What's Waited Till' Tomorrow

From his tent atop the snowy mountains of The Land of Iron, Kazuo Kemuri sat contemplatively, staring into the small fire he had lit in the center. He had been thinking of home for some time. Not the place that had betrayed him and thrown him to the wolves, not the place that put his betrothed to death, and not the certainly not the place that had killed his master for nothing more than political power. No, the home he had thought him of was the one that he was never really sure why he left. He had everything he ever wanted in The Abyss. A family who loved him. A sense of purpose. A place he belonged. His mother, well and alive.

In the end, he had left, and he’d never had any idea why. Well, he had some idea…

It’s rude to talk about someone behind their back. Yomi cooed with false pleasantry.
”You never told me why.” Kazuo said flatly.
Why what? Replied Yomi innocently.
”Why we left home.” Kazuo insisted. Yomi, who had appeared on the foot of his bed, shrugged.
This is where the food was. She said. Kazuo recoiled.
”The food?” He asked. Yomi looked tired.
Don’t play coy. You know what I mean. You, alone with a bunch of ruffians and hooligans fighting under your precious banner. Sooner or later, one of them will make you snap. My money’s on the girl. Yomi replied boredly. He had asked her this before, and she had never given a satisfactory answer.

Kazuo, for his part, looked thoughtful. He glanced once more at the bed, then to his blade, set in its sheath beside him.
”I suppose it’s settled then.” He said. Yomi looked up, intrigued.
What?
”I’m going home.” He said. Yomi looked distressed.
No, wait- Yomi stammered. Don’t be so rash, Kazuo, you started this army, you brought them this far, and now you’re gonna abandon them?
”They’re soldiers. They can take care of themselves. The only thing I’ve abandoned is my family.” Kazuo replied coldly.
Kazuo, you can’t, I don’t wanna go hungry again, you can’t starve me like that again, I’ll die, I’ll-
”You’ve manipulated me enough, Yomi. Once you start trusting me, I’ll start trusting you.”
Kazuo, you can’t do this, I-
”I can, and I will. They can help me keep you under control. Perhaps in time, they’ll help me trust you better.” He said. Yomi continued to protest, but Kazuo ignored her as he gathered his possessions.

He left in the night, leaving nothing. Where his tent had stood, a single Katana rested, the blade stuck into the ground, the sheathe laid out before it. Tied to the grip was a note, explaining Kazuo’s departure to return to his family, his trust that his comrades would continue to fight for what is right, and his apologies for leaving so abruptly. Among many smaller, less exciting details, he named Alice as the new leader if Hitsuyo Aku, and granted the sword as a badge of office. There was nothing particularly special about it, but the symbolic transfer of power should have been enough for the rest of their team.

From there, Kazuo had nowhere to go but down. He scaled down the side of the mountain, his bag thrown over his shoulder, as he traveled in the direction on home...


(Exit) 


-1 Katana


(TWC 631)


375/375 Hungering Shadowing Dark Pulse

256/375 words Fates Midnighting the same tech

+6 AP

Approved

It was snowing as usual on the isolated mountaintop. The only occupants were the few scattered members of Hitsuyo Aku whenever they deigned to return to their base camp. As of now, it was only Kazuo, Alice, and Brooke who was really just Alice's protege and not a true member of HA. At least, those are the members that were there when Alice had taken a short walk to clear her mind. 

A lot had happened with her as of late, from gaining a promising student, to failing miserably at infiltrating the village of Konohagakure and promising them war in return. Though, that was more a bluff than an actual promise. Still, she had made a true promise to Ryu that she would travel with him to Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning and help him to fight against someone named Kyson who the boy seemed to have a grudge with. She didn't mind, since the entire goal of her organization was to take down Kumogakure anyway.

By the time she had returned to the camp, Kazuo's tent was missing. All of his belongings were gone save a single katana implanted in the snow-laden ground, its sheathe laid out in front of it. A single strip of paper serving as a note was attached to the handle of the blade. Curious, Alice unfurled the paper and began to read. It revealed to her that Kazuo had chosen to abandon his conquest, putting his hope in her to lead the band of misfits and stay true to their cause. He wasn't abandoning them, but returning to his home. His true home, where his family lie waiting. 

A mix of emotions she couldn't quite place took over her. A single tear rolled down the girl's cheek as she crumpled the note tightly in her left hand. She had come to see Kazuo as a true leader and even a comrade at times. His leaving like this.....it did something to her she would never admit. Not knowing how to proceed from there, and remembering her promise to Ryu, Alice grabbed the hilt of the abandoned blade with her right hand and pulled it free from the earth. "I'll continue for you, Kazuo. I just hope that one day you'll return to us." she said, sheathing the sword before returning to her own tent for the night. There was a lot more she had to think about now, and even more to plan.

[exit]

+1 katana
leader of Hitsuyo Aku now I guess

Approved now I guess