Time moves on (Sal)

Ryou was getting worried. He couldn't shake the last part of the battle that he saw out of his head. Ryou was in his room at the moment. He headed out of his room and out the door. Ryou had no need to tell his aunt where he was going because she was out with some friends, and also Ryou didn't know where he was going, he left because he need to clear his head. 

Ryou headed into the market, the noise, he thought, would help him with shaking the thoughts. What he was most worried about was the fact that the Kazekage, the most powerful in the village, was beaten. Another fact was that he didn't know why he was killed, he just was. Ryou knew it wasn't an attack on the village, so he didn't know what it could be. 

The noises gradually started to quiet as Ryou noticed that he was know out of the market. Ryou found himself by the base of a large building. He jumped up to wall and walked up to the top of the 8 story building. Then he sat himself at the edge of the ledge, dangling his feet. The wind and heat hit his back. Ryou starts staring off in the distance, at the sky away from the sun. It was a nice baby blue, which made Ryou smile for a bit. He went make to his resting face and laid against the roof on his back. He sighed at like the more quiet, guess it wasn't the noise that made him forget about the strif but more of the beauty of his home land.

"Sup, Kid?" Salzem asked, sitting down beside Ryou, his own feet dangling off the edge of this TALL building. The sanguine-eyed ninja hadn't really been following Ryou, rather, he had caught his eye while he was going about through town... When he saw him, he thought that MAYBE he'd spend a little time with this kid, let him know he was leaving soon, say his goodbyes and so on. It had been a little bit since he last saw Ryou, since that little thing that happened in the curry shop. He had to admit... he was still contemplating whether or not to tease him for his behavior back then...

An insidious interior smile crawled its way up Salzem's lips as he remembered what buttons to push on the kid to make him fluster... It seemed that Kira was having a BAD influence on him, making the lycan see the humor in making people squirm, as horrible as that sounds. Still, it was all in good nature, no intent to harm here... He just wanted to spend some time with his friend. If Ryou would allow, Salzem would wrap an arm around his shoulder and pull him into a side-hug, holding him there for a moment before letting go and ruffling his hair lightly. Poor kid... he was steadily coming to fill the role of Sal's younger brother...

"How're you doing?" He asked, smiling softly. It was always good to see Ryou, especially now with everything going on... He was glad that even while the big-wigs in Sunagakure were debating it's fate, he could still sit down with those that matter most and have a moment with them... He wouldn't make the mistake of leaving them silently again.

Ryou looked at Sal when spoke and smiled, "Hey Sal." Sal then sat with the genin and wrapped his arms around him in a side hug. Ryou didn't get bothered by this, he even leaned in him and looked off in to the sky once again. He liked how much of a older brother Sal was, it was like how Ayame was like an older sister to him. Then Sal asked how Ryou was doing. he took a deep breath, "I'm worried," he started, "I saw the battle results of the battle of the two ninja against our kazekage." Ryou looked at Sal's face his soft eyes, "What do you think will happen to Suna, I mean the two ninja weren't even attacking the other ninjas, like we were nothing...Do you think they are trying to kill us?" he then brought is knees to his chest and wraped his arms around his knees, like a ball, and was still leaning on Sal.

The lycan smiled warmly as the boy accepted his hug, actually leaning into it as he looked off into the sky... However, his response to Salzem's question left the lycan... somewhat off guard and almost nervous on the inside, somehow still retaining an at least partially confident expression... The kid asked what would happen to Suna, that he had seen the fight between the Kage and the 2 other men and how they just walked past the surrounding ninja like they were nothing... He asked if they were trying to kill them and that question made Salzem pause... He didn't know anything... The most information he had came from the gates itself but it didn't seem like they were initially hostile... And then there was the disappearance of the Kazekage... What happened to him...?

"Sunagakure will be fine!" Salzem stated with a soft, comforting smile, holding the little ball-of-a-boy. "From what I heard, they were just here to talk with Sunagakure! With Koroshi being gone for a bit, Kyson will be taking things over, alright?" Salzem hoped that what he'd said brought comfort to the younger ninja... Silently... Salzem had come up with a plan...

"Say..." Salzem stated, gently patting the Ryou on the back. "How do you feel about a little vacation to Konoha? I said I'd take you." What he didn't say was that he was going to be maneuvering the kid out of harms way as subtly as a meat-headed man-wolf could possibly do...

Ryou sighed in relief after Salzem explained the situation to him. He believed him, like any younger brother would with his older brother. Then, Sal caught Ryou off guard with a question of a vacation to his home village, Kono. Ryou looked at Sal again and smiled, "That would be great, I've always wanted to go there." He still smiled but looked off to the sky once more, "I hope my Aunt Hirioko would be okay without me, there's no doubt that she wouldn't let me go, she always telling me to go there." Ryou thought of the one training day with Ayame, and the genjutsu she put him under so he could see Kono and understand water style. Ryou looks at Sal again with his soft hazel eyes and his hair flowing in the wind being blown on top of the building. "Should I go and pack up?" Ryou asked.

"I'm sure she'd be fine with it..." Salzem agreed, smiling down on the boy as best as he possibly could given the circomstances. If things were going as badly as he feared, he'd be making this kid the first of (what he could only assume to be) only a few refugees heading to the leaf for protection. It kind of hurt to know that he was keeping information from this kid about his home, keeping him oblivious and complacent to a degree, but he could live with it if it meant he'd survive the coming storm.

Ryou looked up at him once more with those big hazel eyes of his and asked if he should begin packing and, to that, Salzem nodded, but not before pulling him into a real hug, not just half of one that he was settling for a moment ago. He held the younger ninja close to his chest, careful not to do anything that would risk him falling off the edge of this horrendously tall building roof. Throughout the whole thing, the lycan would say nothing, just gently holding the kid he considered his younger brother close to him for a little while before eventually letting him go, running an armored hand through Ryou's wild-like hair, perhaps even an endearing look crossing his face.

"Lets go get your stuff, okay?" Salzem offered, smiling lightly. "And let your aunt know you're going to be away for a bit."

Ryou was once again caught off guard by Sal's full hug, but he wouldn't complain. He closed his eyes in Sal's friendly warm embrace. Once Ryou was let go from Sal's arms and say that they should leave for home to pack. He took a deep breath and clapped his hands together, changing his skin to a reddish color. "I'll race you." He laughs as he uses body flicker and teleported to the base of the building at a speed of 196 and started running home at a speed of 90. 

They made it to the apartment, even if Ryou beat Sal or not. If Ryou won, he wouldn't say anything as his skin would turn back to normal. He would open the door and let Sal in, then shut it after they both entered. "Hey honey, who's the guest?" Aunt Hirioko would call from the kitchen as the sound of running water came from the kitchen as well. "Oh, this is Sal, how did you know?" Ryou asked. "Last time I checked, you had two legs." She laughed, as well as Ryou. "I'll be right back, I have to pack then I'll tell you why." As he says this, he runs up the stairs and into his bedroom. Ryou got clothes into a bag that he had under his bed. 

Once that was all done he would go into the kitchen, inviting Sal if he wasn't already in there. Ryou would sit and the oak wood table and set his bag beside him, his aunt joined him at the table. "Alright, let's here where your all going."

Salzem simply let the kid take the obvious lead, running down the building with his treeclimbing jutsu at a speed of 125, unable to close that distance until Ryou stopped before an apartment that was apparently his.

"Too fast for me." The lycan stated, though he hardly looked winded or if he put any real effort into it. He tucked his hands into his jacket-pockets as Ryou opened the door, only to be met with a woman's voice from inside as well as the sound of running water. Of course, once he was introduced to the voice in the kitchen, Salzem would step inside himself, waiting patiently for Ryou to get his stuff together so they could go. Surprisingly, Ryou was either an expert at stuffing his stuff into one back or didn't have much at all because he was done in a flash, making his way into the kitchen already. Salzem followed him in, but didn't sit at the table, feeling somewhat awkward meeting Ryou's paren- er... caretaker for the first time. Instead, he reached out a hand for the woman to take as well as to shake.

"Hello. My name is Salzem." He introduced himself, offering a small flicker of a smile. When she asked where exactly they were both going, the lycan's smile grew a little bigger.

"I promised that I'd take Ryou out to the leaf country, Konoha, you know? I thought that now was just as good a time as any." He spoke with a respectful tone as any younger person must to their superior in age, but also to his friend's parent.

"We'll only be gone for a little while... a few weeks at most... is that alright with you?"

Ryou's aunt Hirioko sees that Sal doesn't sit down but instead put his hand out for a shake as a greeting. She smiled at him and shook his hand. Then Sal explained where they were going, while Ryou nods. "Kono, huh? Mighty fine place there, perfect for Ryou." She nods then, "Alright you two have fun there and be safe." Ryou got excited and hugged his aunt, "Thanks Hirioko." She laughs. Ryou lets go of the hug and looks at Sal, "Let's go." He grabs his bag and slips his shoes back on. Ryou opens the door and waits for Sal by the now open door, he need him to lead.

Salzem nodded, content with "Hirioko's" approval, before the two of them headed out, Salzem closing the door behind them. Before the two of them went any further, however, the lycan had a few things to say, a thing or two to do.

"Ryou... Do me a favor and give me your headband, okay?" His voice seemed almost urgent, looking around to make sure no other ninjas were in sight or smell of the lycanthrope... So far, it was all just civilians... that still didn't make him too enthusiastic. Should Ryou comply, Salzem would take his headband in one hand, then undo the one around his neck with the other, handing his headband over to the younger ninja while tying his around his neck.

"Listen... I won't be able to go to Konoha with you RIGHT this second... but I want you to go ahead of me, okay? Put on my headband... It'll make you safer..." The lycan would then reach into his ninja-pouch and pull out a small, folded up map, handing it to the kid as well. Of course, as soldiers and assassins, one must know how to read a map... It was required at the academy.

"Take this too... It'll show you how to reach Konoha from here... Me? I need to do a thing or two here first but I'll meet up with you in Konoha soon and I'll show you all the best parts, okay?"