Chance Meetings (Free, Private) WARNING: Feels!

[Kairyuu]

A good way to keep fit and stay in the world of the living, or in this exception partly so, was daily exercise. For most it involved running long distances and picking up weights and doing those jumping jacks that did nothing except wear you out. Hoshikata was not most, he was unique. For while everyone else worked their bodies and thought nothing more of it, he had to work his mind as well to maintain his unique powers. Working the mind was much harder, it involved things many people could never dream of doing. Or, in this case, cheating.

He was walking, not running, and behind him floated five large rocks that were dancing and flowing in intricate patterns at his whim. In his hand was his mighty staff, which he put through several spins and flourishes to keep in practice with that. His other hand was buried in his robes, and seconds later out came his tanto to join the rocks flying behind him in those shapes. He was working his body with the normal physical routines, and working his mind by his kinetic abilities. With a toss, the staff joins the rocks and tanto. The stones keep flying in patterns around it, while the tanto begins to tap against the ironwood haft to a tempo.

The tune was simple, but motivating. A spring came into the step of his black boots, and his red robes seemed to grow a shade brighter than their normal dark color as he stepped quickly. The hood of those robes was down, showing his mane of long white hair and his golden skin. For all the gaiety of his step, his golden eyes were swift in looking around to make sure nothing came upon him in a hostile manner.

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

Re: Chance Meetings (Free, Private)

[Set before this]

</COLOR><COLOR color="gray">The concentration spent climbing down the steep ledges of the mountain wasn't worth it in the long run, Haruka regretted as her foot slipped out under her. For all her Haku grace, Haruka failed to remain dignified while scaling the side of the last cliff. Masao had warned her not to be late for her boat off to Roenesia. She certainly did not want to make the costly mistake either. The marked pathways down Dragon Tooth Pass proved to be too grudgingly time consuming. The woman gained the bright idea that climbing down would be much faster. Most made the mistake of accusing Haruka to take the more luxurious path of comfort because of her delicate features, but it was quite contrary. She worked grueling hours, took the jobs no one wanted, and proved herself more skilled as the days passed. One day, her ridiculers would realize the deadliness behind her beautiful countenance. But, for now...They'd only laugh. She grunted as her body slammed against the side, kicking her in the gut swiftly. Her foot hooked into a crevice with failing dread as her palms scraped against the ledge. The distance between her and the ground closed in as she shimmied down.

Her feet met the ground once again with catlike grace. Dirt marred her moonlit face and milky palms. She clenched and unclenched her hands repeatedly to admire the word that had been cut and painted on. The sun was dawning at it's highest peak, marking the coming of noon. She took a moment to stoop amongst the ratted grass and fix her hair up. The wind sweep over the sea of rattling grass. The blanket of cool mountain air refreshed Haruka. She inhaled deeply. Her lungs drowned in rich oxygen. But, on the wind carried the faint sounds of a stranger's footsteps. So, she stayed low to the earth as she crept along the brush to peak out at the path. The earthy almond glow of her eyes peered out through the branches of a tangled bush. Sun kissed skin and white hair floated down the path towards her. The golden stature of Isaki Hoshikata, she remembered. His wolfish eyes caught her gaze. She immediately bolted back from the shrubbery to catch her breath.

If it wasn't for her born grace, Haruka appeared as if she almost stumbled out of the green onto the path. "Isaki-Sama, forgive me. I was merely alarmed by the presence of another. I did not mean to startle you." As if anything could startle that impassive gaze. Haruka bowed lowly at the man, contrite as can be. After such a hostile welcome at the gates, the Shima was unsure if he was still friend or foe. She knew it was even a risk to appear to him so openly. It was better than running anyway. A mad dash might of set off his suspicions. "Truthfully, I hadn't expected to see anyone." That was obvious by the smudges on her cheeks and the scrapes that ran down the lower portion of her thighs and stopped crudely at the middle section of her shins. She brushed off the remains of twigs that had latched onto her tunic, and sweetly smiled up at him with constraint. She had never appeared as muddled as this in front of any human being besides her maids. Her bun had become lopsided once again as a few twigs and leaves clung to her darkly clouded hair. She felt humiliated, and it probably didn't help that the man unnerved her.

MFT

 

[Kairyuu]

Re: Chance Meetings (Free, Private)

The music ceased as he heard something in the brush nearby, the split second between the humble rhythm and complete lack of sound almost in itself deafening. The items in the air floated effortlessly in place as Hoshikata turned his head to the shrubbery nearby and lowered his left hand, letting the staff glide into it with practiced ease. He knew he was most likely a wanted man in these parts due to the actions which he'd taken the last time he was a visitor to this land. If someone were trying to spy on him that could only spell trouble for the Seer in the coming moments, but something about the situation did not bring forth the sense of danger he would associate with an ambush. He felt some excitement in the moment, but it was not the excitement of a fight and instead that of a familiar soul. His eyes narrow as he scans the foliage in an attempt to make out the spirit of whoever it was that was watching him.

What came out of the woods was indeed someone who was familiar to him in the briefest moments of meetings, for he had only conversed with her twice; once in the now frozen caverns of his former home and again, briefly, at the gates of her own village. Many were the people he met day in and day out in this world, and many were the women. Few were those who had struck him as this one, for in his homeland, and indeed any land he'd been to except Lightning, such alabaster skin as her's was a rarity. Those orbs of gold move to meet the hazel before them as a smile breaks across his face. Well, it was certainly better to meet one lone person who might yet be friendly than one who wished to cause him harm. He lets his staff go and steps forward as the weapon stands straight in place, returning the bow he had been gifted.

”Were I to be startled in such a manner every day I think I might smile more often. It is a pleasure, Haruka. And please, Hoshikata will do. Formality is rather difficult to uphold in the wilderness.” He noted the obvious disheveled state of her outfit and the dirt and grime, and with the fact that he heard her quite clearly he could only assume she hadn't meant to be waltzing through the woods quite in the manner she did. As she brushed her clothing off, he raises a hand, his face showing questioning permission before reaching up and removing the twigs from her hair also. ”You look as if you've taken a rough fall. Perhaps you should take a breather and make sure nothing was injured.”<i></i>

Running would have been a bad thing, if only because it would have made him flee also. He didn't fear anything Cloud could send after him, but that didn't mean he was itching to get into a fight either. A conflict resolved without putting himself in even miniscule danger was always one resolved happily in his mind. He was glad she hadn't run off, he needed someone to talk to and she was friendlier than most of the villagers would have been. ”What were you doing, if I might ask? It looks like you tried to scale a cliff and fell.”<i></i> Even as he spoke, the rocks behind him slowly lower to the ground, his tanto gliding towards him and slipping itself into his robes. He felt he would likely be using some chakra very soon to help with those cuts and scrapes that were marring her form. He once again lifts his hand, this time letting it glow with the sight of healing chakra. As he presses it to those wounds, should she not stop him, they would even then begin the healing process before her eyes.

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

Re: Chance Meetings (Free, Private)

</COLOR><COLOR color="gray">Haruka felt a heat spread upon her cheeks as she tucked her head down to hide the embarrassment. Genuine compliments weren't common in the world she had come from. It was hard to swallow something as simple as this without the quick thought that he had a motive behind it. However, she felt Hoshikata was above such trifling tactics. However, she really did not know the man. Her caution would remain a guard for the time being. The Shima woman could not shake the looks of her fellow Cloud shinobi as he and his band rode up to the gates. There was something to be mistrusted.

“Hoshikata-San, alright.” Immediately the woman chuckled with annoyance. She couldn't drop honorifics to save her life sometimes. A name was so private and sacred. The bare identifying mark of a man. She couldn't so easily address anyone with such tender closeness that she had just met. Her eyes rose to sweep into the golden pool of his gaze. Her muscles slightly flinched in rehearsed defense as he gravitated closer to her. His harmless hand faltered to come near without the unwavering approval of the lady. She eased up as he plucked away remains of the earth from her crow black hair.

“I was trying to cut time on my journey down to the port. So, I decided that climbing down the mountain would be much fas...ter.” She caught an idea so humiliating that she didn't even want to mention it, but the words came flying out directly after her realization. “Ohmygod, I could of just walked down with an chakra extension on my feet.” She covered her face so quickly in shame. “I'm such a fool.” She laughed with so much amusement at her own misfortune. The laughter was real. An actual pure sound of enjoyment from Haruka that she rarely showed to anyone. “My mind has been so clouded today. Although, the climb down better settled my thoughts.”

She stopped to admire the magic of the gilded man's skill. He moved the element of earth with such serene ease. Haruka was oddly unafraid. She sensed he would not use such skill to harm her in any way. Her instinct had proven right as she saw the familiar glow of a medical jutsu bathe his hand in a eerie blue light. An inhalation hit her chest as he pressed their bare flesh against one another. She would be like ice under his palms. “It's strange to be the one under the glow of this jutsu. I'm so accustomed of being in control.” Her skin tingled with renewed vigor.

MFT. 441

 

[Kairyuu]

Re: Chance Meetings (Free, Private)

While he was most certainly well below using such tactics as that, he was not in this case. A bit of a melancholy had entered his mood of late, likely from the disappearance of his best friends, said friend's siblings, and his own brother. He had been alone like this only once before in his life, when he became a hermit in the caverns that ran under the city of Kirigakure. Even in that time he was close to home, able to keep an eye on events and interact with the people he needed to. His mind was not so fragile as to break from solitude, but for one born and raised in politics and manipulation, interaction was certainly more interesting than hermitting it up again.

For the moment he words were genuine, for there had been no one in his life who struck him like this woman, from the porcelain skin to the contrasting hair and eyes. A soft smile comes to face as she keeps the honorific even when going to his first name. As his hands brushed her hair clean he would take the moment to study her spirit, not able to learn just by doing so but he might be able to figure out some things by how it changed in relation to her mood later. It was only when she spoke again to answer his query that he returned from the automatic study to focus on her words. He almost pointed out the flaw in her plan when she cut him off in a rush about it herself.

Again he smiles, a wider one this time but also disarming. This was not a mocking thing. ”Relax. No one is ever perfect all the time, we've all made mistakes like that. Even me. Besides, I think surviving that trip made you appear far more competent than simply walking down. Few could come out of something like that and still look at beautiful as you do.” Her laughter was keeping his smile on, and it was rare indeed that he grinned like a fool. Perhaps his words to her upon seeing her were truer than even he knew. Still, he would go to the healing, knowing it was necessary.

As her scrapes and cuts began to heal, she would speak of control. Control was something he was familiar with. After the healing chakra was finished with it's work, his golden eyes move to her hazel ones. Control was an illusion to everyone, in the end all people lost it to their own selves. Emotions, desires, needs; all of these took hold of that control and put it to their own uses and the person had no say in it. One might argue that these things combined made the person, but the soul never took control and it was just as much a part of who one was as the others.

Instead of saying something he just kept that smile. For the first time he could remember, he had no idea what to say to someone. So, as his parents had trained him to never do, Hoshikata just removed the filter between mind and mouth. ”No one likes being on the receiving end of healing jutsu. Then again, with minor pains like your own, it does tend to leave a euphoric feeling behind. You're a mednin, then?” That was much less awkward than it could have been. He had almost said something about the illusion of control in comparison to the human psyche. That might have been awkward indeed.

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

Re: Chance Meetings (Free, Private)

</COLOR><COLOR color="gray">"You certainly don't spare compliments, do you?" Haruka teased, not necessarily enchanted by praises of her beauty. She took the notion in stride. Someone had once shared the driven passion for perfection with her, but even he had admitted that mistakes were a necessity of humanity. Hoshikata's words made her drift distantly back to that time. Would she be here now if she hadn't decided to stand under the crushing weight of the ocean in the tunnel ways of Kirigakure and wait for the Gods to deliver a soul to crush her frustrating distance of others? She gazed up at the branches above that speckled sunlight through its leaves onto her snowy skin. The wind whispered a song of nature through the forest, and the blades of grass and trees answered with a happy jingle of rustling joy. She took a deep breath, caught up in all that she had missed for being to busy with the stressful matters at hand. No doubt, this was the euphoric side effect of Hoshikata's jutsu. Or perhaps she had remembered to breathe for the first time since leaving the Torre.

"I am, or was..." A frown got caught upon her rose colored lips. Being a mednin was everything to a Shima. She felt so naked without the title. She felt so unlike herself. Worst of all, she wasn't a Shima anymore. But then, what was she now. It was all so nerve wracking, but exhilarating to know that she could become anyone she wanted. She only had a clue as to where she wanted to follow her path. To protect Natsu, make Masao proud. More importantly, to be Shima Haruka, a woman not known by name but by deed. "I believe I've spoken about my tenure under your cousin, Isaki-Sama, before. Much has changed since we've last spoken however. I serve under Takaki-Sama now as a Jounin of Cloud and his secretary. The hospital had become an ill fit for me as of late. It wasn't quite the life I had desired after all." Haruka certainly was serious for one so young. Even as she looked at Hoshikata, the glow behind her dark eyes spoke of a reserved wisdom of the world around her. Alas, she still had much to learn about herself. She never imagined the greatest mystery in life would be her own soul.

"Where are your companions? When last we spoke you had quite the troope." The young Haku lady looked about the pathway expecting the motley band of ninja to come bursting out to cause mischief.

 

[Kairyuu]

Re: Chance Meetings (Free, Private)

His shoulders rise in a shrug at her words, knowing there was no other real way to express his opinion on the question. ”I find it best not to. For most people, especially those in jobs as dangerous as our own, life can be far too short to not speak the words you want. And, as I said before in Kirigakure, I've never met anyone quite like you. Even a speaker such as I can only think of so many words to use before we begin with those little nothings.” In truth, he saw very little beauty in this world after what happened to him. His eyes did not merely look different, they saw different. Hoshikata could look at someone and instead of noticing the shape of their nose or the curve of their jawline he would see the wrinkles on their skin or the scars that time left on all people, the Seer saw people dying so slowly and second by second; such sights did not usually mean one saw someone as beautiful because even as they were he would notice the imperfections which time left and he could truly see their soul weakening inch by inch with the force of entropy put upon it.

Her next words were cut short by a frown and obvious inner reflection. Obviously the decision to no longer be one was something she had not taken lightly and as such was something she would be at the fore of her thoughts whenever it came up. He couldn't sympathize with her there, for whenever Hoshikata made a decision he put his entire being into that choice to bring it about. His choice to go from genin into the ranks of ANBU was his own to make, and for the following two years he regretted it not at all. His choice to go from ANBU to Mednin had also been without any outside input. Once more the Isaki had simply dropped everything and put his all into his new choice of profession. ”You did, I recall. Apologies for my forgetfulness. I've just been on a trip to the blast furnace that passes for Wind Country, and spoken with the leader of Sunagakure. My thoughts are rather jumbled from that. But if the medical life didn't suit you, best not to dwell on it. People do better work at something they love than something they despise. In the end, if you're happier with your new profession then you're doing a greater service to Kumogakure.”

At her following question his golden eyes harden slightly, one hand gripping into a fist before opening and a slow breath coming from him. ”Tatsuya, the red haired gentleman who was with me, is fine and well. He's currently in Fire Country. My brother Temujin is still in your village, believe it or not. That or he left without the rest of us, for I've not seen hide nor hair of him since.” Temujin missing wasn't that big of a deal, for in truth the immediate family of Hoshikata had a habit of dying. And the loss of Tatsuya's brother Akihiko bothered him even less. He didn't like that boy, and he doubted he ever would. But Akane was a loss he would not forget. She could only be lost at this point. The two of them had ran ahead of the group, likely right into the frozen- no. She did not perish there. That was his wrath that frozen hell over, and it would not be the cause of his betrothed's death.

”Akane and Akihiko, the twins....they are no longer with us. I must admit that for a while, the cause of their deaths gave me desire to harm your village. But I have calmed myself enough to realize that your leader likely knew nothing of the attack.” Best to forget about the engagement. Neither of them desired it when it was made, and in some ways Akane had likely gotten her wish in things by not being forced into a marriage. Those strange eyes rise to meet her own once more, the guarded look dropping from his face as he asks his own question. ”And yourself? How have the following months been for you?”

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

Re: Chance Meetings (Free, Private)

</COLOR><COLOR color="gray">Subtly, she watched the muscles of his hands tighten as he gripped them into fist. The motion was nearly missed by the young lady of the Shima. He contained himself with poised control. No doubt he had an upbringing much like her own. She wondered if his new solitude brought solace or only sorrow. Years under the tutelage of her governess were rarely quiet. Haruka was trained in the art of conversation. The Shima hardly held their women as warriors or politicians, much less merchants. Patriarchal upbringing placed high stress of a woman's duty as a link between the clan and another that could bring the Shima benefit. She never thought a warrior's heart thundered in her chest, but Haruka knew she was never meant for a life full of meaningless prattle and an existence solely for marriage. Only until recently did she feel the deadly ice cold blood of her Haku ancestors. The call for action and defiance. It was growing stronger. However, the distance she held against others had always been there. She carried herself well in conversation, but solitude was her kingdom.

For a moment of silent reverence, Haruka bowed her head for his fallen. "It is my comfort to know that you had not acted in rage. No good will ever come of such things. Hayata-Sama would never bring death upon those who had never harmed a hair of his own. Even then, he would offer atonement. I am deeply sorry for your loss. I've never experienced the pain of losing a loved one in death. I hope I won't for some time to come, but these things are unavoidable. It is as you said, the lives we lead are far to short and volatile to know when we shall take our last gasp of air." Haruka firmly believed in Shin. Her quick notion to defend him was still a bit of a shock to herself. Never before had she cared about the reputation of Cloud's major heads. She shook her head. "My apologies, that is not much comfort to you. You'd think my years as a doctor would have trained me with how to handle the ones who are left behind after Raiden has taken those who were once ours. I never quite got the handle on it. I believe you must experience such an event to truly sympathize. I know that I could never accept comfort from anyone who had never felt what I had."

The conversation's weight bared much of Haruka. Thoughts she had ever consider that carefully until now. Haruka shifted uncomfortable on the weight of her feet. To her relief, he wanted to move on. For once, she was glad she shift the focus to herself. Although there wasn't much she could tell him about herself. She wasn't one to express her concerns. The dark haired raven beauty tightly held control of the stress and emotions she showed only herself. The burden would be no one else's. No one needed that. Every single man and woman faced their own tribulations. Who was she to force her's on them? While she calculated the storm of emotion that rocked her brain, she felt the phantom touch of another. The flesh of a hand against her's and the way it felt as she brushed her lips softly against it. She began to feel so very much alone again. Swallowing hard, Haruka forced the thoughts down. Her eyes flecked up to meet his again with an impassable gaze.

"The days had treated me quite kindly, until only a few hours ago did that change. I've made a decision that does not sit well with my family. Its a choice I will stand by though, despite this punishment I must endure. My resolve is stronger than that of my father's, so I will accept his challenge. There isn't much else I can say about the test that lies ahead. My apologies, it is a matter that concerns Kumogakure." She stared directly into Hoshikata's gaze with a firm gaze that didn't much express her deepest regrets. Her lips spilled forth so much about herself when ever he appeared. Even back in the comforting darkness of Kirigakure's caverns, Haruka had said more than she wanted. Since then, Haruka was more careful now. She'd have to dance around this partner very carefully. Because now she had Natsu to protect. She had an attachment to Cloud that made her oath to the village much stronger. She was beginning to understand what it meant to be a shinobi of the village hidden in the Clouds. All these years had passed. Years wasted her youth and the drive she might have spared to fight for her Raikage. Being a doctor was not a waste, but honor and glory was given in the blood spilled for justice and peace to reign in Lightning country. "It is so easy to talk to you. I often forget that we are not of the same oath and origin."

MFT. 835

 

[Kairyuu]

Re: Chance Meetings (Free, Private)

He took note of her moment for his lost companions, in truth his betrothed. To Hoshikata, it was a fresh wound still, for the man did not open himself to people in the way he did Akane. His parents raised him to believe that other people were not people, but toys for his amusement or tools for his own use. He saw the entire world as such, something that existed only to bring him closer to his goals. Akane knew every dark secret within him, and she did not shy from him. She accepted him as he was, as the monster he had no doubt he'd become. He had little doubt that he would never again meet someone who could engage him mentally, excite him physically, and accept him on every level. He did not believe in love, not the love that they told in books where you sacrifice everything for the other and change. That was not love but desperation, love was what he felt he'd lost. Acceptance.

”For a time, I was not sure. It happened just after I spoke to him, and the man who attacked us was the same who let us in on that day.” Golden eyes rise to meet her own, and there was a hardness there like steel. ”But, as I said, I have concluded it was not him. If the Raikage wished me dead he doubtless would have sent more than two men to do the deed.” He comes to his full height as he stands before her once more, certain that her scrapes would be fine now. ”It brought more comfort than you know. I was raised among the aristocracy of Mist, forced to deal with people and their empty words. Forced to take part in the games of intrigue and subtlety. To know that someone honestly cares is a comfort I cannot give words to.”

As she spoke of her father, the memory flashed into his own mind of his father punishing him for insulting the daughter of another clan when he was a boy. The poor girl looked like a horse kicked her face in, and he, in his childish naivity had stated such. After the crying child was led away, the patriarch of the Isaki was quick to dish out corporal and emotional punishment to keep Hoshikata from ever doing such again. Was he, in fact, simply a result of the upbringing his parents gave him? If he were raised here in this land, would he have turned out different? Or would he remain the greedy, conniving person he had become? Those were hard questions to answer, and hard ones to ask.

”Mayhaps not the oath, though at the moment I owe my allegiance to none. Mist has fallen, I'm afraid, to a terrible blizzard. But for origins, I do not think we're that far apart. I was brought up, as I said, to be something. Since I was a child my parents groomed me for that position and always demanded I do better at it than I was. Nothing was ever good enough for them, nothing was ever right. I admire your courage for breaking free of the mold cast for you by others. I wish, sometimes, that I might have done the same.”

A wry smile crosses those golden features, one that speaks of missed desires and the loss of self. He knew who he was, what he was, but growing up he wanted to be something very different. That desire was beaten from him just as air is beaten from iron. He parents made very sure he was the weapon they wanted him to be. ”Do I miss the mark?”

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

Re: Chance Meetings (Free, Private)

</COLOR><COLOR color="gray">"N-no..." Her throat became thick as the words stuck inside, as if she was afraid to admit their similarities. He was Isaki Hoshikata, a man not to be trusted as Natsu had warned. Yet, she couldn't help but gravitate into his world that was so much like her own. The world they had both become prisoners to. "No," she repeated with more courage, "you are not mistaken. We are quite the same." She broke from his gaze and leaned against the tree they stood by. Conflicted over the unnerving guard she held up against him and the desire to share her deepest feelings over the darkness of her raising, Haruka was without word. She was so still and silent that she felt the icy blood race through her veins and the slow drum of her heart beat. "Its never too late, you know?" She drew closer to him, and took ahold of his hands. "There is never a time when you cannot change. Your journey is but your own. These hands are your own and the path you forge with them as well. Perhaps it is wishful thinking on my part, but you can always escape the prison that your clan has put you in. I'm certainly trying to. Dare not think of the past, Hoshikata, but of the future."

Her hands were so numb with cold that she barely felt the warmth of his skin, but it was there. Bringing her back to this world, away from the cage of her mind. Barely, she felt the touch of his skin but it warmed her like fire. She examined his face with eyes that almost pleaded to the politician. For a moment she remembered when they first met. They were so different in appearance. If he was the sun, then she was the moon. How true that was, for they both shared the same light. The same path that they had walked through all their childhood. Slaves to the harsh training of their high society lives. "What would we have been to each other if we would have been raised in the same village? Perhaps I wouldn't have felt so alone if I had the company of someone like you. Someone who understood what it was like." Her hands gave his own a gentle caress. Haruka had meant anything amorous by it, at least she didn't at first. The idea immediately panicked the Shima woman.

"Forgive me." She merely whispered pulling her hands away and creating distance between them. "I should be going. I have a boat to catch." Haruka hurriedly said. She turned her back to him. It only took three steps before she laid dead in her tracks. Run away, as she's always done. Perhaps she was afraid to have any ties to her old world. Maybe she would miss it too much. Maybe she'd be reminded of it too much in the way that he greeted her, or held himself with dignity. However, to completely forget herself and where she had come from was not what she wanted. She only wanted to forge a new path ahead. She peered back behind her at his golden gaze. "If you're going this way, perhaps...if you'd want that is...you could join me to the harbor. Unless I've embarrassed myself entirely, in which case, I will take my slow and painfully humiliated leave." Although she smiled, she truthfully meant every word. It was obvious in the way that her pale skin became aglow with a soft pink color of embarrassment on her cheeks.

 

[Kairyuu]

Re: Chance Meetings (Free, Private)

The stammered words were enough for him to know he was on target indeed, that the two shared origins more closely than they realized. For the moment there was silence as she gathered her thoughts, a silence that Hoshikata did nothing to break for he wished not to ruin the moment. Finally she spoke again, verifying his words to her before. As she looked away he would let the smile fade and let his eyes rest on her as her form grew still, so still that he wondered for a moment if she'd frozen to the spot. He was about to check on the woman when he spoke once more, and came close. The smell of earth and her own natural scent would flood his senses for a moment, but the words she spoke were even more disorienting.

Could he, in fact, become something else? He thought once more of his youth, when he wanted to simply be a normal kid. He didn't want to be the rich kid in school, the best in his class; Hoshikata wanted to be normal so that other people might be his friend. His good grades came from a complete lack of a real social life and the fear of punishment he would endure if he was not the best. His wealth meant nothing because in the end it did not buy him anything he truly desired. Could he be anything else, now? Could he change who he was, what he was? Somewhere, deep inside, a child begged for attention. But it was too late, the things he'd done and the crimes committed could not simply be forgotten. The child wailed for attention, but just as his father did to him at that age, Hoshikata ignored it's cries. As they died out, he smiled at the woman before him.

It was then he took note of her hands around his own. No one touched him, not even his family or his best friend. No one shared camaraderie with him. Again there was the sound. Again the questions. This woman shared the same life he did to a point, and yet she was what she wanted to be. He paused, wondering if he truly wanted to be the thing he was. His father, his mother, they wanted to bring up someone who sought power at all costs. They wanted a scion of the Isaki clan to raise their clan once more above the lessers like the Minamoto and Akumairo. It was those who raised him that wanted the Isaki Clan to be the best, and instilled in their son that he had to be the best himself, and that power was more important than anything.

Hoshikata, back then, simply wanted friends. As he looked down at the hands holding his own, cold to the touch oddly, her words began to sink in to his brain. Was this, perhaps, the friend he wanted? Tatsuya was his best friend, and yet even that was a hollow thing for Tatsuya rejected what Hoshikata was, or at the least what he showed everyone. As she suddenly retreats, the Seer fights down the urge to reach out for her, longing for her touch. Instead, he smiles, a sad smile, and bows his head in a nod. She was leaving also. The glimmer of hope faded as she walked off, and Hoshikata once more began to process of taking the inner voice down.

She stopped, and the voice got louder. She offered to let him join her, and the voice got clearer. TAKE IT! SAY YES! And every instinct in him said to reject her, to turn away. This woman brought to the light questions that were best left alone. It was too late for him, there could be no redemption. As he opens his mouth to say as much, the words ”Yes, it would be a pleasure” come out instead. He steps beside her, again resisting the urge to seek out that hand. Instead he focuses his thoughts, letting his staff float behind them as they walked.

”I'd like to think, that were I raised here instead of Mist, that we would have likely been friends. Tatsuya was my only friend in Mist, and even he does not know of all that my parents forced me to endure. Past that, there is no one. As you well know, it's a solitary life that I've been forced to lead.” Why was he talking still? This was not part of the plan.

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

Re: Chance Meetings (Free, Private)

</COLOR><COLOR color="gray">He didn't laugh at her, like she had expected. Unbeknownst to her, he was drowning in confusion. Still, Haruka was grateful that he didn't laugh at her ridiculous behavior. She waited with a still smile as he caught up to her once more. The only sound that passed between them was the quiet cut of the wind as Hoshikata's staff levitated through the air. She let him adjust his thoughts accordingly, happy for the break of silence that brought the pressure away from her. Sincerely, only this man had ever made her feel so nervous. Yet, the more she spoke with him, the more the Shima princess realized it was not because of her fear of him. He was an enemy to Cloud. The kind of man that set her comrades into fear and panic as he approached the gates. Those closest to her imprinted that he was destructive. A snake that slithered in the darkness, waiting to sink his poisonous venom into the veins of his victims. She did not see the quake of burning destruction that he left behind as he approached her closer. She only saw the reflection of a soul like her own. Haruka was not meant to become his friend. However, Haruka knew why she felt hesitation in her speech with him. The young Haku wanted nothing more than this man to like her. She felt a deep and powerful bond with him. It was something she rarely ever experienced. She craved his attention so desperately. It was all so confusing for the woman. Conflicted in her duty to Cloud and her own right as a human being. What could be the harm in this bond between the sun and the moon? He hadn't done anything wrong, as far as Haruka knew.

"Perhaps it is a good thing you were not raised here. Being companions, we might have become too comfortable in our cages. It might not have been so lonely. Loneliness drove me from the prison, after all." There was a faint trace of a smile on her sad face as she remembered all her years alone. The two became quiet again, a habit they were beginning to develop together. It bothered neither one of them. Haruka was a woman cooped up in her thoughts. It was easy to forget the world around her as it spun violently out of control. She searched for the leash to rein in the chaos. No doubt Hoshikata was the same. He was calculating like her. She slipped her hand into the crook of his arm abruptly. "How rude of you to not offer your arm to a lady as she strolls." She gave him a stern look, but was obviously teasing the man. Her thoughts drifted to that cage. She wanted to urge Hoshikata to fly with her. If she could just somehow convince him that it was possible. If she could just open the door for him in some way. She hesitated in say what she wanted next. The word hung on her lips, scared to take a leap into the air. Her blood froze in her veins from the fear of rejection and failure. Maybe he didn't want to be like her. Would he push her away, as she would have before she found her new freedom. Would she lose him all too quickly as she had befriended him.

Her cold hands plummeted in temperature as an icy numbness afflicted the young woman's body. The crackling snicker of ice broke the silence as it crept up Hoshikata's arm that she clung to. The black haired shinobi released him from her grasp frantically, taking a few steps away. As she glided back from the bronzed Kirigakurian, the earth beneath her feet frosted with biting ice. The crystallized snow quickly spread up his feet. Haruka turned from him, forcing herself against a tree. She thought that if she shut her eyes tight enough, it might all go away. Her heart thundered in her head. The noise grew louder and louder, making it impossible to push out her fear. Haruka panicked. She couldn't explain the manifestation in ice. Her mother's blood hadn't cursed her. As a child, she remembered the fear her mother had for Haruka. She never understood her mother's constant fret. Many Haku of her mother's clan were capable shinobi. Haruka wrote it off as her mother's worry for her to be unlike the other Shima girls. None of them had much of an interest in ninja arts, nor did they rarely develop the powers of their foreign parent's kekkai genkai. As she grew older, and her talents were harnessed in the Shima tradition as a healer, Haruka believed her mother's worry would never come again. Until now.

 

[Kairyuu]

Re: Chance Meetings (Free, Private)

As he neared, Hoshikata took the time to figure out what the hell he was doing. There were two men within his mind now, vying for control. One was the domineering monster that saw how this could be useful for gaining a foothold of power in the village of Kumogakure and might even lead to his forcing them to submit to his will in the future, but the other was simply looking for a friend and denying the other a chance to work its magic. It was likely a good thing that Tatsuya wasn't here, or this would never have happened. Instead of the introspection and desire to determine who and what he was, he would have simply brushed it aside before his longtime friend. But friend was a rather loose term, for while Tatsuya and he had shared many years and memories, the other never truly knew the depths of where Hoshikata's childhood took him. He said nothing as they walked, for Hoshikata was well enough used to them not to make silences awkward; though this was one case in which he simply knew not what to say also.

As she spoke, he would start ever so slightly, not expecting it. Her words made him chuckle softly before his mouth got ahead of him again. ”Well, I think it's what kept me in mine. But, in this case I think it for the best. After all, had I gotten out of that prison I never would have reached for the stars, and even if it is only what my parents wanted for me, one should always aim as high as they can in life. Those who grow complacent usually wind up unhappy.” He thought briefly once more of Tatsuya, so eager to never rise above the rank of Sennin, and even then he only took it for his clan. Hoshikata couldn't wrap his mind around someone not wanting to strive for more, even if it were impossible. Just giving up and never trying to better their life. Then, on the other hand, the life Tatsuya has wasn't exactly destitute. He was, in his own way, just as lonely as Hoshikata, though. This second bout of inner thinking was interrupted by a hand sliding around his arm and bringing it up short.

He turns his head to smile warmly at her, even adding in a playful wink. ”My highest apologies. You seem to make me forget even the most basic of courtesies.” He could feel some hesitation in her following the exchange, and wondered for a moment if she was going to back away from him. Then he felt a stabbing cold in his arm where she held him. He made no sound as he simply stopped and turned fully to face the woman, watching as she noticed it and began to panic. As she backed away, more ice began to climb up his legs. Hoshikata lifts his arm to look, then down at his legs, before motioning with his free hand. The ice cracked, then shattered, floating away from him as if on a breeze. It would begin to swirl in front of the man, clumping together and then compacting, tightening together.

Sand would rise up and join the swirl, a feeling of intense heat suddenly rising off of it as the sand, under pressure, fused into glass. Before the Seer floated a tear-drop prism of ice, bound with glass. Cold to the touch even now, and such a deep blue that even the cerulean skies above could not match it. A hole sat in the center of the tip. Hoshikata's hand slip under the neckline of his robe, coming up with a necklace of an upside down cross with the top end broken off in a jagged line. He removes the band from it, a shining platinum, and slides it through the hole deftly before smiling and offering it to her. The cross would be cast aside, for it was a symbol to the faith of a dead god, by his own hand.

”I have attempted to make something as beautiful as the woman before me. How did I do?” He knew he was weary of the compliments, but hoped she wouldn't mind this one.

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

Re: Chance Meetings (Free, Private)

</COLOR><COLOR color="gray">The fear-filled beauty's hands shook violent as she held them up against the tree. If only she could force all the cold into the trunk, but tried as she might the element would not hear her plea. A ring of shattering crystal snow behind her broke her concentration. Haruka was too afraid of what she had done to steal a glance. A blackness that suffocated was forcing her into her own thoughts. Everything was tightly closing in. Until she heard the clear sound of his voice call her back. Hesitant, the young Shima turned her head his way with eyes full of confusion. What Hoshikata held in his hand sparkled with an intensity she had never seen. The deepest blue that put the Kirigakurian sea to shame. He held the wicked ice out to her, newly transformed into the most beautiful stone. Her heart calmed steadily, but she remained guarded in her movements. Despite the illustrious gift, Haruka couldn't help but stare at his smile. He had turned something so frightening for her into a wondrous offering. There was goodness in this ice that threatened to choke out what she held dear. Barely her head tilted downward in a nod at his compliment. She lifted her hand out towards the jewel, falling just short. Fear still crept in her icy veins.

"You are truly amazing, Hoshikata-San." For a moment she smiled. Her frigid hands filled with tremors dared not go near him though. Still, he had proven himself capable of brushing off her snow. She found solace in that smile that thawed through the wall she had created around herself. She found herself coming closer to him once again as her hand brushed up against the necklace. The gem frozen, like her skin, twinkled under the sun. The light refracted, spreading a blue light onto Haruka and Hoshikata. Not a single side remained dim. A perfectly cut gemstone of azure. The blue against her pale skin made the Haku like an ethereal spirit. Her burning almond eyes focused intently on it before softly gazing at the Isaki clansman's golden eyes. "Thank you..." She lifted the necklace from his hand, slipping the chain over her head gingerly.

"My apologies. I-I don't know what came over me. That hasn't happened before. You're not hurt, are you?" Her hands clasped tightly together, forcing themselves away from him. The two were only at an arm's length away. Her eyes drew down to her feet. She wanted to explain herself, but the wall was there. Pushing against her thoughts so desperately, Haruka fought to keep herself together. There was no need to fear. Yet, she remained silent and hesitant as ever. If only she could reach out to him.

MFT. 457

 

[Kairyuu]

Re: Chance Meetings (Free, Private)

As she finally turned, he only let the smile widen at the offering. Hoshikata didn't know what she'd done, but it was obvious from her reaction that she didn't do it on purpose. A new found power, perhaps, one which she lacked complete control over? He remembered when he found his own unique gifts, in his case the ability to see and interact with the spirits who passed from this life into the next. His parents beat him into denying those gifts, but their own training turned back on them as he developed them in secret. His powers did not manifest quite the same, but he remembered how it was at first, when eh could not control them, could not drown out the spirits around him. He would be blind for all of them hovering, searching for him, for the spark of life in his body. If she was going through the same, he could offer no true advice, for it would be something only she could master herself. Instead, he would simply try to disarm her of the notion that she'd caused pain.

”If you say it, then it must be true, but my humbleness wishes me to deny it.” She reached out, but she did not yet touch the jewel held before her. As she neared, his head swam with a mix of senses and feelings. The cascade of azure light over them only heightened the surreal feeling of the moment as he looks across their hands and into her eyes. As her whispered gratitude the spell would only heighten, the Seer watching as he put the necklace on. He finally snapped from her gaze to look down, just briefly, at where the jewel lay. A gem for a gem. He looks back up at her, as she asks if he's okay. Hoshikata waves the concern away with one hand, shaking his head at the questions.

”I'm fine, there is nothing to apologize for. Cold, and heat, do not hit me quite the same as they do most people. I assure you, you have no need to worry about me, m'dear.” He reaches across the distance, one hand coming to rest on her shoulder as the other cups her chin to lift her face to his own. ”So none of that. I'd rather you look at me when we speak, not at the ground.” There was a humor to his tone, but in truth he did prefer such. He gave his most disarming smile to her, a wide one, as he stood with a hand on her chin, and one resting gently on the curve of her shoulder. He was, without a doubt, tempted to lean in. And that temptation was proving harder to resist by the moment, but he would do so. ”Are you feeling better now?”

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

Re: Chance Meetings (Free, Private)

</COLOR><COLOR color="gray">A breath of air escaped from her lungs. Relief washed over her pale face. He was truly something else. He had brushed off the attack with the mere wave of his hand. It would of been so easy to use the ice outburst as a reason to attack her. But, he only felt concern for the trembling Haku in that moment and shared a kindness with her. Although, who was she to Cloud? Even if she had been killed, would they ever know? Would she be washed away with the tide of wars? She was a faceless Shima token of beauty. No doubt her father would toss her aside. She was of no use to him now that she refused to be his bargaining chip. If she just disappeared in the tide, he would not send a search party for his fallen daughter. The isolation stung, but she burned for freedom. She wished her whole body to burn with warmth that she had never known. Haruka feared she was too far gone. She might be free of the Shima rule, but they had trained her well. They had instilled this desolate coldness in her heart.

Yet, there was always hope. She would be a fool, but Haruka would keep trying. Regret was left to those who did not try. Despite the heart break she may one day face, she would take every chance to start over and over. Maybe one day she could be truly free. Warm under the sun of love and acceptance. As she hesitated to look up to the man who was like the sun, she felt the warmth of his hand rest on her shoulder and chin. Her heart pounded under the weight of his smile. Those bright dusky eyes of her's widen only slightly in surprise. She had only ever experienced such a smile a few times before. Both men were dear to her heat, but she had almost forgotten them by the spell of Hoshikata's charm. "I am." It sounded more like a question as her answer slowly rolled out of her mouth. She felt the pull of his gravity. So strongly she wanted to release her hesitation. And all at once, it all fell away like the crashing of a kingdom. Her mind thought of nothing as she pulled in. She only felt. The burning of his lips on her frozen lips. It was spectacular. The sun eclipsing the dormant moon. A wave of twists spread through her stomach. Haruka wrapped her arms around his neck, embracing the kiss with this new found feeling.

She remembered the brush of her lips against Natsu's hand. A flash of a memory ruining everything for her. Reminding her who she was. It was then that she broke the kiss. Stunned she dared to be so bold, she didn't know what to do. She was outraged at herself, but a part of her craved Hoshikata deeper than the blonde Kaguya that had first stirred up a longing for freedom. She felt ashamed that she had forgotten him so easily. Her lips were still so close to the Isaki. Every detail became so vivid as she examined the lines of his face and the glint of gold in his eyes.

 

[Kairyuu]

Re: Chance Meetings (Free, Private)

No one touched Hoshikata. It was a simple fact, a statement of reality. Ever since his parents stopped their punishments, there had been so few people to lay a hand on the patriarch of the Isaki clan that they might well not even exist. Tatsuya, occasionally with a friendly gesture. Akane with that one brief moment. Not even his family, his own brothers, laid hands on him in any manner. He was a solitary figure, a pillar of strength but still a singular being in the world. This day broke many of the boundaries in his life, and physical contact was only one of them. Questions bounced in his mind of his past, his power, and himself. Two sides fought for control of one form in the convoluted twisting of his psyche. Hoshikata was at once the egocentric deity from Kirigakure and the unsure man on new ground. While Haruka has her own thoughts of self, he was having his as well. He was not worrying of family as she did, but instead of self. Was he where he desired? What he desired? Or was he something that his life simply made him into being? The thoughts would brush aside as she spoke, bringing him back to reality with two words phrased as a query.

Golden and white, Sol and Luna, Yin and Yang. The cool feel of her skin in the palm of his hand was overridden by the sudden feel of fire and ice that was their lips meeting. As her arms encircled his neck, his own would drop to her waist and pull her closer, a desire there that he could not name. A need for what was happening. He was aware of the chill of her lips, penetrating and wintry. All questions were gone, all doubt erased. For the moment, there was only this woman in his arms, her presence and form. As the kiss broke, his eyes opened to look down into her own, his brain refusing to come up with something to say as it tried to go over what just happened. He looked down into those hazel eyes, into them and beyond to her very soul. It was no lie that he rarely saw anything in this world as beautiful anymore, but she was an exception.

MORE. The word screamed at him from somewhere inside his head, one half demanding and the other asking, for once both the sociopath and the inner child wanting the same wish. Neither would be answered as he simply gazed into her eyes for a moment, certain that he looked stupefied. Then, hesitating at first but with more confidence if she did not back away, he would lean back into that small distance, letting the fire and ice dance across their lips once more if she would let it.

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

Re: Chance Meetings (Free, Private)

</COLOR><COLOR color="gray">He wanted more. She did so as well, but was it what was right? What could ever come of this? The bond of the moon of Cloud and the sun of Mist. As he filled the gap between them, she felt herself only slight pull away. The notion only lasted for a fleeting second before she let him kiss her again. Her eyes fluttered close. Her vision became of haze of red as light filtered through her eyelids. They tugged at each other, hoping to grasp every inch of each other. Her body slowly backed up against the trunk of the tree, happily pinning herself. She wanted to remember that heat he had given her for the rest of her existence. Something was still amiss though. Her mind was a violet torrent of mixed up ideas. Somewhere deep inside her she cried for the loss of Natsu. She wanted to stop herself, but couldn't win against the other side of her mind. Hoshikata was a soul like her own. He would understand, never mix up her coldness as indifference for her affection for him like the Kaguya might one day. Some good could of this bond, she reasoned. But, how long would he stay in her arms as an enemy of Cloud? She wasn't even sure he was a threat. Haruka fought against the idea. She fought for silence to just enjoy the fleeting moment of happiness that warmed her body.

"What are we doing?" Haruka finally whispered breathlessly, her lips still brushed against his skin. "I can't do this. You're Isaki Hoshikata of Mist and I'm a Cloud shinobi. What good will become of us? My people fear you. I saw the way Takaki-Sama and Do-San behaved at you appearance in Cloud. I-I can't...." She pushed past him, breaking from the embrace to be quickly enveloped in a sheet of cold. Her back was turned to the man as she shook with confusion and frustration. She wish she hadn't said it, but it was needed. It was the truth. She wasn't a fool who flew with fantasy, and neither was he. Her hand rested on the amulet he had crafted for her. It calmed her, steadying her hand. Her eyes squeezed shut. Haruka wanted to will this world away. She wanted to retreat back to her ice palace.

"I can't break from my cage for forever it seems. I'm such a fool. I can't be free." Haruka never cried. If she could, she would have now. Her voice broke as if she might, but nothing produced. Only frustration and anger. "We can't be truly free. You and me, we never leave the cage. I had hoped that I could have set to the skies with you. I had hoped I could of convinced you of turning aside your loneliness, as I thought I had. That would only make me a hypocrite though." She wished he would pull her into an embrace. Her lips longed for his. The indecisiveness paralyzed her.

 

[Kairyuu]

THE FEELS!

The slightest of hesitations in her would go unnoticed as she returned the fervor. The cool touch of her lips sent a delicious shock through him as they met again. Hoshikata was a man above the physical pleasures, he was above humanity itself. And yet he was not above whatever desire he felt here, the hunger for more. Was it merely the the similarities of their upbringing? Was is the fact that they knew what the other had been through? Was it simply an acceptance of self? He didn't know, nor did he care for the moment. What mattered was her, him, and the touch. Like a cold steam, a warm snow flurry, nothing made sense at the moment and he didn't care. While Haruka was doing nothing but thinking of the future, Hoshikata was for the first time in his life simply living in the moment. He worried not about the future, he did not think of scheming or consequences, his entire being was focused on the dance of the inferno meeting the glacier, the battle between not only temperatures but desires. As she broke away from him, he would be left panting slightly, not even realizing how low on air he'd gotten.

Her words were like a scorching brand upon him, threatening to bring back the product of his life. She spoke of the differences now, of the future. She spoke of other people, people who distrusted everything Hoshikata was and with good reason. And then she pushed away, bringing the physical contact to an end. His head was swimming as he looked at her back trying to figure out what happened. As the warmth came back to his form, his brain would suddenly turn back on and register those words she said, bringing a frown to his features. No one touched Hoshikata, no one got close to him, questioned him, accepted him. No one made him forget what he was, had become. No one but this woman.

His arms go around her, pulling her back against his chest as she began to doubt herself. That would not do. ”You are not a hypocrite.” Five little words, but for the moment he could say nothing else to her own. After a moment of silence, he would finally gather his wits and thoughts about him, sliding back into familiar territory, but even that seemed changed, more alien than it should be to him. ”You worry about what other people think. You worry about where we come from. You even worry about me. But you should worry about you, more than that. Do not think of what those people believe. Do not give a matter for our homes. What do you want? What do you desire?” With those words he turns her around to face him, and while the words were hard his face was not, instead a kind, gentle look upon it.

”You have already shown me that I am in a cage. You have pointed out the latch for me to undo it. It is up to me to spread my wings now. I am not used to being uncertain, but you have made that happen. You are strong enough to free yourself. Strong enough to do what the entire village of Kirigakure never could and make me question myself. You are not a hypocrite. You are not trapped in a prison. You are free, and you're free to make your own decisions, without worrying about others.”

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

Re: Chance Meetings (Free, Private)

</COLOR><COLOR color="gray">His arms were meant as a shelter around her, but they only suffocated her thoroughly with confusion. He was so careful and gentle with the words he spared the Shima woman. But, it was impossible for her to forget her people. She took her oath as a kunoichi of Kumogakure. Abandonment was entirely impossible. Furthermore, she had promised Masao. She would make them proud. Haruka never went back on her word. A promise was sacred in her heart. The Sennin and Spymaster were not easily forgotten in her mind. Natsu was the reason she was even here. Her father's jealousy sent her toward the harbor to ride on a solitary boat towards Roenesia. She ached at the thought of her betrayal. The path was being built and followed. Was it possible to deviate so quickly from it all. Hoshikata was so kind though. When she looked at him, she felt her heart beat with warmth. What did she desire? He seemed so adamant to remind her that she was free, but was any ninja ever truly free? No, she was only on the run.

"I made a promise, Hoshikata." The muscles in her hand tensed up into a tight fist. "I gave my word. An oath to serve Kumogakure and protect it from all who threaten it and Lightning country. What kind of person would I be if I turned my back on them? This is the path I want." Fire burned behind her undaunted glare. She held her tongue for a few painful seconds of silence. The glare of decision slowly washed away as she studied the lines of his frown and piercing eyes. "You are a danger to all of that. If somehow I could have you and Kumogakure, I would." She took his hand with a gentle love that stung her. It only brought pain and a memory of Natsu. She let go and backed away step by step. "Do not follow me. If the fates be it, we will meet again." Her chest tightened with such pain and longing. One more kiss goodbye, it pleaded. Haruka would not listen to her heart's pleas and only moved forward with her mind's determination. They would never be. He was the enemy. She couldn't be fooled by his magic and charm. She kept trying to tell herself that as she grew further away from him.

Her hand laid on the gemstone. It was then that her heart won for only a fleeting second. It was all it needed to say these last words to the man. "The future is yours, Hoshikata. I had hoped we could take to the skies together. Perhaps one day we might. My hope will remain for as long as this frozen heart of mine beats. Do not forget that. Do not forget me." She faced away from him once more. Her feet hesitated to move as the wind carried through the forest. The same wind that blew past him, brushed against the Jounin. That may have been the last time they would ever touch. She finally moved ahead.

[Topic Left]