A Ronin's Golden Ticket

[Tamashi Seto]

A Ronin's Golden Ticket

Late Summer, Year 13
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Remaining on the ice cold ground, his pupils nearly dilated, with no nearly light in them, he laid there defeated, his will gone. He was no more than a mere shell of the person he was once. The ronin made sure of that after his defeat at the hands of their leader. For more nights than he could remember, they had their way with him, lining up as It was some grand game they wanted to play, and he was their prize. Just as he had shown no mercy, he was given none in return as they took their turns torturing him in ways he had never known possible. If he was given any mercy, If you could even call It that, they would simply use him as a punching bag, using their legs and fists to inflict harm upon his already fragile body. Several times, had he felt his life draining to a end, yet at the final moment, before death could take him, he would find himself returning from the darkness he so desired, a woman would appear before his shattered corpse and heal him just enough to keep him alive. A truly despicable action If he had any say in the matter, as he wanted nothing more than to die, to be released from the preputial pain he felt at all times, but most importantly, he wanted to embrace the darkness so he could remove the stain, not only from his own honor, but his family's as well. What was the point of living a life of a honorable warrior If you had not only dishonored yourself but your family and clan as well? He didn't have the answer, nor did he want one. He just wanted to die, to be released from all this, yet he was forced to push on, to survive once more in this accursed world.

As he remained on the ground, tied up no less, and his body nearly numb from his control, he could do nothing but close his eyes and try to ignore all the pain coursing through his body, but the screeching pain arising from several broken bones, amongst other things, made the task all the more difficult. It was a truly peerless situation he found himself in. There was no hope, and even If there was, he'd hope the darkness would take him before that did. Though, despite all the misery and horrifying thoughts that were running through his mind, he at least hoped the survivors, and especially his friend, Yui had managed to get to safety. Although his mind already felt like It was shattered, he couldn't or wouldn't comprehend the fact If she didn't. The thought of her being dead....or worse, in a situation like him, was too much to bare, especially If and when he had to tell her parents, who were good people, that their daughter had died due to his short comings. It was simply a horrifying though, but atlas, It no longer mattered. Had he any kindling left in him, he would ensure that wouldn't happen, or at least try, but that wasn't the case, and he doubted that would change anytime soon....​

 

[Tamashi Seto]

He wondered why he was spared. What could have his father done to these men? His father was stoic, one who often wielded eyes as cold as the ice, but he was also a man of honor, a warrior who took his duty above all things, so why would these men hate him? Especially If they were the same kin as him. It made no sense to him....or maybe...Perhaps his father wasn't the man he thought he was, but that couldn't be true could it? He was always a man of honor, doing what needed to be done to protect the clan, even If it put his wellbeing at risk. He was no different than his eldest sister, always putting the wellbeing of the clan and it's people before themselves. There was no doubt that was the reason why he saw so little of them, that they couldn't give him the time of day, but despite that, he had always wanted to be like them. It was the reason he trained so hard, pushing himself past his limited, and yet, look where It got him? He was on the cold rocky floor of some cave, tied up, laying on the ground in his own filth. His weapons and armor gone, having long been destroyed, he was left to rot with nothing on his back but his torn yukata he wore underneath his armor. It was quiet for now, but who could say for how long? The silence for now was golden, but eventually the ronin would return, no doubt to torture him for fun, or worse, assault him in ways he had never thought possible. He would cry, but he was far past that point now. All he could think of in the current moment was to wonder how he could take his own life, to end his suffering, or wonder why things were turning out this way. He knew there was little point now in learning the truth now since It was only a matter of time before he would die, but If there was even a ounce of spark within him, he would want to know the reasoning behind this. He wanted to know why the man behind this, turned against his clan and his father, that he would lower himself to banditry and torture to get his point across. It wasn't something he understood, but he wanted to know, for the off chance he actually wanted to live, to reclaim his honor on another day. Until that moment would arrive however, he would find himself content with rotting on the cold rocky floor, waiting for death to overcome him and claim his soul.​

 

[Tamashi Seto]

Minutes turned to hours than presumably, days from what little he could comprehend and yet, he made no effort to escape, even as the ronin came and went, abusing his fragile, near broken body in ways best considered inhuman. Though there was little, If anything left of a spark within him, what remained kept him going, even in his half dead state to those bared their eyes on him, was the subject of that man had said to him after being beating him to a pulse. It was pretty much the only thing that was keeping him going by this point. His words made him ponder more and more. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew there was probably some truth to what the man said. He clearly showed he had no honor by the actions he had taken against him, yet for some reason, within the depths of his mind, he could feel there was something larger at play, that he choose to become a martyr....or rather a monster of his accord. He still didn't know the reason but his words were engraved into his mind. For some reason, even though the acts and his men did were despicable, a small part of himself believed him, that he became what he was for for a reason. He doubted most individuals choose the life of a bandit or a rebel willingly or easily. That made him acknowledge that no one was perfect, everyone was human, and that everyone and everything had a secret. If he was right, and he knew he was right, than what the darkness within his father's and eldest sister's hearts? What was the secret or more bluntly, what dirty secrets were they, and by extension, the clan hiding? It was no secret that his clan was a clan of honorable warriors stuck in the past, but for those who were warrior shinobi, it was a much greyer line between honor and doing what was needed. He understand that well enough after he became a Genin. He didn't like it, and at times, it made him curse his life for being granted the abilities he had. Had he born with nearly no potential to wield chakra, he could have lived a simpler, more honorable life, but that wasn't to be his destiny. He was prodigy apparently, and that meant he had no choice but become a shinobi, one worthy of taking his father's title when he would pass the torch and either die in his bed, or be killed on the fields of battle. Such realizations made him ponder more on the darkness of his clan, and what that could entail. What could be so bad that his own kinsmen would turn on him and his entire clan. He obviously had no answer for such a question, but If he ever managed to muster the will to want to live, even as a dishonored exile, and actually survive this ordeal, It was something he would get to the bottom of, even If it would later cost his life. He would find out the truth one way or another....​