To kill a man (or not?) [Traveling]

Oda watched the sky as it grew darker and darker. They were approaching the Land of Rain. He was beginning to regret agreeing to walking through the night. He could see the rain just before the horizon. It looked fast and strong. Oda also noticed a village in the distance, either right before or right after the heavy rain cloud stole the sky form the ground. He made sure his poncho was still in his bag and said "I hope you are prepared for the rain. Give me a minute to wrap my viol before the downpour reaches up." Yes, it was already wrapped, but he wanted to encase it in plastic, to protect it from the water. It was a sturdy instrument so the rain would only make it sound off for awhile and perhaps for some of the finishing coat to flake off, but he prefered his instrument to remain in near perfect condition. So out from his bag he grabbed some plastic. It was much wider than the cloth he wrapped his viol in first, so he only had to do two rolls. Then he tied the ends of the plastic into the cloth knot as best he could. This was something he had been doing for a long time, so undoing both wrappings was a fluid motion, almost magical. That is why he took so long to wrap them: so he could quickly unwrap them.

Once his instrument was properly protected, he would contrinue on down the path. Other than humming a tune and whistling, he would remain silent unless spoken to. It was easier this way. Less talking means less revealing. Oda still did not know this man well. However, he did like him. Oda's hope was that they could become friends. Perhaps the man would not mind Oda's more.. violent side, if or when it reared its ugly head.

The village was after the edge of the storm. Although most of it was still rather lightly rained on, as you got deeper in, the rain became harder and harder. The rain began to pick up and started to soak Oda through the poncho he had donned before entering the village. He saw a sign for an in and looked towards Aivas while motioning to the door, "Lets go in there. Either get a price for a night or something warm to drink before we venture further." Oda would then walk up to the doors and open them.

Oda would enter the doors of the inn quickly. The rain was really heavy at this time and he wanted to get it out of it. At least for a bit. He placed his instrument, all wrapped up, on the ground so that he could ruffle his hair and force out some of the water. After that, he dragged his hands across his face to get the brig dropplets of water off. One or two people were looking at him, but Oda did not mind. His headband was in a pocket so he would not be identified as a ninja. The in was a pretty simple place. A few tables with stools around them, and a bar. It was only sparsely populated, maybe five people inside besides the workers. The individuals that had looked towards the door as Oda walked in where a couple. They seemed to be about five and twenty years of age. Someone sat in a corner, passed out on a stool against the wall. He seemed to be about fourty of age. The last two patrons seemed to be thirty some odd years old, and they sat around a table holding a newspaper. Oda could pick up hushed whisperings from them, and noticed the holder they got the newspaper from. There were about two left. Perhaps Oda would grab one to read. Other than them, there was a man somewhere between thirty and fifty years old and a woman around the age of twenty behind the counter. The woman was in rather loose, covering clothing, so that was a good sign as to the reputability of this inn.

Having picked up his viol again, still wrapped in cloth, he began to walk towards the counter. Then he heard something. The two men to his right were talking about something. He could not quite make it out, but he was certain they had said "Tengakure". At first Oda worried that these two were ninja and had somehow figured him out. He stopped walking and froze. It occured to him that if they were enemy ninja, they would not have simply let that word slip, even as softly as it had been said. You would need a perceptive ear to pick it up, which Oda had slightly moreso than most others because of his musical training. It likely also helped that he was closer to the two men than anyone else in the building. So, if they were not enemy ninja, who where they? Were they allies? Were they neutral and just playing a game? Perhaps they were just civilians and talking of something. Oda knew that, if they were ninja, they would notice that he stopped moving. If they were not, however, they would likely be completely oblivious to him as they seemed absorbed in the newspaper. So Oda listened.

"..at happened?" one of the men said. Oda had obviously missed part of what he said, but it was assumed to be "what".
"Completely destroyed." Oda's body stiffened. "Gone. Nothing else but a picture, though. No reason no bodies no nothin. Not even someone to blame." He stood there. Completely motionless. Unable to move. And then a surge of energy rushed over him. He ran to the newstand. Grabbing a newspaper and looking at it, despite the owner vehemently yelling to pay for it first, he saw instantly that the two men were not lying. On the front page was a picture of his village, completely and totally destroyed. Oda's fingers bit into the paper and his teeth clenched. He surpressed tears as he ran out the doors of the building, into the rain. His poncho was still on, but he did not bother raising the hood. He needed the water to hide his tears over the death of his village. Of his friends. Of everything he knew. First his parents, then everything. [i]Fuck life.

[1061 Words]

Aivas turned following silently behind and slightly to the left of his companion it seemed they would be walking through the night but the storm clouds on the horizon promised at least a light rain so maybe this hadn't been the best plan of action he wasn't worried about himself but the more slight of build Oda might catch his death of cold in weather like that. Smiling to himself he would turn to survey the surroundings he hadn't had such a good friend in his entire life, wow thinking back on that...it was rather sad to say that this almost complete stranger he had just met was the best friend he could come up with when thinking over the entirety of his existence. He had been walking rather peacefully for the last few minutes not bouncing on the seemingly endless reserves of energy used for exercise, almost pensive seeming to be lost in thought about something or other that he couldn't quite voice. Letting out a soft sigh he would triple check his sword making sure it was secured tightly to prevent most of the moisture from soaking through and rusting the blade, even so he would have to stop and polish it before too long it wouldn't do to let it fall into disrepair.  

    Looking up for a minute as the rains finally started pounding down in literal torrential amounts Aivas would simply shrug his good nature showing for a moment before continuing at his slow pace, finally after what felt like an eternity there was a break in the storm on the horizon a small inn, perhaps they could stop for the night, but just as he had noticed it so too had Oda, the other man picking up his pace and heading for the door. As his companion was the first into the establishment Aivas would stop for a moment to stretch before following inside at a leisurely pace, masking his movements stooping his height and quickly taking in his surroundings his head not moving but his eyes roaming almost wildly as he picked out the little details, all the patrons were older than he himself but it mattered little to him, they were mostly scattered and none of them would pose too much of a threat if things got physical. At least there weren't any ladies of the night hanging around he had seen them in his travels but never taken them up on their services but he wasn't sure if Oda would share his distaste for those types of establishments. 

    Silently he would keep track of Oda who seemed very interested in the two with the newspaper, shrugging internally Aivas would shake like a dog for a moment however a little more controlled all of the water being thrown down by the quick movements of his body before he picked his way to an empty table somewhere halfway between Oda and the door. He listened intently he picked up the words Tengakure from the conversation as he was particularly focused in that direction and would frown softly his features obscured for the most part as he leaned forward on his chair lightly resting his chin on his hand, his fingers gently pressed over one side of his face as he continued to contemplate what exactly his plans were going to be, perhaps it was time to return to Haven he hadn't seen that particular country in some time and he was feeling rather homesick about the whole affair and besides anyone who could possibly recognize him was most likely long dead by now. 

    Jumping to his feet as Oda made a mad dash out of the building Aivas would fix any would be pursuers for a moment with an icy glare before shambling out of the establishment at a long lope, his legs swinging into a perfect rhythm to match the countenance he had adapted for social situations in strange places, he would be behind his friend and follow a little slower than the other man but oh well not much he could do there, he hadn't had started to train for sprinting. He would slowly catch up to his friend and reaching forward without a sound and slip the other persons hood up, he remembered when Oda had bought the poncho and found it silly of his friend to now disregard its one purpose in life as he spun smoothly from the action to end up facing the back of his single ally in the world not a single sound betraying his movements. 

    "Come now Friend tell me what has gotten into you, did they write something nasty about you in that dirty rag they call a newspaper? I thought you were more thick skinned than that at the very least." Aivas would pause for a moment giving his friend a few precious seconds to snap out of whatever had so eaten up his mind, it had to be the newspaper but Aivas hadn't stopped to check it before coming out of the inn to follow his friend. "Oda, if its something thats bothering you, I may have a solution for travel I know a place we could just relax and train for awhile, granted it might be different than the last time I was there but, Haven, doesn't have a ninja village or anything we could lay low and train, it's pretty peaceful too if you know where to go, give you some time to clear your head of whatever has gotten in there and shaken you up so bad?"   

[929]

Oda was unable to focus. He could not run at his full speed. In most circumstances, that would be a bad thing. However, in the situation in which Oda currently found himself, it was a very good thing. First off, it allowed Aivas to catch up. Secondly, being so out of focus with himself kept him from being overly violent while he ran. Sometimes he would become extremely hostile, and then have no idea why after the fact. Oda always assumed that was his true self and he just hid it. Other explinations were possible, but that is the one Oda believed in. That is why he wanted to "fix" himself. However, Oda did not think about that at this time. He just ran. He ran and sobbed.

Oda thought someone was following him. He did not hear them or anything, but he figured there was a good chance either Aivas or the innkeeper, or both, were chasing him. Then he felt his hood lifted up onto his head. If it was the innkeep chasing him, then the man was very good at deducing how Oda was feeling, despite the sobs being silent and his face unseen.

Oda slowed down. As he came to a stop, it was all he could do to keep his shaking knees from collapsing. That did not last for long. He collapsed to the ground, sobbing into his antecubital fossa. Such an odd thing to know the name of.

One of his hands reached under his poncho and into his pocket. He wrapped his hand around the metal, cold to the touch. Aivas asked what was in the paper, and the feeling of the fabric band in Oda's pocket rubbed against his hand. He lost it. He dragged the metal out of his pocket, concealing it from Aivas. The cloth was partially pulled out as well, a grey band. Oda slowly stood, steadying his breath, reducing his sobs. He had still been holding the paper, scrunched up in the hand of the arm he had sobbed into. Then, once Oda was steady, he released the paper and spun. The kunai he had withdraw from his pocket was held in his hand and aimed for Aivas's heart. The man had done nothing wrong. Oda new this. He did not care. He was emotionally overwhelmed. Bad things happened when he was overwhelmed. He would overract to things. He would react in was completely contrary to the way he should. It was not something he liked about himself, just what was the truth.

If Aivas did not dodge, the kunai would be rammed into his heart. Oda knew this full well. He knew that this was a lethal move. He did not care. He was not himself. It was as if he was not fully there. He did not even notice that the spinning action caused his headband to vacate his pocket and land directly on top of the newspaper. The rain was quickly rendering the words on the paper illegible, but Tengakure could still be read, and Oda's Tengakure headband would rest on the paper, landing right under the picture of the destroyed village.

[1588]

Aivas would look down the kunai magically sprouting from his chest and let out a deep sigh of course he could feel it but it didn't bug him that much, a burning sense of rage briefly flared across his features before they resumed the happy go lucky countenance Oda would be familiar with, "well look at that I've been impaled." Laughing more to distract himself than anything else Aivas would pull the fragile weapon from his chest looking at it for a moment before snapping the blade from the handle the bladed end whirring away to lightly thud against the wet grass, he would turn the handle over for a moment before offering it back to Oda, "while its nice and all maybe you should calm down, hm?" Smiling in that way that was almost unique to Aivas, he would gently pat the other ninja on the shoulder as he stretched the blood still welling from the open wound in his chest and dripping down his front mingling with the rain and causing the blood to not really stain his shirt but run down his body in small rivulets as he once more smiled at his still only friend in the known world, "so how about it want to see where I was born? It'll be a good distraction from whatever has you in such a funk."  Aivas would look around now he had noticed something earlier and he wanted to check it out, it wouldn't do to let his friend forget a possession on the road after everything that had happened.

He had noticed something going flying from his companions pocket, marching over he would stoop for a moment lightly picking up the headband with the symbol of Tengakure, he presumed anyway, and kicking the last essence of the paper into a soggy mess it hadn't been readable by the time he had made it over, it was useless to them now anyway the ink had bleed from the paper in different colored rivulets into the surrounding grass, however the grass being so saturated wasn't holding the ink so the small stream of his blood would mix with it in an interesting way as he turned back to check very quickly that his friend was alright, he would offer the headband with no hint of malice for he wasn't angry with the other man not in the slightest after all he hadn't really been injured in their exchange. Without thinking Aivas would start off in the general direction that every fiber in his being screamed for, home. It had been awhile since he had last witnessed the land he had been actually born in, maybe this would be a good trip after all assuming Oda followed he would start out at a light pace barely breaking into the lightest of a rhythm his movements masked by the sound of the rain as he turned shifting from the toes of one foot to the heel quickly, to turn and walk backwards as he kept up the conversation with his friend, "when you feel like telling me you should let me know what it is exactly that has bothered you so much today."

[1461]

Oda stood there. Aivas basically shrugged off the kunai. That was a blade straight to the heart and Aivas didn't care. What the fuck?????

Oda was perplexed beyond belief. He could only watch as Aivas walked over to where his headband had fallen to. During the moments of rage, Oda could not think of anything. He still couldn not. The difference was, right now, he was perplexed. He could not think because the unthinkable had just happened. Oda was almost certain that he could see Aivas' heart through the wound. Yet it hardly phased the man. Was he immortal? Was that even possible? Aivas handed back the handle of the mangeled kunai, but Oda simply dropped it, too astonished to think clearly yet.

Aivas handed the headband back to Oda, and that seemed to kick the world back into focus. His outburst of rage was gone. He grabbed the headband and looked at it, thinking back to what Aivas had said. Trying to remember what he had so nearly completely phased out. Something about following Aivas to his home. Haven. It sounded like a fine place to be. Oda needed to get away from it all right now, and Haven was far away from everything he knew.

Oda would slowly follow Aivas. The blood dripped dripping from the man's wound left a trail in the ground. The rain, however, quickly washed it away. It was interesting. And it gave Oda an idea. It was only a seed, and he did not even notice its presence at the time. However, given time, it would grow. Eventually, it might become something that would truly define Oda. It may even help him to redefine himself. This seed of an idea could lead him to removing the randomness of the violent outbursts. At least, that is what he hoped for.

After they had walked in silence for a bit (about ten minutes), Oda decided he could speak. He tried, but something stopped him. He had to force down the ball of mucus that had formed near the top of his throat. So he gulped and swallowed, allowing himself to speak once more. "I. Um. I," he slowly forced out. "I'm sorry" he would say. "I've just.. A lot has.." he could feel himself on the edge of tears. "I lost my parents recently. That is why I was near Konoha, actually. I was attending their funeral. And just now, at that inn.. The newspaper had an article about how my home was destroyed. Tengakure is gone. I. I don't know what to do anymore."

[2018 Exit]

Aivas barely even bounced or did handstands or even stopped to get in push ups or sit ups, his face was a careful mask of carefree attitude as he fell into step with his traveling friend. Finally after what felt like half an eternity the other man seemed to finally be getting up the nerve to speak, seriously its not like that attack had mortally wounded him or anything, it had been at most a slight inconvenience and what was that between friends, nothing. The apology was a little unnecessary to him but Aivas gravely accepted with a slight nod as he listened to the other mans story. Letting out a pent up breath as the other man finished he would grin leaning over and resting one arm across Oda's shoulders as he upped the pace slightly, "so your parents are gone, so the village is gone, everything is raindrops, and while its okay to miss the rain don't dwell on it and promise to enjoy the raindrops as they are available after all you never know when the rain will end right?" Laughing he would shake the other man back and forth as he suddenly leapt forward to start walking backwards talking to the other man, "what was here today may be gone tomorrow, but who knows what the future holds perhaps someday you can reclaim your village you think is gone?" With his point made Aivas would stop for a moment stretching and gingerly poking at the wound with a frown before quickly producing a needle and thread, almost instantly patching his shirt and vest with a couple of stitches before dropping back into line with Oda as they walked towards Haven. For the briefest of moments as he fixed his shirt and vest if Oda was paying attention he would notice a latice of pure white scars crossing Aivas' chest and shoulders, they told old stories of countless wounds from the before time, when he had been growing up as a soldier. 

Aivas knew the way and would have Oda follow him along an old trail mostly overgrown with brush as they worked their way to Haven, the simple sword he had purchased making quick work of the thicker masses of brush as they walked, he had even managed to stop for a short while while they traveled and re-polished the blade before a nap. It was a rather simple journey nothing too exciting was on the way there, the Earth Country was large but the path they followed kept them from the heart of civilization, and as they neared Haven Aivas seemed to return to his boundless amounts of energy constantly stopping to stretch or do push ups and other exercise as he regaled Oda with the simple story of how once while out on patrol duty as a young lad he had forgotten to bring his arming sword and had ended up carrying a bare tree log cut roughly into an overemphasized joke version of the sword he had forgotten. It was a depreciating style of humor but Aivas figured it might lift his companions spirits as they traveled onward only stopping for spartan meals and light naps. 
[1994, Exit Traveling to HAVEN MWAHAHAHAHA]