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On the ferry boat Condor, the people had no idea what to do with their selves. They all seemed to know each other being a Konoha group, knowing about ninja and teachers, all ranging from Academy Students to Jounin level ninja. But after the initial conversation on who was who, talk began to spread out about individuals. What squad were you on? Oh in my day, my sensei had the best team, yours was garbage. Oh how things change, these group of ninja just babblering on about what the past was like. And when they'd exhausted all of their stupid talk, Shinjin could finally get some rest on the ferry.

The Condor sailed out in the open sea, away from Konoha and back towards home. A good number of shinobi from the Leaf Village got off the boat before even crossing territorial waters, stopping at random islands for missions. Shinjin would stay on the whole way of course. He'd been hearing about some recent reports in the village that disturbed him. There was a particular paper on an Allied Shinobi from Kumogakure. He'd saved a ninja in an attack and the report ran through the village as wind would nature. Word had spread so far that it reached Konoha and back, Shinjin only knowing about it by the contact's information. Then there was word of a traveling magician. All he could think was, I've got someone in my village and I'm not there. He wanted to be back home as soon as possible.

Each second spent on the boat was tedious and painful. The water never moved, it seemed. Islands in the distance were just that, stationary piles of rocks that never grew bigger. God, I have to get up and do something, I can't stand this. He'd failed his attempt to fall asleep (in that he'd hoped sleep would hold him over until docking). And now he lounged around an empty coffee bar with a lone attendant in the back, somber as a bartender while wiping down everything. He ordered something that a single blond woman ordered, a Cappuccino.

The bartender -or cashier/coffeemaker- explained how wonderful it was. It was the new age answer to driving all your problems away. It's taste like sweet nectar, the sting and bitter bite of coffee all gone. He mixed in a few tablespoons of espresso without asking Shinjin, no rather insisting that he taste it this way. A froth of steamed milk thrown in with a tasteless dash of powered chocolate and suddenly he was supposed to be in line with nature and the universe. It was all bullshit.

He sighed and picked up the cup, thanked the ecstatic teen whose day had now brightened and headed back to dark clouds. Good Lord. This guy really thought he gave me the best cup of heaven the skies could afford. His look dismayed and disgusted at the initial taste, realizing that Kyu's hard earned money had been put to waste. There was nothing but sugar here, lied over instant coffee and some brown stuff for chocolate that might be powered dirt, or just plain dirt. Don't toss it just yet, wait he doesn't have his eyes this way on the ferry, then toss it. He placed it in the cup holder and held it, pretending to enjoy its warmth. The window much more interesting than what was around him.

Home. Home. Home. Shinjin's thoughts repeated, skipped and shuffled the same thing over again. Home. Those sweet dango at home in the Suuin District. A memory of his encounter across from a security guard at the table. Telling him this and that, to watch his back and be careful. Not to fuck with the kid who illegally ran the apartment complex. Who'd robbed him over a book -which by the way, he still didn't have in his possession- and ransacked his apartment. Trivial, all of it. Shinjin had access to two massive fortunes, well three counting Kyu's loose pockets and whatever money he naturally earned by being Oinin Butai. He forgot about the paycheck that would be waiting there for him. It wouldn't be much, but free money was always welcome.

Posts : 757

Shinjin began to really feel what he was actually missing. Home wasn't enough. He longed for the feeling of combat. Shinjin hoped to risk his life in battle once again, as a stronger man. To prove himself to this degree, ranking up even while on the move, always growing stronger. In order to get to Jounin rank he'd need to complete a set amount of missions as well, but everything was being set up for him by his wives. Once he touched foot down in the Kiri he'd rest for a single day and instantly get to work. Time had not slowed for him, he wold be sixteen before long. Just thinking about it made him smile. A sixteen year old Jounin, fifteen if father time decided to push the boat even faster.

Maybe Hiroshi would put him on a squad. He'd train them like his own army, or at least made sure there needs were met and allow more freedom for them to grow. Maybe not. Shinjin wanted to see Seika, Tatsuo and Kirima once again. One naturally got tired of the jumbled mess that was Kyu, that eccentric personality changed too often. Like a radio station with a faulty knob, once you are enjoying an evening of jazz it changes to political culture and scientific advancement of chimps from Tea Country.

Unknown to Shinjin was an unspeakable urge that rumbled around the belly in his mind. It controlled his hands and body and subtly high jacked him. Shinjin was feeling different from human, rather like someone wearing human's skin. A spirit inhabited his body, simply waiting for him to do something. He couldn't fear what he did not know, and what Shinjin did not know would be dangerous to everyone around him. His wives, his friends, his country and innocent beings. Shinjin desperately sought blood. To see it pour from the body in a fountain of life. The urge to kill, yes. And it was not just Oinin Butai killing, there was a monster somewhere within this child just biding its time. A tiny little innocent thing that sat in his past. Each memory or pain he had, it toyed with it and shaped it into something that wasn't. Maybe if someone had been watching close enough they could see his personality began to split. Oinin Butai would destroy his mind, there was no way getting around that. Being a King of his people, that was nice yes, but Shinjin's future lied in killing one of his wives, if not both. Becoming a spiritual leader, maybe he would still hold on to that, but it would be more chaotic than good. Kyu might have taught him what he needed to know, but the true monster he had not seen was still there. And Shinjin was all the unaware of it.

The open trash bin crept its way around the ferry boat, starting with the large messes of first class and the tiny ones of second class. Shinjin didn't care for such labels even though he'd missed that cloud of feather under those leather skins. His window seat with the additional leg room was arguably better. Kirigakure finally began to grow into the distance, large and full. He could see smoke and watch towers and ninja wearing headbands. In the distance on the docks he saw Okoki, waiting for him to step on solid ground once more. Most importantly Shinjin saw the Mist. The same Mist he'd hated while growing up, he embraced it now. It was the only thing he could really relate to, it hid everything in the shadows of its tail but at the same time forced everyone to live with it. Forced it's identity on everything. That Mist was the ultimate power here in Shinjin, and he wanted to be just like that.

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