[Mission/Travel] Death by Twilight

[Itaru]

Ziro began their journey through the Land of Water, accompanied with another ANBU from the Hidden Mist Village. Ziro kept the same pace as the man standing at his left, giving a childish look of curiosity. It was in this moment that Ziro realized that he didn't even know the man who he was traveling with. All he knew was that he was an ANBU as well, much like Ziro himself. He watched the ninja from the corner of his eye before stopping dead in his tracks, hoping to catch the ninja's attention.

If he did, Ziro would give a wide smile, "My name is Kamyuja Ziro of the Kamyuja Clan. What do you go by?" Zir would have offered the man a hand for him to shake in greetings, but he decided against it. He wasn't sure if this man was a silent type, and if he was, it was unfortunate that Ziro was quite the opposite. Actually, he could hardly keep his mouth closed for even a few minutes. Quietness made him uncomfortable. Once or if the man gave his name to Ziro, he would begin walking once again to reach their destination.

[Hana~Kyo]

He exited the ANBU office and continued out in to the mist covered lands that he had grown to know as home. It was still relatively early in the day by the looks of it but that mattered little against the length of the boat ride him and his fellow ANBU would have to go on. As they walked on Toshi noticed look he was getting from his new found partner, it was kind of disturbing but some what funny all the same. When he stopped and introduced himself a wave of relief washed over Toshi who had been thinking he would have to brake the ice on this journey. He stopped and turn to look at Ziro.

"Li Toshizo, of the Li clan and also of the Nara clan. You can just call me Toshi if you want." he replied with a relaxed smile on his face. Toshi turned and continued to walk, he reached into the inside pocket of his Juban and his hand emerged holding a long two sided paint brush with a cap on each end. He unscrewed the tips and placed them back in his pocket before reaching into his pouch and pulling out a small ink cartridge which he slipped inside one side before screwing the top back on; He then reached back into his pouched and pulled out another cartridge, this one was an oil cartridge which he slipped into the other side of the brush and screwed the other side back on.

As he slipped the brush back into his inner pocket, he decided to continue their conversation, "So... how long ya been an ANBU for?" he asked with out turning to actually face Ziro.

[Itaru]

Ziro tilted his head as he watched Toshizo fiddle with his items. In all his years he never met anyone from the Li or the Nara Clan. He nibbled on his index finger, overly intiqued by the ink and brushes. Ziro happened to be so simple-minded, that he didn't realize how hard he was bitting on his finger until a few seconds passed when Toshizo's voice broke the silence. Ziro straightened his figure out, after noticing he began to hunch forward while watching the ANBU walking at his side.

"It wasn't long after becoming a Chuunin I became ANBU. I suppose it's been a year." Most people would probably be ashamed of never reaching Chuunin until just recently at the age of nineteen. Although Ziro understood some people became Chuunin at very young ages, he wasn't disappointed in himself for not graduating from the academy until his mid teens. The docks weren't far away by this time, and Ziro was anxious to get onto a boat for the first time in a long while.

"You must be a Chuunin like mysef. When were you accepted into ANBU?" He asked while looking towards Toshizo, noting that he wasn't making eye-contact. Maybe he was still feeling uncomfortable. People around Ziro seemed to do that quite a bit. Ziro noticed his shoulder wasn't much shorter than Toshizo's, that gave Ziro the idea that this ninja must have been around Ziro's age, even if Ziro did look to be a few years younger than what he actually was. Finally they came to the docks of which Ziro stepped upon and walked towards the boat that awaited them.

[Exit]

[Hana~Kyo]

Toshi continued walking as he listened to Ziro talking over his shoulder, " A year ago huh.." he wasn't exactly speaking to Ziro with that thought it was more him reminiscing back to his own induction into ANBU. "Hmm well it was the same for me, not long after becoming a Chuunin, after the exams i was the last one of my team left and i had the choice to do some solo work or try and find a new team. I opted for the solo work and eventually just kind of fell into the whole ANBU thing couldn't and by then i had stopped counting time, couldn't have been more than two years."

Ever since the Chuunin exams Toshi's only goals had been to produce great art and to serve his village with every thing he had, it was true that he had stopped counting the years since then and there is no need for some one who only lives for the future to pay attention to his past. A while passed before they got in sight of their first check point.

They aproached the docks where a large steam boat awaited them, as they neared the docks Toshi pulled the scroll from his pocket and unravelled it to hand to the guard. After reading over the mission details and the letter from the Mizukage he nodded and signalled them to pass through on to the boat that would take them to the river country where the village of twilight awaited them.

[Exiting to post in Docks]
~* Please move to River Country*~

[Tieren]

Moved to River

[Itaru]

The boat struck land and Ziro didn't hesitate for a moment to jump knee-deep into the sea, drenching his black jeans as well as his sandals. He didn't mind it, and he stepped onto solid ground. He had never been in River before, and this was a completely new experience for him. Like a questioning child, Ziro glanced left to right, examining his surroundings. But then, something that Ziro caught in Toshizo's sentance was brought to his attention. He removed his eyes from the environment and gazed at Toshizo. "Stopped counting time?"

Ziro reached up and took a branch of a tree, lifting his feet playfully and dangled from there. "What do you mean by that?" Having such a light body, Ziro easily lifted his figure up until his blue eyes appeared above the branch. Figuring he shouldn't fool around and stick with the mission, Ziro let himself drop onto the ground and allow Toshizo to lead the way. Besides, Ziro didn't know where they were going from this point on. He didn't know the layout in River, so he felt sort of lost and misplaced. But with Toshizo, Ziro knew it wouldn't be difficult. Not until the actual mission began.

Like before, Ziro nibbled on his index finger. He followed closely behind Toshizo with his eyes and ears as keen as ever. He wasn't sure what to expect in this area, but as long as Toshizo didn't look alarmed, Ziro would try staying as calm as possible. After bitting on his finger for a while, this time making sure he didn't apply too much pressure, he placed his arms at his sides. Ziro noticed a small cricket in the grass that instantly consumed his whole attention span. He snatched the small critter from the grass and cupped it in his hands. He slowly opened his hands and peeked in on the insect.

[Hana~Kyo]

Toshi jumped down from boat being sure to avoid the water much unlike his overly energetic partner. "What i mean, is that alot happened before the Chuunin Exams and i got really angry but after wards it didn't do anything at all. So i decided that looking back on the past was a waist of time, and i would just always watch the future and some where along the line i forgot to keep track of how much time had passed. That's all there is to it."

Having finished explaining his previous statements he continued on, they still had a bit of a trip ahead of them before they were in the Twilight village where their mission was to take place. While they walked he contemplated in his head about how they would have to start looking once they arrived in the village, he didn't expect the culprit to just pop out and attack as soon as they walked through the village gates, that would just be stupid on his part. Toshi assumed they would have to ask around a bit before they got any real leads.

As they walked Toshi was holding his right arm casually inside his haori, a simple way to relax his arm while in fact he had his finger tips against the brush he had loaded with cartridges back in Mist in case any one attacked he would be ready in an instant with his brush. It had grown dark since they arrived and normally he would suggest to set up camp but they were close to the village now and based on how hyper Ziro was, Toshi highly doubted he would object.

[Exit]

[Itaru]

[Exit]

[Itaru]

Feeling rested up and ready to begin the travel back to Mist, Ziro strode through the River village with a wide smile on his face. He had his arms folded behind his head as he walked, naive to the dangers that still lingered. "Hey Toshi," Ziro's voice came, as cheerful and care-free as ever. "What's the picture and teddy bear about?" Since Ziro took the lead a while ago, he turned around and walked backwards to allow himself to face Toshi while they traveled. Ziro seemed much more laid back now that they completed the mission.

Thinking back to the young girl at the inn, Ziro wandered where she had ran off to. She seemed to just disappear from existance that moment she lunged through the window. Ziro's index finger lightly itched the smooth skin upon his cheek as he waited for Toshi's response. He was anxious to return home to get some training completed and more missions completed. Walking backwards, Ziro nearly tripped over his own feet but quicky regained his composure and gave a small nervous laugh.

[Hana~Kyo]

The crisp morning air filled the lungs of Toshi as he took a deep breath. He held the teddy bear under his arm and the painting hung from his hand. He was glad to be done with that mission and now on his way home. When he had heard his fellow ANBU's question it had reminded him that he had forgotten to explain a few things to him. "Well the picture is just a picture of the Mizukage as a child and i wished to bring it to her, but the teddy bear was apparently an heirloom that she had left behind when she visited and saved the village a while back."

He continued through the fields of the river country looking up into the sky as he walked, it was odd to see such peacefulness not far from everything that they had just experienced. Never the less they were headed home for a nice little relaxing break before having to set out to where ever the next mission took him. Where ever that may be he hoped Ziro would be his partner, they could be a good team with a few more missions working together.

[Itaru]

The information given to him by Toshi was understood perfectly before he turned around and continued walking forward. The morning dew was still spread over the green grass, which caressed Ziro's toes through his sandals. Soon after alternating his stance, he once again turned to face Toshi. There was a brief pause. "Oh, Toshi," he said as he recalled just what it was he wanted to ask. "How's your shoulder?" Ziro's eyes looked to the warrior's right, where the wound was inflicted. He only now remembered how Toshi saved him those times during the mission. Toshi wouldn't know it, but Ziro was thankful and would repay him someday.

Once or if Ziro got an answer, he would turn and spring forward into a sprint towards the boat when it was in sight. It was just like a young mind to grow excited over another boat ride. To some it was strange how Ziro was actually nearing his twenties. He boarded the boat and headed towards the front of the ship immediatly. He enjoyed feeling the wind rushing through his crimson jacket that covered his upper body. His bright blue eyes looked across the sea with a facial expression that made him look younger than ever before.

[Hana~Kyo]

As they neared the sea where the steam boat awaited them, the smell of the ocean air filled his nose. "My shoulder is getting better, still a bit sore though." A little after effect was to be expected though, he had just had a kunai shoved into his shoulder. "How bout you?" he asked, remembering that his partner had also been stabbed in the arm while on this mission by the little girl.

As they neared the docks, Toshi gave a slight bow of his head to the guards who stood near the dock waiting for their return. Even though he was headed home, he was still quite uncomfortable about having to ride on a boat again for such a long trip. The ship set sail and a strong ocean breeze blew back his long black hair. He found himself a good spot in the center of the boat where he had fell asleep on the way here and dozed off once again, trying to pretend that he was any where but on a boat this big.

~*Move to Land of Water please*~

[|Ayame Unbound|]

Moved.

[Itaru]

[Exit]

[Hana~Kyo]

[Exit (follow up post is at the docks)]