Not so for Hachiya Kotori. She walked the seafront, restless and tense, searching for peace somewhere between the white noise of ocean waves and the gentle torchlight, each a small mirror of the sun, glowing among the venues on the shore. Her eyes lingered on the couples leaning together beneath awnings and on the groups smiling around tables as she passed, their laughter playing bitter counterpoint to her solitude. That was why she'd come here, wasn't it? A break from the rigors of daily training, from a nation preparing for war, from the constant strain of one soul fighting another. But some things you couldn't run from, and so she'd spent the days alone, wary of these strangers in a foreign land. What had happened to the adventurous young girl who'd journeyed to Iwagakure all those years ago? That girl had been alone too, now that she thought of it.
She shook her head and kept walking, bare feet on warm cobbles. At least she'd enjoyed the sun. Perhaps a little too much; her face, shoulders, and arms were bright red and growing sore. She could heal it with a blink, if it came to it, but right now she didn't mind. The feeling of heat within her skin was nice. Fitting. And distracting in a good way. Then she slowed as she passed another girl, glancing back hesitantly. Where...?
The memory snapped into focus and she missed a step, flushing with guilt. Maho. Fukusha Maho. She hadn't just met the other girl before, she'd fought her. Somewhat one-sidedly. And left her defeated, bound and trapped. In the middle of a hostile-ridden arena. Probably robbing her of a promotion, too. She looked away quickly and considered that she could simply keep walking; she was, at best, nobody to Maho. At worst, an irreconcilable enemy. But that didn't sit right with Kotori. They could easily have been on the same team, or had their places reversed in many ways. They were both Iwagakure ninja. She should try to make amends, or at least see if it were possible, before it was too late.
She delayed only by stepping over to a nearby bar counter and buying two drinks. Some strange sweet-looking mixture served in a hollowed-out pineapple for herself, and a pretty looking sunset-coloured tropical juice. She made sure both of them had the little umbrellas in. Then, no less tense, she stepped up to the other girl.
"Uh, hey. Maho, right?" She paused, and hoped that the guilt wasn't obvious in her tone. "Mind if I join you? Here, I got you a... something." She put down the juice next to Maho and took an awkward sip of her own drink. Then gagged and stared at the pineapple with wide, watering eyes.
