Private As the sun sets (Otakemaru)

[Yume Izanami]

The sun was setting on Konoha as the chunin mulled over her own thoughts. She had already sent a message out to Take to talk about things. Aria things. Mitsuha had thought about what Aria/Ayeka had said. How to lay it onto him gently without him losing it. She thinks of Otakemaru as a gentle soul. Maybe that's why Aria liked him. They do say that opposites attract.

The whole thing with Aria and Otakemaru made her also realize one thing. She has never really fell in love with anyone. Will she ever find that one special person? Only time will tell. But for right now... Her mind shifted back to Otakemaru. How will he handle the news that she deliver to him? She sat on the head of one of the Hokage monuments, the first Hokage, and would wait for the swordsman.

 

[Ōtakemaru]

It was chaotic at home after he decided to move out. As if his parents weren’t already masters of making him feel bad about himself, now the pity card was thrown all over the place – fabrications of his reasons, gratitude, the lack thereof, and fuming shit thrown at his direction. He was intent on living on his own, damn the trials he’d face before settling for such a lonely life.

It’d be miles better than staying with them a second longer. Fortunately for him, he was assigned a room and got to make an appointment for a look at the possible new home of his, but before that… he’d received a message. From Mitsuha.

Was it just him or… had she changed drastically since that time back at the Academy? Because of that nostalgic memory, he’d made sure to do what he promised himself to do long ago – although, someone like Take always carried a sort of ‘void’ or cloud over their heads, which made him blend in with dark skies. Almost soundless did he arrive at the top of the Hokage Rock, atop the First Hokage’s head, making his presence known: “Hello…”

In his hand, he was holding the manga that she had lent to him long ago. He meant to give it back to her a while ago, too… but shit happens, y’know? Besides, according to the message, he could not miss out on this meeting... not when it involved someone he held so sickingly dear to him.

 

[Yume Izanami]

Mitsuha would shift her head to the side, acknowledging that Otakemaru had greeted her. Yeah, she was never a people person... But her last time that she was in contact with Ayeka had changed something in her. She seen him carrying a manga, though she almost doesn't even remember anything about it other than the plot and the story behind it. Not of why he was carrying it around. "Come. Sit. I'll catch you if you fall, but you'll get an earful from me afterwards." She would wait for him to sit. Her own eyes trained out towards the horizon. She never really thought much about the future other than trying to be more famous than her own parents.

Letting out a sigh, closing her eyes and then opening them, still looking out at the sunset. The light orange hues were slowly disappearing. Once Otakemaru had sat down beside her, she would then speak up once more. "I ran into Ayeka, Keniwa's sister, earlier today. Something rather peculiar had happened during the interaction." She would say, giving him a small idea of how this conversation is going to go, though it won't make much sense until she delves deeper into what had happened. Baby steps. She doesn't know how Otakemaru will handle the news and it is best if it is laid out gently to him.

 

[Ōtakemaru]

Take walked closer to her side, his feet glued stuck to the rocky surface of the Hokage’s head without slipping. A feat… yes, a feat… a feat he never jubilated the achievement of. Perhaps the scars in his mind were aiming to turn Take into his own, worst enemy in the long run… but that was food for later thought.

He did as instructed and sat down, uncertain still as to what today’s topic was about… but to be called all the way up here gave a sense of urgency to the scenario. A sense of high importance, something that would change Take and his way of life… perhaps forever. “… Ayeka?” Estranged for a bit, Take now learned that Keniwa had a sister… and it made him tilt his head, although he couldn’t figure out why that urge came to him.

But regardless of his intrigue, his eyes remained dry and misty from… perhaps, exhaustion. It was rare to see his eyes glimmer even once. “… Is… is she okay? Did something… did something bad happen to her?” he asked, perhaps getting a little impatient himself – something from Mitsuha’s words, her voice and articulation, made the young swordsman grow into unrest. However, grabbing his knee, he managed to recollect himself, remembering that a shinobi shouldn’t panic so quickly – if Mitsuha was here to relay a report of such sort, then definitely Ayeka was being helped with one thing or another right now.

Like… she might’ve been at the Byoin or something. Like a certain other person…

WC: 257 [MFT]

 

[Yume Izanami]

She listened to Otakemaru speak. Of course he wanted to know if she was okay. She would nod. "A masked boy and his dog are watching over her at the Byoin right now." She would pause before speaking once more. "She had undergone a drastic transformation that changed both her physical features and I would guess her powers as well. But that's not all of it. Because during this transformation, she was possessed." She would pause once more as she would let him process the information.

"As to what, or rather who possessed her. It was Aria." She would look at him, make sure that he was okay and that he won't suddenly decide to faint and fall off the first Hokage's Head. And if he does, she would of course fly down and grab him.

 

[Ōtakemaru]

Okay… okay, good. Very good – that first input calmed him down again, to an extent. “I-I see… that’s good,” he reassured himself, his clenched fists relaxing and spreading his fingers once more. However, Mitsuha further explained that Ayeka wasn’t the same as before – she had… transformed, somehow. A drastic transformation, which was a source for worry too. Was she still… Ayeka?

Wait… possessed? His eyes widened once more, almost taken aback by what he deeply wished to have been a joke. Yet, he knew Mitsuha a little better than that… she wouldn’t jest about this. “Poss… wait, is it about that night?” he asked, panicking over an event that occurred one silent night – he found Ayeka along with a Yōkai, although the situation had been deescalated fully. He didn’t figure that the entity would try to possess her now of all times… or that it ever had the intention to. Did it trick them?! He should’ve killed it, he should’ve eradicated it before it had a ch-

…

He looked like he was about to punch someone with how wide his eyes were. He hadn’t… heard that name in a bit. Not since the bearer of that name left him an even bigger mess than he already was. Not since the bearer of that name… b-… betrayed him…

His hands were shaking madly. Headaches sieged his skull, and he rose up on his feet. “A-Aria… she’s- she p-possessed Ayeka?! What do you mean?! Only ghosts and Yamanaka do that!!!” Perhaps because of how aching his head was, it hadn’t clicked to him the very implication of his statement… truly, only a skilled Yamanaka – or a ghost – could talk about possessing someone like that…

 

[Yume Izanami]

She would stay quiet as Otakemau processed the information. The talk of Ayeka being possessed by Aria wouldn't sit well for the swordsman, so it seemed. She would stay quiet on the matter, knowing that she can't fully push him into what she wanted him to get to. For the amount of time that she knew him, he was gentle, and maybe, she may have been too hard on him back then.

She doesn't have the same effect on others when it comes to being demanding, only Keniwa has seen a side of her that he would not want to ever see again, so she would opt to try a new route and try and be patient with other people. "Once you are ready to hear more, I'll need you to sit down." She would stay quiet until he sat down by her side once again, after that, she would say, "Do you understand what you had just said? About the possession?" She would say, trying to lead him into the topic at hand.

 

[Ōtakemaru]

Take wanted to hear more. His singular desire was to know what had occurred to Aria, the one who had captured his heart with such ferocious grace that it all happened in the blink of an eye. He looked… angered. But he wouldn’t get to hear more until he calmed down again… completely dismissing the implications of his previous statement.

“… I-I don’t get it,” Take mumbled in worry as he finally sat back down, listening to Mitsuha’s next words – something about what he had just said, about the possession…

… N-No…

Possessing was usually performed by a spirit… Aria hadn’t died? No? “N-No…” his eyes widened, covering his ears as if capable of blocking out reality just like that, “No, no, no…” Was his love… dead? Did she just die? Was that it?

Was that really it? She left him… with all of his pain… just to die?

Turning his gaze towards Mitsuha, Take’s face couldn’t have been more contorted into a despaired mess. Eyes twitching wide-open, his lips frozen, and a dark hue over his nose and forehead. For some reason, Mitsuha’s current white hair made him delusional for a moment – thinking to himself ‘is that you, Aria?’ when it couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Then, stinging pain hit him right in the chest, and he grabbed his haori right above that area, shrinking in with his knees and sitting in a cradled position, his face buried into himself as he wallowed in pain, his sobbing uncontrollable.

WC: 251 [MFT]

 

[Yume Izanami]

She... This is the second time that she has ever found herself in a situation like this. And the previous time is... Her eyes flicked over to the manga that was in his possession. Now she remembers. They had met at the academy long ago. When she was crazy shy and because of that, Otakemaru's awkwardness came full into effect and then he turned into a crying mess. Back then, she didn't really know what to do, thought like a rich person and gave him something nice.

But right now, that type of thought process isn't going to work. He just lost someone precious to him. She would feel ashamed of her past self. The innocent look in his eyes, the sadness in them just hits Mitsuha, something that rarely happens. She never really knew Aria as much as Keniwa or Otakemaru have, but she could tell that she has made an impact on their lives. She would rush into Otakemaru, stopping him from sitting in a cradled position and hug him close and tight. Her thought process? Even the strongest of people can break on the inside, and need reassurance that there are people who have their back. She held him close, ignoring any tears or snot getting on her clothes. She would be like that until he calmed down enough for her to tell him Aria's message for him. "Otakemaru. Aria told me that the time she spent with you, was the best time of her life. She loves you just as much as you love her. Don't ever forget that, but you also must live on for her."

 

[Ōtakemaru]

Almost… out of nowhere, for him, Mitsuha opened up the shell that was his cradled form, tightly embracing him to prevent further…

He honestly didn’t expect a hug here and now. Usually, he’d cry himself to sleep – sometimes, he’d faint, but he was a shinobi now. If anything, he was expected most of all… to just move on. Death lingered all around a shinobi, and that was an indisputable fact.

But humans… they made connections. Even the coldest hearts yearned for a warm embrace. Knowing how that warmth felt, and losing its source, was no unique happenstance… here he was, downgrading his own pain once more-

But Mitsuha… she didn’t mind any of that. Despite her composure, he came to realize how warm she could be as well. It made him shiver, jolt a bit, and then… the strength in his arms melted away, and his heart burst out its deep elegy. Oh how he missed her…

Those months of her recovery were the happiest months in his life. She was always so brazen with her tendency for brutality, wanting to throw hands at every corner, but Take got to see more sides of her… sides she rarely showed to anyone else. It was magical. He was convinced that this was true love blooming inside of his damaged heart, slowly making whole the hollow wounds.

Mitsuha’s words… finally reached him, upon mentioning Aria. That she… loved him just as much as he loved her. That his greatest time was with her… and that her greatest time was with him. “… R-Really? She… she said that?” he tried to ask out, but the shivering hulking voice kept cutting him off here and there.

“… Is she… in Ayeka? Wait, can I talk to her?”

 

[Yume Izanami]

When did she change? So much really. But now seeing how torn people are from losing the ones that they care about, had triggered something in Mitsuha. Here she was, at first just a messenger, but what if there was another reason for Aria wanting her to give these messages to Keniwa and Otakemaru? Maybe Aria wanted to see Mitsuha to change as well?

Well. Congrats. Mitsuha have felt like she has gone through such a massive change unlike any other before, even becoming part dragon hasn't felt like this significant of a change. "Yeah really, she said that." Mitsuha would confirm for him. He would then go on to ask about is she in Ayeka and if he could talk to her.

She would think about it. Today was a sure rollercoaster. She had seen Ayeka being covered in natural energies, the same that Aria always had. "In all honesty. I don't know. This morning was the first ever occurrence. We would just have to wait and see if it was isolated event or not. But if it isn't. I think she would be psyched to talk to you again."

 

[Ōtakemaru]

She really said that… those words meant so much to Take. His love for her couldn’t be more apparent to him and to everyone else. And he was convinced now… even… even if she didn’t see him as a romantic interest… the fact that she saw the best in him was more than he could’ve ever asked for.

But her presence in Ayeka, and the whole possession, happened this morning. Based on her words, it was a temporary event, too… she wanted to wait and see if it would repeat itself. If so, he could finally talk to his crush once more – ask her… if… why… if she could ever have seen herself take him with her back when she decided to just up and dip. And… and… lay his feelings out bare. Tell her what he felt. Let her know his desires. His wishes.

And to tell her that he’d loved her ever since he first laid eyes on her.

“I wanna talk to her again…” were more than enough words to put Take at ease, “I… I wanna tell her how I feel. I can’t miss this chance, I need to tell her… I know how she feels about many things. Hihi, she’s really happy about fighting and stuff… but I want her to know what makes me happy, too.”

She made him happy. At least, if he got that out – and heard her response – he’d finally find some sort of closure. Although with such a confession in the works, there was a chance that she saw him as a close friend. He’d have to live with that… could he?

Maybe… maybe not. He honestly didn’t know yet. “S-Sorry if I worried some of you…”

 

[Yume Izanami]

She would nod and listen to what he had to say. "It's okay. We all grieve when we lose someone precious to us. It what makes us human after all." They would sit in silence for a bit before Mitsuha would get up, dusting herself off.

She would look out into the horizon before talking once more. "If you ever want to talk, I'm here for you. It can be about anything really. You just have to ask." She would let out a small sigh, "But right now it is getting late." She would turn to him, "Safe travels, okay?" And with that said, she would take her leave, walking down the mountain path.

(topic left unless stopped)

 

[Ōtakemaru]

… Mitsuha was no longer the ultra-shy Academy student he met at the Academy long ago… so long ago. It had already been years, huh? He, too, was on the deep end back then – they sure had some things in common. To think that… Mitsuha would grow so much… made him feel hope in himself. Hope that led him to believe once more – in spite of how fearful he once was to believe in anything – that he, too, could shine more light into his own life… by his own hands, without relying on the comfort of others. In the end… he was still breathing.

But scars remained. And they’d remain forever – he had to accept that. He had to acknowledge that. Take was no ordinary shinobi, after all – the flame marks on his face would remain for all eternity.

But those flames no longer symbolized his empty skull… they were now flames of emotion. Flames of love and fury, joy and grief. Flames of what made him who he was today. That Cursed Seal seemed to provide him with more than just a boost in strength – it granted him a new path.

Aria… we both transformed our bodies to become monsters. Out of necessity, and out of desperation. When Take dreamt of the future, he dreamt of her by his side – his lovely monster, and he was her lovely monster. Two scary, smiling, loving monsters, embracing each other’s monstrosities and healing each other’s wounds. He swore… he would only ever be her monster.

[Topic Left, MFT]