A Night To Survive [Sachiko]

[Kazuma Ishimaru]

Normally one was supposed to love and treasure their mother. They had worked hard to bring you into the world, and therefore they deserved your unconditional love. Kazuma, however, did not feel that was towards his mother at the moment. Instead, his heart was filled with complete and total contempt for the woman. She had made him do something that was unforgivable; forcing him to go to the festival in town. The woman didn’t even give him a chance to argue about it, and instead simply pushed him out the door and told him to have fun.

That was an exaggeration of course. Events had led up to that out-the-door pushing. Kazuma had been relaxing in his room, studying up on chakra control and efficiency for his training with Sakura. It was the average plan for his day; train, study, eat, repeat. For his mother, however, it wasn’t good enough. Due to reasons beyond his understanding, she thought it would be nice if he got around town some and socialized with people for once, like he used to back in the Academy. Sure, he did well with adults, where he was rather polite and helpful. When it came to kids around his age, however, she felt he was getting rather distant from. The festival was just the perfect occasion for him to go out and reconnect with the youth.

So here he was, wandering through the booths of the festival in his casual wear. It felt weird, as he was getting used to wearing his combat clothes almost all the time. He couldn’t remember the last time he had worn the jacket, which he kept unzipped to make him look more casual. Of course he was rather tense, wanting to get the heck out of that place, but if he left know his mother would find out, and he’d get a chewing out.

Recent events involving Sakura had lessened his fear of mother somewhat, but the fact she had the authority over him meant she could get in the way of his plans. All it would take would be some words to be exchanged between her and Tsunade for his special training with Sakura to be gone. He had to stay out for a reasonable amount of time in order for her to loosen up about his ‘recent anti-social behavior’ if he wanted to get things back to the status quo. Just one night out and he would be in the clear.

Festivals, however, weren’t Kazuma’s favorite thing in the world. The social aspect he would rather live without, obviously, but there was more to it. They were noisy, and it was always such a pain to walk through the racket that the crowds and the booth keepers made. Speaking of the crowds, he hated being squished amongst them all, having to fight just to get an inch of movement. It was only made worse by the small avenues created by booths, which added to the problem by creating areas for people to swarm and stick to. If this area was a body, they were the buildup in the veins that caused clots and heart attacks.

Wanting to escape from the crowded chaos, Kazuma inched his way off to the sides where there were some areas of relief. It took a while, but eventually he reached the edge, and with one last push entered into a large area of complete freedom. Finally able to relax, he moved over to a spot that was the back of a booth. Sitting down, he leaned against it, not really caring that much if the booth owner would be bothered by it. Most likely the guy who owned it didn’t know Kazuma was relaxing on it like that. With nothing else to do, Kazuma just idly watched the crowds in front of him to see if there was anything of interest.

[/blockquote][/color]

[Riyuu Sachiko]

~Need More Friends With Wings. All The Angels I Know Put Concrete In My Veins.~
.:|Riyuu|:.:|Sachiko|:.
~Bye Bye Beautiful, Don't Bother To Write.~

______________________________________________________________________________________

Is there word or right to sing,
Even in this old fashioned way?
Go make your move girl, I'm not coming home.
Would things have changed if I could have stayed?
Would you have loved me either way?
Dressed to the blues day to day with my collar up
Decisions sit, so make it quick
A breath inhaled from an air so sick
I curse the day that I heard of the web you spun
Listen well, will you marry me, and are you well in the suffering?

It had been quite the interesting ordeal to actually get from Sunagakure to Konohagakure, but Sachiko had looked forward to the trip the whole way, as she always did. While it had been tiring to make her way there, and with nightly stops to replenish the chakra she needed to be able to 'see'... It was difficult, but the girl managed. As a result, here she was, blundering blindly along the streets... She didn't feel like playing any festival games at the moment, and was more out for the food than anything else. Of course, she'd use her ability if she absolutely needed it...

At the moment, she was walking down one of the quieter streets, keeping to the wall as she tapped the irritating cane in front of her and to the side, attempting to avoid what she could. As blind and disabled as she was, she lived with the way things were, and strangely enough, was probably one of the bounciest, light-hearted, and optimistic sort of girls one could ever meet. She always had that positive way of looking at life, which was what had pulled her through the pain she'd suffered throughout her short lifetime so far.

Becoming lost in her thoughts, Sachiko tapped out to the side to check if anything was there, still taking a step... And, in her blindness, tripped over someone's outstretched legs. Her foot caught underneath the - boy's? girl's? - knee, causing the blind kunoichi to fall forward, swinging her arms to hopefully regain her balance. As a result, her cane went rolling out into the street, and Sachiko fell flat on her face with a small whine.

Quickly and blindly she scrambled up to... Attempt to face whomever she had just tripped over, blundering and sputtering. "Oh my, I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to trip over you!" she said, looking in a direction that... Obviously wasn't at his face. In all honesty, she wasn't even sure who it was... Her blue eyes stared blankly as if they were looking at nothing, her gestures unsure and confused. Realizing she was without her cane and she hadn't had the time to pay attention to where it had rolled, she frantically patted the ground for it, her blank gaze habitually following in a general direction to where she was patting. She couldn't find it... Would she have to use her chakra to find her way around? She didn't want to exhaust herself even more...

You've been the most gracious of hosts
You may be invited, girl, but you're not coming in
And we have lived as a child would care
And with this vial to drink I dare, only
I cry all alone with your taste on tongue
Should we try things again with hope?
Hope isn't lost, give up the ghost.
Or should I die all alone as I knew I would?
Then burn in hell, God's sinner.

______________________________________________________________________________________

The words you scribbled on the walls. The loss of friends you didn't have. I'll call you when the time is right. Are you in or are you out? For them all to know the end of us all. Bye, bye, beautiful. Don't bother to write. Disturbed by your words, and they're calling all cards. Free step, let down. Free step, step down.

[Kazuma Ishimaru]

Kazuma had found himself relaxing quite nicely behind that booth. His legs were stretched out, and he was leaning onto the booth. Drifting off to sleep was impossible because of the noise, but he still looked rather comfortable. If he hung out here all night, then he could still technically claim to have been at the festival. He didn’t have to talk to anyone at all and his mother would be happy as well. Everybody would win, and that was good enough for him.

His quietness however was interrupted by the arrival of a young, blonde-haired girl. Or at least the sudden appearance of a girl, tripping over his legs. He casually watched with mild disinterest as she fell to the ground with a small whine. Right afterwards a cane went rolling by, and his eyes followed it for a moment before returning to the girl in front of him. Seeing as he was the cause of the fall, he pulled his legs closer to himself so she didn’t trip again.

As she stood up and began to talk, Kazuma noticed something rather…odd. She wasn’t even looking at him, and was instead just looking into the anonymous crowds around them. Was she that big of a ditz to not notice the guy she tripped over? In her movement, however, he caught a glance of her eyes, and saw that something was off about them. For the most part they looked normal, but at the same time they were filled with a sense of confusion and blankness. It took Kazuma a second, but between the cane, her behaviour, and the strangeness of her eyes, there was only one reasonable explanation that could be made for this; the girl was blind.

This revelation caused him to breathe deeply before letting out a sigh, with a simple and gentle facepalm. She wasn’t a ditz at all, so her actions could be slightly forgiven. Still, she seemed to be absolutely clueless about what was going on.

”It’s alright. I would assume it would be easy for a blind person to trip up in a crowd like this,” he said as he began to stand up to. He crossed his arms as he watched her pat around on the ground for the cane she lost earlier.

”And before you ask, I’m training to be a medical-nin, so it was kind of easy. Plus, the way your acting you either had to be blind or lacking some significant amount of intelligence. But I usually give people the benefit of the doubt on that last one.”

His eyes lazily glanced around the area before landing on her cane. Another glance at the girl, he walked over and picked it up. Returning to her, he decided to give her a chance to find it herself, and squatted down to place it on the ground. It was just a little bit off from where she was, so giving her a minute or two would mean she’d find it eventually. And with that, he went back to his booth to sit back and watch.

[/blockquote][/color]

[Riyuu Sachiko]

~Need More Friends With Wings. All The Angels I Know Put Concrete In My Veins.~
.:|Riyuu|:.:|Sachiko|:.
~Bye Bye Beautiful, Don't Bother To Write.~

______________________________________________________________________________________

Is there word or right to sing,
Even in this old fashioned way?
Go make your move girl, I'm not coming home.
Would things have changed if I could have stayed?
Would you have loved me either way?
Dressed to the blues day to day with my collar up
Decisions sit, so make it quick
A breath inhaled from an air so sick
I curse the day that I heard of the web you spun
Listen well, will you marry me, and are you well in the suffering?

Sachiko was a little touched by the fact that he'd noticed her literal blindness... She'd heard him sigh, perhaps in realization? He'd probably thought her to be a ditz at first, which some liked to assume due to her blonde hair - duh, blonde jokes? - but it wasn't hard to see the blank look in her eyes as she spoke, plus the fact that she wasn't looking directly at him. She was looking in his general direction, of course - her sense of sound told her that much, at least - but anyone who had a general amount of common sense could easily put two and two together.

She listened to his next statement, spoken so hurriedly after the next, and was a little disheartened by the words of the boy. His tone was almost completely opposite of hers... Negative, bored, and slightly irritated, from what she could tell. She'd learned to read a person's emotions through their tone of voice and their words very well compared to most; a lot of people relied on visual clues, she'd heard, especially the look in a person's eyes. Too bad she couldn't see such things... How disheartening.

The blind kunoichi heard him set the cane on the ground, and listened very, very carefully for where it had been. Pinpointing the location, she reached out and grasped it in her hand, having found it rather quickly now that she'd been given an indication of where it was. She thought she might avoid crowds now that she'd found herself on the ground even on the quieter streets... Perhaps this boy could spend some time with her. Well, nonetheless, she politely and rather optimistically tried to strike up a conversation.

"A medical-nin, huh? Interesting... I considered taking that up at one point, but I'm not sure if I'd be very good at it... Being a Genjutsu user," she stated, her voice quite light and brightening the mood that was quite dampening. Ah, the ever-optimistic Riyuu Sachiko. Always bright, happy, bouncy... Whatever else you might like to call her. She was always the sort of person that brought light and happiness to a conversation, never looking down about anything no matter what the situation. At least, that was the personality she portrayed in front of people... When alone, however, it was more like she was bipolar... Because she was exactly that, alone. Alone in the world, without the luxury of parents like most people had... And, depressingly, unable to fully see the beauty of the world.

You've been the most gracious of hosts
You may be invited, girl, but you're not coming in
And we have lived as a child would care
And with this vial to drink I dare, only
I cry all alone with your taste on tongue
Should we try things again with hope?
Hope isn't lost, give up the ghost.
Or should I die all alone as I knew I would?
Then burn in hell, God's sinner.

______________________________________________________________________________________

The words you scribbled on the walls. The loss of friends you didn't have. I'll call you when the time is right. Are you in or are you out? For them all to know the end of us all. Bye, bye, beautiful. Don't bother to write. Disturbed by your words, and they're calling all cards. Free step, let down. Free step, step down.

[Kazuma Ishimaru]

Kazuma just sat back and watched as the girl shifted around in an attempt to find her cane. She seemed to have noticed that he had set in on the ground, as almost immediately she started to head towards the direction of it. Either she was able to sense vibrations very well, or she had really good hearing. It was most likely the last one since in this crowd distinct vibrations, especially of something that small, would have most likely been impossible to sense. Then again, he wasn’t blind, so he couldn’t be sure how fine tuned the rest of her senses were.

Once she picked up her cane, Kazuma stood up and was about to make his exit. But before he could get away, he heard the girl start talking to him. Apparently she wasn’t going to leave him alone anytime soon, and he was tempted to just slip into the crowds so he would be left alone. Then a thought hit him; his mother would absolutely faint if he told her he spent his time here talking to a girl. While he was sure he’d be interrogated over it as well, it would more than satisfy her requirement of him to get out and socialize. Even if he didn’t care much for her, this chance to get his mother off of his back was worth it.

So he stopped moving, and turned to face the girl and listen. Her overly bright mood was kind of annoying, like how some people drench their tea with sugar. It was almost too sweet to bear, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he just stood there and listened as she mentioned her being a Genjutsu user. He wasn’t that interested in Genjutsu, though he could see its uses. Messing with peoples minds and thoughts of reality, yeah, that was something he could get behind. But he found the medical branch on ninjutsu much more fascinating.

”Genjutsu you say? I’ll admit I’ve never been that interested in it. Both of my parents were medical nin, so I guess you can say it’s just the family business,” he replied, changing his tone to a much more polite one than what he had used before.

”But I’ll admit that going from Genjutsu to medical-nin, and vice-versa, may not be that big a stretch. Both of them require a steady sense of chakra control. For Genjutsu, I would assume, it would be to keep the illusion steady as you interrupt the chakra flow of the enemy. For medical jutsu, we don’t want to slip up and kill our patients now do we?”

The last part about medical jutsu was supposed to be a joke, though whether or not anyone other than Kazuma found it funny was a different matter. He did try to change his tone a bit to reflect the joking intent behind it, but since he wasn’t much of a comedian, it might have sounded more sarcastic to some people.

”Anyway, I believe it is common courtesy to introduce yourself to a person before engaging in conversation with them. My name is Kazuma Ishimaru.”

[/blockquote][/color]

[Riyuu Sachiko]

~Need More Friends With Wings. All The Angels I Know Put Concrete In My Veins.~
.:|Riyuu|:.:|Sachiko|:.
~Bye Bye Beautiful, Don't Bother To Write.~

______________________________________________________________________________________

Is there word or right to sing,
Even in this old fashioned way?
Go make your move girl, I'm not coming home.
Would things have changed if I could have stayed?
Would you have loved me either way?
Dressed to the blues day to day with my collar up
Decisions sit, so make it quick
A breath inhaled from an air so sick
I curse the day that I heard of the web you spun
Listen well, will you marry me, and are you well in the suffering?

Sachiko was quite a bit reassured when she was told that the step between Genjutsu and medical ninjutsu wasn't quite that much of a stretch. Well, that wasn't exactly what she was worried about... No, it was whether she'd be able to tell the severity of a wound or not in order to get the right chakra control. A lot of minor wounds were told by the eyes, and as one could tell, Sachiko lacked that very ability. However, telling it with chakra wouldn't be a bad leap... She stored that tidbit of information in the back of her mind.

Her little blonde head bobbed in a nod when he made his assumptions about Genjutsu. They were correct, yes; except for her, not only did she have to do that, but she had to keep the illusion working as well as keep her emotions under the tightest control she could muster. Becoming the sort of person who was bipolar to the point that you switched emotional paths faster than the gears on a speeding car during the use of a Genjutsu was quite the hamper on most things. Of course, her size also worked against her... She was sure the boy had noticed she was short. Quite short. She couldn't quite tell, but from the direction and angle at which his words were hitting her ears, she assumed him to be facing her slightly, and about half a foot taller at least. She was only four and a half feet tall, after all...

He also, she could tell, seemed slightly annoyed. It was very hard to pick out with normal human ears in his tone, but Sachiko could sense the differences even better than the average human. Even without increasing it with her chakra, she could still hear better than most. Her lack of a sense of sight strengthened her other senses and made them a lot more sensitive than any normal human. What was he annoyed about? Being tripped over, for one, most likely. Perhaps her bright demeanour?

She also, however, caught the light and thin tinge of a joke in his tone at the final comment. Obviously he wasn't much of a joker, otherwise his tone would have been much more saturated with the... Tone.

"Oh yes, that would certainly not be good," Sachiko said, that bright smile crossing her face. Ah, the ever-bright girl that she was... Though she might seem annoying at first, she'd been through a lot; once someone knew the peril she'd "seen", heard, and smelled, more respect tended to come. She expected nothing else of this boy in the same way. Of course... She wasn't so bold as to blurt out her family history unless it really came down to it. "It's not the chakra control I'm worried about, it's... Telling... The severity of a wound. You can usually tell by your eyes... Right?" Her tone was a little more solemn now, because she was unsure.

As he called her out on the name thing, however, she blanched. "Oh, I'm sorry; I'm used to people from Sunagakure knowing who I am," she said, a sheepish laugh coming up. She was genuinely surprised; he hadn't brought up how she was able to be a shinobi, not once. For most, that was the first question asked, or it was the first detail they scoffed at. Some people in Suna thought she had been mercy-passed through the Academy; others were simply curious to find out how.

"Riyuu Sachiko, from Sunagakure no Sato," she stated, a bold and bright yet apologetic look upon her visage. Just then, however, a Chuunin from Sunagakure came by and almost literally pushed the blonde girl. Yes... It was just like back home. People still forgot about her, still pushed her around, still laughed at her.

"Watch your feet, Riyuu," he snarled, scoffing. "I don't like to see people who're mercy-passed standing in my way." With a small grumble, the blonde kunoichi stood up, a more solemn look upon her face. She brushed off her almost pristine-white clothing, feeling with bare hands to find where the dirt would be. All the while her face focused on the ground, not really looking anywhere, not seeming to pay much attention.

"S-sorry about that... It's nice to meet you, Kazuma," she stated, back to her bright self again. She never dropped that demeanour around people, ever. It was like her personal safety blanket from the world... And that aforementioned world could be rather cruel to the more disabled of their kind.

You've been the most gracious of hosts
You may be invited, girl, but you're not coming in
And we have lived as a child would care
And with this vial to drink I dare, only
I cry all alone with your taste on tongue
Should we try things again with hope?
Hope isn't lost, give up the ghost.
Or should I die all alone as I knew I would?
Then burn in hell, God's sinner.

______________________________________________________________________________________

The words you scribbled on the walls. The loss of friends you didn't have. I'll call you when the time is right. Are you in or are you out? For them all to know the end of us all. Bye, bye, beautiful. Don't bother to write. Disturbed by your words, and they're calling all cards. Free step, let down. Free step, step down.

[Kazuma Ishimaru]

Kazuma noticed the girl bobbed her head when he mentioned what he thought about Genjutsu. Apparently he had hit the mark, and he smiled a bit at the thought. He always loved to be proven right, even though he knew he was probably right to begin with.

Now that it seemed he would be stuck with her for the night, Kazuma began to pay a bit more attention to the girl and her details. She was short, and alongside her personality, Kazuma assumed she was either just a girl his age with stunted growth or was young. But considering she seemed to be showing knowledge of jutsu similar to his, he believed it was the first case. There was nothing wrong with her being short if she was going to use Genjutsu instead of fighting. Besides, some people liked the adorableness factor that came with being short. Personally, he found that just added onto the already overly sweet personality she portrayed. For him, there had to be something about this girl that was ‘off’ that allowed her to simply smile and giggle all the time at every little thing. No one could be that happy all the time without being seriously screwed up somehow. That smile, one way or another, had to be covering up something. Though whatever it was, it really wasn’t his business. Besides, why waste time discovering the deep, dark secrets of a girl he wasn’t going to see again anytime soon.

When the girl mentioned that many injuries had to be judged by sight, he could see why it would be a problem for her. Being able to see an injury was a great help in determining what needed to be done, and knowing what you were bandaging or cutting up made sight vital. He placed his hand on his chin as he started to think, mumbling that ”You have a good point,” as he did so. Now that she brought it up, Kazuma began to seriously think how one could be a medic without sight. If he was going to be a medical-nin, solving that problem would be a helpful exercise in the mind. What if he got blinded on the battlefield or injured an eye?

”I’ll admit, I can’t seem to think of a way to tell an injury without sight. You could touch it, but that raises the risk of infection, which would make things worse. However,” he dropped his hand and relaxed again,”That’s something I’ll work on later. I’m supposed to be taking a break from studying my medical-nin skills and such.”

Kazuma raised an eyebrow when she mentioned Suna. He knew that there was supposed to be some people from other villages, but looking at her clothing, he seriously doubted her statement. Didn’t seem to be appropriate to wear a dress like that in a village in the middle of a desert, though white did reflect sunlight and heat. Also explained why he had never seen her before. At least she was a decent conversationalist. Some of the other girls he knew from the Academy were a serious pain. With girls like the self-obsessed Meushi and the Hyuuga-prodigy Hanabi around, he would rather not deal with girls at all.

”Hmm, didn’t expect to run into a person from another village. The lack of a headband on you threw me off. I thought you might have just been some girl from Konoha or something. I usually don’t associate with them since the ones from my graduating class are a bit of a pain.”

Kazuma’s tone had gotten a bit friendlier in that now that he could complain and talk about his medical jutsu he could at least be honest. He wasn’t even bothering with the mask of politeness now, though he was ready to put it back on in a moment’s notice. Sure, when medical jutsu was the topic he didn’t have to hide it, but everything else he had to act decent. Otherwise he’d show his true feelings of complete and total boredom and annoyance. But acting like a jerkass didn’t get one anywhere, so he played his ‘good boy’ role whenever needed.

When the man snarled at Sachiko about being some ‘mercy-passed’, Kazuma didn’t bat an eye. It wasn’t his issue to get involved in, and he didn’t know Sachiko well enough to have any strong attachment to her. Still, he did have this strange, constricted feeling his chest, the same physical reaction he had whenever he got angry. Maybe he just hated arrogant people or something? Which would be rather odd cause he thought of himself as being a bit arrogant, though that explain it as well. Arrogant people always seem to have a hatred of other arrogant people.

Turning his attention back to Sachiko, he just watched as she wiped off the dirt that was on her. She was just staring at the ground the entire time, which gave Kazuma a chance to walk off if he wanted. But she would serve as his ‘companion’ for the night like his mother wanted, so he stayed. His eyes noticed a patch of dirt on her shoulder and, from what he knew, wiping it off for her would be ‘kind’ gesture. Getting close to her, he quickly brushed the dirt off, his hand brushing her hair at the same time by accident.

”You missed a spot,” he mumbled off as he stood back a little,”Anyway, no need to apologize for that. Not your fault the man pushed you.”

Kazuma just lightly tapped his foot as he looked around. Just standing here all night wouldn’t get him much to tell his mother. He severely doubted she would believe his story if he simply said “I met a girl and talked to her all night.” If he was going to get her off his back, he was going to need some physical proof of this girl’s companionship. Or at least a better story for it. But what to do, what to do?

”Hey, want to get something to eat real quick? If you came here from Suna I would assume you’d be hungry.”

Yeah, getting a snack would work. If the booth owner bothered to hand him a receipt for it, he could simply show it to his mother it. As long as they both bought something the charge would be for two people, and that would prove he hadn’t just been wandering the area all by himself. His mother knew he was thrifty enough to not go out of his way to buy a meal for two like that.

[/blockquote][/color]

[Riyuu Sachiko]

~Need More Friends With Wings. All The Angels I Know Put Concrete In My Veins.~
.:|Riyuu|:.:|Sachiko|:.
~Bye Bye Beautiful, Don't Bother To Write.~

______________________________________________________________________________________

Is there word or right to sing,
Even in this old fashioned way?
Go make your move girl, I'm not coming home.
Would things have changed if I could have stayed?
Would you have loved me either way?
Dressed to the blues day to day with my collar up
Decisions sit, so make it quick
A breath inhaled from an air so sick
I curse the day that I heard of the web you spun
Listen well, will you marry me, and are you well in the suffering?

Sachiko simply nodded happily when he brought up the point of touching the wound possibly working... Though it raised the risk of infection. She wasn't confident that her sonar ability would tell the detail that she needed to know, but the thought of using chakra and reading the chakra back somehow... It would probably take a lot of training, but it would work rather well, or so she hoped.

Sachiko was rather touched emotionally when Kazuma did something nice... He helped her brush off her shoulder. Gratefully she smiled; he obviously got the fact that she was doing everything without the common sense that most others relied on. Lack of a sense of sight when you'd previously had it would be a hard change, but living without it and never knowing the reality of it made it easier. Of course, Sachiko still had her own ability at sight, and even she knew she relied on it a little too often. She tried to jump between the two planes, but it simply didn't work every single time. Nonetheless, she could still navigate without it...

At the mention of food, Sachiko thought it would be a good idea. Of course, that meant going back to the crowds... She frowned ever so slightly, though more in a thinking way than a distraught one. With a single nod, she smiled, then held up one finger to tell him to give her a second or two. She hoped he wouldn't take this as a more odd way of doing things... Hopefully he'd be intelligent enough to catch on rather quickly. She was sure it would be so. She reached out to place her palm on either end of the cane and pushed with the little amount of might that she had... The cane slid together into a shape the length of her palm!

Feeling accomplished, she shoved it into the hip pouch that was, of course, hidden underneath her dress, which allowed Kazuma the glance of her headband from around her waist. That would clearly tell him she was a shinobi, somehow. Within seconds her hands had formed into an unfamiliar - at least to those who used the 'normal' elements; hers were a combination of Raiton and Fuuton seals - string of seals, her eyes closed as she did so. Sometimes she could activate the ability without seals, but it was taxing on her chakra to attempt to do so...

"Onton - Naiteki Joukei," she whispered.

Soon, the world came into focus as the sounds around her increased, the waves bouncing off the objects and reverberating to her own ears... Her Naiteki Joukei made the world look illuminated, almost, the waves bouncing off and giving her a form of sight. All the while, her eyes remained closed, and she nodded again to Kazuma. This time, however, she wasn't just staring off in the distance, really; her head was almost forcefully turned towards him like any other human would with regular sight.

"Where do you want to go?"

You've been the most gracious of hosts
You may be invited, girl, but you're not coming in
And we have lived as a child would care
And with this vial to drink I dare, only
I cry all alone with your taste on tongue
Should we try things again with hope?
Hope isn't lost, give up the ghost.
Or should I die all alone as I knew I would?
Then burn in hell, God's sinner.

______________________________________________________________________________________

The words you scribbled on the walls. The loss of friends you didn't have. I'll call you when the time is right. Are you in or are you out? For them all to know the end of us all. Bye, bye, beautiful. Don't bother to write. Disturbed by your words, and they're calling all cards. Free step, let down. Free step, step down.

[Kazuma Ishimaru]

Just as he expected, the girl seemed to appreciate his wiping off of the dirt. She smiled at him, and if he hadn’t known she was blind he would have smiled back since that seemed the right thing to do. But since he didn’t have to, he just continued looking a bit on the disinterested side. Though having his ‘help’ being appreciated did give him a bit of a cheerful feeling, even if it was also partly because it stoked his own ego a little bit. None the less, there was no need to get this girl to hate him if he wanted her to stick around, so he had to be nice around her.

In response to his question about food, Sachiko had nodded. He was about to start walking away when he noticed her finger. That was usually a sign that someone wanted someone else to wait, so he stood there with his arms crossed as he waited. His eyebrow raised a little in interest when the girl took her cane and compacted it. That was actually a rather convenient perk to have with a cane. While he didn’t know about her feelings, in his mind having a long object like a cane around all the time would be a pain, and would be a great tell if you had to be hidden. So making it so it could be stored in a pouch was a good idea.

”That’s a rather interesting cane. Specially made or something? he asked, hoping to start some kind of conversation between them.

Continuing to watch, he caught a glimpse of the girls headband when she put away the cane. She wasn’t lying about being a shinobi after all, not like he doubted her. A blind ninja wasn’t completely out there after all. Their enhanced senses would be good for something, even if having no site was a major disadvantage in medical jutsu or the frontlines. Her next actions left him a bit on the confused side as, while he knew they were hand signs of some sort, they weren’t any he was familiar with. Besides, what kind of jutsu would she be using anyway? She whispered something, but he couldn’t make out what exactly what she had said.

Whenever she was done, however, she looked right at him. And this time she didn’t look unsure about it; she really seemed confident about what direction she was looking at. Did whatever jutsu she use help her locate people or something? If she was blind that would probably be something of use, but it took a moment before he realized that if she was staring at him she probably could sense his facial expressions better. He quickly got rid of the bored look on his face and tried to look at least a bit interested in what was going on. It wasn’t too hard though since her jutsu of unknown effect had caught his eye. But that could be something they could wait to do after they got a bite to eat.

”Well, I’m not too sure what you eat in Suna, but I thought we could just scope around and see what they have to offer. If all else fails, we can get some dango or something. You can navigate in a crowd, right?”

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