You Called?

[Morishige]

Kioku sat at the table eating his breakfast. It consisted of sustainable goods all grown on the Ishikawa estate. The eggs even came from his favorite chicken: Chirp Chirp! As he ate, one of the servants of the estate approached him with a missive. It had no return address and was simply marked Ishikawa Kioku. "Hmmm what could this be?" he pondered aloud.

"Let me open it pleeeaaase!" cried a young ladys voice. Masaoko just had to get involved.

"No no, this is mail just for me. Your birthday is coming up, maybe you'll get a birthday card from Kotaza and you can open that. Now eat your breakfast."

"Awh come on pleaseeee!" she pleaded. Kioku looked at her with pursed lips and shook his head. She seemed to understand and went back to eating while Kioku opened the envelope, taking the folded letter out. Meanwhile, Setsuna was already scolding her sister with her eyes. Masaoko simply grinned with cheeks full of food. "Gross!" exclaimed Setsuna.

"Interesting..." he thought to himself. He took another bite of food and placed the letter down. It was a note from an old contact and it brought a smile to his face. He looked to the girls as they teased each other. Setsuna's scolding reminded him of her mother. Perhaps it was time for a visit...

He stood from the table and look to his charges. "Ladies, I'll be heading out for a while. Unfortunately I can't bring you with me this time. Don't get into too much trouble!" he warned before bowing quickly to each of them and heading for the door.

---

Kioku signed into the guest registry, and signed the waiver promising the village wouldn't be at fault if he was assaulted. What would he say to her? She been sitting here for months upon months. Perhaps he would just try to make her smile, or call him an old man. That would be nice to hear once again. The more he thought about it, the worse it got. He could feel the emotions in his throat. After spending so much time around her daughters, all he could see were their faces along with hers.

Kioku ventured the underprison with no guards of his own. There were a few who were dumb enough to try and attack him were subdued and put to sleep peacefully. He wasn't entirely sure as to why she had called him there. But, he would continue for a friend, especially one rotting away in a cell deep under the earth. Before long, he stood across from her, metal bars separating them. "Knock Knock, anyone home?"

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

She had been nothing but a stone wall since arriving. Although she had no knowledge of it, she played with her misfortune the same as Ai. Day in and day out, she was left with her silence. The occasional guest with ill intentions came to bother her, but did not illicit much of a response from her. She hadn't planned on behaving any differently until she heard him. She looked into the eyes of her guest for the first time in a long time. Her feet raced across the floor without any thought from her and there she was at the bars, her hands reaching out for him. "You came!" A pained false hope in her voice died as she entered a silence.

She let go of him, wrapping her hands around the bars. Maybe he wasn't so proud of her anymore. Maybe he didn't want her touching him. These small thoughts poisoned her mind as she looked him up and down constantly. "You're here." She repeated again with more disbelief that the first. Her cheek rested against the bar. She didn't even know where to start. Haruka had so much to ask, but felt in no position to ask such things from Kioku. Before too long she was uttering the first phrase she had practiced in her head for months now.

"I'm sorry."​

 

[Morishige]

In that moment, he saw a young woman who had not gone through the trials and tribulations of a kunoichi. He saw the many young kunoichi he had had the privelege of training over the years, before the next few took their toll on them. He saw innocence and purity. A young teen who didn't belong behind these iron bars. In that moment, Kioku witnessed the very same excitement that Masaoko and Setsuna expressed when he came home from a trip to volunteer at the food bank all morning.

But then she pulled away, reminding herself of why she was there. She couldn't let go of all she had done. Her hands grasping onto the cage she was stuck inside, no longer excited like her children. It saddened him to see her pull away. His wide smile softened to a sympathetic frown. What he would give to see that moment again.

She spoke, and Kioku sighed. This was all wrong. Perhaps he could have done something to prevent this. He focused some chakra and turned the locked inside of the chamber, sliding the door out of the way before taking her into his arms. His large hand stroked her hair as she just muttered her words into his chest. "It's all right... It's all right... There there." he softly cooed.

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

How can you repay such a kind soul? Haruka didn't know the answer. She might as well melt into a puddle in that very moment. Human touch after eight months was an emotionally charging event, it was amplified on the sole fact of who it was. She did nothing but bury her face into his chest, blubbering on with an apology that she did practice for months. It was now just an incoherent stream of words though as she choked back tears. The Old Man certainly knew how to fold the mighty Raikage killer. She sniffed back tears, wiping away the streaks down her grime covered face. She looked up at him with heavy eyes, just inside his reach as she pulled away gently.

"I was so tired of running. I'm sorry I didn't come to see you before they sent me down here. I wasn't ready." Tears again. This was getting ridiculous, yet oddly therapeutic. It did feel better, the sting at least. Her crying seemed to lessen the pain. "I... Ugh, this is so hard to do. I need to know from you what's been happening. I can't trust anyone here. It's like I'm losing my mind. Ever since I got here, I've felt like a different person altogether." If only she knew how much she sounded like her cousin. It was almost frightening. She inhaled deeply, thinking about what to ask the man exactly.

"Where's Ai? Is he alright? Have they let him go yet?" Her shoulders sunk. "Its not his fault. None of this is his fault. I need someone to tell him that. Saito has to know it was all me. Why can't they just let him go?" She seemed almost hysterical. She paced back to her cot and sat down weakly. Judging by the hollowness of her cheeks, she hadn't been eating much. In fact, she had refused most food given to her for the past few weeks, picking at only a few scraps to get her by. Her sudden excitement agitated her fragile state. The room spun and so she knew it was time to sit back.

"I heard about Nobuyuki too. Do you know what happened? All they told me was that he was murdered in the hospital." Its my fault.

"And what about-" She stopped, judging Kioku's gaze to see if he was following all of her banter. She was met with the steady calm smile of her friend. "How are they?"​

 

[Morishige]

She finally pulled away and his kind face beamed down at her. Then the floodgates were released and it all came forth, dousing him in a deluge of words and thoughts. His frown turned back into a smile.

He just listened patiently to what she had to say; to how she apologized and begged for information about the world outside. Her final words made him think for but a moment. "That's because you are a different person. You are no longer who you used to be."

He continued to watch her as she spoke frantically about her cousin who wasn't too far away. The Takao Institute was nearby after all. "Funny. So close but yet so far..." As she sat down, he followed her and chose the spot next to her. The metal frame protested loudly given his weight. He was about to speak when she moved onto Nobuyuki, and then the girls after that. Kioku just shook his head and chuckled. "Slow down Haruka. I can be here for as long as I need to be." he reminded. The underprison didn't really follow normal rules.

"Unfortunately, your cousin is still where you left him. I'm not as connected as I once was, so I don't know too much regarding his situation. I can approach Saito on his behalf for you if you wish it. But we can talk about that later. Let me get to Nobuyuki..."

"That's all I have really gathered as well. Someone murdered him and the investigation is still under way, I assume. The ANBU are hush hush as you know. Even if they discovered anything I probably wouldn't found out. And the girls..."

Kioku smiled.

"I was having the most lovely breakfast this morning with them. Little angels those two... except Masaoko was being a little brat as usual. But Setsuna is excelling in her studies in the academy. I see more and more of you in her every day." he sighed happily.

"You should have seen Masaoko when she finally got the hang of the transformation jutsu. Setsuna and her spent hours upon hours practicing it together, and right before bed time they burst into the study while I reading a new book and showed their stuff! They are growing so fast... before we know it, they are going to be out on their own in a world much larger than they can imagine."

 

[Sanageyama Masaoko]

"I see..." It was so hard processing all this information. The world really did move without her in it. She scratched the back of her head, spacing out as her eyes laid on the floor. What was she to do? How was she to feel? She decided to address the easier of the three. "I'm afraid for the village, now that Nobuyuki is gone. He was the only one worth cheering for. The only one I could trust to protect them. It's silly, it's always the handsome, daring ones that get taken away from us too soon." Her attempted joke only pulled a half-hearted chuckle from her. She hadn't thought of Natsu in a long time. It was a strange feeling. Too many people shot down in their prime. Was this the sentence of a shinobi?

"I suppose there is nothing I can do for Ai now." The woman didn't seem to want to talk much about him anymore. She sighed, losing her weakened smile.

How was she to approach the subject of her daughters? Boy, was that a weird concept for her. She never thought of them until recently. When she was young, she decided it better to forget them. For a while it worked. Haruka had told Kioku of them to fix at least one wrong in her life. It seemed selfish for her to get involved in their lives now. They didn't deserve such a horrible mother. She contemplated ignoring his comments of the girls for a while. The silence in the room rose like a drowning tide about them.

"Maybe I should have kept them on that island. The life of a shinobi is truly horrible. What kind of mother sentences her child to such a fate?" She understood her mother's sentiments now. Karma always had a way of coming around and biting one in the ass, all for the sake of a parent proving their child wrong. She wished to do it all differently. "Of course, I'm no mother to them. Sometimes I wonder if I should tell them. Would it be selfish of me? Would it ruin their lives? To be a child of the most hated woman in Kumogakure is hard. They have all the potential in the world, all the things I had and threw away. I thought I was good in doing all this, now I know the truth. It's my only wish for them to not be like me."​

 

[Morishige]

The old man just watched her patiently as she worked through this information. She had been without any for so long, that there were probably assumptions she had that were now being proven false is some shape or form.

As she spoke, Kioku had to take the opportunity to at least lighten the mood with some quick jests, especially when things looked so grim for the woman stuck behind bars. "Are you saying I'm not handsome since I'm still here? I know I'm not as young as I once was..." he said with a pause, adopting a regal posture. But he couldn't deny the truth she spoke. "I'm tired of watch those I've mentored die. The world is unfair to all, your cousin most of all. He was so young with so much potential to live a fruitful life."

There was a moment of silence between them as Haruka thought on those she had left behind on the island, only to have Kioku fetch them and point them towards life as a shinobi. While the cons of that life style were heavy, it did not come without advantages. Those who could mold chakra to their will had a much better chance of making something of themselves in the world. The only ones who usually had that privilege were those born into wealth or royalty. He took a deep breath.

"I wouldn't say it's selfish for a mother to want to see her children. And there are worse things in life than that of a shinobi." he began, reaching across her back with an arm to comfort her. The questions she posed had no right or wrong answers, but depending on decisions made, those answers could change lives.

"And unless their relation to you is made public, I don't think things would change too much for them. Well, except their own knowledge of it. Who knows, maybe they would take some kind of pride knowing that her mother fought for what she believed to be the right decision. If they did, they wouldn't be alone. There are many in Kumogakure who support you as the true Raikage and see Akira Saito as a member of the old regime; one whom still tries to hold onto power in changing times." he paused, tapping a finger on his lap.

"That may not have been what you wanted to hear... but I felt it necessary to tell you. You aren't the most hated woman. While some might hate you, there are those who love you. Myself being apart of the latter group~" he finished with a kind smile on his face, eyes watching her.

 

[Junan]

There was a small group of them entering the Taterian Specus after a tour of the Sileo Tempestas. Kouin had only shortly been the ANBU Sennin, and Akira had needed to show him around. The looks that the pair received were worse than Akira had ever seen, but there were still a sizeable group of shinobi so loyal to Shinbatsu among their numbers that they simply accepted Akira's decision without hesitation and without judgement of their own. Simply trusting the student of their lord, though he was also among their teachings.

Still it had been about as bad as he thought. Kouin would likely live his whole life and unless he lived long enough he may never see himself truly exonerated by the ANBU existing today. But if he lived long enough there would be enough new ANBU to balance that out, and perhaps they in turn would teach the older ANBU forgiveness.

Next was the Tarterian Specus however, the cells where the prisoners of Kumogakure resided, another of Kouin's watches, but also a place where they had business. The ANBU allowed the group in and they went through the various levels. As they went Kouin would realise the almost mirrored reactions to their presence as that from the ANBU. There were those who hated them, those who wanted to kill them, but then here too were members of the order of Shinbatsu, the more fanatical who had committed crimes in his name who now ran to the cell cage to try and touch the living reminder that their lord once walked this earth. The look in their eyes brought nothing but contempt from Akira, for they were why many looked at his master in a negative light. Yet they were also a reminder of the darker side that Shinbatsu exhibited.

They continued going through the various levels reaching a massive vault door, the door and the walls beside it tagged with thousands of seals, symbols to hold the power within within.

Beyond this door is where the worst shinobi are placed, and also where the person we're here to see is being held. He nodded to the guards, the doors cranked and clacked as a thousand locks retreated, the door groaning as it slid open and the small group entered into the depths of the Underprison.

A guard looked to them and Akira gave him papers. The guard nodded and pointed them in the direction where they would be able to find their target.

Arriving at their destination, Haruka was meeting with someone. At their arrival Akira interrupted the conversation.

It is unfortunate that this is indeed the case. But those who still love her will be in mourning come morning. He then looked to a piece of paper.

The investigation on the man Akira, of the Saito Clan, has been found not-guilty for actions against the Raikage Haruka of the Shima Clan or members of the village council in his role as ANBU Sennin. The man Akira is found to be in his right to take the title of Raikage in a temporary position from ANBU Sennin, and has been judged fit to now be the Raikage in a permanent capacity from this day forth. He held up a finger to request silence, and stop any butting in.

As such the Raikage Haruka has been found guilty of multiple counts of murder, and conspiracy to murder. Her victims on both counts are Raikage Shin of the Hayata clan and Sennin Daisuke of the Kaguya clan. On the sole charge of murder she has been found guilty on one count. Due to the positions of those murdered and planned to be murdered, and the defendant admitting to deceiving the council to manipulate the next Raikage be decided by a public vote, she is sentenced to death. He rolled the paper up and looked at the visitor and Haruka.

It was only a matter of time until this was decided. If it means anything to you I did argue on your behalf as you did turn yourself in, but it was decided that you needed to be made an example of so that people wouldn't do this in future. If it hadn't been Shin then perhaps you might have been able to live, but it was, and so you are not.

He looked at the visitor.

If you would like to take part as a witness you are invited to do so, I have brought witnesses with me, but it would be only right if a supporter of Haruka were here as well. I'm sure she would appreciate it. There was no malice in his words, no hate, just the stated judgement of those in power.

But he was the executioner, and that was a duty he had decided, for he wanted to feel her life leave her body. She had killed two of his friends, one closer than a brother, she had lived three years longer than Shinbatsu would have allowed.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

It was a grim day indeed as Ayumu arrived at the Tarterian Specus for something thatn had been a long time coming. The Raikage, Saito, had been exonerated and deemed fit to lead, his actions in taking over the position and forcing the previous council from their seats deemed just. The investigation had taken some time to be fully completed, but the decision was made. Now it had come to the new Raikage to judge the former Raikage. It had been decided that she would not be allowed to live, even in prison. Some had been against the decision and others for it, but regardless the result was determined and now all that remained was for the act to be carried out. Entering the Tarterian Specus, he found that Saito and others had already arrived. He caught up with them just before they would enter the section of the prison where Haruka was being held, giving Saito a nod as he arrived. He was not here because he had some strong desire to see Haruka executed. That anger had come and gone with time, being replaced simply with the desire for justice to be done. By accepting Saito as the Raikage and supporting his actions after the investigation, he essentially had signed Haruka's death warrant. That was why he felt the need to witness it.

Arriving in the location she was being held, he noticed a man present. He wasn't sure who it was, but it was interesting that he was visiting Haruka. Saito didn't seem to mind much if he was interrupting anything. Upon arriving, he held up a piece of paper and began to read from it, announcing the decision that had legitimized his position as Raikage. This came as no surprise to Ayumu, of course, having known beforehand. The next part was probably the one that would be more stirring news. He announced that Haruka was found guilty of murdering the former Sennin and Raikage as well as another who had stood in their defense. In all honestly, it was probably not shocking to hear this for Haruka as she had admitted it when turning herself in. She couldn't have thought that this would turn out any other way. There were two things Ayumu found hard to understand about Haruka. The first was why she had betrayed Kumogakure in the first place and the second was why she had returned to face almost certain death. He supposed it was her guilty conscience. Truly the only surprising thing about this encounter was that Saito claimed to have argued on Haruka's behalf.

Ayumu, for a while, had respected Haruka. She had even named him the Main Branch Sennin before her departure. There had been something akin to comradery between them in his eyes. It all ended when her actions had been revealed. Saito granted the visitor permission to witness what was going to happen if he wished, since he was apparently a supporter of the woman. Saito was unsurprisingly calm about all of this. The man was as stone faced as anybody Ayumu had ever met. He imagined it was all the time he spent in ANBU. Ayumu had little to say currently unless he was specifically addressed. He was just there to witness, as Sennin, and stand guard in case anything went off rails.

 

[Kouin]

He had been told this would be a simple tour, but from Akira's stoic demeanor, Kouin knew it was something much more. He had done a brief investigation regarding the whole Shima Haruka case, but his information couldn't compare to what the Raikage had against her. The Under Prison housed the grimiest, and largest pile of scum Kumogakure had captured; for every intent he too deserved to rot down here, but Akira had decided he deserved to suffer in another manner.

He could hear the clatter of footsteps make haste behind himself and Akira. The sudden pace put Kouin on guard, but seeing it only be Ayumu put him slightly less at guard. He offered him a simple nod as greeting, not that he expected any sort of response. This seems like a wonderful vacation spot... He spoke sarcastically in an attempt to lighten the mood a bit. To no avail, they finally reached the door to their destination; the holding cell of the one Shima Haruka the True Raikage of Kumogakure, or so the reports said she claimed, but what Raikage usurps the thrown through an assassination ploy? It seemed everything was rigged from the beginning, even the death of his acquaintance Isaki Hoshikata.

The prisoner was meeting with an old friend of sorts, but her personal affairs mattered little to the trio. They were there for the sole purpose of deliverance. Enacting the judgement, and retribution of the Sennin Daisuke, and former Raikage Hayata Shin. Akira put a stop to the conversation quickly, and began to read off the list of crimes; the sheer magnitude of each one shocked Kouin. He had committed crimes of his own, but nothing of this caliber.

He was curious how Haruka would respond to her sentence of execution, who she fight it? Or would she accept her punishment with pride? The women appeared to be a loose cannon, but quite capable of manipulation.... They would have to be careful, even with a distinct edge.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Councillor here.

Just popping in to say that Shima Haruka has granted permission for having her character killed in this thread.
Council papertrail: http://www.ninpocho.com/viewtopic.php?f=76&t=46986

Note: This does not grant anyone permission to use the corpse for paths, puppets, or anything of that sort.

 

[Junan]

It seemed that the pair fell silent, Haruka's eyes studied him, drifting from him to the small audience she had to watch the act. The man who sat there stood and left, seemingly in disgust, and Akira respected that decision, he had hoped that he would stay, he felt it might help the situation go more smoothly if she felt like she had someone on her side there.

So you come at last then? She said, her tone almost surprised Akira, he hadn't expected this.

I guess so.

I knew that I would die here, it was obvious that this would happen.

Then why did you come back?

Because... She thought for a moment I trusted Nobuyuki.

Akira nodded silently, watching her with his keen eye. There was no sign of her cowering from her fate, nothing, perhaps she had truly accepted this, relived the moment time and time again in her mind during the hundreds of nights that she had stayed here.

I trusted him to. Which is why we're here. He did his duty, and it is in part due to his findings that you will be killed.

Her left eye twitched slightly, as thought he'd given her a slight slap in the face. But her teeth grit and she stared at him.

You're all going to die. You're too stupid, too pathetic to be able to stop that inevitability.

I assume you're speaking of Titan.

Her mouth opened slightly, but this time the words stuck to the back of her throat. Her mind wondered for a moment, it seemed Akira was aware of their threat.

They've gone into hiding, which doesn't make them any less of a threat, but they will be destroyed before they make a return.

He pulled out the key to the cell and opened the door. The clack of the metal lock, the grinding of the metal hinges, it all seemed so inevitable.

Do you have any last words, or perhaps wish to pray to your god for forgiveness before you die?

She watched him as he entered, but didn't put up a fight.

I don't deserve forgiveness. There are none who I could pray to to forgive me. Her voice was weaker now. The inevitability sinking in, that it was no longer a dream or nightmare, that it was reality, it was taking its effect. Her breath was shaky.

Akira sighed You could pray to Hayata Shin. He was a Raikage, he would be by the side of the gods, of everyone on this planet he would have been the only person who could have forgiven you. In death I doubt that has changed. In many ways Akira was telling the truth. He was the only person Akira could think of who could forgive her for her actions. There were those in Kumogakure who had never blamed her, they felt that the investigation was rigged, their denial of everything a testament to the kind of loyalty that Haruka had once held in Cloud. But they were the few now, only the most loyal, only those who would have died for her without question. Even among her loyal followers she had lost numbers, people seeing the facts, accepting the truth, realising that the person they had once thought of as the next head of the village was actually rotten to her core.

He could see her jaw flex as she grit her teeth, the reality setting in that she truly killed the only person who could forgive her. Chances were pretty good that he forgave her even in his dying breath. Shin was that kind of man, he possessed a leniency Akira could never have, and although Akira knew that people wondered about him being weak, soft, especially on Kouin, he also knew fights. He knew the intent behind a shinobi's actions by the way they fought, by the damage wrought. Kouin didn't destroy, he fought to prove himself, for a reason. Akira didn't pretend to understand that reason, but he knew that it wasn't simply to destroy Cloud.

Time passed and silence reigned. After Akira decided that enough time for a prayer had ended he drew his blade. The keen metal slid against its confines. On the hilt the eye opened, Shinbatsu's mangekyou eye staring out, looking around to rest on the soul he would now take. Perhaps it was the witnesses imagination, but there was what looked to be glee in that eye... But then, it couldn't really be Shinbatsu's eye... could it...

It was at this moment that the feeling in the room changed. Haruka suddenly bent over double. A sound coming from her like pain, her mouth opened as she moaned, before finally she vomited on the floor before her. Fear overcoming her, nothing having prepared her for the moment that she would die. She tried to form words, but they were broken up by the retching sound of her puking up the few contents of her stomach. Akira stood there, the expression on his face unchanged, but the blade now down by his side.

Pl-please no. Tomorrow, please...

He took in a breath and moved.

N-no, no...

He stood beside her and raised the sword.

NOOOO... She suddenly turned to him screaming, her eyes wild with terror.

The sound of her scream was cut off though, ended suddenly as the nervous system was severed.

A line formed across her neck, her face frozen in that pained, feeble expression. Akira simply shook his head, not a drop of her blood staining his sword.

I apologize for taking too long. I should have ended it quicker. He said in a low voice, it would have been heard by the others, but clearly intended for Haruka.

Sheathing the blade he turned to the others.

It is done. The head fell from her shoulders, the body falling with it collapsing on the ground, blood pooling rapidly on the cell floor.

[Haruka - Killed.]

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Ayumu stood against a wall, folding his arms and watching quietly. He had nothing in particular to say to Haruka. No personal vendettas to air out. He was just here to witness as the conversation began between the former Raikage and the current Raikage. She spoke as if she had been expecting him, and to be fair she had every reason to expect him. The only reason she had been in a cell was to wait for Saito to be given permission to enact his judgement upon her. Saito asked why, if she had known what to expect, she had returned. A question Ayumu himself was wondering. Her answer did not clear anything up for Ayumu. She trusted Nobuyuki? What did that mean? Did she think that he would save her from this judgement? He was the one who had put forth most of the effort to judge Saito worthy of his position. He was the one that had brought Haruka back to the village and placed her in this cell. The only one more responsible for her being at the end of Saito's blade now was she herself. Ayumu sighed, still not understanding. He could only assume it had been a change of heart, accepting what she had done as wrong.

Saito relayed to her this much, and it seemed to strike a nerve with her. She began prattling on about how they would all die. Saito guessed she spoke of Titan, which seemed to silence her. 'Did he hit the mark? Probably,' Ayumu thought. It was Nobuyuki who told him that Haruka had warned him about Titan. As Saito had said, the group had gone into hiding, literally vanishing. When no response came, Saito opened the cell and entered. Ayumu was on guard in case she tried anything, but she seemed to be accepting what was happening. She claimed that she didn't deserve forgiveness, and had no one to pray to. Saito suggested the very man she had killed, his belief being that he was with the gods now. It was ironic to suggest that she pray to a man she killed, but Ayumu supposed that if he was up there he truly would forgive her.

As the sword was drawn, Haruka seemed to lose her nerve faced with her impending execution. She begged for a stay of execution, for more time to prepare, but Saito remained silent. Ayumu's gut twisted into a knot. It was difficult to watch an execution like this, but he wouldn't allow himself to look away. He would have swung the sword himself if he had been asked to. Her final cry was cut short as her head fell from her shoulders onto the floor. The body slumped over and lay motionless on the ground as Saito sheathed his sword and turned back to the two Sennin. Ayumu's eyes remained fixed on Haruka's face for a moment. 'Farewell Haruka. For a time, I thought we could be friends... if only you hadn't betrayed us,' he thought solemnly before closing his eyes for a moment of silence.

"So it is... at last, Shin has been avenged, for whatever it's worth," Ayumu said, lifting himself from the wall he was leaning on. He knew Shin himself cared nothing for vengeance and therefore would not have condoned this. It certainly didn't make Ayumu feel any better, but an example had to be made, and this was the only example that would suffice. Turning, he began walking towards the exit as he noticed the janitorial staff waiting nearby, ANBU ensuring that she was truly deceased. "Unless either of you need something, I'll see you both later," he said quietly before departing, leaving them to any business they might have between the two of them. He didn't particularly want to stick around for the cleanup.

[Topic Left]

 

[Takaki Saeko]

The hunchbacked old chaplain was clad in burlap so frayed at the hems that to look at him was to imagine a creature striding on a dust cloud sublimated from pathos itself. He wore the heavy chain of Raiden’s Order round his neck, heavy with its dimeritium links and silver obelisk that beseeched lightning from the heavens. His hands were obscured beneath disintegrating bandages and his face a horrid mass of scars and a crater where one eye should have been. He knelt over Haruka’s body and pressed his palms together. During any execution that attempted a legitimate veneer, there was always a holy man. His lot was to eat the sin of the headsman and absolve the consciences of all.

“Thus it is complete,” the prison priest intoned with a rheumy murmur. “Raikage Shima Haruka has transcended the suffering of our mortal world, with all of its desire and greed and filth, and goes back to the bosom of her creator. I shall pray:

0 nobly-born daughter of mine,
Do not cling, in fondness and weakness, to this life.
Thou wilt gain nothing more than wandering in this Samsara.
Be not attached to this world; be not weak.
And for those left behind, know thus:
What is born will die,
What has been gathered will be dispersed,
What has been accumulated will be exhausted,
What has been built up will collapse,
And what has been high will be brought low.
Sic semper tyrannis
Is the rule of this world.”

The chaplain bowed his head to the Raikage, and gathered Haruka’s body and head in his arms. “I will wash her now, and bury her in peace. For forty nights you must make an offering, lest she come back as a ghost and taint your karma, Milord.”

[Haruka’s body kept from being used for kinjutsu, puppetry, parts, etc, per her request.]

 

[Kouin]

Kouin stood there in pure silence. He listened as Haruka attempted to make her pleas of staying the execution, but once you make your bed you must sleep in it. He was lucky though, he was given a second chance unlike Haruka. He couldn't help but feel no remorse; he didn't know her, but he heard of her exploits. How she manipulated multiple members to do her bidding, it was sickening. Kouin did everything himself, he didn't require outside help to get his point across, just his own two hands.

And finally silence befell the late Raikage, and a pool of blood began to stain the ground below them; That could have been me.... The thought of him being in Haruka's position was horrifying. Though here he was still alive, he would have to make every second count, lest he will end up just like Shima Haruka, which would be a terrible fate.

The prayer the priest spoke was odd and obscure, never in his life had he heard that prayer before. And what is up with the Sic Semper Tyrannis? Sounds like someone wanting to overthrow the government, but that would be ridiculous. I suppose this will be my fate too if I am to fail? The air nearly left his lungs as the word themselves were breath taking. He took in as deep as a breath as he could, and look Saito in the eye, Now where do we go from here? There might be other people who share Haruka's ideology, and try what she did again. It is a strong possibility that her supporters might cause an uprising, but they had a more resourceful position lucky. But with the disappearance of Titan, plans might fall through, he would turn and leave; Farewell Saito-sama.

[Topic left]

 

[Junan]

Song Dedicated to Haruka​

He nodded to the priest who took the body, accepting the word of the church in this regard. It was after all a very high authority, and Akira had his beliefs. Her body was to be honoured, not desecrated. No, it would be her memory which Akira would go about making sure was tarnished from this point on. When he had finished with her she would be naught but a footnote in the history books, nothing but a murderer, a dishonour to her clan, a black mark on the village in which she served.

All the good she had done, and she had done good, would vanish for generations to come. The only memory of her would be of the woman who set about murdering a peaceful man, a leader who would rather die than take a life, even if it were the life of his murderer. Of someone too weak to recognize the strength that her victim had to be capable of such a feat.

Akira nodded also to Ayumu as he parted. Its worth is that the village knows that actions have consequences and know that we will act appropriately. He looked at Kouin after he said it. After all, they had seen a man break into the village, kill ANBU, and then be given the Senninship. Though there had been little noise about it he was sure that a level of distrust had settled due to that. This action would show them that he was not as forgiving as Shin, that those who faced him would feel his wrath. And in a way that would bring them feelings of comfort, and safety.

Ayumu left, and Kouin spoke his mind.

This is your fate if you discard your word. If you do as you swore you will be fine, even the ANBU will forgive, and when they do that you will truly be their leader, and have loyalty like perhaps you have never had before.

Kouin then asked about what to do from there.

Some will, but if they truly share her ideology they will know why she had to die. It's those who are so weak that they cannot understand that this is the truth who we need to be careful of. And those who cannot see that will be only of a level which we can deal with easily, for they are the type who will openly state their intended actions believing themselves to be doing good, when they are simply too weak minded to understand that the person they followed failed them and the village.

Kouin gave his farewell, and Akira left. Taking a snapshot of that day. A memory he would keep with him for all days. The day when the murderer of his friends died by his hand.

[topic left - Snapshot jutsu slot 1 used]