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“You read. I’m sure you’ve come across them, somewhere… ‘The Church of the Latter-Day.. Wha-”

"Church of the Rising Mist." she pauses. "..The Church of the Rising Mist. I'd heard of it, but had always doubted its legitimacy." whilst travelling, she tended to hear whispers, strangers between strangers, friends between friends, in the depths of bars to out in broad daylight. Words travelled, and she had been careful to pick up on them. Rumor had it that dark times had crept upon Kirigakure, and the name of that organization had been something that had stuck in her mind. She didn't know much beyond the fact that there was trouble in the area - which is why she'd avoided it as of late, so chances were the boy knew more than she about its current situation. Remembering to dig in to this topic at a later note, she instead listened to what he had to say. He spoke years beyond his true age, and whilst she could respect that and relate in some ways, there was something slightly.. sad about it all.

So, he was a native of Kirigakure? She wouldn't have thought so given his heritage, but clans had travelled far and wide across the globe, war and strife being few amongst the many reasons why. But, she wasn't interested in his life story - more the knowledge that he had. He spoke almost as if he had some revenge to call upon - what was he, nine? Who could he possibly want to go out and seek vengeance on at that age? Recalling her own memories, when she was nearing ten she was too busy reading books about birds and trees to care about much else. Surely enough her family felt the probe of war between the large shinobi villages, but for the much part her childhood was average. Had this.. church destroyed his childhood in Kirigakure? Whilst not wanting to speculate things, the way that he spoke about it was very much negative. Perhaps faith wasn't all that much of a good thing after all. We killed them, he said? He was eleven! What kind of twisted world was this where children were forced to engage in warfare?

"I was curious." she spoke, past tense. If he wanted this book so much, perhaps she could trade it to him for an exchange of information? It was a riskless game. There was easily another copy of this in the shinobi world somewhere, as she'd heard a rumor of three being printed in total. And even if there wasn't, what this book discussed was touched upon by several others, it just so happened that this one was the most detailed. Regardless, she didn't seem to hold the same passion for it as this boy did, it seemed almost.. pivotal to him, to take this book. "..I'm sure you know more about the current state of Kirigakure than I. If you part with this information.." a pause, as she glanced at the hard-back held snugly beneath her arm. "..the book is yours." she wasn't asking him to divulge the secrets of the village to her, nor the location of the place. She just wanted to know what had happened that had gotten so many people talking, not only in Mizu no Kuni, but everywhere. Their conversation had taken a serious turn, and she felt somewhat guilty speaking to a child in such a way, but it was more than clear that he, too, wouldn't refer to himself by that label. She looked down at the boy, the silence in the library very telling of the nature of their current conversation. Would he comply with her request and explain all that had happened? It was something that she was going to find out one way or another, but it was simply all too convenient of an opportunity for her to miss out on.


"I heard a great shadow was cast upon Mizu no Kuni."

"..I fear it's spreading."

For someone like Issouyia who fed on bleakness, it was becoming all to real even for her. Perhaps it was the events in Kirigakure that had travelled across and brought its misery, but things had gotten colder recently. Be it the people, the atmosphere, or the very possible consideration that her own solitary nature had brought her to the brink of madness, but things had changed, and not for the better. The winds were colder now, and the sun duller.

Her blatant attack on his suspected title has obviously struck some kind of chord with him. Instantly, he went back to covering the entire thing up to convince her otherwise. It was somewhat amusing, and so for his own sake she decided to go with it for the time being. An actor? Suuuure. "..If you were really famous, surely you wouldn't have to tell people, as they already would have some idea about who you are? Myself, I.." she paused, a break in her words. Looking over him, she seemed almost to be trying to pick out things, disecting him with her mind. Was she going in for the vocal kill? Would this be the death of his confidence and self esteem? He'd already taken many blows, the crimson stain that had inked his face having been testimony to that. He had also already experienced how quick witted she could be, and what would come next would surely be the l- "..I don't watch a lot of movies. I wouldn't know." ..Phew! it seemed that he was let off the hook on that note. But it didn't mean that she believed him, she just decided to give him some more breathing space. He was getting worked up about it, and it was slightly embarassing for her to watch.

It was nearly expected for her to not be that in touch with modern-day media. TV, Radio, Cinema - she had limited knowledge, but when it came to more practical things, she could be considered a genius, or at the very least, someone with a very strong capability to remember facts and figures. Not only this, but she had a mind to recall upon them at a moments' notice. She'd never really been interested in things that of weren't any use at all - going to the cinema was expensive, and you learned nothing! And don't get started on the food, the prices were scandalous!

"I guess you're right. I've heard that the Tsuchikage was taller, and a little bit more stereotypically handsome. Rugged, almost." it was all a lie, but a well constructed one. She hadn't heard anything other than the fact that there was a Tsuchikage in power. Coming from the perspective of someone who travelled the world, you tended to hear a lot of stories. But him? He seemed to have this mystery that shrouded him - which interested her - but also this bumbling naivety which was just.. dull. People with no intellect didn't really spark her imagination, nor her mind. She wanted to believe that he was the Tsuchikage, as she was sure he offered much more than what he was currently showing. Perhaps his validity as an actor was somewhat true - she didn't quite know what to think any more. Though, as much as she hated not knowing things, it hadn't exactly gotten to the point of her pulling her hair out in frustration yet. For now, it dangled softly from her crown, taunted by the soft breeze that ran through the vall--

- Cut -- CUT!

Scrap this - everything that had just happened.
This was going nowhere, for either of them.




"..Perhaps we need to start this again."

..What?

"..Shōda, Issouyia."

It was a groundbreaking moment. Stars collided in the sky above, the heavens opened up and the world as they knew it had been changed forever.

Were they now.. acquaintances?

Of course, even if the boy was a genius, then he'd surely see no familiarity with her name. No international notoriety, no status, no rumors - she was well and truly a ghost in this world. Floating from country to country on her own whim and doing as she pleased without any barriers. And now, still stood where she had been, a total of ten meters away from him, he'd soon come to notice that her palm was outstretched, almost as if she expeted something - a kiss on the hand? A handshake? it was something along those lines. It was, more than anything, another test to see if he'd give up his ten meter issue. Surely by now she'd shown her neutality. If he was the kage and she'd been some bloodthirsty killer, then she'd have already launched her attack. Luckily for him, she was neither, and the only thing that she hungered for was knowledge, that of which she was quite sure he had in abundance.

Just what would he say?

“I don’t usually see strangers in these parts. I take walks to clear my mind, y’know…”

'Cool.' Small talk wasn't exactly something that she enjoyed doing unless absolutely necessary. Sighing softly, her discontent was echoed with it, and she kept walking forwards. If he took walks to clear his mind then surely he'd want to bump in to as few people as possible? Why was he instigating conversation with her? People were much too complicated for Issouyia - so needy. She'd only had this brief interaction with the raven-haired man and she already felt as if she knew too much about his life story. "...." Disregarding all that had happened moments before, she had every intent to contiune on her way and leave the rocky land of Tsuchi no Kuni.

With her eyes softly focused on the strange as she hoped to pass by, her strides took her a few meters forward. It wasn't as if she was scared, no, but there were too many disturbed people in these lands, and she knew better than to judge a book by its cover. With sleek, well-groomed hair and statuesque height, had it not been for the blemish on his face then she guessed that he probably was many women's ideal man. Issouyia had never been interested in anyone, but she came to this conclusion from recalling the drooling faces of her female aquaintances back home during their youth. But - the world itself was deceptive and cruel, and for all she knew, he could be a complete psychopath. So, keeping her wits about her, she continued - but only up until the stranger's motions seemed to change, his wave turning in to a very clear 'stop'.

'..Fuck's sake, What now?'

She watched on with furrowed brows. He was a crazy, after all. Why of all people was it she, who had to cross his path today? Why couldn't he bother someone else? But then, despite all of her annoyance, as she continued to watch him, something interesting happened. He had mimiced her to quite some extent in appearance - bar from the fact that she was considerably paler, they shared the same eye and hair color. But in one quick, almost surreal shift, she'd see his once dark eyes change to a burning crimson. Uchiha. It had to be. Either that, or someone with a very interesting trick in order to make themselves seem as if they were from a lineage they had no relation to at all. Suddenly, her annoyance seemed to retreat, in place of interest. An Uchiha, in Tsuchi no Kuni? From what she'd read in books, they had originally derived from Hi no Kuni, but she guessed that just like some other clans, some had managed to spread their roots further. He was a shinobi, that game had already been given away. What else did he have to hide?

With her inquisitive nature flared, from her stationary position, she watch as he maximized the distance between the both of them. In all true honesty, she had no intent to even be picking fights - it wasn't really her style. Had he brought forth his eyes as some kind of warning? It wasn't really working. Some may have ran in fear of what they could do, and despite Issouyia very much aware of the capabilities that the sharingan bore, she wasn't exactly fazed.

"Are you scared of me?"

Her inquiry was wrought with an honest tone of voice, but should he have any sense of humor, he'd have detected the slight amount of sarcasm. Truth be told, she had no clue what he was capable of, but neither was he to her. They were both just as dangerous to each other at this point. However, all of her motions didn't really signal anything hostile, and so she stepped forward a single meter, testing the waters, per se. Her arms raised slowly with palms facing out towards the stranger, revealing ... nothing. It was a sign of peace, if anything, to reassure his apparent paranoia.



"I won't bite..

..If you promise not to."

..A pact?

It was all a game for her. Having learned of his heritage, she was much more open to interacting with him. Issouyia hadn't seen it before - the Sharingan. She'd seen illustrations in books, but not the real thing with her own eyes. She'd never even knowingly met an Uchiha before, actually. Where her gloomy appearance was concerned, in her past she'd been all too often compared to the clan - even made the butt of cruel childhood jokes, but having had quite a normal upbringing and an ordinary family, her heritage was very much average. Seeing the man before her, she could sort of understand where they were coming from. A few minutes silence passed between the both of them, before she began to address him again.

"..You said you had to clear your mind.."

.....

'...Not this one..'

Despite how many times she'd visited this library, it didn't mean that she could find books in the blink of an eye. With so many with similarly colored covers and some even without the name of the document, needless to say it took a little while to actually locate the book that she was searching for. Our of all of the hidden shinobi villages in the world, she had always heard tales of Kirigakure and its infamy. However, all that she had heard in the past was spoken word from others, in bars, on the streets - as of late she'd been hearing a few more whispers about the village, and so had decided to educate herself on its past. The libary of her mind had infite storage space, and this book would only serve to add another to its shelves. Drifting to her left, slowly making her way down the corridor, her eyes again were unmoving as she focused on the shelves and its contents. It was a good thing that she wasn't impatient - a good book sometimes took hours to find in this literary jungle.

But then!!! - A shove!!

Reacting to the sudden contact, her body and eyes spun towards its cause, staring it - '....Oh.' it was that same, white-haired child and his feline companion that she'd seen earlier in the foyer of the library. What was he doing here? He was undoubtedly too young to be interested in the ancient texts that belonged in this section - perhaps he was bored? Was his mother somewhere here researching, allowing him to roam free in the meantime? It seemed like the only logical answer, really. For what kind of boy would be interested in ancient scripts? He couldn't have been older than.. 10. His hair silver, his eyes, however, bore striking resemblance to that of the Hyūga clan. Those milky, empty eyes couldn't be mistaken for anything else.This one, however, upon closer inspection, seemed to walk with purpose. She'd never really felt too much of a connection to people below her age. Some girls doted over them, to her, they often served as an inconvenience. A baby crying, a child having a tantrum - all things to ruin her train of thought and bring her back to this often dreary reality. Perhaps she was incorrect, and he was, in fact, looking for a book? Dismissing him, her black eyes then resumed their position on the shelves. Moments passed, and it wasn't long until she located it. '..456.8591!' a wide smirk grew on her face, and slender arm reached out to grab its spine.

"I was there in an instant, half-jumping, half-reaching, my hand shot for the 8591 label and the book it covered. Nothing could stop me."

With her elbow slightly bent, she twisted her arm slightly in order to yank the book off the shelving, it being jammed in slightly too tighly. However - unknowing to her, the young Hyuga seemed to be on the offense, his eyes wild with yearning for the same book that she too hoped to read! Should he have continued with his grand leap, the boy, with all of his youthful exuberance, would have been effectively elbowed in the head.

"....!"

Whether or not this very minor accidental injury would land or not, with her hand firmly on the book's spine as if she was frozen, she looked over at him, her expression unimpressed. "..Excuse me?" she spoke, taking a more mature stand. These words weren't spoken with any kind of spiteful malice, but instead, seemed more like a genuine question. What exactly was he trying to do? Taking the book off the shelf - after quickly double checking its credentials - she then held it close beneath her right arm. Some girls of her age doted over youngesters, how cute they were. However, to her, they served as an annoyance more than anything. The shriek of a baby, the tantrum of a child - cute wasn't exactly the word that she would describe. Her gaze then looking down at the Hyuga once more and his small companion, she waited for her answer, eyes unmoving, whilst her arm held protectively over the book and its silvery-blue cover.