Warrior's Spite [p,nk,Aki]

It was raining, which reminded Kozai of Ame. He had languished there for far too long, doing absolutely nothing, and it made him feel as if he had wasted a valuable part of his life. Sure, he had developed genesis surgery there, but that was under a great deal of pressure and emotional stress, something that he really didn't want in his life. Indeed, he wanted to be free from most emotions. They just got in his way. He didn't want to feel sad or guilty about Agito's death anymore, which is why he pretended to not care outwardly when he talked to other people about it.

At any rate, it was raining. It wasn't that kind of light drizzly rain, or even the hard rain that sometimes came around in Iwa. No, it was "fat" rain. Large, heavy drops of water descended from the heavens, causing people to flee from the streets. Kozai, however, was at home in the rain. Water was HIS element, after all. As it so happened, he was standing on his balcony, taking observations on the climate. Not quite right, yet, he thought to himself. There was, after all, a difference between this climate and the one he needed.

Hmph, well then. It was time for him to meet up with Akihana again. Taking out a piece of paper that had been treated with certain clay and minerals (to make it waterproof), Kozai began to write:

Akihana-san,

If you have any errands that need to be done today, I am available. The library is closed on Sundays, after all.

Sincerely,
Kozai Yuki

P.S. I will be taking on students in the near future.

This being done, he would strap the rather blunt note onto a passing bedraggled squirrel. It was no homing pigeon, but it would have to do.

"HUP!"

With an elegant swing of his arm, he would chuck it all the way over to Akihana's balcony, hoping that the squirrel would survive the distance that it had just traveled.

[337]

The squirrel that landed on Akihana's terrace was dead, its little heart having gone into cardiac arrest at being thrown so high, so far and so fast. Contrary to the popular belief that it was the landing that killed and not the fall, the squirrel had not made a terribly gruesome impact, harmlessly landing on a plush rug that lay outside the door leading into her private rooms. The landing didn't help the little creature though, it's blank eyes told the story well enough, and as Akihana untaped the message it carried, reading it through blurred vision, the Kunoichi couldn't help but feel that a great injustice had been done.

First making sure that no bones of the tiny mammal had been shattered, nor had it suffered from a shaken brain, the kunoichi erected a golden barrier around the animal, bringing it back to life in a matter of minutes. The squirrel woke up confused and disoriented and Akihana didn't blame it. Holding the small creature close, Akihana fed it some nut soup, not trusting the squirrel to be able to chew without hurting itself just yet. Once the animal was taken care of, Akihana made it a small bed in her picnic basket and set out to meet Kozai Yuki in the rain, in a rare occurrence, no warm smile on her face.

She reached the library sopping wet, having forgone the need for an umbrella and too upset about the squirrel to remember putting up her hood. As a result, she arrived with her blonde hair clumping into a stringy mess around her narrow shoulders, her red dress soaked through and her golden eyes hardened into bits of topaz.

"I believe an apology is in order," she would say firmly, extending the basket to Kozai once she had entered the building. No greeting, no smile, no asking if he'd eaten. Disrespect for life was something Akihana refused to have tolerance towards. "If you kill another harmless creature for your own ends again, I will be very disappointed in you." It was the same firm, non negotiable tone she used when informing Arata that he would have to finish his vegetables if he wished to have desert.

Should the young man apologize to the squirrel, Akihana's expression would soften slightly, though the firmness in her voice would remain. "From now on, this squirrel is your personal pet. Give her a name, feed her well, take care of her. I'll be checking in on her ever few days and if I find she's been replaced or mistreated, well, I suppose the we'll have to find a way to seek justice on her behalf." With that, she would place the basket on Kozai's desk. Perhaps he would learn a bit of care and compassion by being made to look after one of the creatures of the world instead of only thinking of what he could get from it. Once the question of the squirrel was resolved, she would continue.

"Where will we be venturing out to today?"

Akihana had turned away from the squirrel and the librarian, giving the two a moment alone to forge a friendship, or at least the beginning of one. She was convinced he wouldn’t try to hurt the little creature at least, or not in front of her anyway. The small note of doubt made the blonde cringe. Since when she did she doubt the goodness in people? No, it was probably the rain. Akihana hadn’t seen a rain this wet since she’d arrived in Hoshi. It appeared the prophets of the Storm od had hit their mark. The heavens had opened up that morning and now refused to close, flood the water gardens in the kind of muddy mess she even shuddered to think about.

Still, water was always appreciated in countries like Haven and even if most people ran from the streets to the shelter of their homes or monasteries, those same people left out pails, pots, pans and jugs to collect the falling blessings from the sky. Even as she picked up a text explaining the basic chakra anesthetic technique she had performed on the squirrel earlier, Akihana had no doubt that a water boy somewhere out there would be rejoicing as tonight he would not need to be out and about refilling all the city’s various water barrels set out for thirsty horses, camels and dogs.

When no reply came from Koza or the squirrel however, Akihana turned to face him once more, her face ashen at the sight that greeted her. Hands trembling and eyes too shocked to form tears yet, the kunoichi only had one thought in mind. “Den! Den can fix this!” Within the next moment, she was upon Kozai, cradling his limp body in her lap as the golden bubble of the pocket dimension surrounded them. He had mentioned he was taking on students, she wondered if it was the same three boys she had seen a few days ago. If so, she hoped they weren’t due to reschedule anytime soon.

“You’re going to be fine,” she murmured as they landed in the small space os Sanctuary modified to look like her old apartment. “I promise, everything’s going to be fine.”

(Exit Akihana and Kozai with all belongings to Sanctuary)

TWC: 873
Claiming 750 towards Chakra Anesthetic
Claiming 123 words towards Charity

Approved