Follow the Road [Open]

[Deleted]

It had taken him awhile, but he had truly crossed over the border now. There was no more sand where he walked and it was gradually getting colder. Perhaps a bit too cold for somebody who had lived in the desert for so long. Kai made sure he still had everything on him. He was still wearing his casual garb, that was certain. As he shuffled through his butt bag he checked for each item that was supposed to be inside, and sure enough everything was accounted for.

It felt odd being in a forest again, he remembered back when he was a child he would often escape in to forest after being chased by people he stole from. That being said he never stole unless he needed to survive, and the trees were much thicker than the pines that Kai was currently walking past.

As he continued the greenery thickened until the point where Kai had to push various branches out of the way just to take a step closer. Several minutes later he arrived at a path.

Just as predicted, but here was the problem.

There was a left and right, due to Kai approaching from the side of the path, and he had no idea which direction to take. He analyzed the paths carefully.

The one to the left seemed to turn back the way he came from, so... take a right?

Sure, take a right, what's the worse that could happen?

Kai walked along the dirt road with a nonchalant look on his face, although the feeling of nostalgia from all the plants had never faded. After all in the Land of Wind plants were rare or hard to find, and when you did come across them they were usually poisonous.

The road that Kai had chosen appeared as if it had been walked many times before, which was a good sign if he was hoping to follow it to a village. Speaking of which that probably meant other people follow the path frequently. Along with traveling merchants.

Which isn't a good thing, Kai thought, as he looked down to his right hip.

His butt bag was filled with various goods, and where there are valued items there are usually bandits.

Now a bit more alert, Kai masked his chakra from being detected from others. It was a primary reason to attack somebody, only ninja use chakra and ninja are expected to carry high value equipment around with them.

This should make any ordinary bandits underestimate him, the higher class of bandits probably wouldn't bother with him either if they didn't sense any chakra from him.

Perhaps he was being a bit too cautious, but he felt as if he could now relax and enjoy the journey.

It was a bit lonely though, some company would be nice.

SPOILER: Click to show

Chakra Suppression Technique
Rank: "B"
Skill: NinJutsu
Effect: A technique designed to hide the users chakra.
Special: ---
Drawback: Cannot perform any chakra related technique.
Description: Using expert chakra control the user is able to suppress their chakra levels to a bear minimum. This makes it impossible for chakra sensing types to detect the user. Dojutsu that can see chakra will not be able to see the user’s chakra signature. They can still be spotted by normal sight methods.
Limit: Must be a Sensor.

[Mikado]

Chapter 1 The Heist

[Enter] Having left the village Mikado checked his person for the essentials. He did his usual shuffle through the butt bag, and decided that everything essential was with him. The outside of the village was strange, to say the least. A tall imposing wall rose high above any person, too conspicuous to be considered 'hidden'. Nevertheless, no outsider could ever find their way into the village without knowing the complicated entry procedure. Turning his attention to the woodland in front of him, Mikado started to put some distance between himself and the village. Being outside the village was a nice change. It seemed like it was the only place where he could think about his problems and not be bothered by the hustle and bustle of Amegakure shinobi. These little trips could easily land him in serious trouble, but Mikado wasn't one to pay too much mind to it. Making his way deeper into the woodland Mikado did his best to get lost. While some would consider it strange, the feeling of being lost was comforting to Mikado. However, the sad truth of the matter was that he had explored the area surrounding the village too often to ever truly be lost. Cutting across various trees and branches Mikado finally found himself on a small dirt path. The path wound its way through the dense woodland, eventually opening out into a bigger dirt road. This was a route that merchants often liked to travel in order to avoid drawing the attention of local bandits. The proximity of the village kept the vandals at bay, while the dirt road made travel easy. As the situation stood, Mikado was without a destination. He aimlessly wandered down the road thinking about whatever came to mind. Catching himself in the act, Mikado stopped to take a look around and judge his surroundings. How far had he gone? Looking ahead, Mikado noticed a figure in the distance. Was it a merchant? No, there was no caravan present. A traveler perhaps, but what ordinary person travels by themselves? That left only one viable option; a shinobi. A shinobi was the only type of person confident and capable enough to travel the lands by themselves. Mikado decided there and then to make contact with the approaching person. Setting off in a direction towards the stranger, he readied himself mentally for any situation. Hostility would be reciprocated. As the distance between the two of them lessened, Mikado waved his hand high in the air. "Hello there! What brings you to this god-forsaken place?" He shouted, loud enough for the approaching stranger to take notice.

TEMPLATE BY MIKADO

[Deleted]

Still lost in thought Kaius did not even notice the figure further along the path. He was thinking about his own childhood and how familiar the Land of Rain was, despite having not been here in years it still felt the same. Of course that was minus the rain. Strange really, Kai was expecting it to be raining when he got this far in the country. He figured it must've been one of those 'odd days'.

He always thought of the most random things whilst alone, anything to distract his thought process. Like the almost completely faded dirt tracks which marked the path of a merchants caravan, although he couldn't tell you how long since it had last passed through.

Moving on from the merchant caravans. He was too lost in thought to hear the first part of the strangers sentence, in fact, all Kaius heard was.

"What brings you to this god-forsaken place?"

At which he perked up slightly. 'A person? I didn't expect to see a person this early on my travels', he studied the person up and down.

They looked about his age and they were wearing a casual garb, that was about all Kaius picked up from him. Kai smiled, almost like a smirk. Despite having no hostile intent it didn't look like it.

"I'm just exploring the countryside," he chuckled "although I have no idea where I'm actually going".

He approached the person with his hands in his pockets, although unintentional Kai looked surprisingly intimidating for somebody of his passive nature. His Sunagakure headband was visible, loosely tied around his neck it would just about be visible although the symbol engraved on it wouldn't.

He stopped a few meters away from the guy.

"Any particular reason?"

[Mikado]

A smile. Friendly. Lowering his guard, Mikado let the stranger approach him. Was he... smirking? Rethinking his decision, Mikado left his hand hovering near his butt bag in case of any trouble.  "I'm just exploring the countryside," The stranger chuckled. "Although I have no idea where I'm going." The traveler was now close enough for Mikado to have a proper look at him. He was a somewhat lanky fellow, a good few inches taller than Mikado. A quick scan didn't give much information, other than confirming the fact that the stranger was a shinobi about the same age as Mikado. His headband was sticking out, but no village symbol was visible. Seeing as Mikado did not recognize the traveler, it was evident that he was not an Amegakure shinobi. A foreigner. "Any particular reason?" The stranger's question snapped Mikado back from his thoughts. "Not really, but if you're looking for Amegakure, let me save you the disappointment. It's unimpressive; to say the least." Mikado's 'headband' was clearly visible as the metal plate had been sown onto his upper right sleeve. "What's a foreign ninja like you doing in this country anyway? You don't exactly seem like an army." Mikado jested. He didn't feel threatened by the presence of the stranger, although it was never a good idea to let one's guard down completely. Mikado had no experience in combat, but he was certain he could handle any tough situations with a bit of luck and his like-able charm.

TEMPLATE BY MIKADO

[Deleted]

This guy looked tense, Kai sighed, if he had to guess this person had noticed his shinobi headband. Was there possibly a way he could help him loosen up a bit? Not making any sudden movements, Kai slowly took his right hand out his pocket and reached to his own neck. He tapped the metal of the headband twice and smirked.

"So you know I'm a ninja, huh?"

He lifted the headband in a sudden jolt of movement, hoping to startle his new acquaintance. Not with any hostility of course, just as a bit of a joke.

"I'm actually from Sunagakure to be exact," he chuckled "but you know about Amegakures status?"

He paused as he thought it through for just a split second

"So you're a ninja from Amegakure then? Actually, don't bother answering that, I don't care to be honest".

His smirk turned in to a frown, by now it was possible they still didn't trust him. Kaius wouldn't care if this person destroyed a hidden village by himself so long as he wasn't planning on attacking Sunagakure next. Of course, Kai assumed his own life was a bit important being one of the only few left to defend Sunagakure. Also, pain sucks, there's that too.

"Well, it's exactly as I said, I'm just walking through here with no general direction in mind".

His expression turned nonchalant, and it would appear obvious that Kai had left himself completely open. From what Kai could tell this person wasn't hostile either so it was simply to increase trust between the two. That being said it may look like Kai completely dropped his guard but he was still mildly alert despite how well he had hidden it.

Kai walked around the guy in a circle, paused once the circle was complete, then slowly put his hand on the guys shoulder.

"Well, let's walk and talk". He smiled and put his hands back in his pockets.

"You go wherever and I'll follow. Traveling alone has been, eh... kind of boring".

By now Kai assumed that he had been wrong the whole time, and his team had actually never left on the mission. A shame really, but since he had already left the village he might as well spend some time in the Land of Rain. He couldn't think of anybody who would miss him anyway.

"So... where we going?"

[Mikado]

"So you know I'm a ninja, huh?" The stranger replied. "Isn't exactly the hardest conclusion to draw." Mikado chuckled. His eyes followed the movement of the foreign ninja as he reached towards his headband and tapped twice. What came next took him by surprise. As the stranger made a sudden movement, as if throwing something, Mikado's instincts kicked in. His eyes widened, and he dropped suddenly to a crouching position. Unfortunately, the momentum made balance impossible. Falling on his butt, Mikado let out a loud grunt. Attempting to keep his composure, Mikado jumped back up to his feet and dusted himself off quickly. "WHAT. THE HELL. WAS THAT!?" He shouted. A 'prankster'. "I'm from Sunagakure to be exact." The ninja carried on. Sunagakure? Mikado secretly scolded himself for not knowing Amegakure's current relationship with Sunagakure. He seemed friendly enough, no point in keeping up the tension. Slumping his shoulders back, Mikado let his guard down. He noticed that the sand ninja was showing similar signs. It seemed as though no hostilities would arise. "So you're a ninja from Amegakure, then?" This guy was full of questions. "Yes, I a-" Mikado attempted to reply, before being cut off mid-sentence by the stranger. That was rude. He didn't care? Why would he ask in the first place? Mikado frowned slightly, pouting for a few seconds. Maybe this guy took some warming up to, but the conversation was refreshing in a weird way. No pointless small talk that no one cared about, Mikado liked it. Mikado watched as the stranger circled him. Suddenly, he felt an arm around his shoulder.  "Let's walk and talk." The sand foreigner suggested. Seems like a good idea, Mikado thought to himself. "You go wherever and I'll follow. Traveling alone has been, eh... kind of boring" said the stranger. Mikado took a quick glance back towards the direction of the village. "I... don't think I'm going back there." He said. Without saying another word, Mikado started walking in the direction from which the sand shinobi came. He was planning to leave this place far behind, yet had no idea what his new destination was going to be. This whole event felt unnatural, he didn't even know the guy's name, yet he was acting like Mikado's friend. "What's your name, anyway? I'm Mikado." He queried.

TEMPLATE BY MIKADO

[Deleted]

Kaius, who was still laughing on the inside from this 'Mikado' guys reaction, watched as he went in the direction Kaius had just came from. Were they going back the same way, did this guy want to visit the Land of Wind. If that was the case Kai could assure him that it would be much more boring over there than his own hidden village. Trying to appear as nonchalant as possible he answered in regards to his name.

"My name is Kai-" he almost snuffled from the laughter he was still trying to hold back. "Kaius..." he had stopped trying by now, and his laughter could be heard in the tone of his voice.

"My name is Kaius, but just call me Kai".

Just as he said this he would follow Mikado in the direction of the Land of Wind, still chuckling, something told the shinobi that the two of them could really get along.

Remembering to keep his chakra suppressed he followed back through the forestry of where he had originally appeared from, tailing Mikado merely meters behind him. Kai almost snorted in laughter, mumbling ever so quietly.

"Pff-pfft... the hell was that?"

[Exit]

[Mikado]

"My name is Kaius, but just call me Kai' Mikado heard the laughter in Kaius' voice as he spoke. "Alright Kai, let's go." He replied, trying his best not to say anything about the chuckling. After all, he did really just fall on his ass. Making his way into the lush woodland, Mikado heard Kaius following him, chuckling ever so obviously. It seemed as though the two were about to set out on an adventure. An adventure with someone they knew nothing about. Mikado could only wonder how something like this would turn out, not to mention what kind of heat he would be getting from the village. This was a big decision. [Exit]

TEMPLATE BY MIKADO