Digging up old Memories [Q]

[Nujabes]

"I thought about it," I said flatly. "You really don't know how many times I did. But, even though I remembered the seal. . . I don't know, something just didn't click." Had it be a side-effect of having the Hachibi placed within me? "It's like there's a block or somethin, and I just can't access the power(s) I used to."

It sounded a lot more dumb saying it out loud than it did in my head, but it was a the truth. Before I became a walking mountain of Taijutsu, I'd been relatively skilled in Ninjutsu, as well. I'd mastered a relatively powerful Kinjutsu before I'd even left my teenage years, and my first test was on Kaoruko. It worked, of course, and lord how easy it made sneaking into her room at night.

But, now? I'm not really sure what was with me now. "It would have been a lot easier than running around, looking for you for nearly two years," I admitted with an embarrassed laugh. "That's for sure."

It was a relatively hot day in Hi no Kuni. We still hadn't spotted our son, but I decided that it'd be best to take a little break. Basking in the tree-tops, Kaoruko in front of me. Even though things still didn't feel entirely normal, it certainly felt a lot better than they had a day ago. It kind of seemed-- normal, having her so close. Even though she was in my arms, it was just as nice to be able to drink in her perfect body and bask in the warmth of the smile that I'd fallen in love with on the day of our graduation from the Academy.

"What do you think?"

[kaoruko ♥]

[style=width: 400px; font-family: times new roman; text-align: justify]This was the most perfect my life had been since the day I left Namitsuki to travel on my own. The sunlight was pleasantly warm, even though the leaves around me protected me from its touch; my companion's voice was soft, familiar, and much happier than when we were in Mizu no Kuni. As he ranted about Hiraishin, I couldn't help but enjoy it. I could feel the big, goofy smile that had become a fixture upon my face, but felt no need to hide or change it. Why would I? Even if I could not let us be together as lovers, there was no reason I could not enjoy him as a close friend. I had never concealed my emotions from him before, at least not in a malicious way.

"What do you think?"

[/i]
"Mm," I murmured, pulling myself back into the conversation with a blink. "Well, it's almost impossible to completely unlearn a technique. You should be able to pick it right back up — you never forget, just like throwing a kunai. My guess would have to be a mental block of sorts from various stressors in your life. Learning new techniques, focusing on your physical prowess, losing me ... any number of things, or combination of things, could be involved."

I stretched my arms up into the air, careful not to accidentally punch a tree branch and send us falling to the earth. Yes, that would be unpleasant. I hesitated to tell him that I had a possible cure for his ailment ... it was a technique I had formulated myself and it had only been tested on a few patients, but all with similar issues to his. I forgot, they'd say, and I can't remember. I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath, hoping that some divine intervention would allow him to recall his abilities without my help.

Ah. No such luck.

"I think I have a medical technique that can help you with this problem, Nami," I finally whispered, my voice jumbled as I had spit it out in a single breath, too quickly. "It's dangerous, though. For you. I would need to put you into a deep sleep and then delve into your memories; you would need to actively search out your Hirashin skills within the cacophony of your own mind. It's not unlike a Genjutsu, I suppose. You will see things, hear things, feel things. The problem is that you can actually get hurt."

I waited for his response, staring intently at his face. Was Hiraishin worth the possibility of death?[/style]
[/center]

[Nujabes]

It made sense. The mind is a powerful thing, after all. I'd heard of genjutsu that were capable of crossing the threshold between imagination and reality, yielding truly devastating effects in the real world. When the boundaries were erased, and the distinction between fact and fiction were erase, all the brain could do was perceive. And whatever it perceived, the body reacted to.

So, was Hiraishin truly worth my life?

I glanced away from Kaoruko, up to the sky above. It was simply beautiful. But, eventually my gaze fell back to her like it always did. I feasted on her features for quite some time, absorbing each and every detail. I memorized every curve; every line; everything that I could and couldn't (though easily pictured in my mind's eye). Scooting along the abnormally large branch, which was common for these great forests, I closed the small amount of distance between us. I took her face in both of my hands, pressing my forehead and nose to hers. I took a deep breath, savoring her scent; I let my fingers swim through her bright golden hair, memorizing the sensation and feelings.

Was Hiraishin worth my life? No, it most certainly was not. But she was. "Do it," I said while releasing her and leaning back. "I want it back."

[kaoruko ♥]

[style=width: 400px; font-family: times new roman; text-align: justify]I watched him closely as he moved through the motions of thought; though I could not tell what he was pondering, I could hazard a guess that it had something to do with my proposition. He seemed hesitant, and with good reason. The Namitsuki I had been keeping up with through snippets of gossip from my patients was a powerful enough man — what use did he have with Hiraishin? Did he really want to have his cake and eat it too? He used to be known as The Fastest Man Alive, a title that was admittedly lost throughout the years and within alliance changes. Nevertheless, as such a versed Taijutsu fighter I was sure he was nearly as fast anyway.

Eventually, he closed the distance between us and performed the sacred act of touching foreheads. I sighed in content, but continued to stare into his eyes, searching them for any hint of fear. Nothing. I allowed him to memorize me again, just as I had been doing to him since the fateful encounter I orchestrated a few days prior, waiting for the inevitable.

"Do it."

"If that is what you want, Nami," I conceded. I lifted my thus far limp arms up, curling my fingers around his strong shoulders and squeezing for the pleasure of the touch. Then, I carefully drew him back into me so that our noses were touching again. "I will protect your body while you wander your mind to remember what has been forgotten &mdash" I promise."

I pressed my lips against his for a short kiss, holding eye contact all the while. As I broke the embrace he would begin to feel drowsy, more tired than at any point in his life. So tired, in fact, that he would not be able to keep his eyes open for more than a few seconds; the moment they were shut, he would pass out. This meant many things for the situation, but the most pressing was the fact that his body would go entirely limp — I still had my hands clutching his shoulders, even tighter now that there was no resistance. Instead of flipping backward off the tree and falling to injure himself on the hard ground below, I kept him steady, holding him against me.

Not that it mattered to him, for I knew that he was in another world. His mind's eye.

---

In his mind, Namitsuki would awaken in the midst of a forest much like the one that he had been in previous with me. However, the air was much cooler and the ground upon which he lie was damp, as if the rain had only just ceased. Chances are, even with the fogginess of a deep sleep making it hard for him to perceive his surroundings, the fine mist that hovered just above the grass would give away the ultimate location — somewhere, some island, within Mizu no Kuni. Birds were chirping quietly in the canopy over head, as if they had been startled moments ago and only now worked up the courage to begin their song anew.[/style]

[Nujabes]

She was the last thing I saw.

Then, there was just black.

Cold, bitter darkness.

But even that vanished after some time. I found my eyes opening, and my body firmly planted against the ground. I was laying flat, sprawled about, basking in what warmth manage to penetrate the canopy and thin film of mist lingering about the ground. I laid there for several moments, eventually sitting up and scratching the back of my head. From the geography itself, I knew I was in Mizu no Kuni. Or, at least, had a very good suspicion.

As the Mizukage, I'd spent countless hours exploring every cave and tree-top. Every den and lake; I knew my land much like I knew myself. But, that mist -- barely there in the morning, but forever present. I'd come to know it the best.

Glancing about, I saw nothing of any real noteworthiness. So, I started walking. And even in the safety of Mizu no Kuni's borders, I was on guard

[kaoruko ♥]

[style=width: 400px; font-family: times new roman; text-align: justify]It would certainly be hard to tell if the surrounding area was truly familiar or if the landscape was so general that it just appeared to be his new home country. The mist was a good indicator, but it was also mysterious in its own way — as he walked through it, the areas closest to his body shimmered with a light that simply could not be coming from the dull sunlight above, which barely managed to penetrate the canopy. Despite this oddity, the birds continued to chirp and the noises of the forest resumed in all their glorious cacophony, from insect chirps to rustling foliage.

As he continued to move forward, Akira would happen upon a small clearing about 30 meters in diameter where flowers flourished and the grass grew taller from the glorious sunlight. However, the mist was here too. At the opposite side the mist began to shimmer with unnatural light, although nothing was immediately revealed. Instead, there was ... a howl. It shattered the relative peace of the forest, ceasing all other noises in the area, as if the animals had been frightened off by it. Mere seconds later countless howls answered this call, an amalgamation of noise that didn't just come from the original location, but from the forest all around Akira's current location.

The owner of the first howl made itself known. From the dense darkness produced by the trees came forth a wolf, his fur as black as night and his eyes amber, soulful. His sights were locked upon Akira and his tail was being held straight up in the air, marking him as the alpha of the hidden pack — he was displaying his dominance. Suddenly he began to wag his tail and emitted a gruff grunt noise, as if he recognized the man standing before him.[/style]

[Nujabes]

Odd, indeed.

Though I really didn't appear to be paying too much attention to the oddities of my surroundings, I was on guard and cautious. There was a reservedness in my step that, in all honesty, I rarely used. But, this situation was different. Who knew the boundaries of my own mind? In the real world, I knew my foes - their limits and strengths. But here? Who was to say that a spider couldn't rip me in half, with or without the Hachibi's help?

It wasn't long before my watchful step led me into a clearing, decorated with beautiful flowers and neatly cropped grass. It reminded me of somewhere, but trapped within this dream-world, I couldn't imagine what it was. And that's when I heard it--

--the howl.

He's here, it said. It was followed, like an orchestra, by a slew of others. The noise blended into a calling that I recognized; each and every voice I knew was coming back to me. I remembered them all - the wolves of the pack I'd been initiated into as nothing more than an infant, when my family had left me for dead. And, as I imagined, it wasn't much longer before the head of my pack emerged from the shadows and mist.

"Father," I whispered breathlessly, my eye scanning him over several times to ensure it was him. It'd been so long since I'd seen him; I wanted nothing more than to rush over and grab him, hug him and roll in the grass like we used to when he trained me to hunt. I wanted to know how my mother was doing; my brothers and sisters, as well. But, something inside me hesitated -- I didn't move.

Instead, I lowered my stance, spreading my legs shoulder-width apart to distribute my balance. Something wasn't right. "Father, it's me." I looked around. Where were the others? "Why haven't the others come?"

[kaoruko ♥]

[style=width: 400px; font-family: times new roman; text-align: justify]Akira did not move and neither did the alpha wolf, Fenzu. His gaze remained locked on the full-grown man, studying him with a curiosity that may have only been reserved for a human. "Fenrir," he greeted, tail slowing down to a stationary but still raised position. After a few tense moments he pawed forward a few feet, breaking from the edge of the clearing ... only to pause when his companion took on a neutral stance. It was neither offensive nor defensive, but using it at all was an act of aggression.

Fenzu pulled back his lips, tightening them against his teeth in such a way that they were displayed in all their sharp glory &smash; a snarl. However, his eyes remained locked upon his son; it became clear that this was another show of dominance, a warning. "Is this how you greet me after all these years?" He continued to snarl, tail sticking up even straighter, if that was physically possible. To the average human this was a menacing pose, but it was in retaliation to the stressors of the meeting. "The others are waiting to see if you have changed, Fenrir. You are less of us now that you've spent so long with the humans."

From behind Akira came two more wolves, a very small fraction of the pack. Both had coats of pure gray and their tails were completely relaxed, pointing toward the ground — it showcased that they were of a mid-rank in the pack, neither was special. However, they were much younger than their alpha counterpart and he may not have recognized them, for they had only recently reached maturity. As they stood shoulder-to-shoulder, the left wolf let out an incoherent yip that would announce their presence to both Akira and Fenzu.

"Why have you come here?" The alpha questioned, his face relaxing.[/style]

[Nujabes]

When he said my name-- my true name --I froze, almost like I was still one of the many betas in the pack. Every nerve in my body turned to ice, and in the moments that followed, I found myself relinquishing my stance. Instead, I stood tall - respectfully - and nodded. "I apologize, father."

It was true. It'd been years since I'd seen any of my family, and I had become much more of a man than a wolf. But, it still burned within my chest. When the moon was full, and the clouds were scarce, the urge to howl for my kin was greater than anything I'd ever known. But, I didn't. For some reason, I never called to them.

At the yip from the two behind, I merely glanced over my shoulder. I didn't know their names, but their faces and eyes seemed familiar. They were probably nothing more than pups when I'd been taken by the forces of Hi no Kuni. Redirecting my gaze back to Fenzu, I nodded. "I lost something -- in my memories. I need to get it back."