A mute start

Posts : 760

-The Exile-

~From the mind of Hateshini, Keiro aka Mr. Black~

A week and a half. That’s how long it took the guy on the other line to fulfill the request I asked for. The package came to me on a Thursday; I was sitting at home after I picked up some books at the local store. The owner who worked there got a good impression of me as I continued to come into her store and buy books from her. She was a nice woman of thirty, long brown hair with hazel eyes that could tell a story or two by the way she talked. She was a single mother of one, a seven year old boy in which I would see sometimes reading a book on the counter whenever I came in or helping his mother place some books on the shelf. He was sensible in holding a conversation, albeit small conversation that consisted of his day and how he did at school. It wasn’t much small talk but he seemed to have some interest in me. I can imagine him wanting to know me because I was probably the only figure that was close to a father he ever had. I had reminded him that was just a tad bit older than him but that’s kind of hard to press to an impressionable seven year old so I decided it was best to leave it be. He was a handsome boy, probably had the look of his father who had either left his mother and him for another woman or had died. I had deduced that it was probably the latter because the third day I had returned to the store, I asked for a particular book that wasn’t in the front and I asked whether it was in the back. She said she would look and she had disappeared for a minute or two. A lot of things can be picked up in a minutes, trust me when I say this. Being a wandering man whose only great skill is deduction, you train yourself in ways of finding out people to see if they are either your enemy or your friend. There was a shelf up above one of the bookshelves behind the counter. I saw a picture in a small frame of a man who appeared to be in his late twenties. A harden face from the look but his smile made him gentle for just those few seconds. He was seen next to a younger bookstore owner with shorter brown hair holding the small baby in her arms. By the way the man was positioning himself, he belong in the military. Shinobi maybe but I doubt that was what he was. He maybe worked for a Daimyo as a guard or one of his elite men. He just had that look to him that made him stand out. I didn’t press on the subject matter not wanting to appear intruding into her life. She was still young and I showing interest in her would’ve seem like I’m trying to replace the man she just lost. Granted, if I wasn’t young and I had intention of moving forward towards Hot Springs, I might’ve taken the opportunity because I saw plenty of openings and decided best to withhold myself from it.

I open the door and found the package on the ground. Yes, I was still residing in the crappy hotel but I had managed to fix it up a bit during my stay. It may have been crappy but that didn’t mean I had to leave it as such. I looked around the area trying to see if there was anyone I could’ve spot but there was no one to be found. The delivery man had to keep incognito which I understood. The way of the criminal is to keep low and deliver no attention to themselves, even among the community of criminals. I closed the door and set the package on the mat where I open it up and found all the necessary items I requested. I found two credit cards all under the name “Shikyo, Hei” and a debit card under the same name. In a plastic bag was a large wad of money that would add to the additional money I had stored now. I was mixed about this. It was a lot of money to carry on me but I really had no choice but to take it. I didn’t know whether I would see a bank or any sort of cash flow anytime soon. It would take awhile until I reached Hot Springs so I guess the man who had taken my order knew this to be so. I found more things that the man on the phone added his personal touch which were a few business cards with my name and the title “International Investor”. It could mean anything but again it was a good set up for him. I also found a passbook which was good for many countries with border patrols. I looked and found the picture used was when I had blue eyes. Would people question it now that my eyes were the color of shadows? Maybe…but I don’t think I would have a problem considering these days people wore different color contacts because they believe their eyes didn’t match their hair or they didn’t like the way it look. It was for some bullshit reason and I can probably deal with it myself. I’m still unnerved by the fact that my eyes had changed dramatically but I had to accept for what it was. It didn’t bother me that the one time I fall asleep and met two men who went by the name of Dream and Dimension that gave me a message of never giving of hope. It’s that odd sense that these two beings were watching over that bothered me the most rather than my eyes changing color. I wonder if Uriko would notice. Of course she would. She’s one who trained in medicine and one who trains in the art of hand to hand martial arts. Details are king in the world of professional criminals and she would notice right away thought it wouldn’t matter to her whether his eyes were black, green, purple or pure white.

I took these things and set them into my little satchel that I’ve carried. I upgrade the satchel so it’s a little bigger now. It had my folded clothes both for travel and for little task that required me out of my casual clothes of button up shirts and jeans and of course the little extras that was now my new identity. I packed the few books that I bought from the bookstore but left some books on the shelf of the room. If someone was lucky enough to get this room, they would have some interesting reading material that was up to date rather than the old fifty year old books that had out of date references. The books I read were good but that was only because I had read books that were similar. The inn wouldn’t last long if it kept up the rate of its below standard affairs but then how many people who came into this inn and said the same thing?

I checked out of my room finally and paid the amount I promise to pay plus a little extra. The owner, whose name I found was Ichigo, gave me a twitching look before saying “Hmm, I thought you were staying another week?”

“No,” I began, knowing I had to clarify with this man"I said I may stay for two to three weeks depending on whether I receive word of the bank would accept my business plan. I’ve got the message early and they accepted it so no, I’m not staying here any longer.” If I wanted this Ichigo character to not blab, I would have to make him shut his lip either by persuading him with money or persuading him with my fist. I decided to put some extra cash on the table. “Let’s just say that I won a big raffle and I decided to give you a bit extra for your services” that he did not provide but I wasn’t going to say that. He made the money disappear.

“Do you want a receipt?” Ichigo asked instinctively

A shithold like this I thought? Thanks but I don’t want a piece of paper reminding me of the bad service I been through. It’s like having a picture of a birthday party where the stripper in the cake decides she wants to throw up in it. “No thanks.” I responded and got my satchel and left the inn hoping that I’ll never return to such a place. I wanted to say goodbye to the storeowner and her kid but I didn’t have the heart to go in and see that kid’s eyes. They deserve because of the hospitality thing and they had the small town charm that really did attract me to that place. The mother knew. She knew I wasn’t going to stay long. She could just look at me and see that my intentions were to get going after a time. That kid didn’t even see it and I feel like I’m abandoning him for my own selfish reason. Hell, it was selfish to leave because I was only thinking of myself. God, that kid was thinking he was making a friend with all the garble he was talking and in honesty I didn’t mind it. I never had a little brother or for that matter a son who looked at me like that. I couldn’t bear it even if I wanted to. They say criminals are supposed to be hardened by this so they wouldn’t be attached to anyone whoever they met. I’ve learned that over the year or so of being on the move but-God, how can I look at that kid and tell him that I probably won’t ever return? He wasn’t out of school yet; I had a good hour or so before I saw the kids leaving the building. I scouted it out ahead of time and I knew the path he takes towards his mother shop.

I leave town. I didn’t pull the shinobi route and go jump from building to building. I walked like a normal person just going by on the sidewalk until I saw the sign that said ‘You are now leaving’ and continued on. No, the old Keiro Hateshini would do that to get around. I’m Hei Shikyo, international businessman and investor who have no skills as a shinobi but have skills in the art of closing the sale and finding opportunities in small and big investments. I had the keep the persona for the moment until I was really deep in the shadow of things and when I can really entrust that there was no one around to see my set of skills. It may be hard for a new guy coming out of a village trying to act ‘normal’ in a sense. When they have to plant their feet on the ground and not travel by tree branch to tree branch or from roof to roof it kind of puts things into perspective. Trust me when I say that it is difficult to adjust an then at the spring of moment transform back into a shinobi. When you’ve been condition to act, think and breathe in the shinobi life it’s almost difficult. You could be a black operations of a village and it would be even more so a problem because they condition it thoroughly into your mind to stay a shinobi even if you live as a civilian. I’m twenty-five now and I’ve been doing this since I was twenty-three so you can imagine that it took a great deal of time and effort for me to do what I consider a ‘re-training’ of the sort. It was a bit difficult to break because when I came out of prison I still had the shinobi mindset of travelling very fast to my destination. Over the course of a year and a half, it did not take me long to break it. Maybe it had something to do with the prison sentence and staying there long enough but I think that was only part of the re-training. I think when I consider the fact that I had to survive in a shitty world that wasn’t Konoha, it truly changes your perspective and you learn quickly-and I mean really quick.

And, really I didn’t mind walking in the day time. It’s a change of scenery that makes you want to continue walking and I decided that’s the best. It lets you think and put ideas into your head slowly. I imagine that’s what you’re supposed to do as you move quickly to your target but my target goal wasn’t something to rush. If I rushed, then the end result will have some holes and many some faults that I didn’t even consider. Like the man on the other line, he said that his best work is when he took his time. If he rushed, there would be some minor setbacks that could become major in the long run. I had to carefully plan it all out, carefully decide it would be best to not let a genuine plan go wasted because of fast efforts.

There was an overgrown path that I noticed as I travelled a good distance. It was getting close to night and I decided that if I want to continue travelling that I should take a route that would cover my tracks a little and give sight barely visible. The sun wasn’t close to setting yet but it would in a hour or so. The path seems to lead back up where it came but as I looked further it went back downward. There must be a hill which is why the path didn’t look promising. As I travelled, the path had ended and there were trees that covered the entire landscape. I don’t think I was in the vicinity of bear country anymore or at least I was close to another country. If I was doing this right and my estimation was clear, I would be able to reach the next country by mid-evening tomorrow. I hope that this estimation is correct.

Posts : 760

-The Administrator-

The dim lighting was not doing any help for the man sitting in his office. His eyes were slanted giving him a squinted, strained look on his face. His glasses were set right next to his arm where he was holding a lukewarm cup of coffee. He didn’t want to strain his eyes too much but he was conflicted between putting on the glasses and let his eyes suffer more deterioration or take them off and deal with him not able to see what’s three feet in front of him. He had plans on corrective surgery, one where he could fix his deteriorating eyes with Lasik. He looked at the insurance this company supplied him and they did cover that much. He would have to travel to Fire Country and receive treatment there since they were the best in the world. Of course the insurance wouldn’t cover cost of travel but he didn’t have a problem with that. His next vacation came in about a month. With the money he’s been receiving from this company, he could travel to many parts of the world comfortably and not worry about the cost of travel. He was an older man, now comfortably forty-eight going on forty nine in three months. He had broad shoulders but was always lanky, ever since he was teenager. He was born and raised on a farm where his father had given him the necessary teachings a father would give to his son if he was going to pick up the family business. The administrator never had any interest in the farming business. He didn’t hate it per se but it wasn’t his cup of tea. His father was a man who didn’t mind going into the muck and trying to forge something with his bare hands. He was the type of man that had the patience to plant the seeds of his vegetables and wait till harvest. He was the man who didn’t mind lying on his back with a glass of ice cold lemonade, the glass perspiring from the cold and putting his straw hat over his head to take a quick nap before going on with the day. The admin was never one to live such a lifestyle. It symbolizes dependence on nature itself, dependent on the land pulling its weight along with the weight of the man planting it. The admin never had the patience for such things and always thought of him as a measly thing to farming. His mind was his best asset. He was much an intellectual, a scholar who had dreams of aspiring towards being a historian or a scientist. After graduating from his primary school, he left the farm and off to a college in Hot Springs Country where there were a bunch of start-up businesses, tourism was booming like crazy and the economy was stable. He was young and he jumped on any opportunity he could find to get a good job as a scientist. He graduated from a particular university with a Masters in biology. Not after graduation was he picked up by a suspicious biological company who dealt with genomes of rats and monkeys. Since it wasn’t ban to place experiments on other animals as well, the company was supported by well endowed investors of unknown background. The young admin always had his doubts, maybe because of his moral standings but money was talking a bit more to him than morals. Rising through the ranks was easy as he was showing great promise in the genome field. It was the sort of promise that allowed him to be one of the main directors in the human genome project. It got him a nice comfy office where he could section himself off from the other researchers or when he wish to have some alone time with his documents. The pay supplemented him quite well to live an almost lavish lifestyle with a good size home and a family to boot. The perks of the job was also good, something that many people in other countries dreamed of.

But ah, right now he was stuck in the late shift…again. This was the third night in a row out of the past week. He hated to stay late where he had to watch over a certain project. That was one the downside of the job, probably the only downside was the late shifts he had to deal with. He knew the importance of the project, the amount of money that goes into these things was not a cheap thing as the money would always As an early researcher, it was a simple 9-5 every Monday, Wednesday and sometimes Saturday. The pay grade was lower but he had time to spend with his growing family. His wife of forty-one with his two kids who were fifteen and nine. His son had attended the academy to become a shinobi, the first in his family to do so. He became a genin at the age of fifteen and now works for the local shinobi community that was installed in Hot Springs. It wasn’t a large commune, not even the size of the shinobi that use to inhabit Amegakure or even Kusagakure. It had a leader, who was probably no older than twenty-five with a few off shinobi who was trained by the makeshift academy. They were the small protection force that enforced whatever order they could to the troublemakers of Hot Springs. The amount of enforcement they had to pull was only pulling out drunks from brawls at the local bar and the occasional rift raft that came in to town trying to start trouble. He was countries away from them, living out in the outskirts of Bear Country. He hope his son was doing all right, he hoped everything was going well for him.

There was a knock on his door. The admin acknowledged for him to enter. The door open and four men walked into the room lining up one by one in a position where their legs were set a part by six inches and their hands were behind their backs. They were all wearing the same mask each with different animals. From left to right it was a wolf, a lion, a bear and a tiger. All of them wore gi’s, one that traditional martial artist use but their arms were wrapped in what looked like restraints, the leather stretching from their shoulders all the way down to their hands. They were wearing knee high boots that looked both protective and uncomfortable to wear but the admin wouldn’t know. He set his pen down on his written report and leaned back in his chair.

“I imagine you all have a report for me.”

The man with the wolf mask cleared his throat “Our squad had caught up with your escape experiment. We had her on the run until nightfall. Unfortunately, it was eight o clock last night that our squad lost sight and have not been able to track her down after that. We seemed to have…lost all forms of contact.” The wolf mask had expected the admin to speak at that time, perhaps to interject as to why this skilled bunch had lost track of a girl but said nothing. He continued “We do know that she is the vicinity of Bear Country and may be at the border in-between. We do also believe that she is not alone in her escape. She was with a young woman around the age of twenty-five and thirty, glasses, petite frame. We didn’t want to go through your records without permission so we didn’t do any further research on this particular person.”

There was no need for them to do that. The higher-ups would have a fit knowing a mercenary group went through their databanks. He took off his glasses and closed his eyes pinching the skin of his nose “Alina” the Admin said. The man described her perfectly, down to the body type. How many times had he stared at her body? She wore typical researchers coat and goggles but he had seen a bit more one time. She opens up her jacket and he saw a tight fitting body that was youthful, her breasts were perky as her personality-well when she first started working here. She had darkened over the two years as the experimentations were going into phase three of operation. He should’ve seen signs of the woman going off the deep end one of these days. “One of our scientists had deep involvement with the experiment. She developed an emotional attachment to her. She may be unreasonable and hard to deal with but I also would like her to be brought back…”

“That…we cannot do.” The tiger mask spoke interrupting the admin in a callus tone of voice “Our arrangement was to capture the experiment and no one else. If anyone else is involved, we are told to eliminate anyone else involved, even if it is an employee.

“Oh. How…unfortunate.” The admin said “Well, can you do this one little thing and not-

“As we said,” the lion mask interrupted “We are not to adhere to anyone but them and their orders. We are only speaking to you because you are the one who will relay the message to them. I’m sure this is not something too difficult for you?”

That irked him a little. The admin knew he couldn’t see inside the mask where he could see the bastard’s eyes but he imagined it to be a smug look. He could say things as such because he was not an employee here. If anyone else said something along those lines, he would’ve ripped him a new one with words that could cut down a small army. But he doubt words would faze this man or any of the men with mask. They appeared to be men where emotion did not interfere with work. They only let their skill do the talking which, by vague definition, made them professional.

“I’ll relay the message. Just don’t fail the company. You said you lost her…so go find her…”

They all spoke unanimously “Your will, our hand.” And they walked out of the room with quiet steps.

-The Mute-

She dreamt of strawberry fields. Her eyes filled her hazel eyes with the bright color red of the strawberries followed by a stretch of land that seem endless in the world of the dream. The sky was filled with barely anything but little fluff of clouds that hung in the air sailing slowly towards a direction that she didn’t know. She believed them to be travelling east but seeing that it was her dream, of course they would be travelling east. She was sitting down on a nice picnic cloth that spread six feet across. She wasn’t a large person, she was only four years of age or so what Miss Alina had told her. She didn’t know when her birthday was, she couldn’t even recall anyone ever giving her a party to celebrate her birth. No one celebrated her birth in the real world but they did in the dream world, the world where she had a lot of power and control over. She remembered last year when she turned three years of age. There, she found she was in a large room that could’ve held maybe a hundred or even a thousand people where they could’ve danced to music, held conversation or even mingle among themselves as they talked about their daily lives or about her. She was surrounded by three people all of which she had never seen before in her life. Two of them had very white skin that she could’ve compared to paper. One of them look very young, she was a female and to the mute very beautiful. She thought she had seen her before, once when she was littler than she was then. She had a cheery smile on her face, a smile that could inspire hope into people. She had an necklace that had a symbol she never seen before one she would later find out, by the woman no less, to be an Ankh. She said he held the very power that was both life and death.

The second person was someone who was very white, all the way down to his clothing. He appeared to be young, younger than the woman and the other man but the mute believed him to be much older than the third man. They held a deep conversation once, one where she was actually able to speak with her own voice. She didn’t know if she was speaking through her mouth or through her mind, it was almost hard to tell with everything sounding so ethereal and what not. She had definitely seen this man before; she sees him all the time whenever she falls asleep and enters the realm of dreams. He would always talk to her, always listening to her day and how she felt at times. At times she would tell him she was alone and there was no one around to say goodnight or to tell her good morning. Sometimes she would tell him he was scared of all the men who probe her, do those scary testing’s on her that would make her hurt for awhile or sometimes. She was excited to see him at her birthday party. The last man she had never seen before but she liked him because he had hair that was all twisted and reminded her of the ropes she use to tied together whenever the scientist would give her something to do. He had a nice smile and he played with her whenever he had the chance. She wondered what he was doing now. He was probably on one of those adventures because he was always on adventures. Whenever the mute and the twisted one met, he would always have a story and he would always give her something from those adventures. She one time received a comb that was made out of a rock not seen from this world. Maybe it was a dream comb.

Today he was with the twisted hair, his name was Dime and he always said to call him Dime. It was he that set up this nice little picnic for the both of them. He had laid up small china set with each item having a red rose on the beautifully decorated cups, platters and teapot. The mute had formed her stuffed animals which consisted of a bear, a rabbit and a tiger all of them with a smile on their inanimate faces. Dime had poured tea down into the mute’s cup. It smelled of sweet ginger.

“Milk?” Dime asked

“Yes please.” She said in an ethereal voice. She did not speak with her mouth but with her mind. Dime grabbed another pot and slowly poured cream into her cup. She stirred it in herself and the clear yellow liquid became softer. She took a sip and the creamy taste of the tea filled her lips. “It’s delicious. Thank you.”

“You’re manners have improved. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you. Has someone been teaching you?”

She nodded and set her cup down “Miss Alina. She’s been teaching me ever since I was three. She says I learn quick and says that I smart.” She said, but then she corrected “I’m smart. Sorry.” She blushed.

“It’s ok” Dime laughed “You’re doing fine. No need to be so bashful when you make a mistake. All humans make mistake and you’ll make plenty of them in your life.”

She nodded. Dime took a sip of his tea with no cream or sugar. He never liked it sweet he would always say. The bitterness would remind him of the trouble times and how it would either bring joy or sadness. She titled her head “Mr. Dime? Can I ask you a question?”

He smiled “Of course you can.”

“Have you ever been scared?”

Dime looked at her, bemused by the question at first. She was genuine in asking the question and he didn’t have a genuine response for her. Did personifications like him have the feeling of fear within them? It was an amusing question, like asking a god whether or not they fear humans. But it wasn’t amusing to him. “Yes” he said “I’ve been scared many times in my existence. More so than you could ever perceive. I’ve been scared of fighting other people who could potentially destroy me or wipe me out entirely just by thought.”

The mute was amazed, her eyes bespectacled by his answer. She was so young, hasn’t even seen the world as of yet so of course the answer would seem so unreal hearing from someone who wasn’t human. He smiled “But I’ve never let that stop me. Fear can either control you or it can make you stronger because it gives you something to overcome. Once you overcome that feeling of fear, there is nothing in your way to stop you.”

“Over…come…” she repeated. She had never heard that word before and she knew not the meaning behind it. She looked at Dime with a questioning look.

“It means to get past a struggle. Like stepping over a log that was in your way.” That sparked her comprehension as her eyes glisten “That is what that means little one…are you scared right now?”

That spark faded, her face lowering trying not to show that she was afraid but she nodded anyway “I’m scared because there are people following me and Miss Alina. She’s been so nice that I don’t want anything to happen to her because-“ she was beginning to tear up, she didn’t like to cry. She never like showing anyone that she was crying but it was so hard this time because of all the things Miss Alina was sacrificing just to protect her. She sniffed “Because of me, she’s hurt. I made her hurt. I don’t want her to hurt; I want her to be safe-”

A cloth patted lightly on her eyes wiping the tears from it. Her head was lifted up by Dime’s hand. That smile remained on his face. “Fear not little one. She is fighting hard for you so that you may live. Do not be sad because of this. Be strong not only for her but for yourself. You’re doing so good right now.”

The dreamscape was starting to fade. Oh no, she thought, I’m starting to wake up. No, no, not at a time like this. “Mr. Dime!”

“We will see each other again little one. I’ll be waiting here in the dream rea-“ But he was caught off. Light flooded her eyes forcing her to open them suddenly. The smell of the strawberry fields of pine and crisp air of the early morning dew. Where was she? She looked around and saw that she was lying next to a tree, her body propped up by the trunk of it. She looked and saw a man standing right in front of her. She was surprised by this immediately and almost wanted to move away but he was standing still, looking at her with his hands raised.

“I suppose you want me to-“ he started but then something pushed him forward

“I’m going to asking the questions here!” said a voice the mute recognize. It was Alina! Where was she? Was she behind the man? She peeked over the man to see Alina holding onto a crossbow. She looted it from one of the men who was chasing them Who was this man? He was a tall man, taller than she was and stood over Alina. He didnt' look like a scientist that would probe her over and over again with those shocking things. He didn't look like that nasty adminstrator with his probing, his examination, his test and that dreadful lab coat that always smelled funny. It reminded her of rotten eggs. He looked completely different. She was very relieved to see that she wasn't one of those nasty men who was following them and trying to hurt. He was dressed differently but he looked neat and tidy like he was going to one those shows....a movie. Yeah, that was what she was looking. She looked and saw the eyes of man. They were very dark, black even, with specks of brown and white within them. They were strange, odd to the point to question whether those eyes were real or not.

"They look like the eyes of Dime." she thought. Oddly, she was comforted by those eyes. It gave her memories of warm times in the realm of dreams where she felt she was the safest. Whenever she closed her eyes and met the person Dime, she felt that tingling feeling of being warm like wrapping a warm quilt over her whenever it was cold. She surprisingly smiled.

Posts : 760

-The Exile-
-From the mental journal entry of Hateshini, Keiro aka Mr. Black-

It gotten dark by the time I walked the forest path and my field of vision was going into my ‘night eyes’ in which I can’t say I enjoy too much. I never had a problem travelling at night. If I had to get from point a to point b in a hurry then I would avoid the urge to fall asleep and keep moving. When I’m not in a hurry, like now, then I can enjoy the night life of the world I use to live in. It was fresh into summer, the soft chirp of crickets in the backwoods of the forest. I could see little green lights of fireflies trying to find their mate. I looked up at the clear sky, its dark blue hue emanating a soft night ahead. Without the clouds, the stars would twinkle tonight some closer to the earth than others but all of them were beautiful in my eyes. A soft wind blew past and I just stood there and just took a giant whiff of it. The scent of the forest filled my lungs and let it back out in a slow, easy sigh. God, I said, it feels so good to be out here.

I felt the need to climb up a tree and fall asleep on a branch. I couldn’t explain the urge but I suppose it’s that primal instinct in humans to venture into something new and thrilling. I’ve never fell asleep on a branch before and I wanted to try it out. But then I thought better. I rather stay on ground level then fall head first on the ground as I slept. I’m not much for moving around in my sleep, from what I’ve gathered I’ve been a sound sleeper. But there is a first for everything. Just think having my neck broken because I wanted to see what it was like to sleep on a branch. That would be the talk of the town if someone were to find him dead in the forest. They could put two and two together to form that I fell from a tree. I think that would be the most embarrassing thing to die from stupidity. But it happens all around the world and humans still attempt to do such things regardless of the intelligence factor or the nature of the task. Humans are just curious thing and I am a victim of it.

I was about lay down next to a large tree then I realized that I was wearing my civilian clothing. It was still warm, even with the sun out I felt flush. I unbutton my shirt, letting what air that could cool my muscles. I sat straight up on the day, now feeling the past of the day burden my muscles. It was a mild feeling, nothing as much as minor weight to me. I've felt worse and I'll probably feel more burdens later on during my walking but right now it was a sense of getting on my feet and walking again after waiting in a small town that got to me eventually. What made it easier for me to sleep was the noises filling me in. It was like the noises were fresh and new to me like hearing it for the first time. I suppose being a guy who was raised in a large city, hearing the soft sounds of nature at night is something that can be fresh and new again. If I were to live out in the forest for a long extension, it would be taken for granted. I fell asleep almost immediately, letting the sound of the forest be my music as I fell into twilight and into the dreams

The sun brought me out of my dreams. I was dreaming something, something that was vivid and extremely lifelike. I know that most dreams I have dreamed in the past have this black and white quality to them or they seem almost cartoony in my eyes. The dream when I was in that small town and the dream I had last night was probably the only time where the dream had a sense of happening in the waking world

Posts : 760

-The Exile-

“My advice, don’t move and this arrow won’t hit your spine. I’m close so I won’t miss.” She had a serious, no nonsense voice that didn’t threaten Keiro but rather promise that he would die immediately with just a click. The way it rattled in her hand, the clicks from part of the mechanism made it known that it was a crossbow, probably cheaply made for long range combat but effective close range. He didn’t everything about crossbows but it wouldn’t take but a split second to feel the sharp pierce of the arrow drive into his back, his muscle and straight to his spine. Keiro raised his arms up away from his leg not even bothering to turn around to face her. She had him at a position where he didn’t believe he could negotiate out of-not yet that is. He heaved a sigh. “What’s in the satchel?” The woman’s voice asked, her accent was heavy definitely not from the mainland. Everyone was distinct in terms of accents from each country he had come across but hers he did not recognize. If her voice was a flavor he would guess it to be tropical.

“Are you from the islands?” Keiro guessed. He couldn’t see her hesitation for split second but he could sure feel the heat of it.

“Satchel. Down on the ground.” Her voice became even firmer. All right, Keiro knew, she definitely a no bullshit type. He did what she asked and slowly took set the satchel down on the ground. He kept his eyes focus on the little girl who was eying him with rich green eyes. Had he seen eyes like that before? He wondered this but couldn’t find the answer.

“All right, it’s on the ground.” Saying the obvious “I not here to cause trouble-“

“That we will see.” She interrupted. She leaned forward still having the crossbow pressed on his back and picked it up quickly. Caution was in her movement. It was smooth, no pause in her steps. It could’ve been a bomb in that satchel and she wasn’t hesitating to grab it. He did a bit of judgement in his head and calculated her movements with his. “Quite a big satchel you got here. I’m guessing you have your valuables in this. Would be a shame to lose all this.”

“It would” Keiro said “I’m just a traveler, nothing more.”

“Right…” she was fumbling in the satchel grabbing whatever it was her hand could grab without setting down the crossbow. Keiro hoped she didn’t find the pouch containing his kunai. He didn’t hear any jangling because of the clothes in placed below and above the pouch.

“Look, you may not believe me but it’s true. I’m going to guess that you are that girl’s guardian?” He didn’t give her time to answer “I saw her alone thinking she was unconscious. I was just making sure she was all right.”

Her hand grabbed something leathery and she pulled it out. It was a little black book, the insignia of a gold lion stamped on the front of the cover with the words “Passport” underneath it. She opened it with her free hand and came to the page where it showed Keiro’s information and photo. “Shikyo, Hei is it?” She sounded suspicious of the name but that was probably Keiro’s imagination. He nodded. “What an odd name…” she whispered. She set it back in the satchel. She wasn’t going to explore more in his bag he thought? That was what he had done if he was holding someone had gu-well arrow point. He looked back at the small little girl now standing up and looking at him fondly. She was smiling but that wasn’t what caught his eye initially. It was the color of her eyes that caressed the hardest of solid hearts. Was the color of her eyes green? No, it was blue…no it changed again to a deep, serene purple to the color of a yellow that reminded him of morning sunshine. Glistening of innocents, the child had to be no older than four years of age, maybe five years. When she woke up to seeing Keiro standing over her, the girl didn’t show a sign of terror or even a sign that she was surprised to see him. It was the lack of shock that put her differently to regular children.

She moved over to the side meeting the woman behind her. She did something with her hands and began mouthing something. He learned quickly enough that the girl was using sign language, meaning that she was either deaf or mute. “What are you-“ the woman began but she stopped as the little girl began to motion something again with her hands, arms and mouth. “I’m not following you…” she seem to understand what she was saying but he guessed what the girl was saying made no sense to her. It didn’t even matter to Keiro as he didn’t understand a single thing the girl was trying to say.

“How do you know he doesn’t mean to harm us?” picturing the look of disbelief on her face while uttering the words “That’s-“ she was going to say ridiculous but the girl did something that made her stop. She pressed both her hands against her chest, symbolizing her heart he imagined and mouthed the words “I trust him”. He did not understand what that meant but if it was getting him out of this situation without an arrow in his back, he couldn’t complain about it could he?

He turned his head trying to get a peak at the woman but couldn’t even get a small glimpse. She was keeping herself out of the peripheral of his right eye and she knew it too. “Don’t turn around!” She shouted, she poked Keiro’s back. He felt some skin break knowing that blood would run down his back. Oh if this ruins his shirt he would not be a happy man. He let a small grunt escape his lips.

“I didn’t say you were out of the clear. I want you to tell me some things and then maybe I’ll let you go.” She was having second thoughts because of what the girl said-or rather motioned with her hands.

“As I told you, I’m just a traveler. I came out from Bear Country yesterday and was taking the scenic route towards the next town.” His left hand rotates and points to a direction of the forest from where he came “I was maybe a few meters that way and walked here to find the girl laying on the tree. Is it wrong for me to assume that she was hurt?” she wouldn’t answer but that would strike something in the woman, the maternal instinct perhaps to protect “And besides, I haven’t done anything that could harm her.”

She made a noise with her throat “Have you ever heard of a company called Laboratory Three? Any of that ring any bells?”

He genuinely thought about that. He had never heard of such a company name. Sounds very video production like, something a video game company would name themselves but a legitimate company who probably dealt in the sciences didn’t seem like a good name. He shook his head “Never heard of such a company.” She was searching for any hints of treachery in his voice, anything that could potentially say that he was the enemy. He believed that the woman had two factors playing for him. One was the fact that he had nothing to really hide (except for his true identity) and he had honesty running out of his mouth. The second, and perhaps the strongest out of the two, was the little girl who had communicated with her and mouthed “I trust him” to the woman. This open something inside the woman that put that girl as someone special…something that could create an impact on a person could be worth protecting if not die for.

The arrow fell away from his back. Keiro slowly put his arms down and turned around. He expected the woman to say don’t do it but she didn’t say anything. He turned to see a woman who was his age, maybe a bit younger or older than he was, standing around five feet seven inches. To say she was not beautiful would be saying that rain doesn’t fall from the sky periodically. Her beauty was in the category of exotic, a class of people that could come only from the islands. Her dark skin was the color of coffee and cream, smooth from the top of her head downward. She had a small cut underneath her eyes that were the color of pecans. It was something unnoticeable but he caught because he could spot the little things like that. She had a handsome face, her jaw line a curvature of what a woman who takes care of her body. She was wearing a plaid button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows and it was tucked into her black jeans that covered her long legs. She was far from being a fragile thing. She wasn’t fat and she wasn’t over muscular. Her arms had strength in them, the small muscles defined within the skin and she didn’t bare a heavy chest but one that had the qualities of balance, both feminine and attractive but strong and sturdy.

“Like something you see?” she said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Keiro smiled and waved it off. “Good, I’m glad I won’t have to shoot you with the arrow anyway. It would be a waste of a good arrow.” She set the crossbow to her side and placed a hand on the little girl. “If you excuse me.” The woman say and was leading the little girl off.

“Whoa, wait, hold on a second.” He outstretched a hand on the woman’s shoulder. The little girl turned her head as well, revealing those multi-color eyes. Her head snapped back, those almond color eyes turning black on him. He was not afraid of his and kept a hand there for a second “You’re in the forest with a crossbow travelling with a girl. I doubt you are thieves. There is no doubt in my mind that says you are a bandit of any kind. You did this because you’re protecting this girl right?”

“That’s a bold statement to make” She snatched her shoulder away from his hand “I could just be her sister or mother. Maybe a kidnapper if I was bold enough to say. You think I’m her guardian?”

“Would you be mad if I said yes?”

“Would you be insulted if I said ‘no shit detective’?”

Keiro let loose a chuckle “No, but I would thank you for the compliment of pointing out something obvious. As you may know, I’m Hei.” He puts his hand out to shake. She looks at it, back up at Keiro’s face then back at her hand “You know, normally people shake the hand when one-“she slapped the hand away. It was meant to be a hard slap to hurt Keiro but it did more of surprising him than it did hurt him.

“I’m not here to make friends…Hei or if that’s your real name. You can take your formalities and shove it because I’m not going to open up like a book.” She turned to face the little girl who was staring up at the young woman. “If we have no further business, then I suggest we take our leave and go on with our lives because I have some things to take care of.” She started to walk away again, the little girl looking back at Keiro as they walked. What did those eyes tell him about her? Were those eyes saying that she was in pain; was the sadness of being alone causing her to look like that? She looked as if she was ready to cry but had ran out of tears years ago, no longer able to cry the tears of sadness or pain or joylessness or loneliness. For a girl of such a young age to experience that, the eyes told Keiro, is nothing a girl should experience.

“Aren’t you denying that girl a good life?” Keiro raised his voice for her to here. She hadn’t slowed down “I bet those people who are coming after you have a lot of power and wealth to hunt down a small girl and a woman who looks like a model. I wouldn’t be surprised if that girl was to see you die in front of her.”

That right there made the woman stop. She was thirty feet away from Keiro now and that pause would give him some room to move up and at him. He had flashed out of the position he was in and reappeared right behind the woman. The woman turned around, her head jerked back and looked at the man who she thought he had left behind. She almost fell down but kept her balance steady, locking her knees so she wouldn’t lose herself “You moved-“ she coughed then cleared her throat “You’re a shinobi.”

“Would you be insulted if I said ‘no shit detective’?” he smiled at this but she wasn’t. Her hand was moving to her crossbow. His hand had grabbed it before she could even get a hand on the grip. “Let’s not doing something that could harm you, eh?”

“You…” she backed away from him, reaching behind her back and pulled out a knife. From the looks of it, it was a bowie knife, long and sharp with the back of the blade serated that was meant to shred into someone. The handle itself was designed like a brass knuckle with holes for each individual finger. It was custom design, something Keiro had not seen in a very long time. She held it in a reverse grip and ran at him. She swiped high, aiming for Keiro’s neck. She was quick herself and Keiro knew that her body was now showing the potential of her skill. He leaned swiftly back, taking a few steps back. She still came at him, swiping at his chest then at his arms. He wished he had his kunai, his mind regretted; it would be a hell of a lot easier to deal with the blade. Her steps coincide with his, attempting at least. She was trying to keep up with Keiro which she was steadily losing speed the more she was swiping and trying to cut him. She attempted to swipe at his head again but instead of leaning back like he did before he ducked down. He positioned himself so both his hands were on the ground and he was in a position where he was able to kick up. She recognized the move almost immediately but she couldn’t do anything as his feet met with her wrist. The pain immediately struck surging through her arm throughout and she released the bowie knife.

He was able to drop his body low so that she could sweep her legs in one motion underneath her. She tried to jump but his foot seemed to hook on her leg and swept her anyway. She landed on the ground, letting out a “oomph” as she did so. She was momentarily dazed, shaking her head trying to get out of it. Protect the girl she thought, protect the girl. I have to protect-he was now over her, the bowie knife she had try to use to cut Keiro now pressed against her throat. She was attempting to catch her breath. It was only a few seconds yet she felt like she had fought for twenty minutes with adrenaline running through her.

“That…footwork…that was…” she paused, trying to catch her breath “Where did you learn that style?”

“What style? The thing I did just a moment ago?” She was surprise to hear him not even close out of breath. He seemed fine by the looks of it, not even a drop of sweat. “I learned it by watching a guy do it once and just practice it over and over again. It’s how I learn how to be a martial artist.”

She raised her eyebrows. Either this man had no idea that he performed a skill that was considered very difficult in terms of martial arts of the island styles or he did know and just played it dumb. Either way, this man had taken her down without so much as a bead of water to run down his shirt. She looked behind seeing the little girl upside down. She did not move from that spot, watching the two of them fight. She had the look on her face that was not worry or fear but a face of something greater than those negative emotions. She looked up at Keiro, looking at his position as he was over her, his hand by her head and the blade on her neck. She let herself smile “It’s been awhile since I’ve had a man over me.”

Keiro looked at her then at himself. He lifted the blade off of her neck and got up from the ground. He then gave a good examining at the blade for the first time “Wow, this blade could cut through a good chunk of meat. Could kill a nice size boar if need be or cut into a man’s skin with no problem at all.” He flipped it in his hand with the blade facing him. The woman grabbed it, embarrassingly setting it back into the holder behind her back. “It’s very nice. You’re not too bad of a fighter.”

“I’ve killed three men before fighting you. I know full well how to fight.” She said, irritated by the comment “I just…tripped is all. You didn’t win.”

It was his turn to raise an eyebrow but he smiled and shook his head “Right…in any case. I would say that your skills could handle the thugs after you but if they people who are looking for you and that girl are persistent they’ll come with bigger, better people to hunt after you.”

“I can manage.” She walked over to the crossbow on the ground and picked it back up setting it by her hip.

“I feel that may be the case. But by saying you can manage against a company that has a good amount of funds, they’ll definitely supply themselves with strong men that’ll probably be like me but more of them.” He was setting himself up for a good check on her and it was time to go in deep “Think about it, you just fought against me and lost in a matter of seconds. What makes you think you can fight a group of me? You can manage to maybe-maybe cut one or two people but odds are that they’ll snatch you up, gut you and kill you before you blink.” He points to the girl “I’m making some rash assumptions but when I see a girl whose eyes changes color, which means she is important in some shape or form. Something tells me that this Laboratory Three is after you and have every reason to send good men to come after you.”

He let out a sigh of tension “Look, I’m not trying to be a savior here. I’m not a hero and I’m damn ain’t no good guy but I see that the girl with the changing color eyes is probably a special one and you need someone who can get you out of your situation.”

She let a moment go by before asking “What makes you think she is special? What makes you assume that?”

He looks at the little girl, her color changing eyes meeting his new black ones “I just do.”

Posts : 760

-The Mute-

Alina he thought to herself, be careful. He’s like you who hide his heart from those around him. She had the sinking feeling of dread when she let go of her head to confront the man. They were so ahead of him when she stopped as the man spoke words that affected her. She almost fell flat on her face because her mind was wandering on the man who had waked her up. The man had the eyes of the One who always had tea with her, the man who called himself Dime. He had those endlessly black eyes with stars among them. His eyes were like that if not a carbon copy yet the girl could not know if the man who had appeared was a friend or an ally. He seemed to be trusted though how to express this to Alina was impossible. She could sign her explanation all she wanted but the fact of the matter was that Alina could not trust anyone and would not let anyone come close to her. She was protective of her, guarding her even in the beginning.

The man had appeared behind her. She had sensed it before Alina could ever have processed it so she wasn’t surprised by him. Alina was reaching for her crossbow but even then could his speed outmatch hers tenfold. The mute did not respond, her expression had kept neutral knowing that the outcome of the battle before Alina had attempted to swipe at the man’s neck. His movement was difficult to read but the way he moved gracefully from left to right, his steps pattern well that Alina couldn’t see how he moved. Could she not see that it was inevitable? In another instant, his body fluently dropped where he was standing on his hands and his feet kicked up at Alina’s wrist. Her hand released the long blade that cut the man from yesterday and it flew in the air. The man’s leg swept Alina’s feet with an ill attempt on Alina to jump. The man was good, the man had not even bore a scratch on him or even produced an ounce of sweat yet he took out Alina, who the mute had always considered her to be tough, and disabled her. And yet...

And yet the man could not be read by her. The mute looked into him, searching his mind, searching his heart and soul to see if he was who he was. Was he a friend of Dime? She thought Dime had allocated himself only in her dreams and she didn’t think he had extended his hand to any other. It was simple of her to think that but even a four year old has their naiveté. In that very moment, her eyes had zoomed in on him and saw that there was not a thing on him that wanted to murder Alina. She felt a twinge of fear but it subsided the moment he got up from her and gave Alina her blade. He looked at her, staring opening at her eyes. Everyone always stared at her eyes with marvel in them, not a single person had looked at her and said that her eyes were normal. They changed colors that were not on the spectrum of human eye colors. She remembered looking into a mirror looking at her eyes for the very first time in a perspective where she could remember. One moment they were purple, the next silver, another time a blood red, and then a soft blue all within the first thirty seconds of just looking into the mirror. She turned away, fearing to look at them. She would cover her face so that she wouldn’t have to see them every time she went past a reflection of a mirror or any surface that could show her the changing eyes. She didn’t like and yet Alina had told her how beautiful her eyes were, how they changed colors into something that could inspire people. She didn’t know the meaning of inspire, she only knew that it made her feel odd and weird.

The man walked up to the mute, Alina not far behind her. He got on one knee. A gentle smile rose from his lips. “You have very beautiful eyes.” He looks down at her neck seeing the necklace with the numbers "645-435-235-12". His hand lifted it off from her neck and he read it carefully. She did not mind this. She knew Alina would be worried and she was when the mute one looked up at her. Her face was in a weary look to her but the mute one used his hands to say “It’s all right.” The worry did not leave Alina’s face but she relaxed a bit. Her hand was itching at the handle of the knife behind her and she knew she would not have hesitated to slice the man. The man looked back up at her “Do you have a name?” He asked.

She shook her head. No had ever given her a name, not even Alina. The scientist would just call her Experiment Seven. She grew up with the name, lived with it even now as Experiment Seven or just the mute one. Alina had desperately tried to find a name for her, something that was beautiful and distinct from other names. She would always think of a name for the mute one but she could never find a perfect name for her. “One day, I’ll find a very pretty name for you.” She said to her every time they had a chance to talk “Then you won’t be called by such an awful title.”

“A girl like you without a name?” he said, genuinely wondering why “How curious. But I’m not surprised by it.” He put a finger to his lips and started to tap at his lip “An eccentric girl like yourself should have a eccentric name. Let’s see…let’s see…how bout the name Aomame?”

“Aomame?” Alina said, finding it already odd “Isn’t the green peas? That’s what Aomame stands for right?”

The man nodded “It is the name of my mother. She is also an eccentric like you but not in the physical department. She’s just one of those quirky people in life that has a quirky name. And I think the name Aomame is beautiful for a girl like her. How does that name sound.”

What was funny was that the mute one liked the name. It made her giggle which was something she had rarely done before. She nodded her head and had a grin on her face.