Differing Ideals

[The Legend Excalibur]

The Untouchable Province. Filled with the destitute, the sick, the disabled, the poor, and the simply unlucky, the entire province could be said to be the ghetto. While those within it's borders were not exactly downtrodden by Kirigakure, they also weren't worth the attention of the village either. To put it simply, it, and it's people, were beneath all but the most minimal of acknowledgement. Which, as it happened, resulted in more than one effect. Crime was not only rampant but apart of daily life, with theft, racketeering, and other illegal vices being prominent past times in the province's many, many brothels and houses of ill repute. It also drew malicious and unsavory people, those who could indulge in their own devices without concern for consequence. It was a place many would not choose to be, but for Rai, it was nearly perfect.

He wasn't some fiend looking for a fix, nor was he out to find some unlucky victim for a 'hobby'. No, he what he was looking for, was a testing ground. As a Genin, he'd discovered an aptitude for Genjutsu, the theories, the mechanics all understood easily for him. He'd grasped the basics relatively quickly, but beyond that, his practice in the field stagnated. Theory only works so far when it comes to jutsu, and unlike Taijutsu, or Ninjutsu, Genjutsu didn't have many options for testing beyond field application, where, if it failed, it could mean failure or even death. It required a living person, to tell if it was effective, and unfortunately, not many were willing to go to that extent. A problem that brought him here, to the Untouchables.

There were really no consequences or prohibitions on what went on in the district. Theft, slavery, even killing, happened quite often, if he would believe the stories. So a bit of practicing his jutsu on some beggars or some other forgettable wouldn't be a problem.

Early in the morning, he'd make his way through the Merchant Province to reach the wall of the Untouchable Province. His clothing was a distinct contrast from what he usually wore; a simple gray and black tunic with brown worn shorts, and a black mask that covered the lower half of his face, including his nose. He had forgone his forehead protector, but had the necessary paperwork to verify his identity. He'd often heard about shinobi who frequented the district, and the rumors that followed them. He didn't intend to become another addition to the gossip, or to bring trouble to the Hirohito, thus the timing of his excursion and his attire.

Once he entered the province, he'd wander the streets for a bit, getting a general lay of his surroundings. Wha he could smell through his mask made him thankful partly for it being there. After about an hour or two, he settled in what looked to be a general market spot, a place that got a lot of foot traffic, and would give him plenty of marks to choose from. From a spot on a bench, he watched the bustle of people.

[Golnax]

"Are you leaving so soon, Aimi dear?" asked his mother as the white haired jounin opened up the front door to his parents' shanty house. "Your father will probably be up in an hour or two. Won't you wait and spend some time with him?"

"Sorry, but I can't mom," Aimi said, half turning in the door way to look back at his mother who still sat at the table. "I've got things to do today unfortunately. Tell dad I said hi when he wakes up for me, ok? I'll try to come and visit again soon, hopefully when he's around."

"Oh, alright. Well do try and stay safe for us, will you? And try and visit us more often! We've got a lot of time to make up for," she said with a smile, once again feeling the need to remind him that for the first twenty years of his life he wasn't even aware that his parents were alive. The simple, motherly reminders always filled him with an awkward, intangible feeling that was as fleeting as he was willing to give it attention to. "Yeah... I'll see you around," he said, stepping out of the door and into the early morning mist, closing it behind him.

He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, purely for the feeling of having oxygen in his lungs. Things were quiet yet there in the Untouchable Province, most people still being asleep or just waking up at this time of day. He took a moment to simply look around, gazing down the shabby dirt and mud streets and the shoddily built houses that lined them. He was looking for anyone skulking around, just in case really. Recently his mother had told him that in the past couple of years since he'd started to come around to visit regularly, any sorts of harassment or theft had completely stopped for her and his father. He knew logically that it was all due to the fact that he was a shinobi coming to this same house often and so the more... unsavory elements who made up this province simply assumed that the house was under his protection and thus not worth stealing from. Similar to the awkward feeling he got when he realized that he'd only met his parents recently, there was a strange worm of an emotion in his gut that wriggled every time he thought about what sorts of things happened to his parents, particularly his mother, before he'd started to come around. To say he now felt a bit protective was an understatement.

Not seeing anyone lurking in the shadows, Aimi turned and started to walk down the street, heading towards the wall that would lead him to the merchant province and back into the village proper. He did have things to do today, after all, but what harm was there in a morning stroll?