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Mitsuo

Mitsuo


S-rank
A Tale of Fire and Ice (Private/Ayakashi) Asian_temples_by_steviemac-d5jfcp1

“Lord Sarutobi...this path becomes more and more dangerous. The fact that you haven’t died already is truly amazing...I don’t want to have to be there when you...when you finally aren’t so lucky...” The concerned voice moved through Mitsuo, not entirely registering what had been said to him at first. His body had been healed from the wounds that he had suffered while attempting to stop that...monster from the mist. He didn’t know who it was, but it was clearly someone who had the ear of the Mizukage, as he held the sword of the Captain of the Seven Swordsmen, a sword that had once been offered to Mitsuo. The Monkey King Eizo continued to speak in Mitsuo’s ear as he lay in the healing pool of the Monkey Kingdom where Eizo had brought him to recover, his home for at least a week, if not longer this time. He had lost track of the time that had passed, but he was certainly feeling more relaxed while resting in the healing waters. His wounds were gone, as was the migraine that he had experienced after activating his Stunning Eye in the middle of an intense battle.

Being in the waters reminded him of one of the earliest times that he and Ayakashi had met...the two of them sailing out from the docks of Kirigakure to take the fight to the general of the Seven Bells army, Mizuru. Mitsuo had defeated her once before with the help of Yuudai Aisu, one of the relatives of the Mizukage, who at the time had been believed dead, but Mizuru had just been able to somehow slip away from the fatal attacks of fire and ice. The forces sailed out to meet the demon as Mitsuo had ran across the water himself, using his tremendous speed to carry him along. The forces of Konohagakure, Kirigakure and Kumogakure went to meet their foe, and among them was the Ice Queen resurgent, back from the dead and looking more impressive than ever. They would be joined by the Hokage, Mitsuhide, and would take on their foe, as well as a surprise attack from the village of Kumogakure, or so it had seemed. It had been one of the greatest honours of Mitsuo’s shinobi career to be able to fight alongside two of the greatest shinobi the world had seen of his generation, and to be counted equal among them...

“Mitsuo? Are you listening to me?”


Hers was the only chakra that he had ever come across that measured up to his, and it was truly awe inspiring and terrifying to behold a being of such raw power. There was a passive chill around her, the water glazing over as she stepped and the rain freezing to hail as it passed near her. They were exact opposites in their chakra, and it reflected in their demeanour. She seemed so cool and collected, as though nothing could ever effect her, and he was aflame with passion, always boiling over the surface. There was no way that two beings such as them should have been able to work together, let alone become friends after, but there it was. That battle had sealed the Mizukage’s slot as one of the very few people in the world that Mitsuo respected, and one of fewer whom he considered a friend. It was she who had allowed her cousin, Strafe, to leave the village to be with Mitsuo due to her love for the two of them and knowing their love for one another. She had welcomed him back with opened arms after vanishing from the shinobi world to travel for so long, and whether or not he wanted to admit it, she had saved his life when he was put on trial for his part in the destruction of Sunagakure.

“Mitsuo! Answer me!”

The Monkey King’s raised voice rang through Mitsuo’s ears and snapped him back to reality. Gone was the temple in Kumogakure where the kage had met to decide his fate, and come once again was the beautiful scene that he had been blessed to be able to stay. The cherry blossoms fell from the trees around him in the stone courtyard of the healing temple, gold, red and black decor tastefully highlighting the beautiful natural location of the place. The Monkey Kingdom was deep inside of a lush green forest, and it was well hidden from the prying eyes of any who might wish to do them harm. Mitsuo had spent almost as much time here as he had in Konoha during his adult life, and it wasn’t something that he was upset about at all. This place felt like home to him, or as close to home as anything could that didn’t have his family. Unfortunately, by that logic, the only place that would truly feel like home to him again was the afterlife...

“I’m sorry Eizo...I have been lost in thought...seeing that demon, fighting it, vexed me. His evil was so intense, the corruption running so deep within him. And to think that Ayakashi had made him the captain of the Seven Swordsmen makes me sick...” A servant dressed in a beautiful red and gold saree brought Mitsuo a glass of wine as another poured water over his head and shoulders, rinsing his hair. He often wondered if he would simply be able to stay here forever, forsake the life of the shinobi and live out his days in peace and luxury. He, of course, knew that this was impossible, as the world needed him, but he had still wanted to live out that fantasy.

“Perhaps you should seek her out, Lord Sarutobi. She may be the most powerful shinobi in the world, but sometimes even the most powerful people need a friend to talk too. It has been too long since the two of you met, and clearly you have things that you want to ask her...You should go to her and find the answers you seek.”

Mitsuo sighed, running his fingers through his wet black hair and shaking his head. He knew Eizo was right, and he knew that there was no way he wouldn’t be able to go to her. “Very well Eizo...I will write to her and ask her to meet me...Have someone deliver the letter and I will meet her one week from this day...I will finally speak to my friend once again...”

Lady Mizukage,

Too long has it been since we have spoken, and yet I believe there is much to be said. These lands are in a state of constant turmoil, and the shinobi world is dying. I wish to talk to you to discuss what must be done to help it.

Meet me at the site of your greatest triumph, the day you eradicated the corruption from your village, and the monument to your zero tolerance of crime. On the evening of the new moon, we will se one another again.

Your friend,
Sarutobi, Mitsuo



One Week Later


The sun was setting over the Bloody Mist Village, though from behind the clouds it was impossible to see. The rain poured down from the heavens with a vengeance, as though trying to punish the Sword Saint who sat defiantly in the open, manipulating the weather to his will. Despite standing in the downpour for the past half an hour, he managed to remain perfectly dry, not a single drop of water on the toned down clothing that he wore. He wore his ANBU armour overtop of a mesh shirt, none of the pomp and pageantry he tended to dress with as of late. He had turned in the robes for a more familiar dress that he had been known for during the days of the Seven Bells war. While he wore not the cloak of the Aoi Bara, his Shroud of Shadows sat upon his shoulders, the feathers and chakra infused material it was made of currently visible and clasped in place with the Sigil of Kirigakure that had been gifted to him by Ayakashi herself. He wore no weapons, though as always had them but a simple seal away, and sat beside a fire that he was keeping lit through sheer force of will.

The rain around the Sword Saint seemed to simply stop existing, repelled by the immense heat that he was giving off in an attempt to stay dry. His impressive chakra signature would be visible from far away, but he wasn’t worried about that. He wanted Ayakashi to know where he was, and what better way for a man known for mastery of fire than to have a fire in the middle of a downpour? He sat by the fire, face illuminated, as the scene through the rains would show a light where there shouldn’t be one. He sighed softly and activated a small seal, pulling a cigarette from the void and placing it to his lips. He held his thumb and two forefingers below the cigarette and produced a flame at the tips, drawing the smoke deeply into his lungs before passing it back out of his nose.

She would be here soon...he could feel it...

1557

Ayakashi

Ayakashi


S-rank
'The eve of the no moon was a chilling night, even in the land of mist. The mist was particularly thick that night, a person was barely able to see a couple of feet in front of their own faces on the streets of Konoha. This made the cruel and unusual come out to play. Even ninja were having a hard time with the mist, used to it, with sensory types moving through it in order to keep the peace, even they could not see something that wasn't there. This time, however, it seemed that there was a corruption within the nation's ninja itself that needed to be addressed... Hunter ninja were meant to be stalwart dealers of justice, the purest of all the Kirigakure ninja corps, but those who relished in the murder were something else entirely, they were state sanctioned serial killers and they could not be permitted to exist in such a manner.

Death strode on the horizon as a squad of rogue hunter ninja were chasing down a rogue, attempting to use the dense fog to escape the village, a poor girl who had never considered the consequences of joining a military with such a strict code. Her only crime being ignorance... which sadly led to her treason. Tracking down the group was easy, Hunter ninja tactics were often so by the book, moving information and tracing them via looking over the details of former 'hunts' gave Yatagarasu all the information they needed. Soon enough, she came upon the squad and their captain, cornered a girl in the swamp of death, half-clothed, cut, bleeding and in the process of torture. The shadow of the three-legged crow would descend upon them, daggers in hand and silent as the five fold graves that would need to be dug tonight. The croaky voice of Yatagarasu whispered from behind them to desist, loud enough to have one turn and immediately with a swipe of a blade the Tokujonin would swing wildly with his blade slashing at the air with a katana wildly as he got but a glimpse of the beast who had beset upon him... holding his head, long separated from his flailing body.

Soon enough, the deeds were done, the girl would look up to the spectre and grovel in thanks. But such cold dead ruby eyes from beyond the ivory avian mask would turn upon her. The traitor... There were, after all, to be five graves dug tonight.'


'Ayakashi awoke to an interesting morning.‘


A Yatagarasu attack had managed to dispense a squad of hunter ninja in the forest while they were on a mission to apprehend a Genin alive and return her to her family, but, instead they were found amalgamated into a twisted chimera of arms and legs, leering over the prestine and untouched body of the genin girl in the center of town. while the dripping monster had been cup apart and sealed together with the senbon and ninja tools that were on the hunter ninja's person at the time, the four-headed beast with eight arms, four legs and what appeared to be wings of flayed flesh seemed to be accosting the body of the girl, who, unlike Yatagarasu's usual MO, seemed to have been killed with little more than a single concussive blow to the central nervous system to the back of the neck, shutting off connection between the brain and heart and killing her cleanly, and instantly. Though she showed signs of a fight as well as wounds consistent with kirigakure weapons and barbed senbon.


'A monster devouring the innocent.'


Morning papers would fail to reveal the potential corruption of the Hunter Ninja as a whole, knowing that Yatagarasu only punishes the guilty, would state that the portrait of the crime was other nations devouring kirigakure, publicising personal accounts of corruption that had indeed been comitted by those individuals. Crimes that included bribery, sedition and more which led them to being targets. They were bad people, long before they were Hunter ninja, and, there was a truth to that. But the sanctity of the institution had to be protected.

As the Mizukage moved through her notes, she glanced at the letter she had been sent some days ago, reading it and remembering the date of the no moon was tonight. It should be a nice starry sky beyond the cloud-bank, and the mist should have cleared by then from the rain... not that there wasn't always a layer of it at the monument. Part of her wanted to see Mitsuo desperately, he was one that she was able to count on, and, without the use of her arm any-longer, and having to deal with the new replacement, Ayakashi could use a little sympathy. She looked forward to the meeting, and hoped that it would all be civil in the end. She had already been attacked by one old friend... she didn't want to be accosted by another anytime soon. She'd sigh, thinking about Mitsuhide...

"I guess nothing's changed. With everyone leaving around me soon they'll start calling me Onibaba..."

Izumi and Nova were a hit, though they were barely Kirigakure ninja. They had been indoctrinated, but it proved that the curse of the sand ran deep. As night approached, Ayakashi would gear up with her casual attire and combat impliments and make her way for the monument a tad early, moving up to the obelisk in the middle with "No Prisoners" carved upon it out of her own permafrost... she could remember that day, the resounding boom of the demolition charges as she buried more than a hundred criminals whom had life sentences within the expansive prison. Although moments before they had let out a thousand and had them watch the event unfold at point blanc range. It had sent a message for sure. Ayakashi's reign begun with that statement, and the people cheered.

Ayakashi had tried to live true that philosophy, to deal justice swift and immediately where it could be done, not a prisoner had been taken in the land of mist since that day, but, she had wavered. Failing to sentence people like strafe, tenmei. Simply failing to report them or pulling the incentives for hunters to give chase so they could live out their lives. Ayakashi was not beyond nephitism, she knew it, but she considered it the one thing she had asked for herself in this position. She became kage to protect the ones she loved... she would never then turn that power to protect onto them... it was a cruel joke, and one which she denied with every fibre of her being.

By the time that Mitsuo arrived, ayakashi would be sitting on top of the monument itself, legs crossed and staring up at the starlight which would reflect off the crystal blue obelisk which matched her hair, bathing the world around them in glimmering patterns like a seaside cave. She wore her mizukage shroud as well as the mask, Kusanagi and changeling at her side. Her mother's gloves hiding her dart tucked within them, as well as her usual Fuma and quiver at her back. She didn't bring the armour of Tobirama with her, as it was heavy, so she simply wore her usual bandages underneath her coat which hung open at the front, keeping her modesty and binding them down for practicality. Her legs, however, were armored in kirigakure's finest, tucking away the wedding band in her boot. As he approached she would not turn to face him immediately, simply stargazing.

"They're normally pretty this far away from the city... its a shame we can't see them" She would speak, almost at peace, but with a sadness cloaked behind it, jumping down from the sixty foot tall eight foot wide obelisk as if it was barely a foot high and walking towards mitsuo, opening her arms and hoping to give him a tight hug. "It made me happy to hear from you, i missed you."




Last edited by Ayakashi on Wed Aug 15, 2018 7:21 am; edited 1 time in total

Mitsuo

Mitsuo


S-rank
Mitsuo Sarutobi prided himself on his diligence; it was a trait that made him especially adept at his position of Head of Konoha’s ANBU when he had led them years ago. He was someone who never missed a detail, or at least that was what he believed, as it was impossible to know what things one had missed over the years. Missed details led to death, and such things had proven to have gotten the better of Mitsuo in the past, which was why he made sure that he wouldn’t allow it to happen again. He had lost a lover and a brother to a simple missed detail, and the life of the man who was responsible had gone on far longer than it ever should have due to those missed details. A simple detail, though he didn’t know it, was also the reason why his oldest friend, Mitsuhide, had never believed that he had died...

It seemed only appropriate that the Sword Saint of Konoha would miss an obvious detail on this night. He had his gaze affixed towards the village, using only his eyes to attempt to track the movings of any who would come near, but never reaching out with his other senses in order to find them. He could have activated his Wings of the Saint sensory jutsu, but in this type of weather the winds were far more difficult to read. With his own power flared so much he managed to miss the equally as potent chakra signature that watched from the top of the impressive monument which he stood near, not noticing the fact that the woman he had come to meet had been waiting for him to notice her. When he heard her voice, it was the first time she had spoken to him, truly spoken to him, since...

The assembled powers of the world sat atop a great monument in the village of Kumogakure. Beings that could nearly be considered to be of a divine level of power, were the man on trial willing to believe that individuals could be such things. He knew better, of course, having been put on his path by the gods themselves. He knew he was no god, having been put on trial, convicted and publicly hanged for crimes he had never committed in the past. It was in that moment, the moment where he should have breathed his last breath, that he had been told he was chosen for bigger things and his death could not come so soon, whether he wished for it or not. He remembered feeling robbed at first, the chance to live happily with his family and his lover in the afterlife being snatched from him, but he was soon filled with a great resolve in the place of that sadness.

The man who sat at the head of the assembly would have been easy to mistaken as the living embodiment of Raijin, the God of Lightning and Thunder. Mitsuo could picture drums circling the beautifully dressed man, his neat blonde hair and intense eyes staring holes through whoever he focused his gaze upon. The element that he associated with radiated off of him, and the danger of lightning was ever present upon the man’s face and in his words and actions. Mitsuo knew that with one wrong word the man would fry him where he stood, though he feared not death, as he had staved it off many times in the past and he knew that were he to die his mission would be taken up by hundreds more...

The woman nearby was Yukijoro, the Snow Woman. Hers was a powerful both beautiful and terrible, and she was a spirit that many children had been warned not to go outside, believing that she would freeze them solid. Her beauty was haunting and unmatched, but her eyes would strike terror into any mortal...or so the stories went. Mitsuo knew this woman better than many, and she was someone whom he had the pleasure of calling friend. She was certainly no demon, as the people may believe...

And then, of course, was the Shinigami himself. Seen by some as saviour, and others as monster, this man was simply working towards keeping the balance in the world. Darkness shrouded him and his once brilliant white wings were stained black, the fallen angel reaching out his hand to usher mortals to the afterlife. His divinity was a gift and a curse, and death was an important part of life, though not all could understand such things. This avatar of Death, Mitsuo Sarutobi, understood full well that death could not be avoided, though it wouldn’t stop him from wishing it could...

When the assembly had come to a close, the Shinigami being sentenced to be shackled by Raijin, it was Yukijoro who showed regret for the action. Ayakashi had a look of sadness on her face when Mitsuo was sentenced to serve his days in the village of Kumogakure, and Mitsuo knew that had she been able too she would have had him set free, or at least brought back to her village. He also knew that had he been brought back to Kirigakure it could have started a violent uprising in the village people, as harbouring someone who was seen as a terrorist and a villain was not something that most would agree with. He understood the position she had been put in, and it deeply saddened him...


How nice, then, that this meeting should be happening...

Mitsuo heard her land upon the ground, looking behind him as he took another drag of the cigarette before putting it into the fire. The two of them were a complete contrast, the woman in front of him regal in her demeanour and look, though still terrifying in her presence. Where Mitsuo’s power simply ceased the rain from existing around him, Ayakashi’s was a much more beautiful display. Where she landed and around where she stood there was no rain, though what was there was far more dazzling to behold. The fresh powder snowflakes that fell around her were simply gorgeous, each snowflake its own unique design, twinkling in the light of the fire emanating from Mitsuo’s area. A smile crossed his lips as he saw the snow building on the ground around her feet, knowing that she truly was as close to a goddess as he would likely encounter walking this earth.

She opened her arms and he bit his lips slightly, moving towards her and allowing his chakra to subside, making it so that the heat only covered his body, the pouring rain quickly putting out the fire that he had been sustaining when he stopped protecting it. He managed to stay dry, however, and he tightly wrapped his arms around the woman, feeling the cold that was a part of her being as the temperatures of the two of them exchanged places. It truly was an amazing thing to experience, and while she seemed cool to the touch, the warmth that he felt as he embraced one of his closest friends wouldn’t allow that cold to penetrate him.

“I have missed you too my friend...I have missed you dearly...” His voice was softer than the normal vibrato he generally put into his speech. This was not someone whom he was evangelizing too, trying to spread his message of Justice towards. This was no individual walking a dangerous path whom he needed to show the light...this was his friend, one of his best, and he felt the persona that he had carried with him for so long fall away quickly around her. “I am sorry for any grief I have caused you...I wish I hadn’t put you in such a difficult spot...I never meant to do such a thing...”

2887

Ayakashi

Ayakashi


S-rank
'I missed you too...‘


Four words that could not have been more needed by the ears of the Mizukage, having a friend close she would clutch at his warm clothing for a moment, the intense cold and the intense heat of their bodies coming together almost caused mist to accumulate around the two of them before Ayakashi moved back, hearing the small apology that he gave about his actions. On any other day Ayakashi would have been taken back at the sentiment, Mitsuo Sarutobi was usually one of the proudest people she could imagine, there at the Kage Summit he was totally justified in his actions, without apology, but the thought that he was sorry that it had caused Ayakashi strife spoke to the depth of his regret and remorse... Ayakashi would offer a smile, rolling her long crystal blue hair behind one of her ears to reveal her porcelain face, although the iron eye patch cut the pristine nature of her face in two, there was a gentleness about her expression that was expressed in such a thankful and almost bashful smile.

"It's fine, I know you didn't. I'm sure it seemed like I was throwing you under the bus a little. Being Mizukage means I have to give off the veneer of strength like that, everyone expects me to be this ruthlessly stalwart, emotionless stone of a Kage just because my cloak is blue... and not red. I'm just glad you're doing ok Mitsuo. Things have just been tough recently..."

Her attention would move to her right arm, moving and shifting her cold, numb fingers. Although they would not be able to be seen by the naked eye under her clothing and the armoured gloves she always wore on her hands, but at her wrist, a keen eye would be able to sight as her sleeve rolled back, the subtle sheen of steel in place of skin. Ayakashi's arm had been replaced since it had been lost to the former Hokage in the battle of Inabayama. Ayakashi had been training with the new arm, it seemed to not be a hindrance, more than capable of keeping up with her at her best, but she was still integrating a means to use it to her advantage, attempting to incorporate it into her training regiment and see if it could give her any kind of unique edge in combat. Testing new combat styles was something that she loved to do, but this took her art to the next level, having a cable at her disposal with her hand at the end of it, had some very simple implications, and a couple far more intricate ones...

It had been an age since Ayakashi had needed to train so fiercely in order to keep up, she had been bouting with her hunter ninja day in and day out on nothing more than martial forms as she attempted to integrate the new tool inter her arsenal. Knowledge of whips and whip blades from wielding Serpents' Tongue was a massive head start. It allowed her to control the length of the weapon as well as its sway with but flicks of where her wrist would be. Ayakashi was, and had always been a momentum fighter, swiftly blending one strike in with another to create an endless flurry of incrimentally stronger and stronger blows until she shattered the guard of the person she was up against... part of her wondered if Mitsuo was a better option to attempt to train against. But she buried that thought from her mind as quickly as it formed... she would never want to impose, and she also was ashamed to admit she had been wounded like this in a battle with anyone... yet alone Mitsuhide.

'She just needed to decipher them'

"So..." Ayakashi would say, looking awkwardly around them. "I have to ask, is this just a social visit between friends? Or will be talking of matters of importance on a state level? Sorry for being forward, but, I just have to prepare for big talks, its sometimes hard to be impartial. Even for me. I'm not used to social occasions. aha."

With a hint of nervous laughter, she would await his next response, part of her hoped this was simply a catch up between two friends who had both held the same office as one another, and indeed shared many of the same ideals. Some purer than others. However, a cloud seemed to have come over the two of them, Ayakashi could almost sense a dissatisfaction brewing on the horizon, though she was not sure from whence it came. As she stood and the soft powder snow rained down from the skies over them, a large tiger would make his nest upon a ledge of the fallen ruins, far enough away that he might keep an eye on Ayakashi and the proceedings, but not so close that he would be in the way or any form of large distraction. Laying his head down and lazily holding one eye open allowing him to keep familiar with the area, while preserving as much energy as possible.

Ayakashi's thoughts would move to that of possibilities, what had he come to say? Was there some form of an edict from his kage? Or was this exactly what it seemed to be? Just a meeting between two friends in the hopes of continuing their growing relationship between one another in a world where it seemed all too common that loved ones be torn from the arms of each other, be it in war, or in strife of the hearts and mids of ninja across the world. It was too hard to tell.

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