Time was lost to Kuronotsurugi once he arrived at his destination for the mission, which was in Kumogakure, in the forested area near the village. Focusing entirely on what he had to do, the days slipped by without him even noticing. Not that he minded, it was calming in a way, at least it got him away from the sneering glares and hateful looks of his own village. But with the flow of time came the end of the mission, and blood on his hands, he leaves Kumogakure to return to Konoha. No doubt he would be pursued in a bit, but he would easily take them out once they reached him.<br/><br/>From what he could tell, or remember, he was sure that Hikari had mentioned a festival going on, which was happening soon. But he didn't think he'd be able to make it in time, not that he really wanted to go. But...he'd seen the look on her face, seeing that despite her words, she actually wanted to go. He'd not gone to one, his reason being how others acted towards him...but now, if she was there with him, he thought that maybe he could go...he could deal with the others. Like he did when they had dinner. A slight smile formed on his lips, but was wiped away seconds later by the sound of movement behind him, and he picks up several pinpoints of chakra flow in his Byakugan. Turning midair, he lands nimbly on a branch, and sure enough, as he predicted, several Kumo ninja appear. Pulling up his face mask to cover the lower part of his face, making it so that only his eyes were seen, he changes from Byakugan to Sharingan in quick procession.<br/><br/>The ninja approach him, attacking, but Kuro was too fast, easily keeping up with their movements. Flashes of silver steel and the sound of metal ripping through flesh echoed around, blood splattering here and there as he fells the other Shinobi one by one, until there were only a few left. Those try to escape, and gritting his teeth, Kuro forms a few hands signs, taking a deep breath, and letting loose a huge ball of fire that was laced with black flames, which mows the Kumo shinobi down, burning them to a crisp in a matter of seconds. One managed to dodge, but it mattered not. Jumping down towards the enemy, Kuro spins quickly and upright, his swords in both hands, and he cuts in to the other shinobi, killing him quickly.<br/><br/>With that finished, and more blood now donned on his clothing and upon his blades, he returns to his focus on getting back to Konoha, back to Hikari. He hoped that he could be quick enough, as even with body flicker he couldn't go too far. The closest he could get was the very edge between Kirigakure and Konohagakure. Deciding to do this, he uses the jutsu, and arrives just as he knew, and the moment his feet land he takes off again, moving fast, his body a mere blur to the naked eye. "I'm coming. Wait for me...please..." He mutters under his breath, grunting as his feet shove off a large branch, propelling him forward.<br/><br/>The one who opens the door to see who was there, was once again not Kuronotsurugi, but Ryuu. He was not surprised to see Hikari standing there, he'd heard that for a few days in a row now she'd been coming by to see if his brother had returned yet from his mission. He wondered just what was going on between the two, trying his hardest to contain his slight...well, jealousy, if he had to choose the word. He wouldn't admit it though, she was older than him, but not by much. But it seemed she was more interested in his gloomy brother. Just how it was with fate, that's all.<br/><br/>"Hey there. Kuronotsurugi still isn't here yet, sorry." He gives her a sympathetic smile, almost feeling sorry for her poor choice in such a friend as his brother. But he wasn't going to be mean and tell her this, she would just have to find out for herself what a terrible person he was. Ryuu had been getting a strange vibe off of his brother for quite some time now, as if he was on edge about something, distracted, and out of focus. Not to mention he kept closing off his room, using a seal that only Kuronotsurugi knew how to set and release. Not even their father knew how to break it.<br/><br/>Glancing around, he takes a deep breath, his cheeks slightly pink as he spoke up. "Uh, so there's the festival...um...would you want to go with me? I was actually just getting ready to go now..." He looks to her, crossing his fingers behind his back. "If not, uh, that's fine..." He hoped she would accept his offer, he really wanted to spend time with her. The only times they really talked were the first day he met her, and the days that she'd come to check for Kuro. Which, in his opinion, wasn't good enough.