It's a bit flamboyant; I like it. [P]

Xyxer was sitting in the throne he had claimed long ago, his finger tips pressed against each other as if they were whores attempting to please the eye of a customer in a brothel. His elbows propped up on the diamond table which encased a school of fish, his brow furrowed. His concentration had never left him and he had remained in the mindset of a soldier.. Perhaps he was not fit for rule. Perhaps it was true what he had been told.. He was more fit to be a beast than he ever was to be a ruler.. But whom would ever denounce a beast to their face and expect no repercussion? Only a fool, surely.

Again he was back in this place, Takeo was surprised he hadn't grown sick of it. The vast height, the dull boring exterior, the dodgy elevator, Haru sitting at the reception desk, the diamond table filled with fish, nothing ever changed. Takeo paused for a moment and frowned, something about that didn't seem quite right. Having just walked into the office he became immediately aware of the change. "The funds of Tengakure could be wasted on my drinking instead of on some cheap decoration." Takeo's tone still surprised him, lacking any sort of emotion to it. Had he always sounded like this? Takeo was sure that he used to be much more lively and full of emotion before. A side effect of the drinks he had been supplied from the researchers it seemed. Still, it was a side effect that Takeo was willing to live with if it meant restraining his blood-lust. At least for now anyway.

Takeo peered at the boy across the room. There he was. While the boy's appearance had undergone a drastic change he was no different from the first time Takeo met him. He had once questioned how someone so young could end up like that. Originally he had felt sympathetic towards him. That was no longer the case. Empathy, the ability to to understand and share the feelings of another. Takeo understood betrayal, he knew what it was like to have those he held close and trusted stab him in the back. Takeo also knew what it was like at the other end of the spectrum. The cold feeling of the knife handle embedded into the back of a close friend was not a foreign feeling. Considering how things were progressing along, it wouldn't be too long until he once more thrust the cold blade into the unsuspecting backs of his 'friends'. "It does have a certain flair to it though I suppose. I'd rather take the funds for myself however, my Wraithraiser armour is in need of an upgrade."

Atlas' eyes flittered from the male that had just entered, then back down to the desk that he had caught his eyes linger on.. The male was astute, the personality gave him that.Another thing that was to be said for Takeo, that even in this world where friends you could trust were blended in with those whom would murder your closest companion, his radiance shone through to Xyxer. He had knew ever since their first meeting that their roads were to be entwined, and it had happened.. The psychopathic child and the sociopathic Takeo had both experienced betrayals of the highest caliber. Tengakure had dealt a great disservice to the two of them, and it truly embedded a curse onto the two.. A curse that would need to be extinguished at some point with the blood of innocents and the crashing of towers.. Or was that Xyxer talking? Atlas fought for control over this vessel, the part of him that believed his endless slaughtering was wrong and his actions required a reason.. a force behind them. Such an empty life as a bull is no fun and eventually you will charge into your own death. The life of a wolf, however, yields more welcoming results.. But no lone wolf lasts for long, oh no, a dominant wolf needs it's pack. "This decoration was not cheap, Takeo. I am not like the Tenkage before us, I know that appearances are important.. What's a better way to showcase a diplomatic meeting than to present no threat at all?" He paused for a while before speaking out once more, "I had lingered on decorating the walls here with the flayed skins of those whom have betrayed me, but.. Cruelty is one thing, wrenching the dead from their graves is a whole other ordeal I'd rather not folly in."

Xyxer was curious as to this armour that Takeo was speaking of, slowly pushing himself up from his throne by pressing the palms of his hands down against the arms of the chair and forcing it to lever himself upwards, walking towards the window, he opened it simply and looked out behind him. "Come, Takeo, let us speak over a fine delicacy of one of our many bakeries. I did not experience much of sugary delights before my Tenkageship, yet now, I allow my body to gain weight so that I may carve  a terrifying sculpture out of the stone itself." He waved one hand towards his own body, gesturing for him to come close, "If you wish, I can carry you down myself. I have discovered a new innate ability of mine."

Xyxer's statement of the table not being cheap brought a smile to Takeo's face. It was not because he found it humorous, he just had no other response to it. Another side effect it seemed, this one was something Takeo actually felt sad about though. He missed his wit, it was something he had taken pride in. Of course he still believed it to be there, but most of his personality was dulled. Was this how he was going to live the rest of his life in Tengakure while it stood? As an emotionless doll? A tool that would eventually be used in the revival of Kirigakure. "It would be fitting though, the walls of the office which used to belong to traitors decorated with the skin of betrayers. Though this room doesn't deserve such a great dishonour." There it was, the want for banter between the two of them. Takeo didn't give himself enough credit, it seemed that his old self hadn't been completely obliterated by the drinking. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? He wasn't entirely sure himself. That question could only be answered as time passed.

He watched as Xyxer maneuvered to the window and opened it. As the boy spoke Takeo found himself walking forward. "You know, there is an elevator." Takeo blinked, surprised at his own words. He felt his forehead with the back of his hand, temperature was about as normal as one could get. The effects of the drink was wearing away. A crack had appeared in the mask he wore. Takeo didn't doubt that soon it would shatter completely, the false normality he had created being destroyed along with it. He opened and closed his right hand, flexing his fingers. When was the last time he had used his blades of lightning to cut through the flesh of the ones who had wronged him? He thought back, back to a time when he had no true care for others. The stabbing of the young Uchiha, the maiming of the young girl, the stabbing of Haru. All of those memories flooding back into his mind, the barriers he had set up to try and move on from that time shattering into millions of fragments.

Takeo wanted blood, the blood of the people who wronged him. He wanted it to flow through the streets of the village they consider their sanctuary. The area around the young man's right eye visibly changed, the veins protruding as the Byakugan implanted their activated itself. Through his all seeing eye he watched the ants that were the Tengakure citizens scurry about. Vengeance, would be had. Takeo was sure of it, right up until Xyxer spoke once more. Snapped back to reality he visibly jolted, his body straightening and his eyes widening. The protrusion ceased, the Byakugan once more becoming dormant. A smile came across his face, one that felt genuine to him as he hopped upwards onto the windowsill. He turned to Xyxer extending his arm out to press against the glass and open the window adjacent to Xyxer's. "How fitting that you offer to carry me Atlas, for I am like the sky itself. My gaze and reach extend infinitely across the world, the ones who have wrong me will have no safe haven. However, I will find my own way down." And thus, Takeo fell back and began the descent to the streets of Tengakure.

Xyxer shrugged feebly at the comment that emerged from the lips of Takeo, sure, there was an elevator.. But it was slow and smelly, and quite honestly, Xyxer was afraid that Takeo would attempt to do something when in such close quarters with no possibly sign of hope for the defenseless Xyxer Gyojin, last of his name. Gazing down over the edge of the window, he saw the people flitting about their business.. It seemed they had grown accustomed to people leering out of these windows now,a nd it was only only to be expected.. Xyxer was a violent man with brutal methods to get what he desired, intimidation via threatening to throw people out of the tower was one of them, and of course.. Clean up crews were often stationed nearby the bottom of the tower, just in case. Looking to his side to see Takeo repeating the movements, the two seemed to be truly in sync, and if Xyxer's appearance had not changed they could have been mistaken for twins.. It saddened him somewhat. Even this male was not from Kirigakure, there was a connection that was greater than a great deal many he had had previously, and it confused Xyxer.. How could a shinobi of the village that he hated hold such a place in his esteem? He had never demonstrated his power to Xyxer, and yet.. there was a brotherly bond that the Wrath of Tengakure did not wish to sever and had done everything in his abilities to ensure this mans survival. Perhaps this was to be his new Kenchi, what ever had happened to that male he was unsure, but he truly missed the connection the two had had..

Looking back down from the tower as Takeo explained how he was the sky, he smirked somewhat.. The two certainly did have a lot in common, and having egos was one of those things. If Takeo was the sky, would that insinuate that the world that Xyxer was carrying was of his friends? The core, perhaps, consisting of Sameonna as she had forever been his world and his primary reason for survival, perhaps the magma that surged inside of his veins was Kenchi.. Perhaps Takeo being the sky signified that the two were not truly bonded yet, but oh well, such fickle matters would soon be dealt with. Smiling at the males lack of care, it reminded him of himself, and so he followed suit. Falling out from the tower head first, he soared downwards much like a bird of prey as it tucked it's body in for a swift and precise kill, it's talons wrenching into the doughy flesh of whatever rodent just so happened to be beneath it before plucking it and carrying it to the lair in which it would meet it's maker, though of course, Xyxer did not intend to sprout talons nor kill any rodents.. Nor people for that matter, for now at least. It was nice.. that brief feeling of freedom until you once more became aware of the chains that world had tethered around your ankles, the notch that binds your wrists as your duty as a village leader.. He admired the new power he had, but sometimes.. the beast inside him just wished to be released.. The change had been so drastic a new personality had even forced itself out, a more diplomatic person.. a kinder one. Around ten metres from hitting the ground, he would now actively manipulate the moisture around his body, allowing his body to slowly descend as he controlled himself. He of course, assumed Takeo would handle things in his own way, but if he did not find any way to stop himself Xyxer himself would put his arm out, allowing for Takeo to grasp onto it and float down to the ground with him. Landing on his feet, he chuckled at how barely any dirt was displaced by his landing. "It appears I've became truly proficient in what I am, Takeo."

After the landing, Xyxer would make sure everything was okay around them as the villagers looked on in mild approval, acknolwedging that the leader they now had was not the same as the sadistic tyrant that had forced his way into power after the maiming of Takeo. Chuckling once more, he'd start to walk towards the bakery he loved ever so much, he did enjoy a delicacy just like anybody else. "Tell me, Takeo. What restrains you?" He paused for a second before continuing, attempting to choose his words more carefully than the regular Xyxer would, "It is evident in your body language and disassociation with the world via drinking.. What is preventing you from springing a murderous rampage when ever you wish? I am sure there is a greater reason preventing you than the threat of my blade."

For the brief moment in which he was falling backwards Takeo felt exhilarated. It had been a long time since he had felt like this. In the back of his mind he felt the need to simply close his eyes and continue as he was. However he still had much to do, things he needed to accomplish, people that he needed to end. And so, he let Xyxer live up to the Atlas persona. He reached out with his left hand, gripping onto the boy's forearm as he slowed. "I didn't fancy you as one for a slow landing Xyxer." He mused as the two of them touched down onto the solid ground. Takeo took notice of the way Xyxer paid some attention to how the villagers were, that surprised him. He didn't expect for Xyxer to care about them at all. Perhaps being sat on the throne made one grow to care for their subjects, even someone as tainted as him. Takeo ran a hand through his white locks, smoothing his hair down as he walked in time with Xyxer. The boy presented him with a question. He grimaced and remained silent for a moment. The question brought up the conflict he was having within his mind once more. Not knowing the answer he turned his gaze to the sky, gazing longingly towards it as if it held the answers to the question. It however did not, and neither did Takeo.

"That question plagues me often. What stops me from lashing out and slaughtering everyone around me? I'm not entirely sure. Perhaps I still hold some positive feelings towards the people around me that prevents me from taking such actions." His gaze turned to the village around him, the happy faces of the ones who had turned against him after all he had done for them. Their care free expressions turned him sick. How could they go about living with a care like knowing what they did? Was that what it was like to be a dog? Blindly following whoever as long as they provided them with food and shelter. "That would seem the most likely thing to me. If not for the fact of during the past, when I truly cared for the others, I was far more likely to lash out. I have to wonder. Perhaps it was being sat at the top, watching these sheep go about as their shepherd, did it dull my senses? Has being at the top for even such little time changed my way of acting so much?"

Xyxer could not help but chuckle when he touched the ground with the added weight on his arm, it seemed that Takeo was exactly like himself.. a dog that was chasing a stick, no matter where it would be tossed. After all, he seemed to have had no actual way to land if he had had to hold onto Xyxer,  but it was fine of course. Replying to his words, he'd nod along with them, "When you are the Tenkage and not the monster of the village you must become aware of your financial situations. Destroyed cobbles are quite costly, and after that aquariam desk, boy.. I certainly do need to make a few cutbacks." He continued to walk beside the male, Takeo's answer to Xyxer's own question flowing from his lips into Xyxer's keen ears. Pausing a little while, he let out a sigh before speaking his own mind, "When you become a Kage you're burdened with not just your life, but the life of the entirety of your village. What will be your legacy if you are forever remembered as the Kage that slaughtered his own people? The Mad Kage, perhaps.. but you would never be revered in awe, merely disdain. For me.. this is what drives me forward into caring for my cattle. I grant them haven under my body, in return, they grant me immeasurable power and a legacy that could rival any other of the other four Kages. You see, I can see the old me inside of you." Of course, he was speaking metaphorically and not declaring his hidden love for the male, "I believe you want to forge your own destiny but you're unsure on how to go about accomplishing such a feat.. I can not blame you, being placed on the throne without any experience with the rest of the world is quite daunting. Tell me, Takeo, what do you want to be remembered as? The saviour of a people or the scourge of your village?" By this point they had reached the bakery and Xyxer would simply walk in, moving towards the counter and ordering two doughy chocolate-chip muffins. This place was great.

Takeo had not been to this bakery before. He had heard a lot about it though, gossiping women were really loud, when he had been working at the gates. "What do I want to be remembered as?" He frowned, once again he had no answer to the question Xyxer presented. He blamed the drink, it must still have a hold over him. "I never bothered to think about that before. I care not what people think of me, that became obvious to me the moment I cut down a boy in front of the Tenkage." During the time in which Xyxer ordered at the counter he took the time to examine the bakery's interior. Nothing of note, same could be said for the people inside of the building. They were nothing to him, he knew nothing about them. And after he left, the images of their faces would fade from his memory. Is that what would become of him with time as well? Simply forgotten by the world. He felt irritated with Xyxer at this point, typical that the boy would make him think about such depressing thoughts. Needing a way to take his mind off of it he decided to flip the situation, "What did you mean by you seeing the old you inside of me? I assume you aren't talking about that colour of our hair being the same."

Listening to Takeo's reprisal to his question, a smirk once more graced his features and he handed one of the muffins to Takeo and made his way to one of the tables in the vicinity. He did enjoy the little quirks of the bakery indeed, the red cloth trimmed with green covering the tables added a nice festive touch, along with the mistletoe jokingly draped across the entirety of the roof. Shaking some of the snow off from his shoulders, he silently cursed Tengakure for being so close to Yukigakure and spoke once more, "Perhaps that was your attempt to garner a name, Takeo. Death knows I've been doing the exact same thing.. I thoroughly believe that the more people I slaughter, the more the world will remember my name and my legacy.. But that wasn't enough for me, and I'm sure you've heard of the rumours.." He paused a little, taking a bite out of the muffin and closing his eyes at the orgasm in his mouth, "It's true," He swallowed the chewed bit of the muffin, "I do torture people and I delight in it. I've castrated a shinobi twice and sliced off the pinky of the other for mocking purposes. What will I be known as in the history books, I ponder.." He took a second to look out of the bakery into the snow laden streets, "The butcher of the mist? The surgeon? That's what I will most likely be known as if I lose a war, or a battle. My desire to be great.. my strive.. it is too powerful to allow such a measly title befall my name and my clan. If I win the war, if I become a man of true power, I will let the world know of my reasoning and the basis for my cruelty." He paused for a little while, finally looking into Takeo's eyes and grinning, "That's how you remind me of myself. You're exceedingly cruel and think of others as your play things. It's why we bond so greatly and refrain from harming the other to a.. great extent." He paused on the last part, recalling the time he almost decapitated the poor former Tenkage before him.

"In retrospect.. I have to do something quite quickly." Xyxer recalled the court case about Jester and him being a molester. He had been personally requested by Jester to confide in the others that he did in fact not molest her. Standing up abruptly and moving at a semi run, he oculd not let such a profane man go down in the cells. He felt scared for what would become of the other prisoners.

[Exit]