There was no question about it. We had to act. With all twelve of us there, the Torikago Clan shinobi had no chance. Both of them tried to transform and flee. I was not a pushover. There was no way I going to let that happen to us. If we did, they would just rally together for a larger scale attack. We killed them on the spot. Kyoko was in really bad shape. I reached down and said "Let's go. We won our new rank. Now we need to get home." She took my hand and lifted herself up. She was a bit shakey on her feet, but Kyoko could still stand. That was all that mattered. We made our way back down to the platform as a clan. Luckily, our train had still not arrived yet. We had to wait a couple minutes for it. We surrounded Kyoko to keep her safe. Keisuke and I both had an eye on the sky. They could transform into birds. It could be something that could be used to attack us again from above. Once the train pulled into the station, we got inside of it together. This time, no one could even get close to us without getting glared at. No molester dared try anything with us. They would have lost the hand.
Getting of the train, we made our way back to the village at a ninja's pace. The rest of the clan was there to welcome us back with open arms. Both Keisuke and I were a pair of retainers still. We had not yet married in to the clan. We were called in front of the elders and the clan head. It was our duty to report what had happened from the time we left the village until the time we had returned. Because we had headed 2 different teams, it was our job to account for all the members that we picked. Keisuke had an easy time. His team fought with honor and distinction from the very beginning until they were forced to forfeit. I was given a bit of a side eye from them when I got to the big point I forfeited before facing the Devil's team. I had to explain how I knew Suzie and why I trusted her when she gave me the warning. I had already told them that I was a wanderer. Saying that I met her on my long travels was not something that they had to stretch to believe. They still disapproved. However, it was also true I was the one that got the Devil to heal Rokuro. I rallied all the clan to save Kyoko as well.
With that being the case, there was not much to criticize me on. We all got to the esteemed chunin rank without any lasting casualties. The leaders accepted our reports and dismissed us. Keisuke waited until we had left their large meeting hall to smile widely at me. I just looked at him. "It looks like we have accomplished yet another mission." he said. I nodded my head. I was sure that we were rising in the ranks. Even though we were not members, we had done them service after service. "We make a really good pair." I said. He pat me on the shoulder. "Yes we are. I wonder what we are going to do next." I shrugged. "Whatever it is, I hope that it waits until we get married and become members of the clan." Keisuke looked at me with a complex expression on his face. "Are you still looking for a good last name?" I asked. He shook his head. "Well, that too. I was more thinking about the exams." he said slowly. I looked at him and waited. "I was extremely harsh with you when you forfeited the match without fighting. I said some things that I regret now that I see the outcomes of the fight."
I remembered how offended he was that I would give up without fighting. "Nagisa, you don't resent me?" he asked seriously. To be honest, his reaction did not bother me one bit. He had no clue what he was up against. I did. As a Player, I knew better. There was no way that I was getting my team slaughtered. "You had no way to guess what would happen. All you had was my word, and it wasn't really my word. It was a friend of mine from a different clan. It stung a bit, but I don't blame you." I said. It honestly did not bother me. He got a bit misty eyed as he called my name. "Friends don't have to worry about every little thing. Let's talk about your new name." I said to keep him from crying on me. He nodded and looked at me. "I know that I can't be called Hoshino. Kiramura seems good, but what about Kirime? Just being a man that is adopted into their branch and then clan should be good enough." he said. I sighed deeply. At the end of the day, he was simply lacking confidence here. I looked him in the eye and said "Keisuke. You are a great shinobi. I think any name would fit you well."
