Nightshift 25: M-15

[youthfulrocklee]

So tonight, Lee and Takaya would be staying in their room. A part of Lee felt as if it was as if he were afraid. Well, he was afraid, considering that he had not so long ago become the chew toy of a monster. Yet there was so much that he felt he should do.  As Takaya had pointed out, however, his body was demanding some rest, and so he would give

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[forgot_my_life]

Takaya frowned. Train? Now he knew that Lee, for all his weird kindness, was insane. At his question though, half faded memories of fighting while blindfolded filtered through his head and he just frowned more. 'Not mine', he hissed mentally.

"No," Takaya said. "I've never even thought about it." The truth. Takaya had never thought about it, but fucking Kagetora seemed to perk up at the idea. 'Asshole.'

[youthfulrocklee]

Lee noticed Takaya's reaction as he mentioned the idea of training. A part of him wondered what was going through his roommate's mind. There was so much mystery surrounding him, like the relationship between him and Naoe

[forgot_my_life]

Takaya frowned again, though it was in thought this time, rather than irritation. He was still roughly shoving that other part of him away from the front of his mind and he didn't want to bring up the whole 'dead guy's soul in my body' mess at the moment. It might only make things worse...

Takaya stood up, head tilted to one side and down. "Alright Lee," he said with a slight grin. "Show me how this works."

They only had a limited amount of time before Naoe appeared anyway.

[youthfulrocklee]

"Ah, but it is not something that can be shown easily. You see, the key is to be able to focus the other senses. We shall begin with the sense of touch. It is, of course, to simply rely on hitting something to discover where an object is, but one should also be able to feel the slight change of air around them, or even the gentle footsteps of a cat that reverberates the ground. It is focusing on the feelings on your skin, so focused that a tiny movement of air will be noticed. But along with that is hearing. Just as it is important to be able to feel the movement, it is important to be able to hear where it is coming from. Objects do not move, but sound will be muffled in a room that is filled with various things. The only way to truly manage is to be able to ignore what you wish to see, and to use your ears and sense of touch to work instead

[forgot_my_life]

Takaya thought about it. Hard. And did his best to ignore that stupid nagging feeling that this was all really freaking familiar.

He nodded slowly once he thought he'd understood everything. "Listen. Got it. I think."

He frowned and then nodded again. "Okay, yeah," he said to Lee. "That sounds fine."

[youthfulrocklee]

Lee suddenly grew quiet, making his body grow as still as possible. He would give Takaya several seconds to wonder what was going on. Then, quickly, but near silent, Lee began to move around the room, altering his path at random. It was true that to a normal person, any nin would be completely silent, but Lee knew better. Every living thing (and sometimes even other objects) would make some sort of noise. Now it was up to Takaya to learn...or for Lee to revise his teaching strategy.

[forgot_my_life]

Takaya tilted his head and strained to hear Lee move. He frowned. He almost thought he could hear him, but he wasn't....

Wait... those half forgotten memories could work. He took a deep breath and relaxed, seeing if he could just let the memory come to him gently, rather than overtake him.

It was like the time he'd known how to banish. Things started to come to him, and, after fumbling for a moment mentally, he started to recall different ways to follow sounds.

The footfalls may have been silent, but the brush of cloth against skin wasn't entirely muffled. The slight, almost imperceptable puff of breath that he could just make out if he stopped his own breathing.

Lee was good though, and he was really only able to track him half of the time. The room was small too, and the hospital was much larger...

[youthfulrocklee]

Lee watched Takaya as he moved around the room. For a few seconds, it seemed that Takaya was struggling, but then it was as if he had changed, and though he could not pinpoint his position all the time, he did manage to follow pretty well.

"You are good at this," said Lee, stopping at one point. "It should not take you too long to be able to sense where I am at all times. Do you wish to continue?"

[forgot_my_life]

Takaya tilted his head and smiled slightly, cheered by his (partial) success.

Nodding, he turned towards Lee's voice. "Sure."

Something was bothering him though...

How long had it been? Where was Naoe?

[youthfulrocklee]

Lee began moving the minute that Takaya agreed to continue. He watched him carefully, looking for any sort of reaction.

For a few seconds, Takaya seemed distracted by something, and that was when Lee moved. Swiftly and silently, he directed a punch beside Takaya's head. He would not try to hit his roommate until they both felt comfortable attempting to fight. But this was a warning, trying to get Takaya to focus, and to see how he would react to feeling the punch near him. If he was as good as Lee had the feeling he was, this was the perfect opportunity to hit. He was purposely missing, and leaving himself open to an attack.

[forgot_my_life]

Takaya was certainly not prepared for an attack, but Kagetora was not one to be taken by surprise so easily.

Once more, Takaya had the feeling of being wrenched from control of his own self and was helpless to stop his reactions.

The moment that Lee moved, Kagetora had kept careful watch over him. So his attack, while not a true threat, did not surprise him.

Shock flowed from Takaya's face into a blank look and his hand snapped up, diverting the thrown punch and striking out with his own, though his was not supposed to miss.

Only Takaya, taking control again, managed to stop his fist from actually connecting with anything.

[youthfulrocklee]

To say the least, Lee was shocked and impressed at Takaya's reaction. The man was good, but the taijutsu master knew that something was wrong. A nin always did their best to notice changes, especially in their target. Lee could not help notice Takaya's.

The move, even if little damage had been done, had caused a bit of pain to his side, therefore he carefully took a step back, and studied his roommate.

"Takaya-san, I understand that you are loath to speak of such things, but will you not confide in me? It seems that you are..." He tilted his head to the side, studying the man and said, "You seem to be unsettled. I understand that there is much that a person wishes to remain secret. My village is filled with those who shut themselves off from the world, struggling by themselves. I do not know what I can do to help, but if you would tell me, then perhaps I can do something?"

[forgot_my_life]

Takaya thought about it and he thought about it for a while. "Whatever I tell you," he finally said. "Don't tell Naoe that I said anything." That could be dangerous for Lee, though he didn't add that thought.

He hesitated again, not certain what he could reveal. "See... all that shit that Naoe talks about.. it's kind of true." He frowned and tilted his head. "I've got amnesia. Four hundred years worth, I guess. Sometimes, I remember things from my life and I can use it. Sometimes..."

Memories of unwanted touch filtered through his mind and he shook his head. "It's weird. And kind of complicated," he continued dumbly.

[youthfulrocklee]

Before Lee could stop himself, he said, "Amazing!" He paused for a few seconds and said, "Well, not the fact that you cannot remember, but that you have such a long history! It is truly astonishing, but I have no reason to doubt that you are telling me the truth. I must admit, though, that you do not look that old! You need not worry that I shall tell Naoe-san."

He sat down and said, "Do not fear telling me your history...or what you remember, Takaya-san. Everything that is said here tonight shall not leave this room. Of course, if it is very personal, there is absolutely no reason for you to tell me. Still, it is curious that having so many memories seem to...disturb you so. There must be a reason that you are upset. You should not be ashamed of your past, Takaya-san. The past is used to teach us, and the future is there for change."

[forgot_my_life]

Takaya heard Lee sit and sat down as well. He frowned and turned his head down. "I'm not that old, that's just it." He reached up and ran a hand through already messy black hair.

"See... four hundred years ago, where I'm from, there was this warlord named Kagetora." He snorted softly. "He was this badass warrior or something, I guess. Not too tough though, since he died."

Takaya hesitated for a long moment, trying to figure out how to best say this. "I'm not four hundred years old. I'm seventeen," he fidgeted. "Or, at least this body and Takaya are seventeen. Naoe says I'm a Possessor. And that I'm Kagetora."

Turning his head back towards Lee, his frown looked more upset than angry. "I keep living by taking over bodies. That's fucked up, right?" He took a breath. "But the most fucked up part is that I don't remember it."

[youthfulrocklee]

Lee thought about what Takaya had just told him. It was indeed a very disturbing idea. Nonetheless, where some might have said something immediately, Lee studied Takaya for a bit. It was clear, to him, that for some it would be a triumph. Orochimaru, for example, would be greatly pleased to be able to take over someone's body and live for so long. Takaya, however, did not appear this way.

"You are Takaya," he finally said. "Perhaps this Kagetora does indeed live within you. Nonetheless, this life that you have is not his, but yours. Perhaps you remember pieces of what has happened in the past. That does not change who you are now, and that is what is important. You must live for the now, Takaya-san. Kagetora most likely has many valuable skills, but do not let yourself get confused by the life he lived and the one you live now."