Starring:
Ishino, Akane
Date: February 28, 2014
Summary:
An interview with Kyoujin
"Dig a little deeper"
Ishino's workshop
So it'd come to be. At the appropriate time that Ishino had dedicated to it, Akane got a request from a shinobi to accept a scroll. That scroll would of course have the invitation for her to come to his workshop so they could work on what they spoke about. She'd have directions to Ishino's home.. which was in the back of the marketplace.
Akane had accepted the scroll with a polite thank you to the shinobi and read the information there. She had gotten slightly lost at one point, but the merchants were quite happy to direct her to Ishino's place…once she bought something of course. Thus she ended up with an odd little trinket to add to her growing collection of souvineers…. Despite getting lost, though she was about 10 minutes early when she knocked on Ishino's door. She had worn her hair in that simple braid again, apparently unarmed. She did not even wear her belt of daggers.
When Akane stepped up to the door, but before she could knock, it'd open. Time Keeper, in that old guy henge, would bow to her quite formally in that eastern style bow. Once done, he'd step to the side, motioning for her to come in. Leading on after closing the door, he'd bring her to Ishino's workshop.
If ever there was a room to represent someone's mind, this was probably it. The place looked like multiple things were exploded, parts hanging from wires from the ceiling all over, tools everywhere.. and yet, a closer look at the whole thing would show that each item was more.. imploding. Coming toogether into a solid form. An organization to the chaos. Ishino was there, what looked to be the leg of the HARPS system before him while he worked with a binoc and some tweesers inside of it's gears.
Akane found herself nodding her head to Time Keeper and followed it inside. She paused at the doorway to the workshop and blinked several times. It was a bit overwhelming. Mechanical things were everywhere…literally… everywhere. She shook her head a little, having known an artist int he past she had become used to the odd organized clutter that the creative types seemed to gravitate toward. She was a bit suprised, though, that Ishino was like this. She'd have figured him for a spotless workshop, everything in it's place, though, she admitted to herself, everything probably was in its place as far as Ishino was concerned. She stepped closer so she could se the swordsman but allowed him his space. "Hello, Ishino-san." There was very little about her demeanor that showed any kind of discomfort.
Ishino didn't glance up, although his voice was polite enough. "Akane-san. Thank you for coming. Early too, a definite bonus." He'd finish applying something, the whole leg jerking as he did. Straightening up, he looked at it a moment then nodded. Standing up then, he'd bow to her in that western style. "Welcome to my shop. The table is clear.. I had to re-arrange to make the room. Several of the projects are almost complete too." He'd motion to the things suspended, then point to the cleared table. "If you lay down, we'll begin. Generally you said you can't bring her out, yes? So I shall be doing just that."
Akane lowered her head once in respect to Ishino's greeting and glanced around as he explained that the table was clear and something she did not quite catch about his projects. She fought the instinct to appologise for the disruption and managed to keep it silent. The cleared table gets her full attention and though she simply nodded and moved over to the table, the muscles in her neck were tensed. She slipped off her jacket, allowing her arms to be bare, folded the item and set it aside before she took a deep breath and layed down ont he table. Her jade green eyes were distant for a few seconds. Quietly she hoped Kyoujin didn't accidently — or on purpose for that matter — do any damage to his projects…
Ishino motioned and Time Keeper, the henge fading away, would straighten up to it's full height, the ticking filling the room. "Relax, Akane-san. You're not the first who could potentially be violent I've had in here. I've had several prisoners that were no longer useful I had to practice with. It will be alright." He'd smile, nodding to her as she laid down. "Now.. the ticking is a genjutsu. It is going to take over. it will measure your heart. It will measure your breathing. Let go, count down from 10 with each tick. We'll see if we can't have a chat with Kyoujin-san, hmm?"
Akane found her eyes on the puppet as it stood to it's full height, noting the clicking.. It was similar to the pulse she'd felt the other day in the pits. The way Ishino spoke and informed her of things reminded her of another quiet man she had dealt with in the time she'd been in Kiri…. She took a breath and released it. She would never voluntarily admit to it but Ishino's calm and simply way of stating he'd had prisoners in her position before made her slightly nervous. Her jade green eyes slowly deepened a shade. She obeyed the command to count down from 10 between the clicks, and it managed to relax her, the tension slipping from her shoulders and neck, her eyes closing lightly.
Ishino nods, watching Akane. "Good. Much better. Verbal note; there seems to be an alteration in the eyes pigmentation when dealing with the exchange between Akane-san and Kyoujin-san." Ishino glanced to Time Keeper with a nod, before looking back to Akane. "Now. Relaxed, let go of control, Akane-san. Acknowledge that at this point, you are calm and that Kyoujin may speak, but does not have control. You know there is no harm, nor anything that could be done, here, as I am in full control of the situation."
Had Ishino tried this tack mere weeks ago, it would never have worked. Up until that point Kyoujin had only come out when Akane lost complete control and during battle. Kyoujin had, quite literally, kept Akane allive. But because of 'her' tactics and lack of remorse, Akane had buried her deep and over compensated by offering everyone around her the false smile. A smile that those in her home village had never seen past.. but everyone in Kiri seemed to look straight through the act. It was an odd feeling.
Kyoujin was much closer to the surface now, though, having been brought out a few times since Akane had broken weeks ago. And so, despite Akane's insistance that Kyoujin only showed herself during an act of violence, the other personality surfaced. The woman's eyes opened and her entire demeanor shifted. She projected an aura of threat around her, her jaw was tense and her eyes were hard and emerald green. She pushed herself up on her elbows and gave Ishino an annoyed look. "This One is here." She smirked a bit. "Would you like This One to kill more weaklings for you? Ishino-san?" Her voice seemed caught somewhere between a razor's edge and a soft purr.
Ishino chuckles softly, shaking his head. "No. Thank you. I do appreciate your assistance with that situation, it made it move fluid enough and quite efficent." Casually leaning back against the workdesk he stood next to, he folded his arms across his chest. "It is interesting that you call yourself One. Do you not go by Kyoujin-san, as I was told? Hmm.. and how aware are you of your situation when you Akane-san is in control?"
Kyoujin sat up and propped one arm on a knee, casual but ready. She shrugged easily. "That name, Kyoujin, was given to This One as a child. Akane-san considered it a nickname until recently. It became simpler to refer to This One as Kyoujin. This one knows everything she knows. This One watches from the shadows." She did not specify whether she was watching for the right moment to strike or if she was watching for something else. For Akane to weaken? For her to be in danger? For a good chance to get out and cause some bloody cais perhaps. The woman's smile was far more like a smirk as she watched Ishino.
Ishino gave a nod in response. "Interesting. So you watch and wait. You taunt Akane, to cause her to slip, so you can force her down to take over?" He'd muse, tapping a finger to his chin. "Then the name is simply another formation from Akane, instead of actually being of something.. Then, may I ask, what happen to Akane and One, as a child, to cause the fission to start with?"
There was a flicker in the woman's eyes and her expression slipped into a frown for just a moment, only to return to the self-assured smirk Kyoujin had worn before. Ishino's question had gotten a response from Akane, an instinctual desire to keep that information hidden, but she had kept quiet and allowed Kyoujin to continue. However, Kyoujin's muscles flexed a bit as Akane withdrew further inside her own psyche. Kyoujin had little problem with the subject. She lifted her hand, tracing the scar over her left eye. "She killed her father."
Raising a brow, Ishino didn't comment on the shift. Akane, obviously, is still aware. So this is less a different personality than a defense mechanism. He'd instead nod in reply to Kyoujin. "I'm guessing that's where the scar came from then, One-san? It was tramatic to Akane-san and as such.. she created you. You did the deed so she did not have to deal with it.. and it has gone forward since?"
Kyoujin nodded easily to Ishino's assessment but held up a finger to indicate a difference in his thinking. "This one did not kill her father. This one made her run after the deed was done. Bakane was frozen, covered in her family's blood and would surely have been harmed or blamed if she had been found there. This One became her survival. This One took her to a place far away from….." Her eyes flickered like a slide as Akane struggled inside Kyoujin and when the assassin settled back into her mind once again Kyoujin tilted her head slightly. "This One brought her to a neutral place with 'normal' people and kept her alive on the streets. This One would have remained in control but Bakane fought this one after weeks of silence when we stumbled onto a wounded old man. This One was about to put him out of his misery when She took charge and nursed him back to health." She met Ishino's gaze straight on. "This one is the killer. Bakane carries my poisons. She is the healer."
Ishino listened raptly, interested, as the tale was spoken. A small nod was given, as he'd reach to the side and pick up a pad to start taking notes.. It's Ishino, it seems that's sorta just what he does. Once Kyoujin finished, Ishino tapped his pad. "Interesting. So.. She's the killer, but prefers to heal and thus created you. The instinctual response to needing to flee. It took time for her to recover enough to realize that she was living by instinct and took over.. trying to repair damage done by her first kill?" Musing, Ishino put the pad aside. "So then, I guess the next question is how does the One return to being the same as Akane? All one person, instead of this flip back and forth and the taunting?"
The woman lifted a hand as if to say she wasn't sure, though she did not seem to be overly interested in combining to once more become single person and of course Akane was loathe to admit to her past. Accepting her own darkness would be hard for the kunoichi. Kyoujin sighed quietly. "This one does enjoy tormenting her at times…. but this one also understands the distraction in battle will get her killed some day." She was quite serious, the smirk gone, though her eyes were as dark green and hard as ever.
Ishino nods in solemn agreement. "Absolutely. I know it can potentially come to that factor. However, there is an inefficency in actions when you are split so. It causes trouble for you both.. You, as a fighter, would know this well, hmm?" He'd shrug slightly. "Having to wrestle for control renders inaction. Inaction in key situations is death anyways. I seek to mend that divide into the whole, for the betterment of both of you."
Kyoujin nodded in agreement to Ishino's logic. Then she closed her eyes, head drooping slightly and for a long moment the woman is silent, concentration showing in her muscles and jaw. When she lifted her head again, she was still Kyoujin, but she looked entirely free of Akane's softer way. "This One put her to sleep. She will not remember what is said from here on. Perhaps the only way to mend is to force her to come to terms with what she has done and is capeable of doing again. This one has never refused a chance at battle or control. But perhaps if she had to face death or killing on her own… This One is unsure of how it really works." She shrugged.
Ishino raises a brow. Well.. that was interesting. Very interesting. "I'd have to agree. Afterall, that is what created the One." Pondering for a few moments, he'd give a slow nod. "However, to do that will require some further setup as well as some resource usage. I will need some time to get into the specifics of it." He'd motion vaguely with a hand towards the door that Time Keeper blocked. "I doubt I'd have trouble with it, however, it does take time. Very well, do you mind returning for now, One, and give back control to Akane? I believe our interview is done."
Kyoujin nodded, watching Ishino's reactions closely. She really had little idea of how to make the meld work or even if it could work, but She noted to herself that Ishino was an opponent she should be wary of. His request to return Akane to control made her unhappy — she enjoyed freedom afterall — but she closed her eyes and allowed Akane to resurface slowly, not wishing to alarm the healer. Despite her apparent enjoyment of taunting Akane, Kyoujin honestly did not meant he woman harm. When she opened her eyes they were once again that pale jade green and Akane appeared to have woken from a deep sleep. It took her a moment to realize that she was sitting up. "Oh …uh.. What happened? was she trouble? i…" A hand went to her forehead. "I can't remember."
Ishino picked up his pad idly to write down a few more notes. "Hmm? Oh, no no, nothing like that. I think that I have the respect of Kyoujin-san. She knew better than to cause trouble within my home as she's seen what I can do." He'd look to her with a smile and a shake of his head. "You were not suppose to remember. So that's quite alright. We do have a plan, however it will take some time and preperation. I do kindly request that you remain within Kirigakure for now, while I set up the scenario?"
Akane blinked at Ishino's words. She hadn't thought Kyoujin would be so foolish as to attack Ishino or cause trouble for the same reason as she had not simply attacked the last man who had dealt with her. But it still made Akane nervous that Kyoujin was conspiring against her with one of the most powerful men in Kirigakure… His request that she remain in Kirigakure while he set up a 'scenario' made her even more nervous. But she nodded again.
Finishing his notes, Ishino set the pad aside with a smile, standing to his feet. "You trust me to do what I need to, to help you, correct? I will be doing just that. The risk of death will be minimal, even if it does look otherwise." He'd motion to the door, TIme Keeper once again in his butler guise bowing in that eastern style. "Shall I show you to the door?"
