Emotion

[Mino]

"It is the subtle pauses that remind us of life's meaning- as night appreciates the sun so we must experience loss to be truly found" - Someone smart and contemplative.

Night settled around Konoha's neck like a yolk- hot and oppressive, humid and stale. The air itself was a belch of foul energy, pregnant without the wind to stir release. The colors of the normally vibrant and boisterous town are faded in the artificial light, created to make fragile, unequipped humans feel safe in the abyss. Minoru likened the ninja world to that light. Useful only when night is darkest- deactivated at a moment's notice- an artificial sense of security against an unchanging abyss of dangerous and uncertainty. He once was a part of that world. He once was a man.

No longer.

The moon peeked out from behind a haze of cloud cover like a coward, meaning darkness and false illumination were at war most of the time. Mino saw the world in layers of gold- his Awai vision immune to the darkness that was, which made the hunt much less fun. The Night was his time- often it was the only time he could be found- tonight he stalked two men as they tried to make their way to the village under what they assumed was the safe cover of Night.

The two men had the lumbering gait gifted those not of the ninja world. Dressed in clothes alien to this particular portion of Fire Country, it was quite obvious they did not belong. It was the details- their personal grooming seemed to belie style he'd seen in other lands, trimmed facial hair and such, the folds of the clothing meant to conceal weaponry, the position of sword sheathes. These men did not consider themselves amateurs, which was more the pity. Moving into the land of ninja for these men was like a very confident pup moving into the land of wolves. Mino watched from an unassuming treetop as the two men crept ever so slowly toward their demise at the border.

Mino thought of killing the men and being done with it. A pair of Genin could make short work of them- they posed no real threat and thus were no danger. Perhaps they'd stumbled upon the village. Perhaps they were very young, and very foolish. Perhaps they carried a mission or were wishing to petition for help. A few hundred scenarios ran through his head, none of which posed him the slightest danger. Dropping to the forest floor, Minoru made a small noise to announce himself. It was a courtesy- the least he could do for these two blundering fools.