Eximius (Echo)

Red clouds her golden vision, the impossible depths of his eyes as they survey her with such intensity, as if she's the first person they've ever really seen, as if she's the last person they ever want to see. His eyes bore into hers as... hers does into his. The reflected mutuality, the quiet admission that this moment would live on in time even if time itself ceased at some point. There were a great many schools of thought on how to unlock the secrets of the universe but this...

This would have to be her favorite.

At his whispered confession, whispered so soft as only a secret between two souls could be, the blonde mirrored his smile, genuine, pure, joyful, a smile she had had little chance to bestow upon the world in the last year since hie'd gone. Gone but never left her alone, that was something Echo Uchiha would never be guilty of.

"I wish I'd done everything on earth with you..."

The confession is in the same whisper, close to his ear as he holds her to him and despite its softness, the truth in it is crystal clear.

As he carefully releases her, food containers and baskets appear on the picnic blanket around them and she's too caught up in the trick to do anything but let out a soft peal of laughter. Sinking down to take a seat on the blanket, she offers him a hand, gently tugging him down to sit with her as the smile continues to glow on her features. She doubted she would be able to taste the food given the situation they were in, but that he had thought of it made her smile regardless.

"You wanted to tell me a story earlier?" she asked, topaz gaze shimmering on him under the sunlit sky. "Because it's going to be really difficult to top that."

Her words come through and his eyes shut, his smile widening as a chuckle slips past his lips again and as stated above, he's already managed to make something.
Seeing into the Future, is actually not nearly as useful as one might think...Especially for someone like him, what he see's is not just the Path he might be on, but every single Path he could have been on, might have taken, could have taken and even some where he was forced to walk down it.
Some are very similar, others are...remarkably different.
But there's only a few, only a select few, where he can sit like this with Her.
He can see into several Paths, both forward and backward..And he can see every mistake he's ever made, every stroke of a blade and every twister that has taken someone from the World.

And yet he still smiles, somberly yes, but he can't help but smile...
He can't regret what he's done, not anymore, he's always done what he thought he had to, rolled the dice and charged on through with his chosen course of action.
He never expected anything in return, never really wanted anything either...
But when she pulls him down to sit with her, his eyes light up and he grins a bit.
And decides this time-line isn't all that bad, being a Paragon is overrated...
Renegade for Life.
He rests on his knee's, sitting in a simple seiza before he leans over and pops off a lid, steam flowing from it, which causes him to smirk slightly.
She won't be full from this...But she will be able to taste his cooking somewhat, of course this cost him quite a few favors..
But..It's worth it, they have the entire day after all.

"After I left Konoha to begin travelling, a week or two after the end of the War, I was in Tanzaku..I was a bit lost.." He says, slowly trailing off, the look in his eyes suggesting that he meant that in a few different ways. "I was just walking, unsure of what to do now that I didn't have a mission...I could do whatever I wanted, but I wasn't sure what that was. I wasn't for a very long time...I turned a corner and some Old Lady just kinda grabbed me and yanked me to eye level!" He exclaims, gesturing with a waggle of his fingers to give the vibe that this was very startling and rather unsettling for him. "She stares at me for a second and then starts going on and on about me.." He winces slightly, idly rubbing at his forearm in phantom pains. "She had really sharp nails too..Started..Well, I didn't know it at first...But a lot of it was very accurate...Said I'd be near it all and where I threw my hat would usually be the tipping point, that I was an Instrument of the Counter-Force..Whatever the hell that meant.." He shakes his head at this, apparently he's still unsure about what that name means, or why it was important. "But, one thing she told me..It was..-" He pauses now, and reaches over, grabbing what is revealed to be a nikuman, and jams it in his mouth awkwardly..Glancing away shyly before he swallows..
And sighs out. "She said..Something interesting...A little..Prophecy? Something that's..important for us to know.."

He begins, before grasping two glass bottles of some fizzy colored liquid, he gives her one before he demonstrates how to open it..Pressing the bulb that serves as the lid down with a loud pop noise.
He takes a sip, still looking unsure...Before his eyes narrow and his gaze rests on her..Before it softens and he sighs out..And begins.


He says, looking a bit..guilty.
Is he doing the right thing telling her? Or is he being selfish? Clinging to her, even though....
She could move on one day, forget the Dead Man that can't bring himself to just leave her thoughts, the selfish, cruel, sadistic, greedy, arrogant Man...That loves her so, that he's pierced through the very planes of existence just for this day?
He's..He is being selfish telling her about what she said, he could have just let her move on, but..

He doesn't want today to be the last time, one day...
He wants to hold her again, just like he can today.
For Her, it's merely been a Year...
But Death has a way of skewing the fabric of time...And for him?
It's been long, so long since he's seen her..Since he's watched Maku descend those stairs..
But he should only have a few hundred more years, he'll be there when the door opens, and he'll buy him a drink.
That blonde bastard will have deserved it after..That.

As they sit down, sit down together after what feels like forever, Akihana doesn't speak. The only things she had ever wanted to tell him, the only thing that mattered, was already said. Everything else was just... formalities. The food, the picnic, the roses, they all paled in comparison to simply being with him, hearing him talk and holding his hand lightly as he recounted the story. She could understand how lost he must have felt in that town at being told to do whatever he wanted to do for the first time. She hadn't faced anything as dire as he had in his life but she knew that she had been lost.

She had been wondering lost in the world until Arata ran into a certain someone with a face full of ice cream, staining their jeans. And in apologizing to the stranger, the blonde had realized she had been lost up until that moment. She had been lost gain upon entering her once home and as usual, Echo had found her.

Reluctantly letting go of his hand to open the bottle he passed her, the kunoichi's golden eyes sparkled as he listened to the story. It as not necessarily a happy story but neither was theirs, and happiness, Akihana had learned, wasn't made by stories, it was made by people. And she only hoped Echo could feel the joy in her at this moment.

"She sounds very wise," the golden haired kunoichi admitted, a small smile on her lips. "Though I can't say I'm very good at miracles, I can wait... for as long as it takes." There was little choice in the matter really, because no matter what happened to her from here on, her fate was sealed. It was a prophecy after all, and prophecies came true. And if all she had to do to make it a reality was keep faith for as long as she lived.

She would happily do that.

She didn't want this to be the last time they met, losing him once had almost killed her, losing him again would surely do the job. "I do have a request for you," she whispered softly, almost afraid to ask. Golden eyelashes lowered in embarrassment at her own request.

"Don't take so long next time, please..."

Her words cause his heart to skip a beat, his smile to falter and his eyes to close as if in pain..
He is stopped short, bottle lowering to the blanket before his head tilts down and his lips form a thin line..Before they part and his eyes open again, slowly raising his crimson sharingan eyes to hers again.
He moistens his lips before he speaks again, his voice soft as he speaks, his deep tenor voice slipping past his lips hesitantly.

"Akihana...Love, I-..I'll-..You don't understand.."

He tells her before a small hesitant smile spreading across his face, before he scoots forward, his arms slowly circling her waist once more, before he pulls her into an embrace, carefully hiding his face from her in this embrace.
He's been waiting a long time for this day, he can wait as long as it takes for the day.

"I'll be the one waiting this time.."

He whispers softly, voice light as his arms hold her close.
One must Wait Endlessly, One must Search Tirelessly..
Faith is what will bring them together again, Faith that the other lies at the end of each path.
He's not worth the search, he knows that, he knows what Akihana is in love with..An Ideal, she hasn't seen him, hands stained red, eyes blazing with rage.
But..That feeling she gave him, when he stepped into that apartment, shared an afternoon with her, made a dessert..And was accepted. She gave him a feeling that he's never felt anywhere else.

He felt like he was home, like his fighting and endless searching finally led him home.
He's not the Hero of the story anymore, his story is over, the final chapter has ended, his book is closed.
But Her story isn't over yet, and..
If he ever gets his hands on Youka Tau in his life or the afterlife he'll beg for Hell before Echo is finished with him.

A string of worry catches in her breath at his hesitation. Had she said something wrong? Should she have not expressed the wish for him to not take as long? Was she already suffocating him. A small inkling of shame welled up inside the blonde as she looked away from his crimson gaze, instead thinking of a reply to smooth the situation. She couldn't apologize because that would be a lie. She wasn't sorry for stating how she felt, even if it was too much...

In the space of one meal, from of a doomed woman she had transitioned into one of those girls who clung to others like a drowning man to a flotation device.

The breath turned into a gasp however as he pulled her close, his arms once again protectively around her as his face disappeared from view, leaving Akihana to close her eyes once again as she listened to his correction.

"I'll be the one waiting this time.."

And for the first time since she had seen him, it happened, a lone tear appeared in her topaz golden eyes, clinging to her long eyelash for the briefest of moments before travelling down her face and disappearing somewhere in him. Her breathe stilled as the gravity of his words finally manifested.

She had thought she was the one who had waited so long... She had waited a lifetime after all. But no, his time was longer still. He had waited an eternity, and would have to continue. Another tear slid down her cheek, joining the first as she clung to him, holding him close to her. Where time ended, Echo's waiting merely began.

And he still chose to wait.

"I'll.. find you..." she promised, trying to keep her voice steady despite the tears now freely streaming down her face. "I swear, no matter how long it takes, I'll find you."

He feels her tears through the thin fabric of his shirt, and he pulls her closer, up into his lap, with his legs unfolding from underneath him so he can provide a more comfortable rest for her. His heart aches in tune with her own, so far apart and yet so close in feeling, this is why he was so hesitant to speak this Prophecy, to speak of his love for her, to make it clear that he intended to wait, because the moment he did, he knew exactly what Akihana would do.

"I swear, no matter how long it takes, I'll find you."

She would search, she would search for him as fervently as he waits, he's a horrible man to ask her such a thing. A monster, a cruel demon, a spector who will never leave the living to their lives...
But, despite his guilt, despite the ever present doubt.
He's grinning, eyes shining before they're shut and he leans away, thin callused digits finding her chin, before they guide her gaze up to his own, his smile has returned..Before he leans in, and gently presses his lips to her cheek just below her tears, willing them away with his warmth. He draws back against, before he rests his forehead gently against hers, his soft whisper brushing against her lips as his eyes gleam with a somber joy in them.

"I love you, you can take as long as you want...The worlds too beautiful a place to be rushing into the arms of an old soldier."

He jests, eyes dancing with mischief, before this time...His lips find hers with some of that charm he never got to show off to her, filled with love, filled with passion, filled with joy...But mostly, just like Uchiha Echo..
Filled with the desire to kiss her, to feel her presence, to know that she's not a figment of his imagination and if she is...
Damn it, just let him keep dreaming for once.
His lips draw back, his eyes closed and once again, a soft whisper carries past his soft smiling lips.

"I love you, if you ever have any doubts...I want you to remember that, okay? I love you, and I'm waiting."
He tells her, passionately his eyes brimming with life once more, as if her warmth could give him life, her presence eases his spirit, and her touch..?
His shoulders aren't as tense anymore, no...Once more, the Wind can carry him, as weighted down as he was.

As his lips gently brushed away the falling tears, Akihana realized again how little time they had actually had. They could have had a lifetime of this, of sitting together and communicating without words, of playing around in rose gardens, of having picnics and watching Arata grow into a young man. In that brief moment, she saw all they could have had and all that fate had taken from them. But the blonde didn't grudge the fates. Echo was needed for more important things than to simply make her feel happy, make her feel whole...

And if her fate was to search eternally as the gypsy had prophesied, it was still a small price to pay for what awaited at the end. It would have been worth it if at the end, they sat just like this, with their foreheads resting against each other. Destiny had always been a vague concept to Akihana despite her firm belief in the Goddess. Some people claimed that it was written in stone, others preached making their own destiny. The young woman couldn't have commented on either school of thought before this very moment.

"I love you, you can take as long as you want...The worlds too beautiful a place to be rushing into the arms of an old soldier."

"That alright," she confessed, golden eyes glowing with warmth and love as they contemplated his features seriously before her own lips broke out into a soft smile. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be." She had barely finished before he stole the smile from her lips, making it his own.

Making the kunoichi finally realize that this was her destiny, and that it could no more be argued with than Echo Uchiha - dead or alive. Of course she still had goals to accomplish. Arata, Arashi, Kumo, Hoshi, the natural irregularities of being alive. But this, this was where it was all headed to. And knowing what she did made her journey all the more important, because it led her to him at the end. It was more than she could have hoped for, her faith being rewarded with a waiting Echo and an eternity to get to know him again and again.

To get to fall in love again and again.

"I love you, if you ever have any doubts...I want you to remember that, okay? I love you, and I'm waiting."

"I would never doubt you," the blonde replied, a sparkle in her eye. Moving slightly to scoot off his lap but still remain close to him. "I don't think I physically can." The statement was odd but in true Akihana fashion, it was completely honest. Doubting Echo was not something she was capable of. "And... whenever you get back up there.." she made a vague gesture to the skies. "Whoever's in charge... could you please convey my gratitude to them? For giving me the gift of being able to search for you. All things worth finding are always hard to find..." She trailed off, a slight blush appearing on her face once more.

Time passed as they sat together, sometimes talking, sometimes eating, sometimes saying nothing at all. Akihana remembered music, she remembered dancing, she remembered flying and she remembered doing nothing at all. When finally it had seemed that they had been everywhere and done everything, the Kunoichi found herself curled up on the picnic blanket once more, contemplating the empty food containers and the roses surrounding the pair.

"I don't want to go back," she admitted, hesitantly to the male beside her. "I don't know what to do. On one hand, the people of Kumogakure deserve a second chance at life... On the other..." She trailed off, the proposition too vile to even utter out loud in this peaceful place.

His eyes lose warmth, the frigid cold efficient killer that he once was blossoming through, he pointedly looks away..He refuses to look at her with these eyes, these are the eyes that demons ran from, that Heroes died before, the eyes that efficiently decimated countries and razed armies.
He did that for his Country, for his People. If he were alive, he'd be doing all of that for her.
His eyes close and his chakra fluxes, the world around them seeming to bend unnaturally for a moment..
His eyes flicker open, and the coldness fades, a somber look entering them before his lips curl into a frown and he sighs softly.

He is silent for a moment before he speaks again, his voice laced with a bit of pain.
"There's always a Third Path, the way of the Asura is a path I didn't just walk, I danced on it.
My Brother was the Leader of the Fire Nation, but he was Bold..Too bold, and I feared one day he would bring Death to the gates. So I had plans, in case he ever began to go too far, in case he was on a path I couldn't follow...One that would have us meeting on opposites side." He shakes his head and continues on, before he rolls over and slides onto his knees, he reaches forward and grasped one of her hands in his own, his sharp gaze locked onto hers.
"The point is...Love, you can't let that madman rule over your home, even if you marry him he won't make life better for them, if that was his intent he would have done so with or without you. You aren't just a Mother my love, you are a Kunoichi...And you have a duty." He tells her. "A Purpose." He speaks again, his voice filling with reverence upon utterance of that word.

"But you can't beat him on your own...There's..There are People in Tanzaku, near the border of the Fire Country filled with people, Mercenaries, powerful Mercenaries, who for the right price or for the right kind of promise from a Village...Can do amazing things."
He begins, crimson eyes narrowing in thought before he worries his bottom lip before he speaks again.
"Look for the Mercenary with Silver eyes, the Morning Star, set him up against Youka, gather up enough people to counter the forces that Youka has...Gain the love of the People again, and prepare for the day where you take your Home back, my eyes don't lie often..Help him and they'll defeat him for you."
He foretells, his eyes closing as his grip loosens on her.
"There's no good left in him, my Student has no Will of his own anymore, he's a Servant to the voices in his head, to the dark intentions he can't help but follow...He's a Mad Dog now, the kindest mercy you can grant, is to fall in the conflict he craves like a drug." He continues with grimace, eyes closing now as his grief at what became of his Students became, the people who were supposed to inherit his Will of Fire.
Maku, a death filled with regret, dying without finding what he was searching for..
Youka, who it seems, will never find the satisfaction he craves, the kind of satisfaction that won't come from Power for Power's sake, Conflict for Conflicts sake...
Youka will never find his Purpose, and know the joy and satisfaction of fighting for it.

It's too late for him now, but he can help Others, and most importantly...
He can help Akihana.

She can't help but feel she's done something wrong as he averts his gaze from her, the world around them going cold for just a moment as she waited, waited to see what she'd done wrong before she apologized for it. It would have been the easiest thing to linger in this world forever, the moments they'd created forever. But their path was not easy, Akihana knew that even before she had heard Echo recite the Gypsy's prophecy. Nothing worth having came easily and Akihana wanted The Best In The World. Unknowingly, she had dared to dream of the Best, even if she hand't known it at the time.

The disorientation ends as his warm hand finds hers once more, anchoring her to this moment again. Never had the blonde been so dependent on someone as she was now because Echo was her reality, he was the world and its inhabitants, he was him and he was her and she was no one without him. Quietly she listened to him as he spoke of paths, of choosing a first, second or third. She heard the sadness in his voice as he spoke of Youka and the lack of a purpose. He said she had a purpose...

Akihana wasn't surprised he knew, Echo knew her better in death than he had in life, he knew she had to do what she set out to. He also believed in her.

The blonde nodded as he explained of the men in Tanzaku, already formulating plans to send messages to that region. the Morning Star, how apt that Kumo's best hope of vanquishing the darkness was a star. "I'll find a way to convince him to join our cause," she promised, golden eyes bright with determination. "I'll do everything I can to free this village again. I can't do it alone... So it's a good thing you'll there every step of the way."

A small smile touched her face. She knew their time, no matter how sweet, would end. But sadness could wait because she also knew with equal certainty that Echo would always be nearby. She would never be all alone as she'd feared.

Her smile and her eyes are what he loves most about her, her spirit and how strong she is, that's what has him feeling faint, and when she speaks his heart skips a beat. Even when he's delivering advice about such grim things, planning a Coup..An assassination, but as soon as she looks up at him..
His mind goes blank, his grim expression melts away and a smile tugs at his lips as his eyes soften and fill with warmth. He loves her, she's worth waiting forever for...He'd fight a thousand battles, millions..Walk as far as he needs to, to finally reach her...
But the powers that be know that, so..They told him to wait, wait forever...And hold faith while they put him to work, but today belongs to them.
He can help her along with this, and for today....For the next two hours, he can help her be safe, feel happy, give her a moments rest for the coming work she'll have to do.

So, a mischievous glint enters his eyes, a vulpine grin spreading across his roguish face before his arms snake around her waist and he stands again, wind propelling them upwards, pulling her body flush to his own before he spirals upwards, the winds parting the clouds above, the stars above being revealed and gleaming bright, before they begin to drop around them, forming like a spotlight around them as he leads them in a sudden flight upwards, past the skyline and up into the skies above.
The stars surround them and he suddenly halts them both, platforms of wind forming underneath their feet as he gently sets her down, and then he gives her another grin, before he gestures downward with his head..
His gaze roaming downward to the vision below, what made him speak about how foolish he was to call himself The Best.


He speaks, eyes gleaming with joy, arm wrapping around her shoulder, to pull her closer to him, his adjacent hand raising, finger pointing out the little speck that is..That is the Elemental Continent, the mass of land they call home.
"There's more than even this...There's so much to see in this Universe, that it's impossible to cover it all..
Akihana, take as long as you need..We've got a long ways to go, the Search and the Wait, I promise...
They'll be worth it."
He vows, before his gaze trails over to her, and he turns, his palm gliding from her shoulder down to her waist, leaning in again slowly...Is he kissing her too much? He's probably kissing her too much...But unless she has a problem with it, he's most certainly not going to stop.
They've got a few hours, he can't show her everything...But he'll show her all he can, give to her every bit of strength he can.

After this...? Well, he can only do this once. He's going to make it worth it.