Welcome to Gaia! ::

The blistering sunlight shone brightly while Tatsuya and Aoiro stood patiently for the transformation to complete. The young man stood with his crossed as the environment around him slowly went from one extreme to the absolute opposite, the ninja's scowl could pierce the hearts of anything that took the time to acknowledge its existence. He wasn't angered by the change of climate, no he found himself more annoyed with the fact that they had to spend another year in this place, granted, mastering the techniques of the Immortals would take a long time, but you'd think they would at least give more help than a shallow metaphor. But no, they had to go blindly, waving their arms about their heads until they stumbled into the answer.

Though, this was no time to start regretting his decision now, he needed to suck it up and shut his mouth. Which would be harder if he had something he considered a friend in the area, but seeing how that was not the case he remained in his spot and prepared himself for the kind of spiritual training Quingfu was talking about. From what he could illustrate from the instructions Tatsuya could only believe he would have to once again leave to go find himself, and once he did, he needed to find a way to find harmony with it. He needed to find a way to let all his ambitions go and ultimately give up everything that made him into the mixed bottle of emotions that stood in the snow that day. Wait... It was snowing?

Tatsuya hardly moved from his place while Tsukiko spoke to him, he honestly didn't have anything against her at all, though, he found that the scowl as easier to keep than to change. Her words though, they seemed to cut him deep, not the intent, but the content made him grit his teeth even more.

"I wouldn't know, I haven't been in Kumokagure in nearly three years. I don't remember what it looks like anymore."

The ninja let out a shallowed sigh and just took the moment to look about at the drastic change in scenery. Had he really been away from home for that long? He couldn't believe it to be honest, the memories of his 'home' had blended together, and the faces he once called his friends all swirled up into nothingness. He really couldn't remember much of anything and the thought scared him deeply. He remembered only few people, Shiso, Nemutai, and Tsukiko, but his father's and mother's faces and voices were lost in the depths of his memories. He was shaken and scared within his mind, but his body showed no sign of conflict, apparently being around Ren long enough made it second nature to the Miyaki.

Come to think of it, he couldn't really remember many of the lands he had been to, and he had actually been to a lot since he had taken his position on the Udai Counsel. The Snow Country, the Wind Village, and the compound were the only real places he could remember, though, Snow and Wind were the two extremes, and the compound was where he had been most of the time. He couldn't put his finger on why he found the thought of Kumo so hard to remember, then it hit him like a sack of bricks. He couldn't call it his home anymore, he only cared for few people within its walls, and since he had left he had little to no drive to want to go back. The realization was the thought that shattered everything in the ninja's mind, and destroyed the strong stance he found himself in.

It hit him hard, the emotional blow hit him so hard he winced and fell to his knee. He had never thought about it so directly, but, he was without anyone, of course he wasn't alone physically, but the realization that he had no home to go back to once all this was over made him feel as if the fight was going to be a useless fight.

"What happened between us?"

Tatsuya had actually considered Tsukiko a friend at one time, but along the way they met different people and changed, and eventually had a confrontation. But that too was such a long ways into the past that the Udai ninja was unable to remember the reason for their quarrel.

In the short matter of a few minutes Tatsuya and Aoiro found themselves a good distance away from anyone that was in the tower, and with some sort of dumb luck he was able to find a large hole inside the side of an even bigger rock formation. Shelter! At least he would be able to gather his thoughts as well as train in peace and away from many of the distractions that walked around outside. Though, once inside he was confronted with the same problems as he was facing out with Tsukiko, it was as if he would not find any peace unless he just let the stress overwhelm him, so he did.

He quickly stripped away his sword bag as well as the dagger on his waist in order to sit comfortably in the center of his makeshift home. Within seconds he began drawing shallow breaths as his inner thoughts began flooding out in a clashing flood of pain and anger. However, with it being fresh on his mind, the memory of Seika took a prominent place in his thoughts. So much so that he verbally and mentally spoke outward, as if he would get some sort of answer back.

"Seika... What happened to us?"

The short question haunted the Udai Ninja since he lost contact with his friend during his participation in the Chunin Exams. While he was taking part, Seika had disappeared, and he didn't see her again until they met in the Snow country under hostile circumstances. The confrontation only brought about more questions and answers, Seika seemed apathetic towards him. The two had shared very strong memories together, they traveled together around the continent while attempting to finish up his brother's final mission. They made a strong friendship, but the girl's hostility towards him in the Snow Country made him feel as if he was going to throw up, and just reminiscing about it made him nauseous.

"Seika... I miss you."

He spoke again, though he knew a reply would never come, perhaps just letting out the emotion would allow him to think clearly about it enough for it to become rational and capable of growth. At least that's what he was assuming Quingfu was trying to get him to do. Tatsuya would just have to find that bit out on his own, even if his eyes were having difficulty holding back the tears.

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