Wherever he went, Rokumaru could feel eyes following him from the buildings he passed, the people he had to step around. He had left his gourd at home as he felt he would fare better if he wasn't recognized, but now that didn't seem to be the best idea. The sand around him would suffice for defending himself, but it would take a bit of time to collect enough from the broken stone-paved streets. The merciless sun locked at its zenith shined down on the east side of the Slums that Roku walked through.

'I would have brought someone with me, if only I didn't want anyone to know what I'm doing down here.' Any outsider who didn't live in the poverty-stricken area only entered it looking for trouble, and the same applies to the young Sabaku who tried to keep his confidence in the face of so many predatory gazes. He repeated the phrase he was told in his head over and over again, 'Take a left off the main road when you reach the red boarded-up house. Follow the street and take another left two blocks down. It's the building at the end of the alley. Ask for PK.' Of course the directions were from a scraggly civilian smoking a pungent cigarette outside Roku's house, but the boy was naive and optimistic enough to believe him.

He was desperate to build some contacts on the seedier side of town. It was no secret that Suna was experiencing a bit of a crime wave at the moment, years of not having a reliable government allowed people with unsavory intentions to build a power base in the desert village, dealing in everything from drugs to hired killings. Roku knew the dangers of being involved in organized crime, but he was also a headstrong teen. He thought he could take advantage of the negligence of the law, to acquire a few things not sold openly in the Bazaar. Hold back your judgement; he's a curious growing boy, he was going to have an interest in this sort of thing sooner or later.

Rokumaru followed the main through street that cut through the dilapidated apartment buildings and run-down shops until he reached the landmark he was searching for; a two-story domicile with chipping red paint, its windows busted out and boarded up. A little girl sat on it's front step dressed in a cloak far too big for her thin body, and upon seeing Roku's hitai-ate tied loosely around his neck bolted down the street the boy was to turn on. Shinobi must have been very unwelcome in this part of town; most of the time children were drawn by a hitai-ate, not fleeing at the sight of one.

Roku turned down the side-street and was baffled to see it in even worse condition than the main street was. Every building had its windows smashed out, most having wooden boards or iron bars across them. The few ships were completely abandoned by everyone but squatters who watched the boy walk by with glazed-over eyes. 'Ancestors', he thought to himself with a grimace, 'this is Suna's anus right here!

A few short but tense minutes brought Rokumaru to the alley he needed. It was a narrow strip of unpaved sand, locked in permanent shade from the sun by two high apartment buildings on each side. At the end was a metal door with a slot that opened up, allowing anyone inside to look out.

He walked down the alley with trepidation, untying his hitai-ate from his neck and slipping it into his left cargo pocket above the knee. It was claustrophobic being in such a narrow passageway. Upon reaching the door he stopped for a moment and considered turning back and going home, but reached up and rapped the knuckles in his left against it lightly.

Immediately the slot slammed open and a pair of piercing blue eyes looked at the Genin, who had to suppress a flinch from surprise. The two looked at each other for a long moment, the blue eyes sizing up the boy while brownish-red ones stared back nervously. After a long moment, the eyes behind the door returned to Roku's face and a gruff voice demanded to know what he was doing here. Shaking off his nervousness and replacing it with confidence, Roku grunted back "I need to speak to PK."

The man behind the door seemed to smile to himself, his eyes crinkling a bit, and told Roku to wait there before the slot slammed shut. The boy waited for a bit, drawing shapes in the sandy ground with his foot, before he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him.

When he turned around Roku was not happy to see what greeted him: two men, a muscular bald guy on the right tapping his foot with a long copper pipe as he walked, the other on the left very emaciated who was unfolding a butterfly knife slowly. Both had very wide grins on their face as they approached him before stopping a few feet away from him. As soon as Rokumaru saw the men and assumed they weren't here to sell him what he wanted, he began pulling the sand beneath his left foot up behind his leg to collect behind his back.

The thin one spoke first. "You wanted to see us?" He dug a piece of dirt from beneath his nail with the knife.

Rokumaru didn't like this one bit. "Actually, I came to see PK."

The men shared a laugh at Roku's expense. The thin one stopped his chuckles first. "Allow me to introduce my friend, P." He gestured at his companion with a lazy point of his knife. "And people call me K. Very pleased to meet you, boy." P grunted in greeting, stroking his pipe with his thick hands.

Rokumaru was not remotely pleased to meet them. That scraggly bastard sent Roku to the slums to get mugged, and that would be the extent only if he was lucky. The sand pooling behind his back was now more than a handful, and carefully streamed it down his left arm into his hand while the right traces the kunai stuck in his right pocket.

He kept talking while he prepared to defend himself. "I think I was given bad directions. I apologize for the misunderstanding." Again the men shared a hearty laugh, feeling good about what could only be an easy score.

K gave the boy a smile, showing off his broken and missing teeth. "Now it would be rude to drag us out here for nothing. The least you could do is..." and he looked to his companion for the right word. "Compensate", P grunted. K smiled again and continued, "...compensate us for our time." At least they didn't get to beating Roku immediately.

The boy was faced with his first real taste of danger, and surprisingly managed to stay calm despite the fear bubbling underneath his skin. He let his nervousness show as he said "Of course, I can't apologize enough!", and made it look like he was digging for his ryo in his pocket while he was really slipping his kunai into his right hand.

As fast as he could, he slung the sand in his left hand at the men's faces in a sweeping motion. Immediately the two were blinded as they cursed in surprise, hands rubbing the offensive sand out of their eyes. The only exit was behind the men, and as Roku started running he knocked the emaciated one aside with his left shoulder and stabbed the muscular man in his thigh with the kunai. Both fell to the dirt, now cursing in anger as the muscular one held his bleeding leg, and picked themselves up to chase after the Sabaku boy fleeing down the alley.

Rokumaru exited the narrow passage and immediately turned right in a sprint towards the main road; his lungs were already burning from the short run but adrenaline refused to allow him to slow. If he could make it to the main road perhaps someone will step in and help him. The muscular guy hobbled after him slowly, but Roku could feel the thin one sprinting quickly as he prepared to stab the boy in retaliation. Sparing a glance back and eyes widening from how close the one called K was gaining on him, he let out a desperate plea as loud as he could.

"HELP!!!

WC: 1446
(OOC: I sort of got carried away writing this...)

Chakra: 135/150:

Ryu sat quietly upon his bed. His hands holding a book as he scanned the pages with a bored expression. It was a simple enough scyfy tale about shinobi enforcers on the moon battling pirates with some sort of moon based light jutsu. In the book the shinobi had filled the moon and its surface with air via fuuton jutsu and gave it rivers with Suiton. Made structures with Doton and a raiton barrier shield around the planet. Somehow it broke apart any meteors bent on the surface and held the air in. It was a curios thought about terraforming but he doubted the reality of it. After all it was fiction but still he liked to think on if something would actually work. He had enjoyed the book for a while but now it felt tedious as he watched battle after battle with no explanation as of yet on how the pirates got through the shield safely. Or for that matter how anyone even got to the moon. He would sigh and fold the book closer and toss it to the head of his bed before yawning and stretching. Mornings were always slow at a bar but still he was up and needed to get a start on the day.

With a sigh as he felt old in the mornings Ryu would stand up. His long blonde hair falling about his shoulders. There he stood shirtless in just a pair of jeans in his apartment above the bar. He moved over to the kitchen sink and turned on the water. Scooping the cool liquid into his hands and scrubbing his face with it. It was relaxing and helped his dry eyes feel better. After all of Suna felt like a dry place. Sand was everywhere and in everything but it was all he ever knew. Since the eve of his birth his world had been a sand filled oasis. Even the prison was filled with sand. He shook his head a moment as he tried not to think about the prison. Where his life had come to a halt and he felt he could never return to that road he had once known. Still he glanced up at the mirror above the sink in his kitchen and his purple and blue eyes looked back at him. Like two halves of two different people. One who had a clan and had gone to the academy and passed into a shinobi status and one which was a feared man in the slums. His hand trailing down to the tattoo's across his form. Most of them tribal mixed with Chinese dragons but one stood out more prominent. A black Jackal head.

With a grunt he turned away from the mirror. He needed to get out of the apartment and go for a walk. Get out of his own head for a bit. He couldn't regret what he had become now. He had a path he had chosen. Still thinking of the past always put him in a sour mood. The walk was less to clear his head and more hoping someone wanted to start a fight with him today. So he moved over to his dresser and pulled out a white shirt wrap and slipped his arms into it and folded it halfway up his front to under his chest and tucked it in. Moving down to put on a pair of white socks and slip his feet into unlaced boots. On his hands he tied a pair of grey bandana's with Jackal heads imprinted on them and a pair of finger-less gloves over that to hold them in place. His hair he tied back and placed a sash over to hold most of it back in a pony tail and keep his bangs out of his eyes. Well, eye rather. Over his purple eye he slipped on an eye patch that ran horizontal across his face. For fun he tied on a tie loosely around his neck and turned up the collar of his shirt. Finally he laced up his shoes tightly and tied it before tucking his pants over the tops to keep sand out. With that he rose up and collected a pendant shining in multiple colors from the wall, along with a single kunai he tucked into his back belt loop and a tanto with grey cloth wrapped around the hilt in a bamboo sheath. That he tucked into his right front pocket. Finally he slipped on his jean jacket with the sleeves rolled up to his elbow. Satisfied he moved out the fire escape out his window and hopped down to the alley below.

For a time he wandered around the streets of the eastern slums as the sun just began to warm up the village for the day. He hit up a smoke shop and bought a pack and also went and bought a bottle of water. Most people didn't seem to mind him but no one really approached him. He understood though. They had lived under the oppression of a gangster too long. Some of them all their lives. Ryo might be dealing a blow to them and increasing his territory as he did but to them he was still a gangster. They didn't hate him like they did the others, after all every territory he conquered he defended and asked nothing of the people within it. The issue was that through the years they had forgotten a means of which to trust anyone. To much pain and loss for years and even though someone was finally putting their foot down they still couldn't believe the man had good intentions. It wouldn't end until he had conquered all of it and moved onto the western slums. His gaze shifted over to the west as he contemplated just how much further above him they were. He had only met one and she was too fast for him to keep up with. She had merely spared him on a whim.

Still he pulled out a cigarette as he placed it to his lips he lifted a finger and sparks flew out of it. His index finger on his right hand sparked as he lit his cigarette with it. Once done he flicked his hand and the sparks died out. Slowly he would take a long drag of the smoke and feel it relaxing him. The world was finally going to stay still a moment. However that was short lived as the sound of feet running could be heard by him at least just down the street. He watched as a young man charged forward running from two men he recognized. P and K thought they were clever naming themselves the first letter of their chosen weapons. The kid was much to clean and healthy to be from the slums by the look of him. Still Ryu could see a little bit of blood on the boys hand. For a moment he considered just watching on how this played out but as the kid belted out a cry for help he would sigh and rub the back of his head. Casually he would step in the boys path and let him pass him as he took a drag from his smoke. As he exhaled though and the first of the two giving pursuit came near suddenly the ground would slam forward from Ryu's feet in the shape of a fist. Slamming forward as the fist caught the whole of the mans face and slammed him down to the earth. With that done Ryu slowly walked up the fist platform to crouch down on his toes and look down at the two men. P started to speak for a moment before he noticed who he was talking to. Before he noticed the jackal symbols. "Who the hell do....The Jackal of Suna....here...We are sorry man, We didn't realize we was in your turf. We will go now alright?"

Ryu would simply crouch there watching them with a blue eye for a moment in silence. Taking that as permission to go P picked up K and limped the way they had come. All Ryu did was smoke his cigarette and wait until they were gone before turning to look at the boy if he were still around. If he wasn't that was bound to be the oddest encounter he had this week. If he was Ryu would rise to his standing position and walk back down the fist casually onto level ground. Eyeing the boy for a moment before he would speak. Noting the blood on the kids hand wasn't from any visible wound so likely not his own. "So, who the shit are you?"

1469

185/200:

Roku really wasn't sure he could outrun this guy. He was never meant to be a physical fighter, and all the wasted cardio training was coming back to bite him; he had run only about 50 yards total and his lungs were already begging for breath, the muscles in his leg burning. He would make it a priority to start running long-distance, maybe lift a few weights to add mass to his thin, with body. That is, if he wasn't stabbed to death by some criminal in one of the worst neighborhoods in all of Suna. He just had to try getting some illegal goods, didn't he? Never should have came here in the first place.

Over the sounds of his pants he could hear the heavy footfalls of K close behind him, someone obviously adjusted to running down people and tickling their insides with that folding knife of his. When they both left that alley, running as fast as their bodies allowed, there were a good ten yards from each other. The thin, probably drug-addicted guy split that to little more than 5 yards and was thinning the distance quickly, angry at the disrespect this kid showed and for stabbing P. What kind a name was K anyway, or P for that matter? Obviously whoever came up with those names didn't have two bits of creativity to rub together.

He could see the Main Street just ahead of him, but the sight of it didn't bring him the relief he thought it would. If no one was going to step in back in this side street, what made him think someone was going to up ahead either. Roku felt the only thing he was doing now was approaching a larger audience, who'd relish seeing some lost and snobby shinobi have his intestines decorate the street around him. 'This is how I die?', he thought to himself as the angry puffs of breath from K grew closer and closer. 'Slashed up by some drug-filled civilian in a dirty gutter? Really should've learned some useful jutsu before I decided to mess with crime.'

A tall and lanky guy stood just ahead of where Roku was running to, puffing on a cigarette before the commotion Rokumaru and his less-than-friendly new acquaintances were making caught his attention. An icy-blue eye that wasn't covered by an eyepatch regarded the group causing trouble in the slums, almost too casual for what was likely to be a murder of a teen boy. Just another person who the young Genin had to step around, and as he ran by the man Roku didn't even give him a glance in passing. The boy couldn't believe how apathetic people around here were; did this kind of thing happen everyday? He had really underestimated the crime problem plaguing his village.

That was why it was more than surprising when Roku felt the ground shake like a tiny quake ripped through the area, making the boy stumble and fall on his face into the thankfully unpaved sandy street. He couldn't run anymore, had to catch his breath, and he looked back to what he thought would be a stumbling K with his knife at the ready.

Instead, what he saw was really much more impressive: a chunk of the street was gnarled and twisted into the shape of a stony fist, and K was laying on his back a few feet away like the thin man ran directly into it. P, hobbling after his friend with a hand on his wounded leg, stopped by K who was groaning on the street before looking angrily at the smoking man. Said man was now perched on top of the fist in a crouch, staring down at the two. Roku could only see his back, but it was kind of a atriking image, especially because he thought the man wouldn't step in.

P snarled at the man perched on the fist, ready to step in. "Who the hell do....The Jackal of Suna....here..." Upon recognizing the intervening man he trailed off, all the color bleeding from his face turning it a pale shade. The meathead was obviously afraid of this guy, like he had committed some offense towards him. Roku was caught up by the name he said, the 'Jackal of Suna'. You didn't get a name and reputation like that from the criminal world by being a nice guy. The Jackal lived up to his name, looking down on the men like a predator facing off against two rats. "We are sorry man, We didn't realize we was in your turf. We will go now alright?" With speed that was impressive for a wounded man P collected his prone friend from the ground and slung K's arm around his shoulder, the two disappearing back the way they came.

That left the panting and prone Roku left with his rescuer, the Jackal turning around to regard the boy in over his head. The guy didn't even drop his cigarette; puffs of smoke clouding the air around him. As the man walked causally down the fist he had made Roku pulled himself up onto two shaky legs. The Jackal walked over to where Rokumaru was bent over at the waist, finally catching his breath and staining his right pant leg with his bloody hand, and stopped a few feet away from the boy. Roku didn't say anything just yet, so the two regarded each other for a long moment.

Breaking the silence, the Jackal spoke out in his casual demeanor, "So, who the shit are you?" He was blunt and straight to the point.

Rokumaru should have expected the question but it took him a moment to process it. How unsatisfying  was it to say his name was Rokumaru to a guy called the Jackal of Suna? He felt like a kid again just standing next to what was likely a pretty strong shinobi. Realizing the man was waiting for an answer, and dismissing several monikers he thought sounded better than his name, he leaned up to his full height and responded "Sabaku Rokumaru, Genin of Suna. I can't thank you enough for stepping in when you did, sir". That justu the Jackal did was pretty badass, and he did take time out of his day to save Roku's life, so he showed him the utmost respect.

Questions were burning through his mind, and though he knew it was impolite to immediately start interrogating the man his curiosity could not be contained. "That bastard called you the Jackal," he said in an awestruck tone. "Are you a shinobi? He said this was your turf, that he was in it. Do you run this part of town?" All very naive questions from a naive little teen, but he had to know.

Did that mean he was a criminal too? Was Rokumaru being in his turf mean trouble for the boy? Could the Jackal teach him that badass Doton jutsu he just used?

WC: 1446+1192=2638

Ryu would eye the young man. Physically capable looking with a glint in his eyes. He was eager to prove something no doubt. Of course that was perhaps because of the dull look he was used to seeing from those who had given up. Perhaps just normal people seemed alive to him at this point. Not that he minded that glint in someones eyes. Something of personal power without a wicked side to it out to torment to gain it. This kid was most certainly someone different. With a flick he sent his smoke off to the side. Almost burned to the butt it was of no use to him anymore. The small object bouncing off the wall with a spark before dying in the sand. Smothered by the infinite bits around it. His eye glanced to that before the last red ember faded and his attention returned to the man before him. His posture was nice and stiff. Certainly standing out from the locals. Finally he mentioned his name and then his rank. The thanks for saving him was basically on deaf ears by that point as he considered the information just provided to him. His eyebrows would raise as he spoke up in a grunt of a response.

"A genin eh? Don't normally see people of that rank around here. Stand out too much and often not confident enough to have to fight their way out."

The kid would shift gears regardless of the grunted sentences. His eye watched him talk as he considered what this likely meant. Couple of possibilities came to mind. Village had never really cared much about the slums before but he heard there was a new sheriff or rather kage in town. For all he knew they were sending in genin scouts as expendable pieces in the moving war. Slums had only ever been a hindrance and a black mark on the village but he doubted they cared enough to invade it properly. That said he didn't care to kill a genin either way. Wouldn't help matters at all. However the kid was staring at him and asking a couple of questions. Bringing forth the other consideration. This kid was likely here to gain his own strength. Thinking to be the hero or perhaps staying under official radars. Many people did that for many reasons. Not wanting your training observed was the common one. K and P being involved though, chances were he was looking to level a playing field with things the village might not give to him officially. Or he needed someone hurt or worse with a weapon that didn't link back to him. Regardless Ryu wasn't sure he trusted the kid. So he would look around and spot some people listening in.

"Walk with me a minute."

Another grunted sentence but still he would move a little further down the street regardless of if he was followed. His eyes looking out for anyone looking to catch him off guard. Likely friends of K and P waiting for the kid to be left alone again. So Ryu was subtly heading in the direction of the village away from the slums. It was a fairly long walk before he began speaking and no one was around to listen in. He would stop in the middle of the road. From where they stood the village was on the horizon. If the kid had to run he didn't have far to go before the guards would bury any one chasing him. At that point all he would have to do is identify himself as a shinobi under attack. The men chasing him if any did would either flee or die there. So he was satisfied getting the kid this close. Still he tilted his head and studied him a moment. Considering the fact that this kid just wasn't prepared to be in this part of town. However being saved didn't do a lot of good for him. If Ryu just let him go the man might come again unprepared and Ryu likely wouldn't be there. So he spoke up. Clearly now but with irritation in his gaze.

"Tell you what Roku. You tell me what in satans balls you were doing with K and P and I will answer one question. Tit for tat. What was a fresh green genin like yourself doing about getting himself killed?"

2211

As Rokumaru introduced himself to the man who stepped to rescue him, the boy could see him react to the fact Roku was a Genin. The hitai-ate that was tied loosely around his neck obviously notified he was a shinobi but he had to guess someone of low rank such as himself wasn't usually found in this part of town. Or that one would let himself get into the danger Roku had managed to, or even that a Genin was likely outmatched by that thug K with a little knife. When that thought crossed his mind Roku flushed warm with anger at himself. He underestimated the thin man, thought he could outrun him and it cost him the element of surprise. Should've slashed his neck, stabbed him like he did to P, anything besides a little bump with his shoulder. He almost paid the price with his life, if not for the Jackal.

When Roku thanked him, the Jackal voiced out what the young teen had guessed he was thinking.
"A genin eh? Don't normally see people of that rank around here. Stand out too much and often not confident enough to have to fight their way out." At that last comment Rokumaru bristled a little. Not that it was a false statement, mind you; he was targeted because the people here knew was was fresh and naive, and if the stranger hadn't been there K would have caught him eventually. Still, he didn't like hearing it pointed out to him.

Roku asked his questions regardless. If the Jackal was a shinobi, a question which was rhetorical at best and stupid at worst. Very few civilians had the ability to shape the earth with Doton chakra. He questioned the Jackal about what P had said before he fled, that he did not know it was his turf. A lot could be gleaned from something like that; that the slums weren't one big chaotic neighborhood controlled by groups of thugs or one big crime boss. They had to be cut up into separate little pieces, each one carved out by a single individual or a group. Great, just what Suna needed, organization in its criminal world.

The one called the Jackal did not answer his questions, nor was he obligated to. He just stood there watching Roku stoically. His gaze was intense, but at the same time absent, likely thinking over things in his head. Roku could only stand there, shifting nervously as he finally caught his breath, trying to ignore the looks he was getting both from his rescuer and the people around him.

The Jackal broke from his staring to regard the people that were watching the two. Roku and those two goons P and K had attracted a loose crowd of people hoping to catch sight of a quick stabbing. When people recognized the Jackal they quickly went about their business, but a few were standing in the street just a few feet away, smoking cigarettes while trying to nonchalantly watch the pair, and others were walking at a snail's pace to listen in. The Jackal recognized this, and turned back to Roku. "Walk with me." It wasn't a suggestion.

The command made Roku hesitate, suddenly wondering what would happen if he did. What, did he think just because this guy saved him that he was 'good' and didn't have bad intentions? Had this just been a shark chasing away a few guppies from something he wanted for himself. Rokumaru was standing in one of the most dangerous places in Suna, talking to the very man who claimed ownership of the area. Roku knew he was naive, maybe more than most his age, but he had just walked himself from one shady situation into another. But at the same time, how could he refuse the guy? He didn't think it would be polite to say a quick 'thank you', ask questions and disappear. Nor could he hope to outrun the guy, even with a quick Body Flicker. The Jackal started walking and Roku quickly followed.

The direction they went eased Roku's fears a bit, as he wasn't being led further into the slums but instead towards the more fortunate part of town. The duo were silent for entirety of the fairly long walk. Roku had questions burning inside him but he squashed those down, not daring to bother the Jackal even further. Finally, the man stopped close to where the divide between poverty and prosperity in the village was most visible, on one side run-down buildings and shifty people while the other held shops and renovated buildings with an occasional patrolling guard crossing through. Roku was actually a bit surprised, his hesitation about following the man now seeming silly. It never hurt to be cautious but if anyone deserved Roku's trust that he met in those slums, ironically it's from someone called 'The Jackal of Suna'. Damn, he had better have a name like that by the time he was older.

It was apparent the Jackal was going to let him return to where Roku belonged, the boy severely chastised from the run-in with P and K. Rokumaru waited for him to say something, maybe a warning about coming here again or an insult about the boy's now-apparent lack of thinking things through. Instead, the Jackal turned to the boy, and cut him a deal.

"Tell you what Roku. You tell me what in satans balls you were doing with K and P and I will answer one question. Tit for tat. What was a fresh green genin like yourself doing about getting himself killed?"

It swiped the breath from Rokumaru's throat, for two entirely different reasons. The first was the tidal wave of questions that swept through his mind, all the things he could ask him. How did he become known as The Jackal? Could the man train him in using Doton like the technique he displayed earlier, so casual it had to be practiced. Roku could only ask one question and he would not waste that chance, so he decided to mull it over.

But having to answer about what brought him to the rough neighborhood in the first place really drove the breath from him. The boy knew he couldn't get away with saying he had just wandered in; no one from Suna's middle or upper class went to the slums unless they wanted something. He felt like an Academy student all over again, brought to the headmaster's office to account for his actions. He wasn't a great liar. The man would likely know what was being said was untruthful, even if he suspected it was so he wouldn't answer what Roku had to ask. The Genin looked back at the nicer part of the village, building up his confidence, before looking the Jackal in his one visible eye.

"I met a man close to where I live, puffing on something that obviously wasn't tobacco. I thought he could help me meet someone who had access to things that weren't exactly legal. Cheap weapons and armor, poisons. Maybe I would've bought one of the cigarettes he was smoking. I really don't know what I would have tried to buy." It physically hurt to recount just how naive and stupid he had been, how inexperienced he was with the world. "That scraggly bastard didn't appreciate me asking. He gave me directions to an alley in the neighborhood close to where we met. He said, 'ask for PK'. Well, I knocked on the door at the end of the alley and asked just like he told me. The next thing I know, those two have me boxed in the alley and start shaking me down." Roku wondered if an Earth Flow River would have slowed them down better, but it didn't occur to him to lay one down at the time. "I used my Sabaton to throw sand in their eyes and stabbed the one with the pipe in the thigh," indicating the drying blood on his hand and pants, "and knocked the other one down before I took off. The one with the knife chased me down. And he would have caught me if you hadn't stepped in." He bowed his head slightly and looked at the ground. "I really can't thank you enough for what you did. I thought I was going to die today."

He would keep staring at the ground as the Jackal processed that. How could any Genin, basically an adult in the world's eyes, be so stupid and trust a stranger? Asking to be part of the criminal underworld as directly as he would ask for directions to a shop. It would have cost him everything if the Jackal wasn't there. He would accept any judgement the man laid down on him because he deserved it. If anything it was a good learning experience.

Still, he held up his side of the bargain, no matter how embarrassing it was to recount. If the Jackal was a man of his word Roku would get his question. If the man walked away the boy wouldn't press the issue, otherwise he would wait for the Jackal to give him permission to ask. Rokumaru finally decided on what the question would be.

"Those guys called you 'The Jackal of Suna'. What is your true name?"

WC: 2638+1596=4234

For a time they walked together. It had been obvious at first the boy was nervous about simply following him wherever he deemed them to go. It was a fair reaction. Ryu was no simple man to dispose of even for a shinobi. That much had been obvious for how casually he had taken down the man that had chased down the boy. If they fought Ryu was fairly confident he could take the genin. His own physical ability peaking passed those limits some time ago. Still his blue eye would shift back to look at him as he caught up. Kid had balls if not for the fact that he didn't know how to use them. If he were directed though with some training, he might be pushed into greatness. All genin had that potential but this one had an interest in his side of town. Still it was becoming more apparent as they approached the edge of the slums K and P had no one interested in going against Ryu's spoken wishes. If the kid was viewed as under his protection than so long as he didn't go out of his way to be dumb, he would be fine.

As for the kid himself. He became visually less agitated as they came closer to his side of town. Nerves rolling off of him as he seemed convinced he was safer now. Ryu himself would glance at the unseen border between the slums and the village and consider how untrue that was. In the slums the dangers were apparent. One always knew there was danger from others. So as such one was always on guard against it. The village itself was far more complex running on gears made from politics. One who smiled and called himself friend might send a lady assassin in the night. Sent to seduce and slay. The slums was home to a pack of wild dogs but he knew how to act their alpha. A pack followed the strongest leader. He preferred it greatly over the other side of that line. A den of snakes painted all the same color. To each other and the world they appeared as gardener snakes. Ryu knew far better than that though. He knew how many of them were cobra's in waiting. Still the kid spoke up and Ryu listened while he noted the eye contact. Proud and mannered. Still it was interesting to say the least. When he replied it was with a grunt before it as he looked the boy up and down.

"Sabaton eh? Pretty famous clan you got there with some ability. Next time you should bring your gourd here with you though. More people that know what you are capable of the more people not willing to test it. As for dyin, you were about to. For some amusement at that."

With that Ryu would pop another cigarette into his mouth. With slight of hand it seemed to appear in his hand from no where like magic. Again he placed it between his lips but this time actually pulled a lighter out of his pocket. Careful not to show any knives. His eye shifting the the patrol man on the other side of the border. He was concealing his ability to use jutsu from the main village for some reason. A couple of rumors already swam about it but he didn't have any interest about it tying back to him. They had his description but not his name as of yet. He would light his smoke before pocketing the lighter again. Smoke rising into the air before the boy spoke his question. For a moment Ryu would pause before paying his full attention to the boy now. However unlikely this could indeed be a ruse. A carefully laid out plan with one goal in mind. Send a genin into his part of town to stir up trouble so Ryu might save him. Get his trust and then discover the Jackals name. It wasn't impossible but Ryu felt himself hesitate. For now he would test this water out. Speaking again.

"My name? Well I guess its my turn to hold up eh? Well Fuck it why not. Name is Myugan Ryu. Now I need you to keep that to yourself. Ain't nobody that side of the line need to know the Jackals real identity. You manage that, and I will make you a deal. See that empty wall over there behind me? No one lives there. Use some chalk to scratch in a J next time you want somethin, Wait there and word will get to me quickly. For now we both best be off about our day. You head home and don't get caught down here again without me, got it Roku?"

For whatever reason he didn't use the mans full name. Instead he sucked on his front teeth before turning. Ignoring any sign of hand shake or bow. He wasn't the most reverent or mannered of men. Still he walked back into the slums smoking his cigarette. Just another day to him.

3070
Exit thread
Name: Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall (土遁・土流壁 ~ Doton: Doryūheki) 1500/1500
Name: Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears (土遁・土流槍 ~ Doton: Doryūsō) 1500/1500

70 words tossed out

Much to Rokumaru's surprise, the Jackal didn't take the time to point out all the things he did wrong, or that his decision making was not worthy of someone calling them self a Genin. No, instead the Jackal just calmly listened to Roku tell his story as he finished his cigarette. When the boy had finished the Jackal simply grunted in acknowledgment, and looked the redhead up and down. Measuring him up, it seemed.

When the man did speak it was to comment on the Kekkei Touta the Sabaku wielded and how it was rather well known, even in these parts. The Jackal advised that next time Roku decided to enter the Sand Dunes, as the slums were affectionately called, the boy would benefit from carrying his gourd of sand along with him. Roku had left it at home as he wanted to go unnoticed and unrecognized, thinking it would be safer, but the man was clear that making it known Roku was a shinobi and a capable one at that would be better for his safety. And, the Jackal did acknowledge that Roku would have been killed for no reason beyond a bit of entertainment.

Still, Roku had came out on top of today's ordeal. He may not have gotten a foot in the door of the criminal underbelly but he had met a man who was actually rather kind for, what Roku could only assume, a crime boss. And the pale redhead had gotten his first taste of danger today, even using his Sabaton to distract the thugs and getting a chance to feel how a kunai in someone's flesh. Had the Jackal decided to take another path to walk that day or decided not to step in Roku would have been decorating the street with his blood, but that hadn't happened and the boy was safe and sound. Definitely not the worst outcome that could have happened.

The Jackal had finished his previous cigarette and hadn't walked away, so while the man was lighting another that looked like it materialized straight into his hand, Roku asked the question he was promised. The Jackal was a rather fearsome moniker, especially for a shinobi operating amongst criminals, but Rokumaru wanted to know who really hid behind that persona. Upon asking for the man's true name the Jackal seemed to regard Roku for a few moments, searching his face for something suspicious. The boy couldn't blame him, really; if the man was actually a criminal then having his true identity known could put him, or his family, in danger. Deciding to tell the boy, the Jackal puffed his cigarette and regarded him.

The man behind the Jackal identity, behind that covered up eye, was known as Ryu of the Myugan clan. Rokumaru was embarrassed to find he knew absolutely nothing about the Myugan, never encountering them in any times about the clans of the Great Villages. Perhaps they were scattered throughout the Elemental Nations or perhaps they were extinct, either way Rokumaru decided to search for more information about them. The Jackal- Ryu- entrusted his identity with the pale Sabaku and told him to keep that private, from those on the official side of Suna no less. But the boy would not tell a soul as thanks for the man saving his life.

The Jackal warned Rokumaru not to enter the slums alone again. And he even gave him the way to contact the Jackal again if he had business on this side of town, pointing out a nearby wall and instructing the boy to mark out a 'J' with chalk.

With that the Jackal bid the boy a goodbye in his own gruff way, warning him never to come back without the Jackal's knowledge and assistance, and turned away to walk back into the dangerous slums. Rokumaru watched the man go until he disappeared amongst the winding streets, and turned to make his own way home. Damn, he didn't expect any of this to happen when he woke up today.

WC: 4234+681=4915
Thread Exit~

Training 4915/4675: