Stories to Tell [Open]

[Shiruko Makoto]

The problem was, Tatsuya had no idea where Hoshikata was.

Even if the twins had been in any shape to scry for him, their range with empathy probably wouldn't cover a country, never mind gone to anywhere. Tatsuya himself had no means of tracking people at all. Which meant he had to work out at least a rough idea of where his friend was. The thing was, that put him back to square one.

Still in Lightning? Unless something unforeseen had happened, highly unlikely. Moon? A high possibility, albeit surely he would have heard from his mother if his companion had arrived in Moon and yet without any of them in tow and never mind his little wilderness retreat. Fire? Given their parting conversation, unlikely. Wind or any of the smaller nations? Vaguely distant possibilities. Water? He had been there and noticed no familiar presences.

"He could be in any country, presuming he is still alive," he grumbled quietly to Louise. "Moon seems the most likely, and isn't too far for us to travel and check. But, well...if he showed up without us, my mother would send people to the ends of the world to find me and demand why. So even if it's likely, it's impossible."

"I do not understand all these human land names." Louise flicked her tongue at him in the vague snake equivalent of a raspberry. "You say he is your friend. Do you not know your friend well enough to know his mind?"

"Better than almost any person I know of, but still not enough to predict where he is now." Tatsuya drummed his fingers on the wall he was leaned against. "Which...is a problem. We did not leave each other means of contact."

He was in the lobby of a trained animal message center, who boasted their messengers could carry a message to anywhere in the world in no time flat. The problem was, he had to know where to send the animal. There were none who could simply fly around looking for someone, or carry an addressed message and know where to go.

"They are birds," Louise said in disdain. "Birds are stupid. Come, let us go figure something else out."

Tatsuya sighed, then stepped back out into the clear, crisp air of Port Cirrus.

The twins had been left in the care of clan agents that Tatsuya had contacted via messaging people whom he could trust not to tell their mother. Whether they would end up in Moon or not, he didn't know, but strongly suspected so. Which meant the amount of time that he had before he had to report into Moon was...limited. Very.

At which point, he'd have to explain why the hell he'd taken so long and exactly what he'd been doing.

He was pretty sure he wouldn't have to answer for Hoshikata, though most of his clan was undoubtedly already there.

He paused in the middle of the road, people flowing around him and subtly avoiding him, giving him a wider berth than they would a normal traveler.

That sense...

Had he imagined it? Or was there a source of power moving his way?

 

[Kairyuu]

The clothing he’d obtained in Moon was definitely a step up from the robes that the Seer wore these past years. Instead of black or blue with golden trim and silver runes, Hoshikata was wearing a pair of black slacks, black boots, a white button down dress shirt and a black jacket over that. A certain clan member pressed a black tie and Hoshikata, out of his old sense of style, snagged some white gloves and, for the first time in nearly a decade, slipped his ear stud back in place. The golden skinned demigod simply could not pull the look off, but this new form did so with style.

The road he was on was not very wide, nor well used. But he could tell that his goal was near. He might claim it was because of their bond, their many years of camaraderie; the truth was Tatsuya’s unique gift with the void shone like a beacon to those who knew how to see it. He could still see the spirit realm, where it was simply noticeable, but in his near sight of reality, it put off a wondrous glow of destabilization. The dark skinned, dark haired former Mizukage chuckles, picking up his pace.

And there he was. The heir of the Shoukyou clan, his oldest and closest friend, Tatsuya. Hoshikata pauses for a moment as he looks at him, noting that nothing at all had changed except for…a new companion? One eyebrow rises slightly above the other as he begins to walk closer, hands kept out where they could be seen. He had no visible weapons, but the tanto sat in a sheathe tucked up one sleeve. He doubted it would be of any necessity here.

Only after he comes closer does Hoshikata stop once more, slipping one hand into his jacket and pulling free the envelope, handing it over. It was addressed to Tatsuya. It had been a devil convincing the woman he was who he said, and then she was all questions about her children. The fact that he had no answers was not taken well, and so he took this little venture to find out more information.

”Delivery for one Shoukyou Tatsuya. That’ll be five hundred yen and your estate.”

The voice. Even though his skin was different, his hair and face, everything about him visually was so radically changed, Hoshikata’s voice was the same. The cool confidence, the charismatic tone of a man who knew how to talk, whose tongue was as powerful a weapon as any sword. His golden eyes, with their normal pupils, mirror the grin on his face.

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

So. He hadn't been mistaken, then. Unless Tatsuya's senses were entirely confounded, there was no other person that could be except his old friend. And unless there were another person wandering around with that sense of style and the money to back it up...

"Long time, no see," he greeted. "And very funny. How about I buy you lunch instead and we call it even?"

Despite the way they'd previously parted terms, there was no overt animosity. Indeed, Tatsuya had thought well enough to know that while he might have to do something, there was absolutely no point in ruining his life and possibly a lot of other people's unless Hoshikata did something that stepped beyond what any other ninja was capable of. Otherwise, he could let it be.

Or if he challenged Tatsuya's family, of course, but that seemed very unlikely.

Appearance-wise, he himself hadn't changed very much. The usual unassuming brown coat, layered with clan seals to conceal the many weapons hidden in it. The usual casual demeanour. The only difference for now was the visible-again chakra mark that pulsed with void energy, in the exact same place the original had been.

"I'll spare the 'how have you beens' and so on for when we're sitting down somewhere," he added. "But...hang on, where and how did you get a message for me? Who is that even from?"

He could think of a few possibilities. And....

Well, shit.

 

[Kairyuu]

”I wouldn’t say no to lunch. I haven’t eaten yet today unless you count hardtack, which isn’t food for the record. I’m pretty sure we used to give it to prisoners of war as an interrogation method.”

The faire on the ship was…less than pleasant true enough. It wasn’t a passenger ship but one of the many cargo liners of his clan, and so the food was the hard, mundane helpings of the sailor. Still, it was enough to get him here, handing a letter to Tatsuya. And as the other asked about its origin the Isaki could only chuckle.

”I met a lovely older woman in Moon. She said she was your mom, and once I convinced her of who I was, demanded to know where you were. She was rather overbearing, and swore upon me a quest to deliver this, to you. And be thankful that I’m not in your shoes.”

Hoshikata looks around, wondering just what the hell Tatsuya was doing in Lightning. The last time they were both here it was far less pleasant for his Shoukyou companions, and words were said that if it was anyone else would have caused a rift between them. He looks back at Tatsuya, eyeing his old comrade.

He saw again the moment Tatsuya turned from him, speaking of not being able to trust him. Tatsuya was worried about Hoshikata calling a wrath upon their group that they could not handle. His concerns then were not unfounded, though now…well. Mist was no longer able to supply any wrath, and Cloud was certainly not an ally but nor was it antagonistic to him any longer.

He reaches out, gripping the other’s shoulder. Physical contact was rare for the Isaki, the kind that meant something. This was not something he would simply do, but he felt comfortable enough with this one to do it. As did apologizing come.

”You were right, during our last talk. After you left, I went to Mist. The entire country was freezing over. After a trip to Sand I realized…I had nowhere to go. So I went back to Cloud. I’m not entirely sure why, to be honest. But while I was there…the man I kidnapped showed up. I gave him back his memories…and admitted my misdeeds in regards to him to the village.”

”I’m sorry for putting you through that. I had no right to endanger my companions because my own ego demanded such. I could have brought great harm upon you or Akane….” He looks at Tatsuya, frowning. ”I can only assume…that the blizzard took her? I’ve not seen her since.”

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

"I don't, but there's a number of nice restaurants around here." Notwithstanding the one Tatsuya had originally gone into with the twins. He had dug up a fair few others in his time there, fortunately.

He took the letter cautiously, as if it would explode when it hit his hands. When nothing happened, he tucked it away in his jacket. He'd open it when he sat down somewhere first. Most likely, he could already guess the contents. He was probably in Trouble. At least he had a plausible excuse for some of it, though the gap between when he left Hoshikata and when he found the twins was harder to answer for.

"Lovely. At least I know she can't disown me." Not now, anyway. "I suppose I should probably head in that direction soon."

He wasn't actually afraid of anyone, but he still had a healthy respect for his mother. It would have been foolish for any Shoukyou not to.

He was a little worried about how she would react to the news of what had happened to the twins, though. He had no illusions that their clan would have sworn off warfare, but any such actions had to be discreet, and their mother upon learning two of her children--two of her heirs--had been disfigured so...well, she would not be pleasant to be around. Certainly she had some limited experience with medical things herself, but not to this level...then again, it was unlikely anyone did.

He did his best not to show the surprise when Hoshikata actually, voluntarily touched him. He managed to keep it to a raised eyebrow, though. An actual friendly gesture?

"I was...right?" He knew he had been of course; the shock came from his friend admitting such. "...Hm."

It took the wind out of his sails a bit, as he had been expecting to have to fight if Hoshikata did anything that far past the grey area they all usually tread in. And now, hearing that some time without him did the trick...well.

It didn't deflate him as much as what followed, though.

"...No. I found the twins again." He looked away. "...Let's go sit down. I'll tell you what happened to them on the way to the restaurant, but you may want to sit down after. Though let me start by saying they are both alive, after a fashion, so as to not draw that part out." He set out toward one of the nicer restaurants he'd found, trusting Hoshikata would come with him.

It was rare Tatsuya was ever at a loss for words, but the condition of his younger siblings would not be an easy thing to deal with for anyone.

 

[Kairyuu]

One brow rises over the other at the words used. Alive after a fashion? Hoshikata’s face drops the smile, a scowl crawling across it. But he does not argue the other, instead following him towards the restaurant. It would do no good to make a scene here, it would in fact do nothing but harm to his goal. Still, there were some other things to be said as they walk.

”I just left Mist. Whole place is hell, literally I think. A frozen hell. Demons, ghosts, things. Scratchy is still talking and playing music somehow…but when he plays music those things go insane. My old office was intact, the entire tower still upright and with power somehow. Same for the hospital, but the lights flicker. The Minamoto Tower to Wasteful Expenses snapped in half. Rather hilarious, I think.”

Even Hoshikata didn’t like it there. It wasn’t that he hated it, but the sheer amount of unlife permeating the atmosphere made his goal so much harder to handle.

”I also met with the corpse of the Deep One and returned his powers. I am mortal now.”

His eyes meet Tatsuya’s own, pressing the point for a moment before looking around for the place to eat.

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

The restaurant Tatsuya led Hoshikata to was slightly out of the way; he had discovered it during his wanderings. It wasn't so far out of the way it wasn't populated enough to cover up conversation, but it was still a little off the beaten track, and most of the other patrons were people who lived in the area rather than the tourist-filled port streets.

"I stopped in Mist briefly myself, just to make sure neither you nor the twins were there. I didn't stay very long, as the boatman was rather skittish of docking too near. Very strange, an archipelago of ice in the midst of balmy seas. And the rumours...well. Hardly anyone wants anything to do with it." He allowed himself a brief flicker of a smile at the last part though. "Really? I do hope that broke first. It would be poetic. But if even you didn't remain long, that means there's little to no hope of reclaiming the land, hm?"

They were taking a more direct route than Tatsuya was wont to take through the streets, but both of them had information for each other that was best served sitting down, it seemed. Although he did know this route well enough to watch Hoshikata instead of the short pathe to the restaurant, at least.

"You did, did you?" His left eyebrow lifted, his tone covered with skepticism. "Did you think I'd buy that, that I'd lost all my senses, or that I wouldn't call you on it...? Never mind. I take it that's the story you want people to work out if they knew anything about you having such power at all, and are only telling me as a secret in strictest confidence."

Tatsuya himself was radiating void power rather sharply, in a way Hoshikata would pick up easier than the blue of the sky. It had definitely increased since their last encounter, and also gained a particularly dense patch, where his chakra mark used to be and now was in a strange empty black.

It was a short walk. The restaurant was a small, semi-fancy lunch joint, boasting both exotic and gourmet local dishes, with most of the visible patrons being well-to-do and wearing obviously tailored clothes. There was a patio, but he requested a booth instead. Pleasant sights of passerby were not something he felt either of them would be interested in.

It would be as soon as they were seated and the waitress moved out of earshot that Tatsuya would drop the truth, rather bluntly.

"The twins have been...sewn together, almost down the middle but with both their heads intact. They do not remember who did it, how it happened, or much of anything else. I've left them in the care of clan servants and medics, but there is very little I can do for them."

Finally, he could tell someone else who would actually care about it.

 

[Kairyuu]

It reminded Hoshikata of their chess game, almost. An out of the way place, good food. But instead of a shield of chakra, they relied on the shield of noise to cover their talk. He was tempted to torture one of the waiters, but doubted the man would fall for the same routine the ones in his old home did. He listens as Tatsuya speaks of his own trip to Mist, nodding at the words.

”Impossible? No, but very difficult. It was still unfrozen underground, so perhaps the volcano isn't completely a lost cause. I'm pretty sure if something were to set that off it would restore some balance. But it's not something I'd go doing lightly. It could just as easily destroy everything, including the person who set it off.”

He says nothing to the other as they work out his power. Tatsuya always understood him so well. And his own powers had grown, it was amazing how much stronger the other's abilities had become in such a short time. Perhaps even a Shoukyou could get better at something if they tried to. He chuckles, but the sound dies as Tatsuya moves on to speak of Akane. The smile on his face fading to a look of menace.

”Sewn....together.” Those golden eyes narrow, a glint entering them that was well familiar to the other. Hoshikata rarely got genuinely wrathful. He could work himself into a rage just fine, but the other side of anger, when it went from yelling and words to this cold calm, that was something rarely seen in him. ”Have you found out who did it? Or anything? Where it happened, maybe?” His voice was shaking, and nearby a bottle of wine exploded as the rage boiled beneath the calm veneer. Their table was shaking, as were several others. And he barely took note of this as he saw Akane's face in his mind, and then imagined the horror visited upon her.

Someone would die. Slowly.

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

"I would rank 'deliberately setting off a volcano' under the category of 'too reckless," Tatsuya noted without humour. "Who knows what else that could do, even if it did help? But...the cold, the weather. Were you able to tell if it was natural, demonic, influenced by potentially human hands...?"

He had some minor suspicions about it, but he wasn't quite sure if Storm would have been able to cause the disaster. Even if they had it had undoubtedly gone far further than they intended and terribly wrong to boot.

Or terribly right. But such an effect couldn't be something any human would desire, could it...? If someone wanted to wipe Mist off the map for any conventional reason, it wouldn't have been very effective, as any information or resources were now either useless or inaccessible. It could only have been someone who wanted to destroy it, or some natural calamity.

Hoshikata's anger was exactly as he expected. It was similar to what he had felt in those first few days, after the numb shock wore off. He had torn his way through several training sessions in a row to work off just a fraction of the anger.

"I sent agents out as soon as I contacted some. They found nothing. The twins have no recollection whatsoever, and no one has been able to coax anything out of them." He let a note of frustration creep into his voice. "I haven't even managed to locate their old retainers. I found them wandering here when I got back from my trip to Mist, but with their condition they could have wandered over half the continent before that. They certainly aren't in any state to point us anywhere."

He took a deep breath an exhaled, and then noticed the vibration of the table and frowned.

"Hoshikata. Calm down. I want to get whoever did this too, but breaking the building won't help."

He placed his hand on the table, so his friend could see he was shaking it. Some of the other patrons were going to take notice, and there was already a waiter hurrying over to inspect the exploded bottle.

 

[Kairyuu]

Words did nothing to assuage the anger building in him. Even as Tatsuya pointed out the shaking of the table, the results of his boiling fury, he stands, the sudden disturbances stopping with a sudden absence of sound. For a moment, perhaps, Tatsuya might see before him the specter of the Hoshikata of the past; golden skin reflecting the light as a rage that cannot be held is seen only behind those golden, unnatural eyes. But the image fades as he takes control once more, appearing as himself once more. But behind his eyes, the windows into his soul, a hellfire inferno was fed fuel.

He sits back down, face a mask of nothing for the moment. Hoshikata was a man of masks, but all had slight differences. This one was obviously barely holding violence in check. ”I'll have my own clan look into it for clues. Anyone who has the knowledge of how to perform such a thing, for instance. I would assume a puppet user, or a mednin of extreme skill. I know of no medical shinobi who are capable of such a thing. I'll see about hunting down some puppet masters and....investigating.”

His tone left it obvious what his idea of investigation would involve. And it was not candy and plea bargains. ”No one saw them in Mist? I saw no one who did. That means whatever happened to them likely happened here, in Lightning. I'll speak with Shin about anyone in Cloud who is adept at such things. I rather think whoever did it had no idea the damnation that they've placed themselves under.”

He was not calm, but he was controlled. The thing inside was not taking him, not now. The power wanted out, but chains of resolve, stronger than any steel, held it in. For now.

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

Tatsuya drew forth void power into his fingertips, ready to dart out and strike if Hoshikata didn't regain control rapidly. Louise surged up in his pocket, hissing in agitation. It was a tense few seconds as he debated with himself about lashing out--thereby showcasing himself as something alarming as well--or treating this like it was just normal shinobi powers acting up.

When it came down to it, he was glad he waited. He let the void power fade away as Hoshikata regained control, and settled himself back as if he hadn't been poised to drive his hand forward and shunt void power straight into his friend.

For that matter, he wasn't even sure it would work if he ever had to. Probably. But not definitely.

"You have different types of contacts, so that may be more fruitful," he agreed, as if nothing abnormal had occurred. "I'll readily admit to never having been the information gathering type in that sort of way myself, so all I can tell my people to look for is probably a bit vague for them."

The idea that the person or people who had done that to his little siblings would suffer for it was not in the least disturbing or bothersome. He certainly wasn't going to object if Hoshikata instructed his agents to be harsh. It wasn't as if they were pursuing some innocent, after all. And puppet masters at the very least tended to be ninja, with many having an unhealthy fascination with experimenting with people and puppets, so it wasn't like they didn't have it coming--even the ones not responsible for this.

"I'm fairly certain they didn't make it back to Water Country," he said as neutrally as he could. "Certainly we didn't dig up anyone who saw them there, or in Moon. And I didn't see them or hear of them in Fire. So it would have to have been Lightning or somewhere between here and Water."

Which was...a lot of places. But this was a good place to start.

"Isn't that the Raikage? So you're on decent terms with them, now?" That could be useful. "I suppose I should introduce my new friend, then."

With that, Louise poked out of his coat from his inside pocket, then slithered up onto his shoulder. She held herself there cautiously, half-coiled, tongue flicking in and out.

"I met her in Fire Country. She likes traveling."

It was an obvious and deliberate change in topic, because he'd rather Hoshikata not blow up the restaurant for one, and dwelling on the state of his siblings was painful for another. Although Louise seemed in no hurry to actually talk herself, which was fine, but he was going to sound nuts shortly if she didn't.

 

[Kairyuu]

He was growing anxious now, even though at the moment he could do nothing about things. His eyes were darting around, looking for something to take his anger out on but finding nothing easily excusable. After the previous outburst he was highly doubtful that the owner of this place would be gracious if he destroyed something. Instead he clenches his fists so tight the knuckles crack and the nails digging into his palms bring pain, forcing him to think more clearly.

”All of them will be on the lookout for anyone who could have done this. And yes, that's the Raikage. I'm not sure about decent terms though. He seems to think he can order me around. He currently has me on an exile from Cloud because I returned that shinobi I kidnapped to them. I'm rather upset over it, truth be told. I'm needed there, it could be too much for...”

He stops, thinking for a moment. He was, technically, still betrothed to Akane. His eyes slide over to Tatsuya, a frown on his features. Should he tell his best friend that he was in love with another? That this man's sister, while still important to him, was not the ruler of his heart? It could lead to problems, especially coming on the tail end of this horrible news, but it would be the right thing to do. He lets out a sigh, shaking his head. Life and drama went hand in hand.

”There is someone there important to me, who needs me. They cannot survive in that place as they are, and I fear it will destroy them before they can become who they need to be unless I help them.” That was the most he would get for now. ”But yes, I speak to Shin often. And several of his sennin. And the ANBU who tend to follow me around. Apparently I'm popular over there.”

Akane.... she did not mean nothing to him. She meant less than Haruka, but she was still a significant woman in his life. She was the first to ever accept him for him. Haruka did not do that, she loved him in spite of himself, but Akane seemed to truly enjoy him for who he was. This...would not do. Someone would suffer for this.