Return of the Dragonborn [Kiri Open]

Inarie was born into the very definition of struggle and conflict. Both in mind and body as it were. With her mixed bloodline ever waging a constant war with each other, threatening to tear her body apart. It was a bizarre case that baffled both Yoru and Kaguya alike when they learn of her existence. One side shunned her, like an outcast. The other outright tried to kill her several times. Several times that they had failed.

Yet despite the struggle, she faced her own inner demons so to speak as sometimes the Curse becomes too much for her body. Even to the point where her bloodlines cease up and cause her body to become weaker. This time it seemed like the Curse invited a new kind of disease, another obstacle that stood in Inarie's way. She rests in the hospital with the typical wires and tunes attached to her. No normal medicine could help her, and not even Kaguya medicine worked as efficiently as it should've. Hence she was forced to be left to her own devices whether she was conscious or not to survive.

Yet the Kaguya woman stirred awake as she gasped sharply. Like it was the first time she tasted air. Inarie blinked as her expression changed from confusion to understanding. She removed herself from the wires and turned off the heart monitor. Then set about donning her gear for the first time in years. She wasn't sure how long she's been out, and frankly it was long enough that her hair grew ridiculously long. Taking out a bone knife and looking at herself in a mirror. Inarie began to slice away her hair. Cutting it to mid length before she was satisfied with it. However, amidst her belongings she noticed that her headband was missing. Which Inarie thought was strange, not so much as she suspects to have been demoted due to her coma-like state, but more so to the fact that she didn't have one at all. So she proceeded to walk out of her room and nearly scared a nurse in the process.

"Excuse me, was my headband misplaced by any chance? I can't seem to find it." Of course Inarie was in the main lobby as the nurse was just going over the list of patients that needed to be checked on. Apparently, Inarie was one of them.

Kitsuki had taken a significant time out of her week to set Katsumi up in her hospital room. The slumbering sister had arrived not long after Kitsuki and she had been taken to a private wing of the hospital. It was one that specialized in long-term maintenance of those trapped in a plague coma. Kit had told her family about what had happened. About how she had found her sister, about how she had failed to make sure she was safe, about the their tearful reunion and about Kat's heroic stand at the Heavenly Emporium. Their mother and father was glad that she had at least been recovered. They knew how much Kit had been through recently with the Great War, the coup and her ascension to the status of Princess. The most important thing was that Katsumi was safe and back within the village. Even if she was in a plague coma, there was always the chance of recovery and that was much better than if she was gone entirely. She had spent several days and nights at the hospital hoping that Katsumi would wake up. There wasn't any indicia of consciousness from either Katsumi nor her entity. Zizz silently suspected that Rei might have something to do with the coma, but she kept mum on the subject. Now was not the time nor the place. Once it was apparent that Kat would not be waking up anytime soon, Kitsuki planted a kiss on her sister's forehead and left the room.

Kitsuki wandered down the halls as she tried to get her mind right. Kirigakure needed her and there were several things she needed to attend to now that Kat had been taken care of. The items on her mind took a back seat as she walked past a room with a familiar name on it. She stopped for a moment and peeked inside to see how Inarie was doing. There was nobody in the room. Kitsuki then looked around and spotted her one time ally wearing her full battle armour. Kitsuki walked up behind Inarie and tapped her on the shoulder. If Inarie whirled around she'd see Kitsuki standing there dressed in an impressive looking uniform. The Princess looked superb as always although it was obvious by her eyes that she had not been well emotionally.

"Don't worry, we'll get you a new one" she said with a smile. "Welcome back Inarie" she'd then try to embrace Inarie. It was a bit of a selfish gesture. It wasn't only because she wanted to give the Kaguya-Yoru a warm welcome to the land of the living. It was also because she craved human contact and reassurance. Between the meeting, the War in Heaven, and losing her sister again, Kitsuki was feeling rather hollow.

Whether it was from the fact that Inarie just happened to wake up without them noticing, or perhaps due to the fact that Inarie tends to have that frightening effect on some people. Before the nurse could gather her wits enough to give an answer, a familiar voice spoke from behind Inarie. Of course the voice drew Inarie's attention, and seeing the familiar kunoichi brought a warm smile on her face. However, she couldn't help that Kitsuki's expression didn't match her eyes. There was less innocence behind them. Hell Inarie still remembers Kitsuki gushing over a prince back in the Heavenly Emporium.

"It's good to see you Kitsuki, I apologize fo…" She wasn't able to finish before Kitsuki attempted to hug Inarie. Good thing that Inarie was a good kaguya and not a porcupine hugging someone. It wasn't like Inarie wasn't familiar with the gesture, but rather it was more of nobody really ever hugs Inarie. There was a moment of confusion as to what exactly prompted this from Kitsuki. But she felt like maybe there was a lot going on when she was asleep. Sure Inarie participated in the war in conjunction with Konohagakure. There was a lot of conflict and death that happened in that time.

Inarie awkwardly returned the hug as she pondered her thoughts.

"Is everything alright?"

Kitsuki held the hug for a bit longer than was professional. It was unbefitting for a lady of her rank and stature to hug people so intensely, but she didn't care. Sometimes it felt like the world was trying to tear her apart. Ever since she had become a ninja she had bounced from one crisis to another doing her best to stay afloat while protecting others. But it was taking a toll on her. She only had so much emotional energy and strength to give. Zizz was a big help in that regard, but even the Angel's power was finite. When Kit finally worked up the courage to break the hug, she had to wipe her eye before the tear could roll down her cheek. She didn't want Inarie seeing her like this.

"No...everything is not alright. Nothing's been alright for the past five years." she said truthfully. The Hidden Village System was supposed to bring peace to the world and yet it had brought nothing but pain and misery. She took a breath and banished the weakness from her heart. She needed to be strong. If not for herself, than for her village. How would it look if she had a breakdown in front of the hospital staff? These people were working 24-hour shifts with few breaks. She couldn't look weak now. She stood up straight and gave a single nod as if to confirm she was alright.

"But that's why were here. To make things right. I'm well enough...more importantly, how are you? You've been out for some time. A lot has happened."

Inarie knew a thing or two about struggle. Her entire life was built upon struggle, both body and mind. In this case, one can only be so strong before the toll begins to wear them down. Nobody was immune to it, and those who said that they were only chose to maintain the facade. Some were driven mad from the pressure, some became blind of their own actions, and sometimes there were others that the pressure of expectations was too much for them. Especially when it feels like the whole world was against them.

"Considering what happened before I slept, it is no surprise that everything isn't alright. War and conflict does that to both sides of civilization. Even in the past before these Hidden Villages were created there was conflict that were forgotten." It was a constant struggle for sure, and Inarie hoped that one day they could make peace with humanity's inner demons. When Kitsuki pulled away from the hug, Inarie could see that the kunoichi was regaining her composure. It was nice to see Kitsuki, but with the comment of five years ago got Inarie thinking just how long was she out for?

"Like my body is made out of lead. How long was I asleep for?" Granted there probably was more to it than just snoozing for a couple of years. Perhaps someone tried to attack the Eastern Gates again? Inarie has no idea why so many people picked big fights at that gate, and it was rumored to be Cursed to bring in all fighters to that one gate. Couldn't they just take it further outside?

For all that time that Inarie had been asleep, she did not forget the terror of war. Part of Kitsuki envied the Kaguya-Yoru. She could have been blissfully unaware of what had transpired during and in the aftermath of the Great Dying. Most saw this as a curse but now that she had had to deal with the trauma of mass violence back-to-back, she couldn't help but wish to simply dream. Alas, Kitsuki's destiny was not so forgiving. Inarie was right that conflict was an inevitable byproduct of human nature and it would persist regardless of geopolitical configurations. She could not abolish it altogether but it was her duty to minimize its impact on the weak and vulnerable. Inarie complained that she wasn't physically up-to-snuff which Kit could understand. She had been bed-ridden for months, no years. Kitsuki took a moment to think and calculate exactly when the warrior Princess had fallen into her coma.

"About two years give or take." It was a small window in someone's overall lifetime, but in their profession it often felt like a century. Kitsuki was happy to catch her friend up to speed but before she could continue a shinobi approached the pair.

"Princess Kitsuki! Nozomi Himitsu has arrived at the gates of Kirigakure seeking a pardon! Sero Jakuuna has intercepted her and is awaiting permission to escort her into the village. What are our orders?!"

The man was clearly frantic. The last time Nozomi had been spotted at the gates, all hell had broken loose. For now she was peaceful but there was the implicit threat that if she didn't get her way, then the gates reconstruction brigade would be getting some new work soon. Nozomi's arrival was startling and disorienting news, but it wasn't bad news. Kitsuki had learned that during the Summit, Nozomi formally defected from the Society or at least the iteration run by its worse elements. Kit had offered her a pardon in the past as she was eager to turn such a powerful kunoichi against the enemies of peace. Kitsuki, who had just been grieving the loss of her sister, turned to the messenger and projected complete confidence.

"Tell Sero to escort Nozomi to the Defense Coordination Center. I do not believe she means us any harm and I'd like to speak with her as soon as possible"

The messenger nodded and doubled back to the gates. Kitsuki turned to her friend with concern in her eyes. She genuinely did not believe that the jinchukki would start a fight, but she couldn't rule it out either. Inarie's safety was a priority especially since she had only just woke up.

"As far as I'm concerned, you have all the rights and privileges you had when you were still with us." If memory served her right, Inarie was a Princess of the Empire. Albeit Kitsuki could not unilaterally raise her to the Triumverate without the assent of Sayuri and Arisu, she could still afford the warrior a position of influence. "You're welcome to sit in on my meeting with Nozomi but your recovery and well-being is more important. I don't want to put undue pressure on you" Kitsuki was not about to baby Inarie. She was a kunoichi who could make her own decisions. If Inarie opted to join her, she'd give Inarie an explanation of all the major events that had transpired while she was out. If not, she'd politely excuse herself and head out.

[Exit]