The Market it Is [Amatsu or Invite]

Kouten was perched at the edge of one of the tallest buildings in the market in a crouched position. Her gray colored gaze was locked on the crowd below as they went about their business. She could see an elderly woman buying some expensive looking cloth, some children in line to buy up some candy with fresh pocket money acquired only moments ago from their parents who were watching them nearby, a young pregnant woman scurrying about buying various items that were likely going to be for that nights dinner, and a young man who was standing a bit too closer to the nearest shop to her which just so happened to sell precious metals and gems. There were others of course; nameless and faceless as they scurried about completely oblivious to the person next to them, let alone the one who watched from above.

Kouten didn't care about any of them; she was only up where she was and watching because moments ago she had been in that crowd and she had been drowning. Not physically, but mentally. The bodies crushing in on her from all sides had just been too much for her to handle. She had pushed herself to limits she hadn't reached before: she had gone to the Holeman clinic and been healed which had dealt with having to allow people to touch her. That was a huge step to make, and the crowd... well, that was just too much for one day.

Kouten knew she couldn't stay up there all day: eventually someone would come looking for her thinking that something had happened – or her twin would pick up on her high stress levels through their bond.

After another moment of watching Kouten shifted herself down lower; leaning her back and side against the little ledge that surrounded the roof before bringing her legs up and to her chest. Arms were then wrapped around her legs and she rested her chin on her knees. ”Ugh.. I shouldn't have made Pyra stay home. I should have brought him with me..”, she said softly to herself.

Quiet.

The perfect silence. Each step was made within it, each movement fluid and practiced. The male sped across the rooftops in a manner that left him appearing as no more than a flash of black. Not that anyone would be looking for him, or being aware that he was coming.

He was looking for his sister, not knowing where she'd run off to that morning. While he was sure she was fine, he didn't like the feeling he was gettin through the bond they shared. she felt anxious, like she was being suffocated by something. Amatsu refused to pry into her mind to find out exactly what was wrong, but would rather ask her in person.

From rooftop to rooftop he would run, leaping over dividers and leaping through the air. He knew the general direction she was in, and a vague estimate of how far away she was. It wouldnt be long until he saw her in the distance....

After a moment Kouten took in a deep calming breath and then exhaled; of course she didn't get the relaxed effect she was looking for right away. She inhaled and exhaled three more times until her eyes shut and she simply tightened her grip around her knees. She forcefully tuned out the rest of the world: something she had learned to do years ago when she needed to just escape it all. It placed her in a world of silence; a place where it was just her and her thoughts – well, that and the sudden knowledge that her brother was close by.

Even without attempting to hear his thoughts she could feel him through the bond; and she could feel that he was moving ever closer. Perhaps he was looking for her?

She found herself hoping she hadn't worried him too much: it wasn't like her to just take off without word, and yet she had done just that because she was afraid she would have chickened out if she had taken too long to get to the clinic. It was a good thing she had gone, too, because had she put it off for even a week longer she could have ended up losing her legs or her life due to the infection from some of the injuries she had refused to have treated and which had never healed right.

Slowly, Kouten lifted her head, looking around to see if she could spot her twin, yet.

There she was. It would seem that Kouten was ahead of him by a few buildings. No matter. He would be by her side after a...

A hop....

A skip...

And a jump...

He'd been approaching from her left side, a grin plasted to his ruby lips as he came upon her. As he slid to a stop, he stuck his hands into his pockets and dropped into a crouch, carefully watching Kouten. He didn't speak just yet; he was waiting for her to speak first on where she'd been.

Kouten turned her head to the left and spotted her twin as he arrived on the rooftop she remained seated on. He slid to a stop near her with a grin on his face and stuck his hands into his pockets before dropping into a crouch near her. He didn't say anything, which she took to mean he was waiting for her to explain what had happened and where she had been.

Instead of speaking at first she shifted her position; relaxing a bit and allowing the fact to be seen that she was no longer covered pretty much from head to toe in scars: in fact, there wasn't a single mark left anywhere on her body. ”So, I finally got brave enough to go to that clinic I found the other day. This kid named Holeman, he's younger than us and some kind of prodigy or something, he was able to heal me... He said it was a good thing, too, because my feet were infected really badly. The infection had been spreading to my legs; and in another week or so I would have lost them... or died.”

Goosebumps broke out across her flesh despite the heat; a reaction to the unnerving feeling she got of how close her stubbornness and unwillingness to allow people to touch her had taken her. ”He was able to completely remove the infection though, and heal me good as new. He even fixed my legs; so the bones were no longer healed wrong.”

It was then that she turned her head and looked down at the crowd below that she could still easily see. ”I was on my way home when the crowd became too much – I guess I pushed myself too hard today – I felt like I was drowning.”, she would say as she looked back towards her brother.

His head tipped again as Kouten moved slightly, showing off her distinct lack of scars. his grin spread wider. Lips parted in an attempt to ask her how she managed to get the scars removed, but it would seem that Kouten was ahead of him in regards to that.

"So, I finally got brave enough to go to that clinic I found the other day. This kid named Holeman, he's younger than us and some kind of prodigy or something, he was able to heal me... He said it was a good thing, too, because my feet were infected really badly. The infection had been spreading to my legs; and in another week or so I would have lost them... or died. He was able to completely remove the infection though, and heal me good as new. He even fixed my legs; so the bones were no longer healed wrong. I was on my way home when the crowd became too much – I guess I pushed myself too hard today – I felt like I was drowning."

Amatsu nodded to this; what she said confirmed the emotions he felt through thier bond. Standing up and moving closer, the male gingerly placed his arms around Kouten, drawing her into a tight hug. "I'm glad you're better, Kou. You had me worried when I woke up this morning."

As he released her, he would take her hand and give it a good squeeze. "Come on, Kou. We can go home if you want.."

After her explanation her brother hugged her, which she returned: he was one of the few people allowed to get away with touching her without causing some sort of -sometimes- violent effect. At his comment she frowned a bit: her intentions hadn't been to worry anyone, and the only reason she hadn't stopped to wait until he woke up to say something was because she was afraid she would lose her nerve had she waited any longer. ”I'm sorry. I would have stuck around until you woke up to tell you what was going on, but I was worried that if I waited too long I'd lose my nerve and not do it. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. You should meet Holeman one day, him and his family are good people.” This, of course, coming from her was saying something: she avoided people as if they were infected with some sort of flesh eating disease the majority of the time. So, for her to say that she thought someone was a good person, let alone a group of people? It was the highest compliment she could give, really.

When he took her hand she glanced back down to the crowd below: she was calmer now with her brother nearby and far less worried about that drowning feeling coming back were they to enter the market properly. So, as she looked back to her brother she simply shrugged. ”We can go home... unless you wanted to go to the market for some reason? I'm calmer with you here; I don't feel like I'm drowning at least.”

”I'm sorry. I would have stuck around until you woke up to tell you what was going on, but I was worried that if I waited too long I'd lose my nerve and not do it. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. You should meet Holeman one day, him and his family are good people.”

In response, Amatsu simply shrugged. Like his sister, he tended to avoid people as if they were diseased; he found most of them to be rather boring. No, they could stay a good distance away from him, unless he needed one of his vices sated. But this person, this Holeman, he had healed his sister. Perhaps he should up this person and give them his thanks?

”We can go home... unless you wanted to go to the market for some reason? I'm calmer with you here; I don't feel like I'm drowning at least.”

Amatsu would look down at the crowd of people and almost shudder; he didnt like people. But on the other hand... he did require a new whetstone and scrolls. He could always just go home with Kouten and send Pyra and Gengar out for supplies, but Gengar liked to come back with things that were not needed, most of which were usually not paid for.

"I suppose we can go in.. I do need a few things.."

To her brother's response Kouten would nod and look back down at the crowd below. It was thinning out a bit thanks to most people rushing home to get dinner started which meant that they'd have a short reprieve from the crush of bodies. She could still see the shady individual who was dressed in all black standing near the stall that sold precious metals and gems. The guy looked like he was sweating bullets, and exceptionally nervous about something: Kouten had him pegged as a thief, and wondered if the owner even realized he had been standing there the entire time. Still, she wasn't going to bother making it her business just yet – or at all, depending on how things played out.

She turned and moved to the edge of the building, planning to jump down and join the crowd since her brother needed to do a bit of shopping. Before she would jump down, however, she would ask about something she was quite curious about: ”So, is Pyra roaming around the house angry at me?” She didn't blame him if he was; he hated being left behind every since she had pulled him out of... well, her head, apparently. He was... clingy... to put it plainly. If he could follow her even to the bathroom when she showered he would.

She would wait for her twin's response before leaping from the edge and down to the crowd below; landing safely in an open area, where she would wait to then follow her twin.

”So, is Pyra roaming around the house angry at me?”

Amatsu snorted at the question, flashing Kouten a smile. "He's... sulking. When I left, Gengar was threatening him with trapping him in the Void if he didn's stop pacing the house." While he was sure Pyra was not mad at her, he couldn't say the same for Gengar; the creature tended to have a bad temper and a short fuse. Amatsu would be suprised if the didn't have to fish Pyra out of the Void when they returned home.

After Kouten jumped from the rooftop, Amatsu followed suit. He would land lightly upon the ground, uninjured thanks to his shinobi training. Once he was sure he was fine, he would stand up straight, dsuting himself off.

"I believe the blacksmith is this way, my dear..." Amatsu would set off, passing through the thinning crowd...

Her twin responded that Pyra was sulking; and that when he left Gengar was threatening to trap him in the Void if he didn't stop pacing the house. If Pyra was pacing then he was likely more worried than angry; which meant it would be easier to calm him down when she did return and he got to see that she was whole, healthy, and far better off than she had been when she left. However, she had a feeling that even though her brother didn't say it, Gengar was likely none to pleased with her since he had be the one stuck dealing with the over-protective sulking Pyra.

Amatsu followed her after she jumped; landing just as easily as she had. She was still getting used to not dealing with badly healed broken bones, and the pain of an infection that was now gone, so it was still as if she were walking on air the majority of the time. The absence of pain was great; great but a bit strange.

She turned and followed her brother through the thinning crowd, keeping close and allowing him to lead the way. She purposely shifted as she walked, ensuring she dodged anyone and everyone that she could so that no one ended up making physical contact with her. She was glad that the crowd was down quite a bit in size; that and the fact that her brother was nearby kept her calm and from feeling as if she were suffocating again. In fact, she was quite happy; an emotion that radiated from her and likely lit up her bond like crazy. There was even a skip in her step as she moved, hands held behind her back and clasped together.

Happy Kouten was quite happy.~