Autosarcophagy. [PainXIII][IO]

[Naitome]

[Invite Only]

In the Mist and wild-flower veldt, in the water stuck like poison in a vein, around the knife's edge that is the coast weaving outward and up, in a great border that is river and ocean and deity all at once. He looks like a poet, simply dressed in black that hides the scars beneath layers of cheap cloth, a collection of steel ends jutting precariously from an anxious athletic core. Akurojin-no-hi is chained to his back and the blank scroll he has carried for almost two years is held tightly while knowing eyes scan its length. They are absent the crimson stain of his bloodline, two black shards of slate engraved in an expression worn as stone. The mask that covers his face twitches in time with steady breathing. He has stared at the scroll for days. He has not moved yet, nor has he been disturbed.

The Giant Shuriken and tags are within reach, but he does not believe he will need them for some time. He is, after all, within the village. The Killer's City, where he has been a shinobi a grand total of four weeks. He has spied words from the grand logs of this sub-culture's lore; hard difficult words, kekkei genkai, rikudo sennin, shouton, things that were foreign but now lend themselves gracefully to the light of comprehension. He has become a quick scholar of the path to which he now belongs, and it is with determination, not anger, that his brow creases and his face moves solemnly over the nothing spread out on the drying paper.

Why was he told to examine this blank scroll? What could he possibly have to learn from it?

He disliked tests, had received far too many under the tutelage of his former master, and was only just now beginning to realize how crucial a step it seemed for those with knowledge to test the ignorance of those they withheld knowledge from. While he'd been given access to many new things, there was much still hidden from him, and it made Akuharu uneasy. Did the others feel this way, he wondered? Did they truly throw away their lives in service for a country they knew so little about, or was it just...him. Was he still too new, too much of an outsider to be let in on the small and large secrets holding Kirigakure No Sato in place?

Without anyone to ask, however, he would likely never know. The metal of his wrist's concealed blade was heavy as he stretched the scroll to its full length, his eyes running up and down, searching for meaning. He was careful not to chew, careful not to spit out the embers through the tiny vent in his mask that allowed him to breathe and yet forbid onlookers from easily viewing his disgrace. The space where his ruined jaw became scar-tissue and ugly wet meat was wracked with pain he summarily ignored.

His senses perked.

Someone was coming.

[Naitome]

[FLASHBACK]

Here, right here, this is where the world changed. Beneath a missing moon, where the sky churns clouds to cut ribbons of red to enclose a black sphere pretending to be the night-sister of the sun. There are several people gathered on a mass of rock in the middle of a long forgotten ocean. They are in a part of the world whose continents and countries have not yet been named, a place where savages sail on the whispers of their victims, and the cold seeps in from far more than the absent day. Akuharu is a very small boy. He is afraid. He bows his head as his master speaks.

What is your name?
My name is Hatred and Rage. My name is War.
Who do you serve?
I serve only those I am incapable of destroying, and my ambition.
Where are you from?
I am from Legend. I am a stranger nowhere. The world is nothing until it is mine.
Why do you live?
I do not. I die slower than those I kill, and I persist through the marks I leave on this world.
What are you, Akuharu?
...I....I do not know how to answer, my lord. The oath ends there.
And you have remembered it well, but now, I am not asking you to recite the words of the ancients. I want to know your mind. In your own words, Akuharu, think first. What are you?
....I am.....I am...a slave.

And for the briefest of moments, an emotion crosses the face of the pirate-king known as the Six Paths of the Moon. It is the first time he's truly noticed his apprentice's youth. His helplessness. It is the first time he's realized that Akuharu is only a boy and is only doing and saying what he must to survive.

He looks into the terrified young man's deep black eyes and smirks gently, as the surrounding winds howl and gnash with frost-swept teeth and the others gathered on the makeshift island grumble among themselves in complaint.

Savior...conqueror....hero....villain...you are all these things Akuharu...and yet...

...you are nothing. Not without power. What do you want most of all?
...I do not know, my lord. I've never thought about it.
Think about it now. If you could have anything you want, anything in the world, what would it be? Do not be afraid to answer truthfully. Is it my death? My head rolling around the floor of the Jagganath? A storm to drown us in fury and death and end your miseries? Tell me.
...I....I want.....
Spit it out boy! Your own country? Servants? Knowledge? All these things are the hallmarks of power, of enforcing your will on those around you until you create that which your spirit demands to sate its hunger. Power is the answer to your ambition. Power is the key to true freedom. Power is what you want.
No.

And the pirate-king is taken aback by the boy's denial.

No?
I want a brother.

[Pain XIII]

A singular ray of light seeped through the blinds, revealing a massive male that was fast asleep. His figure seemed rather bizarre, he was a giant with scaly light blue skin with gills on the side of his neck and his wild, unkempt navy blue hair was spiked at odd angles. The creature had awoken from it's slumber, his psychotic white eyes scanning the room, as he yawned he revealed to have two rows of razor sharp teeth. The shark like man was none other than Hoshigkae Hanzo, the demon shark of the mist, perhaps one of the most violent and blood loving shinobi of Kirigakure.

It was approximately afternoon when Hanzo walked out of the Hoshigake compound that was situated right by the beach, as he exited he was tying his Kirigakure headband around his head tilting it to the left so that it came down diagonally from his forehead. As always the weather was rather misty and chilly, exactly the way he liked it. Today merely happened to be one of those days where he actually had nothing better to do, Ahri was away somewhere probably being her sulky self and Hanzo was not particularly interested in training today, he felt like being a lazy shark. Perhaps he could go lounge by the beach and perhaps even go hunting. Passing the cylindrical Kiri buildings he finally found the stairway that leads to the beach.

As always Hanzo had his massive broadsword attached to his back, as always Hanzo could never be seen without his beloved broadsword. There was a thought that was eating Hanzo away he had a deep desire. Hanzo who had a massive obsession with swords believed that it was his divine duty to collect all the legendary swords he could get his hands on. He knew that Ahri was going to join him without a doubt, however being just the two of them would be simply suicidal he needed more shinobi to join him in his quest. He needed to do more research on the legendary relics and he needed to train and master his clan jutsu before he could embark on his journey.

As for Kirigakure he could not care too much about how they viewed him, he was only loyal to Kirigakure currently because it is to his benefit. The moment that becomes a liability he will depart from Kirigakure and be pronounced a traitor and a missing nin, however before he does this he should have one legendary sword and had mastered his clan's power to it's fullest extent. For now he was going to use Kirigakure for her resources until she is of no use to him.

Hanzo made his way down to the sandy beach, the surf playfully licking at his feet, the tides creeping on the beach forming foam at his feet. In the distance he spotted another nin that looked quite peculiar, heavily armored and armed to the teeth, he appeared to be more experienced than himself, perhaps he might hold information on what he had desired. With that Hanzo made his way towards him.

[Naitome]

Akuharu turned. He was being approached by a man whose features at first seemed perhaps a delusion; there was something animal about his lurching gait, something severe seemed to motivate limbs from one contraction of dense muscle to the next and bring him heavily across the sands separating them by less and less each second. He towered over Akuharu, that much was clear even from far away, and as the seconds passed and he slowly stood to face the man with his usual evaluating seriousness, it was soon apparent what made the stranger different from other villagers he'd met.

The stranger was Klau'Teng Hakk. Akuharu had met their kind before, in the deep, in the black waves separating the core of the world from the dread things even hell will not swallow. They were thought beasts or demons. Dreams. Omens of a ship destined to die.

They were shark men.

He stared into the creatures eyes with a look of respect, before speaking up in Qoyta', the native tongue of the Klau'Teng Hakk.

Dun vangta'ghachmey chaw chang'eng tIQDu' moj quv jil.

It was a simple greeting, not too formal and not too familiar, one that merely expressed an intent to communicate peacefully and perhaps share the blood of a later kill for their combined enjoyment. He was careful not to activate his Sharingan, as he knew that the Klau'Teng Hakk understand the color red as a sign of weakness, and bowed slightly, but politely, without taking his eyes off of the creatures face.

YIlegh Akuharu, vo'tuq Uchiha.

He added, introducing himself with the slight nasal pitch that indicated his Clan did not contest the might of the Klau'Teng Hakk's own, but had enough kills and bull-males that it was to be respected as well. He was, of course, wary of seeming too peaceful; if he was perceived as an easy kill, the Klau'Teng Hakk would surely attempt to eat him, and he was, technically, no longer fang-brother to their Ahraga'lw. The Six Paths of the Moon's death had repercussions that seemed to be capable of reaching him anywhere.

He awaited a response.

[Pain XIII]

The massive shark man looked down from his towering height at the stranger, taking him a second to realize that the stranger had spoken his language, ever so rarely does anyone understand the tribal language of the Hoshigake clan let alone non Hoshigake clan members and the male spoke with a rather good accent as well, which Hanzo immediately respected. Hanzo replied to his formal greeting bow, however in his native tongue, "the pleasure is all mine." It had been quite a while since he had spoken his own language and it felt kind of bizarre to be speaking his native tongue outside his clan's compound which was located deep in the sea, where the Hoshigake clan own several underwater colonies and islands near Kirigakure.

Hanzo nodded to his introduction and replied introducing himself as Hoshigake Hanzo, the demon shark of the mist once more speaking only in his native tongue, it was a good change to speak in his tribal language rather than Japanese which was spoken throughout the shinobi world. The male seemed quite impressive, his highly armored body sort of proved to Hanzo that this male had been in quite a few missions, as he could afford this armor. Hanzo did not really need armor due to his enhanced armored skin. Hanzo had to ask, but it was rather peculiar for someone outside the Hoshigke clan to speak his tongue, "how is it that you speak my native tongue so fluently?"

[Naitome]

Akuharu listened carefully, the low latent inhibition that was natural for Uchiha allowing a larger intake of sensory information, his mind piecing together syntax and small grammatical mistakes he'd made as the smooth baritone of his new acquaintance reminded him of what it was to truly speak Qoyta'. He adjusted his next words carefully, instantly, and if the newcomer was paying attention, he'd notice that Akuharu now spoke even more fluently than he had before, allowing the gruff barks and tiny punctuated silences to flow more smoothly, as if he'd suddenly become an expert.

I have met many Klau'Teng Hakk on my travels. I have only been a shinobi of the hidden mist for a few weeks, and before that...I lived at sea. I've traded with Shark Priests everywhere from Morleigothol to the Akuhou, though I only recently came to Mizu No Kuni.

Are you on a mission? I feel...lax somehow, as if I should be doing more for the village, but the tasks assigned to genin seem tedious and unnecessary.

There's not much to do here when you're still a stranger to the land.

he added thoughtfully, a look of repentance and contemplation marring his otherwise pleasant expression.

SPOILER: Click to show

short post is short. sowwee D:

[Pain XIII]

Hanzo listened to every word that the stranger had uttered from his mask mouth, he was a bizarre one indeed. The stranger was not a born and bred Kiri nin as he, so he probably is not rough around the edges as the vast majority of Kiri nin turned out to be, perhaps he could use this to his advantage. Hanzo leaned back with his arms up, his hands resting on the back of his head, as he towered over the armored stranger. If Ahri was here what he wanted to do was going to be so much easier with her kage mane. However despite being a massive brute he was also a cunning politician and a master manipulator or so he thought of himself.

However according to his tale, if true or not he had already interacted with his clan meaning he probably knows about his kekkei genkai to some extent and knows what to expect if he was to suddenly attack him, also he would no do such a thing until he knew more about his prey. Hanzo wildly enjoyed the hunt and was rather impatient in everything however not when it comes to stalking his prey. "No, just came back from hunting down and murdering bandits who were threatening the nearby forest. Easy as all hell though little fucking whelps didn't know what was coming when I showed up! And I do agree the missions nowadays are pathetic for little shit tards who call themselves shinobi I only take anything that will challenge me, speaking of which I don't really trust you to be speaking to you about Kirigakure, how could I possibly know if you are Kiri shinobi?" Hanzo unsheathed his massive broadsword and took a step back.

Hanzo was going in the right direction, for he showed aggressive behavior he would be considered a traitor and a missing nin if he attacked Hanzo if he were really a Kiri nin, if he was not he could always lure him towards the sea where he would have the complete upper hand in the water. "You gotta prove to me you are one of us, Uchiha! Do you have any information regarding the location of any of the villages from your travels?"