Inchoate (Maku)

Spoiler:

For the first time in days, Akihana slept peacefully. No visions of the promised princess and the one who had just died haunted her dreams and though she woke up a scant few hours after her blonde head had hit the pillow, her golden eyes opened not tiredly or reluctantly but with a new spark in them. The source of the spark would remain unknown to the medic as she performed her morning oblations and then snuck down to the kitchens in search of the scullery maid from last night but the spring in her step could not be missed. She passed a sleepy looking guard who really made a good show of reaching for his sword upon sight of her, only to relinquish his grip on the weapon and nod respectfully towards her with a mumbled "Beg Pardon, Princess."

Maybe he dreamt about the dead princess too.

Upon reaching the servant's quarters, Akihana found the maid asleep and without waking her, made her way to the rickety wardrobe, pulling out the first dress and cape she saw. It was a green that reminded her more of overflowing swamps than lush forests but it would do sufficiently for now. Leaving a note and a handful of Ryo on the girl's writing table along with the promise to return the clothes later, Akihana left the quarters as silently as she had entered.

Maku hadn't really told her where he'd met her, simply stating that it would be at the palace. The palace though was a huge structure that, if counted with the grounds, could take anyone two days to fully explore. So once the blonde had changed and pinned her hair up into it's usual braid, hiding the golden color under the swamp green hood of her cape, she ventured to the roof once more. He had after all joked about making it his spot. And if they had to scale down the walls, well, that was easily accomplished. Under cover of darkness, Akihana spared a glance at the stars that were still out. Here and there, an odd one twinkled a little too brightly, demanding attention and bringing a smile to the young woman's face.

Wiping his hands clean on the white towel that was now a soft pink Maku sighed.  The meeting had gone on longer than anticipated and what was already meant to be a short night had become almost nothing more than a cat nap.  Making his way through the dead streets, be found his way back into the palace grounds and then to the roof.  There in one of the alcoves created by the architecture he promptly fell asleep.

Not the most comfortable of places perhaps, but it did the trick all the same.  The sleep was a dark one.  No dreams, no interruptions, just that kind of sleep where one sees darkness and then promptly awakes.  It was Akihana who woke him.  Not on purpose perhaps, but as her chakra signature came closer, and the soft soft sound of her feet on the roof neared, his own mind caused him to wake up.  Though his body wasn't exactly happy about it.

Walking over to where she was he would rub his eyes sleepily.  His hair would stick up in all directions at stark contrast to his normally very well kept appearance.  Little did anyone know, Maku suffered from one of the worst cases of bed head imaginable.  Even the thought of a nap would sometimes cause strands to abandon their post like the worst soldier in history.  His clothes would be the same as last night, just a slight darkness under his eyes would prove how his night had gone.  His hands, though he hadn't realized it would still be slightly red, the meeting apperantly harder to wipe off than he had thought, though it had escaped his notice so far.

"Good morning..." He would say between stifled yawns.  He was not a morning person, instead the morning was a necessity that refused to be ignored.  Logic and decision making proving it vital, even if it wasn't appreciated.  "Well, should we get going?"  He would say, every moment he was awake he would slowly start to come more alive.  From the groggy and zombie shuffle at first to the familiar spring in his step slowly coming back, as if it needed a brief warm up.

As they left the roof and then grounds he would ask, "well how was your night?"  He would say conversationally.  His wit not quite ready to be of any use to anyone.  As he answered he would stretch arms fully out stretched, only to give her a slight push in a playful way.  If she gave him a reproachful look he would merely smile and put on his best innocent face, as if it had been an accident.

"The first building is just up here.  Should be on the corner, 2 stories I think."  He would say reaching into his jacket and pulling out a flask before taking a drink.  Closing and then opening his eyes wide the liquid proved to wake him up a little bit more than the early morning had done so far.  Offering jt to Akihana he would add, "thanks for coming by the way.  This might have been a boring day otherwise, besides free labor is so hard to come by."  He would add with a wink.  They were just about a block from the building and they'd probably arrive as she spoke.

If Akihana had assumed she would be in for a bit of a wait before Maku appeared, she was proven wrong. No sooner had she stepped on to the palace roofs and looked up to admire the late lurking stars, she could feel his chakra, perhaps a bit bleary and unsteady, but his nonetheless, meander his way towards her. The kunoichi took in his sleepy form and couldn't resist a bright smile. Though she doubted the blond would appreciate being told this, he looked almost exactly like Arata on mornings her six year old begged not to go to school.

"Good morning," she greeted cheerily, knowing it would likely result in annoying him more than waking him up. But annoyance got the job done sometimes too. And morning people were severely annoying this early in the morning to non morning people, a fact the young woman had used many times to her advantage. "Did you sleep out here on the roof?" The blonde would wait to hear a confirmation or denial, eyeing his crumpled clothing and mussed up hair. They told their own story even if he went down the denial route.

When he asked if they should get going, the medic stopped for a moment, pulling out a small plastic wrapped, lumpy looking packet from her cloak pocket. "A sandwich?" she offered, extending the small, cling wrapped token his way. "I liberated it from the kitchens, it's nothing fancy but you shouldn't start the day on an empty stomach." If he were to accept the sandwich, Akihana would fall into step beside him. If he did not, she would stow it away for later. Food was often a useful thing to carry around here, she'd learnt. The kunoichi didn't respond to his slight shove, merely looking over at him as though to say "really?"

They made good time as they crossed the palace grounds end walked towards the buildings he had somehow managed to come into possession of. and when he offered her his flask, the blonde assumed it was coffee.

And then she caught the scent.

"You are not drinking that this early!" she pointed out, shaking her head firmly, she stored the flask away in her own cloak, ignoring any protests should they abound. "And this place looks a little big to just be two stories?" she added, considering the structure carefully. Not that Akihana knew much about architecture but in a city where poverty and squalor was the norm, it didn't seem like space would be wasted, especially a good sturdy shelter like this one. But then again this as the better district, perhaps living standards had been higher here?

"We'll hav to go in and see, and when did I ever say I'd be doing this for free?" she asked with a bright grin as she headed towards the door, reaching up to knock politely out of habit before dropping her hand back down instead. "So.. do we have a key or..." Akihana was well aware that acquisition of assets didn't always come with the right paperwork.

"No I slept on the moon.  My clothes you see got rumpled on the journey, a terrible thing really, though alas we all must suffer for certain details."  He would say to her question of where he made his bed.  As he did however he would briefly touch the cuff links to change his clothes.  Immediately they would transform from the rumpled purple to something much brighter.  It would be a stylish pink suit, with matching sunglasses, cause sunglasses are cool.  For good measure it cause his mask to look like a fez which he adjusted on his head.  It also was pink, because you only live once.

Spoiler:

"No thank you, I'll eat in a bit". He would add to her advance of a sandwich.  This seemed to be a common thing with this girl, which seemed alright, but he would have to be careful.  What if she actually put miniscule amounts of arsenic in her sandwiches, and was slowly killing everyone around her.  Maku's eyes would suddenly squint as he looked at her, seeing her for the murderer she most likely was.  Damn, how could this have been overlooken.........suddenly Maku found he liked her even more, she was an evil one.  Now, he would have to prove it in good time, but not today there was other work to do.

As she took his flask he merely reached inside his suave ass jacket and pulled out another from Discord and took a drink.  Giving her a wink.  If she tried to take this one he would blink forward a couple meters to prevent her from being rude.  He forgave her rudeness of course, sometimes people were rude on accident after all.

The building was in fairly decent condition.  It needed paint, a couple windows could use replacing, and the door well it would have to go.  A golden kick would send it off the hinges, before the brief flash of gold would evaporate into the air.  "Well my dear, in afraid I can't afford to pay you with monetary values.  I'm poor you see". He would say making a mocking sad face.  Just as quickly he would flash a grin, "guess you'll have to settle with my company, don't worry I accept change I know it's worth more than this minimal task, also beauty before age I think". He would add being the first step through the door way with a small laugh.

His eyes scanned the room for any squatters who could pose a danger to their job, but everything seemed on the up and up.  The furniture was rough at best, the dust was thick, and the smell of mold was, well it smelled like mold.  A sigh escaped his lips at the idea of all the work that would need to be put into the place.  "Well, best to start soon, after all this is to be an A class house for gentleman and ladies to errrr spend some leisure time.  Can't let it look like this."  With that he would begin to clean, finding a continent closet with cleaning supplies.

"Maybe not the most fun way to spend the day, aye? You can still back out you know?" He would add to Akihana as he began to move tables and sweep the majority of the filth.

A frown of disapproval touched her pale features slightly as he produced another bottle from the depths of his... suit but Akihana left it at that. She had yet to earn the right to tell him off for things, and until then she could turn looking disapprovingly at people into an art form. She was a mother after all, and the look had about as much success with her six year old as it had failure, so fifty fifty. Her golden eyebrows did shoot up in surprise as he entered first, stating that beauty should go before age. Until now, the kunoichi had no idea he was biologically younger than her, which begged the question of how he knew she was older.

Perhaps she was simply starting to look old? Akihana sure felt it most days. Never having been what people would call conventionally pretty, the young woman had had to live through additional responsibilities from a young age so it wasn't surprising really, and it was even more surprising that the revelation no more bothered her than Maku pointing it out.

"Darn, and to think I forgot to bring my purse. But then again, I'm sure mere Ryo wouldn't be enough to measure your company against," she replied, her face perfectly straight and her tone as polite as if she was speaking at court with the Queen and her advisers. They entered the building as inconspicuously as they could, almost as if Maku wasn't particularly bothered with being found out. The lurid colored suit, the relaxed gait, the sound of a door crashing open, all testified to his lack of fear in a city known for crimes. She could have worn her fanciest, most indecently cut gown and piled on all the royal jewels at this rate, instead she had chosen to be discreet. A concern her companion did not seem to share.

The inside of the establishment was not too worse for wear as far as buildings in this city went. For one thing, the roof seemed intact, and there were no gaping holes in the walls. Maku made a note about windows before reaching for a supply closet with cleaning tools inside it, making her shake her head.

"You don't sweep the floors first," she corrected, retrieving a rag and some papers to take care of the windows first. "You dust the ceiling and the higher fixtures because all that's going to end up on the floor anyway, then you sweep the floors last," she explained before reaching for a chair. Placing it beneath the window, the kunochi lifted herself up on the furniture and began to clean the top of the panes, wiping away at the dirt and using the paper to protect the glass from further damage.

Using a combination of her water nature as well as the skills that seemed to naturally accommodate being a mom and cleaning up after a tiny force of nature, Akihana hopped lightly off the chair. As she had cleaned, she would have listened to Maku should he have said anything and responded appropriately. And if there were moments of silences, the kunoichi would have found herself humming softly under her breath as she worked. It felt good to do something with her hands after so long.

"Hang on, I'll go see if there are windows in the adjoining room," she said, making her way to the area which may have served as a kitchen at one point. It was hard to tell what the place had once been, perhaps a restaurant of some kind. No windows greeted her but the row of shelves looked promising. The kunoichi opened each one, looking for cleaning supplies, perishables and anything that was noteworthy. Her quest seemed in vain until she reached the last of the cabinets, opening it only to find a tiny little squatter.

"Hey there," she called out, looking into the small brown eyes that greeted her dolefully,

The medic re entered the main area carrying a small puppy in her arm, its white and brown fur dirty and it's frame nrrow but still steady. In her other hand, she held the sandwich she had offered Maku earlier, offering the bacon in it to the little dog. "Looks like we have a stowaway," she grinned, looking at Maku. The puppy added a small whine, not quite energetic enough to bark yet. She surmised it would require more feeding for that. "What do we do with you, little guy?"

"That's alright, you can just owe me." He would say matching her seriousness when she mentioned her lack of change. In fact it was with cool confidence making it hard to tell if he was being serious or playing along or just making conversation.

As they talked and cleaned the place began to quickly become if not clean at least marginally hospitable. After all he didn't need it ready to open the next day, just good enough for when some of his group came they could do the rest. The building was large, and if cleaned up would be more than comfortable. Perhaps it had been a sort of inn as the room Akihana had gone in seemed like it could have been possibly a kitchen.

With this knowledge as he watched her open cabinets in search of....something he would already formulate the exact nature of the building. An inn would do nicely except with a women's touch, and if they paid extra two women's touches. The thought brought a smile to his face, not because of embarrassment but at the investment oppurtunity. He had always lived poor, even as a leader in Yuki if it wasn't for his taking liberties with privileges he deserved or maybe didn't deserve. Now the idea of making a little money was like a new challenge. It had never been important, and it still wasn't. It was the challenge really. Just to see how much he could make.

As his mind raced at all these plans she presented him with a mangy creature. His face contorted into something resembling a smile as she was obviously pleased with the.....thing. "Ummm I guess keep it.......but not indoors." He would say with a forced cheeriness. He swore he could see a flee from here. He was certain his original thought of get rid of it was probably not appropriate.

"Isn't he the most adorable thing you've ever seen?" the blonde coo-ed at the puppy, completely oblivious to Maku's feelings regretting the stray. The kunoichi continued to feed the tiny mongrel as the hand that held the puppy glowed softly with healing chakra, mending all signs of the harsh life the small adorable animal must have been forced to live. It must have been hiding in here for a while as she was positive had someone spotted it in the streets, they would have simply eaten the poor thing.

At her companion's joke about not having it indoors, Akihana merely let out a giggle. "Of course indoors, where else would the poor thing go?" she asked, bending down to place the puppy carefully on the floor. The critter gave a happy yip once before making it's way towards Maku for the same affection it had received from Akihana. Unless impeded, the dog could attempt to brush up against Maku's leg, begging for more food.

"Hmm, what shall we call you," the kunoichi wondered out loud as she moved to gather the rest of the cleaning supplies. It had taken a better part of two hours but the place was starting to get in decent enough shape. After all, Maku hadn't said it had to be spic and span, so seh assumed they were only going to make it habitable at present. Besides, there was more than just one building to inspect.

Once they were done, Akihana looked up at the male, the question clear in her topaz eyes. Where to next? Before leaving however, she picked up the puppy once more. She wasn't going to leave him behind to fend for itself.

"What do you think of the name Cupcake?" she asked as they left, heading for the next place.

"Ummm he is for sure a thing...." Maku would say at what he viewed as an unhealthy attachment in the making. The creature to him looked....like a creature. It wasn't a good looking dog like a poodle or one of those adorable dogs that looked like a mop. And besides now that was a dog, it could fetch the paper and dust the floor on its way back. Honestly why couldn't people see that animals needed to be useful not just little beasts to eat food off the floor when you drop it.

She didn't seem to take him serious about the thing not coming inside.....which was probably alright. He doubted she would actually see the inside of most of these buildings when they finished any way, so he just let her think happy thoughts. The little demon could run and poop in the palace all it wanted if it stayed away from him. Which at that thought it started to come near him. Carefully he stepped over it and walked away so it never had the chance to spread its disease to him. "Well we best finish up.

The cleaning went quick, as the ugh he hated to even foul the word in how mind, puppy, boosted her spirits. In a flash they were done and walking down the street further into the outer parts of the city, leaving the looming palace behind. "Cupcake?" He would say. It was a question, that pretty much meant....."ummm what". But he also never offered another name so he hoped she wouldn't take it as an affirmation of the name instead of letting her know how silly it sounded.

The walk would take around 15 or 20 minutes but they would arrive at a proper two story house. This one was indeed a house, and not just any house it was the home Maku specifically meant to make his own. It had been the home of the son of the southern districts crime boss. Though neither needed it now. Using a key this time he would let them in. It was mostly furnished, though a little dull for his taste. To many nice warm Browns and not enough vibrant lime greens. "Well this one I mostly just want painted if you don't mind."

He had some people drop off supplies his time, so unlike the building before or the ones that would come after it was a simple matter. Spreading me out some plastic on the floor he would show her 4 diffrent cans. A pink, a lavender, a lime green, and an orange. "Now you can paint however you please but solid colors only per wall and no two walls the same color that touch thank you please." With that he would get working.

As he did he would eventually stumble upon a jewelry box. Opening it he would toss the majority of it in the bin. Ugly gaudy stones really. Eventually he found a simple ring with a small alexandrite stone. Taking it he would slip it in his pocket and return to the room Aki was working in to see her progress.

the walk to their next destination was uneventful, or at least as uneventful as anything with Maku could be, the puppy nestled closely in her arms as she strokes his ears and followed the male happily. The sun had not quite risen but the glow of a purple down bathed the city, turning parts of the horizon a shade of pink Akihana wasn't entirely opposed to. The streets were definitely quieter this time of night - or morning - she noted though a while later the blonde was forced to draw the conclusion that there was another reason why the place was so... calm.

Perhaps it was simply that she had never ventured into the more quiet district of Hoshi, preferring to lose herself among the throngs of civilians with their various problems. A part of Akihana was always drawn towards crowds as opposed to quiet places, filling her with the sense of purpose she needed more than being alone in a quiet place with her own thoughts. She'd had enough of that in Sanctuary, and no matter what the trouble with this place, at least it had people, people and other things to focus upon to distract her from true solitude. Never comfortable as the center of attention, the kunoichi didn't enjoy being center stage when it was just her and her subconscious. Akihana's life revolved around people, not herself. And the last few months had forced her to focus on herself far too much.

"Cupcake is a good name," she agreed absentmindedly as they walked, the pink spreading across the sky slowly but surely. She wondered how the boys were doing. If Arata had calmed down. Had enough time even passed in Sanctuary for him to? "Oh look, it's a new day," the random observation as made as they reached the threshold of the next building.

The house they entered in didn't need much cleaning, perhaps a bit of dusting here and there but otherwise it was handsomely painted and furnished. The medic was just about to ask they they were here when Maku pointed to the buckets of paint, making her raise a golden eyebrow inquiringly. Why anyone would want to paint such a nice place in such glaring colors, she couldn't explain, and then it occurred to her that Maku might be turning it into a place for children. Yes, those solid chockablock walls would be covered with banners and murals. Perhaps a daycare center, or a place for kids to have play dates and study.

With a grin, she took a few of the buckets with her and began on one of the inside rooms, a bedroom at the moment but which would likely be converted into some kind of nursery given the bright walls. For the next hour, Akihana painted the walls a magnetically clashing combination of orange and lime green, fetching a ladder to start from the top. Jutsu could have accomplished the same affect but it was more fun this way.

By the time Maku finished and entered to inspect her work, all the walls were done with the furniture perfectly protected from paint. There were however neon paw prints all over the papers covering the floor from when Cupcake had gotten a little too excited.

"I'm almost done," she reported happily, reaching up to brush a strand of gold from her face, leaving a small streak of orange on her cheek. "It would have been faster if I had used jutsu but...  It looks okay right?" She wouldn't want to do substandard work fro the kids.

2521

Walking back into the room and hearing her question seeking approval a grin slid across his face. The multitude of clashing colors was exactly as he had saw it in his mind. So boring it was for a room to be a single color, even worse a boring color. Why not step inside a manageri of colors instead of a puddle of mud. "Yes I think this will do nicely. I have to say I love it." He would say spinning around the room for a brief second until he stood next to her.

"I think I can live with this quite nicely really." He would look at Akihana and then an idea doran. To his mind. "For such a good job, I'll tell you what here is your reward." Slipping the ring out of his pocket he would in a flash attempt to slide it on her left ring finger. Unless she resisted or dodged for some reason, in which case he would react differently. The tiny alexandrite would sparkle in the new sunshine, even though it was clear this was not some expensive piece.

"Your reward is you can be my wife for the day, all I have you are set to inherit should I come to an untimely demise. Though, at midnight I'm afraid you'll have to stop living the dream.....sorry best I can do." He would finish with a shrug and a mock business face before turning and falling into a chair. It seemed a proper reward after all, probably only should have given her an hour or two, but hell he was a giver.

As he took a deep breath in, several unrelated thoughts began to fight for his attention. As it was these days he knew he was prone to melancholy even after jolly. It was something he hadn't been able to shake since the battle of sanctuary. His face fell just a little bit before looking at Akihana. "Akihanna what is it you really want to accomplish here? Will you bring your son to grow up here?" He would ask, a weak grin on his lips. His bright blue eyes staring in her direction, but clearly focused elsewhere.

No matter her answer he would continue. "Do you think all this will give you fulfillment? Keep everything wort going, is worth even doing? I feel like.....well Akihanna have you ever read a book? No not just any book, the greatest book in the world. You read and read, you massacre the candles and still your eyes hunger for the next word. You fall in love with the charecters, their faults their quirks their virtues. Thy aren't perfect, but they are yours in the story."

He would take a breath and let everything he said sink in. "You keep reading and the story ends. You both feel accomplished, and sad because the story is over. You say good bye to the charecters and you move on with your life, only it isn't the end. You soon learn of another book coming out, a sequel. Your heart explodes with joy and anticipation." He would give. Alight laugh. "You get the book and you begin reading. Only, something is wrong. You still love the charecters, the story is.....alright. But something is wrong, and deep down you know the story should have ended with the first book."

Standing he would walk to one of the windows, opening it to let a warm breeze in blowing back his hair from his face. "You see Akihanna, that is my life. I'm performing a sequel that never should have happened. I hope the story ends soon though......." Just as quick as the melancholy had started, it was over. When he turned the weak grin was gone, and his familiar smile wrestled control of his face, his eyes back to twinkling instead of drifting.

"But what are we doing? We have one more building id like to see, and we must finish before lunch, I never miss lunch." With that he would lean back and fall right out of the window laughing. No jutsu would be used, and instead he would crash magnificillent onto a cart that was full of silks. Had he seen it from the window, or had he really just risked his life for a bit of fun. It was hard to say, even for himself. The merchants yelling would only be rivaled by Maku's own roaring laughter at the whole situation.