[Himishi Jou]

From the first round all the way to the third, the Chunin Exams were filled with all sorts of twists and turns. Things had turned out much differently for Jou than they did in the previous Exams he had partaken in. Jou had gone through many trials, not including the actual Exam ones. He had met new friends, given new opportunities...but also had drifted apart from his dear cousin...

Jou sat there near the docks of this city with his belongings in a suitcase next to him, waiting for the Jounin he had come here with to arrive so that they can leave. He sat on the ground in front of the vast ocean where many ships would come and go. The expression on Jou's face as he stared out to sea wasn't that of disappointment nor that of joy. It just looked as if he were contemplating things. His legs were crossed, hands on his knees as he just continued to look forward. This time, Jou was able to pass the exams...but barely. With the experiences he had gone through here, Jou really wondered if he was truly ready to walk the path of a Chunin. This was not self-doubt or lack of confidence making him question these things...but rather him logically taking in all that he has gone through as well as his own capabilities. Jou was beginning to recognize his strengths, but he did not ignore his weaknesses either.

There was also the matter of Haruka that crossed his mind. He had been putting that to the side to focus a little better on the remainder of the exams, but he made it clear to himself that he would try to fix things once they were back at Iwa. But he still wasn't sure if he should try right away, or give her some space. Jou was not even sure what he wanted to say to Haruka, and honestly...part of him felt like he had nothing to apologize for. But she was still his cousin, his kin and despite all this, Jou still loves her. He was going to figure something out.

Speaking of Haruka, Jou had the new notebook she gave him resting on his lap. He looked down at it and smiled lightly.

Yuki Kazu

[Yuki Kazu]

Kazu sat at the docks, wondering how much Yukigakure had changed since he had been gone. It had been a few months since he had started the Chuunin exams. Thankfully, he passed. Hell, he scored sixth as far as points went, he really did do good. Still, that wasn't as important to him as some of the people he had met. Jou, Shigure, Haruka, Okingshi, there were many different people he could name. He only got as far as he did because of them, they helped him find his motivation. Out of everyone though, Jou was the best friend he'd made here. He still hadn't gotten a chance to say goodbye yet. Now, he was about to leave, would he get a chance to bid the Himishi farewell?

He looked to the right, seeing Jou sitting nearby. He would get his chance after all. He walked over to his friend, "Glad I got to see you before we left, Jou. Congratulations on passing the exams, we're both gonna be Chuunin! Don't forget about me when you get back to Iwagakure. I don't know if I could take that." He half-joked, hoping that Jou would remember him still. They'd helped each other out, so he didn't want either of them to forget one another. Still, he didn't want to say goodbye to his friend. They had no way of knowing when they'd get to see each other again.

[Himishi Jou]

Jou continued to sit there, contemplating things as he looked out to the sea. He didn't notice Kazu approaching him until he spoke up, causing the young Himishi to quickly look over."Oh! Kazu." Jou quickly got up as the Yuki continued to talk. Right, Kazu passed as well. The thought of that made Jou smile a bit. "You did a lot better than me as well." Jou claimed with a nod, not looking upset or surprised about this at all. What Jou still couldn't really believe was that he himself did better than Haruka according to the points...not by that much, but it wasn't something Jou was expecting. But of course, he didn't let such points determine who was truly better and such.

The young Himishi chuckled lightly at Kazu's half-joke before shaking his head a little. "There's no way I'd forget someone like you." Jou said, his smile widening a little more. He then looked back out at sea quietly, lasting for around a minute. The things he thought about earlier were still in his head, and Kazu's comment about both of them becoming Chunin had only made him think about it more.

"Y'know...I've been giving this some thought, but..." Jou then placed his hand on his other arm, squeezing it a little. "I...might hold off on accepting the promotion." Jou admitted, his eyes still focused on the sea with a lessened smile, one that felt bittersweet.

Yuki Kazu

[Yuki Kazu]

Kazu took a seat next to where Jou had been before, happy to see his friend before they went back to their villages. Kazu smiled as Jou complimented how well he did. "I might've done better this time, but I still have a long way to go. But I think that's part of the point of these exams. To show us that while we might be ready for chuunin, we need to be aware of our shortcomings too." Kazu felt... weirdly philosophical when he made this statement. It would make his sensei proud, probably.

Kazu's joke seemed to lighten the air a bit though, with Jou confirming that he could never forget someone like Kazu. The Yuki gave a smirk at that answer, "You better not, or I'll have to come to Iwa and give you a reminder!" His smirk just got bigger and bigger as they continued to talk. 

That is, until the conversation went to Jou holding off on accepting the promotion to chuunin. Kazu understood how he felt, they both felt pretty inadequate for the position. "I get it, really. I don't feel like I'm worthy of the title myself really. Sure, we survived the trials and all that but what makes us really worthy of the title? I still have to talk to Lady Yuki to see her opinions on it." There was so much he needed to do once he got back to Yuki, why couldn't he just have time to relax?

[Himishi Jou]

"Yeah..." Jou couldn't agree more with Kazu's words. He respected how relaxed and philosophical the Yuki boy was, not just now but from the previous times they hung out. Jou felt like Kazu was someone that could understand him, relate to things such as this. The exams certainly showed Jou the things he was capable of, and that he has a certain level of promise as a Chunin...but it has exposed his weaknesses, his shortcomings as well, even some that he didn't know he had...or tried to ignore.

"Heh, noted." Jou said as he jokingly rose his hands up a little in surrender. "You should come visit Iwa anyway." he then added, lowering his hands back down. Jou was a bit shaky about suggesting this to people previously..especially when he was talking to a certain other Yukigakure ninja...but Jou felt a little more confident this time. Maybe this budding confidence was from his interactions through the Exams? There were...challenging moments throughout all of this...not all related to just the rounds themselves...but there were a fair share of good moments that have helped Jou grow...leading him to be able to make this decision of not promoting yet, which in itself was proof that he matured.

Again, Jou nodded at Kazu's insightful words. Although part of Jou wanted to disagree about Kazu not feeling like he was worthy, this was his own choice and thus decided to respect it. He couldn't help but chuckle softly at the mention of Lady Yuki though. "You're lucky...being able to go to your village's leader for such insight." he claimed before looking at his friend. "Guess that's also because she's the head of your clan. The amount of hoops I'd probably have to get through to even get a meeting with Lady Tsuchikage...or even my clan's head..." the thought of that made Jou shake his head a bit, not wanting to dive deeper into this. Jou did not have any animosity towards the Tsuchikage or Himishi clan head, understanding how very busy people of their status can be...but he couldn't help but be a little envious at Kazu's relationship with this Lady Yuki.

"But...It sounds like you won't have much time to relax once you leave." Jou added.

Yuki Kazu

[Yuki Kazu]

Over the course of the Chuunin exams Kazu had definitely gotten more self-aware with his own shortcomings and weaknesses, especially when it came to combat. He relied way more heavily on his kekkai genkai than he had initially thought, it made up a large portion of both his attacks and defensive abilities. He'd be in a lot of trouble if he came up against someone who it was ineffective against. His Taijutsu was okay, but it could still use a lot of work. He didn't really have a finishing blow when it came to that aspect of his repertoire of techniques. The biggest weakness he'd noticed watching the other fights, he didn't have much of a way to combat Genjutsu. If he'd gone up against even one participant that mainly used Genjutsu, he might not have passed. He needed to find something that could help defend and attack them, but that would take some time. "Knowing the weakness is half the battle though, now we can come up with ways to combat those same weaknesses, right?" He smiled at Jou.

The conversation moved forward with Jou mentioning that he should visit Iwa regardless of whether he had to remind him of who he was or not. "I mean obviously, I'm not just gonna never go see my best friend from the exams." He smirked. Prior to the exams, visiting another country felt like it was out of the question. With the rank of Chuunin, however, came less restrictions on traveling. Before the exams, he could hardly go outside of snow country. Now, he would be able to go visit Iwa. It all seemed so weird to the boy. "You gotta visit Yuki some time too, we have amazing snow cones!" The boy half-joked, smiling at his friend once again.

Jou seemed to have the impression that Kazu trained with Lady Yuki regularly, but that wasn't the case exactly. It was more like Kazu took advantage of the few times she'd called for him to meet with her. Still, it was easier for Kazu to meet with her than it would be for Jou to meet with his village leader. "It's not like she's at my beck and call or anything, it's mostly her ordering me to meet with her which is pretty rare to begin with. That being said, I do still have to go through less obstacles to meet her than you would for the Tsuchikage." It did help that Kazu was in the same clan as Lady Yuki, that was for sure. If they weren't part of the same clan, she wouldn't be nearly as knowledgeable on his kekkai genkai. 

Jou's next statement was definitely true though, Kazu would be busy the second he got home. Whether that be with paperwork to get promoted, training to combat his weaknesses, or missions that he'd likely have to take. "Yea, I'll definitely have a lot less free time. At least I'll be home after all this though, right?"  The boy smiled, he missed Yukigakure.

[Himishi Jou]

Jou nodded in agreement to his friend's words. "Yeah...Learning from our past in order to prepare for the future." he added before looking out at sea, taking a bit from his clan's motto. Jou felt that he learned so much more during these exams than he did in the previous one he attended. Jou dove deep into his past and doubts. Although he made quite a few revelations...could he really say that he conquered these insecurities...these weaknesses? It was part of the reason he questioned even going through with the promotion despite having passed this time around. Could he really live up to becoming something more?

Jou did not want to think about this right now...He just pushed it all to the back of his mind and focused more on Kazu. The young Himishi was definitely caught off guard at being called Kazu's best friend. He blinked a bit and looked back over at the Yuki boy, not saying a word. Best friend? There were some folks that the Himishi boy was buddies with...but were there any he could call a true friend? Kazu saw him as such though, and Jou just wasn't sure what to say. After the snow cones comment though, Jou's silence was broken by a light chuckle before nodding. "I don't doubt that." he commented before smiling. Although Jou had been to Yuki before, he had only traveled to the Muramatsa compound and never got a chance to explore further. Jou thought that it would be nice to see more. "I'll be sure to pay my...b-best friend a visit as well." Jou added, his smile forming into a small grin. It felt a little strange to Jou...calling anyone his best friend...but it also felt good. He couldn't exactly describe it...but it's a nice feeling.

"Heh, still, it must be a big honor to be specifically called by her, ya know? You might end up becoming her bodyguard after all." Jou said with a gentle nudge. He was partially joking, but Jou would not have been surprised if this actually did end up happening. "I think neither of us will have much time to ourselves once we head back. But it's to be expected, since we're ninja after all." Jou then started to look out at sea again. It was almost time for him to depart, and the thought of it...did make the boy a little sad. He had no idea when he would come across Kazu again...

"Hey, Kazu-chan?" Jou closed his eyes and smiled a bit before continuing. "Thank you...for being my friend."

Yuki Kazu

[Yuki Kazu]

Jou agreed with Kazu's sentiment, elaborating that they had to learn from their past to prepare for the future. Kazu followed Jou's gaze, looking out at the sea. It was no secret that Kazu had grown immensely through the trials and tribulations of these exams, the main question was how much he had grown. Would he have motivation to do missions and train when he returned to Yukigakure, or had the exams simply spurred that motivation in him? Only time would give the answer to that question, though Kazu hoped it wasn't just an effect the exams had on him. 

Jou was silence for a while, but Kazu had finally broke that silence with a joke about Yuki's snow cones. Kazu was surprised that Jou would actually visit though, most people connected Yuki with cold and it was an instant no. He'd have to buy his best friend a jacket for when he visited. Kazu's was just for show, but Jou would probably need it. "Good, and I'll get you a jacket, so you don't freeze to death."

Jou had a point that it was somewhat of an honor to be called by her, he just hadn't ever looked at it that way. Neither of them would have much free time when they returned though, that was for sure. That was the life of a ninja, always busy. 

A man approached them in a sailor uniform, nodding to them both, "Yuki Kazu, your boat will be departing shortly, please board the ship." He would quickly say before heading off, the reality that this was the last time he'd see Jou for a while started to set in. That reality was affirmed by Jou's next words. He thanked him for being his friend, a simple statement. "Hey, we'll see each other again man! It's not a goodbye, right? That being said, thank you too, Jou." He closed his eyes for a moment. He would finally be returning home. He got up from his seat on the pier, shot a fist towards Jou for a fist bump. "Until we meet again." Once Jou returned the fist bump, Kazu would head back to the boat and, eventually, Yukigakure.

[Himishi Jou]

Jou let out a soft chuckle before rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, a jacket would be nice, thanks." Jou didn't want a repeat of the last time he was in Yukigakure. He had forgotten to get himself a proper coat and nearly froze his ass off. He would make sure none of that happens again....Although, given his chakra nature, Jou has ways of handling the cold...but the poor teen still needed to work on properly controlling his chakra. Just thinking about that was enough to make him realize just how much work still needed to be done, and even more of a reason why he is content with holding off on promoting.

After the touching words that Jou shared, a man had approached the duo, specifically, Kazu. Looks like it was time for the young Yuki to go. The smile Jou had was still there, but it did lessen as the reality of this started to hit him. He had made such a good friend here...yet the likely chance that they would be able to hang out again like this was slim, especially with the duties they would be soon diving into.

But then, Kazu's words rang through Jou's mind. The moment Jou turned to face Kazu again, he noticed the fist pointing in his direction. Jou looked at the fist before shifting his attention to Kazu, his smile widening a little more. "Yeah...You're right." Jou then stood up and nodded. Not wasting anymore time, Jou exchanged one more last fist bump with Kazu before grinning at Kazu. "See you later...my friend."

With that, Kazu was gone, and Jou watched until the young Yuki was no longer in view. After that, Jou crossed his arms and nodded to himself. Just then, another man showed up, this time for Jou, an Iwakagure Jounin. "Ready?" He asked, leading Jou to nod once more.

As Jou prepared to leave, he stopped and looked back, giving this area one last look, before a satisfied expression formed on his face. There were many unexpected and painful moments during the exams...but there were just as many good moments...and people.

"I wish you could've met them...Oneesan." Jou muttered before heading off...officially closing this chapter of his life.

Yuki Kazu