soon as Ai sighed, disapproving of her answer. Hikari had not realized she was an awful liar, but it wasn’t hard to imagine for she had little practice in the matter. She had always been sincere, an open book to anyone who asked, but now, she was a closed book, afraid to let anyone in. No one would understand the darkness clouding her heart, looming over her once pure soul. They would think she was twisted, evil, mentally corrupt, a monster just like the man who conquered their village.

Hikari’s voice came back in time for her to offer compensation to Ai for almost hurting her, to which she began pondering aloud, in deep thoughtful as to how she could repay her. The snowy haired woman had no idea what she would ask for, having never compensated anyone for her mistakes before. It was a brand new world to the tiny girl, and she hoped it would be something reasonable, something she could accomplish.

Looking around at the deserted academy, she suggested they could spar, a typical thing for shinobi of the leaf village to do. Hikari lost track of how many times someone had approached her and asked to spar, far too many times to recount, yet she didn’t dislike the activity, many of her best friends were made through sparring. She was about to agree to the offer when Ai continued, inquiring if she knew the lightning element, which she did, and if she knew of a certain technique, going into great detail to explain which one she was looking for, which she also did. It was one of Hikari’s favorite jutsu to use in battle specifically because it amplified her speed and strength.

“I do know that jutsu, it’s called Lightning Javelin. It is actually one of my favorite jutsu to use in combat, and I would be more than happy to teach it to you if you’d like?” She figured Ai would want her to teach the technique, otherwise why would she had asked about it, but she wanted to verify just to be sure. If Ai said yes and asked if they should move to a less populated area to minimize the amount of people who could get hurt from the jutsu, Hikari would nod her head understandingly and follow Ai to their new location to practice.

WC: 1,830)

Love smiled at the girl when she said that she did, in fact, know the jutsu that the taller Hyuuga had been talking about. Really? Love thought to herself before saying aloud, "Yes, I'd like that." The red haired kunoichi was happy that she happened to pick a jutsu that the other Hyuuga favored. She might not be in the mood for sparring but teaching might be able to make her feel better, even if only a little. Although Love was no longer an adorable little curly haired cutie with eyes almost bigger than her head, some people enjoyed teaching others regardless of their age. Love hadn't been doing it for very long and frankly didn't know how good or bad she truly was at it. However, it was fun for her and her students did seem to really appreciate her so that was good enough for her.

As Hikari had probably already predicted Love would suggest the move out of the middle of the street and over the academy training grounds. There hadn't been many people out recently but surely the liveliness of the village would return once they had adjusted, whether that was to happen with their unwanted guests still present or not. When Hikari nodded in agreement they would make their way over, a fairly short walk to their destination but Love would use it as an opportunity to ask Hikari more about herself. "So tell me." It would begin. "Why do you like this particular jutsu so much?" A simple question with no hidden motives other than to get Hikari talking. After years of observing people, Love found that they tended to distract distraught people by getting them to think of happy memories or talk about the things that caused them to feel happy. Love would be doing this subtly as not to alarm the girl and have her close up because she felt Love was trying to get too close too soon. Although if she were to shrug off Love question, deadset on only repaying her debt, and remain silent Love wouldn't be offended by it.

WC: 351

As expected, Ai did in fact what to be taught the Lightning Javelin technique, and Hikari would gladly teach her due to it being a useful skill for one to have in their arsenal. After she accepted the assistance, Ai suggested that they should practice somewhere besides the middle of the street where quite a few people were milling about. The short woman agreed with her clanmate, nodding her head softly, causing the two of them to begin walking towards the academy training grounds not too far away. It was fortunate they had been by the academy when Hikari almost collided with Ai, they didn’t have to travel a long distance due to her mishap.

During their short walk. Ai stroked up a conversation to break the silence that had ensued, asking why she was so fond of the technique. Hikari had never thought about her favoritism of the jutsu to be odd in any way, yet Ai seemed to be surprised by her statement, the gears turning in the petite woman’s head searching for an answer. “Honestly, it’s only because of the boosts it gives to my speed and strength, I do not have a jutsu similar to it that gives an indefinite increase in power, mostly every other jutsu gives a small boost for however long it takes to create or use the technique itself, but once the technique finishes the amplification vanishes along with it.” Her tone was even, gentle yet slightly aloof as well due to her answer not pertaining to anything serious. “What made you want to learn this particular jutsu, just the boosts it offers or another reason?” If Ai proposed a unique, interesting reason for wanting to learn Lightning Javelin or asked her another question, she would respond accordingly.

Soon enough into their conversation the two arrived to the quiet, peacefully empty training grounds, full of practice dummies, obstacle course equipment, and an open area to practice longer range jutsu. Hikari continued walking until they found a suitable place to practice, and once they were both satisfied with the location or Ai decided right away where to train, she turned towards her clanmate and would begin teaching her the technique. “You already know all of the important details about the jutsu, so I will not bore you with repeating them. It is a rather simple procedure for performing this, the difficulty lies in getting the perfect amount of lightning chakra and getting that chakra to ionize your neurons in a balanced nature, which can sound a bit scary but it really is not nor is it dangerous if you do not balance them, in that case they just do not do anything. To begin with, close your eyes and try to focus on your lightning affinity, feel the electricity coursing through your body and the warmth this generates.” She would wait patiently for Ai to either ask a question for clarification or to attempt the exercise Hikari suggested. If her chakra control was fine enough, she might be able to quickly feel the lightning inside of her, which would mean she was ready for the second part of the exercises to prepare for the jutsu.

(WC: 2,371)