Night of the Drowning Men [Village Destruction]

He didn’t want to wake up

Gods he didn’t, he was comfortably resting, upon the sand of the desert that made up Wind Country. He was so blissfully warm, and he didn’t want it to stop, he didn’t want to wake up. What had he been doing anyway? He remembered finding the man who tortured Hikari, and having him tried in a court rather than simply butchering him wholesale. He remembered sending the shinobi and civilians of Hoshigakure that had chosen to ally themselves with Sunagakure off to the village. Then he teleported away, intent upon arriving at the village gates to inform Kenshin of the imminent arrival of more forces. Then, his memory went blank. He know he began the teleport, but he couldn’t remember ever reaching his destination. Obviously however he had to have reached it given that he was laying on the sand and the heat of the desert sun was hard to emulate to such a realistic level. He felt the heat of the sun upon his skin and slowly other senses began to come back to him. He could smell the scent of blood on the air, a faintly sweet metallic taste that one isn’t likely to forget once they’ve smelled it once. What was this? A battle? His eyes snapped open at once, unconsciously he began to sit up and he reached for both his Golden Eyes and the Bijuu chakra within him to realize that both were unresponsive. That was odd, he had gained the full power of his bijuu, so why couldn’t he access it’s strength? 

His eyes not working was a more troubling concern. He had chakra, he could feel it coursing through his coils, as strong as it always was. However as his eyes began to search his surroundings he would see none other than Kenshin Uzumaki next to him, and..Hikari, with what appeared to be the same seal he had upon him to contain the Gobi. The ashen haired shinobi would look down, willing his armour to move aside to show him the seal to see, and sure enough. It was gone, he looked back up to Hikari, and then to Kenshin. His breathing hitched a moment, and he felt himself freeze as the full realization of what must have happened hit him. “I.. died..” He would simply say before going through a check list instinctively of injuries. As he did the armour that had been simply destroyed and mutilated began to reform, the base aspect of Manipulated Fabric allowing it to simply reform once more. It slowly covered his body as he checked everything. He was still regenerating chakra at a mildly abnormal rate, telling him that he still had Uzumaki Transplant at least, however he couldn’t activate his Golden Eye. 

It would take another moment to realize he could think clearly for the first time in a very long time. His eyes blinked as they looked around, a familiar look of wariness in them as they scanned the surroundings. A sarcastic remark came to his lips, and the words escaped his mouth as he turned toward Kenshin. “It appears I’ve been caught sleeping on the job, how sloppy.” He would say, a small smirk upon his features before asking the question quitely “Four questions.” He would say, his mind already back into the mindset that had once made his predecessor name him his deputy. “How? Why? What happens now? Why is my Uzumaki Transplant still working to restore my chakra but my original  bloodline not working at all?” He would ask, the questions coming in a measured cadence. Kenshin would rather have them all at once so he could answer them all at once and move onto business. He purposefully did not look at Hikari, not because he didn’t want to see her, not because he didn’t love her dearly. It was because if he did, he wouldn’t maintain the state of mind to ask the questions that needed asking. He had died, she had seen his corpse, fought the bijuu that was released, and sealed it within her. He couldn’t imagine how hard it must have been, but right now he needed his focus, and he wouldn’t have any if he looked toward her. He’d take her in his arms, and intend to never let go, and any battlefield was no place for it. Even if the battle was over. “Matter of fact what even happened? I remember teleporting here from Hoshigakure, intent upon informing you of incoming forces to reinforce you. Then, nothing, it was like I never arrived.” He would say, his mind racing to put the pieces together. “Someone saw me teleporting..” He would say as he began to put the picture together “Someone saw me teleporting and launched an attack. Any part of me that’s inside of something when I reform would cease to exist. It must’ve hit my head completely and missed the Uzumaki Transplant in its attack.” He would say, his eyes looking out to the dune sea. There were no other corpses there except for the body of a girl nearby, a neat hole in her chest. 

Now it was time for him to quiet down. He was feeling an adrenaline rush due to the knowledge that he had died but was now alive again. There was however nothing to use that adrenaline on and it was making him jumpy. He went through breathing control exercises for a moment and within a few minutes he was calm again, for now. 

WC: 922
TWC: 3866

Shock would flow through Valen for a few moments as Hikari’s lips pressed against his, cutting his words off before he could speak them. The hot leather of his armour would be attempting to reform around him, but would be unable to due to the woman’s body pressing against his. His mind would whirl, filled with the sensations of the moment. The taste of her lips, the scent of the roses, oranges, and vanilla within her perfume encompassing the sense of smell. It was enough to overcome even the metallic, sweet scent of blood on the air from the body of the Hyuuga not too far away. Valen would only need a moment to re-orientate his thoughts to the moment, he pressed his lips against hers, returning the kiss with just as much fervor. How long had he waited for her to feel for him, what he felt for her? Long enough it would seem. He’d have enough presence of mind to stop his armour from reforming, merely letting it form the bottom half and leaving his torso bare. This would prevent her from becoming burned. It would also expose the scars beneath. Particularly his right arm, as it was not the same colour as his left one. A wound, caused by the Yonbi itself had melted it, as well as both of his legs away. When they had Kenshin had regenerated those wounds, but he had kept the arm gone, replacing it with a metallic prosthesis temporarily. Until that was destroyed during his assassination of Kotetsu, a moment of betrayal he wasn’t likely to forgive himself for. 

When his arm had been regrown from that incident it had regenerated the same colour as his legs. His original skins pigmentation, before the combined influence of the bijuu and his curse mark had changed him. He’d had black hair then, and skin as pale as new snow. A ringed burn mark could be seen at the location where the arm had been regrown. He’d requested that it be that way, that he keep the reminders of his failure. At this point, the kiss had gone on through the chuckling of Kenshin, and the man had at this point just cleared his throat politely. Prompting Valen’s thoughts to return from cloud nine. He’d break the kiss, and move the maneuver Hikari so that he could sit up, keeping her close against him however. He didn’t want her far at the moment. At this point Kenshin would begin to speak, the man would explain what happened. He didn’t know what had happened to him at this point. So he listened intently, and when Kenshin mentioned reviving him, that he had been a corpse that Hikari was sobbing over, his blood ran cold. He reached up instinctively as the man continued to speak, not making a noise but checking his own heart beat. Was he a slave to Kenshin’s will now? A tool to be used and thrown away? He didn’t know, he had no doubt he’d at least be a useful one, given the strength he had. 

However his words would leave him with little doubts on the matter. Kenshin wouldn’t speak such words as ‘Fix what was broken’ if he had intended to give someone a ‘poisoned apple’ so to speak. So Valen would continue to listen, intently taking in the information Kenshin was giving him. He tried to activate his Golden Eye, and sure enough, it did not work. He could feel the rate at which his chakra was regenerating from the Uzumaki bloodline, so that was evidently still working as well. ‘Gobi, do you have any idea how I even died? All I remember was leaving Hoshigakure and then nothing.’ He would say into his mind, speaking toward his tenant. It was however, to no avail. As he received no response on the matter. ‘Kokuo?’ Valen would say, searching his mind for the beast. They had never really gotten along, but Kokuo had been helpful in matters, giving advice that.. He wouldn’t normally accept. He began to frantically think back over the past, since he became the Jinchuriki of the beast. His mind would reel at the things he had done. Killing Kotetsu at the kage summit, abandoning the village, taking with it a large amount of money. Giving said funds to Kenshin, who now, without stating as such, told him  that any debts between them were squared after resurrecting him. Meaning he had no way to get it back from him. He would start to feel sick suddenly at the revelations. At the remembered memories of a mind that he had not fully realized had been wholly his own. He’d break away from Hikari, turning and retching violently away from either her or Kenshin. He’d shudder, his mind a frantic whirl as he began to piece things together swiftly. He’d reach into a pouch and pull out a flask of water, downing some to get the taste out of his mouth. 

He had been played by the beast that he had within him. For so long, he had been slowly manipulated into a host the monster could live with, would accept. Why then, were his thoughts so clear now? It took only a moment, for the next piece to fall into place. ‘Hikari sobbing over your corpse.’ The beast would’ve been freed by his death, and Hikari had been the first around. He’d confirm it with her later, in private. However there wasn’t a doubt in his mind where the beast had gone. Where it simply had to have gone. His mind, body, and soul were wracked with guilt and worry for the woman he had come to love so dearly. Would the beast influence her as it had him? Would he have to watch as she slowly made more and more mistakes? He did not know, but he would not leave her. If the beast did manipulate her, and she did make those mistakes. Then he would do his best to help her, but she would never be alone. Not as long as he had breath. Kenshin had finished speaking at this point. He hadn’t turned to throw up until after Kenshin had finished doing so actually, so he had heard the offer of transplants. Now the man would turn back over, laying on his back again and basking in the heat of the sun upon his skin. 

His eyes would be closed now, taking a moment to take a deep breath. With the loss of the Gobi, he would be without a large portion of strength. That was probably for the best given the apparent weakness of his mind. However he would need as much strength as possible to atone for his mistakes. Even if Hoshigakure accepted him back again, he doubted he would be welcome. He would have to track down Satoru eventually, and the others he had led away. He’d have to find a home, as he doubted his own was still within the village. Probably sold off or demolished long ago. His mind was slowly becoming more and more focused on the necessary actions. He would need to atone for his sins, now more than ever. He would need to return those he had led astray to their homes. Then try to help it thrive in a world slowly falling to darkness. The combined assault of the Mist and the Leaf had made something one thing clear. 

Hoshigakure, if it remained as it had. Simply was not prepared. 

So he would gain as much power as possible, from anywhere he could so long as he could handle it. The beasts of legend? The great Bijuu were evidently out of his league at this moment, so he would wait before working toward those. Transplants however? Those he could handle. “I’ll accept, I don’t have much on me though after I gave it to you. Which I assume is what you were referring to when you spoke of giving me my ‘life’ for free and asking ‘what is more precious than that?’ I have about twenty thousand on me now, and I’ll need all the power I can grasp in order to atone for the sins I have committed recently. I’ll take that Sharingan eye, and the organ to allow me to utilize it. I’ll also take any others you might recommend to me. I need more power, more than anything at this point. Especially since I’ve lost a large source of mine. If I don’t have the money on me now to pay your price, I’ll bring it to you as soon as I have it. At the very least, I assume you know I’m good for any debts I must pay.” He would say, his words coming out hard. Not with anger, or at least, not with any anger leveled at anyone other than himself. “As much as I hate to rush you, with an attack having just been here, I feel it is best to move along quickly. Besides, I think we all want to get out of this blasted desert.” He would say, not moving from his location, and waiting. Kenshin would have no trouble performing such transplants with him laying like this. Hell, the man could probably do it with him standing straight up. However he didn’t want to do that right now, he’d open his eyes, allowing the man to access them. “Seigan won’t help me, I don’t have water as an element. I’ve already told you I want one of those Sharingan, but I’m unsure a Golden Eye will give me enough strength any longer. Clearly I wasn’t powerful enough to avoid being killed in battle, however the hell that had happened. Are there any other options? Or is that truly all you have available?” He would accept a Golden Eye if it was the only option, any Doujutsu was better than no Doujutsu, however all it did was allow him to see in the dark, something he didn’t need since he could hear anything moving around in it. Allow him to react to see his surroundings better, which he assumed the legendary sharingan would cover, and allow him to increase the power of his light release jutsu in exchange for a chunk of chakra he’d probably be better off spending elsewhere. 

No, if Kenshin gave him a Golden Eye he’d be swapping it out the moment he got something stronger, with more utility. But he would use it as long as necessary. First, however, he'd have to wait and see if Kenshin truly didn’t have anything else to offer. If not he would respond “Then I’ll take a Golden Eye, a Sharingan, the transplants needed to awaken the Sharingan, and anything else you might think will give me more power.” He would say, not bothering to sit back up or stand, there was no point after all. If Kenshin did have something better, that he could use, then they'd go with that. All the while, he would not say anything to Hikari, not yet. He didn't know if he would be able to hold himself together long if he did. That was something to risk when they weren't out in the open in what was minutes ago a battlefield. The idea of doing a transplant here was already ludicrous, but he doubted he, Hikari, and Kenshin would be going in the same direction, or even in the same manner.

WC: 1896
TWC: 5762

Lets be real here, Hikari wasn't paying enough attention to Kenshin to hear him coughing. We all know that to be true. She honestly wasn't paying attention to anything but Valen at this point. It was only when the former Hogokage used his strength to force the blonde off of him did Namikaze stop, and even then she still quickly made her way to Valen's side and grabbed his arm and stayed by it. She wasn't about to leave Valen's side again. Ever.

The girl would continue to sob as Kenshin would speak, barely paying attention to him, more just focusing on Valen, imagining what had to be going through Valen's mind right now. The young Namikaze only couldn't comprehend what it must had been like, coming back from the dead the way he had. As Evidence of this, shortly after Kenshin finished talking the Lord of Light would take a step away from Hikari before hurling his stomach acid onto the hot desert sand. The disgusting sight would force the Kunochi to look away, but she would still quickly return to Valen's side, pressing a reassuring hand on his back as the man as he would let his insides out. As the girl turned away though, her misty gaze would turn to the body of the young red haired girl who had been caught out and killed by the Power of Haven. Something about the girl seemed familiar, she had never seen the girl before, but she had been described to her by a Hoshigakure shinobi some months back.

Love Sakamoto? The Hyuuga that along with that Aburame that Orokana had warned her about would come for him some day? Well that was a relief. Maybe the gods were smiling down upon the maiden, the death of the Konoha kunochi would mean one less problem for the former the new Hoshigakure shinobi, and in turn that would mean one less problem on Hikari's plate when she would return to Hoshigakure. That being said, something that Orokana had told Hikari made her think of something....

Once Valen finished hurling, the boys would talk about power and transplants and other unpleasant things. As Valen started explaining he didn't have to much cash on him, the kunochi would move over to the body of the fallen and stare at the still open eyes of woman. Byakugan. For sure. Namikaze knew them from countless students she had trained with them, and of course Ayato from her Chuunin exams. The Kunochi would move down, plucking the eyes out of the sockets of the poor girl. She hated doing work like this, through it wasn't the first time that the Anbu operative had to work on bodies like this.  Once she did that, Hikari would continue to check the girl's body and belongings, along with finding some thousands of Ryo in the girl's pockets, she would also find a very interesting seal placed on the girl's hand. Hikari knew she would need to study this for later, but for now she would take the couple of thousand ryo. Turning, the woman would start to make her way back to the men and make her way to them. Once she got close enough, Hikari would open her hand out and offer it to Kenshin, the wet byakugan eyes in her hand. "Um...." Hikari would mutter through her drying tears, this was a bit embarrassing and awkward, going up to someone and handing them body parts, but she also would guess this was normal for Kenshin. "Th... Thank you Kenshin. If.... If you don't mind, I have a pair of Byakugan here, I would like one transplanted into me. Take my Golden Eye and give it to Valen, I don't know how evolved the Golden Eyes you posses are along, but I can assure you that mine are more likely more advanced then they are." The girl would pause for a second, giving herself a moment to breath before continuing. "Also, I have no desire for a Sharingan, to many of my techniques are tied to my eyes, but if you have something that would further increase my Fuinjutsu abilities, or any of my ninjutsu ones, I should probably take it. Most of my funds were confiscated by Hoshigakure during my imprisonment there, but between what I have left and what I took from that girl I think I have about 20,000 Ryo, I think between what Valen and I have that should be enough." The alluring archangel was still not the biggest fan of the transplants Kenshin specialized in, but what the Ragdoll had said to her about monsters did stick with the maiden. What is worst, a heroine that stood to the side and allowed innocents to die because of her moral code? Or a monster that would break his moral code to defend them? Hikari would never forget those lines. Never. Also Valen had already appeared like he was going to do whatever it took to defend the two of them going forward, and what right did Namikaze have to do any less than him?


WC: 860

The watching eyes of Valen Akari would watch Hikari from his position on the ground as she plucked an eye out of the dead Hyuuga nearby. Valen recognized her now, she had been the foolish Konoha shinobi who came to locate Orokana after the moron sent a letter of all things telling her his location. He should’ve killed him when he heard about that, he would’ve had every right too after all. The pink haired girl, now dead upon the desert sands was foolish indeed. Choosing to ignore the orders of a shinobi of the village when the place was faced with a crisis. Then caught spying to boot, he should’ve simply delivered her head to Konoha too. What would they have done? Team up with Kirigakure to attack them? It was possible, but he found it unlikely. If Konoha kept having the Mist drag it’s ass out of the fire then Xyxer wouldn’t have stood for it for long. No, the girl had lived for too long as is.

His thoughts would snap back at this point however, and he would listen to Hikari, offering him her own Golden Eye, a fully developed one at that. While asking Kenshin to transplants one of the girls Byakugan into her head. The milky white orb held within her hands as she presented it to Kenshin. The Ragdoll would begin to unfurl scrolls, pulling out various bags, and corpses that houses the other organs he carried around. He spoke, telling them to remove their shirts and lay down. Valen would simply stay as he was, as his armour had formed into a simple pair of pants instead of fully enclosing. Meaning the ex-jinchuriki was already topless in the desert. Kenshin would proceed to explain what he would be doing once he knocked them out. So, he would be getting a Sharingan, the DNA necessary to progress that Sharingan. Senju DNA, apparently a clan that increases the power of his chakra and the power of his techniques. As well a Byakugan, well it would seem that killing the girl back then wouldn’t have been the best course of action after all.

Valen would nod his head silently, waiting for the now inevitable blackness that came with knocking one out. It came in short order, and he would be waking up a few minutes later. Valen would nod his head as Kenshin spoke, reminding them of the time it took for such transplants to generally take effect. Informing him that he would have to progress that Sharingan naturally once the Uchiha DNA settled into him. When the price tag for his products came Valen would simply pay the man 20,000 Ryo. It was all he had, and if he needed to obtain the last of the 5,000 then he could so in short order. As he paid the man his armour would begin to close up around him once more, protecting his upper body as well as his lower body now, and leaving his fully clothed.

At this point, the mad medic would learn closer to Hikari, and whisper, just loud enough for Valen to hear. The statement would prompt a mild eyebrow twitch, but he couldn’t dispute the claim. He did always seem to be the one getting himself into these situations. First the Yonbi in the village, then Kotetsu, and now this. He hoped that now that the Bijuu was gone from his own system that he’d be able to think properly now, as he should have been the entire time. Now that the man was leaving though, Valen would give a small sigh. Kenshin would be out of range of hearing it at this point. However Hikari would presumably be standing right next to him. “Let’s get out of here Hikari, can you teleport us or do you not have enough chakra? I’d rather not do it if I can help it. I’m not sure I trust my teleportation at the moment.” He would say, his tone a bit light but both of them knew the undertones that was beneath such. He had seemingly disappeared, and died. Nothing else, he couldn’t afford such a thing to happen again. Was mucking around with space and time truly the best option for him? Or should he start looking at different shinobi arts? “Let’s go to Lux Aeterna, we clearly need to talk, and it’s been far too long in any case.” He would say, if she hadn’t already teleported them away.

[Exit]

WC: 748
TWC: 6510

Claims: Depends on rolls for transplants, rolling for both Uchiha Genetics and Senju now, will use this WC to supplement if necessary.

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

---

'Lucky Coin' : 1, 1

My gacha game luck strikes again it seems

Claims: 6510

1500 to awaken Senju (Choosing Chakra and Ninjutsu power, capping me on passive BL boosts for substats)
1500 to awaken Uchiha Genetics
1500 to bring Sharingan to first tomoe
leaving me with 2010 remaining which I will put toward the second tomoe.

Also giving Kenshin all 20,000 of my Ryo.

[Screw your luck!]

Hikari would be taken a little bit aback by Kenshin's request. .... Shirts off and be knocked out? Going under on the battlefield was an issue all to itself, but the bigger issue was that Hikari wasn't wearing any sort of protection underneath her shirt, not a bra or undershirt of any kind. She had multiple seals under her armor that would would get caught or snagged in her clothing if the cloth wasn't made of a very specific type of fabric, a rare fabric that could only be found in the Land of the Dead, a small set of islands that were located to the south of Suna. As such, the fabric was rare and Namikaze hadn't been able to acquire enough for it to make undergarments for herself, and had just fashioned the outfit to be tight enough that she hadn't needed support in her chest area. That being said.... to remove her top here in the presence of Valen? It was so unladylike. So scandalous, so... impure. Kenshin being a medic was one thing, but in front of her former Hogokage? The thought was something that Hikari couldn't of dreamed up.

That being said, the situation would force Hikari to change her mind. The two were still in a warzone, even if the fighting had died down for a second, with no idea when it would restart, so to take time dawdling on frivolous things such as modesty and manners seemed ignorant in the face of danger such as what the group of former Hoshigakure shinobi had been going through.

Hikari would grit her teeth, before saying, "Ok...." Before unzipping her top all the way down to her waist. She would then turn from the boys and start pulling her arms out of the one-piece leather outfit and letting the top half fall to the side. She would quickly take her arms and press them up against her breast, hiding the majority of her lushes orbs behind her forearms before turning back to the boys. "Le...Lets get this over with quickly. I don't want to be like this in a war zone for a second longer than needed."

With a blush on her face, she would lie down about a meter away from Valen, trying to keep some distance but at the same time close enough that Kenshin wouldn't have had to move to far to operate on the two Akari's.

When the Kunochi woke up, she instantly had the wherewithal to replace her hands over her breast and quickly pull her top back up and fully zip it up.

As Kenshin would explain the cost,  Hikari would stand up and start trying to calculate the amount Kenshin had spoken to. She was fairly certain that the amount of Ryo he was requesting was different then the price the ragdoll had told them earlier, but with all honesty the Lady of Light couldn't care less about a few thousand Ryo at this point. She just wanted to get out of the desert with Valen as soon as possible.

As Kenshin would say he needed the body as payment, Hikari would interject. "Sorry, I do need to keep the hand of this soldier. There is an interesting seal on it that I need to study, I can't confirm for sure, but I think it is a seal that the Fuinjutsu community has a few legends about, and could be quite valuable if returned to Hoshigakure for study. You can keep the rest though Kenshin, I am sure you have more use of the body then what I need it for."

Namikaze would walk up to the body, pulling out a clean Kunai knife, and remove the hand that the fuinjutsu was on, being careful not to damage the valuable seal. She would take the hand and pull out a handkerchief and wrap it around the bloody hand of the Hyuuga before placing it in her weapons pouch in a way that nothing would stab into the hand and damage the body.

Hikari would of course also seeing that Valen had given only 20k Ryo to Kenshin, hand over 5,000 Ryo she had taken from the young girl's corpse to the living dead man. Upon doing that, Kenshin would smile and whisper something into Hikari's ear. The Alpha would smile and chuckle a little bit as a result of this. "Of course."  Namikaze would smile back, but would then turn the conversation slightly serious. "However, stay safe yourself Kenshin. I know you are powerful, but this is still a dangerous world Kenshin. Keep your ears open and watch your back. You are probably wanted dead by most of the ninja world, so people will be hunting you at all times. If you ever need help, well, you know how to reach me, and I'll always be there to help you when you need it."

The albino figure would turn and take his leave at that point, and Power of Haven would quickly move to the side of Valen, watching him go. As Kenshin turned into a small figure on the horizon, the Dark Prince would turn to Hikari and ask about telleporting them away. To which Hikari would nod. "My reserves are almost out, but I think I have enough left to make us jump from here to Lux Athrena." The girl would reach out and take Valen's strong hands into her own soft and delicate ones. ""Ok.... lets go."

And with that, the girl would transform her and Valen into dozens of butterflies as they would disperse before being teleported safely into the throne room of the Fortress of Dawn.

WC: 951

[Exit to Lux Athrena:  Topic Closed]
Claims

Rolls for Senju DNA
+1 Byakugan
-1 Golden Eye (Power Substat boost)
The hand of Love with a FTG seal on it (Will link the thread that it was applied if requested)
The items Love had on her.
+13,650 Ryo of Love's Ryo (5K Goes to Kenshin)
WC will be claimed after this roll, since it will change what I claim.

Also, first of probably 5 or 6 rolls. Here it comes! 1 for success, 2 for failure.