The Boy & The Beast [Free RP/Private]

[Takahashi]

[Continued from The Monotony.]

From the surface, he'd been able to see much of the Toraono Dojo. Something he hardly believed could have escaped his notice while he had remained underground for so long. The structure was massive, and he found himself shooting glances towards it every now and then while he'd been working. Working, what a ridiculous concept. He couldn't wrap his mind around this construct known simply as money. It all seemed so, odd. It was something people used to pay for something they themselves hadn't the care enough to produce themselves. It was clear to him that such an item was firmly embedded within the society, and despite finding himself using it for much he had no knowledge of what it actually was. What gave money its worth? When was it first used for trade? It just seemed that everyone merely accepted the state of its existence and the necessity of its use. How such things came to be were irrelevant to the average mind. Though, anyone assuming the sickly carapace that was Makeinu's body to house an average would have been gravely incorrect.

Back in the comfort of the shadows of the underground, he found himself at odds once more trying to locate the building. From the outside, it rose up and out like a grand monument. From within though, there were so many shadows and unseen areas within the cave that it was quite a bit more difficult to locate. Either that, or the boy's mind had addled itself with philosophical musings that he knew nothing about. When all was said and done though, he was pushing his way into the "Throne of Bone". He could see more clearly upon locating the place, its sheer size once more without being surrounded by the other subterranean buildings. The flags bearing clan symbols and village emblems alike screamed of prestige the likes which Makeinu felt entirely undeserving of even associating with. In the back of his mind though, his biggest question was whether or not this Kuro would be one of the triplets he'd met back in Rat City moments before losing consciousness.

Standing there in the big and open area, it seemed strangely unoccupied that evening. He didn't know where to go, or what to do. Familiarity was entirely out of his grasp at this point. "Hellooo?!" His little voice raised and echoed throughout the building. Would anyone hear him? It was a miracle if he weighed more than sixty pounds, or if he was just a couple of inches taller than four feet. He was still wearing the black hooded sweater and dark jeans Shiori had purchased for him, with only his shoes missing and the newer clothing covered by a tattered shroud he had found in the slums and taken for his own. Covering his mouth, as usual, was the small gas mask from the nameless courier that saved his life. After his encounter with Ikuko, it was hard to find any moments in which he didn't want to hide his ugliness from the world or perhaps separate the air he breathed from that of those around him. He felt stifled and suppressed simply with the burden of existing without direction, and among those he shared true similarities with. Then again, if he had found anyone too similar to himself it was likely they'd never get along. Looking about, his thin and dead grey hair clung to his face from the sweat of labor.

After this he'd get something to eat, but he didn't know what. Eating was more of a chore for him, something he wouldn't do if it weren't for the accursed pains in his stomach whenever he refused to eat for too long. He did however like steamed vegetables with rice, something he'd treated himself to for the first time just the night before.

[Turning in my mission to Toraono Kuro.]
[E-Rank, Double Word Requirement Bonus. 2,250 Yen. Forfeiting ability to perform another mission this week.]
[I'll be paper-trailed here just in case.]

 

[Toraono Kuro]

Akuma Kuro stood at five feet, ten inches, weighing in at two hundred and eighty pounds. His silver gray mane of hair had a reasonable amount of muscle mass to conceal. With a twenty one inch neck Kuro’s hair couldn’t conceal very much even as it cascaded to the center of his upper back. Violet eyes with gold slits peered from a chocolate brow with large ebony horns growing from where a normal man’s temples would be. He wore a black obi around his thirty six inch waist. The obi allowed Kuro to carry his honor blade in a specialized bone sheath. Kuro wore his battle pouch on a second sash just above his right hip. Adjacent his sacred blade Kuro wore a pair of specialized sheaths that housed carmot stones. He wore his leg sheath on the interior of his hakama just atop his fighting gi shorts with his summon scrolls. A convenient cut in the silk cloth of his left hakama pants leg allowed Kuro full access to his support items without showing exactly where it was till he motioned to grab it. Securing his battle guards and leggings were runic terran marked hand and leg wraps. Kuro’s tail swished back and forth its tiger stripes faintly surging with chakra. His black gi top concealed his overly muscular upper body. This Kuro was the original and his presence seemed to cause anyone that was not a young child or and elder to diminish. He was the source of the demonic blood used to alter others and foster his seals, it was true that this Kuro was the original devil of the five recognized warriors. He looked over the young man that his avatar had taken to the medical center and noted they had done very little in the way of actual healing. "It is good to see you young warrior. As I look at you now I see that you need a bath, fresh clothing, and decent meal. If you have time after we pay you for your services, I wouldn't mind showing you around the dojo and at least getting you cleaned up."

Makeinu could easily make out the differences in each Kuro due to his perceptive nature. He innately used every opportunity to size up every situation he was in allowing him to always survive. Success was never an issue for this young one, it was survival and Kuro's latent abilities sensed that this young boy only needed what his existence deemed necessary and no more. Kuro could at the very least make sure he was clean and fed. Even if his chakra healing seemed to backfire with this child's physiology Kuro knew enough about herbs and standard medicine that he could teach the young master to properly care for himself anywhere.

MFT
WC: 462

 

[Takahashi]

The sound of his own voice reverberated throughout the vicinity, making his shoulders droop. His voice was not something he liked the sound of, and as such disturbed him. It somehow reminded him of who he was. How small and insignificant he was to everything around him. A wispy little tone like dried leaves rolling in the wind, or a raspy yelp when raised. A sign of weakness, the strain necessary to raise volume. It made him sick.

When the echoes finally ceased, a chill ran up his spine. It was unlike the tantalizingly soothing sensation from Ikuko's punishment. No, this was a forewarning of deeply suppressed strength and rage. The hairs on the back of his neck raise, literally. It was as if an unseen electrical field had overlaid his body with mild static energy.

A deep voice suddenly came from a direction he swore he'd glanced over before, now occupied by a man still sparsely shadowed by the architecture. Golden pupils in feline or serpentine slits looked down upon him from a towering man. Given the boy's size, and the sheer mass of the man in question, he was colossal.

Not as badly injured as before, nor as groggy, the full details of a familiar but different form was taken in. From the curved ebony horns to the striped feral tail of a beast that swayed. The almost purple irises however; did much to add an odd sense of balance and serenity to the powerful appearance. Makeinu's own abyssal pupils shifted all over, noticing the armor and weaponry as Kuro spoke calmly.

The first thing that made his heart skip a beat was what Kuro called him. The young part was expected, but warrior? Could he even be called such a thing? As far as he knew tripping someone and kicking dirt in their eyes after didn't make him qualified. The knee he followed up with was questionable. He had also rushed Mikaboshi on a dare, landing a single punch that moved nothing.

Still, he liked the sound of the word. Warrior, something that resonated with him. His idea of what a warrior actually was had barely developed whatsoever, but perceptions were being formed constantly. The ultimate understanding of what a warrior was would entail a thorough underatanding of what War was. It was something he had not learned, or did not remember much about. Though, it seemed even immortals and deified beings even failed in their understanding of war. It was either that, or they liked to keep it going for petty reasonings.

It must have looked strange to see the runt of a child wearing a shroud and gas mask standing before a musclebound warrior sporting horns and a tail. Makeinu's neck wasn't even close to being as big as Kuro's wrists, much less neck.

A soft exhale moments after Kuro's words showed apprehension but the boy pressed for something else. "..I know you. From that ole' alley near Rat City." He paused, looking up and into the eyes of something quite different from himself but familiar. Though Kuro was imposing, the child simply couldn't perceive him as potentially evil. Consequentially, he also felt somewhat relieved by Kuro's presence.

While the differences in the bodies inhabited by the consciousness of the one known as Toraono Kuro, he still lacked information. As far as he knew they were all brothers, but this one wasn't in the alley at all. However; the boy didn't falter. "Did ya' find her? Shiori, I mean." Payment for the mission, food, clothing, getting clean, it was all put on the back burner when it came to her.

OC: Posting from my phone FTL.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

Kuro took a seat in front of Makeinu as one of the Hyou clan finished a writ to pay the young man while the dojo headmaster and the youngster chatted. A medium sized plate of steamed rice with a sweet dipping sauce and lightly salted fish, and fresh clean fruit arrived shortly after along with a set of wraps and an unmarked black and gold fighting gi with leather seating, collar, and belt. Being able to move messages about at the speed of thought made the Toraono Clan hyper efficient. "It is good to be remembered by one so young and pressed for survival. As far as lady Shiori is concerned I am not privy to her exact whereabouts as I was placed on reserve for another mission against the Cabal and their supporters much to my chagrin but I know my little brother Sousuke and my close friend Harupia will bring her back. If nothing else Shiori is no slouch she might free herself and come back on her own. I can tell you this, the monster who did this to us has bitten off more than even the devil himself can chew. As soon as Shiori is located if you do not beat me to it, I will take you to stand by her side. Also if you want I can take you on patrol with me and we can perform our own search." Kuro could understand Makeinu's worry, whenever his mother was under attack when he was much younger it was all he could do to rush to her side and try to bury a blade in the enemies she was destined to have but he was always stopped by his sisters or elder brothers and warned he would only be in her way and after lessons of combat, strategy, and swordsmanship, Kuro found out his eagerness would have gotten both himself and his mother severely injured if not killed outright. Still, when one loves another, only striving to be by your loved one's side has meaning. Nothing else mattered so now it was time to pass those lessons on yet again and it made Kuro smile inside to know that this young man would one day surpass even him just because he cared for another.

 

[Takahashi]

As the gentle giant took a seat, eyes the color of electric blood followed him. Like Sousuke, the boy also had frantic lines spreading all over his face, and presumably the rest of his body. Unlike Sousuke's, the lines weren't some strange or mystical illness of some sort. At least, that's what the child had perceived such illness was the case with the steward. The lines marking his body were the greyish blue veins beneath near tapelike skin in comparable terms of thickness. It seemed he had the bare minimum to prevent himself from being actually transparent. It seemed the veins had grown darker in color since the last meeting, his blood was thickening.

A servant showed up with the necessary amount of compensation, which the boy accepted with no expressed feeling. There was silence, enough for him to become impatient. He would not disrespect his elder without cause, but an angry flame scorched inside his ribs. Behind the mask he has begun breathing with his mouth open to control himself in silence. He wanted to know where she was, not stand there looking at-

Food would arrive without word, just in the same manner as the first servant had brought the recompense. The smell of the small banquet as his eyes lingered on the plates caused him to salivate against his will. He felt like a dog. He didn't know why either. His stomach growled and looking passed the clothes he began to speak but Kuro started before his own nerve kicked in.

It started with a compliment, one of such humility it doused much if the anger's flame. The explanation of why Kuro wasn't out there looking for her and knew not her location wasn't satisfactory. The mix of positive and negative sensory input was frustrating. From what the boy was learning, Sousuke was not just an important or mysterious acquaintance. He was a truly prominent figure in the sense that he held position as the Kazekage-Steward. Public information gleaned accidentally around the village over the last few days. The change in mission could only have been ordered by him.

"What the f-" He began under his breath, but left it there. He couldn't understand why every effort wasn't being put into finding Shiori, Sousuke's own cousin. The fact that he himself continued the search was only mildly comforting, Shouki had crushed a whole team of them before alone. Why he wouldn't use his every resource to save a so-called loved one's life. It pissed the child off, visibly, eyes narrowing and hardening. Sousuke was the one who spoke if family being so important and people they loved and whatever else. Makeinu didn't claim to understand any of it.

What did stain his mind was his first encounter with his adoptive mother. The hesitant call before she stepped in, the way she was beautifully dressed but managed to seem taxed by emotions and loss nonetheless. Looking back he found it funny how bad she was at trying make being a Shinobi sound fun. The way she decided on a whim to give him the option of going with her. Him, he was ugly and weak and without power or health nor use in general. The loss of children, something too grave and said too bluntly to be false. The pain of loss could be numbing. He knew, but not how.

He didn't truly view her as a mother. Not in the slightest. He'd only just met her, and honestly he felt kinship with no one. Nobody he had crossed seemed to function mentally in a way consistent with his own patterns. Even Shiori and her brother's philosophies about feeding didn't sit well with his own soul, for lack if a better term. Despite that she carried a sadness he wanted to see lifted. Sure, he joined her and by proxy now affiliate with the village out of necessity but it's not like he knew or remembered anything else. Why not? She cared enough.

Harupia must have been the other man he dragged along with Sousuke from the scene of their defeat to the Grand Palais and subsequently Rat City. He was a man the child knew nothing about besides first name and appearance, and weight. When all was said and done he felt absolutely no better and wanted to curse and walk out... Until the offer was made. He was done listening to anything else. "Patrol sounds good, when do we start?" He was a freak of nature, simply dealt a bad hand by fate and continuing to exist after successive unfortunate circumstances. Still, he was eager to accept more challenge.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

Kuro's eyes had analyzed the resonance of the young warrior's frame and it seemed the sustenance he was lacking was spiritual. Despite being able to eat he didn't see or sense any increase in Makeinu's vital capacity. Worry superceded his natural need for vengeance but at the very least he could train the young man and test his theory on Makeinu's need for spiritual sustenance. "We will head out as soon as you get a quick bath and clothing change, we will also interrogate some of the Cabal as to their knowledge of Shouki. I have a theory that there is much to be learned as we find our own way to recover Shiori. The shower facility is just inside this structure and third entrance on the left, you can change there as well. While you clean up would you like your mask to be maintained? We have some filters and proper lenses not to mention replacement straps to properly fit the harness to your head. Long ago I wore a gas mask while developing resistance to the poisonous carmot in the Chaumeraus caverns where I used to hunt creatures dangerous to the children of Suna. (Kuro abruptly bonked himself upside his left horn) It has been rather dumb of me but I have never asked your name. What do you call yourself?"<i></i> Kuro held out some cleaning implements to Makeinu as he moved about to escort Makeinu inside before starting their own search for Shiori. Deep inside he could only pray that Sousuke and Harupia had already resolved the issue because ready or not here comes back up.

 

[Takahashi]

OC: My muse is a little shot, I should have had the time to post when I first read your response but life can be an inconvenience at times. Post incoming.

Though he stood before the powerful Sage, his eyes lingered on the floor between them. He couldn't really recall just when his pupils had fallen so low, but the pristine floor allowed for him to see a reflection of sorts. He could see himself, gas mask and blood colored eyes. He was draped in so much black, that his colorless head and hair seemed to almost glow, but not as vividly as the potent colors of the bluish grey veins that littered his visage. His brows knitted themselves in annoyance as he stepped marginally forward, putting a foot on his reflection's face.

Kuro continued, and the words spoken were as close to a perfect answer as anyone would give him. All he needed to do was clean himself up it seemed. His stomach decided to respectfully disagree by sending wave of pain through his abdomen in response to his hunger. He might not have gained much from eating, as his cells were simply too weak to draw everything it could from so far most types of food. However; he did get something even if it was just enough to keep him moving and prevent his stomach from assaulting him. Weight gain was entirely unlikely though, not from food alone. Only the bare minimum of each nutrient was absorbed before the rest would be rejected on command from his nervous system, but it was enough.

He'd eventually take a seat as well, not cross-legged or anything. Bones were brittle and flexibility wasn't something he had ever practiced it seemed. Without having much in memory as far as manners and etiquette were concerned, he still subconsciously hesitated before reaching for the plate of food while he listened. Carefully he removed his gas mask, revealing his features a bit more. Hips lips, while currently dry and slightly chapped, were more full than most in Suna save for perhaps Kuro, proportionately though. His nose lacked a pointed tip, rather more smooth and lacking much of a bridge. One of his central incisors had been knocked out by Mikaboshi, giving him a somewhat damaged look even then. He looked at the chopsticks for a moment, and it seemed that with his broken hand he was entirely unable to wield them correctly. Dropping the second stick gently he didn't complain, but instead just used one stick to shovel the rice and fish into his mouth. For someone who received very little from food, his appetite would have seemed to grow since the last time he ate in public. Perhaps it was due to the fact his body got so little from what it did consume, that it tried to consume a lot in order to compensate. It also helped that he wanted to quickly change and head out with Kuro as soon as possible. Either way, the dipping sauce went entirely untouched.

When asked his name, he blinked and looked up for half a second before returning his eyes to his meal. "Makeinu." He said simply, having paused to wonder himself whether or not that was his real name. It was something he didn't bother himself much with, and a name given to the doctors after enough time had passed that something familiar resurfaced. With the understood meaning of the name Makeinu, and the fact that he claimed it out of familiarity implied much dysfunction in his past to say the least. He had remained silent for a while about the gas mask, it hung around his neck and only managed to cover the lower half of his face when worn. Still, he didn't really want to let it go anywhere far from himself. "Well, see." He paused, allowing himself to finish what he was chewing before continuing. "The docs said some guy wearin' it brought me to the gates. He was already dead by the time they got to me though, not like I 'member any of it anyhow." His voice was soft, raspy, and quiet as usual but he seemed to be opening up just a little. Perhaps it was the fact that Kuro admitted to wearing such an oddity himself some time ago. "I couldn't tell ya why I keep it." He lied. Unwilling to admit feeling as though he could almost remember or see the one who saved him when wearing it and alone. Furthermore he knew that a larger reason for him wearing it was a disdain for his own physical appearance.

"Excuse me, Kuro, sir." He started, straightening his back to sit more upright and lightly putting down his bowl. "Do all your brothers look just like you?" He hadn't put all the pieces together yet, not for lack of trying but a lack of information. He simply did not know anything about people's consciousness being able to inhabit multiple bodies or anything like that. Kuro mentioned remembering him, and so the child more or less figured he was one of the three he'd met. Besides their clothing, they were all identical. Simply because this Kuro was dressed differently meant nothing. People changed their clothes all the time. It was perhaps the most normal question Kuro had been asked in a long time. "Are they out lookin' for her too?" He refrained from calling his adoptive parent by her name, feeling as if he'd been harping on it too much and more or less being whiny. It made him sick just how much her face popped up in his mind, not because of who she was or anything of that nature. It made him sick because he couldn't stomach the fact that he wasn't good enough to protect her and wouldn't be for a very long time if ever.

With half-lidded eyes, he moved the singular chopstick around in his bowl shuffling around the rice and bits of remaining fish. He managed to avoid any and all bones almost effortlessly though, a subtle sign that his ability to perceive with his senses was a bit higher than most. Most people had to be very careful with such things, and while he wasn't being voracious it appeared to take no thought on his behalf. He knew that everyone in the village, save for himself had all sorts of strange powers, but his imagination hadn't developed enough to conceive a fraction of them. His life was blank, all he knew was the walls of his hospital room for months and nothing before. In the hospital he saw healing techniques and strange things, but only rarely as he remained in his own room and while they had tried to resuscitate him he had remained inert until waking on his own. As such, witnessing the powers of Mikaboshi and the woman who salvaged him flipped his understanding upside down. All he knew in truth at this point, was that he knew very little.

OC: Seems my muse decided to show up, kind of.

[MFT]
[Word Count: 1139]

 

[Toraono Kuro]

Kuro straightened himself as he lead Makeinu towards the bath house. "Those you met were indeed my brothers we are an odd sort as we all share the same mind as it were so we hear each other's thoughts. It is a very odd situation but we are all of one blood. As for you though I see you did not recover much energy at all which tells me your internal system is somehow damaged or rejecting nutrients. We will have to remedy some of your ailments if you are going to be able to patrol with me to find and retrieve Shiori. After a bath we will take a moment in the spirit chamber and see if they can help you or at least tell me what truly ails you, for my eyes not to detect the pattern of chakra within you is very disturbing. Even without a source of chakra every thing has a chakra point and yours all seem to be damaged or only marginally functional. Neither of these activities will take long so bathe as you feel best and if you like I will show you how to maintain and care for your mask while we visit the spiritual rejuvenation chamber."<i></i> Kuro was receiving constant input from his avatars and as they watched and listened Sousuke and Harupia were indeed closing in on their quarry. Once Makeinu was set he would take him on a patrol that would lead them directly to Sousuke and Harupia and by extension Shiori. He had told the young warrior he would lead him to the one he sought and he would do just that. Kuro was still worried that the young boy's body was under some malady like the one that had afflicted the children he had saved in a village South of Sunagakure just under a decade ago.

 

[Takahashi]

Kuro seemed ready to move, and once he towered over the sitting boy, the child would grab another piece of fruit. In his other hand, the left and stronger one, he picked up the garments Kuro's servant had brought. All this took barely a few seconds in actuality.

The explanation about how the mind of the Toraono brothers worked didn't seem that strange. Not as strange as the way they all looked, horns and tails. Definitely not as strange as his matron's jaw loosening itself and almost dangling from her skull the way it looked. Nor was it stranger than her brother made of shadows and smoke. In all fairness Makeinu was the strange one. Kuro's words solidified it when he spoke of the child's spiritual essence.

He made assessments and suggestions that made him feel torn inside, losing his appetite. It wasn't as if the woman has left his thoughts, but she had suggested a similar thing he wasn't too eager to try. Devouring a soul, somehow. Whatever a soul in truth was. Everyone spoke about it but knew no details. Makeinu didn't even know how he learned to speak or had the vocabulary that he did. He simply woke with it.

Kuro reminded him of that the way he talked, and seemed focused on fixing him. Which was all the more reason he'd follow and listen. If he could see her, just one more time to give an honest show of gratitude for her affections no matter how slight they may have been. If it meant eating souls and anything else he didn't care even though his soul told him be wary.

He didn't say much, just nodded in agreement from time to time. "Sure...I mean about the mask an' all." A meek response barely audible. Upon reaching his destination he'd slip into the bath area with a slight bow as a show of respect.

There, he disrobed and noticed his form in a mirrior halfway through doing so. He was so skinny that he could count every rib. His arms had a bit more meat to them, but still twigs nonetheless like his legs. Riddled with the bluish grey veins all over his body, he looked poisoned.

His eyes started to burn, and suddenly a tear spilled over his right cheek then his left. His expression did not change much but the sadness was evident. He wanted to break the glass, but settled for stepping under the shower instead.

Soaking in the heat and steam helped him appear less dried out, and allowed his blood to flow note freely. The dirt that had built up on his body from days in the alleys and abandoned buildings formed a ring I. The tub. His thin hair seemed almost nonexistent when wet. When he was all cleaned up he lingered a bit more just because he didn't know when he'd get to again, then proceeded to step out.

Having dried himself and his eyes long since dried as he let the shower hit them without lidded protection. Washing out the weak tears, making his sclera appear red and stressed. Despite all that the overall demeanor he bad and the half-lidden way he often kept them made him seem stoic rather than truly pitiful.

He put on the GI Kuro had given him, but couldn't help throwing g the dirty hooded sweater over top. He wasn't a fan of the color yellow, and the sweatshirt reminded him of her any way. He didn't actually know how to apply the wraps, but did so in a decent enough manner for a first try. Once he was out, he seemed like a new child. The same frail one, just new instead of old. Clean and all that jazz. He carried the gas mask with him as usual, as well as his dirty clothes. "Where do I...Uh-" He lifted his bungled up clothing an inch and lowered it. Implying he needed a location for them. Once that was done it was anywhere Kuro wanted to go, and some fiddling with the gas mask as well. The sandals on his feet were nice, as if he were still barefooted.

 

[Toraono Kuro]

​

Kuro led Makeinu into a stark white chamber with alabaster cushions for resting as he placed his LEFT hand on a massive seal in the center of the room. The divine architecture of the room was a mix of Solar Court Ancient rune enchantment and improvised Toraono Clan and Takahashi Clan ingenuity. After activating the seal the carmot rune's changed the chamber to the color of gold and bronze. A series of spiritual barriers went up and as they did so spirit guardians of old, healers, soothsayers and doctors emerged and began analyzing those within the chamber using runes to scribe a detailed analysis of their physical maladies and needs as their ethereal energies and powers gently probed their bodies. One ancient spirit a very kind little girl began to pour tiny sweet droplets of spirit water down his throat while Kuro performed maintenance and enhancements on Makeinu's gas mask. After changing the filters out and cleaning the lenses Kuro meticulously cleaned the grooves and seals so that it would function 200%. Using some Anbu jutsu and a permanent seal of transformation Kuro altered the mask to make it respond to Makeinu's physical presence. If he ever wore it in battle it would respond like an Anbu mask and take upon it a facial imprint of dangerous aptitude once Makeinu began to train the mask would respond to his abilities. Until then it was just a really well fit and well maintained gas mask. The tiny spirit girl of water was Tsunami one of the namesakes of a priestess of Suna that worked about the dojo. Like the girl whom was named after her Tsunami had a very precious gift she was utterly and completely in control of all forms of water, and by extension blood. Her healing was as gentle as the mist from pealing a juicy grape. A long series of runes began to spiral about Kuro as he used the snapshot jutsu to record the information the spirits of the healing/analysis chamber relayed befored writing it down himself. He noted to himself that his readout said he was a bit dehydrated. Makeinu's chart began to form and it was like the mother of all diagnostics. Makeinu seemed to be living by will alone.

MFT
WC:376

 

[Takahashi]

He wasn't given any answers by his elder, a spirit born into this world with the toxic blood of demonic ancestors writhing through his veins. The beast-man had nothing to say about such trivialities. Without a word Kuro turned away from the youth holding his clothes right then and there, a signal to follow. Makeinu's eyes watched the shrinking back of the colossal man, and considered a possibility. It seemed to him, that in much the same way as Shiori, Sousuke, and all others he had met carried a melancholy fog about them. All suffering in some form or another each passing day in a world that was destroying itself each passing day with frivolous things. Even a being as great and powerful as Toraono Kuro had been resigned to little more than an oath bound steward's border guard. With all his strength and ferocity, he was still suffering deeply but the difference with him and the others Makeinu wondered, was whether or not Kuro himself truly noticed his own pain.

Dropping the clothes on the floor in response and letting his shoulders droop, the young little child followed. Upon reaching their destination he found himself impressed with the craftsmanship and architecture and the obvious care that went into the designs. He didn't find himself attracted to the absence of color though, it reminded him of himself and how empty he was inside without direction or purpose other than survival and pleasing a fallen idol's need for companionship. In silence he watched as the necessary rituals were performed to cause change and fill the encompassing constructs with vibrancy and earthy life. The boy's eyes darted around as he watched the barriers form, ghosts and spirits of those long tethered in some way or another to the mortal plane by one ritual, circumstance, situation, or other occurrence. They wasted little time in getting to work on analyzing Makeinu.

The information would declare that he was in fact as devastated by an onslaught of devastation and physical afflictions that seemed imposed merely by atmospheric whimsy. Everything about his cells being underdeveloped and unable to absorb what they should was the first to become apparent. The lack of necessary pigmentation and thickness in the sheet thin covering of his epidermis rendered him vulnerable to the elements both seen and unseen like no other. The spiritual and physical pressures of everything were sucked into him like a vortex of abysmal depth and unyielding hunger. His soul was starving the likes of which no one before had ever been known to. He hungered to learn more of this world, and to experience the things we all were born to, but a hunger an infinite times more fierce than that was to understand the nature of Truth, Justice, and Freedom. Concepts he heard whispered about ever since his awakening but never truly spoken of.

All actions, thoughts, and behaviors need to expend a certain amount of energy on behalf of the user in order to accomplish that goal. That energy comes from the intentions and emotions of the individual, and caring enough about their goal in order to expend energy and experience the emotions necessary to achieve that goal. Science has dictated that no energy is ever destroyed, only displaced and transferred. The energy given off by the wills of the masses went unseen as they attempted to bend the world to their own greatness. That ever growing reservoir of energy overflows with the residue of greed, avarice, self glorification, decadence and hedonism. Those were the underlying motivations to a world steeped in idolatry and a rejection of the understanding of emotions and laws beyond what they could see with eyes alone and no proper context in which to use them. His hunger threatened to pull at every spirit nearby, unable to be denied an existence he rejected and felt many times he did not want. It was not a massive or heavily noticeable occurrence, but like the gentle momentary breeze barely felt in the spring that caused their ethereal garments to shift. Kuro himself would be entirely unaffected. His heightened sense would surely notice the subtle movements though. Some would find themselves looking at this pitiful creature known as Makeinu with a sense of indignation, questioning the society and world they lived in that would allow such damage to be done to anyone's spirit.

As the partially existent girl neared him and touched his chin to hold his head while pouring the water down his throat Kuro worked to upgrade the condition of the child's keepsake. He did not protest or say a word about anything, choosing to remain silent and observe as they observed him and the effects he was having on things he had never seen before. Tsunami herself would feel any trace of anger, discontentment, and indignation within herself whether present or past leaving her fingers and being sucked into Makeinu's core. It was as Kuro began taking snapshots of the procedure that an anomaly would occur. He himself appeared to radiate in silence the totality of the entirety of the destructive energy permeating the atmosphere and his form. He was broken. He should be dead. He was dead. Dead to all that truly was, and even his own earthly past. It was almost impossible to understand why he still moved, and as Kuro had surmised appeared to be functioning on will alone.

Warning: Offensive, loud, angry, & heavily opinionated lyrics. As well as brutal virtual abuse of the instruments being played in order to produce a sound appropriating the song's intent and emotional content. Do not touch the play button if you are sensitive about society and the mysteries of life. We have Free Will, to do with whatever we choose and share whatever opinions and messages we wish to in order to convey and express our own contemplations at the very least. With that being said, it is not necessary for the enjoyment of this post to push play on this video, as it is merely supplementary and cannot be heard by any characters within the story.

​

He could cough without warning, powerful and forceful as he pushed forward, touching the spirit and pushing it afar. The spirit water he continued to cough out and spit up as he fell forward onto his knee began to pool around his shattered form. Eventually it would appear that the volume of liquid surrounding him was becoming more than that which he had consumed, eventually turning into a dark rich red. The blood would set off alarms in the minds of all seeing it, an obvious sign of how dire the situation had become. His coughing and hacking became greater as what appeared to be tiny bits of organic tissue from within were being ejected in small torn bits as well. The blood was becoming darker, until the point that it was blacker than the darkest oil or shadow. He began to twitch after a quick moment of stillness, and then the twitch returned as it foreshadowed the incomprehensible seizure that followed suit. He thrashed about in his own blood and whatever else the unidentified liquid was, causing it to splash about and through the unaffected spirits around him as droplets passed through them and hit the floor. As if being baptized in the blood, pain, and sin of the world he continued to spew forth the dark liquid for but a few more moments before lying still sprawled on his back with his arms and legs spread.

His eyes were blank, but life was in them still. They trembled as if looking up into something but saw nothing with his eyes. His eyes would suddenly narrow as the last remnants of dark liquid trickled down the sides of his face. His stomach was sunken in, visibly even with the redundant amount of clothing that layered his form. Just as abruptly as his fit of disorder commenced, he would be lifted as if grabbed by the chest of his shirt. He levitated and dangled from the strength of a power that emanated not from any specific or singular thing. With his head hanging backwards and his eyes filled with fury and anger, the sclera having become further riddled with the crimson cracks caused by the spiritual pressure within, he would speak in a voice ultimately too powerful to be his own. "There is only one reason why any spirit, soul, entity, or creation would ever choose to be reborn! They have chosen to be resurrected as a warrior of the one true Creator of all things! The only True God! They have chosen to come back in order to fight in this WAR!" The voice was in powerful words belted out from a place too deep to ever be scribed with any amount of talent. It cause things to shake, much in the way his new earthly mother was capable of doing. It was almost shrill with anger and yet deeper and more grounded that his normal hushed and strength-less tones. The last word spoken with such emphasis it would cause any creature to acknowledge its worth.

"They knew the prophecy. They knew of the pain and evil and pollution that would swallow this world.They came to fight through it and show the POWER of the Creator. They!, WE! knew they would be born in a dormant state in need of awakening! They knew they would forget and become ignorant again, as they had before in another life! They knew they would be born in SIN! We all knew how hard it would be to get back home, but we also knew that we would wake! That they WOULD FIGHT IN THE ONLY WAR! Their Faith that the Creator would be able to bring them back and see them through this war! That Goodness would WIN THIS WAR! They saw the suffering of the One! Of the unified existence! In praise of it we came to suffer as they! For the One was kinder! The one was not ignorant! Nor did the one sin because of it! What the One suffered they did not Deserve!" His eyes rolled in the back of his head, appearing completely white and thus not using his pupils to absorb any information. They too, would bleed the ebony shadow of obfuscation and stream down his face which hung upside down. "We! Who are born into sin deserve to pay for our ignorance. To suffer for because of the ignorance of our earthly PARENTS!!!, and the ignorance of self! This is why we live in HELL! We wanted to be born! We wanted to experience life. We wanted to love and be loved. We wanted good things like food and drink! Shelter! FAMILY! WARMTH AND BREEZE! The land, the sea, the animals! We didn't just want to WATCH! We saw it all being destroyed! We knew it had to STOP! We knew the Power of Truth and the Wisdom of the Creator would triumph and OBLITERATE the WiCKEDNESS of the world and in ourselves! That the true meaning of 'GOD!' is knowing that the Creator of this World is GREATER than you! That the unified experience of the WHOLE is more important than the INDIVIDUAL! You promised to not forget the Creator's greatness even when they die and return home! That because we would be born in IGNORANCE! We do not KNOW EVERYTHING!!! That is the LAW of the Creator! That is the NATURAL ORDER AND THE LAW OF NATURE! THE REASON WE ARE BORN! To do RIGHT and be JUST. To UPHOLD the LAW OF NATURE! To show your GLORY by WINNING this WAR! The SPIRITUAL and PHYSICAL battles we face EVERYDAY! We thought this would be easy at first..." His "Y" pronunciation strength a bit and died in silence.

"The DEVIL thought so MOST OF ALL! They had been the RIGHT hand of God. They were in the process of being shown EVERYTHING! That devil would have been the first ANGEL to truly become like God and KNOW all Good Things of the Creator and his Works. This little pathetic devil thought they were smarter. That they were smart enough. That they were enough like God while the world was being created. He wanted to experience this world FIRST and all it had to offer. This is why Adam...Atom...Man, was First Created. THIS IS WHY HE WAS THE FIRST OF US TO FALL! This is why we are here. This is why we sin BECAUSE OUR FATHERS HAVE FORGOTTEN the Creator's name. We knew we would forget. That we don't know everything. This is why we came...Why we are here. This is why we must FIGHT these DEMONS. These FALLEN ANGELS who have taken the side of the Devil Now! This is why we must understand...The only way to be Right, is to study. To learn. Grow. To value Wisdom and Knowledge. To KNOW that we were born ignorant and could never remember the Creator's name. That we could never know everything. That until Adam, A-At-Atom STANDS UP! Until he becomes a MAN! Until they admit they couldn't know ALL things. You cannot value what you don't know. That you have to try to understand by seeking them out. The other Creation called Wisdom. Some of the ancients valued her most and even they were FAILURES because they would not FIGHT THE DEMONS OF SELF! THEY WOULD NOT FIGHT TO CHANGE THE WORLD! THEY REMAINED COWARDS TO DEATH AND FEAR! Slaves to their ego. Slaves to the idea of a self preservation methodology that thought it could function without the preservation of the whole. Of the Good. WE WILL WIN THIS WAR WITH OR WITHOUT YOU! WITH OR WITHOUT ME! Repent so that you may be granted the strength to punish the wicked, and burn away the wickedness and weakness inside the self as well. No matter how far we have fallen, we can always find our way back home, so long as we live we may always change the ending to our own stories...We love them too much to watch them die. This why we came to fight...To crush the wicked beneath the Glory we will bring. Our generation was prophesied..." His words became more and more quiet as his form was slowly lowered towards the floor and back into the filth that had been ejected from his body.

There he would lay, unmoving and inert. There was no sign of breathing. He had fallen, he had deserved what he had gotten. He deserved to suffer even more. For having been born. For the sins he committed while lost in ignorance. Kuro would feel something that no one else would. Something deep from inside himself, and at the same time outside and all around inspiring him. Something that would direct his instinct, tell him what was necessary. The only way that the child could be saved. Through a power too ancient to be remembered. A power from which ALL things originated from, even things considered by all to be cursed & damned. That it, this disembodied presence which would fill Kuro with the temporary idea that perhaps something entirely unknown had created them all. That from that unknown entity, flowed all life and Goodness. That even with the pollution running through his veins, that Kuro too was blessed with the power to help in this war. That he would help save more souls than he would condemn, and Makeinu would be one of a completely amorphous nature. Someone who's essence wasn't bound or controlled by the construction of fate and the systems man bowed his head to. If all things came from this Creator, then that included the powers Kuro had and through those Makeinu would be resurrected. Without paying heed to the silent voice that weaseled its way inside the Sage, this child would die.

[MFT]
[Word Count: 2,534]

 

[Toraono Kuro]

Spoiler

OOC: I am not the most religious of peoples and others on site may have something to say about the distinct reality of the prior post but I can assure you I understand the intent of the RP so no one will read this and try to claim you are the metronome, the messiah, the advent of the apocalypse, or the true son of God  I distinctly declare that this RP in its entirety is not an attempt by anyone participating to create or advocate that they are a God or all powerful being. This is just heavy, pain easing, mind calming RP

One of the young forge masters of the Toraono Clan quickly collected Makeinu’s discarded garments. An avid and astute study of Dr. Daibatsu Toa, the young forge master had been instructed by his teacher to acquire the garments of Toraono Kuro’s latest student and after gathering a copy of the dojo’s sensor impressions of his physical vessel craft him a set of protective, water conservative garments that would allow the young man to travel with Kuro as he went about his duties. Forge Master Shinbou smiled as he saw the child follow Kuro, he could feel Kuro’s conviction to protect and teach the child. It was always that way when he saw the young master of House Toraono. The clothes although filthy and abused gave off a distinct and unnatural aura. An aura of defiance, an aura that Shinbou could naturally expand upon. After gathering the clothing Shinbou touched a seal upon the far left wall and a sensory crystal emerged with a copy of the dojo’s physical data defining Makeinu’s physical presence. After grasping the information crystal Shinbou ran to the lift that led to Dr. Daibatsu’s laboratory where his forge and tools as an advanced apprentice hung from chakra laden cables prepped and ready. Placing Makeinu’s clothing on the main table, they were cleaned and adjusted by an advanced electromagnetic field which literally forced the dirt from the fibers of the clothing to the ground beneath the table before Shinbou slid on his carmot gauntlets and unleashed his puppetry skills upon the clothing. Chakra threads grasps tiny microfilaments of carmot laden sandwyrm leather micro shredded into the finest strips of reinforcing thread known to Sunan technology. The micro leather was quickly interwoven into Makeinu’s original garments as the information from the structural feedback diagram provided a specialized model for Shinbou’s construction of Makeinu’s protective bodysuit. A pull here, a tuck there, a serious double loop knot with a half twist and a set of body fitting patches allowed the refitted, reconstructed clothing to come to life as the photonic frame was replaced with kinetic energy which allowed for a lightning clone specially mimicking Makeinu’s physical form to fill the pants and top. The gloves were custom made and set to force rehabilitation Makeinu’s damaged hand and limb. Specialized boots were in the process of being made as well.


As Kuro analyzed the information the medical spirits gave off a series of genetic markers appeared in aggravated condition and alert. Kuro’s greatest fears were realized, this child was existing by will power alone, his body would not suffer any type of healing, even the gentlest of caresses by the spirits. As his snapshots gathered information Kuro quickly went to work on the only method he knew to save a body that would not accept healing. Kuro would have to alter the body to match one that would even if only temporarily. Even as he began his blood sealing process by placing specialized runes about the chamber Makeinu summarily rejected the healing from the spirits all the while absorbing the malice and wrath of each lesser spirit in turn as he became more and more rejecting of everything around him and soon everything within him. Water was expelled followed by blood and viscera as an all-encompassing presence raged from within the boy’s ravaged body. Ravaged by blatant hunger for all things and especially nutrients which Makeinu’s body could not absorb or even tolerate.

Tsunami backed away from Makeinu with a pang of sorrow as a sense of dread stole over her for Makeinu’s survival, all the spirits began to wail in alarm as Makeinu’s core began to devour all that was rage and negative within them. They became unbalanced briefly before fleeing behind Kuro where Makeinu’s core did not seem to reach. Darkness spilled forth from Makeinu as his body began to stretch taut. Each sinew aflame in rejection of the dire reality it was bound in. The diagnostic confirmed Kuro’s worst fears Makeinu was a true ancient, but he could not determine which court or element he represented or derived strength from. Remembering how he had helped Mikaboshi maintain his physical existence and return to some semblance of a true Ancient’s body Kuro placed his left hand upon a special platform and in quick succession, a series of razor sharp carmot needles pierced his finger tips and thumb.

"There is only one reason why any spirit, soul, entity, or creation would ever choose to be reborn! They have chosen to be resurrected as a warrior of the one true Creator of all things! The only True God! They have chosen to come back in order to fight in this WAR!" The voice was in powerful words belted out from a place too deep to ever be scribed with any amount of talent. It cause things to shake, much in the way his new earthly mother was capable of doing. It was almost shrill with anger and yet deeper and more grounded that his normal hushed and strength-less tones. The last word spoken with such emphasis it would cause any creature to acknowledge its worth.

"They knew the prophecy. They knew of the pain and evil and pollution that would swallow this world. They came to fight through it and show the POWER of the Creator. They!, WE! knew they would be born in a dormant state in need of awakening! They knew they would forget and become ignorant again, as they had before in another life! They knew they would be born in SIN! We all knew how hard it would be to get back home, but we also knew that we would wake! That they WOULD FIGHT IN THE ONLY WAR! Their Faith that the Creator would be able to bring them back and see them through this war! That Goodness would WIN THIS WAR! They saw the suffering of the One! Of the unified existence! In praise of it we came to suffer as they! For the One was kinder! The one was not ignorant! Nor did the one sin because of it! What the One suffered they did not Deserve!" His eyes rolled in the back of his head, appearing completely white and thus not using his pupils to absorb any information. They too, would bleed the ebony shadow of obfuscation and stream down his face which hung upside down. "We! Who are born into sin deserve to pay for our ignorance. To suffer for because of the ignorance of our earthly PARENTS!!!, and the ignorance of self! This is why we live in HELL! We wanted to be born! We wanted to experience life. We wanted to love and be loved. We wanted good things like food and drink! Shelter! FAMILY! WARMTH AND BREEZE! The land, the sea, the animals! We didn't just want to WATCH! We saw it all being destroyed! We knew it had to STOP! We knew the Power of Truth and the Wisdom of the Creator would triumph and OBLITERATE the WiCKEDNESS of the world and in ourselves! That the true meaning of 'GOD!' is knowing that the Creator of this World is GREATER than you! That the unified experience of the WHOLE is more important than the INDIVIDUAL! You promised to not forget the Creator's greatness even when they die and return home! That because we would be born in IGNORANCE! We do not KNOW EVERYTHING!!! That is the LAW of the Creator! That is the NATURAL ORDER AND THE LAW OF NATURE! THE REASON WE ARE BORN! To do RIGHT and be JUST. To UPHOLD the LAW OF NATURE! To show your GLORY by WINNING this WAR! The SPIRITUAL and PHYSICAL battles we face EVERYDAY! We thought this would be easy at first..." His "Y" pronunciation strength a bit and died in silence.

"The DEVIL thought so MOST OF ALL! They had been the RIGHT hand of God. They were in the process of being shown EVERYTHING! That devil would have been the first ANGEL to truly become like God and KNOW all Good Things of the Creator and his Works. This little pathetic devil thought they were smarter. That they were smart enough. That they were enough like God while the world was being created. He wanted to experience this world FIRST and all it had to offer. This is why Adam...Atom...Man, was First Created. THIS IS WHY HE WAS THE FIRST OF US TO FALL! This is why we are here. This is why we sin BECAUSE OUR FATHERS HAVE FORGOTTEN the Creator's name. We knew we would forget. That we don't know everything. This is why we came...Why we are here. This is why we must FIGHT these DEMONS. These FALLEN ANGELS who have taken the side of the Devil Now! This is why we must understand...The only way to be Right, is to study. To learn. Grow. To value Wisdom and Knowledge. To KNOW that we were born ignorant and could never remember the Creator's name. That we could never know everything. That until Adam, A-At-Atom STANDS UP! Until he becomes a MAN! Until they admit they couldn't know ALL things. You cannot value what you don't know. That you have to try to understand by seeking them out. The other Creation called Wisdom. Some of the ancients valued her most and even they were FAILURES because they would not FIGHT THE DEMONS OF SELF! THEY WOULD NOT FIGHT TO CHANGE THE WORLD! THEY REMAINED COWARDS TO DEATH AND FEAR! Slaves to their ego. Slaves to the idea of a self-preservation methodology that thought it could function without the preservation of the whole. Of the Good. WE WILL WIN THIS WAR WITH OR WITHOUT YOU! WITH OR WITHOUT ME! Repent so that you may be granted the strength to punish the wicked, and burn away the wickedness and weakness inside the self as well. No matter how far we have fallen, we can always find our way back home, so long as we live we may always change the ending to our own stories...We love them too much to watch them die. This why we came to fight...To crush the wicked beneath the Glory we will bring. Our generation was prophesied..." His words became more and more quiet as his form was slowly lowered towards the floor and back into the filth that had been ejected from his body.

A compelling presence filled Kuro and the chamber itself to carry out the necessary deed, to force darkness upon the light to make it strong enough to survive, strong enough to thrive, force Makeinu to live. Kuro was not a Dark Sage, his power could only hold off death, he could never call back from the dead save to heal a body to place his own essence into. The expelled blood and viscera became part of a seal to infringe upon Makeinu’s will. As the strength of Mother Suna herself was forced upon Makeinu in its weakest form a Gaia Seal. Kuro has once passed on the power of metal this same way but this was vastly different as he invoked the workings of his blood ceremony in the manner that Mikaboshi had forcing a more Ancient body to be formed within the ravaged ragged pale defective body he possessed now. It would take time for its purpose to be fulfilled but as Kuro’s blood seeped into Makeinu’s body the catalyst of his demonic blood served its purpose. It jumpstarted Makeinu’s body toward redemption even at the cost of darkness. Kuro replayed every effort that Hyakujuuonouu and Mikaboshi had done when he took control of the blood ritual and with those distinct methods Kuro infringed his power to alter Makeinu’s body at Makeinu’s will by using his own demonic blood to imprint an alternate chakra system in Makeinu’s mind and body. Forcing a secondary system of enzymes and chakra vessels throughout Makeinu’s being to force him to live and survive. All the expelled viscera became a blood seal upon Makeinu’s gi while above his body a spiritual seal emerged at the exact same time.



Gaia hovered above his strained form forcing it to survive.



Yet at his back the symbol for the wrath of heaven ‘Ten’ emerged, Kuro feared the worst but he completed the ceremony remembering how Mikaboshi had altered the energies to make it so that he did not become part demon but more of an Ancient. The chamber began to rumble and shudder and the spirits had to help Kuro maintain his seal as Makeinu’s body attempted to reject it. Fortunately at this moment and with the aid of the spirits and a decree from the ancient spirit of old he was able to force Makeinu’s acceptance of the dark energies so that Makeinu’s body would maintain and survive instead of defy even simple nutrients and healing and die. More than anything Kuro just wanted Makeinu to live no matter what and with the efforts of both himself and his environment he forced Makeinu to stabilize and breathe. Exhausted Kuro sat and waited for Makeinu to awaken while he lay on a pillow as the blood seal fused with his mind, spirit, and clothing his body was as ever defiant.

Shinbou arrived and set the body armor in a neatly improvised stack of items at the edge of the chamber giving Kuro a hopeful nod as Kuro nodded back in return. Now all they could do was wait…

 

[Takahashi]

For him, there was no light. There was no physical sensation that connected him to the material plane anymore. His consciousness was slipping and fading away into something else, or so it would seem as he remained motionless throughout the entire procedure. His nerves and mind already overwhelmed and fried by the inexplicable amount of pain he'd experienced only moments before. The chaos around him did nothing to disturb the order of stillness and silence that enshrouded his form. Kuro was desperately preparing a technique, a last ditch effort at the behest of an unseen forced. The lesser spirits steered clear of their test subject, for lack of a better term, but Kuro stepped forward to administer care.

The Sage had not the power to raise the dead, but through all the commotion no one paid attention to the declining and almost mute vital diagnostics. As Kuro applied the seal, and the blood and other discarded biological entities, one of the spirits would finally notice what appeared to be a diagnostic showing no life whatsoever. Yet, as the seal began to swirl and form the radiate symbols the pulse was boosted to noticeable levels. Something was working through them both, the fallen and the spawn of a demon trying to save a soul. The unseen force allowed for something Kuro would never be able to accomplish on his own in his current state, signified by the gentle coughs that came after a wait that seemed like an eternity. The blood seal was mingling with everything that made the child who he was, and at the same time scorned by them. His mind remained incoherent to all, the opening of his eyes heralding the maelstrom of emotions and thoughts that had been there before. It was as if he was filled with a legion of discontent souls.

Slowly sitting up and wiping the remaining blood from his lips he couldn't meet with anyone's eyes. Little did he know the entire ordeal had been recorded by Kuro's equipment, but that didn't matter. He didn't really remember saying the things he had said, but he remembered them coming out of his mouth which made it all the more complicated. Remaining seated and with his arms resting on his knees his head hung between his legs. Shame filled him, but he did not understand why. His mind was slowly gathering itself and the things coming into it didn't all seem to have been there before. It was as though he was given answers to things he'd never asked, or that he may have asked in the future. His mind had been altered, and despite the apparent nature of it all Kuro had very little to do with it.

Lifting his head a little and seeing where he was, he noticed Kuro and quickly set his eyes back to the ground. His face however; showed less veins and his skin seemed to be less likely to rip if he stretched too far. "I...What's wrong with me?" He barely managed to squeak out. Any sort of firmness, pride, or attempt at concealing his absolutely baffled nature had been burned away. He felt more helpless now than ever, having had something not simply reach him from the outside, but from within. Words that he barely remembered came out, but his brain was quickly putting together the pieces and evolving with each passing second at a speed that seemed entirely inhuman. It must have been close to an hour or so since the seal had initially been imprinted and unlike most with Cursed Seals his did not remain on the surface of his flesh. The closest thing to it was the burned symbol of Heaven on his back, no longer glowing but having burned through the fabric just enough to be obvious in what the symbol was an meant. Of course, he couldn't see his own back. He seemed exhausted, and his entire body trembled uncontrollably. "Why do these things keep happening to me?" He questioned looking to Kuro with eyes that knew they'd find no concrete answers. What had touched him was older than any Ancient. His eyes were heavy, and the child seemed stressed beyond his years. As was becoming customary for the boy, he would slowly lean backwards until he fell back onto the pillow unconscious. He wouldn't wake again for days. At least Kuro would know now that he was alive.

[Gaia Seal accepted/Topic Left after Kuro's post/In stark contrast to before, my muse feels shot and annihilated by real life issues today. I'm sorry I couldn't have produced better.]

 

[Toraono Kuro]

Kuro was about to try an answer Makeinu but he passed out yet again but at least this time he wasn't living off of will alone. With the gaia seal anchored to Makeinu's first internal chakra gate Kuro could monitor all his bodily functions. Using his telekinesis Kuro gathered the desert travel armor Shibou had constructed for Makeinu using updated dimensions and clothing containing his natural defiant aura so that his body wouldn't have an allergic reaction to it. Yet all that was nothing compared to the near death experience that forced Kuro to seal the young warrior just so that he would survive. Placing his damaged limb in a carmot cast Kuro personally transported Makeinu to the intensive care ward where he placed Makeinu in a gestation tube filled with liquid oxygen and basic amino acids. With Kuro's gaia seal in place he could force natural homeostasis upon Makeinu without causing any damage to his delicate cell structure. Kuro was out of his depths with this one and knew of only one medic that could possibly maintain the young man's health. Takahashi Shiori was all that Makeinu wanted in his tragic life. Now it was time to get her and bring her to Makeinu and perhaps she would have some kind of input on the strange circumstances surrounding Makeinu. Floating in a transparent tube with a thin protective seal at the top Kuro passed his thoughts on to his avatars and set about to reacquire Sousuke and Harupia's trail not because he needed to assist them; no it was because Makeinu needed Shiori to survive.