Learning About the Abyss [Ayato]

Ishimaru gently rested a hand on his arm as he tried to quell the stirring of his...I guess you could say another half. It made Ishi very uncomfortable when it stirred, but he knew on a rational level he was okay, but why didn't it? As it came to pass, the other male, Known only as Rokuro, was not here for them. He seemed like a normal person though something about him didn't...well, it wasn't natural. Hearing a bit about his background made it plain why his other half had been a little cross about his forthcoming. As Ishi looked or tried to perceive Rokuro, it was almost as if a dense black veil prevented it...and if he stared too deep into it, the feeling of something oppressing or even binding Ishimaru caused his eyes to veer to Seto quickly. The man was very...unsettling. When the two began to talk about the night's way and people walking past it, Ishimaru would raise a finger," So you mean to tell me that you hunt those of us that use our...abilities for bad? Isn't the point to allow us free will?" the question didn't seem odd to Ishi. Still, at the same time, it worked off of the same principle of being a missing ninja. He didn't understand about this, but hopefully, by listening to the two interactions, he could learn more as time went on.  Knowledge was power...and because of this, he had been learning more about his heritage and power. One thing did come to mind as he thought on it and decided to address it now," Does your...Yuumei have a name? Mine constantly refers to itself in a name, its own personality but if all Yuumei comes from a source then...," it was an interesting approach to the situation as he wanted to know more about it.

311 WC


The young always had so many questions, and it made him realize that one born outside of the Abyss always had more to learn than those inside of it. He knew not many a thing that would be common knowledge to the acolytes of the Temple. Still, as a High Monk, he was honor-bound to teach those that needed teaching," While yes the point is for us all to enjoy the new lives or current lives we are given, using a power given to you for nothing but evil is a sin is it not. It is no different than being a missing ninja. You hold secrets, power, and possession given to you by your home. Your village. They want you to live as freely as you can, but when you turn and use those gifts for evil and the destruction of your own...then you are violating that very freedom. It is no different from our Kin. The gift of Yuumei isn't something that is meant for inherent evil. There are many ways to use it, but using it for the sake of evil? Well.. not only do you make our ilk look like demons, but you are also plaguing those that have done nothing wrong to you. Thus I come into play. I don't particularly appreciate harming those that are of our faith and family...But every family must have one who is willing to hunt our demons..," in all honesty, Rokuro didn't enjoy slaying those who stray too far, but it is something that is needed.

The next question of the young child threw him for a loop as he tilted his head and looked over to Seto. Rokuro knew that there were a few whose Yuumei was...far more sentient than others. It came with its own personality than others that had a hive mind-like mentality. Rokuro, of course, knew the name of his, one who had been known to eat the stars and bathe in darkness. A small smile appeared on his face as he crossed his legs as if he was about to meditate," There are very few cases of those having a Yuumei with a conscience outside of a hind move-like system. Many of the monks in the Temple listening to an all-encompassing voice, but for those few...that are given what I call a "unique" form of Yuumei, it can come with that. Yuumei isn't just a deity or pooling conscience. It has a will and mind of its own in large parts. For example, within me sits Iskmael. He's very..domineering but acts based on logic and judgment." he'd give a small example only because drolling on about the unique circumstances of Yuumei would take far longer than they had.

457 WC(Rokuro)

"Four hundred years ago, a man of the leaf cursed his older brother and wanted to kill him. The thought of burying his fist into his heart was all that sad and angry creature lived. A sin a so terrible that it makes me shiver." Seto said, his voice echoing in the darkness. 

"Even if half of what he heard was true, he was a sinner who mocked both gods and men. Though he committed several sins, he never sought forgiveness.  The hatred drove the First Shinkou, the milk that nourished him, and hatred gave birth to this power. The power that foresaw the great doom and saved thousands." He preached, lifting arms thick with muscle as if he were to touch the moon.

"From the Abyss, we start, and to the Abyss, we shall return, young Ishimaru. My Yuumei has many names, a thousand names. The names of the singers that hosted it in the past, since the fallout four hundred years ago.” Seto looked at his rough, callused hand as if he was seeing them for the first time.

“My Yuumei doesn’t speak to me with words but visits me in my dreams. It’s the same dream every night since my first night in the temple. I am walking down on a feast of corpses. Savagely slaughtered, the guests lay strewn across overturned tables and hacked chairs, all asprawl in pools of congealing blood.” 

Seto shivered, despite himself. Fear can freeze you in track but also spur you forward.

“Some had lost limbs, even heads. And headbands, so many headbands. Stars and leaves and clouds. Severed hands, clutching bloody caps, spoons, roast fowl, heels of bread. In a throne above them sat a dead man with the face of a wolf. He wore an ebony crown and held a leg of lamb in one hand as a king might have a wand, and his eyes followed me with the silent appeal.”

All the men laid dead and cut to pieces, where the corpses were left where they were cut down. There was something different about the wolf versus everyone else. He was still upright, and his eyes saw and followed Seto, seemingly asking for help.

“Our goal here is far greater than the shinobi can ever understand. The hidden villages  are playing in a war, where we must fight in one.”


wc: 393

The revelation alone was enough to cause Ishimaru to shudder but he remained calm and waited until the end of the story. One's Yuumei showed them dreams. The other didn't give specifics on what theirs did though...he felt as if it dealt in judgement over anything else. But what did his stand for? Not knowing racked his brain more than any other thing going on, but he knew a war was on the horizon..the only problem was when would it come," I know....my home might...do something extreme...but I must be ready," standing up he would stretch himself a bit. He knew the night was long but morning would soon come to them. Looking over to Seto and then Rokuro he would ask one final question before departing," I have trained and pushed myself to what i think are my limits with my Meigan...Is there more for me to pursue or...am I at my limit?," he'd wait for the answer and if it was something that he needed...he would pursue it.

The young boy seemed lost and confused. The chemistry of the magic in the shinobi life was not something that everyone could understand. It took time, even for those blessed by the eternal fire of Yuumei from their birth. His question was more than substantial, however. And even though the members of Yuumei users had diminished over time, even fewer managed to awaken that stage.

Seto's thin lips parted, and he said but a word. "Satori." The Yomiyama's crimson eyes shifted, and with that, for a moment, so did the whole world around them. The wind cut right through them. Ishimaru would see a move from the corner of his eye. Pale shapes were gliding through the water gardens, and if Ishi turned his head, he might even glimpse a white shadow in the darkness. Then it was gone. Branches stirred gently in the wind, scratching at one another with wooden fingers. 

"Did you see it? The Yuumei of a perfect vessel." To the average eyes, it might have only been a bird, some trick of the moonlight. But then, the ghost emerged from the dark of the trees. Tall, it was, and gaunt and hard as steel, with flesh pale as milk. The next moment, it was beside Seto. Inside Seto. He was bursting on blue flames, burning, and burning. The fire seemingly consumed Seto's flesh, and when by rights it should have turned him to ash, the Yomiyama stood there unscathed.

"It's time, young Ishimaru, to become who you are." Seto's eyes were blue, now deeper and bluer than any human eye, a blue that burned like ice. The final stage of the Meigan, Satori.

"A trial you must do alone. Go south, to the Land of Shadow, and find the Temple of the Deep."

wc: 300
twc: 2353

While waiting on Jaye (no rush), I want to make mid-Thread Claims for Ayato with the 25% max stat discount

1125 x2 = 2250

Shiori the Maternal (B-rank)
Yoru the Old (B-rank)

Approved, you troll.

The air around Ishimaru sat quietly as he waited for his question to be answered. He would have thought the first words would come from the Elder Monk, Rokuro, but instead they came from Seto. His head tilted for a moment as he uttered a word and suddenly the world around him began to turn differently. It was like the colors of the night were taken and replaced by the darkness of black and small wisps of blue. The young Shinkou's eyes began to look around but a sharp pain began to take over his senses and his eyes were soon clouded by his Meigan. He could see specters flying around the area and figures standing where none were standing before. Behind Rokuro he could very well see a pale shadow, tall and shrouded by something that began to hurt the young males eyes as if he was not meant to see it. Before averting his gaze from the Elder Shinkou he could see the eyes of the shadow looking upon him as if judging. Behind him however he could feel another presence, familiar all the same. As he turned around his eyes met with his pale shadow, his guardian...his Yuumei. The Cheshire like smile," Welcome to the temple my dear Ishimaru," and then nothing. On the outside it would appear as if the young male was fine and there, but on the inside his mind and spirit were elsewhere.

Looking around he could see flames of blue and black lighting pillars which lead to a seemingly endless expanse of sky and in the middle sat on a throne was his Yuumei.



"Welcome my child to the Temple...it seems we finally get to meet face...to well face. Since seeing the powers of Satori, your mental and spiritual states reside within here for the moment. Many have come in the past to this very temple to awaken their true potential. Many do not succeed. The two you see outside are just some of the few....the very few that have achieved Satori and maybe....you will too," a small plume of smoke left from his lips as he stood up and Ishimaru could finally see him clearly. A mixture of white and black hair that seemingly dropped below his back adorned his head. Piercing yellow eyes, seemingly amber in some cases stared at him as he approached. He was adorned in a red or maybe it was a wine red kimono and in his left hand was a pipe and the left a red saucer that carried some sort of liquid in it. Stopping just a few feet from him he would hold out the two items and smile," Your test is simple. Choose." There was no context to the choice and no reason with the decision, but he waited patiently.

Looking at the two items he saw his reflection in the liquid and in the smoke uncertainty...the unknown. Both were just...an oddity but with one he knew something. Something different. Taking the saucer he would drink from it until it had been completely empty and in silence they sat. The air would be quiet  before the flames began to flicker erratically and on the outside the males body would begin to burst into black flames before moments later subsiding and the boys body dropping. For someone who had been on fire, he was cool to the touch and still breathing. After a few minutes he slowly stood, a new air about him. He didn't look around nor did he speak to anyone but his hands went to remove some strands of hair from his face. The once emerald hues that dotted his hair slowly turned white as his sighed and to the two in front of him,they would soon see another that would join the few to complete their Yuumei," So this is what it feels like...completed. This is what I needed," the once child like smile that he had returned to his face as he succeeded...and now his eyes turned North.

Bowing to the two brothers he now had he would grab his sword and tie it snug onto his body," Thank you for your guidance...but if a war is coming then I need to go home...and prepare it for the worst. We will meet again... With a new history," and with that the young Shinkou would continue into the darkness as his smile waned and the look of seriousness took over.

it was time for him to head back to the leaf.

WC: 758
[Exit, will post claims in a moment]
TWC: 2,714
Claims (25% WC Discount)
all words toward Final level of Meigan- 2,714/4500