The Melancholy of Irui Mikiri

A cool wind had blown in from the sea, sweeping over the northwestern Lightning Country, and still Irui couldn't get the scent or burning flesh out of his nose. It had clung to him, along with the soot and grime that had flecked his travelling cloak, following him.

Irui's path took him through the forested lowlands of the country, following a route he only faintly recognized in memory. The manicured forests surrounding the compound gave way to rugged woods, with forests of lodgepole pine, carpeted thickly in orange needles. The chatter of squirrels were the first to reach his ears, and then the ever-present wind as it flowed through the canopy.

Once Seid had sped into the horizon, off to his next excursion and hadn't looked back, and Kyosuke had departed on a different path, he knew the journey back would be lonely. Which is why, here in the pine forests of the Hidden Cloud, Irui was talking to himself.

"--Yes its completely normal for teenagers to go out, murdering drug lords with older men, Mom." He said aloud, rolling his eyes. Irui held up a hand, like a crab claw, and mimed her nagging about how they were a bad influence. "It builds character, gives me a hopeful future in the Hidden Cloud, and it completely normal because countless others have done it."

"--But Irui, you have to be home before bed!"

"Mom I'm fourteen, and we have a thirteen year old in the ANBU Corps, and he's-- he's...." Irui faltered, pausing in his steps and screwed his face in confusion. "Well-- he's weird. But he makes it look so cool-- and-- oh-- oh fuck you are right....."

He folded his arms over his chest as he walked.

"Yeah it is really, really weird that we have a thirteen year old in ANBU and he leads grown men into combat..."

Irui stooped low to crouch, and pressed his fingers into the dirt. A short burst from the Sensory technique issued silently through the woods, invisible and soundless. If someone was listening, he'd know instantly. The woods were silent, devoid of human activity. He pressed onwards.

Irui's pathway continued to lead him through the forests, now crossing into rockier terrain. He'd accelerated into the trees, using small flickers of chakra at his feet for propulsion. Deftly he touched down on each branch, careful to avoid stirring the needles of the canopy. Twice he'd angered a squirrel, or crow, and had to maddeningly avoid being savaged by it.

"Get off of me!" He hollered as he grasped the abert squirrel glued to his thigh. "I swear I'll make a Summoning contract out of you if you don't!"

The squirrel chattered and chirped back furiously, swatting at his hand.

"I mean it! Look I'll make the handsigns now!"With a hiss the squirrel sprang for the nearest branch, and Irui left the rodent chattering into the distance as he moved. Soon the trees parted, breaking into deep blue sky, and like a bird Irui broke through the tree line.

At the apex of his ascent he twisted mid-air, watching the innumerable mountains spanning the horizon. Each of them frosted with ice and snow. It was moments like these that he'd wished he could sprout wings and truly soar, to climb into the sky and never look back. Gravity soon took hold. He felt the pull in his stomach as the mountain's slope rose up to meet him, and he tapped lightly against an outcropping. Now above the trees, with nothing but barren rock and lichen to keep him company, he raced along the ridgeline.

With wind whistling through his hair, his body pulled tightly into a Shinobi's sprinter position, Irui had become an arrow, moving towards the Hidden Cloud. From this vantage point, he knew from years of training to follow the clouds.

Said to be inspired by the golden eagles of the mountain range, the village had been founded in a high valley. Situated high in the mountains, cradled on platforms, catwalks and precipices, the village used its unusual location to its advantage. Only shinobi of the Hidden Cloud could navigate the cloud paths back to the village.

Ruefully he smiled. His mother was not going to be pleased with his latest adventure.

{exit to Hidden cloud}