Retraceable.

[Apple]

It had been quite some time since I'd been out here; in the wildnerness of Kusa no Kuni.

There were many times where I'd strayed from the safe paths for the sake of getting to certain places quicker, but never like this. I was hidden amongst the miles and miles of trees and plants that helped form the strange environmental nature of the country, but at the same time, I wasn't lost. Having lived in the country for so long, and having been left without a home for many years, too, I'd had to depend on my own abilities to guide me across not only Kusa no Kuni, but many other countries, too. I was fully aware of the dangers that the place posed, of course - that much was clear, but at the same time, it was beautiful. I'd often gazed across the woodland of Kusa no Kuni and thought of bringing Yuuchiro out of the manor grounds to allow him to view the place, but I couldn't even bear to think of placing him in even a fraction of danger. Of course, he was growing up, as everybody did, and soon, should he grasp the title of genin and pass academy, he'd be faced with dangers that he'd have to face outside my own barrier of protection. I'd shared such ideas and thoughts with Kouketsu, and he'd always said that I was becoming too.. involved in the boy's life, and to allow him some room to grow, but how did he expect me to be able to simply.. let him go? He was hardly eight, and I was prepared to wait on his every whim and request until the day I died. Perhaps there were few who dared challenge me, but beneath the gaze and request of my beloved blonde-haired boy, I was as powerless and weak as any. However; such things usually seemed to play on my mind, and I'd allowed myself some time to break free and release myself from not only the village, but from the reputation that I'd gained through my serving as leader. Not only that; but it also gave me a means to personally roam the forestry and see if anything had changed. With the news of Kataki having returned, I was more focused than ever on wishing to secure the grounds of not only my village, but the forests that surrounded it. I wouldn't see them break down my village after so many years of prosperity.

With such a cargo as precious as my son within its walls, I wouldn't allow it.
I would rather die.

[NARRATOR³]

Kusagakure never changed.

No, really, it just never seemed to. It was a gift and a curse, one would think. Whilst it's beauty was almost always year-round, it was almost too predictable and easy to maneuver around it's outskirts unseen. Hiding from sight wasn't a necessity, for shinobi - regardless of their rank or strength - were easy to incapacitate. However, it was much easier to keep to the shadows, much like shinobi were taught to. But that wasn't the reason I was out here. This place, despite all that had happened to here, was almost like a second home. That, and well, she still resided here.

----

Situated directly in the center of Kusagakure's outskirts was a man. He was perched atop of a simple rock, cladded in dark ebony clothing from head to toe. His purpose for being here was obscured, much like his countenance that remained hidden behind the hood of his cloak, but his presence was almost... human, despite his dark and ghostly appearance showing otherwise.

He did not move from that spot. Eventually he'd be found, of course, this was the path most traveled by those heading away from Kusagakure, but he did not seem to be phased by such. Instead he remained in his spot, the only sign of any life coming from him being him using what appeared to be a mere kunai to sharpen a piece of a large tree branch. Waiting. That was all that he was doing.

She would eventually be drawn here. He knew it.

[Apple]

Despite the fact that one of my purposes for roaming this land was to search for any suspicious people who could perhaps be of a threat to the village if they stepped a little bit too close to the borders of the village, it wasn't often that I did come across people in the deep undergrowth of Kusa no Kuni. But then again; I tended to find that those with explicit desires to try and sneak in did usually choose this way, but due to the deep, forested nature of the land, it was few who managed to come out alive - and even fewer who managed to come out alive, with their intents still driven. The claustrophobic forest could sometimes make a grown man come to his knees in fear. Honestly, I thought about it too, sometimes, but with routes in my head, I knew where to go of I wanted to feel sunlight on my skin once more and not the darkness cast by the tall, age-old trees and plants that grew here. Stepping over large rocks, gazing over at the oversized mushrooms that the country was famed for and dodging any hanging plants, the place was very much an assault course, designed to break away the weak from the strong - or the perhaps more diligent to those who just.. walked. You needed to have eyes everywhere. I lived in these lands, and I loved them, but that didn't mean that I placed my entire trust there. I claimed that I knew the forests better than any - and I did, but that doesn't mean that sometimes even I get disorientated by the place.

.....

Minutes turned in to hours before my very eyes, although it wasn't as if I'd be able to tell. The treetops already shielded the warmth and sunshine that the sky produced, but it had grown slightly darker in the woods by now. It wasn't anything life threatening; I wasn't to be trapped here for a night, let alone a lifetime, but it was a signal that I should leave for the safe routes and return back to the village. I was sure that Yuuchiro would be back from academy by now, and I could always come back home early and cook him some food to save Kouketsu the trouble. Stopping in place and gazing up, I could see a few birds perched on branches, peering down at both me and the forest floor below, as if searching for some prey. Being an unsuitable candidate, I was swiftly ignored, and on that note, I began to walk south, towards the nearest path. Careful steps soon brought me to this feeble clearing; a crossroads. Although there was no designated path, the ground had been worn by countless number of shinobi's feet across the years, causing a slight discoloration in the ground where they'd walk. However, travelers foreign to this country shouldn't take this in to true accordance - just last week I'd instructed my shinobi to trample and shift the earth elsewhere, creating several fake paths that would lead them to trouble. And just like that, I stepped out from the darkness, faint sunlight covering my form once more as I felt the softly heated sunlight fall upon my face. Embracing it for a moment, I soon noticed a black figure out of the corner of my eye - turning my eyes towards it, I had half the mind to assume that it was Kouketsu, having followed me, but this ... this was different.

Stepping on to the path, I turned to look at him, cautiously walking forwards. It wasn't Kouketsu, and neither could I recall such a .. shady looking figure within my village. A foreign trader? No, he had no wares to speak of in his arsenal, and neither did he bear a shinobi headband that was clear to see. And so, approaching, my hands carefully moved to resort to more physical means of talking if required, I began to speak, my eyes still gazing at his eerie, cloaked form. "..What brings you to these forests?" I spoke, my voice booming against the natural sounds of the land that we both currently shared. "..Had you worn that dark ensemble all morning to this point; then the sun would have been the death of you." I spoke, both pointing out the risks of heatstroke and various other medical problems linked to the sun and overheating. Of course, I was aware that he may have traveled out of the sunlight as many more experienced people did when moving in this country; but -- what was he doing here? It was something that hopefully I'd be able to find out, as his appearance at the moment didn't suggest that he was here on incredibly friendly terms. But then again - there was something.. odd about everything, although I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It was almost as if I was suddenly becoming enveloped in a sensation of Deja-vu. I wasn't sure.

"..You're not from around these parts, aren't you?"


I commented as my eyes narrowed on his form, falling silent.

SPOILER: Click to show

1 Infuin stack gained.

[NARRATOR³]

There were several things that separated Blanche from the many denizens of Kusagakure. It wasn't the insatiable aroma that hung to her body like an invisible veil of smoke, or even her long sandy-hair mane that seemed to cascade in every direction with the wind. No, rather it was her posture and demeanor - she stood tall, unnerved, and oozed of authority despite being several hundred miles away from any real protection. Even in the presence of an unknown she held her form without an infliction of fear; t'was why she was the Kusakage, no doubt.

"What is the health of a stranger like myself to ya'?" The man's low voice cooed from behind his hood. Her question, for the most part, was ignored as he continued - as if without a care in the world - to sharpen the piece of wood in his hand's firm grasp. Nonetheless, his lips slowly turned into a smirk, almost as if he found humor in her words. "Heat has never been a problem for me," he mentioned subtly, his active arm ceasing it's movement suddenly. "At least not here."

Even with the dark clothing and rather coy way of ignoring her questions, there was something off-putting about the man's appearance. He was clearly a foreigner being garbed in clothing that bore no allegiances to any village, but he did not seem surprised to be found; frankly, he did not even seem phased by Blanche's presence. It was almost like he had been waiting just for her.

But how would he have known she'd travel this far out of her own village? "No, you are correct," he further added. "But then again if I was you would already know that, ain't that right Kusakage?" With one simple movement the sharpened piece of wood was tossed, the aciculate end piercing the ground before her effortlessly.

"Someone of your... prestige shouldn't be out this far by yourself. Your head itself could buy someone a whole village."

[Apple]

As we currently stood, the feeling of warm sunshine on my skin was something that I'd since missed whilst traveling away from the clear defined tracks that were around the country. The one that the two of us were currently situated upon was one of the most populated, and the main track, the forest having been partitioned only slightly to allow some amount of light to fall upon the path itself. However, although the generosity of the sun didn't fall upon all of the track (as it would make it horrendously simple to find the village as a result), it was enough to warm the pale cheeks of my face, and give ample shine to the mane of blonde hair that hung behind me. "..People often seek solace from the sun by choosing to leave the paths.." I spoke, my tone trailing away as I gazed in to the forestry to the either side of us. Needless to say, it was quite hard to see past the few first trees as the rest seemed to blur to black. However, as I watched, I could only take note of the stillness that was currently around us. Despite the forest being home to many different creatures, it was only the faint chirping of birds that could be heard. I often found silence to be calming, but sometimes it could drive me insane. Sometimes, silence could often be so loud that it interfered with everything else - merely the sound of the wood being scratched and cut slowly became irritating to my ears, although for his own sake I dislocated myself away from the situation, ignoring that minor detail so I could focus on what he had to say. "..They walk and walk..." I wasn't sure what to make of it all. He was foreign, that much I was sure, but there was something that didn't quite settle right with me about him. I felt.. comfortable, but at the same time, as if that comfort was wrong - painful almost. It signaled to me, if anything that it was due time for me to return to the village.

Keeping my eyes on him, blue eyes narrowed as I studied him and the action that he was currently doing, it seemed as if he'd recognized me. Of course, I wasn't surprised. I'd ruled the village for quite some time now and I'd made various appearances in various villages and the events that tied us all together, but at the same time, just what was he doing within my country, performing such a .. strange action? I admitted, of course, that truly, my power over Kusagakure didn't exactly give me the authority to truly rule the land as it was the Daimyo of the village that had such status, but I did see this place as my home - and mine to care for. I was tired of seeing the land destroyed and attacked by foreigners, frankly. In response to his words, I gazed over at him and his shadowed face, having stepped back momentarily to avoid the incoming projectile. Or -- given that I'd been watching him, I'd realized that the shot hadn't meant to come in to contact with me - it had landed merely inches where I'd stood, although for the sake of safety, I'd decided to move only slightly. Had I not assumed his thrown object to be a threat, then what he'd had to say next curled my lips in to a malevolent smirk, one that I'd worn several times in the past. Regardless of his words and movement, I chose to begin speaking, my words a continuation from what I'd previously said, albeit its nature considerably more dark.

"..And I'd just hate to see another corpse in these beautiful forests.."

My tone was solemn, but at the same time, disturbingly playful.

I felt almost.. conflicted. About what, I wasn't sure.