It's lonely at the top. [p]

[Miku]

I pushed my black curly hair over my shoulders while I was resting at the top of the cliff. I loved to get away from the city every now and then and just relax above Lake Natori. My cerulean kimono complimented the sun’s rays reflecting off of the water below me, illuminating my entire being.

My arms were tightly wrapped around my shins, my upper-body slightly rocking my body back and forth mimicking the motions of the lake’s vibrations below me. There was an occasional gust of wind brushing my air back into my face, but I just kept pushing my hair back over my shoulder and onto my back.

I was wearing my one-piece bathing suit underneath my kimono, but I was not sure if I wanted to dive into the water just yet. I figured that the lake’s water was probably really cold, and I still needed time to warm up under the sun.

Once I felt more comfortable, then I would most likely decide to take a dip into the water. However, until then, I decided to just sit there on the cliff that was positioned about thirty meters above the lake’s surface. The lake itself was about fifteen meters deep, and the surface had about a forty meter radius.

I knew that it would have been pretty safe for me to dive down into depths of the body of water. I bit my lips, quivering as the air kept giving me such strange chills along my body. Something doesn’t feel right… I could not quite pin-point why I was suddenly feeling anxious, but there was definitely something amiss in my mind.

[Nujabes]

To be completely honest, I'm not really sure why I came back to this depressive-as-fuck-country. It was always so misty and shit here; it made me feel like I was stuck in a horror movie, and bein' a nigga, that meant I was probably goin' to be the first to die no matter where the monster or serial killer decided to pop out from. Maybe it was the fact I'd taken a proverbial shit on this country and their leader and ain't shit had happened? Or maybe I was just bein' hard headed and lookin' for trouble? Whatever it was, I was there.

Diddy boppin' to some nameless track bumpin' in my dj-styled headphones, I hastily sped through the damp forests of Mizu no Kuni. The deeper I went, the further up the ground curved. It wasn't too long after that that I found myself protruding from the lower layers of mist, perched up on the back of some cliff. I wasn't alone, either - somebody was just a few meters to the front of me.

Any element of surprise that I might've had was thrown out of the window as soon as I had entered earshot range, as I'd been singing pretty loud the entire time I was runnin'. Either that, or she probably heard the music itself; I did listen to my shit pretty loud. Either way, it didn't matter once bit to me.

"Not a bad day, ya'?" I spoke loud and clear, bore line shouting due to the being temporarily tone-deaf from my loud music. Snapping my head back, I kicked the headphones down, lettin' 'em hang loosely around my neck.

I strolled closer, kneelin' a few feet away. I could see the cusp of the lake below, and then lazily let my eyes rest on the girl's. "You thinkin' about takin' a dip, little lady?"

[Miku]

My quiet sanctuary was quickly interrupted by the entrance of some peculiar man. As the figure approached me from behind, I heard the faint sounds of some musical beat constantly ringing the back of my head. What is that? Naturally, of course, I turned around to notice the man dressed in leather attire approach me. I could only wonder what he was thinking of as he saw me just sitting on the ground staring at the lake below me.

"Not a bad day, ya'?" I shook my head to the left and right, agreeing with his statement that it was not a bad day at all. I did not want to be rude so I gave him a small smile as well. His music was awfully loud, and I did not understand how anyone could listen to music with the volume so high that it was almost deafening, but apparently some people liked it like that.

Watching him knock his headphones off his ears and slip onto his neck, the unidentified man approached me closer as he asked me if I was thinking about taking a dip into the water. A part of me was a bit nervous; I was not sure how to respond even though I knew what the answer was immediately. And I figured he knew as well, considering I was staring at the water alone for who knows how long it has been.

”Heh, I’m not sure yet! I mean, it’s probably really cold and I don’t want to have that feeling at all.” I gave a hesitate laugh and then looked back at the man. ”So what’s your name?” I hoped that he was not going to press me into going into the water, however perhaps if I diverted the conversation into a different direction then that would not happen. Besides, the water was probably really cold.

[Nujabes]

I nodded almost aimlessly in agreement, though more so to the beat of the music I could still hear clearly. I probably would've jumped in myself had I not had some electronic devices on me. Fuckin' up one of my favorite cds wasn't on my list of things to do today, so instead I just crouched there. Both arms rested on their respective thighs, my eyes casually moving from the girl to the water.

Fact was, she wasn't half bad lookin'; honestly, she was pretty bangin'. A little young for my taste, though, so I'd bit my tongue at the first opportunity to hit 'er up for them digits or somethin'. But, I could've been wrong? Either way, I wasn't about to come off like a total creeper.

"♫ Namitsuki," I sang to some off-tune instrumental, "but call me Akira. ♫" I paused for only a moment, probably interruptin' her if she planned to introduce herself a lil' too fast. "How about yourself?"

[¤ Tenkai ¤]

Na-mi-tsu-ki. Unknowingly to myself, I softly pronounced his name under my breath, almost as if I were a child first learning how to speak. His name sounded elegant, clear and to the point. To be honest, I actually really liked his name a lot. His appearance seemed to be more of a free spirit, living on the edge sort of bad-boy, but his name seemed to be more divine and tamed. I wondered just exactly who was this stranger.

Akira, eh? I was not sure if Akira was some sort of different personality of Namitsuki’s, or if that name had some sort of hidden meaning behind it, but he preferred to be called Akira so I suppose I should respect his wishes. I moved my bangs away from my face as he continued to speak after taking a brief pause. Although it may sound vain, I absolutely loved to introduce myself.

There was so much about me that I could go on and on about that it was probably one of my favorite questions to be asked. My mist headband was wrapped around my forehead, though normally my bangs hide the symbol. Since I moved my bangs, Akira would be able to see my shinobi headgear and take notice of my profession. ”My name is Miku, and I am a mist kunoichi.” My tone was direct, and I sounded almost too proud for my own good. ”Your clothing is quite different, where are you from again?”

He could have very well been from the outskirts of the village, but I honestly did not recognize that sort of clothing style he had. Maybe he got his fashion from Kaminari? I had no idea, but it was pretty stylish in my opinion. Kimonos were pretty common attire for females, especially for the upper-class citizens. Though not many people that I knew of wore leather clothing, except for if they were heavenly trained in taijutsu…hm…

[Nujabes]

"Pleasure ta meet ya." She had a pretty nice name; it fit her quite well. Miku-- yeah, it just seemed to scream out "silent and timid." Of course, I could've been completely wrong, but from what I'd gathered in the few seconds - hell, the fact that she was just sittin' up here by herself - seemed to point in one direction. I did take notice of her headband, before she moved her bands, and figured she was from Kirigakure. Meh, hopefully she isn't on some witch-hunt for me.

"Ehhhhhh," I was kind of hesitant to tell her just where I was from. Things were goin' pretty smooth, and the last thing I wanted to do was ruin them with a fight. But, you know me. "I'm actually from Konohagakure, but I left there a while ago; way too boring, and tha Hokage is a spineless prick. Figured I'd go out sight seein', y'know?"

Maybe she didn't know, but oh well. I didn't have a headband on me, so she might've guessed I was missing. Which I was, so I wouldn't have been able to lie to her if she suggested it.

My aviators were snatched from my face, folded and hooked on one of the many loops at my waist. "So, ya gotta be somethin' fierce to be out here all by ya lonesome. I hear Mizu is pretty notorious for bandits and tha like to snatch up a sexy lil' thang like yaself."

[Miku]

No headband, eh? Akira really was a free-spirit, showing no allegiance to one nation or person. There was something about his persona that was truly frightening, but I could not figure out exactly just what that was yet. I could tell just by talking to him, he held an air of utter confidence in himself. Not necessarily arrogance, but just that he was so sure of his standing in the world. He must be very experienced…

Even though I did not necessarily want to, I started to laugh the moment he said, “sexy lil’ thang.” I have not heard that phrase from someone in a very, very long time. It was nice to know that Akira seemed to have a sense of humor; otherwise our entire meeting would be pretty boring. ”Heh, I mean, I suppose someone could try to rob me but…it’d be unfortunate for them.”

I winked my left eye at Akira, hinting that I was a very well trained shinobi in Mist. Of course, there would always be people who could subdue me despite my best efforts, but most common thugs would have gotten completely knocked-out by me. I could not even recall the last time I had to fend off some weird creep that tried to rob me…I guess my headband for my most part scared them off.

”So you’re from Konoha? What a far journey for you to come all of the way over here! I hope I’m not disappointing you…” I was too much of a playful tease to even be bothered by his personal expectations of “sight seeing,” but it was always fun to meet new people regardless. I was thoroughly enjoying myself just sitting here on this cliff, staring at the ripples in the water beneath me.

[Nujabes]

I winked back. "Aye, I believe ya. Ya look like a killer, seriously. If there's one thing that I've learned, it's that ya don't fuck with the quite ones." The tone in my voice was pretty cheerful, so it should've been obvious that I was jokin'. "So, I'm pretty glad that I got on ya good side."

My next motion might've frightened her, but I wasn't sure that it would. In one swift roll, I fell onto my ass and sprawled out, layin' in the scarce bit of grass that the cliff offered while I looked to the sky. Both arms folded and tucked behind my head, formin' a makeshift pillow of forearms; the music that had been playin' in my headphones died down now, leavin' only the ripplin' of the water and sigh of the breeze to comfort me. That, and this conversation I was havin' with Miku.

"Nah, far from disappointin' me." It was honest. While it wasn't the usual fast-lane lifestyle I was use to, just sittin' here and talkin' was a nice change of pace. "And I've been further - I actually just swung by again from Iwagakure. Not sure where I'll go next, honesty. So much ta do, so little time ta do it; what do you think?"

I shot her a glance. "Any suggestions?"

[Miku]

I hated to admit it, but I was actually a bit impressed by him. He seemed like a real down to earth guy that did not have any stress to deal with. That is the life that I wanted to live. I did not really care for any one thing in particular; I sort of just lived life and did whatever I needed to do or wanted to do for the most part. Luckily for him, he seemed to be in a position where he could just leave his village without any repercussions.

Although I was a Chuunin, and I too did have more freedom than most ninja in my village, I would never just leave without informing my superiors. I guess that was the difference between Akira and I. He was at the top, and I was striving to get there. I still needed to train more, do more missions, and just be a more productive ninja, but not today. I loved this little break-time that I was taking. I kept observing this man, watching his spastically flop onto the floor—it seemed as though he got real comfortable.

Whoa. “You just came from the Earth country? I’d be so tired from all of that traveling.” It was a shame that he probably thought I was completely lazy, but it was the truth. Tsuchi no Kuni was literally on the opposite side of the world from Mist, so of course naturally I’d be quite tired from the long voyage. He asked me where he should go next, but I was not really sure where else he could go. I mean, he probably ventured off to so many different countries that he had seen them all.

”Hrm, maybe Kaminari? I guess the mountain scenery would be cool…but I’m not entirely sure where else you could go. Everywhere is just oh-so boring.” I gave out a soft chuckle, laughing at the fact that I found the whole shinobi world pretty boring. It was probably because I did not go out much, or do anything of real importance since becoming a Chuunin. My life sort of was put on hold I guess.

[Nujabes]

Wow, this bitch really is sheltered. I think that's the saddest thing I've been opened up to since I ditched Konohagakure. I never realized before how trapped we were, as people and as ninja, when we aimlessly followed the banner of our country. I was a free spirit, but solely because I had the spine and balls to take my freedom. I wasn't about to sit there and let those bastards dictate my entire life to me - I'd rather be dead and six feet in tha fuckin' ground before I let some bullshit like that happen.

But, maybe I'd be able to help this lil' miss out?

"Alright, well here is a better question," I started. "Where would you like to go?"

[Miku]

I hated being put on the spot. I could not help but smile at the question Akira asked me. Where would I like to go? No one ever offered to just take me wherever I wanted to go, so I was in an unusual situation. I never pondered on the different locations I could have ventured off to, but then I thought of one place that I have never really been. ”I’m not too sure, I mean—I guess anywhere that’s not here.”

It was really difficult to just pick a location right at the moment, but I am sure that once we started traveling we would find a place to go to, right? ”Eh, we could figure it out on the way there?” I eyed Akira, wondering if he was really going to escort me to wherever we wanted to go. I was not sure what his goal was, or even his true motives for traveling all around the world, but I suppose I was going to find out.

/exit

[Nujabes]

Another thing I had realized since the beginning of my journey was that most people felt the same way, especially the younger shinobi. All they needed was a demonstration, or a little push of encouragement, to get started on their own pat. All I'd done was ask Miku where she wanted to go, and boom, just like that she was up and ready to bolt around the country and neighboring continent. I can't say I blamed her, though; Mizu no Kuni was a lil' too depressing.

"Sounds good ta me, babe." Really, my only motive was to get more people to join the bandwagon. Was it fun? Sure. But was it lonely? Hell yeah. I was jut lookin' for a few more people to run around with, and if one of them was as fine as Miku's lil' ass and wanted to be my old lady, than that was just a plus.

[ Exit ]