Starring:
Date: June 28, 2014
Summary:
Reina and Nanashi meet up at the Hakumei apartment in Fuuma.
"The Unknown Reflection - Showing Reina"
Fuuma Alley
Reina had carved out a permanent stop in Fuuma, two rooms in an apartment building. One was for storage and another for the living area, and she'd since made it available to any and all Twilight members. It's connected to a private garden, although the garden is cramped and overgrown with weeds. Usually it smells of the industrial fumes, but now a light rain has steadily soaked everything outside and dampened the noxious smell. Reina sits under a scraggly elm tree on a bench. It's relatively dry underneath. She has scrolls spread out over the bench where she sits alone, and is currently perusing one with interest.
As Reina sits and reads, a few drops of sand would seem to fall from the tree beside her… then more… and more… until huge globs fall and finally Nanashi in its Kozue form appears standing behind the bench with its hands propped up behind Reina's shoulders. "So is this what you do all day now?" it asks with a faintly lifted eyebrow. "Send me out to trample the shinobi alone while you sit and read?"
Reina doesn't look up from her scroll. "You know I don't like going to Kirigakure," she murmurs. She is looking over the layout of Fuuma itself. After awhile she does peer at Nanashi thoughtfully. "I've been coming up with a plan besides beating up people we don't like. It's what we've been doing thus far, heh. And you do it better than anyone. Along those lines, I've bee meaning to ask. What do you want, Nanashi?" She uses her really name quietly, but firmly. "I'm sure of it now. What you want isn't external. It's not tangible. I think what you want is an escape. Something is tormenting you, and I'd like to help in whatever way I can."
"Yeah, yeah," Nanashi says with a smirk as it glances down at the scrolls then to Reina when she looks up at it. "What do I want?" it asks, blinking a few times. "Well, we've had this discussion in roundabout terms, I think, but… what I've always wondered is who I really am, but that's not all now." It pauses a moment, placing a hand on her shoulder and saying, "I can show you, or rather let you hear… But are you sure you want to?"
Reina doesn't look convinced when Nanashi mentions the recovery of her memories. She's heard it before, of course. That's only part of it. She does blink when Nanashi lays a hand on her shoulder. And for a few moments she seriously considers whether she wants to hear what it has to say. She nods. "Yes, show me," she says. "I believe I should know." The scrolls and her work have been set aside. It seems her companion has Reina's undivided attention.
"Very well," Nanashi says, sighing a bit and leaning forward as it places each of its hands on the side of Reina's head and puts its forehead to her own. This seems quite intimate, almost as if the being plans to passionately kiss the leader of the group, yet the Genjutsu that follows would show the true intention, as Reina gets a glimpse into Nanashi's mind… 1 2 3 4… 1 2 3 4… 1 2 3 4… 1 2 3 4… 1 2 3 4… The never-ending drums, soothing, enticing, haunting, maddening. "You.. get a glimpse… but this never stops. It never, ever stops… They're in my mind. Everywhere I go. Ever since I left the lab.. That's when it chose me. The drumming… The call…. to war… and destruction."
Reina looks a bit alarmed when Nanashi places its hands on her head. But she supposes the best way to illustrate this is an illusion. She listens… and listens. It can't have gone on for more than a few moments, but it has the feeling of never ending, going on and on, ceaselessly. So it's quite easy for Reina to believe Nanashi's words. She searches its face. After it ends Reina says, "That's…interesting. I see now." She taps a finger against her chin, frowning. "I can't say I've ever heard anything quite like it. It's not safe to assume it may one day end."
"I've been trying to find out who you were," Reina says. "I've been around. And the fact I've been able to find nothing says three things. One is that you weren't high profile. Another is that you didn't live in one of the great shinobi villages. And the third is that well, you know this… you're personally keeping quite a bit covered up about yourself." Her mouth twists. "How much about yourself do you know?"
Once Reina's had a good dose, Nanashi would release its hands from around her head. "So now you know," it says as he stands back a bit, leaning up against the tree as it listens to her and folding its arms over its chest. "I honestly don't know anything," it replies with a sigh. "But I do know why now…. In the lab I woke up in… There was a seal placed in my brain that locks away my memories, my identity, whoever I am, all of it. That seal was incidentally damaged when I was letting someone check it out, so I think bits are going to start leaking through eventually.. I could ask a powerful seal mastery to undo it… But I don't know."
"A seal," Reina says with a note of disgust. She doesn't enjoy dealing with those. Her fingers are silently tapping the drum beat against her leg. Almost as if she's not aware of it. "If you want that removed, find a seal master who'll keep their mouth shut. Because they have good confidentiality. Or because you kill them afterwards. The dead aren't always staying dead now-a-days, but they tend to tell fewer secrets than the living."
"I was thinking. One day you'll have all your memories back. Leaving Hakumei is no longer an option. I've given everyone a grace period to depart. You may not have considered it, but what if your past conflicts with your current comrades? With such an uncertain prospect, I considered forcing you to leave except for one thing. I like you. Despite being an insubordinate wretch, you're good company and trustworthy as far as anyone can be trustworthy. Strong, too. Keep in mind if…when…you get your memories back, it may close more doors than it opens."
"I'll keep that in mind," Nanashi says with a sigh, remaining against the tree then furrowing her brows a bit and closing her eyes at Reina's next words. "How… How do you know that there'll be anything left of me when the seal is broken? All this time I've thought all I had to do was discover things and eventually I'd be me again, but there's a whole other person behind that seal, trying to break free. Sometimes I see this… this figure… It doesn't say too much… but it looks like pure evil, like it enjoys seeing me pushed to the dark side of my abilities. I can't help but wonder, is that me?"
Reina answers at once. It seems she's given this more thought than she first let on. "I think you'll turn out just fine," she says. "I don't say that because I know who you were in the past. But the you now has helped poor people. Saved kids. You've also killed villagers. Stolen. Lied. You've shown that you're able to make any kind of choice. And when your memories are unsealed, if they're only memories, then you'll have the choice to live the rest of your life out as you please. No jutsu can take away free choice. I personally believe you were good before this…but even if you were the Lord of All Evil, you can still choose to follow any path as you do now."
"I hope you're right," Nanashi says, pondering that a bit then stepping back over to Reina and giving her a brief hug by leaning over the bench. "I think I'm going to go rest for a bit," it says before turning to walk in the house. Of course, if Reina were to walk in, she'd find the being literally just staring at the ceiling as always. Has Nanashi ever actually been seen sleeping? No matter how hard a mission or even injuries, it's like it either refuses to sleep or doesn't have the need to.
Reina looks a little surprised. Nanashi sleeping? She may have to go in later to see if that's what it meant by 'resting.' Weeks and months and somehow she's never seen Nanashi's sleeping face. "Okay, rest well," Reina says, almost hopefully. "I'll talk to you later. There are a few things I need to tell you, heh." She herself stays out in the garden as the rain comes lightly down, and returns to her scrolls.
