Care for a cup of tea? [ Ruka]

Age : 37 Posts : 2201

RESIGNATION: A small, cosy little tea house resting snugly at the side of a road in the middle of a hillside wouldn't seem like a big attraction. Perhaps one or two persons would pass by every week, and not everybody would even stop for refreshments. However on this particular day, the small establishment would be attracting attention from very special guests.

The sun was already high on the sky when the clothing covering the front door was pushed to the side. Inside walked a person whom was wearing a black coat which was zipped up. A hood was covering the head and most of the face of this person, but upon this hood rested a pair of super cute cat ears. Upon first (and very quick) glance, nothing would seem very out of place with this shadowy individual whom walked soundlessly into the tea house before taking a seat in the very farthest corner. However upon closer inspection one would have noticed pretty quickly that this was indeed a female whom had just entered the residence. The not-so-thick coat did little after all to diminish the impressive bosom size, the narrow waist and rounded hips. From underneath the hood one would also be able to see wisps of hair of an unbelievably bright red colour.

Just after the mysterious person had taken a seat, so did the owner of the tea house hurry to her side. He was an elderly male whom had owned the establishment for many years and never had any troubles with his customers. This new appearance however seemed to make him feel at quite the unease. With a soft voice he asked what she would like, and with an equally soft voice she would answer. The older man bowed slightly and went towards the kitchen where he would be preparing her order.

Kirima did not relax even when he was gone from sight. Her shoulders remained stiff and the hood remained on her head. She was tired, so tired. This trip had sucked out the energy from her veins. The encounter with Gouka had been horrendous. She remembered now, oh did she remember. She remembered why she had left, she remembered just who Gouka had been to her. She also remembered the boy she had loved... the boy that had killed himself in front of her. Her hand which rested upon the table started trembling slightly, not stopping even when Kirima squeezed it tightly into a fist. Some things were still blurry, she couldn't remember all of her life just like that. Only the incidents which had Gouka involved with them had been retrieved, but it had been enough for the female to wish that she'd never remember more.

A shaky breath left her mouth as she tried to regain some sort of composure. Tears were threatening to spill from her eyes which were still hidden from view underneath the hood, but the female held them back. She had confirmed already that she was not the only visitor to this tea house. There were some dark corners there, but sitting at the most obvious place in the middle of the tea house, were two guys that seemed a bit too interested in her presence. Her lips were bit together as she waited impatiently for her tea to arrive. Already was she starting to regret having come in there. The young female didn't look to see if anyone else despite those two guys was in there as well, their presence was the only one which was making her feel uneasy after all.

The old man returned with a small, polite smile on his wrinkly face. He placed the cup in front of her, and just before he could retreat, had she placed the money in his hand. Her movement had been so smooth and so sudden that the man hadn't even noticed that he held money in his hand before he was already on his way back. An eerie chill went down his back as he glanced back towards the table with that shady guest. He could only hope that no trouble would be rising from her presence.

Thanks to the Cat residing within Kirima, she had the blessing | curse of enhanced senses, and now as she concentrated and closed her eyes; she could hear the murmuring of the two men. A few words reached her ears, of course it was all perverted and nothing she wanted to hear - but it made her feel a bit more at ease since it didn't seem like they knew exactly who she was. Her eyes snapped open however as she heard chairs sliding across the floor and approaching footsteps. Apparently the fools had decided to try their moves on her - and they really couldn't have picked a worse day for that. One of the two was a tall and slender guy with dirty blonde hair and a black eye patch. His face was handsome enough, although he could have used some shaving. The one visible eye was icy blue and it held no good intentions. His comrade was a few inches shorter but much sturdier in build. His hair was as black as a raven's wing, and his eyes seemed to be rich brown - almost at the verge of being crimson. His face was more rugged than that of Mr. Blonde's, but he was handsome as well. Both of them were probably very experienced flirters whom had left many women crying behind. They reached Kirima's table in just a few short steps, before they were both looming over her and leering down at the female.

"Hey honey, you travelin' alone?"

Mr. Blonde decided to 'break the ice' with the all too stupid question. It should have been pretty damn obvious that she was indeed alone. His voice was just as sleazy as his face was, and Kirima did not even think about answering him, but instead calmly grabbed her cup of tea and sipped on the warm liquid. The mild taste of mint would have been very relaxing in any other situation. However, two horny males hovering over her and invading her personal bubble left the young female with a very slim chance of relaxation. Mr. Black laughed loudly at her silence and slapped his partner on the shoulder.

"HAH, look' like she's ignorin' you! Maybe I shoul' try mah charms?"

The young female could almost smell the blonde male's anger as he brushed his friend's hand off of his shoulder.

"Shu'up. Hey, I'm talkin' to ya bitch!"

He leaned closer to Kirima, thinking that perhaps she hadn't properly heard him before. The foul odour of his unwashed body seriously offended her delicate nose, causing her to turn her head a bit to the other side. Perhaps he saw the disgusted wrinkle of her nose, or maybe that gesture of her turning her head was enough to make him snap... either way, in a matter of seconds, the blonde guy was done reaching forward and grabbing harshly onto the collar of Kirima's coat. The strong man literally pulled the smaller female up from the seat and held her in the air only on the collar of her coat, leaving her feet dangling in the air. In the process of that violent yanking | grabbing movement, the hood of the coat fell off her head and the red hair spilled free down her shoulders and framed her delicate face.

Whilst Mr. Black whistled and hooted at the sight of such a beautiful face, his partner blanched. Kirima hadn't moved a single muscle, only allowing herself to be man-handled like that. But instead of looking scared or a bit timid as both the males had been wanting her to be; she only looked with an eerie calm expression back at Mr. Blonde. Within her sapphire blue eyes burned a flame, a terrible flame - and as she looked into that icy blue eye of his, the man couldn't help but feel that he was done locking himself in a stare with death itself.

The cup was still in her hand which hung limply at her side, the contents done being spilled out. Her hand was curled firmly around the cup which was made of thick and traditional clay, and with each second that passed, her grip got tighter until small cracks were forming in the cup. Nobody moved or said anything. Even Mr. Black was done with the hooting and cheering as he looked from her and to his friend. Sweat was starting to spill down Mr. Blonde's face as he couldn't break free from that stare and he couldn't seem to be able to let go either.

Was this his day to die?

Spoiler:

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

Back when Mana was staying in Kirigakure with hopes to establish peace between Konoha and Kiri some people thought that she was abusing the village, leeching the village funds away and just staying in a shiny hotel, dining in the finest places and surrounded by only the most elite company. In reality she risked her life fighting the scum that was Kirigakure‘s to deal with and the only reward she got for it was being labeled "Witch" and named public enemy and threat to Kirigakure‘s safety. She even got involved in Mizukage‘s personal assassination mission just to get on his good side...

While in her heart the magician knew she was in the right, it still hurt her young and kind heart. She loved everyone without looking at their headband and strived to protect everyone in danger. That was the very reason why Mana was even in Kumogakure. For the reason of not looking like a leech-lady preying on the public funds the young woman was working day and night on the Parabrahma case. She knew so much about the organization, what they were up to and what was their endgame but one key thing that she didn’t know was when they would strike.

That made all the difference in the world actually and finally Mana got a possible hint. She tracked down an old “friend” who moved to Kumogakure after his boss was detained by Mana. He wasn’t really a dangerous fellow, just a slimy weasel but somehow he was involved with the Parabrahma and the magician had the connection to prove it. He was contacted by one of the known members prior to their departure from the village and he was the one who introduced Kijin, the only beaten and captured member of the organization, to the Parabrahma, or at least so the intel received from Konoha claimed.

For those reasons Konoha’s Sorceress was now roaming the Lightning Country in search for the slimy weasel in order to get information from him. It was quite likely that he was afraid of Mana to death, she actually broke his arm when she took his master – Yoruma Yoshiaki down back during her Kirigakure visit. He and the rest of the world without a doubt knew who she was just by getting a mere sight of her which made things a bit more difficult – Mana had to sneak around and avoid the main pathways so that she isn’t spotted wandering around the area.

It wasn’t that tough cracking down on the man in question, the magician just had to land from the branch above the meeting and elbow him in the gut. The man collapsed without any air in his lungs and desperately tried to not die somehow, there was no chance of that happening to be honest, Mana wasn’t nearly that strong for that to have caused any real damage. The magician playfully looked at the person her weasel was meeting with, the man raised his hands in the air and walked away. “Parabrahma… When?” the magician gripped around the man’s throat, her palm was neither big enough for a complete grasp nor strong enough to take the air away but the man understood the gesture.

Having received the information from the man Mana turned around to leave him. He wasn’t really doing anything wrong and she no longer dealt with street level crime. Somehow after one street level fellow murdered her mother in front of the magician the young lady lost any mood for it. “Don’t you got a technique for just reading my mind?” the man huffed out gasping on the ground. “Sorry, I forgot…” Mana cracked a grin at him, of course she didn’t forget her genjutsu interrogation skills but a slimy fellow like him just didn’t really deserve that treatment.

Suddenly the magician’s eyes shot wide open, it was a huge explosion of chakra, bigger and brighter even than her own! Mana has never even met a person with larger chakra reserve, especially not someone with such unique signature. “This can’t be Parabrahma, that weasel told me they’re still planning and won’t move until at least a couple more months… Still, it’s so huge that I have to check it out.” the magician didn’t really feel too happy about being pulled out of her duty for this but where a chakra like this was, trouble followed. Most people with strength didn’t know how to restrain themselves and just let everyone in their path get hurt.

The young woman rushed to the location as fast as she could, this really was none of her business. What if this was just a Kumogakure ninja? No. Kumogakure has no ninja like that, even Kumogakure chuunin and jounin that the magician has met don’t reach even half of her chakra level, this one… This one exceeds it by a margin. Fixing on to the location the magician had to restrain her sensory a little bit, she could feel tentacles coming off of that signature, whoever was the owner of that signature was a sensor too, or at least felt like one. Mana had no interest in fighting this person but she had to make sure no one got hurt.

After breathing out calmly the Sorceress slowly entered the small teahouse. Her rather famous appearance and outfit attracted a lot of attention as usual. She was quite a famous individual both as an entertainer and as a ninja, a great bounty was placed on her head but there were few that wanted it. Firstly, trying to claim that bounty included fighting the “Konoha’s Sorceress”, also people all around the world liked her, claiming a bounty on such a person would’ve been considered “dirty money” and most dirtbags that had at least a bit of honor wanted nothing to do with it.

Mana approached the man holding someone up, that someone being the owner of the chakra signature, which was the opposite to what the magician what afraid of was happening. “This woman has a lot of power and yet she’s the one to be defended… Well well… Maybe I’ll make a friend instead of an enemy today.” The young Sennin put a hand on the shoulder of the man.

“I don’t think I need to tell you this but this lady is clearly inconvenienced with this, even a blockhead like you should see it at this point.”

“Who the fuck asked yo… “

The man tried to shoot something disrespectful back at Mana but he simply froze in place. The magician’s reputation spoke for itself, while the young woman being bullied here had probably much more destructive force than Mana did, the young kunoichi had an advantage of having a solid reputation. The man rather gently let go of his target of affections and turned around, it was obvious that he was ashamed by this but it was even more obvious that he wasn’t going to pick a fight with “Konoha’s Sorceress”, someone who had fame for fighting legendary ninja that threatened entire villages.

“Who the fuck told you you can just prance around other countries “making things right”!? One day someone is going to actually fucking kill you and then everyone will breathe calmer.”

The man yelled out right before leaving, his friend outright scared by the behavior of his fellow slapped him in the back of his head and both of the troublemakers bolted out of the teahouse, Mana could feel their signatures disappearing rather rapidly suggesting they were in quite the hurry to leave. The magician just sighed, while she tried to play the righteous lady the words of these men really did hurt her deep inside. Maybe that was just because in her heart she really was afraid of it, that people would actually enjoy her being dead, that she’s actually just an oppressor.

Mana looked at the tea in a form of a puddle on the floor. She smiled at the scary hooded lady with red hair and looked the owner.

“It seems the tea of this lady was spilt, could you please bring her and me whatever she was having, I’ll pay for it.”

After saying this the young kunoichi just sat down at the same table, something was really wrong inside of her, she kind of wanted to cry a bit and had to keep that feeling down. This was just like Kirigakure after all, Mana had no real obligations to be here, to save the Lightning Daimyo and yet she was, doing everything she can to just make the right impression, to help the locals out. And yet all they see is a foreigner who is stuffing their noses into other people’s business. Mana used to think that if she helped other people and people around her saw it they’d treat her as a hero and in terms be inspired to change. But instead what she got was both the people she helped and the people she stopped hating her together. How does one break through this hatred?

“I hope you don’t mind if I quickly have some tea here… I’m just not having the best of days, then again, I suppose yours is a bit worse…”

Mana asked the lady whom she saved those scumbags from. If things were allowed to escalate things may have gotten quite messy and the magician strived to protect everyone from death, no matter if they were dicks or not. That desire to protect came from her infinite love for everything around but sometimes, some people, were just harder to love than the others…

SCs:

Age : 37 Posts : 2201

FRIEND OR FOE: 'With great power comes great responsibility.'

Kirima hadn't felt it before now, this great source of power which was dwelling within her. It was like she was reaching her arm into a bottomless well, and this well was filled with her own strength that was boiling with potentials. It was overwhelming, thrilling, exciting and very frightening for the young woman to feel this. It was like she could simply implode any minute now from the sheer force within her very core - and it was the anger and raw emotions which triggered this all. She knew she could kill this man in the blink of an eye. Heck, she could obliterate this tea house and everyone inside of it in a matter of seconds. The mere thought of being able to snap someone's neck as easily as you would blink was nauseating to Kirima, especially since she found herself toying with the idea for just the smallest amount of time. Truly, she did not move a muscle out of fear of doing something reckless. She didn't want to kill or hurt anyone, and according to Atsu that was how she had always been. But would her new found memory along with her being introduced to her powers once again change Kirima's general perspective of life?

No... then I'd be done killing this bastard by now. I'm not evil. I'm not someone whom thrives on that which is bad. I'm just... I don't know what or who I am.

So she allowed herself to be held up by the collar of her coat and she allowed herself to be rudely remarked upon. It was though just a question of -when- her temper would manage to spring forth upon the surface. Had she been a fool for travelling alone? If Atsu had been with her now, he would have known what to do. From the looks of it, he seemed to know her better than she herself did. He would be done resolving this whole situation, and he would have been done getting her out of there before something terrible would happen. The churning feel of panic was rising in her stomach when suddenly she glanced to the side. It was strange but... she felt something. Like a presence of someone. It was like she was tasting something delicious, without actually tasting it with her mouth but rather with her ...consciousness. (However little sense that made to the female.) Someone was coming this way, someone with a large pool of... Chakra? She thought Atsu had called it for that name - the great source of power for all ninja.

It was difficult concentrating on this feeling when Kirima had no idea just how to concentrate her powers, but sure enough there came a new person into the tea house, and made her way towards Kirima and the two males. The red head's nose twitched slightly as she kept watching from the corner of her eye. This person smelled good. Her 'Chakra' tasted good and she smelled good. Automatically, Kirima wanted to get to know this female. Heck she wanted to stick around her and seek comfort from her presence. Am I truly that much of a baby just because I have lost most of my memories? The young woman mentally growled at herself whilst waiting on what would happen. She wasn't sure what to expect right now from this situation. Would this woman actually dare to intervene with the situation?

“I don’t think I need to tell you this but this lady is clearly inconvenienced with this, even a blockhead like you should see it at this point.”

As Kirima had expected, even the voice was comfortable to the ears. Each word held a degree of power, authority and confidence. This woman knew just what she was doing, and it seemed like she was no stranger to situations alike this one. She sounded very young though so it was strange for her to sound so experienced with life. Kirima missed out on what the male said at first, but suddenly she had been let go. Her body didn't move one bit still, but rather she observed what was to come. It seemed like the males were very uncertain of themselves now, and Mr. Blonde looked outright scared of that stranger whom was helping Kirima out. But before the males left, there were a few choice words to be thrown in the face of the black haired female:

“Who the fuck told you you can just prance around other countries “making things right”!? One day someone is going to actually fucking kill you and then everyone will breathe calmer.”

At this, Kirima's brows were drawn together on her forehead in a small frown of confusion. Was this woman someone well known? Some sort of a hero in this country? The sapphire coloured orbs travelled over the form of the woman, taking in the fact that she was rather flashy dressed and really beautiful. The dark hair was in perfect contrast to her light eyes, and she had a beautifully shaped face as well. So busy was the Jinchuuriki with inspecting the newcomer that she actually missed out on the moment when the men had left. And suddenly this woman was speaking out once more but this time it was directed towards the old man that had been hiding behind his counter.

“It seems the tea of this lady was spilt, could you please bring her and me whatever she was having, I’ll pay for it.”

Kirima's lips parted so that she could say 'no thanks', but no sound came out. She could only really stare at what was unfolding in front of her. Her tired brain seemed to be on the verge of giving up, and so when this strange woman sat down at the table - so did Kirima follow suit. However she was clearly on the guard, her eyes filled with suspicion as she looked the stranger over. Why had she been helped just now? Was this a trap? Had someone recognized her? Was this a ninja of Kumogakure, come here to apprehend her? As Kirima kept staring at the raven haired female, so did she notice the hint of sadness creeping into her eyes. The young Jinchuuriki cocked her head to the side with curiosity entering her gaze. So even 'heroes' could be affected by the words of scum. Her shoulders loosened up a little bit, but she was still just about as stiff as a spring ready to jump in the air.

“I hope you don’t mind if I quickly have some tea here… I’m just not having the best of days, then again, I suppose yours is a bit worse…”

Those words brought a wry smile to the red heads lips. She waited until the old man was done coming with a new serving of mint tea for both her and this female whom was her companion for the day, before she spoke out in a low and smooth voice.

"This day isn't much worse than any other."

Her slightly almond shaped and slanted eyes got peered a bit at the thought of all the shit which had been going on ever since she had woken up without her identity of herself.

"Thank you... for the help earlier. I didn't want to...-hm. It's refreshing to finally see a friendly face around these parts. It's a bit more of a hassle to travel alone that I would have thought, and Kumogakure really isn't what I had expected it to be. It would seem that these beautiful, yet harsh mountains, don't have many answers for anyone."

Kirima had wanted to say 'I didn't want to hurt them too much', but she decided to simply shift away from that topic. There was no way she'd want to sound like she was bragging about her strength, as that might result in a fight or questions arising. So she hoped that the woman wouldn't really notice the swift change of subject, or that she'd simply not care. She lifted her cup up and sipped slowly on the tea whilst pondering just what kind of a conversation to strike up with that woman. Obviously she would refrain from actually introducing herself, and if asked she'd be forced to lie - despite not liking that option either. It was a little unnerving sitting there without putting the hood back up, but the damage was done anyway. The woman had already seen her face and hair.

"It seems like they knew you. Yet I find it a bit difficult picturing you hanging out with the likes of them. I guess you must have some high reputation around here."

Despite not actually -asking- straight out, it was clear that she was curious just what this woman had done previously which had caused the two men to back off so easily.

Spoiler:

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

Mana felt a lot easier knowing that at least this lady appreciated what the magician had done. She didn’t hate her, didn’t call her names or shame her. She didn’t label her because of where she came from or because she placed it on herself to save and protect everyone. This probably had to be the only ever dangerous person who appreciated Mana protecting someone from them, usually it was the other way around. The redhead seemed to not mind the magician’s temporary company. Somehow in her heart the kunoichi thanked this hooded lady very genuinely. It was very kind of her to accept the young lady’s company after what those men did to her.

“I feel very sad if you think this way. I would really like to help you make your life better in any way I could but… I suppose those guys do have a point, I guess I’m a bit too nosey. Anyways, everyone deserves to have a good thing happening to them once in a while, if you’ve been on a bad streak, that means the good streak will be just that much greater…”

Mana smiled to the lady when she said that trying to look like she knew what she was talking about, trying to make that face her best friend Meiko always had when she spoke her heroic things. Basically that same face except with a face-wide smile was on the magician’s face, the young lady then wiped the early versions of what was supposed to be tears accumulating in her eyes. The words of those men really did get to her, as did words of everyone. Being open to other opinions was how Mana was and she couldn’t just completely ignore something said to her.

“It’s nothing. Helping people is just what I try to do. Please don’t take these guys as a representation of the Lightning Country, both the country and its people are kind and understanding if you just give them a chance. Most of them I met have this kindred warrior’s soul full of honor and righteousness in them. That's by no means a bad trait for a country to have…”

Mana looked down at the tea she was served and saw the steam still coming off of it, the magician didn’t really like drinking tea hot, she usually waited until it’s at least a bit softer and then just took it all in. Mana realized that she knew nothing of this woman or what she was doing in Kumogakure, she couldn’t have been in the Parabrahma though: the Sennin sensed all of their signatures back when they ambushed her. Whoever this young hooded lady was she had to just be someone passing by, she sounded like someone just passing by. Anyways, these men didn’t respect the lady’s privacy, Mana would’ve been presuming too much if she asked for more details of the woman’s identity.

“Yes, a lot of people know me. I’m a stage magician and a ninja, usually they only knew me as the first but… I guess I’ve saved enough people at some point for everyone to know. If there’s a bad person in this world, chances are they want me dead for something I’ve done to them. My name is Mana, I’m from Konohagakure and I’m just visiting Lightning Country on a quest to stop some bad people from killing their Daimyo. I suppose these men bullied you enough for one day, I won’t dig too deep into your name or your business. Only if you want to tell me anything, I’ll be glad to listen but don’t feel pressured or anything, I suppose both of us are just passing by.”

Mana really wanted to know this lady though, her gigantic chakra signature, it was almost like she had some other person inside of her, something evil and sinister. Kind of like Rukasu, the nukenin from the Fire Country. Finally her tea looked good enough for a taste, the magician grabbed the pot around with both hands and lifted it up to her lips, touching the liquid gently after taking a small whiff of it. There was something very odd about this woman, she just looked so lost, like something really wrong happened to her not too long ago. Once again, the magician wanted to know but she was afraid to ask.

“I can’t really say that I have a high reputation here… I think people really hate me for some reason, just like those men. They look at me as a foreigner diving into their business. I just wish that people wouldn’t care where I’m from, that they would just look at me for who I am or what I do. When I see the hatred that some people carry inside… I just don’t know how to help them fight that. People are OK with me being a magician but when I am a ninja and try to protect them they start to freak out, I think they’re… Afraid.”

Could they still be afraid of Mana? Why? If they knew all those stories about her, that she once prevented a war, saved her entire village so many times, why would they still be afraid of her after all of that?

“I know you don’t want to talk about that anymore, trust me, I’ve been in prison once so I know how uncomfortable it is when people touch you and are rude to you, but… Thanks for not hurting those men, they’re silly, sure, but they don’t define the people around those parts. Just like I don’t define the people in my village or my village doesn’t define me. I guess there’s something to be learned from all of this hatred and rudeness.”

Then Mana finally decided to change the subject for good, she meant what she said when she knew how unpleasant it was when people did rude things like that.

“This tea is really good, I’m kind of sad that it’s so far away from the village, I’d like to drink a cup every morning. I should really speak with the owner about him moving! Or maybe I’m not just used to a lot of teas, I don’t really drink that much of them…”

Mana laughed out trying to both cheer up herself and cheer this woman up, the best thing to do after an unpleasant experience like that was pretty much anything. Just talking about birds and bees helped one to forget these kind of things and at this point both the redhead and Mana needed some erasing to be done in their minds, both associated with those two rude men, sadly enough.

Age : 37 Posts : 2201

PEACE OF MIND: The young Jinchuuriki listened to the other woman as she started speaking. Kirima had never been good with making speeches or keeping up a small talk so she was glad that this stranger seemed comfortable with talking. It was strange how she would comment about wanting to help Kirima out without even knowing her. Were there really people that nice out there? And a good streak huh? Does she mean I'm supposed to now sit around and wait for the good stuff to happen? Kirima hid her soft sigh by sipping again on her warm tea. Yeah she wanted to believe that it was true, that good things really did come after the bad ones... however, it didn't seem like that was the case with her fuck - up of a life. She did however appreciate the nice words and her gaze was quick in softening as she relaxed a tad bit more.

“It’s nothing. Helping people is just what I try to do. Please don’t take these guys as a representation of the Lightning Country, both the country and its people are kind and understanding if you just give them a chance. Most of them I met have this kindred warrior’s soul full of honor and righteousness in them. That's by no means a bad trait for a country to have…”

This woman looks so strong, and she has a powerful aura... will I be able to be like her also one day? Even if she looks maybe a year or two younger than myself it seems like she has already learned how to control her own powers.... granted maybe they are a bit different than my 'deal'. Kirima refrained from commenting on this land and its people. She knew that good people were probably everywhere, but then so did bad people have to reside as well somewhere. Gouka... is he now a good person or not? She thought back on the very recent encounter, and pain stabbed through her chest. Maybe he was already back at the village now. Maybe he was done telling everybody about her presence. Chances were that she had little time to spare, yet here she was, sitting with a woman she had never met before... and drinking tea of all things. She honestly didn't expect Gouka to ever forgive her... yet it was tempting to hope.

“Yes, a lot of people know me. I’m a stage magician and a ninja, usually they only knew me as the first but… I guess I’ve saved enough people at some point for everyone to know. If there’s a bad person in this world, chances are they want me dead for something I’ve done to them. My name is Mana, I’m from Konohagakure and I’m just visiting Lightning Country on a quest to stop some bad people from killing their Daimyo. I suppose these men bullied you enough for one day, I won’t dig too deep into your name or your business. Only if you want to tell me anything, I’ll be glad to listen but don’t feel pressured or anything, I suppose both of us are just passing by.”

That sparked Kirima's interest and curiosity. A magician? As far as she could remember, she had never met one of those before. And she was not from Kumogakure but from Konohagakure. Interesting, very interesting. The young Jinchuuriki twirled the cup of tea in her hand as she continued listening. Despite knowing how rude it was not to introduce oneself, she still appreciated that woman's thought and gesture of not going to be asking Kirima anything of the personal stuff. So she replied softly and swiftly before going back to the listening role:

"I appreciate that."

It wasn't for sure if the raven haired woman had heard the words or not. Right now it seemed like she was lost in her own thoughts, and depressing thoughts at that. So people don't appreciate her? I guess that's to be expected. Jealousy is an ugly thing.

“This tea is really good, I’m kind of sad that it’s so far away from the village, I’d like to drink a cup every morning. I should really speak with the owner about him moving! Or maybe I’m not just used to a lot of teas, I don’t really drink that much of them…”

"This tea is very good."

Her short response cut through the air before silence fell over the two. Kirima waited for a few seconds, making sure that the other really was done with speaking. She wanted to make sure she wouldn't be butting in or interrupting the other.

"I don't know you at all, but you seem like a good person. At the end of the day it's the deed that matters but not what jealous people say about it. Every life you save should be enough to block out the ugly words."

Kirima paused and looked down into her drink. Somewhere at the back of her head there was a thought nagging at her. Like a tiny little thread of a memory fluttering by, waiting for her to grab onto it and pull with all of her might. Without even thinking about it, her words sprung out. She had managed to grasp a hold of that thread.

"You know I was told once that I was childish for not wanting to kill people. People have gotten angry at me, saying I'm throwing my own life away just so I can save others. Maybe I am childish for that kind of thinking, but then I'd rather be childish than do something that screams it's wrong to me. I ... desperately want to keep clinging to my human side."

Her words were very soft, it'd be very difficult for anyone but Mana to actually hear them. It was like Kirima almost didn't know herself what she was saying out loud so busy was she with trying to bring that memory back of the people which had lectured her. However, once again, as it did whenever she started to think or remember; the nasty pressure started building in her temple and made her head feel like it was filled with cotton. Sure enough she felt no pain, but this was really annoying and disturbing. With a troubled expression she rubbed lightly at her forehead and moved her fingers over to the still pink scar. Oh how she wished for it to disappear for good so she could simply remember and be on with her life.

"I'm sorry if I'm a bit off. I had an accident a few weeks ago. Lost my memory. I came back here looking for some answers, but now I don't know if I want to know anything any more. I've come to learn that I'm ... not someone I'm comfortable with being. I've had to wrap my mind around the fact that I've trained my entire life in order to become a ninja so that I can work as a weapon of mass destruction... I have nothing here any more. Or anywhere for that fact. My life revolves around fighting. Me, a person whom wouldn't want to hurt a fly. At any minute I can expect to be hunted down... how messed up is that?"

A bitter laughter escaped Kirima, but it turned into something like a hoarse chuckle | sob as a single tear formed in her eye and rolled down her smooth cheek. Everything -everything- the past month felt like it was coming crashing down at her now. Right at this moment it felt like her body and mind would simply crumble from underneath the pressure. However, she did not want that. Not here. Not now. Her pearly white teeth bit into her lower lip as Kirima stopped herself - she switched it off, tried to find the power off button for emotions. It'd be best not to get too upset around a stranger, and it'd also be best not to say too much.

Deciding she should also try to lighten the mood, the young female chuckled awkwardly after wiping very swiftly at her cheek, as she looked in the other woman's light blue eyes.

"Again, even if I don't know you, I can say for sure that the fact that many evil people want you dead or simply hate you can only speak highly of you. I can understand why they would feel afraid. When the shadow starts enveloping you, the light starts to feel too overwhelming - it's like trying to look directly into the sun. But don't take that to heart. Keep doing what you are doing. You are what other ninjas should aspire to be. You help people, you aren't scared of the evil. I respect that, I only wish I could have met you before... before everything. Maybe you could have helped me as well back then. I just happen to like nosey people."

A small smile curved her lips as her eyes looked Mana gently over. Surely if she had met a person like this woman before she had gone to that suicidal mission where she had gotten kidnapped, Kirima could have made many different choices. Her life could be a lot more different than it was now. She was nothing at the moment. Rootless. Without memory. Without anything.

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

This mysterious hooded woman just seemed to be sitting quietly, responding to some of Mana’s thoughts with a word or two at times. This behavior seemed a bit odd to the magician, even if she promised for the redhead to stop prying into her identity, the Sennin was still a bit interested in the story of the woman. She still wanted to know who she was, why she was hiding her identity and ultimately what were her goals. The kunoichi has burnt already quite painfully from letting a dangerous person go but for some reason this woman didn’t really remind of a dangerous person even if her chakra felt sinister.

“Can’t really judge a person by their chakra alone… Kiyomi’s chakra is dark but she’s a kind and good person, Rukasu’s chakra is getting more and more evil each time we meet but he wishes to redeem himself more and more the darker he gets…”

Somehow the magician managed to calm her wish to pry a bit down. This woman couldn’t have been an evil person, right? After all she didn’t hurt those men despite being in the right to do so, Mana would’ve probably taken them down hard if they came at her, of course she wouldn’t have let her chakra just leak like that when doing it. Just what was that chakra in this lady? Was she born like that? Did she belong to some sort of a clan? Mana had trained and meditated all of her life to achieve this powerful chakra signature and this lady just surpassed it for no explainable reason… How?!

Then the hooded mystery lady spoke up revealing to Mana that she wasn’t really sinister at all, despite how her chakra felt. She told Mana that in the end what she did defined her and not the opinion of her enemies about her. What she said made so much sense, why should the words of those she crossed define who she was? After all, weren’t those people the ones with the most reasons to hate her guts? If she defined herself by what they told she is she’d be the worst person ever… She’s not a “bitch” and she’s not “poking around other people’s business”. This lady made a fair point and it made the magician’s pain calm down a bit.

The red haired lady just kept talking on how people used to tell her how childish not killing people was, Mana’s eyes shot wide open as a smile of surprise covered her somewhat childish face. Despite going through maturity the face of the magician never lost those couple of childish features and at times people may have taken her for being several years younger than she actually was. Just like this woman, Mana was always looked down on and mocked and laughed at for her refusal to kill. The girl now wanted to know this woman who thought so similarly so much! Mana just wanted to be a friend of this woman, hang around with her a lot and talk every day.

Still, Mana was no longer a child so she held her desire to shriek out her childish glee. She heard everything that the woman had to say about her story. She didn’t have to share it with the magician if she didn’t feel like it and yet she did. That made the kunoichi really grateful for the trust that the mystery woman placed on her. This woman was so similar to the way that Mana was! She was just like an older version of the magician, one that had something really bad happening to her and it made her lose a lot of cheerfulness and joy. Maybe Mana also lost a lot of her own childish innocence after all those wild battles and all the losses.

“You can’t imagine how similar we are, Ms… In fact, your words are so kind and I’m so thankful that I wish we could’ve been friends. I mean… You are my friend, I’m ready to help you with anything you need and protect you with my life but… I think after this we will just part ways and probably never meet again and I don’t want that. Your words calmed me down and helped me so much… When my mother died… I started making up my own imaginary family because I had none… I guess you would’ve been my new mother in that family… I’m sorry if that sounds messed up just… I sometimes miss the people I’ve lost among the way and childish games like that help me forget the stakes at times…”

Mana sighed remembering everyone she lost among the way to where she sat now, that was pretty much everyone that has ever fought together with her: mother, father, a lot of officers in Shukuba and Konohagakure ninja who helped her protect the village so many times… Why was she the only one who always lived through it all? Why did people place so much hope in her? What was so special about her?

“You know, we’re actually pretty similar… I also don’t like fighting and I’d like to resolve everything peacefully, some of my greatest achievements were achieved by words and not fists or lightning bolts. And yet… I also keep finding myself fighting and what’s worse… Every time I live to see another day I know that nothing changed, every time I stop someone trying to kill someone I know that tomorrow I’ll fight an even stronger person trying to hurt even more people. I guess my own village subconsciously sees me as a weapon too, as a shield who stands in the way of the flames of destruction that come its way… I’m not saying I know how you feel but… I can somewhat begin to relate to that.”

Mana smiled kindly for the hooded woman and sipped some more of the tea, finally it was starting to chill up a bit. The young woman liked her tea a bit more chilly. She looked around at all the people in the tea house. Such a peaceful place was filled with people so sad and disappointed, running from something. Some ran from the village, from some problems chasing them. Some ran from their home towards the village, hoping to find a better place. This tea house meant to be a safe-haven for both kind of people and now the young lady understood the meaning of its location. It was supposed to bridge these people, bring them together over a cup of tea and make them see that perhaps running was not an option. This was a good location, it was a good idea of the owner…

“You know… I’m starting to feel really bad now. I really like you, Ms, I kind of wish that I would’ve been there when bad things happened to you. I kind of wish right now that I could have helped you somehow… I know it’s not really possible, whatever happened to you would’ve probably killed me while I was trying to help you, also the places I was in instead of where things were happening to you would’ve paid the price too but… I still feel sorry that I wasn’t there for you. That’s a price a hero must sometimes pay, seeing people they weren’t able to help because even they can’t be everywhere. Every time I choose one place over the other I have to accept the consequences of the place I’m not in suffering for my absence. Right now someone could attack my home village while I’m not there and people would die because I’m not there to help them… That hurts but I’m ready to face the wrath of their loved ones because I took this responsibility.”

Mana bowed her head to the young woman and smiled to her again.

“These evil men I’m trying to stop, there’s a fair chance that they’ll strike again in other countries and I’ll be there to stop them but… By now I’ve accepted that I may not survive every battle. I was glad to have met you today and spoken to you, you’ve opened my eyes on a lot of things and helped me a lot. You’ve taught me something that my parents should’ve taught me but couldn’t because they were taken away from me and I am really thankful for it. I wish only the best of luck to you from now on and I somehow want to be there to help you next time you’ll be in trouble.”

The magician finished her tea after those words. She still didn’t want to leave this woman, somehow she had slightly grown attached to her, as if she really was her mother in Mana’s imaginary family. “Let go of her, she’s not your mother… Let go. She’s just a traveler who wants to move on with her life.” The young woman closed her eyes and lowered her head, then raised her sorry face at the redhead and smiled with the tip of her lips.

“I’m sorry, Ms but… I know I finished my tea and all but… Can I stay here and if I'm not bothering you talk to you just a bit longer?”

Age : 37 Posts : 2201

THE TRUTH: Whilst taking another sip of her tea, Kirima took a look at that woman's face over the edge of her cup. The sapphire colored orbs didn't betray her thoughts as she wondered if things would keep going quietly and easily between the two of them. It would seem that her words had managed to pacify the other quite a bit. She at least seemed to have gotten rid of some stress from her pretty features. And strangely enough, the longer time Kirima spent chatting away the calmer she herself was also feeling. This girl is one of 'those' people after all. The ones you can talk to for hours to no end and feel like you have known each other for years, despite only just having met them. Her thought process was interrupted as the soft words of the tea companion reached her ears.

“You can’t imagine how similar we are, Ms… In fact, your words are so kind and I’m so thankful that I wish we could’ve been friends. I mean… You are my friend, I’m ready to help you with anything you need and protect you with my life but… I think after this we will just part ways and probably never meet again and I don’t want that. Your words calmed me down and helped me so much… ”

The older female smiled a crooked smile as she kept listening to the dark haired woman talk. She took in the information about her family and her fake family, and she could clearly hear the emotional tremor to that woman's voice as she shared that personal information with her. So even the heroes had to have their weaknesses as well as their childish nature. No matter how one would look at it, this girl was after all only a girl. Perhaps around 20 years old like Kirima herself, probably a bit younger. It was only to be expected that such a young female would find it difficult to deal with all the shit that followed the life of a ninja. Heck despite not having fully regained her memory of her life, Kirima could still understand that.

Next that magician started speaking of how similar they were. That was truly something that made the young Jinchuuriki rejoice. To hear that she was not alone with her ways. To actually find another person whom agreed with her way of thinking, someone whom would not judge her or tell her that she was weak. Did that mysterious female from Konoha even understand how she was making Kirima feel at this moment? Truly, the red head wanted to weep from joy. This encounter was like a bright ray of sunshine into her very bleak existence. So the words she spoke next were filled with warmth from the bottom of her heart. She wanted to let that female know that she too felt strongly about this encounter.

"Yeah I think we can call each other friends. Even after this very short encounter. And I wouldn't be so pessimistic as to say that we wont meet again. You are one of the few persons I'd actually like to meet every now and then. So if we both stay alive and have not been captured by anyone in the near future... we will definitely find each other again. I also hope you will be able to ask yourself and your village just who you are to them, and if they truly value you then the answer will not be that you are only a weapon to them. After all, anyone would be a fool not to see what a treasure you are."

Why am I so easily drawn in and saying these super personal things? And why do I feel so calm whilst doing it? I don't know if this woman is lying or not... but I still feel like I truly -do- know that she's telling the truth. I didn't think there was anyone like her out there anymore. It's like she just knows what to say to make me feel at ease.

Kirima paused her thoughts, allowed the other to keep speaking. She only sipped her tea slowly and let the words sink deep into her mind.

“These evil men I’m trying to stop, there’s a fair chance that they’ll strike again in other countries and I’ll be there to stop them but… By now I’ve accepted that I may not survive every battle. I was glad to have met you today and spoken to you, you’ve opened my eyes on a lot of things and helped me a lot. You’ve taught me something that my parents should’ve taught me but couldn’t because they were taken away from me and I am really thankful for it. I wish only the best of luck to you from now on and I somehow want to be there to help you next time you’ll be in trouble.”

What kind of people is she chasing after anyway? Kirima twirled the cup around on the table whilst she kept listening quietly. What this girl had said before though had certainly stirred something within the Jinchuuriki.

“I’m sorry, Ms but… I know I finished my tea and all but… Can I stay here and if I'm not bothering you talk to you just a bit longer?”

"Kirima. My name is Kirima. And I'd be happy to have you around for longer." A wide smile followed the words before Kirima spoke out softly again. "And I don't wish for you to feel bad over what happened in the past. Perhaps it was all just fate. Cruel fate at that. I might have been meant to become alone, that will probably be my role in this world. I'm not sure if someone...something like me has a place anywhere. People fear me. Fear what I can do. I also fear myself, now that I have learned the truth about what I am. So yes, perhaps it is for the best we did not meet up until now. Maybe you had seen me at moments where I had never wanted anyone seeing me."

She stopped and glanced over the place, taking in the now calm scenery, before she looked with sharp eyes at Mana again.

"I hope you can learn to live with what you do. You say you fear what will happen to your village when you are not there, but there is no way you can be in many places at the same time. You will only hurt yourself and tire yourself with those kind of worries. Your village survived before you were born, right?"

She sighed softly after that speech, while wondering if she had said the right thing or if she was perhaps butting too much into the other's business.

"I don't mean to make little of you or your village. I mean, truth be told I can understand how you are a huge asset to it. But at the same time you cannot keep feeling this torn. Rather, if you make a decision to go somewhere and help people then you must focus on that task only and fulfill it perfectly. There should be no regrets or worries. Because if you make a decision and follow it... doesn't that mean that deep down you know it's the right decision? You should be able to look deep within yourself and see that you are doing the best you can with what you have."

I wonder if ...

"Perhaps I can be of some assistance with your so called manhunt. If you can give me more information on these men you are hunting down? But you don't have to if you feel like it'd be none of my business. It's just the way I see it now, I will probably be travelling around a lot and never really have the chance to live anywhere without risking being caught. So I can just as easily gain information that can help your cause, and even perhaps help you out a bit so you wont have to face everything alone."

Oh boy, I probably speak like I'm some criminal. Talking about risking getting caught...

"Not that I've done anything bad or anything! It's just a matter of ... I don't know, a ninja code? I actually am a former Kumogakure ninja. And I came back here to try and seek answers so I can remember my past. Actually before I offer my assistance, then perhaps I should be completely truthful about who and what I really am. Perhaps once you've learned the truth, your thoughts about me might change a bit." Her gaze rested on the other female's face. Kirima wanted to know how she was going to react to what she was about to hear. It was time to see if there would be surprise, disgust, fear or even recognition to be displayed on the magician's face.

"I got kidnapped about two years ago by Kirigakure. And they convinced me to stay there after a bit of an ... ordeal. I can't remember much of what happened. I was told this by a ... friend whom is also from Kirigakure." The young woman bit her lower lip lightly as she thought of Atsu. Guilt coursed through her veins but she swiftly pushed it aside. This was no time to think about him. He was probably doing just fine.

"He also told me something rather disturbing about myself. The biggest reason for people trying to hunt me down. The very reason why I am sitting here now, while wondering if you are truly telling the truth or if you are here to capture me."

Her voice carried no malice nor accusation. The female was after all only being very honest about the situation. Her eyes scanned the room once more, before she leaned over the table and mouthed out the words. She honestly couldn't believe she was sharing this with someone she had met just a few minutes ago. But it was game time. Kirima was tired of always hiding and lying, and she truly felt like this woman could be a friend of hers. The best way to confirm such a thing was to be brutally honest, even when it could risk Kirima's life.

"I'm supposedly something that's called a Jinchuuriki."

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

It was quite surprising to hear this red haired woman calling Mana a friend so quickly. Not because the magician didn’t deserve it, didn’t expect it or didn’t return this title back. Rather it was so merely because it was so uncommon for one to be called a friend so soon. Mana was literally the only person that the magician had known to make attachments so soon, quite literally, everyone that this blackhead met was her friend and everyone she met was loved equally by her. To her everyone started out equal and their position only deteriorated once they hurt Mana or someone she loved.

The woman replied with great wisdom, her words implied that the redhead had some experience in life even if she may not have recalled all of it at that moment. She only had to use a fragment of that wisdom to speak to the magician and to connect to her and it left a pleasant impression for the young woman. This red haired mystery lady reminded Mana a lot of Kimiko – her sensei and an important figure in the magician’s life. Also this lady reminded the trickster a lot of her own mother.

Just like Mana’s mother this woman was able to speak only the right words, she was able to maintain this aura of coolness and wisdom about her and yet she didn’t tread by the edge of arrogance that commonly followed the first. This comparison brought a lot of sadness into the magician’s heart and there were multiple reasons for that. First one being that Mana’s mother was dead, killed by a madman who the magician had no chance of stopping, the other – the Sennin was now already past the phase of making her imaginary family, that went away at some point after Rukasu (her imaginary “Nii-san) betrayed her trust and killed someone.

Mana’s head lowered a bit, her hair slipped down onto the table and covered up her sad expression as she heard out what the woman had to say to her about wishing to meet her again and her having to clear it out what exactly did she meant to her home village. The girl just wanted to hug this woman and never let go of her, to just keep walking around her and forget this whole Parabrahma thing. Sometimes Mana had these temporary moments of weakness, sometimes she just wanted to give up and go home. It always went away when she remembered what’s at stake though. The young Sennin raised her head again.

“I’d really like to meet you again. I cannot imagine anyone really being able to capture you so I suppose I will have the tougher part of this promise but… I’ll do whatever it takes to survive until I meet you again. I already know what my village would tell me if I asked them who exactly I am to them, they already consider me their hero. According to them I have nothing else to prove, I’ve done everything that I took it upon myself to do according to my nindo…”

Mana looked at the bottom of her empty cup and wondered if she should get a refill. This tea was really good and this conversation was quite engaging, there could’ve been much use and even more pleasure in another cup but the magician just continued talking.

“The problem is that if they are right… Then that makes me wrong. My nindo is to make the world a better place by making people appreciate life more, to see the magic in the simple things around them and love them as I do. I have decided as a child to become a hero, someone people aspire to be like and are inspired by. Someone that would be heroic enough to make people change to become more like them so that once I become a hero they start appreciating life like I do… If they are right and I already am a hero… That means I was wrong. That means that even a hero cannot change the world, even a hero cannot make the world better than they found it because there is still so much evil and bad things happening to innocent people all around.”

Mana stopped talking, she wasn’t really sure if she was understood. Most people had trouble keeping up with her logic because of how weird of a kid she was. In her childhood days people tend to ridicule her over her strange and complicated way in which she saw the world so the magician wouldn’t have been overly offended if this mystery lady would also see the young woman as somewhat of an idiot. After all, most people believed that there was no such thing as a hero, those were the kind of people that doubted Mana’s word and her actions…

Finally the red haired woman decided to introduce herself as Kirima, she could’ve just as easily given Mana a fake name yet it never occurred to the Sennin. Mana had a nasty habit of trusting people, especially people who seemed to be nice and as wise as Kirima. Still, the trickster had to admit that she was troubled by what she had heard from Kirima: the woman appeared to believe in fate and admitted that people seem to be afraid of her power wherever she goes. Mana scratched her head a bit because she couldn’t really understand why that was the case – surely Kirima was crazy strong but… Why all the fear?

“I can’t say that I know that feeling… When I was young I was pretty weak compared to my peers and people kept mocking me even more because I chose not to kill people. By the time I acquired some amount of strength people had already started to respect me so they just were grateful of my strength and any newfound power that I acquired only made them feel warmer towards me because they felt like I’ll work that much harder to protect them. Maybe they’re only afraid of your strength because you yourself are afraid of it? Your chakra is the largest I’ve sensed by far but… There’s something strange with it.”

Mana took a brief pause just to let her thoughts get in order, this was a sensitive subject to talk about because seemingly it brought a lot of painful feelings to Kirima and the woman was someone that Mana respected greatly.

“I sensed some strange malevolence in your chakra which is weird because you’re not a bad person. My guess is that you’re running away from this power and who you really are, you’re one of those people who are afraid of that power. Perhaps once you face it and change that dark and repressed feeling of it by facing your demons that give it color and use it to their benefit people will learn to treasure that power just like they love mine… No… I’m sure that they will, only a fool hates someone that aids them.”

Mana already knew the next part that Kirima spoke about. She knew that there was no use for anyone if Mana was torn between her choices, if she lingered between two sides eventually both sides would end up dying. The magician was proud of what she was doing now, she trusted the proud and powerful ninja of her village with protecting it. Mana closed her eyes and tried to accept the truth and focus on what she was doing here and now just like Kirima told her. It was strange how much strange power this woman had over the magician, to the young woman Kirima really did relate to a motherly figure.

“I’m not sure if I’d feel comfortable having you snooping around. You’re a powerful ninja and you’re very kind, which is why your life is precious enough to me to wish to keep you out of that line of work. The men I am after call themselves the Parabrahma, they are an organization that seeks to change the world into a world of ninja supremacy over those without chakra manipulation. They have agents and ears everywhere and I imagine you have your own troubles to worry about. If you want to help I’d graciously accept it but I ask you to be cautious, they are not the kind of men to be taken lightly. They’ve set their goals on the Daimyo and the Kage and each member has about the same level of strength that the two of us do. They have the destructive force to blow away entire villages and they’re not afraid to use it…”

Mana stopped talking as she had noticed some people looking their way, they didn’t look like they were intending to deal with the two women since they certainly lacked the chakra level to do it, or a significant chakra signature in general. Still, it was a bit too sensitive to throw around common folk who would’ve sold this information for a pint of beer.

“In other words, I would not be against if you wished to help me with it, I just am cautious that it might be too much to have on your mind since you already look like you have plenty… All I ask of you is some consideration of your own safety.”

Mana concluded before hearing out the last part of Kirima’s confession. She had quite the story to tell with her being from Kumogakure originally and having been kidnapped and kept in Kirigakure. Something in the woman’s story just raised too many questions and Mana actually was starting to put it all together: this malicious chakra, people being afraid of her strength and this strange “everyone is after me” behavior. By the time that Kirima revealed that she was a Jinchuuriki Mana had already put it together. The young lady knew a bit of who those people were, as a high ranking official she was instructed of how important those people were to a village and that Konoha had one of their own. Of course Konoha would love if Mana kidnapped this woman but the thing was that the magician couldn’t have cared less about what the pencil pushers would have liked.

“Well… I am familiar with the concept, although I’d be rather glad if you took my word and realized that I have no intention of capturing you. I know that my word might not mean much to you, not yet at least. Anyways, if you think that it’s something that’ll make me be afraid of you or shun you I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. You have an amazing power inside of you, to decide whether it’s a gift or a curse is entirely up to you. Actually it makes the task of changing the opinion of those scared people much easier, all you have to do is to befriend an ancient, rage-filled tailed demon inside of you and work with them towards a positive goal.”

A thought occurred to Mana, the magician wasn’t sure of the proper mindset that the Jinchuuriki had as she had never spoken to one before but she wanted to ask something.

“Have you contacted your partner yet? I mean, do you guys know each other? I’ve read that a Jinchuuriki can contact their Bijuu through meditation, maybe your partner just feels lonely and hurt and that’s why its power feels so dark and that fear is what separates you two. You’re afraid of your own power and your partner feels betrayed by that fear because you’re the one person out of the entire world that’s supposed to understand them. If my only friend, the person I shared a body with was afraid of me and called me a “curse” I suppose I’d be acting up from time to time too…”

Mana couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.

“It’s a bit like a child… Isn’t it?”

Age : 37 Posts : 2201

RELIEF: Wow this girl really is burdened with some serious shit. In fact it looks like she has the weight of the entire world upon her shoulders. That's way too much for anyone to carry... it honestly makes me a little bit worried about her future. If she were to crack under that pressure...

She truly hoped that this female would never lose sight of her goals, and that she would never actually get driven to the ground and be unable to get up again. Such a strong and rightful spirit should be able to rise up to the sky after all. I'm sure she'll be fine. She'll figure things out. Figure out what is best for herself. Find a way to minimize the burden placed upon her. After all, she seems very young. I mean heck, my problems seem like they are out of this world so I can understand her mindset a bit. I can only hope I will also be able to figure everything out without losing my mind. Kirima couldn't say she knew what a 'nindo' was, but she could only guess that it was some sort of a guideline which ninjas lived by. Or maybe it was just something this girl had made up for herself? At this moment she regretted not having asked Atsu for more information regarding the ninja life. Every detail could have helped. But well she could keep learning on her own, perhaps it'd be even better that way. So her head would remain unclouded by anyone else's touch.

Not that she was suspicious of Atsu. That guy had been nothing but nice to her and had helped her out as much as he could. Yet again, she felt a slight twinge of guilt in her stomach for leaving him behind. But it had been needed. She had needed to go out and find her own answers. She couldn't lean onto another person for too long. If this world really was as harsh and cruel as it looked to be, she couldn't afford being weakened.

"I think it's a bit big of a vision to want one person to change the entire world on her own. A hero is after all only a human. I think you are doing just fine. There would be plenty more of evil doing if not for you, and even just one life that you manage to safe or change should be enough to tell you that you are on the right track. You are after all making the world a better place for many people, one step at a time. You are even right now inspiring a stranger you just met. Not something I'd consider an easy task, but you seem to have some amazing strength and resolution that can affect anyone in your path."

She smiled gently. Hoping to be of some help. Perhaps she didn't understand completely what the other meant, truly Kirima was no mind reader and she was hardly in the position to try and sound wise after all the shit she was going through, but she could at least just be honest about things. Maybe she'd get lucky and cheer the other one up. Maybe she could also inspire the dark haired female. And it was true after all; this pretty woman from Konoha was really having a great impact on Kirima. She knew that once this meeting would be over, her steps would be much lighter than when she had first entered this isolated coffee shop. And the red head was truly grateful for that.

She could feel already how her determination to seek out her memories had become stronger. The fear and hesitation were slowly but surely being driven out of her mind. Kirima had no time to sit here having a pity party when someone like this female in front of her was dedicating her life to saving the world! Even if the red head would never be able to retrieve the rest of her memories, she could still learn how to use her strength in order to help others out.

The Parabrahma...

Kirima made a note to remember that name. She'd perhaps not manage to help a lot, but perhaps with some luck she might track someone down or even just randomly hear something useful during her travelling. There was at least no question about the fact that she'd bring down anyone that was evil and was standing in the way of the young hero of Konoha.

"Don't worry. I'll be careful and not stick my nose somewhere it really doesn't belong. Truth be told I'd love some distraction from my own problems. I feel like it could be rather refreshing."

As Mana spoke of the issue that Kirima had brought up, her true identity, the young Jinchuuriki couldn't help but let out a breath of relief. There was no change in that magician's posture, her expression or anything about her. No surprise or fear. No disgust or anger. There was nothing out of the ordinary about her right then and there. Heck, Kirima could have just as easily told her that she had eaten bread with sausage that morning - the reaction would have probably been just about the same. Just what the heck were the chances of those two ever meeting and actually engaging in a conversation? Two powerful women of the ninja community, coming from two different villages but with almost the same mindset. Both of them feeling a bit lost in life, but managing to cheer each other up.

This was a one in a million type of a thing.

“Have you contacted your partner yet? I mean, do you guys know each other? I’ve read that a Jinchuuriki can contact their Bijuu through meditation, maybe your partner just feels lonely and hurt and that’s why its power feels so dark and that fear is what separates you two. You’re afraid of your own power and your partner feels betrayed by that fear because you’re the one person out of the entire world that’s supposed to understand them. If my only friend, the person I shared a body with was afraid of me and called me a “curse” I suppose I’d be acting up from time to time too…”

Kirima stilled at those words. Sure, it made sense. She had considered it herself a few times. Pondered about it at nights when she should be sleeping. Wondering over it as she walked through unknown terrains. But did a beast like the Nibi really think that way? Just how did the Bijuu even think to begin with? Did they have any opinion of humans? Did anything really bother them or upset them? It would have been a great help if Kirima had an access to a library or just anything with a great deal of information about those ancient creatures; but alas there was no such luck. It all came down to what she could remember herself, or information she could gather from those around her.

"I was told I seemed to have been able to communicate with the Nibi just fine before everything went downhill. I had been training under Her influences, I had conversations with Her. Sadly the person sharing the information knew little more about the matter. Which is sort of to be expected since he can't really peek into my mind after all. After the accident I had recently however there has been no contact at all. I haven't felt any connection with Her, haven't felt anything ... weird going on inside of me. So you may just be right... She might sense my hesitation and fear and decide therefore to let me be for now. I probably just have to suck it up and be an adult about it. Face my fears and all that. Face this Bijuu and just how it is a part of me."

It would probably not be as easy or simple as it sounded, but Kirima knew she had to try.

"Maybe I'll be able to do something in order to reach Her, if not just so that I can retrieve more of my memories. I really want to know after all if I have any family around here, or ... I don't know... I just want to know myself."

“It’s a bit like a child… Isn’t it?”

Kirima blinked slowly at those words before throwing her head slightly back and letting out a cheerful laughter. A child? That was certainly a ... strange thing to call a huge monster. After a few short seconds of laughing she wiped at her eyes and then grinned from ear to ear at the magician.

"I suppose that could be right. I hadn't thought of it that way. It certainly makes the Nibi seem way less scary."

The old man whom had previously given the two girls their tea came over just like on cue, and with an apologetic bow asked if they wanted a refill. Immediately, Kirima nodded - before they would check on what Mana thought about that. Either way, the man would either serve them both or only pour tea for Kirima before he'd leave again so that he could lurk from the shadows.

"So, what exactly is Konoha like? What's the country there like? Are you heading back there after your stay here?"

She blew softly on her warm drink as she waited on the reply. Sure enough she had very suddenly bombarded the other with random questions, but she truly did feel curious about the place where the magician came from. Perhaps ... maybe she could even check that place out for herself at some point.

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

It was very interesting talking to Kirima. There was just this feeling, this new experience when conversing with another person who didn’t just accept your ideas or outright deny them but bounced things back, poked her gently enough as if in to guide her to the ultimate answer. That of course implied that Kirima herself knew the answer which Mana deemed unlikely. The longer she carried on with her struggle to find the ultimate answer to all things the more she realized that there may not even be one. There is no one universal answer, just the answer that works for that particular person and keeps them going.

“Maybe that’s the basis of all conflicts, basis of all evil then? That there’s no universally accepted answer, no motto better than the rest of them… But then… That means?” Mana thought as she wanted to ask something, she waited for a brief second though, hesitated. Hesitation that was brought by mistrust in her own mind, she was currently wondering if the very core of her was as solid as the magician thought it having been. Kirima’s idea wasn’t quite a novelty to the magician but for some reason it hit pretty hard.

“Maybe my nindo is wrong, maybe I place too much on myself and blame myself for too many things… But I don’t think there’s one good answer to all questions, that there’s a perfect person who is so great that they can do anything. Maybe because there is no answer to all questions is the reason that there’s evil and conflict, because people’s ideals clash, each striving to prove that theirs is better than the other. But it’s a paradox then, isn’t it? We fight, we’re evil because we know there’s no ultimate answer so we push our answer to the top when we know that there is none and can be none. Then trying to stop violence is pointless because violence in itself is pointless… Sorry, I’ve went in way too deep, neither of us needs this right now.”

Mana spoke to Kirima about it for the sole reason that she viewed this woman as somewhat of a maternal figure, an older, more powerful and likely more experienced and wiser kunoichi. And yet… No matter how much experience one got, stopping violence was impossible. Mana knew it was, she had known all along, she lived her life knowing that her ultimate fate was failure. Then again, the magician was not one of those people who let imminent defeat stand in their way. When a wall stood in Mana’s way, even if that wall was impenetrable the girl would’ve just lowered her head and braced for impact.

The trickster felt really great about hearing that Kirima would look into the whole Parabrahma business if she felt like it, treat it as a distraction from her own problems. Only a woman as amazing as Kirima could treat the impending end of the world as a “distraction”, the redhead told Mana that the magician was in a way an inspiration to her but truth be told Mana was just as inspired by Kirima. If anything, knowing that people like Kirima, people who were just similar to Mana but older, wiser and better, made the magician wonder just where was her path headed to. It made the magician ask questions which was all that Mana’s life was based on.

It was interesting to talk to a Jinchuuriki, Mana had only heard of them before, heard from various sources: as a child when she read about this old legend she read about some “Bijuu”. Only later when Mana’s interest in history flourished did the girl learn what exactly that was, how it worked and learned of the people that wielded the Bijuu’s power inside of them. She has even heard that Konoha has some but she never met any of them. There were some all sorts of weird rules about those guys, as a Sennin the magician was supposed to guard them from leaving the village and so on, they were treated like the ultimate weapon.

There was a bit more weird part of interest that composed Mana’s feelings to these people. They were called “ultimate weapons”, treated like they were the most powerful kind of ninja and each village fought for their possession as proven by Kirima getting kidnapped at some point. Some part of Mana had always wondered how would she have ended up had she been from the Uchiha clan or a Jinchuuriki or someone important. Had she not been a blank slate of a ninja – no clan, no bloodline or significant abilities, average grades in the Academy. The fact that Katsumi Kimiko, the Sixth Hokage, even acknowledged Mana was a wonder of its own.

It was incredibly tough for the magician to place herself in Kirima’s shoes and imagine what she was going through, her ability to empathize with people was what often gave the young woman power but now there was nothing. Mana couldn’t possibly empathize with someone who was treated as the “ultimate” anything to be honest because she has never been seen by anyone that way. “But… Is that necessarily wrong? Is it a bad thing that I don’t know how Kirima-san feels? I suppose it’s impossible to know that without being a Jinchuuriki, maybe that’s why this meeting is so beneficial to the both of us, because we get new experiences…”

Mana indulged to her thoughts for almost too long and almost missed Kirima’s question. She only gently shook her head and thanked the old man for the offer to refill her cup. The woman was curious to know about Konoha and the Fire Country and the magician’s plans for the future. Just when Konoha was brought up it invited a strange lonely and nostalgic smile into the magician’s face and some blush to her cheeks. It was a weird feeling, remembering home, it never was supposed to be that special but… It was impossible to remember one’s home without also remembering everything associated with it, all the memories, all the experiences, one’s family and friends.

“It’s… Beautiful… I don’t know how to really describe it. Each country is beautiful in its own way but… To me it will always remain the best place in the world, not sure if it’s because I was born there or because of all the memories associated with that village. No matter where I go, part of me always stays there. I really hope that you one day get the chance to visit that place, it describes its own beauty far better than I can with my lousy speech abilities…” Mana laughed out.

“I’d wish to be able to come back some day, or at all…” Mana thought as her smile faded and her eyes became a bit depressed and void, longing for the days of past gone by. “Even if I stop the Parabrahma here in the Lightning Country they will still attempt to take out the other Daimyo, until all of them are defeated and all of the Daimyo are safe I cannot go home and who knows if I will even survive all of the battles ahead. I’m not perfect, no one is, I can’t dodge every attack and each one takes time off of my calendar. Then even if I do survive, I leaked some Konohagakure Protection Service information because I wanted Kumogakure to properly prepare for the incoming attack. Even if I do come back, it won’t be as a hero but as a traitor…”

Mana looked away for a moment. She had forgotten just what possibly awaited for her in the future, there were almost no chances that she’d ever return to the happy days of past, to peace. If the Parabrahma don’t kill her, the Ninja Tribunal will either imprison her for life or just straight out execute her.

Age : 37 Posts : 2201

THANKFUL: It seemed like the magician had a lot to think over. Kirima listened to her speak out her thoughts, her doubts of her own nindo. Yeah, a lot was happening inside of that pretty head. Well, in fact both of them had a shitload of things to ponder upon and wonder over for the next days ... or weeks even. This random, sort of accidental encounter, had turned into something entirely different than what Kirima had ever anticipated. She hadn't expected to meet someone random and have a heart on heart conversation. Especially not after everything that had happened in the past month or so. Today was just filled with wonders. Two young females coming together and soothing each other with calm and wise words, despite them being strangers and ... by the ninja laws; enemies. It was probably a once in a lifetime thing, and it seemed like both of them wanted to drag this moment out as long as they possibly could. Yet Kirima knew she couldn't stay much longer. She was on the run, after all. She was expecting people to burst into this coffee house any moment now; under the lead of Gouka.

Her childhood friend. Poor, broken, lost Gouka. Even if he hadn't lost his memory, it had seemed from everything that he was almost more 'fractured' emotionally than Kirima was. But there was no way she could fault him for that. Probably a lot of shit had been going down in his life, and he had just now gotten to know that his good old best friend (or former best friend) had not simply vanished or died. She had technically become an enemy of his. A target. Someone he was obligated to hunt down.

What a fucked up world this is.

She grabbed the cup with the freshly poured, steaming hot tea. Her fingertips did not sense the heat - her rough training through the years had made sure that her brain no longer responded to such trivial things such as a warm cup that would have made any other person want to drop it due to the stinging sensation in the fingertips. Instead, Kirima raised it up and drank of it. She surely could feel a great deal of warmth in her mouth, but it wasn't anything that hurt her. One sip, two sips, three long sips, before she placed the cup back down and kept listening to the dark haired woman in front of her.

It was... good hearing that woman describe her home country. Kirima could almost picture the beauty which was spoken of. But at the same time, she felt sadness in the pit of her stomach. This here, this was her home country. The place she had been born. This was supposed to be beautiful, captivating, breathtaking for her. Yet all the red haired Jinchuuriki felt was a sense of being trapped. Whenever she looked at those terrible, powerful, cold looking mountains; she felt like she had been ducked under icy cold water and had to hold her breath while her head felt like it was about to explode. Was this dread and panic just because she knew she was no longer welcome here? Or was it because of what had happened in the past? Those things Gouka had talked about. That incident in the cave. The death of Kirima's friend.

Whatever it was, she knew she couldn't stay here for too long. There was nothing here for her. Not at the moment at least. As she was right now, she was just way too weak and fragile. She couldn't deal with the things that were unfolding. Truly, the young female felt like a trapped and wounded beast that wanted to simply curl up in a corner and lick its wounds. Instead of pulling away from the magician though, Kirima only smiled and added softly a few words of her own before listening again.

"It sounds very nice."

So she fears going back, yet still craves for it. Kirima could sort of understand. Seeing everything that the young woman had shared with her, it was almost impossible to get away unscathed from that fuck up of a situation. What could she really do to assure that female that things would be alright? Wouldn't she be lying if she said everything would work out? Kirima couldn't possibly know if that was true. And seeing the grand of everything, it was indeed highly unlikely that the evil would be vanquished.

"After everything you've done for your village and people, I think they'd be idiots to treat you as anything but a hero."

That was the only true and honest thing Kirima could really say right now. She didn't want to be the annoying, way too optimistic, at the point of lying cheerful person that saw the bright side of everything. Yet she also felt like it was necessary for the magician to really know her own worth and realize just how much she had done for everybody around her.

"If there's anything wrong, ever, you can at least know you have a friend in me. I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to track me down if you ever need my assistance. And I really do mean what I say when I tell you that I want to help out, and help you get rid of those evil people."

She paused, before smiling slightly.

"I agree that nobody is perfect, and that's exactly why no one should think for one second they can judge someone as kind and just as yourself. Just don't over think this. Finish what you started, then go back there with your head held high. Just like you deserve. I can assure you, everybody are missing you right now. You are protecting them all, protecting that country you find so beautiful and amazing. If only every country and village had a person like you. Then perhaps things wouldn't be so messed up."

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

Mana could see that Kirima understood her situation, this woman was different from her friends but something in her attitude just made it feel like Kirima understood Mana better than the others. She didn’t slap Mana around yelling how fine everything was going to be, inside she understood just how messed up everything was and even had an event from her own life to help her relate to the magician. The young woman really wanted to see Kirima again, after all of this was over, after there was no looming threat in the horizon, when things were back to normal.

“I suppose you’re right, then again, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been punished for something good I’ve done…” Mana replied to Kiyomi’s accurate remark about how stupid it’d have been if people punished her saving the world by revealing some sensitive information for another village. Usually the right choices were the ones with the toughest consequences, with the highest price to pay in the long run, paid by the least likely people you’d expect. Mana may have been young but that she had learned very early on, somewhere between redirecting attention of every bandit in a house full of civilians to herself and running off to fight rampaging rage monster after nearly being squished by it previously.

“You know… My parents… When they were alive… I won’t forget that one thing they told to me one day, there was this huge accident and a building collapsed on me, I’m a pretty frail person and I don’t take rooftops going down on me that well so I came back home all covered in bandages and my own blood and smelling like a corpse… When they learned that I’m running out again because my mission wasn’t done… Father told me something, he told me how much it sucked being my parent because they had to punish me for being right, they had to punish me for saving people because I put my life in the line of fire… I suppose my return will be somewhat similar, then again, I’ve already been to prison for saving the world once…”

Mana giggled as this time nostalgia and ponderings about her future brought her some giggles and laughs, mostly because she wasn’t even sure she’d see that. It was like a soldier in a pool of blood with the enemy force advancing on them remembering his home and how his girlfriend would be mad at him when, truth be told, he most likely won’t even be back to see it. The certainty of bad things being on the way, whether in the hands of the Parabrahma or her own village, the very people she loved most of all, sort of made her bolder, it removed the need to fret – everything will go to shit either way, there was no need to worry about when. Just the need to accept it will.

“I am very grateful to hear you will remember me as a friend, I’m afraid I can’t say the same…” Mana started as she put her cup back on the table and stood up, she pushed her tiny chair away and walked a couple of steps before realizing how mean that sounded so she turned around and smiled for Kirima. “I was ready to give my life up for you when I met you, I’m afraid nothing really changed over our conversation and I’m a bit sad that I can’t reward your friendship with something more, sadly, without my life I don’t have much else to give. I’d love to see you some other time, hope things will be well for you.” the girl breathed out and went for the exit.

She had so much more to do and yet she wanted to stay and talk with this redhead woman most of all, Kirima was one of those people. Those wise and really amazing people who had only bad things happen to them and made her feel like a failure, Kirima was right, Mana couldn’t change the world, she wasn’t perfect. Ultimately she told the magician nothing new, nothing she didn’t know before. That didn’t mean that the magician will stop doing what she did, she’ll still do everything in her power to save everyone she could, she’ll defy every rule, every moral norm if she has to, she’ll speak with the enemy and do whatever it takes. Technically Mana was a traitor, technically Kirima was an enemy she should’ve captured, the problem was that to the magician there were no enemies. Even the people she fought against were not beyond redemption in her eyes and in this situation Kirima was not the one needing redemption, it was whichever bastard decided to put a price tag on her head…

[EXIT]

Age : 37 Posts : 2201

SEEING CLEARLY: Kirima listened once again to the dark haired magician. Listened without any input, only sat there and smiled slightly as she watched that young female's face light a bit up as she spoke of her parents again. This cruel ninja world had robbed so many of their parents. Was there really any family left that was unscathed? So in respect for the other, seeing how much she had to say about such important things, Kirima didn't say anything or do anything other than drinking her tea. Because she understood. Despite everything, she understood what was going on with the magician. Why she had departed with those final words. In return for the words and the gestures, Kirima would respond with a smile for the magician to see just before she would have left the coffee house. The two of them had shared a very special moment together, and only time could tell if this bond between them would stay intact.

"Yes, I would love to see you also again. Perhaps when we are both at a better place in our lives."

Her softly whispered words would not be heard by anyone but Kirima herself. Her gaze was locked onto the door which had closed behind the magician. Even as she took a few more sips of the tea, she kept looking at that door. She knew it was time now to get back on the road. No matter how tired or lost she felt, she had to keep moving. Stop for too long and you'd get yourself killed. She had no idea just how badly Gouka had taken her words, how hurt and angry he was feeling. Was he already back at the village, starting up a searching group for her? Or perhaps they were already on the move. What could she possibly know anyway? And didn't she deserve it? She had betrayed him and her village. She had betrayed everybody with her actions in the past. It didn't matter if she had never hurt anyone on purpose or killed anyone. It didn't matter if she had never fought against her village. Just the mere action of 'changing colors' was enough to make you a criminal on the run. There were no gray areas in the ninja world.

Am I just being selfish? Should I give up, turn myself in?

But even as she thought it over, the young female knew deep down that there was no way she could do that. She wanted to live. She wanted to be strong. She wanted to keep trying. Especially after she had met this strong female from Konoha. This young woman whom was seemingly standing alone against the whole world; yet still managed to be so bright and beautiful on the outside and inside. A true hero... something Kirima could probably never be. But maybe, just maybe, Kirima could help that hero out a bit. Perhaps her own dark past and current broken mental state could be mended a bit if she would help others. Why have such powers as she supposedly had, if she didn't use them for something good? Build up something for herself. Gain the trust of others, gain new friends... Gain a new life possibly.

Am I just being insane here ... or would that actually be possible? Do I really have another shot at this? It feels like I have already cheated death too many times, and fate as well. Just how many more chances can a person get at starting a new life?

She sighed to herself, placed some money on the table, and then got up. This tea had been good, the company even better; Kirima felt thankful she had stumbled into this cute little place. The tip she left the old man was generous, but she would have left him more if she could have. He was after all a brave old guy to live here alone with that business of his. Surely there were troubles every now and then, but it seemed like nothing would manage to ruin this place and the serenity it represented.

"So...now I go back to the road. Back to travelling around in hopes of finding more answers. Even if I cowardly told Gouka I didn't want to find the answers I had been looking for. God that was so stupid of me."

The heavy feeling of guilt crawled back into her stomach and mind, yet she shook it off with a fierce growl. She couldn't afford being distracted by that encounter of theirs. There were still things to do. Yet, she still wanted to see Gouka again despite his parting words. How he had sort of promised her that he'd 'take care' of her if they'd meet again. Even if she couldn't completely remember him from the past, she still felt like there were many things they needed to settle. If not just to honor the old friendship they had once had. Kirima walked with determined steps to the door, opened it up, looked with a small amount of sadness over that place once more; before leaving it. Maybe for good... maybe not.

When she was outside, she dragged in a good long breath of fresh air. I must keep going. I will keep going. And then I can return to... to what? A grim expression edged its way to her beautiful features as Kirima started walking. Yes indeed, what would she be returning to?

[Exit.]