Mastering the hearts of malice

Being the kage of kumogakure wasn't without its merits, it afforded the young plague prince with knowledge normally not known to common eyes. For example Mortarion had struggled with taiming this beast inside of him using his own hatred and will as fuel to fight it. As he leafed through pages of notes and scripts written by previous kage and elders it became clear to him that he was only feeding the bijuu with his hate. His methods of interacting and attempting to beat it into submission had only caused it to grow in power as it sipped his malice and made it part of itself.

The more he read the pages, the more he became enraged at the fact that the beast had made a fool of him and used the kage as a meal source for itself. He needed to gain control of Epidemeuis by any means necessary as he knew its power would add to his own relatively well. As he sat in the dim light of the Kages office his eyes skimmed till they came across notes written on training and taiming the monster. Kumogakure was apparently in the care of not only a giant turtle, but on its back was an entire land mass and area dedicated to mastering ones inner demons and the bijuu itself.

Sighing to himself the raikage moved once more from his office in the direction of the ocean. From what he was reading, the turtle constantly changed where it was located. It changed so much so that coordinates were written down periodically to keep track of which direction it was due. As Mortarion set sail in a vessel built for this trip he kept reading noting that a birds eye view was always required for those searching for the island. Luckily for him and the small crew heading there, his byakugan would allow them clear and safe travels. Continuing with his studies he learned that where he would need to go was named the waterfall of truth where he would be able to and need to master the evil and malice in himself if he wanted to stand a chance at mastering his bijuu. Stopping with his studies he allowed his mind to drift for a moment entering a meditative state as he attempted to feel out not only the bijuu but just how much hate he had to go through in order to be at peace.

As he sat port side along the ships rails attempting to clear his mind as the text said a young jounin appeared from the hull approaching asking for direction as they were steering more into the dense fog. Keeping his natural eyes closed and staying silent a vertical slit appeared on his forehead before opening revealing a pure white eye that quickly activated making veins spread throughout his forehead. The Kages vision quickly became that of someone looking at the world from the outside in. While he mediated he would use his fingers with small gestures mapping out their direction till eventually he could hear the sounds of waves crashing against something in the distance before the moving fortress became visible to his all seeing eye.

The boat slowed its pace as it came alongside the giant tortoise docking alongside it before the raikage stepped from the boat starting his journey though the forest. Once on land per say Mortarion made his way along the somewhat beaten path, his byakugan affording him the luxury of seeing everything around him to ensure he wouldn't lose his way. After some time he made it to an area that's seemed to match what the papers had said of a water fall with a center piece to meditate on. Taking the time to take each of his prized scythes from his back as well as the rikudo staff for his rinnegan. His armor whirred with each step he took across the water to the small portion for one to sit on.

The moment the kage took a kneeling position of almost prostration he could feel an almost overwhelming explosion of malice, death and hate pouring from his pores. The heaviness on his multiple hearts almost becoming too much to bare. Closing his eyes, Mortarion begin searching for the darkness inside. His first and only original heart started beating faster in a capsule of threads, his mind began racing as chakra began flowing faster into the heart and projections of two people he had long since forgotten came into view. His father from his days in the parish, the man that had raised him when his own family had given him up was the first to step forward from the darkness in his mind. The second apparition made his heart beat faster no Mortarion could feel his rage swell once more to a boiling point. The male who had kidnapped him and killed his entire "family" appeared slightly to the left and behind the first, he still held the forever smile on his face which could never be read.

Mortarion could feel the darkness swell as he stared at his father looking down on him with his ever non judging eyes. Was this how his inner test would be, bringing up the things that he had since forgotten in all his time on this earth.

"Don't look at me like that, say something! You condescending fuck, don't just look at me like everything will be ok....you're dead. You don't know what has transpired and what I've done, don't look at me with forgiveness. JUDGE ME...."

The image of the male in front of him never wavered it just looked at him approvingly staring past and through all of his wrongs it seemed like. The plague prince didn't know what emotion he was feeling, the swell between anger and sadness mixed to form something much more complex. He knew what he was supposed to be attempting to do but actually performing it and attempting to let go was much harder. All these years he had used his fathers death as a means to justify his actions in the now, Mortarions heart ached while he meditated as he understood what he needed to do and why this vision had come.

"I'm sorry for using your memory to advance my own agenda...I never once honored your memory. I've used you and forgotten all your teachings so that I could live how I wanted..."

His fathers memory faded back into the void with a smile and a nod at his words. As it did, the smiling man moved forward with purpose, his large body lumbering almost comically before stopping directly in front of Mortarion. The Kages mental image stood up as well slightly taller than his captor now in full armor. His fists clenched as hate was the only emotion he felt now. What was he meant to gain by seeing this person, how was he supposed to let go if all he felt was the rage of himself and the bijuu now overwhelming his conscious? He could feel it scratching at his head now. For a few moments the chakra of the three tails seeped out covering his right arm in a purple evil chakra seeping off him. The free arm quickly reacted reaching up Ned clutching where the heart was as he dropped to a knee in pain over the bijuu attempting to break free and what he needed to do.

"God....damnit, why are you here, you sick fuck. I killed you for a reason, you killed, raped, and tortured. Be gone!"

It however didn't fade and the chakra around him grew further on his right side. He couldn't even begin to think of what it was he was meant to do. The answer however hit him like a wrecking ball and his heart both grew heavy and relived at the same time. The cloak dissapated slightly before reforming as if it was waiting for him to say the words he knew had to be said.

"....I'm sorry for your death, while i do believe you deserved to be killed and that will never change. However I do understand now that taking it into my own hands when I could have escaped without doing you harm was not my place. So I apologize for snuffing out your light before you ever had the chance to be forgiven or change."

Just as he finished his words the first heart became calm once more as the image faded from in front of him still ever smiling. The hate he felt washing away as the cloak from the bijuu crumbled off vanishing let him know he was on the right track. However the idea of him turning on what he had been for such a long time didn't sit well with him, was he lying to himself about what and who he was truly? However that question would have to be answered at a later time as his second heart began to do the same spasms as the first had again dropping him back to a knee. He could feel his outside body shaking slightly and sweating from the concentration this session took.

After a few moments a young face appeared before him a face from yukigakure..it was Demetri, a young village leader with his entire life ahead of him. Mortarions gaze shifted away from the child for a moment as full regret sank in and sorrow filled all his being. The young males frame still carried all the punctures from when he was impaled by the kage all those years ago. The young man had only wanted to defend his home and he had been struck down for it and it even remembered for his sacrifice. Mortarions eyes grew cold and slightly detached as his mental body tried to handle the shock of seeing the males face again. Three wicked dark tails grew from his back as the full veil of bijuu chakra covered his body, he could still be seen through it as his body felt like it was being boiled from the inside out. This one wasn't hard, he knew what he needed to do but the beast was in his head now.

"What are you doing boy, stop this foolishness. You have all the power you need, you take what is yours. You don't need to continue down this stupid road of understanding. Let me eject you from this world, and you can go back to doing what we've been doing."

The beast was whispering sweet nothings into his ear as it gained further control of his body. Indeed it would be easier to allow the beast to end this torture..or would it? If the beast was asking fo this to stop then it obviously felt threatened or worried to what could happen.

"I'll take my chances Epidimeus, now leave me be, I'll be finishing our struggle soon."

They were quick words but held enough force to push the bijuu back and with it the three tails cloak that covered his body. Gaining back his strength the raikage stood and embraced the male in front of him tightly as a father would a son. His body simply moved, he couldn't understand the reason why but it did.

"You didn't deserve your death, I was power hungry and impulsive at the time...and I still am in most ways. You never had a chance to be a great leader though, you had the makings of something great...please forgive me."

The apparition didn't fade however once Mortarion had apologized, it simply stood there still bleeding and punctured. It was at this point that he realized that yes, forgiveness was a part of clearing ones mind and becoming at peace. However there was also acceptance of what one was and that they could live with who they were instead of attempting to change. Mortarion was chaos, he was decay, death, his job in this life was simple and it was to be chaos itself. Something he had struggle with understanding for a very long time which more than likely also played a part in his split persona problem he had dealt with in the past.

"Hmmm, I think I now see what it is this test is about, it's not just about forgiveness...."

It was also clearing your mind and understanding why and who you were and how to be at peace with that. It was true that he was evil, he'd done evil things me more than likely would continue to. The difference was he had always felt conflicted about what it was he was meant to do and what force was meant to be put forth to do it. Now he understood, he was necessary, his methods were warranted and there were multiple was of going about clearing ones mind of darkness and doubt other than asking forgiveness and being what you weren't.

"You were necessary in my rise... I'm coming to terms with what I am and to apologize would only cloud that more and disrespect the memory of what it is. In fact all of you in here are now a part of something much more than just one of us could ever do. I'll take this demons power from inside this body and I'll forge on in all of your memories and you can see the world I make."

With his words the darkness he was in shifted to clarity as he could see vast expanses in his own mind and his hearts grew still as if they had been finally put back to rest. He could feel his new ease of mind wash over him as his mental state flushed out and pushed him back to reality, the next step was confronting the demon face to face and taking its power for his own. As he stood and regrouped all his weapons he made way inside the waterfall for the next chamber and in turn the next test. His metal foots echoed in the chamber and as he made it to the middle he once again sat in his giant armor before speaking.

"This is the chamber where we will fight the three tailed demon, you said you understood this bijuu thing. You should be able to help if what I've read is correct, shall we begin?"

(Wc 2402 claiming 3800 spirit chakra)

"More than a thing..." Taios said in a growl. He had been watching as the man meditated. Saw his fingers move, the darkness in his mind. It wasn't unlike his own realization of how the world truly was. He had been but a child then. When his world was taken, shattered. His innocence raped and forever tainted with a black seed. It had grown, manifested in him a second life, a second body, a second purpose. He didn't need forgiveness or regret, no all he needed was blood and battle.

He had visited hell that day, and found it to his liking. Inside that place was were he stayed, locked. Now within Mortarion's mind he saw what the kage saw. If his inner peace was hell, he likened Mortarion's to purgatory. This was not a happy place, one of holiness. Nor was it one of eternal suffering. It merely existed in a way, constantly hovering between the two. Taios would later consider this, and be the reason he never saw the kage as truly grasping what the world was. He straddled the agenda, and while Taios could live with the decision he forever counted it as wrong.

"The bijuu are beasts, pure energy. These are not the creatures of history however, but something different. Younger perhaps, or older I cannot tell. To take it lightly however, is to be a fool." His voice was still a low growl. The Bloody Moon strapped to his back, his armor resting around his waist only covering his legs at the moment. "When it comes, and it will, practice cAution. This is an honor kage, to have the chance at a creature such as this. Should you falter I have no qualms with letting the beast devour you. You should know that." He would say marking the first time he looked at Mortarion. His smile wide revealing the over sized canines and sharpened teeth, the after effects of truly being touched by his own bijuu.

Their connection was different, perhaps more than any other Jin had been. The seal had been broken, but the eternal struggle continued. Their relationship was built on battle, was built on the ongoing struggle between the two. Taios was well aware should he ever lower his guard the beast would snatch the opportunity. The beast was aware of it should likewise act Taios would crush it's spirit once and for all. However, mutual survival was a necessity and therefore the symbiotic partnership continued.

"What do you know of this creature?" Taios asked to no one. Except at his words his chakra aura seemed to ignite and a ghostly image of Sargetanas appeared over his head. It's voice was like a thousand clashing swords, the death rattle of a battalion, and the feast of carrion crows all at once. "I know nothing. He has his mind closed, keeping me away. His chakra though.....it feels of death." Taios had rarely seen the beast of Funkagakure in such a contemplative mood. Which only showed the danger.

Shrugging off his blade he took it along his chest. Blood dripped to the ground as the first wound was made: the pain focusing his mind. Reaching down his hands seemed to enter the armor before standing to fill height bringing it with him. Fully covered in the molten armor he held the Bloody Moon with both hands diagonally across his body as the visage of his bijuu vanished watching from his eyes. "I am ready....."

Epidimeus rose from the chasm like a cloud of dark smoke, dark, unadulterated hatred and malice doomed to plague this mortal world forever. But for the first time, there was a shriek of joy, of wild abandon as it rose. For the repulsive human host may not have fallen for his tricks earlier but now was a chance, a chance to set things right. To restore the balance of the world and set Epidimeus free of his pathetic cage in that boy. The presence of another like him was barely noticeable to the cloud of misery and hate gathering twenty meters away in the distance. Today was the day Epidimeus would be free, of that it was certain.

"Very well," it rasped, it's foul breath travelling the distance between them corrosively. "ILet's end this." With a hiss, the semi tangible form vanished, only to erupt in purple smoke this time, a highly poisonous gas that would kill the jinchuriki instantly upon contact. This would all be over soon.

Epedimius stats:

Heath: 50
Chakra: 150
Stamina: 100
Speed: 150
Strength: 25

also requesting bijuu nature to be smoke release for this battle.

Justsu used: http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t30642-aliento-de-la-muerte-revamped

Power and speed: 150
AP Calculations: 1,000 - 100 = 900

Mortarion smiled faintly at Taios's response to him about the bijuu and prepared to launch his own quip back at the males mental state. However before he could fully speak the beast  semi appeared. He remembered that his now partner in crime had said he should be on his guard and ready for anything. The giant mass of chakra couldn't be ignored and the kage took this chance to attack before  the beast spoke.

Stepping of off his right foot his taijutu style flash step kicked in as he would disappear and appear in a blinding speed inside the mist before the beast had spoken its first words. Spreading both hands to each side his rinnegan would spin into existence as the shinra tensei activated blowing the mist from one central location to it being dispersed in every area 10 meters all around with a force of 120 thanks to his rod built to channel rinnegan techniques through. If effective this would split the beast in every direction splitting the bijuu in half or how many other pieces it wanted to be. Once done Mortarion would begin to attach his chakra to the split chakra of the beast to intiate the pull for its chakra. Looking towards Taios he'd speak simply.

"You can help."

Ap used 837-60=737

His eyes watched as the kage did little more than bum rush the enemy. A valiant first move, he was impressed. Reckless, brave, and a bit stupid everything he had come to expect from the alliance that had developed. As his eyes caught up and watched the bijuu seemed to be shattered, interrupting whatever attack it would have performed due to it being thrown jn so many directions at once. An opportunity to turn a brutal slug fest into a quick victory quickly became apperant.

His lips parted and he roared, though now it had no human qualities in the least. Fully tapping into the bijuu inside himself he began using its powers for him. Bringing Sargatanas into the field, the funka nin all had gone. Instead now a 100m tall giant of fire and battle stood in his stead. The creature dropped lava, it's very existence offering blood and battle for the dark gods that watched. It's own hands crashed into the cloud now easily able to reach from where he stood. His 4K spirit chakra working to tame the bijuu. He didn't care about his brethren if they were weak enough to be submitted than so be it.

He pressed hard against the beast, his physical energy greater than his actual spiritual powers. Again he roared, like the screams of a thousand berserkers, this would be over quickly, or he was prepared to spill blood, his own and the enemies.

Before Epidimeus could so much as attack the foul jinchuriki and his pet bijuu, the human was upon it, inside it, scattering it every which way. Still, all was not lost. Epidimeus woukd reform, it would show these unworthy beings that plague couldn't be destroyed, only delayed at best.

But before it had time to attack again, it felt the tug, deep in its being. The frail human host and his filthy domesticated clone pulling at the very center of its being. And all Epidimeus could do was pull back.

The member 'Akihana Akari' has done the following action : Roll Dice/Flip Coin

---

'Lucky Coin' : 1

In the end, perhaps it was inevitable that Epidimeus lost. It had been two against one. But the plagued creature never stood for excuses and it wasn't about to now. It simply dispersed, feeling its originality go with each plume of smoke, destined to live in this mortal shell for the remainder of the misarable Kage's life.

But mortals, no matter what they liked to believe, died. It was Epidimeus's last consoling thought as it felt its presence cement inside the boy Kage.

This one would too, hopefully soon.

(Bijuu battle won <3)

Just like that the battle was over before it even began, Mortarion could feel the plague of the bijuu lifting from his body. In that same moment they were released from the mental state and returned to the real world where it didn't feel like much time had passed but he would later find out once they left the building that it he turned dark. He'd finally beaten the curse of having the beast eat at his life, now he'd have to actually learn how to live with it which was going to be the hardest part. As he looked towards Taios he simply nodded his head as he stood up in his lumbering armor reaching for his weapons once more.

"I appreciate the help, anything you need or want, I'll do my best to repay you."

(Claiming bijuu chakra)