Casuistry (p,Aki)

It was true Maku thought as he rested  on the bench.  This place did deserve to be named after the stars.  The sky was alight with thousands, no an unimaginable amount of stars.  They formed not so much a constellation, but a river of lights.  A thing of beauty one rarely heard of, let alone experience.   His sky blue eyes reflected the lights as he simply watched and sang.  Something he hadn't done in some time.  Suddenly a brief memory came to mind, singing with Youka as they entered the gates of Iwagakure.

So many things had happened, so many things still to happen.  These where not the proper thoughts on the eve of what was to come.  A spar, a contest, whatever you wanted to call it Denkitki and himself had agreed to enter in martial contest.  While death wasn't on the table, he knew if the same blood ran through his brothers veins then he would take it seriously just as Maku was going to.  Yet he lay here watching stars, singing tunes, and thinking of a past that would never reoccur.

It was always in the quite, when there was nothing to do that e actually missed his friend.  For a long time he had believed his body was devoid of such emotions.  He had to be, the things he had seen and done.  Many with his friend, to allow a personal connection would have been the destruction of his psyche.  Now however, so far removed from the Warriors life......it made one think.  It wasn't the blood and the battles he missed necessarily, it was the brother ship he had shared with Youka.  Trusting his life to the man, and in turn coveting the honor of doing the same for his brother.  

Giving his head a little shake he wiped the sweat from his cheek, at least that's what he told himself it was.  The night was humid and still warm.  The wood hot from absorbing the unrelenting rays of the sun.  Yea, it was a good excuse, so good he believed it......at leas the told himself he did.  

As he sang he could hear the voices of several fancy birds that roamed the gardens.  He had taken a liking to these creatures whose plumage was so vibrant.  Their voices mixed with his, a lullaby to the night, though the night had gone to sleep hours ago.  It had to be near 2am he thought.

His return to Hoshigakure had happened mere hours ago.  His first stop was checking on his business ventures.  All of which where running in full force.  Making sure everything was running smooth for the festival hadn't taken long, and he ended up with greater time than intended.  His home though had merely felt to confining to rest in.  He had spotted this spot on one of his trips around the city, and now with no one to bother him, he had decided it was time to visit in earnest.

He didn't know what life had to offer, he wished there was a sign.......something to show him the path he was to walk.  The game of running the criminal circuit, and that's what it was to him, could only last so long to someone like Maku.  These nights of quite and peace......they weren't for him.  Yet, they seemed to be taking a liking to him all the same. Closing his eyes and wiping away one last bit of perspiration he continued to sing.  His chakra sensory completely ignored, his senses so honed in combat dulled by his own attitude.  Here there was but a boy, laying in a beautiful peace, and offering his one decent talent to nature.

Now Akihana couldn't really remember why the search for Cupcake had led her out of not the palace alone but towards the Water Gardens. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she hadn't slept through the night properly in the last two weeks - easily explained by her worry for her children. Arata remained confused and quiet these days, unwilling to admit that he missed the familiarity of Sanctuary while Arashi was plagued with nightmares of his mission, it was only reasonable that she stay up to make sure they were okay. Perhaps it was because of her worry of the queen's declining health. That too would justify the inability to get peaceful sleep. Ever since news of the Bird princess, Her Majesty seemed to have given up on everything, choosing to remain quiet and withdrawn. Perhaps her search had been triggered by Akihana's innate sense of needing to get away from the palace, something she hadn't done in days. Perhaps her fragile psyche had latched on to the idea of looking for a puppy at two in the morning as an excuse to escape the confining rooms she was given with all creature comforts yet no emotional security.

"Here puppy," she whispered guiltily, arguing that it was loud enough for a dog to hear and that a canine's sense of smell was their primary tracking device anyway and that she was hoping in her heart of hearts that if she took some time in finding him, she would get to stay out a bit longer. Her luck lasted for about ten more minutes as she unconsciously neared the Gazebo in the Water Gardens, finding the dog happily digging away at a random spot in the ground. Shaking her head, Akihana picked up the little creature, it's barking and yipping subdued in favor of extending a tiny tongue to lick at the kunoichi affectionately as she picked it up off the ground.

"What now?" she asked Cupcake, and as predicted, the puppy continued to lick her, remaining otherwise ignorant of the question. It was as she stood there underneath the hundreds of stars blanketing the sky that Akihana heard it, recognizing the voice before her chakra sensory on alert picked up his signature. The warm rush of rose tinted energy drawing her towards the Gazebo as though in a trance, her mind not ready to believe what her senses were picking up. Akihana approached quietly, the little creature in her arms just as silent.

In her studies, the kunoichi had read that certain sounds have the power to accelerate heartbeats, this naturally occurring phenomena was usually imbued with chakra for sound based ninjutsu and genjutsu because its natural affect was too mundane to be of any use to a shinobi in a shinobi world but as she approached, following the sound of the light singing, she supposed this was what the theory referred to. The feeling of gladness inside ehr at spotting his return to Hoshi was of no use to a shinobi in a shinobi world, and yet it did exist.

Taking a seat quietly on the bench beside the one he was lying on, Akihana set the puppy down beside her, tucking her pajama clad legs under her body, her loose blonde hair tinted more silver by the night sky still in a partially messy roll on top of her head. It wasn't often that one got to hear Maku sing or play an instrument and it would be a shame to interrupt him now. So she simply sat and waited, commiting to memory another memory that was good enough to remember without a token,.

As the song finally winded down, and he felt his voice grow quite on the last note he would look up and see a familiar site.  Perhaps it was the lateness, perhaps it was from exhaustion, but he didn't even jump or react in an overly dramatic way.  No instead a thought of familiarity and almost anticipation crossed his mind.  Of course she was here, she had a knack for appearing, and he seemed to have a knack for finding her without trying.  It was an interesting phenomenon indeed, but not one he gave a lot of thought to.  Instead just accepting it.

"Shouldn't you be getting some sleep?" He would say lightly.  Viewing her form upside down, choosing not to get up and instead remain laying on the bench.  His eyes were still blue, no sharingan present on this night.  His sword lay on the ground out of reach as if it had merely been dropped on his walk to the bench.  Closer to her than himself.  

He took in her appearance over the course of a moment or two.  His first question simply hanging in the air.  It was spoken lightly, but it lacked the sing song quality it sometimes acquired during the day light hours.  "I like your hair that way by the way.  I think it fits you better."  He would add before closing his eyes once again.

Picking up his song in the middle of the chorus he would sing very softly, almost so softly it couldn't be heard.  The night air stirred only briefly, enough to shake his own hair free from the headband he often wore to obscure his face.  A single wet strand of hair remained hanging low.  

Akihana, what a strange person she was.  Maku still couldn't figure her out if truth be told.  She was an anomaly in his world, someone who simply refused to fit into what he had peacefully constructed as how he thought the world ought to work.  It ranged from being interesting to irking his nerves to no end.

Yet despite that, he found himself not upset to be disturbed.  The silence......well, he wasn't going to argue with breaking it up.

"I got some sleep earlier," she admitted honestly, keeping her voice as low and unobtrusive as her chakra signature. Used to making space for others around her, Akihana folded herself in the same way in every aspect. Perhaps some kind of greeting was in order, but what kind she couldn't begin to imagine so his initial comment on getting some sleep would have to do. The kunoichi allowed the ghost of a smile to flit across her features as he commented on her hair. She wasn't sure if he was making fun of her current state or actually meant it but either way, he was here and they were talking, and he was singing. And some things were good enough.

The blonde let him pick up his song again, not wanting to interrupt until he was done. The amount of questions she had could wait, would perhaps go unanswered forever but that was alright with her. It was only when he was finished that she asked the first one, not the first one in mind but the first that she could ask.

"When did you return to Haven" Awaiting his answer, she would feel the puppy nuzzling into her side, reaching out to stroke the little creature's head as she waited for a response. If he answered, she would nod and if he did not, she would continue anyway. "You know, some people think it's rude to leave without saying goodbye."

Raising an arm to fully allow Cupcake to crawl into her lap, Akihana would let the puppy droop its head on her knee, smoothing its coat as she spoke. "Cupcake here was very offended. He couldn't believe you would just leave like that. I had sit him down and tell him that it was going to be okay and that you'd be back soon." The dog, far from lending credibility to her story simply let out a little snore, having fallen asleep in her lap.

Tired golden eyes glinted in slight amusement as Maku didn't move from his own position, quiet comfortable where he was she imagined. In that way, he and the puppy were more alike than either would care to acknowledge.

"Oh, and thank you for the note," she added. The tin of banana wafers and the rose had arrived when she was with the boys, sitting with Arashi through another nightmare but seeing it in her room had managed to put a smile on her face that would otherwise never have appeared under such circumstances. "I take it you had fun on your trip?"

"A couple hours ago I suppose.  I haven't really kept track of time to be honest."  His answer would come even as his eyes remained shut.  "I took care of a couple things, then......well I couldn't sleep so I decided to come here."  He would add truthfully.  Sleep wasn't really on the agenda as it was, no need to lie about it.  Besides the bench was comfy enough, no need to lie and increase bad karma and risk a cosmic scale tipping in the form of a splinter.

Giving a small chuckle when she mentioned the dog being upset he actually opened his eyes, blowing upwards messing the hair out of his face.  "I never say good bye.  Not for some cliche reason out of some dusty book.  I don't say good bye, because I don't.  It's not me you see."  Closing his eyes again he would continue a little softer.  "How could I say good bye really?  Memories keep us with everyone we have met, a good bye is just a couple of silly words.  I refuse to give them power."  Hearing the slight snore he would quickly add, "plus I see he is over his pain, a trooper no doubt."

"Mmm not a problem.  It wasn't anything really"  he would say at her thanks, giving his hand a little wave.  "It was an alright trip.  I was really only in Konoha for a very short time.  I ran up to flower country for that rose, but left shortly after that as well.  Only there for an afternoon"  He would finish.  

The truth was his trip had taken him no where.  A small town, one he had simply stumbled upon, that was where he had spent the majority of his time.  Singing in a bar, earning tips only to leave them on the street for anyone to pick up.  It had been an intresting expierence.  One where he hadn't used any of his shinobi skills until his return to Hoshi.  It showed a life outside of the ninja code, one he had found not all the terrible when he really thought about it.......at least while the music played.

"How about you?  Keeping busy I'm sure, you do run yourself a tad ragged.  I hope you took time to smell the flower."  His voice remained soft and calm.  Eyes closed, his breathing was light, so light at times his chest barely seemed to move.  It was relaxing, this place.  He could almost hear a gentle sloshing of water, he didn't know where from but in the water gardens it wasn't an unfamiliar sound.  "I'm sure you couldn't have even had a chance to miss me, I've been gone what? 14 days is it?"  He would add, trying to tally up the days in his head and finding they simply had run together, almost impossible to differentiate.

His men had mentioned the coming of the prince, besides what her own letter had revealed. Though accounts from third parties where naturally bias, he would make his own opinions at a later time. The rest of Hoshi had expierenced a relatively crime free two weeks, though that would begin to slowly change now that he was back to oversee the city. though the riots some of his men had mentioned were a tad annoying. If they didn't stop soon, well he would see them stopped one way or another. Though he hoped with the festival people would wear themselves out and it's become a non issue.

Falling silent, she would have her opportunity to add or ask more questions.

Akihana listened quietly as he explained that he had been back for only a bit. The inability to sleep she could relate to even if suddenly the world had grown heavy under her eyelids. Perhaps it was the night sky, the singing or the fact that she was already in her pajamas but sleep didn't seem as fearful an idea as it had done these last two weeks. Certainly Cupcake had succumbed to it fast enough. Lucky puppy.

"You didn't miss much while you were gone," she assured him, unsure whether he wanted to be brought up to speed or if he already had been and was just indulging her. "Prince Arthur's arrival has been doing a lot to raise the city's morale. He and the princess were quite the public's favorite it would seem," she explained with a hint of a smile on her lips. Of course, the admission would need an explanation of why the city's morale needed boosting but Akihana didn't want to think about Hoshigakure divided unto itself at the moment. Why Den's leadership was being called into question she could never understand since the young doctor only wanted to help the people of this country but she supposed it was another one of those things she would never truly understand. The ways of hatred and ill will were forever lost on the kunoichi despite how many times she witnessed the acts.

"There was also a bit of a tiff with a missing ninja who tried to enter the city but Den sorted that out as well. I don't understand why people put themselves in these situations but from what I heard, no one got in any real trouble."

His refusal to say goodbye and then to accept thanks for the tokens left her quiet once more, pondering what he said. He didn't say goodbye, so she supposed that was that. I wasn't like she could interject or argue on behalf of the parting term. They had decided long ago they viewed the world differently, and that they were mostly okay with it.

"I haven't been doing much, just looking after the Queen," she admitted, lowering her gaze to the bench, her golden eyes trying to trace the oak patterns it was made out of. Someone had told her you could tell how old a tree was by counting the rings or something. Akihana saw no lines, the only ring in the picture the one that nestled on her left hand, glowing faintly under the stars. "Arashi was sent to the borders a while back to retrieve the Bird Princess who was supposed to claim Haven's throne. Only... that princess didn't make it so now the Queen is left once again without an heir. Except this time she seems to have accepted defeat. She didn't contacting any other family and I suspect the High Septon has been murmuring superstitions into her ear, something about the Kingdom being cursed by the Shinobi. I wish I could tell her that there's no such thing but..." Akihana trailed off, unsure what to say next. She herself had always held a special place in her heart for the Goddess Etro and yet never let superstition blind her to the inherent truth that all humans were good. If only Queen Shiera could see that too.

"It's been... interesting. Security over the city has been doubled since your note and I'm sure everyone will be on guard at the festival tomorrow. I wanted to get in some training earlier but I don't think I'll have time now," a wistful tone in her voice, the blonde continued. "Sometimes I really miss Sanctuary's time stalling properties. Living there for so many months, I suppose I'm still getting used to how fast actual time goes... and how it leaves everyone behind." Akihana wasn't sure if the thought made her sad or simply left her puzzled. Either way, the indecisiveness would be clear in both her tone as well as how she held herself. It was hard to believe that at one point she had wanted to desperately leave Sanctuary when now, some days all she wanted to do was return.

"I suppose that makes me a bit of a cowards and a hermit," she added more to herself than the young male on the bench beside her. "What is it like," she added, raising her gaze to Maku. "To have all the time in the world at your disposal?"

Listening he took in all that she said. Most of it had knew, perhaps not in her detail however. Of course he never minded hearing the same story from as many people as possible. Bias was a powerful thing, and only when a situation could be viewed through the kliedeacope of a thousand views could one truly see a clear image. As he continued to lay there, he began to think on the village, and everything that had been happening. Wondering what it was all about really, until something she said caught his ears.

"A coward...." He would repeat even after she asked her question. "A coward is someone who truly does have all the time in their hands. Who doesn't allow the unstoppable force of time to wash across them. In that way maybe I'm a coward. Though is t because I rush to fast or hold myself back I'm not are...." He would trail off for a moment before sitting up in earnest, his eyes wide and bright as if he had just awoken from a nap.

"I don't have all time at my finger tips, I have a lie in my hand." He would say with a playful smile. The entrance of the gazebo would flash, a door there now. "You have never seen my lie though, I'm afraid it can't compete with Denkitki's, but we do with what we have. Would you care to see it?". The door would be solidly shut, though a shining diamond door knob would twinkle with a thousand lights above a lock. "I've come to understand you don't like lies though, what if we just called it a fib.......a distraction from the day, we could spend a long time like that, if you want to...."

A tiny brass key would appear in the door, and Maku would only smile at her while she made her decision.

Should she enter, she would find herself with Maku standing next to her, inside the largest most magnificent restaurant one could imagine. No matter how far you looked it seemed to never end. With waiters moving between people, and brilliant silver ware reflecting the cascade of lights from the chandeliers. The Aroma of a thousand meals would fill the nostrils. Though each would vie for attention, never mixing so the brain was continually a washed in a new pleasure, each as glorious as the previous.

After a moment for her to look around a waiter would appear taking them to a table, and placing a menu before her. It would of course be blank. "Anything is on the menu, anything at all." He would say

His definition of a coward confused her, mostly because he made it sound like being invincible. If a coward was not subject to time and tide, did that make him or her strong or weak? Akihana had always considered living to be the best struggle anyone could have. In death, everyone joined Goddess Etro and her shroud, but this... this warranted some thinking.

The only thing she was sure of was that Maku was no coward. Regardless of what he thought.

Her question about having all the time in the world had been hypothetical, even a little wistful. Little had she guessed that not only would Maku take it literally but also offer to share the experience with her. When he admitted it was a lie, the blonde raised an eyebrow at him at him quizzically. It seemed he knew her views on lies, and fibs weren't any better because fibs let led to bigger fibs which were lies anyway.

But the way he spoke, perhaps it would be okay to believe in one little lie... If only for a little while.

"Alright," she agreed, first removing the puppy gently from her lap and then getting to her feet. Cupcake would be safe enough here. And if this was a lie, then it was better that he never saw it. After all, it wouldn't do to break his heart. "Just this once then."

With no small amount amount of hesitation, the medic entered through the doorway that had appeared, almost immediately, the world around her changed. It didn't matter how many times she had witnessed this,from her travels to her own pocket realm to Sanctuary and back, the feeling of everything around her changing, morphing instantaneously into the image of the person controlling that dimension left her breathless, even slightly winded. Space time jutsu must be the pinnacle of shinobi playing God.

Akihana hadn't been sure what to expect, what she saw however wasn't nearly as overwhelming as Sanctuary. they appeared to be in some kind of restaurant, a very fancy one but at least it wasn't a whole world. Akihana wasn't sure why the thought comforted her seeing as the restaurant seemed to go on forever and ever but it did. Feeling remarkable under dressed in a place of such glamour and prestige, she took her seat on the table the waiter showed them to, handing term blank menus to order from.

"Impressive," she commented, pretending to study her menu with a soft smile. It was beautiful, Akihana had heard most lies were. Beautiful and temporary. "So impressive in fact that I feel bad for ruining the pretty picture with," the kunoichi motioned to herself, her grey nightshirt still bore streaks of dirt from when she had picked the puppy up from his digging frenzy. "Sorry."

Waiting for a response, Akihana would study her companion intently, wondering why it was that he ever left this place if it was at his disposal. Did he miss the real world the same way she did? Earlier, he had referred to himself as a coward and yet she couldn't think of a more courageous act than leaving this world to allow risk and chance to take a hold.

"So, what's the chef's specialty today?" she asked, looking over the menu to address the waiter. He might have been a creation of Maku's but if he was in the form of a human, he deserved human courtesy. "I suppose we're feeling adventurous today so recommend away."

Maku's eyes would watch Akihana as she scanned the entirely blank menu. Watching her features, he would see how much of the lie she was willing to believe. Or perhaps she didn't believe any of it, but merely played along.....which really was just as dangerous. As he watched her she would look up and make a comment on her appearance. As she said sorry he would point behind her. "O I don't know, you look alright to me really...." He would say letting the word hang there for her to look around.

If she did she would notice every single patron was in pajamas. From nighties, to night gowns, T-shirts, to baggy warm clothes, and even a couple adults in absurd animal resembling onesie pajamas. "Looks like your in place after all." He would say as the waiter arrived at their side. His voice would be thick with accent that normally was displayed in the more northern countries. "Vell, ve have several delicacies on zee menu." He would say adjusting his coat. "Quail eggs, paired with ze finest lamb, drizzled in a cranberry reduction. Is particularly popular this evening."

"I think I'll have a peanut butter sandwich with honey." Maku would say interrupting, handing over the menu. He would watch Aki as she made her own choice. Whenever she did he would leave the glasses empty in front of them. Picking his up he whispered into the open glass just to have it fill with a bronze liquid before taking a sip. "So, away from the world, are you sure nothing of real interest has been going on? Not politics or that village, those can be so boring at times." He would say taking another sip. Merely watching her. As she started to speak the food would already be placed infront of them.

A genuine peal of laughter escaped the Kunoichi's lips as she looked around to see all the diners dressed in various forms of sleeping clothes, perhaps her first real one in over two weeks. Far from highlighting her features in a positive light though, the laugh revealed how utterly exhausted state she'd been in of late. Dealing with the loss of the queen's cousin, the nightly terrors of her son, the political unrest in Hoshi and the absence of... all those emotions had culminated into something of permanent smoothness on the blonde's face, almost believing that if she didn't show it, it wouldn't be as bad as it was. The laugh broke through the smoothness, highlighting the lines of stress on her forehead, the shadows beneath her eyes and the weariness aching through her frame.

Her laughter subsided when the waiter approached approach them once more, a thick norther accent perfectly at odds with where they were, or where they had been. Akihana didn't want to think it over much for fear of giving herself a headache. "I'll take the quail eggs, please," she requested, might as well try the recommendation and see if this lie served food as well made as Maku did personally.

"There have been a lot of interesting things going on," the medic admitted honestly. This might be a lie but she could never be a liar. "I just don't really know how to arrange it in a way to make it make sense. So how about we play a game?" picking up ehr own glass, Akihana followed his lead but instead of dark amber liquid, her chute filled up with dark red wine. Akihana hadn't drank properly in almost a year, and for good reason. A kunoichi she might have been her alcohol tolerance was shamefully low. Though this seemed like as good a place to try as any and better than most.

"When I was about Arata's age, the children at the academy used to play a game where they all lied and told a single truth, and the other team had to guess which statement was the truth amid all the lies. We thought it was a fun game but we didn't know the instructors were training future shinobi to spot interrogation ticks. I always lost that game." Pausing, the kunoichi supped from her glass, letting the wine slide down her throat. It was delicious even if she couldn't name it or ascertain any kind of age or ripeness of the fruit. "I couldn't lie. No one wanted me on their team."

The admission wasn't one delivered with bitterness or self pity. It was a fact. Why would anyone want a clear disadvantage on their team. "So I made up my own game where people only told the truth. It wasn't as popular but I could play it well. I wonder if I can play it now..."