The Dealer of the Cards (Akihana,IO)

The day had been long and his travels had lead him here. It had been quite a long time since his travel to the land of Waterfall, its lush and vibrant hues dulled by the color pallet of the night. With the moon reaching its apex and lit with orange, his eyes dipped from underneath his hat as he crossed his legs and smiled a wicked smile. Smoke slowly billowed from his mouth and nostrils as he shuffled a deck of cards slowly, strange symbols etched into each one of the fifty-two card deck. With some grace in his fingers he continued to shuffle them moving some over his knuckles and some between his fingers.

It was some tradition for people to get their fortunes read on such an auspicious day and luckily for most this Hyuga had a flair for the dramatic. The first pair that came into the village for the festivities stopped due to his allure. The coat that silently flickered in the desolate winds of the night followed by light flickers of both light and dark lightning called to them. A small smile took on his features as he shuffled some more and laid all the cards out for the two to see," Pick your fortune and see what the future holds," his voice playing on the atmosphere of the night. The young couple were scared but went along with it as they sat down and awaited their future.


As each drew a card they were only seen for a second before they were mysterious taken from sight and placed to the left and right of the respective couple, six more being seen in front of them as he spoke," Pick two between the both of you and flip them to me as they are," as he spoke they did just that. The scales of judgement and fate were revealed to him and he simply smiled as the other cards floated into the air, lightning crackling into the air as he nodded. "How quaint. Be true to your love and you will go far, but do not stray to far from the truth. One of you harbors a tale that will make or break this love, but unto fate be true. If you reveal with it in the best of intentions your love will blossom unto you like the moon itself," and as his interpretation finished the cards would float back onto the table and his yellow eyes would appear from the brim of his hat as he billowed a small plume of smoke," and with that you may enter."

The cards were slowly collected and shuffled back into the deck as he listened for his next customer. As one would walk by the card of judgement and death fell onto the table, his eyes looking from the two cards to the person who came up," It looks like the cards have a meeting for you preplanned. Who does fate and death call upon you to meet mm? Or is it a judgement for something you have done in a past life? Sit and let the cards unfold your future," the yellow eyes dimmed under the hat as the cigar's ashes crumbled into the wind.

His eyes melded a look of confusion and curt defiance from underneath the hat as the man who had once collected the cards sat the deck down onto the table and crossed his hands together. An error of the human mind was always that one might have seen their future as none existent, but while "Card" reading was as illusive and mysterious as the flow of chakra that embodied each person and organism on this planet it had its own way of digging through what should not have been. Looking to the woman from the shadow of the hat he only smiled as he finally gave way to replying to her," The cards merely tell what in which has, have or can happen for your present or your future. Whatever you "think" isn't there will always remain. Whether or not you accept your consultation is up to you. You are a woman of medicine no?," as he spoke this another deck of cards were pulled seemingly out of his jacket, a single card placed in front of her.

The card was unique in the fact that when placed in front of her it didn't show a single aspect like the other deck. Instead an image of her holding a book and needle appeared on the card. A sly smile creased his features as he shuffled the deck a bit and sat it down," Choose four cards. They will all be blank but after setting them down a story will play to show you the future," once she did he would wait looking at the back of the four cards intently before she had set them down. From his end six other cards were set around them and the rest of the deck to his side as his hands went over those remaining on the table. Crackles of black and white lightning filled the air and the cards as a story came to life, the man simply being the narrator.

"A life filled with misery and happiness. You've been gone from this world for a long time only to come back to what you know being spiraled and changed. You have met those you have once lost, but it doesn't seem like its enough. You want the world to be like just how you remember, but there's one you haven't seen among the living. A gho- No a specter it seems," his fingers tap one of the cards indicating a figure clad in shadows. "Its someone close, maybe someone who gave you new life, but do you really miss this ghost? The story leads to...Hmm how interesting. The present. You and one other meeting under interesting circumstances. This last card here?," and as he speaks upon it the card floats into the air and hovers before it spins out of control and faces her.

The Specter. One whom she has met and no longer is here. The card flips and flashes before it reveals a man clad in rags and robes, a staff by his hand and a bolt of lightning behind him. The male chuckles for a moment as he sits the card beside the medicine one and shakes his head," Fortune favors the bold as one once told me. This card only means that you have met whom you have missed in some semblance. The staff denotes his otherworldly prowess, or a sage. The lightning is his tenacity and sporadic, yet wild nature. You say you have no future but tell me this Akihana Akari...What have you seen of your future through these cards," and as if on cue the wind took the hat from his head, and their eyes would meet.

The familiar gaze that held its forever wild motif, those yellow eyes staring into hers as the last vestiges of his cigar smoldered out of existence. The homely smell of the cloves he once smoked and the scar of his since birth. The young Kage held one of the cards in his hands, a unique card denoting a wolf among the mountain as he spoke," So is the devil in the cards or is it in the man my dear little light?," his voice trailed for a moment as he caught his hat at the last moment and sat it into his lap, waiting for the reaction of someone that was once his closest friend.

The cards fell to the table with a small rhythmic clack as his hands took them into the deck with care, never breaking the line of sight with the woman. She had confessed more than he thought she would and honestly it was good to hear. Knowing that she felt some remorse for the course of the actions that had happened made the male feel better, though he did not however know if she was atoning for the past or the present. As he collected the cards and continued to listen to her thoughts, his senses stretched far beyond her for a moment before coming back. It would seem she was the last for the moment and as he stuffed the cards back into his inner pockets he could feel the touch of her fingers across her face. It was something he had honestly not felt in such a long time. The light touch of someone along his face. He had not been back for long and yet it felt just like yesterday that their world was still somewhat together.

As he spoke a single had of his traced through his hair returning the raven locks she was familiar with to their now snow white color, an after effect of his "rebirth" so to speak. " It is truly me. After so long of being dead and being stuck in limbo someone or something allowed me to return back to this plane. My original body was indeed piked by that monster, but my replacement body, the one made by the soul amethyst had been tucked away safely. Unfortunately the nature chakra housed within kept rejecting my soul for sometime. So I sat within the house where we had met for seemingly the last time. Whatever the "Pure" place was didn't want to keep me so finally I was given my body back and here we are. I've yet to fully recover but i feel great. I've even met with Kurisu during my short time up," there was a small smile on his face as he returned the hat to his head and tipped it up.

He didn't ask about Kazuhiro or Arata because he had assumed that the two were off gallivanting about on some adventure together, but he was worried about his son. He had only met the lone wolf cub in spectral form, but what would he say to the boy now? The thought had troubled him but for now he would simply try and catch up with his old friend," So tell me Akihana what have you been up to since our talk? Surely the world has been treating you more kindly than I?," it was a question he was sure he wouldn't receive the answer that he would hope would come to be, but as he sat there and rustled around in his pocket for another cigar, he kept his eyes on the woman to see just how she was truly taking in their reunion.

When the male indeed confirmed that he was Yaju - something that he didn't have to do because every atom in her body was telling her it was the truth - Akihana felt the world return. the mists of her subconscious cleared, the memoirs unfogged and the painful twinge of years passed solidified into a sharp piercing sensation that made it hard to stand but even harder to live without. In a world where the dead were returning, her friend had also found his way back.

Not thinking much beyond that, the blonde would launch herself forwards, a choked sob halfway lodged in her throat and wrap her arms around the young Kage in a hug if permitted. It was him, she could feel it and he had confirmed it. No illusion would be this cruel. And if it was an illusion, it wouldn't be this painful. Every beat of ehr weary heart resonated painfully as she held the former Raikage before letting him go to wipe way her tears.

"Nature energy comes at a price,' she agreed when he divulged how his soul had been forced in limbo, not dead, not alive, not free. He was not the first person who had returned from the dead to encounter his experience and Akihana had learned that just as in life, people experienced death differently. If some thought dying would leave their past behind, they were mistaken. n the end, people usually got what they thought they deserved.

And Akihana knew Yaju deserved better, no matter how he had perceived himself.

" So tell me Akihana what have you been up to since our talk? Surely the world has been treating you more kindly than I?,"

Following his lead, the kunoichi sat down cross from him, pulling her knees up to her self and hugging them close in an effort to curl herself into the smallest position possible. The world and how it functioned may have fundamentally changed but he blonde still harbored no illusions over how much space she deserved to occupy in it.

"It has now," she responded, wondering how tell the story of a lifetime in one conversation. but then again, if anyone deserved to hear it, it was Yaju. Taking a deep breath, she began.

She spoke of her marriage to Youka, making sure to stress how she had not been forced into the arrangement nor had she been asked to do anything against her will. She spoke of Hoshigakure, the village she had helped create after Kumo and her return to it. She spoke of the failed venture of joining the countries together in a bond of peace and then being forced to escape. She spoke of her deep sleep and her subsequent awakening. She even spoke of finding the only anchors she had remaining in the world, Denkiteki Hayato. She spoke of simple village life and the fear of using her chakra. It felt like she spoke for an hour, letting out the pent up emotions inside of her. Some parts of her story were accompanied by tears, others by rueful smiles.

The only things she didn't tell him were the slugs' purpose and about Araya... Arata and Kazuhiro. The first she hid from him for his own safety and the second to ensure he never lost hope. Arata was gone but his son may still be alive. And if they could find him... Reuniting a child with his father would atone for the sins of her past, or near enough.

"What about you? Other than meeting Kurisu-sama, have you seen anyone else?" the question was muted, hesitantly phrased. Had the rest of the Disciplinary Squad returned too? "Where are you staying? Do you have a place.. Are you eating properly?" Yaju hand't looked after himself in the best way even when he was properly alive and the blonde doubted the situation had changed now that he was reborn.

The hug was expected but it was not unwarranted as he hugged the woman and rubbed her head gently, almost as if time had went back for him. As the woman slowly went back into her chair he would begin to listen to her tale, knowing that this was beginning after there then last moments. He was...perplexed and angry at the fact that she actually went through it of her own volition, but maybe she had a reason that he was not seeing. He knew of what happened to Kumo after his "defeat" and subsequent death, but this was...probably too much for his mind. He had to resort to lighting another cigar in order to calm himself and he simply listened in silence. She had made a new home for herself with the same people that sacked their home. His eyes or the small pupils that were somewhat still there slowly began to dilate into small, narrow lines as he took in a deep breath and nodded. Life for her had seemed fine, but he didn't know she was withholding information from him and he wasn't going to call it.

When she asked of what he had done he leaned back into his seat and let out a small plume of smoke to the right of him so that it didn't go into her face," I have not met too many people honestly. Kurisu still has a daughter running around, one i've never seen or heard of before....But she was fully his daughter. As for a place to stay? I have no intent on returning to Kumo...Rather staying there. I will return to see what has become of my home and to gather some things I will need for later. As for my eating habits? Well i've only been topside for a day or two, but i've torn holes in taverns for food so I guess I have been eating well. There's a lot that needs to be done before I consider settling down once more...And once I finish what I need to maybe i'll become a farmer. Take up a new pack and live the rest of my days in some forgotten area to myself," the male was thinking it over.

Honestly he had never had a "quiet" life. He was the bodyguard of the Raikage's daughter. ANBU captain. Raikage. Disciplinary Squad member. He had only known combat for so long, but he never knew what a simple life without it was. Maybe he should do what Kurisu was doing, but without the flashy bar or dealing with people. He knew how to tend to land, but never used the skill. The gears were turning in his mind but that begged a single question from him," If you aren't in your village anymore where do you stay now?"

Throughout her tale involving Youka, Denkiteki and her journey from and away from Haven, Akihana didn't look for reactions on her friend's face. The blonde knew that if she saw anything akin to anger, worry or judgement, she would stop speaking immediately and she really needed to talk. Of the many, many things Yaju deserved in his life, honestly was the least she could offer him and so she would. Every secret of hers that she was authorized to reveal, she would tell him, leaving out only details of Maku and her stay in Shikkotsu Forest because those were not her secrets to give out.

When the former Kage confessed to Kurisu having another daughter, Akihana nodded. She had never known the man beyond the intimidating figure he had been upon her arrival in Kumo so many years ago but from what she had heard, it wasn't unlike him. "We have another member of the family," she noted with a slight smile because that was what Misaki and the others had always been to her: family.

" If you aren't in your village anymore where do you stay now?"

"There's a little restaurant in Fang Country, just off the coast of Kumogakure," she replied. The blonde completely understood his wish for a simple life, it was a common wish among ninja who had achieved the highest rank and powers imaginable. The price of such ultimate power was always a great sacrifice, and as a result everyone who had attained it only wanted to give it back in the end in favor of a peaceful existence undisturbed by their past.

"I found some work there, and I help Denkiteki at his clinic sometimes. I... don't trust in my ability to heal anyone anymore but I can file and sort and give out numbers. The restaurant actually did the catering for tonight," she added, indicating the grand ball going on far away. "You should come visit sometime, all you can eat on the house, special best friend discount," she promised with a small smile. The more time she spent with Yaju, the more she felt her old self returning.

The conversation slowly evolved into hearing about her as he leaned into his chair and nodded intently. She sounded as if she was done with being a healer which...bothered him a bit honestly. She was always the type to use her healing for good and yet here she was saying that she had all but gave it up. He would not make a comment about it instead choosing to nod here and there to show he had been listening. "It would seem as if you were going through a lot of tribulations during the past few years. For you to give up on healing however is something I thought I would ever hear from you. As for meeting up with someone...hmmm well its better in numbers I suppose. Umeko is...odd. Definitely not like any Ametsuchi I have met or seen so it is yet to be determine how she would fall in place with our family. As long as Kurisu has a place of happiness and one of his daughters about all is fine with me," he spoke as if he was reacting how Kurisu would. The man had been dealt a lot of bad blows, but with the return of one of his daughters maybe it would return back to normal.

Yaju turned his head slowly to the cacophony of sounds that emitted from the structure not too far from them, eyes narrowing if not for just a moment before returning back to Akihana," You don't say...I heard this little thing was thrown by Sakura Corps, which made me think that little weasel is still alive somewhere. If it is Ganki pulling the strings for this he and I need to have a nice little chat. Of course its mostly just me wanting to see an old friend and all," as to the gesture of free food on the house he would laugh," I don't think you have enough food to accommodate that promise Akihana. I can eat far more than a normal person especially when I am ravenous....But maybe one day I will take you up on that promise and come try the food," he was not sure if he could keep that promise, but he would definitely consider coming to try the food.

He smiled for a moment as he turned his body to fully face her," I think I might pay one more visit to Kumogakure...See how things are and see a few old faces. I know the place is probably nothing like how I remember, but my house is still there. So I need to do something about that and if I can? Bury both Misaki and Kuro. Maybe just torch the place as well if I get too sentimental," there was a small laugh that came from him, but how much of that could be taken as truthful? The night was forever young though he wondered how long he would stay here under this guise before walking off into the night. Maybe he would continue to indulge in this trip down memory lane, but the night was always his. Let's see how it treated him.