Open Does Time Heal All Wounds? [Requesting Sousuke]

[Kazu]

[ooc: This topic occurs after [this] thread, and almost directly after [this] post. This takes place pre-setting change.]

Kazu clenched his jaw as he strained against the soreness in his arms. The pair of crutches he was using to get around were tricky to get used to, and not at all easy to use, but the young boy knew it was important to keep at it. 'Getting outside will help me recover,' thought Kazu, remembering the doctors' words. While it was true that the doctor probably hadn't meant for him to go this far outside of the hospital, Kazu was never one to sit around and wait. It had been almost two weeks since he'd woken up from his extended rest period — the boy needed a change of scenery for the sake of his sanity.

Dressed in a black workout shirt, loose fitting light gray sweatpants that were tied off halfway down his calf, and outfitted with a number of bandage wrappings around his still-healing feet, ankles, shoulders, upper arms, neck, and ribs, Kazu was clearly pushing his recovery privileges. It would have been wise for him to not be so brazen, but one glance at the boy's fiery red eyes told anyone who might think to stop him that it would not be a good idea. The scowl of exertion, and frustration, on the boy's brow did nothing to help with that visage. 'Besides,' he told himself, 'this is nothing. Not compared to what they had to go through.' His mood seemed to darken as he hobbled on down the sunlit path. 'I can handle this.'

As the various thoughts bounced around his skull, Kazu strolled aimlessly. He didn't know if he'd meant to come this way or not, but pretty soon the boy found himself walking down the streets of the Residential DIstrict. He wasn't sure why he'd chosen this area of the village, specifically, to visit, but he did have to admit that gazing at all the different homes, gardens, and landscape work seemed to distract him somewhat. It was calming. Pleasant, even. The sounds of children running and laughing was enough to wash away any ill thoughts or troubled minds — even Kazu found himself chuckling to himself as he passed by rag-tag sandbox games. It was very therapeutic, in a way.

As he paused on a street corner, catching his breath and letting his arms rest before crossing onto the next block, Kazu gazed around at the various estates and homes around him. He seemed to have stumbled upon an area of relative wealth, as the establishments along this street seemed especially well off. Crests and clan symbols he did not recognize flew proudly, announcing to all that so-and-so lived here. None of that caught his attention, however.

There, across from the young boy, he saw the marking of the Takahashi Clan estate. Everyone in the village knew that symbol. 'Is that where the former Steward lives?' Kazu frowned, becoming lost in thought once more. 'Takahashi Sousuke. Perhaps...'

Before he knew what he was doing, Kazu was hobbling towards the Takahashi Estate front door. He had not made an appointment to visit, nor had he informed the former Steward that he would be coming, nor was he even sure that the man was there right now! The two hardly knew each other; in total, the two had spoken on maybe half a dozen separate occasions, and of those perhaps only half for longer than a few moments here and there. There wasn't exactly a great rapport between the two to warrant Kazu's bold actions, yet when had that ever stopped the boy before? Something inside of him knew that this was the man he needed to speak to right now.

Reaching the front door, Kazu rested his armpits on the cushions of his crutches as he reached up with one hand to swing the sturdy metal doorknocker three times. He almost winced as the deep booming sound of solid metal on thick wood reverberated throughout the estate.

"Hello? My apologies about the unplanned visit, but I was hoping I could speak with Takahashi Sousuke, if he's available? I'm Ryuzaki Kazukura... we've met before!"

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The door was answered by a youth of black and purple hair. The youth looked very much like the person that Kazu was looking for. The youth had no scars upon his visage. His features were less avian than Sousuke’s, there were somewhat canine. His eyes were a crystalline blue that were piercing. It would not be difficult to pick up that this person was related to Sousuke. The person nodded his head, “Dad is around. Come in, and I’ll get him.” The youth answered. He opened the door fully to allow Kazu to come in. If the boy entered he would notice that the Takahashi household was spotless and most organized. It was almost inhuman. There was also a mild obsession with clocks as from the rooms he could see there was at least one clock in each room. “Study is on the left. Go wait in there and I’ll get the old man.” If Kazu were to enter the study he would find a considerable library inside the study. On the shelves there were various books ranging from alchemy, modern sciences, and history.



After a few moments Sousuke would make his appearance. The Steward wore his flesh suit and ontop of that he wore a three piece green and white suite. “Hello Kazu.” He greeted him with the shorter version of his name. Kazura was only used when the youngster was in trouble or when he was in a very formal setting. Considering this was not a “I hope my son Aki was not too rude or cross with you. We had a disagreement earlier.” Aki and Okibi had yet to amend their relationship. While Okibi was his mother, Aki saw Yume and Sousuke as his parents. Sousuke fold fold his arms behind his back. “Have a seat, so then what brings you to my residence today? Did you get your hand caught in the cookie jar, and need someone to ... deflect the matter?” Sousuke asked with mild amusement in his voice. “Are you looking for some advantage against your older cousin? If it is the latter of the two, there I cannot help you.”

 

[Kazu]

Mere moments passed before Kazu heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door, the click of locks being opened, and the creak of hinges as the door swung open. Kazu was met by a vaguely familiar face, though he'd never met the youth in front of him, which he quickly recognized was due to a striking resemblance to the Steward himself. There were no scars, the eyes were a different color, and the angles of his face were a bit different, but the face in front of Kazu definitely belonged to the Takahashi lineage.

“Dad is around. Come in, and I’ll get him.”

Giving the youth a smile, Kazu bowed his head in appreciation before hobbling his way over the threshold into the Takahashi Household. The young boy was careful to remove his meager sandals upon entering, doing his best to place them gingerly by the door, but only managing to awkwardly toss them from about waist height due to the restrictions of his crutches. 'So much for this not being an intrusion.' Kazu winced a little at the clattering noise they made upon hitting the floor, but had little time to linger on the moment as the black and purple haired youth led him deeper into the household.

Kazu did his best not to stare with his mouth open. Everywhere he looked, the young boy couldn't help but marvel at the natural state of things. 'It's so clean and precise! It's... kind of freaky.' Kazu wasn't one to ignore a mess, but the attention to detail in this household was astonishing. Was there dust or dirt anywhere in the house? 'Probably in the entryway, all over my sandals,' thought Kazu, commiserating the chaos he had introduced to this pristine place. He also noticed the abundance of clocks — each one ornate, well-cared for, and clearly visible in every room — and wondered whether the residents of the house were ever late for anything. As the subtle ticking of gears began to tickle Kazu's eardrums, the young boy couldn't help but ponder, 'How does anyone get any sleep in this house?'

“Study is on the left. Go wait in there and I’ll get the old man.” The youth's words brought Kazu's attention back to the present moment, inducing a slight degree of panic as the boy realized he had been zoning out again.

"Thank you very much. I really appreciate your time and hospitality." Kazu gave the youth another awkward bow as he balanced precariously on his two crutches while trying to avoid putting too much pressure on his legs. 'The old man? Is this Sousuke's son?' Kazu wouldn't voice the thoughts, instead pocketing that question for later. After the youth had departed, Kazu clumsily made his way into the study that he'd been told to wait in.

Inside the study was a most impressive collection of books, literature, tomes, and archives of all sorts of subjects. On the shelves lining the walls, Kazu saw books on sciences he only vaguely recognized, historical accounts of every single important (and unimportant) event he knew of (and many more he didn't know of), and a myriad of other subjects that he didn't even recognize. While Kazu considered himself to be relatively keen to learn, and enjoyed catching up on his reading from time-to-time, he recognized immediately that this was a whole other level of intellectual interest. Subconsciously, this fact reassured Kazu that he'd come to the right place.

“Hello Kazu,” spoke a familiar voice. Kazu looked over his shoulder, smiling, before hobbling his way around to face the former Steward dressed in a rather bespoke suit. “I hope my son Aki was not too rude or cross with you. We had a disagreement earlier.”

"You're joking, right? Actually, he was really polite to me; though, he could probably loosen up a little." Kazu chuckled a little as he slowly made his way across the room, exerting a lot of effort towards being careful with where he placed the crutches. "Maybe I'll show him how to really be disagreeable? Some other time, though." When the former Steward indicated that Kazu should take a seat, the young boy waited only long enough to say, "Thanks," before accepting, carefully balancing his crutches against the back of a chair, and then lowering himself into the cushioned seat. Letting out a sigh of relief, the young boy finished by saying, "These things sure are killer."

"So then, what brings you to my residence today? Did you get your hand caught in the cookie jar, and need someone to ... deflect the matter?” Kazu couldn't help but chuckle along with the man. Kazu would never ask something of the sort from the former Steward, which is what made him able to laugh at it so readily. “Are you looking for some advantage against your older cousin? If it is the latter of the two, there I cannot help you.”

"Unfortunately, I already found a little something to cover the latter. It seems I went a little overboard on my most recent mission, and did this," Kazu motioned towards his entire body, indicating the injuries which he was still healing from, "to myself. Smarts something fierce, it does. Doctors say it has something to do with my Chakra Gates — I guess I must have some sort of natural talent with them and accidentally blew them wide open — but honestly, I don't really get what they're talking about." As he spoke, Kazu carefully massaged his left shoulder with his right hand, trying his best to work out a pained muscle somewhere in his upper back. It would be a long time before he was fully healed, but the boy wouldn't back down from that challenge. 'I'll be back to fighting fit in no time,' he reassured himself. 'I have to, if I'm going to do anything about...'

The smile slowly faded as Kazu became lost in thought for a moment. Bringing himself back to the present moment, Kazu continued in a more somber tone.

"Actually, sir, I've come here today because I thought you might have answers to some questions I have, seeing as how you managed the village and its politics for so long." He paused, for a moment, to gather his thoughts and his courage. "On our mission — Kaen-sensei, Daijamitsu, and I — we found something. A group, I guess, rounding up children and taking them to this... lab. I guess I kind of blacked out back then, which is when I did all this to myself, and we broke them all out. But... that got me to thinking..."

"Are... are there more kids like that out there? Are there more human traffickers still out there? I didn't know that such a thing still happened." The dark expression on Kazu's face clearly indicated that he was bothered by this topic. The young boy was empathetic, caring, and compassionate. The idea that there might be more kids out there who needed help weighed heavily on Kazu. "I figured, what with your knowledge and all, that you might be able to tell me more about this... issue. I don't want anyone else to have to suffer through that."

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Sousuke would approach the window in the library. He was silently mulling over what Kazu had said. This was a long time coming. Sooner or later everyone was going to become aware of the darker side of things and the long ongoing Secret War that was still going on in Wind Country. He stared into the reflection of the glass window. “It’s probably best you take a seat for this.” He would placed his hand on the glass window. He would frown. “The ultimate truth is yes. There is trafficking and there is probably more of it. This has been going on for a long time, before you were born. This is the dark underbelly of Wind Country. I’ve been at war with this for a long time. It’s not just what you ran into, the Daimyo had been at this for a long time.” He paused for a moment. The Steward grimaced as he stared out the window. “Wind Country was built upon a history of having freed ourselves from the slavery of the Ancients, but humanity in turn only turned on themselves and proceeded to enslave their own kind. It’s a funny thing isn’t it?” Sousuke spoke coldly and spoke as if he was outside of the human condition for a moment. He called the history of the country itself into question, and that was a disturbing fact unto itself. It was the sad truth of it. “I’ve been fighting this for years, and I’ve been doing it in secret. During the height of tensions with Sora I had been running into slave caravans and disrupting them. I was crippling the number of slaves going into Sora. Some of the people I saved have become residents of Sungakure and some of them returned to their broken and destroyed homes. I am not surprised that someone continued this slave trade.”

Sousuke would turn away from the window. He would take a seat himself on a chair that sat facing Kazu. “All we can do is keep fighting this terrible and cruel war. We have to fight these people without mercy for all they see is ... money and or worthless lives for the taking.” He gave a look of hope all the same, “We just have to keep shutting this down block by block one step at a time. The metaphorical ice is thinning for these people, and they need to be made an example of. At the very least we in Sungakure do not make use of slaves, we never have and never will. We will continue to defend those who need it most, and freedom is the right of all sentient beings.” He spoke encouragingly. “This is our eternal duty to fight slavery until proven otherwise. The Daimyo failed to protect this country, he in fact harmed it and harmed it greatly.”

 

[Kazu]

Kazu grew concerned as the Steward put his back towards him. Kazu had expected — or, perhaps, hoped — that his questions would have been met by a history lesson of a forgotten time, whose dregs and remnants could only desperately cling to futile relevance. But this? This was a man hesitant to burden a curious youth with the full weight of reality. There would be no history lesson today, only harsh truths.

“The ultimate truth is yes. There is trafficking and there is probably more of it. This has been going on for a long time, before you were born. This is the dark underbelly of Wind Country..." Kazu said nothing. The silence in the air was palpable; the buzzing thoughts in his head were uncomfortable. After a pregnant pause, the Steward would continue to explain the full extent of these truths — there was a long history of slavery in Wind Country, and it seemed as if there was no way to stop it. Like a many-headed serpent, the problem merely multiplied every time one limb was cut off. It was a grim state of things, indeed.

"I’ve been fighting this for years, and I’ve been doing it in secret. During the height of tensions with Sora I had been running into slave caravans and disrupting them... I am not surprised that someone continued this slave trade." As the Steward turned around to face the young boy — who had come pulling on threads that threatened to unravel the delicate tapestry of blissful ignorance — he would instead find himself face-to-face with a force of vengeance. Kazu frowned like a stone gargoyle and his eyes shone like molten lava. His jaw quivered with strain as he fought to choke down curses and mournful wails. His hands had balled into fists which made slabs of granite seem like pillows in comparison. If the Steward looked closely enough, he would even see two thin trails of smoke billowing out of the boy's nostrils as he exhaled deeply.

Kazu was the image of scornful vengeance. Despite the boy's various injuries, he seemed ready to strike at any given moment. Something about the boy would seem... ominous. Primal. Ancient. The feeling would only last for a brief moment, at the apex of Kazu's turbulent emotions, but it had still been there. Sousuke, surely, would recognize it. But would he voice what he had felt?

“All we can do is keep fighting this terrible and cruel war. We have to fight these people without mercy for all they see is... money and or worthless lives for the taking.” Kazu nodded at the Stewards words. "We will continue to defend those who need it most, as freedom is the right of all sentient beings. This is our eternal duty..."

"I will help you, sir." Kazu did not ask if he could be of use. The boy knew his purpose. "Your secret is now mine too. I cannot sit idly by while criminals continue to take advantage of innocents. I could not live with that knowledge without taking action." Kazu's hands trembled as he attempted to restrain his rage. He was doing a poor job of it.

"If you have any leads, sir, it would be my honor to follow them." Quickly, Kazu added, "once I've recovered, of course. After that, I will find the heart of this organized oppression. I will follow its trail — the whispers, the rumors, and the heresay — wherever it may take me; and then, once I have it by the root..." An open palm, facing up, held out for emphasis. "I. Will. Cut. It. Out." His fist tightened, trembling with exertion, and ended it all.

The young man facing Takahashi Sousuke was no longer an innocent boy. He had seen sickening truths of the world and had chosen to swallow them whole. He had chosen to fight, to stand up for what he believed in, and to help end injustice when few others would. Ryuzaki Kazukura would no longer let others decide his fate — from this moment forward, he would be master of his own destiny.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Seeing Kazu’s response to the revelation Sousuke had presented was curious. It was curious in the extreme. There was something unhinged about the youth, something raw. Sousuke had triggered something, but that something would only last a few moments. There were no words, but he had an inkling of what Kazu had gone through. Sousuke relaxed in the chair. He was used to this. Sousuke had this disarming effect about himself. He had made Kaen panic and unleash his primal ancient powers. He watched the fire fade away from him. Kazu would seemingly return to normal. He would raise an eyebrow to the mere fact that Kazu would immediately state that he would assist Sousuke in this. “You will only assist me if your cousin knows about it, secondly that you first gain a mastery of your power, and thirdly you are healed.” Sousuke spoke sternly. While the two had exchanged secrets, the Steward was a man of many secrets, and perhaps a lifetime of darker secrets. Unfortunately or fortunately the Steward was a man who endured some staggering revelations about the nature of the Sungakurian state as a whole. The truth was a most difficult state of affairs. Sousuke knew full well that some of his dark secrets would die out when he would eventually expire.



Kazu was at least understanding of some of the conditions. He would nod his head. He would lean forward slightly. “I will give you a name.” He would pause for the moment. “Yamato.” He would speak. He would give Kazu the time to cement the name in his mind. “Yamato was the name of one of the ... most human ... of the Daimyo’s army. He was not a member of the Soverign Academy. He was one of the big ... thinkers ... in the Daimyo’s war machine when it was running. I was unable to get him out in the open. He always operated things from a distance.” Sousuke paused for a moment. It was not often he spoke of his enemies to others. Sousuke spoke very little of Shouki who was indeed the bastard son of the Daimyo. Shouki still to this day haunted Sousuke. Yamato was frustrating in the context that very much like Sousuke, the man was always a few more steps ahead of most. Sousuke considered himself resourceful but he was unable to try and end the man. Would the death of Yamato cause a difference in the slave trade? Possible. It would lose one of the more intelligent people, but another would take his place. That was the thing about the nature of this war. “I highly doubt it, but if you can get rid of Yamato ... things might become easier, but at the same time ... like all things he will be replaced.”

 

[Kazu]

“You will only assist me if your cousin knows about it, secondly that you first gain a mastery of your power, and thirdly you are healed.”

Nodding graciously, Kazu would not fight back on Sousuke’s conditions. They were fair, honest, and reasonable. The ambitious young boy would certainly get nowhere without Raizo’s support; furthermore, he was more than likely to get himself killed if he went charging in without understanding these strange new powers. ’The fact that he’s even laying out a path for me to help says a lot.’

Kazu was impassioned to act. However, that didn’t mean he had to act rashly or foolishly.

”Thank you, sir.” Kazu lowered his eyes and bent forward as much as he could from his seated position. ”I will speak with the Kazekage about this arrangement once these wounds have healed properly. I trust he... hm... I trust he also knows about the… er… 'state' of things?” It felt silly to assume any possibility that Sousuke was keeping anything from Raizo, but Kazu understood that it was possible to upset a delicate situation by assuming too much. Best to be clear, if sometimes blunt, rather than risk disruption.

Kazu's answers seemed appropriate to Sousuke, as he continued on after a brief nodding of his head. “I will give you a name," he would say. “Yamato. Yamato was the name of one of the ... most human ... of the Daimyo’s army. He was not a member of the Soverign Academy. He was one of the big ... thinkers ... in the Daimyo’s war machine when it was running. I was unable to get him out in the open. He always operated things from a distance." Kazu nodded, taking in the implications of this knowledge. He would not be able to do much with it now, but just having a goal to focus on was enough for Kazu. Being able to pursue this line of investigation was certainly a compelling reason to get patched up quickly. “I highly doubt it, but if you can get rid of Yamato ... things might become easier, but at the same time ... like all things he will be replaced.”

"Well... one step at a time, yes? Get healed. Get clearance. Get training. Get Yamato. Seems straightforward enough." Kazu had seemed to relax since earlier. With a set of tasks before him, the fiery and passionate fury seen before had died down into a smoldering ember of determination and focus. The emotions were still there, deep within the boy's crimson red gaze, but had been tempered and contained behind a cooled visage. Kazu was not some spark that burned through its own fuel supply by losing control -- he was a furnace, steadily growing hotter and more potent with each log fed into its maw.

Standing shakily on weakened legs, Kazu caught himself with the arm of his chair before bringing the crutches over to support himself. Giving Sousuke a smile of reassurance, Kazu began to collect himself. "I apologize for taking so much of your time so unexpectedly, sir. I should probably be going. They're probably wondering why I'm not resting in my hospital bed, right about now." Kazu carefully worked his way around the chair, being incredibly careful not to knock anything over or scuff the hardwood floors, before stopping just before reaching the entryway of the room. There, he turned around to face his gracious host once more.

"Sir... thank you. Thank you for trusting me with this knowledge. And, thank you, for not telling me this isn't my business. I won't let you regret that." With that, Kazu turned away for the last time to head towards the door. Just as he had simply felt he needed to come here today, Kazu now felt that he needed to return back to the hospital. Something called him. There was something he had to do. Someone else he had to see.

'One step at a time, Kazu. Just take it one step at a time...'

[OOC: Topic Left Unless Stopped.]