Daraku left the inn during dusk, with his swords on his back and a cloak over his body. He was wearing his spiffy new robes underneath, and in all honestly, was feeling like a badass. But hey, he was a narcissistic asshole, so what more could anyone expect? He checked out and walked through the door with his hood up, keeping his face hidden for the most part save his eyes and a few strands of black hair and a few strands of blonde. Leaving the village was no problem; it had been a lot quieter lately since the war with the Seven Bells had ended, and hardly anyone was outside anyway. The village gates past, and he was left crossing the bridge off of the island. The mist in the air wasn't all that thick, so he could see the road in front of him clearly as it passed into a forest for a moment, until the scenery changed around him again into an arid but very familiar desert. He was making progress, and a smile rose to his concealed face.

Daraku's thoughts wandered as they always seemed to when he had darkness, quiet, and a moment to himself. He relished such times of peace. He wondered what had become of his clan, especially with Kiyoshi, his uncle. Kiyoshi had been put in command of the Ishido clan in Daraku's absence, so things surely would've been under control. Kiyoshi was one of the few people in the world that Daraku still trusted with a certain degree of faith and innocence; everyone else was either a potential enemy, a victim, or a target, and thus Daraku put his trust in none of them. And what of the Kazekage? Daraku had tried to meet with her, and was essentially prepared to turn himself in if needed, in order to regain his status as a villager of Sunagakure and to restore the Ishido clan to the glory it deserved (or the infamy that built its strength, alternatively). But things were different now, and he wasn't sure if he could do that with these circumstances. His crimes were...more severe than he'd originally assumed or believed. What if he was executed rather than imprisoned? The priority was staying alive; othewise, his efforts would be useless. How to reach a compromise between these two desires was...complicated, but he'd find a way. He needed to show his allegiance to Suna somehow, to explain that he had defected so long ago for the better of his clan and not as a sign of hatred for the village. The village was the only place he could ever call home, and his departure was thus never meant to be treason.

Each step in the sand was a step closer to home, and the thought of that sent a rush of blood to Daraku's head and a chill down his spine simulatneously. Was this what it was like to have relief for an ever constant homesickness? He hadn't felt it before when he returned to Kaze no Kuni for the first time since defecting. So why was he feeling it now? Strange, but he pushed on, ignoring the sensation in his gut. The path was winding and signs pointed in different directions, but Daraku paid no heed to them. He knew the way well enough, although the winds left sand stagnant in the air that made his eyes sting. Finally, he rubbed them to aid his vision and found that he was at the final stretch. The village gate of Sunagakure was in direct sight, and the trip was finally over. The moon overhead was bright, making the stars around it seem dull. It must've been late, but he could have cared less. His journey was over and all he wanted to do was go back to his bed and sleep for about a week. "Finally." he muttered under his breath as he moved towards his destination.

Word Count:

The darkness of the night creeped around me like a living thing.  A warm candle light fought against the shadows as best it could, flickering violently here and there.  The shadows dove in and sprung back wherever the candle light flickered away from.  If the flame went left the shadows followed on the right and once the flame bounced back to the right the shadows would be there still on the left.  Soon the tiresome game of back and forth was over, played until it could not be played anymore.  With a slow flutter of its last breath, the flame died from the ever oppressing darkness.

I awoke with a loud gasp, sitting up in a flash.  My body was sweating, having been drawn tight like a spring and then suddenly released from its pressure.  The linens clung to my wet skin and quickly a chill began to rise along my back.  I calmed myself down and collected my thoughts, remembering where I was and that I was safe from my nightmares.

A chilling breeze blew through the open balcony of my bedroom, and made me tense up as it clashed with my sweat.  The moon light reflected brightly off of the sandstone balcony and into my bedroom.  Slowly I left my bed, the cold sand sending soft chills through my feet.

Finding a towel from my closet, I dried myself off from the cold sweat and ran it through my hair as it was damp as well.  I never remembered my night terrors, but the marks that they left always were enough for me to fear them even after waking.  Knowing that going back to sleep was next to impossible after such a startle, I changed out of my sweaty nightgown and into drier clothes.

I stepped outside my room and took a moment to calm myself out on the balcony.  The moon and stars were shining bright in the clear night sky and I lost myself in them.  While the wind blew I cuddled my body with my cloak.  Wearing my loose combat pants, the weapons it carried clanking in the wind, and wearing only a white bandeau for a top, the cloak was a much needed wind breaker.

The wind was rough and kicked the sand around with it, making it hard for me to relax.  If I was ever to get back to sleep, I would have to find another way to relax and that meant keeping myself warm.  Only one idea came to mind: running.  Eventually I would have to do my morning run, and I already woke up sweating so running myself tired just to get back to sleep seemed like the best option.

Slipping on my sandals, I started my morning run much earlier than normal.  I went on my normal route, heading to the exterior walls and climbing the many stairs to the top of the wall.  My routine was a simple one lap run on the wall, which would most certainly free my mind of the night terrors and warm my body up against the cold desert wind.

Running swiftly along, my eyes began adjusting to the moonlight and I was grateful for it.  My vision was clearer and I didn't have to worry about where I stepped, along me to run faster.  I let my mind wander, my eyes drifting over the endless dunes that stretched out beyond the walls.  As I came near one of the wall's gates I noticed a lone figure approaching.  Interesting, I thought, the night shift never patrols beyond the wall at this hour.

My interest thoroughly piqued, I leapt off the top of the wall and landed before the outside gate.  The man wore dark clothing and a cloak that concealed the bottom half of his face.  His hair seemed dark with a lighter streak on top, but with only the moonlight shining upon us both, it was hard to make out his appearance.

"Who goes there?" I called out to him, my right hand instinctively going for my bō staff at my hip.  His clothing seemed suspicious, but I secretly hoped it was only a guard that needed to take a piss.  Going back to sleep was the only thing I really wanted to do tonight.

717/????

Daraku's attention was caught as he heard footsteps. It seemed that someone was trying to intercept him, which was unusual. Not many people around were awake at this hour, let alone even cared about his presence. Unless, of course, they knew who he was...this approaching person, did they know who he was? The footsteps stopped and a voice echoed overhead, signaling that the person had landed atop the village gate. "Who goes there?" The voice boomed. It was feminine in tone, so Daraku made a snap-guess and assumed it was in-fact a female. That helped narrow down the possibilities of who it was, but not by much; Daraku didn't know many females within the village. Nonetheless, he was reluctant to answer her question. He always tended to avoid questions concerning his identity for fear of being attacked or incarcerated. Not that he wanted to avoid conflict at all costs, but rather because he didn't want to risk dying over something as futile as that.

The rogue kept his eyes staring up at the woman, but the moonlight around her masked her figure in a luster that shone brightly and concealed her. He finally gave her the answer she wanted, although dry and short. "A simple traveler. I'm Matsuro, and I come to Suna to trade. And who would you be, kind woman?" he was trying profusely to maintain a false positive attitude, and appear to be kind and innocent. It was almost sickening to be so artificial when all he wanted to do was stab the lady in the gut and leave so he could go into the damn village. Breathe in, breathe out. He wasn't going to let the annoyance, the anger, seem further into him; just smile and play the role he needed to play to keep his head on his shoulders. But something was bothering him about the woman. She hadn't given him a response just yet, but Daraku felt a familiar presence in her appearance.

Could it possibly be an old friend? Or was it someone he knew in infamy, or conflict? His mind raced and the tension built as he realized that this could end up bloody if she had stopped him in hopes of killing him for the bounty on his head, or for some other reason. Plenty were feasible; Daraku had offended, desecrated, and killed enough to earn the spot in lots of peoples' death lists. His left arm moved behind him, hand dancing over the handles of his weapons. It reached Nisebi and silently pulled the blade from its scabbard and he kept it hidden under his cloak. Let's see where this conversation goes... he thought to himself.

Training:

There was a moment's pause before the man in the dark cloak responded.  Waiting for him to speak, I cursed inside my head on the dark night and my eyes not having adjusted enough to make out the man's face.  The cloak hiding half his face would only prove annoying to me had we been in the sunlight.  There was more to just seeing the mouth of someone to be able to read them.  My knowledge of the Kōga clan's kekkei genkai, Kokoro no Me, was flawless and my father could attest to that.  Yet all that teaching would be thrown away until I could get a better view of the man in this moonlight.  Thankfully it was a clear night which meant this night was brighter than most and soon I would be at the advantage.

"A simple traveler. I'm Matsuro, and I come to Suna to trade. And who would you be, kind woman?"  He finally answered.  I noticed a ruffle in his cloak but the wind had also seemed to pick up.  My right hand still clutched at my bō staff out of instinct.  Paranoia in this life could very well save my life in moments like these.

I studied his answer in my head and stood motionless before him.  A simple trader meant he would have goods on him, though I only saw him standing there.  No wagon, no cart.  Just him.  Unless he meant to say he was a very simple trader, to the point that he sold tiny trinkets that were tucked underneath his cloak, I highly doubted his story.  There was definitely more to this man.  My mind took a sidetrack and followed up the potential of what trinkets he could possibly have under his cloak.  Only one thought came to mind.  Black market.  Anything that needed to be carried under a dark cloak for selling just seemed to yell out 'illegal'.  In any case, this man was very likely to be a criminal of some kind that dealt with the black market and the only other option that was just as likely was that he was lying about being a trader in the first place.  The latter of these two then poses the question of why and what is he lying about.

Coming to the conclusion that this man was more than he said he was and still posing a threat to the community of Sunagakure no Sato, I intended to press further.  "Well, Matsuro, I must ask where are your supplies?  Seeing a trader without anything to trade is a very rare occurrence."  I pulled out my bō staff from behind me, it's small 34 centimeter shaft appearing to be more of a stick or baton.  This was more show of intimidation and declaration of who I was.  The staff wouldn't specifically identify me at all, nor was it for such a purpose.  The staff, or rather, the appearance of a baton was merely identifying me as the authority in the situation.  Matsuro was in no position to be asking the questions here.  If he intended on gaining entrance to Suna, then he would have to speak in much more detail then his first vague answer.

1259/????

"Well, Matsuro, I must ask where are your supplies?  Seeing a trader without anything to trade is a very rare occurrence." Shit, why didn't I think about that? the man thought to himself. Nisebi remained under his cloak; he wasn't ready to bust out and attack. His goal all along was to lay low and keep unnoticed since Suna wasn't a target but rather a desirable ally, to say the least. Attacking a woman and probably killing her wouldn't be the answer here, as much as it sounded nice. He took a slow step forward. He didn't need to get violent, but he didn't need to keep the ruse up, either. His cover was blown and it was pointless to lie again. "Right, my supplies. They're uh...I lost most of them. See, I was attacked by bandits and they took everything so I'm looking to start over..."

Daraku stopped. He was only making it worse, and although he was an expert assassin, lying wasn't his greatest feat. At least not here, he was having an off-day in terms of charisma. "Screw it. You got me. I'm not the trader I said I am, certainly, and I'm not the best liar anyway. But hey, listen here. I'm not going to kill anyone. I won't hurt a fly. I can promise you that if I wanted to destroy Suna, I would've tried by now. Now why do you care so much that I'm out here? You a Jounin on patrol or something?"

Daraku looked back at her with a keen stare. Not a hostile one, but he was paying close attention to her every move. Better safe than sorry, as people always said. Her face wasn't all that bad either, she was quite pretty. His mouth bent into a smile as he awaited her reply.

Training:

The man took a small and slow step forward.  "Right, my supplies. They're uh...I lost most of them. See, I was attacked by bandits and they took everything so I'm looking to start over..."  His voice was unsteady and the gaps showed he was caught up in his thoughts.

So he was lying and now just digging himself in a further hole.  I would've smiled at catching the man in his own lies had it not been for my teachings in my kekkei genkai.  My face stayed solemn as the man's began to stand out in the pale moonlight.  Finally my eyes were accustomed to the night.

"Screw it. You got me. I'm not the trader I said I am, certainly, and I'm not the best liar anyway. But hey, listen here. I'm not going to kill anyone. I won't hurt a fly. I can promise you that if I wanted to destroy Suna, I would've tried by now. Now why do you care so much that I'm out here? You a Jounin on patrol or something?"

I wasn't exactly sure how to take Matsuro's words.  He had come clean and given up his charade, but yet he almost sounded like he could've attacked Suna had it been his original plan.  What man was this Matsuro?  My interest had been piqued and now any hopes of sleeping had completely left my mind.

"Matsuro, it's good that you've dropped the act, but give me your full name.  As to who I am to be questioning you, it is I, the Kazekage.  Now, if you'd kindly explain why you decided to lie in the first place."  I had Matsuro now.  The weight of the authority and power over Suna I held would surely make him spill what he was up to.  There was no reason to be lying if he simply was just a traveler, which I highly doubted now that he was.  No, something about his cloak made me still suspicious of him and my right hand felt the same way, it's grip only tightening in anticipation to wield the staff.

1500/1500 Training Tesla Weapons -COMPLETE-
127/????

The woman seemed unimpressed, her expression solemn and unchanging like stone. She heard his words without much reaction aside from a sort of flash in her eyes. She was listening, though, that was clear enough. He released his blade a little bit and relaxed his hand but ensured that the weapon didn't escape his cloak so she wouldn't see. He didn't have to worry as much about violence as he did his identity getting discovered. She finally opened her mouth to speak, although her words weren't at all what he had expected. "Matsuro, it's good that you've dropped the act, but give me your full name.  As to who I am to be questioning you, it is I, the Kazekage.  Now, if you'd kindly explain why you decided to lie in the first place." The Kazekage. It made sense, in terms of why she was out there and why she seemed so confident in herself. She was the leader of the village, nothing less, and although this would've made most people respect her authority a bit more, Daraku carried his opinion of her with more of a profound indifference. He was never one to respect authority figures, but something was especially askew with this one. This was his first time seeing her in person, so maybe it was just the stranger aspect of it.

Daraku's grin stretched into an open-mouthed smile, showcasing his teeth in an almost sinister way. They weren't fully visible because of the mask covering his lower face, but one could easily tell he was smiling. One could even push it a step further and say he was amused. "So you're the woman to take over old Gin's seat, then? I should've figured. As you can tell, though, I usually don't think things through all that much...anyhow. AHEM, Lady Kazekage..." he took a pause. He could have easily given her a fake name, and some bullshit reason, and moved on, but that wouldn't fix anything. It was one of his goals since returning to the Ishido stronghold to rejoin Suna. It would offer him a chance to act as a public leader for his clan without fear of bounty hunters or Suna officials coming after him (not that he was afraid of them, but it was difficult to lay low in his own "home"). Defecting was his choice both for the better of himself and of the clan, it was a mandatory in his perception because if the previous Kazekage, Gin, had known why he was leaving, she wouldn't have let it happen. But he'd completed his task, had his time away, learned more about himself and the man he'd become. This was his way back in. So, he didn't lie. He told her exactly what she wanted to hear and what she was least likely to expect.

"Matsuro isn't my first name, or my surname for that matter. It's an alias that I coined after defecting. Yes. Defecting...key word there. You know of me, maybe not by my face, but by my name. I was a Suna-nin once, and in all honesty, I'm telling you the truth because I wish to become one again." He pulled the mask from his face, revealing its entirety. From his defined jawline to his grin to his icy blue eyes like beads, he was still somewhat similar in appearance to the Daraku he was a year ago when he had defected. The only real differences were his newly earned scars, his hair, and the spark in his eyes. "I'm Daraku Ishido, of the Ishido Clan." His right arm went up and he unbuttoned the first button of his cloak, letting it fall open and reveal the dark garbs underneath as well as his weapon, Nisebi. The sterling sword shimmered in the moonlight, but he held it low; he'd only shown that he was armed and ready to keep her from attacking him on the spot. She'd think twice before making a mistake like that.

"Now that we both know one another, I'm sure we can come to some peaceful agreement, hmm? I may be the violent type, but I can promise that my only transgression in Sunagakure no Sato has been the act of defecting itself, which was over a year ago now. Besides, I'd hate to have to fight you." His smile didn't falter. If anything, he was enjoying the moment. The tension was almost exciting.

Training:

He'd left the hospital early that morning to get a move on with his life. He had healed up quite nicely and now it was time for him to return to the sand lest he be hunted soon. He wasn't too worried though; he was his village's only ANBU member. But they could steal hire any type of mercenary into the fray and that was something he didn't particularly want at the moment. He'd garbed himself in his black ANBU tights, the armor onto his shoulders and legs, the vest onto his torso. He began to pick up his mask to clip it to his belt but stopped, looking down at it. He sighed, tracing over the cracks and the missing part of his mask, shaking his head. A reminder of how he lost his eye and his dignity as an ANBU Member. He had clipped it to his belt, grabbing instead his hitai-ate and tying it around his head, using it to cover over his left eye, concealing it from view. His right eye looked forward, saddened and somewhat dead and void of hope. After which, he pulled his black cloak about his form, the red trim shining in the flourescent lighting of the hospital, buttoning the thing up all the way, pulling the hood over his head, to conceal his face in shadow. The hood worked well enough, but the most notable thing about his face would have to be the Sunagakure symbol upon the hitai-ate covering his eye, or the burned scar of the Sunagakure mark on his right bicep.

He was heading towards the village gates. He would need to return to the Sunagakure no Sato as soon as possible to convince the kazekage his intentions for leaving were pure. Matsuro had left the village early and he had a good lead ahead of the Uchiha. Come to think of it, he didn't even know where Matsuro was going, so he had lost his friend once more. He shook his head, chastising himself as he ran, trying to make his way quickly out of the village hidden in the mist. The dull fog and the wet air bothered him more than he could put into words. But soon he would be rid of this place and its weather. He would soon be home to the place of sand and dry winds instead of the foggiest place he had ever had the displeasure of approaching. He had lost his left eye in this place and would forever harbor ill will towards it.

He was so lost within his thoughts that he hadn't noticed that he was beginning to kick up sand with each step he took. He would have to pay more attention to where he was going, lest he end up somewhere he wasn't attempting to reach. 'Wait, sand?' He looked down as he ran and sure enough, the sand beneath his feet was bountiful. Meaning he was nearing his home he was nearing his village and soon he would be rid of the awful nightmare he had experienced just the other day. It was getting later but this didn't bother the Uchiha one bit. He could see the village faintly in the distance and would soon be upon it. He heard voices as he came closer and closer to the gate, noting that there were two figures, one of which was holding their cloak open to the other. And the other figure came into better view as he neared them. "Well, well, well. Lady Kazekage. Came to greet me as I returned home?" His voice shook slightly. He didn't know exactly how she would react to his disappearance then sudden reappearance. He was also now missing an eye and had a broken mask. There was so much she should be angry with. He stopped running and approached the other figure, turning his gaze up towards the face of the other. "Matsuro, cold of you to leave me like that." The words came out slightly labored, as he was surprised his friend was here and he was still in pain from his eye being violently taken.

OOC: Permission Acquired for joining the thread

702/600 [Travel Complete]

I had said my piece, yet Matsuro seemed to only find it humorous that I was the Kazekage.  "So you're the woman to take over old Gin's seat, then? I should've figured. As you can tell, though, I usually don't think things through all that much...anyhow. AHEM, Lady Kazekage..."  He cleared his throat to better address me, but it seemed to be in a more mocking tone than a tone of respect.  His eyes glinted brightly and I saw the muscles just outside of his eyes come together.  Was he smiling under that mask?

"Matsuro isn't my first name, or my surname for that matter. It's an alias that I coined after defecting. Yes. Defecting...key word there. You know of me, maybe not by my face, but by my name. I was a Suna-nin once, and in all honesty, I'm telling you the truth because I wish to become one again.  I'm Daraku Ishido, of the Ishido Clan."

It all clicked in my head now.  His name had been in the bingo book for a while now.  He had only been charged with defecting, although rumors and gossip ran about different crimes he may or may not have committed, but being just rumors and gossip none of them ever stuck.  Since his defection, not a single thing was known about what he had been up to.  It was a major flaw in Suna's intelligence not to have learned anything about the man while he was gone.  Daraku continued to speak even while my head was busy figuring out how to deal with him now.

"Now that we both know one another, I'm sure we can come to some peaceful agreement, hmm? I may be the violent type, but I can promise that my only transgression in Sunagakure no Sato has been the act of defecting itself, which was over a year ago now. Besides, I'd hate to have to fight you."

He can promise me that defection was his only crime?  There was nothing he could promise anyone of Suna now as he had betrayed them, no matter what reasons he might come up with to try and say it was necessary.  Yet just before I could begin to retort his claims of sins and peace, I was interrupted by hurried footsteps and a familiar voice.  

"Well, well, well. Lady Kazekage. Came to greet me as I returned home?"  My head snapped in the direction of the voice that called out to me in such a casual tone.  Of course, the only person to have talked so casually to me was Syekren Uchiha, and there he stood.  It was surprising he chose now of all times to come back to Suna.  Now I was confronting not one, but two defectors.

Syekren turned his attention to Daraku.  "Matsuro, cold of you to leave me like that."  That's right, I recalled the last time Syekren and I had talked and he had mentioned he was on Daraku's tail and wondered if he truly was a criminal.  A pitiful question coming from an ANBU that could very well see the answer in his own bingo book, yet he did have a heart to the matter.

I paused, holding back my tongue and my staff hand from crushing Syekren right there.  His nonchalant attitude was the very thing I did not want to deal with right now, especially since it made him look like he didn't even care about how he had defected not so long ago.  Looking at him now, I could see a lot had changed since last we had met.  His eyes, or rather his right eye, seemed to have lost its luster of before.  What had happened to him?  His left eye was covered by his slashed hitai-ate and his mask was broken... on the left side.  He must have suffered a harsh blow, and Syekren being the man he is wouldn't likely be willing to show off any scars from a battle he must've done poorly in.

"Karma's a bitch, isn't she Syekren?" I spat, hoping my words cut him down.  I'd like to think it was his punishment to have gotten wounded so harshly after defecting.  It served him right.

I looked back at Daraku, Syekren would get the brunt of my attention soon enough.  Daraku had his cloak open and had revealed his face completely to me now as well as his weapons.  Katanas rested at his waist, a hand laying upon one of the hilts but it laid casually, not threateningly.  At least this one had more sense.  "Nice words coming from a traitor.  Sorry to say this, Daraku, but your word has lost it's trustworthiness the moment you left our village.  By leaving, you put the village in danger, whether you knew it or not at the time.  Every ninja, no matter their rank, is invaluable to those outside of this village, but I doubt I need to lecture you on why that is.  So if you truly desire to be back in the village, I'm going to ask you cooperate with me and turn yourself in, for now of course.  We must be thorough and know exactly what it was that you have done and make sure none of Suna's secrets, whether you knew you had or not, weren't revealed to anyone."

My attention turned to Syekren now, "And as for you, why have you returned?  Have you had the same change of heart as your friend here?  Tell me exactly why I shouldn't kill you right now.  An ANBU defector could be declared worse, having made an oath to be loyal to Suna, yet you spat on it as soon as you left."

Was I being harsh?  Yes, and for good reason.  Both of these men had committed crimes against Suna and put our village at risk.  The normal consequences of this was death and should be carried out swiftly.  Yet the times called for experienced ninja, and experience was one thing Suna was lacking the most.  Still, it was very interesting that these two both wanted to rejoin Suna's ranks.  Being criminals as they are now, their motives for coming back must also come in to question, though I doubt they'd give such information out.  Something about this whole situation smelled rank of deceit.  Maybe it was my mind being untrusting and paranoid, but trust was a hard thing to come by and paranoia was only a rational response in this age.

1237/????

Daraku was surprised to hear footsteps. He didn't bother to turn around, though; he assumed anyone coming near would be an irrelevant villager just happening by. To his surprise, this wasn't the case at all. A familiar voice said, "Well, well, well. Lady Kazekage. Came to greet me as I returned home?" Daraku turned his head to get a good view of his friend. Looks like Syekren made it out alive, after all. Glad to see that. His eye, though... the Ishido thought, taking close note of the hitai-ate over Sye's left eye. It looked like that hadn't been healed entirely, leaving the poor kid with one eye and a rather forlorn look. Daraku's grin faded but his mouth was still bent slightly, almost an expression of relief. Syekren continued speaking. "Matsuro, cold of you to leave me like that." Daraku rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. You were still being looked over by that swordsman and I had to save the Hyuuga. He was in much worse shape than you, nearly got sliced in two and was pretty gored up. So chill, you're lucky you didn't lose your eyes AND your limbs like he did." he retorted with a hint of playful mocking, although his grim statement was true.

The Kazekage seemed surprised that Syekren was now here, meaning that he had probably left without her permission -- she didn't look like she had expected him back at all. Her eyes were stern and she addressed him, saying that "karma's a bitch." She moved on to address Daraku again. "Nice words coming from a traitor. Sorry to say this, Daraku, but your word has lost it's trustworthiness the moment you left our village." Ha, a traitor? Fair enough statement, but Daraku shrugged it off. He was showing that he wanted to come back, so that qualified him as loyal, in his view. The Kazekage went on to explain that Daraku would have to turn himself in if he wanted any chance of nonviolent solution to this. He contemplated for a moment, weighing his options as carefully as possible. Needless to say, there was a long break in his speech before he gave an answer, leaving the Kazekage a moment to scold Syekren. Daraku spoke as soon as she was finished. "I understand, I guess. Not happy with the idea of incarceration, but I understand. Look, I'll go on one condition, and one condition only. I know you'll confiscate my weapons, but if you can promise me that I'll get all of them back once I'm released, I'll go with you now and I won't put up a fight. I worked hard to get these swords, and I'm hardly useful without them, really. So promise me that you'll return them to me when my 'sentence' is finished." He wasn't sure whether or not the woman could see all the other two that were on strapped to his back underneath the cloak, but he figured she didn't need to see the weapons themselves to know that they were powerful, to some degree. He awaited her reply patiently.

Training:

Syekren's tone fell a bit. The way she addressed him was so cold, and it hurt quite a bit. His mind was fading as he let her words ring over and over in his head. He was a disgrace to his village, his clan, his country, his mask. He was just pitiful. He would have been fine had he told the kazekage that he was leaving to find Matsuro. He calmly undid his cloak, folding it up slowly so that his inner symbol of the uchiha clan was on top. The white fan with the black flames against the red background of the inner workings of his coat. After setting it next to him on the ground, he sat upon his knees, and resting his hands upon them. His buttocks came to rest upon his legs and ankles, while his hands undid the clasps of his armor on his legs, then shoulders and torso. He set them upon each other onto the ground next to his cloak. He then unclasped the mask from his belt and set it upon his armor. The uchiha stared at the ground for a while before reaching up to untie the Hitai-ate from around his head, letting it fall to the ground, scooping it up to put it on top of his cloak. He was now simply sitting there in his black ANBU tights, his long blue-ish hair falling in front of his left eye while he quietly looked at the ground. He was biding his time and thinking before he finally spoke.

"Lady Kazekage, you're absolutely right. I was a failure of an ANBU. A failure as one of your shinobi. I have shamed my clan and country with my actions and I wish I could take them back. I only left to find Matsuro and ask him back with me. But I was attacked by someone who stole my left eye.."

He looked up, the bangs falling from in front of his eye to show the slightly closed eyelid, a slight opening showing the blank and bloody space in it. The wound not being fully healed, still had blood trickling down his eyelid. He silently looked down at the ground once more, clenching his fists. He was about to say and do something that those who knew him well would never know it of him. He shuddered silently as his eye lost more and more of its luster. A slight tear fell from his right eye and he shuddered once more before he could bring himself to try to speak. He bit his lip, looking at his ANBU garb and mask.

"I failed. I wanted to bring him back so you could see him as I do. As someone in need of a second chance. Someone who deserves it. But I was too weak. I was easily bested by a stranger and I have no excuses to offer. I should have never become an ANBU. I acted without the dignity and professionalism of my office. I have failed you and the village Suzume. I am not worth the title of ANBU, not even as a shinobi. Take my life if you must, but please spare Matsuro. Take him into the village again, with my life as the payment. It's the only thing I can do that's right..I'm too weak to do anything else."

Daraku was reluctant but agreeable to my demands.  That was good.  So he did truly wish to be apart of the village again.  Any ulterior motives for coming back to the village after such a long time outside would have to be discovered later.  Now he had agreed to be taken in and that's all that mattered right now.

He lifted his cloak and revealed his sword resting on his hip as he told her that he would be nothing without his weapons.  Confiscation of them would be necessary in taking him in, but incarceration wasn't exactly what I had in mind for him.  "Relax, Daraku, I have no intention of keeping your swords away from you.  However, I will need them now, hand them to Syekren and he will take care of them.  You will get them back once you are released."  I tried to console Daraku on parting with his precious swords.  Indeed, he would be of much less value without  them.  I then moved my right hand out, pointing with my shortened staff towards the gate as I turned sideways to let Daraku pass in front of me.  "You can enter the village."

My eyes locked on to the moping Syekren.  I waited until Syekren was finished whining before calling on him.  He really was the emotional wreck.  Someone needed to teach him to hold those emotions in, he did himself a dishonor just by removing his armor.  I sighed, that would be a lesson for another time.  

I still couldn't understand why he didn't think a simple message or letter would have been enough to let him continue his pursuit of Daraku.  How defection seemed plausible to him, I would never understand.  Yet he had left with good intentions, and the gentler side of me wished I wasn't so hard on him, but I needed to be for him to learn his lesson.  The world had already shown how hard it could hit when he made mistakes.  His left eye should prove to remind him of the lessons he's learned.

"Syekren, it seems Suna is still in need of your help so wipe those tears off your face and pick yourself up! Gather Daraku's belongings and do not let him enter until you have all of his weapons.  Then escort him to the village.  I assume you still remember where to take him and his weapons?"

Syekren had defected, but he was also a good ANBU, even if he had lost his eye.  That would be enough punishment for him, and at the moment I just wanted to get the both of these fools out of my sight.  Yet I wasn't fully trusting of either of them.  So before Daraku got past me to enter the village I would stop him to check him myself of any hidden items or weapons that Syekren may have missed.  The sad boy was too affected by his emotions and I knew how well emotions could cause mistakes to be made.  My own scars on my right cheek and right abdomen were daily reminders of that fact.

My attention returned to Daraku, making sure he complied with my commands.  He seemed genuine in his desire to rejoin Suna, and this would be a bad time to switch to attack after all this time.  No, Daraku was smart.  I had learned that much at least.  If he was still hiding a hidden agenda, it wouldn't show itself until much later.  Yet I felt my paranoia was getting the better of me and I dismissed the thoughts on the hidden agenda.  For now, Daraku was a defector that had realized the mistake he made in leaving us.  Exactly how big or small of a mistake he might think he made was a mystery to me, but one I didn't really care to find out about.

Once I had finished checking Daraku for any hidden items, I would let him pass but then stop Syekren just for a moment to say a few private words to him. "I'll take your mask and armor now, Syekren. Maybe when you have proven your loyalty will you earn your place back as ANBU. Until then, you will be stripped of your name Hizencho." This would be hard for him, but I needed to punish him harshly. He needed something worse than immediate death.

Seeing both of the them inside the village walls, I would return back to my home. The night was almost over and I probably wouldn't get much sleep before having to wake up once more and deal with whatever tomorrow may bring. There'd be lots of work to do, and I'd have to deal with the elders once they found out I let two defectors back inside Suna with only slaps on the wrists. They'd want blood and I'd have to keep them from trying to get it themselves. I went to sleep with more on my mind than I had when I had first woken up.

2013/2000 Training Propeller Deflector - COMPLETE-

The Kazekage seemed to calm down as Daraku agreed to go with her. It almost made him smile again, seeing a softer side to her. She made a statement in regards to his weapons in response. "Relax, Daraku, I have no intention of keeping your swords away from you. However, I will need them now, hand them to Syekren and he will take care of them. You will get them back once you are released." Daraku nodded slowly, turning to his friend and removing the cloak from his back. He set Nisebi, the sword that had been in his hand for the duration of this encounter, down on the ground next to his cloak while he worked away at the straps for the other swords. The weaker sword that his father had given him was released first, removed from his back as he pulled the strap from his right shoulder and off his back. He put that one down too and released his last sword, the Fūton blade called "Mugenhikō". With all three weapons out in front of him, he bent to pick them back up and handed them to Syekren. He slung his cloak up over his shoulder once the exchange was finished.

"You can enter the village." The Kazekage said while pointing her staff to the gate and moving back to let him in. Daraku gave her a nod, but continued to face Syekren. As long as the kid had his weapons, there was no way he was going to let him out of his sight. Not that he didn't trust Syekren, but his weapons were too precious not to be cautious. The Kazekage's voice sounded again, like a bell. "Syekren, it seems Suna is still in need of your help so wipe those tears off your face and pick yourself up! Gather Daraku's belongings and do not let him enter until you have all of his weapons. Then escort him to the village. I assume you still remember where to take him and his weapons?" So it seemed Sye was of more value than Daraku, as he was getting off with a less severe punishment. Well, that or his crimes were less severe, despite being the same kind of offenses (treason). Daraku rolled his eyes, unimpressed, but didn't make a scene. Either way, he was getting back into Suna, and so he was getting what he wanted out of this...and prison time. The Kazekage went on to pat him down for any hidden weapons, before letting him go on. Syekren lingered back for a moment, despite being Daraku's escort to the prison.

Tired of waiting on Syekren, Daraku made his way into the village, taking slow-paced steps and listening attentively for any following footsteps. All he really wanted was to return to the Ishido stronghold and get some sleep...hopefully the cell he would be occupying instead would be comfortable enough to manage to provide the same quality of rest. The wind made his cloak flow in its breeze with every step as he made his way into the village, masked by the sand blown freely around him. "Thank you, Lady Kazekage. C'mon, Sye, hurry up. I'm exhausted...and I have no idea where I'm going." he called out as he went.

[Exit Thread]

Training:

He stood silently, moving his hands to gather up his equipment as he did. He followed Daraku quietly, the droning of the lady Kazekage's voice drowned out as he stepped forth. He was stopped by her and she whispered to him privately for a moment. He was being stripped of ANBU armor and title, as well as his given name. He looked down at the mask and armor in his hands, handing them over to her. His hands moved his cloak back about his body, tightening up the buttons to the tip of his jaw, covering his throat. He then pulled the hood over his face, following Daraku into the village, with his eyes downcast. What were he to do now, being nothing more than a common shinobi now.

-Exit-

[OOC: Sorry for a short post, sick, tired, and whatnot]