Self Actualization (Solo)

How much time had passed? Couldn’t have been more than……….he wasn’t sure. He had been at that restaurant when it had happened. Nothing had been on his mind and yet something had seemed to click in his mind. A bullet sliding into the chamber. His hand was still wrapped in the rag that he had taken from the kitchen. The once snow white piece of cloth would probably never return to its original state. Instead it seemed to be stained red forever. Looking down at his hand, his eyes seemed to slide in and out of focus. Blood should not have this effect on him, no something was going wrong. Something had affected him the wrong way. Had Xyxer had him poisoned? The man seemed like a couple screws short of a coco clock, but to be that paranoid….He couldn’t be sure. Instead of moving to the hospital though, he knew he needed to just go back to his apartment and rest. There he could gain a reprieve; he could rest and become himself again. Couldn’t he? That sensation of something clicking into his mind was still so real so vivid. Almost like something, some part of him was about to be put out to pasture.

The sun was shining over Tengakure, at complete ends with how Maku was feeling. If he had to gauge, it was around seventy two degrees, and not a cloud in the sky. The slight breeze made the warm sunlight feel wonderful, if it wasn’t for the anxiety that gripped at his chest. Moving through the streets, it seemed like everyone was watching him. Each eye that looked at him, each whisper, was it about him? Could they see what he felt? The urge to strike out at them, to lay waste to everything around him….how it clutched at his being, how that would make him feel so much better. Why though, why were these feelings bubbling up. He hadn’t felt like this since his time working for that shady fellow that always hung out in Iwagakure. The days when he was still picking up petty missing ninja missions. Those days seemed so long ago, and yet they had been some of the happiest days of his life. Then things were so simple, he had awoken taken jobs and got paid. People had fought him, and they had died. How it had made him laugh and smile then, as if some inner beast was being fed.

Now though, things were so different. They were constantly in the midst of this scheme or that scheme. Yet how many of them had actually gone through… None, nothing was ever going to plan the way it was supposed to. The last successful mission was taking over Yukigakure, and how long ago had that been. He had worn the wraps of leader for a longer time than he had imagined he would. He had thought it to be a brief time before it would be assigned to some one better situated for office than himself, and yet in that time had he not done a good job. When he had applied himself, he felt as if his performance rivaled any other leader. Yet how boring the office was. When he was in Taki he had thought he wanted to be leader. He had always thought that as a young boy, yet like so many things, once you hold something in your hand, you find you don’t like the feel. That was what being leader was like for him. After taking control, getting the entire place to assimilate the way he liked, the boredom set in. Boredom……the ultimate poison, that flows through a young ninjas veins, poisoning them, causing their actions to become not their own.

Yes….there had been moments of fun. Fighting Youka in the streets, those pathetic genin cowering beside the rubble. That had been exciting…..covering up the deaths of those other fools. That to was exciting, how he had to work so hard to not smile when he gave the eulogy. His ability to keep the murders quite, had given him a feeling of total euphoria, yet…it to faded almost as quickly as it had begun. Then where was he, yet again bored. Why couldn’t one of those damned fools figured him out, attacked him, thrown him from his tower. Yet none had, none could. Their powers were pitiful and nothing to him. He could destroy the entire village within 10 minutes of awakening, and still have time to get to Iwagakure for breakfast. He had met strong shinobi in his life and yet he had never feared for his life. This still unsettled him. He wanted that fight, the one that would push him to death, the one that would be spoken of for a thousand thousand years. Yet…..no challenge came. His life was to passive.

There was one though, Echo Uchiha. He had powers that Maku did not, and could not fully understand yet. He could challenge him and Youka together. Yes they had discussed killing him, but they hadn’t done it yet. It remained a plan on the table destined never to come true. These things upset him, in the old days theyd have just done it. Fuck the plans, fuck the table they sat on, and you know what while they were at it fuck the pencil that would draw them up. They had killed shinobi without a second thought, Youka had massacred horses, things like plans and details meant nothing. They had not sat in a dark room talking about taking Yukigakure. They had donned their armor, and marched. A war machine of two individuals, and now they sat and chatted like bent over old ladies. All these thoughts swirled through his mind as if someone was injecting them to be seen by his eyes. All the while a slight drip drip of the blood leaving the towel could be heard as he made his way finally to his destination. Rushing past the doorman, he made it to his room in no time, opening and walking through the door.

Upon his left foot crossing the threshold, it was immediately evident that something was wrong. The room was dark as pitch, and yet the window was open. Moving into the room, he made his way towards the center, where a single light bulb hung. He did not remember it being there in all this time, and yet it was unmistakably present. A single cord hung from the bulb, clearly the switch to bring light into this darkened room. Something was wrong, and yet, the compulsion to pull that cord was much too strong. It was too late to stop such an action; he didn’t know if he could if he had even wanted to. The towel dropped from his hand, the blood still wet as it crisscrossed the back of his hand, interlacing his fingers as a lover holds their partners hand. His hand moved up slowly, purposefully. As his fingers began to wrap around the cord, a shiver ran down his spine. His own voice reverberated in his ears. Don’t, please don’t. I wish I could stop, but I think that time has passed, was all he could answer. With that, he pulled the cord, and the light hit his eyes for the first time.

The screams, how they pounded his ear drums. The flames, how they licked his flesh. All around him, people wailed in their separate punishments. Turning every which way, he immediately recognized this palce. It was where he had learned the arts of space time, it was where he had gained strength. It was where he had met….”Hello Maku, it has been awhile hasn’t it? I told you we would see each other again didn’t I?” That voice. If a wolf could speak, no not a wolf. Something older, more ancient. If the apex predator existed and could form words, they would sound like this man’s speech. How his words planted fear in Maku, despite his lack of any action. Finding the source of the voice, he saw him. He sat on a moving throne. No, not a moving throne…..he sat on the bodies of victims, still alive and held in place for him to make his seat. His hair had grown out, but that same smile, that same fine pressed suit. This was the demon who had given him powers, the man who had told him he would collect them in due time. That time seemed to have arrived.

“No no, you misunderstand. I know I had to be rough with you in the past, but those times are over. It was meant as a….motivator tool. Yet you continued on with your childish ways.” How he spoke, it seemed so innocent. Like a tyrant speaking to a child despite having sentenced countless other children to death. It was those eyes, they lacked all remorse. To truly stare at an aspect of indifference was possibly the most frightening thing one could imagine. “I had hoped, on your own, given time you would evolve, grow, and become what I know you can be. I however miscalculated. I didn’t understand your need to have a good time. Yet there it was, always holding you back. You played the hero in the past, but I think its time we took a turn as a villain.” Standing, he walked across hardened stone. Touching Maku’s shoulder, leading him down a tunnel he had not noticed before. “Tonight, I think I will show you the truth, and when you see the truth, you will never be able to see anything else. You see Maku, the truth is scarier than a lie, as a lie can change, but the truth…ahh that is an absolute.”

There steps where deliberate as they moved through this hellverse. The cavern seemed ravenous, as if it to sought to consume him, though it did not dare while its master remained close to the boy. As the cavern stretched on, small openings allowed him to look, and see the depth of the domain they walked in. It seemed endless, stretching for all eternity. Fields with great demons marching through them wielding scythes. Though they were not harvesting crops, instead it was obvious that the field was full of humans. Some hung in place, others attempting to flee, like grain in the wind. Though none it seemed, was fast enough. Turning back he looked forward, his breath a little heavy. Could he fight this enemy, he had sought a glorious death, but here…..he wasn’t sure this qualified. “Shhh, quite those thoughts. When we are done I shall give you the option to leave, no need to think of fighting me just yet.” His answer rocked Maku. Earlier he had imagined the being had guessed, but now it seemed evident….even his mind was not the safe place it had once been.

As they continued to march, the end of the cavern finally came into site. Walking through it, everything seemed to change. Turning back quickly, he noticed the opening was gone. Instead they were outside the gates of Takigakure. Looking towards the gate, he saw…himself. Sitting in the grass, he could remember this moment like it was yesterday. It was when he had left Takigakure. The feelings still held true even to this day. He had been betrayed, that was the way he still saw it. Neglected and left to fend for himself. The village was nothing, nothing but a hub for the weak, an absentee leader who couldn’t even put in provisions to see the youth trained. Maku was an absentee leader as well he supposed to himself, perhaps…”Don’t forgive. It makes you weak. Instead cast off the feelings as a whole. Don’t feel anger, shame, or forgiveness. These things are like weights to your soul. You drag it to earth, you remove its ability to move freely. This was a moment in your life, like many moments. It made you the way you are now, but honestly is it more important than a day you did nothing except for exist? Think about it, if either didn’t happen you wouldn’t be here.”

The devils words, how they rang true. As if they were Maku’s own thoughts, that he simply had not formed yet. He had always been rather indifferent, but he saw now how much he still relied on feelings. They did weigh him down… “This is but our first stop, but I know its import to you. Please remember that this moment, was just a moment. Like all moments, they shall pass, and new ones take their place.” As he finished speaking, he waved an arm, and the scene shimmered and changed. These were not the static views, and instead were rushed. Scenes of him saving Kira from Youka. “These, are you playing a hero. How do you feel about them now?” Maku considered. Watching himself, he was slightly disgusted. He had interfered with his best friend, what was the point. He trusted Youka, and he had betrayed him by preventing his actions. “I feel….ashamed I suppose. At the time, I trusted Kiranomo, I thought her an ally. As time moved on though, it became evident she was nothing. Nothing, but a tool to be used and when the time was right, to discard.

“That is where once again you are not grasping my lesson. Does feeling ashamed make these moments any different, of course not. Does it make any difference at all, what if you loved these moments, you still assisted in her death at a later time did you not.” As he mentioned her death, Maku was shown when she died. Taking a deep breath, he embraced what the devil was saying. He did not feel. It had happened, it had been necessary, and there was no reason to get wrapped up in the emotion of seeing it again. “Better, you are learning a little bit. This was when you first displayed your indifference, and it was here that I thought you would become what I knew you could become. Yet you moved away from it. If anything you embraced life more.” He showed Maku several instances of him goofing around, dancing, and drinking with Ryuu. “These moments, they happened, and you allowed your feelings to stop you from moving forward. Your soul aches for action and chaos, and yet you try and take these quick fixes to placate it. WELL I SAY THIS, A SOUL CANNOT BE PLACATED, A BEAST DESIRES IT’S RATIONS, AND YOU MAKU JEMUZU, HAVE FAILED!”

As the devil had yelled, his arm had flown out, backhanding Maku back into the hellscape. In a pit, bones lay scattered around him, as evident as pebbles on a cobblestone road. A deep guttural sound could be heard from behind him, turning he saw a huge three headed beast. Not a dog, but a demon. It moved towards him, its harsh bark sending terror down his spine. The beast neared him and has its yellowed fangs came crashing down on his pitiful outstretched arms, he was thrown back to the devils side. “You see Maku, I do not want you to be consumed by your inner demons, I want you to dominate them. Become the hound master, not a bitch at the lash.” Here, you took yourself out of such a simple task, and became something more. You with indifference killed twice, your perceived mother, and uncle. Watching he saw in quick succession when he had killed those two false relations. He had not felt guilty for it, it was something he had to do, lest he take their place in Hades.

“Your feelings for the Crustacean realm, is sweet, yet it to must be discarded.” At this Maku released his first bit of emotion. They had been his one true family. They alone had accepted him, and made him feel whole. They would not be talked about like trash by some devil. Jumping back form the man, Maku yelled his response. “How dare you, they….they alone have been my family….they alone have cared!!” Forming a hand seal he inhaled, and breathed forth a torrent of flame. One of his most powerful and destructive jutsu, he saw to consume his foe in the flames. However, as they died out, they demon still stood there a red aura cloaking his body, and then he vanished. Appearing beside Maku, his arms shot out faster than Maku could react to. The first blow knocked both of Maku’s arms up, the next open palm smashed into his solar plexus, his breath leaving his body in a rush. Before he could even gather himself, two hands laced their fingers behind his head as a knee came rushing upwards. It crashed into his face, the sickening crunch filling his ears as a hot wetness moved to plaster his long hair to his face, further obscuring his vision. However….it wasn’t for long as darkness consumed him.

Shaking his head, he opened his eyes. Feeling his face, he felt no damage, and realized his injuries did not exist. “See how your emotions weaken you. You a self proclaimed master of genjutsu, and yet I invaded your mind in a second, raping it, taking what I desired like some little girl being dominated. In that state, you are no good to anyone, let alone yourself.” The scenes that ran in front of him now, were still. Merely the frozen village of Yukigakure, yet none of the people appeared to be there. Instead he found himself sitting on a park bench, nothing around him as the snow continued to fall. Standing, he walked a few steps into the street before looking up at the sky. He had been weak. He had been weak for so long. Some ninja praised him, some feared him, but that was the point. Only some did. As the snow landed on his face, he looked towards the devil. “If I do learn from you.” He licked his lips briefly, biting his bottom lip. Buying himself time to think. “What will I loose?” This marked the first occasion the devil’s smile seemed genuine. Not the sadistic grin of a man in power, but true enjoyment.

“My dear boy, you have not been paying attention. If I teach you, you will lose everything, and gain nothing. Only then, will you truly reach your potential.” His words hung heavy in the air. The choice was obvious. There was only one thing that Maku could do. The very idea of compromising his entire being, to shed what made him him. These things were unforgiveable sins. Who made a deal to gain nothing and lose everything? Moving to the devil he stood looking into his eyes. As the abyss stared back at him, he reached a single hand out. “I think you already knew my answer. I don’t think you needed to show me these things, but you did anyway. I don’t care why, let’s do this.” His hand was almost instantly taken, an iron grip as they shook hands. “You see….now you’re starting to get the point.” As the hand shake ended, they once again were back in the throne room of this entity. It was here apparently their training would begin.

In the room, his mind raced, and considered what he had just accepted. He had accepted to become something new, to strip away his former life. There was only one reason for this, and that was the pursuit of greater power. So long had his life been one plan after another, but now in this moment true advancement was offered. That more than any other reason was why he had accepted the devil’s deal. Perhaps, had Youka been around and not the demon, there would have been a chance he would have turned him away. Though, without his friend currently being available, he was left more to his own impulses. In the throne room, he watched as the king of hell sat on his moving throne waiting for the instruction on how he could gain in strength. “You wish to walk my path, to have my powers. Such a path is simple, but first we must strip you of your emotions. Sever what connection you still have with the humans of your world. To do that, I will show you the depravity of those you still feel for. Prepare yourself Maku Jemuzu, the sins of man will weigh heavy on you, and only you can cast them off.”

At his last word, for what felt like the hundredth time, Maku was cast out and left to regain his balance in a new realm. He stood inside a village he did not recognize. It seemed odd; a faint mist seemed to hang on the air. As he watched he saw a rough looking individual holding an infant. “Here you go mum, as promised. Wasn’t easy they had him next to his brother. But I got him, now paying as agreed.” Handing over the infant, Maku recognized the fat man taking the child as his presumed uncle. “Ahh yes paying as agreed, ofc.” Handing over what looked like a bunch of bolts and screw the thug looked pleased and began to walk away. Knowing this false guardian had been a master of genjutsu as well, Maku could only imagine that he had fooled the man into thinking he had received true capitol instead of trash. It seemed finally, the mystery of what Maku had endured would be shown. As the scene continued to shift, Maku watched as the three of the people who raised him finally were gathered together in Takigakure.

The man Maku had believed to be his father, had indeed been a naturalized Takigakure citizen, therefore they used that to allow them entry. Inside his flat, the place Maku had grown up in was where the monsters that dwelt in the souls of man was finally revealed to Maku. As he watched, he was forced to see his infantile self subjected to countless chakra based experiments. As it turned out, his false mother had been a master of S/T chakra. She had not expressed this at all when he had fought her. Yet watching them now, he skills In it were remarkable. Slowing the flow of time in the room, they seemed to be able to work for hours with little to no breaks. The false uncle seemed to mostly be the salesman. He would often come and go with offers from mercenary groups. Apparently willing to pay a high price for a super soldier of some kind. Though it was quickly obvious, these fools had no idea what they were doing. They were attempting to play God, and failing at it. Working to try and expand the babes chakra network and manifest powers at too early of an age.

Months this went on, with no results. It was quickly obvious that whatever amount of strength Maku had gain, it was not from a born gift, or these fools. The abuse that went on after these failures, Maku would rather have not seen, and felt no need to commit them to memory. He had paid attention to the devil, and knew what he must do. It wasn’t a matter of forgiving these creatures. It wasn’t about hating them and gaining revenge. It was about not feeling anything about what they had done. His strength wouldn’t be what it was without them, but it was just as important as any other moment. His timeline was linear, and the things of the past were nothing now, no need to feel. As his eye lids slid down giving him an almost sleepy appearance, something happened that shook him from his reverie. “Hello Maku, it’s about time we had a talk. Father to son, don’t you think?” Turning, standing in front of him, looking into his eyes was his father. “How…….” The same smile that Maku often had graced his father’s lips, “Come son, how can you ask me that, masters of genjutsu like us? Anything is possible given time, and I had a lot.”
As the rest of the scene froze a table and chair appeared. Sitting his father gestured for Maku to do the same. He did so in a day dream, still not understanding this. The devil didn’t have the power to bring back the dead, he couldn’t. “No, I am not real. I am simply in your mind, something I put there a long time ago. Like you can block memories, I simply added one for you, but I didn’t let it activate until I thought you were ready.” As he finished speaking, the devil appeared behind him, however he looked different. Almost submissive. “As you have gained, we experimented on you, we worked hard to make you something special, but I simply could not keep it up like my compatriots. In the throes of failure, I had hoped they would concede so I could raise you proper. However, I was killed. Truly a tragedy, such a silly thing death, seems to get in the way of things.” Chucking, his father kept eye contact, while Maku still didn’t know what to think.

His father had been the one saving grace of the group. From what he had been able to gather he had tried to protect Maku in the end. Yet it hadn’t started that way. The urge to attack, and listen were equal as he stared back. “You see, when I knew I was going to die, I decided to place this memory into your mind, so that I could reveal the truth. This is a limited memory, I cannot answer all your questions, and I can only speak to what I know when I placed this within your mind.” It made since, after all it was impossible to predict everything. Listening the his father continued on, Maku now was certain interrupting would do nothing. “When we failed in our experiments, the others sought your death. My own death was rushed, by transferring my chakra to you as much as I could. I wanted to try and help you so you could live. I am pleased to see you have done so. However, for this memory to truly activate, it means you really aren’t living at all. It was designed to break if you ever should truly come to a point in your life where indecision outweighed your purpose.”

“That time is now. These visions you have seen, I do not know what they are, just like the figure behind me. I do not know who he is or what he has manifested as. It represents the grand total of our experiments. The ability of self-actualization. He is you and you are him. Once you accept this, you will forever be different. You will forever change, and you will become what you were meant to be. I hope it is something good my son. Though, I have little hope in it after all of this.” His father looked sad as he spoke. Maku continued to look, trying to understand what was being told to him. The devil, was him? He was inside his own mind. The prospect was staggering, those times he had believed he was somewhere else…..this had always just been inside his head. “Please, don’t give it to much thought, you’re not crazy. You understand genjutsu better than anyone by this point I am certain of it. This is my final gift to you Maku. When this vision ends, you will be given a choice. That choice will signify where you go in this life. You can choose to remain as you are, or you can choose to embrace this inner self. If you choose to stay the way you are, this self will seal itself. Forever gone.”

At the word gone, again he found himself in a new place. A room with a desk. The darkness around it seemed almost palpable somehow. Sitting behind the desk, he saw the photo of Youka, and the light that rained down from the light above him. Along with the picture there were two glasses on the desk. One filled with a clear liquid, and the other a jet black mixture. Looking at them, Maku had no way of knowing which meant which. “How do I know the difference.” Maku was answered by silence. This was something he would have to learn for himself it would seem. Standing, he walked around the desk, contemplating the decision that stretched out before him. Taking the clear glass, he looked at the liquid. Clear, perfectly clear. Would this have him see himself for what he was? Throwing it back, the liquid moved down his throat burning as it slid into his stomach. The scream that echoed out as he fell clutching his stomach caused the light bulb to burst, and in that moment, Maku was absorbed by his darkness.

“Do you think he will survive?” The devil asked the visage of his father. “O I don’t know, been dead for many years. The question is if he can accept you, or if he will be consumed by his own unresolved issues. The genjutsu I used forced him to live through his subconscious instead of his actual conscious. Which is what you represent you know. It is why he always acted on impulse and seemed to change emotions so quickly and easily. He was living like a beast, a scary thought really. If a beast acted in that way, how will he as a human behave?” The devil considered for a moment. “I feel a pulling sensation, I think he might just be pulling through.” As quick as he was able to speak he began to disappear like smoke. “It means he is drawing you in. In the next few moments, Maku will either die, or he will actualize himself. His mind will expand to its full potential. Whatever is inside his heart will completely take control. I sensed him to be a boy of great ambition…..A scary thought; a man of great ambition is capable of anything.” His father stood alone for just a moment, until he to dissipated. “Good luck my son…..” The darkness in Maku’s mind completely consumed the environment, like a machine shutting down after running for to long. Now the restart would display what damage had been done.
Nawing, biting, scratching, crawling, how the darkness penetrated him. It consumed him, it hollowed him out and left nothing inside. Only then, when the darkness was complete, when it had consumed him entirely was he able to awaken. Within his inner world, the realm of his own mind, a brief spark began to take. The flame that was birthed from it slowly kindled, and rose through the worlds. It did not stay inside the one realm, his consciousness, instead it moved throughout the lower levels. The darkened room that had contained the desk was gone, and in a moment the swirling vortex that had made up the middle layer was consumed as well. It took longer it seemed for the flames to reach the area that had made Maku a child, and had kept him innocent. Yet soon, those green pastures to went up in flame. Only when the fires had consumed every inch of this inner world was their darkness once again. Yet this darkness was different. The inner world seemed to hold its breath, as the second birth was about to take place.

How long had the darkness taken hold of him, had it been a year, a century, an eon, or had it been but a second. Either way, the darkness faded and the new inner world of Maku was revealed. Not multilayered like a normal mind. It now only had one plane. One single layer, as Maku achieved self actualization. He was the master of his own body, there was no other creatures within. Looking out, he found himself in a snow draped city. It was similar to Yuki in many ways. It seemed more modern somehow, almost as if Tengakure and Yukigakure had been fused. As he walked through it, not a soul existed there. No inner workings, and the world was silent. Perfect silence. It was beautiful, it was majestic, it was perfect. Looking down at himself, he found he was dressed in an all black suit complete with a tie. He was also older. Looking up at the snow like he had done not so long ago, he let the flakes touch down on his face.

That moment could have stretched on forever, and he would have been pleased. However, bliss is often interrupted when one gets comfortable. “So, I see you have survived.” Two figures appeared behind him. The devil and his false father. Looking at them, he did not feel anything. They were beings just like him, nothing to fear, but no reason to pity them either. “This is the end of the genjutsu, this is the end of my experiment. At the conclusion of this speech I will disappear forever. We set out to make a perfect soldier. The others thought that it would be a shinobi with unrivaled power. In the end I saw that they were wrong. So I altered the plan, I made a shinobi that knew himself perfectly. You will never be gripped by indecision again. You have at a young age become what monks strive for decades to become. Now my son, know I love you, and I wish that my parting gift would not have caused you so much pain.” With that a tear seemed to fall down his face, and the vision of his father dissipated and ended.

“I wish I could say the same father, but I can’t say I feel much of anything.” Maku whispered as his hand moved through the mist that had been his father’s visiage. “You see, I told you. If you gave up everything, and gained nothing, you would truly see farther.” The devil smiled as it moved closer to Maku. It stood shoulders squared facing off against the boy. How similar they now looked. This beast that had pushed him forever onward now was not scary at all. The beast had been him, and he had been the beast. “I suppose all that’s left is for you to answer a couple simple questions, and then we can be done here. Why is it, in my mind we were constantly in that hellverse?” Maku had been wondering about this. The place no longer held any fear for him, but it was interesting all the same. That place had seemed like pure hatred and rage, fear, yet the devil had said that his very being was linked to indifference.

“Ahh yes. Hell you see is not a place. It is a state of mind. It is created by the fears of man, and the knowledge that their deeds require punishment when they are dead. You had many fears then, you didn’t know who you were, and you saw yourself as evil. You created your own hell, and a classic view you choose indeed. That place still exists inside of you. Though, through knowing yourself completely it cannot harm you any longer. Only those men who can’t fully see themselves need have fear of such a place. It will respond to you, listen to you. With a transcended mind, you have no need to fear the most primal fear a human possesses. I hope you do not leave it behind, but instead embrace it. By bringing others there, it is possible for you to bring them to the same state of mind you have achieved. Burning their souls to the nothing, and then allowing them to build them back up. Only then, will they to be whole.” The devil smirked. As Maku considered he supposed it did make sense in a poetic way. If one believed their actions to be in perfect harmony with their existence, if they absolutely knew what they did was right, how could they ever be punished for it?

He had overcame such things, and now it was time to move on. “So then, what happens to you?” Maku asked the devil, but even as he did the creature changed and became the mirror image of Maku. “I am you, merely trying to guide you to this point. I am finished, my speech is finished. Sorry I had to rough you up and scare the shit out of you a couple times. You just needed the right push to get here.” As he finished speaking, his arm became outstretched touching Maku at the point of his heart. It seemed to pierce his flesh, and yet no pain was achieved. Instead he slowly assimilated into Maku, becoming one. Alone now, Maku was back in the snow filled city. He could stay here forever. He knew if he choose to, he could. Yet, he had things to do. His goals had been put on hold and challenged for too long. His desire to have his name scrolled through history, to reshape the world. That dream truly started in this moment.

It had been poisoned by Echo, making him believe that protecting others would grant him his dream. It had been slowed down by Kiranomo making him have feelings for the weak. Now however, he had feelings for no one. He was free to pursue his own desires without the burden of others. As he began to walk outside of this place, his foot seemed to crunch in the powdered snow. Reaching down, he picked up a cracked portrait of Youka Tau. His best friend and trusted ally. He looked at the man, and he felt……what was it he felt? No, he didn’t feel anything, and yet he felt something. The paradox was almost enough to cause all the work that had been done to become undone. Yet the moment passed, and the truth came to his mind. Youka was still an ally. Even if he no longer had the feelings of a normal human, he could still see it. He would see him raised in station if he could help it. He would not let the man die without meaning. He would take his name and see it writ across history as well.

Ryuu was another man he would have to deal with. He was still mostly a new entity he had no planned for. Perhaps a test was in order. To see the man’s convictions, and understand what made him tick. If he shared the same dreams, he could be assimilated into the group. He could be used to make the events that would shake history. There were several things that needed to happen first however. He needed to wipe away his past, so his future could truly be his own. Yukigakure would fall, Takigakure would fall, Iwagakure would fall, but first……a different land had to fall. The one place that had more to do with him becoming human than any other place did. He had found a home there, and in finding that home had moved farther away from actualizing himself. The land of the crustaceans…..it had to fall just like the villages. And it would, but unlike the villages its destruction would occur sooner. As easy as blinking, his eyes opened to the real world. Removing himself from his inner reverie he needed to see the real world with his new eyes. As he did, his foot touched down past the threshold of his rented room. Everything to this point had happened during the length of a single step. Yet that step, through a door had changed everything.

Moving inside of the room, he closed the door and made the normal sacrifice of blood. In a poof of white smoke the crustacean contract older appeared. “Hello old friend, I need to visit the land of the crustaceans, if you would be so kind.” In an instant he was transported to the familiar area. Walking across the sand beaches, he was greeted with many familiar faces. It was odd, how this new look on life had not changed his outward appearance so much. He could still smile, and joke, and yet none of it made him feel as it once had. It would make all this easier. They simply knew too much about him, and they had to go. Making his way to the throne room, he found himself at audience with Satsujin, and the rest of the leaders of the race. They greeted him in the familiar way, and a feast was brought out. Hungry, Maku ate and laughed and drank. The precipice stood before him, the murky depths of murder. Yet, there was time for food. There was time for them to feel happiness even if it was beyond Maku at this point. Then, he would see the deed done.

Once the food was gone, the drink was dry, Maku stood. The other denizens were slow form the feast. Had they been able to see into his heart, it was doubtful they could have stopped him anyway. “My friends, I appreciate all you have done for me. Your honor, you compassion, it has moved me and made me the man I am today. Recently an epiphany was reached. I saw the truth, and in that moment I decided to come here and share it with you. Today…history will be made for your race. I will be remembered here for all time. I hope you are ready.” The crustaceans gave a sort of clap by clicking their pincers together. The speech had sounded all well and good, as if he was going to reveal some greatness to them. Only Satsujin, the murder crab could see what was happening. He who had been named after a chief sin in that moment saw into Maku’s eyes, and the abyss that lurked there.

His strike attempted to kill Maku in the moment, as the smile on Maku’s face continued to rest there. His lips mouthed the word “thank you” and then the explosion erupted through the chasm. The vacuum bomb oblitering the chief meeting room of the crabs, leaving nothing in its wake. Moving out of the rubble, Maku saw as so many rushed to their aid. Another two quick seals caused the deaths of countless as the swamp of the underworld opened up and pulled them under. Those who had the strength to resist, where quickly burned away as the fire spewed from the mouth of Maku washed over them. Moving forward he walked across the hardened mud. Using the various ninjutsu tools he had at his disposal, those creatures who had escaped his grasp were quickly dispatched. In a course of a single hour, he had killed all that he had found. When he no longer could sense any chakra beings, he decided his work was finished. This place would no longer serve as a home for him. He had severed it from his life, making his path ahead all the more clear. This day would echo in their history for a thousand years, if any had survived. Now, it was time to make his mark in the realm of man.

Finding his contact with the crustaceans, he saw it burnt. Removing his name from its pages. As he watched it, he tried to examine himself. Seeing if he felt any remorse or sadness at what had just occurred. However, none existed. It seemed he really had gone beyond what he had once been. As the flames began to die away, he formed the hand seal that had been taught to him by Naoki. Another place he may have to visit in time. The bubble formed, and he removed himself from the area. In his room, he began to consider his next actions. Looking at a map, he thought long and hard about where he should go next. He considered Yukigakure, as it contained the most information about him. However, his eyes kept gazing to Taki. His name had been removed from its office. Yet the people still knew that was where he had begun. He had begun his journey there, it seemed disrespectful to not show it the attention it deserved. Rolling up the map, he moved to lay down. He had expanded a lot of chakra, and he would need his rest.

He was not sure what would meet him there. He doubted any shinobi of import was there, yet he would not be caught out like some fool. Closing his eyes, he experienced a dreamless sleep. The darkness was like his shelter, holding him and rejuvenating him as he lay asleep. When he awoke several hours later, he could feel himself at his top potential. There were only a few preparations to finish, and then he would go to Taki and see his mission completed. Youka had wanted villages destroyed, and so had he. No more wasting time, it would be done. He did not need his friends blessing in this, instead he would tell him it was happening. First he wrote a brief note and had a messenger take it to Youka. “Youka, I have left Tengakure. No doubt you have noticed by the time this letter gets to you. I have set out for Takigakure, and am going to level it. That place should be mine, as my birthright. When I am finished I will most likely return for the genin.” Finishing the letter, he sealed it and sent a messenger to tell Youka to return to this room.

Not wanting to risk someone reading his letter. Youka would find it here. The only other thing to do was to find Ryuu and take him with him. He would see what lay in his new friends heart. He had said he was a shinobi of Amegakure, yet he had not acted like one. Perhaps he had felt the same disdain towards his home village that Maku had felt. This might prove useful, and cement their future together. Sitting in his room, he began to attempt to open up the realm of hell he had so recently been in. He knew now that it was not a real place, and instead a place of his own creation. With his manipulation of space and time, he thought he could create it in earnest, however. As he approached forming it, his bod began to glow and he could feel the pressure sucking in the things around his room. Quickly ending his attempt, he realized he was not ready. The jutsu he had created by accident, it would not do well to activate it here. It was a total failure, and one of his most powerful weapons simultaneously.

Thinking on the process with which he used space time, he knew the day must be drawing to a close. Staring out the window, he waited. This single day, this single night, how it intrigued him. How long had it taken for such minor steps to be accomplished, yet now it felt as if he could sprint. It was time to show the world who he was in earnest. It was time to no longer be in the shadows as another faceless shinobi that time would forget. It was time, it was just time to be who he was, and who had had always meant to be. As the sun set on Tenga, he thought how this would be the last sunset Takigakure would ever see, and yet they did not even know it yet. The sunrise was going to be a beautiful thing. He hoped the people of Takigakure would wake early. The sun would greet them, warm their bodies. Their souls however, those would soon depart this world. Maku would see to it. His history needed to begin, and Takigaure was the first page. The blood of its citizens the ink.

(WC = 8,001. Claiming Mastery of Vacuum bomb, no handseals and half off. Also claiming 40ap as leader. Destruction of Crustacean contract, removing my two jutsu from stat page upon approval. Not really a claim, but a large shift in the personality of Maku, along with displaying new IC goals and motivations)

Uh, Sure.

Holy shit wow XD approved!