Where Did My Song Go? (Free)

[Kairyuu]

The wind whipped through his robes and sent the black material flying behind him like a shadow constantly reaching and changing shape. The sun was somewhere above them, but the heat coming from it would be negligible at this height and even then it would be robbed by the clouds pouring snow down on the group. Hoshikata had led his band out of Cloud in the dead of night on a new moon and as day broke they found themselves in the mountains. He knew where he was heading, however, and he trusted them to trust in his leadership as well.

At the moment they were on a winding trail that put the rock face on their left and wound up the mountain to go into a pass that would lead to the coast nearby. From there a boat should be waiting to take them wherever he intended to go. As he passes a bend on the trail, a cavern mouth opens in the wall beside him. Hoshikata motions for the others to follow him as he steps into it and waits silently. He figured they would need to get out of the wind and cold for a moment, to rest for a moment. His eyes catch a structure not too deep in, and a smile breaks on his features as he recognizes a firepit with some dry wood still in it. With a sign a fire would begin crackling away.

”Take the moment to warm up. Another hour and we'll be on the downward slope and heading to our destination.”

 

[Fujitika Misa]

Hanako had managed to purchase a parka before leaving cloud assuming that she would need it on the way back to mist. "Ha Who was right I was right!" She cheered as she followed closely behind Hoshikata. "If I may Lord Hoshikata Why are we taking this route anyway the other direction seems much safer doesn't it." She was starting to get tired of walking through all this snow and wind and it did her small body no good to be knee deep in snow. Her purple eyes began to glow ever so slightly as from her shadow came a large man from underneath her. "Best idea Ever " She said as she climbed on top of his shoulders and had him carry her.

 

[Morishige]

---

Unlike the foreigners to my land, I was used to such weather. My position was near the middle, no doubt to keep an eye on me should things get out of hand. Not like it would get that far. I was surrounded by individuals who would kill me in a heartbeat should I even make a wrong move. But what was really troubling me, was a simple question. From what I had inferred, I was the parting gift they stole because of transgression toward their party upon their arrival. But what did they plan to do with me now? Kumo wouldn't negotiate anything, and they had to know this. What was the point of having me? The only conclusions I drew were not pretty. I foresaw my body laying in some heap of death, to be used to instigate war between bear and lightning. Oh how dramatic...

Still, though my mind raced with thought, my expression remained unchanged. My nose red from cold, I folded my arms as I ventured inside the cave to where we were to break for a while. However I did not move far in. Instead, I simply looked out into the bleak white of the snow; questioning how long I had left in this world. However, it was strange. They weren't treating me like some prisoner, though that was probably because of the infernal seal on my wrist. Depending on how things went, I would make it my goal to have it removed. I just needed to find an expert of sorts. Those fabled dark sages...

 

[Oshiro Saki]

Of the group, Yami was perhaps the most accustomed to the snowy weather of the high mountains. Having lived in them for the last decade and a half, he was quite used to the snowy, windy conditions. Still, it was undoubtably cold, and thus actions were necessary to keep warm. The man who appeared to be leading them sparked a fire with some kind of ninjutsu, and soon all surrounding the pit were warm. Yami took this time to return some feeling to his extremities.

While he was the most used to this weather, he was also the quietest, aside from the prisoner, that is. That person never spoke a word, never offered a hint as to what he might sound like or who he might be. That was probably wise on his part.

The reprieve from hiking uphill for the last who-knows-how-long was welcomed. Sitting there at the fire, Yami began to think about where Hex was, and why she hadn't come with them. It was his sole duty in life to protect her so he was unnerved by not having her near where he could keep track of her. Regardless, it was her orders that he escort this person to his destination, and he would see it through.

"Thank you." Yami said to their leader, his only words for the time being. It was all that needed to be said, and thus all that he would say.

Yami hoped they could get to that boat sooner rather than later.

 

[Kairyuu]

He lets the others warm themselves, noting the young girl needing a bit more than the others. The two from cloud were likely used to this climate, and Hoshikata himself didn't notice the cold any more than he noticed the air filling his lungs. At the words from Yami, he simply nods his head. Normally a talkative fellow, he was also quite comfortable with silence if need be.

As the fire crackled he would move over to Zaku and begin inspecting the man, noting the shape of his skull under the skin, the bones and the layout of his face. This would not do.

”Hold still.”

That was all the warning the man got before Hoshikata reached up and gripped his head between his hands, channelling kinetic force into his skull. To Zaku it would feel like his skull was being shattered and ground together in his head. He wasn't far off. The bones were being stretched and compressed, taking on an elasticity as the kinetic bindings kept them from breaking. He wanted this man to look like something altogether else when he was done.

As the fire began to turn to embers he would finally step away, drenched in sweat from the effort.

”There, now we can go.”

With those words he grabs his staff up and makes his way out of the cave, motioning for Hanako and the rest to follow.

(Sorry all, some other people were supposed to join but we'll meet up with them in Water instead.)

 

[Morishige]

---

I turned curiously at the man's approach. His eyes only hinted that he was inspecting me, as if looking for defect. Naturally one was found, but I couldn't guess what it was.

He commanded me to hold still, which naturally wasn't that hard...until his hands reached for my face. That was something I absolutely hated but with the damned seal all I could muster were a few shakes as he grasped onto my skull and began god knows what. Instantly, the pain of one thousand knives being plunged through my skin reverberated through my skull. Almost to the point of me passing out in fact. If it weren't for my natural regenerative power, I was sure to have.

It seemed like a took quite a while, and most of it was spent in my part with clenched eyelids and a grimace on my lips. The fire had died down, and Hoshikata stepped away visibly spent from the ordeal. I wasn't sure what had happened. Residual aches remained but I didn't feel physically different. Of course, I would soon find out that something drastic had happened once I came in contact with a mirror...

With the group ready to leave, I followed my 'master' with a stray glance to the masked man. Why was he here? Another wild card in the deck of mysteries...

[Topic Left]

 

[Fujitika Misa]

Hanako didn't really want to go home much but it seemed she would be going back there anyway needless to say she isn't really surprised as she lets her giant of a man carry her all the way to the harbor where they were going. "Lets Go!" She cheered in her cute voice as she stuffed a peanut butter candy into her mouth showing her childish side yet again. By this time Hoshikata was playing head games with the new guy and she found it kind of funny

(Topic left)

 

[Oshiro Saki]

The fire died down a little too quickly for Yami's preference. Though he was comfortable in the cold, he'd grown to love the warmth of the fire and the cackling noise that broke the seemingly eternal silence that encompassed their camp while they waited for the designated hour. It almost saddened Yami in his own way, how something so little as a fire could become so loved when one was cold, and how much it lowered morale when it was gone. But he was just ebing pensive, and he knew it.

The leader instructed someone to hold still. Ever utilizing chakra to see, Yami quickly knew that he was talking to the prisoner. The man placed his hands on the head of the other, and then something disgusting happened. The other probably couldn't see it, but Yami could: the bone structure of the prisoner's face completely changed, molded into something else by the leader. Yami could sense the differing shapes in the an's face before and after; the change was drastic. It was horrible. It sickened him.

But this is what Hex had commanded him to see through, and so he was bound to this mission, no matter how much morals got in his way.

After the leader was done, it was time to leave. Yami nodded upon the confirmation of their leaving, and followed the rest of the group to their destination.

[TL]