Ooyama Kusakyu woke up the next morning still inside his puppet Saisei, a large wooden contraption in the shape, and appearance of a lion. Saisei was one of three puppets Ooyama had created, though he used Saisei the most. Controlling Saisei took some getting used to, but being able to hide his small frame from curious eyes was something he'd always wanted to do, and so he made building it his first priority under Endou's guidance.
Endou had also shown him the ways of the Red puppet style; a method of puppeteering specializing in variety as opposed to a particular set. While generally useful against most shinobi, Endou had told him that it would not fare well against other puppeteers that opted to specialize in the Black, or Blue puppet style. Ooyama didn't expect to deal with other puppeteers any time soon so Red was the obvious choice.
A calm gentle light poked through the cracks in the lighthouse's interior indicating that it was daylight out. Saisei slowly got up, and using his chakra strings Ooyama guided the lion outside, and into the cold rain.
Just past the lighthouse was a small empty beach, and beyond that was the ocean sea stretching for miles, and miles without end. Ooyama guided Saisei out and onto the sand. Wanting to feel the beach beneath his feet he considered exiting the puppet. The boy looked around peering out through the puppets' eye holes. Just when he thought the coast was clear he saw something - someone laying face down in the sand.
Ooyama approached them carefully, and saw that it was a girl about his age; she was soaked in water, and unconscious.
"A-A mermaid," Ooyama said.
He scooped the girl up in Saisei's arms and brought her into the lighthouse where he started a fire to warm her up.
Ooyama stirred uncomfortably inside of Saisei. He was scared, what if the mermaid tried to kick him out of the lighthouse, or to take his money?
After a couple of hours the girl started to shift a bit before finally waking up. She sniffled before instinctively moving closer to the fire. She wore nothing but a long black dress, and a tie for her hair. Her eyes were as black as the night, and she was smiling excitedly.
As she warmed her hands she looked straight at Ooyama through the holes in his puppet. The boy flinched in fear causing the puppet to fall to the ground.
"I was saved... by a bear," The girl said.
"H-He's a lion."
"How many of your kind are there? Take me to your king."
"M-Mermaids sure are weird..."
"What?" The girl stood up for a moment, "these are legs. Mermaids don't have legs! They have fins!"
Ooyama blinked.
"F-I-N-S. Fins!"
The girl then looked at Ooyama through the eye holes again.
"Wait a minute!" She said, "you're an imposter."
"N-No, I'm a bear."
The boy blinked again, and before he knew it he was under attack. The girl had launched herself at him, tackling Saisei to the ground.
"S-Stop i-it you'll hurt him."
"LET. ME. IN."
The two thrashed around the lighthouse breaking shelves, and crashing into walls. The entrance to Saisei was located on the lion's back, and it seemed the girl had realized this as she was prying at the entrance.
"N-No, I-I'll be e-exposed!"
Ooyama used his chakra strings to seal the entrance shut, but the girl was far too strong. After several more minutes of thrashing about it was settled.
Having opened the hatch she peaked inside analyzing every nook and cranny of the Saisei.
"This is super duper spacious! How do you see out of this thing?"
She waited for Ooyama to answer, but instead all he did was cower, and shake in terror. She couldn't see his face, and his body was covered with what looked like an oversized trench coat.
"Get out."
"Hmmm, okay," Hitomi said, closing the hatch.
Afterwards she sat down across from Saisei and stared at him intently.
"W-What's your name?" He asked.
"I'm Hitomi! I hope we can be great friends!"
I'm Ryu." He lied. "A-Are you okay? I-It looked like you a-almost drowned e-earlier."
"Mmmm don't worry about all that."
"O-Okay."
Ooyama was a very short boy at 4 '5, and he was quite frail as well. He wore a mask that covered the bottom half of his face, and his hair was short and purple. He generally wore a large gray trench coat that hid most of his body, and under Hitomi's gaze he seemed to be cowering under it despite being inside Saisei
"Where are we anyway? Can we go hunting?"
In truth Ooyama wasn't sure where he was. He'd never been outside of the village, even when he lived with Endou he preferred to stay inside and work on his puppets. After all, if living inside Kusakyu Castle was hell, the outside world couldn't have been any better, Endou just so happened to be a rare exception.
"I-I dunno."
"Let's go look around then!"
"I d-don't want to."
"Pleeeeeeaaaaassseeee!"
"O-Okay."
Ooyama uncomfortably stood up, and started to attach his chakra strings to Saisei. After a few moments the puppet began to rise. Hitomi excitedly watched Ooyama use Saisei so easily.
Ooyama guided the puppet outside of the lighthouse, and onto the beach with Hitomi following close behind.
"Oh, I think I see some people over there. Let's ask them for directions!" Hitomi yelled, pointing in their direction.
"O-Okay, b-but you do the talking."
Ooyama guided the giant puppet toward the group, but as they got closer one of them pointed at them and started to run away. The entire group began to scream, and bolt in different directions leaving all their stuff behind.
"Whaaa? Why did they run away?" Hitomi asked.
"I think they're playing tag."
"Oh, that makes sense, hey look! At the ground!"
Saiseilooked down in the sand and saw a few bento boxes.
"Oh no! They left their food here!"
"W-We should probably e-eat it. We d-don't want it to go to waste."
"But won't they be back? You said they're playing tag." Hitomi said sadly.
"It's okay for us to eat them, it's a cultural thing."
"Ohhhh so leaving food out for strangers then is like a huge deal here huh?"
"Yeah."
"Okey dokey then I can't say no to that!"
Ooyama briefly opened Saisei, allowing a shock of cold air inside, and like a rat snatched one of the bento boxes. Hitomi grabbed one of the bento boxes as well, and then the two of them sat in the sand and began to eat.
"Um, what are you doing?" Hitomi asked.
Ooyama had turned Saisei around, and faced the direction opposite to Hitomi.
"Eating."
"But why are you turned around like that?"
"Why aren't you?"
Hitomi reached from behind Saisei, grabbing his head.
"Eeeeeeeeeep!"
"It's rude not to face your guests!"
And so Ooyama turned Saisei around to face her, but despite that his face was still hidden behind his mask, and his arms. He looked down as he ate, his hair drooping down masking his already hidden features
Afterwards Hitomi clapped her hands together. "That was delicious! If we see those guys later we need to thank them properly!"
"Y-Yeah, s-sure."
Ooyama did not finish his food, instead he covered the bento up intending to finish it later. Afterwards he thought to himself for a bit until he realized there was something he needed to see.
"Um, Hitomi?"
"Mmmmhmm?"
"I'd like to go check on something, but it's very selfish so you don't-"
"I'll come!"
"O-Okay."
Ooyama took control of Saisei again, and moved the puppet up and across a long bridge that was built over the Kaguya river. He followed it all the way back to where he was just the day before. He peaked around the corner, and saw what looked to be:
"R-Rain shinobi," Hitomi said having followed Saisei
She was right. Investigating the explosion were a handful of Amegakure shinobi, and it looked like it was a range of different ninja from genin to jonin.
They were investigating a toy shop that had been blown to smithereens. It's where Ooyama had lived the last few years, and it was where Endou had now lost his life. There was a medical team on site as well, and they were picking up pieces of Endou's corpse, and stuffing it in large black plastic bags.
Hitomi looked at Saisei's eyes as the puppet looked at the scene. Although Hitomi couldn't see the boy behind it, he was transfixed, and in a daze lost in some other world it seemed.
Hitomi stepped forwards, and pressed a hand against the puppets' back.
"You knew him didn't you? I'm sorry."
"N-No, I should be sorry. It's my fault."
"That's not-"
"HEY YOU! STOP!"
Ooyama regained his senses, and saw straight ahead a young shinobi wearing a headband. She was pointing right at Saisei.
"ᴼʰ ᵍᵉᵉᶻ."
Ooyama turned Saisei around completely, and booked it back to the lighthouse, Hitomi tailing close behind. In terms of speed Saisei was fast thanks to its incredibly long legs. Its heavy arms also assisted in movement with each stride carefully pushing the large body along. Before he got too far Hitomi clinged onto Saisei's back as it ran.
After some time the two arrived back at the lighthouse, and while in Saisei the two peered through a window that was pointed in the direction they'd escaped in.
"W-We got away s-somehow."
"What would've happened if they caught us?" Hitomi asked.
"I-I dunno, but I d-don't trust them."
"Why not?"
"Because they're s-strangers."
"Hmmm, am I a stranger?" She asked, looking at him with curious eyes.
"W-well, yes."
With nothing left planned for the day the two explored the lighthouse at their leisure. It was definitely abandoned, but the large light at the top still shined as brightly as ever. He didn't bring it up, but Ooyama figured it was that light that led Hitomi to Amegakure in the first place. She must've been on some kind of boat, and saw the light in the distance. That was his guess anyway.
For dinner Hitomi insisted on showing Ooyama how to fish. The two stepped outside the lighthouse, and made their way to a nearby dock. Hours flew by as Hitomi instructed Ooyama on the various kinds of fish that lived inside the Kage sea. While she spoke, Ooyama carefully considered where he'd go next.
Since Kuda did not give him any details he assumed it was not worth worrying about it just yet. Still, he thought about Hitomi; if Kuda was willing to kill Endou she might be willing to kill Hitomi too.
Even though he didn't know the girl very well he didn't want someone else dying because of him. Ooyama tightened his grip on the fishing rod; afterwards, something began to tug on the other end.
"Wow you got one!" Hitomi yelled. "Come on, go ahead and pull!"
Saisei pulled back as hard as he could, but it wasn't enough. He was being pulled closer, and closer toward the water.
Ooyama closed his eyes as he felt Saisei begin to plunge over the dock. He didn't feel it but reaching over his shoulder from behind him was Hitomi grabbing the fishing pole.
"Don't give up now!" She said struggling. Her face was pressed against Saisei's back as she pulled as hard as she could.
"We're almost...there!" Hitomi yelled as a ginormous fish came leaping out of the water landing on the dock right before them.
Hitomi grabbed Saisei, hugging him, and rocking him back, and forth.
"We did it!" She yelled, "see? It's not that hard, fishing's really easy!" Hitomi proclaimed.
"ᴵᵗ'ˢ ᵗᵒᵒ ᵇᶦᵍ."
"Huh? Whaddya mean it's too big? There's no such thing!" She said throwing her arms into the air. "Come on. Let's head back inside and cook this thing up!" Hitomi said.
And for the second time that day Ooyama, and Hitomi sat inside the lighthouse together.
"Hey Ryu, do you think we can stay here forever?"
"I-It's not that I wouldn't mind, b-but.." Saisei turned its head looking away. "I have something I need to do."
It was true. Kuda said he'd be allowed to leave the clan if, and only if he represented the Kusakyu in the Mock Exams, but he didn't know a thing about what the Mock Exams were, or where to start in them. He didn't want to go back to Kusakyu Castle so he'd have to look into it tomorrow.
"T-Then let me help you."
"I-It's not exactly a two-person thing... I think."
Ooyama could see Hitomi's eyes drop to the floor.
"B-But afterwards I won't have a-anything holding me b-back anymore so s-so maybe..."
What was he saying? He'd barely known the girl for a day, and he already had friends, the kind that would listen to him no matter what he said.
"We can stay together?" Hitomi finished for him.
"I-If you're still here t-then s-sure, b-but I'm not counting on it." He lied.
"Then it's a deal!" She replied with a smile.
Hitomi had just finished eating. She stretched her legs before laying down on the ground. She'd gathered a small assortment of supplies, long bush leaves, paper and she was using them as a blanket and pillow.
"W-What are you doing?"
"Oh, it's getting late so I'm going to sleep."
"I-In here?" Ooyama asked fearfully.
The girl didn't even respond; she was already fast asleep, her head resting delicately on the pillow.
"ᴼʰ ᵍᵉᵉᶻ."
Ooyama uncomfortably laid down as well, and after some time he finally managed to drift to sleep.
The next thing Ooyama saw was Kusakyu castle, but he was 50 feet above it, and he was falling. Fast.
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep," he screamed as he plummeted toward the ground, but just before he could hit it he felt the cold embrace of his older sister. She'd caught him.
"Talk about a new record Kuda." Shusei said with a bright smile.
There were over a dozen members of the Kusakyu clan relaxing in the courtyard, many of which were drinking vast amounts of alcohol.
"Think I can do 100 yams?"
The boy cried, and sniveled as he desperately tried to pull away from his younger sister.
"Hey Kuda, I'm going long!" Shusei said, dropping his alcohol.
"Hahahaha, you're on. Remember, head first Yams!"
Shusei bolted out of the courtyard, and all the way down into Jiraigen territory. Kuda tightly gripped Ooyama with one hand before tossing the toddler far up, and over the castle.
"I got him!" Shusei cried. He was still running, but at this point he was in front of the Norigami family house.
While Ooyama flew through the air he looked up at the sun. It looked like it had been replaced with a dark black eye, and it blinked at him. Before Ooyama could think about what was happening he finally lost momentum going up, and started to build it going down. He had gone over a large portion of the castle, and started to fall down, and toward a tree.
Ooyama's left arm smacked into the tree, crushing it on impact, but Shusei still caught him as his body continued to fall.
"Gotcha, ya little rugrat."
Ooyama was sobbing so hard, he couldn't believe the pain he was in. After a few more moments the boy had passed out, but that didn't stop Shusei from tossing the child back to Kuda.
"Heads up Kuda, coming your way!"
Ooyama woke up in a cold sweat. He was still inside Saisei, and across from him sleeping was Hitomi. He took a deep breath, and brought his arms up to his knees, and pulled them in like a lost, and frightened child. Although that nightmare was a very real, and scary memory from his past, the most striking part about it was the eye in place of the sun that was looking down at him.
Hitomi had started to wake up as well. She gently rubbed her eyes, and looked at Saisei with a sad distant look.
"W-What?' Ooyama asked.
"Hmm, you're awake! Good morning!"
Before the two could do much else they heard a noise coming from the front of the lighthouse by the door. Alerted, Ooyama moved Saisei up, and into a fighting position, and Hitomi moved over to his side.
"Walf! Walf! Walf!"
It was a small puppy about a foot long. It's tail was pointed up, and it was sitting poised to attack.
"Awwwe, it's a cute doggie! At least we won't have to look far for dinner-"
Before Hitomi could finish, Ooyama had taken control of Saisei, and was bolting in the opposite direction heading toward the stairs.
"What are you-" Looking at Ooyama Hitomi could see absolute fear in the boy's eyes. He was shaking with adrenaline, and terror.
"Stop that." Hitomi said, tackling Saisei to the ground.
"Ouch," she rubbed her head, "it's okay, I'll take care of it for you," Hitomi said.
And just as Hitomi started to walk toward the puppy, someone new appeared.
"HA! There you are, you squatters! Wait, is that a puppet?"
The voice came from a tall girl with long bright orange hair. She wore a jacket the same color as Ooyama's hair, and bright white shorts with fishnets on her right leg, and a shinobi pouch on the other which also held her headband wrapped around her thigh.
The dog ran up to her, and crawled up her leg all the way up until it was situated on the girl's shoulder.
"My name is Rui Inuzuka! And I'm... uh, almost a genin." She said scratching her head seemingly unsure of herself.
"Walf! Walf!"
Seeing that Ooyama was still too scared to speak, Hitomi seemed to take the reigns.
"Um, I think your dog is broken."
"Hmmmm?"
"It's going Walf! Walf! and not Woof! Woof!" Hitomi said. "Dogs go Woof! Woof! not Walf! Walf!"
Ooyama slowly struggled to his feet, and peered through Saisei's eyes, careful not to look the pup in the face.
"Um, w-what do you want with us?"
"This is Inuzuka territory, I'll say it again. You're squatting. I heard some complaints from a group of friends who were on the beach yesterday. They said you scared them off!"
"Is Saisei t-that u-ugly?" Ooyama said sadly.
"He's amazing!" Hitomi said. "They were running away in excitement!"
"When they came back later their food was gone!"
"Y-You don't have a-any proof!" Ooyama exclaimed.
The girl turned her direction to the pile of trash on the other side of the room, and simply pointed at the empty bento boxes; though the one Ooyama hadn't finished was still in Saisei with him.
"That doesn't prove anything!"
"H-Hey, they gave us that food for free!" Hitomi cried out. "It's cultural!"
"HA! Caught red handed!"
"ᴳᵒᵈᵈᵃᵐⁿᶦᵗ"
Ooyama was all out of options, and the girl in front of him didn't seem likely to concede. For a moment he thought about sneaking back into Kusakyu castle. The Kusakyu rarely went down into the crypts, and he'd have plenty of room to build his puppets; though he'd need to figure out a way to ditch Hitomi.
"O-Okay, we'll leave, but I-I have a question."
"Well, go on, spit it out. I don't have all day."
"Walf!"
"Um, w-where do I go to f-fight in the Mock E-Exams?"
"The Mock Exams? Why are you asking about the Mock Exams?"
"B-Because I-I'm a participant."
"Yeah, I don't think so."
"I-It's true!"
"Okay, tell you what puppet boy. Me and you, one on one. If you got what it takes I'll tell you everything I know about the exam. Oh, and on top of that, I guess I can let you get away with staying in my tower."
"ᴵᵗ'ˢ ᵃ ˡᶦᵍʰᵗʰᵒᵘˢᵉ."
"What was that?"
"D-Deal."
"Well, let's go outside, we're not doing this inside the tower."
Ooyama used his chakra strings to walk Saisei outside of the tower, and onto the beach, Hitomi following him close from behind
It was just as cold as it was the previous day, but this time it had begun to snow. The sand was white, and grainy and the water from the tide gently caressed Saisei's legs. A handful of bystanders seemed to form a crowd up on the road staring down at the beach where Rui, and Saisei were standing.
"ᴼʰ ᵍᵉᵉᶻ."
"Um, Bearyama..."
"H-Hitomi, p-please step aside for now."
"O-Okay."
"Ugh, this is just getting weirder." Rui said.
The crowd up on the road were murmuring to themselves. Hitomi had sat just below them, still in the sand, but not so far that she couldn't intervene if she was needed.
"N-No dogs."
"Walf!" The dog was still sitting on the girl's shoulder, and was waiting to pounce.
"Go on Nina."
The dog whined a bit before leaping off the girl's shoulder, and running to the sidelines by Hitomi.
"This won't take long at all."
"P-Please go easy on me."
It was true. Up until now Ooyama had never been in a real fight with his puppets. Aside from very short training sessions with Endou this would be the first time he's put his creations to the test.
"Hmm let me think about that - no."
And with that the battle began.
"Let's see just how strong that puppet of yours is," Rui said charging Ooyama.
'I-I'll just keep my d-distance.'
Ooyama pulled Saisei back, and pulled down on a lever just under his foot. As a result two small square pockets opened up in Saisei's torso, and launched a barrage of kunai at the young shinobi.
"Useless!" The girl then started to run on all fours, her speed increasing with each stride.
"Fang Bullet!" Her body twisted, and spun at such an immense speed the sand on the ground began to levitate off the ground. She crashed straight into Saisei crashing through the wood, splintering it all over the ground.
The puppet's constitution was not easily broken however. Saisei's feet remained planted on the ground despite being pushed all the way back into a rock, the boulder behind the puppet cracking.
'Ooyama, the wood we use to build our puppets is infused with our own chakra.'
That's what Endou had told him. But was his chakra strong enough to resist the might of the Inuzuka?
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" Rui yelled.
Then it happened. A claw burst through the wood like it was made of paper. If Ooyama wasn't as frail, and limber as he was, it would've gutted him. The claw continued to reach for Ooyama's body, but the boy dodged left and right while inside Saisei. When he had the opportunity he brought both of Saisei's arms down onto the beast as hard as he could, but before they could crush her she leapt several feet back, and began to corner Ooyama like how a wolf would corner its prey.
The crowd up above began to murmur even louder as the fight continued. Hitomi watched as the crowd grew larger, and larger. Even shinobi started to get involved; though they were in Inuzuka territory so it was mostly shinobi belonging to that clan that were watching.
Just as Rui charged Ooyama again he activated a smoke screen. It engulfed the area, but Saisei was still leaned against the boulder with little room to run, so the Inuzuka shinobi took a chance and leapt into the smoke. She found her target with little issue, and stabbed her claw straight into its chest, and tore apart the cavity. Then she took her other claw, and picked the puppet up, and threw it out of the smoke, and to the other side of the arena. It crashed into a tree exploding into pieces, but to Hitomi's surprise Ooyama was not in it.
The young girl continued to watch the smoke. For some reason neither Rui or Ooyama had emerged from it.
"You think I'd fall for a trick like that?"
It was Rui's voice.
"Let's try this again."
"Fang Bullet!"
The smoke in the arena immediately disappeared, flowing up, and over the audience with intense speed.
"Look!" One of the bystanders called out.
Rui was in the middle of her Fang Bullet ability once again crushing Saisei, and Ooyama against the same rock.
"You thought you could trick me with a substitution!"
Hitomi knew better. She knew that the boy had three scrolls on his back. It wasn't a substitution, it was another copy of his puppet. It was another Saisei.
"But the Inuzuka rely on scent to track our opponents!" Rui explained.
There was already a hole in Saisei's armor so the puppet would not last if this kept up. Ooyama tried to launch the kunai out of Saisei's chest again, but.
"I don't think so!"
Rui lifted her legs up, and smashed both of her feet into the two holes where the kunai would've flown from. Saisei was falling apart.
Struggling from inside Saisei, Ooyama tried raising the puppets arm again, but the Inuzuka shinobi tore it off with brute strength, and held it up for the audience to see. Then she slammed the arm into Saisei's head, piercing through its skull, Ooyama ducking just in time as the life of his puppet met its end.
She slowly stood up on her legs, and looked down at Ooyama who could barely see her under the rubble of his puppet.
"Is that all you got? Really?"
"Move," before Rui could react she was on the ground, her hands full of sand.
Hitomi dug through the wreckage looking for Ooyama.
'W-What? I didn't even hear her coming. Who is she?'
"I-I'm fine H-Hitomi l-let me g-get my other s-scroll. D-Don't look at me." And after a moment a new Saisei had formed just before the group.
Rui got to her feet, and eyed Hitomi suspiciously.
"You're next."
"Oh, uh n-no I don't think that's a good idea," Hitomi replied anxiously. She was looking up at the crowd, and everyone that had gathered.
"You need a place to sleep don't you? Then fight me."
Nina's dog had run up Rui, and climbed up her leg sitting right back on her shoulder.
Hitomi turned back, and looked at Ooyama.
"Y-You don't have to," he said. The boy was already back in Saisei, no one had managed to see him outside of it yet.
"B-But we need a place to sleep - for when you get back." Hitomi clenched her fists. "I-I'll fight you then."
"No, you won't!" A loud voice boomed from the crowd, and down into everyone's ears.
The group looked up, and saw something parting the crowd. It was a man atop an extremely large wolf. He had a large sword sheathed to his back, and dark orange hair.
"Daddy!" Rui ditched Hitomi, and Ooyama, and sped up the hill toward her dad.
The man reached his hand down, and pulled his daughter up, and sat her on the back of the wolf. Nina leapt off of Rui's shoulder, and daintily skipped over to the end of the large wolf's nose, turned around, and sat down. It looked like the larger wolf was enjoying its company.
"Walf!"
"What did I tell you about starting fights?"
"They're squatters' daddy, and they were staying in grandpa's tower.."
"Is that so?"
The wolf leapt off of the hill, and confronted Ooyama, and Hitomi.
"Ooyama Kusakyu." The man started.
"HUH?" Rui yelled, "KUSAKYU MY ASS HE DOESN'T EVEN USE EXPLOSION RELEASE! WHAT KIND OF KUSAKYU USES PUPPETS?"
"Y-Yeah well y-your breath stinks!" Ooyama heard himself say.
He instinctively backed away seeing how large the beast under the man was. Sensing this Hitomi stepped in front of him in a protective manner.
"We all have our own reasons for choosing the path we do. His path just happens to be different from the one his clan has taken. Tell me Rui, how many other Inuzuka have you seen wield a sword? After all, why wield a sword when you have such powerful claws? A similar question could be posed to Ooyama. Why resort to puppets when you have such a powerful kekegenkai?"
"Kusakyu..." Hitomi heard herself say.
To Ooyama's surprise she didn't seem to fully understand the gravity of his family name.
"I-I guess I understand, kinda." Rui replied.
The man refocused his attention on Hitomi, and Ooyama.
"My name is Kayako Inuzuka. It's a pleasure to meet you both, and this here is Ryuk."
The wolf breathed deeply, and licked its lips. It was a huge beast at least twice the size of your average wolf. It was a deep gray with orange highlights in its hair.
Please accompany me back to HQ. Rubin would like to have a word."
Hitomi reached for Saisei's hand, and grabbed it.
"Okay, we're coming."
"I-Is this about the Mock Exams?" Ooyama asked.
"It is."
"Then I'll go."
Saisei, and Hitomi both followed Ryuk back up the hill, and through Amegakure. The crowd that had formed during the fight had begun to disperse, but not before a handful of them reached in an attempt to touch Saisei.
"Please don't mind them." Kayako said briefly, looking back at Ooyama.
"You're the closest thing they'll ever be to the Mizukage."
'The Mizukage.' Ooyama thought.
Endou had told him about the Mizukage. He was also a puppet user, but his methods were taboo. He'd come to power in a mysterious controversy that ended with the death of the last Mizukage. A steam release wielder from Kirigakure, the Village hidden in the Mist.
"There aren't many puppet users in Ame, let alone the Land of Water," Kayako explained, "that fight gave them some idea of how the Mizukage uses his ability even if it was a poor example."
"I-Is the Mizukage well liked, dad?
"That's... a complicated question. Our Civil War has tanked his credibility quite a bit."
"Oh yeah, that," Rui replied with a sad expression, "nevermind, forget I said anything."
"We'll have to talk about it eventually, Rui. It's a decision that you'll need to make sooner or later."
Neither Ooyama or Hitomi had any idea what Kayako was referring to, but either way they were both finally leaving Inuzuka territory and entering Kage territory. Amegakure was divided into five distinct territories. The smallest belonged to the Kosutta clan, and the largest belonged to the Inuzuka, and between them were the Jiraigen territories belonging to the Kusakyu, the Hana territories belonging to the Akinoyo, and the Kage territory belonging to Ame's central government.
As the group traveled Ooyama couldn't help but note how much less extravagant everything looked compared to what he was used to in the area surrounding Kusakyu castle. He looked over at Hitomi however, who was still holding his hand. She seemed to be amazed, looking up at all the tall metallic buildings.
Finally they reached the Jonin HQ building.
"Rui, please continue making the rounds."
The girl leapt off of Ryuk, and stared daggers at Hitomi.
"Mock Exams or not, I'm coming for you," and with that Rui sprinted down the street, though Hitomi called back to her.
"Okay! It was nice to meet you!" She yelled at the girl with a wave.
Kayako greeted the guards outside, and led the two into the building and up the stairs. At the very end of the hallway was Rubin's office. With a curt knock Kayako alerted the man inside to his presence, and after a short moment the door opened.
The lead Jonin was of medium height, maybe 5 '10 at most. He had dark blue hair, and wore a casual black jacket. His smile was casual, but welcoming.
"Ooyama Kusakyu," he said, showing no surprise at seeing Saisei, "it's nice to finally meet you," he happily shook Saisei's hand, "I would've loved for it to be much earlier, but your sister pulled every trick in the book to keep that from happening."
"We got intel that you were staying with Endou some time ago so we let it be. We didn't anticipate..." The man took a deep, exasperated breath. "We didn't expect her to do what she did. I'm truly sorry for not acting sooner," Rubin then bowed before Ooyama.
"D-Don't worry about it. T-Thank you for your concern," Ooyama flabbergasted at Rubin's behavior.
"In any case", Rubin turned toward the window, and looked outside at Amegakure, "Kuda asked you to participate in the Mock Exams, as a representative of the Kusakyu. I don't know if you know this or not Ooyama, but after the Mock Exams are over, provided you get through it all you'll be a genin. Meaning, you'll officially be a shinobi. At this point in a shinobi's career they can choose to either complete missions for their clan, or they can choose to side with the village government. I've only heard rumors about how you've been treated over in Jiraigen territory so I can only speculate, but I just want you to know that if you choose to fight for Ame, and not the Kusakyu - there will be a place here for you."
"W-What will I get if I s-side with Ame?"
"A home for one. It'd be provided for you here at HQ."
"I'll think about it."
"I understand."
Rubin looked at Hitomi next, who was still standing patiently next to Ooyama. The lead jonin brought a hand to his chin in deep thought.
"Do you want to conduct a full examination?" Kayako asked.
The man was still standing in the doorway - he had never left. Ooyama wasn't sure what they meant by full examination. Did they recognize something about Hitomi that he didn't?
"Ooyama, wait here please. Hitomi, please come with me to the other room."
"I'll be back!" She told Ooyama with a smile before letting go of Saisei's hand. Then she followed Kayako, and Rubin out the door.
Ooyama had planned to go through Rubin's desk, then eavesdrop on the conversation with Hitomi, but unfortunately they had a guard stand inside the room with him.
"ᵃʷ"
It had been at least an hour, and Ooyama was still sitting inside Rubin's office with the guard. He was seated at this point thinking of new puppet designs, and how to improve Saisei.
But finally the door had opened, and both Rubin, and Hitomi stepped back inside. The girl seemed to be smiling as she took her place back next to Ooyama's side holding Saisei's hand.
"I'm back!"
"W-Welcome back."
Rubin went behind his desk, and reached into his drawer. He revealed two Hidden Rain headbands, and held them up.
"These are your tickets to get into the Mock Exams so don't lose them. If you pass the exams then they are yours to keep, and you'll officially be recognized as Hidden Rain genin."
Ooyama took the headband in Saisei's hand, and placed it around the puppets head. As for Hitomi she did the same for now, though she 'd likely change it later on once she got some new clothes; she was still in the black dress she was in when she arrived in Amegakure.
"Now, it's a good thing Rui, and Kayako ran into both of you because everyone is going to the exam site tomorrow. And while technically you don't need to be at the site for about four more days it's imperative you leave with a jonin."
"W-Why's that?"
"Because there have been attacks on Mock Exam candidates on their way to the site. A single examinee is an easy target, a pair of ninjutsu users with a jonin level shinobi is considered too much trouble."
"A pair? Awwe so we won't be traveling with other Mock Exams participants?" Hitomi asked, her eyes sparkling.
Rubin laughed. "Unfortunately no, and you two will be the last to go. I'm going to have to find a shinobi willing to take you."
"B-But why are M-Mock Exams participants being attacked?" Ooyama asked.
"It's part of the ongoing Inuzuka Civil War. A good way to cripple your opponent's military is to get rid of your weakest links."
"O-Oh."
Ooyama didn't know much about the Civil War, and he didn't care enough to ask further questions.
"You'll meet the rest of the genin at the entrance in the morning. Kayako will be there to make sure you're all accounted for. Oh, and you're both free to sleep here tonight of course; don't worry about the lighthouse situation. I'll smooth it over with the Inuzuka."
"Thank you Rubin," Hitomi said, "For everything, I mean it."
Later that night after dinner Ooyama found himself alone in his own room. He was able to take a nice long shower, and afterwards he tore the blankets off of the bed he was provided, and started to lay them out inside Saisei, but then he heard a knock on his door.
Before he could ask who it was he heard their voice.
"I-It's Hitomi."
Ooyama climbed inside Saisei, and made his way to the door. Fearing that she'd break it down he slowly started to crack the door open, but after it was only an inch away from the frame Hitomi, and reached inside, her fingers trailing the door like a spider, and then she slammed it open.
"I'm sleeping in here too."
"No. Y-You have a bed."
"Ooyama."
That was the first time she'd said his name. Though the more Ooyama thought about it he realized he'd given her an alias before - Ryu. But even after that, before she learned of his identity she'd called him something else.
'Bearyama'
A nickname of sorts, but she'd gotten it mostly right. Ooyama was careful, she shouldn't have known his real name until Kayako had said it out loud. Was it just a coincidence? It had to have been. Just as he was about to reject the girl she forced her way into the room, and leapt straight onto the bed, and covered herself under the sheets.
He didn't have his mask on, but he faced her anyway, she couldn't see him in the dark.
"Hey Hitomi?"
"Hmmmm?"
"How did you Ooyama know that w-was my name? I don't remember telling you."
The girl shuffled under the sheets as if buying time trying to conjure up a response.
"I-I wanted to get your attention a-and I just said what I felt."
Ooyama wasn't satisfied with that answer, but he didn't want to press the issue. There'd be no use in doing so. With that burning question out of the way Ooyama reflected on the day before finally drifting into a deep sleep.
Ooyama was tied to a large pole outside in the dark rainy cold. His legs were bound, and his arms were tied across his chest like an x, The only thing that was free were his hands, and mouth. The entire clan was pointing at him, and laughing.
"Honestly Kuda he might just be a lost cause. Biologically speaking he got the short end of the stick. It's not too late to throw him into the moat and call it a day. We can wipe the records clean just like Akira did with his enemies. It's not exactly a new idea." She had a beer in her right hand, and took a clean sip.
It was Miami Kusakyu that was speaking. She was barely a foot taller than Ooyama at 5'5. She wore bright pink glasses, and leggings patterned with black and yellow.
"Shut your mouth Miami. He has my blood in him, not yours."
Kuda grabbed the pole, and began to shake it, Ooyama's head bouncing against the steel behind him.
"Are you going to make me a liar, Yams? In front of the whole clan?"
Unlike other clans, Kusakyu children usually manifested their kekegenkai at five years old. Ooyama was already seven at the time, and hadn't produced even the smallest hint of explosive clay.
"M-Mommy!"
Ooyama simply sobbed at Kuda's accusations, and as a result the entire clan continued to jeer, and laugh.
"Alright then yams. I'll let you run to mommy."
A member of the clan stepped forward, and on three separate leashes were large black hounds with razor sharp teeth. Compared to Ooyama they were at least three times his size. The boy instinctively pressed his back further against the pole as if it would be his salvation.
"Fight or flight yams."
She cut the boy loose, and soon after the dogs bolted after the boy; terrified Ooyama ran for his life screaming in terror.
Kuda casually took the beer out of Miami's hand before sitting down in a chair. She stretched her arms and legs and chugged it down as the rest of the clan watched and laughed at the screaming child.
As Ooyama ran he noticed something odd. It was the sun, in its place was a large black eye. And as one of the dogs slammed its teeth down onto his arms he woke up yet again in a sweat.
After waking up inside Saisei Ooyama peaked through the eye holes, and saw Hitomi sleeping peacefully in the bed that was meant for him. After another moment the girl had woken up as well, and turned to face Ooyama, a cold sad look painting her expression.
"L-Let's get ready to go," he said.
And that's what the two did. Rubin had helped pack several days worth of food for them the previous night so that wasn't a concern.
Hitomi had gone back to her room, and was given an assortment of different clothes to choose from by some of the aids in the building. She'd chosen a dark red blouse, and a matching headband which she stitched her shinobi headband onto, and she wore it just below her neck.
When she went back to Ooyama she expected to see a clean bed, but instead he was stuffing the blankets, and sheets into Saisei. Nothing had been left, even the soap, and toiletries from the bathroom had been taken.
"W-What are you doing?"
"I-It's c-cultural," he said, closing Saisei's exterior.
Finally the two had left Jonin HQ, and made their way toward the north village entrance.
Hitomi had opted to stay outside of Saisei this time opting to take in Ame's scenery, and culture. Ooyama was happy this was the case because he wasn't sure if he'd be able to fit her in addition to all his souvenirs.
Upon arrival it didn't seem very busy outside, and the large gates that lead outside of Amegakure were completely closed. The ginormous walls towered over the two with guards presumably at the top, though neither Ooyama or Hitomi could see them.
"It looks like we're all alone," Hitomi said, staring up at the large gate. She turned toward Ooyama and looked at him.
"I'm really glad we met. It looks like we're both about to go on a big adventure, and once we finish the Mock Exams, and become shinobi we'll be able to live inside the lighthouse together, and do more fun things."
"U-Um Hitomi. C-Can you do me a f-favor?"
"Hmm? What is it Ooyama?"
He stared at her through the holes in Saisei.
"P-Please, leave me alone."
After hearing those words, Hitomi simply stood still with a blank expression peering at Ooyama through his puppet's eyes.
"You're scary, s-so please s-stay away from me."
Hitomi didn't understand. He'd saved her, and kept her warm inside the lighthouse, they ate together, and slept in the same room together.
'What did I do wrong?'
She thought she'd done everything right this time. She thought that Ooyama would be her first, and only friend. But, he hated her, and told her to stay away.
"But why? I thought we were getting along. I t-thought we were friends."
"P-please just stay away."
