Sprawling on the fringes of the city in geometric order between the posh mansions of the Seki District and Cronopolis lies a sea of nearly identical houses divided by parallel and perpendicular streets. The middle class subdivisions of Kumogakure are quiet this late at night, or rather, this early in the morning. The orange glow of evenly spaced street lamps lit the sidewalks and streets, banishing the sight of stars with their illuminating pollution. The night sky was not completely empty though. On this night the moon was a slender crescent, the angles just right to make it’s outline show in a ghostly glow, it’s shape marred only by the occasional cloud passing over it.
In the looming silence of the lighted streets on this quiet night not a single creature stirred. Even the crickets lay silent, as if a spell had been cast over the entire world and everything and everyone was commanded to sleep. Well, almost everyone. The quiet steps of one lonely soul gently shattered the silence. The rubber soles of his black steel-toed boots made little noise as he strode purposefully down the sidewalk; but in the near silence of the night the modicum of sound was like a roll of thunder bouncing off the walls of the cookie-cutter houses lining the streets.
Narashi Jo tried not to make a habit out of being up this late (or early, whichever you prefer), but he just couldn’t get to sleep that night. So, he reluctantly donned his boots, jeans and a plain black t-shirt and quietly left the house, leaving a note for his parents in case he didn’t get home before they awoke. His journey had no destination, and he was ok with that. After all, the point of a journey is not to arrive. The night was a comfortable temperature anyway, and the fresh air (as fresh as one can get when surrounded by asphalt and concrete anyway) might help him relax enough to go home and go to sleep.
As he wandered, he contemplated the possible reasons for his restless flight. ”What’s eating you, Jo?” He muttered to himself under his breath. The monotonous wall of houses was broken by one of the many playgrounds that dotted the landscape of Kumo’s suburbia, each one different, yet exactly the same. ”Well, you’re starting at the Academy in a couple of days. I guess that could keep you awake… but why?” He turned and wandered into the park, leaving the glow of the streetlamps and descending into darkness. He passed teeter-totters and carousels his mind wandering like his feet. ”Could just be nerves, I guess. It’s a big step, the start of the rest of your life.” He wandered past the swings, a gentle breeze (or perhaps something else) leaving one swinging slowly, its chain squeaking quietly with the motion. ”New school, new life. Maybe I’m just nervous about all the change that’s about to happen. It’s a lot to take in.” He didn’t notice that he was walking onto a baseball field until he stepped up onto the pitchers mound. He stopped, looking around him at the emptiness of the field. In that moment he felt completely and utterly alone. The reason behind his anxiety finally became clear. ”I’m alone.”
He didn’t know anyone at the academy, and he wasn’t much of a social butterfly at his old school. The few friends he did have were more like acquaintances. In fact, he hadn’t heard from any of them since he told the class he was going to join the Academy at the end of the last semester. It was like he had vanished from the face of the earth. He looked up at the moon, his face bathed in its radiant glow here where the streetlights couldn’t reach him. ”I’m alone”
In the looming silence of the lighted streets on this quiet night not a single creature stirred. Even the crickets lay silent, as if a spell had been cast over the entire world and everything and everyone was commanded to sleep. Well, almost everyone. The quiet steps of one lonely soul gently shattered the silence. The rubber soles of his black steel-toed boots made little noise as he strode purposefully down the sidewalk; but in the near silence of the night the modicum of sound was like a roll of thunder bouncing off the walls of the cookie-cutter houses lining the streets.
Narashi Jo tried not to make a habit out of being up this late (or early, whichever you prefer), but he just couldn’t get to sleep that night. So, he reluctantly donned his boots, jeans and a plain black t-shirt and quietly left the house, leaving a note for his parents in case he didn’t get home before they awoke. His journey had no destination, and he was ok with that. After all, the point of a journey is not to arrive. The night was a comfortable temperature anyway, and the fresh air (as fresh as one can get when surrounded by asphalt and concrete anyway) might help him relax enough to go home and go to sleep.
As he wandered, he contemplated the possible reasons for his restless flight. ”What’s eating you, Jo?” He muttered to himself under his breath. The monotonous wall of houses was broken by one of the many playgrounds that dotted the landscape of Kumo’s suburbia, each one different, yet exactly the same. ”Well, you’re starting at the Academy in a couple of days. I guess that could keep you awake… but why?” He turned and wandered into the park, leaving the glow of the streetlamps and descending into darkness. He passed teeter-totters and carousels his mind wandering like his feet. ”Could just be nerves, I guess. It’s a big step, the start of the rest of your life.” He wandered past the swings, a gentle breeze (or perhaps something else) leaving one swinging slowly, its chain squeaking quietly with the motion. ”New school, new life. Maybe I’m just nervous about all the change that’s about to happen. It’s a lot to take in.” He didn’t notice that he was walking onto a baseball field until he stepped up onto the pitchers mound. He stopped, looking around him at the emptiness of the field. In that moment he felt completely and utterly alone. The reason behind his anxiety finally became clear. ”I’m alone.”
He didn’t know anyone at the academy, and he wasn’t much of a social butterfly at his old school. The few friends he did have were more like acquaintances. In fact, he hadn’t heard from any of them since he told the class he was going to join the Academy at the end of the last semester. It was like he had vanished from the face of the earth. He looked up at the moon, his face bathed in its radiant glow here where the streetlights couldn’t reach him. ”I’m alone”