A Good Deed... Now What?

Age : 33 Posts : 510

People were being nice to the criminal because of what he did to save Kumo from destruction. He had not left the country nor did he hide from the people. However, word had gotten out about the good deed that he and the others had done and everyone just wanted to thank him. After the battle at the mountain, the criminal and the giant Snake had left the area for a talk. Kin, one of Rukasu's high ranked summon that he used for battles and such. Rukasu and Kin went to a hidden cave that was near a village.

"Rukasu why did you leave that women alive. I just don't understand. You are a cold-blooded killer. Now tell me why did you not kill her, or at least fed her body to me?" Kin asked, as he was so confused about everything that Rukasu had done back at the mission. It was insane to think that the criminal was getting soft but the giant snake never wanted to think that was going to happen.

Rukasu smiled knowing this was going to be a hard conversation to get by. He knew that Kin was not happy that Rukasu had made the decision not to kill the one person that cause everyone trouble. Rukasu felt that what he did was not something he would regret. He did not understand why he did what he did but he did it anyways. "I know that you have no understanding of what I have not done, but you must understand that I too don't understand why I did not do it. It must be that girl of peace. She has affected me in so many ways, and now I will do anything to protect her. I have this feeling that one day she will be the one to show the way and by this I mean to show me to great importance in this world." Rukasu said as he still knew he did not convince the snake and knew he better come up with a better explanation.

"Hahahaha don't you dare talk nonsense with me. I am disappointed in you. I am so tempted to kill you right now!" Kin said in a deep sinister voice. The giant snake was furious that he could taste the girl’s blood. The criminal just could not tell the giant snake how he felt about that girl even thought he might have over heard him from before but it was best not to say it again. "Well I have overstayed my welcome and now I will take my leave and let the Snake community know of your actions and how we are going to proceed with you. You will be hearing from us very soon." Kin laughed aloud as he disappeared leaving a cloud of smoke in its place.

The criminal smiled as he turned around and walked out of the cave. For now, his next location would be the village he passed earlier. In addition to the people that had seen him before he entered the secretive cave. The people clapped as they heard the details about the mission. It was strange that the people were clapping and cheering on the criminal. The criminal could not understand this emotion at all. This was something very different for the criminal; he just was not used to it all.

After he left the cave the criminal entered the village while the people looked at him and smiled while that all rushed towards him. Rukasu almost got defensive, as he did not know what to do. Little kids were asking him for a handshake and hugs. While grownups were thanking the criminal for his heroic duties. Rukasu could not believe how strange this was but he felt happy. The more people in this village that heard the news from people in other villages, the more Rukasu was getting attention. Still now, Rukasu did not know what to do and then out of nowhere some strange tailor grabbed him.

"Listen, you need a new look. Look at your clothing it is a mess." The tailor said as Rukasu was now completely confused on what was going to happen next. He did not even notice that his clothes were so dirty because of the fight and everything that had happen after that. The tailor dragged the criminal into the shop. After a few hours of measuring and sizing, the tailor went to start his job. Then in the next few hours, he came out with this new outfit and gave it to the criminal. Rukasu put on the new clothes and he was very pleased on how hard this tailor had work.

Looking at the mirror the criminal saw that his new outfit suited him more than his old one. In addition, it was time for a new outfit, because of how much he had grown. The criminal gave the tailor a lot of money and he was off. The criminal was wearing this long black trench coat and he put the hood over his head. It was different than the top hat but he did not mind it that much. This new look was sure to bring up the criminal's confidence. Now that the criminal was in town, whom will he see? Rukasu hoped that Mana was okay because he had heard nothing from the woman or the people he had worked with. Now Rukasu walked around in the village with his sensory on, just in case he sensed anyone nearby.

Rukasu's new outfit:
Note: I will post this new outfit in my appearance update when I can.

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

Traveling with a lethal disease slowly chipping away at one’s life wasn’t easy. Everything that the magician used to take for granted now came through pain and tough effort. Even something as elementary as walking forced the young woman to huff and pant and have to stop for rests once in a while. Having to sit down and rest once in an hour or two of walking seemed elementary to anyone but having things in mind it was quite different – this was the middle of nowhere, benches and seats didn’t come easily, the best that the Sennin could get was tough and heated by the Sun rocks.

At this point Mana wasn’t even sure where she was heading to - after interrogating Niku in her half-dead state she got multiple names of locations. Each of them probably was going to have a battle just like the one in Inari Mountains. That was the original plan at least, as far as Mana knew the unsuccessful manner in which the first battle went might have scared the leader of the organization off from carrying his plans out – he achieved nothing by sieging Inari safehouse. All of his members were beaten in the end and one of them was even interrogated.

One possible destination was Konoha, if Mana would have decided to choose shameful life of being called a traitor and pushed around by those she loved more than anything ever… Of course if she went to Konoha she could have lived in the long run – maybe she would’ve accepted for the Ayushi cell treatment which actually could have still healed her, but at the cost which was too great – the supply of the panacea being empty and there being no cells to heal anyone ever again. Mana would have rather died than chose life in the cost of someone else’s life, if all she had to do to make countless people live each year was to die then that wasn’t even a choice.

The other destination was Red Scorpion – that was the location that Hiruzen’s squad got from Yamanaka Tenma – a member of the Parabrahma. The chance that the next attack would be there was almost as great as chance that it wouldn’t be there. On one hand Red Scorpion was also one of the locations that Niku had in her mind, on the other hand, the fact that Tenma surrendered it willingly suggested that it was a trap of some sort – it may have just as easily been a way to lure bunch of forces to a location which had nothing special about it, it may have been a target later…

Then there was Okina Iwa, Mana only knew the name of the place and that it was in Tsuchi no Kuni. It was one of the many safehouses for travelling celebrities, it had guards that shifted daily and protected the location so it could’ve served not only as a nice pitstop during long travels but also as a place of shelter when one was attacked in a middle of travels. Every country had one of those, then again, there was just as much chance that it was the next location of attack as there was with Red Scorpion.

Another possible destination was Hogo no Shima, this one was problematic as Mana was despised in Kirigakure ever since this criminal called Shinjin framed her for bunch of things and made her one of the most hated people around. That being said, most people in Kirigakure were killed in the accident with the Bijuu but if any of them survived they still would’ve remembered the “Witch of Death”. Mana could only sigh in profound sadness as she thought about all that hatred, how was she supposed to help those people when they hated her like that? That place by far raised the most questions so Mana was the most hesitant to head there.

After thinking through her options the magician noticed a small village, it looked like it had some clothes shops. That was something that the kunoichi needed like air, ahead of her was the Snow Country – one of the coldest hells on Earth, she won’t make it with just her torn up top that she wore at the moment, she needed a cloak or a poncho or something like that. Mana still had the chills from the last time she went through half of the country half dead after fighting all of the Parabrahma at once.

Slowly the magician stumbled to the village, each step took a great amount of her stamina and breathing was still as tough as ever. One thing that the young woman didn’t quite like were all of the people – she was quite likely to be noticed and that was something she didn’t want. When she was noticed people started getting happy, they started asking her for autographs and just wanted to talk to her and that was not what Mana had decided to do. She decided to trample all of the reputation that she had acquired up to that moment in her life. After all, if everyone despised her they’d only be happier once she kicks the bucket for good and making everyone happy was all that the young woman wanted in her life.

Mana attempted to hide her face, every time she noticed someone looking her way the magician just turned her eyes away, tried to act as if she marveled the nearby homes or shops. Finally, the magician managed to get to the right district as the clothes shop was just in sight. The bad part was – Rukasu was there. It was a small building that had a needle and cloth poster – likely belonged to a tailor. The magician entered the building trying to not catch the attention of the young man. It would’ve been much better if she could use her Shingan and hadn’t lost the ability again. If that happened she’d have been able to avoid the young man entirely by just bypassing the town…

The magician tried to wait it out, hide behind counters and act extremely interested in dresses that were there, she couldn’t afford to get noti… “Oh, wait, you’re Sorceress right?!” a voice of a young female alerted Mana. The magician put a finger to her lips signaling that the young lady stayed quiet. “I’m not, now get out of my way before I make you think you’re a toad.” she replied trying to be hated. The young lady just laughed out. “Heh, that’s only something Lady Mana from Konoha can do! You ARE her! Hey, can you maybe sign this?”

Mana got annoyed, if she spoke any louder everyone in the damned district would know she was there, the magician’s hands flashed through bunch of handseals in less than a moment, it would’ve only been a blur for the young woman. Right after it she fell down on the floor and started croaking and crawling around like a toad. To her horror Mana noticed that everyone saw her, everyone started packing up and heading towards the door talking to each other, whispering degrading and offensive things. That was the burden Mana chose – to ruin her own life.

Slowly Mana approached to the tailor, she couldn’t really see Rukasu anywhere close but she did feel him somewhere in the crowd, either way, she lifted her chin up acting like an arrogant and snobby bitch. “I need you to make an outfit for me, you know the uniform I wear, also I shall need a cloak, a warm one, also, fix these clothes!” the woman pretty much ordered the tailor. Why was she sensing Rukasu being close but she couldn’t recognize him? Maybe he changed his clothes? Either way, even if he was close, the magician would’ve chose to ignore him. Even if it would’ve broken her heart to reject him and make his feelings hurt, it’d still be better than encouraging him only to see Mana pass. Maybe it was better if Rukasu hated her too and was happy once she died…

Spoiler:

Age : 33 Posts : 510

Before the criminal went outside he was looking at the mirror, this new outfit would make a great cover. The criminal knew that this was not the place to stay but his new outfit was able to provide great cover. It was not as if he hated it, he was just never used to it. At that, moment he wished Mana was here helping him out in stuff like that. The criminal did not know how to act, but he still could not believe that Mana, the woman he loved, told him that people would cheer for him. It was remarkable, and a bit embarrassing. The criminal felt cornered, as if they were going to attack him. However, that was not the case. Rukasu felt this feeling as if he still did not deserved any attention.

As the criminal admired his new look, while he did notice his hair get a bit longer. He did not know if he was going to get it cut or let it grow. Now he felt there were so many decisions to make and he did not know where to start. Rukasu suddenly felt something strange, as if his senses were picking up something familiar. He had his hood over his head to avoid people noticing him, because if the guy he met a while ago were there then there would be many problems. The criminal could not shale off this feeling, as if he knew that person. The criminal looked around but he did not see much from the crowd. Then he felt someone using chakra, and it was clear to him who the person was. She is the one person who saved him from his own destruction. She was that one person that would never give up even if there were too much against her.

Her name Mana was here in that same shop but something was clearly different. Still hidden, the criminal looked around as he notice a woman on the ground, but he did not care since it would seem like the work of Mana. Rukasu could not pinpoint the exact location until she made a little scene with the tailor. Her attitude was different, as if she did not care anymore. Rukasu could not believe that this was the same girl that he known for years. Rukasu was not stupid to know that he could already tell something was wrong with her, since she would never be so rude to anyone. Rukasu walked up slowly until he was directly behind her about two feet. He did not know if he should touch her to get her attention or just talk but he hoped that she would be listening.

Rukasu did not want to bring attention to them so he figured he could follow her out but then she would disappear if something were wrong. The criminal’s only chance was in the store where people were watching. Rukasu softly coughed as he knew she would hear it or at least not because of the people in the background. "Hello my dear friend, I know it has not been a while but I surely do miss you. I am going to ask you one question, why are you acting like this. I will kill you if you are an impostor. The lady I know is humble, kind, and full of peace." Rukasu said as he watched the back of Mana carefully. He was serious because if the Parabrahma wanted to they could impersonate Mana just to kill everyone that was on that mission. The criminal knew that would not be the case since but something was surely wrong.

Did she hear me; I wonder what is going with her now. Where is she going if they released her from the hospital recently? Does she really believe she is fit to go on another adventure? I must say that she is strong but I know she cannot do it alone. I hope she can give this quest a break, or at least get completely healthy. I know she a highly stubborn but there has to be a way to stop her because just by looking at her she is completely different from before the mission and now. This is not getting better as it would seem she is getting worse. What is wrong with her! Rukasu thought to himself as he looked at her trying to figure her out.

For some strange reason the people were watching the two, as they all were whispering to each other about the two. They were ignorant, as if they lives were boring and carried no meaningless. They were being way to noisy and Rukasu noticed but he was going to ignore it. Since he had been doing better about controlling his urges, the criminal just ignored them. Rukasu could kill them all right before her eyes but then again that would not prove a point so at that moment he felt that he had grown from what he was many years ago. Rukasu was proud of himself and at the same time, he knew that Mana was proud of him too. The criminal noticed that there was something wrong with her, so now he was going to see what was wrong because the way he felt about her was too much and there was no way that she could lie to him.

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

Just as expected Mana‘s daring approach without waiting to see Rukasu‘s chakra signature leave gave her a reaction. The criminal walked up behind her and spoke to her, granted he assumed that she was someone else impersonating her. That only served as a compliment to Mana’s acting abilities, it was hard initially because this wasn’t who she really was, it always hurt hurting people which was why she had to hide from everyone. All she had to do was make everyone spread the message that she’s a horrible person and then disappear. Then after handling the Parabrahma Mana would accept death when it came for her and the world would be happier because of it.

Still, for a moment the magician just kept standing, she had no idea just how exactly she was supposed to reply. She wanted to make Rukasu hate her, she wanted to be a bitch to him but he had to be absolutely certain that it was her. Mana’s sensory worked strange, she could still sense Rukasu’s signature and it was most certainly that of his but it wasn’t Shingan, it was different sensory, similar to the one she had before as the range closed down to quite a tight range.

“You wouldn’t know if I was full of peace or not. I was just playing with you the whole time, ever since we first met on that bridge. Who in their right mind would’ve actually been your friend?” Mana spoke as her entire body started to tremble. She still hasn’t learned to lie very well, her body gave off plenty reactions but that was to be expected having in mind the amount of emotional and physical pain that such words brought. “You were always just an idiot I played around with, a toy I kept around for company. Someone I used every step of the way. I should’ve put you down when you stepped out of line though…”

“Young lady, are you ok?” the tailor’s assistant asked her as the tailor went out to order her outfit and her warm clothes made. The man must’ve seen her trembling body and tears. “I’ll be back for the order later, if you guys aren’t done by the time I come back I’ll burn this place to the ground…” Mana grunted out as she didn’t want to show her tears, with a quick step she started rushing outside the shop. She could see all the people around looking at her weird, those looks were approaching to the point where they were afraid of her but also disliking her. At the moment they were only confused.

Mana never intended to come back, if she came back to the tailor house and by any chance her order wasn’t done she’d really have to burn it down because otherwise she’d risk being exposed as nothing but a fake. People would think there was something wrong and that she wasn’t a person worth hating. Mana’s body trembled from shock the whole time. The young woman only stopped by the point of the door. “I hate you… Don’t ever come close to me again or I’ll vomit until I die and I’ll die happy because I’ll know I won’t have to be around you for one more second…” her voice shot out in barely heard and trembling tone. Despite her weak tone everyone would have heard it because the shop remained silent.

The magician could hear the reactions of people, they were embracing their kids and turning them away from her, in just a moment a handful of people – entire small village would’ve hated and feared her. Mana used to be an idol for kids, a hero and a rolemodel but all that had to burn down to the ground if she wanted the world to be glad of her death when the time came. She had to do so much more and she didn’t even have the time to do it. With tears in her eyes Mana heard the first responses of some people after she left, only barely leaving a gap in the door.

“Was that the Sorceress?/ Yeah, it was… Who would’ve known… / I thought she was supposed to be a nice girl… / I dunno, she was so rude to that man, to all of us and the tailor. / What a despicable woman, why do people look up to her? / Would it help her not to be such a scary bitch? / Did you see her shake, I was worried she’d burn us all and my son, look at what she did to that young lady…” Mana sighed, this hatred and fear was something she had to live with now. It tore her apart to do this, she loved everyone in this world so hurting them to make them hate her was beyond painful.

With tears filling her eyes Mana dashed towards the exit of the village, people glared over her and got out of her way, one wouldn’t have been too smart to stand in a way of a young woman with crying eyes. The magician had no idea where she was going, for the first time in her life she had no purpose or destination, she just ran. She wasn’t running too fast, her disease and still aching wounds kept her from running at full pace but at least she could still keep a steady step. It was as her doctor had told her – she was lucky to have stayed alive up to now with the injuries she had sustained.

As the end of the village approached, where the last house bordered with the endless barren wasteland which lead straight to the Snow Country the young woman stopped to cough up some blood into her palm and wipe it to a hanky which was already covered with blood stains. “Don’t worry Rukasu, Meiko, Kiyomi, you guys just live, please live… I’ll handle everything… I’ll make it all alright again. I'll bring peace back for you.” Mana whispered under her own nose as she flipped the hanky over and wiped her own tears.

Age : 33 Posts : 510

Waiting for a response from this girl was something he did not imagine. What she said was something someone should never tell to an unstable criminal. Mana the girl Rukasu had fallen for had said something that destroyed him. What she said was, “You wouldn’t know if I was full of peace or not. I was just playing with you the whole time, ever since we first met on that bridge. Who in their right mind would’ve actually been your friend?” This made the criminal froze in his tracks. He could not believe it, his eyes widen as his hands were shaking. What was she doing, and why was she doing it? Rukasu could not believe that she was always like this. Where did this feeling come from, at that moment he felt betrayed and disgusted. The urge to kill was growing rapidly, as he watched the back of this girl. “You were always just an idiot I played around with, a toy I kept around for company. Someone I used every step of the way. I should’ve put you down when you stepped out of line though…” She said as the criminal rage grew, he could not believe that this girl was like that at all. He knew the real her as he noticed her trembling.

The criminal could not speak, because the shock froze his body. He just could not fathom that a girl like her would say something like that and hurt his feelings. This girl was stepping over the line, and that was something she should have never done. She told the man that she would be back for her clothing, as the criminal also notice that everyone around them were staring and whispering. Their ignorance was going to get them all killed. After she said that, she quickly rushed out of the building, but she stopped by the door. “I hate you… Don’t ever come close to me again or I’ll vomit until I die and I’ll die happy because I’ll know I won’t have to be around you for one more second…” She said aloud, and with this was the cherry on top of the ice cream. Now Rukasu was more than furious, he wanted to kill her so badly. She told him that everything she taught him was a lie and nothing more.

There is no way; I cannot believe this girl. What is wrong with her to say those things to me? I refuse to believe her but it hurts so badly. It feels like my heart has split in two. I will not be able to bear with this pain any longer, I need to find out the truth or let this rage consume me of the bullshit comments that came out of her mouth. Rukasu thought to himself, as he would not let anyone and not even her destroy what she had fixed.

With rage consuming him he yelled, "So the time we shared meant nothing to you!" as his black aura seeped out of his body rapidly. The power of insanity was coming back as a door slowly opened in his mind. His insanity was not completely out since his rage had consumed him. His face looked angry as if he was going through a chaotic episode and his passion he was going to find out his answers. Then what he heard next was something he would never want to hear in his whole lifetime.

“Was that the Sorceress?/ Yeah, it was… Who would’ve known… / I thought she was supposed to be a nice girl… / I dunno, she was so rude to that man, to all of us and the tailor. / What a despicable woman, why do people look up to her? / Would it help her not to be such a scary bitch? / Did you see her shake, I was worried she’d burn us all and my son, look at what she did to that young lady…” This was what the people were saying about Mana, and that was enough to set the criminal off into frenzy.

"EVERYONE LISTEN UP! IF I HEAR ONE MORE WORD COMING OUT OF YOUR MOUTHS ABOUT HER THAT ARE BAD. I WILL KILL YOU ALL! SHE IS A GREAT PERSON AND I DARE YOU TO SAY ONE MORE THING!" Rukasu yelled with an evil demonic voice that sent chills down the people's bodies. All frozen by fear, since they heard stories about Rukasu, the Snake King, the demon himself. However, they thought that he was cured and better than he used to be but they saw this black demon around the criminal so they stood their hoping that he would not do something crazy. With that, said Rukasu noticed that she ran out of the building heading towards the exit of the village. She was not running too quickly so this would not be a problem for the criminal to catch up.

Rukasu dashed out of the building leaving a cloud of smoke behind in the shop as the people were coughing up a storm. The criminal used his sensory to follow the girl. He was not that far behind then in the next few moments the girl stopped. Rukasu stopped about a few feet away from her, still looking at her back. Rukasu drew out his sword, his giant red sword that he had always trusted since the beginning. He took a few steps forward. "Listen Mana, I know you are lying to me. Those kisses on my cheek were not for show. They meant something and I know that you have feelings for me. There is no way in hell I am not going to let you leave without an explanation." Rukasu paused for only a second to take a deep breathe.

He was not going to let this girl out of his sight. He would be wrong to let her leave with the way she left things. The criminal was furious and he could not hold it much longer, as the black and red aura seeped out of his body still holding his rage in tact as he glared at her. "MANA LISTEN TO ME, THIS IS NOT LIKE YOU AT ALL! LOOK AT ME IN MY EYE AND TELL ME YOU DON'T LOVE ME! TELL ME THAT EVERYTHING WE BEEN THROUGH WAS A LIE! TELL ME THAT YOU RATHER DIE ALONE THAN ME HOLDING YOU! I'M SERIOUS MANA, WITH ALL MY HEART YOU BETTER TELL ME OR I WILL FOLLOW YOU TIL THE END. I DON'T HAVE TO BE SMART TO KNOW YOUR LYING TO ME!" Rukasu's took a sharp pain as he took his free hand to place it over his chest where is heart is located. The pain was minor but he could feel the sadness soon going to overwhelm him if he does not take control of this situation. Rukasu knew he could not kill Mana but it was to show this girl he was playing no games.

SC Used: [Tier III] Flash Speed : Extreme Chakra Aura

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

There was probably no reaction imaginable that would’ve made Mana feel worse – she could feel the evil oozing off of Rukasu, he was buying most of her words, he suspected that something was wrong but… He was buying a part of them, there must’ve been a small fraction of his essence that thought that maybe Mana was just a big manipulative bitch and that was what scared Mana – the man she claimed she loved and one who claimed to love her had doubts about the woman he fell in love with. To the magician true love was absolute, without question, never for a moment a true man in love should’ve bought those words, they’d probably just send a more cheerful one in a fit of laughter.

Rukasu got visibly annoyed, his rage was impossible to hide, the whole time the world around him got reminded just what kind of man the Snake King was. That made the magician worried, did he truly love her as much as he claimed? Why would he for a single moment believe anything she was saying? Why would he even question it? Was he worried the woman he loved did not exist? But then was he even ever in love, perhaps he just never truly understood what love was…

Mana had heard Rukasu’s anger shooting off at the people throwing verbal sludge at her – leaving the nukenin is such a state was dangerous. Leaving him heartbroken and making him hate Mana was dangerous not to her – the magician could handle more than him, it was dangerous for the people she strived to protect. No… This didn’t work… With just a brief dash the redheaded nukenin caught up to her, he yelled out wanting to know what all of this was about. For a brief moment the magician started getting angry herself, how could he claim that he loved her when he was so easily pushed back by her words? His bond to Mana couldn’t have been weaker if this was all it took to set him off…

The magician turned back, her stare was angry but also cold, she wanted to yell it out to his face. Her face twisted to the state needed to yell it all out, let go of all her rage. “I… I…” she couldn’t finish it. She thought becoming a hated bitch was easy, that she could just hurt some people and offend them and then she’d be hated but… It wasn’t that easy, it wasn’t who Mana was, she couldn’t hurt people even if she didn’t mean it! Why was she so pathetic? She couldn’t even act like a real bitch…

The magician fell on her knees and collapsed into tears, covering her weeping face with her palm. “I… Can’t do this…” this evil and hateworthy person Mana wanted to become just wasn’t real, she couldn’t physically tear her heart apart. She had to tell the man the truth, all of it, just like she told it to Meiko before. “I’m sorry, Rukasu… After the big battle I visited the Hospital in Kumo, they did a bunch of tests on me…” Mana started talking but she didn’t know where to take it, she rubbed her elbow as she tried to figure out just how she should tell him.

“I’m… I’m dying, Rukasu. All the injuries I’ve taken in my life, they’re killing me and the only way to heal them is to go to Konoha and to use a panacea on myself, however if I did, the wonder cure would be gone which would mean that no one could cure themselves with it ever again. People would die of sicknesses again. That’s a cost I’m not willing to pay even for my own life.” as the magician was summing it up she wondered how Rukasu would take it – he probably would be crushed, then again, he almost believed her previous words, he needed clarification to know that something was wrong with Mana, that she was in pain. The Sennin had no idea how he would react.

“So… I decided that… That I should just act like a bitch, make everyone around me hate me while I finish off the Parabrahma alone before the disease claims my life. That way once I die – everyone will be happy because they’ll remember me as a traitor of Konoha and a despicable person not worth a single tear. I never thought it’d be so hard… I can’t do it… I can’t be a bitch… It’s not who I am…” Mana started crying as her tiny knuckle slammed into the dirt, only then did she notice rain clouds accumulating in the sky, it was a rare occasion in this part of the Lightning Country so some villagers left their homes to enjoy the rain. Mana used to love the rain, love it like nothing else…

The magician managed to pick her pathetic body off the ground and wipe her muddy skirt, then wipe her tears and look towards the endless wasteland. “I guess I’ll have to do differently, if I can’t hurt everyone I see, if I can’t taint my name, I’ll just have to disappear so that people forget about me before I die. If you or Kiyomi or Meiko are around me, you’ll remember me, I’ll always be a part of your hearts and you’ll be sad when I die. However if I leave into the wasteland, if I take off into the rain and don’t turn back never to be seen by anyone again, if I fight the Parabrahma silently and never come back into the light… Then no one will care if one day I die and disappear for real…”

First weak raindrops started slowly hitting the dirt, they also pecked into the scrap rooftops that the village houses used making that lovely monotonic sound. Mana turned her head back at Rukasu, slightly turning her body back at him and smiled to him, “I know I managed to leave a small part of my own heart in yours, maybe one day you’ll find it in yourself to remove it and replace it with someone else’s heart, maybe it’s for the best if you forget me and don’t fret when I die. If I die alone it will be for the best because no one will know or care, people won’t be sad, no one will shed a single tear…”

Age : 33 Posts : 510

Rukasu needed to know what was going on and knowing that his anger was his only way to show it. It was whom he was and still he was trying to do better. He was still a guy, and he was a person that knew nothing about love or how it worked. It was a feeling he still wanted to know about. He wanted to learn and understand what makes love so powerful.

She turned around with anger in her eyes, at this moment Rukasu was confused because he did not understand what he did wrong. Her eyes filled with sadness, loneliness, and this feeling of giving up. Rukasu was completely lost, he last seen Mana fighting her heart away against Niku and now it seems someone had taken away what she believed the most. She started to speak but she couldn't as if she was fighting herself not to show what was going on. Mana fell to her knees as Rukasu just could not move but his aura slowly disappeared. Now Mana was giving up trying to be strong for whoever she needed to be strong. This girl went through so much and yet Rukasu was only there just to make things worse. He slowly put his sword on his back again, as he took a step forward but he paused.

He stopped because she started talking, expressing her feelings and everything that was going on. This was so crazy that Rukasu's eyes widen. Struck by fear, and many mixed emotions. He could not believe the words that came out of her mouth. Death was something the criminal created upon others. His lethal sword had been soaked in blood so many times. However, this is the first time he heard about someone that is going to die in the near future. This surprise was too much for the criminal and yet he did not know what to say to make her feel better. She talked about a cure that would heal her but her belief that someone else would need it more than she will was something remarkable. Of course, Rukasu could try to convince her that the cure would be the best option. Rukasu did not realize before but for some reason he rather understood why Mana was the way she was. She was never the type of person to do anything for herself if the slightest thought that someone else could be alive. This was just crazy for the criminal to comprehend anything at this moment.

She then talked about acting like someone only hated by others, but that would only make sense if you were someone like Rukasu. However, Mana is full of peace and the protector of people. The criminal just listened to everything she was saying and it was bullshit to him. Hated by the world, and dying alone was something Rukasu was going to do. Still unsure was he was going to do he watched her carefully and listened to her with all ears. She slowly got up from the ground, as she talked about disappearing so that no one would care about her. Rukasu heard all that he could hear, and now she turned a little and told Rukasu to forget about her. Now everything she said was too much to take in account.

It looked as if she was going to walk away as the rain started to fall a bit harder, the criminal dashed at her quickly, grabbed her arm, and gazed into her eyes. "I told you before I love you and I am happy that you are not lying to me. Never ever, believe that I will let you go that easy. You are the only person that changed me. What happens when you’re gone? Have you thought about that? What is going to happen to me? Listen Mana my love for you is something I know is real since you are the first person I ever truly loved. Mana I killed my parents in cold blood, and that fact that I did that I know that I killed them for a reason. I wanted to kill my father because he was going to hurt my mother. If I met you when I was a kid maybe everything would be different." Rukasu said, as he was getting closer to her face, closing his eyes he leaned forward to kiss her on her lips.

This will be the one craziest thing that the criminal will have ever done if she accepts it.

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

As the nukenin spoke it seemed like he did not entirely understand what was going on exactly. He looked confused by everything that was going on and perhaps he was right to be. After all, everything in the status quo changed so fast, one moment she was full of energy and fighting spirit and then it all changed… Then again, could Mana really have been to blame for it? She was told that she will die pretty soon, how are news like that supposed to keep a person neutral and keep them energetic and cheerful?

Cheerful was a strong and interesting word, Mana used to be that at some point. She kept claiming to Meiko and Kiyomi how she loved saving people and how it made her happy, yet they were right to assume that it only brought the magician pain. After all, that shy, unsure of herself and cheerful and bright young magician they once knew changed after all, didn’t she? At some point Mana became sad and so emotional, maybe emotional was good, after all – if she would have been indifferent towards being told she was about to die then it would be a problem.

Rukasu wasn’t willing to let her go, he dashed close to her and grabbed her hand. The shyness and the red in her cheeks when that happened wasn’t the point that was interesting – she predicted it, she knew it was going to happen somewhere in her brain when he was still standing still! Just like before fighting the Parabrahma Rukasu gave her will to live element needed to use Shingan. Mana could sense his actions now so clearly, just mere moments before the criminal did them, she could sense every smallest chakra spark around, see everyone so clearly… She couldn’t not smile. She loved the rain…

The redheaded criminal spoke up, he spoke of how she thought it would affect everyone and partly he was right. Mana was always an odd element in this world, she was that thing that kept everyone in awe. She was so weird in the way that she acted that other people couldn’t help but think that maybe she was right. Right now with her Shingan being open Mana could sense every person in the district of the village, their chakra felt so odd, when the magician focused on their actions using Acute sensory she could see that they weren’t afraid, their movements were calm, they were observing how the situation would play out. That calmness, that graceful serenity of the moment…

Mana stood on her tiptoes to reach the man’s lips and closed her eyes, she promised him a date after the this whole Parabrahma thing didn’t she? The Sennin wasn’t yet sure if she loved Rukasu the way he loved her but she did feel something for him, Mana wasn’t even sure if she knew how that sort of love felt, she once thought she loved a young man but she purposefully let him go so that he could be happy. After that she wondered if love could ever happen again to her and even as her lips touched with the criminal’s she wasn’t sure of it. She remained close to the man, Mana felt rain soaking her torn up clothes and chills going down her body. The cold made her skin go crawly with goosebumps, there was only Mana’s own warm breath to slightly heat the air up.

“I wouldn’t have forgiven a man who couldn’t move past some random girl. You’re important to me, you always will be – you’re the person I managed to change somewhat, you are what gives me hope and my life meaning. Hope that perhaps bad people can be changed without beating them up, without having to hurt them and resort to violence. You are the greatest embodiment of everything I ever stood for. However it is up to you how you use the chance I gave you, if you kill you will only tarnish my memory after I die, people will look at you and blame me for not stopping you, they’ll blame me for loving you. You can be strong, you can be violent but you of all people should know – violence doesn’t change bad people, love does…”

Mana softly hugged the criminal pressing her soaking and shaking body up to his as she lifted her eyes to meet his. “It is true that maybe I could have helped you when you started out, over my life I was unable to help a lot of people. That will without a doubt be my greatest regret when I die – I will be sad that I wasn’t able to save everyone, including your parents. But if there’s one thing I can ask of you it’s not to make me wish to regret saving your life. Because dying while knowing that after all the people I helped I brought a killer among their midst will be too painful for me to take.” the young woman stepped back and looked at the wasteland, the cold and chilly rain was spilling all over the horizon.

Mana let her eyes slip around the puddles, for the first time in God knows how long she got to see the rain again, she got to see that gentle dance of water drops in the puddles. She loved rain so much that she didn’t even want to hide from it, she wouldn’t have minded too much to just soak in it whole day even if that meant catching a cold… Mana glared into the sky letting the gentle raindrops fall down on her face and run down it as she closed her eyes. “I know that you love me, I know that losing me would be painful to you but isn’t me being happy what you want? Because if it is not then I am not sure what you are feeling in your heart but it is not love. And if it is – making every person on this planet as happy as I am at this moment is my dream, the only way to realize this dream for me would be to stop the Parabrahma while distancing myself from everyone because I don’t want to see tears and sadness in their faces when I die. I wanted everyone to hate me but I guess I can’t do that, I guess being forgotten will have to do…”

Mana stroke her wet hair with her arm letting water run down and splash on the rocks below. “I suppose I’ll need to wait for that poncho and my uniform to be sewn huh…?” she laughed out.

Age : 33 Posts : 510

After Rukasu said, what he said the rain fell, Mana stood up on her toes as she leaned in for the kiss. Her soft pink lips felt great against Rukasu's lips. The criminal, never been kissed in his whole life and this was the most special occasion that had happen. Time stopped as the criminal enjoyed every minute of this wonderful beautiful woman kissing the cold-blooded criminal. Rukasu did not care about anything anymore, as the only thought in his mind was her. Both of their eyes closed, as they kissed under the rainfall. The most romantic way to kiss, and this love that they share will only grow even if one is gone.

“I wouldn’t have forgiven a man who couldn’t move past some random girl. You’re important to me, you always will be – you’re the person I managed to change somewhat, you are what gives me hope and my life meaning. Hope that perhaps bad people can be changed without beating them up, without having to hurt them and resort to violence. You are the greatest embodiment of everything I ever stood for. However it is up to you how you use the chance I gave you, if you kill you will only tarnish my memory after I die, people will look at you and blame me for not stopping you, they’ll blame me for loving you. You can be strong, you can be violent but you of all people should know – violence doesn’t change bad people, love does…” Mana said, as Rukasu did not move, nor react. All he did was to hold her as tight at as he could. The criminal smiled, because he could not help it anymore. The criminal loved everything about her, and he never wanted her to go away.

She told Rukasu never to kill again and that love changes everything. The criminal's heart skipped a beat; he knew that the more he spent with her would change him completely. He wanted to help her in every way that he could. “It is true that maybe I could have helped you when you started out, over my life I was unable to help a lot of people. That will without a doubt be my greatest regret when I die – I will be sad that I wasn’t able to save everyone, including your parents. But if there’s one thing I can ask of you it’s not to make me wish to regret saving your life. Because dying while knowing that after all the people I helped I brought a killer among their midst will be too painful for me to take.” Mana asked Rukasu a simple request and this was something that he knew one day was going to come. Was the criminal ready for it? He was not sure himself but when he looked into her eyes, he had already made up his mind. There was so much going on since her body, pressed against his. Her warmth felt as if she was healing the cold blood away.

She stepped back as she looked at the wastelands ahead. He noticed her looking upward, “I know that you love me, I know that losing me would be painful to you but isn’t me being happy what you want? Because if it is not then I am not, sure what you are feeling in your heart but it is not love. And if it is – making every person on this planet as happy as I am at this moment is my dream, the only way to realize this dream for me would be to stop the Parabrahma while distancing myself from everyone because I don’t want to see tears and sadness in their faces when I die. I wanted everyone to hate me but I guess I can’t do that, I guess being forgotten will have to do…” She said as Rukasu still had not said anything because for a moment still mesmerized by that kiss. The criminal knew this rain would get Mana even more sick, so before she said anything about the tailor and her order he place his new coat on her shoulders. He wanted to make sure she does not get a cold on top of the sickness she bears.

"Mana...." Rukasu paused what he was going to say first was the answer; however the criminal paused only to get her attention. He wanted to know something, "I am going to accept your request, but I have to handle the Parabrahma. Once they are all gone I will accept your request." Rukasu just realized without thought or time to decide on a side, he told Mana that he would stop killing. The criminal did not know what he was going to do with all the deadly weapons he carries, or his deadly snakes. The criminal will have to set all of his stuff aside and look for a better future and as he thought for only a second, he would figure something out.

"Let me come with you. You should not die alone. Let me take care of you. I promise you the best time of your life. I will put everything aside for you. I don’t need anything but to be by your side. I love you with all my heart. I am sorry if you denied my request but I am serious that I will make sure your last days are happy ones. Please consider my offer my love." Rukasu said all of this as he was holding her hand with his left hand and using his right hand to put her hair that was in front of her face to behind her ear while he gazed into her eyes.

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

Kissing with Rukasu felt so strange, on any other day a man like Rukasu would’ve been an enemy of hers. Even when they first met, there was absolutely no first sight attraction – Mana only spoke to the redhead because he felt like a criminal but since he hadn’t done anything wrong the magician felt like she was under no obligation to take him in. She only allowed him to walk free because she was interested in the darkness of his mind, she was interested in hearing the justification of a man who murdered people in cold blood. It was just a case of “opposites attract”.

She couldn’t even name when exactly she started to look at the young man differently, it couldn’t have been when he first admitted being in love with her, back then Mana only felt weird as she thought that she had already surrendered her chance of love when she broke up with Ryuto because of his obsession with martial arts and training. Maybe she started feeling softer on him after their first battle in the crater that she and the Leech made? Some part of Mana felt bad for holding back and humiliating the criminal so badly, maybe it wasn’t even love back then but wish to get even with him, pay him back?

The fact that she couldn’t pinpoint when exactly Mana’s fondness of the criminal started was what was kept the girl from doing something stupid, it was the only thought in her head at that moment that was completely calm and collected, other than that small thought her head and her gut was like a beehive, buzzing and emanating in weird feelings and sensations. Mana pressed her stomach area harder trying to understand the nature of that feeling when she felt the criminal placing his coat on her. It was evident that the nukenin loved her but Mana wanted to be absolutely sure that she loved him too, right now she didn’t know if what she felt inside was love but there was something and it felt really powerful.

“You know I’m already sick right, there’s really no point in me being careful about anything anymore. I mean I’m probably going to die anyways. If you catch a cold however it might hurt your performance, if you plan to help me with the Parabrahma I’ll need you at your top shape. I have no problem with you killing them if you feel like you must, I know you have a need to kill people in your heart just as like have a need to save them. But if you force me to see you get hurt or die before my final moments, I will never forgive you so train up and be at your best when the time for battle comes.”

Mana spoke as she turned back at the criminal and smiled slightly wiping off her tears. In a way Rukasu changed her too, he somehow was so painful to hurt that he indirectly convinced Mana to not be a bitch to people, he showed her that she couldn’t even act like one. Mana gently touched her forehead moving her hair out of the way, she had a slight fever, she felt alright though and it definitely couldn’t have been cold, cold usually takes three to five days to kick in, whatever this was it was probably associated with her terminal illness. “You know… I may have lied to you about there being no hope. Usushiko said that he might be able to heal my sickness, it’d take a lot of time though, several days even. Last time we spoke after the battle he said it’d have to happen in the Rabbit Caves because he’ll need more rabbits to transfer him their chakra to keep the healing going for days. It’s a really complicated ritual and it might not even work, either way, I’ll consider it only when the world is safe, I haven’t got days to waste sitting in a cave for a chance which might not even work…”

What Mana told Rukasu was true, during the battle at the Inari Mountains Usushiko told Mana that if she was willing to sit for hours he could heal her sickness, what he didn’t know was that her lungs wasn’t the only ailment she had – her whole body needed a “reboot”, when Mana summoned him several days later the rabbit healed her lungs but he told her about the ritual, only healing her lungs took him most of his chakra. Healing the whole thing might take countless days and still only give her a chance. For that reason the magician hasn’t told about this to anyone, that and the fact that if Meiko and Kiyomi knew about it they’d fight the magician forcing her to heal herself while they took on the Parabrahma. Mana wasn’t arrogant but she had some brain, if it wasn’t for her the Team Hokage would’ve been slain against Niku. The world needed Mana and Mana was willing to reduce her chances to live just to answer that need.

“However… I’ll have to ask you not to follow me. I’ve loved a young man before, similarly to what I feel for you, I’m not sure if you heard that story, but he was a taijutsu expert and he loved training and martial arts. His father didn’t approve of our friendship because with me getting in the way of the boy’s training Ryuto had gotten weaker than he would’ve without me. If we traveled together we’d just be a distraction to one another, we wouldn’t be able to train properly. It’d be much better to both of us to travel separately…”

Mana said with a rather sad expression, she wondered if Rukasu was going to understand her point. She had pushed him away so many times already, what if he thinks she’s just toying with him and pushing him away again? What if he seriously starts to hate her? After receiving her answer Mana would’ve headed towards an inn, she needed to stay somewhere overnight just so she could get her uniform and her poncho done in the morning from the tailor shop. “Want to get a room to stay for the night, I mean I’ll have to give you back that coat once my clothes are done…” Mana smiled as she looked back at the redhead criminal.

Age : 33 Posts : 510

This wonderful kiss was something that the criminal had not ever thought of happening. He felt so great and this was something that the criminal knew he would be able to do anything. However, the criminal knew that she was not going to be alive for very long. This was something that hurt the criminal to a point where he wanted to just give up everything and be with her. It was just insane that she would want to die alone, and live her life not being able to save anybody. It hurt Rukasu the most because of her dream was not going to come true. Rukasu knew that this dream was hurting her the most.

Mana talked about her being sick would not affect her anymore but Rukasu knew that if someone is sick then doing the right thing would help that person live a better life. Rukasu listened to her carefully as he knew that what she also said about him being at his top shape for battle would be the key. Rukasu nodded, but he knew that he was not going to die at all, because he wanted to make sure that Mana was safe at all times. Rukasu could not ever explain it but he wanted more than anything to keep her alive and well. The criminal knew that forcing her to choose a path of life would not be honorable.

"Mana, don't you worry about me. I am the Snake King after all." He said with a smile, "If you keep yourself healthy then you can live longer you are expected to. Listen Mana, I know your dream is to save everyone in the world, and I still believe you can do it." Rukasu said as he still smiled at her. Mana then told Rukasu about there was a cure for her. The criminal already knew that she was not going to take it. For some reason there was no excuse to tell him, but since there was a cure now Mana could always rely on that when she was ready.

"Well I would love for you to get healed, but I can see the look in your eyes that you have already accepted death. I killed many but a few of them have had that look in their eyes. At first, I never understood it but one day it was clear to me when one person told me to kill them. Being who I am I was all for it, but they died with a smile. This angered me, but now I know." Rukasu paused for a moment, as he knew that talking like this could just push Mana to the deep end, but it was worth a shot. “Since you accepted death then it is clear to me that I must spend as much time with you that I can." Rukasu said, as he knew that Mana was the one and only person that can save the Snake King.

Mana then talked about how she wanted to go separate ways and this was something the criminal had expected but he did not want to hear those words just yet. He loves her so much that he would do anything for another moment with her. However, after a moment of silence she then asked Rukasu if he wanted to get a room with her until her clothes were ready. Rukasu nodded, as he put his arm over her shoulders and they walked back to the village. They both were going to get out of the rain and as they walked closer to the motel.

"I don't want you to think ill of me, but let’s get a room together. I would like to get to know you better and vice versa. I am happy that I get to spend this time with you. You mean a lot to me and before you go away, a long conversation would be great for the two of us." Rukasu said as he really wanted to understand her more and he wanted to make sure that nothing left unquestioned.

They entered the motel and asked the woman for a room, while the woman went to go get the key. Rukasu looked at Mana, "No matter what, my heart will be forever yours and I will fight until the day I see you again." Rukasu finally said right before the woman came back. The woman gave the key to both Rukasu and Mana. Rukasu did not know what was going to happen next but what he just recently said was something that came directly from his heart.

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

Rukasu sounded so strange, telling the magician that he still believed in her dream to save everyone. That was such a nice but also a weird thing to say, there was nothing that would’ve made the young woman feel better however it invited her to wonder if perhaps she herself no longer believed in that dream if ever. Mana’s entire life was the dream blowing up in her face, people appearing one after the other, people she couldn’t save whether because she was weak or because she couldn’t be everywhere at once. No, Mana knew that eventually she’d die knowing that her dream was a failure.

“It’s not the achievement, I’m not trying to save everyone and then kick back because my nindo is accomplished. My nindo cannot be completed, it’s a continuous struggle, it’s not something you do but something you live by. The sad truth is that eventually you die knowing you haven’t completed it and that is inevitable, but if I was to die now I wouldn’t die sad because in my life there wasn’t single moment when I didn’t live by my dream…”

It was more of a rhetorical reply, Rukasu looked like he was getting more and more interested in her nindo, he deserved to at the very least understand how it works just in case he decides to run by it. Mana shook her head, “I have not accepted death, if possible I shall avoid it, it’s just that if it comes I won’t feel cheated by it because I am cheating it myself… There’s a difference between what I am doing and accepting death.” Why would Rukasu think she’s accepted death? Does he think she wants to die? That she would willingly choose to put her loved ones through the pain of losing her. No, Mana won’t die if things work out, if the sickness doesn’t claim her until the Parabrahma are beaten.

“But… I mean… I’d like the idea of spending more time together.” the woman smiled, if spending time with a man she loved was the outcome of Rukasu thinking she had accepted death then Mana wanted that he believed it until the end of time, sure, she wanted to keep away from him during training but she could afford just this one night, right? After all, she has so much time to kill before her clothes are done and warm clothes are something she cannot travel without when Snow Country is in her way.

Rukasu’s arm reached over her shoulder, Mana’s tired and afraid mind initially tried to protest and run away but after a moment she realized that this wasn’t an enemy, for once in her long and exhausting life this wasn’t the arm of someone who intended to strangle her life out of her. The woman just leaned her head sideways letting it rest on Rukasu’s shoulder. This man deserved some warmth in his life with all he has done and all he had suffered through, the pain that life gave him probably rivaled that of Mana’s anyways.

The young man lost his parents in his early life, Mana saw her mother get murdered in front of her by a spiteful enemy and saw her father collapse in a coma after taking some questionable medication – just a mean to escape his pain. There were so many people that the magician owed her life to, so many expectations she had to fit in to, like that Security Force officer who offered her life so that Mana could live, jumping in front of a murderous blade just to protect Mana. If that woman saw Mana now, would she be proud of her decision, was Mana’s life truly worth that of a young mother who had everything to lose? For once the magician wanted to just stop worrying about those things and just forget everything.

Rukasu seemed to take initiative in renting the room, he approached the woman in charge of the small motel and asked for a room. The rooms that the village had weren’t something to write home about but they would’ve sufficed for a simple goal of staying somewhere overnight. The magician just let the nukenin to handle things and followed him. This man has changed so much, the face Mana first met on the bridge and the face she saw over the dead body of Satsuki Uchiha was even more different from this one.

Finally they got the room, Mana’s hands gently reached over Rukasu’s and took the key from him, she unlocked the door and entered the room revealing a small place meant for two, overall the place was quite simplistic: just two beds, two drawers and a giant case which was probably meant for clothes. The big window was the only source of light in this less than stellar establishment. The woman sighed and dropped her small backpack with only the most essential items down as she laid down on one of the beds, further from the window.

“So, anything in particular you wanted to talk about?” Mana would’ve asked after settling down, a simple room deserved no establishments further from what it received. “I suppose I don’t really have too many things I want to leave unsaid having my condition in mind…” the magician tried to crack a grin but it only went halfway.

Age : 33 Posts : 510

“It’s not the achievement, I’m not trying to save everyone and then kick back because my nindo is accomplished. My nindo cannot be completed, it’s a continuous struggle, it’s not something you do but something you live by. The sad truth is that eventually you die knowing you haven’t completed it and that is inevitable, but if I was to die now I wouldn’t die sad because in my life there wasn’t single moment when I didn’t live by my dream…” She said to Rukasu, as the criminal just knew what she was talking about even from the beginning but since it was her nindo then she should not ever think of anything like that. The criminal knew that this was a never-ending nindo but something struck in his mind.

"Mana, you are wrong, I am sorry to be blunt but your nindo was never yours to begin with. The nindo you have is for you to carry then pass it along to the next generation so that your nindo will live on. This nindo will protect everyone once you always believe in your nindo. The future generations will keep this world safe better than we ever could." Rukasu said as he meant every word he said but at the same time he did not knew that this type of wisdom lived inside of him.

“I have not accepted death, if possible I shall avoid it, and it’s just that if it comes I won’t feel cheated by it because I am cheating it myself… There’s a difference between what I am doing and accepting death.” She said moments after Rukasu talked about the part about accepting death. Still she was half-wrong about this.

"Death will always come and what makes you strong is that you are protecting the people your care about with your life. You had always accepted it, and there is no way in cheating death since it will always come. Unless your immortal, but that would be the cause of many evil deeds and I know that, you are not going to want to be immortal. I’m sorry again if I am being blunt." Rukasu said as they walked into their room.

Mana lay down on the bed that was furthest from the window, as Rukasu walked over to the bed that was closest to the window. The criminal placed his sword against the wall, as he then sat down on the bed. His eyes looked at Mana's body that had been glowing since the light from the window reflected off her. Rukasu could not believe that such beauty exist in this world and he was happy that she would spend time with him than anyone one else. The criminal felt good about himself as he knew that he should start talking before she find it weird that he was staring at her.

"Is it possible for a way that I can get all of this evil released from my body?" Rukasu asked, as he turned a bit red because for a moment he was looking at her where he should not have looked. His eyes looked at her face quickly as he hoped she did not notice at all. He was feeling a bit shy, as he did not know what to do because he was in a room with the girl he loves alone. Many things could happen but there was a very slim chance that anything would happen. The most would be the two having a conversation about everything so their bond would get stronger.

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

Rukasu spoke of some interesting ideas, what he spoke of was by no means something of novelty to the magician. The sort of thing he described was her plan all along: just be the kind of person she wants the world to be, if she succeeds other people will pick it up, changing some more people and triggering a chain reaction of change – making the world better in the process. “What you speak of sort of is the idea, strangely enough not many people are willing to pick my ideals up, perhaps I was foolish to think that just one silly girl with an idea could change all those years of wars and violence. Very few are willing to completely abandon the path of violence and taking lives, at times I myself find no other way but to fight. If at least one person would pick my nindo up after I pass, sooner or later, whether it be tomorrow or at old age, I suppose that’d make my heart feel a bit better…”

Mana would’ve smiled as she tend to visualize her ideas and seeing people looking up to her and following her path felt strange. She’s already been burnt by one person taking her ideas too far, trying to create a world without pain and death by making an unstoppable force which the world would be afraid of and cease their violence as instructed by that which controls said force. Every time it was up to the woman to make a decision she had to check if she wasn’t making the same mistake as that man. Truth be told, what Rukasu spoke of was not that far away.

She and her nindo were known around the world, her magic and later her heroics proved a very efficient medium to spread such ideals and there were people that picked it up. When she was a child people hated her ideas, called her stupid and naïve because of them and told her she’d “grow out of such silly thoughts”, but as she grew and became strong, one of the strongest in fact, people started to wonder if perhaps they may have been wrong. Maybe she’s already succeeded in leaving the world a better place? After all, forcing her will on people would’ve been shameful, giving them just a spark of doubt and making them decide by themselves was a superior way. She’s already left her mark on the world – world was safe from war because of her victory against Ayushi, world had nothing to fear from the infamous Leech, Konoha was not blown to bits by the Parabrahma, the genin tournament was not blown up because of Mana… To say that she’s failed was to be ignorant.

Thoughts of similar content quickly went through the magician’s head as she realized that she was on the right track. The nindo she always thought would end in failure may have already been completed, all she had to do was to not screw it up, not to become bent on war or world domination and undo all that she has done. All that Mana ever wanted to be was a hero, she didn’t want the title of Kage, even if she’s been offered that, Mana never wanted power even if it came unasked, all the magician wanted was to help people and she’s done plenty of that. The realization that she’s succeeded and was pretty much with her goal made Mana happy like no other day in her life had. Mana’s glance quickly turned at Rukasu, her Shingan was burning up as her will to live was now stronger than ever before. She could sense the strange angle of his eyes and it… Felt strange.

Pinpointing the way she herself felt was so difficult, sometimes pinpointing the movements and in terms thoughts and feelings of others was easy but she was the greatest mystery to the magician. Rukasu asked how could he ever get rid of all of his evil, Mana slowly stood up and walked up to the bed he was at. She sat beside him and gently stroke his cheek, “You don’t have to, you don’t have to eliminate everything of anything, evil is a part of you and to kill it is to kill yourself. All you have to do is to keep it under control, to keep it at bay from hurting the people who don’t deserve to be hurt. I have some evil inside of myself too, plenty times in my life I wanted to kill, it seemed so easy, at the time it seemed like just killing someone would quickly solve all of my problems… But I always found another way, always kept those thoughts in check.”

Mana’s right hand slid down from Rukasu’s cheek to his chest as she gently shoved him to lay down. “You’re one of the strongest willed people I know, your evil, your darkness was the strongest I’ve ever seen and yet you managed to get the better of it. No matter what other people say, that is impressive, that is control beyond anything I could achieve.” Mana stood up and reached up to remove her torn top. It was so battered, bruised and dirty that by the gentlest demonstration of force it tore off like a rag.

“You told me what helped you achieve this was love. So if you want to get better control of it – love more, let love flow through you…” Mana said as she leaned over Rukasu, closing her eyes and letting the tapping of raindrops turn her mind into a primal state of autopilot.

Mana loved the rain…

[FADE TO BLACK/EXIT]

Age : 33 Posts : 510

Mana agreed to Rukasu about his ideas and this was progress since the criminal could tell that the girl was back to herself. He was glad that she was not going to be rude to anyone anymore, which was the worst thing she could ever do. Rukasu looked at her as he felt nervous inside his body but he did not know why. The criminal could of killed her but this feeling was not murderous it was this feeling of bliss, and he could not tell how it started but he was getting used to it. He actually like this feeling but besides Mana there was nothing for the criminal to live for. He was still going to be alone when it came down to it all. She was going to die, unless she had chosen to stay alive.

The criminal did not want to her to die, because he would have to live on this world alone. Was it worth it all? There was no way the criminal would ever allow anyone else in his heart. Rukasu knew that after her death, his heart will close and never open again, but this did not mean that the criminal was going to go back to his nasty ways. Rukasu was now more mature than he had ever been and all he wanted was to be by her side. After Rukasu asked Mana about his evil and if there was any way to destroy it, the girl stood up and walked over to the bed where Rukasu sat. She sat next to him as her hand was on his cheek.

“You don’t have to, you don’t have to eliminate everything of anything, evil is a part of you and to kill it is to kill yourself. All you have to do is to keep it under control, to keep it at bay from hurting the people who don’t deserve to be hurt. I have some evil inside of myself too, plenty times in my life I wanted to kill, it seemed so easy, at the time it seemed like just killing someone would quickly solve all of my problems… But I always found another way, always kept those thoughts in check.” she said as the criminal had finally realized that he could be good even with all the evil in his heart. Her soft hand gently stroked his cheek, as she placed her hand on his chest as she gently pushed him to lie down. Not knowing what was going on the criminal just looked at her.

“You’re one of the strongest willed people I know, your evil, your darkness was the strongest I’ve ever seen and yet you managed to get the better of it. No matter what other people say, that is impressive, that is control beyond anything I could achieve.” She said as she stood up, looking at Rukasu as she ripped off her top. The criminal could not believe he was looking at her bare chest. His eyes could not comprehend at that moment what was going on. However, for some strange reason he had gotten excited.

“You told me what helped you achieve this was love. So if you want to get better control of it – love more, let love flow through you…” She said as she lay on top of him closing her eyes. Their lips touched as his hands grabbed her soft elegant hair lightly. Their kiss was passionate as their body temperature rose higher, and this was something the criminal felt he was letting go. The love kept on growing stronger and stronger, as soon after Mana had taken Rukasu's shirt off. Their bare bodies rubbed against each other as they kept on kissing passionately. No one was going to stop as this had already started and there was going to be an end this at one point.

As each second passed the criminal could feel the love for Mana grow even stronger, and he was enjoying every waking moment. The criminal's hands were all over her body as her skin was so soft and warm he felt so happy. The rain kept on falling, clashing against the windows as thunder storms raged outside like someone clapping very loudly in the midst of suspense. This storm was not that bad but for some reason the excitement grew. Their passion only grew from that moment, while one by one, their clothes were off their bodies and with each every second passed the two opposites were connected. They probably did not realize it but they were making love. Rukasu and Mana made love for the first time and this was the last and final piece to their broken bond. The bond that was broken now fully restored and Rukasu's heart now full of light. Mana words would never leave this man's heart, now full of light the darkness stored away in a room. Rukasu could feel his love for her exploding with joy.

The criminal will never forget the one person that changed his life. They made love for many hours in the night till the break of dawn as they slept together on the same bed with nothing on but the blanket that kept them both warm as they cuddle in each other's arms.

Rukasu awoke in the morning and noticed that she was still sleeping in his arms, he was happy that they made a connection that no one else would have ever made in their lifetimes, and with that in mind he leaned over to her ear.... "I Love you Mana." Rukasu whispered as he slowly went back to sleep with a smile on his face.

End of Topic, but not their story...