Cruicible Within

Tue Oct 29, 2019 9:52 am

A thick fog covered the Village Hidden in the Clouds, so thick in fact a ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist might confuse it for its native village. However, the same fog didn’t touch the reaching peaks of the mountains of the Hidden Cloud, as though fingers stretching to prop the village hidden within the palm to new heights, bringing along the brave men and women that made up its ranks. One of those men was Noboru Kaito, a ninja of iron will, forged by the crucible of his necessity to become better than he was before, better than he thought he could ever be, a fire so strong and bright it lacked any color, being pure primal heat and luminescence, the heart of a star.

High above the deceptive fog, far from the cacophony of sounds of the village, Kaito stood a ways off the trail in a plane surface among ridges and valleys, with a peak climbing behind him. He had started the morning rather well; getting up before the sun to shower, cooking a healthy amount of eggs with fried ham to prepare for the activities to come shrouded in the blissful lighting the fog allowed to pierce through his dirty windows and dirty curtains. Truth be told, the genin should dedicate some of his energy to keeping his house clean, but such activities were seen as meandering for the ninja. “Maybe I’ll just hire someone to do it for me. I should be able to afford that soon.” He got his black and white leather jacket with the golden patched snake heads, tied his Kumogakure headband to hold back his redhead caught at the back of his head, and moved out.

The trek towards the high rise had not been an easy one; truthfully, the ninja spent over two hours walking alone. It was important that he would do this deliberately, without the assistance of any chakra injection into his muscles, so as to build the mass as naturally as possible. A time and a place existed to train the chakra assisted growth, and that was not now. “Not yet.” On his belt hung the usual sets of gear; two weapon pouches filled with steal, explosive seals and smoke bombs, and at his left hip, the two blades, a meter long katana, and a less than half meter washizaki, two stretches of dark wood without a pommel guard. In the ninja world, a pommel guard would do little other than serve as more added friction to a cut. “Better to end it swiftly before engaging in crossing swords stickily.” He carried his equipment as a way of getting used to having it with him at all times during active duty. He heard of weapon masters capable of carrying an army’s arsenal within scrolls too; he might have to look into that.

Now observing the scenery with a gourd bottle in hand from where he sipped some water, he took the time to observe the mixture of brown of the land and green of the trees and bushes, a peace of mind seeping into the tired body to instill peace there as well. For a moment, one could forget the woes of the world and simply… be.

***
WC: 542

Tue Oct 29, 2019 10:36 pm

Thunder and fog clashed within the background of the mountains that laid across the perimeter of the horizon. Mokuzai had never been past the massive formations throughout his life-span, but his eyes and thoughts were not hindered to just the rocks. He awoke early just to get some personal time to himself on making sure that not only his mind was in its prime, but his body as well. Unraveling his bag from his shoulder and dropping to his knees to set up various mats so that his boxes of food could still remain within a clean stature, his head started to ache slowly just beneath the nape of his neck. Cold fingers curled along his skin and forced his eyes closed so that he could regain focus with a slow exhale of hot air from his lips. He could already feel the pressure building throughout his system for his mental state slipping. Mediation was really the only function that he could do that could control some aspect of his slipping case.

Raising from his legs and turning his head outwards towards the edges of the cliffs, his eyes scanned over a somewhat familiar tone of hair. Red seemed to be a rather common color that ran throughout the village when it came to hairdos. Raising his brows while thinking of various ways to come up towards the male, Mokuzai rubbed his cheek just a little. He honestly didn’t think he would be seeing anyone else up there with him. It was a rather confusing interaction that he just wasn’t prepared for. For a few seconds, Mokuzai just wanted to keep to himself. It’s not like the area had his own name on it, nor did he own grounds, so it’s not like he could have kicked the other male out, but the sudden feeling of privacy being broken threw him off.

Leaving his belongings behind him, Mokuzai leaped from the cliff he had settled on and landed just behind Kaito a few meters away. The initial landing could be heard from him stumbling and gathering his balance from the grip of his boots not catching the rock. A mistake that sort of put him in an awkward position. His face went beet red, easily being shown from his fair complexion as he cleared his throat so that he could greet the other man.

“K-Kaito, was it?” He spoke mid gathering of his own balance. He briefly rubbed the back of his neck while thinking of a natural conversation starter. He never really could break the ice or initialize conversation rather easily.

“Are you out here to train or just to look over the various, dull mountains?”

WC: 447

Wed Oct 30, 2019 3:09 pm

Kaito heard the landing of something close to him and his hands flew to the scabbard and hilt of the katana; at a moment's notice he was ready to perform an iai beheading, as his chakra flowed through his body should he need to flicker about. It was not necessary, however, for the noise came from a minor loss of balance from the newcomer. He wanted a quiet day today, it was all about him and his training, learning how to turn his expertise with blades into a bodily expertise, but it seemed that wouldn't happen just now.

As Kaito watched the newcomer regain his balance, he recognized the face; it was one of the kids from that night. "That fateful night." He had lost one companion, and gained several others. Lives had been lost, and the lordling was in critical condition. The kid knew his name, and now it was Kaito's turn to panic. Makuz.. Mokin…. It was something by M… Eventually he just nodded. "Yup, that's my name." The kid was pretty embarrassed from his slip, maybe this would slip as well.

However, the kid questioned the novelty of the mountains. "Bloody foreigners," he'd think, the thought flashed through his mind before he even recognized it. "Come here", he invited the kid over, gesturing with his hand for the kid to come; assuming he'd come closer, Kaito would put a hand over his shoulder, before gesturing with his other free hand towards the green scenery below them, and into the distant mountain peaks that peaked above the mist down in the village. "What do you feel when you see this? Is it dullard? Or does it bring you… peace? A battle like the other day's could've very well flattened all of this. You gotta learn to appreciate the beauty nature offers before it's taken away from you."

He released the kid from his embrace, and addressed his previous question. "But yes, I did come here to train. I think there's no better place to train that here in these mountains. It's quiet, and inversely, no one complains about the noise. What did you come here for? I guess you're not into sightseeing, considering all the dull mountains, heh?" A little teasing never killed anyone. He thought.

***
WC: 378
TWC: 920

Sun Nov 24, 2019 7:57 am

OOC Stuff:

Not waiting for the youth to reply, Kaito chuckled lightly. “Yeah, I tell you, lad. This is not something you see everyday, even by the Kumogakure standards. And yet, every time I see it, I feel the same forlorn feeling… like I am returning to a home I never truly had, or rather, didn’t know I had at one point, lost it, and then returned to it. It’s a mystical feeling. I’m not sure if you need to be a native to be able to feel this connected or not. I suppose it makes more sense that me as a native would feel this way. However, I can tell you with certainty that whatever landscape I see, if it brings out this sensation in me, then I will regard it as beautiful. Be it my native land or not. It’s about being able to see that, no matter how much we or how intensely we do it, we’re just another vein in an ecosystem. We belong wherever our feet are planted on the floor. Wherever the fire in our hearts--”

When Kaito spoke of fire in our hearts, a sore thought crossed his mind. He had left his stove on. Flashbacks to the burnt carcass of his restaurant spawned in his mind, and a sensation of dread filled the former cook turned ninja: how could he have left such a vital detail escape him when he had a lifetime experience as a cook? “If I lose my house, I love everything I have left.” He patted Mokuzai on the back. “Sorry kid, I must go. It was good seeing you though!” With that, he flickered his way across the vast plateau.

***
WC: 280
TWC: 1200
/exit
Claiming 6 Stamina
Claiming 500 words towards Iron Claw
Claiming 500 Words towards Leaf Whirlwind
Claiming 162 towards C-Rank Nukite, D-Rank already unlocked.

Tue Nov 26, 2019 3:05 pm

Cruicible Within

Cruicible Within

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