Memory (Maku)

When the male opposite claimed she had hurt Youka far more than he had, the pain in her eyes was a lot more obvious. the clear grief showed on her pale, heart shaped face for a moment, transparent in its all consuming absolution. She had unknowing done the one thing she had hoped to die before doing, she had hurt the man she had promised in front of men and Gods to protect. "I demand you let him go," she tried, attempting to inject as much authority in her tone as she could. it didn't work, it never had. His grin was too strong, too uncaring. In the end, the words came out as a plea, soft and beseeching. "Please don't hurtt him, I'm sorry..." Please don't hurt him because of me

As he continued explaining what he was up to, how he had been expanding the borders and running Kumogakure's army, Akihana's heart sank. The place she had worked so hard to reform, the ninja she had worked with to show them the way. He had them killing and taking over other people's homes. No stranger to what war entailed, it sickened the kunoichi to realize that in a few short months, all her hard work had been undone.

At the mention of Takeo, Akihana recalled the letter he white haired ninja had left, about the Kazekage's disappearance. "It was you in Suna?" she spoke, a bit slow as she pieced together what he was telling her with what she already knew or suspected. "What did you do to the Village Hidden in the Sand?" Had he destroyed that too? It wouldn't be the first time he'd tore through the village like the natural disaster that he was, leaving desolation and emptiness in his wake.

His question of if Kumogaure could come was never a question to begin with. But if he wanted to play, so would she. She was no longer the young woman who found it hard to breathe around him, now she was the Queen Regent, and there was no more breath left in her to halt. "And if I say no?"

Far across time and space, Makona's glee had turned into full on joy as Khurama continued to ignore her. Somewhat of an expert at rooting out emotional weakness, the little demon girl knew a chink in the armour when she saw one. And the kyuubi had a gaping hole in the form of his missing memory. "You don't remember me at all do you? Our long walks on the beach, our cozy sleepovers." As she spoke, images of the two bijuu in cozy situations flashed over both of them, of course all false and of her own creation but how would Khurama know that.

"You don't remember your previous jinchuriki either, do you?" An image of Echo flashed before both of them. "Or mine for that matter," Another mage of Akihana feeding the ninetails plum cake. Image after image continued, some true, some false, all of them meant to confuse and befuddle. To make him mistrust his judgement.

"I must say, if I didn't hate humans to their very core, I would respect this one, he has you truly well imprisoned, doesn't he?"

Struggling valiantly not to roll his eyes, our hero.....fails and his eyes roll real hard. The world turns for a second at her pleas. Honestly, she had to pick either be the queen or be the beggar. You don't get to be both in this world, and going back and forth just cements on as the later.

"He's fine, he'll get out when he gets out. He's a big boy he can take care of himself." He would say vaguely not detailing what he had done to his friend. Which that's what he was, his friend. Youka could handle himself, and besides if Maku was going to kill him it would be in a fair fight. Something that was still on the table for down the road.

"If you say no, then I mean, you say no. My celebration will be a bit rowdier though, maybe even more fun, whose to say." He would offendedly offer. Her comments on the sand showed Hoshi spies didn't run so deep. Which was all well and good, it was worth it just to know that. "The village is fine. Not even a casualty....". He would say kicking the grass. It was true the whole thing had been a bit boring. They had to go and be all "reasonable".

"I mean, they lost a kage sure, but it was Kurama......or is it karma. Words....". He would say with a smile and a laugh. "Some of them might even come to, I made some friends there." He would say, in reference to his suna guard. An interesting concept he had done, perhaps as a slight to the old regime of Sunagakure, perhaps just out of boredom. It was hard to say, either way they had looked damn good in those uniforms.

"Your so tense....... I'm not sure the "ruling" life really suits you. I know it doesn't suit me." He would say his voice becoming more sing song. At this point he would walk away. His hands going into his pockets and move towards the gazebo. Stepping up and moving over he would lay down on the bench looking up at the stars. It wasn't the same place that they had gone before, but no doubt the memory stirred. "How's my lady doing in there. Now she, had some pretty eyes....". He would say rolling his tongue, clearly speaking to reach Makona. This is of course assuming the gazebo is either in ear shot or Akihanna follows to stay in such ear shot.

In ether of chakra the two creatures continued their debate, the corporeal realm displayed before them. The images moved in front of Khurama until then they didn't. Instead, it would be silence. His own chakra flowing out more and more volatile, seeking to corrupt what she attempted to make.

The images may have showed him, but his own pride aided in his disbelief. To mingle with such a minor creature, it was beyond belief. "You play games like the humans play with each other. You might be more imprisoned than you think. You even wear their form.....". He would say snidely. To not even take on ones true appearance, hiding behind the guise of a human. No amount of pretend mocking could cover that up.

His own power returned simply to him, removing the silence from the world, though the images remained dispelled. "Or maybe, this is where you are happy to be. Hiding, staying safe in a squishy shell. Playing your games with feebler minds." His massive maw yawned again as his eyes watched the humans. "Apparently you have an admirer though...."

So this was indeed a threat, Akihana realized with a chill. Of course, asking her was a formality, he had already made up his mind. And since when had the medic ever been a factor in him making decisions He hadn't asked her before leaving an irreparable void inside her, he hadn't bothered telling her how or why he was back, and now he was bringing over Kumogakure diplomatically or by force.

A force Akihana was not ready to meet. She had seen first hand the devastation this man could wreak in his wake and Haven was not ready to pay the rice of war. If Kumogakure had truly conquered a village as famed as the Hidden Sand, Hoshi was still building after the death of one queen and the abdication of another. Even if their ninja and her own were matched equals, the cost of the fight would be innocent civilian lives.

Akihana would not have more blood on her hands - not if she could help it.

The news of losing a kage... another chill ran through the kunoichi. Koroshi Uchiha, Echo's brother. She had never met the man, and now she never would if what he said was true. Echo had loved his siblings, and this ghost had apparently made it his meson to make more ghosts. "Then there's no need to pretend you asked for permission and I gave it. What are your terms? I may be the Queen but I do not exercise dictatorial control here. I will need to speak to my own council and Denkiteki before a decision can be made."

However, the blue eyed trickster seemed to have wondered off mid sentence, making Akihana unwillingly follow as she spoke, being led to the Gozeba as though in a memory. As she entered the shade, watching him take his painfully familiar pose on a painfully familiar bench, it was two years ago. Haven was still new, Queen Shiera lived and breathed, Arata waited for her at home and instead of her servant garb and golden locks twisted around the small crown, she wore pajamas and a T shirt, following the musical tune of a piper who had long enthralled her in his song.

For a moment, she was Akihanna.

And then he spoke, shattering the moment, referring to the night everything ended.

And Makona's small, chubby face positively glowed at the mention of her name. Even as Khurama pointed out that she had an admirer, the childlike bijuu was already preening at the attention, uninterested in the old has been with amnesia. "I have many admires," she purred, the blush on her face making her look more self impressed than bashful, the color of joy radiating through her tiny frame.  "But you don't remember that, of course. Oh how magical that night was when we first met. I broke every bone in his body, I painted rivers with his blood... I like to think I broke his soul." the little girl added with a wink, gesturing to her own jinchuriki. "I know i broke hers."

Even as she spoke a taint of silver would shine across Akihana's usually golden eyes. the eerily silver glow lighting her face just slightly, her thin lips turning upwards in the shadow of a dangerous smirk.

Giving him the answer he needed without words.

There she is, he said, his minds voice playful. He gave the flash of silver a wink. He'd let his his head fall back, accidentally hitting the wood harder than he had meant to. Rubbing the back of his head, the corporeal version of the fox ran up, and jumped to lay across his stomach. His left hand reached out and started to pet it down its back absent mindedly.

"My terms.........well, I only have three. One: Kumogakure is allowed entrance and are treated like diplomatic guests. That's what thy are though, guests. If they act up in a way unacceptable then they forfeit to the laws of hoshi. I'm not a baby sitter and I'm not their friend. So not gonna be responsible for them being shits." He would say still running his hand down the red fur.

"Secondly I want to know if you know anything about my flute? I seem to have lost it." He'd say with a quizzical look. That thing had seemed to go missing, and he couldn't remember we're it was.

"Thirdly.......well I don't want to talk about that yet. I wish my ever absent brother was here for that one. Probably off playing with faux parents..". He'd say with the closest thing he ever did to a sneer. "Look, I'm not that interested in shaking things up right now. Just make sure my people can get in and relax after all their hard work and I promise I'll keep most of the shenanigans to a minimum, deal? I'll take up residence in the slums like I used to with my kind of people, and it'll all be good. If you want to let the girlie out to play, that would be ok too....." He would say sitting up and looking at her, grinning.

Kurama didn't acknowledge her current revery with herself. She had pride in the same ways he did to a point, but then again she displayed it like a human. For this there was little forgiveness. The bijuu needn't look for the humans admiration, or anything from them except for perhaps a special few. For her boasting he doubted she could accomplish much of what she claimed with out the aid of specific circumstance. He could have said that to her, but why even bother.

He had seen the creature that was inside of Akihana, and they were a perfect match. Yin and yang to an almost laughable degree. He had no respect for either at this point, and with that last thought his will would exit the dimension to leave the silly girl with her doughy eyes.

Sitting on Maku he would close his eyes, his mind going blank and fall asleep for the time being.

Out of sheer habit, the kunoichi would murmur a quick "language" as he outlined his first condition. Kumogakure shinobi subjected to Hoshi laws Anyone else would have been surprised at the leeway he was giving her but that someone didn't know him well enough. This man had a short attention span and rarely stayed interested in things for long. The blonde had to wonder if Kumo was just as much a plaything to him as Hoshi was.

As the entire world was.

He also knew her very very well. Any other kage or leader would take in the kumo ninjas under diplomatic guise and then proceed to make their lives miserable. Not Akihana, the poor single mother who had done her best to make ends meet, spinning everything with a positive so a curious three, four and then five year old wouldn't suspect they lived well below the poverty line. Akihana had never really stopped being that person, she hadn't even tried. Hoshi's initial rebellion against shinobi had been filed away as their love for their country and Queen, her marriage to what people called a monster filed away as an opportunity for the new generation to grow and blossom. And now this.

Despite his cavalier attitude, the trickster knew exactly what he was doing.

His second condition was a question that made her physically flinch. Either this was another cruel way to test her or he really did not remember. The heat had turned the sand to glass beneath their feet that night, thousands of stars reflected in the glimmering surface as she'd desperately tried to find a pulse, a heartbeat, a single chakra point to rejuvenate and prove to herself that he was still alive.

"I do know something about it," she answered shortly, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing how much the memory of that night still hurt her. "Maybe it should remain lost?"

His third condition seemed to go off topic, derailing into a kind of assurance she knew was honest but one she found hard to believe. The male had rarely ever lied to anyone despite being famed for his illusions. No, most of his lying he did to himself. But that had never made him trustworthy, the paradox that he was. Akihana may have trusted him, but the Queen Regent could not bring herself to.

"I'll have a word with Denkiteki and our shinobi. Do you have anything written down on paper that I can present as evidence or is it just you word?" The medic ignored his question about letting Makona out entirely, forcing the bijuu back in with a last pout. Now that she had been mastered, Makona could not overpower her host as easily as she once could

"Spoilsport." the silver being muttered under Akihana's breath before giving the man a wink, then the silver drained from her face, leaving the young woman once again her usual pale self save the glowing golden eyes.

At the mention of her admittance of knowledge yet refrain from giving it, Maku felt his head turn slightly sideways. "I'd prefer you just told me, it's not remaining lost." He'd say calmly. Looking out in the direction of the palace he would continue, "that's the last place I remember having it, guess I'll just tear through the place. Hopefully it's there, I really will hate a long game of hide and seek.......". He would say his eyes scanning into the darkness. "I recently broke my sword, I feel naked without one of those two...........". A pang of real concern actually crossed his face, a rare occurrence, even rarer to actually be seen by someone.

Her next comments snapped him from his thoughts of finding it. "Talk with whoever you like. I sent several letters to the forces of kumo, they can present it. If you really need me to write a little diddle though I guess I could whip one up. Have it to you tomorrow." He would say absent handedly. The boring beurocraric red tape not holding his attention for an instant.

Seeing the silver disappear he merely gave it a wink. If she could read intentions or even had a decent level of passive insight, she could tell the wink said they'd meet soon enough pretty girl.

He felt a yawn escape his lips. "So much to do so much to do." He would say, his eyes on the palace again. It was at this point it would be unclear if he was talking to Akihana or to himself. "Still waiting on konoha. They should respond any day now...........". Turning he would shake himself back to the present conversation. "A letter id think, I doubt a personal envoy or any kind. If it makes its way past me somehow, I'd like it. If that's not to much trouble." He would add.

"If it's alright, with the rulers of Hoshi, the Kumo folks can go into my old favorite district. You remember, were we found that little beast." He would say going back to the original topic. He of course was referencing that ghastly rat that had pretended to be a dog. Muffin or something. The district he had claimed, were crime had went from messy to a business. He hoped his "establishments" were taking in at least a minimal profit. "I'd like to throw them a little party there, and recognize some military achievements. If you don't mind of course." He would say looking at Akihana for permission. It seemed genuine, and to Maku at this moment it was.

"5 tailed beasts in one place, it'll be one hell of a bright spot on the map to sensory folk.........well 4 since my bro doesn't like to leave his hidey hole." He of course referenced the acquisition of the 3 and 2 tails to kumo, the twin 5 tails of Akihana and Denkitiki, and of course the addition of Kurama. "Really will be a city of stars........Now, if all that is alright, think I'll go look for that flute, and perhaps........breakfast in the morning? I'll cook." He would say with a wink. Standing he would take a more metaphorical are towards the palace, he rarely actually walked places, though he wanted to give her a chance to say anything else she wanted to say.

To the matter of the flute, Akihana simply shook her head. "It's not in Hoshigakure," she stated simply and truthfully, some things about her would never change: chiefly her honesty in all situations. "I will however return it to you when we meet next. Until then, I'd appreciate some official documents that state the terms of what you're trying to achieve, along with all other relevant details." Of course, an official document might stall him but not by much. He had been a village leader once, he may be one right now.

The mention of Konoha caused more concern to display across the kunoichi's face but that was a battle for another day. As much as she worried for the Leaf and what he might do to them, her primary duty was to her people and it now rested on her to ensure the transition period was as smooth as possible. The male made the first step towards it by offering thathis new arrivals take up residences in the slums, easily one o the worse funded areas of thecity but one where the underground market thrived well. "Cupcake is doing well, though it turned out he was a she. She gave birth to Chocolate, Strawberry and Vanilla last spring."

A pause and then "You may conduct yourself as you wish among your ninja, as long as no laws of the land are broken. If your festivities do not interfere with the city's proceedings, then by all means."

An olive branch for an olive branch, it was the best she could do at the time. "I'll expect the papers by tomorrow, I trust you will not make further mischief here while we await our diplomas guests from Kumogakure?" With that, the blond would turn to leave, there really was no other reason to stay. Akihanna might have stayed, but Queen Akihana of Haven could not bring herself to.

Not for a ghost that was starting to solidify all too quickly.

The kunoichi would make her way back to the palace and find Ser Kyousuke, ready to confide in the knight what the evening had brought forth for their country.

(Exit Akihana)

"Keeping me waiting.........I've always appreciated foreplay. I'll let the anticipation build then." He would say with a smile standing, the fox cradled in his arms. Her mentions of the little beast, made his nose turn up. The disease was spreading how unfortunate.

He gave her a mock bow as she continued with her formalities. How heavy is the crown.........well that depends on what your made of. As she turned he felt his head tilt slightly. She had grown a little, or was she just wearing a mask. It was hard to tell at times, and while he fancied himself good at reading people, some still eluded him.

"And so you will have them.....". He would say in reference to the papers. A quick step, and he would be right behind her as she was moving away. He was close to her, well within any bubble. The smallest sigh, the kind one makes before speaking of important matters, left his lips. The speed enough to cause her hair to move with the wind.

However, if she were to look back or even attempt to acknowledge him, he was already gone.

(Exit)

Approved