Dawn & Dusk [Private]

[Muramasa Maya]

It was high noon.

It was also the appointed date in which Azusa would meet up with the one who had anointed her 'Tails', a name she begrudgingly kept if only because she was still unsure exactly how much leeway she had with her 'master'.

Anyways, she had made her preparations for the day's events, and could only hope that the puppet had been able to follow through with his, that his newest creation was not only complete, but everything they had hoped it could be. The transference of a sacred treasure was no small feat; especially when said treasure was the blood residing in a very much living body that still wished to remain so. Shrine maiden or not, Azusa was not quite ready to rest in peace just yet.

She awaited in the appointed meeting spot she had given him; one that could not, in her mind, be missed. Her directions were as follows;
"There is a cafe across the street from the archway entering the shrine. I will be the one with the hat."...She said.

Like any proper fox spirit worth their tail, Azusa disguised herself with a transformation that, ever vain, took the form of a young woman in an exquisite outfit that would have failed in blending in had she been anywhere other than Suna's upperclass district. She sipped her coffee, on a second-story balcony giving her a good view of the entrance to the Aikayume Shrine for her recon.

To an outsider, there was nothing that would suggest anything being out of place. The Shrine was a place of peace and solemn grace; despite the fact that their Priestess had (to their knowledge) been kidnapped from within the shrine, there was nothing that would put any shrine visitors on edge or otherwise give off an unwelcoming atmosphere. But to Azusa...she could spot the differences; a shrine maiden sweeping the staircase leading at nearly all times that casting curious glances around her occasionally, only leaving when another took her place. The foxes frequently foraging on the outskirts of the Aikayume property rather than deeper within the shrine's grounds.

She knew the Aikayume were awaiting their Priestess's eventual return, playing off her strong sense of duty and pride she held. Only, she'd make sure that she showed up on her terms, borrowing someone else's power to ensure she'd get her most optimal result.

"Where is he..." She questioned, only just realizing that if his new puppet was 'wearable' like the white wolf one, she wouldn't really know what to look for...

[MFT]

 

[Junan]

A man with white hair was walking along the street. The smile on his face and the look in his eyes most likely giving him away. No matter the mask he wore, he was still himself. He wore a black top, and a jacket which matched his hair. They were the clothes that had come with the corpse, and the man was a criminal.

Indeed Junan had been thanked for his murdering of the group by none other than the Sand ANBU Sennin. Such a big, muscular creature, the fur on it was much longer than the fur on tails, probably much rougher. Junan wanted to feel it, he wanted to bend it to his will, he wanted it to walk on all fours and know who was its master, no matter the size difference.

Unfortunately though the skill difference was likely too much for Junan to be able to handle, and so he'd not been able to handle the beast like he'd handled Tails.

His sweet Tails who was not so sweet. Indeed she tended towards the more violent options when she was given the ability to choose them. She pretended to be innocent, to be good, but Junan knew that really she just wanted to be bad, to rebel against her chains, to do whatever she wanted whenever.

Today she would get to taste some of that freedom. Sure she was his pet, but today she would be freed of those who had her in the most inescapable dungeon. That of her own mind. It was so easy to see from the outside, but Junan was completely oblivious to his own similarities in this way to Tails.

Sitting down across from her he looked at her and then said Look at what I can do. Someone walking past behind Junan suddenly stopped. They were frozen. Their eyes looking around, panic filling them, they were unable to even draw breath, their body betraying them, as blood began to seep out of every orifice. A panic filled those witnessing, some ran towards the man, others away, till eventually Junan let it go, and the man collapsed. Junan could feel the pulse of the man though, he was still alive.

I can control peoples blood as it courses through their body, I can even stop their organs from working. Isn't it amazing?

At no time had he turned to look at what was transpiring behind him, at no time did he even show a flicker of caring. He could have killed the man, but he'd chosen not to, at least not put the finishes blow in. The man would need to be hospitalized, and whether he would live or die would be over to him.

Junan's grin widened.

We can do this.

 

[Junan]

[ooc: been a month, leaving from inactivity - if you come back feel free to finish the rp off though, just pm me the parts Junan would be involved in in your rp and will confirm his actions]

 

[Muramasa Maya]

All it took was a push.

Just a small push.

The companion she was waiting for had arrived, wearing his new puppet as easily as Azusa wore her illusory form. While his latest puppet had lacked the animalistic features his previous puppet had displayed, Azusa couldn't detect any less effort having been put into this new one; this pleased her. If it truely had the power to manipulate blood that would be used to return her blood to her clan, then Azusa would expect nothing less than utmost perfection in its creation.

And as if sensing her concern and lingering doubts, the living puppet demonstrated its power. A helpless bystander, having walked past at the wrong time, was the unwitting volunteer for the demonstration. He demonstrated the power to bend the blood and body of another to his will, like the puppet master he was tugging on some invisible strongs. What Azusa saw should, by all means, have registered disgust within her...

...But she was thrilled.

The, what did he call it? Chigokai? The puppet made from the remains of a Chigokai puppet...its power was real. And though it wasn't hers directly, its strength was being used for her own goals, at least for now. The Kitsune folded the paper fan she held before her face, revealing her smile.

As much as she enjoyed having things handed over to her, getting her way through force...brought a different kind of satisfaction to her.

---

Deep within the Aikayume shrine, with her brother and the other fighters of the Aikayume having been lead away through her cunning, the remaining Aikayume could do little to reject the offer Azusa proposed to them. The blood transference began.

The warmth of her clan's sacred blood leaving her left her body cold and heavy. Starting with her extremities, bit by bit she grew uncomfortably numb until she could no longer feel -or move- herself as she wished. Even the tails she took so much pride in, normally lively and flowing behind her, were now laying motionless on the ground behind her. It pushed her stubborn fortitude to limits until, nearly empty, she could maintain her consciousness no longer; her eyes shut on the world around her as the dregs of her blood left her. Like her mother and every Aikayume priestess before her, Azusa's Aikayume blood had transferred from herself to another, her sister.

...But unlike her mother, Azusa's blood was mixed with the Byakko's, a portion of blood that she kept. Furthermore, she had Junan's Chigokai form giving her an infusion of blood that though not Aikayume, could fill what Azusa had lost.

When Azusa's eyes opened, the world most certainly felt different to her. No longer was she blessed by the spirits favoring her clan, no longer did she have a tie to the natural energy of the world around her. But for all the spiritual connections that she had lost, Azusa retained her life.

----

...But there was also something that she gained. Or rather, claimed.

All she needed was a push.

And this puppet. that had renamed her Tails. was that push.

For all Azusa's finery and penchant for appearing noble and proper, the puppet who had appeared within her shrine that one night was able to see past the facade she put up. To see she was not the demure priestess of the Aikayume she tried hard to pretend to be. And without the sacred blood within her, Azusa had no reason continue pretending or live up to any expectations she set upon herself.

Sure, he had that infuriating curiosity to do as he pleased, without respect for those around him...He did what he wanted...It infuriated her, but Azusa was always, always envious of what she didn't have.

It wasn't that she was lacking something, but that he was. Where she saw things as being the 'proper' action that she 'should' do, Junan simply saw no such labels and did as he wished. It had infuriated her, but Azusa saw that there was no one to blame there but herself.

Her Curse Seal was the first step in the direction, a taste of power that she could never truly get off her tongue. As much as she damned it and wished to be freed of its influence, it had bonded to her quickly. She was naturally receptive to it, and it to her inner impulses.

...Breaking free from her own restraints was just the next step.

[MFT]
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