The Last Two Man Show [Binding with Temple]

Traveling felt good on the soul, the passing cities and towns were something of a comfort to the fractured pieces of Mizuki - the semblance of connectivity that each place exuded like a pulse was something her past self would be envious of to be sure. Even though she moved like a ghost through it all, chakra suppression was active as she had not yet tapped into Noppero-Bo to hide her appearance since leaving Tanbogakure. Having not looked back in those final moments had pained her, but now was not the time to dwell on the freshly dealt wounds - but on the festering old wounds that refused to heal. The past few years though had been some of her most changing - from coming into the tutelage of a well known Missing Nin to building and ruling one of the strongest villages in the shinobi world, to leaving it. As she moved across the land of Rice into the land of Hot Springs these memories pricked at her mind, demanding attention and consideration as the surroundings changed around her. Choosing the manual and time consuming mode of transportation that was walking rather than using Mayfly was a deliberate choice for two reasons - one being that she needed the time to gear herself up for whatever was to meet her at the temple, and two being the unease she felt in activating it now that she wasn’t in an obscure part of the world. 

Aside from those two points the landscape was also just extremely beautiful and it would have been a disservice to it to have traveled in the obscure darkness that Mayfly allowed. It would have been a more serene travel experience by far, but the views were a worthwhile price to pay - the fields arranged in organized rows with their river ducts connecting them left the impression of an all seeing seamstress; patching together the earth around her with practiced hands. In the distance to her back you could just make out the face of the drop that led to the Gaikotsu Bay, and was the only detail of the village of Tanbogakure that could be seen - at least for someone who knew enough about the village. She was already missing the stacked landscape and the bustling streets - maybe more so than she had anticipated. The life in the village of Rice had given her a sense of peace but it felt undeserved, as if she had tried to retire too soon in life. People in the village were so laid back it took her by surprise when she had arrived but there was a charm to it all in retrospect. 

The scenery of patchwork fields and field hands turned into gentle forestry, the path winding through well traversed roads with adequate signage directing her to the land of Hot Springs - and when she finally arrived at its edge it felt like she had stepped into a new world. Cliffsides broke the landscape up in choppy sharp relief as the foliage simply sustained and grew around it as if in mockery of it’s attempt to stop it. In the heart of the biggest rift was a strip of river, or at least it looked like a strip from this distance, winding its way lazily along the ground. Stepping up to the edge she peered down with mild interest, to her side were zigzagging bridges built into the side of the cliff that would have safely led her down to the ground and further along her path - but truth be told she had grown a little weary of walking. Stepping back her eyes would scan her surroundings, her face mostly hidden by the wide brimmed hat she had retrieved before venturing out again. The sudden gust of breeze would ruffle the shawl tied to her shoulders, made of the same flattened straw material as her hat it billowed attractively, pulling the ends of her black hair with it. Noting she was alone she let out a wild smile before stretching her arms out wide and falling back into the soft grass; as if she was simply taking a rest, before immediately merging with it using Mayfly. 

The silence of the underground brought its own bliss, being connected to nature in this way always brought a sense of serenity that she found hard to explain into words. Only moments later would she emerge at the bottom of the cavern, rolling out her shoulders and giving a light stretch. The landscape was much more barren down here - of course grass and some basic shrubbery was littered about, mostly though the river was the dominant force in play down here. The sun was still high enough in the sky that it glistened playfully on the only too inviting water that raced not 20 meters from where she had emerged. According to the texts she had read, the temple lay deep in the middle of nowhere, the starting point being this river - its name eluding her - but the direction of travel against its current was easy enough to recall. Heaving another sigh to herself she would begin the new direction of travel, following the river’s winding path upstream into the wilderness. Though wilderness was becoming something of an inappropriate description, due to the lack of foliage the deeper she went - life seemed like it was receding into the background the deeper she moved; the only sounds of life now was the rush of water at her side, even the most isolated of creature was nowhere to be seen or heard. 

The ground she walked on now grew cracked and desolate, the trees who defied falling stood petrified in twisting positions of decay. Aside from the change in viable earth the surrounding cliffs were drawing nearer - bringing an early darkness as she approached the mouth of the river and the passage beyond it. As she continued the light dwindled further as the peaks of each cliff came to meet in patches above her and the passageway until coming out onto the other side with a shocking scene. An old established camp was left not only deserted but decimated, with skeletons and too dark soil that only came from blood. As she stepped around the destruction she was met with a symbol that she was all too familiar with - the Chinoike clan symbol - torn slightly on the side of one of the tent structures. Above her the light filtered down, gifting the scene around her with a warm glow - and though Ohta cringed and felt sympathy for the clan decimated at their feet - Kyuketsuki felt self righteous. She stood surveying the enclosed area with mild interest, irritation beginning to creep up into her psyche as the temple had yet to - she snapped her eyes back to a spot in the wall that held a carved insignia.

With a spark of renewed interest she pressed toward it, giving no further thought to the grounds she walked on or the sporadic crunching she felt under her boot - her mind solely focused on the spot in the wall that was etched in a weathered mark of the clans symbol that lay behind her. With a scowl she would thrust her closed fist against the symbol - causing some of the weak rock to crumble under the force. She paced away from the place and ran her tongue over her teeth as she wracked her memory for the exact passage she had read. ‘At the entrance to the land of heated springs you will find a river, following in its opposite flow you will find a place to offer your sacrifice upon the ground and the door to our maker will be known to you.’ Door to your maker my ass, her pacing was becoming more frenzied as she continued to play the line over and over in her head - she had no one to sacrifice, she had nothing to give but her own devotion! Digging her nails into her palms she screamed into the sky, an unhinged screech, that had there been birds would have cleared the area. 

Her rage had drawn out her claws that had stuck into both her palms, leaving 4 points each of blood that began to pool before dripping to the already soaked ground. Releasing her grip she would fling her hands down toward the ground, shaking off the initial pain, before the deep red glow encroaching across the ground caught her attention. Raising her eyes she was met with a forming doorway - large and double doored with extravagantly paned windows of red, set in a deep naturally knotty walnut wood frame. Instantly the rage melted from her as she was drawn to the doorway, drawn to the gentle pulse of light that emanated from it; like her own heartbeat had she had one. Taking the few steps forward toward the wall that housed the doors she laid her hand on the handle, watching it instantly coat in her blood and pulse once more before the sound of unlocking prompted her to turn. Pulling it open on smooth hinges she passed through into a dimly lit red space - not exactly a room as the dimensions were unable to be determined - but vast enough to not see much farther than 30 or so meters before it turned into blackness. Without having pulled the door with her she noted its gentle latching and locking as it closed behind her. 

In this space though she felt no malice, nor any fear for her safety - just wholly herself, wholly a Kyuketsuki. The feeling was only short lived though as she took her first few venturing steps into the vast space and was greeted with an otherworldly voice. 

“Two souls enter and only one body to claim them,  what a mess you have become little heir.”, the voice was all encompassing, as if the space she stood in was speaking to her. For the first time a while a chill ran down her spine and the sense of safety was instantly diminished - as though someone waved their hand through a bit of smoke. Choosing not to spin wildly she would straighten and look around the cavernous space with narrow skeptical eyes - Kyuketsuki coming out in strength, awareness and preparedness kicking in as her knees took on a slight springy leverage. “Haha oh you broken doll, what are you even gearing up for? To fight me? I am your entire reason for being, I am the sole reason you are in the temple now. Had I not found the actions of your far better predecessors worth rewarding you would have been a few hundred years late. You little splintered insect, you have nothing to offer me but entertainment… so entertain me.”

It was with those last words that she felt a ripping sensation in her body - excruciating in sensation but the feeling was stoppered as she was unable to voice any of the pain. Only when she was dropped into a hall, her head slamming into the stone floor in double time, was she able to discern her surroundings finally. The voice came over the air with a hearty chuckle of enjoyment as it spoke, “Two souls enter and only one will prevail to take over the one body they claim, the enemies ahead are your own shared memories… have fun.” The voice faded off as she sat up… but who is she? Bringing her hands up to her face she examines her hands, a slight tremble in them but she feels more herself than she had in months, her immediate thoughts flow as follows; Where is she? How did she get here? How does she get out? Where is Souji… Zaine… Arantima…….Kenshin? The tears prick at the bottom of her eyelids and she closes them abruptly to shut it down before coming to her feet and looking around - her surroundings give her nothing of note - a simple stone passageway with the mixed yellow and red lighting permeating the dank space.
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Across the hall perpendicular to the awakening of Ohta, awoke an older spirit - the angrier spirit of Kyuketsuki - that instantly rose with the expression of rage flooding her face as she took in her new defined surroundings. Her initial thoughts: Where am I? Who do I have to kill to get out? Where the fuck is Jashin? She was the first to move forward in the tunnel and the first to encounter the first of the mental games the Lord Jashin had in store for the split souls. In an instant the hall melted away into a an open area where a familiar face sat at an older version of the Sunagakure entrance - a burned young girl who had played around with letting her in the village - she remembered playing her little game and slowly earning her trust as she introduced fire handling to the younger version of herself. As if her thoughts became solid, black tendrils seeped into the memory and sank into the version of herself - it was only a second longer she had to watch before that version of herself shifted into the person she was now and the narrative changed before her eyes. Instead of leaning in to the fire with the girl and playing nice, the Mizu in the memory side eyed the girl  the moment the location of Kenshin had been given and swiftly grabbed her head - sinking her nails in to their full length - and twisting in a swift motion, allowing the form of the girl to fall at her feet the moment the information she had needed had been gathered. The woman stood watching as the altered version of her walked out of frame and melted the memory before striding forward.
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Having finally stood up and proceeded forward with obvious apprehension and caution, the bleeding of the memory into the tunnel made Ohta start for a moment before recognition and a painful warmth filled her chest. The same scene would befall her eyes and she simply watched as the actions once taken played out flawlessly - the connection made with Amaterasu in that night flooding her mind with a simultaneous gratitude and sadness as she knew it wouldn’t be long after this night she would fall into a coma. As the Mizu in the memory walked off with a parting farewell to a new acquaintance the Ohta that stood, followed without hesitation - more at ease with what the words of the man had meant. Still wary in her approach she was more confident in her getting out of this, what did she have to fear from her memories anyway? The one who would have a hard time was that demon Kyuketsuki..
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The confident stride of Kyuketsuki pressed forward into the hall as her eyes continued to scan her pathway for more information - none of this had been explained in the readings and she was beginning to doubt any of her ancestors had actually gone into the temple themselves. The sneer of disgust at the thought was still forming as the new memory came into being - a secluded room with only one other person in it… Kai. The watching version of her instantly crossed their arms as they witnessed her older self get taken advantage of. How stupid had she really been to think she was smooth enough to out smart a gen user at such a low level? Her harsh eyes watched her older self lie through their teeth at every interaction, flailing in the interaction as Ohta had been in control. Shaking her head she couldn’t help but speak aloud, “If watching me relive all of her mistakes and seeing how I would clean them up now as entertainment for you then you must be a pathetic being.” This time she didn’t marionette her past self, she simply stepped into the memory - forming the seals for Devils hold as she went, before placing her hand on his chest and shoving him away; all of the memory Kai’s abilities stripped from him as she went. The genjutsu he had toyed with her dispersed as did his cockiness - and finally the memory as a whole. “Give me something actually challenging won’t you!” “As you wish…”
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The next memory slid into view as the cloud merged itself into a cohesive status - it was her and Kai in the small building they had found amidst the sand storm. She watched with a mix of emotions as the underlying threads of the meeting were clear to her now - but to her past self she felt so confident and in control… she had truly believed herself in the driver's seat with this one. Unbeknownst to her then she was placed under a genjutsu and information, though non important overall, had been extracted. The watching version cringed and looked down as the game of cat and mouse unfolded between the two, a game she had thought was fair but had been nothing but smoke and mirrors. Clenching her fists she gritted her teeth as she stared at the floor - accepting the past failure as what it was - but learning nothing from it and allowed the scene to play out in front of her; until it too dispersed and she was able to move forward. A stray tear of frustration slid down her cheek as she stepped over the memories path. Foolish…

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“You requested a challenge… may I present you with this abysmal display of Kyuketsuki power.” Her eyes glared up at the ceiling, hoping the voice would catch the look as she continued down the corridor. Suddenly she was not witnessing a memory, she was reliving it - fully. Caught in the trap that The Wraith had placed her in at the beginning of her time in the rebuilding of Suna, truth be told her blood ran cold for a moment as she stared at the face of the man she hated once again; even in memory form he brought rage boiling to her surface far faster than most could ever claim. Though… if she recalled Ohta had been submissive in this setting, she had already given up having been taken by the genjutsu and led into this trap before walking into the trap willingly to end it. Disgust mingled with her hatred as she steadied herself, activating the Byakugan and glancing around lazily at the now obvious senbon trap she was standing in the middle of. Cursing her past self she couldn’t help but feel as though this was a low blow regardless of the circumstance. “Fine.” Without having to move or form hand seals an explosion of fire erupted from her in 360 degrees freeing her imprisonment and disrupting the memory and its conclusion in a fiery blaze. As the flames licked away so did the memory, she knew The Wraith wasn’t that easy to disperse but it seemed the memories ended the more you changed what was in them. “This has got to be getting boring.” “On the contrary little princess, you are far more entertaining than you think, rash and violent in your actions. Openly hostile to everyone in your past … it's a wonder you made it this far at all.” The jab was subtle but it hit closer to home than she was willing to admit, the only reason she had gotten so far was Ohta in those early years - disgusting and weak as she had been, she had a knack for working people over, that she lacked.

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No … no not this memory. The same happened to Ohta as she was placed in the same scenario as Kyuketsuki, reliving the memory with The Wraith. The emotions were flooding back as the image of the genjutsu version of Kenshin’s decapitated head flitted back into her memory, and the knowledge of her surroundings became far more real than she knew them to be. Her breathing becoming more erratic as the memory played out fully in her head - stepping into the senbon to end the jutsu, the helplessness, the sycophantic thanking of the man who left her to bleed out on the ground… the rescue and destruction that ensued by Kenshin’s hand. She had been motionless the whole time the memory played out in her head before finally crouching into a ball and begging the world around her to change - begging the voice to make it end as the tears pooled and spilled over in her eyes. She had felt the grips of death this day and it was more than cruel to not only make her watch but relive it. “This was a choice you made, make it again.” Her eyes peered out between her eyes and the memory had not faded, it felt paused in a way. Waiting for the correct motions to take place before it would be allowed to disperse as all the others. Dragging herself to standing, tears still sliding down her cheeks before calming herself enough, eyes closed, to repeat the choices made that day. Stepping into the senbon, collapsing again, the feeling of the blood pooling around her and the struggling words of thanks  - only now understanding that she might have been thanking him for actually ending her in that moment when she had no confidence in herself. Had she truly been this weak? Where was all the spark, the fight in her, the derisive anger that wouldn’t have allowed… no *she* would have allowed this, she had after all, but Kyuektsuki never would have. The memory cleared and the pain was gone in a second, though the tears remained, as did she on the ground for a moment longer before picking herself up and continuing down the corridor.

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Once again through the mist she found herself in yet another too familiar room, a secure room on the 78th floor of the kage tower with a single window and a rounded table. The heat that rose to her cheeks flooded down her throat and onto her chest as true anger set into her body. This room was a disgrace of a place, a hollow room filled haphazardly with lies, hope and disgusting posturing. Her chest heaving she watched as the room filled with the guests called to attendance. Wan of Konohagakure, Kiseragi of Kumogakure, the unnamed Mizukage, and Ayato of Hoshigakure. In the memory she had already been in place, regal in her new status and prideful in her action that had called all the others to summit to relegate actions. Though she was not in her spot, the conversation progressed in its previous pattern as though she was sitting in her place - instead she stood trembling in anger, nails pressed into the table, and a stare that could burn holes in lava directed at the masked visage of the Mizukage. “I hate you, you pompous piece of shit, your words only brought more issues than your breath was worth and I fed into it like the fucking fool I was. Oh how I wish now that I had ordered your death-”, she had moved from her standing place and placed herself between his guard and him at the table - leaning in so close it was uncomfortable for even her, “-had I been then, who I am now, you wouldn’t be alive… and maybe I wouldn’t either but that is the price I would pay to have stop your repugnant pandering and bullshit.” Shoving away from his chair she pushed her hands through her hair in frustration - simply listening to the conclusion of the memory with her eyes closed, unable to watch the disgrace of her first dose the political sphere for a second longer. “So you do have a weakness… people, they are your weakness.” “Shut the fuck up.” It was all she could manage, her hands still clenched at her sides and her back still turned the memory, only then did it melt away into nothing but a cloud of mist.
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As she pushed through a forming mass of smoke she was met with that familiar room of the Kage Summit she had called. Heaving a sigh she let her head roll back to stare at the ceiling, whispering, “Come on..one punch after another.” Heaving herself forward she flopped down in the seat she had taken then, watching all the other file in before witnessing in excruciating detail the entire summit play out once again. As though she hadn’t gone over this meeting enough in her head - she was beginning to wonder is this memory was really for her until she noted a strategic flaw in the proceedings - she was never able to get the identity of the Mizukage…. Biting her lip idly she stared at his masked face in contemplation, knowing that the memory would play out around her because she had no issue with what had happened; other than the missed information of him. Why hadn’t she pressed? Was that the lesson here? The memory cleared before the thought was fully processed - and sadly so as this was the most at home she had felt in the whole ordeal.

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Stepping through the mist she emerged on a large expansive room, definitely smaller than a cavern but similarly shaped to a library - though where one would expect books to be there was nothing but empty shelving. Through all the memories she had noticed a pattern, all seemed to be turning points in her life some way or another, but there had been a lack of one particular early entry to these memories that was evading notice. Where was Kenshin, the dastardly ragdoll, in all of this? Wasn’t he as integral in all of her growth as anyone else? Or was all of her memories with him so inconsequential to this little game she found herself playing. As she thought it the room shifted just slightly, smoke-like in its adjustments as it entered a state more akin to a morgue. “Subtle.” The single word held so much sarcasm and acid it could have been dripping in it. 

“Now the finale, shall we?” The eyeroll was response enough for her, deigning a response to this voice was nothing more than feeding into his game - rolling her shoulders she just wanted the end of this trip down Ohta’s memory to end already. The room in front of her melded into several different memories at once - taking up the space in its own sectioned way, showing visions of each in a misted circlet. “Seems to me this man was the reason you were able to appear at all.. Kyuketsuki.” Her breath hitched slightly as the memories all came into focus, eyes scanning each as they passed them. Their first meeting in the morgue with their hard to follow courtship, her time in the hospital after her savior from The Wraith, his constant cropping's up during her day to interact with her, their time sharing drinks with all the original members of New Sunagakure, the transplants that were once his that still lived in her body, the fight that determined her eligible to take his role as kage, the coronation event he created for her, the conversation after the summit, her snapping at him and taking his abilities with Devils Hold, her sending him off to end conflict, his apprehension with her going to the second meeting, his reaction to learning that Souji had been taken - then nothing. 

For the first time in this experiment or entertainment rally, whatever you wanted to call it, Mizuki Kyuketsuki shed a tear. The tear ran hot down her cheek as the images played in loops before her in the vast room - nothing to be changed, no alterations or exchanged behaviors. She had done as she would have regardless, when it came to Kenshin. He brought out both sides of her… in that moment another presence became felt - one she was more intimate with - Ohta, standing a few feet to her right and staring as she was, openly crying. 

Chest heaving she wheeled on Ohta, “What are you crying about?! These are just memories, nothing has changed, this has all already happened, nothing has changed!” The scream was viscous and accusatory in nature, it took a few beats before the sullen eyes of Ohta - both violet - turned to her. “He is dead… that’s why it's the finale, it was meant to break me. You.. you withstand the havoc and heartbreak that this world brings, but I… I crumble. Over and over again, I fall apart.” Kyuketsuki stared at her, bewilderment and obvious confusion. “Please, find Souji… make sure he is well…You won…”, was the last whispered words of Ohta faded off as she too faded into the same mist the memories had been made up of. Chest still heaving she watched her own doppelganger fade into nothing, eyes following the drifts of mist as she tried to piece together what had been done. 

“Congratulations princess, you are our final soul standing. Good that it’s you too cause that one wasn’t much of a fighter if you asked me.” The voice overhead gave a chuckle, causing her to look around in distrust. “What do you mean I’m the last soul standing? Where is she?!” She may have had frustration with her as she came into her own but now… the idea of her being gone was just not something she could wrap her head around. “I mean-”, suddenly the room shifted one last time - losing the hazy quality and finally coming into sharp relief. Standing in front of an old altar she found her hands clasped above it, and a stream of her own blood trickling down and pooling into a small pool atop its surface. “- your second chance at life has been paid for in full.” Suddenly a figure would flicker in and out of the throne carved out of the wall - all white in appearance, with two horns coming out of its head, a large black circle on its forehead with two smaller circles below it and white slicked back hair - all of this was gathered before unconsciousness took over.

The time that had passed was indiscernible but when she awoke she was laid amongst the skeletons of the Chinoke, arms and legs splayed as though she had dropped from the sky itself. Laying there for a few moments longer she took inventory of her body, able to feel all appendages she slowly sat up. The world around her swam slightly before coming into focus…but it was the silence in her head that was the most alarming. No nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach, no draw to any certain cause or person she wasn’t privy to - complete autonomy. The realization set in, her new freedom settling in as she whispered to herself, “But at what cost.” For the first time that she could recall, she missed Ohta. With that sinking feeling of a deed gone wrong she too sank into the ground using Mayfly once again to take her far… far away from this place. Away from the memories, away from the fact that two of the most influential people in her world were gone.

WC 5198
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Claims:
- Donating 30,000 Ryo new balance 202,150 ryo
- Binding with Jashin Temple [link not available as it's blocked from me]
    - Second life?

Stat page: Mizuki Ohta Stats

Mizuki Ohta wrote:WC 5198
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Claims:
- Donating 30,000 Ryo new balance 175,150 ryo
- Binding with Jashin Temple [link not available as it's blocked from me]
    - Second life?

Mizuki Ohta wrote:Stat page: Mizuki Ohta Stats

Approved! Extra Life Get!