[Hagoromo's Comet] Path of Forever

Kitsuki turned to see Katsumi graciously accept the Mizukage's disinclination. She stated that she'd be happy to fight him in the future when they were both much stronger. Kitsuki smiled and gave her sister a tight hug. It was breaking social etiquette to do such a thing but she had already done that several times today, so one more couldn't hurt. She was grateful that Katsumi didn't think it was a dumb idea. She found asserting herself to be difficult. She wasn't afraid to stand up for what was right but it was still a difficult thing to do. It was made even harder by the fact that she wasn't particularly strong. People though of her as the silent genius type but that wasn't who she was and it wasn't who she wouldn't to be. Today she had tried to break out of that mold and while she wasn't completely successful it was at least a step forward.

The Mizukage said they had potential. He appeared to laud their ambition although he cautioned that the road ahead would not be easy. The time for hardcore training would come someday, for now, it was best for them to enjoy the festivities. Kitsuki broke the hug and stepped towards the Mizukage. She had been affirmed and validated by her older sister. It gave her the strength to speak up again.

"Thank you Lord Mizukage. We will do our best to one day provide a worthy challenge. When the day comes that Kirigakure has to rely on us to protect it, we'll be more than ready."

Intense training. That sounded like fun. Katsumi couldn't help but smile at the notion that she would be receiving training that could challenge her, because she had been getting steadily stronger but seemed to have hit a cap in her current skill. Things would ramp up, she was all for it and would give it everything she had. The taller dark-skinned woman wrapped an arm around Kitsuki who hugged her, giving her a gentle but firm squeeze of her own, feeling that the younger sister would indeed not lose the entirety of that fire that Katsumi had witnessed today. That was good because you never knew when the next person in line would overtake you, and the confidence that she would gain would help her grow stronger and use that big brain of hers to truly make the right waves that would lead Kirigakure into the future.

Katsumi had no doubt that Kitsuki could be a leader one day, even if that was something she herself didn't think was in the cards for her.

But now that it was all said and done, Katsumi slowly lowered her own emotional state back down to a nice stable level, giving herself the calm that she needed to proceed with the night's festivities without getting anxious or fidgety. Once that was done, she used her foot to scoop up the basket that still held a decent number of cheese curds and tossed one into the air, quickly catching it in her mouth, acting as though the pair of them hadn't just challenged the rumored strongest ninja in the village or anything of importance. To the eldest Kurahasa, it was over now, and she had never been one to hold on to anything like that once it was said and done.

No harm, no foul.

[9]

"Good. I will personally call upon you both to test your mettle. But it will not be for a fun bout. I will be testing to see who will be the strongest Genin in the village. That Genin will be bestowed a great power, and a great responsibility. It will show your true mettle and loyalty to the village."

Menza would eventually return to the Mist village to get his prize, and bringing the Mists theirs. He had a bijuu in his possession. Which one laid to be seen, but he had appeared offering it. No one usually boasted of such a thing if they weren't sure about it. The other villages had acquired bijuus and it was high time Kiri did as well. Afterwards, Kyoji needed to find his own way. He had a destiny to fulfill.

Kitsuki envied how casual and untroubled Katsumi was at times. The elder sister had a way of shurgging off major events. She wielded her skill as a sword and her unshakable confidence as armour. Kitsuki didn't have low self-esteem per se, but she was nowhere near as self-assured as Katsumi was. Nevertheless, she was thankful that Kat could be strong for her when she felt her own resolve weaken. The fact that she returned her hug felt good and it steadied her own emotional state. Kitsuki listened as Kyoji spoke of a great power and a great responsibility. The man was filled with all sorts of powerful secrets.

He was supposed to be a shark-man but looked completely normal.

He wielded a giant sword that was sentient and could sense chakra.

He knew of many swords that had the same or greater power. The shinobi was truly something to fear, but luckily he was on there side. Kitsuki was pretty stiff normally, but today she had shown a more spirited side. However, she wasn't spirited enough to hug the Mizukage. No matter how much she wanted to.

Katsumi's smile widened as she was told that they would be personally called upon.  They had gotten the Mizukage's attention, and that meant that things were about to get more exciting from here on out.  Turning her eyes upwards, she looked at the Comet for a moment and began to wonder if she had been granted the stepping stones for her wishes; every step would need to be earned, not given.  She would struggle, fight and win until she met her goals, and wouldn't stop even when she met those and exceeded them.  Katsumi was nothing short of a force of nature who aspired to ever climb the ladder upwards.  There was always someone stronger, someone who knew a technique that was completely new, and those fights were the ones she looked forward to the most.  She would do her duty to the Village, of course, but that didn't stop her from wanting to fight anyone and everyone she could.

Another cheese curd tossed into the air, deftly snatched by her open maw, and she chewed, thinking about that prospect and watching the comet.  She wasn't a sensor, but she could have sworn she felt the power of the massive hunk of space-rock, even just a little bit, tingle her exposed skin.  Wearing what she was, a good portion of her skin was covered even if it did show off her musculature, and she silently wished she had worn her shorts and t-shirt.  But this was a formal event, and formal events required formal attire, and this was the best she had.  Idly, she tossed another cheese curd towards Kitsuki, and took a moment to measure Kyoji, thinking about the weight that must have been on his young shoulders.  She didn't want Kage... she was absolutely certain.

[10]

It would be a matter of time before Menza showed up again. But Kyoji had already seen two volunteers. This bout would probably be most important in seeing who was ready to ascend to the Chuunin position. Such was the weight of these important. They had to first show an aptitude for intelligence and strength. Something that was usually called upon in order to become a Chuunin of the village. "For now. Training is most important. Our Jounins will do better in training you all. I will instruct them to provide you the necessary guidance we look for."

The three Jounin were about to be put to work. They had been taking it easy when it came to the Genin instruction. Arisu should have developed well along as well. He would be expecting much from them in the coming days. Though the Comet was making out to be more interesting than ever. Kyoji expected this to be a trivial event, but upon seeing the Comet it. He thought otherwise. Maybe it was worth it to take a break from the Shinobi life.

Kitsuki deftly caught the cheese curd that had been tossed her way. She was so precise that she actually managed to catch it right between her teeth. She chewed and swallowed before reaching for more. Cheese curds were one of her favorite snacks and she was glad to have something to snack on while watching the Comet. The Mizukage mentioned something about setting them up with a Jounin sensei. That was good. They'd need teachers moving forward. Kitsuki had had her fair share of domineering and tough senseis. Both in music and martial arts. She shuddered when thinking about Sensei Reisan's endless Kata practices. The lessons were not wasted on her, but she didn't take to them nearly as well as Katsumi did.

The musician sat down on the grass, stretched out, and continued to watch the Comet go by.

A Jounin would be fantastic. There was one glaring problem she found herself facing when trying to find people to spar with, and that was usually the only people she could find who was willing to spar was fellow Genin, and normally it resulted in her limiting her own strength and speed to match them and enjoy the fight. This was something that was, by all means, fun for sure, but it made it hard to grow if she was being honest. She would love to find someone who could literally just whip her from stem to stern over and over again so she could fight and continue to grow stronger, and having a Jounin tasked with that assignment, who couldn’t just brush her off and tell her that she wasn’t worth her time because she was a measly Genin, it was like a dream come true. “I can’t wait.” It was a simple statement, but the careful listener could hear the excitement, barely contained.

For the moment though, for the sake of the event they were participating in, she didn’t bombard the Mizukage with questions regarding who they were, how strong they were, what their specialties were, if her and Kitsuki would receive the same instructor or any of the other dozens of questions that ran through her mind. This wasn’t the proper time and place, and for the moment, she simply focused on the comet and the noises of the people chattering around them. She was honestly surprised that no one had approached the Mizukage aside themselves, most of them probably feeling that it wasn’t their place. The dark-skinned muscle-bound woman found herself wanting to roll her eyes at the thought, as regardless of rank, to be cowed by anyone was a form of weakness in her mind. Respect him, certainly, but not fear to approach and conversing with him.

That was just cowardice.

[11]

"Good. Be sure to keep an open eye for my summons. I will be calling upon you all quite soon. Have a good rest of your night." With a snap of his fingers. The two ninja who were always following him, flashed into a kneeling position next to him. "Zi and Korra. Prepare my things for the journey." They were about to leave to Iron for war. And the city was to soon to be on lockdown. He didn't want to alarm the Genin on this wondrous day. He gave one last look at the Comet before he began to walk away from the two Genin after they would reply.

[Exit]

Eventually the Mizukage departed from the area and sooner or later her sister would as well. Now that she was left alone with her thoughts she could finally dedicate all of her willpower to her final wish. Earlier she had been afraid of making such a grand wish. But if she had the courage to challenge the Mizukage then she had the courage to commit to a better word.

I wish to make a major difference in the world....to make it a more peaceful, propserous, and happy place for everyone....

Just as the Comet appeared to be leaving Earth, Kit noticed something. A piece from the comet was breaking off. It wasn't easy to discern at first but from her position laying on the grass, she could see something hurtling out of the celestial object. The rogue debris appeared to tumble towards the ground. It was enraptured in an aura of blue and golden energy. Almost everyone had left the park by now and Kitsuki was one of the few people that remained. The crowd pointed and cheered as the debris picked up speed upon entry into the atmosphere. The cheers and laughter however, soon turned to cries of alarm as they realized that the destination of this debris was the park itself! Civilians fled as the the piece of rock hurtled down from the sky and smashed into the Earth. Kitsuki stood up but didn't run. Unlike the others, she didn't feel fear. She felt a calling. It was as if something in her spirit was drawing her to the meteor.

The meteor had landed just 30 meters from her location and the dust and debris it kicked up was enough to blind most people. Kitsuki covered her eyes and marched forwards. There was a light sound emanating from the crash site and as she got closer, she realized it was singing. Uncertain but unafraid, Kitsuki approached the edge of the crater and saw a mass of space rock glowing in the center. She slid down into the crater using the dust it had kicked up as cover. She knew that she wouldn't have long to investigate before someone more important came to block off the area. Normally, she'd yield the investigation to someone with more experience than her, but this situation was different. There was something in that meteor that was calling to her and she fully intended to find out what it was. Kitsuki shut her eyes as the glow of the fallen meteor became to great. She kept walking forward though and eventually she noticed that the intense glow of energy began to die down. She opened her eyes and saw that while it was pulsating with chakra, it no longer was too bright to look at. Kitsuki was now face to face with the meteor and the song had become an crescendo. Was she losing her mind?

That's when she saw it, or rather, "her". A small winged creature creeping around the edges of the meteor. Kitsuki squinted and saw that the creature had black skin, white hair, and was naked as a newborn baby. An alien?! An angel?! Kit was so frightened that she scrambled out of the crater. This was way out of her pay grade. Just as she reached the edge of the crater, she began to see ANBU and Jounin converge on the scene. The next few moments were a blur but she recalled being able to slip away from the area without getting caught.

Kitsuki sighed a breath of relief and went straight home. Watching the Comet go by was fun, but she had never expected to have a close encounter with the third kind. She hoped ANBU was able to straighten the situation out. The last thing the planet needed was evil aliens taking over.

Exit