Reunion [ Private ]

[Shu]

It was cloudy day and deductively foggy. The whispers of the wind curled its hand across the windows as little drops of water slid down and rest on the wooden mantel. The rest of the patrons were busying burring themselves in warm beverages socializing on the activities of the day. Shin was sitting in a booth with his mouth preoccupied by a hot cup of tea. He was wearing a white wool coat with the collar elevated covering most of his face. His hands were covered by quality white leather gloves with streaks of gray to signified the proud colors of Kumogakure. If it was not for those distinguishable glasses, Shin was hardly recognizable. Across of him was a brooding young man with a bored look on his face. He simply stared at the plate of sizzling beef. Shin glanced at the window near the entrance. The contentiously ANBU guard were still there waiting for something to happen.

"You have remained quite, Joukuu. What is on your mind." Shin said as he placed the warm tea cup on the wooden table.


[Terrible Intro :/]

 

[Ii Hissori]

What a day. It started off at midnight with another night patrol, a patrol that almost ended horribly. A group of simple thugs had tried to smuggle drugs into the village, which Joukuu and his group of ANBU and Trainee’s had to stop. However, one of his the trainee’s had thrown a kunai which completely missed the thugs, and nearly Joukuu square in the throat. Joukuu was quick enough to partially dodge the blade only getting a thin slice across the left side of his neck. After stopping the thugs, he treated his own wounds, yelled at the trainee for being irresponsible, and finished his patrol. Then he went write his reports on the fights, chastised the trainee again, and had breakfast. This was followed by teaching classes in the academy before going to meet his cousin and Raikage, Hayata Shin.

Now, Joukuu was sitting across the table from him, a hand on his neck, hiding the fresh wound he got from that dumb overzealous trainee. His chopsticks were ideally pushing around the sizzling beef he had picked up off his plate. It had been a long time since he had really eaten beef; he still did not much care for the taste of it. His purple scarf was on the back of his chair, and his black leather jacket was open revealing the lightning yellow t-shirt.

“Nothing much Shin-san. I am just thinking about the trainee’s and such.” He said as he finally decided to have enough as he picked up a piece of beef and shoved it into his mouth. He would chew the savory tender beef a bit before he would shallow. He would then sip his glass of water before he cleared his throat to speak again.

“So how is the village, and life as Raikage treating you cousin?” He asked a bit as he continued to think. Joukuu was always shy and quiet when it came to talking to the Raikage. He was caught, caught between talking to him like a family member, and giving him the respect the leader of the village deserved. His olive green eyes flickered to look at him for a moment, before looking over his back.

“You must never get any alone time do you Shin-san.” He said as he gestured to the group of ANBU who were “hiding” Outside the store. Of course Joukuu knew all the tricks of the ANBU as he was captain. It didn’t bother being watched, but they were really doing a poor job at hiding.

“Oh by the way, What were you thinking sending a student unesorted out of the village? I almost sent him back into the village till I heard you were the one that had given him the orders. It was a kid name Zaku. That was very dangerous Raikiage.” Joukuu said falling back on the one thing that he knew, his professional job.

Spoiler

Word Count: 487
MTF

 

[Shu]

Ever since Joukuu-san had become ANBU captain he had become rather distant from him. The gaze in his olive eyes were always shifted away from him. The man had knew responsibility and no longer was his hand tied to a master but he had become one himself. Eventually, he broke the tenacious silence with a question. He inquired whether or not he enjoyed being the Raikage and if the job was becoming a burden to him.

"You must never get any alone time do you Shin-san.” He said as he gestured to the group of ANBU who were “hiding” Outside the store. Of course Joukuu knew all the tricks of the ANBU as he was captain. It didn’t bother being watched, but they were really doing a poor job at hiding.

"The village is prospering for the most part besides the hidden political agendas that the village has to go through. You are aware that Makoro-san has been raging havoc around the country; the issues are compounded by the arrival of the alleged Crown Prince. Most of the daiymo's are attempting to usurp his power and I am in the middle of it all." Shin sighed as his brushed against his chin.

"You know me that I get rather nauseated by insipid conversations, especially when they are all so predictable. Alas, you should not be too concern about this." Shin said with a solemn grin.

“You must never get any alone time do you Shin-san.” He said as he gestured to the group of ANBU who were “hiding” Outside the store. Of course Joukuu knew all the tricks of the ANBU as he was captain. It didn’t bother being watched, but they were really doing a poor job at hiding.

Shin made a quick glance at the ANBU then back at Joukuu. "On the contrary, leaving the eyes of my 'protectors' is rather simple and I do get some time myself from time to time; however, with what has been going on I can not permit myself the luxury." Shin responded. He removed the metal chopsticks from the top of the white cloth and flipped the last slab of beef that danced on the hot skillet. A young woman came around wearing a frilled black and white apron moving a cart of covered platters. She asked him if they required a refill. Shin nodded his head as she replaced the platter on the table with one from the cart. She made a slight bow before departing.

“Oh by the way, What were you thinking sending a student unesorted out of the village? I almost sent him back into the village till I heard you were the one that had given him the orders. It was a kid name Zaku. That was very dangerous Raikage” Joukuu said falling back on the one thing that he knew, his professional job.

"Hmm..." Shin said pausing. "I can understand your concern but Zaku was the only logical option at the time, allowing an escort would have jeopardized the mission. Zaku is not entirely alone as you might have expected. Besides, do not forget that Zaku is not an ordinary student. The fact that you brought to him Kumogakure should serve my point." Shin responded remembering the crafted seal he placed by adding a small dose of his chakra into the young boy's tea. It was the only way to allow Deta to follow him. It is highly likely that his body will see Shin's chakra as a threat and attempt to remove the chakra from his system. Shin calculated that it take at least a week before his chakra would be removed from Zaku's system. It was a risky move but he had some theories as to what was happening in Solum de Asphodelus and this was the only way to see if he was correct.

"Do you know anything about the mission that I gave Zaku?" Shin asked.

 

[Ii Hissori]

Intently, Joukuu listened to the Raikage discuss his problems. Joukuu had heard whispering of someone causing problems out in the country, but really wasn’t aware of it. After all, it wasn’t his position to inquire about things that weren’t in his squad’s orders. He was in charge of gates and emergency responses, and not foreigner affairs. However, all of the politics did seem a little interesting to say the least, and might be something that Joukuu would look into if he ever got a day off from the missions, the patrols, the classes, and his grading.

“If you need help with anything. I am here cousin, and if Makoro needs to be dealt with…. I am sure I can handle it quickly and silently…” Joukuu said lowly as he let the phrases trail off, letting it drift off with some tone of regret. He knew Shin did not like the idea of assassinations, and neither did Joukuu, but it was always an option for a problem to be brutally solved.

“I don’t know how I feel about you being able to lose the ANBU that are supposed to be protecting you. “ The young ANBU captain drawled out lowly so only they could hear. To him, that was a serious risk, and also showed him a lack of training that he had painstakingly learned in lieu of making friends, and having a normal teenage life. It was with that last comment, that silence covered the table again as the waitress walked over and refilled their platter. With a very low ‘thank you’ uttered by Joukuu, he waited for her to leave before making his next move. It was then that the skillful chop sticks of Joukuu took a couple of the season root vegetables and put them on the grill.

“I am sure he is talented enough for the mission that you gave him. I just don’t like letting youngster out into that world alone. It can be so much more dangerous than we expect.” He said lowly speaking from his personal experience. After all, in all rights Joukuu should have been dead one his first trip outside the village. It was only because of some magical blood he had ingested that he was able to talk to his cousin, and the worst part about it was that only a handle of people knew about this trip, and the Raikage did not even know about is near-death experience.

“I do not know about the mission, please tell me about it if I have the clearance.” He said politely.

 

[Shu]

"If it were only that simple, Joukuu." Shin said sighing. He did not want to put the thought that he was more concerned with Makoro than he was for the village. Makoro was still his blood relative and a man that Shin respected. His presence was like an echo of his past -- a past that he was slowly forgetting. Every time he heard his name was like being flung into a raging tempest but arriving into the hands of a calm breeze. He was reminded of the days when the village made a stern action to go against his family to go against his father -- speaking heresy against his family name. No one could understand his father's mind but only could see his hubris. His uncle reminded him of why he lived as a shinobi and why desperately wanted the world to understand the genius of the Hayata clan, but more importantly the love that his mother showed to him.

Another waitress walked by pouring searing hot water into the Raikage's cup. She gave a respectful bow before leaving.

"Hmm, yes that is understandable." Shin said as he reached for his cup. "If there was another way I would have proposed it. About the mission..." She blew into the cup spraying fumes of brewed mint into the air that swirled in the depths of the air.

"There have been reports of children turning out missing in a rural part of Solum de Asphodelus. However, children are only lost for a brief period of time before being found with capricous change in personality. Most of the exhibit signs of depression despite none of the conditions have been diagnosed to these children. Despite what I have just told you it is not the strange part. There are rumors of a monster with a face of child raomaing the area. I can only hypothesis that these children are not what they seemed or at least one of them." Shin said as he placed his cup down after taking sips of his tea.

"This may be a foolish question to ask you, but how would define chakra." Shin said as picked up a white folded handkerchief.

 

[Ii Hissori]

Joukuu’s nose wrinkled a bit. It was never THAT simple, but in fact it really was. To the teenager who believed that killing was almost never the answer, it seemed that in this world killing was always the correct choice. Maybe it was for this reason that the young teenager had started to drift around the world. He never enjoyed killing, and still didn’t admit that Gekido had made him kill someone who was completely innocence, but it was the way of this life. It was the way of the life that Joukuu had willingly chosen at the young age of eight years old.

Closely, Joukuu’s olive-green eyes watched the waitress. Now that his mid was working on this path he couldn’t really stop thinking about it. Did she know the sacrifices that they made? Did she know that the men she was currently had blood stained hands. If she knew they were killers, would she want them in her business? Would she feel comfortable serving them? Did anyone really know about the shadowy lives that the shinobi of this village led, or did they only know about the peaceful missions and knew that whenever they used deadly force was when the village was threatened? It was with those thoughts again that Joukuu started to drift off only to be snatched back by Shin’s words.

Intently the youth listened to the Raikage. With interest the young man carefully listen to the mission brief. It was something defiantly that was strange and something that needed to be looked into, but by someone trained. It wasn’t an ANBU mission so it belong in the main branch, but Joukuu still did not believe it should have gone to a child.

“So you have said an young boy out to a place where children are turning up missing, by himself with no one to look after him in what could be a hostile area? I mean it sounds like something that only someone of a young age can get to the bottom of, but what if he is captured and goes missing, no one will even know where he is.” He said briefly trying not to sound like he was questioning his cousin. However, it was true, and Joukuu honestly, didn’t find the idea of Delta to be that worthwhile as he really couldn’t do anything but report the worse news. However, he was taken aback by the question and blinked.

“Chakra is the result of spiritual and physical energies mixing in one’s body. It is used as the main point of our jutsu’s as well as speeds up the processes for recovery. Why do you ask?” Joukuu said as he tilted his head to the side.

Spoiler

Word Count: 420
MTF

 

[Shu]

His cousin continued to instigate Shin still doubting that Shin was in the right mind to send a young boy to unknown and hostile territory. Shin viewed the fear and stress in Joukuu's eyes like an open window except that there was no light to withhold. There was no reassurance that Shin had everything in control, well for the most part. At least, Joukuu was right that Zaku could be captured given the circumstances. He was still an academy student who had very little training in the various shinobi disciplines, as such it would be illogical for Shin to choose Zaku. However, Shin had to make it appear that Zaku was vulnerable to properly examined the situation. If a person was responsible for kidnapping children with undetectable clandestine skills this was the only way. Of course, it was not something Shin was ecstatic about but at least Deta was with him.

Shin exhaled calmly as he blew a puff of air from his hot tea. "I understand you fear and I am not going to deny that Zaku could in danger but I placed security parameters around him to protect him. I would not put him in danger if I could not protect which goes for anyone in this village." Shin placed his cup down before speaking again.

"The reason why I asked you about the definitions of chakra is tied toward the reason why I requested Zaku to accept this mission. You are correct that chaka is a mixture of both physical and spiritual energy. It is essentially a person's life force. Chakra is well formed during a young age like a ripe fruit. A ripe fruit is fresh and composed with the right amount of nutrients that the body needs; comparatively, chakra quality is at its best at a young age. It one of the reasons why most students starting out are relatively young. However, without proper training, utilizing chakra can be a danger to a person's well being and the surrounding area, especially for people who have no training whatsoever. The effects can be more than just physical problems but also emotional and mental problems. The mission breifing suggested that these children are suffering from various cases of depression so there is a possible connection. Conclusively, there is a possibility that someone in the country is gathering chakra from untapped children for his or her own means. What exactly for I am still not sure."

 

[Ii Hissori]

Joukuu listened softly, and finally just nodded. While he did not agree with his cousin’s choice to send a student on a mission that could honestly be very dangerous for them, he knew that Hayata Shin would keep Zaku safe. With a rather gruff huff, and then another nod of his head, Joukuu sipped his tea and let quiet come over them again. It was followed up though by another long speech by Shin that Joukuu had listened closely too.

It seemed his rather strict definition of what chakra was had made Shin happy. He was trying to say that something was wrong with the chakra of the children of the area. It was certainly strange, and furthermore the briefing that made it sound like someone was harnessing the childrens chakra. It certainly was a disgusting act, but an act as well that made Joukuu interested in what was going on. Was that really the case? Maybe it was something interesting. Biting his pale pink lip for a moment, Joukuu carefully brush the subject he wanted to ask.

“If this is truly the case, and the situation is dealt with. Do you think it would be too much to ask to get the person’s notes and studies for myself to look over? You know Uoza-Sensei gave me a love for the science of the human body and its functions?” Joukuu asked cautiously. Hopefully, Shin knew that Joukuu would never do anything that would harm the village or harm children, but the idea simply peaked his interest. Even if it was just studies about the children who had their chakra drained of them to study that affect on shinobi, because maybe just maybe some light could be shed more on the human chakra system.

 

[Shu]

Shin raised his eyebrow slightly curious to know why his cousin asked such a strange request. Joukuu did have experience with basics of human physiology but this may beyond him, but more important he was not in the position to be part of the investigation even though Joukuu was an ANBU captain.

Shin sighed. "I will have to think about this request further. Even though you are my cousin I do not want my decision to be solely based on that. Uoza did teach sufficiently in human physiology but this may beyond you. However, this does not mean that I will not need." Shin said rubbing his chin. There was a moment of pause. "You have been a ANBU Captain for a while and personal impressions may be useful. Do you know the type of shinobi who would want to harvest chakra."