If You Stare Long Into An Abyss

[Kassiel]

God I hate this place. Couldn't we have moved somewhere COLDER?

Tsume stepped into the sunlight, soaking up the energy, and hating the repulsive, roiling heat that moved steadily across Kumogakure no Sato. The heat wave had lasted for more than three weeks, each day the temperature soaring well above 100. People had been found dead in their homes, keeled over from heat stroke, heart attacks, of course overheating. The whole city reeked of sweat, and dry filth. There had been no rain in more than two months, and the city was drying up. People were leaving, caravans moving to the southwest, the occasional fleet of ships sailing for Kirigakure. All of them seeking to escape the desperate heat.

The young shinobi was on patrol, guarding the borders from any enemy that might want to take advantage of Kumogakure's weakness. He wore his usual, tattered long black jeans, and a hoodie, with the hood up. His black hair ran into his ice blue eyes, which scanned in every direction at once, with the help of two Bunshin.

The sky was a glaring bright blue, the ground beneath his feet, cracked and brown. The forest was yellow and decaying, unused to the extreme heat. Some declared it was an attack from the gods, that someone had angered them. Others, the Awaiken clan specificly, said that the sun was finally exacting revenge for the exile of it's servants.

The walls around Kumogakure were starting to peel, sections were falling into disrepair as the heat was so severe that repairs couldn't be made. The streets were empty, ghostlike. It was unusually quiet, the kind of quiet you hear in a desert, or a small down. It was so hot that most folks just layed down and went to sleep, praying all the while for the heat to go AWAY.

Tsume himself was used to heat, because of his unusual bloodline. Ranpu, the bloodline of the Awaiken clan, allowed clan members to absorb sunlight and use it to power specialized jutsu, so they were constantly surrounded by heat. That's why most of those on patrol nowadays were awaiken.

Tsume itched absently at the bottom of his left wrist, the scars there putting him in a worse mood than he was already in. His angst was normal, though, nothing new there. He was annoyed at the fact that life here was so monotonous. Anything new, even something that was sure to wipe out the city, was a welcome change.

As he finished his rounds, he glared up at the sun, reported to his superior, and then headed morosely into the forest, seeking something of interest.

[dotta]

The match scratched against a rugged surface, igniting a small flame and prophesying doom to its coming end. With the assistance of dainty fingertips, this frail wood drifting onward; onward until its flame devoured a fuse. There the match's use had ended, so with a single flick of her wrist, as did the match's life.

But life was always granted to the deserving! And this fuse made good use of it as it sparkled and hiss with a vigor. With a soft giggle escaping from its captor, the small fire cracker was let loose of. There, the firecracker fell, pressing through the leaves which stood in its way, bouncing off the branches which held their ground. However, the firecracker would hopefully reach its destination upon the unsuspecting boy. And when it did, Kaigyaku would be pleased.

((OCC: Sorry it's so short. I'll be longer in the next post.))

Edited December 17, 2008 by dotta

[Kassiel]

Tsume walked calmly, serenely through the forest, surveying his surroundings in a kind of dismayed peace. The forest always made him feel better, took his mind off the past. The past... Indeed there were very few things much worse to think of, the past, despite having made him who he was had also thoroughly destroyed his worldview, and replaced it with a much darker vision, draining the light and happiness away, leaving behind many shadows of what once was.

As he often did when the past flickered through his thoughts, Tsume rubbed his left wrist, tracing the scars out underneath the fabric of his clothing. The heat for the day was nearly reaching it's peak, it was nearly 110 degrees in the shade, perhaps 10 degrees higher out of it. There was a breeze, and if Tsume wasn't careful he would start fires out here while practicing his bloodline jutsu.

He flicked his head sharply to the right and up, hearing something small rustling through the leaves heading steadily in his direction. Withought thinking he made a handseal and a blaze of light formed around his body, encasing him from head to toe. As the firecracker sank through the trees directly toward him, Tsume stood stock still as it hit his Ranpu no Yoroi, disintegrating entirely with a small *pop*.

Glaring in the direction the firecracker had come from, he quickly dropped his armor, stamping out the small patches of flame that it had ignited. A small swarm of little balls of flame out of nowhere surrounded his shoulders. This was his favorite technique, Hotaru. As he performed this little trick, he flickered off toward the girl, ending up only inches in front of her, grinning.

"I'm betting that was you. It'd be a fun little trick if you could've got it near me without me hearing it."

He knelt down to inspect the girl, seeking to figure out what might have led her out into the heat throwing firecrackers. He raised his right hand, encased in a silver gauntlet, and pointed his index finger directly at her forehead, where several fireflies gathered, upping the heat within a foot of the area by nearly 20 degrees.

"What might be your name?"

[ooc: It's no problem, this is for practice, isn't it? I must admit, I'm not that great at keeping long posts running. I think in the entire time i've been on this site, my record has been a thousand words in one post.]

[dotta]

Her shoulders convulsed in her glee, while her hands held fast her grinning lips. The young girl watched as the firecracker stumble, fall and disappear within the lower branches. This was when Kaigyaku's ears were quite keen in hearing the firecracker's travel. However, her attention would waiver between fantasy and reality.

What she imagined was hearing a surprising and distressed cry once her little toy had hit home. The boy would then search for her, but to no avail. And all he would hear was Kaigyaku's laughter echoing in the wind as she escaped. Kaigyaku nodded her head. Yes, that would be an amazing plan. Well, any plan thought by her was amazing. The girl resumed her listening then, and craned her neck to look through the cracks of her grassy fortress.

Both civilians and shinboi alike wandered this forest. Both objectives different. She didn't know why people would find themselves here, and frankly she didn't care. What she did care for was a good show, and that was what she usually received. Citizens were usually more fun. Their wits being dull and their mind plagued with thoughts, are oblivious to her ploy.

Shinobis, however, were a different story. She rarely frightened them. They would catch or destroy her little toy and shout a curse, then be on their way. That depressed Kaigyaku, but the occasional fresh genin was an easy scare and she took advantage of that. But what was most fun about her game was she usually didn't see the form of these being to distinguish them. She had to rely on their reactions. So, she wondered as she waited, what reaction would her current prey produce?

Her answer came soon enough. With a strained ear, Kaigyaku listened as the sound of a faint 'pop' ignited. She grinned smugly and sat back into the tree as she waited for her show. However, when moments passed with minimal sound, her features faltered. Perhaps she had hit another shinobi? Well, even they responded, so this ninja was certainly a mighty and strong one.

She was in the process of resuming her craning gaze down her fortress when she heard the sound of heavy metal clashes against one another. Her brows furrowed as her ears listened. So, it was safe to say she was thoroughly surprised when a figured manifested before her.

With a loud cry, the girl flew back against the hard tree, in fear of falling had she not done so. She looked up to see a grinning boy. Kaigyaku frowned. She wasn't fond of her tricks backfiring on her. And being surprised? She couldn't get surprised! Kaigyaku was the epiphany of surprise!

She gained her composure and with a slight shrug, smirked at the boy.

"You win some and you lose some. It would have worked if you were the average person."

The ninja boy fell to one knee, his inspection evident. He then pointed his index finger toward her forehead, where the temperature had seemed to increase. Kaigyaku almost laughed. Inspection? This was more like an interrogation.

She smiled.

"tsk, Where are your manners? Is this how you treat all the ladies?" She battered her eyelashes at him as she asked this.

((OOC: *grins* Well, we'll change that then <3))

[Kassiel]

Tsume smiled softly, his eyes glazed over in memory. When he was younger, still in the academy, he and Burado used to come here, to a spot very similar to this, and do nearly the same thing, only rather than firecrackers they would use stink bombs. The stench still clung to that particular clearing in the forest, warning away potential travelers. Of course that had all changed when the NCIA had begun their invasion.

Tsume had bee a firm NCIA supporter, believing that as a shinobi he was a tool for the empire to use, nothing more than a machine of war. He believed everything that his commanding officer had told him, knowing of course that no matter what, he was nothing more than a grunt who didn't deserve the information he was recieving.

Burado on the other hand believed that Shinobi and civilians should have very little to do with one another aside from the norm, missions and such. This difference had caused a deep crack in their friendship, driving them apart from one another. Although they still remained fast friends, they rarely saw any of the other, becuase Burado had to keep himself hidden away from the NCIA, and Tsume had to perform his duties as an NCIA member.

That was until burado tried to assasinate the current Vice-Captain. He had come to Tsume the night before his attempt, to say good bye. His plan was simple. Get close to the Vice-Captain, and detonate the vest of explosive tags he had prepared for the occasion. It was suicide, yes, but anything to rock the foundations of the NCIA would have satisfied Burado. Tsume did his very best to stop Burado from carrying out his plan, and by the end of the night he was sure that Burado was convinced. The next morning he heard of an attack on the vice captain by a terrorist by the name of Burado Ashitari. That was the end of the story.

Tsume looked down at the girl and grinned, she was insulting his manners. This one was interesting, very interesting indeed. "Not everyone, the ones that decide to throw firecrackers at me are special cases. I'd prolly be much nicer to you if you hadn't, considering that you are quite pretty, but you know, this stuff happens. You never did answer my question, so I'll rephrase it to be a bit more polite." At this point in his long-winded answer, he rose into a crouch and put a bubbly grin on his face, "Miss, may I inquire as to your name?"

He stood lithely, gathering his fireflies around him before dismissing them. Up against the dark wood it was apparent that a light glow surrounded him, shimmering and full of scintillating colors. His black hair hung loosely into his eyes, which despite the happiness that lit up his face were cold and hard. four senbon needles and two kunai knives could be seen hanging on his belt, along with a pouch that had three shuriken fitted into sleeves designed to carry them.

Tsume slid his hands lightly into his pockets, obviously loose enough that he could pull them out to defend himself if necessary at any moment, and smiled a little more widely at the girl.

[dotta]

She tilted her head, causing her gray strands to envelop her right eye. But she remedied this by pushing these strands behind her ear. Mirth crossed through her crimson orbs as she took a moment to gaze at this specimen. Such a gentleman. Kaigyaku wondered how far he had to be pushed to shatter such a fragile mask. But did she really want to risk it? If it had come down to a battle, the girl would certainly lose. It was true she knew a thing or two about jutsu or the elementary of being a ninja. However, that still didn't change the fact that she wasn't a shinobi. She was a citizen. Her eyes lingered then, to his waist which was decorated with deadly trinkets. This stranger whom stood before her was a fighter, a killer. Even with their light conversation, the boy was ready. Ready... He was ready to wage war against her, against an ambush, against everyone. She soon decided it would be best not to poke him too much.

"So, not only do you have horrible manners, you also discriminate against random strangers." Brows scrunched in worry, Kaigyaku took on a pitiful face. "I could have been merely protecting myself! I wasn't sure if you would take advantage of me."

Her balls fists then fell to rest upon her large breasts and she turned her head away from the stranger. Her eyes studied what rustled below.

"Even now I'm a bit skeptical. Are you sure you're not here to deflower me? Is that why you want to know my name?" Her eyes returned to his.

The stranger drew back and with him, his fireflies. His hands then hid within his pockets. It was a casual gesture, but she knew if need be they would be quick like lightning in retrieving whatever he needed.

Edited December 19, 2008 by dotta

[Kassiel]

Tsume looked at the girl quizically, scrunching his brows together before laughing helplessly, clutching his stomach and wheezing for breath. It was very nearly the most ridiculous excuse he had ever heard, and yet the girl was so serious about it that it was as if no other possibility had ever crossed her mind. Tears trickled out of the corners of his eyes before he could get a hold of himself.

Of course ridiculous excuses often worked the best. Tsume remembered using an excuse very similar to this one on a very large jounin back in the day. Long spiked hair, an unsmiling face, and a black eyepatch with a kumo emblem stitched to it, he had been imposing indeed, he had been the first one to ever find Tsume's hideout. Burado, who was always better at hiding himself never did get caught.

"You know as well as I do that I couldn't have known you were there from the place that I was, until of course you had thrown the firecracker. And that wouldn't have warded off any potential rapists, in fact it would've prolly just drawn them too you. No, considering you little stockpile there," He nodded toward the small pil of firecrackers waiting to be lit, including the stack of matches sitting next to it, "I would say that you've been doing this for quite some time for just about everyone that's come by here. That's why I want to know your name. If you're good enough to hit me from that far away through such dense tree cover, you'd make an extraordinary shinobi once trained."

It was in fact for this very same reason that Tsume had been inducted into the academy, because after the jounin had told his fellow shinobi about the young boy tossing home-made stink bombs at unwary passersby, he had shown not only excellent evasive skill for a civilian, but the hideout he had constructed was very nearly chuunin level. He was indeed a fine candidate.

"Besides, if I was going to rape you, I would've done it already." With this he crouched down again, balancing in the tips of his toes. A look of annoyance flickered accross his face, to be replaced by one of sorrow, and his eyes glazed over in memory once more. Now instead of this gray haired girl sitting in front of him, there was another, with maroon hair, and birlliant emerald eyes. Full of fire, she was, and Tsume knew she by all rights shouldn't be here. He was seeing things again.

He gasped raggedly, and shook his head before the image could speak, and the gray haired girl sat before him once more.

[dotta]

Kaigyaku could only grin as she watched the boy laugh. No doubt he was laughing at her poor excuse. Even she knew it wasn't one of her best excuses. Again though, some would have been warded off their suspicion or their fury from such words. This ninja, however, was not. He seemed to see right through all her ploys so far. Perhaps they were more similar then Kaigyaku had thought?

But she had one more trick! Play the victim, but even that didn't work. She sheepishly rubbed her nose and listened to his words. It was true her antics would attract unwanted attention, and when he pointed out her weaponry, she looked back herself. Kaigyaku chuckled then. She should have remembered the pile behind her before she fired off that excuse. Her ears almost fidgeted at the boy's compliment and had she been an animal, those ears would have perked in interest.

He thought she could be a ninja? Well, the idea did cross her mind a few- hundred times. Her parents never gave her the opportunity to attend academy and when the war began..well, what little chance she had to attend with her caretaker was shattered. The war was now over, but Kaigyaku was much too old to attend academy now. The best she could do was learn jutsu from her caretakers...but she couldn't even do that now.

With a small sound, Kaigyaku smirked at the boy's last words.

"Don't think I would have made it easy for you." She flashed him a broad grin. "I wouldn't have let you, ninja boy."

Her grin faltered when she noticed change in expression. She didn't care too much about the annoyed look. That's something a prankster dealt with all the time. It was his somber expression which worried her. A mere stranger, and she was worried for him? The concept was almost laughable. Maybe he would feel better if she pushed him out of the tree? Nah, that wouldn't be very nice.

She waited silently as the boy ventured into his own world, curious as to where his mind wandered. But when his rugged breathing had commence, Kaigyaku moved forward. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she shook him lightly.

"Easy there. Don't think too hard. Thinking isn't healthy for a killing machine. I'm Kaigyaku, by the way." She gave him a quick wink as her free hand rose to give him a thumb's up.