Consequences

Screams could be heard off in the distance, muffled out by the roaring of the explosions around him. Fire burned, skyscrapers toppled from the raw power. Takeo stood in the centre of it all. The world was spinning around him. He couldn't move, he was never able to move. He could only watch, frozen, as a white streak passed by him. His eyes followed, watching as the streak collided with yet another building. The sound of metal being ripped asunder and glass shattering filled his ears. The skyscraper collapsed onto itself, and that was when he woke up.

Takeo shot upright. Sweat ran down his face, his breathing heavy. It was the same nightmare. The one that had been plaguing him for the two months that he had remained in the ruins of Tengakure. A smart man would have left the village weeks ago. Takeo wasn't sure why he remained. Two months had past, each night the same vision coming to him in his dreams. Takeo couldn't leave though. It was as if something kept him grounded here in the ruins. Each time he had tried to leave, the same thing happened. Chains sprouted from the ground, binding his body and keeping him from stepping foot outside the gates. No matter what he did, the chains would not break. Instead receding back to where they came from once he turned and headed back inside. It was a strange occurrence to say the least. Takeo had come up with several reasons for these events.

He was in hell. In actuality he had died before reaching Kumogakure. The ruins served as his own personal prison. He would be forced to remain here, bound to the place until such a time in which whoever was punishing him was satisfied.

The white haired man ran a hand through his hair. It had been some time since Takeo had been well rested. Dark circles had appeared under his eyes, and his senses weren't all there. His knees were brought up to his chest, head resting against them to hid from the world.

It was unknown how long he sat this way. Though by the time Takeo stirred darkness had fallen. It was eerie at this time. The twisted and broken ruins cast strange shadows when lit by the moonlight. With Takeo's state of mind, it did not provide for the best of times. He usually didn't come out at night, preferring to stay curled up in a small cubbyhole that had formed when two buildings had collapsed against each other. Tonight it was different. Takeo crawled out from his home for the past two months. Moving out into the open, his gaze slowly panned left to right. A moonlit stroll through ruins, as nice a way to pass the time as any.

---

It was quiet. The only thing Takeo could hear was his own footsteps. He had been walking for approximately twenty or so minutes now. Takeo knew his way around. The young man had walked these ruins many times over during his stay. Shadows flickered in the corner of his right eye. He blinked, pausing in his travel. The Byakugan in his left eye flared to life, the area round him being scanned. Nothing, yet another vision. He pulled at his hair, it having grown long during his time here. It now lay around his shoulders, though would soon touch his shoulder blades if given a few more weeks to grow. A sigh escaped his dry and cracked lips. His hand clasped over his right eye, blocking it's vision. It helped ease him, the shadows and visions ceasing now that they were blocked out. Still, the young man felt uneasy. Chakra flared around him, the defensive shield he had come to rely on forming itself. It brought him slight comfort, few things had broken through it. Shadows would not harm him. He was quite certain..he told himself that. However, he still quickly made his way back to his shelter. There was knowing telling would he would encounter if he kept himself out in the night. Survival was all that mattered.

The young man clambered into his cubbyhole, and made another attempt at sleeping.

---

Screams could be heard off in the distance, muffled out by the roaring of the explosions around him. Fire burned, skyscrapers toppled from the raw power. Takeo stood in the centre of it all. The world was spinning around him. He couldn't move, he was never able to move. He could only watch, frozen, as a white streak passed by him. His eyes followed, watching as the streak collided with yet another building. The sound of metal being ripped asunder and glass shattering filled his ears. The skyscraper collapsed onto itself, and that was when he woke up.

Again. The same nightmare that haunted him. When would it end?