Guildencrantz and Rosenstern ~P, NK~

Altar stood, leaning against the monument to Kirigakure's all too glorious leader. A thick morning mist coated the land, and Altar was just about the only person out and about. He hated mornings, but it was the best time to be out and about. He had errands to run, things to pick up, and seeing to how early it was, no one would be out for him to run into.

After running all over Kirigakure, getting food and other various items for his expansive house, Altar found himself much too awake to even think about returning to sleep. So, he had went back out instead. After walking for a while, he found himself at the monument to Xyxer.

He had picked a coin from the solid foot of the statue, and was currently flipping it for the five hundred and fourty-seventh time. As he flipped it up, he would wait for it to decline, then snatch it from the air and slap it on his wrist. Moving his hand, he would reveal the result. Heads. That was five hundred and fourty-six heads in a row.

Altar would continue flipping the coin, the result always the same, until interrupted.

Wandering through the eerie mist that swamped the village, Xyxer awoke the feelings that lingered inside of him. His predatory instinct kicking in when he could not see his prey, but only hear the pitter patter of it's footsteps.. He tracked roughly the distance and where they were moving, honing his senses every day. His overwhelming duress towards the prisoners of the country, the ones who never left jail quite as whole as they had entered, both physically and mentally. Now.. now was the time for meditation. Sometimes Xyxer would head towards the sea to meditate upon the crashing waves, the soothing sound of home.. One day he would return to the bottom of the ocean where he belonged, alongside his true home. The days he had spent meditating in the ruins of Kirigakure watching the species of aquatic life flowing around him and developing their own home within that tomb would soon return to him eternally.

Although today, his destination was his statue. Sometimes, Xyxer had noted, people had prayed at his statue. Some of the villagers had taken to revering the man himself as a true god amongst men. Every now and again, he would grant a wish here and there. A blessing of wealth, a mission he'd undertake personally to retrieve a hostage, a god damn cookie. Although, today, when he headed towards his destination, he saw a familiar figure close to his statue. Upon his person was a simple kit; sleeveless, black cloth draped from his shoulders to his pelvis, covering his torso region with grey, baggy pants protecting his legs from the harsh wind of Kirigakure. His appearance ever youthful and vibrant due to the mist in the atmosphere around them, consistantly vitalising his Hozuki body. Samehada itself rested upon his back, waiting for a meal to devour. Once he had closed the gap between the two, he'd offer a simple wave of the hand before questioning,"What brings you out here, without the love of your life?"

Altar could practically feel the menacing aura of the man. There was not a single other soul awake, so it was fairly easy to make out, and nearly impossible to mistake. It was an aura that imposed itself onto you, and made an impression. It was one that no man could bring himself to truly forget. That of a true warrior. Altar was lucky enough to call the man bearing this aura his friend. Or... was he? Sometimes it seemed the man was solely out for demented pleasures, forsaking everything and anything he knew to get his kicks. Other times, he could be a good man, a true friend, and a good leader. Almost everyone who knew of him prayed it was a good day when crossing the man. 

As Xyxer walked up to Altar with a hand in the air, Altar would raise his off hand in a return gesture, before bringing it back down and slapping the coin back where it always landed, revealing the same side of the coin as the previous attempts. "Lord Mizukage, I do believe your monument may be a good luck charm. Either that, or this coin is cursed. Call it." Altar would say, before flipping the coin in the direction of the Kage, intending for him to catch it instead.

"As for what brings me out here, normal errands to run. I like it better out here when it's quiet. No one to run into in the mornings, more time to spend concentrating and thinking inwardly. Also, I wouldn't go so far as to say she's the love of my life. I don't even know where we stand." Altar would raise his head, his mismatched eyes falling upon the Kage he had served under for...however long it had been. He'd run through what he felt was an abnormal amount, but he wasn't even sure of that. Scanning over the man in front of him, Altar's eyes would fall on an unfamiliar weapon strapped to his back.

"Nice sword, Xyxer. Never seen one like it before."

"Tails."  Xyxer called, as he had been instructed, his left hand lifted itself up from it's idle position, catching the coin in his palm before his fingers closed around it, his other hand lifting up from the side before placing the coin upon the back of his hand and removing his left hand. Lo and behold, it was a fucking heads. No emotion flew through his features during this moment, instead, he simply threw the coin back to Altar. "Correct."  Listening to what else the male had to say, he chuckled faintly. "You was willing to die for someone who was not the love of your life. How peculiar. I don't think I'd be willing to die even for the love of my life. Although, you have piqued my interest, Altar.. how does an errand bring you to the foot of my statue? I fail to see what errand draws one so far from any destination within the village." 

Hearing the compliment on Samehada, he nodded his head and swung it off from his back, pointing it forwards towards the male in one swift movement of the arm. The weapon remained suspended, pointed towards the throat of the male. "It's one of a kind, you may have heard of it, 'Samehada'. Previously in the inventory of Kisame Hoshigaki.. Now, in mine."  His smile had turned into a grin by this point before words instinctively flew from his mouth, "How about a spar?"

Altar would shrug at the man's question. He didn't truly know why he was here of all places. "I honestly don't know why i'm here. After returning home at such an ungodly hour, every part of me wanted to return to sleep. But I couldn't. My body was already too awake to return to that state. So, instead, I decided to... adventure. I let my legs walk where they wanted, and I was brought here. I tend to not question things that just seem natural." Altar would purposefully avoid the subject of sacrificing himself for a loved one. Not only could he hear Kalamity screaming and cackling in the back of his head, he was no longer sure himself if he would. He'd already butchered the last of his family. Would it be so bad to lose another person he cared about?

Shaking his head, Altar would clear his mind of those thoughts. Those were Kalamity speaking into his head. Inserting false ideas into his brain. He wasn't ready to accept it yet. He would never be ready to submit to a voice in his head. Altar tuned back in at the right moment, hearing mention of Samehada. Brief images flashed through his mind of the legendary weapon, the same one that sat on Xyxer's back right now.

"You don't mean to tell me, that's the same Samehada I heard stories about during my childhood? Wielded by the same Kisame whose very idea gave me nightmares at the same age?" Altar would say, shuddering at the thought of a man with the strength and ferocity of a shark. Come to think of it,it sounded a lot like Xyxer...

At the mention of a spar, Altar would shrug. "Sure. But if you think my old and worn katana will stand against a weapon of legend, you're sorely mistaken, Lord Mizukage." The boy would take a loose fighting stance, allowing for freedom of movement, keeping his hands close together. Hopefully the Mizukage would throw his weapon to the side. Altar stood little chance against it.

A few compliments, of sorts, were handed to the weapon that he brandished before him. He knew that Altar was probably impressed, and how could Xyxer lie.. He revered the praise, even when unspoken. His eyelids closed momentarily, granting him a picture of that moment.. the blood flowing from the corpse.. the sword abandoning it's former owner.. such great heights. One day, he would fall, and he knew this, so why not relish how great you are before then? Death came for all, men died of mortality and gods true names purged from the lips of those whom once praised them. It was a sweet, glorious cycle, one that Xyxer hastened for a great deal of people. After a second of his eyes being closed, he reopened them, a refreshed look on his features.

"The beast of an era, a wraith of a great village.. put back to beloved rest." Xyxer stated with pleasure, sliding the blade towards his side before placing it on the ground, looking towards the weapon that was on Altar's back. A common katana. How quaint. Sliding his handout to his side, he flicked it out to reveal a new weapon within his palm; the sword of Old Kirigakure's ANBU. He had killed many with this, the diversity was incredible.. children.. women.. fathers.. Suzaku's orders had been brutal, but fun. Altar was already in his fighting stance, but he lacked the weapon in his hands, so he simply waited for him to arm himself. Once that was done, Xyxer closed the two meter distance between them with a quick two steps to swing his sword upwards in a curve from his right side up towards the right shoulder of Altar.

Altar would take immediate note of Xyxer simply waiting, sword drawn by his side. Was this to be sword fight, then? He had enjoyed dancing with Youta out in the plains of Tengakure, but even then he was sorely outmatched. He had little experience with a blade. But, he could try his best. Remembering that fight, Altar would make note of a couple things that had ultimately led to his loss. He couldn't let them happen again. That fight had been a beautiful display of dexterity. Altar was almost positive this would be much more brutal, a show of strength and tenacity rather than agility and quickness.

Drawing his sword, Altar would prepare himself, the sword held firmly in both his hands. Xyxer took two steps towards him, closing the gap quickly. Altar could see the move coming almost before it happened. On Xyxer bringing up the sword, Altar would bring his down and across his body, impacting Xyxer's sword, knocking it back further to the Kage's right side. From here, Altar would re-orient his blade and stab forward, aiming for the Kage's right shoulder.

It was a swift affair, and just like all of Xyxer's opening moves, it was easily anticipated. A broad, open move, a retaliation, and then a retaliation by a superior fighter. It was how all of his fights had begun and it was a proven formula time and time again. This retaliation? A simple swing of Altar's own sword to combat his own. It was simple really, and that was Xyxer's first hint that Altar was unaware of how Xyxer acted in close combat. Using the momentum of Altar's swing against his blade, he twisted around towards the left side of Altar, allowing the blade to spin along with the momentum so that it was now in the reverse grip of Xyxer's left hand, but that was pretty irrelevant right now. As Xyxer had closed the  gap, almost intimately with Altar, he continued to spin around his body, being side to side with him within a matter of milliseconds after the blades hit. When he was at this point, the elbow on his left side rocketed down towards the nape of Altar, aiming to thunderously strike his spinal cord and disorientate him to a great extent. Now, given that Altar never stated the direction of his swing, so we'll say that it was from his own left shoulder down towards his own right hip in order to deflect the blade from carving him from the pelvis. In this case, Altar was left completely open on the side that Xyxer was striking, making it unlikely that Altar could do a worthwhile offensive reaction, although of course, that's up to him to decide. As his elbow came down, the blade in his hand also lowered towards his throat, aiming to lock it in a V position between his elbow and sword, with the elbow driving his throat through the sword.

Altar was surprised at the quick thinking of the Kage, but incredibly confused at the execution of his counter to the boy's own. Using Altar's weapon's momentum, Xyxer had switched his weapon's grip to that resembling an ice pick, and was now closing the distance between them even further. That much he could comprehend.

Next came the confusing part. The Mizukage started torquing and twisting his body around in all strange manners of ways and directions. Xyxer ended up twisted around himself at Altar's left side, facing the same direction as Altar currently was. This positioning would make it incredibly awkward and difficult to reach around himself to strike Altar in the way he desired.

At the first indication of the Kage's intent, the twisting and turning, Altar would swing his sword back across to his left shoulder, and toss it immediately over his left shoulder, making sure to not hit anything in the process. The blade would continue leftwards, not going very far or very fast. As the blade would leave Altar's hands, he would start forming handsigns. Finally, as the Kage was about to strike Altar in the back, Altar would take note of the sword's positioning. Just barely within arm's reach, about a half meter behind the Kage due to the direction he was facing, that direction being the exact same as Altar's.

Xyxer's strike would hit the sharp edge of Altar's katana, rather than Altar himself. Altar himself was where his sword had been, just behind the Kage by a half meter, facing Xyxer. At the moment of displacement, Altar would charge forward with two lightning coated hands, wasting no time in striking Xyxer. He would attempt to drive both through the Kage at the same time, one through each side of the chest.

As Xyxer spun his elbow around to the nape of Altar, his torso and head torquing around to allow for a faster range of movement. Now, as this was happening and he continued to twist, he noticed the light reflecting from the sword as it twisted behind his body. Altar had just disarmed himself? Had he preemptively hit and he had just crippled him? He was unsure. However, he needed a better scope on things and so that was why his right foot suddenly removed itself from the ground and spun counter clockwise around his left leg, his foot striking the ground before he looked up once more. The sword was still there, or at least, it was for a few milliseconds. He saw a buzzing of electricity erupt from the man's hands before him, but that wasn't too important to him right now. What was important was the reflection of dull light on the weapon in his peripheral vision, alerting him to the move that had been used and Altar's intent. It was interesting, granted, but not enough. Judging the falling speed of Altar's own weapon, he slung his sword into his right hand and his left hand snatched the hilt of Altar's Katana from the air as soon as the displacement had started due to Xyxer's Experienced Fighter skill. Now, of course, Xyxer had started back pedaling as soon as he noticed the electricity, keeping the male at a small distance, just out of the electricity's reach if he was to fully extend his hand. He wielded his own sword defensively, his right arm at his side, holding the weapon slightly pointed towards the male, but facign the ground so that he could skewer him when need be. As well as that, his left hand went for a rapid, underhand thrust towards Altar's right hand, and if it were to miss, Xyxer would simply release the weapon and have it fly directly towards the sternum of Altar. Now, of course, Xyxer did nothing silly like tripping the entire time, Altar, however.. nah I won't be a dick.