In the Valley of the Shadow of Death

[Rhap Sodos]

Izzy was quite content to follow dutifully in Haryuki's foosteps, taking solace in the easy pace and relaxed posture that Haruyuki was demonstrating. He had no reason to doubt that the Hisame was in complete control of the situation, and like always the young Kiri-nin would blindly follow. After the loud and desperate moments of the fight, he found the empty silence unnerving, which might explain why he was following perhaps a little closer than what was necessary, but the Namikaze couldn't help but feel safe when with his mentor. 

 

"What is that?" Izzy would ask quietly, almost nervously as he spotted the golden light in the direction of travel. He wasn't sure why he was nervous, but there was something about this situation that simply called for. The tall boy didn't have might of a fighter's spirit or instinct, and he trusted Haruyuki explicitly, but there was no denying the wrongness of the situation. The silence, the absence of people - a quiet solitude that Izzy hated that was suddenly shattered as booming voice, a voice far to loud to be human sounded through the night, loud enough to cause Izzy to yelp and cover his ears, his minding fighting the terrible, horrible thought that it sounded an aweful lot like Raz. 

 

“Get down, stay low.”

 

Izzy froze, swallowed hard, and nodded. His expression was probably pained - there was something in the tone of Haruyuki's voice that let him know that something was wrong, that the Hisame was going someplace dangerous, and he would have to leave his young student behind. There was no relief in that, not with Izzy's belief that he was safest with Haruyuki, that it was easy to feel brave and finding meaning in the need to fight if there was someone there beside him that said he did well, but Izzy wouldn't argue, and would only allow himself a moment of hesitation before he listened. 

 

Ducking off to the side, Izzy would sit, folding his legs as his brow furrowed in worry, eyes closed and his lips caught between his teeth as he got down and stayed low. "Please," Izzy whispered, the fear of the unknown beginning to gnaw at him, the fear of not knowing what Haruyuki was up to, the uncertainty of who or what the voice and shadowed creature in the sky was. He wasn't even sure who he was pleading to, only that he needed to say, need the words to be real. Please let them be safe. Please let this not be Syaoran's fault. Perhaps it was childish to duck away, to avoid trying to reason with the shadowy not-Raz that he glimpsed above the city, to deny placing the blame on a likely culprit because the Namikaze admired him, to sit down and be quiet and let the adults deal with it. Get down, stay low. He had to trust Haruyuki, had to trust Raz, and Syaoran. He had to believe that at the end of the day he wasn't going to find himself alone in this foreign and deserted land. 

[Eechi-go]

The corrupted Raz would immediately extend his arms out, harnessing a great deal of chakra to pull the Kusanagi out of the ground and back towards him, as well as the Kaitou no Totsuka that Korin was wielding prior to her petrification.  Gusts of wind violently swept the weapons up, delivering one to each of his hands. He'd grip them tightly, causing a somewhat deranged smirk to fall over his face, almost as though he was entirely too pleased with the situation. A crazed chuckle would escape his throat, but this time Raz's could not be heard. It was only the Gobi now.

 

"Rasen is gone now. You'll have to excuse me for that slip up."

 

The Gobi would gaze down at Haruyuki as he snaked his way up into the air through Raz's now sharpened eyes. He made no attempt to gain anymore altitude with his wings, now did he show any hesitance at the Hachinin's approach. It was rather clear that, while the beast in Raz's body was calm and collected, he was also incredibly suspicious of Haruyuki's attempt to get closer to him. Yet, when he and Sato both attempted to dissuade him from slaughtering the rest of the survivors in the village, the beast couldn't help but rear its neck back before barking out a howl of laughter. Whatever they did certainly hit the Gobi's funny bone. Still, the humor would have worn off quickly as his expression quickly switched to minor irritation.

 

"Watch your tongue, Hisame child. I am not my weakling brother, Isobu. Nor am I ignorant to the going-on's of Kusagakure no Sato. My eyes have been trained to be eternally vigilant since my imprisonment in Lorien. But I care little for the scraps and brawls of humankind. My freedom is my only concern, and it would be unwise to enlighten you with that information. The longer your villages fight and struggle in a desperate panic to find the perpetrator, the higher my chances of maintaining my freedom are."

 

Haruyuki would likely know that the Gobi was talking about the Sanbi, and there was truth to his words. The tails of a demon were generally used to discern their power, and the Gobi had two tails on his lesser brethren. It was not surprising that he saw himself as superior. The demon never relinquished control of the swords, but he also made no attempts to swing them despite Haruyuki finally ascending to his current plane. Rather than keep his eyes on Haruyuki, he would instead look down at Korin's petrified state.

 

"You humans see my kind as nothing more than weapons to be used during times of war. And when the wars end you are content to simply lock us back up and deny us our freedom no matter how willingly we fought alongside you. For one hundred years I have been imprisoned in that temple, watching...waiting...planning my escape. The Harakage had excellent intuition by attempting to improve the seal on my domain, but it seems as though she had forgotten my contingency in the form of her dear husband..."

 

The Gobi would extend the Kusanagi forward, beginning to channel his corrupt chakra through the blade's edge. All of a sudden, every single person in the village would find it incredibly difficult to breathe. It would be paralyzing- even painful, almost as though their oxygen was slowly being sucked out from their lungs. The daranged smirk would appear on Raz's face yet again, a dark chuckle echoing out from the back of his throat.

 

"How simple it would be end all of your miserable lives right here and now. With a snap of my finger I could expand the oxygen in your lungs and blow open your torsos, or perhaps tear the air out from your lungs until you die a slow, painful death from asphyxiation."

 

Despite the Gobi's threats, the group would suddenly feel air returning to their lungs at a normal rate, no longer being torn out from them. The beast's chuckle would suddenly come to a halt as he'd lower the Kusanagi back to his side, looking back down at his subjects who dwell in the deadened lands of Kusagakure. At this moment, he was the ruler of these lands.

 

"Still, never let it be said that Kokuō no Gobi lacks a merciful soul. Despite my utter contempt for your kind, this could not have been accomplished without the help of the emotional stress you all unanimously threw onto Rasen's shoulders. Between your bickering, whining, and outright asinine behaviors, you finally allowed me to push past the control he had on his emotions. For that, not only will I only grant you the permission to continue living your disgusting lives, but I will also give you the key to your psychosis!"

 

With speed that was practically untraceable to the human eye, the Gobi drew both the Kusanagi and the Kaitou no Totsuka with relative ease, channeling his dark chakra into both of their blades. A burst of black feathers exploded out from his wings that would fill the air and end up obscuring everyone's view of Raz's body as both swords were cast out in opposite directions. Once the swords reached opposite ends of the village, they began spinning around and around the circumference of the village. Considering their relative distance from the edges, no one would be able to see what the blades were doing until a sickeningly black tornado began to encompass the outside of the village. Not only would this tornado block any attempts at foreign chakra being used within the eye of the storm, but it would also cause all the air inside the tornado to become corrupted with the genjutsu-ladened blade of the Kaitou no Totsuka.

 

No one could escape that genjutsu that the Gobi was attempting to cast over the village. Even if anyone picked up one what was wrong with the air, it was only a matter of time until they'd have to breathe it in unless they planned on suffocating themselves. Any use of chakra would have immediately been suppressed by the Gobi's own corrupt source, which inevitably created an infallible trap for everyone to fall into. The Gobi waited patiently until he sensed that every single person had fallen victim to his genjutsu before he made any further moves. Once he was certain his plan had gone into effect, he'd begin performing an extremely long stream of handseals. All of Raz's chakra would be relocated all to the single point on his back where the cursed seal laid.

 

.:Gyaku Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!:.

[Reverse Summoning Technique]

 

 

The chakra that formed at Raz's cursed seal would suddenly burst outward, filling the air with a thick white cloud of smoke that seemingly poured endlessly from his spine. However, as the smoke leaked out from his body, it seemed as though Raz's consciousness would slowly begin to reclaim his body...which would evidenced by the loud cry of pain that came from this technique's release. This would continue until the smoke cloud completely escaped him, causing his body to seize up and plummet towards the Harakage's tree stump. As this happened, the cloud of smoke would begin to take shape, taking the physical form of the Gobi.

 

Raz's body would hit the tree with a resounding 'thud', landing directly ontop of one of his wings which crushed it and forced another cry of pain to escape his lips. He'd tense suddenly, attempting to regain his senses without getting sick, but he'd be quickly caught off-guard by the Gobi looking directly at him with an unflinching gaze.

 

"What...!? Aren't you....going to....trap me too!?" Raz yelled out at the bijuu, knowing full well what the Gobi did to ensure his freedom. The demon would merely rear its head back to let out a deafening cackle in response.

 

"For you, there is no worse reality than the one you currently exist in- no dimension in which you have failed in such a monumental fashion."

 

With a flick of his tails, the Gobi would end the black tornado instantaneously, directing both of the swords used in its construction directly at Raz's wings, presumably to keep him pinned. The blades stabbed straight through to the bark, causing Raz to become wracked with a pain that almost threw him into unconsciousness. With bitter, pained eyes he would look upon the massive beast who had turned its back on him, saying one final thing before galloping away at incredible speeds. There was no catching this demon now.

 

"Our debts are even. Pray we do not meet again."

 

1,434 Words

14,771Total

 

 

((Alright, in the interest of time I'm going to try and wrap this up quickly. The following threads have three genjutsu each, and the characters labeled are the ones they apply to. If you do not see your thread yet, it is because I am still writing it but they should all be posted by tonight. Note that I will not be making a genjutsu for people who have been completely inactive in this thread, but anyone I skip over is welcome to PM me if they're still interested in getting a genjutsu.

 

Everyone gets ONE post to respond to the Gobi's genjutsu in the corresponding threads, and only ONE week to respond as of today. If you do not respond, your character is assumed to be knocked unconscious by the sheer strength of the Gobi's genjutsu, and you will have to be dragged home. After your response, I will post again with the Gobi to see if you have sufficiently impressed him enough to be set free.

 

Currently completed threads-

 

Lunacy; Haruyuki, Izzy, Sato.

Crazed: Yue, Ren, Lilina

Phobic- Mizujin, Terrick, Kikuya, and Midori))

Edited March 2, 2013 by Eechi-go

[Cloudnine]

The magnolias upon Korin’s lonely throne shuddered violently as the gales picked up. They trembled, struggling to maintain their weak and fragile home upon the gnarled wooden arches until breaking point came and all at once, their pale stalks were cleanly plucked to scatter into the winds. The hounoki blooms swirled in a forlorn waltz as they dashed wildly away from the Harakage’s tree. Hope, too, departed with the flowers’ passing. Kusagakure stood lifeless on the outside again.

Kikuya’s perspective gave little visual entertainment as she squinted up at the fallen tree. Her sensory abilities were beginning to return, but even their diminished state was enough to register the immense chakra presence emanating from that site. While her eyes registered a golden speck, the woman’s recovering mind was nearly once again overwhelmed into blindness. It was like looking to the sun and wincing into its dazzling glare, except there was no option to close her sensory abilities. The exchange upon the Harakage’s tree was short-lived however, as the concentrated light sank through the tree’s roots, and Kikuya felt it surge underground and travel downwards to the untraceable heart of the earth. The sensation was something the jounin likely never forgot. A feeling of love never known before, one of laughter eternally bubbling over on dewy summer barefoot nights. So tender that it almost made Kikuya wretch. Jealousy overcame her in a fit of anger- how dare this presence be given such a blessed life? Hope, love, and nurturing were alien to the deprived sound eater- born out of a pragmatic union between clan leader and a common whore to be stolen away as an experiment by the NCIA to be called a number instead of a name for years, the very idea of the shadow of love was something Kikuya loathed, feared, and spit on.

And so, it was almost a relief as a demonic aura filled the area. The calamity of conflict brought almost a comforting and familiar mantle. It was a shadow Kikuya hid in and thrived in, sheltered so completely against light’s searing rays. Even still, Kikuya scrambled for rubble to take cover behind as the mutated possession of Raz took to the skies. Unlike Sato and Haruyuki, Kikuya had little to say to confront the sennin of her village. She held no bonds to him, not even a shared pride in Otogakure. All Kikuya foresaw was nothing would go well from here on out. Raz’s booming voice shook the blackened rubble of the village, and the sound eater devoured the entirety of the voice’s amplitude. The power she absorbed was immense, surpassing the net effects of Terrick’s healing jutsu. Her body quickly replenished to an extent as her burns faded in severity and the slashes across her throat ceased oozing the unusually dark blood of the Hagemasu. She shivered from the sensation and quietly asked, “god damn. We fighting that too?”

Still operating under the assumption of ‘if it’s demon it’s dead,’ Kikuya used her heightened sensory abilities to attempt to examine the properties of this demon’s possession. Raz naturally had affinity with manipulating wind, and it seemed the Gobi trumped even skillful Kikuya in genjutsu. Kikuya’s two-pronged expertise in physical arts and illusionary arts were too split to challenge those powers, and the rest of the shinobi present on the field were incredibly worn, and out of commission in the Hokage’s situation. So, calculating as ever, the jounin gave up on confrontation and sought an easy avenue of escape. Even with heavy gales, if Kikuya assumed her pure sound form and traveled rapidly through the ground of the village, she could easily-

Thoughts of escape and all other thoughts halted abruptly as the woman’s heart threatened to burst. It throbbed so hard her eyes shook wildly. It seemed to linger for an eternity, but mere seconds later Kikuya was scrambling to her feet again, not even knowing she’d collapsed. Whether Gobi’s unwillingness to fight was amnesty or even greater malice, Kikuya knew not and grimly watched, fully knowing her powers were dwarfed by all going-ons.

[Azure]

When he opened his stinging eyes, a teary brightness was before him.  It was a sky hued with the seams of several colors intertwining and breaking into distinct patterns.  Colors of reds, blues, greens, oranges, yellows, purples and colors that had yet to be named by humans.  It was a realm he had never seen before and as he looked down, he saw no ground, nor sea or trees.  There were no sun or clouds, but there were shifting patterns and moving color, light in some areas and dark in others.  A sunburst was knit in the sky and spiral was below.  What was more, Yatako realized he was running- and running towards a mass of gold and blue surrounded by daggers of teal.  
 

“Damnit Sy, I’m not going to lose you too.”

 
He heard himself say while springing en route towards the mass.  To hear the Hokage curse was rare indeed, he rarely let profanities slip his tongue unless the situation called for it.  Profanities often muddled speech and he found them to be unrefined and unarticulated, which must have been the old roots of Hyuuga in him.  All he could remember was the frustration he felt when considering the fact that everyone close to him ended up in the grave.  Shin, Gensai, Azumi, Silvana along with half dozen other names that he grew to know well and then they were gone.  Deep down, Yatako realized the he and Syaoran paralleled on their sense of duty.  If they could take the weight of responsibility of another’s shoulders, they would and they felt inclined to do just that.  Of course, that made for some pretty terrible life choices.  
 

‘If the time comes where you do need to step in that you do’

 
The voice was entirely Syaoran, without the bleeding effect of the bijuu lacerating his voice.  It was obvious though he was trying to contend with the demon although his success rate was questionable.  “You’re the Hokage, you’re supposed to rule this country, not chase your friends.”  It was a chanting voice, yelling at him from somewhere in between the colors.  Some of the voices sounded similar, others were voices he had never heard before, but the drilled into him.  “Why can’t you see I’m fighting for the same thing? We didn’t make an alliance just to turn out back when it got difficult!” He yelled in return, angered that people failed to understand that.  He was fighting for Konohagakure by fighting for Iwagakure.  As long as the Tsuchikage was in danger, so was his country that was allied with them.  There were many good shinobi who would defend the Leaf until their dying day, putting their village above all.  But who was willing to put humanity above its pride? 
 
He stopped and turned, seeing now the footfalls of several hundred people racing after them.  They carried weapons, flickered with chakra and held the bands of several shinobi villages.  It seemed they were working together, against them.  He could feel himself turning to face them, dropping into a fighting-
 

• • • • • • •

 

Yatako began to cough profusely after having the air sucked out of his lungs.  The minor asphyxiation was just enough of a nuisance to cause him to jerk about on the ground and yet he still didn’t wake.  He merely rolled over a bit, revealing the shining crest on his gauntlets.  They steadily adjusted the amount of airflow near him, since they were fused with wind chakra that seemed to be enough to get him back into a content sleep.  
 

• • • • • • •

 

Kokuo no Gobi loved weakness in this world

 
Darkness is what he saw, with the encroaching words of something preening through.  It was a strange sensation and unlike the other dreams.  It felt as though he was watching, from the outside and even though a large voice spoke above him, it was directed away from him.  “Gobi? How many bijuu am I going to have to meet?” He had met quite a few in his life already.
 

Isobu take control of your own life
 could have stopped this.
Sharingan spill the blood

 
His vision became warped as the darkness peeled away to an onslaught of voices and images running into each other like a train wreck.  First he saw a picture of three Hachinin: Raz, Korin and Haruyuki followed by a switch to a man in Mizukage robes being stabbed.  Followed by that was a scene in the Valley of the End where two hunter-nin were in pursuit of someone and then bursting into that picture was the mountain of the Hokage.  The world was spinning about him like a kaleidoscope prison as the Hokage became more aware.  As his awareness sharpened, the messages he heard dulled.
 

epitome of weakness cannot bring yourself to kill
pride in their body   inadequacy forbidden knowledge 
 Terrick contact with during call yourself

 
The world washed into a sea of red that devoured his sight.  The sea lowered to form a table and two chairs were a couple of lovers were sitting, eating a dinner together each dripping of the red sea.  Coiled beneath them was a five tailed demon.  He could feel his body become slightly nauseous, like he was spinning in a whirlpool.  Genjutsu.  With a force of will, Yatako released his Byakugan, instantly cleaving a hole into the grand scheme, but not enough to wake him from his sleep.  The voices were booming as loud as ever, but the words became garbled, the images were fading.   
 

in your unable naivete and apologetic Kumo
abuse truth comes  indm  urdens
stery and irrational e loik
havou Kage re yha even know

 
Eight tails ripped across his vision, unveiling a village in war.  Splotches of darkness and brightness filled the streets in a random array that was far from natural.  People were forming into one another and he thought he could see the face of Jishin, although he had the body of a woman and a midget’s corpse was attached to one of his legs.  A cloak was floating in the air without a body and two eyes were in the sky.  One was a copper color; the other was merely white like a hole was punched through the sky.  Streams of white haze tore through the village like seams coming apart.  Then a final voice tore through the sky, complete and whole and filled with aged care.
 

“You must awaken, Son of Wantentei.”

• • • • • • •

 
Yatako’s eyelids slid open to reveal a real world of churning wind.  His Byakugan was fully alive and tearing through the illusions that were plastered on the others.  His skin felt like it was made of lead and his mouth was dry but aside from that his nap had warranted the energy to function like a typical human once again.  He still felt like he needed a shower and a better bed sometime soon, but he couldn’t shake the strange dreams he was having.  Perhaps it wasn’t called the Land of Grass without explicit meaning, even though all of it was dead.  Perhaps the smoke fumes…he shook his head and promptly sat up and laid one of his hands into an odd impression.  He jerked and then scanned the strange impression that looked like...a hoof print? Observing more, he saw a whole array of the hoof prints lathered around his body like some horse was prancing about majestically while he slept.  His initial inclination was to check on Mizujin, of which he appeared to be sleeping with a dark green chakra around him.  “Wake up!” He called, but to no avail, at least not to what he could observe.  Before he could reach out to wake the man, he had the thought that perhaps Gobi would swallow his mind whole if he sensed interference.  It was a risk he’d have to take and pray his ANBU guard woke up soon.  Several pools of the dark energy were lapsed around what he surmised to be the others of the party.  They had all befallen such an atrocity, of which he thought he only caught a glimpse of.  If it was anywhere near what he experienced, Yatako prayed they would hold fast their hope and pull through.  Humans weren’t done just yet.
 
It was at that he could see the trail of the green chakra ride off into the distance and in a mere blink, its trace was gone.  With near 360 degree vision, he easy spotted Raz, but almost disregarded him, due to the minimal chakra he was displaying.  Were he a less honed shinobi, stumbling upon Raz would have been an accident and from the looks of it, one Raz couldn’t afford.  Without another word, the Hyuuga set off on a sprint, moving past the wearing ache on his feet.  Surely blisters would develop soon.  It hadn’t taken long to meander to the tree and over the rubble that had devastated the quaint village of Kusagakure no Sato.  There was once a tale of similar happenings in Hi no Kuni, where a town was incinerated leaving nothing but ash.  Arriving, he wasn’t certain is Raz was awake or had fallen unconscious, but he looked worse for the ware.
 

“Raz, my friend.  You make hell look joyful.  Hold just a moment.”

 
The comment was, of course not meant to remind him of his passed wife, but rather examining the state of his body.  It was the worst state the Hyuuga had ever seen Raz in and it was probably the worst state he had ever been in.  It was gruesome and bloody, but there was little time to stand in awe of the horror and beauty of the functioning human body.  Stranger still were the pair of wings, but they were naught a stranger to a curse seal, most likely feeding from the demon since the residual energies were similar.  The what, why and how were irrelevant now, except for curiosity’s sake.  To see an Otogakure ninja with a curse seal was also little surprise, due to their immense ties to the Shodai Kyoukage.  The name of Orochimaru stretched further than rumor as Yatako reached in for the first sword stuck in the onyx wings.  
 
The sword looked special by rights, but simply glancing at a sword couldn’t determine its status among the legendary, but to a Hokage this sword tugged at his psyche.  This was no ordinary sword, for it was wielded by the Nuke-nin Sannin to slay the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.  To see the execution weapon here, to hold its hilt in his hand was hardly what one would call accidental.  A karmic fitting, one could argue.  Yatako was well versed in Konohagakure lore and history, spending nightly hours pining over texts and scrolls while Zelfie spelt and he needed a distraction from thinking of his late wife.  Those twilight hours awarded him much knowledge.  Were he not aware that the blade could be used for beneficial means against the yokai, he may have plotted to destroy the sword in honor of the late Sarutobi.  Alas, redemption could be made by swords too.  With a tug, the famed blade came let loose from the bark and fell softly, crunching the dead grass at the base of the Harakage Tree.  He repeated the measure for the second sword, which was releasing a great amount of yin energy but never bucked back at the Hokage.  It too fell to the ground. “Easy, easy.”  He whispered as he wrapped his arms around Raz’s body, preventing the man from falling.  Assisting Raz to the ground near the blades, Yatako took a seat next to the man, drained of too much mental energy to remain alarmed at those still under possession. 
 
 

“This beats out Fang, surprise-wise.  How do we wake them?”

 

 

[12215]

[Eechi-go]

A tranquil fury was building in Raz as he watched the Gobi flee the remnants of the village, his fists balled up and squeezed tight, causing blood to ooze from the spiral wound on his palms and around his forearm. The sadness and despair that came from Korin's death was all being funneled into an intense anger at the Gobi despite the beast clearly having no hand in the village's destruction.  A good deal of this anger likely stemmed from the cursed seal, but the combination of everything in the world crushing him underfoot was getting to him. His hands stretched out weakly to try and grab the swords that were stabbed into his wings, but alas, they were only slightly out of his grasp, and he couldn't sit up any with his wings pinned to the bark like this.

 

“Raz, my friend.  You make hell look joyful.  Hold just a moment.”

 

A slight twinge of panic flew through his mind as he heard those words, watching the beat down Hokage make his way towards him. In any other circumstance he probably would have been relieved, but considering how he was still incredibly suspicious of everyone involved in this battle, he couldn't help but feel as though Yatako was going to take his chance to try and finish him off now that he was disabled. His hands inactively went to create hand-seals, but he'd stop as he watched Yatako bull the blades from his wings, causing a sharp hiss of pain each time. He fell into Yatako's embrace with a grunt, before plopping onto the ground next to the man, his breath heavy as he tried to make sense of everything that had happened.

 

"This is nothing like Fang...this is a massacre." Raz said, his voice a bit harsh and weak. "There are ghosts that still linger in this place restlessly looping their actions over and over. Nothing in this village will find peace in death. Especially..." Raz's head would lean back against the tree so he could look up to where Korin and the rest of his team still stood. Her technique likely left her in a state of eternal purgatory. He doubted that she would ever find peace, and that doubt tore him apart. Refusing to just sit here while the rest of the people in this village were tortured by the Gobi's genjutsu, Raz picked up both of his blades as he got back to his feet. Thankfully Korin's healing had given him the strength to stand and walk, but even now he could feel is consciousness slipping away. He had to release this genjutsu before he passed out.

 

"Techniques won't work. This demon's genjutsu can turn people comatose. I'll disrupt this with...Korin's sword."

 

Raz would twirl the blade in his hand to reveal its shifting form to Yatako, before beginning to limp his way towards the village to seek out those who were trapped by the genjutsu, not paying much attention to whether or not the Hokage was following him. It was clear the man had no intentions on killing him...yet, so he would not be overly paranoid about his presence at the moment. As Raz approached each trapped shinobi, he'd rear the Totsuka blade back, before slicing its ethereal blade through their skull. The sword would not injure them in the slightest, but it would completely disrupt the genjutsu that altered the chakra flow in their minds. It wouldn't take more than a few seconds for them to break free from the illusion on their own. This would continue until he came upon Sato's unconscious body.

 

Instead of immediately freeing the boy from his genjutsu, Raz stood over his body with an unflinching glare, listening to the pitter-patter of raindrops beating on the ground as he tried to decide what to do with this one. There was no doubt in his mind that Kumogakure had a hand in this. There was no way an agent of Jishin just happened to be here when the village had been destroyed. No one would mind if he was slaughtered here, and it might even deal a serious blow to the Raikage to lose one of his more prized companions. Rather than raising the Kaitou no Totsuka, Raz instead brandished the Kusanagi, flicking it out before pointing the tip of it directly at Sato's throat. It was sharp enough to draw the slightest hint of blood. Raz's red and orange spiral eyes fumed with anger and hatred, yet as he reared the blade back with intent to slit the young man's throat, he would be stopped suddenly by an echo of a memory in his head.

 

"Live life unbound, Raz. Celebrate the good memories, and don’t be burdened by the bad. The kindness you saw in me- I see it in you too. There is nothing the virtues of my heart can do that you can’t."

 

"Damn it..." A quiet sob would escape the man's throat as he retracted the blade, rearing his neck back so he could look up at the black clouds in the sky. "You'd better be eternally grateful to her..." The Hachinin would mutter to the unconscious Sato, followed by him using the Totsuka blade to release him from his genjutsu.

 

With that, all that remained was his team at the top of the remnants of the Harakage's Tree. His wings were far too damaged to fly on their own, so he would have to use the Kusanagi to fly up to the top. His flight was weak and disorienting, almost falling to earth a couple of times due to the lack of control he had over his body. Once he did finally make it to the top, he'd stumble, nearly falling face-first into the tree trunk. Brandishing the Kaitou no Totsuka yet again, he'd slice through the genjutsu in each of his team's minds, freeing them from their genjutsu. His vision began to blur once more now that he had completely exhausted himself, but he realized now that Gamabunta no longer remained in the village. His team needed a way to get home, so he'd have to push himself just a little bit harder to ensure they had proper transportation. Rubbing his thumb along the bloodied spiral wound, Raz would funnel the remaining chakra he had to summon a transport toad, before promptly falling backwards and landing on his wings yet again. And as his eyes began to close for the final time before he completely passed out, Korin and her throne would be all he could see. A hand extended into the air in an attempt to reach her petrified body, but he was too weak, and the cursed seal transformation was beginning to fade, draining him of whatever remnants of chakra that was keeping him going. As his appearance began to shift back to normal, Raz would mutter out one more thing before resting completely unconscious at Korin's feet-

 

"Let me lay beside you...one last...time...."

 

1,161 Words

15,932Total

 

((Aaaand its over. After I post in your respective genjutsu threads, feel free to post yourselves waking up in this thread and remember to tally up all of your words, including what you earned from the Genjutsu thread. Then its time to start heading home!))

Edited March 9, 2013 by Eechi-go

[Rhap Sodos]

The young Namikaze would squeeze his eyes shut at the words, his breath coming in short sharp gasps as his body's instinct to survive prevent the boy from simply giving in to his despair. Never even, never good enough... Be it strength of arms or strength of will, the young Kiri-nin was no match for his Oto relation. I'm sorry... Izzy wasn't even sure who he was apologizing to, or why - His family, his friends, even the Gobi found reason to be disappointed in him, found cause to add another mark of failures to a list that reached back a lifetime. I just wanted.... The hand that held Izzy released him, letting the boy sink back into the ocean of blood. At this point, death would be a release. A welcome escape, even if all he faced was oblivion. Strange, that out of everything Izzy feared in life, death was not one of them. Death was easy, when compared to living. I tried... He could feel the disappointed look that Raz/Gobi was giving him, even as he sunk deeper and deeper into the abyss. 

 

Next time, Izz'. You'll get it next time.

 

Izzy's mind went blank. 

 

---

 

As Raz and the Kaitou no Totsuka cut through the genjutsu that held the tall Kiri-nin's Genjutsu, Izzy's body would slump forward like a puppet robbed of it's strings. He was exactly where Haruyuki had left him, tucked to the side and out of the way, though his body didn't awaken now that it was free. His breathing was slow and shallow, his pulse erratic, but he did not stir. Freed though he was of the Gobi's influence, Izzy's mind had retreated far away from the waking world, seeking whatever peace the oblivion of unconsciousness would give him. Chances were good that the boy would not be waking up anytime soon, and would once again have to rely on Haruyuki or one of the other survivors to whisk him away to safety.

Word Count: 7663

Edited March 7, 2013 by Rhap Sodos

[1Q84]

Yue wasn't sure if the tailed beast could see him or see his thoughts or emotions or what but the Gobi's words brought a shit eating grin to Yue's face as though being told being stuck somewhere between stubborn and stupid was a good thing. Yue was mostly just happy knowing that he managed to piss the thing off. He didn't even notice the dull pain of the Gates having been experiencing it the whole god damn day but it didn't take long for that shit to get a lot worse and Yue wasn't sure if this was supposed to be some sort of lesson or foreshadowing of the damn beat tearing his mind and body to shreds because it was tired of arguing with Yue but Yue clenched his jaw and bared his teeth in a silent snarl stupid and defiant to the last. He wouldn't let this thing hear him cry out in pain or beg for him to stop but apparently it had one last taunt that was enough for Yue to jerk his body or whatever the hell he was back in surprise.

Wait, wha-

Yue wasn't even able to finish the sentence as he suddenly found himself sprawled on the ground back in Kusa. Some of the pain that he had felt burning through his muscles in that dream or mindfuck or whatever the hell had just happened wasn't entirely in his head seeing as he had pushed his body far too hard these past couple of days and every god damn thing hurt at this point. "Oh, fuck me." Yue groaned trying to pull himself back to his feet and only managing to pull himself up onto one elbow trying to wrap his mind around what the hell just happened.

Was it even real? And what was that bullshit about his father anyways? He spent almost twenty god damn years without sight or sound of the asshole and now every time he turned around some new weird ass fuck was talking about him. Like Yue gave a damn. He had bigger things to worry about right now then whoever the hell his father was or what kind of person he was and whether or there destined meeting was ever going to happen. At least that's what Yue told himself and refused to think differently as he tried to find something that didn't hurt to do. At the rate Yue had been going he wasn't quite he'd live out the week or the night so might as well focus on living and getting the hell out of here before he figured out what the hell that four-legged fish was going on about. Maybe he'd just have to track that damn thing down and beat a real answer out of him, show him just how stupid and stubborn Yue was willing to be.

Looking around he saw that Ren and Lilina were still there and breathing which was a relief before he caught sight of a red toad sporting goggles just sitting there waiting. "Oh, let me fuckin' guess." Yue groaned still not quite feeling like he could manage standing on two feet but that didn't mean he was going to look forward to another experience of rapid toad transit. It did mean one thing and sure enough Yue saw Raz now back to normal or as normal as that crazy-eyed fuck ever got collapsed by the body of his wife. Yue knew that he should probably feel sad but selfish son of a bitch that he was he was glad to see that Raz had somehow made it through this and even managed to summon the toad before collapsing. "Guess I ain't draggin' you back from hell after all." Yue muttered knowing that once they were back in Oto they would all probably need time to heal and recover and get their shit together after a night like tonight but they weren't there yet.

"Oi, rollcall. Everybody still in one piece, or close to it?"

[Terrick Sukrai]

Terrick groaned as he rolled his head from side to side.  "F***er always has to have the last word..." he muttered, just lying there for a moment as he breathed.  His healing jutsu had apparently done some more work while Gobi had kept him under, and now it was in the midst of a post-healing feeling of endorphin rush.  To put it simply, Terrick just wanted to lie there and maybe sleep for a bit.  Unfortunately, his conscience was a nattering old grand-nan who wouldn't tolerate his laziness in such a case.

 

Pushing himself up to his kness, he shook his head as he looked over the others with him.  "Alright, how many are still able to walk?" he called out to the assorted shinobi.  "And please tell me it's more than half of you, because I am NOT carrying this many people around the entire f***ing village with a set of half-healed ribs and spine.."

 

 

Word breakdown!

Calling on an Old Friend
1068 words, words used as part of a mission, didn't get exp for it though.  Leads up to...

The Sun Was High
1374, words used as part of a mission, didn't get exp for it though.  Leads up to...

Hanging on a Moment of Truth
896 words, words used as part of a mission, didn't get exp for it though.  Leads up to...

Undertaker, Please Drive Slow
453 words, words used as part of a mission, didn't get exp for it though.  Leads up to...

Barren Memories
1238 words, words used as part of a mission, didn't get exp for it though.  Leads up to both of the following:

 

In the Valley of the Shadow of Death
4032 words

Phobic
2133 words

Total Word count: 11,194

[wolfnin]

The sound of war had dropped to silence and the occasional whisper while the cloaked man became incinerated by Sato's jutsu. It was an eerie sight to behold, especially from the top of the Raikage's tower as all eyes were now focused on Sato. The Kumogakure jounin gazed down at the people, a satisfied expression now transitioned of understanding as his eyes narrowed while he studied the faces. "I see..." It was not a surprise that many of the onlookers watched him in fear, since he had just incinerated the leader of a faction with a single technique. However, the look of fear from many and distrust from those who supported Jishin was a reaction he did not expect.

 

"Of course, you merely have decided to become an attack dog rather than a lap dog. Assuming you survive to gain the strength neccesary to succeed, you still risk alienating your fellow villagers depending on how you use that power.

 

It seemed that the Gobi still had some bark left after its bite. The Senuskai gazed down towards the citizens of Kumogakure no Sato before he responded towards the Gobi's statement. "Call me whatever you'd like, but I'm not a dog. I don't do things just because somebody commands it." Despite the mocking intent behind the Gobi's word, the beast did have some truth to his words. "I will survive and I will gain the strength to protect my country. There is no other option." Sato's fist clenched as he gazed up towards the darkened clouds. "Alienating my fellow villagers is a risk I'll have to take. If that is the result of trying to bring peace and happiness to Kumogakure, then it will be my burden to bear. However, if that does happen, I'll make sure I fix those bonds. After all, Kumogakure encompasses everybody from allies to adversaries. Does it not?" 

 

How long until you become like Quo...?"

 

---

 

The Senuskai's eyes opened to reveal a darkened sky, quickly recognizing the charred and wet grass beneath his fingertips. He groaned while he forced himself into a sitting position. "The hell was that?" Many questions ran through his head while he attempted to wrap his mind at the event he just witnessed. A quick look around gave enough information he needed as he figured they were all trapped in some sort of genjutsu. His mind flashed back to the black wall, which was the last image he saw before he awoke within the genjutsu. "Damn it." The final words from the Gobi echoed through his mind, attempting to tear through his resolve. 

 

In Sato's mind he pictured himself in the future, coated with the lightning from his bloodline and crashing through the future Raikage's window. He lectured this unknown Raikage on how he was corrupting the nation and how he was the cancer of the nation and destined to be terminated. In the end, Quo was trapped in stasis; a fate worse than death. Sato stared pensively at the ground while his fingers etched lines. If he followed his resolve would he really become the next Quo? Would he suffer the same fate as Quo? 

 

His mind flashed to the village of Kumogakure, his friends, family, and his allies. He had so many things to protect, so many obstacles to face, and a village to ensure its survival. "No, I won't become like Quo." With some effort Sato forced his body to stand, stretching his legs in order to maintain his balance. "Quo wasn't a dog; he followed his own resolve and determination. He wasn't able to adapt to the current change in Kumogakure and that's where he and I differ. I won't become stuck in the old ways like Quo, but I won't let myself be absorbed in the current paradigm. I'll make sure to use the past in combination with the present, to create a future worth fighting for. That is my resolve." Once more he would glance at the darkened clouds, this time with a smile of relief on his face. "Just you watch Gobi. Things will be different." 

 

His ears picked up the words of another shinobi, a welcoming sound compared to the voice of the Gobi. "I'm alright, no need to worry." He wasn't that seriously injured compared to some of the others, but he did take a considerable amount of damage. Still, now that this event was over, it was time to head back home. Of course, it was a long way back to Kumogakure and it would take longer time walking with the condition he was in. He turned to gaze the Harakage's tree, wanting to glance at it one last time before he left. It was a strange feeling, but he felt as if Korin was watching over them this entire time. 

 

"I'll make sure to protect your people if any of them show up in Kumogakure. Even more than that, I'll make sure I bring peace into this world. You saved my life back in Fang; I owe that to you at least." 

 

[842 words post]

[10427 words total]

Edited March 8, 2013 by wolfnin

[Azure]

The resonance of Raz’s voice betrayed everything that wasn’t said to Yatako.  A dark shroud fell over the Hyuuga’s face, although it probably went unnoticed.  This was indeed a massacre, he would concede although he reasoned that the destruction was so intensely sudden that none of the residents knew what was happening.  They simply vanished, and did not suffer an ounce of pain.  The village saw no signs of trouble as he walked through its ghostly corridors earlier and on the realm of suffering, Fang had won out but Yatako wouldn’t mutter this to Raz.  It was clear he was mourning, for one in particular.  “No one dies on time.”  It was a dark revelation, one that he was awfully familiar with although at times the Hokage tried to forget it.  He had observed a disruption in Korin’s chakra and yet it still remained in the tree as if through a bleeding sealing effect.  He suspected it was Korin’s considering she was absent from this fight and Raz was grounded here instead of flying towards his wife.  After the Battle of Fang, Yatako archived any and all observations about each Hachinin that he could recall on his meetings.  Appearance, behavior and most of all their chakra pattern, its flow, color and strength.  He memorized it if needing to identify one in secret in the coming days.  Most of all, he assumed her death through the specific grieving Raz cloaked himself with.  

 

“Wait.”  He said after Raz had stood, arming himself with the blades and twirling the one through a state shift of illusions.  It was an interesting blade nonetheless and it made sense that this could cleave the influx of yin energy holding each possessed.  Although Yatako believed that there could conceivably be a technique that could counter it, neither of the two knew one.  Unfortunately, Raz didn’t seem akin to holding back.  Using the tree as leverage, Yatako stood as well and pattered after the man.  There was a cold serendipity hanging on his heart.  These men now shared a special kind of hell together, only the Hokage walked its harrowing ways first.

 

“Nothing can fill the space she left.  Mourn the way you must, but her indelible mark is a freckle on your soul.  When I lost Silvana…when I lost my wife, I walked through some of my darkest days.  Nights are the hardest, I’ve found.  If the world is kind enough to grant a couple of days and you need a friend familiar in loss, find me.”

 

He hardly expected his words to matter in that moment, but maybe just maybe they would stick for a moment more malleable.   The truth was, in such a critical moment there was no golden tongue to assuage any feelings of emptiness, robbery and anger left by such a wound.  After the time of lover’s grievance and loss, that was when his offer stood.  It had nothing to do with country or alliances, but stood on the principle of responsibility.  He couldn’t claim to have survived the turmoil, for every day he felt the recurrence of his wife’s passing.  But maybe he could offer an ear for venting and a nod of understanding.  Given the onslaught of events each of the Hachinin met on a daily basis, the Hokage was skeptical their meeting would occur.  Yet he still made the offer, for what it was worth.

 

Slugging his hands the pockets of his blackened robe, Yatako walked back among the fallen bodies put asleep in genjutsu.  His Byakugan watched with sincere interest as the illusionary blade swept through the demonic chakra and brushed it aside and away from the one being possessed.  It was a remarkable process and once he got to Mizujin, the man stood by and waited for him to rise.  He watched though, carefully when Raz came upon Sato and in that moment of hesitation, the world turned slower.  We’ve seen enough death, he whispered in his mind as the Hyuuga’s fingers touched gingerly over his own katana.  Kumogakure was the easy target of wrath in this, as they had always been for these folk and especially for Raz, who was looking for a target to blame.  But Yatako would not allow another to be slain on this dirt.  He prayed he wouldn’t have to confront Raz, yet he would not hesitate to intervene.  When Raz lowered his murderous sword, Yatako let loose the stale breath kept in his lungs and fell back into a relaxed state.  

 

He knelt to the ground now, as Raz shimmied overhead back to the Harakage’s Tree.  “I am.” He confirmed to the shinobi that asked if he was able to walk.  Any person who couldn’t walk would be flown by his birds most likely.  The Hokage though closed his ashen eyes and let solemn thoughts sift through him.  Thoughts of Syaoran, thoughts of Korin, thoughts of his daughter Zelfie.  

 

“Let these spirits lie in green pastures and drink from quiet waters.  Meld their light into the Well of Souls and let the rest in your tapestry.”

[13059]

•••

Then don’t use demon morality to attempt to understand MINE!

Haruyuki bellowed back with ferocious indignation. It was clear they were at an impasse, but apparently Gobi was too egotistical to understand either they both could understand each other or neither of them could. There was no middle ground where he could understand humans completely, or he wouldn’t have found himself trapped in isolation for an unholy amount of time. Sanbi too, he didn’t seem all that empathetic and it wasn’t like Haruyuki really cared. As long as they stayed away from Kiri- and anyone who would attempt to use them, then they could do about any business they wanted. But this demon thought that by peering into the Hisame’s mind, he could manipulate him. It was wrong, for an artist’s mind is an infinite blank slate and walking into one was allowing him to form another canvas to play upon.

A wicked grin stretched over Haruyuki’s face, despite the deadlock between he and the Umikoi. Without even crafting a seal, Haruyuki summoned forth an arm comprised entirely of ice with exceedingly sharp fingers. It was as if the Hisame had his own demon living inside of him, climbing out of him now. Warrusu appeared as a psychopath in this reality and with each grudging second he had to spend looking in those eyes, bile built up in Haruyuki’s chest. Perhaps one day Haruyuki would actually need to be Mizukage. And perhaps it would play out similarly to this.

The icy gauntlet snaked up slowly, pressing across Warrusu’s face. It slid up his cheek and pressed lightly upon the bone beneath his eyes. There were few who were comfortable with the unclean and even fewer who were truthful in the matter. There was little space between their eyes, but the icy limb descended into one of those ‘oh so precious eyes’ that he’d the reflection of the sea in them. In a good Kirigakure fashion, the sea ran red when the fingers impaled the eye and squirted gelatin like fluid, mixed with blood out from his socket. Some of the residue fell upon Haruyuki and it was a well worn stain.

Why do you care?

It was the last words on his mind as the Hisame suddenly felt the weight of the world lift and next thing he knew, he was staring up to a darkened sky, with droplets of rain tickling his face. Luckily, his drawing had landed him safely upon the ground before dispersing. Sitting up, he peered to the Tree, noting that Raz was no longer flying erratically, but rather limping back to the Tree. The massive storm had ended, the genjutsu had passed. It appeared as though the demon had moved on, so where was his student?

“Izzy? Izzy!”

Haruyuki called out, receiving no response. His first inclination was that Izzy was still under the influence of Gobi…or worse. Biting his lower lip, Haruyuki began to retrace his steps, ignoring any person save Izzy who would try to communicate with him. He stopped and considered what he last said to Izzy, to get down and stay low. Assuming Izzy was still his quirky self, he probably would be linear to where Haruyuki issued the command…and lo’ and behold he was. Safely tucked and low, though he appeared to be unconscious. Haruyuki slid upon the rubble and landed next to his student, cradeling the boy’s head upon his lap. Haruyuki checked his pulse- his first fear that Izzy had been killed by Gobi (in which case, Gobi would be made into a doormat), but he was calmed when he felt the heartbeat of Izzy. It was far from normal (but this was Izzy), yet still present.

“’Izz’. Hey buddy, wake up. Don’t you want to go make some snowmen?”

He wanted to shake him, slap him, pour water on him, but all of those options were too vicious to apply on Izzy. Nibble, sure, that was a no brainer, but Izzy wasn’t the type to rough around. Although he could handle the rough love, Haruyuki doubted he could properly understand it, which is why he refrained but a sort of helplessness came over him as he watched his student lie in an unconscious state. If he were Mizukage right now, would Izzy be awake? The thought was random and strange, but Gobi’s illusion seeped on him none the less. No, a title wouldn’t wake the boy. A title didn’t have the control of an unconscious shinobi. Izzy was his student and it was his responsibility to protect him…yet here he lay. Warrusu would never take Izzy from him, even if it were an order. The thought came as random as the last, but this one stayed, dwelled with him. Alba came trotting over to the two and was as silent as ever. The Hisame and the arctic fox exchanged grimaced glances and before they knew it, Izzy was being slumped on the back of the white fox’s back.

[9612]

•••

Lilina refused to let out a peep as it felt like a boiled brand was thrust upon her hand. She merely closed her eyes an inhaled the will of the Gobi as images passed through her mind like a movie projector. The burning felt strangly good, albeit painful. She was used to pain and could deal with it to a greater degree than most- certainly more than Yue or Ren. The burning felt like she was doing something, rather than just talking about it. Seeing Hei chased into a corner made her curl her fist in tension, like she was strangling each one of those masked men. The black veins on her hands hardened and pulsed with a bright blue hue. Wisps of red chakra floated around her that flashed more intensely with each bruise that developed on the boy. Not only would she find Hei, but she would slaughter these men bit by forsaken bit. Thankfully their necklace wasn’t complicated, but it wasn’t easily identifiable either. “Nothing will hide then, not even darkness.” She whispered to herself through clenched teeth. When she could feel the pain receeding, she glanced down at her hand feeling strangely accepting to the brand. It felt like it contained identity to her. It felt like she was known for once.  A brief thought crossed her mind, wondering if this was what Zaidon felt when he made a deal with Ryuichi that gave the Naiyume the power of their own bloodline.  They were given a chance to be understood , for previously they were merely taken for granted.  They were no less intelligent at their craft than the Ageshio or Uzumaki, but without a bloodline they were often ignored.  No longer their fate. 

With not another word, she found herself waking up in the shattered corpse of the Harakage Tree. The first thing she could remember was hearing Yue’s voice asking for a roll call…in an alarmingly polite fashion. Polite in Yue-terms of course meant without profanity. “Tip top like I rolled down an avalanche.” She commented, though recofnizing that she was still completely alive- which was a good thing. She quickly averted her eyes to her hand, wondering if the mark was still there- but alas, she found no evidence of it. She did, however, realize that during that state, she had released her bloodline, which caused her to feel a tad embarrassed. Quickly forming a set of seals, she sealed her bloodline away.

She stared at her hand for a long time, considering if she had imagined it all or not. She still remembered the signs in her dream and considered it probably wasn’t a dream. That symbol wasn’t something she could recall and generally dreams contained familiar things- at least hers. She wondered how soon Gobi would catch her in contact and if he actually revealed the truth to her. She wanted to believe yes, because the only other option is that he was confusing her just to spite Raz. Now that the demon got its freedom, and given that he had a general interest in her, she was inclined to believe it was a truthful vision. For each injury they inflicted on Hei, they would receive tenfold. Her eyes fell on Raz, who was now knocked out and reaching for his wife. “C’mon…tell me you’re still kicking.” Crawling over to him, she laid her ear next to him, listening to hear the soft breath escaping his lips. He was alive, just barely.

Voices were coming from the village below, but not ones that suggested animosity and fighting. Things were peaceful for now. “I don’t know how we lived…but we did.” It was a wild adventure, if it could be classified into that alone but through some miracle they pulled through. She took note now of the toad sitting near them, Raz’s last effort to help them. “We should get him to Oto’s hospital, soon.”

[13000]

[Rhap Sodos]

Depsite Haruyuki's attempts [or lack there of], Izzy did not wake up. 

 

It was hard to tell if anything more violent or painful would have been effective - the boy hadn't responded to any of the Hisame's mild attempts to rouse him. Even the action of lifting his body onto Alba's back garnered no response - not even even a twitch or a moan. The fox's sensing capability could at least confirm that the boy was not still under the effects of the Gobi's genjutsu, but it would leave little explanation for what else could be keeping the young Namikaze from opening his eyes. They lack of any physical signs of trauma would also rule out the possibility of some other injury; compared to some of other people who had been unfortunate enough to find themselves in the crosshairs of the garganutan and the other yokai spawn, Izzy was relatively unharmed. 

 

Haruyuki was probably well-versed in both experiences as a shinobi and simply dealing with Izzy to come to the conclusion that whatever was keeping the boy from waking was probably psychological  - the Hisame had witnessed himself the depraved visions that the Gobi had conjured. The tailed beast had searched the recesses of Haruyuki's mind, willing to twist any emotion or motivation to get his point across. It was unlikely that Izzy had been spared a similar fate. While it may have been hard to image the cheerful, optimistic, overtly friendly boy as anything but, the young Kiri-nin was not without his demons. 

 

And so the boy sprawled listlessly across the the back of Alba, exactly where he had been slumped, long limbs dangling off the side. 

[Cloudnine]

People have lived and died for love? Kikuya wondered incredulously about whether if Gobi’s immeasurable wisdom came from observing the same human beings as she did. Perhaps in an earlier time before her life began. All the woman had seen people die for were for money and hatred. There was a saying she recalled that people fought for what they lacked- be it land, equality, gold... honor. Kikuya, did she fight for money? She had enough. Yet she never fought for love, no matter how devoid of it she was. If human lives were to find love, what did Kikuya want from life? “How can a demon speak for a human?” the jounin growled in response, “I call you demon because you are a demon among humans. Incomparable!”

The pit of her stomach dropped suddenly, quickly followed by the rest of her body as the back of her head hit the ground with a resounding crack. Stars spotted her vision of an Otogakure devoid of celebrating villagers. As soon as her vision cleared the illusion transported her. Shackles bound her in a timeless bleakness that grew heavier and heavier as the years turned over her. Loneliness crept in at an accelerating rate, an accustomed ambiance Kikuya had the fortune to experience as she sat behind NCIA bars. It was a reluctant embrace. “If this is where I must rot, so be it,” she snapped, teeth bared as malice coated her voice. “Every human rots somewhere eventually. Where matters little- what worth is a short human life? If I am to be bound here, then at least I am-”


“A human among demons.” Kikuya blinked rapidly as the temple floors were replaced by the ashen ground of Kusagakure. She had uttered those words out loud and it startled her out of her daze. Her head throbbed as, coincidentally, she hit it on the way down as the comatose genjutsu overtook her. Her mind was still consumed with rage, if not at the Gobi’s words, but by how much the  demon outranked her in her own field of expertise. Was there truly no way to stand on the same caliber as a demon? Perhaps there was no purpose in her quest for power. Regardless, this ordeal was over. Silence consumed the land once again as Kusagakure was finally allowed to rest alone again. She gazed up to where Raz and the sound chuunin stood upon the Harakage’s Tree and wondered how awkward the ride back to Oto would be. Perhaps it would be better to foot it solo back to the clan estates. Sitting up while rubbing the back of her head, she eyed the Kusa-nin before answering, “you can carry me to your place, I won’t mind.” Then she realized this man likely had no home to return to. Oops.


--

 

A warm breeze blew through the chill of the village, picking up the crushed magnolias that had been blown mercilessly into the muddy earth. Rising in scattered pieces, the battered petals ascended the splintered trunk of the Harakage’s tree, winding round and round until they breached the flat expanse the Oto group stood upon. Into Raz’s outstretched hand the gust deposited the handful of broken petals.

The breeze raced down the side of the tree again, racing against the earth with enough vigor to kick up the black dust. It would blow past Terrick before turning on a dime and ruffling the other side of his clothing to whisper:  “Terrick, the Guardian of Kusagakure.”

 

 

 

 

Total words: 8379

[dowhatnow]

The Gobi's words were still ringing loudly and clearly as Midori awoke from the Genjutsu. She opened her eyes to see the sky above her and rubble around her, as though she had been knocked through a nearby wall, but very clearly made during the gargantuan's attack. Perhaps she was thrown onto the rubble afterward? The poor girl had no idea. The last thing she remembered was trying to get to safety after the yokai had arrived and then blacking out. The Kumo-nin rose to see others gathered close to the Harakage's tree, and that a great many of them were injured. Her attempts to move her legs faster than a brisk walking pace had failed her, nearly falling forward a number of times trying to rush onward in that direction with legs that felt like jelly.

Her motivation was clear; there were people injured, and she possessed the skills to at least try to give them assistance. She walked by Yue, one of those she recognized from the journey here, who had just asked for a "roll call", and the majority of the group gathering near the tree. In the distance, she spied a seemingly lifeless body on the back of a wolf, and immediately she assumed the worst, and doubled her efforts to try to reach them in time to help. These efforts, though requiring a great deal of mental willpower to accomplish, helped Midori through the strange, yet painful feeling of pushing her body beyond its limits, and she began to jog towards what she could now recognize as another in the group that came here from Iwa. Who exactly this person was, she wasn't sure, but she didn't much care either. It seemed that with every few steps she took, her pace quickened, if nothing else demonstrating her resolve to help them.

Once she had reached the limp boy's body atop the wolf and the one who had accompanied them, she called out, WAIT! As she drew closer, Haruyuki might almost certainly notice that she seems as though she may be able to help Izzy and is willing to do so, and that with or without his permission that she was going to do so. Once she reached Izzy, she laid her hands on him, and immediately after a green glow surrounded her hands as she began to heal any physical wounds he might have as she began to speak to Haruyuki, What happened to him? She waited for his response as she continued her examination of Izzy. She couldn't help but think, That's odd... There doesn't seem to be that much damage at all. Could it be because of the Gobi's genjutsu?

The green glow faded as she took a step back and performed a short series of hand seals speaking up once again, Don't worry, I'm trying to help. and once she'd finished her seals, holding the final seal, she closed her eyes as she uttered, Tamawa. With this, she connected her mind to Izzy's, but what she found was at the very least startling. It seemed as though the boy's conscious mind had just... shut off from reality. She attempted to pursue her curiosity by going deeper into the recesses of Izzy's mind for any trace of Izzy himself, but before she could, the technique ended as she began to reach her limit of chakra.

Damn! she said aloud, and immediately aware that she had, she immediately turned to Haruyuki and tried (and failed) to look him in the eyes to deliver what she had to say, I'm sorry, she said with a very respectful bow and a solemn tone in her voice, but it seems I can't help him. She paused for a moment, defeated again by her inability to do something, anything, It's beyond my skills. Again, I'm sorry.

[Total words this post: 642]

[Total words, Phobic:.: 901]

[Grand total: 1,543]

Edited March 9, 2013 by dowhatnow

[Eechi-go]

"We don't have all day, ya shmucks!"

 

The toad Raz had summoned yelled out angrily at everyone still conscious in the village. Hopping over to the edge of the Harakage Tree's stump, the anxious little toad would begin looking around nervously as though it was trying to make sure that there wasn't anything out there in the village that could gobble him up. "Ain't none of you in any shape to be fighting another one of those things if they come back! I should be able to get most of you guys home, but I think you Kumogakure kids are gonna' be-"
 
Almost as though it was on cue, a blur of blue would zoom through the village faster than most people's eyes could keep up with. This blur would end up engulfing both Sato and Midori in one fell swoop, before immediately doing a 180 and bolting in the opposite direction. During this turn, if people were still paying any attention to what was going on, they'd see a young man with a Kumogakure headband around his neck, grabbing Sato and Midroi by the wrists. It looked as though they were going to be just fine in getting home.
 

"...yeah, okay, so on that note, tell me the place you shmucks wanna go and then get in my belly! ASAP!"

 

With that, the toad would open its mouth so wide that he could easily fit several people at a time within its stomach. Yue, Ren and Lilina would be far too used to this method of transportation by now, by the others...not so much.
 
Syaoran gains 1,462 EXP * 1.5 RP Bonus = 2,192 EXP Total (You damn hippy)
Yatako gains 3,377 EXP * 1.5 RP Bonus = 5,066 EXP Total
Haruyuki gains 2,403 EXP * 1.5 RP Bonus =  3,605 EXP Total
Lilina gains 2,600 EXP * 1.5 RP Bonus =  3,900 EXP Total
Yue gains 2,365 EXP * 1.5 RP Bonus = 3,548 EXP Total
Ren gains 2,490 EXP * 1.5 RP Bonus = 3,735 EXP Total
Izzy gains 1,588 EXP * 1.5 RP Bonus = 2,382 EXP Total
Terrick gains  2,239 EXP * 1.5 RP Bonus = 3,358 EXP Total
Sato gains 2,085 EXP * 1.5 RP Bonus = 3,128 EXP Total
Midori gains 270 EXP * 1.5 RP Bonus =  405 EXP Total
Kikuya gains 2,095 EXP * 1.5 RP Bonus = 3,142 EXP Total
Mizujin gains 1,791 EXP * 1.5 RP Bonus =  2,686 EXP Total
 
If you don't see yourself here, then you haven't woken up yet, and I'll factor in your final word count when you do so. Also, Sato and Midori go here.

Edited March 13, 2013 by Eechi-go

[Leon]

The images would come to an abrupt halt when Gobi decided it was time to address Ren. In a haze the world would fade into a new shade of darkness, leaving Ren alone with the voice in his head. It was unusual that Gobi had even decided to respond, but it was unusual to have been put in this place at all. The beast would speak, in a less terrifying manner than before, telling Ren that he would only believe his words when he saw it in action. Action was the telltale sign of truth after all.

Ren readied to answer the question before he jolted awake into the world of the living. Had he merely been asleep all of the time or had they all been placed under some mass form of jutsu? Ren was never quite sure when it came to things like Genjutsu, so he decided he would leave the guessing to his friends later on. For now the boy remained still on the ground, allowing the senses of his legs to creep back into his body. Unfortunately this was quickly followed by the pain of his chest creeping in. It had only been half an hour since an explosion leveled Yue and himself. Ren’s eyes would slowly creep over as the feeling of the rain slowly woke the rest of his body.

Hearing was the last thing to return as the gargled voice of Yue called for the rest of the group to assemble. The call would be answered as Lilina was the first to get back up, slowly followed by Ren. The chest pain slowed the process but Ren was able to pick himself up in a short time span. Finally Ren made his way over to Raz in time to watch Lilina examine him. Before she even replied with her analysis the group would have already realized he was still alive. Korin’s jutsu had been a miracle and gave Raz another day to live which in term kept this family together one more day. “Looks like we got another lease on life today guys” Ren began as he reached over to put a hand on lilina’s shoulder, “I guess it’s time to head home.”

When Ren touched Lilina he felt a slight ping in her chakra, maybe a part of her bloodline that he had never felt before. The boy would put it into the back of his mind, for this new gift was to strange to begin to question his teammates over it. Ren quickly walked over to Yue, noticing the transport toad along the way, and said “Thanks for getting us through the day Yue.” The boy would most likely have whiplash and attack Ren, but it was the only form of apology/ congratulations/ thankfulness he would receive from the speedster today.

Ren took a moment to “scan” the area with his ability, noticing that Haruyuki and Izzy were both still in the area. Ren turned to his team and questioned, “Haru and Izzu are still in the city… do we take them to Oto with us? Also what of the older girl from Oto?”

 

[523/12451]

[1Q84]

"My vote is also for a fuckin' hospital, don't fuckin' care which." Yue groaned at the frog giving up on keeping himself upright and flopping back down on the ground taking only the amount of effort it would need to land on his back instead of his stomach so he could stair up at the sky. Fuck he should've known this was coming after pushing himself with the Gates last night and then decided for some dumb ass reason to right on using them again even though he should still be in a god damn hospital bed. Well he sure as hell was paying that price now with interest seeing as he couldn't quite decided if every single muscle on his body was on fire or if the pain was because they'd just been shred to hell and back.

Still it was a relief to hear Ren and Lilina's voices and for them to confirm that Raz wasn't dead yet though like hell he would say that out loud. He wondered if they had had their own little psychotic encounter without whatever the hell had come crawling out of Raz's body but figured if they weren't saying he wasn't going to either. Like I'd ever fuckin' kill them. He'd have zero qualms about getting a little loud and rough with either of them if they were doing or planning on something stupid but that thing was as dumb as it looked if he thought he'd ever kill them. But as though this day couldn't get any more bizarre Ren then decided to take this opportunity to actually thank Yue which made Yue really wonder if he was actually alive or if hell had just frozen over.

"... did you hit your god damn head? Or is this another fucked up dream from that horsey piece of shit?" Yue asked his expression suspicious as he watched Ren as though expecting this to be some sort of trick and he was about to get drop kicked in the kidneys or something. Ren's usual form of gratitude for Yue saving his ass was to to hit him, yell at him, blame it on him or some combination of the above. He hurt too much to be dead and as far as he could tell the world was still spinning so maybe miracles did happen. Yue did groan at the thought of having to wait for the other survivors to meet up counting the seconds until somebody drugged him into a pain free oblivion but he figured that the other two might actually care about what happened to the other ninja. Right now, all Yue wanted to do was be in a bed knowing that Raz and his team was safe and when they could breath without hating life they could go hunt down his boy.

"If they're comin' with us, they better get their crazy asses up here because I will give zero shits about leavin' them behind." Yue grumbled still laying prone knowing that his pride would not allow him to crawl his way over to the frog's mouth but it was going to take an act of god to get him on his feet right now.

[Azure]

Normally he wouldn’t have stopped. He only did because the voice that stopped him was one he wasn’t familiar with. He had heard the voice before, but never spend enough time for it to translate into him caring. That, and a part of him hoped it was Arisu appearing from thin air. Alba also took note of this alarm and stared silently as the Kumo bred girl trotted up to them.

“Didn’t wake up. He will in time.”

It was a curt answer, to be sure but Haruyuki didn’t feel like speaking right now. He would only let Midori do her handiwork simply because he didn’t have enough faith in her to believe she would hurt him. Her prognosis was similar to his own: that Gobi’s genjutsu had left him in a state of mental hide and seek. Izzy wasn’t the typical person. He experienced everything everyone else did, but through a difference lens. While a typical person would kick and scream when their emotions were riled up, Izzy detracted and withdrew his emotions it seemed when they would create conflict. If he experienced anger at all, he drew it in and kept it tight- but the Hisame somehow doubted that. Instead, anger turned into a sort of depression and introspection that caused Izzy to retreat inside himself and wonder instead of venting outward. He was an oddball, but incredibly smart, like he constantly questioned what and why anger or hate was- and why people hurt others. This misunderstanding could be seen as weakness to others and possibly even to Izzy himself, wondering ‘why can I never find that resolve?’- at least the Hisame often mused. He was no Nibble, who was quick in expression. He noticed that the girl couldn’t even look him in the eye to deliver the news. In lieu of that, Haruyuki locked his fingers around her face and lifted it to his.

“You tried to treat the damage of a tailed beast without hesitation and only after you failed did you admit weakness. Don’t hold yourself back like that.”

With that he would let go of her and beckon for Alba to keep walking his way to the Harakage Tree. She reminded him a bit of Izzy, as she had came over, unrestrained by village affiliation simply because he needed help. That was probably where those kind words came from. It might have been those memories Gobi kicked up too, as he remembered all of the children in the streets of Kirigakure during the reign of the NCIA. He was one them and until someone came along and told him he was limitless did that start to change.

“Whoever is going with Raz, follow me to the tree.”

He called out, mostly to Kikuya. Whether she was actually going back to Otogakure, he didn’t care but he needed to check on Raz before heading home to Kirigakure. If Izzy’s trauma was entirely psychological, then the only one who could pull himself awake would be himself unless the Hisame found a way to crack his skull open, metaphorically.

“Yeah, it is.” Lilina responded to Ren who was…intensely optimistic, more so than she would have thought. Did he fall into the genjutsu of flowers and honey? The words in her encounter still lingered through her mind, although the tap on the shoulder was a bit warming. She did, giggle to herself when Yue made an obscene comment about the Gobi’s dream, essentially reading her mind. It was nice…but would they always be this chummy? Of course they were never say they would abandon her, nor probably even dream of it, but unexpected things happened. “Can we stop leasing and just buy life? I thought switching bodies was pushing the line…”

Haruyuki and Alba entered the Harakage’s Throne room in a blur, traveling through the inside of the Harakage’s Tree to make sure Izzy didn’t fall from a great height and really did need medical attention. The sight before him made his heart slip.

“Korin…you never ceased to accidently be in the middle of things.”

It was the first sight he saw, primarily due to his clone’s transferred memories but that didn’t make it any less stomach souring. Korin had been on the run from the NCIA when he met her, and in the middle of a love triangle and now in the middle of this- even all accidental. The whispers of Gobi tickled his imagination to wonder ‘what if’ he was married to her, but he quickly boxed that thought up. Her real husband laid in front of her, pleading for one last rest with her at his side. He slowly stepped over to her side, completely ignoring Team Oto and gingerly touched her arm. It felt so inhuman and yet…it wasn’t completely unfamiliar. It was as if the tree held her scent, although no aroma radiated from it. Lilina on the other hand was actually relieved to have the Sennin around, while ordinarily he scared the crap out of her due to his shifting personalities between silliness and death incarnate.
 

“Resquiescat in equus fontes” [Rest in calm springs]

 

His attention now turned to his limb friend on the floor, completely unconscious and looked like he was close to death. If he didn’t have a son, Haruyuki would have worried that Raz’s strive to live would have been sucked from his lungs. With his experience with Team Oto, they operated on the notion of tough love motivation, much like Nibble but oh angels did he hope this would go smoothly. For better or worse, they looked in terrible shape to argue.

“Oto hospital. Ren, Lilina—go ahead and hail a room for whoever needs it, Izzy and I won’t be staying long. Yue…just lay still a minute.”

Like he had another option. Haruyuki didn’t have the patience right now to argue with the hot headed ninja, like Raz had been seen doing the last time they were at a hospital. Lilina tugged at Ran, wanting to adhere by Haruyuki’s advise, because the sooner they did ANYTHING, the better. Nonetheless, Abla would jump through the toad, transporting Izzy safely. Stepping over Raz, yet again, the Hisame Sennin would open a pouch on his belt and draw out an array of shinobi needles. Without asking for permission, he would scatter the especially thin needles all over Yue’s body that was facing upward and he wouldn’t feel an ounce of pain from them. In fact, in a couple of moments he would feel some of his pain lifting off him like a blanket being pulled away.

“The acupuncture blocking the pain signals will last long enough to get you to the hospital unless you dance there. I figure you might like to get your own way there, but I’m not against hogtieing, which I hear you so enjoy.”

A little smirk came over his mouth before he knelt down to get a handle on his red haired best friend. With a few executed seals, Haruyuki summoned a mizu bunshin that would assist in carrying Raz through the toad. On second thought, he created a third that wasn’t truly needed in the assist, but merely acted as if it was just in case Yue really did need to be hog tied.
 
[Ooc; That's a couple of frames, Jim ]

Raz gains 3983 Exp *1.5x bonus = 5975 Exp!

[Cloudnine]

Kikuya heaved a sigh and reluctantly wandered around to collect her fallen weapons. Caked with the drying black sludge, both she and her weapons were in dire need of cleaning. Her condition appeared stable despite the burns and gashes she endured prior, mostly due to her sound ingestion abilities. She still needed hospital attention, but the woman might just head straight for the clan estates and recuperate there. Kikuya had never seen battles like these or bore such injuries before, and either she was underwhelmed or so dumbstruck that she didn't register the enormity of the situation. With a nod, she followed Haruyuki towards the tree while carrying the two weapons in her hands since her burnt skin was still too tender to bear their weight.

Upon arrival, she cast an odd glance towards the tiny summoned toad. We're taking that? she pondered, wondering how the hell everyone could fit on the hapless creature's back. Unacquainted with transport toads or any of these other shinobi, Kikuya lingered a step back to bodily signal 'after all of you.'

[Leon]

As if on cue the Hachinin joined the group, offering his own form of advice. It was rather obvious advice, but Ren would take it none the less. The group was ready to mobilize, save Yue and Raz who were both immobile at the moment, prompting their hasty retreat into the homeland. As clones of Haruyuki descended upon the group to assist, causing Ren to note that the clones were being more assisting now than before when Raz was going ape shit on the staircase, Ren would approach the one that was going to help Yue out. “I got this” Ren would say as he waved away the clone, “were family after all right?” Ren would provide whatever assistance he needed to Yue, or not give any assistance based on the needs of the boy, and then make his way to the portal.

Before jumping into the portal Ren would take one last look around the town to make sure that he burned the memory into his mind. This could not happen again, and as long as Team Oto was here they would make sure it didn’t. Ren muttered, “Time to go home” before stepping into the toad portal once more.

 

[ooc: is there any topic to jump to?]

[Terrick Sukrai]

Terrick's eyebrow went up behind his mask at Kikuya's comment, and once again he was thankful to be wearing a mask to cover the blush that formed behind it.  'Damnit!  Not a time to go googley-eyes at a girl Terrick!' he thought to himself as the others gathered.  He turned to look around the village once more, as well as beyond it before sighing to himself.  The sound-eater had been partly right.  His old home was gone... but not all of it.

 

"If Raz wakes up, tell him I'll meet with him in Oto as soon as I can.  I'd like to join you all, but first I have to round up all the others over in Neirol.  Once that's done, I'll head your way," he said, before taking one last look at the group of ninja assembled.  "Maybe one day I'll be able to take you up on that offer too," he said with a half-salute in Kikuya's direction, before leaping from the tree and heading off in the direction of Lorien...

 

[ooc: Meet you guys over in Oto!]

[1Q84]

Yue wanted to make an exasperated groan when he saw that weirdo from Raz's house had showed up again but there was something about his expression or the way he moved or something that made him hold his tongue. He remembered that stupid pissing contest they had had at Raz's house and knew that this Haruyuki asshat was close to Raz which probably meant he was also close to Korin so Yue knew that giving him a moment of peace was worth keeping his mouth shut for once. Yue did wish afterwards that his body didn't hurt so god damn much so he could give Raz's crazy friend the finger again when he made that piss poor joke about laying still for a second.

That didn't mean he didn't try damn hard to scramble away with an 'oh hell no' that his voice cracked over when he saw the crazy son of a bitch pull out needles but the tiniest movement was enough to make him wince in pain and freeze up giving Haruyuki the opportunity he needed to stab him.

Yue winced again when the piece of metal entered him more so out of reflex then out of actual pain seeing as the needles actually didn't hurt at all but the last thing in the world he wanted right now was that crazy fuck sticking them in him. In fact after a couple of seconds the pain in his limbs would start to subside as though those little needles were somehow blocking the pain though it sure as hell wasn't helping his dignity to look like some overstuffed pincushion.

Yue sucked up his pride enough to accept Ren's help getting back on his feet though it was mostly because he knew if he tried and failed and landed wrong these pretty acupuncture needles would skewer him. He ignored the other asshole's quip about hogtying knowing from experience that he was never going to have the last word and he wasn't going to give the Kiri-nin the satisfaction of seeing him try.

Ignoring whatever other attempts Ren or Haruyuki or whatever to help him towards the toad Yue took a few staggering steps before stopping turning to face the statue of Korin or what remained of her. He wasn't sure if her soul or her spirit or whatever the hell that glowing thing was could still see them or hear him but he still felt as though he should say or do something. Problem was Yue wasn't sentimental at the best of times and this sure as hell wasn't the best of times.

"I can't promise you he won't do anything stupid, just know he won't be doin' it alone." Yue said to the statute even though he had a pretty good idea it might be a long ass time before Raz laughed or enjoyed life again especially with his son still missing but Yue would make damn sure the crazy fuck lived long enough to do it. "We'll be there for him," Yue actually found himself giving the statue a wry grin figuring that having to put up with more of Team Oto's antics might not be high on Raz's to-do list. "Whether he likes it or not. I'll promise you that. And uh, thanks. For hangin' around long enough for him to say good bye. And for healin' him a bit too." Fuck he should've just left it at the god damn promise but he had prayed that somebody would make sure that Raz lived to see another day so credit where credit was fucking due. Knowing he was making an absolute ass of himself Yue finally dragged himself through the toad not quite sure what state he was going to be in when he arrived at the other side only glad that they were finally getting the hell out of here.

[Lemon]

With raised eyebrows Mizujin observed the possessed Raz with bated breath while the demon spoke through him. It seemed that yet another Hachinin hed let a tailed beast take root within their body. Same story with a different man. He noted that Raz also seemed completely incapable of controlling his own power as well, something that should have surprised Mizujin but honestly didn't. Nothing could surprise him any more on this day. He cocked his head as the winged figure drew not one, but two swords and began to channel chakra within them. One of them he instantly recognized from musing over Konohagakure's history texts as Kusanagi, the blade that was wielded by the legendary sannin Orochimaru. The other he could not immediatly identify but he could sense yin chakra emanating from the blade. "Could it be... the Totsuka sword? What I would give to lay my hands on those treasures." He mused while looking fondly at the Totsuka blade, imagining by what great lengths it could enhance his own powers in genjutsu. Before he could fantasize any further the blades flew around the village. In moments the entire village was entrapped by a spinning vortex of dreadful chakra that sent a chill through the young Uchiha's bones. As the corrupted air filled the village Mizujin immediatly recognized it as a genjutsu and attempted to hold his breath and shut it out but it was not long until his eyes slowly closed, trapping him in the Gobi's nightmare. "Fuck!" He yelled one last time at the beast before he hit the ground.

 

---

 

Inhaling a sharp breath Mizujin shot up from where he lay, panting deeply and trying to suck in all the fresh air he could. His eyes widened as he took in his surroundings. Now, however, his deep blue orbs were replaced by the scarlet iris of the three tomoe sharingan. It was like he was seeing the village for the first time again. He took in every little detail and studied every movement those who had awakened before him were making in the aftermath. Especially at Raz as he made his way to wake up those who still slumbered with the sword which had caused all of this. As if he could be forgiven for his sins by freeing their minds after they had already been shattered. His eyes faded back to blue, having kept his sharingan open only for the moment he needed to properly survey the situation. Gracefully he rose to his feet and made his way over to where the group was gathering around some kind of frog summon, likely one of the legendary frogs from Konoha. His gaze settled upon the back of Yatako and the words of the Gobi echoed within his head.

 

No. This is not the time. Yatako is the only thing holding the leaf together.

 

Swiftly he made his way over to the Hokage's side and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Hell of a day." He said in a flat tone, the usual sarcastic manner by which he spoke was all but lost in this moment. Turning away from the man he stared with cold eyes at the frogs that beckoned them forward. Tilting his head to stare at the ground he stood there for a few moments, silently shaking his head. The things these eight do are not right. There is far too much power in the hands of a single group who have no authority policing them. Lifting his head back up he took a few steps forward then craned his neck, looking back over his shoulder to speak to the Hokage. "We're supposed to go back to Konoha in that -thing-?" Clearly none too pleased about the situation he raised a finger and pointed at the toad that spoke to them. "Do you really think it is responsible allowing a man who hid a tailed beast inside himself to retain the means to transport large groups of people throughout the entire continent? Is that not how the war with Kumo began?" A scowl crossed his lips. This was just another example of how to Hokage had been letting the other Hachinin run around the world with all the freedom they desired, completely unchained by laws that governed common shinobi. After all the damage the Gobi had done to his psyche Mizujin would not have even been surprised to found out that Yatako knew about Raz's curse seal all along. "Either way, I need to get the hell out of this forsaken village. I'll follow your lead."

 

Words: 6295 here

2658 phobic

Edited March 13, 2013 by Lemon

[Azure]

Yatako rose as Mizujin approached and he offered his new ANBU a weighted smile despite the onset of a headache filling his skull.  “Aye, that’s for sure.  It seems like if anything could have went wrong, it did.  Glad to see you made it out alive though.”  Honestly, he had no idea what the body count would have been today- to see the amount of people still standing was a miracle in a sea of blood.  He offered his attention to Harakage’s Tree, catching the voice of the toad and the blur of something blue carrying off Sato.  It seemed as though Jishin liked to move Sato like a chess piece.  Yatako oculdn’t help but chuckle at the notion of using a toad for transport.  “No, don’t worry.  I have other means of getting us home.”  All he wanted right about now was a warm bed and a cup of green tea.  He doubted he would have such a luxury for a couple more days.
 
As the conversation turned to the grim thought of responsibility, it noticeably took the Hokage a few moments to respond.  It was far from a clear answer since Mizujin had a fair point, although it was a little stretched.  “Raz is a responsible man from what I know of him.  I’ve observed his chakra since battling in Metropolis and it showed no taint of a curse seal or a bijuu until very recently…until he probably found out his wife died.  He probably didn’t even know what his curse seal could do; much less would he ever try to use it.  Orochimaru’s seals never used demonic chakra, so this outcome was rather unpredictable.”  Yatako didn’t believe that it was in the same classification as a jinchuuriki.  It was an accident, although arguably a very costly accident for now another tailed beast was on the run amok.  There was a shadow in his words, betraying his feelings of deep unrest.  “His method of travel is through the toads, who still hold Konoha as a friend.  I believe they’ve shown enough vigilance that we needn’t worry.  Every space-time jutsu that I’ve encountered requires a medium of transport.  If a toad is killed or a seal is destroyed, it no longer functions as a gate.  The war with Kumo began because of that, yes, but also because the Raikage tried to command what was responsible on the world.  Regardless of his intentions, we can see it turned out sour.  The villages then didn’t bother to communicate with one another to prevent the successful blitzkrieg.  I’d like to think now we wouldn’t be caught unaware.”  Luckily he secured a few alliances that allowed such communication.  Otogakure, Iwagakure and Kumogakure.  If Syaoran truly revoked status as Kage…he was unsure if Iwa would hold the alliance, Oto was still promising and Jishin was a wise fellow, as long as he didn’t grow paranoid they were probably safe.  
 
The tone that Mizujin was taking was peculiar, but Yatako would attribute it to the unyielding stress of their environment.  “Yes, we need to get home soon and I need to set up defense protocols.”  Yatako rubbed his eyes and temples, knowing that a political battle was going to be fought soon as well.  “We also need to get your bloodline seal undone…which was really unfortunate.”  A solemn look of regret lathered his face, followed by a flash of anger that quickly cooled.  He wasn’t all too pleased about how that handled, but it at least showed Mizujin’s ability to function as a member of ANBU.  The Hokage strode to the Harakage’s Tree and began to form seals around it.  The teletoad had already well left, leaving Yatako, Mizujin and Terrick alone in the village.  Placing his hand gingerly on the Tree, a seal (兔) was left burnt black on the tree, slowly fading into invisibility.  Turning back to Mizujin, Yatako closed his eyes and performed a set of seals, holding the last one for what seemed like minutes on end.
 

.: Nifuu Oribasho no Jutsu :.
(Two Point Seal Fold Technique)

 
Beneath him appeared the seal of the zodiac dog (戌) shining in a bright white light.  The moment it opened beneath the ninja, their figurines faded from Kusagakure no Sato and slipped through the seams of space and time.
 

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The tarnished silver clouds above continued to rain down on the village in vain, as if nature were pleading Kusagakure no Sato to smile green again.  The ghost continued to walk the rubbled streets, ignorant of the theatre that played for them.  Nations and men alike mourned the passing of the once great shinobi village Hidden in the Grass, proving that shinobi were at every spectrum, mortal.  Their way of life was not perfect and perhaps not the correct way of living.  
 
A lone dark haired woman sat in the rubble where the Gargantua had fallen.  She was as quiet as a shadow and masked her chakra as if she too were an apparition.  Her fingers were marked with the soot expelled from the super yokai and she drew a symbol in the rubble: three spirals connected in a triangular formation.  As thunder cracked above and rolled out on the shoulder of Heaven, she too, faded.