Heavenly Roses Fallen Into The Pits Of Hell. [P]

Hachirou stepped out into the sunlight, ever present in his home town, and grumbled. Normally in a relatively good mood, somewhere between cheerful and apathetic. Today, however, he was mildly miserable. Somewhere between falling out of bed and onto his tailbone and spilling his cup of coffee all over the floor had ruined his day already; now he was just looking for something to cheer him up. He had pulled on a white t-shirt with a v-neck, made from fabric that felt like nothing, and fit tightly against his well-muscled but lean torso. The same typical pair of jeans protected his legs from the sun, cut at the knees to provide ventilation. Still they were just below uncomfortably warm; exactly where he liked them. He fiddled with the chain hanging around his neck and decided what he would do.

A few short minutes later and he was in the Sunagakure market district, browsing the various stands. The vendors were all terribly friendly, most likely a forced habit; no one wanted to by from and unfriendly vendor. He smiled at all of them and nodded respectfully, half-listening to everything they told him. A few warm buns and a bottle of water later, he found himself at the stall he had been looking for. Hachirou stepped up in time to hear the stand vendor-Toru was his name- telling a young girl Hachirou had never met about the 'mystical powers' of one of his many trinkets. Hachirou smiled to himself inwardly, his day already getting better thanks to the amusement.

"Don't listen to Toru. He can't help exaggerating." Daisuke said in a friendly tone, standing next to the girl and staring down at the necklace. His eyebrow raised slightly as he looked up at Toru. "Protection?" He questioned. Normally Toru stretched myths a bit make them sound more appealing, but he'd never heard of this myth before. A symbol of tenacity, or a charm of intuition he could understand.

Hachirou shook his head as Toru wove more of his funny tales. Odds were there really was a priestess, and she really had blessed the necklace; but not for that purpose, and not the priestess he had described. A sigh escaped his lips as she paid money for it anyway, noticing her appearing significantly more angry. He would have to apologize to Toru for that later; he didn't mean to turn customers against him. Still, he'd made the sell and that's all that mattered.

She went to slip the necklace over her heard, finding it just a little too small to fit. Hachirou watched with amusement as she struggled with her curly red hair and the necklace at the same time. ''Would you mind raveling the necklace and fastening it on my neck? I can't do it on own.'' She asked him, smiling in an awkward fashion. She was obviously embarrassed by this, and Hachirou could see why; she looked a tad bit ridiculous.

"Sure." He said, stepping forward. He unwound the necklace from her hair, trusting her to hold it up and out of his way while his thin, bony fingers worked with the tiny clasp to get it to open and close again. Once it was locked around her neck he let it drop, stepping away. "I apologize for Toru; he means well. He's just trying to make a living. Why don't I buy you some tea as an apology for him?" He offered, winking at Toru. He'd be damned if he lost Toru a potential future customer.

Hachirou stepped back from her as she let her hair fall back down against her back. She turned and thanked him, and he responded with a polite nod of the head. As he nodded, he noticed her hand move into her pocket, removing a small red cylinder. She fiddled with it, pressing her thumb against a small wheel. Suddenly, a flame jumped up, flickering momentarily before she released it and allowed it to die. She continued to play with the lighter, extending a courteous hand to shake as she introduced herself as Aura.

"Hachirou, nice to meet you too." He said, shaking her hand firmly and allowing a polite smile to cross his face. He followed next to her as she lead the way around a corner toward the tea place she'd mentioned earlier. Neither of them talked for a while, and he could feel the awkwardness beginning to settle. She must have noticed it too, because as soon as it occurred to him that he should try to create conversation, she spoke.

''So, Hachirou... Why are your hands scarred?'' She asked, seemingly out of pure curiosity. He smiled as he looked down at his heavily scarred hands. They weren't scars to be ashamed of, not the kind to hide. He had earned each and every ridge and dip in his hands through the craft he'd learned from his father.

"I learned to work with wood from my father. When he passed I kept the craft, a way to remember him if nothing else, really." He said slowly, almost quietly. It had been years, so talking about it didn't hurt so much anymore. Still, he always got quiet when he thought of his father; his father had a soft voice, which was something Hachirou tried to emulate. "He would treat you if he weren't working right now. Since I'm a friend of his, I figure it's the least I could do." He added in response to her comment on Toru's "lies".

"He would treat you if he weren't working right now. Since I'm a friend of his, I figure it's the least I could do." "I'm afraid that will not be necessary.." The voice was calm and faint, but noticeable. Oddly, the sand around them had slowly began to gather in a single spot. The scene was barely noticeable for those not paying complete attention to it. The sand started to stir and created a thin, but weak, vortex of sand. Once the vortex grew over five feet it weakened and started to fade. As it did, Genkou was visible from within its presence. "Sorry to interrupt your upcoming planned 'date', Hachirou, but we have errands to run." The sand vortex scene was long gone by now, but it came and passed so quickly and silently that none of the civilians cared to pay any attention to it, except for the salesman of course. [b]"Audra, you go back to your jolly 'joy time' here in 'Sandy Land.' I expect Hachirou to follow orders, so I ask that he is to come and tag along in a mission." Genkou turned around and took a few steps forward. [b]"Oh, but before we leave Sunagakure, we must locate Zanza first. I need to have a word with him. Come, we must go...now." He turned his body sideways and kept his focus on Hachirou, waiting for his response.

Hachirou was never really one for being 'taken by the moment', but this was an exception. One second they were talking, her consoling him on something that stopped hurting years ago, and the next they were stopped dead in their tracks. First he noticed sand shifting under his feet, next her noticed the vortex forming. He'd seen the technique once before, not in person but in a scroll he'd read while studying up on Sunagakure's fighting tactics. It was a form of Shunshin, and it used the sand as a medium of the transportation; it had no real effect besides maybe displacing sand or distracting the opponent, but it was flashy. Some people liked flashy. Some people didn't like those people. Hachirou was one of the latter.

The man spoke disrespectfully, another point lost there as far as Hachirou was concerned. He commanded Hachirou as if he were a master and Hachi were an animal, and played Audra off as a child. Hachi was young and inexperienced, but even he could tell that she was no mere child. Before he could respond and ask any form of question, or shoot down his commands, Audra moved. She threw a bottle of a foul smelling liquid over the man's head, tossing her lighter into the mix. Instantly the liquid took, raining small sparks and drops of liquid fire down on the man.

She took his hand, tugging gently at it to direct him into the restaurant they had been going to. He followed, momentarily stunned by the speed of events, and allowed her to drag him into the kitchen. Suddenly, he heard her laughter. She was amused by this. Amused.

"You could say that." He managed, turning to look over his shoulder. The door to the kitchen had swung closed, leaving them isolated. "Isn't that treason or something?"

Both Hachirou and Audra have both remained silent for some time now, neither of them having said anything since Genkou rudely intruded upon their conversation. Genkou too remained silent as well, obviously he was either waiting for a response or expected Hachirou to silently sollow orders without questioning him. Whichever the case was, he was patiently waiting for a response, but his patience was dwindling as time was running out. But before he could murmur a word, Audra thew a bottle of rubbing alcohol flew above his head and tossing her lighter into the mix as well. The foul liquid instantly took aflame, raining drops of liquid fire onto him. Because he was facing the opposite direction, with his back facing them, he didn't notice the bottle with his own eyes. However, his sand quickly defended him against the raining assault. The assault ended as quickly as it had started, but the female had taken poor Hachirou hostage before he had a chance to accept the forced mission.

Genkou sighed, he took notice of a few strands of scarlet-colored hair that lay near the entrance into a nearby resturant. He silently walked into the resturant and molded some of his sand to create a third eye. The eye was small, but of course it was still somewhat visible. It floated into the kitchen and analyzed the room. Spotting a shadow hanging by a corner, the eye quickly turned back into sand. "You could say that. Isn't that treason?" Hachirou had asked Audra. Sand traveled into the kitchen and tried to lock the chuunin in the kitchen to prevent them from escaping. "Treason? You could say that." Genkou walked into the kitchen and stood at the entrance, unscathed from any burns that the liquid fire should had left. "I do not have time for this. Speaking of time, it is running out." Genkou said, his sand ready to immbolize them if needed.

((looks like its time to have fun! ^_^))

Kamoku had been hiding underneath the sink of the restaurant. Since he was the advisor of the Kazekage he was allowed to take whatever food he needed as long as it wasn't human. The people giving it to him would be reimbursed from Kamoku's paycheck. Right now he was napping under there with a piece of smoked ham as his delicious pillow. He heard some yelling and griping out side. His yellow eyes gleamed in the dark as he watched from the cracks. He was right next to Genkou. His face looked like someone stuck fire ants up his ass. This wasn't good. It was also his job to ensure the safety of the village, though it looked like that Genkou and the other two weren't abiding by that code.

Kamoku head butted the doors of the sink and somersaulted out with the ham in his left hand. He then faced the two and pointed at them with the ham. " Bow before the pork!" He said as the girl threw the towel, which landed in his face. He pushed it aside and began munching on the meat. He knew her parents well when it came to their food, though never knew them socially. His gleaming eyes with several pupils swirled around, probably making them nauseous. His black claws and foot claws were out, puncturing the metal tiles and scratching them to no repair, in which he will pay for later. After swallowing he grinned, his carnivorous teeth that was much more suited to ripping human flesh had to make due with pig. " No, really you should listen to the stiff. He may be a pain in the pants but at least he's not skipping out on the fun like you're doing." 3 of his pupils laid upon the girl with interesting hair. " Speaking of things to do, you got any more of this ham? It feels like a threesome in here." He said, pointing to his mouth.

[The topic is actually private... But if the other two don't have a problem, it's okay.]

[[While I find it a little rude, I don't much care who joins.]]

Today was getting stranger and stranger every second. First, the girl; she was strange enough on her own. Next a Jounin asking him to come for some unknown reason, then being assaulted by the strange girl. Finally, he founds himself trapped by sand inside of a kitchen, with a freak albino commanding him to 'bow before the pork'. Hachirou shook his head, rubbing at his temples to try and soothe the swelling of his brain. He was honestly afraid it might break out of his skull. At this point, it wasn't much of a stretch.

Hachirou grunted, shoving past the albino lightly; he was done with manners. He shot an apologetic look back at the girl with red hair, and stopped when his shoulder was next to that of the Jounin's. "Let's go. Leave her alone, she's just a bit eccentric." He muttered, biting back the frustration so that his voice would remain smooth and gentle. He took a few more steps, his hand raised to push open the door, when he noticed the sand still stuck underneath it. "Mind getting rid of this so we can leave?" He snapped, his nerves on end.

"Let's go. Leave her alone, she's just a bit eccentric." Genkou stared blankly at him and watch him as Hachirou walked to the kitchen door and then stopped. "Mind getting rid of this so we can leave?" Hachirou snapped. Genkou was a bit suprised and just blinked, then sighed in annoyance. "The sand is bound by my will, so what is there to get rid of?" Indeed the sand that was blocking the entrance was mostly gone, and his sand began to slowly return to his gourd. "Hm, I feel your frustration but being snappy isn't going to help your growing anger. Bite your tongue if you have to, not literally, if you know what I mean. But...I do apologize for being rude earlier, I am in a hurry...after all, time is running out.

Genkou glimpsed at Kamoku and simply ignored the crazy albino man, who Genkou believes has lost all sanity. If an invasion or some sort of coup 'd' etat was started, "Willow the Albino" would heroically jump in front of the said targets and shout 'stop in the name of the pork.' A wonderful way to die...if you were insane like him. After all his sand had returned to his gourd, Genkou walked towards the door and left the scene. [Exit]

Now instead of a high-stressed scene of defiance and arrogance there was a redhead watching a four foot ten man nibble on a leg of meat. Kamoku inwardly grinned. Good, no arguing means no work for him to turn to the Kage. Which also means this girl could give him another slab of dead animal.

He looked up at the girl, knowing that his short stature would either induce lack of respect or too much. Kamoku grinned again, this time with a mouthful of meat. His dark skin showing no wrinkles nor any signs of age, though there was plenty of wisdom under his belt. " Well, now that that's done. Mind giving me some meat and a cup of water? It may be the best meat in town, but it still dries out in his hot sun." He hopped up on one of the counters, waiting for the girl to give him the slab while he was still nibbling on the leg.

Kamoku watched intently at the girl, his swirling yellow eyes moving around quietly while most were stationed on her. Even though he couldn't see shapes or color, he could see the atoms and Ions within her body twitch. It would die, replace, reproduce, and commit to a full homeostasis within seconds. Her hair was of a different composition and was fascinating to see human genetics at work. Unlike "black" hair, "red" hair had more electrodes and even as the hair follicles were dead there were reacting to several things, and not just the light and the weather.

He took the glass from the girl, careful not to touch her skin with his. It would be too dangerous for that to happen, especially when the Kazekage would torture him and then place his disemboweled body in front of his entire clan to make an example of. No, no. He loved eating too much for that to happen. Speaking of which, he chugged the glass of water (making sure it is water to begin with first) and placed it in the sink which was right next to him.

" Ehehehe... Kamoku." Kamoku had noticed that she had completely changed her reaction as soon as she is confronted in the right way... sort of like a horse. If you don't let it know you're there and you're a friend, it'll kick your ass through a barn. Kam pulled off his dirty sandals and placed them on the floor before crossing his legs on the stainless steel countertop. " So you are Chunnin of the sand and like to defy Mr. Sandman. That's a pretty fun hobby Ms....?" Unlike many Anbu, he was allowed to give out his identity even when he was on missions due to the fact that he had dirt on every village that was a threat.

The man took the glass of water from Audra, extremely cautious of not touching her skin. It wasn't really that obvious, so the red head didn't actually notice. Moving on, she opened the metal door of the fridge which, by the way, was a room of its own. Stepping into the fridge, she searched for the ham the man had asked for; She didn't exactly know why she was actually giving him what he asked for. She just did. He would have to pay anyway, so it didn't really matter. The girl's voice echoed through the fridge, forming words that asked for the man's name. "Kamoku-san, huh?" she mumbled as she finally found the desired ham. Her slender legs moved quickly out of the cold fridge, towards the man, closing first the door behind them. Her nose had turned red because of her being exposed to such cold temperatures; Even though it was for a short amount of time. Audra never liked the cold; That's why she loved Suna.

The female handed over the ham to Kamoku and introduced herself. "My name's Aura. Aura Talis." she said while washing her hands in the sink next to where Kamoku was sitting. "Yeah, I don't like people like that.. I mean, he was just rude. Seriously." talking more to herself than to the male, Audra pulled out a glass and poured some cherry juice into it. She lifted the red liquid, bringing it to her pink lips, as she swallowed it all at once. "You know...every time I drink cherry juice, I kinda feel like a Vampire. Like I'm drinking blood or something. Childish, I know, but I like the idea of being a Vampire. Would be fun." after a couple of seconds of staring into the empty glass, Audra snapped out of her trance and looked at Kamoku, in an intense way. "Say...why do you have so many pupils?" The question may had been inappropriate but Audra didn't really care; She wanted to know the truth, so she was going to find it out.

[Sorry it took so long.... I had to do some RL things. =P ]

Kamoku watched her without turning his head as she went into the freezer. When the door opened and a small breeze of cold air sifted it's way to Kamoku, he closed his eyes and smiled.

The snow, a flurry everywhere as he ran through the solid masses. His legs burning, his body exhausted and his eyes rolling every which way. Suddenly a larger willow came from the flurry of falling snow and threw him into one of the many banks. The man himself was skinny, sly, and sturdy for his old age. His only eye showing through his short unruly hair. It was his Uncle. " Don't waste your hunt on the ice drops and try to feel organic life next time, Kam." Kam pulled his head from the snow, his own wild spiky hair was standing straight up from the melted water. One look at this and they both fell back in the snow laughing. Their happiness untainted by the temperature around them...

"Kamoku-san, huh?" Kamoku opened his eyes again, falling down into the present with an iron spiked bed of reality for comfort. The girl moved out of the fridge and closed the door, ending his midsummer daydream. A lot had happened since then. The speices war with the 5 great kages trying to eradicate his homeland. Evacuating humans from the snow village and attempting to enter the child center where he was taught to control, hunt, and learn. Though that was all ended by his Uncle by using his massive powers to relocate the entire center. Now the Chikage had nowhere to be but a simple Kazekage, using his army in secret...

"Talis? Where have I heard that name before...little Jounnin Talis? Didn't he become Tsukage and raged a war against the Leaf? Ah...I remember when he was just struggling to learn stealth, that little show off." Kamoku bit into the raw ham, his pointed teeth leaving a large hole in the frozen food. The blood melting in his mouth, though Kam made sure none was wasted. He watched her drink the red fruit and smiled at her little joke. He never felt that way before about cherries but there's always a first time for everything...

Then she asked about is eyes. Kam blinked a few times to let things sink in...and frowned. He set the heavenly pig aside and clasped his hands in his lap. " Don't freak out when I tell you this. The Kage doesn't like it when hell breaks loose." He searched her face to make sure she was calm and then began explaining. " My eyes can see every angle at most any distance at any time of day. Sort of like a Hyuuga. Though I can't see shape, color, patterns, light, darkness, or chakra. I see atoms and ions." He retracted one of his black claws from his left index finger and started poking the pig. " My 'clan' is only similar to humans by 10% in DNA and is made up completely different. Though what the history books don't tell you about us is that we used to hunt you...and still do. Though when the Sannin Kitsuke became Chikage, he stopped most of that and then became Kazekage. Which is why there hasn't been a war since the Kage has been in session. No one wants to fight with their predator." At that last word, his eyes dilated and all of his claws on his left hand retracted, skewering the pork.

Kam raised his hand and stared at it. " Damn it all!" Kamoku placed his feet on the meat and began to push to get the meat off. He then rolled off the counter and hit the tiles, the pig finally off of his hand. He raised his now normal finger and stated. " I...I meant to do that." Kamoku groaned as he sat back up. " Anyway, getting back to the main point: I have around two dozen pupils to key in on. It's better during the night because of the temperature is so close to my homeland one, but during the day it gives you one ***** of a headache because of all the heat.


[I think I got carried away...]

There yah go. Why did the admins make this site all bright? It was awesome before.