The wind rustled the tree's, and the leaves called out to Torima. His eye's fell instead to the boy before the monument.

Stepping forward through the tree's, he soundlessly carried himself to stand beside the boy, his eyes affixed to the monument. So many names. All shinobi. Words. Just words. Names. Only words. Not people. Things. His head turned slightly, his eye shifting to the boy. His good eye scrutinizing, as his blood-eye blazed.

Kidou subconsciously counted his paces as he walked.

One hundred forty-one, one hundred forty-two, one hundred forty-three, one hundred forty-four…

He passed by several people, but didn’t spare them much more than a glance or the occasional greeting.

One hundred forty-eight, one hundred forty-nine, one hundred fifty…

He was headed at the moment to the Honoured Shinobi Monument, where the heroes of Konoha had their names written down, either after they had perished in battle or after achieving a commendation in the field, but wouldn’t be around to celebrate it for whatever reason. Kidou was aware that his grandfather was one of the names that were engraved on the monument, and as much of an honor as it was to be a descendant of someone who had died in service to Konoha, it was almost such a normal thing for shinobi to have that not having your ancestor’s name at least remembered somewhere in Konoha’s records was probably the outstanding issue. People who weren’t connected to worthy ninja were just not as good as they ought to be, while those that were were often considered normal.

Unfortunately, Kidou held vastly different beliefs about such things. It wasn’t an honour to die in service of Konoha. It was a waste of life, a very precious life that was thrown away for an ideal. Lives shouldn’t be thrown away, but he supposed in retrospect if said life hadn’t been sacrificed, then many more innocent lives, lives belonging to people who weren’t prepared to give theirs for the sake of others, would have been traded as a result. Maybe there was a merit to dieing in service for one’s village, but Kidou still wasn’t convinced. He had heard the stories of how his grandfather had perished in battle, and it wasn’t an appealing one to hear, regardless of how his clan members, and his immediate family, would have taken it.

The sun shone above him as he continued his steps. Two hundred sixty-seven, two hundred sixty-eight, two hundred sixty-nine… It would only be a matter of time until he would have to visit his parents’ shop for their weekly lunch gatherings. It was wrong of him to have skipped the last one, but given that he had a mission out of Konoha there wasn’t much anything anyone could do about it, so he was determined to make up for it today with an actual dinner worthy of their time together.

He had arrived to the count of three hundred and twenty-two when he stopped at the Honoured Shinobi Monument. He saw two people standing there in silence, with a small but beautiful bunch of flowers laid out in front of the Honoured Shinobi Monument, which was as it was all those years ago, according to the textbooks, being just a larger version of the Memorial Stone that Konoha once celebrated, now to accommodate the much larger ninja population. It looked like an upside down kunai structure made of stone which glistened mildly in the sunlight, with the names of the fallen engraved upon it, and now with a small bunch of flowers laid out in front of it.

Kidou didn’t know who the two were grieving, or at least one of them was, but he could tell from the look on the face of the man directly to his right that he was grieving and radiating sadness. The man standing to that man's right, however, Kidou couldn't quite make out, but he didn't feel it right to disturb the silence. Knowing the tragedies of the loss of life, but not quite so much from experience, Kidou merely stood beside the man, on the man's left, silent, as he regarded the Honoured Shinobi Monument as well, closing his eyes in respect for the dead.

WC: 658

Shotaro stood in front of Honored Shinobi Monument. He was not in the mood for fun. He tried not to collapse. He stayed strong. There were a lots of names. Not only his family. They all shared one fate. This thought made him sick. One day he could be killed. He was scared. He spend some time there. He wanted to return to his warm house and go to sleep. He was turning around he saw two peoples from his village. He didn't even notice them before. He wasn't sure what they were doing there. He wanted to ask, but he immediately closed his mouth. It wasn't his business. They could get it wrong. He still looked sad, despite his attempts. Future. Think about it.

He looked at them. No prejudice came to his mind. They were there by an accident? Who knows ... He wasn't in the mood for flirting like he would always was. They seemed to be very similar to him. They were a shinobi, too. One day they could defend our border.
- Hi - he said in the low voice. He had no idea how they would react. Shotaro didn't realize, why they were there. Maybe it would be made clear. He didn't know, why he was doing it. It was natural for him to greet persons, who were in some way connected with him. They could make fun him even. Shotaro seemed weak. Maybe he was. He hadn't learnt how to cope with strong emotions. He should have done that as soon as possible. In world of ninja there is no time for hesitation.

The wind. Always the wind. Catching, snagging, breaking. And now the boy speaks. High, he says. His eye's shift to the other newcomer. His blood-eye pained, as it always did when it glowed. "You... mourn here." Torima began, his speech clipped and bizarre. It was almost as if he didn't understand speech, or had never been taught it properly.

"Why... mourn... words" he continued, stepping away from the two. "Why..."
His hand rose to his eye. "None... but words"
Then at once, the boy grabbed his head in both hands, falling to his knees in the dirt. He screamed, long and loud. When finally his breath was lost, and his scream faded and vanished, he started speaking fast and low, his speech more natural, but unnerving all the same.

"Cannot. Will not. No power, none. Not here. Cannot... Cannot make me. Voices..." he made a sound, almost a whimper, before looking back to the pair. "They see you... they see you all"

Kidou stood there in silence, watching the kunai-shaped monument. His eyes scanned over the surface of the plaque, seeing several dozen names inscribed on it. He tried to find his grandfather’s name on the plaque, eyes going left to right and reading and registering and discarding every name he came across, the speed at which he did this so unlike how he normally was - relaxed, calm, slacked.

Nothing. One hundred and seventy-two visible names scratched onto the rock surface of the kunai and not one of them bore the name of his deceased grandfather, who he had heard had died over ten years ago in defense of the village.

Surprisingly, Kidou didn’t feel angry. He didn’t feel rage. He didn’t feel anything but loss, because his grandfather had given his life for a village that had not even opted to remember him. Then again, maybe his name was inscribed somewhere, but not just on this plaque. Konoha had thousands, upon thousands of shinobi, and no shortage of them perished in battle. To add every single name to a single memorial stone would be ridiculous, since it would easily overcrowd the small space available on the kunai-shaped monument that he saw before him.

Maybe they recorded only the best of names on the monument. Only the best of the best who fell in battle in service to the village, among other criteria, were added to the monument so that any who passed by could see that their service had not gone in vain, while the others were added to the records where their memory was eternalised.

Or, maybe there were multiple monuments, each taken down and replaced with a new, clean monument every few years so it wouldn’t bear names from too long ago, as well as allowing for new names to be added to it? It would be the more logical option, since it would allow nearly every ninja who fell to be added to what could only be considered one of the greatest honours of being a Leaf ninja, second only to actually serving the village in the living.

Kidou felt nothing. Nothing whatsoever, at the thought that maybe his grandfather wasn’t even added to this. All he felt was loss. Just pure, undisclosed loss, not that his grandfather had died for nothing, had died without being remembered, but at the thought that his grandfather had died and that alone. He loved life, and he hated death, and to be confronted not only with his grandfather’s death, but the deaths of one hundred and seventy-two others, all marked down on this prestigious monument, sent a longing through Kidou’s body.

His thoughts were broken when he heard a loud shriek come from his right, and he turned his head slightly to look at the man from the corner of his eye. The man standing on the right of the man directly to his right had collapsed onto his knees, hands grasping his head tightly and yelling, screaming, before turning to look at Kidou and the other man.

“They see you… they see you all…”

Immediately, Kidou was on alert, though he didn’t show it save for a narrowing of his eyes. He refrained from reaching for his kunai, and didn’t say anything, but otherwise took one step back to steady himself as he leaned backwards to scan the area around them, instead of just the area directly surrounding the Honoured Shinobi Monument.

If anyone wanted them any harm, he would, Genin or not, personally inscribe their names onto the monument with their teeth.

WC: 607/1265

One guy seemed to be a bit strange. Shotaro didn't know what to think about it. He felt sad about his grandparents, but fear was overwhelming him. He wasn't that afraid. Something wasn't just right. He took a better look and did one step closer. If he had pulled himself together, he would have known what to do.
- Are you alright? Can i help you? - Shotaro asked the man, who fell on the ground. Aburame also needed some help, psychical one. It wasn't right to stay there and do nothing.

The another one was scanning the area. Shotaro wasn't sure, if there were any danger. He didn't train so much in his life. He wasn't safe through fighting. It was his advantage there were two men. They could rescue him.
- I am Shotaro. Are here someone unexpected? - Shotaro asked this time the other one and went to him. He looked more respectable. Aburame stood right next to him and was bothered by that ninja. He didn't know if he could trust them. They were both from Konoha, so that made him feel safer. He had no clue about their intentions. He consider running away from this situation. He had a lots of jutsu to learn. Whole life in front of him. He wasn't such a big coward. He was just inexperienced.

Shotaro still had in mind picture of his grandparents. True fighters. There names weren't written out there. But he knew they deserved it. He spend his time on praying symbolically. It wouldn't help them.