Reunion?

[Kaguya Mitsuha]

Snow fell softly throughout all of the Oak district. Even though it fell softly, it was cold enough for it to stick. The snow crunched underneath Mitsuha's metal feet as she walked through Oak District. She was merely here to buy tools and supplies for making more puppets, or rather, normal puppets. Her other method she will save for criminals and enemies of Leaf.

She's kept to herself for years, five to be exact, and nobody has even sought her out, though she doubts that they would even be able to recognize her as she is quite literally an entirely different person. She had often wondered if her friends had even cared for her but she had dismissed the thought as she focused on getting the supplies that she needed. Walking into a store, she would peruse the selection that they had available, only spending money on a few things, mainly fine tools and materials that are generally hard to come by. It was easy for her to carry such things as she would just seal it all away in a scroll until later when she is back in her own residence.

As she left, she felt eyes on her. Of course, men and boys will stare, something that had happened a lot when she was human as well, though she merely ignored them and any comments that were made. Mitsuha would continue to walk alone in the quiet midday Oak District as she thought about ideas for different types of puppets.

 

[Ōtakemaru]

U̶̘͓̲͈̞̮͉̓̆͋ư̵̡̧̡͍̟͓̤̮̙̻̻̱͈͌͐͆̌̄̽̑̚u̸̧̠͉̟̗͉̙̞͎̬̘̎̈́͌͜͝u̵̠̤̩͙͖͖̭͚͖̦̝̤͕͚̐͊͋͛͆̋̕͜͠͠ǘ̸͍̟͕̖̠̰̹͙̅͛̾̈́́̀́́̈̅̄͒͌u̶͚̣̮̱̺̘̱̗̫͍͑̾̄̿̈́̀̍͌͂̾͑͜͠͠͝ͅų̷̛͈̖̼͈̱͓̬̓̃͐̓̅̃̏̔̉̑̽̕͝ǫ̸̱̗̯͕̅͋ớ̶̧̧̨̻͎̹͙͍̿ơ̶̰͓̥̰̭͗o̶͈̖̳̜̥̖̮̝̜̘̩̬͉͔͉͋̈́́̾͝ọ̵̧̺͔̳͈͍̳̠͖̽̌͆̎͒̂̀̚͠ô̶̗̳̯̳̞̟̹̒̃̊̂͋̓͌͜ö̴̡̭͚̯̟̗͉̳̮͉͇̫̖́̽̆̌͛̐̏̋̓͜͠o̴̞͔̞̼͉͓̤̞̺̜̝͊͐͌̈́͐̚͜h̴̫̬̟̔̀́̀̍̏͛͐̑͘͠͝͝͠͝h̵̛̟̿ḩ̵̲̮̔̉̄͂͊̔͒̈́̄̊͛̓̋̈́͊͜h̶̡̫̝͇͕͇͖̩̯̲̅̏ḩ̸̨̗͈̩̯̘͇͓͔͖̍̌̐͝͝h̵͖̜͐ḩ̵̧̜̘͓͎͉̮̮̹̰̳͗̈́͋̇̃̂͌͒̃̓͝ͅ​

Chakra Sensory was a funny trait to some shinobi, but not everyone was able to utilize it – whether it be passively or actively. Whether Mitsuha was able to, even in her new façade, mattered little – it was the vibration that counted. A sudden burst of electric impulses that ran down the backs of those who were ambushed with shock at scary events – those moments were so quick and fleeting, like jumping grasshoppers blinking away at the speed of light.

It was for just the briefest instance… that such a feeling ran down the backs of so many people around. Cultivated, bubbling chakra leering in the invisible curtains of a chakra network, like a leopard in hiding, waiting to leap down and strike at any moment…

And the metallic taste from that aura alone was enough to elicit discomfort and almost… disgust. But the source of all that energy was from a person that Mitsuha would be able to recognize immediately. His purple haori, long hair, and docile face were brand trait marks of an old friend.

Take was casually sipping on a cup of hot cocoa with a scarf around his neck, otherwise just in his usual shinobi vest underneath his purple robe. The dark marks of his Cursed Seal were still traveling over his cheek and forehead, but… if one squinted their eyes in focus, they’d be able to make up a serpentine dragon among the patterns, traveling across his forehead like a headband. That was new from last time she saw him, a change brought forth by Ayeka.

“Sippy, sippy, sippy, sippy, sippy…”

 

[Kaguya Mitsuha]

Even though Mitsuha was no sensory type of ninja, she was a Jounin and she had easily picked up on the fact that something, or rather someone was around her. It was a familiar feeling, that she knew all too well since she knew the person that cursed chakra belongs to.

"Otakemaru." She said in a near plain voice, clearly seeing through his facade to not be noticed. She knew that he has feelings for Ayeka, or rather her alter ego Aria, the soul of someone that had passed away that now resides within Ayeka. No doubt that he had made a move on her when Mitsuha was out of the picture. If this had happened before she became a human puppet, the boy would have found Mitsuha already at his throat...

But the Mitsuha that stands before him now is completely different, seeming human, but not. Her own chakra now more... raw as in more pure in the sense of no elemental natures, just chakra in its purest sense. Snow would lightly fall with only the sound of the smallest breeze coming once every few seconds. As she would breathe, Otakemaru would see no breathe in the air, if he catches on, as a sign that she may no longer be human. Her own clothes seem to resonate either black or red, depending on the perspective of the person looking and from where they are looking.

There would be silence between the two for a couple of seconds before she would approach him. "It's been a while." Was all that she had said. Part of her wondered if this was even a good idea. To connect with the past, with her own past. She is still figuring out the whole idea of her being a human puppet, and wonders if having emotional connections is even worth having.

 

[Senju Akio]

The brisk wind bit at Akio’s cheeks as he walked through the Oak District, each step crunching the thin blanket of snow beneath his feet. He exhaled, watching a puff of visible breath drift upward in the chilly air. His mind flicked back to Nao’s gentle but firm instructions to rest up, to take things slowly. Yet here he was, wandering when he probably should have been in bed. "But I’m doing my best…" He thought, adjusting his jacket and zipping it up just a bit higher. "And besides, it’s just a walk."

Something inside him, like a faint persistent hum, tugged at his attention. Since awakening from his coma, with everything so quiet around Konoha, the Senju's senses felt sharper, more attuned to the ebb and flow of chakra around him. Suddenly, two distinct signatures, both achingly familiar, pinged in his consciousness. His heart leapt. "No way…"

Following the thread of chakra, Akio glanced around. The swirl of white flakes made everything look hazy, almost dreamlike, but he could sense them clearly. Then he saw them: two figures a little ways down the street. One stood tall, purple haori and shifting marks across the face, unmistakably Otakemaru. The other wore clothing that shimmered black or red depending on the angle. Despite the drastic difference in appearance, Akio could still feel the same presence beneath it all. “Mitsuha…?” he murmured under his breath, hardly believing it. A wave of warmth crashed over him, dispelling the chill of the weather.

Feet moving almost of their own accord, not even taking a second thought for if the two of them might be in the middle of something, Akio found himself bounding forward, hardly aware of the snow that flurried around his ankles. Any lingering chill or caution melted away under the rush of sheer delight that welled inside him. He could scarcely believe his eyes. Yet there they stood, two people who meant so much to him, both within arm’s reach after such a long, tumultuous time.

“Heeey!!!” He called out, his voice ringing loud through the hush of the falling snow. The young sage's heart pounded like it was trying to leap from his chest, and he broke into a grin so wide it practically glowed even against the pale backdrop. “Take! Mitsuha!” In a whirlwind of movement, Akio closed the distance. The moment he reached them, he threw his arms around the pair in one swift motion, not even pausing to gauge whether it was welcome. His excitement upon seeing his two older classmates was simply too great. The faint scent of cold air and fresh snow clung to his jacket, but he scarcely registered it, too lost in the relief and joy that flooded him.

He lingered in that hug, probably a moment longer than might be polite, before finally stepping back, his eyes watering from the emotion of the first thing that's felt truly familiar since waking up. Akio's eyes sparkled with unconcealed enthusiasm as he looked from one friend to the other, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Oh man, it’s so good to see you both,” he breathed, the words tumbling from his mouth in a rush. “I... I thought everyone from our class was..." He trailed off for just a second, his face wincing unconsciously as he thought about Kiri and Keni. "But forget that! You're here!”

His usual upbeat nature swelled to fill every inch of the sunny young Senju, undeterred by the hush of the snow-heavy street. All that mattered was that they were here. In his excitement, he hardly remembered Nao’s caution to take things slow. Right now, it felt like the most natural thing in the world to stand there, breath steaming in the winter air, talking and laughing as if everything was the way it used to be. Like he'd never been asleep. "You guys gotta tell me everything I missed! You both seem like you've come so far. Dang, you look strong now, Take! And Mitsuha... I barely recognize you! If it wasn't for your chakra I wouldn't have! What's the story behind the new look?" The rapid-fire string of exclamations and questions flowing from the effervescent nature-lover's mouth, and the bright toothy smile that caused his eyes to crinkle showed his former classmates just how excited he was.

After all, Akio had always worn his heart on his sleeve, and now that he was back amongst friends, it was like that part of him was coming back to life. Like he was a sapling regreening after a harsh winter.

 

[Ōtakemaru]

… Mitsuha looked completely different. How could he even tell that it was Mitsuha? Her chakra was so… sharp and clear in his ears, not at all tainted by light or ill impulses. Not at all colored in various hues… although that, he wouldn’t be able to see. He just felt no pressure, no contrast to his own chakra whereas before, he’d be able to tell that his chakra was quite shakier than the rest. I’ve always had something ill inside of me… something weird. But I can’t feel anything from her.

She had no warmth in her breath, no vapor releasing from her lungs. Was she… was she even alive? But she talked to him normally, almost too nonchalant in contrast to the change he saw. “Is… is that you?” Take pondered, a single tear running down his face, “Are you… Mitsuha?”

He almost disbelieved his own gut feeling. Could people change that drastically? He blinked twice, then blinked a few more times as his name was called out by- Akio? Take wasn’t ready for the sudden glomp from the overjoyed Senju coming in from the side, embracing both the swordsman and the doll-like kunoichi… whom he just called Mitsuha. S-She really was?

“Mitsuha? Y-You really are… w-wait, Akio? You’re alright?” Take asked curiously, astonished to see Akio recover so quickly. He really lived up to the lively vibes of the Senju, always bringing such a sunny smile to the group… even Take smiled a little. He couldn’t help it. He liked people who smiled. “I… I thought comas lasted longer, I-I didn’t know when you’d wake up… you don't even look like you were hurt at all,” he almost excused for something that had nothing to do with him, scratching the back of his head, “P-Please, take it easy. I, uh… wait-“

He turned his gaze back to Mitsuha. A closer glance at the kunoichi who, in his memory, loved the same woman… technically… as he loved- yeah, he recognized her. “… I-I see. It really is you… what happened?”

 

[Kaguya Mitsuha]

Mitsuha would cock her head to the side as she seen Otakemaru start to cry. There was something there... Her eyes would narrow as she would feel pain. Yes, pain. Something that is near unknown to those who are human puppets. Except for... if something goes on with the microchip that her consciousness is on. Just as the pain came, it was gone. "Why are you crying Otakemaru? Yes, I am Mitsuha." She would say.

It would seem that Otakemaru wouldn't be the only person from her past that she would run into. Her eyes widened in... Surprise? She feels.... Surprised.... Akio.... She could barely register what was happening until the Senju rushed over to them and tackle hugged them. They would feel that despite how human Mitsuha looks, even though she has an eerie look about her, they would feel cold metal. She stood there stunned before the pain on her microchip came back, this time more painful. She winced as she pulled away from the hug and held her head.

For the longest time, she had lost all thoughts of having emotions... And now... little by little, they might be coming back... it.... She doesn't know how to feel about it... Her hands were shaky as she listened to the other two boys speak, mainly asking her about her change in appearance... Finally, she would speak, "After they killed my parents.... I killed as much of them that dared show their faces... But... I was ambushed.... I should have died but.... Someone saved me, but only could save my consciousness, not my body... All that I am is now artificial..." She looked at her own hands, as if now fully understanding that this isn't her original body anymore. She was of course talking about the jashin cult that had killed her parents. Otakemaru would know, as he was there when she had found out. A message to Mitsuha written in her own parents blood praising Jashin. "I killed them all.... All of those lunatic cultists..." She would collapse onto the ground on her knees as she said that in a whisper. "They deserved it..." She stared blankly at the snow-ridden ground.

 

[Senju Akio]

Akio’s cheeks flushed from both the cold and his own emotions as he looked between Take and Mitsuha, taking in every shift of their expressions. When Take asked about his coma, Akio rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and gave a small but, at least for him, slightly forced smile. “Yeah... Not as long as the others, I guess. It feels like a long time to me though. Nao-sensei said I was one of the first to fall asleep. And... I’m still the only one who woke up so far.” He paused there, shifting on his feet before drawing in a slow breath. “Everything’s so different. The village is so different. The whole world seems different... But you two aren’t! You’re both here! And that’s a reason to smile!” Yet even as he said it, his tone trembled with relief and a gentle sorrow all at once, exposing how raw his emotions were since waking up. However, what he heard next didn't make him smile at all.

As Akio then turned his eyes to Mitsuha, worry creasing his brow, he heard her recount the tragedy she’d endured, a tale that made his stomach twist. She spoke of losing her body, becoming artificial, and something inside him clenched as if an invisible hand had gripped his heart. While he had been asleep, people he cared about suffered more than he could imagine. The memory of losing Kiriyomi still haunted him, and his grandfather Itsuki’s absence was another wound that hadn’t yet healed. He inhaled sharply and stepped nearer, resting a tentative hand on Mitsuha’s shoulder. The chill of the metal beneath his fingers was jarring, but it didn’t stop him from speaking, voice quivering with empathy. “I’m sorry you had to go through all that while I was... gone. It’s not fair. It hurts to know you fought so hard and felt so alone.”

Yet even with his voice trembling, something determined burned in his bright eyes. He wanted to lift her out of that darkness if he could, even just a little. “And... You're not all artificial, Mitsuha! I know you're different... I'm different too. Losing people does that I think...” He paused before continuing, his gaze fixed on her so she would know he meant every word. “But when I felt your chakra, I knew straight away it was you! You might look totally different, but you've still got the same spirit I remember. I know what it’s like to feel alone now... and I know how it feels to wonder if the same person you were before still exists somewhere inside you. But when I look at you, I see Mitsuha. I see my friend.”

His eyes welled a bit, the telltale sign of his overemotional empathetic nature, and he looked between his two friends letting out a shaky breath that was filled with both anxiousness and relief. “And... I'm really happy to see some friends..."

[MFT | 486 Words]

 

[Ōtakemaru]

”I’m sorry…” Take couldn’t really bring himself to elaborate – he just felt sorry. Mitsuha had been through so much… and it looked like his words affected her. He saw her wince for a moment, but she quickly calmed her face again. Was she angry at him, or was… uhm… what happened to her? Even when Akio hugged them all, Take felt a certain coldness from Mitsuha’s body, as if there was nothing actually there. It was such a painful feeling of emptiness that genuinely terrified him…

But he wasn’t the only one who suffered. Suffering seemed to be shared among all the shinobi of the Leaf. He could feel Akio’s shaking heart as well, reminiscent of days long gone that he missed out on… but he still smiled. A clear show of courage.

… He was there when Mitsuha found her murdered family. He dared not think too much about it, for the image had tormented him even in his sleep, and let’s not even begin to imagine what Mitsuha had gone through. No wonder things had changed so much afterwards… it was a horrible, tragic massacre that never should’ve taken place.

“I’m really glad to see you both again…” Take replied in kind, both to Akio and to Mitsuha, trying to offer Mitsuha a hand as he found her on her knees, the weight of her experience and actions likely pushing her down still. “I don’t know how much you had to suffer… I never will… but I know you did the right thing. They deserved to end.”

The nightmare deserved to end.

“Wait… are the others waking up, too, Akio?”

 

[Kaguya Mitsuha]

Mitsuha would hear what they were saying to her, but it seemed to barely register to her. In fact, they would see in her eyes as they rapidly change color from red, to blue, and back to red again. The pained expression on her face had disappeared as she grabbed Otakemaru's hand and got up.

She was back to having an emotionless expression on her face, "Once I was given a second chance with a new body, I sought out any remaining Jashinist cults that I knew of that were operating within Fire Country. I killed them. But I felt nothing. When I went back to the person that saved me, he had told me that would be the cost of giving her a new body, that I would slowly lose all of my emotions. Just now, has been the only time that I have shown emotions since.... I was first attacked."

Unawares to her, both boys would see a flicker of light in her eyes, almost as if a glitched was happening to her database. She would listen as the two boys would carry on conversation. Others waking up... She was vaguely aware of what they were talking about. She has been mainly focused on doing missions out of the village or making puppets. However, she knew of a sickness that has been taking people. Being a human puppet, she feels like such a thing won't effect her as her body, being artificial, isn't effected by poisons or regular diseases. This however, isn't a regular disease, so she honestly doesn't know if she will be effected or not.

 

[Senju Akio]

Akio stood amid the gentle swirl of falling snow, breath curling in the cold air as he glanced between Mitsuha and Otakemaru. The familiar faces stirred up a torrent of relief, warmth, and lingering guilt within him. Memories of their academy days played through his mind in flickers. But so much had changed. The Mitsuha before him was hardly recognizable, and there was a hollow ache in his chest when he considered the tragedies she explained that she endured. Otakemaru looked equally haunted by the shadows of what happened while Akio was trapped in a coma that few ever escape. He could see the solemn concern in his friend’s eyes, and it mirrored how he felt himself.

“I wish I had better news... but I'm the only one who's woken up.” Akio admitted, the words tumbling out in a subdued sigh as he met Otakemaru’s gaze. “Nao-sensei has been running tests since I opened my eyes, but so far we can’t figure out how I dodged whatever’s keeping everyone else in comas. All we know is… well, it has something to do with chakra, and that nobody else has come out of it yet…” He forced a bit of a grin, his instinct to smile doing its best to try and combat the sinking feeling in his stomach. “I guess I just keep hoping it’s just a matter of time before everybody comes back to us... Or at least everybody left.” A pall fell across Akio's face for a moment as the all-too-fresh memories of mourning his grandfather and best friend flood his mind. The adolescent's eyes would squeeze shut for a moment, forcing himself to dispel the grief. He'd cried enough.

Turning to Mitsuha, the uncharacteristically somber Senju quirked an eyebrow, partly in confusion and partly in concern. The shift of red to blue in her eyes and back again left him with a deep sense of unease, as if something inside her was misfiring in the wake of remembering her physical and emotional trauma, but the young Senju certainly didn't have a way to understand the glitch unfolding before him. In his eyes, that wasn't what's important. Despite everything, two of his friends were still here, still standing right in front of him, and that alone was a blessing he refused to discount. “And Mitsuha..." he began quietly, his normally bright tone wavering under the heavy weight of what she'd just told he and Take. He rubbed the back of his neck, hugging his jacket closer around his shoulders. “I may not understand what you’ve been through, but if… if there’s anything left I can do to help you now, I want to try. I don’t care what your body’s made of. You’re still the person who laughed and trained and fought and grew up alongside us, and if you think there's a spark of that person still in there... Well, I think you should wanna keep it alive.”

Akio hesitated, nervously gauging whether or not he should act. But then he remembered one of the gifts his late Grandpa Itsuki helped him cultivate: True Empathy. In the hush that followed, Akio closed his eyes for a second, feeling the steady rhythm of his own heartbeat. Slowly, he focused on opening the subtle passageways of natural energy that coursed through him, on feeling the interconnectedness of everything that lives, on his deep innate empathy. And a thread was made, invisible unless you could see the brilliant shimmering lines of natural energy that reached out to connect him to the Kaguya kunoichi. There was no demand in it, no force compelling Mitsuha to comply, only a gentle invitation that offered a glimpse of what she might be feeling beneath the hardened surface of her new form, should she choose to allow it through the intangible connection. Like standing outside a closed door, he merely knocked softly, letting his now-puppet-like former-classmate decide whether to open it. He didn't presume to fill in the silence, and he did not speak of his grandfather's unique technique by name. Instead, Akio simply waited, standing in the snow, his heavy heart still full of hope.


[OOC Note] Akio used CRPJ True Empathy on Mitsuha. This CRPJ is only effective if the target is willing. (See description in Profile)

[MFT | 691 Words]

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Things had felt so distinctly different since this strange sleeping plague had come to Konoha. It had been weird to open his eyes and see the inside of a cell deep into the Hokage Rock, and not to hear any other living body or the sounds of any movement. It had been a task for Keiyaku to actually free himself from it, but it felt good to breathe fresh air again, cold and biting though it might have been. Dressed in a flak jacket with a dark shirt beneath, Keiyaku pressed forward through the strangely quiet village, feeling the crunch of snow beneath his feet as his little brother, Morutobu, bounded alongside him, leaving little pawprints in the snow.

"You can't be serious...."

Keiyaku muttered it to himself, but Moru cocked his head curious up at the Inuzuka. It didn't take him long to understand as several very familiar scents made themselves known to both man and dog. A long time it may have been, Keiyaku had forgotten any of their names, or the sounds of their voices, but the familiar scents were strangely marred, distorted even.

"Take? Akio...? Mitsu....?"

Of course, Keiyaku had run into Mitsuha a little bit more recently than he had the others, but it was a joy to see her nonetheless. They all looked so different; Take's skin was marked and marred by strange markings and Mitsu.... well, he had an inking of what was going on there. Keiyaku himself was more subtle in his difference; he was taller, and his face slightly more lined, but his eyes were baggy, as though he hadn't slept in a week. With pallid skin, he looked as though a stiff breeze might knock him over, and his legs trembled a little as he walked. Nonetheless his face crinkled into a warm smile as he gazed fondly about the other three. Moru was less candid, bounding happily between all of their legs, neither of them having an inkling they might have interrupted something personal between Akio and Mitsu.

"You're all awake," he said, with a clear sense of relief in his voice, "I still don't really know what's going on, though."

 

[Ōtakemaru]

Mitsuha had sold her emotions, somehow, for the power to do what she had to do… with a new body, an artificial one. That was why she looked so different… but for a brief moment, he too noticed it. A flicker in her eyes, as if not all had been lost to her. Take held on to that flicker, hoping for the best… Akio too. Both of them refused to let the last embers of Mitsuha go, so if it stubbornly clung to her new limbs, then stay that way.

Unfortunately, Akio was the only one who’d woken up… allegedly. The spreading phenomenon, the sleeping disease, not much was known about it yet other than its connection to chakra. Akio, possessing natural energy, would likely know much more about it, and while Take couldn’t see chakra, he could feel natural energy thanks to his Cursed Seal. He still remembered the boon that was Aria’s previous natural energy which bloomed and beamed like a lamp for a moth like him to be drawn towards. Keniwa and Aria had reported how Take’s fleshy abomination had tried its damnest to grab Aria and take her natural energy… it was a scary memory.

“H-Huh? Moru?”

Take noticed the happy hound dart between their legs in joy. That was Keiyaku’s brother, his partner-in-crime Moru… which meant-

Keiyaku, too, had woken up! “Keiyaku, you’ve… wait, you look tired, haven’t you slept? I-I mean…” Take asked in worry, suddenly noticing how insensitive it might’ve been to ask if he’d slept of all things, but the bags under his eyes prompted that question to be asked to begin with. “Does this mean… there’s still hope, Akio. People are waking up, slowly.”

Take kneeled down to pet the adorable Moru, happy to see the increase in the atmosphere.

WC: 299 [MFT]

 

[Kaguya Mitsuha]

As Akio would enter into Mitsuha's consciousness, or rather, her emotional state, he would feel... Emptiness. It would almost feel like Akio is standing in the middle of an abandoned beach, while at first, it may seem welcoming, the silence is near deafening in of itself. But even with that said, he would be able to pick up stray emotions every now and then. These emotions are the strongest for Mitsuha, as it describes her own character.

The fist emotion that he would feel is Mitsuha's annoyance. Which would mainly be aimed towards Keniwa, whom almost always finds a way to get under her skin to make her want to punch him. From her public fight with him, to literally every small thing that he had done that seemingly sent her over the edge. Despite that, Akio wouldn't feel any hatred coming from her towards Keniwa, more like... Tolerance.

It would be washed away by the gray waters of the emotionless beach before another emotion popped up. Akio would immediately feel panic and fear run through his whole body. He would be able to picture a man in armor and mask with a menacing aura, someone that had attacked the Gates and Mitsuha was someone that was unfortunate to meet. Adrenaline was the only thing that had spurned the girl's body to act during that time. And even more so, a desperate cry for help as she thought that she was about to die. As fast as the panic came, it was rinsed away.

Next thing that Akio felt was pure anger. There were two instances of pure anger. One... Mitsuha was at a ramen shop when she was being bothered by an older man, when Keniwa had stepped in to talk to her, the man was belligerent and uncaring when Keniwa had talked about one of their teammates passing away. It was the first time that Mitsuha really felt angry. The other time dwarfed the first anger emotion by a large amount. It was also paired with grief. Two emotions intertwined so powerfully that she had let it consume her completely, not caring about anyone around her and not caring about her own well being.

But despite this powerful combination of emotions that Akio felt, there was one more... A warmth that would mimic the sunlight on ones face. It was love. Despite everything, Mitsuha still loves Ayeka. It was a shining light in the darkness, but soon the darkness took hold again, bringing back the empty and still beach.

The connection would sever, less Akio would want to stay on this beach forever. Mitsuha would blink and assess the situation around her. When she seen Keiyaku, who looked tired, and asked what is going on, Otakemaru answered, with noting how tired Keiyaku looks. She would cock her head to the side, "Unlike me, you still require rest, less you let fatigue take hold of you. If you do, you will only be able to work at a probability of fifty percent, which will likely degrade over time."

 

[Senju Akio]

Akio’s heartbeat quickened the moment his True Empathy reached out to Mitsuha. He expected to sense her usual warmth or a trickle of something familiar, yet what greeted him was like standing on a deserted beach beneath a silent sky. The emptiness pressed against him, and for a split second, he almost forgot to breathe. She felt hollow in a way that made a chill snake up his spine. He could sense only a faint echo of what she used to be, and it made him ache for his old friend. Before he could dwell on that feeling, however, stray emotions began to pulse through the emptiness, echoes of memories floating across the unseen shore. One wave brought annoyance, tinted with a stubborn tolerance, and Akio immediately thought of Keniwa. With the connection going both ways, he wordlessly sent back flashes of his own emotions about Keniwa as well, both the positive nostalgia of him being one of his closest friends growing up, and the sadness of knowing that he still laid unconscious like so many others. His chest tightened as the memory flickered, and he braced himself for what might come next.

Suddenly, a jolt of fear sliced through him like icy wind. Images danced in his mind, a masked attacker at the Gates, the swirling panic of someone overwhelmed and desperate, Mitsuha’s own racing heartbeat. Akio felt her adrenaline as if it were his own, and for an instant, he almost forgot it was only through the natural energy transmission occuring. The cold emptiness around them seemed to quake, then settled into a far more intense sensation. Anger. It roared to life as if struck by lightning, raw and consuming. Akio felt his pulse hammer in his ears, caught between Mitsuha’s blazing fury and her sorrow. His heart lurched when he recognized how sharply that anger was intertwined with grief, and in that moment he had the sudden urge to whisper that she was not alone. He tried to send a calming reassurance, but the anger ebbed on its own, fading into tranquility as if a tide had rolled it back into the sea.

What came next nearly brought tears to his eyes. The "empty beach" brightened, if only for a moment, as warmth bloomed in the midst of that darkness. It was love, solid and golden. He knew it at once, but not who it was for. Relief bubbled up inside him, and he channeled that emotion into the empathic link, not with words, but with a feeling of something like, "See? I told you so." It was his way of telling Mitsuha that she was still in there. That she wasn't as artificial as she believed herself to be. That despite the cold metal body, despite all the differences of her new existence, she was still the same soul. He wanted to stay in that space a little longer, to encourage that bright warmth to expand. But before he could channel those feelings into the connection, a distant sound reached him.

Keiyaku’s voice shattered Akio’s concentration, and he blinked as the snowy street came back into focus. The empathic link dissolved in an instant, leaving him breathless and slightly dizzy. His gaze darted toward Keiyaku, and a rush of joyous energy welled up inside him. His old classmate was walking toward them looking worn but definitely awake. For a moment, Akio’s face broke into a grin so wide it almost hurt. “K-Keiyaku!?!” he shouted, hardly able to contain his relief. “I thought it was just me, but...” He paused for breath, inhaling the cold air. “How are you even awake? Nao-sensei told me I was the only one so far. Did someone else find a cure?” His eyes brimmed with excitement as he stepped closer, giving Keiyaku and Moru both a warm pat of greeting.

Turning to Take, Akio could feel his pulse slowing as that bright optimism he was known for surged through him again. It felt almost normal to be standing there in the snow, seeing friends wake up one by one. He believed. “This is great,” he said, his voice trembling with emotion. “You're right Take! Maybe things aren’t so hopeless. If Keiyaku’s awake, then who knows, Keni and the others might be next! Right?” Hopeful optimism always did seem to follow the sunny young Senju.

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

"'Course I've slept, Take; been doin' almost nothing but for the past month, I think," chuckled Keiyaku in a would-you-believe-it kind of way, enjoying the sudden excitement from the other two boys. He felt like it had been a million years since he'd seen the three of them, and he couldn't imagine three better sights for sore eyes. Moru was still prancing about between Akio and Take, soaking in their energy. But this whole issue of this weird sleeping sickness was a whole other matter; when Keiyaku woke up in an ANBU cell, he thought he'd just regained consciousness from his usual lunar escapades, only afterwards discovering that a whole month had passed him by. That was when he realised most of Konoha's citizens were mysteriously comatose.

"I'm not tired, Mitsu, don't worry," he explained, cocking his eyebrow a little bit, given that she was one of the few people to whom he'd confided his condition and how sickly it often made him.

"I don't know much about this plague, and I don't figure I know much about any cure, but best I can figure is that I woke up after the last full moon," Keiyaku said, his eyes lingering on Take who, he figured, would be able to relate to him the best, with his Cursed Seal and the instability that it had the potential to put him under.

"Bein' a Werewolf definitely takes a toll, but I gotta be grateful for it, 'cause it forced me to wake up. "

He seemed to be talking particularly to Take, but the moment he said it, Moru turned to look at his brother reproachfully, seeming to think he was being remarkably blasé about something probably better kept a secret. Keiyaku trusted them, and particularly Akio, as he'd been there on the battlefield with him when the gravity demon had been sealed inside him.

"But what about you guys? How long have you been awake? Who else has come back? Is there any news on what the hell is going on?"