Reforging the Shackles[Open]

[Nanjirou Soku]

The Village. The Will of Fire. The shinobi. A life she had served and traveled the path for various years. Her Sharingan was no more gone due to the trauma and overuse of it within the past year though the lasting crimson effect remained. Her robe fluttered in the wind, her curved blade strapped to her side as she navigated the crowds seeking some peace. Soku had been out of it for quite the while so a breath of fresh air was necessary. Nodding to some shopowners she knew well, the female purchased a stick of dango and found a bench to sit upon where she could ponder for a brief moment. For some odd reason, the female was feeling quite..there was not quite a word to describe what the kunoichi was feeling at the moment. Taking a few munches of her dango, she glanced around at the masses of people going about their buisness. For once, they didn't seem as wary of her as most usually did but perhaps that could be attributed to the fact she was not in a normal ANBU uniform. She was simply dressed in a regular Konoha uniform covered by a cloak, her black hair fell down to her shoulders in a causal manner as she pondered over recent events.

"Gone..huh."Soku muttered to herself. The dojutsu which she had used and utilized for so long removed, gone. Though, she presumed she should have foreseen such a thing happening, the impact of such a thing did not fade away so easily. Her eyes flicked around scanning the various individuals, a panging regret in her heart as her vision blurred for a brief moment. Blinking a few times, it seemed to resolve itself. The loss of the Sharingan and the aftereffects was not fully over, it seemed. She would have to visit the Byoin on such matters. For now, this was a delicous dango and she would enjoy it as such. Now only if she had some company...after all, dangos were the best tool to make friends with,

 

[Kairyuu]

Among the masses passing by the young kunoichi, one person would stop and turn their head to look at her. Brown eyes show concern as the girl seems to sit there blinking before going back to her sweet snack. Behind them was a face that may at once be familiar but strange, for indeed Maki had changed much since the last time he saw Soku and not the least thing was the goatee on his face. He was somehow a bit shorter, and he’d lost nearly all of the bulk he had packed on while overcompensating for the loss of his arm. And to that end, the short-sleeved oxford he wore showed two fleshly arms coming from it, though his leg hand was covered with a black leather glove. He wore a pair of well made cuffed pants with brown hiking boots of supple leather. He had a black derby on his head with a gold band, and in hand was a cane topped by a beautiful blue gemstone filled with swirling colors.

The man finally moves, stepping closer to the kunoichi and sitting down on the opposite end of the bench, the creaking of the material letting on that he weighed much more than his size would hint at. ”Great day for a snack, isn’t it? And company I supposed. Look, I’m not very good at this but I do want to apologize if I hurt you. I wasn’t in the best of places at that time and everything just snapped.”

(Topic entered. Hi thar!)

 

[Nanjirou Soku]

She was rather content with her dango snack and enjoying it when the man made his presence known. At first, her attention was drawn to a most peculiar item and that was his cane with the gemstone and all the colors dancing around within it. It looked like it had cost an arm and leg to obtain, the gemstone at least."I like the cane."She remarked before taking a closer look at who actually had went out of thier way to speak to her and frowned. The voice sounded a bit...wait a minute..she noted one of the hands covered by a black glove and the gears slowly began to turn as she placed the face and the name. There was only two shinobi she knew that had suffered some sort of injury leaving them without a limb for that regard. One being Ziren and the other..well..he was quite the character and here he was now."Maki-sama!"She nearly exclaimed looking him up and down."You've underwent quite the change."The Captain commented noting the beard and his garb though she was still wary of him quite a bit. His next words however put her at ease that he was not the same crazy old retired Sennin that was hell-bent on carrying out a massacre of any Frost-nin within 500 feet of Konohagakure. She waved the apology away giving him a small smile."I'm just glad you're alright. That's the important thing. I was more scared that Mikasa was gonna do something do you than you doing something to us honestly. With all due respect though, you were quite the terrifying force."She added. The failure of that day still lived in her memories. She didn't really blame anyone, she put herself at fault. It had been a thing that had stuck with her. The former Medical Sennin had been like a mother almost to her and for such a treasonous act was almost emotionally tearing which could be perhaps part of the reason why she failed. The voice of the Hokage still echoed in her heads after the incident.The failure of your Captain.."She shook her head to clear it, such memories were not needed on this blissful day.

She broke off a part of the dango stick offering it to the man."I'm glad you're out and about though. It has been quite a while. What have you been up to these days? Still plan on being an extradionary shinobi?"Maki truly was a powerful ninja and she had seen his own prowess to account for such deeds but the age was starting to beat him up a little, it seemed. Of course, she had no intention to say that directly to his face. A conflict with a battle-hardened cranky former ANBU Sennin was the last thing she needed right now. Well, maybe not as cranky but he still gave off quite the imposing figure. The female was slightly surprised at his gentle nature, she had always thought of him as this rough and tough sort of person though one couldn't keep up that persona all the time."One more?"She asked shooting a glance at where the dango sticks were being offered to any passerbys. Whoever was selling these was making quite the profit and for good reason, they were reasonably good.

 

[Uchiha Asuka]

Asuka walked up the rooftops towards her favorite place to eat Lunch. Rayne in tow sighing at her companion. Asuka on the other hand had a big smile plastered across her face as she raced through the streets, going through alleways, up to the roofs, back down again. Trying to get to her favorite place as soon as she could. "I never understood why you like this place so much." Asuka simply smiled and looked back for a few seconds. "Cause it has dangos! Was all she would say.

Getting there wasn't a problem, what became a problem was seeing who was there. Maki, who Asuka didn't trust at all. And Soku, the person who claimed to be family but never got the hang of how Asuka worked. Ending in a bickering match that had Asuka storming off. Not one of her proudest moments but she didn't regret it, alas... she wasn't in her home turf at the time and starting a confrontation would've simply gotten her in more trouble. Although, her open book self was about to do something stupid Rayne, who looked identical to Asuka, ran through the establishment. Gave a simple bow to Maki "Hello Maki-san." She said "It is good to see you." She then turned to Soku and gave her a big hug. "For the gods it's been so long Soku!" Rayne spoke with a big smile "Man you sure look bigger." She then realized it might be a little weird seeing two versions of the same person. Rayne laughed "Sorry. I'm Rayne. I hope you didn't forget me."

Asuka on the other hand, seeing as her companion was busy with conversation decided to move to another empty table. The big smile on her face still present, although not necessarily true. She ordered her usual stuff, hot tea and a whole bunch of dango sticks. Mumbling a happy tune. Rayne continued being excited, finally seeing two people she respected but in the corner of her eye noticed Asuka. With a frown she sighed. "What's up with her?" She looked back at the table with Maki and Soku. Another big sigh "Okay, the hell did you two do to make ASUKA this pissed? All I've heard is that Maki's apparently a bad person for some reason and gods know why she's mad at Soku."

[Topic Entered]

 

[Kairyuu]

Maki nearly flinches at the exclamation of his name, but gives a smile as she seems excited to see him. ”Indeed I did. I’ve spent the last while trying to fix things. And step one to that is, well, fixing myself.” At mention of Mikasa his left hand gets a slight tremble as his mind returns to the fight. The feeling of being locked in his mind as madness took center stage and reality lost all meaning to him. He takes a breath to calm himself. ”Well, I’m happy you’re okay. I fear to say I no longer wield such power, however. The mind has a way of limiting one when they’ve overstepped its boundaries.”

He reaches out, taking the dango stick and dropping something into her hand. It was the crystal that was stop his cane. ”Feel free to take a closer look.” The cane itself seems to have vanished. As she asks her question he nibbles at the treat and thinks it over. Not what he would do, but what he could share. ”I don’t think it’s any secret this village has been poisoned. And while I believe much of the source of the toxin has been removed, it requires help. I’m here to help Konoha recover. To become better. To make people’s lives easier where I can.” He didn’t include that he intended to do so at any means, Maki might have changed his tune to one of a more altruistic nature, but he was still a man of conviction as ever.

”No thank you, still munching on this one.” He smiles once more, but it fades as a voice rings out about dangos. He turns his head and spies Asuka nearby, the smile becoming a frown. He couldn’t deal with accusations. Not again. Once more the tremble returns to his hand, and this time doesn’t stop for a few minutes. Minutes that are spent by Asuka’s apparent twin coming over to speak to them. ”Good afternoon. And I believe her anger at me to be justified. I did hit her with a meteor and some lasers…” The tremble in his arm had moved to his voice, which cracked slightly as he spoke.

Gods, would he ever be able to get over those two nights? Attacking his own allies, and the torture and agony of losing his limb?

 

[Nanjirou Soku]

The man had certainly grown softer, that much was clear but then again, he wasn't exactly the most youthful one any more. People changed, some for better and others for worse. Maki was somewhere in the middle, he had paid quite the price for the Hidden Leaf and she was sure well-respected among the shinobi forces. Soku glanced down at the crystal turning it over in her hand examining all the fine details in a careful and precarious manner. Something so valuable as this, she would treat it with extreme caution. Though, one item of interest was gone and that was the cane that he had literally a few seconds ago. The ANBU stared at where it had been and back at the the gemstone.'Wh-...that cane is more than a cane."She stated giving thee crystal one last analyzing look before handing it back to Maki. He started talking about the village condition and that was a topic that she herself was deeply conflicted about but in the end, this was her home and regardless, she would do anything to make sure her home didn't collaspe."Perhaps so but I still worry, the threat is not entirely over. Mikasa was one of numerous individuals who wished...ill towards the leadership. Who's to say they aren't plotting something against us this very moment. A part of me does not feel right knowing there are still those out there who wish to sow seeds of discord against us. A part of me just wants to gather up every ANBU within sight and rip the earth apart trying to find these earthworms."Earthworms, there's a new one I could use.Still though, it passed along the sentiment and a strong one at that."But such a thing i-.."Her message was briefly interuptted by a new arrival and as Soku turns to identify the newcomer, her stomach does a flip.

Oh man, let's see how this goes.Uchiha Asuka, Main Branch Sennin, her adoptive sister or rather..she had been. Soku wasn't sure if she still regarded her as such after the..incident. With her was another individual, a twin of sorts whom identified herself as Rayne. Wait a minute..Rayne?"That name....you're.."The Captain began slowly before her eyes widened in realization as she embraced her briefly noting Asuka electing to choose a empty spot.Well, go talk to her. It's not easy as you think.As Rayne inquired to the situation, the Nanjirou took a moment to consider her words carefully. This could go wrong very quickly, not that she blamed Asuka. This was going to be..well..nothing would happen if she didn't say anything."There was an..incident..at the ANBU headquarters..."She began slowly trying not make eye contact."I may have overreacted when presented with the situation...and it left...quite the dent as you can see.."Soku said as the memory came flashing back to her. She winced at the thought. It appeared Maki had ticked her in some way as well, somehow, that thought did not surprise her, she would rather see that than someone angering the former ANBU Sennin. "A..Asuka..."Soku started refraining a bit before continuing."Sit with us? We have some dangos here and stuff.."You're terrible at this emotions thing, you really are a true ANBU. Shut up.

 

[Uchiha Asuka]

Rayne frowned at Maki once he answered her question, it seemed weird for someone to actually admit a mistake towards Asuka. Shot meteors? Lasers? What exactly had happened between them? It didn't really make sense, ever since she was pretty much broken apart, quite literally, it seemed excitement was all she was hearing and Rayne missed al of it. Then came Soku, incident at ANBU HQ? Why the hell was Asuka in the ANBU HQ? Maybe some sort of prank? But... her pranks were usually kinda funny or relatively harmless how the hell did it have a falling out.

Soku's request for Asuka made Rayne immediately glare at the girl sitting across the table, Asuka tried to make it seem that she didn't hear anything. Rayne sighed "Oh, this brat." With a sigh she walked over and simply grabbed Asuka by the ear. "Ow Ow Ow..." Asuka complained as she was dragged to the table. "You're not going to be childish about this. You've already been beaten." Rayne simply moved Asuka unto the table, sitting next to Maki. Rayne sitting next to Soku. In any instance, Asuka kept glaring at Rayne while grabbing her dango stick. With a sigh she spoke "I like the Dangos."

 

[Kairyuu]

Maki watches as Soku explains that she too had an encounter with Asuka that led to their own distance from her. The man finishes his own dango stick before thinking for a moment. He makes little motion in response as Rayne drags Asuka closer, simply listening to the other justify her presence here. Maki looks down at the stick in his hand then stabs it against his seat beside him, blunting the edge. Then he looks up right at Asuka, looking her clear in the eyes.

And he pokes her with it. Not very gently, but not enough to truly hurt. More as a shock than anything. ”Justified though I feel it may be, I cannot imagine your attitude towards Soku is. You are a Sennin of Konoha, recall. It would ill do for a leader of the village to be seen in public acting like a child.” His words, harsh as they may be, were spoken gently and with instruction in mind and not harm. She needed to maintain an image, if not for herself then at least for Konoha.

”More? On me.” He calls the vendor over to supply them all with another Dango stick, as a peace offering of sorts.

 

[Nanjirou Soku]

She resisted the urge to raise her eyebrow as Rayne dragged the Sennin over to them so they were all seated together at the same table in some form or fashion. Rayne had changed somewhat from the last time Soku had encountered her, that much was clear. She consumed her dango as Asuka spoke for what seemed like the first time in a eternity. The Captain decided not to elaborate on exactly what had occured at the headquarters thinking it would just bring more negativity into this already tense coverstation. She nodded trying to figure out her next words but Maki seemed to have something to say as well poking Asuka with said dango stick giving her a brief crash course on Sennin ethics. Asuka probably had heard those exact words from other mouths other than Maki's so she doubted they would have any effect if at all. She simply glanced at Asuka going over what she was about to say before she said it drumming her fingers on the table as the vendor hurried to obtain more of the delicous treats. Time to lay it on."I can understand if you're mad, I don't expect any forgivness or anything, perhaps what occured that day might have been an overeaction on some parts , I don't know how to make it up If I even can but I guess when I do stuff like that, my tone, words and demeanor may be harsh but I do it because I don't want the consequences of your actions, silly and funny as they may be sometimes to come back and bite you.."Who knew a simple converstation over dangos was going to turn into..well..she didn't have a word for the situation.

She glanced down for a moment, her hand drifting to brush over that necklace that hung from her chest looking at it and back at the Sennin. She didn't mind the fact that Maki and Rayne were here listening to this, she had started with it so might as well finish what she wanted to say. She had no idea how this was gonna go, could go terribly wrong for all she knew. The dangos arrived in the midst of it, that was quite the hefty bill the old ANBU Sennin was racking up but to each their own. She took one munching on it slowly."I guess I see you as a part of me in truth.. I'm the cranky, humourless, serious and loyal to village type of person and you're like my old self, my Academy self. happy,foolish, someone I enjoy seeing until all that was.." She stopped not completing that sentence."MOM! Sto- WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HER?!""Out of the way..child...out of the way."PLEASE""I said move, girl, family is not a neccesity, child, how many times must I te-".She closed her eyes for a moment cutting out the voices that had started. She somehow managed to break the dango stick in two with her fist hardening around it. " I act the way I do because I don't want you to relive what I did, I am scared for you. That one day, you might do something to the wrong person or something and it could end terribly. I'm not saying you can't handle yourself but sometimes, that fear of something happening, I just lose it when I see you doing somethin reckless. I don't know how else to explain it.""You will be attributed to nothingness, just like your mother."" I'M GOING TO HUR-"'You will do no such thing of the sort.""For what it's worth, I apologize.""You are not fit for this life, daughter."She glanced down at her shaking hand instantly stablizing it.

OOC: The black and bolded text are Soku's memories.

 

[Uchiha Asuka]

Rayne pinched the bridge of her nose once Bones started to speak, it seemed as though this was going to be one hell of an argument. She had warned Asuka not to insult the advisor again or she would personally make her life a living hell. But she knew what the girl would do. Asuka slapped the stick out of Maki's hand without looking at the man "My personality is what separates me from the rest of you." Asuka spoke "I prefer to live life to the fullest rather than spend my days in serious mode." A good point Asuka opened her mouth to say something else but Rayne threw her quite a glare, if she started going on a rampage the worst could happen.

Asuka muched happily on her dango stick as Soku spoke, not looking at her as she continued. It was understandable but she still believed no one understood how she was. Or why she acted the way she did. Not that anyone would, hell... she had earned her reputation of being a childish idiot. In the end, she didn't blame Soku... rather her reaction had reminded her that she was still alone. But, considering what had been going on she couldn't exactly blame the girl. Although she didn't exactly want to leave things like this. She did miss Soku. Asuka looked at Rayne, looking for an answer. Rayne, as usual, simply smirked. They both had a silent conversation. Asuka figured it out afterwards. Taking a sip from her tea she streched her hand behind her, to avoid hurting anyone else. Rayne morphed into a scythe and Asuka placed gently on the wall. With a big smile on her face Asuka giggled. "I made Maki cry." She held her hand to her face holding back the laughter. "Did get beat up afterwards..." She kept giggling "But Maki crying is a funny site."

 

[Kairyuu]

It felt good to be bringing friends back together. At least he figured it must, most of this could be attributed to Rayne. For his part, Maki seemed to have kicked a bee hive. While Soku was apologizing to Asuka, the latter was glorying in her immaturity as she slaps the stick from his hand. Maki pays it no mind as he had another one brought over and begins to eat from it, letting Asuka stew in her own juices for a bit.

That seemed to have been a mistake as the twin forms into a scythe and is put against a wall, Maki raising as eyebrow before it lowers at the Sennin’s next words. She seemed….happy that she’d done so. Maki’s hand grips the table as the laughter breaks loose in small giggles. Apparently…it was funny to leave a man a sobbing, broken mess of mental damage. His knuckles turn white as he balls his other hand into a fist. And then releases it, chakra flowing out of him.

He rises as two battle axes, six swords, four spears, and a cleaver seem to simply materialize in the air over them and slam into the table on either side of the Main Branch Sennin, the chakra shells stabilizing the metal dust that was creating them and driving them home, Maki himself not so much as moving a muscle. Asuka woud likely feel something watching her, and should she turn her head, would notice the tip of a rapier that, once her eye lands on it, launches at high speed towards said eye but never reaching it as all of the weapons simply disintegrate into the dust they were made of.

”Ladies, it’s been a pleasure.”

Maki leaves some money for the extra dango sticks and makes his way out of the area before he did something all three of them would regret.

(Topic left)

 

[Nanjirou Soku]

The converstation seemed to be going..well...it was calm for the moment at least. The voices were still resounding in her head as she prodded her dango stick. All those words and it seemed Asuka wouldn't even give her the benefit of a look even if it was a glare, at least something?"Personally from what I've seen over the years, even the most cheerful, silly person knows the distinction between when it is time to get down to business and drop the youthful demeanor."The kunoichi replied shakingly in response."But, I wouldn't know anything about that because as you say..we' are all about the serious stuff and couldn't care much for the better joys of life." In a sense, the Main Branch Sennin was acting..odd..she couldn't put a word to it but it was..different. Her eyebrow shot up as Asuka whacks the dango stick from the Hokage Advisor's hands watching it clatter to the ground.'Asuka.."She started before her attention snaps to Rayne who was now in the form of a scythe. The Captain groaned inwardly. She didn't need this converstation to end in fire and blood of all things but it seemed to be going that way. Tht was until Asuka...laughed..laughed taking some entertainment in the fact she had made Maki break down. You idiot, no.The thought was perhaps echoed too late as the battle-hardened man clearly took offense to the fact as he stood up the anger clear on his expression. The ANBU held back a yell as a barrage of weapons hurtled towards them landing themselves on either side of the Main Branch Sennin. He really was not in a playing mood as he left the area.

Well, this is a fine and dandy situation you've left me in.She glanced at Asuka and the weapons embedded near her. The cafe owner seemed to be crouching behind his stall peeking out to ensure everything was blowing up as it was 3 seconds ago."You shouldn't have done that."The girl said quietly gesturing to the weapons and shrugging."But judging from what's been done and said here today, I guess we're not quite ready to take the next step."It was tearing at her, why, why did every converstation with this girl have to be something so negative? What happened to the good, joyful days? "It's fine, Asuka, you keep being who you are. I wouldn't want you to change because someone forced you to. It would make me more happier just to see you enjoying yourself. I guess I thought I was trying to implement some sort of guidance even if it was harsh."She sighed leaving the dangos on the table as she stood."Never mind though, I've given up on all that. Perhaps I will never truly understand why..you..are so..."She stopped. What exactly was she trying to say?"You know what? Forget it. Just...be yourself. I guess...and don't..get hurt..please."Her voice shaking, she quickly turned and swiftly left the booth donning her ANBU mask to hide the tears that began to flow from her pupils. What to do..what to do...
[Topic left unless stopped]