Starring:
Date: January 24, 2015
Summary:
A fateful encounter within the Land of Rice Paddies reunites two people who never imagined they would see each other again in this world.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"After the Rain"
Fuuma Basin
Fuuma Alley had never been a place that Hanpa enjoyed, despite its relative similarity to his own former village. The primary reason for it however, was that it was a hive of chaos controlled by greed and ambition instead of a hive of chaos brought together by the commonality of the idea that chaos was not random, merely the breadth of the angles of existence. Still, Fuuma Alley was useful. Much information could be gathered here as well as resources if you were able to communicate properly… and Hanpa was always quite talented when it came to communication.
"Bangai, I am sure that we can come to many more lucrative arrangements in the future. But I do expect for your people to be on time next time. Having to wait here for a full two days has been less than convinient. I have places to be, after all." The man he spoke to had two tufts of red hair on either side of his other wise bald head, styled as horns curving towards the top of his head. He was missing one eye and two fingers, but wore a rather nice kimono and had several pieces of jewlery as well as a pair of large body guards. "I'll not be making any excuses for that lot… but I ain't gonna apologize either. But I will kick them in the deluge for ya as I don't want to lose your business. I don't know how you were able to get such a fine year of Sake… but when I chug it down i'll toast it to ya! HAHAHAHAHA!" The man named Bangai would apparently crack himself up before making his way from the relative exit of Fuuma alley that would lead people away from the lands back to more civilized locales. Hanpa would turn after making sure Bangai continued on his way before doing the same himself.
Hanpa… Such a fool she was looking for. Someone foolish enough but now only to carry the weight of such a name, but to also bestow it as their own alias. There was only two possibilities that someone would resurrect such a name. A pretender trying to meet their own ends or… no impossible. Hanpa as she knew it had collapsed long ago, what should have been left were the true fragments of individuals, merely held together by association and time, and no longer by an idea.
With the help of some slithering friends, Soubi did gain some information on the whereabouts of Hanpa. Business in the Land of Rice Paddies was difficult to avoid, and she was sure he was bound to arrive, for business or for leisure. She stalked him cautiously, moving beneath the surface. Right as he turned to to begin is trek she emerged from the ground before him, her body adorned in a simple flowing black cloak, buttoned at the front. her long loose locks of jet black hair trickled down the curve of her cheek, rolling down along her back towards her waistline. For a moment there isn't a word, she merely narrows her eyes upon him, an unwordly azure hue. "You must be Hanpa," Soubi simply states, with nothing more to follow. She had to confirm this was definitely the right person after all.
What ever gaze he may have upon the woman was merely the reflection of her own face, her own thoughts and expectations being the only visage she was awarded. Hanpa himself would remain where he was at this new arrival, the raven circling above in long laps suddenly feeling the desire to swoop off in another direction. "Yes, I would be Hanpa." he would answer back in his calm and collected tone. "And you must have a reason for wanting to confirm that." He would state, though still without movement. "However, I do not have a lot of time, so if you have business with me it will either have to be on the way or pursued at a different date."
"You wouldn't know the first thing about Hanpa… Even using such a name as your own… an insult." She frowned at him deeply, her finger tips dance along the hilt of her blade before curling over the handle, he could hear the faint click as she stairs into the mirror like mask of his. "You will not deflect me. You will answer my questions, or I will cut them out of you," Her demeanour was…quite threatening and serious, nothing irritated her more than someone else riding the coat tail of another's hard work and ambitions. "You are not Hanpa, Hanpa is /was/ and organization. Formally disbanded by my colleagues, but maintained through our own personal connections. None of them would place their own face on such a group, we act as individuals," Soubi spoke, perhaps in attempt to educate him on what /Hanpa/ really was. "Explain yourself, Pretender."
Now this was quite amusing. This woman, the way she moved, was obviously dangerous and it was certainly not something to chide, but the sheer presumption. "I would not know the first thing about Hanpa." was repeated. A smirk was on the mans face, but his voice was controlled to make it sound as if he was almost trying to grasp what she was saying. "For I am a pretender…" he would repeat that as well, though changing it contextually. "Did you come to this conclusion on your own… or did your colleagues inform you of this possible betrayal? As you can see… your own face, currently, is being placed upon this group." Such a bad joke at this time, but he wanted to see something of her. "You have come all this way to stop a pretender from… what exactly? Bringing shame to the group? Profiting off of it's former prestige? Hiding behind it and claiming it as my own? Which part aggravates you the most… I wonder… before you begin to read my intentions from swathes of my flesh."
"They wouldn't leave me out on such a decision. I would be the first to know if there was a resurgence of Hanpa as I am also the one who will protect it from /pretenders/" Soubi simply replies back, inching a few steps closer. "No… what gets me the most is your discretion of those who had spilled blood for this organization. It's roots are quite deep and is merely the a shell of what it used to be. I'm not going to give you a history lesson but I do have personal stake in this. I'm not going to let the legacy of my brother, nor the allies that died with him to be in vain. I will not ask again, tell me what you know, and tell me who you truly are,"
Hanpa's reinforced gauntlets would creak and twist just a bit as he clenched his fist almost beyond his ability to bare it. Rage was something that was indeed associated with this man's true name, but it was rarely seen, an even more rarely survived. His teeth set so hard that he could not even speak the words that came to mind at the audacity of claiming to be his sister while at the same time denying his own existence. Few things would cause him to lash out, especially as he knew what the risks of as situation like this would be.
However… "Do not… dare… to impersonate my Ameagari (After the Rain). Do not presume my patience is limitless. Do not speak as if you can fathom the depth of this sin. Man, woman, child, beast, insect, SOUL! It does not matter what form you come at me as… to defile her before me is to become synonymous with oblivion itself!" Hanpa's chakra would surge and his right arm would swing out, his left hand forming one seal while the right formed another. He was preparing for something, but it was also obvious that his movements were slow and inflexible despite the obvious knowledge he possessed in performing the jutsu he was attempting relatively slowly.
Such spoken words were… a bit surprisingly at the least. It wasn't something she was expecting. Was he defensive now? For what purpose? What sort of pretender would know of Ameagari? The thought itself had given her some mild hesitation. Was he foolish? To attack her before she even lifted a finger? She hadn't the idea of what jutsu he was getting ready to cast, but nevertheless her hand seals remained ready… Ready to draw out water if need be to defend against it. "Ameagari…? For someone who is pretender…and someone who apparently has no history of Hanpa, or the Takokujin… Surely you just didn't stumble upon that concept. You are angry yet you have no reason to be…" Soubi pauses briefly, careful to evaluate his movements. "All you need to do… is explain your origin. How far along is your association… Why do you claim yourself as the faceless of Hanpa?"
The reality was that his body simply could not yet handle the vast array of knowledge his mind still maintained. His fresh new tenketsu were not able to truly channel the chakras, his chakra network was excellent, but his body just got in the way. He would hold the seals as if he was prepared to strike at any time, but he was fully aware that it could be no more than a bluff at this point in time and should he truly have to fight, he would have to go about it another way. But his anger had blinded him, and perhaps had also revealed weakness he would rather have kept to himself.
The lack of violence in response however was enough to allow him a moment to regain his composure. "Foolish woman… Hanpa only exists due to the loss of what held the Takokujin together. I honor them by wearing the face of every stranger in existence. I have merely taken the moniker that was bestowed upon what I had to leave behind. Continuing what was continued beyond me out of respect and comradree. To do any less would be intolerable."
"So is this whole charade for honor then? You honor Hanpa by the deeds that you accomplish, and not the mask you wear on your face. Hanpa was dissolved, so why do you bother to bring it back ? What is your goal?" Soubi asks curiously, narrowing her eyes open him a bit more. Soubi had no means to witness his affliction. It was quite rare for her to use her sharingan unless it was absolutely necessary. "What do you mean… left behind?" The linger question that had suddenly caught her attention. He was obviously a previous member. "I don't recognize you for when Hanpa was formed… I'm certain everyone was present…"
"Quite the inquisitive girl." Hanpa stated, still standing at the ready, not having moved an inch in his posture. "I was present when both the Takokujin as well as Hanpa was formed. I am the reason that the Takokujin became Hanpa. It is my duty as their leader to honor the sacrifices that they made in order to honor my loss." Allowing his stance to slowly become less aggressive, seemingly not enraged by her claim to be "his" sister, he would raise his hands to his hood, casting it back so that his raven locks would spill from it, but he kept the mask upon his face. "Your claim to be my sister shall be dealt with. Her loss will not be used against me. I strangled and beat the man to death who dared to take her from me, so you, Pretender, shall not find any less of a fate. But before that, you will know who sends you to the abyss. What a grave mistake you made in this farce."
Kipping his head forward, his hands slipped up from his hood to push the mask from his face. His eyes remained covered, as did the under side of his chin, neck, and ears, but the rest of his face looked only a few years perhaps older than the one she would have last seen him with. "I am Uchiha Rainos, and not even oblivion itself can contain my wrath!"
Soubi was…conflicted at first. She didn't expect the 'imposter' to reveal himself, especially so quickly. But his expression his face… was remarkably familiar. "No…" Soubi muttered briefly before her own eyes began to flicker in a pale red, three tomoe swirling about her pupil as she takes in his image. "Genjutsu?" She contemplated rather vocally. Her chakra bore no evidence of tampering however. "Onii-san… That isn't possible. Tessen…Odo. They told me everything. You were dead without any way to return. Your /ghost/ visited it us long ago. A spirit," Soubi began to explain, attempting to wrap her mind over this whole ordeal. Things simply didn't add up. "If you were around all this time then where in the world have you been? Why did you decide to come back now of all times?" She frowned deeply, frustrated…confused, though apart of her was content… if this truly was him. "Do you know…how long it has been?"
Gritting his teeth at the term "Onii-san", Hanpa was not so easily willing to except her continued existence, as ironic as that very concept was. So much so in fact that at the very thought of it, Hanpa paused for a few brief moments before cackling aloud at how ludicrous this entire ordeal had become. "Ohohohahahaha! Ahhh so you are to be my sister, taken from my existence over a decade ago questioning me about /MY/ existence which was also lost over a decade ago and neither of us are willing to accept that each other are real! I have… seen a great deal of things in my life time. I have been able to clearly see how the future unfold on many occasions…. and never once did I even dream of a situation as ridiculous as this." His face pulled in to a sharp smile… but it may be more dangerous than mirthful.
"Tessen, Odo. Yes they were there. They wanted to save me but could not. No one could… at least I thought. No… no… one one could. The price was far too high to pay… it was probably even designed that way. A trap that required completely unreasonable sacrifice to be released from." Hanpa snarled then for a moment, biting his lip. His attention snapped back to Soubi however only a moment after, his composure some how restored. "As I mentioned before… I was consumed by oblivion. The "third child" of the Rikudo Senin as the being liked to claim. An entity of malevolent chakra that was devoid of all things. Nothingness made manifest and given sentience. What ever it was… I chose to rid the world of it instead of allowing it to be unleashed upon existence. And I paid the price gladly. When they came to visit me, I left everything in their hands. And they decided from then on, that they would become Hanpa, in memory of my loss. Never to be whole again. Honestly… I never expected Tessen to be so dramatic. He was so stoic and proud before… and yet he came to tears that day." Hanpa would explain the history of that situation.
"You should know better than to believe in mere spirits and ghosts. Chakra is a form of energy we all have and it connects us in ways the flesh never can. They were bound to me by chakra… thus they were able to reach me through it. Reach what remained of me… my very essence. But they could not extract me, only see me off to eternity trapped between life and death. A hellish existence…" It did not seem Hanpa truly enjoyed thinking much of that time."What is far more important "Sister"… is what happened to /you/."
Soubi's sharingan began to fade away as she relented and curled her lips into a half smile. It was hard for her to know what to feel at the moment. Such a reunion… hints of frustration began to settle in as she raked her fingers through her long locks of hair, a soft sigh escaping her lips. "And yet after all this time, a way was found and you have since returned… I can't say I'm not happy to see you again but…" She paused and clenched her fists, more frustration building up within her. "You…are selfish… You take so many burdens upon yourself that the only memory I've been able to make of you is through literature, scrolls, and what both Tessen-sama nd Ogo had told me of you. I've tried to follow in your footsteps…to know you more. Fudo…" She frowned at the mention of the later, her fingers rubbing along her temples. " I've trained under many… Fuyu, Hinotori, Tessen, Ogo… I rose to the top of my village but in the end decided to leave. I instead protect those who are too weak to protect themselves, and right the wrongs that are constant throughou this world… I look in for the outside. That is what I've been doing with my life…and I am terribly efficient,"
Soubi sighs softly as she then crosses her arms along one another, perking a brow at her dear brother. "I threw away my lineage, my village, and even my identity. I'm just Soubi now," The thought had caused her to fluster just a little bit. "This… was not how I planned to meet you if I ever was to… A lot has changed…"
If she could have seen his eyes, they would be squinting, analysing, and capturing every detail of her now. Comparing it to then. She was a woman now, but also… she was different. She was world warn, perhaps even weary. But despite that… she chose much the same path that he did. And luckily… she did not meet the same fate as Fudo trying to get to her own choices. "Just as I am now simply Hanpa." is all he would say to it. He did not address his selfishness nor did he go in to details about her training or the fact that most of his deeds were merely writings for her to decipher and stories to read. "Come… and see Fudo." he would then say as he'd place his mask upon his face once more and tuck his hair back, donning the hood again. His mask and his gauntlets glistening as the sun was beginning to set. He would become quite quiet at this point, lost in the agony of the loss of his son even as he relished the idea of regaining his sister. Perhaps it balanced out to keep him from losing himself in madness. Or perhaps he did not want to get too close even with his sister in case she was taken from him again. But this time…. it was different. This time, he did not need to protect her.
