[Uchiha Hotaru]

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The warm forestry of the wood country was composed of deciduous trees, and this time of year it was a sea of greenery that reminded Hotaru of his homeland. There were many reasons why the former shinobi frequented these untamed wilds beyond nostalgia: it was a great supply of medicinal herbs for use in his hospital and it was the bulwark that separated his lands from the law country where the servants of jashin were most likely to loom. The jashinists were not a frequent threat even if they were the most serious, but these woods also served as a home base for common banditry.

Today Hotaru was wearing a conical hat with a cloth mask pulled up to his face. He was dressed in a simpler garb made from undyed linen, his arms exposed though he still wore gloves. His raven hair was tied back and he was not carrying the large scroll that he often kept on his back. Still, he had not left himself completely defenseless, on his linen vest were small pockets where many tools and small scrolls were stored.

At his left side was a collection pouch that was half full with plants with thick green stalks that had sticky substance inside. He was collecting aloe leaves among other things to bring back to his practice.

The daylight was beginning to dwindle into evening. He wouldn’t be able to make it back home on foot without traveling through most of the night, so he instead elected to begin setting up camp. His first move was to gather a bit of kindling, which he would light by heating up one of his kunai and then rubbing it lightly against the wood until an ember formed.

His next move was to place a rabbit that he had captured, skinned and skewered staked into the ground to cook by the fire. As he waited he gazed up at the stars through the gaps between the treetops, taking in the beauty of the heavens.

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[Kota]

The sun will be guiding you They're dying to stop you This race is a prophecy Break out from society It was starting to get dark, which Kota never really liked. Though there were always animals out no matter the time of day, he was much more concerned for the wolves and larger beasts that stuck to nocturnal activity. Though, he didn't like bears, either. As far as he understood, though, jaguars and big cats weren't native to this region.     Where were they native to, though?     Jungles? This is a forest, not a jungle. Should be alright.     He was hungry, and his legs hurt from walking for so long. But as much as he wanted to find a safe ditch to curl up in and rest comfortably on the ground, he was thinking it might be another tree night.     Kota pouted as his stomach gurgled uncomfortably and he placed a hand over it to feel the rumbles. Can't hunt at night... He had some berries in his pouch, still, but it wouldn't do much to fill him up. Perhaps it could tide him over for the night, though. Just until morning where he could see properly and catch a fish from a river.     The child stopped his pace, however, when a scent wafted from nearby, and he could hear the soft crackling of firewood in the distance, accompanied by a gentle glow that passed through the trees not too far away.     A camp! He'd have to be careful. Kota crept forward as silently as he could, moving as slowly as he had to in order to assure he didn't snap any twigs or ruffle too many dead leaves. It was getting dark, perhaps whoever had set up the campfire would sleep soon, and Kota could take what he could find. The less people that were there, the better. And as the child drew nearer, he spotted only a single traveler, who was lying on the ground. The boy couldn't tell if he was asleep or merely looking up at the stars, but either way--he was out of the man's line of sight!     While he had intended to wait it out, if the man was distracted and not paying attention, then maybe Kota could steal that rabbit right from the fire while it was still hot. He hadn't even planned to take food from the man--but he had to seize any opportunity he had!     While the man was still reclined, Kota crept forward from the shadows--his attention flickering between his prize and the traveler. Greedily, the boy wrapped his tiny hands around the stake that had been stuck through the rabbit and, with all his might, quickly pulled it from the ground where it had been fixed.

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[Uchiha Hotaru]

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"You’ll get sick if you eat that before it cooks,” Hotaru said as he shifted his eye over to the young child who had encroached on the camp. Though he had no sensory ability, in a previous life he was a master of stealth- he picked up on the sounds of brush moving but had pretended not to notice. "Tularemia, something you wouldn’t want to catch.”

He didn’t make a move, but his eye had slid over to examine the boy. A young child wandering the wilderness alone. Like always he was reminded of how young the village began training the young to be shinobi, and this child shared a similar hardness that he had seen in academy students. Given where he was though, he didn’t think that he had found the world’s youngest missing ninja. He believed them to be an urchin, and a seasoned one at that.

"Have a seat, let it cook until it is browned on the outside and white in the middle,” he said, seemingly uninterested in challenging the boy to return his meal. He focused on remaining still and not making sudden movements.

Rescuing the boy from the situation was more important than a meager dinner. Children left in these situations often ended up becoming bandits, or sometimes even worse things. On the other side of the Wood Country was the Law Country, where he imagined a most troublesome religion would love to indoctrinate a youth such as this.

He reached slowly into his garb and pulled a canteen of water from it. It was a full one that he hadn’t yet put his lips to. He moved his arm and laid it down as far from himself as he could before returning his hand beneath his head to continue star gazing.

"If you are thirsty, help yourself to the water,” he said.

@

[Kota]

The sun will be guiding you They're dying to stop you This race is a prophecy Break out from society Kota nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the man speak, and his grip on the stick tightened in alarm. Though, the man’s voice wasn’t loud and angry. In fact, he sounded very calm and maybe even a little sleepy, though perhaps Kota only thought that because of his reclined position...     Looking carefully at the fish, the boy frowned slightly at the thought. He didn’t really want to eat it raw, and he certainly didn’t want to get sick… He’d spare a few moments to glance back and forth between the man and the nearly-stolen-meal. Then, deciding to take the advice, Kota slowly stuck the stick back where it’d been fixed in the dirt, allowing the fish to cook once more before he squatted on the ground in front of the campfire.     This was definitely a strange turn of events, and one Kota was entirely unprepared for.     Was this man truly not angry?     Kota watched him suspiciously as he fetched his canteen and slid it over as far as he could reach, offering it. He’s even offering me water? Though I’m stealing his food! The child furrowed his brow somewhat as his eyes narrowed in on the container. He must be real scared of me to surrender his things like that, Kota reasoned.     He had a waterskin of his own in his bag, and while he knew it was full of clean water, the boy was selfish enough to take what was being offered even despite not being in desperate need of it. So, waddling over to the canteen while maintaining his distance, Kota would pick it up, open it up, and began gulping it down.     "Aahhhh,” he sighed happily. That hits the spot! He wiped his mouth with his sleeve then looked back over to the man lying on the ground. "Hmmmmmm… Are you sick, mister?” He looked pretty pale, and that might be another explanation why he wasn’t fighting or acting hostilly. If he was too sick to move, or maybe he was injured, then he wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight, Kota supposed. Probably was better to surrender his fish and water than risk getting hurt, maybe.

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[Uchiha Hotaru]

"Sick?” Hotaru parroted in a puzzled tone. "No, I don’t think so. I practice medicine, so I think I would know.”

Perhaps it was his pale skin that stood out, the people in these parts usually had darker complexion. He laughed for a moment. "The sun’s rays are harmful to the skin, even known to cause skin cancer. I’ve always applied a strong sunblock.”

Medical studies had always made him very conscious of various problems that could arise. He had never enjoyed a pipe, he had a strict diet, and exercised every day. If there was one thing he did neglect it was sleep. He had a hard time winding down, and the discoloration under his eyes told that story well enough. There was too much to worry about: his children, patients, Kazui, the assassins that might one day come for him...

"My name is Kazutoshi,” Hotaru told the child. "Are you one of the bandits that I hear roam these woods?” he asked. It was a humorous question but one that he hoped would get the boy talking more about himself. He wondered what the story of the wandering child was. Perhaps there was something that he could do for him so that he wouldn’t have to rob strangers.

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[Kota]

The sun will be guiding you They're dying to stop you This race is a prophecy Break out from society Kota stared at the man with a puzzled expression as he went on about... practicing medicine, and cancer, and sunblock. "I don't know what you're talking about," the child stated bluntly. Those were big words, and words he wasn't familiar with. Just like the other one the man said, Tulemaria or something like that. He didn't really understand what the man was saying at all. Even the talk about the sun--the sun's rays? What did that even mean?? It didn't really matter, Kota supposed. A lot of times, adults spoke about things he didn't understand and used words he didn't know. But he did know what "no" meant--even if he didn't always listen to it--so when the man answered that, no, he wasn't sick, Kota decided to just take his word for it.     The man did then speak, this time saying words that Kota better understood. An introduction.     Kazutoshi.     Kota had learned that when he was given a name, he should also give his in return. His mother said it was something about politeness, or something... "I'm Kota!" he exclaimed excitedly. It was a good name, and he liked telling people.     And he liked scaring them, too.     This man was still a stranger to him, and while he'd been friendly enough so far--well, maybe he was just testing the waters. Kota didn't want to be too careless, now. So when the young man asked if he was a bandit, Kota grinned a bit and rubbed his nose. "Maaaaybe I am! I'm super tough, y'know. Stronger and scarier than any bandit!"

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[Uchiha Hotaru]

"Ah, I had a feeling. Nice to meet you Kota," Hotaru said as he slowly sat up and looked the boy over with a more discerning eye. They were very young, much too young to be traveling the wilderness alone. "You seem pretty tough, I wouldn't want to mess with you."

He peered around looking to see if there was anyone else lurking nearby. He found no one and quickly turned his grey gaze back onto the young ruffian.

Hotaru had rescued many children from orphanages that often had a direct link to shinobi villages. Orphans were often easy to convert into rank and file shinobi and they were relatively cheap to take in. He hadn't ever really thought about children that didn't wind up in orphanages. They likely often ended up living lives of crime. They probably needed just as much consideration.

"Most bandits travel in bands," Hotaru said. "Am I surrounded? How bad is my situation Kota? Is your chief at all reasonable?"

He was trying to figure out if the child had anyone looking after him. He couldn’t just leave a child to fend for themselves once he discovered them. Maybe they were just someone’s kid playing in the woods though, although if they were they couldn’t have chosen a more dangerous area.

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[Kota]

The sun will be guiding you They're dying to stop you This race is a prophecy Break out from society "Nice to meet you, too!" Kota grinned. It seemed he was doing a proper job of intimidating this poor fellow, too, which was great! It seemed like everything was working perfectly in Kota's favor, and he'd keep the ball rolling.     The child grinned smugly and tilted his head upright as he stood up from the ground, plucking a twig before he started cockily walking around the campfire. "Oh, yeah, it's probably super bad for you. My Chief is the most scary person ever! He'll throw you in a pit of bones if you get on his bad side." He snapped one of the branches off of his twig, then pointed the remaining bit at Hotaru with a devious grin on his face. "Yer completely surrounded, so ya better watch yourself or else!" He shrugged it off and continued walking around the fire, hopping on the dried leaves that littered the forest floor, enjoying the crunch they made beneath his boots. "And they're super not-nice, but luckily you're being really nice to me so it'll be okay, they won't hurt you so long as you don't do anything mean to me, I promise."     Of course, the child was lying. Playing up appearances as much as he could in hopes of continuing to "intimidate" the nukenin, the young boy had no problem spinning his web of tall tales. Some children were naturally honest--Kota was anything but. A liar, a thief, and violent when he needed to be. Hotaru was a tame individual, and was easily bringing out the best in the boy--Kota wasn't usually too difficult to deal with, despite his misbehavior. But that didn't mean Kota was going to entirely let down his guard. He still had to find a way to get what he wanted, and protect himself from strangers who might turn out to be dangerous. Which meant lying and intimidating others as much as he could, even if he was too young and inexperienced to realize how obvious his attempts at deception were.     Any adult would be able to easily see through his stories. Whether they kept playing along, though, was another matter.     Kota had come across plenty enough people who didn't take as kindly to urchins. So, when he wasn't in immediate danger--well, if someone gave him an inch, he'd take a mile. And proudly, too. He loved talking big, and making himself out to be something greater than he was.

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