A Friend In Need [Open]

Siiiiiigh.

Okay, she had been waiting long enough before trying to figure out what was going on. It had been over a month since her parents and her brother had headed out on a caravan run and she hadn't heard a single thing from them. Normally that wouldn't have been an issue except for the fact that what was supposed to have been a week long trip at the most and had turned into one that had gone on for well over a month. To make matters worse she hadn't heard a single thing from them: no card, no messenger hawk, nothing. None of the people they had been traveling with had been seen either which was beginning to not bod well for her family.

Frowning deeply to herself and beginning to really think the worse Kouten got up and walked out of her parents house. The place kind of gave her the creeps: while the person who had harmed her so severely in her past was now dead that didn't make staying by herself any less troublesome, nor did it keep the nightmares and the constant need to look over her shoulder away. Still, more pressing things to focus on for now.

Kouten locked the door behind herself, dressed in what was fast becoming her usual attire of a black camisole styled top with a red top over top of that whose sleeves hung down from her shoulders, a pair of baggy grayish white pants, and black shinobi sandals. She glanced about from the front porch of her parents house, pushing her long black hair behind her shoulders as she did: where would she go for help, or to try and figure stuff out? It took about a split second before the Holeman Clinic popped into her head. Holeman had a special way of seeing, all of his family did, so perhaps he would be able and willing to help her figure things out a bit more if he was home. If he couldn't help her then her next stop was going to have to be the new Kage: she didn't want her brother labeled as MIA if something terribly bad had happened to him that couldn't be helped.

Stepping off of the porch she made a bee-line straight for the Holeman Clinic which thankfully wasn't all that long of a walk away. She moved quickly, taking to the rooftops and higher areas so that she wasn't slowed by the people walking around and in her way. Arriving in a relatively short period of time she would open the door quietly and step inside.

Word Count: 440

The front room of the clinic was clean and at an air conditioned temperature as usual. A bunch of children laughing and goofing around could be heard from behind the doorway to the rear of the counter. The doorway was covered with what looked like some sort of blanket. 2 kids came from behind it, a boy and a girl. The girl was older than the boy. She was wearing a white dress and combat boots. On her head was a white bunny mask with long ears, situated so that it covered her eyes. She had long orange colored hair. The boy was wearing a skull cap which covered his eyes, a white wife beater and black shorts with sandals.

Joy and Bart. Joy was tall enough to look over the counter, whereas bart had to jump up and hold himself on the counter using his elbows. "Hey, Kouten! What's up?" he asked.

"You alright? Need some healing?" added Joy. Both of them had the trademark Holeman grins on their faces.

The nice and cool temperature was rather relaxing compared to the blazing heat outside, and on any other day it likely would have eased her mind quite a bit, but not today. No, she had a feeling that something bad had happened and it was a feeling she just couldn't shake. The blanket covering a doorway was moved and in came two kids she recognized from the last time she had visited the clinic: Joy and Bart. Both inquired as to why she was here, and she found herself wondering exactly how to voice her issue.

"Hey guys. Nah, I'm not hurt. Actually, I was looking for Holeman. I need help finding someone, and I was hoping he could help me." It was the easiest way of explaining things without having to go into too much detail. She wasn't certain how many times she could tell her story before it would become too upsetting.

The gnawing feeling in her gut was telling her that something bad had certainly happened to her brother and the rest of her family, and the damning evidence of a lack of any sort of communication was only further proof of that. She pushed her thoughts from her mind for now, focusing on Joy and Bart and hoping that Holeman was somewhere nearby: she didn't want to wait to get these answers if she didn't have to.

"He should be in the back somewhere, we'll see if we can go find him," said Bart. He and Joy went back behind the blanket. "Holeman!" Joy yelled. She yelled his name twice more before an adult told her to stop shouting through the house.

It wasn't too long of a wait before Holeman himself stepped from behind the cover. He looked just like he usually did, in his Uchiha Clan shirt with red accessories; ankle length pants, sandals, fingerless gloves and du-rag. Like his little brother and sister before him, Holeman had the trademark grin on his face that very rarely left.

"Hi Kouten," Holeman said, waving, looking at her from behind the counter. With how short he was, all that could be seen was his grinning face, which looked quite comical. "Something I can help you with? What's up?"

Joy and Bart went back behind the curtain to see if they could find Holeman; she could hear them calling his name several times before someone told them to stop. She waited patiently, hoping that the next person to come through that curtain was Holeman. Sure enough Holeman came out from behind the curtain not all that long after with his usual grin on his face. He asked her what was up, and Kouten figured now was the time to explain everything.

"Hey Holeman. Uh.. well I was hoping I could get your help. I know you've got a special way of seeing things... so I was hoping maybe you could see something I couldn't. See, my brother Amatsu and our parents left about a month ago with a caravan to sell some goods. They were supposed to be gone for only a week at the most. I haven't heard anything from them at all the entire month they've been gone, and that's not like them. I just can't shake this feeling in my gut that something bad has happened...."

She sighed softly and sadly. She wanted to be hopeful, she really did, but given how long it had been it was becoming harder and harder to be so. "The last time I saw them they were heading out of the west gate of the village with several wagons and about fifteen other people."

Kouten spoke of her family; her parents and Amatsu. Holeman was wondering himself about how the guy was doing. He hadn't seen him since the incident with the guy who was tormenting them, and was responsible for her bruises and messed up legs. Kouten said Amatsu and their folk left a month ago to sell stuff; merchants. She said they were only supposed to be gone a week at the most, but there'd been no word or sign of them since then, and she was worried something bad happened.

She said she knew Holeman had a special way of seeing, and if there was any way he could possibly see something that she wouldn't be able to. Holeman rubbed his chin before opening the counter door and stepping around to the other side. "Well, I could, but it'll be easier if I have something to work with first, something to point me in a general direction. Can I go to your house? I think I can find a trail there, then it'll be easy."

Bart and Joy came from behind the covered doorway. "Can we go with you bro?" Bart asked.

"We'll be good, promise," added Joy.

"Yeah sure, why not, this shouldn't take very long," replied Holeman.

Holeman said that he could help, but that it would be better if he had something to work with first: something that would help point him in a general direction. He asked about going to her house, and said that it would be easier if he could pick up a trail from there. Joy and Bart came out from behind the curtain again and asked if they could come too, saying that they'd behave. Holeman said sure, and Kouten had no reason to say no; she didn't mind either.

She nodded. "Sure, sounds like a plan." Kouten would then turn and head back out of the clinic and into the hot dry air of the village. A quick left turn and she headed off toward her and her family's home, going slow enough so that Bart and Joy could keep up too. It wouldn't take long to get there since they lived above their shop in the market. "This is home. My parents own their own shop, and wanted to be close by, so we live above it."

She would lead the way then over to the side of the building where there was a door with no doorknob or handle of any kind, or a lock. "Chakra activated. Only responds to the chakra of family members, this way no one can break in.", she would explain before placing her hand on the door. The door opened almost instantly to reveal a wide staircase with ornate decorative handles going up both walls. "This is how they come and go when they're not actually working in the shop. Keeps people from getting the impression that they're open when they're not." The stairway, would they choose to go up it, would lead to a spacious living room, dining room, kitchen combo with a single hallway that led to the bathroom and bedrooms. The place was nicely furnished, and yet not over-done to the point of being snobbish. The doors to her brother's and parents rooms were closed, but her own was open revealing murals painted on the walls of different scenes per wall; a forest, an ocean, the desert, and one that wasn't quite finished yet.

Holeman, Joy an Bart left the Clinic with Kouten. They followed her through the marketplace to where she and her folks lived, waving to a few people in the meantime. Holeman noticed that their home was also their workplace, just like the Clinic. She took them to the side of the building where there was a chakra activated door. "Pretty smart," Holeman said, after she explained that the door was designed to prevent break-ins.

Holeman and his 2 younger siblings went into the building and up the stairs into a nice place. Holeman didn't know this place even existed. he could have easily looked through the walls and saw a long time ago, but just because he could didn't mean that he would. Holeman believed in giving people privacy, and didn't look everywhere even though he had the ability to. Holeman looked around and sniffed the air. The 2 doors that were closed were likely the rooms of Amatsu and their parents. Holeman "looked" closely at the doorknobs of both doors.

"Alright, I got enough to go on. I even found a trail." Holeman folded his little muscular arms and began to concentrate. The story began to unfold. Amatsu and his parents left and headed out into the desert. The trail was strong, and easy to follow. The further out it went, the more it began to fade, and from the looks of things, they encountered someone on the path and were chased into a bad area of the desert where many got lost and were never found again. Holeman was hoping the path would change, but it lead right into the bad area. His expression changed when it was directly in the center of the bad area that the trail ended. Holeman could see what looked to be the remains of a traveling caravan of merchants. The sand had covered up the majority of things but there was little left, and very soon it would all be gone.

Holeman sighed. "...Well... there's no easy way to put this Kouten," he said after a while of looking. "So i'll just tell it to you like it is... Your brother and parents looked to have gone into what's known as 'No Man's Land.' It's a really bad area of the desert. Some bandits live there, and there's sand dunes that swallow people. Mostly everyone that goes there are never seen or heard from again. It looks like your folks were chased in there, there's a lot of footprints... I can see the remains of someone's caravan. I don't know who's it is, and i'm not gonna say they're dead, but... it doesn't look good."

Joy and Bart, who were both looking around the house, both looked sad and depressed. "We can't leave her here alone, can we bro?" asked Joy.

"Yeah man, let's take her back to the clinic with us," Bart added.

"Yeah, I wouldn't feel right just leaving you here by yourself," Holeman said, making adjustments to his Du-rag. "There's always the chance I could be wrong and they got away somehow. You can come stay with us in the meantime, yeah?... In fact, i'm gonna have to insist, cause if I leave you alone i'm afraid you might go do something reckless, like go out there and try looking for them yourself... I'll keep an eye out, but i can't really make any guarantees or promises. My radar can only see so much; I can't see through the ground."

Holeman wasn't going to leave her here alone; if he had to grab and carry her he was prepared to do so.

Kouten stood off to the side and simply watched Holeman in silence for the moment as she didn't want to distract him. He indicated that he had picked up on a trail and Kouten's face took on a hopeful expression: she didn't know at this point what she was hoping for - answers, or perhaps nothing at all? She didn't know if it would be worse to keep hoping that they would turn up one day, or to be told they were dead and to stop having to wait for answers to come that may or might not ever reveal themselves. Which would be better?

Before Kouten knew it Holeman was sighing, and given the situation she didn't think that that was a good thing at all. He said that there was no easy way to tell her what he was about to and that only cemented that something was definitely wrong. He went on to explain how it looked like a caravan had been chased into what he called the bad lands; an area riddled with sand traps and bandits. He couldn't actually see her family dead since he couldn't see under the ground, but it definitely looked like a caravan had been swallowed up in a sand dune. Considering that she hadn't heard from her family in so long, and how that was very much not like them at all, Kouten had every belief that that was in fact her parents caravan.

Kouten couldn't bring herself to comment at first, and while her mind reeled over this information Joy and Bart spoke up: neither wanted to leave her here alone and wanted her to come back to the clinic with them. Holeman was on board with this plan, and mentioned that he didn't want to leave her alone either. He was worried she would go and do something stupid, like attempting to go out into these bad lands and try and find more answers herself. In truth the idea hadn't even crossed her mind, but the idea of not being alone at a time like this was definitely nice. Kouten had no intentions of putting her life in danger when her brother who she believed was stronger than her likely hadn't survived whatever had just gone down, but she wasn't going to turn down the chance to not be alone. She had already spent a month in the house by herself, and if her parents really were gone then she wanted nothing to do with this place or the memories left behind.

"O.. okay. Let me grab a few things.", she said softly as she shook herself out of her shock and her thoughts for a few moments. She walked into her bedroom and grabbed up some stuff, sticking it in the backpack hanging from the back of her chair: art supplies, a book or two that was her favorite, and some extra clothing. She didn't know how long she could or would be staying at the clinic, but she had no intentions of coming back here again.

When she was finished she walked back up, glancing at the doors that led to her parents and to her brother's room: she didn't have the nerve to open the doors right now and probably never would. "Okay, let's go..."

Kouten seemed to take the news pretty well. Holeman knew it had to be stinging on the inside but she was doing well so far in covering it up. She went in her room to gather a few things and then she was ready to go. Feeling bad for her, Bart and Joy both grabbed a hold of her hands as Holeman lead the way down the stairs and outside again.

Holeman didn't look mad or depressed, but he wasn't grinning like he usually was. In his opinion, that Amatsu guy wasn't really acting like a brother or family in the brief time that he was around, and from the looks of things he'd tried to get in between he and Mitsukai, (Like that would really ever happen) but that was still her brother. It was a pain that even with all of Holeman's vast array of medical techniques, he'd never be able to heal.

"We've got plenty of room at the clinic," Holeman said, "looking" back at Kouten. "My mom and Grandma and big sister like you, so that's a plus. You can stay with us for as long as you want."

"We like you too, Kouten," said Bart, his grin returning.

"Yeah, we're happy to have you. We even have a room for you," added Joy. "It's right next to my room!"

(Current Word Count: 1,408)

Teleport:

The sand began to move in a strange way nearby. A circular pattern appeared. The air above the sand began to twist and distort, sort of like a broken mirror. There was a slight flash, and there appeared a kid, hovering above the ground. He was wearing a black rubber top with straps and belts; the sleeves too long for his arms. He had on specialized pants as well, and was barefoot. Over his face was a gas mask. He had blood red hair that hung down over the mask. He wore a large brown gourd on his back.

"Heh. Well that worked," said Suna, noticing the stares of nearby villagers that looked shocked and scared at his sudden appearance. Suna found out that he could now transport himself through space. It was easy to transport when it was somewhere he'd already been, but when trying to go somewhere at random, Suna could feel the horrible migraine that had plagued him for the past week creeping it's ugly face back to the surface, so he immediately stopped trying.

Suna suddenly started to feel that he was capable of doing other things since he put this suit on. He felt his new psychic powers expand dramatically. A large chakra was nearby, near a moderately sized one, and 2 small ones. Suna concentrated on these 4 individuals, and turned to see Holeman and his little brother and sister, along with a girl he'd never seen before. Was she another resident of Sabaku?

"Hey, Holeman. What's up," Suna said, turning himself in the air to face them. "I look a lot different, I know. There's a long story..."

Chakra Used: 30
Chakra Remaining: 1,155

Kouten felt very numb at the moment. She had expected that something bad had happened, and yet to hear it... to know that it was a good ninety-five percent possibility. Well, it sucked, to put it plainly. At least now she wouldn't have to be alone: it would be far worse if she had to be. She had a feeling she would likely end up breaking down and probably crying at some point, but that likely wouldn't be until she was alone, perhaps when she finally tried to go to sleep.

Bart and Joy took her hands, and they all headed back outside. The door, once shut, would lock itself again and remain as such until Kouten opened it. A glance at Holeman and it seemed like the news affected him somewhat too; he didn't look angry or sad, but he wasn't grinning like he normally always seemed to be. Holeman said that they had plenty of room at the clinic, and that it was a bonus that his family liked her. He added that she could say as long as she wanted. Bart said that him and Joy liked her too, and Joy said they even had a room for her which was right next to hers. Kouten couldn't help but smile a bit: it was hard to feel so gloomy and glum when the grins and smiles around her were so infectious.

"Oh? Sweeeet."

An individual appeared nearby then out of nowhere which caused the stares of those nearby as well as Kouten. She had never actually seen someone appear out of thin air like that before so it was quite the sight to see. He had a gourd on like what the new Arenokage wore, and was hovering or levitating above the ground. He greeted Holeman by name, seeming to know exactly who he was. He commented that he looked differently than he used to, and that it was a long story, which got Kouten to wondering what he had looked like before then. Kouten gave a nod of greeting, but otherwise remained quiet for the time being.

"Heh, Suna? Is that you?" Holeman asked, grinning again. The look on his face was first one of shock, seeing him appear out of thin air like he did. Suna looked different now. He seemed to have grown up some, and he'd changed his look around. Holeman could see that Suna had red hair now, much like most of his family did. He had on a weird top that looked like it was too big for him. The sleeves hid his arms.

The strangest thing was that Suna seemed to be floating in mid-air. Bart and Joy both looked upon Suna with amazed expressions. "Cool! How are you up in the air like that, Suna dude?" said Bart.

"A long story huh, i'll bet its an interesting one. Why don't you come with us? Lemme get Kouten all settled in and you can tell us all about it... This is Kouten by the way, Suna. She's a friend of the family, and she's gonna be moving in with us. Kouten, this Suna Hari of the Sabure sand clan. He's a friend, and i've been teaching him some stuff about Medical Ninjutsu. He used to live in Morigakure, but... I dunno if you've heard about those guys over there yet. Anyway long story short, some stuff happened between them, and since the old Harukage Temaki stepped down, now he and his squadmate Miyuki live here."

Holeman continued on walking back towards the Holeman clinic. A couple of people stopped Holeman in the street to ask some medical advice on lowering fevers and combating the common cold. Holeman told them about a couple of remedies that he often used on Bart and Joy when they got sick. The villagers thanked Holeman before he continued moving on. The Clinic appeared and Holeman lead the way inside.

"Be back in a sec, Suna," Holeman said, then he took Kouten behind the covered doorway and down the hall lined with toys. There was a stairway at the end, leading up. Holeman took her up the stairs. There were numerous rooms at the top; rooms that had many Holemans within them. All of them had things on their heads that covered their eyes, but "looked" towards Holeman and Kouten as they walked down another seemingly long hall.

Holeman took her to a closed door. He opened it to reveal a clean, air conditioned room that looked untouched. There was a huge bed in there with a fluffy comforter, a dresser, a couch in front of a window with a view of the backyard and the desert beyond the village walls. There was a decorative mirror on the dresser, and the walls were pained a light pink. A closet was in the back, next to a door that lead to a personal bathroom.

"There's way too many family members that live here to be sharing," Holeman said, opening the door to the bathroom, revealing that it had a shower and a tub. "So you get your own bath. If you need anything, just say it and i'll show up. Even if you whisper i'll hear ya. I try not to eavesdrop or be nosy because my ears work so good, so just say my name first, okay?" Holeman nodded his head with his grin again; despite the shitty situation, he wanted to keep her in good spirits. There was always the chance that her folks were still alive...

Holeman turned and left Kouten's new room and headed back downstairs to the front room. He jumped up and sat on the counter. "Alright, so what brought about the big change, Suna? I almost didn't recognize ya."

(Current Word Count: 2,273)

"I'd have to say it's my energetic personality!" was Suna's response to Holeman's little brother, in a sarcastic, joking tone. Suna caused himself to land on his own 2 feet again, the hot sand not really bothering his bare feet. Holeman said the story had to be an interesting one, then introduced Kouten. He said she was going to be moving in with them over at the clinic. Suna felt that he could have read their minds to find out why, but that was none of his business. Suna waved one of his arms, the sleeve that was too long waving around.

Holeman told Kouten who he was, and briefly explained that he and Miyuki got into it in Mori with a moron, and because Temaki stepped down as Harukage they lived here now. Suna went with them through the village. A couple of the people that stopped Holeman to ask him medical advice knew Suna and spoke to him as well, commenting on his new look, saying it was "interesting."

Medical advice... it made Suna start to think. Suna decided to try something else. He didn't exactly want to go through all of Holeman's memories, because that was invasive, and Holeman said Suna was a friend, something Suna didn't have many of. Suna did a quick scan on Holeman; on the part of his brain where the techniques were stored and remembered. He found that he was able to read these memories like a book. Suna found that he could even "borrow" techniques in this fashion, and as he was seeing the memory play out in his point of view, it was as if he was living it out too, meaning he was instantly mastering what he saw. This would be a very handy ability to have, saving him the trouble of actually training them himself.

Mimic:

...A really interesting ability... one that many wouldn't have the intelligence to see their way out of. Suna didn't feel like he had the skills necessary to execute it himself yet, but he had it stored away until then. Inside of the clinic, Holeman said he'd be back, and took Kouten through the doorway behind the counter. The cold floor felt great on his bare feet. Holeman came back shortly and asked what brought on the change.

"Well, it all started with the headaches," Suna began to explain. "I started seeing and hearing things, so I thought maybe I was dying, you know? Maybe this is it, and i'm about to croak. But then I started to realize that what I was seeing and hearing were thoughts... other people's thoughts. This was something brand new, ya know? I wanted to get to the bottom of things, so I went back to my old village. Found this suit and some notes that my mother left behind. She said it's called "Psychic Release." I guess i'm like, the only one alive who can use it now. I can read thoughts and move things with just my mind. There's some other stuff I can do too, but i'm still figuring this whole thing out..."

Chakra Used: 25
Chakra Remaining: 1,130

Holeman had looked shocked at first to see Suna and then started to grin: so perhaps this ability to appear out of thin air was new? Kouten could only guess since she didn't know Suna. Bart and Joy likewise seemed to be amazed by this ability. Holeman then introduced her and she waved again with a smile. "Hi there."

Holeman led the way back toward the Holeman clinic and upon arriving told Suna he'd be right back before leading Kouten inside. He took her behind the doorway covered in a curtain and then down a hallway lined with toys. They then went up the stairs and down yet another hallway lined with rooms until coming to a closed door which Holeman opened. The room revealed had pink on the walls, and looked completely untouched. It was cool and comfortable like the rest of the house, and had everything she would need to be comfortable inside. "Thank you, Holeman.", she would say softly before stepping in and placing her bag down on the bed.

Holeman pointed out that there was a bathroom as well, and said that there were way too many family members living here to be sharing. He added thaat if she needed anything all she had to do was say his name and he'd hear her, even if she whispered. Kouten nodded with a grin: it was kind of hard to be all gloomy and glum around people who seemed happy all of the time. "Alright, cool."

After Holeman left she lingered behind. She went over to her bed, opened her bag, and stared down at the contents before looking around her new room and biting her lip, debating on where she wanted everything. It took a few seconds before she began to dig through her bag and begin to put things away. As she worked toward empty the bag she tried hard not to think about her twin or her parents. She had tried to reach out through their mental connect earlier that day once more only to find nothing there: she was either being blocked or he truly was dead. Kouten shook her head, not wanting to think about such things.

After Kouten was done, which took no time at all since she hadn't really brought much with her, she glanced around the room with a grin: it felt like home already. Not wanting to stay by herself and allow the thoughts that kept trying to creep into her mind to do so again she headed back downstairs.