Wanderer

Leaves crushed like apricot chalk underneath the feet belonging to the wanted man. His head was held high and straight; his legs moved statically beneath him like the dual pendulums of an enormous clock. The urgency that surrounded him was minimal. His feet frequently stopping as his eyes surveyed the peak of season that encompassed him and filled his senses with the death of summer. The irony of the dying seasons beauty always amused him grimly, he had become so close to the irony of death and the surprises it brought him… but that was a different story. For now all that mattered was he was free, he was content and he was alone.
***
The gentle trickle of the woodland stream soothed his mind as Craig cupped the silvery liquid between his fingers and let it slowly drip between them. He was a monster of a man (or so someone had told him) standing a head or two above his peers and laying a shadow over his enemies. Images of masked faces and forgotten friends flitted through his mind, cascaded over his fingertips and washed away into the streamline of his reason like so many dreams. He had to forget them, to forget the friends, to forget the laugh of teammates, the call of his mother… his mother. Water lapped up against the sides of his face as he plunged his head into the stream. It’s over don’t dwell on it. Craig found himself staring into the eyes of the older man gazing up at him from his reflection. His fingers caressed the bags under the mans eyes, the stocky poorly shaven chin, the creases slicing lines where smiles would have been… It seemed like yesterday when a lanky youth would be grinning coyly back at him, sleeking back his eyebrows with a slicked thumb only to be rudely interrupted by two other youths. Probably the girl screaming out some dreadful song, or the boy throwing a rock into the reflection in facetious jest… probably.
Again he felt the lap of icy water playing around his temples. You can’t keep thinking on them. Pulling himself from the stream he let his fingers toy with his unfastened headband. Affixed to the cloth was a metal plate sporting the mark of his country, the Kusa no Kuni, the country of grass. A deep rivet now ran through the plate separating the fine lines of his countries pride neatly in half. The slash was one of force; one that he had fitted as a final hate towards his home that he was now banned from. Banned for trying to protect the people he felt he owed his life to. Banned for disobeying the demon inside of his mother. Splash. The forehead protecter fell down into the murk of the river bed, it took Craig a while before deciding to retreive it. Long painful moments stuck with ideas of denoncing violence, of changing his life, settleing down in Hi No Kuni or Mizu no Kuni; but they were just ideas. Undoubtably his mother would try to find him; would send powerful enemies to try and cut him down like a weed that had grown too tall. A painful beat sounded in his ears as he cast a stone into the gloom of the river.
***
It hadn’t been long, the monster of a man had just been here. The hunter looked up from the damp rocks lining the shore of the riverbed. Sunlight glinted lazily off of her mask as she gave her two companions a jerk of her head; pointing out the supposed path of the perpetrator. The pair leapt into the trees leaving their leader to crouch by the riverbed. Of course she had been briefed on the situation; brought up on the facts surrounding the case. She knew the whole of his crimes against Kusa no Kuni and the assassination of the Kusakage. A trickle of a laugh slid languidly from behind her mask as she thought on the subject... his own mother. It was funny the way family ties could break, though she was not one to judge family ties that was certain. To think that now his own sister the new Kusakage would hunt him to the ends of the earth.
She brought herself slowly to her feet. Arching her back, she reached her hands to the sky and thought about the young man she had met long ago. Crack. The slick sound of her back cracking pulled her back to the damp forest and away from his carefree smile. Good thing he’ll never see my face... I’ld never want to see those eyes know me. She nudged a nearby rock into the stream and watched it tumble into other stones pushing them further into the shallow depths. We all affect each other. She left the thought behind as her feet leapt into a nearby tree and carried her along the nearly invisible trail.
***
The wind swept her hair out behind her as she jumped from treetop to treetop maintaining her balance in the manner that all ninjas learn to. By molding her chakra in her feet it was a simple task that required no concentration. The hair lashing ribbon trails around her frame was a rich black; you could call it brown but if so, it was a deviant of the brown world and was looked down upon. She was of an average height her legs long and graceful catching each limb lazily one after the next. Few of her features stood out as most of them were covered either by her billowing sooty green coat or by the mask covering her face for all but two fissures. It was how she was trained to not be noticed... to be a ghost; a smudge on histories face never to be noticed or remembered. It was the way a hunter nin was and she felt no remorse for this. Just as she felt no remorse for hunting down a traitor of his country, a traitor she once could have called friend.
***
Craig found himself stalling idly near the borders of Taki no Kuni. It was quite obviously (maybe too obviously) a safe place for him to flee; a small country with no Kage to rule its cities.
“And no elite guard.” he heard the words drip with relief from his lips. Maybe this was to be home to the displaced ninja; a country with no interest in the politics of its brother states. A forced smile graced Craigs lips. He wanted it to be true but his presence would only bring suffering to anyone he became fond of. He knew his sister... the Kusakage would make sure of it. He knew that she would never let him rest... Craig’s body turned and he changed his course back towards the Hi No Kuni; until this ended in bloodshed no one he could love would ever be safe. “Stupid forest ...I need a drink.”
***
The sign dangling above the Gaudy Goose did not do it justice in the slightest. The sign sported a detailed golden trim and ornate wood carving depicting a goose flying over the city of Konoha... the building was dilapidated. An aged chartreuse paint covered the buildings face and flaked like diseased skin in the cool air of the evening. Craigs reasoning for choosing the local was a simple one; the Craig Christian would never choose such a seedy and tacky bar to waste his money in. He’d be safe.
Smoke wafted around his nostrils; his hand involuntarily waved itself through the air forcing it from his face. How annoying he mused as another quaff of saccharine scotch slipped past his lips. The smoker had been going at it for his entire stay at the hell hole of a bar and it was beginning to grate terribly away at Craigs nerves. An irritated glance flew from the corner of his eye as though to frighten the cigarette away to a single cinder... that kind of thing never really worked when he wanted it to. Apart from the disgusting habit the perpetrator herself was quite attractive; long blonde hair falling around her low back, spindly legs escaping a ruby kimono... yes definitely a sight for sore eyes. It seemed for a moment that the smoke had ceased it’s interruption of the evening as Craig took her in for several more moments thinking of well... less than wholesome things he would like to do to her. The thoughts cleared as all good things do and Craig hunched back over the bar; he may have been a killer but never would he contravene to a sexual attack on a woman. They were truly the gods gifts to this world... damn vile creatures. The empty glass clinked against the bar as he riffled through his pockets for enough change to pay the squatty man behind the bar.
“One... one fifty... one sixty-two....” damnit broke again. There comes a time when a man must learn to keep track of what money he has and what money he has not; this was one of those moments where Craig truely showed how young he was.
“Having troubles sailor?” Smoked hazed by his ears as though the blonde had a fire burning in her mouth. “I got this one,” A five slid across the bar to the man behind it “and the next one.” Craigs glass reappeared in front of him as the woman in red lit up another cigarette. “You wear your heart on a sleeve sailor.”
“Must be a pretty big sleeve then” he leaned in close to her arching an eyebrow and quirking his lips into a half smile. “...man like me’s got the heart of a giant.” her head tilted back in a laugh, her blonde hair sweeping over her left shoulder.
“Maybe a woman like me has an appetite for giants.”
***
A short while later Craig found himself weaving through one of the many oak forests of Konoha; the lady in red slung casually over his shoulder playfully kicking at him in attempt to compromise his balance. A cheap carafe of wine hung from his belt swaying in and out of the black cape that covered most of his body.
“You know, I hate these forests. Where I come from all of this is- grass and field.” he gestured widely allowing the blonde to slip clumsily to the ground.
“Then I have just the place for you!” her voice cooing and slightly slurred as she grab onto the collar of Craigs cloak and pursed her lips up at his face. Thinking he was going to receive a kiss Craig leaned in only to be disappointed as she clasped his hand and tugged him deeper into the forest.
Trees flashed by in a blur of intoxication; her long hair occasionally lashing up at his face in the tender moments as they ran towards her destination. Awkwardly they slowed and stepped into a small clearing surrounded by birch trees swaying in the cool breezes of fall. Their leaves had long since left them and the white skinless fingers of trees streched in all directions as though reaching to get them back.
“Hmph it seems like the first patch of grass I’ve seen in years.” Craig popped the cork out of the bottle and took a heavy swig. “It’s cute but... not much.”
“Sadly it’ll be the last patch of grass you see.” The womans voice went steely and seemed to cut the through the very wind itself. Craig lazily turned to look at her without much care taking another swig of wine as she pulled a small dagger from a sheath strapped to her thigh. “Craig Christian, you are charged with the crime of disserting your clan and your village. The punishment is death. Your existence is to be erased by orders of the Kusa-“
”Yeah yeah yeah I’ve heard all of this before.” Craig waved his hand at her in a bored fashion as though to gesture her away. “I was hoping you would at least be a little more classy than other female hunters and at least try to kill me while we were doing the dirty deed. You know, I’m begining to think that you women don’t find me attractive at all... always trying to kill me before hand. I have to say that’s not terribly good for my self esteem.” he let out a sigh and lazily brought his hand to the clasp of cape snapping it open and folding it up in his arms. “I’m beginning that women really arn’t as gr-“ a foot lashed out at his face before he could finish the statement. Craig easily dodged it by rolling to his left and countered it by clasping his hands and sending an elbow down onto the back of her head. She fell to the ground with a wet thud before bursting into a pool of an obsidian substance. “Figured... it’s a clone.”
“Actually Mr. Christian she was a being all her own you just didn’t get the full taste of her.” The voice that swooped down on Craig was completely different from that of the blonde; this one was deeper, harder more nasally. His eyes scanned the treetops around him until picking the location where the voice was coming from. Quickly he strapped an exploding note to a kunai and flung it in the direction of the voice, not so much as to blow the new assailant up but more to see through the cursed twilight that was setting in around him. Following the sound of metal striking wood a thunderous explosion rippled through the clearing and Craig managed to catch a glimpse of the new woman silhouette to his left. He roller backwards just in time to avoid a shuriken flying towards his head. “I s’pose I should list the orders for your capture to you?”
“Only if it makes you feel one more shred important doll but believe me I don’t think anyone knows ‘em better then me.” his eyes dragged across the alabaster trees attempting to spot her again. There! He felt her brush against his back preparing a small knife to slit his throat with. “You’ll have to try harder then that!” he threw his arms behind him and grabbed onto her shoulders hurling her in front of him and onto her back. Craigs foot flew down onto her chest and he could hear her cough hoarsely into her mask. “I’m going to give you one chance to leave now. I’ll bet you heard a lot of things about me right? How I’m ruthless, ill-tempered, a cheat and a liar, how I murdered my mother and grandfather in cold blood before abandoning my country-“
“Actually, all I heard tale of-” her hands clasped onto his ankle throwing him off balance pulling him down to the ground and throwing her knee onto his chest. “Is an awkward little prince who fell into a terrible train of bad luck.... one that followed him to the grave.” A flash of silver played around her fingertips as she stabbed a kunai down towards his heart. The moment the metal struck his vest he disapeared, reapearing behind her with a butterfly kick to the nape of her neck; he could feel something crack as she tumbled into a dive roll through the grass.
Craig stalled momentarily watching her slowly climb back up to her feet, her ivory and emerald mask glinting in the pale darkness. The hunter tipped her shoulders to one side and placed both her hands on the sides of her head before cracking her neck loudly.
“Ah, I’ve been trying to crack my neck that well for weeks. I thank you for that.”
“Well then let me help you some more.” With super human speed Craig withdrew another kunai and plowed himself towards her, as he moved it seemed almost as though she wasn’t trying to avoid his attacks instead moving herself just enough to avoid fatal damage as he slashed at her again and again. Finally an opening rose at her chest and he took it burrying the ninja knife deep into her right shoulder just below her collar bone. Craig could see her body contort in pain as she recoiled the knife planted firmly in her shoulder. As her fingers darted to the wound Craig took his chance and roundhouse kicked at her masked face catching her off guard and sending her upwards in the direction of the mighty kick. He teleported swiftly behind her and sent her back down onto her hands an knees with a blow to the back of the head and then teleporting back to his former position. “You’re just a novice, I’m done with you woman. Next time tell your masters to send a better assassin.” Craig crouched down to pick up his cloak and turned his back on her moving himself back towards the entrance of the clearing.
The soft jingle of laughter found its way into Craigs ears causing him to pause.
“I have to thank you-” without turning he could hear her moving back into a standing position “I have to thank you for making me bleed this much... it makes the whole process much easier.” Arching an eyebrow Craig agaze into his curiosity and turned to face the hunter. A thick crack ran down the side of her mask and she stood stooped; his bloody kunai clung in her hand. In a fluid movement she brought it up to her shoulders slicing off the sleeves of her long green jacket and allowing them to slide slowly descend to her wrists and then down into the tall grass.
In the glow of the moon Craig could see her pale arms flex and relax, both of them littered with Kanji and symbols of various kinds; none of which he could read in the poor lighting.
“Craig Christian a missing-nin of Kusa no Kuni; Class A criminal wanted for the deaths of numerous hunter-nins, ANBU members, and the Kusakage herself. I have been chosen from my home country of Mizu no Kuni the country of water to deal with you specially and to take your life.” Craig scoffed.
“You think they’d make me a Class S by now...” he turned back towards the woods. “Go home kid, whatever trick you got hiding under your sleeves isn’t enough to take me down.” the hunter continued her speech as though reading it from a text book.
“Craig Christian: a skilled user of physical techniques but is revered for his usage of ninjutsu techniques and his ability to instantly replicate an opponents techniques. Warning to all hunters assigned to the Christian case: Do not engage Christian in a ninjutsu battle at all costs, he must be eliminated early in the battle to ensure victory.” Craig stopped his exit of the clearing and sighed.
“Well that’s flattering... but boring, I know all this chickadee.”
***
She could feel the balmy trickle of blood begin to weave itself down her arm and across her tattoos. Of course she hadn’t meant to let him injure her this badly but blood is blood and she wouldn’t need her right arm for this part of the battle anyway. Her left hand sought out the blood trails and smeared them down the face of her left arm, all the while she spoke.
“When I was a young girl I was completely unskilled in most realms of taijutsu and ninjutsu-”
“That hasn’t changed much” Craig interjected.
“- it was quite obvious that I wasn’t very good at much in the ninja line of work and I actually was quite convinced that I should have become a doctor... or an artist instead until I found that I had a special gift for one thing. Creation.” she lifted her hand from the blood stained arm a black ooze began to seep from her finger tips. The ooze seemed to be secreted by the tattoos themselves into her veins and then out from underneath her fingernails where it gathered and began to take on a humanoid shape. The shape twisted and turned slowly becoming more and more human until color flushed to it’s skin and the blonde in red stood before Craig.
“Cute trick...” Craig felt the muscles in his neck ache as he brought himself into a defensive stance. “But I’ve already defeated her once easily.”
“Correction Mr. Christian, I told you that you hadn’t even got a taste of her.” as though responding to the statement the blonde wrapped her arms around herself and dug her fingernails into her own flesh as though to tear off her own arms. In a sickeningly gory display the ‘woman’ began ripping the flesh from her arms revealing spidery ebony arms beneath it. As though they were the wings of a butterfly escaping a cocoon the arms lashed out three to four times their previous length at Craig knocking him aside and pinning him to the ground by his throat. He gasped and sputtered clutching at the knuckles of the monster feudally endeavoring to pry them loose before bursting into a cloud of leaves. “Oh a leaf clone, how adorable Craig, but not good enough.” She raised her bloodied hand above her head letting a droplet slide down the back of her neck as a smile flitted across her hidden face. Like before the tattoo on the back of her neck seemed to pulsate momentarily before secreting that heavy black ooze which ran out of the back of her neck and down to the grass behind her.
She could feel him moving towards and laughed as another monster burst from the onyx puddle beneath his feet. This time a giant orange serpent with the head of a horse was chocking the life from his lungs. The hunter pulled away from the duo signaling for the monster in the red kimono to move in on him as well. She could feel her conciseness droop momentarily; she had almost forgotten how much blood she was losing but the whole thing would be over shortly; or so she kept promising herself anyway. Just one more minute, one more moment and then this will just be another job, just another hit and run, another matter of country security. She felt her body waver, just another meal ticket.
The serpent with the horse head loosened its grip on Craig momentarily glancing over at the hunter, the oddest look of concern on its distorted face. The monster woman too became distracted by it’s master and stopped its barrage on Craig.
***
For some reason Craig could breath again. The darkness that had been creeping around his awareness had started to dissipate and he suddenly came to the remembrance of what was happening. He was being squeezed to death by that snake... pummeled by the chick with the demon arms but both of them had stopped their attack and were staring in the opposite direction. This is your only moment... who knows why they stopped but this has to end now... you won’t survive another attack. MOVE. Craig pulled his shoulders into motion and grabbed onto the massive manus of the serpent near its face and jarred his hands apart feeling the vertebrae in the spine snap as it sank lifelessly to the ground as it dissipated back into charred ooze. This had brought the monster woman back to her senses and she lashed out with her arms again but Craig was too close for her to tear into him with her clawed fingertips. Instead he slipped easily between her arms pasted an exploding note to her chest and teleported behind her. He planted another note between her shoulder blades and gave the monster a hard kick sending it sprawling towards the birch walls of the clearing before the notes exploded with a rendering snap. He wasn’t safe yet.
Craig turned on his heel scanning the tree line for the hunter who had almost defeated him... it didn’t take long. She was standing approximately 6 yards to his left; her whole body trembling, hers fists clenching and unclenching.
“How dare you do that to my-” her arms raised, crossed, above her head and were swiftly pulled back down, the black ooze seeping from every spot it could muster on her being. “-friends?!” Without warning the ooze began solidifying onto her body as though she were forming some surreal set of wings. Craig knew one thing, this could be bad. He threw himself at her focusing all his energy into one hand, molding all of his chakra into small static bolts that coursed along his fingertips as he rolled them into a fist and plowed his hand into the mask of the hunter. Hours seemed to slip by in the fraction of a second where they stood in the clearing connected by his fist.
As time found them again her mask exploded off of her face a segment of it planting itself firmly into her cheek tearing the flesh open as she fell backwards against a tree; the ooze slipping harmlessly back into her skin. Craig stood above staring down into the face of a girl he had met before... no ... It couldn’t be.
***
A youthful Craig stretched his hands above himself grabbing at the sky playfully and glancing sideways at the girl his age slumped over the railing that encompassed the peak of the mountains overlooking the Ishi no Kuni.  The sun was beginning to set and the pair were sitting silently soaking in the view with a rather rag-tag group of other teenagers. Looking across the faces of the youths from every village and country across the continent one could see the universal hope each one held; the bright dream that they could protect each other and protect their ways of life. It was the way of the ninja... the way of these friends.
“It’s going to be weird going home to Mizu no Kuni, I was starting to get used to this damn arrid place...Though I did miss the rain.” The girl tossed a pebble over the railing and watched it plummet to the earth below.
“You should see my home, a sand storm could top one of your petty rainstorms anyday.” A lanky arab boy sighed while toying with his large farm-style hat. Several others chimmed in about their homes and argued about whos was the superior country but the arguments were friendly and died off fast. Craig remained silent.
“Hey, giant guy!” This time the rock escaping the girls hold bounced off Craigs forehead protector strapped around the top of his head like a bandana.
“Oi! Don’t scratch it.” Craig rubbed the smooth metal surface with his sleeve and gazed in irritation over at the girl. “The name is Craig not giant guy and what the hell do you want?”
“You didn’t say anything ‘bout your home, I had to make sure you weren’t mute or anything.” She smirked and went back to gazing over the landscape.
“Kati you know I’m not mute... we’ve spoken a hundred times. I think that was probably the worst reason for throwing a rock at me ever.” Kati just laughed quietly to herself and turned her attention to a couple of females in the group chattering about the newest craze of... something and pretended to be interested. “I- ... it’s been a really long time since I’ve been home and well” Kati looked up at him.
“Lemme guess you miss your mom? Well I’ll tell you this Craig; she’s doing great... Just like I did her great last night! Boo-yah!” The arab boy gave her a high five and several members of the group laughed softly.
“...girls shouldn’t make your mom jokes. It’s just wrong Kati.” he smiled and places his hands on the back of his head pursing his lips and watching the last slivers of red fade from the blueing sky. “Someday... we’re gonna rule the world. People like us.”

Craig only got one more chance to see his home after that day overlooking the mountains of Ishi no Kuni. That one time led him down a trail he couldn’t stop following and he never got the chance to watch those friends grow to rule their own worlds.
***
Kati pulled herself from the groggy sleep she had entered quite unwillingly. The smell of fire filled her nostrils and as her eyes leapt open in fright she found herself propped up against a tree next to a crudely built campfire.
“It’s not much but it’s cold outside and just because there are psychopaths like you trying to kill me doesn’t mean I can’t at least be comfortable while they try.” Craigs voice filled her ears as her head moved painfully to her right taking in his beaten form. “Those things of yours really suck you know?” he gestured to various bruises and cuts on his face and arms. “If they hadn’t been faulty and let me go I-” Kati cut him off.
“They aren’t faulty. They only attack when I will them to.” she gazed into the fire.
“Well you seemed pretty willing to give me the old do in for good” he laughed at the serious statement trying to make it less true.
“I changed my mind I guess.”
“How unlike you, I always remembered you as hard headed, fun loving and completely out of control. If I dare say so that is a terrible conversation by the by. Quite dangerous for fugitives like myself.” again his laugh attempted to transform the truth into a joke. “So what now.”
“I’m not sure. I know I’m not going to try to kill you again though.”
“That makes me feel looooooooads better.”
“I can get cast out of the Hunter-nin ranks for this you know?” she smiled letting her fingers slip to the gash deviating her right cheek. “I think this is going to scar.”
“We can get a doctor to stitch it up for you somewhere in Konoha probably.” Kati shrugged and glanced over at Craig.
“I’m not one for hiding autographs from famous criminal ninjas. This will be a reminder of the time I lost to the great Craig Christian.” she chuckled. “Plus... I think it’ll make me look more badass don’t you?”
“Well if badass is what you’re looking for... you wanna go again?” Kati slung a pebble at his face as the sun rose like a phoenix from behind the mountains hundreds of miles in the distance.


*End