Alone with the Dead [Leaving Country]

[Kari]

iNPC Isaki Karurosu​

The winds bit at his extremities with the strength comparable to those beasts that had plagued the country some time ago. It felt like a lifetime ago, that. The former medical sennin sat huddled against a large rock, which's purpose was served in blocking the better majority of the winds. Before him, the tiniest of fires hardly warmed him. How much longer did he have before hypothermia set in? He had stopped shivering already; the cold hardly bothered him anymore. He could think clearly, and thoroughly understood the situation he was in. Hoshikata had won. He got what he had wanted in the end; he'd be the last of the direct Isaki line. Whatever maniacal descent Hoshikata was having, Karurosu knew it would end badly for the clan. Their home was gone. The clan was as good as, as well.

The tracks of hundreds of people who were lucky enough to migrate out of this frozen hell were near where he sat in what was likely to be his final resting place. There were thousands more who would end up being statues of a time past, frozen in their place, as a reminder of what freakish event occurred. He had offered his brother the country, but what kind of country was this to give? He stared into the dancing flame, its movements weakening and swaying with each gale that attacked him. He couldn't fight it back; this was too powerful for him. He had helped defeat the god that held his soul, but now that it was his, what cruel god of fate was trying to take it?

It would be so easy to give, so easy to take. Karurosu could almost see the apparition of his brother in his peripheral vision staring at him as though wishing for him to die now. There was a certain madness in his eyes, the madness that came with the belief of power. Was he not mad for not going with him? Had he subjugated his own fate to his brother and accepted that seal, where would he be? What would he be doing? His life wouldn't be his own, but it never was. Not since he joined the Academy -- something that was no doubt in ruins now, another thought that haunted him. What had happened to Kirigakure now? None inhabited it, or none should. Did the lower caverns still hold life with its proximity to the magma and actual heat? Was it possible to live there?

What did he do now?

 

[Kairyuu]

Re: Alone with the Dead [open]

”Get up.” A familiar voice would be heard howling across the winds as, in the distance, a black robed figure would appear. Golden skin matched golden eyes as the figure of Isaki Hoshikata strode forth through this frozen hell, apparently unfazed by the vortex of cold around the entire country. His staff was missing, however, replaced with a blade of such awe inspiring size that it was a miracle the, compared to that weapon, small man could even stand with it across his back. ”I said get up.”

Tenkei had been walking in the guise of the devil since their fight in the woods, and he had learned much from doing so. He had a name, a home, and most importantly a list of relatives. He'd come here seeking one of them and found instead a frozen hellscape of nightmares and demons. He'd been saving people for the past few hours from their own folly, frowning as he realized each time that they would think the devil had been doing the saving.

As he nears the young man, a boot snaps out to kick at him. ”Up!”

The henge was good. Even the voice matched the one of Hoshikata, but the bearing was off, the look of ambition and wicked thought missing from the eyes. Not even a henge jutsu could mimic someone's soul, and the soul that spilled from those eyes, those windows, was a good one even if it were not the kindest of them.

 

[Kari]

Re: Alone with the Dead [open]

The person in the distance, another living soul. It called to him, a phantom's voice. It was impossible; he had heard he had left the country after failing to find his brother. He wouldn't stay behind, his ego wouldn't let him; to Hoshikata, Karurosu was less than a fly in a distant room. No threat, not even something he'd think about unless it was around, buzzing in his immediate proximity. This man was an imposter, he knew it immediately. What purpose would this person choose to henge into one that Karurosu would avoid? Did they wish to try to sway power over him?

Furthermore, Hoshikata wasn't trained in the blade as well as Karurosu was in his youth. That man thought himself to be above direct battle; he would never hold such a weapon, even ceremoniously, unless to give to another. And the way he held it, it was obvious that he was trained to fight with the blade. This man's overall quality with impersonation was shit. At least, for one familiar with the form being taken.

Subtly, the Isaki formed the familiar hand seals to the final thing he learned before his unofficial removal from the clan. It was an ability that perhaps only two could do now: the ability to recreate a world of their making. Karurosu chose something that was burned so well into his memories, that it took no effort on his part to recall the tiniest details.

This dead forest the two were in melted into white for but an instant of a second, the image of the world replaced by that of a home too familiar to the former sennin. The marble ground was covered in a light layer of snow, flakes and the wind the two had grown accustomed to blew more readily here, biting at them as though an unspoken third contestant in this. Karurosu, unlike the slump of a man close to his death that this imposter had seen, was leaning with almost a smirk on his face, staring at this man. The pillars were slick with ice, long icicles hung from the rooftop the pillars held up, and under it was an open door to the hallway to the mansion, its lights still on and the damage of this freeze over seemed to not touch it.

"He didn't carry a blade; he spoke differently; he was more mad. Who are you?" Karurosu demanded. This was his world; he could determine what would happen. Even if he was close to death there, here, this Isaki was the god.

 

[Kairyuu]

Re: Alone with the Dead [open]

He stops short as the world melts around him, almost in a blind changing to something altogether alien to the dead world he was in before. A well maintained courtyard with a fountain in the middle. Square in shape, a gazebo in each corner and two walkways of stone leading from the walls to the fountain. The water was frozen over, the pillars that lined the walkways at odd intervals covered in a sheen of ice themselves. What should have been a beautiful place of meditation was in a way even more hellish than the dead forest he had been in moments before. Tenkei had never been in something like this before.

He then notices the man he was walking towards, noting now the facial features covered before by the cowering and sulking. His eyes widen in recognition as he realizes that this kid matches the pictures of the medical sennin he sought, and just as quickly narrow as he also realizes that he has fallen into a trap of some sort. As the other speaks, Tenkei reaches to his shoulder and brushes at something before lower his hand again and letting the henge fall.

The features of the devil fade, replaced with those of someone far different. The body grows almost two feet, towering over Karurosu at a domineering 7'3” in height. He also fills out to match and then some, muscles expanding and growing rapidly. Soon his full 300 pounds of muscle stand before the boy, and it becomes apparent that the brushing from earlier had moved the black cape on his back to allow access to the hilt of his sword. Tenkei wore black leathers and chain, with some steel for protection in vital areas. His hair was short, spiky and black, and his eyes were like pools of the void, whites surrounding a black as dark as Hoshikata's soul.

”I am Adaenma Tenkei, and I am hunting the devil.”

 

[Kari]

Re: Alone with the Dead [open]

This man was hellish in design; where the Isaki stood, the man, out of his henge, towered him easily over a foot. For each pound the Isaki weighed, this man had two in, what seemed, pure muscle. His clothing looked more fitting for some S&M orgy in old Kirigakure rather than that of some hired assassin, save for that blade. What first was tiny and ceremonious-esque was now some ugly piece of metal. A glorified sharpened hunk of steel that might even tower that man. How could he move such a mammoth scrap of metal? His white streak of hair was something comparable to some gothic band of singers that appealed to the younger kids for whatever reason. Another quick observation was this man's overly plentiful scars. He had been in fights, lots of them, it seemed, where his strength wasn't overly dominating. The fact that he could still stand after them all suggested him to be powerful. If he was this devil that this man believed in -- it wouldn't be such a surprise given that he came into contact with Hoshikata at some point and that man was good at suggesting things.

With this environment, even if the Isaki had the upper-hand, he had some nagging feeling he'd lose in some direct fight. Hell, being within some ten-foot range would end with him smashed into a paste. If they were going to fight, Karurosu was more than ready. He hadn't learned the things from his medical days; this man's mind was weak enough that his genjutsu would work, that suggested his other techniques would as well.

"This was his domain; see it? Everything's dead, frozen by its touch. What is the name of your devil?" the Isaki posed the next question, the leg farthest from the pillar tense and ready to move if needed. Why was he so against dying now that another had appeared? It was just moments ago he was considering his inevitable death. Was it seeing his brother -- albeit how terrible a rendition -- that made him want to live?

 

[Kairyuu]

Re: Alone with the Dead [open]

He stands silently as the other takes in the gruesome thing standing before him. The one good eye staring, balefully almost, at the kid. While it was not the devil he sought, it was his kin and could well be something that required killing much as Hoshikata did. He lifts his left arm, and it would then become apparent to Karu that the limb was missing just above the elbow, replaced with a metal gauntlet that moved as if the arm were still inside of it. Without a word, only a thought, black plate armor begins to snap onto his form from the gauntlet, rising up the arm then across his entire body until only his head was free. And then it too would be covered by a helmet, in the guise of some demonic wolf.

At his next works, two red slits would appear as he spoke, at about eye level. ”His name is Hoshikata. He killed my brother.” His hand grips the hilt of his blade suddenly and swings it, not at Karurosu but at one of the pillars near him. A horribly crash sounds out as the blade shears through the stone and sends the pillar crashing to the ground. ”I want to talk but if you want to fight I will. Your choice.”

He had no beef with this kid unless he proved as vile as his brother did.

 

[Kari]

Re: Alone with the Dead [open]

He noticed the tense leg, good eye. This man was obviously a fighter, that much was obvious by his looks, but with the new -- rather ridiculous headgear -- it was more obvious that he actually took this seriously. Headgear would protect him from any kind of bludgeon there, if anyone could get past his natural defense. He was too large to take on in person, and even in this world, he could put up a good fight. The Isaki was too fatigued, too weak, to use his more powerful genjutsu, or to channel chakra for an extended period of time. This reality marble was strenuous enough as it was; anymore would likely cause the strength of all to falter, which is when he'd die without question.

He thought Karu to be hostile, far from it to be accurate. He was being more defensive than anything else. He'd watch uninterestedly as his sword -- if it could be called that -- destroyed the frozen pillar as easily as a knife might cut through a loaf of bread.

He wanted to kill Hoshikata? Karurosu let out a laugh, not a simple, controlled chuckle, but a full throatal belch of laughter. The gods were finally repaying him for trapping him in this hell? This was too perfect! His head would snap back to stare at this man, this Tenkei.

"If your brother was anything like...you...I'm rather surprised." Hoshikata could fight, but hardly on his own; he was one to defer the battle to his subordinates, or to fight alongside them. How Daiki was killed proved that too well. "If that's what you're after, then fine. Let's. It so happens this world would be better for it if he were dead."

He was a maniac with power; a falsely empathetic psychopath; a silver-tongued politician who can weasel his way into power essentially anywhere he goes. The Isaki heir wouldn't be surprised if the conflict in Fire country was partially his doing as he believed this flash freezing in Water was. He was powerful, but he could be defeated. "What is it you needed me for?"

 

[Kairyuu]

Re: Alone with the Dead [open]

The boy amazed him by willingly turning on his own flesh. Tenkei wanted to disbelieve him, wanted to think this was all some trick by the Isaki to get him to let his guard down; he knew it was not as the boy spoke however. Whatever Hoshikata was, whatever Hoshikata has done, it was enough to make his own brother turn against him. Blood stuck, blood was the thing that bound family together and it was blood that made people share those bonds which the world relied on. What had Hoshikata done to so pervert his own blood?


”I need information, you seem to be the best source I could find.” The helmet snaps free and vanishes back into the rest of the armor as he raises a padded canteen and pops the cap, taking a swallow before offering it to the boy. ”I took his form to learn of him, and I found your name and visage. I need to know what he is, what he's capable of, and any weaknesses he has.” Who better than his own brother to know those things? He knew his own brother quite well, after all.

Tenken had been little like Tenkei. He thought that he was unbeatable by a human, that his bladework would save him from anything except the strongest of demons. Tenken had been arrogant, brash, and to be honest he was good. Tenkei had rebuilt the battle, and while he could not determine what method was used to put that hole in the back of Tenken's skull, he knew that his brother had been aware of the golden devil, and he died before he could close. Tenken knew how to fight against ranged fighters, which meant that Hoshikata was more deadly than even this boy before him thought.

He against wondered what one man could do to bring his own kin against him. ”Why would you willingly join me in killing your own blood?”

 

[Kari]

Re: Alone with the Dead [open]

Weaknesses, he had few that the Isaki knew of. His strength was with his mind; ghosts obeyed his whim, he seemed to see things that were not. Hoshikata was a dangerous one, he murdered their father, and likely their mother as well. He would give the spirits of the ancient Isaki a final resting place within a dead god, using them as another combatant might easily use some manufactured weapon. He would bend the minds of others as a politician, or pay one off if a little force and persuasion was needed. Hoshikata killed this man's brother, sure, and for little reason, likely. If the murder was his fancy, he'd do it with little thought; if it was to give him more power -- to strike fear into the locals or to remove a thread -- he'd do it with even less. He was a threat to any and everyone.

"Weakness? He seeks power endlessly. Physical, mental, political. He will do whatever he can to gain it, he takes particular interest in those who refuse him. The Isaki are trained in the illusionary arts; Hoshikata received special training, though in what I do not know, as he was the clan head. He deludes himself into believing he is some god. He is powerful, yes, but hides behind what subjects he can gain himself. What else would you have me say?"

"Why? My fa -- the former Isaki clan head was murdered by him as well as his wife. Why? It is because of him that the whole damn country is frozen! Why?!" the Isaki cut himself off. He was breathing hard. He lost his cool, something that ought to've been impossible in this frozen, outlandish hell. Before the two, a scene played. It was Hoshikata, a younger version of him that this Tenkei had not seen, before his transformation into that monster he was now. He was attack a young Karu, no older than thirteen. Additionally, while the kid tried to move from he appeared plagued from something neither could see. The Isaki could remember what it was far too easily; those phantoms haunted his memories still.

"Spirits of the ancient Isaki..." he'd murmur, as though stating what they were would help the memory. What came next, he remembered and felt too well. His side still had the burn scar, something that would never heal from his body. The pinkish skin ruined his otherwise near-perfect complexion.

"Why, you ask? Because I denounce Isaki Hoshikata, former-clan leader, from clan Isaki and sentence him to death for his actions on the government of Kirigakure."

 

[Kairyuu]

Re: Alone with the Dead [open]

Tenkei had met those who craved power before, men who sacrificed everything for the thought of gaining that supreme strength above all others that they could apply their will to the world. He had no doubt that this kid was correct about Hoshikata's desire for power, but he doubted it was for the reasons Karurosu thought it was. And unlike all of the rest Tenkei had encountered, men who had fallen before his blade like wheat to the scythe, Hoshikata had not only sought out power; the golden skinned devil had found that power and taken it by the horns.

He remained impassive as the other went on to list some of the evils of Hoshikata, patricide, matricide, almost fratricide he would guess. Then he started as the boy blamed the current condition of the land on him. Black eyes move around, before remembering the genjutsu. With a sigh, Tenkei casts one of his few ninjutsu, disrupting his chakra flow briefly before restoring it. The world would melt back into focus around him. And once more he was back in a dead forest, what was once a tropical paradise now a frozen wasteland. Hoshikata had the power to do this? He truly was the devil.

”Sounds good. He's in Wind Country if you want to go tell that to his face. I'm going to head to Earth to gather allies and supplies, though.” He looks down at the boy before him, taking a moment of pity. ”I don't suggest you tell him that to his face though. He's strong. He's deadly and twisted. Follow me, you might live longer.”

 

[Kari]

Re: Alone with the Dead [open]

The man made a point that was all too valid. He was too weak to search for his brother as he was now. He needed to recover, to find his own divine power to rival his brother's before condemning him. With this beast of a man, he could travel for now. He could act as as the Isaki's sword until such time as Karurosu's mind was honed to be as sharp as it was before his brother committed this genocide. The thought was like poison; it was terrible, he was terrible. Hoshikata had to die, but even that would not be enough to redeem him.

"Death's boring. Let's go to this Earth Country and see what can be done. Must truly be a hidden village for word of it to be so sparse." The Isaki forced himself up. This man would have killed him easily even under whatever illusion the former Sennin could conjure; he had to show he had strength to at least last for some time. This wasteland would kill him should he wait any longer, but this isn't the Game of Thrones. He was going to live darn it! Live! the weather would bring him to his final breath. Already, apparitions of spirits plagued him in the day; whether or not even this man before him was true or not was questionable. Either way, he could not stay here. Alive or dead, he was leaving.

"Let's go. I've already forgotten what it means to be warm. I would like to remember sooner than later."

[Sorry for the necro, but I already had this pretext for Karu to leave Mist and I thought it more conservative than making a new thread.

[Travel to Earth Country begins now.
[A-rank Runtime: 1 hr + 1 = 2 hrs

[WC: 262

 

[Kari]

[Country left. I'll wait for your NPC in Stone's OV.]