Pathetic, worthless, and coward, the three words Zu seemed to hear in the back of his head. The thought of abandoning the people who helped him to die while he saved his own hide disgusted him. Zu would have to try to forget them one by one in order find some solace peace. Until then, the thought of them dying in all sorts of manners flashed in his head with such realistic accuracy. It had been awhile since he fled in fear from whatever was happening in Sunagakure and to this day, he has not been the same. Before the attack, his temper was mild and often in check while he remained conscious, but now, he found himself having outbursts more frequently. More times than not, Zu found himself lashing out against travelers on the way. Luckily for him, he managed to catch himself before dashing into the distance away from them. The thought of him trying to reside within a village started to seem less likely for him. Considering the increased traumatic stress, it was in his best interest to stay as far away from others as possible. Perhaps out in the wild, away from all he can find the long lost peace he once knew.

Zu found himself, feet dangling from a wagon as a frail old man on the front, guiding his horses along, spoke in a low tone hardly louder than the wheels, "Are you here for the Chuunin Exams like us?" A young lad around the age of thirteen popped his head around the side to look at Zu's response. Feeling his presence and the urge to be respectful to the ones that allowed him food and a ride away. Clearing his throat, Zu spoke without turning around to look at them, "No, nothing there is of use to me there. I just needed a ride away from it all."The younger kid piped in quickly out of curiosity, "Away from what?"

There was a bit of silence. It will be unknown to Zu why he could not speak of it. Was it for the fact it would solidify the idea of what he did. Zu did not speak nor move, it was almost like a statue had the bumps not been rough on this road. The older man smacked the kid lightly on the leg. Giving him the look of do not press this question. Silence aside from the wheels was all that was left to be heard. Zu tried to close his eyes, and imagine other things aside from the impending fact of his cowardice actions and lack of ability. It would not be long now until he would stop running from his ability and start to delve into it.

Zu was broken free from his tormenting thoughts by the wagon stopping quickly which  almost made him lose balance. Opening his eyes, he saw why. Surrounding the wagon were around thirty to forty armed masked assailants. In a quick motion, they flooded the wagon, the old man and child went down without a fight. Zu went to retaliate, but was called to by a harsh voice, "I would not do that if I were you big fella, better cooperate or else."

Turning around, a one eyed bandit with a bandanna around the bottom part of his face held the young kid with a knife to his throat while the elder man was being held by another. The blade was pressing hard enough to cause a little blood to trickle down the blade making a small puddle of blood on the ground. Zu knew he could not take them all, but he could take down quite a few. The idea ran wild in his mind before his body seemed to move on his own and got down on his knees glaring at the man almost menacing. Soon after, many swarmed him, some grabbed him while others beat him into an easier submissive state. The hits were somewhat weak, only lightly bruising his chest. None hit his face. Zu's breaths were deep and shallow, the beating seemed to take a toll on his mentality. Zu could feel the bandit who was holding the child smile under his mask before speaking again, "Good, now ya see, that was not so hard now was it. Oi you guys this is not a show, get anything of value before I throw ya into the pits for wasting my time." It became apparent he was cold and in charge. This was clearly not his first robbery and perhaps even gang. The other bandits quickly got the little bit of valuables Zu's ride had.

A few minutes later, they brought over anything of value to him. The items they brought to him were few and old. It would seem as old heirlooms, very old from their degradation of them. In a furious movement, the man threw the child down as another grabbed him and kicked over the small box it was standing on. Running his hand on his face roughly, he moved quickly towards Zu delivering a swift hit to his gut. Violently coughing, Zu was happy it was him and not them. The man then proceeded to grab him by the hair rough enough to pull some from the roots before speaking again, "Now we have problems. You see, this is our territory you're crossing through and there is a toll that has not been paid, but hey we're all human. I will give you one month to get me enough Ryo to make my eyes shine and then the kid will be set free. Keep along this passage to reach Kumogakure, it is your best bet to accumulate that amount. Each day past the month, the kid will regularly become abused. I hope your imagination is not as vivid as ours when it comes to abusing. As for the old man there, well we cannot afford to feed two mouths. Now go along and be a good boy and fetch my money" The man patted the side of Zu's face rather roughly before walking away. With a motion of his hand the man holding the older man slit his throat. With a shrilling cry, the kid and bandits vanished into the forest carrying everything of value. Zu collected himself, and went along his way. He could not abandon the child to the hands of them. A small will to redeem ones self swooned over him. Zu was just happy he did not lose control and die from the sheer numbers. With a heavier heart than earlier, Zu pressed on towards Kumogakure.

Nearing the gates, he looked at them as if he was looking at Sunagakure, just with far less heat and sand. Motionless, he looked in awe before moving on towards the doors. Swarms of people surrounded the walls, filling into lines pouring into Kumogakure. Nearing the walls, Zu heard something about official papers to enter. His heart sunk as he did not have anything. The papers he once had were only for Sunagakure and he has long abandoned those. Zu's heart hammered, scratching his head, he would have to find a way in. Turning around and moving through the crowds, Zu's mind raced to think of a way to not only save that kid, but to get into the village. Perhaps he did not need the money but instead, needed the skill and confidence to save the kid. Regardless, time was wasting and he had no intentions of leaving that kid to their torment.

WC: 1265

(Invite Ryo and Kejido)

Kejido had decided to walk around the outside of Kumo today. However he had not done so with the idea of going alone. Luckily as per his funding from their show outside the gates they had landed a rather nice four star hotel. A two bedroom suite. It had been a good deal since they had been foreign ninja and not many had the funds to afford such a place. So the rooms had been on sale for half the usual price. Still what Ryo didn't know was that Kejido could have easily have afforded this on his own. As far as the kid was concerned he had helped earn the place. It was a fantastic suite. A living area in the center with a door to the left and to the right. Each bedroom had its own bathroom and shower. Along with that it also had a balcony with a table and stone railing. The bedrooms were simple enough with a closet and a dresser but the beds were massive. No matter how Kejido would lay he would fit across it easily. Not to mention the comfort of it was perfect. Like sleeping on a marshmallow that fit to his form.

Still he had woken up early in the morning and had showered using the scented hotel soaps. It was perfect with the hot water and left him feeling clean. He had emerged in a hotel robe in time to move out to the balcony. Stepping outside to rest his hands on the barrier holding him safely back and breath in the crisp air. Looking over the village out to the far sea where it seemed to stretch on forever. It was such a beautiful site he just had to go exploring today. So with that in mind he decided that was just what he would do. However walking around by himself was both dangerous and boring. If only he knew someone else that might be interested in the same thing. He grinned as his room mate across the hall was just the person. Ryo was a quiet kid at first but a lot of fun to hang out with. His silver eyes filled with mischief as he was certain the kid was likely still sleeping. Finally handed comfort and quiet after so long. Still in his robes he would quietly exit his own room and sneak across the hall. His hand slowly turning the door knob to Ryo's room to undo the latch before pushing it in just a little and slowly releasing it to prevent any noise. Only once that was done would he step back. With a sudden forward motion he would kick open the door with a slam against the door stopper enough to wake the neighbors. Smiling and watching for the reaction from Ryo as he stated loudly.

"Wake up already kiddo! We are going exploring today!"

With that he would prepared to dodge anything thrown at him before closing the door with a final "Get dressed!" through the solid door as he moved to get dressed himself. Slipping on a white under shirt and a pair of boxers before opening his closet and unzipping one of the clothing bags hung within. With that he pulled out his coat. Four bronze buttons up the front to hold it closed. His headband stitched into the left shoulder and not a spot on it. The shoulders, neck and wrists had red lines stitched into it while the coat itself was black with one white stripe over the left breast pocket. He tucked that into a pair of crisp black slacks before putting on a white belt with a copper belt clip with his clan symbol on it. Finally he would slip on a pair of new black socks and polished dress boots. Tightening it all and straightening it in the mirror. He would look himself over before running a hand through his now dry hair. Letting it fall about his face and perfect features as he admired himself with silver eyes. Finishing up he selected a kunai with a white handle to sheath into his belt on his left side and hid the other two in his boots. However he had all the senbon from himself and Ryo. Which the packages had been modified to wrap around his forearms up his sleeves. All he had to do was twitch in just the right way and the next senbon in either would slide free into his hand. Like an auto loader. Satisfied with this he slipped on his white gloves and exited his room. Figuring Ryo would take considerably less time to get ready than himself. Collecting the room key card before winking at Ryo and heading out the door. Just expecting the kid to keep up.

Kejido wasn't interested about being in the crowded village though. The shops set outside the gates were his interest. So he kept to the roofs and moved towards the wall. Careful to keep it at an easy pace for Ryo. Still they were already skirting the rules by avoiding the packed main gate to come and go from the village. As far as Kejido was concerned they already had the signature allowing them into the village so if they were caught trying to sneak back in or out it would likely just be a slap on the wrist. How much could they really do to unruly kids with a curiosity from a different village? Still Kejido didn't seem to mind if his confidence wasn't shared. Glancing back to Ryo before waving for him to follow as he cleared the last roof and then the wall in the two second opening he saw between the guards gazes. With so much to look at they might not see two well dressed youth clear the wall and land outside before entering into a casual walk towards the street market outside the gates. Kejido planned on buying Ryo something after all to eat for tagging along as usual. Such a good friend. If he came.

1016

Exit thread due to inactivity
1016 towards Genjutsu B-A