Market day.  Certain items were required to survive traversing this desert if he wanted to make it out of Konohagakure no Sato. First off, a weapon. There's had to be some good quality stuff in these markets. The male had been at it for hours, searching for several weapons to take with him for protection. He had already gotten himself a basic, standard knife -- a Kunai was it not called? -- and several shuriken -- or throwing stars -- to start with, but he wanted something... better. A sword of some kind, perhaps? A sword would work.  If he was going to spend the last of the gold he brought with him from his home, he was going get something worth it.

The male was dressed in his normal attire for a peaceful day; a simple ensemble of a T-shirt and shorts. Blonde locks of hair are often tied up into a topknot upon his head. His skin is dark unlike most of his cousins, due to his mother's heritage, something that Shikei is proud of. This same skin is smooth, free of markings or blemishes-- something that ends with his hands and feet. Shikei's hands and feet are both calloused from his work and the fact that Shikei tends to go barefoot when he's at home. Shikei is lithe of frame, with compact muscles that make him look heavier than he actually is, but are perfect for what he does.

Through the stalls of the market he went in his odd state of dress, speaking to vendors and weighing out his options. There were plenty to go through, and each was more interesting than the last. Giant curved scimitars, grand pikes and elegant spears were abound in the market stalls. He was mildly trained in the art of kenjutsu, or sword wielding, but also knew how to pick up just about any strange weapon and use it properly. He was a fan of swift, silent attacks, he figured he would need something compact and lightweight that could still get the job done.

It was then that something caught his eye. A bit further down the right next to the fruit stand; a weapon smith was showing off his wares, speaking about the history of one of his items. Normally, Shikei did not care much for a weapon's history, but rather how it performed in a fight. But something about this weapon drew him closer...

"Twenty years ago, a small village on the outskirts of Tsuchi no Kuni was attacked by a band of shinobi. After slaughtering the inhabitants of the village and burning it to the ground, they left. One survivor, an elderly man named Hogo-sha, was all that remained. After collecting every nail from the ashes of his torched home, Hogo-sha smelted the steel down and forged the Ochi hōfuku. He died shortly after its completion, but the weapon lived on! Some say the ghost of Hogo-sha lives within the blade, guiding the hand of the wielder so that he may cut down his foes!"

Interesting. Shikei would start walking in the direction of the vendor, but his day would take an unexpected turn; someone would bump into him. From the looks of it, it was a scrawny persona, one who looked sickly pale. While Shikei himself was not hurt, his anger was stoked; who the hell was not paying attention to where they were going?

"Open ya fucking eyes, man! You ain't see me here!?"

Those gold eyes turned down to look upon the persona who'd bumped into him, fists clenching as he debated the pros and cons of decking this poor frick and walking off. But with his harsh words would come attention from their surroundings; several people stopping to look in their direction. With this many people, if he punched this person out and walked off, it would not be long before a ninja of the village showed up to investigate. Shit would go downhill then -- especially with his history. Konohagakure was not famous for its outstanding treatment of its prisoners, that was for sure. Instead, Shikei crossed his arms over his chest, taking in the measure of the person who'd bumped into him. From the looks of him, he seemed really feminine -- pretty in a sense. Thin as a stick, with almost no muscle or fat on his body. If it came down to a fight, this dude was gonna end up on the floor with something broken -- possibly his arm or neck. If he hit this dude -- if this even was a dude -- he would seriously hurt him. And so, the male took a breath to steady himself. When he spoke again, his tone was even, almost calm given the circumstances.

"Apologize. Right fucking now."

A simple apology, was that too much to ask?

"Er right, yes. My apologize, sir. Entirely my fault, I should have been paying attention. Please forgive me."

...What?!

That tone of voice. Gold eyes stared in fury at the scrawny male (female?) that was slowly picking themselves up from the ground.  A slow twisted smile crossed the face of Shikei Yiga, lips lifting in a slight snarl. While indeed, an apology was given, it did not seem sincere, like this person's heart was not into. Or perhaps... his bad mood was making him particularly vicious? With each second that passing as he stared a hole into this persona's body, it was starting to seem like the latter. An idea flared into his head, and in that instant fate took over.

CLANG!

The sound of metal on metal rang out through the air; a weapon smith giving a demonstration of his wares was the cause, but the effects could not have been more in Shikei's favor. The persona who bumped into him jumped at the sound, causing his head to become uncovered and exposing his silver hair and red eyes.

Intriguing. An albino? In this place? Surely he was not from around here; Shikei had never heard or heard of anyone or anything like him, but then again his knowledge of these lands were limited to the stories that merchants and academic tomes that he studied as a child. Either way, it did not matter. Like the predator he was, Shikei took the opportunity as it came to pounce, so to speak. His left hand snapped out, attempting to grab the other male [female?] by the front of their robes. Judging by the look of terror that was currently upon the persona's face, they would be too afraid to move; like a rabbit praying that it was overlooked by a hungry wolf. If that was the case, it would be this person's undoing. Should Shikei be successful, he would grip hard and lift the person into the air, allowing them to dangle roughly half a foot off the ground.

""Screw that. That is not good enough. You owe me." Teeth were bared at this frail person; surely this display was enough to put a fear of God, or whatever deity these people prayed to into this person. He would shake them, causing people around them to begin to gather and murmur, whispering among themselves. It would seem that the bystanders were unhappy with seeing someone being shook down in broad daylight, but Shikei could not find a single fruck to give. A few were shaking their heads in disgust, a few of the smarter ones simply looked the other way and went about their day, glad that it was not them. One unfortunate person decided to open his mouth and utter the words "The price of bail from the prison is Twenty thousand ryo..."

Why did people always have something to say?

Shikei's attention snapped up, eyes turning their attention to the person who said it; a woman, clutching two snot nosed brats to her robe. Shikei's face twisted into an irritated frown, and his sharp tongue was brought to bear down upon this woman for her audacity to speak up. "And it costs zero gold to stay in yo god damn lane and mind your fucking business, swine." Numerous gasps were heard from the crowd; did he just say that to her? It should not have come as a surprise, though; given everything that had happened so far, why was this a shock? "Why don't you go find another leper's dick to suck so you can keep that fucking mouth of yours busy, because you flapping those cock suckers at me WILL get you smacked into the middle of next week." More gasps, followed by the sounds of the children crying as their mother ushered them away from the scene; how dare this man talk to their mother in that fashion?! Turning his attention away from the crowd, Shikei turned his eyes back to the person he held captive.

"You know what? Don't even bother with the apology, you obviously did not mean it the first time, and you don't mean it the second time." With a disgusted sound, the male dropped the persona he held captive, and turned to make his way off. It seemed the people of this place, this Konohagakure no Sato were irritable to his senses, but so be it. He did not have to remain in this place. There were other 'Hidden Villages' in this land, and the male aimed to visit them all. Hopefully, the inhabitants of the other hidden villages would not anger him like the ones of this one did.

---

[1601 wc]