Vespasian Colosseum, a favorite of Ai’s intellectual watering holes. Providing entertainment and a place for merchants to solicit their wares, the impressive feat in architecture was home to much of the daily activity coming and going in the village. Perhaps the boy’s favorite part was the variety. Packs of grubby children, poor and rich clustered together, picking pockets and stealing snacks from merchants. Adult chatted and shopped, some hurrying to some spectacle or another. Ai had once attended a small tournament here, combatants clashing swords and fists in a display of brutality and masculinity. It had all come across as barbaric to the frail boy, who disdained most physical contact in the first place and saw no purpose in exhibiting which man was the manlier man.
While he had no interest in fine silk, expensive food or the ‘world’s greatest’ this or that, Ai did have on use for this place. As was often the case in large gatherings of people, information was exchanged. Though it often consisted of trivial chit chat, there was always the occasional gem. Earlier that day the student “happened to overhear” a scandalous conversation between two secret lovers about their ‘own private world’ that was right in the center of everyone’s attention. The woman had gone on and on about romantic it all was how it was like stepping into a different world.
His curiosity piqued, Ai had begun his search for this hidden place. Upon further inquiry, an elderly groundskeeper had mentioned a place known as the ‘Transformation hall’ and indicated the direction in which it could be found. Hastily thanking the old man, the bald boy hustled off in search of this alluring place.
After stumbling around the outer wall, Ai began to get frustrated. He should have asked for more clarification then a hand gesture from a possibly senile old man. Brushing some snow off of a bench nearby, the boy sat and bowed his head, pulling his plain his cloak tighter around him. This was definitely the center of a lot of people’s attention, and the grounds man had responded to the description the boy had given him. What was he missing?
‘Right in the center. The center…’
Instantly realizing his mistake, Ai hustled his way to one of the entrances into the Colosseum, easily acquiring the location from a man tending to the area around the stage. Abandoning his usual manners, the boy bolted in the direction he was given without so much as a thank you, sliding to a stop before he passed the stairs described to him by the subject of his latest inquisition. With no hesitation, Ai bolted down the dark stairwell, slowing when he reached the bottom as he was greeted by the first change in atmosphere. It was, calm down here, and warm. Hot almost. Continuing cautiously, the student silently hoped the couple he had listened in on wouldn’t be there. An eavesdropper was one thing, but there was no way Ai would voyeur to that list.
Strange smells greeted him after only a few steps, as well sounds. The smell of moist air and vegetation, the trickle of water. It was all so strange and exotic.
‘Intoxicating even.’
Almost against his will, and certainly against his typical demeanor, Ai couldn’t resist but to drop his cloak on the ground as he continued towards the source of all these enchanting feelings. Almost subconsciously, the boy noticed he had lowered his guard almost completely, the intoxicating senses overwhelming his better judgment. Finally, the room unfolded before him, mounds of dirt, boulders and even what appeared to be a grouping of cacti (which from Ai’s understanding were native to the Wind country), were mixed in with various trees, pools of water and massive chunks of ice (inexplicably unaffected by the warmth of the hot pool not ten feet away).
Ai had read about senses like these, but not just in script about geography. There was a vast array of Genjutsu techniques that could create similar atmospheres, a thought that, despite his best wishes, could only be held for a second. Almost robotically, Ai pulled of his simple shirt, retying his pants in its absence and kicked off his boots. Something was pulling him to this pool of water, his foot disturbing the layer of steam that seemed to coat the surface as his toes pierced the water. It was hot, but not a scalding heat. It was like a warm bath, or a hot spring, but surrounded by both indigenous and foreign vegetation. Sinking neck deep into the water, the thoughtful student enjoyed this rare feeling of tranquility, completing forgetting the world around him and focusing on the peace of the moment.
This was a first for Ai, and he wasn’t about to rush it.
While he had no interest in fine silk, expensive food or the ‘world’s greatest’ this or that, Ai did have on use for this place. As was often the case in large gatherings of people, information was exchanged. Though it often consisted of trivial chit chat, there was always the occasional gem. Earlier that day the student “happened to overhear” a scandalous conversation between two secret lovers about their ‘own private world’ that was right in the center of everyone’s attention. The woman had gone on and on about romantic it all was how it was like stepping into a different world.
His curiosity piqued, Ai had begun his search for this hidden place. Upon further inquiry, an elderly groundskeeper had mentioned a place known as the ‘Transformation hall’ and indicated the direction in which it could be found. Hastily thanking the old man, the bald boy hustled off in search of this alluring place.
After stumbling around the outer wall, Ai began to get frustrated. He should have asked for more clarification then a hand gesture from a possibly senile old man. Brushing some snow off of a bench nearby, the boy sat and bowed his head, pulling his plain his cloak tighter around him. This was definitely the center of a lot of people’s attention, and the grounds man had responded to the description the boy had given him. What was he missing?
‘Right in the center. The center…’
Instantly realizing his mistake, Ai hustled his way to one of the entrances into the Colosseum, easily acquiring the location from a man tending to the area around the stage. Abandoning his usual manners, the boy bolted in the direction he was given without so much as a thank you, sliding to a stop before he passed the stairs described to him by the subject of his latest inquisition. With no hesitation, Ai bolted down the dark stairwell, slowing when he reached the bottom as he was greeted by the first change in atmosphere. It was, calm down here, and warm. Hot almost. Continuing cautiously, the student silently hoped the couple he had listened in on wouldn’t be there. An eavesdropper was one thing, but there was no way Ai would voyeur to that list.
Strange smells greeted him after only a few steps, as well sounds. The smell of moist air and vegetation, the trickle of water. It was all so strange and exotic.
‘Intoxicating even.’
Almost against his will, and certainly against his typical demeanor, Ai couldn’t resist but to drop his cloak on the ground as he continued towards the source of all these enchanting feelings. Almost subconsciously, the boy noticed he had lowered his guard almost completely, the intoxicating senses overwhelming his better judgment. Finally, the room unfolded before him, mounds of dirt, boulders and even what appeared to be a grouping of cacti (which from Ai’s understanding were native to the Wind country), were mixed in with various trees, pools of water and massive chunks of ice (inexplicably unaffected by the warmth of the hot pool not ten feet away).
Ai had read about senses like these, but not just in script about geography. There was a vast array of Genjutsu techniques that could create similar atmospheres, a thought that, despite his best wishes, could only be held for a second. Almost robotically, Ai pulled of his simple shirt, retying his pants in its absence and kicked off his boots. Something was pulling him to this pool of water, his foot disturbing the layer of steam that seemed to coat the surface as his toes pierced the water. It was hot, but not a scalding heat. It was like a warm bath, or a hot spring, but surrounded by both indigenous and foreign vegetation. Sinking neck deep into the water, the thoughtful student enjoyed this rare feeling of tranquility, completing forgetting the world around him and focusing on the peace of the moment.
This was a first for Ai, and he wasn’t about to rush it.
[MFT]
[WC: 798]