Solo time training

Maku had been wondering around the village for some time.  Checking in on different places, looking around the rougher parts of town.  Maku was still working as a mercenary for Iwagakure, and though he was not on any official missions he simply sought to earn his keep.  He had left his female acquaintance in the room that he had been renting.  She was a pretty little thing.  He would like to keep her around for awhile, but he was also having a hard time with it. Youka had already asked him once why he had not simply killed her yet.  This might seem like a harsh question to some, but to Maku it was valid and quit the mental conundrum.  Maku was not a cruel individual, nor was he necessarily evil.  Well not by his own code anyway.  He was a logical being though.  This cold logic had led him to do a few harsh things in his life, like kill his mother and his uncle, well fake uncle.  None of those things had really bothered him when he thought about it.  Because they had been the logical things to do, it had led to greater trust with the Crustaceans and had increased his power.  Where as they, his family, could not assist him with anything, except trying to kill him.
 
            Walking through the roughest street he knew, he was kind of looking for trouble.  Finding bandits and thieves in town had become a hobby of his.  He wasn’t even killing them, because he knew Echo would probably not approve of such activities.  Taking a seat on a bench in the middle of the road, he let his coin purse hang out.  Call it the old bait and switch tactic, but it was a useful one.  Laying his head back, he closed his eyes.  Only for a moment, but soon that moment had turned to a dream.  He was looking all around himself.  At his feet was blood and bone, the bodies undistinguishable.  At his right a man stood, a priest saturated in blood, a wild grin across his face, threads of darkness reaching out spreading maim and misery.  To his left a dark queen,  though he could not exactly tell who she was.  Was it Tori, or perhaps another girl, it wasn’t possible to tell.  Screams filled the air, as the three stood amongst hundreds suffering they seemed to be the rulers of hell itself.  Looking back down at his feet, a boy clutched his ankle.  He looked familiar somehow, like he was related.  Upon closer inspection, the boy was him.  Kind of cliché for a dream Maku thought, but all the same here he was.
 
            The mirage of himself was crying and beginning for mercy to all the people around them.  It was almost to late though, for many had already been dismembered and slayed.  Maku bent his knees, and reached behind the mirage’s head.  Gripping the hair he pulled the little boy’s head up, hyper extending the neck.  Drawing a kunai from a back pouch, he slit the boys throat.  He stared in the boys eyes as the light left them.  The blood slowly draining out to complete the sanguine lake that they stood upon.  Releasing the boy and letting the corpse lay, he stood back up.  Taking one more look around, it seemed the sun was getting closer and closer.  No it wasn’t that it seemed like it was getting closer, it was getting closer.  The heat rolled over him, causing a sweat to be produced, his clothes where starting to singe.  The dark queen was burnt up, she lay in ashes.  Youka was nothing but threads tips on fire, like a thousand fuses slowly reaching the point of impact.  Maku looked at his own flesh to discover it was gone, a skeleton stood……… Snapping awake, he reacted just in time.  A left hand punch smashed into the would be pick pockets face, sending the boy crashing down the street out cold. 
 
            His clothes were drenched, and he even was shaking slightly.  What had that been.  A premonition, a warning, a simple dream.  It was hard to tell, Maku knew that dreams could be nothing, after all he was a genjutsu kind of guy illusions and false images are what he knew best, which is why he was always aware when he was dreaming.  Though even to him it had seen pretty obvious.  The dream had been a warning, reaching to high for the sun and you would be burned, and he would reach the sun on a pedestal of murder and mayhem.  Standing Maku approached the still unconscious pickpocket.  Picking him up, he took him to the police station, still wondering about the dream.  He hadn’t felt anything for the individuals he killed in the dream, surely if he had done it there had been a good reason for it.  No what he was most interested in was this dark queen he had foreseen.  He would have to be wary of a newcomer to the group.  Though she had done nothing in the dream, he had sensed darkness in her and instability within her.  Dropping the first thief off at the police station, Maku left and decided to head for the borders for some solo training. 
 
            Walking from the gates, he looked over the country.  What was he doing.  Going for a run, going to lift some rocks, practice jutsu he wasn’t sure.  “You know Maku, this isn’t very wise, a dream of death and now you go alone in dangerous country.”  Looking around Maku didn’t see anyone.  Had the voice come from within his own mind?  Maybe he had started going crazy, working with genjtus so much, perhaps that had that kind of long term effect.  Shaking it off, Maku headed out.  He wasn’t going to let something like going crazy stop him from achieving his goals.  Making it out into the wilderness, he drank in the solitary lifestyle he was enjoying at the moment.  He enjoyed Youka’s company the most, because they could work together with minimal talking when needed, so he had his thoughts to himself.  Tori however was not the same, she was always talking to him, and they were always in very close contact with each other.  Its not that this was a bad thing, it was just different.  Logically he knew he should kill her now and be done with it.  He would make a substantial fee for her body, or he could use it to develop the KKG chakra chains.  Decisions decisions, always a tough one these days. 
 
            Having gotten himself far enough away from the village, he set up camp so he would have a place to stay when he was done training for the day.  Standing, he felt a swift wack to the back of his head. The world spun for but a moment, and then it went black on the horizon.  Opening his eyes, with lights still popping in front of him, he noticed that many hours had passed.  The sun was making its way down, and he was chained in the back of a wagon.  He felt himself still being dizzy, as he tried to maintain focus, and regain his bearings.  Letting his head rest  on the rolling carts bottom, he closed his eyes.  He had been kidnapped, and was possibly being taken in as a slave.  He doubted he had a bounty on his head yet since he hadn’t done anything to warrant such a thing as of yet.  Well unless Saiga was really pissed about him leaving.  He could feel himself slowly nodding off again.  Saiga, who was that why would he be upset.  Everything was starting to go fuzzy again.
 
            After several more moments, and one incident of vomiting through the bars, he was able to push himself up to a sitting position and lean against one of the walls of his man made cage.  Maku sighed and put his head back in his hands, he couldn’t think straight.  Wait who was Maku, where was he.  Everything seemed so odd.  His brain was playing keep away with his memory.  Looking around he noticed there was around 6 men guarding the wagon, with two other men in the cage with him.  They were all beaten up far worse than he was.  Maybe he was tougher than they are.  Looking around he wanted to break out.  He wasn’t sure what he was going to do.  Was he strong enough to even break free?  Might as well try it out.  Pulling back his fist, he slammed it into the side wall, and to his surprise the wood began to splinter.  Performing the same action again, a hole opened up and he leaped through.  Looking around, all 6 men had surrounded him, with weapons drawn looking angry.  Looking at his hand he saw some blood.  There was something he could do with that what was it.  Muscle memory took over and he made some signs and all of a sudden a crab appeared from nowhere.  This was an odd sort of day. 
 
            The crab seemed to know what he was supposed to do.  Latching onto his head, he felt himself grow stronger.  Simply standing there he watched as man after man came at him attacking clearly trying to murder him.  Ducking and dodging, Maku weaved from the attacks.  From leaning backwards to side stepping.  Grabbing one man’s arm, he pulled causing him to stab his fellow.  Pushing his palm with full strength he pushed the man’s nose up to touch his brain killing him instantly.  Using a spinning back hand, he connected with another man’s jawbone, cracking it instantly.  Watching the man fly backwards, Maku ducked under an incoming blade.  An uppercut ended another life however.  The rest of the men had left, running for their lives.  Slowly some of his memories came back, his name was Maku he traveled with Youka, and their goals where self preservation and financial gain.  Seemed legit to him. 
 
            Setting the other two people free, well he unlocked the gate, they’d have to wake up and run away themselves.  He started walking back towards the village.  That had been odd.  He must have taken a really hard hit to the head to loose his short term memory, though the fight had seemed to bring it back.  He hadn’t gotten much training done, except for a brief fight.  Because of that when he reached his original camp site, he took a seat and began meditating.  He was focusing on his chakra control and sending it out.  He felt like it was manifesting into a shape.  He fluxed it in and out, larger and smaller.  It was like stretching a muscle and lifting weights but instead it was all done with chakra. 
 
            His chakra control was growing so much stronger than it had when he left the waterfall.  He was becoming stronger and more focused.  No longer was he that lazy child, slacking in classes and sleeping the day away.  He sat there with the chakra of a grown and strong ninja.  He was still fairly untested however, and that was what he was going to work to change.  In the next few weeks, he would change that.  It was time to prove himself somehow.  He would have to make a move against someone or something.  Perhaps he would ask Echo for a sparing match to show his skills, possibly earning some reputation.  Maybe he would head into the boarders and steal and kill some ninja to get renown.  Something would have to be done.  Standing Maku began walking back to the village.  Perhaps it was time to speak with Echo again.  And see if he had anything to say.  Perhaps he could guide him in a direction that would be mutually benefactor.  Arriving back at the village, he headed towards his room, and only then did he remember Tori was still there.  His memory still felt kind of shaky, did he want to kill her, or love her. The line seemed like an awful close toss up at the moment.  He would have to focus and figure out the best course of action
 
(WC=2033, 20 jp, 10 stats X 50ryo because of max stats equals 500ryo.   1050+500=1550ryo ne total)

Approved.