Living Essence (P)

Posts : 1044

~Hospital~

The brat hung up around the shinobi's shoulders seemed to be as lightweight as if she were filled up with straw, but ninja were trained to have their own level of strength above the average man's. Kakuhan especially was used to the weight of a human body, he'd carried in many and carried out many, and it was all a blur of memory for him to carry the latest victim from the training grounds to the hospital. He had no intention of dropping her off, that was not the sort of thing a man like himself would do, they were try to alleviate her pain, and Kaku wanted none of that. The kunochi needed to learn what exactly pain was, since she seemed ignorant of it, and crawl up from her failures or he'd put her out of her misery and use her bodily bits for more study.

No, thats not why he came to the hospital, he was more interested in the people who were on duty today, since he had already committed the schedule to his memory and was aware that one of his more interesting students was on duty today. She didn't have much like for him, that wasn't really his concern though, because it wasn't a requirement for the student to enjoy the company of the teacher so long as they learned. Her growth was slow, at least in his eyes, and so Kakuhan decided it would be best to test her with a newer case, one that was beyond her skill level, to see how the little medical ninja could handle it.

The door was kicked opened as Kakuhan didn't have a free hand to open them and he walked in to the front desk of the hospital, shifting the body on his shoulders so that he could Saya with one hand and use the other one to tap the clipboard on the counter. The hospital almost never saw Kakuhan, since he didn't believe in using their services when he had his own, but they knew him none the less. He only had classes here because Lord Mizukage didn't think it would be appropriate to teach them elsewhere when they were supposed to work in the hospital, not wander about. He thought it was rather sad that they were rats trapped on a wheel, so he took a specific interest in the most troublesome student he had, Suzu, and took it upon himself to ensure that she was taken off the wheel and had room to grow.

He convinced himself that this was a business matter, but he was aware that he could have more competent ninja with the flick of a wrist, so this was without a doubt a personal matter, he just liked watching her work because she was so different, so interesting. She had a bite, but it was not arrogant enough to wind her up like the girl on his left shoulder, and he always wanted to push her past that line but she'd never cross it. Kakuhan was convinced he wasn't trying hard enough, maybe this incident would knot her up enough to say the one stupid phrase he needed to forcefully teach her the art of Eijutsu through example. He wouldn't attack her directly, she was too close to the Mizukage and his own head would be on the block, not that it mattered because he was competent enough to take care of himself and Lord Mizukage wouldn't touch a hair on his neck. He needed every powerful shinobi he had, Kakuhan would live, but he might have his corpses cut down in quantity, and that would be undesirable.

It was time to set that trap, so he looked at the girl behind the desk, his steel blue eyes staring into the very soul of the shinobi, and heard the voice of the nearby potted plant. He listened attentively to what it had to say, though it was nonsense that it wasn't even aware he could hear, and Kakuhan responded to the plant's babble by inquiring how long he'd been here. Plants didn't really understand the concept of gender in human terms so they didn't care what Kakuhan called them, and the plant responded that it'd been here for three weeks now. "You're not old enough..." He spoke aloud, forgetting that he was looking at a girl's eyes at the moment and that his statement could be easily misconstrued as either a lack of faith in the shinobi or legal age. Either way the unintended target tinted her face with pink and Kakuhan sighed as he continued his speaking without heed to this.

"Is Suzu in today?" It was a rhetorical question, he knew the answer, she wouldn't dare to miss a scheduled day and disappoint the Mizukage who made such a special favor to grant her the position of Chunnin. The girl nodded, apparently unable to speak from his previous comments effect and Kakuhan wondered what it was about these people that made them so vulnerable in their hearts to criticism or perversion. Oh well, he supposed they weren't raised as he was.

Kakuhan moved his hand from the counter and slid it into his pocket, pulling out a small blue scroll with a picture of a flowing vine made of Kanji on its exterior. He didn't trust people to stay out of his business, he'd heard their mouths run like rapids with their rumors about him and others, so he held out the scroll in his hand as a vine emerged from his palm and wrapped around the scroll like a slowly creeping hand. The vine curled its way around the scroll, tightly shutting it, and then resting on the center of the scroll where the vine split open to reveal bright red petals in the swirling pattern that was iconic to a rose.

"Give this to her, if you touch the scroll I'll know about it." Kakuhan said, setting it down on the counter and pushing it towards the girl with a finger. He supposed normally a rose would be a symbol of romantic intent, but that wasn't his point, he liked roses because they were vibrant and beautiful but they were stained with blood till their petals were as red as it. It was only romantic to the fools, to the intelligent it was a warning, that the more beautiful the more horrific its past to make it so, and that was a message he did intend to send. It looked pretty, but that was a sign that what was beneath it was far from pretty.

With his point made he turned from the desk and walked out of the building, pushing open the door with his now free hand and walking out into the sun and city with a grin on his face. She'd be very upset with that note, but he didn't care, that was an order and it was to be obeyed. If she chose to be a medical shinobi then she would have to act as a medical shinobi, and he wanted to know the extent of her skill and watch for the fateful slip up that would put her in his grasp. The girl, Suzu, reminded him more of a daisy than a rose, far too pure for its own benefit, far too ignorant of its surroundings, maybe a little jolt would make her into a beautiful rose, or maybe not, he had to try all the same.

Spoiler:

~Forest~

The trees were not being very cooperative and Kakuhan wasn't in the mood to cooperate with them and simply ignored their screams as he drug his kunai through their skin, scratching a long line that would be able to be easily followed. He did promise he'd leave directions and as he came upon the clearing he desired he threw the body to the ground on the grass, taking off one of his gloves and looking down at her. He directed his mental thoughts to the plant now within her, speaking to it in a cold command that only that plant would hear.

"Wake her up, snap a finger."

Posts : 730

Saya landed on the ground with a rather solid thud, and a slight bounce. She makes little motion to rise at first, more than happy to remain unconscious until the soreness of her body had faded some. She remained blissfully ignorant of her departure from the battlefield, and her brief visit to the hospital. Even being deposited on the damp grass of this small clearing did little to wake her up.

She was already quite damaged. Her robes were in tatters, barely remaining recognizable as clothing, most of the edges singed and charred. Only her boots remained unharmed from her assault. Thankfully the girl was not completely without covering, expertly crafted chain mail forming a protective layer of clothing over her body even still. The black chain links looked something like fishnet with it's tight weave of rings, but the light metal covering was far stronger. It was broken only over her left breast, a few rings missing where senbon had penetrated the thin defense.

As the vines from Kakuhan wrapped around one of her fingers, she still remained unaware of her surroundings, but as it tightened and snapped the bone in her ring finger she was soon awoken from the bliss of unconsciousness. She grits her teeth and sits up quickly, feeling something writhing around beneath her flesh. "OW!" She manages, her voice filling the area around them for a moment then being quickly stiffled into silence. Ashigaru never cry in pain. Her eyes focus on her finger for a moment, then lift up towards the Jounin she'd been fighting not long ago.

Pain surprisingly leaves her voice, her right hand gently cradling her left in her lap. She looks up at Kakuhan and narrows her eyes just slightly. She doesn't ask her questions just yet. A moment after looking at him, she takes to studying her surroundings. This section of forest was not a place she'd been before. Hell, most of the forest was a place she never went. Too much fog, not enough vision. In her current condition, she'd likely not even be out of bed if she had her way.

Her body is in as bad shape as her clothing, burnt and broken. Countless small cuts cover her exposed skin, a multitude of small tears from the firing of countless seeds. While it may not seem like much on the outside, the damage effecting her most was internal. The blood on her lips, was sure sign of her internal bleeding, a small puncture that had barely missed her heart slowly leaking out her life's blood inside of her. Her skin had gotten slightly pale, but she shows no signs of wear, or pain. It's likely she might even be back on her feet within a few moments, if she has her way.

"Where am I?" She asks, as she once more looks up towards Kakuhan. In spite of her injuries, she is surprisingly calm and unafraid. Even the fresh pain of her broken finger did little to effect her. Saya is simply tough as nails. "Don't you think maybe this is taking practice a little to far?"

Spoiler:

Posts : 423

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
just don't give up, i'm working it out
MAKESHI SUZU
SHOKOBUTSUKON KAKUHAN
SARU SAYA
please don't give in, i won't let you down
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

She was excessively irritated as she rose from bed, and the unusual hustle and bustle of her morning rounds added to her irritation. Patients seemed to be more demanding today; one almost throwing her off the edge, having asked for thicker blankets while she had already organized the sheets in the drawers, ten minutes ago. She rarely had any time to herself during the 3-hour period, but today's routines had her legs constantly moving. The thought of returning for another 3 hours after lunch was enough to ruin her break.

It wasn't about her sudden promotion anymore. The embarassment and regret Suzu would receive from herself when thinking poorly of her job no longer came, and she realized that she was just being used to boost Kiri's current health state. The Mizukage couldn't care less if she was alive or not, but he wouldn't dare lay a finger on a medic. It dawned on her that this situation could be looked at the other way; the Kage was wrapped around her fingers.

So why did she obey his orders? It was more or less because working at the hospital gave her the pride of knowing she is capable of saving lives. Though she could leave anytime, Suzu was smart enough to know that she wouldn't be able to secure a job as fine as this. Her thoughts roamed around her head as she reached the front desk to record her attendance. Because she wasn't in friendly terms with the receptionist, her tight glare at Suzu surprised her. She held out a scroll, tightly bound by a vine, with a rose having emerged from the centre. "Some guy left it for you," she informed Suzu, "I'm guessing it's pretty important." She wasn't able to forget his piercing eyes, and the unconscious body thrown over his shoulder was hard to miss as well.

Suzu rose a brow. Who leaves me messages? Glancing at the rose, she was reminded of her past reunion with her old teacher, but the thought brought more irritation. She forced herself to think of other reasons why someone would try and contact her. Perhaps it was from that guy from the graveyard. His name escaped her mind, but they did have quite a bit to talk about concerning her false affair with the Mizukage. An apology, I bet. "Thanks for this." Suzu replied to the receptionist.

Sneaking into an empty storage area near the west wing of the hospital, Suzu carefully removed the rose and the vines and unrolled the note. The foliage fell to the floor, but Suzu could care less. The ink was difficult to see and the size didn't add to the legibility. But she was able to read it, and it definitely wasn't from that graveyard guy.

So the hotshot needs my help? Her face was in an ugly frown as she read the undersigned. The note was filled with lies; since when did he take an interest to see her grow? Clearly, it was a practical joke, or something of the like. No doubt, would she walk to the forest to see an illegal autopsy of an innocent corpse. My favourite teacher. Crumpling the paper, Suzu tossed it in the trash and left the room.

"Did you see him?"
"Yeah, it looked like he was carrying something."
"It was a live body!"
"Are you sure it was alive?"
"I could've sworn I heard it say something.."

A group of shinobi trainees gathered in the front lobby, examining something on the floor. When Suzu was close enough and had rammed enough people to get through, she could see a trail of blood leading from the front door to the front desk. How the hell did I miss this? I was standing right there! No doubt was this Kakuhan's business. Maybe this was the trouble he was referring to in his note. Got a live volunteer, screwed up with who-knows-what during the procedure, and next thing you know, it's bleeding all over the hospital floor. Knowing he couldn't fix it, he asks for my help.

She still didn't know why she was headed to the forest. It was easy to get out of work; she just told the receptionist that she was responding to the note she received. Partially true, but she still hadn't decided if she would provide him her assistance. She followed the trail of marked trees, not completely sure if those were the signs he had promised to leave behind. With this fog, the view was limited, so she travelled slow, but hoped it wasn't bleeding to death.

Suzu moved towards the clear patch of grass where the fog had lifted. She could only see shadows of two figures in the distance but it was enough for her to realize that it was Kakuhan and one other unlucky individual. Stepping closer, she wasn't surprised when the other was on the ground, looking like she had barely escaped a slaughter. That's what you get when you play with him. You're lucky he left you keep your head.

"You want to explain to me what's going on?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
THE FOREST OF FOG
wordcount : 853
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Posts : 1044

Kakuhan watched the kunochi rise, she'd been awake for a fair bit of time but she hadn't chosen to act it until he inflicted a bit of bodily harm, he hated giving out free rides when the little brat could walk. Still, if she was on his shoulder he had an easier time controlling her and in truth he kept his chakra gathered at his hands the whole trip so he could strike the girl dead if she made a bolt. One well placed cut to the neck and the human body collapses, the importance of the spine could never be overlooked. Well, not 'dead' dead, more like coma dead, not that it mattered much to the person being knocked out.

He looked down at the girl, glaring at her before moving over to lean against a tree, pull out a senbon, and twirl it in his fingers. She was noisy, how she could still speak was a question he'd have to ask one of these days, but right now he was paying more attention to the other kunochi who should be arriving. Kakuhan looked back at Saya, staring at her injuries and dismissing them as barely worth notice, though it would be a nice distraction from what the true infliction was. He parted his lips as he turned his head back towards the distance, hearing the voices of the trees and shutting them out as best he could. "You don't listen well, I don't believe in practice. You're where I want you to be, and I'd be slightly more worried about my recent additions than where you were."

"Hmph..." Kakuhan said, seeing a figure in the nearby fog and identifying it as the girl he had called here. She was green for combat wasn't she, coming directly from the front, if he'd wanted to it would've been easy for him to take her life and crush it in his hands. As she came into vision he brought out his finger and pointed it at her, "If I'd wanted, you'd be dead, never come from the front, what if I was an enemy who forged that note and wanted to capture you and steal the village's secrets? You relax too much..."

Kakuhan tried to reach through his memories and determine whether or not Suzu was aware of what his clan was, because if she didn't know that then explaining the whole situation would be a tad bit more difficult. He couldn't remember telling her, and he didn't think she'd thought too deeply into his consistent use of vines and his ability to create plants from his own body. She probably assumed Kinjutsu, which was very likely for him, though it wasn't the case at the moment. The closest he'd ever come to telling any of his students about his past was when he was mentioning the various methods he used to dispose of impurities in his Hellsing years, but even then he never said he had a Kekkei Genkai, nor did he mention Hellsing by name. It was odd to have his students know too much about him, a teacher must be a distant figure after all if he is too be feared and respected.

Unfortunately, this one didn't fear him, nor did she seem very keen on respecting him, which was a shame because he was legitimately interested in her as his student. He assumed she was in the perpetual state of hate for himself, which was almost annoying to him when he made such efforts to show an interest in her. Sure he was unusual but he couldn't recall anybody else taking a personal interest in her, Lord Mizukage just had her onboard the medical team, meetings between the two were rare as he knew it and even then they weren't one on one. Kakuhan supposed it was just her type, dense in the head from all the iron will filling up the skull he assumed.

Kakuhan recited the condition to Suzu, his eyes meeting hers with all the same solidity that was normally within them. "Minor full body burns, by my terms anyhow, inflicted with a sulfur and water reaction. A few senbon wounds around the heart which was operated on by yours truly, but to understand what I did you'll have to understand a little bit more about your teacher here." He moved the senbon in his hands into his mouth and closed his eyes as he brought to memory his life, picking out all the details that she'd need to understand in order to understand what he'd done now. Maybe if she knew him a bit better she'd lose that attitude of hers, which was a nice side-effect.

"I was born a cripple, hardly enough muscle and bone to be a ninja. My father, a medical shinobi of unparalled talent until his own son, was one of Konoha's brightest. Even he couldn't correct my condition so he traveled the world, with me at his side, trying to find something that could. Eventually, he stumbled upon a Kinjutsu that would give me the body I deserved to have..." The cold in his eyes seemed to form out of ice into a haze as he lost his external appearances while thinking about his own past which he typically tried to forget about and when he was reminded, as the injured kunochi was proof of, he wasn't very happy. Self-induced thoughts, however, were better than externally induced ones.

Kakuhan continued speaking, "I hail from the Shokobutsukon clan from Konoha, an offshoot from the Senju clan you've probably heard about, and thus the jutsu he used to restore my condition was well fitted to me. It has its price though, and I watched him die at the door from the jutsu he brought me. He died testing it, and I live perfecting it, thus I have reached a level of control over my own body that gives me my infamy..."

A vine emerged form his wrist, and he twisted his arm and hand so that the kunochi could watch the vine emerge from within him and writhe in the air for a few moments before Kakuhan resumed speaking with the aid of this visual. "Its a parasite, a living and intelligent plant that infests its host and bend them to their will as it makes itself an inseparable part of itself. Without the appropriate drugs or a bloodline ability like my own, it will 'consume' her. The process takes some time, but the girl is already on her way, it took me nearly a month, but she's less than 24 hours in though, with my aid, she's coming along quickly. I don't have time to mix the drug, since this was a very sudden thing for me, so I called you to see how well you could guard her vitals with your Eijutsu while the plant and the girl grew more accustomed."

"Of course," Kakuhan said, turning back to the kunochi on the ground and raising two fingers in a snapping position, making it seem as if all he needed was to do but a simple snapping motion in order to control the situation. ",that depends on whether or not she wants to go through with it. Its the secret that gives me most of my power, but your survival rate isn't very high, even with medical attention, if you can't endure the pain of having your body altered, your muscles torn open, and your bones ripped through. There is no anathestic, and if she can administer any I won't permit it, its part of the bonding."

His teeth spread out in a grin as he remembered his own fortune for being knocked unconscious during the time, he knew what the plant did but he'd never had to endure it himself due to his luck. He was very curious to see if somebody could actually live through it while they were conscious, so far nobody had. "Your choice, the provisions are here, you simply have to accept the terms."

Kakuhan turned back to Suzu, "I'd have offered you a chance at the jutsu as well but I looked into your files and I don't really think that with your bloodline a plant would be comfortable in your body."

Posts : 730

As Kakuhan recites the details of his history, Saya forces herself up onto somewhat shaky legs. She was still quite damaged, but all to skilled in ignoring that fact. Death after a battle is an all to common thing in Saya's family. The Ashigaru clan is known for it's furious combatants, and it's relentless soldiers. They were masters of weaponry, but dismal when it came to jutsu. Most were little more than city guards, or hired muscle, but every single one of them were fanatics without peer. Hundreds would go to their deaths to accomplish even small victories, and the family had no complaints about doing so. Her right hand rises and is placed over her heart, lightly clutching against her flesh. Though she felt no pain, she could tell something was wrong. Continued pulses of the strangest sensation kept creeping beneath her flesh. If it was pain, it was certainly new to Saya.

It didn't exactly come off as pain. She could feel the tendrils inside her moving, shifting against her own flesh, and often times cutting through her body. Some tinges were pain, indeed, but not the strange agony most must have certainly felt. As if nothing is happening to her, Saya makes no mention of the sensation, and just listens to Kakuhan.

Her eyes sweep over the area once more, narrowing again as she begins to grow slightly frustrated. The arrival of the new stranger only made her situation worse, as only her axes and her sword were present. Her spear and her koketsu-shoge were both missing in action. She turns towards Kakuhan, and waits for him to finish. She is respectful enough not to interrupt, at least. After he is done with his speech, her question is very simple, and completely unrelated.

"Where is my Yari?" She asks quietly, her voice as calm as ever, and containing a surprising amount of strength. Had she been listening at all? Well, of course she had, but what sort of questions could you ask after that? He hadn't left her any options, he only told her what was going to happen. If the plant was already inside her, she didn't need to give her permission. She only had to hope that he didn't lose the obviously ancient heirloom weapon.

It was rather clear by looking at her that Saya didn't fear the prospect of death. Indeed, death was a glorious day for all Ashigaru soldiers, and one that typicaly came early in life. She'd grown up around it, and already lost friends to war and battle. In her violent clan, everyone is a big family, and she's watched more aunts and uncles die than she could count. All Saya had known her whole life was training for that moment that would lead to a heroic death in battle. She takes a few steps closer towards the closest tree, needing it's support more than shade. While she may not be stronger than the two ninja present around her, she could at least continue to be one thing. Stoic.

Exhaustion was something more rare than pain in her family, but she'd still not even begun to recover from the attack. She reaches out with her left hand and presses it against the rough bark of the tree, leaning to ease the load on her legs just a little. Her breathing comes in slow, shallow gasps, controlled only by her will and discipline. Oh how she wished she had her spear here to lean on. Even the comfort the weapon provided her would be welcome right now, as this was far beyond anything she was used too. Only her tough exterior remained so perfectly intact, while inwardly the Ashigaru girl was quite worried. Dying outside of battle is pathetic no matter what family you're from.

Posts : 1044

(OOC: We'll be skipping Lex for this cycle. I've inquired and it should be fine.)

Yari? The first thing the brat asks for when she's oh so near to finding out just how cold the steel from the Reaper's blade was, is about Yari? What the hell was a Yari? What was so important about the thing? How did it take precedence over the current situation? Ugh, she was such a pain...what kind of girl isn't on her knees asking for the pain to stop instead of worrying about some thing?

She hadn't even taken the time out of the end of her life to answer a simple question, and that was all the more annoying. He went through all that trouble to be civil and she wouldn't even go through the trouble to say something that wasn't about a Yari. Hell, it was probably one of those stupid little metal trinkets she called weapons that he'd just left on the beach. Kakuhan would've just thrown them into the ocean but then the sea creatures might eat them, or become chakra mutated, or some other assortment of horror that he couldn't yet conjure.

The sand was safer by far, but unfortunately for the girl there was no place less safe than near him with that attitude. Not an ounce of respect was lurking beneath her flesh, the little fool didn't value her life at all and pain seemed to have little effect on her, it was far beyond his ability to understand...little shit! Kakuhan turned, his eyes cast down over her, his hand jerking upwards and his lips producing further noise. "Speed up, she's a little trooper it seems, I want her finished in an hour, no matter how much damage you have to inflict or how much pain..."

Naturally Kaku didn't need to vocalize such commands, but he felt it was more interesting to keep her in the know about this sort of thing. He was growing rapidly impatient and dealing with her was just corroding what was left of his patience like a tossed acid on sheet paper. Suzu wasn't even needed anymore, she just had to watch and Kakuhan acted to that effect. He looked at her and spoke further, "Nevermind, just watch and patch her up when its all through, I wouldn't want you to lose a hand trying to operate when my little darling is working so hard. It'd take your hand too, so lets not risk that."

Posts : 730

A little trooper. Saya smirks just slightly at that remark, though the smirk fades quickly enough. She closes her eyes and sighs, a shiver shaking her body slightly as it runs up her spine. Things she'd never felt before were moving beneath her flesh, and it certainly could be considered pain. It wasn't anything like a jagged pike through the stomach, but it was agonizing none the less. Though it never registered as pain, the sheer discomfort of it all was enough to keep her from displaying too much of an attitude.

"I do not know what you are talking about." She says in the same tone of voice she's been using the whole time. Saya truly gives the appearance of an emotionless block of weapon and stone, stoic even in confusion. "I do not even know what it is you have done to me, nor understand why you have done so. I am not sure why you are asking me to make a choice, when clearly I do not have one."

"I would like to know why you have done this, though it seems to me to be little more than a passing whim. If you knew anything at all about me or the people I come from, you would not have left my spear behind. I would like to learn many things about you, and what you did to me, however.. My spear is more important than anything that will be learned with time. That weapons was first used in combat by my grandmother's great grandfather, and it can not be simply left aside like some common dagger." Saya pushes herself off of the tree after sighing, and turns to face Kakuhan. She stands herself up at attention and addresses the jonin in her same steady tone. Even when explaining the importance of her weapon she adds little inflection into her voice.

"I must ask your permission, then, to seek out my weapon when you have finished with me. It is an extension of my will and body, and I am no soldier without it. Each moment I am away from it increases the chance some one else will happen upon it. If it is not recovered, I will be of little use to Kirigakure."

Posts : 423

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
just don't give up, i'm working it out
MAKESHI SUZU
SHOKOBUTSUKON KAKUHAN
SARU SAYA
please don't give in, i won't let you down
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

She wasn’t expecting the greatest of welcomes, but if he had any idea of how to greet a guest, he wouldn’t have spoken with such disappointment. It seemed as if she was on surveillance 24/7, with Kakuhan testing her for god-knows-what. “That’ll be highly unfortunate; I thought you wanted me to do you a favour. But now, it seems that someone really needs to learn a lot about manners. Usually, you don’t threaten someone who you’ve asked to do something for you. And as a side note, no one likes that attitude of yours.”

He was a pain, and despite having considered it, now, Suzu wasn’t about to fulfill his wishes of doing whatever he wanted her to do. Having to respect and acknowledge him as a higher power and position than her was more than enough for her to handle as is. The fact that he was able to manipulate her current special rank to do as he pleased irritated her. But, as far as he knew, she was the one wrapped around his finger.

With every word he spoke, Suzu’s urge to turn back and return to the hospital grew. She refused to look down at the girl and watch her efforts to stand up. Had she been a threat to society, Suzu would’ve tolerated these horrifying conditions projected on her body, but the fact that she was probably nothing more than a Genin was enough for Suzu to lose all respect for this man. Although the wounds were more than serious, she didn’t lay a finger on the girl. Suzu pretended to care as she listened to his childhood story.

“If you want pity for your deceased father, then this isn’t the right time and place for you to be telling this story. Much less to a person who could care less about anything about your family, or you.” Her voice trailed on. “Perhaps his death was a punishment for trying to fix what destiny already has done for you. Perhaps you would’ve been better off living as a cripple. Your father would’ve still been alive.” She meant every word of what she had said, and wondered if it would damage that ego of his.

“And now, to fill the empty void, you turn to helpless victims, to inject whatever parasite you find pleasing to watch them suffer beneath your feet, as they become exactly like you. The pain they endure brings you joy, no? Mercy is something you’re not accustomed to and your level of curiosity is inhuman.” She was looking at him now, now knowing why she was going through such thinking to try and bring him back to reality. Her efforts were in vain; she knew he would be out looking for another victim after this one.

The girl had managed to stand up and it seemed she had accepted that this demon inside her would be impossible to remove. So far, she was doing better than how Suzu would react if she was in her position. It was as if she was ignoring the fact that something was growing in her, and she talked to Kakuhan as if he had done her a favour. The courtesy here was sickening.

“Patch her up?” Suzu started, her voice growing colder and more irritated. “You ask me to come here, under strange circumstances, cause a ruckus at the hospital, treat me like some sort of idiot and now you want me to do stuff for you?” She almost laughed, the leverage here was unbelievable. “I’m not interested in fixing your mistakes, and it’s not my job to do whatever you ask of me. I’m not your personal undo button. You caused this mess,” she said, pointing to the girl, “and if you want to fix it, you better do it yourself. You are highly skilled, aren’t you?”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
THE FOREST OF FOG
wordcount : 641
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Posts : 423

ooc: right, well, since hage is doing something else, you want to continue on, wind? we'll just finish up here and move to the hospital, if you'd like.

Posts : 1044

"Oh, oh, oh, the little pet has a voice..." Kakuhan said, teeth bared and mind quickly processing how best to handle the little girl whose tongue was so accustomed to not being held when the situation would dictate such a thing. He went through the effort to invite her into these affairs, to prove her worth, to prove that she wasn't just the Mizukage's little pet, but she refused and instead took the chance to spit in his face with words. Maybe she was little more than his pet, turning on those who would seek to provide her chances to prove herself, and that was unfortunate. He couldn't remember a threat leaving his lips, but she apparently felt threatened and was snapping back like a dog he'd struck or something. He hated animals sometimes, so fickle, so annoying, so moody...

"When you're offered a chance to prove yourself, you would turn it down when I went through so much trouble to arrange it? I offer gifts to the world, power and strength that can fulfill dreams and all I take is a little bit of pride in my work and all you give is some pain. I don't have a 'void' child, I have a gift." Kakuhan placed a hand on his neck and cracked it, pushing to one side as the sound came out and he looked back. She certainly was a pain, women were a pain, always acting as if you'd thrown a handful of ash in their eyes when you've done nothing of the sort. He supposed compared to this one, the girl whom he'd infected was more desirable as a shinobi than the other.

Still, he couldn't simply permit such open assaults and not punish her, there was simply no way he could allow things like that. Even as the Kirinogakure's beneficial medic, he wouldn't allow it, especially such an open and vicious assault as that one. Kakuhan raised a hand, visible strings of chakra forming and falling down to the ground, pulsing and shimmering with the pure chakra they were composed of. "As for your voice, impurity must be punished."

With a flick of the wrist Kaku's hand went up and across in a sweeping motion, the strings on his hand moving with them to strike the girl's face with only enough force to sting, he couldn't do too much damage to the precious little medical ninja. She could talk all she wanted, but he was clearly the stronger of the two and she seemed to forget that when she was so rude before. The parasite would be making its way through the girl's body on the ground, he had time to deal with Suzu if she wanted to continue on any further.

Kinjutsu was one of his specialties, even if she died, and Mizukage wouldn't be pleased with that he was sure, he could replace her fairly easily by reanimating her body or making a puppet out of it. There would be one less mouthy medic and Kakuhan would be able to use all those medicinal jutsu he never bothered to learn in his time as a medical shinobi himself. He didn't think she'd just take the hit and ignore it, she'd keep talking, and all he had to say was that Suzu had proved to be insolent. That would certainly curb any consequences he suffered, and they'd be little to none when he proved that he could perform the same as she could using her body.

Maybe if he was lucky he could find the time to fix up the other girl and give her a test run of her powers by throwing her against his former student, he had no intention to teach her further, but maybe his newest project could prove its value. Kaku spoke to the plant, using his mental connection, directing it to speed up more, she seemed to be completely incapable of feeling pain so it didn't matter, make a mess of her body, he'd fix it later.

Keep talking...give me an excuse...

Spoiler:

Posts : 730

"I do not know what spite is between you two, but countrymen should not bicker as such. We have common enemies already, and need to bad blood between our own. While I was not born in Kiri, the people I come from hold great esteem to the concept of kinship and loyalty. If you have no passion, or zeal for your own homeland, how can you ever hope to defend it from invaders? With no pride in your country, how can you ever hope to expand its borders?" Saya looks between the two other Kiri, both outranking her. Neither seems to have the common sense needed to be a soldier, they're just brooding ninjas.

"To have the capacity to command, a soldier must be able to remove their emotions from themselves, and act on strategy and gut instinct. They have no right to disrespect the lower rank and file. A nation can not survive if it is constantly choking itself." She continues, speaking softly and quietly. Her eyes half close as her left hand moves to gently cover her stomach. The churning inside her wouldn't abate, and only got worse with each moment. While the pain was minimal, the sheer discomfort of being aware of your liver, and feeling it being shoved aside, was n alien sensation that could drive even the devil himself to complains. Saya, however, has no complaints to her general status. No, her missing spear and her country's apparent lack of honorable nin was her greatest concern.

She seems to weaken over the course of her previous short sermon. Her energy levels are quickly depleting and consciousness begins to become such a bother. Saya does sit herself down, getting herself off her shaky legs. "The only things in life that matter.. Are victory, and Glory for Kirigakure. Status and hubris are nothing to a soldier, except distraction." she adds as an obvious conclusion. Her eyes close fully when she's done, and she hunches over. For once, it might even seem like she was feeling a tinge of pain.

Posts : 1044

Lex wrote:: [21:49:43] l e x i : i'm not posting, i have no regrets

Lex has stated that she has no intent to post thus she will be assumed as taking no action and due to my own annoyance with the topic, it will be concluded in the following post. This is a highly uninspired post so don't expect much, personal problems and yadda yadda yadda (fill in some excuse).

-----------------------------------

"Quiet." Kakuhan responded sharply to the girl who had decided to rouse herself long enough to make some comment about being nice to those in your own village, or at least thats what he understood from the half conscious hippie. Always babbling on about something but he didn't really care what she was saying, he was focused on the other, more annoying, girl.

The sound of the strike was clear and the red marks on her face made him smile, the head turning along with the strings movement due to the force he'd thrown into it. She probably could've stopped her head from moving with Eijutsu but she probably wasn't even competent enough to do that little bit. The little bitch was about as useful as a rock covered in aluminum...

"Know your place in this village and if you're tongue ever comes out like that again I'll have it taken off. Especially someone as worthless as yourself, you couldn't even cut a vein on me if you wanted to. Go back to the academy and learn how to fight, or don't ever let me catch you in my sight again. Kunochi like you have a name, worthless bitches..." Kakuhan retorted after hearing nothing but silence from her. The response was enough to sate him to not remove her life force from her body but it wasn't enough to make him calm again.

Kaku walked over to the unconscious girl and scooped her up, throwing the body over his shoulder and turning his head back at the medical shinobi he was leaving behind as he walked into the mist and took his leave of the scene. "Worthless. Bitch." He commented, his voice fading off as he departed.

[Topic Exit, Kakuhan + Saya]