Casuistry (p,Aki)

Maku watched and saw how tired she looked. Her frame may be slender, but she always seemed to try and carry the world. It was probably one of her biggest charecter flaws......and maybe just maybe in the right light one of her greatest strengths. It was far from a burden Maku would place on himself. Maybe he was selfish that way.....or in a lot of ways. Selflessness had never been a top priority, not even now. At times it was like talking to someone from a different world, with obvious differences and obvious similarities merely to keep things from seeming to far stretched. Either way, it was always fun, even if it made him think to hard.

Her choice of alchol well that was one he could approve of. "I do like games. Though I think you already knew that. Are you trying to get on my good side Miss Akihanna?" He would say teasingly. He listened as she described a game from her childhood. One that he had heard of though had never played. However once she described her own game he let out a slight chuckle at the idea. Whatever it was...that kept her constrained to her moral code was a powerful force indeed. It could quite possibly give gravity a run for its money as most powerful natural force. "Only the truth? I think I fail to see the game part, though no doubt you will enlighten me presently." He would add.

Only the truth, no lies. The two couldn't be separated really. To much truth could lead to an endulgence of fact and make a lie, and omission was also a lie. A wrong lie could become the truth if one simply believed enough. The two were so similar....fundamentally even if many saw only the distinctions. "We must be carful though I think. Lies and truths....they are bed fellows did you know? They meet in the dark, at night where they can hide. They mingle and twist, becoming inseparable in the dark only to ...*poof*.....split as the light breaks on the horizon. They then act as if they never knew one another. This is what we are up against." He would say. His hands clapping together and parting as he had said poof.

It would be intresting to see what she had to say, what was so complex as to be made a game. The tiredness he had felt vanished. No not vanished, it was still there subdued. The thoughts of company, conversation, and a fresh game rejuvenated his mind. It gave him the strength to focus and become engrossed in the subject. Tiredness would be there later, for now his eyes remained on Akihana's own, his full attention given to the blonde across from him.

The mispronunciation of her name - mispronunciation or over emphasis, she never could tell - made the blonde smile softly, as though she'd heard a familiar joke. She still hadn't figured it out if he did it intentionally or not but there were few things that could remain a mystery. "And here I thought I already had that honor," she answered, golden eyes glowing warmly as they scanned the young male opposite and then moved on to the food that had appeared on their table. Truth be told, she wasn't even sure what she'd ordered, she'd just done it because they were sitting in a restaurant full of people in their sleeping pajamas and because that's what the waiter had recommended, but food was food. And this one smelled very appetizing.

To his revelations of truth and lies, Akihana found herself paying particular attention. Sure he described the mechanics of belief well enough; the power of conviction had a lot to do with what was the truth and what was a lie. But surely some things he held sacred, some things that didn’t need to be categorized as such. If one evaluated everything in existence against the measure of someone’s conviction… The thought of it made Akihana wonder if Maku sometimes realized the depth of what he was saying. It was very much like him to make a throwaway comment of something monumental and make a huge deal of something as inocious as a pink hat. “How about we stick to things we think are truths then?” she suggested lightly, not wanting to offend him neither wishing to be too personal.

"Well, it doesn’t work as a traditional game I suppose," she admitted, lowering her gaze slightly in embarrassment. "But I found that it helps relieve one greatly of their burdens. For example." She waited a beat, picking up her glass once more. Another sip of wine and she was able to look up again. "I was the klutziest little girl in the universe. I fell down while walking up stairs, walking on flat roads and when I first started surface walking, my mother was convinced I was going to do myself serious injury by losing my balance on a tree branch and ruining my face." The story still brought a fond glint in her eye.

“Truth or lie?” The question was not one that needed answering, she had already revealed that she only spoke the truth. It would still be interesting to see how he answered. And if he did, she too would respond accordingly.

“Now it’s your turn to tell me a truth, and we’ll see where that leaves us at.” It perhaps wasn’t as exciting a game as the ones her schoolmates used to play, but it certainly felt a lot better than what Akihana imagined would only be a knot of lies coiled tightly in your stomach otherwise by the end.

“And of course this way, no one loses and everyone wins.”

"'Mmm maybe you did have the honor but it's best to always keep them guessing.  It's part of showmanship obviously."  He would add when she mentioned about already being on his good side.  A smile was already lighting his lips but it got a little brighter with that.  He gave a small nod of agreement when she mentioned that they stick with nothing but the truth.  She had proposed the game, it would be rude to do anything other than follow her rules for now.  It was at least worth a try.

As she began her first statement listened to a story that he found completely believable.  After all during their first meeting she fell and hit her head, he thought about it and knew with certainty that it was due to clumsiness and by the external stimuli that had been going on at the time.  Regardless of this thought however he would immediately say "lie, you did ballet while balancing books on your head, nice try though."  He would say wth a wink.

When she told him to tell a truth his eyes would turn down just a little.  A part of him wanted to answer with something similar to hers.  About the time he chased a monkey out of the village, explored the jungles of Takigakure as a child, or how he saved that wild pig from hungry leapords when he spent a week alone within the jungle.  All these things flashed across his mind as she mentioned no one could win or lose.  But hadn't that already been decided?  Not by the precense of some game, but by the truths they revealed.  

Indeed, the time between her question and her answer lasted greater than he intended.  The pause while lengthy seemed to be of no time while he considered.  Finally he looked up, his smile still in place........but his eyes just a bit misty.  "I miss my friends.......truth or lie."

Friends......there were only two he had ever really made.  Many aquantences, people he could tolerate, he even had some semblance of a family now, and one person who remained unclassified.  However he had only ever had two friends.  As he said it out loud though....something seemed to lift and he sat back a little straighter.  He gave a little chuckle even after a brief pause of sadness.  Once again switching from serious to sing song at the drop of a hat.  "Now you have to tell me a truth.......one I couldn't guess". He would add with a conspiratorial wink.

The idea of doing ballet with a stack of books made Akihana giggle, well, the idea as well as her next sip of wine. Perhaps her next truth should be how easily she could get drunk. But that would probably be too obvious in a few more sips anyway so why waste an opportunity. She might as well admit to being a natural blonde. The medic simply made herself more comfortable on the chair, bringing her feet up to tuck neatly beneath her where she sat. They were already breaking all the clichés, she figured. This small act wouldn’t be perceived as rude.

Her laughter vanished however when he mentioned missing his friends, There were very few moments in time when Akihana felt sure of whether he was joking or serious but the blonde felt it now. It had little to do with their previous agreement on telling just the truth and more to do with how she was used to sensing Maku’s chakra. Shinobi coined terms for functional abilities. Chakra sensory, chakra signature memory, tracking, masteries. There were no terms for knowing someone’s chakra as intimately as your own, no definition of sadness or mourning.

“I miss my friends too,” she admitted, reaching out to softly squeeze his hand if allowed. If not, she would instead swipe for his sandwich which lay on his plate, attempting to take a bite to both cheer him up or steer him away from the sadness a little. Either way, his good mood would be restored and in what appeared to be a flash and it would be her turn to try again. This time, the kunlichi paused befoe revealing a truth. He’d given hr a big one, so she should return the favor.

“When Arata was born, I cried myself to sleep every night because he cried. I thought it was because he knew I was a bad mother. I didn’t realize babies cried as a primary method of communication until he was almost six months old.” A tint of pink embarrassment accompanied the confession as she spoke, reaching for the wine once more after she finished to dull the edge of mortified humiliation. “Now your turn.”

His hand would pull away almost without thought.  Indeed the intention would never flit across his face as her own hand moved towards his.  It would instead grasp his drink before throwing back the remainder.  The symbology of the motion wasn't missed on Maku himself as he realized what he had done.  Though, he was far from admitting it out loud, no matter what game they where playing.

As he listened to her own truth, he would smile slightly.  "Sorry Akihanna that's two truths, you said we take turns.  Therefore round one goes to me.......I am winning."  his eyes would sparkle with mischief as he found a way to claim victory in a game that had none.  It was just part of his character, constantly seeking the way to be the best.  It wasn't meant to be rude, it wasn't meant to take away from the seriousness of the situation, but he wouldn't be Maku if he hadn't.  "I'm sure you did fine though, but since I wasn't there I can't say if that is a truth or not, merely a subjective opinion."  He would add.

Well, that was the worst compliment in probably the history of compliments, but he had made sure to phrase it in such a way for it to not be a complete truth.  After all, he wouldn't have her pulling the same trick on him that he had just managed to pull off.  As his glass refilled for the third time, he could feel a true warmth spreading through his body.  It always seemed to take longer of late, perhaps a testament to his favorite companion in times of need as of late.  All the same its familiar powers eventually began to kick in.

"mmmmm.."  He would hum considering what truth to reveal next.  "I am looking forward to the festival tomorrow....that is a truth.  Especially once my brother and I get to put on our show."  He would say as he contemplated the contents of his goblet.  As he looked up and examined her eyes more closely, the left side of his mouth seemed to move up just slightly, part of a half grin.  "Are you okay?  or do the arm rests need to be higher to keep you from falling out?"  He would say.  The obvious joke at the level of alcohol in her blood as opposed to what was normally there.  It wouldn't do for her to fall over, he would hate to let her hit the ground......again.

Seeing as her swipe if the sandwich was unimpeded, Akihana reached for the snack on his plate while Maku reached for his glass of questionable content. Not reading his gesture as anything more than it had been at face value, the blonde brought the sandwich to her lip and took a bite, immediately making a face after the taste of honey was not enough to mask the offending peanut butter. Placing it back in front of him, she reached for her wineglass once more, trying to rinse the peanut butter out of her mouth.

"How do people eat this thing?" she commented more than questioned once she had swallowed a healthy dose of wine, leaving her glass nearly empty. Though the blonde doubted that would be a problem as Maku's drink had been refilled. Laughing slightly at his question of armrests, Akihana merely shook her head. "I'm good, at least for one more glass I think..." she finished, her buzzing mind finding amusement at the fact that he needed to win this badly. She herself had never understood that drive to be the best, especially not at the expense of hurting others. She was supposed they were lucky in this situation then because Maku needed to win and she had never minded losing.

"I think everyone is looking forwards to that," she confirmed with a small smile. The city had been hungry for entertainment lately given the stressful situation and tomorrow, they would get what they wanted. Those who wanted to see the shinobi forces forces pay would revel if Den lost while those who needed confirmation front the gods that Hoshi was headed the right way would cheer if their leader won. Maku didn't seem to have to live up to some kind of ethereal expectation, he would likely have fun and steal the crowd's favor in his usual way.

But only time would tell.

"Let's see," she began, contemplating reaching for her glass once more more to just finish it off. Deciding to do just that, the kunoichi took the final sip and watched her glass refill before she had even properly set it down. "My next truth is.. I'm afraid to tell you the next one."

Sitting and listening, he would simply watch the Kuniochi and truly take in her face, her inflection, and the things that weren't said. He wondered why she was a shinobi in the first place, and if she really even could be considered one. Sure she had the skills, the powers they were there, but what made a shinobi a shinobi........well it was a philosophical question dating back to times of antiquity. Sure he didn't have the answer, or things would be a lot different. He barely even considered himself a ninja much these days, so why judge others if they didn't fit into the mold that for so tightly.

She looked tired despite attempting to be up bet, only to become contemplative. Afraid to say her next truth......he had no idea what she could have to say that would be in the least bit frightening. Looking at her, he would simply say, "you scared a lot. That's my truth. There was a time I'd have found that.....well I'd have found it impossible to handle with you around. Now though, I wonder if you have it right and maybe I have it wrong. So many thing happen, so many days continue to pass by, who is to say we aren't all scared, even if we hide it behind a facade of bravado, or a tinkling of laughter. You might be the most honest person I've ever met Akihanna, I cant say for certain how I feel about that, but it's there."

He wanted to hear her truth. He did, but he wondered what it would do to the foundation of where they sat. As he leaned back in her chair he would wait, and if she hesitated he would change the subject essentially stopping the game. He only wanted her to reveal the truth if she did so without hesitation, to hesitate......meant the game was on pause for another time.

"I'm going to Kumo after the festival. I think it's time. I'm sure the Hokage Jason Senju hasn't written you yet, but when I was in Konoha I proposed very successfully the idea of an alliance between the city of stars and the leaf village. He even liked the idea of a joint chunin exam if we can get our shinobi up to snuff". Taking a drink to wet his throat, he would continue on.

"The crime is down, a true alliance of power in the making, a more than capable leader in Denkitki and yourself, no sight of the foes we came to eradicate........I think it's time I go and see Youka. I think it's time I see the weight of our sins with my own eyes." His voice was low, a little disconnected. His mind wasn't here anymore, he was considering the implications of his next journey.

He had seen what Youka had become within the pool of sanctuary. A beast, a wild animal, something that under normal precedents would be put down. He had helped in creating that, the force of the impact of leaving a gate during guard duty by an 11 year old boy was felt heavy on the hearts of thousands. It was only fair he see what he had done, and face the consequences of them. Youka and Maku, perhaps one of the most infamous duo of missing ninja in the history of the shinobi world, village after village lay in the wake, a body count a thousands high, every challenge eliminated, and now these two forces had no one else to turn their sight to.......except eachother

He had a point, many things scared the blonde, and she never found herself pretending otherwise. Though he seemed to be as unsure of this lack of talent as much as she was. Akihana had always tried to instill in both her sons that fear was not a bad thing, anything that made someone human in this shinobi world was never a bad thing but what had that resulted in. Her youngest being highly suspicious of her and her older one now succumbing to it too often as evidenced by his nightly terrors. The kunoichi didn't want to think about how she had made both ehr boys too human to survive in this world so she reached for her glass once more.

Akihana didn't know what to do with his admission either, though she suspected that ws the liquid courage buzzing inside her. There was not enough fo it to turn ehr into a brave person because alcohol couldn't change a personality cultivated over a lifetime but there was enough but now to mislead herself into thinking this was a compliment. After all, if one had to be remembered for soemthing, it might as well be a good virtue like honesty.

Even if at this point she was almost certain they were no longer playing a game.

Upon hearing his own thoughts about leaving, the medic tried not to show her distress. He didn't care for distress or worry, and she doubted there was a way to change his mind. No point sending him off with a frown. "And I suppose you won't say goodbye before you leave either," she commented, not quite meeting his gaze. The glass of wine found its way to her hand again but this time the blonde did not bring it up to her lips. Instead, she watched the dark red swirl as she twisted the stem of the glass back and forth, not hard enough to spill but definitely enough to create a reaction justifying the scrutiny.

If Maku chose to reply, she would listen and respond before deciding that though there could never be enough courage, there was perhaps enough just this one time. They were after all in a lie.

"I'm a jinchuriki."

It was the truth, even though they were no longer playing a game.

Her reaction was not unexpected. He wouldn't call it chiding, though the disapproval was evident either through her intent or not, it was clear. He had expected this, and in a very small and selfish way he had hoped she would react this very way. No one else did for him......perhaps Denkitki but that was very different than what he saw before him. A brothers worry, and whatever this was, were hardly comparable. Within this glass castle he had crafted for himself, he found himself not thinking on the differences but only on what he was looking at, which happened to be a blonde with downcast eyes.

The red swirled in her eyes as they reflected the wine. A symbolism that was not lost on him. He couldn't help but think his own eyes could very possibly be filled with red, and he thought his sharingan had little to nothing to do with that. His hand, of its own volition had reached out if allowed. His fingers closing gently on the back of her hand, the tips just making their way around her wrist. It was a feather grip, light as air, and he had ended up leaning much closer than he had meant.

If this would make her look up before her own confession she would see his own face close to hers, a very real grin across his lips. Not a fake one, not a forced one, not even one you would see in times of joy, it was merely Maku at resting face. "No, I most certainly won't." He would say, his voice barely above a whisper, easily missed even as the crowd of the restaurant seemed to quiten a bit. The game was over, that much was obvious, but why was he still having so much fun.

He doubted she would like his answer, but he hoped she would accept it to the best of her powers. Even as he considered this if she hadn't moved or said anything he would realize just how far he had learned, taking his seat back once again. If she decided to still reveal her truth his eyes would roll. "Of course you are. The burdens of heaven and earth weren't enough, you had to take on a monster as well aye?" He would say.

A small sigh. He thought of the own bijuu he had lost. He had known the creature a short time, and he regretted that, though things happened for a reason and he wasn't one to argue with fate. He had so long desired a bijuu, he had one and lost it. Now he knew two jinn, surrounded on both sides. It was an intresting concept as if they were anyone else he might very well if reached out and plucked the powers from them. Even as he considered this, a realization came to him. He was oddly ok with all of this.

"I've heard that's unpleasant, how are you getting on with it?" If the mood returned to normal he would ask in a very casual way. As if he was asking if her new high heels were hurting her feet. He just had a way of making grand events seem like every day struggles, though he found a comfort in that. He was unsure if others did as well. He would wait to here more from her, though he pressed no questions for detail, asked for no stories on the matter, it was her truth she could reveal as much or as little as she wanted.

His touch was soft on her skin, soft and surprising, making her look up from the wine into his own blue eyes. A grin that seemed to denote nothing but a good mood and she didn't know what unsettled her more: that grin or his proximity or the wish that he had somehow held her hand tighter. She couldn't begin to explain where the last thought had formed from but it had and if she was going to be known for being honest, she might as well be truthful in her own mind.

It had been there a moment, regardless of how brief the moment had been. And she knew it as clearly as she knew there was probably nothing in the world that would keep him from going to Kumo. The thought did make her reconsider her decision of telling him. After all, she would not have lied. And she doubted the revelation would have any particular impact on him. Once he'd moved away again, she wondered if he'd found what he was looking for in her features. She hoped he had, it was little but it was the least she could do for him.

"Don't call it a monster," she chastised softly, breaking the spell. Akihana hadn't really spoken to many jinchuriki but she certainly was goign to defend ehr own. "Mokana just doesn't like being caged in, few living things do." Shaking her head, the kunoichi looked at him reproachfully. "You should apologize to her for saying that."

When asked how she was coping with it, Akihana took a moment to formulate her reply. She had meant what she said earlier, her bijuu was not a monster. It was angry at times but in an understandable way, at least to her. And it simply wasn't in her nature to resent people or entities that were already upset. "It's been... I've been keeping it repressed mostly for fear that if I let it out... it might hurt someone," she admitted. "Den sealed it inside me just before we left for Haven and.." In a confused half incoherent manner, the story of the boy and his bijuu revealed itself. How Ran had been on the verge of death, how the bijuu was sealed into her as a last resort, how they had managed to bring the child back to life.

"I feel so bad for her, I want to let her out. She misses the sky but I don't know how to give her control safely. I think i can survive going into cloak form but I would never forgive myself if I hurt anyone or Mokona in the process."