The Rift Between Realms

Kamui was a cold and dark place. The sky was a black chasm in itself that blended into an endless horizon of shadow across a sea of gray pillars. There was little warmth to be found, but even that was more than the frigid winds of Yukigakure. The rescue of Komon and the events of the ruined Yukigakure throne room behind him, there still remained a matter that Damon could not lay to rest as he paced the endless horizon of Kamui. Thoughts that were not his own had been entering his mind, thoughts that transcended words and just left him with an understanding. Instead of having a book with its easily digested and clearly laid out words beamed directly into his head, the feeling was more akin to a series of paintings done by different artists being forcibly registered in his mind. These ‘paintings’, as he considered the abstract feelings, did not give him instructions or teachings, but instead, left him with a sense of emotional and mental impact comparable to seeing a moving work of art. These feelings varied in nature, but for some intrinsic reason, Damon sensed as though one, more methodical and merciful in nature, was more like a feminine voice whereas the other felt more combative and incontestable.

The man’s voice called out to him. His words were unintelligible, but the Uchiha found himself raising his hands together in the snake seal. He looked quizzically at his own hands, not quite understanding the logic of what he was doing. He simply felt that his own body was moving on its own, doing what needed to be done. His hands adjusted again to the boar sign, and then to ox. “I w--l g- -ow- -n hi--ory,” the male voice came through, scattered but with a semblance of structure. He signed the dog seal, and then the tiger seal as the female voice spoke, “T- s-ve ev--yo-e, th-- -s --y I -m he--.” His hands moved to the snake seal while he tried to make sense of the mixture of sounds he was hearing, and now it seemed the other presences had seemed to notice his own.

The interference lifted from the words as he used more handseals. “It’s gett-ng cle-rer,” confirmed the woman with a voice deeper than expected, yet still alluring all the same. “Who ar- you?” the man asked. Damon’s hands were already transitioning into the tiger and snake signs as reality began to waver around him like a mirage, centering in a single spot a few meters away. Appearing in this spot was what looked as though someone had punched a wall, except for the fact that it was in midair and unconnected to any structure of the sort, as there were none inside Kamui. His hands clasped into the dog hand seal absentmindedly. Space itself seemed to bend to the whims of this technique, the small fracture appearing in the air began to spread vertically until the crack reached 3m tall. This line then expanded, opening into a large circle as wide as it was tall, emitting the only light in the realm, blinding as it was. Damon raised his hands to shield his eyes from the luminescence when the masculine voice called out in casual surprise, “What the hell is this place?” Damon activated his three tomoe sharingan, taking in the strangers within a moment’s notice. His guard rose, the need for weapons beneath him. In a singular moment, he could engulf any invaders in black fire or ensnare them in a dreamworld of his own design. The rift in space-time faded behind two figures that emerged from the now absent light as the realm of Kamui grew darker once again. 

The familiar sounding voice rang out, not from his head this time, but from the mouth of a man with white hair who had placed the tips of his fingers to his own throat. He was about the same height as Damon, if not slightly shorter. The long hair which framed his face was a pale white with a red streak, the back length tied for convenience’s sake. He wore traditional clothes, a black and white kimono with red and white accents, as well as a straw hat like one belonging to a farmer contrasting with shoulder and wrist guards belonging to a warrior. At his hip was a katana that his hand subtly rested upon while his red eyes scanned the room. 

Beside him stood a medium height woman with long, neat silver pink hair, braided down the length of her back with the end of the braid tied back to where it began, serving as an odd loop. Stranger still were her clothes, which did not appear to belong to the era, let alone the area. She wore a red top that matched her eyes, but covered the majority of her apparel with a black coat. A long black skirt adorned her waist, giving way to white leggings covering the remainder of her body down aside from her white boots. Seemingly a matching set, her hands were also covered in white gloves, the cuff of which she tugged consistently. She backed away from the others in order to face where she had entered from, only to find the presumed portal having already disappeared. Her gaze cautiously looked around, but she could not see an escape or a building of any sort. Seemingly random pillar formations were the only sense of stability in the endless infinity of this realm between worlds.

The Uchiha looked back towards where Komon had been resting. A pillar rose up haphazardly, blocking the view and keeping him just out of sight of the new arrivals, the edges of his shoes the only indication Damon had of his presence. The raven haired man wanted to keep it that way. He needed to keep them distracted long enough to not notice the other presence in the area. His sharingan scanned the two strangers, but the mass of chakra both possessed were strangely identical. He then looked down at his own hands, his own chakra network. Raising his hands up into his field of view, he realized that the chakra belonging to both people before him was identical to his own. Neither seemed particularly experienced. The man was investigating his own appearance while the woman was investigating the realm itself. Neither paid much heed to him just yet. Before Damon could call out to either, the white haired man spoke aloud.

“My voice,” the man began as his eyes continued to scan his own person to the best of their ability, “My body?” He spun once around as he checked himself out. “I appear to have reverted back to my younger self,” he said aloud to no one in particular. “Do you know what this means?” he eagerly looked towards Damon and the woman. The pair shared a tentative look, the woman analytically holding his gaze while her own red eyes studied his, before turning back to the man when he spoke again. “I’m back in my prime!” He shouted, as though it provided any sort of helpful answer. He looked towards the others and addressed them. “I’m sure I don’t need any introduction, but to clarify, I’m Ikeru Densetsu,” the man said with noticeable hubris, fists placed on his hips, chest puffed out, and eyes closed anticipating recognition. He cautiously opened an eye, only to be met with gazes that bore no familiarity with his name or face. “You really haven’t heard of me have you?” He grabbed his chin with his hand and mused to himself. 

The woman spoke clearly for the first time since her appearance. “How are we expected to know who you are when we do not even know where we are?” She was clearly agitated by the way she refused to stop adjusting her gloves, despite the article of clothing being a perfect fit over her long, slender fingers. “You,” she spoke towards Damon, studying his eyes again. “You were here when this one and I arrived. Is this your doing?” She tried for her gaze to be void of emotion, but was unable to hide a lingering sense of anticipation. 
“I’m-” he hesitated, “-not sure. It felt like a force beyond my control compelled me to, I suppose, bring you here. I’m not entirely certain of how you two even arrived here.” The Uchiha did not realize how long it had been since he had a conversation with anyone new. The sharing of this information was something he took for granted between him and his compatriot. Komon did not necessarily count, as Yurei and him had history from years ago. Oh, man, Yurei… The thought entered his mind as he realized he would have to explain how they had picked up two otherworldly hitchhikers after leaving Snow. “I suppose it’s too much to assume you were survivors of Yukigakure?”
“Yukigakure…?” Her brow furrowed. “Where… is that exactly?”
Damon looked into her eyes and began to see her doubts surfacing. “Yuki is located on an island in the northernmost part of the world. We were just across the sea from the other countries, like Earth, Waterfall, and Moon.” His voice trailed off as he realized she did not recognize the names of these countries. “What country do you hail from?” he asked, already knowing the answer. 

“I’d guess none of them,” Ikeru chimed in as he gazed around. “We’re not in my world anymore, are we? Not that I believe you and I are from the same one, miss.” He seemed strangely jovial, but with an underlying hint of dejection. “This world of yours is pretty depressing, pal,” he stated abruptly, looking towards Damon.
The muscles that allowed for Damon to raise an eyebrow were getting quite the workout. He appeared to address the woman formally, but when it came to addressing the only other conscious male in the vicinity, the newcomer was irrevocably casual.
Before Damon could respond, the woman spoke, “So, we’re both just a couple of outsiders in a world no longer our own.” She sighed. Damon stood, observing the pair. Their expressions ranged between despair and a desire to understand. "Is…" Her voice trailed off as she anticipated an answer she did not wish to hear. "Is there any way you can send us back?”
Damon went through the same handseals that he had used prior to open the portal, but nothing appeared. He grimaced as he tried signing them in the reverse order as well. Again, nothing happened as a result. He exhaled sharply and looked at her once again. “I’m not sure that I can. I’m… still not quite sure how you got here in the first place.” His eyes met with both of theirs in tandem. “I’m sorry.” Damon then paused as he looked away from both of them, not wanting to meet their disappointed faces. 

If he had been pulled away from this world, away from the only people he was able to trust, how would he feel? He contemplated an answer. I… would want to know as much as possible… He spoke aloud once more. “The only thing I’m able to tell is that your voices match those that I have been hearing recently.”
The white haired man chimed in once again, “Likewise. I’ve been hearing words from both of you as well. But it's been-"
"-difficult to understand, right?" Now it was Damon's turn to interject. "Just snippets here and there, vague thoughts and words. It's been foggy up until I entered Kamui again. Perhaps, this is the closest our paths have come to crossing?”
“What’s a kamui?” Ikeru inquired. He was taken aback by the statement, not quite expecting it. He looked over towards the woman, who seemed interested as well.
“It’s a… dimensional pathway of sorts. We use it for traveling the world.” 
The woman interjected, “We?”
Damon responded, “A close friend. His name is Yurei. This,” he gestured to the world around him. “This is one of his abilities.” 
Ikeru gave a hesitant, impressed expression as if to say ‘not bad’, while the still unnamed woman continued, “So to be clear… This isn’t your world?”
The raven haired man answered, “Not quite. Our world has the sun, trees, mountains, oceans, a night sky complete with the moon and stars… It tends to be far more welcoming than this realm, even if I’ve grown fond of it over the years.”

“And your friend does this with his own power?” Ikeru reiterated excitedly. “I was never able to manage something like this where I came from.” He made a fist and flexed his wrist. “It actually feels like my abilities have been dampened or hindered somehow,” he observed. “Is this your friend’s doing as well?”
Damon shook his head no, shifting his gaze to the other as she spoke. “I feel it too,” the woman said, clenching a gloved fist in front of her face. She closed her eyes with clenched teeth. The ability to help others, to heal those in need. These had been taken from her.
Before she could fall into a spiral of self doubt, the white haired man made an exclamation. He smirked and began to muse aloud to himself once again, “It’s kind of frustrating to start from square one, but at the same time, it seems like it could be fun.” He clasped his fist with the palm of his other hand. "I've already worked my way up in one world, why not a new one?" 
The woman gave a sigh in resignation. “I suppose… there are people in this world who need help as well...” She looked wistfully at the space where the portal had closed, but was met with the darkness of the void. “I’ll have to trust that those I left behind are able to continue without me.” Turning back to the men with a newfound resolve, she braced herself for the path she was about to walk. Her eyes gleamed with fire. “My name is Kanashi Uta. I wish we had met under better circumstances.” Ikeru repeated part of his introduction with a raised hand, but she paid him no mind. Instead, she turned her intense red eyes to Damon. “Now, what is your name, man able to rip others from their world?”

He blinked in hesitant response, realizing he had not shared his name even once. “Damon Uchiha.” He extended his hand out, first to Kanashi, and then to Ikeru. Whether or not these two truly came from another world was not important. If that was in fact true, it was a miracle they managed to speak the same language. Regardless, that was simply what they believed. Ikeru claimed to be a champion, a hero, like Damon had once dreamed of being. He appeared confident and sure of himself in a way that the Uchiha could not fathom. Kanashi had a strong desire to help others, maybe even stronger than his own had been. While he focused on punishing the wrongdoers, had he neglected the victims? Perhaps her perspective would be able to refine his own into the beacon he had once longed to become.

WC: 2536
--Exit--
Claiming: Creation of 2 Living Clones Ikeru Densetsu and Kanashi Uta
13 stats to Strength for Ikeru, 12 stats to Chakra for Kanashi,
1300/1750 words to Tank for Ikeru, 1256/2500 words to Mystical Palm for Kanashi