The outskirts of Kirigakure were surprisingly peaceful, thanks to the time of year, as well as the broken islands surrounding the main hub area. The main reason people did not visit these areas as often was due to the swamp-like ecosystem that sprung up around them. While it had a slight mist, it was not nearly as bad as many other parts of the village. Even better, the soft, damp ground, as well as the abundance of trees and water, made this an ideal location for any nature lover. The only reason none were around, if Deimos had to guess, was because of obscurity. It was not a famous area by any means, not as exciting as the Dew Dew Carnival, or as impressive as the Cold Forge Works, simply a beautiful area good for relaxing.

The area itself had two main sides, split by the edge of the water. On the side closer to the village, a fairly steep hill stretched down, with fresh grass covering all of it. The hill would have been a wonderful place for kids to play, both because of how steep it was, and because of how the land between the hill and the water was flat and long enough to stop any out of control movement. The water itself, despite being in an area that was seemingly a swamp or marsh, seemed very clean and moved slowly as well. There were hardly any insects, as well, though that was more likely due to the chilly air than anything. The trees were an interesting sight, at least to Deimos, for their roots stuck out of the ground, making it look like the trees were made by multiple seeds reaching up, before they fused together to become the tree. It helped that the trees provided more than enough shade to block the overbearing sun.

Deimos himself had only just arrived, this being one of his favorite places in the village. Simply put, it was quiet and away from the rush of the main village market. Whether he felt a connection to the nature of the area or not, not even he knew. He took a seat on the soft grass, only slightly irritated when it turned out to be just slightly damper than comfortable. Glancing out towards the swamp-trees before him, he let loose a sigh. Despite seating on the solid, stable ground of the hill, about three quarters of the way down, Deimos felt himself drifting. Though this was an emotional sensation, not a physical one. Ever since his father passed, he had lost motivation to do just about anything. He did not understand why, but it caused him to distance himself even further than usual from other people, stooping to coming all the way out here. To put simply, he was lost in what he wanted to do now. Whatever willpower had driven him before seemed to have vanished, leaving him stuck as a walking zombie, at least that was what he felt like.

He looked down, glad his clothes were not getting too wet from the ground, barely enough to notice honestly. He was wearing his usual clothes, a mixture of civilian and ninja attire, fit for a variety of things. With his fighting style, it was only natural he would seem an oddity compared to the average ninja. His black pants were rather thick, designed to prevent small injuries from plants such as thorns. His upper body attire had two layers, the top layer being a red jacket, which would have stretched beyond his waist if he were standing, but simply curled behind him since he was not. The lower layer was a simple white shirt, with no extraordinary features to it. Despite the color scheme, it was clear his clothes were designed with combat in mind, both with the thickness and the mobility it allowed, particularly in the arms. He pushed one hand into the ground, only to find that beneath the soft grass, the terrain was hard as a rock.

As he breathed in an out, his breath left behind a small mist, bringing some childish amusement to him. The amusement faded quickly, however, leaving an aching emptiness in its wake. Distractions helped, certainly, but they were only temporary. He leaned back, scratching the back of his head with his dry hand, before finally breaking the silence of the area.

"What am I going to do?"

It wasn't often Koharu visited the outskirts of Kirigakure. Sure, the young woman enjoyed being in a more quiet area far away from any noise the village itself had to offer. Sure, the outskirts had a perfect scenery that one could look at for hours or even days in that matter. If she could, she'd make it her new home. Why not? Though, she wasn't exactly a nature lover. With modern technology, Koharu would rather be coddled in her own house for the rest of her life. As much as she'd love to trap herself there, she had a job to do as a shinobi.

Koharu, as usual, had a cigarette. It was relatively new, so she had a lot to huff and puff until she called quits with it. The butt was trapped in between her lips right in the middle. With an inhale, she blew out the smoke from a small hole made on the corner of the right side of her mouth. Both hands were shoved inside the pockets of a gray hoodie worn with pants that matched the color of her hoodie. And, as always, she couldn't forget about her signature dark brown combat boots to mush through the tough surfaces any ground has to offer.

Why was she at the outskirts? Not that she had any sort of business to be there with the exception of missions and the like. It was simply because she felt like exploring. Her mini adventures of touring around Kirigakure had came to an end. Koharu's friends' list was anything but long or even existent, so the only option she had in mind was to visit the outskirts. Did she had any plans? Nothing other than to relax, but that seemed to be on her schedule almost every time for the rest of the day until duty called.

Or so Koharu thought she'd relax in her own free time until she noticed someone else was in the area. She would cuss in a mutter before she'd squint her dark blue eyes to see who was afar. She couldn't make out exactly who was there since she was behind them, but what she did spot was a redheaded figure, most likely male if she was correct, with what she'd say was a very odd combination for an outfit. Not that she would judge as she wouldn't consider herself a fashionista, but...

Truth be told, she'd just like to ignore him and move on with her day of relaxation. At the same time, it would feel awkward to try and ignore someone that was in the same area; especially if it were just what looked like to be two people. Should she try to interact? Should she just ignore the boy all together? It was things like this that made Koharu hate being around other people, she would end up battling herself on such trivial things like whether or not she would interact. But before she made an actual decision, Koharu's legs were always in motion towards the boy. Right there, she was just a few inches away to hear him question himself on what he was going to do.

Koharu took the cigarette from her mouth to puff a cloud of smoke before she spoke up from behind. "Well, you came here for a reason didn't you? If you came here for a reason, that means you surely have to know what you got to do. If you don't, maybe you need to reconsider being here and be somewhere else where you'd feel like you have purpose to do something... or whatever." She casually shrugged her shoulders and tipped the ash off of her cigarette.

The approaching figure did not warrant any strong reaction from Deimos, as he was confident it was not an enemy. An enemy would have come from the other side, away from the village, and would have been much quieter. Whatever shoes the person wore, they made a thick plodding sound with the moist ground, likely boots then. Well, he preferred boots himself, but he was one of the rarer shinobi who leaned away from stealth. Deimos turned his head as the female spoke, not recognizing her. It took only a second for him to take in her appearance, but it was enough to note several things, particularly the smoking. A horribly unhealthy habit, but given the life expectancy for ninja, it was hardly a problem.

"I know what I need to do, but that is to find what I want to do." Deimos stood, the enormous blades he always carried dragging up with him, connected at the shoulders through straps rather than full sheathes. "I have no purpose, yet seek it." To have no life, yet keep living. It would be safe to make the comparison to a machine, rather than a man. While he was perhaps on the verge of such a horrible fate, Deimos had the chance to divert from that path, so long as he found something worth doing. He could not even remember what kept him going before, only that it was gone now, a source of inspiration he could no longer reach.

"I am Deimos, by the way." He introduced himself. If she were aware of some of the rumors around the village, she might know of how he was viewed as a burned out prodigy, and a likely case of eternal gennin status. Whether or not she did, however, did nothing for Deimos. He cared little for what others thought of him, it was why he was able to speak of such things so openly. What was the point of caring what strangers believed about you? At the end of the day, none of that mattered towards any real goal. It was just background noise to him, with only a few hints of anything interesting mixed in. Perhaps that was why he enjoyed the silence of the clearing so much, there was nothing to distract him from his own thoughts.

Perhaps with the past few years, he had forgotten that other people could be used as focuses for his thoughts, giving them clarity rather than obscuring them. It was likely the case, but not something he thought of, not in his current state at least. His mind was, more or less, drifting in nothingness. Without purpose or direction, he simply existed, and so his thoughts did not latch onto anything tangible, just acknowledging the nothingness was a problem, but not knowing how to deal with it.

Koharu rose an eyebrow up as she took another huff and puff from her cigarette. It wasn't an answer she was expecting, but it was something she should've known. "I'm not really someone that really digs into the more... 'philosophical' aspects of life, but as someone who likes to keep it simple, that made absolutely no sense whatsoever." Koharu was a very simplistic young woman who doesn't think too much about what life had to offer or made her search for its meaning and to live it. But that's all she had ever been doing and continue to do so: live. Does she sometimes wonder the meaning of life and what it meant to live through it? Possibly. Did she think hard on it? Not at all.

"Deimos, huh?" Koharu cocked her head to the side as she echoed the name. Although her body gesture showed some form of interest (or an attempt), her voice was somewhat monotone. It may or may not have rung a bell, but she wasn't one to keep rumors noted in her memory. To her, such rumors doesn't concern her in any way. Not to say she didn't care, but she was just nonchalant to the point to not care enough.


Koharu pinched the cigarette between her index finger and thumb and pulled it out of her from in between her lips. The cigarette itself had more than plenty to be smoked, but she decided to drop it to the ground. Her boot hovered over the cigarette and stepped on it, the boot then twisted on it to make sure the cigarette was out. "So, Deimos," Koharu's words were followed by a cloud of smoke that she held in. Introductions on her end wasn't needed, or so she felt like it wasn't needed. It wasn't as if she would meet the boy again, right?

"Sounds like you have a little crisis on your hands... probably. What exactly do you need to do so you can figure out what to do?"

Her responses, as little as they said, did give Deimos an idea. For so long he had been obsessed over the long term goals he needed to push himself forward through anything, rather than enjoying everyday life. It would not be a permanent solution, he thought, but perhaps one worth trying out. The only question in that regard, then, was what did he enjoy? He froze for a moment, unsure of what he ever had done for fun. All his life had been training, or doing basic necessities such as cleaning or cooking. He did not mind those, but could it be said that he enjoyed them? Probably, but he felt he needed something different, if he were to truly experience living in the moment as this girl seemed to. It probably was why she smoked, as well. He would not do anything such as that, but perhaps drinking or anything similar, just to experience more than this... nothingness he called a life. He supposed he was facing the opposite problem most people his age did. Where most lacked the care for anything but short term entertainment, he found himself lost as soon as his long term goals disappeared. He needed to find something that he genuinely liked doing, then. At least, that was what he decided through his incredibly short conversation with the girl.

A large part of him, the cynical thoughts he usually kept hidden from others, told him it would be a waste of time, that he should just keep getting stronger and disregard what the girl said, but he refused. Despite the lack of actual advice, what the girl said had inspired a line of thought in him that made more sense than any solution he had come up with himself. Perhaps it was the simplicity he needed, but either way, it was a possible solution, so he may as well seek it. 


"What I need? Hm." He paused, still not quite sure of what he did enjoy in the short term. That meant he was rather lost as to what to do to gain the same kind of enjoyment he hoped to find. "I have no idea, but... What do you do for fun, something to... live in the moment?"