Lower Mountain

This section of the village is on a mountain that is a little smaller than the rest. This is where most animal and plant life live. The higher up one is on the mountain, the less trees and plants there are.

After finishing the task at the Yamakage's office, the Kisetsu twins had made their way down to the area of smaller mountains, where most plant and animal life seem to dwell. It was also a little warmer down here since they lived in an area of higher altitude, but it was the perfect weather none-the-less.

The two siblings were under one of the largest trees in the woods. Aki was sitting on a thick tree branch, resting against the trunk of the tree as his sister paced about below him, rambling on about who knows what as usual. The subject this afternoon just happens to be about that jounin the two encountered back at the Yamakage's office. Hazumi had already grown a liking to the man, mainly because of his appearance. With his sister going on and on about their new sensei, the blond male sighed as he rested his head against the base of the tree. He did not know why he had to listen to his sister, he already knows how she felt about the man through twin telepathy. Hazumi just liked to talk.

"Aki? Hey! Are you listening to me?" The female was looking up at her brother, who appeared to have fallen asleep. The boy opened his eyes, his brown irises meeting the other pair that matched his.

"Do I have to? Why don't you just keep talking while I go to sleep?" Aki replied. "Already know about how you feel about that guy anyway... You just like to talk."

Hazumi pouted at her brother's response, but she knew that he was right about him already knowing about her thoughts. With not another word, the kunoichi took a seat on the ground, her back against a tree.

There was a long moment of silence between the pair of twins. Aki had appeared to have fallen asleep while Hazumi was sitting on the ground under him, fiddling with a strand of grass. A sigh from the female broke the silence as she looked up at her brother to speak.

"Hey, Aki. Didn't we come down here for a reason?" she asked, but there was no answer from the sleeping twin. Hazumi continued anyways, this time, her voice a little louder. "Weren't we here because we needed to train?"

There was a long pause, and there was still no answer. It appeared as if Aki really had fallen asleep this time. Hazumi pouted impatiently as she picked up a small stone and chucked it at her brother, only to have him catch the rock before it could make it to his face. Aki dropped the stone, and before it could touch the ground, he was already there himself, inches away from his sister. In his hand was what looked to be a metal pole that can extend, with something on one end that was covered by a large cloth and rope. He swiftly swung it at Hazumi just before a loud clank echoed in the mountain air.

It looks like the training was on. Hazumi had blocked the attack with her forearm, which was covered in a long glove with a metal lining inside of it. Aki jumped back a few feet, but before he could attack again, he heard a faint sound somewhere close by. He could not quite make out what it exactly was, but he soon caught a glimpse of something behind his sister. This made him jump slightly in fright.

Hazumi could sense that something was wrong, and her brother did not seem to be looking at her. Was there something behind her? Curiously, the female turned her head to find what had frightened her brother.

"Whoa! What the?!" she practically screamed at the top of her lungs. For a short moment, the two had no idea what they were seeing hiding behind a tree, but after a second look, they came to realize that it was only a strange man. A little irritated, Hazumi pointed at the man and yelled at him.

"Hey! What are you doing sneaking around like that? You nearly gave us a heart attack!"

A moment after the twins had spotted the strange man lurking around the trees, Rui had also made an appearance. There was an exchange of words between their sensei and the stranger, and the fact that the man kept his eyes were glued on the twins made Hazumi shiver slightly. This traveler, if he was one, was kind of.... creepy, though there was a point when he finally looked over to Rui.

It appeared the stranger had gotten lost on the way to the cemetery, and had just wasted his time hiking up when it was really located at the foot of the mountain. After asking for directions, the man looked backed at the children, as if he were asking them also. Aki guessed what their sensei might have wanted to do, but Hazumi had no idea. She pointed toward a certain direction that led down the mountain.

"If you go back down, there should be a river." she said. "Just follow the flow and you'll end up at the cemetery's gates. The undertaker that lives there could let you in."

With the tip of his hat, the stranger made his way down the mountain. The twins only watched as the man became smaller and smaller at the distance between them grew. Once they were sure that the strange man was far enough so they could not be heard, Hazumi spoke.

”Well… That was…” The girl stopped midsentence, trying to find the right word to complete it. Creepy? No, that cannot be it. The man was a little beyond that, especially after he had told her that he was looking forward to hearing a scream. Hazumi shuddered slightly at the thought of the stranger before finishing her sentence. ”Okay, so what was that just now?”

She looked over to her brother, who looked as if he had the answer. After a short moment, she realized what was going on. Both Rui and Aki had found that man a little suspicious, and might have wanted to keep and eye on him. Hazumi rubbed the back of her head and smiled sheepishly at the fact that she did not realize that soon enough.

”Oops… It must’ve been a bad idea to send him off like that, wasn’t it?”

In response to his sister, the boy only shook his head and rolled his eyes. His sister can be a little slow at times.

Aki sighed as he gripped his weapon, looking off into the direction in which the strange man had wandered away to. Without waiting to listen to his sensei's orders, the male twin was standing on a tree branch within a second. After that, he left to go after the man as he heard his sister yelling after him.

"Aki, wait!" Hazumi shouted, but it was too late. Her brother was fast, and he was already long gone. At first, she was a little indecisive about what she should do. She kept looking at the direction Aki headed off too, and then back to her sensei. Before long, she quickly bowed to him and ran off after her brother.

"Sorry! I need to go after him!"

[[ Exit to Nai no Tani ]]