The Huntress

Sunshine

The early morning sun casts a warm glow across Kohona, peering through and caressing her to awaken with the new day. Her eyes flutter open to the view of the peaceful village, birds singing their joyful songs, and the scrambled hum of conversation through the open window, gently persuading her out of bed. She smiles softly at such a beautiful morning, hoping she could wake up this way every day for the remainder of her life. 

Sitting up in bed, she hears a soft knock at the front door. She didn't carry extra clothes, so she had slept in just her underwear, making her way to answer the door while wrapping a sheet around her exposed body. She had yet to go shopping, deciding that would be her goal before the end of the day. She cracks the door open, peering through the slot she created. The masked shinobi from last night stood tall in her doorway, and she smiled.

"Howdy," she says cheerfully, even whilst groggy.

He's confused by the greeting but brushes it off as her just being a strange character. He barely notices her holding a sheet tightly to her chest and the way her bare thigh peeks through the loose fabric. He clears his throat and thanks god there's a mask covering his face.

 "The Hokage has requested your presence. I'm here to escort you," he says dryly. 

She nods excitedly, he told her he was coming yesterday, so it was no surprise, but his arrival meant everything was set up for the jounin test."I'll get changed. Give me just a second!" 

She runs off to her bedroom, forgetting to shut the front door in her eagerness to get ready. She drops her bed sheet and throws on the only clothes she has. The black, sleeveless, and skin-tight tank top brings with it a sense of comfort as it hugs her torso, paired with baggy cargo pants fitting nicely around her curvy figure. She straps her utility belt diagonally across her chest, rotating it, so the pouches are accessible behind her back while also being discrete from the front. Most times, it works in her favor to look like a defenseless woman, also adding to the thrill of knowing she's tricked her prey. She then straps a second utility belt around her waist and pulls on her sturdy yet lightweight combat boots, lacing them up tightly. She double-checks all her weapons are accounted for before rushing back to the front door, where the shinobi waits patiently. 

Seeing her figure approaching, he walks off silently, leaving Katsume to trail behind him. She jogs lightly to be side by side with him. "You're quiet today," she jokes. 

The man huffs in amusement, keeping a brisk pace, "I'm always quiet." 

She chuckles, lacing her fingers together behind her back and stretching. "If I remember correctly, it was you who started the conversation with me yesterday," she smirks, looking up at his familiar cat mask. The mischievous glint in her eyes was a nice contrast to how vacant they had been the night before, a pleasant change he could appreciate.

"Touche." a subtle smile tugged at his lips.

She smiled, then remembered her revelation the night before, "Hey, by chance do you know where they took my horse? We got separated upon arriving in the village." The tall man ponders for a moment. He remembers a couple of jounin exclaiming to one another a few days prior that the horse they commandeered had vanished into thin air. He thought the interaction was strange but wrote it off as a weird dramatization that the horse had simply run off.

"A large black horse, right? It disappeared shortly after it was taken to the stables. Would you like me to find him?" It wasn't really in his job description, but he wouldn't mind helping her out if need be. 

Katsume shakes her head urgently, "No, but thank you. If he's gone, that means he went back to the Shizuka Plains," she fears he might be confused, so she decides to elaborate, "The horse is a summoned animal, he and his species reside in the Shizuka Plains. I'm glad he went back. I had feared he might've stayed out of spite to give me an earful for forgetting about him." She laughs nervously, thanking the heavens Daku decided to cut her some slack for once.