It's Been Great and All...

[primadonna]

Crimson locks tied in a ponytail behind her back, the young kunoichi sprinted through the desert. It had not been very long since the girl had decided to make her own way in the world, to cast off the yolk of the oppressive sand nation, and she knew that the current leadership in Sunagakure no Sato would not brook her insubordination. Were she caught, she was likely to be killed... and she did not relish the thought of death so young.

Her instincts honed by several years of field work as well as time spent in the Academy, Hasu knew the geography of each rolling dune of sand, her body carrying her past one after the other with each nimble step. Her presence was ephemeral as the wind itself, first in one spot and then in the next, as she continued her quest to cover a large quantity of ground.

Finally, hours had passed, and the sun was beginning to set. She felt much safer now than she had before. Hasu doubted that the others would have noticed her absence, especially with her being so anti-social lately. Nobody would be coming to check on her, and as far as anyone else was concerned, she had simply been leaving the village to gather some cactus flowers.

Taking the time to sit down, Hasu would retrieve her headband from her pocket and would stare at it. With sunset more complete than not, the kunoichi made a decision. Placing the forehead protector on the ground, Hasu would quickly dig a small hole in the still-warm sands, slipping the shining silver symbol of Sunagakure no Sato within it, and sliding the sands slowly back into their place. When she was done, even she couldn't tell where she had placed her former loyalty to rest.

Leaning back with a sigh, the young girl would close her eyes, let her body hit the sand with a soft thud, and wrap a blanket from her pack around her body. Within minutes, she was sound asleep.

Note: I am now a missing ninja.

[King]

Ashura probably wouldn't have seen her if his eyes hadn't adjusted to the darkness of the night. While his Sharingan weren't buffered for "night vision," they did offer a profound sense of clarity in situations where standard eyesight was rendered obsolete. But beyond that, the pale light of the moon offered a soft glow like that of the sun, washing over the empty desert like ocean waves exhausting themselves against the shore.

Kneeling down, he gave a light tap to the smooth hide of Fusa's neck. "She could need our help," he whispered. "Lets see if she's alright."

The slender dragon simply gave a nod of recognition before diving deep into the sky, cutting toward the earth like a dagger from heaven. Several flaps of her sinuous wings brought her to a sudden deceleration, long before the gusts the motion created could have disturbed the sleeping girl. The following flaps allowed the nimble drake to silently touch down with the sand below, and no more than a second later did the young Uchiha leap from the creature's back.

Initially, he just wanted to walk over and shake the child. It was the easiest way to wake her up. But, who knew what that could have yielded? She could have been a criminal; a skilled, heartless killer just trying to find easy prey. Naturally, Ashura didn't doubt his skills -- but fighting with a woman, no matter what reason, simply wasn't something he preferred to do.

"Hey," he called out smoothly from a safe distance (4m). "Are you alright? Are you even alive?"

Anxiously, he waited.

[primadonna]

It hadn't been too long since she had been asleep, maybe an hour or two at most, but a strange sound was what awoke her with a start. Instinct told her that she was in danger, and it was instinct that caused her eyes to fly open but the rest of her body to remain still, seemingly at rest. She moved her pupils from left to right, modifying her peripheral vision to allow her to glance in many directions without ever actually moving her body, but it took only a moment for the girl to identify a strange shape moving in the sky. It wasn't one that she had ever seen before, nor one that she could clearly recognize. Curiosity struck her, but she decided to be safe rather than sorry and allow whatever it was to come a little closer.

Of course, the sound that had awoken her would have been the dragon's wings beating against the darkness as the man riding on its back slowed the dragon's descent. Within a short amount of time, a shape fell from the dragon's back and touched down upon the sand dunes, and this one was clearly recognizable. The shape, humanoid, told the girl that she was likely spotted by a Shinobi, but due to her lack of recognition with whatever technique he was using, she doubted that he was of the Sunagakure variety. What a strange twist of fate that on the night that she decided to leave her homeland that she should, for the first time in her life, encounter a person from outside of it.

He came fairly close, and Hasu resisted the urge to immediately act, and she was glad that she did so when a voice called out through the darkness, asking about her well being. With a yawn, the girl sat up and stretched her arms out, crimson hair falling loosely about her, and her eyes locking upon the target. Hasu realized with surprise that she was near a young boy, but there was a sort of... presence... about him that made the young kunoichi incredibly wary.

Such was his presence that, as he asked his question, Hasu felt herself drawn in so completely by his voice that she didn't even take notice of where whatever creature he had been riding had vanished to. She just stared across the distance towards the boy who had found her for what felt like an eternity, but was really only moments, before responding to the question that he had put forth to her.

"I... yes, yes I am alive. And alright, I suppose. Are you?"

She didn't know what possessed her to ask that question, but in the end she hoped it was the right one to ask.

[/justify]

[King]

"Me?" Dumbfounded, Ashura blinked. He didn't think he looked ragged enough for someone to ask about his well-being (though the sand had been unkind to his jacket). However, just in case, he glanced at himself; first his arms and then his legs, followed by what portions of his stomach that he could see. "Yeah, I'm, uh, fine. Thank you for asking, though."

Being as how she didn't attack him from the gate, or physically or verbally, Ashura's demeanor became more lax. He took several steps closer (3m), still a comfortable distance in case she tried anything funky. Fusa remained where he'd left her, keeping a keen eye on both her master and his new found "friend."

"I was flying on Fusa," he paused to point over his shoulder at the slender green dragon, "When I saw someone down here. It gets cold out here, y'know? I didn't think it'd be right leaving someone out here-- who could possibly be injured --in the dead of the night." Dropping down into a crouch, Ashura tilted his head, smiling. "I'm glad that I did."

Though he couldn't shake her hand, he presumed introductions would be beneficial. "My name is Ashura Uchiha, and I'm a Jounin of the Hidden Leaf village. What's your name?"

[primadonna]

!!!!

[/i] A Jounin of an opposing village?! A sudden fear gripped the kunoichi, and she was unequivocally afraid, more so than she had ever been in her entire life. What were the odds that, on her first night escaping the village, she should run into someone who had seen and done more in the world than she had ever even dreamed about? Closing her eyes for a brief moment, Hasu quelled the fear inside of her heart and steeled herself to continue.

"My name is... Hasu. Ryouya Hasu. I am currently... unaffiliated... with a village." Hasu stuttered as she gave her name, surprising herself by giving out her real one. Damn and damn! She had to remember that now that she was out in the world, she would be hunted by Oinin and returned to the place she didn't want to exist in anymore. She did not mention that fact that she had run away from her former home just the night that the two had met, nor did she mention that she was still a Genin.

"What is a Jounin of Konohagakure doing in the desert sands of the Wind Country?"
[/blockquote][/justify]

[King]

"The same thing that a pretty girl with no village affiliation is doing?" Ashura replied with a childish, enthusiastic smirk. "Exploring, I guess? Fusa and I enjoy night-time flights; you can see the sky a lot better with the moon and the stars. Plus, she can fly really fast, so we can cover a lot of distance in a short amount of time."

Feeling a little more comfortable with her, he stepped in closer. It was somewhat difficult, being crouched, but he managed just fine. "I guess that's one of the best things about being a Jounin. The Hokage lets me go wherever I want, really. I just spent the last year-- entirely, from spring to winter --traveling to every Hidden village in the Great Nations."

Standing, he leaned down to extend a hand toward the girl. Of course he was still cautious, his eyes (sharingan activated) scrutinizing her. But, he had a creeping suspicion that he could trust her. "You don't have to sleep out here in the cold. I can take you somewhere much more comfortable, Hasu. I have some extra ryo - we could find you an Inn, and get you somewhere more stable."

[primadonna]

Who was this stranger to be so nice to her...? It was odd to find someone, out in the middle of the desert, with nighttime haven fallen and the sun haven closed its eyes, to find someone out and about, let alone one that had no ill will. However, just as the young boy could feel within his heart that he could trust Hasu, so too did the girl get that same feeling. Trust flowed through her heart as the boy extended his arm towards her, and as a smile broke across her face, ever bit as radiant as the breaking dawn, Hasu stuck out her own hand and clasped the boy's.

It was only then that some of the words that Ashura had been saying really reached the girl. He had been to every Hidden Village? He had been doing this for a year?! If that was the case, then he was truly a prodigy, a warrior destined to do great things in the world of shinobi. While a sliver of fear crept into the back of her mind, it was quickly eradicated with the sheer feeling of awe that Hasu felt for the underage Jounin.

With Ashura's help, Hasu regained her upright position and released her hold on the boy. Still smiling, she knelt to the ground and began to pick up the few things that she had. When she had packed them all into her bag, she looked towards Ashura and shrugged shyly.

"I've... I've never left Kaze no Kuni. I wonder what it's like, out there, in the world..."

[/justify]

[King]

Ashura waved her to follow. "There's a lot to see," he commented while walking back to Fusa. "No matter how many maps you glance at, the land is so much bigger than you ever imagined. It took us three weeks just to get outside of Hi no Kuni. Granted, we were walking-- but, it was certainly beautiful."

"You know, maybe you could accompany me sometime?" With a light jump, Ashura landed on Fusa's back with a light 'thud.' Leaning down, chakra securing his feet to the glistening scales, he reached to Hasu. "I'm sure Fusa wouldn't mind an additional passenger. Plus, I'm sure you weigh a lot less than Kirino does."

Once the girl was safely secured on the harness, Ashura would give the dragon's neck a light tap. "Lets head to the capital, Fusa. I'm sure there's an inn or something there that we can find for Hasu."

The dragon gave a noticeable nod before her wings unfurled, extending to their full length. With Hasu in front of him, he gripped the reins tight; one arm came around the girl's waist to keep her in place. "Hang on."

With a single flap, the trio shot off into the night sky in a blur, cutting across the sky like a shooting star of jade and white.

[primadonna]

As Ashura waved at her to follow, Hasu took pace behind the boy as he spoke, regaling her of the wonders of the world. As the Jounin began to explain about the size of the world, the young kunoichi couldn't help but feel remarkably insignificant, the tiniest speck of a person... the dimmest star amongst a galaxy the shone clear and bright.

Ashura lead her towards his... dragon?! The realization of what the creature he had been riding was struck Hasu deep in the gut. Her breath caught, her eyes became wide, and she stopped her movements to stare at the creature whose emerald scales were barely visible in the post-midnight light. Was this real? Was she still asleep? Or had she fallen prey to a masterful Genjutsu...?

Just then, Ashura landed on top of the dragon and reached his hand down. The spell was broken, and Hasu could find herself capable of moving again. Shock still reeled inside of her, but the girl knew that so long as she stayed with Ashura, she would be safe from any kind of harm. Smiling warmly at him, Hasu took the boy's hand and placed herself upon the dragon's back, securing herself inside of the harness. As Ashura's arm wrapped around her waist and he whispered his words, Hasu leaned back into the embrace and whispered her own.

"Thank you."

[/justify]

[King]

Once their initial acceleration had ceased, Fusa's speed become more constant; the flight stabilized and the need to hold on to Hasu was no longer needed. His arm around her grew slack, and placing both palms flat against Fusa's hide, Ashura leaned back to enjoy to breeze. "It's always so nice up here - you can see so much, even being so high up."

Opening his eyes, no longer feeling the need for his Sharingan, Ashura smiled. "So, Hasu of no Village Affiliation, what were you doing out there? You know that you could have died, right? It gets... really, really cold out her during the night. Wouldn't some one have missed you?"

Tilting his head, he lofted a brow. "Do you have any family at all?" The land beneath them was passing by in a pale-grey sheet of sand; countless feet covered with a single flap of the mighty drake's wings. It was certainly an impressive feat, one that even Ashura couldn't help but marvel at.

[primadonna]

"I've been on my own for quite a while now. No, I don't think that anyone would have missed me." Choosing which question to answer first, the young kunoichi looked around. Originally starting as a way to buy time to answer the boy's questions, Hasu instead became fascinated by the view. It was just as Ashura said. Even so high off the ground, the world revealed so much beauty. It was incredibly serene.

As a small moment of time passed, Hasu regained her senses and shrugged towards Ashura. "I know that it gets cold in the desert at night. That's why I was wrapped in a blanket. Besides, its not like it would have been the first night I'd spent out in the sands." She didn't add that it would have been the first time that she had come without other people, or the first time that she would have slept without the warmth of flame to keep the chill at bay.

"What about you? You're a Jounin but you don't look very old... how do your parents handle letting you go out on all of these dangerous missions?"

[/justify]

[King]

"Ha, you're a smart girl. But, I'm not sure a blanket would help on the colder nights. It never does for me, anyway." Ashura's eyes drifted off to the distant darkness on his right, counting what stars he could see before he continued on with answering the girl's questions. "As for the family, I suppose you could say that we're the same in that aspect. My mother and father left us in the care of my aunt and uncle in Konoha on the day we were born. Although, knowing what I know now, I can't say that I blame them; it was for a good reason."

"All I have are my brother and sister; we're triplets. My brother and I are both Jounin, while my sister is only a Genin. I don't think that she's really interested in being a ninja, though." Ashura chuckled at the thought. "So, coming from a family of ninja, we understand that some of the missions we undertake will be dangerous. That's just inevitable. All we can do is remember that we have someone waiting for us back home, and do our best to never give up and succeed."

Loneliness was never a good thing. Though she may not have realized it, Ashura noticed the solemn tone in her words. She couldn't have been much older than him, yet she'd been alone for-- who knows how long? "Now, you can say the same thing, because you aren't alone anymore. You have me."

Offering a smile, Ashura leaned in closer to playfully whisper. "I'll always be waiting for you, so you can never give up; never accept defeat. You'll always have someone to return to from this night on, understand? Do we have a deal?"

[primadonna]

As Hasu listened to the man describe his life, the kunoichi couldn't help but to feel a twinge of jealousy. This boy had a family; a brother and a sister, each the same age. They seem to come from talented stock, with two children becoming Jounin so young. However, it was Ashura's sister that piqued her interest. She seemed uninterested in being a shinobi? How was that? In a family with such prominence, could it be that she was just a normal girl, like Hasu, and feeling alone?

Trying not to bite her lip, the girl continued to listen to Ashura as he spoke. It was rather comforting to know that there could be a stranger who would so quickly befriend her. She hadn't experienced any sort of friendship on this scale in her home, and while, for a brief moment, her mind wondered why the boy would be so kind to a girl that he didn't even know, she dismissed that thought as though bodily kicking a person through an open door. After all, if he were likely to kill her, he would have done so already. She had been more than defenseless earlier, and he had chosen kindness instead of murder.

"You're awfully kind, Ashura-san. I... I'm not sure what I can do to repay you." As she spoke the words, the flaps of the dragon's wings would have brought the capital city of Kaze no Kuni into view. The place was large, but not quite so big as she would have thought were she on the ground. Given the birds eye, it was clear that she could easily move through the city at her own pace and still make it through in one day should she so desire. Fusa would have been able to soar over and past it in a matter of heartbeats. That would have been a sight to see.

[/justify]

[King]

"No one should need to repay kindness," Ashura corrected her with a tender smile. "If more people were kind to each other when they were in need, I imagine the world wouldn't have as many problems as it does now. It seems like people are just so busy holding grudges, and being angry -- they always miss the more beautiful things in life."

Ashura leaned in closer. "Like a night time flight with a new found friend." Over Hasu's shoulder, he could see the horizon being broken into jagged shapes as the capital came into view. They were only a minutes out, he figured, causing him to stand tall upon Fusa's back. The chakra in his feet ensured he wouldn't be slipping off.

"It's prettier at night." Anchoring a hand over both his eyes, focusing his gaze, he pieced together the details. It wasn't long before his eyes fell to the woman before his feet. "But, it seems like a lot of things are incredibly pretty at night, huh?"