Starring:
Date: October 25, 2015
Summary:
While moving through Kadomai, Eremi spots an old friend that turns out to be not who he expected.
"A familiar face, an unfamiliar person"
Kadomai
She walked through the market, quietly and seemingly alone, carrying a small sack with some of the things, she's purchased. Her steps are calculated, moving her out of the way of oblivious villagers so that she doesn't ruin their day by toppling them over. She's fairly tall so it's easy for her to see people coming that she needs to avoid. The bag rests against her calf, dangling at the end of her arm as she turns about, glancing at a few of the stalls to find what she needs.
Chiasa approaches one, speaking out to get the vendor's attention, "How much do you want for those? I'd like to purchase a few." She hoists the bag up and starts rifling through her pockets to find her small purse as the vendor tells her all about the exotic fruits he sells.
The pair come to terms on a price and she turns to leave, her dark sooty eyes scanning about the marketplace once more to plan her next path.
"Renai…" A voice in the distance mumbled, but still managed to barely carry over the merchants and customers within the marketplace. Eremi was making his way out of the district having just finished helping one of the vendors bring their goods that had just arrived from the village entrance to their stall. It was a small task he would do from time to time, especially with those he has known since he was just a young boy.
"What are you doing here in Kadomai?" Eremi asked as he approached Renai before she could head off after paying the merchant. As he waited for an answer a slight clinging of metal filled the silence as the chains that hung from the shackles on his wrists rattled against each other as he brought his arms against his wrist. Eyeing the woman, she looked….somewhat different, but it was Renai no doubt. Just time had obviously changed her.
The woman turns her eyes to Eremi when he calls her.. something and asks his question, not a thread of recognition in her face. She blinks once and then glances up and down his shape, smiling slightly. "Am I not allowed to be here? I didn't know Kadomai was restricted. I know it's close to Konohagakure, but really.. That notion is a little ridiculous." She sounds exactly like her sister, her vocal inflections, her accent, but there's a bit of a difference in the way she carries herself. This woman has a relaxation about her that Renai could never maintain.
She steps closer to him, looking down to the chains, "What is that for? Are you a prisoner? Where are your guards?" Just as direct.
Confusion washed over Eremi at first that quickly turned into frustration as Renai appeared to not remember him. Being forgotten…It was a fear of his that was suddenly coming true before his life had even ended. "What games are you playing at?" Furrowed brows followed the question as he looked the young woman over. This was the girl he had spent so much time with when he left the village and now she stood before him with blank eyes that looked at him as a stranger, instead of a friend or something more…Family?
"The chains do not matter. What are you doing here, Renai? I thought you had to return to Kiri after we parted ways. Did the Mizukage let you go or did you run away? Is it even safe for you to be here? Kadomai isn't a protected village like Konohagakure. If you're a runaway you could still be in trouble."
Chiasa's expressions go through a remarkable change, shifting from confidence to confusion to frustration to fear within the time it takes Eremi to finish chiding her. She doesn't say anything for a moment, her brows furrowing.
"What are you talking about?" The woman moves suddenly, reaching into her bag and pulling out a her ID. "I am Chiasa. Akasaka Chiasa." She holds the identification out to him so he can inspect it. Akasaka Chiasa from the Land of Grass. "Who is.. Renai?" The name is sounded out slightly, her tongue getting used to the sound of it. "Why are you calling me her and what does she have to do with Kirigakure? If this person is in trouble, I could maybe help you find her, but you have to tell me what the hell you're talking about." She ends annoyed, frustrated that he thinks she's someone else and now rather fearful that she'll be locked up and accused due to some weird, freakish mistake.
Umm…" Unsure what to say, how to respond, Eremi took a step back while bringing a hand up to rub at his forehead. Chains dangled off the shackle attached to his wrist, clanging together as he massaged the headache that was slowly forming. "I don't…What are you playing at?" He saw the I.D. through the brief glimpses he could take while fighting away the headache, but that wasn't proof of anything. A counterfeit or stolen…Clearly a fake. The woman before him was Renai as he remembered her with slight changes that could easily be over looked as time changes all.
Taking in a deep breath, his hand would drop to his side while he contemplated how to approach the situation. "Chiasa." The name sounded foreign on his tongue, "How far back do you remember? Do you remember your child hood? Your mom, your dad or siblings?" Perhaps she was brainwashed. If so, how much false information could they have fed her…Could she retain if it weren't true. "Do you remember anything of your past? Do you remember this?" A crescent moon necklace would be held out before her only as far as the chain that wrapped around Eremi's neck would allow.
She watches him, slowly adding concern in with the emotions she's feeling. Chiasa shakes her head at the necklace he presents her. "I've never seen that." The woman doesn't move away from him as she answers his other questions. "Look. I'm adopted, okay? I was raised in the Land of Grass. My parents adopted me. I remember bit and pieces of the orphanage, but nothing beyond that…" She pauses, unsure how much else she should divulge to him. That no one know where she came from? Of her abilities? Never. That has to be kept secret, at all costs.
"Are you feeling alright?" Chiasa tucks the ID back into her bag and moves to place a hand on his arm. "Maybe we should go sit down? You don't look so well. Let me buy you a drink." If allowed, she'd tug at his arm and lead him to a shaded spot where they can get refreshments. If not, she'd just stand there with him, looking over his features as though she expects him to pass out.
"I'm fine, and I don't need a drink. I need you to remember." Eremi pulled his arm away to prevent being led away. There was a chance at this point the two of them were catching the gazes of onlookers, but he didn't care, he only cared about one thing right. Something that he didn't think he'd have to face for a long time, but with it staring back at him with empty eyes he didn't know how to feel. Anger, however, was starting to build up within him.
"Listen, Chiasa, if what you say is true. If you don't remember anything about me, the necklace or anyone named Renai, then…" He paused as the idea that came to mind was too silly to even think, yet alone speak as he was sure mentioning something to someone that was sure they were who they say they were was bound to set them off…."Then you are a clone. You are not an original and this is why you were adopted. The real Renai is still out there, probably being prodded and tortured as they make clones of her to make use of her abilities…How you got away I'm not sure, but the real one is still out there.
Chiasa pulls her hand away from him when he refuses to be moved. She just… stares at him, some form of realization starting to dawn on her as she listens to him speak. Her eyes move back to the chains and then back up to his face. "You're insane. That's why you're in chains. They think you might hurt someone."
She sighs, shifting her weight and gesturing to the man, trying to explain, trying to make him understand so he doesn't go wandering around Kadomai, spreading rumors and getting her in trouble for something she didn't do. "I am not this person. I am not a clone of her. I am who I say I am and no one else. Besides…if I was a-.." The woman stops suddenly, her face going white as she realizes -just- what he said.
Eremi could only shake his head as Chiasa tried to explain the situation that was unfolding before her, but the moment she grew curious, questioning something he had brought up as if sparking a memory she had once had did a smile form upon his face as if there was a chance to bring Renai back. "Yes, abilities. You…errr…Renai had abilities that very few had, especially outside the Land of Wind. She could control Sand. Manipulate it at will and have it do for her as she wished. Do you have these same abilities?" If yes then there was no doubt that this Chiasa was in fact Renai. If no, then…He had simply found Renai's doppleganger. There was one out there for everyone. "I think you do…I know you do."
The woman blinks at him, the confusion and frustration on her face being replaced with sheer terror. Her eyes dialate and the pulse in her throat quickens as she starts to back away from him. "How the hell.. There's no way they could find me here.." Her words are choked and in a whisper, but audible enough to be heard.
The response he gets is flight and that should be answer enough. She quite simply runs from him, blurring past the man and into the crowd. She's not incredibly fast, but quicker than the average human being. She's indeed had some amount of shinobi training.
Chiasa can be seen blurring out of the crowd, pausing only briefly to turn her head and look back, clinging to the side of a wall with tree walking abilities. She scales said wall and attempts to disappear over the roof to the disapproving and curious shouts of the people below. It'll be easier to run if she's up high is what she's thinking.
"Who did what? Wait!!" Eremi's outstretched hand attempts to grasp the young lady as she takes off, but only manages to feel the strawberry blonde hair within his finger tips before Chiasa takes off into the crowd. "I can help you." He'd call after while taking off himself in a hurry to catch up. Despite the girl being faster than expected, she was still taller than most and the vibrant hair being easily recognizable among the others gathered around. There were times where he thought he lost her only to catch sight of her again.
When she scales the wall, Eremi would be only a few yards behind the woman doing the same, "You can't out run me and there's no where to hide. Kadomai is my village. I grew up here, I know all of it's ins and outs. Stop and talk to me. If you're in trouble, if you took on another identity to protect yourself even from those you considered friends…family… It's time to stop running, let me help."
Eremi continued the pursuit, never stopping until the brief moment where Chiasa turned only to warn him before taking off again. "Now it is I who don't know what you're talking about!" He'd touch ground moments after she took off again, but he wouldn't continue to follow, instead he'd watch as her image grew further and further away. "Renai!…Chiasa!… I'm not here to hurt you, I never have been. I've always been there to try to help you since the day you saved me from my own demise. I've grown since then. Stronger physically and mentally, I still have my issues, but I know I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for your kind gesture that day in the woods. You might not remember me, but I'll never forget you! Like you I have questions, but together we can find the answers we both are looking for." He didn't know what else to say. Chasing someone so frightened might turn out positive, however the chances were slim and he couldn't risk it. It had been so long since he had seen Renai and there she was before him, if just slightly different…
She only gets into the shadows before she has to stop. Running has never been her strong suit and sprinting like that wears her out fast. Chiasa listens as he calls after her, unsure what to do. The woman gulps air for a few seconds, gently grasping her side. Breathing is first and foremost, after all. He doesn't sound like them. Like a criminal. If anything, he sounds like a decent person, someone she could like maybe if he would accept who she says she is. And this person he thinks she is.. She saved him?
Chiasa peeks out from behind the tree where she's hiding, looking back to peer at the man. She still seems a bit frightened of him, but she isn't running at least. Eventually, she starts to walk back, her breathing slowly becoming easier. She keeps her distance, but questions him, "Who are you? And how do you know about … it?" She clutches her back to her stomach protectively as if trying to keep something safe. "No one here should know anything about that."
Eremi remained motionless as Chiasa disappeared into the forest and assuming she was gone for good, was prepared to head back. Then he saw it, just briefly, but it was there. Strawberry blonde hair peeking out from behind a thick tree assured him that though she maybe hesitant, she was curious. Curious enough to reappear and approach and as she did, he stayed still. "I am Satonezu Eremi, Tokubetsu of Konohagkure and if by it, you mean sand manipulation, then I know that from Renai. She was from Kirigakure or at least she believed herself to be until she discovered she may have actually been from Sunagakure. Perhaps kidnapped or sold…" It was strange to Eremi to talk to Renai as if she wasn't Renai… She was right there before him. Before his very own eyes and yet she wasn't.
She listens to him, unsure what to think. He's making more sense now that he's not telling her that she isn't who she says she is. Making up her mind about it, she reaches into the bag and withdraws a handful of something. Sand. She opens her hands, palm upward, the grains beginning to fall from between her fingers. Then, they stop and move backward, up into her palm and forming a ball. "I know no one else that can do this."
Chiasa tucks the ball of sand back into her bag and takes a step toward him. "This… Renai. She didn't know where she came from, you say? I take it she looks like me?" She reaches up to push a lock of hair behind a pierced ear. "The people that … There were people that wanted me to work for them. A gang. When we refused, they tried to take me by force. They injured my father." Her eyes do not leave his face as she speaks, studying his expression and trying to pick up on any cue that he isn't being honest. "Where is Renai now? I want to find her."
Eremi watched unflinching with one visible emerald eye, the other hidden behind his long bangs, as Chiasa produced sand and began to easily manipulate it just as Renai could. He wanted with every bone in his body, every fiber to point out that it must be true, you are Renai, but he was making more progress going along with this girl being someone else then who she actually is. "Besides yourself and Renai, I've only met others that could do what you do within the Land of Wind. Your story sounds very similar to yours, unfortunately though if I knew exactly where she was I would not have mistaken you for her. Last I knew she went back to Kirigakure to continue her work as a shinobi among them. Considering her worth to the village, I assume her to be safe."
Chiasa frowns when he says that she is likely in Kirigakure. That's not really a place she's considered going. The woman sighs, taking a step closer to him, slowly starting to let down her guard. She studies Eremi through slightly narrowed eyes. "You aren't going to make me join Konohagakure, are you?" She eyes him with suspicion, a slight pout upon her lips. She is quite tired of people trying to make her do things she doesn't want to. "Because if you are, I'm leaving. Right now, and you'll never see my face again." She takes another step toward him, like a skittish stray cat, ready to bolt at a moment's notice. She seems to want to trust him, but is afraid. She's likely been burned by trusting others before.
"I didn't make Renai join Konohagakure, and I'm not going to make you." As Chiasa continued to slowly move forward one step at a time, Eremi did little else but cause a rattling of his chains once again as he crossed both arms over his chest. "No, I won't make you join, but I will take you up on that drink now if you're still interested. A more relaxed setting where we could continue to talk on things, and I could perhaps buy you some new materials that you may have lost on your sudden…retreat…from Kadomai."
