Yare Yare Daze~ [ Tagging Kurai! ]

[Haruka]

It was an overcast day, the sun shrouded by low hanging gray clouds. The gloom of the day was enough to drive any man to simply sit inside the walls of his home and contemplate all of the things that he was doing wrong, but there were also people with a specific mission to complete. A medic's mission was never particularly done, even well beyond their death. Their legacy would stretch on as far as all of the people they had touched or served in their lifetime. If a person left negativity behind them, though, then they were nothing more than a shit medic. Oh well, right? Leave that to them. Surely their over-hyped trying and crying would push them out of the field of view some day. On this dreary day, a large man would push his way through the cobwebs and collection that stuck to the entry of the abandoned mine shaft, using his pants as a means to clear the webbing away. Kazuhiko had a particular mission this day that included getting into a part of the cave system that was named the Cave of Wonders. There was said to be a medicinal herb that he needed for his work that grew in the darkness down in this area. Now, when he wasn't being absolutely fucked up and crazy, Kazuhiko was actually a truly dedicated doctor who would go the extra mile for his patients. It was all in the taste of creating a majestic disguise from any other prying eyes that may want to bring him down in the grand scheme of things.

After all, why would a maniacal Jashinist be allowed to succeed in this world? They couldn't kill him surely enough. So he would have to become an outcast, and that was not something he would allow anyone to do to him. So he would stick his nose to the books and look like the proper Doctor, but on his free time and by the cloak of night, he would terrorize the citizens both inside and outside of the walls of Iwagakure. A hand would reach down and he would dig around in his pocket, grabbing a headband from it that had a light attached to it. Strapping it around his head, he would flick the illumination mechanic on and look around. Ah ha! There was the opening to the cave. He knew that it was strange for a herb to grow in such an atmosphere, but he was not asking questions. Mother nature worked in some really weird ways, after all. Careful of his footing, the male would scan the ground for any loose footing there and he would tread forward. In his pocket opposite to the one he had just emptied, there was a small handbook that would instruct him on the directions and what the plant looked like. It was time to get to work. Maybe if he came across any of the other supposed stones or something along those lines, he'd turn it into a gift for someone. It was all debatable, really.

"What in the hell am I thinking?" He'd curse quietly to himself, scratching at the back of his head. He had an objective. No need to get side tracked by silly things now.

 

[Kokomo]

Now the tides had turned. The air had shifted. A breath had been taken by a new soul. Iwagakure did not feel the same today. In fact, the smell of dirty blood had almost subsided completely from it's rotted streets. It was almost like the world was worth actually exploring today for the foreign woman. Since she had arrived, she had ultimately been disgusted with the polluted city. Too many people. Too much garbage. Too many experiments that meddled with Mother Nature. It was almost like they were unaware of Mother's wrath. If they continued to destroy her creations, surely the city would crumble from it's unstable place in the rock to the ocean below. She was ruthless when it came to her children. Perhaps, they were not educated properly.

Kurai took a break today. She was exhausted of constant failure, and was ready for a bit of success. There is, after all, no failing in adventure. Dressed in rather casual clothes, it was almost like she wasn't a Shinobi at all.: just a citizen with hair as red as fire, and eyes the color of the sun. Today, she was heading towards the Hot Springs. She had heard word that that was the place to go to relax and enjoy yourself. And seeing how she was looking for a break, that sounded like the place to go. So, she made her way to the abandon mindshaft, ignoring the man a few paces ahead of her, figuring they were going to the same place. But when they came to a fork in the road, he went a different way. She stood on the dirt path, her eyes glistening as she watched him go deeper and deeper, and even moving into what appeared to get darker and darker.

What was in there?

Curiosity got the best of her. And she moved her way to follow him. Trying to take quiet steps, in order not to spook him. Besides, she didn't want him to shoo her before she even got to see where he was going! And so down she went, and it got darker and darker, until eventually she was just focusing on the mild light in front of her that glowed from what very well could a third eye, as far as she knew. A demon of some sort? Oh, damn her wonder!

So farther they went in, and she wondered if maybe he knew she was there but just didn't mind? Or if he was focused on where he was going?​

 

[Haruka]

Each footstep that the male took was carefully plotted out, almost meticulous in a manner as he trudged his way through the narrowing cavern walls. There were various glints and gleams from the wall that he could spy, but nothing that was plantlike in nature other than some snaking vines. However, it would probably be far more deeper into the cave before he would reach his goal. With even breaths, he would focus on the prize at the end of the road-- a better, more healthy village. After all, healthier people took far more risks than the sick. Being at a physical peak showed trend with rising ignorance, of course. There would be but a brief pause in his step and he would hold his breath just for a moment. There was someone here, wasn't there? Oh well. Let them be here, it was common ground for everyone to adventure. If he were to be close by, it would be one less horror story for parents to tell their children at night that 'someone got lost and never came back' from this cavern.

It was a wonder why some people didn't get a hazy, creepy vibe off of Kazuhiko, or maybe it was because he tried his damnedest to act like a civilized monster. No matter, he was sure. He'd never met someone that was beyond his state of mind before, so he tried not to worry too much about it. "If you're going to follow," he'd comment out in an easy voice, showing that he had no type of ill intention, "At least get up here beside me so you don't fall and break anything." Lifting his hand to cover the light just a bit so he wouldn't blind the person, he would turn on his heel. There was still a light illumination as he sought out the other presence. Whether they chose to hide or not, that was their choice. He would let them do as they pleased.

"Or maybe I'm just crazy and paranoid, talking to myself again." He'd grin now to himself. Well, no shit he was all of those attributes rolled up into one sadistic core. "But I don't bite too deep." Child, man, woman, elderly. It didn't matter who he was talking to. Why lie~?

It was adventure time!

 

[Kokomo]

The suspicion rolled off of him, until it ultimately solidified. He slowed down to a stop, and she stopped too, a few meters away from him. She stood there, watching into the darkness as the shadow figured stood facing the other way. Did he think she was some sort of ghost? Some sort of invisible creature? His voice was sweet, much and it was soothing to her ears. She was a little entranced to hear his accent so smoothly glide and echo through the walls of the cave. Her accent, in her opinion, much harsher and strange. (Though, in my opinion, I think it is quite beautiful.) The light faded suddenly, and had a red glow of the light shining through the blood of a hand.

And the red would illuminate her.

She was an average height, slender in build. Nothing about her was exactly sexually robust: her breasts were average, and her hips too. But she had a sort of exotic beauty to her. The fire red hair that hung in long thick locks just past her waist, and clashed with her pale skin. And those gold eyes shone bright in the darkness of the cave, almost like a cat. And she stood there. Staring at the man who stared back at her. He made a comment about biting, and she made a sort of confused face. Certainly he didn't really have intentions of gnawing on her? Was it one of those weird Iwa sayings?

"Oh kay." She finally said. Her accent splitting the two syllables like they were different words. She began to slowly step forward, her feet on the ground the only sound, and the echo bounced around them. She moved close, going to stand next to him, only to notice that he was.... well.... huge. So tall, much taller than he appeared from far away. She certainly had to look up to see him. His appearance clashed greatly with hers, with hair so dark, she wasn't sure if it was a shadow or not. "I am sorry. Just curious." She admitted, her hands nervously rubbing on another in front of her body. Eyes avoiding eye contact, and trying to find something--anything--to look at other than him.

Her mother taught her right after all...

It's Not Polite To Stare.

 

[Haruka]

When did it become commonplace for women to stalk men? It made no sense. As he was typically the stalker, rather than the prey. She was far too much a pretty face to be wandering such a place, tailing behind someone who could have potential danger attached to him. . . Or maybe his intentions had been cleared throughout the air? It made no sense to him. Rather, it drove him almost sort of crazy. Through the outline of the light, it was no lie that he was a mountain of a man with broadened shoulders, just a white t-shirt covering his torso from view and a pair of working pants that he did not fear getting dirty and not bringing into the clinic anymore. Underneath the headband that brightened the way, he had a mess of black hair that dared to defy gravity. Perhaps it may have been obvious that he gave no gel or anything along those lines to tame it as he was going to odd places. Framing his face were a pair of glasses, with rectangular cut lenses that were simply windows to his teal colored eyes. His eyes were warm instead of cold, but this was not a night that he was hunting for prey. Hell, it wasn't even night at all. It was afternoon! So it took no skills of deduction nor reasoning to realize that he would bring her no harm at all. Lucky, right? It would be apparent to him that she was not of Stone. A lot of people found their way to this village after all the calamity the world had gone through. So the accent had not bothered him at all.

Actually, he might've even thought it a bit cute of her. Sometimes, he understood, he was a sucker for that kind of thing. A human flaw, much like anyone needed. He would turn his attention back forward and look on, illuminating the pathway rather than his hand now. "Well, I'll be happy to satisfy your curiosity. This way, you can share the light, too." He would comment, pointing towards his forehead. Reaching out, one of his hands would be offered to her. "Do you want to hold on? I understand if you don't," some women were high strung, after all. Some of them stating that they could do anything better than a man, but they were all equals in the end. Awaiting her response, he would continue on no matter what she chose.

"What's your name? I'm Kazuhiko." Formalities, of course. He was curious about her. From where she hailed, what she intended to do here. Like always, the doctor was a guide. These were obligations that not even he could deny. After all, he knew how to act like a common human being when he needed to.

 

[Kokomo]

As she moved closer, the dense focus of the only light for quite a ways would cause quite a bit of detail as she neared. The little blonde hairs on her arms gleaming against the harsh white light, and the beginning of creases on her forehead a little more obvious. Her body was nothing in comparison to his. A massive man in comparison. She, nothing but a cutesy little tator tot. He held his hand out, and she gave him a strange look. It wasn't that she thought him creepy, but found it strange that he wanted to touch a stranger. The people here were prone to crossing streets to avoid even eye contact, let alone direct skin on skin. Interesting. Was he from here? Kurai took his hand, feeling a bit of awkwardness settling in before changing the position of their hands until it felt less romantic, and more professional. Besides, if she were to trip, certainly he--

Whoops.

Kurai's foot kicked a large rock--that was attached to the ground still-- stumbling forward, but squeezing her grip on his hand to hoist herself back up. Yeah, okay, so it wasn't such a bad idea after all. So she continued walking with him, as he introduced himself. Formal things, these people felt as though they needed to know each others names before continuing conversation. Strange. "Kurai." Her name was that of their race, but the accent was not. A mystery that no one has yet to solve, of course. "Why are you here Kazuhiko?" She finally asked. Would his answer be evil? Was he hiding a body? Planning to rape and murder her? Did he have slaves down here? Or was he looking for jewels? Was he a poor man in hopes of getting a little extra money? Was his wife pregnant and dying and in need of the mystical waters of this cave?!

The suspense!

 

[Haruka]

Alas, it was never strange for a medic to want to touch a stranger. They tended to throw away any sort of logic pertaining to that when they entered the field, so it never necessarily bothered the tower of a man. After all, people should have been more fearful of touching him, but it wasn't like ill intent could be contracted through skin to skin contact. So with his focus set forward, he would await the answers to his questioning as he paced carefully through the narrowing cavern. The air of the area seemed to be humid in a way, the smell of settled water wafting into his nose. Thankfully it was not a pugnant scent. Just more mineral-ly in nature. Shifting his hand a bit, he would envelope her small hand within his, letting her situate however she pleased. After all, it just mattered that she was comfortable. He was here to keep her from skinning up her palms or busting her behind on the harsh stone floor. Which, ah, wait. . . There it was: As the woman stumbled, his grip tightened to reel her right back in. With her effort, she would find herself easily pulled back in to position. Phew. The man would have inquired as to her status, but she seemed to bounce right back into their conversation with ease. He guessed that he expected that of a potential shinobi.

Kurai. So this was the name of the woman who decided to follow strangers down into a dark, foreboding cavern? One that was closed off to the general populace, nonetheless. The next question was something that he probably should have expected. "Well," he would begin, resuming his walking with her in tow, "I'm here because I'm searching for a miracle herb." He would state rather quite bluntly. No need to sugar coat it, right? "It is something that I believe will ease the sickness of the people of this village or even the pain. It is said to have incredible medicinal properties." So, his explanation was maybe a little less exciting than what could have been, but. . . "You see, I'm a doctor. My mind is typically only fixed on other people and their well being. I'm not sure if you were looking for a different answer, but I believe that an adventure is an adventure no matter the end goal." Turquoise eyes would then blink. He sounded like some kind of madman, he was sure. Lovely, right?

"Do you still want to follow me into the dark, Kurai?"

 

[Kokomo]

They walked along, the smell of water--or what used to be a form of water?--filling her nose as she took a look around her surroundings, wondering if she could see the cause. Nothing really. A lot of dark rocks and shadows. What a place, this cavern. Nothing like she had ever seen before. In her country caves like these were for bears. But, it appeared that they had made it quite far in without a sighting of one at all. And she doubted this was looking for a bear fight. I mean, even if he was a solider of some sort, even they wouldn't go out looking for a beast to kill--would they? Beasts were the creatures of Mother Nature, after all. And certainly slaughtering them for fun instead of survival would unleash her wrath on them.

Oh no. He was here to find an herb. That made sense--not. Why the hell would a plant be growing in this dingy place of all rock? She listened to him talk more about this herb, and a certain one came to mind, actually. Certainly it wasn't in this country, or anywhere near it, but she understood. Better yet! He was a doctor! Oh, how Kurai adored the doctors of Iwa. They were actually doctors. It was hard to find people who had actually practiced medicine and knew what they were talking about on the island of Aigéan. People here were hard workers in the medical field, and she admired them. Much more than their undercover soldiers with innocent blood on their hands.

"Yes," She answered, confused why he would think she didn't want to continue. Or was this one of those weird 'not literal' sentences this language used? Was he actually asking her to join the dark side, or some other villain-like thing? "I mean, assuming you are talking about....actually following you in this cave, yes?" She clarified. "I would love to see what your herb looks like. The Curar--back in Aigéan--did something very similar, or so it was said. I'm not sure who was really saved by it, to be truthful."

 

[Haruka]

Ah, ah, ah. Kazuhiko really, really needed to take a moment to realize that he was not talking to a woman of this land. As she would not grasp onto his strange humor much like anyone else would. However, he had been referencing to the dark ahead of them. The dark, after all, was filled with mystery and dangers. There were reasons as to why this area was barred off to others. It just so happened that the two had not ran across them as of yet. You know, it really made him wonder as to what may have been down here. He knew of the masses of people who lived in the eternal twilight below the village, so maybe there were others that extended their grips to these caverns? They knew how to navigate them even in the dark. Their eyes were accustomed to it, and they could easily swoop in and take the two wanderers out where they stood. It was alright with him, though. He loved a challenge, and he never went down easily. "I'm happy that you'll continue this strange journey with me, then." He would comment, the sounds of rocks overturning and straining under their feet filling the void between their talk. "And yes, that is what I meant." He would offer a small, throaty chuckle in response to her questioning. "I'll keep in mind that there is a bit of a language barrier between the two of us. I promise to keep my words literal, Kurai." It was the best he could do to show her respect. Humans were humans, no matter where they came from. They came into this world the same way, and left it all the same also.

"Aigéan? I've never heard of this place. You can tell me more, if you like." He was not too entirely sure that he was supposed to know of it, but he was not afraid to show that he had no idea where or what this place was. "The herb was told to me by an elderly Shaman of this village. He gave me a book on it, so I figured I could brave the terrain for the good of this village. I was told you brew it like tea, and that tea fought off all sorts of illnesses in the young and the old." His speech would pause as he listened to his words echo off of the walls in the cavern. Hrm, that was eerie now, wasn't it? The man would make a sudden stop, though.

"Wait,"

That would be his only command as he soon looked down at the stony floor before them. It seemed that it abruptly stopped there. The hole went down a good ways until a floor came into view.

"Looks like we'll be jumping down. Is that okay with you?" He figured that it would be. They were shinobi, after all. Not to mention, this was an adventure!

 

[Kokomo]

A tight grip.

He was paying attention to her more than she was. Her eyes focused on the reality around her, much to her Seikon likes. Pressing her lips together in a firm line any time something caught her interest. A strange place, this cave was. Why did anyone explore it in the first place? "Ah, yes." Language barrier indeed. "I try, but your language has many complex lessons. Words based on tone of voice instead of words--it gets confusing." She gave a light and polite smile to him. The sound of the slight moisture on the ground rubbing against her shoes as she moved making conversation with the black walls of the cave. "Aigéan is an island." Kurai would start, her eyes seeming to fade back into her mind as she remembered the sight of her sweet home. "Much more colorful than Iwagakure--"

Her hand would grip his tightly as he told her to wait, briefly interrupting her story. They looked down into a brief darkness, seemingly a pit of hell, until it came into focus with the light. Pretty far down, more than she was really comfortable with, but they hadn't even found anything interesting yet! "Uhm," The hesitation was present in her voice as she wiggled her lips back and forth in thought. "Okay. Yeah. You first," She grinned, secretly hoping he would catch her if she screwed it up some how. Letting go of his hand, she settled down on the ledge, sitting there and kicking her feet and waiting for him, as she continued her story.

"It's nothing but rain forest." Kurai restarted with the same nostalgic tone, "Animals every where, and the sun beating violently on us. The villagers, not many, 100 maybe, all dressed in as little clothing as possible to keep themselves from passing out." Unlike her story, her skin told a different story about how the village was. Of course, the reason for her paleness would not be so easily divulged. "Much more poverty. Everyone grows what they eat. Everyone loves each other too, not as much violence and hate."

[OOC; Uh, guess I'll stop here... awkward trail off.]

 

[Haruka]

The man's eyes would trail downwards, following along to the bottom of this 'pit of hell' that it would be proclaimed. He wondered if there happened to be another way out of this cave, or if they should have forked off at another turn? It didn't make sense, but he had recalled reading about some kind of drop off along the way, so they would be good to go, right? Oh, he so hoped so. "Language is a strange thing in general." He would comment towards her, and then he would stop his words for a brief moment, holding on to them as he listened to her explain the foreign place that she came from. He couldn't help the slight glimmer of interest that crossed over his facial features, so it was a good thing that this cave was dark. He never outwardly expressed interest on his features, it normally got him tangled up in some weird situations. He would then crouch down as she sat at the ledge, slipping his legs down to sit, dangling his feet over the edge. It looked as though the floor below was solid, so there wouldn't be too much to worry about. . . Right? He assumed it to be so. "Your home island sounds very lovely," he would comment, tapping his fingers against the side of his face. "A very easy going life is what I would assume." His head would nod along with his statement.

"When we get down to the bottom of this hole, you will have to tell me what brought you to the Earth Country. If I had a close community like that, I wouldn't have left it." He lied, but his tone was sincere. Admittedly, he would do everything he could to get away from a society that would "Maybe one day you will go back. I would not mind accompanying you to meet some of the doctors there to learn about their ways. Now then, to find out what is at the bottom of this hole, eh?" His arms would push him off and he would allow gravity to take care of the rest. There would be a good few moments of just being in the air there. Perhaps they could have used chakra to scale the walls down, but that was not any fun.

As the man reached the bottom, a splash would sound soon after. It appeared there was water down there. Enough to come up to his knee, so that broke the fall a bit. "It is safe. If you are a shinobi like I, then you'll certainly be able to handle it. If not, I can catch you. Whatever works for you, Kurai."

 

[Kokomo]

The two sat for awhile. Their legs dangling, seeming to slowly kick and flow in sync with the power of gravity. He complimented the sound of the island, but of course, she was talking about the landscape. Of course that would sound ideal. But the lifestyle? The hard days in the heat, working away at the gardens to attempt to feed the ever growing population. Hand sewn clothes, and naked children. It was an impoverished land, with disease and many hardships. But, yes, it was indeed beautiful.

The man jumped down, landing with the harsh sound of water lifting around him from the fall. The idea of his need to meet the medicine men was absurd--was he not listening? But either way, she needed to get down there to inform him of how silly his statement was. A shinobi, indeed. In fact, a warrior in her land. She dropped from the ledge, the same harsh splash coming up to her pelvis, soaking her torso as she took the pressure of the fall, and sunk a ways into the cold water. 'Oh, merda.' She cursed under her breath, in her native tongue. "It's cold," She laughed nervously, straightening her posture.

They continued to walk, and so she continued to talk, "You don't want to meet the doctors. You'd learn nothing. You'd shake your head in disgust." Kurai spoke sternly to him, wanting him to understand the actual threat that medicine men were. "They lack so much knowledge, I believe they kill more than heal." Her lips twitched in thought as she remembered a few things, and people, affected by their ways. At the same time, she was trying to come up with a new topic.

Or rather, a good lie to why she was here.

 

[Haruka]

Esch. . . Cave water. Who knew what in the world this stuff had in it? A breeding ground for toxin and germs if you asked him, but he was not one to worry about such trivial things. After all, there was perpetually nothing that could kill him. Still, though, he had a companion he needed to worry about-- or rather, muster up the ability to worry about and look incredibly sincere about it. If she were a shinobi, she should've been honed, so why would he need to worry? Still, though, there was an off chance that she was just a civilian that he needed to think about. Wading though the water, he would listen to the squish of his shoes as they flooded with water. Well, another pair bit the dust, he guessed? As he heard the splash of the young woman next to him, he would hear that slight curse under her breath and take a moment to blink. A native tongue, right? It was interesting to hear. "Yes, it is quite cold." He would comment in agreement as he turned to find the next way to go with the light upon his forehead. It seemed that the area was quite large and very cavernous, but oddly enough. . . it had it's own supporting light. There was a strange illumination in the area despite the two being far underground at this point. So, he would pull the light source from his head now and tuck it away on his person.

"They may lack knowledge, but I think they would still have the ability to learn." He would comment thoughtfully, wading through the water over to a patch of dry ground now. "After all, they are your people." And that was that, he wouldn't push the subject any further. It was obvious that there was something she did not want to talk about on this, so he would respect that. If someone tried to push talking about Jashin at him, he would probably try to punch their lights out, but hey. . . That was just him. Stepping up onto the dry land, he would peer around now. The light spilled in from a few holes on the ceiling of the cave, and lights reflected and refracted from gems in the area that were implanted in the rock.

"Hm, I think we're getting close," a nod of his head now. "If you see anything you particularly want to take back as a keepsake, let me know. We don't want to accidentally make this place cave in or something."

 

[Kokomo]

The sound of the water splashing echoed through the cave walls like a mystic set of headphones. The light bouncing off of the subtle waves created by the new movement. The mountain made a small talk comment on the low temperature of the water, and she sucked in a slow breath as her body adjusted. The light faced forward, and they began to move. The water sloshing between their legs, her white dress soaking in the water, and sticking to her legs when she lifted them from the water--but floating like angel feathers when under the water. He made a comment about the doctors, and dropped the topic. It was being worn out, and she understood that. No one liked listening about a place for too long--especially when people go on vacation. They return with pictures and stories, and they don't know when to stop. They go on and on and on and on and--

Light.

Kurai's golden eyes blinked as he put the light away. They began to walk slightly upwards onto dry land, the light starting to become a beacon of sight. The walls, too, began to light up. She stopped as he made a comment on getting close. He warned her about the sensitive walls, and all she could do was stare. It was beautiful. The walls became the night sky, and she couldn't help but gawk. Each small gem, reflecting bright and strange colors, reminded her of the stars in the dark sky.

She missed the stars above the island. No light pollution. No loud people. Just the breeze and kiss of mother nature. "This is... so beautiful." She said in a hushed town, as though she would wake something near them. Moving towards the wall, reaching to touch, before remembering what he said-- "Can I have one, Kazu? Is that ok?"