Introducing a Vampire (Konoha)

As Konoha awoke from the sleeper grip, she would find that she was laying atop a rather thin matress with bad springs, either looking over at a black wall or very sturdy ceiling, the only light in the room coming from outside the bars of the cage: her cell wasn't even next to the outside, but rather 'landlocked' facing the middle, which would make it impossible for her to determine the time of day.

It would be rather quiet, the only sound that of a guard's footsteps checking the cells to make sure that all was as it should be: merely a glance, he would walk by Konoha's cell without hazard. She was entirely unarmed, after all, given that they had to search her for weapons and the like. One thing was for sure: she was still in the leaf, and not likely getting out...

Konoha awoke to the sight of a very dirty ceiling. Like, seriously. Did anybody clean this room? Ever? The next thing she noticed was that she didn't need to squint while looking around. It was comfortably dark enough for her eyes though, the pupils were still rather large. She then heard the footsteps of a man outside her cell. Each step could be heard resonating through the hall. Obviously he was more for the intimidation factor than anything else. She also heard the small dirty sink next to the head of her bed, dripping water into the clogged drain. Drip. Drip. Drip. This drove Konoha to getting up. She swung her legs over the side of, what she just realized, was a poorly made bed. That, or it was older than the room itself. Seeing as the bed wasn't going to getting repairs in it's future, she tore a bit of cloth off of it and stuffed it up the spout to stop the dripping. Upon doing so she noticed the increased effort it took to do so. Konoha stared at her hands in disbelief and thought that maybe she had been asleep longer than she thought and had morning grogginess. She stood up but, slumped back down onto the bed. Okay, definitely grogginess. She thought. She looked at the door to her room. Strangely enough there were bars on the door. Who puts bars on their.... She cut her thought short as she realized where she was. Putting together the pieces of the puzzle she knew she was in prison. Eh, not exactly what I was hoping for but, oh well. Konoha slumped back down onto the bed and tried to get comfortable. She then rolled over onto the floor and slept soundly until someone came to see/get her.

((OOC:Am I gonna be all lonely in here? lol.))

It was, perhaps, a few hours before anything of note would occur. At this point, a voice could be heard... with a strain, a clear conversation could be heard taking place:

"... Surprising that she would get a visitor at all..."

"Keep an eye on him..."

The reason for this conversation would become obvious in a moment, as Iko came into view on the other side of the bars, looking over at Konoha as if confirming that it was the same person that he had stopped earlier, mentally sighing as he did so, accompanied by a guard who tapped against a bar on the door to get her attention before taking a step back, not opening the door for this visit.

Of course, since Konoha was still sleeping or just getting up at that point, he didn't begin the conversation, but waited for her to acknowledge that he was there.

Konoha heard some speech but, did not take any note of it. Instead she curled up tighter on the floor and tried to go back to sleep. It wasn't until she heard the guard bang on the bars of her cell that she realized that she had a visitor. She lifted her head around and squinted behind herself and at the bars to see that she had a visitor. Of course, squinting was completely unnecessary as she was a vampire after all and the special seal on the prison couldn't prevent natural strengths. She saw that her visitor was Iko, the one who had been responsible for putting her where she was currently. With a grunt, that was necessary, she pushed herself off of the floor and stumbled over to the bars to speak. "Hi there. What brings you to my humble home?"

Iko sighed, as if expecting the response, yet still feeling the 'sting' of it. I never expected that she would do something like this... Iko thought to himself, looking away for a moment, before bringing his gaze back to Konoha's eyes, as if trying to gauge her expression, to see if there was guilt, or anything of the sort... for some reason, Iko wanted to convice himself that there was some just reason for what happenned, but it didn't seem that way, any way he looked at it...

"... Your 'trial' is coming up, and there is considerable evidence against you... still, I didn't think that it was right for them to just let you sit here and wither." As Iko said this, he withdrew a bag, a pint of blood, tossing it to Konoha in such a way that, even if she missed, it wouldn't break against the floor.

Konoha caught the bag as she flinched, not expecting things to be thrown at her. She shot him a look that said 'why'd you throw that at me!!' but quickly looked down as she felt the familiar feeling of a blood bag in her hand. She then looked back at him with intense curiosity. Why would he do this. It was illegal to aide criminals. She looked back at the bag and bit into it, allowing the blood to slide down her throat. She felt a renewed strength grow within her as the blood sustained her body. As she drained the bag dry of blood, not a hint of red left in it, she asked him. "Why did you give me this?" She handed the bag back to him in a way that the guards would not see. "You know it's illegal to help criminals."

"Oh, please, filing an offense against me for something like this isn't what that law refers to; they only say that to make sure that people know that you can't pass a prisoner a file... this would be nothing worse than a fine," Iko whispered back, stowing the empty bag away...

"Aside from that... its just that I really can't think of you as a criminal... no, I remembered you as that ninja who helped me stop Katsu, in whatever way you could," Iko sort-of explained, though not really getting to the point. "I know I'm not explaining this well... but I want you to think, what really matters to you? I guarantee you that you don't need to leave the village to find that answer. Trust me, I know there's nothing out there that will give you any better chance than the one you have with the village... it will be hard, but don't hate this place. That's all."

With that, Iko nodded to the guard, who began to lead him out... though the aftertaste of the blood would be noted as something of dog blood.

Iko's own blood...

Konoha replied quickly, disallowing him to leave just yet. "Hey, the only reason I was trying to get out of the village was because I'd have had a better chance of getting away from the authorities. I was going to come back once things settled down and I had a chance to really clean myself up. Obviously you're aware of what I am else you wouldn't have-" Konoha's thought was cut short as the after taste hit her mouth. Her eyes widened at the thought she had while doing this and sniffed at the air around Iko. "You didn't!? Did you? But, why? Why would you do that for me?" Konoha's previous thought was lost as she began to question Iko's motives. Though, it may have meant more to her than it did to him, she had to be sure.

Iko sighed as she figured out about the blood, and asked her about it... in truth, he wanted to say something else, but, considering the fact that she became a murderer... it became more difficult, especially in Iko's mind, to figure out what to say. He still felt something, but his heart was confused...

After a moment, Iko replied: "I did it because I wanted you to know that someone cares for you, despite what you are." It seemed a sincere statement, but it was all he could bring himself to say...

However, Konoha's still-innate ability to sense emotions would feel what he couldn't say. Love, yet confusion, mixed with the feeling of being betrayed... this was obviously quite difficult for him.

"Don't throw what you have away," Iko repeated, before striding off... probably leaving a quite confused, distraught figure in the cell...

Maybe... that will give her a reason to stay, to have hope for her own future. I hope so...

Konoha heard what he said and she couldn't stand any longer. Not because of the draining effect the prison had on it's captors but because her legs had turned to jelly. Not only had she inferred some level of caring but she clearly felt affection emanating from him. She had not expected this at all. She watched him go feeling his feeling of being betrayed as well. Now she would be faced with two choices. Lie in the courts to get home free, or completely tell the truth about what happened and risk being sent to jail for the rest of her life. As she thought about this, slowly making her way back to the position she was previously in, she found herself thinking, What would Iko have me do? She soon fell asleep with this thought in mind.

Konoha was awoken this time by a silent sound. Konoha jerked upwards as she heard the cry for Kenji. She knew the voice to be Katsumi's and so knew something was terribly wrong. She had control over this ability and would not broadcast her thoughts like this if something weren't wrong. Konoha got to her feet, a strange energy filling her, and she slammed herself against the bars of her cell as Kenji's name rang through her mind. "Let me out!!!" she screamed, "I must see the Hokage!! Come to me, you fools!!!! She is in grave danger!!" Though she would not be able to explain what danger she was in or how she knew, Konoha knew that it was imperative that she see Katsumi. Something was happening and she needed to be a part of it. The guards did not move as Konoha continued to scream at them. She performed seals for a variety of jutsu to prevail as the jail itself sucked the chakras out of her. She rattled the bars in agony until the cries for Kenji were cut short. Konoha froze with her hands on the bars as she slowly realized what had happened. Katsumi, Konoha's best friend, had died. Konoha slumped down against the bars, cutting her cheek along the way and wept.

Since Katsumi died, Konoha found herself spreading her ability to sense emotions even against the constraints of the jail. She was beginning to get used to the constant pressure on her abilities. She pressed out farther and farther until she was able to sense the entire village. This was not an easy task to accomplish and so she was in a constant state of meditation, seen as sitting cross legged on the floor with her hands on her knees. She felt all the turmoil in the village and found Satoshi, the small, brilliant young man that was a child of Katsumi's. Konoha was quite fond of this boy as she remembered the day they first met. She sat on the couch in Katsumi's secret room watching him read, commenting on the complexity of the book he held and amazed at his understanding.

Just as she was thinking on these fond memories, she lost him. Konoha searched every inch of the village she was able to from within the confines of her cell. She went onto a desperate panic, gripping tightly onto her knees, her nails digging into her flesh causing her to bleed. Konoha searched everywhere over and over again. "No." she whispered. "No, he was just there." her voice growing louder until she dropped her search and slammed her body against the bars once more. Just as she had while Katsumi was dying. "Satoshi!!! Something has happened to Satoshi!!!" She screamed as a woman who had lost her child to the cold hands of death. The guards knew of the change in power in the village and were well aware of Katsumi's death. They also took note of Konoha's previous episode and sent a guard to inform the Hokage.

In the meantime, Konoha threw herself around the confines of her cell. The guards were surprised at her strength from being confined so long. They decided it would be best to move her into a padded room so she could no longer harm herself. They opened the cell and while her strength was surprising she was still no match for the men as she had not drank since Iko's visit. They quickly over came her and put her into a straight jacket and threw her into the padded room.

Being constrained she decided to meditate on her emotional ability. She sat up off the floor and began to clear her mind. Then she attempted to expand it outside the room but, found that she could not. She pressed harder and harder, sweat forming on her brow until finally, she gave up. Something about this room was very different about the rest of the prison. As she could no longer observe the outside world with her ability, she laid down on the floor and slept.

Once her bruises had healed over, which took an abnormal amount of time to heal, she was transfered back into her original cell. Here she sat cross legged on the floor and spread her mind out to the village. She rarely paid attention to the prison itself as she was not interested in the many criminals that resided here. Instead she watched as a nearby woman of three children went to the market every day and visited the fish stand, then the bread stand, then the vegetable stand and so on. Until, she came to the blacksmith's stand. All the other women, Konoha noticed, would continue to walk by but, not this woman. She would stop here and after about ten minutes they would leave together. Once they did that their emotions ran wild. This happened so frequently that Konoha was now able to easily recognize when anyone in the village had sex. Konoha was intrigued as to what would push the woman to have sex with the blacksmith when her own husband, a book keeper at a local book store, was able to produce the same intensity from her. So, Konoha often watched this woman go through her day.

Konoha paid special attention to who was coming and going from the prison. She was waiting for Iko to come back, even if it were only for a few minutes, she desperately wanted to see him again. The emotion she felt from him had been her mind for a long time. She thought about what he had told her about there being someone who cared about her and not throwing that away. Even without her ability to sense emotion it was obvious what he had meant but, the added feelings of such a strong love shocked her. Then there was the feeling of being betrayed. Konoha felt terrible about this. She was often found weeping in her bed at night. In the morning her face was clean and she was sitting on the floor meditating once more. The only sign of the night's episode was the wet bed.

Konoha thought long and hard about Iko. As she was still unaware of his promotion, she thought of a simple life involving the two of them completing missions together and watching as Hokages rose and fell. Of course she would find a way to transfer her slowed aging process to him so that he would always be by her side. For the first time since her failed attempt with Katsumi, she felt loved.

Perhaps to Konoha's surprise, an ANBU member was approaching her cell, accompanied by two of the jail guards, one of them carrying cuffs that would surpress chakra focus to the hands, essentially making normal jutsu impossible. After a moment, making sure that they had the vampire's attention, the ANBU member explained the situation.

"The Hokage has decided to see your case personally, in his own office," the ANBU member explained, one of the guards undoing the lock on the cell door, which included both a deadbolt and a seal on the door, the undoing and removal of which caused it to quickly slide open. "He has requested that the three of us stand in on this investigation, both as witnesses to the testimony and to ensure the Hokage's safety. Of course, for a trial this irregular, you must agree to this. If not, you will be waited and tried normally."

The ANBU said this matter-of-factly, unaware of the pull that Konoha felt in her heart or the dis-ease that this could eventually bring. "Do you agree to these terms?"

Konoha opened one eyes as she heard the footsteps stop outside of her cell, giving the group a questioning look. Konoha sat through the anbu's emotionless explanation her situation. Konoha wasn't paying attention to the outside anymore as she now thought about who the new Hokage could be. That was one place she avoided peering into with her ability, not wanting to know who had replaced Katsumi. Konoha looked directly at the anbu and got up slowly, her weakened body nearly giving way under her weight. With the seal gone she was mostly supporting herself with chakras. Konoha didn't say anything as she held out her hands for the cuffs to be placed on her wrists.

With the cuffs on her wrists she slowly made her way to the office of the Hokage, unassisted by her escort. She must have looked terrible, or just as beautiful as when she went to jail, because people kept stopping to stare at her and a few actually started to follow them.