Court of Law [Akeno]

The Isle of Whispers was a rather curious place with an even more curious name. With almost no vegetation, it could barely support life. Every single animal that managed to survive on this island had to be incredibly resilient, excellent hunters or simply have very small needs. In this place, there was no living only survival. And it was on this island that Akeno would be tested for her own survival. The island housed an ancient temple never before touched by man...until Honiko Yoshidara and the Society arrived at this place. This island had a way to mess with people, often visitors would hallucinate and see visions...mirages of oasis and water fountains that weren't there, or perhaps the sight of ghosts from their past, present, and future. Hearing voices was also quite common, hence the name of Isle of Whispers. Shin Kazehana was unaffected by this due to his... particular condition. But he couldn't help but wonder how the island would touch Akeno. One could find many things here, mostly about oneself. But it was always a test. Often less worthy men and women were driven mad by the Whispers and Ghosts of the isle. Shin could only pray he had picked a worthy prisoner...but Shin never prayed and so Akeno was left to fend for herself with her own strength.

She had been bound by Fuuinjutsu while still under the temporary effects of the paralyzing poison Shin had injected her with. She had spent every second of their trip inside the Kraken, following along Shin while he traveled to the Isle. And now here they were, in a small room inside the temple. This was Shin's temporary workshop where he built his puppets and worked on his crafting abilities. Akeno had been chained to a wall by her wrists, steel chains forcing her left arm to extend to her left side. Another chain would bind her by the waist. But they would feel...oddly comfortable. Shin's Fuuinjutsu would make the steel feel comfy as if she was being bound by pillows. The strength of steel would still be there, but the discomfort of being held as a prisoner would be reduced- or so Shin hoped. He liked to think she was here as a guest, and not a prisoner...but she was an unwilling guest nonetheless and there was a thin line between that and a prisoner. He doubted the comfort given by the steel chains would outbalance the fact that she was here against her own will. She would likely murder him given the chance considering her kunoichi training... fortunately the fuuinjutsu placed on the chains did more than increase their resilience and give comfort. It would completely block her chakra, preventing her from casting any sort of jutsu. Shin knew this Fuuinjutsu could be overcome eventually, but Akeno was likely to still be weakened by the poison.

"Are you sure about this?"
"Yes. It needs to be done."

Akeno should be awakening by now. By the time she regained consciousness Shin would speak up. He was sitting on a tall bench a few meters away from Akeno which brought him to about the same height as his guest. In his hand, he held the Nibi's orb.

"Well hello lady... Welcome to my humble temporary workshop, the current housing of this court of law. You've been brought here to answer for the murder of a certain chicken puppet... What say ye in yer defense?" Shin's gaze turned dark, murderous even. A certain aura surrounded the puppet user.

"You can't be serious."
"She must paaaaaaay!"
"You're insane."
"Says the people-murdering, village-razing bijuu."
"....fair point."
"Shh, don't ruin this!"

How long was she unconscious Akeno doesn’t even remember. It felt like an eternity of darkness with no dream and everything was freezing cold to the touch. Even the very breeze was like icy fingers clawing its way under her porcelain skin. Everything was dead silent on deaf ears and not a thought could be formed in Akeno’s mind. Time felt still to the phoenix as she rested in this coffin. Anything that was said or done to her would have gotten no response up until this point in time.

Tearing herself away from the dreamless slumber the moment Akeno felt whatever was crawling itself in her veins. Akeno’s eyes flutter opened as her molten gold eyes gazes downward at the stone floor. It was quiet for the most part, and the venom that is gradually weakening from her body rejecting the neurotoxins. Even so the toxin must have attacked the muscular system as she tried to raise her head only to fail to hold her head high. When Akeno attempted to brace herself with the right arm she felt the shoulder joint roll like it should. Yet nothing came to her fluttering vision. Confusion was obvious on her face until she turned her head enough to see that most of her right arm is gone.

Akeno was in disbelief into thinking maybe it was just an illusion, but then she finally remembered the last moment before she succumbed to the poison. How her arm was separated from her body shortly before something… Akeno doesn’t remember exactly, but she is fairly certain that was the moment she was knocked out. ’Are the others safe? Did Satomi make it back to the Hidden Leaf?’ The woman thought to herself as Akeno’s golden orbs shifted from the right arm to the left arm. Thankfully she still had one arm, though there was certainly a special something that binds her to what appears to be a stone wall. Steel chained cuffs from the looks of it, and Akeno’s vision maybe blurry but she can see there is something in fine detail on the cuff itself.

The Volcanic Phoenix wasn’t given much time to recuperate as she hears a voice speaking to her. To Shin it may sound like he intended to be, but to Akeno it is echoed in her hearing. “My defense…?” Akeno muttered as she slightly lifted her head to see a kid, or at least a short guy was the source. Now she remembers that there was a chicken puppet in the midst of that small army before she reduced it to ash. A weak smile presses on her lips as strands of dark hair falls in front of her vision. “Oh that one… Yeah it was a shame it wasn’t bigger, because then I would have saved yourself the trouble of building bonfires.” Her vest held quite a number of punctured holes yet none held dried blood from them. Akeno’s left leg however is tattered and probably hanging on by a thread at this point. Revealing from the shin down of dried blood and about the same number of tiny puncture marks around her shin. Akeno doesn’t even attempt to stand since she can already feel the nerves on her knees unresponsive. Who knows how long she’s been held, but Akeno is certain that her room key has expired by now. Akeno can only hope the owner of that hotel hasn’t thrown out her stuff yet.

Shin's murderous aura grew with the woman's response. It was almost palpable at this point, but Akeno was a Jonin from the Leaf and Shin was quite certain she had dealt with this kind of intimidation before. Even so, her response was snarky and he couldn't help but like that.

"How dare you speak like that to the judge, jury and executioner of this court of law?!" Shin made a motion with his body and the bench on which he was seated began to spin, spinning Shin himself. "Mrmmmmrrmm..." he muttered weird sounds as he spun and apparently thought of a fitting punishment for such insolence. He kept doing this for a few seconds until he suddenly stopped, facing Akeno once more. He hopped from the bench to the ground and approached the woman. "I know! For your insolence, I shall take your arm!" A chakra scalpel formed on his right hand as he approached the woman to cut off her arm.

"You technically already did that." A voice spoke from the sphere that Shin had left on the bench. The ex-Kazekage immediately froze. "Oh yeah, that's right...how did that happen?" Shin approached the woman even more and inspected the poor state in which her body was."This is very unlike me, I must say. But oh well, accidents do happen!"

"Liar." the voice echoed again.
"Hey, hey, stop ruining my image in front of our guest!"
"You're a midget who ripped off her arm and endangered her companion's lives. I don't think it gets any worse."
"I take offense in that."
"Good."
"You know, you're getting really nasty. You didn't use to talk to me like tha-" Shin interrupted himself, realizing something. "Wait, since when can you actually talk? Out loud?" Shin frowned at the sphere.
"Your seal is getting weaker, sand midget. You can't keep me in here forever, I'll eventually break off."
"Hmmm...let me see that." Shin approached the sphere and took a look at it. "Yes you do that while our guest bleeds to death." Shin immediately turned towards Akeno once again. "Oh, you're right! I'm a terrible host." He approached the woman and began healing her injured leg. There was a lot of work to do, her leg was in a terrible shape. But Shin had the hands of a master surgeon and the Ijutsu skills to keep up with his dexterity and coordination. A couple of hours went by, as Shin did his work as a doctor. Both he and the beast had been quite chatty earlier, but Shin knew better than to lose focus while performing such a delicate surgery especially considering he wasn't working on a surgeon's table. There was nothing he could do for the lost arm, but her leg could still very well be saved. One limb lost was a necessity, two was far too much for the woman to recover in the time they had left. And time was of the essence in the ninja world.

"Pheew. There we go." Shin finally spoke, as he finished wrapping up the final bandages. Akeno had to be put under yet another anesthesia drug for this operation but she was bound to be waking up soon. Shin sat on the bench again, a little tired. He would patiently wait for her to wake up before adressing her once again.

"You know, it's not nice to fall asleep twice when you're a guest at someone else's house." Shin shrugged. "Alas, I'm sure you have a lot of questions. Let's get them out of the way then. Let's see... Oh yeah, your pals are alive. Kirigakure is safe. Yes, I accept your deepest apologies for burning my chicken. No, I won't tell you how to craft such a majestic creature for yourself. Anything else before we get to work?" Shin was back to being chatty. Truth to be told, he missed having someone to talk to. These days everyone he dealt with was either a shinobi murder machine or a rather unpleasant tailed beast. It was tiring having to put up the whole "strong silent type" act all the time. Akeno would most likely have questions to ask, and Shin would try to answer as well as he could. She had a part to play in this whole thing, and gaining her trust was important.

This supposedly intimidating aura this “kid” was trying to pull off was comical to Akeno's eyes. Shin went on about like how dare you and debating on punishment. Even did a little spin on the bench and it was now that Akeno saw that orb. The one Shin had used against the kirigakure or at least had it in his hand. Yet Akeno kept seeing duplicates of that orb for a moment as her vision became hazy. Shin's decision on the punishment was to lose her arm. Well if she's gonna lose the other might as well lighten up the mood.

“I think… you already done so. Can't you tell?” Akeno even comically waves the amputated right arm as there is still half of a bicep and shoulder there. Yet it hasn't completely healed either. The only thing her body was able to do is cauterize what is left of her arm so it can begin to heal. Akeno trying to wave her arm however caused some of the dried blood tissue to crack and small specks of red water splattered on the stone floor. It still hurts like hell, and maybe it is because of whatever poison or chemical Shin injected into her body. But there was a dull ache all on her right arm that only seemed to get worse as the effects wear off.

There was a second voice that was heard from somewhere in this room. Where that was Akeno wasn't sure as she felt light headed and weak. Most likely due to such a heavy blood loss which makes it a miracle that Akeno is even awake. By the time Shin walked back over to the bench and started to fiddle with that sphere. Akeno started to attempt to flow chakra over to her right arm, but fails to do so. The Phoenix frowned as she tried it again only to end with the same thing.

It certainly was difficult to stand as her left leg was heavily damaged from the needles. Still Akeno was surprised as Shin put her under the same chemical to knock her out. Only this time it didn't take as long to wake up from the anesthesia. Akeno woke up a bit disoriented as the effects was still heavy in her head. “I only fall asleep when you start having arguments with your toy orb over there.” Akeno remarked after Shin commented how rude it was to fall asleep while being a guest.

Shin introduced himself as Shin Kazehana, to which Akeno definitely remembers that last name. The Kazehana was famed as one of the Kage, but Akeno can't remember who exactly made it to kage since that was in Sunagakure. “Well… i guess if we're exchanging formalities my name is Akeno Tatsuda. Head of the Tatsuda family.” It was subtle because Akeno was adjusting herself to sit comfortably against the wall, but Akeno also tested the chain around her left wrist as her rear sat on its chain. Of course she pulled the chain out from under her, but she noted how the shackles briefly flexed. It is meant to help the metal to not break so easily, but it should also flex back and the shackles was oddly thin.

“So you attacked the Kirigakure at the same time we arrived, and from the look of things you captured me and retreated. From the looks of things you could've won if you were seeking to conquer that village, but what was the true reason behind the attack?”

The woman had a sense of humor. Shin could appreciate that! As she waved the arm (or what was left of it) around a little Shin made sure to observe exactly where it had been cut down. If he was going to forge what he had in mind, then he would certainly need to take precise measures. But Akeno's body had been through enough for now, and he wasn't going to give her the weapon just like that. Back at the Forge, which was Sunagakure's ruthless training grounds where recruits learned to battle under the desert sun, the weapons were only given to those who were perfectly capable of fighting without them. If one's body isn't a weapon in itself, the using steel only weakens the shinobi causing them to hide behind the blades. Of course Akeno's body had been heavily damaged but a chipped blade was a blade nonetheless.

"Hmm? What, the orb over there? That's Matatabi. He's a bijuu! Or is it a she...?"
"You're unbelievable..."
"You know, by the way it speaks to me, I think it's safe to assume it's a She."
"We're demonic creatures made of massive amounts of pure chakra, you know this." There was a tone of sarcasm in the word "demonic". By the way it had been spoken it was almost like the bijuu hadn't meant it at all.
"Yes, that's why I never got married. Women... demonic creatures and all that."
"You never got married because you're 5 feet tall."
"5 and a half."
"5.4 at most."
Shh Matatabi, she'll fall asleep again!"" Shin's gaze turned towards Akeno. "Where were we? Oh right, questions. Ask away!" He would say, then taking time to carefully listen to what she had to say. The first thing Akeno said was her name. And that she was head of the Tatsuda family. This was quite interesting, and it meant Shin may have very well hit a jackpot. The ex-kazekage chuckled. "Well I'm glad you're the head of the family, and not the right arm or something like that. That'd make your return quite awkward. Ah!" he was amused at his own poor taste in jokes. "C'mon Matatabi, admit it. I'm brilliant."
"By the Sage, I swear I'll rip you to shreds one day."
"There there. No need to get all up in arms about it. Right?" he winked at Akeno. Boy, these were going to be 3 long years.

Shin noted that Akeno had gone straight to the point, asking what his true intentions were. But in doing so she had revealed a piece of information that could perhaps prove to be useful in the future."So they were arriving at the Mist? Interesting."

Shin shrugged. "You think I could've conquered the whole village? I'm flattered, even if we don't share the same opinion." He took Matatabi's orb and began playing with it, making it spin on a single finger and then switching fingers as the orb quickly rotated in his hand. "But it takes more than power alone to conquer. No, I didn't go there to conquer it." With a single move of his dextrous fingers, the orb immediately stopped, freezing its once quite fast movement. "I didn't go there for conquest." His face and expression suddenly grew darker and all signs of his previous humor disappeared. "The Kazehana have done more than enough of that for the past few decades." he remembered the victims of the Kazehana Empire.

But then his smile grew wide again. "No no, I went there for the same reason I go to this old temple's storage units. To pick that which is needed for survival!"
"I'm fairly sure you didn't need all that apple juice to survive."
"Errm...well yeah I guess not. But I also pick up food from there! We can't survive without food."
"Speak for yourself."
"Okay maybe that was a bad example. But!" He looked at his guest in the eyes. "You're our apple juice. The whole of humanity's apple juice! Essential for survival."

This would certainly leave Akeno puzzled. So Shin gave her some time to think about it, and then went on. "I went there to seek potential. You have it. But it's unpolished. We'll take care of that tho..." Shin made another pause, pondering for a bit. This would give Akeno the time to ask more questions.

Shin’s sense of humor vaguely reminds Akeno some of the politicals back in Iwagakure. The type where the humor is dry and they like to spin puns into their sentences. Though they are usually vague about it to rouse anyone they’re discreetly targeting to make a fool out of themselves. Still for Shin to tell her that orb contained a bijuu baffles her if she had the energy to look surprised. Something clicked in Akeno’s mind as it would make sense how Shin was able to unleash so many things in so little time. Even the most experienced shinobi would quickly burn themselves out doing that much.

“Okay maybe not conquering, but the moment you had that small army come up you would’ve put Kirigakure into a bad shape. Luckily i made short work of that so the damage was to the minimum i like to say.” Akeno noted how Shin was quite talkative and she wondered if he was always like this. Or is it because of the people he hangs around with that Shin doesn’t get to really act like himself? Still the phoenix listened to what Shin was saying as she was shrugging off the side effects from the drug. It would take some more time Akeno fears before she can recover her strength completely.

Akeno agrees when Shin spoke about conquering takes more than just power. Attacking the heart of the land’s leader is one thing, but in order to quell the riots and the factors of rebellion it requires another level. Akeno can toy with the thoughts and scenarios all day long in her head, but now wasn’t the time to be so absorbed. Shin speaking of attacking Kirigakure to pick up… apple juice? This raised a brow on her face as she wasn’t getting that hint until Shin spoke of Akeno being the apple juice and something about being essential for survival. How was she the humanity’s apple juice? Was Shin stating that Akeno was important to some big scheme?

“Everyone has potential to be something if they dedicate themselves to their goal. The question is, what sort of potential are you seeking within me?” Akeno turned the question to Shin as she wanted to know why he was out capturing someone. There are easier methods to capture somebody that doesn't require to take on majority of the village's military. Unless the whole point behind that attack was that Shin didn't know who to capture. When Akeno had fired that sea of flames the phoenix realized that she put a much bigger target on her. Then again if she hadn't done that things would have been different back there. Or so Akeno fears. It'll boil down to what Shin responds with, and hopefully will indulge Akeno's curiosity on what he's looking for other than some apple juice reference. Akeno knows her main specialty is to hurt a lot of things as quick as possible. Mainly with fire though normally she wouldn't exert so much energy if it wasn't necessary.

"Well, it may be true that everyone has potential." Shin stated, placing his hand under his shin and scratching it while glancing at the orb. "But not everyone has the willpower to turn that potential into actual power. It's not an easy task, you know." Shin approached the woman once again and began taking a closer look at her amputated arm. There was a lot of work to be put into developing a model that could fit her properly, and although he had time to do his magical crafting Shin was a perfectionist when it came to his mechanical works. The many different possibilities went through his mind as he looked at the amputated area. How long would he make the arm? How would he connect the nerves? What sort of enchantments should he place on it? All of these were important questions but Shin had a wonderful time pondering about proper answers.

Shin replied while closely observing the arm. "What sort of potential am I seeking in you? Oh my, that's quite the interesting question." Shin had to give it some thought. What *was* he looking for in Akeno? Was it the power to boost the Society to another level? The power to save mankind? The power to heal or the power to destroy which she wielded with such amazing ability. "Well I would say that is up to you. Tell me," Shin would go on. There was a lot to find out about this woman and certainly she wanted to find out more about him or the Society. Akeno had the potential for sure, but Shin needed to find out something more. "Why did you join the Hidden Village's military? Parent pressure? Status? Seeking power?" he would give her a little time to answer, and then proceed.

"Is there something you want to protect in this world? Precious to you? Or would you not mind seeing it burn to ashes?" Shin stared right into her eyes as if looking into her soul. "Pick your words carefully."

Akeno didn’t deny what Shin said was true about most not having the willpower to achieve what they could be. Not like what Akeno had to do in order to reestablish her clan’s wealth, reputation, and influence on Iwagakure. The shackle lightly clink with the chain as Akeno was taking a closer look at the metal. It was well designed, but with her eyes and intellect Akeno could figure out that this is merely to hold her in place. Her liquid golden eyes brimming with curiosity as they give off the analyzing stare before turning her gaze over to Shin once again. He would swear that her eyes could glow in the dark.

But really it was the part that Shin had to think about what he was seeking. She knew it was no easy answer for either Shin already knew what he is looking for just neglecting the true answer or he really hasn’t thought of it. That’s when the five foot Kazehana redirected the question back to her which he would find Akeno smiling in response to it. With Shin asking why Akeno chose to join the military before listing off some viable reasons. Akeno wasted no time to spoke only a single word. “Restoration.” As in restoring her family name to how it should have been, and Akeno had done an excellent job on that for years until the blasted plague stole that from her. Akeno’s ancestor had the opportunity, but he seemed to have only thought of the short term and neglected to establish deep roots. After the founder of Tatsuda passed away the clan gradually declined until it was barely recognized to be a clan in Iwagakure. Her parents always argued about lack of money and how they missed the good days back when they were young.

“I’m not that much of a pyromaniac. But i suppose what i cherish the most is hiking up at the tallest peak back in the Land of Earth just before the sun rises. Even before it rose up you could see the light blue slowly pushing back the veil of the night as golden hues can be seen at the horizon. The wispy frost rolling off the mountains gave the land itself a mystical appearance until the sun finally came.” How she missed her home and Akeno vividly remembers how she complained climbing up on that damned mountain all night long. Her sensei would never give her a straight answer other than she would see once they get there. How the ice capped peaks glittered like they were crystal when the sun’s warm light washed over the land. It was one of the few things that Akeno did not want to destroy nor take it away from anyone else.

Focusing her attention as Akeno realized that she had her eyes closed. “Iwagakure is my home. Everything and everyone in it i’ve dedicated my life to protecting them.” And that was the answer. Akeno didn’t have to think twice either since she already had her goals set. What she set out to do, and what methods she would have to take in order to get Iwagakure back. “For heart and home.” It was a saying of doing something in the name of her own soul and the place she calls home.