Clear Eyes, Full Heart, Empty Pocket

"It will be a long journey, I should make sure I have everything I need before I hit the road." Ko shuffled a pair of glass lenses around in his left pocket. "Sigh....." The sad exhalation surprised Ko. His body was expressing an apparent sense of melancholy at the idea of his departure, a feeling he hadn't even thought would be a factor. In a way it made sense though, he had spent the better half of formative years in this place. In a way he considered himself an outcast, but these were his people. He had helped them through sickness and injury, and they had always been generous and kind. With their words and making sure he and his father were able to get by when times were hard. In fact, these people and this place were one of the main driving factors for why he was leaving to seek training and growth in the first place. 

A rush of leaves spiraling towards him pulls him from his thoughts. As they pass, the gust of wind chasing them yanks on his clothes and launches the leaves upward before dispersing the collective like confetti. The snap back to reality made Ko look around and really observe his surroundings. After all, he had no way of knowing when he would or if he would step foot back into the village. Back down the road he had been walking was a more remote corner of the village. His home was there next to the medical center he operated with his father Taka. It was really just a small office with a few rooms for seeing patients, but it was a important part of the village and the people relied heavily on it a times. Even now he could see a crying kid being ushered in by their mom, presumably an incident while playing and from what he could see it was nothing serious. An assistant stepped out to show the family in and looked up to wave at Ko before heading back inside. "The town will be in good hands, there is nothing to worry about."

Ahead of him was a major shopping thoroughfare for the village. He glanced in at the different shops as he passed through. He pulled the lining of his empty right pocket as he realized he didn't actually have a lot of money. He would probably need to take on a few odd jobs on the journey to scrounge up some cash. Even if Konohagakure did take him in, he would need to buy his own supplies, and if he showed up like a vagrant with nothing they may just turn him away. He was risking a lot to do this and needed to make sure he gave himself the best chance for success. "Hey there Kosuke! Aren't you heading out today?" At that moment, old man Genji stepped out of one of the shops, hunched over with 2 heavy looking bags. 

Ko quickly sidled up to the elderly man and relieved him of the bags, making note of the large quantity of fabric. "Uh.. yes. I am actually leaving soon. I'm just taking a trip down memory lane before heading out I suppose." Maybe that is what this was, he didn't really know. It could rightfully be mistaken as aimless wandering to some degree from anyone that had been watching him for a while. "What about you old man? Shouldn't one of your grandchildren be helping you on your errands? You are gonna wind up in my father's clinic with more back problems at this rate." Ko had known Genji since they had moved back to the village 10 years ago. He had been a frequent visitor at the clinic for back pain when he had still been working. Thankfully he was now retired with his daughter and son-in-law taking over the family textile business.

"Stop fretting over me so much, I can still get out on my own, this is nothing. My wife wanted to make a few things for the kids and I felt I could do with some fresh air." He was defiant but he was noticeably relieved that Ko was now bearing the burden of his shopping excursion. They had begun to walk back towards Genji's home at this point. "But let's talk about what's on your mind. You seem indecisive and worried, which isn't like you. I thought you and Taka has already hashed this out, so what's bothering you?"

"We did talk, he wants me to see more of the world and learn. He thinks I can be some great person to save and defend the people." Ko's words made it seem like his father pushed this idea on him, but the truth was that he felt he wanted and could do more. But his father was a perceptive man and knew the best way to motivate him forward would be to give him a push. "He talked about how he saw so much of my mother in me. That I had it in me to carry on her legacy and help those that needed it most." Ko loved his mother very much, but he never knew much about her work. ANBU work was secret work for the village and he never even got to say goodbye to her body after the fact. "I guess I'm trying to figure out how to even start. I never knew much about what she did."

They had now reached the large house Genji's family resided in and the man put his hand on Ko's shoulder. "I never had the privilege of knowing your mom, but I am sure that she would want you to walk your own path no matter what you do. You have grown into a fine young man and I know that you will do your very best no matter where your path takes you." With that the man took the bags and slipped some ryo into Ko's hand. Ko shook his head as he realized what was happening and tried to hand the money back to his old friend. "I can't take this money. I didn't even do anything." Genji was ignoring Ko's gestures and was loading the bags into his house. "Nonsense. Besides, I saw your pocket when I came out of the shop. You are gonna need some money and your family has been great to me for many years. Just take it as a small thank you. In fact, I heard the Honda family up the road is having some trouble and I am sure they would appreciate your help before you go." He turned to look Ko in the eyes. "Take care of yourself out there, we have all heard the rumors. It is dangerous, don't let your father lose his only son as well." With that he waved Ko off and entered his house.

Ko was still mulling over the words as he approached the Honda's parcel of land. They were a friendly couple that ran an animal shelter on the outskirts of the village. The glass lenses were rattling in his pocket as he crested the last small hill on the path. He immediately spotted the issue old man Genji must have been referring to. The left side of the building the family used as their shelter for the stray dogs in the village had collapsed.

Ko tightened his finger wraps as he jogged over to the building where a few men from the village were already hard at work removing some old rotten wood from the building. "Hey Mr. Akira, what happened here and what can I do to help?" Akira Honda was in his 40s with no kids of his own, but he had a lot of friends in the village that were always willing to help out when he and his wife needing things done. "Ah, hey there Kosuke. The damn wood rotted through on the building and it just collapsed on us earlier today. If you are here to help why don't you move some of the fresh wood over here so the boys can start replacing the boards." He saw Ko messing with his finger wraps and tossed him a pair of work gloves as he spoke. "Be careful of your hands though, the last thing I need is your old man getting on my ass about you getting a splinter or something."

Ko chuckled a bit, loading up a few planks of wood in his arms as he went. Ever since he was little his father had been extremely cautious and adamant that a physician needed to take extreme care of their hands. In fact, his father was the one that gotten him in the habit of wrapping his fingers to keep them clean and protected. In his words, you never know when you will be called on to offer someone medical assistance and a true professional would always be prepared for those situations.

With all of the people helping the work passed by quickly. As Ko finished moving over the last of the boards, Akira walked over and handed him some cash. "Thanks for the help Kosuke, we weren't sure we would get finished here today but with your help we should be finished here before sundown." Ko started to speak but Akira stopped him. "I already know what you are gonna say. We can finish up things here, and I heard you are on your way out of town anyway. You should get going now, I am sure you have some other things to take care of before you leave." Akira was already turning around and heading over to give instructions to the men putting up the new wall. "Oh, and if you see your old man before I do tell him I said thanks again for checking up that thing for me."

Ko laid the work gloves down and gave the men a goodbye wave as he headed back towards the path into the village. "If I see him I'll let him know. Take care Mr. Akira." Akira had always been a focused man, but he had a natural charisma that made people soften up around him and made him very likeable. Ko had even forgot to protest the payment when he had the opportunity. Ah well, Akira would have forced him to take the money anyway. It was also true that he should probably make his way out of the village if he was gonna have any hope of making some progress on his journey before night would force him to stop.

There was one more place he wanted to stop before leaving the village. Up on one of the higher points of the village there was a view out across the land where you could see the rice paddy fields across the landscape and in the other direction a sea of trees extending out towards the border with the nation of Fire. It was here that Ko took a seat next to a small unnatural rocky outcropping. This was a place he would come to clear his mind and speak to his mother when he needed to get some thoughts off his mind. "Hey there mom. I'm finally going to head out and try to make my own path." He ran his hand along the smooth stones. "I hope I am able to remember some of those lessons you taught me when I was younger, I have a feeling they are going to come in handy for me in the future." The sun was nearly at the top of the sky at this point. "Alright, I guess I should actually get going now." He retracted his hands and stood up placing his left hand back into his pocket. Touching the glass lenses which were today's lucky item gave him a feeling of security and confidence. "I love you mom."

He departed from the hill, likely for the last time in a long time, and kept going on his way out of the village. The next chapter in his life was starting today.