Oh, how his youthful days played in his mind as he stared over the edge of Hitogakure no Sato, Libertalis was a beautiful city and if he went after what he recollected then nothing in the past would compare to this, his young emotions had yet formed well enough to establish a true connection to this place, but the scent and music did create anchors in his mind. The boy sniffed the air as he lept down the wall, walking down the long walk path towards Libertalis he passed the guards, and due to his special access (one which only a handful knew of, frankly, even Yume had no idea why he got special treatment.)
He thought it was because of his shadow, but lately his "Twin" had been behaving, especially around crowds, so it couldn't be that... Could it have been the eyes? No, the truth was deeper than that, his heritage had been kept under tight nit, and he had been moved around from country to country via adoptions and beneficiaries, having him thrown into different schools and homes, the last pit stop had been Crescent Coalition and the Bashanti Garden.
Here he got to truly learn the arts of Ninjutsu. He vaguely remembers the Yamanaka training he did as a four-year-old and Nara around five, he mostly remembers his grandparents whom he misses dearly and wishes he was near, this random beneficiary had ripped him out of his roots and planted him wherever they went. He had been warned that the world wasn't safe, that they needed to always stay one step ahead of some unknown enemies but from his perspective the only one devastating his life was the beneficiary, the person who continuously made their own selfish choices that affected his life, to the point where Yume had trouble keeping friends, yet funnily enough he didn't seem to have a problem making them. He had issues letting people in, for what was the point if they were going to end up going their separate ways? Why tell this friendly person heartfelt stories if they will never see each other again? They would have to carry a memory that would inevitably end up weighing them down.
Ideally, Yume would want to punish this person, but first, he would like to know what was going on, why was he kept under the loop and why was he continuously being shipped around? Those were the questions he wanted to ask, but first, find out what was making that delicious smell! Yume wandered by the nose, bumping into people and apologizing as he continued until he reached a bakery, the sweet-savory scent of fresh baked goods made the dreamer's stomach curl.
"How much for a chocolate cookie?"
"20 Ryo." The burly man scratched his rear before sniffing his fingers, causing Yume to question if he should purchase the cookie or not.
"I have.... " He reached for his pouch and could only produce 11 Ryo, which was far below 20 the man asked for. "Can I perhaps buy half?" Yume looked away shyly.
The shopkeeper was about to decline the boy before his eyes met with a guard who sternly looked at him and then at the boy before they both landed on the cookie. "For you lad, it's free." Yume was stunned, he slowly dropped his arm and put the ryo back in his pouch. What a wonderful luck we are having today, aren't we? Yume looked back with delight, he didn't question why but instead just grabbed the goodie and bowed."Thank you very much! I will enjoy this as best I can!" With that Yume ran off but he didn't forget to properly show respect to the man."Oh! And I will recommend this place to my friends!"
Yume stopped by the top of a square building with a rounded rooftop, it overlooked a bazaar that was still full of action, outside the city, the Savannah covered for miles, apparently there used to be a giant eagle that lived around these parts that kept an eye out on the area, Yume hadn't seen it but dreamed of the day he could soar on an eagle, unbeknownst to him, he was dreaming of footsteps already taken by those who came before. He chomped down on the bakery and savored the taste, giddy with energy, "Woohoo!! So tasty!" The boy was overfilled with joy and reached out for the skies, Yume was living the dream, yet he had no idea for he had yet to learn to become a dreamer of the day.
Yume stopped and spotted the "Bug-Man" that reminded him of home, see, in Konohagakure, there was this clan of which he had forgotten the name, this clan supposedly controlled bugs much like the man before him, Kemuri was making his way through the bazaar, interestingly throughout the year, he had noticed that he always left his bugs behind whenever he went around a large crowd. Perhaps his bugs eat people... Ew... Yume stuck out his tongue in disgust, he scratched his little nose and giggled before pushing his pelvis forward, he landed on the ground below and scurried his way toward Kemuri. He had an idea, he was going to play a prank on the "Bug-Man" Yume planted the half-eaten cookie in his pouch as he continued to scurry away. Maybe they'll enjoy the sugar instead, perhaps he...*Giggles* dips his hand in the bakery. He almost couldn't contain himself, once he was out of eyesight and earshot he would let out a giggle that almost took him out.
The dreamer stopped after a hot minute to inspect the architecture that somehow awed him and made him feel poor and out of place at the same time, the boy touched the cold marble as he hid from the heating sun, he was amazed that humans had figured out a way to have their cake and seemingly eat it too. He wondered why they used to have so many buildings made out of trees and concrete in Konoha but figured that different cultures had different attitudes and access to different materials, which probably led them to have independent opinions on what they found beautiful, such as buildings, clothing, etc.
He wondered what he was truly learning from moving around so much, was it that there was no place on earth, no matter how solid, built out of marble or not, could change? That everything change? Was it that he was a child of the world and everywhere was his home? But why didn't he feel at home? He didn't feel safe, no matter how many legionnaires marched the streets, the citizens of Libertalis might have felt secure but not Yume.
"Stay a while and listen." He stopped to listen to a tune being played by a man strumming a phonograph music box, the thing was half his size with a large brass speaker that played the tune. He must've been one of the happiest man he had ever seen.
"Alright, go ahead." Yume crossed his arms and began to listen to the song, his shadow danced behind the Phonograph Man, enjoying the tune and even adding a charade to the music.
"There once was a young man who traveled the world, searching for a job, somewhere to settle on earth. He rode on a bird, he sang, you might have heard. With an army, he rose, his companion they chose, while their friendship grew close. " Yume was beginning to follow the story, he connected that he was singing about the so-called "creators" of this country. "Well life was never easy, for it all depends on whom you are pleasing. War, be the season, actions happen for iniquitous reasons, blame follows them through their mission, until that final battlefield, losing their vision, time has made a weighed final decision, where deals become dishonorable superstitions." Yume was getting lost but so far he enjoyed the tune, the words could've fit a bit better but he couldn't complain. "So stay a while and listen, for your fortune you will next time get to admission."
Yume leaned forwards and gave him the last of his ryo before turning around to leave, the old man promised that they would meet again and then thanked him for the change, Yume was just glad that he got to enjoy some music, besides, what was he going to do with the ryo? He couldn't buy more tasty treats, I should've kept that cookie for myself. Yume sighed.
He pressed down the ally and continued until he bumped into "Him", a man that seemed to be following his every move ever since he moved here, neither of them had shared words and both were wondering what made the other special, Yume wondered what was so special about this man's music and the man wondered why Chie had gone lengths to make sure that this kid was safe, she had assured him that it wasn't her child, nor his, so why go the extra length? No matter. "Out of the way kid, got matters to attend to." Chikara didn't like the feeling he got when the two of them shared eye contact for too long, and Yume didn't like to be around his presence either.
"Yeah, I am sure a DJ or two is urgently waiting for you." Yume retorted as his head tilted back, focusing on walking down the alley, his hands were in his hood pockets, Back to minding my own business. Yume stopped as Chikara spoke one final time. "You are funny kid, I see wonderful things in your future, don't lose your path and I am sure you will achieve greatness." Chikara vanished into thin air, appearing like he had just teleported to the much slower kid, those words rang deep in his heart yet he had no idea why, why would this stranger's words carried such meaning. Yume grunted and continued to walk the path back to Hitogakure no Sato, he was going back to training, graduation was coming and he wasn't going to fail now.
So far, so good, he continued into Bashanti Garden and stopped by the first free training ground, the others had been preoccupied with ninjas in the making, true ninjas and legionnaires. Yume stopped to meditate before he started his training, as the scroll he had been gifted told him, it was during these times that he could center himself and his shadow could return to him, once they connected training always became easier, for the twin didn't have to drain any extra chakra from him. He took a final deep breath before he let it all out.
He rose to a standing position and began his training, he had to grow stronger, he had to become someone so that he could finally have the strength to figure out why everyone was keeping secrets from him. He continued to stretch and press his shadow until the sun moved right above him, the clouds were parted so all the heat landed on top of his head. The small roofs helped give them shade and the white floor made it bearable to even walk barefoot, which was one of the things he enjoyed being when no one was around, he felt closer to nature when his feet touched the earth, the marble flooring would have to do in this case.
"I see that Jashin has blessed you with the ability to part with your shadow." Yume sprung to action, he recognised that voice, it was the Tsukikage, he first saluted then bowed, and his shadow followed suit but in 3D instead of being attached to his feet, and flat.
"Yes, sir! I was blessed with a "twin" if one can say so, a sentient shadow." Yume kept his head low, he had only ever seen the man's face a handful of times, only whenever he thought he could sneak in a peak while Enzaragi was busy. Him bowing came naturally because he had always seen the other soldiers look down, it wasn't that he had ever demanded it but something soldiers seemed to do.
"No need to bow, kid, carry on with your training, I see great things in your path, especially since Jashin , again seems to have blessed you." The Tsukikage laughed as he walked down the large open pathway, he seemed to be inspecting the armies training, stopping by every training ground, handing out tips, or scolding people, Yume felt lucky that he got graced by his presence, especially after everything he had heard about the man.
"I will do my best, sir!" Yume stopped bowing once the Tsukikage left his presence, he let out his breath before he fell back on his rear, he had only pretended to still have energy when in reality he was exhausted from all the training. Yume looked up at the sun, still pondering why he was going through all of this. The moving, the privilege, the training, all of it had to have a meaning and he was going to get to the bottom of this, one way or another.
No matter where I go, I keep meeting these people who everyone looks up to, yet they keep saying the same thing. What is this Greatness they speak of? Yume was just a regular kid in his eyes, a military kid who had to move camp from camp but still, one who still believed in what was good and that everyone was stronger together, he had no ambitions of "Greatness" so for now these words would ring hollow.
