Before a Lie, After the Past

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Shabriri

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"I remember the unfaithful mission that tore me away from my Village, Jōmae. The Hidden Village of Locks that I remained loyal to since the moment I was given life. It was a choice I had to make, for the sake of the rest I grew to care for; yet it destroyed the name I once held so proudly. Even till this day, there is no telling if any of it was worth the events. Suna, it became more of a chilling call rather than a place one could thrive in my eyes..."

Gentle breeze occupied Konoha Village, a spirit's touch in the guise of the wind. Golden locks of hair swaying with the breeze as the sun reflected off of dangling diamonds. Each step was noble-like, posture was straight and a faint, shadow aura followed in her steps. She was protective and clearly hiding something deep within her mind. A wrapped Shinken rested at her side, draped in excessive leather straps that seemed as if they had no purpose other than to sway with her step. The Shinken's straps matched those similar on her arms and waist.

Each step was like a jump through time, as she carried her elegance highly. As she knew it well yet not at all. Dust from the cracked, earthen paths blew past her feet, she looked towards the outer buildings of the village. Shops lined up, yet business was slow adding a dull hour to their day. There she caught eye of a man, one that carried such a familiar face yet nothing could come to mind. Just then, a lively green leaf from the forest nearby glided past her aqua eyes. The unsheathing of a simple blade cut through the wind behind her, time slowed as her eyes glanced across towards the familiar man. Expression remained calm. Before the one behind her could make any successful move, she was gone with the wind.

Quickly, sprinting against the once gentle breezes, she headed towards the forest. One could not allow such a disturbance be had in Konoha, nor could she afford to be seen down upon any further. With a graceful leap, she pulled her arms back as the once resting straps were now dangling down. Then she threw her arms forward spending the straps flying like a whip of sorts, latching on to the first branch that stretched out before the forest. The woman begun to swing herself from branch to branch, jumping on to some, leaping off of others and snatching on to most. Trees raced past her as she raced past them, trying to lead the danger away. Heels of her shoes pierced branches, earrings danced wildly through the rush and eyes were focused ahead.

At a careless move, she snatched on to a weakened branch from natural events causing her to lose a second of balance. A second is all one would need to strike and the moment was taken. The unknown being threw a kunai at the core of her leather straps piercing into the branch. This caused the branch to break under the increasing pressure sending her down to the ground. Without a split second, the woman managed to recuperate and land on her feet. There was no time to waste, and faced her enemy with courage. Every strap laid on the ground eagerly, placing her dreaming hands on the base of her Shinken. Fear lingered in her posture yet she stared face to face with her opponent. They were covered in ragged cloth and their face was masked blankly, making identification difficult. The being took a step towards her, and she clutched her sword tighter...


 
The mid-day sun stood high in the sky--maybe a hint to the West, as it was in the afternoon, and it'd already surpassed it's highest point in the visible sky, now very slowly beginning its fall to the West. It cast warm beams of light over that of Konohagakure no Sato, while the gentle breeze kept it to a very comfortable temperature, some say it was a beautiful day, but would it be, really? A young man, he had to be around 26 years of age, slowly moved down the dirt pathway that lead about this outskirt of the village. He had vast green hues, featuring no pupil in either, unique eyes that had only been known to be featured on the former Kazekage, Tetsuchi, and his younger--late--brother, Shiryoku. A distinctive set of two red stripes crossed the man's facial features, one crossed over the bridge of his nose, and upper cheeks--the other would cross vertically over the young man's right eye, the two stripes meeting on his upper right cheek just below his eye...Anyone with a keen eye could know this man, if they'd ever seen a picture of him.

He stepped down the Earthen path, his black-gloved hands slid into the pockets of his crimson pants--the loose fitting pants leading down to his shins, where a patch of white bandages separated the scarlet pants from his black boot-like 'sandals'--only refereed to this by the fact his toes was exposed. The rest of the man was wrapped in a sandy colored...one could call it a vest, some would call it a wrap, it was like a vest yet part of it dropped past his belt line, over his groin. Hung at the end of this would be a Suna-Village marked metal plate, like a headband built right into his top. Under this strange vest was a shirt with only one sleeve, the other cut off, it also matched his pants, the same crimson color. His jade hues wondered, he honestly had no reason to be out other then to just walk...maybe keep his mind off things--yet this honestly didn't help. The street he walked down was pretty empty honestly, being on the outer edge of the village, so when the young man glanced up--it was easy for him to pick up sight of the only two others within at least a block. His eyes fell upon a blonde woman, he even stopped, blinking...her face, he'd seen it before. She'd glanced over to him at this exact moment, for a simple split second the two's gazes crossed...The shimmer of a blade caught a glint of sunlight in his peripheral vision, just behind her a second figure, this one cloaked in ragged cloth, and even a mask...Tetsu's eyes narrowed, and in that instant, both the girl and the masked figure disappeared into the treeline in a flash of speed...

"What in the world." the man said to himself, and he took off after the two. The man wasn't as fast, speed was not his specialty, but he could keep up enough to follow them from a distance--taking a path bouncing from branch to branch, much like they did. His jade hues narrowed in a hint of anger...He knew he'd seen that woman's face before, and as this thought crossed his mind, he noticed a stumble, a branch had snapped, and she was forced to the forest floor in the distance. Tetsu landed on a thick branch high above as the two below would have their stare-down...A blade drawn by the cloaked one, a hand on her blade's handle by the blonde. Knowing he had the advantage of surprise, Tetsuchi silently formed a number of hand seals, with his last one, his eyes focused on the figure who'd started this by trying to attack the girl...His special ability, the infamous Iron Sand technique, he collected every particle of iron within the ground below, gathering them within the soil under their feet...His eyes opened more as he made his move, trying to strike before they'd even start.

Coming straight from the earth below the masked and ragged clothed figure would have two 'arms' one could say of dark iron particles jutting from either side, before both collapsing inward in an attempt to curl around the figure's legs in an attempt to keep him--or her--who knew with those concealing clothes, to keep 'them' there. Without even giving time to make sure this worked, Tetsuchi dropped from above, his left hand spinning a kunai from a holster on his left leg, the man clearly left handed as he dropped in, an attempt to bring the kunai straight down on the figure's shoulder...Hopefully his aim was true. The man couldn't let someone attempt to harm another in front of Tetsuchi's eyes...he'd seen so much bloodshed only a month prior, the blood of the former Kazekage's villages burning in the back of his eyes, his teeth gritted in anger as he dropped with the speed of a hawk, hoping to strike down this person quickly.
 
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The mysterious being crept closer as if intimidating her. But the only thing she could do is wait for the initial move, fearing she may attack the wrong person. There was no telling who this being was and it would be worse if it was revealed to be one well known. Right as the being started to take the leap towards bloodshed, they were quickly brought down not by her, but another. She watched as these dark particles quickly crippled the enemy bringing them into a kneeling curl. With a few steps back, she eased herself as leather straps swayed like a viper on the forest's floor. The sleeves of her shirt were like a kimono, long and wide covering most of her arm.

With a quick glance upward, she followed the man who nearly saved her life down with her eyes. He said not a word but shouted in anger with his expressions, something that was held in for a growing time. With a quick lashing thrust of her arms, she grasped the man's arm with the wandering straps, pulling his kunai away from aim. Focusing the attention on herself, she begun to loosen the grip.
"Please, be at ease. I appreciate you for nearly saving my life, but your actions won't solve anything." She said calmly.
With a few steps forward, she released her leather straps binding them back to her arms almost mystically. At first her gaze was quizzical, and with a small tilt of her head; she begun to examine this person now before her. Something about him was so familiar, she knew him. But the name failed her.

"I know you....But I can't remember from where."

The curiosity got the best of her, ignoring the incapacitated being she approached the man gazing into his eyes. Her free-flowing aquas met his hues of green without a mark. It had to of been the eyes, there was something about them that were far too familiar. Eyes were considered the windows to the soul, but his were more than just windows in her opinion. 'I remember....I left with the only smile that day...' She thought. However, in this moment, the smile could not be mimicked nor were there reason for it to appear. In turn, her eyes were warm and welcoming despite her expression. Turning away from him, she leaned down towards the being that made no sudden movements. Before she could speak to gain any sort of answer, she caught a rather unpleasant stench coming from them. It was of rotten flesh, it seemed rather fresh compared to most and the scent did not radiate far unless one was close to the person.

At first she was hesitant, then she begun to pull at the mask. The being made no attempt to resist. As she pulled, the mask itself seemed glued or fused into the face. The more she pulled, the stronger the scent became. Finally, taking a forceful grasp and pulling as hard as her arms were willing, the mask broke of the being's face and cracked within her palm. The face was disoriented, scarred and held no true physical features almost as if the face was burnt off or melted. She quickly dropped the mask and backed off. This being was dead this whole time, and now that it's mask was off; it was released. Slowly, she shook her head in disgust and looked over to the man almost speechless...
 
His surprise with the Iron Sand had been successful in locking down the figure's position, and just as the man dropped in for the kill--a feeling pushed his kunai's blade to fail, noticing it was from the woman--the man let it go and simply landed behind the trapped figure, the Kunai still in his hand, but no longer aimed to kill. He stepped back from the figure, making sure his Iron Sand held them down firmly, making escape seemingly impossible. Her control over the leather let loose, and his blade was free'd from her grip--the woman speaking word of ease. Honestly, she was right, his actions was a bit brash...Honestly, maybe if the man had less recent tramatic memories on his mind, he'd probably have had made a better, wiser decision. This was a hint to the mental instability of the former Kage, still dealing with the loss of his village, people, and brother. He took a sigh, his hues moving from the target to look over to the slightly shorter woman, met with her questioned look--she seemed to be examining him...He already remembered who she was, he knew instantly once he got a better look at her--she seemed puzzled as to who he was, but also seemed to realize she'd met him before.

He remained quiet as she spoke, she did remember, sort of...His eyes was met with the woman's, it nearly looked like she peered right through his emerald gaze...The tone shifted within the blonde's own azure hues, and Tetsu could read it in her eyes that she'd finally remembered. Both their focus came to the one he was holding down with the Iron 'Sand', and he watched as the woman reached out to peel the mask from the figure's face. Tetsu's arm raised up, the smell hitting and burning his nose when she started--him covering his nose with his arm in an attempt to block most of the rotten stench now trying o find their way into his nostrils.

His eyes narrowed when she finally managed to remove the mask, the man'y empty hues disgusted by the sight of the face--or rather, lack of one. He heard the mask drop and glanced up to see the disgust in Niao's features.. She had remained quiet, looking over to Tetsuchi. The man sighed. "Who'd do such a thing..." he said, voice a bit deep, but smooth as he once again looked over the poor creature. Slowly more and more Iron sand formed, and would entomb the rotten body of the figure-turned-puppet, saving them from having to endure more of the stench. Tetsuchi looked back over to her, eyes looking to meet her's again. "...I know it's been a while. I won't be surprised if you don't remember me, Niao-san..." he said, obviously recalling the woman's name. Tetsu had a memory of steel, he never forgot a face or name, and who would want to forget a pretty face like her's after all? Surely if it did come to her who he was, she'd probably also be reminded of the recent events.

One month prior, Sunagakure fell under sudden attack. This attack was headed by one man, against the village guard, as well as the revered Hashira Brothers--Tetsuchi and Shiryoku Hashira. The village fell, the brothers was defeated--the attacker left with his prize, Ryoku, Tetsu's brother...a man who hosted the 1-Tail Bijuu, a Jinchuriki. Flash forward to now, the few survivors of the attack had relocated to Konoha, and surprisingly Tetsuchi made it through, even after his nearly fatal confrontation with that man...Since then, a Kage Summit had been held, and by now everyone and their dog knew about Sunagakure's fate...forever a burnt out hollow forest of death, on a inhuman scale. The forest that had been grown in seconds had trees with trunks bigger then buildings, and reaching such heights one can see the tallest points of the dead forest from the edge of the Desert itself...The fact Tetsu survived was amazing, one could even tell looking at him that he was still recovering. Tetsuchi slid his kunai back into it's holster, shutting his eyes and sighing deeply, before opening his jade orbs to give the woman a very slight, yet charming, smile--some of his sandy golden locks falling over his right eye. "Its nice to see you again, even if we've only met once...I guess I wish our second meeting would've been under better circumstances then this, huh..."
 
There has never been a moment where something as disturbing as this was seen by Niao's own eyes. Not to a human at least. A hung man, or a brutally assassinated person was never enough to phase her. The man was as disgusted as Niao was and there were no amount of words to describe such thing. The look in her eyes begun to grow cold and dimming as the man spoke, saying her name. She knew her name well, of course but as he spoke rather calmly of it; it was like her own name was a horrible memory. Looking into his eyes, she gave a slow shake of her head.
"There is only one man I met with eyes like those. Tetsu..."

Niao took a few steps away turning her back on him looking around. There were other people in the area though did not appear to know of their existence. Neutrals. Nothing more. Rushing her hand through her blonde hair, she looked back once more at Tetsu. Upon seeing his smile, she could not help but to smile back with a sudden feel of warmth. Despite of it's horrid timing. With a careful step, she placed her hand on Tetsu's arm. "I think it's best we get out of here. We can catch up somewhere else, but right now I do not think the forest is the place for that."

Slow moments passed, as they shared their glances. Niao, slid her hand off of his arm and begun to walk past him as a small chime radiated from her. As fast as she came into the forest, was as fast as she left. Leaping up into the branches, she swung herself around swinging onto the next branch and leaping forth. Strands of her hair flowed freely as she stepped from branch to branch, looking back towards Tetsu with an innocent smile. Yes, this was the man she smiled for once long ago before the incident. But why is he here now? What reason for their paths crossing again? Niao felt she should be cautious and each movement should be taken with thought.
 
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