Open Your Old Self Has Died

[Kaen]

Nothing of note, aside from the usual business, would be suspected at the pristinely kept facility known as the Omni Prime Medical Facility. The light droll seemed to envelope the very place. And as if irony had not had their fill for the day Kaen and Aki entered the scene. A fly on the wall would need to do a double take, wondering if they had accidentally stumbled upon the set of one of those cringy medical drama shows. Through a large revolving door Aki would be pushing Kaen, the wheelchair's back-left wheel incessantly squeaking. "And that's how I helped save Sunagakure." Aki, for better or worse, had been regaled in fine detail the chair-gripping valorousness Kaen exhibited during the battle of the wall.


[OOC - short post is short, wanted to at least get the ball rolling]

 

[Kaen]

Continued from here

Kaen would fall silent for a moment as Aki described the dismal state Lord Sousuke had undergone the days following the momentous event at the wall. Truth be told he wouldn't have been the only one who felt the sting of failure. Sunagakure had ultimately won that battle, but at what cost? A plethora of bodies, both friend and foe, had littered the crimson stained sand that expanded outwards from the gate. The enemy was comprised of abominable monsters that seemed to have no limits on supply. The Unbent had continually spewed out into the world above while Sunagakure was still recoiling from whatever previous encounter had befallen them most recently. Hell, most of the time they hadn't even rested or got medical attention before another Horde was upon them.

The pair of Sunan shinobi were given a room, a young woman informed the pair that a Dr. Luthor would be attending to them. Though beaten to a pulp his keen observing eyes could still read the room. It appeared, for whatever reason, that Aki found this Doctor Luthor distasteful. Even to the point where Aki's eyes felt almost weaponized as a metaphorical death (ray) glare was shot across the room. It prompted the woman to second guess the choice and informed the pair, a short time later, that they would be given someone else. Kaen was in no condition to be picky about who tended to his issues.

It was probably because this was the son of Lord Sousuke, whom had given Kaen a new chance at life here as well as other cherished opportunities n such. But Kaen found himself interested in this individual. The open admission to being interested in the Anbu Corps also held a bit of weight to this new found interest. "So what sort of responsibilities are you usually assigned to?" But his inquiry would go unanswered for now as new acquaintance held up his finger while responded to a call over his radio. Kaen's had been broken and lost in his last battle. In fact the majority of his equipment had been lost that day.

Tossing the idea of lacking equipment aside he would pay attention to what Aki was saying. Nosey perhaps? Maybe, but Anbu don't get very far in their career without picking up that sort of trade. Nefarious dealings, by the sounds of it. Aki, clearly intelligent, more assured seeing that his father is Sousuke, saw more than what whoever was on the other end of the line saw. There was a huge difference in skill when you looked at cases like this. Laziness, ineptitude, complacency, whatever the case may be. There will always be people like that, shinobi even, that make it harder for the real professionals to take care of business. Another 'fine' example just presented itself. And opportunity that Kaen would latch onto. He could use this.

Aki would quickly continue the conversation, easily setting aside the issues spoke of over the radio. A skill that Kaen could admire, emotional intelligence was a rare talent indeed. But all these ponderings would be abruptly cut short as Aki mentioned his adopted sister. Kaen knew little about Sousuke's children, all but one anyway, Teke... Kaen's body would tense up as he tried hard to bottle up the feelings inside. Kaen would avert his gaze to the open window, a few tears could slide down his dirty face. A trail of 'clean' could be seen where the tears had eroded a path down his face. He could hardly bear those memories of what transpired that day with his apprentices, Kanmuri and Teke. He was almost unsure how he himself made it out, but to his knowledge both of his apprentices never made it out and were lost to this world.

As he attempted to compose himself Aki would receive another call, mr. popular over here. The name spoken would cause Kaen's mind to explode with revelation-esk memories. He spun around to face Aki; "Mako?! She's alive? Heh, if that's all we need..." Kaen would pause a moment, looking to be in deep thought. His breathing changed a bit as he stared into the fluorescent light fixtures. Odd to be sure, but there was a method to this madness. A moment later Kaen would reach into one of his nostrils and pluck a few nose hairs. His face looked disgruntled, but the desired result was achieved. "AACHOOO! ... ... ... Ugh, that felt so good..." Kaen, folding up the hospital blanket he inadvertently used as tissue paper, would look to Aki. "Will that suffice for Lady Mako?"


[OOC - Marked for dojo [MFD]]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Aki held out the microphone awkwardly so that Kaen’s voice could carry into the device. He was also holding it out like it was something foul, and in a sense it was. Mako’s voice could be heard screaming from the headset. “TELL THAT SON OF A BITCH HE’D BETTER NOT BE DEAD. IF HE’S DEAD I AM GOING TO DIG HIS SORRY ASS OUT OF THE GRAVE --” Far more profanity continued in a seamless unfiltered mass. There was something to be said about booze, and fine tobacco. There was a long pause and the silence was deafening. The sneeze that Kaen was able to produce was being judged. “About. Damn. Time.” The rant present in her voice was gone. She was eerily calm and calculated now. “That will suffice. Good lad. I hope to see you in proper former in two weeks.” The call would come to an end. Aki would put away the head set after folding it up.



“And... that’s Granny Mako for you. She’s kind of hard to forget.... most times.” Aki would simply say as he finished putting the communication device away. He would would shake his head. There was a moment of emotion present before Mako called and broke it. Aki was somewhat better with emotions than his father in his day. He would silently mull things over. “Eh. You know ... while it is on the record that I am the son of Takahashi Sousuke, he is in fact not my father. My real mother ... was Sousuke’s first ward, my father I don’t talk about. My mother abandoned me but Sousuke looked after me like his son, along with Lady Sagasu Yume.” He paused for a moment. He made a shrugging gesture. “She returned to Sungakure recently, and I haven’t even seen her. Emotion is a funny thing like that. I’ve heard through various sources she came her with a child. Not sure if I should be angry with her for abandoning me, or coming back here after abandoning my father with another child.” Aki paused for a moment, “Life is a funny thing isn’t it? Emotion is a weird thing.” Aki would shrug for a moment. “Anyways let’s backtrack this conversation a bit shall we?.” Aki said with a smile.



“My responsibilities ... well ... I forge weapons and armour. Not as good as my dad does, but I’ve tried a few different things than he normally would. I’ve added leathers of exotic armours to try and add a bit more flexability.” Aki explained. “Dad has been away so I get a lot of visits from ANBU to forge them proper weapons, armour, and the likes. I do repairs for them too.” He explained. “I’ve got some field experience, but that’s a growing thing. Some detective work here and there, there’s a murder case I’m presently looking into ... giving a second insight so to speak.”

 

[Kaen]

"Thank you, I will recover quickly I'm sure." A light click could be heard signaling that Mako had ended the phone call. Sousuke's son would turn his attention fully back onto Kaen. Aki's feelings on Mako were spot on, Kaen would never forget that feisty ol' gal. The tone and flow of the conversation took an emotional turn as Aki gave Kaen a peek into his life. His first instincts were to reciprocate and expose an aspect of himself. But it would only make matters worse for Aki to hear it. He didn't need to know he had no father, save perhaps the small mentor like roll Sousuke had taken in his life. They shared some similarities in this aspect. But the mother, man. Now was definitely not the time to regale him with tales of when he was a small child and could do nothing as his mother was slaughtered before not only him, but his younger sister Kasen.

This would be something to revisit in the future should their paths continue to cross, which given their connection to Lord Sousuke the chances were quite high. "Mmm, yes. I'm very curious to see what Sousuke's other children do for a living. The differences between Sousuke and Lady Teke were... Numerous. But yes, tell me a little about you." Kaen would nod along as Aki described himself and what he did for a living. After overhearing bits of the conversation previous to the one with Mako, along with what Aki was describing, he was forming an idea that may be helpful. After all Aki did him a great service aiding him in the entrance back into the village, as well as helping straighten things out with Granny Mako.

With an inquisitive look Kaen would rub his chin with an audible 'hmm'. "Backpedaling a bit here, but your conversation earlier... You're deciding to look into whatever investigation is going on, at the farmhouse, alone. And it's because of insufficient resources..." Kaen would also recall other bits of what Aki had told him, specifically the portion about wanting to join the Anbu. It was becoming increasingly difficult to recruit people into the Corp given everything that's been going on. Most people just aren't up to the task or aren't willing to put themselves into dangerous situations on the regular. If he was Lord Sousuke's son, adopted or not, it was likely he might be capable enough, Teke surely was. Which was saying something given how unstable and veracious she had been in her younger days. "Would it be wise to go alone, to the location of your triple homicide? Me being me I have some strings to pull within the Anbu. I could see about having someone accompany you to assist in your investigation. It's the least I can do for your help today." This would a prime situation where Aki could be watched, analyzed so that he may be properly considered for initiation, should he truly wish it that was.

[OOC MFT]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Aki looked to the side, “Teke is not subtle. She is more likely to go break something six times in its face rather than … break in through the back door and do things stealthily. I mean it works … and it only works for so long until you find out that the first door you break down has like fourteen people with firearms… which you can only dodge so much.”[/i] Aki was not speaking from personal experience; he was just used to hearing stories. Aki was very much like his father in the sense that he was a good listener. Aki very much knew he was not gifted like his father was at his age. His father was an exceptionally intelligent person, but he had heard stories that his father’s intelligence came at the expense of his social skills. Aki liked to think he was somewhat better than his father in terms of social skills at his age, at the very least. Certainly Aki knew that he was not the smith his father was at his age either, but at the very least he was going to improve upon said skill over time.



Kaen began then to change the conversation to the case he was going to look over. He asked the young man if it was wise to go alone. Aki fell silent for a moment as he mulled things over in his head. Aki wasn’t a prideful person, and good help was always hard to find. He rubbed the palm of his hand with his thumb. “Alright. I’ll accept a helping hand. I have no intention of being the fourth homicide in all of this ill business.” There was no point in lone wolfing this one out. Anbu had to work together to accomplish a variety of goals be it investigation, intelligence, assassination or anything else of the likes. Kaen didn’t get this far himself he was always working alone. “If possible send someone with a strong stomach. I’ve had to … work on that myself. It’s not pleasant… but we live in an unpleasant world at times. We get the world we deserve.” Aki spoke pausing for a moment. It was something Mako said to him. Aki had spent quite some time mulling it over in his head. What it meant. Aki’s expression darkened. “Uh… that last bit is something Granny used to say to me from time to time. She sometimes has these moments of … profound one liners that … have me thinking deeper things.” Aki shrugged, “I’ve yet to figure it out because … some people get things easy and then you have people who never seem to get a break. Then you have … jackasses like the Daimyo who … you know… think themselves to be entitled to having the world. Then you get the Cabal who…” Aki stopped talking. The Cabal were years ago, but they had very much informed part of his view of the world when it came to criminals. Sometimes you just get to make a deal and walk away. Sometimes you just get to live the rest of your life in best condition one could have given the circumstances. “Anyone in mind to be my colleague in this?”

 

[Kaen]

“until you find out that the first door you break down has like fourteen people with firearms… which you can only dodge so much.”

Kaen's heart would have skipped a beat upon hearing this particular section. This guy was supremely intelligent in reading people and filling in the blanks of hear-say, rumors, and stories. Or he was extremely well informed, perhaps a bit of both? Kaen's curiosity was piqued, albeit riddled with suspicion. Had Sousuke placed him here intentionally to watch his pet Hybrid, or had Kaen truly stumbled upon buried treasure?

Whatever the case might be, Kaen's opinion on Aki was not complete. He had thoughts swirling already about this investigation. Not half a day back in Sunagakure, in barely functional condition and he was already hard at work. The gears of this village must continue to turn so that we may see the next page in this proverbial book of experiences.

Aki was well opinionated, perhaps a little grim around the edges. But Kaen was taking a liking to him already. Pray this wasn't some ploy to control him further. He upheld his end of the deal, no loss of soul could be blamed on this Hybrid, no sir! He would audibly hmm as he placed a hand under his chin. "I... will have to get back to you on that. I couldn't make any promises on who is actually available. You know how those anbu are, missions left and right." Kaen would laugh, perhaps a tad forced in some half-assed attempt to distract. But from what?

It was bad enough that he had allowed his old apprentices to know who he truly was. That stuff is fairly frowned upon. Then again Kaen never was one for sticking to the rulebook. "How much time can you give me, and where can I reach you when I have word?" So much work to do, so little time. He wouldn't dare imagine he would get much time to come up with something.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

“Missions left and right, and hopefully no botch assassinations. The alternative is that it goes down in the local paper which then becomes a PR nightmare for us.” He paused for a moment, Aki beneath his bandages frowned for a moment. “Not even my father could avoid the media when a trap was set for him. That’s the thing about a trap, you usually don’t know it’s a trap until it is sprung. That being said, it does look really funny when the trap falls apart.” Aki would join Kaen in the laugh. It was a solid attempt to make it seem like a more human moment for the two of them. The odd part was that of the two present, only one of them were a truly human. Aki had been told that Kaen was unique and one of a kind. Aki didn’t know the full ramifications of what it meant in the sense that Kaen was not quite fully human. Sousuke for good and for ill left out some details when it came to the inner workings of Sungakure. After the laugh, Aki would tug on the bandages around the lower part of his face and he would spend a moment straightening it up. This was one of the cool things he wanted to maintain about himself. People had to keep up appearances, and so this was part of Aki’s.

Kaen would ask him how much time he could be granted and where to reach him. Aki held up his hands and tried to do the thing his dad would do which was to make insane calculations in his head Aki was trying to do the math. He pressed his index and middle finger against his forehead. Factor in the rate of decay. Factor in the random chance of total crime scene botch. Carry the seven ... then divide by six. “Minimum two days, maximum four. Five and I’m asking for failure.” He answered. “I need the entire place tapped off and no interference. I then need a diversion and a media blackout. Of the two a media blackout is most effective because then I get to work free of having the narrative influenced or botched as a whole. Unfortunately even I can be biased or affected in what I can come up in my investigations if an outside force interferes with it. There’s been minimal media coverage. That is sheer luck on its own... but luck can only last for so long.” Aki explained. He would lower his hands from his thinking gesture. He would stare at the floor for a moment. He would explain things further to Kaen detailing how certain things work in his favour. “Taping off the murder scene is going to draw attention, which is what I need the diversion for. Middling to high profile weddings help out quite a bit, or some sporting event. A big profile return like yours is maybe what I need, but then again I don’t know how much on the low down you want to be. That’s a personal choice of yours.”[/color

 

[Kaen]

Detail oriented, this would be among the top descriptors for Aki should anyone ask. He had a far sharper mind then he initially led on, a trait he shared with his father Sousuke. Analytical, precise and bold enough to take charge when other's would shy away. Complacency and laziness had grown abundantly in this non-war faring age. Peace would inevitably lead to weak minded ninja, this is where their failure will fester until it's ready to spread like a cancerous wildfire. This is why Kaen needed to be strong, why Sungakure needed people like Aki. While others sit idly by, asking where the couch at, people like these two will be kicking ass and saving the world one mission at a time. "Done. All I need to do is make a few phone calls and I think we can make this work." For the remainder of their visit the pair would bounce ideas of one another for the specifics, opinions on what tactics may perform better, etc. It was rare for Kaen to take a liking to someone so quickly, Aki was a pretty cool guy.


[OOC topic left]