Turning the Tides. [P]

Footsteps echoed across the vacant bridge, yet the cold seemed to welcome her here. Breath visable, and a steady fall of white, her eyelashes caught each perfect snowflake that fell before her, only making her dark eyes even more bold in this winter wonderland. Naito sat upon her shoulder, as always. Although, this time, she was concealed by a cloak of gloomy colors, conveniently set to fit the mood. All was quiet, the sea was calm, and everything would have seemed pure, if she had not walked these grounds. Her record was clean, only because of the event that took place only a few years ago, but what seemed like forever. However, she knew nothing could clear her bloodstained hands. They were, and always would be. She couldn't seem to put her past behind her, but then again, who truly did?

Hana stopped halfway across, her mind enveloped in memories. She resorted to the railing, gazing off in the distance. Everything was either blue or gray, not exactly warming. However, it reminded her of someone she left behind so long ago. A regretful sigh escaped her pale lips, as she slouched over the cold metal, staring at the waters below. As she stared, the fog seemed to ascend, and her face reflected off the surface of the liquid mirror. She looked awhile, then drew back with a slight hiss. In all truth, she was disgusted with herself. Though, she never showed it, not to anyone, but Ookami. Times had changed now, and in her seclusion she was able to gain more stability over her emotions. If anything, she didn't intend to be as open as she was about herself so long ago. Hana was more reserved now, if even possible. In fact, this was a rare occasion, for her to be walking the outskirts of a descently populated country. But one can only hide for so long, and she was finally done with hiding. She wanted to see him, but knew better. That's why she was wandering about this dreary place, on such a day.

Naito repositioned himself on the rail, nudging Hana with his head, to get her attention. With a slight hum, she turned to see a figure in the distance. Although it was blurry, it felt strangely familiar. Her hand met one of her katanas at her side, though she concealed them both with her long cloak. She wasn't too sure about who was approaching, and would rather not be caught off guard...

A mad man walked around that night. For whatever reason, he too was being hauted by his past. It didn't make sense to him, why he cared so much about something that should be so trivial. Konoha was definitely going to be his target. The people that were once in his life had moved on. Thinking about what he wanted to do to Konoha, a rictus look struck his face. Years ago, the grimace in his face would have frightened even himself. Now, his dementia overide every instinct he had. Messing with his soul was indeed a bad thing to do, and because of it he had lost himself. He had been going to various lands, looking for a place to pick for his home. The particular land he was in, he didn't really like. He was a fan of the cold, but he knew that if he was to chose a cold place as his home he would get tired of it and one day miss the warm envoirnments. He tilted his head, looking around. He didn't see anyone, in fact he hadn't seen anyone since he got there which he thought was odd. This was a plus for him, he liked it quiet.

The wind blew the trees around him, he loved that sound. He began to walk once more. He was going to go into town, the closest town he could find, and scope it out to see if living there would even be possible. Walking for a few minutes, he reached the large bridge where the mysterious person was standing. He didn't really know who this was however their chakra felt somewhat familiar. He no longer had a psychotic look on his face, instead, normal. He tried to hide his chakra the best he could hoping that this person wouldn't be able to sense it. If this person knew who he was and happened to be a Konoha ninja or something he knew this had the potential of getting ugly.

He walked up at a normal pace. He wasn't about to start a fight, he simply wasn't in the mood. As he started to get closer, he saw as the cloaked person turned to him. It was a woman. Okashii couldn't quite tell who she was, but she looked slightly familar. She looked tense, as if she thought Okashii might have been a threat to her. He walked closer and stopped when he was a few meters away, then leaned on the railing and looked out too. "I don't mean you any harm." He said, at this point, he was ceasing to look at her.

As the figure came closer, she gritted her teeth instinctively. Naito placed himself on her shoulder again, and peeked around her head to take a good look at the man. It was then that she realized just how unfamiliar she was with people anymore, and she removed her hand from her katana. She listened to his words closely, clearly audible due to the silence around them. He leaned over the railing just as she had done only moments ago, and not once had they made eye contact. Normally this might bother her, but this man obviously wasn't in the mood to fight a complete stranger. His easiness struck her odd to be honest, making her take a step back to readjust herself. She sighed through her teeth, followed by a faint, "Sorry..." that happened to escape her lips. When she realized she had spoke, her eyes looked up a moment in surprise at herself, but met the ground again soon after. She couldn't tell if she was saying sorry to the stranger for her rude greeting, or if she was apologizing to her past.

Hana returned to her railing once more, gazing off into the foggy skies. Naito stayed put this time, unsure of his master's actions. Eyes glanced over at the man a moment, and returned to the scenery just as quickly. She felt as if she should say something, but didn't know exactly what. Thoughts spun around her mind, finally weaving into words. "What brings you to this ghost-like town?" she asked in a monotone voice. It had been so long since she had heard her own voice, it nearly startled her. But she preferred it over the dead silence, it was becoming totureous. It was a descent question, anyways. To be honest, she didn't even know why she was here. Sometimes, she just seemed to wander. She considered it a bad habit of hers, because she did it so often...

Okashii made a slight nod after she apologized, as if to say he basically didn't care. Looking out, he lost himself in a deep gaze but soon came back to reality when she asked him why he was there. He was caught off guard by the question. What he could've told her was that he was looking for a new home, but that wasn't really true, and if he did tell her that there possibility she could have been from Konoha. Still, the more he thought about it, she didn't look like someone that belonged anywhere, just like him. Okashii's impression was; she was just another person who wandered as he did. He just wasn't content with any place he'd gone to, no place that he went to he could really call home. The closest he ever had to a home was Suna really, when he was living with the elder. Because of that, he began to think about Suna and how much he surprisingly liked it there. He knew that someday, hopefully, he would go back.

When he truly thought about what she had asked him, he was able to be honest with himself and come up with an answer. "I guess you could say I'm here to find myself." he said, he was still calm, still not looking at her. He stared at the water, as if he was mesmerized by it. He wasn't really in the business of saying things like that to strangers, but for some reason he didn't really want to lie about it. "And you?" he asked in a nonchalant manner. His long black cloak now covered in snow, they seemed like they had something in common. Okashii was discontent with the way his life was going, he had thoughts of revenge, but the strangest part of it to him was that he didn't know why he wanted it. He knew that life would just be easier for him if he left Konoha alone, and left Seu and Ookami behind and started a new life, but he just couldn't. He mentally let out a sigh.

As all she found was silence, her eyes dimmed and sought comfort in the rippling waters. She went into seclusion to try and heal her tattered mind, and spirit, so that she may feel normal when she released herself into society once more. That was all she wanted, was to be normal. However, she didn't expect strangers to just simply welcome her back into the world. She had enough common sense to know this, but even so, her heart sunk a little thinking about all the rejection she would likely face. This was almost like practice. If she could have a descent conversation with this man of few words, then maybe normal wasn't too far from reach. So much had changed, although little, it made a difference. Back in the old days, she had determination, but no will of her own. Now, she had something she could call a dream, in a sense. And with that thought, she strived for something. Even if to others, it was nothing. It was her everything.

The word dream struck her odd though. Not once in her life had she ever had dreams, so maybe it was just a minor goal of hers that meant a lot to her? She'd leave self questioning for later. At the moment, this goal of hers would require action if she ever wanted to meet it. When he spoke, her eyes traced back to his figure once more. His words spoke so casually, but holding so much meaning to them. It reminded her of herself, and she wasn't sure how to react. She stood speechless a moment, then thoughts were interrupted by his continued words. Hana took a deep breath, trying to find the words. All she could come up with was something as simple as, "Something similar to your reason..." Her eyes slowly retracted back to the water's surface, as a faint orange glow reflected the sunrise...

Okashii simply blinked at her answer, it was as if he knew what she was going to say. The atmosphere there was so calm, beautiful, serene. He loved it, but he didn't have the feeling that he belonged there. He knew what he needed in order to get that feeling, and he also knew there was a possibility that he would never even get that. He needed someone, a friend, or something. While solitude was good at times, he was getting sick of it. For some extremely odd reason, he felt compelled to at least try to engage this woman in conversation. "I see." happened to be all he said in reply. He thought about his old home, Konoha. At one point he had a family, friends, comrades that he even considered friends but for some reason that all went away, and even after that he had made friends all of which he had lost. It was depressing in a way, and when he went through a soul transformation it was suppose to make him forget about all of that stuff or at least not care about any of it yet now it was all he could think about.

"Life's a funny thing, ain't it?" Okashii started, his eyes still hadn't moved from the spot they were in before. "It's ironic. We ignore those who adore us, adore those who ignore us, love those who hurt us, and hurt those who love us." he said, looking back on his past and the things that he had done. "All the while, I'm standing here thinking, why can't I overcome it if I can acknowledge it? I simply have no answer." His face looked of little depression, but that was him trying to hold it in. He had no idea what he planned to do with himself. Could he make friends with this woman? If so, what would happen then? Okashii had no idea what he was going to do. He awaited to see if she had anything to say.

She listened so closely to his words, it was as if she was lost in another world for a moment. The way he spoke, reminded her of someone, it almost sent chills up her spine. It was as if he read her like a book, and he hadn't even looked at her. Whoever this man was, he had obviously been through some difficult times of his own. He sounded wise, no, he was wise. Hana turned her head, to take a good look at him once more. Despite how young he appeared to be, wisdom is not measured in age, but experience. And by a glance, she could tell just that. His face was ageless, but almost like a mask, she knew there was much hidden behind it. As his words echoed in her head, she couldn't help but wonder. Who exactly was this man? And what kind of life did he have in his past? She could make a few good assumptions, but she wouldn't truly know unless she asked.

A slight breeze picked up, pulling her hood from her head, to her back. Her eyes widened a moment, shocked and broken from her trance of thought. But just as quickly as she was startled, she returned to her calm, staring off into the horizon once more. Hana decided now wouldn't be a bad time to speak up, and so she searched for the right response. "Life is certainly odd, I must agree to that." she said in a quiet, yet audible tone, "And adding people to the equation makes it ever more odd, I suppose. They're always changing; life, people, the world. Sometimes, I feel like everyone is moving so fast, and the world is passing me by." She pasued a moment, thinking, then ending with a sigh. "With change comes anew, and with the new, leaves the old. Then when the past returns to the equation, we have a problem. It's like looking off into the distance. We maybe able to see what's there, but we can't always reach it from where we're currently standing. However, if we were to move, to strive toward that objective, the distance shortens, the equation is changed once again, and we search for yet another answer. All only to find more questions..." Hana finally stopped herself, not glancing at the man this time, but closing her eyes. "My apologies, I've seemed to have rambled." She layed her arms across the railing, resting her head upon their warmth. Thinking to herself, she hoped she hadn't bothered the stranger with her words...

Okashii couldn't help but chuckle. He liked someone that he could get into philosophy with. He listened to her speak, and he was impressed. Her perception was indeed quite similar to his own. It was true, Okashii had become a lot more of a calm person. He had much anger deep down, and a thurst for revenge however on the surface; he was able to control himself. It wasn't insanity that drove his ambitions, more like narcissism. He couldn't get on with his life. He was intrigued with what the woman had to say, the analogy she gave about looking out into the distance. It had a ring of truth to it. Okashii had no idea what was in store for him, but he would have to keep looking forward. Okashii was cursed with hatred from the moment he was born as an Uchiha, and he would have to deal with it eventually, whether he could overcome it or whether it killed him.

After she finished, and apologized, Okashii chuckled once again. "Not a problem, it was rather entertaining, actually.." He said, then grinned a bit. He still got the feeling that he had met her from somewhere. Her chakra felt so familiar to him but he couldn't place it. His mind wondered for a moment, and then suddenly it hit him like a ton of bricks, although he still wasn't sure. "Could she really be an...?" he thought to himself. "Uchiha Okashii." He said, officially introducing himself, he finally looked over at her with a smile. If his assumption was correct, things were about to get very interesting. His arms hung down, he wasn't going to make any sudden moves. Although he was fairly certain this woman was an Uchiha, and that his popularity between the clan wasn't very...positive. He also was fairly certain she wasn't the type to start unecessary confrontation, nor did he believe she had any tie to Konoha.

She felt a bit uneasy as she heard him chuckle lightly, but tried not to show it. Hana listened as he spoke further, a small smile happening to take to her face. It was an odd feeling, she hadn't smiled in so long. In fact, she hadn't spoken to another human being in so long. This made her feel a bit better, especially since this man seemed amused by her, rather than disgusted, like most might be. The similarity between the two might be the reason he seemed to accept her for who she was, but she couldn't be quite sure. The more they talked, the more familiar he seemed, which she found very odd. Memories slowly seeped their way back into her mind, as she tried to think back to a time when she might have met someone like him, or more specifically, where.

It was when he finally introduced himself, that she couldn't help but puzzle the pieces together. His name rang through her ears, the awkward silence making it worse. This man was family, well, in a sense. They shared the same name, and it was likely that he might know her. However, for what reasons, may not be such a good thing. If he had heard of her background, or just her father, he might see her as the wretch she was to their clan. Her arms fell to her waist, as she wrapped them around her ever so slightly. She couldn't just leave him without a name, when he so willingly gave her his. "Uchiha, Hana." she stated, "A pleasure to meet you." Although he had glanced her way, for the first time, she kept her eyes still, on the water. This sudden surprise was so overwhelming, bringing back so much emotion she had hid away for so long, she feared she might lose control. She felt she might lose all she worked at, she felt she might cry...

Okashii wasn't surprised one bit and because of that, when she said her name he didn't move an inch. Instead, he now was back to looking off into the water. He thought about it for a second; about her. "Uchiha Hana, huh?" he made a mental note of her name. He didn't know much about her, but the one thing that he did know was that he was safe, she was indeed not allied with Konoha. This made Okashii somewhat relieved to know that he probably wasn't in for a fight of any kind. Finally, he decided to acknowledge her introduction. He didn't really have much to say for there wasn't very much he could say about it. "Hana? That's a very nice name." He said. He made no mention of what he knew about her. There was no sense in opening up closed wounds. The breeze that began to run through the area was cold, and it began to get more and more unpleasant the longer they stood there.

Thinking more on the matter, he got a sudden click and his eyes widened for a moment. Ookami had talked about her briefly back in the day and Okashii was under the impression she was dead. Ookami was devistated; probably still to that day. Still, Okashii didn't speak a word of this. Instead he decided that it was probably a good idea that they get out of there, so he was going to go into town and get something to eat. "Know any good places to eat around here?" he asked, looking around. He had forgotten that he had never been there before, he really had no idea where to go. He took a deep breath and awaited her response.

When he repeated her name in question, she couldn't help but flinch a bit. She worried he knew the name, and had heard the horrible past of hers. Her heart began to race, as anxiety overwhelmed her. All these thoughts running through her head, she couldn't seem to find a calm state of mind. Hana tried to remember the last time she had even seen a fellow Uchiha, it had been years. It was a minor distraction from her troubled worries, but she listened when he spoke again. He complimented her name, something people didn't do often, and spoke so at ease. Okashii didn't seem to mind her presence at all, a first in a long time. She couldn't help but smile lightly at the peacefulness of it all. For once, she felt at ease in the presence of another. This, she didn't mind at all.

When the question arose about places to eat, she wasn't so sure herself. Hana took a quick glance around, Naito taking to the sky, and flying ahead. He seemed to have been the little navigator lately, it had been so long since she had traveled, she didn't remember all that much. "Oh, yes" she said, as she slowly began to follow the bird, "And this is Naito, a companion of mine, you could say." She rubbed the back of her head, second guessing her words. She wasn't sure if the way she had stated it made her seem like a crazy and lonely woman, who's only common company was that of an animal, a raven. "I suggest we follow him, he has a better idea of where he is going. He might lead us to some food." Hana paused a moment, to wait for him. She didn't intend to be awkward, but she didn't exactly want to be rude and shout from a distance to keep the conversation going...

Okashii awaited her answer. His stomach was rumbling, he hadn't eaten all day. It was odd and a bit idiotic of him not to pack anything with him while going on a trip. Either way, if she didn't know of a place that would be fine. He would simply have to go find one. The man wondered what would become of this. It already seemed like they were friendly with one another but did that really make them friends? If there was one thing that he was bad at, it was social interaction. Or at least he was bad at it at one point in his life. Now it seemed as though he had gotten past that point and he was able to be at peace around another person. It was nice to be thinking about something other than revenge and pain. It could've been the secluded atmosphere they were on, or it was just this woman. He didn't know, all he knew was he liked it.

After she answered, explaining that her bird would be the one to show them the way. Okashii nodded. He did find this a bit odd that the raven knew where to go and she didn't then again he was in no place to judge, he didn't know his place around either. As she began walking, Okashii just stood for a moment looking. The reason for this was unknown to him however he was slapped back into reality once more and began to catch up. A part of Okashii wanted to ask her about her past, but because of the tension he could feel just by her mentioning her own name he knew that wouldn't be a good idea. It was probable she too had been in a lot of pain so it was better to just live in the present. Catching up, he began walking beside her, waiting to see where the raven would lead them.

Only their footsteps and the distand flapping of wings could be heard within their awkward silence. There wasn't much to say, though there was a lot of her mind. Naito led them to the end of the bridge, which in all honesty, she could have found herself. This didn't matter, for as her little bird continued forward, the remaining mist in the air made the enviroment feel unfamiliar. As he was above, he could see beyond the mist. Although her current position with Okashii was a bit uncomfortable for the moment, his presence was more enjoyable, rather than a bother, like most. She wasn't sure exactly why this was, but she didn't mind it one bit. In fact, she was happy to have met someone so understanding on her first trip outside seclusion and fear. Hana had a feeling that society wouldn't have been as welcoming as he.

After some time of walking, she wanted to make conversation. However, she didn't really know what to talk about. She had no idea what currently had hold of the world, the people that roamed it, nothing. In her seclusion, she knew nothing. It was then that the fact finally hit her; she had been away from the real would for many days, years even. What had she missed? Just then, Naito stopped, and began to circle. As he did, her footsteps stopped as well, and she took a good look around. They were in a small town, only a few buildings here and there, but there was a bar, and therefore, was food. Hana turned around with a slight smile on her face, "I believe we are here." Eyes were closed, her expression was of peace...

"I believe we are here." Okashii heard. He was grateful, as his stomach seemed to be roaring. He hadn't eaten in an entire day and for him that was a crisis. He stared down at the ground, seeing a particular piece of concrete very intriguing. For some reason he did that. He would see any inadimant object and think that it was entirely interesting in every way. He would study it, try to come up with the answers to questions that weren't really there in the first place. Some people might think that he was crazy for doing this; but really, he didn't care. There were so many small things in the world that people walked right on past without even giving a second thought. Okashii was different, he could see interest in the little things. Like a piece of wood, he could craft into some kind of weapon. A cloth, a spare headband for him. There were so many things that he could conserve and use as resources.

Okashii looked up at the place they were going to eat at. It looked fairly nice, but nothing too fancy. That was exactly how Okashii wanted it, considering he was cheap. He didn't understand the ettiquete they were going by on this...meeting. It wasn't a date, so would Okashii still have to pay for the bill? She was a woman, so he knew that it would only be right for him to do so, but he wasn't exactly sure. Still, asking was something that he wouldn't do simply because if it was expected of the man to pick up the bill and he didn't know that, he would look like a jerk, and that was something that he didn't want. He smiled, waiting for her to enter first and as he thought about this more, he became more and more nervous..

She simply nodded at him, in gesture to enter, and did so herself. The place wasn't too large, but it looked well taken care of, which surprised her a bit. Her eyes skimmed the room, it wasn't too busy, and only little conversation could be heard. They also didn't interrupt the others, which was a good thing, she didn't exactly like attention. Before she could walk any further, the tender hollered from the bar, patting the surface, as if saying to take a seat. In attempt to be polite as possible, she forced a smile, and turned to Okashii. "Shall we?" Hana slowly proceeded to the counter, while Naito took flight outside, sitting on the roof, where he would wait for them. Without his usual company, she felt a bit odd. However, with the company of another, she tried to put herself at ease. Every once in awhile, she'd glance over to him, to make sure all was well.

It had been too long since she had entered a public place, and she wondered if she had forgot her manners or not. Such a silly thing to worry about, but she didn't want to cause any trouble, especially since someone else would have to suffer from the effects, if so. She never recalled visiting this place in the past, but had no intentions of ruining a fresh start. As she tried to think of what she desired to eat, she began to wonder what it was that Okashii might want, and if this place served it. For a moment, she pondered the thought herself, unsure of what they might have to her liking. "Anything here interest you?" Hana decided to wait on him, and see what he might order...