What Once was Can be Again

It was high noon as the sun shone down through the trees to land upon Kozai's face as he watched some of the local lake fauna from his position in some woods. The lake was a good place for Kozai to alleviate his boredom; after all, he had taken up a new hobby: wildlife watching. He already knew the life cycles and behavioral patterns of most visible (and some invisible) creatures in the area, and through his regular observation, had managed to figure out the rest that he hadn't originally known. It gave his restless mind something to do. It was with chagrin, of course, that he remembered his younger days in Iwa, when he would take out his boredom on others. How energetic he had been.

But that was then. Now, Kozai just so happened to be looking at a mother duck and her ducklings. Even though most of his conciousness was focused on their movements and various imprinted patterns, his other senses, namely his two chakra-based senses, were constantly monitoring the area around him. Even the slightest movement of a worm meters away from him didn't go unnoticed. Worms, huh? He'd have to do those next. Interesting creatures, worms.

More or less, though, he was just looking out for silly intruders like those bandits. Stupid beings, always looking for loot and thinking that their actions would go without consequence. Kozai knew firsthand that for every action, there was a reaction. Reckless behavior and such would not bring a man far in life. At least, that was his rationalization for not defending his village. Self-preservation... that was what he valued. Above all, his own survival. But in that case, why did he feel so guilty? And why did he feel such a fondness for his last remaining Iwa suboordinate?

[WC 300]

It had been a long journey to get to this new land, one that seemed to pass like the year of isolation Near spent in the deep and secret cave system of Kumogakure. He heard from the whispers of passing ninja and lonely citizens that walked through the forest between the two lands. As he would rub his chin and watch the travelers. "A land of religion.... that's different.... maybe even inviting?" He would say to himself as he hoped from the tree branch and onto the ground. A thud noise would be heard as he would cover his body and head with the cloak around his waist. It would hide him from anything that would recognize his face, and the tattoos that filled his body.

After reaching the land it would only take him an hour to find a river. A river that called out to him, it told him to follow it to a new world. And that is what he did. Near was a strange one, he looked as if he had been traveling the world since he was born, the dirt on the bottom of his cloak was the reason. The hood kept his face from view but those who would see it would see a likeness in him, one that resembled the ex-raikage, Near. Although he claimed to be the New Near he was simply shinigai of a clan of paper. It had been another hour before the lake would end and he would continue to walk in the direction it ended. Until he reached a part of the forest that had a larger growth rate then the rest, as he entered the bushes only to come out and find another man near a lake. Near would say under his breath, "another traveler...." This had been his first contact with human in a long time.

The moment the man entered the radius of his sensories (about 50 meters away from Kozai), Kozai's mind took in everything about him, scanning his externals first in a matter of mere instants. Wow... this guy looked somewhat similar to Near. And to think that at that moment, part of Kozai's mind had been dwelling on the past. Still, Kozai didn't believe in pre-ordained coincidence. Things like that simply didn't happen. There was no overlord of the universe, bringing people together. Human beings were like particles, bouncing about and meeting only by random chance. Probability governed such things, not intelligent design.

At any rate, this guy didn't seem all that strong or particularly powerful. So, what was one such as him doing out here? No headband either, but weapons... huh, could he be like that Ryuk guy, without a village? There seemed to be more and more of such people passing through this area as of late. Well, he supposed that recent events would make such things possible. If there were disturbances in villages, or shifting in the powers that were, then population movement would happen. Disturbance was an important concept when considering the migration of both individuals and humanity as a species.

Well, the man was getting closer. After having a quick look at his internals, Kozai decided to wait for the man to come to him. Hmmm... the man was whispering something? "Another traveller", from what Kozai could tell from lip-reading using Coriolis Revelation. If he had been paying more attention, he probably would have been able to hear it too (due to Experienced Fighter). Well, well, this would be interesting. He stood from where he had been sitting, brushing leaves and spare blades of grass from his white lab coat.

"Indeed... I supposed you could say that I am a traveller. Though, I've stuck around this area for a bit. My name's Kozai. Who might you be?"
[TWC 620]

Near would stop and watch the man for a moment, and only in that moment would he move his hand, which was concealed by the cloak. He would reach for his weapons that were attached to his back. Near was a cautious one at times, he had no time to be killed after coming to his senses after the past year. Hearing the man speak would cause Near to lower his guard. As his hand would drop to the side of him and he would smirk. The other would stand up and start brushing the dirt from his lab coat. Near would whisper under his breathe again. "Did he hear me?" He whispered. Reaching for his hood he would remove it to show his short white hair and part of the green tattoo's that touched his neck. "I am Shini...." Near would stop before finishing his sentence. As he thought to himself 'What if hes an enemy... rule one never use your real name.' He would open his mouth once more and utter a name that lived on forever.

"I am Near..." His hand would reach for the button on his cloak as he would pull it down to his waist. It hung from there and dragged on the ground. His Tattoos would tell a story that only he could tell. But there had been one tattoo on his body, the mark of kumo ninja. This tattoo had a long scar over it from years ago after his departure. As he walked toward the lake he would bend down and begin to drink the water from it. "Why here?" He would ask after the first drink. Looking up at Kozai he would give a small smirk.

"Near?"
Kozai's interest was rather piqued. Not only did this one look like Near, he had the same name as well. In that case... time to test some things. There was a concept in proofs that allowed a person to come to a solution by demonstrating a conflict of two separate premises. Kozai would now attempt to do something similar. And what was that the man had sad... "Shini", or something like that. Was he hiding something? It seemed that he would have to read the man's mind in order to find out more, but for the time being, he'd just have to play along.
"You bear the same name as someone I knew once... but he's dead. I cut open his dead skull myself."
"That aside, however, I'm just... waiting for someone. If I travel around too much, he'll be hard pressed to keep up."
Ah, that idiot Mitsui. He'd taken such a long time... he had probably gotten himself embroiled in some petty conflict, or something like that. He made a mental note to put a mark seal on the kid the next time he saw him. However, there was this "Near" guy to deal with. There was so much information that Kozai yearned to pull out of him... but he'd have to wait.
"And you? What brings you to such a place?"

Near listened as the man spoke of another near. This caused him to smile and look around for anyone that would be listening. "There is something about that name... it isn't a name that anyone is born with it is a name you are given through a long journey... Many people have taken that name as their mantle and only one person was truly famous for it.... actually it might have been the man who started it all. Long ago....hell maybe even a century ago there was a Man by the name of Nate River... He started something called... Protocol 10.... Think of it as... If they claim to be the new near they were simply injected with his blood.. I guess that's why im here. My real name is Shinigai and my mother is of the paper clan. Near was a clanless man and some people say he still lives on till this day." Near would reach into his bag and dig around for his bingo book. It held something special. As he would pull it out and flip through it he would reach the page that held the picture of the original Near. Holding it up he showed it to Kozai. "This was the man. Amazing right. He was never found dead, but traces of him are everywhere... Hes said to be immortal, someone that has left behind cave systems and more. Im here to find him. Forgive my obsession but maybe he could be my father." Near would put his things away. whispering to himself he would say "Maybe he was caught... a prisoner of konoha..."

Huh.... a paper clan? But Kozai had already collected DNA of that bloodline already... oh well. It meant that his interest in this man could transcend his project. Still, this sort of thing was rather odd to Kozai. Inheriting a title through horizontal genome transmission? What a novel idea. Regardless, he couldn't possibly approve. "Shinigai" was "Shinigai", regardless of what was injected into him. Human beings were individuals, and should never lose sight of that. It would seem that he'd have to instill a sense of self-pride in this one, just as he had tried to do with Mitsui (though the brat might have gone a bit too far with it).

"Konoha, you say?" If Shinigai wanted to keep certain thoughts to himself, he shouldn't whisper them, or even mouth them. Coriolis Revelation picked up even the faintest of movements within its area of vision, and Kozai was experienced enough to be able to read lips. "Hmmm... I was recently there, and didn't see anyone of that description. Interestingly enough, the hokage didn't take too much of a liking to me." He chuckled slightly. "As expected. However, if you like, we could head back there. I'd prefer not to stick around that area too much, but there are a few things I need to check up on."

Near would raise an eyebrow as the man spoke of heading back to konoha. "A travel partner then?" He would utter under his breath. 'This man... he has something special... he can read what im saying even if im not talking directly to him.. He's.... amazin.' Near would smile in kozai's direction and walk closer to him. He had all of his things packed and he was ready to go. Giving the man a thumbs up he would say. "Alright then!! lets get going to konoha sir!!"

"Hmm... no need to call me 'sir'; just 'Kozai' will do." After all, was that not all he was? It appeared that rather than waiting for Mitsui to come to him, he'd have to go after the brat himself. Also, there were a couple of pleasant people he wanted to check up on in the land of fire.
"Well then... time to get moving at last..."
[Exit?]

[Exit]