His face freezes, momentarily, at her questions. It was natural for her to ask them, for their very lives could depend on the answers he gave. That knowledge did little to ease the fact that he didn't want to answer, not because he didn't know what lie to tell; he didn't want to because he didn't want to lie to her but knew the truth could shatter this. The waiter saved him for the moment, a sigh bringing motion back to his features. With a smile, Hoshikata look down for a moment before looking back up at her. His smile turns wry, fading as he thinks over the questions. Finally, he takes a sip of his drink and responds.
”They're right to call me that, for I have been a liar my whole life as you've seen. This is a bit of a story...and one I am no longer proud of. After we eat? So the food doesn't go cold, at the least.” With that, he begins to eat, his dish was not large, but very tasty. After he finished, and she does, he leaves the money and tip and takes her hand, leading her out into the cool night air. ”I tried to have a nice, tasteful dinner but honestly I can't stand those stuffy occasions if I don't have to.” Hoshikata smiles, letting her lead the way as she knew the city better than him. And so he begins...
”Like I said, it's a long tale. The Isaki Clan founded the settlement that would become Kirigakure over a thousand years ago. There was a battle on the island that moved into the crater. A giant creature broke through the water and the members of the Isaki Clan fell down and prayed to it, and it destroyed their enemies and slunk back into the depths. My clan came to revere this god as the Deep One, and through sacrifice and faith it brought the clan immense wealth and power. For centuries none dared to cross the Isaki, and in the world of economics the clan reigned supreme.”
“There were some nay-Sayers, for instance the grandson the founder of the clan, one Isaki Tsukiakari, led the clan into a downward spiral. Mostly it was just a poor time all over, the clan was still doing well, just not as well. While the rest of the world starved, the Isaki clansmen threatened rebellion because they had to eat chicken instead of steak. Tsukiakari attempted to rebel against the Deep One, claiming it was to blame. He gathered together the greatest practitioners of chakra magics, and the greatest weapon-smiths in the world. Gathering the precious gemstones of a foreign kingdom, he had them force the Staff of Verin, a powerful weapon capable of absorbing souls.”
“Tsukiakari vanished with the weapon, claiming he knew where to find the Deep One, and that he would kill it. No one saw him again, and a few weeks later the new heir took over. Over the centuries, worship of the Deep One declined. About two centuries ago it was considered distasteful and the records hidden in the crypts beneath the Isaki manor. When I was five, I found those records.”
“I began to practice worship of that god. My family couldn't stop me, for it was the basis of our clan at one point, but it was a constant thorn in their side. When I was passed up for Mednin Sennin over a foreigner, I decided to seek out my god and demand to know why my worship was not paying off like it should have. On the way there, I found the Staff. It held the soul of Tsukiakari, who had been vanquished and sealed within it. He offered to help me defeat our god, but I wasn't there to fight it.”
“The Deep One didn't care. It set me on fire, I felt my insides burning to cinders, flames sprouted from every pore of my body. And then it cast me into the waters of the dead in which it lived. I should have died, but the combined power of Tsukiakari's and my grandmother's souls not only protected me, but got me home safely. That is how I came to look as I do now. When it assaulted me, the Deep One linked itself to me.”
“I used to have rather pale skin like your own, but my hair was a platinum silver, and short. I also had heterochromia, one eye was gray and the other purple. People called me a ghost, for I looked as one. I woke up after that ordeal looking as you see me now.” He motions to his yellowed skin, golden eyes. ”I decided then and there to take up Tsukiakari's offer to deal with our god. I even got my brother Karurosu on board. But my father found out and attacked me. It was a brief struggle, but the Staff...it moved on its own. It killed my father and absorbed his soul. And Tsukiakari grew stronger.”
Hoshikata stops, looking up at the moon as he goes over the memory of that fight. Tsukiakari's laughter ringing off the walls, his father's sightless eyes staring up as a look of pain was forever etched on his face. Hoshikata himself only showing curiosity at the act of fratricide instead of horror. ”I was Mizukage when this happened. I quit, then and there. I took the staff and fled into the caverns under the village. I was gone for a year. When I returned, I felt I had gained mastery over the spirit of Tsukiakari. I enlisted the aid of my brother again, and we went into the catacombs under the manor to find our god.”
“I....” Again Hoshikata stops. This was the part he did not want to say, more than any other. ”Haruka...I am not the same man I was when this happened. But if you choose to end what we have after hearing this, I will not blame you.” His golden eyes meet her own hazel orbs as he begins once more.
”I had my mother with us, in a sack. When we got to the Deep One, I sacrificed her to the spirit of Tsukiakari. The Deep One was hoarding the souls of the Isaki, it had been for centuries, keeping them from passing on. I promised them an afterlife if they helped me defeat it. Tsukiakari aided me. Karurosu aided me. And I fought. And we won. Tsukiakari, after the sacrifices, was powerful enough to protect us as we wore it down. And once it fell...he attempted to attack me and take my body for his own.”
“The spirits of my ancestors fought him off, bound his soul with chains stronger than steel to the spot. And then I linked my soul with the corpse of my dead god. And that...is how I have gained the power I have today. I went and took back Mizukage, and you showed up around then. The Isaki Clan had grown weary of what it considered outsiders bossing them around, so they asked me if we could move. I agreed, handed the position back again, and my clan and the Shoukyou began a mass exodus.”
“When we came here, I had several reasons. One was to make sure Cloud did not see a sudden influx of shinobi in its neighbor, Moon, and attack. The main reason was to take over Shin's idea for a Kage Summit. I felt I could turn it to my advantage if I hosted it. Get the leaders of all of the nations in one room....”
“I was insulted, so I kidnapped Zaku. I am no longer proud of that. The insult wasn't even much of one. But to that thing...it was a mortal wound. I bound him to my will, and he was conscious inside of his mind of everything until I wiped all of his memories. Also....and not even Cloud knows of this...but while I was here I killed one Daiki Hoshi. The bodyguard to my brother, an envoy of Mist. Hoshi spent years of my life tormenting me in every way she could, and I finally snapped on her when I saw her here with him.”
Once more the Seer stops and turns, facing Haruka fully now. His face was not the mask, it betrayed the concern over her response to his words. ”You know the rest. What we're going to do is go to my old home, go into the caverns under it...and unlink my spirit from the corpse of a dead god. I might not even survive the process, but it is something I must do.”
“Power is a corrupting force. Just being around you, hearing your words...I have come to realize how much of my personality these past years is directly from the power. I don't know if the spiritual link is bringing the Deep One's behavior over to me, or if it's merely the power itself. I do know that there is a voice in my head, screaming to be let out. It is the voice of the demon I have been. I do not want to let it free again. I don't want to be that thing, Haruka. I want to be what you showed me I could be. I want to be the man you have come to love, not the snake you would grow to loathe.”
