Aftermath II (Youka)

As she watched, the kunoichi's gaze followed the movement of his hands, how everything he touched seemed to rot. She wondered for a brief moment if that was her fate too, to simply die bit by bit in his presence. The thought didn't worry her as much as she expected. Once the decision was made, she could do little else but accept it, and if that meant decaying, simply ceasing to exist for what she believed in, then it was a more honorable death than most shinobi were afforded. plenty of men and women claimed they would do anything for their village, their people, their purpose. Akihana was among the lucky few who was given the opportunity to prove it, and the blonde could only be thankful for that.

She had to resist, the urge to reach out and heal the grass he was decaying was so natural, it felt wrong to sit still and listen to him talk instead of sliding over to the rotting grass and corroding earth, leaking a bit of nature energy from her fingers to restore the balance. Youka seemed to be her complete opposite. He destroyed with a touch whereas her hands rose to only heal. The irony of their match was not lost on her but there was no point lamenting it. She was here for a reason and that reason needed to be discussed.

"I hope my acquiescence at least makes you happy," she admitted, not quite meeting his gaze. He knew he had manipulated her, she knew she had been manipulated. The best thing that could possibly come out of this was one of them feeling good about it and since she couldn't, she sincerely hoped he was. It would be a shame if her very existence had been negotiated away with no personal satisfaction to any party. It would confirm how little her life actually meant in the grand scheme of things.

"The walls that divide the districts will be opeened," she began, lifting her face to his, her golden eyes clashing with the reds of his sharingan. "People from all over the village will be allowed to mingle more freely. Kumo will no longer be divided on itself. If we are to progress as a strong village, we must do so as a united one." Her voice was soft but firm as she spoke. Never needing to raise her volume to be heard, Akihana nonetheless ensured that the steadiness in her tone came cross perfectly.

"Those who wish to leave the village will be allowed to do so starting immediately. Though I doubt many could leave right away, or ever, but the option needs to be available for those who do want to leave. Keeping them here will benefit neither yourself nor Kumogakure as they will not fight for either in the long run if they are being held against their will." An image of Hikashi flashed through her mind, the poor girl's helplessness. She would be free soon.

"The ravine south of the village used to flourish as a reserve for dragons but it now lays in waste," she continued, trying not to falter a the thought of the dead area that used to bustle with so much life. "I would like to revitalize it. The land can be repurposed for development, as another reserve for a different animal species or as new training grounds. it can add to Kumogakure's geographical integrity too as it grows." This was probably the easiest request, but one that was still of great importance to her.

The blonde paused, fingers around her coffee cup turning white at how hard she was clutching it to give herself courage for the final condition. Taking a deep breath, she finally spoke.

"You will not question me about of my whereabouts this last year. if I reveal it to you on my own than so be it but you will not force me. Though I suppose this is more of a request than anything else since I can't make you do anything. I stand at a certain disadvantage here because you know how to make me agree to things but I do not possess the same luxury. So consider it my one, and only, request."

Her tone, the inflections they carried, the subtle movements her body made. Each and everything he saw and heard put her on two very different spectrum's of the board when it came right down to it. She might not have had split personality disorder, however she was constantly torn between herself and it showed more now than it had ever peaked before. he mused over what it must be like to hold such ideals that you'd place yourself towards the bottom and all else a higher priority.

On one side she sat across from him meek and powerless, there was no ill intent or negative emotion slithering from her body. She simply took everything in and held it there no matter if it hurt or would destroy her. The plague prince pondered what exactly could make someone give up on themselves as a single unit with individual goals and ambitions to join a life of servitude to the masses even if those masses would never know or accept you as their benefactor.

On the other side of the coin what sat across from him was a violent and fearful ocean swirling with quieted rage. He could see the damn holding the natural disaster back but ever so slightly it would crack and leak. This is how he viewed the woman in front of him when it came to the lives of others, he likened her expression shifts to a mother bear protecting her cubs. This kunichi would go through hell and back, more than likely unscathed if it meant protecting what she felt needed to be saved. Even Mortarion with all of his power found himself listening to this side of Akihana with a much keener ear and more reverence than any other time. Once her demands were made and the storm quieted from her eyes he too took on a much more business oriented form and tone, nothing over the top because it wasn't needed. He spoke just as calmly as she had.

"The wall divide not only keeps people safe, it also separates the murderers, the rapers, the violent husbands from the rest of the village. As well as the ones that I know who would come for my life if they were closer. However if you truly wish for this change, then so be it I will open the walls AFTER I execute everyone in the first sector."

There were quite a few bad eggs and he had personally separated them before the walls were built. Now she sought to undo it for the sole effect of having others mingle.

"On to the ones who wish to leave, unless you build a bridge from the opening of the gates that expands to the villages borders no single civilian will ever have the strength to leave the village of their own free will. I will allow them to leave if they do it by their own means and strength, I'll provide the materials. Just know you will be circumventing a natural defense I have made to protect this village from outside threats so you can appease the numbers that might want to leave."

It was true, the soft earth that sucked you down and slowed all movements had been purposefully made to ensure only the strongest made their way to Kumo's doors. Anything else was whittled down and swallowed whole.

"The ravine...hmm. Right now that area is being used as my own personal grounds of testing a jutsu I am working on. It is rather occupied at the moment, once I am done with the area then yes you can have it for your own goals. I do doubt anything will grow there however for some time after I am done."

Epidemius was in the process of concocting a vile jutsu inside of Mortarions body it was as such that he had to actively heal the boils and puss sores that had begun growing under his robes.

"As far as your whereabouts, I have no desire to know where you were or what you did. The past has no sway in the future nor control. I only care for what you will do here and now. Is there anything else?"

The last part was a lie, he of course wanted all the information he could siphon from this woman. However he knew that the time would come for such things and right now he had someone working on that as well. He'd bide his time till they fulfilled their mission.

The blonde sat very still once she finished speaking, letting him talk. The only part of her that moved was her silky hair, the soft golden strands lifting slightly off her shoulder in the cold mountain breeze. The medic tried not to focus on the sudden chill that seem to have appeared in the area as she heard his counter suggestions, her long, slender fingers still gripping the mug of now tepid coffee. When he finished, she spoke up once more.

"Very well, if you have made up your mind to execute those who are not loyal to you... Give me some time. Allow me to travel to that district and converse with these people. They may have ill intentions towards you and the village, but I don't believe anyone is beyond reform. Give me three months, after that you may execute anyone you deem still unwilling to serve you and Kumogakure." Her proposition was clear, concise, time sensitive, and most of all, a compromise she hadn't wanted in the first place. In an ideal world no one would ever be hurt again. In this ideal world she would be the last victim of Youka's cruelty but this wasn't an ideal world. She didn't know how many she could convince to swear fealty to the young Kage but saving even one life was better than none.

The next two compromises she took with good grace. Anyone who could leave Kumo on their own would be allowed. What he didn't know was that all her own strength was for Kumo too, it was for everyone who didn't have enough, who needed a little bit more. And when he finally understood that, her strength would be for him too. But Akihana suspected that was a long time coming. As for his doubts on anything growing in the ravine, well if there was one thing she could do as efficiently as cook and bake, it was to make things grow, to nurture life. There was little point in bragging about it though, her companion would see the result on his own once he had turned the ravine over to her care.

"I thank you for respecting my privacy," she finally stated in regards to him not caring where she was from. The reassurance was flimsy - nothing kept him from going back on his word, of probing her mind at later date, of assigning more people to follow her wherever she went - but it was reassurance nonetheless, one the young woman clung to amidst all the uncertainty. "And on my part I shall attempt to be the best... figurehead I can be. You may have forced my hand into this decision but I made it, and so I refuse to play the victim. I accepted my fate with good grace and I shall carry out all the responsibilities that come with my newfound position. I hope you have scarce opportunity for complain."

Once the words were out, the kunoichi visibly shrank into herself, finally letting go of the untouched beverage in her hands. The cup was perched precariously on the pure white cloth, the danger of a coffee stain eminent with every passing second but Akihana couldn't bring herself to remove it, not yet.

With everything that needed to be said out in the open, there was little else to do but sit and eat, and Akihana had no appetite once again. The words she had uttered appeared to have created a hollow concave feeling inside her, one that rejected the idea of food or drink on principle. "If anything I've said came across or rude or inconsiderate, I apologize. That was and will never be my intention," she finally finished when she had the reserves to look up at him again. "Please continue with your meal, a good breakfast is crucial to a good day ahead."

She would have smiled too if she could have mustered it up somehow, but that would have to wait as well.

Hearing her words shift once more to that of her meek self and her features sinking back he knew all that she had to say was now out in the open. Standing up slowly the kage brushed the back of his habit off before speaking once more and more than likely for the final time this meeting. Looking down at her he took in a breath before sighing loudly back out into the world.

"All of these things will be taken care of as you have asked at some point or another. I am not one for being told how and when I will do things, however for the sake of what we are attempting to build I will allow your three months to attempt to reform the 1st district. It will be closely watched however for any stragglers or anyone attempting to play the innocent to sneak by."

He'd have to come up with some way of vetting the people she was talking to while making it look like he wasn't following her around or not trusting her aptitude to read others true feelings. He could read minds so it made it much easier, he sadly felt she would just judge character at the time of their talk and let more than a few people that deserved the pikes through.

"I know you'l do the best you can in the capacity of Kumo's newest elder. After all most if not all of their lives now rely on you to ensure they are not harvested like cattle. I will be watching closely and I have no qualms with erasing a generation of civilians to prove a point to this village old or young."

He let what he said sink into her mind, she must know that he was very through with his job and usually followed through if he deemed it warranted. Taking everyone from the age of ten to twenty and murdering them all would be no small feat but it was also something he'd do if only to get the point across.

"We will be wed september tenth the date has been set already and planners and the like have lined up in fashion to be put to use. If you'd like to take part in this with me I do invite you to the meetings. Though I will understand if it is not something you'd like to help with. After all this is you signing away your life."

Moving slowly he turned his back to her and began walking away back towards the village.

"I'll finish what I have started in the ravine soon, after I'm done it will be yours to do with as you please. I do ask that you do not venture there until I have said it is ready. What I am doing is not meant to be seen."

With that the kage waved backwards before walking down the mountain once more and out of her eyesight.

(exit)

Akihana made no sound. His gesture was very clear, she would only be needed to listen from here on. As he agreed to allot her the time needed to help those trapped within the first district, the kunoichi simply nodded. He didn't have to remind her how casually he could slaughter an entire generation to prove his point. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see what he was capable of.

Akihana wondered if death would have been a better option than what she was undertaking. It would have certainly been easier.

And Akihana never took the easy way out. And now was not the time to question a decision already written in stone. A cold feeling unfurled inside her as he mentioned the date of the wedding. Of course it was already decided. Everything here was preplanned, the idea hat she had a say in how things went was merely an illusion, one that Youka wasn't even working hard to keep up. Of course she was invited to the meetings but she doubted she would be heard even if she did make an appearance.

Right now, wedding planning was the last thing she wanted to do.

As he left, warning her to stay away from the Ravine, Akihana made no reply. She would have had to lie if she did, and she was not a liar. Watching him walk away, the blonde simply continued siting where she was, bringing her knees up to her chest and hugging them to herself to keep her emotions in check. hSe had done what needed to be done, she had remained composed through it all. But now that there was no on to see, she could afford to crumble for a little bit.

Akihana sat there for an hour, the food and drinks growing cold and stale exposed to the open wind. The mountains were quiet as they absorbed her grief, vast enough to contain it. They would be the only thing that mourned the person Akihana used to be, they were the only entity who still remembered her as the young mother who had called Kumogakure her home.

Eventually, it was time to go. With shaking hands and even more unsteady movements, she gathered up everything and stored is neatly back into the picnic basket. Retrieving her cloak from the ground, Akihana wrapped it securely around herself once more, ready to head towards the Tekiatsu compound now that everything else was settled.

It was only later that she realized that there was a dark stain near the hem of her snowy cloak, the first sign of taint.

(Exit Akihana)

TWC: 4, 469