Close To You [P | Travel]

Age : 29 Posts : 488

It is strange how easily lives can change, can alter; and all it takes is just a few seconds. How lives easily are joined only to part again after a while.

She stood up from the bed throwing the comforter side. A slight noise alarmed her and caused her to turn towards its source. Clothes had fallen to the ground, and they didn’t belong to her. She walked towards them and held them in her hands but she could not recognize them. Her eyes spotted a note with her name on it.

Close To You [P | Travel] 1m6si76erida7a2jatvvpqro461393187218

Opening it, words revealed themselves.

Close To You [P | Travel] 1m6si76erida7a2jatvvpqro461393187138

A smile crept across the red head’s face as the image that the name represented sprung into mind. She wasn’t alone and she was happy about that for once in her life. Recent training had pushed her to the limits of her mental capacities at least, for her physical capacities were far from depleted. Her psyche just had seemed so…destroyed that the moment Akihiko had shown up everything had gotten better, well, at least after a while. She was happier and she felt appreciated and respected, not because of the Bijuu inside her, but because of herself. For the first time in her life, she felt special and that she belonged somewhere. That she didn’t have to face this world alone anymore. That she had someone having her back at all times.

With the smile still in place, she looked closer at the piece of cloth in her hands. It was a white dress with a cherry pattern and a red belt. It was just her style, she was surprised how Akihiko had picked out such a dress; if it was him who had picked it of course, and not some employee of a boutique. She slipped into it, replacing a comfortable dress with the one of the hospital. She would have run off barefooted with a bag strapped on her back hadn’t she stumbled over some red heels. Heels. She looked at them confused. Was she supposed to wear those? Of course she had worn heels before but she found them rather unpractical for training or any activity really besides training and missions, which was her daily routine. She didn’t even own a pair. Until now. Eagerly she seated herself onto a chair and wore the red heels, closing their front. She stood up and looked at them. Exiting the hospital room she searched for a mirror and found a wall that was clad full body mirrors. She looked at herself, turning around uncountable times to see how she looked. She decided she liked this look. Her hair though, lying down as usual, bothered her. She took hairclips and a hairband. In a matter of seconds she did an updo hairstyle. She smiled; now she liked herself.

Exiting the hospital walking the heels like she had never done anything else in her life, she approached Akihiko who was busy talking to the coachman. Ophelia slightly coughed to make her presence known and stood there, looking at Akihiko. He turned around with a smile on his face, which quickly faded when he saw er. He struggled with words and just stood there, his face devoid of any expression. Ophelia grew worried and her smile faded as well s the thought crossed her mind that she didn’t look so great after all. “Does it look that bad?” she hesitantly asked, as her look lowered in shame. Akihiko realized that he was tearing her down even though he didn’t mean to do that. “No! No, of course not.” He said, shocked that he would think such a thing. “You, you look gorgeous.” He added as he reached out for her hand and let her into the coach. She seated herself on the beloudino red seats and watched Akihiko get in. “You got a coach to get us to Kiri?” she asked in disbelief. He chuckled. “I am a Prince after all, Ophelia.” He said and looked out the window. “O yes” she whispered, “forgive me, your highness.” She jokingly said, looking at him to see his reaction. He chuckled again.

“My Duchess.”

Age : 29 Posts : 488

She smiled at the sound of that familiar nickname. It sounded nice. They remained silent for the most of the trip, both of them thinking of what was laying ahead of them. Ophelia wasn’t worried at all about confronting the Mizukage, for the hate inside her had built up and threatened to spill over. She had realized that he and the council wanted her dead because she was a threat to the village; that was why she was granted such a long vacation, that was the reason why she was sent on that mission to capture Akihiko. They knew he was far superior for her to take on, and they probably hoped that he would kill her. Luckily Akihiko recognized her potential and shared her pain. She had found a companion, a friend for life, with a bond so deeper than any other she had had. And still it surprised her how little she actually knew about him, but how much it seemed he knew about her. Wasn’t it odd that he could guess her thoughts, that he understood her completely and accepted her just the way she was? How he could even choose clothes according to her taste? She looked down at the dress; it really was beautiful. Suddenly a thought crossed her mind. “We have to go back!” she said, panic in her eyes. Akihiko looked at her. “What’s wrong?” It seemed this was always the first question he would ask her whenever she was worried. Or whenever a conversation of theirs started. She looked out the window, worried. “My clothes- I left them back at the hotel!” she said and made a move to tell the coachman to turn around. Akihiko placed his hand on her shoulder and looked her deep into her eyes. “Ophelia.” He said and paused, getting her attention. “They’re back with our other things. I sent someone this morning to go and get them. Relax.”

She looked at him, petrified. “Y-you did?” he nodded. She sat back in relief. Why did she overreact like that, they were just some clothes. Maybe the reason behind her strange behavior was something different entirely. Akihiko turned around and directed his golden eyes towards the window, observing the rocky terrain. They still were in the Lightning Country, although far away from Kumogakure. He would certainly miss that place; but Kirigakure was no comparison to Kumo. It was his home, after all, and he longed to see it once again. He had longed to see his parents, his family, his house. His friends. There was not a single day that passed that he did not think about them, about how life may had been different, easier, had he not strived for higher honors and ranks. But that just wasn’t Akihiko. He always worked towards excellence because that was one constant in this world of uncertainty. He needed something he could strive towards, a goal, a purpose. Right now, that was Ophelia. There was no doubt in his mind that she was an extraordinary individual, gifted and cursed at the same time with this immense power inside her. He knew of course that taking on the Kage of a village wasn’t easy; not at all. And the girl had to do it alone, for it was her revenge, not his. She had been specific about that. She needed to do this, to ask the Mizukage why, why he wanted to kill her. Why, when he was responsible for her as a Kage, had he left her in the dark about her powers, and instead tried to get rid of her? Why did he never talk to her, why did he never approach her? Was he afraid of what he would see? Of what the girl might do to him if he said something wrong and upset her? For upsetting her was surely not a wise move, he could certify that much. It still didn’t make any sense to him, the way he tried to dispose of her. If he was in his place, he would have taken her by the hand and taught her things. How to control and wield this tremendous power, so she would be an asset to the village and not a threat.

“Who is the current Mizukage?” he asked her, looking at her with testing eyes. Ophelia looked at him for a second without saying anything but snapped out of it and moved, as if she had just woken up. “Uhm, Inoshi. Yamanaka.” She said, as if still in trance and paused for only a second to process her data. “Inoshi Yamanaka” she repeated again with more certainty. The male did not respond. He did not know him personally, but he had heard of him being on the council after he had killed the previous Kage. So he made it to Kage, hmm..Yamanaka…

“Yamanakas are mind workers and Genjutsu experts. You have to be really observant and careful around him. Also, he will probably say anything to save his ass so don’t trust him.” He paused for a few seconds. “Are you sure he wants you dead? Because if you’re not-” Ophelia’s offended face made him stop mid-sentence. “He sent me on a mission to capture an S ranked Shinobi who has killed a Kage. Are you serious? I would have been dead if the target was someone else than you.” She said still offended and a bit hurt that he was doubting her. Immediately Akihiko caught on, he seemed to understand her. “I don’t doubt you, I just want to be certain that you’re not going after the wrong people here.” He paused and looked at her as she avoided his eyes. “Hey,” he said as he touched her knee, “I don’t want to put you in unnecessary danger.” She looked at him and saw him smiling. She smiled back as she sighed, feeling bad now that she was making him feel bad. Oh what a mess.

“I know…I know. But it’s not only the Yamanaka. It’s the whole council. Why do they want me dead?” she asked and pulled out the mission paper, handing it Akihiko. He looked at it as he frowned in confusion. “This…this mission, these signatures…they belong to the council of my time…do you still have the same council when my friend ruled?” he asked her as he looked up. Ophelia just looked at him and couldn’t understand what he was saying. What difference did it make? Someone wanted her dead, and she would kill them first before they could. “Um, no, the council changes with every Kage unless the Kage picks the same people…but he picked his personal favourites and they’re all young, so…” she trailed off making her point clear. Akihiko closed his eyes. They would have almost targeted the wrong people. But now a worse realization hit him and terrified him. Since when did the old council have authority to give out missions? And since when did the Kage conspire with previous councils? Something wasn’t right in this picture. Forces of the past were emerging.

“The council that sent you this mission…is not the current council. It’s the council of my time. The current Kage must be working with them…”