A Spark Catching Flame (Mitsu)

Mal'Zeth Muramatsu, moved through the bustling city street. He wasn't doing anything in particular, just enjoying the sound of people going about their everyday business. It was enjoyable to hear everyone moving about, being busy, and going about their tasks with fervor as they worked, shopped, or even played. The streets weren't packed person to person per say but it was indeed busy with street vendors hawking their wares and shops displaying signs advertising various deals and specials. People in various garb and multitudes of appearances moved through the streets and the midday sun was bright and welcoming, if a little warm. Indeed, it was looking like a good day in Iwagakure that day and Mal was enjoying it for a time while he was taking a break from training.

He was dressed in his usual attire, black leather with gold trim, with various pockets within for holding items such as kunai, explosive tags, and the like. His boots were simple shinobi boots good for protection from the environment. His long, black leather coat had a high collar but not one high enough to obscure his face, only reaching up high enough to hide his neck from view. Red eyes took in his surroundings carefully and his blonde hair was swept up and back. He moved with a casual confidence as he meandered through the crowd, looking at various stalls and reading the deals the shops had on display. Eventually he came across one stall that was selling grilled pork on a skewer. It was carefully seasoned and glazed with a sweet, tangy sauce and Mal was looking at the skewers intently for a moment before buying a few. The merchant took the skewers, put them in a bag with the handles sticking up, and passed it to him. Mal continued on and went back to looking around at all the various people moving about their day as he reached into the bag for the first skewer.

Mitsu was not having the best of days. The streets were packed with people, it was loud and cold and she was miserable. She was trying to ignore it, doing her usual routine of smiling at those she saw, waving at those who waved at her. But all of her actions were forced as she simply didn’t have the heart behind any of them. She had been forcing herself to go out and spend time with people, just being around them, in order to help herself feel more like herself again. But it was proving to be rather difficult. Every time someone made a quick movement, or spoke a bit too excitedly, or moved too close to her she would cringe or flinch. It was involuntary and that was the most annoying part of it.

She had always felt secure and safe, completely confident in every situation she found herself in. Up until she had faced off against Chen and lost. The whole situation had gotten out of hand and it had left a most lasting impression that could be summed up in a single word; fear. When she sat and thought about what had happened, the fight that had come dangerously close to ending her life, it didn’t make her afraid. She felt ashamed and guilty but not scared. It was all the unconscious fears that were getting to her. Not sleeping well, nightmares and double and triple checking the lock on her door. Strange habits that she hadn’t had before and that she found irritating now. There was only one author of her actions and that was her, so why was she behaving in a way that was contrary to her nature?

She was still wearing her usual red leather outfit, embellished with gold and emeralds. Of course she’d had to set aside the outfit she had worn that day in the Tsuchikage complex, it did have a fairly irreparable hole in it now and was horribly stained with blood. She had found it interesting that although the leather was red it had darkened considerably once the blood had stained it, almost making it a blackish purple colour. She had cleaned it as best she knew how, but there was no helping the garment, so she had stuffed it in the back of her closet as a reminder to not react violently in the future.

Walking through the marketplace she could feel a tightness around her chest and a sudden need to get away from the throngs of people that were uncomfortably close to her. As a vendor shouted at her about pots she jumped and froze for a second, her pink eyes wide. It took only a second for her to decide to bolt, running to the outer edge of the busy area and leaning against the wall of a building while she clutched her fur cloak around her tightly.

As he reached for the first skewer or deliciously grilled and seasoned pork his red eyes would fall on a woman dressed in red leather with gold embroidery and emeralds inset into the material. She had white hair, pink eyes, and seemed..jumpy. He kept his eyes on her as she moved through the crowd, smiling and being pleasant more or less. But at times seeming to flinch and cringe away. As he looked at her he would follow her, more or less simply becoming part of the crowd as he watched how she moved and in reaction to what stimuli. As he watched he would slowly come to the realization that her reactions were involuntarily occurring when someone either spoke too loudly, or excitedly rather, made a quick movement, or came too close. It was like she was afraid of being attacked in her own village.

Narrowing his eyes at the implications of such a thing, he would feel his teeth grind in anger. He made to follow her, to try to help, his skewers laying forgotten in the bag, although still hot since he had bought them not long ago. As he watched her he would see her jump in reaction to a vendor hawking her wares and she would freeze before bolting, running to the outer edge of the area and leaning against a building wall. She clutched her cloak tightly to her. An obvious gesture of seeking comfort and protection in some way or form and he would move toward her, carefully. He would angle his approach to come from the front, so she could see him approaching her. His eyes would stay on her as he came and his face would have a friendly smile on it. Despite the anger he felt in his chest. He recognized her now, Mitsukira, wife of one Masaru Tetsudashi, previous Tsuchikage.

This woman was probably the closest thing to royalty in the village, and yet someone had caused her to have such reactions. She was afraid and that wasn’t good. Mal decided that he needed to help and so he would try to do so. Approaching her carefully, he would pull out a skewer and take a bite before holding the bag of them out for her. The smell coming from the bag was delicious and he hoped he could entice her into eating. “Good afternoon Lady Mitsukira.” He would say politely, his tone calm and friendly. “May I offer you a pork skewer? They’re delicious. I’m sorry for disturbing you, but I noticed you before and you seemed like you were...having a bad day. I hoped to try to help somehow if I could.” He would say, his red eyes looking into her pink ones.

Having reached a relatively quiet place leaning against a wall, Mitsu was able to breathe a little easier. And as she took a few calming breaths and looked out at the crowd of people she’d just run from she could help but feel a bit silly. She had run to this spot to be away from the man selling pottery? That seemed ridiculous, and yet here she was. She wanted to go home, coming out and forcing herself to be in a situation that she found uncomfortable was clearly a bad idea. The frustrating part of it all was that she couldn’t figure out why she felt uncomfortable. She loved people; talking to them, learning about their lives, making friends. It wasn’t something she could wrap her head around just yet. ‘Maybe I just need a nap, I can go home and have a nap and then everything will be fine again.’ Deciding that sleep was probably better than wandering the streets, she made to push herself off of the wall and head home.

Just as her hands touched the wall behind her though, she looked up and saw a man walking straight towards her. He wasn’t someone she remembered seeing before, though there had been a large influx of people recently due to the aftermath of the war, and it wasn’t like she knew everyone in Iwagakure personally. Her first reaction that she had to fight was to bolt again, she couldn’t fathom why this stranger was headed towards her. Her second impulse was to reach for her razor fans beneath her cloak, another urge she fought off even as her fingers twitched. Both fleeing and fighting were not options she was keen on taking, and both were hard to justify to the rational part of her mind that noted the smile on the blonde man’s face. He seemed friendly enough and as he greeted her she would stand up straight and put on the best smile she could muster.

The food he offered did smell delicious and briefly distracted her from her fears about why he knew her name and just how bad of a job of hiding her fears she was apparently doing. Because Mitsukira didn’t value things like fame or renown, it didn’t occur to her that many people knew who she was just by virtue of association, let alone her own merit. She would nod shyly and hold her hand out to take a skewer from the bag. Only once she had one of the snacks in her hand would she speak, her melodic voice quiet at first and growing louder and more relaxed as she spoke between bites. “Oh, um. Thank you. For this I mean, the food. Oh and good afternoon. I’m sorry I don’t know your name, I don’t mean to be rude or anything. I just, yes, I don’t know many people surprisingly. Or not, I don’t know if that’s surprising to you, or anyone really. I didn’t think I was having a bad day, at least not to start. And you can call me Mitsu by the way.”

At his approach she would seem momentarily defensive but she fought down that impulse as quickly as it arrived. When she gave him a shy smile of acceptance of his offer he would tilt the bag toward her to give her easier access. Once she had one, she would finally speak and he would listen, her mellifluous voice was quiet to start but slowly grew louder as she spoke and between bites of skewer. He too would begin to eat and after she had taken her first bite, as was polite and as she spoke her demeanor became more relaxed. She thanked him for the food, greeted him, apologized to him for not knowing his name, and all in all seemed to be a bit flustered about things. He would listen intently, his eyes not moving from hers until she finished. Once she had he would wait to consider his words and actions. He didn’t want to frighten her away, but he also wanted her to calm down enough to not be so flustered.  

He decided the best course of action would be to converse with her, and be relaxed himself. Show her via actions that he meant no harm. If she finished her skewer he would tilt the bag to her again, offering her another as he chewed the last bite of his first and held the empty one between fingers on the same hand he held the bag in. “No problem, and I wouldn’t expect you to know my name. I’m not the one married to the previous village leader after all. My name is Mal’Zeth Muramatsu, but you can call me ‘Mal’. It’s a pleasure to meet you Mitsu, and you might not think you were having a bad day. But in the market back there you looked like a cat in a dog pound. I couldn’t see anyone seem so jumpy and paranoid of one's surroundings and not try to help.” He would explain, in one simple introduction explain how he knew her, acknowledge her nickname, introduced himself formally, and gave her his own nickname. As well as explained the reasoning for his following her. As he finished speaking he would hold his hand out, as if to shake and smile at her charmingly. “Now then, can I help? Even if it’s just to listen, I’ll do what I can.” He would say, his smile never fading from his features.

As she ate the pork skewer Mitsu discovered she was surprisingly hungry and she tried to recall the last time she had eaten, and found she couldn’t. ‘That’s probably not good, not being able to remember when you ate last. Honestly Mitsu, you have to take better care of yourself.’ By the time she had finished speaking, she had also finished eating her snack. She was sad, it had been delicious but now it was gone, fortunately Mal’Zeth offered her another and after a second of trying to figure out what to do with the stick that remained from the first one she would reach into the bag and take a second. She now held the first stick between her index and middle finger of her left hand as she happily ate a second skewer while listening to Mal.

As soon as he mentioned ‘previous village leader’ her gaze would drop and she felt a pain in her stomach as memories of that fateful day in the Tsuchikage complex went through her mind. It was brief but it was enough for her to pause her chewing while she tried to focus her attention squarely on the leather clad red eyed man in front of her. She learned his name was Mal’Zeth, and that she could call him Mal. She liked that, it was a friendly gesture and one that she always tried to employ with others, but it was rarely acted upon. Hearing him call her ‘Mitsu’ made her smile and then just as quickly as it had arrived, her smile faded.

She suddenly felt very warm, as though she were back in the Land of Wind. Frustratingly she also felt like she didn’t want to be where she was anymore. The sounds from the nearby marketplace grew louder as she listened to Mal and the urge to run off again was nigh overwhelming. As the white noise around her grew into a distracting cacophony she heard him ask if he could help. She hadn’t finished chewing the last bite she had taken of the skewer and she struggled to swallow it before answering. “Can we go somewhere not. . . here? It’s really loud and hot and I just need, I don’t know, air?” She couldn’t understand why she wanted to be away from people right at that moment, why the walls of every building around her seemed to be pressing in and threatening to smother her. Only moments ago she had been relatively fine, but now she just wanted to run into the mountains and hide. Mitsu was having a panic attack, not that she had any idea what that was, or even why it might be occurring. A thin sheen of sweat had formed on her skin and her white hair was now sticking to her face as her eyes darted around, unconsciously looking for some avenue of escape from the emotions she didn’t know how to manage.

She would accept the second skewer and he would take a second himself, that would be the last one and he would put his empty one into the beg and hold it out to offer for her empty one as well. The skewers had been a small appetizer before lunch and he was actually heading home to cook up something. When he mentioned the previous Tsuchikage her gaze would fall. It would rise again soon enough and focused upon him as he spoke and she would smile when he used the nickname she gave him. He would quickly eat his skewer once he was finished before slipping the now empty wooden stick into the bag. After ensuring she had put hers inside, if she was, he would toss the bag into a nearby trashcan before turning back to her. When she asked him if they could go somewhere, anywhere, not there. That it was hot, and loud, and she just needed some air. He would note a thin sheet of sweat on her skin, her white hair sticking to her skin as her eyes darted around like a cornered animal.

Unknown to Mitsu, Mal'Zeth was very much accustomed to panic attacks, only they were usually his own. What he told no one was that his father running away after killing his mother in that ruled 'accidental death' and becoming an S class missing shinobi from the village had affected him on a deeper level than he had foreseen. The village had given him an apartment, but he had claimed his families home in the Clan district halfway through his training at the academy. Which was actually where he was going now, home. The open gates of the Muramatsu Clan district lay not far from their location, a bit down the road. It was still being worked on by workmen, renovations being done and such. However his own home was fine and would be safe from crowds and prying eyes and ears. He pointed toward the clan district before speaking. "I was just going home, I live alone, so how about you join me and I'll cook us a more substantial lunch?" He would offer, his smile to her calm and hopefully inviting. He needed to get her off the streets and somewhere safe, calm, and quiet. Then try to force her mind off of things if he could. If she accepted, he would offer her his arm politely before leading her to his home in the clan compound.

Mitsu would place her empty stick in the offered bag, trying to distract herself by hurriedly eating the second one and also tossing it into the now empty bag. She was appreciative of Mal’s patience and his smile, she found his demeanor calming and as long as she focused just on him she felt like she could wait a few more moments before she needed to escape.

When he pointed towards the Muramatsu clan district her pink eyes would follow and without thinking she would wrap her cloak tighter around her and begin moving in that direction. She hadn’t even waited for him to finish speaking before her feet propelled her towards what she subconsciously viewed as a quieter and safer space than the one she currently occupied. After a second she would pause and turn back towards him, hesitantly taking his offered arm, adjusting her cloak once more so that only the smallest amount of her arm could be seen outside of it resting on his. The instant that she touched him she clutched tightly, with her strength the feeling was likely still gentle however she felt as though he was currently an anchor in a storm of unpleasant emotions. Quietly she would respond, her voice halting as she struggled to keep it from wavering. “Thank you Mal. I am sorry to be a bother, if I am. I probably am. I think I’m just hungry, or tired. I’m not sure.” She would keep her head down as they walked to his home, pointedly avoiding looking at anyone that they passed. All she was focused on was walking and breathing, the two things that usually required no thought and now were helping to drive her forward without collapsing into a crying mess on the ground. Instinctively she would clutch a bit tighter to Mal’s arm every time someone came a bit too close.

[Claiming EXP up to this point]

When she looked toward the compound she would immediately begin to stride for it. She hadn't even waited for him to finish and that told him even more. It told him that she desperately needed the escape from so many other people. After a step or two she would pause and turn back toward him, taking his arm hesitantly. She was almost akin to a frightened deer. She adjusted her cloak so only the smallest bit of their arms could be seen and the moment she had his in his hers she clutched tightly. Her voice would be quiet, her head down as she spoke softly, nervously. Thanking him, apologizing to him for being a bother. It would appear that she was talkative, or at least very much spoke what was on her mind as she thought it. Included the inner fears of any given moment. "It is no bother to me Mitsukira, truly." He would say with quiet honesty as they moved toward the compound. Each time someone got a little too close she would clutch tighter but he wouldn't stop her, nor would he try to keep those who got too close away either. That would just draw more attention to them and make it worse. It would be best to simply get through this quickly.

Quietly they entered the Muramatsu Clan compound and within moments they would be at his home. A single story building that was comfortable but by no means vast. Quietly he opened the sliding down to his home and escorted her inside, closing the door behind them when they entered. The inside of his home was quiet, and very clean. He didn't have a large number of decorations, he had a table, some cushions for sitting, a fairly decently sized kitchen, it was obvious to anyone looking that the home needed a woman's touch. Of course Mal'Zeth, not being a woman, would never give it one. It was however quiet, and there was none around but them. Leading her to the table in the dining room he would gently guide her to sitting. He didn't say a word, or make a noise, letting the silence of the home surround her and hopefully help ground her out. Should she agree to sit he would turn for the kitchen and quietly make them some tea. He was fairly good at that, all in all he was a fairly good cook in general in his estimate although others seemed to think him better than he was.

In short order he would set down a pot of green tea, honey, and two cups before filling hers with the tea and passing it to her. Quietly then he would speak. "I'll make lunch in a moment, for now I want to keep any noise down to a minimum. Take your time, feel better. Then I'll make us some lunch and we can talk if you wish. Alright?" He would say, falling silent afterwards. It was important to tell her the intention, to tell her that he would be patient and that she could take her time. He always found tea to help his nerves when he got like this during the time after his mothers death, after his father left the village a crazed, and exceedingly dangerous, man. He wished at times that he'd had someone to help but he hadn't. Now that he saw her in much the same state he had been in, he couldn't just leave her to suffer.

Once they were inside Mal’zeth’s home, Mitsu sat quietly while Mal’zeth made tea. It was much quieter in the small space and she appreciated the calmness that Mal exuded. She was still jittery, but holding a cup of hot green tea in her palms. The two had a nice lunch and afterwards Mitsu would quietly take her leave, rushing home to the safety of four walls and a pile of blankets.

[Exit Thread]