Back Alley Seki

[Kagetsu Yuii]

"You're looking a little thin."

Kiyo glanced up from the bottom of her tea cup to the old woman across from her and smiled politely. No, not old, to call Kagetsu Kariko old would admit her own advanced years but oh had Kariko aged. It was difficult to look at her, this woman who had once been a terror of her childhood and eventually one of her few remaining acquaintances. They were cousins of a distant sort, as all Kagetsu assumed themselves to be until an elder gave the nod that meant their blood was not so close. It was better that way, everyone was family and everyone cared. Or so they said, what tripe that turned out to be.

Kiyo cleared her throat gently then smiled, "I am alright Ka-chan, I am eating very well." Somewhere in the distance a wind chime sounded and she could smell a hundred years of old tobacco and death swirling about her. Not that the retirement sector of the Kagetsu Clan was not lavish and comfortable for those of it's ranks who managed to make it to such an esteemed age, it simply did not appeal.

The elderly woman frowned, the wrinkles about her mouth deepening, "Are you sure? You're out there all by yourself and I worry about you." she insisted, reaching for Kiyo's much younger hand. Perhaps if she could still see Kiyo might have found the aged face of her friend alarming but it was the touch of her softened, thin and cold skin that made Kiyo shudder.

"I am not alone, I have little Yuii for company and many of the villagers visit me." The ex-kage insisted, smiling warmly.While Yuii was not the best of company, she was very adventurous and rarely home at the shrine, Kiyo still took comfort in having someone to prepare the odd meal for or two speak to on a day to day basis. Then again, Yuii wasn't so keen for that same company.

"That girl?" Kariko snarled, the old woman suddenly alive, "I see her skulking around. Nothing but sass from that one. She needs a good backhanding like they gave in the academy. Remember? You remember." The was she held herself, the attention she was now giving Kiyo well the old kage had found a sore spot it seemed.

With a gentle sigh Kiyo shook her head. It was difficult to defend the actions of her adopted niece when the girl did everything in her power to be unsociable and inconsolable but there was no need to speak ill words. Kiyo was, in all effects, the closest the presumably orphaned girl had to a parent and she couldn't let a stuffy old woman like Kariko attack her so."Ah, yes, of course I do. Yuii is a fine girl, she is just going through a phase, Ka-chan, just as you or I did." she tried to divert the conversation, to no avail.

"Maybe you, she's your so called niece, but I was every example of what a Kagetsu ought to be. Just keep that little beast away from my grand sons, there has been enough poison introduced to the good blood of the clan, I wont see it worsened. She's a pretty girl, and those are the worst kinds. I hear she works with Genjutsu, like you, and there is simply no room for such a creature" And that was the heart of the matter. Likely Yuii had come up in conversation with one of her grand sons and Kariko had not enjoyed the idea. Friends was a strained word, and the Kagetsu had yet to forgive Kiyo for breaking their re-founded monarchy.

"That was uncalled for, Kariko and simply untrue. Yuii is a strong girl, she would have made an excellent Kagetsu given the chance and do not pretend I do not know to whom you refer either. The past is the past, let it alone." Kiyo sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Your father should have married you to Kotani-kun, to reverse the damage he did to the bloolin-" Kiyo stood abruptly, slamming both hands.

"I seem to remember some dispute as to whether your grandmother tumbled with a Shepard or a Shinobi! Don't speak to me of poisoned bloodlines." she snarled, leaning forward to stare down her nose at the old woman. It didn't work, not with Kariko.

In a flurry of blankets and the creak of her old chair, Kariko burst to her feat and knocked aside the tea cups in front of them. "How dare you! Out, out! No more tea for you! Come back when you can be civil!" An expected move from a woman so proud of her lineage. That was fine, Kiyo hadn't wanted her company that badly anyways.

"And I shall expect criteria extended towards myself during our next meeting. You are not senile and have no excuse to have forgotten your manners. Good day Kariko." she spoke curtly, turning on her heel to stalk away.

Kiyo kept the same pace all throughout the compound, taking curious stares and hateful glances alike and disregarding them. The Kagetsu were an outdated but dangerous clan, not easily dismissed but not a missed part of her life. Why she visited she could not imagine. And once outside? She began to laugh, one palm pressed against to old compound wall with the gate firmly closed and barred behind her. Let them hear her too, let the entire monstrous estate hear her and her acre for their opinions on her blood.

And so there she was, Kagetsu Kiyo, the immortal lady, peace bringer until a near fatal attack the year prior, doubled over with laughter in a side street near the back gate of her extended families' estate.

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

Avoid the main streets. Senka said advice like this to her son once. Most mothers don't often say such a thing to their children. In fact, back alleys and dark streets often screamed for avoidance. Isn't that where all the horrible things of their society happened? Well, at least in Cloud it was a little known fact that the sordid and strange of Cloud only used alleys to traverse. After all, they were always found within a dark cramp space. While they remain unnamed, it wouldn't be too hard to understand who was being spoken about. Why the hell did they wander around back alleys so much?

Nevermind that. To prove her point, Senka found herself upon a disturbing and curious sight. A lone woman laughing maniacally within the confines of a less traveled road. But, before she pondered about the strange female, she had to remind herself why she was using back roads again. To avoid people. Ah, yes, that's right. To many eyes of disapproval or something of that sorts. There were many reasons why. After all, she had been marked with one of Cloud's most wanted; Inuzuka Gekido. In her plight of stupidity, she ran away from Cloud to search for her love. An ANBU at that time, Senka used the excuse that she would hunt him down. However, time passed and by then everyone knew of her betrayal. Then, she was the fool to drag him back and beg for forgiveness. Stupid for running and weak for returning.

What was she suppose to do? She had become pregnant with the ex-ANBU captain's child. A child couldn't possibly been raised out there. Now that years had passed and people harbored hate for their abandonment, she had become a social pariah. Second thoughts about raising a child outside were beginning to sound better. A big regret. She was stripped of her rank in the ANBU and forced herself into seclusion at the Inuzuka camp. Senka felt so humiliated, but not as humiliated as she had been when Gekido threw her from the pack only a short time before his disappearance.

That was hard for her people to adjust to. She had been the sole hatred of the clan. A member who spoke against the Alpha. A woman. Then, Gekido shows back up and declares her his mate for all of eternity? They wouldn't have it. There was so much argument to dissolve the arrangement. Even attempts on her life and the child's while still in gestation. If she lost the child, Gekido wouldn't have loved her. Their thoughts at least. However, Senka was Alpha female for a reason. She was strong and much more cunning than the bitches who wanted to bed Gekido. She made him better. Nothing could server their bond.

Yet still, she was an outcast to them. That was what connected her to the laughing woman. Although, she did not know it. They were both the odd things of their clans. The feral woman stalked towards her carefully, raw muscle and dark skin making her seem much of a threat than she wanted to pose as.In the dim light, her golden eyes made out the face. How could she not recognize her. Kagetsu Kiyo. The eternal. Mother of Cloud. Raikage. Whatever you wanted to call her, Senka knew her. She was the Raikage in Senka's time as an ANBU and ultimately at the time of her defection. However, Kiyo was also the graceful and merciful figure that allowed Gekido life. An Inuzuka never forgets a kindness paid to them.

What was she doing here? Senka didn't think it was her place to ask, but something seemed off from that ringing cackle. "Excuse me..." There was doubt in her voice, but a fanged grin formed on the corner of her lips. Kiyo looked so god damn crazy. "Are you alright?" Maybe old age was getting to her. Although, Senka couldn't have been so far behind her in age.<i></i>

 

[Kagetsu Yuii]

And yet it struck her as being so very sad that she was here, outside the gates of her own clans ancestral gates and she had been shown the door like a common visitor. Had she not been Raikage? Had she not brought peace? Had she not been glorious? And yet a woman whose personal achievements were dwarfed by her own still had the self given right to insult Kiyo's lineage nearly six and a half decades after conception. Had she not proven the strength and ability of Genjutsu through her mastery? Had she not proven the quality of her father's choice in wife by her exceptional life? And that creature, that decrepit old woman was meant to be a friend within the clan. A cold reminder that her enemies were the stuff of nightmares.

The red haired woman was in the midst of recovery, wiping the tears from her eyes and straightening the invisible wrinkles of her fine wool clothing, when the sudden question startled her. Had she been laughing so hard she hadn't heard the girl approaching? Why had her guard been down? How could she be so careless? Kiyo did not benefit from the watch of Anbu guards anymore, no one cared for the safety of the injured and disgraced, but there were still many who would happily plunge the sharp side of kunai into her back. And hadn't it been one of her own anbu, one of her own who had... she could be dead. It was only lucky that the ex-kage was blind, unbeknownst to her beloved village, and could not have a breakdown over the threatening visage of the Inuzuka woman.

Her hand was shaking. "Huh? Oh, yes, yes of course. I am fine," Kiyo answered quickly, sliding her hand into the warm folds of her jacket and willing it to stop, "I just recalled an exceptionally funny joke involving a priest of Raiden and a Milkmaid." The blind woman smiled, a smile practiced a million times over her sixty-four years of life and perfected as real to even the best trained eye. It was a smile the reflected upon the occasion and assured it's viewer she was telling the absolute truth.

Kiyo gave pause and took a moment to study the younger woman who had stumbled upon her during a moment of emotional outburst. Fifteen years was a long time, too long to remember every face which crossed her path, however there were only a few unfortunate souls to cause the scandal and strife that only a missing nin could. "Oh, you are..." she smelled lightly of dog and grass, so most assuredly an Inuzuka, and there were only a handful of the well known clan who might be familiar to her in such a connotation, "Inuzuka Senka, if my memory does not fail me. How are you?"

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

Kiyo well rehearsed smile reminded Senka of the grace of the former Raikage's day. They were better times that Senka often reflected on. In Kiyo's second reign, Senka was a rising star. An new ANBU who served under Commander Santaru Rin. A rookie with big goals. She had been part of Gekido's tracking squad. The group had earned quite a boastful reputation, but that all crashed down into infamy after Gekido screwed up. She couldn't be mad at Gekido. She screwed up worse than him. Senka knew better. Gekido had always been blinded by his ego and ignorance. He was raised that way since infancy. So, when Senka decided with a calm and clear mind that she would pursue Gekido to bring him back, it was a big mistake to fall for the ex-ANBU captain. She let him lead her through the wilderness. Thank Raiden, she made more sense of the situation and begged him to return. Although, if it weren't for Kiyo, they'd both be dead. Beheaded and used as trophies in the great halls of the Academy, where naughty students would be forced to kiss Gekido's head. She shivered at the image.

Sometimes she wished they wouldn't have returned. There was so much stress that came with doing the right thing. So much unneeded hatred and resentment for the village. She was an outcast more so than she had been when this all started. Katsuo would never be treated like the other academy students. People would always be watching him. Waiting for him to be his father. As much as Gekido would love that, Senka was determined to never let that happen. Even though she respected her husband, Senka would never be able to grasp his thinking. There was nothing caging about this place. Limits needed to be set in order to prevent bad things from happening, that was all. It made her nervous really. She just hadn't been the same wild she-wolf as in her youth.

Senka was startled that someone like The Eternal Kiyo would recognize her after all these years. That was too be expected though. Her family didn't have the nicest track record nowadays. The feral, golden eyed woman stood a little taller as the former Raikage studied her. Her name danced off the tip of her graceful tongue. This woman was so refined. Even in her ANBU days, Senka admired such grace and beauty. "Yes, my lady." She was never good with the formalities, but she tried hard to be polite. It was the only thing that kept her from a blade to the throat.

Now how was she? The feral woman had to honestly think about it. She couldn't just out rightly tell the stranger that her life had suddenly become difficult. Kiyo wouldn't want to be bothered by such things. So, she tried to tell the truth as best she could without saying too much. But, with Senka that never worked. Her mouth was always running faster than her brain. "Things are a bit hectic with my eldest son now joining the academy. Gekido and I have had a rather long break from Shinobi life, but Katsuo's demands to join the academy has us adjusting. Gekido wants to go back into the force with a full swing, to watch Katsuo. I suppose I should set the example too. However..." She trailed, a momentary lapse of thought for only herself. She realized she had left the woman standing and waiting for her to finish. Her golden eyes flipped up from the ground, straight into the Raikage's eyes.

"I feel a bit unwanted and it can't be helped. I would not be surprised or hurt if the village would not trust us with any duties of the sorts. I worry about my family is all." She gave a look of resignation. Maybe Senka should just turn around. Why would Kiyo even care?

 

[Kagetsu Yuii]

It was pleasing to know she had not lost any pertinent memories in the past, well it had to at least be seven or eight years if the child was already making demands to be enrolled within the academy. That would place their case in the midst of her tenure, a bump in the road of relative peace. If she remembered correctly there had been fear of alienating the Inuzuka clan, despite the unquestionable crime committed on both accounts, as well as many other factors. Ergo, it had not been in Kumogakure's favour to end the lives of two people who had eventually turned themselves in. Not that Kiyo had been moved by factors like these before, but one fact had remained. "Already academy age? Goodness, time does fly." she commented warmly, approaching Senka and casually hooking arms as if they were the closest of friends, "I heard Inuzuka tend towards large families, have you had many other children?"

Return? Well that would be difficult. Shinobi were, rightfully, suspicious of anyone who had proven themselves untrustworthy and it was likely her husband would find himself jumping hurdles instead of swinging anything. There was no use saying so though, it was clear Senka held a parallel opinion on the matter. Then again, the reintegration of criminals into the system could be seen from a different light. With their child as a controlling factor they could be pushed to publicly admit the fallacy of leaving the village while reknewing active duty. Of course they would be very disposable too, but she had too know that,

"It is only natural that a father would want to watch over his son, and only an unreasonable person would disallow such a noble pursuit of one's time." Judging the direction Senka had been headed by where she had stopped after stumbling upon herself, Kiyo gave the woman's arm a tug to start her walking. It was one thing to walk down an alley speaking, entirely another to stand whispering in shadows outside her estranged families estate, "All things taken into consideration, your husband can hardly be a danger while you son is a well integrated and contributing part of Kumogakure's society. If they were to disallow him his ability to watch his son it is likely he would poison the boy against the village. Instead they would show both that they are still welcomed parts of society; if perhaps not entirely trusted. on your husbands part. Take heart." The red haired woman interjected during the pause, smiling apologetically and giving the young Inuzuka a pat on her hand. That was hypothetical, of course, but she had to credit the new generation of leaders with at least enough intelligence to work that out.

Kiyo appeared to peer at the brown haired woman through the gloom of the alleyway, a frown forming as they came to the heart of the matter. To return or not to return? It was a given that her new experiences within the system would not be congruent with her youth, and despite the benefits of her return there would also be losses,"Ah, I understand. I feel precisely the same way on some occasions. Last years unfortunate occurrence left a majority believing I am now simply a liability, a Raikage who has not had the good grace to completely disappear following my injuries. Although I am hailed a hero, betrayed no one and am quite beloved but that is beyond the point, You were a, what was it? Anbu? An Anbu who abandoned the greater family, the village, for your own smaller personal family, quite the heinous act so you can not expect much empathy. You just wont find it, so don't expect anyone to beg you back. Question is, do you, Inuzuka Senka, want to return as a shinobi? Given time you would be more than capable of proving yourself a valuable asset to the village, but do you want to?"

And why had she, in the time it took for the young Inuzuka mother to start pouring her problems out, decided to stay and play confident on the matter? Well, one fact remained: Kiyo was a sucker for a good heart wrenching tale and she had saved this one.

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

"I do. Although, we keep them all at home because they are still so young. Katsuo is our only child who goes out," she laughed a bit at the ridiculousness of it all. She proved outsiders right with their common conception of the Inuzuka clan. "We have seven children. Six boys and a daughter. My oldest is eight, while the youngest is just a baby. We may have one more, but after that no more." She forced that issue with a firm hand to Gekido. However, Senka would not change all the chaos for anything. The children gave her such light in her life. No one in her clan ever thought she would be such a loving mother. The loud mouthed rookie who was always challenging Gekido had now become his proud bride. Mother to his children. A protector of her people. She had changed so much. The warp of time seemed to suck her in and spit out these results.

Now as they walked, Senka couldn't help but feel so close to Kiyo. They were so much alike. Cast aside by so many. Outcast to a great crowd of people. As they walked arm in arm, the Inuzuka thought of her former days as an ANBU. She had looked up to Kiyo so much. To be by her side like this, like an old friend, it was encouraging to Senka. The she wolf focused on that shadow of a girl she used to be. Where were all those hopes she had? Even now, she would often regret the decision of leaving the ANBU. It had been her dream to serve as a captain. Now that had all been laid to waste by one foolish decision for the man she loved.

"More than anything, I've wanted to serve this village. Despite what others may say, I love this village. Even in my time away, I had always loved Cloud. My feeling never changed. That is why I begged Gekido to return. The damage in my heart for what I had done to my people, it crippled me. All my life, I've wanted to be a useful tool for the military. Gekido was not satisfied with following orders, but he was raised to be a whole new breed of arrogance. My life was spent on this village. On my family. And, I let one moment of weakness destroy it all. Now, all I want to do is take it all back." The air was thick around her. All the regrets of her past welled up inside her. She had been such a fool, but there was no time to dwell on it now. Senka had to fix it all. She couldn't stand by the sidelines all her life. There was no chance that she'd let her children be persecuted for the things their parents did. She had to make a new legacy.

"Kiyo-Sama, I'm going to come back. I have to, for my son. For all of them. The only was I can remedy what I've done is by giving my life to the village. To prove that I am as loyal as you. I would die for Cloud, but saying it won't just be enough. Thank you." she turned to face the woman and bowed low. The feral child need to cast aside the feelings of self pity. Her former Raikage had gone through so much, it was selfish of Senka to think of herself. She wanted this village to see Kiyo in the way she had. For eight years now, Senka knew this woman to be a savior. She had saved Gekido and now, she saved Senka from slipping into a swallowing torrent of shame.

"What about you, Kiyo-Sama? What are you going to do? You can't allow them to just forget about you. They cannot cast you aside. This village loved you during your reign, but it can't just stop there. Show them. Remind them who you are. A savior! I can't let you stand aside and become forgotten. It would shame me to know that my village would just throw away their Kage. I admire you greatly and have always looked up to you. Don't disappoint me, my lady." She nodded her head in a both, a fangy grin plastered on her face. She had such high hopes for Kiyo.

 

[Kagetsu Yuii]

"Goodness, I hope you have a large garden for all those children to run about in," Kiyo exclaimed, trying to imagine how Senka could even be out on the street when it must be a small tornado in her household. Likely they had extra help with that many children under foot, like the low level workers of the Kagetsu who would mind groups of the youngest children while their parents attended to their duties. Her memory of the details of Inuzuka living situations were fuzzy but dogs roamed in packs so it would not be a stretch to assume they might enjoy similar communal living conditions. It went without saying that Senka had done an excellent job of keeping her figure in tact.

Kiyo afforded her the silence to speak, something that should be given to anyone working out their live's problems. She earnestly considered herself a part of Kumogakure still, a loyal subject and there was sincerity there. It wasn't worth arguing that once a crack was found, the weakness revealed, that there was nothing she could do to fix it. They would just need to find a use for a cracked pot instead of a whole one. "Then you have decided, and I doubt there is much that can stand in your way now." she commented at last, stopping in the road to peer either way. She wasn't quite certain where Senka had been going so she left it to the girl to lead from then on. "Death, I find, is so very permanent and once you're dead there isn't a great deal of use anyone is going to get out of you. To give one's life in the line of duty is a tad romanticized and the village honors it but living is so much more admirable. Your children would not thank you for dying," She added, sighing.

Kiyo took a moment to collect her thoughts, not startled but unprepared for the change in conversation. What would she do? Well, that was easy but the words needed to be right. "I am afraid, Inukuka-san, that I must disappoint you. Kumogakure has a new leader who is by all accounts a very good man which I hold to some esteem. I know I am loved and am still loved by many but to cause ripples might put that good man at risk." Shin was gentle, by her memories, and did not deserve the backlash that her being demanding or selfish might cause. She was a mature adult and needed to set a proper example. "And oh, don't be sad for me. I do not dwell long on these changes or their bit of sadness. I have found it to be quite gratifying to live outside the chains of protocol. I can go where I like, speak to whom I like and aide the people I like without worrying about the balance of power or the variables of power. I've even slept past sunrise on a few occasions and turned down a dinner request. It was very exciting. Live changes, and there is always sadness but also happiness. Like a child growing up is both sad and happy. In the end, I am alive, and there is no greater joy than that."