Coming Full Circle

Salzem devoured what was left of his sandwich before making his way out of the restaurant. He always made a habit to tip the cooks handsomely as it is a harder job to keep people happy than it is to keep them safe. He wouldn't need to worry about such things soon though. Everything was coming full circle. Only Yen knew of his plans so far and he intended to keep it that way. Walking on the south road away from the restaurant, Salzem slipped his hands in his pockets and began whistling an old tune he had long forgotten the name of. He had not broad casted his misery of being here anymore since that night, biting his tongue every time he was going to say something. The temptation to confide is someone about this whole thing was extreme. He just wanted people to understand. He had lived here for all his life, yet he felt his time here was spent. Is it so wrong to seek a new purpose?

While these thoughts danced about in his mind, Salzem's face remained straight, his eyes, pointed forward. It seemed people were even less inclined to be around him today. Perhaps it was the atmosphere he was giving off. He flipped his hood up over his head, the resulting shadow making Salzem's face look even more ominous. He soon found a bench near a sweets stand and flopped down in it. His Black clothing seemed to clash ever so much with the bright sunny day. Salzem looked about the villagers, cocking an eyebrow at the odd onlooker. What did they know? Why do they stare at him?

Kaze walked through the village streets, not a care in the world. He had just finished training and getting know a man who he now considered a friend, Nethero had more in common with the young genin than the boy had thought. However he ended having to cut their training session short due to prior obligations so now the Uchiha was out killing time. Despite having nothing to do, he actually didn't mind, it was a nice day once again, the sun was past it's peak but it still shone bright while the wind provided a cool breeze making for very nice weather. Surprisingly the boy's mind was clear he wasn't being plagued by thoughts of his father, not that they were bad, his father had always taken good care of him while he was alive it just seemed that almost any time Kaze wasn't busy his mind would land on memories of Itaze Uchiha. Although he did have a lot to thank him for the boy would have preferred for his mind to be free at times.

Back to the streets, they were quiet packed as was normal for this time of day, everybody was out and about enjoying the weather, children ran about the streets playing while their parents shopped at the many little stores and stands that littered the roads of Konoha. Speaking of which Kaze had just spied one that had his interest, it was a little sweets stand, he hadn't eaten yet after the training he had done earlier. The boy drew a rather high number of looks from the females he passed as he made his way towards the stand, but that was nothing new for him, Kaze was handsome and he welcomed the attention why else would he dye his hair white. He was comfortable in the limelight and enjoyed it very much, others might dislike it but he wanted it.

Paying for his snack and turning left the boy saw a familiar face, well mask anyways, he only knew one person that wore a mask like that. The person was clad in all black with their and had there hood pulled up shrouding the top half of their face. Deciding to speak seeing as he hadn't seen this shinobi since he had been embarrassed during their training session together, but Kaze held no ill feelings towards the man and actually liked the guy. "Hey Salzem, having a bad day?" The second part of his sentence was meant to be taking as a joke and he made it obvious chuckling a little and patting the shinobi on the back as he sat next to him on the bench.

Salzem was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Kaze until he had sat down next to him on the bench. He had bought himself a treat from the stand it seemed and looked like he enjoyed the day. Salzem flinched when Kaze pat him on the back. He was wound extremely tight today, fearful of what he might say or do. He felt like he did back when he first joined the academy and needed the mask: Small, weak, fearful and unstable. He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Kaze, expression unreadable. He wouldn't say anything for several seconds, thinking about how to word this.

"You could say that." Salzem said, letting out a deep sigh in an attempt to calm himself. Even though he felt like nothing more than a child, he had to keep up appearances. He had to look professional. Salzem studied Kaze, unsure of what to say next. A moment would pass before Salzem internally rolled his eyes and decided to say something.

"Whats going on with you?" He would ask, trying to ignore those eyes of the passing civilians.

It was a sunny and beautiful day out in Konoha, as usual. Ever since Kotsuzui arrived in Konoha when he was little, he noticed that it was usually always nice in Konoha. He found that strange at first, but quickly got use to it, it was probably one of the reasons why everyone here was so kind due to the sun lifting everyone's spirits. Well, at least most people he had met. Sunny day, rainy day, cloudy day, whatever the day held for the Kaguya, if he was not fighting or training the teenage Genin usually found himself at the bars. Kotsuzui was some what of an alcoholic. No one has ever confronted him about his problem, mostly because he hid it from his mother. But the thing is, he accepted the fact that he enjoyed alcohol too much. Knowing your own strengths and weaknesses could only make you a stronger shinobi. Those who did not choose to acknowledge their own weakness would only cause more harm to themselves than good.

On a day like today Kotsuzui found himself at yet another bar in the south of Konoha, one he had not yet been too. Though it seemed like the staff did not like him very much, because at this very moment the Kaguya had been kicked out of the bar landing on his ass while one of the bartenders was yelling at him. "Thanks for the bottle!" Kotsuzui said while clumsily getting himself back onto his feet and raising his bottle of sake, his usual choice of alcoholic beverage. Wearing his usual get up, Kotsuzui was dressed in his black kimono with a white lining and bore nothing on his feet. Being a Kaguya, his bones were stronger than most which allowed him to walk around bare foot and not have to worry about injuring himself.

As the Kaguya stumbled his way down the road most of the citizens made sure to stray clear of the drunk Genin, but he was too busy taking gulps from his bottle to even pay attention to them. Not before too long, Kotsuzui's purple eyes came upon a sweet stand and at that moment his stomach grumbled. "Now there's an idea" as he stumbled his way to the stand. Flopping onto it while using it to hold himself up right, the Kaguya reached into his pocket for some ryo. Pulling out more than needed, he slapped it onto the stand and grabbed a treat. The worker was annoyed by the drunk, but did not complain for his inattentiveness left the worker a hefty tip by accident. At that moment he felt like taking a seat, but the bench was currently occupied by two others. So he decided to sit down on the floor in front of the two. Crossing his legs and swinging his crimson red hair out of his face, the Kaguya took a bite out of his treat while glancing over at the two in front of him. "Enjoying your treat too?" he'd ask the one on the bench who also had a treat, as bits of food could be seen in his mouth while he spoke.

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Judging by the way the man had answered it appeared Salzem, maybe Kaze was thinking too much and the man next to him was actually fine. A deep sigh could be heard coming from the hooded man as he answered the boy, he was indeed having a bad day, the genin had only been joking when he had asked if Salzem was having a bad day, turns out he was right. A few moments passed as Kaze thought of what he could say to brighten his fellow shinobi's mood, it only seemed right that since his day was going so well he should try to help other's feel the same. Unfortunately at this moment he wasn't quiet sure what exactly was wrong with the man or why it had him so down, 'Maybe he needs to get something off his chest?' The thought was a possibility but then again who knows, sometimes it was best to just be straight forward about things, maybe he should just ask.

As Kaze thought Salzem spoke shaking him from his thoughts, "Well all I've been doing since you, shall we say enlightened me is training." Once again the boy's voice held a joking tone as he spoke about the time the two had sparred, it hadn't gone how he would have liked but he did learn from that day. Watching a man stumble through the streets Kaze asked, "So how have you been since then, you seem a bit down today. May I ask why that is?" The boy popped one of the small cakes he had bought into his mouth as he noticed the man he had been watching was now sitting on the ground in front of him. The man was clearly drunk, he had been wobbling through the streets only moments before and now Kaze could see he held a bottle of sake in his hand and some sweets in the other. Despite the man being drunk he didn't come off as rude, seemed he just liked alcohol. The boy thought he was nice enough and responded to the drunks question, "Yes I am, how are yours?" Why not strike up a conversation with the man he thought while offering a cake to Salzem.

By the pure stench of the man who sat down on the bench with them, Salzem could tell that he had been drinking. The smell of cheap alcohol was not a pleasant one, especially for a 15 year old chuunin. He decided to acknowledge the man with a quick nod, trying to hide the disgust that was brewing in the pit of stomach. As Kaze responded to his question, Salzem nodded. What else did he expect, really? It seemed that's what people did now-a-days. Salzem sighed, leaning back against the bench, head facing the sky. The sun may have been out and the sky may have been serine blue, but none of that seemed to matter. It all seemed to have no point. Salzem's eyes rolled back down to lock onto Kaze as he spoke.. Thinking up a quick lie, Salzem spoke.

"There's this guy I'm looking for. I've been searching for him for an entire year with not even a shred of luck."

It wasn't exactly a lie. he was looking for a man, though it wasn't the cause of his misery this time. Salzem would keep a straight face while telling Kaze this, occasionally catching glances of the drunk that sat with him. That's it. He wasn't getting the smell of alcohol out of his nose THIS week.

"Ehh, they could be better" Kotsuzui replied to the kid asking how his own treats were. As he said that, he slapped the remaining treats into his mouth and chugged them down with some sake. Getting a quick, blurry glance over to the two on the bench Kotsuzui noticed one offer his treats to the other. Pulling the bottle from his mouth, the Kaguya whipped his mouth with his sleeve before he began to speak. "Sorry, I didn't even offer you any treats..." Even with Kotsuzui's somewhat impaired vision, he could tell there was something up with the Konoha nin wearing a mask and cover his visage with his hood. "If you want I can get you some treats, it may cheer your spirits. Oh! I can even give you alcohol if you'd like." After offering a drink of his sake, a puzzled look surfaced on the Kaguya's face. "Actually on second thought, I can't tell how old you are with all that...stuff blocking your face. I don't wanna be imprisoned for giving my drink to a minor now" as he began laughing on his own.

The Kaguya listened a bit as the two spoke among themselves and he continued sipping from his bottle of sake, swaying back and forth while seated on the ground. Though he thought he was sitting perfectly still. He couldn't really make out what they were saying but he did hear one of them say that they were searching for someone for an entire year and couldn't find him, though he was not sure which of the two was the one to have said so. "You know... maybe you can't find him..." but was interrupted mid sentence by a burp as he was forced to cover his mouth with his forearm. "Opps, sorry. But ya, maybe you can't find him cuz your looking on your own. We can help you find him if you'd like" pointing to Kaze with his bottle accidentally releasing some of its contents on the ground. "We are all members of the Konoha family" as he tapped the Konoha plate on his belt which was holding up his kimono, "I think?"

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Kaze found it hard to believe that Salzem was this upset over not being able to find someone for a while, but he wasn't sure what else the problem could be so the boy would play along. While watching the people on the streets some of whom eyed him mischievously, no doubt wanting to take him home because of his handsome looks, while others cast side long glances at the masked man beside him and the alcoholic shinobi in front of them the boy addressed the situation. "Well Salzem as Mister..." The young genin paused waiting for the drunk to give his name before continuing."Like Mister Kotsuzui said, we're all one big family here in Konoha and if you'd let us we surely could help with your problem." Once again Kaze patted the masked man on the back, he was still feeling good and it was only right to aid a fellow shinobi, "So what do ya say? Let's get to work." 

The boy finished the last of his sweets before standing up and dusting himself off, there was no point in waiting he had nothing else to do, plus this could serve as training while he helped a friend. If he was uniterrupted up until this point Kaze would off a hand to Kaguya, whom he had just introduced himself only a few moments ago. Turning to Salzem after helping the man holding the bottle of sake to his feet he would wait to see what his response would be.

Salzem's Gaze shifted from the Kaze, to the drunk to back at Kaze. His upmost readiness to help him search for the man he he'd live to kill would be touching, if it weren't so... Callow. So childish. He felt that if Kaze were to know why he was looking for this man, he would spout off some moral something-or-other to try and persuade him to stop. A futile maneuver to be sure. One that would waste both of their time. His eyes flashed as an image popped into his mind. In it, he saw himself crushing the man's head with his bare hands as if it were a ripe fruit, juices flowing down over his hands and splattered across his torso. He wanted nothing more than to make this dream a reality. To make this man's life end so he could continue his. To avenge his fallen friend who's life had been taken by this beast!  Salzem's fantasy ended as he blinked, bringing the 15 year old chuunin back to reality.

"Unfortunately, I've come to the conclusion that he's no longer in our village or it's territory. When you search for as long as I have, it's hard to leave any stone unturned. I appreciate the help, but I fear it would be fruitless."

Salzem looked at Kaze with an expression not to push it any further. He didn't want to explain himself much more, for fearing of saying something he really didn't need either of them to know. ESPECIALLY the drunk. He would look at Kaze for a moment longer before walking up to the sweets stand and buying a few small pouches of round chocolate candy. He'd look back at Kaze as he was paying.

"Is there something else? Or did you just come by to say hello?"

Kotsuzui sat on the ground as he swayed back and forth unintentionally. Kaze had started speaking, and was waiting for Kotsuzui to give his name, but the Kaguya had fazed out. He heard Kaze speaking, but he did not realize he was waiting for Kotsuzui to introduce himself. After a few moments of swaying, he accidentally looked up making eye contact with Kaze and realizing the boy was indeed talking to him. "OH you're talking to me? Uhh, name's Kotsuzui" he finally replied so that Kaze could continue what he was saying to the other depressed boy who was named Salzem. But Kotsuzui hadn't been paying attention when Kaze mentioned his name, leading him to have no clue what either of their names were. But he was drunk and did not even give it a second thought. One of them got off of the bench onto his feet catching Kotsuzui off guard and somewhat startled him. After he padded himself down, he offer the Kaguya a hand. Kotsuzui returned the offer as he reached out and grabbed Kaze's hand and began to take it, thinking that the boy was going to introduce himself. But when he felt the boy tugging he soon realized he was helping the Kaguya onto his feet. "Ohhp" he said as he got up to his feet with the help of his fellow Konoha Shinobi. The moment he was up right, his feet stumbled and he almost fell back to the floor but luckily managed to keep his balance just enough to stay up. Maybe he was getting more accustomed to being drunk.

Salzem answered Kaze saying he no longer knew of the mans whereabouts since he was no longer in Konoha, as well as the entire fire country. Basically, he turned down the offer for help from the two. "Well that's rude" Kotsuzui thought to himself, too drunk to realize that the kid may have his own reasons for not wanting the help. After he bought his own treats, he asked if there was anything else. This Salzem's depressed personality reminded Kotsuzui of his teammate's similar personality, and it aggravated Kotsuzui some bit. "Mhhm" Kotsuzui muttered as he finished up another sip from his bottle, letting the two know he was about to say something. "Does that mean this man is from Konoha, like, one of us?" the Kaguya asked, referring to the fact that Salzem mentioned he was no longer in Konoha. It made Kotsuzui wonder, even though he was drunk, was this kid hunting down a fellow Konoha Shinobi?

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