[Open] F I R E F L I E S

[Kenpwnchi]

F I R E F L I E S

"To ten million fireflies." Masayoshi hummed to himself one of his favorite tunes his mother would sing to him as a baby. The reason the song was so vivid in his memory at this point of time is because of the lingering thoughts plaguing his mind about his parents. Eyeballing the residence of the Hokage, Masayoshi wondered if it was truly his destiny become one in the same, and lead his people to victory. A sense of justice always quelled within Masayoshi; it was where his head and heart was at. As a kid, Masayoshi spent day in and day out studying the history of the Konohagakure no Sato; searching for and seeking for answers to all of the questions troubling him. Being the age he is now, a ripe eighteen, Masayoshi had attained the rank of his desire, and was left with nothing more than wonder and excite for what would present itself next. Masayoshi would begin to envision his past, and a nostalgia encompassing that time period would begin to erode his thoughts away. Masayoshi wasn't too fond of reminiscence, but was eager to explore the depths of his mind. Going black, a pervading darkness would envelop Masayoshi. Dwelling within the darkness, Masayoshi started to experience another feeling: fear.

"I-I-I can't see." Stuttering, Masayoshi's eyes would widen, and sweat would trickle down from his forehead upon going through a hot flash. Masayoshi would slowly lose consciousness, yet he was unaware given that everything around him already appeared to be dark. Before Masayoshi's eyes could completely shut, being lowered partially unbeknownst to him, they would move back and forth; following the trail of a firefly. Standing out as unusual, Masayoshi immediately felt alert once he seen the firefly. For some strange reason, this firefly managed to leave a trail of fire wherever it flew. Lost within a place where anything was possible, Masayoshi was vulnerable to his own dark desires. Masayoshi followed the trail of the firefly; lightly tapping the trail of fire, and causing it to transform into more fireflies. No longer perplexed, Masayoshi felt comfortably at ease. Masayoshi knew, deep down inside, he could never back down. For Masayoshi, the fireflies reminded him that there were an infinite amount of possibilities at his finger tips. Masayoshi realized that he didn't have to know what direction he was going on. All that mattered to Masayoshi, longing to uncover the mystery of his parent's death, was discovering the truth, and, eventually, setting himself free.

Closing his eyes, once Masayoshi opened his eyes, everything would return to normal. Quiet, Masayoshi was at a loss for words. There would nothing Masayoshi could really say given the the type of situation he was presented with. Still aghast from the terror felt prior to daydreaming, Masayoshi fell to his knees. Masayoshi would ball hands into fists before punching the ground several times; somewhat bruising his hands in the process. Excruciating pain would be the breaking point here; giving Masayoshi the ultimatum of continuing to hurt himself or stopping and coming to his senses. Masayoshi would come to the conclusion that halting is his best best, so that is what he did. Now, sitting with his arms and legs crossed, Masayoshi would stare off into the void again. This time, nothing around Masayoshi changed, but his mind would still drift elsewhere. Thankfully, Masayoshi was, probably, the safest he could be; surrounded by the Konohagakure no Sato, and with no need to actually worry about death. Regardless of what outsiders thought about the Konohagakure no Sato, it was the place Masayoshi considered home, and the only place he wanted to be. Mumbling, Masayoshi was barely discernible. "Leaf... Leaf... Leaf..."

[Drak]

For Akito Hyuuga, it had been a long day of tedious, administrative work. He had recently returned from a routine scouting mission, and as such had to brief a great many people about what he had observed. That is to say, a lot of briefings with very little substance. By the time he returned to the estate, ate something, and got to his quarters, the last thing that he wanted to do was look at more paper. That meant the book he was reading was out, and his usual go partner was on a mission. Throwing a light hanten jacket on over his yukata, Akito decided to take a short walk to clear his head.

He wandered the village for some time, lost in thought, when the sound of flesh striking earth jolted him from his reverie. Akito looked around: he was near the Hokage's residence. His walk had taken him farther than he had thought. The sound stopped, but he crept along in the direction that it was coming from. Peering around a building, Akito spied a young man sitting on the ground staring vacantly off into the distance.

"Hmph, some lunatic beggar, probably," Akito mumbled under his breath as he began to turn away. Then, something caught his eye. If the man sitting in the street was a beggar, he was a remarkably well-dressed one. Wait, I recognize him Akito thought, he is another jonin. What is he doing? Has he been ensnared by some genjutsu?

Something was clearly wrong. Akito flashed through some hand seals, closed his eyes, and felt his awareness spread through the surrounding area. He sensed nothing out of the ordinary. Akito opened his eyes and let the jutsu fade. He observed the man for another moment. I suppose I should investigate.

Akito stepped carefully out into the street. While he did his best to look relaxed, he could feel himself instinctually sink partially into a combat stance as he approached the young man.

"Sir, is everything alright?"

[Kenpwnchi]

"Yeah..." Still aloof, Masayoshi had almost let his guard down; almost. While it was true that Masayoshi's mind was primarily occupied by intrusive thoughts involving his parents, he kept all of his senses tuned in with his surroundings. Masayoshi wouldn't make any sudden moves; pretending to not notice that there was somebody else within the range of his vision. Masayoshi felt like he was secure, even if he did nothing in the Konohagakure no Sato, so whomever it was couldn't want to harm him; at least that's what Masayoshi thought. Masayoshi felt a bit of unease as the person approaching seemingly took a defensive stance; this would not equate to feeling offended, though, on his behalf. Turning his head, partially, while keeping the rest of his body stationary, Masayoshi's ears would perk up at the sound of Akito's voice. It seemed familiar; Masayoshi was active in his community, so it was likely that they had met at a meeting before. Hoping to instantly quell any suspicions about himself, Masayoshi would raise his arms and open the palms of his hands.

"Ahhh. You got me. To be honest, I'm not sure what I know anymore. I'm Masayoshi. And you are?"

[Drak]

"What you know anymore..." Akito repeated, trailing off. He was clearly confused by the peculiar response. Shaking his head, Akito exhaled, relaxing his body and stance slightly.

I've seen him before. He's a shinobi of Konohagakure -- a jonin if memory serves. His posture doesn't indicate a threat, nor does his tone. I can relax a little bit. Still, there's something strange about all of this. I should keep my wits about me.

"I'm Akito Hyuuga," Akito said, bowing his head slightly in greeting.

"I've seen your face before: you are a jonin of this village as well, but I am not sure we have had the," Akito paused almost imperceptibly, choosing his words carefully. "-pleasure of meeting," another infinitesimal pause, "-formally. Or whatever you would call the current circumstances."

Akito glanced around, and seeing no one else about, he took a few steps closer. When he had first stepped out into the road, Akito's expression had been hard: his brow furrowed, eyes narrowed, and jaw clenched. Now he had a much softer expression with even a shadow of a smile across his lips, though his eyes stayed focused and wary.

He extended a hand to Masayoshi. "I have to know: what is it you are doing here? A little too much to drink maybe?"

[Kenpwnchi]

Masayoshi was almost for certain Akito had several questions pondering his mind; overhearing the boy repeat what he said. At first, Masayoshi was in a daze; barely even paying attention to Akito's details. Upon further inspection, Masayoshi began to grow curious himself; wondering what Akito's first impression of him was. Squinting his eyes, Masayoshi noticed that Akito had nearly pupilless eyes; the signature trait of the Hyūga and their legendary Dōjutsu: the Byakugan. That would have to mean that Akito possessed the Byakugan. "Impressive." Masayoshi would smile as Akito greeted himself. "So, I was right. You're a Hyūga." Rising to his feet, Masayoshi would dust himself off before giving Akito the thumbs up. "That's right! The best Jōnin, at that!" Extending either of his hands forward, Masayoshi kept his smile as he offered to shake Akito's hand. Masayoshi, pure at heart, was probably one of the only people still genuine in the world of ninja. Grasping hands with Akito, Masayoshi could feel a strong sense of justice resting dormant within him. "Well, I'm too young to drink, haha. I always come here when my parents are on my mind. Someday, I want to become the Hokage, and protect the Konohagakure no Sato. I just don't..." Pausing, Masayoshi would turn his head, and look away.

[Drak]

Akito let out a small chuckle. What an odd one.

"A worthy ambition indeed!" Akito said, raising his eyebrows, when Masayoshi announced that he wanted to be Hokage.

When the young man paused, Akito turned slightly as if to leave, but stopped himself. He wasn't used to strangers being this friendly, but this was a welcome break from the machinations of the Hyuuga clan and the work of the past day. Perhaps their paths had crossed for a reason.

"You just don't what?" Akito asked, sounding genuinely curious. For a moment, he made to ask about the young man's parents, but thought better of it. "Listen, I was simply out for an evening walk when I heard commotion and saw you sitting there. Truth be told, I thought you might have been incapacitated by some genjutsu. Seeing as you are of sound mind and body, might you consider joining me on my walk?"

[Kenpwnchi]

Masayoshi was, indeed, ambitious, so what Akito stated wasn't too far from the truth; yet, he happened to, still, be questioning his purpose and the reasoning for his existence. It would be a long and perilous journey on the road to Hokage, but Masayoshi refused to be submissive to the doubt dwelling within him. For Masayoshi, the true goal of a Hokage was not just to protect the Konohagakure no Sato; it was to be a savior of the world. Masayoshi, displaying a superb amount of heroic morale, would, suddenly and without thought, feel the courage to take his next big leap towards progression. Masayoshi, previously feeling dissuaded to move forward, had shifted his primary focus towards a more positive outlook of his current situation. Masayoshi was a loner, so he didn't really know what "friends" were; it was a, distinctively, foreign concept. Nonetheless, with Akito coming into contact with him and their present communication resonating, Masayoshi was ready to make his next move. Nodding his head to Akito's request, Masayoshi loved going for walks. In fact, that's how Masayoshi got to the point he is at now. Analyzing himself, Masayoshi would, properly, fix his gear before taking steps away from the Hokage residence.

"Yeah. We can go for a walk, Akito. But... I have to ask you a question."

[Drak]

Akito watched the man adjust his gear.

If you'd like to just walk about, we can do that. Or we could find a tea shop or bar, I suppose. Of course, if you wanted a shorter walk, we could head back towards the Hyuuga compound, although I am afraid you would not be allowed in. Finally, we could walk to wherever you live, and I can return on my own.

When Masayoshi asked his question, Akito raised his eyebrows in mild surprise.

"What is it?"