Open Deep Thought [Yuna]

[Kaen]

"Ha-ha-ahh-ahh-aaahhhh!"

Gulls could be heard throughout Soon's Harbor as merchant ships and the like set sail and docked with their goods. A strong wave of fish would waft near the waters as a fishing vessel brought in their catch. Gulls were quick to take notice and swarmed the area hoping for a stray fish to fall or for a crew member to not be paying attention and swipe one away. Waves would lap to and fro, and ever ebbing and flowing of the sea, casting the enticing briny aroma of the sea.

For a Flame Court Hybrid, one would not peg Kaen as the type to enjoy being around water. But he often found comfort in it as it reminded him of his younger sister, Kasen. He had not seen her for some time now, she didn't live with him anymore. He heard that she would be marrying Akkuma's son, Riyota, but he too seemed to drop off the radar. In fact a large majority of the people he knew were suddenly impossible to find. Even more reason to find an escape and try to think of better days. Not to say today was a bad day, no. In fact today was especially beautiful. Not a cloud in sight, the radiant sun heating the golden sand below. Yes, today was a marvelous day. One that Kaen would find himself enjoying as he sat on a bench adjacent to a walking path that overlooked the harbor. Tilting his head back he would close his eyes and simply soak in the warm rays of light.

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

(Before the Events of the Rusty Kunai Thread...)​

Yuna had to make a pit stop. One of her tires from her motorcycle has suddenly gone flat and the nearest civilization was this harbor an hour or so of walking. She didn't even bother dragging the bike through the desert, rather she stored it in a sealing scroll for the time being, easier that way. She was still not used to the climate of Wind Country, as she every so often had to splash herself with her own water jutsu to keep cool.

Finally making it to the harbor, the young Chigokai studied her surroundings. a couple of boats, one fishing vessel and a lone man who seems to be taking it all in. Despite how small and quant it looks, no matter where she looked, she can't find an auto body shop. She figures that it must be down some back alley or whatnot, but in the end, she found herself right back at the docks where that one guy seems to be reflecting. She shrugged, might be a local, he might be able to point her in the right direction.

"Excuse me, sir?" She started. Once she had the man's attention, she would then ask, "Do you know where I can find an autobody shop?"

 

[Kaen]

"Excuse me, sir?" A voice stirred the large man from his state of relaxation, a single eye opening to take a peek at whom the voice belonged to. "Afternoon..." His tone was that of confusion and hesitancy, who was this lady and why was she talking to him? People would more than likely cross the street to avoid walking past Kaen, at least that's how history had played out. This woman seemed as if she needed help, so he wouldn't brush her aside so quickly.

"Do you know where I can find an autobody shop?" Alright, she had his attention. He sat himself up straight and scratched his chin inquisitively. The word itself was foreign to him, this 'autobody' she spoke of. He had heard rumor about contraptions that could take you great distances, and with even greater speed. Truth be told Kaen was not the most informed regarding these types of things. Technology, or at least the newest innovations and discoveries, was not his strong suit. He wasn't even that old and you could call him old fashioned.

"You'll have to forgive me, this shop that sells the autobody, this would be a place where you take your damaged metal chariots?" Yes, he was probably looking like an old fogey, or just an idiot that knew nothing at all. But he honestly couldn't place the word she had used. While he was not well versed in the ways of mechanical devices, Kaen did know the lay of the land more than most. He had his special training received via the Ranger Corps to thank for such topography skills. And his previous experience as an Anbu Captain would mean his ears were always listening, even if he didn't want to. Together they would surely find her autobody shop!

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

Yuna noted the tone and reaction of the older man. Even though she is only sixteen, she was an ANBU. The Chigokai saw little things that others wouldn't normally see. She seen that this man might have found it strange for people to come up to talk to him. Or is it because she was a foreigner? She wasn't exactly wearing her Cloud headband, but she would surely stick out like a sore thumb.

Her own question was answered with another question. The man had talked about metal chariots, it was an indicator to her that vehicles are still kind of new though to her, it almost seemed like a norm to her. She nodded. "Yeah, they're called vehicles." She brought out her hand to shake, "My name's Yuna." She wondered about this man and what his whole story is. "So you come to this place often?"

 

[Kaen]

Vehicles? This was certainly not a term he had heard of. No doubt Lord Sousuke would though, perhaps he should pay him a visit sometime and discuss this new invention. Kaen was generally hesitant about machinery and their capabilities. The event with the mechanical door that nearly killed him just left a sour taste in his mouth when it came to those sort of things.

The young woman would extend her hand as a gesture of good will. "My name's Yuna." A pleasant sounding name to be sure. Kaen would sit upright and take the small hand into his own substantial 'paw'. "It's very nice to meet you, Yuna. You may call me Kaen." He had no way of knowing it outright, the fact that the young woman before him belonged to the illustrious Cloud Anbu Corp. Hopefully, for both their sakes, she would not recognize the name. Again, not 100% sure of the fact, but he wasn't exactly welcome in Lightning country. In his youth he may have stirred up some trouble during a few of his visits.

"So you come to this place often?" Pushing the troubling subconscious thoughts away Kaen would smile, baring his razor sharp teeth. A hallmark of his childhood, a permanent token ever reminding him of what he and Kasen underwent. A story for another time perhaps. It was not one he enjoyed sharing. Traumatic experiences that forever shook the foundations of his and Kasen's lives n such.

"Often? Not enough to be called a regular. But I really do enjoy spending time here. The sea reminds me of my sister." His voice would trail off into a more somber tone near the end of the sentence. It had been far too long since he last saw her. He didn't even know where she was anymore. Despite his status as an ex-anbu captain and a member of the Sunan Rangers, he could still not locate her. He knew she was alive, he could feel it. It was almost as if she didn't want to be found. Perhaps it had something to do with her 'nature', Hybrid Ancients and all.

"How about you though? I've not seen your face before, just passing through or...?" This young lady seemed quite pleasant. It was a nice change of pace to be honest. Having an actually friendly conversation with someone that wasn't trying to kill you, or vice versa. He would scoot over and gesture towards the newly created space. "Feel free to sit if you'd like. Unless you're in a hurry to find your autobody shop. I'd be happy to escort you along the way. It's a beautiful day, no sense in enjoying it alone, right?" Kaen really seemed to be in a chipper mood. Yuna's presence was most appreciated.

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

The man introduced himself as Kaen and when they shook hands, the teen noted he had a paw. Enough pleasantries. If this guy has paws he must be part of this stupid organization you and your pops are after! The young Chigokai ignored the demon in her mind and ran her own thoughts through her mind real quick. Might be a bit rude to talk about the 'paw' thing she had noticed. Just how would one even go about such a conversation? "So, I notice you have paws for hands. Is that, like, the norm?" She pushed the thought out of her head as she focused at what is happening now.

So he comes here to reflect and remember, she thought to herself. The sound of his voice tells her that there must have been something that had happened between them. "My brother is a pain, not really sure of himself, and I've always had to come to his rescue. But I love him and even now, I hope that he is doing good without me helping him out." It was after she was done talking, he asked her more or less why she was here. She thought about her answer, to be frank, this isn't anbu business, but rather something her father had started, but she pressured him to not leave the family again, and she took his place. "Helping my father out. He's come across some secret organization that covers the entire world. He's been away from the family too much so I decided to take his place in tracking all these members down and make sure they don't harm anyone." That's the gist of it. It might be too much of a pain to tell them that her father was once a dark sage that turned away from that life, and said secret organization is specifically made to kill former dark sages, which are loosely connected to a cult of Jashinists, which connects her in the whole mess with her inner demon, Jashin's Beast.

Kaen offered a seat next to him and Yuna sat down. "The Wind Country is very different from my home. Neither have I really seen the ocean." She said, more or less agreeing with Kaen, looking out into the horizon.

 

[Kaen]

A worldwide, secret organization hmm? That had Akkuma written all over it. If ever there were a person, if you could call him a person, to have his mitts in all the pies he could, it would be that demon. If he recalled correctly he was also a master of the dark arts, a dark sage if you will. Alas none of this was uttered aloud, so he could not point her in that direction. Kaen himself had no father, or rather knew nothing of his existence, so he had difficulty relating to her noble cause in taking up her father's mantle.

"Honorable commitment, to assume your father's ambitions. A dangerous undertaking it would appear." Yuna would take a seat on the bench next to Kaen and continue her conversation. "The Wind Country is very different from my home. Neither have I really seen the ocean." Kaen would nod along as she went, he too could identify with. "It really is unique, this country. It's much more... sandy in contrast to my birthplace." He reminisced as he spoke, recalling what little he could remember from his early childhood. "The ocean is amazing, however. A glistening sapphirine wonder that gives this otherwise drab wasteland a much needed facelift." Having sailed the sea on more than one occasion he knew just how amazing it really was. One would think that a flaming pyro such as himself would detest the water, but having grown up with a water loving sister he too shared that trait.

Now he knew that she wasn't from here, the country even. Travel wasn't exactly restricted so Wind country saw its fair share of traveling merchants, tourists, and the like. There was, of course, the occasional spy that was sent this way. But those seemed to be far and few between the normal events of this country. This girl, however, did not come off as the type and was not giving off any red flags. She seemed pretty agreeable to him, which was usually a hard feat to achieve. "Seriously, if you get the opportunity, I highly recommend taking a small cruise or ferry just to get a real feel for the ocean and its beauty. You won't regret it, I assure you. I'm sure you could find a ship with a route to Sunagakure even, or at least as close as you can get via water." In fact he would most likely do that himself on his return home, all this talk about the open ocean put him in the mood for a nice, relaxing voyage home.

 

[Chigokai Yuna]

Yuna had thought about his proposition, no doubt the Wind country has its beauties, but she knows that she can't just sit back and relax. She shook her head, "I wish I had an actual time to enjoy the pleasures of just being a tourist, but duty comes first, and I don't know when these guys will attack next." She stretched her body before saying, "Perhaps once my mission is all over, I might have some decent time to sit back and relax a bit."

She stared out into the ocean, she remembered how her father had talked about living in Leaf, albeit it would only be vague. She imagined something had happened to between her father and Leaf, but she won't push nor would he say anything. Now she's imagining what her life would be like if they had never moved from Leaf, how contrast her life be up to this point. She pushed the thought out of her mind, "But this is still a nice view. My father always had this thing of staring out into the horizons during sunsets, telling me that is one of the things that calms him the most."