In the Dead Bleak [Tao]

[Takahashi Aki]

The Kazekage transverse the dead lands with an odd sort of tiredness. He was taking the fight to the Daimyo and his human slavery movements. Sometimes there was success, and sometimes there was not. A certain weariness gripped him whole. Dealing with Jashinists was repetitive. Most of them were fanatics, and morally insane ones at that. Each time Sousuke took the fight to the Daimyo he was changing his appearance. He did have a large armoury of metallic suits and armours he wore. This one was rather plain looking. A simple grey colour, with white plasma cores working about. He wore a dark cloak of sorts that hid some of the finer features of his technology. He was putting a dent in something, human trafficking was already a terrible and repulsive thing to have present. It was something he was going to put out. This concept did not have a place in his Sungakure, which he worked and worked at. Yet in his odd tiredness, something was in his mind. Why were so many slave caravans? He was dismantling them one at a time, but then the game was elevated with trick caravans. The Daimyo was not a stupid man, he was the father of Shouki and Susumu. Both of them were smart young men, and it was a possibility both of them were smarter in Sousuke. The Kazekage was not jealous of this fact, it was the fact that Shouki used his intelligence to harm others. Sousuke was on the opposite end of it. He used his intellect for the betterment of Sungakure.

The metallic man continued his journey homeward. He was not in the best of shape, but he certainly was not in the worst shape either. He wore signs of battle upon him, and not to his own joy the blood of a Jashinist who was trying to curse him. There was something unsettling about being the greatest heretic of that religion. Sousuke did not believe in Jashinism, but he was once thought by others to be a follower. No. Sousuke was a follower of the Mother Suna, until it was revealed to him that his patron goddess was ... uncaring for most of humanity. She cursed the Sunahoshi, she did not empower them. Sousuke believed in the one thing that his former patron goddess wanted to see gone - Primus. She believed him to be a villain, but to Sousuke Primus was the man who enabled the age of men in Wind Country. His descendants traced down through the age and Sousuke's family served them faithfully.

In his travels, the Kazekage would stop for a moment. He felt something upon him. If asked is the land alive? He would answer 'very much so, watch where you step'. Parts of the desert were blistering hot and were home to demons, other parts home to men or women of unsavory motives.

 

[Tao]

It has been quite a while since Tao headed out for his journey, 6 years and change infact. He was determined to find Noa and end him to protect the world from the autrocities he is bound to commite. However, Tao did not find a town, a city or a village, just an endless sea of sand, he hasnt interacted with any human for quite a while either, just the verious wildlife that he encountered along the way, mostly scorpions but from time to time he could have sworn he saw the sand shifting on its own, without the aid of wind or a creature to move it on its own, it was quite odd to him. His expensive looking hood has been dirtied so much it has taken a very brownish dark color, the insignia by the color has been nearly faded and the bottom edges of it have been torn with time, he kept his cloak closed and hood ontop of his head to shield him from the blazing sun, it was the only way he could shield his shell from breaking completely, his face shows small cracks going across the jaw towards the line of his nose, nearly unnoticible but upon a close inspection anyone could see it. His eyes were not fixated over one particular thing, they were just blankly gazing at the distance as he continued to treck in the deserts, and finally he saw something new, sort of a dark smudge in the distance, a small figure as big as an ant. A small desperate smile started to grow on his face and he started hastening his pace, leaning further upon his staff which he picked up along his journey towards the wind country. This figure was moving slowly, but it was, Tao could tell, he could catch up to it if he were to increase his pace just a little more, maybe raise up his voice and shout something out to grab its attention.

"... W-wait..."

Tao's words were nearly muted and fairly inaudiable, he could feel as if dust was rising from within his body as a puff of dust came out along with his voice, he sort of got used to it, he tried to conduct a conversation with some of the scorpions before when he was in a similar condition but it was no use, they didnt seem to react to him, but then again, they were the tiny ones, he didnt dare to approach the larger ones. As he was slowly increasing his pace he tried to repeat his call, the figure is definatly much bigger now, but still quite far away.

"... Wait..."

Tao tried again, the figure seemed quite unresponsive from what he could tell, he was starting to lean further onto his staff as he was walking, faster and faster this time, but it appears he shifted his weight too much and found himself plummeting face first into the sand. It didnt hurt as much, but it wasnt pleasent either. He slowly raised his head while extending his arm towards the figure, the figure was still very distant, but it wasnt moving anymore, it wasnt facing him either, it was facing away maybe it didnt even notice Tao's presence. With the last of his strength he slowly brought his hands together and clapped them, his body started to get brighter and he momentarily radiated with bright light, a single flash which would put any other light source short of the sun itself to shame. With that Tao's head collapsed upon the hot sand. He could still see, he could still hear, but he couldnt move, not just yet, he needed to rest and regain his strength, at least for a moment, hopefully that flash of light was enough to attract that thing's attention, if its a human, it'll help him, if its a shinobi, it might destroy him, but he was willing to take on that gamble.

[MFT]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Sousuke could not shake that feeling. It was like a stuck with a rubix cube that had one side that consisting of nine different colours when you had already got five of the other sides perfectly matching. It was a very annoying prank that had been played against Sousuke on a few ocassions. It took him mere seconds to figure out five sides, and get all the colours matching but then he was left with the side of multi colours. Suffice to say some people found it very amusing to screw with the Kazekage. Sousuke shook his head, no that feeling of something off was not going away anytime--

Anomaly detected.

Sousuke would catch it for a moment. A photonic? A burst of plasma? It didn't last long enough for him to see what it was truly. It caught his attention, was this the source which was putting him off? He would not reach for a weapon, no he could handle himself with his bare hands. While the object in question could have been plasma or light he could easily shoot back with his own plasma bolts if it came to that. A charging whine could be heard as Sousuke proceeded to heat up his weapon systems. The light burst was not threatening, but Sousuke at the very least could put two and two together that this could have been a trap. He turned his palms inward and kept them hidden.

As he approached the anomaly he was ... not exactly sure what he saw. Human? Seemingly. A well travelled human. Curious. He kept his distance. Exactly five meters. His mind was going through the probabilities of what this was. Demon was on the lower end. Human was quite middling. Ancient? No. This entity was far more human at this moment than anything else. Elemental? Well... it could have been a distress call. Tao could hear the low hum of plasma radiating from Sousuke's metallic form. This all seemed quite familiar. This was like the time he met the twins, except cousin Matsu was present. He wanted to sit and watch the twins die, but Sousuke could not bring himself to watch them die. Matsu had wisdom in his words of leaving them to be, yet Sousuke did not agree with him in that. He was rewarded for his action. Sousuke would reach into his cloak, he would find a water satchel. While Sousuke was used to travelling the desert and avoiding certain hot spots such as Inferno, others did not know that. Tao would find the water satchel landing to the right of his head exactly twenty centimeters away. " H2O. Two hydrogen atoms bonded to a single oxygen atom. More commonly known as water."<i></i> He would answer regardless of whether or not the seemingly stranded individual cared for what it was. Sousuke had made it a habit to take water with him, not for himself but more so for others. Katuso always said a man with water in the desert was a savior for others above all else. "Drink deeply."<i></i> He instructed.

 

[Tao]

It didnt take long before he started hearing new sounds, shifting metal was not new to him, but that other sound, that pulsing, rippling sound was new, he never heard anything quite like that before. Soon after some sort of a leather sack is dropped right in front of his face, it shifted a bit and stretched to all sides while its top dropped, it had some sort of a liquid inside it. The stranger spoke of some words Tao could not understand and then said he was refering to water, he asked Tao to drink deeply as well, was he trying to help? Tao was puzzled, but his mind was fuzzy as it is, he could use the water, it could help him repair the shell, releave the stress, he hadnt had water for quite some time now. Tao slowly dragged his tired body around to slowly lift himself up to a position which would allow him to sit while folding his knees forward, he lifted the water satchel and twisted its lid and lifted it up to be slightly above his head while he tilted his head a bit backwards. The hood dropped from him revealing his now dirty silverish white hair and the water was pouring all over his face. He didnt drink it, he let his shell absorb it instead. The cracks that were formed along his face (visibly) and across his body (under the clothes) started to fade away, as if the shell itself is slowly repairing itself on its own. The stream was thin and slow, he didnt want to waste any of it, none of it was allowed to drop on the sand after all.

He tilted the water satchel back and closed the lid again, offering it back to the person who just ended up helping Tao. He reached out for his staff and used it to support himself while standing up, he wasnt sure if it was the extremely short rest or the aid of the water but he felt better, slightly but still better. As he got back up to his near-full height, he pulled his hood back on, his face was still clearly visible, but he couldnt let the enviourment drain away his strength again.

"Thank you..."

Just now, Tao finally realized, he didnt see a single area which has exposed flesh on this person. Besides the cloak which seems to be covering most of his body, everything else seems to be covered by... Metal with some glowy bits. This appearance was nearly alian to him.

"Um... Excuse me, mister but... Are you human by any chance?"

Tao should have known better than to ask such a question from a total stranger who might as well have saved his life right there and then, but Tao was not thinking stright right now, the first thing that springed to mind was how he could walk with so much metal on him, then what would happen if somebody would have worn so much metal in a place like that, and finally, that water satchel might have been full or at least it felt that way, but unless there is a source of water near by or some sort of a civilization near this area, he would need more than just this satchel to survive... If he were to be a human of course. Tao's voice was soft and kind while he spoke, one you might hear from a care taker using on a child.

"I... I'm not sure were I am, do you happen to know how to reach, um... Sunagakure I believe it was called..."

He wasnt sure what he was doing, this person just saved his life and Tao's first reaction was to thank him, then to ask him a personal question and finally ask for directions, that was not like him at all, he had a little bit more sense than that, the heat must have goten to him, or maybe it was the lack of interaction with sentiant beings? Quite possible.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Gratitude. Not expected, but welcomed. Sousuke watched as the water was absorbed. It was not drunk. He watched intently behind the white glowing lenses. His mind was drinking in the details as much as Tao was 'drinking' in the water. Not an ounce of it was spilled unto the sand. He watched as the cracks and flaws in the face of the individual were being repaired. After witnessing what he needed, his gaze broke off slightly as he looked skyward. Sousuke was trying to figure out what exactly was before him. Not demon. Not Ancient. Ancients repaired themselves through being in their own element supposedly but it was much quicker to repair themselves through the consumption of human souls. For a moment, Sousuke did consider the way the healing had occurred that the entity before him was a half-bred water Ancient? After considering it for all but three seconds, Sousuke decided that was not the case. The individual had called for help by creating a plasma or a photonic burst of energy. Ancients usually didn't co-mingle their element as far as he understood them.

Tao would find his feet and he would stand. He began to talk to Sousuke who was still looking at the sky trying to figure out just who or what he had come across. The metallic man after he realized for a moment he was being spoken to turned his gaze down from the sky and at Tao. "Descendant of the First Men who lived in the desert."<i></i> He answered simply enough. The tone given was monotone. Sousuke's family was perhaps the best recorded in not only Sungakure but in all of Wind Country. People stalked the once upon a time Steward, and now Kazekage. For a person like Fuu there was perhaps lineage in being able to fully draw or write out the Takahashi family tree. "Very much human. Yes."<i></i> Sousuke would add to the answer he provided. He took back the satchel and hid it on his person. The way Sousuke was being spoken to was like he was a child. It didn't bother him but it was something he observed. He suspected that this person was in truth maybe quite a bit older than him. Honestly Sousuke was not surprised by it. He was quite young compared to most individuals or entities in the desert. He was in his quarter-life as some were now prone to call it.

The next query came if he knew the way to Sungakure. Sousuke learned from this that he was a foreigner and had an interest. "We're ten kilometers outside of Deadlines which lies to the north, We're one hundred kilometers outside of Inferno."<i></i> He explained. Both were places not meant for your usual travelers, certainly not Inferno. Deadlines were survivable for those with materials. "Sungakure is seventy kilometers out. I will take you to my father's household."<i></i> He offered. Sousuke would await his response. What business did he have in Sungakure? He would ask it in time, but the curious thing now was would he accept the offer? It was possible that this man was a Sovereign, and this was a ploy but ... his tone of voice was not something that held conceit, not that he could tell at this time. "Are you capable of travelling or do you need carrying?"<i></i> Given that his face was cracked before, it stood to reason that this man was a fragile porcelain doll of sorts. Best to be cautious. Sousuke was able to deduct the man was not very ... durable as were most people who had a staff. The staff was a focus for those who used mystical powers, and Sousuke learned that people who dwelled and made use of the mystic arts were not very durable.

 

[Tao]

Tao stared intently, a small curious smile on his face. This person said he was a human, although covered with metal as far as Tao could see, his voice was quite odd too, probably due to the metal covering his face. Tao listened to this man, he kept referencing to names of locations Tao never heard of before, he wasnt even sure if these were locations to begin with, maybe titles or names or words he didnt know about. He just recalled, this man was saying he was the decendant of the first person to live in the desert, that was quite an unusual piece of information, maybe it was a common curdecy to say so around these parts, Tao made a mental note to himself for that, although he immidiately forgot about it a moment later. This man offered to take Tao to his destination, the sand village he was looking for all this time, which made his smile grow just a little bit, he seemed happy, maybe it was the momentary haze which caused him to forget what drove him to leave the village of stone and the country of earth but he was simply glad to hear a human speak in his vicinity again.

"Thank you mister... Um... I don't believe I introduced myself... My name is Tao, I'm heading from the village of stone and the land of the earth"

He spoke still with his soft, somewhat weak tone, he didnt quite understand it, this feeling of weakness was something he became fairly familier with and came to accept it but he didnt know what caused it. The man then offered to carry Tao back, Tao was surprised to hear that, it was the first time somebody asked him such a question, besides the gesture of friendship of helping someone to get off the ground by extanding them a hand, he have never bare witness to such a thing.

"I... No, thank you sir, I can walk on my own, once I recover, I could maybe compensate you somehow for your trouble."

Tao replied simply, he wasnt entierly sure what to make of this person, was he truely that nice? He must be, some humans are simply like that, Satsu was such a person too, he wasnt a sole exception, Tao could see that now.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

"Salutations Tao of the Earthen Groundings."<i></i> Sousuke would bow his head in the form of a nod. The hood would fall back and reveal a face that coated in metal. The helmet would deconstruct itself revealing a tanned face with a cross like scar marking across the bridge of the nose, and down the side of eye forming the cross. The curious part in this was perhaps the dark eyes, or the violet spiky hair. Sousuke would listen to the response provided - he did not wish to be carried. It made Sousuke question the man, "Once you recover. Aside from the water I gave you ... how do you in fact do this?"<i></i> Sousuke suspected in order for the man to recover fully he would have to be hurled into a pool of water and then kept watch of, so he would not in fact drown. Sousuke's mind was lost in thought as evidenced as he looked skyward almost aimlessly. He was deep in thought about all of this, and how at this exact moment in time it was important to him.

It then dawned upon Sousuke he was still being spoken to, and about compensation. The Kazekage would stop looking up and he would now look down. "No compensation."<i></i> He stated. He would think for a moment. "What is the best way to get you to Sungakure."<i></i> He knew that Tao did not seem well enough for a long distance journey. Sousuke said nothing at first but instead placed his index finger and his middle finger in his mouth. He let out a loud whistle. "She might answer. She might not. It's a toss-up because she does as she pleases."<i></i> The sound of thunder came and in a bolt of lightning there stood a very large horse that crackled of lightning. The horse, for that is what it did look like, was considerably large for a horse. She wore no horse shoes, nor did she wear a saddle. The creature stomped its hooves and lightning sparked when contact was made. The creature snorted and gave Sousuke a rather bored look, which was returned by another bored look coming from Sousuke. Sousuke would then turn his head to Tao, "I am Sousuke. This is Rolling Thunder. She is... no I am her companion."<i></i> Like some women, their ego need to be satisfied, which was indeed done by Sousuke who reworded his original sentence. "Can you ride?"<i></i> He asked. Carried by a human was one thing, being carried by a horse was something else entirely different. "Do not pull her mane, she won't forgive you for that."<i></i> Sousuke asserted.

[MFT 439]

 

[Tao]

He looked at the man who just greeted him who just revealed his face by causing the metal that covered it to shift and morph in a manner Tao could only describe as odd, not because it actually looked strange to him but rather because Tao has never witnessed anything quite like that, that metalic shell he is wearing is almost like Tao's shell, only difference is that behind the shell stands a human with real skin, blood and bone, while Tao himself is practically hollow in the most litteral sense. The man then posed a question to him, he was asking Tao how he was doing... This. Tao took a moment to process that phrase through his mind and finally understood what he meant, it did seem like he pondered on his answer but rather in actuality he tried to figure out the question itself.

"I... I'm not sure. I just will my body to be repaired and if I have enough strength it does so on its own..."

Tao never actually thought about how exactly he was recomposing his shell or even why his shell took on such a form, that event back at the woods has already been long forgoten and replaced by more important memories, of what he have been taught and what he learned about the people who live in the world, human or otherwise. The man then refused Tao's offer of compensation, strange but it was his choice so Tao did not linger too much on that thought. He simply nodded to gesture a form of understanding, but then the man began to ponder how they'd actually get back, he was probably considering the most productive way to do so rather than the general way, that man seemed like he knew how to treverse across the desert unlike Tao himself. But then he mentioned another person who might be able to help and blew a powerful whistle, with that the sky became dark for but a moment and a bolt of lightning struck down, as the energy dispursed in the split second that followed there stood a beast, untamed and wild, heeding to this man's call. The man then introduced himself as Sousuke and then the beast as Rolling Thunder, an odd yet fitting name, but again, Tao was not used to this land's colture so many things seemed odd to him. He than asked Tao if he could ride.

"I rode what humans refer to mounts before, but nothing like this... Is that a horse? Is she a shinobi?"

He spoke without thinking but the more he pondered on that question the more it made sense, he met non-human shinobi before, he met a horse which played a piano which had its brown eyes turn scarlet red with black dots at its center, even now he had a hard time believing what he saw back then was real, but he is getting convinced now more than before, shinobi is not a human exclusive trade, after all, anyone can become into a monster. Tao however understood that Sousuke invited him to ride along on that... horse? In fact Tao wasnt quite sure what it was yet, but quite frankly he was a little bit intimidiated.

"Is it ok for me to ride on Rolling Thunder?"

He was still hasitent, it felt like this creature could cave Tao's chest with ease if it only tried, he was considering his options but he knew he wont be able to maintain his crystal creations for long, not in his current condition anyways, he also feared to even call upon his brand of power, it simply draws too much energy from him to be able to control it in his current state.

[MFT]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Sousuke at the odd query exchanged glances with the horse. Sousuke blinked several times as he thought about it. "Shinobi? No. Absolutely not."<i></i> Again Sousuke exchanged glances with the legendary horse. It was said that Rolling Thunder always helped the Takahashi clan, but was Rolling Thunder always this same horse? Maybe not. Maybe it was a different horse that always had an uncanny resembalance. "Horse goddess..?"<i></i> Sousuke asserted finally. Rolling Thunder nodded her head. Yes. Good she accepted that. Rolling Thunder was an ally of House Takahashi. Judori, Sousuke's father did not ride her into battle. He battled along side her rather, as yes getting kicked by this horse was devestating. Sousuke's relationship to the horse was a working one. He saved the holidays some time ago. That was ... well, odd. Little green monster men ran about and froze up parts of the Suna Residents. Sousuke gave chase and tried to shut them down, and he did.

The horse would shake her head and ultimately nod. Sousuke would help Tao get on top of the horse, for indeed she was quite a large beast. The horse let out a grumbling neigh of sorts. Something maybe about how Tao called her a ninja, and how that was a great insult to her. As if she was! A ninja! Preposterous. There was a ninja present to Tao's fears, but did Sousuke consider himself a shinobi? Not primarily. He was the descendant of the First Men. He was the son of Takahashi Judori and Masashi Chiyoko. He was Guardian Protectorate of the realm of Sungakure. He was the Kazekage. He was a tinker. He ... well the list could go on and on and on. It was a rather tricky thing really.

Once Tao was secured he would look up at him. "Alright. I think we can make this in less than ten phase movements. Just hold on very tight. Rolling Thunder can phase shift at very high speeds. The first time she did it to me I ... may have lost my lunch."<i></i> He paused. "I think."<i></i> Sousuke was introduced to the horse at a young age. She was not very pleasant to him. He also did something not good and pulled her by the mane, but then again children when subjected to the unknown - they act in very strange ways. Sousuke's childhood was not by any means normal. He didn't really talk much or interacting, more so just staring really. "Alright. Here we go."<i></i>

With a great clap of thunder and a streak of lightning, the three of them were gone.

Hopefully moving at the particular speed they were going was not going to upset many stomachs.

[Topic concluded, but to be continued elsewhere]

 

[Tao]

His question was answered with a great deal of confusion, it was been confirmed that this creature was not a shinobi although it might have also upset it to some degree, Tao couldnt really tell though. Sousuke helped Tao get onto the horse and Tao consistently started to send chakra to his lower half to secure his location onto the horse, much like how he was taught to walk upsidedown in buildings and walls. He was then given an explanation to what is going to happen next, something about phases? Tao did not understand that one bit, but he got the general idea, they're supposed to move fast, or at least the creature did. Tao couldnt throw up, he had nothing to vomit to begin with, maybe spill out some chakra at the worst case scenario, which presently would actually be exactly that, the worst case scenario as it'd weaken him greatly as he is already in a relatively weakened state. He waited for Sousuke's command, he was not the rider after all, just a tag-along and well, it was good enough, hopefully though he wouldnt fall off the horse mid-run, that would be unpleasent, though even then Tao could not even comprehand what speeds they were going to travel, not until it'd actually occure. And like that, they were gone.

[Topic Left with Sousuke]