The last meeting was a success, and with it Mizuki's long-term mission had come to an end. She was now able to return home, and that pleased her greatly as the thought of seeing her parents again, being among friends and spending some time with her sensei Zetsume and Repede warmed her heart. Unlike the long treks before, she was not alone this time. With the coming of the Chuunin Exams, the Mizukage and her consort would be travelling along, eager to meet Hastur Miyamoto for a personal chat. What exactly could a gathering of rulers of a Village be discussing? Politics? Trade deals? Alliances? Mizuki could only wonder what it would be about, knowing her curiosity would remain unanswered.

Gazing out of the horizon, the kunoichi leaned onto the railing of the ship. A firm wind was blowing, the sea looked agitated. While the waves weren't anything the ship couldn't handle, the gathering rain clouds in the distance told Mizuki the sea would get rougher soon. She hoped things would be fine as she was not quite accustomed to travelling by water just yet, unlike her sister, and decided to find some sustenance in the dining section of the ship to distract her mind. Pushing open the door, she gazed into a small room able to nourish no more than ten men. A few seats were taken by other passengers, the cook standing on another end behind a table. After a brief chat and picking up a bowl of warm soup and a lump of bread, the kunoichi took place as well and started to eat in silence.

Sipping her soup, her mind wandered towards the future. She would soon be home, but then what? There was the matter of visiting her much missed parents, but with returning home her father's expectations would return as well. The Executioner Arts, the Raiu Dojo, her sister. Having left for so long, not having to carry any of these burdens, Mizuki understood she could not uphold them all. She had already been unable to bring home any decent medical knowledge that could help out her mother, feeling a sorrowful sense of acceptance that she would never be able to change the fate that was about to come. Some day, her mother would no longer be in her life, her suffering finally having ended for eternal peace. Her father, on the other hand, was a completely different tale. He'd insist she'd continue with the future he had planned out. But Mizuki was not the young woman she used to be. Not a genin, and even as chuunin she had come to experience far more than most. She had grown older, more mature, perhaps a tad wiser for it as well. While she had come to a certain peace with the Executioner Arts, she did not wish to continue that road any longer. She did not wish to lose her father, instead opting to become a sensei of the Raiu Dojo rather than see her blade be baptised in the dark traditions of the Arts. No, she had come at a point in life where she wanted to carve her own path rather than that of her father.

Finishing the last of her bread and soup as she concluded her own thoughts, Mizuki left the cantina and stepped onto the ship's board again, greeting the brooding storm that had now covered the entire sky above them. As the first of thunders resonated through the air, she knew she had finally returned home. Kumogakure. Where the dark clouds gathered.

---

[EXIT]

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