Private Catch... up.

[Myakashi Migoya]

Migoya took a deep breath in, his mind trying feverishly to work out the subtle scents of the blend he had just put together in an effort to replicate his brother's famous tea. Yong had been a true master of the blend, and it honestly frustrated Migoya that he, master of chemicals, medicines and poisons, couldn't replicate his old brother's skill with a teapot and some leaves.

Perhaps it was patience, and the blending of all the elements. Yong had been nothing but patient and wise, and a little bit psychotic. At least one of those attributes had been passed down to his son, not to mention his looks. Migoya looked at young Yong, his face glowing from the campfire, with a sad smile as he passed over a cup of the steaming tea.

“I’m sorry that it is not as good as your fathers. He had once tried to teach me how to blend it properly, but I never got the knack of it”.

Its because you are a stupid moron who hates hats.

Migoya looked down at Mikki who rested comfortably in the nook of Yong’s arm, clearly playing favourites right now.

“Yes. I am a stupid moron who hates hats, and hates interrupting meticulously laid plans all for the sake of attire. I’m sorry I told you off Mikki - but remember, I tend to do things like that to make people think things that are not necessarily true. Divert the focus away from what is actually important…”

So you were being a smart arse.

“Yes”.

And you actually really want that hat.

“Yes Mikki. And the head under it”.

Ok. Well, don’t tell me off again like that. I’m older than you.

Migoya gave the puppet a smile and a nod, before turning his gaze onto Yong as he took his place, sitting on a simple log on the other side of the campfire. Wearing his Myakashi amour, the light of the fire seemed to be eaten away in the shadows of the expertly crafted protection, and it made no sound as Migoya threw a small log onto the greedy fire. Soon, after they left this place, Migoya would head to ‘dead’ Kirigakure to adapt Akkuma’s modification into the sets of armour he carried… but that was a future endeavour. In the far distance, the great white world tree stood, bringing more memories back to Migoya from the past - a past where he had managed to overcome the spirits there and climb to its peak. The white staff that now lay next to him, a branch of that very tree, was testament to his skills as it cast a bone-white light around the pair. Certainly, between that glow and the fire they would stand out to anyone looking for them, but then again who would be stupid enough to confront them?

“It would seem our little endeavour to Konoha was a success after all, despite the setbacks. Your face tells me that something else happened there though - should I be made aware of it? There is also something else I must tell you, nephew… something difficult that you might not agree with and that is fine.”

Migoya took a sip of his tea, its pleasant taste and warmth conflicting against his normally dead-cold skin.

“But first, tell me of your endeavours in Konoha”.

 

[Yong]

"So much uncle..."

Yong took a slow sip of the tea he was offered, holding the cup one handed against tradition so as not to interrupt the still fuming Mikki nestled in his other arm like a creepy human shaped wooden cat...

"The Sennin Soku still lives, heartless but recovering. I went to her dojo and spoke with her... She had so much fire, Kiko picked her targets well."

"I left her with one of Kiko's swords... I feel she will eventually be daring enough to use it against us... We will reclaim it then."

Taking another sip before placing the teacup on the log beside him, Yong then removed a small leather pouch of tobacco from the bag resting against his leg. He began rolling a cigarette as he continued to speak.

"The second thing... I met Yamanaka Nobu, you know, the proper Hokage's partner... Well he was very easy to gain all sorts of information from. He had made a deal with Akkuma at some point for a network of casinos, one in every major city... How the devil had lost power over him and how he was now Konoha's man..."

He set the cigarette aside for a moment, placing it gently on the log beside the teacup before lifting the latter in his one functional hand.

"Now he is no-ones man..."

Yong's eyes moved to the happily flickering fire, his mind moving back to the shocked and confused expression on the man's face as Yong had taken his last breath... He had been a bright soul but something had felt off? The gods had turned their gaze from him as he snuffed out the bright light of Nobu's soul. Even the goddess had felt far from him... Something was wrong with the world, something wrong with the gods...

Why had he not tried to defend himself...

"Kiko risks so much, we risk so much... I would speak with this devil alone... He will hide nothing from me..."

The fire flickered uncomfortably under the Sage of the Wilds intense stare. Though the stars still shone in the sky the world seemed darker in the moment, in intangible thing and a fleeting thing but Migoya would have felt the momentary change in his nephew as he knew Miki had, the small wooden puppet somewhat quickly jumping off his resting place and plopping down beside the fire at the exact midway point between Migoya and Yong.

Yong gave a small chuckle, his words calm once more.

"I'm sorry Mikki, I didn't mean to fighten you."

Didn't scare me!

"Oh?"

Nah I was just done farting on your dumb stupid lumpy arm...

"Oh..."

Yeah, and stop eyeing the fire! Your making it uncomfortable!

"Oh... Sorry fire."

It's ok, the fire forgives you.

"That's good."

The small puppet shuffled an inch or two closer to Yong. The fire on the other hand was now annoyed with them both, it has in fact not forgiven the Sage for staring and would burn him right now if only he would come a little closer.

Yong gave his uncle a genuine smile of affection, it was strange but somehow Mikki seemed to be the most normal member of their disfunctional killer family. His other hand now freed from its temporary existence as a bed, Yong lifted the pre-rolled cigarette off of its resting place on the log. He did not light it yet though, instead draining the last of the tea and placing the empty cup on the log.

Looking contemplative for a moment he nodded as if deciding something within himself after long contemplation.

"You know what? This tea? It's actually quite good!"

Yong leaned forward, his unarmoured hand reaching towards the flickering fire, cigarette extended perween two fingers like a tiny sword. A small tongue of flame licked out, catching the end of his fingers and causing him to drop the cigarette to be quickly consumed by the flames.

He he he...

 

[Myakashi Migoya]

Reaching over to his pale staff, Migoya would use it to stoke the fire, the wood seemingly untouched by the flame. The fire popped and crackled like rice bubbles. Oh, and snapped. With the slightest twitch of his finger, a small spark of flame would arc out and hit Mikki. "He he he..." Migoya said with a smirk. Mikki glared up at Migoya, who rolled his eyes and looked away obviously feigning innocence.

You bag of dicks.

“You are too kind”, Migoya said, quickly changing his focus, with a small chuckle at Yongs mention of his tea, giving back the smile that his nephew offered knowing that such an emotion was extremely rare and genuine between the pair. He enjoyed the banter as well between his nephew and Mikki, knowing that should the worst happen to him, Mikki had someone to stay with and care for.

“So... poor Nobu. The life of a leader of a criminal organisation is such a dangerous one, especially if they have loose lips, and allow love to sway agreements. What information did he divulge before he... moved onwards?"

"The Sennin still lives? Her heart was removed... perhaps. Hmm. She has Kiko's sword. I imprinted one of those blades with Kiko's soul, so perhaps that will enable us to figure out how a Konoha shinobi surived without a heart... hmm, a puzzling and interesting development. Let us hope she comes to us for her... revenge." Migoya chuckled darkly as he continued to listen to his nephews report.

"I agree with you about Akkuma. It is better you figure out this… man for yourself. I would, however, give you words of caution. He is unlike most megalomaniacs - he is methodical, charismatic, and willing to get his own hands dirty. Kiko has fallen under his charms to a certain extent thinking that our interests align. They do in part, and I’m sure Akkuma will continue to ‘adjust’ these interests to ensure our involvement.”

“However nephew, the carrots he dangles are not as ripe as he would have you believe. He is possessed by a shinigami, a spirit with no understanding of political and diplomatic manoeuvring. Whilst Akkuma himself is a very gifted leader, I fear the darkness within is slowly taking over and clouding his mind. He will reach too far which will cause his fall, and we must not be there when that happens.”

“Until then, he is a useful client and we pay him the respect he deserves. I will be using some of his schematics, which are quite ingenious, to upgrade some armour sets in Kirigakure’s old forges. Dangerous, I know, but the spirits and I have an understanding there…”

He stoked the flames once more with his staff before putting it to the side, its glow somewhat dimming as Migoya willed it so.

“In addition, there is the… other matter I wished to discuss with you”

Closing his eyes for a split second, Migoya called forth his chakra, his hands moving in an-all-to familiar pattern for the Sage of the Wilds - Edo Tensei. With a small puff of darkness, a figure almost identical to Migoya appeared next to the albino.

“One of the first developments I worked on when I was younger in Konoha was the development of cloning technology. At the time I wished to produce replacement organs, primarily skin for the many burn victims of the time, but obviously this developed into… further research. I know you are aware of the many laboratories we have set up primarily around Fire Country, and you probably have seen some of these developments”.

Shuffling over towards Yong, he filled his cup up again with more tea as he continued.

“What is not known to most of our clan is that I have developed not only cloning techniques, but the ability to alter the base DNA of those clones to suit a variety of abilities… or indeed replicate bloodlines within those clones. Thus - you see next to me my own clone, but this one”...

The clone looked up and opened his eyes, revealing the sharingan.

“Clearly has Uchiha DNA.”

Migoya once again took his seat, placing the teapot next to the fire to continue to maintain its temperature. “Why have I not revealed this to the clan you quite rightly might ask. It is a difficult question to answer. Truthfully, I wanted to perfect it before presenting it to the family, given that we now have the ability to… maintain our existence on this plane. A form of immortality. Being able to transfer souls into new bodies is… a rather large development and one that I do not wish the other villages to be made aware of as it would put a large target on our backs”.

“As to why I have not told you… this is a bit more personal. I understand if you are going to be angry with me, but know that I acted both for my own selfishness and because… well. I loved my brother.”

He turned to his clone who nodded, and stared into the distance, just past the fire. A strange whirling distortion would appear in the area for a second, before a large glass canister would appear. Within, the floating form of a young boy with very familiar features.

“A modified clone of Hirato Yong. Your father. Modified… in that I have taken his natural hunting abilities and instincts and expanded them with specific blood types. Currently he lays dormant - the chemicals surrounding him give him sustenance and preserve his form, but it is my hope that I can return him to Yamigakure for training… once I wake him up.”

With that Migoya rose, walking over to the glass canister and placing a hand on it as he stared into the young face of his brother.

“But… he is born of your fathers body, and, as his heir, I now give you that choice. What would you have me do with this clone? He is, by right, yours.”

 

[Yong]

Yong would answer at each appropriate interval.

"He reminded me why I forgot this world for so long... He had no love for Asuka, a wedding of political importance. He spoke of opportunity missed and how his plans would now need to change now that Asuka is gone... keep his casinos safe... It made me feel sick Migoya...

He spoke like one with nothing to hide, he told me that he had kept secret his dealings with the devil from the Shinobi Corps. I think his self preservation instincts and greed were his nindo... He had so much to tell...

Soku though, he wound still dripped with the chakra of the goddess... No... Kiko had intended her to live... I think she may have been the one that saved her."

He stared into the fire a moment before looking at his uncle as the latter spoke on Akkuma, agreeing with his request to meet the architect of this chaos alone, though the approval also came with a caution.

Migoya continued speaking, though moving the topic along to what Yong knew Migoya had been burning to get off his chest. In moments it all became clear though, though Yong knew of Migoya's extensive experimenttation with genetic cloning he had no idea that his uncle's refinements had come on in such leaps and bounds. The Armoured Shinobi stood to look closer at the Uchiha clone, first to it's body which, though at fist glance would look almost identical to the unnaturally youthful countenance of his uncle, but upon closer inspection Yong could see the differences, especially with the muscular skeletal system of the clone which was almost too perfect, like a marble sculpture with its pale white skine now bathed in the calmly flickering fire's orange glow. The Sharingan though, despite the lack of fanfare from their creator, were the true cherry on top though for they were truly the clones eyes, not a surgical transplant or a chakra fusion...

Yong chuckled as turned to his uncle, a smile of genuine happyness widely spread over his grisled and stumble covered face.

"Why would you think I would be angry Uncle! He is beautiful!"

Migoya nodded... The Clone nodded...

"Oh..."

A high-pitched hum filled the younger man's perception seeming to drown out Migoya's words as he moved towards the glass canister holding withing it's life giving artificial womb. His unarmoured hand ran down the unexpectedly warm glass, his eyes closing slowly as pieces fell into their jagged places... His speech pattern and inflection would change slightly as it often did when his guard was down.

"Their eyes were cast down... Their whispers silent... They turned their backs... The goddess was the last but she too turned eventually..."

Yong's eyes remained closed, his hand still against the glass, those two facts remained unchanged... There was a change though, as the Sage of the Wilds exhaled deeply. The light of the fire flickered wildy and the branches of the nearby trees danced as if under the influence of some unfelt gale. A gloom seemed to spread over the area, the very colour of the environment seemingly dulled and greyed as his chakra released unconsciously and unchecked.

The fire flickered weakly before it could hold on no longer, it's fuel and heat quickly fading, the embers cooling unnaturally fast. The animals of the area fled rapidly as they would feel the necrotic effect of the dulling chakra... The trees wished they were so lucky as the Sage's chakra permiated through their impotent bark defences.

"I questioned myself, tore my mind apart... Why had they turned from me? Had I taken an unjudgable soul in this Nobu? Had I strayed from the path... What had I done?"

The Sage exhaled deeply in resignation, his eyes still closed and his head lowering slackly, his shoulders relaxing as leaves began to fall from branches no longer strong enough to hold them, the leaves themselves dull brown and crumbling as they swirled in the unfelt gale of chakra.

"I was wrong... They were not turning away... They were hiding... Hiding from you Myakashi Migoya... God-killer..."

The larger limbs of the surrounding trees cracked and strained under their own weight as the withering chakra flowed through them, the hard wood rabbidly turning brittle and grey.

There was a small blur of speed as the puppet Mikki ran at Yong full speed! His small wooden arms wrapping around the Sage's armoured calf, his own synergetic tsukomogami chakra instead clashing against the destructive waves coming from the radiating Yong.

You are scaring me!

The voice was quiet, almost trembling but it held power... Power enough to quiet the blinding note in Yong's mind. Opening his eyes slowly Yong lowered his hand from the unharmed glass, turning to his uncle, the small puppet still wrapped around his leg. A small smile smile spreading over his face as the world returned to normal light, though the lightsources now reduced to Migoya's magical staff and the strange bioluminescence of the clone vats liquid. His voice and candor returned to normal.

"I am angry you did not tell me you were on the verge of make the gods obsolete uncle! I know father's soul has moved beyond even our reach but I see this one's light dimly burning... It has a soul... It is unique..."

Yong moved to his uncle now, the puppet still clinging to his leg, though quickly hopping onto his mounts armoured foot as Yong walked so as to not get dragged. He placed an unarmoured hand on his uncle's arm affectionately with a gentle squeeze before lowering his hand again. A wider grin coming over his stubbled face.

"You have played god and have created me a brother. If he is ready to... Hatch? Then you must take him some place safe. Give him a name, teach him of his father..."

Yong reached down to the puppet in his leg, gently pulling him away and standing the puppet up with a small scratch on the head. He then walked to the small bag resting in the pile of grey dust that was once the log he had been sitting on and slung it over his shoulder. He began to walk away from their now devastated camp, calling out to his uncle with a chuckle as he walked away.

"Dont worry Uncle! The Gods will forgive you... eventually!"

As he walked away Yong shook his head slightly as he mused once more, so this was why Migoya had wished to go to Konoha, not for some errand for their shadowy employer or some out of place redemption... No, Migoya had gotten exactly what he had wanted from Konoha, and Yong had gotten so much more...

[Topic Left

Thankyou Migoya, see you in Wind later ]

 

[Myakashi Migoya]

The pulse of necrotic fury washed over Migoya, the glow of his staff washing over his pale face, his crimson eyes watching the visible change taking over his nephew. He felt the tug of the corrupted aura seeking to draw out his life energy, but he did not mind. He planted his magical staff into the ground, its spiritual energy absorbing some of the damage and stopping him from being flung away. He stared in wrapped silence as he watched the power of his kin, a smile on his face as his eyes grew wider as if to take every aspect in. His nephew had grown in power, so much so, and that growth just meant his clan was stronger. Certainly, Yong followed some obscure religion that gave him a strange purpose, and a rather large companion, but he was something more than a crazy priest. Dramatic certainly, but not crazy.

He listened to Yong’s fevered utterances, in a strange voice, unsure as to what or to whom he spoke. He then heard his name.

God-killer? The Gods… fear me?

Migoya would instinctively dismiss such an absurd notion. He had simply found a way to prolong life, to make others veritably immortal. There was one simple truth that he knew - the Gods did exist, and to be stupid enough to claim any title for oneself would be folly. Certainly, if any of them decided to rise against him that would be a different situation, but for now as long as they left him alone…

The small plea of Mikki also snapped Migoya back to reality, looking down at the necrotic damage to his weak skin that Yong had unintentionally caused, and the withered animals and trees that now scarred this area. Calling on his own chakra the wounds closed immediately, and he watched as Yong held his long-time companion. Migoya felt Mikki’s fear at who… or what… Yong was becoming, and if he was honest, he shared that same concern. Migoya continued to place his hand on the warming vat. He had nodded at his nephew’s remarks, his face stoic as he stared at the young figure, floating, living, unaware. He doubted he could make God’s obsolete… at least the real ones, not the posers over in Wind country.

“He is… my masterpiece. His soul burns… and in the name of my brother I will make him into something… great. I will take him home, and the clan will raise him into our champion. Fukushu… He will ‘hatch’ shortly.”

He felt Yong affectionately place his hand over his own. A pale hand grasped his nephews for a second in return, Yong feeling the slightest pin prick on the top of his unarmoured hand. Migoya would simply raise his palm up, a very small amount of Yong’s blood staining its pale white surface, before it was strangely absorbed into Migoya’s skin. “Insurance nephew. I will not lose another member of my family”. The blood would help Migoya track Yong in Wind country should the need arise, though he hoped it would never come to this.

He smiled at his nephew, at the growth he had made, as the figure departed to meet with the devil himself. “Good travels Yong. May she of the Deep guide your path. I will take care of your brother, and your daughter, create what needs to be done, and meet you at Sunagakure to deal once more with the devil…”, he said quietly to Yongs disappearing form.

Turning to his clone. He willed ‘him’ to once again transport the canister back into the Hollow, before dismissing him. The journey ahead was not going to be simple, but most worthwhile journeys never were. “Lets go home Mikki - we have a long way to travel”. The puppet, quiet and contemplating, clambered up onto Migoya’s shoulder as he bent over to shoulder his knapsack, cover the remnants of the now extinguished fire, cover himself with a strange red tattered cloak, and grasp his staff. A small wooden hand placed itself behind Migoya’s ear. He reached behind him, healing energies flowing into the Tsukumogami.

Will Yong-san be ok?

“Yong is built for combat, and he knows the price. He may be willing to put all his cards on the table, but I will not risk him. He is too important a piece.” Migoya responded, placing a cat-like metallic mask over his face.

What’s that mean?

“It’s mean’s this. Whoever places a hand on Yong will find that the Myakashi will not hold back. Never again.”

War?

“War.”

That’s what you want isn’t it… you just want an excuse!

Migoya turned, knowing that Mikki would know he was smirking behind his mask.

“Exactly.”

[Topic Left]
[MFT: 777]