Hiding in the Dark (Private)

The night air in the village was cool and think with mist as usual. The moist air and darkness of the night made it difficult to see more then a few feet in any direction. It was hard to even see the buildings lining the streets as Michishige walked alone. He prefered the night, it was hard to distinguish the scars on his body in the dim light and thick mist. While he enjoyed showing them as a sort of badge, he had a tendency to avoid looking at them due to their unsightly appearence. Holding his arms out in front of him, Michishige looked out at his barely visible hands. While the darkness hid the ridges and valleys on his arms created by the scars, it was still easy to see that there was something wrong with his arms. Lowering his arms again, Michishige continued to walk through the empty streets. He had most track of what time it was, or even how long he had been wandering around the village. Without his father to dictate his schedule or regiment his life, his days had become empty and meaningless. All Michishige knew was where he wanted to end up, but he had no idea how to go about getting to his destination. He glanced down at his side, and looked at the sword on his waist. Swordplay had been one of the few things in life he excelled at without any help. Before he realized his, Michishige had reached the edge of the village. The buildings began to thin out and eventually stop as Michishige came to the base of a mountain. Looking up and squinting, he tried to find the peak of the mountain through the mist of the night. Without any guidance, the only thought in Michishige's head as he looked up the mountain was Stronger.

Matsuda strode, calmly, through the pitch black of night. He found it was best to meet people in conditions such as these; at least, when you're trying to find employees in his line of work. The shady liked to find times when no one can see them, it's the only time they feel safe. Matsuda was looking for the shady now, and he'd be damned if he returned to the boat without at least one.

Despite his target audience, Matsuda carried no weaponry. As he liked to say, "a man that carries a knife is begging for a reason to use it." Matsuda was not in the business of begging, and certainly not in the business of using a blade. Not tonight, anyway. Though he couldn't see more'n a few inches in front of him, his feet fell with all the confidence of a man walking through his childhood home. He never missed a step, never had to double check signs or buildings to make sure he was on the right path. He knew where he was headed. Nowhere.

Eventually, his wanderer's stride would slow, however. Even he needed to take a break every once and a while, and this thick fog was making breathing difficult for him for some reason. Still, standing still wasn't going to help with the cold, either. So Matsuda decided on a compromise. He'd make his way through town to the mountain nearby, and once he'd scaled a little higher than the fog had settled, he'd light a fire and relax for a while.

Just as he neared the mountain and remembered just how massive the king of boulders was, and Matsuda began reconsidering the plan for a nice hot meal with Kitsune on the sip, fortune lent him a new card. Standing just a couple of inches before Matsuda, barely within his range of visibility, was a boy. Matsuda could tell he was still just a boy by the look to his right eye -- the one Matsuda could see -- though the height and scars had originally indicated differently. They indicated shady, or at the very least willing to be, and that was close enough for Matsuda.

Smiling, he strode softly up to the boy, the last few inches, and as he got closer he sized the boy up. The same height as Matsuda, covered in scars and his hair already white. The left half of his face hinted at a tattoo much larger than what Matsuda could see from his right side. The boy was thin, as if he hadn't eaten in weeks; a possible angle for Matsuda to work off of. Just to make sure this boy wasn't an entirely lost cause, Matsuda placed a hand on his shoulder, seemingly just a friendly gesture, though Matsuda's well-trained hands were working for a different purpose. He had a knowing touch about him, and he could tell from what he felt that the boy had muscle to him.

Matsuda's smile turned into a wrinkly-eyed grin. "Thinking of a hike, friend?"

The touch of another person's hand on his shoulder caught Michishige off guard. He had been wrapped up in his own thoughts to such a degree he had failed to notice anyone else approaching in the mist. Before the situation had even registered in his mind, Michishige's body acted on instinct. His left arm shot up towards his shoulder, and caught the stranger's wrist in a tight grip. Before he had acted any further, Michishige's mind caught up with his movements, and came to a realization. If this man had meant any harm, he would be dealing with an attack, and not simply a hand on the shoulder. Stopping himself before he wound up instigating a fight, Michishige decided to keep his grip on the stranger's wrist to try and keep a slight advantage if the situation took a decline. Michishige sharpened his gaze as he looked through the mist at this man who had interrupted his peace. In a calm monotone, Michishige said "I'm no friend of yours. Now what are you doing here?"

Matsuda had to keep himself from chuckling as the young man took a hold of his wrist, just seconds after he'd taken in a good idea of him. In order to conduct business, Matsuda had been told, one must never look too serious, but just serious enough. So, shooting for that happy medium as he always did, he let a simple smile rest on his face, a little smoother than his wrinkly-eyed grin, but also a little less comforting. The smile of a knowing man, not a happy one.

He could tell that the boy wasn't going to let go of him anytime soon, so in order to diffuse the tension, Matsuda decided to act like this were a good thing. He let himself slouch over a bit, still holding himself up, but only just enough that he wouldn't fall if the boy were to move. He was now, as far as the boy would be able to tell, resting against him, his arm laid out across the boy's shoulders, his hand gone limp. If there was any better way to show he meant no harm, it wasn't occurring to Matsuda at the moment.

"I was just planning to take a hike and light a fire," Matsuda said. Half truths were the best kind of lie. They're harder to catch. Matsuda spoke in a smooth and even tone, with just a hint of disbelief to it; Matsuda planned on selling the innocent bit just long enough to get his hand free. He kept his knowing smile up, and wouldn't remove his eyes from this new 'friend' of his. "What are you doing here?"

Please be trouble. Please be trouble.

Michishige never took his eyes off of the stranger as he watched as the man's expression changed slightly. It was easy enough to tell that inside the man's head the gears where turning, but Michishige couldn't figure out to what end. Michishige was not in the mood for trouble, his mind was still to turbulent and unfocused. Taking his eyes off the stranger, he shifted his gaze up again, trying to see the peaks of the mountain. As impossible as it was through the dark and the mist, Michishige knew that they were there. Looking back to the man Michishige said in a rather calm flat voice "I don't know what I'm doing here. But I feel an urge that there is where I'll find an answer." As he spoke, Michishige made the slightest of motions with his head towards the peak of the mountain. As he spoke again, his voice took on a sharper more threatening tone. "Now go back about your hike, lest you be swept up in my wake." As he spoke, Michishige pushed the stranger back slightly by the wrist as he let go, trying to dismiss him so that Michishige could be alone again.

Matsuda allowed the boy to push him, always the fan of theatrics, and even went through the trouble of pretending to stumble back a bit. Upon reflecting, Matsuda realized that this might have made him appear drunk, which was not what he wanted. Clumsy, maybe. Yes, that was acceptable. Matsuda would be clumsy. He moved back toward the boy, this time putting enough space between them so as not to be awkward, and kept his smile up.

"Those mountains haven't been safely climbed in ages. They say the last man to do it went crazy. I could tell you about it, if you'd like," Matsuda began, instantly calling to mind a tale he'd heard when inquiring about the mountain one day at the docks, "though Kitsune tells it better."

Matsuda instantly wished he hadn't spoken at all. Kitsune wasn't exactly a secret, per-say, but the more people that knew about her the less likely she was going to live through her research. Matsuda had made many an enemy, and there were only two things left in this world he cherished. "In retrospect," he began, hoping to distract from the previous blunder, "climbing it could be a great deal of fun. I wish you the best on that venture. Though, maybe, you'd like to make a bit of coin first? Help pay for the climbing equipment at the very least, I imagine. The extra training won't hurt either."

He'd pegged this boy for a shinobi from the start, from the demeanor to the seal Matsuda noticed on the palm of the hand that shoved his away. There were three things Matsuda knew would snag almost any shinobi. Revenge, money, and power. Money and power were his angles here, since he couldn't see much of a motive for revenge in this lad.

Michishige turned so that he was fully facing the stranger. While he was not poor at the moment, what little money his family had saved before his parents death would soon run out. While he knew that he could climb the mountain without equipment or assistance, his financial situation did ring out in his mind as needing some help. Michishige rested his left hand on the edge of the hilt of his sword as he listened. Most of what the man said simply went in one ear and out there other, seeming irrelevant and not worth remembering. The only parts that Michishige actually seemed to hear from him were "a bit of coin" and "extra training". Michishige began tapping his fingers repeatedly on the hilt of his swords. "Speak quickly. I don't take kindly to people who waste my time with non-sense."

"It's as simple as this," Matsuda began, his voice growing softer and smoother as he spoke, no hint of desperation or even conspiracy, "you join me on my ship, do a few jobs that require fewer questions, and you get paid. In the process, I can teach you how to use that sword of yours, if you'd like. You'd get plenty of time on your own to train and accomplish personal tasks, so long as you're at the dock when I need you to be, and many of the jobs I'll ask of you will involve a fair amount of field experience and training on its own."

Matsuda straightened his back, gave the boy a wink and another wrinkly-eyed grin, and then turned back in the direction from which he'd come. He figured he'd had this kid wrapped up by now. All there was left to do was let the kid stew until he came to the decision Matsuda wanted; join the crew. "You think it over tonight. If you're interested, meet me at the docks tomorrow."

And with that, Matsuda was gone, disappeared in the thick fog and absence of light.
[[Sorry it's so short]]