Prolouge to The Journey[Zammy/Open]

[zibishi]

Zibishi wandered around his clan's dojo area for sometime after leaving the House of Spades ,and he wanted counsel from one of the elders or his father or one of the men who was involved in training him, but his chest was still smeared with the blood of an innocent girl and he wouldn't feel right desecrating his family's lands after a murder. After all he had been exiled for a reason, due to his hair and amazing abilities at his age. His mother was dead, by her own choice, but the ridicule of her son and the disrespect for their modest household played a part in it.

He hated her for leaving him and decided he would never let his emotions cause him to find ways to cop out of difficult situations or to let them affect his decisions. Everything he did had to be calculated and his decisions needed to be made when he was calm, or in a cheerful mood when he could process, analyze, and form hypothesises on the situation. Thats what he had done in the House of Spades. Though seeing someone he cared for in Zammy hurt by the man, he had controlled his emotions and not blindly tried to be her hero in shining armor. If he had done that he would've hurt both of them.

The Young genin walked past the dojo and took a right towards the river that was frequently used by the clan for training purposes or crude things such as washing, and taking pets to drink. It was flooding season and the river had risen quite a bit, only a few inches below the walkway that Zibishi always graced when he was younger. The sky was turning from its cool black to a lazy grey as the morning mist and its counterpart, the morning dew were beginning to form in the country.Zibishi leaned on the rail and looked deep into the river activating his blessed eyes.

Seeing the river from a different perspective always gave Zibishi enlightenment. While some saw the masterful body of water as just currents Zibishi could see every individual "chakra" line in the water moving its own direction, some thicker than others, some moving faster, some moving slower. The water in this version of his vision was laying a trance on him that he would volunteer to be placed under 100 times easy. It calmed him greatly, though he was slightly disturbed that he wasn't more upset at the deed he had just commited. He had commited to a shadowy figure and murdered an innocent girl and even made Zammy cry and she seemed to have the will of 1000 kages placed together. He had altered his life so much in only a matter of minutes, so why he wouldn't be more concerned about the path he was taking? The answer evaded him as he remained a sight of pure calm and could only shrug off the thought of the now dead girl. He even began believing working with the man would be fun. He wasn't as naive as Zammy and truely believed he had dealt with Hiromasa, but he wouldn't let that be known as he didn't want to be deemed a threat. What were his intentions with the village, what were his intentions with Zibishi? Was he just Zammy's and his pawn or he did he have something more for him?

He wouldn't know this soon as he moved from the walkway to the bank of the river and began rubbing water on his chest as the blood was finally being erased from his young, pure body. His soul wasn't pure anymore though and he was plunging down into darkness, but it wasn't a trip he regretted taking as of yet.

[Zammy<3]

Crickets chirped, their song promising morning. Zamarron was walking aimlessly about, her thoughts overtaking her awareness of her surroundings.

"Then let me help you."

Kouketsu had offered her the help she needed, albeit a trap, but in the end she had seen. Her emotions were too wild, too untamed for her to be a true kunoichi. Her expression was one of digust, and her eyes were on the ground as she trekked. My emotions.... are my weakness. She had to learn to control them, keep them locked up and out of sight from enemy eyes. Yet she was so used to letting all of her emotions run freely, being volatile. Could she truly do as her master said, and let him help her...?

She looked up, not sure where she was. And then--

Zibishi.

She stood on the hillside, watching him as he washed the blood off of himself, her amber hues flashing with the golden fire of knowing. She'd known what he'd done- he'd killed an innocent little girl. She felt a sadness weigh down upon her chest, for loss of yet another innocent due to her doings. Yet moreover, she was proud of the boy, proud of what he'd done. He'd killed in cold blood, and apparantly, he hadn't thought twice about it. She could see the change in him as he soaked himself, the crimson dissipatating from his clothes.

... Would he notice her before she took her leave?

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[zibishi]

Zibishi fell the presence of another's eyes on him as finally rinsed the blood off him and in a way he felt as if he was purging his sins from his soul and his body. He let the water run down his young, innocent and eventually wiped himself clean, before the water could stain his trousers. He didn't acknowledge the person yet as he began washing his hair with the river's water. Once he finished washing up he finally turned around, partially surprised to see Zammy looking at him.

He sighed and wondered how this meeting would go. Her reaction to his deeds seemed to be confused and conflicted. She seemed to be proud of him, but yet disappointed in his decision as well, but would she redicule him or simply congratulate him. Either or, he actually didn't mind especially the latter, but he slowly made his way towards her and she looked different once more to him.

She seemed deep in thought and once again subdued. What had the man said to her after he was dismissed? At least her hand was healed as he walked up to her and stood basically face to face with her. Should he confront the situation right off or make small talk? He would go with the latter so he would be able to read her emotions.

"How did the talk with our master go?"

He purposelly used master in order to guarantee a reaction from her which would inform him of her current emotional state and overall how she felt about the entire thing. His light blue eyes looked deep into her gauging for her emotions.

[Zammy<3]

"How did the talk with our master go?"

Reality.

His words brought her back to the surface, for she'd been so deep inside her thoughts. She blinked once. Twice. Then, in her dazed state, she saw Zibishi. Actually saw him, and his eyes... they were scrutinizing her, testing her for some reason, as if desiring to read her. However Zamarron's countenance stayed composed, despite the fury welling up inside her. The boy would find it a tad bit more difficult to read her emotions from now on, for their master had instilled in Zamarron control over them. She may still be volatile, but she was also a kunoichi. Her voice was calm as well, once she spoke.

"That is none of your business, Zibishi," she said, keeping her gaze on him. "But what about you, flower girl? You just murdered an innocent little brat. How are you holding up?" Faking genuine curiousity would only get her so far; she only wanted to see if Zibishi had truly changed.

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[zibishi]

Zibishi did not get the initial answer he expected as she seemed to control herself better now. Zibishi was even more impressed with the man, but he was now the one proud of Zammy and hopefully this would lead to greater success for their partnership. His eyes calmed and stopped reading hers and returned to their normal boyish ways. He relaxed a bit at the sound of her calling him flower girl and realized she couldn't have been to upset. He sighed and was almost relieved as he didn't know what his response would be if she confronted him like he expected.

But what about you, flower girl? You just murdered an innocent little brat. How are you holding up?"

Zibishi raised an eyebrow at this question and took a moment to think, replaying the images in his mind of his hand gripping the blade from his new master and moving it towards a defenseless young girl. He didn't cringe as he saw himself pierce the girl's innocent body with the soul and effectively end her life with the eyes of various henchmen, Zammy, and his master's eyes all on him. He blinked once he was done recollecting and returned focus to Zammy.

"It was unfortunate, but a neccessary casualty. I didn't let her suffer, but I did get an adrenaline rush from the power I had and the fear in her eyes. It was a feeling that inspired me to want to cause...chaos, but it was just a one time thing and I wouldn't think twice about doing it again, it was me or her."

He offered a cheap smile and thought about the words he told her. He himself was surprised this was the way he felt, but he was only being completely honest with Zammy and hoped there wouldn't be a confrontation. They shouldn't head into Konoha on bad terms with one another.

[Zammy<3]

"Cause chaos, huh?" she inquired, although the question was rhetorical.

Yes, he was just a boy. He had thrown away his innocence, his purity... with a single swing of a blade. But the youth didn't seem to mind the crime he'd just comitted; in fact, he seemed able and ready to do it again... and by choice. A sudden realization hit her, as she thought of this: was he to become a cold blooded killer, or an assassin even, as a man? That would mean he had taken a turn for the worse. And while the musician in her was disappointed at the loss of an innocent soul, the real Zamarron's pride over the boy was overbearing. She sighed, lowered her chin, and closed her eyes.

In one swift, graceful motion her hand flew up from her side, to rest on Zibishi's shoulder. She grasped it roughly, as if instilling her pride within his body. "A one time thing? Zibishi... you've dedicated your life to our master by comitting such an act. You should be planning to do that one hundred times over. But--" She took her hand off his shoulder, to ruffle his hair before returning her hand back to her side. Revealing her eyes, she gave a weak smile. "You did good. And I'm... proud of you." Her smile faded, her eyes strong and dominant as they were kept locked on the boy's own.

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[zibishi]

Zibishi was relieved that the confrontation he expected wasn't going to take place. The boy didn't smile, but his eyes were now calm and showed signs of his relief, but he could see it in her eyes and her face that she was still conflicted about as if one part of her soul was sad that Zibishi had 'fallen' and the other wanted to hold his hand and help him down the dark path he had already choosen. He paused for a moment as his mind went blank before focusing once more.

"100 times over..well I figure I would have no choice then and won't hesistate when the time comes to show my allegiance once more."

Zibishi believed strongly in loyalty and honor and he would serve his master to his fullest capabilitiy, but there were only one thing he was more loyal to; more than his clan, his village, and his new master. That thing was Zammy, she was too young to be considered a replacement for his now deceased mother, but the perfect age with the perfect personality to be a bigger sister that would automatically assume the mother role. His light blue eyes were now gleaming when Zammy stretched her arm upwards and placed it on his shoulders. He was surprised and for a moment expected her to use her massive strength to pulverize him, but she said, instead

"You did good. And I'm... proud of you."

Zibishi was taken aback by this as she began ruffling his jet black hair. What had gotten into her and made her utter these words that were completely out of her character. He wanted to divulge into her state of mind, but now wouldn't be the time. He wanted to begin the Konoha mission quickly and it would give them plenty of the time to talk and discuss. He looked away from Zammy and then looked back at her.

"Thanks, but don't start turning into a flower girl on me. When are we going to begin the trekk to Konoha?"

The current situation made him slightly uncomfortable as he wasn't used to this side of Zammy showing, but he would lying if he said he didn't enjoy it. All the anger and hostility was sometimes played out for him.

[Zammy<3]

The vixen laughed- a sweet, cruel sound, sick with seduction. Flower girl. She remembered with some disdain at the memory of she and Zibishi's first metting, when he'd tried his best to win her over with a language most peculiar and old fashioned. That's where she'd made up the nickname on the spot, for indeed, he'd been... flowery back then. But now she could hear it in his voice that she held influence over him, now he was hers as well as their master's. Perhaps they would develop a codependent relationship... but one could only speculate.

"You're the flower girl in this relationship," she said fondly, crossing her arms. "Speaking of this relationship... well... from now on, you'll be my adopted sibling. And if you don't like it, too bad. I don't hand out personal relations to just anyone, so take the title with grattitude." Her eyes widened as a thought hit her. If Zibishi was old enough to kill, then he was old enough to indulge a little. "You're right. We should get going. So let's go, ya fucking runt. And with that, she turned on her heel, speeding off in the direction of the village gates.

[Exit].

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[zibishi]

He simply shook his head at his title as he didn't have a problem with it anymore, but once again he was surprised by her adopting him. It was ironic, but Zibishi figured once they began the journey all the affection and this new found niceness would soon be gone and replaced with her usual demeanor which he had no problem with. He smiled and simply followed her not looking back at his clan dojo.

[Exit]

[Axcel]

Zibishi: 38

Zammy: 34