End of Days [Open]

[Senju Kazuki]

OC

Continuing from here

IC

Two weeks had passed. Two weeks since their last meeting. A encounter that ended up on a fight between two parties. On one side, two ancients that called themselves brothers. On the other, two humans, hailing from different countries, but allied due to the circumstances. The end result, was a pathetic loss for the human side. It had been labeled human side, but Kazuki's true nature was something foggy to say the least. He was certainly human, at least, part of him, was. But there was something else lurking inside. He had shown traits commonly associated with Ancients. Mainly eating souls, even key aspects of specific Courts. On the other hand, he also had shown abilities that even Suna, an Ancient Lord of the Earth Court, had never seen before. Was he a being with a duality of mankind and ancient? Or mankind and some death entity? Perhaps he was both man, ancient and death. Who knew? The Overlord certainly did not. And thus why he had reached some kind of understanding with Shiori. Weeks ago, they had closed a deal. The Silvery Haired Man was going to join Suna's travels as she searched for living Ancients, in return, the former Takahashi would help the White Wolf, figure out who he really was. That was the deal. But given their recent encounter, there was no assurance it was still on.

Reaper had told Suna to meet him at Godsfall and it was there, the resting place of countless Ancients, that he waited her. Just like usual, Shiori would notice the Sennin's presence long before she could actual see him. The air's temperature would steadily decrease the closer she got to him. The wind serene, barely a breeze, but a certain characteristic howling would eventually reach her ears. All shadows, of which there were not many, would become livelier. But eventually she would see him. He was different since last time. A leap in power perhaps? Or was it all due to a different appearance. Kazuki sat in a throne made of ebony wood. His body was fully covered in a steel armor set, aptly decorated with a skull motif. His eyes seemed to glow in the distance, glowing purple. His left hand gripped a sword, Frostmourne. A black bladed weapon with a black leathered hilt. The ground around him was littered with moving zombies, that seemed to wander around with no apparent purpose. He sat there silently, patiently waiting for her.

[MFT - 411]

 

[Michi]

Confidence despite disability. Shiori, or rather Suna had declared war in haste out of anger and betrayal. There was a time when she believed in her heart of hearts that she could live alongside humanity. That she could deny herself what she craved to fill a void a soul could not. Alas, the two kinds would never be at peace - not when one thought of the other as food. Sousuke threatened to forge a god-killing sword of a likes she had not seen since Godsfall. There were so few of her kind left and it was for that reason and that reason alone that she would come to Godsfall on this day despite the fact that she knew the Senju was plotting against her. Some would call it sentiment and those that did would not be wrong. She staved her wrath despite having the opportunity to do him harm on that day where he watched her die in such a wretched way because he might be one of her own, or rather a member in part of the Deep Court. He carried many of the traits the Deep Court Lord himself possessed such as the chilled aura and that silver tongue that she did not trust. She did not know if he was bound to one nature of another, she never tested the theory but at best the man was a mutt but even an ounce of their blood was enough for the desperate and lonesome Queen.

Still, she was lurking in Sunagakure and she had cozied up next to the Kazekage as he called himself these days. There was a time when she thought him a brilliant man, a genius far ahead of his time. Now she saw a different creature before her, a foolish man who acted without thought without acting and who had no space for love in his heart. It was always about him. Despite her anger, she was still mending a broken heart even the greatest heartsmith could never repair. She would have to kill him eventually and she wondered if her heart would ache still? She did not love him, not any longer but she could still feel that metaphorical pain within her breast. It was not love lost or hoped to be gained that she felt, rather it was the hollowness of her continued existence. Still, she refused to die. She could not even if she wanted to, she would persist forever and the only difference between this and dust was the fact that she was a lone observer to the passage of time as a pile of crimson sand and now she could intervene.

She had eaten her fill before she had arrived. The tall blonde looked nothing like the woman Kazuki once called Shiori or Suna. Her pale skin was similar but not the same. Her eyes, once a starting teal were now a sky blue. She had taken a form that would be noticed and that was certainly far from an oversight. Strangely enough the woman donned a fur rimmed coat as she approached the potential Dark Court denizen, she already knew of the ashen-haired man's frigid presence. He was wearing armor now and she had to wonder if Sousuke had forged this when she was not looking. Anything was possible with a madman. Her ears twitched as she listened, was there a heartbeat? Did he have a heartbeat still. Did it beat in cadence with another that her eyes did not see?

"Chilly, isn't it?" She commented as she approached the massive plated suit embellished with skulls. She stepped over and around the lumbering and meandering undead, undeterred. She shared that skill-set herself and took only mental note in what she saw. She took in a sharp breath of the pungent air as she found herself face to face with the plated potential half-Ancient. Her long fingers wrapped around the soft edges of her coat and pulled the coat closed. She wondered if he recognized her, if he had seen the Steward since her death and assuredly he had as they were such good sudden friends he would have seen her face. She did not care if he recognized her, it would be a very long time before he found his way back to the village. "Senju Kazuki is it?"

 

[Senju Kazuki]

It did took long for Shiori to show up. Admittedly, Kazuki thought it was her. She was vastly different than their last encounter, before her apparent death. This woman was stunning and savy. She had brought a fur coat into the middle of a desert, which was a clear sign she knew of the Overlord's chilling aura. It was a sure way to know she was Shiori, now known as Mother Suna. Only those that had met the White Wolf before knew of the strange phenomena happening around him and only those would come prepared for them. He had not met many people in Sunagakure and he had invited only one of them into this forsaken place. If she was not Suna, then this was one major coincidence and she was going to die soon enough. Perhaps even if she was Suna, she would die anyway. Undeterred by the legions of undead littering the place, Emma's clone approached the Silvery Haired Man. "Chilly, isn't it?" she would question. "Is it? I never noticed." he would calmly remark, unnerved by the presence of a full blown Ancient whose only purpose was the destruction of Sunagakure and mankind along with it. "Senju Kazuki is it?" Suna would inquire. Not that it was hard to guess, but the Sennin would answer nonetheless. "Indeed. Suna I presume." he retorted as he raised his head so he could fully gaze the Earth Court Queen in her face. "I like your new appearance, it suits you well. Much better than your last form." he commented. Feeding her with an unnecessary comment whose only purpose was to throw her off. Even if he was being completely true.

"You know why I have called you here..." Reaper would start before stopping mid sentence. He had seen something strange. A man wildly running toward them, wielding a spear, and fully dressed in a samurai armor suit. Weirdly enough, despite bearing a full body, steel suit, the man's steps were dead silent. It would seem only he was capable of seeing the incoming threat, or Shiori had elected to do nothing. Regardless, Kazuki was quick to take action. He suddenly lunged forward and faced his enemy. Unfortunately not everything was well. His movements seemed impaired by something invisible and undetectable as he practically started to stumble. And so his chest was impaled by the Samurai's deadly spear. Blood would splatter everything behind the Overlord. Including Shiori, unless she evaded the blood or created a sandy wall. Fortunately, impairment or not, the Samurai also saw himself in the receiving end of Frostmourne. Their foe took a few steps back, removing the sword from his grievous wound as he walked away. Blood gushed freely and he was already dead when he felt on the ground. The White Wolf was still standing but barely. He removed the spear which allowed the start of a river of blood from his chest. He dropped to one knee and rotated his body so he would land on his back. The aptly decorated armor showed a large revealing hole on his chest. In fact, it seemed the armor was melting away as if was made of shadows. The skin on Kazuki's chest was as pale as it had been on the rest of his body. Where the heart should be, only a icy hole was visible. His heart had been replaced by a pulsating fiery ball. Reaper motioned for Suna to come closer. As he opened up his mouth to speak, even if she had not moved at all, blood would pour forth, forcing him into a coughing frenzy. "I regret nothing, except failing to kill the Fire Daimyo." he weakly stated. A second coughing frenzy brought forth more blood. "With my death, the Ancient race becomes poorer." and those would be his last words.

Closing his eyes, life would cease to grab hold of him. It would be then that something even stranger would happen. One of the zombies, closer to the Sandy Queen, would stop moving aimlessly. He would shed his disguise revealing a much alive Kazuki. He would silently approach Suna and whisper "Behind you." and when she were to turn around, he would punch her, right in her jaw, with all his might. And considering his strength was superior to any human, it would pack quite a punch. And this would happen regardless if she had stayed put or had come closer to the other Kazuki. Right after whispering those words, the body would begin to melt away just like the armor on it had moments before.

 

[Michi]

"Is it? I never noticed." The armored man replied. This chill had an epicenter, that being the armored man at the heart of the corpses that wandered about him with an ataxic gait. Human ingenuity has given her a new immunity if they have given no other benefit; that is a resilience to this deathly chill with this covering. "Indeed. Suna I presume," introductions were exchanged and their social contract of interaction and greeting was fulfilled. There was not a large degree of love or friendship between them and it was questionable if there was even a drop of shared heritage. Tolerance, something that both were likely practicing and hers was approaching its limit. She had not forgiven him for what she saw as a trespass against her but she found herself incapable of raising a hand against one she saw as potential kin.

"I like your new appearance, it suits you well. Much better than your last form."

"Good," she replied. She personally preferred her true form over this porcelain shell, she could feel her presence and glory compressed against this paper-thin barrier that subdued her song and her aura of presence. Still, her choice -- a tall, blonde woman was not a result of random chance or happenstance. Everything about her could be a tool and the perceptions of men and in many cases women was no different.

"You know why I have called you here..."

Kazuki started to state. She nodded in affirmation, she did in fact know why they were to meet here. He was potentially one of the last, even if not a full-blooded child of the Courts and if this was indeed a fact she needed to know. It would not mean that he would forever enjoy her mercy or her grace but he would be given the opportunity to take her side and fight a final war against humanity and he would be spared her wrath.

She did not even hear the samurai or notice from where he came, not until he or rather it made its' presence known. Strange, she did not know that samurai's carried spears. It was her instinct to react, her arms tensed but would not rise. She would open her mouth but she would find herself unable to speak, her song mute. She stood by in a way that some might view as passive if they did not see the look of distress and anger on her face as each pierced the other. When they both fell, the First Law was satisfied and she would find herself kneeling alongside the fallen Senju. She would not even realize she was there for a moment, her face covered in his blood. Her blood splattered coat left on the ground in her wake, peppered with his sanguine she was holding onto the impaled potential Ancient.

"I-I do not want you to die," Suna announced as she struggled to maintain her composure. Her hands gripped the metal shell that housed the hybrid. He was melting and sand was falling from Suna's face. "I do not know how to fix you brother," she cried as her stoic expression crumbled and she tried to grip his armor tightly. Everything about him was fading into the gloom and shadow, the armor he donned was not a part of the man and should not have faded with him. Only the man or rather the Ancient within should have been reduced to gloom but the distressed Queen did not seem to notice. There was a thin thread that separated life and death in the cases of man as she looked through him, through the armor and through the empty space that should have housed his human heart. "You were certainly both after all," she admitted her voice racked with sorrow as his biology defied that of a human "...and I do not know if I can pull on your mortal thread to bring you back from the deep."

He motioned her to come closer, her grip still beneath him she leaned over him. She did not need to if he only wanted her to hear his dying words but she was still compliant.

"I regret nothing, except failing to kill the Fire Daimyo..."

More blood left him and splattered over her face but she did not recoil. Her hands were a vibrant green, she was attempting to repair him but her efforts seemed to be for naught. As a human she was actually one of the most practiced Medics in Sunagakure at one time. She knew every Medical technique practiced and she had been trying each of these on the fading miscegenation. Nothing seemed to work, nothing she knew of human medicine and nothing she knew of Ancient remedies. Even if this was his time to fade away into the darkness, the natural energies of the earth or a bounty of souls should be enough to bring him back. Yet he was not feeding, not from her and the excess of death and their energies that she housed as she has fed with an insatiable hunger of those who would not be missed. "Why are you still dying!"</B><i></i> She demanded or she plead, even she could not tell the difference any longer.

"With my death, the Ancient race becomes poorer."

As if a balloon of water had broken against her, what form that still remained was lost to her. She searched for the shade but only her shadow seemed to look back at her. Confused and focused her eyes scanned for something she could not hear, if she listened rather than saw she would have noticed his approach. Her hand gripped the soil at the site where she believed he had died. <B>"You're not here," she stated to herself as she dug into the sand and saw nothing but more earth. "I need a body to find a thread," her announced desperately.

"Behind you."​

A voice whispered into her ear close enough that she could feel the warm, wet breath. She could see him when she heard him, a skill of omniscience she had maintained despite her debility. Trails of blood and ran ran down the sides of her face as she started to turn to face the specter or the perhaps already reborn Senju when...

From her crouched position she would be knocked over and slide across the ground for several feet, bowling over some of the meandering zombies that were unfortunate enough to be in her path. She could feel her jaw crack from the impact and much like porcelain a portion of her face was fractured into what best resembled branching tributaries that reached out from a shallow canyon. She pushed her blood stained and cracked carapace back into place relatively so, she was healing faster than what a single blow could overwhelm. "How cruel Kazuki," the Earth Court Queen announced. Her hand pressed against the floor and she reached her full height. "The recipient of my clemency and restraint, you have responded with only indolence. You cannot win in a battle against me my dear Kazuki. You can accompany me as a brother or do so in chains," she threatened as her broken pieces sealed once more. She was not human and she was not taking any measure to pretend otherwise, not with the thankless mutt.

Her eyes scanned the corpses that wandered about and she started to count them out. Two had faded into the gloom or so she had assumed. If he was among them, the numbers should add up. As she counted she also started to listen, listen for that icy heart to beat. Doubtless that he was far, he would not want to miss his boyish prank. The scamp. She knew from personal experience that zombies lacked purpose or strength, with that to her advantage the earth started to rumble and shift below them. Great spikes of gritty earth jutted from the bowels below. It was not be nearly enough to kill, heck barely enough to harm the mix-breed but more than sufficient to break his deathly denizens. "I have no reason to be gentle with an unbroken man," she warned. The sand beneath them was moving like a river underfoot and a fissure would start to form between them.

Mad? No, not yet.

Regrettably perturbed, that was most certain.

 

[Senju Kazuki]

[col]Time seemed to stand still as Kazuki's meticulous plan took place. Bound by the First Law, Suna found herself incapable of helping the Overlord, or better yet, the impersonator. And so everything went according to plan. The Samurai's mad attack was met by the fake White Wolf, and both killed each other as they made contact. Death for them was imminent, the Samurai dying first and the false one enduring enough for an endearing scene to play out. This was probably a bit cruel from the Silvery Haired Man's part, but he had to know. He had to figure how Suna would react to such a potential loss to her own race. Asking her would not be enough, because unlike Mikaboshi, she could lie. No, seeing her act would provide the only true answer to such questions. How trustworthy was she would be seen and learned today. "I-I do not want you to die. I do not know how to fix you brother." she would state. Reaper made particular notice of the word brother at the end of her sentence. She seemed certain he was one to her. Half brother or full? Perhaps even neither. But still, it was very revealing of her intentions. Yes, they could be enemies, but still there was hope. "You were certainly both after all, ...and I do not know if I can pull on your mortal thread to bring you back from the deep." Suna declared once the fake Kazuki's chest became visible. Yes, the strange hole where his heart stood was revealing he not a normal human, but it had been placed there by a demon. Or at least, the Sennin thought so. Perhaps it had been his all along and the demon only opened up his yes. And of course she could bring him back, he was not really dying.

By now, Suna's hands were deeply covered with a green aura. She was clearly using all her medical expertise and jutsus to try and mend a dying Kazuki, but her all impressive efforts were for naught. "Why are you still dying!" she would exclaim. It was endearing from her part and again, cruel from his, but a necessary evil. Someday she would understand or one of them would die trying. "You're not here," she would state. An obvious statement but not for the correct reasons. Yes, the Silvery Haired Man was not there. He was actually behind her now. The true White Wolf in all his might. About to collect a debt. A mighty punch later and several fleet slidden away, Suna would stand back again. Her haw had been cracked, but she was a fast healer. "How cruel Kazuki,". The Sennin would have nodded but he was back hidden among the dozens of animated corpses that were there for that exact purpose. A whack-a-mole game of sorts. "The recipient of my clemency and restraint, you have responded with only indolence. You cannot win in a battle against me my dear Kazuki. You can accompany me as a brother or do so in chains," she threatened. Reaper had some words for her, but not until he was found. Any reply, and he surely would give her one, could wait. "I have no reason to be gentle with an unbroken man," she announced as multiple rocky spears were shot from the sandy ground and effectively destroyed any and all cover the White Wolf had. All the zombies were swiftly destroyed and he had his left shoulder impaled by one of them. With a slight expression of discomfort, he pulled the spike from his body and toss it away. His shoulder began to heal, perhaps not as rapidly or as efficiently as Suna's jaw, but certainly better than a ordinary human could.

"You have found me at last. I ask for forgiveness if I was cruel to you, and I recognize I was, but I had to know the truth. And know I know it Suna." Kazuki proclaimed. "I have, and never had, any desire to fight you. But I needed to collect this debt we had between each other, so I punched you. You bound me twice now, and I never stroke back. It was high time I got payed. Now we are even and we can start on a clean slate." Reaper noted as he cracked his neck. He also started opening his robe a bit more, so the cavity on his chest could be seen. Along side such hole, the Senju symbol was also fully visible now. A crimson red tattoo showing a bleeding tree stabbed by a sword. But the icy hole with a fiery core easily stood out. "What you have seen in that thing was real. It was not something I made up. I want you to know that. Despite all the deceit you just experienced, this is real. And so was my deal when first met here. I am not overly fond of chains and they usually are quite inefficient with me. I am going with you as a brother, just like we once agreed. Lead the way Earth Court Queen. Time to face the world and find the truth out there." the White Wolf declared.|[legend="[[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qMBans8jyM][b][u]Senju Kazuki[/u][/b][/url]]"]

Ancient Hybrid - Reaper

[/legend][/col]

 

[Michi]

The spear if stone cut through him, the only one that did not turn to gloom or dust. She was rather displeased with her greeting, after all she came despite her misgivings and despite the fact that he is on the other side of the battlefield. She had no reason to include him, none beyond the sentiment that he might share a common lineage with her kind. Still, Ancients do not die, they simply endure. While they may seem to be few at this time, she was certain that there was more than the hybrid remnants of 'inclusive' Courts. She had never done this, but it was not uncommon with others. Kazuki in and of himself was a contradiction, he both apologized and cited a debt that only he saw. She frowned visibly at the concept he harbored that he felt mistreated. She shook her head but slightly, barely enough for most to even regard.

He watched idly while Sousuke choked the last vestiges of life from her tattered and bare remains.

He stood by the Steward in the fray that followed. A resurrection that would have been decades from now where the human participants would have been dead or old if it was not for Lord Mikaboshi intercession.

She merely stopped Kazuki from interfering in their dispute with a Steward who now thinks himself Kage when anyone else would have chained him to a wall.​

And here she should she was being kind. His creations, under his command as she knew the skill set well as it was an ability they shared. If he felt he could have won, he would have assaulted her. Even now she did not feel that he was here as a peer, as kin or as a friend, that rather he was sizing her up for a defeat. She clenched her jaw as reason was filtered through her mind. "You would have... you did try to intervene and I caused you no harm," she protested perhaps calmer than she should as she took a deep breath. The fissure sealed. She was resentful with him still and her sufferance had reached its bourne, but still she played this game and asked "and what truth did you find?"

She approached the potential hybrid, his deception only made it more difficult to determine what he was if anything of relevance. This begged to question: what would come of her wasted efforts if she learned he was just a man with a grotesque appetite or worse yet merely a demon. She stopped as the Senju started to expose more of himself, there were some things she wanted no particular part of but looking away with her sonar sight would make no difference. Emblazoned on his breast a bloodied tree impaled, a marking she did not know the genesis of or if the image was more than a decorative choice of fashion for the youngish possible human. Alongside it was the curious sight she saw but had little interest in when she thought he was dying. It confirmed again that he was inhuman but not that he was one of her own. He explained the strange amalgamation of ice and flame that rested at the site where his human heart should sit poorly. Her face was devoid of reaction, he had devastated what little trust she had in him between this day and their last meeting. She had no idea what it was but she also had no idea what Kazuki was.

"And I would rather leave you unfettered," she replied although she did not add to the mention that he is also as trustworthy as a peaceful Flamecourt Ancient and that she was confident that she would be more successful that a host of others who might have tried in the past. So rather she changed the subject. "Have you ever heard of Baylos?" She asked, it was a simple enough question for an aspiring historian, a curious reader, or even a lay person who happened to know a bit of lore. It was unlikely but anything was possible. It was the former capital of Wind Country,"<i></i> she explained. It was also home of the Solar Court. The city had vanished long ago but was once the focus of the country -- a golden tower that could be seen for miles. Fuujin used to boast that there was no region in these lands that could not spy his architectural marvel. Of course the tower was never quite so grand, but the Solar Court Lord was an Ancient who had interminable pride. She asked this question for a reason. The tower had sunk away a long time ago but that was not the point. "IF any Solar Court denizens live still, they would seek high places so they can feel the sun. Without solar exposure, they would be forced to sustain from souls alone,"<i></i> she explained. Wind Country had been covered in the diamond maelstrom until late and because of this most of the Solar Court would be starved unless they had a reliable source of humanity.

So she would search high.

She would seek places where death would remain unnoticed even over a protracted span.

She would look for places outside of the storm's wide breadth.

 

[Senju Kazuki]

[col]Shiori clearly did not see Kazuki's logic about the debt he felt he had. Although resembling a human, Suna was not one. She was an Ancient and their mind worked differently. Of that he was certain. But, despite being a man of logic, even he was wrong from time to time. Perhaps there had been no debt to collect and he just killed whatever remnants of trust there was between them. Either way, their allegiance was one of convenience, and true trust could never be achieved between a human and one of them. He lowered his gaze as she spoke. "and what truth did you find?"The truth would be bitter for her to swallow, but the Overlord would share it regardless. Because he had his head lowered, the White Wolf did not initially grasp that Suna had walked closer to him. Yes, he had revealed more of his chest to her and so she should be inspecting what could be seen in that area. But once he raised his face again, the Earth Court Queen would see something she surely did not expect, at least not from someone like him. The Silvery Haired Man's face showed sadness. "The truth about how great your despair really is." Reaper stated. Even his voice carried a tone of sorrow that was not usually there. "And the truth is I pity you Suna." Kazuki declared as he covered his chest again. She would certainly reacting in a negative manner toward this statement, but he had an explanation ready to share with her.

"You are so alone, so desperate. We may be standing in a different side of the battlefield right now, but you were desperate to bring me back. Because I may have Ancient DNA just like you. I pity you, because your current path will only lead to more suffering and loneliness for you. If you win, you will be forever alone in this world, a void in your sandy heart that may never be filled. If Sousuke wins, your race will be extinct as he will spare none of you, and the world you become poorer as a consequence of such crusade. And if I die along the way, the words of my creation will become true as the Ancient race potentially loses one more of its kind." he reasoned. His hands were now behind his back and he began to pace around as he further verbalized his thoughts. "When the end comes, if Sousuke's side wins, I will not let him kill you. I know you will not be spared, he will not let it, but I want to be the one ending you. Through me there is a chance you might be reunited with your kind. With him, there will no such opportunity. I represent mercy while he only represents vengeance." The Overlord paused as he gave her his back, just like he once did. "Unlike any of them, I know what it feels like being hunted by humans. I know what it is to be feared because you seem less than human. I understand and know your plight Suna and I am one of the few, in this wide world, that can say it. Because I may be partly human and because I have experienced some of the things you have." and he was done. By now he had turned around to face her again. And uncommonly again, his face showed another emotion. Compassion this time. This would certainly not be easy for her to hear, but she had to.

"Have you ever heard of Babylos?" Suna would eventually question, changing the subject of their conversation entirely. Reaper would shake his head. No, he had not. How long was he in Sand? A month? Two months? Maybe half a year. He had learned allot about his new village but there was still so much to learn about Sunagakure's grandiose history. The Silvery Haired Man listened with intent as Suna explained why she had mention the city of Babylos. His had returned to his normal calm expression by now and business could be resumed. "It was the former capital of Wind Country. IF any Solar Court denizens live still, they would seek high places so they can feel the sun. Without solar exposure, they would be forced to sustain from souls alone." The White Wolf would nod. "I assume Babylos was their focal area then. Did it have any particular feature? Say a high tower? That would represent a high place, something they need, assuming your words. If the city is gone, destroyed probably, then mountains or some lost tower would represent such a high place. You know the Wind Country better than me, where can we find such a place?" he would inquire. Was that sound logic from his part? Just like the history of Sand that he was ignorant off, he was as oblivious to most Ancient related things.

[MFT - 821]|[legend="[[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qMBans8jyM][b][u]Senju Kazuki[/u][/b][/url]]"]

Ancient Hybrid - Reaper

[/legend][/col]

 

[Michi]

"The truth about how great your despair really is."

That was something he could never understand, not truly. She did not simply watch as her people were hunted, but she had to do so idly as fate was unbearably cruel. Her children had all passed away as did her brothers and she was left with a field of bone and ash that spanned the world. Death was such a foreign concept to her then, it took decades for her to understand the relevance of the fact that 'never' was a terribly long time. As their numbers dwindled and she was among the last, she was both loved and reviled by those murderous primates -- some saw her as a goddess and others remembered her as a Queen. Neither truly recalled her, only the tales which were twisted with time and perception.

"And the truth is I pity you Suna."

She smiled, it was a far from honest grin but rather the kind where her lips hid the tongue that she bit. He did not pity her and even if he did, she did not want it. She did not need it. She did not need anything or anyone, in fact it would appear that the universe truly wanted her to be alone. That was what every single interaction she has had up until this point screamed to her. She would never be happy or loved. They would never truly be able to end her, she lacked the foolishness or the hubris of her brothers and had an instinct for survival. Even when her intuition failed, luck seemed to shine on her in terms of persistence. "You think so Kazuki," she echoed, her voice in twain.

"You are so alone, so desperate. We may be standing in a different side of the battlefield right now, but you were desperate to bring me back. Because I may have Ancient DNA just like you. I pity you, because your current path will only lead to more suffering and loneliness for you. If you win, you will be forever alone in this world, a void in your sandy heart that may never be filled. If Sousuke wins, your race will be extinct as he will spare none of you, and the world you become poorer as a consequence of such crusade. And if I die along the way, the words of my creation will become true as the Ancient race potentially loses one more of its kind."

Different sides, yes. Something he had not outright admitted until this point but something she was more than aware of. Still, having a few flecks of shared genetic material did not give him a life-long pass. In the short span that she had known him, he had watched her die and all he suffered for that was the embarrassment of some brief bondage. He had sided with humanity despite the fact that it is obvious that he merely shares their facade and likely little more; even after seeing Sousuke's heel-faced turn when he discovered that there was something not entirely under his thumb that he saw as a threat. Sousuke's friendship with Kazuki would be short-lived, she had a lifetime of friendship with him but it became quickly irrelevant when he saw her as a threat. Kazuki used trickery to cause her to mourn, not because he was simply a possible peer but because she did not want him to die. The fact of the matter was, she was far from a monster. She killed to eat, not for sport or for revenge. Yes, he was important to her in that he -might- be a relation, but he was certainly not from her Court meaning that their association would be distant even if he was a full-blood. The Courts were always in silent conflict due to their variant natures and their domains were often encroached by rival Courts so there was little love to be shared even in a place as big as Wind Country, so heritage alone would never be enough. Still, he made demands and suffered violence onto her and yet here she stood, a woman who was far from a masochist and yet has endured. You do not pity me, you are taking advantage of me. I am not a fool," she concluded giving him her honest assessment of the situation.

"When the end comes, if Sousuke's side wins, I will not let him kill you. I know you will not be spared, he will not let it, but I want to be the one ending you. Through me there is a chance you might be reunited with your kind. With him, there will no such opportunity. I represent mercy while he only represents vengeance."

She looked at him mildly dumbfounded. His hubris was unreal. "Sousuke defeated an Ancient that had been starved for well over a century, he and you with your powers combined would have difficulty now..." her voice trailed off. In the coming days, even then they would not be able to touch her soon enough. "But since we are giving assurances, perhaps you would sleep better knowing that I am well-aware that you will likely try to consume my essence if I were to die." She did not trust him, that did not make her paranoid but rather an honest Ancient to admit that. She had assumed Kazuki meant her harm from their earliest interactions. He had never attempted to create a true relationship between them or to understand her because he felt he already knew her and understood what he wanted. He actually did, he understood that she was lonesome but he was not willing to be her friend. Sousuke was not capable of being her friend. Harupia had disappeared to who-knows-where. Mikaboshi, a once loyal and stalwart defender of the Steward of his own choice although compulsion was what seated him there had intended to hurt her for the Steward's sake knowing what she was, but Sousuke's inability to treat him as a friend had earned him not one but two bitter enemies. A war that could have been averted by the power of friendship -- how corny. He did not use his ability to discern how she felt to do anything more than manipulate her and while she understood this fully she allowed it to happen. Pathetic really.

She also knew full well that Sousuke would kill her again and again and relish in her suffering. Still she saw Kazuki's appetite and believed him to be a man after power, not a man attempting to sate his curiosity and eventually Sousuke would see this as well -- mechanically he might be brilliant but socially he was a moron. She wondered now if Kazuki suffered from a similar ailment of course, even in the wake of defeat he made demands. Even when she complied to his request for a meeting he resorted to trickery and violence to extract a cost only he knew of and then expected them to be travel partners. Now, he has decided to 'pity' her and to 'comfort' her by telling hr that he would be the one to take her life. With each and every foolhardy statement he made he dangled that he might be something and therefore that in and of itself made him valuable, but rather it made him less so. If his value is merely -what- he is biologically, she could find that anywhere. He forgot one very important thing about her: she was Mother Suna. She did not require a lover, none of them did in fact but she was if nothing else loyal. They were the desert and the sky and the shade. All that was required of her was to breathe life into what was once inert. She was seeking her kind because they had value in and of themselves and should not be alone, not even Kazuki. "I think it is you I should pity, at least I know what I am. Lonesome yes, and it is maddening but there will never be a time when my loneliness will be sated by someone who is planning my end regardless of their heritage." Someday, perhaps if she was lucky and wished really hard on some magic star she would find happiness, friendship and love but that would not be today.

"Unlike any of them, I know what it feels like being hunted by humans. I know what it is to be feared because you seem less than human. I understand and know your plight Suna and I am one of the few, in this wide world, that can say it. Because I may be partly human and because I have experienced some of the things you have."

Shiori, or rather Suna was only inches from him when she attempted to rest her fingers next to his 'heart.' She was taller, well over six feet with the heels she donned in the desert although the sands attempted to swallow the first inch. She was not afraid and she was holding back a harsh rebuttal. "And yet you side with them. You assault me, tell me that there will be mercy in how you end me and of course demanded my presence here in the first place. And I assure you, the virtue of what you are is barely enough to grant me tolerance of any one of these things." She stopped and looked him in the eye, "I am not playing the victim role any longer... I encourage you to go back to him, to wear a fancy hat and gain a few titles. It will make you feel like a man, because that is obviously what you would prefer to be. Even if you learned today that you were the son of some gloomy court and that your soul of made of fire and light, would it ever really matter?"</B><i></i> She backed away from him, there was a part of her that wanted to hurt him. This bubbling wrath that wanted to claw into him, but she could not or rather would not raise a hand against possible kin. Not Mikaboshi and not him, but small favors and benevolence rarely last for long when it is abused by those who garnered the greatest benefit.

She would change the subject, she had to if she wanted to maintain her composure. He had hit a hot button on her although he did so only partially knowing the driving force it was. It was her weakness and her downfall and a part of her knew it, but there was no need to be insulting about it. She told him about Baylos, a fabled city lost to time. It was once a golden tower that pierced the heavens or so it was said. It was destroyed long ago. <B>"I assume Babylos was their focal area then. Did it have any particular feature? Say a high tower? That would represent a high place, something they need, assuming your words. If the city is gone, destroyed probably, then mountains or some lost tower would represent such a high place. You know the Wind Country better than me, where can we find such a place?"

She shook her head and looked skyward. The mountains would be where they would flee. "Without the tower, the best Wind Country has is plateaus... They are not limited to..." she paused as she cut herself off before she mentioned a key difference between herself and most other Ancients. "Mountains," she broke the momentary pause. They would live among the clouds if they still lived. Of course she was not aware of the fact that they never escaped Wind Country, while some were dead dead none of them were living. "In the absence of Baylos, they would have left the country," she concluded. Flame and shadow had the opposite propensity, they would burrow into the earth, making them much harder to find. There was the sea for those who believed in sirens and mermaids and perhaps there was some truth in those fishmonger tales yet. She was literally considering searching the world for her lost brothers.

 

[Senju Kazuki]

[col]"You think so Kazuki," Suna declared after hearing he pitied her. The Overlord shook his head. "I know it." he stated. She knew nothing at all. "You do not pity me, you are taking advantage of me. I am not a fool," she would reinforce her notion. Clearly showing she was failing to grasp his message. He was not playing a game there. "A fool you are, because I am not playing any kind of game here. I am being sincere. Believing in me or not, is your choice, but you should not discard my words so lightly." the Silvery Haired Man noted. "Sousuke defeated an Ancient that had been starved for well over a century, he and you with your powers combined would have difficulty now... But since we are giving assurances, perhaps you would sleep better knowing that I am well-aware that you will likely try to consume my essence if I were to die." the Earth Court Queen noted after being told Kazuki would consume her essence if given the opportunity to. She was showing a level of pride he had not seen before. Yes, Ancients were powerful beyond belief, but even they were not invincible. "Good. You said it yourself, I have shown traits of the Wild Hunt Court. It is only natural that I seek the essence of an Ancient to see what it tastes like. Would it give me pleasure? No, I would do so because of a necessity. And as I said, for mercy. Now I know you don't want a single drop of mercy from my part, but it is mine to offer to whoever I want. And you are its current recipient. " he openly admitted. He had never intended to make it a secret and now she knew.

"I think it is you I should pity, at least I know what I am. Lonesome yes, and it is maddening but there will never be a time when my loneliness will be sated by someone who is planning my end regardless of their heritage. And yet you side with them. You assault me, tell me that there will be mercy in how you end me and of course demanded my presence here in the first place. And I assure you, the virtue of what you are is barely enough to grant me tolerance of any one of these things. I am not playing the victim role any longer... I encourage you to go back to him, to wear a fancy hat and gain a few titles. It will make you feel like a man, because that is obviously what you would prefer to be. Even if you learned today that you were the son of some gloomy court and that your soul of made of fire and light, would it ever really matter?" Shiori would say as she tried to touch his chest, very near to where his heart was. Reaper would make no attempt to stop her, no attempt to back away from her touch. If she wanted, she could. If she sought to stop his heart via some sandy means, so be it. He was not running away, regardless if his life was on the balance. "Pity me if you want. But just like you can claim I have no idea of what you are going through, I can say the same about you." the White Wolf would retort as he shrugged his shoulders. "Allow me to reiterate this one more time. I am not planning your end." he stated as he stared right back at her. "Do you know what is to be a being among two extreme worlds? I don't belong in either side if you ask me. I will never be a full ancient like you, and I will never be a complete human like them. There is no proper side for me. You tried to act like a human for a while. How did that end for you? You declared war on humanity because you would not fit in their mold, you could not. I am being torn apart because I see both ends of the spectrum and neither are truly aligned with my being. I don't want to feel like man, since I am not one entirely. I am what I am. A probable mutt or an abomination." Kazuki declared. Humans did not long for souls. Even if he was not an Ancient Hybrid, he was surely not human. "I agree. Don't play the victim role. Neither you nor Sousuke are victims here. You are both to blame for this civil war. And this is just going to benefit who wants to destroy us all." the Silvery Haired Man noted. The Wind Daimyo or the Fire one would eventually move in and slay whatever was left from their war. They were probably laughing right. So disharmony, such luck of unity. They were sitting ducks, and neither side saw it.

"Of course it would matter. Knowing the truth, no matter how bitter, or if it is something you don't want to hear, always matter. Would that change my views? My choices? I don't know. And you want to know why I chose them? Because Sousuke did something no one else was willing to. He offered my people shelter, a safe haven from prosecution. That is something I cannot forget. I chose them but I don't have to have an active role in this. If we really were bitter enemies, would I be here? Would I invite you to parley? I may have crazy methods but my mind remains sane as ever. You know how this will end. Sousuke's side will win. You are too few. Your power levels are over 9000, but not even you can withstand a legion alone. Your numbers were greater back then and how did it end? You are practically extinct. In the chance of your death, yes, I want your essence, but I don't want you to die. You are strong and the strong should never die." Reaper told her. "I have traveled the world and I have met many people. Most of my friends are dead ,and since I have left Konohagakure, you are one of the few of this world that I think I like. That means something." the Overlord added.

The Silvery Haired Man had questioned if there mountains or towers in the Wind Country. Suna responded with "Without the tower, the best Wind Country has is plateaus... They are not limited to...Mountains. In the absence of Babylos, they would have left the country.". The White Wolf noticed the pause in her speech. "Not limited to what? Not limited to staying in the Wind Country like you are? I remember someone saying Ancients could not stay away for long from the very element their core being was made of. Because the Solar Court is linked with the sun, they would not have such limitations correct? But you are made of the desert's sand. How will you be able to leave this country? You have certainly found a way." he questioned her. Yes, someone had stated that. Perhaps it was her that had said it. And if she was after Ancients, that probably had left Wind, then she needed a way to circumvent her flaw.|[legend="[[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qMBans8jyM][b][u]Senju Kazuki[/u][/b][/url]]"]

Reaper

[/legend][/col]

 

[Michi]

She did not agree with the Senju's insistence that he was here out of pity. Humans, time and time again have proven themselves to be a selfish, conniving and terrifying breed. Humanity had what she... what they lacked: the freedom to choose and unbridled potential, their ceiling being the limited span of their lives. He even claimed that he liked her for whatever that was worth from a man, Ancient or hybrid who would likely betray her in the coming of days. She should cast him out, away from her presence as a preemptive measure against his likely treachery but she was not going to. She was going to endure still despite the fact that his actions did not support his words. Not one of them.

He had mentioned a tertiary force, unlike the actual members of Sunagakure, she was unaware of the depths of the Daimyo's betrayal. She knew that the Sunahoshi were behind the maelstrom, She could hear his lamenting cry carried by the howling winds. She was killed by supporters on the anarchists that were later simply called the Cabal and she was later in her next form tortured by one of the members until she was recovered. She learned later that Shouki was the Daimyo's illegitimate son and the the Oracle witch was his mother but she knew nothing more of the political dynamic. She did not know that the Sovereign was raising an army against Sunagakure. She no longer had a stake in this war, she did not consider herself a Sunan or a Wind denizen, rather she saw herself as one of the true residents of this country belonging to neither faction. Still she did not take the bait, not that she chose to ignore it but rather he seemed to have a lot else to say as did she.

He admitted that he would consume her essence once she finally fell, it was not a shock but there was a difference between suspicion or paranoia and affirmation. Destroying her utterly would never bring her back to her own kind -- if nothing else it told her he could lie. "You cannot be merciful in my destruction utterly but even if you saw it as a kindness... consuming my soul would not return me to my own kind. So, you might be relieved or disappointed to know that you can lie." The Deep Court were tricksters by nature but they were also bound utterly by their word and could not lie. Mikaboshi could not lie.

"Not limited to what? Not limited to staying in the Wind Country like you are? I remember someone saying Ancients could not stay away for long from the very element their core being was made of. Because the Solar Court is linked with the sun, they would not have such limitations correct? But you are made of the desert's sand. How will you be able to leave this country? You have certainly found a way."

"Things have changed," she commented with a thin, confident smile. She had explained to him once her limit but he seemed to only remember it in part, It confirmed for her that he was not her son unless he was oblivious to his own needs. "I am willing to do what I was not before," she was referring to her previous aversion to eating to the point of saity. Yes, she needed the desert because that is what fed her. Still, she could eat souls and garner an even greater benefit if she was not a soft-hearted sap. Her sentiments had faded for the plight of the immortal soul of man. She was tired of simply existing in a place where she was meant to live and she meant to take what she saw as hers. "I only need to eat." She had no idea what the requisite body count would be but she no longer cared.

She meant to go to the land of Fire, where Kazuki once hailed to see if evidence of others remained. The deep in the depths. The flame in a similar dark that found light in the core. The solar to the heavens or the closest they can reach and the easiest to find. The forgotten sea, possibly still alive and well but isolated by a space only they can endure. The hunt, the blood, and a great many other of the minor courts so much harder to distinguish. Still, where one court went others might follow. "Tell me of the place where you were born? Was it in the mountains? In the dark?"

 

[Senju Kazuki]

[col]

They had been beating the same dead horse for a while now. It was no longer dead, it been beaten into a pulp and no longer recognized as a member of the Equidae family. But their continuous bartering was going to lead to no where. "You cannot be merciful in my destruction utterly but even if you saw it as a kindness... consuming my soul would not return me to my own kind. So, you might be relieved or disappointed to know that you can lie." Suna would declare. Kazuki did not view it as such. She did not know something he did. His fate, or so he was led to believe, was to reap the entire world someday. All would be gathered within him until he was the last one standing. By capturing her essence she would be reunited with her brothers and sisters, because they would eventually belong to Reaper as well. He had the desire to continue arguing with her, but he remembered a sentence he had either read, or heard before. Like one wise sage once said "Words are wind". They could keep continue like this until the dawn of the world, but unless actions were taken to prove each of their points, they would never believe in each other.

He would not give her an answer and instead focus on the task at hand. The Earth Court Queen would probably interpret it as a sign of defeat, that she had won this argument and she knew better than him. But he was simply moving on. "Things have changed. I am willing to do what I was not before. I only need to eat." she would answer him, explain she was no longer bound to stay in the Wind Country. Reaper would nod. "I take it you are no longer holding yourself over consuming the necessary amount of souls so you can undertake such venture. That is both a curse and a blessing if you ask me. The sudden disappearance of entire hamlets will certainly alert the authorities to your presence in a given area, but at least, you can leave this country." he would note. He had to be wary. If allowed to consume as she wished and needed, her powers would only increase and eventually she would be impossible to stop, or close enough of it. "Tell me of the place where you were born? Was it in the mountains? In the dark?" Suna would question him. The Overlord did not reply immediately. In fact, he stood there, silent for several minutes. It was not an easy question. He had no memories of his birthing moment. At least he could not access them freely. Eventually he found a suitable answer, but perhaps not the best one to give. "I cannot tell you exactly where I was born, but I have enough evidences to make an educated guess. The Fire Country has plenty of mountains and caves. But its the most distinctive feature is its massive forests. I am pretty certain I did not born in the mountains. I am also certain I was born inside Konohagakure's walls. I have a vague memory of a very dark place, but as you can imagine, a baby's mind has trouble of remembering traumatic events, such as being born." he shared with her his deductive reasoning. "I suppose my birthing place would be a helpful indication of what court I belong the most?" he would inquire her.​

|[legend="[[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qMBans8jyM][b][u]Senju Kazuki[/u][/b][/url]]"]

Reaper

[/legend][/col]

 

[Michi]

"I take it you are no longer holding yourself over consuming the necessary amount of souls so you can undertake such venture. That is both a curse and a blessing if you ask me. The sudden disappearance of entire hamlets will certainly alert the authorities to your presence in a given area, but at least, you can leave this country."

"True," she commented. "But, how many do you think I have consumed in the past... week?" Sousuke was likely becoming grossly paranoid by this point. Every death, mysterious or otherwise attributed to her. Every disappearance. Every strange happenstance. Still, did he truly take her for a complete fool. Yes, she killed the store clerk or the bar maid and let their remains be found in the street or their place of work but they were intended to be found. There was also the unwanted and the forgotten -- street urchins and orphans, cripples and beggars. The streets might even seem quieter and peaceful now that she has removed from herself this arbitrary limitation. "Human life is becoming increasingly irrelevant," she admitted. Her death toll was not in the dozens but rather in the hundreds and her voracious hunger while satisfied was truly boundless. She was not eating to stop the pain or even find saity any longer, she just did not care.

"I cannot tell you exactly where I was born, but I have enough evidences to make an educated guess. The Fire Country has plenty of mountains and caves. But its the most distinctive feature is its massive forests. I am pretty certain I did not born in the mountains. I am also certain I was born inside Konohagakure's walls. I have a vague memory of a very dark place, but as you can imagine, a baby's mind has trouble of remembering traumatic events, such as being born."</B><i></i>

She did not expect him to remember his actual birth, but she had hoped that he recalled the circumstances of it. While he cites a lifetime in Leaf, it would be easy to surmise that his family was from there but Fire Country in and of itself is a rather large territory. If he did in fact have a trace of Ancient heritage, it would likely be possible to gleam from those around him what Court if any at all. <B>"No living family?" She actually knew next to nothing about the Senju. "No home town?" Basic questions most acquaintances know about each other.

"I suppose my birthing place would be a helpful indication of what court I belong the most?"

"Yes," she replied immediately. "That is assuming you are from any court at all, but since there has not been a single Ancient in these lands less myself and Mikaboshi in a very long time, that suggests to me that an eternal race has to be someplace else." She knew nothing of the Rangers successes in capturing her fallen kin, how could she when she was long dead and buried. How could she when the Order itself was long ago disbanded and while most recently refreshed it no longer knew its solemn purpose. In reality, he was her only clue to a possible relocation of her people. It was unlikely she would find anything so long after the fact, but it was her contrite hope that if nothing else she could be pointed to another breadcrumb on Hansel's trail.

 

[Senju Kazuki]

[col]

"True. But, how many do you think I have consumed in the past... week?" Suna questioned him. Kazuki pondered for a bit before responding. He could only make an educated guess, but with luck it could be an accurate one. "I have no evidence to back my claim, but I think you have culled dozens now." the Overlord noted. "No, make it hundreds." he added mere seconds later. The confident posture, the fact she admitted she could leave the Wind Country suffering, little to no drawbacks at all. "Human life is becoming increasingly irrelevant," Shiori admitted. Perhaps a way to indicate the White Wolf's guess was correct after all. But even if she had reached hundreds of human souls consumed in the last few weeks, the Silvery Haired Man had a thousand toll on his back. Sure, not on the same time time span as she, but it was still over a thousand now.

Since his answer had been less than revealing, Suna posed him a few more. "No living family? No home town?". Well the second one was easily answered, but the first was a bit tricky. "As far as I am aware, my home town, along with everyone else of my clan, is Konohagakure. And that is probably true for as long as my clan existed." he began answering. He had purposefully started with the last inquiry since the first one would take more time. "You asked about living family. Well, my father is dead, killed by my hand. My mother died of grief not long after. My sister, due to some unknown circumstances, gained total and incurable amnesia, and I don't where she is. My uncle and my nephew are missing as well. You have seen my cousin. I am certain there are more relatives, but they are either in Sunagakure, or dead, or missing. We were never a big family though. " he replied, enumerating a list of people he could remember on the fly. "I can't exactly say me and my parents had a proper parent-son relationship. First they completely hide my lineage, then they did exactly the opposite with my sister. I do not know, maybe I was not truly their son. They are dead, I cannot ask them now. Maybe that explains the mistreatment I have received at their hands, or maybe I was treated so because they knew I was not entirely human." Reaper shared with her. Not many people knew about his infancy years. In fact, only two people had any knowledge about it. Senju Tadao and now Suna. "Is there a way to figure out, at one's birth, if they have other dna than human? More precisely Ancient? Do you think I was born in a cocoon of shadows? I mean, this mastery over shadows and death, this hunger for souls was not born with me. I gained it once I reached adulthood. We Senju have a ritual, perhaps this ritual merely unlocked my latent Ancient genes. Genes I was born with? It is confusing I must confess." he admitted. There so many variables in this equation and so little known facts. Perhaps he would never figure out the truth, even with such formidable guide. "You are an Earth Court Ancient, you bleed sand. I suppose Mikaboshi bleeds shadows. You have also admitted that I have shown traits of three different courts so far. Earth, Deep and Wild Hunt. As far as I am aware, I still bleed blood, but assuming I had any tracings of all three, what should I be bleeding?" Kazuki questioned her. He was curious to know, what did the Wild Hunt bled after all?​

|[legend="[[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qMBans8jyM][b][u]Senju Kazuki[/u][/b][/url]]"]

Reaper

[/legend][/col]

 

[Michi]

"As far as I am aware, my home town, along with everyone else of my clan, is Konohagakure. And that is probably true for as long as my clan existed."

She knew next to nothing about Kohonagakure or his clan, two facts he possibly did not fully appreciate or he simply assumed that she knew more about him than she actually did. He had explained to Sousuke the basis of his clan and their tree, a familial closeness more to nature of a green variety which honestly did not seem like him and would have surprised her to know if he did indeed have an affinity to wood. "Tell me about your clan then," she pushed. Did they have a specific power-set, religion, appearance? What traits did they possess that made them a clan rather than a family?

"You asked about living family. Well, my father is dead, killed by my hand. My mother died of grief not long after. My sister, due to some unknown circumstances, gained total and incurable amnesia, and I don't where she is. My uncle and my nephew are missing as well. You have seen my cousin. I am certain there are more relatives, but they are either in Sunagakure, or dead, or missing. We were never a big family though. "

So there were not many to compare him to, she was not aware that his travel partner was a relative. They arrived a short time before the maelstrom was subdued, she recalled the day because she was the one that opened to door and let them in. She nodded but did not interrupt.

"I can't exactly say me and my parents had a proper parent-son relationship. First they completely hide my lineage, then they did exactly the opposite with my sister. I do not know, maybe I was not truly their son. They are dead, I cannot ask them now. Maybe that explains the mistreatment I have received at their hands, or maybe I was treated so because they knew I was not entirely human."

She furrowed her brow, "why can't you ask them?" Death was not the end for anyone, especially not a human. She saw his ability to summon the dead, a skill-set she also had but she did not know his limits or extent. "Did you eat their soul? If not, take their grave soil and reform them," she instructed as if the notion was an elementary task. It would be such for the Senju as well, so perhaps the tone would go unnoticed. She frowned outwardly at the statement of 'mistreatment' - not to say she was a kind woman but she always had a thing for children. Even in the case of Riyota, yes he suffered briefly at her hands but he was repaired before Sousuke interfered. He was merely bait and did not deserve a terrible ends, the same would not be said in a few years when he became a mature (or otherwise) man rather than boy. She was a 'mother' after all, the moniker was for a great deal more than show.

"Is there a way to figure out, at one's birth, if they have other dna than human? More precisely Ancient? Do you think I was born in a cocoon of shadows? I mean, this mastery over shadows and death, this hunger for souls was not born with me. I gained it once I reached adulthood. We Senju have a ritual, perhaps this ritual merely unlocked my latent Ancient genes. Genes I was born with? It is confusing I must confess."

"Of course," she answered immediately, the question seemed almost ridiculous. "We are not human," she seemed to scoff because it was like asking if you could recognize if a tiger cub was not truly a panda. "We birth fully formed, albeit immature as full-blooded Ancients made from our element," she explained as she gestured towards the ground before she took a seat on the rough earth. "Human infants are like parasites," she drew a rough circle on the ground to depict a mother's belly and the child within. "They take until their mother can not provide for them within any longer and expel them... then for the next several years to decades that tiny pink human depends wholly on their former host." She wiped away the drawings she made, barely more than stick figures and basic shapes, she was far from an artist. Her finger then drew a new picture, that of a single stick figure. "I..." she pointed to the picture before she made a small bound out of the sand with her fingers "breathe my life when I have enough to spare... if I chose to... into my element and it takes life. Fully formed and sentient." Her hands clapped either side of the mount and it dispersed. "Depending on how much I give of myself, my child can be as you would call them... an infant, a child, a teen or a fully grown Ancient. As they eat and take in the energies of this world, they will mature into 'adulthood'" she struggled to maintain a similar lexicon to the human as she explained what they were. "We do not wither and die, with time and a steady diet, we only grow in strength." A fact that the Senju was already well aware of as she had mentioned several times how she has become stronger with each and every soul she has taken.

His question was not of Ancients or men alone but of Ancient and man. Another thing entirely. She had never had a union with a human in that way but others for the sake of curiosity or strangely enough 'love' did. To her knowing they were both human and Ancient, their biology... simply wrong. "I have never had a hybrid," she admitted. "However, they did occur on occasion for the sake of love or curiosity. Born conventionally from the mother they look human if the mother was also human. Their biology, on the other hand, was very wrong. Many never survived infancy, but those that had suffered every benefit and every penalty of their shared heritage. Bound by their nature and with a power that exceeded that of a normal human, their lives were still brief although longer than average." She shook her head, she doubted he was a true half-breed but that if anything his ancestor survived long enough to have children and perhaps his child's child was his mother or father. "Children fared differently if the mother was the Ancient, born fully formed but with the body of their court. some were able to deny their natures." She continued, "but in the end, there is no set mixture promised when one births a hybrid. They could look human. They could look like a court. Appear as some sort of monstrous mixture. Their nature and their skills, also variant. The only consistency is the fact that they are obviously not a member of either world, but with subsequent generations - be it unions with fellow men or Ancients, surely the Ancient or human hybrid would take on features of one or the other."

"You are an Earth Court Ancient, you bleed sand. I suppose Mikaboshi bleeds shadows. You have also admitted that I have shown traits of three different courts so far. Earth, Deep and Wild Hunt. As far as I am aware, I still bleed blood, but assuming I had any tracings of all three, what should I be bleeding?

"It is more complicated than that," she admitted. "You have seen what I truly am, just earth or more specifically sand and wind. I am covered by only the thinnest shell of hardened sand which is also me, pierce it and pierce me. This is me in a way, I have just let a shell set like a woman who lets her nails grow long or her hair to grow out. Pierce the shell and my contents, just like yours would spill."[/b] She was far from human but she knew how to look the part. "Mikaboshi has no way to naturally create a shell made of gloom that would make him look like a man... didn't you hear his heart beat and the chill that emanated from him. He was in possession of a dead man, but now... a live one," she guessed. She had no idea that the live man he commandeered was none other than the last Sunahoshi. "I am confident he bleeds blood presently, but he lacks body heat and his shadows are wrong," she described. "But if he were to take on the appearance of a man through a skill-set of his I previous did not know of, he would bleed shadow," she concluded soundly. [He has bled shadows] The secrets of the various Courts were jealously guarded and moreover in her desperation not long ago she shared something exceedingly previous with the Deep Court Lord that made him exceedingly dangerous. When a deal was made between them, a deal to strike back against these human savages, she gave Mikaboshi a 'gift' prior to her death -- a piece of her very essence. Enough to create a fresh Ancient if she had chosen but rather as a demonstration of her anger towards humanity and her willingness to do whatever she had to, she did the one thing they most often refused to do: share. He could create a shell of mire if he wanted to in all likelihood if he ever learned of his new-found affinity to the earth itself, but a part of her hoped he never learned this or that he recycled and lost what he had gained before he learned a way to maintain this spark indefinitely.

Still, that did not answer his whole question. It was uncommon for the divergent courts to copulate, they did not have relations in the same way as men did although it was possible. She simply made her children by breathing life into her given element. She never dared to breathe her life into something that was not hers, it seemed like a perversion and she lacked the curiosity to ever try. So, what would he bleed if he was all three? "I do not know. I do not even know if that is possible," she concluded. Certainly it was possible, but not among pure-bloods, the paranoia would be too great. Between hybrids, possibly but without it being a purposeful act the men and women used would be so dilute as a product of chance that the combination would be irrelevant. "An Ancient is made of their element, just like a human is made of meat and blood and bone, puncture the surface and you will find that," she reiterated. "But you are... human ...mostly," she explained. "And I do not know what else, Ancient from a great or even a minor Court, a demon, or something else entirely."

The only one she failed to explain was the most irrelevant one, the Wild Hunt. "The Wild Hunt is an odd Court because they lack an element... but they are also all FOREVER dead. Eaten by their progenitor, only he remains." She explained, "I do not recall seeing him bleed. Death surrounded him and hunger consumed him, I have no idea how he became manifest. But he ate all his children and then started to consume the other Courts until we put an end to him."

 

[Senju Kazuki]

[col]

"Tell me about your clan then," Suna questioned him. Well, he had no problems of sharing the Senju's history with Suna, even their most common traits, but he was not going to detail secrets to one his declared enemies. He was not foolish enough for that. "The senju clan is as old as Konohagakure. We were one the founding clans of Leaf, along with the Hasegawa and the Ayatsuri. We had two versions. The initial one were a loosely connected clan that happened to a group of peace lovers. Suffice to say they mostly perish along with most of Konoha's population during the first activation of the Red Rain Kinjutsu. Luckily, among the ruins, one Senju toddler survived the chaos. He found a sapling tree among the ruins and used it to survive. But because this tree was using the chakra rich waters, the product of the Kinjutsu, he was changed. Somehow he became obsessed with power and he became the first of the new Senju. The clan regrew and here we are today. A much fiercer and, admittedly, power hungry clan. However, power comes in many shapes and means, thus we all seek it differently. You know my way, I collect souls just like you. We are not born like this, but just like our great ancestor, we change once adulthood is reached. And that is why our banner is a tree." Kazuki told her as he tapped his chest, on the very same spot that his tattoo was. He neglected to say they drank sap and it was the sap that shifted to them, but she did not need to know that.

"Why can't you ask them? Did you eat their soul? If not, take their grave soil and reform them," the Earth Court Queen inquired after hearing he was unable to question his parents about his true heritage. The Overlord shook his head. She made it seem so simple, but it was not. "No, their souls have long departed to wherever they go. Not that they did not deserved to be consumed, but I did it not back then." he answered as he shrugged. "You are forgetting one thing though. Their graves, if still intact, are deep in enemy territory. Venturing inside a samurai controlled village, whose only purpose it to slay people like me, is not exactly a picnic. And to do so just to ask some questions about heritage? It seems foolish, even if potentially enlightening." he calmly added. Perhaps she had a different opinion and even a plan, but such venture was not safe or easy.

"Of course. We are not human. We birth fully formed, albeit immature as full-blooded Ancients made from our element. Human infants are like parasites. They take until their mother can not provide for them within any longer and expel them... then for the next several years to decades that tiny pink human depends wholly on their former host. I...breathe my life when I have enough to spare... if I chose to... into my element and it takes life. Fully formed and sentient. Depending on how much I give of myself, my child can be as you would call them... an infant, a child, a teen or a fully grown Ancient. As they eat and take in the energies of this world, they will mature into 'adulthood'.We do not wither and die, with time and a steady diet, we only grow in strength." Suna explained him. An ancient birth, at least in the case of the Earth Court, was vastly different than a human's. Suna breathed life into them, while humans copulate to generate a third life from their union. Kazuki nodded. He half expected something akin to what she had just detailed, but hearing confirmation was still surprising.

"I have never had a hybrid. However, they did occur on occasion for the sake of love or curiosity. Born conventionally from the mother they look human if the mother was also human. Their biology, on the other hand, was very wrong. Many never survived infancy, but those that had suffered every benefit and every penalty of their shared heritage. Bound by their nature and with a power that exceeded that of a normal human, their lives were still brief although longer than average. Children fared differently if the mother was the Ancient, born fully formed but with the body of their court. some were able to deny their natures. But in the end, there is no set mixture promised when one births a hybrid. They could look human. They could look like a court. Appear as some sort of monstrous mixture. Their nature and their skills, also variant. The only consistency is the fact that they are obviously not a member of either world, but with subsequent generations - be it unions with fellow men or Ancients, surely the Ancient or human hybrid would take on features of one or the other." Shiori continued, turning the conversation into hybrid territory. Again this information was entirely new to him. The main point he could take from those words was the lack of uniformity for possible hybrids. No two mutts looked alike and the gifts and penalties they gained from such union were also madly varied. He also learned that he did not need to have a direct parent that was Ancient. Just enough Ancient DNA in the family could do the trick. "That means I could have an Ancient ancestor down the road in my family." he noted. If that was true, then questioning his parents would serve him no good.

"It is more complicated than that. You have seen what I truly am, just earth or more specifically sand and wind. I am covered by only the thinnest shell of hardened sand which is also me, pierce it and pierce me. This is me in a way, I have just let a shell set like a woman who lets her nails grow long or her hair to grow out. Pierce the shell and my contents, just like yours would spill. Mikaboshi has no way to naturally create a shell made of gloom that would make him look like a man... didn't you hear his heart beat and the chill that emanated from him. He was in possession of a dead man, but now... a live one. I am confident he bleeds blood presently, but he lacks body heat and his shadows are wrong. But if he were to take on the appearance of a man through a skill-set of his I previous did not know of, he would bleed shadow," Suna answered his questions about the material a ancient, just like her or Mikaboshi, would bleed. He thought it was funny to hear the notion of having Mikaboshi take on the appearance of a man using his shadow affinity. It would certainly look like a weird human. But it was also a terrifying thought it made to work. "I do not know. I do not even know if that is possible. An Ancient is made of their element, just like a human is made of meat and blood and bone, puncture the surface and you will find that. But you are... human ...mostly. And I do not know what else, Ancient from a great or even a minor Court, a demon, or something else entirely. The Wild Hunt is an odd Court because they lack an element... but they are also all FOREVER dead. Eaten by their progenitor, only he remains. I do not recall seeing him bleed. Death surrounded him and hunger consumed him, I have no idea how he became manifest. But he ate all his children and then started to consume the other Courts until we put an end to him." she finalized her explanation.

Every answer had been very enlightening, except for the last. It could be credited to the Wild Hunt's weird nature. He certainly hoped he did not have a single blood drop of such court, if any at all. "Your answers were very revealing." he admitted, giving her a slight bow. "But I am still nowhere near to know the answers to my questions. I feel we are running in circles here." Reaper stated as he let out a heart felt sigh. "Let us say there is no one to question about my heritage. How can we find what I am besides boring ourselves with endless questions? Is there even a way? Or will this become one of the great unresolved mysteries of the century?" the White Wolf questioned her as he sat in front of her. It was frustrating to say the least.​

|[legend="[[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qMBans8jyM][b][u]Senju Kazuki[/u][/b][/url]]"]

Reaper

[/legend][/col]

 

[Michi]

"The Senju clan is as old as Konohagakure. We were one the founding clans of Leaf, along with the Hasegawa and the Ayatsuri. We had two versions. The initial one were a loosely connected clan that happened to a group of peace lovers. Suffice to say they mostly perish along with most of Konoha's population during the first activation of the Red Rain Kinjutsu. Luckily, among the ruins, one Senju toddler survived the chaos. He found a sapling tree among the ruins and used it to survive. But because this tree was using the chakra rich waters, the product of the Kinjutsu, he was changed. Somehow he became obsessed with power and he became the first of the new Senju. The clan regrew and here we are today. A much fiercer and, admittedly, power hungry clan. However, power comes in many shapes and means, thus we all seek it differently. You know my way, I collect souls just like you. We are not born like this, but just like our great ancestor, we change once adulthood is reached. And that is why our banner is a tree."

She remembered a discussion about the 'Red Rain Kinjutsu' some time ago, she had a different body then and a smaller sense of pride. A chakra sapping rain that had fell twice before and both times utterly decimated the community. In fact, come to think of it the Daimyō was another soul he planned to possess and make suffer. Souls were a source of 'power' and 'vengeance' as well as 'food' if she recalled every conversation they had. It made little sense that a toddler would have both survived something that other, more trained men and women could not, even his or her brethren with similar power-sets and yet that was what the myths claimed. Much like any origin story, the truth would likely always be shrouded in doubt and mystery. "How long ago?" She asked, she wanted to know how long ago the red rains first came. Was the red rain a lie, a cover or even a coincidence? It was impossible for her to know for certain what he even told her was the truth or if he himself was not only told lies, but a year. A time. Those are harder to fake.

She had already tested his propensity for the largest of the Courts -- to see if he had their limits and their cravings and the answer was yes and no. His thirst for war, his pride, his yearning for flame or sky, his ability to fight in another man's war and his hunger. It was revealing somewhat but also disconcerting because if he did come from the Court of the Wild Hunt, an entity that had somehow survived she would have to put him down because he would eat everything and follow a downward spiral into madness. She doubted that one could have lived this long and went unnoticed, procreated and saw to likely many generations and all these lives left unconsumed.

"No, their souls have long departed to wherever they go. Not that they did not deserved to be consumed, but I did it not back then. You are forgetting one thing though. Their graves, if still intact, are deep in enemy territory. Venturing inside a samurai controlled village, whose only purpose it to slay people like me, is not exactly a picnic. And to do so just to ask some questions about heritage? It seems foolish, even if potentially enlightening."</B><i></i>

<B>"They were just humans with sharpened sticks and blades." she commented grimly. Just humans. Still, she doubted that he would let her disturb the grave of his parents, she just wanted to know of their fate. "I have another... important question for you. Did they die before or after you developed a taste for souls?" She would not even think about why that was relevant. Regardless of his answer she would give him a brief tidbit of history.

"Orochi, formerly the Ancient of the Wild Hunt Tarasque, was the patron of predators and hunters in the Wind Country. Within his dominion fell the stewardship of beasts that were born with the need to hunt and kill others in order to survive and he was good at what he did. With his honed predatory skills, and possessed not only a frightening size but also supernatural physical power. Tarasque was without a doubt the single most dangerous of the Ancient Lords and was greatly feared by many of the lesser Court Lords-- and for good reason for it was Tarasque that first realized the power to consume the spiritual power of another being and to this day was the only Ancient to ever consume another Ancient. No being ever found out what it was that drove Tarasque to his madness. Perhaps it was simply years of leading hunts in the wild that drove him to insanity, or perhaps he became bored with mortal fare and decided at last to move on to eternal. Whatever the reason was, the mind of Tarasque snapped in two leaving behind what could only be described as a rapacious eating machine fully capable of consuming the entirety of the mortal world if left to his devices." She took a brief moment's pause, she was remembering something that happened a long time ago.

To prevent this, the three Lords of the Great Courts of this country cast their power together to slay the King of the Wild Hunt. Singularly Tarasque was the strongest of any Ancients but even he could not stand against their combined might. Slain, the threat presented by Orochi to the natural world seemed abated... that is until Orochi reappeared. Word passed from court to court that the Mad Ancient as he had begun to be called had resurrected and was once more set upon his path of endless consumption. Once more, just as they had before, the Great Lords cast their power together and destroyed Orochi though it seemed that the cannibalistic Ancient had somehow increased it's power as well as having resurrected itself. This cycle of death and rebirth continued for Orochi for some time, each time the period between his resurrections shortened exponentially. At times Orochi would re-appear within days of being defeated. Other occasions it would take years. Or in the case of my own demise, moments," she likened her death and birth to Orochi's resurrection. It should have been decades of intermission before she returned but Mikaboshi intervened, sharing a bounty that was more than sufficient. "Unlike myself, the Mad Ancient did not need to be spoon-fed."

She continued on with her story. "By the final time they destroyed Orochi, it seemed as if they could not keep him dead for more than a few minutes until finally Homura cut the heart of the Lord in a fit of anger... and suddenly Orochi ceased to be reborn. It seemed as if whatever unhallowed power it was that gave unto the twisted monstrosity which had once been their kin a cycle of eternal rebirth was contained entirely within it's heart. Fearing what might happen to the sanity of any Ancient which dared to try and use the power of Orochi's heart to achieve a similar power, the Three agreed to hide the heart deep underground where it might never be uncovered." That building survived to this day ironically. A building which would come to be known as the Obsidian Palace would be constructed and the Heart of Orochi was hidden deep underneath it behind a series of elemental locking seals which were never meant to be unsealed. Eventually the ravenous hunger and hatred of the Orochi, it's very spiritual presence, began to leak out and corrupt the shadows of the Palace creating the ominous dread that permeates the air in the prison. The seals had long ago deteriorated and he was nothing more than a twisted mass in the depths of a pit. To this day it is to be said that to be present in the Obsidian Palace is to feel the pull of Orochi's mindless and all-consuming gluttony and eventually be consumed by it. This part of the tale she would never share, the power of the Obsidian to make good and bad men fiends.

She had stolen the heart, or at least one of them in desperation once upon a time. She planned to feed it to her son, her son that Sousuke had lost. Yet again, another attempt at co-existence squandered by his lack of a soul.

"Let us say there is no one to question about my heritage. How can we find what I am besides boring ourselves with endless questions? Is there even a way? Or will this become one of the great unresolved mysteries of the century?"

One of the great unresolved mysteries of the century -- A high self-opinion. "Yes," she answered. "Stop eating and see what happens," she offered. "Eat your meat and your green things, just not the souls. See what you are compelled to do, you will be likely driven by instinct to what element you need. If you are from a minor court I would never be able to make a final guess. If from a major, you are too dilute or too strange for me to do anything more than consider a wild theory. Can I see your heart again?"

 

[Senju Kazuki]

[col]

""ow long ago?" Suna asked him. Although there were records, how could one fully believe in them? The city had been completely devastated. Of the Senju clan, purportedly, only one had survived. History told him it happened a thousand years ago or so, but it could be wrong. "History records tell it happened a thousand years ago, but it is hard to believe in such number. The village was devastated by the kinjutsu, records are not entirely foolproof." Kazuki answered. He though he knew where she was going with that question. Trying to ascertain the possibility of having ancients to roam the world and become his ancestor. That could be true, but less so if the Fire Country's history could be fully believed.

"They were just humans with sharpened sticks and blades. I have another... important question for you. Did they die before or after you developed a taste for souls?" she questioned him after hearing the Overlord's explanation of why chatting with his parents was a herculean task. But the answer was quite simple though. "Before their death. A few years before actually. Why do you ask?" he questioned back. Why was that so important it merited a question from the Earth Court Queen's part. Regardless she had more history to share.


"Orochi, formerly the Ancient of the Wild Hunt Tarasque, was the patron of predators and hunters in the Wind Country. Within his dominion fell the stewardship of beasts that were born with the need to hunt and kill others in order to survive and he was good at what he did. With his honed predatory skills, and possessed not only a frightening size but also supernatural physical power. Tarasque was without a doubt the single most dangerous of the Ancient Lords and was greatly feared by many of the lesser Court Lords-- and for good reason for it was Tarasque that first realized the power to consume the spiritual power of another being and to this day was the only Ancient to ever consume another Ancient. No being ever found out what it was that drove Tarasque to his madness. Perhaps it was simply years of leading hunts in the wild that drove him to insanity, or perhaps he became bored with mortal fare and decided at last to move on to eternal. Whatever the reason was, the mind of Tarasque snapped in two leaving behind what could only be described as a rapacious eating machine fully capable of consuming the entirety of the mortal world if left to his devices.
To prevent this, the three Lords of the Great Courts of this country cast their power together to slay the King of the Wild Hunt. Singularly Tarasque was the strongest of any Ancients but even he could not stand against their combined might. Slain, the threat presented by Orochi to the natural world seemed abated... that is until Orochi reappeared. Word passed from court to court that the Mad Ancient as he had begun to be called had resurrected and was once more set upon his path of endless consumption. Once more, just as they had before, the Great Lords cast their power together and destroyed Orochi though it seemed that the cannibalistic Ancient had somehow increased it's power as well as having resurrected itself. This cycle of death and rebirth continued for Orochi for some time, each time the period between his resurrections shortened exponentially. At times Orochi would re-appear within days of being defeated. Other occasions it would take years. Or in the case of my own demise, moments. Unlike myself, the Mad Ancient did not need to be spoon-fed. By the final time they destroyed Orochi, it seemed as if they could not keep him dead for more than a few minutes until finally Homura cut the heart of the Lord in a fit of anger... and suddenly Orochi ceased to be reborn. It seemed as if whatever unhallowed power it was that gave unto the twisted monstrosity which had once been their kin a cycle of eternal rebirth was contained entirely within it's heart. Fearing what might happen to the sanity of any Ancient which dared to try and use the power of Orochi's heart to achieve a similar power, the Three agreed to hide the heart deep underground where it might never be uncovered." It was quite an interesting tale. Of how even different courts could band together in the face of extermination. Perhaps what would happen in the future again?

"Yes. Stop eating and see what happens.Eat your meat and your green things, just not the souls. See what you are compelled to do, you will be likely driven by instinct to what element you need. If you are from a minor court I would never be able to make a final guess. If from a major, you are too dilute or too strange for me to do anything more than consider a wild theory. Can I see your heart again?" she told him. Was that an effective method? Maybe it was, but he was not completely sold yet. "You can." he answered as he once again revealed the gaping hole that was his heart.​

|[legend="[[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qMBans8jyM][b][u]Senju Kazuki[/u][/b][/url]]"]

Reaper

[/legend][/col]

 

[Michi]

There was a reason she asked him those questions. She needed to know if he needed to die today. There was only one Court that she would not allow to survive, she could not allow to survive: a member of the Court of the Wild Hunt. He had shown the symptoms -- the unrelenting hunger and the willingness and ability to consume ones own kind -- a taboo in every culture and for good reason. So the question was: was he a madman or was he a monster-Ancient.

She asked about his parents and about when the hungers came. Two questions that were intimately connected in their own way in her mind. When the answer was no, they died after -- she let out an audible sigh of relief because her sadness would have deepened on this day. Yes, he felt now that perhaps he should have for whatever misguided belief of benevolence, something that made him terrible in his own way, consumed them both but he did not and he had no reason to deny them this fate. He had no argument to save them from a second and ultimate death -- consumed they would have no 'eternal bliss' or 'damnation' if he believed in such things and in regards to Ancients they would not cycle again. He had no reason such as love or fidelity that saved them from such a fate, rather it seemed to be impulse that denied him that meal. The voracious appetite and gluttony of the Court would not have let opportunity pass them by for what she assumed would have been powerful by human standard souls without an intense justification.

She was running into a wall with her questions so she gave him a test he could do of his own accord. A demand to stop eating. Not to cease what maintained his human half but rather what sustained his other-nature. Ancients could subsist off of nothing at all as long as they were in proximity of their element. Growth and repair reduced to a crawl, but they were able to survive just not particularly thrive. Within a few months he would find himself hungry, yes for souls and of course he would also be driven to his element. Perhaps an element of a lesser court, one that had little representation in this world such as the sea. Courts of ice and ink, barely reported and forgotten over the years even by their brethren.

There was also an afterthought, just one...

She wanted to look inside him. To really look. As she had said before, Ancients were made of their given element and in the case of hybrid their biology was just 'wrong.' He peeled his robes open and exposed the icy hole that housed a fiery core. She approached and reverently she would touch the exposed ice with the tips of her fingers. Would it feel cold? Would it hurt? She would move her fingers towards the pit and wait until she could feel the heat of the pulsating flame. She would ease her other hand around him and attempt to place it on the small of his back to draw him close to her. This might seem like the start of a romantic scene, but when someone tries to touch your heart it is not often literal. She would plunge her hand inside, regardless of the heat or the pain. "I need to know if you are a monster or a madman," she admitted as an answer to his previous question of why. She did not know what would be stirred up inside him from this reckless act but curiosity knew no social bounds. Still, if he screamed in pain she would relinquish her hold and back away.

What would she find inside of him, would something be drawn out and knock her away? Would she just have more questions and fewer answers?

 

[Senju Kazuki]

[col]

Suna has requested a second look on Kazuki's strange heart. Acquiescing, the Overlord undressed the upper part of his robes once more. Showcasing the strange cavity that was his heart. An open hole made of ice, surrounding a core made of fire. Said core pulsated like a normal heart would. This was no ordinary thing and judging from Shiori's words, it could be a sign he truly was a hybrid. As she had noted, hybrids had wrong biologies and nothing could be more wrong than such heart cavity he had. Once the chest was bare, the Earth Court Queen would approach the White Wolf. Such motion was slow and deliberate, just like how her hand carefully approached the Silvery Haired Man's heart. A gentle caress he would feel and see. Suna was touching the ice that comprised the prison of his heart with her fingertips. She would feel coldness in her fingers and Reaper's face would show no discomfort. In fact, he would snort. "It tickles." he would tell her. Regardless, Shiori's intrusion was far from over. Her hand would penetrate deeper until she was mere millimeters from the fiery core. Despite any attempts to do so, the Sennin of Sand would not be able to see what she was trying to touch now, although it was not hard to figure out.

Just sensing the heat radiating from this makeshift heart was not enough for Shiori. Her free hand would be placed on his back and she would forcibly move him forward so they would be even closer. This could have been a romantic moment, were it not for the fact her hand was inside his chest. And her motives unknown. Perhaps his his face had shown a quizzical look. "I need to know if you are a monster or a madman" Suna would admitted. Kazuki had questioned nothing, but he had received an answer nonetheless. But her curiosity was not sated still and her hand would plunge forward. Initially he would feel no discomfort or barey anything at all. But a surge of pain would reach him and his entire body would ache. He would resist the urge to scream at the top of his lungs by clenching his teeth. Drops of sweat began to accumulate on his forehead. If he had any ability to change his skin completion, his face would have become reddish, but it retained the same paleness. The strain of holding out the pain became visible in his face and the veins on his neck engorged themselves. Let it not be said he was not willing to endure some pain for the sake of scientific progress. But whatever she was searching, something would be found. Perhaps not what she wanted.

Shadows would pour out from the hole that comprised his heart while Suna's hand was still inside. If she were to raise her eyes to gaze his face, she would notice shadow droplets running down his cheeks. His eyes had become fully black. His irises had always been black, but his entire eye had turned into darkness. In fact, a closer inspection would reveal they were completely covered in shadows. Shadows that behaved like a liquid and it was why they were falling down. His own shadow was wavering violently and his heart kept spitting more and more shadows. The ground became covered in them and eventually they would raise to create a dome that would shield them from the world. Kazuki's facial expression had shifted by now. He no longer showed strain or pain. He had regained his serene expression, so characteristic to him. The chilling sensation that his body usually exuded had become more intense. "What have you done?" he would question her.​

|[legend="[[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qMBans8jyM][b][u]Senju Kazuki[/u][/b][/url]]"]

Reaper

[/legend][/col]

 

[Michi]

She would feel the chill that emanated from his chest through her fingertips as she traced the edge curiously. "Such a strange thing Kazuki was," she silent mused. Otherwise he seemed quite normal, prosaic in fact if it was not for the deathly chill that exuded from his body in waves and his anthropophagous appetite. This was invasive by her standards, this proximity and this guarded trust she had for the maybe-Ancient. She ran her finger along the icy border.

"It tickles."

She ceased her path, her cheeks felt warm despite his naturally cold presence that she was not immune to but had grown accustomed. She looked away for a moment before she met his gaze again, determined. The proximity between them was making her uncomfortable for a small list of reasons already. She unconsciously bit her lower lip as her hand crept inside of him, penetrating this peculiar orifice. She could feel the pulsating fire from within and she pulled him to her unapologetic for what she would do as her prying mind had a question still unresolved. She needed to know if he was a monster or a madman. At this juncture she was not going to relinquish her grasp on the Senju, she did not want to break his heart - literally. She could feel him tense in her grip as she felt the cavernous edge that was cold and the diametrically opposed heat that came from his core as she fondled the curious oddity. She would touch his heart and feel it beat in the palm of her hand. Queer but quite lovely, his representation of life manifest. She did not look up to see the pained expression on Kazuki's face but even if she had she would still venture on to satisfy finally their shared curiosity.

Smoke... no shadow started to pour from him. From the gaping hole in his chest like blackened waters that spit onto the ground in excess of what his body should naturally contain if it held anything of volume at all. She would immediately release him from her embrace and allow her palm to go flat as to slide out of him without rattling his heart. She would trip as she backed away from him and looked at his face and the pooling gloom that seemed to overtake this parcel of the desert. The light from the celestial spaces would be extinguished as an orb of dark shadow encased them both. She did not need to see of course, the darkness mattered little to her and she could still see the roiling shadows as they had tangible form even in this inky black. The room seemed to steal whatever heat she had, she could feel ice crystals form on her porcelain carapace and she lost sensation in her fingers and her toes. She crossed her arms and shivered from the cold.

"What have you done?"

"I -- WE -- got an answer," she replied. "But is it a truth you actually wanted?" She called out into the darkness, ice crystals released from her maw as she made the query. At the moment he seemed less human than Ancient, this shadowy ichor released from his fractured pericarp and this bitter frost seemed excessive for one she expected to find barely a sliver of Ancient legacy in. Was he entirely certain that his parents were unaware. That one of them was not... That one of them still might be...? These are questions asked with the pure assumption that he was not lying. That he could not lie. That in and of itself could be a lie considering he is not or might not be beholden to their natural limits.