Rays of sunlight scattered through the looming tree-tops of the forest as the cart slowly drew closer to its destination. Large enough for a small group of adults, it was being pulled by two horses which, in-turn, were being manned by frail, old man. He appeared to at-least being in his mid-to-late seventies and, aside from the unremarkable clothing he wore, bore the hitai-ate of Konoha. His passengers consisted of three people who, when compared to the old coachman, made the wizened dog seem like he was some sort of noble. Two of the passengers were mother and child, their clothing torn and their bodies scratched and bruised. They kept their eyes closed as they mourned in silence, the child enveloped in their mother's embrace as they sat on her lap. The third passenger, who sat opposite to them on the cart, was of an entirely different sort.

Even while sitting, he dwarfed his fellow passengers by an astounding amount, with the top of the mother's head hardly even reaching the bottom of the giant's chest. Not only that, but his skin was devoid of any natural human coloration. It was not fair, dark, tan, nor even pale. Rather, it was a dark gray that seemed more at home on stones or metal. His skin, strangely enough, was also devoid of any hair. His head shared this same trait, being completely bald of any hair. Decorating his head was sort of red tattoo, wrapping around it and disappearing into his Sunagakure-issued chunin vest. Perhaps his most damning features were his mouth and eyes. His eyes lacked the regularly whiteness that was common to essentially every normal human. Rather, in place of it, was Dankness. A pitch blackness which was filled with the white orb that was his irises. His mouth, on the other hand, was filled with sharp fangs that befitted a wolf than a man. Each one capable of ripping and tearing flesh asunder. His arms were large and strong, their muscularity being very visible, while his big hands ended in claws. Upon his right bicep was his hitai-ate, tied around it and displaying the once proud symbol of the Village Hidden in the Sands.

Despite the inherent ferociousness that this monster of a shinobi had, his eyes betrayed his true nature. For in these unnatural and beastly eyes was sadness. The sadness which one may experience at the death of a beloved. The sadness which one may feel at failing greatly in their duty. The sadness which one may carry for realizing that everything was now lost..... and that they can do nothing to bring it back.

The giant, Zaiaku, stared at nothing in particular as they passed nothing but a sea of green. His attire, though easily distinguishing him as a ninja, was in tatters while he himself was disheveled. He didn't even have sandals. He hadn't slept since he first started this slow journey to the Hi no Kuni, with dark bags hanging under his eyes to enunciate this. He didn't want sleep, nay, he couldn't. Not if he wanted to see THAT again. He was in no mood for it. So instead, Zaiaku laid in a sorrow-laced stupor, his mind blank but his soul heavy. He would remain in this state until he felt the cart stop, to which he would rouse himself from his daze. They had arrived.

Rubbing his eyes, he would lazily exit the cart after the woman and her child, stretching out once he was able to stand again. "The Hidden Leaf.." He mused to himself as he brought his eyes to the gate and noticed a small crowd around it. It seemed there were some who would welcome the refugees, granting them water and leading them to somewhere they could stay. Or, rather, that's what they normal did. Almost all of them watched the nearly nine foot Jiendo walk slowly towards them, his large body battered and his spirits crushed. A few of them quickly surrounding the mother and child, leading them away and granting them basic necessities, while the rest kept their distance as Zaiaku drew closer. In all honesty, he was used to this treatment. Even while Sunagakure stood many pointed and stared as he walked down its sand-paved streets, making sure to keep out of his way. This was no different.

Not wanting to face them, the giant kept his eyes on the ground as he slipped his hands into his pockets. He passed the men and women in silence, not bothering to ask for anything. He could get it himself if he really wanted to and even then, didn't even feel like he deserved it. Thus, he walked on into the village, his shinobi attire torn and ripped while he was decorated with old cuts and bruises. It must've been a sight to behold.

Zaiaku would eventually come to a stop on a more quiet street. With few people actively using it and, thus, few people ogling at him, Zaiaku would sit down against some building. Though he faced the road he kept his head down, looking onto his lap and trying his best to keep his mind empty.

TWC: 884

Kennosuke was sitting atop a building near the gates, watching the Suna refugees slowly make their way into Konoha. He wasn't quite sure why he watched, it was not like he knew any of them or anything like that. There were some that raised voices, saying we shouldn't take the refugees in at all because what if this or what if that. Kennosuke disagreed. These people just had their homes destroyed and lives ripped a part. They lost loved ones and most of their belongings. The Hidden Leaf was right to take them in. While most of the refugees were innocent women, men, children and elders, there were an odd Shinobi here or there. None of which interested Kennosuke. He rises to his feet, ready to make his way home and train a bit but something caught his eye.

A giant of a man? Or was he a creature? Kennosuke had never seen someone such as him and the giant was even a Shinobi, given the way he was dressed. The giant walked past the welcome stations and into the Villiage, his head bowed and an over all defeated look about him. Kennosuke couldn't blame him, given what he has been through. That was one of Kennosuke's greatest fears, the Leaf Village falling and him not being able to do anything about it. It was a big part of why he was a Shinobi and why he trained so much. He followed the grey giant from the roof tops, curious on where he was going.

When he stopped and merely sat down, leaning against building, Kennosuke tilted his head, debating on rather he should leave the Shinobi alone or go down there and check on him. The giant obviously wanted to be left alone, but people in his State of mind can sometimes lose it and Kennosuke was honestly afraid someone would call him a name and he would snap. He didn't want that for the Suna shinobi, not given his circumstances. So he makes his way across the roof tops and once near enough he hops down from the roof, landing quietly in the street across from the giant Shinobi.

"Welcome to the Hidden Leaf." He pauses, taking the Shinobi's features in while not staring or being rude. "I'd ask you how your travels were but considering you look like shit, ill refrain." His words were ment as a joke and he hoped the other Shinobi would take it so. "Why dont we go grab a bite to eat. My treat. It'll do you good to get some real food in you." He begins to offer a hand, an attempt to help the giant up, but drops it as there was little he could do to help the other man up.

Wc 426

Zaiaku honestly didn't know what to do at this point. For the first time in years he felt utterly alone, despite the few people walking in-front of him on the deserted, silent road. He had some ryo on him but, honestly, why spend it? It's over. Sunagakure is glassed over. Countless innocents have lost their lives over nothing, including Zaiaku's own kin. "And for what?" He thought to himself, grief resonating from his very soul. He couldn't even fathom the reason for causing such desolation. The village was in a bad spot, sure, but to cause so much unwarranted death? To rob the livelihoods of those who had nothing to do with it? That is monstrous, simply monstrous. If only Zaiaku managed to find out who the attackers were. Oh, the myriad ways he would make them feel the suffering they have caused.

Finding temporary relief in his tortured mind, the grief that pervaded his spirit slowly began to morph into sadistic daydreams as he heard a voice call out to him. Looking up to the source he was, despite sitting, face to face with a young man. Spiky, black hair which was tied into a ponytail framed his overall young face, while his emerald eyes were met Zaiaku's demoniac ones. He scoffed at the boy's attempt at humor, letting out a small chuckle that was totally devoid of any mirth. He could only imagine how out of place he looked. A gray-skinned monster, wearing shinobi clothing, visibly beaten both physically and mentally. It must've been a sight to see for ninja and layman alike, especially for those unfamiliar as to what the Jiendo were.

He would stare at the boy as he listened to his invitation, seeing his hand rise and fall as he realized that helping him up that way would be fruitless due to his immense stature. Zaiaku, at first, said nothing. Rather, he very obviously observed the boy. His eyes, despite seeming to be a mixture of nothing but general exhaustion and apathy, keenly took in his features as the giant tried to deduce whether the boy was being genuine or not. Indeed, for there have been times when he was young that others would pretend to accept him and attempt to invite him to somewhere, only to be venomously tricked and ridiculed for the crime of being different.

In silence the giant shinobi would slowly raise his large right hand, as if wordlessly asking for assistance, before suddenly bringing it to the boy's head. From there Zaiaku would slowly rise, using the young man to help prop himself up. As expected, he didn't even reach above the giant's waist. Looking down onto him Zaiaku would begin speak, his tone notably quiet and devoid of any enthusiasm in any form. "Lead the way." Was the simple phrase he spoke before sliding his hands into his pockets, waiting for any sort of response from the boy.

WC: 501
TWC: 1,385

Kennosuke studied the giant of a being, just as the giant studied him. His eyes where what bothered Kennosuke the most. He didn’t care what this Shinobi looked like, but even the eyes weren’t human. But he wasn’t afraid or meant any malice toward the other, he was curious and legitimately felt bad for the now homeless Shinobi. After a few moments of silence, the Shinobi reached up, as if to take Kennosuke’s hand, but then quickly pants his giant hand on Kennosuke’s head and uses him as a prop to help him stand. Grunting against the weight of the giant, Kennosuke doesnt speak out and once the grey skinned Shinobi was upright, Kennosuke took a moment to take his great height into account. Barely coming to the giants waist, he was boggled by the sheer size of the other Shinobi.

”You are….huge.” He says, his voice soft with a curious undertone, rather than scared or hateful. He was intrigued by the giant. Shaking his head softly, he reaches up and rights his headband that had been pushed down by the giants hand. ”Uh, sorry. Didn’t mean to stare or..uh be rude. Lets go this way.” He points down the road and begins to walk. He knew there were shinobi like this one out there, those who bore little to no resemblance to humans, but he had never seen one. He tried his best not to stare so focused on talking to the man. “What would you like? We have a bit of everything here.” He looked up at the shinobi whom he walked beside and offered a smile. He knew what it was like to be all alone, perhaps not what it was like to lose everything, but being the being alone he was well acquainted with. ”I’m Kennosuke, by the way.”

He falls silent, his attention going from the grey skinned shinobi to the road before them. He saw people stop and stare at his giant companion, some frightened, while others pointed and made comments. He found his temper rising. These inconsiderate people. This man had lost everything and all these people are concerned about are his looks. He caught a few stares and returned a glare with a disgusted expression. Sure, he knew nothing about this Shinobi, but he looked utterly defeated. Let one of these people say something out of line to him and they may have to deal with the fiery wrath of the Kimura.

WC:435
Total:861

Zaiaku remained silent to the boy's awestruck words, simply rolling his eyes at what he deemed to be an obvious observation before resuming his impassive stare. Despite his rather ill-mannered attitude he felt that the young man's apology was sincere and, thus reacted appropriately. "It's fine." The giant said quietly as he slowly began to follow the boy, his large legs allowing him to cover just as much ground without needing to take as many steps. He pondered at the boy....Kennosuke's..question, not bothering to return to his pity-filled smile. He honestly didn't know what he wanted to eat. Hell, he didn't want to eat anything. He felt that starving was a better alternative with what had happened. He didn't deserve a meal. Nonetheless he didn't make this known, especially since the kid flat-out approached and offered him one. He seemed kind enough, unlike the plebeians that surrounded them.

Men, women, and children of all ages gawked at Zaiaku's ogreish appearance. Some pointed their unclawed fingers while others whispered among themselves, not really bothering to hide the fact that they were whispering. In the eyes of the oni, they were nothing but scavengers. Vultures who did nothing but peck away at whatever faith in people Zaiaku still had. "Fuckin' goblins," He murmured to himself as he kept his eyes straight ahead of him, not wanting to face their vitriolic ignorance, "the hell are they lookin' at?"

Soon enough the road widened as they entered one of the more busier districts of the village in their pursuit of food, small stands lining the sides of the street as people of numerous backgrounds eyed the seemingly mismatched duo. Still Zaiaku was silent, having yet to give an answer to what he wanted. He figured that if he actually saw his options he'd more willing to choose. Luckily for him, the smell of turkey entered his nose and caused a loud rumble in his stomach. "Where... is that coming from?" He finally said as he stopped and scanned the market stands around them, trying to find the source. His eyes eventually fell onto a small, rotund man selling just cooked meats, much to the food peddler's displeasure.

Tapping Kennosuke's shoulder with his large hand so that the boy would know where he's heading, Zaiaku would make his way to the food stand. Practically everyone even remotely in his way made ample room for the giant as they stared almost empathetically at the peddler, expecting him to be mauled or shredded by the man before them. Indeed, the peddler himself seemingly shrank as Zaiaku loomed over his entire stall, his shadow blanketing everything from the food to the man. Despite the wild implications of those around him, Zaiaku simply scanned through what the man was offering as he took in more of the delicious scents that emanated from a grill and broiler behind the man.

WC: 498
TWC: 1,883

He heard the large Shinobi grumble about goblins he thought, but couldn’t hear it over the growing noise of the crowds. Sighing softly he pauses, glancing around at the many shops that lined the streets at this point and not knowing what the other man wanted he didn’t want to pass anything up. Just then Kennosuke felt a tap on the shoulder from the giants hand and turned, to see the man motion toward a particular booth. Following alongside the big man, Kennosuke could see the same looks coming from the people near the peddler and even the peddler himself shrank back from the man. Maybe it was the shinobi in Kennosuke, but he didn’t have a shred of fear when it came to this giant. Sure, he had never encountered something like him before, but that doesn’t make him automatically scary or any of that nonsense. He was actually intrigued by the gray giant and wanted to know more about him.

“Oi, Why don’t you quit staring and give me some of that.” Kennosuke says pointing at a couple of items the man had to offer. “And give my friend here whatever he wants. He’s had a long journey.” With that the peddler himself begins to put together Kennosuke’s order, while listening for Zaiaku’s order to be placed. “Really, get whatever you’d like. You’ve no doubt had a long trip and have to be hungry.” He knew the big man probably wanted to be left alone considering everything, but the least Kennosuke could do is get him a bite. “If, after you eat you still want to be left alone, I’ll leave you be. But buying you a meal is the least I can do.” He falls silent and grabs the small box of food the peddler gave him in change for some Ryo. He gave the man plenty enough to cover both his and Zaiaku’s food. Stepping back away from the food vendor he stands somewhat behind the large Shinobi, his food held in his right hand, while his left hand rested on the hilt of his sword. He watched the crowd, assessing the situation and making sure none of these scared villagers did anything stupid.

WC:400
Total:1262

A mere "Mhmm" would be Zaiaku's response to the boy.... Kennosuke's offer as he was too enthralled by the various meats in-front of him to truly pay attention to the young boy. Various foodstuffs were sold alongside the carefully cooked flesh as well, namely small selections of bread and condiments such as barbecue and soy sauce. It was truly a sight to behold to the starving giant whose eye soon fell upon a turkey leg. The naturally large limb would've gleamed in the sunlight if not for Zaiaku's shadow, having been freshly cooked on the grill and lightly salted with care. Zaiaku began to visibly drool for a moment as he reached across the make-shift table and took a hold of it. It was the perfect size for hand. Not really noticing or even caring if Kennosuke had paid for the meal or not, Zaiaku opened his large maw to take a bite out of the leg. Hunger gripped him tightly and, having been presented with above average food, was hellbent on satiating it. With the surrounding market-goers eyeing him uncomfortably Zaiaku had just broken through the skin of the leg when he felt something smash hit the right side of his head. It didn't hurt by any means. In-fact, it felt akin to an insect smacking into you in its frenzy to get away. With the leg still in hand and his fangs still slightly embedded in it, he turned to where the object came from.

Three children, most likely genin from the Academy, stood a good six or so feet away from Zaiaku. The lead child held a kunai in his hand while the other two carried small rocks and pebbles with them, no doubt having through one at Zaiaku.

"Get out of our village, monster!" Said the leader as the other two threw a few more pebbles at Zaiaku. Zaiaku, in response, didn't move a single muscle as he was nonpainfully pelted and simply stared at the trio before him. The surrounding crowd had mixed feelings to this, some openly fearful for the children's safety while others flat-out brought their palms to their faces and groaned at the idiocy before them. "I said leave!" The leader would yell as he threw his kunai at Zaiaku, realizing their stone strategy wasn't working.

Though definitely not the fastest shinobi in-terms of agility or reaction time by any means, Zaiaku easily surpassed most layman when it came to physicality. Because of this and the fact that these children were just as strong as... well... children, Zaiaku had no problem with catching the kunai mid-flight as it flew towards his armored torso. Finally removing the turkey leg from his mouth he would examine the weapon for a moment, taking note of its craftsmanship and slight shine. It was still very new and, thus, rather sharp. With this in mind Zaiaku would turn around and walk away towards Kennosuke, slicing off strips of meat from the leg with the kunai as the genin behind began making more of a fuss. He paid them no mind though. They were no threat after all, and couldn't hurt him if they tried. Not to mention, it would take more than that to annoy him now that he's got some more than decent food.

"Want some?" He would ask simply as he sliced a thin strip of meat before fully ripping off with his mouth, savoring the flavor of his lunch.

WC: 592
TWC: 2,475

Kennosuke stood back and watched in silence as the grey giant made his choice. For the first time since he had met the man sitting there on the side of the street, it looked as if there were some life in those black eyes of his after all. He smiled, glad that he was at the very least able to give this man some small pleasure after what he had been through. Zaiaku had grabbed a large large turkey leg and was just about to sink his teeth into it when Kennosuke heard footsteps just behind him. He was mid turn when the first rock was thrown and was able to stop it. Three boys, fresh genin out of the academy stood before him shouting at Zaiaku, calling him a monster and to get out of their village. Rage boiled inside Kennosuke. These little mongrels had no idea what the giant behind him had been through. They couldn’t even begin to grasp what had happened and to shun Zaiaku, throw rocks and even a kunai and the man without any sort of provocation other than the way he looked nearly sent Kennosuke over the deep end as he knew what it was like to be an outsider and what real loss felt like. Before he even realized he was moving he was striding forward, toward the punks with pure anger in his eyes.

“Do you have any idea what He has gone through? Can you even comprehend what this man has survived? But just because he looks different hes a monster?” The genin saw the look in Kennosuke’s eyes and had begun to give ground, backpeddling away from the angered Kimura. “You want to see a Monster!? I’ll SHOW YOU A MONSTER!” He begins drawing in a deep breath and infusing the air with Katon Chakra. He was just about to release his Fireball, when he finally snapped out of his fit of rage  and quickly lifts his head, spewing the giant fireball safely into the air. The boys had fallen backwards onto their butts and were still trying to crawl backwards when Kennosuke returned his gaze to them. “Have some respect and understanding for those less fortunate that yourself. Now get out of here and if I see you disrepecting my friend again, they’ll be hell to pay. Understand?” The terrified boys nod their heads and scramble to the their feet before fleeing further into the village. Kennosuke looks around at the now silent market area around him, between his shouting and the the fireball, there was a stunned silence around them.

“Alright…Continue with your day.” He mutters and waves his free hand, before returning to Zaiaku’s side. “Uh, I’m fine.” He says to the offer of the turkey and holds up his own little box. “I got my own. Why don’t we go find a spot to eat.” He motions further down the street to a small grassy park and begins to walk that way. “Sorry about those punks, though I doubt you’ll have to deal with them anymore.” He says with a slightly awkward chuckle. Once they arrive at the park, Kennosuke sits down on a bench and opens his food to begin eating.

WC: 569
Total: 1831

Exit thread:

WC Break down:
STR- From E-1 to D-Rank=675
END- From E-2 to D-Rank= 525
PER- From E-2 to D-rank= 525
106 WC discarded