Running Away

It had been two months since the destruction of my village at the cold hand of the Raksaka, and the memories were still as fresh in my mind as the day it happened. The village, the huts and the people in flames before my very eyes, and the deadly flame that scarred my face, that would leave this mark for the remainder of my life. The pain was still fresh. As much as I was driven to face this mysterious group and exact my vengeance, I was in no state to fight them. If they had kicked my ass before, surely two months of training could not contest to years of experience. And on top of that, the pain from this scar caused me to stop training frequently because of the overbearing pain. The only place that I was sure to be protected to have time for resting as well as training was Chikagakure. I was not sympathetic to their cause, but they were reliable in protecting refugees, which is now what I was. During my time in Chikagakure, I would need to hone my abilities, craft this invention I still carried in my satchel, and reduce the pain radiating from my face.

I had been walking through the Bazaar looking for supplies when it all started. A few larger men noticed my eyes, the tone of my skin, and the clothes on my back. They knew I was a Native, and my kind was never treated well, no matter the location. Fortunately however, the difference between here and the Empire was that I would be safe and ridiculed instead of at risk and ridiculed. A large man garbed in black pants, a dirty white shirt, with a pickaxe tied to his hip grabbed me by the shoulder and turned me around to face him. I was roughly six feet tall, very foreign looking, and my native accent would surely confuse him. I was angry, but I knew better than to pick fights in the weak state I was in, but it still angered me. Between gritted teeth I muttered, "Can I help you.. sir." In a rage, he said, "Yeah, Native. You can help me by leaving my village. We don't like your kind in here. Our village has enough problems as it is, we don't need you here on top of all of that." My temper flared up inside of me, and I could no longer hold back. I reared back and punched the large man in the jaw. Down he fell to the ground, and the crowd that had built around us began to stare. "What?!" I said snappily to them.

Shin was down in the market gathering his food for the day, he had just finished this task and was snacking on a piece of bread when he heard a group of people gathering up to look at something. Normally he would avoid such a thing but based on the outer ring of people whispering things about there being something called a 'native' in the middle that had just assaulted a miner and this peaked his curiosity. Working his way through the crowd until he got to the front he saw there was a kid with darker skin and a pretty nasty burn on his face and a miner with a bleeding mouth getting up to his feet. He stood there for a moment to see what was going on first hand and the miner seemed ready for a fight, he pulled back his fist and was about to swing at the kid's temple so he acted quickly. Moving over behind the fully grown man he caught his arm and started once again munching on his bread. "Im not sure whats going on here but I'd rather you didnt pick any fights around here. After all Im responsible for this kid and only stepped away a moment ago to grab some lunch for the two of us." As he said the part about him being the kid's caretaker he winked as a signal for him to see and silently signaled for him to come over to him, letting go of the miner's arm and grabbing some cheese from his pack to hand over to make the story completely believable.

I was surprised when the man that had stood up to retaliate was stopped by some noble stranger. With an angry expression still plastered across my face, I turned my head to the man and realized what was happening. Not missing the opportunity that had presented itself before me. The man was too obviously not the same race as I, so I had to take a different approach then family.."Yes.. master. Let us go," I said under my breath as I went to stand next to the man who was obviously foreign much like myself. The miner made a huffing noise and in one final snort he said, "Fine, well next time, learn to keep your kid out of trouble. He deserves to be punished!" After saying this, the man turned and stormed away, followed by several other miners to begin the next shift in the Mork Tunnels. As I turned to walk away and continue my shopping, I looked to the man who had ended the tension. "Why did you do that?" I asked him.

As the man said the kid needed punishment I simply nodded and he went on his way followed by his fellow workers. Then as he was getting ready to leave the kid asked him why he had done what he did and he just smiled a little before walking back towards the foods stands and signaling for him to follow. "I'm new here as well and when I showed up the situation was less than desirable. However there was a man willing to step in a resolve it for me without even my asking, as a samurai my honor states that it is my duty to spread the same kindness I was shown whenever possible. Now back at a stand selling some discount medicine he pulled out his wallet and bought some burn cream, he noticed the burn on the kid's face was still rather fresh for the type of wound it was and he knew from experience that things like that continued to hurts for many months. He turned and passed the medicine to this 'native' and waited to see if he was willing to accept his help a second time.

I was again surprised when the man who had helped me bought me medicine after noticing my burn. A kind gesture, but a bit too kind for my taste. I had lost all visions of kindness, of humbleness, after the event of two months ago. I could not perform humbly myself, but I was still grateful for others attempting to show me that not all humanity is worthless. I waved my hand so as to reject the offer as politely as possible, and then went on to explain why I could not accept it. "The scar is a reminder of whom I hunt. The pain intensifies my hatred, and my hatred makes my drive stronger. Thank you for your offer though, sir," I said as I bowed to show my respect to this great man. If this man was new however, perhaps that relation could prove useful. Maybe he didn't have to be completely alone here in this new civilization. "If you're new too, could you point me to where-ever you make your home? Perhaps I could find something similar. I need to begin my research while I'm still hurt. Until the pain recedes, I cannot fight, but I do need to further my studies to enhance my strength, as well as firepower. You see, I fight using daggers," as I said this I withdrew my knife from the sheathe at my waist, "and I think I've found a way to make using a dagger much more efficient. I simply need a place to recover and study."

The medicine had been turned down but it was t a big deal to Shin, a man e during through his wounds without the help of others was honorable when those wounds weren't going to result in death so he found some respect for this kid through this. He tucked the medicine into his sash for now in case someone may be in need of it later as he listened to how this kid was a man of weapons like himself and as far as he could tell didn't seem to care for this magic called ninjutsu that most of the locals were proficient in. He took out his knife and showed it to him, rather different than the tanto of his homeland but still impressive, the way the light was hitting the blade's edge was magnificent and almost as sharp as his own blade. "Currenty I'm holding myself up in a spare room in the back of the academy while I learn the local language, not much but the straw mats are comfortable. If you'd like to stay there I'm sure I can get them to roll out another for you. However based on how those men treated you I get the feeling I should be the one to ask, seems like not all foreigners are welcomed like I was."

I began to scratch my chin as I listened to his proposal to stay behind in the academy. A thought popped into my head and I quickly told him of it, "Instead, I have another idea. This is a rather poor village, by the looks of it, yes? Perhaps if we scour the more wealthy areas, we will find empty houses simply because there aren't enough wealthy people to occupy them? Or I can do it alone, but the invitation to stay there with me remains. I would have to repay you somehow, perhaps a more comfortable living space would suffice." I could not stay at the academy anyway. I would need a desk in order to use the several crafting tools I had "acquired" the night my village was put to ember, as well as the many supplies I had stolen from caravans on the way to the mountains. It would serve as the headquarters to my inventing. My plans for the future were brutal and would require a large amount of bloodshed to accomplish, but they also required stealth. And these two shiny daggers weren't exactly stealthy. My new design would make sure to correct that, but it would come with a great price, and more pain.

I looked at the kid as he proposed this living arrangement, it wasnt a bad idea at all but there was something I had already sworn to do and thus could not leave before it was completed. Looking now out across the crowds of people I gave him my answer for the time being. "I need a few more days to finish learning to read and write the majority of what most people know, in addition to this I have given my word to the Yamakage that I would watch over his people while he is away visiting the village hidden in the depths. However, once these things are taken care of I would be happy to accept your offer."

I nodded as the generously strange man would explain his plans. "That's fine, my friend. I'm simply returning my gratefulness. I will come find you when I acquire my home, if it's all the same to you." As he walked away, I sent a wave his way as a sign of goodbye, and walked away myself. Time to find this new house.

[Exit]