Old Friends [Private]

As Ichigo performed the handseals, so close to Kaito, he took a deep breath just as his fingers sunk into his chest. The familiar sensation of numbness washed over the redhead, and as he stared upward, he saw his dear friend’s fingers come dangerously close to the eyeball, with its prickly blur in the middle of the eye, even as his hand approached, the blurred area did not come into focus. Noboru steeled his nerves, waiting for the fingers to slip within his orbit and pluck the orb away from him. As this happened, he allowed his Byakugan to flood with chakra, suddenly roaring into life one hundred meters around itself.

Perhaps more horrifying than seeing his eye being drawn from its comfortable resting place, was to witness Ichigo do it on himself, assisted by the three dimensional invasiveness of the Byakugan. At least Kaito could rest assured that his ninja was not squeamish. Ichigo performed the exchange of eyes, and both of Volt Uchiha’s eyes switched sockets that afternoon, enduring in life even after the death of the youth. With the exchange done, the blue undulating chakra from Ichigo’s hand healed the damage done just moments before, and for a brief moment he was drawn back to when Maximillian Yamaguchi had given him the twin from this set which now rested on Ichigo’s table. It was a peculiar feeling; so detached from reality it might as well have been a dream altogether, drawn up into a conscious memory by the stupor of an alcoholic fever dream.

When Ichigo was done, he started operating on himself. Kaito, on his hand, allowed for sight to return to the eye. It had happened almost instantly, yet his tear ducts tried to clear away the irritation of the rough handling by the taijutsu expert. The redhead couldn’t blame Ichigo, to be honest: he wouldn’t feel too comfortable with a soft handed deputy. Sensation slowly but surely returned, and Kaito wiped away a solitary tear from his eye, whose vision was crystal clear, perhaps better than before. Kaito got off his seat, and walked towards a reflective surface, before enabling his Mangekyou Sharingan.

His Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.

Red flooded the iris, and as if crashing waves, let the pitch black shape in three semicircles which weaved onto themselves to form a triangular figure on Noboru’s eye. He could feel his chakra permeate the room. “Nobo…” Started Kiseragi, the Sensory specialist’s hairs rising in his arms. But Nobo was more worried about whether or not he would feel any repercussions for what was to come. He turned around, focusing on the wall some five meters away from him. He lifted his right arm towards his chest, holding his hand outstretched, before punching quickly the inch in front of it. A phantasmal arm, three meters in length, mimicked the motion, the punch not striking the wall but dishing enough force to let a small gust perturb the air of the room. Kaito disabled the eye, and unlike his previous training session, his vision did not decay one grade. It was still perfect. “You madman, you actually did it.” He turned to Kiseragi, who was not amused at Kaito’s display of power. “You could’ve tested it somewhere else.” Kaito nodded, “I could, but it wouldn’t have been the same.”

He allowed Ichigo to finish himself off, the operation, that is, while moving around him without coming close so as to not distract him, before pouring his friend another glass of sake, and one for himself as well. As Ichigo sat back down, Noboru raised his glass and waited for Ichigo to do the same, standing close to him so they could clink their glasses together. “I’m feeling like a million ryo: old and wrinkly. To new beginnings, my friend.”

Kaito knocked back the sake, and welcomed the burning sensation in his gums and throat as his body regained feeling. “I’m afraid I can’t stay. I just arrived after months of absence, I’ll need to catch up back on the goings of the village.” He really needed to learn how to be a social person one of these days; he had the feeling that being a hermetic maniac wouldn’t fit the profile of a Kage, especially if that meant he couldn’t keep up his friendships. “But soon. We should throw a party. Celebrate a little the small victories we’ve accomplished. Which reminds me”, he said as he gestured with his finger around. “I love what you’ve done with the hospital. You might want to find someone else to run it though, being my deputy will not be easy. Ah, what the hell.” He poured another round of shots for himself and Ichigo. “One more for the road. To you, Ichigo.” He raised his glass once more.

“Hm”, wondered Kaito, “we will see about that. For sure you might need someone else here and you around the Kage Tower, we gotta do stuff like budget and all and I suck at management.” To us, to Kumogakure. Kaito felt he made a good decision in choosing Ichigo to lead the village with. He drank heartedly, and started making his way out the door, the charge led by Kiseragi. Kaito himself stayed back for a moment, turning to Ichigo. “Thank you for everything, Ichigo. We really do need to catch up some other time. We met as genin who got drunk together, we should meet again as the men running this village, to get even drunker. Until we meet again.”

Leaving the door, Kaito had to wonder what he would find in the Kage’s office awaiting him, which reminded him of something. “Say, Kiseragi… how’s the lordling doing?” Kiseragi didn’t need to wonder who Kaito was talking about, yet the subject wasn’t one he could easily approach. “His health is slowly deteriorating. We have a medical detachment with him at all times, but he fell into a deep coma. Our best med nin can’t figure out what is happening given his… situation, let’s say. They don’t know how long he has left.” Grim news. “I see. I’m sorry.” Kiseragi nodded. “We made peace with the fact this may happen long ago. He will be missed, but never forgotten.” Kiseragi pointed out the corridor’s window to the park, where a familiar figure carved from stone oversaw the park. “That’s a good place for him. He was always willing to help in spite of everything.” The duo left the hospital, and made their way to the tower of the Raikage.