Tool... or something more? (1x1 with Saia Kakaru)

[Kaosujin Ryu]

Alric snorted. "Be glad nobody ever tried drugging you to do what they wanted... they tried to do that to Kirai, and suffice it to say it had some unpleasant side effects, mainly for those trying to manipulate us. As for the hatred... I don't see a reason for it; anyone with a brain that spends five minutes with you or any other Kekkei Genkai user would realize that just because they have unique talents doesn't make them any less than human than those without them. Hell... in my case, most of my hand-to-hand combat skills didn't come from 'inherited' or 'implanted' methods, but sheer hard work," he said harshly. He knew he sounded angry, but suspected Haku would realize it wasn't directed at her, but rather the idiots who hated bloodline users for no good reason.Zabuza blinked at Alric's rant, a small smirk flashing over his lips under the facial wrappings. Kid... I think you and I will get along well enough, he thought. "We should see if Gōzu and Meizu are in position to deal with the bridge builder on the way back; I don't like killing the guy, but we're getting paid to do so... personally I'm tempted to give Gatō a steel enema just because he's a damn pain in the a**," he said, grumbling the last part under his breath. Alric snorted a laugh, clearly hearing Zabuza's muttering anyway. If he's half as greasy as some of those I've encountered, I'll give him a one fingered salute while Zabuza does so, he thought. He leaned against the tree behind him, strumming the guitar, which let out a softer and more melodic tune out, the sound seeming to hang in the air; unconsciously, he wanted to comfort Haku, seeing the pain on her face.

 

[Saia Kakaru]

"There is no reason to the hate. It just…runs deeper than any logic." Haku admitted, knowing from personal experience this was all too true. She could hear the anger in his voice, but from the topic of his rant it was obvious to her that none of his frustration was directed at her. She was glad, to at least know someone else than Zabuza shared the same feelings as her.

A small chuckle escaped her lips when Zabuza voiced his own frustrations, knowing full well that given the chance, he would torture the midget man with no second thoughts. And she had no problem with it, especially not with a weasel like Gatou. Listening to Alric's guitar for a while, she could feel the tears welling up again, as if he was tapping into her deepest regret and trying to mend it. Letting a single tear roll down her cheek, she whispered her gratitude. "Thank you." It was barely audible, almost as quiet as a wind rustling the leaves, but it was there nonetheless.  

[Kaosujin Ryu]

Alric snorted, his fingers pausing on the neck of the guitar. "Been there, done that... seen too damn much of it," he muttered. It was one reason he had stayed away from Kirai and his other siblings as well as other mutants, to avoid the undue obsessive pessimism, which almost always pissed him off. Pissing him off never led anywhere pleasant, especially for those who really pissed him off. Zabuza cocked his head fractionally when he saw Haku's reaction to the difference in the music and shivered ever so slightly. Feels odd, almost like a soothing balm, he thought. Alric exhaled. "I wouldn't be too surprised if things turn out in ways nobody expects," he said softly as he shifted, letting the guitar swing against the small of his back and hang down.

 

[Saia Kakaru]

Haku merely nodded her head in agreement, only letting out a sound of acknowledgement. Wiping her eyes, she addressed her next statement toward Zabuza. "W-we should get going. We don't know when the bridge builder is going to be returning." She sucked in an unsteady breath in an attempt to ground her feelings. Alric's song had helped her to calm down greatly, but she (and Zabuza) knew that her childhood memories were not easy to chase away quickly. Her gut told her that telling Alric of her plight now, he'd only get frustrated (at least) and who knew what would happen then. He seems plenty frustrated as is. No need to bother him further. Only if Alric asked her himself would she tell him about her family. But now was not the time. They had a mission to do.  

[Kaosujin Ryu]

Alric blinked when the taller fighter leaped up into the trees, moving east-southeast. "I can't find moving along trees odd... I recently dealt with someone who swung from building to building at high speeds, so I can't say I've seen anything a civilian would really call normal," he muttered under his breath, not really realizing or caring Haku was close enough to hear him clearly. Zabuza shifted before leaping off into the trees, moving quickly. He knew Haku would follow, and the boy would if for no other reason than not to be left behind.

 

[Saia Kakaru]

Though she didn't quite understand what he meant by his comment, Haku only stayed quiet as she followed Zabuza to meet up with his cohorts. Leaping up onto a nearby branch, she only looked back to make sure Alric was following. She figured he'd be sticking around them for the time being, seeing as how his sister was helping them out. Jumping from tree to tree, she barely made any sound as she kept her thoughts blank. She didn't care to dwell on her past for long, especially if it'd only get her distracted.

Spotting a pair of people up ahead, she made a gesture to Zabuza to let him know what she saw.  

[Kaosujin Ryu]

Alric paused, a odd tingling shooting up his spine. He cocked his head slightly, his dark blue eyes narrowing slightly as he felt the pair ahead of them. He also sensed something that reminded him of something familiar, yet he couldn't put his finger on why it was familiar. Zabuza nodded slightly, glancing back at Alric. He noticed his odd silver fingernails had lengthened to quarter inch long claws on the tips of his fingers, though he didn't comment on them. He dropped from the trees a few feet behind the duo, making them jump. Meizu spoke first, fortunately. "We'll deal with the bridge builder, Zabuza-sama," the younger man said carefully.

 

[Saia Kakaru]

"He's on his way back already?" Haku questioned the pair, landing next to Zabuza. Though she didn't exactly seek out their companionship when they travelled together, she didn't mind the Demon Brothers; they at least got their work done quickly and efficiently. They were also Zabuza's acquaintances, which also meant that they weren't anything like Gatou's men. She knew that would drive Zabuza insane, if his cohorts were scumbags. "Surely the old man is going to have someone escorting him back from Konoha. He's not that dumb to not notice Gatou's threat on his life."  

[Kaosujin Ryu]

Alric cocked his head, hearing distant thunder, though he didn't comment on it. He dropped down from high in the tree, having scaled it silently. "Spotted movement in that direction you were looking, Zabuza... noticed a flash of gray hair and bright orange, though who it was, I can't be sure," he said warily. He saw the duo Zabuza was speaking to spin in surprise before one smirked. "Found a boyfriend, Haku?" Gōzu said teasingly. Zabuza tilted his head, rolling his eyes at the fighter's words. "Most likely it'll be a team of Chūnin or something," he muttered cautiously. He shifted his weight slightly, his gaze flicking down the road towards Konohagakure. Whoever they send will be skilled, but with trump cards like the boy and Haku, they will fail, he thought.

 

[Saia Kakaru]

She sent Gouzu a death glare at his comment. "Got yourself a girlfriend, Gozu?" she replied back icily. Once the words left her mouth, however, she had to admit they sounded a lot better in her head. Muttering darkly, she stormed away from the group, trying to regain her composture. Stupid Gozu! We haven't even known each other for more than an hour and he's already jumping to conclusions! Alric's just here to figure out a way back to his world with his sister. she thought angrily, kicking a nearby tree for good measure. It eased her anger a bit, but only fractionally.  

[Kaosujin Ryu]

Alric rolled his eyes. "Man... you two are less subtle than a landslide," he said quietly. He saw Haku stalk off and sighed softly, half furning away as he thought of following her. You're sure we can't get back? he thought. He heard his tenant sigh in his mind. You know time only flows one way... if you were thinking of jumping dimensions, then it may be possible, though doing so would likely rip both of us apart and we wouldn't know where we'd land until we already had done so, the reply came. The entire time he was listening to his tenant, he had heard a slight scraping sound and realized he was gritting his teeth. His fist flashed out, slamming into the side of a tree with a crunch as it buried itself in to stop just above his wrist. Contrary to the assumption that the concussive bursts with his strikes were from the same source as his kinetic manipulation, it was actually very fine muscle control. He sighed, focusing as he felt the muscles ripple before the wood detonated outward in a blast with the equivalent force of three M80 firecrackers, splinters bouncing off his skin as he drew his hand free. He grimaced slightly, seeing the three inch splinter of wood embedded in the back of his hand as well as the split knuckles on his hand. Gōzu rolled his eyes and snorted slightly in return, the sound coming out of the mask more as a grunted sigh. Zabuza frowned slightly, thinking. If Gatou betrays us, we must remain alert regardless of how far we are away from his location, he thought warily.

 

[Saia Kakaru]

Haku sulked away from the men, trying to think of a way to get beck at Gozu when she heard the explosion. Snapping her head back to the group, she expected to see the scene of a fight. Once she saw the shower of splinters rain down on Alric and the impact crater on the tree, she had grasped a better understanding of what was going on. Frowning slightly, she walked quickly back to the group; though she was a bit salty, it wasn't directed at Alric. He was probably one of two people that she wanted to be around when she was in her salty moods. Maybe just because he could ease her emotions with his music. Whatever her reasons, she kept them to herself. "Are you okay?" she asked him quietly, taking his hand in hers so that she could examine the injured hand. Seeing the splinter, her frown deepened, knotting her brow in concern. She didn't have any of her first-aid tools on her, and splinters were never something that should be left unattended to. "It doesn't hurt? Does your body even heal after this kind of thing?" Given enough time, and if the Demon brothers did their job even minimally correct, she could run back to their dwellings and grab whatever stuff she needed, including her usual clothes; the pink dress grated on her nerves a bit, as it made her feel a bit too girly for her liking.  

[Kaosujin Ryu]

Alric nodded slightly. "To quote Logan, `first you hurt, but then you heal`; he was the one we were originally 'born' from, using his genetic material," he said simply in a low voice. It ached, but it wasn't bad. He remembered when the Lizard had slashed him from the right side of his ribs almost to his left upper abdomen, the claws nearly going to the bone. "My inner demon said there's no going back... and if I were to try, it'd probably rip me apart," he said in a tone barely above a whisper. Gōzu grunted in surprise when he saw Alric's reaction, though what caused it, he didn't know. Remind me not to piss either of them off... Haku's bad enough, but he seems almost as bad as Zabuza-sama when he's drunk, he thought with a shudder.

 

[Saia Kakaru]

A hint of a smile graced her lips before passing. She knew the statement to be quite true, in both physical and emotional aspects to it. It seemed like his comrades (from what brief stories Alric had told her) were good people, if at least to buffer what they had endured in that military place of theirs.

Eyebrows arched in surprise at his explanation to his outburst, but she kept her voice at the same tone as his. "But… what about Kirai? And your… fellow comrades? How are you even going to break it to your sister?" Haku inquired, pretending to still inspect his hand. In fact… how did Kirai get here? I remember Alric was alone when he first came through the portal… and from the sounds of it, unless you're suicidal, no one jumps from a bridge like that in their right mind.  

[Kaosujin Ryu]

Alric smiled faintly. "Don't know, but I'm wondering how she got here myself... she's stubborn as hell, but she's no fool... and whether our other siblings made it here... however I ended up here," he said with a slight shrug, since he suspected his inner demon had something to do with the last part. He suspected one of his siblings was nearby, since one of his personal talents was being able to sense when they were near, usually within a few miles. "And if you're thinking that I jumped off that bridge... Gargan slapped me in the head with that tail of his and knocked me off the bridge from about six or seven hundred feet up above the water," he said, knowing that from that height the impact with the water should have been like trying to break asphalt with stomps. Zabuza shifted, hearing both Haku and Alric, though it was clear to him neither wanted Gōzu or Meizu to hear what they were saying.