Bau had made his way towards the great demon tree. It was mid afternoon and the sun had already begun its progress towards setting but it was still fairly muggy even if the cloud cover was thick. The sun itself only peeked around the clouds occasionally but the humidity was high. From his time here Bau could tell it would storm that night just based on how the sky looked and how the air smelled. Still his sandals clogged along the dirt road leading up to the tree as he made his way there. His dark green robes split into pants at the bottom and over them he had on an open black long robe that revealed a peace tied sword attached to his right hip. Over his left shoulder was a walking stick with a potato sack tied to the end of it filled with his special herbs. His pipe and lighter were in his inner robe pocket and on top of his head was a striped green and white hat that shadowed his bright green eyes. He was hunched over a little but he still seemed taller and wider then many of the people he passed. Still he didn't really pay it any mind.

Once he reached the base of the tree there weren't many people around. The tree itself was less of an interest point to the civilians and more of a thing to be avoided to begin with. That and not many people were interested in relaxing when the chunnin exams were about to start. He still had no idea what that meant exactly but he had signed up for it for a box of nachos so he was sure he would find out soon enough. Either way since there was no one around then obviously no one would mind if he got comfortable. His left hand gripped his staff tighter and his right hand rose to hold down his hat as he approached the tree. Just a dirty hobo to anyone looking on until he lifted his right foot and placed it firmly on the trunk of the tree before calmly his body turned and suddenly he was casually walking up the tree. His robe fluttered under him so obviously he wasn't affecting gravity but still it became apparent this man knew supernatural walking practice. He might be a hobo but when no one was obviously around he occasionally displayed prowess as a capable fighter.

Still, only about twelve meters up he found a fairly thick branch and hopped onto it with a little bit of maneuvering. Yet when he tried the first time he just about fell from that height. With a holler he grabbed the bark quickly as his hat fell to the ground below. His right hand gripped the bark as his left hand still held the stick with the goods. He grunted to himself as he swung his right leg up and with his right leg and arm he slowly hauled himself onto the thick branch. With a sigh he sat down close to the tree with his back leaning against it and stretched his legs along the branch since it was too wide for him to straddle it. He caught his breath before shaking his head and chuckling. He had almost died just then but he managed. Still he pulled out his pipe and dug into the sack before pulling out a nugget and stuffing it into his pipe. He sat back then and eyeballed his hat on a rock down there before sighing and lighting his bowl. He would have to fetch that later. For now he smoked and admired the view of the administration building and the fake buildings around it from his spot on the tree. Able to just make them out in the distance.

641

Taede took a deep breath: the air of Kumo was nothing like anything he had experienced before. Delicious, one might even get to call it. The sky was very much more overcast than (apparently) was usual for the area, and the air was filled with moisture. The Suna-nin, for one, was rejuvenated by what others would most definitely call muggy, damp, or stifled air. That being said, his desert-suited civilian clothes made the environs much more enjoyable. His breathe-able, dare it be said somewhat loose linen shirt, a tan shade of off-white, flapped with small ripples in the seemingly omnipresent wind of the Hidden Cloud and Lightning Country. He often went bare-foot these days, fearing little of stepping on anything that could hurt him. His soles were toughened both from his habit of not wearing shoes and his deliberate training as such.

He often was apt to meander in places, walking without giving many thoughts about his own destination. At present, he was ascending a rather gentle slope, a small leather makeshift leash in hand. He had wanted to come along, but even so, Taede was rather protective of him. Tua walked alongside the human at a steady pace, as he was rather tuckered out from some of the training Taede had done earlier. Above, a-bout fifty feet above the heads of the two plodding along the ground, was a small bird. Certainly not notable in most respects, it simply flew, mostly riding the air currents rather than flapping its own wings. Taede wasn't too worried with the current wind-speed, but he glanced up at Dhalsim every so often to assure he was still in attendance.

There was naught going on, of late, in the more dense-ly populated areas of Kumo-gakure no Sato. Despite the subject of the most recent ravings in essentially every Hidden Village of every Nation great and small, the Chuunin Exams, being held here, there were almost no goings-on happening in the heart of the village itself. While Taede found this odd, he did not fret too much over it. There was nothing to worry about, generally, as Kumo at least self-touted as a secure place among the nations....it was the only Hidden Village with a designated location for a Five Kage Summit, at any rate. Still, he had heard - who hadn't? - of the infiltration of the borders and the assassination of the Lightning Shadow. This was troubling yet to him, but he was taking a walk. His pacing was what let him think and be calm about things.

It would not have been a long trip save for Taede's lax pace, but he did eventually reach the top of this mound. And before him was a considerably tall tree....Taede's depth perception couldn't avail him a correct estimation of just how big this thing was. He was only about five meters away from the tree at this point, having just rounded the slope onto the rather flat top of the hill. Since he looked at the top of the tree first on his ascent, he noted someone recumbent on top of a branch; his field of vision turning downward as he reached flat ground, a hat came into view. A snort came from behind him as he walked toward the hat, intending to pick it up.


Taede spake to the cattle in a hushed tone, so as not to disturb anyone in the area....he didn't know what the person up in the tree was doing, but he'd rather not risk being to blame for a fall.

His bull, however, was happy they'd made it and could finally rest. As customary, however, he charged when he was elated like this. It was almost cute.


The poor young man laid at the base of the tree, having just been slammed into it by a particularly powerful bull. Getting caught off-guard....he had to not do that.

[675]

Bau sat at the base of the branch he had managed to reach within his limited abilities with a content smile placed firmly on his lips. He was fairly high up but the height of it all didn't bother him. Heights never had really. He understood the concept of what would happen if he fell from there but he just didn't care. Whether it be immaturity or inner peace it was hard to tell with the Hobo of Kumo. No one really knew him or his past but he always had a fairly calm nature to himself. Yet somehow he knew things no normal person knew. He had memorized the academy techniques on his own given enough time and had grown to use chakra without really understanding what it was. Sure he was a might bit dumber then your average genin when it came to such things but he managed all the same. Still he lit his pipe as he placed the end of the stem between his lips and breathed in deeply. The green herb burning a bright redish orange. Then fading to grey as he stopped inhaling almost immediately. Still he held in the hit for a second or two before opening his mouth in an O shape and letting out smoke rings.

That was why when a young man and his cow came up the hill he utterly missed them arriving. His perception cut down mostly by choice as he just wanted to relax. He wasn't sure what these exams were to begin with so he didn't really care about them. His green eyes stared off into the distance with a slightly half lidded look to them as the herb took effect. He opened his mouth and yawned as a nice breeze came along and blew his unkempt hair about his face. His hand with the lighter rose to brush the hair out of his face before suddenly he heard a thunk. He barely felt a vibration given the distance but he certainly heard the noise. He blinked confused a couple of times as he checked his pockets. Nothing he had on him would of dropped and made such a loud sound but that was just part of the confusion. Upon discovering what little he had (minus his hat) was still present he furrowed his brow before peeking along the edge of the branch. He saw the young man and his cow down there then and was even more confused. Still he figured he should get their attention. He looked about a little more before seeing a low hanging fruit above him. He pocketed his pipe and lighter before taking his staff and using and under swing in an arc knocked the fruit free and towards him before catching it with his right hand keeping a hold of the staff with his left. Now with the fruit in hand he leaned over the edge and dropped the orange sized fruit, soft as it may be to fall and smack harmlessly against the cows back if only to bounce off and get the cows attention. Then he called down in a heavy accent with a bit of humor in his words.

"Aye there laddy. If yer gonna just sit der with da cow right in front of ya takin a beatin I think ye need yer head checked. Either show da cattle who be boss down der or climb a bit. Little known fact kiddo, Cows don't climb tree's....well....usually anyway." Bau grinned yet again before rolling over on his stomach and resting his chin on his crossed arms. Just watching the boy with an amused smile.

1257

Exit thread
1175/1175 Speed D- D-3

It was a sad thing, this. He couldn't even afford to stay here that long. It was....almost time. Yes, the horrid mess that was forced upon him by the Suna-Gakure no Sato higher-up, top-brass, council officials, whatever they were called. It was....something that he would have rather not done as of a few months ago, but now that it was here....he gave it everything he had when he had nothing else to choose from. He had done so many D-rank missions, and for so long....mostly off-the-books, granted. Perhaps that was why they were so eager to send him off to somewhere that was.....not-Hidden-Sand-Village. He was infamously known as the Genin-Crusher not for his battle skill, but for his ability to completely render those of his own rank out of work for a few days at a time. He had been ordered to cut down on it, so.....he did.

Eventually training for the exams was all he was doing, and the village actually got paid for their business again. And eventually he was here.....after another bout of training, he had decided to take a leisure stroll around....well, wherever he was in the Land of Light-ning. Troubling....since he could not seem to find peace here, no matter where he went. Whether it was because of pure circumstance, whether he caused it himself.....or whether it was because of his own bad choices. "I love you, Tu-a, but....

But, he needed to rest. If he was to be in tip-top shape for whatever was to come, only rest would give him the recuperation he needed. He wondered, sometimes, where he got the ideas he sometimes came up with....walking after strenuous activity? As if.....

He didn't even get to hear the hobo's speech...dialogue.... monologue, really. The words went unheard by the young one at the base of the tree's trunk, for that one would have been falling unconscious ju-u-ust as the tree-climber opened his mouth. Who he was.....what he wanted....who knew. It was all as naught when Taede opened his eyes. Yes, when he let his retinas taste the photon-rich sunset once more, there was little on his mind but returning home....he needed to administer a little bit of treatment to him-self.

So as he got onto all fours from a stomach-prone position, Taede made three click-ing sounds. Dhalsim, who had perched at the very top of the arbor with ease, flew down immediately and gave the boyish young man a light peck on the top of the noggin. Some nerve....

Either way, Tua seemed happy enough to have gone on an excursion....however witting Taede was to what he had done in the one-hour intermission. There was little to lose here except time....which he needed. A.S.A.P. was the correct term for his curfew at the present day, simply because he had something to prepare for. Something to.....look forward to?

Taede was bi-pedal once more, thankfully enough. While Tua, his bull, was a really powerful animal, Taede wasn't a pushover....however much he was pushed over at the most recent example. He had enough bodily strength to take at least ten hits from Tua per day (normal, unplanned routine), simply from greetings and such. He honestly wondered what the bull would do when he was off partaking in the examinations, to be honest. Dhalsim could easily be a stowaway if necessary, but even if pets were fully allowed the Iberian cattle was almost certainly too large and simply too massive weight-wise to compete. Tipping him onto an opponent was nearly an instant in-capacitation, after all.

The walk was nothing, now that he wasn't walking aimlessly. He could just....rest. He had a room all to himself, and he could just....rest. "Crashing" onto the bed, he nodded off immediately.


675 this post and last post. Trained 2 D-rank jutsu this thread.~