A Past in Blood {P}

The walk through the desert from Nikkousato to the village of Aryn was a long one, and mostly quiet, as Baku did not often lend himself to small talk. The trio had managed to make it through the region with out any trouble, using the main road to navigate the world. A day had past since the three Uchiha had left for this mission, but they had finally made it to their destination, with the village of Aryn coming into sight. It was a warm, bright day, the middle of the afternoon, and a light breeze could be felt blowing through the rocky plains. Despite it being a beautiful day, the landscape was still a bit dreary, as it normally was in this part of the world. As the three moved down the main road, they appeared to go unnoticed for the most part, as none of the civilians passing by gave them much mind. They would quickly come to a large, three story wooden building known as the Purple Lantern. It was the villages local tavern and inn, and in addition to being where they would stay the night, it was also where they would be meeting Baku's contact.

The Jounin pushed through the front door, then made his way towards a table in the back corner. The tavern portion of the building was a bit empty this time of day, as most people were out working or attending to their daily duties. It was the perfect time of day to have a meeting if you wanted it to go undetected. The table the man had taken a seat at was pushed up against the back wall, hidden by the shadows the main lanterns were giving off, however if anyone looked closely enough, they would notice a door on the back wall, fixated behind the table. Baku took a seat, placing his back to the wall, and allowed the shadows to dance off of his face. "Alright you two, we arrived a bit early, so if you guys want to help yourself to some lunch or a few drinks, go for it." He would toss a small leather bag on the surface of the table, the sounds of coins rattling around inside. "When my contact arrives, we are going to go into this room behind me, and the two of you will man this table, and prevent anyone one else from going in until i come back." He leaned back some in his chair, crossing both arms over his chest.

The day had quickly turned to night before seemingly another sun rise had welcomed them to a new day. The trio of Uchiha remained fairly quiet on their journey out from their Village with both Genin following closely behind their leader. Kensei’s mind had drifted off into his memories, working so closely with other Uchiha Kin had stirred to mind his time spent sitting in on clan meetings and organized outings. Even on what would eventually be his last day in the Nikkousato, he had spent his time moving between two distinctly hidden locations within the clans compounds. His clan had always operated in the shadows, he remembered the faces of the shinobi of the past, escorting his family to and fro, now he was a guard on escort, a full circle.

He snapped back into reality, the image of his bloodied mothers corpse, or what he would imagine it to be, shaking him from his peaceful daydream. He didn’t realize it then, but the anniversary of his parents assassination grew closer, his subconscious however felt the weight of the encroaching date. Shaking off the thoughts of his parents, they stopped upon reaching the tavern building as the Jounin addressed the two. As he spoke Ken listened closely, his eyes fixed on the Jounin analyzing every word. He was anxious to find out more about this inconspicuous , what it entailed and it showed. He was not one to be kept out of the loop, thus his usual calm demeanor had left him, replaced with an unusual feeling of doubt, excitement, and curiosity. It had reminded him of himself as a boy, the always so curious Kensei hoping to learn the ins and outs of his clan. He nodded at his superior and left him at their table, accompanying Mikomi to the Bar. He flashed her a weak smile as she offered him lunch, followed by a short bow in gratitude. “That would be Delightful Mikomi…. Much obliged. You’ll have to start calling me Kensei though. Ive said this to you before, there is no need for formalities especially amongst Kin.”
He looked her over for a moment, the young women although appeared a considerable force to reckon with, as is the case with most Uchiha, appeared more jittery than he did her nerves seemingly seeping out from her. He smiled once more this one more genuine than the last before placing his left hadn’t on her right shoulder.
“If you’re nervous its okay, I think fear is a good reminder of what’s at stake, a little fear is good for everyone. Don’t be nervous, Ive got your back and you have mine as long as we stay true to that we won’t allow ourselves to fail… besides we’ve got some decent back up.”
His words trailed off at the end of his sentence as he turned to look over to the Jounin at their table. He would then look over the tavern scene for any suspicious figures and in order to get he lay of the land. He took in a deep breath before turning to the barkeep.

“Ill have bourbon, old fashion, two ice, stirred not shaken”