Emissary from Moon... No not that guy [Gashadokuro and Katsuo]

[Raizo]

He found himself once more at the Kazekage Tower, once more leading some foreign to this building to once yet again have a conversation with Katsuo. Was this all his life was now? At one point he felt like he lived a much more active life, one full of secrecy and sleuthing. Now he was the damn welcome party. Either way, it would be good for Katsuo to get a little bit more interactions. The guy seemed to be pent up in the Tower more often than not recently. It was mildly troubling, and something he would have looked into more if he wasn't already preoccupied with his own personal wellbeing and plummeting emotional levels. Everyone seemed to have some shit they needed to work through.

Gashadokuro needed to work out some shit with Katsuo. Unlike last time, he would not blow up a wall and march in. No, he would come in through the door like a normal person, make his way towards the appropriate area, make his way towards whoever was waiting outside as Katsuo's nanny today, and he would calmly say...

"Oy, got this foreigner here with big things he needs to tell the Kazekage. This old man was braving the desert and sweeping up the mess like a damned-hero... so maybe get him some water too? Make it cold."

He would then nod back to Gashadokuro as he would then start the process of waiting.

 

[Yong]

The Kazakage Tower shone brightly in the desert sun, standing out like a guardian beacon above the valley that was now Sunagakure, so different from the village of his memory. He would be sure to scout the village proper once his meeting was concluded.

Roku, his friendly giant, strode with great steps towards the tower with purpose. The strange pair headed through the floors of the Kazakage Tower, receiving some curious stares from other shinobi and employees currently doing business around the place. Perhaps thinking what the little old man with the broom had done wrong? Perhaps swept the meditation garden again?

As the pair approached what would turn out to be their destination his companion announced their presence with the lack of grace granted to one who commands authority, even in a place as auspicious as this.

A nervous, well dressed gentleman bowed stiffly before running of, assumedly to retrieve the ordered water.

As they began their wait together Yong’s focus would drift towards their surroundings, noting the thin layer of sand present even here, his sweeping hand beginning to itch as it loosely gripped the broom still resting over his shoulder. As his focus drifted the old man began to speak, though still averting his gaze as he took in his surrounds.

”You walk like one who belongs here… Tell me Roku-san, who are you? I would assume that no ‘average’ shinobi of Suna could simply walk me through the gates to the seat of the Kazakage with such little fanfare or hindrance and yet here we are with not so much as a second glance from the shinobi around this place…”<i></i>

 

[Raizo]

His eyes would glance back towards the little man who seemed to have found himself venturing down a little path of what would seem like flattery. He would love to really crank up his own hype, pumping and pounding his own chest, but it seemed like nowadays his spirit was just a little bit lower. Whatever fire was once in his soul seems to have been reduced to nothing more than embers. It was unfortunate, and it was something that he himself had not fully come to terms with. It would eventually hit him, it would eventually bring him to a crossroads. But for now...

"Oh? Lil oh me!?"

He would chuckle a bit as he waved his still organic hand to dismiss the notion of him being someone of great fame. Whether it was ultimately true or not, might have been a bit debatable.

"Call it a sense of entitlement? I know that sounds bad... me and the old Kage, we were the best of friends. Some days, I guess I treat this place like he was still in charge... and knowing he would tolerate my bullshit, I guess I sort of just grown accustomed to barging in here. I think the current Kazekage won't be too hung up on it... and really that is all that matters. He is the one that would be sending me to prison anyways if it wasn't okay!"

Another round of chuckling as his metallic hand would slap his thigh.

"What about you old---Gashadokuro. Tell me a bit about where you are from? I don't really get out much, so I always enjoy learning from our visitors another glimpse of the lands out there not covered in sands."

 

[Yong]

Yong chuckled along with his giant friend.

”Human’s are slow to change… they will see something that has always been done and assume that it is that way that it will always be done, a familiar face, a friendly gesture, complacency...
So for the time being you are like a ghost my friend Roku. A large, boisterous ghost that gets little old men fresh water to drink but a ghost never the less.”</B><i></i>

His smile would not change as he spoke, definitely a friendly smile but also a well-practiced one…

”What about this old bag of bones you ask? I am of the wilds my boy, with endless stories gained over lifetimes but why do you crave my stories Roku? Why not go to these lands you only glimpse through strangers eyes?”<i></i>

The old man looked at his friend as if contemplating over every small fact he had garnered in their short journey from the gates to the heart of Suna. He removed his rolling tobacco and began to roll a cigarette as he continued to speak.

<B>”Do not regret Roku, you are too young to burn so low…”

 

[Raizo]

"You are too young to burn so low..."

Something about those words stuck with him and seemed to resonate. Whether the impact would lead to a positive or negative result would only be told with time, but for now, the reaction was merely neutral. It was just where he was at right now. Stalled out. Bland. He did not yearn for anything, he did not desire anything, he did not want anything. The notion of traveling the world sounded appealing, and a year ago would have been something that would have had him all revved up chatting about what they could mean and where he might go. But now, it merely got a smirk from him. He could not put a finger on what was wrong with him, or if anything was really wrong or if it was just different. It was as if he went from being able to acutely taste all the favors in every food dish to now not being able to detect anything, as if his tongue had been burned and his tastebuds lost. Everything just felt like it was part of the same slow moving current that he was caught within.

"A man of the wilds, aye? What kind of wilds are we talking about? Mountains? Trees? The desert?"

It seemed like a mundane question, but he was curious what the perils of some of these different biomes would look like. Sure, he knew the desert but he also knew that would not be the response of the man. It was merely a throwaway question. Honestly, the little old man was quirky but he was interested so he wasn't opposed to getting to know more about him. It also didn't help that Katsuo seemed to be taking his sweet ass time.

 

[Yong]

His giant friend went passive as the words of the old man resonated with him, as the perceptive sage had known it would. The weary eyes of the Sennin told legions more than the shinboi’s words ever could. Like so many before, the tell-tale scares were present in the soul of this man, one who had seen things and experienced things no mortal should have to see or feel…

The Sennin snapped from his reverie, returning to the ‘gentle probing’ portion of the conversation, they were shinobi after all and knowledge is power.

”There are mountains in my Wilds, and what strange peaks there are, where the fates play with the lives of mortals whilst the spirits wait and watch. Plateau's hiding ancient temples dedicated to forbidden gods from forgotten times, surrounded by tiny villages of people who have seen what this world has to offer and have turned away from it... the stories they tell... you would be welcome there…”<i></i>

Placing the freshly rolled cigarette to his wrinkled lips and pulling out the dog-eared box of matches from the side of his bag. He continued to speak with the stroke like expression of one wishing to talk without the inconvenience of having to remove the cigarette from ones lips.

”…There are trees in my Wilds too. There is one so old that it remembers the time before the coming of man, who sometimes whispers secrets on the wind if you listen with more than just your ears. Beneath the tree you will meet the most infuriatingly polite little Kami who brew the sweetest tea on certain nights of the year. You would be welcome there…

…There are deserts in my Wilds, child of Suna, deserts where prophets dwell and demons feast… with dunes beyond counting each sharing a story with the next… berried treasure here, a cursed tomb there. You would be welcome there…”<i></i>

The match flared into life (or death depending on your perspective), lighting his cigarette finally. The notion that he should perhaps not be smoking inside of the Kazekage Tower never crossing his mind. His old eyes looked deeply into the Sennin’s eyes as the flame was lit and extinguished. He studied the boy with a careful eye…
As happy little clouds of smoke began to circle, his wrinkled expression took on a note of seriousness.

”There is one thing you have forgotten Roku-sama, child of the sand…

There are Oceans beyond imagining in my Wilds!”<i></i>

A grin split his serious little expression.
”Waves to dwarf this great desert, seas greater than this world of shinobi and entire realms where light is foreign and time bends like the blood in the water. No one is welcome there… but that never stopped us humans now did it! For is it not written ‘The big sea does not care which way the little fishes swim’”<i></i>

The old man chuckled to himself at his own last remark, the irony of the statement most likely lost on the giant shinobi in front of him, but maybe not completly. As his chuckle subsided he pointed to his companion with the lit cigarette.

”Your turn now Roku, friendly giant of Suna… how did you lose that arm of yours? I assume it wasn’t shark related…”<i></i>

 

[Raizo]

It was a lovely set of images the old man painted for him. The outside world truly did hold a beauty that he would not necessarily be able to find in Wind Country.

He would let out a chuckle as his metallic arm slapped his side. It was strange, at first, why he found it so funny that the man mentioned sharks. The more his mind would process it, however, the clearer it would become. The idea that a shark, a living creature he had never seen except for the inside of books, took his arm was just so odd it was funny. Living in a huge desert, of course, that sort of animal did not take his arm, but it did relate to the final description that Gashadokuro had given him; the ocean. It was interesting. It wasn't like he couldn't go to the ocean, hell Soon's Haven was essentially a port town. But he hadn't.

"You are a trip, old timer!"

He would then raise up his left arm, grasp it within his right arm, and twist it. There would be a loud popping noise that would be followed with a series of addition pops, snaps, and then the sound of something winding down. It was an interesting little contraption, and while it looked rather primitive, it was actually a fairly advanced piece of prosthetics, well maybe advance wasn't the best word for describing it. That seemed to imply science over the mysticism that truly seemed to be the crux of the appendage. While science was used, he had to know what material he was using and had to know the human body, what truly made this hunk of metal more than just that was his skilled abilities as a Journeymen. An order of smiths that not only built some of the finest materials you could find in the desert, but also an order that used chakra and arcane knowledge to imbue their wares with something more than just quality craft. This arm was more part of him, more part of his actual essence than you'd think an artificial limb could be.

"I lost my arm fighting a reincarnated sandworm of legend... this may surprise you, but this country seems to have quite a bit of legends surrounding sandworms, but this thing... a creature known as Barynx made even the most legendary sandworms look like regular worms. Anyways, big bitch was going to come to this village and wipe it out... yadda, yadda, that whole thing, and a group of us fought it and won. Some people lost limbs..."

He would wave around his detached metal arm.

"While others would be impaled and almost eaten. I may not travel to the outside world, but I highly doubt this was the sort of thing you'd catch a glimpse of anywhere else but here in this little sand box of ours."

He would ring out once more in a hearty chuckle. His laughter would subside as his eyes would begin to glance around the room.

"So... I'm not 100 percent sure if Katsuo is showing up..."

Awkward.

 

[Yong]

”A reincarnated sandworm of legend that made other legendary sandworms look as regular earth worms indeed… a good story to lose an arm to. Your anatometal is a fine work and know that I am not easily impressed boy.”<i></i>
The old man pointed at the waived appendage with his still burning though mostly neglected cigarette.

“You have done a fine job adapting to it son, for is it not written ’You've got to learn to walk before you can run.’’’ <i></i>

Roku went on to state in what could only be interpreted as an apologetic tone that he thought tha the Kage may not in fact actually be attending todays meeting.

”Kage are of no concern to me Roku of the sands… I have come to deliver a message. Know first that I am no slave to some higher cause, I walk this path because I chose to, because this is the only way. For some alien reason to me I feel I must only speak plainly with you friend Roku. The words I speak now are no longer for the Kage of Suna, no, my words are for you.”<i></i>

The old wrinkled face gave a genuine smile to the much younger and larger man, showing acceptance at the slight turn of planned events resulting in the Kage’s absence. Perhaps Roku would get the impression that the old man may not have been overly fond of Kage via subtle inflections, though perhaps not.
The old man’s voice turned colder now as he began to speak. If Roku was perceptive enough he would note that there was a new seriousness to the old man’s vocabulary, a controlled coldness.

”Konohagakure will come under the knife once more… Where the surgeon has failed the butcher must now go to work… know that this is a certainty as are the gods that will it.

“They will cry and reach to you in desperation with bloodied hands outreached as the Myakashi carve them from the world they infest. I warn you now friend Roku, they will be removed with extrteem prejudice as will any who come to their aid… when they reach to Suna, let no hand you value reach back.

“Know for a certainty that no innocent blood will be on the hands of the Myakashi in what is to come.”<i></i>

Yong paused momentarily to deeply inhale from the quickly vanishing cigarette, taking on a calmer demeanour as he exhaled the sweet tobacco smoke from his lungs.

“It is a kindness to put down a rabid dog, friend Roku… and to foolishly run to its aid is to invite destruction alongside it.”<i></i>

His message had been blunt and to the point in a metaphorical paradox.

“You do have a choice though, and that is to support the Myakashi, whether from the shadows behind anonymity or beside us as brothers on the field of battle… Walk with us and we will walk with you and yours until the end... help us remove this cancer from the shinobi world…”<i></i>

[OOC: sorry for the delay, update etc… also sorry for the much speaking, it is hard for me to describe the same corridor for multiple posts ]

 

[Raizo]

He had been playing this game, this wild and unpredictable game called life, for what both seemed like a relatively short and an absurdly long time. There was always wild variations, peaks and valleys, ebbs and flows to all of this. Things both seemed to feel mundane and bizarre at the same time. There was only one certainty that he had ever encountered though, one that never seemed to disappoint him while at the same time very much disappointing him.

Oh... well, this guy is a crazy person after all.

It never ceased to amaze and frustrate him. He could never just meet a person without them having some outrageous baggage. He could never meet someone in the bar and hit it off with a friendly manner without them also being a genetically modified super soldier trying to kill him. He could not just meet women in a bar without them being some scheming mad women bent on watching the village and Daimyo destroy each other in the hellfire of mutual self-destruction. He could not just meet some weird old man without him espousing some ideas that sounded an awful lot like he was plotting civil war in another country.

"Hmmm... so my choices are to either help a village I don't care about or side with a group I don't know... listen, I don't want to be that asshole that is like 'ah-ha! I choose option C' when you clearly didn't give me one. That seems like a tired shtick and I ain't really wanting to seem like I'm attempting to piss on this vendetta you got brewing nor piss you off... you are a weird quirky dude, I can respect that... but I gotta tell ya, Gashadokuro."

He would let out a sigh as he tossed his arms up in the air.

"I really don't care if you go and do what'cha plan on doing in Konoha. I'm sorta neck deep in my shit here, the rest of the world is sort of in the second slot in my list of priorities... well shit, that kid got dropped off on my doorstep, ok so the rest of the world is more like the third thing on my list of priorities."

Starting to rub his temples he would close his eyes. This was a very normal feeling headache, one that seemed to be the usual lately.

"So... I'm not sure what good that does ya... but that is my choice. International incidents, if that is what is floating your boat, then sail on with it old timer."

Well, this was not the rabbit hole he was wishing to fall into today.

 

[Yong]

Yong smirked slightly as the giant of the man began to show signs of weary frustration rather than the concern or curiosity that one might expect at the news that one of Suna’s major allies was about to be attacked buy a Clan of Missing Ninja, most with ‘Kill On Sight’ stamped beside their pictures in the Bingo Books of multiple countries. Perhaps shinobi priorities were different than in his days?

“I meant no offence to speak so candidly with you Shinobi, perhaps I may have overestimated your position here due to the authority you naturally commanded. Or your stature… But I guess just because your big doesn’t mean you are important.” <i></i>

His smirk moved into a grin as he gave the giant a gentle poke with the end of his broomstick.

“Thought you might even be a Sennin or something.”

“Silly me.” <i></i>

With one last drag of the now dwindled cigarette the old man patted himself down theatrically, universally indicating one preparing to depart and requiring a quick inventory so as to avoid leaving anything behind.

“Well I might head off now lad, I have taken enough of your time already. I have enjoyed our little chat and I hope I don’t see you across battlelines in the future, especially not over ‘a village you don’t even care about’… and remember Rule Number One!”<i></i>

The old man would give one last grin before bowing slightly and old man shuffling away down the corridor past a confused looking man holding a full glass of water. The old man then, for better or worse, made his way out into the village hidden in the sand.


[OOC: Topic Left unless stopped.]

 

[Raizo]

"No... no... sorry for coming off rude, and apparently..."

He would let out a sigh as he looked around.

"...for wasting your time. It seems the Kage will not be appearing today... this month... maybe even this lifetime!"

He would chuckle a bit before the older man would start to make his leaving remarks.

"Listen, old timer, I've enjoyed the round of conversation. I'm sure you have some grand scheme in the works, and I assume you are experienced enough to understand this, but what you are seeking will probably only end in blood. No happiness. No lofty goals attained. No grand merit. No world changing moment. Just death and blood."

That is all this country was, that is why he felt confident in speaking it.

"Safe travels, if you'd like for me to escort you out, I don't mind. But let me go leave a message for the Kage in hopes he does catch it, so I will meet you outside."

[Assuming Yong has still left and/or is waiting outside now if he decided to stick around]

"So another piece of the odd Konoha puzzle. I am damned near one additional piece of information away from being involved. What a stressful time to be alive."

A slight smirk would appear on his face as he would begin to scribble down a note to have left for Katsuo.

[Topic Left]