[Open] Midnight Stroll

[Manami Aiko]

The moon was a glowing white colour in the dark sky. It shone out from behind the clouds and lighted Aiko's path, as she walked along it. It was quiet, but not silent as shrubs rustled and trees swayed. Aiko walked leisurely. She had got up from her bed and decided to walk, but not because she couldn't sleep. On the contrary, she was scared of sleeping, because sleeping meant dreaming and dreaming meant nightmares. Her steps were purposeful but light and she walked with the poise of a swan. The people were asleep, and as the clouds covered the moon, so were Aiko's eyes misty and unfocused.

Gradually, Aiko started to realise that everything had fallen silent. The wind halted. The trees stopped. Aiko continued to walk, but she was starting to feel a great sense of foreboding. It wasn't natural. Suddenly, a growls came from all around. Aiko could feel the bloodlust, but couldn't see the source. She stopped walking and started shaking. Aiko was terrified and didn't know what she could possibly do.

 

[Kamitake]

Earlier that night, the nearly naked massive frame of Kamitake exited an elaborately ornate pagoda. Although he had been afford certain privileges and opportunities in exchange for his vow, he nevertheless felt disgusted on a nightly basis with himself for degrading himself like a cheap trick to a two-bit player with an infamous name. The formidable warrior dressed himself in the traditional Kumogakurian garb as he was repulsed towards the exit. He wouldn’t have to return for another night. Until then, he would have twenty-three hours of bliss.

Kamitake walked through the nightlife of Kumogakure. He swallowed the bile that accumulated as he walked past the debauchery and filth that made the common life. He watched the shining neon colors advertising what may as well have been whorehouses for all the decency they demonstrated. He saw the people imbibing to excess, walking along the streets with the stagger of the living dead. Kamitake was utterly repulsed but unable to turn his eyes away from the spectacle of it all. He would walk for hours undisturbed despite all of the activity. The Kyoujouran always seemed to emanate an oppressive aura capable of suffocating those foolish enough to remain within it. He seemed to continue without aim until he stopped at a particularly queer street. Visually, it was no different from any other street he had seen on his nightly soujourns, but he knew better. Kamitake had once met a peculiar viceful man on these streets. He shrugged the memory off and began to make his way until he felt a particular presence.

The presence seemed gentle and kind. It was a blooming flower of optimism in the depressing gutters of Kumogakure’s debauchery. It annoyed him deeply but he found himself unable to go. Despite his apathy to others, he could not abide the defilement, especially when it was within his will to utterly crush. He began to walk through that empty, dark alley slowly. His body slowly hardened with every step until his skin was strong enough to shatter any fool stupid enough to attempt to pierce him. Kamitake turned animalistic in his mounting rage until he a low growl escaped his lips. He could almost taste the viscera from what would soon be the dead. He could taste the rain of blood and gore from the corpses he would rip.
And yet, anti-climactically he found nothing but a young girl at the end of the alley. With a deep disappointment, his skin returned to normal and he composed himself. Kamitake watched her shaking and became all too cognizant that he had likely become the proverbial evil he had thought for a moment he would confront. He ran his hand through his short hair in an awkward attempt to non-verbally communicate that he wasn’t aggressive before he spoke.

”It isn’t wise to be walking around these parts.”

 

[Manami Aiko]

It isn't wise to be walking around these parts

Aiko turned slowly and froze. In front of her, there was a mountain of a man. He towered above her and he looked very strong. His face was handsomee, except for the constant look of condescension seemingly carved into his face. His voice was very deep and gruff, but it had somewhat of a kinder quality to it. The man ran his hand through his hair. Aiko relaxed slightly - the aura she'd felt earlier had evaporated. She stood up straight and composed herself.

U-um... Sorry... I didn't mean to cause any trouble. mumbled Aiko. Although she wasn't as scared, she was still very intimidated by his size and strength. The moon had disappeared now, leaving behind a huge abyss of darkness behind it.
I-I'm Aik-ko. Um...what's your name? she said, in an attempt to start a conversation.

 

[Kamitake]

"Some call me Kamitake," he spoke with a booming deep voice.

They stood in place for a couple of tense, awkward moments until his fierce brown eyes spied her evident relaxation. Kamitake traditionally had more experience watching people tense up around his presence, in what many would say was basic survival instinct. This what left him ill-prepared for her response about how she wasn't looking for trouble, if only because it wasn't spoken with the familiar twinge of unpleasantness. Kamitake wasn't exactly sure how to process that assertion. He couldn't gauge whether it was ludicrous or naive for a young girl to be wandering the tainted streets of Kumogakure. Yet, for one of the few times in his quarter century of life, he was curious. Despite his formidable frame, he walked with grace down that alley demonstrating that his mastery of his body was without flaw. He approached her slowly, calculating every movement so it would not waste a single calorie. "I'm sure you're looking for trouble. However, you never when when a drunken lecher will happen upon you."

She was small, albeit due to her age. Aiko appeared to me nothing more than a living doll with her long brown hair and her almost perfect azure eyes. Kamitake began losing himself with his vivid imagination as he thought of how effortless it would be to pick her up with his iron grip. She would dangle helpless, turning as blue as her eyes before in a moment of extreme cruelty he'd tighten his grip and crush her throat. Kamitake could see clearly how her head would pop from the pressure. He could imagine how her blood could rain down and her brains would stain his ill-gained attire. At least his clothes would be better suited for him.

Yet he would only play into the hands of the filth that existed around him. The waste and refuse that had accumulated in the gutters of the once powerful village would delight in watching the spiritually pure will of his bend. So as he approached the little doll girl, he set aside his macabre visions and decided that for once, he would indulge in the weakness that others called kindness.

"Since I wouldn't believe that your parents would approve of your delinquency, and on this of all nights," he spoke as if now taking caution against would-be eavesdroppers. "Once upon a time, a gigantic beast rampaged throughout all of Lightning Country until a young shinobi appeared. He wielded a sword of unbelievable power and faced the behemoth. Nobody remembers how long they fought, but people do know who won. The beast was slain, and the young warrior disappeared. Although everyone celebrated the victory and with time they soon forgot the beast that had become petrified, they didn't realize that the young shinobi had only defeated it, not killed it."

Kamitake bent down on one knee until he faced Aiko face to face.

"And it still lives amongst us."

 

[Manami Aiko]

And it still lives amongst us.

Kamitake was nearly touching Aiko. The last words he said breezed across her face and she could feel his warm breath. She dared not blink nor move, but the fear was showing on her face. This story terrified Aiko, but it intrigued her more. Kamitake's face seemed to light up, and for the first time since she'd met him, he didn't look unhappy. The story about the warrior and beast had piqued her interest because of the powers involved. And it seemed like Kamitake knew all too well about the powers, so much so that it had begun to shape him.

He had also mentioned her parents. Aiko thought about what her parents would think about her being in this situation. She was in a dirty part of the city, talking to a large, muscular man who could easily rape or kill her without a thought. They would probably disapprove, especially her mother. Don't talk to strangers, as her saying went, not until you become a real ninja. Reminiscing about her parents caused tears to flood to her eyes and her eyes to become shiny.

Looking around her, Aiko realised that she really was alone now- except him. The alley seemed smaller than when she had entered it and the darkness began to scare her. When she entered the academy, she had made her mind up to change herself and to become a stronger person. Being scared by a dark alley was definitely not strong, so she steeled herself to stay and recomposed herself.

H-how do you kn-now Kami-san? Do y-you know them? asked Aiko bravely. Her voice shook, and even though the question was somewhat irrelevant, it was important that she keep herself calm.

 

[Kamitake]

If you seek evidence of his existence, simply look around you," he spoke ominously as he stood up. "Although it would probably be more honest to state that I read it in one of our village's ancient historical scrolls.

Kamitake admired this girl's perseverance. Her voice shook but she stood her ground. She was so out of place but she worked towards maintaining the illusion that she was where she belonged. Yet her innocence betrayed her when her eyes shone with tears when he had mentioned her parents. The large man was cold, so very out-of-touch with the world, and ultimately bitter about his existence. He wasn't so cold as to make a young girl cry without a twinge of remorse. There would be times where he would forget that in crusading for purity, he must strive to be pure himself and encourage it in others. It wasn't enough to be right. So he did his duty.

Kamitake quickly drew a handkerchief from the pocket of his traditional robe and offered it to the young girl. His face feigned disinterest in her distress but much like her tears, his eyes betrayed him. He had always been awkward in these situations. The kind and tender-hearted boy who had once might have played with this young creature had long since disappeared. In his place stood an adult with only the faintest of notions in how to communicate in words that weren't coated with a bright paint of disgust. His body posture reflected his inexperience and his words came only after a bit of a pause.

"I wouldn't worry too much about the dangers of the night. They'd be foolish to attack two shinobi," he told her.

 

[Manami Aiko]

I wouldn't worry too much about the dangers of the night. They'd be foolish to attack two shinobi.

The very thought of herself being a shinobi brought a smile to her face. Though her face was wet, this man had somehow brightened her mood, though he himself was a dark figure. He handed her a handkerchief and she accepted it gratefully. Drying her eyes, she looked him straight in the eye.

That's right. R-really foolish.

Before, she had to steel her nerves to say anything even remotely courageous. Now, standing with this man, she felt that she was strong for the first time. It wasn't her jutsu, her strength or her knowledge; it was just her existence and the way she had finally dared to put herself out there. From now, she decided that though she couldn't change instantly, she was going to change. Aiko knew this surge of confidence wouldn't last forever, but having had a taste of it, she couldn't turn back. She was going to become a shinobi, and she wouldn't back down.

But in the depths of her thoughts and mind, she realised something more crucial. This man was clearly a man of power and strength, but he exuded darkness. The very way he existed gave off darkness. And Aiko vowed to herself that she would never turn to darkness for power.