All Too Real

How long had he been there? How many times had he awoken to the same tile above his mat, counting the speckles of plaster as he willed himself to summon the motivation to move? How long had he spent lingering in the back streets of Hoshigakure with the hopes of finding answers? It had felt like months. Maybe even years. Ever since the appearance of Zu, things had only become more complicated. More uncertain. He had thought for certain there would be something to glean about the past of his bloodline from the place that had the most extensive library on this side of the continent but instead found himself short of even a modicum of direction. Instead, there was only an infinite amount of paths that had been laid before him. Sighing out quietly, Joski allowed his arm to fall from his forehead and obscure his vision, sick of looking at that same tile for what could have been another hour in the pile of a few hundred by this point. He was tired of the same view. Even then, he did not allow his eyes to shut. He couldn't. His body was restless as the typically dull movement of his mind had begun to spin in contemplation.

Jirou Joski was never one to do anything quickly if he could help it. Rushing was such a bother. But in his sloth, he had found himself mired in stagnation. The walls of the village hidden in the stars were almost beginning to feel like a home. The sensation was sickening. Not that there was anything wrong with this place, but this was not where he was meant to be. He was not born into the life of a shinobi as the village recognized. Not trained to be a tireless soldier on the lookout for enemies and prepared to see through an agenda. He was a wanderer. A miscreant. A vagabond. A man who was meant to hold a roof of clouds and stars and a resting place close to the earth. Instead, he had nested himself into the slums of Hoshi, listening to the incessant ticking of a broken air conditioner that tried to turn on and failed at least twice every day. At first, the sound had driven him mad. But this place was safe. Abandoned. No one came to check on it, and it allowed him to find a place to rest without rousing suspicion from the guard or the shinobi- two separate forces that Joski had come to recognize during his stay here.

With a heave of a sigh, the man pushed himself to sit, correcting his posture for the first time in what felt like a very, very long time. He was awake. And it was time to make a choice. It was time for one last look around, and then it was time to depart from the village of stars. It had been a nice place, but the time had long come to move along.

[Exit.]

WC - 500
268 to complete B-rank Repelling Step. Previous Progress here.

Chuck the rest.

Jirou Joski wrote:

[Exit.]

WC - 500
268 to complete B-rank Repelling Step. Previous Progress here.

Chuck the rest.

Approved