Makoto's palms were quite raw as he reached up to the next ledge and made a firm grip. He had been climbing for a couple hours, and his hands were starting to blister. He had thought it would be easy since he was so adept at climbing trees, but it was a completely different process. How you gripped, how you placed your feet, everything was different. And the sheer edges of the rock were not kind to your extremities. He would have to dip them in snow when he got to a manageable ledge to sit on.

Looking down, he quivered a bit at the height. In his reckless confidence, he had chosen quite a difficult rock face to climb for his first try. He could have bailed too, much earlier when he realized how hard it was, but his pride wouldn't let him. He pressed on, moving hand, then foot, then hand, then foot, over and over, until suddenly, the heavens seemed to favor him. When he reached up, and started to pull himself up, he notcied that there was some shrubbery brushing against his hand. When he was high enough to see over the lip, he noticed that there was a decent expanse of land, and there was in fact a trail that seemed to wrap around the mountain.

With a quick tug, he yanked himself upward, and dragged himself onto the path. He could easily just follow the trail down, and call it a day, but something snagged his attention. A few feet away, hidden behind some tall bushes, was a mouth in the rock wall. It was a cave, and from the looks of it, it was pretty big. There were some signs haphazardly placed in front of it, but they were faded and impossible to read. Ignoring the eeriness, Makoto approached the entrance and looked inward. He couldn't see an end, because the tunnel curved to the side out of his view. He was brimming with excitement to run right in, but he figured he should catch his breath and think it over for a bit.

"Having fun?" Saizo would say almost in an arrogant tone, to the stranger who just climbed the face of a cliff. He was sitting atop a tree branch, near the cave. He wasn't usually the arrogant type, but sometimes what he said got unnecessarily twisted. It happened when he got bored. He wasn't bored quite yet though. He just found a new playmate in a sense. What could they do together? Did he even want to be with him? He looked like one of those silent types. There were always mixed thought about those kinds. Some people hate them, others find them quite sexy and attractive. It usually depended on how it clashed with their own personality and nothing to do with the actual person. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about them. Did it really matter? He had yet to actually get to know him. He could be a talker. Maybe a very annoying one. That is why they sent him to climb a cliff. Nah, that was a silly reason. He probably was doing it on his own accord. But judging from the intensity, chances were, he was a ninja.

Saizo didn't like going around telling people that he was a ninja. If it could be helped he would usually keep it to himself and move along. Some strangers being a bit to nosy for their own good. Most people in Tsuki seemed rather nice from what he had seen on his numerous visits. It was maybe his 3rd or 4th time visiting. That's just how nice it was.  He could see the cave from his little nest in the trees. He was also interested. One could make out some sort of wood railing near the entrance. What exactly that wood belonged too, that was still a mystery to him. Usually going into dark caves was a bad idea. Especially with a stranger he had just met. Who knows what could happen. What made it even worse, was that the man was older then him. He also looked like "that" kind of guy. Started sending shivers down his spine just thinking about it. Maybe he shouldn't have given away his position.

Well it was a bit too late. Maybe he wouldn't even want to go inside. Maybe he would just go alone. If he did that and ended up meeting some terrible fate though. Well, Saizo would feel full of guilt. Having let an inexperienced explorer enter a dangerous cave without supervision from an expert like him. That would be an unforgivable act by a master adventurer, such as himself. He could also end up just fine. There could also be gold in the cave. Saizo could use some gold. His wallet wasn't necessarily full if you catch my drift. Saizo would shift his back, from leaning on the tree, to about ready to hope down. He wasn't sure what to expect from the older man. He would try and prepare for the worst, but at the same time look completely chill. Please don't be "that" kind of guy.

The voice from above was a tad startling. Makoto's head shot up in the direction it came from, though his face was still relatively blank. Oddly enough, there was a dude just chilling up on a branch. Makoto didn't want to leave the question because that would be rude, even if it did come from a total stranger. "Fun." It was just another person that would probably be distanced by his odd mannerisms. He didn't pay the guy too much heed as he turned his attention back to the cave. It got fairly dark a few feet into the cave before the tunnel turned out of site. He would need a torch or some sort of light to go in any further. He didn't really feel like dying because he couldn't see a drop off or some other such obstacle.

Fiddling through his pockets, he tried to find anything he could start a fire with. Paper, a stick or something that was flammable. He had his smokes and a lighter, but he couldn't go burning his smokes. That would be entirely too wasteful for such a treat. The lighter was a good option though. It wouldn't make much light, but he could use it to light something bigger. Scratching his chin and looking around briefly, Makoto stared back up at the guy who looked as if he was about to jump down. Pointing a finger into the cave, Makoto uttered a simple phrase in a questioning manner. "Torch?" It might have been too simple of a statement as it didn't really convey what he was trying to ask, but it was the most he was going to say. He was a bit shy considering he had never met this guy.

After brooding a moment about his abrupt torch question, Makoto got a little embarrassed and started walking into the cave to get out of the other man's sight. He would have to simply use the lighter because he was too nervous to turn around. What if this dude outright hated him? While he was sued to it from most people he spoke to, this was an opportunity to make a friend. He shouldn't ruin it by talking like an idiot. Deciding that running away was just as shameful, Makoto spun on his heel, and headed in the other direction. Staring directly at the other man, he asked another question. "Explore?" This too was overly simplified, but it was a little easier to discern what he wanted than the previous statement. He wanted to smile as well, but his cheeks seemed to lock up, so he just gave his usual straight face.

What a funny man. Maybe he wasn't a "That" kind of guy. He would have imagined him far more loud and obnoxious if he was. This man was just an awkward mess. No. To call him a mess would be rude. That wasn't Saizos style after all. He was rather polite, this man deserved a chance. What he would do with this chance would be a mystery for now. He could be a strong amigo later in the future. He could also be a burden as well. Potentially both. He seemed strong anyways. He did just climb a cliff face and seemed relatively relaxed. If he was tired, he definitely didn't show it. He was a tough nut to crack. He meant this in two ways. Tough to understand and probably tough to break physically. It was a fun combination, for sure. It could also become aggravating later though. With that manner of speaking, it would be a little puzzle to figure out what he really was trying to say. Though some of his sentences, if you can even call them that, did make more sense then others. Saizo would jump down from the tree, snapping off a sturdy branch on his way down. "Torch." he would say as he presented the branch. Luckily it had come out in a nearly perfect shape. This was complete luck but Saizo would pretend like he had meant to do that.

Saizo liked to take credit if no one else could, for the good things anyways. He was a bit egocentric in that remark, but it wasn't like it hurt anyone. As long as it wasn't too farfetched. Saizo was sure his friend wouldn't notice either. Even if he did though, he probably wouldn't say anything. He seemed hesitant to bring a friend along from the way he acted. Funny, Saizo was thinking the same thing not too long ago. Seeing how the man acted though had completely changed his mind though. He seemed way to innocent to be a bad person, if he was it would have definitely fooled him. His acting would be superb if that was the case, but Saizo believed that it wasn't. Course, this is coming from a man who throws his trust around like a tennis ball. He would believe some of the most outrageous things sometimes. He wasn't that much of a knucklehead, but he sure had his moments. Most people who knew him enough would figure out that he was just calm and too relaxed to think things through, especially when he didn't care about it all that much. This pretty much meant most things. It was confusing how the boy worked. His head was kind of broken in a sense. Some people would believe he had been dropped as a child. His mother was very loving, she would have never done that. At least Saizo hoped she hadn't.

Saizo would make his way into the mouth of the cave. It sure was dark. So many places in this land were dark. Maybe that is why it is called of the land of death. No, that answer was still not satisfying. He would have to think that out some more at some later time. "Lets?" he would say as he gave a bit of a bow and signaled towards the inside of the cave. He was eager to see the inside. The wood was still a bit mysterious. It definitely looked man made. Could it have been dropped by a traveller? Maybe the same traveller was killed by some sort of beast inside. Like liger turtle, or giant chainsaw bird. You never know what kind of animals you will meat out in the ninja world. There were so many strange things. Creatures who could talk, perform hand seals, hybrid creatures. Then there was also the tailed beasts. Those were truly terrifying. Lucky that most of them were captured and unable to roam the wild. At the same time, they were taking the creatures freedom too, though. Maybe this was a cruel practice, but it seemed like a necessary one.

Makoto's jaw dropped as he saw the branch get brutally ripped from the tree. Small fragments of bark fell off as the force of the other guys drop had splintered the wood. The guy handed him the branch, whilst calling it a torch, but Makoto could only see it as a victim. Regaining some composure, his mouth closed, but he was still in shock. His hands trembled as they clutched the branch. Poor tree. Quickly, he jumped up and pulled himself up the tree, to the spot where the branch had been broken. Gingerly, he tried pressing the branch back into place, but he knew it was hopeless. It just kinda tapped the tree, but it didn't stay in place. A single tear ran down Makoto's cheek, as he stared at the 'wound' on the tree. He stared for a solid ten seconds, and then he noticed something. The wood was mildly grayed out, and the break was really dry to the touch. Inspecting the branch in his hands, he noticed it was leafless, and quite rigid, unlike a flexible living branch. Makoto let out a sigh of relief as he realized it was a dead branch. He had almost thrown a fit over something so stupid. That would have ruined his chances at making a new friend for sure.

Dropping down, Makoto landed in time for the other guy to invite him into the gaping maw of darkness. Using his lighter, he tried to set the dead branch alight. It didn't work that well, so he had to think of something else. Scratching his head, he looked around for something dry and easy to light. It shouldn't be too hard, because the air was so cold it sucked the water right out of things. His eyes passed a small shrub, but it was too green to be used. He kept scanning, then his eyes darted back to the shrub. He wasn't positive, but it looked like a wild mustard plant. Going closer, he confirmed that it was indeed mustard. Putting down the branch, he reached in and started moving away different stalks, looking for one with a seed pod. His luck must have been high, because he found two. Now, the seed pods were small, so it wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. Makoto reached up and tore of one of his shirt sleeves. He then placed the pods in the shirt, wrapped them up, and started stomping on it. His hope was to squeeze the flammable oils out of the seeds onto the cloth, so he could use it to fuel the torch, and eventually light the wood. When he was satisfied that they were mashed enough, he unwrapped them and dumped the debris. He then wrapped the cloth around the branch and lit it.

The cloth certainly lit, but he wasn't sure if it would be enough for the wood. Either way, he was tired of stalling their adventure. With some pep in his step, he walked passed his companion and went on then. He was careful to avoid the wood on the ground. He didn't want to trip on whatever it was. Once he got to the part where the cave turned, he realized he had forgotten to do something that was essential to making friends. Turning back to the other guy, he bowed slightly. "I'm Makoto." He then paused and stared at the other man for a moment to allow him to introduce himself. He wouldn't be surprised though if the guy just walked off and ditched him. How rude must Makoto look after not introducing himself to someone he just met and expected to explore with? He must look like a total ass at the moment, so he was a bit ashamed of himself. Hopefully the guy wouldn't be too furious.

(OOC: Sorry for the small post, I got lazy)
What an odd one. It kind of made him more interesting to travel with. The weird ones were always more exciting then the normal people. It added multiple layers of excitement and adventure to a voyage. This one certainly had some strange things going on in his mind. It wasn't hard to see that after he tried and put the branch back on a dead tree. The reasoning behind it was still unclear to Saizo. He wouldn't ask, still having just met the guy. He wasn't going to dissect his personality completely. Not yet anyways. Hopefully it would be gradual progress, where they will learn to understand each other. That's the way he liked to get to know people anyways. It was also the right way to learn about them.

The branch he had given him was rather bad for a torch. Saizo hadn't noticed when he gave him it. It was kind of embarrassing for him to have gave him a bad stick, he would try and remain quiet about it as he saw Makoto make use of it anyways. Good thing he was resourceful and was able to find a way to make it work. Come to think of it, Saizo probably had an actual torch in his bag somewhere. Woops. Well, it was a bit late now. Guess it would be best just to use the one they just made. Saizo would start to follow his comrade. He knew the makeshift torch was kind of bad. Maybe he could try something though. Something that pertained to his Hydrification technique. He could create flammable oil through it. It wasn't a common trait among many of the members, but maybe he could try and see if he could make use of it. It was rumored to be a specialty of many older Hozuki. He wasn't acquainted with any of them. It could pertain to genetics, but he wouldn't know unless he tried. He would wait before trying his hand on it though. He still hadn't told this guy who he was, or that he belonged to a clan made up of criminals and pirates. "My names Saizo." he would say with a smile as he put his hand out, anticipating a hand shake.

After their introductions were through, and hands were shaken, Makoto took the initiative in leading the exploration. He had the light, so he had to stay in front. Holding the torch in front of him, he used it to illuminate the ground where he was stepping so that he didn't trip on something. As they went, the wood continued to pave the ground. There were two metal rails that went forward on either side of each piece of timber. It was obviously a track of some sort, but Makoto wasn't sure what it was for. He had never been in this region, and had no idea what they would use them for. The track seemed to serve as a decent path though, as it was usually flat, the only potential problem being the gap between planks which might trip him up. Following them down, he went deeper into the cave network. He stopped once or twice to check behind him, and made sure that Saizo was OK. He met the guy up on a mountain, so he had assumed that the man was skilled. The checks were purely a form of courtesy.

As he went deeper, a soft noise could be heard. At first, it sounded like a small breeze, maybe blowing in behind them from the cave entrance. The further he went, the louder it got, and from the moisture in the air, and the now deafening roar, it was most definitely moving water. The point where he could hear it the loudest was the first split in the path. There was a lever to change the direction in the tracks, and two sets of tracks went forward into the darkness. One seemed to curve downwards out of site, and the other one went straight ahead. From all the noise, he had no idea which one lead to the flowing water, that is, if either of them did lead to water. Turning back to talk to Saizo, Makoto attempted to hand over the torch, motioning for the other man to move in front of him "Split. You pick." He was just excited to be exploring with someone, so he didn't care which way they went. Both paths were equally dark, and mysterious, so he'd be fine with either. He figured maybe the other man could figure something out, or perhaps wanted to take a turn at leading the adventure.

OOC:

The stops seemed awkward. They didn't really say anything, and they sort of just stood there. He didn't talk much. Saizo didn't really want to force it out either. Whenever he was ready. I the time would ever come. Though, maybe keeping their distance was better. They were not from the same village after all. One could tell by their attire alone. If they were to ever meet in battle, to actually know each other would only make it harder. It was a cold and sad truth. One must learn to adapt to any situation in the shinobi world. If he ever became Umikage, he would try and change that. To do something such as that. It would be not only unheard of, but nearly impossible. To unite all under one banner. It would be the only thing he would want as Umikage. It would be his only desire in this world. The only thing he would wish to leave behind. A place where people no longer had to fear each other. It was a fool's wish, but if that was so, Sazio would proudly take the moniker of fool.

They would walk, maybe about a mile into the cave, probably less then that, when they started hearing water. Saizo recognized the sound immediately. He was quite acquainted to this sound. There were many underground waterways in Shippuugakure. He found it interesting to explore them from time to time. He sometimes found cute trinkets inside. Nothing valuable, just a rock he liked or a seashell he thought would look good on a necklace. They soon ran into a fork in the road. Hmm, Makuto didn't seem to know which way to go either. He had the light, so Saizo would follow him which ever way he was to choose, but he seemed like he wanted a suggestion. "Hmm, I think going straight ahead would be a fun path." said Saizo as he picked the torch from his hand and continued down the dark path, leading the two. "I don't believe I have asked yet, what village are you from?" he would say as he playfully walked and balances on the wooden tracks, similar to many shows and plays he had seen.

As he had hoped, Saizo seemed to have more insight than him, or at least more ambition. Makoto was now in the back, and simply following Saizo, he realized he had done something dumb. He had thoughtlessly charged through the cave, not even giving the other man any attention. He didn't talk, and had only meagerly checked on him. It must have been awkward to simply follow from behind, staring at the other ones back. He was half expecting to be treated the same way, but Saizo was much more thoughtful than him. Makoto's ears perked up as he heard the question. He was excited to get a chance to talk, but the subject matter, while not personal, could be a bit touchy. Knowing what village he was from could be used against him if this was an enemy ninja, but Makoto also didn't want to ignore it. He didn't feel like this guy was dangerous, at least not towards Makoto. He had no idea how strong the guy was, that is, if he was even combat capable. Makoto walked for a little bit, brooding over what to say before he finally decided to just answer.

"From Kusamuragakure. But I wander a lot." His intention wasn't to demean his village, but it was true. He wasn't the most loyal ninja, as he entertained his self interests and wandered the world a lot. That's not to say he's a traitor or anything of the sort. It just means he wasn't as active as his peers in building up the village and it's reputation. After speaking, he paused for a moment, and then realized he hadn't finished the response. "And you?" It would have been silly of him not to respond back. it was obvious that they were trying to get to know each other. He couldn't be negligent in his speaking, no matter how bad he was at it. As he spoke, he stumbled a bit on the tracks. He didn't even get close to falling, but he did have to reach out and brace himself on the wall. With his hand against the cold stone, he noticed something. The walls were vibrating, not very fast, and not very loud, but he could feel it. It took a moment before he realized it was from the moving water that was making all the noise. He was a bit amazed that the water could be so powerful. Hopefully they didn't run into it.

Saizo would continue playing around on the silly rails, jumping over, balancing and swaying back and forth from them. He resembled a child. He would be spinning and turning as he walked, examining the cave in a distinct sort of way then most would. He liked doing it like this, though. The only problem was if he accidentally dropped the torch or his spinning sucked away the flame. Sure, they could light it again, but it would be best if they weren't in the dark any longer then they had to be. Saizo trusted this man though. He didn't seem like a bad guy. It was just unfortunate that they were on different sides. So many people he had met, good people, just never belonging to the same side. It saddened him. He had to lighten his mood up though. He was traveling in a cave with an almost absolute stranger. What was more mood lightening then that? I guess he was just in a melancholy mood. It had been a while since he had been forced to live alone. He was lonely most of the time. It was starting to affect his psyche by now. This was probably why he travelled so much. It helped him get away from that life. Something that his ninja duties haven't been doing at the moment. Probably due to Saizo and his picky nature when it came to missions and how he refused to do quite a few of them. He wasn't sure who in their right mind would take some of the missions that were up for grabs, but those genin did need something to do before they are strong enough for the real jobs.

Saizo would take in the fact that he was traveling with a ninja from Kusamu. The hidden jungle, full of energy and life. He had yet to visit it. "Im from the Ocean Country." he said to the jungle man. If he did wander a lot then he would be familiar with the name Ocean Country. It was really just another way to say Shippugakure. Many of the smaller islands and villages were not nearly as well known as that one. He wasn't expecting to run into a jungle ninja. He didn't know much of anything about them. There land was still a mystery to him. Maybe if he didn't travel to Tsuki as much as he did, he would be able to make plans to go there sometime. What a difficult choice. He really liked Tsukigakure. It was quite a nice place to be honest. If he didn't enjoy Shippuu as much as he did, he would have ran off and joined Tsuki. This wasn't the case however. His homeland was just as nice as this place. Well, maybe not this exact place. It was a bit nicer when it came to cave formation. This one was rather dreary and dark.