rooftops - private.

[Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ]

night at the village.

It was midnight.
The sky was clear and black, the moon was shining brightly tonight, bathing the remains of the village in white light. From up here, it was easy to see what the war had done to her dear village, there didn't seem to be a single area that had completely avoided destruction. It was ironic that while many people had lost their homes, this old building that Roze was sitting on had been spared. It wasn't important to anyone, not used for anything, not owned by anyone. Simply an old, forgotten storage building that could collapse anytime.

Roze hugged her knees closer to her chest on the rooftop, letting her gaze wander. So many things had happened in such a short time, right after she had graduated... She was assigned a team without anyone asking for her opinion, the village had been destroyed, her father just kept thinking how to make his daughter useful... It started to be a bit too much for her.
Roze rocked herself lightly, trying to keep herself warm in this rather cold night - her white dress hadn't been the best choice for a night hour thinking time.

Would he come, or would she just sit here all by herself half of the night...?

[Dante]

apocalypse.

Perhaps the only proper word to describe the scenario of the Village Hidden in The Leaf. At least the beautiful trees remained to a certain extent. The buildings however, war-torn. The leaf village didn't even have a Kage at this time. The Hyuuga house hold had sort of become an isolated force itself, governing itself perhaps until a good leader would finally rise and take control of the situation at hand. Lead their country to the 'promised land'. Dante personally didn't care who would place their paws over the Village, s'long as they actually deserved the respect. Ironic how the Hyuuga elders weren't exactly elderly. All of the real elders died out. Now it was more like middle aged adults. Whatever. Hands shoved in his pockets as usual, deep in thought he strolled along the rubble filled city streets, kicking rocks from time to time. This was bad. But the boy enjoyed the freedom nonetheless. For some odd reason, he felt that there still was no peace in the world. Any fool could tell things were only bound to get worst, hence the phrase 'when it rains, it pours'.

And there was the matter of Rozey. What was bothering her? Of course his intuition allowed to point out something was the matter rather quickly. She asked to meet him at their usual spot. Their favorite abandoned building. He'd arrive. Ascending the building, he'd finally come about to the rooftop of course to find his friend curled up, undoubtedly trying to keep warm. It was cool out, and look at what she had on. A smirk lifted across his lips, and he removed his favorite jacket. He approached her from behind and placed the jacket over her shoulders. He would decide to continue standing next to her however. He wasn't exactly ready to sit for some odd reason, hell he might not even sit at all. His hands remained in his pockets, his dark hair swayed along with the cool breeze and his grey pupils stared out over the destruction of Konoha. The smirk faded at the sight of it. "Heh, even when it looks like shit, our village still retains a natural beauty about it."

[Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ]

Deep in her thoughts, the Hyuuga caught her off guard once again - she didn't notice the figure that had appeared beside her before she felt the jacket on her shoulders, bringing extra warmth instantly. This was a habit she had to get rid of, being too lost in her thoughts, but right now Roze did not care. Her face brightened, warm colored eyes glittered in the cold light of the moon.
"You came..."
A relieved smile settled on her face and she felt instantly more comfortable when her friend was present. Not quite sure how to get into the subject she wanted to talk about, or in which order to state things, she followed the Hyuuga's example and watched their sleeping village in silence until he spoke again.
"Yeah... Even when it looks like a graveyard, Konohagakure is still full of life... People are not willing to give up yet."
As if to enhance the meaning of her words, the door of a lower class pub at the end of the street opened and for a moment merry voices and music echoed in the silent night. The door closed and she could hear a woman giggle loudly, leaving with a man - the drinking place was too far from them for her to see the couple clearly and both their figures and loud voices disappeared soon into the darkness. An amused expression came to her face, but it faded soon when she decided to finally open her mouth again.
"Masa... Before Mario found me today, I met... someone. He was wearing a Sunagakure head-band around his neck."
Roze slipped her hand under her dress to take out a piece of paper she had stored into to holster wrapped around her thigh. With a serious expression, she reached her hand up to offer the paper to the Hyuuga. When he would take it, the boy would see a drawn picture of the person Roze was talking about - it was a rather good one, after all, the girl had taken art lessons since the day she had been old enough to hold a pen.
"Do you know him...? He said his name was Shiro, and... he was pretty nice to me..."

[Dante]

the promised land?

Her words were soothing. Though he failed to show it often, the boy did care very much about his village and the remaining inhabitants. As a shinobi, he was sworn not only to protect his Clan and its secrets, but also his Village. It was pride. He had allegiance only to the people and freedom itself. The Kage mattered not. Konoha's people were strong, they would eventually climb up the ladder again, with or without guidance. It truly was actually soothing to hear the cheery voices of people being entertained and having fun. His smirk returned to his expressionless facial as it shifted towards the direction of the noise that coincided with Rozey's statement. Shaking his head, he did not speak. The people would lead themselves to the promised land. Closing his eyes shut, the young Hyuuga would tilt his head upward towards the night sky. His lungs would fill with air as he took a deep breath and his friend would speak once again, breaking the silence.

"Masa... Before Mario found me today, I met... someone. He was wearing a Sunagakure head-band around his neck."

Opening his eyes slowly again, he took in her words and allowed them to marinate so to speak. This rushed many questions pounding against the walls in his head, making their desperate attempts to escape, but they'd only escape from one direction and that would be his lips. These questions were ones he would probably keep to himself, and ultimately be answered in time, though some of them could not help but escape to the outside world. His pale lips parted. "Suna..?" His attention reverted back to his friend below him holding out a piece of paper. Taking it and opening it, he examined the doodle, taking note of all of its features. Shiro, was the doodle's name. Good thing Rozey is a great sketcher. "What the hell are Suna shinobi doing in Hi No Kuni..?" Especially with these times. Of course he wasn't oblivious to the outside world. Dante realized that it wasn't just his country suffering from the aftermath. "What exactly did he say to you?" The boy absent mindlessly would ask. The white eyes remained pasted on the paper, still completely his analysis..

[Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ]

Roze tried to remember the details of the meeting with the stranger, but everything had been so confusing, he had just appeared and...
"He... he said that my hair is beautiful..." Her shoulders slouched and she shook her head. "I didn't... question him and then he just left. I thought that he was just lost, I've heard that all the villages are in chaos, maybe he just ran as far as he could... But what if it's something else? I didn't tell anyone, I wanted no harm to come to him - he didn't seem bad..."
Roze began to rock herself again, one hair wandering to play with her golden hair. Shiro had given her that flower; "Its petals are quite beautiful, like your hair", that's exactly what he had said, but the girl didn't think that the flower was significant although she could feel it almost burning in her holster, still safe there in its own pocket.
"Masa, I don't know if I can do this... I mean, I don't think I'll be a good kunoichi..." the girl muttered in a silent tone. "I'm only doing this so that I could even have a say in choosing my destiny... I've told you about my father, he sees business in everything, even his own daughter! If I can't make myself useful in any other way, he's going to send me to marry some old nobleman who has lots of money..."
Roze bit her lower lip, trying to keep her emotions in control, but a single tear managed to sneak past her guard; it ran down her cheek, landing on the fine fabric of her white dress.
"I... I don't want to hurt anyone and I'm afraid that I'll be on your... and DeMarivous' way. I'm not someone who can assassinate people without guilt, I don't think I could do it at all... And I hate fighting... I'm not a kunoichi, Masa..."
Roze buried her face between her knees, not wanting him to see her sad. Masa was the only person who she could talk to, the only person who could share some of the darkness that lay in her heart, but she still felt embarrassed about doing this. She didn't want to be a burden.
"What should I do Masa, what can I do... I want to be a shinobi, I really do, I want to be... useful..."

[Dante]

freedom. the people.

Folding the piece of paper up and placing it in his back pocket, he would proceed with shoving his own hands into his front pocket. He didn't look at her, he couldn't. The young Hyuuga only took in her words in, troubled. There possibly could be an incoming threat. There's no way the Suna shinobi known as Shiro would be running away. Dante highly doubted it only with the mere evidence that according to Rozey he was extremely nice to her. That sounds like a calm shinobi unaffected by what is taking place in the world currently. "He didn't seem bad..". This troubled him about Rozey. Perhaps because she was constantly under her father's wing, it made her so hazardously naive. Seriously she could not be stunned by every male that called her beautiful. Did she not hear it often? Surely she realized her own potential and beauty. Or perhaps not. Dante could only stare out into the rubble they called their village, being perfectly careful not to move his eyes to stare at her.

The silence was broken. Dante took note of her movements changing, her rocking to and fro commencing once again. It troubled him. Her words brought him great grief, but on his face he showed it not. He simply listened to her negativity, absorbing it. Taking every single blow that were her sentences. How could he possibly show her that he was hurting as well? How could he tell someone that placed so much faith in him that he was unsure of himself and the future just as she was? He couldn't. He simply could not. Mario, Rozey. They both needed him just as much as he needed them. He refused to give them anymore reasons not to believe. Even if he had to convince himself to believe from time to time. "I want to be a shinobi, I really do, I want to be... useful...". Finally he'd muster up the strength to move. Sitting closely next to her, the boy would reach his hands up and stroke her hair with gentle hands, carefully. A smirk would stretch across his face.

"Useful? We need you, dummy. Of course he won't admit it but me and Mario both need you. We fight so we don't have to fight anymore. We fight for freedom. And we fight so those people down there can continue to enjoy their beers and ramen. You're my friend. Friends don't mind fighting for one another. I'll fight and assassinate armies for you and Mario. But I need you. I need you both. We're a team, Rozey. You should just stick by me. Stick my your friends. I've got faith in you. No need in worrying about good ol' Rozey!"

[Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ]

Was it really okay to show her weakness like this? Weren't shinobi tools for their leaders, tools that made their home a better place without showing their emotions? They couldn't ask her to do that, not yet...
Roze startled a bit when she felt his touch, not expecting such a gentle gesture from the Hyuuga. She lifted her head up, watching the boy with glimmering eyes as he spoke, taking in his voice and every single word.
Slowly, a smile returned to her lips and she got a determined look in her eyes.
The Hyuuga had, perhaps unknowingly, given her something she desperately needed: a reason. Sure, it was wonderful to fight for goals such as good and world peace, but such concepts were too big, there was nothing to get a hold from. Fighting for her village, for her people was something that should have been able to drive her onward, but although she loved this place very much, she didn't really know many people here; she had always been disconnected. But, to fight for her friend... or friends, she thought hesitatingly... that was something she could understand and take in her heart.
Roze closed her eyes and let a small amused sound escape her lips, enjoying the boy's comforting touch. She leaned to one side, resting her head against the Hyuuga's arm without any signs of embarrassment, as if it was as normal as breathing.
"I hear you, Hyuuga Dante. I will fight for you, as your comrade and friend, and I will fight beside you. If you've really got faith in me, I have to live up to it, hmm?"
The golden haired lady sighed softly, feeling strangely serene. All the stress she had been carrying for the past few days seemed far away now. Just after one speech, she felt like she would wake up in the morning to a better day...
"Thank you for taking care of me... Masa... It feels like I have an guardian angel, or a big brother who watches over my steps."

[Dante]

Slightly startled when she laid her head on his shoulder, the young lad allowed his pale eyes to gaze onto her full head of hair for a second, and soon just accepted it. Mission accomplished to say the least. If he could manage to keep team morale high, then he could be strong as well. He couldn't allow them to see his emotions. His weakness. The eyes turned back over to the beautiful night sky, the stars shining so gracefully. Closing his eyes he took in her final words simultaneously allowing the fresh air to fill his lungs. "... I'll always be with you, Rozey. Remember that." Lifting himself carefully back on his feet, the boy would stand erect shoving his hands carelessly into his pockets as usual. The white eyes looked back over to his friend, a smirk stretching across his lips. "Now go to bed. You can return the jacket later." Turning from Rozey, the boy would initiate his casual stroll, his destination would be back to his 'home', the Hyuuga Mansion..

[EXIT]

[Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ]

"Good night, Masa... See you tomorrow."
Roze stayed on the roof when the Hyuuga left, following his way home with her eyes as long as she could - until he too disappeared in the darkness and the night was silent again.
For half an hour, she would still sit there in her thoughts, staring in to the darkness, wrapped in Dante's jacket. Then she finally smiled again and shook her head at something in her mind, got up on her feet and jumped gracefully from the roof down to the ground - just like a real kunoichi.
"I'll always be with you, Rozey. Remember that." The words echoed in her head when she started her trip back to her house, skipping lightly along the street and humming a cheery tone to herself.

{exit.

[Haretsu]

rozean: 17 EXP
terrysb: 15 EXP