What do you mean you can't see it? [Open]

[Kurosawa Hiraku]

[Topic created with Ghost dNPC Airi]

"Is it a cat?"

"Nope." Airi replied as she spotted the same cat which had prompted the suggestion from her brother. "I thought as a Shinobi you were supposed to be observant"

"Sorry, I must have missed the class on 'I spy with my little eye'." Hiraku replied as he cast a weary look towards his cherished sibling. The dull morning sky was sapping what little energy he had at this hour, he tugged at his clothes to try cover any areas which were failing to keep the piercing cool air at bay.

As the pair continued their walk through the village streets there were many sights to see, people going about their lives, children running around without a care in the world, their parents running after them trying to keep them under control. Hiraku stopped, he caught sight of a scruffy looking man bundled up at the side of the street, another look revealed a translucent blue figure next to him. The pair shared a look which told them exactly what the other was thinking in an instant.

A few minutes later Hiraku emerged from the nearby shop with a steaming warm cup of coffee, as he made his way over to the man the comforting warmth of the liquid radiated through the cup into his hands. Upon reaching the man he leant down and offered the beverage to him, "Here, you look like you could do with a hot drink." He said with a smile. The man thanked him and took the drink, grasping it tightly with both hands. At this close distance the blue figure was much more clear to Hiraku, it was the spirit of a large dog sitting next to the man, panting away happily, "Good boy." Hiraku said quietly as he made eye contact with the late canine.

"What did you just say?!"

The scruffy man was on his feet in an instant, the cup he was holding onto so tightly before now discarded on the ground in fury. Hiraku backed away quickly, holding up his hands as he realised what had happened.

"No no no, I was talking to the dog."

An argument which wasn't exactly well thought out or delivered seen as he was the only person here that could actually see the animal. As the man approached looking even more angry by the second, Hiraku continued to back away while trying to think of a quick way to explain the situation. Airi on the other hand, continued to roll around on the floor laughing at the mess her brother had gotten himself into. She was so useful sometimes.

 

[Ginyama Senshiro]

Suddenly a tendril of blood wrapped around the scruffy-looking man's neck and tightened, depriving his lungs of air.

"The hell?" he gasped, bewildered by his current predicament as he clawed at the blood choking him.

"Is that how you thank someone?" a meager looking child said from behind the man, garbed in white shinobi attire and controlling the whip that had spawned from his wrist.

"But he m-m-mocked me!"

"And that gives you an excuse to beat him up, or worse?"

"I . . . um . . . c-c-can't . . . breathe!" the man muttered before he finally lost consciousness. After loosening his grip on his throat, setting him gently onto the ground, then withdrawing the tendril back into his wrist, he turned toward Hiraku.

"The hell were you thinking calling him a good boy?" Shin barked at the senior shinobi, his blood red eyes glaring into Hiraku's own eyes.

 

[Kurosawa Hiraku]

"What the..?!"

Hiraku's words burst from his mouth as a dark red vine like object snapped up out of nowhere and wrapped around the scruffy man's neck. Taking a quick step back Hiraku readied himself as he traced the red vine back to its source. An unlikely looking assailant, all Hiraku saw was a small scrawny boy, but there was no doubt he was some sort of Shinobi by the looks of his abilities.

"What the hell is going on? Are we under attack?" Airi was on her feet and next to her brother in an instant. Hiraku ignored her and the frantic barking of the spirit dog as he watched the short exchange of words between the man and his attacker, all the while resisting the urge to jump in. He didn't know how this boy would react, he couldn't risk startling him and causing him to break the man's neck.

In a matter of seconds the man lost consciousness, the boy laid him gently on the ground and retracted the weapon, it didn't look like he was trying to kill the man but Hiraku had a duty to check. He quickly moved over to where the man lay and checked his pulse, he was still alive. The boy started yelling at Hiraku. Hiraku ignored the shouts as he stepped over the man lying on the floor to place himself between the pair, he looked directly into the boys blood red eyes.

"Be careful baby brother, I don't like this kid." Airi said as she too looked into the boys eyes.

"Who are you?" Hiraku asked, still standing ready in case the boy decided to try something else. Whether he got an answer or not he would continue, "There was no need to use any level of force against this man. He was harmless and defenceless." While the world of the living may have been silent save for the gasps of the passers-by who had witnessed the event, the low growling from the dog which was now standing next to Hiraku reverberated through his ears. Who was this kid?

 

[Ginyama Senshiro]

Shin scoffed at Hiraku as he berated him.

"I'm Akatora Shin. Son of Isaki Kushin and Isaki Karei," he introduced himself as he scanned the boy for any indication of his rank or role within the village. "As for that man, what would ya have done if I hadn't stopped him from laying a finger on ya? Fight him yourself? Run away while he chases ya? Or maybe you'd just stand there and keep trying to tell him that you were talking to 'the dog'?"

Shin shook his head as he sighed.

"Look, I know you're a good person: I saw ya buy that guy some coffee. So when I saw him getting ready to hurt ya, I guess I mistook ya as the 'harmless and defenseless' one."

"What I'm tryin' to say is that I'm sorry for bein' wrong, but I'm not sorry for doin' what I thought was right at . . . the . . . time. . . . "

His voice trailed off as he stared off into the distance, his eyes watering a bit before he closed his eyes and sighed again, the memory of his parents and their untimely death at his hands weighing heavily on his mind.

 

[Kurosawa Hiraku]

There was a sense of arrogance about this kid, Hiraku could see that he was being sized up as the Shin introduced himself and questioned Hiraku's ability to defend himself. It was obvious that Shin was angry, although his anger didn't seem to be directed towards the man he'd just attacked, instead it fell straight on Hiraku.

"Don't get sucked into this, you don't have anything with you." Airi reminded her brother of his position.

"Doesn't matter, we're here now." Hiraku said quietly, still not taking his eyes off Shin. He knew she was right, he was in no real position to fight if this kid turned on him and without a real idea of his power he had no idea of the risk he faced. He spoke again, this time replying to the boys questions, "I wouldn't have hurt him."

Hiraku felt Shin's demeanour change suddenly as he shook his head, the vibe he was giving off changed, it was less aggressive and slightly calmer. He explained his reasoning behind the attack and how he thought he was doing the right thing at the time. Hiraku noticed him become distracted as he finished his sentence, his eyes welling up as he appeared to fight back tears. Airi looked across to her brother, she didn't like the whole situation.

Easing himself out of his ready stance, Hiraku stood up straight and relaxed his shoulders, he had a feeling he wasn't in any immediate danger, "I can't blame you for doing what you thought was right."

"Hiraku, don't do this again. You're too quick to trust!"

Hiraku knew she must be serious, the only time Airi really used his name was when she was genuinely worried, he swivelled his head round with a reassuring smile on his face, "Don't worry." His words were calm and quick, he turned back to Shin who still seemed to be struggling with his emotions, "You're a student at the academy here aren't you." He sincerely hoped his hunch was right, if someone was running around the village uncheck with powers like that something bad was bound to happen eventually. "I remember they taught us how much of a danger we could be to civilians if we weren't careful." As he spoke he heard the man starting to stir behind him, the dog retreating back to his side.

 

[Ginyama Senshiro]

Who is he talking to?

I suppose it's an imaginary friend, much like your precious Okami-sama.

Shut the hell up, Leech!

As Shin's internal dialogue with Zansatsu continued, Hiraku lured the boy's attention away from the demon sealed within him by recounting his own days at the Aurora Eruditio.

"You . . . you're a shinobi?" Shin asked, shocked that the revelation. "Then I guess I owe ya another apology then: I had mistaken ya for a civilian."

His eyes darted towards the man, now starting to stir awake.

"Well, I don't want to cause any more trouble," he admitted as he walked past the other shinobi. "Hopefully we'll meet again under better circumstances."

Shin kept walking for a few feet before turning about-face.

"Oh, and by the way . . . you're not the only one with an imaginary friend," he confessed with a wink before spinning back around and continued down the street.

[Topic Left unless stopped]

 

[Kurosawa Hiraku]

Shin appeared to be surprised when Hiraku let on that he was a shinobi, it was understandable as without his equipment there wasn't really anything else to distinguish him from a civilian. It seemed like Shin decided it was best for him to go and let Hiraku clear up. As the boy passed close by him, Hiraku watched closely, he couldn't suss him out.

"Oh, and by the way . . . you're not the only one with an imaginary friend,"

At first Hiraku didn't really understand what the boy meant, he tended to forget that people couldn't see Airi floating next to him, and tended to forget they couldn't hear her side of their conversations either. Airi wasn't as slow to pick up on it as her brother.

"Who's he calling imaginary!? If I wasn't dead I'd kick his…"

The outburst helped Hiraku realise what was meant by the remark, "Airi, leave it, we've both heard worse than that." If it wasn't for Hiraku reeling her in, Airi would have probably stormed off after him in her futile argument with herself, "For now we should get this man over to the hospital and have him checked out." Looking over his shoulder Hiraku noticed the spirit dog pacing around the man, sniffing at his face.

"That guy broke the law by attacking this man, you need to report him."

"Maybe…" Hiraku leant down and put the man's arm over his shoulders, lifting him up. He had no real intension of reporting the boy, he was more lenient that his sister and sympathised that Shin was only trying to do what he thought was right, even if his chosen method was way out of line. Hiraku had been in Shin's position before, all the students had. They were children being expected to take on great responsibility very quickly, mistakes happened, and Hiraku had made his fair share himself.

"By the way…it was clouds…" Airi rolled her eyes as her brother's blank face stared back at her, "Something beginning with c? You're hopeless sometimes baby brother…" The pair shared a quiet laugh as they made their way towards the hospital with the man.

[Topic Left]