To A Place With Leaves [O]

[Rui]

Kansei had finally arrived in Hi no Kuni, observing his surroundings, amazed as usual by the many trees that expanded through the land. He had been off to his next destination, Konohagakure, where he would meet with the Hokage, and inform them about the recent war between Sunagakure and Iwagakure. With them now being labeled international criminals by the elder, every village had the right to go after them, and kill their shinobi.

[Tenzō]

The heat ran through to his bones. A ridiculously unwelcoming swelter pulling slowly away from the endless grass and patchwork forest plants overlapping old paths through the trees. His black cloak was lazily unbuttoned, though the look of permanent calm that crossed his features, even as sweat and the incessant buzzing of a thousand tiny insects too varied in shape to name threatened to drive him mad. He had business in Hi No Kuni, however.

He'd heard rumors...brief, impossible to believe rumors....that Akumu Tenzo had been seen recently in the Land of Fire. The idea that his father had suddenly returned from the grave he still remembered placing him in was a daunting prospect, to say the least. But the trail of half-whispered stories and random cheap slaughter that led from Kaminari no Kuni all the way here only provided more questions. The stories he was told did not match up, and while wondering who the child was that was mentioned any time the name Tenzo was brought up, he came upon another.

Dressed in an armor plated suit that concealed his face, Goryo entered a 60 meter expanse of densely packed trees and swampland. There were few places between the two men not taken up with the broken husks of things long dead, but after weaving his way through foliage and fauna, he would come to a stop only 5 meters from the stranger, matching his gait and path as he moved, seemingly with purpose, through Hi No Kuni.

Goryo did not speak; he seldom did. But he eyed the stranger and his armor with a penetrating stare before preparing to continue on his way. Samurai.

Tch...

[Rui]

Deep within the core of his righteous abode distaste for shinobi had remained. There had not been a single aspect of their system he liked. To think that their ancestors were once samurai, it sickens him. He always contemplated what he would do if his country forfeited neutrality. Probably hunt them down with an ensuing massacre. However, these thoughts were fallacious. They held no value to him now. His focus had been to deliver his message to the Hokage.

Stepping forth opaque within the bushes, a man appeared. The man had been tall, at least a foot more than Kansei. He could not believe this. Not only did they possess a variety of exquisite abilities, but they also grew considerable lengths. He stepped back two more meters out of the man’s square. Arms crossed, he carefully analyzed their visage. He could hear the subtly gasp of the man, prompting him to ease the tension between them.

“Excuse me,”

a pause following his etiquette.

“Do you know where Konohagakure is?” for the most part, he had been searching for the aforementioned village. He was not sure if the man was a traveler like him or if he came from that village, but any information he provided would be viable. He awaited his answer with fortitude, contemplative of where the man had come from. He yawned to himself, eyes now shifting to meet that of the man’s.

[Tenzō]

A foolish question, Samurai. If I did, I would likely not reveal that information. Are you not the protectors of all villages? Not knowing how to find them seems an unnecessary hindrance to such a task.

His words are curt, dismissive. He speaks to the armor clad man as he speaks to nearly everyone he meets; as if everything said is merely a waste of his time, and it is. The man has created distance between them, cautiously, and now 7 meters away, Goryo has stopped his movement forward only long enough to offer his answer. But now, he is curious. Why would one of the famed Chakra Swordsmen of Iron Country be searching in such a ridiculous manner to find a village whose location would never merely be told to others on a whim? His respect for others was already dismally low, but the Amegakure nukenin now added the ranks of Tetsu's Military Guard to those who earned his contempt through ineptitude.

Your inquiry would most likely have more merit were you to find a Konohagakure shinobi. They are often found near the main-lands or capital cities. There are other more informed men who could perhaps guide you in the right direction.

A flickering of his hands pushed a few stray lengths of hair from his face, and heavy-set eyes glanced once again over the man nearly consumed by metal. He took careful note of the position of the man's feet and body, the way he carried himself, the position of his sheathed blade and the methodical politeness which seemed designed only to disarm the meek. But Goryo was not hasty. He would await a reply before continuing on his way, wondering if perhaps this man would be able to answer his own questions.

I am looking for something as well. Information. In my travels I've heard much about a red-haired young man, little more than a boy, missing from the Hidden Leaf and slaughtering those who cross his path without mercy. I have also heard of the boy's recent death.

Tell me, have you heard such rumors yourself, Samurai?

He asked, saying that last word as if it were a curse.

[Rui]

“Hmph,”

a subtly grunt bellowed from his gullet.

“Speak for yourself,” he uttered while rotating his back to the man, still glancing at them from his eastern border. A sturdy distaste for the man had aroused upon his tongue. Dropping his arms to his hips, appealing words had charmed his ears.

“So, you’re not from here then, eh?” he inquired, still gazing at the man as an involuntary arm gradually converged with the hilt of his blade¹. It had been better to be safe than sorry. He could not take any chances when it came to shinobi. If this man had not been from that village, that had been another red flag.

“I’ve never heard of this boy,”

his words true.

“But he sounds like trouble,” he finished, although this had been the superior mindset he kept when it came to them anyways. Should the words of the man be accurate, maybe he should not transverse to autumns square. He started walking away, exasperated with the man’s display of words, yet thoughts pestered about his mission.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

1. Nodachi [C]

[Rui]

/exit