Kogarashi, the Cold Wintry Wind

Yurei’s blank eyes stared up at the ceiling above him, the barren visual glaring back down at him in apathy. Dawn had just barely risen, peeking through Yurei’s window. The Uchiha exhaled, keeping his head straight as he shifted his gaze to look to the rising sun in its orange brilliance. It’s heat sent ripples through the air, distorting it in a haze.
The Uchiha’s breathing stilled, shifting his pale eyes back to the ceiling without moving a muscle. The room was deathly quiet. Painfully so. There was no hint of music, rhythm, or any such noise. Instead, Yurei sat alone with his thoughts, toying within his mind at the information he had discovered. Akio…
The boy closed his eyes for a moment, retreating into his mind, away from the silence. Instead, he found screaming, panic, paranoia, and a lack of trust. The village had lied to him, Akio was dead. And now he was left to think about it in this dark place with no hope of returning to the past.
Kenshin had said something akin to that had he not? Regardless, the past was always a desire for Yurei, despite his longing for a better future. His father, his mother, now Akio. What more did this village want from Yurei? How much more did he have to sacrifice to make his dream become a reality? Why was it so difficult to bring a positive change to the world?
Yurei clenched the bed sheets under his palms, taking a deep breath. Who was next? His mother, in whole? Or Damon? Himself?
Self-sacrifice was no issue should his will be spread, but the idea was not convincing. No one else needed to die, now.
The thin sunlight that stretched across Yurei’s room soon lifted, assuming shadow rather the the sun’s warm glow. There’s… there’s something outside…?
Yurei squinted his eyes, lifting the conforming sheets from his legs and setting them to the side. He angled his body to the window, peering through the glass. Something black was just outside it, and it was moving. The boy raised his eyebrow, reaching to slide the window open. He raised it and was met with what appeared to be a wall of feathers.
“Hello?” he said, clearing his throat. His voice was soft, weak almost.
The volume of features shifted, the creature outside maneuvering his head to the window. Before Yurei was a white face with two massive eyes. These white feathers gathered in something of a heart-shape, flowing in the breeze that flowed through Hoshigakure’s street.
“Hello,” the owl answered, tilting his head slightly. His voice was deep and resonating, but carried with it a layer of empathy.
“You’re…”
“Kogarashi. Yes,” the owl answered, the top of his beak lifting with every word. “I am the Cold, Wintry Wind. One of the greatest of the Illusionary Owls. Whom you’ve formed a contract with.”
“Today isn’t the best day to-“
“Oh?” The owl said, retracting his head if only slightly.  “And why is that?”
“I lost someone.”
“Oh, people are never lost, Yurei. You’ll find him again.”
“No, you don’t understand, he’s gone. Dead,” Yurei answered, exhaling.
“I see. Then he is not gone, not truly. You’ll find him again.”
Yurei fell silent here, he gaze drifting from the owl.
 “Well, Yurei, I came to see you for a very important reason. More so than my request to be your summon,” Kogarashi said, leaning forward, closer to the window.
“My summon?”
“Yes. The owls no doubt told you that I had taken an interest in you.”
“They did.”
Kogarashi tilted his head, as if thinking to himself. “And you think this is because of your goal?”
“How did you know about that?”
“Well, you seem to profess it to just about every person you encounter every time you meet them.”
Yurei pursed his lips, losing his posture in a sigh. He glanced at Damon, who seemed to be sleeping.
“Don’t worry. He can’t sense me. I’ve placed everyone here under Temple of Nirvana. Save you.”
The pale Uchiha looked back at the owl, taking a deep breath.
“What is it you want?” the Uchiha asked.
“I want to observe you. To see your path and what comes of it.”
Yurei’s eyebrows lowered, his eyes breaking their contact with the owl’s.
“You’re unsure of your path now?”
Yurei provided no answer.
“This person’s death… has it changed things for you?”
“I don’t know.”
“I see,” said the owl, giving a slight nod. “What is going on in that head of yours right now?”
“His death complicated things. That’s all I can say.”
“For your goal?”
“Yes.”
The owl’s black eye neared the door, watching Yurei carefully. “And what exactly did you plan to do initially?”
“I, uh… I wanted to use genjutsu to change the minds of everyone in this village. Make them understand the suffering the other side felt. And unite them.”
“And what do you think now?”
“Someone said something to me. Something strange, that I hadn’t considered before. Someone has made me think of things differently. In fact, it reminds me of my father. The thought was there before, but… he almost makes me think that it’s true.”
“And that is?”
“That shinobi are careless. In one way or another. Reckless, emotionless… It begs the question of whether they even deserve the power they have. I was born with my abilities, and the only thing I needed to use them was training on my own. There was no real morality involved in it. No purpose except my own. And it makes me wonder what that purpose is for other shinobi. Sometimes… Sometimes they aren’t good people. Or sometimes they’re just too broken to use chakra sensibly… I don’t know. I saw hints of it in Kumogakure and in this village. The shinobi here hate the villagers just as much as the latter hate shinobi.”
The owl stared a Yurei, silent for a moment. “Oh, I see. That is interesting… What do you plan to do with that knowledge?”
“Nothing. Not yet. I have to believe that shinobi can change. That anyone can. That I can teach them… But I failed. I fail so often…”
“Failure is a lesson, they say,” Kogarashi said, backing away from the window.
“Failure hasn’t taught me anything useful. Only things that hurt. Still hurt.”
“That hurt should be a reminder of your mistakes.”
“I can only take so much. I think that’s what happened to someone else I know. No, I know that’s what happened. He broke. This world shattered him.”
“And are you going to allow it to shatter you?”
“Maybe. Maybe I need to be. Good things can come from what is broken, but to defy the world and break this chain, maybe you can’t be whole. This village is too cruel for that. Fractures heal, they make us stronger. Maybe that’s the only way to face this world head on.”
Were it able the owl would have smiled. “You’re an interesting one, little shinobi.”
Yurei gave a thin smirk, raising his hand to his mouth. “I just want what’s best for this village – the world, really.”
“It’s a noble goal, to be sure.”
“I just don’t know how to go about it… I’m worried that, even with my genjutsu, I can’t change the minds of everyone. Do you think anyone can change?”
“That is for you to decide. Besides, I’m not even sure, myself.”
Yurei chuckled softly, fiddling with his bed sheets. “I guess so,” he replied, his smile waning.
The owl turned, lifting his wing up to the window. It created a staircase of black and chestnut brown, ascending to the owl’s back. “Climb on. I have something to show you.”
Yurei turned back to face Damon. He was still asleep, whether by the exhaustion of the night before or the genjutsu. The Uchiha turned to face the owl once more before climbing onto its back.
“Hold on tightly,” the owl said, expanding its wings and taking flight.
Yurei soared, cutting through the air like missile. His stomach flipped, and his grip tightened. It was a surge of fear and ecstasy that the boy had not felt in sometime. He felt as if he had awoken from a deep sleep.
The air whisked through his hair, its length now reaching his shoulders in a spiked style natural to his own hair.
Soon the motions subsided, leaving a calming sensation. It was smooth in the air, light. Yurei looked over the owl’s wings, staring at village below.
“Wow,” Yurei muttered in astonishment. “The village looks so big from here.”
“It does,” Kogarashi responded. “All those people. Those are the ones you want to help?”
Yurei thinned his lips, narrowing his eyes. “Yes,” he said.
There was no doubt in that. But his method, that was what was in question. That is what he needed to know. What was the best way to bring about peace with these people?
“I’ve not watched humanity for long,” the owl said, shifting his hollow eyes to the world below. “They’ve always been a curiosity to me, however. As have you.”
“Why are you so interested in me?” Yurei asked, still looking at the buildings below. The people in the market appeared as hundreds of angry ants after poking holes into their nest.
“Hm? Beyond your goal? I do not know. Perhaps I merely wished to interact with people once more, to see how they have changed. I simply elected to watch you. You seemed admirable enough.” The owl continued, dipping its right wind to turn. “I want to see how you change as well. To see what this world does to your kind. Your morality, how it shifts and bends or if it stays strong.”
Yurei’s eyes narrowed in uncertainty.
“Think of me as an observer. That is not to say I won’t help you. I will no matter what path you chose. I’ve watched your struggles. Most of them at least.”
The alabaster Uchiha nodded, if only for himself. “I see. Thank you.”
“Do not thank me. This is a mutual agreement. In return for my aide, you provide me an understanding of humanity I would not otherwise possess. It has been a long time since I’ve observed your species. My relationship to you will benefit us both. You may summon me whenever you wish.”
With that, Yurei fell silent, nodding to himself as the massive owl turned around.

WC: 1743


[Exit]
 
Claiming:

Kogarashi (2250/2250 with discount and 1500 free word count from Christmas Event; WC carried over from this), 17 AP

Approved