Deep Crimson (Private)

A long, long day of trekking got him to this point. With merely a small backpack full of provisions and his two trusty swords, Akira had set off from Kumogakure straight to the cryptic Village Hidden in the Abyss, the supposed village of his clan. He really didn't know what to expect, but from what he could tell from the slightly faded map he had that he was close to where the village was supposed to be. Obviously, it didn't pinpoint its' exact location as it was slightly smudged from its' many years of abuse. 


He had braved storms, snow and swamps to get here, god knew how much more he had to face before he finally got to his destination. Dealing with all sorts of elements didn't do him any good really. But as a shinobi - and especially as a Jounin, he had to deal with these sorts of issues on the chin. A bit of abuse from the weather and terrain shouldn't stop a shinobi from achieving his goals, and as it seemed, they weren't.


He let out a sigh of exhaustion. Surely something had to give him a sign that he was there.

A single ray of sun would fall from the heavens, onto the earthly world and into the pit. There, in the abyss, where all other rays could not reach it would touch the darkness that no surface could hold. A darkness that may be just as old as the sun that birthed the little ray. Once the small beam of the surface world had met its end, the shadows would whisper, thousands of invisible eyes on the unreachable walls in the bottomless pit. The abyss was waiting, but it could feel a familiar anticipation and joy that came with it. It was expecting someone who was walking the dark woods. And in these dark woods two sets of red eyes were already following the man that came to visit his place of origin. Those eyes could see the same darkness in the man and a signal would be given to let him pass, the sentry of the Fuchigakure, recognizing their own blood would smile.

In just a few steps the view of the village gates would open up. The obsidian columns runed in ancient silver work, the ark encrusted with three shining gems, a giant ruby, emerald and sapphire and on the gates an unmistakable symbol that meant 'abyss'. A few armored, black lance wielding, guards would only nod at their guest. Once through, the whole village would be in view. It would have the layout similar to an inverted spire, a whirl; the highest ground, and nearest to the walls would be occupied by the commonfolk. Right before the gates would be the marketplace, with its crafts and trades; to its left and right, extending all the way to the far end of the village were the living sections. Below, at the center of the village was a dome, a building resembling a castle or a temple with a plaza next to it and three towers positioned around the dome in a triangle, each flying a different flag, like the gems on the ark of the gates. Those were the houses of the Three Doctrines and between them was the main building of the village which housed its leadership as well as contained the Temple of the Deep extending into the Abyss itself, concealed under the dome.

If asked, nobody of the village people or the guards would know about the most secret ritual of Awakening. That knowledge was only for the heads of the three houses, the priests at the temple and those few that Yuumei had chosen to bestow the knowledge upon.

It didn't take long for Akira to sense the eerie atmosphere around him. He could feel as if he was being watched, but he didn't really take it to mind. And after a mere few steps, the gates of the Abyss village appeared in clear view. The sight almost made him feel like rejoicing after a long and uncomfortable trek. But the guards nodded and let him in and shortly after he got to witness this mystical village in all its' glory. Obviously starting by the very strange layout of the village, which seemed to spiral down into the unknown depth of the earth.

He couldn't help but turn his head every half minute or so to see what the many markets and structures did. Strange items seemed to be on sale, and other services he couldn't quite comprehend. Then again, this was a village destined only for those who possessed a power that no normal Ninja could grasp.

He only had a map on him, no books or anything describing how he was supposed to reach this mythical 'Awakening', but surely - It had to be in a temple or something, right? Those kinds of structures seemed to be where many ninja learned their techniques. As a temple often conveyed some sort of ethereal power. And that was his goal. Fortunately, the temple of Fuchigakure was hardly small. Surrounded by three towers Akira felt completely alienated at not knowing what to do. He was a Shinkou! Surely he should know, but unfortunately 18 years away from any sort of family tended to distance you from tradition and values.

He approached the dome, its' gargantuan construction getting larger and larger the closer he walked to it. He could already see the entrance to what he assumed was the "main" building. What would he ask? Who would he ask? Would he have family in this village? Uncles? Aunties? Cousins? So many questions flurried through Akira's confused mind. But he bit the bullet, and entered. The Shinkou clansmen were quite perceptive, so maybe they'd already know what he was looking for. He had to remember, this village was full of very different people to what he was used to. People who could harness strange and destructive powers. He'd keep his guard up, but stay curious.

He also examined the three towers encompassing it. What did the colors mean? Akira knew his eyes were a solid shade of bright - almost lime green when he activated his Dojutsu, but what did the two other colors mean? Was it something to do with a clan's power? The buildings all flew their own flags, but he couldn't tell if this was political, or if it was merely some form of 'house' or something. Having not met anyone else from his clan, he wouldn't know. And interestingly enough, his Yuumei decided to stay completely silent, perhaps having some sick desire to watch him work and explore for his powers. Or perhaps, it merely had nothing to say.

Much like the gates and walls of the village, but like the rest of the buildings in it, the temple, dome and the three towers around it had obsidian walls of ancient design and markings. The rest of the buildings were younger, built from clay and oak, or other materials found in the forest. The entrance to the temple was guarded, but the two men wearing same armor and spears as the gatekeepers would pay the stranger no mind, they were on a watch for people who did not belong in the village and their own kin were always welcome. Inside the dome the first thing that would probably catch attention was a garden of silvery plants covered in a gloom. While the walls of the structure were all black as night, the dome itself would seem partially translucent, although not quite so from the outside. The plants though seemed to be doing just fine in this minimal light.

There seemed to be people moving around, some were whispering to one another, some carrying documents or other stuff, some were tending to the plants, others were just sitting there in silence. The atmosphere was truly that of a temple, although darker, but without much noise, unlike the village outside. Any talks would be done at toned down volume. A robed man would approach Akira. His eyes would momentarily give a faint red glow, then he would smile. "Welcome, brother. I do not believe I have seen you before in the village, it warms our hearts to see one of the lost return to us." he would near-whisper, while still relaying heartful joy and interest in the traveler.

The eerie silence of the temple was unsurprising given its' nature and appearance. Everything being very quiet and hushed. He had been to many temples before, and in fact actually lived in one back at his current home of Kumogakure. But he had yet to bear witness to any temple bearing this sort of aesthetic. Completely obsidian constructed. Somehow this village felt very different to any of the other ones he'd been to. Very advanced, yet somehow also very natural, using forest materials and stone to construct its' buildings. 

Of course, this unfamiliar aesthetic did mean he had difficulty recognizing certain structures. Like, where could he get a ramen around these parts? These were surely questions he'd have to ask later, but for now he focused on gathering some information. Not only was he here to bear witness to his clan's village. But also to gain strength along with new techniques.

"It's the first time I've been here. I'm humbled to finally be among my kin." He replied to the robed man - whom he figured to be a monk at this temple, perhaps he knew a way of gaining strength. "I have only recently discovered the second stage of my powers. I came here to seek strength." He replied simplistically, his eyes shimmering a bright shade of green, wondering if the man knew anything.

Hearing the traveler's words the dark priest would let out a smile. "This is a place to be closer to the higher power that is with us at all times. If you seek strength, then the most help you could get is in one of the three houses of Shinkou. From the glow in your eyes I can tell, you belong with the followers of Tranquility, those who fly an emerald banner. They dedicate their lives to study the strengths of your path. Their tower is that way." He would point at one of several corridors. If Akira has no further questions the priest would wish him luck and decline into shadows.

As he awaited the response he analysed the halls of the temple a little more. The very dim light in the inside of the left many precise features indistinguishable. But he could see strange plants growing in this very minimal sunlight. The Abyss Village was full of mysteries such as that one. He wondered what other weird shit he'd end up seeing. 

"Thank you." He simply responded, he needed no further conversation with this man. All he needed to now was find the house of Tranquility - such a nice name. Nothing aggressive or bloodthirsty in any way. Very sensible, he liked that.

He took off into the darkness of the corridor, his Yuumei finally speaking up. "You seem a lot more anxious around your peers, boy." He heard, the voice reverberating around his head. "Yeah, well - I got an image to maintain these people are basically family." He responded to the massive entity within him. "You need not seek to maintain your pride. They can very well see it in you. You are one of them, act like such." The voice boomed, draconic and regal. 

His boots trudged with every step through corridor before he approached what seemed to be the halls of the house of Tranquility - emerald banners adorned as decor. He figured he needed to ask someone. Was there a lead figure in one of these "houses"? He really had no idea, but he figured if he looked puzzled and bewildered enough someone would come to his aid.

Unlike the temple itself the house of Tranquility was significantly brighter. Though the outside of it was obsidian, the inside seemed to be made of marble, or something similar. There would be windows and bookshelves, green carpets and banners, whatever was not made of marble, was naturally brown, wooden. The reason for the difference was rather simple. The temple was a place of quiet and peace, it was the closest place to Yuumei, the natural darkness of the deep and people came there to be close to it, to seek guidance, to think. The houses on the other hand were a place of study and training. The most scientific of the three was the house of Tranquility and by that I meant that they would read books the most. The house of Silence was the most similar to the temple in its atmosphere. From time to time they would read books as well, so it was not as dark, but as the name suggests it would be dead silent. Within their blue halls whisper was the loudest thing allowed as anything louder would disturb their members who spend days at a time in medication. Which was the complete opposite of the house of Triumph, where the halls were decorated in redwood and crimson carpets. There they would have training areas for fighting, that while well isolated and would not pollute with noise the other houses or the temple, it would still echo throughout their own house of rumble and talks.

Standing around like that Akira would draw attention of none other than the head of the house of Tranquility. A scarlet color haired young man named Hiro Shinkou would spot an unfamiliar face and begin to approach. Like the priest's, his eyes would momentarily glint, though not in faint red, but in solid green. Hiro would now know what Akira was, not his rank or name, but his heritage and his ties to the village. He would smile warmly and stop at a little over one meter. "Heya, welcome to the house of Tranquility. My name's Hiro. Yer new, ye?" If you were to give him and the way he talked a second glance, you'd probably notice that he was a brat of about sixteen. The natural color of his eyes was yellow and he had this aura of a wild and cheerful creature. One of his teeth seemed to be sticking out, I might add. And he was somewhat shorter than average. Offering a handshake he would joyfully announce that "I'm the head of this house, so ye need 'nything, ye can ask me, ok? So what brings ye here?"

He had to admit, Akira much prefered the interior of the house of Tranquility compared to that of the main building, The fact that this place had much more light than its counterpart made this section of the abyss village seem a lot more peaceful instead of the monk-like ambiance given by the main building. The peace and quiet was indeed very refreshing. He could tell just by being in here somehow that he was in the building better suited to his path.

And for the brief moment that he was here he had already found someone who could be of assistance on his quest for power, obviously he had no idea who he was he was, but most definitely a Shinkou. Pretty much anyone from the Abyss village was a Shinkou, so that part was very easy to guess, what he didn't expect though, was the man's accent. Perhaps he hailed from a different land altogether? Who knew? But that wasn't the topic at the moment, he was asked a question so like any other functioning human being, he had to answer. "New? Yeah I guess you could say that. I travelled here from the Cloud Village." He answered. "I came here to seek strength. I've been honing my abilities in Kumogakure but I figured if I returned home I'd finally unlock my true protential." He responded to his enquiry. "I was told the house of Tranquility would be able to help me."

"Yes, yes! Ye like books? We have plenty of those 'round. Are ye strong?" The guy was pretty straightforward, as you can already tell. And it was some time since anyone could offer him a proper challenge. You see, despite his young age he was the best and the strongest of the house. "How about ye show me just how good ye are, eh?" If his suggestion was accepted, the boy would lead the guest into a chamber of strong stone walls. There would be no bookshelves there, but instead training dummies and equipment, much like a training area of the ninjas.