Deals with the Devil

Kazuo Kemuri stood before the desk of Ren. Their leader had not returned, and attempts to raise him via the seal he had imparted upon Kazuo had been unsuccessful. That meant one of two things… Either their leader had betrayed them, or he was dead. Whatever the case, it mattered very little to Kazuo. Word of Ren’s exploits had reached him, and he was beginning to hear some rather unsettling rumors about how the man went about procuring their shadowy network of allies and informants. It appeared that their leader had not valued the lives of innocents as highly as Kazuo might have hoped. Whatever these rumors were, Kazuo wanted to distance himself from them. Hitsuyo Aku was a necessary evil, not an overt one.

Kazuo scratched his neck. The seal that had been granted to him by the man called Ganki was a most peculiar one. At every expenditure of his chakra, he felt it urging him to go farther, to give in and allow it to empower him. He had not yet given in, much to Yomi’s charging. Still, the seal called to him, and even now, from the minute expenditure of chakra required for his Meigan, he felt his strength being tested.

Lemme have it, Kazuo! There’s so much chakra here, just let me have a little! Begged Yomi in her singsong voice. Kazuo ignored her. He had gotten quite good at doing that lately. What sort of man was this Ganki fellow, who could instill such power upon his allies, at such a cost? Kazuo was hesitant to compare the transaction to a deal with the devil, despite the parallels, for he had already quite enough devils in his life.

He pondered now the future of their group. They were a rather odd bunch. A few, he knew, were outright criminals, while more still were ex-shinobi of the major villages, primarily Sunagakure. He wondered just what sort of men and women those ninja were, as he had not yet interacted with many of them. Indeed, for all the communication he’d had between the other members, Kazuo had begun to think they were afraid of him. Still, the fate of Hitsuyo Aku, a group he had named for the necessary evil they represented, was hanging from a string. Without strong leadership, they would crumble. Such leadership now fell to Kazuo. He decided to tell the others the news of Ren’s disappearance via telepathy, as he did not know the whereabouts of a select few.

As he activated the seal, he felt the dull burn from his neck, soothing yet painful, urging him to release his inhibitions and give in to the seal. Yomi purred like a cat under its influence and exerted all of her power to make him give in, as well.
Patience, Yomi. Snarled Kazuo, exerting all of the willpower he could muster into containing this raw energy. Regaining control of his own body, Kazuo stared stoically at his own reflection in the mirror on the wall. He saw the cursed seal growing across his body, and then receding back to its home upon being suppressed. Kazuo did not know why, but he felt as if he had just made a close save.

This is Kazuo Kemuri. He announced, pausing for a moment to ensure he had the attention of his comerades. Our leader is gone. Whether he died in his homeland or betrayed us for their cause matters little. Hitsuyo Aku is now under my control. Came the commanding, confident voice of Kazuo Kemuri, heard by each member possessing the requisite telepathy seal.

You will find me in the Land of Iron, atop the highest peak of the Three Wolves Mountains. He instructed them, pulling open the drawers and collecting Ren’s possessions as he did so. They would need them for what lay ahead. Any members that do not report to me within a week will be branded traitors and marked as an enemy of the Hitsuyo Aku. I expect to see all of you very soon. He concluded, closing the connection. Having retrieved everything of importance, he took one last look at himself in the mirror. The seal was small, just as it had been when he entered the office. For all he could tell from looking upon his own visage, the entire thing could have been a dream. Still, he felt something stirring inside him, something that wasn’t there before. The feeling was different from Yomi’s influence. Yomi’s influence was primal and animalistic, this was cold and heartless. It was not emotional, as Yomi’s form of control was. Kazuo felt completely within his right mind when it exerted control over him. Rather, what he felt when this seal pressed him to give in was nothing but sheer power, a wall of chakra.

In some ways, it was less terrifying than Yomi. Yomi was sentient, she could play with his emotions and manipulate him into doing her bidding. Not only that, Yomi had nothing but good intentions for Kazuo, so her true thoughts were often difficult to read, though she had as of late revealed herself to be something of a gluttonous monster. This cursed seal, this mark of the devil, did not care whether Kazuo lived or died. All it cared about was the power it exerted upon him. It was cold, unfeeling, and if Yomi ever got her hands on what it contained, overpowering. Kazuo knew he had no choice but to keep this power contained. He would master it upon his own time, slowly but surely.

Checking his visage in the mirror one last time and assuring himself that the seal was not growing, he turned and glanced back towards the door, and then vanished into thin air. What awaited him on the other side of the hole he created in space in time was to be another test for the long dishonored samurai.

(Exit, teleporting to land of iron)
(TWC: 1013)

+1013/4500 words towards Heaven Seal Stage 1 (25% discount)

Claiming possessions of Ren Tsubasa, left in his desk as stated Here

Approved