The dust of the day's events had finally begun to settle. The crowded throngs of people had long since dispersed and the quiet calm of normality blanketed over the now sleepy settlement. Tension and excitement had given way to every day concerns such as seeing that children were fed and put to bed for families, the switching of the day guards to the night, and planning for the next day to dawn. As the majority of the settlement was winding down for the night, Rhys Kenta was plowing forward toward his next objective; finding Nova Makato.

   It had been three years since Nova and Rhys had last met before today's events. She was of the capable sort back then, and now was obviously far more skilled in the shinobi arts than Rhys due to him focusing on manual labor rather than his training. Nova had come to this settlement in order to gain support for her efforts to restore The Village Hidden in the Sand to it's former glory. Rhys and Manaka, an elder of the settlement and a de facto leader, had arrived to listen to Nova's impassioned pleas late, but were both pleased and enthused at her words until all Hell had broken loose. After all of the chaos had been subdued there was work to be done so Rhys had not been able to speak with Nova, but he now had the opportunity to do so.

   Rhys strode forward through the makeshift settlement that had become his home these three long years. Many of these buildings had been erected by Rhys himself through the power of his Jiton chakra. Scrap metal structures mixed in with the traditional sand and clay buildings of this land stood in an ugly but functional amalgamation of shelter. Each building he passed was another story, another life shattered, another future robbed and replaced with squalor. If there was any hope to be given to these people Rhys would seek it out to spread it amongst the populace. The problem was that there were con men and charlatans that thrived off of the suffering of others, which was in no short supply here. Rhys respected the Nova of the past, but he had to be sure that she would live up to her lofty claims before publicly supported her.

   Rhys rounded the final corner that stood between him and Manaka-ba's hut. She had declined special treatment, but Rhys hade sure that the old woman had a sturdy and comfortable, if small, home to reside in. Nova had agreed to stay the night after the day's events and Manaka had insisted that Nova stay in her hut while Manaka went to stay with a friend. As Rhys made his way up to the familiar door he suddenly realized he had no idea what to say. Would she even remember him? Will she even want his help after he abandoned the Chuunin Exams and his shinobi training? The answers to these questions would come and for now he hoped that she would do most of the talking. Rhys raised his bulky fist and knocked on the metal door as he called to the occupant within.

"Nova, I do not know if you remember me, but my name is Rhys Kenta."


546 wc

Memories of that night were often recalled in the years to come. It was one of those moments that defines the future for all of those involved. Nova Makato did in fact recognize Rhys, almost right away in fact. She was just as eager to speak with Rhys as he was with her. The two of them spent that evening talking about old times and making plans for the future. Even though Nova had left The Village Hidden in the Sand, Sunagakure had never left her heart. She had spent these long years training and planning her moves to restore Suna to it's former glory. Nova brought Rhys up to speed on the happenings that had occurred during his sabbatical. The winds of change were once again shifting the sands of this world. The conversation reached it's climax when Nova asked Rhys to represent Suna in the upcoming Chuunin Exams. Rhys was hesitant at this request, the last time he had put his name forward to participate in the exam, their village had been attacked and subsequently destroyed. In the end this same fact helped convince Rhys to join in on Nova's mechanizations.

The following months consisted of endless training. Years of shinobi training were condensed down to a period of time that was the very definition of brevity. There were few compatible fighting techniques and styles that the two had in common, but the physical training was invaluable to Rhys' improvements as a shinobi. They had only managed to scratch the surface of all that Rhys had missed out on, but it he still managed to make bounds in his progress in comparison to the three prior years. Finally, the day that Rhys and Reorx had been training for had arrived, it was time to go to Konohagakure. The pair headed off toward the foreign village to participate in the exams, but not before Nova promised a small surprise aiting for them upon their arrival.

WC: 326/872
-850 Perception D1-3
22 WC Remaining