Opposition [Private]

When one were to think of a way to kill time, they most likely would not resort to going into the desert. Unless you were Haruki, in which a child like him would believe that sand was an interesting element of the earth. Despite this, however, the most that he could do was make a little castle with his hands, since he had no Earth Style Jutsu' to work with. However, he did not seem the slightest bit phased about being all covered in sand, though it was clear that he was dirty. Did he care to even acknowledge that fact? Eh, he'll just take a shower when the sand begins to take the toll and make him uncomfortable. But for now, he would be rollerblading back to the Village to see what pranks he might be able to pull off today. One in particular that he had been planning was a simple one, grab a bucket of sand and place it at the entrance of a restaurant. Those who go will not expect sand in the way, and he has seen many who do not wear closed-toed footwear, thus making them feel a little bit uncomfortable. However, this was something that could easily be taken care of, and it was nothing but a mere prank, nothing too cruel with particles of sand in one's shoes.

However, he would pass by a familiar looking structure, causing him to stop his wheels at the location he ended up finding himself in. Tilting his head to the side, he would notice that it was not the structure that was familiar, but the whole area. Where had he seen this before? Considering the fact that there was a bench there and a man suddenly walking out with a half-empty bottle in one hand and a shot glass in another, it was clear what had happened, and Haruki would not dare even bring up a bit of the conversation. Seeing the bottle, however, it looked oddly familiar to the one that he had seen the other day when a man was sitting down on the bench that was in front of him... Interesting. What was he trying to do anyways with that bottle? What good was he getting drunk going to do? Last he checked Haruki saw him stopping as he looked sick... Did the drink do that? And if so, what was the appeal?

Salzem snoozed lightly under the shade of one of Suna's roofs near the gates, drifting dreamless in and out of consciousness. It seemed to be all he did nowadays there was little motivation to do anything else but sleep. Sometimes he slept when he was tired and other times he simply reached such a state of calm, he might as well have been asleep. In the past few days, Salzem had simply gotten out of bed, gotten dressed and went outside only to find a nice patch of shade to sleep in. He wasn't even the lazy type, one to just snooze his days away. Perhaps he'd develop such a trait if these tenancies continued. No, Salzem simply didn't feel a desire to do anything else. His body wasn't tired, but his mind was. He was tired of waking up to this place. This sand had lost it's appeal, as did it's temperatures. Salzem was tired of going out on a walk and coming back with a sunburn. He was simply tired of the desert. Salzem had been frustrated. He had been angry. He had destroyed a cave off in the desert outside the village in his rage that he was STILL here and that act had burned him out. It wasn't as if he felt hollow. No... that would make him feel light. No, he felt heavy.... sick... like a blighted piece of lumber leftover after a plague. In fact, if someone could see the way he felt, the would likely see a charred piece of driftwood with green, toxic mists radiating off it. Sick to his stomach, Salzem was. Just like the nearby drunkard flopped out on the bench, Salzem's body betrayed him, leaving his guts in a state of cramps and his skin in a state of chills. It was part of the reason he was sleeping out here, after all. Despite the risk of him going home with burnt skin, the warmth at least aided with his chills a little bit.

Salzem awoke from his latest nap, seeing a little boy gazing over at some guy with a bottle all flopped out across his bench in front of Suna's gates. On any other day, he might have cared that someone else was sitting in his spot. He like that spot and it was his! Today, he didn't have the energy to deal with the man. Guy probably couldn't even tie his shoes with how much alcohol Salzem could smell on him. His gaze fell tiredly on the boy, he who stared at the man in question with a curious look on his face, as if he didn't quite understand something about him. Shrugging his shoulders, then shivering slightly, Salzem would close his eyes again and attempt to let sleep take him again. Maybe when he woke up, he'd be in Konoha.

Another man would arrive on the scene, the one that he had met the other day! A smile was instantly slammed onto his face as he was about to approach him, only to see that there was no bottle in his hands like there was last time. However, he looked to be so tired, seeing how he closed his eyes and now was resting on the bench. In all honesty, he did not look too different from the drunken man that came around before this familiar character. Perhaps he should ask Akane some things! She seemed to know more since she was a traveler, so that was where her skills came in! Placing his palms out, he would open the five seals before placing his palm onto the ground, opening the mark that he had placed on her body, summoning her in front of him provided she did not stop him in the process. With that, he would greet her with his usual perky voice. Hi Akane! I need to know something! Everyone that seems to be around this building makes people tired and walk weird! All but me! Do you know anything about this? The Akari would ask her, tilting his head to the side, mouth opened with a curious "o" as he would await her answer if the summon were successful. How would she reply depends on what she was doing before, it was a huge gamble to summon her out of nowhere.

Akane would be laying in bed reading a book but would suddenly be submerged in a cloud of white smoke and ended up laying in the streets in Sunagakure. Once the cloud of smoke cleared she would sit up and would look at Haruki to see that he had summoned her. Haruki would then ask her a question and she would answer, "Haruki, that's a bar! People go inside, drink alcohol and get drunk then they end up coming out exactly how you described them!" Akane would then stand up and would rub Haruki's head while giggling. She thought that he was the cutest and most innocent thing in the work when he asked what a bar was. 

Akane would look around for a couple seconds and would see that Salzem was laying on a bench, sleeping and would say, "Haruki lets go visit that man over there!" She would then walk over to Salzem and would proceed to poke his face while constantly saying, "Salzem." Hopefully, he wasn't in too deep of a sleep and she could awake him by doing this but, if he was in a deeper state of sleep she would simply sit on top of his stomach and would wait for him to wake up.

Just as Salzem was about to fall into the sweet, sweet, blackness that was sleep, something poked his cheek, forcing reality to rush back to the surface. Another poke, making sure he was wide awake, but he didn't open his eyes. Still coming out of sleep, he still couldn't make out the voice that spoke his name. It sounded feminine... but he was either too lazy to place it or too tired to care. Then he felt a sudden weight on his stomach as something plopped on his torso. Air rushed out of his lips, making him gasp involuntarily before he submitted to the stranger's wishes and he opened his eyes. He couldn't quite tell who it was with the sun behind her head the way it was. He blinked once. He blinked twice. Finally, his vision cleared. It was Akane, smiling down at him playfully. He groaned lightly, half from her flopping across his gut, the other half with him coming back from near-sleep.

"mmmmmfffhhh....." He grumbled, squinting at at the girl sitting atop him. "Why'd you have to sit on me...? Couldn't you have... I dunno... poured cold water on my head or something?" He paused for a second, considering what he just said. "Actually... You know what? Forget I said anything." He'd it up slowly, pushing Akane onto his legs unless she decided to get up. Either way, He propped himself up with one hand in the dunes below him, shaking the sand-specks from his hair. It was either that or... find them on his face when he actually decided to sleep in his bed. He looked at Akane, smiling softly at her, then at the boy she brought with her, trying to place his face. He couldn't quite remember if he'd seen him before... Maybe they had met and he was simply too drained to take the time to memorize his face. He waved tiredly at him with his free hand before turning back to the girl that had sat on his belly.

"Who's this...? A new friend of yours, Akane?"

They are all so weird, though, I don't want to go inside of there! The Akari would complain as he looked back over towards the direction that the man that came before the man sleeping on the bench walked away. Or waddled more likely since he looked way too out of it. At least the man who was sleeping on the bench decided to sleep rather than do anything that looked too weird. how did people find the appeal of liquid in those forms of bottles which only can get someone drunk? Eh, there was something in it that he probably did not know, so it was not a good idea to judge them until he walked in their shoes. Then again, he liked the idea of having total control over his own body, and he would not truast any other form of him to control him. So with that, he would end up looking over towards the side to the man sitting, or laying on the bench as Akane would guide the child over to him. Aye Akane! The boy would reply perkily before looking over to the man. And the first action that she would take was to sit on top of him... Well, Haruki would have no idea how to feel if someone were to do that to him to wake him up. Was that how normal people normally do to wake each other up?

Haruki had, to be honest, he would probably begin to panic, flail his arms a little bit before then having a Shadow Clone help fight off whoever was sitting on top of him, provided they did not crush him or smash any of his organs while doing so. Eh, it would not matter, since he now was probably going to be staying up at night so that no one could do such a thing to him. what interested him was the reaction that the man had given. He seemed so calm and collected, rather than panicking. He also seemed familiar, addressing Akane by her name. Did they know each other? And if they had a close enough friendship that she was able to sit on him while he was sleeping and he was okay with it... How long have they known each other? All these questions, but none of them would come out from his lips. Instead, he would let out the little perky smile he had as he was being addressed by the man. If Akane did not introduce Haruki, he would take the role for her. My name is Haruki! Perky perky perky. Ah, it never got old. His smile, his baby face, his loud volume and happy tone, it was the Haruki Akari starter pack. Haruki Akari! Do you know Akane?

Akane would answer Salzem's question about Haruki by saying, "Haruki and I met around the same time you and I met. He's been a good friend to me and has taught me many things!" Suddenly, Haruki would introduce himself and would ask Salzem if he knew her. Akane would answer the question for Salzem and would smile at Haruki while proudly saying, "He knows me Haruki! He's my little brother!" Akane would then stand up and would smile at them both before asking, "So, what do you guys wanna do?" She was hoping they'd choose something interesting to do where the two of them could possibly become friends with each other. If her brother and her best friend weren't friends or didn't get along with each other she didn't know what she'd do. The two of them were extremely close to her and she hoped that she wouldn't have to pick a side if they had decided to start a fight of some sort. She actually hoped that the both of them could see themselves as brothers or something like that so they could be somewhat like a small family, where they all helped each other and protected each other. 

[Sorry for the small post compared to both of yours >o<]

Salzem blushed slightly upon hearing Akane call him her "little brother." It felt decidedly nice to belong to someone in that way... The way she said it too... It wasn't filled with the disdain or anger he had come to expect from those he ended up interacting with. She spoke of his with such warmth, the sun might as well had been her. He returned her smile, a bit shaky and unsure, but he managed one of genuine warmth. Salzem turned his gaze on the kid, his eyes widening just a bit as he spoke his name.

"Oh... Haruki, huh...? I thought it was something like that..." He shrugged heavily, the weight on his shoulders making the gesture difficult. "Yeah. Akane is my sister." He agreed, looking over at Akane and smiling. If only Dachi were here... His family would be together at last. When his sister asked what he wanted to do, He looked to Haruki, silently comparing his energy to that of his student and little bro. He snickered silently to himself, just visualizing how well both Dachi and Haruki would get along.

Akane would introduce them, of course. She knew the kid better anyhow. They'd probably play for hours out there in the training grounds, only coming home when their energy is fully depleted. Probably would be around 8 pm Dachi would return and Salzem would ask how his day was. Dachi would respond with "I made a friend!" Dachi, Akane and Salzem would sit around the table and just talk about their days, being as calm and laid back as any family could be. Just the miniature fantasy brought a small smile to his lips. He hoped desperately that a day like that one would spring into existence one day... One day soon...  Hokage's sake... Just imagining this was making him feel old. He snickered to himself before focusing his attention back on his sister and her buddy. Yeah... Just maybe...

"I dunno..." Salzem scratched his head, shaking loose any sand still present. "I think I'm just going to move on... I'm kinda too tired to do anything." With that, he continued his way back to what passed as home here, silently deciding it was his home no longer. There were so many people he loved here, but he just couldn't stay any longer. He had a job to do and he was tired of waiting.

(sorry to end my involvement here so fast. T-T)

EXIT