Aiden would be at the gates of Iwagakure, waiting for Nanashi to come and see him off, but so far he was seemingly a no show, at least for now. It all felt so fast, where it felt like only just recently had he been walking through these gates, traversing the marketplace, and shaking down that merchant, but now he had helped take down two bandit leaders, learned that Misami was still alive and had seemingly corrected that, took on twenty Genin, and overall learned plenty from his time being here. It did nothing for his mood at the moment, which was more angry and excited than anything else, but it certainly was a learning experience. He also had thought about the Saanin's idea of defection, and the more he thought about it the more appealing it was, but there were still other things that stood in his way of defecting, such as his lover, and such things he wasn't just sure yet he wanted to let go.

As he would stand there, waiting, he would further reflect on how he had came so far. It almost felt like yesterday that he was a cowering creature wearing rags, kept in a cage, refused the privilege of being a human. Every warm morning, every cold, painful night, his own name was that which he can finally rid himself of, and hopefully he can learn of his true one, and use that one in its place. He couldn't help but wince at these memories, but unlike before, where his head had begun to hurt as he began to remember, he would become more accustomed to them, reaching something that felt similar to a regretful acceptance of his past, and a revitalized energy for the future. He wanted to kill Daiki, the man that symbolized all the evil in his past, the root that kept the tree from toppling over. It was about time that he had an axe cut through him, and for his tree of evil to finally fall.

Nanashi seemingly wasn't around at the moment, however, meaning that chances are he had other things to do at the moment, or that the Otter merely forgot to send a message, either way he knew he would have to go without him, and so regretfully, he would. "I hope I can see you again sometime.." He would think to himself as he would begin taking a few steps through the gates, aiming to travel to the Stone Bridge so he can finally end this deal with his master's head, and be able to head home with his mind cleared. He wondered how long the man would wait in order to do this deal. Surely it wouldn't be long, and at this rate, even as the Chuunin resorted to being on all fours, traveling from tree to tree as fast as he could, he feared he wouldn't be able to make it. If he did, however, he already knew how he would deal with the monster. After defeating him and anyone else that would be with him Otter would force him to tell him about his origins, and then beat him to death, just like how he beat Otter all of those times before, silencing Daiki with a final strike to the throat, just as how he silenced Misami. This would be their revenge, and while it may sound brutal, it was necessary.

Finally arriving at the bridge, Aiden would reach it, immediately traveling to the middle of it, where he would look around, his fists clenched and is eyes quickly scanning the area, looking for his nightmare so he can end it. Instead, however, he would only see a single body, a person that looked to be a member of the Infinity Gang from earlier, bloodied and left just barely breathing. Immediately he would run up to her, trying to search her body for something, for anything that would really tell him where his master was, but to his dismay, he found nothing. He would begin shaking the female gang member, not caring if she was wounded or not. "Please, tell me where he is. I can still save you if you tell me!" He would plead with her, but he would only receive a look in return, along with a single command, one of which most likely came from the monster himself, as a form of a sick message.

"Get back in your cage, creature."

With that, whatever was seemingly keeping her alive would no longer do so, and he would be left with a lifeless body. Slamming his fist on her chest as hard as he could, practically hearing a rib or two crack form doing so, he would stand up and look around once more, hoping to find anything else that can point out his whereabouts, but nothing would be seen, causing him to almost break out in tears. "Daiki!" He would yell out as he would kick and stomp on the body out of anger. He came this way only to lose the very target he was looking for, he essentially did all of this for nothing, and now he would have to return home, clothes torn and bloodied, and his spirit broken. Finding no more reason to be in Iwagakure, Aiden would begin to make his way back home, to try and figure out what he should do next, now that he was made a failure.

Wc 916