Entheogen (Yaju)

It was dark, darker than the skies had any right to be but everything in this new Kumo was dark. Or perhaps Akihana Akari was too used to the glittering Hoshi skies at night. The black velvet studded with hundreds of thousands of diamonds shimmering over the desert were only a distant memory now. In Kumogakure, the new Kunogakure, even the stars seemed to fear the new Raikage, choosing to remain hidden behind clouds. In fact, had Akihana not known the path by heart, she would never have found the cave upon which she stood now.

"Mommy, Yaju sensei's in there with the foxes, they're doing some really cool training!"

"Sweetie, watch out for the uneven-"

"Should I follow?" The memory was jarred by Akuoy's raspy voice, the hooded clone had been following her from a safe distance until they neared the mountain. True to his word Youka had made sure the clone remained a respectful distance away and now was the time to test his promise of them being equal.

"No thank you," the blonde replied, firmly but not unkindly. "I have to do this on my own. please stay here and... keep warm okay. Its cold out." The clone didn't acknowledge her concern. He did however let her enter.

Stepping into the cave felt so much like stepping unto holy ground. All the memories came flooding back in the instant the kunoichi entered Yaju Hayate's mountain home. Yaju at the table with his foxes, Yaju pushing her to discover her inner strength as he trained her in lightning nature, Yaju offering her a job to support her family, Yaju drinking vile coffee for a week instead of telling her she made it wrong, Yaju being one of her closest friends and confidants.

A lone tear slid from her golden eyes as she made her way into the main living area carved out from the mountain. The Yondaime Raikage had built the house himself using his proficiency with earth nature and a fine layer of dust was now settled on to his masterpiece. This was the place where he had intended to raise a family. This place that looked like it had been neglected for years.

"Hi Yaju," the young woman called out, stepping lightly into the kitchen as though still uncertain if she would disturb someone. "Miss me?" A short choking laugh would emit from the medic, permeating the otherwise silent room. "I sure miss you."

The mountains of a wolf long past its time. Those mountains in which the wolves of the old Kumogakure stood proud with their leader now sat in silence, time passing over them as the village in their sight turned to something one could best describe as a nightmare. As the female trekked up the village a single wolf watched in silence as she came closer, disappearing into the caverns where a house sat in secret. Covered in the dust of time itself, the house stood as one of the only monuments of the old Kumogakure that the yellow blonde knew of, but inside held an even greater relic. As she stepped into the cave alone, the house flickered for a moment as if someone had been there. The light wouldn't quite catch anyone's eyes, but as the female made it into the house the wolf followed closely behind before disappearing.

As she called out to the deceased male, the familiar smell of the smoke she once knew of the male to have lingering from his mouth as he worked would pour into her nostrils for a moment as a lone voice echoed," Miss me? Heh. The world must really be in a shitty place for someone to miss me," if she had wandered into the living room, sitting in the chair that the young Hyuuga once sat in would be a lone figure. Draped in a frayed black kimono, the male's haunting eyes opened and looked to the female in his usual stoic fashion," Hello Akihana. It has been...some time hasn't it?," the male made no attempt to move, why would he?

Sitting there he motioned for her to come closer, yellow hues clinging to her as a rasp smile took over his form," I've missed a lot of things about this world, but a friend? Yes I missed you a great deal.  Though I assume since we are here...You must need something from a hell hound right?," though limbo was a rather correct term for the male, he couldn't help but keep the same odd demented humor that he had.

Having missed the dim flickering of the lights in her own confusion and nostalgia as she navigated the halls of the once familiar home, Akihana came to the living room where the furniture was arranged as it had always been. Save for Yaju's chair where, instead of dust and neglect, a dark wolf sat with glowing yellow eyes. Right before her gaze, the wolf would morph into the form she knew and loved, the sharp scent of Yaju's blue flames mingling in the air she breathed. The lone tear on her cheek was joined by more, fresh tears as Yaju appeared in front of her, his customary expression in place as he commented on the dire situation of the world today.

Akihana didn't give him a chance to continue after that, flinging herself onto the chair he occupied and enveloping the remains of the young kage in her arms as she openly sobbed at what was happening. Yaju was dead, no one knew that better than Yaju himself and yet here he was, his unfinished business keeping him in this world and for once, the medic was glad. She had never thought she would be able to hug him like this again.

As she cried against him, weeping at the reunion openly, everything stopped. The last year didn't happen, the clear skies were awash with thunder and rain, Yaju sat on her couch instead of she in him home and she cried into his shoulder about Arata. He was still him, she was still Akihana and if she closed her eyes, nothing had changed.

"Y-you have no idea how good it is to see you ag-again," she managed between sobs, feeling his very solid frame in her close grip. The logic behind it could wait. For now, and maybe for only a brief moment in time, Akihana had her best friend back. "I miss you every single day, and Arata misses you even more. He still refuses to believe that you're gone," she explained, letting him to and moving to the the sofa beside him. Golden eyes studied the former Riakage intently, trying to detect any hints of falsehood but she knew Yaju enough to know when he was the real deal.

"Wh-where have you been this whole time... I don't understand. I always knew, I had faith in you but I don't know how. All I did was believe." Her words likely wouldn't make sense but it was the best she could do in that moment, overwhelmed by emotion as she was. "Are you... really here?"

The moment he had tried to convey words to the last friend he had in this world they had been cut short by the immense feeling of her glomping him into his seat. Between the sobs and the tears, the ghost of her former friend patted her head gently knowing from instinct only what to do in this situation. His face had not changed much beside a small smile as he then wrapped his arms arms around her for a moment to console her, even if he was a mere wraith of what he had been.

As the words flowed from the blondes math, the male looked in silence before breaking it slowly," Arata...He was always someone I saw a little of me in. Surprising that he still holds faith in me after so long... I wish he had been here with you so I could tell him something important, but you Akihana...you don't look well. Have you been working hard again?," tones of concern left his lips as the yellow hues as he wondered what had been going on.

"I've been here...sitting...waiting as the world passed me by. Ignorant of all things going on outside of these cavern walls. I hear every so often a whisper on the winds, but...I'm stuck here. This is where I lived and where I died...Kuro...Misaki...," his voice trailed into silence as he finally stood up, the sleeves of the Kimono flattening and contorting as he looked around as if playing a memory of seasons passed. The last of her questions caught him as a surprise as he looked at himself, seeing him but not only that. In his own vision he could only see himself floating, no feet to speak of but tethered to his home," I'm neither here...or not here it appears. A ghost stuck in his home as its vessel for eternity it seems. So..Yes I suppose I am here," sitting back into his chair, he folds his legs inwards sitting almost perfectly in the chair. " What has been going on? More specifically...Why have you called out to me Akihana? I thought you were taken from this place," his only words as he stared waiting for the response.

A fond look touched her face as her dear friend mentioned Arata. of course the boy still held faith in Yaju. As much as Arata would protest otherwise, he was his mother's son. And though Akihana was beginning to see a difference in ideologies between the two of them, there was no arguing the fact that he stuck to his guns just as convinced as Akihana to her own faith. If there was one thing she had taught the boy, it was to have faith, and he had learned that lesson well.

"You know how it is," she answered at his question of working too hard. "A mother's job is never done. Arata is seven now and even more of a handful then he was two years ago." With that, the blonde lapsed into silence, hearing him speak of his current sate. He didn't sound happy to be tuck here and she could understand why. the Yaju she had known was a free spirit, happy only in running wild and taking life as it came to him. To be able to only exist in one place as a wraith of his former self would have been beyond frustrating, to know what became of his friends maddening still and yet... she was glad for a selfish moment. Had he not been stuck here, she wouldn't have had the chance to see him one last time.

"The outside world is very overrated right now," she confessed, sliding into the comfortable tone which he always brought about in her. Curling her feet underneath her on the sofa, the kunoichi could feel the scene around them changing. The dust motes rising to leave the furniture clean and sparkling, the fire in the hearth coming to life to guard against the chill of the underground mountain caves, the soft sounds of plumbing running through the walls the young raikage had carved out himself to make the network of cves into a home. "A lot of cloud and dead and dying bodies, not our clouds, the icky grey kind." A small laugh escaped her a her own silliness but this was Yaju, a little silliness was surely called for.

"I came to apologize," she finally stated once she was sure she wouldn't vanish, a product of her imagination. Golden eyes remained firmly on the specter as she spoke, lit brightly with both joy and fear, the joy of seeing her old friend tinged with the fear that he would go way, that he wasn't as real as she wanted to believe he was. "When i look at Kumo now... of what happened to you, Kuro, Misaki, Alice... I don't know if I could have prevented any of it had I been here... But it's hard not to feel like I should have died along with you all. Do I live on borrowed time now? Would they ever forgive me..? Would you ever forgive me Yaju..?"

Time passed him by and he knew this. Sitting in the depths of his own grave held no salvation for his soul and yet the only light that touched his dark form was here in front of him and for once again he felt happiness. As she continued to speak of his students age and how he was now he almost busted into a fit of laughter," Seven!? My the boy has grown considerably," the smile faded slightly as he continued to ponder on the fact," So much time has passed hasn't it. I should get the boy a present shouldn't I....I feel bad for not teaching him anything else beforehand but...," it wasn't the time for him. His sentiment faded slowly as he turned to the blonde in silence, listening once more.

"Death is even more overrated, but through my death I've learned many things...reconciled with a shadow of my past...said my final goodbyes," a sigh left his lips as the scaping of his home changed to their last interaction between the two of them. The scene that she had seen was very real though as she looked at him again he would look just as he did as he sat in his office. Though when she spoke of the village in a way that upsetted him and she could tell. Bearing his fangs he crushed a portion of his soda more mad at himself than anything," To hear of our home...the family we built...gone...IT INFURIATES ME ," she could tell he was mad at himself. His master had died because of him....His friend fell the same, but in his anger he felt it.

But it was when she had said she came to apologize his anger subsides slowly, his form relaxing as he shook his head and sat in silence before responding to get. " I am the one that should apologize. I left you in this cruel gate...to see me like this and go through what you have. I can see it on your face. Misaki and Kuro would forgive you the same as I. In death we see things differently. I...," stopping there the light within the house would fade as it began to simply sit just behind her.

"Where have you been all this time ? Have you seen Kurisu as well....I feel as if I owe the man who treated me like family an apology," the regrets were building and if he were alive he would have grey hairs. Because of that she could see the flicks of blue and silver leave him though as he calmed down slowly he became calmer.

Akihana merely sat and listened as Yaju contemplated getting her son a present. Everything had changed in the past year and yet, some things were still the same. As the scene before her transformed, flickering in and out of existence akin to a reality wanting desperately to solidify, the blonde could only nod, comfortable where she sat. The sofa turned into an office chair, Yaju’s desk appeared, the room smelt of coffee and impatience and disgruntlement like it used to when the young kage had to attend a meeting with the elders he did not care for. Akihana even fancied she could breathe in the scent of freshly baked cookies she often brought to the office for the girls down in human resource.

And through it all, Yaju kept speaking, and Akihana kept listening. She wondered when he had spoken to someone living last, and if he would get another chance. She was here for him, not for herself. The particular visit for herself would have to wait. As he began to grow angry a what had happened to the village they loved so dearly, the Kunoichi made sure to convey to him that it wasn’t his fault.

“You did everything in your power to stop that.. that…” No words could describe Youka in relevance to what he’d done to Kumogaure no Sato. No adjective existed that would do him justice, and the more conventional ones Akihana was unable to use bound by her own disbelief in them. “You gave your life for your cause Yaju. You are and always will be a hero. I’m the one who should be ashamed. I should have fought with you and the others, died with you if that was what was needed. Instead I couldn’t, I didn’t have the chance to defend our village then…” The kunoichi trailed off, unsure how much he knew and how much she could tell him. She had a chance to help now, but at a price too terrible for her to even think of.

Thankfully he turned to the topic to Kurisu, making the blonde settle down once more. “I haven’t met Kurisu-sama personally but I hear he sits the position of Hokage now. I had the good fortune to meet his son Kasuga, Misaki’s brother. He didn’t know what had happened to her, it broke my heart to tell him but he is brave, brave and resilient just like her. He is my bother now because anyone related to the Disciplinary Squad was always family, that’s what we were taught.”

He sat there looking at her and if he could cry a tear would leave his eyes but unfortunately it was an emotion he could no longer hope to feel. Moving over from the desk he had been sitting behind, his left hand ruffled her hair as he chuckled with an odd smile," As your family and friend there is something I can't forgive you for. I would not have allowed you to fight and die like we did...while I had a family, you carried a future and a hope that wasn't meant for us...You are the continuation of our dark pasts into a bright light," cutting the sentiment for a moment he would flick her forehead gently or rather playfully," besides I need you to watch after my student and child. This world as it is needs you and their future to change. So stop being so mopey and stop making me get into my sentimental side. You know how I am after all," there was nothing like him consoling the people he cares for even if he was hiding it.

As he floated back to his seat carefully setting his hands together as he shrugged," I don't want to be heraled a hero that is a title for Echo, but I just want to be known by those that knew me," a title he no longer wanted. Sitting there he was taken aback when she mentioned that Misaki had a younger brother for he only knew of her sister. Blinking for a moment he floated away for a moment disappearing into the upper floors before coming back with a single box and a headband," For the next time you see the young Ametsuchi. He has every right to this. I'm also glad that you are upholding our families code...it's good to see that it is still lit. This however was the last haori of our family...it saddened me when we couldn't complete our family but you can keep it going," the box slid to her neat and perfect though as she could tell it was dusty and ruined as if he had been keeping this for a long time.

With that out of the way he lingered to other thoughts mostly on his child which he would never be able to see," Akihana...I want one...two more favors from you as your friend. One is to raise my child and keep him on a path far different than mine. The mistakes my father had on me shall not be repeated but I know you can mold him into a new light. My second request? As much as it's going to confuse you I need for you bring Arata here. He needs to see his inheritance for homself," with that he waited for a moment to let it all sink in what he had been requesting.

In silence he contemplated his biggest question which he had been wondering since he had seen someone walking with her," What else do you have on your mind? Surely you didn't just come to see my smiling face."

The tears that were threatening to fall anew were stopped in their tracks as Yaju floated over his desk, through his desk, the metaphors were in short supply but it didn’t matter. So long she had waited to hear the words, that she was forgiven, and now they were delivered in typical Yaju fashion, making her laugh instead of cry. The fond smile that touched her features as he playfully flicked her forehead brought back dozens of memories of him doing the same. It was his way of saying “stop thinking about that” and one that had always worked very well on her. Even death couldn’t take Yaju from himself, and the thought was very comforting. He may not have wanted to be a hero, but he was one regardless, he always would be to her and Arata.

As she suspected, the fourth Raikage was just as delighted to hear of Misaki’s brother as she had been. Kasuga really had come as a miracle to complete their family. The blonde only wished for him to never forget that, never forget how important he was to his sister’s friends, both dead and alive. “I’ll see to it that he receives it,” she promised as Yaju slid over the box containing the final haori across his desk. Sealing the box away in one of the innumerate scrolls she carried, Akihana looked up at him once more as his tone turned somber, requesting two things.

“Your son…?” she asked, confusion written clear in her golden eyes as she tried to comprehend what he had said. “I knew Kumori was pregnant when Kumo was attacked but… I assumed she was killed with the others. I never heard from her. I didn’t know you had a son…” The guilt came strong with the admission. Had she already let her friend down by not knowing of his offspring. If she had known, she would have raised him just as she did Arata. “Tell me where to find him, I promise I will look after him like my own. your child will have the brightest future possible for he will be the child of Kumogakure, the real Kumogakure.”

At the mention of Arata however, the blonde shook her head. “It’s not safe for Arata here… Not safe for anyone really. And while I love being able to talk to you like this, I didn’t come just for that.” Akihana had always been a creature of honesty and it was no different now. When asked, she told the truth as clearly as she could. “I came back to see if I could help… The new Raikage, Mortarion, he has turned our village into something out of our worst nightmares. But our people Yaju, they are still our people. They struggle, they go on in pain. I couldn’t live with myself any longer so I came to see if there was a way… It turns out there is a way, though it’s a lot more difficult than I could have imagined.”

The Kunoichi lapsed into silence for a minute, letting her friend process the information and buying herself time. This would be the first time she admitted to what Youka had proposed, and just saying it out loud made it that much more real.

“The new Raikage asked for my hand in marriage in exchange for the freedom of our people.”

"She escaped before things went to hell. One of the things I knew that eased my mind, but the child is with my companions...well the foxes for the time being, they know to drop him off to you at his second birthday... Which should be soon. Punctual yet very...odd. I want you to also name him something that will lead him to a better future," he wanted his son to have what he never did, a fresh start where he didn't become a monster. With both Akihana and Arata taking care of him he had no worries about the last legacy he had given to the world. Shaking his head he would tap on the desk and frown," I do not want him to come here now...in the future after you tell him what we spoke of and that I am still very much proud of him...and of course tell him that if he doesn't start behaving i'm going to haunt him for the rest of his life...and that will not be pretty," not saying much after that he listened in silence for the most part.

The content in his eyes turned to anger slowly as he listened to her...and the proposition that she had been given. Many that knew the male knew his rage was something innate, a urge he could not control though at this moment...His rage could actually be felt within the house though his posture remained calm. She could tell that he was not pleased and now she could feel it as he tapped on the desk hard," You want my counsel on this? Then I will tell you this bluntly. Do not do what he wants. Yes they were our people...But this isn't our home anymore. I do not want you to give yourself away just because you feel like you need to atone for the past. Don't. To do what you are even considering to do goes against what our family had stood for and desecrates the very friends you miss," for a moment he paused and his rage subsided only slightly as he let his words sink in.

His words could cut her like a knife and he knew this. His eyes stared into hers as he waited for any form of movement from her," The past is the past for a reason Akihana Akari. To allow this...our home to cloud your judgement....You are no better than the one who now holds these people in bondage. Our home died when we fell for it...and yes I am saying this. ME. The one who died for this place. Who wants nothing but the way his life was to return BUT IT CAN'T!," rage once again permeating the air as he continued," This...should not be your path. These people will be saved, but not by this method and not by your hands...Please as your friend I am asking you to let this go and return to Arata," his eyes closed as the room around them began to form back into den that he made, his dark home.