[center][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4876762][img]https://i.imgur.com/mxnkgQW.png[/img][/url]
[h3][color=C0E7F8]星野光[/color][/h3][img]https://i.imgur.com/BE5EM1C.png[/img][/center]
[right][sub][sup]Interactions | [@Odin][@Vexxed Vex][@FourthKing][/sup][/sub][/right][hr][right][color=#8B989E][b]Saito no Kareraisu[/b]
Morning[/color][/right][hr]
	As the trio walked toward the restaurant, Hikari rolled her eyes at Sadako, headbutting her shoulder gently. [color=C0E7F8]"There's never a thing like a free meal silly, or did you already forget all about that one time Sensei 'accidentally' left behind his 'secret book of notes?' Or am I remembering why we had to spend a week having class outside wrong,"[/color] the blue eyed sunbeam laughed, letting the joy, nostalgia, and the slight tinge of sadness of all their years together color the mood inside her. [color=C0E7F8]"But I promise you my payment will be much less life threatening than what Sensei did. You just have to promise me that you'll have fun,"[/color] Hikari beamed at the older girl. [color=C0E7F8]"Ah! But I'll make sure that you have fun too Macchi,"[/color] emphasizing her point with a tight elbow squeeze.

	When Sadako made a joke about her orphan status and exploded into laughter however, a small guilty shadow dimmed Hikari's eyes as she wondered once more whether she was acting the right way for her friend. After all compared to Sadako, Hikari considered her family troubles rather trivial. While there was a time where she did feel abandoned by her parents (a fact that she hated to admit) and there was a time where she intensely feared losing either or both of her parents once she understood what their professions actually once were, the worst of those times were over now. It may have taken them some time, but now Hikari had the pleasure of getting to see her parents everyday, of being able to play with them, work with them, and learn from them, even having the simple pleasure of sitting down and eating a family dinner with them (even if most of the meals made by either of her parents often fell on the side of survival rations rather than what might be typically considered a home-cooked meal).

	Whenever Hikari was with Sadako (or Kyosuke, for that matter), she was never quite sure how to adapt to her, what persona she should adopt to make the other girl feel more at ease around her. All that the girl with the lonely childhood knew was that she hated it whenever anyone had pointed out her "poor, unfortunate circumstances" when she was younger, and she figured that the girl with no parents probably felt the same way judging by how hard she was trying to create a fun atmosphere. It was obviously very uncomfortable for the older girl, or at least she wasn't quite used in doing so quite just yet, but Hikari loved her for trying to do so anyway and was one of the reasons why the small, bright eyed butterfly persistently tried to befriend and remain a friend to the awkward, diligent, interesting mess of a person that stood beside her, no matter how many times Sadako tried to pull away from her. It was, after all, Hikari's duty to remind all her friends and companions that no matter what rain may drown them, no matter what darkness may envelop them, the sun will always be shining afterwards, and it was her greatest and most selfish wish to be that gentle star to everyone in her life.

	And so just as quickly as the guilty shade came across her face, Hikari banished it with an even brighter smile as the trio plunged headlong into the next stage of their lives: a graduation after-party.

	The excited blue sunbeam gladly took center stage among the three as they strode into Saito as her two companions metaphorically pushed her forward. It was also then of course that her bright face was replaced with a toothless smile as she had a sudden, terrible, and utterly horrible realization as she remembered she had forgotten to do two crucial things in preparation for today: give Mitsushina Suko his invitation and furthermore forgetting to tell him about the party in the first place. Before Hikari could even open her mouth, a deluge of students came pouring into the restaurant, all seeking refuge from the everpresent rain, a warm meal among friends, and staff ready to serve them.

	After personally seating Sadako and Masae in places that she felt would be most comfortable for them, Hikari spent the rest of the time profusely apologizing to the Mitsushina's and attempting to help them in any way she could, even if she had to resort to being a shameful, inelegant, blubbering mess to force her way into doing so.

[right][sub][sup]Interactions | [@Odin][@FourthKing][@Vexxed Vex][/sup][/sub][/right][hr][right][color=8B989E][b]Amegakure[/b]
Break Week[/color][/right][hr]
	After doing her best to make up for her gross negligience in party planning to the Mitsuhina's, Hikari spent the first two days hanging out with anyone she could, with one day specifically reserved to only being with (and at some points dragging along) Sadako with her on a day around the village. She had made some effort to invite Kyosuke and some other people she knew inside the orphanage while she was there, but Hikari figured that Sadako was a touch uncomfortable with larger crowds and so had done her best to ensure that the day was only for the two of them for the most part. However, that didn't stop a few others from spontaneously joining them whenever the social butterfly passed by her other friends. It also didn't stop them from consistently running into merchants, couriers, guards, and just people in general that she knew from her many ventures exploring the village, often when she was out working with her parents. Fortunately, and rather persistantly, she managed to politely wave off all the tagalongs that stuck with them with everybody else relegated to short conversations before the two girls were left alone once more.

	When Hikari received the letter from her new sensei, she was ecstatic and spent whatever time she was able in between all her plans asking everyone she knew whether they were on the same team or not and being delighted to meet them, no matter who they may have been. Once she managed to brute force her way into finding her other two teammates, she persistently buzzed the both of them to go out and do a number of things together in order to bond, chief among them being a sparring session between themselves and then later on her parents. There was only so much time she could find to spend with her new team before she was forced to attend to all the prior engagements she had made, however. Still, she had found her team, and so she was one more step in becoming a true ninja. 

[right][sub][sup]Interactions | [@MesuOkami][@FourthKing][@Vexxed Vex][/sup][/sub]
[hr][color=8B989E][b]Amegakure Temple[/b]
Team 7 Meeting Day[/color][/right][hr]
	If Hikari was buzzing with excitement when she received her letter, her body was beating like a hummingbird when she found herself standing at the steps to the Amegakure Temple. Despite being so eager to meet her new teammates, she had wanted to keep everything about her sensei as a fresh and new experience for herself, especially since she had exactly zero knowledge of who her sensei was aside from what little she knew about the Sasaki Clan.

	The jumbled feeling of finally getting to meet her team Sensei for the first time continued to expound and grow stronger as she stood waiting in the halls as instructed by one of the attendants. Her stomach continually twisted and knotted itself inside her, her body restlessly moving in an impromptu dance to the sway of the incense smoke that permeated the temple and flowed along with the chimes and gongs that sounded throughout. All around her were monks moving to and fro all with seemingly clear determination and purpose. Hikari herself hoped she did not stand out too much having chosen to wear a gleaming black rain cloak with a grey underside in a similar scheme to the monk that had visited her home, though underneath she wore a cropped maroon tank and loose sandal brown knee pants (a fashion she picked up from Sadako) as she was unsure whether her sensei would have her own tests today. Still, it was the first time in a long while since she had felt so uncomfortable and so alone among a crowd.

	Relief flooded her system as soon as she had met up with Masae and Suko and the trio of them were led to their new sensei by one of the female monks.

	The first impression Hikari received when she saw Amaya was how she looked to be in complete zen. The walls were adorned with numerous talismans and literature, the room itself permeated with a longstanding past of religion and history as the mist that roiled from the figure sitting in the very center of it all only added to the mystique. Then with utmost grace and care, the figure rose and turned to reveal a woman who seemed to sculpted with poise and molded by power. She stared at each of the genin in turn, and all Hikari could do in response was to stare in awe. So intense was her gaze that it was actually a great shock when her Sensei's porcelain face was broken by a warm smile, so much so that a laugh escaped Hikari's lips before she managed to stifle the rest.

	She managed to reign in her emotions enough to quietly listen to her Sensei and her teammates speak until she was picked to do. Without pause she turned her body slightly to bow to both Amaya-sensei and her teammates, her lips already in a natural smile as she straightened out and spoke. [color=C0E7F8]"My name is Hoshino Hikari, and it is an absolute pleasure of mine to greet you all as my official teammates. I wish to get along with all of you as a team and as friends, and that I can be a source of happiness and help for you all. Considering I already know Suko and Macchi already, I hope we'll be able to work well together Amaya-zensei!"[/color]