An Unsettling Storm(P, Tamaki)

The eventful lunar skies gave root to the stunning spectacle all around. If anything bolstering the beauty it all had to offer. Considered to be one of the most beloved and exotic areas Hoshigakure had open to the public. The blissful sound of lively streams of water all throughout the garden. The colorful yet quiet green in numerous forms displayed. From grass to plants, from trees to bushes. Orchestrating a color scheme which enticed a light hearted yet calming reaction from the witnesses. The uncommon night sky would adding to the sight below as the great full moon asserted its presence brilliantly. The twinkling stars above causing a two way battle of beauty and peace. Their patterns and amount combating the green in numbers, as the sky was over decorated in twilight. Any astronomer able to identify the different set of star patterns, with the prominent and strong space above. 

The midnight stroll for Kutari was long and grueling. His sleep being only a shadow of its former glory. Finding difficulty to even hold itself together and function properly. Being evasive and shying away from the natural task humans need to operate with. He would have many hours to himself this way. To which he saw as a strict downfall and negative component of his life.  Having to face his own thoughts and mentality for hours on end. Watching as it slowly fell apart and had to bring itself back together but in a much weaker state. Counting off the hours. Even at times when he felt most tired and fatigued he simply could not rest. Turning for what seemed like hours on end. An endless cycle of hell he would call life. Something the suffering boy had to deal with. His home not a place he wished to reside in any longer. Just being a reminder of the lack of what he once cherished now gone. The thoughts of seeing his parents mangled bodies out. Wishing to push it past his mind. Therefore he took after traveling at night on his own leisure. Memorizing the village ins and outs. Places to gather peace and quiet. Specifically places that offered peace from his own mind and to simply detach from it all.

Kutari would remember the sky cascading it’s lunar properties down upon him as he walked to his destination. Noticing the artificial light in forms of  streetlights battling the now natural light from above shining down. Taking note of the difference in other nights. This patchy wakefulness coming to different luminosities in the night. Finding some sleep for small intervals but never seeming like enough. If it weren’t for his dreams waking him it was his dwindling will to even attempt to sleep. Knowing what would happen.

He was able to enjoy the midnight stroll as it was more eventful than the day in his eyes. Taking note of the peace and quiet. The passersby he would interact with a melancholy smile.  The night sky. It was quite blissful from the usual tempest conducting within his mind. As he trudged around aimlessly for what felt like several minutes. Conducting his not so precise rounds around the village while “off duty”. A Shinobi in his eyes never truly being off duty. Why was it he even chose this route to live he wonder. Able to picture himself in several different forms of career and life choices. Instead choosing this format of life. Aware of the hidden enjoyment he gets from it all. The almost frightening spawning of voice he wasn’t able to face yet as he acted as a Shinobi. His own morals and viewpoints working against him to aid this malicious voice. Though he chose to shy away from it all in fear. Unable to face what it was innerly that housed such an opinion or even hear it out. Much rather running away from his life and living in a state of limbo.

As he grew bored of the night stroll and began to sink back into his despair, he would come across the openings to the water gardens. A place highly prized by Hoshigakure. His new destination as the entrance looked more than inviting. Never have actually visiting this place before. Walking into the location and taking it all in. As he walked alongside this handsomely decorated walkway towards a direction he had no idea would end up. Taking note of the beautiful terrain around him. As if a miniature forest in the form of a great garden. The water around sending vibrations throughout the air vocally which proved to calm even the most rampant of minds. The different species of plants and green around to provide a bloomful and very serene touch. As he walked down the path, noting how their seemed to be a lack of people. Especially at this time where people would be off to bed. Much to the boys surprise as such a beautiful night and area he assumed would bring more traffic than what was currently seen. If anything the people he witnessed around him seemed for the most part tranquil and enjoying their night. Or possibly trying to enjoy it to the best of their ability much like Kutari.

Though the many people of different ages and backgrounds seemed to offer a more welcoming and calming exterior, Kutari couldn’t relate. The youthful Kaguya dawned his typical cloak shrouded in darkness. Almost mixing with the night sky if it weren’t for the twilight. His tight fit cloak would move swiftly and with no sound within the desert night. The slight breeze offering the dance to begin for the cloak. His wavy hair being less resistance to swing as it blew to his left. The black strands combined causing a color scheme which matched the closely resembled cloak. The boys steel eyes sucker punching the people who happened to stare into them with its might and strength. Coming off as unamused as he squinted with no real intent. These eyes scaring people away due to the sinister look behind them, as the boy kept his interest to the immediate world around him. Intrigued by its existence yet looking cold and heartless. Even as he perked up due to his interest in such a scenario he would still be a frightening sight. His pale toned skin completing the image of a walking reaper. Cold to the touch. Emitting a heartless aura that would grasp and extract the souls of many.

As he traveled down his walkway he would finally come upon the interior of the entire garden. Formatted to be an eye appealing display of green and water. As the garden would focus its efforts to please the people who made it this far. A circular gazebo would be found at the center of the whole garden. Having a mahogany texture as the octagonal structure stood tall and mighty. In a spacious standoff with the garden around it. Coming off as a lumberjacks creation as it worked alongside the green and trees made around. The lunar sky would work with the artificial lightning around to produce an almost cinematic viewpoint as it was the perfect sight for many. Taken aback by this new finding, Kutari would slowly walk towards the Gazebo. Climbing the small, quick steps up as he felt the wood beneath his black books thumping in reaction. Though the roof shielding the night sky partially, he walked to the ledge of the Gazebo in awe. As he was positioned in a spot to not only admire the water gardens and it’s lush yet spacious scene, but also the sky. As he witnessed a quick shooting star in the distance. Positioned his elbows to be his support on the ledge as he fully immersed himself in the scene at hand. A small stream of water before him where he could watch it travel down and around to a bigger source. To which that source followed the cycle again and again before it was an endless supply. 

Though he was able to enjoy and be shocked by the true passion this garden had to offer, he was still disappointed. Though immersed in it’s beauty, the shackles of his mind unable to let him breathe easily and offer a break. He realized this as the smile he actually possessed would slowly dwindle down to a meek glance over. His elbows and shoulders relaxed on the ledge as  he listened in on all that was happening around him from the beginning. Not fully able to appreciate it all. Realizing once again his mind offered no sense of sanity and relief. When would it all end he wondered. Begging for some outlet to at least grant him a sense of joy and relief from the poison within. What was it that he seeked? The purpose behind his existence and becoming a Shinobi. Truthfully who was he and what was he hiding within. Unable to cope with. And why. These questions passed by him, growing like a wildfire with more critical questions and analysis. Wishing to have some sort of exit from the growing compilation. An end to his struggle. His face beginning to return to the once unamused and uncaring face. Only able to enjoy it all for moments before it all left again. He waited in silence for some intervention or action to break the ever growing war in his mind.


WC: 1566

Conformity was not something Tamaki did well.
There were curfews on the streets for certain ages within the village city; Haven, and the guards enforced them with the utmost of tenacity.
The simple street urchins recoiled within the depths of the water gardens of an evening, surrendering from the watch's eye.
They conducted their business by moonlight, deeds that didn't echo well in the stifling briskness of the temperature.
It was a dense atmosphere within the walls of Haven, and not even the footsteps of Genin could be heard; how ever carefully they were treading, they always seemed one step ahead of the guards.
Playing their shadow games in the dark the circumspect nature of his business was clinging to the inauspicious nature of the village, heavily fortified and routined like a clock he found himself stepping out into the street lights.
He crowed the trees that lined the street leading to the water gardens.
Soon the distant trickling of many fountains aerating the water came into ear shot, it was a pleasant and steady rhythm which Tamaki found much solace in.
The moon hung low in the sky like a beacon of luminosity paving the streets and horizon with star light, it was a beautiful night and that had not escaped Tamaki.
The cobblestones were uneven under foot and gave his shoes a real work load to keep his legs underneath him as he draped through the entrance.
Guards absent deep within the Water gardens preserved Tamaki's sense of nerves as he let his camouflage lessen as he made his way further.
He was pondering the allocations of the stars and their constellations when he bumped into a nicely dressed man who seemed familiar.
The nicely dressed man appraised Tamaki in the dark and replied with gutso, "Tamaki, my lad what brings you to the water gardens of an evening, I thought you were to young to be out this late; something about a bed time I believe, am I wrong?"
Tamaki regarded the man uneasily before considering his response.
"Are you here for Hao?"
There were few things Tamaki needed in this life, and a drinking partner was not one of them.
He had all but forgotten the bottle of sake that he had been given on his previous trips to the water gardens, but, when asked he recollected it's whereabouts to be some where fathomable.
His reply was equally mystifying and answered really nothing at all, " I hope you have a good evening, I'm busy. "

He passed the nicely dressed man and beckoned him good bye with a wave, it was a strange occurrence certainly to meet Valek at the best of times but this time it seems he didn't have anything unusual to pass on.
But some how Tamaki's route had been redirected he had been traveling down a path he had never seen before and everything began to seem unfamiliar, before he could turn back he saw the Gazebo.
From here, at this steady incline, you could see all of the gardens and their twinkling lights.
The steady bustle of the people convening to and fro.
There was a peace to it much like the running water of civilization tumbling back and forth.
Ever turning and ever deepening, he lost himself in the rhythm and lost some time looking down at the gardens.
He conjured a flute made of wood from his sleeve and he widened a hole for his pinky to trill a note, he piped a lively tune that encompassed his surroundings.
There were the infinitely high trickling of water, the breeze in the trees and the glittering stars for inspiration.
He felt truly alone and music always freed him on a level that he could only dream of, the tension knotting in his shoulders unwound and the deep seated lack of contentment that had been growing within him receded.
Only after whiling through another tune did he notice that he wasn't alone.
Or rather, whom ever was here was no longer alone as Tamaki was now their companion.
Sharing the gazebo space, blending in with the backdrop of shadows was another young man dressed in dark clothing.
Tamaki offered a disconcerted reprieve as he spirited the flute back to where it came from out of sight, he offered both his hands palm open in a modest gesture of reconciliation.
There was no reason they both couldn't share the open space of the gazebo and Tamaki wasn't looking for a fight outside of curfew.
As Tamaki motioned towards the young man he stepped forward in what could be conceived as a friendly notion.
"Good evening, I didn't notice you before. You're exceptionally quiet."
His voice's tone was that of a grim monotone and didn't belie an exact emotion or flavor of temperament.
He was equally as enigmatic as his guest, and Tamaki felt the guest in this place he had never seen before.
A guest within the walls of a city; a guest of heart and home, in a foreign land that had swept him up and into the life of a shinobi.
Not too long before, he had acquired his headband which he displayed hanging from his belt.
The deep blue and steel contrasting unevenly with his unappealing adornments, he felt it's weight reassuring in balance with his slim frame.

WC: 888

The arrogance of the young is strong as is the angst, Tamaki battling his own to find them non-existent in the company of this sallow young man.
The darkness consumed him and his expressions yet with perfect clarity Tamaki could ascertain the exact semblance of the young man's fate.
Had he been traveling to find some where less crowded, perhaps.
But within the walls of Haven though the guards presumed a threat it was relatively safe.
One who feasts on the darkness, mother of mary, he had a thought come to his mind.
From the second the insinuation landed the temperament of his friend had altered the fabrications that Tamaki could possibly allude to.
"Sounds like the uninspired musings of a wanton ass hat "
Tamaki's tone was cold, obviously jibed by the remark yet he found the grace to smile after woulds.
"Perhaps you're looking in the wrong places for what you're looking for?"
The other nature of his requests seemed to be a little more complacent, " I actually came here to find some where to play to annoy people but like I said, you're quiet. I honestly didn't notice you. "
The sarcasm rich in Tamaki's own voice, he had hoped the wry quips of the lonesome shinobi would be better then insulting someone for doing something they couldn't.
Or, so, Tamaki's thoughts reckoned.
"You could say I'm carrying many things at once. "
There clash had come at some surprise to Tamaki, not expecting hostility so far within the gardens.
He prepared himself for what may very well conclude their chance meeting, be it his or the other's remarks or actions.

wc: 404
twc: 1292

How old is this guy?
Tamaki's first thoughts to the maturity facing him with such aridity were not kind ones, he could only fathom the creation of such an individual some where dark and in a laboratory.
Had the scene been begging for the indifference that this young man had created or was it simply unamusing in the poetic sense of the word.
Perhaps an injured soul, but, of this Tamaki had no leisure concern.
Not being able to enjoy the music of others; how ever strange, was a wonderful ignorance he had been blissfully unaware of.
Now only to have the roof of the gazebo crashing in on them, there seemed to be an untempered wrath to the man.
Tamaki seemed unphased by the relentless notions, would he indulge further in conversation with someone so far detached from their own boyish humors.
For certain humours were at play here, the egoity of a fool was easy to adopt and charm with a receptive audience but some how, Tamaki figured this would be no place for foolish antics.
Criticizing music you could not hear was meaningless, the wind in the trees would fall on deaf ears tonight.
The streams of water would be the only music tonight.
The only thing to start the heart aflutter this evening would be a war of words, a pity further for no one to hear it.
Just the two solitary towers confiding, their etched stones each telling a silent story of their own of things they've seen.
Being the first to pierce the heavens would be the one whose foundations were strongest, one lie deep within the grove while the other merely visited.
Visited meaning upon the rhetoric and the mundane, there would be more words between them.
He pitched his left arm towards the young man, the flute flying out from it's hiding place.
Not meant to be an act of aggression, Tamaki simply stated,
"What does this place sound like to you then?"

Also not meaning any due offense, Tamaki would fling the flute at the young man so that he may play it.
A different turn of events than the built hostilities, maybe he got something from his comments, maybe he didn't.
He only knew that certain things could be explained through the rudimentary structure of ascending and descending scales of tones.
Could this man simply be happy with what he could see and hear and touch himself, or, could he transcend the boundaries of foreign nature and construct a semblance of understanding between the two.
At once, Tamaki had elicited a feeling in his unwanted audience, though not particularly intended he had succeeded in conveying a feeling that had been otherwise dormant.
That was some feat for him, most people merely listened and didn't have the heart to tell you your faults.
Not allowing the comments to sink in, perhaps, Tamaki would test the man himself.
Not being a judge for fine detail, he could only lean on the railing of the gazebo and force his weight to shift from his feet to his hands.
Could there be a musician within this stranger, Tamaki could care less.
He only threw him something to open his body language up, so that he'd be more concerned with what lay in his hands then the crushing abyss of existential crisis's.

WC: 645
TWC: 1937

Tamaki laughed.
A hearty chuckle more than anything, but, he laughed.
Misery loved company it seemed, the shinobi would take up his request.
The melody that ensued was nothing short of fife or finesse but still could only move Tamaki so far from his previous thoughts about the darkly dressed young man.
Taking a load of his shoulders he leaned absentmindedly against the supporting structure of the gazebo and he considered the yearning he felt in the music.
A dire accompaniment to his previous statements Tamaki felt as though he was out of place, if his eyes had been closed he would have been dreaming to imagine such gusto could come from such a source.
Troubled and talented it would seem.
The fabled mirror-like drops he ingested were sparkling in his eyes, though not a silver slivver passed his lips he drank deeply; not coming out of his dream-filled sleep except to pass comment on omens; good or bad, indifferently.
What figures he implied; though unconveyed, were graciously accepted.
Expertly timed, he reminded himself of their inherent virtues as well as the paradox by which he had found them, shedding equal light appreciably upon the guarded art and treasures of music.
Parallel lines had cut a section of infinity to frame a certain flicker to hold a fabrication of eternity between two shards of glass; a line betwixt creates a ladder.
What he hadn't realized were the notions of subjective condescension; the feignt aroma of perfumed guile, that cologne was not one he had even entertained the notion of wearing nor one he grasped others obliging themselves.
It would seem the airs of sophistication and humble nobilities were not entirely lost on Tamaki and he could only say, "I prefer fresh air too. "
In many ways that monster was his best frien.
He and Tamaki saw eye to eye on many things until one eye was blinded by pride and plucked from the heavens to be cast its gaze over wood, air and all things.
Void of the light from a lantern he was lost in a desert of his own choosing, treading sand grains of his free will.
The night swallowed the two of them and still Tamaki found himself seeking the man who would be both his greatest sympathy and his forgivable sorrow.
Lost he found himself parched for thirst for knowledge and so he filled his chalice with moonlight and quenched his dehydration.
He captured a star with his gaze, the light it brought him was too hot to touch and he let his palm rest on the horizon blotting it out as he picked at it with his vision.
Sweet and sticky its size began to slowly shrink as the sparkler made of sugar did little to dull his hunger that plagued him like a murder of black birds feasting on carrion.
As crippled by his lust to enjoy hedonistically was he demented by his greed to consume the dry sand beneath his feet; such was the landscape to him, ruled by famine, pestilence, disease.
His gluttony was unfathomable and the green slowly stifled to his touch slowly evaporating into the bleached beaches; bones crunching underfoot, as the tides washed in on a distant foreign shore.
Time washed over him and unfamiliar faces both happy and sad greeted Tamaki; hot tears flushed his face as he was swallowed by his ignorance.
Friends; people he loved and those who had loved him, family barraged him as their hands tore at the shadows mercilessly enfolding around him.
One hand touched his heart and from it came an inferno, a lion roared into life.
Another hand interlaced ethereal fingers around the first, clutching the ruby, they breathed life as he shook.
His stomach shrank like a hunger being sated and the darkness receded as the dawn came over the walls, flashing shudders of a colour usually imperceptible to the human eye replaced it.
The colour mantled the sun's mane and he grasped the very soul of the man in his jaws tenderly, the fire did not burn him as his anger was not wrathful.
He could only remember that it was enough.
Burning embers flashed and flickered to reveal tiny fractions of his visage, warm eyes thawed the ice that had encased the windows of his soul and sight of this man could not stem the tide that was the empty silence only stares could fill.
The many faceted reflections of who Tamaki knew this man to be was an ever present phantom of the haunting smirk now reverberating a sensation in the back of his head like a burning hole.
Tamaki always spoke of divine intervention like he had a choice; dust covering his brow and fingertips dipped in ash, the song was now little else than an old friend.
The crows had picked his mirage clean and their hopes for a feast were dashed, they were now not unlike ripples rushing to the shore only to break and redefine the surface of the water.
The long night was filled with fragrant blossoms that were being picked through by the crows.
The perfumes that came from the greenery were like the petals of roses through and through, the community down the way was perennially sweetly scented and it was uncommon for even the hottest day to be unpleasant.
In the stifling heat the organic material broke down much easier and swiftly, causing the aromatic compound to exude and pervade.
"The reprieve I had intended to embody is now around me in this small gazebo. "
He wondered what new depth of cynicism would come from the young man, Tamaki discarded the mask of tragedy.
Did he just trust; or just naively believe, that he was bemused and kindly deceived?

WC: 960
TWC: 2897