Chou was sound asleep in one of the wagons that made up a caravan of refugees escaping from what used to be Sunagakure no Sato. There were many people who were looking to get away from their old lives which were abruptly ended in flames. Of these people were three that were instrumental in the events that took place during the burning. Two of which were known to have helped those fleeing, while one was a member of the trio who destroyed the homes of so many. Unbeknownst to those within the caravan, such a person did in fact exist who would stop at nothing to destroy his own home. Syekren sighed as he looked back at the trail of sand-covered footprints they left in their wake. So much had happened in the span of a few days, and Syekren was ready for everything to be over with. He sat on the back of a wagon, his buttocks upon the bench-type seat that was carved of the dead trees around the land of wind. Beside him would likely be Izumi, a Karisuma girl who had also survived what had transpired in the village days ago, who was closer to the Uchiha man than most of his students had ever been. Not just physically, but metaphorically as well. While the caravan of wagons pushed on, the man held a small piece of wood and his tanto in his hands, using the tanto to whittle the wood into a new shape. The shape the wood was taking on could barely be pronounced as anything other than a blob, but it had the makings of something resembling a dessert cat. Whiskers and ears were as far as the man had gotten, working on whittling the wood into the shape of the feline's head as the wagon hit a few bumps in the sand dunes they traveled over.

Every so often the silent man would turn back to look into the covered wagon and ensure Chou was still sleeping soundly. There were numerous other children in the wagon with her, the Uchiha having taken up the responsibility of watching over that specific part of the convoy. After a few more minutes of the silence, the man would speak up as he whittled, looking at his creation in forming. "You know, I never figured I'd be on my way out of the wind into the water again. The lands are so vastly different, but as far as I can tell, we're more safe there than anywhere else for the time being. I'll likely soon leave Kirigakure after we get there. I've got a few scores of my own to settle before I can stay in one place. I've yet to return to Konohagakure no Sato for the young girl in my charge. I've also got to rebuild my clan's forgotten hideout. So much to do in a span of such short time." The man sighed and continued his whittling, looking up to see the  still smoking ruins of the village hidden in the sand growing smaller and smaller. Eventually the ruins would be out of sight completely and they would be moving away from the lands that contained naught but sands and dry winds, on their way to a land of mist and water.


559

Syekren listened quietly to what the girl said as he whittled, moving from the head and neck to the rest of the body, working on carving the piece into a good form. He wanted to ensure that the wood itself would look like what he wanted it to. Since becoming a member of the ANBU in the village of the sand so many years ago, the man had become much closer to the feline nature of his mask, finding solace in the dessert cats that stalked the dunes around the village. They would likely have no shortage of environment to hunt in with the burning of the village. It would draw out carrion birds and other such critters that would create quite the feast for the cats, enabling them to grow in number. The thought of such a thing gave Syekren solace, in the thought that at least something positive would come of the glassing of an entire village. What used to be the home of ninja would be home to the animals of the sands that would likely need a new environment as their numbers increased. The shinobi smiled to himself, before he looked over to Izumi and pondered her words.

She wanted to stay in the village hidden in the mist for a while to recover, and to take time for herself. He couldn't blame her, after all. He would have wanted the same after experiencing what she had at such an age. He was a bit better off than she, due to his experience in the ninja world. He'd been taking lives and assaulting villages since he was her age, born to be a member of the shadowy group of ninja called ANBU. He was a member of the Aoi Bara to top it all off. It would seem their lives would go in different directions for now, which wasn't at all what he wanted. But he would not stop her, and didn't speak for a while, working on his whittling instead. It would take a few more minutes for him to finish what he was doing, the wood carving of a dessert cat looking more pronounced now. It was finished and had a good likeness to such a creature. When he was finished, he reached over to grab Izumi's hand softly, placing the wooden figurine in her hand, closing it over the item and holding her hand gingerly. "Then I'll stay long enough to ensure you're taken care of in your new home. I only hope when it comes to it, I 'll see you again in life. I couldn't imagine my life without you." He smiled to her and placed a soft, beard-tickling kiss upon her forehead. He laid back against the wagon, continuing to hold her hands in his as they traveled, the caravan eventually reaching the land of water and the gates to the village hidden in the mist.

459|1,018

Travel Completed, EXIT.