[Continued from HERE - Takes place before the advent of the Cabal invasion. Been trying to write this post for the better part of a month now and just now finally got it written the way I want. So. Yay!]
Like statues the ANBU guards at the surface level of the Obsidian Palace said nothing to Mikaboshi as he'd passed them with the metal clad Magnetica in his arms. She still suffered from the injuries she'd sustained at the hands of the Sunan shinobi and likely would for some time. It was not the way of the ANBU or of Mikaboshi to heal without reason and at the current time he saw no value in restoring her to a healthy status even though he could have ordered such a thing with ease. She needed to be given proper time to consider her place in the world and the events which had just altered the course of her life. Coming to Sunagakure had changed everything for the half-breed woman though not in the way she had expected. Magnetica had expected to arrive a conquering warrior queen and crush the defenses of Sand beneath her heel in proof that she deserved to rule them. Instead she found her dreams dashed against the jagged rocks of Sunagakure's cavernous home and a people which were surprisingly resilient to being conquered.
It had surprised Mikaboshi to find that he sympathized with Sunagakure's would-be queen. She was still very much a human being-- that much could never be changed no matter how much of her heritage she awakened and cultivated --but she reminded him so much of himself so many years ago. Proud and full of arrogance, Mikaboshi believed himself the absolute sovereign of the underground for no being in the Old World had ever challenged his dominion over that place and won out. He had thrown down potential usurpers one after another in his years through a mixture of cunning and brutality that would have made any demon jealous. Still, when his pride came to clash against humanity and the Sunahoshi came to demand his fealty, he'd resisted. They had a deal, after all. He had even considered himself a friend to post-slavery humanity in that he'd provided them numerous locations of rival ancients whom thought to hide among the gloom of their cousin's dominion. For a time there had been total peace between Sunagakure and Shadow's Heart. But then, like they always did, humanity showed it's true nature and turned upon him.
That day had spelled the end for a great deal of Sand shinobi but in the end it also proved to be Mikaboshi's undoing as well. Rather than destroy their former ally, the Sand-nin of that time decided it would be best instead to seal his essence within the sword they'd captured from him and hand it down their line as if it belonged to them. For so many years he languished in the cold darkness of the sword without form or substance and utterly alone. It was there that he learned the true meaning of hatred as the years of imprisonment forged his anger into a weapon sharper than any sword. When he'd at last been released and given flesh once more it had also been at the hands of a Kazekage... but not one of Sunahoshi lineage. In exchange for his freedom from the blade, Mikaboshi swore himself to Sousuke's service and to temporarily forget the grudge he carried against Sunagakure but in the moment where he watched Magnetica fall, Mikaboshi was keenly reminded of how humanity had once betrayed him. And oddly enough from that sucking wound in his past came the most opposite of emotions: sympathy.
Together they descended into the pit that was the Obsidian Palace; past the first and second floors. They were too populated and too close to the surface to contain a force like Magnetica. She would almost certainly be able to orchestrate an escape attempt from those places. Half of the effectiveness of the Palace was choosing the right floor for the right individual. Magnetica was powerful-- that much was clear. It had taken several Sand shinobi to bring her to her knees and though the battle had been quick it had also been fierce. If the Sand-nin that had responded had been anything less than the village's elite... they would likely have been struck aside by Magnetica's power. Practically speaking, Magnetica easily warranted incarceration in the deepest depths of the Palace. Mikaboshi would have had no trouble justifying abandoning her to the ravenous shadows of the fifth floor and forgetting about her there but in reality the sennin had not brought her here with the intention of forgetting about her. She was, perhaps, the only prisoner in the facility which he actively wished to rehabilitate. She possessed power and anger towards Sand... but now also she had something else which made her useful to him; an understanding that she could never win against Sand alone.
"I know you can hear my words." He whispered to the powerful half-breed that he carried. "So listen closely to what I have to say. Today you were defeated at the hands of those you wished to control and now following your defeat your mind reels in attempt to reconcile this inescapable reality from the illusion you've built up around yourself in your mind."
Arriving at the third floor, Mikaboshi glanced to the stationed ANBU there and without needing further instruction his subordinate moved to open the door to allow their master to enter into the third floor enclosure. With a soft whooshing noise and a scraping of stone against stone, the door opened and the hooded specter of Mikaboshi carrying Magnetica's still shattered frame disappeared into the murk of floor three. The first floor of the Palace was the most unique as it contained the strange underground city but the remaining four all, for the most part, were simply rocky wilderness. An in-door circulation of water made for an environment where if the prisoners wished to keep themselves alive it would be easy to subsist off of the water and moss that grew in the darkness. It was not nutritious but it was also not intended to be. These prisoners were here to suffer and so suffer they did.
"And for your mistake, you should have paid with your life but I have purchased that debt from you with the power that I possess." Mikaboshi could feel the eyes of one or two of the in-mates upon him but knew that they would not approach him and very likely by the fact that he had personally brought this newcomer into their midst would also stay clear of Magnetica as well. Kneeling down, he set her upon the floor and then backed away a step or two. "Prove to me that you are worth further investment by surviving this ordeal. Then I will show you a path to true power."
And with that, Mikaboshi was gone from Magnetica's presence and from the third floor of the Palace, leaving her alone with her thoughts, her anger and her suffering.
Like statues the ANBU guards at the surface level of the Obsidian Palace said nothing to Mikaboshi as he'd passed them with the metal clad Magnetica in his arms. She still suffered from the injuries she'd sustained at the hands of the Sunan shinobi and likely would for some time. It was not the way of the ANBU or of Mikaboshi to heal without reason and at the current time he saw no value in restoring her to a healthy status even though he could have ordered such a thing with ease. She needed to be given proper time to consider her place in the world and the events which had just altered the course of her life. Coming to Sunagakure had changed everything for the half-breed woman though not in the way she had expected. Magnetica had expected to arrive a conquering warrior queen and crush the defenses of Sand beneath her heel in proof that she deserved to rule them. Instead she found her dreams dashed against the jagged rocks of Sunagakure's cavernous home and a people which were surprisingly resilient to being conquered.
It had surprised Mikaboshi to find that he sympathized with Sunagakure's would-be queen. She was still very much a human being-- that much could never be changed no matter how much of her heritage she awakened and cultivated --but she reminded him so much of himself so many years ago. Proud and full of arrogance, Mikaboshi believed himself the absolute sovereign of the underground for no being in the Old World had ever challenged his dominion over that place and won out. He had thrown down potential usurpers one after another in his years through a mixture of cunning and brutality that would have made any demon jealous. Still, when his pride came to clash against humanity and the Sunahoshi came to demand his fealty, he'd resisted. They had a deal, after all. He had even considered himself a friend to post-slavery humanity in that he'd provided them numerous locations of rival ancients whom thought to hide among the gloom of their cousin's dominion. For a time there had been total peace between Sunagakure and Shadow's Heart. But then, like they always did, humanity showed it's true nature and turned upon him.
That day had spelled the end for a great deal of Sand shinobi but in the end it also proved to be Mikaboshi's undoing as well. Rather than destroy their former ally, the Sand-nin of that time decided it would be best instead to seal his essence within the sword they'd captured from him and hand it down their line as if it belonged to them. For so many years he languished in the cold darkness of the sword without form or substance and utterly alone. It was there that he learned the true meaning of hatred as the years of imprisonment forged his anger into a weapon sharper than any sword. When he'd at last been released and given flesh once more it had also been at the hands of a Kazekage... but not one of Sunahoshi lineage. In exchange for his freedom from the blade, Mikaboshi swore himself to Sousuke's service and to temporarily forget the grudge he carried against Sunagakure but in the moment where he watched Magnetica fall, Mikaboshi was keenly reminded of how humanity had once betrayed him. And oddly enough from that sucking wound in his past came the most opposite of emotions: sympathy.
Together they descended into the pit that was the Obsidian Palace; past the first and second floors. They were too populated and too close to the surface to contain a force like Magnetica. She would almost certainly be able to orchestrate an escape attempt from those places. Half of the effectiveness of the Palace was choosing the right floor for the right individual. Magnetica was powerful-- that much was clear. It had taken several Sand shinobi to bring her to her knees and though the battle had been quick it had also been fierce. If the Sand-nin that had responded had been anything less than the village's elite... they would likely have been struck aside by Magnetica's power. Practically speaking, Magnetica easily warranted incarceration in the deepest depths of the Palace. Mikaboshi would have had no trouble justifying abandoning her to the ravenous shadows of the fifth floor and forgetting about her there but in reality the sennin had not brought her here with the intention of forgetting about her. She was, perhaps, the only prisoner in the facility which he actively wished to rehabilitate. She possessed power and anger towards Sand... but now also she had something else which made her useful to him; an understanding that she could never win against Sand alone.
"I know you can hear my words." He whispered to the powerful half-breed that he carried. "So listen closely to what I have to say. Today you were defeated at the hands of those you wished to control and now following your defeat your mind reels in attempt to reconcile this inescapable reality from the illusion you've built up around yourself in your mind."
Arriving at the third floor, Mikaboshi glanced to the stationed ANBU there and without needing further instruction his subordinate moved to open the door to allow their master to enter into the third floor enclosure. With a soft whooshing noise and a scraping of stone against stone, the door opened and the hooded specter of Mikaboshi carrying Magnetica's still shattered frame disappeared into the murk of floor three. The first floor of the Palace was the most unique as it contained the strange underground city but the remaining four all, for the most part, were simply rocky wilderness. An in-door circulation of water made for an environment where if the prisoners wished to keep themselves alive it would be easy to subsist off of the water and moss that grew in the darkness. It was not nutritious but it was also not intended to be. These prisoners were here to suffer and so suffer they did.
"And for your mistake, you should have paid with your life but I have purchased that debt from you with the power that I possess." Mikaboshi could feel the eyes of one or two of the in-mates upon him but knew that they would not approach him and very likely by the fact that he had personally brought this newcomer into their midst would also stay clear of Magnetica as well. Kneeling down, he set her upon the floor and then backed away a step or two. "Prove to me that you are worth further investment by surviving this ordeal. Then I will show you a path to true power."
And with that, Mikaboshi was gone from Magnetica's presence and from the third floor of the Palace, leaving her alone with her thoughts, her anger and her suffering.