Unlikely Travelling Partners (Private, Ryo and Airi)

Airi tied up her snow white hair, even though she hated it in that style. It was started to poof up in the humidity of the forest and she hated that even more. She was wearing her usual red Asian style shirt and red shirt with her ninja wrappings around her forearms and shins. She had her cloak in her pack, though, as it was warm in the forest in this sunny type of afternoon. the forest was quiet, since Airi wasn't talking at all. Just walking.

She glanced over at the teenager beside her. Ryokubo, her travelling partner, was walking at the same pace as she. Air kind of hated the guy, but she enjoyed his company slightly, which she found odd. She always fought with him and often got angry enough to start a physical fight, but she still enjoyed walking with someone. The girl hated to be alone, and he was just another escape from her confinement.

The two were awfully close to the Prison Village for her liking. She swore never to return there, for fear of being thrown back into the jail. Airi hated that place with a passion and tried her best to stay away. She was never going back to that lonely darkness. Never.

The place had been where Airi had come up with her alias, Rose Night. That's the name that Ryokubo knew her by. Airi had never told him her real name, and probably never would. It was a name that her terrible parents had called her. Those horrid people didn't deserve her... She repeated that in her head everyday.

The girl looked back to her comrade and said something. "So, why are we in this forest, anyways?" She asked him, still paranoid that they may be heading to Keimushogakure.

This day seemed longer than most, maybe because Ryo had picked up some "extra baggage" as he called it or her if you can count her as a gender, all that Ryo did is think of her an evil girl that couldn't change and it got on his nerves, Ryo usually fought with her cause she says something out of his train of thought and it makes him act out of line, he would usually attempt to apologize to her but it doesnt seem like she would understand what that meant.

The area that they were in was usually quiet and peaceful and Ryo liked that alot,"Ah I love this place, I think it would be a great place to die in don't you think my dear Rose?" Ryo joked around with her alot just to set her off by saying words of endearment and such. Other than that Ryo kinda brushed off the words that she would say cause they were only negative and depressing. "Calling forth the last of his strengh was the really a figure of speech when people draw their blades...I can summon much more than that" Ryo was thinking aloud and didn't really give much a care if the Bud would listen to him.

Hearing her question Ryo replies,"Where here because the road led us here..And don't worry about anything."

Airi glared at him when he had said 'my dear'. She rolled her eyes. "Why do you... Oh never mind. As long as we are not going to the.. Prison Village, I'll be fine." She'd hesitated before saying the name, but didn't know why. The girl closed her eyes and silently counting to ten to calm herself down.

It worked and then Airi looked to Ryo again. The boy was staring ahead once again. She shook her head, loosening her hair, but it still did not fall out of place. They travelled in silence again, until Airi spoke once more, breaking the humid air with her voice. "I never asked, but why did you let me travel with you, that year that we met?"

She didn't really care, but thought that speaking was better than this silence.

(Sorry for the short post )

Ryo only knew one way of thinking when traveling for so long, and that mindset was this,"See the road ahead of you, you take it and dont look back ever, if you see that same road again then that means you've ran into somewhat of a circle.Never ask about the path that you're walking on always know that you have options if theres a fork." Ryo held the hilt of his sword as he always did, infact he was kinda tired of having to look over his shoulder at the baggage.

Thinking about it, there should have been a reason why he kept her by his side this whole time,"Well..I look at things as an chance for greatness, I took the name of a wandering swordsman because I could get out there and spread my name and ideals that I have created and learned from other masters, and when I met you I could call it a strange choice but I enjoyed how you spoke to me that first time, I felt a strange connection and I thought about it, What the hell am I doing and why this girl..I've never asked about my decisions, I only went for it..You made me think and I sorta liked it...I kinda started thinking about what I do because you were here to push me to do it.So I thank you for that and I let you travel with me."

Airi sighed. "Saying things like that..." She began. "Wait! You didn't even give me a straight answer! Are we going to Keimushogakure or not?!" She yelled and heard birds fly out of trees and away from the noisy girl out of shock. Airi shook her head and didn't look at the guy. "Don't thank me, I never did or said anything nice to you that deserves a thank you." She said with her ice cold voice.

Airi laughed a bit, in spite of the situation. "Let me travel with you," she muttered quietly. "I would have followed you anyways, being as lonely as I was." She quickly shut up after that, seeing as she hated to share personal stuff. I would have travelled with the first person that showed even the slightest kindness, and it just so happened that it was you. The only connection I felt was the spark of hope that I didn't have to be alone again Airi thought the words that she left unspoken. She wasn't going to say it, for reasons she didn't know. Perhaps it was too personal?

Hearing cold words etching up his spine in a jolt which sorta made him fall into a small depressed state though he only thought that depression was only in the mind and not an actual feeling, but he could feel it and it felt like he couldn't win with this girl,"Forgive me then" Looking down then up he smiles at her words,"Yes were heading for the prision village cause someone asked a favor of me, hope you wont mind and if you do then just part ways with me this instant.." Feeling the numbness from the words that he practically spat in her face with.
Ryo knew exactly where he was going cause he's been all round and through this forest,"hm..."

Airi instantly froze. She couldn't go back to that village, yet she couldn't be alone in that darkness of her mind again either. She looked down as she spoke, "You... You don't even know." She whispered. She then looked up and stared at him with cold, hard eyes. They glowed red for an instant, then went to their normal red. "I can't go to that place! I can't go to any major village or even some of the minor ones! You don't realize that every time we pass through a village, I hide my face?! You don't see that fear stricken in my eyes right now from the mere mention of prison? Have a clue yet, you idiot?!"She screamed at him in rage. The rage that was fuelled by all that pain, and fear, and darkness.

Airi calmed down a tiny bit, but continued her rant. "You don't know anything about me. You're blind." She spat and turned to run the other direction.

Gripping his hilt once more Ryo just continued to walk on not looking back at Rose walking the other way, a normal person would turn back and look but this is the one thing that Ryo keeps and thats his word,"I dont look behind me when I'm walking forth...." he says under his breath. Ryo looks up at the sky and wanted to feel the remorse for the ones who had died that day,"well I think its time for me to say good-bye...Good luck with the rest of your travels Rose.."
Ryo sighs then walks on ahead without looking back and thats his words, though it had'nt been that long he was starting to miss her pressence next to him even though it was annoying.

The more that he walked forward the more that he saw the trees, the more the steam was loosening up in shape so it was easier to see. Ryo just figured that he wa close to get out and just went on ahead without the bud.

Airi looked back to see that he had just kept walking. She then stopped in her place. So he really didn't care at all, huh? She felt... odd. The girl sank to the ground and stayed there for a couple moments, alone. The damp forest floor's moisture seeped through the bandages on her shins. She didn't notice though... She just stared after Ryo, amazed that he didn't turn. After all that time, he hadn't built up even a thread of attachment to her?

"Bastard." She whispered and stood. She began to walk the way she'd began to run and felt something sting her heart for a split second. Then it was gone. "Well, no more annoying, deep, vague answers from that guy. I'll find just someone else... someone that won't turn me in."

The girl sighed loudly, already missing his company slightly. "God damn it... I really don't want to turn and run after that idiot, because it shows that I was wrong. Which I am not." She added quickly. Airi looked back once more. she groaned when she reached the fork in the road, with a sign pointing to the left, with the name "Keimushogakure" and the one pointing to the right saying "Daragongakure".

Her eyes glistened red for a moment and she felt her feet moving towards the right path. But she was looking at the path on left. And then, just like that, she was bolting down the road to Keimushogakure. She didn't know why. Airi knew she was going to get thrown in jail again... but she had something else to say to Ryokubo. Just five words, and then she could erase him.

"Then I can move one, because I don't care about him."

Ryo just shrugged it off because there was no reason to dwell on the past all he needed was his research and his blades and he would be well off on without her and thats all that he needed worry about cause he looked at Rose as a bud that never bloomed cause of circumstances that he didn't want any apart of to be comepletely honest and straight forward."No turning back..." He kept saying over and over just trying to beat off the temptation that keeps eating at him or is it mosquitos? Yea it was the mosquitos there were lots of them and they were eating at his back and his neck maybe it was really the small blood sucking insects that were causing him to react and think about turning around.. But there was one thing wrong, he's been bitten by insects but it didn't make him react this way...Maybe its karma thats biting him, he was too closed minded at this point to care anymore due to seeing the end of the forest,"Well...Here I am, out the steam once more."

Air was a runner of extreme speeds and she made it out of the forest quite quickly. She was only about an hour away from Keimusho, where she would wait at the gates for Ryo, as she knew he wouldn't make it there before her. She had just reached her tops speed when...Crack! A small bone in her ankle snapped as it usually did when she ran. It was the most painful bone ever, and it was always just that one.

Airi fell to the ground at that point, clutching her ankle in extreme pain. She didn't let any tears fall and crawled off the path, in case a cart went by. She bit her lip and sat there in dismay. It was certain that Ryokubo was going to pass her at any given time now. She waited and cursed out loud when she saw a silhouette coming up the path.

"Stupid fate is toying with me. Or karma. Or whatever hates me up there." She muttered and then waited and hoped and prayed it wasn't Ryo. Airi knew it was though, because something up there did love to torture her.

(A.k.a Me, the author. XD Sorry for short post D:)

Clear air is all that made everything better for Ryo, it seemed that with the steam fading, the problems seemed to be caught in the steam like a web weaved by a spider, shaking his head Ryo can really say that he felt a sign of release just something that a swordsman has to deal with everytime he breathes in and out the oxygen that the earth provides.

Just tasting the fresh air only a couple of steps ahead of him usually makes him feel reborn and energetic and such. Ryo runs his fingers through his hair and thinks about things like what his real reason that he's going to the prision village, looking over Ryo sees a patch of wheat and he thought about the reason why there was there wheat in the middle of the forest. Not thinking much about it, Ryo bent over and broke off one of the wheat sticks and started to chew it cause he normally hangs around a hay mill whenever he's in the area, walking foward he saw an outline of doom. Sighing Ryo kept walking foward to meet the girl who just went bat crazy on him and just left,"I see you made a detour huh" Ryo said stopping and looking at her.

Airi refused to look at him, but nodded. She felt completely embarrassed and wanted to die right then and there. She wondered if he would just leave her there, badly injured, if she told him to. The girl just kept her head down and said, "My ankle injury is acting up again..." This had happened before, and she knew that he would know exactly what he was talking about.

"Would you like to know why I'm reluctant to go to the prison village, or have you figured it out?" she asked with a hint of cruelty. She had to maintain her image and rep, after all.

Airi kept her head down, since she knew that tear were threatening her eyes. This was rare and Airi was concerned that there was something seriously wrong with her. She didn't need anyone. Airi Kaima was strong and determined and... seriously messed up. Her ankle has throbbing and she bit her lip to hold back another yelp of pain. "Look... I... I'll go to Keimushogakure, but if I get put in jail, I am blaming you."

The girl's pride was badly bruised and she was only going to beat it up some more with her next set of words. "I'm sorry... I guess... I was wrong.." She mumbled hoping he didn't hear her. She was going to be extra mean for the next couple days, for sure. "And... I don't think I can walk with this injury, do you have a first aid kit?" She asked. Oh yes, mean with a side of bitchiness for the next couple days...

Seeing Rose like this,the weak state that shes in...It looked patheic he smiled at the fact that she bit off more than she could chew and now looking up at him most likely looking for help it just made Ryo laugh, she was such a fool just to even think of a feat like this but Ryo felt small concern, it was the ammount of a grain of a mustard seed and those things were small.

Ryo just looked at her like she wasn't even human, infact he looked at her as an insect; something small and annoying that burrows into the skin to cause irritation and the bugs that no one wanted around just brushed them away and killed them right on the spot..But Ryo thought Insects were much more than that, at this moment he only thought that Rose was lower than that and that means that shes not in his mind at all any longer now that he had time to think about it, she insulted him and now she's looking for help from him. Smirking at her he replies,"Why don't you ask someone who isn't an idiot..Because if you recall Im an idiot."

Walking a few steps away from her not looking back,"I don't care why you're afraid to go back,nor do I care where your going after this because I am no longer your travel partner, it is none of my business, nor I dont think it was ever." stopping in his tracks he turns and shoots a glare at her."Bye the way, if you ever insult my intelligence once more then I will kill you." Death glaring her as the words exited his mouth.

Airi looked up, stunned once more. "What?" Her voice was venom now. Now the rage was back and overwhelming. "I thought... I thought you were different! No! Everyone in this fucking world is useless!! There's no love that people speak of! None!" She half cried, half screamed after him. She didn't care who heard. Airi went to stand and cursed loudly when her ankle made her fall to the ground once more.

"That whole year. I thought 'Hey, finally, I've found someone worth talking to'. But no! I-I can't trust anyone on this stupid planet." She went on more quietly and attempted to stand again. It ended in fail and she just broke down after that. Airi almost began to sob as she tried to stand again and again. She didn't have the will to, it seemed.

"It seems... The fucking bitch in the sky," She screamed loudly "Doesn't want me to get up." Airi looked down and stopped talking all together. She slowly put a hand to her face and felt the wetness of tears flowing down her face. "Great..." She whispered.

"I should just kill myself now and spare everyone the trouble." She laughed and held a kunai in her hand. She then dropped the kunai involuntarily. "Of course. Not yet, huh?"

Watching her as she put on a show with her hissy fit, this made him feel the concern grow a bit and the death glare had resolved into something like a look that a parent gives a child whenever they are in a candy store but they cant get what they want and then they put on a whole different mask, they act as their world was going to end cause they cant get one more piece of chocolate cause their bag felt lighter than it looked. Thats how Rose here was acting here on the ground.

For the first time, Ryo felt his legs walking for him and they were turning around and walking towards her, and before he knew it he had blocked everything that she said and did like the fail attempt to stab herself with a kunai was all behind him, Ryo was there holding her hands helping her up,"Come on.." Carrying her the rest the way in his arms like a prince would carry his princess through the flames, he just walked with her in his arms,"You're such a child....." Ryo said, then looked at the clouds,"I made a promise with myself, to never leave your side....Just that moment when we met but it wasn't how I planned it and we had a fight, so I guess that promise was cleared from the slate....Now...I want to make a new promise with you.....Will you promise to never leave my side? and I you....Were in this together for now on..."He looked at her with eyes that showed a glow.

Airi looked up when she heard his voice. She was about to say: Oh, hi. Forgot to mock me some more or threaten my life or laugh? Go ahead.. But then... Then he grabbed her hands and she narrowed her eyes in confusion.

Then, Airi felt as if gravity had been lost for a moment, but realized she was being picked up. She looked at Ryo with even more confusion. When he called her a child she frowned and tried to get out of his strong arms. "Let me--" She paused when he started to talk some more.

When Ryokubo had finished talking, the girl just stared. How can someone go from threatening someone's life to vowing to stay by their side forever? How could he just do that? "You..." She began with her usual cold voice. "Expect me to just believe this? What, you remembered some thing you needed to use me for? I mean you know me, you honestly can be thinking..." Airi's voice trailed off when she looked into his eyes that her locked on hers.

She sighed deeply, "If you even try to ditch me again, I swear to god..." She almost growled. The girl tried to salvage a little pride, but she didn't think it worked very well. "Fine. Whatever. I promise." She said finally.

Airi wondered when she would either change her name permanently or tell Ryo her real name. She liked the idea of having one piece of information to herself that no one else knew, really. They all knew here as "Rose Night" now. Air decided to keep it to herself for now and looked ahead.

"They're going to catch me and put me back in there..." Airi mumbled.

Hearing her say that he made another promise that she wont ever hear him say unless he's gonna die by her side, he promised to protect her until she finds herself and it didnt look like that was gonna happen anytime soon. She was so stubborn to figure anything out and it made him worry a little bit more and more about her,"You sadden me..." Thats all he said to her while carrying her for awhile it was only a short distance left but he decided to take the long way around because he wanted to talk to her some more.

"Rose, I'll make sure you wont get caught or thrown in jail....If you do then I'll kill them all until you're released I'd become a criminal for you in other words, I waver my life for yours." For some reason he adored Rose, somewhere through that mean exterior there was something like an actual flower that attracted Ryo, but he never cared about it all he knew that his face was getting hot and he was blushing. New emotions like this was weird what was it exactly? Ryo wasn't too worried about it, maybe she knew about it he should ask.......Maybe when shes not heated.

Airi laughed a little bit. "I sadden you?" She asked looking up at him with a rare smile on her face. The she heard his remark about jail.

"Oh, please. Killing is what got me into that whole jail mess. Might as well tell you the sad story of little Ai....Rose, huh?" She slipped up and almost said her real name. She wouldn't tell him that yet. "Well, my momma was a slutty cheating bitch and daddy was an abusive drunk. Explains my personality and behaviour. Then, they left one day and never came back. I was four. I really nice lady took me in for a month and I loved her like a real mom. Then she was killed. A few years passed and I passed the Genin exams and stuff. That's when I killed the murderer's family in their sleep. Didn't clean up well enough, though." She smiled sadly for two seconds and continued. "They threw me in jail and I swear it's not at all fun. I got out after a month, 'cause I caused the biggest prison riot ever and easily got out. That's how I killed this ankle, by the way."

Airi shut up then. She didn't ant anyone to know about her past and she'd just spilled it all to this guy that she'd only known for a year. Oops. She looked down and sighed. "Don't hold any of that against me. In fact, that was fake. Yep... made that up." She was a terrible liar at times.

Thinking about things that she said to him, she spilled out her life story....Her past, the reason why she was a criminal, that didn't change his look at her at all.."I would have done the same thing, I never met my real parents I'm a mystery to be completely honest with you" Ryo just kept walking and looking around the area,"I have honor for people like you....You make me think more about myself and my ways of thinking and living life...My honor...I think......I think high of you..you've taught me alot Rose and I thank you for that.." Ryo looked down and sighed.

"Hey what happens whenever my face gets hot and my heart becomes heavy and beats hard?" Ryo didn't know of this strange feeling and wanted to change the subject to this sorrow story.

Airi looked at him with a puzzling expression. "Well, it could mean that your embarrassed, or if you get that feeling when you look at a person, it could mean that you like them a bit more than a friend." She repeated those words from a long, long time ago when Narissa, her adoptive mother, had told her when she had asked that same question. Airi was surprised that he hadn't been told this before, but then remembered that he had most likely never had a parent figure at any point...

"Why do you ask?"she questioned. She was in a good mood now, for some reason. But then that mood was ended when she heard sounds of sirens and other random noises from Keimusho. They must be close..

"Let me down, for a moment." Air instructed. "I need to put my cloak on, so that they don't see my features easily."

(Sorry, It's Short )

Ryo halts to her command and let her down gently and gradually as he thought about what she called that emotion, but it was so confusing up to this point and just stood firm with his back turned,"hm..." He pondered alot actually, there were times whenever he looked at her and that would set him off.Not only the blushing but the heavy heart and it was like it was only that moment that they would meet eyes, his gold eyes and her red eyes...That would make him go crazy

"hm...."Was all that he could say at this moment, still getting this straight foward and there should be a moment whenever he gets like this and Ryo just needs a punch in the gut.
Just standing there with his arms crossed, he begins to turn around to face her.

Stepping around Ryo smiles at her and with eyes closed in the way most guys would smile at people and says."Well, I like you more than a friend."

Airi stood on her one foot and quickly put on her cloak and put a hood over her snowy hair and then waited for him to turn around. She was almost starting to fall when he did finally turn and she grabbed his shoulder to keep herself steady. Then he said that sentence... and she smiled "I don't.. I don't think that you get it... You probably just feel close to me because we've known each other for a year now and you just..." Airi tried to figure out a way to, well, figure out what the situation was.

"Ryokubo... You're confused, I think... You are confusing l-love with comfort and familiarity." Airi finished. She really thought that he was just confused, as he didn't seem familiar with a couple emotions.

Airi was set to believe that nobody was ever going to love her. It's what her father said everytime he slapped or hit her. It was permanently etched into her brain. So, she knew that he couldn't love her, because she wasn't the type of person that could be loved.

The girl sighed as she waited for his response and looked down at the ground. There was a tiny sliver of hope in her heart that she read as false.

(I have writer's block at the moment )

Ending this moment with those words would only make things even more off key than they really were, Ryo was going to say something in oppostion to what Rose stated, but no he wanted to keep it hanging on a thin piece of string..Ryo just closed his eyes and thought about the creation fo life itself and then the evolution of man, and wars and the body; pretty much converting the idea of the word she used,"Love" and turning it into what he thought it really was,

"Maybe I need to read up on what love is, and break it down into chemicals thats effecting me, cause my adrenaline is acting off course, my heart is up paced but I don't know why but I think I was calm until you smiled at me....I dont know what it is or why im acting this way....Yes I've grown acustomed to your face and theres nothing that could change that.....I think different ways of you...Just pointing that out at this moment." Breathing in Ryo sucks it up and picks her up once more,"If this is what love is, then I do not like it, I prefer being tortured than to feel this way.

Ryo just walked on and inhaled a scent that was breath taking,"You smell nice......" Ryo was just straight forward.

Airi just shook her head in disbelief of his dense-ness. Then she tilted her head in confusion and then turned a slight shade of red and turned her head. Her hair has still tied up, though now it was loose and falling out. It was hidden by her cloak and she thanked the gods that she had bought the cloak in that last town. She'd almost not done it, due to the high price, but it had been the last of it's stock and she knew that she wasn't going to find another one like it.

The black hooded cloak was embroidered around the hem with a glistening red and silver thread. There was a darker black design covering the entire cloak that was unnoticed unless you studied it. The design was circles in various sizes that sometimes overlapped. It was really beautiful once you started to notice and appreciate the detail. Like some rare people in the world. Airi had just fallen in love with the cloak and it's soft, velvety touch and perfect fit.

Airi looked ahead to see the gates even nearer and nearer and soon they were at the village of Keimushogakure. The girl felt sick with worry and hatred together for being in the place. She bit her lip and kept her hair down and her luminous red red closed. They were apparently unforgettable, as she was told by many people. She prayed for her safety, but the gods weren't very kind to her at all, so she had little faith in the prayers. Airi still prayed, just the same.