Day by day, night by night and this young man’s root was merging with the one of the village hidden in the clouds. The cold wind put up the curtains of the only window of the room that Dray had been staying in. His stay in kumogakure had been over days, over months and he could not even keep count. He was apart of the village and that was all that mattered. The gentle wind of the village breezed in as the young shinobi felt the wind graze on his half naked body. He turned to the side as if to continue his sleep but alas, he had work to do today. He had been procrastinating this particular project and his mind was made up, he was going to begin and finish it today because how hard could it even get. The young man rubbed his face as he sat up in bed while staring into the empty air. He sometimes looked into nothingness hoping to find a worthy answer for problems that would arise later on. Dray got out of bed and walked towards the wash hand basin that was in the room. He looked at the mirror on the wall and could not even notice how much he had changed. His once green hair had now become completely black, he had fully adapted to the nature of kumogakure no sato and he was glad with it. Starting from this day, he was changing his dressing style and he would really look different seeing as no one had ever seen his face, the most they had seen was his eyes and that was it. It was a fresh start for a morning.

Dray entered into the bath room and had a quick and clean bath. There was much to do for the day. Today was the day that he was going to leave the giant sleeping inn and get his own house. All the while since he had come to kumogakure, he had been staying in this inn and he had Ruvaak to thank for it but it was time to move on. This time, he was going to build a house from the base unlike the one he had in iwagakure. He still had it anyway but he had buried it before coming to kumo so whenever he went to kumo, he could always find it and use it like a safe house or something. The young man brushed his teeth and rinsed his mouth before standing in front of the mirror once again with a white towel tied around his waist. He sure had changed, an undeniable fact. He walked to the wad robe and looked at the clothes that were in there. He had out grown his usual green cloak and seeing as there wasn’t any visible green on him, he needed a change so till he got one, he would just make do with a black kimono. Once he was done with getting himself dressed, he opened up a scroll and sealed in all the belonging he had which were no more than a few clothes and books and nothing too much after all he was living in just one room in an inn, he could not get too comfortable. Dray wrapped up the scroll along with the other two containing his puppets and hung them on his back as he took one last look at the room and made his exit. He could always visit the inn and have some of their nice food. Dray made his way down the hall way, the stairs and to the counter where he settled any bills that he might have had and he also dropped the key to the room where he was lodged in.

The young man exited the inn and made his way towards the perfect site that he had found for the building of his house. It was still very early in the morning seeing as he had woken up at four am so at most, it was almost five am in the morning but it was still perfect for what he wanted to do. Constructing a house with his wood release skill would surely attract some attention that he did not want so it was better to do it while every one were still enjoying their sleep. The location was no longer far off now and Dray would get there in no time. The shinobi got to the site he wanted and since he had cleared all payments and had rights to the land, he could start building right away. He needed no cement or any building material to make his hand stand, all that he needed was a picture of what he wanted and he had that right in his mind so once he got there, he stood right in front of it and looked around to see if anyone was around but there were none.
The young man clapped his hands together firmly as the earth rubbled below. Strong timbers rose from the earth as he beautiful wooden building began to take place. The construction took a while as Dray focused more on achieving what he wanted. The outside, the shell of the house was done and he was working on the inside. A few more minutes and he was going to be done. He was about releasing his palm when he remembered, he needed a basement so the wood dug more into the earth to build a basement for Dray and he had taken more time than he had expected. Immediately he was done adding the finishing touches, the sun began to rise as he sighed a little. He had made it in time and it was like nothing happened but he had forgotten something. He smiled as he walked into the house and once he was in, a short wooden fence grew around the house, he was going to work on the veranda later on and the farm too but right now, that much concentration had taken its toll on him. The young man looked at the insides of the house and it was perfect, all that was needed was imagination. The house was well ventilated, there was a basement and his room was up stairs so the house was a one storey building.

The rest of the day, Dray settled in while making wooden structures like shelves, wad robes, beds, cup boards and the likes after which he went to the market to get some other items. By the time it was evening, he was tired and he just flopped on the bed and fell into a deep sleep. He woke late in the night and then he began to feel the pangs of hunger. He went down the stairs and into the kitchen as he grabbed a few snacks that he had gotten from the market. He looked at the clock on the wall and it was nine pm at night. He walked out of the house while locking the door behind. Nothing would do other than sitting under the water falls of Mount Ikkyu and having the water drench him, it came with a soothing relief that made one feel in paradise. Dray walked out of the village after identifying himself to the village guards with the hitai ate that was tied around his head. He headed for the mountain as he got there in no time and headed for the falls.
WC:1248

The village was quiet, there weren't that many people around so early in the morning. Atasüke was one of those people who enjoyed the early morning air, where it was still dark outside, but the sun was so close to coming up that there was just enough light to see. It wasn't dawn, it was more of an early twilight, before the colours that the sun would cast across the sky would come to fruition if it were dawn. He had gone t o sleep early the previous night, he usually did so that he was able to wake up and operate at his body's maximum efficiency, and although it was quite annoying to do sometimes, he had eventually managed to put himself into a sleep. He never planned what time he'd wake up in the morning, it just happened... Sometimes it was a little before or after dawn, sometimes it was later into the morning, there was never really an option when it came to sleeping.

You wake up when your body is ready.

Despite that thought in mind as he exited the inn that he was staying in, black cloak billowing behind him due to his speed as he exited through the threshold of the building, he folded his hands in front of him, arms intertwined with each other in the long flowing sleeves of his cloak. Raising a pale hand covered by the cloak, he rubbed his eyes as he tried to get rid of any drowsiness that was still in his eyes. Even if he had still achieved what would be worthy of a full night's sleep, there was always a hint of drowsiness in his face, and he went through the familiar motions of trying to erase it from his concealed face. There was no real reason for him to be doing so, he simply felt as if it'd allow him to open his eyes to see on a higher plane of existence, kind of a joke due to his lack of a sharingan. Through his mind, countless scenarios played out in his mind where it'd be possible to unlock and employ the sharingan, and he soon came to the realization that relatively few of those scenarios would come to pass since they were simply from the depths of his imagination, and he understood that the world rarely operated in a way that suited him and his wants. The same could probably be said for others as well, and before he could realize it he was on the edge of the Village In the Clouds.

In the distance, he saw someone looking around and he raised an eyebrow in question as he watched him. So early in the morning, it looked kind of suspicious, but if it truly was important, and or dangerous he was certain that the Village's ANBU, or some other high ranking ninja would take care of whoever was over there. He raised his hands and began pulling his cloak back into a position that concealed his face just as he saw the least expected thing in a place like this one. Before he had seen anything however, he felt as if he had heard some faint rumbling, and he looked over, ceasing the movement of his hood, and then he saw what he hadn't been expecting.

Wood Release? The metaphysical entity within Atasüke exclaimed. In a place like this? There was shock no doubt at finding such a thing here in Kumogakure no Sato. Within minutes, there was a finely built wooden house a relatively short distance away, and he pushed his hood out of his eyes. It was the first time that he had ever seen the Wood Release in person, his knowledge of it had only been in books, of how it was the ideal technique for imprisoning the legendary tailed beasts. Soon, the user of the Wood Style disappeared inside, no doubt to complete whatever construction they were in the process of doing inside. After all, they're going to need an interior to their new house. He wondered to himself as he watched for a few more minutes. It interested him to say the least, and as he began to turn to walk away in wonderment, a fence suddenly rose up around the perimeter of the house and he snorted in amusement.

After taking his fill of watching that surprise that morning, he threw his hood back over his head and began to walk away and continued upon his morning walk through the Village. Perhaps I should explore more of the Village?

In a moment, the sun began to peak out over the mountains and he frowned in response to seeing the light of the sun. Was I really watching for such a long period of time? He shrugged his shoulders as he disappeared down the winding streets of the Village.

Before the sun had risen to a height that announced it was time to wake up, Atasüke had already began to head back to his room in the inn. It was rare that he had gotten himself a room, but he had to in times like these with so many people. The chances of meeting someone interesting, specifically a potential mentor for taijutsu was a lot higher in the confines of a ninja village, than outside in the Wilderness. If I can find somebody from a village, they can take me there and I'll be able to learn amongst new peers. The thought immediately brought him back to ones that he had had in the past. Why not simply return to Konohagakure? He could finally become a genin instead of traveling the world alone as a Ronin, and for a moment as he showered, he contemplated it. There are so many people from home here... He wondered if he'd encounter someone that was in his class when he had been in the Academy, but he soon came to the conclusion that if that had been in the case, they wouldn't recognize each other.

Later on in the day, he purchased his daily apple from the Market Place and continued on his way.

He had come to understand that a new addition to the Village had been made. A resort, huh? Atasüke was certainly interested, but to go so soon after it being announced? He didn't think so, and instead he had elected to go to the waterfall of Mt. Ikkyu, where the resort was located.

Soon enough, he had been exiting the Village after showing his papers, and within the hour he had gotten to the waterfall that he had heard about, but instead of heading straight there he headed off on a detour so that he'd appear on the far side of the water... As he arrived, he took note of someone appearing in the clearing on the other side and he crouched down just behind a tree and shrubbery and he watched.

Isn't that the guy from earlier? Is he here to take me out? He wondered to himself.

wc: 1212

It was very late into the night since Dray had just erected his new house and being very tired due to his concentration he fell into a deep sleep and woke up pretty late. So here he was, the great falls of Mount. Ikkyu. The falls of the village hidden in the clouds that had their very origins high up in the clouds or that was what it looked like at night. The moon rose up in all of its brightness to give light to the earth as the waters glowed in the grace of the moon. As Dray got closer, he felt the pull of the moon, the gravitational force that was created by the creator to remind humans of how easily they could be pulled by something greater than the moon. The young man stood for a while as he enjoyed the view, just as the moon began to take its place as king of the night, the stars began to emerge as if to answer the call of their king. It was indeed a marvelous sight and this pull was far more greater than anything that Dray had ever felt. He was completely lost in a different world where only water falls, moon, stars and lakes existed such that he was no longer aware of his surroundings. As if controlled by one single mind, Dray walked towards the water fall as his feet steadied on the lake through the supernatural walking practice. He proceeded forth towards the falls itself with no other motive other than to be bathed in its grace. The young shinobi would then get closer to the falls and stand very close to it so that the water that poured from above would drench the whole of his kimono. The soothing relieve would begin as Dray would rise up in a trance. The special jounin would have no feeling of warmth left as his whole kimono would be soaked in water and his body would feel the chills of the water. His hair would be filled with the water giving him nothing else but satisfaction that would seem to last forever but it would not seem like forever.

Having enough of this, Dray would walk away from the water and onto main ground with water dropping from his black kimono. Anyone looking at him must have been wondering why he was acting so weird but to him , it was not weird at all since he was only trying to satisfy his own needs. Dray got the feeling that someone had been watching him but he did not stop from what he was doing. If the person had a reason to watch him then they would be fine with seeing a grown man enjoy himself under the great falls of mount ikkyu. If they had a reason to be there, then they better come out now after all Dray was not going to bite. He had gotten much more friendly so he would get into any conversation if he was approached. Dray would stand there quietly while waiting for his cloth to dry well and at the same time waiting for whoever was watching him to come and approach him politely. If not, he would spot them and ask personally, how hard could it be.
WC:550

There's no way he's here to take me out. He had determined after a few more minutes of lingering behind the tree and the shrubbery. He had stopped watching as soon as the man had wandered into the cascading water. From that point on, it'd be a little odd he thought to be watching another man wetting himself and no doubt having the time of his life within the water. To him it was weird, and slightly disgusting, so it was trouble for him to even peek out and see if the man was still in the water, and as he began to pull himself up, his hand slipped on the tree in his tense state, and he froze immediately. Yeah, now this is what you'd call a voyeur, right?

After a few more moments of hiding, he poked his head back out to view the man, and it was safe to say that he was out of the water, and once he had done so, Atasüke rolled his shoulders back and pushed a hand through his hair, but not pushing down his hood. Instead, the black cloak that the Uchiha bore concealed his facial features and he walked over to the water, resembling the grim reaper with his flowing cloak pooling at his feet along with his sleeves being longed than his actual arms. All he was missing was the actual scythe, or was it a sickle? He didn't know that much about weapons, but he knew it was something that started with an 'S' and with that knowledge in mind, he was content to drop his mental debate there.

Raising an arm to point at the man, his pale finger didn't even reach the exterior of the cloth, and so it was simply like a black abyss opening itself towards the Special Jounin. He had already determined that morning this man had to be a high ranking ninja to have created a wooden house, and not to mention having created a wooden house so quickly and expertly. It couldn't have been his first time, and if it was, then this Moukoton user certainly had a knack for the artistic. Seeing this man again, it made him remember those previous thoughts and he spoke quietly, soft voice, and low in volume as it was just loud enough for the man on the other side of the water to here him.

"You're from the Leaf Village aren't you?" He paused. That was quite the accusation, but recently he had been getting that quite a bit from the Leaf shinobi. If this guy was really from there, then Atasüke was completely right, but if he wasn't... "Oh, I mean, I'm guessing." And then suddenly the grim reaper looking fellow's raised arm reached backwards and scratched the back of his head. His actions were true for the most part, but he knew that if he acted a little awkward, then this man wouldn't feel so... Threatened. "That jutsu you used this morning, that was the Wood Release. A trade mark of the Senju Clan."

He paused, he remained silent for a few more moments. Was it safe to be saying this kind of stuff to this man? He didn't know how dangerous he could be, whether he was a ronin like himself, or a missing ninja that was impersonating another ninja. He didn't know how to proceed from here, but he soon brought his hands back down to his side and into his pockets. His shoulders slumped, he had assumed his lazy posture and although his eyes were already hidden and it wouldn't really make a difference, they became half-lidded and his stance was complete.

"Who are you?"

WC: 637

The wind was calm and it helped a lot in drying Dray’s black kimono. The moon was at its greatest and this pull was still almost irresistible. It was little wonder that the howling of wolves could be heard far away but these wolves would of course be far from the hidden cloud village. Dray stood there minding his own business but even paying greater and unnoticed attention to the one who seemed to be watching him. He was giving whoever it was time and this time was running out. His kimono was now dry but it would take a while for it to be less cold. Dray had no more reason to be at the mountain of Ikkyu, he had satisfied himself and the only thing that remained was for him to go home or better still explore the village by this time of the night since no one could determine what interesting things could happen by then. His training were going on well and he did not think that he had been slacking whatsoever. He had the potential to bloom into something even more beautiful than the cosmos and that he was sure off. He had learnt that it is not only jutsu and power that makes a shinobi but the ability to make proper judgement and a good decision.. When people get hurt, they learn to hate and when people hurt others, they become hated and racked with guilt but knowing this pain allows people to grow and how they grow is up to them and as for him, he had tasted this pain and he had transformed into something much better, something more greater, something that was the current him.

The stalker as Dray would like to think for now finally decided to make himself known as he walked out from behind a tree and unto the waters. He was completely covered in a black cloak, his face was covered with a hood and his arms were folded in the long sleeves of the cloak itself. He looked like some druid ready to perform a ritual or better still a monk that had deserted the temple and gone evil for whatever reason. Dray turned to look at him and waited for him to speak up because what more was expected of him if he decided to show himself and not speak as to why he had been watching Dray in the cascade of waters. He got to a certain distance and raised his arm to point at Dray but the sleeve of the cloak was too long that his finger could not even be seen. His voice came out gentle and soft like a young boy but Dray could very well comprehend the words that followed. “You’re from the leaf village aren’t you?” the words hit Dray but they immediately bounced off his chest like a ball thrown to a wall because he had no reason to evaluate what the young man had just said. He was not from the leaf village and there was nothing more to it or maybe there was. The young man himself did not seem sure of what he had just said as he added that he was guessing.

Dray knew that there was more coming from where this ones came out so with his patient manner, he waited for the man that was several meters away from him to finish before he would think to answer or not. All he had done was just to make assumptions and he had no solid fact to back it up yet so this was just another person looking to start up a conversation in the middle of the night, Dray thought. “The jutsu you used this morning, that was the wood release. A trade mark of the senju clan.” The young man would spit out the solid piece of evidence that he had to make those assumptions that Dray was from the leaf village. Deep down, Dray was not pleased that someone had seen him use the wood release earlier this morning but his face was ever calm as it always was that the young man would not suspect a thing. Dray had met one young man named Asura Senju from the leaf village and by now, Dray had known most things about this senju clan from the leaf village of konoha.

“I was starting to wonder when you would show yourself.” Dray would begin with a simple but confident voice. “I believe you did not watch me in the cascade of water purposely but probably after seeing what you said I did this morning, you found me here again and decided to see what I was up to.” Dray would continue hoping that his assumption was correct. “Two things. One, I am Zennyo Ryuo. Two, I am of the cloud village….. Three, who are you and state your exact business with me.” Dray was not actually a hostile man, it was just a shinobi formality and he was interested in how this young man would present himself. Someone dressed in a very large black cloak wasn’t easily considered a non- dangerous person because why would they cover themselves heavily with a cloak in the first place. Dray had changed from his cold and isolative self to a more communicative man and he would have no problem getting to this other man well. He just wanted to see his next reaction.
WC:912

Taking a moment to scan his form, Atasüke realized that the man had dried himself. The Uchiha couldn't guess as to how it had been so quick, he had only been in the water minutes ago. They were in the mountains, so the temperature was surely a little lower than normal, plus it was at night with naught but the moon as a source of light, but as warmth? He doubted it, and as his doubts began to come to fruition, there were the sounds of wolves in the distance and underneath his hood he looked from his peripheries wondering if he'd see a wolf one of the overhangs. When he was content that he wasn't going to see anything for a few moments his ebony gaze swung right back around and rested upon the Senju before him.

Atasüke wondered as to if the man was actually a Senju or whether he simply consumed a Senju's chakra and was capable of utilizing the Wood Release because of it. Who is this guy, for real? He scanned the man's dryness. He had to have used chakra to heat himself... He had come to the conclusion that the man also had a katon chakra nature as well! But he didn't see as to how it was possible. The Uchiha of the past generations were incapable of utilizing a suiton chakra nature due to it being a counter to their own katon nature, thus rendering both natures relatively null against each other. Besides that, the man certainly had to be cold if he had only let the cool night air dry him. No doubt he was still damp but he just didn't realize it, but Atasüke made no mention of it to him. It was none of his business, it only mattered to the man in the black kimono.

Despite Atasüke seeming awkward, he had mostly been doing it as a way to lighten the mood, as if he were using it to open up his mysterious counterpart. Instead, he hadn't even gotten a response from the fact that he had said he was from the Hidden Leaf Village, and for a moment he wondered if it was actually false, but he hadn't seen a reason for him to discount that fact, but he could see how he could be wrong. It wouldn't be the first Clan to originate from the Land of Fire to be scattered throughout the ninja world. He knew plenty about that.

Maybe someone should change that. But who would accept the responsibility of gathering all of the Uchiha to their true home land? He wondered to himself silently. Besides, if this man was truly a member of the Senju Clan, that their ancestors had basically had a blood feud, and he was glad that he didn't have his back to the Wood Style user at that moment. My Clan's history is bathed in blood... There will be another war soon enough I imagine. They had entered his mind sadly, but fighting was something he enjoyed, if only to defend those who were close to him. At this point in his life, there weren't that many people he could say were close to him, so he really just fought for his own entertainment at that point.

After his point of saying he was from the Hidden Leaf Village, he thought back to how there had been no hesitation in calling him out again. This time by bringing them both back in time as they no doubt thought about how h had constructed that house through the use of the Wood Release that morning. With a smirk, Atasüke knew he had him there, even if it didn't register on the man's face. He remembered the man looking around but not spotting the Ronin, and because of that he had determined that the man didn't want to be watched, or to have people finding out what he had been doing that morning. But certainly he couldn't expect someone not to find out, after all it wasn't like houses just popped up out of the ground... Not how they did that morning anyway. It didn't take a genius to figure out this Wood Release guy was good, but as said before, he didn't have much experience with the techniques, but even he could tell that it took a lot of chakra to do.

After his accusations had ended, then the man had finally brought what Atasüke had been waiting for. Answers. His lips creased in irritation when the man had made mention about how he had been watching him while he had been in the cascade of the waterfall, and his mouth soon turned into a straight line. If the man wasn't going to show emotion from being accused, then how could Atasüke do any less? So he maintained his ground, resisting the urge to lean on his other leg. Then the demands came, as if Atasüke owed him anything. It didn't really matter to him if he was put in a life or death situation, he doubted the man would kill him, especially since he didn't know what Village he was from, or if he was from one anyway. A lot of shinobi didn't wear their headband in public, simply because they didn't want to be judged based on age or to be disrespected and regarded as lower simply due to their Village.

If he plans on asking me what Village I'm from in turn, then I must decide now whether I shall lie or tell the truth. Of course he didn't really know what the 'truth' would entail, he didn't really want to be slain even if he wasn't from the Hidden Cloud, not so early in his life.

"Who I am is unimportant." He didn't like going around spouting his name over some conversation. There were so many people and ninja who looked alike, it wouldn't be a surprise if he were to confuse this Zennyo Ryuo with some other shinobi. After, he realized that the man had made a mistake, and for a moment Atasüke did his best not to break down laughing but, what he did do was raise up a single hand. This time allowing the pale flesh to be revealed in the moon light holding up two fingers.

"You said two things." He paused, more or less for dramatic effect as he raised a third finger. "That was three." He allowed his hand to remain upwards for a few more moments before dropping down to his side, allowing it to be concealed within his cloak in the space of a heartbeat.

In Atasüke's mind, the man had lost 'three' because he had warned there would only be two things! Although it was childish to think in that way, the Uchiha was enjoying himself and he was ready to react if danger presented itself.

WC: 1200

The wind still breezed gently but it was not the only factor that enabled Dray to get dry so quickly. His suiton chakra also played a great part in the absorption of the water. Suiton could never be underestimated so now Dray was completely and it would look as if he had never even walked into the falling waters in the first place. The moon did not grow dull, it was still ever full and the lake did not attempt to stop gleaming. It all seemed perfect this night and more importantly, there was some one to talk to even though being there alone would not seem to be a problem to Dray. He had lived in isolation for quite a while so not having anybody to talk to would mean less to him. He wondered what would be going through the mind of the young man now after what he had said. He would look like a strict person but he wasn’t. It was just an act and he would play it for a while to see how long this person in a cloak would take it. The young man would try to look confident as he stood but the true question was that would he able to hold his ground if Dray decided to go all out? If truly he had seen Dray pop up a house from no where with the famed mokuton skill then he would not be as stupid as to stand in front of Dray and try to challenge him so with that bit of consideration, Dray would take it that the young man before him just happened to see him when he came to the falls and he was not really stalking him but he had every reason to be curious as to why someone would walk into a waterfall.

Dray was aware of the situations whereby the answer that one gives would determine their fate. He could have chipped this in his previous statement so that the young man would pick his words carefully but that would look all too serious and threatening but the answer that this man would give would not cause any problems so far they were answers that would spit disrespect on Dray’s person since insolence was something that Dray really detested. “Who i am in unimportant..” the answer would come. That was the mistake that most people made. Once they determine that they are unimportant, then they aren’t. They would then remain as tools for others to use and pieces to be sacrificed on the board of life. Dray would not deny the fact that he was once a piece when he came to kumogakure but after giving himself a purpose, the thought of being a piece vanished from his mind and he was proud to give his name. Names precede who a person is. It was not an arguable fact that a name was a key factor in getting a person killed but the thoughts of having a thousand people cower in fear by just the mention of a name was great. He is Zennyo Ryuo and he had no reason to hide his name except for certain situations that required him to do so and if this person would not say his name in a one on one conversation then Dray could not imagine what to think of him. Perhaps he was being paranoid or more so a coward.

The hooded man would slowly raise up a single hand in the air and Dray would think to himself. So this was it, he had come here for a purpose, then he would have one. In that moment, the waters would be deprived of their simple flowing rhythm as thousands of water plants would have awoken underneath the water and ready to bind the young man if any man if any assault was made. The hand would fully be raised as a pale skin would be seen and the young man holding up two fingers under the moonlight. If the young man possessed enough perception, he would do well to see some plants already crawling out of the water. Immediately he would say what he had in mind, the plants would rest back into the water as Dray would be tempted to sigh but he wouldn’t. He wondered if this young man ever read books at all. Dray was aware that he had said two things but he added a third thing. In most books, the situation was likened to one whereby a bandit would attack a certain rich person and he would say.. “i will give you two options. One, you give me your riches carefully and i let you run away. Two, i take your riches forcefully and spare you...” Once the rich man agrees to any options then the bandit says after gathering the riches.. “Three, i kill you.”

It was all an act and this young man had failed to understand it but anyway Dray could not place much blame on the man for it. Not every one would understand it if they heard it and it only showed the young man’s childish way of thinking. The night was going deeper and Dray did not intend to waste it with a stranger that refused to identify himself. Dray would leave where he was standing and walk unto the water surface with the water now swirling around his feet with medium force like a young tornado as he walked towards the cloaked man.. “Why do you wear a hood?” is it to hide your coward self or the shame of not knowing who you are? Is the cloak meant to cover the fact that you are a mere tool to be employed by those above you or it is to cover the evil deeds that you do at night.. Tell me!” The air around them would grow tense as the gushing waters that once had the sounds of a thousand roaring lions would suddenly reduce as Dray would speak with seriousness in his voice.
WC:1016

Quiet...

That's what Atasüke was while he went over the words that he had said only moments before. It may have seem like he was childish in how he spoke, but it was simply a ways for him to draw out the other person's true personality. Sometimes, you just had to do things you wouldn't normally do. When people were threatened their more natural self would appear, the facade that they'd put up was torn down in haste, but with caution and they became their true selves. That's what the Uchiha wanted to do here.

The insolence that was sensed wasn't meant in this situation, in fact, Atasuke had been certain he had left all of his arrogance and attitude out of his statement, but it seemed that he was incorrect in thinking that he had done so. Although, it had no doubt been the nature of his answer. The words he used were not the best to convey a joking tone, and in that case, it was no doubt his own fault. The thought that if one were to say they were unimportant then they would become unimportant was false, at least in this case. There were multiple ways to look at it, but in this situation to have said who he was simply to conceal his identity, and for that it wasn't important for him to know. As someone who had no dealt felt 'stalked' in Zennyo's way of thinking, to have asked who Atasuke was, was probably a way of him figuring out whether he was going to be pranked by some friends or some such. Fear was a great factor for saying your name, but as a young man, little more than a Genin and spewing his name around wouldn't gain him any wanted notoriety. He was only a Ronin with simple goals in mind, none that he thought the whole world should know, let alone strangers.

The movie scene that Zennyo had been trying to reciprocate was one that Atasuke was familiar with, hell, everyone was familiar with it. But Atasuke didn't see it that way, he had read books in his life, everyone had, but he didn't read for entertainment or for understanding, he had read simply to hold the knowledge in his mind like a dam for water. There had been little purpose for him to have read the things he had done when eh was younger, other than to spout it out in return when requested by his father, and although the thought had never occurred to Atasuke, he had yet to realize that he perhaps should've been trying to understand what his father wanted instead of trying to simply move on. The research part of his learning with his father had been his least favourite part, as an aspiring shinobi it didn't interest him to be... Spending his whole day reading. Since it wasn't a situation were Atasuke was threatened just yet, the movie scenario that Zennyo had been comparing the situation too had never even occurred to the young Uchiha.

Unknown to Atasüke, his purpose was to follow. He wasn't one to come up with ideas. He had the mind set of a younger brother who simply followed in their older brother's footsteps, or simply doing whatever he was told. There was clearly a streak of originality in his brain, everyone had one, and it was one of the most prevalent things in his mind, but the Uchiha simply didn't see a reason to have the entire world being leaders. One didn't become a leader without any followers, and if every single in the world was a leader then nothing would be getting done, it was simple as that.

That won't do.

The only response was a snort of derision. Insults weren't going to get him answers, and as he approached it could be seen the dark form of the shinobi was shrugging as if he were clueless. "Insulting me for no reason will change nothing."

WC: 689

Dray anticipated the response that the young man was going to give. He could see him well enough from where he now stood and he did not seem to be very old. Dray was not at all threatening the young man, he was merely asking a simple question in a firm way since formalities failed to work. Dray’s eyes was fixed on this young man and everything that made him up. Replies to questions pretty much determined most things so if one was aware of that, then they should try to make their answer comprehendible. Dray knew that he did not have much time to spend here anymore but he felt like he needed to be done with this hooded man first. He had no reason to want to know him that much but he felt like he needed him to know that hiding behind clothes was not going to do whatever trick the young man was hoping it would do. It was not going to cover any evil deeds that was being done behind that clothe and neither was it going to make the young man feel like he was doing nothing wrong. Dray very well knew what he was thinking. For years, he had lived under a single cloak with his eyes, his fingers and his toes being the only visible part of his body making it impossible for almost anyone to recognize him except if they were skilled enough to study the pattern of his eyes which they hardly had enough time to do. He felt some sort of peace or was it joy in feeling like he was no one. Blending in to almost every situation, playing the invisible man. He even made puppets that looked no different than him so that in combat, he would no longer exist singularly rather he would just blend in with the puppets that had the same look and attire like him.

When Dray joined the cloud village, he got to be around people like himself. It took him a while to get social but the shades of his former self still surfaced in him sometimes. A very clear one was the first time he had requested to meet the raikage and instead he was met with a black panther with red beam eyes and shining claws. The emptiness in his soul gave no space for even the slightest fear as the claws of the raikage’s words were dug into his very skin. If only there was some other way to convey this message to the young man. He had read that sometimes the best intentions were often useless if they were conveyed wrongly mostly with the wrong choice of words or actions and this exactly was the case. The wind howled around the area as the young man before Dray took some time to take in what Dray had said and having taken so much time for himself, the answer he gave was not enough for whatever evaluation he must have made. “Insulting me for no reason will change nothing.” Now Dray was certain that the young man had it all wrong. How else was he supposed to explain this without complicating it more. The waters around him calmed down as he spoke in a more understanding tone. “You call this an insult? A mere question to clarify who you are? What then would I call your actions of trying to call me dumb?” The young man’s action of reminding Dray that he said three things instead of two was actually saying that Dray was dumb or he had a low memory or something along that line but Dray was in no way offended by that. “Ok, let’s forget that I tried to get across to you. It was nice meeting you.. ?” The young man had approached Dray first and yet Dray was the one trying to get across to him so in all fairness, he had done enough for the night perhaps they would meet again sometime in the village, who knows.”
WC:678

After being insulted by the other man Atasüke saw no reason to make this conversation any easier for this man, and with that thought in mind he was only going to become more vague and mysterious with each passing moment. He wasn't one to make things easy for people that were rude, even if it'd be considered rude for him to do, he would do it. It was another one of his childish mindsets, one that he didn't mind having, one that he determined to be a string of arrogance that was instilled in him from a young age. He remembered all the things his father had taught him, and how he had simply absorbed it all without a single thought as to what he was learning. The information was still in in his mind of course, but he saw no reason to unlock them from the hidden reservoir that he called his brain. They were hidden and overlooked so well that he didn't really remember them at all, only remembering certain things when catching sight of something that reminded him of what he had been learning. It was similar to how when people heard a certain word or phrase they would be reminded of a time past, kind of like nostalgia, but more of a deju vu sort of way he guessed. It was sort of like when he had met Hyuga Akai, and her innocence had reminded him of the looks that he himself had when he was a young child and still lived with his family before the fateful day that had brought his father to an eternal sleep, and a hidden boy that watched in silence, feeling nothing as his father disappeared without much of a fight. Ever since then he had felt resentment for his father, disregarding all of the things that he had been taught and just simply believing his father to be a fraud. He was a liar, that is all there is to him.

He waited patiently for what the man had to say.

A pause. The man didn't even realize he had insulted the Uchiha? The hood tilted to the side in curiosity, following the motions of the head that was concealed by the fabric.

"A question to discern as to who I am?" He questioned as he gathered his thoughts to him with the summoning of his words. "You proclaimed that I was a supposed coward," his arm started to raise upwards again so that he could obnoxiously do his counting again., but he stopped himself just as his arm started to raise, he didn't see a reason to antagonize him even more, and his arm settled back down to where it had been previously. One. "You spoke of how I know not of who I am? You assume I've got no identity, or do you think that I don't know what it is?" Two. He spoke with a calmness that only someone who had complete control of the situation could. He disciplined his emotions and he showed it now in his finest hour. "Not to mention, the final two insults. You again assume I follow the orders of someone else, plus implying that I am committed to evil deeds at night." The reason his head had been tilted previously was because he had apparently called this Hidden Cloud shinobi dumb. He raised an eyebrow that was concealed by the hood. "And by the way, I never once implied or said that you were dumb... So... Apologize." He didn't really care whether the man gave him an apology or not. He wanted to see how innocent this man seemingly acted. If he truly was, then he'd apologize for his words, and if he did or didn't, Atasüke would leave soon after.

There was one thing he wanted here.

Respect.

WC: 658

Dray could not imagine how much difficult this conversation could get. All what he had been trying to convey was coming out wrong to this person. How else was he supposed to make him understand? He was not feeling guilty or anything but still he felt as if there was something more to these. He was turning to leave but he stopped to listen to what they young man then had to say. This time,  Dray’s words seem to have an effect on him as he shifted his mask a little but even now, the special jounin was no longer interested in who was behind the hood. Right from the beginning, Dray had started with questions but the young man before him seemed to have taken the questions personal. If Dray could remember very well, while he was speaking, he laid emphasis on the word “why” which would be clear to anyone that he was asking a question and he could not help but think how much basic a question could be put beyond this. It was all now very clear that he could not be understood due to how his words and questions were interpreted. He was glad that he was not one with a dreadful temper or he would not have found time to have this talk go this long.

The young man spoke up that he never implied that Dray was dumb but to be honest, that was what Dray had seen it as so now there were two people that were misunderstanding each other and no one was to be blamed more than the other. Dray did not have the attitude of underestimating anyone so he never treated anyone as inferior to him unless they asked for it. The special jounin looked up to the moon as he saw few birds fly across the sky as if cutting a line through the moon itself. He was certain that it was past midnight and he had to get home due to the assignment he was going on the next day. He could of course do without sleep as he had done many times but he just felt like he needed this one. For the sake of wanting to leave at the moment and hoping to meet again in the future, he would take the blame this time but he were there were second times for most things like this one. “I apologize if that would suit you. You have my name and you know where I live. If you are an enemy, then you can try and kill me in my sleep cos that might be the most effective way but if you are a friend, then we may join hands sometime but in my lifetime, I have seen and known neutral people as I was once neutral myself so if you happen to fall in that category then we may have a drink sometime and that would be all. I shall take my leave now, hooded man.“ Dray would say as he would take off. He looked below at the waters that were flowing steadily. It had been a long night and he felt that he should go  home and rest for a while. He kneaded chakra as he flickered away. It seemed fun and he did not seem to attract any unwanted attention. Dray changed his direction as he headed towards the village at a certain pace. He got to the village gates and entered into the village without any hindrances. He exchanged pleasantries with a few people that knew him and greeted him and he walked straight home and calmly. He got to his home and it was exactly the same as he had left it. Dray opened the door and walked straight it. A shower would be best and after then, sleep was inevitable.

WC:642

TOTAL WC: 5046

EXIT

Training:

Atasüke was still wanting to see how innocent this man was going to act. Once the words had slipped from those lips of his, he waited for that apology that he had demanded. At first, he may have wanted the apology for pride's sake, but only moments later he only wanted to hear it... To feel that he was superior in ways that one wasn't able to explain. Truly, he only wanted to hear the phrase that his ears lusted for to know how easy it was to mold this man... What if the day came that Atasüke was ready to put all of his training to fruition and to finally bring the famed Uchiha Clan back to life. To bring the entirety of the family together and to have them living underneath one name rather than multiple ones that were crafted in centuries past.

Atasüke knew the day would come that there would be no more need for running. That his ancient Clan would be able to live and breathe the air of the Land of Fire without being in harms way. Whether it was in his life time, or in one of his descendants, it would happen... He was sure of it.

The man seemed innocent enough based on his response. And maybe, deep down, Atasüke felt the slightest bit of guilt for getting angry at the man, but instead of actually saying so, he hefted those arms of his again and brought them across his chest as he nodded his head to the man, black hood moving along with his head. It was a motion that many knew, whether it was as acknowledgement, a positive answer in the form of saying yes, or from simply... Nodding one's head to the music. It was an action that people could communicate with each other when they had come to an understand, and so Atasüke used it here. He accepted the apology that he had been given, and he inclined his head in response to the departure.

"One day we may drink together." He said just as the man had started his departure. When the day came that the Uchiha Clan was going to return to the Land of Fire, he wondered if he'd be able to get this man's support, a clear member of the Senju Clan to return to the Village as well, or to at least aid him in re-instating the Uchiha Clan in the Hidden Leaf Village. In the past, apparently Atasüke's clan had their own sector on the edge of the Village, if he was able to get this man's acceptance, no doubt he could do the same in Konohagakure no Sato and do him a favour. Whether he did so or didn't was up to him, and with a shrug of his shoulders the ebony haired boy started to leave.

As he started to disappear in the growing mist, Atasüke wondered if he'd actual remember where this man lived. In the event that he did remember, he would make sure to visit him one last time... When he was ready to leave the Land of Lightning to tell him that he required his help... Although, Atasüke knew that would take quite a while to achieve.

I'm hardly stronger than a Genin... I've got quite a few things to do before I'm ready to restore my Clan.

Finally, the Body Flicker Technique was complete, and as the current watery and damp environment of the waterfall disappeared from his sight, as did he from the surroundings, not even leaving a trace of his existence.

WC: 621
TWC: 5017

-EXIT THREAD-

TRAINING:

jutsu training: