Aimless Wandering-open to all (Even you!)

With a grin and a wave, Max would introduce himself. “Hello Kobayashi. I am Maximillian of the Yamaguchi clan, but my friends call me Max. I am also a Genin.” It wouldn’t take much for Max to notice Kobayashi eying up Napa with curiosity. “And this is Napa, by best friend. Don’t take anything he says too personally. He seems to be in a rare mood today,” Max knew that Napa was actually like this a good chunk of the time, but he normally would only communicate it with Max, not out loud. 

Max would just nod quietly when asked if he had been interested in watching the execution. Napa would also seem to be excited, his bony hands rubbing together in anticipation for the promise of bloodshed. 
 
“I hope they announce the name of the criminal. It would be of great assistance to me.” Max would say aloud as he looked up at the executioners block. There were still no signs of the criminal in question, nor did the “executioner” seem to be here yet either. Still, if the crowd continued to grow, they might not get any good seats. “We should claim our seats soon,” he would say while pointing back to the bench they had been sitting on prior. 
 

Moving to the nearby bench he would climb up and sit down, a blank look on his face as he watched the block. He had actually wondered about these two other kids. They seemed rather odd, though not in any way that had been particularly unpleasant. The fact that they had not avoided Max as though he carried a plague was somewhat… refreshing. He didn’t have many people in his life that had been friendly towards him, besides Napa and his other “friends”, so it was a nice change from the norm. Max only worried about how Napa would react to these new people. He wasn’t the nicest of people…

Senshi’s head started to tilt to the side before he reasserted control of himself, neither of his superiors here had given him leave to relax and after embarrassing himself with his clumsiness already he wasn’t about to do it again by disrespecting the two Genin before him. When Reizo’s question registered with Senshi he was oddly surprised and confused, did he not realize that Senshi was standing at attention for them. “Uhm…. Nothing Sir, I’m standing at attention my eyes are the correct two inches above your head, sir. I apologize if I gave the impression that I was not paying attention, sir.” Looking at the older blonde haired Genin with an almost frightened look to his eyes, hoping that he had not disrespected him by giving the impression that he wasn’t paying attention. He hadn’t meant to and he felt like his father would be angry with him for making any superior feel that way. He chastised himself internally to be sure that his superiors knew he was focused on them at all times.
 
At the introduction, Senshi was fairly surprised but he spent several minutes repeating the boys name in his head and memorizing his facial features. When the younger blonde stepped forward and introduced himself and the skeletal figure he transported, Senshi took several seconds to do the same with them. He wanted to ensure that he could make up for his earlier failings in presenting a bad first impression. At the odd apology from the younger blonde for his skeleton friend, Senshi simply choose to ignore it, just as he would ignore the comment the younger blonde had made to saying his friends called him Max. He was certain that was a test to see if he would dare be so presumptuous. He had been clumsy and he deserved whatever punishment his superior choose from him. He quickly brought his right hand to his left shoulder placing it against his collar bone in a picture perfect salute. “It is an honor to meet two Genin of our village, Shoyu-Sempai, Napa-Sempai, and Yamaguchi-Sempai. Yamaguchi-Sempai I would never believe myself to be so presumptuous as to call one of my superiors by a nickname, I assure you despite my disastrous first impression I shall remain utmost respectful to you, Shoyu-Sempai, and Napa-Sempai. Apologies for Napa-Sempai’s actions are not needed, your decisions on my punishment for embarrassing myself in front of the villagers will be gladly received.”
 

Senshi paused and dropped his salute after several seconds holding himself back at attention. At young Maximillian’s words Senshi was surprised. He had always thought he too was the only one curious who was being executed. So he could look up what they had done wrong and ensure that he never made the same mistakes. “If I may be so presumptuous to add, I too hope they announce the name of the criminal Yamaguchi-Sempai. It would be most beneficial to my training as well.” At the invitation to sit with his superior Senshi had an almost fangirl like reaction. He couldn’t believe after being so clumsy he, a mere Academy Student was being invited to sit with full-fledged Ninja of his village. He felt himself swell with sudden pride and waited respectfully for Reizo to proceed him to the bench. He really wanted to sit next to Yamaguchi-Sempai and Napa-sempai for he was very curious as to Napa’s origins. “After you, sir.” Senshi made a slight motion with his hand towards the bench so Reizo would know what he was referring to and then after waiting a respectful second for the other boy to sit he would practically dash to sit on the other side of Maximillian a slight grin on his face as he tried to prevent himself from vibrating in place. “Thank you for inviting me to sit with you, Yamaguchi-Sempai.”

Reizo noted the eagerness in both boys' voices and actions as they awaited the execution of whatever criminal was to come. In particular, Reizo noted how Max specifically stated that knowing the criminal's name would be beneficial. How odd. I wonder how knowing the criminal's name would possibly be useful, unless one were keeping a record or something, Reizo thought to himself, puzzled by the context of Max's words. He didn't dwell on them for too long, and the crowd pushed them to find a nearby bench to sit at. Reizo respected Senshi's request to sit before he did, and thanked him. Reizo took his seat to one side of Max, bordered on the other by the edge, and Senshi would quickly fill the seat on the other side of Max.

People in the crowd started filling out the seats quickly, the three were lucky to have gotten such good seats so close to the action. Whereas the other boys were more interested in the identity of the criminal, Reizo was very interested in the crimes. He always found people's crimes and motivations far more enticing than the person who committed it. The story that's told along with each crime was always fascinating. What would drive someone to commit a crime? How could anyone bring themselves to go against the law of the land? Reizo never could make any sense of these criminals, and although he wasn't particularly keen on whether the punishment fit the crime, Reizo could never comprehend how anyone could bring themselves and carry themselves on any form of integrity or honor after performing an illegal act. He hoped, at least, that the crimes of the prisoner weaved an interesting narrative and tale this time. Reizo slouched into his seat comfortably, folded his arms, and looked up at the dreary sky. It was always gray and foggy, wasn't it?

This Kobayashi fellow seemed to be acting odd towards the two of them. It wasn’t in the same way most of the villagers had treated Max, but maybe one of respect. What had he done to deserve the respect of this boy? Nothing of note would come to mind. Both Reizo and himself had been of Genin rank, but that wasn’t worthy of commanding such respect, was it? And what was this about punishment?
 
“Why would we punish you?” Max would ask with a surprised tone, wondering just what this kid expected them to be like. The villagers had seen him as a monster, but not because of any cruelty on his part. “I don’t recall reading anywhere that we would need to punish you? Have you heard anything of this Reizo? I don’t think that falls under a list of Genin duties, but I could be wrong. I wouldn’t punish you anyhow. It was a simple accident that hurt nobody except maybe a bit of your own pride.” Max would say all this with a smile at the slightly older boy.
 
“I could always find a way to punish you…” Napa would mutter just loud enough for them to hear, but a glare and “Hush,” from Max would quiet the puppet.
 
“Uhh… you are welcome?” Max would respond to the enthusiasm of Kobayashi being ‘allowed’ to sit with them. Max was honestly just glad to have folks that didn’t ostracize him, and so the thought of not allowing this boy to sit with him seemed alien. He had been fond of the idea of making friends, though most didn’t want such a friendship. They seemed to be willing, and so Max wouldn’t do anything that could be mean and jeopardize it. Plus, the boys rank didn't really matter all that much, at least not to Max.
 
The execution would likely happen soon, so Max would wait patiently. Napa would be bothered by this waiting and pace around a bit. Max wouldn’t pay him much mind though. He knew that nothing he said would change Napa’s actions. Looking around, he couldn’t see the executioner nor the prisoner anywhere nearby. This might take longer than he had expected, but he could always pass the time by trying to get to know these folks a bit more.
 

“So what can I learn about you folks? I already know that Reizo is a Taijutsu user, and I focus on puppetry. What about you, Senshi? Do you have a specialty, or anything that you excel at over other things?” Max knew that many of the Academy Students didn’t have any specialties yet, as they were focused on a broad learning spectrum, but maybe this kid knew what he had wanted to do. Max himself had known he was going to be a puppetry expert since he met Napa in his Academy days.

The ingrained respect the boy gave to the others was built upon years of his father and Uncle teaching it to him, since he could remember he had always been told how he was to act around people. Unfortunately his mother and Uncle’s clans had primarily been Samurai and as such Senshi had learned more of their respectful customs to superiors than he had a shinobis. Not that he really knew that there was a difference simply that was how he had been instructed to act. His eyes widened slightly in surprise at the other boys words, didn’t he realize that Senshi was only an Academy Student and that Max, Napa, and Reizo were all Genin in his mind. Intellectually Senshi knew Napa was a puppet but he had never encountered one that seemed to have a personality so Senshi was treating Napa as his own person. That seemed to be what Max did and Senshi figured he would follow the more experienced boys lead in that issue.
 
“It’s just you are Genin and I am only an Academy Student, I interrupted the two of you and that is a grievous disrespectful action. I appreciate your kindness Maximillian-Sempai.” Senshi paused flushing as he realized he had used the other boys first name. “Is it all right that I refer to your with your first name, I shouldn’t have assumed it’s rude.” It might have looked odd to any passerby’s to see the tallest of the three almost kowtowing to the smallest and obviously youngest of the group, but to Senshi he didn’t see the other boys age only his headband. Turning his eyes to Napa he decided to address him, “If you have any suggestions for how I could make up for my previous error, it would be greatly appreciated Napa-sempai.” Senshi almost seemed eager as he leaned slightly in the puppets direction his body feeling the energy and anticipation building up in it.
 
After they had all sat down Senshi felt his eyes roaming the crowd as they had been learning at the academy to assess the area for any threats. It wasn’t that he expected there to be any but he knew that it was important to keep doing these things in order to build up the instinctual habit. Turning his attention back to his younger superior Senshi focused on his words with an almost unnatural amount of attention. “I’m quite good with weapons, I’ve been handling them since I was a child due to my fathers profession as a blacksmith. I would say I am average at best at my other skills though I do enjoy studying up on the more esoteric arts of the shinobi world such as Fuuinjutsu or even delving into the theory behind how to use Ninjutsu and even the Space-Time jutsus.” Senshi paused realizing he had started waxing eloquently on his few passions. Flushing slightly he made a slightly apologetic hand wave, “I apologize I got excited, is there anything you enjoy doing Maximillian-Sempai, Napa-Sempai, Reizo-Sempai?” He turned his attention to the elder blonde boy, knowing now that he was a taijutsu specialist it made him reanalyze the boy wondering how strong he was. Senshi didn’t usually look for hand to hand fights as he enjoyed keeping his distance to properly view his enemy and his actions.

As the young shinobi continued to chat amongst themselves, the streets began to fade.  People that had stood, that had walked about their business began to become shadows that dissipated as if light had been shown on them.  Three distinct figures quickly became apparent as they waded through the parting crowd.  One a behemoth, the first that could be recognized.  Long black hair matted with sweat, mud, and blood on broad shoulders.  Each step seemed to cause the ground to shake slightly as his frame pushed against the realities of what a human shape should take.  His chest lay exposed, his lower torso coated in cruel twisted steel.  Strapped across his back was a massive stone hammer.  The head chipped and worn as if it had clearly been used many times, tints of red strewn across its face.  The man’s eyes were as black as the steel and looked out without feeling.  The abyss of hatred, of complete disregard for the hundreds of souls that flitted in front of him.
           
    The second figure that would draw the eyes was an emaciated man in a black robe.  His face lay exposed, covered in pox.  Sallow cheeks and rotted teeth as he smiled.  One eye lay milky and red with a stream of yellow puss draining as if it was tears.  He only had one hand; the other was nothing more than a stump.  Necrotic tissue and eschar could be seen, yet despite the obvious plague that ravaged his body he smiled.  His crusted lips constantly in motion as he chanted something unintelligible.  A priest of plague.
            
   The final individual walked in chains.  She was completely naked sans the cold iron that locked her arms in an embrace of confinement.  Hey eyes moved, flitting from soul to soul screaming for assistance, and yet her lips remained closed.  Her blonde hair was strewn across her face, her body tarnished by dirt and filth.  Her eyes were green, almost pretty if this was another time, another place.
            
   Making their way into the middle of the street the priests voice pierced the air.  Unnaturally high, not even befitting the man.  His stump pressed against the girl, debriding the wound upon her back and forcing her to kneel.  This was the first tear that fell from the orbs of green, but it would not be the last.  The colossus that walked with them would halt, the hammer being shrugged from his back to land hard on the ground.  The thud made the women jump only slightly, clearly she expected it, and even so could not stop herself.  The creature was now easily recognizable to any who lived in Kumo.  The executioner that was the only name he was known by.  Youka, Mortarion, the Kage knew his true name, were he came from and some of his goals.  Yet these things had not made it into the village.  To them he had appeared to carry out the mass homicide of those deemed criminal.  A never ending task, one that he had turned into a spectacle.  The rumors of his craft being shut down by the new queen had spread, yet were killings had taken place in the arena, now they took place in the street.  Less sanctioned, yet just as prevalent.
           
    “My children please look upon us…”  The priests words would shriek.  “The plague of humanity loses one more……The plague god gains.  Our existence is flawed….”  He would say shaking his head..” Yet in death we are whole.  We start as nothing, we end as nothing.  The vessel of flesh is a mere cage, promised to decay in time.  It is our only purpose, but to put haste to the process.  Those of us blessed with that task seek to send others on for as long as we may.  Those that are not, are made to go.”  His words continued to shriek and shrill across the ears of those around them.
            
   These fanatics had come out when Kumo had been taken over.  They looked at the plague fields, at the transformation of the kage and took it to be a coming of sorts.  These things happened when those of power truly rose and wrapped their fingers around the throat of life.  Tiaos himself cared not for them, they were nothing but insects or even worse sheep.  Yet they found him prey, they found him the blood to wet his appetite with.  For this reason he associated with them at times, even if their teachings were meaningless drabbles of nonsense
           
    “This poor suffering vessel will soon be freed.  Her sins…..assisting in the exodus of children from a local orphanage.  Helping them leave our holy company, teaching them to live……to spread humanity.  Such folly in one so young.  Cursed with beauty, her heart tainted by love for those who do not deserve it.  Our friend here…….he found her in the fields aiding the children.  Fear not….fear not my followers……they were left to find their place in the plague gods embrace.  She was brought here before you, stripped bare to answer for her sins.  Gaze upon her……drink the sight in deep.  Watch as she fulfills her purpose goes before us to death, to eternal life, to her only purpose…..”  His voice trailed away echoing off the buildings.  What had been a tear, now was a stream of wetness.
           
    Behind her the berserker gripped the massive stone hammer.  A ritual weapon more than one fit for true combat.  His knuckles whitened as he lifted the massive instrument, its bulk of stone clearly beyond that which should be lifted.  Chocking up on the grip he held it perpendicular to the ground.  Kneeling, he still had to lean further down for his lips to come close to the girls right ear.  She clearly recoiled at this……this was not the first time he had pressed his company on her, but it would be the last.  To all those around they would see his lips move.  If they strained to listen they could hear the gravel grind in his voice, yet the words would be unintelligible for all those except the girl.
              
 No sooner had they stopped than he stood, the girl bursting into uncontrollable sobs.  She remained in her kneeling position, yet her shoulders shook.  The accessory muscels strained at her sobs, her abdomen sucked in as her diaphragm began to spasm from fear, exhaustion, and the complete loss of hope.  Her eyes looked up and found the three young ones.  Locking on the academy student.
            
   As for the priest he returned to his chanting.  The hammers head gently rubbed against the crown of the girls head for a moment, messing her hair further.  Then it was raised high, her lips never finished mouthing the word “Please….”  The first blow hit her hard, yet it was clear it had not killed her.  The clear divot in her skull promised that what had been the girl was gone, yet the flesh continued to live.  This was Taios’ own personal preference in these situations.  Speed was not something he cared about.  Her lips continued to move, stuck on that one word as her eyes stayed on the academy students.  The third time she tried to get the word out, the hammer fell once again.  This time the already weakened infrastructure of her skull lost its shape.  The next blow came quicker, followed by another, and another.  Soon all semblance was gone, and shoulders ended in red mess.  The priest shrilled in joy at the site, only to be abruptly silenced.  A free hand had clasped his throat and broke the neck causing his face to kiss the stained dirt.  For him only one blow, and the face of another plague priest was gone.  The bodies lay next to one another, conjoined by the stench of death, mingled in the fluid that gave life.
           
    Shouldering the hammer fragments of flesh, hair, and blood dripped from the face.  The strap kept the weapon on his back, and he spoke for the first time…. “Her name was Penny.  She thought it wise to assist those beneath her out.  This is not how things are done…..”  He would say voice low and cold.  The crowd remained silent, watching.  “Bathe yourself of these weaknesses.  Cleanse your mind of mercy, charity, empathy.  Embolden your soul with only one thing, and that is war.  Only there will you find yourself, not in some god, not in man…….only in war.  Prepare…”  His voice would trail off.  For many this would eb the most words they ever heard from him no matter how many executions they might have seen.  With that his massive shoulders shrugged and he vacated the area.  Carving a wide path from any in front of him, retreating into the inner circle of the village.

Reizo watched in morbid curiosity as the executioner and the prisoner took the stage. There was another person with them, a grotesque, elderly man, who was the presiding priest. The priest's appearance made Reizo squirm with unease in his seat, hopefully he would be gone once the rites were read. The prisoner was a beautiful woman, denigrated and humiliated by being presented in the nude with nothing but her chains to shield her from public view. She looked desperate. Part of Reizo wanted to jump up and rescue her, but he knew that such criminals deserve their penalties. Watching these executions, while interesting, was never easy. Still, Reizo had never looked away from any of these before. Usually they were quick and relatively painless, albeit gory and not for the light-weighted.

The woman was truly beautiful, and Reizo was left wondering what she had done to deserve such a fate. Was it treason? Deception? Cold-blooded murder? Perhaps she even aided those who would do harm to our village. Reizo was more interested in this execution than he had been for any other. Most criminals weren't as good looking nor enchanting. Reizo looked at his two friends to gauge their expressions of the woman as well. Even though Reizo hadn't started puberty yet, he was starting to take an interest in girls. He knew that he was still older than the others, but Reizo wondered if they had the some interests as he did. Finally the plague priest spoke. His voice was grating and awful- Reizo wanted him to shut up and get the execution over with. The priest's words were unimportant, only the word of the executioner had any importance in Reizo's mind. Then the priest mentioned the details of her imprisonment. Aiding... children? That was a crime now? Maybe she was teaching them to be enemies of the village, or teaching them forbidden knowledge. Reizo wanted to withhold judgement until all the details were released, but those thoughts still swirled around in his head.

The woman was having a full on meltdown in front of them. Reizo tried to not let his emotions get tied to her, he had to remain as apathetic as possible. It would make the execution much easier to sit through. Reizo closed his moment to focus and block out the screaming and crying of the woman. It was difficult and taxing on his mind, but when he opened his eyes his heart skipped a beat. The woman was looking straight at the three of them. It wasn't directly at him, but Reizo surmised that her stare was straight toward Senshi, two seats down. It was becoming harder for Reizo to dismiss the woman's emotions. Then, the executioner lifted his hammer. Reizo hadn't noticed it at first. He had assumed it would be an axe or a blade... was a hammer normal? He couldn't recall, but it didn't seem right. This was supposed to be quick. Reizo cast his gaze down at the ground and bit his lip, drawing blood as the hammer was dropped on her head. A devastating thud, crackle, and squish of bones and brain matter drizzling the concrete was almost too much to handle. Reizo's knuckles had turned white as he gripped the edge of the bench between his legs. He had to stay restrained. Reizo looked back up, but saw that the woman hadn't even died. His eyes widened, half in horror, half in shock as she continued to bemoan before the hammer was dropped repeatedly to silence her, leaving her head a bloody pulp. It was gruesome and terrifying. If it were this bad for him... he wondered how Senshi and Max had felt about it. After all, she was trying to connect with Senshi this whole time, and Max was only a boy. Maybe Reizo hadn't completely understood death until that moment- maybe he was too young and naive, but the cruelty of that death bothered him more than anything had before. The only consolation was that the priest was killed shortly thereafter.

Reizo stayed for the short sermon the executioner delivered. The woman's name was Penny, but in Reizo's mind she had committed no crime. She wasn't helping our enemies, she was helping the poor and the weak. Reizo looked over to Max. He was the exact demographic that the woman had helped, had that affected him at all? Reizo's eyes were completely dry. He was too angry for tears. War. The executioner had said to prepare for war, that life itself was a war. Reizo didn't want to believe such nonsense, and it would probably take a while for him to come to terms with everything that happened today. As the executioner left, Reizo silently stood up from his seat, his head cast downward and fists clenched tightly, and disappeared into the village forum without so much as a good-bye.

“I really enjoy-” His words were cut short by the start of the execution. Max would watch as the event would begin, the time for words ended so that one could hear them list exactly what the prisoner had done. The words of the priests were of little importance to Max, for he had placed little in any particular faith within the village. He knew much based purely on his own interactions that an existence was to be found after death, and he didn’t need the words of any preacher to tell him so. Still he listened as the priest spoke, for it was the respectful thing to do. He looked around to the others, seeing how they were reacting. For the most part it seemed to be the same. They didn’t say much of anything during the service. He did note that the boy seemed fairly interested in the prisoner though.
 
Max would turn and look to the captive as the priest would continue, his eyes showing little in the way of emotion. She was currently dirty and beaten, but Max could tell that she had likely been from some important family. Despite her current situation, you could tell that her skin was too fair and her build to beautiful to be of the common peasantry. Then the priest stated her crimes.
 
She had been helping the orphans leave the village? Max wasn’t sure what to think about that at first. His gut response was that she was helping the orphans and that made him happy, but they then explained how she had been ‘helping’ the orphans. Smuggling them out of the village was not a way to help the orphans of Kumogakure. The children of Kumo were the next generation of citizens and protectors. Her actions, while noble to some, would only aid in the weakening of Kumogakure as a whole. Those children that were taken away from the village can now never grow up to protect it, nor will they be able to grow and be the force for the changes that the lady had likely desired. It was truly a shame. She wanted them to have a ‘better life’ but that directly clashed with what the village seemed to need right now. Who was really wrong though, on a deeper level? What was more important, personal well-being or the good of the village? His shinobi training and clan teachings would sway his mind, telling him that she was in the wrong and that it was not disputable, but an inkling of doubt was creeping into the mind of Max. Why couldn’t the two walk hand in hand?
 
It wasn’t long before the large brute of a man, “The Executioner”, had stepped forward and began what would be the last moments of the prisoner’s life. He had seemed used to his duties as village executioner, and the prisoner began to sob. She was clearly terrified, and for good reason. The brute was in imposing man, and she knew that her life was coming quickly to a close as he raised his hammer. A hammer didn’t seem like the proper weapon. The large man would lift it up and strike a solid blow to the head of the captive, the strike surprisingly not enough to kill them. It took a few more strikes for the job to be completed. “His technique is terribly inefficient. A bladed weapon would have proved more effective. Why take multiple blows when a single well-placed one will do?” Max would mutter, loud enough for those beside him to hear. “Even with a hammer, his first strike should have been more than enough to get the job done. He is either terribly incapable with that weapon, or…” Then it dawned on him what had been going on.
 
This wasn’t just to behead the prisoner for their crimes. No, this was to put on a spectacle and strike fear into those who would dare defy the current Kage, Mortarion. “…He is enjoying inflicting pain and showing us what will happen if we resist Mortarion and his edicts. This is just sad…”
 
Max truly realized in that moment that Mortarion had feared the people. He was indeed strong and powerful, but such a tactic to inspire fear into your own people? Fear was a powerful weapon, but only on those without the willpower to face their fears and come out on top. If enough people would stay their arms against him out of this fear, his reign would go without resistance. It was an effective tactic, and Max could give respect where it was due. Mortarions enemies would be crippled or disarmed before any fighting even began. Max would keep all this to himself, but it would be noted in his mind. Max expected such tactics to be used on the enemies of Kumo, not its own people.
 
The Executioner had some words for the people, and Max took them in and thought about them a great deal. Something inside would instinctively understand and agree with what was said, but the ideas and ideals of one of his friends would be in conflict with that gut response. He would wonder what he would do when faced with such hard choices. Would he execute his enemies without mercy, or would he show them that which Kumo had rarely ever shown? The enemies of the village were unlikely to receive much mercy, but his own people? Such thoughts would twist and conflict within the mind of the young boy.
 

Seeing Reizo walk away without words, Max would slide off the bench. With a quiet, “See you some other time” to the remaining Senshi, Max and Napa would walk off as well. He had a lot to think about…


[Exit]

As Max began to respond both their attention was drawn by the priest walking out. His voice was grating, but then all the priests voices were usually grating. Senshi didn’t have a religion that he prescribed to. He saw them as a crutch for people too weak to just accept that life was life. As the prisoner was marched out, he was confused by why she was naked. Usually they were clothed, it was rare to see them naked. Shrugging the thought off, he returned his attention to the priest as he continued to speak. He was greatly curious about her crimes, they must have been heinous for her to be publically humiliated as well as executed. There could be no greater dishonor than to be paraded around clothesless. Completely helpless, all of your flaws open to the world. Then to be executed, like a stray dog with rabies that needed to be put down for the good of the village.
 
Senshi’s eyes widened minutely before they hardened his hands clamping into fists hard enough that he felt a slight pain at his nails digging into his palms. How dare this woman think that taking the children of Kumo, the future shinobi of Kumo, out of here would be better for them. This village was the epitome of all of them, as declared by the Raikage. They might be recovering from the destruction caused when the current Raikage had taken over, but they still had their incredible defences and the strength of the greatest Kage in existence. Senshi watched as the executioner finally stepped forwards. He was intrigued by the fact that the man had a hammer. He had never seen one used at an execution before.
 
As the first blow rained down onto the woman Senshi finally realized that she had been staring at them. He may not be a shinobi yet, but the other two boys were. Could she be staring at them because of their age? They were all quite young, but it didn’t matter to the boy. He watched as she collapsed with the blow the blood beginning to leak out and cover the ground. He was mildly surprised by the fact that she was still living. She either had a hard head or the executioner had held back a lot of his strength from the blows. As Max spoke, Senshi prepared to answer him, but within seconds the boy continued speaking. Clearly working through his own thought process, Senshi couldn’t help but agree until his last words. It wasn’t sad, this was justice incarnate. She deserved the pain she had incurred from her crimes.
 
Senshi refrained from saying anything however, Max outranked him and it was wrong to speak to a superior in the way he would probably come across. As the executioner spoke, Senshi hung on his every word. He knew that disobeying the rules were criminal, and he was intent on always following them to the letter. He wouldn’t end up like that lady whose head had become such mush that nothing was left t discern her once vibrant features. As the executioner turned to leave, Senshi turned to the two boys he was with surprised to see Reizo leaving so quickly without even a polite good bye. Senshi could feel an odd emotion from him, and from the crowd. He was however unsure what it was. As Max too stood to leave he at least offered a polite good bye. Before Senshi could give his own however he had moved off. Shrugging the older boy pushed himself up and approached as close to the execution stand as he could.
 
Weaving through all the people that were leaving as he did so. He could see tears on several peoples face and an odd expression no most peoples faces. He couldn’t place it, except to say it as very similar to an expression his sister had, had once when she had been climbing from a tree and been frightened. But these people couldn’t possibly feel fear at what had happened could they. It was a simple lesson that had been taught. Follow the rules and you’ll live. Don’t and you’ll end up a pile of mush on the ground. Senshi looked at the flowing blood and in intrigue he raised his arm and grabbed something that was hanging on the edge. As he picked it up, he drowned at the blood that now stained his fingers. He’d need to wash them thoroughly to get her taint off of them. He turned the fragment he had picked up realizing it was a piece of the woman’s skull. Some blood still dripped from it, and her hair and pieces of flesh were still attached.
 
Shrugging he placed the piece back on the pulpit. His Uncle had been teaching him to kill, and taking him out to kill animals since he was five years old. A bit of blood and brain matter didn’t bother him anymore. Shrugging Senshi turned to leave, he had things to study for the upcoming Genin Exam after all. It was important that he remember the lessons taught here. They reinforced everything he had been taught after all. Follow the laws, and you won’t end up like that woman. Or his Uncle.
 
 

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