At the edge of existance

"So... we can't go back to Kumo?" The confusion in Arata's eyes was unparalleled as he asked the question, his dark gaze lingering on his mother for a moment before they darted to Arashi just in case this was a joke. "But what about everyone there? Yaju-sensei, Fenn Nii-san, Odin, Miss Misaki, Alice?"

"I don't know sweetie," Akihana explained, reaching out to offer the boy a hug which he moved away from instantly, the accusation clear in his gesture. The movement made Akihana cringe but there was no going back now. "They were in the village when the attack happened. But we can try to find them."

"But you just said we can't leave here? You said this is a special place made by jutsu and that we're supposed to stay here to be safe."

"It is a special place, but I'm sure we can leave eventually," the blonde tried once more only to have their son turn his back on her, the defiant and anger reverberating off his little frame in waves. It hadn't been an easy decision to approach Arata with the truth and the kunoichi was still surprised she had made it. If it was up to her, Arata would never have found out what had happened in Kumo but things were not up to her. And what was worse, a small voice indie her head had began to sound uncannily like a certain someone she knew, demanding that Akihana be honest with her son, certain that he would be able to understand given time, disappointed that she had taken so long to decide in the freest place.

And as hard as she tried, the medic couldn't keep that incessant voice from her mind.

"Why didn't you tell me all this before?"

"I didn't want to scare you," the young woman replied honestly only to have Arata turn back to her, his anger replaced with cold fury.

"I don't get scared as easily mom, I'm not a coward like you." And with that, the boy took off, his small feet sprinting towards the door and out the small cottage in seconds. There was no point running after him, Akihana knew, the last person he'd want to see right now was his lying, coward mother. Still, she had a job to do.

"Could you please go after your brother, Arashi, make sure he doesn't hurt himself?" she requested, her golden gaze now resting on her older son. "Don't tell him off for being rude, I suspect he needed to say that, just make sure he's okay."

"Alright mom," Arashi nodded before taking after Arata, leaving her all alone.to find an armchair to sink into. Unfortunately life had something else in store for her rather than worrying at home about her sons. Just as she was about to sink into the armchair, a door appeared on the wall opposite her, manifesting very much like Den's doors did when he visited the medical facility beside the cottage. Taking this to mean she was needed, the blonde instead changed directions and headed to the door.

"Hello," she greeted both men, mustering up a smile despite the stress lines on her forehead. Arata may be upset with her but at least he was safe and being watched by Arashi. The stress receded further when Maku mentioned a mission that involved helping people. "Do we get to leave Sanctuary?" she asked, trying to keep the note of hope from showing in her tone but failing somewhat in her attempts.

"No offense, of course," she added to Den. "It just feels like we've been here forever and a day. And do I have to pack a picnic?"

"Indeed we will be leaving sanctuary, but it won't be for picnics I'm afraid." Maku said as she finished. "It involves something a bit more.....well I don't know how to say it without cutting to the Whic of the matter." Looking at Den briefly his eyes returned to Akihana.

"We are going to finally put this business to bed. Infiltrate haven, discover who killed my brothers friend, and well.....do what needs done I suppose". Sipping his drink for a moment he gave Den the opportunity to say anything that he would like. "My brother and I will most likely consist of the forward should any fighting occur and though he is a skilled medic, it would be nice for him not to have to rely on those gifts. Thus your name came up. So, if you please, I would like you to accompany and assist us on this mission."

Their last meeting wasn't so far from his mind, yet he attempted to give it no pause. It would do no good now anyway. All this time in sanctuary seemed to lead to this singular moment, the moment when they finally completed a mission. To Maku however, this seemed like the final mission. He didn't know why, and perhaps it was the drink....something though felt fulfilling about what they were setting off to do.

He knew that deep down, no matter what occurred short of his own death of course, there was still one final things to do. Confront the Demon, but that would wait for now. No doubt he kept himself entertained well enough. It wasn't a prospect that had once held so much joy now however. Fighting seemed so tiring, so....boring. Yet it was all he had known, and most likely all he would continue to know. Any gifts he had received leading to this seemed more like curses, yet they were his to bear, so it would continue on.

"Are you sure your up for the job? No doubt f you help us we can find some way to repay you? Perhaps even eliminating the need for you to remain in Sanctuary..." He would look at Denkitiki as he said this. It had been a sour of the moment thought, and he knew how cautious his brother was. Wether he would go along or not was to be seen. Though to him at least it seemed a fair trade.

Akihana seemed to like the idea of leaving Sanctuary, whether because she missed the old world or because she wanted to escape Den wasn’t sure. She had seemed to accept that she would remain in Sanctuary but she did seem very eager to leave.

Maku decided to lead the conversation, respond to Akihana and informing her of the mission and what it might entail. Maku also brought up the possibility of letting Akihana leave Sanctuary permanently to her, something Den wished his brother had consulted with him at least. With Kumogakure seemingly destroyed by Maku’s friend there wasn’t as much to fear from letting Akihana go. It still did not sit well with Den, but if she aided him in avenging Minorin he would feel indebted to her, and from what he had seen of her memories Akihana was not a vengeful person, she had not sought vengeance against Maku’s actions to Echo, it seemed doubtful that she would try and make him pay for his transgressions against her either.

Maku had at least looked towards Den after mentioning the possibility to her freedom, so Den used this as his chance to speak once his brother was finished, “If you assist me in procuring the aid of the local government within Haven to help track down these men I will allow you and any of the other former Kumon in that wishes to go with you to leave Sanctuary and return to the real world once I’ve dealt with those men.” There were two boys that Akihana seemed to have managed to get into Sanctuary, and Koga as well. Den imagined the two boys would likely go with Akihana, her son obviously and the young genin seemed to want to stay with her as well. Koga was the one Den didn’t know about, last time they had spoken Koga had been somewhat upset with the people of Kumo, so Den wasn’t sure if Koga would want to remain in Sanctuary or if he’d want to go with Aki.

Den would wait for Akihana’s response, as he did he would create the sound of his voice in two other parts of Sanctuary, his creations Toma and Tomoya being informed of their mission and to begin getting ready.

As Maku explained what the mission would entail, Akihana's smile faltered, her expression turning more serious. They were going to kill again, in the name of this girl Den had been so fond off. Did that justify their actions, she no longer knew. the world wasn't as plain and simple as it had once been. Though to their credit they were not misleading her, they were being upfront about what they intended to do and what they expected of her.

'I will will go with you," she agreed with a nod of her golden head, she would have agreed anyway because it looked like what they were attempting was dangerous. And whatever the past, she had come to accept that their safety mattered to her. She could try and explain it away as selfishness for as long as they remained safe and able, she and her son had shelter in Sanctuary but selfishness had never been one of Akihana's trait, and what remained once that was taken out of the equation was too frightening to think about.

"Thank you for the offer of freedom," she spoke once both young men were in agreement about letting her and the rest of the kumo nin out of Sanctuary. "But I don't even know what the outside world holds for everyone. I myself cannot speak for them all, perhaps some of them would prefer to stay here. Let's see how the world treats us first before we make a decision about inhabiting it again."

Trying to infect some cheer in the group, the kunoichi attempted a smile once more. "And never underestimate the power of a picnic, no one guesses what kind of weapons you're hiding in a harmless looking wicker basket," she grinned at Maku, her troubled with Arata pushed to the back of her mind for now at the prospect of leaving Sanctuary.

"Oh, before we go, do you think i could have some mission clothes?" The request was tentative and slightly awkward, so far she had not complained about the lack of appropriate clothing, always making do with what she had or found for training. But this was a proper mission, one she would need to be attired for. Her few personalized weapons and items were always on her person but at the moment she was dressed in a simple floral sundress teamed with almost knee high boots. An apron with streak of flour on it completed the look, Serviceable clothes no doubt but highly unrecommended for a mission to infiltrate a foreign government.

"Do we know anything of the place we're heading towards? It might help us blend in better if we're familiar with the locale."

"I see no reason to delay then." Maku would say standing. "I think it best if we begin our movements. Do either of you need anything to prepare, or are we ready to go?" As he said this he would create a door next to him. It was a tall oak door with ornamental red stained glass. The images on the glass were that of two shonobi riding on dragons fighting the visages of toads. On the left hand side a giant crushing the beastsz. What was most intresting was that the images moved and played out the scene of anyone cared to watch.

The door would swing open and a toad roughly the size of a Great Dane would waddle and hop out to stand in front of Maku. Opening its mouth it would reveal rows of razored teeth and a large tongue. On the end of that tongue nestled between many barbs was a variety of objects. Grabbing his robe he swung it on his shoulders, what was ok before disappeared and instead he simple wore his white battle atire. Knowing. Of the heat, it remained open in the front. His sword came next hooked to his belt. Finally a back, which opened revealed a variety of food stuffs and other standard survival equipment.

"Well I'm ready...." He would say. If they weren't ready this was of no concern. Maku simply enjoyed being eccentric and if that meant being ready in a flash by a road butler, well that's how it would be. Clicking his tongue the road would turn and move back through the door. However the door didn't shut. If one looked inward they would see a large dining hall. Everyone in formal atire, and waiters moving between tables. The toad would also become a butler as it hit the threshold of Discord.

The request for mission clothes at first confused Den, then he realized he hadn't really provided Akihana with clothes since her arrival in Sanctuary. A table would appear next to Aki with a number of different types of clothes to pick from, hopefully Akihana would see something she would want to wear on the mission. Tomoya and Toma would enter through doorways that would appear nearby, carrying travel gear. Both of them had swords as well, Toma holding Fuin no Ken and Tomoya holding Den's other swords. He would hand Den the sword Shapeless, which he had taken the liberty of using its power to copy the form of the blade Tomoya kept, so that Den could have Shapeless take the form of either of Den’s other swords should he want to.

Den would turn to Akihana after receiving the sword, standing up from his seat as he did so. His other equipment would appear on his form, his cloak appearing on his shoulders, his belt and weapon pouch on his waist, and his kunai holster appearing on the outer part of his left thigh.

“We don’t know much of the country, other than that they are fairly isolationist and do not have a village of shinobi of their own. The men who attacked my friend seemed to have ambitions to conquer the country, they are likely terrorizing it now in attempts to gain control.” Den paused after that sentence and stared at Maku’s strange display for a moment as his brother began to grab gear from the toad’s tongue, before recomposing himself and turning back to Akihana.

“Is there anything else you need before we go?” A bag to put some of the clothes in appeared next to Akihana’s feet so that she could bring a few for the journey. If she requested anything mundane Den would create it for her using Sanctuary.

After that he would turn to his brother once more, pointing also to his two associates as he said their names, “Tomoya over here will be going with you Maku, his knowledge of jutsu is limited but he is good at what he does know, and he is skilled at infiltration as well. Toma will be going with me and Akihana. Can you teleport the five of us to Iwa, and from there I suppose we will split into our teams and approach the country separately.”

As Den made a table appear laden full of clothing, Akihana moved to pick out more or less her standard gear. Practical shots, a mesh shirt underneath a solid colored sleeveless vest and a roll of bandages. Her own boots were sturdy enough but after a moment's thought, the blonde added a travelling cloak, white to keep off the heat as it looked like they would be journeying somewhere warm.

The remaining selection was no toad butler - a spectacle that Akihana found as amusing as she did disturbing - but the young woman took the time to save a few pairs of jeans and blouses more reminiscent of her usual style. The Kunoichi even found some suitable skirts to keep away for later. "Could you change the bag into a picnic basket?" she requested politely, taking the current clothes she had and walking towards a door leading to another room. Akihana emerged five minutes freshly changed, the light sparkling off the pins in her braid. She had been listening while Den spoke and it sounded like the people in this new land needed help.

It was finally starting to look like she could be her old self.

Akihana greeted Den's associates as they joined the trio, sending Tomoya whom she knew a friendly wave while nodding politely towards Toma. Splitting up, she had her concerns about but if the brothers had decided on the plan, they must have had something in mind. The kunoichi turned to Maku to add a "please" to Den's request because telling him to take care would have been... unusual, but stopped midway when the scene on the door he had created caught her eye.

Akihana still wasn't sure how time worked in Sanctuary but clearly the image of her first arrival in this dimension hadn't been forgotten by anyone. Automatically, her eyes lingered on the scene, trying to detect the pale winged dragon and its blonde rider.

Realizing what she'd been doing, the medic averted her eyes from the door. "I think we're all good to go."

Giving a bow to Denkiteki, Maku would snap the fingers of his left hand. Another door would appear, the stain glass revealing the magnificent mountains of the earth country. In the center a distinct crater where the once proud village once had rested would be the most distinguishing feature. Like the other door the picture would move, from birds to lizards seemingly crawling across the landscape in this live action picture.

"This will take us as close as I can get us. From there we will go about our business I suppose. Though we should enjoy a brief jaunt before the necessities of splitting up occurs." Looking at both parties he would see f this seemed reasonable before stepping forward and through the doorway. Instantly he wouldn't be able to be sensed from sanctuary as his feet his the dirt that composed the country. It was true, they had a long run to make it....and yet it was a hell of a lot closer than Kumo.

It felt good to have a mission, a purpose, something to do that would require actual focus. Though he couldn't help but think as his foot hit the ground that this was an ominous moment. Taking a glance back at the door he wondered what had come over him. It felt like he had stepped over more than just a threshold...something deeper, something longer. As if it was the last time he would leave a building. Licking his lips, the strong wind would blow, only adding to the ominous dread that wrestled within his stomach.

He suddenly ached for a drink, he suddenly wished he could go back to Discord, he sudden to wished Youka was still by his side. The wave hit him suddenly, even harder than the dread. He truly missed Youka, for everything but he said and did, he missed the man. They had done so much together, had bled together, laughed together, broken bread together. They were more brothers than any simply bond of kinship, and that part of his life was over. Or was his life over? It had seemed that way, if Youka was his brother it could be said that Echo Uchiha had been their metaphorical father.

He had given them the purpose and the means to do everythringn that had been done. Unknowingly he had set his own death in motion, while trying to secure his own empire. The irony wasn't lost on him, and yet.....what would life have been like if it had been different.

Shaking his head he attempted to erase the thoughts, to clear his mind. Anger filled him ever so briefly. The conflict of emotions would be obvious, as they were not something he was this used to dealing with. Findin his real brother, parents, this Alihana who attempted to see the good and yet wouldn't stand to fight, Youka gone, Echo dead.....everything was just beginning to become to much. It plagued his inner psyche and his own indecision of where his life was going only allowed these doubts to take a deeper hold.

Though all these feelings had been a tempest in his soul, the entire process only lasted a couple seconds. A deep breath and then a smile that hid so much. "Well, let's move on then. First one there buys lunch." And with that he bolted in the direction of Haven.

(Exit I suppose)

Den transformed Akihana's bag into a picnic basket at her request. After doing that Den, Tomoya, and Toma would follow Maku through his door, and would follow after Maku a a pace a bit slower than his as he was a bit faster than them.

(Exit)

TWC: 3128
1128 words towards SA I guess
1000 x2 towards Shapeless being able to transform into sword I'm giving Toma and Tomoya

The kunoichi watched with a slight bit of apprehension as Maku opened yet another door, the thought of going outside exciting yet nerve racking at the same time. It was hard to believe that an immeasurable amount of time ago she would have done anything to escape Sanctuary and now, as she stood on a precipice once more deciding on where she got to go and what she had to leave behind, the blonde cautiously looked over her shoulder. Her mother had always said it was unlucky to look over one's shoulder when passing through a doorway. Unlucky or rude, Akihana couldn't remember anymore, one of the two certainly as both warranted a telling off to her younger daughter.

After the longest time, Akihana found herself wondering if her sister ever looked back. Senritsu, cousin Ayame, her various uncles, had they ever thought that something as simple as looking over their shoulders was the reason such misfortune as Akihana had fallen into their otherwise pristine family?

Shaking her golden head slightly at the wayward though, thoughts like these had started occurring more often since the medic had become the unwilling host of all that foreign chakra inside her, but that wasn't something she would allow herself to think of right now. Arata and Arashi were safe, she had a home more or less, and as badly as it had begun, life in Sanctuary was settling down. Because if she was going to do this mission right, she had to believe she wasn't leaving behind a sanctuary, she was moving forwards with two people whom she could trust to bring her back to it.

Gathering her traveling cloak around her with her picnic basket in her hand, Akihana carefully stepped out the door, feeling weight she didn't know she had lost in the first place return to her body. The solidly of real ground felt no different than the ground in Sanctuary and yet something was different. She was different. and it showed even more as she glanced at Maku, her soft golden eyes contemplating his profile as he stood for a moment before explaining how they were to travel. Once again the urge to tell him to take care threatened to overwhelm the blonde but she remained where she stood, politely withdrawing her gaze from him. There was a bigger distance between them now than the few feet of space that actually separated them, one that was a lot more difficult to measure because it consisted of words both said and unsaid, and for now the blonde had no idea how to bridge that particular gap.

Looking towards Den and his crew to ensure they had all made it into the real world safely, Akihana prepared for the journey. "See you soon," she managed towards Maku though whether he heard her as she blurred off into the distance was as good a guess as any. Still, at least she had managed to speak. And if she could somehow make herself believe in things again, she would start with the three of them meeting up once all this was over, safe and sound – and together.

"Shall we?" she asked Den and his friend and after their response, directed chakra to her feet, preparing for the journey to Haven. A new place, a new adventure, Akihana wondered if any of them will return the same people as the ones that had left as. Experiences changed people but friends stayed together despite the change.

Akihana wondered if they were friends, and if this mission would show one way or the other.

(Exit Akihana)

TWC: 2002

Claiming 2000 for a V1 tail
Claiming 10 stats converted to 1, 000 Ryo