Just keep running... Don't even turn around.. Just keep-
That's when he heard it; the sounds of crackling lighting echoed throughout the alleyway as the electricity ionized the air around the archer's bow. In his mind he had about a second maximum before he would feel the embrace of death, that cold touch that he had witnessed only a taste of when he looked into the maw of the statue. Into that eternal pit of darkness that simultaneously threatened to consume all traces of life whilst also tempting those with eternal solitude and bliss. To make a pact with the dark void would be to sign away one's own life to taste that bliss or perhaps to gain whatever desire it is that the darkness offered. Perhaps if Kichiru offered himself to it then it would allow him just another moment of life. Another moment in which he could hug his mother and father. In which he could think upon his sister. Just to hear their voices one last time. How much would he trade for that?
As the rays of lightning edged near him, he felt a strange material wrap around his ankle, causing him to immediately trip and slam his face into the cold ground. Had he been in a more alert he might have been able to stop the fall more than he did. Within that instant he heard the deafening echo as the rays of lighting shot overhead and fizzled out in an explosive shower of sparks against a nearby wall. Had he been saved? Perhaps he had been rewarded by some sort of entity for not succumbing to that darkness? Or perhaps some being had been interested in his thoughts, in his desires. It was a simultaneously exciting and terrifying idea to imagine another entity enacting their intervention upon the situation.
However, his feelings of hope were soon crushed once more as he looked back towards his feet. Web... It was the same webbing that the assassin had used to stop their path earlier. He had not truly escaped the scene. But.. Had he saved him? Why? Soon enough his answer was delivered in the form of a sharp pain as the needle pierced the skin on his neck that forced a scream from his lips. Would anyone have heard it? Did it even matter anymore now that he had been hit by the assassin's needle?
On the man.. He used.. poison. His heart pumped wildly as he put all his might into trying to break free from the webbing that trapped him in place, yet no matter how hard he flailed he could not seem to even weaken the web. It was unlike anything he had encountered before, perhaps even stronger than steel itself. His fighting would only continue as the web dug into his ankles and cut deep into his skin, though at this point he was blinded by fear and adrenaline and thus unable to react properly to the pain. Unfortunately his struggling only worsened his condition; his increased heart-rate would only serve to pump his blood, and thus the poison, faster through his veins. Whilst a calm person might take up to a few minutes to feel it's effects, the fate of a child fearing his own death would come much faster.
And so it did as he felt his strength slowly leaving his body, soon unable to even attempt to continue struggling against the webbing that kept him from fleeing the scene and finding medical attention. All sound from him stopped as he felt himself drifting off, almost as if he were falling asleep. He found himself slowly slipping away into that darkness once more as his eyelids became more and more heavy as if being weighed down. Just as they closed, they shot open once more as the pain from the poison struck. It felt as if he was being pricked with freshly-sharpened needles all over his body every second. He opened his mouth to scream yet couldn't find the strength to even emit a low pitiful cry. Instead he laid there on his stomach, his face bloodied from the fall, dripping blood both from the facial wound as well as the cuts around his ankles due to his struggling. It wouldn't be long until the pain would overwhelm him and finally end his life, face-first in a pool of his own blood and tears.
It was then that he heard the voice, though it wasn't the words that reached Kichiru first but the radiance about them, as if his fears were being washed away by the mere sound. Yet, he recognized the sound as that of the dying businessman. He managed to turn his head ever so slightly to lock eyes with the man he had watched lay on the side of the ground dying just a few minutes before. Yet what his gaze met was nothing like before, now the man's eyes were strangely rippled just like Akashi's.
Nothing.. he attempted to echo the words of the man as he continued to tense up in pain, still unable to even consider speaking or moving away. to fear.. His eyes widened as he watched the white flame erupt in the man's hand, not having the energy to look away from the blinding fire. Yet, for some reason it did not seem to hurt him to gaze into it. Instead, it's mere presence seemed to dull the pain. Not enough to relax the child, but enough to perhaps give him a few more moments of mental clarity before even that would begin to break-down.
Nothing to fear.. The man pressed the flame to Kichiru's skin, causing him to tense up even more so at the expectation of further pain. He would be relieved to find out that the white flame caused him no pain at all, only causing a strange tingling sensation as it enveloped his entire body. It was then that the man stepped around Kichiru and began drawing the symbol of a star on his back with his spiritual chakra, which seemed to burn straight through his shirt and into his flesh. His tears grew more steady as he felt the pain surging up once more, feeling as if someone had injected his veins with fire and allowed it to burn away at his very core.
Nothing to fear.. but fear itself. As the words finally became clear in his mind he felt a wave of chakra burst all around him as the white-fire instantly flared up into an intense green, lightning up the once dark alleyway with its brilliance. In that instant, Kichiru felt the pain vanish and soon with it his strength.
His eyes locked with the man once more as he allowed himself to be lifted onto his feet. He wasn't sure whether to simply run off or to thank the man... Was he even a man anymore? He had watched the businessman wither away until he was within an inch of his own life.. And yet here he was standing in front of Kichiru completely unharmed, seeming stronger than he ever had in his previous existence. Everything in his very core told him to walk away, to never speak of this events again and to live his life as if this day had never occurred. His eyes moved towards Akashi, then to his younger brother Ronin, and finally to the bodies of the men who had been put down out of Akashi's desires. It all became clear. He wanted to walk away from the scene, and so he did. He nodded towards the man standing in front of him and turned around only to walk away towards the home he knew his father would be staying. To those behind him they would see the star-shaped scar on his back, burned into him by the spiritual chakra used to purge him of the poison. Yet, if they were to observe closely enough, they would realize something more had been given to the boy than his life. They would notice a spark of that spiritual chakra still infused with the symbol. While it wouldn't be known now, that spark would only be fanned by Kichiru's kind-heart until it would one day become a raging inferno of light that may yet prove a worthy adversary to the darkness he witnessed within the maw of the void.
I have nothing to fear but fear itself.. My resolve will never let me down. My desire to protect the people I care about, the people of my village, will push me onward. And one day, Akashi, I will be strong enough to protect my village from the darkness you harbor in your heart and show you that light will always prevail.
[Topic Left Unless Stopped]
That's when he heard it; the sounds of crackling lighting echoed throughout the alleyway as the electricity ionized the air around the archer's bow. In his mind he had about a second maximum before he would feel the embrace of death, that cold touch that he had witnessed only a taste of when he looked into the maw of the statue. Into that eternal pit of darkness that simultaneously threatened to consume all traces of life whilst also tempting those with eternal solitude and bliss. To make a pact with the dark void would be to sign away one's own life to taste that bliss or perhaps to gain whatever desire it is that the darkness offered. Perhaps if Kichiru offered himself to it then it would allow him just another moment of life. Another moment in which he could hug his mother and father. In which he could think upon his sister. Just to hear their voices one last time. How much would he trade for that?
As the rays of lightning edged near him, he felt a strange material wrap around his ankle, causing him to immediately trip and slam his face into the cold ground. Had he been in a more alert he might have been able to stop the fall more than he did. Within that instant he heard the deafening echo as the rays of lighting shot overhead and fizzled out in an explosive shower of sparks against a nearby wall. Had he been saved? Perhaps he had been rewarded by some sort of entity for not succumbing to that darkness? Or perhaps some being had been interested in his thoughts, in his desires. It was a simultaneously exciting and terrifying idea to imagine another entity enacting their intervention upon the situation.
However, his feelings of hope were soon crushed once more as he looked back towards his feet. Web... It was the same webbing that the assassin had used to stop their path earlier. He had not truly escaped the scene. But.. Had he saved him? Why? Soon enough his answer was delivered in the form of a sharp pain as the needle pierced the skin on his neck that forced a scream from his lips. Would anyone have heard it? Did it even matter anymore now that he had been hit by the assassin's needle?
On the man.. He used.. poison. His heart pumped wildly as he put all his might into trying to break free from the webbing that trapped him in place, yet no matter how hard he flailed he could not seem to even weaken the web. It was unlike anything he had encountered before, perhaps even stronger than steel itself. His fighting would only continue as the web dug into his ankles and cut deep into his skin, though at this point he was blinded by fear and adrenaline and thus unable to react properly to the pain. Unfortunately his struggling only worsened his condition; his increased heart-rate would only serve to pump his blood, and thus the poison, faster through his veins. Whilst a calm person might take up to a few minutes to feel it's effects, the fate of a child fearing his own death would come much faster.
And so it did as he felt his strength slowly leaving his body, soon unable to even attempt to continue struggling against the webbing that kept him from fleeing the scene and finding medical attention. All sound from him stopped as he felt himself drifting off, almost as if he were falling asleep. He found himself slowly slipping away into that darkness once more as his eyelids became more and more heavy as if being weighed down. Just as they closed, they shot open once more as the pain from the poison struck. It felt as if he was being pricked with freshly-sharpened needles all over his body every second. He opened his mouth to scream yet couldn't find the strength to even emit a low pitiful cry. Instead he laid there on his stomach, his face bloodied from the fall, dripping blood both from the facial wound as well as the cuts around his ankles due to his struggling. It wouldn't be long until the pain would overwhelm him and finally end his life, face-first in a pool of his own blood and tears.
It was then that he heard the voice, though it wasn't the words that reached Kichiru first but the radiance about them, as if his fears were being washed away by the mere sound. Yet, he recognized the sound as that of the dying businessman. He managed to turn his head ever so slightly to lock eyes with the man he had watched lay on the side of the ground dying just a few minutes before. Yet what his gaze met was nothing like before, now the man's eyes were strangely rippled just like Akashi's.
Nothing.. he attempted to echo the words of the man as he continued to tense up in pain, still unable to even consider speaking or moving away. to fear.. His eyes widened as he watched the white flame erupt in the man's hand, not having the energy to look away from the blinding fire. Yet, for some reason it did not seem to hurt him to gaze into it. Instead, it's mere presence seemed to dull the pain. Not enough to relax the child, but enough to perhaps give him a few more moments of mental clarity before even that would begin to break-down.
Nothing to fear.. The man pressed the flame to Kichiru's skin, causing him to tense up even more so at the expectation of further pain. He would be relieved to find out that the white flame caused him no pain at all, only causing a strange tingling sensation as it enveloped his entire body. It was then that the man stepped around Kichiru and began drawing the symbol of a star on his back with his spiritual chakra, which seemed to burn straight through his shirt and into his flesh. His tears grew more steady as he felt the pain surging up once more, feeling as if someone had injected his veins with fire and allowed it to burn away at his very core.
Nothing to fear.. but fear itself. As the words finally became clear in his mind he felt a wave of chakra burst all around him as the white-fire instantly flared up into an intense green, lightning up the once dark alleyway with its brilliance. In that instant, Kichiru felt the pain vanish and soon with it his strength.
His eyes locked with the man once more as he allowed himself to be lifted onto his feet. He wasn't sure whether to simply run off or to thank the man... Was he even a man anymore? He had watched the businessman wither away until he was within an inch of his own life.. And yet here he was standing in front of Kichiru completely unharmed, seeming stronger than he ever had in his previous existence. Everything in his very core told him to walk away, to never speak of this events again and to live his life as if this day had never occurred. His eyes moved towards Akashi, then to his younger brother Ronin, and finally to the bodies of the men who had been put down out of Akashi's desires. It all became clear. He wanted to walk away from the scene, and so he did. He nodded towards the man standing in front of him and turned around only to walk away towards the home he knew his father would be staying. To those behind him they would see the star-shaped scar on his back, burned into him by the spiritual chakra used to purge him of the poison. Yet, if they were to observe closely enough, they would realize something more had been given to the boy than his life. They would notice a spark of that spiritual chakra still infused with the symbol. While it wouldn't be known now, that spark would only be fanned by Kichiru's kind-heart until it would one day become a raging inferno of light that may yet prove a worthy adversary to the darkness he witnessed within the maw of the void.
I have nothing to fear but fear itself.. My resolve will never let me down. My desire to protect the people I care about, the people of my village, will push me onward. And one day, Akashi, I will be strong enough to protect my village from the darkness you harbor in your heart and show you that light will always prevail.
[Topic Left Unless Stopped]
The boy fell as his prison flew over him, a quick inspection showed that the boy was tripped by more webbing. Ronin knew he should have killed the other boy when he had the chance but it was already too late, he had administered some sort of poison to the boy, probably the same poison used to kill the man Kouin just... resurrected? That is definitely a topic for Ronin to bring up at a later point. Ronin was about to step in, though he had no idea what to do as he wasn't quite medically trained, however the new man, his new 'sibling(?)' walked past him and approached the boy first. Giving off some semblance of mystical energy he proceeded to heal the boy.