[Ishikawa Ren]

     Voices called through his mind. Ren passed by a tree in the dark forest of his mind. Looking back, he could see the cabin. Always present, always close. No matter how far he tried to run.

     'The work is done,' someone spoke to him from behind the tree. But when he turned the corner, there was nothing but darkness. The tree dropped away into the abyss. Ren stepped back. The forest became a vast, black lake. 'And I fell,' another called out from beneath the water. Chiyo? Ren clawed the surface of the water, appearing on the other side. He was on his knees, palms covered in dirt. His fingers were gone.

     He glanced to the left. The greenhouse in Arashi Teien - but the flowers were black and silver. Trapped inside glass, he scrambled to his feet. Ren could see himself crouched beside Uka, smiling. The pane shattered at his touch, and Ren fell forward. 'but I can't seem to grasp it,' she said as he plummeted.

     Ren sat up from his back, in a shadowed version of the Amegakure training grounds. He looked back. The cabin. When he turned, the silhouetted forms of his team appeared. 'One last try after this,' Akirei chided. 'Not this way,' Tsuri reminded him, wagging a finger in the darkness. Squeakers said nothing, only pointed towards the cabin. Ren grabbed out for them, felt himself slam against a wall.

     The Lord's office. Ren was standing, clutching a stack of black nothingness close to his chest. Sanosuke sat at his desk, facing away from him. 'Don't go making promises you can't keep,' he said over his shoulder. Ren looked down at what he held. The silver-bordered window appeared beneath his feet.

     Metallic rain pelted him as he fell sideways through an Amegakure painted in blacks and whites, skyscrapers shooting by. 'Don’t get lost,' Sadako said as he left. Ren was past the walls now, Arashi no Kuni flying past, but when he looked up to where the city had been, there was only the cabin. He'd fallen east, all the way to Komine.

     He crashed against the door of his home, curled up into ball. When he stood, there was only Utsuwa's cabin. The wind blew past the trees that surrounded him, each breeze a blade that sliced his skin. The symbol of Jashin had been carved into the door, bleeding just as his back had.

     'Nowhere else to go,' the thing in his eye socket said. An escape from the pain. Ren stepped forward, hand wavering over the handle. Something reached out from the brand on his chest, opened it for him.

     Ren's right eye flitted open. The light of the hospital room burnt. Reflexively, he shielded himself with a hand, groaning quietly in pain. Peering through his restored fingers, he saw a figure at the end of his hospital bed.

Mikazuki Aikawa | 442 words

[Mikazuki Aikawa]

She raised her fist before she spoke:
"I am the righteous hand of God
I am the Devil that you forgot"
※
Ishikawa Ren

Like most residents of Amegakure, Mikazuki had spent her entire lifetime living within the lands of Arashi no Kuni. Born and raised within the confines of the village, and perhaps preyed on by a predatory system that groomed children into soldiers by a militarized culture. To say that the young woman had spent plenty of time interacting with civilians and shinobi alike who were affiliated with the village would be an understatement. Being the right-hand man of Lord Sixth; personally training under the wing of several other of the past leaders; leading a squad of young shinobi, herself.... as well as aiding in teaching and guiding many of the academy students--she had seen her fair share of misfortune, been growing roots beneath all of their feet and worked heavily in the shadows.
    She had not, yet, seen something quite like this.
    When the state of the young man had been made aware to her, and detailing of the attack shared... she immediately volunteered to involve herself in the situation.
    Many knew of Jashin through whispers of the horrid god's taboo religious practices, but few engaged actively enough with the religion to recognize its followers or symbology on their own.
    Mikazuki was not one of those people.
    And she felt personally responsible, in some way. Someone she considered a pupil was severely harmed--undeniably tortured to the brink of death--by what she could only assume was a Jashinist. Right under her nose. It felt just like the destruction of the watch tower all over again. Though she knew and understood that she couldn't be everywhere at all times, she... Something like this--
    --She needed to do something about it.
    As someone who loved Jashin. As a shinobi of Amegakure. As a jinchūriki.
    This was her business.
    Mikazuki's attention shifted to the young man who lay in his hospital bed as, finally, he stirred.
    Groaning in pain, raising an arm to shield his good eye from the overhead light as he came to.
    He can move. That's a good sign, she thought to herself. At least one limb hasn't been completely paralyzed, and he's responsive to his surroundings. He was still in poor condition, but he'd pulled through despite the odds and that was something noteworthy. Moving closer, Mikazuki walked away from the furthest side of his bed to draw nearer to the patient.
    Dressed in a white nurse's uniform, Mikazuki looked over the young man and spoke in a calm, even voice, "Can you hear me?"

---

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[Ishikawa Ren]

     The shrill whine in his ears slowly died, the woman's voice piercing through as though someone had stuck their hands between a veil and thrown it open. Light exposed the blue-grey in his iris as his hand lowered.

     Ren struggled to pull himself to a sitting position. The young man simply stared for a moment, still semi-dazed, then looked down at his hand. One of the fingers was pink, the flesh still sensitive. "Yes," he finally managed to croak out through his dry mouth.

     The other gingerly raised up to his left eye, but it was not an empty socket as he'd expected - an eyepatch covered what'd been regenerated. When he tried to drop the arm back down, some of the fingers seemed to lock up and were unresponsive. Ren sighed, swallowed roughly, and looked back at the nurse at the foot of the bed.

     "Do you," he started in a monotone voice, while trying and failing to close his left hand, "know what happened?" Ren could hardly recall much, aside from flashes of the cabin. Before that was a void of memory, and before that... It all felt foreign, as though it'd happened to someone else. Distant, unimportant.

     There was nothing recognizable about the nurse other than some vague remembrance in the back of his mind - but as he looked around the room, he realized that held true for everything. There'd been some confusion in the cabin, but he knew he was Ren and not Kyodai. Still - not quite the same as he had been.

     As he continued to acquaint himself, some analytical aspect of his mind demanded to know his exact situation - it was all that mattered to the new Ren. "Wait. Who are you? Where am I?"

Mikazuki Aikawa | 290 words

[Mikazuki Aikawa]

She raised her fist before she spoke:
"I am the righteous hand of God
I am the Devil that you forgot"
※
Ishikawa Ren

Mikazuki watched as the young man struggled to move on his own. Though, she did not immediately go to stop him, and allowed him to take his time adjusting himself. Physically, and emotionally. Loss of digits, severe scarring from the torture he'd been subjected to... While the medication was sure to help, even if he didn't feel anything at all--an unresponsive body, or a body different than the one you remember--was sure to be a great deal to process.
    He asked if she knew what had happened, and Mikazuki walked over with a glass of water in hand. Offering it to him--she'd allow Ren to take it, but did not remove her own grip. Gentle coaxing, allowing him to mostly take hold of the cup, but ready to catch or guide if it proved too difficult for him. Still observing for his responses. "I was hoping you would answer that question," Mikazuki answered softly. "I have the reports of what your physical condition was when you were retrieved. I recognize the symbols clawed into your skin. But I was curious if you understand what happened." Her brow furrowed, slightly. "What do you remember?"
    If he could remember anything.
    Trauma was a powerful tool, and if his mind had completely wiped the experience from his memory... Mikazuki would not hold that against him.
    Though, realization of his surroundings seemed to finally sink in, and Ren began to quickly fire off questions at her.
    She smiled softly. "You're in Amegakure. Do you know where that is?" She wasn't sure just what his state of mind was. Hopefully, he knew where that was. Hopefully, he understood. But, if not... She would communicate to him, perhaps, what he was really needing to hear. "You're safe, now."

---

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[Ishikawa Ren]

     Despite his condition, Ren's eye monitored the nurse's face with an intensity like a hawk. He seemed unwilling to fully accept help, or was doubtful, or suspicious, but he eventually dropped his gaze to the glass of water. Amegakure. Safe now. "Yes," he muttered as he grabbed hold of the cup with his right hand.

     The right side of his body seemed more responsive than the left. When he was sure of his grip, he tipped it back and drank the entire glass in one greedy gulp. Amegakure. He gently handed the glass back to her. The name did not carry the same comfort it once had. But the village'd taken care of Ren, so his new consciousness decided to at least ride off that protection as long as he could.

     Reports, he considered. Ren's brow furrowed as he attempted to think logically, but his memories and mind were so frayed he could barely manage. A high-ranking shinobi, of some form, he decided as he massaged his temple with his left palm. Trustworthy enough, then. They wouldn't have told everyone the details.

     "Well," he started. The memories were still patchy. He didn't remember anything from the end of the Chuunin Exams until the cabin. What he did remember still felt foreign, both those of the original Ren and Kyodai. "he- I," his fingers finally realigned, settling around his eyepatch. It almost felt like something was writhing inside, trying to get out, but he knew the sensation was false.

     "We were coming back from the Exams, I think. Not sure where. There was a cabin." An apparition formed inside the darkness of his left eye, a white blur that was always in the corner of his visions. Ren's eyes shot around for a moment, settled back on the nurse's face.

     "Jashin," he recalled. "that was their god." Mine, for a while. he thought. "I was-" The memory of the pain lingered. He could still feel it in his bones. But sickeningly, part of him cherished the memory of the blessing. It was almost overpowering, like it was pushing the others memories out. Ren scowled.

     "Tortured," he asserted, after a moment of contemplation. "Who are you?" he demanded again. "Did Sanosuke send you? You said reports."

Mikazuki Aikawa | 374 words

[Mikazuki Aikawa]

She raised her fist before she spoke:
"I am the righteous hand of God
I am the Devil that you forgot"
※
Ishikawa Ren

Mikazuki watched as the young man struggled with himself, a bit. Thankfully cooperative enough to drink the water she provided him, and when he went on to think about how to answer her questions, he messed with his eye-patch a bit. Perhaps getting used to not being able to see from that eye, perhaps a form of self-soothing, she would never know.
    "You were travelling with this person?" she inquired. "They were not an Amegakure Shinobi, were they?"
    Oh, if they were...
    A Jashinist, Ren explained--something Mikazuki had already known, but they seemed aware enough of what kind of trouble they'd been dealing with. To know what Jashin was to a believer, and to be tortured by their hand--undoubtedly he had some kind of understanding of what kind of deity he'd encountered. It was a start.
    Ren then turned the questioning onto her--quizzing who she was, who sent her, and likely wanting to know just how she fit into the whole puzzle.
    "I'm a nurse," she stated matter-of-factly. Part-time, volunteer, or not--a nurse was a nurse. "Hospitals always report the injuries and procedures on patients for the sake of accurate records, filing, and archives. Sanosuke did not send for me directly..." Not exactly. "But... he and I are..." How did she put it? While she hated to give the wrong impression, the young man was discombobulated and weary, and the details didn't really matter to him, she supposed. "Close." Saying they were friends still sounded far too inaccurate. Close seemed right, though. "I wasn't sure how conscious you were, so I didn't want to overwhelm you with unnecessary details or conversation. My name is Mika. We've never formally met."
    She sat down at the edge of the bed near Ren's waist, then looked over him--her expression shifting, slightly.
    Her eyes narrowed--only a little.
    "Would you like me to hunt this Jashinist down, to avenge you?"

---

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[Ishikawa Ren]

     Mika. Hardly enough to go off of - nothing came up in his old memories, no one who'd been close to Sanosuke, but he thought a simple nurse seemed unlikely. Yet before he could press further, her next question arose to dominate his mind. Revenge.

     "No," he said immediately, almost reflexively. Ren's right hand rose up to his neck, as if to silence himself, and he didn't speak for a long moment - simply closed his eye, felt the scars. "no." he repeated. Why'd he spoken so quickly? That wasn't like the new him.

     What would revenge get him? It certainly wasn't to prevent the same fate befalling anyone else - he hardly knew anyone else, save a little of Mika. Yet, all the same, the idea had rooted itself deep, somewhere no amount of rationalism could reach. He would destroy Jashin - kill it, scatter it.

     Suddenly he felt sick and doubled over. Where had that idea come from? Ren felt like an unwilling passenger, a puppet played by a stranger's hand - a boy in a cabin, strapped to a table. My mind, my body, is my own, godsdamnit! 'No,' the thing in his eye cackled in mimicry. 'no.'

     "I need to get up," he stammered and thrashed out of the bed with no concern for his weak body, trying to push past Mika. A thin hand tried to push off the corner of the side-table, slid and knocked over a bottle of whiskey someone had left. The glass tumbled slowly over the wood, bumped against the back wall and came to a rest.

Mikazuki Aikawa | 261 words

[Mikazuki Aikawa]

She raised her fist before she spoke:
"I am the righteous hand of God
I am the Devil that you forgot"
※
Ishikawa Ren

No, he insisted. Mikazuki raised an eyebrow--a bit surprised by his visceral reaction. It seemed both of them were. And, for several moments, Mikazuki stayed silent as she watched the man's reactions as he grounded himself--perhaps trying to understand his reaction, himself. Feeling the scars on his skin, contemplative.
    There was still much to be seen--to be learned of the situation. Ren may, perhaps, been afraid that if she tried to go after the Jashinist that she would be met with his same fate. He need not hold any concern for her, but there was no way for him to know that--nor for her to know that was, for certain, what his hesitance was. Perhaps he was afraid she would do it--and his love for his sibling in Jashin made him worry for the other's safety. Perhaps it was something else entirely.
    Who knew.
    Ren thrashed--abruptly trying to climb out of the hospital bed despite the state he was still in. Mikazuki placed a hand on his shoulder and, with strength that far surpassed her demeanor and physical appearance--she swiftly pushed him backward into the bed once more in a smooth and fluid action. "You need to gather your strength first before you can do anything else," she stated. "Until you have enough strength to overpower me, you will not be permitted to leave this room. Deal?" She looked at him, her expression stern--but not apathetic. "Healing takes time. Hastiness will leave permanent consequences. I know your nervous system is a wreck, and the adrenaline in your veins is telling you that you need to act now. But I believe you're smarter than that. Take a moment. Think."

---

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[Ishikawa Ren]

     No amount of panic, or adrenaline, would have let the anemic Ren overpower Mikazuki - despite his attempt to throw himself from the bed, he found himself gently shoved back into place and held there until he'd stilled. The rush faded and his head slumped back onto the pillows. Ren gently groaned, sore and exhausted, having burnt through what little energy his muscles still had.

     A ragged breath escaped his lips. "Alright," he said shakily. The logic was sound. After such an experience, his body needed time to recover - yet he didn't want his time to go to waste, merely laying here slowly building up his strength again. If he couldn't utilize his 'old' body, he'd make use of his 'new' mind.

     Even if it didn't seem entirely his own. But there was little to do beside ride along on the subconscious whims that seemed to stem from his old memories - hunting Jashinists would at least get him outside Amegakure, for a time, where he could figure out who he was. And making use of all the resources available seemed wise.

     "Deal." he sighed. "But -" he continued, "- I don't want to waste this time. Will you help me? Sanosuke left," he paused, "me some anatomical charts and medical scrolls. They should still be at the office. I'd like to study them."

Mikazuki Aikawa | 220 words