Wake up and smell the ashes... [Free RP]

[Mouchou Haya]

There was silence... and then, a small flicker, a faint sign of hope.

Medical equipment beeped in their usual rhythmic drone as the boy came to; his environment was entirely alien to him, a pure white room with no decoration aside from some assorted hospital devices. He looked around, he lay on a plain bed, and a ordinary drawer lay next to it. Probes, injection tubes, and several other things were pressed against, sticking to, or poking out of his body.

'How did I... get here...' Haya thought as he continued to examine his situation, his familiar robes had been replaced by a drab medical dress, and that wasn't all that looked different; his legs looked thin... no, all of him looked thin, and felt thin, and WAS thin. It took a concentrated effort for Haya to bring his hand into view, it looked withered, old, decayed.

'That's right- I was in an accident.' the memory started to come back to him, an unfortunate structural failure in the obstacle course had caused a sizable amount of rubble to fall onto himself and his classmates. They were all buried; Haya understood that he was lucky to be alive right now, he started to wonder- did everyone else survive that accident? He would have to find out as soon as he could.

Part of him was afraid the answer would be no.

But for now he would just have to wait, he pulled himself into a somewhat upright sitting position; it took far more effort than it should have but he wouldn't accept just lying down, surely he'd done enough of that by now.


WC: 268

 

[Suzuki Setsu]

Kichida Kazuhiko​

"Yo. You have been out for quite awhile," Kazuhiko stated matter-of-factly. "You're lucky to be alive, after that accident. I'm no med-nin but I do know that much." Kazuhiko gestured to a side table where Haya would see loads of flowers, get well cards, and even a few 'ZOMG! Marry me!' cards left by rabid fangirls and well-wishers. "You had quite a lot of visitors while you were asleep, I'll think they'll all be glad to see you up and about soon. You may not remember me, but I remember you. You were helping me investigate an all-female thieves guild. And I believe we have a mutual acquaintance in Izawa Yoko. The name's Kichida Kazuhiko, if that rings a bell."

Kazuhiko stopped for a moment to receive a call on his headset, "What? Yes, I'll be there shortly, just visiting an old friend in the hospital. Yes. Yes. I'm sure he'll be fit for duty again in no time, but I'd rather you take a professional medical shinobi's opinion over mine. Kichida out." Kazuhiko sighed. "Sorry about that Mouchou-san, a lot has changed since your accident. Would you like me to bring up to speed? I'd understand if you want to focus on your recovery first, though."

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[Mouchou Haya]

A visitor?

Haya visibly brightened up at Kazuhiko's presence, it was good to see a familiar face... well, not quite familiar, he looked a lot older than Haya last remembered...

'Oh... crap.' first the state of his body, now an obviously older Kazuhiko, Haya was starting to get very- very worried. It was becoming more and more obvious just how long he had been out. Still, he was grateful to have some company.

"Kazuhiko-san, your timing is pretty good." Haya said, his voice sounded different, deeper, older. Haya swung himself around and allowed his legs to hang off the edge of the bed, he took a moment to look at the various get-well gifts that had been left for him. Some of them looked like they had been there for quite some time...

After what felt like an hour (but was likely closer to a few seconds) Haya directed his attention back to Kazuhiko. "Kazuhiko-san, just how long was I out? And I would like to know what's happened in the meantime. Hope you don't mind if I keep myself sitting; I feel like my legs'd crack if I try standing on them- better get a regen specialist on that."

 

[Suzuki Setsu]

Kichida Kazuhiko​

"Well," Kazuhiko took a breath before continuing, "it's been a good five or six years since we've talked, Mouchou-san. And I'm not so important that it would warrant people standing when I enter a room, I'm just a chuunin who does a lot of paperwork, so I don't mind you sitting." That's got to be difficult, waking up to find that the world decided to move on without you, Kazuhiko thought. A month is tough but five years, he's bordering on the same kind of sleep that Itonami-sensei had. "You remember the civil war? The one that started with the simultaneous gas bombings in the major city centers of Lightning? Well, it's over now. Been over for at least a year and a half or so. Turns out the Daimyo Ryuu had employed a missing-nin to assist him in his attempted take-over. and that plan of his ended up backfiring on him. Well just goes to show that you can't ever completely trust a nuke, they're loyal to their own agenda, nothing more." Kazuhiko would have gone into more detail, describing the assault on the train in which Nemoto Senna and Mochizuki Tama were both gravely injured. Senna so much so that she had been hospitalized for quite awhile as well. And then the capture of the shinobi-turned-crown prince, Shiranai, followed by the deal Hayata Shin made with the missing-nin to secure Shiranai's safety. The revelation that the nuke-nin had been the Raikage's uncle was still surprising to Kazuhiko even now. Still, Masao had pretty much told him to keep those details a closely guarded secret. So he was silent about them. "We have a shogun now, Shiranai vi Kaminari, forgive me if I don't use his full title, noble names are needlessly long."

"Some of the leadership positions have changed since you've been asleep. Our ANBU Sennin, Santaru Rin, is no longer alive, official story from ANBU is that she took her own life. Though I don't know why myself. ANBU are rather tight-lipped about their own, and there's only so much scuttlebutt I'm allowed to hear," he continued. Though I have my suspicions, Kazuhiko thought, he hadn't seen Takayama-san for some time now, the man was in the Legation office more often than not, and had even given Kazuhiko some of his missions when he was younger. He couldn't help but think they were somehow related, seeing as Takayama-san was Santaru Rin's proxy for mission-giving. But again, this was an opinion he could not share.

"But that's besides the point, the big threat nowadays is a radical group calling itself the Kingslayers. They have made a name for themselves by assassinating nobles they deem to be corrupt, and their goal is the destabilization of Lightning Country. They have attempted to assassinate the new Shogun, and they may have had a hand in fostering the current war between Bear Country and Marsh Country. I can't say for sure, though. They are also led by a former Cloud shinobi, so they are extremely dangerous." Not to mention, a dear friend of mine has joined up with them.

"I think that's the gist of current events, as far as I know. If you have any questions about any of your acquaintances, or anything just ask and I'll tell you what I know or try to find out something for you. But right now you should probably focus on recovery, while your mind is as sharp as ever, your body will need some time to catch back up. Or at least that's what your attendant nurse told me."

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

Izawa Yoko​

Yoko walked down the hallway, her held lowered to avoid eye contact. It had been two years since she'd traveled through this hospital, but she had memorized the path to her destination years ago. Haya was a close friend to Yoko when they'd first become students. He was easy-going, but knew how to have fun. She could vaguely remember the time they went to the pool together, where they had practiced swimming with fins. She still could imagine how awkward he looked, and it made her smile. When Haya got into the accident, Yoko had been on a mission. When she returned and learned of Haya's fate, her heart fell and she had rushed to his hospital room. He was pretty beaten up at that time, it was hard to look at him. There were already cards on his tableside, along with flowers. Yoko sat by his bedside and chatted, about the mission, about time they had spent together, anything that would convince him to wake up. Every week after that, Yoko would make a special trip to see Haya. She'd tell him about her week, and read the cards to him, since it seemed impractical to send a comatose person something written down. Haya couldn't read while in a coma...but she had hoped that he could hear.

However, two years ago Yoko was called back to her family, and she had to bid farewell to Haya. Now she was making her way back to his room, and all she could imagine was entering the room to find it empty, learning from a nearby nurse that Haya had passed away long ago. Yoko lightly shook her head, trying to keep herself from crying. She would have asked the receptionist if Haya was alive, but Yoko wanted to keep her hopes up as long as possible.

She reached the room and stopped in the doorway, her held still hanging low. "Haya...I'm back." Yoko pulled her hands into fists, her knuckles turning white and nails digging into her hands. She wanted to see if he was still there, but her head felt heavy. However, she finally was able to lift her head slowly. Her eyes widened as she saw Haya staring back at her, along with Kazuhiko. Yoko's face turned bright red and soon she disappeared from the boys' sight. Yoko's powers as a temporal strider were prone to kick in when she felt complete embarrassment, and this time was no different. She accidentally reversed time. The two might remember her being in the doorway, but it would have seemed more like a vision or a dream. Yoko leaned against the wall near the door, holding her hot face. He's alive...and awake...thank goodness. Through her embarrassment, Yoko felt a smile creep onto her lips. How often she'd dreamed of the day he'd regain consciousness, and today it came true.

However, Yoko was having problems moving because her legs were shaking so bad. She didn't know what to say to him. Did he remember her? Did he know what happened to him? Did he want to be treated special? Did he want people to treat him like nothing happened? Asking him would be awkward...talking with him while conscious would even be awkward, at least for Yoko. It was much easier to talk to people when they were in a coma...they couldn't staring at you or judge you. Yoko could feel all her progress over the years in social interactions falling apart as she slide down the wall and landed on the floor. Maybe...I'll just sit here for a moment...I'm sure Kazuhiko and Haya have plenty to talk about... Yoko pulled her legs close and sat there, contemplating what to say and do when she finally had to interact with a conscious Haya.

WC: 629

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[Mouchou Haya]

'The war...' Haya remembered hearing about the initial gas bombings, that all seemed like yesterday to him; so much death... 'even the bloody pontiff's ticket got punched! For heaven's sake!' and that had all been half a decade ago? It was a tough pill for Haya to swallow. Still, at least the culprit got taken down, apparently. Although Haya would have loved to off the bastard himself. Nobody bombs Tenouza and gets away with it, especially when your friend and weapons technician is the Grand Commander's little girl.

Still, there was more;

Kingslayers: a group of rogue assassins running around killing nobility? It seemed like Lightning was moving from one crisis to the next "Why now? Why wait until after the war to make their move? Just what the hell are they after..." Haya thought out loud. He had a gut feeling he'd get the chance to find out soon enough, as soon as he got himself out of this hospital.

Haya was about to speak up when he heard someone, or thought he heard someone. It was familiar....

Being 'asleep' for so long gave Haya plenty of time to dream... sometimes he'd hear a voice or two during those dreams; a few more often than others. The voice he had just heard was one that had changed slightly over what he had just now learned were years of 'dreaming', but was always recognizable.

"Y-Yoko-ch-?..." Haya said, he wasn't sure what just happened. Was he still out? Still asleep? Still dreaming?

"Oh boy, tell me I'm not going crazy from being down so long, Kazuhiko-san." maybe he was losing it, who knows what hell being KO'd for years will do to you.

 

[Suzuki Setsu]

Kichida Kazuhiko​

A voice drew Kazuhiko's attention to the doorway before he could respond to Haya's question, it was Izawa Yoko, who had been a friend to both boys during their youth. She had retired to help her family recuperate after the civil war, but had recently returned to the village. I know I asked her to come back to the village during that mission in Sekai Yuki, but I didn't expect everything to be resolved so quickly. Well, it's good to have her back, he thought. "Welcome back, Izawa-san? Kazuhiko's greeting turned into a questioning statement as he felt an unsettling shift in his stomach, like the space around him had been altered somehow. The feeling was gone as soon as it had arrived, and Kazuhiko was left just as confused as Haya. "You and me both, Mouchou-san. I could have sworn that Izawa-san was just in that doorway. But what...," Kazuhiko trailed off as he considered the situation before him.

What was that unsettling feeling earlier, Kazuhiko wondered to himself. He was pensive for a few moments before realizing the cause. "Ah, now I get it," he said, standing and walking to the door. "Wait just a moment, Mouchou-san, I'll find our friendly ghost." The answer was so simple, Kazuhiko berated himself silently for not realizing it sooner. Under Itonami-sensei, Yoko had been studying Temporal Strider techniques. As a fellow pupil of Itonami-sensei, Kazuhiko had been tasked with assisting her training at times, and he recalled that odd sensation he had felt earlier was a side-effect of his Seikon space-bending abilities clashing with her time-warping abilities. Itonami-sensei had been studying how they interacted with each other, since according to prominent Lightning scholars space and time were intimately connected. When mastered, the Temporal Strider could effectively cause a short period of time to revert back to a previous setting. The amount of time reverted was extremely short though, so that meant that if Yoko were to have used this power, she couldn't be that far from the room.

Sure enough, as soon as Kazuhiko stepped out side the room, he found her. He sighed, but couldn't help but smile at the situation. "Welcome back to Kumogakure, Izawa-san," he said, "though I don't think that making people doubt your existence is the best way to greet them." He couldn't help but make light of the situation, it was just too funny. And Kazuhiko was real glad to have some of his old compatriots back in action, most everybody he had known during his academy and genin days had all but disappeared, and Kazuhiko never usually showed it, but it got rather lonely after awhile. Not to mention knowing that his protege had up and joined a group of known terrorists, bent on the destruction of the current leadership of Lightning Country, including Kumogakure had placed him in quite a depressed state of mind. Grabbing the curled up girl by her collar, he dragged her into the room. "Sorry for the wait, Mouchou-san. Someone would like to say hello again, properly this time." The heavier topic of the current state of Lightning Country could waitr. Kazuhiko wanted to enjoy the company of his friends a little longer.

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

Izawa Yoko​

Yoko looked up as Kazuhiko exited the room and welcomed her back. She wasn't surprised that he remembered the feeling of her time shifts, but she was a little disappointed that she was caught. She returned his smile though, feeling happy to be back with some of her old friends. This happiness was short-lived, however, as Kazuhiko lightly chided her and dragged her into the room. Yoko was thankful that she had her legs lifted, because they weren't covered and floor burns underneath your thighs is both painful and awkward. He released her and stated that Yoko was here to properly say hello again. She sat there for a moment, thinking about how she wanted to rise from the floor. Her new fashion choice was a short dress so she could maneuver better, but this meant it wasn't easy to get up from the floor without giving people a nice panty shot. Yoko blushed lightly as she had to spin from her butt to her knees, a move that covered things mostly, but there was still a possibility that her black lace panties had been visible. She then rose from the ground, holder her dress down in the back and finally stood straight. She looked at Haya, who looked just as thin as he had last time she visited. It made her think of a story she read where a boy slept for seven years so he could defeat a great evil as a man. Looking at how half a decade had effected Haya, it seemed even more implausible that the hero was fit to fight after seven years.

Realizing that she had been staring at Haya for a while without saying anything, she blushed and looked down at her boots. "It's...good to have you back Haya." Yoko really wanted to give him a hug, tell him how much she'd missed him, and say how proud she was that he'd made it through. However, Yoko wasn't brave enough, nor did she know just how Haya felt. To him, it would have seemed like only yesterday that the two had talked, if he remembered her at all that is. For Yoko, she had spent years without him in her life, and it had felt all the more dull because of it. What would be an acceptable response for Yoko might seem out of place and awkward to Haya, and the last thing she wanted was for Haya's first moments awake to be awkward and unpleasant. So Yoko stood there, silently thinking about all the things she wanted to say to Haya and hoping that the two boys would just decided to ignore her and talk to each other.
WC: 447

 

[Mouchou Haya]

Sorry about disappearing, Real Life came down hard. Again. It needs to learn when to just let me be. Fo' realz. >.>

Haya couldn't help but chuckle a bit as Yoko was dragged back into the room, the whole situation just seemed so silly to him. He almost felt sorry for the poor girl, being dragged back into what must have been an awkward situation for her- but he just couldn't deny that it amused him.

There was a bit of an awkward silence; Haya took the opportunity to take in Yoko's appearance. Just like Kazuhiko, it was obvious that the years had changed Yoko- although they did so in their own way. 'Wow... she's gorgeous.' Haya thought, he might have blushed, but if he did he hid it well. He did smile, though- that unmistakable, somewhat foolish looking grin that signified that Haya thought everything was all right- for now.

Yoko's greeting felt shy, awkward, and unmistakably familiar. It gave a small sense of comfort to the young man- times change, the country goes from one mess to another, but Yoko was still Yoko as far as he could tell. "It's good to be back, Izawa-san." Haya said, rather clumsily backpedaling his tone from earlier- although he probably would have been just fine addressing Yoko informally he was still somewhat unsure. Of course, odds were he was just making the awkwardness of the situation worse.

"I'd ask for a hug, but for all I know I'm at risk of breaking my everything if I'm touched." Haya teased, chuckling a bit under his breath. He didn't have a care in the world right now, he just wanted to enjoy this company while it lasted. He'd have time to catch up on assassins and politicians later.

 

[Tanuki Rinko]

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Izawa Yoko​

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Yoko smiled brightly at Haya's response. It was just what old Haya would have said. Yoko released a breath she didn't even know she was holding. The accident hadn't affected his personality, at least on the outside. But selfishly, that's what Yoko cared about for that moment, to hear him act like almost nothing had happened. However, as she was about to finally speak up, a nurse entered in the door. <B>"I'm sorry, but visiting hours are nearing an end. I'll have to ask you two to leave for now." Yoko's heart sank a little. That's what she got for coming here so late. She had procrastinated in fear that Haya was gone, but now she kicked herself for waiting. Yoko nodded to the woman before returning her attention to Haya. She smiled, her posture obviously more relaxed than earlier. "I'll come visit the next chance I get Haya, so think about what you want to talk about!" Yoko waved as she turned towards the door, then motioned for Kazuhiko to do the same. Everything's going to be alright now. Haya's awake and my shinobi life is going to continue. I'll do my best, for everyone! After one final look at Haya, Yoko left the room to resume her training as a kunoichi.

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