All I wanted....

Sun Nov 15, 2015 3:57 am

I asked myself once, if I knew today was the last would I live it any different than how I planned? In most cases I could say unequivocally no. I worked hard to live each day the way I wanted, not ruled by some higher power man or deity. I wanted that last day to end at sunset, because despite my attempts I do love the cliches. I wanted to end that day with a smile, and a gentle song. Most of all I wanted to end that day knowing that my time in the world has impacted all those I met, and my name would be passed down for a hundred thousand years.........well you can't have everything.

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The sun shone overhead, a lie. The grass stretched out endless, a lie. The birds sang overhead, an overture of nature.....still it was a lie. An entire world crafted, molded to form the most believable lie he had ever seen. Even the originality of the current area was a lie, having been ripped from Sanctuary to provide him with this.....a true moment of peaceful solitude. He had woken in that room, a smile on his face. It had been a fun fight after all.

As he considered everything that had happened he began to laugh. He had long attempted to become the strongest shinobi, one who defied rhyme and reason to always come out on top. Yet when it came down to it, he couldn't help but feel like just part of a grander story. Not a hero, not a villain, not even the side kick. Merely a stepping stone, a chapter of others before their story could unfold further. His greatest conflicts, each one was a loss. His tinkling laughter taken up by the mockingbirds over head.

Wiping the tears from his eyes he sat up, a smile on his lips as he looked over the landscape. Getting to his feet his hands came together in a loud clap. As the vibration of the sound moved out the land changed. Gone was nature and instead he found himself in the office he had once inhabited. Every detail, down to exactly as it had once been. Before Youka had set off unleashing the demon that would terrorize his psyche, before plots of murder and death, before he had even set in motions his own plans for Yuki. This was the messy desk, the hurried filing cabinets when he was simply trying to come up for air. So funny he thought, how those times are the most rewarding.

Taking a run and sliding over his desk, he landed perfectly in his chair, sending financial reports and academy student profiles flying through the air. Laughing he reached and pulled out several pages of blank papers and something to write with. At the top of the letter, he simply wrote Brother.

"Sometimes in moments of weakness I wish we never would have been separated. The Hyato Brothers, a duo that could have went down in legends. Your stronger than me Denkitiki, I think that now more than ever. You didn't need me for most of your life and you won't need me for the rest of it. I'm glad however, that we met. I wish.........well tell mom and dad I'm sorry that I never came to meet them properly. I'm not worth meeting now........not after everything that's happened. In the next life though, maybe then I could be their child and something to be proud of. Until then keep them safe, keep Hoshigakure safe, and live as you have......the proof that our bloodline can create heroes worth remembering. Maku Hyato"

Reading over it several times he couldn't help but feel his point hadn't gotten across. Sighing, he resolved to accept it as is. Knowing that how he felt towards his brother couldn't possibly be put into a single letter.

"P.s. I'm sorry I didn't see the mission to the end.....you don't need me though, you never did."

Smiling he rolled the scroll and gently tossed it into the air where it simply hung suspended. He knew Den would be safe. If ever there was a person that didn't need protecting it was his brother.

As he pulled the next blank page closer he thought about his words very carefully. At the top he simply wrote Akihanna.

"Remember when I said to never say good bye? I guess this makes me a hypocrite. That's ok though, in the grand scheme of things that have happened I think that's the least of my problems. Though I'm never really sure what your thinking. You say you can't lie, that your being honest, maybe it's because of that I can't help but think there is more. Though, perhaps that just proves my own foolishness.

Good bye Akihanna. I'll miss you. More than that.........well it's unfair of me to say this really." He softly sighed as his quill paused. His half smile hitched as he couldn't help but think his writing followed the same tracks as his speech. "I don't think I ever really knew what love is you see. If I ever loved anyone though...it was you. Don't get me wrong you make me so mad I could scream some times, but......well I wouldn't say no to one last picnic even if that is a little to late to happen now."

As he looked over the page trying to figure out how to finish, he found his hands simply rolling it up and letting it float and hang next to his brothers. He wondered if he asked her to go if she would, but then he thought of Arata and knew she couldn't. Even if she would have said yes, could he have really asked? To that he already knew the answer, and why things where the way they where.

There was only one more letter to write. Though, he knew it would be the shortest of them all. A true smile formed, his hand writing conveying the same laughter he had felt so long ago. When it had just been him and Youka around a fire in the borders, a realm of its own between powers. "Brother last we met I promised you a fight. I'm afraid that's just not going to happen. Instead, I wonder if you'd go to hell with me?"

Rolling up the letter it would join the other two. Looking at the three floating scrolls he pondered how to finish them off. Of course Akihana's was the simplest. A single blue rose appeared in his hand as it went to rest on the scroll before vanishing to find her wherever she may be. On the stem was a tiny note, "as long as this flower is in bloom, I'm still around". He didn't want her to think he was doing anything stupid after all. For Denkitiki......snapping his fingers he knew what to give his brother. On his desk the riru no robu appeared alongside his sword.

Neither was needed for Denkitiki, but the gesture was more symbolic. On the back of his white robes he formed the kanji for the Hyato name. Both became wrapped in brown paper and moved to be beside the note. Mentally he added to his own letter to his brother. "P.s.s maybe pass these down, family heirlooms. I know you can use them just as well as me."

To Youka, once again the item was as simple as the note. Forming an old brass key he pressed it into the note and saw the remainder of his work vanish. He sat for a long time in that chair, simply watching the snow fall on the window sill. Sipping a cup of cocoa, he sang a soft song. Minutes, hours he wasn't sure when he stood only that it was time. A single moment in time, that would be easier than a world.

Exhaling he could feel parts of Discord begin to wash away. Vanishing back into nothing but chakra. Some of it reuniting with Sanctuary, filling holes it had created. Some returning to Maku, giving him the strength he needed to execute his plan. The hardest part was tearing completely away from Sanctuary. Severing any hold the two had to eachother. When it was done, he couldn't help but feel a certain emptiness, as if a piece of himself had been left behind.

From there, it was all cake. Discord crumbled, until there was only one room left. Not the office, but a clearing in the mountains. He hadn't known what would be the last visage of discord when he started only that it would be important. Smiling he liked the spot. "Ten minutes Youka, and then I walk through with or without you." He would say to no one. Though the world around him continued to listen. A final two doors appeared. One in front and one behind.

"Ten minutes in this world, but ten years in the real world, surely you can make up your mind in that time, though you where always pretty hard headed." He would say as if his friend was beside him. Laughter filed the clearing as he had a seat, laying on the ground to watch the clouds move over head.

(Transferring my sword and cloak to Denkitiki)

Thu Nov 19, 2015 11:18 pm

As the clouds drifted over head and Maku hummed a song from Konoha he mentally marked the time as it passed. Even as he waited no one showed, far from disheartening him it cause a smile to break across his young features. "Find what your looking for friend, make me wait but I know I'll see you again." Standing he looked first back at the door that stood behind him. With a mental command it vanished as if nothing but smoke in the wind.

Stepping across the dusty ground he made his way for the other door. Unlike most of the ones he had created, no ornamentation hung on this. No stain glass or markings, simply an oaken door. His hand found the brass handle, and he could feel his breathe quicken. There was no going back, not from this point. It wasn't just a metaphor now stepping over the threshold. His eyes closed briefly and a single person came to mind. "Maybe.....maybe I've been wrong a long time, maybe I should have met you sooner. Maybe, but things happen the way they are supposed to........life is a guarantee, getting what you want...not so much."

As he turned the handle the world around him broke. The final form of discord shattering returning to nothing but chakra as he pressed the door open. His feet found soft grass, and his hair quickly became tousled by a warm breeze. Behind him the door shut, and Maku Jemuzu's story in the shinobi world ended with it. An arrogant boy from a small village who simply wanted to be remembered, closing his story with nigh but a whisper.

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EPILOGUE

Suicide never could have been the answer. He couldn't lie, it had seemed an option, but in the end he knew it wasn't for him. Instead, with the last amount of power he had with discord he hurtled it through time. Though only a few moments had passed to him, the world around him had continued moving on. In the world he stood on now he had no friends, no enemies, once again as he had begun he was a nobody.

His first mission had been leaving the area completely behind. Paying no mind to politics or boarders. Instead he quickly found passage on a boat and left his known world behind. Settling elsewhere, he was able to make a life. Despite his shinobi abilities, the Crimson of his sharingan never saw the world again. No one ever expierences the pain or euphoria his Genjutsu could bring, and he left nature to move the elements of the world around him.

Eventually finding a small town, he applied as a cook. Working his way up from the bottom he soon found himself engrossed in the most average of lives. Workplace politics as opposed to moves that affected thousands of lives, a bar brawl where people became friends at the end instead of blood streaking the grass. He found that he was good at this life, it fit on a level he never thought possible.

Over the course of several years he eventually moved up and became the executive chef of a well known restaurant. This however was where his aspirations ended. Never seeking to extend what he had he kept his life simple. A small two bedroom cottage on the outskirts, barely enough room for himself. As for the money he made, it simply went back into the restuarant, except for a small percentage that went to a local parish that reminded him of his lost friend.

10 years passed in this life. At the age of 34 he met the women he would later marry. His only demand was to never have children. Though he had allowed himself to not look back on that other time, continuing his lineage was something he was firmly against. His wife was a gentle women. She worked carrying for the animals of the local farms when they became ill. She often had felt he was looking for someone else, though he never said so. He strove to make her happy, and make a home worth living in.

With her thy never moved from that tiny house, and the line of Jemuzu, or more accurately Hyato was never continued. His wife would often ask him where he had been before the village, before he had come to her. In response he simply stated he had been at war abroad and no longer wished to live in that life. As the years went by, and hard times fell the restaurant eventually closed. Despite the many hardships he never again relied on his gifts. Instead a low class life culminated when he was 67 stricken with common illness. In the middle of the night his lungs simply stopped filling, and so Maku passed from the world, not with a bang, and not even with a whisper.

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THE FINAL CHAPTER

Opening his eyes what had been an old cabin was now a bar. Smiling he thought he must finally becoming demented in his old age as the visage of the bar reminded him of that day, the day Echo Uchiha had died. In the corner stood the very same piano. Smiling, he stood only to look down and notice that more than one thing was diffrent.

A quick examination in a glass showed him his features where different, younger how he always pictured himself before time had stolen them from him. It was then that it hit him.....I'm dead. It was as if something had clicked, it felt right. This revelation far from panicked him, and instead for the first time in a long time he felt completely and totally relaxed. Taking the glass that was filed to the brim he stood and walked towards the piano.

Taking a long draft the taste of a crisp beer wetted his tongue. Feeling the warmth flow through him he thought, well tis can't be all that bad then. As he sat at the piano, he played the same song he had before The attacks, before the world had changed. This time though, he finished the song. Looking up he soon found himself staring at a familiar face.

Thu Nov 19, 2015 11:34 pm

"Long time no see Kid, how have you been?"

The Invincible asks, still as vibrant and as young as he was before, coal black eyes shimmering with amusement as he steps around the side of the stool and his fingers press a lighter key down, his free hand slid carelessly into a pocket of a pair of black pants. "This place...Time has no meaning here, I say it's been a long time..but that's more for your benefit than my own.." He shrugs his shoulders his smirk widening slightly and his hand raises from the white and black keys to pat his old friend on the shoulder. "No hard feelings though." He promises before he gestures for his friend to scoot aside and he joins him on the stool, soon, he begins playing another melody from Konoha...

"I've been doing a lot of thinking, one thing I realized really quick was why my passing was such a bummer for me.." He states simply as he plays, giving a quick gesture to help him with the simple melody..Echo is not a piano player, but like most things..He's picked up the basics. "I didn't have a purpose..An ideal to fight for, something that I could put my full power behind..." He frowns a bit now, his eyes turning solemn as he ponders this. "What was your life like?" He asks, tilting his gaze towards his old friend as he asks. "Did you find something worth living for..?"
He's gotten stronger, one may notice...His presence is quite different here, in this..Wherever it is, perhaps it's a delirious hallucination before death.

Fri Nov 20, 2015 12:00 am

"I'm glad." He said truthfully at the remark. He watched his friend sit and quickly made room for him as well. Watching his fingers move across the keys he appreciated the basic level of play. Instruments had been one of his gifts, along with cooking and singing. In shorts, skills of leisure and in honesty skills of peace. Perhaps that was the great foils of his own character.

"I know how you feel. In the end, when you where gone.......that's what my life became." He said in acknowledgment to his own admission. It mirrored exactly his own feelings. For the first time in several years he reviewed what his life was and what he had fought for.

"No, I don't think I ever did." He said with a half smile. His face bordered amused. "I tried, and I fooled myself for a long time." He said and ran his fingers nimbly along the keys. "In the end, when it was all said and done.....I think I died about the same time you did." That was the truth. Nothing had been the same after that, his purpose had been lost.

"I kept busy for awhile, I found a brother, and I found a true friend. I lost Youka, and then I left the shinobi world behind." He continued letting his fingers move over the keys playing made up songs. "In the end life itself was what was worth living for, but that's over now." He finished letting the keys be still and the silence fill the empty bar around them. "Now I'm here, but......I don't think this is it for me..."

A feeling had been creeping inside him. He knew there was somewhere else he had to go, to be. As if he was in a world that rejected him. "I missed you old friend." He said leaning over and embracing his brother in arms.

Fri Nov 20, 2015 12:14 am

He listens, the Shinobi who died at this Man's hand listens to his woes while they play, as if the last time they met didn't end with a shocked look followed by disintegration. He simply listens, his eyes nostalgic and solemn, a smile tugging at his lips softly as he nods and continues to smile and play.
Maku laments his existence, much like the Leaf Shinobi's own, he came close to finding what he was looking for, before his time came and it was simply too late to do anything about it. "When you live a Life of battle, make sure you know what you're fighting for, what you're killing for...Tch, I was a bit late with that lesson huh..?" He mutters with a bitter frown. "Well, I can say it now I guess." He turns his gaze towards Maku fully and smiles, returning the hug with a small chuckle. "Yeah, I missed you too Friend..." He pauses while patting him on the back and with a glance towards the door towards the outside of the bar he speaks again. "There are a lot of places to see out there Maku Jemuzu..Good causes to fight for, Ideals to explore..Things to experience....It's a big universe and we've got all the time we'll ever need." He stands up now and wanders over to the bar, reaching underneath the counter he begins mixing a simple drink..with ice and some kind of alcohol, he holds up another glass while he raises his own to his lips and asks. "How about it? Wanna come with?" He asks. "There's a lotta good we could do.." He takes a swig now, before setting the glass aside and leaning against the counter, his head tilting upwards with a small smile on his face.

Fri Nov 20, 2015 12:38 am

"A lesson I think only experience can teach, but to often it comes to late." He responded to Echo's words. It was true, it was to easy to simply exist in battle and never know why one was there. Small things, small ideals could take the place of true purpose, but in the end nothing can take its place. He wished he'd have known that sooner, or would have never entered battle in the first place.

"I think that's our similarity. Two people on the same path. It wasn't until the end that I realized what I wanted. A great cosmic irony in afraid.." He said laughing. So many things that once held meaning, no longer mattered. Standing he followed Echo having a seat and tapping the top to show he wanted one as well.

"I'm sure there is. I'm sure I could be of great help." He said looking at Echo a real smile on his face. In death certain restraints seemed lifted. His natural chakra before his evacuation of the shinobiverse had become so dense it was almost palpable. The longer he spent in spiritual form it seemed these things came back to him.

His invitation was a welcome one. He desired so much that he could accept, but like a hook in his back he felt a pull elsewhere. Even as this thought came to him the back door that should have led to a cellar made a knocking sound. As if some force desired to break out. A dark red light glowing around the cracks. "I wish I could say yes Echo.......I think.........." He began to contemplate what he wanted to say, what he felt.

"I believe that the after life is what you make it. That we go where we believe we deserve to go........I'm glad my friend.....that you see yourself a hero even now." He said looking up his face slightly wet with a few tears. He knew very well what laid on the other side of that door. The primeval hunter breathing down his neck, letting him know that escape wasn't an option, and being dragged or walking into the arena, those where his only choices now.

"One more drink maybe......just one." As he asked, the feeling grew slightly less intense, the light and knocking on the door died down, though never went away. "I wonder when Youka will arrive. I wonder what this place will offer him....."

Fri Nov 20, 2015 12:56 am

The Shinobi visibly pales at the sound, but he doesn't turn around to look, no..Perhaps he couldn't stand to see what awaits his friend behind those doors. He nods shakily for a moment and seems to exhale out any fear, he ignores the tears beyond the passing of a handkerchief and the light refilling of the drink..Not enough to tempt fate, but to give them time to speak.
"I-..Yeah, I suppose..I want a chance to make up for everything else I never got to fix.." He says with a shrug, before he takes another sip.

He's silent for a moment before he speaks. "I'll try and help Youka too..when he comes through, I heard it when we fought...I'll rip it off of him and bring him back before I give him the same offer I gave you." He states with a closing of his eyes and a smile. "Hey? Maku? Before you leave?" His eyes open now, a bit of a shine to them as he gives his friend a bit of a grin. "Sing me one last song yeah?" He asks, his voice hitching slightly, before he swallows a lump that's stuck in his throat...
The shaking of his hands, perhaps is ignored, the watery smile of course is ignored and he waits...The Best in the World's final, Final request to the Blonde Wonder and singer extraordinaire Maku Jemuzu..Who in another time, in another place, could have joined him in retirement and opened up a nice little place in Hoshigakure which could pay the bills rather well...

Seeing the future can be great, see all of them? Can be heartbreaking at times.

Fri Nov 20, 2015 1:31 am

The request made him smile. Of all the requests in all the worlds, this one seemed so pure. Taking his glass and throwing it back he took one last drink emptying the contents of the refill. "I think I could do that. Just one more. Whose to say........forever is a long time..........mayb......maybe I'll see you again."

As he said this he stood and moved back to the piano. Sitting down he let his hands dance across the keys before considering what he wanted to play. One more song, he knew that was all he was granted. As he thought about what to play, a face popped into mind. Smiling he struck up the tune and began to sing.

Perhaps it was cliche to end with a song about love, but he couldn't help that he still loved cliches. The song spoke of a girl, one he would like to meet. It spoke of her flaws, and her virtues. Not an idealistic song of impossible perfection, instead a song of reality and truth. As he sang his fingers moved faster than thought to keep the entire room filled with music.

It continued and continued, as he made the chorus repeat, and adding his own lyrics. In the end he sang from his heart, and hoped that despite where he was more than just he and his old friend could hear it. Impossible maybe, improbable most deffinetly, but hopes defy such logical thoughts. As the last line finally died down he smiled, feeling rejuvenated.

His smile never wavered even as the loudest knock yet smashed against the door, the red light filling the room for a moment. Moving back to Echo he ignored any signs of distress his friend might have. It was obvious that Echo knew exactly what waited, but sins need repayment. You cannot be a villain and expect the welcome of heroes.

"It seems I have a bill." He would say with a chuckle even as the knocking continued. Picking up a piece of paper that hadn't been there a moment before. Looking at the long tally he saw names and times, deeds, and even horrors. At the very bottom was a simple line, and despite everything he laughed. "1000 X 1000"

"Hubris is indeed a chief sin it would seem." He would say more to himself. It was impossible for anyone to truly discern why he found the number funny, simply because it was something that only existed in his mind. Throughout his time when he had abandoned everything in the pursuit of immortality through deeds he had said he wanted to be remembered for a thousand thousand years, and now the debts owed where ready to be paid.

"Any last words? I think someone wants me." He would say, his silhouette outlined in red, that realm below where they stood beckoning. It's energies seeping into the bar as it prepared to take one more soul. Despair, anguish, hopelessness, the feelings that could crush individuals became palpable in the bar. Yet Maku waited to trade words one last time with a legend. Then, well it was time to go.

Fri Nov 20, 2015 1:47 am

Through it all, he doesn't turn towards his friend, just listens to the last melody he'll ever play, the shaking shoulders of the Leaf Shinobi that listens, he refuses to allow the sounds of his sadness to ruin the song and with the will that brought him as far as he came, he simply listens. Head tilted downward and hair shadowing his eyes as he sits at the bar and enjoys a drink...He could honestly say, this was the most beautiful song he's heard in this life or the next.

When it's over, a sleeve is dragged across a pair of red eyes and he glances up with a smile again, the only sign of fear now is the straining of the smile and the way his body tenses and the way his eyes seem to burn with determination-..Before it's snuffed out, acceptance and sadness cross his features for a moment and he sighs with a small nod..
'Hubris is a Chief Sin indeed.'
At this, Echo barks out a laugh as well and slowly he gathers himself..His shoulders square and he gives one last grin to his friend before in his best voice he declares.

"The shards of your shattered dreams have not lost their meaning.
Make with them a mosaic upon which a brighter tomorrow can be seen."

And then, Echo gives one last nod to his friend..And takes a seat at the bar, once more..."See you later Maku." He offers, giving a two fingered salute before he turns his gaze away..And towards the wall of the open bar in front of him.

Fri Nov 20, 2015 2:00 am

He gave a laugh at Echo's words. "God your corny, but I love it." He said, and those where his final words to one of his oldest friends. Moving away he saw Echo turn to look towards the wall, inwardly hoping he doesn't watch him go. Even though his knowledge of the after life was slim, he doubted whatever lived beyond that door should be viewed by any spirit that isn't entering into it.

Taking a few steps, he breathes in deep. Tempering his resolve, his feet shift from the tentative ones to fill strides. Reaching the stairs he descends the few to find the door, before reaching and placing his hand on the knob. The feel of the steel was cold, ice colder than any he had felt in Yukigakure.

Pressing, it slid and clicked with ease, allowing it to begin pressing inward. As it did the room was bathed with that same red light. The sounds that chorused from beyond demonstrated what was to become of his own soul. It wasn't forever, even as he told himself that as he stared into the future he knew that it was of little consequence to what came next. One might consider his last thoughts, what memories he would bring with him. In the end he fought hard to think of no one, sans his own sins. The people he cared about, the ones he loved.....he didn't want any part of them to follow where he went now. Not looking back he took that step forward, and closed the door behind him.

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The end of Maku Jemuzu

All I wanted....

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