Onakoa [Private/Onamuji]

[Honma Kotone]

The timing of this arrival couldn't have been more convenient in terms of how fate was laying out the story. The medical branch was on the brink of destruction, collapsing into itself, and being unable to uphold the duties and responsibilities that were expected of the medical personnel. It didn't matter if a new Sennin was going to be appointed, whenever that was, because the branch had become a lesser being in the eyes of the doctor. The medics slowly started to leave their responsibilities and the grand decline of a once powerful branch had now come full circle with only with Medical Chief left, the fate of the branch was set in stone. Koa had been preparing herself for the coming days that were now very uncertain.

The stranger from Sunagaure, Onamuji, was from the same village of the doctor's lost cousin. She didn't want to miss this opportunity to ask questions regarding Kinnaku's whereabouts, and what happened to her, was she happy? The brunette was terrified of the truth being something sinister, insidious and just down-right unpleasant. "I'll be buying, don't worry." Koa would say with a chuckle as they walked down the busy street, the sights and sounds attacking all senses with more than one person could comprehend. The doctor guided the man through the crowd, calmly taking his masculine hand and loosely guiding him, too. Although that's if the stranger accepted the hand-touching.

The row of buildings, shacks and other constructs were lined with consumers happy to spend their money on perishable goods. Koa would guide herself and her companion, the one named stranger, towards a small little hubble of a restaurant. Instead of a door, loose rows of beads lined the threshold and shook with the vibration of the people on the street just meters, even feet, away. The doctor would push through the 'door' and quickly found herself a seat, not even bothering to ask for assistance from the waitress, Koa knew where she was going and didn't need to waste precious time with the aesthetics of things.

"Right," Koa would say as she waked around to her seat, a small wooden table amongst a large open area, full of loud customers but still quiet enough for a conversation, "Onamuji... Please, what can you tell me about Oba."

At the table, there was already a chilled jug of water that sat emptily with two empty glasses at its side. She would take the jug, enjoying the immediate cold touch, and pour the cool liquid into both glasses with a concentrated expression. Koa was nervous, clearly, and the anticipation of uncovering the truth behind her cousin's disappearance was getting to her. But that was if the man could even tell her anything... She was just getting ahead of herself, that much was clear.

 

[Onamuji]

With another of his signature grins, Muji noted almost to no one at all, "You know...in Kaze-no-Kuni, water is a precious resource. We have companies who produce and maintain a supply, but as you can imagine, in a desert nation, water is not the most abundant resource."

After a moment's inspection of the water, the long-haired man took a slow and deliberate drink. He hadn't had any real clean water in quite some time.

Realizing that he was keeping the poor woman in suspense, he raised an eyebrow and set his glass down. "Excuse my absentmindedness. You want to know about Oba Kinnaku," he apologized, then straightened his robes and cleared his throat to prepare for the task. Depending on her relation to the person in question, this would either be very awkward or very cut-and-dry.

Recalling with an almost encyclopedic order, the amethyst-eyed sage went on to explain, "Oba Kinnaku, former Medical Sennin of Sunagakure. Present at the destruction of the medical facility known as the Caduceus Tower at the hands of the elemental being known as the Djinn. Assisted in evacuating the building and healing survivors. Not much else is known about the conflict itself, but Kinnaku survived the encounter."

Pausing, and lifting an outstretched finger to signal such, Muji took a quick drink of water. Taking a deep breath, he went on to add, "Sennin Oba Kinnaku was close acquaintances with, possibly lover of, a Special Jounin named Uchiha Satsumaru. They were recorded spending some personal time together regularly. They were last seen meeting at the gates of the village, but nothing was seen of them since. No tracks led away from their last known position. It is not believed that either of them are dead. Both the Sennin and the Uchiha were known to possess forms of teleportation jutsu, so it's likely that they simply vanished. No one has reported seeing or hearing from them since, so they are currently classified as Missing."

Taking another drink, this one a bit longer, the auburn-haired foreigner shrugged before cutting his drink off and concluding, "That's about it, really. Why do you ask, if you don't mind? It's odd that someone from Iwagakure would be so concerned with a lost Sennin from Sunagakure."

He didn't mean to offend, but there was something strange about the request and the woman's sincere interest in the whereabouts of a runaway from another country.

 

[Honma Kotone]

Onamuji spoke about how water was a precious resource, which the concept of that was quite strange to Koa. She had lived a life in Iwagakure, like most others in the world, abundantly using the water supply as if it had no meaning nor an end. The doctor would drift off for a few moments thinking about imaginary situations that would involve the village running out of water, and others using that as a chance to create their own wealth. She lifted up her own glass, the liquid's chilled body attempted to massage the glass, but was unable to do so quickly - Koa's glass would visibly begin to crackle with tiny particles of ice. The benefits of being a Haku sometimes were useful. Especially if you were a waterboy.

Finally, the stranger was ready to spill the beans on what happened to Kinnaku. She couldn't wait to hear the truth, and like a deafeningly impatient girl, the doctor leaned forward on her seat with a gleeful smile. Onamuji would recite the truth from beginning to end. Koa started to tear up a little, even at the mention of the Caduceus Tower because her parents had told Koa about the level of destruction in Sunagakure when they went to retrieve the woman from the dangerous village. But that wasn't why she was tearing up but it was because Kinnaku had survived the Djiin; she evacuated her patients and healed the survivors. "Kin..." The doctor would mumble under her breath as her gleeful smile rescinded into a humble expression.

The next part surprised Koa, to the point where, she couldn't contain her shock. The doctor would listen to everything Onamuji had to say about the Sennin and her lover, and how they had possibly left the village together. "Kinnaku is my big cousin, actually. My family were originally from Sunagakure, my grandparents, so we visited regularly. My uncle and auntie were very poor and lived in the most desolate place... Kinnaku was often the care-taker for her brother and sister, my little cousins." Koa would take a deep breath, her eyes red and puffy, reaching over to the glass of water and taking a sip; holding the rim of the glass at her lips and contemplating a few things. "They ended up abandoning their children, and Kin had to..." A set of tears would begin to roll down the woman's face, but they were immediately wiped away and replaced with a brave smile that hid nothing, "She worked really hard, you know she never had anyone to love her the way she deserved. She was a hopeless romantic, like me I suppose!"

It was a relief to hear that Kinnaku, and this stranger named Satsumaru, were together. Kinnaku was a strong woman and wouldn't allow herself to fall into a bad situation or sound herself with bad people; whoever Satsumaru was, he was someone that she loved. "I'm happy for her... She's lived a terrible life and maybe this Satsumaru is good for her, you know?" She would smile at Onamuji, visibly relieved from her shackles of worry and doubt.

"I just wish I could've went with her..."

 

[Onamuji]

Emotions were a strange thing. Muji still had trouble dealing with them, especially in others. He wasn't sure what to say or how to act when people showed emotion, no matter how hard he tried. A byproduct of walling off your own heart, perhaps, combined with a natural insight and empathy for others. Try as the woman might, it was clear she was affected by the story. The sage, for all his foresight, wouldn't have guessed that she was a direct relative of Oba Kinnaku. The world was smaller than he thought, it seemed...

With some hesitation, the auburn-haired man placed his glass down and extended hands of comfort, holding Koa's own hand with one and patting it with the other.

"We live in a very specific world. As shinobi, we are figures in the landscape and parts of larger societies that hold rules of conduct. Sunagakure's laws may deem your cousin and her partner as criminals for abandoning the village, but...sometimes, we must take the less lawful path to achieve what we were really meant to achieve in this life," Muji consoled her with a sympathetic smile, "I can't say that I know anything about her, or where she might have gone...but if it means anything, I would bet that your cousin is off somewhere with the Uchiha man, living in relative peace."

With an added shrug, he went on to say, "And who knows? Perhaps one day, you'll see her again. If I have just one piece of advice to share, it would be...don't regret not being there with or for someone, or wish to be in some other 'there' or 'then', but do what you can to be there for others and improve things here and the now."

"We can't change the past, after all, but we can make the future better," he concluded with a friendly smile.

He spoke from his own experience, and was possibly even telling it all to himself at the same time. Despite the passing of time, his loss was still fresh in his memory, as were the regrets he carried from that day. While Koa was not at all at any fault for Kinnaku's issues or disappearance, he wanted to give some comfort and assurance that whatever hardships were in the past, and whatever thoughts of leaving her own life to seek Kinnaku may or may not be embedded in her, the best path was not to lament the past or question the present, but focus on the future.

[MFT | WC: 421]

 

[Honma Kotone]

Koa blushed at the touch of Onamuji's rough hands, having never really made physical connection with a man other than cleaning his sick from a paper bowl under his bed or on his bed. She smiled at his words, comforted by his words, which seemed wise and full of age-old knowledge. The woman tightened her grip on the Sage's hand, she didn't want to let go - after all, the woman was a hopeless romantic just like her big cousin too. "I think she is too... Kinnaku's never had a good life, if she's picked this Satsumaru-character then I think maybe that she is truly happy."

The doctor knew that she would maybe one day see her cousin, one day. It wouldn't be today, or tomorrow, but someday she would make an appearance. "Even if Sunagakure brand her as a traitor, I'll always fight her corner." Koa would say with a determined expression that overshadowed her puffy and red eyes, which smeared her mascara slightly. Kinnaku was a strong woman, broken gradually over the years by loss after loss, but for her to leave her Sennin position behind and go off with this man meant that Koa could rest easy about her cousin. Maybe somewhere, the olive skinned woman was living in a small house in the countryside with children and a husband, a husband who loved her and protected her. Koa would think awkwardly, hoping that she would get an invite to the wedding.

Koa would take her hand back, the soft texture of her skin against Onamuji's made her feel all tingly. She just felt this natural attraction towards him and she couldn't really pinpoint why? He was, for all purposes, a complete stranger but there was something quite endearing about him. There was just a little spark, but knowing her luck it was completely one-sided. "So, enough about me, tell me about you, Onamuji." Koa would ask, clearing her throat with a rough noise, and wiping down her puffy blue hues one more time.

 

[Onamuji]

The man would smile at her declaration of loyalty to her cousin. There was something so charming about filial piety. He wouldn't know what it was like, of course, but that probably just made it all the more interesting. At her wish to know more about him, however, his smile faded slightly and he stumbled.

"Me? Nothing too interesting," Muji would declare, taking another drink of water, nearly finishing the glass.

With a subtle shrug of his shoulders, the sage explained, "I'm a shinobi from Sunagakure, Special Jounin. I'm something of a ninjutsu specialist, I like to keep a lot of tricks up my sleeve, and I'm currently homeless."

He, of course, chuckled lightly at that last part. If she really wanted to know about him, she'd have to clear her schedule to cover just the tip of the secret-filled iceberg. There was the part about possessing bodies, summoning otherworldly beings, oh...right, and the part about murdering his own girlfriend. That was a great ice-breaker.

"I've got nothing to hide, I'm just not that interesting. What about you? I know your name is Koa, you're a Med-nin from this village, and you're cousin to the former Sunan Medical Sennin. Anything else I should know?" he asked, partly to change the subject and partly because he was genuinely interested.

 

[Honma Kotone]

Koa listened to the man as he spoke about his relatively unimportant life, and the story that didn't quite do it for her. The doctor would cheekily smile, shaking her head as she analysed Onamuji with her blue hues. She was very good at reading people, and well, she had to be given her job and that not many patients wanted to even speak to a stranger let alone tell them their medical history and/or private afflictions. Koa wouldn't pursue the history of the man any further, he was obviously keeping himself to himself, an onion if you will that needed to have its layers pulled back over time. Although most people just cut up an onion, and that wouldn't be the best way to go about getting to know someone; acting cut-cry and asking very personal questions that were bound to be answered with silence.

"Well, if you're wanting to join Iwagakure, I'll have to get you introduced to the Sennin first of all. Although, in the meanwhile you should explore the village and bask in its... rockiness." Koa would chuckle, pointing out the obvious terrain that crafted the village.

The doctor would burst into a fit of laughter, the question was turned back onto her, and really it was embarrassing. Koa wasn't really the most amazing person in the world, she didn't have a thousand and one stories about some unbelievable backstory; her life was vanilla. She took a gulp of salvia, noticing that Onamuji's glass was near empty, but before it could be vanquished forever the glass would be filled back up by Koa. "I'm honestly... boring." Koa would confess, "I'm the only one left in my family, not like an orphan or anything, but my mother and father but passed away due to old age. They lived a happy life. I decided I was going to be a med-nin when Kinnaku became one, although she was a lot older than me so I taught me whenever we seen each other." The doctor would nod her head, thinking of her mother and father and how she missed them - life was a little lonely nowadays.

"I don't really have any friends, I kinda just work away but... haha, yeah. I told you, I'm vanilla." Her smile would slowly plunge into a very focused, disillusioned expression that kinda said to Onamuji that she was thinking of her life as nothing important or relevant to anyone.

 

[Onamuji]

With a slight bow of his head, the robed sage thanked Koa for the refill. It was very polite of her, and Muji certainly paid attention to such seemingly minor things. He wasn't used to having people offer to fill his glass or keep him company, and perhaps that was the very reason he noticed when people did.

"Inspiration is a powerful thing," the amethyst-eyed shinobi admitted, "I never knew my family. I was abandoned on the streets of the old Sunagakure, back when Sunans lived in the sunlight. Still, I occassionally get visions of a...family member, of sorts. He showed me how to be what I am, and although I don't really know him well, it helped drive me to always grow and improve upon myself. I'm sure Kinnaku inspired you in the same way...to try harder, aspire to greater heights..."

Family. A strange topic. The closest relative he knew of was the man from his dreams. The First Sage, as Muji called him. His visions were what brought his unique power to surface and drove him to understand what he really was, and what he was meant to do. Not quite the same thing as an older brother or father cheering you on, of course, but in its own way, these visions were what showed the young sage that there were paths he could take, and power he could obtain.

Taking another drink of water, Muji cut his refreshment short and raised an eyebrow, asking suddenly, "What's 'vanilla'?"

 

[Honma Kotone]

Koa nodded her head in agreement, smiling away as she thought of her mum and dad; wondering if they were happy in their own little paradises. But the woman would look confused as Onamuji spoke about receiving visions of a man, a man thought to be a relative, but no less in his dreams. The doctor thought this strange, perhaps the man carried some foresight into another world, who knew; this world was vast and its secrets well hidden from the light of day. Koa would soften her expression, "Inspiration is both a blessing and a curse." She would add, raising her glass and clinking it against Onamuji's but as she took a sip of her ice-cold water, a sensation of utter ugliness, a vile putrid energy would enter the room and make itself known to Koa alone. Muji would be able to see the presence, a shadowed figure that's life force was just made up of death. It wouldn't be known to the doctor that he could sense the great that she had made a pact with but their expressions told a thousand stories.

Koa's face dropped a few shades until she was white as a ghost. The glass fell from her hand and hit the table, but not smashing, instead bouncing to the side and spilling onto the clothed table. She would look off into the distance, as if Onamuji wasn't present, and hear only the being's voice laughing, manically, at the deal the two had made. After a moment, the pale-faced Koa would drunkenly assert herself with a false smile that shook unreliably. "Oh, I tell you, these fits of hunger are dreadful." She added confidently, but her voice said otherwise, as she dabbed down the water stain with a napkin that lay near by.

"I-I, eh, yeah I'm just hungry, you know?" Koa would say anxiously looking around for a waitress in the restaurant that past by the couple. "V-vanilla... Vanilla. It's, um, it's a..." And her mind would pop like a virgin's cherry; going as blank as the night was dark.

[MFT]

 

[Onamuji]

Something was off about this whole thing, and very suddenly. The upbeat and pleasant woman was obviously dismayed about something, though the reason wasn't so easily noticeable. She claimed it was simply hunger that caused her to grow pale and shake, but a sidelong glance over his shoulder told him something else. One aspect of a Rikudo Sennin's rather unique doujutsu was the ability to view chakra openly. A dark and malignant chakra had entered the room, no doubt the reason Koa was suddenly struck into a state of speechlessness.

"I may have been a little reserved before, when I told you there was nothing interesting about me," the auburn-haired sage admitted nonchalantly, still gazing at the figure, "I'm what some people call a Sage of Six Paths. I can see chakra as plainly as everyone else sees the light of a fire. I say this now, only to let you know that I see what you see..."

He didn't want to make his abilities known yet. She was still a stranger, by all reasoning, and he was in a foreign land. Not everyone was a big fan of Rikudo Sennin, wherever they managed to emerge in history. Rumors of their destructive and corrupting capabilities lent them a rather grim reputation, even if in some places, they were revered as gods. The truth, as far as Muji believed, was somewhere in between. Regardless, the cat was out of the proverbial bag now. The young shinobi didn't expect it to be an issue.

"And on that note, what is it I'm seeing, and why does it terrify you?" he would ask plainly. He was a verbose man, by all accounts, but he wanted to get to the heart of the matter. Whatever this thing was, whatever it wanted...Muji needed to know how to proceed.

 

[Honma Kotone]

Koa began to nervous chuckle, slipping her fingers through her hands and anxiously looking around; the sensation of being encumbered by the creature was all to evident. She would try to restrain her expression, her hands would slowly freeze and remain stationary. The woman didn't really know how to explain the creature that she made a pact with for indescribably powerful ability; the grimoire that held the knowledge of Ninjutsu and other worldly dealings. Onamuji had refereed himself to a Sage, something that the doctor wasn't aware of and didn't quite understand. "You can't see it," Koa would say sharply, eyes darting to where the man sat, but focusing on something behind him, "It is something beyond us..." A defeated voice would spill forth from the moist cavern of Koa's face.

"I did something terrible, I agreed to something terrible and now I'm not sure how to change it." Koa would say cryptically, not really knowing how to proceed with the conversation other than her coming off as a complete headcase. She shook her head and attempted to change her demeanor, which was to no avail, but instead seemed as if she was trying to brush the whole panic attack as nothing; despite the lingering presence of the creature that bargained with the doctor for power. The ability to master Ninjutsu and to awaken the dead from their resting place; the Dark Sage was indeed an unholy title for those who bargained with an ageless creature that had existed since the beginning. She agreed to take the monster up on its offer in return for her soul, her body and everything that made Koa at the end of her days. The agreement was made immediately upon hearing it, a flash thought led Koa to believe that she could work a way out of the deal - she had to agree.

The creature, whatever it was, was a being of immense power and it was going to kill the doctor where she lay if an agreement wasn't made. "I'm vanilla, Onamuji... I'm just boring and lonely, one day I'll just fade into the background and nobody will notice." Koa would state with a single tear rolling down her face, reaching the climax of its journey and dangling by her chin. "It's just waiting for me... I made it a deal..." The woman would say but as her words escaped her mouth, a deafening silence would replace the bustling restaurants and streets outside. Onamuji and Koa would be left in silence as they sat in the dining area; alone. The woman would express her shock with facial expressions before jumping out of her seat, and scanning the area with presumptuous eyes.

"What on Earth..."

 

[Onamuji]

"We all make bargains, in one way or another," the sage would say, trying to downplay her apparent guilt, "What..."

He trailed off, choosing not to ask the question he had in mind quite yet. There was a lot about this that was...strange. Yes, strange was the best word for it. There was something in the room, it emanated energy, but it was something only Koa would truly see. This spoke to something more sinister than your typical contract. Not exactly afraid or creeped out, the enigmatic sage was more curious and interested in helping her feel more at ease.

"Nothing about this seems - what you call - vanilla, Koa," the man would note with a grin, trying to downplay the sense of dread, "Tell me...what deal did you make?"

There was a lot going on, but only Koa would be fully aware of it. All Muji could do is try to find out what was at the heart of the issue. He wasn't exactly a stranger to dark visions or grim destiny. He was a Rikudo Sennin, a descendant of the God of Shinobi. The legend told that Rikudo Sennin were each destined to become either a God of Creation or a God of Destruction, one ushering in an age of universal peace to the world; the other setting the world ablaze to rebuild it. It was a realization that Muji struggled with. Would he be destined to help bring about a new age through Creation and life, or would be be the catalyst for ultimate Destruction...burning the world like a forest, to clear the rot and wreckage and allow new seeds to grow.

Koa's own agreement seemed a bit more...sinister. After all, a God visited Muji...it seemed like a Devil was visiting Koa...

 

[Honma Kotone]

Koa understood what Onamuji meant, deals were made all the time; unbiased to every person. As the world changed, it shifted into an eternal silence where volume was replaced with silence. The doctor, visibly disturbed, would look around the room with her hand latched onto the wooden chair. "Listen," She would call out to Onamuji with fear in her eyes before her voice would strain and echo. But quite rapidly, Koa's face would morph - distort more descriptively - and change into that of another, a person whom would be in relation to Onamuji's recent past. And like a slow-revealed painting, a canvas would drop, revealing the image of a woman whom once played a pivotal role in Onamuji recent activities; Makeoshimi Koho.

The fierce, yet soft, looking Red Queen stared forth towards the man with that smile that she owned so well. "Muji?" She would question, her face graphed onto that of Koa's body, but the sensation and chakra signal was the identical copy of Koho's. She would look around the room with a raised brow, her expression revealing anger and frustration, "Where are we?" She would add before folding her arms in protest. It was impossible, Koho was dead and her spirit had been reborn, this creature that stood before Onamuji was an imposter - wasn't it? How could one be sure of what was real and what was a dream, well, the answer was that we couldn't be sure. Koho had indeed past but the creature that Koa had bargained with was one of great complexness and unimaginable power; it could see what could be and what will be.

The woman would scowl, stepping away from the table and examining the room. "I don't understand, we were in the streets of Suna - we were going to find Saemon. We were going to kill Saemon." She would state angrily, turning her head and with, suddenly, furious bood-shot eyes set sights onto Onamuji. Koho would pause momentarily before itching her scalp, after a few scratches the woman would itch again and again until her hair began to crispy and smell as if the strands were on fire. Her skin would begin to moult and quake, fire erupted fiendishly and consumed Koho's body. This illusion, if you wanted to call it that, was shared by both Koa and Onamuji - although only one of them would understand it.

The woman, in the empty dining area, would fall to hear knees now in control of her own body. Koa, gasping for air, would look up to Koa with frightening eyes, "Koho?" She would say holding her hand over her heart. Whatever was happening to them it was a trick, some sick trick. Koa was used as an image for Koho, a recently deceased lover of Onamuji, for what reason? Whatever was going on, the creature that made a deal with Koa didn't want her to talk.

 

[Onamuji]

At the strange illusion - was it an illusion? - the perpetually composed sage was visibly perturbed. The amethyst eyes widened into an expression of horror as they tried to discern what, exactly, was going on. Whatever it was, it was wrenching at the very heart and soul of the young man. As Koho, or her image, began to speak, Muji's mouth fell agape in horror. It was as if he was being transported years into the past, to that fateful night.

"K-...Koho?" he would mutter, "Yes. We were looking for Saemon..."

Muji's words fell from his mouth as if he was under some sort of trance, faint and distant. Unsure of what to do, all the sage could muster was to interact with this spirit, or whatever she was. Was it the hope that he could speak to her one last time, even as grim a reunion as it was? Or was he simply acting on some broken instinct?

The Red Queen's flesh began to burn and her hair singed. A disgusting sight, and one that Muji himself was responsible for. It was his last act as the woman's killer. Koho was his lover, a lost soul pairing with a lost soul. She had grown increasingly unstable, and vowed in a jealous rage to murder her would-be husband, Saemon - Onamuji's closest friend and brother-in-arms. Knowing the woman he loved was going to destroy everything around her, Muji followed her on her warpath to end Saemon's life, but killed her before she was able to hurt anyone else. She was strong, but Muji's otherworldly powers brought her down. With his cleansing flame, he cremated her body and left no remains. He had killed the only woman he had ever loved. It was a deep scar that transformed the formerly carefree young man into a darker, more driven. The pain and guilt of his actions followed him everywhere he went. Now, he was forced to face them in person.

"Koho...I...you're no longer living, my dear," he would say with a tortured smile, as a tear fell down his cheek from his supernatural eyes, "What are you doing here?"

The pain welled up in his stomach, making him feel physically ill. Of all the horrors one could imagine to torment the sage with, this was by far the most hellish. He was a very guarded and emotionally cold man, but Koho was the one thing he had ever truly loved. It was his greatest act of selflessness, and his worst act as a killer. Murdering Koho saved a couple of innocent lives and ended her downward spiral of destruction, but it was murder nonetheless. He became a murderer in the streets of Sunagakure, and now his crime and his heartache had come back to haunt him...

 

[Honma Kotone]

As if Koa was pushed to the background, she was indeed unable to take control of her own body, her conciousness suppressed by the putrid, suffocating presence of that thing she made the deal with. Whoever it was, it was knowledgeable, an enigma that scorned this world and those unfortunate enough to come across it. Koho was a tortured spirit, and unbeknownst to Onamuji her spirit had moved on and been made anew, this creature know things and could bend reality on a whim if he felt like it. The creature, who seemed to be a male at the time of the meeting, wanted to break down Koa's allies and stop her from speaking about the enigma. However, despite its infinite age, it's power was not God-like and even it needed to rest. "Ona..." Koa would say with a disheartened expression, pained by the stranger's tear, and unsettled by the potent sadness that filled the room. You could call what happened to the doctor as a shared expression, where this illusion of Koho took precedent over Koa's body, but allowed the woman to watch through her own eyes with no control.

"I don't know what it is... I made a deal with it to gain power because," She would admit weakly, "It was going to kill me if I didn't agree... And I couldn't die, not yet, I had to find out about Kinnaku, I had to accomplish things in my life that mean something to me. But in return for this power, this knowledge of the grimoire that I was given, when I die the creature could take my spirit and body for his own purposes." Koa was terrified, she had no way to stop this enigma on her own and the more she talked, the more it took an interest in her; torturing her and those around. She would move towards Onamuji and with puffy eyes speak, "I'm so sorry, Ona, I shouldn't be dragging you into this... It's my problem and I have to deal with it, I'm sorry."

Outside of the restaurant, a scream would be heard; it's piercing body would shock both parties. Koa's heart sank at the sound of the scream, it felt familiar yet so... unfamiliar. The doctor would move towards the beaded door, pushing her soft hands against the beads and birthing herself onto the street. Onamuji, if not too disturbed, would follow if he wished. The street was empty, the world was vague and hazy, the street was empty and cold. A fog veiled over the entire city, maybe even the country, but only silence filled the once bustling sounds of the merchant streets. Koa's breath froze as it expressed her lips but the bitter chill in the air didn't bother her; she was bloodline Haku. The doctor almost forgot about the scream that she heard, that blood-curdling scream. But there it was again, another scream which sounded feminine. At one end of the street, through the fog, a woman stood strong. At another end of the street, veiled by the fog, another woman stood in a lush Victorian dress.

"You killed me, Muji. You turned my body into ash and threw me to the winds." One female shadow would say, hidden by the fog, but clearly Koho.

"You didn't come to find me, Ko-ko." The voice of Kinnaku would lull out from the shadows, with intention to dishearten the woman and man.

 

[Onamuji]

Was he sleeping? Comatose, perhaps? Was he still somewhere out in the deserts of Kaze-no-Kuni, blacked out and unconscious? No. The sage was used to nightmares. This was definitely not something so simple. It was neither a dream nor reality.

He could sense chakra, and the presence of more than one being. Whatever it was that had terrified Koa was not a natural entity, and filled the room with a sense of dread. Koho faded, and Koa seemed to return. Or, in a measure, at least. She still didn't seem entirely in control of her own form. Muji wasn't sure how to proceed. He was a natural thinker, a strategist who could analyze and maneuver through any situation. This, however, was far beyond his control.

A familiar scream rang out, filling him with dread. The auburn-haired man knew its pitch well. Even a thousand years after she had died, Muji would still remember the sound of her voice. He ignored everything now, except the sound. Following pace with Koa, he rushed to the door and emerged onto the streets, tracing the trajectory of the sound to find its source. Everything was awash in dense haze, and the very air around them seemed frozen still. The normally flourishing city life had vanished without a trace and deafening silence remained where the happy hustle of villagers once filled the stone city's streets. Another scream pierced the calm, causing Onamuji to dart his amethyst eyes toward the origin. There she stood, looking just as he remembered her. She wore that silly dress, so ornate and unique. The fog diminished her visibility, but even the shadow of the woman was recognizable.

---

"You killed me, Muji. You turned my body into ash and threw me to the winds." One female shadow would say, hidden by the fog, but clearly Koho.

"You didn't come to find me, Ko-ko." The voice of Kinnaku would lull out from the shadows, with intention to dishearten the woman and man.

---

Two voices, two women. Muji turned to the one he knew. His heart wrenched a bit, seeming almost to stop beating. His mind struggled to find the right words. Should he apologize? Should he make it right?

"Yes. I did," the man with the god-eyes stated, determined and cold, "You lost yourself, Koho. Ever since we left for Kirigakure and you made that deal with that farce of a Mizukage and his lackey, you began to lose who you were. All you wanted was destruction, and in your jealousy, you wanted to destroy my brother and an innocent woman. I knew that wouldn't be the end of it. They would just be the beginning of your blood-stained descent into madness."

With a stone-cold expression, the man explained, "I loved you. I didn't realize it until I had taken your life, but I did love you. That was precisely why I had to be the one to kill you, Koho. If anyone had to burden your sins and become a murderer to save everyone from what you would do, it had to be me."

Crossing his arms, Onamuji sighed. "But this isn't really you, is it? I made sure that no one could toy with your soul myself. I pulled it from your body and put it to an eternal rest before I burned your body to dust. This...isn't really you..."

And there it was. The man had faced up to his crimes, no longer feeling remorse or guilt. He had killed her, and he'd do it a thousand times, if need be. And now, Koa knew what he was. His new acquaintance had heard his confession of murder, and the explanation of his ability to manipulate souls in some form or another. Though the details weren't known to her, it was a grave implication in any case. The sage had murdered the woman he loved, pulled her soul from her body, and cremated the physical form she had once inhabited. He was a monster, some might say, but sometimes the world didn't need any heroes...they needed a monster. And that was what he was content with being.

 

[Honma Kotone]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKLhnEFwH2c​

Koa wouldn't say anything to the sound of Kinnaku's voice, how could she? What really could you say to someone that you love, who calls you out on something so unthinkable. But it wasn't real, was it. Koa had already begun to study the grimoire, its energy and presence, the incantations and discretion hidden in text on those pages of brown and yellow; bound in black. The doctor shook her head and turned from the grainy, shadowed veil of what her mind presumed to be Kinnaku. This wasn't real, it wasn't even an illusion - it was something entirely different from what you would even class as an illusion to be. She would turn and move towards Onamuji's side, where only standing a few feet away from his strong frame she would hear his confession. And maybe at that point, something clicked within the woman's mind - her tortured, fragile mind would harden with a resolution to end this torment of reliving mistakes that were made in their past.

"I'm done with this." She would state moving towards Onamuji, placing her hand on his shoulder, her soft touch squeezed against his lean muscle for a moment. "I made this deal with you, so you're going to leave him out of this." Koa would affirm herself in the hellish realm, lowering her hand from Onamuji's shoulder and stepping forward once more. She looked around her, raised her hands into the air, and called out the creature. "I get it-" But before the woman could continue, the world would singe their flesh with a sudden burst of heat; their eyes would be amused with a flashy entrance of something. Around two meters in front of the couple, a small vortex of green flames would arise from the moist earth, unveiling the creature that Koa made the contract with.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Muji." She would say softly, preparing her body as her mortal eyes set sights on the humanoid who composed itself completely of shadows. Even to a sage blessed with the eyes of the Gods wouldn't be able to amass enough inner strength to not feel suffocated by its presence. But, much to the surprise of Koa, the creature wouldn't do a threatening thing - it would instead clap with presumably a smile on its shadowy face. "I was wondering," It would say with a sickly sweet tone, "When you would grow a pair. I cannot have a weak spirit in my possession." The creature would then point to Onamuji with a crooked finger and say nothing for a moment before lowering its finger, "I like your eyes. I'll be taking you too one day."

And, as it raised one hand, with a click of its fingers the world was sharply inverted back to reality. Koa sat across from Onamuji with a blank expression, which was followed by running her fingers through her hair but refusing to cry; she had to be strong. She had to use the powers of the grimoire against the creature, but the doctor would have to gather herself and prepare - there was no other way now than this. "It's... I'm sorry..."

What the Hell could you say to this?

 

[Onamuji]

"No need to apologize," the sage would reply, pleased to find his water still in place, "These sort of things...happen."

In fact, despite the grim illusion they had just emerged from, the young man seemed surprisingly refreshed. There was a sense of closure in seeing Koho again, even if she was just an illusory joke wrought by some shadow of the spirit world. It forced him to come to certain realizations about the event he had spent months trying to run from. Muji had always been wracked with guilt, and hounded by a feeling of dread and sorrow at what he had done. After being pushed by the false Red Queen, he was able to break through these barriers and come to terms with it. He killed her, and that was that. No excuses, no remorse. She was going to ruin everything he knew and murder his only other, well...friends was the term, it seemed. For that, he killed her. It had to be done.

Muji felt like a new man, free from the shackles of guilt.

Breaking a moment of silence, the sage asked, "Did it seem to you that he was flirting with me when he complimented my eyes, or is it just me?"

Taking a sip of water, he would shrug and conclude, "I suppose it doesn't matter. It's creepy either way. I'd enjoy destroying that thing."

The auburn-haired man sighed deeply, unsure of what to say next. What was there to say, really?

 

[Honma Kotone]

Koa had to sit back for a minute and think about everything: she just had to process all of the information into her brain in a relevant and orderly fashion. It would seem like the woman's mind went blank for some time but she wasn't being rude or ignore, whatever happened to the two was something that, well, how could you even describe that type of situation to be in? It wasn't a human experience but really, how human were the two that sat across from each other anyway. The creature, whatever it was, wanted to purposefully toughen Koa up to enable it to claim a strong body and spirit for his own collection the day when the doctor passes from this world. However, Onamuji could see the creature too - despite not making a deal with it - so he clearly possessed a power beyond her own.

A resolution was made from within the woman and she promised herself that she would become stronger. This wasn't for the dealer's benefit but rather for her own, if she wanted to kill or seal that thing then Koa would have to master the black arts and confine herself to the underworld dealing of those who stray from the path, those who diluted themselves for a greater purpose. She would have to become stronger and Onamuji was her solemn answer to that, "Of course he was flirting with you, why wouldn't he?" She would say with a sharp smile and concentrated brown hues. Koa would then lean forward, placing her hand against his, and squeezing it somewhat.

"I want you to train me, Muji." The doctor would say firmly, the determination was quite palpable, her expression furious with it. "I know you have no kinship with me, and you have your problems... to deal with, for that I am sorry, but I could repay you for your tutelage." The woman thought, for a moment, about the things that Onamuji had said that he had done - specifically - the killing of a woman named Koho, whom had grown jealous or something or another. She didn't quite know what to say to that, after all it was none of her business, but regardless the past was past and to overcome their own issues maybe an alliances was needed.

 

[Onamuji]

Onamuji swirled the chilled liquid around his glass for a moment, staring at it intently. It wasn't immediately clear if he was actually paying any attention or not. He just seemed to stare into the vortex housed in his cup.

"Train you?" he echoed, his amethyst eyes seemingly blank in thought, "Interesting."

The sage mulled the concept of training over in his mind, considering what that might entail. He had trained Students at the Academy at the Council's request once or twice, but never took the job very seriously. He had showed them some basic jutsu and philosophies, and that was that. Teaching an adult, and a full-fledged shinobi at that, wasn't quite the same thing. Koa wasn't a blank slate, after all. She was a woman with her own abilities and predispositions. But then, perhaps, that was what made the idea so interesting.

"What, might I ask, would you expect me to teach you? Or, for better phrasing, what would you expect to learn from someone like me?" Muji queried politely, pulling his eyes from the glass and back to reality as he gazed back at his companion.