The Dragon of the Sand Returns

“Master Souji, we have reached the gates.” The driver announced. Souji within the back of the carriage as it pulled up to the gate guard tower. The Prince had his eyes closed as his hands were in his pockets of his jacket. The boy would wait for the driver to make his way down from his seat and motion over to the door to open it. “Right this way, Master Souji.” Lilac eyes would  gradually open as they drifted to find the door open. The Prince of Suna would step from his carriage, taking a few steps before acknowledging the driver. “Toka... thanks for the ride.” He said, tossing a small pouch of coins in his direction. The driver, Toka would capture the pouch and realize how heavy it was. “Master Souji, I cannot accept this...” Souji would glance over his shoulder to better see the man. His expression was one of nonchalant care. “You can throw it away for all that I care, it was some earnings I made at Hoshi. Small change.” He turned and walked away from him. Leaving him in a frozen state as he wasn’t sure if this was Souji’s kindness, or ‘don’t care’ nature shining through. 

The wind breezed through his attire. His black, purple hair with a tinge of blue. He allowed it to grow out while he was away. He kept his left side short, while his right was grown out. Over his right shoulder to his chest his hair sat. He had a golden trinket connected to his hair behind his left ear. It reached to his collarbone. It had the village symbol as the end piece. He had a black plain shirt, blue pants with cuts and tears and shinobi boots. An olive green jacket with a hood and black fur. His finger and toenails were painted black, something that he found to fit his personality. His facial features were more bold and complimenting of himself. He was truly a beautiful being. 

As he approached the guard tower he noticed a familiar face, none other than Han. The old man glanced up to see who was blocking his sun, upon seeing the boy he immediately hoped up and exited the tower. He embraced the boy with a side arm hug. “Kid!? You’re back? When I saw that everyone else returned and you were the only one yet to, I feared the worse. Ah! No matter, how did it go?” Souji allowed the hug, Han has become a close person to him. Once he was off of him, Souji stepped back and took a breath. “So everyone did return without me, huh? It doesn’t matter, I’m sure they had their reasons.... As for your question, it was a waste of my time. I left after my first match. Guess I got home sick.” He stated while looking to the right. Han raised a brow at the response. “A waste of your time? And what do you mean you left, you lost??” His voice pitch betrayed him, Souji glanced over to him the moment he heard it. “Lost? Old man, I don’t lose. The only they put me against was the only one that was most promising to give me a challenge I put down. Even heard that I broke his spine in the process. Hoshi has some fragile shinobi, that much is for sure. As far as the other contestants, after observing them I realized that none of them were going to give me a challenge and so I lost my will to continue. Consider it a mercy...on my behalf.” He said, this was what Han expected. He knew that Souji was going to be more than capable, from what he heard the other contestants were skilled, but none stood out more than Souji did. But to learn that the kid dropped out because of a lack of competition for him was nothing crazy...and a clear understanding of his self progression. “I see. Well, one second. I’m asked to keep you here before entering.”

He was asked to keep him there? Souji observed him press a button near his desk. A hue fading in and out could be see from where he stood. Han was returning and so Souji went to ask. “You were asked to hold me here? By who’s orders?” His tone was not one of anger, but curiosity. Han smiled and simply responded... “By your mother, Lady Kazekage.” Souji’s eyes widen as a warm washed over him. He could feel his body heating and his heart filling with everything positive that was within this world. His mother, Mizuki was someone that he would go to war for. She was the bridge of his darkness and light. She makes him feel complete, more than a weapon, but a person. 

“Mother, huh? I see... very well, I’ll wait.” he would rest his back against the tower. Holding a conversation with Han as he waited. 

[WC: 824]

After all was said and done, Honey found himself heading outward towards the village clefts after he had finished all formalities that had arisen after the finish of his battle with the Mizukaze. Wearing nothing but a shirt and his usual equipment with rolled sleeves to expose his skin, the sun felt good after the artificial fight and large meeting. The intensity of his opponent’s techniques blew him out of the water, as her skills proved completely different from his own with water, and surrounding them was the ripe scent of blood. Something about his understanding of the greater elements in this world was lacking, and his experience showed him that in a dire light.

Pushing the memory of the darkness that enveloped his life the day before that, Honey Bunches sighs. If he was capable, it was no longer only himself that he had to protect. If there were people in this village that had a chance of being attacked by an assassin just as easily as a wild boar is hunted for its pelt, the apex predator would have to establish dominance in one way or another for the lesser on the chain to survive. Thinking of peace and destruction, Honey Bunches saw a shop, and wasted no time heading through it quickly. His thoughts rocketed back to his encounter.

Even if it was no longer real, it felt like the metallic smell followed him through the town as he wandered and pondered. He thought of Kazue and the Kazekage’s familiarity with his special abilities, and this sent his mind rolling through scenarios. Letting his fantasies release him he noted that he was at a nice location for a drink. Taking the time to get a meal and bring his tea with him, eventually he found himself at the gates, and he stood there for a moment calculating.

Looking up at a nearby guard tower, he decided that this would be as good a place as any to figure out if becoming a gate guard would be something that he could ever be interested in. He had limited encounters with some of the staffed village even though he technically was their coworkers.

Stepping inside, he looks to the small group before him, one an undistinguished yet capable looking man and another someone that seemed to have come from a bigger city than the biggest in the nation, with a clear air of superiority floating around him. His body language told Honey Bunches all that he needed to know, and he decided that he wouldn’t talk to him, at risk of coming off as unrefined or even rude. Taking a seat, no more than thirty seconds passed before Honey Bunches opened his damn mouth.

“Hey, I’m interested in becoming a guard. I just witnessed the Mizukaze create a slaughterfest out of some of the strongest ninja in Sunagakure. She ripped them to pieces and quite honestly ripped me to pieces too. I’m sure some of them ended up victorious, but I wasn’t able to check. It was exhausting, but I’m out of there” Honey Bunches yawns and stretches casually, before taking a sip of his almost-empty drink. There was no blood or any signs of a fight on him. Noticing something on Souji, Honey Bunches stands and starts approaching him.

“Hey, where the hell did you get that?” Honey Bunches would offer no explanation to his previous remarks, suddenly standing much too close and looming over Souji, putting a single finger on one of his visible tattoos. His own alpha markings are visible, and he points to them. The jagged lines going up his neck and around his jaw made it look like he had a pair of gnashers for certain, but he did not seem to be showing them off as an intimidation factor.

“I got these after a pretty bad fever one day. Don’t drink still water in the academy grounds.” Honey Bunches chuckles, interested in Souji’s tattoos. At this point he would explain his previous statement and fill in Souji that he was a village nin as well, interested in what he had to say.

NaturePoints: 1/6
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It’s been some time since Souji was able to stand around and have a conversation like this. It was refreshing, what’s more it was nice to see considering the starting point of Han and Souji’s relationship. Something that Han himself couldn’t help but to notice. Souji went from a trouble making brat with anger issues to a sturdy, fairly still a troublesome young man, but he also carried a level of maturity with him and that spoke volumes to Han. “Kid...” His sudden interruption of Souji mid sentence caused a haze in the eyes of the boy. He wasn’t sure why he was interrupted, but he knew that the old man had a reason. His face spoked it. He didn’t say anything, remained quiet as he gave his attention. “I remember when I first laid eyes on you. It was the day that Mizu decided to take you in as her own. Do you remember that day?” Memories flash flooded his mental, it was as if it only happened yesterday for him. Those bow fresh the memory was. “Hmph... yeah, I do.” He answered, his expression a tad light. 

Han took a breath and gave a soft smile of his own. “You were a dirty little shit, dressed in loose clothes with much shorter hair. Hah! You were even sun burnt too. Usually we get all kinds of riff-rafts that shows up at the gates. And usually Mizu has the same approach, stoic, cold and emotional unavailable.” Souji continued to listen, his eyes locked in on what was being said to him. There was some emotion peeping from the voice of the old man. “That was until you came along. You...changed something in her. Something for the better, I believe. You’ve managed to penetrate her walls within a short amount of time because she saw something very familiar in you, in her. At first I was against it, but no one tells Mizu what she can and cannot do, no one. She took you end and left me on guard duty. I remember. Had to deal with some idiots shortly after. But the more I seen her, I saw you. You two were inseparable. Kid, she loves you a great deal and you made living something important to her. You know, you two kind of look alike. Maybe because of all the time you spent together. I guess what I’m trying to say is...” He placed his hand on the shoulder of Souji, smiling big as ever. “Thank you, for coming to Sunagakure.”

Souji’s eyes widen from the words of Han. He wasn’t expecting anything quite like them. He looked down to the ground for a moment. Taking them in, he wanted to find the words for this moment. As he did a voice, unfamiliar to him erected from behind Han. He and Han looked to see a man with a drink in his hand. He made mention of the Kazekage and something about a slaughter fest. This immediately captured the attention of Souji. His lilac eyes would gaze strongly at the man as he spoke. He gathered that his mother was initiating some form of....training. He also gathered that this man was on the losing end of that training. That gave him a slight satisfaction. Before Han could answer the man shouted again, his words directed at Souji this time around. Han smiled as he stepped out of the way some as the man approached the boy. 

Souji noted that man invading his personal space. He was....looking down over the Hyuuga, Souji returning the gaze by looking back up at him. Within an instant the eyes of the boy would glaze over as chakra flooded the vein around his eyes and temples. All around him within 100 meters was made clear and visible to him. His pearlescent eyes would glow a blue hue as his chakra was pushed from 125 to 205 and his speed from 75 to 155. His right hand moved at that speed and thrusted forward to the midsection of the man chakra built within the palm as it did to unleash a soft blur in the air that was 12 meters in diameter at pointblank range at a power of 127. The impact from the vacuum palm would shut down a number of the man’s tenketsus as it took -80 of his AP in total. It would send the man flying back a total distance of 40 meters from the Dragon of the Sand into a crashing and tumbling roll. The air seemingly knocked out of him. Han stand there with his palm at his head. “Right after I gave him a compliment...”

He held back on the detrimental effects of this technique as to not harm the bones or organs of the loud man that took it upon himself to enter his personal space. The Dragon began to calmly motion towards the foolish man. “I don’t recall giving you permission to speak to me directly... Yet you found it okay to do such, while helping yourself to my personal space. I find that rather idiotic on your end. I suppose I have to teach you a lesson in learning your place.” He spoke, his Byakugan recording all. Han behind him shaking his head. “Kid! I don’t think that’s wise, he’s a Genin and one that your mother just finish training with.” Souji shifted his eyes to the left as he listened, his pace continues. “Is that so? Then let’s see what mother has taught him. Better yet, let’s teach him a new lesson entirely. Titled: What not to fucking do when around Souji. You just learned the first half for speaking out of turn. Now for the second half, smelling like shit while in my personal space...” He stated as he entered 20 meters from the man. 

[WC: 973]
[Total WC: 1,797]

Spoiler:

Noticing the change in the ninja’s eyes, Honey Bunches felt his ass cheeks clench. “We got another god damn--” the world froze around him, seconds becoming palpable moments where he threw himself to the side, very suddenly whipping to avoid this punch. The blur in the air exploded beside him in this split second and Honey Bunches heard it. Unfortunately, he was also hit by it. Sent flying back 40 meters and through a wall, the dust had hardly settled before Honey Bunches had appeared 2 meters from his location by Souji. Gasping for air, he stood there seeming unaffected except for a single hand on his stomach. The armor blocked a good bit of the attack, and Honey Bunches felt relieved.

Exploding into a wolf at 190 speed a 1 meter long arm wrapping around Souji explodes into a 2 meter long arm as the man slips behind at the same speed and wrestles him to the ground, his huge arms crushing him down into a hold at 120 strength. “The goddamn sharin jin! Cheatin!” The wolf roars as he struggles in this pursuit. “Just let me see the tattoos!”

As soon as the wolf gets another tattoo into view, he realizes that he’s made a huge mistake, but he would have to follow through with it if he were to gain any amount of respect from this egotistical ninja. Deciding that his options were few and far between without risking serious damage to his opponent, he cursed this and hoped that his opponent did not feel the need to let loose, lest he lose his hide.

Holding him to the ground, he waits for sudden movements, and feels trapped even though he is the one holding the lock. “Can I just apologize?” He asks, still giving his full effort in the hold but now ceasing to shove Souji’s head into the dirt.

At any point he would have covered Souji’s outfit in wolf fur and saliva from his huge maw, as well as any dirt on the floor from wrestling him. This pursuit was not at the mercy of any nearby chairs or tables, which would be smashed if they were in the way of Honey Bunches taking this ninja to the ground. The movement was instinctual as the thought of betrayal lingered heavily in the back of Honey Bunches mind, and to him this was a stranger. The look of horror in the room was obvious that one of them was in the wrong, but there was not enough time for Honey Bunches to really think about it.

The wolf finally needed to make a decision, and if he were to be thrown off, use his advanced speed to throw himself out the door of the guardhouse, so that there was enough distance and cover between him that Honey was not in plain sight.

If he was not thrown off and rather could release the hold he would jump off him and take a defensive stance behind a table, prepared to block or dodge but also very apologetic for the misunderstanding.

514 of 1203
AP: 776/946
Nature Points: 0

Tech:

Gritting his great fangs and letting out his own roar as he struggles gripping the chakra bubble, the man lets the roar of the huge beast in front of him shake him, and he hisses as he slowly reverts back into the form of a man. Refusing to sit, he merely stares at this ninja, glaring with hatred burning deep in his eyes as he stares at his opponent, the air ripping with energy that even an academy student could feel.

Letting go of the powerful genin and backing away, Honey Bunches realized something. This man had taught him a valuable lesson indeed, and not one he would forget soon. If he were not more cordial next time, there would not be a simple misunderstanding. If he were too close, too loud, too threatening, someone with huge powers over their chakra would not waste time in making sure he was a threat no longer. If push were to come to shove either Honey Bunches would be a corpse, or his opponent would be, regardless of their standing, and in spite of his true purposes.

Staring up at the great beast above his opponent, he suddenly felt less scared than he had as it screamed throughout the room, and he slowly rose to his feet. This was not to say he was not scared, he would move no closer. However, his main fear was that he had smelled the unmistakable scent of the Kazekage, and the guard tower at the clefts of the city’s doorway had been destroyed. Surveying the damage, he let out a quick breath, now across the room from Souji.

It seems from when he was tossed, he took a large portion of the doorway with him as he flew through. There was also a broken support beam, the long piece of material sitting on the ground pointing directly towards the two responsible. Various dust and debris littered the floor, although the tower did not seem to be at great risk of collapsing, the main doorway seemed at high risk for getting much worse if not taken care of.

“I’m not going to bow, and I’m neither pet nor mutt.” Honey adjusts his shirt and sighs, avoiding eye contact, brushing off his dirty clothes. It now seemed as if they were having a conversation. “Seems unwise of him to be lacking.” Honey Bunches nods in agreement.

He thanks Hans, agreeing that neither of the two gave much care for social cues, and that it was actually rather funny talking about it afterwards.

Honey Bunches grits his teeth, and the wolf inside him screams at their conversation. [Established that who was superior? I’ll gut him like the fish he is, and put his eyes out at lunch for a decoration.] Externally, the man is silent. Internally, he had wished to have performed an Earth Tremor, bringing the entire building down and bashed Souji with the debris. This fantasy played through his head, before he noticed that he was making eye contact, his eyes seemingly normal.

The tall man was now much more comfortable with this human interaction. He tries to ignore the thought about tattoos, instead pretending that he had wanted a piece of fabric from his obscuring jacket, before pushing both thoughts out of his mind from sheer embarrassment.

“If it’s durability you’re thinking of, there’s none other.” Honey Bunches smirks and puts a thumb on his chest, raising his gaze once more as he responds to the previous conversation. “We are definitely made different around here… Maybe it has something to do with the beatings, executions, and black market influence.” Honey Bunches laughs as if a person having their wife murdered and harvested for parts as well as growing up a glorified abused hunting dog was commonplace. And yet, Honey was still blind to the danger that was hidden in the Wind Country.

“I may not look much now, but only two days ago I was in a much different condition.” Lifting his shirt, he shows Souji his chest from a polite distance, which is laced with barely-healed lacerations and the rest of his body is covered in what look to be healing burns. Close inspection shows that he has quite a few blisters around his head and neck as well, but they aren’t too noticeable from farther away. “Broke the poor young woman in half. No-one deserves that, but she got a proper burial and it was handled respectfully…” Honey Bunches absentmindedly fiddles her payment for his death in his pocket, inspecting a piece of ryo marked with a red stripe. Playing with it between his fingers, Honey takes another deep breath and feels dread rise inside him as the owner of this property drew ever nearer.

“I was jumped by an assassin just recently, and these are my battle scars… Actually, she didn’t look much different than you...” He trails off, attempting to make some friendly conversation. “You ever find yourself attacked by assassins?” He laughs. “Besides the smell of my dirty laundry today. Or are you more of a one night stand spine ripper?”

The doorway yawned as the wind messed with its balance, creaking as the second support of the doorway cracked. The damage was not going anywhere, and it had not yet been tended to, the pile a monument to and evidence of their battle.

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The eyes of the boy would widen, surprise and shame washed over him the very moment his mother walked within his range. Her voice next, Souji did not have to look at her for him to realize from her tone that she was not pleased, even less amused by what had transpired. His stomach twisted and turned and he could physically feel the knots forming at the pit. His head lowered, as he turned to. Look at her. Despite of it all, he completely forgot that she was called to meet him at the village gates. He couldn’t help but feel like that little boy that was often disciplined by her when he acted out, not always physically, but verbally. She was a master when it came to cutting deep to make one feel shame. She held an elegance that could not be matched, she was the o oh woman alive that could make Souji feel out of place the way that she did. 

It would seem that the Mutt was new to the village, it made sense. Souji never saw him before until today. That, and he was new to Souji’s teachings of personal space. Han could be seen in the background of Mizuki, a smile plastered his face like a child watching his siblings being scolded for something that he could have prevented. Souji couldn’t help but to feel a certain level of appreciation for the old man’s tactics in this all. 

It was now Souji’s turn to be addressed directly. His heart spiked from that alone. She did not approve of his arrogance, his demeanor towards those he saw to be beneath him. It didn’t matter if they were, or weren’t she was not pleased by it. She wanted him to treat them as equals to himself and her. Something that Souji found himself to struggle with, not because of their status, but because of the love that he held for her. She was at the pinnacle of the world to him, and he was her right hand, left hand, eyes and ears. The very veil that obscures her form the eyes of the unworthy. This was how he felt. But her worlds made him feel like he shouldn’t hold such a degree of thinking, at least not outwardly. She moved in close, his eyes dropped to the lower left as she did. She was very disappointed. He could feel this to be true. His knees were weak under her tone and she even made it clear that they were on the brink of war and the last things she needed to concern herself with was her adoptive son acting an ass. “I-I....” No words formed from him. He couldn’t bring himself to make an excuse before her. Silence and understanding was the best coarse for him. 

Han smiling was growing, his head nodding from watching the children get scolded. It was then that she turned to him and proceeded to scold him. His smile broke down into a more serious attempt to regain the composure of a gate guard. “In my defense... well, it’s Souji. Kid is trouble prone. It sort of follows him. But, like all the other times, your right, Mizu. What’s an old man to do?” He would say, turning to walk off to the guard tower as if he was doddering from the knees. 

Souji was move to enter the village as he was directed to. It would seem that he has a lot to explain now that his mother was in his company. This was going to be a long day, not for him, but her. 

[WC: 605]
[Total WC: 3,551]

Exit

Making claims later.

As the Kazekage walked towards the small group, Honey Bunches did nothing save stand and watch, apologetic. He of course was not surprised by her appearance, but was nervous in anticipation of her reaction to the damage they had both caused.

As the leader turned to him, he looked at her with his blank expression, taking in her words one at a time. Nodding at her conclusion, he offers a brief apology to Mizu for getting into a bit of ‘rough housing’, but still remains indifferent towards the young boy, not moving his gaze to him quite yet. Honey Bunches would give himself a headache, trying to pretend internally he hadn’t been tossed like a sack of beans by a fourteen year old less than five minutes beforehand. Watching her turn to what Honey would eventually realize was her son, he resisted any comments that he could make about his attitude. A smile spread across his face as she called Souji ‘mutt’, and echoed his internal opinion of the boy’s disrespectful attitude, but he got a somber expression. This young man seemed visibly upset, and it wasn’t his fault he reacted in the way he did.

Sipping the end of his drink, he chokes on it as she scolds Hans. Honey was able to track any scent, no matter how miniscule, so far away it made his head spin. Yet for some reason he had completely forgotten that the old man was standing there.

Eyeing him up, he internally wondered if Han was really a guard at all, and shakes the thought out of his head. He could not let his boiling anger from Souji affect any future relationships, so Honey keeps his mouth shut as he glares at the man absentmindedly.

Turning his gaze for a moment towards Souji, he felt anger pulse before he turned it back to Han, something boiling in his gaze but quickly fading with the end of the speech.

As the discipline was finished (or so he thought), Honey Bunches felt at ease. As he had been called an outsider, it was with relief in Honey’s heart that she would eventually invite the both of them to share a drink with her to explain, although it was not worded as an invitation, more likened to a command, with warranted frustration in the tone.

Honey was unable to drop his focus from the word ‘outsider’. This brought dark memories back to the surface.

Honey hasn’t had a drink since the night his friend Sukotto died, and thinking about the empty bar where he waited in vain brought a look of pain on Honey’s face, and a sharper pain to pierce his heart. The room in front of him suddenly emptied within his mind, the great space reverting into nothing but a shapeless mass in front of him. Claws traced down the walls in his internal prison, as his senses briefly melted away.

Honey let out a deep sigh, reminiscing on the few days of their friendship from this hell. That week felt so long ago, when Honey was similar to a lost puppy, searching for someone or something to give it a purpose, ignorant to what had just taken hold of his life. The day he had died, Honey realized that just like his wife, everyone he cared about would end up dead. The minutes from when he started to flee his old home, the hours in which he thought he could depend on someone else, that turned into weeks that led him to be standing in Sunagakure limits in an attempt to become a higher ranking shinobi than he ever would in his old life. A place he had always been told to never go, lest it swallow him whole. There was nothing he could do to stop the wheels of time chugging and breaking the earth below them as they creaked, taking the dues promised to them by their own disregard.

He started to think about the day he lost his wife but pushed it out of his mind before it could take its toll.

This showed on his face as a deep frown, before it reverted back into a controlled grimace, the man looking visibly shaken. It would have lasted no more than ten seconds. He shakes his head to disperse any further negative thoughts, acting as if he hadn’t been holding some trance against his will.

Dusting further debris off his shirt, Honey pulls his jacket out of his pack before he makes a suggestion, “Maybe we should drink at an outdoor area?” He smiles, pointing off in the direction of one of his favorite establishments before covering himself with the tan fabric. “I haven’t been back in a while, but now I’m craving a warm cup of sake.” Honey nods, and begins to head down the path.

Putting a hand on the back of his head, Honey Bunches let out a deep sigh as he followed the two into the village. He did not know if they were going straight to a drink, but he would never forget his encounter.


850 of 2946
Claiming Souji's scent
training and AP gain posted on stat page

EXIT - 708

708 toward Kyuketsuki Kiss 708/2500

700 words towards un-training 7 stats (5 strength, 2 chakra)