The man of life and the forerunner of death meet

There was no time for him to be blissful, he had no time. Not at this moment, he couldn't let out the false estatic self that was excited to steal a book. A book for god sakes. It is just a book. Yes, he could imagine in any other given time, this would be the happiest moment of his life, he was going back to the good old days, life was at best simple. If Riku were to write a biography and tell him every detail of it to an outside reader, he could imagine they had many disbelieves. They couldn't see a three year old, learning how to fight and survive, learn on to feed off the land when in desperate times. They probably couldn't see a four year old going through a life or death process that would determine whether he was strong enough to learn the skills and awaken there power, how a father could break his leg and almost kill him just to unleash him.

It was hard to believe that a child had learn to kill at the age of six, partake in a few of the most heinous acts in shinobi history, fought a demon if at best god at the age of eleven, involved himself in politics and had inflitrated into one of the best secruity systems in the world at the time. It was even propostrous to even think that a person at the age of 19 was selected to be Raikage at a time.

It was like the wind that brushed past his face as he moved from rooftop to rooftop; you could feel it but you just can see it. Riku was fine with that. He didn't think it was believable itself, it was hard to imagine but it was at that time, the easiest thing to deal with because....

He wasn't alone

He grabbed at his chest, twisting the shirt that he wore when he first arrived here. He looked down to see the wrinkled shirt he had created with his hand. The thought of being alone now when he needed someone the most was almost unbearable to think about. His father was gone, his uncle was gone, his clan had gone into hiding, Kirigakure was gone, the creed had disbanned...It was like realizing that God had sent him to a place where there was nothing but an absolute void. Had God done such a thing? Would God do such a thing? His hands tighten up more around his shirt trying to think about something else. He had to stop, if he continued he would not know how long it would take before he had to burst. How long would that be?

He let his hand unfold, putting his hand down. His eyes diverted his attention to a railing that he was about to hit. His reaction to grab did not fail him and it launced himself through the skies breathing in fast air as he did. "If I am alone then I'll find a way to bring life into me" He tighten his fist as he made another jump from a building to another roof top "I am death...but I am also life. I give life and I take away" he whispered to himself.

His eyes look down at one of the buildings. It was clear for him to land. Settling down, he moved out towards to the edge of the rooftop and looked down at the building below for what he was aiming for; This'll be the first time for him to meet the Hokage. Down below in the darkness were dim lights that encircled the perimeter of the mansion. It was visible from below but from above he saw it was almost invisible. He reaches into his right pocket and pulled out a small glass case. He open it to take out the glasses. He places them over his eyes and began to make some adjustments. He looked around the perimeter, tapping on the right lense, it turned into night vision.

The screen was a high flourescent green, looking down he saw two figures in front of the gate. From this height, he couldn't really tell cause he couldn't zoom in but he could see some movement that they were about to move somewhere. One of them nudged a bit and they dispersed. One moved to the right while the other moved to the left. Riku turned off the night vision and took his glasses off and back in his case. Time for a little dramatic action. He place the glasses back in his pocket. He lowered his hand into the ground; his hand disappeared in the shadow he had created and pulled out a black mask with two eyeholes to peek through

"Haven't use this in awhile. I wonder if it still fits" he placed it over his face, he tighten it bit with the strap around his head and it fit all too well. He pulled his hair out of the strap and it began to change color from a almost striking white to a shiney black. He rose his hood over his head and smiled underneath the mask "Now, lets have a little talk shall we?" his voice was distoted and deep. Oh, it worked fine.

It was time for the drop. He didn't have to run back and then run forward, he jumped high into the air and began to dive. He could see that his velocity had increased and he would not be long to see that his face would ram into the roof of the mansion. He didn't stir. What happen was that a large black pool took the shape around the rooftop and Riku dove into it. The black pool had disappeared the moment he made impact.

He slowly crept himself into a large room. He could see that it was dim in here, not dim like it was outside but enough for someone to read without there eyes getting too strained. It was a library, it was small nothing like his father library, but the smell of paper and nutmeg was still fragrant. The smell of old and the smell of new books in the room. The books were lined up in there bookshelf, it stretched from one end of the corner to the next.

He saw in the far corner someone sitting, looking down at a book he was currently reading. Riku twisted his head and for a moment he had a pleasurable thought of just sneaking up behind and saying something ridiculous. The thought passed and he decided he would need to make himself known "Perhaps you shoud look for awhile" he slide down silently and landed on the carpeted floor "Nice feel you got here, I'm wondering whether or not I could check out a few books or not"

Keiden, walked into his library with a sigh. ”What a day! Repairs, import and export manifests, missions and rumors of threats looming on the horizon....well I suppose today was rather like any other day“ He chuckled. There wasnt any anyone else in the room, so it was clear he was talking to himself. Although, that may unnerve some people, they might take it as a sign that he was loosing his marbles. Perhaps that he was cracking under the pressure of the tasks of a Kage. He didnt take any notice to this, assuming he was fine as long as he didnt answer or argue with himself.

The night was dark and out the windows, Keiden could see snow slowly fall to the ground as he glanced out the windows. He wondered if he would finally get some relaxation time. Perhaps enough time to finish his book , although he figured that wouldnt happen. ’Something always seems to happen whenever I take a small break. Never any fun time for the Hokage‘ He thought as he seated himself in his favorite reading spot in the corner of the room.

He reached over checking the security on a small computer embedded in the wall, everyone was at their posts and as far as he could tell all the other security measures were still in place. Maybe he would have time to finish his book after all? He was hopeful as he looked over at the book in question. It lay in a blanket of dust on a small stand beside the chair, having remained untouched for several weeks the dust seemed to take over the entire stand, covering it in little fuzzy particles of dust. With a wave of his hand Keiden brushed the dust off the top of the book and picked it up. It was by far his most favorite book and definitely his most prized possession in this library. The book was hidden behind a brown and bland book jacket, perhaps used to hide it’s title perhaps not. Keiden smiled happily as he opened book in his hands, some reading time had finally come his way.

His eyes eagerly traced every word, the smile on his face steadily growing as he read, and for an undefined amount of time he stayed absorbed in the book. So absorbed in fact, that he didnt hear anything in the room until an unknown person spoke. "Nice feel you got here, I'm wondering whether or not I could check out a few books or not" the voice was distorted masked by something unknown to the Hokage at the time.

Keiden's eyes traced the newcomer as he looked up from his book,"I dont particularly like people coming into my House without my permission." His tone was mostly unreadable, except for a slight amount of annoyance which came through quite clear. ”Especially when they come in unannounced. “ Keiden brought his eyes up and looked at the intruder who had seemed to just appear within the room. "I dont usually let strange masked men borrow any of my books. For I find they dont often return them." Keiden wasnt truly surprised about the masked man who had just appeared in his home. After all, he was Hokage and it seemed strange, masked and possibly dangerous people always had the habit of ruining a perfectly good day.

Although, Keiden did find it unnerving that the man had managed to get past the security which protected the mansion. 'Cant predict everything I suppose' he thought as he opened his mouth to speak. ”So, given that you have entered my home without my permission am I to guess that you are a threat Mister Masked Man?“ Keiden didnt bother asking the man who he was, it is quite a paradox to ask a masked man who he is. 'He both wears a mask and disguises his voice. It is clear he doesnt want me to know who he is...which makes his all the more interesting.'

He pulls his chest in as if punched by an invisible fist, he lets out a false force exhalation and takes a few steps back. His hand was to his chest as if to catch it so suddenly. The words that came out of the Hokage's mouth was nothing short of Riku expectations; he was undetectable through the voice and Riku could say that he was either being callous and cold or remotely concern about him inflitrating his mansion, not the mention the fact that he came in here quietly and unstirred.

But the Hokage didn't back away, whether out of pride of being a kage and showing to the enemy that he has no fear, the thought of a kage fearing an enemy who had inflitrated in and could well thought as threat was not the will of the fire Konoha wields. But Riku didn't see that in his eyes. He was intrigued, interested in Riku seeing that he had come this far. If not in his eyes, then in his aura, a cool yet interested navy blue color, it flickered a bit but nothing that was unrowdy by the sort.

Riku pulls his chest out and chuckles slightly "Oh, you are a smart man. To ask a mask man whom he is would be a contradiction nonetheless so you go straight to the point and right on the dot. Am. I. The. Enemy." his hand on his chest moved out and at the Hokage as a statement of welcome then he humbly bows "In all due respect, that depends on how you view myself. I inflirtated that's one, caused a bit of destruction in your village by assassinating the two messengers and one of your captains had been mortally wounded. I also inflitrated into your mansion which would have the same protocols as the village secruity system"

Riku lifted his shoulders in a shrug "You have every right to believe me as an enemy as I believe that you are just a puppet to fire country" he lets a soft laugh "But I don't believe that you are a puppet. Maybe the Daimyo, but not you"

He moved his hands out to say that was enough and proceed forward closer to the Hokage so that he wouldn't have to project his voice. He was out of the shadows and towards the light that the Hokage had in the room. Riku didn't wear an attire that could be linked to any former village nor did he wore any emblem or insignia to reveal what allegiance to any organisation.

"To ask a mask man whom he is..." he trails off. He moved his hand swiftly, unseen by the eye. It was so quick that the adrenline in Riku's body began to pour into his veins and arteries like water rushing through a pipe. He reached to his mask and there was a click sound and the masked moved off. Riku pulled it up over his head with the strap across. His hair began to change back to its snow white color. He removed the hood that made his face seem like a black void and what brought to the Hokage's attention first was Riku's eyes. He could say that they were burning a white fire. It was pure white, like looking into the eyes of a Hyuuga and yet it was not like it at all. Riku closed his eyes and then open them. The white flames were gone but the spectacular show in his eyes didn't cease. They continued to change colors constantly. He saw colors that did not have any reconizable names. All the same, whomever Riku was to the Hokage, he had revealed himself.

Riku put his hand through his hair and then shook it "It wouldn't be fair for you to reveal yourself and let this mask man hide" His voice was serene and cool, it almost sounded jovial but at the same time sarcastic. He looked around the library as if seeing it for the first since he entered. He smiled "Wow, I can sense that you had a bit of an upgrade since I've last been here. The security system was a nice edition to it. I remember when Konoha security was pretty weak and Kumo's was on there game. Looks like someone caught up"

He turns to Keidan. He appeared young, very young in Keiden's eyes. He sounded older, close to his late twenties and early thirites but his appearance was deceitful. A question would be to ask how old he was but Riku said "Been over ten years...so long have I've been here really. I was here months ago, the incident as you so recall. I apologize about that, didn't mean to damage your village. But I didn't stay long that time. Interuppted by one of your legendary shinobi. He put up quite a fight but in the end I spared him. Not out of pity, bare in mind, just out of the fact that I wanted to get out and not stay for long"

His head turn to one of the bookshelf. He would've drifted to the bookshelf and grab a book to look and feel the leather over the book, the pages that felt coarse in his hand like soft sand melded together and the smell of nutmeg and history. He looks back at Keiden who would be attentive at this point. He would look at him carefully, the align detail of his face was almost...reconizable, almost certain that he has seen this person before. If not met him, at least seen a relative of his.

"A chessmaster being played in a game of chess" Riku interrupted "It's a annoying game in honesty when you apply it in real world terms" he sounded annoyed "And I won't lie, I've had a rough day today. Especially in your village. The shit keeps hitting the fan and I get fairly annoyed when I come into eye distance with an a enemy that I THOUGHT I killed eighteen years ago... well almost nineteen. All the same, it's annoying"

Keiden remained seated and listened to the masked man speak, 'I should hope I’m a smart man. I wouldnt have become Hokage if I wasnt; at least I would think.' The man was certainly intelligent and very extravagant as Keiden noticed when the Masked Man went into a bow. Keiden’s hand found it’s way up to his chin, rubbing the light stubble as he listened. ”It wouldnt hurt for them to just give me a straight answer at least one time would it?!“ he thought, his mind working quickly keeping pace with the man. 'Of course it depends how I look at it. It's not question of how I look at it, but rather how I should look at it. How correct is my perspective or how correct is his.'

Keiden was able to listen in silence for most of the Man’s monologue, but there was one point as he was unable to contain his statement. The man certainly had a good understanding of society and Keiden’s curiosity broke through, “Ahh, see but if the Daimyo is a puppet, with someone else pulling his strings and the Village or rather me are in some aspects controlled by the Daimyo, then does that not mean that I too am a puppet in some way? You cannot make these observations and then say I am not a puppet. After all, we are all puppets in some aspects, there is always something ’pulling our strings‘; whether it be a desire or a person, we are never truly in control.”

It was here that the man walked off, muttering something to himself as he made quick movements and after a second his mask came off and and hood came down; in the dim light Keiden could see the man’s hair in it’s snowy coloring. The man then looked at the Hokage and it was his eyes that stuck out the most amongst his boyish face. In contrast to Keiden’s almost pale green eyes, them an’s eyes were at first completely white, yet inside them a fire seemed to burn. The embers passion hiding within the lights of these eyes perhaps? The eyes then began to change color quickly, alternating colors of the spectrum so quickly that after a moment Keiden was forced to look away to regain his sense of self. While Keiden recovered the man rambled beside the bookcase. Keiden caught what he said and spoke up as the man finished, assuming an upright position in his chair before he did.

“I suppose that’s just your average day as a Shinobi” Keiden assumed the man was in fact a Shinobi, it was extremely unlikely that anyone would’ve been able to breach his security without some sort of ninja training. “Someone you assumed dead turning out to actually be alive. Large amounts of excrement hitting the large rotating blades. Sounds like the average week” a slight chuckle played it’s way from Keiden as he continued, ”Although I am certain I must disagree about chess being an annoying game. Real world terms apply rather well in my humble opinion.“ He leaned back and propped his feet up on the coffee table in front of his chair, manifesting a laid back and un-worried attitude. He crossed his hands in front of his face as he spoke, "The whole world could be likened to a chess board Mister masked man." he paused for a light snicker, 'Mr Masked Man’, he felt so childish when he said that.


“The pieces are the different aspects of our life; your social standing, your money, your friends, your family, your job. Each piece representing a different aspect of one’s life. You then have to navigate the pieces across a board. The board would.....let’s say the board represents the the social and cultural situations one would encounter during their trip down the short drive of life. The board would be the laws and moral boundaries that you face throughout life. On top of that, each aspect of your life can only be utilized or moved; in a specific way.” He paused for a moment and rubbed the slight bit of stubble that was beginning to grow on his chin in thought. ”The other side. would be.........The other side, your opponent would be the ‘dark side’ of life. Things such as uncertainties, bad habits, biases or the temptations. Your goal is to manipulate the the aspects of your life to defeat the ‘dark side’ in such a manner that you complete your life goals. The ‘King’ representing your life goals of course.“

Keiden stopped an looked over at the man once more before continuing, “That is but of course only one similarity. Chess could be likened to running a village with only a few of those values reversed or almost any thing really.”

Riku gazed at the Hokage as he spoke about the teachings of people being controlled, guided towards a path whether they wish it or not. The fact that paths are pre-ordained was something to Riku that he couldn't put into words at the moment. It was nostalgia and deja vu. There was a moment of silence when the Hokage ended his sentence. Riku stood there with his changing eyes now a color of deep mocha to the color of midnight black then it changed again. It was hard to read what he was thinking, what he might say or what actions he might take. He appeared to be smiling at him. The corners of his lips had risen to a smirk of sarcastic proportions and he grinned.

Riku began to laugh, grabbin at his chest as he cackled a dry and dusty laugh that echoed within the hollow atmosphere of the library. He grabbed at the table to hold himself as he was laughed trying to catch his breath, trying to get a hold of himself so he would at least seem professional. He looked up at the Hokage, paused, then went back to that dry cackle. He stood himself up, tears streaming from his eyes and down his cheeks. He settled down a bit, wiping the cheeks away from his face.

"I'm sorry.." he said out of breath "It's just that. What you just said...it was completely what my father told such a long time ago" he lets out a short wave of laughter then went to say "Still, such a boring thing to look at. Chess, I mean. My father enjoyed chess like no ones business. He would play for hours on end at a time and although I understand the limitless patterns, it's just so..." He didn't appear to find the word. He thought it in his head, but he didn't speak it aloud. He just shrugged and moved away from the topic for the time

"Don't take offense. It's just all so nostalgic is all and reminded me of the past. But I don't remember being called Mr. Masked Man" the tension on his lips lowered but one could reconize the smile. He drifted away from the desk, walking over to the left side of the room to another set of books that were older, much older from the withered colors of reds turning into a shade of pink and fading greens that were once florescent at one but now a lighter color "I have to say, I couldn't agree more with the fact that life is all ready pre-ordained, life comes into the world, you live in a culture and set morales, you pass on your genes and then you die..." he touched the books with the tips of his fingers and walk down the library case slowly, letting his hands feel every fine detail of the books at hand. He seem to be lost in memory lane, walking down with his guard down, wanting Keiden to perform a move to entrap the intruder.

That sense of opening diminished when Riku turned his head slightly so Keiden could see the burning white flames in his eyes. It was a brief moment, just a second of an almost pure and blinding flame. That was enough for one to take caution. Keiden was a chessmaster, no mistake on that. He could be ten, no one hundred steps ahead of this person. He seeme to be a knight piece who was in the court of a queen piece. She could move around easily, it was her territory, not binded by moving in certain directions or angles. The queen had the chance yet it wouldn't been smart.

Riku wasn't a piece who was limited. He wasn't a person who would want to be controlled like a pawn, a bishop, a rook, or even a knight. He wouldn't even be considered a queen for that matter. He was an outside piece, that piece that could never exist in the game but existed in the rules of life. He was directed by someone, a higher power maybe, but he doesn't have the same type of willingness to be controlled like Konoha's elite shinobi who would die for the sake of the village.

He was neither a piece of random or order. Someone who should be controlled, someone who should be on a leash. The controller of him was neither a part of the order or apart of the random either, perhaps he was the same way. An agent of some kind. He turned fully "It's such a boring thing. But I suppose you're able to enjoy life. To be able to age, to see differences....such beauty" he looked at Keiden, a man who was much older than Riku by a decade or more. He saw the divides on his forehead, the weary eyes of tiredness, the small wrinkles underneath it while he retained his youth and time just stopped. "That's why it's so easy to believe that all lives are controlled. Perhaps then it wouldn't be so hard to understand your actions. Yes..." he drifted off as if he was talking in his sleep.

"This war..." he said "Is nothing more than a game. Right now, your country is beginning to invade into it. Your country willl begin to crumble underneath the foundation because this army have hammers that don't break. There shields that are imprentrable and the people have wills that cannot be broken. They are cast in an illusion that they are invincible" He pauses. For a moment, Riku couldn't find the words to say what he had to say. It was like someone took out the train of thought out of his head and left the station empty. For a moment, he stared at Keiden blankly, looking past him then he said "The leader was in your village...he is prepared for war"