I Hate Graveyards (Closed)

The kid looked to Kotsuzui and declined his offer to drink, stating he had other things to do and did not want his mind to be clouded by the alcohol. He was clearly in distress from whomever he came here to pay his respects to. Perhaps it were best he did not drink, he seemed a little too young for it anyways. Kotsuzui turned to look back at the boy at the tombstones as well as the newcomer as Orokana spoke about them, making assumptions as to how they were feeling and potentially why. Then he turned to question the Kaguya. The teen Kaguya looked up into the eyes of the kid, trying to figure out where he was going with this. Was he trying to figure out if Kotsuzui was going through any pain himself? And if he was, was he trying to see how the Kaguya handled it to see if the same methods would help him through his own pain? "How does my mind tell me to feel?" Kotsuzui said in his head, repeating the question the kid just asked him.

"My mind tells me to accept that they're dead, and what happened happened and couldn't have happened any other way. If you think and different from that then you'll just end up beating yourself up to no end causing yourself an infinite amount of torment. Besides, I don't have anyone dear to me that I've lost. But if i did I don't even know if i'd visit them. How do I even know they'll hear me, and if they can't what's the point then?" The Kaguya took another sip before answering Orokana's final question. "No, this is not to help me forget what's happened. I simply do it because i enjoy it" as he let go a sinister grin. "Besides, I came here to drink because usually i end up alone. But it seems today was not that day" he finished as he looked back at the other two and seeing them communicate somewhat.

Intently focused on thinking of her earlier years, time spent with her parents before their deaths, Hikari did not notice that one of the three guests had gotten up and was approaching her. Kuro barked to get her attention, but his body language showed her that the man was not a threat. With the way Kuro was wagging his tail, she even believed that she knew the man, although when thinking back at the faces of those she saw earlier Hikari had doubts about knowing any of them. 

She looked up after Kuro barked, and her eyes widened when the man spoke gently, a hopeful tone tracing his words. The voice belonged to an old friend of hers, one she had heard left the village in search of something far greater. Him being back home was shocking to the young kunoichi, and it meant he either succeeded or failed his quest. What scared her far more than his return was not his changed appearance (long ebony locks, new clothes that he adorned), but the distraught and weariness that echoed through his eyes as he gazed longingly at her. 

He reached his hand out, placing it lightly on her shoulder and called out her name again quietly, as if pleading with the universe for Hikari to be the girl he was hoping for. She wasn't surprised he was quizzical about her identity, she had changed a bit since they last saw one another. Her hair now reached her lower back, she replaced her traditional pink skirt attire for a more practical look of a komono like pink shirt with a black sash across the chest, a red mini skirt,a white and blue hemmed jacket, black high-heeled ninja boots, and her Konoha Army katana on her left side.

"Salzem...you're back? W-when did you return to Konoha?" Her voice barely above a whisper, the shock of seeing her teacher again after a year of being separated still rang through her body, making her mind reel. His haggard expression ate away at her, and she felt urged to inquire at his distress, but she did not want to pry into his life -especially with them reunited. 

(729)

orokana chuckled to himself. "seems to me like you are better of then most, not a very righteous man are you. i feel the same you do, but the others there, they feel differently, the boy is all shooked up and the woman clenched on her flowers, shes distressed, but it seems the duo has some history. why not go and offer a drink to the kind lady eh?" oro said walking towards the duo. he walked towards hikari. "hello miss." he looked down at sal. "is this a friend of yours?" he awaited their responses with a small smile of comfort. he thought about how he could use the three around him. he wanted to see them express their emotions so he could better understand people. which was an on going issue he has. not fully knowing how he should act in some cases, which posed an issue for the future. distress in hard times, two things he didnt know much about.

Salzem's eyes widened as the girl spoke his name, confirming who the lycan thought all along: She was his old student, the last one that survived. New tears welled up in his eyes. Not tears of sadness or fear, but of relief. Someone had survived... someone who he considered his family hadn't died on that cursed betrayal of the leaf... Hikari was here and she was safe.... He wrapped his arms around his old friend, pulling her into a hug that was intended for Kouse and Cole as well, if she allowed. He would holder her tightly, not wanting to let her go for fear of her fading away with the rest of his comrades.

"I was so afraid..." He whispered. "I was afraid you died too... Kouse... Cole... they're all gone... I-I thought..." He halted, his words jumbled up in his throat. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he wanted to apologize for. He wanted to say that he never should have left, that none of it was worth what he had done to them and that he was so sorry. He wanted to say a lot of things, but the words wouldn't form in his mouth. Instead of attempting to say these things, to express his remorse in such a volitle way to the person he once taught, Salzem just stood there and hugged her for all it was worth. Eventually, he did let go, stepping back a bit to observe his student, smiling gently.

"You've grown so much..." He said, looking Hikari up and down. "If it means anything to you anymore, I'm proud of you. I really am..." At that moment, the boy from before walked up to Salzem, greeting Hikari first before asking how he knew her. The way he spoke indicated he didn't really know either of them, but he carried himself and the tone he chose pointed towards the opposite. He was another strange fellow, one Salzem didn't have the opportunity to know before.

"Former student." He said flatly to the stranger. He would have added 'and a friend' to that statement, but he was unsure how Hikari thought of him now. He didn't know if she even wanted to be in the same place.

Orokana referred to Kotsuzui as not being a very righteous man. But who was Orokana to judge the Kaguya as not being righteous just because he accepting things for what they were? In actuality, the kid knew nothing about Kotsuzui and what he has been through and in turn really had no right to make such a statement. But Kotsuzui let it slide, everyone around him seemed to be grieving right now. There was no point in making matters worse. Kotsuzui simply watched and let out a slight chuckle when the kid walked away and asked him why not offer a drink to the lady. "Kids" Kotsuzui thought to himself as he watched the three Konoha nin gather together. The kid had just walked up to the other two and interrupted them, and for what? Just to find out how they knew each other. Was it really worth interrupting their reunion to ask such a question? In any case, Kotsuzui heard and found out that the hooded figure had once been the teacher of the white haired female. But that's as much as he heard.

For the moment, the Kaguya kept his place at his bench and quietly waited by himself. He fully intended on offering the other two a drink. But not at the moment. They seemed to be having a reunion after quite some time and Kotsuzui did not want to be some strange drunk who offered his alcohol at inappropriate moments.

Tears sparkled in the young, weary eyes of Salzem, threatening to fall at any moment. She let herself be enveloped in the embrace of her teacher, his arms wrapping tightly around her petite frame as if she would vanish if he let her go. It was only moments later that she truly understood why the young shinobi's face had grown grim, and his eyes sprang tears of relief at the sight of her.

His words, barely louder than a whisper, sent her mind into turmoil. She trembled in his embrace, unable to do anything but replay his words in her head, the shock of his revelation too much for her tender heart to handle. 

"Kouse...and Cole...t-they are dead?" Her voice, feeble as a lowly breeze, constricted, unspoken words left embedded in her throat. How could this be? I saw Kouse not too long ago, before he went away on a sudden mission... Her thoughts became muddled, her vision clouded as tears arose in her lavender tinted eyes. The young Hyuuga silently wept the loss of two dear friends and teammates, clutching the lilies to her chest with her left hand as she covered her mouth with her right palm. Silver tears trickled like tiny waterfalls from her downcasted eyes, staring blankly at the ground, her mind empty of all thoughts but the faces of the now deceased shinobi. 

Ninja were trained to fight till death, it was sworn upon by all who donned their respective village headbands, but the Hyuuga never expected to lose anyone so soon to the cruelty of the world after taking her own oath of death. She was too young to comprehend the sacrifices of her parents, and by the time she did her tears had all but dried up. She cried fresh tears, however, for Kouse and Cole, their souls now belonging to the afterlife. She learned the hard way that any day could be the last one spent alive.

The young ninja stood, lingering in her own little world, unaware of what was taking place around her. She never heard the remarks made by Salzem nor the visitor after he told her of her fallen comrades.

oro looked down at sal. it registered why he felt this pain, and how it crushed his sprite. the girl was in a dazed it seemed, maybe in a flash back, emotions overcoming her. this made oro thirsty for this invaluable information on how the human brain should respond to such events. something that oro could never reproduce. "sal may i have a moment of your time? just a quick and small conversation is all i ask, no hard hitting questions i promise, as well as if she would like to join us, after she is finished day dreaming." oro smiled kindly, trying o show as much emotion as he can, but sadly it seemed like a fake smile, uncaring. he would wait for sals response once he answered. but before sal could. "oh i am called orokana, im a genin, a student of yen and a student as jace as well, studying the power of genjutsu." he bowed with one hand on his chest. "i am pleased to meet someone new." his tone changes from emotionless to seductive. trying to catch both of there attention, if only a little. each word came from his lips like that of a sly fox, or a cunning wolf. to oro this is a moment he thought he would never see. even if the two wanted nothing to do with him, he could still learn much from these two here and now.

Salzem's eyes widened as he watched Hikari fade away inside herself, feeling his own heart break at the sight of his friend disappear. He held her tightly to him, placing his cheek on the top Hikari's head, softly mumbling "Its okay...." Over and over. He wasn't going to let her stay there, inside herself where there was nothing but torment and pain. He wasn't, because he knew what it was like in there at a time like this. Nonetheless, she stared blankly at the earth, fresh tears running down her blank expression-of-a-face. "Its okay..." Salzem muttered softly, placing a hand softly on her cheek. "Its okay..." Eventually, the boy would not be ignored any longer and he asked for a moment of Salzem's time, stating that Hikari could join if she were done day-dreaming. Immediately, several cords were strung and Salzem's expression of concern mutated into a snarl of hatred and disgust. How DARE he play off Hikari's deepest of sufferings here like that and calling it Day-dreaming? The kid, whom he introduced himself as Oro, was lucky Salzem didn't bash his lights out right there. Hikari was most important to him now, though and he refused to leave her side. Orokana mentioned that he was a student of Yen AND Jace and Salzem's expression of hatred condensed into something more controlled: spite. Yen, YENSUNG chose to train this little fool? Jace, One of Kasai's companions, chose to train HIM? As much as he already hated him, there must have been some half-way decent reason Salzem decided to let him keep breathing.

"I don't care WHO you are." He growled, baring his teeth now fangs. "The hell do you want?" With that, he turned his attention back to Hikari who didn't seem to be making any progress finding a way out of her head. Salzem stroked her hair gently as he held her, refusing to let his friend be alone the way she was.

Kotsuzui simply sat there and watched in amusement as the kid walked up to the two Konoha nin grieving to try and talk to them. That was his first mistake. They were clearly both in distress, why would either one of them want to talk to him at the moment? His second mistake was trying to pull the one known as Sal away from the grieving female. He wanted to talk to him or something, who knew what he wanted to do but at the moment he wasn't being very bright trying to pull Sal away as he tried consoling the Hyuuga. His third mistake was saying the Hyuuga was day dreaming. The kid was clearly showing signs of immaturity. You don't mess with people who are emotionally distraught. When people get emotional, they don't think straight. When they don't think straight, they make irrational decisions. Those decisions could have easily lead to some kind of ugly skirmish. And Salzem almost acted accordingly to the kid who referred to himself as Orokana, also a Genin like Kotsuzui himself. Though instead of acting out, Salzem simply spoke how he felt and essentially told the kid to get lost. Kotsuzui thought Salzem showed great restraint for not having attempted to strike the kid. If Kotsuzui was in Salzem's place, he wasn't so sure he would have done the same. Kotsuzui nearly called the kid over to get him away from the pair before he got himself into serious trouble, but he held back. He did not feel the need to acquainted himself any longer with somehow who acts as stubbornly as so. So he sat where he was and continued drinking, and small piece of him waiting to see if things really did get ugly.

Graveyards had become an odd touchstone in Ashi Inuzuka's life. One way or another her line of work brought her to these crossroads between life and death whether it be the formal one within the village walls for a fallen comrade or a hastily dug ditch for some god forsaken criminal. Today it was the former as opposed to the latter. Death was a reality in not only every shinobi's life, but every humans life. And yes, Ashi found herself able to cope with life and death with ease when on the job and behind a mask. However, when the mask came off and she was Operative Wolf no more the unbearable millstone of reality descended; she killed people and would continue to kill people for her village.

The old saying in the Leaf village anbu went, 'An anbu operative is the gravedigger's best friend'

Yet, despite it all Ashi moved forward often resorting to drinking binges when not on duty, but forward nonetheless. Today was different, she was not wasting away in some bar nor was she training till her knuckles bled and body ached. No, today one could find Ashi Inuzuka, accompanied by her companion Chairomaru, on her way to Konoha's cemetery.

Dressed in all black Ashi looked the perfect mourner. With a modest skirt going reaching down her shins and short sleeved tunic wrap covering her torso the only sign that she was a shinobi of any caliber was the headband of Konohagakure that hung loosely around her neck. Even the woman's hair found itself tamed back into a ponytail keeping the hair from her face and softening her normally feral countenance.

So, it was with a certain reverence that the Kunoichi  entered the vast graveyard of Konohagakure. Her gaze unconsciously slid across the lines and lines of graves stopping only briefly on the group of people who had gathered there. She was not there for the living; like most who visited a graveyard she was here for the dead. Moving silently save for the nearly soundless click of her sandals Ashi and Chai made their way to the row of graves two rows in front of where the small group had gathered.

Walking about midway down row twelve Ashi did not not spare a glance over at the group. Even Chai ignored them despite his usual interest in other canines. Finally the pair stopped in front of a white gravestone inlaid to the ground. The black lettering had faded a bit with time, but to Ashi the names inscribed still burned as brightly as the day she helped set the stone in ground and the bodies beneath it:


Underneath the inscription the red fangs of the Inuzuka clan glinted in the light. To many the names were nothing but casualties of Konohagakure's destruction. However, to Ashi the names meant father and mother along with their respective ninken. Perhaps at one point the tears would have come easily, but now all Ashi did was look loving down at the headstone and at the final resting place of those who raised her.

Almost mechanically the Inuzuka would uncap the earthen jug she had brought with her as she knelt down before the grave. Normally the jug was filled with sake of some sort and still smelled a bit like it. However, today it was filled with nothing more than pure spring water. Each month Ashi came to the graveyard and cleaned the dirt and leaves from her parent's grave and so she began what had become a ritualistic habit by this point. As the water gently spread across the white stone Chai whimpered ever so slightly prompting his partner to pat him on the head only stopping to right the now empty earthen jug and wipe a single tear that fell down her face like the first reluctant drops of the rainy season.