"We'll be arriving at the Land of Lightning soon. First stop is the port city, Raiton."

Tora slowly opened her eyes as she heard the captain speak, her light slumber interrupted. She couldn't remember when she dozed off, but she figured it was good regardless because she hadn't been able to sleep the last couple of nights. The boat ended up getting fixed so she and the others boarded it early in the morning. During the trip, she found a quiet corner to rest and, now that it was late afternoon, she couldn't wait to get away from the melodic swaying from the sea that was making her a little queasy.

"Did you have a nice nap?"

Grabbing her wrist, she stretched her arms towards the sky and let out a loud sigh. "I was really hoping you wouldn't find me since the boat was so big, Koji."

"You should've never fallen asleep. That was careless on your part." The male stood next to her, leaning against a couple of shipping crates. How she managed to sit in such a small space between the crates and the wall, he couldn't understand. Had it not been that he knew her sleeping habits, he probably would've overlooked it. Or maybe it was just a cat thing.

Standing up, Tora slid out of the space and walked up the stairs towards the deck for some fresh air. "You got any anti-nausea pills? I'm never getting on a boat again."

"Small price to pay to meet your father." Koji followed behind her. "And, on that note, who have you been traveling this whole time?"

Tora looked over the railing, watching Raiton get bigger and bigger as they sailed closer. "I told you not to worry about it and trust me." Turning around, she leaned against the rail and crossed her arms over her chest. "You don't need me to tell you. All you're going to do is overreact anyway."

"Why would I-" The gray-haired male glanced at her before his eyes widened in realization, then quickly narrowed. "You didn't… Tora! That means he's on this ship too, right? Where is he now?" Immediately, he jumped to conclusions and got ready to hunt down his target. "I can't believe you did something so idiotic!"

The ravenette grabbed her friend's wrist and yanked him back towards her. "See, that's exactly what I mean. What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Do you have any idea what he's involved in? If word gets out that you were around him, I won't be able to save you."

"And what makes you think I need saving? I can justify all my actions up until now. He's my friend and you're not my bodyguard."

"But I'm your friend too, aren't I? With all the time we've spent together, we're more than friends. Everything you do makes me worry about you."

"I'm not stupid, Koji. There isn't a minute that passes by where I don't think about what I'm doing."

The two had an intense staredown, neither one bothering to break eye contact. Conceding first, the male let out an aggravated long breath and pulled his wrist out of her grasp with a roll of his eyes. She was here without a scratch that he was aware of, so he could lay off for now but he still couldn't accept it. Ever since they were kids, it was like she could never see the true severity behind her actions and it always pissed him off.

Once the boat anchored at the dock, Tora and Koji made their exit and the male went to gather some food and supplies for the rest of their trip while the female went to find a bathroom. On her way back to find her teammate, she took a detour to see where Itachi and Kisame had gone. When she woke up that morning, they were nowhere to be found and she figured that signalled the end of their journey together. The least they could've done was tell her they'd disappear.

"You ready?"

Tora glanced around the city one more time before turning back to Koji. "Yeah, let's go."

The two hopped through the trees, heading straight for Kumogakure. The journey would take at least a day so they decided to get as far as they could on foot before the sun began to set. Setting up camp in a patch of sturdy branches, Tora gazed up at the moon as she took first watch. It felt like the closer she got to seeing her father, the more anxious she felt.

A crow cawed in the distance and Tora's ears perked up at the noise. A single avian flew down and perched itself on the female's wrist. Something was tied to its leg, so she pulled off the small piece of paper with her free hand and unraveled it.

'My apologies for leaving so abruptly. I hope all goes well with your endeavor.'

The crow flew away and disappeared past the canopy as soon as she read the note. Smiling to herself, she tucked it away in her pouch and sharpened her tools as the night went on. If she could respond to him, she'd wish him the best as well and to stay alive until they could meet again.

•─────⋅ ⋅─────•

Tora and Koji made significant coverage the next day as they transitioned from the forest to the mountains. Playing 'I Spy' to pass the time, it was the Dakuo's turn and she glanced around for something tricky when she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"Tora, what's wrong?"

"This place seems very familiar."

The two were standing on a cliff overlooking an overgrown clearing. Koji tried to look past the trees to see what she was seeing to no avail. Calling over to his partner, he received no answer as Tora slid down the cliff side and approached the clearing herself.

The female's mind drifted back to her escape during the war. The very scene that haunted her dreams frequently was finally in front of her. The buildings were nothing more than broken walls covered in moss and vines; some were still intact, however too unstable to enter safely. Tora could visualize how her clan grounds looked in bits and pieces, the memories fading in and out between reality as everything felt like a sensory overload.

"Is this where you were born?" Koji asked as he caught up to her. This place looked like a warzone. He remembered when she told him and Hana the story, however he didn't realize it was to this extent. The only thing missing were bodies since there were still some faint splotches of blood on the walls.

"Yeah… This was the central plaza and over there was the clinic and the marketplace." Tora circled back, pointing out landmarks from the little memory she had conjured. "My house was further back into the mountainside."

As she continued to explore the ghost town, something shiny on the ground caught her attention. Brushing a few leaves aside, she picked up a slightly dulled ring with an amber gem that had a silver streak going down the middle.

"Grandma, why do you always wear that ring on your finger?" A young Tora asked as she peeled vegetables next to the clan head. "Mom said kunoichi shouldn't wear jewelry 'cause it gets in the way."

Hyo chuckled at this, amused at the little girl's words. Her granddaughter always had a knack for listening to the little details of conversations and minding everyone's business but her own. "This ring is a very special ring that's passed down through the Dakuo clan heads. Most people would call it a cat eye gemstone."

"Does it give you superpowers or something?"

Seeing the look of wonder on her granddaughter's face only charmed Hyo even more. "Unfortunately no, but I hope that once you're of age and rank, this special heirloom can be passed onto you. You are a Dakuo after all."

Tora carefully picked the ring up from under the discarded dead leaves and soft dirt and enclosed her fist around it. None of this was supposed to have happened. If everything had gone peacefully, her life would've been completely changed. Instead, she had to have her memories suppressed and her family name was tarnished. Tightening her grip, she relished in her anger and frustration. Unbeknownst to herself, she set off a discharge of lightning chakra that illuminated the entire clan grounds. Those emotions, however, quickly dissipated into sadness as she thought of the people and memories she gained through living in Konoha.

"Tora-" Koji instantly appeared next to her. No sooner had she released that chakra, he could sense people approaching. They needed to leave before they could get caught, however the ravenette showed no signs of moving. Instead, she untied her hitai-ate from around her waist and handed it to the male realizing this could be her opportunity despite the mistake she'd made.

"Go. This could be my only way into the village." Tora beckoned to him, which only caused him to hiss back with an argument.

"I'm not going to leave you in enemy territory by yourself."

"You can't get caught like this. One of us has to go in the right way."

"Every plan you make is more and more atrocious as time passes by. Have you not given thought to what you're saying? What if they kill you on sight?"

"Then it's a good thing I didn't plan this. Now hurry up and go. I'll be fine."

Koji took one last look at Tora in disapproval before disappearing into the trees. As much as he didn't like how this was happening, he had a deep enough bond with her to know that he could trust she'd be alright. In the meantime, he needed to finesse a way into the village to find her after she got in.

Clutching the ring in her hand, Tora pocketed it and waited for the ambush. If she had to fight, she'd do so, but she'd rather be taken in peacefully since fighting wasn't her true intention. Judging from the quality of the land around her, there was no coming back for the Dakuo clangrounds regardless. Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she mentally willed herself to focus. There were other questions that she needed answered.

"Don't move, or I won't hesitate to use force. State your name, affiliation, and business."

Amber eyes met icy, blue ones as Tora stood a couple of meters from a fair-skinned female sporting a blond bob. Behind her was a dark-skinned male with dark dreadlocks and another dark-skinned male that had blond hair with a fiery orange streak. As the three were eyeing the foreigner, she assessed them as well.

"My name is Tora. I'm looking for the Fourth Raikage."

The blond female's eyes narrowed. "For what?"

"I need to return something to him."

"Quit being ambiguous." The orange-streak male spoke up with a scowl. "I ain't letting you anywhere near the boss. You best scram while you still have two limbs."

It was now Tora's turn to be defiant as she placed her hands on her hips. "I'm not going anywhere until I see him."

"Look here, I ain't asking-"

"That lightning strike earlier… Was that you?" The dreadlocks man interrupted his teammate. His next words came out as a murmur, however this team heard everything. "For someone to use the Fourth's ability when you aren't even from here…"

"How do you know the Raikage?" The woman asked.

Tora frowned and put her hands up. "I promise you I'm not trying to hurt anyone. I can't leave now, I just need to see him." She thought she was getting through to them when, suddenly, the woman pulled out her tanto. "Um… Did I say something wrong?"

"You're trespassing on Kumogakure property. This is the last time I'll ask you to leave."

"Well, that's funny, because I already told you I'm not leaving."

"Cool… Let's resolve this quickly then."

The blond lunged for Tora and she quickly jumped out of the way. No sooner had the Dakuo landed on the ground, the other two males were after her as well. Trying to keep true to her words, she evaded most of their attacks, sustaining a few minor cuts from the swords. As she jumped on top of one of the buildings to dodge another attack, the rotting floor caved in under her weight and she was nearly tackled down by the male with the dreadlocks. In this moment, Tora's body was shrouded with lightning and she disappeared, reappearing meters away from the group on all fours.

"I said I'm not fu-"

The words couldn't come out of her mouth fast enough as the wind was knocked out of her chest from behind and she completely lost consciousness.