Crystallized [ Private ]

[Haruka]

I pirouette in the dark. . .

Silence, wasn't it such a majestic thing? To never hear anyone or anything again, there was envy to be had towards people who supposedly suffered from deafness. She knew that she would not suffer too much from such an ailment. However, there had been an odd silence within her head for the past few weeks anyways. It was almost like the man known as Keita had fallen prey to whatever demon ravaged inside of her mind. Though in her dreams, she knew that was not true. She met up with him and had discussions over tea and other such things. It was really a bonding experience when a man was trapped within the confines of another's mind for whomever knew how long. The mind dive was a dangerous thing, and they both knew that. . . And only one of them returned. Now Keita was stuck within a vegetative state and here the woman was, being a caretaker in attempts to bring him back to the waking world. She knew that it would take a lot of convincing, and she knew he was willing to come back. . . but she was missing a component: And she didn't know what it was. However, they didn't talk much anymore. Perhaps it was for the best? She didn't know. But her mind was hollow, silent, and only her thoughts bounced back and forth between those walls. It was simply just the strangest thing that she had ever experienced. A fuzzy, weird experience in her head. Never would she ever be able to divulge in the conversation about what had happened, though. She would be seen as a murderer, and that would be far too an easy explanation for why she was not around. . .

It had been months since the young woman had dropped off any and all radars to the world. It had been at least ten, even eleven months now. Nearly a year. She was coming up upon a birthday soon. Though, she could not really keep a good track on time. Something about her internal clock was incredibly off. Now, that was something that she could not control. There were many circumstances that spelled out that she had not been ready to assume whatever leadership role that had been tossed to her in her mother's inevitable sickness and the older woman's disappearance. Now, there was really no telling where the political stance of the Earthen Country stood. It was something that she was currently blind to, but she knew that she had a lot of work to do for and on herself before she were to assume any sort of position of faux political power again. After all, a leader could not be crumbling and they had to stand taller than the rest in the face of anyone's taunts or backlashes. Oh, and they also had to stand tall when they were snubbed out by some other force that was out of their control. She found it hard, one of the hardest things that she ever had to deal with. Never did she want to be gazed upon as crazed or a lunatic. She just wanted to be. . . Haruka. And right now, that was who she was. The demon in her head no longer spoke nor did anything else. She didn't imagine breaking apart into millions of pieces. Oh no, not pieces. She was now rather at a singular peace. Solitude could do that to a person, right?

Even then, there was something off about her. The way she wore her hair was different, no longer bound up in a decorative bun. Rather, her platinum blonde hair hung in a loose twisted fashion, held loosely at the end by a baby blue bow. Her eyes no longer appeared hardened by training, but they were softer and more open to vulnerability. Those eyes of hers, bluer than ever, still held a questioning inside of them. After all, there were still hundreds of questions she had that remained unanswered. Her lips were painted an amethyst coloration, and her eyeshadow matched. Atop of her head there was a sheer shroud that she wore, one that had crystalline snowflakes delicately etched into the surface with silver thread. One of her proudest handy works here as of late. Craft work with one's hands really got your mind off of things. She held her hands gently around that shroud as though it would block her away from the world, but still. . . Around the young woman there was no mistaking it, there was a cold aura and little snowflakes would dance down to the ground only to melt immediately against the warmth of the previous day's sunlight. She wore a form fitting blue dress, one that sparked just slightly in the ivory moonlight. After all, she could not come out when it was day time. The night was her friend, her ally. Or so she had assumed before, but she had been wrong before, right? Still, it was the dead of night, nearly two A.M. The gentle sound of a stream below her sounded as she stood there at the cobblestone bridge, her upper body leaning against the edge as she watched the water ripple and splash over smoothed rocks there. The moonlight settled perfectly so that she could see. This was her closest form of entertainment here as of late, and she did not mind it.

After all, she was just a simple woman now. There was no luxury other than what she created, but perhaps she was simply yearning for the voice of another since she had not been in contact with anyone else for ages? No, that couldn't be. After all, it was simply the dead of night. No one would be around. A small puff of air would pass her lips, floating up and along in a vapor form. This was her own self-inflicted solitude.

Tired, mechanical heart beats til' the song disappears. . .

 

[Akechi]

”It was just a dream…“ The words slipped from his lips as his eyes suddenly opened to a blank canvas. It was the ceiling of the suite that he currently rented out as renovations on his new Iwain home was being built from the ground up. However, that blank canvas wasn't always the blank white wall that the young Uchiha currently stared at. No. Quite the opposite. The wall had been painted, the dreams of a man that had lost everything, plastered across them as a reminder of what his mission was. He saw a father that died without telling him why. He witnessed the violent uprising of a people, a band of Uchiha that were once considered brothers and sisters to him, murdering those that they had once considered family in order to break free of the chains that had unrightfully weighed them down for so long. A mother that died in order to pass on her demonic power to a woman that she thought deserved it. A sister that betrayed her family, and took the reins of mastermind of the entire plot. In many ways Akechi’s life as Shinn had been a lie. Those that he considered friends and family were actually his enemies. The enemies that forced his hand against his own brother, and eventually even took him in to nurse him back to health after the loss of his eyesight. His life had been a lie. And as much as he sought to leave it behind, it had become too much a part of him to forget.

His dreams were clouded with sorrowful irony, an irony that led him to think the way his sister had began to think. Where was there place in the world? Why did so many fight to divide them, and then attempt to take away the power that they claimed to despise? It resembled envy more than fear. It resembled prejudice rather than a legitimate attempt at peace. Akechi’s life as Shinn was a lie, and in the end, the man had resigned his fate to living that lie. A lie to combat all lies. Violence to combat violence. Fire to combat fire. That was the life of a man named “Akechi,” clan no longer but proprietor of the legacy. This world’s people were afraid that the Sharingan would bring great calamity to their world, but the irony was that they would cause the very calamity they feared… because of fear…

”Haruka?“ The words were posed as a question though he knew of the woman’s identity. ”Am I still dreaming?“ The man questioned, sleep still evident in his exhausted eyes as he dragged his feet walking across the bridge closer to the woman and the rippling tide. He honestly wondered if he had been dreaming. It had been close to a year, if not more, sense the Uchiha and the cold beauty had met on that fateful day in the hot springs. ”It's been… How have you been, Daimyo-sama?“ He giggled, a sheepish smile appearing across his face as he placed himself next to her on the bridge, his reddened eyes glaring out into the ocean along with hers. It was obvious that she wasn't the Daimyo anymore, but he honestly wondered what had happened to the girl. Where there was darkness and animosity, Akechi found vulnerability and curiosity instead. The cold aura surrounding her was still present, but the intensity had dampened to the point where he felt completely at ease around her. ”I guess you found a way. You found a way to do what you considered impossible. How does it feel, Haruka-san?“

She had returned after a long hiatus. Plenty to catch on, right?

 

[Haruka]

I pirouette in the dark. . .

The silence. . . It was peaceful, but nothing brought her mind to a singular peace much like a familiar voice. Now, could she remember every single voice that she came across during her time as a politician? No, not really. Though, when it came to her personal life, her memories were like a carefully carved tome that demanded her constant attention. There were things that a person would never, ever let go of, and she found herself clinging to specific things like a child would a blanket. So, with the soft spoken word of her very own name, something that had not crossed her ears in quite some time. . . It was as simple as a thrush of air escaping her lips, like a sharp upwards jab into the young woman's solar plexus. The condensed cloud was more pronounced, lingering before her face like some type of shrouding cloud. The air swirled, twirled, just as gently as any spoken word throughout the night time air. It was two in the morning. Who would really be around at this point in time than someone who was almost elusive as she? He may not have seemed it, but she knew it. She had a keen sense, after all. This was no normal man. Her fingers trailed along the silver stitching of the shroud she held on to as she contemplated her answer in silence. The fabric would slide easily between her fingers, and her hands now down in front of her, touching the edge of the railing to the bridge. The only speaking she had done in the long span of time that she had done was to herself. Reading to herself out loud, or even reading her own writings to herself to make sure that they did not sound funny to her ear. Speak, damnit. Make it meaningful. This was the last person who had seen her last before she disappeared for oh, so long. ". . ." Her head would turn, and those cerulean eyes would lock on to the male. It was more of a deer caught in the headlights kind of look that she managed to offer, her lips half parted as she struggled to find her words. A woman that had been so dedicated to speaking to convey herself was reduced to using her actions.

An odd thing would happen: A centralized snowstorm for this summer season, just for the two that stood there on the bridge. The shroud that she held on to would be lifted up and she would move just slowly enough not to raise any alarm, and the woman would attempt to place it atop of his head to keep the snow from collecting there. After all, he was a warmer being than herself. How. . . how did it feel? A man losing himself in the middle of the war she waged with herself. Keita was more than likely lost within himself, stuck in that same vegetative state he had day after day. . . So how would she answer? Could she answer? She could: ". . . L-lonely," she would whisper, unsure of her voice's own level and a quiet tone to keep anyone else that may be wandering around out. Her voice, even though it was a whisper, came out scratchy. At the sound of that, she would quickly turn her head in a slight embarrassment. Her eyes would squeeze shut as she silently berated herself. She was a leader, and this was how she sounded? Like a child who needed rehabilitation? No, this would not do. "This is. . . no hour for someone to be out," her eyes would open back up as she attempted to clear away the embarrassment. "You should be nestled in your bed, not talking to ghosts in the cold, Akechi-san." Now her eyes would peer towards him once more as she took on a hardened appearance, brushing away the embarrassment that threatened to take her over. There were still odd points to her voice that sounded scratchier than the others. It was a faulty mask, but there was not much to hide anymore. After all, she didn't have anything but her own thoughts running through her head.

"That is delinquent behavior from where I hail." She would lift up her hands, offering to the land surrounding to indicate that- yes- this was where she was from. So thus, it seemed that they were both nothing more than delinquents in the night. Strange, right?

Tired, mechanical heart beats til' the song disappears. . .

 

[Akechi]

”Heh…” The man grunted, his eyelids pushing tightly together along with an awkward smile to complete the dumb, embarrassing look on his face. Though he spoke rather softly, he had somehow surprised the woman to the point where she looked at him as if he were some type of weirdo. Reflecting back on his actions, he could understand her surprise given the circumstances. Akechi had only met the woman once, and though she left a lasting impression on him; the same really couldn’t have been said for her. Not that his dashing good looks and daring personality didn’t intrigue her or anything, but he honestly didn’t know if he were memorable to her or not. Truth be told, he should’ve been aiming to not be memorable. Charming enough to pass as somewhat trustworthy, yet generic enough to blend in with the rest of the villagers that she passed in her days. The trick was not to be memorable. It was a clever tool that vagabonds like him used in order to remain relatively unnoticed. In a world such as this, becoming noticed only led to down one of two paths, and neither of them suited vagabonds such as Akechi.

”My apologies. I didn’t mean to startle you.” Akechi giggled, awkwardly scratching the back of his head as one of his eyes crept open. He had no idea that he was one of the last people to see her before her disappearance, but he would’ve been honored to know such a thing. Honored, and a little curious about the cause of her disappearance. ”Just… I didn’t know what happened to you.” He stumbled a bit before speaking those last words, tiptoeing around the words that he cautiously avoided speaking. Akechi believed the woman dead, a mere fact of life within a world full of horrors. He was used to death. He was used to people leaving and never coming back. Most of the time, he forced them out of his mind, never even caring to speak their names in his dreams again. However, it wasn’t often that one came back… even if it wasn’t for him.

Snowflakes began pelting him in the face as he stood across from Haruka. Though he could see that the world in the horizon had not changed from its warmer tides, Akechi noticed that there was somewhat of a snow flurry in his immediate area. He shivered just as he had before when he first met the woman, only this time he had his clothes on. The Uchiha looked on with his Sharingan as he noticed the woman’s chakra unconsciously spiking for no apparent reason. ”Did I fluster her? Or has she lost control over her power? The demon… is it gone? Is this the result?” He questioned inaudibly, deciding that now wasn’t the time for such intrusive questions. So he held them back, merely watching as the woman gracefully moved toward him, blessing him with a shroud placed upon his head to keep him somewhat warmer.

She was lonely. Understandably so… I mean. Where had she been all this time?

”I told you before. I can take a little cold weather, Haruka-san.” He replied, letting out a laugh that seemingly released all of the tension that had built upon his shoulders. ”I guess that makes both of us delinquents. Or miscreants. Or whatever else they call this.” They both were out pretty late, after all. He honestly didn’t think too much of it, but Iwagakure’s culture was a bit different from the world that he grew up in. He could think of far worse that was considered delinquent behavior… even for a daimyo… or former daimyo.

”Besides. You don’t have any of those pesky responsibilities holding you back anymore, right? Seems to me that we are just two people, sleep deprived… looking out into this beautiful tide.” Mischievously grinning, his eyes glared back out into the water below, his shivers partially nullified by Haruka’s gift. ”Haruka-san. If you don’t mind me asking. What happened to you?”

After all... he still was curious.

 

[Haruka]

Of course, there had been no ill intention floating through the air at this particular moment, and she was thankful for such. After all, had she not left so abruptly? She knew that, in her political mind, could be considered very insulting in most places. If he had been insulted, he was not showing it now. Granted it had been quite some time since they had seen one another. It was amazing how the young woman even remembered with how much was swimming through her mind at that point in time, but you never forgot a face or a voice. It was the simplest common courtesy that she could offer a person who was residing within her lands. If the land could even be considered 'hers' any more to begin with. She didn't necessarily think it to be so. Exhaling a small breath from the corner of her amethyst painted lips, she would tilt her head up towards the sky, closing her eyes slightly as the snowflakes fell against her cold flesh. The answer that everyone was seeking: Where the hell did she go? So she knew that if one person were to be asking the question, many more would follow up with similar questionings. Sigh. It was an absolute, unavoidable fate that she seemed to have backed herself right into. However, solitude and having no one to talk to drove a man to incredible lengths, now what the hell would it do to a woman? A sheepish smile would touch her lips, turning up the corners of her lips as she opened her eyes once more. "Yes, yes. Forgive me if my memory is not absolutely perfect," she would state, pausing a moment as her head tilted back down from the position of staring up towards the moon. "Sometimes things come, and they go all the same. Whilst fighting with an inner demon, one that has been stuck to you for ages, I think they take memory with them when they supposedly go." It was food for thought, but she wasn't sure if the mistress of madness had really left, or if she had fallen into a three month long sleep. She wasn't crossing her fingers for anything good, though. After all, for whatever reason, she could still feel whatever demon pulsed within her. Whatever force there was, she had not grown weaker because of it- - - Rather, she consistently grew stronger in a sense that she may not even be able to contain it within her anymore unless she kept up with the training.

Now, really, the question that she had been avoiding: What happened to her? Did she really have to sit down and disclose that any information that she gave away this night may make her seem to be some kind of antagonist in this story? After all, the turmoil and whatever else she struggled to fight against in her mind had trapped a high ranking individual and put him out of this earth, leaving only his vegetative body as a reminder that he had even existed. Or did she describe to this man that she had gone on some sort of fucked up guilt trip in attempts to will him out of the prison of her mind? Gah, it was all too weird. Soul sloshing, mind taming. . . All things that were not meant to come out of her mouth. She had no God to find, she had nothing to discover about herself. . . "I will resume my responsibility soon enough. I cannot deny Iwagakure-- No, Earth Country a level headed ruler. Everything that I do, I do for the good of this country." She'd announce in a quiet tone, tightening her fist against the railing there. Even if it meant endangering another political figure, leaving him in the balance of purgatory. "I disappeared, well, because of my mental status, how the general populace would react if I were to have an outburst in public, and my mother dying pushed me past the point of no return." How she looked, and how people took to her, it was a big thing in her mind basically due to the fact that she fought for both the shinobi and the normal people. Hell, she fought for everyone of the Earthen country because that was what she was supposed to do. If her people had no faith because of her shinobi attachments, then she would not fare well. No one would fare well, and administration would crumble and crack.

"I visited the finest healers of the village looking for a way to fix myself. I struggled with each failed treatment and attempting to keep myself under wraps. After a month, I simply opted to take to Arcadia and spend time with no other influence correcting myself, my nature. It took a long time, but finally I kicked it. I don't fall to the influence anymore. I am at peace." Strict training and soul searching, all things that people had to do to get themselves in order, or so that was what she believed. Oh, and she had gone on the most bizarre adventure in attempts to drag Keita out of the mind dive that he had unsuccessfully performed on her. Try she may, but there was no budging, no nothing.

"I don't want to talk about myself anymore. I'd like to talk about you, the things you've done. You are the first person I have spoken to in nearly a year. . . Not to mention you were one of the very last people I met before I disappeared." Her hands would lift up and she would play with the edges of the shroud that she had draped over his head, running the silk-like material between her fingers. It was safe to note that her hands had grown rather bony, and the fingernails we decently maintained, but painted a rich noir coloration. After all, someone couldn't let their appearance go completely to hell, right? She didn't need people thinking that she had been held captive in a basement for a year.

Now, would his curiosity be satisfied by her answers? She hoped. She didn't want him to probe further into the web she was stuck in.

 

[Akechi]

He peered out into the ocean in silence to allow the beautiful woman some time gather her thoughts. Akechi knew that she was struggling with coming to terms with the events that ultimately led to her disappearance. He could sense how vulnerable the mere question made her. It was like a stain on her existence, an event that caused her a great deal of guilt and sorrow. Hell, Akechi had a few of those memories that he wished he could forget as well. However, he was blessed with exceptional cognitive abilities, including an overactive imagination. Memory recall tended to resemble motion pictures, vivid memories of how he had failed in the past and the sorrows that followed. ”It’s ok. I understand. It must’ve been difficult. Sorry I wasn’t there.” Akechi replied, his words echoing the sentiments that he had spoken to the platinum haired maiden before. He said that he would help her tame the beast before she disappeared. However, it seemed that she had done one better and gotten rid of the animal within altogether. The only question was what she had given up in return. After all, Akechi could recall the woman’s demon claiming that they were inseparable, and that forcibly separating them would probably result in Haruka’s death.

At that time, taming the beast seemed like a more prudent idea than separation. However, Haruka had found another answer. Honestly, it piqued the Uchiha’s “scientific” curiosity. Just how did she do it? Turning to face the woman he continued his search for an answer.

”She took some of your memories?” Akechi questioned, rhetorically of course. It wasn’t a common occurrence to have a demon expelled from one’s body. Perhaps taking a piece of your memories was just something that they did. I mean, they needed to cling on to something. Why not memories? ”You were a born leader, I guess. It’s in your genes. I can tell. But…” He didn’t mean to be that guy that gives lectures or anything like that, but she needed to take it easy. It didn’t seem like she was in the right state of mind to be held responsible for an entire village… or worse, an entire country. ”Don’t push yourself too hard, Haruka-san. You don’t owe these people anything. You owe it to yourself to get better first.”

Though she claimed to be at peace he could still see the weakness in her eyes, and if he could see it than surely someone else would be able to see it too. Haruka wasn’t the woman that she was before. It was a gift and a curse…

”Me? I haven’t been up to much.” A lie. He was up to plenty. It had almost been a year since he had seen the woman. Much had happened. Yet, he remained in Iwagakure for some strange reason. He may have even been considered an honorable member of Iwa at this point. ”I have been trying to reach those that harbor the same blood as myself. Though people fear these eyes, I believe we are considerably weak while scattered about as we are.” Uchiha were somewhat of an endangered species during these times.

”Oh! I almost forgot. There was a girl that I helped along the way. One of your villagers actually. I’m helping her control the demon inside of her as I once offered you. She reminded me so much of you that I just felt compelled to help her. Diving into her mind wasn’t fun though. I was a bit overconfident in my abilities but I figured it out. Seems I’ve grown quite a bit with the ol’ Sharingan.” A lot did happen. Almost too much to talk about.

”Sorry. It’s a little hard to stop when I get started.”

 

[Haruka]

Ah, so there stood a man and a woman dedicated to such pleasantries that they attempt not to allude one another to the truth. Humanity was truly scared of what their bretheren may think of them, no? Vulnerability made people do some incredibly strange things, though. Though his apology of not being there would make her drop her head just the slightest of bits, her blue eyes fixated downwards with an gaze that stated that she probably wanted to be somewhere other than here, making him apologize to her. It was not something that he needed to do. The look that she gave, though, would quickly clear up. Admittedly, she was going to give him a bit more than just that. After all, he was not insulting her or anything like that for leaving. . . Rather, he sympathized with her and told her that it was something that she shouldn't have gone through alone. "The demon and I have been together since birth, it's only natural that some of the things that it retained would disappear with it." She murmured. A logical thought, no? "Hell, we've been together so long that it could have honestly been two personalities fighting it out for dominance." Her head would shake from side to side now as she lifted her hands, running her fingers through the soft, loosely braided strands of hair that fell over her shoulder. A nervous fidget that she had picked up in her time alone. "I'm still not even sure that it is fully gone," she would admit just gently, a hint of being unnerved in her voice now as she stood there. There was no worse way to be exposed than this, and she was very visibly exposed with every last part of her guts spilled on this bridge now. Thankfully she kept her mouth closed on some parts of what she was going through. Now, when it came to pushing herself hard? She had to, not even Akechi telling her not to would work. She felt as though these people here were family, and if you did not push yourself for family. . . then who? Swallowing back the lump that formed in her throat, she could note that it felt like trying to dry swallow a pill that just would not go down. Not a feeling that she fancied.

"It is engrained in me. These people are my family, and for this, family is everything." She would soon zip her lips, listening to him speak of himself and his escapades. Again, two people who were lying to one another for the presumable better. So, there was still fear and prejudice roaming the land. It's not like she expected it to disappear, though. It would take more than just her very own life span for that to happen. She would twist one of her strands of hair around her right index finger before letting go of her hair. Couldn't blame her though, it felt incredibly smooth and soft-- comforting really. It did distress her a bit to hear Akechi going through another person's mind. Actually, a bit was an understatement. It made her chest feel a bit heavy. Reaching up, she would grab back onto the ends of that shroud again, forcing him to meet her eyes. "Under no circumstance are you to go through someone else's mind again," her voice was a bit strained. "We already lost someone to such a fate. . ." More it was her whom lost a person, it seemed that the village hardly even took notice though. It bothered her. Were they not supposed to be like family? Where was the searching? If they had their best on the case, they would have found out by now. He was a religious leader AND the Sennin, so. . . Fuck. This was some kind of mess that she did not need to pend her name directly to. So she'd be smart about her worry, but keep that serious nature to her.

"The mind is a place where people's darkness lurks. You never know what you're going to come across in there-- or what will come across you." She'd let out a cold sigh now, "Not to freak you out or anything; I guess I just wish to see you safe and sound."

 

[Akechi]

[Will post later tonight. Busy weekend. Sorry for the wait]

 

[Akechi]

”It just worries me,” Akechi murmured, shifting his eyes toward the water that ran beneath the bridge. These demons weren’t anything to play with. If one claimed that a separation between its host and the demon would cause the death of the host, than one should heed to that warning with every bit of caution possible. She shouldn’t have refused his help, and ran off to find some amateur without knowledge of these demons. Perhaps she didn’t believe in Akechi’s abilities or maybe she didn’t trust the man, but was the alternative to his help truly a better option in her eyes? After all, the way she spoke about the event that caused her disappearance, something happened that caused her a great deal of sorrow. It was evident behind her beautiful icy blue eyes, and even her demeanor and speech pattern as they reminisced about their first encounter. ”That demon of yours was pretty resolute in the process of removing her resulting in death.” However, Akechi wondered if this “proclamation” of death meant that someone would die, possibly the man or woman that attempted to help the ice princess. Another possibility was that of a bluff, just a figure of speech that meant that Haruka wouldn’t be able to live without her.

Or something like that…

”I hope that it truly is gone, Haruka. It seems like you’ve lost quite a bit because of it so I hope that you won’t have to suffer again.” He commented, his head tilting in her direction; finding himself to be a bit saddened of the predicament that Haruka had found herself in. She looked beautiful as she ran her hands through the braided strands of hair that hung over her shoulder, but he could feel the sorrow in her words as she spoke. It pained him to see such a beautiful woman going through such heartache because of a burden placed upon her at birth. She didn’t choose this life… it chose her, and fate cursed her for attempting to take her life back from the claws of destiny. It was as unfair as it was painful, and it made Akechi feel helpless that he couldn’t help alleviate her pain.

If only he could…

In some way…

”Family? I guess I’ve forgotten what it’s like to have family.” The majority of his immediately family, those that he held strong emotion for, had died. The events were what gave birth to the man that called himself Akechi, the warrior fated to carry the bloodline of the forgotten clan. However, he could liken it to what he felt his responsibility was now. ”But that’s why I wish to gather my people together. They should have the right to know that they aren’t alone in this world, and that there are people who love these eyes and treat them as normal humans.” The prejudices of the world tended to ostracize them from the rest of the people around them. Love wasn’t the prerogative, however. Akechi had something else in store rather than just a simple notion like love. Love was fragile and ever-fleeting. This world had taught him that much.

”That’s what happened isn’t it? He or she lost themselves within your mind… didn’t they, Haruka-san?” Akechi questioned, allowing his body to shift toward the woman as her hands beckoned him to face her. Allowing his reddened eyes to meet with her icy blues, Akechi questioned the woman’s choice in “proctor” for such an event. ”The psychological weight of that demon and also your subconscious crushed him… probably left him in a vegetative state… didn’t it?” It was true wasn’t it? After all, Akechi remembered his trip into Kuroyuki’s mind, and how it nearly ended his own life. Suddenly, your body, your mind and your chakra isn’t your own, and the spirit becomes weighed down by the full burden of the mind you’ve entered. From there it is a battle of wills on their turf…

It was terribly risky…

”I’m flattered that you would worry about me, but who gets to worry about you. Who gets to make sure that you aren’t lost to a similar fate?”

 

[Haruka]

Naturally, he would worry. The self-dubbed Haru had been intertwined with her ever since she could remember, and the two were one of the same piano-- Haruka the white keys and Haru having been the support of the black keys of the piano. Or that had been how her mother put it, being the one who dealt with the situation and the one who pushed her to control herself rather than just being a lazy, spoiled noble. "Death is not but another beginning, I'm sure," she would speak quietly, her gaze casting downwards towards the two's feet. "Another day, another struggle," all empty words coming from her. She was not the one who lost their life in the transaction, but rather another had laid down for her and given it all. However, she dressed up her wounds and she attempted a life that she knew was worth living. Even if the wounds were debilitating, open, and potentially still bleeding, there had to be someone that pushed through the fight. She would be that one. Keita could have been like an elder brother to her, one who sought out to guide her on the right path. He was family, and that she couldn't deny. No matter how much she would fight the religion of her people and keep herself separated from it, he was still willing to help her. Her hands still held on to that shroud there, and she silently listened to him speak, offering no feedback at the point but the pain that flickered through her features, but she forced her head up to watch him as he spoke, but she did not dare meet his eyes completely. Her embarrassment was far to scalding. She'd been caught between one thing and then another.

"Akechi, please. . ."

Her voice was breathless, as if someone had taken the full force of their fist and planted it in the dead center of her chest. "I don't want to live it again," the inflection of her voice rose and fell with each of her breaths, like it was cracking much like a glass. "When people worry about me, bad stuff happens." It didn't take a genius to note how incredibly stressed she sounded about this point. However, Akechi was an incredibly intuitive man it seemed. "It was an art that the Shaman worked on perfecting. . . I don't. . . I don't know how it failed," her voice wavered off into silence. A catch in her throat, and she couldn't speak anymore. Not about this. It was her failure and hers alone to shoulder. Would have, could have, and should haves would not fix anything, though. Neither would the tears that began to stream down the young woman's features, following the gentle contours of her face. As they moved to fall freely from her skin, the droplets would harden in the cold air around her and make a small scattering sound against the ground. Her hands would then move to pull away from him to hide away her face and to sob into her palms, her shoulders shuddering with each pained sound. Risk was a thing that humans naturally did, and it just so happened that this time it did not yield any decent results other than the silence within her mind.

A terrible, haunting silence.

 

[Akechi]

“Death is not but another beginning, I’m sure.” Those were the words that Akechi heard slip from her beautiful lips as she attempted to explain “Haru’s” threat to her. That was her interpretation but Akechi believed something completely different. He knew the way demons operated, he understood their mentality and how they viewed humanity as a whole. Though these demonic entities characterized themselves as ‘gods’ among men, Akechi knew them to be quite different from what they were billed as. No… they sought to interfere with human lives, and take over their lives in most cases. They were envious of human life, and they were absolutely dependent on human life in order to survive. That was their true nature. However, they seemed to be quite adapt at masking this vulnerability; masquerading around as some untouchable entity that forces humans to bend to their will without fail.

It was simply untrue. Even though Haruka had lost something great, she had just proven that these demons were far from unstoppable. They had weaknesses just like everything else in this realm. What you had to give up to defeat one was the problem…

”I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up again.” He shouldn’t have but his thirst for knowledge tended to get in the way of manners. Akechi could see that she was hurting but his mind beckoned him to learn more about her situation. After all, what she had faced was an entity that he could see himself facing off against one day. The repercussions of obtaining power were always great, and figuring out a way to limit those consequences would be key in the future. ”Then put it all on me, Haruka-san.” If bad stuff happened to those that cared about the woman there was only two things that she could do. She could either place all the burden on herself or share that burden with a man that had no fear of it.

The choice would be up to her…

”I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Akechi repeated again, attempting to pull the woman closer to his chest as she pulled away from him. ”What can I do? How can I make this right?” He asked, allowing his free hand to attempt to rest against the woman’s chin, raising it so that she could look into his eyes if she allowed it. The pain in her eyes was unbearable to him. He simply wanted to find a way to stop it.

 

[Haruka]

If you thought about it, feeling broken was more liberating than not. There was nothing that could bring you any more harm than what you had already experienced. Sure, it would hurt like hell and it would take some patching up for those wounds, but. . . time healed everything, right? That's what her mother believed after all. So time would fix the fact that she let another human being march face first into death. It was not the most farfetched idea, after all. So thus, she would be pulled closer to the Uchiha even with the shaken nature that she held-- almost like a bird who had just had their cage shaken in an uncontrollable manner. And now, she would meet his eyes, tears still flowing as freely as ever until they left her jawline to turn into bits of hail against the ground. "It's not your fault," she would state, making a note to keep her words from being stuttered out of her lips. "I'm sure it was bound to happen." Excuses, excuses. But why did he want to help her? She was just a run down political figurehead. He had absolutely no debts to her in her mind, so. . . why? Was it because he genuinely cared about her? It was strange. A little bit of a bizarre adventure that she had no handle on, and it was something that she hated.

Lifting her hand up, she would grasp her fingers around his wrist now, drawing in a breath in attempts to steady herself. As futile as it may be, she needed some ground. At this point, she looked like a simple, blubbering idiot. Her throat had a lump in it, and it blocked the words that she wanted to force out. ". . . Pah," she would let out a breath, her face flushing in her embarrassment.

"If you really want to share in this burden. . . Fine, Akechi. But. . . I warned you." And he wouldn't be able to argue that. Flustered, crying, and a mess. She really needed to get it together.

 

[Akechi]

Diving face first into the unknown, ignoring any danger that it may have presented, and slashing your way through the depths of the unknown was the only way that Akechi knew how to live. He was a fighter. He wasn’t always this way. The man wasn’t born this way, but he had built such a personality from years of being a victim. After a long time of blaming others for what was broken in his life, he had begun to forget about who had left his life so broken, and began to discover what he could do to fix it. Perhaps his loss was what allowed him to appear so vigilant to others, and maybe that vigilance would give birth to a new nation for the people that he had lost.

”Together, we can make sure that it doesn’t happen again.” Akechi responded, touching his forehead against hers as he leaned closer to her. He didn’t want to see her in pain like this again. Even if it were unrealistic to believe that he could completely ease her pain, he wouldn’t have been the man he was if he didn’t try. It was the very least he could do. ”When is the last time I listened to your warnings, Haruka-san?” Not ever. A warning to him was just an invitation to do something most people would scurry away from. After all, who would find a washed up politician with so much baggage so beautiful, even as she froze him to death? He could feel her practically trembling in his hands, struggling to maintain that royal posture of hers even as she balled her eyes out.

”There is one thing you didn’t warn me about though,” he said softly, using his free hand to wipe away some of the tears that hadn’t transformed into frozen ice pellets. ”You didn’t tell me it’d be so damn cold around here. I guess this is something I have to get used to, huh?” Trying to make her laugh, at least somewhat. It was the least he could do after making her cry. What she had witnessed was horrific, and it was evident that she felt entirely responsible for that loss.

Hopefully, he could take her mind off of it. If not forever than just for at least a few fleeting moments…

 

[Akechi]

[OOC: To be continued/Topic Left.]

 

[Haruka]

Fighters, weren't they just so unimaginably sturdy? Everyone truly needed to be sturdy in such a time. However, she found herself unable to be sturdy despite being built up on such a strong foundation. As he touched his forehead against her own, she could physically feel a stain crawling along her delicate features. It was blue-violet coloration, simply just to show that she did not bleed the same fire as the man who stood in front of her. Close? Did she ever let people come this close to her? She didn't think so, but right now she was far too crushed to really force a 'no' out of her mouth. Those eyes of her's would flutter shut now as she drew in a breath in attempts to keep herself even the slightest bits sane. She'd let him soothe and calm her, because that's what she needed. She needed no other person, it seemed, other than the person who was standing in front of her right now. It was strange to think that he would understand whatever god damn break in her persona had. Some people had a way though, right? Riiiight? Then, he would break the seriousness with a comment on her cold aura and she would let out a very small laugh, prying her eyes right back open to look at him carefully. "Hey, hey, hey. It's an aura thing. That's warning enough, even if you don't listen to any kind of warning thrown in your direction. I thought you could handle it." She would state very plainly, using her own hand to catch his as he brushed away at the sleet-like tears that had drifted down from her eyes. A true frozen maiden, one who even cried ice from her eyes. . . God, she must've looked like some kind of fucked up cliche right now. Oh well. Maybe it was time to sit down and reinvent herself into an image that didn't show that she was just a broken and shaken politician? Maybe she needed to just become the shinobi that she always craved to be. Yes, that would work out fine in her books.

Letting go of his hand now, she would furrow her blonde brow, letting them knit together just a bit as she watched him. Standing up tall, she would let her lips brush against his chin. "I never wanted someone to have to sit through the same stuff that I did. Maybe I hoped I could scare you away or something, but here you stand. Not relenting." She would murmur very quietly, tilting her head.

"You intrigue me."

 

[Akechi]

Finding warmth inside of a palace of ice was just as unlikely as finding the light hidden in the darkness. However, they both found it somehow. Even as she continued to claim that she didn’t want to drag the Uchiha into the darkness along with her, she seemed relieved that he was willing to do just that. The woman felt alone in a world that had abandoned her as she had abandoned her post. She had become an insignificant and forgotten soul with no place in the newly formed environment that was created in her absence. Akechi could understand how she felt. His people were the same. They clung to an ideal that they had become acquainted with, even as the world around them changed and adopted new ideals. Haruka was no different. In a way, he pitied her…

But that wasn’t the reason why he stuck around for her. No. This was far different than simple pity…

”O, I can handle it. I’m just not used to it.” I mean, he wasn’t used to being this cold. Look at where he was raised, and even the different climates that he visited. None were as cold as the stark decrease in temperature that surrounded the “ice queen.” Cloud’s climate may have been similar but even that village tended to experience weather that was a bit warmer than what he currently felt. This was below freezing type weather. ”Next time I know to bring a coat. Or at least a heater.” Smirking, the Uchiha kissed Haruka on her forehead again before holding her a bit closer to his chest. Though she was vulnerable, Akechi didn’t feel like he was taking advantage of the situation. He didn’t force her into anything, nor did he want to. However, he could tell, just by the way she looked at him. Gone were the feelings of sorrow or the broken spirit that he had encountered on the bridge. The sorrowful stare of her eyes had been replaced with something quite different.

”I’m not going to let you push me away, Haruka-san. You need me. We need each other,” Akechi spoke, freeing of his hands from her waist so that he could touch the porcelain skin of the woman he had been dying to kiss. Just looked like it was the right time. ”I think I do a little bit more than intrigue you.” He commented before pressing his lips against hers, synchronizing his breathing with hers as he pressed his chest against hers. Suddenly, he didn’t feel so cold anymore…

He felt warm. He felt as if he were bathed in light, the emotion he felt resembling the ecstasy of true happiness. A passionate kiss seemed to do that to you…

 

[Haruka]

Something, something, something in the back of her mind told her that the male that was before her would become far accustomed to the natural aura that followed her around like a shroud. Maybe it was the way that he offered himself to her, or the way he acted as though he would fight alongside her in a world that had practically abandoned her as nothing more than Winter's child. When she stood in his presence, she knew she could feel one thing: Safety. Feeling unnerved or self-conscious had to become simply just a thing of the past. Why? He spoke the truth. Never before did she think that she would ever truly need someone until now. She had been far too high strung to think that she would have to rely on another being just to feel human again. "If anyone can get used to it, I believe it's you." She would admit quietly, feeling his hands now encase her face to make her look up to him. Pushing people away was the one thing that she was good at, but he was not going to allow her to even do that. "You're right---" Silence, now, the woman was quiet for only just a moment as she felt his lips meet her own in a heated kiss. A shocked, yet pleased sound would come from her throat as her eyes would slip shut. Such a closeness made her heart push her blood that much harder through her veins and cause that friction that would make her warm up that much more to the touch. It was an incredibly foreign feeling that the young castaway felt. She never would have guessed that this would have been involved in her night, but she didn't find herself resisting. No, rather, she felt herself slipping into the sway and pull.

Her arms would find their way to his midsection and she would hold herself closer to him. Passion, it was indeed the kindling of the soul. The two that stood there on the bridge were not lacking any sort of it, it seemed. Without caution, she would find herself kissing him back, the motion of her lips against his causing her to cease breathing for the moment there. At least she knew that it was not because she had been away from the world for so long, but rather the way that her heart threatened to jump from her very chest told her that she had more than just an interest in him. After all, they were fire and ice. . . And two very unlikely elements to stand the test against one another, but they intermingled simply just fine to cause a fine and steamy moment there. Her fingers would weave themselves in the fabric of what he had been wearing, keeping any kind of shaking that she may have been doing under control. A mixture of anxiety, excitement, and whatever else could have been kicked up swelled in her chest. He certainly had a way of making her feel or think, eh?

 

[Akechi]

“If anyone can get used to it, I believe it’s you.”

Haruka finally acknowledged what Akechi had been telling her this entire time. He started by attempting to fix the demonic affliction that she desired to rid herself of. When she succeeded but failed to save the poor soul that aided her in her attempt, it was Akechi that pulled her from her sorrowful slumber. Though the woman had tried to shield those around her from her burden, Akechi was there to show her just how foolish it was to do so. She needed someone to confide in, someone to share the weight that she carried upon her fragile shoulders. She was beautiful and she was tough, but she wasn’t indestructible. Nobody was. She simply went from one affliction to another, and it was a pain that Akechi knew all too well. He had felt that tinge of loneliness before, and he knew just how it felt to be forgotten by the world.

The Uchiha had a woman to rest his head upon then, and now Akechi would do the same for Haruka. Being alone wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, after all. Eventually, one had to confide in someone just to remain sane. It was that or drink a hell of a lot just to forget about the sorrow. That tended to help… if only momentarily. Akechi had tried that too… It didn’t work.

The young man would find his free hand softly combing through the girl’s beautiful blonde hair, his lips still attached to hers as he continued to kiss her a bit longer. Time itself seemed to stop as they stood on the bridge. What time was it anyways? Were there bystanders out and about because Akechi could no longer tell? What about the sun? Was it time for it to arise from its slumber or was it still too early in the morning for that? Akechi couldn’t tell. He lost track of time. He was entranced by the woman, much like the first time he had met her, but the feeling was even stronger now. The dark haired man’s lips slowly released their grip on hers, his head titling down toward her bosom before kissing just over top of her twins. His lips then crept toward her neck, softly pressing against it multiple times while he gently tilted her back a bit. It was then that he realized where he was. In public…

”Sorry. Is this against the rules here?” Akechi giggled, whispering in her ear as his lower hand gently bounced off of her backside. Any further and he may not have been able to stop himself. Unless… she really didn’t care if they had an audience. Not like she had a public persona to uphold.

 

[Haruka]

Becoming truly indestructible was something that most people strove for, but could never attain. They came up weak in one point or another, and this young woman knew that she stumbled her way through life practically ready to spontaneously combust. Now, though, maybe she would have been able to contain herself. She would be able to finally breathe in a sense that meant that she could allow her shoulders to sag just the slightest of bits to express that body language of being tired. To let her emotions run away from her where in the past she could not? She could feel her lungs burning just the slightest of bits with each passing second, but she knew she could hold on for just that much longer. After all, the burn was an odd, yet delightful sensation that she had not experienced in... well, she hadn't experienced it. She hadn't been put in such a position before to where she did not care if she suffocated, mainly because no one could light that strange fire within her chest that sought to melt any icy exterior that she may have held onto. His touch electrified her senses and made goosebumps crawl over her porcelain flesh, but one thing that he could probably note was the growing heat of her flesh and the way the harsh aura began to die down, fading away into nothing but a small coldness at the very tips of her nose, toes, and fingers. As his lips parted from hers, she almost followed him through his movements, but she was able to hold onto herself. She would draw in a breath as she felt his lips connect to a place that she had not exactly expected. Now, that was enough to make her heart beat harder there in her chest, enough to give it a strange jump start. His lips continued to trail up, and she swallowed back the strange lust that began to climb it's way up her throat.

"Quite against the rules," she would whisper just quietly enough, tone breathless. She would bring her arms up to wrap around his neck to give herself a proper hold on him. "At least I was kind enough to let you have more than just a taste, huh?" She'd laugh just gently now, "I do hope you know that I'm the kind of girl who will make you chase." Oh no, she wasn't going to let him have it all just yet. No smart woman would, would they?

"Though, I do think we should leave the public's eye for now. What do you say?"

 

[Akechi]

It had taken quite a long time but Akechi could finally see that he had melted away that cold exterior of Haruka’s. Even as he held her in his arms, he could feel her pushing him away until he finally broke through. He started the process through words, but he proved himself to her through action alone. Akechi was the man that stood by her when she claimed to not want anyone beside her. Though his work wasn’t complete, he had begun the process to fix what was broken inside of the girl. She was fragile and vulnerable, but she had begun to find her feet as she found herself cradled within the Uchiha’s arms. He wanted to instill in her the confidence to keep on living in spite of her mistakes, and also to quell the egotism that caused her to believe that she was better off on her own. Whether she was aware of it or not, or whether the Uchiha believed it or not; the two of them needed each other. It was as he said before he kissed the beautiful ice princess, and melted away the ice that smothered her heart.

”I figured as much. This village is deeply religious, after all. Much different from the seedier places that I am used to.” And “seedier” was probably the understatement of the year. Though the man looked quite respectable, he found “homes” where he could while he was out on the road. Sometimes those beds weren’t in nice, quaint bed breakfast inns. Sometimes he found himself in brothels, pirate ships, or a quiet place deep within the wilderness. Life had a way of blessing those that found themselves on a righteous path, and Akechi’s path was surely a righteous one. ”Aren’t you a little tease?” Akechi giggled, gently nuzzling his nose at the base of her neck before leaning back to glare in her eyes. ”Afraid I’ll run away after the first go, eh? Rest assured, I’m not that type of guy.” This type of conquest wasn’t his bag, per se. Women were more than just meaningless pursuits; they were worth a lot more than that to Akechi. Working so hard to get her to open up and then running after getting some just didn’t seem right. Not to Akechi, at least…

”I’d make us breakfast but I’m terrible cook… at least when it comes to breakfast. Any good places around here?” He wasn't a bad cook, he just lacked scope. I mean, did she really want ramen or pork buns this early in the morning? His special sauce was pretty amazing though. Learned it from a pirate ship.