A Conflict

[quote="Odd"]He is always watching; he is always waiting. Who knows what for, but in waiting he lies, and in the shadows he lurks. Only in appearance does the one called Odd blend in with his surroundings, though, now, the use of a specific technique perfects this appearance, and, to means granted by the naked eye, he is invisible. Though sightless, the strange man isn't lacking sight, for he is always watching. He observes from the middle of the open training field, which is dotted by various trees, stones, obstacles, and the like. Hiding in plain sight, Odd hasn't the need to take cover beneath nature's shelter, but from the rain. The disturbance of the rain drops could betray his location, thus his positioning beneath the fronds of an immense tree lying one meter to his left flank. The greenery draped over the majestic branches soaks up the rain before it cascades upon the dry man below. He is watching.

Why, one may ask, is the older man here? And, moreover, for what purpose does he conceal himself so? The high-ranking shinobi finds peace among the innocence of the underlings, many of whom are in their youth, not yet corrupted by the world's wickedness, untouched by the scum festering within the deepest recesses of their village. Their ignorance to these horrors emits a strange and beautiful aura of purity. These are the last of the corroded populous embodying this dying ideal, and the man sees it as his job to preserve the purity. Like a shepherd gazing lovingly upon his flock, which he swore to protect, Odd stands and watches the children. He is always watching.

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day; day, after, day, after day, he sees his sheep not led astray.

Though his hiding may arouse suspicion, best believe it's for the best. Knowing the miscreants prowling the village's underbelly, one would possess sufficient reason to suspect the watcher of pedophilloic peeping, engaging in masturbatory fantasies involving the young genin whose training he so intently observes. Though, as we are all captivated by things of beauty, the beauty of the children's innocence captivates Odd, and thus he stays; and thus he watches. To circumvent the suspicion of such lewd acts, the man remains hidden, for he needn't the wrong impression be formed about his presence. No, with no malicious intent at heart, Odd simply watches, looking admiringly and appreciatively upon the carefree joy of all the children. He is watching.

Beware of wolves who present themselves in the garb of sheep, for the flock they will devour. Odd an exception to general perception, the conclusion logically drawn of an older man spying and creeping about a children's training field is often not so benign as that which should be drawn of Odd's presence. Surely, the man in the tree five meters adjacent to Odd on his right side, the man called Yoshi, is not here to relish in the beauty of innocence. No, the shepherd of the pure's eye remains fixated upon this man, seeing to it that he does not advance upon the flock with evil intent. The chakra signature of anyone encroaching upon his one hundred meter buffer zone becomes known to him, and thus Odd has picked up upon Yoshi, as well as his elemental affinities. He is always watching.

Momentarily, the crimson-haired girl prances energetically onto the scene, her upbeat aura bringing a smile to Odd's face. Though, while her personality may seem one of purity, other aspect's of the girl's behavior illustrate a hint of corruption to her natural innocence. Firstly, the girl is clad as a harlot, and, certainly, one so immodestly clothed cannot embody the perfect purity that Odd seeks. The girl's language also eradicates the smile from the face of the strange man; such impure words dismay the shinobi greatly. He frowns as he listens to the girl's speech, ridden with arrogance and cusses as it is. Though hints of grit mar the girl's soul, her overall essence seems to be one of purity, and thus Odd considers her one of his flock. She is still a child after all. Alas, it is the shepherd's job to show his sheep the way, and the shepherd must monitor their path carefully. Yes, he is watching.

In a show of fatherly discipline, entirely untraceable but to methods of chakra sensory such as those he practices, Odd assumes a new location directly in between the shinobi of his rank and the genin, who have begun to talk. Traversing the five meters between his old location and his desired one, Odd then finds himself somewhere between the two meter space separating the girl and the man. At this point, the technique enshrouding Odd in a versatile camouflage dissipates, revealing the odd-looking, somewhat spooky figure of the man to the two shinobi that he stands between. He is facing the manipulator of shadows. Though, with the sun smothered by the ominous clouds, and the shadow of a tree engulfing their location anyways, neither his, nor his two new friends' shadows are visible, thus negating any effect a Nara's technique could have on any one of them. The pale orbs that are the strange one's eyes glow as they gaze into the soul of the young girl. He is always watching.

"Don't use naughty words."

The point in time at which Odd assumes his given location and utters these five syllables is directly following that at which the girl mutters the expletive beginning in 'a' and ending with a double 's'. The startling appearance of the ghastly figure is liable to disturb both parties, and perhaps render them speechless, for out of nowhere the spindly man emerges. Draped in a black cloak, limbs hidden beneath, one could say the mean appears to be death's harbinger itself. Though, Odd acts on no evil intent, he simply wishes to preserve the purity of the young girl, and dissuade her from using such language again; he comes to her with open arms, and thought of harm does not flicker through his psyche for the briefest of instants. He waits for a reply.

He watches.