First Encounter [Travel]

It was easy to tell usually when crossing borders into another country. There was almost always a distinguishable difference in appearance and climate. Takeo had been in awe at the difference when the man had first started his travels. Now it was just a fleeting side note to a seasoned wanderer. One day he would find a place to settle he had told himself over a year ago. The man had thought he had found such a place, however it seems fate had different plans for him.

The voice in the back of his mind had quietened. Perhaps it was because Takeo offered no true reply to it, instead just following the path it had laid out. After awhile the man had even turned back, heading in a different direction than originally intended.

A days travel ended with the man sitting next to a small stream. The bearded man watched some stray leaves floating through the water. It was quiet and calm. For the first time in a few days Takeo felt somewhat at peace with himself. So perhaps it was time to deal with the most pressing issue.

With a sigh the man closed his eyes. Taking in deep breaths he tried to block out everything around him. Meditation wasn't a new concept to the man. When he was younger it had been something he had done regularly. In the latter years of his life the man had cast such things aside. Everything had passed by in a blur. So much had happened he didn't have the time to just sit back and take it all in.

Now was the time. A swirling orb of chakra appeared around his form however. Invisible to the naked eye it rotated around him as he drifted off from conscious thought. One Way Road would protect him from outside threats allowing him to focus completely.

And so Takeo now found himself falling. His eyes scanned his new surroundings. The sky above was cloud ridden and stormy. Lightning crackled through the clouds as if a storm was taking place. However there was no rain, no wind. The man descended down to the ground below. He landed on a bed of sand. Takeo looked around once more. A desert. He thought to himself. How odd.

Takeo couldn't see that far in the distance. His eye wasn't working, likely a result of this being his own imagination? Something didn't add up though. The storm clouds made sense of course. With the affinity for lightning as well as his own destructive nature it only made sense his own mind was a storm. The sand however made little sense to him. Though he had a sneaking suspicion why this was the case. He was here to confirm that suspicion now.

The man made his way across the sand. A large dune lay before him, towering above any others within the area. Takeo had his sights set on it. He wouldn't traverse such an obstacle though, instead he would greet it. "You've awoken then. You're the voice." The man spoke toward the sand. It shifted in response and began to take on a more distinctive shape.

It had been several months since Takeo had blown the head of Shukaku into pieces and had the beast sealed inside of him. While Takeo recovered from the ordeal so had the beast. Only half of Shukaku's face was fully formed. It was quite the sight truth be told. Loose sand dripped from the ragged edges of the beast. It seemed it had taken the bijuu longer than Takeo to recover.

'Did you really think you could keep me silent for so long human?' The beast finally replied causing Takeo to flinch slightly. It's voice echoed across the landscape the sand shaking as it spoke.

"The seal is supposed to keep you contained." Takeo spoke. The beast simply laughed in response, the ground once more shaking from the noise.

'Nothing can contain me you idiotic child.' The beast's half mouth twisted upward into a grin. 'Soon I shall have my full power back to me. This pathetic vessel that is your body won't be able to contain me boy. I already control you while you sleep. Once I have full control I'll be able to free myself.'

Takeo's face twisted into a frown. "Think what you want. No one controls me or ever will. Enjoy your time building sand castles here or whatever, just stay in the back of my mind." The man straightened his back up staring into the single eye of the beast. "You'll be stuck here for quite some time, best get comfy."

It seemed the beast didn't take kindly to his reply. The landscape began to shift. The sand dunes rose into the air around Takeo. Not again. He braced himself as the sand began to cascade down toward his body.

Takeo jolted back to reality. The tree to his left exploded into pieces, the result of a reflexive Sunder, as the man glanced around his surroundings. Takeo's left arm shakily dropped to his side. It took several moments for Takeo to get a control on his breathing. It took several more for the feeling in his legs and arms to come back.

Half an hour later he was off again. His journey had just begun. He needed to get something sorted out about this and quickly. Takeo knew of someone who had dealt with voices in their own head for a long time. It may be a difference case, but perhaps this person would be able to at least help him deal with it some. It was a long shot of course. However it was this or simply roll over and let the voice take control. Self-preservation was the main focus. He didn't care about what happened to other people while the Shukaku had control. It was himself that mattered.

The man crossed over yet another border and into land foreign to him. He didn't know the way all that well, but eventually the man would find his destination through much trial and error.

[Travel to Moon Country]