| abstract | - The sky darkened as the sunset stood low. It continued to strive to shine with her distinct shades of red to orange. Sadly, the shadows fought their way through the nightly sky to force their darkness over the lands. It was there at the small civilized town that a man sat in his traditional kimono on a high building to watch over the town. And these crows, assumed to be his, cawed and fluttered around him before scattering towards this small town. Thus, the man gazed at the approaching nightly sky. He, who crossed out his last name, is no one else other than Izaya. The infamous man that is better known as The Information Broker. And with little to no effort, the man had sensed his pupil coming, and raised his voice in a distracted manner. "It seems that we will have a moonless night tonight, Ao-chan." "The night sky will be dazzling, Izaya-nii." A boy's voice was heard. He was aloof and his voice was almost misplaced among the scenery of the night. Leaning on a tree on the said building, with his short blue kosode and hakama billowing in the wind, he took out what appeared to be a maroon cellphone. After pressing a few digits, he looked upwards towards the sky, and continued speaking, "After all, now we get to see the wings of butterflies, instead of those gawking crows you appear to fall in love with." Aojiro began to walk towards Izaya, and sat beside him. "So, why are we on this building? Anything special, Izaya-nii? Or are you just being your careless self again?" The young boy questioned, before clenching his hand around Izaya's right arm and putting his head on his shoulder. In return the man softly smiled at the young boy's affection. But that gentle smile quickly became apart of a hurtful expression, while stiffening his laughter. "Oh, my lovely Ao-chan, you've hurt me deeply. Because... you have forgotten that these crows are my love!" He exaggerated hurtfully before cracking out in a self-laughter. After a while Izaya managed to compose himself and stared at the nightly sky. He had felt uneasy lately with the rumors spreading out. These rumors that became the truth and travelling quickly across the lands. It was about the Sixth Shinobi World War and the organization that was the cause of it. "How are things between you and Sanhi-kun?" He playfully teased knowing completely that the woman was strict to herself. Well, Izaya, merely changed the topic to avoid being caught in his uneasiness. It wasn't unusual that the man changed topics randomly to his liking. Aojiro immediately noticed the swift change in topics, but decided to leave Izaya alone. After all, not even Aojiro had to know everything, though he would've liked to nonetheless. "I do wonder though, how do animals become the object of affection for humans such as us? Bestiality is a concept foreign to me..." The boy went on a tangent, before he noticed the wind picked up a little bit, causing his kosode to flutter slightly. "Nitsuki-san is a pretty woman." Aojiro started off rather blandly, unknowing as to what to say. He then decided to continue on a rather odd chain of descriptors based on what he saw of the woman, "Well...she is very resolute, self-absorbed, she appears to be a very proficient swordswoman as well. Likewise, she needs to be a bit more social, it would be of great assistance to her, then again, I also need to do so. Nonetheless, she is a useful asset to us, the Kōmyō." Aojiro finished, letting out a breath of relief. "It is a good question and I suppose I, Izaya, could answer that. But I wonder what you will pay me in exchange for the answer," he replied sarcastically as he watched the boy out the corner of his eyes. And in a swift movement Izaya swung his arm around Aojiro's shoulders, bringing him closer. "Also Ao-chan, I wasn't talking about our business," he teased the younger boy delightedly. The sound echoed in the darkness. But Izaya knew what it came from and outstretched his arm in response. "What is it?" He asked boldly to one of his crows. It looked directly in his narrowed eyes and it seemed that they were have an internal conversation. "I see," he started with an entertained voice. "Let us greet our guest with kindness." Aojiro's face was bland as he was pulled closer by Izaya. He was used to the sensation, and yet it always warmed him. It gave him a purpose, no matter how insignificant. But that moment was quickly disturbed. Aojiro had also sensed it, and instead of sitting casually, he took the opportunity to stand up and quickly pace backward. Unlike his master, Aojiro had to constantly be careful. He immediately forged a simple, one-handed Ram hand seal, activating his ability to sense chakra. Though he knew Izaya must have done so already, considering his own version of the technique. Nonetheless, Aojiro pin-pointed the position of the enemy, and immediately grabbed at the contents of the pouch at his right thigh, bringing out two blue-colored pens. "Izaya-nii, he's straight ahead of your position, 12 O'clock." The wind breezes became rougher as Izaya leaned forward at the edge. But instead he began to push himself off the roof, "Then I will be the first to take off!" He jumped towards the other lower rooftop that was on the opposite of the current one. His unique trait allowed him to leap even further than usually as he followed the distinct chakra signature. Crows began to circle above his destination as he came closer to it. There, at last, Izaya leaped down on the ground and landed in front of the guest. "Welcome to my town, Gomanohai-san. I am glad to have found you first." Izaya stated with an excited voice. "Let us have some fun, hm?" "Izaya..." The man grumbled to himself, before leaping backwards slightly. He wasn't intimidated, he told himself, he was simply being cautious, he told himself yet again. "I am Naoya Hitsuki. And...I shall kill you here!" He proclaimed boastfully, while Aojiro merely looked upon him with a tidbit of disappointment. "You're not worth anybody's time." He told him, causing the man to be angered. Immediately he weaved a Ram, Dog and Rat hand seal in conjunction, and with no time to spare rain began to form in Amegakure, rather ironic at that, while he called out, "Secret Technique: Mist Rain!" In that same instant, Naoya performed quick, one-handed seals before allowing for the rain dropping around Izaya to harden into multiple Senbon-like projectiles, while subsequently exclaiming, "Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!" All the while, Aojiro looked on at the scene. He was sure that Naoya believed he had trapped his master. Ah well, the disappointment following this would intrigue him mildly, at best. "Naoya Hitsuki – The exiled younger Hitsuki brother." He stated behind Naoya after having escaped the assault with his 'Body Replacement Technique' with that of a nearby... container. "It is truly a shame that someone talented as you had to go!" Izaya exclaimed in distress with an undertone beneath it. It was then that one of his faithful crows dived down with an object in its beck, an umbrella. "Aren't they such adorable and helpful pets?" Izaya mused to himself and Naoya. Positioning the rod to allow the collapsed umbrella to hover on his head before he deployed it with nothing but his control. "Now my expensive kimono won't be ruined," he nodded to none in particular. But it was the question if the younger Hitsuki brother could have heard it. Because hundreds of crows dived downwards to attack the Hitsuki that threatened their master. In that same moment Izaya had thrown several senbon meant to harm and slowly immobilize him. After all these were infused with his famed lightning chakra. Naoya was irritated at the development, his own set-up for his Genjutsu had gone to waste. He knew that the man he was facing was capable of Genjutsu, and so hadn't bothered to retaliate with his own, considering the disastrous consequences that would bring. Rather, he calmed his mind down. He knew the crows were nothing more than an illusion brought about through that brief moment of surprise he had shown when he used his Body Replacement Technique. The intricacies of Genjutsu were such an annoyance, even to those who used them quite frequently. Nonetheless, Naoya removed useless thoughts from his mind and focused on the task at hand. As the crows passed through his body harmlessly, he heard the sound of buzzing electricity. In that instant, he took out a number of Senbon from his own pouch, before throwing them in the directions where he heard the buzzing sound. In that moment, he also formed a single-handed Ram seal, before allowing for his Yin chakra to mold yet another Genjutsu forged through the sound of the Senbon colliding with one another, creating multiple life-like Senbon that would be directed towards Izaya through a telekinetic pull over them. In that moment the crows scattered into blossom petals that danced down to Naoya. And at the same time Izaya had placed the metallic umbrella, which had been camouflaged as a regular one under his genjutsu, in front of him. It caught all the senbon that were realistic in its strong metal while others were deflected by the magnetism around the man. There, Izaya, smiled gently to Naoya, who had tried to trap the man in an illusion. It was his lightning that automatically reacted to the disrupted chakra flow of his. The technique he had developed years and years ago before he had come in contact with Ame. It is technique that he had created and mastered after that event. And he had based it from his Ikiryou technique, which became to know as Mind Disruption. But that was not all that he derived from, as he had infused multiple senbon with different voltages of his lightning to perform Raiton Senbon, silently. While only two in particularly are dangerous, the advanced form of the previous mentioned senbon technique. Therefore, the blossom petals scattered each in three senbon, which could be counted as hundreds that rained down at Naoya. But perhaps the intruder was still controlled by the man that had introduced him to his toys. and yet Naoya, at that moment, realized the futility of the situation he was placed with. He now realized why his brother had submitted to this man. It wasn't simply force...it was admiration. This man was far beyond anything that Naoya would ever encounter. His previous master...was nothing compared to him. And so, Naoya did the only logical thing; raising both of his hands, he merely stated, "I surrender...Izaya sir..." And as he did so, he waited for his eventual death. How pretty it was, death by flowers. And there, one senbon stinged against the cheek of Naoya, as the genjutsu dissolved. But it did not press any further and neither did any other of these senbon that were stilled in the air. “Hum, hum… that is what I love to hear,” Izaya prompted as an answer. “But I will give you two options since you still dared to infiltrate my Rain and tried to ambush me,” he began with a darker tone, till his following words that he said with a more childish side of his, something that always amused him deeply, “I don’t want to kill something that could be valuable to me. So, whatcha say, N-a-o-y-a-chan? Forget what happened here and the past and work under me? Or do ya prefer to feel the entertainment that I have planned for ya ahead?” "I...will work underneath you, Izaya sir. Please forgive me for my...rash behavior." Naoya reluctantly said, his entire figure trembling in face of the being before him. He had never seen a being so playful, so evil...and yet in all his fright, there was an inkling of admiration. A man so powerful...so young...what could he do in the future? And within all this, Aojiro was simply looking forward. He saw yet another side of Izaya: a cruel, playful, sadistic side of him. Was he frightened? No, of course not. He'd simply look onwards, as he did, to his blue sky that was Izaya.
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