The last vestiges of daylight played throughout the dense foliage. Beneath them the world shifted as an entire ecosystem of forest creatures made for their respective holes and hideaways leaving their nocturnal counterparts free reign of the world which was now theirs.  Shakai , scion to the house of the sleeping dragon waited beneath the branches of a gnarled cedar.

His mood while black in temperament was pensive. He had taken part in the battle against the traitor Seven Bells. This however was not a cause for joy and honour that one from a noble family of tacticians should derive from such an event. He had led a squad and indeed his command of them had been competent and even effective compared to the other sergeants. However in the big picture it was merely a small ripple in a vast ocean and his contribution made nary an impact.

He could blame this on the Mizukage or her lieutenants  for this failing but that was pointless. To gain command one must act in an exemplary manner and Shakai simply had not met such lofty requirements.

Shakais gaze flickered to the horizon. With the luck of the eight immortals Shizuka would be joining him soon. His broad shoulders stretched in an attempt to drive off the cramps and stiffness that were beginning to ingrain themselves. He had been barley in the gates of Konoha when a messenger from one of the villages dignitaries had breathlessly approached the hulking tactician bearing instructions for an urgent mission.

Exorcism work and a nasty job at that. Shakai had agreed on the one condition that he was allowed to bring a parter along on the mission. This was of course the young woman Shizuka who had had some experience with the matter at the Namahage festival.

Shakai wondered to himself (and not for the first time) whether or not bringing her along with him was a mercy or a curse. Shizuka was solitary by nature and the residents of Konoha held a deeply rooted distrust for the blind kunoichi. However what did he have to offer her?

In normal cases any human attention would be better than the incessant gnawing of solitude on the lone psyche. However Shakai was not human and what he offered Shizuka would inevitable take her farther and farther away from the world of men that already shunned her. Was it fair to cast her from the world of man and into the murky realm of Yokai and The Dead?

He had sent one of his familiars - a Gagoze to alert her to his presence and bring her to his if such was her desire. The beast was humanoid in appearance though taller and with a set of wicked fangs and talons. It would of course not harm her however. To disobey the orders of its master and break the summoning pact would mean swift and painful retribution.

Shakai remembered Shizuka mentioning that she was interested in getting some form of animal to help her with day to day tasks. He hoped that this was true for the company of a living breathing being could perhaps provide the girl with the vitality of life that he could not  muster.  

Time as in all things would tell.

 
She had barely slept the past few nights. 
Every time the chunin would close those empty lids and allow the darker curtain to fall, she would hear things. Things that were best left for the waking mind. All those whispers echoing from the day time. The screaming calling out from that night. Images were easy to block out but the words coming through her consciousness when the rest of the world was silent. That was something not even she could brave.
So that was how Shizuka ended up here. Sitting on the mattress, her hand out reached to touch the sun warmed floor boards. Enjoying the feeling of the breeze as it slithered under the door and crawled over her skin like a a ripple wave at the beach. It was such a shame that this simple...beautiful moment of perfection had to be shattered with yet another voice cutting through the morning.

"I'll be fine. Just...if you could pass me....I would appreciate it"

A small smile crept across her lips as she felt for the wall to help herself up, making careful sure that she was facing the shadows beneath the sill
when the young messenger came in to hand over the freshly cleaned blindfold. There was only three people inside this village that knew the truth about what was behind the coverings she wore as a mask. And while he may be one of them, Shizu could always feel the questions behind his lips and the accusations in his eyes. The same glare that the Hokage had when he first looked through her secret. 
But Shakai....he had always been different. He didn't care for her vendettas or her secrets. He simply understood and accepted. And he supported her no matter what she did even if it meant doing some thing beyond the morals of the norm. No, Shakai was one of the only people she trusted on this land. Shakai and Nanashi.

She missed that intelligent creature.
So much had happened that she wanted to tell him.

"Thank you. I will be there"

The Houkyaku took the blindfold from the messenger and tied it around her eyes, before feeling for the shoulder bag she had left somewhere on the table. An apple for energy, water for later; and moments before she headed out towards the meeting point, Shizuka held her finger up and whistled a crisp sound in to the morning air. 
One would hear her and that one would come. Niro had been missing for quite some time but just as she thought he had found her. Just as Shakai and Nanashi had found her. 

Lost and broken, they had found her.

----

It would take a while. A short half hour to find the place without help. Even quicker when a creature of unfamiliar scent found her.... but as soon she approached the presence of her powerful friend, she knew it was him. She knew because Shakai was not only strong in being. He was strong in spirit. Something exceedingly rare these days.
And that was just one of his many recognizable qualities that drew her to him. He was more intelligent, controlled, steadying to her chaotic inner thoughts. Which is why when she stepped carefully closer, she could not help the smile that tickled at her passive expression. Hinting her delight in being in his presence once more. 
She had missed the tactician and his wisdom. She missed her friend.

"I met the strangest man the other day" she had started to say as if no time had passed between them "He had a name, that meant 'no name'. And yet everyone knew who he was. He was indeed odd... but he reminded me of you. Reminded me...how much I missed you being around. How have you been Shakai? It's been too long"

She recognized the sorrow in her own voice but yet she refused to accept it. Not now when she had been so strong. 
The passive expression as adamant as her blindfold, the polite smile on her pale pink lips. The way she absently reached her finger up the stroke the chest feathers of the robin at her shoulder. It would not falter as she would never falter. Even if the subtle tones of her voice would say otherwise.

"Shakai...this man. He knew things from my past. Things that I have not told anyone. It was if.... he knew that I was starting to remember things again and wanted to help the process. I just.... for a moment there I started to think your mother was right in my decision. But only for a moment....


This mission: What have they asked of us this time? Let us be on our way as soon as we can"


Before the voices from her dreams caught up once more. 

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Words: 826

A man whose name meant that he had none. The world was filled with oddities and it was the first time that Shakai had heard of such a person.  It was clearly a matter of no small importance to Shizuka as well as it had been the first thing on her mind when she greeted him.  She already seemed to small and wraith-like beneath the canopy of the forest almost ephemeral in nature.

“In ages past those who practiced the Onmyōdō arts of sorcery could employ black magic in conjunction with the true name of a victim in order to lay powerful curses. Perhaps a name that is not a name would be sufficient to turn aside such malice. A shield against the evil worked by others. The knowledge is more disturbing if he did not let slip a source then I would be wary of his potential powers”

In truth Shakai had not heard of this man either a phantom from Shizuka’s past or one possessing divinatory powers. The fact that he had made Shizuka challenge her very Raison d'être was astounding. His mother had always had a soft heart and she could not bare to let Shizuka follow a path that may lead to ruin.  That was not her choice to make however for Shizuka was no child to be led around by others. If vengeance was her goal then as her companion he would stand by her.

Shakai closed his eyes for a time drawing a deep breath and settled his thoughts on the mission before the pair. This needed to be explained in clarity so that Shizuka was fully aware of what they were going up against. Knowledge was in such situations power and against any non-human opponent ignorance was deadly beyond measure.

“Reports indicate that one of the senior staff of the ninja academy has been abducted  recently. The instructor was crippled during fieldwork many years ago and has become lame due to bone and tendon damage that due to as of then undiagnosed medical conditions will not heal. It appears that the abductor was some form of animated construct formed of myriad ropes.”

A frown began to play on Shakais features. Those who had given him the mission had not conveyed the entire story and he would have to relay to Shizuka what he had pieced together.

“The channels which I received the mission through were highly coy about what exactly caused the abduction. Initially I suspected that it may be a Tsukumogami – a type of Yokai formed when an everyday object such an umbrella or kettle becomes sentient and aware of its surroundings. However these creatures are merely mischievous in nature simply wishing induce small fights in those around them.  There were no signs of demonic activity and the abductee had no connection to  kuchiyose of fiendish aspect. “
Shakai rose from his position next to the tree taking several steps and placing his hand on one the smaller cedars that surrounded the clearing. Rapping on it slightly with his knuckles to provide an audio que he gestured towards one of the densest part of the forest.

“I now believe the abductor to be a spirit from the ‘Kabekake no mori’. Probably one of the instructors very own students. The shade should be susceptible to both nin and genjutsu and if we can disperse its essence it will almost certainly be dragged down to stand before King Enma where he may deliver judgement upon it.”

For all that the shade was attempting what amounted to murder he hoped the lord of hell would spare some pity for the spectre. The  Kabekake no mori was where those poor tormented souls who wished to commit suicide went to end their miserable lives. Shakai was sure that Shizuka would cotton on to the implications of this and thus gave it a few moments  to let it sink it before they headed off to save a life.