Strolling Along [No Fighting/Killing]

The Land of Fire. The name was strange for a country that was covered with so many forests. To many, these forests were sources for shade, sources for medicinal herbs, or simple a nice scenery. But at the moment, they were nothing more than a nuisance to the young medic, that had been traveling through these cursed woods for over two days. First the sandy, hot desert, and now this annoying forest, that seemed to go on forever, like a maze. It would have been impossible to find his way through it, had it been his first time. The young man, 23, very light blonde hair, almost albino. Pale red eyes, and a signature Cigarette, made from Herbs found in the SunaGakure Greenhouses. A special Cigarette that was nearly the same sort as a normal one, save the addictive material, or the unhealthy ones at that. His handsome face was no longer covered by that awful veil he wore for the time he was crossing that damned desert.

For the first few hours, the change in climate and scenery had been refreshing, but soon enough, the Humidity got to him. Annoying as it was, it only got worse, for the few hours he was crossing the river. Hopefully, the Hidden Leaf Village, would be better. Infact, he was sure it would. That was the only reason he accepted the offer, to be the representative of SunaGakure for the period of the Chuunin Exam. Plus, they needed a Med Ninja who was a specialist in Poison removal, just in case one of the Genin got carried away, and who better than Kensei for a job like that. He was now looking forward to some relaxation in Konoha, hoping that the maps were accurate, and the River was actually a sort of marker. It meant you were nearing Konoha. He had stepped on shore last night, and had decided to make Camp for a while, and take a small break, before heading off again. Not the best decision on his part, and he was about to find out why.

The one thing that had been comforting him throughout the journey, was the fact that he could finally get some alone time, and think about stuff. The Desert sand and heat had made sure he couldn't do that, now that he had crossed the water body, separating the two sides, and taken a nights rest. He was looking forward to the crisp mid morning air, as he strolled through the forest, the river barely 30m behind him. He was annoyed, and at the same time, a bit relieved that he could finally enjoy, even if a small part of his journey. But, lady luck wasn't so kind. Even though he had been traveling for almost 2 days, his luck wasn't changing. The first sign? The crackling on the Communication Device, followed by the voice of that annoying ANBU, saying "Kensei, Report your Status". Annoying, he thought, as his hand ran onto the Device. Pulling it to his mouth from around his neck, where it hung like a headset, he replied "Im 8 miles away from Konoha. I should reach my destination in another 2 hours", was his response, in a tired, yet stern voice. "Understood. Over and Out" replied the ANBU in a very official tone, followed by that annoying cackling sound. He shook his head. It was a nuisance, getting these Status Checks every 4 hours.

In an attempt to forget about all of this, and try to enjoy the morning air, and think things over, he reached into his pocket, and pulled out a cigarette. Placing it to his lips, he was about to use his Lighter, when he heard the rumbling of the clouds above his head. The expression of being relaxed left his face, and a sort of a "I Will Kill You" Expression took its place, as he felt the drops of rain falling on his head. Could things be any worse? The annoying Summer Shower ruined it for him. Placing both the cigarette and the lighter in his pocket, he continued, mumbling for what was left of his journey, as the rain wet his casuals. He was upto his ears with this trip, and his only condolence was the Konoha would be more relaxing. The shower was short in its duration, but for the period it did last, it rained Cats and Dogs. Even the dense tree were barely able to stop it, from pouring down upon the young Jounin, as he proceed, on his way to KonohaGakure no Sato.

Maxtio was pissed and tired. His back was trobing with pain and he could not feel his knees. The long walk He had partaken in was taking its toll on maxtio's body. The five day trip from the water country was enough to drive any body insane. But this was more than he could handle haveing to lug the giant battle axe guitar across his back. He loved this weapon, it meant more than anything else to him, but it was heavy, and this pissed him off more than anything about the axe.

Passing from tree to tree Maxtio was now in fire country, on his way to the village hidden in the leaves. He had been missing from the village for about a year now and was sure his welcome back would not be a fun one. His leaving the village made alot of people angery, upset and disapointed in him. He had grown out of the formal life style that the vilage provided and caused him to search more interesting life styles. This would be a great day when he walked through the giant green gates that he was chased out of almost two years ago.

The wind blew past his dark blue hair as he skipped from tree to tree. The sky was getting a bit dark as it seemed it would rain. The silk vest he wore matched with his fancy pants did not like water, his muscian style of clothing was better for cold areas, not wet. But he could not control the weather and found it fit to press on. Upon running he found himself caught in the downpour. It came so sudden and was fast. He sought shelther quick to wait out the rain. Falling through the tree tops and landing on the ground he placed his back agasint a tree trunk, his guitar axe pressed into his back. A passing figure walked by, an older man, not child age, passed by. He was to soaked with rain adn seemed to be heading in the same direction as him. Haveing not much else to do Maxtio stepped out in front of the passing man. Insane weather we are having today huh? Said maxtio sure that he would surprise the passing stranger.

[Btw, It stopped Raining]

There was a strange silence in the forest, now that the rain had stopped. The summer showers were frequent in Konoha, and a shower as such, should end with a stir of activity in the forest, with the birds flying into the sky, and some of the animals coming out of their homes, that were holes in the ground. But this had been replaced, with an eerie silence, not something he expected, but not something he cared about either. He continued on his path, walking towards the Hidden Leaf Village, only an Hour and a Half from his destination. His eagerness grew, at finally getting some sleep on a bed, and if he was lucky, it wouldn't be just him in that blanket. His face finally went back to its normal, relaxed state, as he pulled out a his cigarette, and the lighter, finally getting the chance to smoke for a bit. Inhaling the smoke, from his special sort of Cigarettes, he let the tense wrinkles formed on his forehead escape, and exhaled, finally getting the chance to relax, while he placed the lighter back into his pocket.

But, this period of relaxation, was short lived. No surprise there. His forehead tensed again, even though his body didn't give of any signs of nervousness or stress. He could hear his arrival. The man that was jumping from tree to tree. The rustling of the leaves gave him away. Traveling like that was almost the same as screaming "Here I am". Foolish thing to do. Since it was a Ninja, he couldn't let his guard down, as it could be, both a Village Ninja, or a Rogue. His landing, and informal manner of speech surprised him a bit, but it was enough to help him realize, that this man wasn't here to pick a fight. Not caring enough, to take his hands out of his wet pockets, he simply looked at the man, from the corner of the eye, and walked right past him, simply saying "Sure is...". Strange behavior, yet understandable, seeing as he was, in a hurry.

He wasn't quite sure, how the Ninja would respond. Would he get agitated and attack him, or would he continue to talk to him, or simply leave. Whichever it was, he was sure that it wasn't a Village Ninja. Simply because of the fact, that any Village Ninja, would have tried to confirm his identity, before letting him pass. Ruling out that possibility, the only one left was, that he was a missing ninja. It didn't seem like he was hostile towards him, and as long as he wasn't ordered to kill one of these Nin, he didn't care enough to do so. He simply thought of them, as unnecessary entities, that are not to be bothered with, unless they attack first. A very Diplomatic, and peaceful way to handle things, and that was probably the reason, why he had so many connections, in different countries.

With the starnge feeling of wet moist ground right after a raining maxtio took a few steps forward, out from the protection of the over head trees. The rain had stopped but this was not what was present on maxtios mind. The man that he tried to speak with, keep walking past him, with just a small response. Maxtio did not find this to be very polit, even if he was a ninja. So he took a few steps closer and saw that this man was going to continue to walk away. Feeling a little set back He decided not to attack, the last thing to do would be to tick someone off even after they avodied you. But he would not let it down so quick. Maxtio stepped up his pace and began to walk after the man, keeping the pace he was and staying relativly close. On your way to Konoha? Me to, going to do a little work. Been walking a few days, how about you? i just left water country not to long ago. Where are you from? Maxtio began his barrage of talking, a trait that drove many people to disliking him. His non stop talking. He just wanted to have a friendly talk, a little break from the silence he endured for the past week. In actuality this was the first human he had seen since leaving water country. And he was not about to pass up the chance of having a conversation because this man was in a hurry. Thigting his back strap and bruching off his pant legs he was determined to stay with this man all the way to konoha. If he was not going there Maxtio would break off when needed, but for now it was nice to not be alone.

A little grin spread across his face, and he couldn't help, but feel relieved that the man wasn't hostile towards him. The talkative kind, were sometimes annoying, but great company once you get involved in a conversation. Specially for someone like Kensei, who liked to listen. The wrinkles on his forehead disappeared, and he continued to smoke, while the man rambled on. Once he was was finished with his questions, he decided to be truthful, since he seemed to have no reason to lie. He started, in a lazy voice "Yeah. My destination is Konoha" and he paused, to exhale a cloud of smoke, before continuing "... and yes, I've been traveling for almost 3 days now" he finished, sighing a bit, as he relaxed his shoulders. His clothes had dried somewhat, due to the fact that they had been walking through a part of the forest where the tree's were not so dense, and the Sun could dry his clothes. He had skillfully avoided the last question, about where he was from, but he knew that this man would not simply accept this for an answer.

Not stopping, but turning his head a bit, so that he could look at him from the corner of his eyes, he calmly said "Although... I highly Doubt that you are going to Konoha". He was not going to bluntly state that he knew that this man was a missing nin, but he wasn't going to simply let the fact go untouched either. It would help him keep the man distracted, and hopefully, prevent him from touching th subject of where he was from. If he knew he was a Suna Jounin, he would be suspicious to why he was headed towards Konoha, and avoiding the question he would ask then, would be much more difficult, thus, it was better to stop him before the conversation reached that point.

As the walk pressed on maxtio felt his cloths dry but the giant axe on his back still weighed down alot with wetness. The cloth that covered it was soaked still and would hold water for hours. So he reached back with his left arm and took hold of the cloth, pulling it off to reveal the shiny metallic blue sheen of the guitar, The cloth was thrown over his shoulder and hung to dry. The man did not seem to annoyed at his frequent talking, and did answer his qustions.

Well im from konoha as well....but im a missing ninja Maxtio half expected the man to turn around or stop. He was ready for any conflict that might arise. Im going back to vist some family, i have neglected to visit them lately. And how come you say i am not going to konoha? Maxtio knew his kind, missin gninja that is. were not accepted much around these parts, but he had his ways of getting what he needed. In fact he was not going to konoha for family, but his true intentions would remain a secret. So what business does a person like you have in konoha? Maxtio was trying to play the dumb card, act like he was clueless to everything, where as he was trying to get a better feel of this man, a better idea of who he was walking with.

He was a bit surprised at how easily he had revealed his identity, and yet, he wasn't, in the least bit, affected by it. There were things that he just didn't care about, and Missing Ninja, were one of them, though it was quite clear that he was lying about his motives, but like always, avoiding a direct confrontation was in his best interest. There was no point in trying to keep his own motive a secret, but was it wise to let him know that he was a Suna Ninja. He might use it against him. It wasn't like he was judging him or anything, but with Missing Ninja, you can never be too careful. He didn't really care enough to look back at him to reply, so he simply continued to walk and said "That is none of your Business", in a very general tone, that sounded a bit like it was an order, instead of a statement, and yet, was still quite a calm tone.

There was a momentary silence, as he glanced at the top of the Axe like weapon he was carrying. Clearly, he was strong, otherwise, to carry such a weapon would be impossible. The weapon was unlike any he had seen before, and yet, he felt like it nothing more than a battle axe. He was urged to ask about it, but decided not to. Never wise to ask a Ninja about his powers. The silence, seemed to be nice right about now, as he quickened his pace, not that they were only an hours distance from Konoha. But the problem now was, to loose him. A Ninja from another village, accompanied by a Missing Ninja. Not a very promising sight. He would have to give him some excuse or the other to get rid of him.

He thought that it was better that he tried to get rid of him with a lie, rather than fighting him when he was so close to a village. He decided to be quick about it, and said "Ok then, I think you should leave. The Jounin Team asked me to meet them about 100m form here, and I don't think they will take Kindly to you, so Id suggest, you take off". It was a Lie, but partially try as well. There was a Jounin who was supposed to be his guide during his stay in the village. It was only his second time, so a Guide was necessary. A better word, would be a Baby-Sitter. Just to make sure he didn't get in trouble. But he didn't mind. Specially not this particular Hottie, that went by the name of Uchiha Rika. The Leaf Village certainly knew how to cater their guests. But anyhow. It was not important, because if she did see him with this guy, it would mean trouble, and pointless suspicion. So instead of giving him an opportunity to reply, he simply said "So I think you should get the hell out of here, and find another way in. Just don't cause trouble", and saying that, turned to face the direction of Konoha, and using a series of Shunpo, disappeared from where he stood, leaving behind a cloud of dust.

[To Konoha >>>>]

Maxtio could feel the mans eyes fixed on his weapon for a second, then turned like he had nothing, or wanted nothing to do with him. A strange vibe was felt, like he was not wanted or needed, and maxtio was used to this, i mean come on he was a missing ninja. But as the man speed up his pace maxtio simply fell behind, not wanted to anger this man any longer. Truth was he to was going to konoha, wheather he was believed or not, and this man was not needed to gain entrence.

After a lame attempt to leave, and a rude depature maxtio was now alone, thinking to himself about how nice it would be if he where to meet up with this man again in konoha, he didnt even get to learn his name. But the next time they met wouldnt be so dumb.

[end topic]