MaDKat in Wonderland [Temple Binding]

Katsuragi's Stats:

"30,000 ryo!? WHAT!?", the MaDKat yelled as he tried to understand what sort of racket these monks were running. He respected the hustle, being that he too was a part of the game, but he wasn't going to let such weak game take advantage of his curiosity to the secrets the Monks here at the temple held. The more they tried to explain, staying true to the cryptic archetypes they were so desperate to pass themselves of as, he couldn't help but continue to shake his head side to side in disbelief. He truly didn't believe any of it 100%, he only ever heard of this place while doing time in Pelican Island. Just one story after another just to past the time. The validity of it all was questionable, but with everything that has happened in the past.. Who was he to believe?

Katsuragi's attire consisted of a Yakuta black leather jacket, which underneath he wears a thin hanley black hoodie. His belt is black leather, designer's choice, with an overlapping LV emblem as a buckle. The pants he wears is a fresh pair of black stretch jeans with ankle zippers located on the lower inside section of the pants. His boots on his feet also being solid black of a leather material with an emblem labeled "EU", it's made of metal stitched to the tongue of the boots. His hair, still vivid, was a solid dark purple. His hair in contrast with his pale skin, however, his arms torso and hands bore a mural of mostly assorted prison tattoos; all black ink in color. He himself stood at a height of 6'2 feet with a thin frame. His tools and such were all assorted evenly along his attire, given no hint to their whereabouts yet allowed him easy access with a little bit of technique.

As the monks continued to run on, he took a quick stroll through memory lane... for something had happened to Katsuragi before he left the cloud village.

2 weeks before Leaving the Cloud village...

Another day, stuck in the cloud, Katsuragi is seen sauntering about in public. The crowd wasn't as thick as he would have guessed it would be around mid-day. Perhaps it was a special holiday? Then again, working with the cloud shinobi on within the past few days might have changed a few things within the eyes of the public. Not too long ago, the village suffered an infestation of a certain crime family, the Zukumiki, that would have crippled the village's integrity. But with the help of Katsuragi, and few brave shinobi, they managed to stop the threat, even with the Raikage absent. Perhaps due to all the chaos, most of the villagers decided to safety home, binge whatever hobbies or vices their hearts chose to partake in. He kept his path in the center of the road, eyeing all the closed shops and venters. Single brick and mortar shops really, nothing too tall to eclipse the mighty office of the Raikage. It was really funny, the day he finally found out where the Raikage office as located, and he couldn't visit, due to the Raikage's absence. He purple hair flowed in the wind, the length now reaching his shoulders. It was thick, and wavey, he needed to get rid of it. He even managed to develop a slight stumble and a slightly visible beard too.

Katsuragi's attire consisted of a Yakuta black leather jacket, which underneath he wears a hanley blood red hoodie. His belt is black leather, designer's choice, with an overlapping LV emblem as a buckle. The pants he wears is a fresh pair of black stretch jeans with ankle zippers located on the lower inside section of the pants. His boots on his feet also being solid black of a leather material with an emblem labeled "EU", it's made of metal stitched to the tongue of the boots. His hair, still vivid, was a solid dark purple. His hair in contrast with his pale skin, however, his arms torso and hands bore a mural of mostly assorted prison tattoos; all black ink in color. He himself stood at a height of 6'2 feet with a thin frame. His tools and such were all assorted evenly along his attire, given no hint to their whereabouts yet allowed him easy access with a little bit of technique.

-Turn around...-

Katsuragi halted his advancement, his heart begun to race with excitement as to what he had just heard. Voices? Was he going senile, he didn't remember partaking anything too drastic this morning. His chakra senses, along with his physical senses seemed to be working. Just what was happening.

-Nothing you haven't experience before? Turn around, link up-

"What the fuck is goin on? Who da fuk...", he turns around and sees nothing, but two villages walking along the sidewalk 10 meters away to his left.

-Oh my, you talk like that? You really are a street hood, and judging by those clothes, you really are lost-

Katsuragi activated his mind's eye of kagura technique, he finds nothing of note but a few cloud shinobi nearby, judging by their chakra levels. He holds his ground, watching for even the slightly change of detail. Perhaps he was under a genjutsu? he forms the Release kai seal, in an attempt to break out of whatever dreamland sequence he might have been under.

-That's not going to work. You may be strong enough to overpower me physically, but you're not strong enough to override my mind... In this world, the mind is a shinobi's most powerful wEaPooO-

The distorted words surged throughout the mind of Katsuragi. It was like hearing nails being dragged along a chalkboard, a door off its axis screeching for the attention of others. But that was only the beginning, First, his sight began to dwindle, his hearing going in and out to the point where he started to lose balance. His mouth became numb, lacking all sensation. He couldn't even taste to the fresh clean air of the cloud village. Finally, he falls flat onto the ground, his back slamming into the pavement. But he felt no pain, not surge of sensation, he simply fell as if he was deceased.

Suddenly, he sees a light. The constructs, the many brick and mortar buildings were visible again. But their image were mere outlines of light, transparent and finely tuned. He even saw his own body; it was elevated above him much like everything else. He did however see a rope of energy which connected his body to his current position. It was attached to the back of his head, and to whatever he was now. ball of light, ethereal energy, he didn't know what he was now. All he knew was that he was sinking, and panicking. He knew not what was going on, only the fact that death might have decided to claim his body today. Did he deserve it? Well, who hasn't killed or done what needed to be done to put food in their stomach. Who has not cast a stone towards another to defend their own?

-That's it, let it go. Let me see the life of the forsaken one-

The one behind it all, peered through the memories of Katsuragi. This, entity like being sought after every moment, each chapter, every last choice that the MaDKat made which led him up to the very moment. The killings, the stealing, the lying that the bandit did was all categorized, documented to the letter. As for Katsuragi, he continued to sink, the setting around him looked like a grid, nothing but outlines and bright lights. some surged with each passing moment, like a glitch in a system. He still couldn't talk, his only sense that was activated was his sense of sight. This was ability was currently unaware to the entity who was in control.

-Ok, I believe I have everything I need. It's a good thing you were halted at the gates. I was a couple days behind you, I would of missed you, again... What you are experiencing is not death, but your mind being dominated by my own. We are all connected, and we are all capable of understanding one another.

Aeternum Animo, forever the mind.

Say it in your ancestral language, and you shall be free-,

The entity returned Katsuragi's ability to speak.

"...infernu-", his speech was altered, but even so, he understood. He understood what he was trying to say. He couldn't quite process what was going on, or how his day led up to everything. But mind, it wasn't his, not until he said what the entity demanded him to say. But, it seemed he knew what Katsuragi wanted. He knew what Katsuragi came to the cloud for, he wanted to discover his roots, his reason for being on the planet and how he got here. All the search, and time spent fighting to stay alive, he finally made it. It was his time to get things right, to a get a true perspective and what he was.

"Aeternum... Animo", and in an instant. his mind was returned to him. He was back to normal, he could breathe again, see and taste and feel! He was alive again! Such things he took for granted, he never cherished so much before until now. And he did it all from the confines of his bed.

"What am I doing here? When did I get back?", he looked over to his right and noticed another within his room. a middle aged but pretty well sturdy male adult for his age. He features were not different from an average middle-aged man, save for the long dark grey hair which was tied up in a ponytail. His clothes were that of black heavily detailed robes, with a red ordinate design interior to which Katsuragi took interest in. That was one thing about Katsuragi, he sure did like a good set of clothes.

Katsuragi's gear set consists of a dark grey flak jacket, dark grey metal arm guards and black cloth gloves, dark grey metal shin guards, black boots with spikes for travelling into mountainous regions, and two ninja pouches on the back-waist which housed many of his tools. Both arm and shin guards came with 7 cm in diameter while being 3 cm tall. The spikes placed above the elbow and knee areas. Both spikes were not attached to the metal guards to allow mobility; they even had their own plate and wrappings. On the back of the jacket, there was a strap that allows placement for a sword to keep it fastened. The black bandit boots have 5 cm in diameter sharp spurs which are attached to the boot by a 5 cm durable light weight steel harness.

All plating, plus the flak Jacket, were upgraded with mithril plating while still retaining the dark grey color. The plating for the jacket was housed underneath the outer layers of the jacket. Along the collar of the flak jacket, the Bandit's 9th life tool resides within the collar surrounded with stuffing of the sort. The scales are also placed within the Flak Jacket, it does not provide discomfort.

-You like? This is what the Yamanaka traditional wear. Decorative robes and hoods, with our hair tied up in a ponytail. And yes, I'm still in your mind. We have a lot to talk about Katsuragi, especially about your heritage. You are at least owed that..., considering how you have strayed far away from our branch-

"Our Branch? Do you mean the, Yamanaka Clan? My speech, I sound... different.", he notices how his speech changed, but it wasn't a hindrance, he felt no effort in his words.

-Yes, and no. Many Clans have different branches. They get established, for many reasons. Bloodlines, religious beliefs, Creed, and even conflict. They're are many reasons, but ours..., Our Yamanaka Clan is known as the Vestigium Branch. We connect through our minds; nothing is hidden and shall be hidden from anyone belonging to our clan.

To comment on your speech, I made adjustment to make you sound like a man with sense. There is no reason why you're this old and still communicate like some common street hood.-

"That's all great and all, but I did the soul search to figure out who my parents were..., do you know them? How else did you track me down?", Katsuragi stood up from his bed, rising like a zombie from the grave. His body was still sore, from the long periods of time confined to his bed. But what he demanded was answers, and he was going to get them. Like the old man said, nothing is hidden from one another belonging to the clan.

The old man, looked away, smirking a bit as he established eye contact. All what Katsuragi wanted was right in front of him, he just lacked the means to get it due to him not knowing any Yamanaka techniques of the mind. discovering Katsuragi's greatest motivator, the old man uses it to his advantage.

-Everything you want to know will come in due time, that much is for certain..., but before I tell you, you need to cut the bullshit. All of it. No more reckless behavior, making yourself a target. We Vestigium are not of the spotlight, anonymity it key. I want you learn the ways of the Vestigium, these barbaric acts you display must come to an end-

"Why can't you just, tell me. A name, I'll do the rest. That's all I need, a name", Katsuragi was losing his patience and began to grow violent. Of course, the old man was still connected to his mind, to which he sensed it all before Katsuragi facial expressions matched his intentions. However, he understood Katsuragi's frustration.

-You will, you will discover everything you need to know one you master your mind. As for your parents, I don't know where they are. You came on my radar when you left Tanzaku Town, you fit the description of a lost member from our Branch. After getting a hold of your Vestigium, I managed to track you down. But, more will be spoken, hopefully within the mind once you learn.

Aeternum Animo, Katsuragi.

I am only allowed in the village for a few days, so once you a feeling rested, come outside, that is when I will help you back onto your path to discover your roots-, the old man gets up from his chair and makes his way towards the door. Katsuragi simply watches. It was frustrating but he knew what he had to do. Looks like Katsuragi would have to extend his stay in the cloud for a bit longer, putting his request for the Raikage on hold. Following the request of the old man, the older turns around quickly before exiting the door.

-I may..., have not been clear enough. I want you to know your true roots. And you shall, in person. This is all just the mind, I can now reach you whenever I want, now that I know your chakra signature. I want to meet you in person, in Tanzaku Town. Be there in the Lotus diner, and I will show you and tell you everything you want to know-

"Wait, before you go! My um...", he pointed at his mouth. He wanted everything to go back to normal.

The connection finally broke, and Katsuragi stood once more in his room, alone and confused.

Back to the present...

Some strange things occurred the past few days, he shrugs upon thinking about it. The monks however try to gain Katsuragi's attention once more. for money, or actually religious reason, it was unclear. Katsuragi wasn't a religious man, contrary to the popular belief that many find GOD or some type of religion while serving time in prison. It was all the same con really, recruit, and get the said believers to pay continuously in the name of their lord. He perks up and listens to the monks go on and on about the importance of Jashin, the lord of all. "So this lord of all, is he just all about the money? Just what am I paying for again?", he listens further and gets the feeling that the monks were trying to sell him on a dream. a dream that allowed him to postpone the judgement. A second chance at life in case one would fail in this one. He nods slowly after listening. He just wasn't buying it, he asked for proof of course. If their god was really real, and not some old man living a life of luxury due to the poor saps that paid the 30,000 ryo. The three monks in front of them formed a huddle, discussing matters that seemed to only pertain to them.

As he sat there, he continued to take in the aroma coming off the strange candles the monks placed in front of him. It smelled like maple syrup, sweet and enticing. He wouldn't have mind taking a few of these home, they actually made him feel good. Perhaps this was part of their tactic, easing suckers like him in to pay that heft fee. 30,000 ryo, he still couldn't wrap his head around it.

"Come with us...", one of the monks said. They got up and made their way deep into the temple. Katsuragi eyed the dark passageway that seemed to stretch for miles down below. It seemed like a trap, at least that was what his gut was telling him. "Where does this thing go?", he asked, remaining at the entrance. He wasn't going anywhere till they told him in full what was going on. Of course, staying true to their cryptic roots, they bellow " This leads to your next life", they continue to walk down the stairs till their form disappears into the darkness. The MaDKat stood there, wondering if this was all a joke. But, as they say, fortune favors the bold. He takes a deep breath and ventures down the stairs. Not taking any chances, after he took his first step, he activated his minds eye of kagura technique. His vision granted him sight 50 meters away from his position. So far, all he saw was the three unarmed monks that were guiding him down below. The echos of everyone's steps bounces along the entire corridor. They had been walking down for quite some time, and still they were the only ones present. Katsuragi couldn't sense anyone around. Was it really only the four of them?

Finally, the four arrived the tomb like room deep below, Katsuragi widens his eyes to see a concrete slab in the middle of the room.  There were blood stains everywhere. Just what in the world did he get himself into. The monks turn around, beckoning him to join them and their lord. They were persistent, he had to give them that. Every fiber in his being screamed to turn around, none of this felt right. "What do I have to do? lay on the stone slab, and let you creepy ass folk shank me? The fuck you think this is? You think im an idiot?", at the last bit, the monks quickly turned to each other. Perhaps they were a bit too strong, and decided to ease back with the invitation. "No, you must honor our god with a life, in order for him to bless yours", immediately, Katsuragi caught wind with what the monks meant. "Ohh, you mean I gotta make a sacrifice", the monks perk up with joy. They finally got through to Katsuragi. "Yes! that is exactly it!"

"Cool, I'll be right back. Ima Go find something alive to bring back. What? you thought I was going to give up my life? hell nah! I wanna live!", he said as he walks off. But before he could, the monks wave and yell at him, as they were not on the same page. They continued to talk about the so called sacrifice, as it was not of a life, not yet. Katsuragi wasn't ready for that level of commitment to the great lord of jashin. Instead, the tribe was of the soul. In order to grant what the monks thought was worth 30,000 ryo, Katsuragi had to surrender his soul and bind it the temple. Only then, could he find true peace and be granted one of lord jashin's great gifts.

He thought about it first, wondering if he should go along with it. But a second chance at life? People would most definitely kill for something like that. He pursed his lips in thought, and finally decided to go ahead with it. He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a fat wad of cash. It was dirty, and wrinkled, but 30,000 ryo was still 30,000 ryo. He walks over to The monk on the far left and hands him the cash. Of course, it was taken in an instant. 'Boy if this all turns out to be BS, im going to make some real sacrifices tonight', his thoughts were full of doubt. Yet he still proceeded to the stone slab, he slowly places himself on it. He is now seen on the slab; his sights pointed upwards towards the vaulted ceiling. "How does this start?", his senses were on full alert, ready to strike if he felt an attack on his life would be made. He was still fully armed and could feel his chakra. So all his techniques were good to go.

"Just relax, ease your mind...", one of the monks said. One of them placed both of their hands along the left and right sides of the MaDKat's head. He shivers at first, their hands being as cold as the tomb they were in. After he stops, he begins to feel a familiar sensation, one that he felt back in Kumo. He felt his mind separate from his body, slowly dripping from his body and sinking into the ground beneath him. Just like before, he saw the room lit up like Christmas. He was back in the grid, is what he called it. The outlines of everything glowed a bright bluish green, with everything else fading away into a transparent state. Of course, he couldn't move, or so he thought. He managed to lift his head, and with the rest came his body. He was, Floating! He was ecstatic, he'd never been able to do this before in this form. He turns around to see the monks' new form. Blobs of chakra, was it their chakra network he saw? He wasn't sure, this was the first time he'd ever seen this.

As he continued to roam around the room, he is stopped by a chord of chakra like essence. It was just attached from his current form to his physical body. He wasn't permitted to leave it seems. Like he would want to leave his body, he still wasn't exactly trustworthy. For a moment, he simply floated in the air with no purpose other than to wait for the unexpected. The monks were every vague in their meaning behind this. The room suddenly shook, he wondered what the hell was going on? The grid was very much still around, but someone was calling out to him. He turns to the entrance and remembers that he couldn't venture far from his body, but that wouldn't mattered. Something was coming towards him. It first appeared as a bright light. The ascending corridor from the entrance lift up, but then it took form. None of this before was possible, since last time he lost all of his natural senses. The light finally died out, and what replaced it was a tear. This tear seemed to be some sort of tear in reality itself. Or was it all in his head? If it was anything like what it was from before, it was in head. Since he could move, he could defend himself if need be... or jet out using the genjutsu release technique. He knew that it was primarily used for genjutsu, but since it was all in his head much like a genjutsu, he thought using it might work. The tear began to grow wider, matching the size of the MaDKat. Was he supposed to hop in and hope for the best. It certainly wasn't the first thing he would do, since he didn't know exactly what the fuck he was looking at. But, for 30,000 ryo, he might as well get something out of the deal. He floated closer and closer towards the void like entity. He felt his form vibrate the closer he got, in different frequencies. None of it made sense, he was inches from entering the void. he remembers the monks talk about surrendering himself to the lord Jashin. Was then void jashin, the great and powerful entity they spoke about? Making contact, he was immediately pulled in. He felt his form engulfed by the awesome pressure, and one by one, just like before..., he begun to lose his senses. After each one was lost, his sense of touch being the last he awakes at the first setting. He was seen sitting in front of the monks.

"What's, what's going on?", eh questioned. The monks nod and confirm that he willingly accepted the lord jashin within his mind, body and soul. From here on out, the great dark lord would be watching over him, his newly made disciple. Katsuragi looked around to see if anything was different from before. He wasn't in the grid, that much made sense. But what about the tomb? the descending staircase that led into the tomb? Where was all that? He asked, but the monks shrugged. they knew not what Katsuragi spoke of. He looked around and saw that the entrance leading to the tomb was no longer there. But at least the temple itself was real. Just what was going on? He stopped to took in the aroma again, but choked at the possibility that maybe he was just high as a kite from the candles. he eyes the candles further, but the monks quickly remove the after putting out the three flames. "Each vision is different for the newly made disciples of Jashin... thank you for your kind donation to the church", the monks got out and made their way out of the temple in unison. "I knew it!", he yelled. The candles was what did him in. Was any of this real?

His Mind's eye of kagura was still active, he sensed nothing out of the ordinary and nothing else around him aisde from the three harmless monks. The same monks that took him for a ride, 30,000 ryo worth. All that just to get high, he just got robbed to the max  is what it was. The prison stories were getting old, and needed to be left behind in the past. This was the last time he would ever indulge in any prison folk lore tale.  

Now sitting alone, he gets up and makes his way out of the temple. He didn't feel anything different from before. No warm light within, or nothing. He quickly halts his movement and forms the single hand sign needed to activate his genjutsu release technique. After he did, the environment didn't change a bit. Either he was under a very powerful genjutsu, or he must have tripped some serious bear balls.

Moments later, he is seen outside of the temple. Left hand nestled in his left jacket pocket, while the other handheld a joint. Teh aroma he felt from before was still nice to smell, but nothing beat this dank. He needed it after the last trip he felt, something that not only mellowed him out but made sense at the same time. He managed to make it this far, might as well enjoy the scenery. A lone temple surrounded by nothingness. He wondered what else to do, was there anything else here aside the temple? Nevertheless, he figured it was time to get back on the road. He'd been away from Tanzaku Town for so long, he wondered if anything had changed. The threat of Zukumiki was always around, his run in with them in the cloud village was proof of that. But aside from that, nothing should have been out of the ordinary. He continues to take a drag from his joint, smoking it down to ash. He felt pretty good, almost forgetting the fact that he was out 30,000 ryo.

Flicking the roach onto the ground towards his right, he makes his way down the lonely road away from the temple. As he walked, he noticed a white figure in the distance, it looked like it was on all fours like some animal. It was weird to see an animal with the sort of pigment around here, perhaps it had gotten loose? Upon further inspection, he comes to realize that it was a lion. Just what was a fully grown lion doing out here. He keeps his distance from it, as to the lion once it caught Katsuragi in his gaze. The simply stared each other off in passing, one hunter to another, they both acknowledged that today wasn't the day to mess around. It was interesting that such powerful beings could communicate like that without so much as a word or murmur.  After passing he white lion, who deemed an actual animal and with nothing else around, he jets away from the location using his thunder charge strike. His form was gone in an instant, far away from the temple and to what every inn he could find in this strange country. The next day, Katsuragi would make plans to get out of here, and make his way to the fire country. He needed to get ahold of his roots and exactly find out more about his past instead of getting high with random monks.
---
Exit, TWC/5006
- 30,000 Ryo

Approved