[Mikatakujira Kunikunosaku]

[googlefont="Marck Script"]

To Sora Minami,
Kirigakure no Sato

SURPRISE! YOU FORGOT SOMETHING, IDIOT!

Apologies, hello, Minami Sora.

You kinda forgot to finish looking for a certain something. I went ahead and gathered those family records for you and honestly, it was so obscure, I'm still unsure if they are right, but I found a match. Now, I can give these over under certain conditions, or you can come try to get them from my decaying hands. If you know, I don't burn them first.

If you want to go the less combative way like a coward then you are going to have to answer some things right here, right now. The first thing, why the hell did you have the audacity to even come to my home, take my help, then coerce me to fight you?! I was trying to be a good host, trying to help you out, but no, you wanted to fling that metal stick, and I am now more than happy to take that stick and cut you apart with it! See what you did, you turned a possibly good friend to your enemy, a respectful one at that.

The second piece, why the hell did you think I need to hear you say 'I see you'? What are you trying to say, what it sounds to me is that you are projecting your insecurities onto me and seeing me in you. AGAIN, YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT TRUE HELL IS! You have no idea what I been through, no idea what I had to do to be somebody, no idea what it's like to be dead. Are you a walking shell of your former self? Have you ever asked yourself what it means to feel alive, to be alive? Have you ever tried ending it all, only to find out you won't fall despite trying various methods? No! So what are you even trying to prove, what are you hinting at?!

Write back your choice of action.

Heir of the founding clan,
Mikatakujira Kunikunosaku

By Sega of Nowhere and Everywhere

[Sora Minami]

To: Mikatakujira Kunikunosaku
From: Sora Minami

Mikatakujira-san,

Hello again. I must say, I was quite surprised when I received your letter, as I had assumed you would want nothing more to do with me after our last encounter- though, I suppose if I had gotten chopped into a half dozen pieces by someone, I might want to at least reach out and talk with them too.

That being said, I find the contents of your letter questionable at best; as I recall, you were the one who attacked first and, despite being cut into the aforementioned half-dozen pieces, actually came out of that cavern in better shape than I did (thanks for the broken bones by the by, very much needed more of those). As for whatever it is you claim to have found, I’d rather you simply forwarded the information to me through the proper channels as, if it actually exists, there will need to be a review of the data on both sides before I can even touch it.

Now, as for what I said to you and its meaning, it’s actually quite simple. "I see you” means just that. I see you, Kunikunosaku. You may think you are the only one to ever experience pain, but you are not. I was like you when I was your age- angry, hurting, screaming death to the world because I had no clue how to handle what had been done to me beyond rage and violence. I have asked myself all of those questions before, and it has taken me years to answer them.

So yes, I do see myself in you. I understand you, better than you think I do, because I have been you. I have been in your shoes before, Kuni. I lost my family, everyone I ever loved, twice. Watched as they died right in front of me and I could do nothing about it. I have slaughtered and butchered and killed in ways you cannot even begin to imagine- but I am not irredeemable. My hands are covered in the blood of innocents, but I refuse to believe that there is such a thing as someone not worth saving.

I didn’t want things to go the way they did in Taki, but I’m not going to apologize for defending myself from you- nor am I going to give up on helping you. If that makes me your enemy… well. We already know how that ends. How it will always end, until you get it.

Sincerely,
Your Friend
Sora Minami

[Mikatakujira Kunikunosaku]

SPOILER: Click to show

Arriving to Sora came a packet. Within was another letter aptly called, 'Read me, bitch' and ten folded pages filed with details and inked highlights marking relevant info like names, what they were doing living in Takigakure, and who was with them. As detailed as it was, some information of the Hinode family was redacted, especially the farther back it went, however, most of the personal info was there.

[googlefont="Marck Script"]

To Sora Minami,
Kirigakure no Sato

How can you say that with such certainty? How do you say that with such composure? I was killed to be reborn as you've seen. Kunikunosaku is dead, and I exist as her shell. That is that. She died on her 13th birthday, I am the monster born from her death. I need to kill to survive, to stay sane, to feel alive. I have been made and treated as the monster I am. My parents are dead, they were the first contributors to my abilities. My friends treat me like trash and try to kill me for fun. Both enemies and allies try to kill me, whether for fun, training, or for true purpose. For me, Kill or be killed is no an MO for me, it is a literal survival mechanism. Do you know what that is like to live every single day? You know what that was like growing up?

Do you have any idea what this does to a 'kid'? I had to grow up beyond my years, the only reason I play a kid so well, I act the part because NO ONE takes a kid seriously... you have seen how close that comes to take lives. I can't express how stressful it is, to play the part that everything is fine but YOU ARE NOT! Always having that bloodlust, that anger, all just waiting to come out just so you can survive. I sincerely doubt you know what that is like, to push EVERYONE away or else you will be the cause of their death. Fuck innocents, who cares about pointless collateral, what about the friends and family you have killed by your own hand. Not for any duty, but because it was either survival or fun because nothing you used to enjoy are enjoyable!

I don't think you can even begin to fathom what that's like, and with everyone thinking you're sick, it's impossible to refute that. Once you become a monster, you can't go back. Humans are so silly thinking irredeemable things can be saved. I force their humanity back, I keep them from becoming me because they can't handle it, too much pressure and they die. So like a true monster, I remind everyone they are human, they are weak, they are fragile, they are alive. Because I am tired of people saying they know what it's like. There is no comparative hell you can go through that even comes close to me. Rid that ideology of helping me, it's 3+ years too late.

Again, it's one thing being helpless, it's another having to choose your life or theirs. And when it's easier killing them than it is yourself. Your choice is made for you. But, do you live with those consequences? I doubt it. The ties to emotions are so strong, they make you act. But the minute you can set emotions aside. They treat you like a monster because they fear what they don't understand. I drive that fear forward, because that fear is the only way I can survive unbothered.

Try to fix me and it will not end well. I'm fine, it's everyone else who's so fucked up that they think they are heroes when they themselves are monsters.

You already know,
Mikatakujira Kunikunosaku

By Sega of Nowhere and Everywhere

[Sora Minami]

To: Mikatakujira Kunikunosaku
From: Your Friend

Kuni,

I received your most recent correspondence and, frankly, have little else to say on the matter that has not already been said. I understand you think your pain is greater; I remember thinking those same thoughts when I was your age. I don’t pretend to claim I can fully understand everything you’ve gone through, but I am able to empathize with your pain. If that is not enough then so be it. I refuse to accept you cannot be saved, you refuse to admit that you can. We are at an impasse and-

…There is a concept in Bushido that I think will help illustrate to you something.

In Bushido, a sword is known to hold a warrior’s "Soul;” to a samurai and, to a lesser extent, a Shinobi, it represents the sum total of their being, their very life, the core of who and what they are. For a warrior to use their blade properly, their actions must line up with the ideals they hold- much like a blade’s edge must align with the direction of the cut, the warrior’s actions must always be in step with their beliefs, or their cut will be weaker.

I bring this up, girl, because if you truly believed that you are beyond saving, that you exist only to be a monster, you would not have mentioned wanting to be my friend. You would not have been angry when I cut you, for in beating you I had proved to be the stronger of the two of us- in your own proposed worldview, that gave me all the justification needed to kill you. But you didn’t want to die then. Just as you don’t want to die now, because you believe the bullshit you’re spouting. If you did, you wouldn’t care about the pain anymore. You wouldn’t care about your village. You couldn’t care about anything but the next kill.

And we both know you want more than that. Yearn for more than that.

Thank you for the information you sent.

Sincerely,
Sora Minami

[Mikatakujira Kunikunosaku]

SPOILER: Click to show

After weeks of silence, a parchment of familiar paper came in once more. The rugged style of paper indicated it was another letter from Bonchi no Kuni, on it was the full name of a shinobi, but yet not a known shinobi name except for one. Hinode Sora.

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To Sora Minami,
Kirigakure no Sato

I would like to simply discuss with you on this, in person. In the same room. You are reminding me of my cousin, he's my favorite person in the whole world, but, it really sounds like you are talking hot air compared to his words. He couldn't save me, he left me. Yet, I give him another chance. It should be alright that you get another to clearly express your thoughts and perhaps persuade me. Come visit Takigakure and see what if I am malleable to your words that you hope so hard for... I do not expect any mishaps to occur but bring your sword just in case I'm feeling spicy.

See you next time.

By Sega of Nowhere and Everywhere