Who Knew a Cave-in Could Inspire [Free, Open]

[Hoshirei]

Walking through the levels had always been a favorite pastime before Aika left the village so it made sense to her to try it out again. So much and so little had changed in the lower region, though being able to explore outside of the cave system was certainly nice. The cave-in had her a bit sad as it had demolished the place she once called her home. Memories came flooding through her mind in vivid detail, the curse of an eidetic memory. Before long, hysterical sobs tried to break their way out of her chest. Mother Suna save me. Since when did I become so emotional? she thought as a few tears escaped her control. Angry at herself, she wiped away the tears, clenched her teeth, and forced herself to not run as far and fast as possible.

"Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea," she sighed as she found herself coming to a stop in an alleyway not far from her once favorite bar. One drink couldn't hurt.<i></i> she thought as she wandered toward the place of business and finding it still open, though by the sign in the window, they wouldn't be at this location for long.

Taking a deep breath, she walked in and ordered a cheap sake. Perhaps not the best tasting beverage, but it would do. Money exchanged hands and the bartender set the small bottle of shouchu and a sake cup in front of her. A soft thank you was all she uttered before filling and draining the cup three times. The burn of alcohol was a welcome sensation for the young woman and it temporarily filled a piece of the void she felt. Dark thoughts started to creep into her mind and she scowled at the counter with a soft huff before taking another shot of sake. Maybe she should try to get to know some people again. Perhaps she could teach a medical lesson or two at the academy. Maybe she should see if she one of the new divisions interested her.

Maybe she should look into research and development more, especially into her chakra crystals. Before her travels, she knew what she wanted to do. Then again, that was also before finding out she was barren. That hadn't hurt as much as the time, but the more she saw little babies and pregnant women, the more it hurt to know she would never have a biological child. Sure, she could adopt, perhaps even from her old clan- maybe her half-sister would allow it?- though that was entirely doubtful. Aika shut her eyes and sighed heavily, staring back at her little bottle of shouchu.
_______________________________________________
MFT; WC: 443

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

Harupia himself never quite grew a personal attachment to his apartment in the levels. He liked it obviously, but it was more just a place to crash, hide away, do his art projects...he hovered between the place here and his family home. Though he did regret losing most of his unfinished pieces he had ins storage...then again, maybe he didn't finish them for a reason... Ehh, he never was as scattered minded when he was here...though that may have been for a different reason...as much as he saw the Sietch in its heyday, he couldn't help but see it during the Cabal attack...prisoners running, people hiding, everything in ruins...the cave in didn't do any favours for the location, but it seems people had been moving along...for better or worse.

It felt strange to be here in the first place... he didn't have much to look for here. But he was...curious. His mind was conflicted when he left the village, between wanting to find strength to stop from something like this happening again...with a pinch of just wanting to be away, and wanting to help rebuild the Sietch and Palais...though it seemed slightly redundant seeing how the upper level of the village was functioning..then again, he could understand not everyone could, or wanted to leave their home. And he did hear that there was some...development going on as well. rumblings about some kind of new casino opening in the Palais...

If anything,t he cave-in made a few of the spots under the caves mostly barren, while leaving them accessible for someone with a particular set of skills. He needed to remember thtat...he would need some place to test the extent of his powers...he knew he could reform his hand quite easily if he focused...though the one moment where he disappeared right after getting his...gift did frighten him a bit. He sighed a bit looking at his left arm, seemingly no different than the right... Yet he couldn't stop thinking about it feeling different.

He let out a deep sigh. The small reconnection stroll, of course, had to turn into a philosophical tirade in his head...perhaps he needed something to moisten his lips with...maybe not too much booze. But a little wouldn't know. The fact that he was passing by a bar probably lent itself into the decision making.

it seemed the place wasn't too crowded...probably the fact they were moving soon meant the local patrons moved onto other pastures...but there was someone. A person he didn't quite recognize at first glance... though Harupia wasn't a type to shy away from striking up a conversation. Maybe he could learn something more about what was going on around the Sietch...Taking the seat next to the women he said "I'll Have a bottle of the same please" nodding towards Aika's side tot he bottle, before turning to her "I hope it's not too presumptuous of me to assume you wouldn't mind some company...if you do I can scoot over to the side with my bottle...though I'd say that would be a bit boring, to be honest," offering a bit of a smile. He hoped he didn't come off as too forward. Wouldnt want to blow a chance of a nice covnersation with a lovely lady now.

 

[Hoshirei]

Aika heard the door to the establishment open and close, but decided to ignore it, at least until the person who caused the sound took a seat next to her. She stole a cursory glance without moving her head and a niggling feeling popped up. He was familiar, but not someone she had ever come into much, if any, contact with before leaving. When he addressed her, she turned on her stool and gave him a soft smile. "I don't mind at all if you sit next to me. It's weird to see this place so quiet, so company is more than welcome. Used to come here all the time."

She paused and took a sip of sake before quirking her head slightly to the side. "Motomori Aika. Not really affiliated much with the large matriarchal clan for all that I'm related to the current head," she introduced herself and muttered the final part. "You're somewhat familiar, but as I don't have a good picture of you or remember any encounters, which is saying something-" Aika trailed off for a moment before clearing her throat and continuing. "Anyway... uhm, what's your name?"

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

As the lady turned to him, he couldn't quite recall ever meeting her before...perhaps in passing but never actually talking to her. He wasn't really expecting to bump into an old friend in all actuality...but he wanted to be sure he wasn't coming off boorish by not remembering any past meetings they had. His smile widened as she said she didn't mind the company replying "I see. Well, a lot has changed here over the last few months. Somewhat surprised to see it still open. But I can imagine it had to be quite lively here before" he mused as a bottle was presented before him, for which he paid. He took a look at it...not the best stuff for sure. But it wouldn't be too bad. He hoped.

He poured himself a cup as Aika started introducing herself. He didn't quite catch the latter part...though he assumed it wasn't something she wanted to talk about too much right now. He let out a bit of a laugh saying "I see...well, affiliation with a larger clan can be as much of a blessing as it can be a burden, depending on the situation...It says I know a thing or two about that" before he raised his glass and turned towards her saying "Sunaku Harupia, quite affiliated with the clan, though probably not as much as some of the elder clan members would wish. I am pretty sure we never really talked before, but better late than never right?" he asked rhetorically (he hoped) as he extended the glass towards her. Not quite a handshake but it seemed fitting enough given the circumstances.

Mft, Wc= 284

 

[Hoshirei]

Aika couldn't help but chuckle at the young man before her. By all accounts, they were probably near the same age, but one wouldn't know for sure unless one asked and she didn't much feel like asking. She smiled at his response to being affiliated with a clan and chuckled a bit when he alluded to his clan elders wishing he would do or be more for the clan. "It is certainly better late than never to meet a fellow nin. Up until the main branch of the Motomori moved to Suna, which was certainly bad timing for them, my elder brother and I were the only two here and we were run-aways. Not sure if I really count on the run-away part for the clan. Definitely count as a 'does not wish to affiliate beyond civilized conversation' though. My half-sister is doing a good job as the head though, even if she sticks a little too close to tradition for my tastes," she grimaces after the last sentence before coughing and staring at the sake bottle before her. "Wow, haven't been this talkative with drink in me since the first time I drank."


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OOC: day late, but well... life

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

Haru blinked a bit saying "It must feel strange if a group of people you want to build distance from follows you...especially if we're talking about the whole clan. did they decide to migrate here from the haven or did you people live in the desert? Or, perhaps, the distance was further still?" he asked quite curious. It was quite obvious Aika was in the desert for a bit of time if only by her tan...though it was hard to call whether she came from anymore distant land. As she explained further he said "There is always a thin line between respecting tradition and relying too heavily on it. Its good that you are at least cordial with your family... here's hoping it'll only get better moving forward" before he took another drink. At her last comment, he raised a brow before saying "Hmm...I do hope that's more because of my company being enjoyable and not due to trying to draw out my droning with your own voice, hehe. If I can ask, was it because you didn't drink quite often, or was you drinking company not as talkative as me?

 

[Hoshirei]

Aika snorted at his final question, thought for a moment, and a soft smile danced across her lips. "My drinking partners tend to not be talkative, especially since the main one for the last year or so has been my brother. As for the clan-" she paused and took another shot, "I don't really remember where they came from. I somewhat doubt they were anywhere as near as the Haven since Eiji wanted to get us far away from them, but they could still have been somewhere in Wind country."

She waved the barman over and asked for a pitcher of lemon water. It was delivered shortly thereafter, much to Aika's joy. A tiny moan followed her first sip of flavored water since she left Suna. "If there is one thing I almost missed more than this village, it has to be flavored water. The other countries just didn't do it right, always tasted artificial. As for remaining cordial with my clan and tradition, well- it's hard to explain. I could hardly believe it the first time Eiji told me. There is tradition, like using only natural flavors in water, and then there is tradition in some clans that dictate who, how, and the... amount of people you have to marry. The Motomori clan is sort of infamous for the second type of tradition.
In all seriousness, I'm a bit surprised they are stepping away from it a bit, but grateful. It's not like they have a say over me anyway, as the entire purpose of the tradition is to expand the clan."

Aika snapped her mouth closed rather quickly as she almost found herself exposing the exact reason as to why the clan basically didn't care what she did. She found her jaw tightening, remembering the sour look on her mother's face when shown the results of that particular test, before the woman almost completely dismissed her, hardly even giving her the time of day. Her infertility was a point of shame for the clan and however much her late mother had said that Aika had be loved, named after the love she had for Aika's father, it was like she no longer existed as a full person. It was hard enough dealing with her own issues surrounding infertility, let alone being looked down upon for something out of her control.

"I am enjoying your company, by the way. It is nice to have such easy conversation with someone after over a year of only stilted conversation."

_________________________________________________________
MFT; WC: 418

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

He nodded with a slightly exaggerated sigh of relief "That's good. I guess my journey away from the village didn't impair my conversation skills to much...some more of them please?" he said to the bartender as Aika asked for some of the water. AS much as he felt himself to be not a bad drinker, he didn't usually quite enjoy it without having something to wash it down...especially with a brand which didn't seem to be to...exsenive.

As she mentioned missing the water he smiled and said "I see. Makes sense that people here treat their water with extra care. it can be a bit of a commodity in our part of the world. Though to be honest I would like to try how it tests in other parts of the world...even when I traveled it was either Within the Soon's Haven or in the further parts of Suna. Hopefully, I'll get the chance to pay a more extended visit to other parts of the world. Though right now I feel there would be quite a bit I would need to do back here..." he mused, almost half to himself as he took another drink...though he quickly shook his head, not wanting to fall into his tendency to drone on about himself.

He listened as she spoke about the relation to her clan, and the way they upheld some more...socially rigid traditions. He couldn't help but notice they way she paused and her body stiffen as she made the slight pause...for whatever reason, her clans need to expand the bloodline had her feeling quite uncomfortable. Which was understandable, but he couldn't help but wonder about the specifics. An arranged marriage went wrong? A different lover...perhaps her b...he shook his head after that though. Being a young student interested in art has made him see certain works of other young art enthusiasts over the years...some probably left a few mental scars here and there.

" As she finished her last sentence, he smiled raising his glass to her again "Always a pleasure. I can be a bit chatty, to the annoyance to some. But I'm just interested in what people have to say , their stories, their experiences...helps me feel inspired, drives me to become better...I mean, with the past experiences here people could sure use something to brighten their spirits...Is your brother doing well now too? I'm sorry about..whatever transpired with your clan. The Sunaku aren't as strict in that sense. Centuries of a nomadic lifestyle don't quite lean well into being picky about potential suitors...though I can't help but worry a little bit what any potential sweetheart of mine may be going through once I get to introduce her to my family" he said with a slightly exasperated sigh. An interesting prospect to be sure.

MFT, WC= 501

 

[Hoshirei]

As Haru spoke, the small smile on Aika's face never left. "I'm glad your clan doesn't have a similar tradition. It can cause much heartache. My clan was rather isolated until the previous matron realized that they would be better suited spreading out, as the numbers were getting too large. They spread out among two of the elemental nations."

She paused a moment to sip her water with a happy hum and a thoughtful look on her face. "I don't think you're too chatty. I'm not usually so talkative, though graduating early from the academy kind of does that sometimes. When I started out as a medic in training, some of my classmates made it plain that they thought I was just a little kid. I quickly learned to be concise and precise in my words. They grudgingly accepted me, but being taciturn helped in the long run."

"What do you mean? Would your clan question her a lot? My issue is a bit different from yours. I don't have to present whomever I choose to my clan, though I can if I choose." Her brow furrowed for a moment and she slammed back the last of the sake in her bottle. "I just get to find someone who doesn't give a damn about line continuation," Aika spat bitterly, not realizing that she had perhaps revealed one of her vulnerabilities.

She glared into the empty sake bottle with the sourest look on her face. More than a few times she had cursed her clan's idiotic tradition of marrying half-siblings. Perhaps if that wasn't the case, she would actually be able to continue a line if she so chose, but no, the choice was taken from her before she was even born.

_______________________________________________
MFT; WC: 291

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

He nodded as she spoke saying “I can only imagine. Though as I said, It may have been more a matter of practicality then empathy. Also, I’m not sure how it s with your clan but the Sunaku of the wind Clan have a bit of a tumultuous history. A whole slew of different tribes, once united under the banner of one great leader, and sticking together since… though with a fair share of bad apples to be sure” he mused taking another drink. The memories of the story of Naito still in his head…the story which led him to become what he was now.

Aika then mentioned a bit about her past “Graduating quickly though the Shinobi ranks can be a bit of a two edged sword. Say what you want about this being you official pass to adulthood” he paused poking the protector he had on his belt “but pushing someone to young something above genin responsibilities has as much of a chance hardening them as scaring them… Putting aside the growing dangers of each rank. I bet you had to see quite a bit of gruesome wounds as a growing med nin who needed to prove she wasn’t merely a child?” he asked with a casual yet curious tone.

At her question he let out a bit of a chuckle saying “Probably. Though I’m not sure if the formal greeting and meeting would be worse, or whether dealing with my parents on a causal basis would be more straining, hehe. They can be a bit of a handful, but I can’t say id have it any other way…” He went silent as she downed the bottle and made the last comment, a look of anger and anguish on her face. On one hand he could see this was something hard for her to talk about…then again, maybe she felt the need to talk about it? Sure he was a stranger…but he to could understand just pouring you worries to someone you didn’t know before talking with those you cared about…at least that what he felt soon after returning home. Taking a big swig of his drink, he set down the glass down calmly and asked “With the way you said that…I can imagine this isn’t merely a matter of you not wanting to…continue the line at the moment? If you don’t wish to speak of it then by all means, Ill shut up. But I can see it is eating you up…”

 

[Hoshirei]

"There were definitely some gruesome wounds I witnessed while trying to prove I knew my field. They didn't trust me for a while with more than putting some stitches in and a little bit of chakra to stimulate cell repair and growth. I still remember coming in one day to one heck of an issue. Some idiot had decided to traverse the caves a bit and had to be dragged to the hospital by their comrade. Guy's arm was nearly torn off, just hanging on by a few ligaments. He had lost quite a bit of blood and I was the only medic who wasn't already busy with something else. They all begrudgingly excepted me after the man survived surgery. The begrudgingly part went away after the man completed physical therapy with almost no loss in function."

Aika smirked a bit in remembrance of her fellow medics' faces after the man's last bout of therapy. It had felt good to have someone other than her brother recognize that she knew her stuff. She took a drink of her flavored water before even contemplating talking about the next subject they had touched on.

"It's not that no one knows, by the way. Just few people do and one who knew is dead now. Before the Cabal attacks, I had some tests run. Some things weren't adding up for me, especially if I compared myself to some of my patients. I found out that-" she paused for a moment to draw up courage, "Due to some failings in my genetic code, I cannot have children. My internal sex organs didn't develop properly. I try not to blame my clan too much, but their brand of marriage tradition certainly didn't help matters. I'm slowly getting used to the fact that if I want to raise children, they won't be my blood. It's a hard pill to swallow."

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

Haru listened to the story quite intently, his face going from concerned to slightly shocked to grinning quite widely, as he said "Well, even if the world was at peace, you can always count on other peoples foolhardiness to give the medical stuff something to work with. I guess it was really sink or swim at that moment huh? They roll in a guy who probably was half dead, his arm almost torn off completely...he paused for a second, subconsciously rubbing his own left arm... before he continued "And then you just punished it all in their face and did what I assume must have been almost a miracle...though I assume you didn't oversee the whole physical therapy?" he finished with a question. He never was quite sure just how much one medic would do for one patient.

The conversation went a lot more...heavy in the next few words... with Aika revealing that due to circumstances out of her control, she could never have a child. He was silent, taking a big swig of a drink, before sighing and saying "Im...sorry if I pried a bit too hard. I'm a curious soul as I mentioned. And ...I'm sorry for what happened to you. No one deserves something like that to happen. And I can only assume you made sure there would be no way to fix it with the medical knowledge we have... I guess that's the main reason your relation to most of your family is cold at best...Ehh, how fitting, the generation of old blaming their mistakes on the young..."

MFT 2, Wc= 279

 

[Hoshirei]

"I only wrote up the plan for his therapy and oversaw a few of his sessions. I didn't specialize in therapy, after all. I specialized in combat medicine, mostly as I wanted to know how to make someone stable without having all the wonderful medical equipment around. Came in handy on my journeying, that's for sure!" Aika smiled softly and issued a short laugh. "It's amazing that civilians can get themselves into when they aren't paying attention or start a fight with someone they shouldn't have."

It was odd, Aika decided, to have someone apologize for something out of their control. However, it was the first time she had heard anything of the sort related to her infertility. "Oh I certainly made sure there wasn't some way to fix it. Even looked into some other hospitals while I was away. Though, many of the ones I could approach didn't have any idea why, let alone what could fix it. Genetics is still a newer field. If it had been noticed while I was still a fetus, it probably could have been fixed, or even during puberty. At 19 I'm too old for my body to respond to any of the treatments.

"I don't think you were prying by the way. If I hadn't wanted to say anything, I wouldn't have. My condition can come in handy in the kunoichi lifestyle, especially if seduction missions come up, but it's still hard sometimes to wrap my mind around. I mean, it's been almost two years since I found out."

Aika smiled at the bartender as he set another pitcher of flavored water before them. He always had been attentive. Maybe she'd offer her assistance in finishing his move topside.

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

"Ahh, I see. Make sense, probably had to have enough time to oversee the entire therapy while also begin needed on the field. And I can only imagine... not always obvious to see if someone has the skills capable of disarming you with a few simple moves...either figuratively or literary. Though it's not always them seeking out trouble on their own...sometimes it can come to their doorstep, in spite our best intentions..." he spoke with a more melancholic tone, thinking about the devastation in the underground parts of the village, the outbreak, the general state of the Grand Palais even before it all startd...and what he felt was a woefully lackluster effort to try and amend it on his side. Switching the topic slightly he would speak on "And even non-civilians arent that much more careful sometimes...I'm trying to learn at least some basics of medical techniques just in case I end up in a mission without a dedicated medic, heh", omitting the fact the inspiration was what happened to him on his last personal excursion.

He simply nodded as she spoke about the improbability of being able to heal the affliction. Guess something running that deeply in your blood wasn't easy to remove...then again, neither was regrowing you arm from sand for most people. Still, she didn't quite seem to mind the conversation getting there. His face couldn't help to flush up ever so slightly as she mentioned the state has its own uses, simply saying "I can imagine..." while trying to not do just that". He poured himself a bit more of the sake, noticing the bottle was slowly but surely getting empty while the tender brought another pitcher of water "I'm sure something like this is hard to wrap your head around. Still, I guess the important thing is to move forward. If it's something you can change, just do your best to work around it... Nothing out of the ordinary for you eh Aika?" he said jokingly, going back to her struggles as a growing medic.

 

[Hoshirei]

Aika smiled softly and couldn't help but chuckle a little at Haru's last quip. "Certainly nothing out of the ordinary. I have really enjoyed our conversation and your company, Haru. Perhaps we can meet up again sometime? I'm easy to reach on the headsets if nothing else. I'm also living up-top now. Probably a good thing, as our old home is under all that rubble.

"I look forward to seeing you again. If you decide to find me up-top rather than the hospital or over the headsets, just look for the house with a crystal the color of my eyes set in the door. It's hard to miss. Thank you, Haru. Perhaps there is some hope for me yet."

She got up, laid a tip and the remainder of their combined bill on the bar-top, and turned to leave.

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[Topic Left if not stopped]

 

[Sunaku Harupia]

He nodded as she mentioned she was available via headset or at the hospital, and mentioned a rather distinct mark in her house he would say "I'll be sure to remember that. And I would be quite glad to talk with you again...hopefully not as a patient, though you never know in this job do you" he finished siling as he watched her go out, sitting by himself for a little bit longer. He was expecting the visit underground to be much more somber... but it worked out preaty well in the end.

(Exit)