Running. She had been running for so long she wasn't sure how much longer or harder she could go for. Her breathing was coming in shorter and shorter gasps, as if something was sucking all of the oxygen out of her lungs while refusing to give her more than a drop or two in return. She was sure, were she to be able to see her reflection, her face would be red and splochy: beads of sweat running down her face from her hairline - some dripping into her eyes, the salt of which stung. But, she couldn't stop. No, if she stopped they would die. They would all die.

Yet, her goal was forever away. For each step she ran it seemed like her target goal took two more - faster than she was even going. She knew that it couldn't be happening, that Konoha couldn't just get up and keep running out of her way, but that didn't stop her from feeling like that was exactly what was going on. Why had she left in the first place? It seemed so stupid now. A visit to a friend, something that should have been simple, pleasant, and a calm affair. A well needed break from duty and a chance to keep up with people she cared for but didn't often get to see. But she had been gone too long and now disaster had struck.

Now her family needed her. They needed her and she wasn't there. She couldn't move fast enough, she couldn't get there soon enough. No, but she had to, didn't she? She couldn't go through that trauma again. She couldn't lose someone else she loved and cared for. It would destroy her: far more than a sword removing her head, or a kunai embedding into her neck, a blade through her heart.. None of that would destroy her in such ways that losing someone else she loved would. Her children, her brothers, their children... she needed to protect them all. It was why she became a medic in the first place: so she could help, so she could do her best - better than anyone else surely - to make sure they were healthy and well and could live very long and fulfilling lives. But she was failing that now because she had gone away. Because she had decided to take a break from her duties.

She could never take a break from her responsibilities again. If this worked, if she got there in time to save those she cared and loved, then never again would she take for granted her job, and her abilities. She would never again complain she needed a vacation, or a break from the daily grind. It was the bargain she thought about as her destination finally came into sight: hoping on that bargain and praying on it that it would be enough to allow her to arrive in time. Even now she could see the smoke billowing up from the village, she could hear the screams of terror and smell the scent of burning wood, plastic, and flesh all mixed together in a type of macabre perfume.

While everyone seemed to be fleeing the village Amaya brushed past them, going so far as to shove people out of her way when she couldn't get through - ignoring the dirty looks and comments that were launched her way afterward. She cared little what people thought. She had to find her family, and she had to find them safe and alive. But would they be? Her family would be where Kenta was, and if Kenta was on the front lines so would they. It was simply how their family worked. Where one went the others followed - whether that was toward danger or from it.

Soon Amaya was able to break free from the crowd fleeing in terror, able to move toward the heart of where the danger seemed to be. She fought through the smoke, ignoring the burning in her lungs that told her she would be sick later on from it. She didn't care about herself, she only cared about them, and to them she ran. It took a while to spot them, but sure enough she did. All of them together with Kenta in the front. War had broken out. Just as Amaya was moving forward to reach them, to join in and offer her assistance, she saw a nasty blade appear out of seemingly nowhere and head straight toward Kenta's neck. Amaya reached out, hopeless to reach him in time, screaming at the top of her lungs, "DUCK!"

With a scream and a gasp Amaya sat upright in bed, panting as a sheen of sweat glistened on her face in the dim light. Her right hand was out in front of her, reaching toward something as it had been reaching toward Kenta in her dream. Her chest felt like it was on fire, as if she had really been running, and her heart was beating so hard she could feel her pulse racing in her ears. It took Amaya a second or two to realize that she had been dreaming: that the horror she had been about to see wasn't real, it was simply all in her head. Oh, it was something she feared most definitely - not Kenta being beheaded per say but the death of a member of her family - but in this case it had only been a dream, or rather a very horrible and graphic nightmare. She had no idea where such a nightmare would spring from: she hadn't been thinking of anything particularly horrible before going to bed. But, it had, and now thank the gods it was over.

Amaya put her hand down, reached up, and pushed her hair out of her face. A disgusted face was made as she pulled her hand back to find it moist with sweat. Apparently she wasn't going to skip her shower before training today as she had originally been planning on doing. "Ugh, I hope Michi doesn't mind if I'm a few minutes later... I can't show up looking like this, he'll probably think I'm sick or something." Amaya muttered to herself beneath her breath as she threw her blankets off of herself and went through the process of stretching before getting out of bed. The cold floor barely bothered her, if anything it was a sobering bit of reality that her mind was more than grateful for this morning. After doing the usual toe wiggle as her feet adjusted she made her way into the bathroom attached to her bedroom. Thankfully she would be able to take her time today: her young daughter Mitsukai, and her newborn baby Emiko were off with family today - they had spent the night to allow Amaya to catch up on some sleep as well as in preparation for an early morning start to what was likely to be a whole days worth of training.

Inside of her bathroom she didn't even bother closing the door. Instead, she focused her attention onto her shower, turning the knobs and adjusting the temperature until it was the comfortable warmth she liked without it being insanely hot. Once satisfied she pulled long night shirt up over her head, depositing it and her under garments into the clothing waste basket tucked off in the corner. Once completely in her birthday suit she stepped into the shower and closed the door behind herself. Amaya took a moment to just stand there under the spray, taking her time to enjoy how it felt against her bare flesh and how the warmth only helped to make her feel so much better after such a horrible nightmare. After a few minutes she wetted her hair, grabbed the shampoo bottle - unscented like all of her products due to the fact she spent so much time around people and animals with overly sensitive noses - and lathered her long white hair up very well before rinsing it clean. Conditioner was added next and allowed to soak in while she meticulously washed down the rest of her body. Once she rinsed the soap from her skin she followed it by rinsing the conditioner out of her hair. Satisfied she was clean she turned the knobs, shutting the water off, and then opened the shower door and stepped carefully out and onto the towel like rug on the other side. A towel was grabbed quickly after she took a second to wring her hair out which was used to wrap her hair up. Another was then grabbed and used to dry her flesh off before she took it and wrapped it around herself.

Amaya stepped out of the bathroom, back into her bedroom, and over to her dresser - ignoring the fact that her messy bed was already beginning to annoy her: she wasn't a clean freak per say but there were some habits she liked to follow in the morning. Amaya opened several drawers from which she pulled out articles of clothing to wear: under garments, a white top that would reveal her mid drift while leaving her chest covered, and a pair of green Capri pants.

Given the way the urge to tidy up was beginning to burn too hard she went over to her bed, pulling the comforter off so she could better adjust and fix the top sheet. With her comforter on the floor she adjusted her pillows, re-stuffing the half that had escaped her pillow case back in and straightening it up so that it was neat and tidy. With her pillow situated she followed by doing the same thing with the sheet until it too was on the bed properly. The comforter was then picked up from the ground and added on top, leaving her bed neat and clean once again. Satisfied, and finding nothing else in her bedroom that needed straightened up, she returned to her dresser where she had set her clothing on top of, and moved them over to the bed so that she could sit down and begin getting dressed.

Once fully dressed Amaya wandered back into the bathroom, removing the towel from her hair as she did so while her other towel hang off of her arm. She hung both up so that they could dry; they had been freshly laundered before she had just used them, and she found no reason to not use them again the next day after all. With her hair mostly dried Amaya ran a brush through it quickly but effectively before pulling her hair up and into a ponytail; as much as she could anyway since some of her bangs refused to stay back like she wished them to. Given the Amaya's naturally thick lashes meant she never really had to worry about make up she skipped it completely in favor of grabbing her sunglasses off of her dresser and using them to push her hair back and out of her face. Her Konoha headband was also grabbed and tied around her right arm as per usual. Training weighs, which she had taken to wearing all of the time, were then added to her being and her pouch of weapons added around her right leg. Finished, and ready to go she shut off her bedroom light, grabbed her keys, and headed out the door.

After locking the door behind herself Amaya glanced around, realizing it was far too bright outside to be this early: it made her wince. Deciding she'd just deal with bangs hanging in her face she pulled her sunglasses down from her head and put them on properly as to protect her eyes from the brightness: the neon color reflecting the light somewhat. Happy to no longer be having to deal with the glare from the bright sun she made her way down the path from her house and headed toward the market: it was where her and Michi had planned on meeting up after all. Breakfast was going to be had before training and going out saved either of them from having to cook so Amaya wasn't going to complain. Normally, Amaya would simply skip the meal, but considering the kind of training her and Michi were likely to do, and how it would likely end up taking all day if not longer to complete, she was definitely going to need some food in her. Plus, where there was food there was likely hot coffee or tea, so it was a win win.

The place that had been chosen for breakfast was a place a bit out of the way which meant it would be nice and quiet: considering Amaya wasn't a morning person nice and quiet was definitely a good thing. The food was excellent, as it was a place Amaya herself had gone to before, so it would definitely mean a good start for the morning provided no one did anything stupid enough that Michi or her had to go hurrying into the Administrative building to handle. If someone pulled something that stupid Amaya was just as likely to slap them as to fix the problem: and by slap she meant punch them through a wall, repeatedly.

The thought brought a small smile on her face, and lifted her mood compared to what it had been when she had woken up. So, with this little smile she entered in through the door, glancing around to see if Michi had arrived and was already settled at a table and waiting for her...

Wordcount: 2,258



Perception A-1 -> A-2: 268 +2,258 = 2,526 / 1,150
Perception A-2 -> A-3: 1,376 - 1,300 = 76
Perception A-3 -> S-0: 76 / 1,550