Approximately one hour had passed since Gene's final equipment check & the deliverance of a thoroughbred black breed Horse of which he now held reigns to; speed was important for this assignment, speed & agility - two things that the thoroughbred had in spades. Galloping swiftly along a narrow, bug & broken branch infested, constantly winding path Gene commended the horse for its efforts. Meanwhile, his mind was focused on the objective: getting to Waterfall country in one piece. If Takeo's briefing had been any indication of what to expect, the road ahead would be filled with great peril. Fortunately, the young Shinobi was no stranger to danger but the fact that this would be his first B-ranked assignment alone & outside of the village left no room for error. Any mistakes this time around would be detrimental - Death was the least of his concerns, revealing Konoha's presence in a foreign nation even if they were allied to some degree would spell problems for the Hokage. Which was why Gene had not carried any weapons or even a headband along with him - better put, his headband was well hidden within a scroll prepped for holding various large and small items, along with all of his Shinobi tools. Additionally, his style of dress was considerably different compared to what he may have normally worn inside or near Konoha.
For the sake of night operations (a time he'd already considered would be best for moving about) Gene decided to dress in a one piece navy blue body suit which encompassed his entire being up to the bridge of his nose which had been covered by a mask of the same color. The scarf was gone, anything remotely linking him to Konoha stashed away or left behind altogether. If anyone were to ask, his name was Masashi and he'd been out looking for work in order to feed his family in the rice lands - if that story didn't sell then immediate elimination of the mission hindrance would be employed without hesitation. Considering he hadn't planned on running into too much opposition, Gene hadn't considered the possibility of running into any missing ninja out here but as he continued to gallop the thought did cross his mind briefly.
"Whatever is waiting for me, I just hope it isn't Fushinkou, Yaku..." Thought Gene grimly to himself; while he had been eager to cross paths with the infamous missing ninja, he knew that now certainly wasn't the time & more than that, his mission depended on no such interference. Scouting out the land would be difficult enough amongst people who seldom trusted outsiders, he would have to prove himself. If given any reason to think otherwise he may as well have kissed that opportunity goodbye and then committed Seppuku for failing a top secret, highly important mission. A stain on his record & honor this large would NEVER be lived down and then there was the issue with Taiga. God damn it... Taiga.
Gene recalled their last encounter with a vivid clarity, the Genma had done more than enough damage now that he was certain that in their next meeting - the two would come to blows. What could he tell Takeo? Hell, what could he tell Shou?! If there was one thing that Gene would - could NEVER forget it was how Taiga's own uncle had saved his & several other Genin's lives back during the invasion. While he hadn't been directly tied to the other Genin at the time, Gene made a promise to protect and serve all of Konoha's villager's in any way that he possibly could only to now, after only a few years time come to blows with the guy's nephew?! Gene's eyes narrowed and he took a deep breath, things certainly weren't going to get any easier any time soon.
As he headed further North toward the country side, Gene spotted a distant smaller village and decided that while he could make the stretch to Waterfall country in a few days time, it would be best to stop now and ride it out through the night where visibility was low & little attention would be paid to his passing. As of now, there had been plenty of day light left in the skies & frankly, Gene didn't like it. It made him feel vulnerable to bandit, thieves & potential lurking slavers that may have been in the area; young, alone & promising as a prospect - Gene was naturally prone to be a candidate for the bullshit. Knowing the stakes however, he took every possible precaution to avoid unnecessary conflict or drawing attention to himself. The village was closer now, he could feed his horse for the long journey & stock up on other supplies and even gain information on the other smaller villages dotting the area around Waterfall country. All in all, he felt this was his best move.
"Lets just hope the people in this village are as friendly as the one's in mine," said Gene to himself but was surprised to hear the Thoroughbred neigh as if in response. "Yeah, for both of our sake." It would likely be a while between this village and the next available time to pit stop - Gene intended on taking full advantage of this opportunity while it lasted. However, what he didn't know was that there was a "special" guest happening upon the same village at the exact same time.
[Closed-PB]A long journey
[Closed-PB]A long journey
It was the height of summer, the sun sat on a soft white cloud in the blue crisp bright blue sky. Sweat poured down the pale skin of the famed Bannin, Aizawa, Yoru. He wore his usual green haori, the material was thin and would usually keep him cool, but the sun was simply too hot and even his thin attire couldn’t fight off the heat. He pulled on the green haori trying to part the material from his sticky, sweaty, wet skin. He’d take it off, but it didn’t seem appropriate as he was heading into a small village on his way to the Whirlpool Country.
Many of the bandits had being cleared out and many shinobi of Konohagakure No Sato had shipped out and assumed that the Whirlpool Country was now ‘safe’. This was far from the truth, Yoru had being tasked to head up the recovery of the country, providing safe drinking water, help restore farmland and allow the country to be self sufficient.
“Oi, Nobu!” Yoru looked over his shoulder to see his younger brother trudging along, kicking the ground as he walked “Do try to keep up.” Yoru said with a reassuring smile “I know it’s hot, but we’ll make a pit stop in a moment.” Nobu’s eyes narrowed as Yoru, he still hadn’t forgiven his brother for forcing him to be his assistant. He wanted to be part of a genin squad, training to be stronger, not following his older brother around, doing what he saw as ‘nothing’.
“Fine.” huffed Nobu, as he jogged catch up with his ‘famous brother’. Nobu had always held a grudge against Yoru. Nobody really knew he even existed, he was forever hidden in Yoru’s shadow, often referring to him as ‘The Other Aizawa’. This of course wasn’t Yoru’s fault, he had nothing but good intentions for his brother “You know Nobu, the reason I bring you is because I’m showing you the real world, giving you experiences a Genin wouldn’t normally get.” Nobu didn’t reply, he didn’t even seem to be listening. Yoru blew air out of his lips in defeat, perhaps it was a mistake to assign Nobu under his own charge. Perhaps he’d of being better in a squad. Yoru was maybe forcing a relationship that was unlikely to form, though he was so desperate for himself and Nobu to have a friendship, a real student teacher bond like he had with Takeo.
The pair came closer and closer to the village, a rather tall slender man, who wore a traditional blue kimono stepped forward to great the pair “Ah, Mr Aizawa! Welcome.” he said with a somewhat over the top fake tone, Yoru was used to people speaking to him in this way now. They often sucked up to him and it irritated Yoru to no end, he wasn’t quite used to his Bannin position and would need to get used to this kind of behaviour. The ‘Slender Man’ paid no attention to Nobu, it was as though he wasn’t even there. Nobu was of course used to this, he’d come accustomed to it.
“We have the blueprints all ready for you sir, the stone is on it’s way from the quarry of course we’ll need to clear the pathway…. Though we won’t be able to do it, it will need to be shinobi. If that’s ok sir.” squeaked out the ‘Slender Man’, Yoru nodded in agreement “Of course, we wouldn’t expect your work force to clear the path, I will do it personally.”
Many of the bandits had being cleared out and many shinobi of Konohagakure No Sato had shipped out and assumed that the Whirlpool Country was now ‘safe’. This was far from the truth, Yoru had being tasked to head up the recovery of the country, providing safe drinking water, help restore farmland and allow the country to be self sufficient.
“Oi, Nobu!” Yoru looked over his shoulder to see his younger brother trudging along, kicking the ground as he walked “Do try to keep up.” Yoru said with a reassuring smile “I know it’s hot, but we’ll make a pit stop in a moment.” Nobu’s eyes narrowed as Yoru, he still hadn’t forgiven his brother for forcing him to be his assistant. He wanted to be part of a genin squad, training to be stronger, not following his older brother around, doing what he saw as ‘nothing’.
“Fine.” huffed Nobu, as he jogged catch up with his ‘famous brother’. Nobu had always held a grudge against Yoru. Nobody really knew he even existed, he was forever hidden in Yoru’s shadow, often referring to him as ‘The Other Aizawa’. This of course wasn’t Yoru’s fault, he had nothing but good intentions for his brother “You know Nobu, the reason I bring you is because I’m showing you the real world, giving you experiences a Genin wouldn’t normally get.” Nobu didn’t reply, he didn’t even seem to be listening. Yoru blew air out of his lips in defeat, perhaps it was a mistake to assign Nobu under his own charge. Perhaps he’d of being better in a squad. Yoru was maybe forcing a relationship that was unlikely to form, though he was so desperate for himself and Nobu to have a friendship, a real student teacher bond like he had with Takeo.
The pair came closer and closer to the village, a rather tall slender man, who wore a traditional blue kimono stepped forward to great the pair “Ah, Mr Aizawa! Welcome.” he said with a somewhat over the top fake tone, Yoru was used to people speaking to him in this way now. They often sucked up to him and it irritated Yoru to no end, he wasn’t quite used to his Bannin position and would need to get used to this kind of behaviour. The ‘Slender Man’ paid no attention to Nobu, it was as though he wasn’t even there. Nobu was of course used to this, he’d come accustomed to it.
“We have the blueprints all ready for you sir, the stone is on it’s way from the quarry of course we’ll need to clear the pathway…. Though we won’t be able to do it, it will need to be shinobi. If that’s ok sir.” squeaked out the ‘Slender Man’, Yoru nodded in agreement “Of course, we wouldn’t expect your work force to clear the path, I will do it personally.”
[Closed-PB]A long journey
Yasashī village as Gene learned it to be called, was definitely smaller than Konoha but its people were certainly friendly (as its name suggests) & aside from the two slightly overbearing guards heading its entrance the young boy had no problems getting in and around for what he needed to do. While he had been forced to dismount the Thorough Breed Gene wouldn't abandon it as the guards had intended him to do. Instead, after some negotiating he'd been allowed to walk with his horse through the village so long as he maintained hold of its reigns. Apparently, Yasashī village had been experiencing an influx of stray animals running amok due to some problem to the East, had Gene been able to catch the beginning of that conversation he might have done something about it as a token gesture on his way out but his mission was very strict on its orders. Any deviation was viable to have consequences down the line - and He could afford none.
First thing on his to-do list was to find a stable master to tend to the Thorough Breed and then locate a nice inn where he could go over his plan of action a second, third & fourth time, then retire for the day. However, as he strolled down the moderately populated dirt roads in search of a stable master Gene rounded the corner just in time to see what he believed to be someone in charge of overseeing village matters in discussion with another person who in comparison to the child standing behind him, looked like a giant. Stranger still was the lad's hair color which when compared to Gene's own silvery-white hue shouldn't have been surprising but considering where they were, certainly was. Bright vermilion with a light green Haori to match - if this wasn't an example of "Standing out in a crowd" Gene wasn't sure what was. The younger boy behind him however, looked anything but pleased which Gene took a light hearted humor to - what child wanted to be along for another's business ventures? At any rate, Gene happened to walk up when the man had been detailing plans - blueprints? No, this was none of his concern.
"Pardon me," Gene politely interjected. His voice beyond the mask held depth but retained a youthful fire that had been covered perfectly with the lid of eye gestures so as to not come off too assertive or even at all. Once the attention of the he assumed to be some kind of village official had been garnered Gene would ask nicely, "Could you direct me to the Stable master?" Gene's Auburn hues while focused on the man he'd been speaking to did not dismiss the other two from his peripheral view. Up close to the best of his abilities Gene studied the two in silence; no matter what it seemed, he simply could not leave his training behind. Despite the man's efforts not to appear menacing, it was evident that the village official wasn't comfortable in his presence. Why? Instinctively Gene's mind went toward a broad conclusion depicting the strange individual as some kind of war hero but the boy retracted the sentiment shortly thereafter.
If nothing else, he could say that the person had trained considerably in some art or another which would explain the guy's physical stature. Still, as far as Gene was concerned the man was a blimp on the radar. He was sure that there would be even stranger folk where he was going and wanted nothing more than to avoid them. A thought of Takeo bounding from an elevated platform of Earth diving carelessly to the ground surfaced in Gene's mind; No one on earth is as strange as that man, thought Gene to himself. Honestly, the Hokage was truly a man of great mystery and great power. While the role of Hokage hadn't quite fallen in line with the Silver Wolf's interests, Gene did aspire to one day become someone of great importance to his people. However, he knew that the grim reality of that was that he'd be pit directly against those S-ranked criminals - the stuff of horror tales. As he was now Gene understood that he could not handle such adversity but wondered if along this journey he could learn something useful. Maybe, just maybe, he would be able to pull Minoru from the darkness he'd imprisoned himself in then.
Seconds seemed like hours trapped away as he waited patiently for his questions to be answered. Time all but lost to the ponderings of a troubled youth; his comrades needed him, yearned for some shred of wisdom that would as many would say : "Make the problems go away." But Gene could offer no words, none so powerful as to make everything perfect. Then again, he thought, had things ever been truly perfect? Up until now there were many things kept from him and even though he'd been told some pretty substantial truths he couldn't help but catch the feeling that there was more to what Takeo had enlightened him to - much more than he understood and far more than he would be able to accept. The last look of Aina as she glared - no peered at Minoru was proof enough of that & Taiga's growing angst within the village had likely been addressed all too late. Standing in front of the three; Child, vermilion haired stranger, and the villager Gene felt insignificant. What changes could he make in his home land that would begin to fix things?
It all tumbled down back to two Rogue Shinobi; if not for the presence of Enma & Yaku that fateful day then Taiga wouldn't be in distress now, Aina wouldn't be burdened with the weight of a thousand moons & perhaps Minoru would still be his old, jolly self. Gene was seething with anger but his stellar control over his body and emotions would betray none of his plight to the outside world. This battle was his and his alone to deal with. "Ahem." He needed to break away, to direct his focus elsewhere & to truly relieve himself of this inner turmoil. Training came to mind but clearly it would have to be in secret -- or did it?
First thing on his to-do list was to find a stable master to tend to the Thorough Breed and then locate a nice inn where he could go over his plan of action a second, third & fourth time, then retire for the day. However, as he strolled down the moderately populated dirt roads in search of a stable master Gene rounded the corner just in time to see what he believed to be someone in charge of overseeing village matters in discussion with another person who in comparison to the child standing behind him, looked like a giant. Stranger still was the lad's hair color which when compared to Gene's own silvery-white hue shouldn't have been surprising but considering where they were, certainly was. Bright vermilion with a light green Haori to match - if this wasn't an example of "Standing out in a crowd" Gene wasn't sure what was. The younger boy behind him however, looked anything but pleased which Gene took a light hearted humor to - what child wanted to be along for another's business ventures? At any rate, Gene happened to walk up when the man had been detailing plans - blueprints? No, this was none of his concern.
"Pardon me," Gene politely interjected. His voice beyond the mask held depth but retained a youthful fire that had been covered perfectly with the lid of eye gestures so as to not come off too assertive or even at all. Once the attention of the he assumed to be some kind of village official had been garnered Gene would ask nicely, "Could you direct me to the Stable master?" Gene's Auburn hues while focused on the man he'd been speaking to did not dismiss the other two from his peripheral view. Up close to the best of his abilities Gene studied the two in silence; no matter what it seemed, he simply could not leave his training behind. Despite the man's efforts not to appear menacing, it was evident that the village official wasn't comfortable in his presence. Why? Instinctively Gene's mind went toward a broad conclusion depicting the strange individual as some kind of war hero but the boy retracted the sentiment shortly thereafter.
If nothing else, he could say that the person had trained considerably in some art or another which would explain the guy's physical stature. Still, as far as Gene was concerned the man was a blimp on the radar. He was sure that there would be even stranger folk where he was going and wanted nothing more than to avoid them. A thought of Takeo bounding from an elevated platform of Earth diving carelessly to the ground surfaced in Gene's mind; No one on earth is as strange as that man, thought Gene to himself. Honestly, the Hokage was truly a man of great mystery and great power. While the role of Hokage hadn't quite fallen in line with the Silver Wolf's interests, Gene did aspire to one day become someone of great importance to his people. However, he knew that the grim reality of that was that he'd be pit directly against those S-ranked criminals - the stuff of horror tales. As he was now Gene understood that he could not handle such adversity but wondered if along this journey he could learn something useful. Maybe, just maybe, he would be able to pull Minoru from the darkness he'd imprisoned himself in then.
Seconds seemed like hours trapped away as he waited patiently for his questions to be answered. Time all but lost to the ponderings of a troubled youth; his comrades needed him, yearned for some shred of wisdom that would as many would say : "Make the problems go away." But Gene could offer no words, none so powerful as to make everything perfect. Then again, he thought, had things ever been truly perfect? Up until now there were many things kept from him and even though he'd been told some pretty substantial truths he couldn't help but catch the feeling that there was more to what Takeo had enlightened him to - much more than he understood and far more than he would be able to accept. The last look of Aina as she glared - no peered at Minoru was proof enough of that & Taiga's growing angst within the village had likely been addressed all too late. Standing in front of the three; Child, vermilion haired stranger, and the villager Gene felt insignificant. What changes could he make in his home land that would begin to fix things?
It all tumbled down back to two Rogue Shinobi; if not for the presence of Enma & Yaku that fateful day then Taiga wouldn't be in distress now, Aina wouldn't be burdened with the weight of a thousand moons & perhaps Minoru would still be his old, jolly self. Gene was seething with anger but his stellar control over his body and emotions would betray none of his plight to the outside world. This battle was his and his alone to deal with. "Ahem." He needed to break away, to direct his focus elsewhere & to truly relieve himself of this inner turmoil. Training came to mind but clearly it would have to be in secret -- or did it?
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