Dichotomy (Maku)

"Mommy, are you going to see your friend in the mountains?"

The day is overcast but not dark, not overly so as the blonde makes her way down from the steps of Goddess Etro's shrine. It has been a week since the fight in Kumo that cost Echo Uchiha his life and it has taken Akihana a week to actually acknowledge that he is dead. That he will never again smile her way or look at Arata with a proud glint in his obsidian eye. His animated features will never light up as he spoke of his niece and nephew and his lanky frame will never be found in her kitchen, casually doing dishes as she puts Arata to bed. If the kunoichi bothered to think about it, she was sure there was a word for what she was feeling, but no words seem to justify, to be enough to describe the man Echo had been.

"I hope you're at peace," the medic breathed, sure that if he could hear her, he would reply. In some way or the other. The Goddess had said that no one truly died, not as long as there were those who remembered the diseased. perhaps Echo would live on in the thousands of people he'd touched. Perhaps he would live on a little bit in her too?

"What do you mean, whats that in your hand, Arata?"

"I found it in your pocket after you came back from the hospital. Its a code, isn't it?"

The kunoichi made her way slowly, her steps neither hurried nor dragging. On any other day it would have been a normal stroll to the shrine, a brief prayer for the safety and well being of all and then a picnic in the mountains with Arata, Lilia and her cubs. Perhaps Yaju would have joined them, along with his fox brothers. There was nothing to suggest today was any different from any of those times, right down to the picnic basket she carried full of freshly baked plum cake and ham and cheese sandwiches. Akihana didn't know what one brought to a hostage situation or a political rendezvous, so she had done what she always did. Packed a basket of food as a sign of good will.

"He's not a friend, sweetie. He-"

He killed Echo, he spared her life, he made the kyuubi go away...

He took her to the hospital instead of just leaving her there.

Akihana had known she would have to keep her end of the bargain sooner rather than later, A week had passed and Kumo was slowly getting back on its feet. Yaju was working overtime despite his frail, childlike body, shinobi were working tirelessly with the rebuilding efforts, civilians were chipping in and more ninja coming out of retirement to help. The aftermath of the battle just displayed everything the blonde loved about her village, a community working together to fix something that was broken, the way it had when she had first arrived at the village hidden in the clouds.

And it was for her village that she was here now. A promise was a promise even if she had not been the one to initiate it. And though the stranger claimed she always had a choice, she didn't really. Because a choice of safety for herself at the expense of others was no choice at all. There was only one non negotiable aspect in her life and he was currently safe with the kitsune foxes, likely telling Lady Inari all about his promotion to chunin.

It wasn't difficult to track him, all the young woman had to do was follow the immense signature of the kyubi's chakra. The man, she assumed, would not be far of. Nothing about her approach was threatening, from her ununiformed slender frame clad in faded blue jeans and a similarly faded pink blouse, the only thing standing out from it the small black armband tied around her left bicep. No weapons peaked out from her person, the only jewelry adoring her body a simple gold gem on a silver chain around her pale throat. Even the overcast skies conspired to dim the soft golden glow of her hair and eyes, a slight breeze playing with the loose tendrils from her blonde braid as she approached the area where the chakra signature was strongest.

Clearing her throat slightly, Akihana stood a safe distance away, unsure of how to announce herself, her picnic basket swinging awkwardly by her side as she waited for the monster-man to make the next move.

"Well, what's his name?"

"I... don't know yet."  

One week.  7 days.  168 hours.  10080 minutes.  604800 seconds.  That was how long since the death of Echo Uchiha, how long Maku had known the Kyuubi........How long this damn splinter had been in his left hand from the damn bar exploding.  Honestly, how did a single splinter make it through all that to infiltrate his pinky finger and stick there.  Just goes to show, the most powerful and unstoppable things in this world are the small things that we don't pay attention to.

"Are you still messing about with that...."  The Kyuubi's deep rumble of a voice complained.  The beast was currently laying on its belly in the center of this natural clearing amidst the tall peaks that surrounded them.  It had known the boy known as Maku for a week, and each day the same thought occurred.  I can just kill him tomorrow.  The boy had not lied to him, he had not even used the genjutsu prison since that first day.  Kurama was no fool, and knew if he had wanted then the genjutsu never would have lifted.  So to succumb to rage, would not serve his purpose.  Better to wait and see what was going to happen, then act when it spoke best for him.

"Just almost....DAMNTTTTT"  The boy yelled causing the monstrous fox's ears to twinge.  Seeing as he was currently sitting on his head cross legged.  "Shit....now I have a splinter and a needle stuck....Can't you like..do something?"  He asked Kurama.  A soft vibrating sensation filled him as the beast undoubtedly held back a laugh.

"This is the one who freed me.....a moron."  As he spoke though dark crimson chakra began to radiate from his fur and flow over Maku.  Like an amoeba consuming its pray it slowly place him in the center of the blob.  In a matter of seconds the needle and the splinter where forced out of his skin, and the bleeding wound sealed leaving no trace it had ever existed.  Just as quickly as it started the chakra dispersed, as if the soft breeze was enough to send it to the wind.

"Thanks buddy.  Now.....What should we do today?"  Sliding forward down the bridge of the foxes nose, he landed and turned to face the beast.  Currently his sharingan were deactivated and a light blue clashed with the red of his new friend.  Well his friend, Kurama was still wondering how he would taste.  

"Didn't you have plans...to become a Legend."  The emphasis made the last word as long as the entire sentence.  Snide was a nice way to put it.  The boy had shown almost no real initiative towards this plan since he had first spoken of it.  Instead their week together had been very different.  Some training, but mostly it had just been talking.   Training, it could hardly even be called that.  Meditation perhaps was a better word, though the fox thought he had mostly just been using it to nap.

"All in good time, we first have a visitor coming at some point.  I thought she would be here by now, but maybe I was wrong....maybe she won't come."  His mind drifted for a second to the girl.  Blond like him, golden eyes...who had golden eyes?  Kind of odd, but whatever his where red and black half the time like a bad boxer so who was he to judge.  "After we talk with her, I think we will move on from this place.  This land..."  Bending low he picked up a handful of soil letting it trickle through his fingers like an hourglass with no bottom.  "Well, I don't know, I just don't care for it at the moment....." Snapping back to reality though his voice once again became light and airy.  "Open up, as promised I will check to see if that bone is still in your teeth."  

As the maw of the monster opened, Maku leisurely stepped inside.  "Tilt your head upwards some, I need the light."  As the beast obliged Maku kept his footing and walked to the left front incisor.  Reaching and pulling a bone came free, a goat femur based off the size.  "Honestly, chew your food better."  Maku laughed as he hoped out and once again landed on the ground tossing the bone to the side.  "O, how long have you been there?"

The question had been directed at the figure who had appeared in the opening to this clearing.  Dressed plane, carrying some kind of basket Maku had not even noticed her arrival.  Behind him Kurama lowered his head onto the ground once again.  Its massive size taking up the majority of the opening in the mountainous terrain.  What could only be considered a sigh could be heard, and felt as it breathed outwards from its nose.  Maku felt the hair on his head twist and flutter forward.  

He was currently dressed once again in a suit.  However, it was not the same as the one he had been wearing when he fought Echo.  No this one was form fitting and slender.  All black, over a black vest and under shirt.  The only exception was the tie he wore that could just be visible on his front.  Though the background was black, the pattern was that of red clouds.  His cufflinks he had made long ago, allowed him to add his own flare though.  If one watched the clouds would seemingly continue to drift side to side disappearing and then reappearing again.  On his right ring finger a single ring was visible, the light blue matching his own eyes.  His own blonde hair that matched the girls continued to move freely in the wind, with no hope of ever putting it under control. Unlike her however, the down cast day had no hope of dimming the light of Maku, each moment each event left him at ease. As if a thing so small as nature or residing in enemy lands could hope to dampen his personality.

A smile broke across his face, "Did you really bring food?"  The smell wafted and he could smell something even if he couldn't put his finger on it.  Not exactly the pinnacle of bad guys, but Maku enjoyed himself all the same.

Simply gazing upon the chakra dense form of the nine tailed fox was no easy feat, and Akihana would surely have been paralyzed with fear at first glance if this was indeed her first time looking into its red eyes and beholding the awesome chakra it exuded, sending her own chakra sensory skill into overload. The demon fox lay on its back and only through hanging out with the most distant of its kin could the blonde make out the position and features of one bored fox. The kunoichi had no qualms about its massive power. The kyuubi could crush her with a flick of a paw or even a forceful exhaled breath directed her way, but at the moment it didn't seem to be in the mood.

It didn't seem to be hungry either, judging from the man climbing out of his mouth with what looked like some kind of white bone matter in his hands, his impeccable black suit somehow free of the Kyuubi's saliva and the remains of his last meal. Perhaps this fox ate more neatly than Lilia's cubs, the kunoichi reflected, not failing to note the absurdity of the thoughts crossing her mind as she stood at the edge of the natural clearing which housed the kyuubi and the man who had not given her a name.

Table manners were important, as was looking well kempt if his suit was anything to judge by. Though why he wore suits outdoors baffled the blonde, and she took comfort in still finding such things baffling. It was good to know that spite how much her world had changed, there was still some kind of social decorum she expected out of it. Not necessarily needing it but being surprised nonetheless when it wasn't heeded. It made her feel as though in a world of monsters and demons and killers, there were still some rules that held.

"O, how long have you been there?"

"I just arrived," Akihana responded, hesitance and discomfort clear in her stance and tone of voice, her eyes finally tearing away from the great beast to look at the man's face. His own blue eyes reflected... calmness that belied the events of the last week, that belied the very situation they were in now. For how could someone be this relaxed in the presence of a bored kyuubi, the kunoichi could never understand. For more than being a ninja, to expect trouble at any time was an inherent trait gifted to her upon motherhood. "Hello Kurama," she greeted the kyuubi because it would have been rude not to. Just because it was a bijuu created as an engine of war did not mean it should not be treated with kindness and courtesy.

Circumstances made everything different, the blonde noted as she walked into the clearing, holding herself up with more confidence than she felt. A week ago this man had seemed like a monster. Today, as she took tentative steps towards him, the first thing she realized was that he was... short. At her own height of five foot seven, the medic could easily view the top of his blond hair, noting their sheen and luster. Had he had time to shampoo and condition in the past week too? Akihana looked positively disheveled in comparison, rings of tiredness around ehr golden eyes, sorrow etched still fresh in her features and a small pink thread hanging off her sleeve where Arata had pulled at her arm as she'd left.

"Mommy, when will you be back?"

"Soon"

"Yes," she answered, his question about food, motioning to the basket she carried. "Just some sandwiches and a cake," she added in case his expectations were too high. What followed next was a small awkward silence on ehr part which he could choose to fill if he wished. If not. Then the kunoichi nodded epologetically towards the Kyuubi. "I didn't bring anything he might like though. Well, except..."

Setting the basket down and raising her hands in exaggerated slowness to show she wasn't reaching for a weapon or an offensive jutsu, the kunoichi made the seals for the blinding ball jutsu, focusing ehr energy on making the golden ball as big as she could. In its smaller form, the orb of golden light had entertained both Lilia's cubs and Arata alike, and the nine tail was still a fox. Finally, when the ball was about twice the size of her own head, she directed the chakra construct to fly at the kyuubi.

"Just something to play with if you're bored," she explained, a tint of embarrassment coloring her pale features even as she said the words.

"And thank you," she added to the man, recalling full well that he had told her not to thank him. But the habit was too deeply ingrained. When someone took you to the hospital while you were unconscious, you said thank you. "For... the thing, back then."

Watching her walk forward Maku once again took stock of her.  His eyes flitting this way and that, taking in every aspect of her appearance.  While on the outside from his personality to mannerism would lead one to believe he was....well a bit of an idiot to be honest, the truth was Maku was pretty sharp.  Details...these where the things he had long ago learned to notice, and react to.  It was what made him dangerous in a fight...like a splinter against all odds finding a mark in a ring of fire.....it was what you didn't notice that always cut the deepest.  

She had only just arrived it seemed, at least that was her answer, and why she would lie about it was so negligible that doubting her was never a question.  What did make his smile a little wider was when she greeted Kurama behind him.  In response the fox merely looked at her, a low growl very feint in the back of his throat.  "Don't be like that, she was just saying hi."  Maku said turning and looking at the beast.  Shaking his head, he once again turned to view the female before him.  "Don't mind him, he is still a little grumpy.  He has been cooped up for a long time, I guess that does it to people."

This got the Kyuubi to speak.  "I am not people, don't insult me boy.." The voice once again low and rumbling, just a hint of rage behind it.  The relationship between the two was still far from being perfect...or good.......ok it was held together on the edge of that splinter.  

"O you know what I meant."  Maku said absent mindedly waving his hand.  Behind him the beast barred its teeth just for a moment before deciding to shut its eyes completely.  Maku paying it no mind merely walked forward.  His bare feet digging in the dirt with each step, as if this was a totally normal thing to do and nothing about the meeting was odd.  As she explained what she had brought it left Maku with an idea.

"Oooo a picnic..those are fun.  Well I guess they are, I have never been on a picnic.  I think we need a blanket though...."  Walking over to a napsack, he pulled out the Akatsuke robes that Youka had given him some time ago.  Not that he had ever worn them, he had no need for them.  Bending down and picking up his ornate sword, he made a couple quick slashes along seems, and then turning rose and dropped the fabric over a wide area.  The no doubt inordinately expensive fabric tearing easily.  "Tada....one picnic blanket."  He looked at Aki still with that same smile, as if looking for some kind of approval.

Sitting on the blanket he watched as she turned her attention to the Kyuubi.  "Why are you moving so slow?"  He asked with what sounded like genuine curiosity.  As the ball of light floated over to the Kyuubi, Maku entertained for the briefest of moments that he might not do something rude.  Then the great maw opened and snapped shut without ever opening his eyes, crushing the ball of light.   "Your such a grumpy pants."  Which brought out once again a snort of exasperation from the fox, causing the edges of the makeshift blanket to flutter before settling back down.  

Leaning forward he patted the other side of the make shift blanket.  "I saved this seat just for you.  To be honest I thought we were gonna end up leaving before you showed up.  Took your time coming didn't you?  That's alright though, no doubt you have been busy.  How is the village?  Could have been a lot worse really if I hadn't stopped the big bang, but I am sure its getting fixed up proper."  Chatting causally barely taking a breath Maku would watch her as she decided whether to sit, stand, or whatever it was she was going to do.  Then what she said permeated his brain.  "And I think I said to never say thank you remember?  Though I am not sure what you are referring too..."  His brow furrowed as he thought back.  

Should she sit, he would hold out both hands palm up.  The meaning pretty clear as if on cue a feint rumble could be heard coming from the proximity of his abdomen. Making a face an embarrassed face he would merely watch and wait.  He knew why she had come, and the situation was not lost on him despite his actions.  However, life was more fun if one stayed relaxed and didn't rush.  

So, if there had been a question of being intimidating it had long since flown out the window.  An embarrassed face, a rumbling belly, and sitting cross legged on a blanket, far from the list of evil masterminds.  Though...Maku had never once considered himself evil, just.......well just living the only way he knew how.  "I wonder if Echo liked Picnics...I don't think I ever asked him when we worked for him."

The ghost of a smile crossed the kunoichi's features at Kurama's discontent with the whole situation. She could understand the feeling though. The nine tailed, though vastly different from the foxes she knew, also shared similarities with them. In fact, the medic would have even compared him to her own son in his wolf form had the situation been more comfortable or friendly. As it was, she remained quiet while the kyuubi's new master spoke. Though for a master, he appeared to be humble, a humbleness that opposed everything he had doesn't a week ago. Taking in his casual attitude and the way he confessed to never having been on a picnic, Akihana wondered for a moment if the whole battle had just been some terrible dream. Sadly the notion could not be entertained for long, the armband around her bicep served as a sharp reminder of what the world had lost and what it might still lose.

The blonde filched slightly as he reached for a sword, her own her - far slower than his -reaching for her hair, but when it became evident that he only meant to cut the cloth into a picnic blanket, Akihana forced herself to relax. Being on edge was not going to help matters along. And yet she couldn't relax, not just yet. Still she did her best, even mangling another polite nod and smile as he apologized on the Kyuubi's behalf.

"It's okay, I can make him another one. Though they're more fun to swat than just eat." The words were directed at both the man and the fox and despite the situation, a meaningful note infected her tone, as if some part was her was admonishing them for the little things she admonished her son for, like eating too fast or forgetting to say please when in a hurry. Taking a seat across from him on the Akatsuki robes turned picnic blanket, the kunoichi tucked her feet underneath her, reaching for the basket just as her companion's stomach made its own hunger known, making her golden eyes flick down to him at him in surprise.

"When was the last time you ate?" she asked, an automatic response for someone who made sure everyone she knew always had plenty of food. Realizing that her query might be too personal however, the blonde lowered her gaze to the picnic basket once more, her fingers busying themselves with the process of opening the little basket and taking out its contents. "Its just some sandwiches. I hope ham and cheese are okay. And the plum cake I baked this morning, so it should still be fresh." The young woman focused on what she knew, food, and giving food to people. In a situation as bizarre as this, little comforts were the things keeping her sane.

"And I apologize for making you wait, I know the time agreed between you and Raikage-sama was two days but I... had some things to take care of first." Just in case I didn't return, she left the rest of the thought unspoken.

Taking out a thermos of hot chocolate, the blonde set it beside the rest of the meager selection, motioning for him to start since he was obviously hungry. The mention of Echo - so casual, so calm, as if the man hadn't murdered Echo in cold blood but a week ago - brought a fresh wave of pain to her features but the medic refused to react, refused to let him see that talking of Echo hurt.

"He did," she answered instead, not quite meeting his blue gaze. "He used to take his niece and nephew on them. You mentioned working with him?" Akihana proceeded to withdraw a small plastic knife from the basket, cutting the cake in its container into eight equal pieces. The rich plum filling oozing out of the light, fluffy pastry and sticking to the knife... reminding her far too much of things she didn't want to remember.

"Why... did you kill him? she asked, a note of fear in her voice but one that was outdone by her determination to get the question out. Everything she had seen of this young man so far didn't denote a criminal personality, nor a particularly violent nature. And yet he had killed Echo, she had seen it.

And she needed to know why.

Her motions....it was clear of her discomfort.  A flinch here, the face of someone hiding pain, tired eyes....these were not difficult things to see.  Yet, she was doing a job of trying to hide all of these qualities, and due to politeness, or even not wanting her to know how evident they where Maku decided to ignore them.  Let her believe she was doing a good job, it didn't hurt anything after all.  "That would be just dandy."  He said in response to what she had with her to eat.  

It still breifly amused him at her attempt to make friends with Kurama with the ball of light.  Maku had already watched the demon fox's life, from day one and a friendship with an entity such as it would take much more than that.  Not to mention a certain amount of something behind it.  He was an interesting marvel indeed.  His eyes had actually drifted to look at the closed eyes until she had spoken to him.  Eyes snapping back to her face, he heard her ask when he had last eaten.  "Mmmm I guess a day ago or so.  There isn't much up here after all.  Though, fasting is good for the body, so I don't mind."  

Which was at complete odds with how fast he devoured a sandwich.  Almost not even tasting it.  "Sorry, I don't like plums though, so I don't think I will have cake.  I need to watch my figure after all."  A flash of teeth and a wink as he finished.  

"What kinds of things?  What is it you actually do in the village?  I was leader of a small village once.  A dull affair if truth be told.  I wasn't very good at it, to bad really."  To some it would seem his divulging of information was careless, yet what concerns did he have.  Unless she intended to do some serious digging he doubted very much she would be able to use this information for much.  Secrecy, had seemed so important a mere month ago, when all this business had started.  Faking his own death, being so cautious, in light of the current events...well it all seemed like a grand waste of time and effort for not a lot of reward.

As she began to speak of Echo his attention became sharper, palpable, taking in each word she spoke.  "That must have been nice of him.  I knew he had a niece, I didn't know about the nephew.  Alas we never got to be exceptionally close, I think he kept it that way for business reasons, but that's alright I understand.  Kurama can fill me in on certain details over time.  I am excited to learn more about Echo."  Reaching a pouring a small amount of hot chocolate he took a sip.

DAMNT......again.......just like in Echo's office.  He could feel the taste buds on his tongue being destroyed by the brew.  No hint passed from his face, but internally he was swearing a storm at himself.  Placing the drink down he reached and grabbed a slice of cake as he spoke.  "Yes we worked together for awhile.  It was awhile ago now when we started.  Me and my friend, we just did odd jobs for him.  Little of this and a little of that."  Take over this village, kill these people threatening his land....just this and that.

Tossing the slice of cake towards Kurama, the beast just parted its mouth, letting the slice enter before snapping shut again.  Whispering conspiratorially, "I think he likes to eat, don't worry, I got your back."  This only brought on yet another gale as the beast snorted again.  "O come on, you need to lighten up."  Laughing slightly the women's next question brought Maku to silence as he turned from the bijuu to look once again at Akihanna.

"Akihanna thats your name correct?  I haven't forgotten."  For the first time, Maku's voice changed as it often did with his mood or even with the situation.  A little deeper, a little less airy, even though it was still Maku speaking. "Echo Uchiha was a shinobi, a pretty great one.  I respected him more than I can say."  As Maku had begun to speak the Kyuubi's eyes opened just slightly.  It's ears perked a quarter of an inch.  Clearly even it was listening to the reasoning the boy gave.

"In a way, I think I respected him more than you.  That armband," He made a nod towards her arm "I have always despised symbols of remembrance.  Disrespectful I find them, as if a memory isn't enough.  I killed Echo Uchiha, because I could.  If I hadn't then he would have killed me.  To bad really, I thought he would be able to.  Perhaps I got lucky, but all the same whats done is done.  I digress though, you asked a specific question not for a conviction lesson."  Grabbing another sandwich he took a bite and contemplated his next statement as to how best to phrase it.

"It's a little hard to explain I guess.  Not without sounding cliche.  I killed Echo Uchiha, because I found him to be one of the most powerful shinobi in existence.  To see how far I can go, our confrontation was a matter of inevitability."  Licking his lips he found really describing the urge, to be even more difficult than expected.  "I'm not doing a very good job of this."  He looked at her almost apologetically.  "Echo was the best, maybe the best in the world.  I had to fight him to see where I measured.  Now I have to continue, to see how far I can go.  I won't miss him because he is now a part of my story.  I am thankful I knew him and for his sacrifice.  Beyond that, that's all I know to say."  He continued to watch her, a quizical look on his face.  He hadn't lied, it was obvious how hard he was finding describing why he had done the dead.

It really was difficult to explain.  Maku.....he didn't see life and death like some.  The sadness of death was lost on him.  It wasn't out of spite, or hate....not even really pride.  It was a matter of a personal test.  In his mind he had done Echo a great service.  Given him a glorious death, what more could a true warrior shinobi ask for?  One day....he hoped to be given the same honor.

"He killed Echo because that is what legends do.  They clash, then they seek the next great adventure.  It has occurred time and time again throughout history.  Hardly the first of his kind.  You are asking for an emotional or logical response, but this boy will not be able to give you one to calm yourself girl.  Think of it this way, if he hadn't respected Echo he never would have fought him.  To him he honored Echo with his actions, though I can feel your discomfort from here."  Kurama had spoken unexpectedly and explained the situation as he saw it.  Maku had allowed him inside his own mind, in exchange for getting to view the 9 tails life. He had the measure of Maku, but to explain why he was the way he was.....would take more than a simple picnic. It would take time.

Fasting was indeed good for the body, for those who hadn't known what it was like to go hungry with no prospect of food in sight. But now was not the time and neither was Akihana of the disposition to bring up a contradiction like that, so the blonde simply watched him eat. Just to be safe, she had packed nearly a dozen sandwiches and non for herself at that. Food still tasted dry and reminded her too much of the last time she'd made cake pops. Echo's fingers closing around a shuriken shaped one was yet another reminder she wished she could relive without pain.

When he refused the cake, the kunoichi made no comment, instead wondering how he could joke about weight watching. The medic herself had never had any such qualms, enjoying food and feeding others too much to worry about diets but she supposed vanity was not a sin. If it was, she would have to pay the toll every time she looked into a mirror. The Kyuubi however seemed to enjoy her cake just fine despite its temperament, the slight growl making a brief spark of amusement enter her golden eyes, a spark that died quickly but one that had existed for a moment still.

"You should say thank you," she added to the nine trailed fox because it was just the thing to say, The kunoichi didn't expect thanks but that didn't mean the Kyuubi didn't have to be informed of what the polite thing to do was. When asked what she did, the blonde found herself lost for words.

"I..." What did she do. Up until a week ago, Akihana had taken pride in the fact that she was a medic. Even been presumptuous enough to assume - on some level - that she saved lives. Now that illusion was shattered as completely as any of her light constructs, except this time there was no fail safes, nothing to defend her beliefs with. "I'm a medic," she settled for saying, the grief and sorrow evident in the admission. "I try to help people." "Try" being the operative word. The young woman had always thought you couldn't fail when trying at something, until now. She wasn't surprised he had failed as a village leader in his on words. A leader without empathy was not one who would succeed in her mind. What did surprise her was that he admitted it. Quite apart from understanding the inner working of running a village, Akihana was a mother to a budding male ego.

When he confirmed her name, the blonde simply nodded, not bothering to correct the emphasis on the N, he pronounced her name as though it had two Ns. But the mistake was simple and far from the most important issue of discussion for this meeting. Instead, she focused as he tried to explain his reasons behind killing Echo. The more he spoke, the more he reminded her of Arata trying to explain himself when he was caught with his hands in the cookie jar. No guilt, slight pride, many justifications.

And all of them invalid as far as the young mother was concerned.

It was when Kurama spoke that the spell was broken, shaking the kunoichi from her own thoughts. The tailed beast offered its own take and in a way, seemed to understand better what Akihana had wanted to hear. Its non human perspective made the kunoichi shudder because Kurama believed that was what humans were meant to do, what legends were meant to do. Raising her soft golden eyes up to the beast, she nodded in thanks nonetheless. At least it had understood the need for an emotion driven answer, one that would help her come to terms with what had happened. Revenge she could understand, pressure she could understand, elf defence she could even go as far as to relate to. But to kill someone simply to see how you measured against them? As if they were nothing but a score by which you could set your own standards. As if they weren't a person with hopes and dreams and fears. That she could never rationalize.

"You're wrong you know," she finally added, her gaze still lowered as her fingers reached to automatically finger the armband he had just stated he disliked. "He wasn't just a shinobi. He was a person. He had his whole life ahead of him and you killed him simply to assess your own self worth. Do you truly have nothing better to live for?" The last question was not a scathing one but a genuine query. Was his life so devoid of things to do that he traveled the world for a challenge? "Some memories are good enough," she confirmed, both her voice and eyes still lowered as she spoke. To the boy or the beast, Akihana couldn't tell, only that this was the first time she had been able to talk about Echo since his death and now that she had started, she felt like stopping would be a discourtesy.

"But when we don't have enough of these, a physical construct is necessary. Because the mind is unreliable like this. In a few days details will start to become hazy, propaganda will start to distort opinions, grand gestures will alter reality make Echo out to only be a legend and in doing so forget who he really was. A man who bought toys for his niece and nephew, he baked cake pops, who..." the medic shook her head slightly, refusing to cry in front of him.

"Why does he get to die when you get to live? Simply because you can? What gives you the right to decide your life is more important than his, and that only his death will reassure you of your own self worth?" There was muted challenge in her words, this being as far as confrontational Akihana would ever be. And yet she didn't expect an answer. There never could be one to quell the cognitive dissonance she had been privately fighting with for the last week. Saying it out loud wouldn't gain her anything.

But not saying it would have made her lose something profound.

Listening as he ate, nothing Akihana said made him take pause, nor feel the need to comment on. Her being a medic was intresting, but it was just a job. Trying to help people was nice, but it was just something one did. It didn't really effect anything at the moment, at least in his eyes, and therefore was beneath commenting on. It wasn't until after he had finished, after the Kyuubi had offered a take, and when she had finally begun to speak something worth talking about that he really took full intrest.

He was wrong, Echo had been a person, why did that make him wrong? He had his whole life ahead of him....no, no he didn't because he was dead. If he had his whole life ahead of him, well he wouldn't be dead. What did he have to live for? Well that was the million ryo question wasn't it, and not one that he particularly had a great answer for. He began to try and think of a response, only to find that she conitnued to speak. Memories some where good enough.....which only meant some where not.

Listening with rapt attention Maku leaned back on his hands. Cross legged still he reclined with his palms holding him up. Watching her lowered face was it his imagination or could he just see the hint of redness...as if she was trying not to let tears have dominion of her face. Yet something else he could not understand, and yet the emotional response continued, and her words flowed. Bottled emotions have a tendency to burst the glass after all.

The events she spoke of, and then his right to decide life and death, to decide who got to live and who didn't....these were questions that bordered on phylisocphical. His head tilted to the left, his ear almost resting on his shoulder as a quizzical look overcame his face. "I don't think your capable of understanding. " His tone was simple, not airy, not out right rude, not even judgmental. It was the tone a math teacher makes when he states 2+2=4. It does because it does.

"That is exactly the reason. I could and he didn't. Your looking for meanings, when really you needn't. Entertain for a moment that Echo choose to die, suicide hidden by battle....how would that change how you felt about this situation? Now imagine that Echo had been a demon, a soldier in an army that slaughtered thousands like grain to harvest, that he in fact killed more men in a single month than I have ever even met...Would that change your mind?" He let a few moments pass, for his words to sink in.

"Now...all of those diffrent situations what is it that they have in common? The outcome. Perspective is a beuatiful thing. I suggest you learn to look with more than your own if you want to understand. Otherwise, the world will become black and white while I get to view it in this beutiful mauve color." Again he waited a few moments to continue, to let all this sink in. He doubted she would appreciate what he was saying, doubted that any of it made a real Difference.

"For as long as their are men like Echo Uchiha, there will be a few souls like me. Who want to play their game, and try and play it just slightly better through whatever means we can find. Don't blame gravity for holding you to the earth when you would rather fly, instead look to the birds and seek to take their gift of flight for yourself. Besides, I was hardly the worst person at the battlefield was I?"

"I don't think your capable of understanding. "

Akihana nodded in agreement, that much was obvious to both of them. She wasn't capable of understanding and she was not ashamed of that. If understanding the situation from his perspective was the first step to becoming like him, someone who didn't value human life, then she was better off ignorant. The world was a very big place, and the more you thought about it, the more complex it got. Being a shinobi only added to the psychological duress that went into existence alone so the kunoichi had always tried to simplify things down to their basic core. Good and bad, people argued, were abstracts and forever changing. And while she herself had not been able to stick to her principles as often as she would have liked, they still provided a somewhat solid ground for her to stand on. This man didn't seem to have any of those principles.

His words would never resonate with her because he seemed to be saying that a lie and the truth were sort of the same thing, when they were not. Echo was a shinobi, he had done things in the past that weighed on him and yet this was not the end he deserved. Not this way, not so soon.

Not before she had barely gotten to know him.

"I don't believe it was a suicide by battle," she finally said when he was finished. "Because to believe that would be to imply that he was selfish. He had people counting on him, I cannot believe he would just leave them be and choose an easy way out. That was not the kind of person he was." Or at least that was not the kind of man Akihana believed he was. Her companion's words were reasonable to a certain extent but they could never rival her belief. Throughout her life, the blonde had only cultivated to great and uneatable lengths one single thing about herself: her faith. And this young man was not going to change that.

"But the point is moot, I suppose, since you can't understand either. You look at the world in colors, I look at it in terms of people. I'll never be a great "Legend" and I can live with that because,,, its the mundane lives that are the ones worth living." The search for the extraordinary had always confused her. Why people chose the create miracles when so many already existed. Perhaps if this man had stopped to take note of a few, he wouldn't have had to kill another to prove a point.

"Where do you intend to go from here?" she asked after a brief silence in which only the nine tailed's breathing was heard. She didn't really expect an answer, certainly not one she could use in any way against him but if he hadn't even bothered to divulge his name, perhaps he would be more forthcoming with the more trivial information. If he chose to not answer, than that was that.

"And would you be needing more food for the journey?" Old habits really did die hard, even when in conversations with killers.

"I must agree with you there." He would say as soon as she stated the point was moot. "No need to justify your beliefs or explain them. As I said perspective is a beuatful thing, and you are allowed yours clean and clear of justification to the likes of me." Her words on the mundane peeked a slight intrest as a silence fell between them. The mundane.....when had that last occured.

A brief memory, raking leaves for Takigakure....chasing that monkey out of town...simple genin missions. Filing papers, creating new folders labeled "boring" and "Waste of time" for the public relations and economic paperwork of Yukigakure when he had lived...literally lived in the leaders chambers. She claimed these were the moments that he should cherish, not the others....The explosions, the great tree burning to the ground. How did they really compare to eachother, and did those deeds all belong to the same person. In the end though, a simple conclusion sprouted in the soil of his mind.

The mundane lasted longer, offered a full life. The deeds in the moment that ignored consequence often lead to a short life, but in a much flashier way. Perspective indeed was beautiful and depending on ones own would pick which was for the best. Silence...it continued to move between them, yet it was not uncomfrtable, it in a way was peaceful. He had no need to justify his reasoning anymore than what had already done, and whether politness of giving up she had ended her own. The silence in its own way spoke for them, "Its best we agree to disagree"

Her next question was simple, and yet he wondered if she knew what it meant. She was after all still an agent of Kumogakure, was she spying. He really didn't believe so, nothing about her said spy. Of course, maybe that meant she was really good at it, but risks were ok to take. After all, it might lead to more fun down the road.

"What do you know of the minor lands? Bird, Bear, Fang, Haven, etc. I think I might go to one of these. See what they are all about. Of course, I also made a promise to a friend to help him revenge the murder of some girl or another. This village is actually on his list to investigate as it may have had a hand in it. Looking back I should have investigated more, but alas the events sped along quicker than I could have imagined. You place pieces in the proper spots, only to find you have placed them on the wrong game board." His voice trailed off. What to do next was indeed the trick. This was not the first he had thought on this subject, and wouldn't be the last.

Eyes closing his fingers would find the bridge of his nose, and then run up and down to the edge of where his hair began. A soft sigh escaping his lips. "Akihanna..." For a moment he seemed to almost say something, then in a flash his eyes opened and the moment had passed. "No thanks, food isn't something I will be needing. I can always find more, there is no shortage of beds along the road and pantries to raid. As my gift to you though, for the sandwiches...how about you keep this picnic blanket. Incase my memory isn't solid enough, you'll have this to rememebr us." Obviously a light tease, after all...that was just who Maku was.