Just a hop, skip, and long boat ride away

Tue Jan 07, 2020 4:48 pm

Die, bastard, die.

Taichi woke up from his slumber upon the dead bodies that he piled up after the bloody raid on the bandit outpost the night before. Taichi had killed the one man that he could have considered a friend and his entire organization in a matter of a full day and there was no remorse ticking in Taichi’s heart whatsoever. After being betrayed by him and having him almost take his life twice, Taichi could no longer feel sorry for the bastard, or for the friends and followers that he had in either of his outposts, that were now nothing more than a mass grave burning from the top to the bottom, the way it should be in his eyes. He was tired of the liars, tired of the backstabbers, tired of the fiends in the world. Was he any better? Probably not. But he still felt as though he had some morals, he thought about his morals as he stepped over the severed head that he used to prop up his feet as he slept. When he walked away from the outpost, he looked back at the carnage that had happened the night before. He killed women and children alongside the bandits. He didn’t even remember them, come to think of it, he didn’t remember anyone that he had killed that night. All he could remember was the rage, the fury, and the bloodshed. Even the screams escaped him. He was beginning to slip into the vast abyss that was nihilism, he was finding that he wasn’t caring about life as much as he once did. He could still feel the pain and regret that came with his decisions, but it wasn’t until much later. Life still meant something, he just didn’t know how much anymore.

Taichi walked along the roadways that led up to the land of Rivers. He knew that he was going to be leaving, for how long he didn’t know. But he knew that he was going to be leaving, so he wanted to see the beautiful rivers once more before he left and began looking for someone that could bring him to Fang Country so he could finally find the revenge that he so craved on a daily basis. Taichi thought about Bri and the day she died. The shame was still present, the guilt still heavy, but he was beginning to feel numb and empty inside. He still felt like whipping himself, his fury would still build and make him feel as though his brain was swelling, but he couldn’t bring himself to show his emotions on his exterior. He wanted to, he wanted to feel the pain and the anger, but it was beginning to feel like a distant memory, it was beginning to feel like someone crying for help in an empty room. The only thing that comes of it is an echo, an echo that causes physical pain every time it reverberates in your mind. But he was empty, his face was plain, without a single bit of expression, and Taichi just figured that this was life.

Taichi was nearing the land of rivers, he could already hear the waters that rushed along the stones and the dirt, rushing to its destination. Taichi hurried his pace slightly, he was excited to reach the river, he couldn’t wait to feel the cold water hit his hand. The feeling when he splashed the river’s cold water on his face. He was closing in on the water of the river and he found himself the closest spot to sit for a moment, he had been walking for a few hours and he was beginning to get tired. He found a large pine tree that stood directly next to a river, he took off his backpack and he set his feet inside the water. He looked around to ensure that he was alone. When he confirmed that he was, he relaxed his body and laid back, looking directly into the sky. His eyes began to close and no matter how hard he fought it, his eyes closed completely. He slept for about an hour until his eyes opened slowly and he looked around to see where he was and who was around him. He was still by the river with his feet in the water, backpack still next to him and there was no one there trying to kill him. Taichi brought in a deep breath and released it. Taichi pulled his feet out of the water and dried them off. He stood up after putting on his shoes. He grabbed his backpack and he began walking toward the seas in the land of rivers.

Taichi’s plan was to go to a larger town right off the shores of the Land of Rivers, find himself a captain of a ship that was headed to Fang, catch a ride with that ship, whether the captain knew he was there or not. Then he would exit the ship at Fang and he would begin looking through the island and asking around to whatever people lived there and see if he could find the bastard of the Walls of Jericho. Upon finding him, he would kill him in any way that fit his fancy with whatever emotions that came to him in that moment. Taichi walked farther into the land of rivers, farther than he had ever walked before. The rivers became more and more abundant. Taichi thought he loved rivers before, but when he was practically surrounded by them, he had never loved something so much before in his life. The sound was slightly loud, but wonderful enough that you could still hear the birds chirps, barely. Taichi was getting closer to a town, he was able to see this by the beaten paths that went along the rivers, merged into one solid road, which usually happened when a town was nearby so they could all fit within the gates.

Taichi came around a bend in the road, and as he cleared the curve, he saw a big gate right in the middle of some large walls that surrounded the village that he was in front of. Taichi was happy to see another bit of civilization that wasn’t Suna. He was quite tired of seeing the same sand and the same bandits day in and day out. He wanted to go out and see something new. Taichi walked to the village gates where he was stopped by the guards in the front. They asked what his business was, Taichi said to find transport across the seas to Fang Country. The guards both drew their swords and they were ready to slash when Taichi activated his Sharingan and placed them both under his control. Both men got back into position at the gates and allowed Taichi in. Taichi thanked both men and he walked into the town and began looking around the entire village. He was impressed with how well off this village was, the fishing business must be quite lucrative. Taichi walked into a market that was stocked full of fresh fish and all kinds of different herbs and spices. Taichi walked through the market and he kept his eyes and his ears open for any fishermen or boat captains that were talking about their destinations, hoping that he would catch one captain or fisherman talking about Fang Country. For the first hour, he had no luck. The boats were just coming in so he wasn’t sure if anyone was planning on leaving that night or waiting to leave in the morning, let their bodies enjoy the land for a few hours before leaving it again for another week or so long trip to their destination. Taichi decided that he was going to give up and was going to instead take a look around in the large village on the shores in the land of Rivers.

He walked through the market, and was met with a marvelous sunset that the very edge of the village had a perfect view of. Taichi leaned on a wooden post that was set in the corner of the docks and looked out over the waters of the ocean. He had never seen the ocean before, he was so used to seeing the sands of the desert, just the land of Rivers were more water than he thought ever rushed on land. When he was in Konoha, there weren't very many rivers, not like the land of Rivers, but there were plenty of trees. Taichi was done looking at the sunset and the ocean that sat underneath the sun itself, so he walked back into the town and he began looking for an Inn. He ensured his backpack was still with him and had his wallet with him. He then walked toward the center of town, where he was certain he would be able to find an Inn that he would be able to sleep in for the night.

As he was getting closer to the inn, he walked right by a bar. Taichi stopped and he turned around, he looked at the sign above the door, and walked right in. When he walked in, no one paid any attention. That was something he was not used to, he was used to people murmuring about him, how he was a criminal and didn’t deserve to be inside that establishment. But no one really even paid him any attention and Taichi liked it. He walked up to the bar and sat right down. The bartender walked up to Taichi and asked him what he would like to drink. Taichi placed his order and the bartender walked over to his bottle cabinet. He grabbed the drinks he needed for Taichi’s order, and then gave it to Taichi. When Taichi consumed the first drink, it went down like fire. The pain was enough to make him cough and rub his own neck for a little while to try and sooth his throat, then after that, Taichi decided to drink for a few hours before taking himself over to the inn. The people in the bar were wonderful and he wished that he would be able to see them once again. When he left the bar, luckily for Taichi the inn was directly next to the bar.

He stumbled through the front door and the innkeeper ran up to him and carried him over to one of their rooms that was directly behind the front desk. The innkeeper opened the front door and Taichi stumbled through the room door, then fell over just before he was to make it to the bed that was inside. The innkeeper tried helping him up and he tried once again to land on to the bed, but the innkeeper stopped him with an exclamation. The innkeeper told Taichi that he was going to need to shower before he tried to sleep on that bed. Taichi nodded and he limped over to the shower that was in the bathroom that was in the next room. Taichi finished his shower and he stumbled over onto his bed and he past out. The innkeeper chuckled and he walked out of the room, turning out the light on his way. Taichi slept in the bed, completely knocked out. Taichi didn’t have any dreams or nightmares that night., Taichi slept through the night for the first time in a long time.

When he woke up, he checked out of the inn and thanked the innkeeper for all of his help and for allowing him into one of the rooms, even though he was taking on a risk by trusting Taichi with just how drunk he was last night. Taichi was eternally grateful. When he was done apologizing, he walked out of the inn and he headed straight for the docks, hoping he would find someone that was heading to Fang. Taichi walked back and forth on the docks, waiting for someone to talk about the island nation that was housing the bastard that Taichi was chasing.

After looking for about an hour, he finally found the chariot that was waiting for him. It was a shady looking pirate captain that was heading to Fang because he heard there was a rather large criminal network that was present. Taichi saw that as fitting due to that was the reason why he was going there in the first place, chasing a criminal. Taichi found out which ship was his and he stood on the dock that his ship was tied to. When the captain walked over to his boat, he stopped in front of Taichi and asked why Taichi was there in less than family friendly language. Taichi responded with a stern request to catch a ride on his ship to Fang. He at first resisted, but Taichi said he would work for him the entire way there, so he agreed. Taichi walked onto the ship and the captain showed Taichi some available barracks. Taichi set his things down and thanked the captain. The captain said that they were shipping off in a few minutes and walked up the stairs back to the deck. Taichi laid down on his new bed and felt how uncomfortable it was. But being that he had slept on a pile of bodies two nights ago? It was still an improvement. Taichi fell asleep and couldn’t wait for his arrival in Fang.

WC:2240

+20 AP
+2240 words towards S Rank Mission “Die, Bastard, Die” (2240/5000)
+61 towards Fire Release: Great Fireball Shower (completed) Previous progress
+750 towards Seven Heavens Breathing Method (Completed) WC Disc.
+750 towards Demonic Illusion: Descending Hell (Completed) WC Disc.
+679 towards Summoning Technique (679/750) WC Disc.

Exiting Suna to Fang