Re: Fire & Ice: Boiling Mist

Thu Apr 30, 2020 1:31 am

The charring idea of his brother being so observant was something that is nice, but also off putting at the moment, the strickening contact of attention to his surroundings was not something that he was used to. Ballian was the one who was extremely observant and rash with decision making to a point, because giving room for anyone to re-correct an error is something that doesn’t fit the system, the correction always meant an increasing chance of defeat in any scenario. That could also be calculated against him in any form of combat, even as simple as a board game that both of them are playing at this very moment; but yet again Zieg was as competitive in the same sequence of demonstration of a board game as Ballian was. A weird feeling echoed over himself, the chill in his veins echoed a similar feeling as if someone was blowing on the back of his neck, but that would be impossible, since the seat Ballian chose put himself against a wall in two different directions, but that feeling lingered for the moment, could it been caused because of the words that his brother were about to speak to him? The face expressions began to dictate that thought to Ballian in a foreshadowing of events, the shape of a wrinkle began and then followed in a strong suit was the frown, but behind that frown he knew that his partner across understood the true meaning of the words that were escaping him.

Hearing him say he is going to be sick brought up began to get a soft but easy chuckle from Ballian as he fell back into his seat a little more than normally in relation to the humor that was being escaped from Zieg’s mouth. “Careful with the choices of words, the wrong charming damsel who hears those words would end up making you eat those words, the devilish nature of their talents are unmatched someday for even us.” Thinking about what he just said began to ripple back and make him think to the everlasting kindness and swelling nature that was his mother’s love that was tainted by the vines of thrones known as lies and deceit that were placed upon his heavy conscience that continues to stack high sky every time something is brought up. But the words that slightly caught him off guard was: “It would seem you’ll have to settle for the time being.” That didn’t sit right in his mind and it wasn’t because of exactly what was said, it was how it was said. Ballian knew the difference between the now and the future and it sure as hell wasn’t something right now that would stop him from placing the forefront of the future on a hold ever even during the moment of the current situations, his ideals always looked forward and was to never truly look back unless it was needed to correct something that could damage the future, for himself or ZIEG.

The moment Ballian took a second to look out the doorway and saw the rain began to settle more and the wind began to course from hollowing and creating small symbols of the havoc it came with, to a gentle breeze. “You know the funniest thing about the phrase, ‘Calm before the storm.’, is the fact that you are thinking too much in the now instead of the future and the outcomes that potentially chase behind it.” Much like a storm based off his metaphor that was laid out, Zieg forgot that this game revolves around strategy and time of making the right play exist without the foundation being ruined, even if it meant losing a few casualties like one would do in war. Ballian pointed to his king, but then pointed to the similar pieces that matched his brother’s tactic that were already aligned on the board in the same position, with another tactic following a similar suit; the difference was his way of playing was early offense and then as a stronger defense to exist.

“In most trials of war and combat, the greatest mistake is to leave an opening that can be exploited by the offense, because a good offense is a good defense. Holes exist for expulsion of simplicity in the draft of thought that can be parlayed . That is the situation you have put yourself in the board, nor did I expect you to fall for that as easily as I would expect, but yet again. Food is an ultimate distraction for anyone, because as they say, Brother. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

The sharp witty comment that came out was an echo of the highest level of smugness, a wink followed after as well, as he made a move to completely eliminate the offensive play that Zieg had played onto the board, the play was smart and calculated; by both sides though. Ballian will never ever take time to think about the future, because no matter what that is where the ultimate outcome exists, in the future. Ballian looked up into the eyes of his brother and let out a small soft smile and then looked over the board again and up again. In the trials of combat similar to the game, it was a battle of Fire and Ice and not that the words spoke for themselves, in this case it wasn’t always the victor you believe it is.

“So I gotta ask again, I know I already asked and I didn’t get an answer that actually fit the response that I was wanting from you, so I am going to ask again… What do we have planned for the future, is there something you want to do that I do not know and we need to correct to deal with?” Ballian leaned back with a fairly straight and serious look on his face, his eyes locked heavily and directly at Zieg’s face to get a definitive answer that would fit suit for him.

WC: 1008 / WCT: 4,881

Thu Apr 30, 2020 8:16 pm

The young shinobi raised his left arm and placed his elbow on the table to stabilize his head which he began resting on his hand. His eyes shut after surveying how his brother would react. He closed his eyes to focus for a brief moment. Much unlike his brother Zieg did not give much of himself away as far as his expressions went. The Yuki ninja flashing a grin here and snort there where the situation called. On the opposite end of the coin these two comprised Zieg preferred keeping his expressions to himself for the most part when engaged in competition, friendly or no. Currently he wanted to show a wide lipped smile because of how ironic Ballian's earlier chatterings. It was true Zieg could overthink at times. It was in his nature and that he couldn't possibly resist when it took him. However him thinking about the game was the reason his victory was in hand. Zieg had not the slightest clue what his brother was thinking in the moment. Whatever it was would be good for himself, he figured.

It almost became too much for him to maintain his composure. As Ballian would respond to each of Zieg's offenses a bigger and bigger hole was being amassed amidst his defensive formation. Zieg spoke, never changing his body or expression. "My plans for the future...", his words were wispy and mellow. His gaze left his brother's and once again returned to the board. His right arm raised and went for the board. His thin index and middle fingers tapped on top of a dropped piece from the turn prior. A faint screeching could be heard as he pushed the piece along the board, not lifting it and dropping it as he had been doing the entire game prior. He would not have been able to before with the way the pieces were being moved about the board. However Zieg had seemed to have been sliding the piece up toward Ballian's King piece. Zieg's pieces that he sent as his offensive force mirror to Ballian would be used as a decoy, rather than a mere copy and paste of what he anticipated his brother would do. He separated the pieces enough to create this path once the ice ninja retaliated. "is to keep moving forward. What else is there to do?" he said with his tone and expression never changing. Even with the game over in Zieg's favor it was ultimately just a game the two used to communicate with one another and pass the time. It was one among many.

The Uchiha's arms raised over his hand, hands clasped together and palms facing upwards. Two pops could be heard in quick succession of one another as he stretched his joints. He groaned slightly as he released the slight tension on his body from sitting for the amount of time that they did. The kettle had but maybe another cup, or cup and a half left inside of it. It had failed to maintain the heat it came with, naturally. One bowl of ramen remained untouched Zieg had decided he truly didn't want it at this point as the steam that rose from it was gone. It was likely lukewarm, what with the small breezes of wind that came every so often from behind the entrance curtain of the restaurant when people entered. He knew his witty remark wouldn't serve as a sufficient answer if the previous one wasn't enough but it was something Zieg had to make sure to say carefully. He was far away mentally with other task to think about letting Ballian know everything about what was next. But it would be important he knew. Zieg's plans were far more complicated than he had made it seem prior. Ballian knew reaching the rank of Jounin wouldnt be the end. He saw an ambition in Zieg that was beyond that.

"Does that satisfy you?", he said, holding up the King piece and looking to his brother for a reaction. It was was a calculated double entendre, speaking for both the game and the answer he gave. "I'd rather like to know more about these Blood Games and this Genin you're so interested in. What do you know about them so far?" As he got into the meat of the situation he would be finding himself in soon he certainly wanted some fore knowledge of it before engaging. He hadn't paid any particular attention to any other shinobi aside from the Mizukage and his brother as they were what he needed to be keeping pace with and surpassing eventually. He rested back in his chair slightly, the material of his cloak somewhat cushioning his back against the wooden chair.

WC: 791/5745

Thu Apr 30, 2020 9:36 pm

“Remember Brother, winning battles is only half the battle… The real result is the war that needs to be won.” Ballian’s words echoed, he knew exactly the outcome that was being placed before him and it wasn’t because he did it on purpose, it was because he was too busy playing his own mind games on himself to desire a victory in their game. The food, the tea, the conversation, this was really all he wanted, it wasn’t the victory to see himself stand at the top of that moment. Rather he wanted to spend time with Zieg, to find out as much information that could be spewed upon the table and to be absorbed by Ballian himself. It was the real outcome that he was desiring in this battle, it may not have been what Zieg thought he was aiming for, but at least as his brother he knew what the end goal was for him on this behalf. When his question was answered, it seemed that was not as calculated as he had made it out to be. That was however okay in his eyes, the distinguishable excitement that may warm Zieg’s heart was an outcome that was favorable in a benefit for both than anything; even the ice cold personality of Ballian’s heart and intentions at times.

“Know more about the Exams and the genin, well we would have to actually go tend to such a task, I mean I won’t even lie, I don't even know the date or time it starts? Well, I mean that it resolves in us going to find the Mizukage and discussing such a matter that could be results through actual conversation. But as far as you and I know, it is a task in itself that revolves around jumping through some simple holes to gain an audience with such a man.” It was true, in the moment. It was nearly impossible to have a conversation with Mizukage himself currently, for reasons; Unknown still. It was due to the issues that were being dictated throughout the village, many people believed that there were issues that were expelling in the belief that we are going to be in a right situation of resoluteness, it was always bloodshed and that was probably why the exams were renamed to such a manner. But the belief behind his opinion was that the previous kage was a man of… specific awful taste of decision making.

“Well, I guess you have won this match, so what do you want to do now?” It was obvious that the match was done, by how the position was and Ballian truly didn’t care, but it was also that time to ask for certain situational manners of what was the plan next for the day? Ballian stacked his bowl and got up and placed his bowl on the counter near the kitchen area of the establishment in respect of the kind gentlemen who made it for them and then proceed to sit back down, he also then began to pack the game up and put the pieces back together properly to allow for the next person to have an easy time setting it up.

WC: 529 / TWC: 5,410

Fri May 01, 2020 5:33 pm

He had found himself a little lost for words when Ballian mentioned he had not actually gathered a lot of information on the games they would be attended. He didn't need to but it would have been nice for Zieg to know something beforehand he thought to himself. However it also wasn't as if they wouldn't be heading to the games to gather information first hand. Zieg closed his eyes and thought for a moment. With the game and breakfast done they were free to engage the Mizukage in conversation to see what tasks he needed tending to. His chair slid back with a loud audible screeching whaling from its legs scratching along the wooden floor. It was definitely much louder than Zieg intended but it wasn't as if he was putting thought into it. It was just how it was. He simply wished it more quiet. The shopkeep would eye the duo happily, taking note they were to be leaving soon and he would have to take to the table to prepare for the now oncoming business. "Let us take a walk, brother." he spoke softly. He eyed the cloth that protected the front entrance to the shop. More specifically under it where it left space between it and the ground. Seems the light rain had stopped, which was perfect for the pair. As he began making for the front a scraggly voice of the shopkeep rang through the shop. "It was a pleasure serving the shinobi of our country." he said in a energetic tone. Zieg's eyes and head pointed toward his direction as he spoke. He bowed his head slightly as to silently say thank you for the service, before he continued out the front of the shop.

The air still smelled of rain even after it had stopped. It was common for these lands to rain often, as the tropical setting mandated. The islands were pleasant places to live, for the most part. The occasional tropical storm or whirlwind would send the lands into a state of panic temporarily. However they were common enough for the ninja to have experience in helping assist those with disrupted lives because of the natural disaster. The dark haired Uchiha took in the smells as he walked casually through the village. He didn't say anything during the walk. He was busy tossing thoughts around his head. Some important and others not. That which he intended to share eventually became the focal point of his mind as he neared the location he wanted to go with his companion. After they left the shop they stayed along the path that went through the village for a brief time, before Zieg went off the path and took to the soft mushy land where people seldom traveled. It was somewhere inconspicuous, but most importantly, desolate. The two came upon what looked like use to be a small hamlet. Broken sharp of wood of all shape and size were scattered about all over the ground. Small signs that life once inhabited the place could be seen in the flutters of clothing and other meaningless possession that, like the wood of the homes, were scattered all about. Zieg stopped walking suddenly as they started walking around the area. His eyes looked about at the destruction. He happened to notice he had stepped upon one of the wooden pieces but not through the feeling of stepping on it. His eyes saw that his foot had crunched the wood beneath his feet into nothingness. Everything here was old. Incredibly old. It had been some time passed since life roamed about the place.

"Brother,", his words pierced the silence of the world around them. Not even the seagulls had made their way here yet. "have you ever heard of the Eyes of Heaven?" he said sternly looking to his older brother with his golden orbs.

WC: 647/6392

Sat May 02, 2020 1:25 pm

The time after it took Ballian to pack up the stuff and actually get set up nicely for the owner of the shop and create a simple assembly of the dishes that they had created, the least he could do for such fantastic hospitality and kindness from the kind shop owner. “Thank you, it is on the house today, come by again!” The older gentleman said as they were getting up, Ballian had full intention of paying and that wasn’t stopping him from the get go. It wasn’t because it was super cheap to eat or drink here, it was the quality and care that was behind everything they got. The games were kept in a well conditioned manner that almost believed that it was brand new each time you were to use it, the food was always tender and kind, the quality of food was shown so much care and to the most basic eye you’d assume that it was just some generic common things used in the dish, but it was the opposite. It was homemade each day, self tended to and cared for. This is the type of place that you would come to be happy and enjoy the delicious food you get from a man who puts his heart and soul into the food you eat, anyone who would ask the best place to visit, this place was it in Ballian’s eyes and it was one of the reasons that he would defend this place before anywhere else in the midst of combat. “Sir, if we are ever attacked and in the most highest oracle in all the land were to tell me, that someone would attack here first. I’d send every person and able body to defend this place, this place is home to me. Believe that.” Ballian’s words were absolute and true, this place was somewhere he always visited to make sure he could find his right mindset even in the most troubling times.

“Zieg, while I understand the moving forward belief, it doesn’t change the values and distinguishable problems that lie ahead in those beliefs of going forward; what happens when we are met with them? What do we do? How do we conquer them without no fail? Do we stand back and watch as a fire continues to burn until it is extinguished? In such a shogi game, we must move and revitalize the king’s attribute to match that to create a coherent realistic ideology. Would you not agree?”

Watching Zieg as he began to stretch and start making popping sounds that could be heard and become rather limber from the actions he was taking, Ballian smiled and kinda flinched a little bit. Never in his life has he ever in his own mindset ever believed that he could be that flexible or stressed out enough to feel the self relieving of potentially damaging his own body in a way, but besides that he understood why many did those actions to cause a form of relief. But once he was outside his brother’s eyes were lied on upon not being heard by others and spoke in a tone of more silence than conservative vocal volume for others. The chilling down his spine when he heard him just say, “Brother” was enough to trigger a ring in his ear and could sense and feel the urgency and actual response of something that was to be informed that caught both his interest and ENOUGH to probably have Ballian follow in suit for such a manner. “Have you heard of the eyes of Heaven?” Ballian stood there for a moment, blinked once or twice, then looked around in the sky and on the ground, he looked at his brother’s hands for a moment to see if he had any form of drugs in his hands or among his face when he was stretching back inside the establishment, his eyes squinted and looked him dead in the eyes.

“Now, before I say anything to this remark about Heaven and eyes… What kind of drugs did you take? I have zero idea what you are talking about or even have an understanding of what you are trying to explain to me potentially, so you better in heavy detail explain these ‘Eyes of Heaven’ to me in a way that I am gonna understand as much as you do and if there are some kind of drugs involved, give me some so I am on the same level.”

The moment after Zieg had stated such an interesting string of words that had zero to minimal meaning to him, they had created a rise of interest in his eyes. Enough to the point that digging his right hand into his under coat pocket of his jounin vest to pull out a small dairy-esque book that was not overly large, but not too small and enough to fit in one of the medium size pockets to allow him to leave notes. The book was blue with a symbol of his clan’s crest on with his name written across the symbol. Opening to a few pages in, he began to write down the majority of the session of time he had with his brother.

“Among the times you must pay tribute and respect in the forum of validation of honest verification that I have finally lost a match to Zieg Uchiha in Shogi. Was it intentional to lose? To a point, but I was planning on prolonging the game to go on. With this said, a small agenda is being made, we have points of key situations and mission goals that are being born through his side of going forward, as where I have mine. They align as straightforward and meet in the middle of true understanding, as they may continue to be fuzzy and blurry to a point where we are met at a point where something is being caught in the line of fire that has struck interest among his brother known as: Eyes of Heaven.” Finishing writing in his book, he looks up towards Zieg and gives a soft smile in a notion of continuing on what he means about the Eyes of Heaven.

WC: 1,033 / TWC: 6,443

Sun May 03, 2020 4:03 pm

Zieg took note of his brother's words of the tea house, letting out a single chuckle as he spoke of expending all of his forces and power to defend the place in the event of some kind of attack on the village hidden in the mist. "I'll be sure to make you the sole administrator of the tea house then in the event I have to run this village and have to decide where to send my retinues of shinobi.", he said mockingly. The entire idea in and of itself was mere fantasy, or so Zieg had initially thought. He underestimated his brother's fondness for the place as he himself seen it realistically for what it was. A tea house. It was Zieg's detachment from his emotions that forced him to be blind to the differences in food made for service, food made with care and food made with love. The latter something Zieg had not felt or thought about since the passing of the person who used to cook those very meals.

Ballian inquired about Zieg's remark after he won the Shogi game, one of many the two played. The Ice shinobi's recollection of matters often differed from the actual reality of things. Ballian would recall never losing a single game in the years they played. He firmly believed it as well, despite the fact Zieg won many a game in the same manner he did today. Placing himself into the position of his opponent and estimating how he would take himself out. A reliable tactic for Zieg because he had the foresight of knowing his own capabilities in and out so he could develop even more strategies to counter himself with his opponent's toolset, knowing what to exploit and what not to do. He responded. “We are not fortune tellers brother, and yet you ask how we are to deal with issues not yet encountered. We keep moving forward and we will act accordingly, with faith in our abilities we can cleave through the inevitable roadblocks that we shall encounter in our path. I cannot tell you how, simply that we must conquer those inevitabilities without fail.” He spoke with that tone of command that slipped from him from time to time. It was in his nature. Something carried over from his father, who revered leaders and spoke of becoming one being among the highest of honors one could receive in their lives.

“Now, before I say anything to this remark about Heaven and eyes… What kind of drugs did you take? I have zero idea what you are talking abo”

His brain stopped the process of the rest of his brother’s remarks as he had gotten his answer to the question, first and foremost but also because it would seem he had really been in his element today with the banter and joking. The Uchiha’s brows furrowed slightly as his eyes closed and he sighed ever so slightly. His highly trained ears picked up on the flaps of pages behind him. Seems he had wanted to take something down. On every other blue moon Zieg amuses the thought of taking the book and reading what was in it for his brother to pull it out at the most random of times. Sometimes he would even flip it out in the middle of combat, which disturbed and irritated Zieg to no ends. However Ballian insisted upon questioning that nothing of import was in it. Merely a diary. Zieg found it hard to believe but also respected his brother’s privacy as Zieg’s was respected in turn. Thus the great heist of the mysterious diary never was nor never will ever take place except for in Zieg’s head. He allowed his brother a small moment before speaking.

“The Eyes of Heaven was an incredibly old poem told over many generations. As it moved onto scrolls from being told only through orators of the story it would seem the finer details were to be lost but that isn’t where the importance of the poem came from. The poem spoke of a man who existed within raging lands. War, famine, pestilence and death were rampant everywhere. The poem stated this man’s desire to change the lands for the better and lead his fellow man into prosperity made a god take note of him. The god granted him the Eyes of Heaven which allowed him to see everything in the world all at once. With knowledge of everything he was able to fix everything.” Zieg paused for a moment allowing his brother to take in Zieg’s own abridged version of the story before continuing. “A trife fairy tale if ever I heard one. However the nature of these incredibly old poems are that they were based off of real people once upon a time in history, granted they are romanticized tellings of these people from the start before the story begins to take life of its own as it becomes shared among more and more people. Call it childish wanderlust but I cannot escape thinking about what it means to have these Eyes of Heaven. To see everything. Surely to interpret this poem’s actual meaning would conclude it is simply about one of the many great leaders who came and went in a time well before ours. So I am curious to know,”, he trailed off slightly while turning around to look his brother in the eyes relaying the seriousness of discussing this ancient poem. “What do you think it means to actually have the Eyes of Heaven? What does it mean for one to see everything?” He was eager to hear his brother’s response. Their philosophical debates could be entertaining ones. Sometimes however they simply didn’t see eye to eye on certain things and Zieg worried if this would be one of those things. It was at the end of the day a silly frivolous thought.

But perhaps it wasn’t. Such knowledge would be a shame and regret to leave left on the table for the Uchiha shinobi.

WC: 1006/7398

Thu May 07, 2020 2:36 pm

Ballian’s response to his brother’s words that glistened through with a glimmer of happiness that is a rare occasion and that was the opposite it seemed today. Zieg seemed rather flattered by the expression of seeing Ballian interact with others in a similar fashion to him probably and caught him extremely off guard, as stricken and direct Ballian’s tone can shape it was at the moment after they finally left and was writing in his book a change came with it, it wasn’t because of the words that his brother spoke about being the sole administrator of the tea house, it was cause of the warring state of the country and the little backing them seem to have when it came to war status, it was imprudent to not exist or develop heavier and faster than normal especially with the contrast of previous problems that happened, Original home of his was destroyed and basically forgotten about it seemed.

“Understand the words that come out of my mouth as I say this, Zieg. In a state of chaos where a country is under turmoil from its own revolting issues that replicated into different regions through a state of acts of war, such as your ‘home’, home I mean as in Konoha, I assume you understand what was happening at the same time. We lived upon a tyrant level leader who’s sole belief seemed to enjoy the enabling effect of striking fear into people, even if it meant his own people. That shop keeper is no importance to my stance of getting to the goals that we wish, but to do so we must also have people who follow suite in the belief that we also believe in them as much as they choose to believe in us, that is the tactics of reality in a war, the real war is the battle of men and women, they are too conflicted by the ‘evil’ that is painted to not see the true face that is being shown because it is cloaked and behind a mask of a man that choose to vanish without a sign. It is uncertain to believe that a man would let a secondary choice individual gain control over the village, it seems rather futile and silly in my eyes to allow the individuals in the political world to begin establishing a false sense of security when we lack an actual visible leader who wants to express value and direction.”

His words basically rolled off his tongue as they were walking and continuing on a linear path and was continuing to write inside of his book as they walked, the information that was being written was to be established if their conversation about the Eyes of Heaven as Zieg announced it, but before that all it was about the roadblocks and information that was being relayed from his Brother to him that his uncertain encounters that could truly begin to flourish before them. That didn’t trigger a feeling from Ballian and was in a mindset of that no matter the problem that was about to become a single form of enigma; The Mizukage and that was potentially a problem if the one of the shadows currently didn’t show a level of concern for the potential issues that were going to rise and it was happening already from the way the people acted in certain instances.

“While I understand that we are not fortune tellers, but as I already stated we are ones who can control and dance with the strings of destiny to rewrite the values and the expression they have already aligned. In the form of understanding one’s will is the will of one’s own, as much as myself I do believe you can understand that. We are going to become the pillars of this nation and WHEN we hit that mark, we will become the true source of light and symbol of peace, we will allow others to glow as much as they desire. It isn’t as simple as I am saying, but the belief and reliability of having the establishment of realization is something that many lack, we must also create that vision inside the minds of others that we can have back a goal that we have that can also be built inside of theirs and expand to believe ours is more important in retrospect, which is easily enough done because most value something, but if you can distract them well enough to believe, there is a possibility. I cannot promise it to certainly be a viable plan, but at least it can be worked on and developed to assist us easier, mainly starting with our Mizukage.”

As Ballian spoke these words, his eyes began to ignite about the idea of being able to establish fortitude among the people to elevate themselves to a pinnacle that could only lead forward and not backwards, it seemed like a plan that was too good to be true; but the dreams or aspirations of most die within seconds. His ideology on such a plan is no matter how many times something would attempt to counteract the situation it was his goal to prevent it at all costs, this even meant the strings need to be cut and reattached at moment to different sequences, even if it seemed that it was inevitable in that instance, a battle can be won by one side, but the war always is the end goal result of victory in the true sight. Losing himself for a moment, hearing his brother’s voice snapped him back and heard the words of Eyes of Heaven as an Old poem sunk into his ears. Understanding Zieg’s beliefs and thought process right now was the most valuable thing to him, because the two were beginning to develop a sequence of exciting values for each other, something that brought a form of excitement again into Ballian. The words began to calculate inside of his head and the expression of Zieg’s values and beliefs were unique to his own versus the others that he knew, but this talk about the Eyes of Heaven was something that slightly caught him off guard, because he wasn’t sure what the poem actually meant, it seemed to talk about such a thing that even confused Ballian for a second but to his best of knowledge began to look up into the sky and blinked twice, pushing his thoughts towards the ‘heavens’ above them and wondered what it could mean, his thought danced among the clouds for a few seconds and brought his eyes back to his brothers and sighed for a moment.

“You know, I understand what you are saying and I am getting the vibes of those eyes and myself value a similar way; but I’ve never heard of such a thing. But, ask me if I think such a thing exists? Truly I do. No such thing as not being able to see or hear everything in the world, imagine if we could do so?! Because we can, we have the ability to develop a society to survive among others with food and more at times, what is stopping a divine ideology of power as such to exist? Who says we cannot find the true meaning of ‘everything’ with it? I could believe that it was a possible thing to do so. But my question is, where did you hear this tale from? Does this come from the lineage of Uchiha, I am of a clan that doesn’t do your ‘fancy’ eye tricks much like others, not that I know much about the Uchiha because that seems like something I should develop a study in to understand.” Ballian flipped the page in his book and began to write down a very small jot of notes about the context of what they were talking about.

“Zieg - Eyes of Heaven, have the ability to see everything at once - Linked to the Uchiha clan somehow

Eyes of Heaven - Old Poem passed down from Lineage to Lineage, through the war torn lands and notes being taken of god.

Unique and interesting thing to know about to add a list of things to do, I should learn more maybe into the background and history of the Uchiha Clan and other clans with Kekkei Genkai that is mainly invested with Dojutsu in general.”

Ballian continued to write things down at the same time, while admiring to himself about what to do next and how to excel the level of information and knowledge he could add, then looked up at his brother and blinked. “Here is a question for you, is there information among your family about transfusions of implants of your lineage eyes being transferred or doing anything of an accord of difference to amplify your powers? Because I feel like that may have something to do with your Eyes of Heaven you may be talking about, because as someone who doesn’t have that kind of power from my family’s unique traits… I wonder if it is for someone of your lineage.” He took the pen in his hand and was tapping it on his bottom lip, while swapping his eye contact from his book with the words written in already to Zieg’s in a state of curiosity that was beginning to drive him a bit stir crazy at the moment with the endless possibility that could exist.

WC: 1,567 / TWC: 8,010

Tue May 12, 2020 2:06 pm

He had figured his brother would dig through the idea of the poem and find what was important. Zieg himself had not had the luxury of having someone who had already read this masterfully crafted poem. It proved to be an impossible task to dig up the poem in its entirety. It was from a time much older than the creation of nations, thus these written scrolls may have found themselves traveling from land to land, across seas and meadows of many different varieties and suffering the effects of traveling through such lands over time. The scraps of the poem that was found was nothing short of a treasure at one point and time to a young Zieg, before dedicating the words to memory and realizing the sentimental value in the physical papers being lost after the sour and painful events that befell him on that dark, dreadful day. His father mused over the poem when he was around and so almost like it was genetically embedded in the DNA of the man and passed through the genes down to Zieg himself, the Kirigakure shinobi too took a vast interest in the poem. He wasn’t too sure how long it had been since his father knew about the poem. He suspected it was time well before Zieg was even an idea of a potential future before him, when he wielded the blade and not the word of the law. He never recited the poem in full to Zieg once, though he boasted he knew it line for line and was even intimate enough with it to accurately recite it in the candance in which it was passed from the many generations before. His father merely went over the heart of the poem once and that was it. But that one time was all it took to get Zieg to begin his own bloodhound work into discovering the meaning of the seemingly pointless poem.

He watched his brother as it would appear he was giving the situation very deep thought, a sign that internally pleased Zieg. It was not often he could find himself forcing someone into entertaining his often out there beliefs and the philosophies that came with them. Zieg found interest in bigger thoughts, bigger ideas than the ideal chit chat other people often go on about. However in a way he could see the types of conversations he has with his brother idle and fruitless as well at times. Merely a symptom of all the time the two spent with one another.

Ballian spoke of finding the true meaning of everything and even did so in such a robust and confident way it even made Zieg almost not question the statement but alas to do such a thing would be betraying his very inquisitive nature. It would be another time and place Zieg did question just literally how the two would be able to manage metaphorically viewing the world and all of its doings. Oh what a magical thing it would be to view and see the very world itself and its inner workings; the cogs spinning to make sure everything maintained just as it did and he could be alerted when anomalies appear that wish to interfere with the very planning and fabric that wove the world together perfectly. Then something brilliant slapped him across his mind harder than almost any thought might have before. The simple word that made all of Ballian’s words and the thoughts he himself had make sense. At least more so than not at all.

Fabric. Like fabric.

His mind presented before him in an almost unreal, unnatural clarity a vision so vivid he could swear he was experiencing it in actual reality but to do such a thing would be utter nonsense and foolishment when considering the scene that was taking place before him. His body lifted itself and began floating, his view of his own body and his brother’s standing close to one another. As his eyes focused in on his body, which he was now viewing in third person, he could see an almost transparent red string, which had attached itself both to Zieg and Ballian. As he began flying higher and higher into the sky he noticed more threads coming from the two, now going far off into different directions into the distance. Zieg could only make the assumption these strings which were going out were also connected to different people as they were between the brothers. It had to be an assumption because as he floated higher and higher he could not see off in the distance who the strings were attached to. After moments more he was no longer even able to see himself and Ballian, standing in the old deserted hamlet and conversing. He started to see his nation, all ten of the islands in its connecting ring. More and more of the red threads could be seen stretching out and in all different directions and all over the entire set of islands. They stretched out beyond the oceans that lead back to his old home of Konohagakure and lands he never seen before. He went far above the clouds and soon could see the earth in it’s entirety. It was almost intoxicating to drink up the image Zieg’s mind had created for him. Around the earth it seemed to be the very same red thread wrapped completely around it. The many connections of the world that kept it running and flowing. It all made his soul wash over with a feeling of understanding unlike that of which he could ever explain with words. However just as the clarity would wash over him, so did the realization that his vision was fading. Everything was becoming white and fading so fast it almost seemed like a flash before Zieg’s eyes were once again focused on his proud and strong brother. He was not sure what the out of body experience exactly was. Did something trigger this within him? An awakening he had no idea was to happen. Could that have possibly been the Eyes of Heaven? Was all he needed was the confidence to see this as being a reality? The confidence of his brother?

He had came back realizing his brother was offering him a question about this poem. He touched the tips of his fingers to his head as his brain made the words he needed from the haze of returning from what seemed like a godly premonition. “Yes. The Eyes of Heaven poem was something I was made aware of from my biological father, though only that and nothing more. The actual research into finding and putting true thought into the poem was myself. It is almost as ancient as history itself. At least this has been my experience in uncovering its texts and meaning, the former being mostly nonexistent at this point and only shared verbally now. I’d imagine more of my clan have probably heard of it but gave it no more thought than acknowledging its existence much like my father.” He knew the latter wasnt exactly the full truth, as his father did say he knew more of the poem. However he thought it a trivial thing for his child to be thinking about and preferred Zieg stuck to his lessons and improve as a shinobi. He might have known nothing, according to Zieg.

His brother’s next question would be a odd one to discuss with Zieg, as he was not sure he could provide the exact information his brother would want to hear.

“As far as implants go all I know is those born outside of the clan are capable of wielding the power of the Sharingan if one is implanted into them. I would imagine the toll on the body to be heightened due to the unnatural blood and chakra the eye is now a part of. I am not sure how this in and of itself could enhance my own power but,” He trailed off slightly thinking a bit about the options before him. “Perhaps if I was able to sneak back into the Uchiha Compound and into the hideout I could find out more. My father always forbid me from going anywhere near the hideout because it was cursed with things the Uchiha simply could not handle. He himself never went to the hideout until right before he…,” Zieg’s words trailed off into nothing with the wind. He closed his eyes and did not allow the memories to come rushing back in. His mind wondered just what this curse was that the Uchiha were so powerless to stop themselves from falling to ruin from were they to be inflicted by going into the hideout. He had to know and see for himself. The idea of going back to his home was already on his mind to uncover the truth of his past but now even more incentive was on the table. If what was in the hideout caused his father to go missing and then the murder of his mother to happen he wanted to know first hand just how intoxicating this curse could be and if it was truly strong enough to ruin the fate of Uchiha under it.

WC: 1544/8942

Wed May 27, 2020 5:57 pm

Ballian’s eyes scanned the words that were coming out of Zieg’s mouth in a way that it may have looked like he was processing each word itself into his own brain and saving it like a transcriber was to a piece of paper during a session of fine tuned writing. The word ‘ancient’ was one of his favorite words that came out of his brother’s mouth during that small moment of communication that was being brought up about ‘The Eyes of Heaven’ and it made him take his index finger and began to rub it along bottom lip with a state of studying and understanding that there has to be more than that poem in the world that he can learn from and actual develop a scenario of understanding to AN actual existence of said Eyes. His brother began to continue speaking about more of what was being discussed in general and it made him smile. The words about sneaking into the country and then entering the compound of the Uchiha’s and seeing if the information that can be gathered in a scenario to further the power that his brother needs to develop to become a stasaniable focus that can not be mocked or easily defeated. His eyes began to gaze off into the sky and then be brought back down this brother’s eyes and with a big smile on his face.

“I feel good about this and I hope you do as well, because I feel nothing but some good may be coming our way sooner than later and it is refreshing, but for now we have a plan that is in flourishion that we need to work on together to make it actually possible. So, what we are going to do is… Gather any information we can here before we can venture forward, because as far as I know we some problems still with Konoha in general, so with the fact that you are apart of this country now versus the difference of just being a Konoha shinobi now, I can see acts of tratiorish ways labeled across you in the heat of a second, so we need to figure out the perfect time and chance we can get you there and do it safely… That is the real trick and I am not sure if it will be easy. But for now, let us split from this point and we both go our different ways and meet up later to discuss things and also find out, I will eventually go off and speak the Mizukage by myself for further discussions about things, and you can do the same.”

Ballian’s eyes closed and gave a soft bow to his brother and a wave among the sequence of gestures that were given and smiled and began to disappear slowly from the vision of Zieg’s and taking his notebook and writing down information and objective goals for himself and Both Zieg that were being highlighted with certain indications of how important it was to be done.

[exit]

WC: 506 / TWC 8,516

Post after the spread of Count.

Fri May 29, 2020 9:19 pm

The Uchiha warrior was pleased to see his brother so taking to the poem and his ideals, which he was sure might have seemed like it came out of nowhere. Never before had Zieg even spoken about someday returning to his past land to reveal further secrets about the mystery that was his past and perhaps have it assist him in his future he wanted for himself. Before when he spent his first nights on the shores and grounds of the land of waves he had not even thought about ever returning, for at the time the thought of what he was leaving was still painful enough to his soul that he was one hundred percent sure he wanted to run from it as he had done. Over time he began fostering ideas of returning for his own purposes; however he did not wish for his brother, nor the Mizukage, Kizmaru to have any reason to suspect him of being a turncoat to their cause. Especially when he already gave them reason to believe he would some day run away from the village as he did before. The land of waves would be Zieg’s new home and he was confident of that. He wanted to make himself into a new man and forget about the past that had plagued him for many years. He devoted himself to being a Kirigakure shinobi. So much so he even eventually stopped thinking about returning altogether. He forged his new life and it was his responsibility to live it to the fullest. Though all men learn through their life that they cannot simply run and hide from their past. Even if they were to physically do it, much as Zieg had done. Man dozens and dozens of kilometers away were the past and troubles of the Uchiha man, where he would believe them to stay. The ghosts of the past always catch up to everyone eventually.

His brother commented on the good feeling he had and the good he felt was coming to the duo. Zieg had not been one to have such feelings like these, so he merely took his brother’s words at face value and chose to believe in him and what he felt. It is often said that one of a fighter’s most valuable assets are his instincts. The gut feeling one has about situations. Zieg never felt he could trust his instincts much. Seemed too illogical to do so. He preferred being informed and calculated. Confident and precise. He lived much of his life in this manner. His brother, more attuned to his feelings, always trusted his gut, regardless of the situation or what it tells him. Ballian was admired for that secretly, but ridiculed verbally. It went against everything that Zieg built his foundation on. However it would be a lie from the Uchiha’s lips were he to tell someone Ballian’s gut instincts have never been correct. On the contrary they were correct on numerous occasions.

Their next task would be to gather the information they needed regarding his plans. Naturally Zieg’s sudden disappearance without a word to anyone would definitely be seen as an act of betrayal by Konoha. However with things standing as they were between the two villages he was sure he would be able to manage and accomplish his goals and reasons for needing to return. Information gathering was something Zieg enjoyed and even took pride in doing. Knowledge was a powerful tool for any shinobi looking to succeed at their goals and dreams. It was also something he seemed to be naturally gifted at, for his thirst for knowledge that was instilled in him as a child allowed his brain to develop in a way that picking up on information, even when its not being directly fed to him, was easier than it was for some.

“Alright,” he said in that honey soft voice he was both blessed and cursed with. “We will reconvene at a later time once we have gathered more information. I think I already know where I will start.” With the final words being said between the brothers they would both engage in their formal gestures of farewell they liked to do before departing. Zieg enjoyed his formal and polite manner in which he interacted with everyone. The times were moving forward and such niceties and physical gestures of love and respect were disappearing. Even the Mizukage found slight displeasure in Zieg calling him by his full title or Lord Kizmaru, but he still did it nonetheless. He never forced any individual to treat him in kind either. He firmly believed people should be free to do as they please within the systems of society. Anything outside of that however Zieg was more than happy to rectify given the circumstance arose. He kept where he was as Ballian departed on his task. He looked on at his brother until he was completely gone from his vision. It was only then himself he would leave where he was. He thought about rushing back with his technique to shorten the time it would take for him to get back to the village. He did bring his brother and himself a long far way out to have this conversation. He figured however he still had a portion of his free time left before needing to report back. He walked along the path he used to get where he was, enjoying the weather as he did.

[EXIT]

WC: 912/9854

+3 Stats (+3 Strength) Stats are now capped. -300 WC

+190 AP

-3529 WC into Sharingan Stage 3. Learned.

-2500 WC into Sharingan Genjutsu E > A

3525 WC into Shackling Stakes. Learned/Mastering