Can't Fear Your Own World

The teleportation was instant, and Ikomiki was not prepared. Rather than moving it was just like the surroundings were replaced. She hadn’t known he was capable of this, thinking instead that Akihiro’s escort out of the exams would be much more literal. How utterly unprepared she was for the moment hit hard once she landed in her destination. The Kirigakure General Hospital. It was familiar territory. The same place she had been bullying Kureji about his broken testicles, and where she had first met Akihiro. Upon seeing that everything had changed suddenly Ikomiki would do exactly what Akihiro told her not to do and began panicking. She immediately collapsed to the floor, losing balance completely. There was no reason for her to be dizzy or motion sick considering the movement was instant teleportation, but her body was playing mean tricks on her due to her panicked mental state.

She hit the ground, unprepared to catch herself, and so she collided hard against the floor. The impact wasn’t terrible, or at least it wouldn’t have been had she not already had pre-existing injuries. It would further agitate the pain in her chest, and she would let out a defeated groan from the shooting sensation that rushed across her ribcage. She would clutch at herself, shifting into a curled up position as she regained her bearings.

“That hurt.” It was a whimper of a complaint. She would shift over to the wall, pressing up against it for support until she could pull herself into a sitting position, and then lean back against it.

The Sparrow was a bit surprised to see Ikomiko fainting on him- or at least that's what he thought he was seeing when she fell to the ground after teleporting to the hospital. What other reason could there be? But it seemed she wasn't light headed, only a bit clumsy. He crossed his arms as she made her way to the wall and sat against it after falling.

"Yeah I bet it did. Sorry for not giving you a heads up, I suppose. But people rarely understand the mechanics behind Flying Thunder God, so I'd rather just show it. Besides I thought you were in a hurry to get out of there." Akihiro couldn't help but wonder how long it would take the proctors to figure out both Ikomiki and Shinsui were missing. He could only hope Kimiko wouldn't be mad if she ever had to go look for these kids.

"Well then, you can start by explaining me what happened. I saw the wounds on that man's body, that was not the work of a Bijuu." He made a small pause and then sat down in front he her. It was his way of trying to level with the girl. Akihiro had a few theories regarding what had happened it was quite possible that one of them was right. But in this case knowing the information wouldn't be enough, he needed Ikomiki to willingly disclose it. "I've helped you once, but I cannot help you if you lie to me. I need you to trust me."

Maybe he was asking too much too soon... Ikomiki barely knew him after all. But Akihiro did just literally help her hide a dead body and as far as he was aware that created a sort of bond between people.

She couldn’t muster anything other than an emotional complaint to what he was saying. It was true. She did want to get out of there as soon as possible, and that probably was the fastest she could have possibly gotten out of there. It was convenient to be able to travel like that, but in her panicked state she just hadn’t been prepared. There was only herself to blame in the first place. He had warned her. She felt a bit stupid as a result, but the lingering pain did a good job in making her not focus on that.

Then, unfortunately, began the questioning. It seemed that he was smarter than she had hoped. It would have been easier if he didn’t ask these questions, but cornered as she was there was no ignoring them. Her eyes would turn to the side, staring at the corner for a moment.With him being right next to her like this, on her own level, it was hard to do anything else. Finally they would be closed, and Ikomiki would let out a small sigh.

“I found him… He was screaming about a Jincuuriki. Shinsui described her as a dark haired girl in a black and red skirt. She did something that gave her a tail and covered her in dark chakra. This is what he told me. She was with another girl who had pink hair. Both were from Kumogakure. This is all I know.”

The fact that she admitted to finding him alive was unfortunate, if necessary. She had no other way of explaining how she knew about this being the work of a bijuu. Ikomiki understood it likely made her more suspicious, but it that was just the corner she had painted herself into.

“He was paralyzed from the neck down and rapidly losing blood. There was nothing that could be done but to end his suffering.” She answered the question to the best of her ability, giving an unspoken implication as to what happened without actually answering the question. "There was no other choice."

Akihiro listened attentively to the words Ikomuki spoke. The story about a Jinchuuriki being present in the exam seemed to be true at least, and the description she gave perfectly matched that of an active Jinchuuriki in combat. The Sparrow was able to deduce that it had to be Shukaku given the number of tails which had been described... either that or the Jinchuuriki had decided to only activate a single tail. Truly he could understand why Ikomiki wanted to get out of there- unleashing the power of a Bijuu on Genin was truly an unfair act.

"Was there really nothing you could have done? You summoned me, and you know I'm a doctor. But you only did so after he was dead. " Akihiro hated to be pointing out the obvious, but he needed Ikomiki to understand that lies would not fit well with Akihiro and that he would take nothing less than the whole truth if she really did want his help.

"I will not judge you for taking a life until you tell me why you did it. He was a Konoha ninja, and from one of the great clans on top of that. I can't imagine you'd kill him for no good reason. So...why did you do it? You can tell me. It'll be our little secret."

She scowled, although with her eyes still closed. They would open to be little slits, and she would glare down at the ground. Her knees would come up, and she would hold them to her chest against the wall like this. Akihiro was too smart. Apparently she couldn’t even fool him with half-truths. Twice she had tried to and he had seen through it both times. She hadn’t even ever directly lied, just lies of omission and gentle twisting of the truth. It was her own fault. She was stupid for thinking that it would work.

“I found him paralyzed and bleeding.” She would repeat. It was true. “I killed him after that. He was the one who broke my ribs and caused all the injuries I showed you before.” It was bitter, even though he slowly squeezed it out of her. She knew she was foolish to try and get away with this. “I took advantage of the situation to get revenge. I’m too weak to do it any other way.”

Sitting scrunched up like this was uncomfortable. It hurt, but she would feel too vulnerable any other way. Still avoiding eye contact, she would sit there and presumably wait for the worst to happen now that she told him the truth.

Once again Akihiro paid close attention to what the girl said. So revenge had been the reason why she killed Shinsui? Akihiro had inspected the wounds on Ikomiki himself and they were indeed rather ugly. Akihiro could certainly understand the wish for revenge but...was it justified to go as far as to kill someone in this case? He wasn't sure. But to be fair he didn't quite know the context and depending on the situation a wound on one's pride could hurt a lot more than a wound on one's body. Alas, he saw no point in judging Ikomiki at this moment, or at all really. He could see she wasn't lying about the author of her injuries, and she seemed....in distress.

"There's no shame in taking advantage of a situation for revenge." he would casually say.
"We're ninjas, not knights. Those of us above dirty tactics are dead." he would pause for another moment and take another good look at the girl. Even her position gave away how vulnerable she felt. She was an open book, but as far as Akihiro could tell that resulted only from inexperience and little else. "But there is shame in not being smart about the way we do things. This was reckless, don't do it again. There are better, easier ways. "

He would then take a deep breathe. "As for you being weak, I don't believe that either. You called and summoned me from a long distance and as far as I can tell there is no Fuuinjutsu or foreign chakra in my body. None of your average every day shinobi can pull something like this... what was that all about?"

Maybe it was true. It was a way of thinking suited for shinobi, and it appealed to the animal part of her brain, but she was still left afraid. If she was still this weak it meant that what had happened before could still happen again. Someone could come along and do the same things to her, or worse. Even if she did become strong, there was the chance that the same thing could happen to her and someone would take advantage of a moment of weakness to do terrible things to her. She would always be vulnerable, just one bad day away from death.

“It was reckless... Okay. I'll try to be smarter from now on.”

She would give the slightest nod of her head in response to what he said about it being reckless, and not doing it again. This was scolding she could accept. It was true. The fact that he had caught her so easily meant that anyone else likely could have as well. She was partially just waiting for the beating now, or whatever punishment she would receive from this.

“It was a summoning jutsu.” The literal truth. If she wasn’t in such a vulnerable state right now she might have been more of a smartass about it, but she both didn’t have the energy for it and knew she would likely only further test Akihiro’s patience. “I’m the best at summoning. It’s the only thing I’m good at. I can summon anyone or anything if they let me. Like I did to you. Or any sort of animal.”

Even if she didn’t want to test his patience, she couldn’t very well and just say ‘Oh I have the Animal Path, I’m an Otsutsuki’. It was a closely kept secret, the sort that could result in her getting murdered if it got out.

As soon as she spoke the words "Summoning Jutsu" it clicked on Akihiro's mind. He almost let the expression of surprise slide on his face but by some sort of miracle he was able to keep that from happening. Her following description of her abilities confirmed his theory. There was only one technique-or rather, Kekkei Genkai that possessed this kind of power. "Rinnegan." It was so obvious now... but it was also evident that Ikomiki wanted to keep this is a secret. And for good reason too... Akihiro had personally witnessed the lust for this kind of power destroying a man before. So he could understand why she was so hesitant in sharing her secret. The Sparrow did feel glad that Konoha had been blessed with this kind of power, but in a way he also felt bad for the girl. Having a Sharingan easily put you on the list of "juicy kill targets" for other villages, but having a Rinnegan stamped your name on that list for the whole world.

There was another moment of silence while he pondered how to approach this issue. He didn't want to scare the girl away. In the end, he concluded that he should also be honest with her.

"You know, you're not the first Rinn'egan user I've met. There was man before you, Zurui was his name." Hopefully she wouldn't freak out at this point. He tried really hard to speak calmly and present himself as a non-threat. "He was my friend, you see." In truth Zurui had been more than a friend- he had been a mentor and a colleague. A partner from a foreign village, and the two had shared a brotherly bond of a kind Akihiro had never again found. Truth to be told, most of his early years bonds were dead. He avoided thinking about them because it made him sad and emotional, and that's not something a shinobi in his position could afford to be."He sought to unite all the Rinnegan paths within himself...but he too was reckless and that ended up being the death of him. Right here, in this hospital...he sought another Otsutsuki and they both died. I couldn't help him, and in the end I cannot say his death was undeserved. Truly, that Dojutsu was both his greatest power as well as his greatest curse...But perhaps I can help you, if you'll let me."

Akihiro would look her in the eyes, if she made eye contact at all. "Before I do, however... I have to ask you. What is it you want? What do you seek? Do you, like Zurui, also seek to unite the Rinnegan Paths again by murder of your kin or...do you seek something else? Regardless of your answer rest assured, your secret is well guarded with me."

Her eyes shot open as he said that first sentence, almost bulging. It was a mixture of surprise and fear. Ikomiki’s heart almost stopped in that moment. She didn’t move, but that more because she couldn’t. There was nowhere to run. She was injured, along in this room backed into a corner in a curled up sitting position. If he wanted to kill her then Akihiro could. It would have been easy for him to do it. He could have just plucked her eyeballs right out of her head whenever he wanted. She was frozen, blood running cold. It would defrost slowly as he continued to speak. He told her a story about someone else. Zurui. She never had heard of the man, obviously, and if he was another Otsutsuki then it was probably for the best that they had never met. She surely would have died.

The story was something that sounded so stereotypical. An Otsutsuki rushing out to grab more power and then biting off more than they could chew, only to get themselves killed in the process. Ikomiki was aware of how things worked. She knew the cycle, and how they were all destined to hunt each other down. It was in their nature to want to do that. The fact that Zurui did as well wasn’t a statement of his character in the slightest, but rather just a realization of his nature as an Otsutsuki. It was inevitable. The seven paths would always want to join themselves together into one.

He looked into her eyes now, and she found herself unable to look away even if she wanted to. His gaze was intense. She was still petrified against the wall, but the story he shared and the questioning he gave almost felt penetrating, like he could see inside of her.

“I want…” She would clench. Her body was already tight, but it would grow tighter now. “I don’t want to die. There’s always going to be someone hunting me. I-I….”

The emotions had built up inside of her, and she would clench her jaw shut tight. Her fist would slam down to the floor, colliding hard with the smooth tile. It wouldn’t do anything more than likely cause her a bruise- She definitely wasn’t strong enough to even cause the slightest of damage to the tile.

“I don’t have any choice. They’re always going to be hunting me down no matter what I do. It’s not fair. I don’t want to have to be afraid that there’s always going to be someone who will try to kill me and rip my eye out of my skull at any moment, no matter where I go. I can’t do anything else, except get so strong that they can’t kill me, or kill them first.”

"I hate having to being afraid." She would let out a deep exhale, slumping back against the wall. Her ears had flatted against her head, almost mixing in with her hair, and her tail would be limp at her side.

Akihiro tilted his head to the side a little. It was hard to see someone struggling with the fear of being hunted down and killed, especially someone who seemed to be in such a vulnerable position. He could try his best to assure her everything would be okay, but if there anything he had learned from Zurui's story was that he could not promise that. and it would be cruel to demand the truth from Ikomiki only to then spew some bullshit lie about the situation. She possessed the Rinnegan thus she was a target. This was a fact and no one knew that better than the girl herself. But perhaps he would be able to make her feel better by making her see that she was not alone in this kind of situation.

"Nobody wants to die." he'd smile. It was sad to see that she had been so worried about what she didn't want happening to her that her own hopes and dreams had been swept under the rug. She didn't even know what she actually wanted, only that she didn't want to die. And that was perhaps one of the saddest things the Uchiha Clan leader had ever heard- sure he had found people begging for their lives before. But usuallythese people lived their lives in function of their hopes and dreams and were only really afraid of death once they realized it was coming quite soon. Ikomiki on the other hand seemed to be living her whole life in fear of death.

Akihiro would point his right index finger at his own right eye. "You see this here? This is a Sharingan. It's the most sought after Kekkei Genkai in the world, but only because most people think yours is a myth or legend. So I know what you're feeling."

It was Aki's turn to deeply exhale. He always ended up getting into weird and messy situations but how could he not help this girl? He closed his eyes for a moment while thinking. "I cannot promise no one will ever come after you. I cannot even promise that you won't die at some point. The world of shinobi is large and many powers dwell within it... To say that I can protect you from anything is well...irresponsible. That is beyond my ability and a promise I can't make, I'm sorry. But..." he'd open his eyes again. "I can help you getting rid of that fear of yours. And I can help you gain power, if that's what you seek. Enough power to protect you, and your friends.

We're shinobi, and we all die. Some even die in fear. But we don't have to live under that curse, you know?"

She wanted to lash out at him. To yell or to scream. It was her natural instinct. Just to release these emotions at anyone who was there.To run away when confronted. To avoid conflict. It was impossible for her to do it though. She knew a bit about the Sharingan, even with how little she was exposed to human culture and society, just from hearing stories about how Konoha was founded. It had been necessary that she learn a bit of the village’s oral history upon becoming a shinobi, and this was one of the things she could clearly recall. He smiled and pointed it out, that he had a Kekkei Genkai that was world renown and plenty of people sought out as well. She didn’t want to admit that someone else could relate to her, but the way that Akihiro was able to speak and weave words together made it impossible to disagree with him.

Power. Gaining power was what she needed to do. Maybe it wasn’t exactly what she wanted, and Akihiro was right in that she really didn’t know what she wanted, but this was the closest thing she could think of to that. Enough power that she could always protect herself, and would be able to sleep easy. Then maybe she would be able to figure out what she wanted, and the life she wanted to lead.

When he spoke of friends she couldn’t help but feel empty. Did she even have any friends? The first people she met here during these exams had either hated her or tried to attack her without provocation. The only person she could vaguely consider being friends with was Kureji, and that was mostly just her making fun of him while in the hospital. He probably wanted nothing to do with her.

“It’s not fair.” She would let out with a defeated complaint under her breath. “You’re too smart.”

“I do. I do want power. I want enough power to be able to protect myself and my friends… So I don't have to be afraid anymore. That's all I want. If you can help me with that I’ll do anything.” She didn’t have anything else to offer. Really, Ikomiki was in no bargaining position. She had nothing but her eyes and the clothes on her back. She was too weak right now to do much. The only thing she could offer to him was loyalty if he was offering her power.

“...Will you be my friend?” She looked up at him at the end of that, looking with her base green eyes and without the taint of the Rinegan. She didn’t understand what he was doing this, except maybe taking pity on her. Her thoughts were disjointed now. Even after acknowledging that request for power she couldn't help but keep thinking about that one word.

Akihiro raised his eye brows in surprise when she asked him if he wanted to be her friend. Truth to be told, this was more surprising than the Rinnegan power appearing in cat girl from Konoha. He was only now giving thought to the fact that the two of them didn't actually know each other that well, and that they had been strangers until less than a week ago. But there was something refreshing about Ikomiki as well, in the fact that she didn't seem to know who Akihiro was or the weight that his name carried. She didn't treat him differently and that made every one of her reactions genuine. Having been in a position of power for so long, Akihiro could appreciate the change of pace and the honesty he could only really expect from Kimiko up until that point. Perhaps having more people who told him things as they were would be a good idea.

"Well, I'm already your partner in crime it seems. That puts us in a very favourable position to be friends." He would extend his hand towards her, but in a way in which it would approach her face but not touch it. She looked like a cat and frankly acted like a cat. And if there was anything he had learned from Matatabi was that cats could be...fickle. So he decided to let her get his scent first so that she could be the one to decide whether she wanted contact or not.

"My name is Uchiha Akihiro. What is yours?" It seemed a bit odd that first he helped her mock Kureji and his balls, then he helped her hide a body and only now was asking her for her name. But alas, the ninja world could be strange sometimes and there were occasions in which there was simply no time for a exchange of pleasantries.

He raised her hand up to her, putting it in a position that was too high to shake. It confused her at first, although she quickly understood what he was going for. Having spent all this time in human society had corrupted her. It almost made her mad that she didn’t understand something so natural at first. It was like she was being ground down from living around humans, losing bits of herself piece by piece. The thought of becoming more human made her almost feel a little sick.

Ikomiki would lean in ever so slightly, taking a few testing sniffs of his hand. Despite having the nose of a human her sense of smell was roughly equivalent with a cat, being about twenty times stronger than that of a human. Enough so that she could identify people by their scent. Not that ‘marking your territory’ was acceptable in human society, which she found out very quickly, but it was still important.

Once she had memorized what he smelled like Ikomiki would lean back, satisfied. She would raise her own hand up to his, slowly taking a hold of it. It wasn’t so much a handshake as it was just hand holding, but the difference wasn’t something Ikomiki understood. It was close enough that hopefully the gesture was understood.

“My name is Otsutsuki Ikomiki.”

Akihiro let her get his scent, a bit hesitantly although he hoped she wouldn't notice it. It wasn't that Ikomiki's nose was making him uncomfortable but rather that the only cat he actually knew well was a murderous beast whose fangs Akihiro would absolutely avoid at all costs. The chiibi had been very quiet recently, however. He would need to try and figure out what was up with that. Usually the beast was super talkative to a point where it gave him headaches but recently........it had to be up to something, Akihiro just knew it!

"Well, Otsutsuki Ikomiki. I will be your friend. " Akihiro would gently stand up and brush his cloak from the dust of the ground. Not that there was much of it in a hospital anyway but it was a habit he'd rather not lose. Appearances mattered! "As for your request for power, I can offer you the same deal I offered Kureji earlier. We can attempt to implant an organ in your body from the kill you got earlier...if I remember correctly from the Konoha files, he was a Senju. That's a very powerful bloodline, giving one control over the might of the foress and the energy to stand and fight for long periods of time as well as tank a lot more damage than the average ninja. But." He would help her get up by raising her hand, and then release it and cross his arms. He had decided to be honest with her from the start.

"It is significantly more difficult to implant a new bloodline on someone who already possesses one. I can assure you won't die on the table, but I cannot guarantee your body will accept the new organ. I'd say you have a very good chance, but it's best if I'm honest with you from the start. There's also one more thing..." This next point was important but rather delicate. He had already promised to help the girl and he would, but he wished for her to join his organization. Mockingbird was made of all kinds of interesting people and a cat girl who wielded the Rinnegan was certainly interesting- and perhaps this would be the best option to ensure both Ikomiki and Mockingbird's safety.

"I would like to invite you to join me, and my organization. We call ourselves the Mockingbird. We do all sorts of activities but I think the most important part is that we have each other's backs. Join us, and I will not be the only friend you'll be making. In addition, if your new bloodline does settle in your body, you'll be requiring a training regime to master it. One we can provide... by fighting people with all sorts of different abilities you'll be able to adapt to more situations and call forth your new power more easily. Would you like to do it?"

The words that came out of his mouth was a relief. That he had already done all this for her and been understanding of her situation made her softer towards him than she would be towards anyone else. It felt nice to hear him say it, even if it was a very human thing to say and do.

The information about Kureji made a bit more sense. It wasn’t that his testicles had been crushed. He had been lying when he claimed that. She had no idea why he would lie about that and claim that his testicles had been broken of all things. Maybe they were broken too? She would have to confirm this the next time she met with him. Still, it was interesting to know the truth now. He got an organ implanted into him, presumably to give him some powers of some kekkei genkai. She would have to ask him what it was, and where it came from as well as inspecting the ability of his testicles.

“I can accept the consequences of my actions, including the risks. As long as there’s no chance of death. I'll take the organ.” She could accept risks for the sake of pursuing power. She trusted Akihiro’s assessment of the risks as well. If there was no risk of her dying, then there was nothing for her to fear. The worst that would happen was her body would reject it, which would be a waste of time at worst. As long as there wasn’t any chance of death.

“And I’ll join Mockingbird too. Whatever you call yourselves. Even if it means calling myself a bird.” The idea went against her nature, but she understood to a certain extent that words were just words and sometimes didn’t mean anything. A name was a name. “If it means following you and others… I think it’ll be safer together in a group. If you say that they’re trustworthy and can be my friends, I’ll accept it.”

Maybe she owed an apology to Kureji now.

“Please, though… Keep my eyes a secret. I don’t know anyone else yet… Except Kureji, I think. I assume he’s in it too, if you were giving him an organ.”

Akihiro was glad that Ikomiki had accepted his offer. It would have been much harder to continuously help the girl if she was not within Mockingbird. Perhaps it had been unwise to offer his help and only then extend the invitation to Mockingbird but Akihiro had not been able to help it. Alas, he was glad everything ended up alright. Ikomiki's only concerns were about her eyes and once again Akihiro fully understood her.

"I told you your secret was guarded with me. I plan to keep true to my word. But everyone in Mockingbird has a certain specialty, an ability that makes us unique and which we put to good use when we need to protect each other. Even Kureji. Please do not hold back your Rinnegan if anyone's lives depend on it. We will all be using the full might of our power to defend you, too."

Having said that, Akihiro turned towards the door and glanced back at Ikomiki. "You should get ready for the surgery. We would be wise to get it done as soon as possible, before people start asking questions about your disappearance from the Chuunin Exams." There was a moment of silence, during which Akihiro took one good look at the newest member of Mockingbird. She was odd, for sure. But he was certain she would be a very special and valued member of this family. "I'm glad you're with us, Ikomiki." He would simply state, smiling before leaving the room. There was much to be done if he wanted to request a surgery room.

[Exit]

She would nod her head. It was a last resort, but at the same time… She didn’t want to hold back from using them and have it result in Akihiro’s death, or anything like that. Even Kureji too, even though she might be okay with him being roughed up a little bit first. If it came down to someone’s life depending on it she wouldn’t hold herself back. It was a foreign way of thinking, one that she wasn’t suited towards. Normally she wouldn’t care, but this conversation she had with Akihiro changed a lot of things for her. She would try now, if these people were going to be her friends like he was. Slowly she would stand up, carefully getting to her knees and then to stand on her feet again. She was still stiff, and a little huff would release from her as she got to her feet.

“Can you repair my rib too if you’re going to do surgery?” She hadn’t thought to ask until now. It was starting to be a serious pain.  Hopefully he would just without her having to ask, but she almost felt the need to now. “It’s starting to get annoying. I was hoping it would just fix itself by now…”

“I’m glad to be with you too. I’ll do my best to prepare.” She honestly had no idea what she was supposed to do to prepare herself, but saying that wouldn’t inspire confidence, and so she just pretended she did.

[Exit]