Causal Watching [p,nk,Gary]

It was the hour of the day that some people called the "start of evening". About 6 PM, and Kozai was going through the last steps of closing down the library. It had been a rather busy day, full of archiving and such. Ever since Kozai had taken charge of this beknighted place, he had been working constantly day after day to turn the library into a place where the Hoshi people could actually learn things, instead of just a building where the archives were stashed, never to be read again. It was a little tedious, but nothing Kozai couldn't handle. Having sloughed his way through basically all of Iwa's archives (it had been necessary, as Echo sucked at paperwork), he was accustomed to such tasks.
Breathing in the rapidly cooling air, then exhaling, he looked around him as he locked the library door. Hmph. He might never get used to this place. The shrine closest to the library was in the middle of some kind of ceremony; no doubt some superstitious ritual. Having already read everything in the library, Kozai would know what the ceremony was if he bothered to look at it, but he didn't care much for such things.
He thought he might refresh his mindset for the night. Putting his hands in his pockets, he strolled down past the training grounds. Seeing the daily grind of genin and such struggling with their tasks usually helped despondency, for various reasons. Mostly because he could see progress in them, but sometimes their antics were just... comical. Even Kozai smiled, if only very rarely. It was a change from his life before Hoshi, he knew that now. What had caused this, he postulated, was that shy dark-haired girl who kept coming to the library day after day. How unexpected.

[WC 300]

Punch left...punch right...attack the knee...sweep the leg it was all so formulaic. It was all so boring. Thus, Lucian did not train like the rest of the genin around him. Some punched dummies-both alive and inanimate-and others tossed kunai at swinging targets to no avail. No, today was not a day for physical training, at least for Lucian. Rather he sat cross legged among the mess of people eyes closed.

Meditation had always been key to Lucian's life. It was the strengthening of the mind. With a powerful mind one could fell the strongest man and solve the unsolvable; a strong mind led to a strong body. So, even now as noises of faux-battle went on around him he heard nothing. As evidence of his transcended state of mind the exposed tattoo on his right arm glew [totally a word I swear, maybe] faintly with a strange goldish tint.

In fact, the glow was so faint only a practiced eye would catch it. Of course none of the genin around him noticed. They were all much too busy. Honestly? Lucian liked it that way. Not one to stand out he prefered to fly under the radar. Perhaps that was why he liked Hoshigakure so much? He could get lost both in thought and physically. That being said it did help that he looked only like a monk who were so common around these parts. He was merely part of the scenery.

[244]

A distant tug, a dream within a dream. Everything was peaceful. Then, like cold water to the face, reality came rushing back to the young monk. It came back in the form of words. Said words sounded muted but he heard them well enough. 

Fight me.

Opening his eyes ever so slowly the Nazar glanced upwards allowing all to see the light gold glow emanating from either eye. Though the boy, looking more like a beggar than a ninja, who challenged him was not too tall he was tall enough to force Lucian to incline his head considering his seated position. For a few moments the the Funkagakure native looked at his challenger. It was not a look or fear nor was it of anger. Rather it seemed Lucian genuinely pitied the boy standing over him. 

"No," Lucian replied flatly.

Closing his eyes once again Lucian reembarked on the search for his spiritual center. Everyone was so intent on fighting. Lucian disdained it above all else. Unneeded, destructive, corrupting...the list went on and on. But none of that mattered now: the monk would now return to the world inside his head, one devoid of violence.

{ <3 }

Kozai was a scrub and never stated his distance from Lucian so he stood 100000 meters away

Yes, the whole world was surely conspiring against Lucian on this day. Just as his eyes closed there rose an commotion that begged him to open his eyes again. Caving to the noise around him, the monk's eyes opened in time to see the transformation take place. Instead of the scrawny little wisp of a kid there now stood a more sinister looking man. Of course, in seeing the this he realized there was a fist coming right for his head.

This is going to hurt.

No, Lucian could not dodge the fist coming for him. Sure, he could see it all perfectly. However, his body could not move out of the way fast enough. He would be taking a punch to the face today. That being said he would not be taking the full brunt of the hit. Many first time fighters made the mistake of just taking a hit. In truth it was much easier, and safer, to roll with the punches.

Leaning back as the fist impacted his head Lucian greatly reduced the damage that conceivably done. Of course the end result was the same really. He ended up on his back with a throbbing in his forehead. The only real difference was the degree of throbbing. Always look on the bright side!

"Are you content?" Lucian asked from the ground at the man who no doubt stood over him now.

So violent...

All the spears went straight through Kozai killing him instantly like the scrub he was

Still dazed by the blow to his head and from hitting the ground, Lucian could do nothing as the librarian's cold palm touched his forehead. There was a moment in time where the Nazar found himself unable to move. All he felt was a tug. The tug was not on his body, but on his mind. The whole process was rather odd, the only feeling he could compare it to was an interrupted deep meditation. Then, all at once, it was over. The librarian, what a silly name, stepped back and spoke.

The words the librarian didn't much matter to Lucian as he glimpsed five spears forming around him. What they were composed of, well, the genin couldn't much tell. Crystal perhaps? Glass? It did not matter really as the genin had to act. With his puppet residing in the home of Wuark he had no real way to defend himself. So, he did the one thing he could do: curl into the fetal position.

Shit....

Luckily the spears were created far enough away that the monk was able to complete his actions in time. Though, his defensive stance would not save him. The spears went straight through him with ease. Two in either leg and one straight through the right side of his chest. The gold light that once emanated from the boy was quickly fading; Lucian was dying. If someone did not act quickly then Kozai's name would no longer be the 'librarian' but rather the 'murderer'. Truth be told, Hoshigakure did not look on murderers kindly. Who knows what would happen to him? All these witnesses would be sure to spread the word-no escape.

Ah, so the librarian did have a heart. Before the ice spears could strike true the man had whisked Lucian away from his prone position. Picked up by the librarian, the Nazar could hardly tell what was happening. Everything was a blur. One second he was mentally saying the traditional death mantra and the next he was hurtling through the air. All he felt was the rush of the wind an a sharp pain on his upper left though as an ice spear glanced off of it. Then stillness, a stillness of body and mind.

Cracking open his eyes ever so slightly Lucian found himself a good distance away from where the ice spears had impaled the ground. Thanking the lucky stars above the genin felt relieved. Certainly he was ready for death whenever it came for him. However, that did not mean he wished to die. Those were two completely separate ideas. Such was a concept many did not understand fully.

That was close...

Getting to his feet, upon hearing the librarian's voice, Lucian squared up with him. The man who stood before him was truly an odd one. Who attacked someone without reason only and then save them only to insult their lifestyle. It was odd indeed. However, Lucian had met stranger people as the librarian no doubt now knew. That being said he was not about to give the man get off scott free.

"I yet live so it is not too bad, I suppose," Lucian replied, shrugging nonchalantly. "Now you tell me, how is it being a killer?"

Lucian asked the last question with a slight tilt of the head. He was truly interested. Violent people were always very interesting to the young man.