A Rest Under the Tree (OPEN)

[Sasuke Uchiha]

Sasuke wandered around the surrounding forest, his hand rested on his sword's hilt, at the ready in case of emergency. One never could be too careful when walking around not well known territory. One could encounter bandits or who knew what else.

He had escaped Orochimaru's watchful gaze this morning. He found it easy to slip out without that snake spotting him. And when he did, well, he could always think of a reason to leave, it wasn't like he would try and stop him or anything. He wouldn't dare...

It was a little chilly out, the wind whistling through the trees, sending leafs spiraling about. He wasn't quite sure where he was to be exact, he figured that it was somewhere near the fire country, seeing as there were so many trees, such a large forest.

Konohagakure. The village he left several years back to come to Orochimaru, to gain power so he could defeat his brother. He smirked. What irony, that he would betray his village like his brother had. Well, at least he didn't kill anyone...

He came to another tree. There wasn't anything special about it, it was just like any other tree he had encountered so far. Brown trunk, green leafs, a pond nearby... That was different, he let on. He sat down under it, resting against the tree with his eyes closed, relaxing. He kept his other senses aware however, in case someone decided to creep up on him.

[Eiko Kasuka]

Eiko had been wandering aimlessly for days stopping only to gather food and to sleep. She was now a considerable distance from her home in the Land of Wind but her face was still tear stained from her sudden abandoning of everything she had cared about. She was determined to make things better in the country but despite this she had no idea where to begin. The map she had on her person told her she was in the Fire country now.

She stepped slowly through the tree's admiring the abundance of vegetation that could only be found in the medical greenhouses in Sunagakure. Although a chuunin she had never been this far from the village before so everything seemed quite fascinating. She turned her head this way and that, allowing her white hair to flick round as it caught on the cool breeze. She folded her arms in her habitually slow way to try and keep herself a little warmer. Her black, silk kimono rustled gently in the breeze and with her movements. Her footsteps were light though the leaf litter on the ground betrayed her silence.

Above everything Eiko valued peace and quiet. Her thoughts were best considered and evaluated in silence and she often contemplated every thought that occured to her in detail. As a result of prefering to be quiet and ignore the loud, offensive noises of people she was considered very rude. She didn't have many friends for the same reason but it was something she'd grown to live with.

As she wandered through the vast forest, on pathways she presumed the deer had made, she eventually stumbled upon a small bond. The scene was quite wonderful, the wind swept surface reflecting the surrounding tree's and the blue sky above in a distorted way. A few swallows darted this way and that, catching insects despite the breeze. Her eyes found something else whislt she stood at the pond side. There was a person under a tree on the far side of the pond, from the looks of it he was resting. She stood and watched him for a while, wondering at who he might be, whether or not he was a threat to her. She was lost in thought as she stared at him.

[/size]

[Sasuke Uchiha]

Sasuke let his thoughts wander. He didn't particularly enjoy being in the fire country, so close to Konoha. It was out there somewhere... And with it were all of those he had left. If spotted by chance by any of them, he wasn't sure what the reaction to him would be.

It was a while, with his mind mulling over thoughts of recent events with Orochimaru, until he detected the slightest of sounds. It was barely audible, and if the pond hadn't been silent, or if he hadn't been so relaxed and paying close attention, than he would never have heard it.

He opened his eyes a crack, inspecting the person he saw to his left. He frowned slightly, inspecting the young girl. She didn't make a move, but just stood there, watching him. His frown grew larger as he opened his eyes and turned his head to face her.

"Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to attack or speak to me?" he spoke in a somewhat cold voice. His expression reveal nothing, however, as it remained calm and devoid of emotion. The face he always put on, unless he felt an emotion strongly.

No matter how much suspicion he was feeling, however, his body remained slack and relaxed as he awaited a response, whether it be an attack, or words, or the girl just leaving.

[Eiko Kasuka]

Eiko was staring right at the boy under the tree but failed to notice his eyes open and the frown form on his face. She was totally consumed by her own thoughts as she considered who he might be, whether or not he was a shinobi, where he was from and why he was sitting so peacefully under the tree. Perhaps he was a shinobi who was
resting after some tiresome mission. Perhaps he was running away from something and had stopped to consider the best course of action. Her thoughts continued in this manner until she was roused from her day dreams quite suddenly as his cold voice carried on the breeze over the pond.

Eiko blinked as her wits returned. She wondered if his voice was as cold as she had thought or if the chill on the breeze had caused her to imagine it. She contemplated his question carefully before responding. The fact he had mentioned an attack as one of the things he expected from her indicated that he was a shinobi. He seemed extremely relaxed for someone on edge and expecting attack. He was, she guessed, either very proficient or rather incompetant.

"I'm sorry," she said at last. "I didn't mean to disturb you." Her voice was quiet and timid. She sometimes wondered if she was capable of making loud noises as her under used voice seemed unable to make any sound much louder than a whisper. Slowly she slipped back into her thoughts. Staring rather stupidly once more. She wondered how he percieved her as she stood there with her child like frame. She was abnormally small and thin though her shape was concealed by the very loose kimono she wore. With the silly looking, long, trailing sleeves she presumed she looked nothing like the shinobi she was. In the village she was only recognised by her headband which was now wrapped up in one of her concealed leg pouches. She can't have looked very intimidating, perhaps that was why he had hardly stirred at the sight of her. In truth her battle tactics tended to rely heavily on catching people off guard and in her opponants under-estimating her.[/size]

[Sasuke Uchiha]

Sasuke sat in silence, his arms resting softly on the ground. His long white sleeves kept his arms from being brushed by the grass, but he could still feel it with his hand. It was soft, and still moist from the morning dew. The wind whistled through the trees as she considered his words.

Finally they came, and he snorted. He didn't really believe she was sorry for disturbing him, not that he cared either way. He didn't mind his somewhat disturbing thoughts being interrupted. Glancing over her small frame, he concluded that she wasn't from around here, she didn't look like she belonged in the forest. He found himself staring into her eyes, they were quite interesting. But with another snort, he pulled his gaze away and looked ahead again, resting his head against the tree.

After a moment, he turned his head slightly to look at her again. "You didn't disturb me. Are you lost or something?" he asked in a much nicer tone that previously. Still, it wasn't kind and joyful, it just didn't contain any hostility. He didn't feel like fighting right now, so he wouldn't attempt to provoke her into anything, who knew what the girl could do.

[Eiko Kasuka]

Eiko was grabbed by one of the boy's words. It struck a chord inside her and resounded throughout her body as a new wave of emotion washed over her. Tears blurred her vision of the dark haired boy. "Lost..." she repeated pathetically to herself. She was rather lost though not in the sense she presumed he meant.

Eiko lowered her head and faced the ground so that her hair covered her eyes. She was angry and sad at this thought. She had no idea how to find what she was looking for but then again she didn't even know for what she was searching. A tear or two rolled down her face before she raised a hand slowly to wipe them away. Her moment of emotional distress had passed and her face became calm once more. She hoped he hadn't noticed, she really would have looked useless.

"I guess you could say I'm lost," she said quietly after another lengthy pause. She raised her head now and brushed her slightly wind swept hair out of her face. She didn't know what else to say, she didn't know what to do. She was confused. She barely knew who she was these days.[/size]

[Suigetsu Hōzuki]

[Hiya ^^ Hope you don't mind Sui to join the fun xD]

Suigetsu wondered through the forest, he had escaped from the tank were Orochimaru kept him. It was easy to slither away from that tank ever since there was a tiny hole in it made by Kabuto's mistake. He was calm, Orochimaru didn't had the time to come check on Suigetsu, seeing he was training Sasuke, so he could easily run away fro a while. Thanks to this Suigetsu got Zabuza's sword from where it rested and was happily training with it. Although it was kind of depressing not being in Orochimaru's spotlight, it became a bit lonely at where Suigetsu was kept. A few weeks passed since Orochimaru last checked on Suigetsu, deep down he was relieved to be forgotten, that way he could have some fun.

Suigetsu went to a little hideout he made on top of a big tree. There his equipment laid waiting for him. His cloths, his bottles and the sword was there. Suigetsu climbed to the top of the big tree and pulled a string to deactivate the traps he set, he didn't want any nosy thieves stealing his sword.
He geared up, he always wore the same thing, his purple sleeveless shirt tight to his body, his white pants, his purple shinobi sandals and his belt which holded the three bottles of water. The sword was stuck in the tree, deep down. It seemed it wouldn't move an inch. Suigetsu smirked, his left cuspid sticking out of his mouth. SUigetsu made his arm grow, it grew about two times it size, then he pulled the sword out of the tree. It looked like butter for him. Suigetsu then detached the handle in a few pieces and placed them on the belt along with the bottles. The sword was on his back.
Well... Now that that's taken care of... What should I do now?, he leaned on the branch that had the sword stuck in it.

Suigetsu felt a presence, no, it was two distinctive presences a few steps away. One Suigetsu could recognize, it was Sasuke, he had that distinctive presence, although the other one, Suigetsu couldn't recognize. It wasn't Orochimaru or Kabuto and certainly not one of their experiments. Then who was it? Suigetsu smiled and pondered if Sasuke had encountered one of those Konohagakure ninjas Orochimaru mentioned a while back... Suigetsu was very curious, he decided to check it out. Moving really quick he used the trees to travel to that location, it didn't take long.

Suigetsu was quiet, he didn't want to disturb whoever Sasuke was talking to. He was at a tree top and was peeking silently through the leafs. There was Sasuke, he probably knew that SUigetsu was there, with that Sharingan of his and all. Suigetsu moved a bit and saw a small little girl with white hair and some wicked bloody red eyes. What was a little girl doing in a place like that? No one dared venture in these woods seeing it was Orochimaru's domain.
It would be best if Suigetsu went out of hiding, he knew Sasuke didn't like being stalked. A few drops of water were heard. In a blink of an eye Suigetsu was standing behing Sasuke, his fingers posing has a gun and were pointed at Sasuke's head.
With a evil smile he said Yo Sasuke-kun. Long time no see!, Suigetsu didn't know why, but he had the habit of doing that to him, although not all the time otherwise Sasuke would probably try to kill him.
Then he went to Sasuke's side, he wasn't doing that anymore, he wasn't going to test his patience. He was starring at the girl, what a odd girl she was, her eye was has white has Suigetsu's and her eyes were really bloody red. Suigetsu smiled and asked Hiya. My name is Suigetsu, what's yours? And what is a cute little girl like you doing in a place like this?..., he wasn't mocking her, Suigetsu didn't like to be treated has a baby when he was young so he didn't do that to anyone...
He then turned his attention to Sasuke, Shouldn't you be training with him?, Suigetsu asked.

[Sasuke Uchiha]

Sasuke frowned further when the girl seemed to go into her own little world. It was obvious that something was bothering her as she mutter the word 'lost' in near inaudible tones. As she lowered her head and her hair covered her face, he thought that she seemed upset about something.

He looked at her for a second longer, than turned away. It wasn't his business to inquire about her, to poke into her life. And while he was a little curious, he had enough control over himself to not ask. When she spoke again, he frowned. "Whatever it is, you shouldn't let it bother you. The past can hinder your progress for... for whatever you are actually here for." He frowned more at his confusing words, than snorted and looked away.

What was he to say about not worrying about the past? He himself did that such thing, and those memories didn't make him feel too happy when brought up later. But the past could also make you strong, could make you do things that you never thought you were capable of.

So lost was he in his own thoughts now that he barely noticed another presence nearby. He cursed silently to himself about his carelessness, and barely had the time to stand up, before Suigetsu was standing behind him with his hand pointed to his head like a gun. He let his face slip into a slight glare when he spoke. "Hello, Suigetsu," he said in a flat tone.

When he pulled away and talked to the girl, Sasuke had a brief thought flash through his mind, something involving a kunai through the boy's back. It passed though. While he was irritated by the sudden appearance, he did appreciate his company. He was irritating, but at least Sasuke could stand him. When Suigetsu spoke to him again, he sighed in irritation.

" 'Him'?" he said. "Yeah, I assume I should be training with him, but I can handle taking a break every now and then, it isn't like he controls every aspect of my life. As a matter of fact, I say enough that he controls none of my life." A sudden thought occurred to him. "Speaking of 'him', shouldn't you be there, and not here?"

[Eiko Kasuka]

Eiko felt the presence in the nearby tree, her keen senses always worked over time, even when she was lost to her thoughts. For the moment she ignored it. A part of her was confident that if it was a foe it would be an easy victory, another part didn't care, not for her safety or for her future. She listened intently as the boy told her not to let her past bother her. Her red eyes stared right into the boys face and as he snorted to himself she found it hard to accept his advice. It seemed he found it ridiculous, was he mocking her?

The wind was playing with her hair, gentley tossing it this way and that and occasionally blowing it into her face. He was quite right that the past could hinder your progress but as she mulled it over in her head she realised that the past could fuel you to a better future and push you to become stronger. "I just wish I knew what I was looking for," she said quietly, more to herself than to the boy.

The sudden, strange appearance of the light haired boy interupted her train of thoughts but Eiko was rather skilled in not showing surprise. She'd known he was nearby anyway and so now she barely batted an eyelash. When he addressed the boy it was clear they knew each other and so she relaxed a little. The raven haired boy, "Sasuke" according to the new arrival, had so far been neither kind nor aggressive and so she didn't feel that he was a threat.

As Suigetsu spoke to her she couldn't help feeling rather patronized, even if he didn't mean it that way. Being called a little girl always annoyed her despite knowing that she genuinely appeared to be young and childlike. She frowned openly as she replied.
"My name is Eiko Kasuka." The tone of annoyance had worked it's way into her timid little voice and turned it into something of a low growl. She folded her arms inside her kimono sleeves as the fluttered gentley in the wind.

[Suigetsu Hōzuki]

Suigetsu grinned has Sasuke said his name, he never did like him, although, he didn't hate him. If Suigetsu didn't have and didn't want any friends, the only thing he has in his life is his ambition of becoming a Seven Swordsman of the Mist, and maybe become the best of them all if he feels like it. Although he didn't see Sasuke has a friend, he was the closest thing to it. And Suigetsu loved the feeling he got every time he threaten Sasuke and Sasuke would threaten him back, it was almost a rivalry, although Suigetsu always knew he didn't stand a chance against Sasuke.
Ish Sasuke... Don't look at me like that your giving me goosebumps!, Suigetsu laughed, he felt every time Sasuke gave a specific look, in that instance, he felt like he wanted to stab him or something similar. It was very frequent for him to feel that. Although Suigetsu was glad he was stuck at the central hideout with Sasuke, then at the hideout where Karin resided... She was such a pain in the ass! She was always talking about Sasuke and when SUigetsu was about to say something she would always mock him and threaten him. She was lucky she was a girl, otherwise she would have her head cut off! She was that annoying!

'Him'?Yeah, I assume I should be training with him, but I can handle taking a break every now and then, it isn't like he controls every aspect of my life. As a matter of fact, I say enough that he controls none of my life.Speaking of 'him', shouldn't you be there, and not here?

Suigetsu laughed again,Bah! Ever since he started training you he didn't have time to check up on the others... Kind of a relief actually! And thanks to a little accident Kabuto did, I can get out of that aquarium and get in without them noticing I was gone! And look, I even had the time to fetch this beauty! It's one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist blades. This one is from Momochi Zabuza. Soon I'll have all! , a big smile rose on Suigetsu's face, it was his and his brother ambition.

Taking one of his bottles and drinking from it's straw, Suigetsu turned his attention to the girl. So her name was Eiko? Humm, cool. Although she seemed rather annoyed, could it be because of the "Cute little girl" bit?... The sound of the water being sucked by Suigetsu continued, he had to keep hydrated otherwise he would shrink or something worse, he was made of water after all.

[Sasuke Uchiha]

Sasuke glanced at the girl, or Eiko as she was called, one last time. He heard Suigetus's words and couldn't help but a small smirk. Was his look that frightening? He shook his head.

"Yes, I assume that would be a relief for you, huh?" he spoke in a calm, flat tone. "Orochimaru not watching you constantly and fearing to let you out of his sight." By the tone, anyone would be able to tell that he hated it. You could almost detect the tone of hatred for the man itself in it. But the tone was soon gone and replaced with the regular, part one. Part of Suigetsu's words made him raise an eyebrow in amusement.

"I'm... happy for you that you got you, um, blade," he eyed it skeptically, he remembered the sword all too well. "But, tell me Suigetsu, you said you planned to have them all? Do you seriously think you can carry all seven of the around as easily as you seem to think?"

He turned to Eiko, and gave a slight bow of his head in respect. "I'm Sasuke," he spoke. He knew that she already knew that from Suigetsu's loud mouth, but he felt it polite to introduce himself anyway, seeing as the other two already did. He wouldn't introduce himself by last name, that was his business and he didn't feel like sharing that information with someone, least of all someone he just met. He was surprised that Suigetsu hadn't spoken his last name also."Please excuse Suigetsu's annoying mouth." A hint of teasing crept into the tone. It wasn't meant to be rude to the boy or anything. He just felt like teasing him. He didn't know how Suigetsu would take it, however.

[OOC: Sorry for the late response, guys]

[Eiko Kasuka]

Eiko's attention was caught by a name that so far they had avoided, refering to the person in question as "him" until the dark haired boy let it slip. Until they had mentioned the name she hadn't really cared to listen to their coversation. This swiftly changed at the mention of the name, Orochimaru. The assasin of the previous Kazekage. The man who had lead her country to war in allience with the Sound. She wondered cautiously if they were agents of his or perhaps escaped prisoners from his lair. What they had said about him didn't make things clear as to their relationship with him but for now she thought it best to play ignorant and pretend she hadn't heard anything. She did however look at them from a more suspicious, more careful point of veiw becoming weary of every slight movement the pair made. Her body tensing slightly now lest they turn out to be enemies.

She listened intently now to the some what playful threats that passed between them, the conversations that meant nothing to Eiko. It was a nice surprise when Sasuke introduced himself so politely. She bowed her head in response, still wondering about them. It was difficult to think properly around them. The pair spoke too much and Suigetsu slurpped at his drink in a most irritating fashion. When Sasuke apologuised on behalf of his friend Eiko allowed herself a little laugh.

"I had noticed that, thankyou," she replied quietly in a way she intended to be humorous. She had decided that she wished to know who they were to Orochimaru for no better reason than her own curiousity and the best way to do this, that she could think of at the moment, was to engage them and befriend them enough for them to forget her presence.

[Suigetsu Hōzuki]

Suigetsu let out a laugh, Sasuke really hated Orochimaru... Well who wouldn't, he's beeing kept here and training only to become a recipient for Orochimaru... Luckly for Suigetsu the only reason why Orochimaru keapt him was so he could study Suigetsu's body... Having a water body does have it's advantages, although the constant need of hidratation was a bit of a pain in the ass...
Ish Sasuke... Atleast be grateful he's teaching you something useful... Most of the candidates never got to learn those secret techniques of his... I suggest you lay back and go with the flow... When the times comes and you don't need him... You could just, Suigetsu passed his hand by his throat and tilted his head like he was dead. Then he laughed. But it was true... Sasuke was probably just enjoying the ride until he had nothing to learn from Orochimaru... Frankly, who would want to be a recipient for that snake breath? Plus Suigetsu heard about Sasuke's quest to kill his brother...
Carrying them around wouldn't be a problem... Although it would be a pain to have them all while in battle... That's why I'll probably find a place to store them or something... I just wanna beat those guys, the swords would be like trophies... Don't really think I would use them seeing that the "Demon of the Hidden Mist Encarnated" would use the same blade as the original..., Suigetsu said cheerfuly while pointing to himself, his left cuspid always showing as usual...

Suigetsu gave a irritated frown... But he was used to those Sasuke insults... The first time he saw Sasuke it was the same, he started insulting him and Suigetsu returned the insults...
...Oi Sasuke... Do you have to be so mean?...Tch..., he said while rinking from the bottle. He went a little down when he heard the girl saying that she had noticed that... Suigetsu sighed and said, See what you did?... You enjoy seeing people treat me badly don't you?...[/b], he smiled a bit at the girl, then he walked to Sasuke, his back turned at her, drinking some more water...

Suigetsu wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was a good shinobi, behind that stupidity play he was hidding a careful and calculating mind... Why would a little girl be wandering around the forest and ending up on Orochimaru's hideout perimeter?... This looked a little suspicious. With his back towards the girl he gave Sasuke that look, the look that said "Something's wrong here, be careful", although knowing Sasuke he would probably know by now...

[Sasuke Uchiha]

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at Suigetsu's demonstration of what he could do when he finished off with Orochimaru. He shook his head. Well, it seemed he realized that he didn't like that slimy snake in the slightest, seemed he realized that at some point he wouldn't need him. Orochimaru didn't know all the jutsu in the world, immortal or not, dream to or not. And at some point he would run out of things to teach him, and by than Sasuke would be ready to go face his brother, and he would be waiting for the right moment to end the snake's life too.

"I'll remember that, Suigetsu," he spoke. Casting a glance at him, he added, "And believe me, the techniques he teaches me aren't really that impressive. I thought being a sannin and all, he would have known better."

Crossing his arms, he listened to Suigetsu's response about the swords. He nodded. That would be a problem, having them all on you at the same time during a battle. And while it would have the advantage of picking out the one you needed for the fight, it would have the disadvantage of making yourself weighed down. He shrugged and suggested, "Hmm... Maybe when you've collected them all, you could find someone to make you a better sword, one to say you are 'The Demon of the Mist Encarnate' and that you are better than all of them."

He chuckled slightly than and gave a small smirk. "I'm not being mean, I'm only warning her of the truth before it's too late and you talk us all to death." Turning to the girl again, he added, "No, I don't like seeing people treat you badly, Suigetsu, I just like them knowing a little more about your personality before they somehow irritate you."

As Suigetsu gave him a look that Eiko wouldn't be able to see, his mirth ended and he gave a small nod that he understood. He could see Suigetsu's reasoning, he thought that it was suspicious that the girl was so near Orochimaru's hideout. And while that was somewhat suspicious, there was every possibility that she was just aimless wandering around. He did that sometimes when he wasn't thinking. Heck, you could say that that was what he was doing this morning, and even add that he was lost. Every stupid tree in the place looked the same. But he wasn't quite ready to point accusations at anybody just yet.

[Eiko Kasuka]

Eiko was oblivious to the suspicious glances exchanged by the two aparant friends but she knew anyone with a lick of common sense would be wary of a little girl they met wandering through such thick woodland alone. She had a map and a decent sense of direction so she was not lost but that in no way garunteed she knew where she was. She had a sudden change of mind regarding her approach to the situation. Perhaps asking them direct questions was more likely to yield results than beating around the proverbial bush.

Her white hair was playing gentley on the wind that was stirring the surface of the pond. Focusing chakra on her feet she slowly crossed the pond so that she stood much closer to the boys. This was a risky move should they take the movement as an aggressive move or if they turned out to be enemies but a rare burst of curiousity had gotten the better of her in this instance.
"Excuse me, did you say "Orochimaru?"" she asked tentatively. It was a dangerous question in any situation but Eiko was totally unaware of the reltionship these two had with him. Her arms were folded inside her sleeves. She rubbed her fingers over the concealed metal fans strapped to each arm, ready to pull them out should she require them whilst maintaining a relaxed stance.