False Conviction? [o]

[enzan]

Traversing the sands was becoming more of an annoyance to me but I took it all in stride. I loved just going anywhere to try to get stronger in my pursuit to gain justice for my family. I wasn’t going to forgive them for the murder but to stoop to their level would be idiotic. I wanted to defeat them in battle then turn them in to the Raikage for their punishment and nothing would interfere in that process. I was tense and I knew ragnarok could feel it so I tried to calm myself so she wouldn’t be so worried.

And as far as I knew she was the only person left within my family and I would protect her no matter what. I continued to trudge forward in and attempt to find anyone around the lands of Kaze No Kuni. I didn’t really want to enter the village I only wanted some clues so I can go back to Kumogakure to plan out my next set of moves. This self-destructive behavior was weird for me since I was never the type of person to want revenge. Yet, when you see your parents charred remains things can change slightly.

I turned to my little ragna and tried to calm her down a little bit. ”Hey, what’s with all the tension? We’ll get through this adventure no problem! Ha Ha!” At that moment I forgot who I was really trying to fool with those words; so far I had only continued to allow me and ragnarok into this dark spiral known as the kaze no kuni desert lands. If we didn’t find more food or water we would end up dead and this would all be my fault which I would not allow at all! I needed to bring that bastard or bitch to justice no matter what and nothing will stop me in my pursuit of them.

[/justify][/font]

[Messatsu!]

A sense of nostalgia rushed into Masuyo's minds as his feet seemingly glided across the sandy loam of Kaze no Kuni. He couldn't have helped but remember the endless amount of hours he spent learning to cooperate with his summoning companions. It was within that same desert that he came to meet his most trusted allies and even encountered the fabled Kouketsu Uchiha. Walking, both hands retreaded to his lower back, one hand wrapped around the others wrist. His eyes looked through the twin sockets of his ANBU mask while he descended down a massive dune. With the declivity, his steps naturally quickened, which, as a result, only brought him to the foot of the dune faster than expected. From there, for what seemed miles looked to be nothing more than a flat platform of sand with a lone silhouette off in the distance. His left hand raised up to his forehead to lightly obscure the suns remarkably bright rays which enhanced his coupled with the narrowing of his eyes.

"Who could that possibly be, wandering around this desert by themselves."

Truthfully, Masuyo couldn't talk himself considering he too ventured out into the deserts maze like sand dunes, however, he had means of transportation if need be. Besides, during his training and fighting against Ao and Dayo, he learned the lay of land relatively well. Nonetheless, his primary concern focused on the mobile yonder as he raised his hand and waved it back and forth once, conveying the message that he meant no harm.

[enzan]

I wondered why I didn’t come to this freaking place at night time. That delightful cold would seriously make up for this horrible and blistering heat. I mean the heat, sand storms, and mini-tornados were not only horrible but also started to take their toll on our bodies.

And to make matters even worse we were starting to show signs of dehydration thanks to the hot sun. I had begun to think there wasn’t a single thing in the world that could happen in this moment to make things worse.

And I guess fate has a horrible sense of humor as something came into my line of vision. It was hard to make out in this sort of climate, with the state I was in it could be an illusion. I knew there was a 50- 50 chance that this “thing” waving in front of my vision was either real or a mirage.

And at this moment I began to deny the possibility of there being a mirage because of my stupid ability to go straightforward with my dumb ideas and gain tunnel vision. I began to run away from the mirage at full speed.

[EXIT]

[/justify][/font]

[Messatsu!]

Perhaps Masuyo's early observation about the desert being empty was disproved as two, back to back presences made themselves known. After moving to the foot of one of many sand dunes, another man seemed to have positioned himself upon the apex of another dune and yelled at whomever heard him. The Sennin looked over to his right, noticing the yelling man, but turned back towards the lone yonder as he yelled and ran to approach Masuyo. Walking forward, Masuyo walked towards him, and as they drew closer and closer, the examination of his physical appearance became clearer. Hey was quite young, however, in terms of health he hadn't looked so good. In fact, it appeared as though he was suffering from dehydration, evident by how dry and cracked his lips.

Masuyo noticed immediately that he was in need of help, so, deciding to skip the introduction, he reached into his stark white robes and retrieved a bottle of water, a necessary item in such an area. Unfortunately, as he reached to take out his bottle of water, well, the boy turned tail and ran off in the opposite direction and sunk back into the golden horizon. He chuckled and smile but the friendly expression was shielded by the ANBU mask across his face.

"Well, safe to say that was pretty weird."

In the same instance he wanted to lightly scold him for not being prepared for the weather conditions. Nevertheless, as the figure faded from plain view, he looked back up towards the dune where the mand stood at its peak. Just like that, he was gone (since sharkk deleted his post), almost as if he was never there to begin with. An eyebrow raised momentarily, obviously finding what just happened to be relatively odd, weird, and surreal, but hey, he knew life was like that at times. Having had his fill of odd occurences, he turned about face and scaled back up the same dune he descended and continued back home.

[KEITH]

Sunagakure was a treacherous wrench; it made those who were ill-prepared for the land or its weather suffers, due to the geographic landscape and the surrounding weather conditions of it. Though, for some it really wasn't that bad, even if they hadn't experienced a place just like it, or at least it was like that for one particular young male. He had journeyed through the country of Kaze no Kuni, his eyes had examined everything, taking it all in, and he recorded the scenery to save it within his memories. He had worn a black and white attire (the exact one in my attire), but, he hadn't carried any item that would give away his identity of being a shinobi, or at least being from a village, or at least was from one.

From a distance, he could have seen three people far away, but two of them had disappeared as he would come in closer, nearing in the flank of one who was left out here, in this isolated desert. A gentle breeze had swept across the country, ruffling the long brown hair of the young male; his blueish-grey eyes had stared into the back of the one who stayed head. He had moved subtly through the sands, keeping his presence concealed, hearing his comment about what happened being weird. The one hidden behind the mask must've been scary to the two, he was wearing a mask after all, and you really can't trust people out in the world.

But, if his presence wasn't sensed or felt already in anyway, he would surely make himself known now, but speaking out to the masked person, surely he wasn't that bad of a guy perhaps.

("Perhaps your mask frightened them - you can't expect them to not be weary of someone with a mask in this kind of world.")

He had said in a calm and gentle tone, speaking from ten meters behind the masked person. He had his fist curled up into fists, though they weren’t held in a violent way, but more of a way in which it was compliments his pose. Both fists were rested on either side of his waist, as he would sigh, before inhaling deeply. He had just finally stopped walking from after his long journey within the desert, and finally he would give himself a break, and able to make some human to human interaction.

The desert can make you lonely, and it can make you hallucinate and see mirages, knowing that you didn't enter with someone and finally see someone who you think might be real can only make you see even lonelier when realization kicks in. But, hopefully, the one before him wasn't a mirage or anything like that.

[Messatsu!]

The Sennin managed to make it halfway up the sand dune before he suddenly stopped and reacted to another unfamiliar voice for the third time. Turning back around, his feet were spread shoulder length apart with his left extended out and down than the other due to the declivity of the dune. With only about 10 meters of medial space in-between the two, Masuyo immediately glanced over his body and everything it had to offer. He spoke with a genteel tone, one that fitted a man of nobility, however, Masuyo refused to be quick to judge. Besides, what noble make approached another with his fist closed and clenched, filled with agitation and tension. Masuyo looked to the sky and back towards the mysterious man, shaking his head as lightly chuckled.

"A mask is merely an item, a piece of clothing, no different than the clothing on your back. If people are scared, troubled, or weary about pieces of clothing in this kind of world, its a sad world through my eyes. "

Masuyo said, speaking with a cordial, but mockingly playful tone. To have thought that the worlds shinobi or even people for that matter was reduced to being weary, scared, or fearful of men with mask, the concept in itself was absurd. Closing his eyes, his left hand reached up to his mask, adjusting it to fit snugly across his face.

"So what are your thoughts on it, does my mask make you uncomfortable?"

[KEITH]

He would carefully watch the one before him make his way around to face the young male, forcing the eyes of the Senju to land upon the mask. It was natural for him to become curious of why he had on the mask and what purpose did it serve - but perhaps those were personal questions, and it would be better if he didn't ask. One the masked-man began talking - he had known it was a male by his voice - he would learn some of the masked-man's ideals and how he viewed things. Every person within the world had lived by their own personal convictions, but it isn't too common that people around these times would go about speaking them, in fear of what others might think.

This meant that he could be a bold character, but that was yet to be proven, though, the Senju didn't care for it to be proven. He would just listen carefully to him talk, with his fists still rested gently upon his waist, with no killing intent being emitted from the being of the Senju. He would then nod toward him, with a smile upon his face, agreeing with what was being said, but he had to say a few more things towards it.

["I agree with you masked-man, but, most people don't see it as you. A mask can be comparable to clothing, but its usage is typically different, that's all I am saying. And, no, I don't feel uncomfortable at all. I would think you used that mask to protect your skin from this harsh sun. Do you have a spare?"]

He continued to speak in his calm tone, he tried to show the masked-man that he didn't possess such absurd ideals, but he can easily see things from a different prospective. Like the way that scary and/or common people would view things. With the way the man had spoken, it could be said that he wasn't bothered by the times that the world was going through. He had either been born naturally this way, or there was a huge event in his life that would have changed him to act a particular way.

If he would continue to speak, he would probably learn more about him and his ideals, since the Senju was interested in those kinds of things, and allowed him to respect an individual. But, he decided to leave things on a humorous tone, seeing how the masked-man would react to it.

[Messatsu!]

Behind the feral mask, Masuyo looked on with hidden interest as he listened to the man and contemplated his words. What he said was undoubtedly true, a mask did indeed register as a mere piece of clothing, however, it in and of itself can be used for an entirely different purpose. Additionally, he inquired if Masuyo actually carried a spare mask with him, believing that he wore it to shield his face from the blistering sun. Granted, the mask did just that, however, there were other underlying reasons why he wore that mask, reason that he had not been ready to express to a stranger.

"Unfortunately, no, I don't have a spare mask. Honestly, dont take this the wrong way, but its unusual to find a man or even a woman foolish enough to walk through these dangerous weather conditions without being prepared so I never thought to carry anything extra."

Speaking, the Sennin remained standing along the side of the dune as he felt the annoyingly hot rays of sunlight scratched away at the back of his neck. Reflexively, his right hand reached up and behind his neck and rubbed it to momentarily easy the pain.

[KEITH]

As he waited for the reply on the masked-man, his eyes would advert up to the sky above him, watching as vultures and hawks had flew through the sky, searching for dead carcasses within the desert. Unfortunately for them, there might not have been any food for them lying around anywhere, or at least, not from the way he had come. Which would be surprising, due the intensity of the desert's heat, one would probably think that there would have been many who would have fallen in a place like that. The sun would try to overtake his view of the sky, as it would seem to shine even brighter than it had already been, but he would move his eye sight from it, in fear of the sun damaging his eyes.

The masked-man continued on to speak about how he was prepared for it, the desert and its weather, whereas the young Senju wasn't, which made him feel a bit sour about the response he had received. Perhaps he could have been dressed well than he was, but he wasn't planning on coming to Kaze no Kuni, he just happened to appear here. He had known that Sunagakure would have to be somewhere close by, and the village would surely have shade and other things to protect one from the harsh sunlight and desert. He wondered if the masked-man had known where the village could have been, since he was all dressed properly, surely he would know about such a thing, right?

Besides, it couldn't have heard to ask.

["Well, I suppose so. I'm not from around here, I just happened to stumble upon this glorious land. But now, I am just in look of some shade and a place to rest. I am guessing that Sunagakure may be nearby; do you know where it is? I think it'd be the ideal place for me to go."]

He would ask the masked-man if he had known where the village was, but if he was a shinobi of the village, he probably wouldn't allow him to go there so easily. Especially not knowing who exactly he was, but surely the young Senju had meant to harm, he just wanted to rest.

[Messatsu!]

Rubbing his neck until the pain eventually subsided, Masuyo's hand returned back to his side. The Sennin's words weren't meant to be rude or spiteful, contrary to what others have had thought at first glance, he was simply curious about the concept of being unprepared within the middle of a desert. In truth, had the Sennin not received the ANBU mask from Etsuko Soratsu, he too would have walked through the desert like an unprepared passerby. He quickly picked up that the mans eyes momentarily looked up sky above, quite possibly watched what Masuyo heard as chips and cries from hawks and vultures. Masuyo himself paid them no mind and instead kept his eyesight, focus, and attention on the unnamed man as he soon spoke.

Through Masuyo's eyes, he came off as intentionally trying "butter him up" by claiming Kaze no Kuni to be a glorious piece of land when in fact -and in all fairness- had been quite the opposite. Thereafter, he motioned towards desiring a place of shade and shelter before guessing that Sunagakure was close by. Granted, he was correct in his assumption, however, asking him where it was raised his suspicions. From the immediate looks of things he hadn't been from Sunagakure or even the country itself, additionally, Masuyo knew nothing of this man, not even a name, so trusting him enough not to cause trouble within the village had not even been an option. Despite knowing that the crime and misconduct exist in every corner of the world, Masuyo decided -for now- to cleanse Sunagakure and protect it from any possible harm.

Initially he decided to protect Sunagakure while in agreement with Etsuko soratsu, however, after having found and met a distant member of his Kekkai family, he became all the more adamant in his resolve.

"What leads you to believe that I have knowledge of the village location, and even if I did, what makes you think that I'd allow you, a man who doesn't even have the decency to introduce himself, allow into the village."

[KEITH]

The young Senju would lock eyes with the masked-man as he had looked toward him as he spoke. He had taken a moment to absorb what the masked-man was saying, before he would give out his own response toward what he had said. The Senju had introduced himself, though was it intentional or unintentional? He wouldn't show any signs of that it might have been intentional; he could only continue to play it off, despite not having any reasons for keeping his name a secret from the masked-man.

He could have said that the masked-man didn't introduce himself either, but it was always a common gesture that the one engaging the other would introduce themselves first. It could be seen as the Senju didn't have any manners, and he needed to cover up his probably mistake as quickly as he possibly could.

("Ah, the heat must've made me forget my manners. I do a apologize about that, masked-man. My name is Senju Kotarama, but, you can just call me Kota. I feel rude referring to you as masked-man, so do you have a name yourself? And, I only presumed that you had known of the villages location because of your mask, I thought that you were an ANBU of Sunagakure. But, the statement you made makes me think otherwise, since you said so much.")

Silence was golden, and when one would speak enough, even if they wouldn't give up the exact information you would look for, they would give up another kind of information. Information that must would be unaware of what they would give away. If the one before him was a true ANBU of Sunagakure, once the Senju would have asked for the information - implying that he wasn't from the village or country with his question, the ANBU wouldn't have spoken and went straight to actions. ANBU aren't paid to talk after all, just do a job, and besides, why would a member of Sunagakure's ANBU just be standing alone in the middle of the desert?

Even if it was his homeland, that doesn't mean he couldn't have been captured or who knows what. It had seemed that he wasn't from here either...

[Messatsu!]

The heat? Of all things that he could have pinned his ineptness on, he chose the heat. The mans choice of words were nothing more than leaves falling from a tree tomfoolery; they made no sense, and as far as Masuyo had been concerned, they insulted his intelligence as well. Kaze no Kuni's heat was -without a doubt- hot and maybe even unbearable, but not to the point where one began to forget the basics for initiating a conversation. The idea behind his words didn't sit well the him, however, he apologized in a last second attempt to cover up the tracks of his mistake. Figuring he'd let it slide, Masuyo listened in as he continued to speak and properly introduced himself as he should have. Senju Kotarama - it was a name that the Sennin knew nothing of, not even a sliver.

Just like the Sennin expected, Kotarama eased and played with his words in a way where he innocently inquired about the the Sennin's in turn. Everyone had a hypocritical moment during some point in their life right, well, it turned out Masuyo recently had his. Even from the beginning, he never even intended on revealing a name, well, maybe a fake but definitely not his actual birth name. Nevertheless, having actually worn the mask for several days since he refused to walk around in public with his bare face, he graced the man with a name and a name only, nothing more.

"Jizu, my name is Jizu, its a pleasure meeting you Kotarama. Also it still eludes me how you believe this mask would be from Sunagakure's own forces, it bears no sign of loyalty. With that said, I could be an assassin who already managed to claim the live of its leader, or maybe even a spy from a neighboring country. The possibilities are endless, but I'm sure you get my point."

At that, Masuyo decided to have some fun just for the hell of it, and although he expected a certain reaction, he wished to see just how the man would have reacted.

[KEITH]

The Senju possessed strong eyes of his own, though they weren't anything like those of doujutsu, but they were strong in their own way. His eyes would pierce into the masked-man's eyes, looking at him as if he was staring deep within this soul, though his facial expression remained calm and somewhat playful. The masked-man would give up his name to him, and it was nothing more than "Jizu." It had seemed he didn't want to completely reveal himself to Kotarama, he must have been a man of secret, and that was surely fine with the Senju.

He didn't really care who he was, and his words were in the same serious tone as before, boring the young Senju. It seemed that he wouldn't tell the Senju where the village, even if he did know where it was, and now it had all came together before the Senju's eyes. Hiding his identity with a mask, only giving his first name, not wanting to weaver in his resolve of not helping the Senju out, he definitely had something planned for here in the desert. But, alas, the Senju would let it go and dispatch upon his journey through the desert.

As he would leave the masked-man, he raised his arm and waved his hand.

["Oh, well. Since you are of no help to me at the moment, I guess I should go off and find help elsewhere, right?"]

He would say as he walked into the distance, until he would fade away in the desert.

exit.

[Messatsu!]

Although the Sennin's words were meant to only tease and play with the man's mind, he seemed to have received a different message. Judging from his response, he seemed truly displeased that he was unable to receive any assistance in finding the entrance to Sunagakure. Masuyo felt not even a sliver of guilt about the outcome of the conversation given that how the man received and processed his words were the man's own fault. Nevertheless, as he turned about face, the Sennin couldn't have helped but visualized the mans life end by the hands; after all, in a world of shinobi, turning ones back was just a suicidal attempt to ends ones own life. Fortunately, Masuyo's days misguided anger and mindless violence were over, and where an average ninja would have made an attempt for his life, the young sage merely allowed the man to walk until he faded into the horizon.

"I suppose that went just the way it should have."

He chuckled softly, turned around, and continued to ascend the dune that acted to be Masuyo's own personal landmark to pinpoint Sunagakure's location. And with that, he headed home.

[EXIT]

[adero]

13 Yoshi
55 Gene
40 Circa