Dreaming of a Better World [Event - Halloween]

Mission Details:

Kana knew she had saw a portal being opened during that last mission with Gunshin, it was the sole success of the various teams efforts to open a gate way toward the dream world from what she had heard and while the village wasn't entirely sure what to expect inside the world of dreams, they had issued a single mission to put an end to the nightmare invasion by any means necessary alongside a pretty high pay for the more than likely dangerous mission, she doubted all creatures could be as simple as stone golems and teddy bears. If that weird human serpent creature was any sign, then nightmares could end up quite deadly and that wasn't accounting for how exactly that world would function compared to their own, if the dream king could create anti chakra walls, what's stopping the world itself from allowing them to use their chakra? It was going to be a dangerous mission no matter which way she looked at it and for a moment Kana reconsidered joining the other countless shinobi who would be entering the dream world to help solve the ongoing issue.

That hesitation only lasted for a short bit, she knew didn't think she would be the key to solving the entire thing but she wouldn't get anywhere if she let her fear controlled her, so she had looked over the mission details and eventually decided to recruit Gunshin for the mission, having the meek but physically superior girl at her back would improve their odds of survival far more than going with any of the other shinobi, she knew she could rely and trust the girl completely, the same that couldn't be said for most the other shinobi forces that she barely recognized. She thought she had seen a few old class mates and even their old instructor among the faces preparing to enter the portal but her focus was instead on securing what she thought she might need to enter the portal and rather or not it was even needed, would having her armor even matter in a dream? She knew her tanto was effective against dreams here, Gunshin had shown it when she sliced apart that dream that she would rather forget about, but again that was here, she had no idea what would happen on the other side and without anybody coming back just yet, nobody knew for certain what would await them in there.

"Okay, here's the plan... We're going to find each other first and foremost and... If you see me... Pass code will be ted. If I don't say bear, assume that little brat is gonna die when we get back." Kana's idea was simple, find Gunshin and then explore but remembering that her neighbor had dreamt up a weird teddy bear Kana hybrid made her consider the possibility of other Kana or Gunshin like dream figures running around, so the pass code would help the two find each other. "And remember. Everything is a dream there, if we find any Sakura shinobi, we'll assume they're real and stay away from them. If they try to follow us or team up, assume they're hostile and warn them off, fight them if needed. They can whine to the higher ups when we get back to reality." She wasn't entirely sure if she was being overly paranoid but people could dream of each other, after all Kana had dreamed of Gunshin a few times before, thankfully none of those dreams were recent otherwise it would be very awkward having to somehow deal with the dream version of her friend. One of those dreams had been a nightmare of Gunshin turning on her back during the early days of their friendship, the insecure part of her worried that Gunshin would finally get her act together and allow herself to achieve the success she was capable of, leaving Kana behind and instead joining those who had mocked her, which obviously would never happen but that didn't mean the dream versions wouldn't try to betray them.

Finally it was their turn to enter the portal, Kana was only a bit nervous but it was mostly about the unknown rather than the dangers inside the dream world, she felt certain Gunshin could deal with most of the threats while Kana could hide them from any of the threats that they couldn't or wouldn't want to handle. "See you on the other side." Kana gave Gunshin a small grin to try and ease the usually nervous and meek girl before the duo stepped in and Kana immediately felt something off, it was as if she weightless and floating through nothingness, there was no air, no sound and looking around she saw nothing until slowly but surely the world around her began to take shape and form around her, a mismatched place of random locations, some of which she knew was places in Sakura but others she didn't recognize at all.

"Huh..." Kana said dumbly to herself as she looked around the strange new world, taking a hesitant step forward only to stumble forward and fall, quickly realizing that her entire body had undergone some sort of change and as she brought her hands out to stop herself from landing face first into the sand, she quickly realized that something was very, very wrong here. Her once small and soft hands were encased in strange gauntlets that seemed more fitting of a knight and one her right hand's gauntlet she could see a weird glowing orb embedded into the armor. Not only that but her arms themselves changed from the more light skin of her usual body into something far more tanned, almost bronze in colour and unlike before her arms now had real muscle in them that probably out classed even some of the most taijutsu based fighters she had met so far.

Looking further down, one big thing she noticed was that this body had finished puberty, her once budding breasts were full and supported by the metal framing of the armor, something that felt vaguely uncomfortable but at least she was dressed, her once blue dress now red and smaller length than her usual and donned with Faulds that featured a strange imp like creature resting in the middle like some sort of belt buckle and her feet featured heavy boots with only some of her muscular thighs on display. It was very odd to suddenly become a full grown woman that was so unlike herself, she knew finding Gunshin would be a whole lot harder if she had also underwent some sort of transformation like she had. Rising to her feet, Kana also noticed another strange thing, she had apparently gained a helmet at some point, taking the thing off for a moment, she examined the helmet with curiosity, noticing the winged design that gave her both an intimidating and almost royal appearance. Yet oddly enough as she looked at the helmet, she noticed that her eyes seemed to be glowing, an orange hue cast upon wherever she looked and she quickly brought a hand up to feel her right cheek, feeling metal touch her face perfectly and could even feel the skin stretch and flex under her touch, it wasn't rough and rigid like her scarred tissue was.

"Oh." Kana spoke dumbly once again as she realized this form wasn't scarred like she was. This was everything she wanted to be, a strong and powerful warrior, she could even see a sword resting in a stone just in front of her, as if it was calling out for her to claim it and forger her path as this strange new knight. Moving her new feet with uneasy, careful steps, she allowed herself to get used to movement as she made her way to the stone, grapping the hilt of the sword and like legends she had read about in her younger years, she pulled the sword free from the stone and it's rough jagged design immediately came to life with fire, her body instinctively moving to hold the blade away from her from what she had expected to be the heat but as she brought out her right arm, she noticed that strange glowing gem became brighter and she noticed a distinct lack of heat against her body.

"Cool..." Kana muttered to herself amazed at the armor and it's design, she could totally get used to this, a kick ass flaming sword and while she couldn't be certain just yet, she was sure that the armor would at least negate any of her own fire used against herself just like the unity seal would in real life. Perhaps being in the dream world wasn't so bad, the only real trouble was going to be tracking down Gunshin so the duo could set about finding a way to stop the dream invasion and looking around the beach she seemed to have appeared at, Gunshin wasn't here just yet. She'd likely find the meek girl elsewhere and turning her attention further inland, she knew her best bet would be making her way to what happened to be the village center resting upon the hill dead ahead. If Gunshin was smart, she'd head over there as well since it was the most familiar spot for the two of them and then they'd continue their way further into the dream world.

Kana's Dream Form:

WC: 1,570

Gun wasn't surprised when Kana suggested that Gun join her on the mission through the portal into the land of dreams (or nightmares, depending on who you ask). This thing, whatever it really was, was affecting the entire world and no one knew how stop it. While the two genin could sit back and hope the worldwide higher ups were able to figure something out and fix the whole world... Kana wasn't the type to sit back and do nothing. That was one of the things Gun liked about Kana, her desire to act. Gun needed the push to act, which Kana provided. Otherwise, Gun would wait in hopes that someone else solved the world's problems. Because it was Kana, it didn't take a whole lot of convincing to get Gun to sign up since she'd follow Kana anywhere at this point.

"Okay, here's the plan... We're going to find each other first and foremost and... If you see me... Pass code will be ted. If I don't say bear, assume that little brat is gonna die when we get back."  Gun listened to Kana's plan. It seemed obvious that she was concerned with the idea of dream dopplegangers, so the code seemed like a brilliant way to ensure they were able to find each other and not something else. It was a relatively simple plan, but an effective way to keep both members of the team safe from would be backstabbing nightmare dopplegangers. She nodded her assent, mentally repeating ted and bear a few times so she wouldn't forget.

"And remember. Everything is a dream there, if we find any Sakura shinobi, we'll assume they're real and stay away from them. If they try to follow us or team up, assume they're hostile and warn them off, fight them if needed. They can whine to the higher ups when we get back to reality." Gun wondered if this was a good idea, more people to watch their backs wasn't bad. The problem, Gun understood, was that there was no way to be sure that the people who were 'watching their backs' wouldn't start stabbing them. Gun also knew they had no idea what sort of real world implications would occur from being stabbed by a dream in a dream world, but she didn't want to come home with holes, so she nodded her agreement with Kana's plan. It would just be the two of them for the duration of the mission.

"See you on the other side." Gun waved good bye as Kana went into the portal first. With so much unknown involved in this mission, Gun's stomach was full of butterflies, but Kana's remark and grin helped her to overcome those pesky insects. Gun didn't wait long and headed in as well. Gun was overcome with the lack of things around her. Her body had been honed since she was an academy student and the feeling of nothingness was new and unsettling. Normally, air pushed on the skin and when that no longer existed... it was an odd feeling to the kunoichi. Even her eyes were confused as there seemed to be nothing to see, nothing to focus on at all. But then, things began settling down and returning to normal. Of course, Gun knew it wasn't really 'normal' it was just a dream interpretation of what normal should feel like, but still, it was nice when she could look at and feel the world around her.

As she was enjoying the ability to feel the world, she realized that she didn't feel normal. Something was different though she couldn't place it. As she was trying out her dream body, she realized that moving her shoulders caused something to move. Turning over her shoulder, she realized that she was surprised to find a large pair of pink wings. She then began examining her body, both with touch and sight. She quickly realized that her dream form was vastly different than her normal one. She had claws for feet, feathers in random places, and her hair and ears were much more aggressive than her normal body. She was already wearing armor, including gauntlets. She also found a mace attached to her hip which she lifted, testing its weight. More than anything, she was curious if the wings on her back were capable of carrying her own weight. That was when she looked up and realized that she could see the village center just ahead of her. That seemed as good a place as any to meet Kana.

Seeing a large golem creature standing near the area, Gun slowly made her way up to it in her usual meek way. "Ted?" If a golem could give an evil look, this one was. She moved on to another 'dream', a centaur and said it again. "Ted?"

"I'm Barbara."

"Oh, sorry." She moved on, seeing more odd creatures. Finally, she headed over to a large knight and said "Ted?"

WC: 827
MWC: 2397

Dream Form:

Kana felt powerful. Just taking steps through the hills and hearing the quiet thud of her metal boots against the soft dirt and feeling the weight of them as she took a step really just drove home the fact that this dream form of herself was far stronger than her actual body, it was everything she had dreamed of when she was but a small child, a powerful warrior who could defend herself with incredible ease. Although she didn't know if having a flaming sword was part of her dreams as a child, it wasn't that she thought it was lame or stupid, far from it, if she could get her hands on a flaming sword for real, she'd probably start learning from Gunshin on how to become a better swordswoman, just feeling the blade in her hand and watching the flames dancing along the blade, uncaring for the lack of source feeding it or the fact that the blade underneath the flame seemed to have an almost stone like texture to it, it as if the blade was a piece of lava vaguely cut into the shape of a sword and even as a child Kana felt certain that she would've called it stupid or realize such a thing wasn't quite possible. At least she thought so, she wasn't actually sure if it recreating this blade was possible in the real world, obviously lighting a sword on fire was easy for any chump with some oil and a flame but actively burning like this without harming the sword or the user? She'd probably ask Gunshin about it, even just claiming this armor for herself would make her feel so much more cooler out in the real world, even if she felt she would look a bit silly with such cool armor on her small normal body.

As Kana made her way toward the village center, she noticed a few dream creatures wandering in the distance, a strange small white furred monkey with large ears and eyes, alongside flaps on it's arms although Kana doubted those things could allow it to fly, it was probably to glide if it were to follow real world logic. The strange monkey merely stared at her from a top a tree, curious more than anything and seemed content to watch her as she made her way up the hill and toward the village center, something that made Kana suspicious but she was hardly going out of her way to strike down every little dream creature on the off chance it might attack her, especially since the monkey would probably be a pain in the ass to kill. Instead Kana allowed her focus to shift to the strange stone golem that wandered nearby the entrance to the village center, it's massive hulking form reminding Kana of the same golem that had been protecting the sleeping man and she wondered if dreams could return here and rather or not dreams that died in the real world would also return or if this golem only returned because of Kana stopped the dreamer instead of killing the dream creature.

Approaching the village center didn't ease up on the dream creatures, she couldn't be sure if some of these dreams were fellow shinobi or just dreams that happened to be in the area nor was she too interested in finding out, she needed to find Gunshin although how the hell she was supposed to do that was beyond her, she could be any of the random assortment of creatures and some of them were even talking amongst themselves like normal people yet they spoke in hushed tones. Those she felt certain was actually fellow shinobi but again, she didn't want to risk finding out she was wrong and find herself getting stabbed in the back in the middle of battle so she kept making her way to the village center with a sense of purpose, her appearance and movement basically demanding anyone nearby to get out of her way. As she drew closer to the village center, she noticed a strange bird human hybrid approach the golem and speak words that she didn't hear, what she did manage to pick up was that the golem could speak yet Kana was still too far away to hear whatever it said properly but whatever it said must've not been the right thing as the bird hybrid turned it's attention to Kana and with her blade held in a firm grip, Kana kept approaching, curious what a dream could have to say and rather or not it could even realize she was an actual person or if the dream would assume she was also a dream.

"Ted?" The bird said and Kana froze, her glowing orange eyes widening as she realized that the bird human was actually Gunshin, her eyes trailing over the new form of her meek friend, noting that she too had shifted into a grown woman yet unlike Kana, she also taken on a more.... Animal appearance, why that was exactly was beyond Kana but considering she had heard a sentient pile of rocks talk, she wasn't exactly going to question it. "Bear." She'd reply, almost instantly noticing that her voice sounded far more deeper than usual, with a slight echo although rather or not that was because of the helmet or her dream self thought an echo would be as cool as her flaming sword was anyone's guess at this point. She had also realized that Gunshin's voice was equally different, it was more higher pitch than normal and almost squeaky like a bird, which Kana couldn't help but wonder if Gunshin just really liked birds or if this was just as something as stupid as the lack of armor covering her chest.

"Can't say I expected this..." Kana would comment as she allowed herself to look around the area a bit, curious about the other dreams and what exactly they should be doing next, meeting up with Gunshin was the first step but her next step in the plan was "figure it out" because she sure as fuck couldn't predict what would end up happening once the two made it inside. If she knew she was going to become a bad ass knight with a flaming sword, she would've been fighting to be the first one here, she wanted to test her weapon and newfound strength against something but she also didn't want to risk attacking fellow shinobi or peaceful dream creatures for no reason, so she kept her sword by her side. "Does that place look familiar to you?" Kana couldn't help but question as she pointed toward an out of place street that seemed to just "appear" in the middle of the forest, as if it was painting on a wall yet those trees on either side did appear very much real and they could probably walk around the strange entrance if they wanted if Kana had to guess but something about that street and bar reminded her of something. In the street stood a bar on the right side that looked worn down and forgotten while the street continued on toward other buildings that also appeared equally worn down and forgotten, it was familiar to Kana yet also different enough that she couldn't remember.

WC: 1,220
TWC: 2,790
MWC: 3,617

Gun quickly realized the flaw in Kana’s plan as she approached a glowing orb. As she got closer, she could see a very tiny person in the middle of the orb, a fairy just casually flying around. The flaw was that the whole plan hinged on Gun approaching people and then, the worst part, initiating conversation. Gun’s natural shy, meek self had to be overcome in order for this plan to work. Worse yet, Gun couldn’t just wait and let Kana find her, because Gun was the one to start their secret code. "Ted?" Gun spoke to the little fairy boy that was giving an orange glow.

”You got the wrong person, bub. Now scram before I make you scram.” Gun backed away quickly, before she realized that the fairy talked big for such a little thing. It almost made her giggle after she’d stepped away. It was then, combined with the creature who’d stated their name to be Barbara, that Gun realized she was using a questioning tone while saying Ted to people. While she wasn’t looking for a Ted, she was asking for someone to respond correctly, not just anyone, but her bestie Kana. She now giggled as she realized that people thought she was asking if they were Ted. Despite that, she wasn’t sure how else to go about this endeavor so she just went about the way she had.

That was when Gun saw a large, imposing knight with numerous spikes protruding from its armor. Gun almost didn’t want to approach it because she doubted the creature could be Kana. She then realized that her dream form had wings, an allusion to her desire to escape things she found uncomfortable or troublesome. Gun knew Kana well enough to know that she wished she could be stronger and more physically capable. That thought provoked Gun to approach the knight, even though she was scared to do so. Instinctively, her hand lay on the handle of the mace, just in case the scary thing decided to attack in response. "Ted?"

In truth, Gun didn’t know if any of these creatures were real people, like herself, or dreams that could attack her for invading their land, so she had to remain vigilant in case one of them were to forgo pleasantries and attack her.

"Bear." Gun began to back away, having mentally prepared herself for not finding the person she was looking for. As she began to turn, she realized that the voice, despite not being Kana’s, had said the right thing causing her to turn back and take a second look. She looked at the orange glowing eyes, as if she hoped to see a part of Kana’s soul through them. "Can't say I expected this..." the knight continued.

Something about the words or the cadence finally hit Gun and she was convinced that she’d found the one she’d been looking for. Her wings twitched as she became happy at succeeding in finding her partner, but it was short lived as Kana began looking around. It acted as a reminder to Gun that they were still in enemy territory and needed to remain aware of their surroundings. They both looked about, seeing pieces of places that existed in Sakura, but also seeing pieces of places they’d never seen before. Behind the dream Sakura that the duo stood in there stood a large mountain, atop it was a village barely visible amongst the clouds. Was that what Kumo really looked like or was it how someone imagined Kumo looked? Or was it some random village that existed atop a mountain, perhaps not even related to the shinobi world at all. No one could know for sure, unless it was their memory.

"Does that place look familiar to you?" Kana asked, Gun pulled her attention from the mountaintop village and looked at what Kana was pointing to. The entrance looked familiar to Gun, but the way it looked broken down and discolored made it hard to place. Turning her head slightly to get a fresh angle, perhaps some sort of borrowed trait from her new animalistic appearance, Gun finally realized where it was!

"Yeah!" Gun chirped, her new voice still surprising her a bit when hearing it. "That’s the bar my mom works at. I mean, the door is usually a bright red, not that muted, ugly brown. But that’s definitely the same place. This must be one of my dreams, right?" she asked, not sure what this could mean. She worried that an evil dream version of her mother might pop out the door and attack them. "We have to go in and investigate, don’t we?” Gun’s tone made it clear that she wasn’t excited to go inside, but her words made it clear that she realized they needed to… even if she had no idea what they’d find inside.

WC: 811
MTT: 1638
MWC: 4428

Kana wasn't sure what to make of this place, she was definitely far more cooler and powerful in this dream body than the real world but she couldn't stop herself from finding something about that street unnerving, as if there was just an inherent wrongness in merely seeing the place and she couldn't put her hand on why that was, it seemed to be just run down buildings and an old bar but it was because of that strange uneasy feeling it gave her that Kana felt the duo should investigate it, she was curious what could be causing this feeling and it wasn't like either of them had any better idea of which place they should investigate first. So Kana posed her question to Gunshin to see if this street would be equally familiar to her or if this familiarity and uneasy feeling was related to just Kana, something she wouldn't be sure what to make of nor would she have to as Gunshin was the one to pinpoint what exactly the bar was supposed to be and as soon as she said it, Kana's mind finally connected the two places in her memories.

The worn and torn appearance really didn't match up with what Kana had seen of Gunshin's mother workplace, it wasn't exactly the most well kept places, she had been there once to help with a fire that scorched the bar top and even the washrooms looked extremely dirty to the point that Kana decided she could just hold it in until after she got home when she had helped extinguish that fire but despite all that, it was nowhere near as decrepit as it was shown in this dream world, as Gunshin pointed out the door was a bright red in the real world and looking closer, she noticed the large tree that had been grown in the back, this tree looked withered and a bit smaller than the actual tree was, although she just chalked that up to the tree shrinking as it died. "Yeah.... Remember that whatever we find isn't real. Our minds are our greatest enemies, it knows all our weakness and it won't be afraid to use them in our sleep." Kana tried to reassure herself and her friend, she could detect that unease in her voice and reluctance to explore this area as well so it wasn't just her that didn't like this street for one reason or another, and with Gunshin's mother working this area, it was far too likely for this place to have some sort of significance to Gunshin and her mom.

"I'll go first, I'm the one best suited for breach and entry now." Kana declared, her flaming sword at the ready as she pushed open the bar door, her glowing orange eyes carefully scanning the area and noticing just how empty and forgotten the whole place seemed inside, she could see webs nearly on everything yet no signs of spiders, a large layer of dust had built up on the surfaces of nearly everything, from the chairs that still remained out and ready to be sat in, to the bar top that looked surprisingly well considering the last time either of them had seen it, it had a nasty charred stain covering the middle, no such marking was on this bar top. "Seems clear. It's like everybody just disappeared one day..." Kana told Gunshin, her glowing orange eyes roaming the place slowly and carefully as she took in the details, quickly realizing that not only were the chairs still pulled out but it seemed there was still drinks left on the table and even what appeared to be an old, rotten and now molding plate of food on one of the tables.

"Spread out but don't break line of sight. Make noise if you hear something, assume it's hostile. I don't like this place." Kana wasn't entirely sure spreading out was the best idea considering how everything about this street and the empty bar just screamed wrong to her but the two of them clinging onto each other would only delay them and thus keep them here longer than necessary, something Kana wasn't exactly too keen on. With her piece said, Kana begun to slowly stalk the diner area, walking pass the booths and tables that had once served many patrons and on rare occasions Kana and Gunshin whenever they were allowed in to eat whatever Gunshin's mother could get for them. Those were good times, Gunshin's mother was always so kind and caring for the two of them, even if Kana didn't really know how to react to most of her affection, it felt too weird for her to handle properly yet that didn't mean she didn't care for the woman either, seeing her work place like this just felt like a cruel disservice to the woman who had been working here for so long and had been keeping it running for a while.

WC: 830
TWC: 3,620
MWC: 5,258

"I'll go first, I'm the one best suited for breach and entry now." Kana stated, stepping towards the door.

Gun was impressed with the flaming sword that she held. Even if it was a dream, the idea of a weapon effortlessly staying lit like that seemed like something that could be useful in the real world. The weapon also made Gun miss her own set of javelins, her hand shifted to the place she usually kept them stored in her usual uniform. For a moment, she was surprised, she could feel the chakra there, like the fuuin holding her spears were still there. She didn't know if it was some sort of dream business or if her dream armor was somehow her real armor's dream form. Like in the real world, Gun unsealed one javelin from her armor, her right hand now filled with the spear while her left hand still held the mace that she'd found on her new form. Gun tried to peer around Kana's armor and its many protrusions, but couldn't see a ton of what was inside. As Kana moved inside, Gun was able to see all of the spider webs and dust which made the place seem more dead than the outside did.

"Seems clear. It's like everybody just disappeared one day..."

Gun was confused, not by the apparent disappearance of people, but by the layout of the room. On one side, it looked just like the real thing, though covered in dust and looking like the wood had been there for years without any sort of maintenance. But the other side of the bar was wrong... she couldn't place why it was wrong, but it almost like two bars had been cut in half and then placed together. That was when she remembered all of this was a dream, amalgamations of her real memories. She looked at a painting which adorned one of the walls on the "odd" side of the bar, the picture was nothing special, an ocean faring boat with its sails ready to catch the winds and the very corner of the painting had dark, ominous clouds. As she looked at it, trying to place it, the memories all came rushing back to her. Gun realized where this other bar was from: her past. Back when she was 4 or 5, her mother had worked in a different bar in Valley Country and this was where the other half of this dream bar originated from. She didn't know why she was remembering this place, it had no significance to her... as far as she knew.

"Spread out but don't break line of sight. Make noise if you hear something, assume it's hostile. I don't like this place."

Gun nodded her assent, still confused on why the two bars were merged in this dream world, or whether it was worth mentioning. She meandered over to the bar from her youth, seeing their tables just as covered by dust. She wondered why they were seeing all of this, but none of the things she could see were making any sense to her. It all seemed so mundane: empty plates, empty booths, and cob webs for days. That was when the door that the two kunoichi had come through swung open, though Gun hadn't recalled it even closing when they entered. She turned, wondering who else was there. Then, a robed figure came in and sat at the first booth, facing the door. Gun wondered if this were a shinobi in dream form, like her, or if it was part of her memory. Either way, she felt moved to go towards the figure. She didn't know what was under the robe, but her right hand went up, indicating Kana shouldn't act or intervene yet.

"Maki," the figure said as he looked at Gun's face. She could finally see what was under the robe, but she was more confused by being called by her mother's name. "I know it's been a long time, sit." His voice was strong, commanding. Gun wanted to question him but her body seemed to move according to the dream rather than really being under her control. Sitting down and staring at the man, she realized the man's eyes were yellow... just like her own, well her own when she was in her normal body. Gun had never met anyone with eyes like hers. Was this a memory of her father... but they didn't live in Valley Country when she was born... was it just wishful thinking?

"I'm here to check on Gun. How is she?" There it was! It was definitely her father. Maybe when she was little, she saw this man come in and talk with her mother. At the time, Gun didn’t know her eyes would turn yellow and become slitted, but this was proof her father was out there. And more importantly, he’s been checking up on her! He cared about her!

"She’s good, she’ll be glad to know you’re here." Gun’s face was full of excitement, her eyes began to tear up as she was overcome with emotions. She had never really thought about her father, she’d never even met the man. She actually had never even known if her father knew she existed…

"You know you can’t tell her yet. She’s still a few years away from consumption.” The robed figure spoke and nothing he said made sense to her.

Consumption? What is he talking about? Gun thought, her excitement turning to bewilderment. "Consumption?”

"I told you about this!” The robed figure sounded perturbed to have to repeat himself and explain something so rudimentary. "When she’s of age, I’ll consume her entirely to refine my poison to be much more deadly.” The man said, a bit of excitement on his face. His snake-like tongue, split in two, came out of his mouth, an animalistic give away that he was looking forward to eating his own daughter.  

Without even letting everything sink in, Gun’s mace came flying up from under the table, destroying the furniture in one fail swoop. The mace didn’t stop there, its trajectory bringing it straight up through the man’s chin. The dream-like apparition dissipated into a cloud of smoke as Gun remained sitting. Her body was heaving as her mind was having trouble controlling its body with everything it was trying to process. The roller coaster ride of emotions had taken its toll on the harpy and she needed a minute to collect herself before she would be ready to go on.

Between deep breaths, she spoke "I know.” A large exhale. "They’re all.” A deep inhale. "hostile.” She said, sure that Kana would begin to berate her for falling into the dream world’s trap. As her breathing began returning to normal, Gun wondered if Kana ever had similar thoughts about her own parents. Even if she did, Gun was sure she wouldn’t have made the same stupid mistake that Gun had. Gun also wondered if any of what transpired was a memory, or all the wishful thoughts of a girl who never knew her father... She may have to talk to her mother, if she got out of this nightmare alive.

WC: 1200
MTT: 2838
MWC: 6,458

Kana explored her side of the bar carefully, listening for any sign of something lurking in the shadows, her blade at the ready and her eyes trailing over everything for some sort of clue that might be able to tell them something about this location, although what exactly she was looking for was beyond her at least until suddenly she heard the door open behind and she quickly turned around, her right gauntlet's orb glow intensifying as she felt ready to strike down whoever or whatever was entering the bar before pausing as she watched Gunshin in a whole other world, her side of the bar had changed while she was looking around and she knew for a fact that the bar Gunshin's mother worked at didn't look like that and yet the meek girl seemed engrossed in the appearance of the mysterious robed figure that entered the bar, he was older than either of the girls from what Kana could tell from her further distance and she begun to approach the figure, only to be stopped by Gunshin's hand raising as a signal to stop.

She didn't like it, this figure wasn't normal, the bar changing on Kana wasn't normal and while she wanted to ignore Gunshin's sign, she had to trust her friend to know better, that this was something important that might give them an idea of what this street was and why it felt so wrong to merely be here. Wandering the empty and abandoned side of the bar had yielded no results but whatever Gunshin had done, rather knowingly or not, seems to be the best lead the duo had so far and like it or not, moving to interrupt up whatever this was too earlier could destroy whatever lead they had. Kana remained quiet and watched the scene play out before her, the man calling Gunshin by her mother's name and asking her to sit had likely meant this was some sort of memory or perhaps a childhood dream of Gunshin's.

As Kana watched and listened into what seemed to be a conversation between Gunshin's mother and what Kana had to guess was Gunshin's father being copied with Gunshin playing the role of her own mother in this strange memory or dream, she couldn't be sure if Gunshin had indeed somehow seen or heard of this conversation, the bar being completely different might be just a whole other place Gunshin's mother worked at, it wasn't like Kana knew every bar in Sakura nor did she really know Gunshin's past all too much. Either way, she didn't really feel like she should be seeing this, Gunshin had looked so happy to finally see her father, someone Kana hadn't really thought to ask about, she didn't ask about her lack of parental figures and Gunshin didn't do the same, they both knew one was missing a parent, or in Kana's case, that she had no parents but neither had really asked about the story behind the missing parents. Maybe Gunshin just didn't want to talk about it, Kana didn't really care about parents and she had assumed Gunshin's dad died young or something.

Something she probably would prefer if what he said was true, Kana didn't need to wait to see what Gunshin would do, she was already on the on the move to chop the bastard's head off when Gunshin made her own move, the mace the harpy had been armed with tore through the table and into the hooded man's head in a single swoop, smoke quickly taking it's place and dissipating without a force keeping in place any longer. Her poor friend was shaken, either from the memory or the nightmare, although what could it mean was beyond Kana, she had thought she hated her parents but what the fuck was that about eating their own daughter? What had made Gunshin think of such a scenario? Kana wanted to ask, wanted to try to comfort her friend but what the fuck was she supposed to say? It was just a nightmare? That wasn't even obvious to Kana, for all Kana knew this nightmare was based on reality and was the whole reason Gunshin never spoke about her dad, it could just be repressed memories.

So instead she waited quietly for her friend to compose herself, thankful for the helmet that hid her worried and unsure expression from her friend, she didn't know what to do and she didn't like this feeling, she had already nearly fucked up her friendship with the meek girl on the last set of missions, what if she said something else that would fuck it up further? "Come on. There's nothing left for us here." Kana spoke after a few minutes of letting her best friend try to regain her footing, she'd lead the girl out of the bar and for a moment Kana considered getting them out of here, away from the memories or nightmares that had haunted Gunshin, the way back to the village center was still open but the street dead ahead seemed too familiar for Kana to just ignore, it wouldn't be fair to back out now without investigating what Kana was sure must've meant for her just like the bar had meant something to Gunshin.

"We'll continue down the street. I think I know this place...." Kana would finally decide, she wasn't sure it was smart but the mission couldn't afford to wait for either of them, so Kana lead them further down the streets, her eyes trailing the worn down buildings that she could've sworn she had seen very often, she knew they weren't the same buildings that surrounded the place where Gunshin's mother worked at, these were very different buildings than the ones she had seen near the bar in the real world. As the duo continued to walk down the streets, Kana heard a small sizzle and then another, and another. It was raining. "Okay..." Kana muttered to herself as she continued walking forward, the once clear lighting that one could consider the sky in this world quickly darkened, almost becoming as dark as night in the real world but at least Kana's burning sword provided the duo ample light, even if it provided them no shelter from the heavy rainstorm. Kana at least had the armor and her red dress to keep herself covered and warm, she wasn't sure how Gunshin would fare in the rain with just feathers but she imagined the meek girl wouldn't be enjoying herself right about now.

Kana wasn't sure what she would find, would it be one of the nights she spent shivering in the cold? She had once nearly froze to death during a thunderstorm, she had gotten sick from the experience and only managed to survive thanks to someone buying her some cold medicine and enough ryo for a nice warm meal and a bed for two nights. Then she heard a little tink as her foot hit another metal object, barely crushing the thing and only hitting the edge, making it spin slightly further away from the duo. "What is that...?" Kana would question, the object strangely dark despite the fact her flaming sword should've illuminated it quite some time ago, she didn't trust it and every single part of her instincts was crying for her to back the fuck away from whatever it was but she was drawn to it like a moth to a flame, unable to stop herself from reaching out and picking up the object by what Kana assumed to be a handle. Then there was a loud roar of thunder before lightning flashed through the sky, lighting the entire street below and allowing Kana to finally see what she was holding.

A small childish hand held a bloodied kunai. There was blood everywhere, mixing with the rain and right where she had picked up the kunai was the body of a man, his throat slit open and wide eyes looked up at the girls as he silently choked on the blood. Her own hand was small and shaking, her arm was bloodied and glancing down the front of her blue dress was covered in blood and her cheek was burning. Not now. She should've expected this, she should've knew this would've happened, she had just seen it happen to Gunshin, she should've knew it would happen to her, this wasn't real and she wasn't that pathetic little girl anymore. The flash of lightning strike was gone and with it, the flaming sword but she could still see the glow of the gauntlet, she could still fight back. Another roar of thunder, another lightning strike, the body was gone.

Kana took a step back, her fist clenched, her body shaking and her vision blurry from tears, she was stronger, both in reality and in the dream, she didn't have to be afraid, that chump died from a mere child that didn't even know what chakra was, he should be ashamed to even claim the title of missing nin. She had no reason to be afraid but her knees were weak, her heart was pounding and she was alone in the pitch darkness of the night, she was so cold, the rain wouldn't let up, she was so hungry and that ryo was just right there, just right in reach. Another roar, another lightning strike, the body was lunging at her.

She moved faster than him, she stepped back once more and swung with all her might, the armored gauntlet would destroy his face and she'd forget about this stupid little nightmare but then she felt it. All her momentum just stopped dead in it's tracks, she could see his hand on her gauntlet, apparently stopping her strength with such incredible ease and then she could hear the metal grate and screech as it suddenly begun to crumple around itself as he begun to crush it with his grip, she could feel her bones twist and rub against each other in her arm as the metal sliced into her flesh. Wide glowing eyes stared up at the body, his throat was still slit, he was still bleeding, he was supposed to be dead and that shinobi who saved her was supposed to be here. Where the fuck was he? She needed him, she needed someone, where the fuck was everyone? This fucking criminal was about to kill a 12 year old orphan right in the middle of the village! Another roar, another lightning strike, the body had a kunai in hand.

Kana froze.

WC: 1,765
TWC: 5,385
MWC: 8,223

Gun just sat there, trying to digest everything that had been said and wondering if any of it was fact, dream or nightmare. She couldn't be sure and she wasn't going to figure it out sitting there. For a brief second, she wondered if it even mattered at this point. She now had Kana and she was no longer a weak little girl, if the man who'd donated his sperm to create her came, the two kunoichis would fight him for Gun's life, if it was needed. Gun didn't have to wonder if Kana would have her back, she was sure of it. Actions speak louder than words and Kana's actions and Gun's father spoke volumes about who they were and how they felt about Gun.

"Come on. There's nothing left for us here." Gun turned to the large, armored Amazonian and nodded. She got up, the wings on her back flitting about as if they had a mind of their own and they were glad to no longer be squished between their owner and the booth that Gun had been sitting in. The two went outside the dream bar and Gun looked around, not sure which way they should go next. The events that had happened inside were already beginning to fade from her consciousness as she began to focus on the task in front of her. "We'll continue down the street. I think I know this place...."

Gun didn't recongnize the surroundings as the two kunoichis walked down the street. The eery breeze pushed its way through the harpy's feathered wings. Then, the drops began falling from the sky, hitting both atop their heads. Gun was worried about what they would encounter and as her anxiety grew, the sky got darker. The street was practically pitch black, Kana's fiery sword the only thing giving off any light in the entire street. Even in the heavy rain, the sword's flames never faltered. Gun played with her wings a bit, using muscles in her back and shoulders that she didn't usually use to lift the wings above her. It wasn't quite as good as an umbrella, but it did at least provide some protection from the rain. At least there was no longer water dripping down into her eyes.

A slight metal clink beneath their feet caused Kana to remark "What is that...?" Gun watched as she bent over to pick up whatever metal object she had accidentally kicked. Gun couldn’t see it, the darkness seeming to disregard the sword’s light. Almost as if on cue, when Kana touched the object, a flash of lightning crossed the sky. The light revealed that Kana was holding a bloodied kunai. The thunderous roar echoed between the buildings as Gun looked on horrified. Blood and the rain mixed on the ground, drawing Gun’s attention to the body of a dead man; his throat still gushing blood out into the street. Her eyes caught the man’s, as if he was pleading for his life with them, his mouth unable to get the words out.

Gun didn’t know who this man was, she wanted to bend down and help him, but she also knew Kana was the one with medical expertise. She turned to plead with Kana to help the man, when she saw a Kana she’d never met before: the girl was younger than the one Gun had met at the academy. Her dress was the same blue color, but it was covered in wet, bright red blood. The flashes of lightning allowed Gun to see that this girl’s cheek was torn open, a gaping wound also spilling blood all over the street.

It all clicked for Gun at that moment. Kana had told her the story: the man had caught Kana trying to pick his pocket and attacked her with a kunai before she slit his throat in self defense. It was horrific and had made Gun cry in empathy. But now, the fact that this cruel Nightmare was putting her friend back into that terrible event made Gun fill with rage, an emotion she usually didn’t encounter. She looked back at the body, her wings no longer giving her head the protection from the rain that they once had, were now fully outstretched, like an animal trying to make itself bigger than it is to scare off predators. Despite the body being there just moments before, it wasn’t there now.

Turning back to Kana, she saw the man had a grip on younger Kana’s arm, wrenching it unnaturally. Gun’s wings flapped, pushing her towards the man with a speed that even she couldn’t usually reach. Her feet barely even touched the ground as she flew forward, her mace held above her head before smashing it down on the dead man’s head. She wasn’t thinking, letting her emotions take over, and after her down swing, she began to swing the mace back upwards towards the man’s midsection. Of course, the man had turned into a puff of smoke after the first attack, but that didn’t stop Gun from beginning a third strike before her mind realized that her target no longer existed.

Her rage subsided as did the lightning, though it kept raining. Gun dropped her mace, stepping forward to grab the younger Kana into a tight hug. She pulled her tight to her chest, her wings wrapping around the two to protect them from the raindrops. She couldn’t imagine what Kana was going through, having to relive such a horrific encounter. But as she pulled her in, she could see at least three, horse sized spiders crawling down the street towards the duo. There were loud noises from behind her too. "You’re okay. We’re going to be okay,” Gun whispered into Kana’s ear. Gun could tell that these nightmares were no longer being tactful and Gun was worried she’d have to handle them on her own…



WC: 984
TWC: 3822
MWC: 9207

Kana didn't know what happened, she froze, she stared into her death and then it was gone, the rain was still pouring around her, she was still cold and there was blood everywhere but the pain from her cheek disappeared, faded into an old familiar sting that haunted her and was overshadowed by the pain that came from the twisted and wrapped gauntlet that had been crushed into her flesh, she couldn't see it but the warm blood contrasted sharply with the cold raindrops. Someone was holding her. Her body instinctively moved closer into the person, she was so cold and tired, her arm hurt and her cheek was stinging but she had survived, she had killed him and he couldn't hurt her anymore, she watched as his life faded from his eyes, as he choked on his own blood, she could still feel his blood splash onto her dress, it was burning hot, almost like acid but Kana didn't care, she had wanted him dead and she was glad to have done it herself.

Someone was saying something, it was soothing, soft and comforting, the tears that fell from her face mixed with the rain as Kana shivered in this person's touch, they'd keep her safe, they had saved her and that was all that mattered, she let her eyes close and muscles relax in the person's embrace, she was going to be okay, she was sure of it. Yet something was telling her something was wrong, that this wasn't right, this person should've been moving, she needed medical attention, didn't she? Why weren't they moving? Small shaking hands moved to perform the tiger hand seal and she felt the familiar flow of chakra run through her body as she molded it into a small flame that burst from her index finger and granted her sight once more, the streets weren't as she remembered, the person wasn't the shinobi who had saved her and the body of the missing nin was gone. This wasn't how her memory played out.

Other memories flooded her mind, a hospital, her scar, the first day of the academy, her best friend, mission after mission, working to become stronger and better, a flame that refused to die even through it all, a flame that she could feel start within her heart as she stepped from the person's warm embrace. The flame that had been within her, the flame that kept her warm and fighting for survival ever since she had been left to fend for herself, this flame that had kept her alive erupted from her chest and lit up the ruined streets that had haunted Kana, illuminating the spiders that had been crawling down toward her in some vague attempt to scare or perhaps attack her while she was weak. That time had long since passed, Kana wasn't weak anymore, she was one of the strongest in the village, she had Gunshin at her side when she wasn't strong enough, together the two of them wouldn't even sweat against such pathetic nightmare creatures, not when their own forms had been upgraded in this world.

The flames that had started from her chest grew larger and larger, slowly consuming the frightened little girl and begun to enlarge her as her body grew larger and stronger, the flames condensing into a familiar set of armor that Kana knew was her dream of the powerful girl she always wanted to be when she was younger, books of knights and heroes, fighting fire breathing dragons that would burn someone else down wouldn't do a thing to Kana, no, she instead would thrive in the fire, a fact that persisted in the real world due to her chakra nature. "I'm not that little girl anymore...." Kana muttered to herself as she extended an arm outward, the dull orb residing in her right gauntlet begun taking form before drawing the flames directly into it as the sword that had been lost reformed itself in the palm of her hand. "I had killed him in the real world. I watched as the shine in his eyes dulled and he stopped trying to empty his lungs of the blood that was filling them from the slash in his throat, yet in my nightmares he survives. He haunts me like a ghost, I see him every time I look in the mirror and see my face, I hear him when it begins to rain, I feel him every time my cheek aches.... And then he terrorizes me in my nightmares... He kills the shinobi and dodges my attack, then he attacks me.... For having the audacity to fight back he claims... It's slow... Painful..." Kana spoke to herself as she watched the sword ignite itself once more, the orb within her gauntlet glowing brightly as the flames on the sword intensified, dancing alongside the edge in a beautiful way, fire had always been her favorite element, it had kept her warm and safe when she was but a simple street rat and now it was her strongest method of attack as a Sakura Shinobi.

"But in my dreams.... I make him burn." Kana finished as she slashed downward in a single arc at the spiders, the flaming sword striking into the ground and causing a trail of fire to erupt downward into the streets, engulfing the spiders that had been crawling after her and Gunshin, alongside the rest of the miserable street that had been a mimicry of the real street where Kana had received her scar.

WC: 925
TWC: 6,310
MWC: 10,132

Gun watched the spiders with all of her concentration, not even noticing Kana's hands move to make a hand seal behind her back. She was ready to move them both if the spiders decided to attack; she hadn't had an opportunity to really put her wings to use yet, but she thought they could at least carry them both out of the way of an incoming attack if necessary. She wanted to give Kana as much time as she could, but she wasn't really sure how long they could remain there on the street. The spiders were moving, slowly, but surely, towards the duo. She then felt Kana pull away and begin backing up. Gun, still on her knees, looked to her friend to see if she was alright. As she did, she realized that something was going on with Kana before a flame burst from her chest. The light was blinding, causing Gun to close her eyes and turn away quickly. Moments later, Gun opened her eyes and still couldn't see. After a few cursory blinks, blurry images began to appear and a few moments later her vision had returned to normal. Before her was no longer the younger Kana, but the armor clad Amazon that Gun had met when they entered this dream world. That was a reassuring sight as it meant, Gun presumed, that Kana was once again ready mentally to combat anything that came their way.

"I'm not that little girl anymore... I had killed him in the real world... slash in his throat, yet in my nightmares... He haunts me like a... the mirror and see my face... begins to rain, I feel him... And then he terrorizes me ... He kills the shinobi... attacks me... he claims... It's slow... Painful..." Gun couldn't hear all of Kana's words over the downpour and the sound of gathering monsters. Despite that, Gun could tell from Kana's tone that she wasn't trying to communicate with her. Her sword ignited in flames once more and a few of the surrounding monsters roared as if trying to scare the two kunoichis away. To Gun, it almost seemed like a tactic to avoid combat rather than a battle cry, but she ignored that thought as she readied her mace.

"But in my dreams.... I make him burn." Kana exclaimed before incinerating the large spiders that had been heading towards them and the street and buildings that surrounded it. The rain continued but the buildings acted like the spiders, dissipating in puffs of smoke. The spiders and the buildings in the direction of Kana's slash were gone, nothing but smoke now... but other monsters appeared, seemmingly from no where. Some of them were clearly from children's dreams, like clowns with scary face paint rather than silly and wolves and lions. There were even shinobi, swords strapped to their backs. It made sense to Gun, shinobi were scary and she was one.

"I'm glad you're feeling..." she paused, realizing that what she was going to say was almost the exact opposite of the form Kana now had. "... less like yourself." She was originally going to say "more like yourself" but Kana now looked less like herself than she had moments ago. The little joke caused Gun to let out a squeeky chuckle. "If you know what I mean, because it looks like we may need to fight our way out of this place."


WC: 569
TWC: 4391
MWC: 10701