Gone with a passing wind [open]

[くすり]

|wilting magnolia|
^{Something inside me chnaged and fueled the spark which lead me away. Away into the open world.}

Village life was and had been all I'd known since my birth-my upbringing. But, as I sit here on the bank of the river, watching the waning ripples filter out and vanish, I couldn't help but think to myself and what I thought about was the world beyond my reach, the world that surpassed my gaze. I wanted to experience it all, but to do such a shinobi of Kumogakure was impossible.

Taking a pebble from the ground beside me I tossed it into the river, watching as it skipped twice before plunging into its gluttonous depths. Above, atop the surface ripples wanned out from the epicenter and than faded into a stillness.

The same stillness I'd be subjected to.

Allowing a sigh to escape my lips I stood to my feet, my hair swaying across my face as a wind shuffled past me. It was this life or the one I so desire. Maybe I was young, or even foolish, although I myself leaned towards the foolish thought, it wouldn't stop me. I'd live life open and free, without the shackles and constraints shoved upon me. Swallowing the lump that was lodged in my throat, I could feel my hand shaking.

"I can do this...."

"I can do this...."

"I can do this...."

It repeated and repeated itself, like whispers of demons who wouldn't leave my side. The thought of leaving my village, my family, my friends, mentors. It was scary and left me feeling empty, but the thought of spending my days confined like a magnolia flower taken from its bedding and shoved into a vase scared me silly.

I had nothing on me, but the four ryo in my pocket, and the tools in their pouches. I'd leave and vanish with this passing wind. Without another thought, I took off, feeling the tears fly behind me, and into the river. It wasn't easy, but my desired outweighed what I currently had. And, I felt it was powerful enough to listen too.

"I'm sorry..."

I didn't know where I was going, or where I'd head first, but there was no turning back. I'd been gone for the village awhile now without any reason given and they'd be on to me soon enough. Wherever I was going, I was now a nuke-nin. As I ran, I untied my Hitai-ate and flicked a kunai from its holster and into my hand. I fumbled with my footing for a minute until I managed to engrave a scratch over the insignia.

Biting my lip I had felt the full weight of my decision and I'd carry it for life, until it was taken from me. I ran with the passing landscape fading out of view, it hurt, but I pressed forward, only stopping for drinks now and than. With no sense of direction I was totally at the mercy of fate, wherever the cruel woman would take me I'd not complain about it.

My only sense of time was the rise and fall of the moon and sun. A few days had elapsed by and during this time I'd lived off the land until it occurred to me the weather was slightly different. The sky more temperamental, the air cool, and the scent different.

"Where am I?"

I asked myself puzzled as I pushed onward upon the dirt path. I didn't know where I'd been lead to but the mist in the area was thickening.

SPOILER: Click to show

move to mizu kuni please

[Messatsu!]

Moved

[Messatsu!]

Mizu no kuni, the land of mist and water, a country irrigated with an limitless supply of mist and water, not to mention being cursed with perpetual downpours. The waters were Yuuza's home, and despite essentially being ostracized from the utopia of water that was Takigakure, Mizu no kuni still felt like home, for Yuuza, that feeling alone was more then enough. It made being away from his homeland all the more bearable. Truth be told he wished he could be home with his baby sister Yuria, however, the unseen hand of the gods had other things in store for the young, ambitious shinobi.

"I Can't stop thinking of my grandfather as I walk along Mizu no kuni's soil"

"You had not known him that much, perhaps its his way of communicating to you."

"As far fetched as that may seem, I'll go along with it, who knew the life of a missing shinobi would be so lonely."

"Well obviously not you."

The darkness that stirred within Yuuza's mind kept calm when around masses of water like an ocean after a tempestuous storm. Despite being little more than a mere subconscious, it was something that yuuza himself could communicate with, something that reminded him that he wasn't totally alone. Given his status as a criminal, the death of his elder brother Raoh, and his sister whom been diagnosed and unable to access her senses, there wasn't many outside of his own mind he could speak with without getting attacked.

The pitter patter of light footfalls coursed through the soil and air as his calves thrummed with great muscle activity from long intervals of travel and little rest. His traveling regimen came to an untimely halt as his auditory senses flared in response to a separate set of steps, much lighter and faster then his own. With his senses wide open his empurpled eyes radiated with the fires of the sun itself as his eyes fleeted through the crevices of trees and the metameric mass of mist.

"A girl?" All by herself?

Mizu no kuni's cursed mist was bearable to the eyes, but coupled with distance and sequences of trees, it was hard to make out the girls attire, let alone her headband. It was rare to see wandering souls as he did, and given his sister look to be around the same age, concern possessed his tongue.

"Hey?! This is a pretty dangerous face for a little girl! Are you okay?!"

His words outstretched through the trees and mist, aiming to infiltrate the girls ears.

[くすり]

|wilting magnolia|
^{It called to me, beckoning. Little did I know it was the adventure I so wholeheartedly sought.}

It felt like hours as I blindly wandered around,looking, searching for a clue as to where It was that I was walking. The very soil beneath my feet felt unfamiliar....alien. However the change in the environment wooed me, I was bewitched by the feeling this place gave off it was so different. I had passed by large bodies of water.

Saw plants I'd never seen before, heard animals that were new to my ears. I wanted to experience more as I spun around, my sapphire eyes trying to take in every last detail.

"Its all so different..."

I was lost, but I didn't care to much, but If I had to give a guess by the terrain and what I was taught, I'd somehow managed to wander all the way into Mizu no kuni. Finding myself engrossed in the land, I was studying everything, until abruptly a voice called out to me. At first my body shivered and jumped. I was sure it was too early for someone to have been on to me, but listening more, relief found me.


"I am no little girl and I can make a scarier face!"

My cheeks expanded and burned as I pouted. Who was he to call me little. I could handle my own, psh.. To think about it I hadn't met a single soul on my way here, in fact I had ducked and hid from anyone I saw, but being caught off guard I realized it was all for nothing.

Looking at the boy he was probably a little older me, I couldn't tell much from that since his face was hidden from me. He seemed sketchy to me so I'd keep my wits about me as I dealt with him.

"I was fine, till you came along"

Slowly approaching him, I kept my gaze steady, he would'nt elude my sapphire pools.

[Messatsu!]

"I am no little girl and I can make a scarier face!"

Even through the mist, his eyes pierced through, observing the girl's visage as her expression drastically shifted. Her eyebrows furrowed in fury, and cheeks puffed and swelled in potential embarrassment.

"I was fine, till you came along"

The aggressive flames that dwelt within his near pitiless eyes extinguished themselves as he glanced over this girls form. He hadn't seen anything so funny and adorable since the healthy days of his younger sister. His eyes began to satiate with tears as his cheeks swelled in turn at the failed attempt to obscure his burst of laughter. Unable to hold he raised the cold steal that covered his face above his head; his knees grew weak as his laughter billowed into the atmosphere, sapping his body of all strength, fighting to remain standing.

It was odd, Yuuza normally was never known for laughter or joy-that is to say he isn't unable to experience such feelings-, nay, instead he was always seen as this silent, stoic shinobi whose ambition remained boundless. It were not as though he was a different person, simply just one of many who thought funny faces and anger went hand in hand. His laughter lessened, and as it did his hand uplifted, whipping away what tears managed to run down his face.

"Hehe...yeah that is a scary face, my sister has one just like it."

Re-obtaining his correct pattern of breath, he watched as the girl approached him, the mist opposed her presence, passing over her form like tendrils of smoke, and once close enough he saw it. The mark, the very mark that represents the freedom within ones own life, those who've obtained this mark were one who truly followed their ambitions, at least from Yuuza's perspective.

"So what is a li-girl like you doing in Mizu no kuni with a crossed out headband from the powerful Kumogakure..."

His purple eyes flickered to and fro, scanning the surrounding area like snakes in grass before his tongue flit with refinement and guided politeness.

"...I guess it doesn't matter much, most of kumo's populace should be at the exams. Come to think of it why aren't you here"

At first glance it seemed as though his quest were too direct and abrubt, but who could blame him, the girl afront was one of few shinobi other then Hei that attacked him. Perhaps Hei was right, Nuke-nin are a social class of shinobi in their own right.

[くすり]

|wilting magnolia|
^{I abandoned everything. I left it all behind, to pursue what I wished to do. I wanted to see a world,open and free.}

My cheeks expanded even further from his response as he was taken over by laughter, his knees buckling and eyes watering. Was it honestly that funny? It took him a moment to adjust back to his normal stance and stature. Looking at him with my hands on my hips, I studied his face intently.

My reason wasn't something spectacular or even tear drenching. It was something I myself could probably appreciate.

He didn't look like a bad guy, but from a closer look as the mist subsided, almost as if it was convening upon me I got a glimpse of his mark of freedom. He was like me, abandoned it all for his ambition-his goal. A dream that was worth such a price was to be cherished. I could understand that.

"Honestly...."

I paused for a second, but for some reason I didn't feel a withdrawal from this boy, the words in my mind were ready to come right out with ease. I decided not to fight such a powerful feeling.

"I didn't plan all this out to escape while everyone went to the exams, it just sort of happened. I decided to leave upon the whim of the wind."

Thinking about it more and more it didn't make sense how impulsive what I done really was, but I'd live with it and bare its consequences. I was prepared the moment I began running.

"I left to see the world and all it held. To no longer be bound by rules and shackles. I wanted to experience life."

I had dreams of going to the exams and becoming a chuunin, but after being held back because of my impulsiveness (total lie, but I need a reason for why she couldn't go other than the one character rule) I was told I wasn't ready. I was really still a child to be honest, but was there honestly anything wrong with that?

"Lets say I didn't go cause my sensei though I was a kid too!"

I found myself smiling, people from other places were just like everyone else. More and more I found myself happy with the decision I made.


"Whats your story, errrr.... I'm Saori, you?"

[MALAK;]

After putting a blemish on the face of his village's head band his travels had carried him to many places. Though he had found himself never within the Water Country...Until now that was. With the Exams going on he had decided to see if anything was going on in the Water Country, especially since it was one of the first places where the Hoshigake had made themselves so famous through the shinobi world.

And upon landing upon a beach he slowly pulled himself out of his raft and placed his feet within the damp sand. It was dark outside, but that could be blamed upon the surrounding mist. Cracking a sadistic grin he licked his razor sharp teeth before speaking to himself and to any of those who could hear him. "Well now, let's see what this place has to offer in the excitement category."

[/color]

Popping his neck to the side he rolled his shoulders before sliding his hands into his pockets and walking away from the beach and into the nearby forest. He had no idea where he was going, but he trusted his feet to take him to some sort of excitement, hopefully in the form of interaction with other shinobi...perhaps missing shinobi.

And upon walking for several minutes he found his ears picking up the speech of a young female and a slightly older male. And it was only after this that his eyes caught sight of the two, causing him to pause in his step and grin from ear to ear, his sharp teeth showing.
[/left][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Messatsu!]

"I didn't plan all this out to escape while everyone went to the exams, it just sort of happened. I decided to leave upon the whim of the wind. left to see the world and all it held. To no longer be bound by rules and shackles. I wanted to experience life. Lets say I didn't go cause my sensei though I was a kid too!"

A serious expression plastered itself over his visage as the girl began to talk and his mind focused. Her words lingered above his head like hot, melting clouds, her reasons for freedom seemed simple at best, not that it mattered much anyway.

"Whats your story, errrr.... I'm Saori, you?

"Saori huh, nice name I'm Yuuza, Kenshiro Yuuza. Good to meet you."

Yuuza bade Saori with a warm smile as he pivoted upon his heels, turning his direction of travel away from kaminari, and so his unending travels continued. He waved his hand, signaling the girl to walk and talk, if the words she have mouthed rang true, then she couldn't afford to waste time. Yuuza knew more than anyone that those first few days after leaving the village are crucial, he knew guards and anbu would be after her soon enough if not now. Each second she wasted on standing and talking was another second gained by her pursuers.

"Walk with me...my story is simple but before that, take this..."

His hand uplifted and dove itself within the confines of his pitch dark shihakusho, pulling forth a unscathed sunagakure headband. He held it out to her, hoping she would catch wind and take it. He knew she would, for any form of obscurity at this point could be benefited from is used properly.

"My reason for going missing? easy, my sister grew terminally ill and i needed to save her...still do. My village, Takigakure refused to fund her operation thanks to the encroachment of war. So I took matters into my own hands and left despite being chased and caught by anbu, the rest...use your imagination."


The soils of Mizu no kuni were damp, soaked with water, compliments of Mizu's perpetual downpour. The squelching sound of footfalls could easily be heard should one chose to traverse across the earthen floor itself, including his own, as well as the man who followed. How did Yuuza hear the man exactly, it was not just from the grounds, but the pattern. Yuuza was never one to blinding talk and travel without paying full attention to the lay of the land. He heeded it all, old footprints, broken twigs, and the sound of nonsynchronous steps.

Raising a hand to grip suigai he spoke and refused to discontinue his stride.

"Pray that you are not of Kumogakure aiming to bring harm to this girl"

SPOILER: Click to show

-Sunagakure headband

[Twist3d_Insane]

"Yup, Nothing has changed. Wet as ever!" Ganjou said running through the wet soil keeping a steady pace. His hoodie would be over his head concealing his face, he kept all his traveling gear on his person while he trained like the backpack, and all the ninja tools he possessed. Each step he took became heaver do to his bare feet sinking into the wet soil. Holo followed closely by his side, her running was perfectly normal in fact, she had to slow down a little so Ganjou could keep up. "Come on Ganjou. We came to train right?"

[/color] The white wolf said in a few high grunts. Ganjou didn't hear what his friend said, he just kept running forward trying to get his body use to the wetness all around him. Launching from his place, Ganjou would land on a lone tree and began jumping from one to another. Holo stuck to the ground, but she still managed to keep up with her master as if it was nothing. "I never felt so alive!" Ganjou yelled as he quickly jumped from a tree and back to the ground right in front of Holo. As they ran, the white wolf noticed a group of people up ahead. "Ganjou, a group of humans are up ahead"[/color] Holo said with a few barks. A faint smirk grew across the face of the male "Lets go say hello!" Ganjou said slowing down his pace to a type of jog now. They quickly approached the group. Ganjou had friendly intentions and same with Holo, but the white wolf stayed on her guard even if Ganjou dropped his.[/blockquote][/font][/size]

[くすり]

|wilting magnolia|
^{Already so much was happening, I remember it clearly, I couldn't keep up with it.
The quick pace.}

I found myself following him as we conversed, he took lead and I simply became his shadow. This was way more refreshing than my scary, lonesome traveling. I could remember the soft thudding of my heart and my waning spirit, confused about which path I should have followed. This simple, frivolous banter gave me a closure that I had perhaps needed to stay calm.

It welcomed it.

My eyes widened as I realized he was trying to hand me an unscathed Sunagakure headband. I was confused at first, and my thoughts were all over how he acquired such a item, but I smiled and simply untied my own, shoving it within a pouch. The action was done quick as I fastened it to my left arm.


"Thank you Ken`chan!"

I listened intently to the words Kenshiro spoke. Each syllable highlighted within my mind as I played out his situation in great depth. It was a sad tale, but I learned a lot about the boy who stood before me walking. He was hurting, yet he was brave enough to toss everything to the wayside for the sake of her-his sister.

His loved one.

I could understand his feelings, and I wanted to help him, but sadly, I had nothing of value to offer him. It saddened me. Was I still so weak? So very weak?

"I-I'm sor-"

Finally I had managed words, but I was abruptly taken off guard by Kenshiro's words. H ad I missed something and become to absorbed into the world? I felt the weight of my naivety slammed upon me. This entire time he had been looking out for me, and I didn't even notice.

I was pathetic.

Clearing my mind, I calmed myself as I allowed the hair on my neck to stand on edge. I was stronger than before, and I could damn sure handle my own. I was not to be a burden....not any longer. We still walked forward, my fingers, twitching at the cold naked kunai at my thigh.

A boy meet us head first with a large white dog, were they the ones Kenshiro spoke of? I was ready for anything.

"Kenshiro...."

SPOILER: Click to show

sunagakure headband

[Nhar'qual]

His arrival was met with swift hostility, but this didn't halt his devilish grin. Yet, when he focused on the one who spoke with a threatening manner he showed an expression of shock before his evil grin returned. It was that Yuuza kid from the Hidden Waterfall village. He didn't know much about the guy, well besides he was a missing-nin from the same village as himself.

"Of course not...Yuuza!"

[/color]

Lifting his shirt slightly he showed his own head-band, the symbol on it scratched out, yet where it was actually located would be the real shocker, it was stitched upon his stomach, just below his belly button. Licking his sharp shark like teeth he turned his attention now to a new arrival, a tanned individual who's company was a dog...no, perhaps a wolf? Either way it didn't matter.

"Like light to flies this place must be!"[/color]

Laughing loudly he lowered his shirt and placed a hand at his neck for a few moments, dropping his hood shortly after. His hands then sliding into his jacket pockets, where they'd find a single kunai, one for each hands' grip. He was ready for any violence one of these three could possibly kick up.

"SO WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NOW?!"[/color]
[/left][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Messatsu!]

A planar silhouette of a man faded smoothly into plain view as Yuuza's eyes did all they could to keep up with the physical attributes Mizu no kuni held. His eyes flickered and fleeted with top tier alertness coupled with the unexplained, healthy desire to protect this girl he'd just met. Something about her reminded him of his own sister, sadly, before his calculative mind could grind away at the best methods caused such feelings to manifest, he was greeted with a blunt, quick string of words, ones that were quite familiar.

"Of course not...Yuuza!"

His hands gripped suigai's hilt with greater force as his identity had been compromised by this ninja who laid claim to have known him. What a fool, perhaps what if Kumogakure ninja had in fact followed the girl to this location, his travelings as an incognito entity of desolation would have surely ended.

"What is this guy thinking, yelling out our name all casual like, and loudly too!"

"Calm down. I see no threats, only person I've seen that I can clearly remember who knows of my name is undoubtedly the Takikage, Blanche, Hei and masumi. The voice matches none of them....so who?"

"Only one way to find out"

Yuuza's thoughts exploded with curiosity as the gears of his mind were hard at work, twisting and turning to thrum with activity, breaking down the variables which could have led to this mans identity. He was a Hoshigake, that much had been certain, even as he uplifted his shirt revealing more of his blue flesh and gills along with a forehead protector of takigakure that seemed stitched to his stomach, how odd.

Still, Yuuza could not come to terms with who the man afront had been and nor did he have time to find out all thanks to the encroachment of yet another. An Inuzuka accompanied with his dog, they haven't been known to house wolves, but it had the appearance of one.

"SO WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NOW?!"

Yuuza's eyebrow furrowed in mental confusion from the mans question.

"What exactly do you mean by 'we'. And who are you?"

[Twist3d_Insane]

With light steps, Ganjou's heart began beating faster as he approached the group of strangers. Holo looked up at her master, she noticed the intense look upon his face. "This might now be a good idea Ganjou? Lets go the other way."

[/color] The White wolf would say looking back over at the group a few meters ahead. The Young Inuzuka slowly brought down his hood with a sweep with his right hand. "Holo, we got nothing to worry about. we don't know them, and they don't no us. We just gotta show we aren't a big threat." Ganjou said with a emotionless tone of voice. "What if they attack?"[/color] The White Wolf asked looking dead ahead with a powerful look in her eyes. Holo always seemed to think situations all the way through to the very end. Ganjou on the other hand usually went off pure impulse, and never thought about the consequences. "Its fine Holo...Trust me" He muttered putting both his hands behind his head showing the group he had little thought of attacking them. The wolf had nothing else to say, she didn't want to talk to these people, she didn't trust them. "Two men and a little girl?" Ganjou thought to himself as he got even closer. The odd thing about the group was that it seemed like they were waiting for him? Now only a ten feet away from them, Ganjou slowly walked a little closer getting about five feet away. "Yo, wassup? You guys out here training too?" He asked with a friendly tone of voice and a great big smile across his face. Holo on the other hand, stayed behind her Master with her held peeking around his leg. If they did attack she could wait for Ganjou's orders, but both her and Ganjou knew they wouldn't last long against three people...[/font][/blockquote][/size]

[Nhar'qual]

How odd, Yuuza still hadn't recognized him, perhaps his face was plagued with the shadows of the mist and trees. Tilting his head to the side he took a few more steps forward, even running a finger along the scar on his face before throwing both of his hands away from his body and holding them up, kunai now free in his pockets once more, no threat...yet.

"You don't recognize me?....How rude Yuuza, especially since your the one who left this scar on my pretty pale blue face!"

[/color]

He held no resentment against the guy for scarring him, but he didn't like being forgotten. Growling ever so slightly he shifted his attention to the girl Yuuza was with, she looked just like a doll, a play thing. Laughing he then turned his attention to the boy with the wolf off in the near by distance, the mist wouldn't hide him from anyone who was used to harsh elements such as water, which was what a Hoshigake was born for. And they spoke back and forth, human dialect and wolf dialect, as if no one could hear them. "Hey idiot, quit talkin' like we can't hear ya!"[/color]

Ignoring the boy's next words he turned back to Yuuza and replied to his question from earlier. "I mean -we- as in this little group, clearly we can't have all just found this same spot without some outside force influencing it, something drove us here...and I came here just to find some excitement, you'd know that if you remembered me ya prick."[/color][/left][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[くすり]

|wilting magnolia|
^{Things were becoming interesting. Much more interesting.}

The sound of his own name being shouted out seemed to antagonize Yuuza as my eyes caught wind of his grip upon the massive blade on his back tighten. I gulped, unaware of what exactly to expect. I didn't have much experience in actual combat, but I could provide some support. I had taken that the blue man in front of me had known Kenshiro in some way, but from Ken`chans own response I thought wrong.

Or maybe, he just didn't remember him.

I kept calm, and still, my eyes flickering from both newcomers. If they made a move I'd catch it, and that was certain. The boy with the dog seemed harmless as he tried to ostracize himself from any conflict that could or may had started. The fish man however, his intentions were unclear to mean-as thick and concealing as the mist that pervaded the earthen floor.

Had these two fought before? Or maybe this man was here to hunt and kill Kenshiro who was a nuke-nin as myself. My heart began to knock angrily upon my chest. What exactly did he mean by excitement? I looked towards Kenshiro, who was more than fixated upon the Hoshigake who knew his name.


"What now, Kenshiro?"

I had no where else to go, and my dream of experiencing life would put me in danger, loads of it. I wasn't strong, but nuke-nin went everywhere and I'm sure that if this man Kenshiro who gave me the sungakure head band had been there, traveling all the way from Takigakure and than mizu had seen a wealth of the world which was virgin to my eyes.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to maybe stick by his side. That of course would only be if he would let me. The world around me, only made me more nervous, the air was thick and smoggy, the ground barely allowing visibility. I wasn't use to this place, but if I stuck around I sure would be.

"Whats going to happen?"