In the Heart of the Dark [Contract Search]

[Yaban Hito]

​

Climbing The Spine of the World, Hito was risking his very life. The young ANBU was climbing the slopes for training, testing his endurance and will to survive in the bleak cold. Using only his knowledge of his life outside of the Village, his trusty weapons, and knowledge of Jutsu, Hito would try to make it to the top of the mountain peaks alive. But, travelling such a dangerous mountain trail wasn't an easy feat for any person. His sword on his back, his daggers in his shirt fold, Hito was climbing the very face of the mountain. His hands numb from the cold, his body shivering from the wind chill and the very high altitude of which he was.

I will make it to the top... I will test myself, and my abilities. I will see what I am made of, and make myself even stronger.

As the boy thought that, a strong wind gushed by, loosening his grip on the white, icy, slippery rocks. His hand slipped, his body rocking, dangling by the strength of his other hand. Yet, the wind still blew; the cold, icy wind beating upon the boy, his face covering in white. Using his hand's grip, and his strength, he lifted himself up to attempt to grab onto the rocks again. After a few seconds, he found one. Looking back over his shoulder, he was a long way from the bottom... And a long way from the top. He wasn't even halfway yet, it seemed. But it didn't matter, he would make it, he thought. Seconds went by. Seconds turned to minutes; Minutes to hours; Yet, Hito had only climbed another few hundred yards. He was physically exhausted, but he had to continue. Looking up, Hito noticed what seemed to be a hole in the side of the mountain. He guessed it was no more than another few hours climb, no more than a few hundred more yards away. But then again, maybe it was his eyes playing tricks on him. Squinting his eyes, straining to see if what he was really seeing was true, Hito began to make his way to it. Time raced by once more as he steadily climbed, losing his grip once or twice due to the wind. Nearly falling one of the times, Hito struggled with everything in his being not to fall. He didn't want to accept his weakness, and wanted more than anything to prove his worth as a strong individual. He was already strong, he knew. But... He wanted to be the strongest. He wanted to become the Village's strongest Shinobi. Upon arriving at the opening in question, he had been right in what he had seen. It was an opening in the very side of the mountain!

Climbing in, Hito struggled to fully pull himself up and over the lip of the rocks that were the lip of the cave's drop off. As he finally gathered all of his body inside the opening, he took only a few seconds to relax. Turning his head in those few crucial moments, he noticed that the opening was actually an extremely large cavern, hidden away from the rest of the world. But, something felt off. Something felt... Bad.. About this cavern. It felt as though something happened here that would scar the mountain for the rest of time.... Hito felt this, but also understood the feeling that was the setting of the cavern. Thinking to himself, Hito tried to think on what this feeling was that he was getting from just being in this cavern. Is this.. Fear? Or is this how it feels when one is anxious of something? This cavern feels as if death itself resides here... What could make this cavern give off such a distinguished, evil vibe?

He would have his answer soon enough... Beginning to look around, he found decaying furniture, shelves built into the very walls of the cavern, and much more creepy objects that most would find hard to believe to exist in such a secluded place. Noticing more extensive openings in the cavern, Hito followed the path that lead him to a much grander looking expanse of a room. Hito knew in the first moment he was in this room, that there had been some civilization that had lived here. The expanse was just too great for a few people. But, there was no bodies, no remains of death, or even more... No remains of anything.... Human. There was nothing in this cavern that seemed to resemble a human civilization had lived here. Furrowing his eyebrows, Hito didn't know what to think. He figured he'd take time from his training to try and figure out just what was this place, and who had lived here... Or what had lived here.. Making his way around the different cavern expansions, he found his way to what seemed to be a throne room. But, it reeked of evil. Hito himself felt uncomfortable just being here. But... He couldn't turn to leave. He found his feet moving towards the throne; He found himself sitting upon the decaying throne. His eyes wide in disbelief, he had taken a look at this room very carefully now. It wasn't intricate or ornate.. It was bone. All of it. The throne, the pillars holding the cave ceiling, the tables and chairs he had thought had been white rock... What was this place....?

[Using Contract of My Choice: Yokai]

 

[Tsuyoshi Junko]

Foot steps would be heard echoing as the demonic feeling in the cave would grow. Despite the freezing mountain, heat would begin to accumulate as the foot steps grew closer, intensifying by the second. Whatever was coming, it wasn't pleasant.

"Ugh, do you smell that?"

Interrupting the individuals words came loud coughs, followed by a devastating hack of blood. Listening in, it would surely sound gruesome and stomach turning.

"I do. try not to speak, save your energy."

If Hito was to analyze his options, he had about five choices. One, stay on the bone throne and see who or what was exactly coming. Who knows, they could feed him, rub his feet, make him a hot bath. Or, his bones could end up becoming another part of the cavern.

Two, hide behind one of the many bone pillars. Maybe he wouldn't be discovered and could possibly get out of the treacherous place without ever being discovered.

Three, take a left to enter another large part of the vast cave. Observing the area, he'd notice a large door. Opening the door and entering the room, Hito would end up in a room with a plethora of bone heads covering the floor. In the center of the room would sit a tiny podium with a closed glass bottle filled with purple illuminating jewel shards. The jewl shards would give off a peculiar energy. Maybe they could be used for something, but first Hito would have to get through the skulls, hopefully without a sound. If Hito was to grab the bottle, he'd notice that even with all his might, he wouldn't be able to remove the cap.

Four, take a right to enter a smaller part of the cave. Heading down a few steps, the area would have nothing except old blood over the stone floor. It would seem like a dead end, but looks could be deceiving.

Five, take the bold route and run straight to/past the individuals. Maybe Hito could outmaneuver what ever was coming or try to make friends/conversation despite the bad feeling of the peculiar cavern that continued to grow.

 

[Yaban Hito]

As Hito would hear the footsteps approaching him, he furrowed his brows. Raising himself off of the throne, he would turn his head to look around for any other rooms that could house any unexpected surprises. The thought of others being in this cave was of interest to him, and would drive him to become somewhat sneaky; for the sake of his curiosity, and the thought of something unearthly would soon arrive. During this time of Hito's thought process, he felt the temperature rise. This unusual rise in temperature, even in the coldest of places, made Hito wonder just what was making its way towards him. Then, he heard two voices. Unable to properly hear if the voices belonged to males or females, Hito didn't take the chance to really deduct who or what they... or it.. was; he had other things in mind. From his quick look around before, he only saw three ways to go;

One: He could go for the left, and seeing the door, could explore further into the monstrous caverns...
Two: Hito could make his way towards the voices, and inspect just what it was that was making its way towards the young ANBU...
Or Three: He could make a dash for the right, and end up wherever the steps took him downwards...

Keeping these in mind, Hito quickly deducted to go left, and have a quick look around in the room. If it was a dead end, he'd go back out to go another way to explore... That is, until he ran into whatever was coming.

Placing one foot in front of the other, he would make his way to the left, running into the grossly humongous wooden door. Taking note that it was rather heavy, he opened it as quiet as he could. He had come to a dead end room, but something about this room stood out; maybe the fact that it was literally floored with skulls, bones, and sitting in the middle of the room was a single ornate podium with a small bottle of something purple-ish in it. To Hito, this room... No... The bottle of purple-ish contents made him uneasy inside.. His determination coming forward, pushing his fear and unease aside, he used the ANBU jutsu to stealth all sounds he would make from walking or running. He didn't want to make any sounds to lure whatever was coming righ tto him... Yet. Boldly, he now would walk up to the podium, take a look at the contents, coming to the conclusion that the contents inside might be of use somewhere. Taking the bottle, he'd try to pull the cap off, to no avail. Furrowing his brows at the disappointment, he'd put the bottle in the fold of his clothes, and make his way back across the skulls and bones, back out the door and dashing across to the right side of the cave. The time it took to complete all of the actions that had taken place had only been but a minute or two. Just long enough to hopefully have been avoiding whatever was coming. As he had made his way to the opposite side of the cave, he had a sudden change of mind; he'd stay in this room and hide behind on of the large, round pillars. He was small enough to hide and not be noticed... As long as he didn't muck it up. Reusing the ANBU jutsu to hide his sounds, he now used it to mask his scent, sound, and his very being. He blended in with his surroundings, and became practically invisible.

[mft]

 

[Tsuyoshi Junko]

"Ugh... *Pant* *Pant*

"Let me get you on your throne."

"Death would be a pleasure. *cough* *cough*

"Hehehe..Sadly, it's not your time father. I won't allow it....I can't allow it."

Entering into the room, two peculiar individuals would be seen, both with human like structures and builds. The skinnier tan individual had runic markings over his body and face, long messy grey hair that reached to his ankles, damaged blue jeans, and a ripped build with his bare feet out. The seemingly bulkier individual had almost identical characteristics like the other, except he wore different clothing and his tattoos was different.

The skinnier individual assisted the other to walk. Holding his arm over the back of his neck as his hand gripped at his waist. Groans of pain filled the room as they slowly stumbled to the throne. Sitting his father down, he seemed ill. His body was shriveled despite his bulkiness. Obviously weak, if not fragile. Compared to his son.

"We have company."

"Indeed, we do my son."

"I can feel the presence of the ancient shards."

"So we have a thief?"

Flaring his immense amount of demonic power, the son clenched his fist staring directly at the podium which Hito hid behind. The heat in the room would seem to increase to unbelievable heights. (Probably well over 320 degrees Fahrenheit) Placing a hand on his son's shoulder, the father smiled with a toothy grin.

"Calm down my son. You're always so quick to turn up the heat."

"But..."

"Its okay. I'll handle it."

"No father, you are too weak."

"Hehehe, and I still can handle you on my death bed."

Looking at the roll of his sons eyes, the humanoid looked at the podium as the temperature cooled down. After Wiping away a few beads of sweat, the father raised his right hand, revealing his vicious claws.

"You can come out now, Shinobi-San."

With a flick of his fingers, he released blade like red beams, infused with his abnormal energy. Slicing through the podium, it crumbled simultaneously, revealing where Hito would be standing if he didn't move. If he did move, he would risk the chance of a gash being cut across his leg and torso. Rather he moved or not was completely up to him, but it was no telling what would happen.

"I believe you have something that belongs to me."

"I'd advise you to give it back." the son said punching his hand and clenching tightly in a bullying manner.

 

[Yaban Hito]

As the boy felt the others enter the room, he heard them converse with each other. What a curious pair.... Hito, thinking he had fooled them, remained where he was. But, then he head one of the two speak to him, and about him. The one refered to him as a thief, mentioning something about some shards. Where they talking about the ones he had picked up in the room across the hall?

Almost immediately after the thought crossed his mind, and the other called him a thief, the heat in the hall rose to unbearable heights. Fuck sake... What are these things?

Then, one speaking to another, it seemed the older one was now going to deal with Hito. As he spoke about Hito coming out of hiding, sent something to destroy the area he was hiding behind. Not moving, due to the curiousity of it all, Hito released the ANBU Jutsu and stepped out of hiding so the other two could see him.

"Something of yours?"

 

[Tsuyoshi Junko]

"Something of yours?"

shaking his head at the insolent human, the humanoid exhaled in annoyance. It was obvious that the shinobi wasn't the brightest of the bunch.

"You come into my living quarters, grab something that doesn't belong to you, pocket it, and question if it's mine?"

"What type of damn sense do that make!"

"I'll be taking it back now."


Opening his palm, the shriveled individual released an immense surge of energy. The bottled shards seemed to float from the shinobis pocket, gliding across the room in thin air. A rare force would seem to surround the bottle, pulsing as it reached the humanoids hand. Clenching the bottle and observing the shards, the humanoid nodded.

"I'd advise you to leave."

Nodding once more, the father agreed. Hacking blood, the throne wielder covered his mouth as blood spilled through his hand. It was obvious that his health wasn't up to part. In all honesty, the guy needed help.

"Father!" The son shouted as he rushed to his fathers side. His eyes filled with worry as he placed a hand on his fathers back. In all honesty, the humanoid couldn't do anything.

 

[Yaban Hito]

As the elder being spoke to him, a few thoughts began to form inside Hito's head; what was wrong with the eldest one? He seemed sick. And, who was the younger one? He acted like a small child. But he looked grown.. With the vial being taken from his grasp, and his question answered by the eldest(with the retort from the younger), Hito gave a quiet "hmm..." To him, these two beings were out of place with how the huge cave infrastructure looked. How would humans live here? He didn't have that answer.

"It makes perfect sense for me, boy. I come, find this place hidden from the world, and no one is here? I take a look around, and find that in a room full of skulls. I might have needed it later for something. How was I to know? Calm yourself."

He returned to the eldest. "And you. What the fuck is wrong with you, coughing up blood, having someone else take care of you? What are your names, who are you, and what are you.... To live here, in the Spine of the World, so high above everyone else and in a cave that seems like the very Devils live here?"

Hito was confused, but he was no longer scared.

 

[Tsuyoshi Junko]

Blood was being spilled over the ground. The son seemed slightly terrified, or nervous at what was going to become of his father. His father seemed pitiful despite his vast amount of power and abilities. He most definitely wasn't use to seeing his father like this.

"It makes perfect sense for me, boy. I come, find this place hidden from the world, and no one is here? I take a look around, and find that in a room full of skulls. I might have needed it later for something. How was I to know? Calm yourself."

With enough problems at hand, it seemed like the shinobi didn't want to take his leave. Not only that, but a spirit of boldness sprouted from the shinobi. Little did he know, he made a mistake.

"And you. What the fuck is wrong with you, coughing up blood, having someone else take care of you? What are your names, who are you, and what are you.... To live here, in the Spine of the World, so high above everyone else and in a cave that seems like the very Devils live here?"

A huge pause of dead silence filled the room. The humanoids stopped any and all movement as they stared at each other. After about two minutes, the eldest wiped away the mess of blood that covered his mouth.

"You have some guts sticking around here." the eldest said as he shook his head. Turning, the youngest stared at the shinobi. The temperature in the room began to decrease, dropping lower then the temperature outside the cave.

Moving at an inhuman speed, the youngest seemingly vanished. Appearing behind Hito, his fist lit with a peculiar light energy. It was know telling what would happen if the punch connected or how Hito would react with the punch only being several inches from connecting. It was one thing for sure, he should've left while he still had the chance.

Editecided to fix/change post

 

[Yaban Hito]

As the blood was spilled from the older being's mouth, it would hit the floor, drawing Hito's attention to the small pool from before. An interesting thought crossed his mind, as he had an intention to either put fear into the others, so they didn't underestimate him any longer; or to entertain them in the least. The elder seemed to be really weak, having to rely on his son to take care of him. Hito's thoughts were coming together bit by bit, if only to have some of the information he had seen and heard come together.

The air can rise or lower, depending on one of their abilities.. One.

Manipulation of items.. Two.

About that time, the eldest spoke; offering a complement on how ballsy Hito was to remain in their presence. This made the young boy smirk. If only he knew, just how duly so.. Making a movement, the younger being would vanish from Hito's sight.

He's fast.

Feeling the other behind him, Hito would barely dodge in time, his eyes catching the strange light surrounding the others fist. Furrowing his brows at being attacked, Hito would let his own chakra surge out of him, now in anger. His own massive chakra flowing from his body, Hito would send a kick to the other that had attacked him first. If connected, the brute force would have been enough to crumble the very walls surrounding them. But who knew just how much damage the other could take?

If the hit connected, and was successful in at least stunning the other, Hito would take the time to ignore him and walk over to the eldest, lean over in his face, and lick the very blood from his face, while looking him in the eyes. The boy wasn't afraid. He knew no fear. He WAS fear..

If the hit was blocked, with little or no damage, Hito would await to see if the other countered or backed down, and calm himself down as he had suggested. If anything, Hito always had the option of going down the stairs near here, to see where it would take him.

 

[Tsuyoshi Junko]

Catching his sons punch after he nearly connected allowed the ballsy shinobi to sprout with power. It was a sight to see as an exploding kick came straight for the father. Catching the shinobis foot, the father took the young ones full power, remaining unharmed. He may have been sick, but his power wasn't one to be taken lightly, especially by a mere human.

A huge smirk covered his face as he held both of the knuckleheads. Letting them go, his son was shocked. Surprised at the fact his father could still move at such a speed. Starring at the ballsy boy, the father had a large smirk. Despite his suffering, he was still able to give his toothily grin.

"Your soul contains no fear, and you have the eyes of a savage with the heart of a lion." the father said observing Hito. "Traits we actually need at the moment." the father said coughing a little. "My name, is Raizen. This is my son, Aizen." Raizen said as his son gave a look of disapproval. "As you can tell, I'm at my last stand, but I can be saved." Raizen said with a pause.

"My father needs the rest of the ancient jewl shards in order to restore himself back to his full strength, if not stronger. It's said that once the shards are put together, it forms into a jewl that can do extraordinary things. Even Some things that bypass the laws of nature or reality itself.

"Yes, but these shards are hard to come by. Especially when the remaining few are amongst some of the most fierce humanoids across the land. If I was at my full strength, this wouldn't be a problem."

"I'm going to get it myself."

"No, at your current state. You'd be no match my son." Raizen said as his son growled slightly, annoyed at his fathers wisdom. "An individual of your mindset and stature would be an ideal candidate. Could you assist and work alongside my son shinobi-San?"

"Ugh, as long as he's not a burden. What's the things name anyways?" Aizen said waiting on the shinobis response.

 

[Yaban Hito]

As the boys attack landed, it seemed to have been caught by the elder. Quite the turn out, Hito thought. He didn't think the one who seemed the weakest could even move fast enough to stop not only Hito, but his own son as well! Giving a short 'humph', Hito would chuckle to himself. He was growing fond of these two. As his own thoughts were being calculated, the elder would speak about his personality.

"Your soul contains no fear. You have the eyes of a savage and the heart of a lion." Reflecting on this for a second, for some reason, it made Hito proud to be acknowledged for that observation of himself.

"Raizen... And Aizen.. I will help you. And in return?"

 

[Tsuyoshi Junko]

"Raizen... And Aizen.. I will help you. And in return?"

"simple, I let you live and you earn redemption for breaking into my home. Despite my condition, all it takes is a flick of the wrist." Raizen said with a momentary pause. "Complete the task. Aizen, my son, show him the way and be safe you two." Raizen said motioning back to his throne.

Popping a squat, the humanoid relaxed. Hopefully, the two would be enough to handle the challenge ahead. Their journey would be long, vicious, and would probably need ever ounce of will power they had stored.

"Lets go, and stay close." Aizen said with a nod before turning around. Exiting the cave, the two would enter into the hell storm. Freezing snow twisted and blew. A normal individual would shiver, and quickly turn around to scavenge back to warmth, but Aizen wasn't normal. His body temperature was high, and he stood unfazed by the death chilling temperature.

A blazing red chakra seemed to ooze from his pours as it engulfed his body. "We must make it to the top. At the top lies a gateway. We'll be going through that gate way. Take some of my chakra, it'll keep you warm, help you maneuver up this mountain, and breath with ease as the oxygen level will become thin." Aizen said holding up a strong fist. If Hito would bump fist with Aizen, he'd be blessed with a minuscule amount of his chakra.

The chakra would seem heavy, and possibly overwhelming depending on Hitos strength. If he could control himself, the chakra, and focus, the mountain wouldn't be a problem. If he loss focus even a bit, Aizens chakra would disperse and he'd be forced to climb the mountain himself.

Kicking things off, Aizen latched his sharp claws onto the side of the mountain. His hair blew through the wind as his body began to vigorously move up the humongous mountain. Bit by bit, Aizen began to speed up, moving like a savage animal on all fours hunting its prey. In a matter of moments, the mountain began to tremble, Shaking as the terrifying winds increased.

 

[Yaban Hito]

Chuckling at the others response, Hito would nod. "Yare yare.." It meant yeah, yeah.

Stay close huh? Hito turned to face the other, Aizen. "Let's leave then, kozo." Following Aizen to the entrance of the cave, he would once more see the outside world.. A harsh climate that he trained in daily. Smirking, he would raise his own fist to the others, bumping them together; and receiving a small amount of chakra to keep him warm.

"Yosh! Now I'm warm. Let's go!"

Watching as the other took long strides up the mountain side, Hito would chuckle and make it into a race, his own way of training with the other - and for making up the lost time he had been in the cavern. Who knew how long he had been in there? It seemed like forever...

A gate at the top of the spine, huh? Hito wondered what it had been there for, and how it had never been found, along with the cave... Maybe it was hidden in purpose, for someone special to come along? He wondered..

 

[Tsuyoshi Junko]

Making it to the top, Aizen awaited. The air was thin and quite chilling of course. Observing the mountain top, it would seem like a deserted frozen wasteland. Everything was slippery due to the frozen rocky surface. Magnificent ice shards could be seen coming from the mountain as it led to a small series of steps. At the top of the rocky stairs placed two humongous pillars forged from millenniums of ice.

An interesting sight indeed. Only few had the courage or strength to climb this mountain, let alone make it to the top. As Hito would make it, they'd waste no time and head to the pillars. "We must apply our chakra to the pillars in order for the gateway to activate. Our energies must be equal, if not, I honestly don't know what we'll do. We only have one shot at this, so don't screw this up." Aizen said shaking his head.

Walking up the steps, he placed a single hand on the left pillar. Waiting on Hito for the right pillar, nervousness filled the mind of the humanoid. It was no telling what would happen if they didn't get this right. "Ready when you are"

 

[Yaban Hito]

Climbing up right behind Aizen, Hito wouldn't be too far behind the humanoid. Showing an act of his personal strength compared to the humanoids, it would seem he wanted to leave a lasting impression of going above and beyond. Taking in a deep breath as he finished his climb, he would take a look around as well, the scene before him a grandeur spectacle; it made him marvel and wonder at its creation. Taking a few steps ahead of Aizen, he would lose his footing and would lurch forward, catching himself as he fell.

A guttural sound of frustration came from his chest, as he picked himself back up off of the slippery rocks. "Fucking rock." As he picked himself up, Aizen would make his way to the pillars, and begin to speak to him about using their chakra to make the portal. Having a one shot chance was a big deal. It would require practice, being as neither knew the others chakra levels. Making the suggestion of practicing chakra balance, Hito would voice his question: "If it is a one shot chance, we should practice balancing our chakra together." Raising his fist, he would bring it up for the other to fist bump, and for the other to get his hint. There shouldn't be a mistake in this process, and the other knew he was correct. The practice was necessary. "Once we know each other's chakra level, and chakra type - we should have it down pact. Shouldn't take long, Aizen." Sage nodding, the boy would begin to slowly let his chakra flow into his closed hand; a blackish blue chakra essence enveloping his body. The color of the chakra was from the boys hate, his own desires mixed with the red and blue chakra of fire and water. Coming together, it would feel thick and heavy to normal people. But who knew about this humanoid?

 

[Tsuyoshi Junko]

looking at the human, Aizen realized that he had a brilliant suggestion. Of course their chakras was much different, but with a bit of practice, they could easily figure out a balance between themselves.

As the kid raised his hand, his chakra began to spill from his body. His chakra possessed a color of destruction, much like Aizens. Smirking, the lad was surely an interesting one. Making his way to the boy, Aizen raised his own fist. His demonic red chakra bursted from his pores once more. It was Thick, heavy, and exhausting to most. Hopefully, the boy would be able to take it. Touching fist with the boy, their chakras collided with fury.

Just like a magnet, their energies repelled with a shockwave that sent them flying in opposite directions. Once they recovered, they'd notice the two enormous pillars were largely cracked by the shockwave. "What the hell?" Aizen said noticing a black liquid spilling from the two pillars. "What could it be?" Aizen thought observing from a far. Maybe the kid would check it out.

"Anymore bright ideas? Or perhaps we're going to break the damn thing..."

 

[Yaban Hito]

[do we continue this from here or...? I don't remember how it works for contract after you go inactive for a while]