A Leaf and his Shadow

Salzem walked through town, two clones flanking him. They were all carrying some goods Salzem's father had asked to get for him via letter. He had been gone for a couple of days and promised to be back before Salzem was. The bags contained various containers of medical supplies, syringes, etc. Salzem felt a bit lost. Not in the sense that he had lost his way, but that he did not know what to feel. He had felt this way for days. His two minds seemed to be coming together, each influencing the other. Behind the sinister gaze of his pure sanguine eyes, laid a very confused boy. He taken up taijutsu to distract him from these things. The physical pain and stress kept his mind off the fact that he was becoming something else. His demons were becoming less active and his morals, less strict. Salzem felt that he could fight someone without trying to kill them, but then again, he had never felt this way before. Anything could happen. Salzem arrived at the door and he and his clones dropped the stuff on the door step. He knocked and waited. When his father had not come to answer Salzem took the key that was hid atop the door frame and let himself in. The house was vacant as if it had been abandoned for days. Salzem walked cautiously through his house, eyes flashing around for any kind of movement. Salzem looked across at the kitchen table. No note. Was father pulled away while I was gone? Salzem thought to himself. He checked the living room, nothing. He checked the bathroom. Nada. Salzem walked up the stairs slowly, as not to startle his father if he was indeed here. Salzem checked his own room just to be safe. No, but he did find a small, hand written note upon his bed. Salzem cocked his head to the side in wonder. Why would his father place his note here of all places? Salzem picked up the note, holding it lightly in his hands. Curiosity fell over him as his eyes looked over the note. Usually his father would place the note on the table or on the door. Salzem read over the note.
To Salzem,

    

     I am sorry. By the time I'm done writing this, they will already be on their way. For years, I was affiliated with a small crime organization that has taken root inside and around the Land of Fire. I was indeed part of it, acting as their chief doctor, healing the wounds of the other members as they participated in raids. I had gained much of my income from illegal raids, not from acting as a Medical ninja. I was fiery, young, hotheaded. I was stupid and now My son must pay for my crimes. During one of these raids, I saw how barbaric they were. I watched as they killed many innocents, children and women alike. I saw as others were defiled by the same people I healed up the other day. I could not take it any more. I threatened to leave. To expose them. To shut down all their operations in and out of Konoha. In turn, they threatened my wife. And when you were born, you, Salzem. I had to partake in more grizzly actions under the nose of the Konoha police. After careful thought and planning over the years, I have decided to risk it. I went to the police and told them everything. The organization will not last the another year. And neither will I. I know that you will be safe. I watched you grow into a fine young genin. I watched proudly as you became something more than their thugs could handle. I am sorry you had to be born into this side of the world. I am sorry that you had been robbed of your father like this. The house and it's upkeep will be paid for by an anonymous source. I will miss you my boy. I know you will become a splendid ninja.
Sincerely yours,
                Makara Alagahara, your father.

Salzem had not processed this information. His mind could not comprehend the words that had been written on the paper. Salzem got up and stuffed the note into his pocket. He walked toward his father's office. It was the only room he had not checked. As he approached, the words from the paper started to make sense. His ignorance was pushed aside for the dark, bloody truth that was written on the crumpled parchment that he had stuffed into his pocket. Salzem tore open the door to his office, ignorantly expecting in father at his desk like he had been all those times before.
"Father, I-" Salzem began before seeing it was just as empty as the rest of the house. The temperature of the room seemed to drop massively. Salzem's hands were twitching, his eyes unfocused as his mind pushed aside the barriers of resistance. My father was a criminal. My father is........ dead......... These were the only words that entered Salzem's mind as he comprehended the information. Salzem did not break down in tears. He did not burst forth in rage. He felt hollow. There was no longer a demon in his mind. There was no longer a boy. Salzem put a hand over his chest, his heart, and clenched. He  had no idea how long he stood there, processing. Processing. Processing. processing. No tears came. A gaping hole where his heart would be. No pain. Numbness. All he had known of his father was wrong. He is dead and a fake and... and... nothing. Salzem ran from the house, blindly making his way to the training area. As soon as he entered the area, he slammed his hands in the tiger sign. A shadow clone appeared before him, however it did not look like him. It's features were contorted with rage only something from the ungodly fires of below could hold. The look in it's eye knocked Salzem out of his trance for a moment. The clone in front of him looked more like a savage beast, breathing hard, jaws ground together, nearly contained. This was no longer something that wanted to kill. This was something that wanted to obliterate. Salzem raised his hands defensively, but in what now passed for a heart, he knew he was facing what amounted to years of demons. This thing's rage could be felt from the other side of konoha. Salzem felt tears come as he faced down his years worth of demons and rage.

(WK: 1099)

It was the most disturbing thing he had ever seen in his entire life. It wasn't just that the only thing that could be seen in this creature was rage, but it was that the whole thing was spawned from him and him alone. He let this thing grow and feed off of him for years and now, now Salzem has to fight it. The creature snarled like a wild animal before lunging at Salzem with quick powerful strike. Salzem ducked or redirected each blow, keeping on the defensive. The beast lunged forward, grabbing Salzem by the front of his jacket and slamming him hard into the earth below. Salzem gasped at the force of the impact. Most of the air was knocked out of his lungs. The beast picked up Salzem again and tossed him at a near by tree. Salzem struggled but managed to right himself and land his feet against its trunk. He immediately focused his chakra into his feet, activating his Tree Climbing ability. The clone snarled and lunged, rage getting in the way of its better judgement Salzem stared at the clone as it approached. He stared at himself as he approached. Once it got within 2 meters, Salzem leaped off the tree trunk with all of his might. The clone did not expect Salzem to come at him this fast. Salzem unleashed a series of high and low kicks, combined with the force of his jump. The clone took each kick, mask flying off after the last kick connected with its head. The clone fell back, eyes unfocused for but a moment. Then they relocked, glaring down at Salzem like how a lion stares down a shivering lamb. It was hard for Salzem to believe that this was him. That this was an aspect of his being. He wasn't afraid of it, rather, he was more afraid of himself for creating something as insidious as this. A flash of sense passed over the clone's sanguine eyes and it smiled. It's primal rage seemed to have refined into something much more sadistic and dark. No longer did the clone represent an inferno. It now represented something more along the lines of radiation. Its terrible smile, its body language, every, single thing it did was to tear you down on one level or another. Salzem thought he could see the eyes of his clone begin to glow with evil light. This time, it attacked strategically. It made graceful, thought out attacks, landing blows in areas where Salzem had difficulty defending. They dueled under the mid-day sun, striking at each other, quickly and viciously, but it was clear that the clone was gaining an advantage. The clone knocked Salzem back with a kick that slammed him hard into a tree trunk. The clone followed up with a series of high and low kicks, each slamming Salzem harder and harder into the tree trunk behind him. Salzem slid to the ground once the attacks stopped coming, stunned by the power of his demons. The clone drew its katana slowly, chuckling darkly. Salzem's vision came into focus as he looked up, his clone holding its katana over its head menacingly. Salzem rolled out forward, as the blade came down, moving inside the strike. Salzem used his body like a spring, slamming his foot into the clone's chin, knocking it upwards. Salzem slammed his hands in the Ram sign, flooding himself with chakra. Using the Body Flicker technique, Salzem appeared behind the clone as it hung in the air, mimicking its posture. The clone had not noticed Salzem's presence as it was struggling to right itself in the air. Salzem grabbed the back of the clone's jacket, ready to slam the clone back to earth. The clone's eyes widened in surprises as it felt a tug on its jacket. It glanced behind it, seeing Salzem, jacket in his grip. It struggled, it snarled, it tried every possible way to tear itself free from Salzem but his grip was iron, Salzem zoomed downward, taking his clone with him. About a meter from the earth, Salzem threw the clone over his shoulder, as if swinging a hammer down on a nail. The clone smashed into the earth with massive force, Salzem leaping back as soon as the clone touched ground. The clone landed on the back of its neck, red eyes frozen in surprise. It faded slowly into smoke, leaving Salzem with his hole of a heart alone in the woods. Salzem didn't do anything at first. He just stood there, unable to move. His body wouldn't allow it, as if someone flipped a fail safe. Slowly and gradually, Salzem felt a tingling sensation fill up in his stomach. It worked its way up into his chest and around his face. It burned slightly as the feeling coursed into his eyes. They were becoming wet, droplets of water dripping down onto his cheeks. Salzem silently cried. There were not sniffling or howling. No shaking or teeth chattering. Salzem couldn't stop the flow of tears as his body caught up with his mind. My father was dead... Was his only thought was he stood there, breathing heavily. He did not even care that his father had admitted to being a criminal. His death is what struck him the hardest. Salzem stood their crying silently. His energy drained out of him gradually, causing him to fall against a near by tree. Suddenly, Salzem felt his fist collide with the earth beside him.
"Dammit..." Salzem muttered to himself. The pain from his fist paled into the suffering from his heart. It seemed to encompass all suffering. His fist slammed into the ground again and again, seemingly no longer under Salzem's control.
"Dammit... dammit... dammit......." Salzem's voice became more and more shaky with each word he spoke. His lip trembled and he let out a sigh. For a moment, it seemed that Salzem had gained control of himself. That he had calmed down. A moan came from between his lips. It gradually increased in volume and emotion until it became a full blown wail. Salzem could no longer hold back the feelings. They came, rushing forward like a torrent of water, enveloping everything in its crushing pressure. Salzem had no idea how long he sat there, head tilted towards the sky, wailing. When the wailing passed, Salzem wrapped his head around his head and cried his heart out. His father was everything to him. He had no one now. He was ALONE. The very word inspired more tears and they came readily. The sky passed from blue to indigo to orange, Salzem alone in the forest, letting his emotions free.

(TWK: 2213)
(Claiming 11 stat points and Leaf Shadow taijutsu)