[RP Location] Kagane Village

[Oni Archives]

Internally, Kirinji couldn’t help but wonder about the timing of all of this and just how unfortunate it was. It was a storm brewing and typically what follows next is a war. And no matter how big or small, casualties are inevitable. No matter the world, here or out there, conflict is everywhere. No matter how hard Kirinji tried to run from it, war always followed him. From the sound of it this fearsome battle was only the beginning and it would be the only tranquility they’d see in the near future judging by the sound of urgency in Kiyoshi’s voice. His jaw-clenching when he heard their name, The Burning Dawn, thinking to himself as his arms folded and crossed upon his chest. So, that’s what they call themselves, he thought to himself as his mind flickered back on his encounter with the suited green-haired individuals as he retrospected what could’ve been done differently. His mind shifting through the possibilities as if he were seeing them through a tunnel of light moving at hyper-speed.

While his mind wandered he could be seen intently listening and processing each and every word that had been said. Blessed with photographic memory, he could do this very easily and essentially rewind his memory and catch up. While Kiyoshi spoke, his glistening crimson optics shifted and jumped from each individual there analyzing and observing each of them, even the returning individual whose initial words he had chosen to ignore. While one's words may lie one's body language rarely does and observing each of them as Kiyoshi spoke, Kiyoshi included, would give insightful information. His eyes jumped back to Kiyoshi when he started speaking faster and didn’t leave him until the end and when he started to look off into the north. He looked around once again, his eyes staring back at Ko before they jumped over to the next. But his eyes never left Ko, even when he was whispering to Kasami, picking up on every word by analyzing the lip movement. The man of interest. He couldn’t help but wonder who really Ko is. But also a revelation, Kirinji hadn’t brought anything to Naraka. He was only out and about momentarily when he followed the look alike. He looked down and patted down his pockets in a rush as his heart started pumping at an alarming rate. He reached into his back pocket as he sighed of relief, he had his wallet with him.

Kirinji's eyes rose up and this time toward Kiyoshi, who appeared ready to go, and so was he. He wondered if Kiyoshi knew - he knew the group’s name - he wondered if he also knew who and each of them were. His arms dropped by his side as he walked toward the Uzumaki and simply decided to ask him directly. ”I’m ready to go” he began to speak, ”But I also have a question. Back at the ward I fought against this man. He - he wore a suit and had green hair,” Kirinji explained to him with his eyebrows furrowed clearly in confusion, but intrigue at the same time. ”Nothing seemed to work on him - you know who I’m talking about? You know anything about why and what he was?" His hands shifted into his pockets as he made direct eye contact with the Uzumaki patiently awaiting his response.

​

 

[Oni Archives]

After apologizing to Kasami for having hurt her, Eiji looked over at Kirinji who seemed to ignore him even though apologizing was one of the hardest things to do for Eiji. His quick glance shifted away from Kirinji to rest upon Ko, who seemed a bit beat up but from Eiji's point of view, Ko having a scratch upon him was the same as him being beaten up due to the absurd strength Ko had shown in the past. Now Eiji's vision went back to Kasami as he gave a soft nod, no words but his body language spoke leaps and bounds. There was a slightly more confident glow to his complexion and a swagger to his stance. After which he turned towards the group while listening to Kiyoshi's words.

Eiji had no clue what transpired after he had fainted from the idea of his eventual death to the snake from before. His mind was cluttered with questions that rushed down upon his brain like meteorites storming down upon the earth in a shower. Eiji's question hit with such impact and strength that the fear Eiji felt before became the high point of his fear and his current situation was a rather low point. He was definitely scared especially of the Burning Dawn but it was more so fear that his team and himself would eventually be drawn into something Bigger. This fear was far from irrational and judging by Kiyoshi’s almost panicked movements though hard to pick up on, Eiji had a feeling his intuition was right and even where they were now was somewhere they shouldn’t be.

He glanced over to the others and sighed a bit knowing that his questions and concerns would have to wait till after they left this place. His mind was rushing almost like a person on crack trying to figure out how to make it themselves or a computer that was being overloaded by processing millions of calculations with only one gigabyte of ram. He needed them answered but being here, at this moment in time was bad and he would quickly follow Ko and Kiyoshi to Kiyoshi’s home.​

 

[Oni Archives]

She felt him shift beside her, her eyes wavering as the blood came into view and his words were immediate to try and calm her worry. Her eyes closed and she nodded, accepting his words for truth. She knew that he would be okay, and had to trust that he was honest with her as well. He’d never lied to her yet. Sure- information had been withheld, but she wasn’t lying. It was a conversation for another time though, questions she had that were unanswered ever since the temple. His body left her side, her weight shifting ever so slightly toward where he’d been sitting since she had been leaning against him, before her hand caught her and propped her up instead. Exhaustion was claiming her body, her head lulling back and cascading a waterfall of white down to the ground as she let out a deep exhale. Internally she was managing her body, and externally she looked like she was sun-bathing with no sun. Not the best in the current situation, and none of them but Ko knew her well enough to know what she was doing, but if one paid attention to the less physical form of her being they would see it. She was regulating herself, maintaining her flow of chakra and keeping herself awake through meditation. If one watched long enough they would see the uneven breathing of exhaustion begin to level out, her chest rising and falling in normal breaths. She was thankful she’d adapted this technique for her recovery, easing the strain on her lungs and reinforcing her respiratory system. An air of peace fell upon her and she looked like she wasn’t even paying attention at this point, but she could hear every word being said- including the urgency in Kiyoshi’s voice.

His action potential hit her, her eyes flitting open as if she’d been asleep and from the corner of her eye without moving she glanced in the direction of the hole going through the building. Everything seemed calm, and that was always when things were the opposite. She looked up at Ko and took his hand as he approached her, getting to her feet with more ease than she’d have expected. Her meditation would have put her back on her feet, but not as effortlessly as this. It was intriguing, curious, though her questions would wait for all of them should she have any. She was brushing dust from the room’s debris off her rear when Ko leaned in to whisper to her, a smile curling at her lips as she nodded. She hadn’t spent her vouchers yet either, so they had a good base to start from. From what she could think she wasn’t leaving anything behind either. Though she felt like she was forgetting something, she couldn’t put her finger on what, and decided she shouldn’t stress herself about it when they were in danger. Her cheeks were flushed slightly from his praise but she did well of maintaining herself as she stayed still for a moment.

Kasami didn’t move to follow Kiyoshi until all of her group had moved on already, listening in silence to Kirinji’s questions, and were ahead of her, taking up the rear with Ko if he chose to walk with her and likely Ikki, who had stayed near the back of their group from the temple to the village. Naraka had been nothing but unkind to them since they arrived, but if they were going to have a moment of reprieve once they arrived at Kiyoshi’s home then there were things that would need to be addressed and talked about. If he had come behind them, he likely knew about Jinsei, or maybe he had at the moment the artificial life had been destroyed with all of his fancy technology. Ko didn’t know what was happening at the time or maybe he’d not have did it, but she just hoped it was something that they could smooth out if it was still an issue peacefully. Mainly because she didn’t want to see Ko hurt, but she also respected Kiyoshi and didn’t want to create problems for him either. She felt bad about Jinsei, having pushed it to the back of her mind until now. She also wanted to know more about the Tengu… where he went, if Kiyoshi thought Tatsumi was okay and if he had any clue at all where Eien had disappeared to. And she wanted to know about… him. Another wave of discomfort in her eye, a phantom discomfort only induced by her thoughts, had Kasami rubbing at the eye with the heel of her palm and frowning uncomfortably as they walked.​

**Wording of indicated italicized section courtesy of Izzy​

 

[Oni Archives]

There wasn’t exactly anything to be excited about when it came to winning. Ikki knew very well that it was only a stepping stone in the right direction for the lot of them. It was likely even Kiyoshi was of a similar mindset when it was all said and done. When the dust finally settled and Eiji joined the group once more kiyoshi began to go into a bit more detail on their circumstance. Ikki could already tell things were bad from the moment Tatsumi shifted from his typical *joyful. His explanation of the situation shined a better light on things yet there was still room for worry in any regard. In the end Ikki was happy to receive his aid let alone the boot in his body's healing. While it wasn’t necessarily going to take him years to recover or anything of the sort the boost was certainly appreciated. Once Kiyoshi finished explaining as well as everyone beginning to head out Ikki would’ve been bringing up the rear.

He had only done this as a means to somewhat keep an eye on everyone even if he was fatigued. It felt natural in a sense and as they would have eventually been on their way the thought of his biological father's death gnawed at the back of his mind. It was strange to say the least but at present their safety was more important. Not long after the thought came, it no sooner went with the notion of Ikki shaking his head. It wasn’t important in this moment or any other for that matter. It was bound to happen at one point or another.

 

[Oni Archives]

[sub]((Listen while reading: Mysterious force))[/sub]


=There was no way that they could understand how important this was...this moment right now occurring before their very eyes. What may seem so completely normal and like a down-sweep from the intense battle that had just happened...when one of those idols are removed or otherwise destroyed...it changes the entire way that things are done from that point. Kirinji posed a question - among many others that had been asked but it was his that seemed the most peculiar of the ones that had been asked and set a bit of confusion in Kiyoshi. He took the time to stop - and not entirely look over his shoulder at the man but only half way commit to the motion he answered him as quick and to the point as he could have: "I have no clue who you're talking about - or perhaps what. C'mon we have to get out of this village now." With that being said he would have started walking off down the burnt out corridor that had been created by the fight, he was in a rush - very obviously so and he was on extremely high alert - his eyes darting all around and even occasionally looking back behind him, not to see if they were following but as if he was looking for something else. Soon he could hear something...an uproar - it sounded like a mass crowd but even more then that...was it starting already? Kiyoshi's teeth grit and in the moment he was frustrated with trying to walk quietly out of the ward - it was apparent now that quiet and without panic was out of the question and he immediately clapped his hands together. He took a moment there to gather something...it wasn't quite chakra - unfamiliar to both those who were for the most part used to Naraka and those of the common shinobi world..he was building Hadou in his body - resonating a bright gold almost solar energy as he focused it and with that he struck one hand forward at the expanse of the building starting from the ceiling - which by this point seemed to be struck and veiled with an odd gold light and was shimmering as if a fine grain sand painting of what formerly was a building; then he struck it downwards ahead of him and just as his hand moved it was like he commanded reality itself and the building peeled downwards and parted ways for them. He had cleared the entirety of the building only in the path before them as if peeling the roof and walls ahead of them off like it was a sardine canister. From that point what he saw caused Kiyoshi to gasp in shock - and start running forward towards the end of the corridor....he had been looking upwards...

[sub]((Listen While Reading: Immersion - "Stakes"))[/sub]


=If one were to cast their gaze to the night sky they would see it. What were they seeing exactly? Well that would vary depending on how long you looked at it and how keen your eyes were.....as well as if you could bear to believe what it was you were seeing right in front of your face. What seemed like a beautiful view..perhaps it was in a way - as there were tents descending and some hovering in the air spiraling with beautiful white sheets in the sky....there were so many - countless ones as they seemed to fill the sky out of nowhere. As they did so...if you looked very closely through the night sky....there was something else floating in the sky as well. Villagers. There were people in the sky - screaming, struggling and trying to somehow find a way to tether themselves down to something, some of them even struggled and held to buildings and low hanging poles and pillars to try and resist the pull of some of these tents but it seemed that most of them were failing. There was men, women - even children...crying - screaming trying to get down...below them were there loved ones - reaching up, some clinging to their kids, their mothers, their siblings trying to pull them back down but it wasn't long before they were snatched into the air as well....blood filled the air...its smell was unmistakable and would tinge the air so strongly that it would even put a taste on the tongue....it dripped from the skies - some of the villagers even resorting to stabbing themselves multiple times over and over...in some places intestines even dropping to splat sickly on the ground where as some parents...were forced to do the unthinkable to save their children what evidently was a far greater doom then death itself. Where they toiled there were others in mass numbers gathering in ships down at the docks, fleeing the village - those unfortunate enough not to get a boat chancing the mysteries of Narakan waters to swim away and others practically paving the roads a'new as they marched and fled on foot. Kiyoshi stood there at the opening of it all in the streets - watching it all happen. With his massive strength he was able to pull some people back to the ground, running to pull and toss smaller children into the arms of their parents where they could be safely hoisted and held to run to safety. His action potential was shot though - and he had never thought that it would get this bad this quick....he had experienced it once before...it never got this bad this quick - it should have never gotten this bad this quick. Who would have thought it would get this bad this quick - he was supposed to be ready, he had told them he would be ready, he had told himself he would be ready - promised that he woul-....Jinsei.....oh no...Jinsei....his face flashed in Kiyoshi's head over and over and his teeth grit. He screamed at the top of his lungs and balled his fist tight hopping on his feet as he got a running start before suddenly with a cannon shot of an sound burst he dug deep and pulled as much of his action potential out as he possibly could. His physical image was blinding - darting everywhere like a mad man...he could see his face...Jinsei...it was his reminder...not the automaton that he had created in his guilt...in his grief...the real Jinsei...it was like he was watching him...watching him go from family to family pulling them out of the sky - running across wall to roof to jump into the sky and grab another child, another mother and bring them back to their family...but it only descended further...it seemed like more and more as he moved every person he brought down just floated off again - sometimes even putting a child back in parents arms only to turn to run to another and hear the painful sound of the family as a whole being absconded with - child in hand. It was blurring, blinding, their faces, their screams....Jinsei, the wives, mothers, mothers he never had - father he never knew fathers they would lose, their pain...his pain...he was supposed to protect them - THEY were supposed to protect them...where was Izanagi!? Where was everyone!? They trusted them - Jinsei trusted them! . . . he was there again.



It was after it all....they had floated off into the sky...taken by the tents that he...no it had summoned. He had struggled ran everywhere, Jinsei...he was Jinsei Hojo...he was young - he had the cutest of their animal traits that they featured - cat ears. Kiyoshi had been running everywhere...Hakai had been running everywhere. They were supposed to protect Kyotoshiro village. That was the reason that they were placed there in the first place. That was the reason that the blacksmith, and the brilliant inventor was supposed to be there in that village..they had found something wrong in the village and were supposed to keep their eye out but something had happened...something changed right under their nose and they were already in it. Hakai was literally - splitting the rooftops off buildings with dome like roofs and throwing them over the top of people to stop them from being taken off into the skies. Kiyoshi was zipping left and right and then he heard it....from across the village. That young voice calling for his name. He had been cocky - thinking that he could save them all, that he was fast enough and that where he slacked up Hakai would pick up the rest - they had worked so well together before, maybe they even did then - but it wasnt enough. By the time Kiyoshi had gotten back to the workshop...he was too far into the air. He ran up the workshop wall and launched himself off into the air reaching as hard as he could for the child that was reaching back to him...lost - by a fingers graze. . . and then the puppets came. Silence - nothing happened nothing stirred - Hakai tried to get him off the ground telling him that they needed to go. They needed to go now - he could practically hear it as if he was right here with them - he sounded just like he did then. Then he was awestruck at what happened . . . what he saw leave the tents. Like angels - they descended, floating down upon them...they seemed so...tranquil...at peace....Jinsei...but he couldnt feel him...he couldnt feel his warmth, the smile on his face..it was an empty one...lifeless even in the way that it was so artistically and perfectly plastered on his face.....unnatural. He was...no...he couldnt think it, couldnt say it...dont say it dont think it dont say it dont think it dont move....he couldnt move...this wasn't fear that rooted him in his place....it was despair. Hakai had moved on ahead of him not expecting Kiyoshi to freeze up the way that he had - he never froze up like that.The villainous , perverse silhouette of what was once Jinsei slid across the ground as if on wheels and was suddenly upon Kiyoshi...so quick...dug in at his chest and the contact was so jarring - so many things ran through his mind at once, his initial reflex to meet such a familiar visage with open arms - it caused him to gag back a scream, covering his mouth with one hand keeping contained the horrors his scream opted to portray with this hand...and a hand upon his cranium to try and contain those that were still rolling in his head...and then...he said it...he taunted him: "It wasn't your fault." he could hear that sick perversion of a childs voice in his head clear as day...it kept him up some nights.

---

=But it was his fault - he couldnt bring himself to think otherwise. It was his fault - he could have done more, he should have done more, he would do more.

"Gnnnh.......AAAAAAAAHHHH - KEEP FUCKING MOVING! DO NOT STOP FOR A SECOND. KEEP GOING ALONG THE NORTHERN PASS."

=Directing the group towards the road that winded down in front of them through a small clearing of trees and out through the rice fields carrying off into the horizon. As he said this he started running, weaving handseals as he continued to run back to the ward and run up the wall to its roof: "Gogyou Kaiin - Five Elements Unseal" and as he weaved these seals his finger tips started to emit a sealing chakra upon them - striking himself in the stomach and digging deep, turning as if there was a manhole cover on his belly his teeth grit and his body started to radiate a heat...soon a mass chakra burst from his body and with it - a scorching inferno. As he ran up the building he started to scream - fire striking out over his arms, legs, from his eyes till now it would seem as if he was spontaneously combusting. His screams were loud, a breath, then scream, breath, then scream - breath, scream, breath, scream, breath laugh - insidiously uncontrollable laughter as he planted on the rooftop and the very tiles around him started to melt. He then jumped off into the air and was now at level with the tents - he seemed to be levitating there a moment as the horrific spirit of inferno gazed about at all of the tents...it was best to cut off what he could...so that others could survive...this horrific countenance upon him...this thing that Kiyoshi had become. was long since sealed away for the horrors that it could unleash. It was known as his "Cinder Soul."

"Armageddon! Come to deliver the kings justice! GEKIHEN! (Lit: Cataclysm)" (0:34 for exact vocal reference)

=As he said this he clapped his hands together and from the soul's very own body there seemed to burst and emit solar flares that would curl and gather up above him. Pooling and spiraling together till the precipice of its otherworldly inferno. By this point had they continued going just as he said they would have felt an intense heat on the back of their necks as if it was right there on them...but were they to turn around they would see the night illuminated by a small sun hovering above the village. He would hold it there and as he did so he would look at all of the tents - the only thought in his mind was how he hoped to high heaven that that sadistic, evil piece of death worshiping garbage was somewhere inside one of these tents somehow. Once the ball was fully formed - he would give it a boost like a vollyball, and strike a devastating punch inside of it - giving off a radiant glow of a heatwave to all those anywhere in the vicinity of the village. This time not just a kiss of heat kin to the grace of the suns rays but like opening a broken kiln door with no protection..it couldnt be helped - he wanted to make damn sure he got the job done. As he punched it - the sky would erupt in a bright expanse that would cover even a gauging distance beyond that of the village going all the way back to even the temple that they had lost Sentou at before, and with it the tents were destroyed - some turning to ash even before the flames struck them...the resulting wave was too bright to look directly upon. It took a moment, but with enough time the brightness would dwindle away - and with every increment that the blaze toned down you could make out the shape of Kiyoshi fluttering down to them, in his normal form smoldering with soot like clouds bursting off his body as he would land roughly, staggering and wobbling to a knee where he would pop back up - hobbling behind them all through the forest, his body far too hot to touch and if anyone attempted such he would fan them away vehemently. They had to go, it was done - or at least he had hoped. They continued to make way through the path when suddenly Kiyoshi would hear it, a childish giggle as he spun around with a loud gasp as his ribs and exhausted body congealed at the seams only for him to behold it....the image of a dancing man...on a distant rooftop...this one - wearing a tophat and....he couldnt say for sure...they were so far...but in his mind he knew...it was him....it was him and he had somehow been there the entire time and . . . no. It couldnt be true.

The silhouette kept dancing, so slow...so ..passionless and deliberate then suddenly stopped and its head snapped down and seemed to be looking straight back at Kiyoshi - even from this far. Kiyoshi would simply grit his teeth - and turn back around, even in this moment the only thing that he could do was flee the scene...he just hoped everyone else had the sense to just trust him on this one and follow suit - Ko, on the other hand - had been following exactly what he said this entire time...he couldnt believe anything that was happening - to him? The best thing that he could do at this point - was keep his head down and keep moving forward...it had to get better from here - it had to, there was a chill in his back...it felt like death - it felt like he was going to die. He would have been hurrying along and had Kasami not followed along directly with him then he would have urged and even near aggressively nudged her along - she didn't want them to succumb to any of this..the moment he saw the tents cast off in the sky he felt anxiety and near despair at the idea that any moment she could start floating off...he had been holding her hand tightly the entire way - they didnt understand what caused it to happen and he wasnt taking any chances. After the sound of Cinders echoed through the night sky, he hadn't even bothered. His survival instincts knew what was best - and he would do exactly like Kiyoshi said - following the Northern Pass and he would keep doing so with great haste till he was directed otherwise, following the orders to a T....just like the bad old days.=​

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[Oni Archives]

Kirinji followed slightly behind Kiyoshi and stopped when he did, expecting a well-informed answer, but what was stated was far from that. "I have no clue who you're talking about - or perhaps what. C'mon we have to get out of this village now." One could almost feel his shoulder drops slightly in disappointment. His initial thought being that Kiyoshi was withholding information—he knew what the group of individuals were known as, knew about the man they had just fought, but not of this specific individual? Or maybe Kiyoshi really didn’t know what he was talking about. To be perfectly honest he couldn’t quite tell. But what he noticed from his body language was that the man was in a paranoid state, constantly checking his surroundings and on high alert. Perhaps they should be just as paranoid as him. While Kiyoshi continued forward Kirinji stood there and started walking again until he was nearly at the end of the group, practically shoulder-to-shoulder with Ikki. His head on a swivel while his crimson optics remained active. ”Or perhaps what.” was what Kirinji was stuck on. It made him think whether the man they had fought was a human being at all.

His deep thought was suddenly interrupted by an uproar followed by the sound of Kiyoshi clapping his hands together and gathering some sort of bright gold energy within himself. His hand struck downwards ahead of the path they were on and the building practically peeled away, but it was what was behind that opened Kirinji’s eyes and mouth in shock, surprise, and even confusion. He could hear Kiyoshi gasp before he bolted toward the end of the corridor. It took a second for him to catch himself briefly frozen, but he followed right behind him and looked up once they had reached the end. What he saw was not only confusing and indescribable, but horrifying. For a man that has seen a lot of things, this was something he was completely unfamiliar with. There were a—a countless amount of tents descending while some hovered in the air spiraling. But that wasn’t what was confusing or terrifying. It was the villagers. Villages in the sky, some on the ground holding on for dear life, screaming in agony and desperation as they tried to anchor themselves down. Some held onto their family members that were already in the air while others hugged each other tightly. Kirinji took off from the corridor as he went to help as many as he could. He grabbed the hands of men, women, children, even toddlers. Pulling them down with all his might. By the way he was sweating you’d think he’d save hundreds, but no. It was just the force that was pulling them up was just that powerful. Even with his augmented strength he struggled. And while he maneuvered throughout the village he could smell it like a shark in water. It was unmistakable. He looked up as he saw villagers stabbing themselves multiple times! There was so much blood that he could practically taste it. The more he tried to save, the more fatigued he became. Sweat pouring down all over his face, his hair practically drenched, combined with the heavy breathing. It felt impossible. And then he heard it. Screaming again over the already terrified screams, but this one sounded much more familiar and his head snapped onto Kiyoshi.

"Gnnnh.......AAAAAAAAHHHH - KEEP FUCKING MOVING! DO NOT STOP FOR A SECOND. KEEP GOING ALONG THE NORTHERN PASS."

Kirinji’s teeth grit and his fist balled up with anger. Was this all he could do? Was he this pathetic that he has to run? Or was it so they could fight the larger storm that seemed inevitably would come? His crimson optics scanned over the bodies and reactions of the others he was with. If they left, so was he. He was fatigued, yet he still moved at a speed that was a blur to the unaided eye. Jumping from roof to roof maneuvering through the village until he reached toward the road that winded down through a small clearing of trees. He reached there briefly stopping as he looked back toward the Uzumaki, witnessing the large mass of chakra released and the scorching inferno alongside it. Even from the distance he was at he could feel the heat. The night became illuminated by a small sun, hovering over the village, it contained a flaring chakra and radiated an unthinkable heat signature, he covered his eye with his hand lightly as one would when going outside after being in a dark room for a few hours. Whatever Kiyoshi was fighting he wanted to make sure he ended it then and there. Such incredible power. Kirinji turned, and when he turned, he heard the explosion, but he didn’t turn back. He kept moving forward just as Kiyoshi instructed. Had the group came as well, he’d be trailing behind them had they not decided to stop to look back as he had. "God damn it," he thought to himself, "Came here for Izanagi now I'm in this shithole with some god damn monsters. FUUUUCK!!!" The others wouldn't know, but if they looked back at his face they'd see the face of an annoyed man. Other than the face he was portraying calmness, but inside he was screaming with who-knows-what emotions. Even he didn't know what he was feeling at this point.

(Transitioning: Kagane Village —> Northern Pass)

​

 

[Oni Archives]

Ikki didn’t necessarily need to be told to keep moving even with as tired as he was. The tents were more than just a red flag for and with the accompanying scent of blood in the air he knew very well who the likely culprit could have been. Either way there was just a sinking pit in his stomach about the whole ordeal. This sensation was less fear and more so anger for the loss of life that was coming with such a gruesome arrival. When kiyoshi found himself attempting to save who he could, Ikki commended him for his efforts in the back of his mind, however at this point he recognized it as an effort of folly. This came as a too little too late situation as things began to unfold with Kiyoshi still attempting his best to ward off the tents. In the end their task was still the same and the aforementioned had officially pointed them in the right direction. Ikki still would’ve been bringing up the rear to ensure everyone had properly made it to safety even in his exhausted state.

His mind was still racing at the thought of what was to come in the long haul. Ikki could respect the actions that unfolded before him as he began to go from a slow and steady walk to a much quicker pace almost to the point of running. He wasn’t seeking to leave them behind but much like Ko would have been nudging kasami along, he would be doing the same for Eiji or even kirinji with the latter clearly getting the hint already. It was likely only a matter of time before they all got out of dodge. The only thing he could do at this point was hope for everyone's safety as this was no time to be lagging behind.

(Transitioning: Kagane Village —> Northern Pass)

 

[Oni Archives]

As Eiji had regrouped with his teammates and heard the man called Kiyoshi's remarks about the current situation, Eiji had many questions but after seeing Kiyoshi's rushed and somewhat panicked he was able to read the room and understand that asking now would either be impossible or cause multiple problems for his group. With this in mind, Eiji simply followed suit being the least battle tuckered member of the group as he knew whatever might be causing Kiyoshi to panic and cause Ko to follow suit would be something that he couldn't handle alone nor could they handle at the moment with the large amount of exhaustion running wild among his teammates and Kiyoshi.

As they began to move away from the location and Kiyoshi's fidgeting and panicked over the shoulder looks began to become more frantic Eiji would begin to sense something unnerving. The darkness, the black pit of emotions that he had suppressed were being drawn forth. Something was coming and it was big, something so big that it was causing the pain from the bite of the serpent from before. Eiji knew this was something life-threatening to not only himself but possibly everyone around him. Whatever was coming even Kiyoshi seemed to fear it and Ko also seemed to not want to see whatever it might be.

Suddenly as Kiyoshi's panicked expression turned to one of absolute horror and Eiji turned to notice a large swarm of what looked like tents raining down from the sky and the sense of pain which came from his near-death experience made sense. These things falling from the sky as the villages and people around them began to float into the air and begun stabbing themselves. This was dark, demonic, horrific, and terrifying to Eiji as he seemed unable to turn away or move for a long moment. Only being able to watch Kirinji and Kiyoshi attempting to save people from the terrifying fate that awaited those who floated up into the air. Eiji's face which was normally stoic and calm possessing a calculating expression was now twisted and contorted into panicked, horrified, and extremely fearful expression.

After a few moments, Eiji began to move hearing Kiyoshi's words to keep moving towards the pass. He would continue moving forward as fast as possible right behind Ko and Kasami. Before long he would feel an intense heat upon his backside and that he would grow extremely more intense but Eiji's fight or flight instinct would have taken control of his body and caused him to continue running without looking back heading off towards the Northern pass and to wherever they were headed too.
((Transitioning: Kagane Village —> Northern Pass))​

 

[Oni Archives]

"Your worst enemy, he reflected, was your own nervous system. At any moment the tension inside you was liable to translate itself into some visible symptom." -1984

She appeared to be calmer than the rest of them for the time being, aside from Ikki who didn’t seem like he ever panicked about much to begin with. Their pace was rushed and she could tell whatever was happening was something big, especially since Kiyoshi above all of them seemed to be the most out of sorts. It filled her with dread, and hopelessness began to settle in. What was more unnerving was him looking back behind them on occasion, past her, and since she’d intentionally put herself at the rear of the group- it left her wondering if she should be worried as well. For now she maintained herself, trying to be the clear head on the shoulders of this team. She kept pace, making sure all the others did, but she couldn’t help how she lost herself for a moment in what Kiyoshi was doing. She completely zoned out, watching this energy accumulate and manifest in its radiance. Anticipating something truly miraculous, she wasn’t disappointed when the very building blocking their path was peeled open and away.

But now she could hear it.. the screaming... she could smell it. It wasn’t a scent she was all too familiar with, having only experienced it once before, but... it was unforgettable. Kasami’s steps to keep up halted just before the giant fissure in the roof of the medical ward. Her feet were momentarily frozen in place, watching as the rest of the group continued down the corridor toward the wall’s opening. Blood rained down into the crack and on the ground, watching it with so much shock ripping through her body that she didn’t even have an expression, forming in puddles like the weather she loved so much. Her body didn’t want to move, even after Kiyoshi disappeared with Kirinji to try and help whatever calamity had fallen on the village, it was frozen in place until Ko had grabbed her hand and pulled her along. Her footsteps were fumbled at first, pulling her mind back from the shock as she followed him out of the ward and into the village, toward the direction they’d been instructed to.

She was thankful for Ko’s guidance, yet at the same time she wasn’t. There were some things that weren’t able to be blocked out. The screams were one of them, but the things that she could see now that she was among the chaos... running past families who were clinging to each other for dear life, the cries of children as an unseen force carried them away toward tents that floated in the sky... shrill cries of infants cut off so abruptly as their parents were forced to do...

This alone brought tears to her eyes, and it solidified the fate of the young woman. She felt sick. Sicker than sick this was... a new feeling, an overwhelming feeling. Her chest felt like it was caving in, her breath stolen from her as she pressed on. Kasami cling to Ko’s hand hard, the only thing she could actually feel in that moment as the rest of her mind and body abandoned her to save themselves. Numbness washed over her body from head to toe, and after some time it even extended out her arm and slowly to her fingertips. She could no longer feel her love’s hand, though she was still holding onto it like it was the very thing that kept her from being carried away with these villagers. This sensation, this nothingness, it was blinding. It was deafening. Tears came but they were silent, just rivers flowing from the eyes of a wounded soul.

Kiyoshi was screaming, but the sound was so distant to her she had already thought they were out of the village and into the pass. It was too late to turn back. It was too late to help. Even if they’d stopped all the tents... all those children murdered by their families to spare them. It would have ruined their family. Death was a gift after doing such a thing, not living with the reality that they’d murdered their own child. They could find solace in the fact that they’d saved them in their own final moments. The loving death of a mother and father. The world around them- it didn’t exist to her in those moments. Her reality was shattered and consumed by the black expanse of nothing, and even though her body continued to run and made it into the pass..... it felt like she’d left the rest of her behind. She barely registered sound, it was as if she couldn’t see and her body felt... nothing. It was cold here. So cold...

[[Exiting through Northern Pass]] ​

 

[Oni Archives]

=There he stood a'top of the ruins of what seemed to have been a medical ward of some regard. He walked through the rubble and waste - looking at overturned hospital beds, charred corpses and destroyed walls and ceiling as he reflected on what exactly it was that he was up against. This destruction was unprecedented. To believe that this was something that was done by a small band of shinobi? The silver haired male placed his hand upon an overturned pillar and lifted it seemingly with ease as he behld a crushed skull of a corpse beneath it. His eyes snapped shut in pain as he winced and braced the side of his head with a hand - shaking off the memory of the village before...there was similarity that brought him back to it...the crushed head - he remembered how it felt at the last village - that fishing hamlet when he was confronted by the boy...Jinsei.....he remembered what it felt like to crush his skull underneath his foot and he remembered....he remembered what he felt....or rather - in place of the memory his mind concocted another...it was ͕͗S̶͕͕͗͗µ̶͕͕͗͗b̶͕͕͗͗Ļ̶͕͕͗͗Î̶͕͕͗͗м̶͕͕͗͗È̶͕͗ sickening. He'd hope that he would never have to - ͕͗.̶͕͕͗͗.̶͕͕͗͗.̶͕͕͗͗ℕ̶͕͕͗͗𝕖̶͕͕͗͗𝕧̶͕͕͗͗𝕖̶͕͕͗͗𝕣̶͕͗ ̶͕͗𝕙̶͕͕͗͗𝕒̶͕͕͗͗𝕧̶͕͕͗͗𝕖̶͕͗ ̶͕͗𝕥̶͕͕͗͗𝕠̶͕͗ ̶͕͗𝕤̶͕͕͗͗𝕥̶͕͕͗͗𝕠̶͕͕͗͗𝕡̶͕͕͗͗.̶͕͕͗͗.̶͕͕͗͗.̶͕͗ - do it again...but he had a feeling that here in this savage land his hand would be forced to it again. He exhaled roughly, continuing on till he saw something shimmer a bit in the distance as a ray of light struck it from the busted ceiling above. As he approached he started to find that it was familiar and in that very familiarity his curiosity grew. Reaching his hand down into the rubble he pulled it out The Executioner Blade. He examined it...yes, this was the genuine article - but how? How did it get here? Could it be possible that these monsters had a presence back in his world as well? His eyes grew wild with outrage as he took a strap and slung the blade over his back making his way out the ward when suddenly as he emerged from the darkness within - there he was...the masked boy in the white robes that he had spoken to in the previous village. Before - he had told him as to the origins of Jinsei and his group, about the fact that Jinsei was not human and his group had planted automatauns in the village to spy on and abduct them. Doubtless he would have something to say as to the direction to take moving forward. The Hatake continued to walk - knowing he would start in as he passed by, his white robes and hood upon head as Sonzai crawled out from within and perched up on his shoulder under the cover of the hood...he wasn't sure about this masked boy...something about him just made him uneasy - gave him the creeps. But he was the only voice of the land they had right now.

"Do you see why the people need you now? All of this is the destruction they reek. Furthermore my silver haired friend - the destruction you see before you, was done by a single man - not the entire group. A single man brought this hell down around the ears of the people of Kagane. A single man burned this place to the ground. If you're going to do this...you need to commit to it. I can help make you strong - prepare you for what there is to come. But you need to trust me."

---

=Shishiou looked at the boy for a moment and then around at the village...it was scortched - destroyed, torn asunder. Parts of certain rooftops were melted and if they were higher up they were completely melted or glasses depending. This, by one man? How was he ever to save anyone again? Might controls everything - and right now in comparison to this kind of cataclysm he controlled nothing - how would he ever when he got back home if there were monsters like this running about and able to pass back and forth between the two? Looking at all of the rubble Sonzai looked at Shishiou as he did back at home. Neither of the two knew what to do and the silence permeated the air in a heavy and creepy manner. Soon this was cut short by Shishiou's voice as he turned his head only half way towards the boy and inquire:

"What do I need to do?"

=And with that...the masked boy smiled wide.=

​

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[Oni Archives]

The Haruno male was close in tow to his new found silver haired ally, ever since the death of the Hyuuga boy - though the boy shouldn't have been as foolish enough to go and get himself killed. fool was the only thought that crossed his mind but yet he still found himself thinking of the lad while the two travelled in silence to the next village. Upon setting his emerald orbs on the site was something that he was not ready to see. It was a melting pot of death and destruction, he froze outside while he drank in the horrible sight before him. bodies massacred, buildings burning, corpses laid out in the street.. was this world really war driven? where were the shinobi to protect the village? questions rang through his head - as an itching sensation pulled at his memory, it was as if he was having a sense of deja vu. He took a seat on a bench outside while he watched the other step inside a building. No words had been exchanged between the two since the third of their troop had been killed. He took it upon himself to start meditating.. to begin the process of healing his mind from the tragic incident.

He transcended into his mind space, exploring his inner thoughts. He was taken back to his days as a young boy, walking the market district where he discovered the corpse of his mother. but as if he was on a chain he was pulled off into another memory, the death of his squad leader from when he first became a genin and from there he was pulled to the final memory - the death of his comrade. All this death that he had been surrounded by throughout his life made him come back to his realization of why he wanted to study medical ninjutsu, so he could protect those who needed it and so he could save the weak from onslaught and even lessen the casualties of war.

When he opened his eyes back up, it was as if a fire had been set in them. Determination. His ears caught the tail end of a conversation held between the silver haired male and a new comer. Something important had transpired and he could feel the weight of it in the air around them. He had yet to speak as he began to follow behind his new ally. but with the sound of his knuckles cracking to break the tense silence and his eyes falling upon the new decoration on the Hatake's back he spoke
"Whatevers happening seems pretty serious.. But.. I've gotten this far by following your lead, So if you continue to be my sword.. I'll be your shield."

He stepped next to the other held out his fist forward towards their path. Keeping pace with his ally.

​