[Kaguya Saeka]

Rarely has Saeka ever found time to herself away from her duties at the Administrative Tower, most of the time by choice due to how seriously she takes her position as head of the Kōan-kyoku. In her down time, the silver-haired woman would usually busy herself with gardening or people watching with tea in hand...but instead, she found herself in one of Kirigakure's many training grounds. To most, this place is no different to any other training area, but this place was significant to her. It was where she often took her late son, Hideki for training.

The Kaguya, clad in her usual kimono, walked down the area, taking in the very familiar surroundings. She was currently the only one here this evening so it was quiet, save for the occasional sounds of birds chirping and other creatures. But Saeka could also hear the sounds of her son, begging her to take him training. They not only trained here, but talked a lot, Hideki always having something new to say about what he learned at the Academy or about Toru, causing a small, bittersweet smile to form on the woman's face.

It has been years, but whenever she started focusing on this...it would feel like it was only yesterday. These little thoughts and the reminiscing weren't usually that much of an issue for her these days...but with the anniversary of her son's death approaching, a bit of an ache formed in her chest.

She was starting to regret coming here now...those fond memories now slowly making her upset. She shouldn't have left her office to take this little break. There was still paperwork and police reports to handle. She needed to busy herself with more work...but even then, the thoughts of her son were still intruding, causing her to place a hand on her chest as she looked down, her lips parting to sigh softly.

She needed a distraction...

Sora Minami

[Sora Minami]

Sora Minami stared at the small pond in the middle of her team’s usual training ground with a frown, her gaze distant and cloudy as the evening sky. The rest of Team 1 had left hours ago, heading to their respective homes to rest and, in Enyo’s case, recover from the solid beating he’d taken in a spar against Amaya. The young man’s black mist was a formidable tool, though he relied on it a bit more than was safe. She was working on breaking him of that particular habit, but it would take time- time he might not have, given how close the next Chuunin Exams were.

But there was more to the Jounin lingering than simple musing on her Genin; in truth, she was restless, her thoughts and mind wandering far beyond the village to things better left unspoken. Her recent spar with Ikana, the last few missions she had been on, and several training sessions with other Shinobi had begun to highlight a gap in her skills that was severely lacking- she simply wasn’t strong enough to do the things she wanted to do. Not just physically, but mentally as well. The control over her emotions she had once prided herself on was slowly slipping away, replaced by an ever thinning wall that threatened to snap at the drop of a pin.

And she had no goddamn clue what to do about it.

...I should go. Sora thought, letting out a long, heavy sigh as she shook her head, pink lock swaying with the motion. She’d wasted enough time trying to puzzle out what to do about her predicament- no solutions were going to be found standing around staring at a pond. Not today. So the woman moved, turning away from the water, her gaze flicking across the empty training ground as she walked away, long legs carrying her towards the exit in an increasingly quick fashion- only to stop, her head turning as she noticed someone in the distance.

"Now who else would be out and about at this time of night?" She murmured, lips pursing together in a quizzical frown; she didn’t recognize whoever the person was at this distance, but they couldn’t have been anyone too important, not if they were hanging out here at this time of day. Still, it couldn’t hurt to check who they were, not when it would only take a few minutes, if that. Moving towards the woman (and she could see now that she was, in fact, a woman), Sora cleared her throat and, in a loud voice said, "Excuse me!"

Kaguya Saeka

[Kaguya Saeka]

These days, Saeka rarely lets the past get to her, but even then, she still has her moments...especially when it involves those precious to her that she had lost. She continued to stand there with her hand softly against her chest, looking down with eyes closed. She took a deep breath before shaking her head a bit. Despite her seemingly being alone, the woman felt a bit embarrassed to be standing here in such a state....feeling vulnerable and weak over something she knows she can't change.

"I should head back to the office." she muttered to herself before gently rubbing the small bit of tears out of her eyes. But just then, the Kaguya woman lifted her head a bit at the sound of someone, a woman calling out to her. She then turned her head in that direction, a hint of curiosity in her expression as she glanced, wondering who this was.

Saeka turned around more as the other woman approached her, not saying a word until she had fully faced her. "Oh pardon, I didn't know anyone else was here." Saeka added, giving a small but polite smile. "Ah." Her expression then shifted a bit to one of realization. It didn't take long for Saeka to recognize the face though, given how observant she is. "Minami Sora, correct?" Saeka asked. Saeka remembered seeing this kunoichi around the Academy a long time ago when her son used to attend. Sora was an Instructor there if Saeka recalls correctly. "What brings you out here this fine evening?" she asked, wishing to strike up a bit of conversation, but she was also just genuinely curious.

Sora Minami

[Sora Minami]

It took her a minute to recognize the other woman.

"Kaguya-san?" Sora asked, blinking as she stopped walking towards the other woman. Kaguya Saeka was a well known figure in Kirigakure; an Elite Jounin who had fought in the war, the woman was practically a living legend amongst the Suiryu Butai, a fierce warrior who headed the Public Safety Division with a firm but fair hand. But the pink-haired Jounin knew that wasn’t all there was to the woman- up until a few years ago, she had been a loving and devoted mother on top of everything, always eager to see and be near her son. Hideki’s death had come as a shock- and a wake up call.

"I’m surprised you remember me." She said, bowing slightly as the shorter woman spoke, her face a mask of bland formality that sent the pink-haired Kunoichi’s mind turning. It had been years since Hideki had died, even longer since he had been her student, and yet Saeka seemed to have little trouble pinpointing exactly who she was from a single glance. A soft blush ran across the Jounin’s face as the older woman asked her question, sky-blue gaze flitting away from her superior as she took in a slow, careful breath.

"I uh… I come here to clear my head, sometimes." Sora said after a moment, skirting her gaze around, not quite meeting Saeka’s as she spoke. A true statement, but not the whole truth; she was restless, antsy, and coming to the training grounds was usually a goodway to blow off some steam, if she could find someone who would actually spar with her. A vanishingly small group of people, that. But she couldn’t bother the Kaguya with something so banal… right?

"I’m sorry to bother you."

Kaguya Saeka