The Wind Spirit [P]

Mission:

Twilight had taken its grasp of the sky, dimming the brilliant warmth of the sunset with a grey contrast of fleeting luminescence, the sun retreating into the whispering mountains of Kumogakure that lined the jagged horizon. Darkness took the scene, blanketing the area of which the trio trod. Wind wisped around the swordsmen, the teeming stench of the rot burning about in its air. It was a horrific smell, one of death that turned Shien’s stomach inside out and churrened his saliva into a thick, butter-like spit.

He swallowed, taking a step forward into the dew-ridden grass and rocks that filled the mountain side. Shien’s sharpened teeth clenched, his viridian lips stretched over his gums, almost splitting, as he strained, his neck convulsing with protruding veins. He stretched his muscles forward, launching his arms in front of him. Boru’s axe cleaved into the rocks before him, slicing them as if they were softened clay. Just touching the weapon had sliced the first layer of skin from his green finger. Whatever Boru used to forge this weapon was natural, and to think its twin was just as sharp.

The strawberry blonde man had an affinity for axes rather than swords, though his skill with each was equally efficient, ruthless, and deadly. Shien had never seen someone so fast and so strong. But these axes had to weigh him down, they had to slow his strikes. Each felt like a semi compressed into a small weapon. He thought his teeth were going shatter from the pressure he let onto them. It was immense, like the bottom of an ocean, able to crush the thickest of steel armor, fold a sword like tin foil.

But even his jaw couldn’t muster the strength to wield something like this, much less his arms.

Each axe was legendary, the pinnacle of a weapon, rivaling that of Hakai’s himself. Though two blades, they shared one name: Tempest, Arashi, a violent, thrashing typhoon of insurmountable gales. Paired with his wind release, the blades were said to have cleaved through a gargantuan hurricane, dissipating the storm and saving the Kumogakure coastline.

Shien wished that he could have seen it, experienced the finesse and raw power of his sensei.

Unfortunately, the closest he had come to it was toting around these things while Boru strode around carrying nothing but a bowl of steaming ramen. Even Ikigai was straining to Shien’s left, the axes too much for either to carry, much less wield.

The Doku cursed under his breath, something Boru no doubt heard but elected to ignore. That, or merely huff the hot air from his chambered nostrils in a bellowing laugh. It was exhausting, but, if nothing else, the smell of his dish masked the scent of their destination, at least for now. Really though, it only made Shien hungry. The Doku turned his head to Ikigai, noting the suffering he was going through. Not the axe-carrying, but the empty stomach.

“Boru,” Shien panted, thrusting his arms forward as he dragged the blade. “Remind me… please….” he started, swallowing, almost choking through pants. “Why are we carrying your axes?” he managed to get out, locking his teeth and pulling the blades once more in a thrust. His muscles, particularly his back and biceps, felt like fire, no, lava, were coursing through them. The burning was unlike any workout he had endured.

The burly man scoffed, huffing as he slurped the ramen from his strawberry blonde hair. The juices saturating it. “You’re both toothpicks,” he said, plunging his chopsticks into the seasoned noodles once more. “Gotta build up those muscles. Getcha nice and strong while it’s easy for you. Older you get, the harder it is to get as big as me,” he said with a cackle, winking at the pair as the moonlight began to gleam into his blonde mustache.

Shien sighed, dropping his head as he propelled his leg forward, digging his foot into the dirt like a war trench.

Boru took another mouthful of his ramen, “Besides,” Boru chimed, spitting from a filled mouth, the juices hitting his beard with every word. “I didn’t wanna spill my ramen.”

WC: 691

Boru's legend was exaggerated, and Ikigai was one of the few who knew. The truth was that he didn't slice through a hurricane, but rather the ninja who was maintaining it. While the ninja was strong and it was an impressive feat, it wasn't nearly as cool as cutting a hurricane in half. So naturally, Boru liked to let the legends live. He'd smile as he watched Shien's obvious admiration of the man, it was easy to be swept up in the mans legends.

"Boru" A panting lizard would muster up the words, "Why are we carrying your axes?" He seemed exhausted by the task, And Ikigai had to admit, the axes weren't exactly the lightest things he'd ever had the opportunity to carry. But in past missions, he'd had to carry them on his own. So having Shien as a fellow pack mule was a refreshing change to the status quo.

"You're both toothpicks" He'd explain, making it seem as if this was actually some kind of workout, like Ikigai didn't know that even the man in front of them wasn't fond of carrying the weight of his own weapons. "Besides, I didn't wanna spill my ramen"

Now that's a little more believable

Ikigai would smile, as he swung the handle of the axe onto the back of his neck, and rested it there with an arm on either side. It was a much more comfortable position to carry the damn thing. "Hey Boru, Just how far is this outpost anyways. Feels like we've been walking for hours?" He'd ask with a mixture of both curiosity and annoyance, his mind all the while idolizing the cushioned chairs he'd built in his mind, that HAD to be waiting for them when they finally arrived.

"Hopefully not much further, We're supposed to relieve the last shift in about ten minutes after all" The mountain of a man would say in a confused manner as he studied the map while looking down the path. "It should be somewhere around here, damn maps have never been my specialty"

WC: 345

Shien trod nearly parallel to the ground, digging his feet into the rocky earth beneath him. He looked like something of an angle, like a diagram one would see for an acute angle in school. The Doku raised his foot once more, planting it and pulling himself forward. If nothing else, his thighs would look great after this.

The genin’s splintered eyes rose, looking to Ikigai as he spoke. They were to guard the outposts tonight, a relatively simple mission. Honestly, Shien didn’t expect much. Few came to Kumogakure on their own accord, and even fewer managed to get through the rot forest. It was a foul, disgusting place. The stench was horrid, and it was anything but inviting. It seemed to grant the village an unfortunate first impression, for better or for worse, but it certainly made nights, and missions, like these boring. The most memorable thing here was the axe-carrying, something that would ache Shien’s muscles for days to come, and the bloodcurdling fetor of decay.

When Shien had first come to Kumogakure, the smell of the rot forest had left him without that particular sense for days, as if his nose had just stopped working. It was understandable. The Rot had left his eyes watering from disgust, and his nose had been saturated with it for days. Fear had nestled itself within him. Loss of smell for a hunter would be devastating. No clan leader could risk something like that, but he powered through, and, thankfully, maintained it.

Up until now, the stench had been an engraved memory. Unforgettable, but distant, one he could not precisely recall on a whim but could grasp a hint of with the wisping mountain air. Sometimes it was the wonderful aroma of flowers, others it was this.

The genin found himself getting weaker as they progressed. Not due to the axe, though that certainly played its own role, but the smell of the rot. It festered throughout the forest. A decade without the undead creatures created by the Raikage wouldn’t be enough to rid the area of their taint. The smell was etched into the very environment. Animals of all sorts had fled, save for the buzzards or other scavengers that mounted themselves atop the roamers’ shoulders, picking at the decaying flesh.

It was a grim scene, one Shien hoped he could forget. Unfortunately, that would not be the case. Not with reminders like these.

But in the end, it made him stronger. And that’s what his clan needed. Right?

Of course, knowing where you were at would certainly be a help. Shien’s expression flattened as he rose to stand evenly. His back popped, the muscles strained as if a wrung out rag. His splintered pupils darted around their surroundings, notably the various trees that had begun to litter the forest. If nothing else, they were at the rot forest. Mushrooms caked the ground that walked on, and the trees had that look about them. Moonlight pierced every branch, each tree free from leaves. It wasn’t due to the season, but rather the adverse effects brought on by the former Raikage’s influence. The leaves were long gone, and the foliage was all but dead, grey, moist, and contorted - like jagged wires and mangled bodies.

Shien’s mouth formed something of a backslash, shifting into his cheeks. “Boru, are we lost?” he asked, raising his eyebrows at the scene in doubt.

The large, burly man, turned the map upside down, scratching the small mound of hair gathered atop his head. “Hrmm,” he murmured, pouring the last of the ramen down his throat as he squinted his eyes at the flapping parchment.

The silence didn’t exactly foster Shien’s confidence.

Oh, Gods, we’re going to die out here.

“Aha!” Boru chimed, alerting Shien from his daydreaming. The Doku’s eyes lit up in relief. “Wait.. that’s not right,” Boru said, pursing his lips. His pinkie, thumb, and ring fingers gripping his bowl, Boru held the map with his index and middle fingers and his other hand, stretching it out.

Shien’s face sank once more, a mix of depression and frustrations plastered all over his green face.

“Oh,” he started again, pointing south. “Here we are!” he said, tilting his head upward from the map. The large man lowered his arm, raising the other to stretch out just in front of him. With a knock, the air before the trio materialized, shifting into a wooden tower. Fungi littered the sides, and the wood itself was blackened by both years and accidental smashes by the rot.

“Camouflage Jutsu,” Boru said, turning to the pair of students with a bright smile. “You’ll get a few roamers running into it. Sometimes missing ninja, too. Kinda funny, actually. Well, when they aren’t, uh..” Boru trailed off, pursing his haired lips. “Anyway, off you go. I’ll meet you at the top. Enjoy the stairs,” he said, winking once more as he pat both Shien and Ikigai on their backs.

“Where are you going?” Shien asked, turning with a bewildered look.

“I’ve gotta piss. That ramen goes right through me.”

WC: 1538

The walk was beggining to become dull, so as the trio carried on through the rot forest, Ikigai would wear an emotionless expression as he daydreamed about the chairs that awaited him in his guard post. It was a much nicer world then the one that currently surrounded them, and served as a way to escape if only momentarily youka's undeniable reach upon the land. "Here we are!" The words snapped the boy out of his daydream and back to reality, and he'd refocus just in time to see Boru's fist knock on.... Air?

No, not air. What had previously appeared to be nothing would now manifest ripples in the air where the battle hardened jounin had knocked and a mossy wooden tower would fade into reality. The tower was black, and obviously aged, much like everything else in the rot forest, the years had taken it's toll on the tower even with it's seemingly ingenious defense.

"Looks delightful" Ikigai would comment sarcastically as boru ran off into the woods to relieve himself, before opening the rustic door in front of him. The inside of the tower at the bottom of the stairs was was poorly lit that shadows all but enveloped the interior.  "Helloooooo?" He'd shout upwards towards the top of the stairs.

The whole area gave him a bad feeling. They were supposed to be relieving the last shift, yet the entire interior was blackened by shadows, not to mention the smell. He knew this was the rot forest, and that it wasn't supposed to smell like dandelions, but the second he had opened that door his nose had been assaulted by the stench of death. No reply came from the top. "Fuck" The shark skinned child would think to himself as he paused and looked behind him towards Ikigai in a moment of hesitation. "Don't look like a wimp in front of the new kid" He'd argue with himself in his head, before stepping forward, and beginning to ascend the stairs.

The stairs spiraled upwards, and while the climb itself only took a good thirty seconds, it felt like hours. When each step brought him closer to the stench of death, it was easy to feel this way. He was about 7 steps from the top when he elected to speak again. "Hey, Whoever you are! We're here to rel-" He wasn't even able to finish his sentence before he was interrupted by a sound that froze his heart in fear.

A blood curdling screech would emanate from the top of the stairs as one of Youka's undead servents bolted around the corner, and dove at him with seemingly no regard for its own health. Even with Ikigai's reflexes he'd hardly had time to react to the movement, and the full weight of the zombie tackling into him would send both him and the undead servant tumbling past Shien.

"fuck Fuck FUCK FUCK"

The servant's weren't supposed to attack Kumogakure shinobi. It was a well known fact in the village that they feared Youka's wrath to much to attack his soldiers. So what the hell had gone wrong, A question for another time Ikigai supposed, as there was no use thinking on it as he battled the damn thing for survival. Now was the time to fight. He'd have loved to grab for his sword, but seeing as he was tumbling down the stairs it was near impossible, instead he'd elect to shift his weight and send both him and the zombie crashing into the wall, halting their tumble.

But the thing was still on top of him, even if their uncontrollable motion had halted, it was still an immediate threat, pinning Ikigai underneath its weight. Both frantically and fearfully he'd send the only limb not restricted by the zombie, his right arm swinging towards its face. The punch was clean and forceful, and dazed the beast enough so that the blue skinned boy could take advantage of its confusion, forcing himself forward and reversing their roles.

Now he pinned the zombie, and the shear shock of the moment had activated his bloodline. His pupils were dialated and he was in both a state of confusion and anger. His fists would reflect the emotion as he whaled on it until it's face was little more than a pool of blood.

When it was finally over he'd lean back against the wall breathing frantically. "Holy shit" The blood stained shinobi would mutter.

WC: 1089

Ikigai still shocked from the event's would stare blankly at his friend who had come rushing down the stairs. looking at him in a state of disbelief before correcting him. "Me" He'd say as he guestered to himself. "They're not supposed to attack ME" He'd laugh in a mildly psychotic manner. "The damn thing didn't even touch you, sent me flying like a rag doll though" He'd try to get up, but would wince in pain as he gripped his back. "Shit that hurts" but he'd power through to get himself to his feet.

Hunched over and standing he'd stare at his recent kill while Shien lit the candles to the first floor. The head was completely turned to mush, but the body still had its somewhat decaying features. It was easy to tell that the corpse in front of him belonged to a boy, not a man. It was a skinny build which was somewhat alarming given the strength of the thing. Was strength the right word? No, it had been the way it moved, without regard for its own safety, emotionless and refusing to hold back in any manner, the haunting motions had been terrifying, but Ikigai was sure that if he had moved with the same disregard for his own health he'd have easily overpowered it.

A few minutes passed before he was able to take his eyes off of it, Ikigai had been raised in kumogakure, but until now he'd been lucky enough to avoid bloodshed of this caliber. But inexperienced as he was, he knew how he was supposed to react in victory. "Never forget the face of a defeated opponent, victory without honor is empty, and there is no greater dishonor than forgetting the vanquished." Hakai had taught him to honor the dead, and although he couldn't see the face of the boy in front of him he'd be sure to remember the scene in front of him.

This boy was a kumogakure shinobi, and he had deserved better, but here he sat rotting on the floor of a camouflaged outpost. Now that he had had a few minutes to settle down Ikigai's bloodline would have reverted, and he'd begin to think rationally. Within this moment of clarity he'd wonder... "Hey, Shien... Did you check the rest of the upstairs before you came running back down? I didn't get a good luck up there before that thing jumped out at me" He'd say with a hint of concern in his voice, after all guard post rarely stationed only one shinobi, there could easily be more of those things waiting in the dark.

Not bothering to hide the fear he felt this time around he'd let his hand float to the familiar comfort that was the handle of his katana. If another fight broke out, he would much rather resort to a blade than something akin to the wailing that had just occured. If Shien confirmed that he hadn't checked the upper floor Ikigai would pull his katana out of its sheath. "Fuck"

WC: 1597

Shien sat in silence, eyeing the drifting headband cloaked in crimson. The dim candle light reflected off of the stained metal, the puddle glowing a deep red. It shined on the Doku’s glossed eyes, bringing a pink hue to the whites. He pursed his viridian lips, clenching his teeth. Turning to Ikigai, his voice shifted to a whisper at first, not from fear, but caution. As the reality set in that they’d already been discovered had something else been upstairs, his volume returned. “Yeah, you. Now you’re drenched,” he said, disgust in his voice and expression. His lips curled as the smell set in, prompting Shien to raise his elbow to his nose, masking the stench as best he could. “It’s an improvement if you ask me,” he chuckled, trying to lighten up the scene. Even then, his voice didn’t carry that same softness to it, that carefree attitude. It was marred by a tinge of horror, fear. Even his chuckle was faint despite his best efforts.

The Doku’s eyes rose to the staircase, the light of the candles fading more and more with each spiraling step. They narrowed, returning to Ikigai not long after the observation. “You alright?” he inquired, arching his eyebrow as his mouth flattened, his clenched, jagged teeth just barely visible. His sandals sifted throughout the tower as he made his way to Ikigai, examining any injuries he may have sustained. “This stuff’s like an infection.... You’re not going to contract it are you?” Shien asked, his cheek forming a bubble at his lips retreated to their corner of his mouth. “I can’t see any cuts. I doubt you could feel them with that adrenaline, either.”

He was acting like his mother. She’d taught him many things in his tenure, but never any jutsu. That he had to learn on his own. Examining injuries and assessing them was almost instinctual. If there was anything that he took from his mom, it was her care - her apathy. It wasn’t long before Shien realized this himself, the thought coaxing something of a chuckle out of him. “Wash that off if you can. We’ll take a look later,” he said with an affirmative nod, his gaze now falling onto the staircase once more. Ikigai asked if he had checked upstairs, prompting Shien to shake his head. His eyes were frozen on their target as his neck and head swiveled. “No, I didn’t. I followed you back down as soon as you fell.”

“Fuck,” Ikigai said, Shien huffing the hot air from his nose as he popped a grin.

“I would have, but, well,” the Doku shrugged, shooting Ikigai a glance, closing his eyes with a smile. “I wanted to make sure there was someone to come back to. Not that you needed my help anyway,” he said, the grin fading as he took a step toward the staircase.

The apprehension was palpable in his body language. The staircase was like a void, the gate to a realm unknown. “We can’t wait for Boru,” Shien said, narrowing his eyes. “Now’s,” Shien began, pausing ever so briefly. This was his chance to make Boru proud. At least more than just as a cook, but even then… “our chance to prove ourselves. Right?” The interest in such a thing was likely Shien’s alone. Ikigai was a well known student, a protegy even. This was the Doku’s chance to stand on his own two feet. He clenched his fist, siphoning his chakra to his fingertips. The Doku reached out, gripping a handle at the holder’s base. He stepped onto the wooden boards, ascending with Ikigai likely behind him. “Let’s go,” he would say, raising the candle light into the shadow.
Each step creaked, the wood splintering beneath the Doku’s feet, twisting and contorting - begging to snap under the weight. Shien paced himself, the looming darkness taking the pair as he rose. The dim candlelight was insignificant in comparison, as if the darkness was swallowing it with each step, fading. Swallowing, the genin raised the candle, stepping onto the second floor. The hissing wood resonating from the staircase quickly silenced into nothingness. It was like it had lead them to an abyss that ate at every sense of the human body. Shien could hear nothing. Smell nothing. Taste nothing. The brass handle of the candle began to weigh him down, as if it were an anchor. He could just barely keep it over his shoulder. His mouth began to dry, losing whatever spit he had to the back of his throat, almost choking him. His cough vibrated, shaking the tightness of his throat but not relieving it. He couldn’t clear it properly, it would be too loud. The candle itself was already a beacon, calling out to the unknown. Calling out to whatever lurked in this blanketing sea of lightlessness.

What light did fall onto the walls around Shien lead the pair to a room, small in size, with a ladder stationed at the center. It was littered with supplies, suffocating boxes that drove the air from the lungs with just how tight it was. The smell rushed into the Doku’s face, burning his nose and twisting his throat and stomach. He stopped, turning, raising the candle as his hand shook.  Sliding his hand down his thigh, he gripped a kunai, poised to use it at any hint of a what had attacked Ikigai. He dared not to speak, to make any sound. His eyes darted across the room, eyeing every stacked weapon, burlap sack, can, or discarded food container.

The ladder must lead to the top of the tower, for lookouts… If nothing’s on this floor, then… Shien exhaled, his breath sputtering in the quiet. His eyes narrowed, peering into the darkness, the dwindling light of his candle retreating to its source. It shrank from the boxes of the room, extended out just in front of him - a foot, half, and faint glow at his feet. The tightness in his throat grew, saliva rattling inside it and choking him. He tried to swallow to force it down, but it was unbearable. Asphyxiation, suffocation, he felt the burning. The tightness of the room, it twisted his body, his skin heating in the stress.

Until he could take no more. The room rang with Shien’s rumbling cough, clearing his throat.

He froze, looking out in front of him.

He held his breath, the nausea seeping in. It was worse. Air brushed against his face. It was warm - moist. His nostril’s flared, and the stench of death gripped him. He raised his candle, the flame shifting violently in the air.

And then he saw it.

His arm thrusted from his side, delving his kunai into the creature’s jugular. Its eyeless sockets stared back at him, illuminated by the sparks remaining on the candle. Blood spat on his face, Shien closing his mouth as the warm liquid ran down his cheeks. “Ikigai!” he shouted, twisting the kunai in the creature’s jugular. More blood erupted from it, spraying the Doku like a showerhead. With one thrust and a bellowing scream, the undead swiped, pelting Shien into the ladder and onto the floor. From the staircase, another scream filled the air, rattling and gurgling with a blood-filled throat, stampeding into the room like a bulldozer.

WC: 3839

He supposed there was some validity in his friends concern. He was drenched in blood and he was running on pure adrenaline. Some of the blood could be his own and he'd never know. But he'd shake the idea out of his head before he voiced his disinterest verbally. "It's fine, I'm sure it's nothing" There was no use in worrying about minor injuries at the moment, he could still move, which meant he was still on the clock. He was a shinobi after all.

When Shien made it clear that he hadn't cleared the area, Ikigai couldn't help but feel a tinge of disappointment. The first tackle had shaken him up a bit, and he'd been hoping it was over. Shien's fained confidence was hardly convincing, and Ikigai would have preferred to to wait for Boru. But he could sense the meaning behind the boys words and understood them well.

The boy was looking to prove to the world that he could make it as a shinobi, if only so that he could prove it to himself. Ikigai knew better than most that recognition from others went along way in recognizing your own potential. As an orphan he had had nothing, only a stick to practice with. He'd never thought he'd actually become a shinobi but he'd clung to the dream.

And by some miracle, Hakai had seen something in him that nobody else had, and the rest was history. Who am I to stand in his way He'd think to himself as he walked towards the staircase and trailed behind his newfound friend. "Right" He'd say, affirming Shiens belief before pointing forwards with his katana, whose steel would glimmer in the candle light. "After you" He'd partially jest, having no wishes to be tackled by another servant of the undead.

To his surprise, the doku would actually take the initiative, and Ikigai would roll with it, the pair would ascend the stairs in nervous unison, boxes cluttered the second floor, leaving only small narrow aisles to navigate through. Basically, it was a swordsman's worst nightmare, without sufficient room to swing ones sword. Shien's candle would cause something to glitter in the center of the room and as they drew closer it became easily apparent that it was a ladder, leading to the top of the outpost.

The stench of death was strongest in this room, and as they advanced Ikigai couldn't help but think to himself. We should have just burned the whole outpost down But he doubted the village would take kindly to such an act. He was distracted and looking down a hallway when he heard Shien's shouts, his body jolted to the side in time to shien getting knocked into the latter by a beast much larger than the last.

Then he'd hear the scream originate behind him and his fears would be confirmed. There were two in the area, and he was pinned between both. The one behind him was barreling into the room ignoring the boxes as it crashed through them. Toppling over wooden crates on it's way to get to him. The first was still standing over Shien. Ikigai chose the more threatening of the two and dashed towards the one attacking his friend while the other chased behind him.

"SHIEN" He'd yell as he leaped through the air and sent his katana through the back of the undead servants skull, his blade sticking out of the front. The thing would collapse as it's life left it, but Ikigai could not draw his blade free, and the last of the undead was sprinting rapidly in his direction. "SHIEN" He'd yell frantically, hoping his friend had a plan to stop this last advance.

WC: 2219

Shien groaned, rubbing his head and choking. Splintered riddled his back, pieces of the ladder scattered across the shadowed room. His eyes rose, falling onto the black blur before him. With the slide of metal into flesh, Ikigai thrusted his katana into the undead creature’s skull, splattering its blood at the Doku’s feet. He clenched his jagged, teeth, his head jerking to the hallway they had come from. Boxes overturned, crates shattering as the second creature charged at Ikigai, splintering the aged floor with each bellowing step. Blood trailed it, falling to the floor in spurts of thick tar.

Ikigai’s kill had fallen, the decayed flesh and skull snaring it in a grip. Shien’s eyes widened, and, thrusting his legs into the air, he pushed his body forward, stopping on his own feet. Momentum loading in him like a springboard, the reptilian shinobi leapt forward, reaching for his thigh. His hands clasped air, nothing, the creature advancing on both with a throaty screech marred by gargled blood. It chilled his bones, and the instinct to turn and run had almost gripped him, but he kept on.

10 meters.

Dammit! What were those seals?! Shien thought, the creature nearing as he charged in with no defense, no attack. His mind blanked, his memories abandoning him when he needed them most. He raced from thought to thought, trying to remember as his mind leapt from one handseal to the next, like trying to fit together a jigsaw puzzle in darkness.

5.

He could hear it, it was there, just in front of him. The oozing blood, the pump of tissue against wood, the tearing of wood and bone. His mouth went dry, his heart sinking in an emptiness, the blood seeping from his face.

3.

“Dammit!” he shouted, the creature gargling in a horrid bellow that pierced his ears. Where is it? Where do I even hit!?

2 meters.

Fear took him. There was a coldness. Ice. 

He felt death.

I'm sorry, Ikigai.






Light erupted into the area. Where there was darkness, Shien could see. The creature charging at him  was lit in a red silhouette, its humid breath stretching toward him in a yellow hue.

This…

His hands flurried in a wave of motion. Tiger → Horse → Rabbit → Rat → Dog.

This is…!

Light flooded the room, a brilliant blue illuminating the darkness. Shien swiped in a blur of luminescence, a razor-thin line of chakra - moving faster than he ever had before.




This is the Netsugan!

Shien swallowed, staring at the glowing corpse at his feet, its head severed from its neck and lower jaw, blood pouring onto the floorboards. His eyes flashed a glowing red, a striking contrast to the blue emanating from his hands. He stood in silence, taking in a deep breathe, the air rattling in his lungs. Moisture returned to his throat, Shien turning to Ikigai. Even in darkness, he could see him - clear as day. His glowed a warm yellow, the color fleeting into a red at the edges.

“Ikigai…” he murmured, clearing his throat. The flowing chakra from his hands showered his face in light, revealing his stretched smile. “I can see you!” he managed to say. “I can… I can see everything.” His smile widened, the sound of Ikigai’s heartbeat entering his ears like the soft drum of a parade.

After all this time… I… I finally unlocked it.

WC: 4419

As Ikigai struggled to free his sword from the skull of his skill, Shien would take his stand, placing himself between Ikigai and the last remaining undead soldier. Hardly able to see Ikigai would listen in agony as the sprinting beast neared shien, only able to tell the distance from the sound, and the blood that oozed from the creature growing stronger in its scent.

I hope you know what you're doing Shien

"Dammit!"

That hardly sounds promising

The beast grew nearer. Its scent and footsteps overpowering Ikigai with adrenaline. And just as the blue shinobi was able to free his blade, he'd spin around to see Shien's glowing blue hands  cutting through the neck of the beast. It was a clean kill, almost instantaneous, and when Shien turned to look at him, he'd notice the distinct differences in his features.

His eyes glowed a menacing red and it was almost impossible to miss. The grin on his face suggested he was aware of the change. "I can see you! I can... I can see everything" The message was cryptic and weird, and hardly told the Hoshigaki anything.

Before responding to Shien ikigai would look around the rest of the room as tried to ignore the smell of the two corpses beneath him. After about 20 seconds of looking around the room he'd take a deep breath of relief. It seemed that wherever those two had come from, that they were the last of them. Feeling better about the situation he'd wipe the blood off of his katana onto his shirt before sheathing it at his hip.

"What do you mean?" He'd point to the boys eye's before speaking. "What's up with your eye's?" He was curious about the boys sudden change, and wanted to know more about the situation. Hopefully Shien would oblige him.

WC: 2524