Midnight Rain (P, NK, IO)

Haru sat in the ledge of his windowsill, watching the city below. Now that he had his eye back, he didn’t really know what to do with it. Trading it for his sharingan eye seemed foolish, but selling it was out of the question. He would take the eye, which was floating in a little glass jar, and place it in his pocket. Some fresh air would clear his mind, maybe give him an idea of what to do with it. He decided to go take a walk through the plains to clear his head. Hey, maybe if he was lucky, a rouge ninja would attack and give him an easy fight. It’d be nice to get a bit of a workout.
 

Dropping down from his ledge, he landed in the streets. He didn’t want to go back through the house, as he might have woken up Cheri, and God knows he didn’t want to set her off at this hour of the night. He walked through the streets, his hands in his pockets, completely zoned out. It was a beautiful night, and it was nice to finally get a break, from work and life and everything else, although this little problem he had was eating away at him...

Altar walked around the plains, enjoying the crisp, cold night air and the faint glow of the flowers around him. He'd always loved being in the plains at night, and now he'd always find himself walking around here until sunrise, at least on most nights. He still needed some sleep, at least. Altar eventually got lost in his thoughts, mindlessly wandering the fields and rolling hills.

Altar came out of his thoughts to find himself in front of a lone tree amongst the plains. Every night he had wandered here without ever realizing it. He wondered if the tree held some importance to him, or if he just liked it. It was well illuminated by the flowers, but the black of night shrouded the leaves. It was somewhat small, so the branches didn't hang out very far, allowing a nice view of the stars from underneath it. With that thought in mind, Altar sat down beneath the tree, resting his head against the rough bark, and gazed up at the stars. He'd never admit it, but he'd always loved astronomy. He tried futilely to count the stars, and would make up shapes and constellations that weren't there, but in his mind were.

Two of them had always stuck out to him, though. Neither were a figment of his imagination, or so it seemed. One was his birth sign, Virgo. He was always awestruck by the fair maiden that had found peace in the sky, and she seemed to remind him that there was a side of him that wasn't bad. Whenever he though of this, he always sighed and wondered if he'd ever find peace. The other was Draco. The dragon. Did that need any more explanation?

Altar idly sat underneath the tree, then, as he was done gazing at the stars. He was about to doze off, but didn't want to sleep. So, he got up and started walking again. If he was to keep awake, he'd need something exciting to happen.

Reaching the plains, Haru looked up, noticing a lone tree in the middle of the plains. In a state of nostalgia, Haru wondered idly if that was part of the training area his sensei Rin had formed for Yuri, Dante, and him what felt like a million years ago. He walked towards it, the curiosity too much for him to resist.
 
What he found was less then he expected. Just a single tree, nothing particularly fascinating. Although, trees in general were always a point of interest for Haru, ever since he had received the blood of the senju clan, he seemed to be more naturalistic, as if it had altered his personality. His chakra nature was a good example of this, as those of lightning chakra nature usually developed more offensive natures such as wind and fire. In Haru’s case, he had received the defensive, passive natures of earth and water. It was odd that, although he became more naturalistic, he also began to hide this under a veil of loud, outgoing actions. Honestly, this is the most like his real self he had felt like in a long time.
 
Leaving the tree, Haru noticed the boy. Altar? Yeah, just his luck. Haru would whistle o get the boy’s attention, holding a hand up in greeting. He walked towards Altar, his hands in his pockets.

”What brings you out here this late, Altar?” He would ask, noticing that this would probably be the most sober the boy had ever seen him.

Altar was walking at a meager pace away from the tree, when he heard a sharp whistle behind him. Altar turned to see Haru, holding his hand in the air as if to greet him, then pocketing both his hands and continuing to walk towards him. Altar stood still, a bit confused at Haru's presence out here.

Haru continued to walk towards him, soon reaching within distance and asking Altar why he was out in the plains at this time of night. Altar ran a response through his head, realizing that he had to choose his words carefully. It seemed that every other word out of his mouth set Haru off. Perhaps that was just his brash and arrogant nature at work. Altar finally came up with a response that seemed decent enough.

"I like walking around at night. Helps me clear my head and lets me think. But, I could ask you the same question. Why are you out here this late?" Altar would say, mentally readying himself in case Haru snapped again. Altar did notice, however, that Haru seemed to have his wits about him more than normal, and he seemed...calmer than before, but yet, distressed. Altar wondered to himself if something was wrong.

Haru’s answer came quickly.
”The same reason as you are, I suppose.” He would say, noticing the boy tense up, as if afraid he would snap. Granted, he did have a tendency to do that. ”Why so serious? You look like you’re about to start something.” He would ask him.
 
Then it hit Haru. Altar seemed, for the most part, an able Shinobi, and he was fairly trustworthy. Perhaps he could be a fitting host for the dojutsu of his clan, his original left eye. A little questioning might help him decide.
 
”Altar, tell me, your clan, the Shinkou, do you have a form of dojutsu?” He would ask. He figured it was a strange question to ask, and might have made the boy a bit uncomfortable, given the fact that he already had two of them. ”I knew a Shinkou, some time ago, and she had eyes like yours. I was only curious.” He explained after a few moments.
 

”Well, Altar… You know what it’s like, having a dojutsu, then.” He would say, sighing and folding his arms ”I have a byakugan eye that I currently have no use for. I’d like to see that it went to someone I trust. If you would like, I can preform an operation and implant it into you. I can show you how to use it with time, maybe even teach you some of my clan’s techniques.” He would tell him, waiting for a response.

Haru answered a bit too quickly, but at least he hadn't snapped. Altar felt relieved at that, relaxing a bit, now confident in the fact that Haru wasn't here to fight. Altar did, however, find it a tad hard to believe that Haru, the kind of person he is, was out here just to enjoy the night. Haru then told him that he looked about ready to start something himself.

"I wouldn't start something. I've no reason to fight you, nor would I want to" Altar would say, hoping that put Haru's nerves of that at ease. Haru then stopped for a bit, as if thinking about something. He then asked Altar if the Shinkou clan had a dojutsu. That seemed a strange question. Altar had thought it was obvious.

"Well, yeah, the Shinkou have the Meigan. I figured it was obvious, though. Crimson eyes aren't necessarily normal, after all" Altar would say, answering Haru's strange question. He then went on to explain that he had known a woman that was a Shinkou and had possessed similar eyes. Altar would wave off the explanation, indicating that Haru could ask about whatever he liked, whenever. Sure, Altar didn't like being studied, but it was alright if it was a friend, and he guessed he could call Haru a friend. What Haru said next, however, had Altar in a state of shock. He told Altar that he had his old byakugan eye, and that he could transplant it for him, if he wished. Altar gathered his thoughts, joy running through his mind at the thought of having a byakugan. He had always wondered of the possibilities it could have.

"That'd...be really nice, Haru. If you're sure I can have it, then yeah, i'd like it." Altar would say, shaking his head.

"Oh, and Haru..." Altar would add on "It's nice to know you trust me."

Haru nodded, relieved that Altar was willing to take the Byakugan.
”Alright, I’m gonna have to knock you out for a bit. When you wake up, it should be finished.” He would say, forming a snake seal. Behind him, a small tree would quickly form from the ground, growing flowers, and creating pollen, which would quickly drift towards Altar. The pollen would knock out the boy instantly, Haru’s own body being able to resist the toxin for long enough to pick him up and get him out of there. He carried him to the other side of the tree, activating his byakugan to make sure no one was around, just in case someone asked questions while he was operating.
 
Now, assuming Altar allowed him to knock him out, Haru would begin his operation. Holding the boy’s left eye open, he would activate his chakra scalpel, using it to make an incision and remove the Meigan. He would remove the Byakugan from the jar it was previously contained in, placing the Meigan he had just removed in its place. He would hold Altar’s now empty eye socket open, placing the eye in place and aligning the cords that connected it to the brain. His free hand began to glow a faint green, which he would place over the boy’s face, causing the cords to bond together and the eye to be successfully transplanted. Haru wiped his hands off and cleaned the blood off of Altar, wrapping his new eye with a bandage, and sitting cross-legged at his feet while he waited for the boy to wake.
 
When he finally did wake up, Haru would look over at him.

”You’re awake. The operation was a success, but you’ll need some time for the eye to recover.” He would say. ”When the body is active, the healing process for the eye speeds up, so I would recommend some exertion on your part. A short spar would be a good idea, if you’re up for it.” He would say, waiting for a response.

Haru said he'd need to knock him out, then. Altar didn't like the idea, but went along with it. It's not like anything too bad could happen, and he trusted Haru. So, he agreed, hearing the tree sprout from the ground behind him, and watching the pollen drift towards him. Almost instantly, everything went black. Before he was quickly out of it, Altar wondered what would become of his other Meigan...

Altar awoke with a jolt, feeling a pulse behind his left eye, almost like a dull throb. It was barely noticeable, and it started going away as he shifted around. The next thing he noticed was his shifted vision. He ran a hand across his face to find the left side, specifically the eye, bandaged. His heart began beating a bit faster, as he wondered whether or not the transplant had worked. Haru confirmed that it had, and told him that the eye would need to recover. Right, that seemed obvious. He also said that the healing process was faster when the body was active, so some exertion would help. That seemed...odd, but he WAS the medical ninja. Altar didn't argue. Haru proposed a spar.

Altar would stand slowly, nodding his head affirmative. He was fine with a spar, just so long as it didn't turn into a fight. A wandering thought crossed his mind that his shifted eyesight might cause problems that Haru could take advantage of, so he needed to keep him on his right side.

"Alright, we can spar for a bit. Just uh...beware the handicap, alright?" Altar would joke, waving a hand in front of the left side of his face. He would then take a fighting stance, arms slightly bent at his sides, awaiting Haru's charge.

Haru gave a weak smile at Altar’s remark.
”Yeah, I guess the lack of sight cripples you, doesn’t it?” He would joke back, assuming his own fighting stance. He decided that first, he wanted to show off his ninjutsu techniques. He would form a few hand signs, causing a dragon’s head to erupt from the ground.
”Alright, show me some speed, kid!” He would shout as the dragon’s head opened up, shooting out a ball of mud towards Altar. He wanted to see how fast his reflexes were, and maybe get a chance to see the lightning blade jutsu he had seen before. Last time he had copied it, he had forgotten the hand signs, so a chance to see them again would be a nice refresher to his memory.

Altar smirked as the dragon's head sprung from the ground, opening it's mouth and shooting out a ball of mud. Altar heard Haru say something about wanting to see speed. Fine, he wanted speed? Then he'd damn well get speed...

Altar would jump off to the side, avoiding the ball of mud and forming hand signs as he went sailing through the air. Hopefully that would sate Haru's desire of wanting to see speed. When Altar would land, the chidori would be complete, and lightning would streak across his palm. Altar would look up at Haru, give a menacing smile, then push off the ground as hard as he could towards him. Hopefully, if everything went according to plan, the chidori would pierce Haru's stomach, not killing him but giving him an injury.