Long Awaited House-call (Private Tutor)

[Haku Yuki]

The female sat in the centre of a large tatami matted atrium, she sat with we eye’s closed as she breathed deeply, the chill of the autumn wind following into the room though the open paper screen door. The breeze carried the sound of water from the stream following through the garden only broken by the occasional click of Shishi Odoshi fountains that echoed through the silence. She slowly opened her eyes looking at the table next to her, on the wind danced a small ribbon of steam from the freshly brewed Jasmine tea that sat in the teapot next to her. Delicately she poured herself a cup and took a deep breath of its aroma enjoying the sweet scent, it made a change for the Haku to be enjoying some calm, especially in Takeshi absence which put the whole household on tender hooks.

Yuki had forgotten what time she had requested her former student presence at the house, but she knew that he would have undoubtfully have been delayed by not only the guards that blocked the entrance to the Clan House Complex but also those that guarded her own gates. Unfortunately, their overcautiousness had only been amplified by the fact that the Clan Head was out of the village and they knew that their lives wouldn’t be worth living if any harm befall Yuki. They neglected to remember, was that she was not only a shinobi in her own right but also acting head of the branch while her husband as out if the village. Regardless Yuki wasn’t in a hurry she was enjoying the much need respite, she knew he would show up eventually.

[WC - 277]

 

[Shirai Sadao]

Yukio had never visited nor really seen any of the clan houses in the leaf village let alone the Uchiha household, approaching the gates and looking up to the building he sighed when he saw the guards by the front approaching them as he proceeded to identify himself and explain why he was visiting the household.

Upon entering he found he was being escorted straight to Yuki’s location his expression being a rather deadpan one as he entered the Atrium looking over to what appeared to be a very relaxed Yuki sitting on her mat as he bowed his head in greeting.

“It has been some time has it not Sensei, at least since the days at the academy now long passed. Though I must comment you have some very attentive guards it felt like I was going through the fourth degree just to get through the door.”

He wasn’t trying to sound like he was complaining or being sarcastic it was perfectly understanble why they would be on high alert within the confines of the household and with Yukio being an unknown entity within this place he very much suspected he was still being watched as his eyes glazed over the room.

For all his new Hakumei let him see all that was around him he still very much had a habit of showing he was admiring and appreciating where he was, it was not often outsiders such as himself were allowed in such an esteemed place with such reputable people inside it waiting for his teacher to speak before seating himself. For all he had been raised and trained outside the safety of the village manners were not a foreign concept to him knowing more than the basics of such things as he had been taught as a child to respect those who deserved it.

[WC; 307]

 

[Haku Yuki]

Yuki heard the young male enter the room and sit himself down beside her, she opened one eye and looked over at him. He had changed greatly since their last proper meeting, for one his eyes were now glowing which wasn’t really a subtle change at all to her it was clear that he had unlocked something that both herself and Takeshi had unlocked long ago, the difference between theirs and his was theirs were a hell of a less noticeable.

“I wouldn’t comment if I was you, this place is unbearable,” She turned and give him the “drop that topic look” “Help yourself to tea, it has been freshly brewed.” She waved her hand over to the teapot and cup on the table, closing her eyes again. “Yukio, there is something different about you,” She paused for a few moments hearing the muffled voices of the house staff, they had a habit of eavesdropping on the numerous conversations. Information in the complex as valuable it was rare for the maids and foremen of the Clan Houses to share information with each other for a price. “I have something to ask you but I will not do it here. As I sure you know we have little birds listening to everything we are saying.” She smiled opening her eyes and looked at him. “I promise you Yukio, life here is far more cutthroat then life in the ANBU”

Yuki got to her feet and flatten down the creases of her kimono, it was her standard attire when she wasn’t training or fulfilling her duties. She walked to the screen door and slide it open sending the two maids that had been previously listening to the two of them speak over on their back.

“Lady Yuki, we were umm….” One of the girls stuttered.

“Oh, I know exactly want you were doing, now get out of here you little vipers. I am sure you have something better to be doing no?”

“Yes, Lady Yuki, I apologize for our actions” said the other older and clearly wiser of her two. She helped the other maid up before scampering off down the hallway.

“Now Yukio, follow me and I will take to somewhere we can discuss your.” She paused “Changed in private.” She walked into the hallway beckoning him to follow. The Haku lead Yukio through the maze-like corridors of the house, till they got to a staircase. She picked up the skirt of her kimono and into the darkness.

[WC - 419]

 

[Shirai Sadao]

He nodded to her as she spoke understanding that this would be a lot more of an interesting time than what he had experienced in the ANBU at least there he could have short respites without Tutors or enemies watching over his shoulder. Though he still did such things himself becoming habit to remain on guard or at least more attentive than he used to be since leaving the academy. It wasn’t that he was untrusting but more he had a tough time believing the stories everyone told him or the fronts they put up to fit in.

“I shall keep that in mind for the future should I ever meet you in this place again, though I can understand their enthusiasm in these circumstances”

As he glanced over at the tea sitting on the table before chuckling at the two maids who had been eavesdropping on their conversation following Yuki up the hallway at a steady pace as she moved up the stairs letting his eyes watching his back curious if they were being followed though it wasn’t hostile territory so his caution was not truly required. But it was still an interesting concept seeing how much he could pick up in terms of small movements or hints they were being followed without actually having to look over his shoulder.

“And yes, as you may have guessed I have changed somewhat since we last met”

He dared not speak of what had changed until he got the Ok from Yuki to speak of such things, though Takeshi may have already spoken of it things such as Kinjutsu were not something to speak of in public, the circumstances of gaining such a power were more often than not being frowned on.

That was at least of the matter with him doing as he did to gain his and hiding it behind an excuse of personal development.

[WC: 316]

 

[Haku Yuki]

The female grinned and looked at him over her shoulder, no one in her household would have ever harmed them. However, they did have wondering eyes and flapping lounges, it was why it came to talking about the dark secrets that their Master and Mistress possessed it was better to do it in private.
“You don’t have to worry, the staff are too afraid to come anywhere near the basement, they think it is full of angry spirits.” That statement made Yuki chuckle, mainly because they weren’t that far from it.

They reached the bottom of the staircase and Yuki turned to Yukio leading him further into the darkness, ahead there was a faint unnatural allow emitting.
“This is why I have asked you to meet me here. You have unlocked a dark path one that I am not sure you fully comprehend” Yuki turned the corner into a large room where the source of the light seemed to have been coming from. From floor to ceiling the walls were lined with small vials each one containing what looked like a wisp of smoke that seemed to be what was creating strange light that illuminated the area, for a few moments into sounded like there were voices coming from the bottles. “This is Takeshi's sin, for him to achieve the power that he now has he signed a contract with a terrible dark force.” Yuki picked up a lantern for what looks like a stone mortuary table, she lit it and carried on through the room observing as the wisps in the bottles almost seemed to reach out for her “Follow me, there is something else that you need to see”

It wasn’t long before the reached what looked like a jail cell, the bars and walls inside were covered in paper seals and parchments. Long, deep gouges littered the floor and walls it looked like claws marks but what creature could cause such damage to cut so deeply into the solid stone. Yuki approached the door that was secured by a large padlock and reached inside of her kimono producing a small brass key that fitting it to the lock, unlocking the door with a click she stepped into space.
“Do you want to hazard a guess what happened in this room?” She asked Yukio her finger running over some of the cuts that had been made in the stone.

 

[Shirai Sadao]

Yukio tilted his head at the first statement, angry spirits, not something he usually placed belief in to say the least such things always sounded like campfire stories and children's tales but with the way things were going he wouldn't be shocked if such things turned out to be true after hearing her chuckle at the thought. As they moved into the darkness he watched her keep leading the way letting his eyes wander in the dim light as she spoke time him once more.

"I have no doubt what I have unlocked is something not many should be told about nor should I be so quick to confirm what they are"

As Yuki picked up the veil his ears picked up these voices like whispers in the wind they brushed past his senses and could almost be mistaken for a draft in the halls but at this point such things seemed unlikely.

"His sin so these are not the only power that require one to do things others would find unnatural to create or gain."

He didn't have time to truly process this new information the work of his other teacher being shown to him and it was safe to say even to the calm Hyuuga it was still something of a shock. As he walked unspeaking with her to the next area as he walked, standing by the gate of this cell kneeling as he let his eyes analyse the cuts and though he made the effort these were not like any he'd seen before at least not by normal means.

"If I were to hazard a guess I would like to think some kind of Jutsu experiment gone wrong however such things are not usually done within the confines of a place like this."

[WC: 322]
He tilted his head to the side slightly pondering still on what could have resulted in such an outcome for this place.

 

[Haku Yuki]

Yuki turned around to him placing the lantern on the floor in the middle of the room, all traces of humour and left her features, what she was going to tell him wasn’t a laughing matter. The light caught the walls making the cut in the stone look a lot deeper than they were.
“Yukio this was no experiment Jutsu gone wrong, I happened in this room.” She looked him dead in his pale glowing eyes. “I have a demon inside of me, one that I let in willingly because like I fool I thought that I could control it. I wanted to show you this to make you aware what it is you have signed yourself up for.” She walked around the space taking in for herself for the first time just how much damage she had caused when she lost control. “Trust me when I say, the new power that you hold is intoxicating” She could feel Mizuke squirm inside her, luckily his slumber now was too deep for her fleeting thoughts to wake her. “But what is the cost,”

Her mind flashed back to the first time that Takeshi had to drag her down her and restrain her so that she didn’t hurt herself or anyone else, she could still see the terror in his eyes to see her like that.
“What did you have to pay to get those eyes?” She knew enough from what Takeshi had told her about the Uchiha’s that sometimes to unlock the bloodline full abilities it requires removing someone’s eyes and replacing your own with them. “Who did you have to take them from?” She awaited the look of surprise on his face that she knew what his secret was, however, she was sure he would rather she know so she could protect him then someone else finds out his secret.

[WC - 310]

 

[Shirai Sadao]

The words she spoke had cut deeper, more so than he could have anticipated he had never truly considered what he had done to gain this power of his. Those thoughts had been pushed to the back of his mind as one could be driven to the edge of insanity when facing their personal demons. He clenched his fists in that moment thinking back on it all his face having an expression not of regret but of frustration that he hadn’t faced the consequences of such actions.

“Well the eyes that reside within me currently are my sisters, though they are not the only ones that are currently in my possession. With the loss of my late family at my own hands I own three pairs of the clan’s eyes. If you were to ask me why I don’t think I could give a straight answer do such things ever truly have an answer so simple.”

He paused a moment taking a deep breath as he thought of the steps that were taken to achieve the Hakumei, and what he had done to cover it up to all who didn’t need to know the events that transpired that night.

“I guess I never really thought about the consequences of such things nor what other people had gone through to gain the powers they have achieved in life. Something to keep in mind to be sure however do be certain I do not wish to be consumed by it. Though the fact I cannot turn them off without removing them permanently does mean the temptation is always there.”

He couldn’t lie to his teacher he had known her since he was a young academy and her upfront and straight forward manner of speaking had left a lasting impression on the Hyuuga, as such he would give the same in these circumstances.

[WC: 310]

 

[Haku Yuki]

Yuki listened to the words that was being spoken by the man, knowing full well that she was hearing a story that the Hyuuga boy would rather keep the dark let a small smile creep across her face. Wondering how well he knew that this information would be passed across to the ANBU Sennin when her husband finally returned home. As he seemed to finish the words that were being spoken she allowed herself to think about the words that she would say. This was to make sure that she didn’t say the wrong thing in that situation.

“Well as you are still learning there will be time for you to progress inside of your life Yukio, I will let Takeshi knew we had this talk when he comes home but for now please feel free to leave and I will make sure to keep up to date with your progression. From when you joined in the Academy a lot has changed and you need to make sure that you are ready for the real world”

Yuki seemed to finish her talk there leaving the situation was it was and making sure that the end of this conversation happened. Content with what information had been passed between them today she would teach him more later.

[TWC: 1,623]
[Tutor Thread Completed]
[Topic Left]

 

[Shirai Sadao]

Yukio realised what he had said would not be kept within the confines of this room, it was too much to let go because the reality of the matter was he had killed three members of the Hyuuga clan within the confines of their own home. What would Takeshi say when he found out, if anything it would be more than a few strong words but whatever it would be he would not turn tail and flee for everyone had their own personal demons to face and he had seen all of them right here in this very room the secrets all in the ANBU seemed to have.

“Thank you Sensei I shall keep the words you have spoken in mind and should you inform the Sennin or even the Hokage about what I have done I will face it head on just as you have taught me too. After all this is something I would have to face one day regardless of how much I believe I am doing this for the good of the village. From this point on it will be a matter of proving that I have gained this power to do good for all the circumstances of acquiring them are questionable at best.”

With that he made his way back up the stairs the thoughts of what he had seen down there still fresh in his mind, what powers did the path of the ANBU hold and how much did they hide behind closed doors for only those who deserved to know such things. As he exited the clan house he turned back a moment to the guards and the building itself, he thought to himself had he let those in his family live could he have had something like this, would they have ever agreed to return to the leaf village.

[Tutor session complete, Topic left]
[WC: 307]
[TWC: 1500+]