Sun spotted the ground beneath through thick foliage, the faintest wind accompanying the scent of freshly bloomed flowers. I hadn't traveled far from the village, only arriving to the closest, densest area of the woodlands surrounding it. Something about 'getting used to the territory'.
"Not that I ca~re." whistled lonely, the sound of my footsteps being my only company. That and the steel at my hip; a rather bored passenger of my current outing. Their arrival had been so congested that organization was rough - barely getting more than three hours of sleep a night. Constantly being moved from building to building, like a massive filing system.
Pain in my ass. Quiet, silent; holding the thought from reality. No point to spoiling the moment.
They didn't have forestry like this in Kirigakure. The solid lush undergrowth spiraling into massive trunks, blotting out the sky above. Not a dark grey cloud in sight, peering down on a lifeless beach. A change of scenery was pleasant; Especially knowing it's temporary.
Snap.
A moment passed.
And another.
My thoughts collided together, fingers gripping the hilt of Iaichi. Turning my head slowly, watching the in-betweens of the trees, the softest movement of a shadow.
"Who's there?" To think I'd ever sound so ready to strike someone down - ah, what my mother would think of me.
Off the beaten path with a heavy pack on his back, Kakesu was far from a trained padfoot. Noticing him as easy as any other civilian. He stopped in his tracks, a soft whistling ending the moment it came in earshot of the voice that demanded his attention. He turned to face the forest in the direction of its source, unable to pick out the silhouette among the vegetation.
“Kakesu the lesser,” he said in his most professional tone. In some cases, politeness had saved him, but still he found himself backing up against the base of a gnarled tree many times his height. Giving some safety to his back. “Just a traveling merchant, my wares are useless to highway men.”
Partially true, partially a lie. He carried medicinal herbs from his home to sell but had bartered for all manner of things. Money, small ninja tools like kunai, bottled beverages, seashell, and gemstones. “I’ve given you my name, so how about yours, mister?”
He tried to sound confident, but he had been forced to flee from many a bandit on the road. There was a nervousness in his voice that he could not hide, and a small shivering as he scanned for the voice of the stranger.
Last Edit: Sept 9, 2021 0:15:20 GMT by Kakesu Aoki
A voice echoed back! Thankfully, not my own, and hopefully not one I needed to cut down. Still, my hand rested on the hilt of my sword, a thought - worry - having perched itself on the back of my neck. Letting my guard down could get me killed in these strange lands.
It'd have gotten me killed at home, too.
"Merchant, huh?" I swiveled to the direction of the voice while replying, scanning through the thicket. A moment passed before I looked lower. "Ah, little guy, huh? No wonder you called yourself 'the lesser'!"
The hand fell away from my side, raised as far as it could in the wilderness as I walked towards him. Something akin to the posturing of a hug, although I'd drop them both to my knees; leaning in towards him. A good distance separated us, giving a faux bow - though not as showy as I would've liked.
"You can call me Benkei. Benkei of the Mist, or Benkei of the Sword, if you want." the titles were spoken as much in word as they were with hands, faint gestures following the counting of digits on my hand. "But not Benkei the Highwayman. Who'd want to steal from something as cute as a kitten, anyway?" the last few words reminiscent of baby talk.
The continued prattling was a bit much, but if things went sour I estimated little difficulty in removing the kids head.
Kakesu Aoki | 237 words | lemme pinch those cheeks
Kakesu tensed as the figure emerged before his vision, but when the face revealed itself to be an older teenager or young man he relaxed if only somewhat slightly as Benkei’s hands settled back down. His eye caught the hilt of a blade, true to the shionbi’s title. He kept his position against he back of the tree, leaning his back left foot against it.
Cute as a kitten? He is messing with me right?
“I think that’s why they chose me for the job, actually,” Kakesu replied rubbing the back of his head. “You’d be surprised though, all kinds of bad people out there that don't care for strays.”
He kept his demeanor regulated to a friendly smile, but his eyes were wide open like a scared rabbit. He wasn’t quite convinced he wasn’t in danger yet, and it was written in his body language. A cool breeze broke stillness around them and set fallen leaves adrift rustling past the gap between them.
“I hope I’ve not gotten so lost that I’ve wandered into your territory, I didn’t mean to trespass if I did- promise!”
- You no pinch!
Last Edit: Sept 10, 2021 19:05:02 GMT by Kakesu Aoki
"Territory?" My head tilted slightly, the twist of a grin at the corner of my mouth. How much do I want to fuck with this kid?
A few ideas had formed the moment I saw how short he was. Transform into a gnome, get down on my knees, hell, even just keep up the baby talk crap. Something else, on the other hand...
Words followed like a waterfall, with something almost bravado. "Of course it's my territory. Didn't anyone tell you the story of how I earned it?" I'd raise a hand, railroading over the child if he attempted to answer.
"No, because if you had you'd know how - my voice lowered as I leaned closer, an eye peering further open at Kakesu -I pissed on that tree back there." I pointed back, holding in a laugh. A pat on the shoulder as it broke, chest convulsing.
"Ah, a- sorry, kid. Just screwing with ya. Nah, I'm not from around here. You?" I could barely breathe, the look on his face - oh man. Short chunks of laughter left as I spoke to him again, pulling away with crossed arms.
Kakesu Aoki | 189 words | piss on you and tell ya its rain
Kakesu was taken in bit by bit, leaning forward slightly with the hook, line, and sinker. His face was indeed stupid and gullible, in a way that was quite genuine with his mouth slightly ajar. When Benkei revealed he was being impish, his mouth snapped shut for a moment, but then a grin formed on his lips.
“Ah yea, I get it,” he said looking down and letting the foot that was on the back of the tree slide down to scuff against the grass. “I was jus' pretending too, you know.”
That was an absolute lie, and he was a terrible liar. Couldn’t keep eye contact when he said it.
“I’m from the woods pretty far towards the setting sun, where the hills start rollin'," he explained. "Hard to say if it is Land a Earth or Fire, we don't pay that much mind."
"What are you doing this far from home? Did you get lost, Benkei?"
Last Edit: Sept 13, 2021 5:35:43 GMT by Kakesu Aoki
Ears honed to the merchant, smile sitting calmly as I watched him. It was interesting, definitely a kid, not a shinobi. Ballsy, almost endearing. But kid looked like a pussy.
"That's pretty far kid, and you wanna ask me why I'm out here?" my voice incredulous, a hand held to my chest in some faux guffawed awe. The incredulity. A chuckle held tight against my throat.
"But nah, I'm not lost. Not yet, anyway. Was planning on it in about thirty, forty minutes though." a bolster in tone as I continued to 'stare' at him. "I've got to find a good excuse to not go back to the village for a while." Thoughts of the assignment flashed through my head, a slight falter in my smile. Be surprised if the kid noticed.
Nodding in the direction of Otogakure, I laid back against a tree, crossing my arms. "Know anything fun around here?" a pause, before I continued - "Heard there was a lot of wildlife out here."
No chance in this life or another, but this was fun enough so far.
“True, but I always heard shinobi don’t like each other pokin’ ‘round in each other’s land too much,” he said candidly. “I’m jus’ being nosey though, sorry about it.”
He thought for a moment about the forest and what might be something fun to do. Part of him wanted to beg to see some ninja tricks, or to see what he could do with that sword, but that didn’t seem like it would be very fun for Benkei.
He thought back to what he was doing in the past few hours, the thing he’d seen and imagined. It finally came to him. A house overgrown with moss and vine, two stories high with a broken roof and unsettling creaking sounds around it. A terrible thought crossed his mind.
“There’s a creepy old house in the middle of the woods a ways away, I was thinkin’ about taking a look since it looked abandoned,” he replied.
“I could show you the way to it, there might be something neat left behind in there. I was too chicken to go in by myself, not gonna lie.”
Last Edit: Sept 18, 2021 17:35:30 GMT by Kakesu Aoki
"Ooh, you're saying we've got a haunted house?" my head perking up, one hand habitually returning to my sword. "I didn't know it was that time of year, but I'll take it." I'd continue chirping, smiling all the way.
Back in Kirigakure, when the moon went black, and the stars sat like a crown of light, the locals hosted a festival. Something to do with the tides and what lies beneath the sea - couldn't care less, honestly. But a few of them wanted to grift, so they'd host haunted houses for a few days.
The gist of it was this; you and your friends give a couple coins, go in, get your scares by a few people in costume, come back out with wet pants. Always fun.
Particularly fun when they hired out to shinobi. Favorite mission - hands down.
"Alright kid, I'll bite. Let's see what's living in these woods." bowing to Kakesu, a short laugh shaking my chest. Gonna scare the shit out of him.
Kakesu Aoki | 166 words | take me through the ditches
“Yea well follow me then,” he said waving his hand up as he began trekking to the northwest. He didn’t really remember exactly where it was, so the journey took a bit longer than it would have if he was a better navigator.
The only thing of interest during the short trip was that he began walking up the surface of a tree rather than climbing it to get a good vantage of the land.
He saw it. An old cottage with a thatch rooftop that had become a habitat of Erynnis butterfly. The shadow of the building was elongated by the afternoon sun cast over it. He pointed at it from his position up in the tree.
“It’s that way,” he said. He pulled his arm back and allowed himself to slide down the trunk back to the ground. His landing wasn’t graceful, there was a thud as his ass hit the bottom, but he didn’t seem to be hurt by it as he stumbled back onto his feet. “That way,” he repeated now that he was on the ground again, pointing forward.
His pace had slowed a bit. He was a little nervous about approaching the house, even with a shinobi to back him up. There was no telling what could lurk within.
Last Edit: Sept 21, 2021 4:13:13 GMT by Kakesu Aoki
The house was... Hm. I visibly frowned, turning my head to the sky for a moment. The sun was bright, pouring out the cries of midday. Yet the wood, the earth, every inch of the building was... Dark.
The hell am I looking at? Elongated shadows seeped in between the spaces that light was supposed to shine, the smell of mildew noticeable, even at our distance. A frown that twisted into a scowl, only to produce a crude, long whistle.
"Alright, man. You really weren't kidding, were you?" The chill down my spine was... Indescribable. This must be what Kuragari is like... Too late to turn back now. A slight swallow, as I stepped toward the house, nervousness lost behind closed eyes.
The interior did not fair well.
Furniture in various states of decomposition, more than one small skeleton littered the floor. Moss and fungus lined the spaces between floorboards, the faintest outline of what used to be a rug left nearby. Some light did manage to filter in, swirling up the smallest dust mote with each step. "Man," my nose high pitched, with a hand to clamp my nostrils.
Kakesu trailed close behind the shinobi, pulling his dull green cloak up over his head to protect him from any cobwebs.
Among the moss and bones, nature had taken much of the room. Kakesu recognized several species of mushroom growing in the dank mildew. The small movements of occasional mites and other pests caught his eyes. He pushed his vision forward, focusing on a partially ajar shogi door on the opposite side of the room across from the remnants of the rug.
He further pulled his collar up over his nose and with his other hand he held it in front of himself to create space between himself and the environment. His teeth were shivering, and goosebumps were crawling up the back of his neck. He was hyper aware of his senses, making the slightest itch make him imagine that insects were crawling on his body.
“I-I don’t know, maybe this isn- AH!“
When the floorboard creaked, Kakesu jumped forward and tried to cling to the back of Benkei’s clothing with each hand in fear and desperation.
Last Edit: Sept 25, 2021 20:54:01 GMT by Kakesu Aoki
"Damn kid, calm dow-" another creak, a shiver shooting up my spine. A hand reached out instinctively, bracing the kid's shoulder. My focus shifted further back, attempting to decipher from the darkness. Pulling my hand back to my sword, I took a step, tightening my grip. "Stay still, kid."
The back of my neck was on fire, a spike of anxiety having shot down my throat. Something's watching us. My breath held quietly, turning my head back and forth, waiting, listening.
An eye blinked into existence.
Another followed, then another; five bright lights of eyes peered back, various pupils spinning, darting, doing something. The fear in my spine was paralyzing, a heavy foot starting to slide back. "What the fu-"
"hHhhhhh......" Another shiver. "Is.... Is it trying to talk?"
My eyes began to adjust to the light, recognizing that the thing had no body. Legs, arms, face, all gone; a mass that clung to the ceiling. If I struggled, I could imagine where a mouth might go, but stepping any closer was going to be impossible. As my vision began to flicker, I exhaled, breathing in with a short cough. Breathe, breathe. Nothing's happened yet.
Kakesu’s heart was beating fast, slinking back as Benkei’s hand pressed back against his shoulder to stop his clinging. His eyes came to the ceiling just as the mist shinobi’s did, and he shuttered helplessly without being able to muster even a whimper. His first instinct was to do what he had always done: run away. The only thing that was stopping him was that the door that he knew would put him running past the creepy mass.
He looked down at a place where the floorboards were broken in the corner. He shuffled over and looked down a few times, only briefly as he looked back up to make sure that the being hadn’t moved.
Forming a string of pseudo hand seals, close enough imitations but not quite what shinobi knew to be the most efficient, the wanderer then reached down into the dirt. He pulled from it a hardened spike of earth and held it up in front of him with both hands, though in a way that spoke of his complete inexperience in handling weapons. It was about the size of a ruler, and pointed at the tip.
"I have no fucking idea." my response was hushed, each word bursting with panic. The muscle in my leg started to scream, taking a moment to realize how much force I was putting into staying still. The atmosphere in here... But what the fuck is that thing?
Curiosity has been said to kill cats - thankfully, I was a bit sturdier than that. But another step still felt like torture.
The creak of the floor as my weight shifted, the faint slip of air from a clenched jaw. The light still diffusing through dust, my eyes continued to adjust, pinching my nose shut. "It's.... Trying to talk. If I'm trying to creep you out, I think it's asking -" a pause in the nasal tinged speech, biting my lip for a second. No.
"It's begging for help." As tears began to well in the array of eyes, dropping audibly as rain. A shock down my spine, and an attempt to look further past it. The ceiling had obviously taken a large amount of rot, and the thing had collapsed through the floor. Or at least, that's what the chunk of splinters holding it in place said. A glance further back showing stairs, all but ready to collapse from being stared at.
"Upstairs?" a question asked out loud, the pause that followed pregnant, and ready to pop.
