Back to the Grind [Requesting Entry]

[Honma Kotone]

Cloud Atlas - Sextet​

Fatigued, beyond words, Koho struggled to remain awake. She pushed her body through the sand, bracing herself against the wind as folded arms comforted her skin. Her gown, a milk colored silky dress fitted perfectly, the trail waving into the air gracefully. How far away was the gates, she couldn't remember for the life of her... The 3rd lady fell to her knees, arched her body over, and grasped the grains that sat beneath her being. She began to swell up, releasing the flood gates, and allowing all walls to crumble into tiny particles of dust; blowing into the wind carelessly. Heartbroken by life, she wanted to give up and throw in the towel... The world was a cruel, unforgiving, and altogether cold place that one would never be allowed to bloom in.

Life was so maliciously filled with anger, hurt and heartbreak. Questions began to swivel into existence, why didn't Saemon come and find her? Why didn't he find her in a land far, far away? Where she was used a pawn in a game of egos', who could piss higher, a childish example of grown men dilly-dallying over power that is imaginary in the grand scheme of things. Yojimbo, Migoya, Koroki were a thing of the past; her future was in Sunagakure, her future was with Saemon but her heart would not lie, it couldn't betray its fateful companion Koho - she had both been broken and had broken Seamon for leaving. He was under contract, not just from the Makeoshimi, but from love to protect his life partner and yet, he was nowhere to be found. Did he even love her? Koho would run her fingers through her red locks, arching her head back and staring up into the naked yonder; watching the millions of twinkles dance, signalling to their neighbors - although some were dormant, cold and dead.

The 3rd traveled from a place that did not welcome her, that did not shelter her like a home should, to Sunagakure, to where her lover lingers. Although, what lover you may ask wouldn't search for his departed after a year? He did not even respond to the telegram, there was no word back; he had betrayed her heart but why?

Lowering her head, the sand dunes would shift, and her sharp blues would set sights onto the somewhat lit entrance to the underground city of Suna: the Maw. She would wipe her salty streams, picking her frail body up, and began to shuffle towards sanctuary.

[I'm home <3]​

 

[Kokomo]

Gate duty. How pathetic. She had been downgraded from proper missions in her taste due to the failed mission of escorting the duchess to Suna. She had been killed, and it had been her fault. So, there she was, patrolling the gates boredly. There was no one to be seen yet, and she had been there for hours. Her feet up as she flipped through a magazine quietly before looking up in a moment of shock at the sound of shifting in the gate.

She dropped her feet, grabbing her gauntlet and putting it on her right arm as she moved towards the front of the gate, crossing her arms as she waited for the figure to arrive from the sands. She had a unique color of hair and seemed to of been torn apart by the desert sands. She was unarmed, so it seemed, and unprepared for what had lay ahead of her in her journey.

"Oh, jeez," She muttered, "I know, you need to get inside and get some serious rest." She began as she held out her hand, "But I need your papers and for you to state your business," Her eyes looked with pity upon the young lady as she offered a weak smile.

 

[Hanone]

These days Saemon was prone to staying around Kitanai. With her recent battle and injuries still fresh and of course, having been exposed to his horrible mother, in some way he felt raw. He watched her on duty for most of the morning, sitting high in the shadows, out of sight and in stealth garbed in his ANBU uniform and mask. The girl was doing fine that day. Nothing really had gone on, save a drunken old man came up the tunnel and Saemon had intercepted it before he could be hear or seen and brought the old, barely dressed, man back to the village.

Upon returning, he stayed lounging in the upper parts of the sandworm skull, remaining unseen. A smile formed behind the mask as he gazed down at her raven haired tresses and pale as snow skin. She almost glowed something ethereal in the majestic sun. She was so bored...

But her day didn't stay dull. A stranger began to approach the gates. It moved as weary as starved man, but.. he didn't think it was a man. For his part, he leaned back, smoothing into the curve of a long piece of bone, ready to watch the girl work. Maybe she'd even be interested in joining the ANBU herself... he thought.


[topic entered]

 

[Honma Kotone]

A figure stating the obvious, she would think to herself with slotted eyes. Koho grabbed Kosodoro, her blackened blade, and slammed its sheathed body into the sand and used its frame to push herself onto her feet, after falling for a second time. She would not take the stranger's hand, that was weakness, and she would never act so la-de-dah around someone that she didn't know. The 3rd would rest the majority of her body against her blade, struggling to hold herself up against the extreme exhaustion that made her body feel as if she was on acid. "I'm Sunan." She would say coldly, slinging over her bag until it hit the ground in front of her feet, and from there on searching through the bag for the sensitive information: her original passport. "I'd appreciate it if you alerted a man named Saemon to my arrival, please." The 3rd grabbed her side, quenched her face, and sighed heavily.

Koho would lift her blade from the sand, clenching it fiercely, before moving past the girl that offered up a polite smile. "You wouldn't happen to have anything to drink, would you?" She would ask her, although her words were hollow and uncaring. It was the way she acted around people, one wouldn't need to take it personally, but they would - mostly. "I'm stupidly parched." Koho would rub her temple, the left one, as her face scrunched up with pain; the lack of hydration in her body was playing havoc on her internal systems. All functions were losing their edge. So to speak.

She would look at the Maw, the large skeletal structure with a harsh expression, before turning around to face the back of the girl - returning back to her original placement, in front of the gate guard. "Please alert a man named Onamuji to my arrival too, I need to speak with them both about, well, nothing that concerns you." it felt nice to be mean again, Kiri was kinda turning her a little - even that boy, Shin, was making her feel all nice and pleasant. Bleh, what a load of shite.

 

[Kokomo]

The woman was weak, very weak. Falling to her knees multiple times as Kitanai kept here stare hard and cold. Pity was in her heart, but business was on her mind. She watched the woman pace around her weakly, searching through her bag, but never pulling anything out. Kita pressed her lips together for a moment, reaching under her cloak to pull out a canteen filled with emergency water that she handed to the woman, but refusing anything more. "I'm sorry, m'am, but I need to see your passport and state your business. The following people will be notified once the papers and stature has been given."

Saemon.

It wasn't unusual that someone wanted to see him. Yet again, a struggling and torn apart woman was a different story. Especially someone who had just crossed the desert. And yet, she stood straight, her fingers tapping on the side of her leg at the sight of the weapon that she had thrown down. She didn't want any dirty business here.

Though her mind couldn't help but rattle. Who was she? And what did she want with Saemon? And who was the other guy?

[Edit:]

The young woman found the passport, handing it over as Kita looked it over. It was from Suna, to her surprise, which caused her to raise her eyebrow. "Ah, yes," She whipered quietly as she flipped through, "I'm terribly sorry--Miss...Makeoshimi." Koho. Her eyes watched the passport, seeming to be tongue tied for a moment before she looked up, "Yes, welcome back. Everything checks out." She'd hand the papers back before making her way back to the station where she was posted, lifting the headset as she looked through a file before paging a number she didn't know: Muji:

"Onamuji. You're wanted at the gates. An arrival of Miss Makeoshimi Koho."

And the next to a page she had memorized: Saemon:

"You've got company at the gates, Saemon." She said into it, "Makeoshimi Koho." She'd place the headset back down before heading back out towards the woman, "Is there anything I can get you while you wait?"

 

[Honma Kotone]

[It was handed over, accidentally missed that out.]​

 

[Kokomo]

[OOC: Edited]

 

[Hanone]

The world had a way of shifting below your feet when you least expected it, tilting and throwing you like a ragdoll where it pleased.

The two below him had been nothing more than Kitanai and a stranger. He saw them talking and the one stumbling weakly, but from his fantage point he really couldn't see who the person was and until Kiti's voice crackled over his headset, he hadn't cared.

He couldn't breathe suddenly. It was as if someone had crushed his chest in with a massive hammer and he was laid down in the aftermath of the assault, flat on his back and unable to catch air. His desire to remain in shadows was an old thought now, something that was dead and mattered not. His body moved before his mind told it to, sliding from his hidden spot behind Kitanai in the bone crevice. His long feet landed soundlessly on the sand floor and hardly paused a moment before pushing forward toward the duo.

His stride wasn't quick, but he could cross ground so fast with his long limbs that before a few seconds he was crossing the threshold of the shadows and into the blazing sun. His hand came up and pulled away his mask, tossing it haphazardly to the ground at his side and a moment later, the transformation jutsu that left him blond and deeper voiced left him as well, leaving him just Saemon. He passed the black haired woman and his arms found the weakened woman. He didn't care, he never did. If she fought him, she couldn't budge him. An arm slipped under her legs and the other behind her back, lifting her from the ground as a small child. He hadn't laid eyes on his red queen in a year.

All the anger, the rage, the betrayal he'd felt was nowhere within him. As always, she came first to him and his own faults came crashing down upon him in a tidal wave of misery and guilt. He hadn't come for her... She was a fragile piece compared to the woman she had been when she had left him behind.

There was only one thing he could say to her now, forgetting everything else around him; who was there, how he had thrown away his hidden visage like trash, that he was not a man of open affection... of whose hearts he might harm in that moment. "I'm sorry, Koho-hime... aishiteru."

 

[Honma Kotone]

The gate guard trifled through the documents, reading the sensitive parts that required key attention, and then shifted the papers back into the paws of the 3rd lady. She would then proceed to call upon the requested names, Onamuji and Saemon, to which the cold and marble like face would soften with a smile; "Thank you." Koho would add softly, nodding her head with that crested smile sat upon her pasty expression. The guard was a woman of slender proportions, quite the beauty, now what was she doing up here all by herself? And then, she asked if there was anything else, anything, that Koho needed while she waited to be reunited with past lovers. "I'm fine, thank you-" A sudden presence took over, its strength harbored the girl with a fiery embrace - what was this feeling, this warmth, this novelty that one would only find in the books written by old English poets, fantasists and romanticists.

A figure, a strong masculine frame appeared, tossing its porcelain mask to the ground. Koho would lift her hands to cover her mouth, her body shivering with a mixture of utter disbelief and joy, a long year had separated their bodies, minds and hearts from each other but in a few small steps; their bonds would be reconnected, their hearts would become one and their minds would unravel a rich tapestry of future ambitious, an imaginative family that might never be, or a quiet night when their old bodies dare not move due to illness or death in the dead of night. "S-Saemon!" He would move in, lifting her up and embracing her, but she did not accept such a gesture at first, no, she fought back with a vicious series of claws onto his strong frame. She would howl, tears gushing from her eyes, a woman utterly broken by the world unable to accept the only thing that she had that kept her normal, that kept her sane, Saemon was that normality that she would die for.

Still, she would struggle, but after a few moments her attacks would turn into a massive hold; a hug. Her body went quiet, she was crying profusely, her body shivered as she continued to howl uncontrollably. "Why didn't you come for me?!" Koho would beckon, tussling her head into his shoulder, tightly holding onto her candle in the dark. "I was so afraid that I wouldn't see you again!" She screamed again, her words full of emotion, her eyes so rasp with red and salt - the world didn't matter anymore, she had her heart back.

"Saemon... I thought I lost you..."

 

[Kokomo]

It was a simple call, and didn't take long. The woman didn't need anything, which was fair, and Kita was debating on what to do while she waited for the personal she asked for to arrive. But, oddly enough, Saemon arrived particularly fast. Her head turned for a moment as her eyes followed the gaze of the stranger, her voice cracking out for her lover--their lover?--as he moved right past Kita.

The wind that he made with his movement might of well of been a hand to the face. Her hair fluttering for a moment as she watched him pick up his lady and embrace her--but no kiss--Kita turning slightly to get a better look at the couple. Her words called for him as she cried bitter tears of forgotten hope and lost love. He returned the powerful emotion in a simple sentence, making sure she knew that he loved her. Sure, Kita was certain he did, but never would she peg him as someone to say it out loud. Especially in such a dire situation as that.

Her face hardened over into a particular poker face often used in slaughters to keep her emotions away. She felt a strange hazy feeling in her head and her ears seemed to blank out any noise. Her eyes droned and focused on the crying mess and her reciprocal. Only one word really came to mind:

Awkward.

Kitanai gave a brief smile, a sad smile, that shadowed something close to defeat. She could feel it wallowing off of them, brushing against her skin. It was an emotion and a powerful feeling she could never compare with. It made her feel small and insignificant, and yet, she was happy. That's what love really was, wasn't it? Being happy for the person you loved, even when they were happy with someone else. But he was happy, and that was what mattered. He was so very happy. And that made her happy.

Kita bowed herself out of the situation, backing up a ways and moving towards the small communication building set up there. She wouldn't quite leave, as there was that string of hope tying her to the place. The slimmest string that maybe--just maybe--he'd go to her next. Though, it felt far away, it was there.

Leaning against the building, she opened the log book, logging the entrance she had allowed, making sure to take her time with each individual line of each and every letter. Her mind had drawn a blank on thoughts really, as had her heart and stomach. A strange numbness had overcome her, but she couldn't quite figure out why.

She had known of the presence and existence of Lady Koho, as well as another woman whom she had met. So what was making her feel so empty? He told her of his whims. He told her everything. It was almost like she couldn't believe someone could actually do that to people. Someone could actually share their heart and cut it in so many pieces. It was surreal. And yet... there it was.

Embracing before her.

 

[Hanone]

Her hands clawed him, split the fabric over his arms and even caught his jaw. Little trails of blood formed but he held fast, unrelenting and without a hint of anger. He could understand, he did understand her. And what she said to him...it tore at the fibers of his being. There was nothing he could answer her. In due time he would have to explain it all to her... explain everything to her, but right now, in this moment he would not let her go. Tomorrow she might turn her back on him forever...

So when she finally collapsed against his chest and held onto his body, he laid his face against the top of her fiery head and breathed in. Her scent was faint, but there along with the dust and sweat of travel. He dived into the sanctuary of her aura and presence. He would have been happy to drown and his gravelly voice was etched with a rugged edge he couldn't hide. "You'd never lose me."

But he couldn't stand there and be swallowed up. Reality was a bitch and he wasn't living a fairy tail happily-ever-after. She had been gone a year. She could be running, there could be repercussions of her leaving in the first place. She could be married to that other man right now and all of that couldn't wait. And he was going to handle it all himself... he might not be her bodyguard anymore, but everything would be returned to normal soon. It was his duty to protect and serve her.

He lifted his head from hers and dipped down to pick up the rest of her things, her sheathed sword and his own mask. It wasn't hard to hold her and everything else and he wouldn't set her down. With his lady embraced closely, he turned back toward the throat of the beast and walked slowly. The elevator would take them back down to the stomach where the village lay. His steps took him until he was parallel with the place where Kitanai stood, writing in precision. Her body was stiff and her posture harsh, or so he imagined it to be if it wasn't truly. And he paused, looking at the girl who was looking away from him.

His dull blues waited on her profile, maybe she would look at him, maybe not. Whether she would meet his gaze or not, he spoke clearly to her. "I'll come see you later, sweetheart." His grip tightened on Koho so she could not escape him, no matter how she took what he said and he resumed walking toward the end of the tunnel. Whatever came from all of it, he was no coward and Kitanai was not dirt under his shoes to be forgotten. Koho might not be ready for the truth of his world here or ever, he might not feel ready to tell her everything, but it wouldn't stop the truth from coming out soon enough and he wouldn't leave Kiti as she was now. He had never lied to her.

Yes, he would come see her later.

[topic left with Koho unless stopped]

 

[Honma Kotone]

It seemed to be a perfect end to the most dreadful adventure would could ever conjure up. Although, throwing away the irritational love that bubbled in her body, the one thing that clocked Koho's attention was the unsightly use of the word 'sweetheart'. Her eyes, those sharp blues infected with red, would point towards the guard with an horrific intent to maul the woman to shred. Who gave her the right to be called such an affectionate name by her own lover. The 3rd tightened her grip upon Saemon, although he may take this as whatever emotion, but in actual fact she was furious at such the misuse of that term. Suddenly, wild and rampant thoughts ran through her head, she had been gone a year, what had Saemon actually been doing in all that time?

Koho would make her dislike very known as the two drifted off into the Maw, vanishing from sight. The 3rd would remain silent until they were located in a more private abode - where she would ask Saemon to reveal all, as she would do herself.

[Left w/ Saemon]​

 

[Kokomo]

There would be movement, but her mind was otherwise occupied. Writing the 'K' in the mistresses name carefully , as though to do it without falter as she felt a gaze burying itself into her body. Her head would slowly lift as she turned her head to the towering man carrying the fragile mess. He made a promise to her, not his first, and headed back down as the woman in his arms pointed a vicious finger towards her. She clawed in a moment of pure rage, Kitanai looking away as she stared at the name she had written, contemplating writing she had forced her way in in a form of revenge.

Makeoshimi Koho
Suna Passport
Granted Entrance.

Curse her somewhat good heart.

Ah well, back to work.

[Topic Left]