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After the Fourth Great Shinobi World War ended, the world was experiencing a time of peace. The villages for once were able to live in relative harmony with one another as they rebuilt, and for once, all seemed to be well. The kage were able to live peaceful lives and soon began retiring, passing on the baton to the next generations. That is until an unknown virus infects the northern coast. The first to fall is the once powerful Raikage, Ay. While many thought this virus was a simple mutation of what may have well been the flu, no one would ever think of the destruction it would cause. Especially when it infected a certain Uzumaki Naruto.
With his death came the malice; with the malice came the destruction; with the destruction came the shinobi' revolt; and with the revolt came the sacrifices. The Bijuu became filled with malice that they sought to destroy the world. Shinobi sought a way to fight them and once again capture each of the Bijuu. Time passed, and a plan was devised. The Jinchuuriki would be sacrificed for the greater good of the world, and with the deaths of nine individuals, an uneasy peace began.
As time continued, the villages began to truly restructure. In a peace that would last 80 years after the downfall of the Bijuu, the world would see the creation of a great many things. Technology was beginning to take root and before long the blossoms that grew from the tree of the advanced mind would bear fruit. A many great things came to be. A railroad between the vast many nations. Mechanical limbs to replace lost ones. Radios that could reach between villages. Everything seemed to be becoming less reliant on the shinobi. Only the need for them never truly vanished. As with the growth of time, also continued the growth of malice.
The night brought chills that stung his exposed flesh like wasps, but its eerie calmness is what brought that drew Sato out of his tent. It was a stillness that was like no other, as if the world was fast asleep, as were the troubles that plagued its surface. There were no animals calling this late, no wind to hiss between leaves, nor were there any whispers of another human being to be heard for miles. All was hushed.
This very night seemed devoid of life, lonely and silent.
Perhaps that's what drew the loner to be at its side, knowing all too well the toll that such isolation brings. Just as the the night, so too was he devoid of companionship or liveliness, leaving the two as kindred spirits in a sense. Though even while finding himself reflecting in the surrounding darkness, he could not help but feel pity for the stillness of the evening; it was spawned in such a state, while Sato had the luxury of having others.
If one could call it a luxury.
Sato found himself at the edge of a shallow puddle, its oblong body centering the grassy clearing of trees from the surrounding sea of forests, staring into the inky blackness beneath. A full moon of midnight rose to the center of the raven sky, shimmering silver light off of the water's surface, silhouetting the shape of his reflection in its wavering form. Even when bathed with light, his figure loomed like a shadow over the puddle; how sadly fitting it was.
Lost in thought at the end of his day, having traveled through a vast thicket of trees for hours, the rogue felt that he needed clear his mind of the fogging emotions that plagued him oh so often. A walk had turned into a hike, and soon he had come to the beautiful clearing before him, a vast grassy plain devoid of trees for what had to be kilometers.
It was the emptiness of it all that seemed to welcome the man, drawing him towards its very center as if to surround himself in the nothingness. And at the clearing's center, as if waiting for him, was his himself.
Two sets of eyes glowed from the darkness, reflecting the light of the full moon. Yes, he'd gotten lost. He would openly admit that, but only to himself. As far as anyone else was concerned, he went this way on purpose. Izaya tread lightly through the trees, hushing Tsukuzumi. Someone else was here. Izaya didn't even know where he was and someone else was here. The look on Tsukizumi's face said 'That's what you get for wandering away from your team, kid.' But hey, a guy's gotta pee when a guy's gotta pee.
Emerging from the forest, he eyed the stranger warily from across the clearing. The genin recalled his last meeting with a stranger and had nearly gotten himself killed trying to stop him. So, a large part of him wanted nothing to do with this guy. But another part of him wanted to ask if the man knew where anything around here was. Izaya's furred tail flicked in thought and he decided to risk it. What's the worst that would happen?
“Hey, guy. You know where an outpost would be around here?”
and i believe this may call for a proper introduction, and well, don't you see, i'm the narrator and this is just the prologue ~
A voice would intrude upon his solemn solace, though not before its owner's putrid odor would sting the man's nostrils; Sato would have sworn his acquaintance was a cat, one who had just caught its dinner, before having heard it speak. His once-secretive soul searching had been interrupted by a kid, apparently, one who sought directions out of this densely packed plain of pines.
He cocked his head just enough to partially face the boy, revealing his checkered stare and the veining scars of his wounded cheek. The stranger was short and obviously young. A soft face moved without wear as he talked, and apparently feline features made themselves known upon the rise of his raven head.
What strange people this world brewed.
Sato couldn't help but feel included in this umbrella of strange and seemingly unnatural humanoid phenomenons.
"No," Sato spoke, his undulating voice box rasping as if rusted; it had been quite some time since the man had actually spoken to anyone, let alone to himself. "You're about twenty kilometers from anywhere hospitable."
Eyes danced over the boy in a zigzagging rise, inspecting his person. He didn't outwardly seem to be a shinobi, though the glimmer of silver off of what could have been a hitai-ate wound just beneath his bangs could be made out. Even if he was just a child, there were shinobi far younger than Sato yet far greater than himself among the ranks of ANBU.
Were he a shinobi, and Sato may just have to take certain precautions...
The rogue narrowed his eyes, greeting the boy with a glare.
"No," Izaya's ears pointed forward at the odd sound of this male's voice. "You're about twenty kilometers from anywhere hospitable."
His ears flicked, then folded flat.
“You're kidding me...”
Something about this guy, rather the way he was looking at him, made Izaya's fur stand on end, even if he wasn't doing anything.
"Why are you even out here?"
I got really lost taking a pee.
“Went hiking. Picked a path less traveled and lost my group. Kinda been wandering and enjoying the sights, but... it got dark.”
It was somewhat of a conditioned response. Izaya could see perfectly fine in dim light, and the moon shone like a big bright lightbulb over the landscape. Crimson eyes dropped down to his mouse, who seemed fidgety. Dropping his hand, Izaya rubbed his fingers into the soft fur between Tsuki's ears for reassurance.
“Why are you out here, guy?”
and i believe this may call for a proper introduction, and well, don't you see, i'm the narrator and this is just the prologue ~
An adventurer lost in the ocean of trees. That was the boy's story, and as unlikely as it seemed that someone would have been out trailing this far into the night, Sato wouldn't discount his life for the uncertain validity of a child's words.
Though the moment a sheen of a blade is seen, the rogue may just reconsider the strangely pacifistic decision he made.
And now the questions had fallen onto him, which inspired a tinge of irritation to brood in Sato's throat. A boy questioning his elder, a child propositioning an adult. Were he to have been such an innocent soul such as this one, the rogue's younger days would have been even more atrocious and savage at the hands of his superiors.
The thought of those once considered close to the man boiled his blood, blinding him in a fog of rage. He would exhale audibly as if to allow his anger to steam from his breath before speaking; what he may have done to this boy otherwise may have been the mirroring of his own youth.
"I live here."
Hands would sink into the deep pockets of his trousers as the rogue began to relax himself. The more this feline forager talked, the angrier Sato felt himself becoming. Maybe it was the wandering of his own mind, or maybe it was the pungent smell of animal that the kid brought along with him, but the continuity of his presence here seemed to be driving needles into the rogue's brain.
"And you're in my territory. That bothers me."
His eyes would find a squirming bulge moving within the foliage around the stranger, who had also noticed the movement. Sato's once narrowed glare now opened more with a dollop of enthusiasm. He knew the smell well enough to know it was a rodent--a large one at that--whose scent was once assumed the previous meal of the rogue's raven-haired acquaintance. It seemed this was not the case, however, meaning it could be an opportunity for Sato to sate himself. A day had passed since he had last had a meal.
Perhaps Sato could find the hospitality to spare in exchange.
"Though my nerves would be set at greater ease if you could part with that thing. Food makes guests more tolerable."
Izaya tilted his head. That seemed... unlikely... but then he remembered the old man he learned from, and realized that it could very well be true.
"And you're in my territory. That bothers me."
Izaya bristled more.
“Don't see your name carved anywhere. What is it, anyway?”
Izaya was starting to get the idea that maybe he should talk his way into getting out of here, all his senses were on edge.
"Though my nerves would be set at greater ease if you could part with that thing. Food makes guests more tolerable."
Tsukizumi squeaked at that, moving behind Izaya's legs with a hiss.
“You can't eat Tsuki. He's my partner. If you're really hungry I've got trail mix and jerky and stuff, I'll give you some of that.”
The Enoki slid his pack off his back, unzipping and digging into it. The crinkle of a bag indicated he'd gotten the jerky, and he withdrew the bag, holding it up for the man. Perhaps it can be a peace offering to relieve the tension.
“Want this instead?”
and i believe this may call for a proper introduction, and well, don't you see, i'm the narrator and this is just the prologue ~
An animal for a partner; just another way to praise a pet. To Sato, beasts were either his enemies or his next meal, no matter their size or demeanor. That was the life of the world long before the birth of man, and it would continue to be so the day man would meet his fate. He was not one to defy the natural order of things for the sake of companionship.
In other words, he really wanted to eat that rat.
Though the boy declined the offer of giving up his rodent, he compensated in the form of lesser desirables--though they were desirable nonetheless, considering his current lifestyle.
He eyed the stranger's bag of salted meats carefully, as a stray animal would. His nose twitched as he inhaled the spices, ensuring there was nothing suspicious about this 'peace offering' of sorts. Sato couldn't afford to be poisoned, especially not by an acquaintance of unknown allegiance. The safety of his future could be at stake.
The rogue nodded at the boy, though his demeanor growled 'keep your distance' as he motioned toward the bag. "Just give me the meat," he snipped, a pride-pained scowl snaking across his face.
"Then I'll show you where to go from here."
If it meant food and getting the stranger out of his hair, perhaps even Sato would find the patience to help another person out. Or at least try to; if he proved to be a problem, the shinobi felt certain it would not be a hard one to solve.
"Just give me the meat. Then I'll show you where to go from here."
Izaya's ears perked forward. This guy would help? Great! He took a step forward towards the male, but the expression on the stranger's face made Izaya pause. This guy was just standing there and he was a little scary. Creeper. Ensuring the bag was sealed, Izaya raised his arm and tossed the bag of jerky over.
“You're lucky I'm giving that to you. It's my favorite: teriyaki. I got some other snacks if you want; I can easily just catch some squirrels or something later.”
He'd trade his food for a way out, sure thing. Not like squirrels or mice were hard to get, but when Izaya hunted mice, Tsuki would always get this wounded expression as if the catboy was personally wronging him. Perhaps, in a sense, he was. Izaya could respect that.
and i believe this may call for a proper introduction, and well, don't you see, i'm the narrator and this is just the prologue ~
Though he tried to retain a more composed display in obtaining the container of food, Sato could not help his swiftness in snatching and opening up the boy's bag. A strip of dried meat snapped in between his carnivorous molars, being swallowed almost before its taste could melt into his tongue. Its flavor wasn't anything spectacular--Sato was more akin to bitter meat than sweet--but it wouldn't be anything that would choke its descent down into his gut.
Food was food.
Survival instincts challenged the rogue's action of guzzling down an entire bag of rations, insisting that he save this food for the next day or so, but a hungering scavenger's connection to rationality was often severed in the presence of a meal. He made it nearly to the bottom of the container before forcing himself to stop, an audible burp escaping open maw to mark the conclusion of his engorgement.
Sato wipes his sleeve across his mouth, looking off into the distance of the midnight forest. A fulfilling taste had sparked a thought in the rogue's mind; he had been within these woods for the last few weeks, using its density to keep well hidden from the ANBU forces hunting him down. While he had no worries of being caught so easily, given how much time had passed since he had a meal such as this, perhaps the sea of trees had fulfilled their purpose.
It was time to move elsewhere.
His eyes would then fall back on the boy as the man remained silent in thought. In truth, Sato had only planned on pointing the boy in the right direction--which would have been any direction, as far as he was concerned--but now he was not so sure. The realization of his began to draw on a daunting, paining, and quite possibly maddening notion of traveling with the kid. He was already on edge around the child, but if he was seeking solace outside of these woods as Sato now was, then he may as well have company.
Or at the very least, a second scent to cover his own.
The man motioned toward what would be northwest, given the estimated time and position of the moon, before speaking.
"I made a camp a kilometer or so away from here. We'll stop there so I can get my own things, and then get out of here."
A glare would be regifted to the boy.
"Don't run your mouth, though. I don't like talking."
Izaya watched as the opposing male inhaled the jerky. Despite his words, the catboy could tell the guy was hungry. This guy didn't even know how to find himself food. Izaya was nearly compelled to hunt for him, that's how pitiful this guy seemed to be. Someone needed to make sure this guy didn't die or something. Yeah, he should be damn lucky the Enoki happened to wander this way.
"I made a camp a kilometer or so away from here. We'll stop there so I can get my own things, and then get out of here. Don't run your mouth, though. I don't like talking."
Hmph.
“I'll talk if I want to, guy. Never know, I might have something good to say. Like I can catch you enough meat for the next few days if I felt like it. But your attitude makes me think I don't have to.”
The genin fingered the mouthpiece of the pipe attached to his leg. If he didn't want talking, fine. But if he continued to get mouthy after Izaya so graciously shared his food with him, then he'd just have to play a little tune to calm him down.
and i believe this may call for a proper introduction, and well, don't you see, i'm the narrator and this is just the prologue ~
Children these days were pretty arrogant. Were teachers these days not disciplining their students as well as they used to? It certainly seemed to be the case; first he was questioned, and now he was being treated with disrespect. Two strikes had been thrown, and a third was rearing its head for what would be an imminent appearance if things played out as they seemed to be.
"Don't get haughty. You're the one who's lost."
Sato would begin the long walk back to his temporary home, not giving the following boy the time of day with a so much as passing glance. If he was to have company, he didn't want to share stories or chew the fat with a hotheaded teenager. Though as he would pass by the boy, as if by instinct, the man would stop, muttering dire words under a growl
"And If you were a shinobi, I'd have killed you on sight."
With that, Sato would step away from the kid, continuing down the path set for his supplies. His words were more warning than fact, displaying the distrust he held in the child. Regardless, were he to associate with a ninja, and Sato would be betraying everything he fought for in escaping the Mist, and could potentially compromise his safety from the ever-hunting ANBU forces that were once his allies.
Whether the boy knew it or not, each one of them held a blade to one another's throat in one way or another.
“And you're the one who's hungry. I could hear your stomach before I got to the clearing.”
Okay that was a lie, but he didn't know that. Just because this guy was older didn't mean he had to act better than Izaya was. He gave a sideways glance when the guy passed.
"And If you were a shinobi, I'd have killed you on sight."
If it wasn't the words, it was the tone alone that made the boy's ears plaster themselves against his head as he froze mid-step. Tsuki collided into Izaya's legs, not having expected the sudden halt, lurching Izaya forward. Hopefully the darkness had concealed the Oto headband tied around his head, and he slid it off, stuffing it in his jacket pocket. His dark hair probably helped hide it too. But he couldn't remove all of his shinobi equipment. Not without being noticed. This guy unnerved him. Perhaps he should have asked a squirrel for instructions instead.
“Um, okay. I guess I can be quiet.”
and i believe this may call for a proper introduction, and well, don't you see, i'm the narrator and this is just the prologue ~
In silence, Sato would travel, keeping note of the following footsteps a safe distance behind his own. A sense of satisfaction began to warm a usually icy pit within the rogue's gullet; even if earned through fear, it was about time that the Hozuki received the respect he deserved. He won in the childish spat that the brat had initiated. It was his win.
The first win in what had to be years.
It wouldn't be along hike before the scent of familiarity grazed against Sato's sensitive nose, and the sight of a tattered tent came into view through a thicket of trees. A hand would be extended in a halting motion in the direction of his acquaintance.
"You just wait there. I need to get my things."
Truth be told, there had to be a few things within Sato's limited possessions that he wouldn't want a stranger--let alone a child--seeing, especially the hitai-ate hiding within his shinobi pouch. The boy had already proven himself to be as finicky as his feline features let on, and Sato wasn't about to test if he bore the same brand of curiosity as well.
He would approach his supplies, stooping to his knee in the act of quickly collapsing his weathered tent and collecting his bedroll. There were also bits and pieces of what could be his scent left within the area, something he would have to take care of, though not in the most obvious of manners.
Destroying evidence of one's presence was bound to rouse suspicion from the child.
Izaya padded quietly behind the older male, ears down, tail in the paws of the mouse that trailed behind him. He had to admit he was a little bit scared of this guy. Not that he'd let it show, of course. A shinobi of the Sound never gives in to fear. Didn't stop him from starting when the hand came out to stop him.
"You just wait there. I need to get my things."
His ears went forward. The guy wasn't gonna let him see his camp. What, did he leave it messy? Hah.
"If I catch you peeking, you'll regret it."
He sounded a bit like a kid, didn't he?
“Yeah, got it.”
When the man left Izaya's field of vision, he bounced on the balls of his feet, curiosity piqued. Why couldn't he see? Hmph. He didn't like the sound of that threat though, and fidgeted, trying really hard to resist the urge to sneak over and see. Fingering the pipe holstered to his thigh, the Enoki withdrew it, putting it to his lips and blowing. He just needed to distract himself. It may have been dark to the guy there, but Izaya's eyes could see the creatures moving through the brush in the forest.
Playing a more rapid tune without the power he normally gave it, he entertained himself by attracting squirrels and mice in the area, where they woke from their slumber and tried to get to the pipe making the sound. Satisfied with the amount of creatures that were trying to jump at him, the genin switched to a softer, slower melody, entrancing the small creatures. Swaying his tail, he made the creatures sway as well, following the notes of his melody in a daze. The tip of his tail twitched as he played. He was getting better at suppressing the instinct to jump and crush their bones in his teeth and toss them by their tails, but it was an urge he doubted would ever escape him entirely. It was just natural order. Jutsu Used: Yobigoe [Calling] Rarabai [Lullabye]
Effects: Calling would have no effect on Sato except perhaps being annoying, but lullaby is used to calm nerves, soothe, etc. Sound jutsu. It doesn't actually put anyone to sleep unless they were exhausted to begin with.
and i believe this may call for a proper introduction, and well, don't you see, i'm the narrator and this is just the prologue ~
Nearly everything was gathered--not that there was much for Sato to call his own--save for his pouch. Perhaps it was exhaustion keeping him from finishing the act of packing, but the rogue found himself somewhat lost looking into the pouch, glaring at the metal-plated strip of linen resting in a crevice within. Four waving lines marked the center of the steel, across which a metallic scar had been drawn across its entirety. It was a reminder of the home he had left behind.
And it seemed that would continue to be his life: leaving the safety of his domain, and moving elsewhere, just as he was now.
He had to wonder, was there truly sanctuary for those who sought the same freedom as himself? Could there be a place for those who did not agree with their villages' ideas to be exempted from a life of being hunted? Would there ever be a place that Sato could truly belong, where he could pursue his dream, and where he may just find those who he could truly call his-...
The whistle of pipes reached his ears, its melody as gentle and elegant as a drifting cloud across an empty sky. It rolled across leaves and branches as a whispering charm, as if it were a force of nature that could douse the fires of any creature's heart. Such a charm would even find the heart of the rogue, each note gently kissing against the inside of his head.
Or it would have.
Sato nearly heaved at the sound, feeling as the depths of his ear canals were being tested by probing senbon. While to such creatures whose ears were trained to handle such frequencies in stride, those born in the Mist who received training such as Sato's were to have their hearing honed to the highest degree of sensitivity, enough that even the slightest noises of shuffling feet could give away what a person would be attempt.
The wind instrument's natural high range of frequencies would not touch the rogue's ears as gently as it would any other person's, but instead as savagely as it would the ears of a wild animal; no matter how calming its effects were, such noise required that the beast of a man try his damnedest to not howl in pain.
Clenching the dirt beneath his hands, Sato would finally roar out to the boy, clenching his eyes in audible agony.
"Get that thing out of your mouth, or I'll make sure it never comes out!"
If he wasn't going to comply, then this may just be the third strike. And that may just be for the best; Sato thought the kid was annoying from the start, but if he was going to use one of those things this whole time, the rogue may as well just kill him.
