Do you bite the hand which feeds you? [Social/I-O]

Ryojin walked through the sultry jungle path. He walked for quite some time from the gates down and into the valley of the kings. He hoped that within the confines of this ashen history he would find the answers he sought, but he knew the answers didn't lay as clear cut as the statues and buildings from ages past within the very valley the new world was built upon. His mind was lingering somewhere between a world where he had the power and means to achieve every goal he had and this one that he lived in. He had attempted to coax truth out of his father once more but had his hand smacked yet again for not simply falling in line and for once it just wasn't sitting with him.

He had begun to slowly spiral his bo about his left and right side. He took a long deep breath of morning air. He held his breath just as long as he had breathed it in for. The whole world felt utterly still as he mulled over the pros and cons of separating himself from his father and weighed the clashing importance of honor, duty, and family in his own mind. Was this what his father had wanted? Was this where his relationship with the very man who brought him here and saved him from the never ending snow and barren frost lands? Could he just silence his own ego, his own needs, his own goals for the sake of maintaining a connection that for once in his life he was wondering if it were even real? His father had always been careful to hold his tongue, but as of late, maybe he was growing weary from Ryojin's pursuit for truth and answers.

His bo spun about his left and right side as he thought. He shifted it hand to hand. He had grown somewhat accustomed to holding it in his left hand even despite the missing digit, though his grip was slightly weaker, his capability with the staff was beginning to make up for it. He pushed his staff hard into the ground to vault himself, but he left himself go straight up and land back down with a light thud. He did it again, and again. He was trying to physically push the very thoughts that tormented his mind from him, but they were there to stay at this point.

Once he had managed to vault himself to exhaustion, he allowed himself to fall onto his back and look up at the sky. A soft sigh was created within his lungs and then gently breathed out through his nose. He loosely formed his hand seals with his right hand and it began to softly rain. He laid in this cool, soft rain staring up hoping that maybe the answers would come to him from the sky. He knew the fantasy of the answer just dropping from nothing and into his mind was just that, a fantasy, but he could still lay here and dream of it.

Ryojin thought he felt himself lost in a trance of his own, off in another world of thought, but he could've swore that not too far from him he very possibly heard... sobbing? It was upon definitely hearing it more than once or twice that Ryojin stood from where he had laid and for the time being pushed the thoughts, worries, and weight plaguing him to the very back of his mind. He made his way around looking about until running upon Ami, though he had not seen her changed appearance and as a result was not quite aware who she was. "It's quite the place to think, isn't it? Be careful though! I can tell you many times over that I've found here in the grave of the past that it is quite easy to lose yourself in your very own! Are you alright?" Ryojin offered out his left hand, it was the hand missing the index finger. He peered at the woman before him. He wondered what suffering she had to bear to bring her to this state and he oddly felt a pang of empathy even despite not knowing her exact circumstance. He simply agonized for her because she agonized. It was the turmoil of feeling that though he could not feel himself, he knew very well when he was looking right at it.

"Wait.. You look.. Familiar. Have we met?" Ryojin tilted his head trying to grasp at who this woman was with no idea himself. He felt as though he should know her. There was perhaps an odd sense of nostalgia about her that he didn't quite understand immediately, but perhaps it was just him imagining things. He looked over her carefully. Her height, her stature, her body, though it felt as though something had changed. Providing that she would grab hold of his hand, he would in turn use his other hand as well to help pull her up gently.

"Miss Ami! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me for not recognizing you! You look quite different last I saw you. It's quite alright! I'm just so sorry again for not recognizing you!" Ryojin frowned a bit not having recognized her from before. She did come to look quite a bit different since the last they met. Before the tomb and the beast. That felt like ages ago now. "What have you been up to Miss Ami?" Ryojin sat down on the ground and had his bo rested against his chest and shoulder. He pushed both his hands into his sleeves and kept his eyes on her ensuring he listened thoughtfully as she spoke.

"Everything has been insane recently hasn't it?" Ryojin gently rubbed his chin thinking on everything that had occurred recently. He dragged his finger in the dirt a bit drawing swirls subconsciously but then after a moment, spoke up once more. "You know. I have a random question for you. I want to travel out of the village for awhile. I'm thinking about heading toward a small village by where I was born. It's a village that's known for fishing and trade. Would you care to join me for awhile?" With that, Ryojin sighed softly. Would it be a mistake to bring someone else to the north? No. It would be a help. If they ran into his brother there, Ami would perhaps see what real ice style jutsu looked like.

What if she declined? Would it be weird for him to just ask out of the blue? No. It made sense to him because the goal was to work for awhile in solitude away from the moon village. The hard work would iron out the uncertainty of current events and at least offer a certain distraction.

"Really?! You'kll join me?! Then let's pack our bags and head out sooner than later." Ryojin grinned big. He was genuinely excited that he would actually have a travel partner this time around. In truth, he had only been back to the small village once since he had been pulled to the village by his father. It was time for him to return and to work out the thoughts that were plaguing him so that he could hopefully once again move forward. He took in a deep breath as he listened to her before speaking again.

"To be honest with you, I haven't heard anything, but if you want an ear, I am more than willing to lend that to you. I promise Ami, I'm not going to change my opinion of you okay? You are still a strong Hyuuga who deserves to be acknowledged as such even if you make mistakes. I think everyone beats themselves up too much about these things. Even I am guilty of it, but it's okay. All we can do is push to learn from our mistakes and grow from there right?" Ryojin had in turn also given her a genuine smile.

Ryojin was not the type to not acknowledge and not respect someone just because of a few bad decisions. At the end of the day if you committed to being a shinobi, you made a choice that many others wouldn't, didn't, or couldn't and to him that was worth something all it's own. "You may want to bring some warm clothing. But if the cold doesn't bother you like it doesn't me, then we can simply go now. They will feed us, house us, and clothe us. They're just good people like that there. They always have been."

"Oh.. I see. Hmm. I don't think you're a disappointment as long as you did what you felt was right in the moment. I think regrets are there for us to understand how we could've felt differently under different circumstances." Ryojin nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. In truth, his father had told him something akin to this long ago when he was first brought back to the village. He reflected for a moment on the word his father had given him and the circumstances he had faced to read them so much differently now than he had then. It was almost a refreshing feeling to him as though a slow calming rain washed over him.

Hearing she was ready to go, Ryojin jumped to his feet and nodded. "We are headed to the fishing village of Craiglorn for a bit then. Consider it a vacation.. but I'll be honest with you, the old woman will put us to work. I'm going because I need to think some things through and come to conclusions on my own. The best way I know to do that is to work until the answer comes to me. It's just how I'm wired I think." With that, Ryojin began to lead the way south. It would be in the south he would find his own truth; or, at least he hoped.

He treaded one foot after another per usual. It was going to be a long trek, but he knew well that the food, clothing, and the company were all worth it. He had chosen to only bring the bare essentials himself. When they arrived in Craiglorn, he would need to stay focused and gather his own food and furs for clothing. This was going to be the price he paid for returning after being gone for so long. For leaving the old woman without any word where he went. For leaving his brother. For leaving the past he could've grown in to and become something different besides a shinobi. These were the realities he needed to face before he could face this one.

"It'll be hard, but the payout will be... more than worth it I'm sure."

[exit]