Wandering in The Slums ( Maikeru and hito. pm to join)

Hito was walking along the slum area of the leaf village, not to far from the marketplace where he found the grimy alley. His wayward hair bounced as he walked on his skinny brittle legs. His black eyes shifting from one row of the box houses to the other. Origionally he went to the market to get some scrap metal supplied from the forger's back yard so he could make some new parts, though it seemed that he wouldn't be doing that just yet. He wanted to know more about the leaf village and things that concerned them. Why did they live in boxes? why not coffins like him? and why did they insist on warming themselves by trash instead of insulating themselves with grass and bark? people were very interesting and this discovery didn't stop him from think up more questions for him to answer.

Though it was in the middle of the day, he needed to find a place to hide from the heat of the sun. Maybe one of the people would let him put his coffin in front of their paper homes? though they seemed unfriendly so he conitinued to walk by until he found a tree choked with ivy. he placed the coffin at the foot of it and layed himself down in it, poking his head out of the door to watch people walk by. the refridgerated air cooled his skin and hardened it to its origional elasticity.

Maikeru Suddenly awoke to find a coffin underneath the tree he was sitting on. He looked closer, and it looked like it wasnt being used as a coffin, and more as a bed, as he could feel living chakra in it. he jumped down to kneel beside the coffin, and peered in. Maikeru felt grips of fear as he saw the figure inside blink. Desperatly fighting his urge to scream, he shakily said...

"Um... wh-who are you? Wh-why are you in a coffin?"

Hitogoroshi pulled his head back quietly as he saw someone peeking in, his glassy black eyes taking in information. Dirt fell from his unkept black hair as the hood of the coffin grated against his skull. The opening expelled cold steam from the refridgeration, making it hard to see too far into the so called "bed". " I'm...Hito...goroshi...Guujin. I'm...recu...perating." hito could only talk in short breaths since his voice recorder was freezing.

"Are you okay?!?!? Anything i can do to help?"

Maikeru was worried, why would anyone need to recuperate in a refrigerated coffin? Are they that wounded? He bent closer to the coffin so he could hear what the person was saying.

Hito shook his head quietly. "No. Are you hurt?" Hito poked his papery white fae out a bit. Out enogh that the gennin could see his filthy hair. He wonderd why nobody sat in coffins like him. Did they have freezers in their own bodies to keep their skin from melting? Or were they simply immune to the heat like lizards?

Maikeru was taken back at that. If the person wasnt hurt, why was it in a coffin?

"No im absolutly fine, i was just worried because youre in a coffin..."

What person would put themselves in this position?

"So, if you arent hurt, why are you in that coffin? I know your recouperating, but why a coffin?"

Hito looked down. He couldn't get why people asked him this. " This...is my home." He tried putting forth the words, but they came with a bit of static from the recorder. Hito opend the door and the Gennin could see that there was a little compartment with a sleeping possum in it, some with a box of needles, sewing equipment, weapons and a bag of trail mix for his friends. At the bottom there was a clear compartment with a refridgeration device to keep the stone coffin cold. She also saw that Hito's skinny legs were full of stitches. the skin could barely streach over the thin bones, let alone his dirty bare feet and his thread bare shorts. the only thing loose on him was a black sweater (origionally blue-white) that was 6 times too big.

Maikeru gasped at the person inside. How on earth could someone live this way... how could anyone submit this upon themselves. Now Maikeru knew why he felt so afraid, why he was gripped with fear. This poor soul was the very image of death, one of the few things Maikeru actually feared...

It was silent for a long time... nothing seemed to move, nothing seemed to breathe... Maikeru was horrified, but couldnt look away.... Was it pity?... Was it fear?... Or was it simply that his legs refused to move.... Maikeru didnt know.... Maikeru didnt care...

All Maikeru knew was that after the eternity of silence passed, he ran... ran far... so very far...

Hito was very confused that the person would just run away after seeing gravy (his pet possum). Was he afraid of rodents? He had to find out. Hito jumped from his coffin, locked it and threw it over his back. Due to the metal reinforcements he was able to hold his own weight without breaking his fragile bones. He ran quickly after the person, ignoring the bird nest that had rested in his hair for several days. " Whats wrong?" His black eyes were dull from lack of polishing but he was able to see well. they had passed the slums and was going into the main market.

Maikeru saw the person run after him... Fear once again gripped his heart... he felt like running forever, but the corpse was faster... he couldnt hide... the corpse would see him, so he turned around and held his ground, eyes shut tightly and hands ready to do hand signs or pull out a weapon, if death wanted to confront him, he would confront it.

Hito swiped an apple and quickly replaced it with two coins on the market stall. He caught up with the person and stared at the closed eyes. When those eyes opened they would just see a skinny kid. The one that those eyes belonged to was over a head taller than him and could easily hurt him. Hito held up the apple to the persons face and said quietly over the rabble of the buyers. " If you dont like my possum, you must like apples. right?" Even though the front fo the coffin had his name on it, he was standing in front of him with his eyes still closed. The date showed 10 to 11 years ago.

Maikeru heard the question... how odd of a question. Maikeru slowly opened his eyes, and saw that the Person was holding out an apple. Maikeru was stunned for a second... then answered:

"Its not your possum... its you... Why is a dead ninja walking around like one who is alive? I've always kinda been afraid of death... and you brought that fear to the surface... im sorry for being rude... And yes, i do like apples."

Maikeru smiled, then took the apple and bit into it, after tossing the person two coins.

Hito smiled at the action of eating. He always liked watching them do that neccesary action. " I'm a Guujin, we can live without eating or breathing. Even without blood or organs, but we have to keep our skin healthy and refridgerate ourselves. We're alive, just not how you're alive." Hito could feel the resounding from his mechanical voice box. The ice on it was slowly thawing. " I'm sorry if i scared you, I only wear a coffin because one of the jounnin said it suited me, so i made one." Hito smiled at his home, he felt like a nomad turntle, his home on his back.

Maikeru smiled. That made much more sense than death coming after him.

"My name is Maikeru Riengoddo, I belong to the Mira clan, and am a user of its Miragan, Im glad to meet you."

Maikeru held out his hand as if wating for a handshake, still smiling.

Hito repeated the facial action and shook Maikeru's hand. Hito was shockingly cold and felt like frozen shrimp. As hito let go, he found a little peice of cloth blowing in the wind and picked it up. He looked at it for a second and then vigorously rubbed his eye balls with it. when he looked up, the black glas was now very shiny and made him look not so dead. Hito put the cloth away in his dirty shorts and scatterd some trail mix as if to trade with the earth. " I've never heard of that clan, though i never heard of many other ones too."

Maikeru laughed, it was ironic that the persons eyes were fake, but his held a doujutsu, almost polar opposites.

"You aren't the first person I've met who hasn't known about my clan, and you wont be the last. My clan has kept itself in secret for a long while, and only recently has let its ninja move about like I am. Besides, I havent heard of your clan either, what main village is it nearest?"

Hito shrugged. "It's its own nation. the stuff that surrounds it is fatal to everyone but us. though its not very old. Only 12 years." Hito walked over to the shade of a tree, he seemed more releived. As releived as you could see on his stoic expressions. Hito looked over at the other boy's eyes. He wonderd how real eyes felt like and if they were nay different from his. "it's by the mist."

Maikeru found something odd...

"The mist? I've never heard of anything near the mist killing people like that... so is it a gas that if you breathe it kills you? A liquid thats poisonous? And why are you guys immune?"

Hito stared up at the trees leaves and plopped himself on a root. " When someone goes into the mist, their blood dries out and their organs shrivel up...including the brain while they're consious. Then the crazy weird man operates on them so they can live after breathing it in, they end up like us guujins who had the same fate. some because we were sick already and wanted to continue living or some that were still-born. you know, born without breathing. We then can't live without the mist and have to give ourselves shots." Maikeru remembers the medical box full of needles. " though when we're guujin, we cant eat, sleep, get tired, or go to the lavatory. we just sit around until we get interested in something, or someone gets interested in us." Hito returned his gaze to Maikeru. " this is the longest ive ever talked before in my life...uh...i mean... my un-life?"

Maikeru felt sad for Hito (calling him a thing was rude, and person seemed rude at this point as well) and decided that Hito might as well have a friend.

"Then maybe you just havent talked to the right people before. My clan tries to be close knit, and can spend hours talking, just to become closer to a few individuals, so this isnt even close to my longest conversation. I find you a very interesting person Hito, and im glad to have met you. If you dont mind me asking, does your possum bite? Id very much like to pet him."

Maikeru smiled again.

Hitos face was the essence of 'happiness'. his hollow face lit up like chinese new year. " You want to pet Gravy? Okay!" Hito quickly yanked off his coffin and let the fat lazy possum into his lap, it was the size of a large mouse. Hito placed some trail mix into Maikerus hand and the possum immediately hopped onto it. While munching on the mix, Gravy was totally oblivious to the strokes he was getting on his soft fur. " I found gravy next to a waterdrain near a resturaunt, so i picked him up and went to the back of the store. the chef man threw some stale gravy at me for snooping in his trash bin, so i scraped it off of me and gave it gravy for food. Thats how he got his name." Hitos bright face made his eyes seem dull again.

Maikeru laughed, the possums fur was suprisingly soft, even if it was cold, and seeing Hito's face light up light that seemed to have the same effect on Maikeru. For a long time, it finally felt that Maikeru had a friend, and was sure Hito felt the same way.

"You're lucky you know, I wish I had a pet like this. I am so glad i met you Hito, its been so fun talking to someone. Most people ignore me altogether, but you have been open and honest. Im not entirely sure your really dead, cuz you seem so alive. Sure you may be thin, and have to stay refridgerated, but it almost seems like your just another person inside. So what do you say, friends?"

Maikeru stopped petting Gravy for a sec so he could extend his hand again. As the possum finished the trail mix, he lept back to Hito, and Maikeru beamed.

Hito held his hand out immediately and shook his hand. " If we're going to keep shaking hands, maybe i should make some gloves so you wont get chicken bumps." Hito didnt realized that he meant to say 'goose bumps.' hito hopped to his feet and bounced slightly. his feet getting cut by the rocks on the road. " Want to find a pet for you? Its easy, just find one that likes you." hito was practically being held back by an invisible leash. " not many people think im alive, im glad you think so."

Maikeru laughed again. Hito was practically jumping out of his skin (which Maikeru got the impression he could actually do that).

"Of course, id love to go find a pet. Although I'm not sure i would like a possum."

Maikeru got up and walked passed Hito. When he got close enough for Hito to hear him, he said...

"And as for you being alive, anybody who cared to look close enough could see that you were alive too, otherwise your possum wouldnt like you as much as it does."

Maikeru smiled then and went with Hito to find himself a pet...

Hito placed Gravy into his trail mix and then tied the top so he wouldn't fall out. " okay, lets hurry before all of the day animals go to sleep." Hito jumped torward the forest that he was so used to. " remember, it doesnt matter what they look like, it matters what they think you look like." hito climbed one of the trees and crawled upside -down on a branch staring cross-eyed at a small poisonous spider. " i wonder why they call it a black widow..."