A Dance of Doctors [p,nk,Den]

Den was curious as to how this would go. Standing before the library Den could sense the presence of the man who had defeated him within. He knew that his presence would not go unnoticed either, there wouldn't be any point in turning back now.

Stepping through the doorway into the library Den fiddled with the sleeves of his brother’s robes as he made his way towards Kozai, he had refitted the clothing within Sanctuary but the sleeves were still a little short still. He'd have to fix that when he returned. For now he had other concerns, he had to meet the man whom until recently had been viewed as one of his enemies. Den had been incorrect in his assumptions of the man it would seem however, for some reason the man had chosen to spare Den despite the Sage making an attempt on his life.

It was something Den wouldn’t have expected, and as he drew near he was unsure of what he should say to this Kozai. Should he thank him for sparing his life? He wasn’t sure what the librarian thought of him at all, he likely held some grudge against him for the ambush. Moving past children and their parents Den found Kozai keeping to himself, he was at the front desk but he didn’t seem to be dealing with any of the other visitors.

Stopping on the other side of the front desk Den would speak, “It seems I was wrong about you.. when you first snuck into the village I thought you could only have meant ill for us.” Den would pause a moment to give Kozai a chance to say something, if he didn’t Den would continue, “But you’ve made it quite clear that you don’t. I’m sorry for the actions I took against you.” Even if he hadn't succeeded he had still tried to kill the man, and while he was positive mere words wouldn't be enough to fix that he hoped it would at least be a start.

It seemed to be going well so far at least. Kozai seemed to think Den wanted something from him, the question noticeably caught the Sage off guard for a moment. “Oh.. I just wanted to apologize for what I did. Though.. I suppose I am curious as to why you were so determined to enter Hoshigakure, even after our first encounter.”

It was more than a bit odd that the man had hung around so long, especially after Den had barred him access to the village initially. He recalled Kozai mentioning something about difficulties at village gates before, and wondered if that was a factor in him wanting to stay within Hoshigakure. Was he hiding from something?

Akihana had allowed Kozai to live within the village, and he had shown that he was not the threat Den perceived him to be, but the military leader wanted to make sure he didn’t present a different kind of danger. If he was harboring a fugitive he wanted to know, at least so he could know what Hoshigakure needed to be prepared for.

What, did he REALLY have no ulterior motive? Kozai found that extremely difficult to believe. For someone who had lived for centuries, he knew that Denkiteki was smarter than that. Only an apology? Was he some kind of idealist? Thinking on it, Kozai supposed that such a premise could be true. The situation still didn't seem quite right, though. He felt too wary of this man. Naturally, if he was here merely to observe, couldn't he just do it from his sanctuary? Or couldn't he just send one of his clones, if he wanted a more face-to-face conversation? So much about this just didn't make logical sense.

Then again, what in Hoshi did? It was a village full of idealism. Nothing there really made sense to Kozai unless he looked at it from a less grounded and factual point of view. This was not to his liking at all, but it helped with the integration into village life. 

"I got tired of wandering. Although, I guess that's only part of the reason. I'm looking for information... on a lot of things." With that, he gave a sharp look (though, not an angry one) at Denkiteki across the desk. 

"As it so happens, now that I've read your memories, I believe that you could help me with some of my... problems." He didn't tell Den about his true quest, the one that Echo had told him about.
... To believe in his mind, or in his gut? 
All of his life experiences had told him thus far that to think viscerally was to die. Cold, cranial analysis was the best and only way to go for him. But this was a mystery he had to figure out by himself. He didn't trust anyone else to tell him how to proceed with this.

It made sense that Kozai was still suspicious of Denkiteki, the last time they had met Den had tried to kill him. It was fairly hard to believe someone didn’t have an ulterior motive when apologizing for trying to kill them, but it seemed that if Kozai had any hateful feelings towards Den over that he was choosing not to show them, he didn’t seem to care about that so much as trying to figure out other reason Den had for coming despite their being none.

As Kozai explained his reasoning for wanting to enter Hoshigakure Denkiteki had a few guesses as to what information Kozai wanted. The information Den alone could provide was extensive, though he wasn’t aware Kozai already had access to most of it. The man had witnessed Den’s wood release and sharingan, and Denkiteki was aware that Kozai possessed the same eyes. Perhaps he was aware of what the two bloodlines Denkiteki could achieve, and wanted knowledge on how to obtain it.

As Kozai continued Den’s thoughts were interrupted, Kozai had read his memories? Den remained hung up on that fact as Kozai mentioned something about a problem that Denkiteki could help him with.

“How.. how much did you read?” This changed things quite a bit, if he already knew wat Den was then there really was no telling what sort of knowledge he wanted from Den. Sage Mode, knowledge of bijuu? “And what about my memories makes you want my help?”

He wasn’t sure how he wanted to handle this now, he didn’t like the idea of someone having so much information about him.

Kozai would retain the rather sharp and attentive look on his face. He had goals to accomplish, and nothing would get in his way. If anything, he would try his best to get Denkiteki to help him with this... that would make it a lot easier. Furthermore, he knew that he had something to offer the man in case he did cooperate, just as a way to cement some kind of relationship. 

"Everything."

Why would he omit something? Sure, it had taken him a little bit of time to process all those memories, but he had done it. It was like any other mind reading he had done, just a tad bigger. 

"My primary goal is one of 'peace of mind'. You see, I have a... subordinate who's gone rogue. Former Iwagakure ninja by the name of Mitsui Hamamichi; he possesses the same threads that Youka does. You've met him before, I was hoping that you could help me track him down... and kill him." 

Yes, "peace of mind". Once Mitsui was dead, he would have no more worries about his past coming to haunt him. 

"He's grown quite powerful over the months after Iwa was destroyed. Now, he thinks he can make decisions by himself. No doubt, he'll be coming for me after he gains enough competence, which could endanger the entire village. So, I wanted to get at him pre-emptively. However, I haven't been able to track him down."

Sitting down, he would maintain eye contact with Denkiteki.

"You can, however. The pond in Sanctuary, right? The same on you used to track me."

Now that he knew everything that Den knew, he had a good comprehension of everything that he man could use... all of his assets, abilities, hopes and aspirations. Still, he wasn't about to use it against the Hoshi leader. Having him as an enemy would be too dangerous.

Everything? Den was obviously not pleased to hear this, but he knew if the situation had been reversed he would have done the same thing. Of course this also meant all of his assumptions on what Kozai wanted were wrong as he already had Den’s knowledge on all of those subjects.

“Who is this Mitsui, where did I meet him?” The two had never exchanged names during their brief meeting in Takigakure, they had simply discovered they both shared the Earth element as an affinity and taught each other a few techniques.

“And why do you think he’ll come after you, simply because he’s grown stronger?”

As Denkiteki began to ask his question, Kozai sighed inwardly. He really hadn't checked out Mitsui's threads when he had met him? Well, that wasn't something to worry about now. Even as Denkiteki spoke, Kozai began to move, taking out a sheet of paper from his desk, as well as a pencil. Moving at 110 speed, Kozai began to draw furiously. When he was done, there was a perfect sketch of Mitsui on the paper.

"That's him."

It'd be a perfect replica of Mitsui from Denki's memories, to make the process easier. After all, he wanted this to go as smoothly as possible. There wasn't any reason why killing Mitsui should be difficult. 

"I suppose I actually want him dead for two reasons. Firstly, he's a troublemaker, so he'll probably come after me on a visceral impulse. Secondly..."

Here, Kozai's sharp look became even more harsh and scrutinizing. 

"... from your memories, I just so happen to know that killing my cherished suboordinate will cause a change within my doujutsu. I'm interested in following this path to see where it will go." He had decided not to mention yet what else he had found from Den... or what Echo had told him about the sharingan. Sooner or later, though, he'd have to let him know. A collaboration with this man would almost certainly lead to the answer to that question: what happened when the ultimate doujutsu combined with the wood element? What was this power, and why was it there? Where did it come from? So many questions, and not enough answers. As such, someone like Kozai was sure to be curious about it.

The man he had met in Takigakure? He was a bit surprised to hear that he had become a trouble maker, he had seemed a quiet fellow to Den. The two had simply exchanged a few jutsu before parting ways.

Den's blue eyes stared back into Kozai's, the Hoshikage wondered what was behind that sharp gaze? So it was more power he sought, Den wondered now if Kozai even truly believed Miitsui would come to Hoshigakure for him, or if he was just trying to manipulate Den? Even though they no longer were fighting Den would have to tread carefully, he didn't know this man's intent, how far he'd go in his quest for power.

And he knows everything about me...

Den's face betrayed none of these thoughts, instead as Kozai finished speaking a chuckle would escape the Hoshikages lips.

"Cherished you say? You're speaking very casually about killing him. Are you just not thinking about it then.. how it'll be after? Will the world feel like a lesser place to you when he's gone?"

Den hadn't seen any remorse in those eyes, any pain when Kozai said they should kill Mitsui. Perhaps Kozai was hiding it but... to suggest killing someone whom he supposedly had a close bond with? Was Kozai lying to himself about the depths of his feelings for Mitsui in hopes of gaining power or had the mere knowledge that Mitsui's death would make Kozai more powerful been enough for the scientist to decide his close friend should die?

Kokou was also uneasy about this as well, but neither of them wanted to simply dismiss the possibility that Mitsui might attack Hoshi.

"I'll find him. You've seen my memories though, you should know that in order to achieve that power two people must die." A little dramatically stated, but Den hoped his point would get across to Kozai. In order to achieve Mangekyou your definition of suffering had to be redefined. You had to lose someone precious to you, someones whose absence would always be felt. A part of you had to die along with that person.

Could Kozai live with that suffering, and being the cause of it as well? Would he really feel that way when Mitsui died? Den hated to admit it, but he was a bit curious as to see where this would end. He'd have to be careful though for if Kozai decided Den's death would be useful to him, he couldn't let himself get blitzed again. He'd have to develop some new ability to ensure that didn't happen, perhaps some form of advanced sensory.

"Tomoya is working on something north of the village.. it might be useful to us. Rather than find him we could bring Mitsui to us. How soon do you want to face him?" Perhaps they could use Tomoya's summoning site to trap Mitsui, allowing Den a chance to see what was going on here.