Lights of Hoshi (IO)

Spoiler:

The Hogokage’s office in the Unseen University was not as big as the private audience chamber of the Royal court. Still, it had Iwagakure rugs on its oaken floor, elaborate wall hangings, and golden-tinted windows that gave it a sense of intimacy. Or so Shina had convinced him when he first ascended for the title. 

Grey white-eyes watched as a familiar figure entered the room. Even at his withered form, Yohei Kawashima was more significant than most men. He was towering over Dusk Tachibana, the Nova that was tasked with guarding Ayato that day.

“Oh man, you look shit,” Dusk told Yohei as he approached him and checked him for weapons. Security measures had intensified after Stein’s failed coup, and no shinobi were allowed gear in the Kage presence. Shina’s decision. “Guy is clean.”  Dusk grinned and then turned to Ayato. “In terms of weapons anyway. What happened to your sword? Did you pawn it away so you could drink yourself stupid in the Bloody Unicorn?” He laughed. 

“Dusk.” Ayato interrupted, adding ice to his voice.

“Yes, sir, Yohei is a big-time war hero.” The newer Nova said with a sigh and made himself comfortable in a cushioned seat. 

Ayato made it to the top drawer in his office. Pulling out a parchment, he began to scribble his signature on it. 

“You can cash that in the accounting on the ground floor.” The veteran had blown away all of the savings from his shinobi career. And the generous pension is given to him for his injuries in the Hoshimura rebellion. These handouts were nothing new to the Hyuuga, and they came out of Ayato’s pocket. 

“It’s always good to see you.” The Kage said and handed his old trusted friend and companion the payroll paper. The Kage thought that was the end and returned to his work while Yohei made for the door. “Lord Hogokage.” The man said, standing at the door, tall and proud. “I want to be of service again.”

Ayato frowned at that while Dusk held back a chuckle. “You can barely stand straight, much less fight. People call you Yohei the Ruined for a reason, and-” The Kage raised a rough, calloused hand, and the Tachibana went back in silence. Dusk was an ass about it, but that didn’t make what he said any less accurate.

“How do you mean to do that exactly?” Ayato asked the broken man. 

WC: 403

That wretched bastard Dusk had already started talking shut. Not the first he had engaged in that behavior. Dusk always acted as if he was better than others in this business. Ever since he had joined Hoshi all these years ago, he’s proud of his station as a Nova Corps and even more proud that he got there with half the effort. Thanks to the natural gifts of the Senju clan.

“You call me Yohei the ruined. But I had another name while in Nova, Yohei The Baptist. I got that name by drowning people for a living. Making sure that Yasaki’s administrative side of the business ran harmoniously. Not that you would have known anything about it since you've been here only for five minutes."  

If Dusk moved towards him, Yohei would react accordingly in self-defense. It didn’t matter if he was to make a mess of The Kage’s office. There was nothing worse that could happen to him.

Yohei looked at the white eyes of the Seventh Hogokage. “By you giving me the means to do what I do best.” He said and took a long pause. Knowing that was his make-or-break moment, the samurai clenched his fists and straightened his back. “Lord Hogokage. It would be best if you had taken Stein’s head when he was caught doing transplants to those Genin and nearly caused an international incident. Playing politics and doing pleasantries is total bullshit. You need people like."

WC: 243

“Oh wow, the fatter you get, the sadder you become. This isn’t going to be about the good old days where you acted as muscle for the old Kage, is it?” Dusk said with disinterest, examining the man. The Tachibana always said that the closer you look at something, the more weaknesses you can find. The despicable practice of transplants was the way to bring the injured war vet back in shape. This village needed men like Yohei and Atarashi Hiyu in war, but this was a time of peace. And enemies of the state getting found with a dagger buried in their backs was not Hoshi’s way.

“That man lied to me.” Ayato had walked into that meeting with Stein unprepared; he was arrogant and sloppy. “Because I wasn’t looking, and I know why.” Ayato’s head was in the fast lane; the big idea is this village being a haven. So he picked that, and someone’s past wasn’t necessary anymore. It didn’t have to risk turning the site into a public humiliation for this village. Perhaps it would have been if they had lost.

“Foreign shinobi on our soil were offered illicit goods from a criminal. And Hoshi delivered justice for all the world to see.” The Kage said sharply, the friendliness from his earlier tone all gone. They were no longer brothers in arms, fighting side by side against the enemies of Hoshi. Ayato was his Kage, as Yohei noted in his formal tone. However, words are one thing and actions another.

“We all know what's good about this job, Yohei. And that is that we get to put a stake through a bad guy's heart from time to time. As Kage, it’s not something that you can say to students when you visit the Academy. And I'm afraid it won’t get you very far in the Council meetings either. But when you do that, it's a feeling hard to beat. Having said that," Ayato leaned back into his chair, realizing that his Konoha accent was becoming more apparent with every word. Ten long years and the Hyuuga scion could still not hide it when he got worked up. 

"I am not going to bring you back in action so you can feed your ego.” 


WC: 379
TWC: 782

Still in his seat, Dusk's flesh turned into oak. He raised a hand, a sad smile on his lips as branches exploded out of it. The branches coiled around Yohei like ancient snakes. One tied his arm around his body, the other around his throat. The components lifted him on his toes and, with a sudden jerk, slammed him on the wall with a loud thud. The impact knocked a portrait on the wooden floor-breaking its frame.

"Alright, where do you want me to kill him?" 
"Anywhere that isn't the Kage's office," Ayato responded with ice in his voice. The scene in front of him was dreadful, but the Seventh tried the reaction not to let it show in his face. "You two…" He was holding a pen, not sure for how long it had been in his hand. "You two can't go through a single meeting without turning it into a ninjutsu festival." The Display of Power might have been an option in this situation. But such power moves had scant appeal to the Hyuuga; fear was not an effective motivator when dealing with people under your command. The Kage would make a note to refrain from putting two bullies in the same room ever again.

"You ruined my fish painting," Ayato finally said so sadly. It portrayed a Koi climbing the waterfall current against all odds. "It's a shame; I liked that painting." Dusk looked almost ashamed momentarily. 

"You said I owe you?" Ayato looked at Yohei in the wooden shackles; his eyes were that of a beaten man. Not to Dusk's jutsu that pinned him to the wall. The former Nova had lost the fight against alcohol ever since after the war. The battle was a bloody thing; historians in the archives would have believed it was only Ayato nad Haegon fighting in the valley for a village they both claimed to love. But other men were fighting too, and Yohei was one of them. Ayato would have pitied his current state if he didn't know that to be worst than mockery to the eyes of a warrior.

"I always liked you, Yohei, part of an old guard. But I would choose my words more carefully. The way I see it, you made your luck, as did your former partner, as did Yasaki. If you want to pull on somebody's heartstrings, I suggest taking your chances with the church. If you like my help, you must give up something in return." Dangerous, volatile, and unpredictable, Yohei matched the definition of a loose cannon. And a loose cannon can't wear the headband.

WC: 433
TWC: 1215

It all happened in an instant; the blue-haired man activated some wood jutsu that wrapped around Yohei and slammed him on the wall like a sack of potatoes. "Gah!" Yohei screamed in pain, the room around him whitening and his ear buzzing after the impact. A year ago, he would have dogged that meager attack and put those in the boy's arse.

But right now, he could barely react to it. Yohei might have lost consciousness for a second, but he could still feel that fucker's branches digging into his skin. The Kage stood silent for a few minutes while the Samurai expected him to throw a fit over the situation. Ayato Hyuuga complained about some painting with a fish that had been broken when Dusk attacked him. Perhaps it was of sentimental value.

He had saved that boy's life once, Ayato Hyuuga was a boy no more but the Kage of the Village Hidden in the Stars. Two particular lines stood out from his speech. "You have made your luck, as did your former partner. As did Yasaki." He understood that and would nod if he did not have the world's most potent wooden arm grabbing his throat.

"If you want my help, you must give up something in return." Yohei knew what that meant. Ayato wanted him to quit drinking. That was a knife to the gut. Whiskey helped him with the pain, not feeling what he was feeling. His mind had drifted back into the lake house, the body of a woman floating in the water. Yohei's head was pounding. "Not this, not now." He thought, horrified. 

Splash.

Yohei's body broke down into water molecules, his clothes too. Dusk's wooden jutsu held thin air when they were binding a full-grown adult a second ago. A pool had formed on the floor. A few moments later, that might have been minutes, the water reformed into Yohei, two meters away from the area Dusk had smacked him on.

"Alright, I'll fucking do it."  The white-haired samurai said. He was panting heavily from the sudden use of chakra; his arm was still in the water form from activating his bloodline. "Apologies, Lord Kage, I've grown rusty using my bloodline limit. Or perhaps I never learned how."

wc:374

Ayato’s words affected Yohei more significantly than the Hyuuga had initially anticipated. The former Nova melted in a pool of water, leaving an empty dent in the wall. Dusk retracted the wooden branches, looking around in confusion. The water collective transformed into a man again a few feet away from the Kage’s desk. The realization hit him sideways.

“I’m more surprised to see that you had a Kekkei Genkai .” He responded to the man’s apology. He looked at Yohei's hand that was still in water form.

“It’s been years since I saw someone use Hydrification.”  The old teammate Genevieve Oasis, the galaxy-haired priestess. She was also blessed by the tides and could change her body to water with a mental command. That ability alone had proven to be quite troublesome for Ayato to overcome during the final round of the Chuunin Exams. The second-ever held in Hoshigakure, where the Hyuuga had reigned as champion. That was the moment he realized it was his destiny to be the Hogokage someday. A thousand years ago now.

“The Librarian of Hoshi had left quite a research in his archives on that Kekkei Genkai. Perhaps you should read a page from that book.” Ayato suggested with a calmer tone now. “Although I doubt you’ve ever read any.” He thought to himself, only half-jokingly.

“Since when can you do that?”

WC: 219
TWC: 1434

"Genevieve," Ayato said. "Her name was Genevieve Oasis. My old Genin teammate and a priestess of the faith." He couldn't bring her up without feeling pain. Even now, even all these years later. Even though the circumstances of her perishment never became clear to him, part of the Kage wished he could have saved her.

"Many years ago, Kyousuke Snow the Third Hogokage who was a Jounin at the time summoned us all to the village gates. That's where I met her and Miyamoto Terumi for the first time. Team Winter, we called ourselves." A sad smile formed on the Kage's thin lips. They cleaned the weeds from gardens together that day. The Hyuuga remembered how disappointed he felt that they did not get too close to some wicked missing Nin warlord. They would win great honor for themselves and the newly formed village. How naive he was back then. Three teenage Genin had no business fighting criminals. 

Kyousuke Snow had tried to explain it to him even then, but Ayato wouldn't accept it. The matter was only settled because Kyousuke outranked him, and the Hyuuga soldier found it unwise to question the wisdom of a superior officer.

"After many missions, we fought each other at the Chuunin Exams final. It was a difficult battle; Palm strikes are a poor option against a body of water, I've found out."

"Some would say impossible." The Nova, who had stayed quiet for a while, chimed in.

"No, not impossible, just bloody difficult. Nobody can maintain their jutsu forever. Especially when they sap their chakra reserves by keeping a dragon summon in the field as Geni did. Not going to talk about that part, though."

"Perhaps you should. That fantasy element might stop your story from putting me to sleep." Dusk jested with a grin, but Ayato's expression remained unchanged. His eyes were still on Yohei.

"Be that as it may, the name of your shared bloodline is Tidal Blessing, and in all likelihood, you were born with it. Like Geni was." Ayato always knew that the war vet had the talent to be a decent shinobi, but he chose to swing that katana around like a butcher's cleaver and overpower his opponents with raw brute force. 

WC: 371
TWC: 1805