[kuishinbou kashiwa]

The events of the first round raced through Kashiwa's mind. As the round was coming to a close and they had to make their decision, why had he chosen to sacrifice himself? These were just exams. The people on his team were strangers, most of them of foreign nations some of which were even hostile to his own. But he still cared.

He'd been resting in the ICU for about a day after he'd been cleared to leave, wanting to make sure he was fully ready for the next round. It had never occurred to him that the people he'd let go that day were mourning him, still unsure of his health. But now it was time to leave. Other people, regular patients, would need his cot and he was eager to reunite with his teammates. Weirdly enough, he was most excited to get in touch with the members of his team that were from Iwagakure. Jou was his roommate after all and he'd formed a sort of weird friendship with Haruka as well.

He cast the sheets aside, moving his legs to hang off the bed before standing. A rush of vertigo hit him and he placed his hand against the nearby wall for support. But... he felt okay. He gathered his things, changed into his regular clothes that had been left for him and headed out into the town of Mizu no Tera.

The young man wasn't entirely sure where he wanted to go. He knew he wanted to find Haruka and Jou but he wouldn't know where they'd be save their dorm rooms. And the last thing he wanted to do right now was stay cooped up inside any longer. Instead he ventured out to see what the town had to offer. First up on his agenda was some food. His stomach ached in agreement and he made his way to a line of stalls, a makeshift farmer's market, and began to peruse their stock.

He was eventually drawn to the smell of roasting octopus, something he had a hard time coming by back in Kusagakure. It seemed other people felt the same, the line stretching quite long with foreign shinobi and civilians both, drawn to the area for the exams. He settled in at the back of the line behind a short girl and thankfully he got there when he did. As soon as he took his place in line it began to grow further behind him. Talk about luck!

He returned his attention forward but as he did was pushed into from behind. He didn't mind, it was just the line adjusting itself to accommodate new people and passing traffic. But the shove had a domino effect and he regrettably fell forward, having to catch himself on the girl in front of him, his hands resting on her shoulders. "Ahh- sorry!" He quickly straightened and gave her some space to probably scream at him or call the guards. He just wanted some food.

So much for luck.

--- words | Himishi Haruka

[Himishi Haruka]

[googlefont="Fleur De Leah"]

Himishi Haruka

Haruka had gone shopping for a new notebook for Jou, she was still extremely upset at Taki for what she did to Jou's notebook. The sheer disrespect of her petty actions filled the girl with anger. She was still wary of her health. She recovered faster due to the small form of her, she was, unfortunately, one of the bad cases. The amount of antidote administered was enough to keep the poison at a near minuscule level, but she needed extra flushing at the tent she was at. Being the worst also brought one of the faster recoveries. She was still worried about Jou's emotions than she was about her own health. Was it wise? Hell no. But that didn't stop her from caring about her cousin.

The girl still felt awful watching Kashiwa sacrifice himself. He was right, she should have forfeited when he told her to quit, it honestly would have saved them all. Even more so, when it came to it, she should have been the sacrifice, not him. Haruka did the least in her opinion, it was right it should have been her, at least both Jou and Kashiwa would live. The Himishi felt her heart get heavy as she continued replaying the memory, it tore at her, she thought of how things could be different, what possibilities could have played out if they'd just listened to her. She put her hands to her face, trying to hold back tears, but something smelled... kind of good. The girl followed her nose as she heard her stomach growl. Well, now I have to follow that smell. Making her way from the book store to the smell, she found herself in what looked like a farmer's market. She had no clue when her trip to one was, Iwa's Civil War, well, that messed everything up.

She came across a long line and she poked the person in the back of the line, "Hey um, what is this line for?" After a look at her like she was dumb as hell, the man noticed the blue band on her left arm. "Oh, you're here for those Exams, yeah? This is a line for fried octopus, it's quit-" "I heard enough and I want to try!" The man made a small chuckle as Haruka stood behind him. The girl proceeded to take out her notebook and began forming a 'to-do list' she was certain this would set her behind schedule. She heard more people line up behind her but she paid no attention to it.

She heard people complain about moving before she felt two hands land on either shoulder, the Himishi activated her Tomekenzangan before taking a step forward to face the person behind her. "Are you done feeling me-" She stopped mid-sentence as she saw who the man behind her was. It wasn't a man though, it was a contestant, a supposed-to-be-dead-one. Haruka deactivated her Tomekenzangan. "Ka- Ka- Kashi... wa? Kashiwa?! Kashiwa!" Her confusion turned into excitement as she moved to hugs the boy, burying her face in his shirt. "I thought... I thought you died! Kashiwa!" The girl shed tears of happiness and sobs of relief. She didn't know how much she held up the line but it didn't matter, Kashiwa is alive!

SPOILER: Click to show

SA(s) Utilized:
Tomekenzangan (Tōzasō) | All-Seeing Eye of the Present
Haruka achieved both the rare dōjutsu and the even rarer Tōzasō state of the eye. Being a direct evolution of Iwakusō, boons of both can be accessed by the Genin. With crystal clarity, the girl is capable of recalling information and memories down to a surreal level. As if she could live in it, it also grants her capabilities to look through memories and implant her own or even reconstruct the other's memory through the use of clan jutsu. It can also gives her great ability of her own intelligence locked behind the eye. From the Tōzasō aspect, Haruka attains a great level of perception both in tacking and reading any given situation, exponentially increasing strategic or investigating abilities. The strongest boon is the ability to track movement from both powerups granted by the past and present eye. Every minute detail is tracked at great speeds for Haruka.

Unnatural Intelligence
Even before the Tomekenzangan, the girl has always had an almost metahuman intelligence, able to decipher a large number of details in seconds and map out events with marks like a video into the event. The Genin is even capable of quick, logical thought, all while maintaining a long term-memory of the details. Boosted by the Dōjutsu's passive effects, the girl's ability to recall and process new information increases exponentially. Every cognitive ability is boosted allowing the girl to process and retain much information new or old. Haruka easily surpasses genius levels thanks to both the great boons of her blood and her eyes.

Jutsu(s) Utilized:

Equipment Utilized:
04 | Body conditioning weights (1 per limb) {Continuous)

[kuishinbou kashiwa]

The odds he'd run into Haruka, one of the people he was most eager to see after the close of the first round, had to be astronomical. He cast a weak grin as his eyes widened. "Haruka!" Though his expression turned from warm surprise to shock almost instantly as the stone shinobi buried her face in his shirt.

On one hand, Haruka's reaction was unexpected, catching Kashiwa off guard; he didn't expect such a strong response from her. But, on the other hand, Haruka had spent the last 24 hours believing Kashiwa was dead. Kashiwa didn't have the same perspective, what with his being alive and all.

Still, he was sympathetic and understood where she was coming from. It was always hard to lose a comrade, even if it turns out you hadn't.

Kashiwa wrapped his arms around Haruka, holding her head close to his chest as she cried in excitement. He didn't really know what to say. 'Yep, I'm not dead!' felt a bit harsh but not saying anything was even worse. He settled for a middle ground and explained what had happened following the close of the exams. "Once you guys had all been escorted out they took me, and I'm assuming anyone else who sacrificed themselves, to an ICU."

He smiled, looking down at his prior teammate. "I'm really glad to see you again... I thought I was gonna die, heh." He let out a nervous laugh, talking about his own demise turning out to be a weary topic. After a bit he realized a pretty sizable gap had formed between them and the front of the line and he ushered the both of them to it. "Are- are you okay?"

--- words | Himishi Haruka

[Himishi Haruka]

[googlefont="Fleur De Leah"]

Himishi Haruka

Haruka doesn't remember the last time she felt so strongly about a teammate's death, well, she did, but it was a former teammate her nearly killed her but got killed. Him falling on her body created so many conflicting feelings, she was certain it was the birth of her Tomekenzangan. Now, things were different, Kashiwa isn't dead nor was he trying to kill her. It was the perfect win-win and she couldn't be happier. Haruka felt his arms wrap around her small frame and she quieted down some. It reminded her of being carried by him and, albeit a small task, she really needed help and he was more than happy to help her.

Haruka listened to his explanation of what happened. "We were cutting it close, I'm so grateful they got to you in time!" The girl muttered quietly, before adjusting herself to look at his face, he was taken to an ICU, presumably with others who sacrificed themselves. The Himishi thought about Kazu's words, So there is a good chance that Tokaku is alive... That Uchiha is still alive... Haruka was conflicted, she sure as hell wasn't going to tell Kazu, she wanted to fix that before he found out. Sure, Kashiwa is probably from a different village, she'd know for sure if she looked at his waist but she knew about the Uchiha and the stance of their village with hers. They hurt Rentaro, she'll never forgive them. Kashiwa, she really didn't care about his stance.

All that mattered to her was that Kashiwa was alive. He expressed relief to see her again and Haruka blushed lightly and buried her head back into his shirt. He ushered them to move forward to keep in line with everyone. Haruka cleaned her cheeks and looked at Kashiwa, "Yes, I'm okay, my body made it rush faster so even in the medical tent, they had to flush my blood with a little more antidote and water. Overall, I made a good recovery." Haruka stated as she kept following the line. "Jou was really depressed about you... it made me worry about him. You guys must have been really close... Regardless, I am so happy to see you, Kashiwa. I missed you... a lot." Haruka said with the last part growing softer and quieter than the rest of her words.

She was keeping her arms close and kept her small figure just a little smaller. "Uh... what do you plan to do with your newfound life?" It was oddly worded but Haruka had a knack for being odd outside of her established friend group, hell, she had a moment of weakness... or that was what she thought.

SPOILER: Click to show

SA(s) Utilized:
Tomekenzangan (Tōzasō) | All-Seeing Eye of the Present
Haruka achieved both the rare dōjutsu and the even rarer Tōzasō state of the eye. Being a direct evolution of Iwakusō, boons of both can be accessed by the Genin. With crystal clarity, the girl is capable of recalling information and memories down to a surreal level. As if she could live in it, it also grants her capabilities to look through memories and implant her own or even reconstruct the other's memory through the use of clan jutsu. It can also gives her great ability of her own intelligence locked behind the eye. From the Tōzasō aspect, Haruka attains a great level of perception both in tacking and reading any given situation, exponentially increasing strategic or investigating abilities. The strongest boon is the ability to track movement from both powerups granted by the past and present eye. Every minute detail is tracked at great speeds for Haruka.

Unnatural Intelligence
Even before the Tomekenzangan, the girl has always had an almost metahuman intelligence, able to decipher a large number of details in seconds and map out events with marks like a video into the event. The Genin is even capable of quick, logical thought, all while maintaining a long term-memory of the details. Boosted by the Dōjutsu's passive effects, the girl's ability to recall and process new information increases exponentially. Every cognitive ability is boosted allowing the girl to process and retain much information new or old. Haruka easily surpasses genius levels thanks to both the great boons of her blood and her eyes.

Jutsu(s) Utilized:

Equipment Utilized:
04 | Body conditioning weights (1 per limb) {Continuous)

[kuishinbou kashiwa]

Kashiwa was visibly relieved to hear that she'd had a full recovery and, by her lack of any mention otherwise, that Jou had as well. His shoulders, which had carried a degree of tension since the start of the first round, loosened and relaxed to soften his frame as he allowed Haruka to lean in and make distance as she pleased.

While it may not have been the best policy, and he may very well be admonished for it by his peers and superiors alike, the fact that Haruka was a shinobi of Iwagakure was of no concern to Kashiwa. As far as he was concerned she was a teammate and Jou was his roommate. And, no doubt to the chagrin of many an older shinobi, he considered them his friends.

His face softened with a warm smile at the mention of Jou and his and her state following the young grass shinobi's 'death'. While Kashi was by no means pleased with his near-death experience, he was grateful all the same for Haruka's kind words and the thoughts concerning him that were shared by her and Jou. "I missed you too! I'll need to see Jou-kun after this." He adjusted his position in line, inching closer to the front. "Maybe after this we can go together? Unless you have other plans, of course."

"As for my newfound life," he started with a chuckle, "I'm... not really sure." It was true that as he closed in on the last hours of his life, as consciousness began to leave him and he truly believed he would never think or breathe or feel again, he'd grown pitifully desperate. He'd clung to any thread of living he could and begged for his life, whether it was through words or gurgled moans. The mountain of regrets that struck him then seemed insurmountable, endless and undying. But now that he had clarity of renewed life, another chance, he couldn't think of something he wanted to do.

He mused on the thought a bit longer before eventually meeting Haruka's gaze, his expression as serious as when he'd declared himself martyr and chose to die. "I want to make some more friends." Following his simple claim, his serious gaze softened; determination fell away and a gentle warmth replaced it.

"Are you two ready?" The grizzled man behind the counter asked in a polite but hurried grumble.

Ah! The food. Kashiwa turned, surprised they'd made it to the front of the line so quickly and placed an order. He didn't order anything unusual, in fact it was the same thing everyone ordered for the most part, fried balls of octopus. He turned to Haruka. "What did you want to get?"

--- words | Himishi Haruka

[Himishi Haruka]

[googlefont="Fleur De Leah"]

Himishi Haruka

Kashiwa made a mention of going to see Jou and asked if she wanted to accompany him. She held a shopping bag up, "I had to go buy him a new notebook, a rather rude individual tore his old one in front of him, yes we can go together." Haruka gave a small smile at Kashiwa's way. Her slightly philosophical question she threw at him came with a rather lackluster answer; he didn't know. Haruka wasn't sure if she should have understood it or be disappointed by it. After all, it was a pretty heavy question to ask a kid... he is a kid, right? She can never tell, anyone taller than her, which is a lot of people, she assumed were adults; and like every person, each adult had a certain way of acting.

His heroic choice to stand up and willfully volunteer to be the sacrifice had to be the maturity of an adult, right? No sane kid would do that, but to be fair, she was equally as thinking about it to assure Jou, and everyone else would survive. Haruka's stomach growled again and she looked at Kashiwa as the line progressed. Like the tone he used to sacrifice himself, he simply said he wanted to make friends. Haruka covered her mouth to hold in a chuckle, he didn't need to be that serious. Making friends wasn't that hard, right? His expression softened and Haruka lowered her hands to reveal that small smile as she nodded her head reassuringly.

A rough voice came asking if they were ready and the girl's soft smile remained as her expression just screamed the awkwardness of being caught not paying attention. Kashiwa made his order as he turned to the man. Haruka looked at the man when she heard Kashiwa ask what she wanted. "Can I get like a basket of twenty fried octopi balls?" The man easily made a double-take of Haruka, probably thinking why someone so small ordered so much. While he prepared the order, Haruka eagerly watched. "How much for that?"

SPOILER: Click to show

SA(s) Utilized:
Tomekenzangan (Tōzasō) | All-Seeing Eye of the Present
Haruka achieved both the rare dōjutsu and the even rarer Tōzasō state of the eye. Being a direct evolution of Iwakusō, boons of both can be accessed by the Genin. With crystal clarity, the girl is capable of recalling information and memories down to a surreal level. As if she could live in it, it also grants her capabilities to look through memories and implant her own or even reconstruct the other's memory through the use of clan jutsu. It can also gives her great ability of her own intelligence locked behind the eye. From the Tōzasō aspect, Haruka attains a great level of perception both in tacking and reading any given situation, exponentially increasing strategic or investigating abilities. The strongest boon is the ability to track movement from both powerups granted by the past and present eye. Every minute detail is tracked at great speeds for Haruka.

Unnatural Intelligence
Even before the Tomekenzangan, the girl has always had an almost metahuman intelligence, able to decipher a large number of details in seconds and map out events with marks like a video into the event. The Genin is even capable of quick, logical thought, all while maintaining a long term-memory of the details. Boosted by the Dōjutsu's passive effects, the girl's ability to recall and process new information increases exponentially. Every cognitive ability is boosted allowing the girl to process and retain much information new or old. Haruka easily surpasses genius levels thanks to both the great boons of her blood and her eyes.

Jutsu(s) Utilized:

Equipment Utilized:
04 | Body conditioning weights (1 per limb) {Continuous)

[kuishinbou kashiwa]

The man behind the counter wasn't the only one taken aback. Kashiwa's eyes widened in surprise as Haruka gave the man her order. Twenty? The usual order was like four. Maybe she was getting some for Jou or to save for later. Or maybe she just had an impressive appetite, though her figure didn't agree with that assumption.

When it came time to pay, Kashiwa tossed his cash over to the stall manager, not giving Haruka a chance to protest. "My treat." He gave a mischievous smile, turning to meet his companion's gaze. "Consider it a gift from beyond the grave." Maybe that was too soon but Kashiwa was always the first to defuse tension with a joke if he could.

Nearby, a bit further down the street and away from the low din of the stall's line, was a picturesque bench and table beneath a tree. It was too perfect a setting and Kashiwa pointed to it and started heading over as soon as they'd received their food. When they were settled in, Kashiwa with his order of six takoyaki and Haruka with her small feast, he started the conversation back up.

Never to favor meaningless small talk, the young boy dove straight in to the deep topics. "Do you think Iwa and Kusa will become allies? What do your people think of mine?" It was clear why he asked. Kashiwa had made some friends from the Village Hidden in the Rocks. He didn't want them to be adversaries. Politics had always been something that had interested the boy but it was hard to gain information on the stances of other villages without committing some sort of crime. This sort of friendly dialogue didn't count, right?

--- words | Himishi Haruka