Starring:
Date: Unknown (log received July 6, 2010)
Summary:
Not given
"Strangers Meet"
Unknown location
The Land of Wind and the shinobi residing within have been very kind to Goh and Mushi in recent months. Letting them stay within their borders and even the village without a second look, the pair often travelled within this region for a number of reasons. The primary one being is that it allowed a very roundabout way to get to most destinations, whilst not going /anywhere near/ Kirigakure. With Mitsuo out to hunt Goh, there's been a few close calls already! Thus, going anywhere near that part of the world would be just crazy.
Despite the War between Kirigakure and Kumogakure ceasing, it still seems that there are troubling times around. Travelers have to deal with rogue shinobi cutting loose, or sometimes just normal muggers. It was hardly safe, especially in this country.
Having set up camp for the afternoon, Goh sits upon a small broken log—likely long seperated from its tree. There are two bedrolls setup near what will soon be a fireplace. But! There is no Mushi in sight. Perhaps she has gone to look for herbs? On anyrate, it leaves the blond to focus on his own thoughts, peering at the ground idly. Silently.
Ankoku Cave had been a disturbing experience. Unlike the others, Kanami had not been subjected to her worst fears, or shown any dark images of the raw evil that human beings are capable of. She was not as traumatized as Tomoyo or Datura. It was not likely that she was going to seek to accomplish her personal goal or goals at an advanced pace or with renewed urgency, as Mune was liable to. And while it was unknown how the cave had impacted Amuro, Kanami knew that how she was going to react to the darkness she had been exposed to was probably not the same as her employer will.
Kanami had been shown the truth she had believed in all along. This truth was the basis for every action and decision she made in her entire life. It was, suffice to say, her reason for being. And it had been very unpleasant. Knowing that her beliefs had been correct about the nature of reality was one thing. Being trapped in an existence that was essentially nothingness, with no light, no sound, no feeling, no scents, no tastes… No life or means to perceive such — just her own thoughts — was far from satisfactory.
Even if this world was false… At least it was better than nothing.
Even the deserts of the Land of Wind are better. It may be hot, it may be bleak, it may be dry… But this country still has a lot of sensory input to experience, pleasant or not. Kanami is presently disguised as a native of the Land of Wind. Her pale skin has been tinted dark-tan, her long, silky black hair has been tied back in a braid, and her clothing is desert-appropriate. White, loose, and yet cinched tight at the openings to keep sand from getting in.
She is on a mission from Amuro, and it requires that her true identity not be known. Kanami thus ventures out of Sunagakure, and travels through the canyons that surround it. She does not know exactly where her objective is presently located, but she knows that he often camps in the northern desert. So that's where she's headed.
With the sound of footsteps echoing off the face of the canyon walls, Goh lifts his head up. Somewhat narrow eyes peer at Shinji, before they soften and a grin comes across his face. "Welcome! Please, feel free to join the refuge I've set up here. The desert can be really fierce and hot. This is an amazing place to recharge the batteries." Standing up from his little seat, the blonde stretches his neck out a bit. "..don't mind me. I was just doing some thinking. Name's Goh! Konoha's Number One Pickled Vegetabler."
Seems that with Kanami disguised as a wandering nin of the desert, Goh has no troubles believing it. He only saw her once after all, and even then, it was a vague and brief encounter. "Hoi! Another traveler! Welcome." Of course, she may be able to pick up on him. But oh well.
As he walked the sun was beating down on him, his normally light skin was now starting to darken a bit, which to his astonishment, didn't look half bad. Chuckling a bit to himself the young man just continues to walk through the canyon. As he nears where Goh was camping, he looks up, his hazel colored eyes looking at Goh. Hearing the good cheers of the mans voice, Shinji smirks. 'Well he seems jovial.' The thought came quite quickly and well if the Konoha Vegetabler was going to let him join him, he saw nothing wrong joining the man. Glancing around as Goh calls out to the woman travelling, he quirks his brow slightly, then shrugging, Shinji walks over and crouches at the camp. "Hello." he says as he looks to Goh, "Thanks for letting me take a break here." he smiles.
Kanami pauses in her steady stride, as she is called out to. The voices echoing off the cliff faces had sort of kind of completely indicated that there were others present, but she had paid them no mind. Until she was close enough to be spotted and addressed. "Umm…" she lets out, playing the part of her character exactly. Strange people sitting around and greeting others in such a friendly fashion is usually not The Way of the Desert. Thus her suspicion and hesitation in even responding to Goh.
She isn't quite sure she recognizes him, but the talk of being a pickler sort of stirs a memory or two. "…Greetings." she eventually calls back, and then resumes walking, altering her course to go around the camp.
"Hey hey, it's no problem stranger. We all gotta look out for ourselves in times like this, yknow?" Beaming down at Shinji as he crouches, resting, Goh's hands bury deep into his pockets. "But still, this place can get dangerous, especially at night. What brings you this far out from Sunagakure? Just working the pathways?" As the girl from the desert approaches, Goh sits down on his log once more, lifting arms to stretch out. His mouth opens into a big yawn. "Mmm!"
"Hey, feel free to sit and join us. Even though I'm sure I don't need to tell you about the dangers of the sand and stuff." Grinning widely, he flicks a thumb up. "I myself am only stopping by here." He continues, turning to face Shinji. "Can't stay in any one place too long, after all."
Looking to Goh he only shrugs, he really wasn't from Suna and it could tell. His light colored clothing, loose but breezy allows for him to keep somewhat cool despite the heat. He didn't know why he was in the desert, but for the most part he hasn't been here before and figured it would be another place to stay he went. Looking to the woman who looks to be a native here he just simply nods his head to her. Shinji does look at Goh warily, "I'm just traveling." he says simply. Reaching around behind him, he pulls out a water skin and pops the top and takes a few swigs of water. Far from being cold, it was enough to let him keep his lips wet and his throat wet. Moving his hand up to cover his mouth as he yawns, Shinji looks around the area that he and Goh was resting in, "Why are you here?" he asks. Might as well do a bit of that info gathering he was told to learn.
The disguise Kanami is wearing appears to work just fine. Which is good, because now that she's closer she thinks she recognizes Goh for who he is. "…Hn." She raises a hand and shakes her head at Goh's offer. "No thank you. I have a destination to reach soon." She then bows slightly towards Goh and Shinji, keeping her presently-brown eyes on the two while doing so.
Then she continues along her way unless there is a reason to stop.
"Like I said," Goh replies to Shinji. "…I'm just passing through. Rumors are that the Mizukage is looking to unleash his anger on something now that he can't slaughter Kumogakure. And you might call it an ego, but I'm pretty sure he's looking to focus that anger on me. For one reason or another. So I'm staying waayyyy away from Kirigakure. As far as possible. Can't get much further from the water than desert, after all!" Despite being hunted, he hardly seems stressed. He lazily stretches out, peering into the distance. "So… you're travelling? Anywhere in particular?"
While the woman decides not to stop, Goh tilts his head a little. "Uh… okay. But remember! You won't get a boyfriend in future with that sort of attitude. You gotta be more open and stuff! Embrace the moment." It's virtually the /exact/ same thing he told Datura at their last encounter. "We won't bite. At least, I won't. Sides—I'm taken anyway. So there's nothing to worry about."
Looking to the woman, he studies her movements as she walks. There is a bit you can tell by a persons walk and movement, and as she declines he only shakes his head. Turning to look in the direction she was going, she probably did have a ways to go. Reaching a slender hand up to his head, Shinji scratches the top of his head a bit, as Goh explains the situation that he's in. To have a Kage looking for you to appease his anger wasn't a good thing. That he knew, but then again, keeping on the move does help you. "I see." he states in a calm tone Shinji looks to the Suna woman.
"Ignore him." he states to her. "Though if your heading to the village, you do have a long walk ahead of you." His voice is calm and melodic as he speaks. "It wouldn't hurt you to rest, get a bit of water, then be on your way." he tells her. "I'm heading to the village myself, and will walk with you if you like." Shinjis hazel eyes look to the woman, watching her to see if she will join them if only for a few brief moments.
Kanami does not stop this time. Goh's comments on a boyfriend seem not to penetrate her awareness, or are perhaps intentionally ignored. She just calls out to Shinji, "No, thank you! I am not walking to Sunagakure. I head north, into the desert. Good day!" And then she is more or less out of range of normal conversational volume.
"Ignore me?" Goh replies, furrowing his brow. "…I get the feeling that you don't like to talk much, huh?" A chuckle is given to Shinji. As the woman proceeds and indeed DOES ignore him, leaving the area, he just watches. "Uh.. I guess she's keen to just be on her merry way."
How awkward. It means that it was just him left with the scary quiet guy. "So, not gonna say much about yourself?" Goh inquires. "Name, history? Who you are? Why you're here? Where you're going? Come on. At least try and make up something if you want to keep that secret. Just to pass the time." Another glance goes to his right, in the direction of where Mushi ventured off to collect some spices for dinner.
Shinji watches as the woman leaves, she did reply but Shinji just shrugs. Standing up and stretching a big, Shinji lets out a quiet breath, the young man has a athletic build to him. He then easily goes back into a crouching position, he listens to Goh as he speaks. 'Wow does he ever stop talking?' is thought as his hazel eyes looks to Goh. A sigh escapes him, "Toma." he lies. "I'm from everywhere, but no where." he states simply. "Happy?" he asks as he looks to the Konoha vegetabler. Now that's another place he hadn't been to yet, maybe after traveling around here a bit he would go there? The minds of a wanderer is a strange one, especially for this one.
._.;
Instead of giving something for Goh to go on, Shinji has proceeded in saying stuff but supplying no information whatsoever. "Yeah. Thrilled." The blonde replies, rolling his eyes in sarcasm. "But seriously, what's up? You aren't a Wanted S-Rank criminal, are you? It's clear that you're able to take care of yourself. I'm no Bounty Hunter. I don't do information swaps with crooks in order to sell people out. I just travel around, like you. Go on adventures, get possessed by dead Uchiha. Y'know, the fun stuff."
He pauses. "But what's the word of just another random guy, huh? Look—I tell you what. If you share some stuff about yourself, I'll let you have some of my world class Pickled Vegetables…! Free!" It hardly seems he's trying to actually acquire any information for professional use. More like he's trying to get him to talk… so Goh isn't the only one talking. >_>;
Mushi had indeed collected some herbs and other resources in the desert, to the point that she's carrying a sizable bag over one shoulder, that would contain enough spices for a hundred meals. Sometimes she went a bit overboard in her foraging, but she didn't want to miss anything out. As she plods back into the camp, she's already noticed the extra set of fresh footprints leading towards it. Not Goh's and not hers. By the time she reaches Goh she's looking mostly at Shinji with mild curiosity. Lately, they've med some unfriendly people, but they look more like they're talking than quarreling. Mushi gives a wave and calls, "Hello Goh-kun, and.. someone." She sets the satchel down when she reaches them, and absently smooths down her shirt. "Hello, who are you?" she says politely to Shinji.
The wanderer really wasn't in the mood to talk, but then again, there really wasn't anything all that great about him. He quirks a brow at a few things Goh says about adventures, being possesed by dead Uchiha……"What!? Now that is crazy." he says as he looks to Goh. His calm attitude slowly comes back to him, "I really don't have much to contribute, I just travel." he says to Goh. Looking away from Goh, Shinji looks around the canyon, but as he does notice Mushi coming up the canyon to join them. Bowing his head, "Hello." he says to her. "Goh, I've eaten a bit ago. Doesn't take a lot for me to be full." he says. Figuring for now, it wasn't a good thing to talk about himself too much, Shinji does eye Mushi for a few more moments, then looks back to Goh. 'Shes cute.' he thinks to himself. He looks to the satchel that is laden with herbs and other things. Shrugging and moving back until his back is against the canyon wall they were sitting at, well for him crouching. "Pickled Vegetables?" he asks.
"Good luck finding out." Goh replies, nodding a little at Mushi as she returns. "…but welcome back, darlin'! Was wondering when you'd return." Sitting in his little spot, the ex-Jounin exhales. "This guy just came wandering past, so I invited him to sit down and rest. He hasn't really said anything at all though. I guess he thinks we're the bad guys?" A look goes to Mushi where he shrugs earnestly. "Find anything good out there? I was starting to get worried, too. Don't want you out there in the darkness. Ugh. Creepy." A firm shake of his head. "There was another woman who came past. She didn't stop."
Recalling his adventures in an ancient Temple momentarily, Goh grins widely when he FINALLY gets a reaction out of Shinji. "Oh, you like that, huh? It's a shame. I'm not really in the mood to talk about it anymore." Oh dear, he really is evil, isn't he? The triumphant grin on his face widens to the point where it may just over-run his face! But it does fade a little, seeing as that Shinji has already moved past it.
"Ooou. Pickled Vegies. Remember? I'm one of the best. People pay a super high price for them usually, but I let it slide when I'm being nice. And with the lovely Mushi's help, I add in rare spices to create unbelievable tastes and textures!"
Mushi bows her head slightly in greeting to Shinji. Despite his lack of greeting, she says to him, "I'm Mushi." She rummages in her satchel then. "Goh-kun, I'm just fine. Look what I found." She pulls out a few pieces of disfigured fungi. Mushrooms! Albeit a bit funny looking. "Strange to find them in this climate. I wonder if they're poisonous. I'll have you try them," she adds cheerfully. She smiles and then sets about making a fire. In the meantime she'd actually give the satchel to Mushi. "You sure you aren't hungry? Take a look inside." Within he'd find mushrooms, wild onions, plants that smell strongly of spices, sweet grass, and any number of odd things. As she works adds rather dryly, "Yes, your pickled vegetables are /unbelievable/." Funny but, despite traveling with Goh, she wasn't too fond of pickled vegetables.
Who did he join today? Shinji sighs a little, "I don't have anything to tell you, nothing exciting, nothing wonderful." Shinji tells Goh. Hearing Goh telling him that he misses out on the story and the vegetables, the tanned skin, hazeled eye man shrugs, "Oh well." he tells Goh. Shinji does look a bit annoyed when Goh states to Mushi that he thinks that Shinji thinks Goh and Mushi are bad guys. But as Mushi sits down and pulls out the mushrooms, Shinji sighs and knows that he has overstayed his welcome. "I don't think your badguys, I don't care if you are or not." he tells Goh seeing as he was the one doing the most talking. Looking to Mushi, "Nice to meet you." he says to her as he stands up. The wanderer yawns again, he did have a bit of ways to go before getting to Sunagakure village. "Well maybe next time I see you, I will have something that is entertaining for you to listen to." Shinji states to Goh and Mushi. Bowing to the two, "Enjoy your day." he states as he begins to begin walking south.
"Oh, how you must love me." Goh replies dryly, not seeming to be entirely impressed with the fact that Mushi is trying to get him poisoned. Or rather, get him to eat poisoned foods. "But sure, no problem. Just if I start vomiting blood or seizing up, you better heal me. Or I'll come back and haunt you so bad."
It seems that he doesn't acknowledge that Shinji has been given the bag of goods for the moment. Taking the mushrooms Mushi pulled out of the bag, the blonde examines the vegies carefully. Pickled mushrooms was actually one of his more delictable foods. The trick was balancing the flavour of the mushroom with the vinegar, usually.
"Going already, stranger?" Goh frowns. "..I didn't really expect amazing tales. A name would have been nice though. And yeah, you too. Be safe out there!" And just like that, the man makes his leave. What an odd fellow.
Still holding the mushroom, Goh shrugs. Without a moment of hesitation, he pops one into his mouth. No fear! He chews, then swallows. For a few seconds, nothing happens. Then, he sort of freezes. He sits up straight like one would be electrocuted and sort of makes a choking/gurgling noise. After a few seconds of this, he falls forward—landing on his face with a heavy thud. Paralyzed. Yes, poisoned. Good thing Mushi knew an anti-paralysis healing technique! Right…? o_o;
Mushi scratches her head as Shinji heads off as soon as she's come. Was it her? She brushes some dust off her clothes and smells one armpit momentarily. No doubt he'd been around for hours before she came, and headed off. Or perhaps it was the nearing of the food. Possibly-poisonous mushrooms or pickled vegetables may not be appetizing to someone. She sticks the mushrooms carefully on a stick like a shish kebab and starts roasting them over the fire. "Oh of course I'd heal you," Mushi smirks to Goh. "It's for that reason you'd try them, it's a bit tricky healing myself of poison. Besides, I don't think they're poisoned. Mostly. I—huh?" Mushi blinks as Goh collapses. And she laughs. "Nice try Goh-kun." She goes back to roasting mushrooms, but as she glances back up, she notices Goh's face is a slightly different shade. Wait…it can't be…uh oh. The mushrooms drop into the fire as Mushi would dart forward and gather chakra around her hand. Very carefully she'd heal Goh so that he'd feel a wave at once chilling and burning chakra spread through his body, to vaporize the poisonous effects. "You.. you okay?" she asks uncertainly.
With the poison fading, Goh's eyes sort of widen as consciousness returns. BREEAAATTTHHH! He inhales, catching his breath and sits up straight. "…Ow!" Lifting a hand, he rubs his nose. Having fallen directly on it, it's a wonder that the thing isn't broken. "Am I okay? Yeah, fine." He replies with a short laugh. "I just ate some.. I just ate some poisoned mushrooms and I'm fine and dandy." Blinking, as if to gather his focus, he sighs a bit. "Good thing you got back. Just after you left, Reiko returned." Mushi may or may not be aware that Reiko had been doing some keen information gathering! "I got some news." He lifts up a finger, his tone suddenly growing serious. It seems he's already forgotten what just happened. Either he must have daily occurences with death, or he had that much faith in Mushi's healing ability.
"Mitsuo's onto us."
Mushi looks at Goh in concern, and lets out a sigh when he affirms he's okay. She'd move closer to sit beside him. "Well…if you're okay…" Then she'd reach out, grab him, and give him a sharp rap on the head. "You weren't supposed to eat it before I cooked it!" she exclaims. "The poison was too severe, and I wasn't even paying attention, what if you had falled without being able to speak and I hadn't noticed, huh!?" Her mushrooms are burning in the flames. Good riddance. She almost misses what he says next, but not quite. Her indignant mood evaporates in an instance to be replaced by wariness. "You mean us?" she says, "or my village?" Despite everything she still says "my" village. She scratches her head and glances down into the fire. "You know, I healed him awhile ago. Told him not to harm my village in return for the favor, and he hasn't. I think I did something else, but half my visit with him is a blur. I dunno. Anyway, why is he onto /us/? The stone or the tower?"
"Well, maybe he's more onto me then. And no, definitely not after your home village." Goh comments with a laugh, wincing as he's rapped in the head. "Oi. Ow." He frowns. "I guess he's just sick of being without a Stone, and I'm much easier to track than Amuro is. Apparently. That, and… uh." He scratches his head. "He somehow remembers the encounter we had. I guess that's where you healed him? At that encounter, I sided with Amuro /against/ him. With his memory wiped, I was sort of hoping he wouldn't remember that. But let's be honest, if Mitsuo gets a Stone, we're all dead. I would rather have Amuro had got it, which he did. And now Mitsuo is pissed. With the War over, he can divert /all/ of his resources into finding me and, probably, prying it off my cold dead hands." Seems he's a bit squeamish at that. "So… yeah. Reiko has found a few ninja wandering around. Everywhere, asking about the two of us. He must know that you travel with me or something."
"I healed his memory," Mushi says dubiously. "I didn't, I've nveer heard of such an ailment." Nevermind that she'd done just the same for Goh. She rubs her head as if she's gotten a headache. If she did somehow endanger Amuro and Goh, that was unforgivable, but… "Sorry, I was just thinking of my village. Perhaps I shouldn't have healed him after all." She trails off, staring down at her lap. But when Goh is finished she'd rap him on the head again. "Don't be so naive!" she says. "To defeat us he must find us. That means stretching his resources over every single country. We wander after all. He can't simply hurl all his resources at us, so we'll probably be found by only a few if that. Besides, we can take him! I'm sure of it, so long as we're together. And if you think we're not enough let's pick up another wanderer and stick with them for awhile. There's plenty of people who don't feel much for Kirigakure or Mitsuo, after all."
"Hey, don't worry about it." Goh encourages, his arm wrapping about Mushi's shoulders to pull her close. Hopefully she wasn't feeling guilty about healing the memory of another! "I don't know if we can take him by ourselves, but yeah, together we should be more than a match for his ways. Well, at least just as much of a match. And I get the feeling he'll find us eventually. It's just something I can't shake, yknow? Mitsuo's resources run super deep. He has networks everywhere and anywhere. Probably even some spies in Sunagakure, the place furthest from his jurisdiction." Goh frowns. "…I dunno about dragging anymore into this, either. The bigger we are, the easier it is to track us. I say we just stick with ourselves for now. Dragging someone else into this seems a bit mean, don't you think?" A small pause. "…then we wouldn't get to be all cuddly either. That'd get awkward for the other guy!" Goh gives a solid nod.
"Hey, don't worry about it." Goh encourages, his arm wrapping about Mushi's shoulders to pull her close. Hopefully she wasn't feeling guilty about healing the memory of another! "I don't know if we can take him by ourselves, but yeah, together we should be more than a match for his ways. Well, at least just as much of a match. And I get the feeling he'll find us eventually. It's just something I can't shake, yknow? Mitsuo's resources run super deep. He has networks everywhere and anywhere. Probably even some spies in Sunagakure, the place furthest from his jurisdiction." Goh frowns. "…I dunno about dragging anymore into this, either. The bigger we are, the easier it is to track us. I say we just stick with ourselves for now. Dragging someone else into this seems a bit mean, don't you think?" A small pause. "…then we wouldn't get to be all cuddly either. That'd get awkward for the other guy!" Goh gives a solid nod.
"Anyway, we keep moving for now. Where to next, do you think?"
Mushi lets out a long sigh. Goh is right, he'll probably find them eventually. And then what? She wasn't a killer, not even a fighter if she could help it, so what would happen when they finally met? When he puts his arm around her Mushi leans against him. "I suppose we shouldn't get anyone involved in this muck, but I was thinking of calling in Rain-kun." Then she smirks. "Haha, just kidding. I guess there's only one thing for it. We have to train and be stronger by the time he finds us. That way we stand a better chance against him. Or.. well.. we could always give the stone to Amuro so he won't come looking after you. I don't want to see you hurt, and he's not really after me anyway except for the fact I'm helping ya out."
GAME: Save complete.
Goh peers at Mushi carefully, as if thinking. "…no. Even if he gets me, the Stone is in the Salamander Caves, way underground. So it's not like I'd be able to give it to him, even if I wanted to. But yeah, we can't keep running away forever. We just have to hope that when he DOES get us, we'll be ready and together. And not.. I dunno, pick us off individually." Looking back to the fire, he lets out a slow sigh. "Ha! Rain, indeed. I don't think that would work out, funnily enough. Anyways."
Sucking in a breath, he bends over to ruffle through his duffle bag. "Enough serious talk. Let's eat! I'm starving."
