finally taking responsibility(P team MN)

Kira finished her final preparations. It was unfortunate and upsetting that she would have to let maku down, but this she knew was more important. It was a strange kind of finality to realize you were going off to die. SHe slid the savar suit off her body, piling it atop her bag with her fighting outfit. She would have no use for it. She took a deep breath. "I......I have to do this. " Her words of reassurance wouldn't actually change anything. Whether she wanted to or not she would walk out the door and head towards the Tundra. She was certain the note she'd sent via messenger would be reaching youka just as she walked out the door, and then it was finished. She slid the pile of Ryo into her bag, pausing for a moment to ease the final thoughts on her mind.

    Finally she slid the dress over her head, smoothing it down as it set tightly against her frame. It was a first for her, she was fairly certain. She hadn't been out of her armor since she'd traveled from Ame the first time. it was a comfort object to her. Her battle uniform was her standard attire now but for where she was headed it didn't feel appropriate. She lifted the mask to her eyes for a moment, staring through it once more. She loved this thing. It was her symbol of power and worth, she figured. It, which hid her from the world for so long had quickly shifted from an object of comfort to a reminder of who she was. behind it her resolve was strongest. Finally she tossed it on the bed also. Heading out of her room in the local inn she closed the door, using her shadow sewing to slide under the door and lock it from the inside. Only two people actually knew where she stayed so she wasn't terribly worried about theft, but it had been a comfort to her. "Just in case" she spoke.

her outfit:

    The trip across the borders and into the tundra took minutes at her speed, modded by the body flicker technique. Finally she stopped her momentum, sliding across the frozen earth quickly to come to a stop. She moved slowly to a large evergreen tree, leaning against it waiting. He would be here soon, she thought to herself. Then all of this would be resolved.

(all ryo equipment and items left in her room chakra=100 reaction =110 except amethyst(duh))

Youka walked to the tundra where just a day ago he had come to terms with what needed to be done. It seemed as both he and Kira knew that it was going to come to this and she had dispatched a letter to him just moments ago pointing out where she would be heading. He had taken his time to reach this location, it was something that he didn't want to do and indeed he would take no pleasure from it, but it needed to be done in order to secure the future of himself and Maku, and to ensure Echo had no reason to believe that they would ever be the cause of a information leak.

As he made the trek up to the tundra he could feel her chakra as he got closer and searched through the dense blowing snow for her location. In the distance was one solitary tree that had weathered many harsh winds yet still stood through the test of time and there was where Kira was leaning across the tree. He continued his walk to close the distance before stopping a mere 3 meters from her.

"Kira...."

He didn't know what to do or say now that he was faced with looking at her once again and staring into her eyes. It was a good thing that he wore his demons mask covering all of his face so she couldn't see the confused bag of emotions he showed on his face. Now that the time was here and the deed to be done nothing made sense and he felt as if his body was falling slowly and he was watching this all play out in third person. She did wear her normal attire that he had grown used to seeing on her and instead she settles for more casual appearal which giving the circumstances if she knew what was coming he guessed she felt no need in protecting herself from it. He simply wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her it would be ok and all was forgiven and they could go on living their lives and completeing missions together for the betterment of everyone. However the truth of the matter was sins had to be punished and just as his sins were sure to be punished so were hers he couldn't fall soft now.

It seemed like time stood still as they spent this time staring at each other in a timeline of their own where not even the frozen howls from the top could shatter their gaze. Youka pulled aside his mask to allow his human emotions to be shown, his eyes were slightly red from the tears he had let loose during his trek up here. He wanted her to know that even though he was doing something that had to be done he still cared enough to cry over what he was going to do. After all she had been his humanity more than a few times through the times they had shared together and she strived to turn him into a better person which wasn't the easiest of tasks to complete.

Standing here under the tree branches he silently just stared for what seemed like hours on hours, yet he knew only moments had passed, had there even been a minute past yet, or were they still just counting seconds?

"Kira, I...you know why we're here"

The tundra winds blew against Maku’s hair.  SO much had happened since the day he left Takigakure.  SO much was different now.  He had went form a street rat, to a village leader all in the matter of under a year.  He was still so young, and yet here he was.  He worked for one of the most powerful shinobi in the world, his best friend was a murderer, and the girl he still had mixed feelings about was slatted to die.  It was with cold resolution he found himself in the tundra.  What better place than this, to have these feelings.  The tundra gave no shits for how you felt, and as such Maku loved it out here.  It was man vs nature, with no quarter given.  While he stayed in the tundra, he meditated as the cold winds threatened to blister his face, the skin feeling cold and hard.  His winter coat was close to his body, the furs trying to no aveil to protect him from the cold.  While he was out he had been focusing his space time chakra to become stronger.  He sought a way to increase not only his strength but his endurance.  To fight longer harder than ever before was what he needed.  The tundra aided him in this, for only the strongest need apply to live outside here in such a place.

While out here a messenger had approached him, which was odd for such a place, but as leader he always made sure someone could find him in case something was happening in the village. The messenger mentioned that Kira had sent word to Youka to meet him in the tundra, and thusly Maku found himself already prepared to meet them.  He  would open his chakra senses to find the two of them.  He knew what Youka most likely intended to do, and there for would be apart of it.  He could not let his friend do this alone.  Youka may be a murdering bastard, however Kira still meant a great deal to both of them, as a member of the team.  Would he actually carry out what he was planning was the real question.  While Moving Maku continued to focus his space time chakra, attempting to increase his fortitude in the day, reaching through the very space time continuum to gain further strength, though to no avail at the moment.  He was not worried as all moments he needed presented themselves to him in due time.  

Moving through the vast tundra Maku continued to search for the two of them with his chakra senses, however he had picked up nothing as of yet.  While he ran, he remembered all the moments that he had shared with Kira.  Their first meeting, almost getting killed by her from poison needles in the back.  The silly little girl Youka and Maku took on missions, her gasp at him killing that old lady with a head but.  It made him smile, which was a bit sadistic now that he thought of it.  He then remembered other times, her outrage at being left behind, and the time he had saved her life from Youka.  When he had laid in the sun, and sang to her.  She had even said his voice was beautiful back then.  Was it still?  He hadn’t sang in such a long time now, he had no time for it.  It made him sad on the inside to be honest with himself.  For someone who often had no emotions, he could feel the unfamiliar surge welling insdie his body.  Perhaps he should try and stop Youka, after all wouldn’t it be better.  Couldn’t she be taught to not speak of the past secret, couldn’t he also prevent such things from happening.  

While he thought this he almost felt resolved to stop Youka.  He could fight him, and prevent the kill, however was that the appropriate path to take.  Could she really be taught.  At this the feelings of how betrayed he felt after she had discussed so much with the hokage.  That familiar rage, filled his soul and the resolve to stop Youka was diminished, and he felt the need to assist.  All these emotions rollercoaster through his body as he ran on.  The tundra was a vast place, and he still could not sense any of them.  Each step was a different emotion, like a child picking petals from a flower, he loves me, he loves me not.  All the while the ultimate conclusion of the team raced closer, as his feet pounded in the snow.  His chakra level was no were near hidden and could be sensed from forever away.  Maku had more chakra than most people he had met, and this was something he always had.  It was a gift, and in thinking of the gift he thought again of Kira.  How she had assisted him with training, and had forced him to be creative and make his untraditional fighting style while mastering a defense against all her shadows.  

As he continued to run a large peak could be found.  He ran up to the top and over looked a large canyon.  From this point he had an unparalleled view of the surrounding area and was free to use his chakra senses as well as his eyes.  As he gazed forward, he activated his sharingan to assist in the search of his two closest friends.  Here he once again thought of all the things they had done together.  Here he would wait and try to find them.  He closed his eyes, and sat still sensing their approach.  Once more he thought of the times with Kira.  He had even killed a ninja for her.  A shady character and one needing a lesson to be sure, but he had still killed him just for insulting Kira.  Now he sat, waiting to kill her just as that man probably had wanted to do.  Was he any better, was Youka?  Out of the three of them, who really deserved to die the most, and Maku couldn’t help but wonder, was it really Kira.

As he scanned out, he finally picked up where his two friends were. They were both in the evergreen area, and as such, Maku made his way quickly to their location. He would dash at top speed after a momentary run-up. Leaping across the canyon, he would land roll and continue sprinting. A moment later he would stop standing in the trees with the two people he had spent the majority of his true ninja life with. Looking at each of them he ahd arrived when Youka had pronounced she knew why they were here. Kira of course wouldn’t know why Maku was here, but he would not be left out of such sorted affairs. Looking at her, his eyes would never leave her face. She was a beuty in her own way, picturing that pale skin, drained of what little color it had, and placed in a cold box to be buried in the ground. No joy came to his heart from this. Yet the resolution to do what was needed was strong in his heart as well. Her death would mean the safety of his and Youka’s, as well as Echos. That was justice was it not. Wasn’t it. His chakra seemed to take over, and flux around his body. And he ahd plenty of it. The display of his power swirled around him, and even made his hair move this way and that. Around him were multitudes of different colors and shapes. However the prominent image was that of the mermaid angel that had appeared above him when he fought against Youka. It was only standing 2 feet above his head, its eyes down cast and crying. Maku knew what was about to happen, and he knew he was the only one capable of stopping it. But did he want to?


(1334)

"Hey....Youka......It's time. I've done alot of things in my past....Selene. " she paused on the name for a moment. It had been the spirit of her scythe who had helped her to this conclusion. It had been the spirit who protected her, and it was by her grace that she would be cleansed. Her hands closed upon one another in a ball that rose to hold tightly against her chest. She could feel the shard deep under her skin. It had bored at this point past her rib cage and under, she assumed to where it would be safe. The strange crystal was an interesting thing. Would it work? perhaps this was all for nothing....

       "Selene has aided me. She gave me back the memories of us I some how lost......Memories of the bad times between us that had been locked away by someone or something. I...It...It doesn't matter. You've protected and taught me since I was a terrified child and for that I thank you. I've betrayed you. Both of you. My team. My...My friends. The price for betraying the ones I love is not paid in scars or tatoos. " As she spoke the symbols across her arm, chest and back began to glow a pale blue light. The crossed S on her arm to represent remourselessness, The second to represent hatred, and the third, her final unrepented sin, representing betrayal. "Three sins I bear across my body. Two paid for. Remourslessness paid in love, Hatred paid with trust, but......Betrayal I pay now with my life. Youka. Let this be our final fight. Let this be the last time you look down on me as a pathetic child who doesn't understand or doesn't know, who isn't good enough..." 

      She had to pause for a moment. Her breath came in short quick pulls barelly offering her lungs oxygen. Tears were flowing freely from her eyes to flow down red cheek to fall to the ground below. "I ask two things. Take my heart youka. Let it live with you forever to replace the tainted organ stolen from Hebi that I may never stop guiding you away from your demons......And in the next life....Let us meet again in trust. With my sins repented I ask that this price  allow us to move on. If we ever meet again......Let us embrace as friends. "

Why was she doing this, why wasn't she trying to kill him and live on. Instead she was going on about forgiveness and knowing she was wrong but learning from her mistakes. That wasn't how someone responded to someone about to take their life, where was the defiance, where was the cursing his soul for killing her? There was only forgiveness and love and it crushed Youka to the core, so much so that he began openly weeping in front of both Kira and Maku as she continued to talk about her three sins that she had begun to abolish.

Looking over at Maku he knew that he was feeling the same things that Youka was and more than likely wondering if Youka would indeed follow through with his plan to end her life even in all of this would he still have the will power to take the life of someone so close to him. The decision would have been so much easier if she would have just attacked him out right without uttering a single word from her tiny voice that barely carried forward. If only she didn't cry as she spoke to them, if only she stood in defiance to her last breath waving her weapon through the air in every attempt to cut him down, if she would have done that then this would have been much quicker. However what he got was the voice of an angel speaking to him, telling him it would all be alright, and that she would wait for them both in the afterlife where they could move on and all be friends together once again.

It was such a moving sentiment but at the same time he knew it wasn't possible for that to happen. Once his deed was done his destination was secured ten times over. For a moment he wavered weeping while covering his face with his right hand he raised his left to point towards Kira. Threads shot from his palm towards her location to impale her and end it here before he changed his mind once again and couldn't follow through.

Maku watched as Kira responded to Youka, and seemed to ignore him. Perhaps she was so focused on the demon in front of her; she did not see the other at her side.  She seemed so resolved to die.  It made him sad, how could a powerful shinobi just accept death in such a way.  Then, a thought came to mind.  When he himself had wanted to die.  It was after Youka left, and in a time of despair as leader.  When he had lost purpose in life, and he had sparred Kira.  At a moment when he knew he could have won, he pulled off, and allowed her to reset herself.  She then proceeded to attack back, to which Maku did not put up a defense.  He could have died in that day and yet he had not.  Should he now save her life as she had not taken his?  Even still, it wasn’t really the same was it?  After all, in his death all things would lay to grass, but hers could never be so.  Maku would wait and stay patient.  He would allow Youka to make the first move.  His actions would dictate Maku’s own moves.  

To Maku’s surprise Youka began weeping.  Both of them cried, his display of chakra cried.  The only one with dry eyes at the moment was Maku.  He didn’t like this and was indeed somewhat surprised when Youka raised his hand to fire threads to kill Kira.  His sharingan made the threads look so slow indeed, and Maku began making handseals without thinking.  As the two were made so quickly, and his hand rose seemingly of its own volition, Maku fired a Quasar pulsate straight ahead, cutting the threads off and frying them.  The beam would travel for some time before exploding, rocking the very ground beneath the, the power of it, most likely knocking them out of their own little world.  He was Maku Jemuzu.  His feelings on this mattered, and he would not be ignored like some dog in the streets.  “What are we doing here? “  His anger was absolute.  He had no idea what needed to be done.  He wasn’t even sure why he had stopped Youka in the first place.  This was what he wanted, this was what he had asked Echo to happen wasn’t it?  “is this really how it has to be Youka?  Does she have to die for these sins?  What of our feelings, can we carry out such an order to someone we have trusted so thoroughly?”  

The last word gave Maku pause.  Trusted.  They had trusted her.  Trusted,…….her.  Who had betrayed them.  Negligence was still a form of abuse, and she had abused their friendship.  In his own plea for her life, he had come to the conclusion of her death.  He walked over to stand next to Youka, and to stare at Kira.  “Is there anything you’d like to say to me Kira.  Say something that means we don’t have to do this, anything.”  He gave her the opportunity, even though he knew it was futile.  In the end he didn’t even let her answer.  He raised his hand, and pointed at her.  “Kira, I think that I loved you, before we left for Yuki, I think that I loved you, there I said it for the world to hear finally.”  With the conclusion of his speech, Kira would be placed under the ephermal genjutsu.  This time however, it was no torture.  Kira would experience pure bliss.  She would be in a meadow laughing and feeling total euphoria as her, an illusion of Maku and Youka would be talking and laughing, having themselves a picnic in one of their favorite training areas in Iwagakure no Sato.  This would be her last moment.  Looking at Youka he nodded.  If everything when to plan, he would perform the familiar hand signs again for the quasar pulsate, and fire a single thin stream of pure radiant energy forwards at the same time and speed of Youka’s threads, killing Kira instantly, when she felt no pain, when she felt only happiness.  However for Maku, it would feel like an eternity until the killing blow hit, and ended Kira’s life forever.

(2039)

She winced for a moment as the threads flowed towards her body. It was the final ending, the way she knew she would die. In her mind she replayed the moments with her friends. She could remember all of the good times and bad, playing them behind her closed eyes in an instant as she waited to die. She remembered the ride on youka's back, half dead through the borders of amekagure. She remembered meeting the man Kani, well before he trusted her enough to give her his real name. The training session where youka had killed almost killed her, Maku saved her Life.  When maku first came back from Yuki, after taking it over. How upset she had been.....How they'd cried when he understood how she felt. How betrayed she was that they would leave her alone. From that day on they were never alone. 

     Even as she traveled to Konoha she felt them with her in her heart. She could hear their words when she was afraid, when she didn't know what to do it was these two who would stand with her, whispering they will never leave her. When the monsters in her dreams closed their hands slowly around her throat It was youka's threads that pulled it away and maku's genjutsu that turned the situation against the demons. she remembered her first trip to yuki. How youka was near killing her, hatred filling his eyes once more. Maku traveled the distance in an instance. He was there to catch youka, protecting her once more. She was so caught up in the father figure she felt she needed but she never realized while she was searching for the parents she lost she was neglecting the brothers who would help her stand on her own. These two were her family, her true family. 

     She was ripped from the strange otherworldly feeling as the sizzling of a lazer sliced through youka's threads. Her eyes turned, red and puffy from the constant stream of tears that felt like they were burning through her skin on their trip down to the earth. "ma....Maku...." She couldn't handle this. She broke down, dropping to her knees as her legs buckled. He stopped the threads. Would he not allow her death to cleanse their team? A little bit of her hoped this wouldn't end how she knew it was, though in her heart she knew it had to. "Maku...." She spoke in barelly a whisper, her voice barely loud enough to be heard by the two as maku spoke to youka. "I was wrong. It was you...It was always you. I wanted so much to fight for echo...." As she paused maku asked his question to her, continuing his statement as she continued her whisperings. Could he hear her? Maybe it would be better if he couldnt. 

     "I wish I could be the ninja you two neeed." With that she slid into the genjutsu. She knew when he made the motion what was happeneing and she was thankful for it. She sat down with her friends laughing and enjoying the simplicity of life completely oblivious up until the point when the laser would take her life. 

      Outside of the genjutsu A loud scream could be heard. This was not the defiant scream of terror but a loud wail suggesting the last signs of release. There before themmm Sorrow laid in the snow, her long chain slipping into existence quickly. Once it was fully formed the chain would be noticed in a strange position, and upon closer inspection the two could notice that it was actually shaped into words. 

     "Thank you Maku, Youka. I love you both My brothers and my family. I will see you Again I swear by it we will be together Once more. Until then.......I love you, Goodbye. " Beside the scythe two figures could be seen, etherial but existent. Selene, a figure maku would know well stood beside another woman who looked incredibly like Kira. The nodded, waving to the two for a moment as she breathed her last breaths. Kira's body fell to the ground, the laser piercing her body, burning through her chest thankfully low enough that the gem implanted in her chest was still safely hidden. Her body would not bleed. As her eyes went unfocused, the final bits of her life fading quickly she would fall forward. One of the two etherial figures, the one they could assume to be Amber, and the one who Youka would recognize in her true form, raised her hand. At her command the shadow sewing jutsu would raise once more to bury into her back, appearing a moment later tossing soething towards youka's feet. The heart she had begged him to take, a bit of her soul that would replace the demons within him landing in the snow softly at his feet before her body gave up finally on living. Her last breath would be a whispered word "Goodbye" And then her body shattered into a strange white dust, the winds of the tundra blowing it away quickly to leave no trace of the girl's existence.

Maku stopped Youka from ending her life with his beam of energy that shook the ground beneath them moments after impact. He stopped him from ending his families life, did that mean Kira would live, for a moment that's all he could think about was Kira living and the three of them going on to be together and take on the world as the they were. Youka listened to Maku speak pleading for Kira just to say one thing that would end this whole event and just allow them all to forget this. Youka however knew those words were empty they carried meaning and much more meaning than just tel me to let you live. Maku was trying to fight what he knew had to be done for the safety of all of them and he did it admirably.

The moment proved to be just as overwhelming as it was for Youka for Kira, the only difference was that she couldn't take the weight anymore and crashed to the earth in tears crying calling out to Maku. She explained more on how she wished she could always be there for them and Maku confessed love for Kira that Youka never knew was really there, he always thought they were joking around on things like that. What a fucked up family they were, all three of them in a circle crying as two of them were planning on ending the life of another.

Maku even asked Youka if this was how thing had to be which caused Youka's legs to buckle slightly as he fought to contain his cries and keep his composure. He didn't answer his friend he just stood silently under the tree with his hand still out stretched towards Kira. He knew Maku knew the answer to his own question, there was no need for Youka to reinforce it in the least bit.

It was at the end of Maku speaking that Youka would hear the all too familiar screech of Sorrow entering into existence, YES, she was going to fight, she would die a warriors death in the heat of battle, pushing aside all of these futile emotions such as love and sorrow, there would just be blood shed and death, this is what youka knew, and what he was used to, this he could respond to in kind....no..no...NO...Youka's eyes glossed over as the weapon fell to the ground and the chain spelled out words that formed into one last sentence of love.

"GOD DAMNIT KIRA...wh...why...why.."

Youka went to his knee's in the snow and turned his head to Maku, just as Maku looked down on Youka and nodded. It was the sign of the final prayer being said and the red ribbon being tied around the prisoners eyes. One final smoke of a cigarette, one final drink of liquor, the final meal. Youka's arms felt as if weights had been tied on to them and he had been thrown into the ocean slowly drowning under all of his emotions and guilt for not giving Kira all the information she needed to avoid this situation. This was all his fault and now he would kill his mistakes off and hide them instead of letting the sun shine on them.

Raising his right hand once again slowly he shot of his tendrils once more just as Maku shot his beam towards Kira. Youka looked on and activated his sharingan in both eyes to slow time down even more so this moment would be etched into his memory for all eternity as to never forget what he did here on this day. As both strikes hit their marks Youka's threads going through her lung and Maku's beam easily melting through her chest Youka fell to the snow face first in tears pounding his fists into the snow trying to cause more physical pain to himself to forget the mental trauma he was feeling. Something snapped in his brain just for a moment and then it was gone. A voice of something evil spoke but he couldn't discern the words and right now it didn't matter. He crawled over to Kira to catch her as she fell only to have her vanish and dematerialize in front of his eyes. The only thing he had to remember her by was a few locks of her hair that had been thrown down by the way side. It was done.

(confirmed death, - one heart if youka picks it up, soul amethyst reanimating)

Maku watched as Youka tried to hold Kira, just for her to vanish in a flash.  If it hadn't been for the depth of sadness he felt, he may have thought this odd, but just as that scythe of hers appeared and dissapeared into the world, it must have taken her body with it.  A few seconds passed, and over the sound of Youka sobbing, Maku heard a bird sing.  How could it sing when the world had stopped.  Wait, how was the world still spinning.  He looked back and forth, Kira was gone.  This wasn't a joke or some charade, she was dead.  Gone forever from this world.  Maku took a breath, but why.  Why did he breathe when she did not.  True horror filled his mind at what had happened.  Yet it had happened all the same.  The one woman Maku had loved was dead.  He had killed her.  He had thought about it, and yet now he realized the blood on his hand was more than he could bear.  He was a child, a child that played at ninja.  He now found the game left a bad taste in his mouth.

His breathing became rapid, his heart rate speeding up.  Over 180 beats per minute increasing.  Maku wished it all to stop, he wished the world to stop.  He focused his chakra, his knowledge of S/T, couldn't he turn back the clock.  He focused he tried and yet he could not.  Echo's words came to his mind, about saving everyone and the finality of death.  Maku had been the evil in the world the Echo wished to stop.  Throwing his hands to his side arms outstretched, he screamed, the sound guttural and animalistic.  It encompassed all the pain he felt, and all the emotion that was releasing.  Pain, and yet as he looked on the world seemed to slow further.  His eyes burned as if they were being ripped form his very skull.  Wishing to burn off this extra energy, Maku made the hand seals, and exploded a great fire annihilation into the sky.  50 meters wide, flame scorched the skies.  THough when it was complete, Maku was not satisfied and he released a barrage of great fireballs into the sky as well.  The heat from all the fire actually melted the snow around him, and ash and fire fell from the sky all around him.

Rain began to fall due to the atmospheric change in temperature form the heat of Maku's emotion and release.  The rain fell heavy and hard, creating puddles in the snow.  One was directly in front of Maku, and he looked into it.  He wished to see the face of the murderer.  He wished to look upon the face that killed a woman that he had loved.  Looking into the puddle, Maku saw that his eyes had changed, and that horrified him.  What had happened in this moment, had his eyes been made to mark him as a murderer?  Below is what he saw.



(Claiming MS)