I Had to See [Private]

[Xiangtian Xiao]

Kyojin underestimated the severity of the freezing of Water country. The closer he was to this vast barren land, the colder it became. But this was not a normal cold. It was biting and unforgiving. He figured a human without chakra would not last even a minute, for only the strong could survive here. Yet by instinct Kyojin knew that unless one was partial to the fire element staying here for more than a day meant death. He did not wish to be buried under these frozen shadows.

However, he had to see. See with his own eyes what became of his homeland. He had always wondered what happened after the village's fall. As the Main Branch Sennin at the time, he was focused on evacuating the villagers but it came down so fast not every one escaped and by the time he woke up from an internal crisis he was in the distant land of Fire.

During his travels as a mercenary and bounty hunter he also heard whispers of Kirigakure, of how the weak perished and the careless strong became traumatized. The surviving ones spoke of abnormal beings and the savage creatures. Just now, Kyojin had to tear apart a wolf-like creature with the fur of a snow tiger. As a practitioner of chakra, killing animals such as rabbits, deer and the like posed no problem. What made him break out in cold sweat was that wolf-like creature. It seemed to be imbued with some kind of otherworldly energy. He did not understand this mysterious energy but knew it had the potential to kill him. His shinobi warrior instinct told him so. As such he was forced to activate his cursed mark. There were very few occasions in his mercenary years was Kyojin ever forced to reveal his greatest weapon and he felt a bit stifled at the fact a simple creature caused him to do so.

How shameful! I... no maybe not...

Only after taking a good look at the barren tundra in front of him did he decide to recede his previous thought. It was not the strong that thrived here, but the dead. The dead and desperate, probably.

Tossing away the torn carcass, Kyojin moved on to a nearby island. He wanted to get a good vantage point and observe the village. After that he will immediately leave.

He had to see.

 

[Xiangtian Xiao]

I'm just a stranger...​

Kyojin could not remember the name of the island this frozen mountain used to be on and he did not think he could identify which land used to be the ancestral home of his clan. Atop this mountain he had a wide view of the tundra. It truly seemed endless, making him wonder if Water country was always this large. He did not remember it being so.

During his trek to the vantage point where he now stands, he observed the wildlife. Most creatures seemed to be on their own and very few had packs, like the wolf-like tiger-furred creature he killed not long ago. He briefly praised his fortune when he saw the pack, realizing even he would have trouble handling more than four of these creatures. In the distance he may have even spotted a direbear, though it did look different than he remembered. The direbear had white fur with bones or rocks, he could not tell, growing out of its neck like a crown. It seemed the creatures here went through some kind of mutation after the freezing of Water, possibly in order to survive in this harsh land. Indeed no human being could live here. It has only been about an hour since he got off the ship and the cold was becoming barely tolerable.

Looking at the direction of Kirigakure, he could only sigh. At the center of this land, on a crater, was the ruined village. There was some kind of deathly atmosphere around the village. The most visible thing was an unnatural bright light and pondered on its existence.

Was it naturally formed or someone...?

Though he had noticed the light when he got on the ice, he had ignored it in order to increase his awareness of the environment. That was when the wolf-like creature attacked and ever since then he was constantly feeling the ground for the slightest vibration. It helped avoid animals but he still had to kill some anyway.

Now focusing on the bright light, he did feel a slight urge to check it out but resisted it. He even thought he saw strange wisps of energy, some that even looked like figures but it vanished so fast he wasn't even sure if he actually saw it in the first place. Remembering the stories he heard about Kirigakure during his travels, he wondered how many saw the light and followed the urge, only to end up with death or insanity?

As much as he wanted to explore the ruins of Kirigakure, Kyojin knew going there alone was basically suicide. The area was too strange to freely explore, especially since he knew nothing about what may be in the village. No, not yet. Perhaps some day he could assemble a team of experts and explore it then. Such an expedition would be interesting. So for now he wanted to live.

Kyojin looked toward the direction of the rendezvous spot and decided it was time to get a move on. He had seen all he needed to see.

...In a strange land.​

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