Flaws [Open-Event?]

[Zethui Kobayashi]

Zenichi wondered if whoever planned this event had thought about postponing it until the gates opened. Several local businesses had show up but the general feeling about the festival was that it was missing a lot. Tourist, Vendors, exotic food and gifts and animals were no where to be found. It was a sad event that almost no one was partaking in. Zenichi wasn't very interested in it after seeing the blight affairs. But he had overheard a conversation about the area this was held in. An area that seemed to be dedicated to the 5 basic elements. A religious area where people can pay homage to nature.

As he got to center square, he looked up at the 5 statues. Each one must have took a decade to create with such fine detail. He wondered if he could ever reach a level of perfection with his art. He could imagine that Sousuke would be able to if he only had enough time to focus his attention on. As he sat down and watched the few attendees walk around being even less thrilled than he was, he wondered what he was doing here. We he just wasting time and money in an area that seemed to be falling apart in organization.

 

[Haruka]

"You're wasting your time if you're looking for something interesting." A voice would call out from a young woman who sat beneath one of the statues. The one dedicated to water, naturally. Her legs would remain crossed as she sat there, elbows planted in her thighs as she watched the person wander through the area in an aimless manner. "These people are losing their way. When a person loses their way, the first thing that they discard is their belief system and their supposed Gods. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a sudden decline in the lovely guardian population that we have here in Stone." Bridged fingers would allow her chin to settle there atop of them. Was it not the atheist's job to terrorize people at the temple? Nah, it really wasn't. Here she was, though. Hanging around like the croup in a child's chest came naturally to someone who was having a hard time coping with the things that went on within their village. There was meant to be a large festival, a gathering of people, and parties everywhere, but it moreso seemed that everyone was dwelling more on the death of their traitorous leader. What a shame it was. Some days, she couldn't help but really wonder... Why bother? Oh right, because she cared a little bit too much for these people. She would always care even if they wanted to cast her aside. That was the curse of a woman like Haruka.

"What do you look for in the supposed Gods of Iwagakure?" She would ask very abruptly, dropping her hands down from holding up her chin. She would push herself up to a stand now and place one hand on her hip, her blue eyes surveying the very scene before her. She wondered if the curators were upset yet... but it wasn't like she'd stop. Pity. Now she would just wait for the answer of the man who stood there, silence filling the air between the two now.<i></i>

 

[Zethui Kobayashi]

Zenichi didn't realize that the woman was talking to him at first. While the event wasn't crowded by no means, there was enough background noise that it was only natural to tune everything out. Solitude can sometimes be more deafening than anything else. It wasn't until she stated that people were losing his way that his mind realized it was directed at him. A stray hair flew lose from his pony tail and caught him in the eye as he turned towards the origin of the voice. With one eye trained forward, he quickly used a hooked finger to clear his vision in the other eye. He missed his long hair. Having only recently been able to put it back marked the first time that he didn't feel the need to shave it all off.

She sat near one if the monuments to the gods. Precariously positioned as if deep in though or just quietly observing. The way her fingers intertwined below her chin make him think of the 3 monkey silhouettes for some reason. It was as if she was trying to decide if she heard no evil, saw no evil, or spoke no evil. The truth was, it was a occupational hazard to be fluent in each.

People don't have a way, At least not most. As a Shinobi, I've been trained my whole life to be a weapon. I am unfortunate because I am fulfilling my purpose and one day will be thrown to the ground when that purpose is no longer needed. I envy the civilians that are here, looking for today's purpose. They only knew where they were going today and vaguely what they were going to do. They find their way as they go and rarely are told that their future isn't there for them to take hold of.

He knew he had a negative outlook on the Shinobi way. He tells himself that he isn't jaded by his profession, he is merely a realist. He was never supposed to be born and was raised knowing that. A child without love or affection would become a weapon with the keenest of edges. He never doubted his place in this world and didn't delude himself into thinking he could ever be anything more.

What if I didn't look at these statues as entities that were elevated above me? What if I wondered if we are the apples fallen from their hearty branches? As a kid, I understood the basics of the elements on an quantum mechanical level before I could even walk. My son was born of Fire and killed his mother from the womb. Regular people look at us as if we are gods because of the things we can naturally do, do they see something we have just accepted as normal? Have you ever seen another Shinobi that truly amazed you the way these civilians are in awe of us?

Zenichi sounded more dark than he wanted to. But the death of his only love and the loss of a son that he never even had the chance to name wore heavy on his heart. It made him jealous of those without power. Those free to just live life each day as they wanted to.

[mft]

 

[Haruka]

Naturally it was not that Haruka directed her attention to others when it was a setting like this. She more or less came here to brood more than anything. Hah, how depressing, right? It was odd that she was such a strange woman with such a strong aversion to the painted idols within these halls and tomes. After all, seeing someone like Souji pray to these so called Gods that continually went ahead and pushed him right back down whenever he got ahead.... It made no sense, and she was judging him. He wouldn't know that, though. They hardly spoke to one another nowadays anyways. Pity that. Oh the thoughts that came to mind in a setting that was supposed to soothe the very soul. Instead, it just annoyed her beyond belief. The man would turn to peer in her direction. Picking the shinobi out of the crowd was kind of like a game. You never knew who was or who was not a trained killer. Typically, the way a person spoke could really allude to what was sifting through their very soul. What kind of sand was settled there? Was it a pure white, or a black brackish coloration like the sands upon the Isle of Man? "Either you fall into that mold, or you break free of it. Only dead fish go with the flow." She'd grin a bit, lifting her arms up above her head to stretch out her back. Listening to the rhythmic pop of her spine, she would continue on listening to the man as he spoke. As the young woman walked, she would walk circles around the man who spoke in such a strange manner. It wasn't even threatening. It was more of a whimsical walk as she listened to him speak. She obviously did not need to allude to any heritage nor lineage that she was born of.

"Most people of this nation come here to pray to these very statues. It seems as though the two of us may be nothing more than oddballs here in a world that blindly follows statues and pretend entities." Now, she didn't believe that she was anything along the lines of seeing herself as above the civilians. She just knew that she didn't follow similar beliefs to them. Aye. "All men and all women continually amaze me with the capabilities that we are allotted. And I wish that I was lying to you. My own son was born of ice, more than likely to be a stillborn due to my own body's effects. Now, it wasn't even a shinobi that saved his life, but just a mere woman who believes in different medicine approaches than the people who are combat medics." Her shoulders would square, then shrug.

"Who may you be? My name is Haruka." Offer a piece of yourself before taking something of another. That was the way of the world.<i></i>

 

[Zethui Kobayashi]

Zenichi listened to the woman speak. Her words seemed to be more statements of her convictions than a sermon directed to him. It wasn't hard to decipher her origins, even if he couldn't name the one of dozen or so hidden villages. He found her intriguing in an odd kind of way but he couldn't help but worry that there was a hint of danger near him. When she spoke of her child nearly meeting the same fate as his own, he understood that she could be as powerful as him. Maybe even more so since Ice was the polar opposite of the searing fire that coursed through his veins.

I am Zenichi of Konohagakure. I am a blade for hire and a greedy one at that. I can't believe in a deity that can grant fame and fortune, famine and death. I was once lead by a nation that was corrupted by a few. That lead me to become more poor than what I was born with. I stand alone and will only fall by my own choices. Good or Bad.

Zenichi spat on the floor and looked at each statue of a so-called God. He didn't hate them specifically, he just hated the whole social commentary that comes with idealism.

[ooc, sorry for the blah post.]

 

[Haruka]

Ice and fire, weren't they some incredible elements? They really brought a lot about to the world. Though that did not mean that a person needed to neglect all of the other elements as well. If she could recall, that was the point to what went on here within this very temple. Though, this was where she had lost the demonness that lurked within her soul. This was where she had found Keita seemingly brain dead from the adventure he had taken deep within her mind, only to get himself trapped within the confines of her mind. So, this man hailed from the land of Fire itself? Interesting in the back of her mind. Her hands would cross over her chest just a bit as she looked up towards the large sculptures that resided high above the temple. She hated them. She personally wanted to see them and the religion of this village fall into a pit of no return, one that was bottomless and just kept that religion free falling for longer and longer than what she could remember. A small breath would pass free of her lips, colliding with the air to cause a small cloud of vapor there. "Zenichi, it is a pleasure to meet you." She would comment, dropping her hands back down to where they had been previously. She would lean forward and bow her head just quickly in his direction. "As I recall, your village befell a grim fate much like many of my shinobis' villages have. That I apologize for. And that I can open these gates for solace to." She would murmur in a sincere tone. She worked with the people whom were displaced by the destruction of these villages. It was her job now. She wouldn't turn a blind eye to others. No one had to truly wander if they came to Stone. They would always have a home within these walls, no matter their creed, race, or anything else.

"Do these statues anger you as well?" She asked quietly, her eyebrows raising a bit in her curiosity. "They do not make me feel the best, if I may admit. I hate them." Ever since she could remember... Yes, she hated them. The representation of 'God' in her village. It was a joke. Purely, and plainly.<i></i>

 

[Zethui Kobayashi]

The wind had picked up, bringing a saltiness to the air that instantly flooded Zenichi with memories of Moon Country. He knew it was impossible to be ocean water that he was smelling but none the less, he was a little home sick. It's funny how a place you are raised your whole life can be so completely foreign while a place you lived temporarily can feel like home.

Ah, what fell upon Konoha can happen anywhere. On a long enough timeline, this place too shall fall. On an even longer one, nothing will be here to prove that we existed in the first place. But thank you for showing respect for the turmoil my village has had to endure.
Her offer for Solace didn't go unnoticed. He knew that with the Senju clan reformed in these walls and many other Leaf-nin here, he could settle in for a good while. The problem was that he couldn't find himself sitting at the bottom rung once again. Having psychopaths like Kagamaru lead him into deadly battles. He wouldn't stand for a tyrant, nor a leader who was weak. In the end, he would either go missing or try to over throw the government. He was lucky to have been placed in the world on his own while still a little young. It gave him perspective and allowed him to grow into a man defined by his own actions.

I can't hate them any more than I can hate myself for what I can do. The weak need people like me to be their champion. When these Gods first appeared, they were a necessity for the people who needed guidance. You see them as lies to the people, I see them as nothing more than a empty promise of those to come. We have become the very gods that they posed to be. We should shield and comfort the weak as these so called gods did in the past.

As Zenichi was talking, he held his hand forward. At a young age, he was completely fluent in every element. An amazing feat that most adults hadn't even mastered. As he grew older, he learned to blend the elements into new ones. Sometimes he was inspired by what he saw before him, other's were from necessity. Inside of his hand, he started to form the 5 basic elements. Flames first danced along his finger tips. That quickly turned into static electricity coiling between this fingers. A tunnel of wind soon swirled in his palm only to have a mound of dirt erupt from it's center. Dirt became mud as water dripped out of his hand onto the ground.

And yet, he continued to talk about the past, every couple words would highlight a new element. Shadow, Poison, Acid, Vapor, Mirror, and Crystal. At the end of his speech, he held a long red crystal and thought about his audience. He had never tried before but knew the basic elements needed. He wondered why he had never tried before. Zenichi closed his eyes and focused his chakra. Soon, the red Crystal turned brilliant white. The air outside suddenly became crisp with a slight bite to it. When he opened his eyes, he was filled with pride at such a minor accomplishment. He offered the ice crystal to Haruka as a gift.

We are not immortal but we can still be gods

 

[Zethui Kobayashi]

erased a quoted edit

 

[Haruka]

Of all these flavors, the air had to choose to be salty, eh? Ay yi yi. Either way, the woman would stand listening to the mercenary before her. The grim fate of Leaf, of Mist... All things that she did not want to imagine happening to the village that she had called home for all of her life, for the country that she ran. Although, without her guiding hand, it seemed that the country was stuck within a deep decline. She could only imagine what in the hell the person who had been puppeted into her place was doing at this point in time, and she had to hold back a disgusted shake of her head. After all, it was towards her own thoughts and not towards what Zenichi was doing nor speaking right here and now. So, it was only polite. It seemed as though she was going to have to storm into the Cage of Rubies or where ever the hell that so called leader held up in her stead, ruining this country faster than what she could ever imagine. A shame, really. Listening to his speach dedicated to these statues, she would turn her cold blues towards him, watching him speak in her own silence. It was interesting to hear another's point of view on something along these lines. After all... It was not every day that they crossed paths with another who was not of their village. It may have been more often for him due to his displaced status... But... Still. "I agree," she would comment quietly, setting her jaw a bit as she contemplated in silence. Hmm... "But we are here, in the flesh... We represent so much more than a statue ever cold." A capability to see other's stances, that was something that helped the young leader on her advancement through whatever insanity that she needed to wander through. As he held his hand forward, her eyebrows would raise as she watched the slew of elements that would dance through his fingertips. A master of the elements, just like herself. Advanced elements that came and danced through her mind like they belonged there... They were impressive things. All of the things that she could see, that she could do... She couldn't get over it.

As he offered the crystal of ice to her, she would blink a few moments, but she would accept the gift into her hands. Holding it in one hand, she would use the tips of her fingers as a means to craft an addition. With her Haku ice, there would now build up an icy chain that she would pull over her head, freeing her hair from beneath of it. The crystal that was gifted to her now dangled from her neck beside a small golden locket that she was never seen without. "As long as it is with me, it will never melt." Her skin was not capable of melting ice. That much she knew to be true.

"They may need us, they may want us to do the jobs for them..." Mmmh, "But I've never felt a need to be seen as a God. Though, at this point, as hard as it is to lead this village and country, it may be good to scare people into such a thought process." Her voice came out in a sigh as she watched him quietly. It would be now that he could see the tiredness within her eyes. It had been a task. A true god damn task to get stuff done here. Ah well, she would STILL do whatever she thought was the best for this place.

"I don't know. My hands are full." A tired smile now.<i></i>

 

[Zethui Kobayashi]

He wondered if the same was true for him. If Ice would never melt as long as it touched her skin, would he always burn everything that he touches? It was a fate that he would bare for ages to come. He knew that it wouldn't be much of a burden though since to be truly close with another would require an emotion he could never be tricked into feeling again.

It would seem that our paths have drawn towards one another, even though we are of opposite polarities. Maybe it's fate or maybe it's just that we are larger than life itself. Every moon or satellite revolves around each planet. But each planet revolves around the Sun. There are millions, if not billions of planets but there are only thousands of Suns in the universe. It is a rare moment that two Suns have found each other in such a way. I pray that our paths cross again one day.

[Topic Left unless stopped]