Entrance to the Past

Katsumi had begun to rest on his laurels, letting the near waft of smoke push just in front of his face before climbing upwards into the sky and blending into the deep blue hue of the night that expanded before him. The small campfire that burned not so subtly in front of him gave a soft glow to the small clearing he'd found suitable enough to rest for the night. The stars were bright and sprinkled out against the expanse and as Katsumi's head had tilted back, the light of the stars was absolutely doused by the sheer magnificence that the moon provided. Like a beacon against a backdrop of nothing, the very details of its surface could be seen, and maybe because he was up in this mountain range, he could even see it a little bit clearer than someone on the sea might see it.

He'd smirk for a second before letting his head back down, the very thought that a few hundred feet in elevation would let him see the moon more clearly? Maybe true, but mostly nonsense. Maybe if he climbed all the way up into the peak of a mountain and stared at it past the cold and clouds, he could say that.

His eyes soberly wandered back down to the fire, his knees impressed to his chest as a single hand held them tightly to his body while his right hand reached out to feel the warmth of the fire in front of him. The small sleeping bag that he'd laid out to his right side and the blanket still in the pack began to call out to him but the anxiety of where he was kept him content to sit simply on the flattened rectangular stone he'd found to be his chair. Besides, he'd wandered into the mountain ranges days ago, and had made no progress in finding anyone or finding his way to the Village Hidden in the Stones any easier.

Maybe he'd make some more progress in the morning? He could hope for it, his survival training would at least allow him that. And in the end, he wasn't just quite ready to give up on everything.

At least one more day.

The same thing he'd told himself every night for the last two weeks as he wandered through the mountains in search of a more important stone.


[397 words]

Mitsu had received reports of someone traveling through the mountains, and being the dutiful citizen that she was, she had gone out to find them and sort out what was going on. More than likely it was just someone on a camping trip or some fishing excursion. A lone traveller didn’t usually spell trouble, at least not in any recent memory she had. During the war the trouble had come in droves and she would have been glad to see only one person causing it if it had to happen at all. She knew she would be travelling around the mountains for a while so she dressed warmly, her red leather clothing covered over by a thick leather and fur cloak. She considered briefly that wearing clothing covered in gold thread and gems was not the safest travelling attire from all the rumours she’d heard of looters and bandits since the war. But she still hadn’t had anyone accost her so she justified to herself that her fears were largely imaginary. Not being a complete idiot though she would bring her two tessans with her.

Making her way through the mountains was an easy task, she’d done it often enough by now that she could probably do it with her eyes closed. Maybe. She wasn’t quite willing to test that theory in the dark just to prove a point to her inner voice. She still liked her legs. It didn’t take too many hours before she spotted a pinprick of light in the distance, that was definitely not a low hanging star. ‘Well now feet, what’s that we see? Hopefully a warm fire since it’s pretty cold out here.’ Mitsu would then activate her sensory and spotting a single source of chakra further up the mountain she would gracefully take her feet and dance up towards it.

Once she was within comfortable speaking distance she would call out to the lone figure that was near the campfire, her high and melodic voice carrying easily over the distance between them. “Good evening! Don’t mean to startle you or anything.” She hadn’t intended to startle anyone and a more observant person than Mitsu would have realized that essentially sneaking up on someone who was just enjoying a campfire before turning in for the night was the opposite of ‘not startling’.  Blissfully ignorant of the social faux pas she would jump down near the fire, her knee length paper white hair flowing behind her as her reddish pink eyes caught the firelight and reflected it back in an animalistic way as her gaze settled on the man she had joined. “I’m Mitsukira Tatsudashi, but you can call me Mitsu. What are you doing out here? Aren’t you cold?” She would laugh as she glanced back down at the fire. “Well maybe not cold, but why are you sleeping up here?”

A quick shift of the eyes darted across from his position to the newcomer's arrival, her words breaking the sound of crackling fire and lightly moving wind but would hardly register in Katsumi's mind until he had fully interpreted his situation. The specter shifted along and continued offering her name simply and wondered about what he was doing, Katsumi's eyes would go to meet hers, letting the light of his small campfire dart around her own pupils, glowing brilliantly in a heat of orange to show off the intensity of color in her own eyes.

Katsumi would bring himself up, having let go of his knees immediately to stretch his legs out while keeping his feet planted and ready to move as he slowly came to standing.

"Oh, hi there, not really cold... I suppose I don't know any better place to go for someone lost out here?" His eyes would dart around her presence, noting the weaponry on her and her sudden appearance being the only things he would initially pick up on. Aside from how... pale her skin is and distinct her appearance, Katsumi would soften his features and try to prevent a friendly face in opposition.

"You can call me Katsumi though. I only picked this spot because it'd be a good place for a fire, and to rest up before I continue looking for the Stone Village..." he would offer finally while having fully risen to stand and meet the woman across from him, his black pants a bit dusty from the ground loose on the rock he was sitting on. His shirt pulled loosely against his body with the wind, loose fitting and a lighter red color with an untied string at the throat. His thin jacket would get pulled and straightened up as he would watch carefully for whatever the woman would follow up with next.


[312 words, 709 words total]

Mitsu was happy to see that the man near the fire hadn’t immediately leapt to fight her. It was only after she had already made her presence known that she briefly considered that might have been the potential outcome. ‘You really have to be better about reading situations, Mitsu. One of these days you’re going to walk right into the bear’s den.’ She had no real concept of what a bear’s den was like, seeing as there weren’t many bears in the desert. But it was an analogy and in her head, so the accuracy of it didn’t really matter.

Hearing that he was lost would put a momentary frown on her delicate features. Serendipitously she had arrived just when he needed her most. Seeing as she wasn’t lost and he was. Once again the Universe was looking out for her. Well him in this case, but the point remained the same. Someone had a need and the Universe provided. She would nod happily as he introduced himself and stated he was looking for Iwagakure. “Nice to meet you Katsumi! I’m sorry you were lost, but you’re in luck because. . .” She would pause before blurting out that she ‘knows where Iwagakure is and can take you right there.’ She was not a suspicious person by nature, and it had only been over the last year or so that any semblance of misgiving had been inserted into her usual thinking process. Taking full advantage of the warm fire she would sink to the ground cross legged and place her chin on her hand, propping her head up by her arm resting on her thigh.

“Let me ask you a couple questions if you don’t mind. I can probably help you, but I have been told repeatedly that I need to be more ‘diplomatic’. Whatever that means.” She would stare into Katsumi’s rust coloured eyes intently as she considered how she was supposed to determine if it was safe to show him where the village was. She didn’t bother asking if she could sit down and share the fire with him, to her an open fire was an invitation to company, at least that was how she’d been raised to regard it. Fires were often the difference between life and death in the cold and unforgiving nights in the desert. Assuming he didn’t interrupt her she would ask him two questions thoughtfully. “Why are you looking for the Stone Village? And what are your intentions once you find it?” He could lie to her of course, and she really would have no way of knowing. But Mitsu didn’t concern herself with that line of thinking, she was an honest person inherently and while she was aware that others did lie, she preferred to give everyone the benefit of believing them first and only doubting when she had evidence that she should doubt.[/i]

In luck... his mind would reverberate with that sentiment for a second before her stature suddenly changed. Katsumi felt it, the shift downwards to join at the fire and as she caught herself continuing on, he recognized so easily the deception and shift towards caution instead of openness. It was all sold throughout her person, the closed off body posture and the finality to ask a few questions.

Katsumi would sigh and nod affirmatively to her questioning as he himself would fall to sitting perpendicular to the corner of the fire away from her. Positioning himself so that the fire itself would be at the edges of both their vision while he calmly listened and absorbed her words. Diplomatic was the one that stood out rather than her confusion about it, Katsumi understood perfectly what it meant in this situation, she had to know where the village was or at least how to get there, but couldn't trust him as an outsider and to be fair, he is an outsider. So when she asked why he wanted to find Iwa and for what purpose he let out a more heavy sigh and let his eyes wander down while his face scrunched in thought for an instant.

"I suppose you could say that it's home?" his eyes would land on her for a moment as he began to speak. Choosing his words carefully and aiming to give more valid pretense behind his whim to leave the Land of Lightning in search of family that may not be there and a connection to a land he had not had since he was a child.

"More importantly, it's a home I haven't seen in a long long time..." his brows would raise for a moment as he let out a, practiced, and yet disappointed sigh within his pause. "So that also answers to my intentions I guess. Call it a... return home? Or maybe an attempt to remember bits of my childhood past. In either case, at best it's a whim that I sought out. The time felt right in a way, if that makes any sense."

He let his eyes wander back around his camp for an instant, thinking about the intensity of saying 'the time felt right' when Iwa had been facing a war and so many enemies and intruders. Plainly, it might have been a downright terrible time for people like him to show up in this land.


[408 words, 1117 words total]

Mitsu was glad when Katsumi sat down, it meant there was a chance for conversation rather than a tense questioning period. Or an interrogation. She hated that word, she’d barely known what it meant when she had first arrived in the Land of Earth, but now she knew it all too well and she didn’t like the heavy meaning it carried. She was learning a lot of words that she didn’t like the meaning of. There were too many concepts that she apparently needed to understand, but had been blissfully ignorant of. At least until a year ago.

Mitsu’s white eyebrows would raise in surprise as Katsumi said Iwagakure was his home. From what she could piece together he had lived there once as a child, and the thought of him being displaced for so long tugged at her heartstrings. Her features softened from the attempted seriousness she had tried to make them hold, into a gentle and sympathetic smile. “It makes sense, the Universe has its designs and leads us to take our place within them if we let it. It’s good of you to listen, not many do.” She rarely heard people speak of ‘time feeling right’, more often than not people had plans and schedules, always scheming to lord their imagined power over the Universe. People could be powerful, sure. But she found they often overestimated themselves and their abilities, as if they could just bottle up the sky and sell day or night rather than allow themselves to fit into the Universe the way they were meant to. The way Katsumi was describing right now. And with that thought she firmly convinced herself that Katsumi was not a danger to the village, a wiser person would have given it longer than thirty seconds thought. But Mitsu made decisions with her heart, and her heart couldn’t bear the thought of someone not reuniting with their home and possibly their family.

“We’ll get you home Katsumi, worry not. We’re not far actually, even without me here it wouldn’t have been long before you found it on your own I think. Though I think it may look different than you remember.” Even before the war she was certain it didn’t look the same as it would have when Katsumi was a child. Masaru had made some integral changes to the village, the most imposing of which was ‘Dead Man’s Alley’. The massive stone walls that served as both protection for the village and a reminder of the penalties of breaking the laws of Iwagakure. She hated the custom, the severed limbs and dead bodies of criminals hung for all to see. She would have had them removed long ago had it only been her decision. “I’ll take you there whenever you’re ready.” Shaking off the gruesome thoughts of the alley she would smile again at Katsumi, leaning back on her hands and getting comfortable, trying to show that she wasn’t attempting to rush him.

'The universe has its designs'...

It was certainly an interesting way of putting things. It most certainly had its intentions and forces them upon the world. Katsumi's brief flickering thought around the human conditions futile and unavailing attempts to resist what the universe had in store for its subjects. That brief flicker gave rise to a final thought, wondering if that was truly what made someone special or powerful, that unnerving fight against destiny. Maybe those who were able to break out and create their own place in the stars is what made them truly great. Made them feel alive. Made them something more than just another person within the fold of the millions upon millions of people that would accomplish absolutely nothing day to day despite their best intentions.

Katsumi's lulled thought was instantly broken by Mitsu's offer to take him home. That word seemed more important than any other word or thought before. It was really his first time hearing it like that out-loud. His memory snapped in an instant to a warm-lit image of a smiling mother and father. His mothers bright and unapologetic smile towards Katsumi, eyes closed slightly and the softest features he could remember. His fathers face calm and strong, yet cracking with a smirk as he could remember one of few moments where he came running to his mothers arms.

Katsumi sitting there would break into a smile before responding. Unable to resist the emotional urge, his eyes growing a bit more intense, as if the liquid that lubricated them within his skull began to grow in volume. That was it... but quickly he would break that and would turn his energy consciously towards Mitsu, shifting as he did so. Maybe she would catch the difference or assume the energy would be in the same spirit of excitement rather than emotion. As she offered to head out, he would quickly offer up,

"Perfect, let me just get this packed up then."

Katsumi would let a small silence befall himself as he quickly rolled up his bedroll and blanket and affix it to the top of his bag before slinging it on a single shoulder. Nothing else really around or taken out, he would gather up a handful of dirt and look to Mitsu, ready to follow her into the night with a single nod before dousing the campfire with a single flick of his arm.


[402 words, 1518 words total]

Katsumi seemed genuinely happy at the prospect of being taken to his childhood home. Which of course made Mitsu happy. Her entire philosophy regarding people boiled down to ensuring that everyone was happy and got what they wanted as long as it didn’t hurt anyone. And she had seen his emotional reaction, brief though it had been, so she was relatively certain that this was a good action. As he rose she would jump to her feet, taking a second to dust off her clothing as he packed up his camp. This was her first official ‘mission’ to bring someone into the village, and she was excited to see it done.

With a wink and a laugh she would start heading back to the village. “This way then, we’ll have to go a bit slowly since it’s so dark, but it’s not far. You really were very close, all things considered, you probably would have found it within a few days.” Mitsu had no idea if that was true, but it seemed likely that someone who had made it this far and had been there before when they were very young would find the village given enough time. She would keep up cheerful banter with Katsumi as they walked, and if he decided not to talk she would just comment on the scenery, pointing out all the things she thought were beautiful along the way. What little was visible of course, so mostly it was a commentary on the vaguely rock shaped shadows in the dark. Assuming nothing interrupted them, eventually they would make it to the gates of Iwagakure, giant stone walls hung with the body parts of Iwa’s criminals. In the dark though they would be partially obscured. Turning to Katsumi, if he was still with her, with a smile Mitsu would gesture with arms gracefully towards the entrance. “Welcome home, Katsumi.”

{Exit Thread}

Probably would have found it... Katsumi would suppose that was something as he finished packing everything up and sliding his arms through the straps of his backpack. As they departed, the small talk would be mostly shadowed by Katsumi focusing on following and the path they would take, taking careful notes of the surroundings and trying his best to remember the various landmarks pointed out, slowly starting the learning process of his new home.

Though their journey wasn't extremely long, it was broken by a shadowed silence as the walls of Iwagakure grew into his vision, even in the dark with the moonlight. It wasn't until he got closer that his eyes began to adjust, he said nothing but trained himself on the macabre scene that painted his entrance to the village. Body parts strewn across the walls as some kind of crude message or warning. Katsumi felt a pit open up in his stomach, wondering if his home was... this kind of place?

It couldn't have been... was this why his parents sent him away? To be somewhere less horrifying and less impressionable on someone so young. Or perhaps this was new? His slowed steps would be broken by Mitsu's final verbage, his eyes would dart back to her and he would exhale to force a moment of relief within his chest. "Yeah..."

Katsumi would gulp lightly to clear his throat before heading in towards the village following her gesture. "Welcome home..."


[Exit Thread]