What is love

[Trusted Grader]

How long had it been since she was driven to depression by the loss of her true love? How long was she going to be beat down by her failure to get to the bottom of her troubles? All she knew was that returning back to Iwagakure no Sato was both the best and the worst thing that could happen to her as she had to wander the streets she once was overjoyed with love. Looking at other Enkoutens did nothing but make the pain more apparent, meeting Akane's mother also made things worse for her, though she was sick and tired of crying. The glass shards that rained down from her eyes were now dry and her empathy seemed to have run it's course.

So she sat on top of her rooftop and overlooked the top deck of Iwagakure with determination that love was not for her, how was she going to be able to overcome her the pain she had received? It didn't help that she was riddled with issues, stemming from her troubled past, now she had to live through new scars, fresh ones, and the embarrassment of being labeled as a black sheep yet again. Amaya sighed, Wana on the other hand was contempt with just being around her master. The monstrous sized hyena gazed at Amaya before she crawled closer, once she sat upon the beast, they were off.

Today, unlike any other day, she focused on moving about the streets and getting re-acquainted with the very land she was raised in. It wasn't like she didn't remember the streets, rather that she wanted to show the people of Iwagakure that she wasn't going to fall to the grace of their mercy, to stand proud among her fellow ninjas once again, to regain what little respect she had fought for years ago. She could feel their eyes prying her, as if they were sizing her up, their mind coming up with reasons as to why someone like her should be accepted back into their ranks, even though she had payed her price. A year was spent abroad, performing rigorous training and hunting tasks to better her relationship with Iwagakure, to help pave the way for a better future. She had plans and those plans had plans within them, first, she would have to gain the respect of her fellow peers and to do so, she would have to show that she was no push-over.

[Lace]

The slight young woman sighed as she walked along the bustling thoroughfare stretching her arms above her head before they settled back the way they were, one hand hanging at her side while the other was holding onto a new quiver she picked up that afternoon she had slung over her shoulder. Her old one faced an unfortunate accident when sparing with her father days earlier while learning the ins and outs of using Fuuton as an element an so she put in the order for a new one, today was simply the day the shop had finished it.

All of the above had nothing to do with her sigh, no, the dejection in her voice came from the fact one of her guardians was still off on his mission and hadn't returned just yet. Jinseie had been gone for almost a fortnight and the absence of him was enough to displace her comfort in the times he was gone. He offered to go on something shorter but she refused him, she wasn't going to take everything he was simply for their feelings for each other and how the Genma made it harder to accept the loneliness and fear of abandonment; she tried to stay in mind over matter.

So training and getting her equipment fixed filled her days to keep her mind as much off everything else as possible.

[Trusted Grader]

Amaya was determined to do her best today, to at least find someone that she could gain respect from. All it took was one person, one at the time and eventually she would regain the respect she sought. She let a white smoke of sigh escape her breath, as she continued to ride her wild beast. Mind wandering as Wana's legs trekked forwards. What are you fighting for? Respect? What's best for the village or self righteousness? I don't even know anymore, all I know is that I don't want to be huddled up in my apartment anymore. Amaya shook her head.

It wasn't until Wana got the whiff of a familiar scent that the huntress got a sense of her surroundings, with a tilt of the head the huntress would pet her animal. "Did you find anyone interesting?" Wana nodded and with a pet of approval she would speed off towards the scents location. Wana stopped by different stores but the one that she lingered on the longest was a weapons repair shop. It has to be a ninja. Why else would someone visit this part of the market? Other than the offshoot hunter/ess there weren't that many non ninjas that went to these parts.

Off she was and soon they would catch up to their prey. To Amaya's suprise; they were after none other than the Genma user herself, Kiyone. Flashbacks revealed their time during a tense mission up by a lake which nearly claimed her life twice, if it were not for the all star team of Iwa at the time then she was sure that she was done for. Amaya chuckled as she let Wana straddle forwards.

"To think that you'd need a bow and arrow still? How long has it not been Kiyone? Do you ever have nightmares of that beast in the lake or is it just me?" Amaya tried to play the last part for laughter but her new found crippling fear for lizards almost got her killed a third time during another mission she had set herself on. Amaya sure knew that these days the mission would have gone differently but the fear still lingered.

[Lace]

The white-shrouded woman managed not to jump as the voice came up behind her, snowy wings twitching was the only real sign of her jumpiness; bully for her. She turned enough to look over her shoulder giving the other young woman a smile as recognition crossed her eyes. It was the smile one gives a former teammate when they haven't been seen in a long while, close-lipped but pleasant and warmed; she hadn't know Amaya long... they did a mission and then Amaya was sent to Kirigakure on an unusual exchange program that happened some time ago.

"Takes a lot of discipline to wield a bow properly, control and patience. I like the opportunity for precision of a bow compared to throwing a kunai, comes in handy. It's been quite awhile Amaya, I hope I fine you well."

She let the question of the beast they had once haced linger in the air for the time being, she wasn't in a hurry to dredge of that can of worms... or reptiles in this instance. She still had night terrors off and on from that mission, she didn't particularly want to revisit the memories; it just made them more real.

[Trusted Grader]

Amaya eyed Kiyone and listened in on what she had to say, she had never fired a bow and therefor had no idea how it actually felt to shot an arrow. She rubbed her chin and wondered how efficient Kiyone had become over the years, for a lot had happened since they last ventured out on an adventure. With a quick shrug, Amaya turned her gaze away from her friend and back to Wana.

"It's been a quite a struggle but I believe we have landed on our feet again, haven't we Wana?"

She smiled and turned back towards Kiyone, she wanted to tell her all about her mission abroad, or at least the things she was allowed to say but knew that it wasn't the time or the place to do so. There were plenty of things she wanted to know about Kiyone first, how she had been and if anything special had recently happened in her life, for she knew that she was a genma host.

"So, anything new and exciting happen in your life?"

[Lace]

"My father enjoys saying that whatever struggles you face the outcomes will show you the person you were always supposed to be. For him to be able to smile and act as though he doesn't miss the wind beneath with his wings... I think his words have more meaning that most would originally consider," she replied the young woman who is now accompanied her. There was a brief look behind her eyes as she spoke about her father, pity... perhaps? Maybe some admiration in there as well; despite what expression beset her eyes her voice told a better truth, she very obviously respected her father.

To the second question the young woman just shrugged in her odd little way, her elbow moving back slightly as her wings joined her shoulders in the guesture, before replying, "Nothing too exciting lately, Jinseie was given orders to become a guardian and companion officially. I was supposed to have a mentor but I am not sure what happened to her, no one ever told me. How about yourself?"

[Trusted Grader]

Amaya looked her deep in the eyes as she listened to what she had to say, it was clear that these words meant dear to her but she wouldn't change facial expressions, she didn't want to throw her off her emotion. She was just glad to have found someone who was willing to talk to her, someone who didn't judge her for her past life. She grinned and pet Wana yet again as she nodded. "I think your father is a wise man, they say that struggles can teach a person how overcome great feats, especially if the struggle seems too much to bare at first, but once you have pushed through the line, everything becomes much clearer." Amaya scratched the back of her head.

She shook her head as she began to laugh at the question, for she didn't know what to say at first but remembered that this was someone she used to know, so there was already somewhat of an inherent trust. "Oh you know, I lost someone I loved and was about to rank up, which was really a bad timing if I'm going to be honest so... I... Kind of shouted at my clan leader for abandoning me, forcing me to live on my own for the past 4 years while being shunned by a clan that can barely create a whine glass without sweating furiously because of their lack of ninja training... So... I was sent on border patrol for a solid year, which was boring at first but then I got used to it." Amaya chuckled, she was hurting on the inside but her friend didn't need to see that at the moment.

[Lace]

The way her miens was set when they continued their exchange was a bit tense, her lips set together, her fingers tightened on the strap to her new quiver as she listened to Amaya speak. Her wings twitched a little behind her and she seemed to fidget for a moment before her arms encircled the young woman's shoulders in a comforting hugs; she couldn't ignore the pain she knew her friend was in and words couldn't make the pain of loss better. Her father spoke of the loss of his wings to her only once--how he felt less of a man without them, less of a warrior--when she was younger and she learned sorry did not heal the wound only time can deal with, her dad no longer felt the same as he did. It took over ten years to get back a semblance of the self before the fire.

What had made him feel better was the love and support she and her mother showed him and the occasional hug. And so Kiyone gave Amaya a hug before stepping back and taking hold of the quiver's strap once more. "You feel sad, I thought a hug would help," it wasn't the physical queues Amaya showed that seemed to give Kiyo pause, she felt the sadness like a fog around her, hence her wording.

[Trusted Grader]

She wanted to continue speaking but once she saw Kiyone move closer, she would freeze for a second, not knowing what she was aiming for. She had to admit that the shorter Ayatori was beautiful but she wasn't sure if she was ready for what she first believed would be a kiss, only to be briefly disappointed that it was a hug, then, half a second later she would embrace her as she then realized what it was all about.

To say that Amaya had been awkward around her was the least of her problems, but she had never thought that someone would want to come close to her again, but what she didn't realize was that it was all in her head. She had conjured up a sense of abandonment, a sense of not belonging anymore, when it was clear that it wasn't the fact.

She sighed for a brief second before they released each other. "Thank you." She scratched the back of her elbow as she looked down, her face was turning red before she forcefully cleared her throat. "So! Ninjas huh? Who could believe that little ol us could make it so far? I would've bet money that we would stop this shenanigans a long time ago, but alas, here we are. Stronger than ever before and hopefully wiser." She did her best to change the subject, even laughing out loud to make Kiyone follow her.

[Lace]

The hug had been a brief one, if she had hugged Jinseie she might have been a blushing mess, his girlfriend or not; with Amaya she didn't feel her usual sense of anxiety and awkwardness that came from interacting with other people. "No need for thanks, it is what friends are for," was the sure reply with the shorter of the two young women, giving the Shoshiki a smile of encouragement.

Her smile turned into chuckling as Amaya changed the subject rather awkwardly, her mind wandering a bit, it was a tactic she and Jinseie often used when one or the other said or did something they felt the need to overcorrect for the situation. "That would not be a safe bet for anyone to make, have you met my boyfriend? He is always on the move, have to keep up with him," she laughed a bit more before making a gesture with her head.

"Would you like a cup of tea? My treat, I need to pick up a scroll I ordered from the bookstore cafe." They had begun to gather a lot of looks from the passerby, mostly because they took up much of the walking traffic in the lane, especially with Wana as big as they were.