[RP Location] Kagane Village

[Oni Archives]

”Tch.” Before they had even begun to be at each other’s throat unbeknownst to anyone nearby they had already been snapping their maws at one another. Two beast of men cultivated from the same being. Izanagi, father, mentor, and more importantly apart of their bond. These two certainly had more than their golden chakra in common. However when Eien became enshrouded in lightning Ikki’s own began to radiate a violent heat. His body was effectively boiling his muscles bulging to the point that he could very easily mislead the naked eye to thinking that he managed to activate one of the eight gates or seven heavenly breaths. His very body pulsated at the thought of having a fight with Eien, let alone in the town he was sworn to protect. His teeth grit at the sight of Eien’s own dojutsu the following sensation that washed over him wasn’t fear or even dread, it had become an amalgamation of excitement and jubilation. This feeling was one of the things Ikki was very prone to over the years whether it be having a bout with Izanagi or simply testing out a new technique on a whim. In this case however Eien managed to spark something deep inside Ikki. The moment Eien had become engulfed in lightning and put his new found dojutsu to work Ikki’s own were quick to dial in on his form. He knew it was never as simple as ’go here, do this or that.’ In fact when they had done so and Eien’s image had gone to work his own had done the same. The golden chakra that bound these two and even more importantly the make of the space time jutsu that found itself in the works were all pieces of the puzzle.

His image emerged, dispersed and then re-emerged before Ikki with hand raised like a blacksmith's hammer over an anvil, ready to strike. However when his hand came raining in he could find that Ikki’s form peeled away not seeking to escape with speed itself, but grace Eien with the same golden chakra he used on him so long ago. The back of Ikki’s form peeled away in a cultivation of golden chakra only to reveal another set of arms as well as Ikki’s upper torso, before eventually becoming the entirety of his form. If there was something he could never forget it was the cataclysm of events that led up to their encounter as it were now. Ikki’s mind flashed back to a time when Eien matched his own body flicker to meet him midair and decimate his form sending him hurtling through several trees. Had one played that memory frame by frame they could see Eien curling Ikki’s form over his knee before launching him asunder. This recollection in his subconscious led to the formation of this doppelganger so to speak. This form was comprised entirely of subarashii in hopes of cushioning his form only to have Ikki’s original being move to escape the strike. His body had done a pivot much like a kickboxer turning to perform a backfist.

However in Ikki’s case this clone of subarashii served to take hold of Eien’s forearm as much as give him a means to escape and deliver a strike of his own. Had this in fact been the case Eien could soon find that Ikki’s own formation of subarashii would transform to a degree while still managing for only a moment to keep his relative stature. Had it managed to successful stop Eien’s range of motion it would be seen decorating it’s own physique with a multitude of spikes like hugging a porcupine it aimed to in turn completely grapple Eien as a whole. This was meant to not only hinder Eien himself but hold him in place for what was to come as Ikki’s form peeled away in such a fashion to allow him to effectively sidestep Eien’s strike.

As for Ikki himself? His form was bolstering a speed matched only by the aforementioned seven heavenly breaths or the Eight gates. It was no forbidden jutsu at all however but in fact the technique he came to call the Kiln of Seiryu. What came of this was his form darting to the left his own motion indenting the ground slightly with an impression of his foot. This was enough to launch him from his counterparts reach. In this instance alone Ikki would’ve been beyond on edge as his form could now be seen standing several feet away from the aforementioned. His maw open in hopes of spewing a brief stream of flames in Eien’s direction. They seemed far hotter than usual even for an Uchiha with an abundance of chakra. As it stood Ikki didn’t seek to strike Eien down, but he knew the intention behind both of their attacks was something of a reminder that they were kin. In the end that very well could mean they would one day have to kill each other. However his mirror spoke of needing one another and just the same had he managed to make it beyond simply coming to blows with someone he could consider a brother. In the end Ikki was seeking to reason with the man but their fist were their words given the circumstances.

 

[Oni Archives]

あ な た の 心 は 痛 む が 、笑 顔 壊 れ て も 笑 顔

When Eiji asked that very important questions Kirinji narrowed his optics. His senses came into tune and his sensory technique immediately alerted him of chakra being inputed into the air. The feeling of detection was similar to a tingling sensation — akin to being lightly shocked by lightning. The wheels in his mind began to turn and he thought to himself: It had been a while since that man disappeared; was he the one that was fighting? Kirinji could only assume and while in thought Kasami replied to him after responding to Eiji. He listened, like actually listened, not like others where they only appear to listen, but instead are only waiting for their turn to speak. She had some validity to her point as one man cannot change the world. But he knew that already. One man cannot change the world, but he could be the seed of change. When she finished speaking he only responded with a genuine smile. "Stupid" she said, the first response you get whenever someone explains their goal which seems unrealistic to others. "idiot" — from her mannerism and choice of words it was clear that even if he explained his side there was a potential she may not understand, but it was understandable. Kirinji put his foot down and readjusted the way he was sitting. Instead of leaning back he'd adjust to where he would be sitting straight up.

Instead, he changed the subject. He responded, but it had nothing to do with what his goals or aspirations were. His response had to do with the input of chakra in the air and their missing friend, "Are fights common around here? I can feel two people fighting. Could be your 'friend?' He calmly spoke and looked at them awaiting their answers.

​

 

[Oni Archives]

As they continued talking Eiji sighed a bit right when a large disturbance spread through the air around the area. As the conversation seemed to be a bit dry as well as going to a point which he wished to avoid, Eiji immediately took notice of Kirinji shifting the conversation towards Eiji's questioning of where Ikki went. Sadly anyone and their mother could sense the massive disturbance spreading through the area and the battle that was beginning with such a huge abrupt bang. As Kirinji asked if fights were common around here, Eiji's face contorted a bit in annoyance as he looked at him with a grim expression as his eyes recounted the horrors they've gone through in less than a few days, "Are fights common around here? I don't know, we aren't from here... But at least around us, they are... and it's not safe around us either if my hunch is correct about that Sentou guy from before and this Ikki now." his melancholy tone of voice seemed to be full of sorrow as he thought about the fight at the temple, with the beast and when that merchant thing chased him.

Eiji turned towards Kasami once more his expression changed back to the normally serious and somewhat distant expression he'd carried their entire journey, "We should go look and see if we can assist this Ikki, he is our best bet to find our way out this demons den." His voice was still full of sorrow and deep regret for the fact that he even ended up in this place but he knew that if they went towards the battle there was a chance for another one of them to disappear similar to Sentou or worse die their instant. At least in Sentou's case, Eiji assumed him to be alive although this was pure speculation and nothing more. As he looked at Kasami awaiting her reply he considered asking Kirinji though he had little faith or trust for him as he was an unknown who supposedly allowed himself to drown to come here.​

 

[Oni Archives]

Kasami let out a soft sigh. As soon as both of them mentioned that it seemed like there was a fight going on, her heart sank. It meant a few things to her for these events to be transpiring. The first being that she was too distracted to notice it starting- which wasn’t good in a place like this. Distractions would get her killed. The thought shifted her gaze away from the door almost as if she were ashamed, her shoulders sagging a little while she sat up. The second was exhaustion. It felt like they couldn’t catch a break. Every time she felt at ease, another fight landed in their laps. And the third- well, that one hurt the most. She’d have to walk away from waiting for Ko.

Putting her hands on her knees, she stood up gracefully and concealed how she was feeling in the moment behind a mask of relaxation. No more distractions... Without a word she walked past the two boys and out into the open world, immediately noticing the tall vortex of lightning. Easier said than done. Unable to help it, she rolled her eyes at herself before casting a glance over her shoulder at Eiji and Kirinji. “Well, he saved us- now it’s time to help him.

When she looked at Kirinji there was an invitation to join them in her gaze, a slight hopefulness to it if anything, but she didn’t verbalize a desire for him to join them. She couldn’t ask him to put his life on the line for a man that he didn’t know. Truthfully, even if she hadn’t known Ikki she would probably still try to help him. She did agree with Eiji that he was probably one of the most willing guides they had at the moment. But it was more than that. This shouldn’t be the way every situation is settled. Fighting was just such a... savage way to remedy things. Besides this was a lovely village...

Saying nothing more, she left the temple and, if they decided to stay, Kirinji and Eiji behind. She didn’t, however, know what on earth they could do to help. Everyone in this world was far too strong for them to even scratch.

Instead of intervening so soon, she made her way to a rooftop nearby and crouched at the edge of it, resting her hand against the shingles. It would be incredibly unlike her to go bathing into a fight without observing what was happening to begin with, but this just looked like an absolute, for lack of a better word, cluster fuck. This was a clash of two incredibly powerful people, and she was sure that they weren’t even the worst that they could come across. Especially with everyone so concerned about the Mask Salesman that Tengu told them about.

She could see the air wavering around Ikki against the heat of his body, how his figure was starting to bulk up. It was interesting and at the same time only caused her to worry further. She also realized that the person he was fighting was the same man that she had seen standing next to the tree outside the temple. Also probably the person that knocked the tree down... hm. Had he been watching them?

What a mess...​

 

[Oni Archives]

=His eyes snapped wide as he saw the doppleganger form from the subarashii that Ikki had at his disposal. The moment that it formed he could witness this in slow motion with his own sharingan but he was already in the act. So what did he do? Increase the force of his strike in the first place. The strike was of a very particular form and style - one that came from the side of Eien that belonged to Hakai Sarutobi, the progenitor of the Oda Clan and master of the fist, but it was a level of which was not very drastic at all. It was a much weaker version of the technique known as "Messatsu" that he had learned from the parts of his DNA that were from Hakai. However, now that he saw this - he would increase that strength two fold and continue down with the chop, striking the subarashii clone and connecting the mortar with the ground - not only destroying its form pertaining to its actual shape and density but scattering the Subarashii that was there to the winds till it was nothing. He wanted to make sure that there wasn't any left behind to be a problem later. As he had done this the male would turn to face Ikki and see that he was beginning to spew forth flames. The residual heat that had started to linger in the area did not bother him at all - he was used to hotter then what this was after all of his travels, especially the places that it had taken him in Naraka and as well due to his physiology from Hakai's genetics. "The Subarashii huh? Two can play that game.". These words were spoken from Eien with a very particular enunciation to the idea that this was a game to be played and when he said such he would have had his hand lifted head level and palm towards the air as if to catch something. From that point a kanji would appear in his hand, fabricated from subarashii forming it there in his palm to create a summoning kanji that could activate when his chakra pulsed in it. The moment that this happened the flames started to come forward and a shogun like helmet appeared in his hand - followed by a short smirk that appeared upon his lips. When the flames came to the point that they would reach Eien it would seem as if the flames had struck something and started to meld and form around it, pushing at different angles - it was apparent that they were striking a solid object...but soon the flames started to get pushed back...and Eien's voice came from within - distorted....deeper....darker...

[sub]"Listen While Reading"[/sub]

"Impressive. They're hotter than the flames of the Seiryu before you. But I need you to show me more."

=From that point it would be apparent that the voice of Eien was echoing through the helmet, however that mere echoing did not explain why it was that his voice had become so much more distorted and deeper. While the flames spew forth towards Eien...he would be walking through them...by now his footsteps were crushing tile with every step he took towards the man - leaving loud stomping sounds in his wake with the shattering of tile. The flames were hitting his armor but the surface of his armor seemed to be distorting and blurring as they connected and seemed to simply disperse. If one looked hard enough through the flame it could be seen that Eien was walking straight through and towards Ikki with no resistance at all, making an intimidatingly fast approach. His right arm was enveloped with what would seem like a bijuu cloak - however instead of the typical vermilion chakra this could be seen to be bright purple, and violently painful for the sharingan to directly perceive were one to look at it. This was the source of Eien's subarashii...the source of the subarashii itself. When he kept walking forward he would strike his hand out and the arm would extend - a wide open grasp that was big enough to expand forty inches, making a blindingly quick viper like grasp for Ikki's head. Had he been successful he would grasp Ikki by the cranium and slam him down into the ground, where he would then continue to walk and close the gap to come to stand over him only to lift him up to head level once more. He was monolithic...the armor that enveloped him seemed to distort and visually increase his body proportions but it wasn't confirmed if this was simply appearance or factual. If Eien was not a force to be reckoned with already - he certainly was now. His chakra, life force, very presence seemed to be bolstered by that armor and overpowering the area around where they fought in the current moment.=​

 

[Oni Archives]

[Addressing Eien]
Had one been capable of seeing Ikki’s mental impression of himself they were bound to find it laughing. However it wasn’t laughing due to amusement or as a personal defense mechanism to fear this was a laughter of an unadulterated excitement. When these two encountered each other years ago Ikki was still young, unrefined, and more importantly far from as capable as he is now. When Eien’s voice called out, it was almost as if Eien knew very well what the gift he left Ikki was capable of. One strategy down many more to employ, but this interaction was something that Ikki had long since been waiting for even as Eien escaped the grasp of his Subarashii and soon after called out to Ikki once more. This of course followed Eien’s manifestation of an armor and with that came bolstering of his form. His teeth grit at what left his counterparts lips. It wasn’t quite a taunt but it came across as such to a degree within his mind but just as Eien said "Impressive. They're hotter than the flames of the Seiryu before you. But I need you to show me more." Ikki was more than happy to oblige even with the arrival of those who were under his care. Upon their arrival and the goading words of Eien reaching his lips he could be seen snapping his maw shut, the stream of flames cut short without an ounce of hesitation. The noise they made upon impact prompted him to have a change of tactics. However upon seeing the armor the aforementioned donned it made Ikki’s eyes strain for only a moment before he had gone on the defensive.

Eien was making his way towards Ikki with the same daunting presence he had to any normal individual. However for Ikki in these moments it merely meant the two of them were getting a bit more serious. The last instance of flames fanned around his form after their impact only to reveal his armored form. In turn Ikki flashed back to his encounter with Oshirama and the armor he donned at such a time. Back than Ikki never got the chance to stand his ground, but instead his actions were folly. His fist impacted back than only to have his form beaten as well as broken yet he didn’t intend for this to be the same. As Eien began his final approach and his hand shot forward in an attempt to grasp Ikki’s cranium he could find that this young man in question met his outstretched and the subsequent extension of the limb with that of another quickened movement. Despite his want to completely shut down this hand in its entirety he knew he didn’t quite have the means to do so. Even if he had done what was on his mind it was bound to fail given his opponent. So what followed instead was that Ikki put his mind to work just as the hand came into his own striking distance, he would swing his own hand forward in a culmination of flames moments after. What followed next was a recoil of Ikki’s form akin to someone who used explosion release concussive in nature giving Ikki a sense of thrust upon their arrival. Eien could find the hand that he had expounded upon was met with the same intensity of heat from before with equal speed to his own grasp. Ikki was launching himself to a safer distance with a familiar rage about him. Had his compatriots come to join him in his new found position they could find his flesh still hot to the touch. It was clear that Eien wasn’t intending on pulling any punches so why should he. However upon this revelation he remembered that they in fact needed Eien if they had any hope of beating the forces at work. His voice called out to the aforementioned as he sat all of 30 feet away from their original position adjusting his eyes to the strain that came from Eien’s singularity of Subarashii. It was intense to say the least but Ikki was going to press on.

“Just remember Eien, they trusted you to protect them. If you struck out and killed them all would that make you any different than the people who stole from you?” Ikki said this with haste and without hesitation. He wasn’t typically one for talking during fights as Izanagi had beaten that out of him ages ago, but this was different. He needed to effectively talk Eien down before they had done more than simply destroyed the temple even further. If this fight spilled over into the town or even Tatsumi’s medical ward it was bound to be far more trouble than simply settling their differences. Had Eien opted to pursue Ikki he could find that he was ready to retaliate with a matched intensity with his own subarashii poised.

 

[Oni Archives]

Their responses to the question were interesting. An individual tone and facial reactions can tell a lot about their personality or their feelings towards one another. Both of their responses may be similar in action, but the meaning behind it differs. Eiji only wants to go help because he believes he will gain something in return. Which was selfish. While Kasami's response was that they owe the man that saved them. Which was honorary. Kirinji made mental note of this. He does this a lot actually, making mental notes of each individual encounters marking down their tells and reactions as if he was checking off an imaginative list. He didn't know why he did it other than he just did. It helped him organize his thoughts and understand others better. When Kasami had finished speaking he made eye contact with her. It was clear that it was an invitation to join them, and sadly Kirinji could not decline. He made a face and shrugged while she walked away.

"Sure, why not!"

Kirinji glanced over at Eiji with a light smirk as he trailed behind Kasami. His approach was similar to Kasami, but instead of being on the same rooftop he would on the one across from her. Tactically this was a better scenario because if they were bunched toward they would be sitting ducks. And it also helps to ambush from all areas over one. Kirinji angled himself in order to hide his physical appearance, his scent, and his chakra so he could analyze the fight for more information. Both men had an interesting presence around them. Kirinji could feel the literal 'heat' in the air which reminded him of a sauna. He tilted his neck slightly to the right and dipped his neck down disgusted by the feeling. Though he tried his hardest ignore it. Furthermore, he noticed how worked out each of them were by their figures, and it was obvious they had some previous history. For now, Kirinji simply observed while glancing over at Kasami and Eiji had he decided to join. ​

 

[Oni Archives]

Hm...

Kasami was making mental notes of every possible thing that she could see with the naked eye at the current moment. She was just completely stumped on what to do. Oni terrified her to begin with, but there was just something about this guy that made her extremely nervous. He intimidated her. Not to say that wasn’t very difficult. She was petite, and unsure of herself. Everyone seemed like a threat.

As she looked across the courtyard, or whatever it was called, where this fight was occurring, she saw Kirinji take position opposite of her.

She wanted to help Ikki, but... how. At the moment they seemed to be going toe to toe, but she did notice that he’d been forced back into the defensive. His opponent was unrelenting.

Unrelenting

Ikki just needed... an opening, time, anything to give him an upper hand. At the realization she popped up to her feet, waving a hand in the air above her head to get Kirinji’s attention. When he looked she’d make an ‘x’ in front of her chest as if blocked, not really knowing any other way to signal it. She was trying to signal to him to slow the giant armor down.

Without waiting for a response, Kasami let her feet slide off the edge of the roof’s overhang and land on the ground. Her feet planted, she surged her chakra and used it to fortify her jutsu as she clasped her hands together. There was a slight rumbling beneath them before thick planks of wood erupted from the ground in order to form a wall that was waist high. Should the suit of armor continue to press on and break through she would keep putting up a barrier between he and Ikki every time he took a step forward.

Kasami would variate the wood she was producing, creating a wall to block him off and then forming roots at his feet in an attempt to trip him up. Another wall, more roots. Part of her felt incredibly guilty for tearing up the tile more than it already was, but broken tile was probably the least damage possible in this situation.​

 

[Oni Archives]

[[Addressing: Ikki, Kasami]]

=During the moment of him starting his impending march towards Ikki there would come a disturbance. The moment that he started his approach there would be barriers that erected themselves before him only to get struck down, at first he did not notice it but it was not till his legs started to get snagged by vine like branches that he started to pay more attention to that and focus on applying more power to his walk to get to his opponent. His course persisted only for him to get snagged the moment that he would have reached however he continued to do this - to no avail per the moment for his target: Ikki, propelled himself like a rocket to distance from him. This wood angered him, he could not see where the source was but he only knew of one shinobi that had the wood style - even if this was not being applied in the same manner that he would. The flames in the aftermath of his propulsion were of no consequence. At this range he may be able to see it. The armor - being made of Souzou was not simply a solid texture but seemed to be ever moving. The subarashii was creating kanji upon the surface, manipulating a formula that would cast a space/time ninjutsu over the exterior of the armor and his flames were being sucked into that very aperture. When he shot back away Eien's hand followed suit - firing off as the purple dark claw expanded and lashed out with immense speed to grasp the male, aiming to do so with a hand big enough to catch him so that his head was peeking up from between middle finger and ring finger were he to be caught, Eien himself were slow in this armor but that hand was anything but - quite resemblance to a jinchuriki's extended appendages when in cloak. His words did ring true, though Eien's thought process only hazed him a moment rather than bringing full clarity. He couldnt help but think about that word: "Trust" was it worth it? Were it silly in times like these.....was he silly in times like these to think that he could put trust in people...that he was worth trusting to protect them. His eyes snapped open as he would have let out a loud yell - more so in tantrum at his thoughts and rage at those that disturbed his peace in his mind rather than at Ikki and the outsiders but he would make a good stress relief to take it out on in his mind. Had he grasped the male he would squeeze him tight and slam him down into the tile upon his back and keep him there, as he would begin to pull himself from the branches to continue and close the gap. Had he missed him? Then the arm would thrash around like a high power water hose with no one to hold it. harshly cratering and demolishing tile beneath it in a chaotic writhe of frustration hoping to pop the male along the way through the chaotic jump rope appendage. His eyes looked upon the branches, analyzing it and the chakra that brought them to animation. At that point he darted his eyes around searching out the chakra till finally his eyes would have focused upon the figure of the girl that had passed him before. . . . and she had seemed so nice. His eyes narrowed at her sharp as daggers, a message of acknowledgement from him to her before he would have continued along to make way upon Ikki.=​

 

[Oni Archives]

[addressing Eien]
Ikki could appreciate her need or want to help in a matter like this. Her attempts at slowing Eien down if even for a moment wouldn’t go forgotten. However in the moments that Eien became even mildly distracted by her efforts Ikki took it upon himself to put something to the test. He had indeed taken notice of Eien’s armor ingesting his flames but perhaps that wasn’t the answer to everything as his fire had been completely consumed in these moments. If there was something these two had in common besides their connection to one another via their respective father. It was the fact that on the surface level they were quick witted within their nature of combat. Creating techniques to completely utilize their arsenal. In this case when Ikki took note of Eien’s armor as its ebb and flow in terms of the purple aura that flowed over it. When he managed to put himself at a safer distance, even if only for a moment. In the instant that Eien’s enlarged hand shot forth in hopes to grab Ikki he could find that he would waste no time escaping its immediate path, as he soon used his own Souzou like a spring board a daisy chain of platforms only to be accompanied by Ikki’s ebony form upon each of their creation. He moved about as if he was unbothered by gravity. However likely Eien was to witness his form steaming ebony form he could find his muscular structure nearly doubling as he grew closer. It was likely that the impact to come wasn’t going to be enough to rattle Eien or even cause him to falter for even a moment. However had it been successful in colliding with Eien’s armor glad form he could find Ikki’s crimson hues dialed wide as if someone had flashed a light within.

Kasami’s efforts of slowing him down was all that he needed even as his souzou hand shot forth and this was set to be the culmination of her efforts on Ikki’s behalf. Had his steaming form successfully made impact with Eien’s helmet he could find Ikki aiming to ring it like a bell. His fist reinforced with that of his own yang chakra aimed to be as hard as steel. Had the aforementioned occured and his helmet been struck, like the tolling of a bell he could find that Ikki’s voice was aimed to effectively blanket his eardrums. This voice would’ve been the repeated phrase from before claiming that they “needed him” while this was more than the claim, but in fact the truth of the matter. Ikki by no means was going to cry but the look his crimson hues portrayed had Eien even glanced at him amidst their confrontation would’ve been that of a brother. A brother looking to bring his elder back to his senses, back home, and more importantly to a balance. Amidst their gaze however they were poised to cast Ikki’s own variation Eien’s armor albeit far less suitable for long term use. This was Ikki’s Kamui ability known as fox hunt the flow of which was just as ever changing but meant for quick burst. It wasn’t something he took fondly to abusing, but more importantly he hoped that even he was incapable of tolling Eien’s helmet like a bell that this techniques flow of spacetime ninjutsu would trigger a disturbance between the two. A resonance of opposing frequencies like the matching ends of a magnet being forced together. He hoped to break his armor flow and leave an opening for the girl that joined him. Of course had his armors response been violent the pair of them were likely in for a treat, while far from unexpected it was going to be a rude awakening for either party. Whether this awakening was merely the fact that they were effectively brothers or that they had a common enemy given recent events only time could tell.

 

[Oni Archives]

The continuous talk between Eiji, his teammate, and the mysterious new stranger which he had a glaring lack of trust for began to wrap up, Eiji gave a light sigh as he looked at Kasami who would be the first to leave, "Great, now this Ikki guy is Ko... Can't these supposed strong people make it easy for us rather than getting into unneeded trouble... I just want out this hell hole." He said after Kirinji had flashed off to follow behind Kasami. Eiji himself would trail behind at a lazy pace as he began to take note of what he could see and sense from a distance. Though from the distance he could only tell that two powerful figures were waging war upon one another. In his mind, it was reckless to get involved but in the back of his head, he knew very well that if he did not help Ikki now, something worse may befall them all later without the help.

As these thoughts on whether or not to get involved in this war of demons, this battle of monstrosities, this freak show of a fight, Eiji's mind raced as he came to be standing upon a rooftop not far from the battlefield but hopefully outside the range the monster's reach and notice. He noticed the giant armored beast charging towards Ikki and Kasami attempting to slow him down, Kirini sitting back and doing nothing. Another reason for Eiji not to trust this shifty freak who showed up in such a freaky way and Ikki seemed to be using Kasami's attempt as a chance to force his hand against the armored monster known as Eien to Ikki. Eiji came up with an idea he was hopeful would work and began to implement it.

With a single hand seal, a flash of blue light would appear before Eiji as his hand outstretched towards the armored suit. If he was not paying attention or ignoring it, he would find himself struck from the side. As the mysterious force struck him everyone would notice an instant frost prison would have formed upon his left side. The ice would be a very dark blue almost black in nature and the special property of this ice would be to absorb stamina, not simply chakra but it separated out yang chakra and absorbed it from the body. This separation would cause severe weakness in anything or anyone struck by it. The yang chakra's vitality property would be used to increase the frost prison's strength, density, and help it grow to cover one's body faster. All this came from the flash of light which was followed by an ice spear about the size of one of Eien's pythons.​

 

[Oni Archives]

Kirinji continued to observe the battle amongst the two men. There was such a sickening presence around them and the way they spoke it was as if they go way back. Occasionally Kirinji would glance over at Kasami and the second time he noticed that she was throwing up a sign and mouthing some words. He looked back at her in confusion — like one of those “Really?” faces. But he quickly understood after she initiated her attack. Unfortunately, Kirinji did not assist them. It’s not that he did not want them — it’s that he couldn’t. His skillsets were never good for immobilizing individuals. And it was eye opening. Even though he couldn’t help currently he would remain on standby for when needed as a surprise factor.

Eventually, the other man eventually joined the rest and without further ado he let off an attack. A lethal spear that shot toward Eien at a rapid speed. “What an idiot!” Kirinji thought to himself, a mix of panic in his voice, as he quickly moved to stop his attack. Kirinji would body flicker midway between Eiji and the others. He’d swipe down on spear with a kunai in his right hand. His aim was to break it completely to stop it before reaching its intended target. Unfortunately, he missed completely as he was not quick enough to stop it. A tremendous mistake as the spear would continue flying toward the others.

 

[Oni Archives]

Kasami had been moving the battlefield, trying to get a view of different angles as she attempted to ensnare the armor’s feet. It also had another purpose though- she wanted to get out of Eien’s line of sight. After he had looked her way she was just very unsettled. As Ikki launched himself up onto the suit of armor, she hadn’t noticed something.

She was minding her business up til that point, just trying to be a pest to hold up the armor, but suddenly as she was watching what Ikki was doing, she realized it. She could hear what he was saying, trying to reason with the boy inside of the armor. He didn’t want to hurt him, he was trying to talk to him. Trying to talk him down. The realization made her hands fall to her sides. Maybe it worked. Maybe she’d given him the opening that he needed to get closer and get through to him. She was hopeful.

And then she wasn’t.

Suddenly ice started to spread all over the side of the armor closest to her. It was her tell that Eiji was here, she hadn’t even noticed him coming. She was about to turn toward him, halfway in the process, when the spear went flying over her toward Eien.

“No!” Kasami was horrified, watching it hurtle towards Eien. She needed to act, maybe wood would stop it. Just as she was about to react and try it, Kirinji came in to stop it. It seems he miscalculated a few things though, as he missed the spear by inches.

Running out of time, she panicked.

Wood would just take too long. She needed to stop it now. Within her desperation to stop it, when it was a mere foot away from its target she raised her hand and pulled the spear to herself. She had fully intended to be able to dodge it before it even reached her location, but Kasami had never used that aspect of her Rinnegan with such raw... desperation... It was going too fast. Too fast for almost anyone to react at that.

All the girl had the time to do was to put her arms up to protect her face and try to turn to the side. As the spear, that had thankfully spun so that its point wouldn’t impale her, made contact there were a myriad of sounds that accompanied it. She would let out a very short and pained scream. The spear collided with her and shattered, knocking her to the ground with her arms still over her face. Her side was covered in ice as it would have been for its intended target, slowly starting to spread. Bones had crunched on collision, but what was broken at the moment was a mystery until she tried to move. It was her ribs, though she didn’t know how many, which took her breath away the second that she’d tried to lower her arms.

Kasami didn’t move again, just laying there. She was almost thankful that her face was covered, tears pooling in her eyes. She handled pain fine- this was more so something else. Fear? Disappointment? Shock? She’d never pulled something that fast before. Not so fast that she’d had no time to react. How could that have happened? As she lay there in fading consciousness she realized- she didn’t know enough about this Rinnegan. It could have gotten her killed. As much pain as she was in she doubted it had this time, certainly didn’t feel like dying, but she got lucky. She needed to move- get out of the way in case the fight picked back up.

Come on, get up. Get up!
​

 

[Oni Archives]

.......Meanwhile.......


Drip
Drip

Drip

Drip


Drip

The IV pouch started to stabilize after the full procedure had been finished. They by this point had removed Ko from the sealing jar and placed him in a room of his own so that they could leave him there to recover. The procedure would leave one extremely dehydrated among other things so it was very important that they kept him on this IV for the moment to work against that kind of thing and stay prepped incase they needed to give him any further medication for effects along the way. But beside that much - all was finished and Tatsumi was relieved. That was a bit ago and by this point he had remained there in the room with Ko to monitor him personally just in case. His staff was more than well enough trained to see to all the other patients that were here in the ward with no problem. That in mind - the gentle young medic would sit there chewing on some sort of root as he watched Ko...he seemed to be looking beyond just what was on the surface here for as he watched Ko - laying there silently and seemingly tranquil enough, he was taking notes. Tapping the rear of the pen against his lip as he contemplated what he had down so far he started to speak:

"His body has taken to it well. I dare say besides the damage to his nervous system and his current state of consciousness he would recover better then he was in the first place. Im seeing developments that were beyond his initial scope of physicality before. It l- . . . no......

Oh no..."

[sub]((Listen while reading - Theme: Tatsumi's Reluctance))[/sub]


With that sentence interrupted his eyes lit up with a horror in them only before seen once...and it was his intention for those same events from before not to be repeated ever again. He knew what he had to do - there was no getting around it at this point and perhaps he should have made more of an effort to work against it prior to this. This was how it ended up - this was how it always ended up for them. IN casting away his doubts and hesitations so as well did he cast away his pen and pad that he had been taking his notes down upon. Before they had even hit the ground - just like that, he was gone. Had someone been right there in the room with their eyes upon him it would be a wonder as to what had happened in the first place. There was no physical trace like body flicker or any tells at all with the exception that any dust and some of the pages in the pad were drawn in the direction that he had been standing. He was off - to quite possibly, save everyone in this very village.

---

...In the immediate...

There it was, ripe for the taking. Ikki had dodged his hand that had been in pursuit to grasp him and was coming directly his way. Oh yes he was good about that - never away for too long, eventually that momentum came inwards upon his opponent, ever exquisitely inwards and as it did such Eien excitement rose; but that was not the only thing - so did his anger, his rage, his hate at his own reluctance and questioning if this was the right thing to do or if he was just as out of control as he didnt want to be. Anger at the beings that made him up - not helping but wondering if this was his anger or if it was the anger of Kogaijii Uchiha? Izanagi as they call him now. Or maybe even Mikaboshi. Comprised of the life genes of so many beings that knew a life full of nothing but hate. He had wondered if they had ever even thought about taking up a life of peace as he had? Had they the sense? He had - and it was stripped from him and the worse thing about that is that all through his life he did not know how to discern the line between what was him and his fault and what was the genetic make up and sins of the fathers that created him he was suffering for. Hearing words had slipped him for a moment, he understood what it was that Ikki was saying but it was drowned out by the fact that he was even here in this situation - that circumstance had brought him to this place at all which enraged him further - but then he could hear it...a voice that spoke to him and soothed the rage...a temptation sweet as honey and as sickening as a corpse if humored too long:

"Oh yes....YES - I can hear you...hear the beating of that wet heart, hear the breath in your lungs....ahhhh yes - breathe deep. I can feel you. Feel your anger - your spite, harness it...use it - let it intoxicate you...give you focus. I've heard your name. Heard it in the whispers and screams of every soul you have sent me - all the fallen. They were weak. They could not defeat you because they were not meant to. Your anger is not a hindrance it is your weapon. A blade to be guided by your hand - so guide it! Hmm yes guide it, and stain its sheen with the blood of those before you. You see it....you've not just achieved it....you've mastered it...yes....Shun Goku Satsu. Use it - you see it before you....Eien Jigoku Satsujin...Eien - the eternal murderer! Live up to your name. This blood is your legacy!"

with that being said he snapped. The moment that Ikki darted through the air towards him he could hear the commotion behind him, but it was not his concern, not his focus. His opponent was directly before him and he was ready for him. His eyes were no longer the same as they were but the way they glow were dark and a light purple resonance came from them as he started to lift his hand. The space around Eien started to vibrate....like he was starting to blur from the physical plain that they were on but it would not matter to him - he would not give Ikki the chance to use those clever maneuvers that he had been to escape oh no...it would be with pressure release that he would snatch him towards him to ensure his demise....Eien's mouth from beneath the mask muttered it - not sure if he spoke in a stutter due to trying to resist....or being far too seduced by the satsui: "The...demon....yes....unleash it...Unleash the Raging Demon." and as he said this his hand whipped up towards Ikki and as he started to direct his palm straight in his direction...both were curved and veered away as a sudden streak of blue appeared between them. His eyes - were even more focused and the way that he appeared was as if he was a dancer in a stage performance. The beautiful blue robes fanning out like a flower as he spun and his dainty hands were curved to make out the outer edges of the circle he was spinning in. As he spun it was like the winds yielding to his call and around the two a vortex of ferocious wind sucked them around - using their own momentum to curve them away from each other so that both of them would miss in the moment and propel Ikki back to where he was and spin Tatsumi so that his back was now facing them and he was looking at the Injured Kasami and her travel companions. After this point he would continue spinning all as if a planned dance and make a complete spin around Eien, throwing up his hands in seals around his face and then rotating them around Eien's cranium till a globe of wind appeared around his head and sucked out just enough air from his lungs to trick the body into going to a panic reboot state in which the person would pass out almost instantly. When he did this Eien's eyes would roll back in his had and he would fall backwards - all of his Souzou armor bursting off his body in a purple glitter with the exception of the helmet which stayed upon his head. But oh so smoothly and without flaw nor wavering in his step Tatsumi pushed and lifted his arms around Eien without touching him and it was like he was spirited away by an angel. He fluttered off into the sky as if on an invisible stretcher and with a green gust that fluttered over his form he was gone....all of this subverted...like that. But had one looked at Tatsumi they would see now that he stood still he was sweating bullets....not sure he would get there in such a pinpoint accurate case nor if he himself would be grasped by the raging demon....almost everyone in Naraka feared such a technique and it was a badge of honor and deadliness to ever learn it....something else entirely to master it. He'd feared that he may get grabbed in Ikki's place - which he was majority sure would mean utter expungement of his soul for him. He took a few deep breaths, soft lips quivering as they curled into a smirk and he placed a hand upon his chest feeling his heartbeat as he looked around at everyone. Seeing Kasami in such pain and the state of things he couldn't help but make the remark:

"....I fixed your friend....if that's any consolation? Heh....I'll...prepare a room for her too."

That Tatsumi....
...Always the silver lining.​

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---

 

[Oni Archives]

It was clear even at the arrival of tatsumi, who very clearly knew that the likelihood of the two of them try to kill each other was high. Their intent alone was enough to rattle the untrained, yet at the arrival of their friend, a mediator between life and death as a practitioner of medical arts. This was no different when he arrived and completely tossed the pair away from another with a motion that seemed so serene it was impossible. It was clear in the here and now that Tatsumi was still among one of the most graceful people to be within the confines of Naraka. Ikki’s body wasn’t necessarily tumbling in fact he contorted his body to the point that he stuck the landing. His feet dragging across the temple grounds only to fall onto his butt with a light thud and a sigh to match. His body lost its bulk and the steam that decorated his form began to falter before coming to a complete stop. His skin was still hot to the touch but so was his temper, however this wasn’t towards Eien at all. In fact the young man that found himself calling Ikki a boy had done nothing more than acted less than his age. In Ikki’s mind a genin could make a better tactical decision than what he had done just before Tatsumi had gotten here.

Ikki looked up to Tatsumi after darting his eyes over to Kasami and gave a nod towards the last of his remark. He would prepare a room for her. Something he wasn’t entitled to do but Ikki appreciated it as a friend more than anything. As for Eiji? Ikki was furious with him someone he had clearly been travelling with almost lost their life in the name of helping. He palmed his face for a moment before dragging his fingers down it with little hesitation at all. He was going to have to do his best not to merely floor him for his attempt at aiding him. His crimson hues dialed in on the young woman’s body only to grit his teeth and shout for the young man responsible.

“Get. Out. Here!” Not very man people had seen Ikki at the point he was with Eien nor with Eiji at this point. His eyes were wide and filled with that same unadulterated rage at this point. He wanted to put him in his place for making such a mistake. Did he not understand the flow of combat enough to know here he went wrong? Did he act out of desperation like this young woman did to protect herself? Ikki really had to know what Eiji was thinking and where was the young man that found himself saying he was looking for Ikki’s father? Sitting on the sidelines effectively unable to aid this young woman amidst her actions. All he could really do was commend her for protecting her vital organs. Tatsumi was certainly going to have his hands full during a reunion such as this one.

 

[Oni Archives]

As Eiji's attack began to enter the fray of the battle, something out of his expectations would occur. As his attack which was flying at Eien's blind spot was seemingly being redirected away from him towards Kasami, Eiji looked with a puzzled expression which would soon turn to a look of horror when Kasami was unable to avoid collision with his attack. His puzzled look became that of irritation and scorn towards her as he saw them fighting and could not understand why the young woman would redirect his attack away from the Oni behemoth which was attacking their supposed "ally" Ikki to take the full brunt of his ice stalagmite upon her own being.

The next series of events became a startling chain from the collision of ice attack onto Kasami to the reaction of Ikki towards everything that had happened and mostly towards Eiji. Within this entire chain of occurrences Tatsumi the man whom took Ko into the infirmary showed up to stop Ikki and Eien from fighting one another before looking at Kasami who had been frozen over and offering a room for her to recuperate. At the same time, Ikki would scream Eiji could only assume it was at him as he could feel the intensity of his glare aimed at him from the distance. Though in Eiji's mind he had done nothing wrong, a battle was occurring and he was aiding an ally who was under attack by something of monstrous strength and unknown ability. Kasami redirecting his attack was of her own accord and was the whole reason she was struck by his ice.

Eiji would sigh as he knew already he was going to take the full blame of this without his side being heard or realized, it was always the same, no matter who was supposedly his friend or ally or family. He would always be blamed for the mistakes of others or not preventing them. This was one reason he worked as a solo Anbu member in Konohagakure to avoid having to take the blame for anyone but himself.

---

Flashback
It was raining hard and this mission was going to destroy either the reputation of Konohagakure or wipe out a small village that was causing trouble within the Land of Fire. Eiji along with two other shinobi Aiko Yamanaka and Ginji Shimura. They were to eliminate the strongest shinobi of this small village without being seen leaving or entering to make it look like internal strife. Eiji himself was going in under the guise of Shirii the Ape king, while the other two were supposed to be other members of the village who's strongest members all wore mask mimicking the Anbu though more animal-like in appearance. Aiko was under the guise of Tori the Black Bird and Ginji was Reishi the Black Fox, and together they were meant to be members of the lowest ranking squad of the village's greatest shinobi.

The mission seemed easy enough as the strongest members were lower Chunin-level almost like they had just passed the Chunin exams. As they entered the village under the cover of night sneaking into this people's homes who they had abducted to take over their persona's they would blend into the village preparing for the village's war against another one trying to take over and grow in power to oppose the Fire Daimyo and Konohagakure. As Eiji was analyzing the village to make sure there were no loose ends to their plan Ginji was the first to make an error that would hurt Konoha's image. Instead of trying to secretly eliminate the strongest people in the village he challenged them all in the open even the village head. As he attempted to fight them in a royal rumble for the seat of village head as the prize Aiko would join in as Eiji set out the two would get rid of two-thirds of the competition before the village chief stepped up almost killing them. This forced Eiji hand as he revealed himself instantly freezing the village chief over, before turning and icing over the rest of villagers.

Later when giving their report Eiji would be reprimanded for freezing the whole village even though it was to save his allies' lives. No one would defend him or even see his side of the story, he was put under house arrest for a month and reprimanded by his father one more time as well. This was simply one of many events that caused Eiji's distrust of others and made him assume that he would be blamed for every problem no matter who did wrong.

---

Back to Present
As Ikki finished yelling for him to come out or Get out here. Eiji finished his sigh as he used an advance chakra flicker technique to appear about ten feet away from Ikki and Tatsumi as his hollowed eyes looked upon Kasami then back to Ikki who was almost foaming with rage towards everything that had happened and was most likely going to blame everything on Eiji who was only trying to help keep him safe and out of harms way from that giant monsters grasp. Eiji simply looked at Ikki as he awaited a long, loud, and annoying lecture.

He would stand there almost at attention as he saw Tatsumi offering Kasami a room for her recovery from this attack and he began to wonder why Kirinji simply sat there in shadows without trying to help which would have made Eiji have an easier time choosing a move to help or even understand the situation, but then again this was another reason he believed Kirinji was a spy for the man with the magical book or some other type of evil apparition born in Naraka that would only bring them harm. He could only wait until everything calmed down to see what would happen but he knew very well he was going to get the short end of the stick, he always, and he means always does and did.​

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---

 

[Oni Archives]

Through the corner of his crimson eyes he saw the spear make contact, but it was not who it was intended for - No - instead Kasami had taken the hit. His head snapped toward the child who had launched the attack and his facial expression radiated a profound disgust with a touch of confusion. Perhaps his vision had misguided him or perhaps his ears misheard the situation. They were not fighting to kill, but fighting to subdue. To immobilize. The white haired individual even attempted to reason with the stranger. Had he not been paying attention? It was the only one of the reasons or had he decided to jump the gun? Regardless, it was an erroneous assumption on his part and made the situation much more difficult.

Kirinji turned his head back to Kasami who was on the ground. His main priority was to get her out of the immediate battle field and as he was beginning to take off an intervention was made by a graceful being. The beautiful blue robes fanning out while the dainty hands of the individual used wind in order to separate the two. His crimson optics observed with great scrutiny as he recognized that the individual was from earlier. Furthermore, interested in his usage of wind. However, the more interesting aspect was how he subdued the other individual with such ease. It was quite interesting and something that Kirinji would keep in the back of his head. For now he was forced to shelve analyzing as the enraged man voice echoed throughout the area. “Get. Out. Here!”

Kirinji's crimson optics faded away and his honey pool optics came in fruition while he put the kunai back into his pouch. His body turned to position the enraged individual and his hands shifted into his pockets. He was standing on the outskirts simply observing the interaction that was about to occur - glancing at him and the child who had thrown the spear. Kirinji always find humor in these type of situations, but in this instance he'd mostly keep it to himself.

​

 

[Oni Archives]

Kasami was... a mix of different emotions. Before the ice had completely encapsulated her, she noticed several things. Tatsumi arrived, which caused Kirinji to stop even assisting her like there wasn’t ice spreading across her body. The Oni, at least she assumed he was since they’d met no one who wasn’t so far, had to split up their fight as it had only continued to escalate. Ikki was infuriated with Eiji, and no one moved to help her. Her efforts to stop it herself with fire chakra were slowly but surely dwindled away by the properties of the ice that she’d been struck with, as it practically sucked the energy right out of her and continued to spread. If anyone looked just before the ice consumed her face they’d see her take a deep breath, but they’d also see an expression that could only be described as ’seriously? No one?’. Broken bones and small cuts all over from the ice shattering and she had to try and get herself out?

As she held her breath she just prayed that someone would finally get to her, closing her eyes to wait it out. Or to suffocate to death. Either was likely, she just hoped the former to be more likely than the latter. Kasami had never really tested how long she could hold her breath for. Naturally people could get up to a minute without training their lungs for it- so she at least figured she had that long, and had now decided to take up diving. If she survived of course.​

 

[Oni Archives]

He'd circumvented a catastrophe so it seemed. Ikki had been away for some time now, and may have been unaware of how dangerous Eien had become. That raging demon very likely wouldnt have been just for him - Eien was now at the point that he is equal to the level that Hakai Nobutsuna Oda was at before his disappearance. That raging demon likely would have been projected across enough space to get his traveling companions and part of the village. Tatsumi knew it well. He may just be a medic now but he conducted himself the same way that he would have been back when he was sitting in the seat of Hokage. As one half of the Sanzou lordship it was his responsibility to treat it as such and came with the territory knowing of the Satsui and its techniques...he could sense it - as he could the feelings of those around him. The more negative feelings everyone felt that was closer to him - the more that he could see into their mind; a symbolization that would be foreign to those around him yet indicated by the way that his prayer beads around his neck started to glow and somewhat float from his chest. "Really!? No one!?" he could hear the internal voice projected around them as the thought crossed a feminine mind. Turning to look upon the girl he noticed that after the attack the ice had spread and encased her by this point. His brows raised in concern - but not to be mistaken as urgency for as usual, Tatsumi was on top of it: "Oh no the poor girl. She'll freeze. Or worse, suffocate. Or worse - hypothermia will set in. Or worse - that ice could be pretty uncomfortable. Or worse - frostbite. No - Or wo...I'm talking to myself." He noticed as he cut himself short while the rest of them interacted between themselves and the girl became no less thawed out as he ranted. He floated over to her - itw as as if he did not even move but that he simply raised his feet off the ground and let the wind carry him as he planted his feet softly next to her after drawing a sealing tag out of his sleeve and igniting it with chakra. Just so - as he did such the seal itself would burst into what appeared to be light green flame, but really this was chakra itself - of a medical variety! He cast it down onto the iceblock that was now Kasami and as it made contact he couldnt help but utter under his breath: "Boop.". And like that it would seem as if the ice itself would shrivel as if the very cold that composed it was sucked out and from it cracked in half and opened up leaving Kasami thawed as if she had been in a perfectly shaped cast of ice. This was the Sanzou order's "Pacification" seal - known to undo the machinations of any residual lingering jutsu by extrapolating the bonds of yin and yang from what so ever it touched. The tag itself burnt into ash once done and no sooner then he booped her had he walked off and she would find herself floating on a stretcher of air behind him: "Now now everyone lets keep a - cool, head about ourselves. Nyehehe - hehe ya...cool he-...I'm so bored with my life. Off to the infirmary! You're friend Ko is healing well and soon so will this young lady. Lets not cast shadow upon optimism with anger now. We can discuss what happened here once there. Please - I shall make us some tea. Sanzou secret recipe." And like that he would have been off, floating about with Kasami behind him. The only person who's mind he wasn't in would be Eiji - somewhat of a sociopath that one, no real ability to see how this was a mishap of ill-initiated procedure. That in mind, no guilt - no anger, only the thought of self and vindication, there wasnt much negative there to let him in. However Kirinji was a different story. One would think that he would be the one exempt from this, being so calm - silent and following the flow. Was it the look of disgust towards Eiji? No that wasnt enough - he could feel what was in his heart...why he was here - what he had planned and what he had to get back to. There was vengeance within him.. It wasnt on the fore-front, it didnt have to be. It was a part of him. Kasami and Ikki it was more blatant - irritation at the situation itself and irritation/pain from being the subject of contention. His voice was enough but for those that had lagged behind they would mentally hear his voice - needless to say quite a shock at this, as he goaded in their thoughts: "Come come now."​

 

[Oni Archives]

Tatsumi didn’t have to be that girl’s saving grace Ikki may have been overcome with rage, but he wasn’t going to le the gril freeze to death by no means. His intervention however was greatly appreciated to say the least it saved Ikki the need to do it. However it didn’t stop him from nearly boiling over with rage for just a moment. In light of it all, there was something about Tatsumi’s arrival that was nearly miraculous even his momentous and subtle tone when he came to pull her from her frozen confines. “boop” Something about that was truly hilarious to Ikki there was only one person he could truly hold a grudge against and that was his birth father. You could say he had a sense of ‘daddy’ issues about him. It wasn’t exactly something that drove his life these days but he wanted to handle this in a more civil manner. As such when Tatsumi’s phrase came to light he couldn’t help but giggle a bit before in turned into a full on chuckle. Ikki felt that in those moments the light hearted behavior that he brought with his sheer presence was enough to calm him. He was right after all, there was no need to dwell in anger when a cool head was more likely to solve the issue. His chuckle subsided and his anger was still there to a degree yet he took heed to his compatriots words when he spoke. This only led to Ikki coming to his feet his fist untightening and his steamy breath escaping his lips. He was trying to cool his body temperature at this point. His voice soon called out to Tatsumi at the mention of tea.

“You know I never liked tea much Tatsumi”

Ikki no sooner ran his finger fingers through his snowy hair flattening against his cranium for just a moment of relief. He took a look at Eiji and in that look alone it said “Don’t let it happen again.” He meant every ounce of that gaze Tatsumi could likely feel that intention within his heart and very well Ikki’s mind. He moved behind Tatsumi and his present company in tow without issue his footsteps still searing the temple grounds for a bit as he walked. His rage was still boiling within but he was slowly calming himself. Eien was a priority just the same as Eiji and Kasami. They were set to be a member of Izanagi’s ever growing conglomerate and with that Ikki could only look to quell whatever guilt resided in him. Eien was clearly torn with the fact that he had been betrayed by outsiders, people that he had come to even if just for a moment trusted. They were on their way to the medical ward and in time they would likely arrive without issue.