Corruption entertains compassion

Mortarion was more than amused at her attempts to find a way around what he had just proposed. She was very well spoken and hid her fears of not only him but what everything entailed very well. The more she attempted to push away the more he would allow his tendrils to choke what other arguments she had thoroughly till they were all killed. He'd of course have to use more words where usually he would use force and death to get what he was attempting to gain.

"A figurehead without a title is not truly in power. The both of us making this union official in the eyes of the people....and your god, will show to the people that you have have their best interest and also have managed to gain control over me."

He spoke briefly before sipping his wine once more allowing her to catch up before continuing once more.

"Under your new guidance they'd be free to leave and come as they saw fit. However even a free people need to be guarded and watched to be protected. The walls are as much a defense as they were a separation tool. They can be re purposed to aid with crime and any other law breakers, I see it as a positive rather than something that should be deconstructed, they were made to protect this village after all."

He mused around in his head what exactly she was thinking about and what she would say as he spoke and it made the beast inside him even smile at the idea of what could be said. His voice would slightly grow darker at the mention of another god however.

"There will be only one god that Kumogakure will openly serve.......however I will allow secret sects that I have no knowledge of. If they openly practice their faith outwards I will have them murdere/I will have them placed in prison. Everything you have stated are alterations I am willing to make as of this moment, you are the only one holding your people from being free as you intend it. I do not want Kumo to remain what it is currently, which is why I have offered you this chance to be the one who makes the change that I can not."

With his finishing words he once more went to task of reading her body and seeing just how many more excuses she'd be able to fabricate. All the while Epidemius spoke in his head a small muse "run little mouse....run"

His words assaulted her ears, the truth and conviction in them hurting her more than the implications they carried within. If this was a game of poker, he was calling her bluff in every way possible. Akihana had never been good at poker, the inability to lie made the game somewhat doomed from the start. Fortunately for her, she had never played for such high stakes, not until now, and not with a man who may well be the best liar in the land.

"I suppose I don't have an option but to take your word that living conditions in this village with improve with my acquiescence," she intoned, her soft voice tinged with the beginning of defeat. She couldn't bluff. This game had been over before it began. She had vowed to herself, the Goddess and to her people that she would do whatever it took to free them. Committing to matrimony with the man now styling himself as Raikage fell into the category of "whatever it took." Despite the fact that her flesh had begun to crawl at the very idea of the proposition, she could not deny that this was the reality she had come to face. Hostages came in many forms, even those of wives and children. No one knew better of that then the blonde sitting opposite Youka.

"Over a year ago I offered my life in exchange for the safety and well being of Kumogakure no Sato," she began, golden eyes lifting up from her plate to look directly at the man currently responsible for her situation. "Even if my sacrifice meant little in the end, nothing has changed," she added in a quietly firm tone of voice, the finality evident in each note. There was no bluff to calll because Akihana never lied. She had said she would do anything for the freedom of her people and now it was time to fulfill that promise. "I would still offer my life gladly for my people, in any capacity I can." And now she was calling his bluff, to see how serious he was in his declarations of a new Kumogakure, a free Kumogakure.

"I know you don't hold faith with Gods and deities," she finished, dropping her topaz glance once more. "But I would advise you not to challenge them regardless.  Because despite my answer today, I've always known one fundamental thing about myself. I was never meant for the aisle, and in attempting to bring me there, you are challenging forces well beyond the controls of us mortals." The statement wasn't a threat, more a concerned warning. Everyone deserved friendly advise before embarking on a futile quest. With asking her hand in marriage, Youka Tau may well have invited death to his own doors.

Is it a trick of the light? A vision of the Lord of Kumo's long dead conscience? Or perhaps were his claims of untapped power were true?
Whatever theories run through Youka Tau's head, what he see's, as he flows into the seat beside him like the wind he was so famous for, is a familiar outline, of a familiar figure which reaches for a drink calmly...
Before the familiar shapes gaze flicks toward him, and something like a display of power, yet so very alien of a feeling would wash over the Lord of Kumo, and even past the whispers of the Demon in his head, past his own whispers..

A Familiar voice cuts through the fog, like the voice of a Vengeful Spirit or a Wrathful God like the ones he reveres, a God of Typhoons and of Time, of Man and the World he's surrounded him.
The words break through as time seems to freeze around the Lord of Kumo and His voice cuts through, while the feeling of ice and unseen blades trace over his bare back and up his spine.


And just like that, the vision is gone, the Wraith of That Man, vanishing like the winds vanish past a pair of curtains, and one is left to wonder...Was he ever actually there? Or was it simply a warning, from one of those Gods the Priestess speaks of, in a form of a Man who could have once been called an Instrument of Change in the world.
And does it even matter? Only time will tell, and so we continue the Tale of Youka Tau and the Tale of Akihana Akari.

Her threat carried weight, not for the fact that it came from here mouth but because just for the briefest of moments in a time that wasn't his own to control he felt a presence. He knew it wasn't possible, however nothing was impossible for the man that he had once regarded as someone that hadn't viewed him as just a weapon meant to be turned against something. He had seen him as maybe slightly human, and for that he had been repayed with death or so he had thought. the late Echo, and he used the word late with very loose holdings had a way of always getting to your core and it had reached Mortarions core with a resounding aggreance to the woman's words.

"I'll take your words into consideration, truly. If this is to be me leading on to the path of ruin then I will walk it head held high. This won't be the first time death and destruction has come to me, hopefully it won't be the last. As for offering your life, I don't want nor need it, You are free to come and go as you see fit, however these are our people just as much as where ever you hail from. You are not a prisoner Akihana Akari, you are an equal now and will be treated as such. This is a union that need not be consummated as I have no inclinations towards that area we will simply speak the words seal our lives and move forward."

With a pause he stood up from the table moving to look out the window that overlooked the entire village.

"I do want the best for this world and i believe i'm the only one capable of uniting this world under one name. It is also something I've realised I cannot do alone via the methods that i am used to. So I will need to better myself in the eyes of the people and eventually the world. That is where you come in."

Akihana couldn't determine if he was brave or foolish in challenging the Gods, for Youka Tau wasn't the only one who had heard the spectral whisper. Though perhaps it was unfair to say that. The blonde hadn't heard anything specific, she had simply felt it, the warm gust of wind that surrounded her sometimes when she was at her saddest, at her loneliest. It had taken her a long time to understand what it meant but now, as the small current blew though her silk golden locks almost like playful fingers, she kunoichi knew she was not alone.

She had never been alone. Her faith kept him alive more than anything else could.

"I did not come here to cause you harm, you know," she spoke softly once he was finished, golden lashes lowered once more. She had done her best to warn him of the dangers that lay ahead, surely she couldn't be blamed for not fulfilling her duty. If he wished to stoke the anger of beings more powerful than he could even imagine, then that was on him. "But it seems you are determined to do that all on your own, and I can't in good conscience let you do that. Maku said you were his best friend, I would never forgive myself if I gave up on his best friend."

His revelation that she would be treated as an equal she took with good grace, the terms of negotiation better than she expected. He wanted to play the role of a benevolent Kage but the thing about roles was the realism they took when played long enough. Perhaps with time, he would truly become the part he had played for so long. Until then, there was little choice in the matter. Her way forwards was clear.

"Earlier today you offered me an impossible choice, and I asked for more time. You gave me three days. how many days can I expect to have to consider your... " The medic tried not to flinch as the word "proposal", her pale hands clenched tightly in her lap as her golden gaze remained firmly downwards. "Proposition? I would need to consult with several of my old friends before I can in good conscience give you an answer. you need not worry about security breaches in the meantime, my friends can no longer harm anyone... The attacks on Kumogkure a year ago saw to that."

If she really was to be given free reign to travel within the village like she used to, the first place she would visit would be Echo's grave, followed by Yaju's mountain home. Friends died but friendships lived on. Other emotions did too as the gust of wind earlier had proven.

Indeed I did offer you a time to choose, the same time frame that you were given applies now to both decisions. It should be more than enough time for an answer and for you to consult with the very gods you now say will attempt to see you not wed. Such fickle things gods are."

Most of what else she said he had drowned out because it was more of the same and he didn't reply to things twice over if he didn't need to. Turning to sit back down at the table he just looked over the womans frame, he could read her emotions all over her and it pleased him to see such human emotions being so readily read and put forth.

"Go and consult all those that you need to, this village is now as much yours as it is mine. Of course for my own reasons I will still have Akuoy accompany you around to get you better aquainted with the area. Once he is no longer needed you may dismiss him."

Three days, she heard him loud and clear despite him not having said the words. This morning she had thought the hardest decision she would have to make would be to decide who to take away from Kumogakure with her but she had been wrong. The hardest decision she would ever have to make would be this one, to not rescue people by taking them away but by staying in Kumo by their side, as their token First Lady.

Never one to display rudeness despite the occasion, Akihana reached for her napkin, dabbing the corners of her clean lips. The food that had made it to her mouth had been a mere formality and so was this. You dabbed at your lips regardless of the presence of crumbs, you stood up politely in honor of the meal eaten, and you thanked your host even if he was the person responsible for the permanent feeling of dread settling deep inside you. "I thank you for the meal," she spoke, rising gracefully to her feet, hands folded neatly in front of her to hide how badly her fingers were trembling at the notion of his suggestion and offered timeline.

There was no point in continuing the pretense of the meal, she had three days and none would be wasted pretending this was not what it was, a stone cold political negotiation. The Raikage had set her up to lose, she had never been very good at emotionless deals. But he had left it to her how she chose to fail, and the kunoichi would make the most of it. If he wanted the stubborn, persistent ray of light in his dark world, she would try her best to leave him at least momentarily blinded.

"I shall see you in three days, take care of yourself until then." With that, unless interrupted, the blonde would walk towards the door, feeling Akuoy slipping like a shadow behind her a few meters away. Presently, her guards joined the invisible watch too but in that moment, she had no words for the silent party following her home.

(Exit)

TWC: 5, 426