You can't spell stalker without you

A lots gone on in Mat's life rencently. He'd finally gotten his life on track, or at least he thought he had. He began working to strength himself to prepare for things to come. He even started making the appearance that he cared about the shogunate. Then something happened to him. He was blindsided by something he never expected. Not just something, but rather a woman. After that one night Mat couldn't get her out of his mind. Even while cleaning the brains of his opponent from the pit off his clothes she was running through his head. The problem was is after that night Mat thought it might be best to keep his distance from the woman, but that wasn't something exactly easy to do.

Mat wasn't a stalker but he did much prefer observing from a distance. Her name he pulled from records after finding out she was a member of the blades, and that alone posed some personal problems for Mat. Future plans involved the blades so perhaps he should investigate the reason why she never seemed to stop running around in his head. Still though, she wasn't the easiest to find. Mat found himself sitting on top of a building, over looking a plaza of a shoping district, waiting. Waiting to hopefully catch her walking through the streets. It would all be so much easier if he was able to observe her from this distance than going to look around the bars again. Plus if he did go look around the bars then he really would be a stalker.

Rika left a particularly shady looking shop and made her way through the streets. She wasn't really wearing her regular clothes. She was in a big grey hoodie that had dirt smeared on it, black leggings and boots. The hood was drawn and she kept her eyes downcast. It was practically impossible to tell who she was, and that's how she wanted it. For people to see her as she was now would destroy her. If there was anything left to be destroyed at least. The past weeks had blown by in a blur, the only thing that kept her close to reality was small fragments of memories, but it was impossible to make sense of them. One in particular was clearer than the rest but she still couldn't make sense of it, she had woken up in a strangers house afterwards though, with no trace of her activities the night before.

She continued slowly, a brown bag at her side. Somehow she managed to bump into someone on the street though and as she quickly tried to recover she tripped and fell backwards. Her hood came off and the bag hit the ground. The sound of glass shattering could be heard as a strong smelling liquor leaked from the bag. On top of that a needle and a small pouch fell out. She scrambled to pull the hood over and gather up her things but a couple people still saw it happen, one of which recognized her. "My god, and to think scum like you was given a place of leadership over us." he spat at her. Rika stood up and brushed herself off, trying not to show the wound he had inflicted. "This is too much for me, I need... to release." she thought as she scratched her arm and set course for her home. There was only one thing that made the pain go away now.

Mat's eyes were unique and a special thing. His vision was far from normal people's. In fact, to everyone else he might as well be blind. But Mat's eyes saw much more than a normal person's. He could see atoms vibrate, and how they moved through space. Through years of training and practice his eyes strengthened to the point that he could focus on their movements and make out general appearances or shapes. Details however posed a huge problem for him. Reading for instance took some serious concentration to make out any letters on paper. So searching from a high point was a long shot in the first place, but Mat had some other talents that helped him locate people with his eyes. A book held all his recorded information about her. About what he needed to see or smell or hear to locate her with his eyes. Then finally his pray came into sight.

Of course there. Mat said as he silently dropped from his perch and joined people walking down the streets. He didn't want to confront her at all. No he wanted to observe, but that became hard for him. Emotions were something Inakamono kept in check, but Mat never did have the best control over his rage. As the man spat at her and continued on his way, Mat bumped into him. Heel to the foot, shoulder to shoulder, hand to elbow. Really just a few simple taps as Mat apologized for bumping into him, but as he got but eight feet away, toes, shoulder and elbows would all simultaneously pop out of joint, causing the man to fall to the ground screaming in pain. The deed done, and Mat's target was evading him, so he continued on behind Rika keeping his distance.

Rika heard yelling in the distance but it didn't really faze her. Her condition was getting worse and worse and she started to have trouble even keeping her balance. She tried to focus on just getting home but it seemed impossibly far all of a sudden. How had she ended up here? Her misery in the various bars attracted lots of people. Some that thought they could fix her, some that were simply curious, some that wanted to smother her in their pity. One type in particular led her down this road, taking advantage of her to make some easy xel. It was a bad decision, she knew it was, but the pleasure promised from it was too enticing not to pass up. Then a deal was made and all of a sudden she wanted it all the time, it was the only thing that took the pain away. After the first week or two of drinking it just wasn't enough.

Rika stumbled into an alley, oh lovely another one. "I can't do this I need it now..." she mumbled to herself as she leaned back against the wall and slid down. She opened up the bag and pulled out a spoon and pulled something out of a little pouch and placed it in the spoon. Her hands shook as she put water in the spoon and put a lighter underneath it. She waited a moment before putting the lighter away and dropping a piece of a cotton ball into the spoon, trying her best to keep her shaky hands from spilling it. She reached into her bag again and pulled out a syringe, sticking it into the cotton and filling it up with the liquid. Tears were running down her face by this point as she stared at it with empty eyes and rolled up her sleeve.

Mat's travels lead him to a rather familiar place. Though it was a different location, simply seeing her sitting there in that small ally way was like a flash back to before. Mat's heart skipped a beat. Literally as he almost gasped for air the moment he realized it. Rage was always the problem, but this, this was far from rage. His heart took off like a prized horse at the races. He remained just outside the alleyway but his back slammed against the wall as he struggled to keep himself hidden from her, but felt that others was noticing his small panic attack. Thin finally, he peered around the corner at her again. Again his heart skipped a beat but this time his breath wasn't shallow but long. Calming in a way, but only because something else took over for him, as the tears rolled down her cheeks.

With virtually no hesitation, Mat found himself doing two things. The first would have adverse effects on everyone in the area, but something Mat did without caring what happened to those passing by on the street. The second, was to move into the alleyway. S-rank speeds caused him to nearly appear out of thin air and to her side. His right hand reaching softly down to take the syringe from her hand. Mat had seen the effects of this up close. He didn't know Rika past name and position, but that syringe was always the cause of tears. Holding the syringe in his hand Mat slowly took a seat next to Rika. "This will destroy you ya know." Mat said softly. It took a lot for him to muster up the ability to say anything, so he took a route that separated him from her. A route that was more distant than Your killing me while your killing yourself. "Give it a moment. If you don't feel the numb I'll give this back, but please. Just wait." Mat said getting softer and softer as he spoke. His Aura filling the tight space of the alleyway and escaping out into the street as well. His head turned to the road waiting for the first signs from those far weaker than an average shinobi.

Spoiler:

Rika's focus returned as she grasped the syringe firmly and brought it down to her arm, but then a presence appeared before her and grabbed it from her hand. Usually she would have reacted defensively as a kunoichi, but now her senses were clouded and she had hardly any energy. She looked up slowly at Mat and would seem to be extremely spacey as her slowed mind caught up to the situation. She looked at his face and instantly some of the memories of the past week came flooding through her head. Just broken pieces, she couldn't really make sense of it but she had definitely seen his face before in them. All she remembered of it was it was in a very similar setting to this one. The house that she had woke up in, it must have been his. She wasn't sure how she knew but it seemed to connect in her mind. She wanted to understand, the fact she couldn't even comprehend her own timeline was driving her crazy.

Rika reached up and grabbed him by the collar and pulled him toward her with what little strength she had. "Why was I in your house, why are you following me, and why-" and suddenly she remembered his hand outstretched towards hers, and then she grasped it, and a feeling of peace, the most peaceful she had felt in a long time. Convenient with the timing of the memory her mind suddenly slowed and felt more at ease. Rika released her grasp and let her hand fall to her side. "W-what do you want from me, I'm of no use to you." she said as she struggle to keep her focus and not drift off.

It was funny sitting her for Mat. Under normal circumstances this could have been an opening to use. The first step to something more. A blade, a name that he had thought for weeks he'd eventually have to cross off his list to complete what he set out to do, he like this. He could slit her throat and walk away without anyone knowing, and yet he couldn't. She held something over him that he didn't completely understand. Her strength fell from her and Mat could have taken that moment and crushed her skull against the wall, but as her arm started to fall his instincts took him to another place. He caught her arm and gently laid it across her lap, making sure she didn't crash completely. He needed to say something. He knew he did, but breath didn't seem to break through his vocal cords giving him the chance to. He sat there a moment longer, sitting beside her, waiting. Until finally he found his voice again. "No time for goodbye, he said, as he faded away..." Mat spoke softly and more to himself than to anyone else. "Don't put your life in someones hands, They're bound to steal it away..."

Rika's mind was in a daze as she sat there, the fact there was a stranger with her was a far off detail at this point. She looked at him hazily and listened to what he said. The shogun, the shogunate, everything. She had never wanted to even be a kunoichi but out of a sense of duty she gave her life to it. "But I've made so many mistakes. I just... wanna run, hide it away... My past is chasing me down." she said softly. "What do I have to live for? Put this poison in my body until it kills me? Rot away because I'm of no good to anyone?" she added she slouched over. Who even cared about her anymore. Her only good friends were Jasmine and Kimiko. Jasmine was off doing her own thing usually and running a business, Kimiko was busy with her studies and was old enough to not need Rika anymore. Nuibari began to feel like an anchor weighing her down and drowning her in her painful memories. She wanted to severe the chain, severe everything. "...Just kill me, please."

Just kill me. She asked for it. It was like the world telling Mat that is was finally time to get moving on his plan. The world however, wasn't in control here. The world wasn't the one with a grip around Mat's beating heart. Mat laid the syringe on the ground at his side furthest from Rika. Then something else happened that Mat would have never guess he'd do. He lifted an arm and laid it across Rika's shoulder and drew her closer. The enemy. A target. A body standing between him and the future. One who was even offering to end herself. Yet Mat's grip grew tighter, drawing her in the more he thought about all of that. No.. He thought plainly as he sat in silence a moment longer before speaking again. "Don't hide your mistakes, cause they'll find you. Burn you. Then he said." His words were soft but this time he spoke directly towards Rika. "If you want to get out alive. Run for you life." His final words grew even softer as his other arm wrapped around her.

As he reached out and touched her she felt a swarm of emotions at once. Everything hit her incredibly hard and she just leaned forward and buried her head in his chest. Completely in his grasp all she did was cry, harder than she had since this all started, she was just letting it all out. "Where? Where do I run? Where do I even go from here..." came her muffled voice from below. Why out of all people was this stranger here to be the one for her to cry on. After all the years and all the friendships she made, what was so special about this stranger that he appeared in her life just when she needed him the most? At this point her body started to go numb from Mat's aura and she lost feeling in most of it. She didn't really notice though as her mind was calming down at a considerable rate. Her tears stopping flowing and she leaned back and rubbed her red eyes.

A lump of sorts had formed when Mat entered the ally way with Rika, but it had softened as he had spoken to her. Talking was becoming easier but the tears thickened the air around them that cause Mat to nearly pull his hair out. Under normal circumstances he would have sung, danced, or even juggled the skulls of unborn children if it would have stopped the tears. In this case he was relying on his aura easing at least a piece of the pain in her heart. Hopefully that could stop them. The out of no where, she stopped. She straightened up and dried her eyes. Perhaps this was the time Mat needed to shine. "Anywhere." Mat said plainly, turning for the first time to get the clearest look he could at her. His blind eyes barely making out details of her face. At first he thought he'd finally be able to speak freely but he suddenly found the lump hardening again, and as the next words flowed from his mouth he felt like physically standing up and kicking himself. "I'd follow anywhere."

"Anywhere..... I'd follow anywhere." the words came out of his mouth but Rika took a moment to take them in, perhaps it was due to how slowly her mind was moving thanks to the hormones, but perhaps not. "Why? Why me follow me, why even be with me here now? I don't understand your motives." she said slowly. Above all else, he didn't make sense. If he wanted to kill her, he would have done it a thousand times over already, and there really wasn't any other reason a complete stranger would put themselves in his current position. "What makes you seem to care so much?" she asked finally. Rika tried to stand up and look less vulnerable but she came to realize it was in vain as she failed to maintain balance and slid back down the wall. Feeling dizzy she put her head in her hands to recover while she waited for his response.

Something here finally broke Mat again. It was worse than finally laying eyes on Yvette. Worse than killing himself. Worse than the beating he'd get from his master. He finally spoke the truth, or at least the truth to him. "I don't know." His words were plain and honestly probably would have killed the mood ever so slightly but Mat was speaking truthfully and without a filter, without even really realizing it. "You serve the shogunate. So you've seen situations where you just want to run in and protect someone, but I know that you can't always do that. More likely than not you in fact can't do that. And the only thing at this moment when there seems to be a pit in my chest that I feel compelled to do is protect and help you, but I can't. So I'll do the next best thing. I'll follow." Mat said mostly trying to rationalize to himself but speaking out loud. Never the less he continued on. "Tumu should be here. Not one for needles to quell my issues. But that would prove more issues than not." He said continuing at this point to talk completely to himself. He picked up the needle and looked at it a moment. "Nope just can't do it." Mat said tossing it back to the ground and putting his foot on it. "Never seems to be an escape for me in these situations." He said turning to look back at Rika. "I don't know why." He said plainly directed at her. This was the first time he intended to speak out loud. "It just seems like something I can do, rather than trying something I can't do. Just like I'm not going to stop you if you still want that. I'll just be here for now. Hopefully sort this out for myself in the mean time."