Dichotomy (Maku)

The answer to the first question was just more backstory on her job, explaining how the village used to practice sealing bijuu within infants. He recalled that Kiri seemed to adopt a similar practice after Suzaku, a young jin himself, had been established as the leader. That had been why Minorin, a year old at the time, had been chosen. But to do it with children seemed a terrible idea, Den didn’t think the power of beast should be held within a child at all, and the hypothesis that a child could better contain a beasts power seemed silly to him. The fact that mothers and children had died because of such thinking was terrible, and though Den perhaps didn’t value life as much as most people he thought wasting it on such foolish ideas was terrible. The woman didn’t seem to think well of the practice either, but she explained how the practice was used and how doctors would examine how the beasts affected their young hosts, if there were any traits that made one a better jin, how the beasts affected their hosts bodies.

When Akihana explained the bijuu she had seen, she said that other than her training she had only met 3 bijuu, though all of them had been sealed at the time. She said the first two were divergent, so Den believed that meant she couldn’t be referring to Koga, the boy Tomoya had teleported to Sanctuary. When she mentioned the third one being the one sealed within him, Den had to smirk. He hadn’t expected the woman to be that good. Very few people had ever sensed the chakra of the beast sealed within him. Unfortunately though, he didn’t like the woman being able to find out so much about him. She had already discerned his name, and that he was a jin. He hadn’t expected or wanted the woman to know anything about his identity, he didn’t want Kumogakure to know that it was him that had kidnapped one of their ninja to interrogate, and he certainly didn’t want them knowing he was a jin when he believed they could be involved. He’d need to find some way to deal with that, there was an obvious solution but Den preferred not to use it.

“So other than my own beast, you haven’t encountered any other beasts that could possibly be originals, not even within your own village?” Den would pause a moment as he looked at the woman, wondering if perhaps she just didn’t know about the 8 tails.

It didn’t matter though, Den was now sure he wouldn’t be able to obtain any information through something as simple as mere conversation, even though he had also put the woman in what he could only assume was a threatening environment for her. Taking his eyes off her for a moment, Den would sigh, before his eyes would meet the womans once more, however his eyes were once again red and had 3 tomoe.

“Thank you for your answers. I’m terribly sorry about this part.” He had known it would most likely come to this, the world of Sanctuary bending to his will as he formed cuffs around the woman’s wrists and ankles, mentally moving the cuffs on her arms to put her hands away from each other so that she couldn’t cast jutsu via hand seals, the cuffs would move her hands onto the table, in front of her but with a few inches of spacing. As he manipulated the world, he felt it quake, not in a sense that Akihana would be able to detect, but something deep within Sanctuary was off.

Den and Maku’s seats would move off to either side as he created the cuffs, just in case the woman had some sort of hand seal less jutsu she could perform if she was ever bound. After cuffing her, Den would wait a moment before speaking, just in case Akihana did try something. He really needed to just get it over with though, he had spent too much time trying to be polite and gather the information he needed via conversation. He should have just attempted to read her mind from the start.

“As I said I’m terribly sorry, but this is the part where I have to read your mind. It would be best if you didn’t try and resist though, I doubt it will hurt if you do but it will make the process a lot more uncomfortable.” If Akihana made no attempts to use jutsu or use some sort of weapon by this point, Den would then approach akihana from the side and place his right hand on her forehead, activating the Mind Reading technique with a chakra sat of 125, however if the woman resisted he would activate a single tail of his version one cloak to increase his chakra to high enough to overcome hers. Den would look for all of Akihana’s knowledge on bijuu and Kumogakure’s hierarchy.

While performing this, he continued to feel the strange sensation within Sanctuary. He felt something growing, but it wasn’t of Den’s design. He felt whatever it was pass over realms Den had left vacant for years, tearing them away and erasing them from existence. Whatever the strange power was, it was starting to become dangerous. Den would have to finish up quickly then deal with whatever this strange threat was.

'Encountered"

That was the word the dark haired doctor was using and to that, Akihana could honestly reply in a firm yes. She had only encountered those three but did she know of more? Yes, she did. All jinchuriki were meticulously recorded and kept track of in Kumogakure as they became a popular target for Bijuu hunters as soon as word got out. Often times, the ANBU, elders and medics found out before the host themselves, left to wonder why they were being tracked by ANBU round the clock if any of them were smart enough to catch on. There was one more Jinchuriki in Cloud, one she had recently assigned to a team in the hopes that it will help him socialize better with other ninja. Akihana had never "encountered" Koga, but that didn't mean she didn't know of him.

But the question had been straightforwards so the blonde only shook her head, only for her hands to move automatically in the beginning of a seal, a knee jerk reaction of sorts as soon as Denkiteki apologized. This was it, this was where things began to get painful. In later times, Akihana would sit and reflect on the very thing that made her, her. Why was it that when most shinobi raised a hand to form a seal, it was to attack and why it was that when she did it, the first seal was always the modified ox one, the beginnings of bluish-green healing chakra already giving away her unconscious intent. It was the small window her captor needed to cuff her to her chair, the metal restrains digging painfully into her flesh over her clothes, making her wince.

Even as he warned her no to resist, the Kunoichi struggled to form the seals for mental barricades. She knew what he wanted, and she had been willing to cooperate, but he insisted on using force, force to which she couldn't possibly retaliated given the circumstanced. And yet she tried, her eyes closed and her chakra clashing with the initial force he applied. It seemed they were an even match at first even if Akihana knew that could never be the case. Just because he wasn't applying Bijuu chakra didn't eman he couldn't.

The time to form a plan even as her mind struggled against his was minimal but in the end, Akihana decided to bury him in the mundane. She may not have control over him reading her mind but she could pick the order, how easily what thoughts floated to the surface. There was no time to contemplate whether this would work or leave her brain damaged permanently as she began to feel the bijuu chakra added to Den's pushing into her mind, invading the dark recesses of thoughts and dreams, and with a last ditch effort, Akihana still fought, calling forth every inconsequential moment of her life.

Inconsequential compared to what she had to protect most of all.

It began like a movie in her own head, albeit one that was on fast forwards, all dialogues blurring into each other, one scene bleeding into the next and all characters zooming on and off set as if they had somewhere to be. Flashes of Konoha, training, ink dark hair tangled through her own sunny locks, running, starving, more running, now walking with the knowledge that she was being tailed, that she had allowed such a thing to happen. Red, so much red, the red of Fenn's hair as he struggled to walk after finding himself blind, the red of the bar and the smell of leftover stale food that she had nonetheless taken because it was the best she was going to get, the red of Yaju's eyes as she transformed into a wolf, leaving her speechless.

Hours passed in seconds, days in minutes as the blonde threw everything she could at her assailant, mundane days at the office, cookies, baking, Echo, a fresh stab of pain, pain so much pain, the prison, the failed transplant surgery, the knowledge that she had harvested someone's body for another's gain. The taste of tears on her cheeks as the bar Echo was in ceased to be, the cringe of fear and disgust as her eyes rested on Maku for the first time, the emotion now intensified because he was a liar. Why Akihana had thought a murderer wouldn't stoop to a lie was beyond her but he had, it was just how the world worked.

Flashes of Kuro, Misaki, Yaju and Alice blurred together in her mind against a backdrop engraved with the Norito symbols, her own personal makeshift family, people who had taken her in, trained her, treated her kindly and ewre now not there to defend her but still with her in her mind, offering strength and resilience. Lilia, no, fox territory, a house carved out of the mountain itself, the mountains, the mountains in summer, spring, the ponds frozen over in winter, Akihana spinning around on one such frozen body of water on makeshift Hikariton skates watching their dull golden glow reflected on the thick ice, the golden bleeding until it became the sun on a hot summer day as a cloud of black left a funeral for the blue, her grandfather's voice in the background telling her it was alright to be afraid.

The medic could peripherally feel the sweat running down her face as she struggled for the minuscule control over what memories were revealed first, the effort making her struggle even more against her restraints, causing her skin to rise in painful welts around the metal contraption, but physical pain was the least of her worries at the moment as she fought for something as simple as the order in which Denkiteki saw what he did. Perhaps he would decide he had seen enough, that she was telling the truth, perhaps there was a way they could do this without-

"Mommy, when will you be back?

Very soon, sweetie, now do I get a kiss goodbye?."

"Eww, no!"

And suddenly, it was all over, the fighting energy sapped from her body as Akihana gave in, the last thing dominating her subconscious a flash of Arata waving at her, telling her he wanted ice cream for dessert that night.

From the look on her face, it was clear she was not taking to kindly to the mental intrusion. Honestly though, what had she expected. This world was so filled with liars that those who told the truth should be treated with a greater amount of distrust. You always knew what to expect from a liar....but someone who had nothing to hide? Truly a dangerous individual. So as Den performed his work Maku sat and watched. An intresting ability to forcibly read one's mind indeed. Though a bit messy. The need for restraints and an increase in power, what a waste. He knew he could have achieved the same thing with but a staring contest. Hell, it could have even taken the form of spending time at the beach if he wished it, but this was not his world, this was not his mission....but this did seem to be his problem now...

It had happened fast, right when Den was probably nearing the 75% mark on finishing his process. A feeling, like cold water being trickled down his back. Something was wrong, and he could feel it so strongly. The longer he spent in this world the more and more he could feel of it. This was both a blessing and a curse presently. He liked feeling like he was involved, and had a grasp on the situation, however as realms began to disapear he knew something was going greatly wrong. Having no way to know if Den also felt this he could only imagine he could, yet had not done anything about it as of yet.

How quickly though, from a bad feeling to swelling dread did it all change. Den would be finishing his process, but Maku had already launched himself to his feet, the blue glow covering his person as his eyes bled crimson, bolstering his chakra to 180. This was not the end of his movement however, as this would not be enough. One of these individuals was familial. New perhaps, but that meant something to Maku. The other, well he had promised she would not incur harm and up until this point he had kept that promise as far as he was concerned. Now though, it wasn't that simple. Though he was still learning the process of controlling this world, this was a moment of desperation and fear. No time to worry how things worked, it was time for action. As the glow had covered him, his eyes trained on the table, he would watch as it and the chains burst into a fine mist.

The mastered blink bringing him to be infront of the indivduals he was trying to protect, his own hands would already be in a seal. The golden bubble would engulf all three of them, however in the very short time it had appeared it would vanish ripping the two individuals form the realm they currently resided in and sending them through space to a seperate area of Sanctuary. The room Den had provided Maku when he had been injured from his confrontation with the one known as Koroshi Uchiha. If either had caught his eye or looked at his face before he sent them away, all they would see is a half way smile, and perhaps a wink trying to say "It's ok, I got this".

As the golden bubble collapsed on itself it would take the two medics and all of Akihana's supplies. Having never been particularly good at actually causing things to land on the ground when using this particular jutsu both would appear a good 4 feet off the ground, with the picnic basket a further two feet above Akihanna. If allowed it would crash to the ground, leaving her draped in the robe he had given her earlier. He hoped this was far enough away, and that the abruptness at which he acted would prevent either from fighting him and trying to stay.

With the two individuals gone, the blue glow dimmed and dissapeared only to be replaced just as quickly. his form igniting in golden fire he once again called upon the Susano'o to protect him, only this time he had a feeling it wouldn't be enough. His breaths came ragged, his eyes darting. SOmething was so wrong....fear was something he ahd never truly felt. Now however as if the apex predator breathed down the back of his neck, he felt a very real..almost primordial fear over take him. Trying to steady his shaking limbs he knew only seconds had passed since he sent them away, but as it happened that was all he had left.

The force shattered his chest, the loud cracking sound coming from his sternum. All hoped of drawing a breath were lost as the golden armor shattered around his form as if it had been nothing but thin ice. This prequel to Hell took the room and whatever realm he was residing in with it. Suspended for one painful and glorious second he caught an eye of Sanctuary from the outside. As if he could look down and see all its realms and mysteries. Then just as quickly, the space he occupied compressed. The scream never even had an oppurtunity to leave his lips. With that.....Maku Jemuzu felt himself loose the will to live......he felt his body break........and his chakra was snuffed from existance the only reminder it had ever been in the absense it would leave within both Den and Akihana. The last thought that enetered his mind was a simple one..."Damn, maybe I should have tired that cake."

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Pain....no maybe that wasn't the right word. Agony? Misery? Despair? All these words feel so shallow and short. None describing what came next. The pain in his chest how he longed for it agian, after all this. The world however, or this world at least, was not so accomidating. Just as the sweet arms of oblivian embrassed him, promised him his suffering was over. His dreams, his desires, all these things shattered at his feet and yet some how unimportant in the bliss that was nothingness was ripped from his grasp, and what replaced it was something he never could have prepared for.

He didn't even know who he was. What he was, if he was a he. All these things became so unimportant in the eons that followed they wouldn't come up for a long time. Was it eons, or minutes, hours or seconds. The concept of time was shattered. The lake of fire that consumed his body saw to that. How he wished his skin would simply slough off so he didn't have to feel anymore, yet the afterlife was not that kind. It simply grew back only to allow him to feel the torture all over again.

When the Gods of this world grew dull with his screams in fire he was cast into a chair, only to be flayed by a demon that resembled some kind of toad. It would almost be a funny looking creature if its barbed tongue didn't slowly rend the flesh away from his bones in the areas it touched. The boy who could laugh through anything, could joke and endure all had met his breaking point, and then gone several miles further. The three gods continued to watch him, a well dresssed man, a child, and an older gnarled looking man. From their thrones they gazed upon his flayed soul leaving everyhting bared. The suffering was so great, he didn't even hate them anymore. He simply wanted it to stop, to allow a reprieve. Trying to barter with demons, he would ask for a moment of rest in exchange for a thousand years of pain. The laughter at this only added insult to injury as the tears drenched his cheeks, only to be burned away when the time for fire returened.

It was during this torture when it happened. A hand reaching down taking his own, pulling him from where he bathed in his own distingrated flesh. Even then, he remakred how strong the hand had been, how nicely the man's suit fit his body, how wonderful the solid ground felt as he quivered at the mans feet. Another thousand years passed as he tried to regain his strength, or was it five minutes. Either way it was the voice that hit his ears. He had met this man before, only to learn he wasn't even real.....yet this world seemed to have changed that. "Enjoying your stay?"

Coughing, he attempted to get the ash and cinder from his throat. "Yes, its lovely" His voice came out raspy and hoarse. Trying to turn himself back to normal, though the weakness and underlying fear in his voice gave him away. "It's your own fault your in this you know." The man said casually, as if this were some midsummer brunch. "Hell is what we make it. This is what you think you deserve, really deep down. Our subconcious, the part of us that can look at our actions with truth, thatis the harshest judge we will ever have. So in a way, you could say there is a little god in all of us, waiting to pass judgment."

The tears had started again, even has he tried to hold them back. He had no chance however, his pain was still to great as his skin sought to stick to the stone beneath. "Well.....have I had enough then?" Taking deep breaths, he made his way to sit back on his knees, a herculian effort all things considered. "That depends. Do you think you have had enough?" The man's eyebrows rose as he asked the question. It was an honest question, and immediatly he wanted to say yes. That all this was more than enough, he had payed back for all his sins. Even has his mind screamed this, his lips parted and the words that came out where the opposite, even if truthful. "No, not yet"

Smilling the man gave a wave of his hand, and Maku felt himself cast back out to dwell within the lake. 3 more times he was put to this test, and every time he answered the same way. Countless citizens had been reaped like grain under the sycthe. Fire is the purest death, it seemed a fitting way to cleanse him from these sins, even though it would seem.....he could not die in this world.

"enough" The word was a whisper, and yet the monstrosity that had been letting loose its wrath on his flesh immediatly halted. The bindings that held his arms and legs loosened and he fell to his feet. He began to walk, his hair onscuring his face as he did so. The dye he had long used to turn it blonde had been burned away. The raven black hair hung beneath his shoulders, and though he had been naked as he walked robes of white seemed to manifest and cover his form. Along the belt a sword formed, his sword. The mask he had crafted began to bounce from his hip as his left foot hit the ground in gront of the three thrones that rose up before him. Stairs formed as he lifted and set down each foot. They formed simply for him, and when he reached the thrones he continued past them. Once he had reached a new hieght, he turned and sat just as the chair seemed to form.

Gazing out at the hellscape that had been created, he brought his right hand to the level of his eyes and waved, cleansing the slate. Even as he did, the world seemed to reform, but not only the world but his own appearance. His hair seemed to retract into his skull, leaving it shorter than it had been when he first arrived. Now just long enough to form a makeshift comb over. His face looked even older than it had. Though he had no clue how long he had been here, it would seem his body had aged at least 5 additional years.

The world he crafted however was much diffrent. A large hall seemed to form, tables springing up like toadstools from the ground. Waiters appeared, bringing food to the patrons that had not been there a moment before. All in all, the five star resturant was beutiful. Though this was hardly where it stopped. The hellscape had been moved to reside beneath the resturant. The cellar with the innocent sign "wine" above it would be the doorway. Doors and doors began to appear along the paremeter of the banquet hall, each leading to a new beauty or horror.

"Well I suppose I should check on them." He said, as he began to focus on Sanctuary. He could feel his strength in the immediate area. Something he had never felt before, as if he had complete and total control of the world around him. Even has this feeling of elation took over, he knew it to be false. He could control where he sat, but the doors that had formed....he couldn't bend them to his will or their contents, as if there was another that controlled the world he sought to rule. Not only that, but the demonic amphibians that had been so prevelant before had all vanished when he had taken control. The key, was still in Sanctuary, he wasn't sure how he knew this but it was obvious to him.

Eyes closing, his focus became stronger. It was as if he was next door to Sanctuary. Forming in his mind the image of his brother he sought to communicate with him from the world he now resided in. It was simple, but it appeared to be necessary. "Need a hand? If so feel free to let me in." His voice would reach Den's ears, most likely in the throws of combat. He needed the invitation to be able to enter back and assist his brother.

Though Maku could have no idea, the actual amount of time he had been outside of Sanctuary was around 2hours. The longer he had been in Discord, though it still lay nameless, the more demonic toads would flood into Sanctuary seeking to escape the control he had began to exhibit on the newly born realm. Each passing second causing the war engulfing Sanctuary to become all that more intense.

Within a hidden pocket, a low laugh began. The warden of Discord sensed the oncoming battle, and how it excited him.

The woman resisted, even as Den increased his power over her with the Gobi’s chakra. She wrenched control of what he saw from his grasps, instead showing him images of her life. Den tried to force the womans mind to focus on the memories he needed, but it was too difficult, especially when he was also tracking the strange new force moving within Sanctuary, the one that felt somehow connected to Maku, and the abilities he had begun to manifest so spontaneously. Even within Sanctuary where his powers were near limitless, it was hard to divide his attention while performing such a complex jutsu.

Especially when he was getting the woman’s life thrown into his mind so rapidly. Connections formed in his brain as he examined each memory, checking first to see if they seemed relevant to his actual search. So few memories were, but there were so many memories to go through. As he neared the end of his search he was gifted with knowledge of some of Kumogakures higher ups, an image of four appearing as Den finally managed a moment to grasp control, to see who the people of power within Kumogakure were.

Yaju Hayate. A name he had heard before, but the face was different. This man had become Raikage since Den had met him? Interesting. The others all seemed powerful as well, in their own way. Had any of them been involved? He looked at each face as the image faded, had any of them hunted down his friend?

None of them were involved. Not them, none of the others either. The Gobi’s voice echoed in his mind, and perhaps due to their current connection Aki might have been able to hear it as well. The surprise from hearing the beast’s voice so suddenly caused Denkiteki to deactivate he technique, releasing the woman from the jutsu. That was when he felt it, the strange force getting even closer. Den willed it to stop, created barrier after barrier around it, but it simply passed through.

Den began to create a bridge, a path to a new realm that the 3 could possibly escape to, but even as he formed it his brother blinked in and out of existence, appearing in front of him after causing not only the cuffs Den had made but also the table disappear. Den barely made out the seal his brother was making as the field enveloped them, was this one of Naoki’s techniques? Information on the chakra flow needed and the properties of the jutsu flooded his mind as his crimson eyes watched the sphere form around them.

And then next thing he knew he and Aki were in the room Den had kept Maku in while he had been recovering. They would be 4 feet in the air, giving Den ample time to reorient himself as he fell, and land nimbly on his feet. The orange cloak around him would disappear as he stood upright, his senses extending outward.

“What the..” Den would begin to slowly walk towards a door, but as he approached his pace would quicken, seeming more and more urgent. He would seem to have all but ignored Akihana now. He would open the door, forming a connection between the room and his most cherished realm, the one where his own race of dragons resided. The door remained opened a she walked out onto the grassy plain, the sky above him.. No longer a sky, but another mass of land, staring back down at them. The surface of each world seeing the other as a reflection… but what were those small dots coming from the other land mass? Den heard dragons all throughout the realm cry out, and take flight towards the surface of the land mass in the sky, that seemed to mirror the realm they were within, but twisted.

As the dots grew near they seemed like demonic beasts to Den, with a powerful chakra. As they grew even closer Den realized they all resembled toads. As the dragons and toads reached the middle ground, the center of the space between these two worlds, chaos and violence erupted. Dragons and demon toads slaying each other in untold numbers. As it happened Den felt the very fabric of Sanctuary begin to rip, this strange new force growing more and more powerful. What had happened to Maku, what had he done to unleash this, and how could Den stop it?

As realms began to crack, even those that had seemed so concrete, Den realized that first he has to worry about the safety of the people within Sanctuary. He tried to will everyone, even the woman Akihana, out of Sanctuary and onto the Fang Island, in a group so that they would all be together, but for some reason nothing happened. Had this strange force suppressed his powers somehow? Trying desperately, Den felt his way through the fabric of his dimension, trying his best to hold it together, to keep everyone safe.

As a last ditch effort, Den would walk back into the room Maku had stayed in, the places form shifting as Den formed it into a large building, forming what was once a room into its own realm, with its only connection being the door Den had made earlier, and it led to the Dragon Realm, which seemed capable of fighting off the strange demon toads without Den’s assistance for now.

All of the people within Sanctuary, Eva, Koga, Laz, Den’s parents, would be teleported to various rooms within the realm, their doors out of the room locked however as he didn’t want anyone trying to escape and get themselves in danger. His father however, would be teleported into the foyer of the house, which if Akihana hadn’t moved she would be in as well, along with Den who would be near the doorway. All of Den’s items would be teleported into a basement within the building, including his special Mangekyou eye and other medical items.  

“What’s happened?” Den’s father wasn’t old, but he was aging. In his late 40’s, he still seemed fairly fit, but there was a tiredness in his eyes.

“Somehow Sanctuary… it’s been damaged somehow. I can’t get anyone out either… it’s like I don’t have as much control as before.” Den would say, his voice drifting off a moment before he would speak again, this time not only addressing his father but Akihana as well, “I’m going to try and fix it, but I’m not sure how. I think this place will be safe, but I don’t know for how much longer. My guess though, is that whatever is causing this to happen to Sanctuary,” at this point he would nod towards the door, before walking back into the realm of dragons once more, “is up there.” Some strange twisted piece of Sanctuary. Not quite Sanctuary, but also not fully the strange power Maku had unleashed. It was strange combination, some nexus of power twisted together, and that seemed to be how the toads at least were getting it.

Den’s father would walk out of the door and stair up at the large land mass that hung in the sky, its surface facing that of the dragon’s realm. High above them the dragons flew around as they stopped the strange demon toads from jumping into Sanctuary. Den would give his father, but more so Aki, a moment to process this before he would continue speaking. The woman was no doubt extremely confused, Den hadn’t even explained to her that she was in an alternate dimension yet, and already he was trying to explain that somehow that dimension was being ripped apart.

Den would look at the woman before he would continue speaking, he knew from what he gathered form her memories that she was a talented ninja, and he would need help to fight off whatever had happened, and hopefully they’d also find out what happened to maku, and perhaps Den could save him as well.

“I know I have no right to ask for your help ma’am, but there are people in there that I care about,” Den would point through the doorway before continuing, “and I care about them as much as you do your boy.” That wasn’t entirely true. He cared for every person in there, but Koga and Laz weren’t people he had strong bonds with, at least not yet. He did with Eva though, they had developed a strong bond In their short time together, even if it mad ehim feel uncomfortable sometimes, and his mother was in there as well.

“Please, will you help me save them?” As den asked the question 3 dragons would land in front of the doorway. Yuudai, along with 2 other dragons. The one for Den’s father was not quite as large as Yuudai, but was fast and agile, his scales a shining almost silvery blue. The two Hayato’s would mount their beasts and ride off towards the sky, even if Akihana declined to help.

The journey between the two worlds was bloody. Dragons formed around those who had riders and did their best to keep the demon toads away, but still they would be forced to fight. Den’s sword would be stained with the blood of the beasts as he cut through approaching tongues and outstretched limbs, Yuudai’s entire head and upper neck covered in blood as he ripped into demon after demon, his scales almost on fire as he unleashed an energy Den had never seen before. Den’s father and his dragon fared well themselves, however at one point a barbed tongue would strike the shoulder of his father’s dragon, nearly ripping it out of the socket. The beats howled in pain, but Den’s father would tend to the wound as they finally reached the surface of the other world, the other plane.

How long had it taken them to fight their way through the toads, how many dragons had died? As they reached the surface of the strange, warped world, Den would hear a voice creep into his mind, however as it spoke Den couldn’t help but smirk. Maku was alive, it was the first good news he had heard in awhile.

As he, his father, and possibly Aki would ride their beasts towards what seemed to be an infinite army of demon toads, Den would speak back to his brother, projecting his voice into his brother’s realm.

“Come on in, what took you so long?” as he finished the word another horde of demon toads leaped into the air towards them, traveling insanely far distances with each leap, gravity had little hold on them in the space between the surface of each world, despite how far apart they were these toads could still jump from one to the other.

Yuudai’s claws would rip into the first on to approach, Den’s blade moving to cut the tongue of a second, one of the ones with barbs on it somehow, despite being a toad. Hopefully his brother would arrive soon, and they could figure out what to do to fix Sanctuary.

Drained and weak, Akihana sat back on her chair, the chains retraining her as Denkiteki finished doing his work. Perhaps he'd gotten enough, perhaps he'd gotten bored. The answer really didn't matter because he had the one thing she was trying her hardest to not give up.

He knew of Arata now, and it made her sick to realize her little boy's fate rested in the hands of people who willingly hurt others. But the blonde didn't have time to formulate a plan, not even words as the chains holding her to the chair vanished, leaving only traces of quickly healing skin in their wake. Before the kunoichi could even look up in surprise, Maku was standing in front of them and the whole world shook for one brief moment before the three were encased in a golden bubble. Not having witnessed the technique before, Akihana had little to defend against it even had she been in a defensive state of mind, her only comfort being that it wouldn't harm her as Maku had put his brother in there too.

And now was not the time to think about why he would protect her after all that he had already done to establish himself a liar.

Instead of asking question like what was happening, the kunoichi took the opportunity to focus. Still shaken from the mind reading, she nonetheless did her best to clear her head and keep up as Maku looked back at them, an odd expression on his face. There was no time to question why he wasn't with them in the protection of the bubble as the very next instant, both medics were being spirited away to yet another location, one that ended some four feet in the air above a hard floor in what looked like a standard recovery room. While the raven haired shinobi beside her landed on his feet, Akihana hit the floor curled up in a ball, the only way she had been taught how to fall to minimize injury.

And for a single second, the world as silent as she sat hugging her knees to herself, the picnic blanket draped softly over her trembling shoulders. The moment ended when everything around ehr began to crumble.

There really was no other way to describe the phenomena her golden eyes were taking in, except perhaps to compare it to how she had seen Kuro creating things out of nowhere. Matter was changing and morphing all around her, the walls closing in, then stopping, then become larger, squatter, more even, the ceiling faded away only to give way to another, higher one, the furniture around her steadily changing as if someone had gone berserk with a morphing jutsu and had no intention of stopping until everything was perfectly bent to their will. Keeping still, Akihana simply observed as the room around her changed, now resembling the foyer of a house, her golden eyes scanning through the ceiling and floors to get a sense of how altered the building was. The answer, the blonde assumed, was very altered.

When finally things looked like they were going to remain solid, Akihana shakily got to her feet, just in time for a distinguished looking gentleman to appear beside Denkiteki. If the man looked like the doctor, Akihana couldn't tell, what made her sure of their familial bond however was the way in which they communicated and the way both men held themselves. It wasn't too much of a stretch to believe they were related if not father and son. The medic nin watched as Den explained to his father that Sanctuary - she supposed that was the name if this space time creation - was in trouble and how the young man could no longer control it. No expert in space time jutsu herself, Akihana could nonetheless tell this was very bad news. Explaining further, her impromptu captor concluded that the problem was out there before asking for her help.

Just as he began what Akihana expected to be form of apology and repentance, she blonde shook her head. "Just call me Akihana," she said in way of accepting his apology. Everything else aside, there were innocent people from the sound of it, and any private grudges would have to wait. He didn't need to tell her how much he cared for the people within this realm, she would have done it without him having to indicate Arta, but when he did, it clarified to ehr that he wouldn't harm ehr son, at least if he was a man of his word. If she helped him save people he cared about, he might be inclined to return the favor. And there was nothing in the world Akihana wouldn't try if it meant keeping her son safe. "What do you need me to do?"

In lieu of an answer, three dragons materialized the door, leaving Akihana baffled for only a moment before a small, instinctive laugh bubbled to her lips. In times of stress, people express emotions in random bursts. Akihana had conducted a study on this, often trying to encourage good cheer and positive thinking amidst times of hardship to help people through their injuries while she healed them. Whether the laugh was her way of dealing with the roller coaster ride that had become her simple journey to the mountains of Kumo or if despite everything, the memory of Kuro, Yaju and Misaki in a similar situation with dragons was too overpowering to not smile, the blonde didn't know. All she knew was that this part wasn't new. This part she could deal with.

Taking the last dragon, a light blue purple with a an orange tipped wings and an impressive maw, Akihana leapt up to the dragon, using surface walking to maintain her stance on the beast's body as she flew off with the two men towards the sky that seemed to be raining some kind of infected toads down upon them. It was clear from first glance that there were to many to target individually so the blonde quickly moved her hands to form the tiger seal, calling froth the five meter orb of water that served both the purpose of defending her from the toads as well as shooting spikes and whips of sharpened liquid a the toads. The medic had yet to try the water dragon whip technique, never having found herself in a position where it was safe to practice. Now however gave her the perfect opportunity as she held the jutsu while her dragon flew beneath her, making sure to target dozens of the fiendish things raining down into their realm.

Making her way towards Den from the oppsite side, clearing toads as she went, Akihana didn't know how long she did it for, maintaining the jutsu, plus targetting other toads with different techniques, at one point launching clones of herself off her dragon's back and amidst the toads only fro the clone to explode and take another few down with it, all she knew was that slowly, she was starting to tire. Even as the dragon beneath her continued to fly, sturdy and in control, her rider could feel the strain on her chakra and stamina. It wasn't that together the three weren't doing a good job, it was just that the continuous downpour of toads seemed to be unending so no matter how many they destroyed, many more still rained down on them. It was starting to look like a lost cause at that point.

And yet they continued to fight, because it was the only thing to do.

Eyes still closed his mind captured the words of his brother. For this was the tether he needed, like a man in a whirlpool his mind reached out gripping those words. Holding tight this moment of communication was what he needed to bridge the gap between dimensions. Gripping tight he began the slow and unsteady process of ripping himself from his world into Sanctuary.

All in all it would take a further ten minutes before he felt the confidence he needed. Like building a rope brige a thread at a time he pieced it together, and now was the time to cross. Eyes opening for a moment only to slam shut again. The blue gone and opened to red. Not only that but the restuarant was gone. Instead directly in his face was a beast. Pure reaction ws all that saved him. A song as the blade was birthed from the sheath to tear the creature across its faith. The blood splatterd the white as he walked forward and took in the world. What a world it was.

The realm he stood on felt similar to the one he just left. The one above or was it below? Equilibrium and gravity seemed to be on a holiday as everything felt tipsy turvy. It was unmistakable however that the realm was sanctuary. The other thing he was certain of......was this was no where near Denkitiki. Looking around and reaching out he found his sensory perception wasn't limited like home. Here in the realm of his brother and apperantly his own he could reach much further. He was at least 4 or 5 kilometers between where he was and were he wanted to be. Gods be damned, this was like using Naokis jutsu all over again. He could do the routine, but sticking the landing? Well the Russian judge wasn't the only one giving him a 2 on that one.

Sheathing his sword, it was clear his moments of perception were about to be ruined by a amphibious hoard of monsters. His hands moving slowly but deliberately fond the inside of his robe and the ninja wire in a bundle. Pulling it out he watched it even as blackened flames erupted forth to engulf the wire. Sticking to the wires to give it a focal point, he manipulated each strand to spring forth lashin out and slicing through anything that made its way near. Beginning a run, in this way he took care of anything that got to close, it wasn't until he stumbled upon a large corpse he stopped.

The shudder of the beast and ragged movements only perpetuated by the beasts that gnawed on the creature made Maku a little sickened. Quickly he dispatched the occupied beasts and the black flame wires retreated around his own body for safe keeping. One look into the beasts eyes and Maku knew he would surely die. As a last rites for the dragon he placed it under his most powerful Genjutsu. In a matter of moments it would live out the rest of its life in peace and prosperity, and then the world would explode.

One of his favorite and most destructive techniques would shatter the very foundation around him. Still a kilometer from Den and Aki they would surely notice the display, as the explosion tore through the landscape swallowing with it hundreds of their newly formed foes. Well hopefully that would get his brothers attention and be the signal flare to show him where he was, and where they should meet.

As they fought Den cought a glimpse of one of akihana’s techniques being performed with his sharingan eye, his tomoe swirling as he memorized the information needed to perform the technique for later. That was really all he had ever had time to notice in the chaos of the battle that raged all around them. The toads seemed to never stop, and even after asking his brother for aid they were still forced to battle for 10 minutes before he arrived. Den was not a man of great endurance, even though he did have a lot of chakra. He was definitely feeling tired, if not for Sanctuary empowering him and refueling him Den would probably have been forced to use ninjutsu instead of his blade, but he wanted to keep his chakra reserves high for in case he needed to use it to fix Sanctuary. He still didn’t know how to do it, he just needed to keep moving towards whatever the source of this was.

As they continued to fight Den felt an explosion reverberate through the landmass they stood on. Den felt power near the same level as what he had felt from the others side of a mountain when he had tried to find Maku. Realizing that it was his brother, would redirect the dragons towards the explosion, signaling Akihana and his father that they were changing directions. They would continue to fight through toads, dragons coming to reinforce them as more toads appeared. The carnage would be insane, waves of beasts crashing into each other, ripping each other apart.

However it was becoming harder for the dragons to reach them, so far away from the realm of dragons as they were. Realizing he would need to put in more effort himself if they wanted to win this battle, Denkiteki activated his golden bijuu cloak, and leapt from Yuudai’s back and into the mass of toads. He’d jump towards each toads as it approached, moving so quickly now that he nearly produced sonic booms as he leapt from toad to toad, impaling them or slicing into them as he went. At one point a toad managed to intercept Den mid leap, and he found himself nearly swallowed whole by it, but just before the beast closed its maw Den activated his corrosive mist technique.

It wasn’t enough to kill the beast, but it weakened it enough that Den was able to move fast enough to impale the beast’s skull from the roof of its mouth as his chakra seeped into the beast’s body. Pulling his sword out as blood dripped onto his chakra cloak, Den would leap out from the still slightly open mouth of the toad landing on the ground with enough force to crack the earth beneath his feet. The toad would fall to the ground, blue and green mist pouring out of its mouth and the top of its head as it landed a few meters off to Den’s side.

Assuming Maku hadn’t moved away from Den and the dragons as they approached, he would be within sensory distance as he looked upwards as bodies continued to fall from the sky, waiting for toads on the ground to begin to close in on him.

There seem to be no end to the toads coming through and the only thing closest to a durable weapon Akihana possessed was her jutsu. Unsure of what to use and what to hold back, the blonde reached carefully to form the seals of a lightning jutsu, her hands working quickly to assemble two lightning bolts which she tossed like a javelin towards the army of incoming toads, It wasn't a technique she was entirely familiar with but one that would be affected given her new skill. Now seemed to be as good a time to test out as any volatile jutsu as she had in her arsenal, the medic thought as she created two more bolts, one aimed at skewering a frighteningly glutenous toad through the stomach and another aimed at one trying to claw at one of the dragons who had rallied to support the three humans. Sweat, blood and toad slime clung to her hair and clothes as she stood atop her dragon, following Denkiteki's lead and still there seem to be no end to this.

Until one ot he toads nearly swallowed the young raven haired doctor.

"Den-" Akihana called out, another lightning bolt at the ready but worried that she might hit him while aiming for the toad. Luckily, a greenish jutsu enveloepd the creature, enabling Den to escape. Her sensory on high alert and her bloodline limit tracing light patterns all over the place, Akihana was able to see the moves needed to activate the jutsu though she couldn't be sure of the effect. Her chakra sensory suggested that the toad had just been.. reduced. how could that happen.

As the young man emerged once more, looking about as bad as she felt, the Kunoichi finally figured it out. A jutsu that reduced or rather ate through chakra constructs, at least that was hat she was able to pick up on first glance though it would require studying the effects more closely to verify. Akihana made it a point to not use jutsu she hadn't tested safely in a simulated battle sequence before and yet now she couldn't afford such luxuries as three more toads came flying at her. Taking her cue from her captor, Akihana performed the same technique, willing the chakra reduction to affect the toads just as it had Denkiteki's potential consumer. It failed the moment she released her chakra, instead of the fine mist that was supposed to eat away at the monsters, it simply exploded in a burst of malfunctionality, but it was still the first time Akihana - without knowing it - had performed Corrosive Mist. Over the months and years she would perfect the technique but this was how it had started.

Denkiteki crashing to the ground in the wake of the explosion was completely opposite to how Akihana found her way down, still standing on her dragon as it made for a landing, dropping her safely beside him. he blonde stepped off the beast, leaping down the ground and wiping slime off her arm. "How many of these are there?"

The next question she bit back, not sure if she should even care to ask. If he even deserved to be asked about.

As the explosion rang out and came to its epitome and epilogue Maku would be at the bottom of the crater.  Swooping his black hair out of his face, he would use the same hand to push against the side of his head.  The resounding pop in his spine brought a brief sigh of relief.  Moving side to side a lower pop, and then he moved on to his fingers.  Each pop resounding in the open creator, each noise drawing more and more of the creatures near him.  Once his hands were finished, it was shoulders and then wrists.  He even took a moment to curl in his toes to feel a couple pops as well.  While all this occurred and he was truly and rightfully surrounded, he maintained his smile.  Each beast slightly wary now after the destruction that had just unfolded, yet as the numbers grew so did their confidence.

As Den and Akihana made it with his sensory range the toads would all leap at once, only to find their pray had baited them.  It was funny how great numbers can be baited so easily by one weak looking foe, yet it happens every day it would seem.  The susanoo would rocket forth from the ground, to its full height of 100 meters.  Each toad would hit the body and be disentegrated by the cloak it wore burning them.  Within the golden jewel between the eyes of the lion cowl Maku sat cross legged controlling his construct.  The great lion gauntlets tending the flesh of each amphibian it could reach, the other two arms growing additional swords to rake the land.  Golden blasts launched from the jaws annihilated toads even as more rained down upon them.  Looking towards the sky the final two arms of the susanoo reached within the cloak and flung out two gigantic casks that would fly all the way to were the toads continued to come from, only to explode a moment after impact.

A slight sweat broke across his brow as he continued this and moved closer and closer to Den, only to release the technique to be standing besides his brother a moment after the Giants legs stood on either side of his compatriots.  "Well, this is fun" he would comment.  Reaching me up to move his hair again, he thought better of it and caused it to seemingly retract into his head until it was of a much shorter length, merely able to come over and be outside his eyes.

"I think we might need to solve this problem once and for all."  A smile spread form his face, as he placed his hands forward.  He wasn't totally sure of this would work, but he had to try.  His time in that other realm had made him feel strong, and his continued growth in power in sanctuary bolstered his confidence.  Even as he placed his hands forward a violet trimmed portal began to open, only to be filled with red.  His breath quickening, he glanced at his brother, "just a little help, can you make a vacuum?"  

He knew his brothers control in this realm, and the request seemed simple enough.  Clearly he wished den to direct the toads into the portal that continued to grow only to form a sort of translucent dome around them.  Any toad trying to reach them would fall through never making it to them.  He didn't mention that he was taking each and ever toad to his own realm fr later use, but that wasn't really important right now.

Should Den assist him, Maku would exercise the majority of his chakra reserves into the barrier he had created and with Dens aid the toads would disappear and t would seem the world saved.  Assisting Den in whatever way needed, he would use what power he had to separate this new world, and he would send it to his own as well, while doing this a staircase and a new door would form into his Rearaurant in a discord, the attic necking the home of the demon toads.

"So I guess we are finished then?"  He would say, though his heavy breathing and the sweat on his face showing this hadn't been as nonchalant an activity as he tried to play it off.  After a brief rest, Maku would field a simple question.  "Are you able to see anywhere in this world?  I am wondering what happened to my companion.  I left him in Kumo and yet...I never actually saw him, so you can understand my curiosity"

It was a simple request one he was sure Den could help him with if he choose to.  While they made there way to whatever area they needed Maku would once again talk to Aki, "Well, you seem unharmed.  You seem to have gotten to go on a grand adventure even.  Think of the stories you'll be able to tell."  He would say smiling.  Once agin, in his mind his promises to her had been kept, and all in all he was pleased with the fun that had been had.  Though, he wasn't sure if she exactly felt the same way.  "I'm sorry by the way.  Breaking my own rule to say it though.  Sorry if this wasn't what you expected, but life often gives us events we didn't expect and we dont like in the moment....."  Looking up as they walked it seemed he contemplated the events for a moment. "But then, we turn them into something that we couldn't have lived without.  I hope in time, this becomes one of those times with you."

With that he would begin to sing a song of his own creation.  Of lakes and waterfalls, and a pretty red head playing in the stream.  He would sing while they continued to the Pond that he had not yet seen.

“I don’t know.” There were still so many toads, all Den could see was the strange, gruesome carnage inflected throughout the world around themas beasts continued to slay each other.

Maku approached within the golden form of a Susanoo, one of the legendary jutsu Den had only read about in books or heard of from the Gobi. He stood over Den and Aki before deactivating the technique, coming don among the two medical ninjas to talk about a plan.

His brother requested he make a vacuum. Feeling his chakra flow throughout sanctuary, Den created a vacuum force that seemed only to affect the toads. They were pulled away from the dragons they were fighting, the realms tey were devouring, and when they passed through the portal they disappeared from Den’s senses, they were gone from Sanctuary. But where had his brother put the demon toads? Den would have to ask him later, for now they still had to deal with Sanctuary being unstable.

Without being constantly attacked by the toads, it was not difficult for Den and Maku to separate Maku’s chakra from Sanctuary, which seemed to have caused some imbalance within Sanctuary, Den assumed because Sanctuary wasn’t used to being influenced by chakra that it hadn’t been created from. As far Das Den knew, when they separated Maku’s chakra it was destroyed, but perhaps it was just taken to some other place where Den couldn’t detect it.

After they were finished, Den and Maku returned to Aki, Maku inquiring as to whether or not Den had some way he could view the wellbeing of his friend.

“I do have a place actually, where we can view almost anyone we’ve ever met in the real world.” Den would motion in the direction of it, and as they walked Maku would start to talk to Aki. Den wouldn’t keep track of the conversation, instead thinking of people he thought he should try and vie win the pond. Naoki, Shinji, and perhaps Taiga? No, no need for that, besides Maku had killed his boss, and unbeknownst to Den had killed him as well. It wouldn’t take them long to arrive at the small pond, which had a broken down log near it to serve as a bench. Den would stand near it and motion down towards the surface clear water, “Just think about your friend and look at the water’s surface, and their image will appear within the pond.”