Bonds of Blood (Kara)

Tamwyn moved into the hospital at a normal pace. His clothing was his usual trademark attire which made him a bit more noticeable to many. He moved up to the front desk, the sterilized and uniform smell of hospitals ever present and the white walls and bright lighting as obtrusive as ever. Upon the desk was a clipboard and behind sat a nurse of some kind who was busily organizing things behind her desk. Wordlessly, Tamwyn took up the clipboard and filled out the necessary requirements. His name, his age, height, weight, gender, address, and his reason for visiting. Well, not the real reason of course. No one would accept 'I've come back from the dead and want a doctor to make sure everything was fine.' Besides his movement through town had seen him recognized by a few individuals and word from the gates of who entered the village was always fast spreading. As such they would hear about his return soon enough. So he wasn't overly worried about telling people he was back from the dead. After all his passing would probably have been public knowledge. At least by now.

Once he finished filling out the sheet he would set the clipboard back down and walk toward an empty seat in the waiting area. He would hear the picking up of the clipboard and a small grunt of what he assumed would be annoyance at something before the nurse spoke. "Do you think you're funny?" She would ask. Given that she hadn't looked up while he filled out the form and his back was to her now as he walked back to a chair he supposed it wasn't surprising that she would react that way. After all word couldn't possibly reach here before he did. Turning toward her and sighing he would begin to speak. "Not particularly, I think it's a terribly bad joke myself but I find myself back in the land of the living. Obviously, I would want to get a check up to make sure I'm in perfect working order." He would say, prompting the woman to shake her head in annoyance. They had never met it would seem and so she simply didn't recognize him, literally could not in fact as she wouldn't know what 'Tamwyn' would look like, even if she had heard of the name. He wasn't arrogant enough to expect her to have of course but it seemed she had and thought he was impersonating him to get help faster or something.

Likely she though he was after drugs, idly he considered what he could do to prove it. He had his shinobi ID on him of course but that could have been pilfered from a corpse. His clothing was fairly recognizable in general. He didn't really know what to do in order to prove he was whom he said he was so he decided to try one thing he hadn't ever seen anyone do before. He channeled chakra, more specifically, he channeled his raiton. When he did so, his eyes so reminiscent of burnished gold always glowed vibrantly. It was probably one of the most recognizable things about him. The nurse, who was about ready to kick him out, still did not in fact recognize him. Again, not particularly surprising, he hadn't been that well known when he died. She did however immediately assume he was threatening her. Which he supposed was actually fair in this situation. Still, deciding that he could wait to be arrested as easily in an examination room as anywhere else she decided to 'pass the buck' up the chain of command in her case.

"Room 326." She would say simply, fear evident in her eyes as she prepared to call authorities. Or more probably, someone in authority here. He wondered who was in charge of this place now. He could probably clear up any misunderstanding he was sure. At the very least when Ryuko returned form the Emporium she could vouch for him even if he did get arrested or something. Although it would make his reunion with Yenn take longer. Which would be annoying. Still, he grimaced softly. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just don't know how else to prove who I am. I thought maybe my description would be public knowledge as would how my eyes glow." He would say simply, before moving on and traveling through the hospital corridors and upstairs until he reached the third floor. Then he would move to the designated examination room, knock twice politely in case someone was inside, and enter. The room was empty but it was stocked with what you would normally see in an examination room. So Tamwyn moved over the exam table and sat down, taking his hat off and setting it aside on a clear space. Then he would simply wait patiently and silently.

Kara had been running the hospital ever since she had first been assigned to do so by Seid, the former Raikage. As the Kumogakure Hospital’s C.E.O., C.O.O. and C.M.O. She was kept busy, but not overly challenged. She had considered taking over as Chief Financial Officer as well, but in the end had decided that she didn’t care quite enough to micromanage every aspect of the hospitals day to day. The vast majority of her challenges lay in her extracurricular activities; building up Darhkvale and working on other expansionist projects, hiring new staff and the various experimenting with bloodlines she had been engaged in.

That morning had been just like every other; she had dressed in a smart suit, and begun her rounds overseeing the activity within her domain. Her long blonde hair was swept up tightly against her head, held in place with small gold pins. Her outfit choices for the hospital were much more subdued than her usual attire; neutral tones with only one or two pieces of simple jewelry. She had taken to wearing a glove on her metal arm as she found that it caused some discomfort during examinations. The arm was superbly engineered and functioned as well, if not better, than an organic hand and arm. However the touch of cold metal on bare skin was often offputting.

As she sat on a chair in an upstairs pharmacy tallying up medications she was practically bored to tears. She could have done all of this in her sleep, and yet once again she had to go in after her staff and fix everything they had miscounted. That boredom was enough that when a nurse came running down the hall towards her she actually hoped someone was dying, just to relieve her boredom and give her something meaningful to do. As it turned out however, someone was not dying.

“Ma’am! Ma’am! Sorry to bother you, but I just got a call from Ginny downstairs and well, you’re never going to believe this! I think this is one for you.”

Kara would glare at the woman as she called her ‘ma’am’. It was the worst honorific that she could think of and somehow these backwoods nurses and doctors kept insisting on using it. As soon as she glared the woman in the pink scrubs stopped cold and stammered for a moment before apologizing profusely.

“I, uh, um. Sorry, so sorry Mistress Darhk.”

“It’s fine, Saya.” she lied with a professional smile on her face, “What exactly am I not going to believe?”

As expected, the ‘it’s fine’ was enough to get the idiot to stop tripping over her words and get to the heart of why she felt it was necessary to bother Kara.

“Ginny is saying there’s a patient downstairs who’s calling himself Tamwyn.”

Saya’s eyes were wide and her eyebrows raised as she attempted to put real emphasis on the gossip she had just provided. She was also doing her job, but Kara knew her staff well enough to understand that her job was not the reason she was so excited.

“That is interesting. Thank you Saya, I believe I will take this one. I assume he’s been admitted, give me his file.”

Saya already had his file. Because of course she did. She handed it over to Kara immediately with a giant grin of self importance and Kara rewarded the puppy with a smile.

“He’s in room 326, Mistress Darhk.”

Kara had to resist the urge to actually roll her eyes. The room number was clearly marked at the top of his file. You would have to be blind to not see it, and even then, she already knew that there were only three options for available exam rooms at that precise moment, two of which were entirely unsuited to a potentially unbalanced war veteran who was calling themselves ‘Tamwyn’. She was making the assumption that the person was a war veteran only because during the last year veterans had made up 76% of her patients. Standing and snapping the file closed, she turned and walked to the elevator with her stilettos making a distinct ‘clicking’ noise as she walked. She spoke only five additional words to the gossip loving nurse as she departed.

“It’s on the file Saya.”

Had she bothered to look behind her, she would have seen a very crestfallen, pink clothed nurse staring after her like she had just had her favourite pet diagnosed with a terminal illness. But Kara didn’t bother turning around, she made her way into the elevator and down to the third floor while peering at the file. She had already memorized it, but she was studying it now for clues. There wasn’t much to go on, but she found the story odd. She suspected she would need to sedate the man and keep him for an observational 72 hours. For his own safety.

When she ‘clicked’ her way down the hall after leaving the elevator, she took a deep breath before entering room 326. And it was a good thing she did, because she at least had something to exhale when she came face to face with. . . Tamwyn. She paused briefly, her organic hand on the door handle and her metallic one holding the file. Then with practiced ease, she simply closed the door and took a seat on a small black leather stool, crossed her legs and leaned forward as she smiled.

Kara was not easily fooled, and had she not met with Tamwyn personally in the past she would have perhaps been more suspicious. She knew of various techniques that were able to copy someone’s appearance, or one’s that made you believe you were looking at something that wasn’t there. But this. . .  this was interesting. She kept her demeanour professional and nonchalant as she humoured the man. She trusted her own observations more than anything else, and based on physical appearance alone there was no doubt that this was Tamwyn. But even though she was not easily fooled, did not mean it couldn’t be done. In theory.

She would need to have a bit more proof before she did more than just humour him. Looking down at the file once more she would flip through it and play along. “So. . . Tamwyn. It says here that you need a check up. Because you were dead. Can you tell me about that?”

As he waited the Seraph of Lightning eventually become bored. Mostly because he felt like he had been still too long. Had felt like he had been inactive for too long. Who could ever guess why? Still, he had an anxiousness to him as he thought about getting home to see his wife and kids. As such he actually found it quite difficult to sit still. So eventually he would stand and pace around the room, eventually stopping to read some laminated poster on the wall giving some random information about something or other, complete with pictures. It actually caused his back to be to do the door so when it opened he would turn, his posture perfect, hands clasped behind his back. His yellow eyes would meet eyes of...yellow, and blonde hair, and a face he would recognize. The recognition would be evident on his features and as she sat down on her black stool he himself would sit back down on the exam table next to his hat. She would lean forward as she smiled but kept a professional detachment as one would expect from a doctor of her caliber. Finally she would speak, referring to him by name and asking him about what he had written.

This would cause him to chuckle to himself, of course she wouldn't be so easily swayed. A transformation technique was not only extremely simple, but it was also cost efficient. It would be easy for a random individual, say someone suffering from battle shock to transform into someone else. Maybe someone they wanted to emulate, someone they wanted to be. Or someone they wanted to remember. She would need more proof of it being him and not some random veteran having mental issues. Still, was it really him without just a touch of cheek now and then? He was polite yes, but he had a sense of humor. "Why yes, I seemed to have died and have been brought back, and with a corporeal form no less. I keep feeling the need to say 'boo'" He would say, making a jest about ghosts, of which Tamwyn didn't believe in. Still his sense of humour probably wouldn't be enough to persuade her. Considering things for a moment he would remember back to their meeting in his home. She had come to him about Moonspire, and about hiring him while also informing him of her merger with Darhk Industries and his shares transferring over. Of course with his death his shares would have moved over to Mort so he supposed he should get his financial situation sorted out.

Still, for now let's settle on proving who he was.

"I must say I didn't expect to see you Kara. Still arriving before those you entangle yourself with?" He would ask simply. That would be a telling question. As they were the very first words she had ever said to him, in the privacy of his den at his home. "Perhaps after you check me out to make sure I have no ill side effects of coming back from the dead. We can share a few glasses of Darhk Reserve and you can bring me up to speed." He would add in, that had been the very drink they had shared, in memoriam of Damien. "Perhaps to facilitate I could use the mind reading jutsu on your this time?" He would joke, a white eyebrow raising in curiosity. As if to say 'Is this enough yet?' "I'm here because I in fact really was brought back from the dead. By a woman named Arisu, of Kirigakure. Ryuko-sensei asked her to return me and in return for a future favor, she did so.  I'm surprised to discover that I was gone for a year, and before you ask I remember nothing as of yet of my time dead. That doesn't mean I might not remember something in the future. For now though I can't recall anything about my time in the Pure World." He would say, meeting her eyes and giving her a very frank expression. "As I said, after being brought back. I thought it might be best to get myself checked out before trying anything strenuous. So when I got to the village, I came straight here. I haven't even gone to see Yenn and the kids yet. Honestly she'll be furious I came here first I think." He would say the last with a chuckle and a grin.

[2]

Kara sat on the stool and patiently listened to ‘Tamwyn’ joke about being brought back from the dead. She was still reserving judgement about whether he was telling the truth or not, so humouring him by laughing at the joke did not seem appropriate. It was objectively funny though, and under other circumstances she may have laughed. ‘Tamwyn’ surprised her then however, as he seemed to have intimate knowledge of the last time they had met in person.

Him knowing her name was no surprise, it was easy enough to learn the first name of the arguably the most famous person in the world. But the reference to specific phrases she had used and unique activities they had both participated in was enough for her to give him the benefit of the doubt. She was a scientist, and she had no need to be persuaded or ‘believe’ something. She had a theory and there was a simple test to prove it accurate or false.

While Tamwyn spoke of how he was resurrected Kara had risen from her stool and gone to a locked cupboard, unlocked it and begun setting up the necessary tools to take a vial of the man’s blood. He would have seen this before, the last time they met in person. She found his story fantastical, but she had visited an alien world a year prior, so it was not outside the realms of plausibility. Internally she cringed at the mention of his wife and children, it seemed that no one had informed him of much of anything since he was brought back. Assuming that was what had happened at all. Externally she kept her composure and sat back down on her stool, rolling closer so that she could easily draw his blood if he were sitting on the exam table. “Please have a seat and roll up your sleeve. While I can see that you’ve at least done your homework, there is a very simple test that I can perform to validate your claims. I’ll need to draw your blood. I assume that won’t be a problem?” She was still unwilling to give him more information, at least about herself, than he appeared to already have. It would take only a few hours to settle the internal debate she was having.

If he agreed to sit she would swipe a fresh pad of alcohol across the vein in the crook of his elbow, giving it a second to evaporate before inserting the needle and withdrawing a vial of blood. The process would be painless and quick, a few seconds all told, and then she would exit the room. “Stay put, I’ll be right back, this needs to go to the lab.”

She would deliver the fresh vial to the lab with instructions that the results were to be delivered to her personally the second the analysis was completed. The lab technicians would nod emphatically; they all knew better than to misplace anything she needed. Satisfied that they would follow her orders, she would return to the exam room, and hopefully a waiting Tamwyn. She had been gone all of three minutes, and it was entirely possible that if this were a ruse the imposter Tamwyn would have made an escape by now.

If he were still sitting there when she returned, she would greet him with a more friendly smile. If he was telling the truth, then this was her brother and she should at least try to be friendly. “So, Tamwyn. These tests will take a few hours, shall we get lunch while we wait? Perhaps I could catch you up on what you’ve missed if you have questions.” She would leave the offer in his hands, if he agreed to lunch then she would take them both out of the building and into a fancy dining establishment across the street from the hospital. If not she would continue to sit and make idle chit chat. She wanted to tell him more; about her adventures, about what she had learned regarding him. . . about Yenn. But she was still closely guarding any potential information he could use to further back up his claim of being the actual Tamwyn. At least until she had proof.

As he spoke the woman would stand and move over to cupboard that she would unlock and began to set up a syringe in order to draw blood. The resurrected Seraph was not surprised on that front as anyone would be quite hesitant to take his word at face value. He however remembered how she had taken blood from him before and so a second drawing could simply be compared to the first so long as the results from her first drawing was kept in her employment file. Knowing Kara Darhk, the folder was simply put into a different area specifically for deceased employees. He doubted she wouldn't have it, or simply remember the results from the first one. When she returned to her stool she would ask him to roll up his sleeve which he would do without complaint. "Just like the last time eh? On that note, was that water I asked you to analyze poisoned after all?" He would ask idly as she wiped his arm with the alcohol and then took a syringe of blood from him before setting it aside. When she stood and told him to stay put while she took that down to the lab he would nod and lean his back against the wall. The exam table was against it and he was able to comfortably lean while he waited for her return.

Upon said return less than five minutes later his yellow eyes, which he would have closed while he waited, would open to face her once more. Then she would...offer him lunch? Apparently her tests would take a few hours. She offered to catch him up on what he missed while he was dead but he knew she still wasn't convinced that that was the case. Still, it would be easy enough for her to humor him until she got the results. Still though, the idea of being away from his wife and children any longer was a distasteful one. Still though, he needed to know what happened while he was gone and few would have all of the information. Kara Darhk was in fact one of those few. An uncomfortable expression came across his face as he considered how mad Yenn would be for not coming to her and their children immediately. However he would repress it. He would flash the Doctor a grin, the same one he had always had, slightly boyish, arrogant, and mischievous. Like anything he tried would work because he had tried it. When he did would he would speak. "Only on the condition that you come back to my home with me later to share that drink and explain to Yenn that it was your fault and not mine that I was so late coming home after returning." He would say, his eyes going skyward as if to a silent prayer that he would survive the encounter. Or that he'd do so with his bones intact, he didn't doubt his wife would try to crush him with a hug.

Still he would stand, retrieving his hat and placing it upon his head. Assuming she agreed to that mild jest of a condition he would follow her out of the door, closing the door behind him if he were the last out. With that he would motion for her to lead. "Where are we going to eat?" He would ask out of idle curiosity. He didn't mind one way or another and he had surprising been brought back with his ryo scroll intact. Apparently no one  had bothered to take it, something which he was certainly nod minding now.

[3]

Kara nodded without answering Tamwyn’s question about the Hero Water at first, she wanted to approach the issue diplomatically. After she’d drawn the vial of blood, she answered his question as neutrally as she could before leaving the room and leaving the vial in the lab with her previous instructions. “I did study it thoroughly. Though I am going to wait until after I’ve received the test results before sharing what I found. Which I’m sure you understand.” Kara didn’t much care if Tamwyn understood or not, she was merely trying to calm his curiosity until she could confirm that it was actually him.

When she returned and invited him to lunch while they waited for the test results to come back, he quipped back a condition of his own. Without missing a beat, Kara smiled charmingly at what was most likely her brother. “Certainly. Though as yet only one person has found fault with me, and I suspect that things did not go especially well for them afterwards.” There was a twinkle in her eye as she spoke of Ei Kanagawa, and placed a heavy metal hand on the taller man’s shoulder.

With a wink she would turn on her heel and beckon for him to follow her out of the hospital and across the street. Behind them, an astute observer would be able to see a dark haired man with an uncanny resemblance to the late Damien Darhk shadowing Kara’s every movement. As they walked she would give a brief review of the bistro she had chosen. “It’s called Les Arlots. A fantastic eatery by anyone’s standards, though the name is a bit racy. A bit on the heavier side of food, but well worth the price of having to eat slowly. They have some fantastic vegetarian options, which is why I prefer them. But if you enjoy meat, they’ve definitely got something for you.” Assuming he followed her, she took them to an outdoor patio beneath a vine shaded pergola, the wrought iron seating was not for comfort, but it did look beautiful. No one stopped her as she made her way to an empty table, though everyone did stare for a moment. No sooner had she sat down than a server came out of seemingly nowhere and placed two wine glasses and a chilled bottle of white wine on the table. “Your usual, Mistress Darhk?” The server would wait patiently for an answer while Kara would look towards Tamwyn and then answer the server. “Yes, thank you. And whatever my friend would like of course.”

Her answer to his question made it clear she still did not believe it was him but that was alright. She was not the type to believe anything like coming back from the dead was possible without hard evidence to the fact and the only way she would get that was with the blood work she had ordered. So he accepted her answer with a nod before she left. At his own condition she would smile a winning smile at him and make a comment of her own. Idly he wondered who had decided they had a problem with the woman. Seeing as with her medical skills she could probably horribly torture anyone who had such an issue he would personally eschew such an option. Deciding that it was simply too dangerous, besides, one could always make a deal right? The internal question made him think back to Moonspire. To watching everyone he had worked with and their children die brutally at the hands of Ikomiki, Hana, and Akihiro. He vividly remembered watching the attack happen via cameras, watching the blood spatter everywhere as the hundreds of clones Ikomiki spawned killed his colleagues. As well as the waves that crashed through the town and finally the destruction of Darhk tower that was simply an attempt to frame Iwagakure for the incident. 'I suppose one can 'usually' make a deal' He would think to himself as they walked.

As they walked a bodyguard for the woman would fall into step and Tamwyn would notice, immediately, that he had a striking resemblance to Damien. It was so uncanny Tamwyn had to do a double take for a moment and afterwards a brief bout of worry came over him. If the woman still hadn't moved past Damien's death, then perhaps she wasn't as mentally sound as one might wish? This wasn't a topic of discussion now though, it was something to be brought up later. As they walked she would give him a rundown of the restaurant they would be dining at. It was a bistro apparently and was ranked highly on her list of dining establishments due to their vegetarian options. He followed her across the street to a lovely vine shaded area. All eyes turned to them although Tamwyn was positive they were mostly for her. Evidently she had become quite the figure recently as it seemed all he saw her knew of her. They sat, Tamwyn holding her chair out for her as he would any lady and as soon as they had a server appeared with two glasses and a chilled bottle of white wine. Apparently she was a frequent enough customer here that she had a usual.

Once she gave him the affirmative with the addendum of whatever Tamwyn might like the server would turn toward him. Tamwyn wasn't aware of the restaurant or what they generally served. However he knew enough of Kara to know she had fine tastes so rather than agonize over trying to consider whatever it might be he would just give the server a nonchalant wave as he spoke. "Whatever she's having please." He would say, he wasn't particularly picky and he didn't mind eating vegetarian options every now and then. With their order done the server would give them a polite bow, pour them each a glass of wine before setting the bottle back down and leaving to put their order. Tamwyn's attention would be back on Kara, his amber eyes meeting hers. It really was uncanny how similarly they looked. His peripheral vision caught the idle stare of more than one individual seeing it too. Still, nature could be funny that way. "So Miss Darhk, please, catch me up on what I've missed this past year. No need to go into detail of my wife and children. I wouldn't want to spoil Yenn getting to tell me. Focus on the war and Kumogakure if you please." He would say, his tone polite. He didn't even know if Kara knew of Yenn but he wanted to make sure Yenn got the chance to tell him about their children. No one else would get that opportunity.

Kara would nod to the server as they took their orders and return her attention back to Tamwyn. With a smile she would comment on his order choice. “I hope you like eggs.” Her ‘usual’ was a fantastic quiche made without the typical meat inclusions. It was divine, but very heavy; the pastry, cream and eggs were such that it required a long lunch break to fully indulge oneself in. Fortunately her lunch breaks were whatever she wished them to be, so she made a habit of coming to this bistro at least once a week since she had been assigned to the hospital.

Kara was relieved when Tamwyn insisted that she stay away from the topic of his wife and children. The fact of the matter was; she didn’t know anything. Of all the people within Kumogakure she was oddly ignorant of the comings and goings of Yenn Inazuma, and as such had not seen or heard of her in quite some time. Since the war actually - it had been quite public that Yenn was responsible for ending the workers strike after uncovering corruption within the Union representatives. But other than that her usual unending font of knowledge ended. It was mildly frustrating, but as she did with all her frustrations - she buried it deep and carried on.

She would give Tamwyn a factual accounting of the war, things that were common public knowledge, she was still hesitant about giving him more elusive details about events if only to ensure that if he wasn’t Tamwyn that she would not be providing information that would make it that much easier for him to fool the next person. She spoke of the Union strike and the battle for the control of the Shrines, as well as mentioned the Peace Summit - which was the inevitable outcome of a world war that had reached a relative stalemate. While she was speaking she would drink, though she tried to stay mindful of the amount that she drank, not wishing to make a scene. She had had trouble regulating her intake of alcohol since Damien’s death, and with meeting Kim she had found some peace but she was not willing to push it too far. Eventually their food came and it smelled just as good as she remembered, she was able to eat a few delicate bites before someone in a lab coat came rushing up to the bistro. That person was stopped by the presence of Doku, who held out a hand in warning. After a short quiet exchange the lab technician would hand Doku a stack of papers and run off, and Doku would make his way to the table where Kara and Tamwyn sat.

“Mistress, apologies for tha interruption. These are the results you asked for, that one there. . .” The tall dark haired man would motion with his head towards the retreating lab tech. “. . .he said they rushed ‘em for ya.”

Doku would then place the stack of papers on the table, and after giving Tamwyn an intense once over, would retreat to his post outside of the bistro. Doku didn’t wait for further instructions, he could see that there were none to be given and so he made himself scarce as was part of his job. He was to protect her with his life, and also not impede her life.

Kara would nod at her faithful bodyguard, the barest hint of melancholy behind her honey coloured eyes as she watched him retreat and then she would pick up the papers he had left and pore over them as she took a sip of wine. With her eidetic memory it was child’s play to compare these notes to the ones she had done a year prior. Her eyes would widen almost imperceptibly as she found what she was looking for; this was really Tamwyn. Setting the papers back down she would quaff the rest of her glass and then pour herself another, a tiny ‘clink’ noise could be heard as her metal hand gripped the glass. Once she had refilled her glass she would look up at Tamwyn and smile sincerely. This was the first genuine smile she had given the man since she had walked into the exam room earlier. “Well, it seems that your story is accurate, Tamwyn. And since it is, I did promise you the results of my experiments last year. There are two things I tested; that water, and your blood. The water as it turns out is unlike anything I had ever seen before, it was not poisoned, it seemed to be a naturally occurring chemical of some sort and I believe that those from the Leaf Village refer to it as ‘hero water’. I was able to replicate it, not perfectly as is usually the case with replicating the natural world. There will always be some subtle differences, but I can replicate it all the same. I could take you to my lab and show you at some point if you would like, it’s very powerful stuff. The second test was fairly standard however after reviewing the results I did further testing - on myself. Tamwyn. . .”

Kara would pause for a moment, suddenly unsure how to explain this to him. She had an excellent bedside manner, her empathy was without equal as far as she was concerned, however she was able to accomplish that by compartmentalizing her true emotions, creating an armor or barrier against true attachment, something she had been working on since the untimely death of her husband. She didn’t want to allow herself to get attached to anyone again, she knew that attachment was weakness. Setting her glass down she would pull the glove off of her right hand and turn her hand over slowly, thinking while she examined the prosthetic. ‘This is what attachment gets you.’ It was partially true, but also viewed through a jaded and bitter lens. She had also been happy, and as time had worn on some of that happiness had returned; interestingly it had returned with the introduction of new attachments. ‘Perhaps. . . perhaps it isn’t all weakness. . .’

With a heavy sigh she would return her gaze to Tamwyn’s face and quietly finish where she had left off. “Tamwyn, we’re related. Blood related. You’re my brother.” She would then sit silently and allow him time to process everything she had just said. It was Kara, so she had said a lot.

As the server walked away and Kara commented to him that he hoped he liked eggs he would flash her a grin. “I do indeed. They’re a little too versatile for one not to like.” He would say with a small chuckle. Whatever it was he had ordered he would eat regardless. You ate what was put in front of you. At least in his book, that was what one was expected to do. It was why he had taught himself how to cook quite well. So that he never put anything that tasted bad in front of him. Of course his early efforts had been rather hit or miss. However he still ate what he made, cleaned the dishes up, and moved on. Regardless, whatever egg dish they had ordered he would eat. He expected it was some kind of quiche given the comment and the restaurant but time would bear that information to him well enough.

It wouldn’t take long for someone from the hospital to come running over. Not-Damien would stop the man and after a short exchange would take the file he had been handed and bring it over to Kara. Apparently they were some kind of results. Could they be his blood work? Already? He doubted that for some reason, she had just taken them to them after all. No, it was probably some other test or something she had requested a bit earlier. The man spectacularly cosplaying as Kara’s previous husband gave him an intense once over and Tamwyn couldn’t help but be a little feisty at the prospect of a spar. “Any time you want bodyguard-san. We can throw down at a training ground for a fun little spar.” He would say to the man as he walked away. Tamwyn loved a fight, did not enjoy needless killing, but he loved a good spar. So perhaps this man would enjoy one as well. Either way the intensity of the once over was enough to make Tamwyn think he had wanted a piece of him.

Don’t worry citizen’s of Kumogakure, there was enough of him to go around.

Well, maybe not when Yenn got her hands on him.

But still, it might be fun.

Turning his attention back to his blonde haired, amber eyed companion he would see it when she noticed something surprising. The almost imperceptive widening of the eyes. She had just found something interesting alright and his attention was on her completely. She would knock back the rest of her glass as her hand gripped the glass. It was at that moment that Tamwyn would take fully notice of something. Blinking his eyes at her arm, he would remember the last time they had spoken. She had only had one right? He had to open the bottle of the Darhk Reserve for her. He had taken her having two arms for granted because that’s how many arms people were supposed to have. In reality though, Kara Darhk was only supposed to have one. Blinking at her arm in bewilderment he would look back up to her to find a genuine smile on her features. That would cause another confused blink. Had they been his results after all? Wicked quick if so. He would listen to her as she commented that it was indeed him. So they had been his blood work results. He was..surprised by that.

He would listen to the first bombshell that hit him go off, the fact that the water she had given him, on a whim mind you, had been some kind naturally occurring chemical called ‘Hero Water’. He felt his heart sink at that revelation. If he had consumed that during the fight, could he had won? Could he have taken victory that day? Memories assaulted him as he remembered the appearance of Akihiro Uchiha to the battlefield. He had withdrawn from that fight as he was the only combatant left, and he could not handle both Akihiro and Kimiko Uchiha on his own. His eyes narrowed as he considered if he could have changed that outcome with that Hero Water. What would have happened if he had? It was possible that what Kimiko had said would be true, Konoha would have simply sent a much more powerful strike force and razed Iwagakure to the ground. It was also possible they would have been sent back reeling from the categorical loss of two of their most powerful fighting at the time to a Chuunin. Regardless of how capable he was.

That was beside the point now however, apparently she had made a weakened version of the drug. That interested him, if it was mass producible than it would give them an edge in any future conflicts. Still it seemed something else was on her mind. When she mentioned that when she had gotten that initial blood sample she had conducted tests on herself. Then she would pause. Then she would take her glove her, revealing the metal prosthetic underneath. That would answer his earlier curiosity. It had to have been a prosthetic given the clink of metal on glass he had heard earlier. It looked sleek, and strong, and it moved well. She had done inspired work on that thing. But still he would wait as she examined the prosthetic, thinking thoughts to herself. Soon enough her gaze would return to him, and quietly she would speak. Words came out of her mouth and for a moment it would seem like he had not heard them. His yellow eyes would blink for a moment. As if wondering where the sound had gone before the impact of it hit him all at once.

A sister...He had a sister.

As she sat silently and allowed him time to process he would open his mouth as if to speak. No sound would emerge at first. Later he would think about this moment and realized he had more than likely looked like a poleaxed steer. For now though, all he could do was be in absolute shock. His yellow eyes would widen slightly as he looked her over, not hungrily or seductively, but really getting a look at her features. Before it had been a passively curious thing how well they had physically matched in appearance. Yellow eyes, pale skin, light hair. His was white where hers was a light blonde, but the similarities were stark and beyond even that. Blinking at her in surprise, not noticing when tears sprang into his vision. He would feel a long lost yearning in his heart. All his life he had wanted family, he’d found Yenn, and he had been happier than words could describe. For she had given him one, willingly, and of love. Now however he had more of it, a family member that shared blood with him. Not just his children, but family of his own, with shared family members in their blood ties somewhere. With a hand that was shaking, shaking for god's sake, he hadn’t done that in a long time, and that was without counting him having died. He would push himself to a standing position. Then if he was not stopped he would step around to stand before Kara, holding a hand out to help her up. Asking silent permission for her to stand. He couldn’t make his voice work at that moment.

The possibility had not even crossed his mind that she might have lied about it. Why would she? Not about something like this. Still, if she took his head he would help her stand, and envelop her in a tight hug. Envelop his sister in a tight hug. If she allowed this he would hold her like that for a few moments. Silent sobs of joy causing his shoulders to heave every so often. He would be careful not to get any tears or anything on her of course. He was happy on a scale he couldn’t fathom, not rude. Still after a brief stint of time he would release her and hold her chair for her again to sit and push in. Then regain his seat. Taking another moment to compose himself, taking hold of his napkin he would dab at his eyes, ensuring no more tears remained. When he was composed, and ready, and when he did not think his voice would waver, he would finally speak. “I’m sorry, your words have given me something I’ve wanted all my life. Yenn gave me a family she and I created. But I never had one prior to that, no parents, no siblings, no cousins. I did not mean to lose control like that and I hope you can forgive that weakness, sister.” He would say, referring to her as the familial title for the first time. If she approved or disapproved he figured she would say as such. She would be the older of the two of them, he wasn’t sure of her age but he was only twenty one. Or..was he twenty two? Did dying count? Probably not.

“You’re definitely coming over later now..I want you to be a part of my family's lives. If you’ll allow it.” He would say finally, giving her his opinion on the matter. He was beyond happy at this news, and wanted her to be in the lives of those he loved. To be included, to be a part of it all. If she would allow such a thing to happen. “Let’s save more talk of this for later though shall we? In private, and not in a public dining venue. Were there any issues with my blood work? I originally came to get checked out to see if anything was wrong given the uncertainty of such things after coming back from the dead. I feel great, but I also can’t run tests on myself. I don’t have the training.” He would say, his voice becoming a bit light at the end with a small shrug to emphasize it. There would be more topics of discussion beyond this during this meal. More needed to be caught up on.

[5]

The quip that Tamwyn gave to Doku elicited a hard glare from the swordsman, but dutiful as ever he did not interrupt his Mistress’s lunch longer than he had to. With one final glare towards the white haired man at the table, Doku would move out beyond the short wrought iron fence that surrounded the outdoor eating area. The bodyguard was stoic however internally he was seething. ‘Who tha fuck does he think he is? I’ll spar ‘im aright, box his ears til he learns a thing or two ‘bout respect.’

At the table Kara explained about the hero water and then moved on to her less than tactfully recited line about how Tamwyn was her brother. She hadn’t known what to expect when she revealed the information; it was possible that he simply wouldn’t believe her, which all things considered was entirely fair. It was also possible that he would be indifferent or uncaring, an interesting fact and nothing more. What she had not counted on was the extremely emotional reaction he did have. ‘Extremely’ by her standards, a hug to a long lost sister was not exactly extreme.

The second Tamwyn rose to embrace Kara after she took his hand, Doku sprang into action. He leapt over the fence using one hand to propel him over the metal and his other resting on the hilt of his katana. Doku was fast, but not quite that fast. He landed just behind Tamwyn as the man pulled Kara in for a hug.

Kara was definitely surprised, and mildly uncomfortable at the public show of emotion. She would return his embrace, somewhat awkwardly, and her golden eyes would meet Doku’s silver ones. There was an order in her gaze, a silent command.

No.

Doku would back off, she could see in his gaze and the way he pressed his lips together in a thin line that he wasn’t happy, but he was at least obedient. She could feel Tamwyn sobbing silently and she would pat him gently until he released her, gratefully accepting the seat that Tamwyn pulled out for her once more. As he apologized for his reaction, she would shake her head and smile sympathetically. “You have nothing to apologize for.” The invitation for her to join him at his family’s home was met with another smile, but not an immediate answer. She was still actively hardening her heart and burying her emotions beneath an abyss of duty, protocol and business. She knew it was inevitable that given enough time those emotions would breach the surface, but that was a problem for the future. For now she kept herself calm and collected and after a few beats she would reply to both his invitation and his concerns about his health.

“I have time, we can go whenever you like. The remainder of your tests will take many more hours - however I can assure you from a cursory inspection that there doesn’t appear to be anything immediately wrong, nothing that should concern you. And besides, if anything does happen, you have the best doctor in the world with you.” She would give a wink and a cheerful laugh, hoping to draw attention away from her statement about the remainder of his tests. Just like the first time, she had done two sets, and strictly speaking - the DNA tests were not. . . perfectly. . . ethical. Should he wish to go immediately, she would go with him to his home, Doku trailing behind them both.

Of course Tamwyn heard Doku coming, a man jumping a fence and running to try to stop you from hugging your newly found sister would be hard to miss. Tamwyn however did not much give a shit what Doku thought or did. So he hugged his sister anyway. Which she returned if a bit awkwardly, but who wouldn't be awkward in this situation? He was guilty of it too. When they had been seated and he had apologized she would tell him he had no need to do so and he would give her a thankful smile in return before finally taking his first bite of his quiche. It was delicious of course, he doubted Kara would eat anywhere that the food wasn't delicious, and took a few moments to chew and swallow before responding to her words. She could come home with him now if he wished, and while there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him and even if something did turn up, he had her in his corner to help him. He would flash her a wolfish grin at her wink and laugh before speaking.

"Let's finish eating first at least, this is the technically the first thing I've eaten in about a year. Besides, I wanna talk some business with you and later on I know I'll be even more emotional than I just was. Best to get such things out of the way now." He would say taking a pause long enough to take another bite of the quiche. When he had finished chewing and swallowing that one he would continue. He wasn't rude enough to speak while chewing. "I've already found some of my more..potent..talents will no longer be available to me. So I'm in need of a method to circumvent that temporary loss of capability. Before I'd had what one might call a powerful chakra based entity. It's steeped in mythological wording as many such beings are but to put it simply it chose to give me the chance to partner with it. It's name was 'Raiju' and it was effectively a 'divine beast of lightning.' It gave me quite a few capabilities I now no longer have. My untimely demise was while trying to fight the beast for the right to have it as a partner. I'd gained the assistance of Shimiko Chinoike, but I miscalculated during the fight and it cost me my life. Now that I've returned, Raiju has made it known to me that I would not have a second chance." He would begin, giving her all of the information on the matter.

"I've already planned out a training regimen to increase my own base capabilities. I'm also planning to get into creating equipment and I've laid out the plans for that as well. I stopped by the market on the way to the hospital and bought a massive amount of base materials and equipment and I intend to delve deeply into the arts of weapon and armor crafting. I'm even intending to open up a couple of shops of my own. Although I doubt I'll be anywhere remotely competitive with you. For now however I'm working on planning out the final equipment I'll make for my personal use. I don't have the kind of intellect to form or augment materials. However even in the time it took me to travel here from the Heavenly Emporium I've heard of your prowess in such things. So I want to ask what kind of raw materials you have to sell. So that I might purchase some from you for when I create the I envision." He would say, giving her, again, all of the information of his plans for the time being. He needed to fill the void in his power that Raiju was leaving and while he was plenty powerful even without his help. He would stagnate quickly if he let himself. With that said, he had made a plan to implement and was already working on implementing it. It could never be said that Tamwyn ever wasted time in working towards a goal.

[6]

When Tamwyn insisted that they finish eating before leaving, Kara would nod and pick up her fork once more. She wasn’t particularly hungry but he had made a good point, his first meal in a year was not something to be overlooked. She picked away at her food, taking more interest in her wine than anything else as he spoke. His explanation of the power he’d lost was an interesting one; she had knowledge of such beings but had never put much stock into their deification. To her they were simply naturally occurring elements of the universe - chakra coalesced and easily quantifiable. The idea of ‘gods’ or anything ‘divine’ was preposterous to her, in her experience nothing was inexplicable and attaching human ideals to things that people could not or would not understand was laughable.

So when he stated that he was interested in turning his talents towards the crafting arts she was quite pleased to hear it. Having another craftsman in the family would do well for their name. She laughed openly as he stated that he doubted he would be competitive with her. “My dear, it has taken me a lifetime to perfect what I’ve done, I also doubt you will be competitive initially. Though don’t take that as discouragement, I do hope that you will be competition eventually. Competition in our line of work is healthy, and makes all of us more money.”

When he asked about whether she had any raw materials to sell her nose would crinkle slightly in distaste. Taking her wine glass in hand she would empty it quickly and refill it, finally answering him with a sigh. “I do not normally sell materials, that would be like calling myself a painter and only selling paints. It is. . . less. . . than what I do. However, I am interested in assisting you in your endeavours and so for you I will make an exception. Presently I have virtually nothing that you could not already find at the market, though. . .” She would pause and raise her left hand, snapping her fingers once and within moments two people would arrive at her side. A waiter and Doku. To the waiter Kara would nod towards the nearly empty wine bottle, and he would scurry away to retrieve another. Turning to Doku she would smile pleasantly. “Doku, darling. Be a dear and fetch a copy of the Eclipse catalogue would you?” He gave a half smile and a raised eyebrow, but did not move. “I’ll be fine for a few minutes, Tamwyn will protect me, won’t you Tamwyn?” Without waiting for a response from Tamwyn, Kara would shoo Doku away with a gentle waving of her hand. Doku was not happy, but he obeyed her regardless. Once he had departed she would turn her attention back to her brother. “There, then I don’t have to bore you with the details, you can peruse the catalogue at your leisure.” Doku would be gone for at least twenty minutes she imagined, although she was aware that he didn’t much care for Tamwyn, so he might actually run and cut it down to ten.

The yellow eyed man would listen as he ate and she laughed. It was not mean laughter, intent to belittle and degrade. But genuine laughter, and when she spoke of her doubts in him being competitive initially as well due to it taking her a lifetime to get to where she was he would give her a wry smile. “I doubt I’ll be competitive in the end. My preferences still lay in the fight itself. I’ll be focusing solely on armament and armor and less on mechanical apparatuses or anything that one might create that do not lay within those two things. I’m also not a world renown doctor, nor a chemist of renown either nor will I be. I don’t have the kind of mind for it.” He would say before pausing to take another bite. As she responded to his request to buy raw materials her nose would wrinkle and she would drain her wine glass before answering him. However she would apparently make an exception for him. Then she would snap a finger and a waiter and Doku would arrive. To the waiter she would send to obtain more wine. To Doku she would send to obtain some kind of catalogue to which he would silently raise an eyebrow and a half smile in protest.

Tamwyn would smirk as she sent him on his way, quite literally ‘shooing’ him and stating that she would be fine for a few moment with Tamwyn there. In response to her statement of his protection and her question the white haired man would turn that smirk toward Doku. “Of course sister mine. Nothing will come close without my knowledge of it and nothing will harm you while I’m here.” He would say before turning his eyes back to her as Doku left. When he had she would turn back to him and tell him he would be able to peruse said catalogue at his leisure. Nodding at that he would take a moment to finish the next bite. Once done he would meet her eyes again. “I appreciate you making the exception. I intend to make the equipment for myself but I do not have and as previously stated, do not foresee myself having, the expertise to create my own materials or improve upon existing ones. I want the best I can get for my personal arms. I also intend to ask your professional critique of them when finished. If you don’t mind, that is.”

With that said he would consider her a moment. Idly wondering how it was that they lived in a world small enough that she had ended up being his sister. I mean he had never even heard of her until he had seen her portrait on Damiens wall. Hell Tamwyn had quite literally been the man’s bodyguard and apparently Damien’s wife was his sister and none of them had ever known. What kind of weird soap opera bullshit was this? Still it was interesting to say the least and more importantly, it meant he had more family. Something he had always wanted. Reaching for his wine glass he would down it in one as the waiter arrived with another bottle and refilled both his and Kara’s glasses. “So I know next to nothing about you that the rest of the world doesn’t know. So tell me about yourself Kara. We’re family, and I want us to be close if possible.” He would say, making his thoughts on that front known. He was not one to put aside family or be a stranger to them. He did not love the woman like a sister yet but now that he knew she was his sister he still felt a bond toward the woman that he wanted to build upon. For that to occur, he would inevitably need to learn more about the woman herself.

Kara continued drinking as she listened to Tamwyn’s explanation as to why he wouldn’t end up being competition for her. She knew that nothing she said presently would change his mind, he seemed comfortable with his current level of skill and logically she had no footing to truly persuade him otherwise. Eventually though, she intended to give him a proper assessment and hopefully encourage him. Kara did appreciate when others showed interest in creating things, and now that her own brother showed that same interest she wanted to ensure that his interest remained.

She was pleased to hear Tamwyn agree to keep her safe, she had assumed as such based on his reaction to the news of them being siblings. And it wasn’t as if she was entirely defenseless, though as with everything she did, if she didn’t have to do something herself - she didn’t. “I would certainly provide you with critique or guidance should you wish it. You as well will have access to my shop should you wish, my facilities are state of the art and I would be more than happy to grant you access to them.”

His next statement took her by surprise, which most things usually didn’t, and the surprise would show on her face. Most people didn’t much care for any real information about herself. They always wanted to know her ‘trade secrets’ or some such, nothing personal. She sat there in silence for a few moments, gently tapping her wine glass with one metal finger as she considered how to answer. There was much about her that no one knew. No one alive. In truth the idea of sharing personal information about herself made her a touch uncomfortable. It was easy to keep her walls up when all people knew was that she was a brilliant doctor or a genius weaponsmith. So with her usual dark humour she gave an automatic quip, laughing lightly as she did.

“Tell you about myself. Well, did you know that at one time I had two arms, just like you do?”

She knew that wasn’t what he meant, but she needed time to think, to assess just how much damage she would be doing to the carefully constructed barriers against attachment. After a beat she would clear her throat gently and look down at the wine in her glass, suddenly interested in the slow ripples that undulated across its surface due to her tapping. Her voice was quieter as she gave him a real answer, more subdued and just the tiniest bit fearful. “I was born here. In Kumogakure I mean to say. And when I was born I wasn’t ‘Kara’, that’s a nickname. My name is Karasu.”

Tamwyn would flash his sister a smile of gratitude at the offer of using her facilities. He would still probably do something for himself in order to ensure he wasn’t using her facilities when she needed them. However the offer and opportunity to see and utilize a state the art facility was definitely kind and an opportunity he would not pass up the chance to use. “I appreciate that offer more than you know. I’ll probably end up making my own facilities to craft as well. Purely to ensure I’m never in your way when you need to. However, the opportunity to not only see but to utilize professional, state of the art, facilities will allow me to get an idea of what I might want in my own craft area.” He would say, taking the last bite of his quiche afterward and setting the fork aside. It had been delicious, and filling, which is exactly what he had needed at that point in time. When it came to asking more about herself however she would respond with a mildly dark quip and laugh lightly as she did so. Her comment about her once having two arms would draw a snort of amusement from the man before he allowed her time to think of what she would say.

It was never easy being put on the spot when it came to the age old question of ‘So what can you tell me about yourself?’ Because first off the moment that question was asked one tended to forget anything and everything about oneself to speak of. Like an automatic flushing of the mind's answers to any question whatsoever. Many times it resulted in the classic ‘Deer in the headlights’ look as they tried to find a suitable way to answer the question so often times blind sides people. However Kara did not take on that look. She simply cleared her throat and looked down at her wine glass as she spoke. Her voice quieter, subdued, and just a bit afraid. When she spoke she would tell him of her heritage of being born here in Kumogakure, and that ‘Kara’ was simply a shorthand version of her real name ‘Karasu’.

Now, Tamwyn wasn’t the smartest individual around and he did not think he was. However context clues were useful things and a shinobi was trained to be observant of such things to such a ludicrous degree that the subtle signs of something about this topic being uncomfortable for the woman might as well have been a flashing neon sign that read ‘Minefield ahead.’ So he took a few moments to consider his words for a moment before speaking. “That’s certainly something I didn’t know or had heard before. May I ask why the name change? Or why you seem to be afraid of saying anything about it?” He would ask, his voice quiet as well. His yellow eyes would search hers, looking for any answer he might find there even though he knew she wouldn’t be that easy to read. She had the trained face of a doctor, it would say only what she wanted it to say, and nothing more.

Kara waved a friendly but dismissive hand at Tamwyn’s comment about her offer of her facilities. To her, it was nothing, though she could see why it might seem like more to others. Besides, it seemed as though Tamwyn was excited about their recently revealed siblinghood so she was trying. It was new to her too, not as new as it was for him mind you, but of the two of them it seemed he was more enthusiastic. Which was good, it would have been terribly awkward for her to have revealed the news and then they both just sat there in cool silence. She appreciated his amused snort at her inappropriate joke, at least he had a sense of humour similar to her own.

As he responded to her tiny personal revelation, she would let the carefully constructed fabrication of her life reassert itself again. The fear and lack of sureness were replaced with complete confidence and an unspoken swagger that showed itself in the sureness of her movements - even right down to the renewed professional warmth in her eyes. It was a defense mechanism of hers; She was not without fear or anxiety, but the storyline she had created for herself (which she absolutely knew was fabricated) told of boundless courage with just a hint of smugness. It was the only thing that had allowed her to endure that past several years - coincidentally from the time of her name change. With a look as casual as if he had just asked her if she wanted more wine, she would shake her head ‘no’. “Not here, dear brother. I don’t mean to deny you, however I simply cannot be too careful anymore. In time I will explain why.” Her words were deadly serious, but her facial expression did not match. An outside observer would have thought they were discussing the quiche or some other trivial topic.

Pushing her plate away, still conspicuously unfinished, she would place her fabric napkin over the food. “Shall we go? Assuming you’re finished of course. Doku will catch up eventually.” A small part of her did want to confide in Tamwyn, but she knew it was suicide to do that publicly and so she was eager to move away from prying eyes and ears.

Just as quickly as it had appeared the quiet, reserved, almost nervous and fearful Kara would be gone. As if she were shoved away and locked into another room within her mind to be faced another day. As if what she had given already was simply too much and too precious to her to risk letting more out. He saw the barriers come up, his yellow eyes taking in her expression as it cooled by degrees and her tone was conversational as she responded. She might as well have been talking about the weather when she told him that she would not answer here, not here, and not now. That she could not be too careful about where she shared such information any longer and that within time she would share with him why she seemed so nervous, so frightened a moment ago. Now she was cool, collected, with a hint of arrogant smugness that marked her as the successful doctor and business tycoon that she was.

It was also a facade.

Tamwyn had never once considered that she had been operating under such a theatrical version of herself. Not once, and the realization floored him for a moment as his eyes widened and the knowledge. It took him a moment to find the words to respond and when he did he would opt to simply nod. For fear of being unable to control his own voice or words. Taking a moment to pull himself together he would watch her push her plate away, unfinished food upon it as well as her napkin. She would ask him if he was ready to go and that Doku could catch up eventually. Nodding his head he would stand and offer her his hand. Always polite, provided she took it he would help her up and tuck the hand under his arm. Her escort for the day. Of course there was nothing romantic in the gesture. Merely gallantry and a desire to be close to protect his sibling. Without a word he would stretch his senses out, watching for threats with his chakra. If Doku was within the 250m area of him he would be sensed of course and noted. Tamwyn had told his sister he would protect her. He meant that, and he would eradicate anyone who tried to harm any of his family.

Whether or not they would be walking side by side or not Tamwyn would ‘lead’ them out of the restaurant and toward his home. She would know the way of course, she had been there before but it was his home after all. As he walked he would look for a topic of conversation and finally settle on some more business. When they arrived at his home there would be much too much reunion with his wife and the news of more family and the meeting of his children to make business discussion practical so it was best to get it over with now. Hopefully Doku would return before they arrived so that Tamwyn could peruse the catalogue as they walked and order materials from her before arriving. For now though he had a different topic of discussion in mind. “Dear Sister, when I lived before I held a large amount of shares within your company. As a matter of fact I seem to remember that being the basis for our first meeting. When I passed I left those shares to my teammate. I know nothing of what has happened to him or how he has been doing since then. However I do find myself wondering if you have any more shares that I might purchase? I can pay you now if you desire or we can work out the payment at a later date if you would prefer. Provided you have any to sell and are willing to do so to me that is.” He would say, being as polite as always as they walked. As he spoke his attention would also be on their surroundings. Being careful as to who got any closer to her than they necessarily had to.

[9]

Kara watched the widening of Tamwyn’s eyes at her response. She knew his reaction wasn’t to anything she’d said, but rather what she did - or in this particular case, didn’t do. What she hadn’t done was properly control her own emotions at that moment. Kara had always taken an immense amount of pride in her ability to maneuver seemingly effortlessly from one difficult situation to the next - but sitting for an impromptu lunch with Tamwyn, her brother, had caught her off guard. She was normally much more careful with her reactions, and she could only imagine what he must think of her now. She hoped it was nothing awful.

When he offered his hand she would place her metal one in his and allow him to help her stand, giving him a satisfied nod at his manners as he escorted her out of the restaurant. Even though Doku was essentially inept, he was still useful as a literal meat shield and without him shadowing her she felt. . . vulnerable. With this in mind she stayed close to Tamwyn’s side, despite Tamwyn’s own self deprecating description of his own abilities, she was confident that her brother could keep her safe.

She walked along quietly enjoying the company and forcing her thoughts to business and trade rather than her past. When Tamwyn asked about the shares of her company she let out a rueful laugh. “Well, dear brother - you died and things got a touch complicated after that. The shares were left to Mōtimā Midori-Okō Kurama by my records, though shortly after your passing the poor young man fell ill and is by all accounts beyond recovery. He is currently in a coma under my care and shows no signs of being able to be woken. So I purchased the shares he held and resold them. I currently provide for both his and your estate. While I am primarily interested in profit; I am not a monster and contrary to popular rumour I do in fact have a heart. I do have ten thousand shares remaining if you wish to purchase those, you can send the money to my shop.”

As they were walking, Doku would finally show his face again, a catalogue rolled into his left hand and panting slightly as he jogged up to the pair. “Mistress. . . err. . . ‘ere ya go boy.” He would initially hand the catalogue towards Kara but then realize his error and hold it out towards Tamwyn. Doku was not always a moron. But he was still a moron and shot Tamwyn a dirty look as he held out the catalogue.

As they moved through the streets of the village toward his abode she would answer his question of the shares he had once held and had been moved to his teammate Mort. However her answer was not what he would have expected to hear. Mort was comatose? That was concerning and he wondered when he had fallen ill in comparison to his own death. Luckily, Kara had taken care of his estate apparently and that meant Yenn and the kids should be fine. However the news of Mort's comatose state was concerning. He would have to visit the man later. Still, for now he had things he had to do and Mort was not going anywhere. The news that Kara had purchases the man's shares and resold them was, given the circumstances, completely rational and normal for a business minded individual like her to do. However the news that she still had ten thousand shares remaining she could and would sell him was heartening. It would only be a fraction of what he had before, but any residual incomes would be good and it did not take all that much to maintain the estate.

Nodding his head to her before speaking he would stop suddenly at a corner as some kids ran by the corner laughing and playing. They didn't even notice the two individuals walking and how they had almost run into them but Tamwyn had sensed them with his sensory capabilities. Children learning to become shinobi one day no doubt, but still, inattentive. With that minor issue dodged he would speak. "I would be happy to purchase them from you and will have the money sent over immediately." He would say, forming a one handed seal and creating a shadow clone before reaching into a back pocket and withdrawing a small scroll. Handing it to the clone he would send the doppelganger off to her shop to do just that. He wanted to ensure any and all business was finished before arriving home. With that done he would sense Doku arriving, the man having tripped his sensory radius as he moved and Tamwyn measured the man's speed as he came closer. "Forty-Five meters per second." He would mutter under his breath. Given her proximity Kara would probably hear the words and when Doku arrived he would greet his mistress before handing the catalogue toward her before realizing the mistake and handing it to Tamwyn instead.

The 'boy' comment was certainly amusing and Tamwyn gained a small smirk as he opened the catalogue one handed by letting the pages separate naturally and landed right on the page with the information he requested. As he did he looked toward Doku, his smirk never leaving his features. "Careful not to let your old age make your speed slip anymore old man. Forty five meters per second is passable for a body guard, but only just." He would say before turning his eyes back toward the page and perusing for a few moments. He read voraciously quickly, always had, and within moments he would shutting the book by closing the spine. "If possible, I'd like to order twelve units of Midnight Ore, two units of magnetic metal, and one unit of Mountain Fur. I'll pay whatever price is necessary, or trade any favor or task necessary for you to do such a thing. I know you don't like supplying the materials only but I'm incapable of making my own materials and I want to work with the best I can get my hands on. I'll do whatever is necessary to make the idea more..amicable for you dear sister." He would say as he continued to lead them toward his home. Time would pass, conversation would be had, Doku and Tamwyn would probably continue to give each other jibes for shits and giggles. Either way he would continue to lead them toward his home, the walk taking a good deal of time due to the location of the hospital in comparison to the high income housing.

Exit

[10]

Kara expected as much, Tamwyn had been one of her primary shareholders before his untimely death; so him immediately agreeing to purchase the remainder made sense. She heard Tamwyn’s muttering and was confused only for a moment when she saw Doku run up. She wasn’t entirely certain what had sparked the rivalry between the two men, but internally she sighed. This was going to be a pain in the ass for her, she could foresee that easily, and she was proven right as Tamwyn quipped back after Doku’s ‘boy’ comment, which left Doku with a distinctly crestfallen expression. ‘Now I’m going to have to fix that later too.’ She thought to herself, still puzzling over Doku’s increased aggression.  

Kara tallied up Tamwyn’s order in her head, and gave him a knowing smile. If she’d needed further proof that he was most definitely her sibling, she didn’t now. He knew enough to offer more than money in exchange for her assistance. While Kara was certainly a financial magnate, cold hard cash was of significantly less value to her than things like favours. Nearly every deal she’d done had been without money involved, and it had the decided benefit of making whoever she made a deal with think that they were somehow getting a better deal because of it. “Doku, please secure the street. I don’t want any surprises.” Kara didn’t care one way or another about who was on the street, but she needed the man out of earshot for a few moments.

As soon as he’d moved away Kara would lean a bit closer to Tamwyn, speaking quietly enough that Doku would not overhear. “As payment, I ask for your protection. Should I need defending, I would ask that you come to defend me. If I call for you, you will arrive. That is all I ask, a simple promise of protection.” She doubted he would say no, he had already agreed to something similar back when she first sent Doku to fetch the catalogue. She allowed him time to think on it as they walked towards his estate, her still gingerly holding onto his arm as she considered the ramifications of the day.

[Exit Thread]