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The words of the strange man reached Satsui's ears and seemed to bring a physical paralysis with them. A murky river hid many disasters and as his words flowed it was clear that they dripped a venom unspoken. His thoughts turned to defense but no action was taken by his corporeal being for the mind understood what the eyes could not decipher. This man, better yet this able killer, had taken some displeasure in Satsui's arrival and he was pondering what to do about it. There was no doubt to be had, no hope sustained, the Genin would lose and lose dramatically if the circumstances became violent. The swordsman in his presence now was what he'd often heard referred to as a 'man-slayer' and from his armour and equipment it was evident that he wasn't new to his profession. Terror gripped the young boy and his thoughts reeled, unable to process the true reality of the situation until he felt the familiar tingling sensation at the base of his neck. The sensation would sprout and flourish until all of Satsui's body seemed to be aflame but to all others this would be unknown. Time stood still and the wavering blades of grass, stirred by the breeze, froze in place as the world was sent plunging out of sight and Satsui stood before the beast. Jidaishisou was the only name humankind was allowed to call him as the others were too complex to utter; born in a time before time.

"Bemoan your weakness and abandon your fright of death's spectre. You will not die before your appointed time and you cannot change the time of calling, so purpose can there be in the trembling of your bones? If you happen to find yourself in the presence of strength remember the oath you swore to yourself and call upon your soul to bolster itself with courage, in order to turn aside all affliction. What will you say? What will you do?"

The effigy of the beastly giant was covered in the gritty feeling of nightmare but it also contained a sort of beautiful gravity deep within. Satsui heard its words booming throughout his consciousness, threatening to splatter his eardrums, as if the whole of heaven and earth was a amplifier of his message. But the hellfire burned too brightly for one to imagine that they were speaking to an angel and the Genin knelt down to avoid the piercing eyes of the apparition. But, even in this state he came to understand the words being directed at him for what they were. An admonition to carry on with his quest and draw closer to his goal; a destination from which no traveler could turn away from once their feet first carried them nigh. This man before Satsui, the vision receding, was a strong man and that was exactly what the Kumo native had been searching for. His journey forward would be littered with men capable of terrible things and, for a taste of their power, what would he not do?

"ALLOW ME TO SERVE!", Satsui cried out at the top of his voice, "If I have truly been of some disservice and you wish that I make repentance I ask that you teach me the way of your sword and I promise to return your kindness by keeping more troublesome individuals away. I will serve as your honor guard until my penance is over! Only teach me your strength that I may be of some use to your cause!"

There was a question; how could a man know without doubt what place he held in the rankings under heaven? Was there a way to know completely, assuredly and definitively whether one was among the strong or the weak? Some measured there position by those who had gone before them but this was flawed for no man had been born whose strength only increased forever. At some point age or injury made weaklings of all those in the created order and mankind was certainly no exception. It was a fool who only aspired to be as strong as his predescor for whatever strength he obtained would only be outdone by his heir. Some men believed that power was only seen in the amount of individuals you had at your beck and call yet even the least potent man is capable of becoming a father several times over. True power had nothing to do with how many servants or vassals one had and, when the end of days appeared, strength of arms meant nothing to the slipping sands of entropy. Perhaps, true might could be attributed to the man capable of not only acknowledging his destiny and understanding it but changing and even reversing that willed by the fates.

All his life, Satsui had sought power and might alone. More than any other characteristic he could imagine it was strength that defined the worth of a man. His clan had made their name great in the days of yore by establishing and protecting an empire with only their wits and their brawn, but Satsui was unimpressed with his family's storied history for several reasons. First, how difficult could it be to build an empire when several hundred, unified warriors fought for the same cause? There was no great accomplishment in winning the day through overwhelming numbers. Satsui longed for the day when he was, by himself, able to send kingdoms and villages scampering into oblivion if only they could avoid his cold steel and the ever-forthcoming terror of his presence. He founded his hopes and dream on the possibility that he would, one day, hold sway over a hundred or a thousand men and not by anything as weak and pathetic as official decrees or petty threats. Satsui envisioned the day when his will, skill, and need to kill could grant him the power of life and death regardless of the number or techniques of his opposition.

But his goal might as well have been the surface of the sun with him buried at the earth's core. He was a fledgling in his chosen career field and could not even be named among the Chuunin of his village. To be a god among men; to exist on a level reserved for those who'd made death and destiny quake at the mention of their name- he would have an almost insurmountable journey ahead of him. Which is why he found himself prowling the lands to the south of one of Kaminari no Kuni's greater mountain chains. He'd chosen the dusk in the hopes of encountering villians and neerdowells that lurked in the lands with the intent to molest and rob those who passed by. Like trolls, or monsters from childrens' nightmares, these depraved men set upon travelers and merchants in the night seeking to fill their coffers with ill gotten gain. Satsui sought to quench his blade's thirst with the blood of such men and thusly he propelled himself forward with unyielding abandon to find what conflict he could.

In the distance he observed a single silouhette almost concealed within the veil of the failing light. A blue outer shell was only barely visible from Satsui stood but his feet were about the business of bringing the two young men into closer proximity. As his view of the man became clearer, Satsui could easily see that this man was no mere marauder simply from the weapon and armour that sat nearby and more notably from the frame which spoke of battles untold. This man wasn't Satsui's original target but he had just become his primary one. The Genin's search for power was understandably going to have to be guided and this man seemed like a perfect candidate to offer some brand of instruction. Before Satsui got too close, he'd only barely entered vocal range, he called out to the man kneeling under the steady gaze of the heavens.

"You are neither trader not bandit; what compels you to sit by the mountain roads so late in the day?"

A muffled cry swept through the crowd as the first combatant made his way out onto the sandy battlefield. The young Genin, decked out in his regal blues, carried himself with the appropriate air as he made mental notes of the surroundings. His opponent was being given the final check and being outfitted with his weapons and equipment. A less experienced fighter might have been occupied with thoughts of his origins or how he came to be a prisoner but Satsui's mind was focused on the events about to unfold before the multitudes. If he had any thoughts other than the execution of his duties it would be thoughts of gratitude for this opportunity to hone his skills. Given, he was going up against a man who stood little chance of besting him in open combat but Satsui was determined to beat the man at his own game.

"No need to delay any longer." he shouted, "Let's do the damn thing."

The crowd fell silent as the bandit made his appearance in the ancient coliseum. Leather greaves on his arms and legs and a solid, black tunic completed his apparel. His bare feet allowed the sand to sift freely between his open toes as he stepped into the light, the iron gates clanging shut behind him. The curvature of his blade could be likened unto a scimitar but the size was closer to a claymore and the tightly wrapped hilt could have easily accommodated four of Satsui's hand lengths one atop the other. His shield was a three inch plate of wood, circular in design, and covered on one side by a thin sheet of metal. The sneer he wore communicated the fact that he knew his freedom was only barred by a lad who held no significant experience in the way of the sword. Satsui found his confidence both amusing and sickening at the same time.

Both fighters made their way to the center of the field; waves of titillating excitement washed over the crowd and long a unified clap was echoing though out the masses. Satsui looked up into the man's eyes and tried to gauge his fighting spirit by the amount of bloodlust that was returned. The older man peered down with his best intimidating glare and was almost greeted with a laugh. How his opponent had ever managed to make it so long in the life of a marauder was a mystery that Satsui's blade would soon unravel. He turned his head to the side, making no attempt to keep his opponent in view, and expectorated into the sand in a blatant show of disrespect. The shuffle of feet, the desperately maddened cry, and the changing of the shadows upon the ground telegraphed an overhand, over-arcing stroke. Satsui pivoted, using as little motion as possible to place himself on the outer edge of the sword's range before drawing his own blade and, in one deft motion, easily deflected the huge weapon away.

"Tell me that wasn't your best."

Satsui frowned at the mention of the radio for he'd chosen to receive a tracker from the Kumo storehouse upon his promotion to Genin. At the time, he believed it was better to be able to see an approaching enemy yourself rather than be able to tell someone else where you thought they might be. But there were a lot of things he was being forced to reconsider; one such thing was how to conduct oneself on a mission with more than one person. He never had to worry about getting separated from his partner before because he hadn't ever teamed up with another person. It was just something about this woman that kept his interest and practically demanded he see her again, but he was getting distracted by her body even in the pale moonlight. He was highly in favor of setting a rendezvous point since he had an excellent sense of direction so when Hirihi proposed that he nodded in agreement.

"Next order of business- we need to decide what we're hunting, in what order, and then select a person to be on point to bring them down when we find them." This was more of what he would've done if he'd been alone on the mountain since Satsui was a very methodical individual. He made plans and usually stuck to them down to the letter but he wasn't sure if his partner was the same way so this was more to gauge he response. "I suggest we start with the most dangerous and work our way backwards so that we don't tire ourselves out on the least lethal prey."

As he spoke, he set his mind to scanning the area surrounding them and it would appear that he was checking the perimeter for any wild animals when in truth he was desperately avoiding looking at Hirihi. The fact that he was alone with her on the mountain was causing him some issues related to gender interaction. He wasn't the type to give in and satisfy his basest human instincts, especially if they were unwelcome, but it was hard to judge whether or not he was coming close to being inappropriate. He didn't hang around other people often and he usually only sparred with strong opponent, women not normally being in that group, so he had no frame of reference for how he was acting right now. He trusted that Hirihi was also watching the tree line since she was probably on alert to make sure nothing else approached her as closely as Satsui had when she first arrived near the mountain pass.