ambition; ♥ [travel]

[daisy]

♥; breakaway

Did everything really have to be so terribly dusty? If I were Tsuchikage, i would plant flowers everywhere. This bland, brown landscape was tiresome, to say the least. Thankfully, the snake man and i were leaving! Not abandoning our darling village, no, but simply taking an... extended leave. I had never really thought about the repercussions, but i doubt they'd brand us missing. Right? Either way, who didn't need a change of scenery every now and again? Frowning, i pulled out my map, which i didn't tend to do very often. Our destination was really undecided, but i wanted to go somewhere warm and lush, perhaps the land of fire?
"Darling, how does Hi no Kuni sound to you? Warm, plenty of greenery, friendly people... Well, at least the first two." I didn't imagine Kain would be particularly bothered by where we went, as long as there was some action awaiting us. Although i revelled in gossip and treachery, i didn't know all that much about the situation. Things had changed so much and being out of touch, well, that bothered me.

Leaning down, i tightened the ribbon fastenings of my chunky black heels, and straightened up. These shoes were absolutely not made for long treks, but fighting in them? Well, let's just say it was an art i had mastered. With another toss of my hair, i began walking, conversation flowing easily, although Kain was rather less talkative than i.
"How much do you know about these Samurai fellows?" I began, falling into a comfortable stride, my long legs managing the walk splendidly, despite the inappropriate shoes.
"They seem to have appeared out of nowhere, and are intent on restoring the situation... For example, they appear to have subdued bijuu on their own, and are now caring for them in some place faraway. And on top of that, they plan to hold Chuunin Exams, can you believe it?"

In truth, i knew exactly what i thought of these Iron Ronin, or whatever they called themselves. They were simply in the way. They had obviously avoided the great war, and had suffered no casualties. So why surface now? Why get involved after the matter? I highly doubted their intentions were as pure as they seemed. What did they have to gain from stabilizing the shinobi world? Regardless, they were a counter measure to my plans, and should they get in the way... Well, they would have to be dealt with. We continued walking, the barren landscape not showing any signs of making way for the lusher flora i so desired. We were still a long way from Hi no Kuni.

[sachi]

The terrain of Earth certainly wasn't an appealing one to the eye, and while Kain WOULD agree that it was horribly dusty and boring, the snake in him couldn't help but find it lovely. It was locations like this that were filled with all sorts of snakes, whether they be darting across the desert or lurking in between rock formations, and seeing as he did share DNA with them he subconsciously enjoyed it to an extent. But regardless of whether he liked his homeland or not, there was no denying the fact that there was something exciting about traveling - new faces, new places, new experiences, all of these things were essential to a directionless boy like Kain; he just simply had to do everything! It would be when Coco would reach for her map that Kain stopped to make some preparations himself, dropping to knee as he tightened the large weights fastened around his ankles, the proceeded to sort through all of his tools to make sure they were all in place, not even bothering to face Coco as he replied,

"Hi no Kuni, huh? Big country, that works.."

To be perfectly honest, he didn't care where they were going, so long as there was the potential for a good hunt - the reason why he was being sure he had everything with him! It had been a rather long time, and he was in a rather good mood due to the excitement of this all, especially with these fun new plans the two of them had come up with. What intrigued him most was the question of.. could they really do it? Could the two of them start a world war? Whether they could or not didn't matter, it would be the journey towards that goal that Kain anticipated would be the most fun, but if by some stroke of luck they could pull it off? Well, that would just be the perfect ending, wouldn't it? The grin on his face didn't hide his evil intentions very well, but it had been a while since he had felt so good! Maybe he'd try being a bit nicer to Coco? Nah.

"Samurai.. Well, I know that they don't use any ninja techniques and fight with swords"

Kain of course only knew this from brief encounters and word of mouth, he had never really had the opportunity to fight or hunt one, due to them being so distant from the ninja world.. up until recently anyways. While for the most part oblivious to gossip and most events, it was hard to not notice the Samurai getting so involved in ninja politics, and not only that, but they had the cajones to hold the chunnins? The events that decided the ranking of NINJA? He didn't like their style as it was already, but the way they were just stepping in only made it worse, and when you add in the fact they only revealed themselves after the ninja had been weakened through their own battles? Well, if Kain didn't already want to kill one already, he sure did now.

"I don't like them one bit, and I especially don't like that the Kages seem to be playing along.."

I mean, what ninja with any sense of pride would allow a SAMURAI to run their village? But, maybe this is where Coco and himself came along? Imagine if they were able to incite conflict against the Samurai in addition to the plans they already had? Perhaps the could start a true world war, one involving all possible combatants from all possible sides and factions! The Kagehebi would chuckle quietly to himself under his breath, he really was putting a lot of thought into this, but the matter of actually getting things done had to obviously come first, and their destination was seemingly set on Hi no Kuni! Kain began to walk at a slow pace, trailing behind Coco, large boots thudding into the ground, kicking up dirt with each thump. Hands were slowly shoved into the pockets of his unbuttoned shirt, and his overall demeanor just suggested 'lazy', but looks could be oh so deceptive.

"Do you have an idea of how we're going to get there? Or are we just walking for days?"

Walking or running across an entire country didn't exactly seem like the most efficient method. Whether it be a horse, a carriage, or whatever, Kain just wanted to get there without much detouring - but when he and Coco were together, things just kinda seemed to fall out in front of them!

[daisy]

♥; these boots weren't made for walking

We spoke as we walked, the sun still rather warm, although considerably higher in the sky than it had been while we lunched. I chewed medatively on my sasanagi fluids, the sticky gold shaped by my tongue and teeth. It was a heritage that i did not display openly. The typical multiple arms of my bloodline were nowhere to be seen, although i was not ashamed. Really, i admired spiders. Particularly the black widow, the variety who used their male counterparts merely for reproduction, then simply did away with them, usually by devouring the poor things. Maneater, that was a word i could get used to. Of course, following up with the ultimate gesture of motherhood wasn't quite to my tastes. I'd rather do all the eating, thank you very much. Spitting out a sliver of the gold, it instantly hardened in the air, a razor sharp needle point, hard as steel, and i tossed this spike in the air as we walked.
"You're right, of course. I wonder, is it merely due to the weakened state of our society that the kages agree to such samurai involvement? It seems unwise, to a degree." We really didn't know much about them at all.

Obviously, although they were not privy to our shinobi arts, they were skilled combatants, as displayed by the ease with which they subdued the bijuu, the most fearsome beasts known to man. And then, they sealed them away, probably in newborns, as is usually the way. And these carriers, these jinchuuriki, they were now in samurai hands? It seemed a massive boon in power... I couldn't help wonder why our kind, the ninja, didn't demand ownership, really.
"It doesn't sit well with me, not at all. They seem to hold all the cards, at this point, you know? I mean, we know nothing about them, yet they are central to maintaining the balance..." It gnawed on my thoughts as i threw the golden spike higher in the air, snatching it from its fall before it went too far.
"And as for your question, yes sweetie, we are walking. Unless you feel like carrying little old me? These shoes are going to get terribly uncomfortable before long." Well, what did he expect? Were we to ride horses, or take a train?

I wasn't sure really, how far we had travelled. There were established roads, of course, and trails leading one with ease to their destination, but our kind tended to take to the trees, when they were available. Our training meant such a trek was nothing to us, but i didn't want to take too long. As we proceeded, i began to hear something, some kind of cry, getting clearer as we continued.
"Now what is that? Sounds awful, like somebody in pain..." I murmured, looking around now for the origin. Before long, laying in the middle of our path, was a body, blood stained clothes in tatters. I threw a hand up to my glossy mouth, eyes widening as i stared at the form.
"Darling, quick, we simply must help her!" Of course, i had no problems with dead bodies, or in fact watching people die, but there was nothing wrong with helping a fellow traveller! Or at least, it would relieve the boredom of our journey.

What on earth had happened...?

[sachi]

It wasn't often that Kain and Coco had real in-depth discussions about most things, but it was apparent they had similar opinions when it came to the Samurai. They both didn't like the fact that they just appeared out of nowhere and dared to try to maintain 'balance', as if they were somehow about the shinobi, as if they had any say in this world completely different from their own! The more they walked on, the more these thoughts got to him, he never really realized how much he couldn't stand them, and the fact these Kages played along just gave him all the more reason to proceed with their plans - perhaps with war staring them in the face they would grow back their balls?

"That's exactly what it is. All these new leaders are scared, the damage from the war is still fresh, and they're just looking to be saved.."

The more he talked about it, the more it annoyed him. He just absolutely needed to vent this frustration out somehow, and there really only was one way to do it at this point, huh? Kain couldn't wait until they reached Hi no Kuni, seeing as they were planning to walk the journey would take a rather long time, and who knows if they would just HAPPEN to come across somebody? If Kain wanted to get this out of his system, he had to go looking for somebody first and foremost, I mean, they could always adjust their direction and head out later, right? He had decided, he would handle this aggression and tension now, rather than later.

"Change of plans."

He stopped in his tracks, his hands immediately pulled from his pockets, at which point he began to remove his shirt. He tossed the clothing carelessly to the ground, and soon after his right hand moved to his side, gripping at the machete that served as his.. well, his hunting tool. He recklessly swung the blade out to his side, and completely veered off course, now turning to his right and quickly walking away from Coco. It was pretty clear that he was set on doing this, and he wouldn't let anything stop him, the only question to be asked was whether or not she would tag along for this one?

"I can't wait anymore.."

Off he went, into Tsuchi no Kuni, eyes and ears on the lookout for his prey.

/exit

[daisy]

♥; dangerous direction

I wasn't overly concerned. The body appeared to be dead, and judging by the blue tinge, it had been that way for a while. What DID concern me though, was Kain's utter disinterest. Although... had he even noticed it? I couldn't be sure. We were... changing plans? I barely realised we had plans, aside from travelling. But before even a 'darling!' could leave my mouth, he was gone, dashing away, shirtless, for some obscure reason. Watching his muscled form for a few moments, i wasn't one to deny myself simple pleasures, i turned away from the bloodied body and walked rather more sedately after him. After all, a dead body wasn't really that big a deal in times like these, now was it? It wasn't as if the dead body was a plot device introduced to garner more experience from a journey by providing us with more to discuss and investigate, no, nothing like that.

Either way, it appeared the poor dead soul would find no more attention, as i made my way after Kain. He really moved fast, and what was he after anyway?
"Oh dear. What complete disregard... Admittedly, it's not really in anymore but i'm sure he'll miss it." I murmured, upon picking up his discarded shirt. Really, the man had little taste in style, but to throw his clothes away so carelessly? That was almost unforgivable. Tucking the shirt into my suspenders, (well, where else could i tuck it in such an outfit?), i proceeded to follow him, heels digging into the dirt as i made my graceful way after him. Just what had caused him to become so completely engrossed? I mean, what exactly could he not wait for? He was acting like everything was half price in a gaulthier boutique! Although, come to think of it, i doubt he'd care. Trying not to think too much, i shook out my hair and was gone, following in his mysterious wake.


exit ♥

[Kii!]

Daisy: +29

Sachi: +20