The Long Ongoing Night / The Oldest Mystery [Harupia]

[Takahashi Aki]

The Present

It was going to be a long night. Sousuke's eyes narrowed as he watched the sun setting. It was setting far too early, but that was because the season was changing. It bothered Sousuke, somewhat, living underground had caused him to be apathetic towards sunlight, but ever since moving out from the underground he had come to make several seasonal observation. The temperate ever so slightly changed to be a bit colder. It was an experience to say the least, and even then it was several years in the making. The night was going to be long, and it was going to be dark. Sousuke preferred the dark. The sun was bright and it burned. Perhaps he enjoyed the darkness as a sort of influence from his mentor Mikaboshi. Sousuke aspired to have the wisdom he had. Sousuke considered himself smart, but not overtly wise. Wisdom and intellect were two very different things. Of the two the former came with age, and the other was attained through studies.

Sousuke quietly watched as the sun crept and crawled into the horizon to be gone for several more hours this particular day. It was going to be night for eighteen hours. Eighteen hours of a long darkness. Sometimes people faced depression during this time. Others experienced madness. Sousuke thought of one individual in particular who might have a problem with this day. A dear and old friend of his. Sunaku Harupia. Sousuke would return to his desk and make the call to his old friend. "Haru. It's Sousuke. I've got an old file on my desk, it's a cold case to be re-opened. It was something that happened when we were young. I figured working it out with you might ... ... ... yes. Yes. I do realize it's the shortest day of the year. ... ... ... ... Yes. People get depressed. ... ... ... ... Me? No. Is this a practical joke. ... ... No. I was concerned about you really. ... ... ... ... Mmmm. Well, it is going to be a long night. I'm going to brew coffee, and try and work out some facts. I just figured you'd enjoy regaling when we met as children, since it was about that time."<i></i>

The Past

Sousuke rubbed his eye. The child was not to do it, but he couldn't help it. He had this thing called a black eye, because Shizune punched him in the head. He didn't know why she did it. Shizune just did what she wanted to because. He raised the cold ice bag and placed it on his eye again. His father was having a meeting with a Sunaku leader and was told to wait on the third floor of the tower. He was left with a number of books for reading as ... well there were a limited number of things an eight year old could do with a blackened eye. Sousuke approached the table and peered over it. He was short for his age. He frowned openly as he realized the books left for him were out of his reach. It was out of his reach. The boy looked for something to climb up on. There were very limited items for him to climb onto. There was the chair. That could do. The boy pulled the chair out. Climbed it and still attempted to reach for the books. It was still out of his reach. It was annoying. Very annoying to say the least. Sousuke began to voice his frustration in a babble of sorts. Made up words that had no meaning but they seemed to express an anger.

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

Haru did not have much planned for this particular night of the year. He was somewhat sad that the sun was going down. Being a Sunaku, even during the maelstrom he and his fellow clanmates would venture out in the desert, both to try and learn about it, and to master traveling through the desert, as there neede to be some who guided the people through the ravaging winds. He always liked the sun, its warmth, the natural brightness, so him getting used to living overground was quite a quick process. Still, at least he could relax, bot having any tasks or classes to think about, just needed to figure out what to... his musing was interrupted as he received a call "Ahh, Sosuke, good to hear you again... Wait, you working still? You know the sun is setting already... And you calling me for assistance right now?... Oh...you feeling unwell?!... Well, you did just mention depression and... Oh...I see...well, I did not really have any plans for the night... I guess the question is should I grab something to eat along the way?" he concluded, a bit of a smile curling on his face... not quite sure if Sosukes diagnosis was to leave him humored or worried.

Past

Haru hummed to himself as he walked towards through the compound, having finished his lessons with mother. He rubbed his wrist a little, calligraphy still hurting his hand just a bit...but mother said it would help him with his other interests so he did as he was asked. He wondered how long his father would be busy with the visitor...it seemed like someone important, with his stern he was today, even more than usual. Curious indeed. And as he made his way through the 3rd floor of the tower he saw another curious thing. Another child trying to reach the table stepping on a chair. One he never saw before int he compounds. Smiling brightly he would make his way quickly over to him saying "Heeeey!" hough as he approached him closer, he noticed the other kid was babbling some strange words and seemed to have his eyes hurt. With slight concern, he would say "A-are you ok?! Did you hit yourself against the table? Do you need help? I can try to help...I mean...amybe...erm" he stammered, trying to figure out what to do. Maybe an adult was needed...but they would probably take him away and he'd be left alone and bored. He wasn't sure what to do as his word salad mixed with Sosukes.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Present

"Food would be good. I'll trust your judgment."<i></i> Sousuke would go down to meet Harupia. He would leave his office, and would go down the stairs. The mechanical clicking of his legs slightly echoing in the hallway. Sousuke wondered if Katuso was around, but he ruled in his mind that it was best to leave him be. He was perhaps visiting Naganisa at her apartment and doing something sexual. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but that woman terrified him. She had a way with men that he could not make sense of. Men just seemed to allow her to do ... whatever she wanted to do to them. Sousuke didn't consider her to be that pretty. She certainly was not a propionate woman. For her age, she did manage to seem quite ... fit? She had at least maybe ten or fifteen years in age on Katuso.

Sousuke would get down to the first level of the tower to see Harupia in. "What did you pick up?"<i></i> He inquired and would help Harupia if he needed help. The two would take the elevator this time back to the office, considering now they were carrying food. While they were heading up the elevator, Sousuke would cite the facts of the case. It was a murder many years ago. It was in the tower oddly, and they were kids at the time. The case had been cut short because no one could find a murder weapon. Still though it was worth reopening. Sousuke's expression seemed to grow sour as one fact sort of came up he didn't realize until about now. "It was oddly enough like twenty years ago on this day that it happened. Funny that? Anniversaries creep up on you, it was also the same day we had met."<i></i>

The Past

It was no use. Getting to the book was going to not be possible. Sousuke would hear words. Words. Were they meant for him? The words spoken were a greeting, but most people didn't really want to talk to him. Most people wanted to stare at him, or hit him in the head. Sousuke answered the remark of hey with a babble again. Somewhere in the babbling the word, "Hello."<i></i> Would come out of it sometime. He would get down from the chair and he would go and stare at Harupia. He would stare at the boy unblinkingly. He did not answer his question, at least not in a way that held any real meaning. He pointed at the table. Then he pointed to the book. He would nod his head several times. Sousuke was trying to say in what limited what he could, that yes help with the book would be much appreciated. The child would clap his hands, look to the book, then clap his hands again. "Table did nothing to eye. Girly fist did something to eye."<i></i> He would attempt to explain in what what he could about the blackened eye.

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

Haru hummed to himself as the call was disconnected... An odd invitation to be sure...though it seemed Sosuke was still worried about him. Guess he couldn't blame him too much for the fact. He still was more of a recluse that he should be. Though he had been keeping himself busy both in the village and his personal hobbies...Though it all still felt so new. Many of his colleagues and acquaintances and close friends were busy with their own lives, or gone due to the events of the Cabal attack, either dead or simply...not in the village anymore. And there were so many new faces... There was an actual Sunahoshi Kage for goodness sake. Perhaps relaxing with Sosuke wouldn't quite kick-start him in the direction of meeting all these new people...but it seemed better than just sitting at home.

It didn't take long for him to reach the tower, most of the time being spent on his detour to the restaurant and carrying the somewhat delicate cargo. As Sosuke met him before the entrance he smiled lifting up the package "Hope you won't mind too much but...I really had a craving for Ramen. Which is probably not the best takeout dish but hey, I could practice my balance a bit. I didn't spill, heh. Just might need to heat it up a bit... One of these days Ill need to invite you over so I can cook some none take-out meal for once" he said half-jokingly, offering him a second smaller bag which had a few smaller bottles of chilled green tea as they went into the elevator. Ont he way up there was an explanation as to what exactly Sosuke needed help with. "Oh, that thing...I remember it somewhat, though Id say that must be a preaty cold case with how much time has passed". After the moment of silence followed by the revelation, Haru said "What a... hey...actually...your right. It was this exact same day, right? Your father was discussing something with mine, and I was kind of left to my own devices in the tower..."

Past

Haru blinked as the boy reacted to him with more grumbling, though at least he said hello...that was nice. After a bit, the boy started staring at him, which he returned, though the fact he was pointing at the table was distracting him from the competition. It didn't take him to long to understand the goal of the charade...though his next comment only confused him a bit more. Blinking he would say "Erm...Ok, that's good. No one needs an aggressive book attacking people! Though...is the girl around anywhere still?" he said, looking around with slightly for before focusing on the books "OK, the books...I think...I can help" he said, focusing while he put his hands into the tiger hand seal. From around the specks of dust and sand started to fly around, first around the Sunaku boy, the slowly up towards the table and the book. The boy strained in his focus a bit, trying to use the small gathering of sand to push the books off the table..though he didn't consider how many of them were there...and where exactly they would fall.

Wc = 559

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Present

Ramen was good. Sousuke rubbed his hands together. "Ramen sounds delicious. I would be hard pressed to remem- no. I had Ramen back a few months, three and a half in particular."<i></i> Sousuke thought he might have had a hard time trying to remember but he was able to recall what he needed to quickly enough. It was a trivial concept but he was able to get it quickly enough. Harupia remarked that some day he would have him over to eat some real food instead of ordering out all the time. "Better you than me. I still somehow get tastes reversed, or rather sometimes the food I cook is entirely devoid of taste. It's rather infuriating really."<i></i> Sousuke acknowledged as the two of them would get off the elevator.

They would enter Sousuke office and divvy out the meal. Sousuke would warm it up a bit with a small use of a plasma jutsu. Not to his surprise, but Harupia indeed had bought him the BBQ pork ramen which was indeed his favourite.[/color][/b] He addressed the question earlier about the cold case. "It was the exact same day, and curiously enough it was the shortest day of the year as well."<i></i> Now what their fathers spoke of? That was something else that required him to think for a moment or two about the subject. "I think my father was discussing with your father about ... the results of their search for Daisuke. He was Hiro's brother and he was missing, until of course I found him. He was a husk of his former self and he was maintaining the Diamond Maelstrom."<i></i> Sousuke spoke giving Harupia a small reminder of what happened when he journeyed into the eye of the Diamond Maelstrom. Sousuke dug into his meal, nothing quite like BBQ pork ramen on a seemingly colder event. "Once we've finished our meal, we'll deep dive into opening up these files. I suppose we should have looked at the files first, and then ate ... but I don't think either of us are weak stomached."<i></i>

The Past

Sousuke watched desperately as the older boy approached the table. He watched as little specks came from him and gathered about. His eyes went wide as he looked at the book quake and shake. Sousuke held out his hands and shook them. "Ba. Ba. Bo. Bo. Ba!"<i></i> He called out at the book as it was making its way toward him. For a singular moment it looked like the book got stuck. Sousuke made an annoyed sound and flapped his arms as he was not happy about the book being stuck. He flapped his arms again and again, but the book was nearing him. It had to come. He needed the book! He watched as the book then fell off the table. "Bo. Ba. Bo."<i></i> He cried out as he snatched the book. He held the book tightly against his chest as he turned to Harupia. "Bo. Bo. Ko. Ko. Ok."<i></i> He span around and then took a seat. He dropped the book and opening it. He clapped his hands and then made a stop motion, then he made a come here motion for Harupia to join him. "See. See. Looky."<i></i> The page it was opened to had a picture of a ship, it was a giant wooden ship that had holes in it. It was not really a neatly kept ship. It looked haunted for the most part. Harupia if he were to start reading would find that the book in fact was a horror story, and the picture of the boat was representative of a cursed ship called the Black Knife. It didn't seem like a child's book but somehow it seemed to be the subject of the child's obsession at this moment in time. Sousuke would flip the page, and then he would do so again and again. The next picture was of the ship's crew which looked like a ghoulish sort.

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

Haru smiled as he nodded "Yeah it is, just some people like eating it right from the plate you know? To not let the broth soften the noodles up to much...but the place I went to has excellent chefs, I'm sure it'll be fine. And that is a long time...though I haven't had Ramen myself for a good while. At least not solid ramen like this...Id probably had a few cups too many of the cheap stuff" he said with a sheepish laugh. "Well, cooking is like any other skill. Needs time and practice to achieve the best results. Though I guess its a lot different than your tinkering with you devices isn't it?" he mused before getting off the elevator. His friend had a real gift for creating types of experiments and construction... it was somewhat unbelievable that making a proper meal could pose such a challenge.

He would start picking out the bowls with the meal as well as their soft drinks as Sosuke spoke about the case at hand, "Ah, right...his disappearance did throw our village into turmoil...and finding him didn't bring back much peace did it now...Eh, I still feel bad for not joining that whole mission. Though to be honest, I'm not sure whether I was working on disarming the bombs around he village at that point, or if I was recovering in the hospital by that point" he mused... The end of the Cabal incursion...a wild time indeed. to say the least. He started eating his own bowl, a bit more carefully than his friend as he responded "Nothing like a hearty meal to prepare us for what's to come. And no, by this point, my stomach is definitely not weak...for the most part at least"

Past time

Haru focused on the rudimentary sand control, trying to ignore the noises coming from his new friend...as much as they were trying to elect a giggle from the boy. There was a moment of pause but he simply focused harder until finally, the book came down from the table! Great success...and not waste a moment the other boy charged at the book, still making the funny noises while facing him. He tried hard not to laugh, though he was glad to see the other boy as excited as he was. He frowned a bit as he wants away to sit down with the ebook, but quickly lightened up as he was beckoned to come sit next to him. Haru looked into the book sitting by Sosuke right, letting out a surprised gasp as he saw the ship from the pages of the book. The ship looked...really not well kept...kind of spooky. The next page with the crew seemed to fit in quite a bit "E-Erm...what is this book about ?" he said with a slight concern in his voice.

Mft, Wc = 493

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Present

"Tinkering is ... well, let's put it this way the success of it does not lie in taste. I suppose the success of it is performance based on touch as in ... an individual not being on fire, or the notion that your armor moves the wrong way and you end up breaking an arm."<i></i> Sousuke commented on Harupia's commentary of making comparisons between cooking and his craftsmanship. He scratched the back of his head. "Your comparison does work, I must admit, there is the fact that the item in question is cooked or created, and then it is tested out be it through eating it or having to do combat in it."<i></i> Sousuke would raised his bowl in the fashion like one would do a toast. "To science. Be it edible or ... mechanical."<i></i> He would then proceed to drain the bowl of its broth. Sousuke make a sound that seemed like he was delighted. He was enjoying this quite a bit it seemed.

Once the two were done, and the table was cleared, the Steward would bring out all the books, or tomes rather as most of them looked quite heavy. He would spread them across the table. The case in question was of a strange murder that happened at the Kazekage tower when the two of them were little. Thankfully the two of them did not see the murder take place, because if they did ... well, who truly knew what kind of damage that would have done to their young and growing minds. "The funny thing about this was ... remember that book? The one I wasn't quite vocalizing with you about what it was about? Funny that. Spooky old thing, and the two of us were in a different part of the building ... I suspect our respective fathers were on the case. Supposedly grandmother was there too, but I think she had left me in the room to go have a smoke break."<i></i>

The Past

Question. A question was asked. Sousuke stared at the boy, and blinked. He blinked again. He did it one more time for what one might think it was good measure. His eyes would look at the ceiling. The words. They were there, yet they could not be deployed. Sousuke would rock back and forth and then get up. He would try and express meaning through his hands. He would make a gesture for big. Yes. Big. The book was about something big. Very big. Did he get that? Big. Very. Very big. He would then proceed to walk around the room. He pointed to the ground. "Ba."<i></i> Here. See? Yes. Good. Sousuke would then walk across the room to the opposite end. "Ba."<i></i> He spoke again. Over here now. It was a journey. Big. Journey.

The child would next hold up his hands. Okay. Watch. Watch. Are you watching? Good. Sousuke would then wave his fingers and run from one end of the room to the other. "Whoooo."<i></i> He cried out as he ran from one side to the other. "Ooooo."<i></i> What went Whoo oooo? Ghost. Big. Journey. Ghosts. Sousuke would then hide behind a shelf in the room. "Raawwwrrr."<i></i> He would then cry out. Monster. Big. Journey. Ghosts. Monster.

[MFT 300+]

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

Haru felt a bit of perspiration form on his forehead as Sosuke started talking, poking holes at his comparison, and describing the more...gruesome parts of his own experimentation. Though, in the end, he did agree to it, at least in part "That's is what I mean mostly. Most things require training, repetition and fine tuning before being perfect. Be it cooking, your inventions, or my jutsu" before nodding with a smile and clicking his bowls with his friends in the healthy toast. He ate his ramen slightly differently, alternating between taking sips of the broth and eating the other things inside. It was quite delicious he was glad to find.

AS they finished their meal Sosouke took out the reading material, tomes, and books, quite thick ones. It was always an odd thing...a murder in the Headquarters of the most important figure in the Country... After thinking he would say "I have a faint recollection...it was about that ghost ship right. Heh, I remember being slight...miffed by seeing that...I did manage to understand you preaty well. And I'm sure they rushed towards the murder when it happened...Im just not sure how someone got into the towers in the first place... Also, if they were capable of getting into the tower, it strange they didn't try targeting the biggest target inside of it..."He mused trying to remember the day a bit better.

There was a general feeling of being spooked in young Haru's mind. The other boy seemed to be focusing really really hard...though not being able to vocalize well. He did show him things...like a pantomime! he liked that game...calming down a bit he watching as such did a motion with his hands, opening them wide "Erm...something big?" he guessed excitedly. Would he then watch him move back and forth around the room "Erm...walking...traveling? Like, traveling a lot,or...travling far?" he tried guessing. Then the boy made some more curious noises, like cooking and trying to rawr "Erm...rawr like an animal..or a best? And Oooo...like them, enter going ooo? Was it a demon or maybe a...ghost? W long journey to defeat a demon?" he tried guessing as best he could, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Mft, Wc= 402

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Present

Sousuke looked up from the book he was going through which was a log of visitations for that day. He didn't really consider that Harupia was miffed. "You would have been one of the few individuals to understand me, not many did when I was that age."<i></i> He ran his fingers along the dates and the times. There was something not quite right with this, as there was a very large drop out of visitors for a solid two hours. Haru mused out loud about the biggest target in the tower not being attacked, he again looked up from the book. "You mean the tower itself or a political figure? If the tower was destroyed, which I think we're both thankful for, alot of targets would have been taken care of."<i></i> He paused for a moment, "Sometimes it's about sending a message, which is why the noble in question was killed. Could have been a number of reasons too."<i></i> He pushed over a large tome over to Haru, "Can you do a cross reference of the names? I'm going through the timings, and people who signed in or out. I'm thinking that maybe it was one of the employees."<i></i> Maybe the target wasn't a Kazekage. While he awaited Haru to do a roll call of names, the Steward flipped back a few pages. "Sorry about that by the way, the whole scary book thing. Not sure why I was so obsessive over it as a child. Sorta weird really. It was a book Shiori had on her person and I think I was fixated on it because it was something that was not originally mine. I think she gifted it to me? I'm not sure really."<i></i>

The Past

Sousuke watched as the boy in front of him was trying to put into words what he could not do so easily. He listened. He was very good at listening. Sousuke would plop himself down and sit cross legged as he was watching the boy use his words. Big. Yes. Good. Good. Good. Travelling? Almost there. Acceptable. Yes. Indeed. Beast? No. Animal. No. Monster. Come on. Why couldn't he understand that rawr meant monster. Okay. Weird. Demon? What's that? Ghost. Almost there. Okay. Not quite. He almost got it. I suppose he just didn't get it. Alright. Fine. Sousuke let out a sigh. He got up and walked over to Haru. He stared at him hard and long for a moment, and then he simply blinked three times within five minutes. "Deeeemon? What?"<i></i> He asked the boy, he then pointed at Haru. "You? Are you a Deeeeemon?"<i></i>

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

As Sosuke spoke Haru took some time with his meal, eating the delicious noodles and meat while sipping the hot broth. After a moment he would say "Well no, that would be somewhat excessive...though I guess you can find people crazy enough to blow up entire buildings if you look hard enough" he mused, still remembering his struggle against the Cabal's finishing touch of all the bombs they placed around the village. "Hmm...I guess you have a point. A dead Steward won't be really intimidated, but if you have corpses start appearing around him, he might get anxious... I assume that might have been the thinking of the poor sod who tried to intimidate your father "He said with a bit of a laugh as started to perform the cross-reference stating out the names. After a few moments, he would raise a brow as his friend apologized before saying "Come on now, we were kids. Getting spooked easily was part of the fun. Though you did seem keen to them...wait...Shiori gave it to you?" he had asked. Probably a random question... though the visual of a little girl given the obsessive boy such a book was a bit amusing.

The Past

Haru watched as his companion watched him, hoping he was getting it right. The boy at least seemed interested in watching him intently. After a bit he would stand up and move even closer to him, causing the young Sunku to flush up a bit with anxiety. He blinked several times over the five minutes of Sosuke almost not blinking before the other boy finally spoke. A question, and than an...acusation?! "What? Nononononnnn, I'm not a demon! Demons are big and scary and have, like, powers and stuff. They can possess humans...or eat them!" he said, extending his arms as if to represent the potential for the threat "Though they can be small...like Yokai...I think. But you meant like a big demon, or...monster? Big scary things" he said, trying to clarify.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Present

Sousuke's face seemed to sour about the notion of things in the past. "Sometimes something happens in the past, and you don't mean for it to occur the way you did. Sometimes it happens because of who you were in the past, or a misunderstanding."<i></i> Sousuke reflected over the moments where Shiori in the past had shown her adoration over him. He didn't get love or such sentiments back then. Maybe if he had shown something to her, maybe things would have unfolded differently. Then again there was that simple concept that Shiori was in fact an Ancient, and a prideful one at that. It wasn't something Sousuke was going to talk about out loud. Shiori had already done enough damage, and Sousuke had done his fair share too. There was a peace now with Ancients due to Katuso's sacrifices. "Eh. It did explain a few things as to why security was tighter back then. Dad became more wary with who was invited to most meetings."<i></i> He rubbed his temples. He fell silent for a bit. "Didn't even have to be aimed at my father. Could have been someone else, but my father took note from it anyways. Most of the staff from at that time have been retired. We as a race are a very odd thing. We take slights very personally and ... it's a odd thing really."<i></i> He paused for a moment and ran through a list of names. "It was a runner who was killed oddly. His body was found in the basement. The report said the body had been ... removed of all blood which naturally means there isn't a trail. Seems kind of off? Blood jutsus are a thing. Not that many people know of them ..."<i></i> Sousuke closed his eyes as he started to run a catalogue in his mind of older surviving members of Sungakure who were in fact users of blood jutsus.

***

The Past

The child would stare at Haru. He would fall backwards onto his bottom and stick his thumb in his mouth. There he would sit and listen. Okay. Demons are big. Okay. Cool. Different. Big. Like Uncle Kaibudo big. Yup. He was a pretty big and scary man. He had this scary voice. Sousuke didn't really like listening to him talk. Aunty Azume was far more nicer to listen to. She spoke softly, most times, but there was that one time she spoke harshly too. Maybe she was a demon. Entirely possible. Sousuke would make a wail like sound for a mere fifteen seconds at the notion of like being eaten. He would crawl and hide behind the table leg. It was something weird really. The boy had no problem with ghoulish pictures of ghost pirates, but demons were something that unnerved him. It was quite ironic considering that the Toraono household were an ally to Sungakure, and a close ally at that. Sousuke would peak behind the table leg, which looked quite silly and or cute in all seriousness. When Haru spoke of clarifying that he meant big Sousuke would again seat himself, but underneath the table. He would nod his head. "Biiiiiiiiiiig. Yup. Yup. Yup. Biiiiiiiiig. You not You-kai. Right?"<i></i>

MFT 533

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

Haru nodded as Sosuke spoke, not wishing to press the issue too hard...at least for now. The topic of his cousin was something they didn't speak to much about... though it something that gnawed in the back of his mind, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to ask just now. He wasn't even sure what to ask really. A bit strange to bring up the fact you had a sort of date with you friends cosine, who you suspected might have been responsible for some foul play during the Cabal invasion and lead to his interaction with Shouki...that one thing he wishes he could forget. The steward got them back on track as he talked about the security measures, nodding while taking a gulp of the broth from the Ramen he was almost done eating.

He raised a brow at the revelation of the aftermath of the whole scenario, with his father replacing he stuff as he said "We are indeed a strange people. we crave to be together yet if something doesn't go our way we splinter from the slightest crack. The Sunaku had to be literary dragged together by a figure who almost rivaled the gods if you believe all the stories around him, heh. And even my father had to end up fighting for the battle of Clan head...and my mothers hand in marriage. It was a crazy story... even crazier how much time has passed since" he mused with a wistful tone as Sosuke continued after his pause. "Hmm, yes. Blood Ninjutsu. An extension of ones controls over the Water element, though as you may imagine it has a bit of a stigma attached to it. There are clans who focus heavily on this art but from what I recall they don't have many of their ranks here. Can I imagine someone with a medical background could also have a proficiency in them? Would seem useful if you need to supply a dying shinobi with blood...or in this case, make sure there isn't a drop left" he said with a slightly more grim tone. He sought to know as much as he could about all forms of ninjutsu, even the more...stomach churning ones.

Past

Well, he seemed to have caught the other boys attention...that was good? He seemed focused...though he did let out a rather dramatic sound as he mentioned being eaten. The Sunaku boy panicked as he scampered away behind the table leg, strutting in place and kind of doing a circle wondering what to do, running fingers through his somewhat disheveled by this point hair. He seemed to calm down a bit sitting under the table after he asked if he was Yokai. Giggling the other boy moved to sit closer to him saying *No silly, I'm human, like you! So, did I guess monsters right?!"

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Present

Sousuke would shrug at the mention of having to fight people to win the hand of another for marriage. "I suppose ... if Yume and I were still a thing ... then I'd have to be punching Urufuu in the head or slashing him up with a sword to prove my worth. Granted ... he had? He had the time a mythical object with him that gave him the answers and all the lies in the world."<i></i> Sanban it was called. A very annoying object that had now disappeared back into time. Sousuke was nervous about that item as it had the potential to give and take everything away from a person. The Steward rubbed his temple. "If you're ever spoken to by a book that refers itself to Sanban, please let me know and or walk away from it. The last thing I need is that dumb thing appearing again."<i></i>

There was indeed a stigma attached to blood jutsus. Most of it was antiquity. Blood rituals and the likes. Harupia was hitting the nail on the head. "Mmm. That's an idea. Let's see which medical staff was on at the time in the tower logs."<i></i> He spoke as he began cross analyzing it, as he did so he spoke up once more. "Remember that woman who ... walked in and found us? I still remember her face when I opened up the book to probably the worst page possible. What was her name? Akina was it?"<i></i>

***
The Past

The child did not move when he was approached by Harupia. In fact he was as still as stone. When young Harupia asked the question if he had guessed right there was no answer. There was no answer for several minutes until Sousuke was turning blue in the face, in which promptly gave up the act. He still would say nothing to the boy. He just sat there, still as stone, but this time he was breathing. He learned his lesson. "HUMAN. Like me. Goody."<i></i> The boy finally proclaimed. "Rawr. Yes. Monsters. Yes."<i></i> The boy would stare at Harupia again, much like he had been doing in the past. "Sousuke."<i></i> He finally chirped up as he would crawl towards Harupia. In a very odd gesture the child would offer his hand out to be shook. It was a thing the adults did. He always wondered why they did it, but it was a thing.

The two boys would be interrupted several moments later by a woman. Her age was seemingly in her early twenties. She had black hair, and a pair of green eyes. She poked her head in and tried to figure out the commotion. Once she figured out it was coming from the two boys she stepped completely in the room. The woman in question looked neat and tidy. She would walk in and crouch down to the boys level. "Say now. What's the future leader of the Sunaku clan, and the future Steward doing in a room by themselves and filled with books? Shouldn't you two cuties be playing? Isn't there a ball or anything in the room for the two of you to play catch?" The woman would look about the room. "Sorta strange, no one is here to look after you two. Is there a reason for that?" She would inquire.

Sousuke would say nothing but would look to Harupia. He would pick up the book and hold it up as if he was defending himself in what was going on. Sousuke didn't need a ball. He wanted his book. Luckily or unluckily the page that the book opened to was a gruesome beheading of a monster by the ghoulish looking pirates. The expression on the woman's face swapped to that of a horrified look were as Sousuke's was deadpanned.

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

Harupia's eyes widened if for a second before his expression dropped. They didn't talk much about it but the topic of Yume and Okibi was not a pleasant one for his friend "Sorry, I...didint quite think about the connotation there. But from what I've heard of Urufuu and the Inuzuka in general, you'd probably need a solid set of armor before asking for any blessings...with my father it was more the case of a large amount of cloak and dagger shenanigans, you know, politicking, poisoning, trying to undermine ones authority...and he dealt with it by smashing through walls with sheer anger and a lot of sand" he said with a bit a laugh. As strained as their relatinship seemed to be, he was quite glad to be in good spirits with his family. Because he knew firsthand and from stories how vicious his father could be... and his mother was someone who Could reign him in, so was probably even scarier in a way. He raised a brow at the artifact Sosuke mentioned before saying "Duly noted. As much as I've been spending my time at the Oracle libraries lately, none of the books actually talked... Well unless you count the Annals of war, in a sense" he ended with a joke. He did hear stories of the Sanban... given the questions, he was seeking answers to, he was half tempted to look into it deeper...than again, he felt he delved into dubious artifacts a bit too much as it was...literary.

Sosuke seemed to share his line of thinking as he browsed through the books, in the meantime bringing up what happened next during their first meeting. He needed to strain his mind a bit before chortling, his hand instinctively resting on his forehead "Bahaha...oh geez. Yeah, that was Akina. Yeah that was one of those times with a woman I really wanted to wipe clean out of my head, heh"

Little Harupia at first was afraid. The boy was sitting completely still, not moving, even not...breahing? But he was sitting so he was...alive? Or was he becoming a ghost? At first, he sat nervously, but the whole rush of events now coming to a halt kind of made the young Sunaku...bored. He started to sway to the side, laid down on the ground on his back than his stomach, waiting for something to happen...he breathed! He sat back up, but the other boy was still quite. And then HE SPOKE! Yes, indeed. Human and Human. An alliance forged against the evil monsters! He...he even extends his hand...like their dad did! Was he joining a mission against the monsters? His eyes sparkling a bit, the boys face tried to look as serious and resolved as possible (which ended up looking a bit pouty) as he grabbed the hand exclaiming "Harupia!"

The meeting of the Megapowers was interrupted by someone. A young (but still much older than them) lady walked in and approached them. As the women came closer Haru grew silent, a blush forming on his face. He always seemed to have an eye for pretty things and for the little boy the women seemed very pretty. He would try to slowly speak up saying "I... I finished a lesson with mommy and I was alone and found Sosuke, and we were trying to..." he noticed the woman's face turn into one of fright, making him turn to see Sosuke being all serious face again...while showing off a monster losing its head "AGHGH! We...I...erm..." the boy almost squawked, not really sure what to say right now.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Present

Sousuke made a shrugging gesture. "Don't worry about it. I like to think I've moved on."<i></i> Was that the truth of it? Seemingly so. Sousuke had moved on. He was not actively seeing any other women in his life. He had tea with Kazuki's sister but that was about it. He did not have feelings for her at this moment in time. "Your father is a pioneer, I suppose, in the sense he dealt with it through sheer force. It's admirable."<i></i>

He fell silent for a moment. He tapped his fingers together. "You know. Akina's facial expressions were ... curious. I mean when most adults see something offensive that a child is doing in their ignorance. Most times they tend to pretend that it isn't something offensive?" <i></i> He continued tapping his fingers again. "She also seemed rather focused on that ball she wanted to play with us."<i></i> He hesitated for a moment. Thinking deeply on the matter and trying to put two and two together. "There was this play, a long time ago written. Two brothers. One was king one was subject to the line of succession. The brother murdered the King, and inherited the kingdom and his wife. The son was dubious and showed his uncle a play ... within the confines of the play, which showcased another brother murdering his older brother to become King."<i></i> Sousuke tried to explain. "A play within a play, yes it's silly. That being said the way how the Uncle reacted, it lead to the conviction and evidence that the Uncle in fact murdered his brother to become King."<i></i> He lowered his hands. The Steward leaned back in his chair. "You don't think ... Akina ... do you?"<i></i>

***
The Past

Sousuke held the book and held it without fear. The seemingly timid boy was growing in what seemed to be courage, and or adoration for the book he held. There was something frightening in it really. Did Sousuke understand the context of the picture? The stronger Sousuke was growing, the paler the woman who was with them was getting. She knew down and tried to take the book. With a little adult muscle she took the book from the purple haired boy. She coughed, and looked at it. "I-I don't think little boys should have reading material like this, at least at this particular moment. Maybe when you're older?" She flipped through the pages in the book and the facial expressions she was going through was various states of distressed. She closed the book and let out a sigh. "Oh boy. That... that was a bit much." She coughed. "Yeah. Well. I think the adult thing to do is to ... take this away and..." Seemingly the woman in her attempt to make a motherly decision was met with a pouting Sousuke. The child held his hands out in the air. He made gestures to suggest pick me up. "Do you want up or something?" She inquired, to which Sousuke shook his head no.

"Book."<i></i> He declared. Sousuke was met with a no. He folded his arms across his chest and fell backwards onto his bottom. He continued to pout. He was not pleased. He looked over to Harupia. "Book."<i></i> He once again declared.

The lady in turn would look over to Harupia. "Right so." Her eyes shifted skyward as she was trying to think of something to do. "Don't you two boys want to play with a ball or something? Books like these are meant for adults. Not for little boys." She would place the book on the table. She would lean forward and remain out of sight for a moment. "Ah. A ball. Yes. Here." She would indeed produce a green ball. She would bounce it up and down for a moment. "Bounce. Bounce. Bounce."

"Not. Book."<i></i> Sousuke once again declared.

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

Harupia simply nodded. It had been quite a while, and he couldn't Imagine Sosuke being one to dwell too long on such feelings. He somewhat wondered if he had time to try and perhaps see other women in the maelstrom of work he usually surrounds himself in...but that could wait. He did chuckle at the Praise he gave his father saying "I doubt he was the first of my clan to resort to such direct means. Though there is a level of audacity he showed on that day. Hard to imagine how someone so rough could capture the heart of my mother... but she always claimed that was the main thing that pulled her towards him. Opposite attracting and all that jazz" he said with a chuckle.

He grew quite as Sosuke started going more in-depth talking about Akina. He tried remembering the moment she came into the room... he guessed she did seem a bit peculiar, but her acting did seem pretty natural. Take away the things they should not be looking at and trying to distract. Then again maybe as a young smitten boy, he didn't notice details. After a bit, he would say "Well, metafictional elements like that can be an interesting edition. I guess it like a reflection of how the play itself is supposed to have us reflect and think about the world around us...its a pretty good play, though it ain't easy for the actors for sure... Are you suggesting that seeing the...morbid scenes in the book made her reflect on what she did herself?" he asked to confirm if he was following along his friend correctly while trying to recall the moment.

Lil Haru was a bit conflicted at the scene before him. At this point, he was the rather quiet and nice heir for the Sunaku line...a bit of a mommies boy by all extent, and now acting bashful around a pretty adult girl, who seemed to be saying the fact there were reading the book was not good. She did look really spooked because of it...did he look that same when they started reading? But his friend was pretty adamant about having the book. And it was his book after all...he thought? He knew where it was on the table. Somebody left it with him...he thought. The Women tried to distract them with a different point of interested, a ball. It was...a nice ball...round, bouncy. As the women and Sosuke had their standoff, he sat down on the ground a bit and then called out "Ball!" pushing his hands forward. He furrowed his brow focusing hard, and slowly, specks of sand and dirt would from behind him, forming a ball of sand, small at first, but grwoing bigger and bigger "hehe...my ball! Sosuke...really wants the book?" he asked with a bit of childish innocence in his voice.

mft

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Present

Harupia understood fully what he had proposed. Rarely did people get what Sousuke was saying at first go. Harupia had grasped the concept of the meta narrative. "Most people are able of hiding their emotions, but there are still quirks that take place. The fact is that we were children at the time, and she was perhaps not expecting children to be having access to a grisly book full of murders."<i></i> He tapped his fingers together. His facial expression somewhat turned into a small smile of sorts. Akina was a retired person now. Surprisingly she had survived the Cabal attacks. She was indeed a registered Sungakure nin. The Steward would spring to his feet and he would look outside. He would approach the glass window. He would look out into the great dark night. "How do you feel about going out for a visit? It's only eight o'clock. I'm certain Akina is probably home."<i></i> He would pause for a moment. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind have some company tonight."<i></i> A little bit of a jump in activity.

The Past

The lady would put the book back on the table. She placed it out of view. As she did this, Sousuke was glaring hard at her. The child was not amused. He let loose a frustrated cry of sorts. She took his book. She put his book on the table. The ball is inconsequential. The ball was not the book. The boy would look to his side and notice that Harupia had produced his own ball. Wait. Where did he get that? Sousuke was so intently focused on the book that he was not paying attention to his fellow's conjuring of the sphere. When Sousuke was inquired if he wanted the book, he nodded. "Book. I want my book."<i></i>

"Later." The woman would speak. She would kneel down and look at Harupia and his ball. "Well you've got your ball. You should take this one then... and roll the ball." She tried to put the ball in Sousuke's hands but he would not have any of it. The ball would bounce up and down. Eventually the ball would stop bouncing. "You really want that book back." She would observe. The woman was hoping that the ball would completely absorb the child's attention span. Amusingly it did not. She would let out a sigh. "Most kids would want the ball. I know when I was your age, I would want the ball."

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

He listened carefully to his friend's words, considering them "I guess it makes sense in a weird way... Like a man flinching when a balloon pops near him, even though they know it's of no harm to them... I mean, it wouldn't be a first time where a Shinobi was tasked with sneaking into a place, performing their duty and walking out almost in broad daylight, without arousing suspicion. And even if you have years of experience, a natural talent for hiding you emotion and blending in... if you were to try and escape from a murder scene, and suddenly see a pair of oblivious kids randomly show you a book full of grisly gore...I bet that would unsettle anyone, if even for a mere second" He blinked as he saw his friend smile, before jumping to his feet to overlook the village over the windows. He scratched his chin at his proposal saying "Mmm...if she has any recollection of the day... and if your idea is right, I can only suspect she would have some objection...but given the situation. But in this case, I guess we can't be fully bothered by Decorum can we" he finished while standing up, indicating he was willing to go with the idea.

Haru was quite satisfied with his ball, shooting a grin to the lady as he rolled it forward, but as he turned to the new friend he saw was rather nonpulsed, still focused on the book. Even as the older lady tried to give him the ball, he simply didn't want it. The boy frowned, but an idea came to his mind as the ball rolled towards the table. He put his hand behind his back, trying to look as if he was just standing there while asking "W-were you sent by mommy to take care of us? Or maybe Sosuke-Kun's mommy?" in an attempt to put the focus on both of them...while his tried to perform the needed hand seals with his hands behind his back, and form the balls of sand into a more lose mass, trying to take the book away so he could give it back to Sosuke later.

Mft

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The Steward and Harupia would walk out of the Tower. The Steward pulled out his keys and proceeded to lock up the place before leaving. There were still a few people working at the tower even on this night. Sousuke spoke no details as to why they were heading out, but that they would return. As the two were exiting the tower, the purple haired man would stare up into the night. The sky was filled with stars. "There's a purity in the night."<i></i> He would begin, "The stars are something we did not get to look at while we lived underground. The stars form constellations and ... I've never quite got how some people think they appear to be things such as bears, or archers. I understand the notion of the Little Dipper, but even then ... it's sometimes a stretch."<i></i> He would explain as he pointed out each of the constellations. "Akina lives in an apartment in Suna Residences. It'll be like a fifteen minute walk."<i></i> The two would walk through the dark night. While the night's sky was pitch black, the stars served as a little reminder that this world they lived in was a lot bigger than expected.

Suna residences had overhead chakra crystal filled lanterns. This light was more than enough to light the streets. The streets had little life to them. Most people were tucked away in the safety of their houses. The two were embarking to have a discussion with a murderer, which was the opposite of which most would do. Sousuke didn't really think that Akina would be much a problem. She was an older woman now. She was still fit for her age. She had retired from active service. Sousuke would lead Harupia into the apartment building. The concierge would greet him, and ask him what was the nature of this visit. "Social visit. Saying hi to an old baby-sitter."<i></i> He answered. He was met with a raised eyebrow. Akina wasn't known for baby-sitting the Steward, but he was allowed an entrance at any rate.

When they arrived at Akina's door, the two were indeed greeted by an older version of the girl they had met that day several years ago. Surpisingly she looked exactly the same. No grey in her hair. Her features were older. The door was chained, but the chain was removed quickly enough. "I just put on some tea. Would you like to have some?" She asked as they were welcomed in. The apartment was very neat and very tidy. It was curious in the sense that Akina in her time after had not acquired a spouse or partner to share her life with. The apartment seemed to be missing that aspect another individual would have brought to bring competition or fulfillment to one's living quarters. Some always though an individual was completed when they had another person to share their life with.

"I was looking for an old book of mine. You know that horror story? More of a tome than a book rather."<i></i> Sousuke inquired as he took a seat on the sofa. "But I've also come to discuss something else entirely. Twenty-five years ago. An event in the afternoon."<i></i> He spoke lowly. The Steward giving Akina not what would call a hard look, but a focused gaze.

Akina was pouring tea while this matter was being discussed. She seemed to grow smaller at the mention of twenty-five years ago on this particular day. The woman took hold of the tea cup. Her hand was most steady. She leaned back into her chair to look at Sousuke, and then to Harupia. She drank in her tea, and then poured a cup for each of the boys. "I don't have your book. Not sure why a child like yourself ... could not be terrified of it. Tell me Lord Steward, and Lord Harupia. Have either of you been in love before? Have you ever been a lover?" The question seemed random at best, but the black haired woman seemed adamant in all earnest.

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

Harupia was silent, nodding his head in greeting to the few people still doing their work at the Tower as Sosuke explained hey would be heading out but returning after some time. He watched him look up into the stars and listened to him talk about the constellations. Looking up he said "There is something mysterious about that... since we don't fully know where the names came from. Maybe a warrior in the past looked at the stars asking whatever gods he believed in for their grace, and after victory claimed one of the gatherings of stars as a representation of the deity, and that then spread around... Maybe a poet filled with a Spark of inspiration wrote down what he felt would be the best descriptor of what we saw. Whatever the source was it began circulating between people and spreading and over time, it just became common knowledge to refer to the constellations as such. If you think about it, the same goes for every word. Night, day, food, water, life, death... someone had to come up with those words on their own. And we'll probably never learn how and why.." he mused, going into his more rambling tone, bearly seeming to register how Sosuke mentioned how far of the house was.

The rambling quieted down as they neared the house, as he soaked in the calm stillness of the evening street. This was nice, the calm, people either in their homes or away enjoying the more active lifetime hubs of the village. Something he wanted to protect...yet soon would need to disturb to some extent, as they finally reached Akina's home. He let Souske talk to the person at the helm, simply nodding in a friendly manner after they moved on. They managed to find her door rather quickly. The Women did change...but strangely enough she seemed to have a bit more vigor then he expected after all these years. "Some tea would be lovely, thank you," he said, the usual smile on his face seeming somewhat...smaller, as if worried. Part of him wanted this to be a loose track, but it did seem to fall into place in a manner...the question was in the details.

She seemed quite collected after Sosuke spoke, giving them both a look. He took the tea with a nod, listening to her before saying "I think it's not that unusual for children to be fascinated by something...taboo, not meant for their eyes. Though I guess Sousuke was quite a brave kid...braver than me... As for your question... hard to say. I was certainly attracted to many women over my life...I was pretty sure it was love a few times, but in the end, nothing worked out. Could have been them...could have been me" he answered somewhat straightforward before asking "were you seeing someone you had such feelings for on that day? Before, or after seeing us?"