So Others May Live ~P, NK, IO~

Altar's frame would tighten and his face would contort. Surely, the man was joking. There was no possible way in hell that Xyxer thought Altar had caused this. There was no way he thought Altar had killed them. Altar would take an angry breath, about ready to go on a tirade, before thinking better of it. That would get him nowhere. He'd only work up himself and the kage. The key here was to be reasonable.

"Xyxer, I know how this may seem. But I didn't have a hand in either of these passings. Youta was...she was my love, and Kozata was a friend and clan member. I was never at odds with either of them and had nothing to gain from their deaths. Besides, you know how I attack. You know how I kill. I don't have the capability to kill without leaving a very visible mark, or way to identify how it was done. Neither of these deaths have a plausible reason. Not a mark on the bodies. And I wasn't even here when Youta passed. Surely you can see the reason and logic here, Xyxer. This wasn't me." Altar would say, emotion occasionally breaking his otherwise calm, monotone explanation.

Deciding to continue applying the pressure on the male, he remained seated in a casual manner whilst discussing the deaths of the two. "Have you been experimenting with poisons recently, Altar? If I was to get the medical ninja to perform autopsies on both bodies, will they find traces of a dangerous substance? This is the only time I will allow you to admit the truth. If I discover that you had a hand in these deaths and lied to my face, there will be.. dire consequences to say the least." He paused for a few seconds, "Do you understand?"

Altar's face would harden at Xyxer's further questioning. He really thought he did it. The kage thought he killed two of his fellow shinobi. When Xyxer asked about poison, Altar's mind started racing. If they found poison in the bodies, it would be incredibly hard to prove it wasn't him. But he was innocent, so he had nothing to fear, right?

"I have not a clue what they'll find in their systems, Xyxer. That's what's frightening. But I can assure you, this was not me. I had nothing to gain from this, only things to lose. And when, not if, but when you find out that this wasn't me, I want to know who it was. I try to keep no grudge and hold no vendetta, but I wanna see the sick bastard that took her from me suffer. I wanna see them suffer so much more than I have." Altar would say, his voice seething with anger and disgust.

Anger was starting to emerge in the tones of Altar, but Xyxer did not falter in his line of questioning. Slowly, he rose from the bench he was currently on to meet Altar in the standing position. The stare from his cold eyes, the colour of murky ice, bore down into Altar. Since Altar had trained with Xyxer, there was a chance he could tell from the stance that he had taken on that he was about to retaliate with violence if things did not go his way due to the positioning of his feet. "Tell me.. Why should I believe you?" His voice remained stoic, yet his body was willing to perform violent actions if his reasoning was not good enough.

"...I'll vouch for him, lord Mizukage." Came Haru's voice, as he approached the two men, clearly distraught. He had just returned from his autopsy of Youta, and the results, well... They frightened Haru, there was no avoiding that fact. It scared him more than he could say. Youta had dropped dead of a heart attack, with no warning, and no evidence of a killer, and now Haru's only living student, Altar Shinkou, was under suspicion. It was like a broken record. "I preformed the autopsy on Youta, and the results were, well..." He began, unsure of how to explain. "Do you remember when I told you why I became a medical ninja, Xyxer?" He began, his eyes catching on the body of Kozata. Another victim. This was troubling.

"My friends dropped dead of heart attacks, seemingly randomly. No warning. Yozora, my captain. Rin, my teacher. Haruna, my... My friend. Matsu, my clansmen. And now these two. Altar couldn't be behind this. He doesn't have the capacity for it. I studied the body, and after all this time, I can conclude that nobody killed them." He said grimly. "It's as if the life just left their bodies. No Shinobi is capable of that. They passed naturally." He explained, as if he himself were not happy with the answer.

Altar would meet the eyes and match the stare of the rising kage, crimson eyes meeting the icy blue. This was not a time to be afraid. Altar knew Xyxer's games, he knew the tricks, how the man got in your head, how he worked. He thrived on two things; Fear and adrenaline. If he was deprived of one, he'd chase the other. If he was deprived of both...

Altar's thoughts were cut short as he noticed a shift in the stance of the kage. His feet were formed to a practiced stance, one he had seen when they had sparred before. Altar would shift his own feet and redistribute his weight, his feet forming a shape akin to an L. His hands would stiffen ad sharpen. He wouldn't strike first in this situation. He didn't want to fight here. But he sure as hell would retaliate if need be.

"I..." Altar would start, before hearing another very familiar voice. Haru Hyuuga, possibly his best friend and mentor.

While he heard out Haru's explanation, Altar's eyes would not leave the kage. He would await a relaxed posture from the kage to assume his own and shift his glance.

"So you mean to tell me there's some affliction that causes people to simply pass of a sudden heart attack?" Altar would ask Haru. He knew the man was an incredibly capable medical ninja, but he had never heard of such a thing before.

"Are there any signs or ways to tell? Any known way this sickness spreads?"

There was something in the eyes of Altar, he appeared to know the stakes of the situation.. Eyes were the gateway to the soul, yet he saw little fear, although there was an ever so faint amount of it apparent. However, this was not the sign that helped him the most.. watching Altar change his own stance in case he would wanted to retaliate allowed Xyxer to believe that he had got inside of the male's head already, even if he did not know it yet. Xyxer was about to torque his body, using the momentum to deliver a fatal hook into the male's body, but it was as if fate had planned something else for Altar, a longer life expectancy perhaps. Listening to Haru, he did not relax his stance yet, if truth be told he had wanted to vent his fury physically and was rather disappointed now. Looking up towards the sky slowly, he remembered the religions he had came across during his time. Not the work of Shinobi.. but of gods perhaps? Did the petty gods dare to challenge him? Xyxer? The gods would rue the day they challenged the Demon of the Hidden Mist, and well, former Wrath of Tengakure. Although, naturally, he'd listen to the questions asked and answered.

Haru felt the tension in the air, mostly resonating from Altar. You could see it in his face, he was still worried about the Mizukage. Haru still didn't know how to feel about the boy, but he at least knew he didn't want him to die here, facing the same charges Denkiteki once placed on Haru himself. He at least had his honor, and it wouldn't let him see the boy die here.
"As far as we can figure, yes. We don't know what it is or how it spreads, but that's the only logical explanation." Haru said, looking at the other boy curiously. "Previously, I had worried that I was somehow involved, as the only people who died were connected to me somehow, but I've never met that boy." He explained, holding out his arms. "Would you let me examine the body? I might be able to gleam some information from him." He requested Altar, waiting to be handed the body. "There's absolutely no warning. I've spent my whole career researching it, and there's nothing. My closest connection is that Rin used a technique simmilar to Youta's bloodline, and Yozora was close with Youta, but that doesn't explain Haruna, Matsu, or this new victim." He said, shrugging. "It's confounding. I've searched other villages, but these symptoms are much more rare outside of our village."

Altar would nod solemnly while hearing out Haru's explanation. After fully hearing it out, Altar would pick Kozata's body back up into his arms, and walk over, handing him off to Haru. He trusted this man more than he trusted himself. If what he said was to be believed, then the entire village was at risk. And there would also be no one to blame.

"I suppose there can be no vendetta held against an especially cruel god. We'll just have to be on the lookout for any symptoms or other connections. Regular check ups would be a good idea, if they can be managed." Altar would say, walking a small distance from the other two men.

"I want proper funerals arranged for these two. If the money has to come from my own pockets, so be it. I won't let them be forgotten so easily."

He resisted the urge to blindside Altar, he knew one swift turn of the body and a following hook would most likely cripple the poor fellow before he could react due to the short distance and him no longer looking upon him, but after all, where was the fun in that. Looking back down from the sky, he heard Altar speaking about funerals, but that was not what he cared about fully at the moment, although it was high on his list. "Make sure they're exceedingly well embalmed. Also, feel free to do the weird shit you did with the twins."