Power of the White Snake

Ritual for: Link

Denkiteki returned home from his mission covered in blood, though it was not his own. At least three men had been killed by him that day, he had been forced to fight a dozen poacher son his last mission, they wouldn’t stand down to him despite him warning them. He and Katsuro had then proceeded to fight the group, killing a few of them before the rest fled. The mission had been a success, but Denkiteki felt strange the whole time he traveled home.

The eyes of the first man had remained stuck in his head, the look of surprise and fear that had remained in his expression even as life left this body. Denkiteki remembered being able to feel the man’s heartbeat as it slowed and eventually stopped. His sword had stabbed through the heart, and had moved around in his hand every time the organ had attempted to pump blood through the dying man’s body.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about killing the man, or the others. It had been necessary; they wouldn’t back done even after he had made a few attempts to intimidate them. He had thought he would have been sad though, after ending another human’s life. But after the adrenaline died down and only he and Katsuro remained, he only felt emptiness. No remorse, no sadness, just nothing. It confused him, why didn’t he care about those people? They had been living, breathing people and he had turned them into corpses. Why didn’t he feel anything for them?

Because they deserved it, because they were weaker than me/ a voice in Denkiteki’s head answered, it took him a moment before he realized the thought was truly his own, not just a cruel idea spewing forth from his mind. He didn’t care about them because they had gotten in his way, and they had been too weak to actually stop him. They were stupid, thinking they could take on a shinobi. They were too weak to even put up a real fight either. Not to mention they were criminals, and would have been willing to kill me too. It’s no wonder I feel nothing for them. They are just trash, and I put them were they belong. On the ground, blood seeping from their bodies, and life leaving them.

A smirk played across Denkiteki’s face as he stopped at the door to his house, he finally understood how he felt. That was good. He let the smirk disappear though, he didn’t want his parents to see him smiling and with blood on his face and clothes. His mother would already be scared to death seeing all of that blood on him, but he didn’t know how is dad would feel. I don’t think I know anything about my dad anymore… he thought to himself as he opened up the door to his house, and stepped inside.

His father stood in the doorway, seemingly waiting for him. Denkiteki looked up at his face, but couldn’t tell if his father was worried or proud of him. What would he be proud of? That I managed to kill someone? Denkiteki hoped that wasn’t it. Just because those men deserved death, didn’t mean he or anyone else should be proud of Denkiteki for killing them, he shouldn’t be proud of me just because I dealt with some trash.

“Go get cleaned up Den, we have to talk. It’s about your mission, and how you performed. Meet me in the basement when you are done, we’re going back to the island and your mother doesn’t want me to use jutsu or summonings in the house.” He looked over Denkiteki a moment, as though he was searching for any cuts on him. “Did you get cut? Katsuro didn’t tell me. All he could talk about was how fast you were and something about flipping a boat over? I was sent for by some of the elder snakes, and they told me they wish to speak with you.”

He let Denkiteki inside, and seemed to be done talking. Denkiteki made his way up the stairs, where his shower was, but his father called out to him again, “I don’t know how well you took it, but when I killed a man for the first time, I wasn’t sure how to feel. If you want to talk to me about those men you killed today, I took off working at the hospital for the rest of the day. Once we get home from talking with the snake elders you and I can talk.”

“Um.. thanks dad. I’d like that.” Denkiteki wasn’t sure what he told his dad. Would he think it strange that Denkiteki didn’t feel anything for the men he killed, and that was what disturbed him, or would he think that a good thing? Denkiteki wasn’t sure.

As he stood in the shower, Denkiteki attempted to get the blood, which had dried, off of his body. It hurt like hell trying to get it off of his face, but he forced himself to scrub until all of the dried up blood was gone. His face was red by the time he was done, but it still felt better than before.

He then went on to trying to clean the blood from the rest of his body, some of it had dripped down his neck and onto his torso, so he made an effort to try and clean all of that up as well.

While he was cleaning himself, he continued to think about the men he killed, and also wondered why the snake elders would want to see him. He had made his contract only recently, why did they want to see him already? Did he do something wrong, or did they wish to talk to him about the men he killed? He wasn’t sure, he just hoped he wasn’t in trouble.

As for the men he had killed, he wondered about their families, if they had any. Would they hate Denkiteki for killing them, or would they feel like they deserved their fate? It’s not like it was my fault they were stupid, they should have ran. They were to pathetic to be able to even take on an average Genin, let alone myself. Why am I even trying to feel bad for these idiots, because it’s humane? Fuck that. I did what I had to do, killing those men was my only option. There was no way I could free those beasts without getting rid of them, I would have gotten caught and have been forced to fight them anyway.

With that in mind, Denkiteki felt better. There was a reason he didn’t feel sorry for those pathetic poachers, they were criminals and they would have tried to hurt him if they had gotten the chance. That was why he didn’t feel bad, that was why he didn’t feel anything for them.

Once he was done he went into his room and got dressed, putting on a light blue T-shirt and a pair of fitting grey jeans. He picked up his headband and wrapped it back around his head, making sure it rested on his forehead. After that he picked up his Wakizashi, the Shiroi Hebi no Kiba, and strapped the sheath to his back. He wore it because it was a gift from his father, who had received it from the snakes when he was younger. He had given it to Denkiteki recently, thinking the young boy might find need of it. Denkiteki had yet to use it, however he was familiar with the use of a Wakizashi, his first sword having been one. Now that one sat amongst his other weapons, and Denkiteki was unsure if he would ever use it again.

Now that he was ready, Denkiteki made his way down to the basement. As he reached the main floor however, he saw his mother, who had just left her and her husband’s bedroom. She saw him almost immediately and ran to him, throwing her arms around him. She squeezed him tightly for a moment, then placed her hands on his shoulders as she looked at his face.

“Are you alright dear?! Your father told me that on your last mission you got into a fight! What sort of mission are those people sending you on now? You’re just a little boy! You have to stop taking those missions honey. What happened to you being sent after cats and cleaning the village? I liked it when you took those. I won’t let you go on any more of these dangerous missions, I’m worried about you! And don’t go with your father, I don’t want you talking with those snakes.” his mother was frantic it seemed, her fingers dug into Denkiteki’s shoulders as she spoke.

Denkiteki placed his hand on her arm and removed it, “I’m fine mother. They send me on these missions because I can handle them. And the snakes protect me. Katsuro made sure none of those men we fought even touched me mom. And you can’t stop me from going on missions. I am a shinobi now, I work for the Land of Waves now, and for the Sky Nation.” His mother began to tear up, so Denkiteki pulled her close and into an embrace, “I know you never wanted this for me, but this is what I am mother. I may be a low ranking ninja now, but I’ve been sent on a number of missions by myself, and some of them were fairly dangerous. And now… I killed people today mom. I killed three men. I’m not a little boy anymore, I am a shinobi.”

When he let go of his mother, she was still crying. But she didn’t seem as sad or devastated as he had thought she would have been. She opened her mouth to speak, the words coming out slowly, “I know. I think I’ve always known you were meant to be like this. Your father always said you were like me, but I knew there was a lot of him in you too. He said you cared about people, like he knew I do. You’re a good boy Denny, but I know you could care less about people you don’t know. It’s your friends you look out for, or people that you think will be useful to you. It’s not a bad thing, but I know that you have your father’s ability to not care about those in your way.”

Denkiteki’s head dropped, and he stared at the ground, “I.. I want… I wanted to be like you, like what dad made me believe he was. I wanted to be a caring person, but I can’t look at those men, NO, those ANIMALS.” His head lfited back up, and there was anger in his eyes. Those who break the law and do what they want. I cannot look at them and care. They are scum, they are trash! They don’t deserve compassion, or empathy! I want to be like you mother, but I can’t. I can’t feel anything good towards men like the ones I killed today.”

His mother nodded, still sad. “I know Denny. It’s just hard, watching you grow up and become a shinobi. It’s true that I have never wanted you to be a shinobi. That’s why I made your father become a medical-nin, so that that you would have a good influence. But it seems that it didn’t work, at least not as well as I thought. I am glad to know that it is more or less because of me that you may try to at least be a medical-nin. I suppose I will have to live with that.” She smiled, despite the fact that she was still crying, “Go to your father I suppose, I know he wanted to take you to go see those damn snake. I know I can’t stop you.”

Denkiteki gave her another hug before making his way down to the basement, where his father was waiting for him. His father didn’t open the secret door where he hid his equipment this time though, nor did he summon Katsuro’s father. Instead he pulled out a scroll. “I made sure to get a scroll that could take me to the island. This one even goes to the chamber where the elder’s live, which is great.”

With that he put his hand on Denkiteki and both of them disappeared in a flash of light, reappearing on the Island of the Snakes. This time they were in a large chamber though. Denkiteki looked around and noticed four colossal snakes looking upon him and his father. They all seemed old, and among them was Katsuro’s grandfather, the one who had taught Denkiteki Hiding Like A Mole. Katsuro was there as well, coiled up near him.

One of the snakes cleared his throat, sending a booming noise through the chamber. Denkiteki’s attention snapped towards him. He was gigantic. Not quite the size of Katsuro’s father, but still huge. He was staring straight at Denkiteki with piercing eyes, studying him. After a moment he “You are the boy who made a pact with Katsuro, correct? We have heard much of you.”

There was silence for another moment, then another snake continued, “Katsuro told us of your performance on your mission with him. He said you slew 3 men with ease, though he did mention something about you freezing after you killed the first one, and only joining in the fight again when Katsuro nearly got stabbed. Other than that though, he only had good things to say about your performance. He said you were both fast and strong, and that you used one of your jutsu to flip over a boat the men might have used to escape. From what we understand, you are skilled beyond your years. This is good. Because of this we wish to extend upon you an offer that not even your father was given in his prime. We ask that you allow us to perform the Ritual of the White Snake upon you, and make you even more powerful then you are now.”

Denkiteki looked at the other snake, confused. “What is this ritual exactly? What do you mean?”

The snakes looked at each other for a moment, then one largest one turned its giant head back towards Denkiteki, and spoke once more in its booming voice. “The Ritual of the White Snake is an extremely powerful ritual that alters your bodies ability to produce cells. It allows you to create cells that reproduce at an accelerated rate, with these cells taking the appearance of our kind. These snakes however, will be a part of your body, and under your control. These cells may also allow you to heal yourself, if your body manages to adapt well enough. We have given this ability to few, and even fewer have progressed that far. We believe you might one day achieve that level of power one day however. We believe you will be capable of using the abilities granted from this ritual, the Power of The White Snake, to become a powerful shinobi in your land. Now, do you accept this offer?”

Denkiteki was stunned, it seemed like this ritual was an honor. And he was to be offered it after only doing one mission with Katsuro. Of course, Denkiteki realized that the young snake’s grandfather was one of those elders, perhaps he was part of the reason Denkiteki had been presented with the offer. That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t accept though…

Denkiteki looked to his father, who was smiling. The older man nodded to him, and patted him on the back, “I would accept son. When I was an active shinobi, I desired the Poer of The White Snake so much. I am glad to see it offered to you though, you deserve it more than I ever did. You are extremely talented, and a much better person than I ever was.”

Denkiteki felt pride swell up in his body as his father spoke to him, and he couldn’t help but smile at that. Yeah, he’s right. I should accept.

“I would gladly accept this offer, so how does it begin?” Denkiteki asked curiously.

“It is simple. We have already prepared the ritual, all we need is for you to lie down in the center of this chamber, and we will be able to begin. The center is over there, hurry now. We don’t have all day.” Said a third snake that had remained silent until then. Denkiteki hurried over to where the snake had indicated, and removed his sword from its place and put it down before he himself went prone.

The four snakes began to move, faster than Denkiteki would have thought. They moved in a circle around Denkiteki, moving overtop each other and becoming intertwined. They ended with their heads resting near Denkiteki, with on near his head, another his legs, and one on either side of him. They all were staring at him intensely, until their eyes glazed over white. Opening their mouths, each one let out a strange noise that sounded like a mix between a mix and a scream, and Denkiteki yelled out in pain as the noise hit his ears. He wanted to raise his hands to cover his ears, but he soon found that he was paralyzed. The snakes had stopped moving as well, with their mouths remaining open. The only movement to be heard was that of Denkiteki’s father walking out of the chamber, and Katsuro slithering beside him.

Denkiteki remained still for a couple of moment before the pain hit, and then his body was free. Every part of his body felt like it was on fire, and he let out another scream. The four snakes let out another noise again at the same time, and the five of them yelled out in unison.

After what felt to be an eternity the pain began to dull, and the screams ceased. The four snake’s eyes returned to normal, and Katsuro’s grandfather spoke, “It is done.”

3023/3000

Bump

Hmm. Approved then