anemone.

[Jun]

He was a complete and utter mess.

Kou, in his usual drunken stupor, studied the grave before him, tears sliding from his eyes. Under normal circumstances, this was no way for a man to act, however these weren't normal circumstances at all. The world had gone cold. A black sleeve wiped clean the water-works from his face; he sniffled, feeling shameful for showing such weakness in front of his favorite sister. She, Miyako Jun, stoodby patiently to his rear, allowing big brother his moment of sorrow. She smiled weakly, overlooking a cliffside contained within the beige outback of Tsuchi no Kuni. She was thrilled to have him back, as it'd been years since she'd last laid her ocean eyes upon him, but to see him so sad made her loathe her former village all the more. Out high in those crude mountains, a plain mound of dirt accompained by an elegant katana was given as final resting place to the former Sandaime Tsuchikage. A measly grave away from the village - that was all. Kou took another heavy swig from the small flask he was holding. Sake, his preferred drink, was what was stored within. His gloved hand was trembling, and as a matter of fact, his entire body was shaken under the harsh reality he'd came so far from Kaminari to face. For a moment the youth turned to face his sibling, his pupils dark and brooding. He held out his cup to her, muttering but one sloppy question.

"Want a sip?"

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[Jun]

Her name was Anemone, like the flower.

She'd been the sweetest thing in the world, the most humble, why then had she been slain so violently? I could barely stand the depressing vibe surrounding the two of us. I'd blame the alchohol on his breath for that much; as he faced me and offered a drink I merely nodded - seeing older brother in such a sorry state became example enough for me to never want to abuse sake ever again. Even worse were the effects it seemed to have on us women. At any rate, I felt nothing but guilt while standing near the Sandaime's dirt shrine; back then in Miyako 7, I'd made mention of her while being interrogated by the current Tsuchikage. To her, my lips had been so brash as to assume the crow queen had gotten what she deserved. It was the complete opposite. She'd been nothing but loyal to her home, from what Kou had told me while traveling abroad, having nothing but her estate's best interest in mind. Our own village, Kumogakure, had been the first foreign friend she'd made. At this time, I wore the cloud emblem proudly around my neck. Still, why did the world have to lose such a beautiful face? Where had her shinobi been when she needed them most? Most importantly, who had been so bold as to get away with killing a top figurehead? True, it was that this was a world of shinobi, where the weak were weeded out, but to be hacked into pieces? Nothing short of overkill. I could sympathize with my brother, I only wished I had known Umeko Anemone in her time of life. My sapphire orbs watched Kou shrug my silent off, then throw another bit of sake back.

"Anemone wasn't a punk. I would've expected more out of her."

"..."

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He was a natural drinker, I'd give him that.












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[Jun]

"Take it easy, alright? It'll be me who has to take care of you cause you're too hung over to function in the morning."

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What did she know? Kou scoffed, well aware of what his limit was when it came to drinking. Highly tolerant. Yet, he couldn't be mad at her, she was only playing the role of concerned little sis - and that role she played well. "How you gon' tell me..." His voice trailed off, his sense of reality dwindling at this point. He felt so irresponsible, so weak. For a fleeting second he stood wobbling, recalling better days. Back when he was Anemone's teacher: she'd been only 13 at the time, and though he always felt she had somewhat of a crush on him, he was much to old to react to it. Still, he always figured the lass would grow up to be a heart-breaker.

"I finally found you...and I followed you all the way out here. Tell me where you've been hiding all these years?"[/color]

His sobs were cut off by the soft voice of Jun; he gazed over his shoulder, cynical of whether or not he should answer that. He opted for yes: she did have every right to know what had become of him - he'd been the most selfish brother in the world, that was the least he could do. "In Amegakure...or searching for what was left of it anyways," was his response. "I'd have come back sooner, but well, women have a way of coming between men and their ambitions."

"You fell in love there?"[/color]

"I did for a while, but sooner or later one has to wake up, I suppose. I'd prefer not to go into that tale, not until time has passed, at least. But damn, if she didn't have the perkiest-"











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[Jun]

"Okay, I get it."

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I cut him off, my tone containing impatience. I wouldn't know what became of his little love affair, but my guess what that he'd truly gotten what he deserved. "Just so you know though, after being interrogated, one of Iwagakure's own Chuunin threatened to kill me if I was spotted in Tsuchi no Kuni again." Not that I cared, as arrogant as I was, I'd been hoping to run into another Iwa ninja just so we, no I, could tear them apart.

"Pfft. Yeah right. Don't worry, attacking you would be suicide on their end."

Just as expected. I crossed my arms, uncomfortable - it was still somewhat of a dream to be reunited with family after spending thousands of days alone. Well, not entirely alone. Kota-san, or Long hair as I used to call him - I would never forget him. He'd been so strong and went so far as to save my life. I wished he wouldn't have left me. I wished things would go back to the way they were before. Instead, I'd let Kou soak in his period of mourning for as long as necessary. Waltzing past both brother and the mound with the pretty red katana jutting out of it, I came to stand on the verge of the cliff- and what a humbling sight it was. It was nowhere near as exciting as Kaminari's landscape, but hey, it was an enlightening scene nonetheless. Natural - making one feel quite literally 'down to earth'. The whisper of a breeze came sweeping through our little memorial service, ruffling both my short, raven hair and equally dark clothing along with it. Shooting a look back, I saw that my beloved brother was being inspired in the same way. A tanto rested on his back - that style of weaponry he'd always been passionate about, and was something of which he indirectly passed down to me. I watched his face, gray eyes shrouded under strands of straight, ink hued hair, then said I, "Just curious...who or where did you get all the details concerning Anemone's death? It could be a hint toward the village responsible." Kou's vision jolted up and came into direct contact with mine.

"A little guy named Leonus Akegarasu. He's from Kirigakure, and chances are, they're guilty."










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[Jun]

Not thinking about Leonus Akegarasu, Kou stiffled the boner rising in his boxers. It was inappropriate, but hell, he couldn't keep his mind off of his mistress back in Amegakure to save his life. Another swig of sake and he went back to caring about what Jun had to say.

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[Jun]

My own blue eyes widened in revelation.

It was a good deduction indeed - though not a surprising one at all. If one mist shinobi was present during the time of her assassination, it was quite safe to assume that there were more. Leonus was her cousin: of course he'd try as best he could to help out a clan member, no better yet, a queen clan member. On top of that, Bloody Mist was well, well-known for being prone to violence and execution. I'd know, their Anbu, as justified as they were, hadn't been the least bit remorseful when handling me back in Miyako 7. Had it been up to them, I wouldn't even be standing where I was at the moment. Soft dirt came crunching beneath black soles as I began to move away from the cliff edge, instead going to pace by the side of Anemone's grave. My eyebrows were hunched in thought. Perhaps Kou took it as me pouting, but soon I voiced my concerns. "Well, I hope you aren't planning to go running headlong into Kirigakure? That would be stupid."

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"Yeah, duh. I'll get stronger first, then the time will come for revenge." was the reply.

I was finally starting to see the crack of a grin on his usually tough facade. I nodded, somewhat content with his plan. Of course, I'd be there to back him up on that day - I wouldn't dare let him out of my sight ever again. "You need people, Kou. You can't do everything by yourself. When are you gonna stop being so self-centered?"[/color] Scolded I, peering up from the dirt for a second with arms remaining crossed.

"Tch. Don't worry about me. One thing I can say is that I was never careless enough to go and get myself interrogated."
Yikes. I couldn't help but flinch under those harsh words. I wanted to cut back, to lash out, but he beat me to it.

"But-"[/color]

"But what of your grudge against Iwa? You let them banish you from their country like a dog. If I were you, their Tsuchika-"

"Don't talk bad about her." I interrupted, malice in my tone. Then I softened, remembering why I was even alive today "She...Coco, I promised her I'd find you. When I see her again..."[/color]

Kou snickered. "She's a fuckin' Kage, she don't care about that."











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[Jun]

He chuckled at the offensive stare Jun gave in return - open mouth and all. She'd gone soft. Finally, the youth capped his bottle and hiccuped, raising both arms as a sign of truce toward his little sister standing not too far away. "Hey, just sayin'. If I was a Kage, I know I wouldn't."

She was tapping her foot. "Well you seem to be doing just fine now, slob. Ready to go now? We've got quite a hike ahead of us."

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"Uh, sure."

He took a deep breath and prepared to brave his altered senses. It was time to make himself known in the world. But first things first, missions. He would have groaned but yeah, maybe it was about time for the Li to grow up. Their difference in background? Same mother, different father. With footsteps made as casually as he could, Kou came into arms reach of the dirt mound and plucked the maroon katana from its stuck position. The proper sheath rested near-by so he grabbed it as well - good thing they were left to stand. He then went over toward Jun, arm-outstretched with a valuable memento. "It's all yours, you'll look good with it." was his smooth welcome. In turn, she uttered nothing but a barely audible "thanks". It was like she was star-struck, or holding a piece of history, he didn't know. It wasn't serious to him - katana's weren't really his style. But a kodachi perhaps, he'd always wanted to practice with one of those. Focusing once more, the young spirit wiped his face and stepped past the girl beside him. His sister had just received the Tsuchikage's former weapon- and it was beautiful. Maybe that was a big deal to her but to him, he wasn't even going to ponder that at the moment. Kou was going to enjoy his drunk and go home and get ready to kick some ass. Win or lose, the Kumogakure squirrel was here for the journey. Turning, Jun met Yoshi's back and gathered herself for the journey into Kaminari.

"The world doesn't revolve because of you." [/color]

Exit.

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SPOILER: Click to show

POINTS PLEASE!!

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[Yahiko]

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