The cold wind blew across the barren lands, buffeting Shikyu in frosty snow that would have chilled him to the bones, if not for the thick goose-feather coat he was wearing. It was the best insulation material offered to the general populace, and he had made the purchase prior to leaving Kumogakure, knowing he was going to face a cold that was beyond what could be experienced in Kumogakure, even if it was during the coldest of winter days. In fact, the reason why he was chosen to go now, was because it was actually the summer solstice right around now, when the sun was closest to the world, and when it was the warmest.
Shikyu was holding his right hand up the shield his face from a lot of the gust, while his left gripped a walking stick that he had fashioned out of a thick branch he had found on his way. It had been two weeks since he left Kumogakure, and he was closing upon what was considered the northernmost point of the entire nation now.
The further north he was going, the colder it was getting, and he was beginning to really understand why a whole group of people could live up here practically uninterrupted. There was… probably not a lot of people who would be interested in interrupting them.
Every once in a while, Shikyu checked his chest. That was where the documents he was carrying was hidden, kept safe from the environment. He needed to make sure that it would be safe while he was carrying it.
Only hand the documents to Zentaru Minami. No one else. Shikyu repeated his mission to himself.
And so, he kept on going, and going, and going.
His rations would still last him for another month or so, but calculating the amount he needed for the return journey too, and he really only had about a week left before he had to absolutely find the Zentaru clan.
On and on Shikyu journeyed, always making sure he was orienting north. He followed the instructions on the map he was given, keeping an eye out for landmarks that would help him navigate.
Finally, on the 19th day after he departed Kumogakure, he finally reached the final landmark on the map. It was a large arch of rock that jutted out from the snow, made from some sort of jagged, rugged material. It was so massive that it took him an hour just to cross it. From here, he kept on heading east, until he reached a grand canyon - not especially wide, but so deep that despite the 70 meter or so width of the thing and thus plenty of sunlight shining down into the crevasse, he could not see the bottom of it at all.
But, he was here.
Looking towards the other side of the canyon, he spotted what looked like a metal pole punched straight into the hard ground below itself. It was only maybe 50cm or so wide, but reached at least a hundred meters into the air. This was definitely the Staff of Songoku, as named by the Zentaru clan, and referenced on Shikyu’s map.
Alright then. Shikyu cleared his throat, then bellowed. ”I AM MONZAEMON MARUSHIJŪKYŪ, CHUUNIN OF KUMOGAKURE! I HAVE ARRIVED UPON THE REQUEST OF NARA HITACHI, HISTORIAN OF KUMOGAKURE, TO DELIVER DOCUMENTS TO ZENTARU MINAMI!”
That was as loud as he could get his voice to be. Shikyu was worried - from his point of view, it sounded like the buffeting winds completely masked his statement. How could anyone from the other side hear what he said? He could not even see anyone on the other side…
And immediately, his pondering was answered. Five strangers appeared out of thin air around him, clearly dressed in some sort of Shinobi garb. They each had weapons out ready, and Shikyu responded by entering a defensive stance, drawing his own blade out, ready for battle. The night was approaching, and he could not make out the Shinobi too well, but the light emitting from his glowing blade did help somewhat.
He noticed a special red symbol tattooed on some of the Shinobi. One had it on their left cheek, while the other had it on their right hand. All of them however, had the symbol decorating their Shinobi attire in various ways.
”We have been waiting for you. Come with us.” With that, two of the Shinobi disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the canyon.
Right… okay…
One issue.
”I… do not know how to teleport.”
Silence ensued as the Shinobi stared at Shikyu blankly, before one of the Shinobi on the other side of the canyon did a series of handseals.
The pole bended without a single sound, falling towards Shikyu. It stopped short of actually hitting Shikyu, but was close enough for Shikyu to grab onto it.
Right.
Shikyu grabbed onto it.
The pole immediately bended backwards, once again standing upright in its original position. It took Shikyu with it, carrying him across the canyon. It was kind of scary, but alas, only lasted for a second.
Shikyu slid down the pole and landed on the snow with a gentle thud, as the remaining three Shinobi on the other side teleported over.
”Come with us.”
With that, they began walking away. Shikyu followed suit, but not without glancing quickly at the pole. Where the pole had bent, it looked smooth and perfect just as before, as if the bend never happened at all.
Well that’s… unusual.
The Shinobi accompanying him was absolutely silent throughout the entire journey, a silence which Shikyu mimicked. He did not want to do something that could be construed as rude, or even completely unacceptable by the Shinobi, in case it jeopardizes the mission.
So the six Shinobi walked silently as snow contained to buffet them in whirls of winds. For a very long time, the group walked. Shikyu had tried to look ahead to see where they were heading, but not only was the constant snowfall blocking his vision, night had finally fallen, and it was all but pitch dark. At some point, Shikyu looked up to find stars, only to be disappointed to see even more snow above. It had been that way for over a week now, with constant snow falling from above. And lashing at him from the side.
Seriously, why would anyone want to live here? Shikyu thought to himself in a rather sarcastic tone, something that he had developed over time. Shikyu’d like to think he was not as naive as when he first ‘rebirthed’.
Eventually, Shikyu noticed that there was light shining from ahead. It glowed dimly at first, but grew brighter and brighter upon the approach. It was hard to know what was ahead, given that they were moving uphill at that point. Eventually however, they reached the crest. Standing atop it, Shikyu could finally see where the source of light was coming from.
From where he stood, the ground continued to decline downwards for a distance, before reaching the sharp edge of a raised plateau. The plateau was about 100 meters or so above the ground, but it was probably enough to keep unwelcomed visitors from being able to reach the settlement easily. From Shikyu’s viewpoint, it was not too clear what the settlement looked like, only that there were additional walls surrounding it.
Shikyu was not sure if the plateau was naturally-forming, as it seemed like it was quite circular in shape. The rock that the plateau is made from seemed to be quite a deep shade of black, almost obsidian-like. Or maybe, it was indeed truly obsidian. Perhaps it was some sort of iron-containing metal alloy. Perhaps it was something else entirely.
Either way. What was truly amazing was that the entire settlement was surrounded by what seemed like a dome of… nothingness. Well, not nothingness, surely, but the entire area of the settlement was completely devoid of the snow and wind was buffeting everything around. In fact, Shikyu also felt an uncanny sense of warmth where he was standing now. This invisible dome extended beyond the crest he was standing on, and thus putting the snow and wind behind him. Not only that, but he also felt an unsettling warmth washing over him, almost making him want to take off his massive, super-warm jacket.
Close, but not quite.
The six Shinobi continued on their way, heading downhill for another hundred or so meters, until they were at the bottom of the plateau. The ground around them as they approached the plateau swapped from snow to hard, rocky ground, and now Shikyu could tell that it was likely made of the same material as the plateau. It was definitely not obsidian, whatever it was. Still, Shikyu could not determine what the material was - only that it was definitely extremely hard. And quite jagged too.
One of the Shinobi accompanying Shikyu did a series of handseals, and seams started to appear in the ground surrounding the entire group - as far as Shikyu could tell, in a perfect circle. Then, the ground rose up almost without making a single sound, a single circular construct that was now carrying all six Shinobi upwards, only stopping once it has rose the full height of the plateau. The five Shinobi accompanying him hopped off, and Shikyu followed suit, quickly glancing at the platform that just transported them up. To his surprise, the bottom of the platform was perfectly curved. Once everyone was off the platform, it started descending again. Shikyu never had the chance to see if it would land in the same exact spot, having to walk with the group of Shinobi towards the settlement, but he assumed so. From his deductions, whatever the Jutsu these Shinobi were proficient in, it probably had something to do with perfect control over matter. Not sure if it was specific to metals, non-biological materials, or absolutely everything.
The walls that he had seen from afar was now within range for Shikyu to scrutinize, and he was surprised to determine that the material it was made of was likely to be the same as that he had walked on, and of the plateau. Yet, there was a significant difference - while the natural material refracted and redirected light in various directions, the material making up the wall seemed to perfectly absorb light, making it look pitch black.
A bit further and they made it to the actual wall itself. It was not too high, but definitely enough to tower over the group of Shinobi. Two of the Shinobi accompanying him stepped forth to come even closer to the gates. Since the other three remained in place, Shikyu decided to remain behind, waiting for an invite or command, before commencing any sort of action. It was the right decision, because what transpired next definitely did not involve him, at all.
The two Shinobi ahead did a series of handseals in perfect synchronicity, before both hitting the wall with the palm of their hands. As a vertical seam began to appear in the wall between the pair, the pair stepped back to where the remainder of the group was standing.
The seam lengthened itself until it had reached the full height of the wall. Shikyu imagined that soon, it will form a door or something, but his expectations was absolutely subverted. More and more seams began to appear within the fabric of the wall, criss-crossing each other until -
BANG.
Shikyu was taken slightly aback (but not too much, for he has been trained to remain calm and prepared against any surprise) by the massive noise. The large section of the wall in front of him seemed to have exploded, with shards flying in all manners of directions at supersonic speeds. Yet, none of the shards ever reached Shikyu, or any of the Shinobi. In fact, the furthest-flying shards did not reach any further than about five meters from the wall. Instead, all the shards just hung in the air, perfectly immobile as if glued to the air itself.
Just. What.
”Let’s go.” One of the Shinobi announced, and began to walk forwards. The rest followed. As they moved through the matrix of shards, the shards that they would have hit all floated to the sides, giving way to the oncoming envoy.
Shikyu stood there, dumbfounded and awestruck for a second, before following the five Shinobi ahead. Once they crossed the walls, he turned around and saw that as they were walking through, the shards making up the wall had reassembled, and once they were far enough on the other side, the last shards pieced itself back into the wall like a jigsaw puzzle. Once again, the wall was perfectly smooth, as if nothing had ever happened to it.
Just. What.
Well, that was one thing. But the settlement in front of Shikyu was all the crazier. He had never seen a village so purely made out of metal…
Although to be fair, Shikyu had only been to two villages. One was completely destroyed by a plague, and was now a medical, isolated center. The other was Kumogakure.
This settlement, was way bigger than Shikyu thought it would be. The entire village seemed like it could be than Kumogakure itself!
The Shinobi took Shikyu through the settlement, letting Shikyu look around in awe as much as he would like - so long as he was keeping up, which he was.
The street were filled with people, all seeming to be Shinobi, or at least in training to be them. They looked serious, and aside from a few quick glances at Shikyu, everyone largely ignored the group, having their own thing to do.
What surprised him was the lack of any shops that he would think to be conventional. Sure, there were plenty of activity, with blacksmiths and more all around, but there was a distinct lack of economics it would seem. He could not see any exchange of currency anywhere. Instead people were just working, producing items and putting them on display, and people were just taking them.
Shikyu had so many questions now. But he was going to keep them in his mind until he deemed it was appropriate to ask. Which may be never.
Eventually, the group of five Shinobi brought Shikyu to a building that was very clearly the administrative center of the entire settlement. It was a massively large building that was shaped like a cathedral in a way, architecturally. But the windows were all lined with steel, and there were far fewer decorative curves of lines edged into the building. It was however, very characteristic and expected of such a settlement.
The interior was quite different from what Shikyu imagined. While the other side was monotonously black and seemed to be made as one massive solid mass of whatever the metal alloy is (sans the glass that was part of the window design). On the inside, everything was intricately designed, though the color palate still erred more so on the greyer/blacker spectrum.
It was much busier here, with Shinobi crossing back and forth on their way to do whatever it is they needed to do.
”Wait here.” One of the Shinobi accompanying him commanded, before heading off to an area that could best described as the reception. He discussed something with a person who seemed like the receptionist, before returning to Shikyu. ”Alright. Jishakukage-sama is ready to meet you. Come with me. You four, you know what to do.”
The four that were addressed acknowledged with a very clear, simultaneous ‘YES SIR!’ before disappearing from view. The single Shinobi that was left motioned for Shikyu to follow him, and so Shikyu did. Up the circular staircase, down a corridor, then a few more staircases and corridors, passing plenty of offices with plenty going on, before finally, they reached massive steel doors at the end of a long hallway. What was behind the door was likely a large room, given that there were no other doors to either side, suggesting that the room behind the door extended to either side.
Shikyu had to chuckle to himself internally. This was exactly like what one would expect from a Kage office. Or at least, this was what he would expect from the Torre Celeste. He had been sent as a messenger to Kitsune enough times to know what the tower was like, and to navigate it precisely and promptly.
The pair stopped directly in front of the door, just a few dozen of centimeters away. For a moment, they stood silent and almost motionless. Shikyu had begun to wonder again what was going on, before the doors swung inwards, revealing the room to Shikyu. As suspected, it was massive. There were shelves and bookcases to either side, filled with various documents. The room was brightly lit, and had large, massive windows that he assumed would let in plenty of sunlight during the day. Carpets lined the room, and there were other desks around, presumably for other people to use. For now, they were unoccupied.
Most of the items in the room were clearly made of the black obsidian-like metal alloy, polished as expected, to pitch black perfection. Centered just in front of the windows was a massive desk made of the same alloy, and a woman was sitting behind it, looking stern and very business-like, despite the way she was dressed, in a beautifully designed dress. It was black from head to toe, but the design truly accentuated her beauty.
”Thank you, Karumi-san. You may leave.” The woman spoke in a feminin, but cold voice.
”Kage-sama.” The man accompanying him acknowledged, before turning and leaving.
Well, guess this was cue for Shikyu to act on his own accord now. So he walked into the room, slowly but confidently, trying to betray no sense of fear or uncertainty. And why should he be anything but sure of himself? He was here to deliver documents to this woman, and he was about to accomplish the mission perfectly.
As he walked into the middle of the room, the doors behind him closed shut with a gentle thud. Shikyu turned around quickly in response to the noise, but then his focused shifted back to the woman. He did manage to realize that indeed, the room extended either side back towards the direction of the corridor, where even more documents and various other things were stored.
Shikyu stopped midway, a few meters away from the desk, ready to announce his intentions. He did not want to come too close, lest it spooked the woman. Or more likely, it somehow was considered flawed etiquette in this place. Shikyu, after all, heeded Hitachi’s warning very carefully.
However, before he could speak, the woman addressed him first. ”Welcome home, my son.”
Shikyu’s jaws almost dropped. However, he managed to maintain his composure, letting it figuratively drop in his mind instead. WHAT? God, he was asking that in his mind a lot today. What did she say? What?
Shikyu just could not help his face from betraying his puzzlement. ”I… apologies, but I believe you confused. I have never-” The woman closed her eyes and shook her head, stopping Shikyu from continuing with what he was going to say, thinking it might not be the best idea.
”You did not hear incorrectly, nor is it anything but a serious truth. You, are in fact, my son.”
Before Shikyu could say anything again, the woman stood up and moved around her desk so that she was now standing in front of it. While she was walking around, she had continued to speak. ”Nara Hitachi of Kumogakure… is for a lack of a better word, an acutely insightful man. He had found you for me. You see, when he first met you, he realized that you had features unique to our clan, to the Zentaru clan. The man you call Monzaemon Sendatsu is a liar. He fooled you into believing that you were just a common, average subclass of humanity, like he himself is.” The woman explained.
Shikyu’s fist clenched as he heard her belittle Monzaemon Sendatsu. His heart was beating faster, and he could feel his temper rising. So, apparently this was his trigger. He almost wanted to react to what she said with however his instinct want him to react, but his Shinobi held him in check. There was no sense in such a confrontation, at least not yet.
The woman continued. ”You are a Zentaru, and not just any Zentaru. You are Zentaru Tatsuya, my son. I know this comes as a surprise to you, and thus I am forgiving you for doubting me right now.”
Shikyu opened his mouth to refute her, as an instinct, and to protect the mission, but the woman raised a hand that indicated to him to stop. ”It is clear from your face. Do not hide it. It is uncharacteristic of you.”
She let there be a short pause, for it all to sink in. However, Shikyu could not feel anything but uncertainty. Uncertainty about himself. Uncertainty about the mission. Uncertainty about how to deal with the woman. Uncertainty about why the woman was saying all this. Was she deranged? Was she trying to get something out of him? But what? Is this even Zentaru Minami? Thinking back, the man who she called Karumi did only just call her the ‘Jishakukage’. Even though it was implied that he was taking him to Zentaru Minami, it was never actually explicitly stated. So what was going on?
”What is going on, is that something was kept hidden from you purposefully, to hurt me, your very mother. But that is all fine now. You are back in the fold, you are back with me.” The woman continued, stating the matter very of factly. Were mother figures not supposed to be warm, kind, and caring? This woman did not sound at all like his mother… well, if he had to imagine how his mother was, anyways.
If he had a mother who had cared for him at all. This would be a good time for a memory from his past life to return, to be honest.
Shikyu remained motionless for a while, as the woman stared at him, seeing to now await his answer. Shikyu could not quite understand how she could just state such thing, and leave it there. How could she actually accept that someone should just accept such a statement like that?
Shikyu’s facial expression remained unchanging for a while, before he closed his eyes tight for a second. When he opened them again, he was ready. Shikyu reached into his jacket, behind his Chuunin vest, and took out the sealed tube that contained the documents of importance. Before he could say anything however, the tube flew out of his hands, and into the waiting left hand of the woman, which she had raised while he was searching for the tube. Shikyu was completely flabbergasted by what happened. Speechless. Utterly shocked. What was up with this woman?
”Ah. This is your… ‘mission’, right? You truly have been indoctrinated well by the Kumo-nin. Good. I was afraid you have lost your previous capabilities, but even if you have, you will still be able to fit in well. I need my heir to be perfect.”
That again. That again! THAT AGAIN!
”Look, yes, I am Zentaru Minami. You have completed your mission. Well done.” With that, she tossed the tube aside, before taking steps forwards until she was directly in front of Shikyu, just a few centimeters away. ”My son… you are home.” She said, holding up a hand and caressing Shikyu’s cheek.
Shikyu snapped.
He bounded backwards, leaping out of her reach. The door was behind him now. His face betrayed a clear intensity characteristic of a Shinobi ready for battle. In fact, his stance had also changed, ready to challenge the woman. He just had yet to draw his weapon, but he was very ready to. ”Zentaru Minami of the Zentaru clan. As per requested, I have delivered documents of importance into your hands, and thus concluding my mission. I therefore do not need to remain here anymore, and will hereby take my leave. I - “
”SHUT UP!” Minami roared, her entire body language changing. She stopped looking calm and collected, stern yet not angry. Now, she looked like she was about to release an inferno. With a single motion of her hands, five heavy hemicircular metal contraptions rose up from around them, and with another motion, all five flew at Shikyu was perfect precision. Four hit him first - two hitting his wrists, and two hitting his ankles. The impact was painful, but did not just stop there. The contraptions, propelled by some sort of invisible force, dragged him backwards and pinned him against the door in almost a spread-eagle manner. The last of the contraptions finally flew at his face, but rather than smacking into him, molded shape and wrapped perfectly around his lower face, covering his mouth completely and preventing any speech from being possible.
”I have tried to be nice, try to understand the ways of the lower classes of humans. I tried to communicate with you like peasants would communicate with each other, but no more. You are I, we are of the Zentaru clan. You will be dignified like all other members of the clan. But enough is enough.”
Minami came closer towards Shikyu, looking at his face, then various parts of his body, then his face. She then came close enough that her face was almost in his. From there, Shikyu could in fact see that there was a small teardrop forming at the edge of one of her eyes.
Was she truly sorry for doing this? Does she truly believe in what she said?
Minami withdrew herself from Shikyu, taking a few steps back. ”My son… please, just accept this. I want the best for you. I love you. You are my child, and I love you more than anything. Please. Come back to me.” Minami’s voice had changed, a pleading undertone now pervading what was once just cold and disconnected. The teardrop that Shikyu saw before had developed enough to roll down Minami’s cheek. ”Come on, show me you are what you are.”
Minami took a few steps back until she had backed into her desk. With a wave of her hands, all of the contraptions that locked Shikyu in place, including his faceguard, removed themselves from him, and he could push himself away from the door.
”You are a Zentaru. Show me. Show me your abilities. Show me who you are.”
But Shikyu was silent. He had no idea how to respond in such a situation. Perhaps the only way was…
Shikyu quickly drew his blade, which immediately began to glow once the hilt was in his hands. But before Shikyu could bring it out in front of him, the blade was invisibly pulled out of his hands and flung into a wall, lodging itself there.
The contraptions flew back at him and once again pinned him to the door. His lower face was also once again covered.
He could see Minami looking down and sighing.
”Son… there must have been signs, right? You must know that you are not an average person? That you are beyond the capacity of the rats and ants that have surrounded you? You… my son, you belong to the Zentaru clan. The peak of human evolution…” Minami pleaded with Shikyu, though to no avail. She sighed, and continued. ”Magnetic. Magnetic control. That is the calling card for Zentaru clan members. Surely, you must be aware of your capacity to control the magnetic field?”
Silence.
”You could at least answer this question, right? Just a nod or a shake? Don’t be so stubborn. You are going nowhere until you give me an answer.”
Silence at first. But then finally, definitely, Shikyu shook his head. Yep, this woman was deranged. He had no idea what she was on about.
The woman sighed again, shaking her head while looking honestly disappointed. The emotions that she was showing was so real, that Shikyu could not help but conclude that the woman truly believed every single word she said. With that said, that does not stop her from actually being deranged.
The woman looked up at Shikyu now, and sighed once again. She pushed herself off of her desk, standing tall and upright now. ”I did not want to do this, but you give me no choice. Perhaps this would convince you…”
Minami raised a hand in the air, palm facing upwards, and a number of metallic items around the office flew up into the air. They then re-molded themselves into senbons, all of which were facing Shikyu.
Shikyu’s eyes widened in horror, and he began to struggle, trying to get out of the bind. Muffled sounds came from his mouth as he tried to talk her out of such craziness, but it was to no avail.
”I am sorry, my son. I did not want to do this, but it must be done.” With that, she turned her hand so that her palm was facing Shikyu, then flicked it forwards and downwards. It was a command, and the heeders of the command was the senbons. Each and every one of the senbon flew at Shikyu, striking him in various places.
More muffled sounds came from Shikyu, this time louder and thicker. He was in pain, for sure, but more so he was now staring back at Minami with an intense, indomitable look. Hatred was filling him up, filling him with an incredible determination that casted aside the pain.
”Ah, what beautiful eyes. You are indeed a Zentaru. Strong, determined, proud, and unrelenting. See, even your personality begs you to admit that you are a Zentaru.”
Each and every single one of the senbons drew themselves out of the Shikyu, the exit itself causing Shikyu pain. Then, back in again. Shikyu grinded his teeth, starting to really feel it now. Without any pause, the senbons flew out, then back in again. And again, before Shikyu expected it, the senbons flew out, and back in.
Alright, the pain was now really getting to him. His mind was both blanking, both seizing. His body was full of holes now, spread across his entire body. Out. In. Out. In.
Truly, his mind just wanted to burst, but the constant pain was forcing him from going into unconsciousness. It was constantly waking him up. But why? This much pain should have knocked him out.
Could the senbons be laced with something that was forcing his consciousness? Why?
The constant pain was just overwhelming Shikyu now, his mind felt like it was fragmenting. The fact that his voice could not come out make the pain all the more overwhelming. Tears were overflowing from his eyes now, running down his face in constant streams. Alright, he was truly breaking now.
”Come on. Show your true self.”
Again, and again, the senbons repeated their attack.
COME ON WHAT, YOU CRAZY FUCKING BITCH. First time he swore, since his rebirth. Even if it was just in his mind. In reality, his mind-breaking translated to a convulsing body, and loud sounds emitting from his mouth, sounds that should have been actual words, cursing at Minami. Instead, it was just incoherent, but definitely aggressive, noise.
And that when it was finally happened. Shikyu’s eyes rolled back into the back of his head, but he did not lose unconsciousness.
Minami looked around in surprise, as she saw water vapour collected themselves from all corners of the office, coalescing into clouds inside the office itself. The clouds darkened, and what seemed to be electricity played out across the surface of the clouds.
Minami looked at the cloud with concern, not because the clouds are clouds, but because of something completely unrelated.
”No. No no. No, no, no, no. No. NO!” Minami exclaimed, eyes wide, head shaking. ”No, this cannot be true!”
It was true though. Thunder boomed from the cloud, and a blast of lightning drew out of the storm cloud, striking the nearest metal equipment, which was just a senbon that had been lingering in the air. The senbon lost its ionic charge, and fell to the ground.
”NOOOOO!” Minami fell to the ground, crying in despair. The cloud contained to discharge lightning strikes, hitting various things in the room. She was completely unaffected, just letting the lightning destroy her room, while Shikyu continued to convulse. It went on for a while, until Shikyu was beginning to froth at the corner of his mouth. That was when Minami looked up, and snapped her fingers. A senbon flew into Shikyu’s forehead, and Shikyu fell into unconsciousness, blacking out completely.
And that was that.
The next time Shikyu woke up, he was chained to a wall, in a prison cell. Someone saw Shikyu had woken up, and called out with words that Shikyu could not quite understand. Because really, he was still out of it, and fell back into unconsciousness.
Then, he was splashed with ice cold water, shocking him back into full consciousness. His eyes wide, his body perked, his awareness fully back. He was sitting on a bench, his hands chained together, and subsequently to the wall.
Outside of the prison cell stood Zentaru Minami, and just her.
”My son... they’ve done something to you.”
Slowly, things were coming back to Shikyu. He could remember the torturing, and then the blacking out… but also something else. His body did… something. But what is that something?
”Yes… the Arashigeru, didn’t they. They must have colluded with that wretched Sendatsu. They must have. They broke you. But worry not, my son. We will fix you. We will make you whole again. We will remove all that dirty Storm energy that they’ve injected into you. Don’t worry, my baby. For now, just rest.” She looked at Shikyu with a pitiful look, clearly feeling sorry for him. She then departed, but not without a last look at Shikyu.
Once she was gone, Shikyu’s head fell and body fell against the wall behind him, as an incredulous feeling washed over him. For some reason, his wounds have healed, and his clothes have been replaced with fresh ones. Shikyu noticed that the cell he was in was very clean, and there was actually a table with food, probably prepared for him.
He realized then that he was hungry, but more importantly, he was still extremely tired. So he closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
…
…
…
”Hey, psssst.”
Shikyu’s eyes opened wide. He looked out of his cell to see a young girl, maybe around 14 or 15 years old, waving at him. She had black hair and brown eyes, the same as that of Zentaru Minami. And… she also resembled the woman…
Shikyu shuffled backwards, trying to get away from her, but the young girl’s face itself lit up in fear. ”Shhh. Shhhhh!.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. ”I know who I look like, okay? But believe me, I am here to free you.”
Shikyu instantly wanted to not believe her, his instinct wanting him to remain safe in the confines of the prison cell. Yes, it was illogical that he was currently safe, but that’s the difference between basal instincts, and developed, cognizant thought processes. Shikyu stared at her, eyes wide, clearly betraying his fear. The torture had truly broken him.
The girl looked down and sighed, exactly like the woman that she resembled, the woman that tortured Shikyu. When she looked up, her face was filled with determination. ”Look, do you want to get out of here or not? Come on, what can be worse than this? Can the situation be any worse if you tried to escape and fail? No, right?”
When Shikyu did not respond, she continued. ”Alright, fine. We don’t have a lot of time, but I guess you won’t budge until you have a reason to. That woman I resemble? That’s my mother, Zentaru Minami. She believes you to be Zentaru Tatsuya. But you are not, are you? If you remain here, she will keep on trying to prove that you are Tatsuya. That means that she will keep on torturing you, believing that it will bring out your true abilities. But that will never happen. So if you want to be tortured until you die, you can stay here. Or, take a chance and come with me.” Tatsuya pulled the cell door open, and held out a hand towards Shikyu.
Shikyu saw that at the girl’s feet, there was the lock of the door, and a key still stuck within it. Whoever the girl with, she had access to the keys, and that did mean perhaps this was the best chance for him.
With his panicky instincts calming down, his Shinobi instincts coming to the fore, and his logic returning, his grip over his actions was finally his again. Shikyu got up from the bed he was on, and was immediately dragged back by the chains attached to him.
”Oh, right.” The girl stated, rushing to him as she pulled out another key from her pocket. She fiddled a bit with the chains, unlocking them. Once the chains were finally loose and dropped next to his feet, the girl tossed the key aside, and began dragging him away. ”Hurry, we do not have much time. I’ve ordered the guards to… be busy elsewhere, but they will soon return. We have to go, now!”
It was enough said. Shikyu followed the girl, surprised that he had the strength to do so. Together, the pair made their way out of the prison - a whole building set aside from all others surrounding it. There was however, no fences or security outside of the prison to speak of, which seemed strange to Shikyu. But then Shikyu remembered that this entire place was a closed settlement, and it was not likely that anyone could escape without help, as he did.
The girl lead him down alleyways and hidden streets, making sure no one was following them on the way. Eventually they came to the end of an empty alley, dark and fully covered by the shadows of the massive buildings to either side. There, a person seemed to have been waiting for them.
”This is Zentaru Hikaru. She will take over from now on, ensuring your escape. Follow her. I have to go back to my work, to ensure that I am not suspected of anything. Good luck.” With that, the girl that helped him left, before he could even get her name.
Surely without much time left, he turned towards Hikaru, who explained the plan to him. She knows of a spot at the walls without too many guards, and she was one of those capable of manipulating the wall to open up. They would head there right away, under the cover of the night. Without really any choice, Shikyu agreed to the plan. And thus Shikyu was given a quick change of clothing, along with a wig that would mask his conspicuous thunderbird (orange-reddish) hair.
They followed through with the plan, although halfway through their route had to change after blaring alarms were raised across the settlement, and a large number of Shinobi had poured out onto the streets, searching for Shikyu.
It took a lot longer, having to constantly dodge search parties, but finally, they managed to reach their destination. Throughout the journey, Shikyu was able to truly grasp just how large the settlement was, and even now could not quite believe essentially a whole massive society could develop in such a place. But it could. So there we go.
Upon reaching the walls, Hikaru did two series of handseals separately with each hand, and Shikyu remembered just why Hikaru must have been chosen. When they entered, two separate Shinobi had to perform the Jutsu necessary to open up access. Surely… yep, as he suspected, after the series of simultaneously duplicated handseals were completed, Hikaru placed both hands on the wall, and then stepped back. Shikyu did too, and watched as just a small section of the wall, about three meter by three meter, was filled with crisscrossing seams, before the expected explosion occurred. It was a loud boom, as loud as the one that occurred during his entry. The shards flew out, and hung in the air again, just as before.
”Let’s go. We don’t have much time. Somebody will have heard that.”
Oh, yeah, good point. The pair hurried through the wall, towards the edge of the plateau. This section was very different, and far from where he entered. As they ran towards the edge, Hikaru did another series of handseals, and a portion of the edge broke off, forming a platform. Unlike the one he previously saw formed, the bottom of this one was much more rugged. Shikyu deduced that it was because of a lack of concentration and/or due to haste. It did not really matter though.
Together, the pair hopped onto the platform, and it immediately flew away from the plateau, down diagonally instead of vertically.
”Get ready to jump!” Hikaru alerted Shikyu as they approached the ground. Just before the platform hit the ground, Hikaru told Shikyu to jump, and together they leap off the platform, landing in various positions upon the ground a distance away. Immediately Hikaru got up, and motioned for Shikyu to follow suit. He too quickly got up, before following her - although not before glancing back at the platform, which now laid in a broken heap on the ground. Clearly, fine control was needed for what he had seen before. But this… what he assumed was Magnetic control, was indeed very impressive.
Together, the pair continued to run at their top speed, finally escaping the settlement’s dome and into the chilling cold, neverending snowing, wind bellowing, ruthlessly frosty environment outside. Hey, at least Shikyu had escaped. And he had also completed his mission, for what it’s worth. Plus… whatever massive fur coat he was given… well, it was definitely much warmer than what he had before. It was not like it could be considered a worthwhile trade-off for what he had to endure. But hey, he could always look at the bright side, could he not?
OOC:
[Thread entered and left with PC Monzaemon Marushijūkyū.]
[Thread entered and left with NPC Zentaru Minami.]
[Post 2 of 2]
[WC: 7,100]
[TWC: 7,679/1500]
Shikyu was holding his right hand up the shield his face from a lot of the gust, while his left gripped a walking stick that he had fashioned out of a thick branch he had found on his way. It had been two weeks since he left Kumogakure, and he was closing upon what was considered the northernmost point of the entire nation now.
The further north he was going, the colder it was getting, and he was beginning to really understand why a whole group of people could live up here practically uninterrupted. There was… probably not a lot of people who would be interested in interrupting them.
Every once in a while, Shikyu checked his chest. That was where the documents he was carrying was hidden, kept safe from the environment. He needed to make sure that it would be safe while he was carrying it.
Only hand the documents to Zentaru Minami. No one else. Shikyu repeated his mission to himself.
And so, he kept on going, and going, and going.
His rations would still last him for another month or so, but calculating the amount he needed for the return journey too, and he really only had about a week left before he had to absolutely find the Zentaru clan.
On and on Shikyu journeyed, always making sure he was orienting north. He followed the instructions on the map he was given, keeping an eye out for landmarks that would help him navigate.
Finally, on the 19th day after he departed Kumogakure, he finally reached the final landmark on the map. It was a large arch of rock that jutted out from the snow, made from some sort of jagged, rugged material. It was so massive that it took him an hour just to cross it. From here, he kept on heading east, until he reached a grand canyon - not especially wide, but so deep that despite the 70 meter or so width of the thing and thus plenty of sunlight shining down into the crevasse, he could not see the bottom of it at all.
But, he was here.
Looking towards the other side of the canyon, he spotted what looked like a metal pole punched straight into the hard ground below itself. It was only maybe 50cm or so wide, but reached at least a hundred meters into the air. This was definitely the Staff of Songoku, as named by the Zentaru clan, and referenced on Shikyu’s map.
Alright then. Shikyu cleared his throat, then bellowed. ”I AM MONZAEMON MARUSHIJŪKYŪ, CHUUNIN OF KUMOGAKURE! I HAVE ARRIVED UPON THE REQUEST OF NARA HITACHI, HISTORIAN OF KUMOGAKURE, TO DELIVER DOCUMENTS TO ZENTARU MINAMI!”
That was as loud as he could get his voice to be. Shikyu was worried - from his point of view, it sounded like the buffeting winds completely masked his statement. How could anyone from the other side hear what he said? He could not even see anyone on the other side…
And immediately, his pondering was answered. Five strangers appeared out of thin air around him, clearly dressed in some sort of Shinobi garb. They each had weapons out ready, and Shikyu responded by entering a defensive stance, drawing his own blade out, ready for battle. The night was approaching, and he could not make out the Shinobi too well, but the light emitting from his glowing blade did help somewhat.
He noticed a special red symbol tattooed on some of the Shinobi. One had it on their left cheek, while the other had it on their right hand. All of them however, had the symbol decorating their Shinobi attire in various ways.
”We have been waiting for you. Come with us.” With that, two of the Shinobi disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the canyon.
Right… okay…
One issue.
”I… do not know how to teleport.”
Silence ensued as the Shinobi stared at Shikyu blankly, before one of the Shinobi on the other side of the canyon did a series of handseals.
The pole bended without a single sound, falling towards Shikyu. It stopped short of actually hitting Shikyu, but was close enough for Shikyu to grab onto it.
Right.
Shikyu grabbed onto it.
The pole immediately bended backwards, once again standing upright in its original position. It took Shikyu with it, carrying him across the canyon. It was kind of scary, but alas, only lasted for a second.
Shikyu slid down the pole and landed on the snow with a gentle thud, as the remaining three Shinobi on the other side teleported over.
”Come with us.”
With that, they began walking away. Shikyu followed suit, but not without glancing quickly at the pole. Where the pole had bent, it looked smooth and perfect just as before, as if the bend never happened at all.
Well that’s… unusual.
The Shinobi accompanying him was absolutely silent throughout the entire journey, a silence which Shikyu mimicked. He did not want to do something that could be construed as rude, or even completely unacceptable by the Shinobi, in case it jeopardizes the mission.
So the six Shinobi walked silently as snow contained to buffet them in whirls of winds. For a very long time, the group walked. Shikyu had tried to look ahead to see where they were heading, but not only was the constant snowfall blocking his vision, night had finally fallen, and it was all but pitch dark. At some point, Shikyu looked up to find stars, only to be disappointed to see even more snow above. It had been that way for over a week now, with constant snow falling from above. And lashing at him from the side.
Seriously, why would anyone want to live here? Shikyu thought to himself in a rather sarcastic tone, something that he had developed over time. Shikyu’d like to think he was not as naive as when he first ‘rebirthed’.
Eventually, Shikyu noticed that there was light shining from ahead. It glowed dimly at first, but grew brighter and brighter upon the approach. It was hard to know what was ahead, given that they were moving uphill at that point. Eventually however, they reached the crest. Standing atop it, Shikyu could finally see where the source of light was coming from.
From where he stood, the ground continued to decline downwards for a distance, before reaching the sharp edge of a raised plateau. The plateau was about 100 meters or so above the ground, but it was probably enough to keep unwelcomed visitors from being able to reach the settlement easily. From Shikyu’s viewpoint, it was not too clear what the settlement looked like, only that there were additional walls surrounding it.
Shikyu was not sure if the plateau was naturally-forming, as it seemed like it was quite circular in shape. The rock that the plateau is made from seemed to be quite a deep shade of black, almost obsidian-like. Or maybe, it was indeed truly obsidian. Perhaps it was some sort of iron-containing metal alloy. Perhaps it was something else entirely.
Either way. What was truly amazing was that the entire settlement was surrounded by what seemed like a dome of… nothingness. Well, not nothingness, surely, but the entire area of the settlement was completely devoid of the snow and wind was buffeting everything around. In fact, Shikyu also felt an uncanny sense of warmth where he was standing now. This invisible dome extended beyond the crest he was standing on, and thus putting the snow and wind behind him. Not only that, but he also felt an unsettling warmth washing over him, almost making him want to take off his massive, super-warm jacket.
Close, but not quite.
The six Shinobi continued on their way, heading downhill for another hundred or so meters, until they were at the bottom of the plateau. The ground around them as they approached the plateau swapped from snow to hard, rocky ground, and now Shikyu could tell that it was likely made of the same material as the plateau. It was definitely not obsidian, whatever it was. Still, Shikyu could not determine what the material was - only that it was definitely extremely hard. And quite jagged too.
One of the Shinobi accompanying Shikyu did a series of handseals, and seams started to appear in the ground surrounding the entire group - as far as Shikyu could tell, in a perfect circle. Then, the ground rose up almost without making a single sound, a single circular construct that was now carrying all six Shinobi upwards, only stopping once it has rose the full height of the plateau. The five Shinobi accompanying him hopped off, and Shikyu followed suit, quickly glancing at the platform that just transported them up. To his surprise, the bottom of the platform was perfectly curved. Once everyone was off the platform, it started descending again. Shikyu never had the chance to see if it would land in the same exact spot, having to walk with the group of Shinobi towards the settlement, but he assumed so. From his deductions, whatever the Jutsu these Shinobi were proficient in, it probably had something to do with perfect control over matter. Not sure if it was specific to metals, non-biological materials, or absolutely everything.
The walls that he had seen from afar was now within range for Shikyu to scrutinize, and he was surprised to determine that the material it was made of was likely to be the same as that he had walked on, and of the plateau. Yet, there was a significant difference - while the natural material refracted and redirected light in various directions, the material making up the wall seemed to perfectly absorb light, making it look pitch black.
A bit further and they made it to the actual wall itself. It was not too high, but definitely enough to tower over the group of Shinobi. Two of the Shinobi accompanying him stepped forth to come even closer to the gates. Since the other three remained in place, Shikyu decided to remain behind, waiting for an invite or command, before commencing any sort of action. It was the right decision, because what transpired next definitely did not involve him, at all.
The two Shinobi ahead did a series of handseals in perfect synchronicity, before both hitting the wall with the palm of their hands. As a vertical seam began to appear in the wall between the pair, the pair stepped back to where the remainder of the group was standing.
The seam lengthened itself until it had reached the full height of the wall. Shikyu imagined that soon, it will form a door or something, but his expectations was absolutely subverted. More and more seams began to appear within the fabric of the wall, criss-crossing each other until -
BANG.
Shikyu was taken slightly aback (but not too much, for he has been trained to remain calm and prepared against any surprise) by the massive noise. The large section of the wall in front of him seemed to have exploded, with shards flying in all manners of directions at supersonic speeds. Yet, none of the shards ever reached Shikyu, or any of the Shinobi. In fact, the furthest-flying shards did not reach any further than about five meters from the wall. Instead, all the shards just hung in the air, perfectly immobile as if glued to the air itself.
Just. What.
”Let’s go.” One of the Shinobi announced, and began to walk forwards. The rest followed. As they moved through the matrix of shards, the shards that they would have hit all floated to the sides, giving way to the oncoming envoy.
Shikyu stood there, dumbfounded and awestruck for a second, before following the five Shinobi ahead. Once they crossed the walls, he turned around and saw that as they were walking through, the shards making up the wall had reassembled, and once they were far enough on the other side, the last shards pieced itself back into the wall like a jigsaw puzzle. Once again, the wall was perfectly smooth, as if nothing had ever happened to it.
Just. What.
Well, that was one thing. But the settlement in front of Shikyu was all the crazier. He had never seen a village so purely made out of metal…
Although to be fair, Shikyu had only been to two villages. One was completely destroyed by a plague, and was now a medical, isolated center. The other was Kumogakure.
This settlement, was way bigger than Shikyu thought it would be. The entire village seemed like it could be than Kumogakure itself!
The Shinobi took Shikyu through the settlement, letting Shikyu look around in awe as much as he would like - so long as he was keeping up, which he was.
The street were filled with people, all seeming to be Shinobi, or at least in training to be them. They looked serious, and aside from a few quick glances at Shikyu, everyone largely ignored the group, having their own thing to do.
What surprised him was the lack of any shops that he would think to be conventional. Sure, there were plenty of activity, with blacksmiths and more all around, but there was a distinct lack of economics it would seem. He could not see any exchange of currency anywhere. Instead people were just working, producing items and putting them on display, and people were just taking them.
Shikyu had so many questions now. But he was going to keep them in his mind until he deemed it was appropriate to ask. Which may be never.
Eventually, the group of five Shinobi brought Shikyu to a building that was very clearly the administrative center of the entire settlement. It was a massively large building that was shaped like a cathedral in a way, architecturally. But the windows were all lined with steel, and there were far fewer decorative curves of lines edged into the building. It was however, very characteristic and expected of such a settlement.
The interior was quite different from what Shikyu imagined. While the other side was monotonously black and seemed to be made as one massive solid mass of whatever the metal alloy is (sans the glass that was part of the window design). On the inside, everything was intricately designed, though the color palate still erred more so on the greyer/blacker spectrum.
It was much busier here, with Shinobi crossing back and forth on their way to do whatever it is they needed to do.
”Wait here.” One of the Shinobi accompanying him commanded, before heading off to an area that could best described as the reception. He discussed something with a person who seemed like the receptionist, before returning to Shikyu. ”Alright. Jishakukage-sama is ready to meet you. Come with me. You four, you know what to do.”
The four that were addressed acknowledged with a very clear, simultaneous ‘YES SIR!’ before disappearing from view. The single Shinobi that was left motioned for Shikyu to follow him, and so Shikyu did. Up the circular staircase, down a corridor, then a few more staircases and corridors, passing plenty of offices with plenty going on, before finally, they reached massive steel doors at the end of a long hallway. What was behind the door was likely a large room, given that there were no other doors to either side, suggesting that the room behind the door extended to either side.
Shikyu had to chuckle to himself internally. This was exactly like what one would expect from a Kage office. Or at least, this was what he would expect from the Torre Celeste. He had been sent as a messenger to Kitsune enough times to know what the tower was like, and to navigate it precisely and promptly.
The pair stopped directly in front of the door, just a few dozen of centimeters away. For a moment, they stood silent and almost motionless. Shikyu had begun to wonder again what was going on, before the doors swung inwards, revealing the room to Shikyu. As suspected, it was massive. There were shelves and bookcases to either side, filled with various documents. The room was brightly lit, and had large, massive windows that he assumed would let in plenty of sunlight during the day. Carpets lined the room, and there were other desks around, presumably for other people to use. For now, they were unoccupied.
Most of the items in the room were clearly made of the black obsidian-like metal alloy, polished as expected, to pitch black perfection. Centered just in front of the windows was a massive desk made of the same alloy, and a woman was sitting behind it, looking stern and very business-like, despite the way she was dressed, in a beautifully designed dress. It was black from head to toe, but the design truly accentuated her beauty.
”Thank you, Karumi-san. You may leave.” The woman spoke in a feminin, but cold voice.
”Kage-sama.” The man accompanying him acknowledged, before turning and leaving.
Well, guess this was cue for Shikyu to act on his own accord now. So he walked into the room, slowly but confidently, trying to betray no sense of fear or uncertainty. And why should he be anything but sure of himself? He was here to deliver documents to this woman, and he was about to accomplish the mission perfectly.
As he walked into the middle of the room, the doors behind him closed shut with a gentle thud. Shikyu turned around quickly in response to the noise, but then his focused shifted back to the woman. He did manage to realize that indeed, the room extended either side back towards the direction of the corridor, where even more documents and various other things were stored.
Shikyu stopped midway, a few meters away from the desk, ready to announce his intentions. He did not want to come too close, lest it spooked the woman. Or more likely, it somehow was considered flawed etiquette in this place. Shikyu, after all, heeded Hitachi’s warning very carefully.
However, before he could speak, the woman addressed him first. ”Welcome home, my son.”
Shikyu’s jaws almost dropped. However, he managed to maintain his composure, letting it figuratively drop in his mind instead. WHAT? God, he was asking that in his mind a lot today. What did she say? What?
Shikyu just could not help his face from betraying his puzzlement. ”I… apologies, but I believe you confused. I have never-” The woman closed her eyes and shook her head, stopping Shikyu from continuing with what he was going to say, thinking it might not be the best idea.
”You did not hear incorrectly, nor is it anything but a serious truth. You, are in fact, my son.”
Before Shikyu could say anything again, the woman stood up and moved around her desk so that she was now standing in front of it. While she was walking around, she had continued to speak. ”Nara Hitachi of Kumogakure… is for a lack of a better word, an acutely insightful man. He had found you for me. You see, when he first met you, he realized that you had features unique to our clan, to the Zentaru clan. The man you call Monzaemon Sendatsu is a liar. He fooled you into believing that you were just a common, average subclass of humanity, like he himself is.” The woman explained.
Shikyu’s fist clenched as he heard her belittle Monzaemon Sendatsu. His heart was beating faster, and he could feel his temper rising. So, apparently this was his trigger. He almost wanted to react to what she said with however his instinct want him to react, but his Shinobi held him in check. There was no sense in such a confrontation, at least not yet.
The woman continued. ”You are a Zentaru, and not just any Zentaru. You are Zentaru Tatsuya, my son. I know this comes as a surprise to you, and thus I am forgiving you for doubting me right now.”
Shikyu opened his mouth to refute her, as an instinct, and to protect the mission, but the woman raised a hand that indicated to him to stop. ”It is clear from your face. Do not hide it. It is uncharacteristic of you.”
She let there be a short pause, for it all to sink in. However, Shikyu could not feel anything but uncertainty. Uncertainty about himself. Uncertainty about the mission. Uncertainty about how to deal with the woman. Uncertainty about why the woman was saying all this. Was she deranged? Was she trying to get something out of him? But what? Is this even Zentaru Minami? Thinking back, the man who she called Karumi did only just call her the ‘Jishakukage’. Even though it was implied that he was taking him to Zentaru Minami, it was never actually explicitly stated. So what was going on?
”What is going on, is that something was kept hidden from you purposefully, to hurt me, your very mother. But that is all fine now. You are back in the fold, you are back with me.” The woman continued, stating the matter very of factly. Were mother figures not supposed to be warm, kind, and caring? This woman did not sound at all like his mother… well, if he had to imagine how his mother was, anyways.
If he had a mother who had cared for him at all. This would be a good time for a memory from his past life to return, to be honest.
Shikyu remained motionless for a while, as the woman stared at him, seeing to now await his answer. Shikyu could not quite understand how she could just state such thing, and leave it there. How could she actually accept that someone should just accept such a statement like that?
Shikyu’s facial expression remained unchanging for a while, before he closed his eyes tight for a second. When he opened them again, he was ready. Shikyu reached into his jacket, behind his Chuunin vest, and took out the sealed tube that contained the documents of importance. Before he could say anything however, the tube flew out of his hands, and into the waiting left hand of the woman, which she had raised while he was searching for the tube. Shikyu was completely flabbergasted by what happened. Speechless. Utterly shocked. What was up with this woman?
”Ah. This is your… ‘mission’, right? You truly have been indoctrinated well by the Kumo-nin. Good. I was afraid you have lost your previous capabilities, but even if you have, you will still be able to fit in well. I need my heir to be perfect.”
That again. That again! THAT AGAIN!
”Look, yes, I am Zentaru Minami. You have completed your mission. Well done.” With that, she tossed the tube aside, before taking steps forwards until she was directly in front of Shikyu, just a few centimeters away. ”My son… you are home.” She said, holding up a hand and caressing Shikyu’s cheek.
Shikyu snapped.
He bounded backwards, leaping out of her reach. The door was behind him now. His face betrayed a clear intensity characteristic of a Shinobi ready for battle. In fact, his stance had also changed, ready to challenge the woman. He just had yet to draw his weapon, but he was very ready to. ”Zentaru Minami of the Zentaru clan. As per requested, I have delivered documents of importance into your hands, and thus concluding my mission. I therefore do not need to remain here anymore, and will hereby take my leave. I - “
”SHUT UP!” Minami roared, her entire body language changing. She stopped looking calm and collected, stern yet not angry. Now, she looked like she was about to release an inferno. With a single motion of her hands, five heavy hemicircular metal contraptions rose up from around them, and with another motion, all five flew at Shikyu was perfect precision. Four hit him first - two hitting his wrists, and two hitting his ankles. The impact was painful, but did not just stop there. The contraptions, propelled by some sort of invisible force, dragged him backwards and pinned him against the door in almost a spread-eagle manner. The last of the contraptions finally flew at his face, but rather than smacking into him, molded shape and wrapped perfectly around his lower face, covering his mouth completely and preventing any speech from being possible.
”I have tried to be nice, try to understand the ways of the lower classes of humans. I tried to communicate with you like peasants would communicate with each other, but no more. You are I, we are of the Zentaru clan. You will be dignified like all other members of the clan. But enough is enough.”
Minami came closer towards Shikyu, looking at his face, then various parts of his body, then his face. She then came close enough that her face was almost in his. From there, Shikyu could in fact see that there was a small teardrop forming at the edge of one of her eyes.
Was she truly sorry for doing this? Does she truly believe in what she said?
Minami withdrew herself from Shikyu, taking a few steps back. ”My son… please, just accept this. I want the best for you. I love you. You are my child, and I love you more than anything. Please. Come back to me.” Minami’s voice had changed, a pleading undertone now pervading what was once just cold and disconnected. The teardrop that Shikyu saw before had developed enough to roll down Minami’s cheek. ”Come on, show me you are what you are.”
Minami took a few steps back until she had backed into her desk. With a wave of her hands, all of the contraptions that locked Shikyu in place, including his faceguard, removed themselves from him, and he could push himself away from the door.
”You are a Zentaru. Show me. Show me your abilities. Show me who you are.”
But Shikyu was silent. He had no idea how to respond in such a situation. Perhaps the only way was…
Shikyu quickly drew his blade, which immediately began to glow once the hilt was in his hands. But before Shikyu could bring it out in front of him, the blade was invisibly pulled out of his hands and flung into a wall, lodging itself there.
The contraptions flew back at him and once again pinned him to the door. His lower face was also once again covered.
He could see Minami looking down and sighing.
”Son… there must have been signs, right? You must know that you are not an average person? That you are beyond the capacity of the rats and ants that have surrounded you? You… my son, you belong to the Zentaru clan. The peak of human evolution…” Minami pleaded with Shikyu, though to no avail. She sighed, and continued. ”Magnetic. Magnetic control. That is the calling card for Zentaru clan members. Surely, you must be aware of your capacity to control the magnetic field?”
Silence.
”You could at least answer this question, right? Just a nod or a shake? Don’t be so stubborn. You are going nowhere until you give me an answer.”
Silence at first. But then finally, definitely, Shikyu shook his head. Yep, this woman was deranged. He had no idea what she was on about.
The woman sighed again, shaking her head while looking honestly disappointed. The emotions that she was showing was so real, that Shikyu could not help but conclude that the woman truly believed every single word she said. With that said, that does not stop her from actually being deranged.
The woman looked up at Shikyu now, and sighed once again. She pushed herself off of her desk, standing tall and upright now. ”I did not want to do this, but you give me no choice. Perhaps this would convince you…”
Minami raised a hand in the air, palm facing upwards, and a number of metallic items around the office flew up into the air. They then re-molded themselves into senbons, all of which were facing Shikyu.
Shikyu’s eyes widened in horror, and he began to struggle, trying to get out of the bind. Muffled sounds came from his mouth as he tried to talk her out of such craziness, but it was to no avail.
”I am sorry, my son. I did not want to do this, but it must be done.” With that, she turned her hand so that her palm was facing Shikyu, then flicked it forwards and downwards. It was a command, and the heeders of the command was the senbons. Each and every one of the senbon flew at Shikyu, striking him in various places.
More muffled sounds came from Shikyu, this time louder and thicker. He was in pain, for sure, but more so he was now staring back at Minami with an intense, indomitable look. Hatred was filling him up, filling him with an incredible determination that casted aside the pain.
”Ah, what beautiful eyes. You are indeed a Zentaru. Strong, determined, proud, and unrelenting. See, even your personality begs you to admit that you are a Zentaru.”
Each and every single one of the senbons drew themselves out of the Shikyu, the exit itself causing Shikyu pain. Then, back in again. Shikyu grinded his teeth, starting to really feel it now. Without any pause, the senbons flew out, then back in again. And again, before Shikyu expected it, the senbons flew out, and back in.
Alright, the pain was now really getting to him. His mind was both blanking, both seizing. His body was full of holes now, spread across his entire body. Out. In. Out. In.
Truly, his mind just wanted to burst, but the constant pain was forcing him from going into unconsciousness. It was constantly waking him up. But why? This much pain should have knocked him out.
Could the senbons be laced with something that was forcing his consciousness? Why?
The constant pain was just overwhelming Shikyu now, his mind felt like it was fragmenting. The fact that his voice could not come out make the pain all the more overwhelming. Tears were overflowing from his eyes now, running down his face in constant streams. Alright, he was truly breaking now.
”Come on. Show your true self.”
Again, and again, the senbons repeated their attack.
COME ON WHAT, YOU CRAZY FUCKING BITCH. First time he swore, since his rebirth. Even if it was just in his mind. In reality, his mind-breaking translated to a convulsing body, and loud sounds emitting from his mouth, sounds that should have been actual words, cursing at Minami. Instead, it was just incoherent, but definitely aggressive, noise.
And that when it was finally happened. Shikyu’s eyes rolled back into the back of his head, but he did not lose unconsciousness.
Minami looked around in surprise, as she saw water vapour collected themselves from all corners of the office, coalescing into clouds inside the office itself. The clouds darkened, and what seemed to be electricity played out across the surface of the clouds.
Minami looked at the cloud with concern, not because the clouds are clouds, but because of something completely unrelated.
”No. No no. No, no, no, no. No. NO!” Minami exclaimed, eyes wide, head shaking. ”No, this cannot be true!”
It was true though. Thunder boomed from the cloud, and a blast of lightning drew out of the storm cloud, striking the nearest metal equipment, which was just a senbon that had been lingering in the air. The senbon lost its ionic charge, and fell to the ground.
”NOOOOO!” Minami fell to the ground, crying in despair. The cloud contained to discharge lightning strikes, hitting various things in the room. She was completely unaffected, just letting the lightning destroy her room, while Shikyu continued to convulse. It went on for a while, until Shikyu was beginning to froth at the corner of his mouth. That was when Minami looked up, and snapped her fingers. A senbon flew into Shikyu’s forehead, and Shikyu fell into unconsciousness, blacking out completely.
And that was that.
The next time Shikyu woke up, he was chained to a wall, in a prison cell. Someone saw Shikyu had woken up, and called out with words that Shikyu could not quite understand. Because really, he was still out of it, and fell back into unconsciousness.
Then, he was splashed with ice cold water, shocking him back into full consciousness. His eyes wide, his body perked, his awareness fully back. He was sitting on a bench, his hands chained together, and subsequently to the wall.
Outside of the prison cell stood Zentaru Minami, and just her.
”My son... they’ve done something to you.”
Slowly, things were coming back to Shikyu. He could remember the torturing, and then the blacking out… but also something else. His body did… something. But what is that something?
”Yes… the Arashigeru, didn’t they. They must have colluded with that wretched Sendatsu. They must have. They broke you. But worry not, my son. We will fix you. We will make you whole again. We will remove all that dirty Storm energy that they’ve injected into you. Don’t worry, my baby. For now, just rest.” She looked at Shikyu with a pitiful look, clearly feeling sorry for him. She then departed, but not without a last look at Shikyu.
Once she was gone, Shikyu’s head fell and body fell against the wall behind him, as an incredulous feeling washed over him. For some reason, his wounds have healed, and his clothes have been replaced with fresh ones. Shikyu noticed that the cell he was in was very clean, and there was actually a table with food, probably prepared for him.
He realized then that he was hungry, but more importantly, he was still extremely tired. So he closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
…
…
…
”Hey, psssst.”
Shikyu’s eyes opened wide. He looked out of his cell to see a young girl, maybe around 14 or 15 years old, waving at him. She had black hair and brown eyes, the same as that of Zentaru Minami. And… she also resembled the woman…
Shikyu shuffled backwards, trying to get away from her, but the young girl’s face itself lit up in fear. ”Shhh. Shhhhh!.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. ”I know who I look like, okay? But believe me, I am here to free you.”
Shikyu instantly wanted to not believe her, his instinct wanting him to remain safe in the confines of the prison cell. Yes, it was illogical that he was currently safe, but that’s the difference between basal instincts, and developed, cognizant thought processes. Shikyu stared at her, eyes wide, clearly betraying his fear. The torture had truly broken him.
The girl looked down and sighed, exactly like the woman that she resembled, the woman that tortured Shikyu. When she looked up, her face was filled with determination. ”Look, do you want to get out of here or not? Come on, what can be worse than this? Can the situation be any worse if you tried to escape and fail? No, right?”
When Shikyu did not respond, she continued. ”Alright, fine. We don’t have a lot of time, but I guess you won’t budge until you have a reason to. That woman I resemble? That’s my mother, Zentaru Minami. She believes you to be Zentaru Tatsuya. But you are not, are you? If you remain here, she will keep on trying to prove that you are Tatsuya. That means that she will keep on torturing you, believing that it will bring out your true abilities. But that will never happen. So if you want to be tortured until you die, you can stay here. Or, take a chance and come with me.” Tatsuya pulled the cell door open, and held out a hand towards Shikyu.
Shikyu saw that at the girl’s feet, there was the lock of the door, and a key still stuck within it. Whoever the girl with, she had access to the keys, and that did mean perhaps this was the best chance for him.
With his panicky instincts calming down, his Shinobi instincts coming to the fore, and his logic returning, his grip over his actions was finally his again. Shikyu got up from the bed he was on, and was immediately dragged back by the chains attached to him.
”Oh, right.” The girl stated, rushing to him as she pulled out another key from her pocket. She fiddled a bit with the chains, unlocking them. Once the chains were finally loose and dropped next to his feet, the girl tossed the key aside, and began dragging him away. ”Hurry, we do not have much time. I’ve ordered the guards to… be busy elsewhere, but they will soon return. We have to go, now!”
It was enough said. Shikyu followed the girl, surprised that he had the strength to do so. Together, the pair made their way out of the prison - a whole building set aside from all others surrounding it. There was however, no fences or security outside of the prison to speak of, which seemed strange to Shikyu. But then Shikyu remembered that this entire place was a closed settlement, and it was not likely that anyone could escape without help, as he did.
The girl lead him down alleyways and hidden streets, making sure no one was following them on the way. Eventually they came to the end of an empty alley, dark and fully covered by the shadows of the massive buildings to either side. There, a person seemed to have been waiting for them.
”This is Zentaru Hikaru. She will take over from now on, ensuring your escape. Follow her. I have to go back to my work, to ensure that I am not suspected of anything. Good luck.” With that, the girl that helped him left, before he could even get her name.
Surely without much time left, he turned towards Hikaru, who explained the plan to him. She knows of a spot at the walls without too many guards, and she was one of those capable of manipulating the wall to open up. They would head there right away, under the cover of the night. Without really any choice, Shikyu agreed to the plan. And thus Shikyu was given a quick change of clothing, along with a wig that would mask his conspicuous thunderbird (orange-reddish) hair.
They followed through with the plan, although halfway through their route had to change after blaring alarms were raised across the settlement, and a large number of Shinobi had poured out onto the streets, searching for Shikyu.
It took a lot longer, having to constantly dodge search parties, but finally, they managed to reach their destination. Throughout the journey, Shikyu was able to truly grasp just how large the settlement was, and even now could not quite believe essentially a whole massive society could develop in such a place. But it could. So there we go.
Upon reaching the walls, Hikaru did two series of handseals separately with each hand, and Shikyu remembered just why Hikaru must have been chosen. When they entered, two separate Shinobi had to perform the Jutsu necessary to open up access. Surely… yep, as he suspected, after the series of simultaneously duplicated handseals were completed, Hikaru placed both hands on the wall, and then stepped back. Shikyu did too, and watched as just a small section of the wall, about three meter by three meter, was filled with crisscrossing seams, before the expected explosion occurred. It was a loud boom, as loud as the one that occurred during his entry. The shards flew out, and hung in the air again, just as before.
”Let’s go. We don’t have much time. Somebody will have heard that.”
Oh, yeah, good point. The pair hurried through the wall, towards the edge of the plateau. This section was very different, and far from where he entered. As they ran towards the edge, Hikaru did another series of handseals, and a portion of the edge broke off, forming a platform. Unlike the one he previously saw formed, the bottom of this one was much more rugged. Shikyu deduced that it was because of a lack of concentration and/or due to haste. It did not really matter though.
Together, the pair hopped onto the platform, and it immediately flew away from the plateau, down diagonally instead of vertically.
”Get ready to jump!” Hikaru alerted Shikyu as they approached the ground. Just before the platform hit the ground, Hikaru told Shikyu to jump, and together they leap off the platform, landing in various positions upon the ground a distance away. Immediately Hikaru got up, and motioned for Shikyu to follow suit. He too quickly got up, before following her - although not before glancing back at the platform, which now laid in a broken heap on the ground. Clearly, fine control was needed for what he had seen before. But this… what he assumed was Magnetic control, was indeed very impressive.
Together, the pair continued to run at their top speed, finally escaping the settlement’s dome and into the chilling cold, neverending snowing, wind bellowing, ruthlessly frosty environment outside. Hey, at least Shikyu had escaped. And he had also completed his mission, for what it’s worth. Plus… whatever massive fur coat he was given… well, it was definitely much warmer than what he had before. It was not like it could be considered a worthwhile trade-off for what he had to endure. But hey, he could always look at the bright side, could he not?
OOC:
[Thread entered and left with PC Monzaemon Marushijūkyū.]
[Thread entered and left with NPC Zentaru Minami.]
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