Inn of Peculiarity [P]

[Sayomi]

Out in the vast countryside of Hi no Kuni, upon the worn path that lead to Tanzaku Gaia a monster lurked. This however was no ordinary monster. She was a different type, something new altogether. Her actions yielded no consequences, no remorse. Only satisfaction. This beast devoured by the jaws of the deranged was once like others, but darkness consumed her mind until finally she cracked beneath the overwhelming force. This irrational beast was Anzu and the world her victim. This lonely path she walked beneath the ivory glow of the moon was calming, yet something was missing. A type of excitement she hadn't had in what felt like an eternity. If it were to continue she'd feel trapped within her mind. And being trapped in that maze was what caused her descent into the abyss.

[/color][/ul]The sweet, soft voice faded and Anzu smiled wickedly as she approached the Inn's door. From outside she could hear the boisterous laughter and chatter that filled the place. It painted a happy, warm picture for her, but all she could think about was scribbling all over that scene. Just the thought sent violent shivers down her spine. No longer in control Anzu kicked in the door and the bright light seeped out, embracing her frame whilst every drinker within looked at her with feign ignorance.

"I can't control it.... No its too much. Can you hear it? That indescribable sound of the All Mothers call. She's screaming, telling me that yours lives are hers. I'll ferry your souls to the other side personally and the All Mother will sing to you forever!"

Chakra enveloped her as the curse seal upon her shoulder spiraled into a frenzy, causing her body to change. What was once ignorance quickly was forged into fear. Screams echo'd throughout, but the only entrance was blocked by Anzu. Everything went black and soon the screams died down. The body count went well into the twenties, the once quint ambiance of the inn had been shattered by the blood that covered the walls and floors. The faces upon each of her victims told the story of what had happened. With the power of her curse mark feeding her chaos she stood in the middle of the room, her crimson stained hands rubbing her forehead into her hair she looked up and closed her eyes. Even amongst the such a horrid scene her grin never faltered.

A heavy sigh left her lips and she began to hum, the eerie, creepy hymns would fill the room as she began setting the bodies back in more normal positions. It wasn't long before everything was as it was, except for everyone actually being dead and the blood everywhere. It was a strange thing to do, but there was a method to her madness. She'd set them free and the All Mother would now have her children back. Her chanting continued to be sung unto the night and to the lost souls ferried away by the reaper. [/font][/size][/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote][/div]

[King]

Ashura was wandering again.

Ever since his year-long adventure with Kirino, whom he hadn't seen since his return to Konohagakure, the young boy's soul yearned to be free. Naturally, he didn't resent his duty to the Hidden Leaf or regret his decision to return, but it felt as though he had simply been caged. He was a wayward spirit, the kind that became uneasy and bustling with unrest when he remained in one place for too long. So, to quell that disobedience, he took up more patrol missions than ever before. Village to village, inn to inn, Ashura's had become a regular nearly everywhere from how frequent he visited.

The inn he approached that night, known as Takata's Haven, was one of his favorite. The majority of the people there were usually tourists on their way to the Capital, while the true natives were more of the elderly type who much rather preferred a fully-occupied inn than their lonely, empty homes in their old age. Yet, despite the stark contrast in age, Ashura had managed to befriend nearly all of them. They found the Uchiha's Will of Fire to be rejuvenating; it warmed their bones during the chill of the night, like a fine soup, and filled them with pure joy. That night, though, something was different.

As close as he was, Ashura should have been able to hear the idle banter and boisterous laughter of the men and women that had drank one too many. Instead, he heard some odd chanting -- disturbing, eerie chanting from a voice that was nothing short of foreign to him. So, with a little more urgency in his step, the meager handful of meters that separated him from the front door vanished. Instinctively, he motioned to grab the slightly rusted knob, but stopped as he noticed a thick, dark substance seeping from beneath it. It had completely covered the highest step, and dripped down to the others in thick, pitch ropes. It wasn't until a passing cloud above unleashed the moon's pale white light that the crimson tint of the substance glistened.

Blood, he realized. It's blood.

Not more than a second later, Ashura pressed his palm against the aged wooden door-- as he also realized it was slightly ajar --and sent it slowly swinging open. Within, he could see everyone he'd known; people he'd been talking to only two days prior. Their bodies were completely frozen in time, as if they'd been captured in a picture, yet they were horrendously and savagely butchered. Their eyes-- what few remained in the sockets of the deceased --were wide and dilated, shrouded with a film of lifelessness. But, he could only stand bemused in horror for a moment as the origins of the odd chanting he'd heard captured his attention.

It was a girl -- or, at least, she sounded like a female. Her body was exaggerated and distorted with some dark, twisted power; power that the young Uchiha had never before seen in his relatively short life. All he could do was blink, confused, until she finally noticed his presence in the doorway she had entered not too long ago.

"Why did you kill them?" Ashura asked meekly, his face devoid of any true expression; it was completely blank. Slate eyes scanned the room once more, confirming that everyone was deceased. . . every single one of them. "Why did you kill my friends?" Still, his tone was soft as his appearance was gentle. The only change? She'd been looking into the eyes of the devil's son; the brightest of red painted on the darkest of blacks.

[Sayomi]

An uninvited guest had arrvived unannounced.

The door creaked open, allowing a small boy into its concaves. The chanting had stopped as the wicked girl closed her lips curtly. The look on his face was a myriad of mixed emotions; however those most noticeable was that of "want". His words echoed her inner thoughts, he wanted understanding, but there would be no such solace within in any words Anzu could create.

"Hahahahaahaaaaha" - (click)

She laughed abruptly and rudely for a moment, the deranged, detached sound that bolstered was surely disconcerting. It suddenly stopped as she pressed her lips together. It was silent once more.



She said with a omnious grin upon her face. She had gazed into the gorgeous red that highlighted his eye, it was a indescribable sense of familiarity within the vermilion glow-a hidden evil so to speak; however he was gazing at the visage of a true devil, one born from despair. What was she to do with him? This what she thought as they both stared, the boy was surely waiting for a answer, but so was Anzu. The All Mother was her Shepard-her keeper and she needed to know what role he played in her ritual. A step forward heralded her smooth voice that called out.

"Because... the All Mother asked it so."

Others couldn't possibly comprehend the meaning of her words, she didn't expect them to. It was something solely meant for herself. She would give him one last answer; however he'd find that this final piece of the puzzle not to fit behind any sane reason of the bigger picture. Because, it simply wasn't meant to.

"She wanted to sing to them-her children."

[King]

Indeed, Ashura could not understand the words that the young girl spoke. She'd killed all of his friends -- people who had family, and other friends -- at the command of a voice within her mind. A voice that had no face; a voice that she created. It pained the young Uchiha, standing their in the bloody aftermath. But, there would be retribution.

"She will sing to you, then?" Standing so triumphantly in the center of the room, reorganizing their bodies, put the girl in the perfect position for the pyre to be lit. A pyre of pain, anger, and sorrow. There was a sound -- a deep, ominous sound as the floor boards creaked. Something was moving, but the two of them - Anzu and Ashura - were certainly the only two living beings left within the establishment.

It was then that one of the corpses at the girl's right side moved, rolling from its rested position in the seat to lurch forward. Its maw agape, a mixture of saliva and blood seeped from the various gashes and holes in its visage. But, this corpse was not along -- the others slowly began to mirror its action, moving from their positions and toward the girl from all sides.

They groaned, as if bemused at their agony; lifeless and driven by only one carnal desire: to feed. "Your 'All Mother' has stolen their souls from them," Ashura commented at the grotesque display. Flesh dripped from their muscles and bones, their entrails splashing along the wooden floor in rivers of blackened blood. "And now they crave yours."

SPOILER: Click to show

Techniques,
Tsukuyomi (God of the Moon)
Rank: S
Range: Close (0m ~ 5m), Mid (5m ~ 10m)
Type: Supplementary
Handseals: -
Chakra Consumption: High, 2x High (optional)

[/b]: The base of this technique requires eye-contact, no matter how brief. For an additional cost, however, the user may cast this Genjutsu on the target in question without eye contact. Due to the intensity of the Genjutsu, this illusion can actually inflict enough "pain" perceived by the mind to kill victims caught within its grasp. Inside of this illusion, the user has absolute control of the perception of time and space, essentially bestowing upon them the ability to "change reality as they see fit." Entire years of torture can occur in the matter of a blink in an eye, and the wear and tear of each painful encounter will swarm the victim's body (once released) in a sudden moment. This technique is incapable of being disrupted by the effects of "kai," and can only be broken by a surge of chakra equivalent to the eighth celestial gate, a bijuu, disruption from an outside source, or by another pair of Mangekyou Sharingan.[/ul]

Chakra,
1 x High, 2 x Low.[/justify][/spoiler][/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote][/font]

[Sayomi]

Joy filled the malignant spirit.

Those words spoken sent a cold shiver through her spine. The thought of being sung to was like a perfectly wrapped gift meant only for her, she reveled in it. Wrapping her arms around herself, she held her body tightly as if she was cold, but she wasn't. Anzu was thrilled, her face had not the look of someone in a perilous situation, but that of delight, as if pleased by the thought. She noticed the bodies move, although she was sure that each and everyone of them was dead, they still moved, defying logic, but in Anzu's mind such a thing did not exist

"Beautiful..."

Anzu whispered amongst the rustling dead who lunged at her. The girl wasn't afraid, she welcome them as family - as the All Mothers children. The first bite was sharp and painful; however it wasn't the sound of pain that left her lips, no. It was more a lustful sigh, a moan of pleasure as she rocked backwards catching the first one within the grasp of her arms. Before she could be overrun by the horde that desired to send her off as she had done to them she, Anzu said one last thing to the boy, perhaps what would be her final words within the realm of the living?

"Its finally my time..."

Overtaken by the dead, they gnawed viciously at her flesh, skin and muscle being ripped from the bone, it was anguish, but also release. The demon who was born of evil, had been consumed by the darkness. It was like and endless torture of pain, but she could hear it. The All Mothers song, sang just for her.

Blackness consumed her, and the sound of the world around her dulled...

[King]

Unfortunately, the darkness did not last for too long. The release she sought would not be found, and in this alternative reality, the song of her All Mother ceased -- it was replaced with the deathly, pained groan of the dead. But now, the corpses of the inn were not the only fiends waiting to have their way with the girl.

"For every person you have killed, you shall remain here for a single day," Ashura whispered as hordes of undead poured in through the building's doors, breaking through the windows in waves as they sluggishly pulled themselves to her. Each of the reincarnated corpses gnawed and bit, tearing into her flesh and muscle with their unnatural strength. However, no matter how fatal the wound, it was never enough - it was never enough to kill her.

Even as they reached deep into her stomach, disemboweling her and feasting on her entrails, it was never enough to rob her of the life she'd so willingly released. In fact, it seemed as though the pain, itself, would only continue to multiple. She never ran out of entrails to remove -- never ran out of flesh for the creatures to devour with vicious, animalistic bites. She, herself, had been reduced to nothing more than a bloody stain along the floor at the heart of the infestation. Yet, she was still alive -- still breathing.

No, her All Mother had abandoned her. Now, it was just her and the Devil's son. "You will endure all of their shared pain. . . "

[Sayomi]

It was shattered.

Broken into sharp, painful fragments and thrown away. Her sanity that is. The very thing that had labeled her as insane was in fact the sole thing that kept her mind from sinking into the dark trenches of the abyss she spoke of many times. From those two years ago when she mysteriously went missing her All Mother had been there with her, never leaving her alone, yet there was no song. It was only the tearing of flesh, the mumbled groans of the undead and the endless pain of her being eaten alive.

One might have thought she were a different person as she suddenly begin to fight.

"No, no, no! Where is she, what have you done with her!?"

Anzu screamed as she attempted to fight off the ravenous monsters that assaulted her. From beneath the pile of bodies her arm reached up, but she could not move, she felt suffocated and no mater how much she cried out there was no hand reaching to pull her from the onyx depths of despair, just like two years ago. Thats what truly frightened her. Frantically screaming, the boys word seemed to be the only thing she could hear clearly amongst the snapping of bones and the ripping of her stomach.

The walls gave way to a countless number of people, from the cracks of the torn bodies she could see more pool in, familiar faces of her victims, victims who should had been taken away to a better place, yet here she was being tortured. Was it retribution? Than where was hers when she needed it, being tortured again was perhaps too much for the broken girl; however death never came just like how it was when she was abducted. It was as if it were some cruel joke. It was painful, saddening, and mind shattering.

She was truly broken

[King]

They'd been feeding on her for what felt like hours. Flesh shredding against teeth, grinding in their mouth before being swallowed. An endless fountain of blood continued to pour from her opened stomach, spilling over the edge of torn flesh and onto the thoroughly soaked floor boards. But, still he did not die. Time itself seemed distorted in this alternative reality, dragging on for an eternity for nothing more than a second to pass.

A single step resounded against the orchestra of groaning, shattering bones and stripping of flesh. Then, Ashura's voice followed. "You only have forty-nine days, twenty-three hours, fifty-nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds remaining."

She would pay for the fifty souls she had sent to her All Mother, every excruciating second that awaited her. Ashura was completely masked now by the sea of bodies (fifty in total), all feeding with a ravenous hunger. But, she would be able to feel the young boy's presence all around her; feel his anger and sorrow, along with the others of those she had taken. "And your All Mother cannot save you."

[Sayomi]

Hopelessness was all Anzu felt.

The room had been dyed a crimson red, filled with the nauseating scent of decay and blood. It felt as if she'd been subject to this misery for a lifetime, it was so much that her voice grew hoarse and soon all she could do was manage a soft, pain induced whimper. It was pitiful; however, this was but a farce, constructed through the eyes of the devils son. In fact not much time had passed, yet the mental and physical toll on her body was immense. Her body had reverted back to its true form, yet she remained still stationary, stuck in the nightmare crafted by the young Uchiha.

More pain followed heralded after Ashura's words. She had fallen so low, and laying, broken and torn at the bottom of the pit of her sin. She was so far down that not even light could reach her. It was only the blackness of her soul, and keeping her company the gluttonous deceased which wanted revenge on her. She was only allowed to think within the concaves of her shackled mind. Pleading, begging for her to return, to make the pain go away, but it would not be so. This was her punishment.

For the first time since she was abducted she was alone. There was nothing to comfort her, nothing for her to attach herself too. Only the pain.

"You said you'd never leave me... never..."

She whispered to the nothingness, praying for her All Mother to respond and to say she'd always be with her. Yet, the All Mother could not answer for her voice had been stolen, along with Anzu's security. It would continue, seemingly never to cease.

She was alone.

[King]

And so time continued on, each painful second after the next, until her sentence had been thoroughly carried out. The ghouls of the young boy's imagination had eaten their fill of the murderous wench before him, leaving nothing short of grinded meat and blood in their wake. However, the entire ordeal had, truthfully, only taken an instant of their time in the real world. Had one passed by the awkward seen, the woman -- who had since reverted into her far younger state -- had just finished speaking with the illusion came to its end.

The accumulated pain would wash over her entirely, pulsing through her, setting every cell in her body on fire like a match to gasoline. Her mind would not be able to focus on the sense of abandonment, as it would be far too busy trying to process the countless pain stimuli assaulting her; it was a force so overwhelming that, had she not been who she was (a curse mark victim), he brain may have literally exploded beneath the pressure.

No longer considered a threat, the red of Ashura's eyes vanished. He watched as the girl was free to her own administration, more than likely succumbing to the unprecedented pain that had enveloped her. She would be rendered immobile, more than liking crashing into the bed of blood she'd created from her many victims. It was only then that Ashura would dare to venture further into the establishment, surveying the girl's more than likely unconscious body.

"She's just a little girl," he would say as he noticed her more distinctive features all but vanishing. Not a woman -- a girl, not much older than he was.

[Sayomi]

The nightmare had finally ended.

With the genjutsu finally dispelled her body convulsed erratically. Violent, rough shivers erupted throughout her body as her brain processed the debilitating pain that sent fire through every nerve within her small body. Abruptly she fell to the ground with a hard thud. Landing on her side her, Anzu's vision flickered in and out like a candle before the flame died. With her mind in disarray she could see the shadowed figure of the boy walking towards her; however she could not move. Her body couldn't respond. The suffering she went through was just like the pain she endured two years ago.

If not for that unforgettable anguish she may had very well died.

"It's okay, you can sleep."

A tear rolled from her closed eyelid. Finally the darkness took her and she found solace in unconsciousness. It had returned, her emotional crutch to was once more with her. It had been such a long time since Sayomi had experienced such emotions: fear, pain, loneliness, happiness. They were aspects of her former self lost when her descent into madness had began.

It seemed fate had divined something else for Anzu.

Just maybe her humanity could be found.

[King]

two hours later

Ashura had taken his time burying each and every person the girl had killed, erecting stones and fastened pieces of wood for tombstones. They were all of them buried in the lush expanse of rolling hills behind the inn, each given a respectable amount of space from the next. But, they still remained close enough -- they'd all be friends, and if not, they more than likely would have become friends. Everyone in that inn had been a likable person.

When he was finished, he set fire to the establishment. It was the only way to truly set their spirits free. He couldn't imagine how their spirits might cling to such a horrendous place, having been so violently murdered and left to rot. But, now, on the crackling embers and dancing flames that painted the deep black and blue of the night with warm, soft oranges and red, they were released to the other side. He could almost hear their thanks, and cries of joy.

Strangely, the was one less grave than there should have been. Anzu was left slumbering at the foot of a large oak tree, across from the inn. Ashura could see her clearly in the light of the fire, lying motionless against the soft jade blades of grass. Moving over to her side, albeit keeping several feet away, he glanced from her to the inn several times before letting his gaze find rest on the young girl's person. Boldly, he stepped closer, crouching down so that he could gently take her blood-stained face into the depth of his palm.

Brushing aside her lengthy pale hair, he scrutinized the intricate tattoo covering her eye and more. She was clearly insane, but there was always a story behind it all; what was hers? Ashura was, oddly enough, interested to know.

[Sayomi]

Silence had overtaken her mind.

Beneath the oak tree something warm and strangely unfamiliar had taken hold of her round face. It was the touch of another individual, something that she hadn't felt in what could be called an eternity. "warm.." she mumbled as she groggily awoke to a strange position - being held by someone, something physical was a faucet of her life that had been erased, it was odd, yet comforting. That is until she finally could see straight. Her sigh returned and the hazy figure who was gently touching her face was him.

It seemed her brief dance with her demons had awaken a part of her thought lost, because she was scared.

"No, stay away from me!"

She screamed into the night as she pushed away from Ashura, falling onto the ground, she felt her body go limp. She could barely move, and her body burned intensely as if she was baptized in the flames of hell. Attempting to crawl away she could barely move in her condition. She was genuinely frightened an aspect of her persona abandoned in an attempt to forget. Try as she might she could not manage to get to her feet, so she fell back down, eyes upon the ground before. She was confused and so lost.

"I can't go through it again... I can't!"

She bellowed out into the night. Anzu couldn't escape, was she finished she thought as she grabbed the trunk of the tree.

It was the first time in two years she truly awoke.

[King]

Ashura didn't fight her. "You need to calm down," he suggested while slowly walking after her. Her body was still relatively useless; the fact that she was even breathing was a miracle. She wouldn't be well enough to move about for quite some time.

"I'm not going to hurt you." The boy's tone was genuine, his expression soft and caring. "I'm sorry for putting you through that, but I was angry. You killed all of my friends -- you have to understand."

Carefully, but assertively, he peeled her from the trunk of the tree and rolled her over onto her back. Bottle in hand, he eased its open top to her mouth so that she could drink. "It's medicine that I received from the Hokage," he informed her, sure that she would fight it. "If you don't take it, your body will remain like this for days - you shouldn't even be alive right now." The truth felt heavy. "Just get better; I promise you won't have to go through that again."

How could he be so gentle with such a monster? She'd butchered nearly ten people without so much as batting a single eyelash -- Ashura's friends, no less -- and yet here he was caring for her. Perhaps he, too, was insane? Or, could he simply see something behind the menacing smile and now, the terrorizing fear. Could he see that fragment of humanity the darkness had buried, but hadn't consumed? Could he see the good in everything?

"I'm Ashura," he whispered as he emptied the bottle into her mouth. "What is your name?"

[Sayomi]

His approach was slow and steady.

Closing her eyes, she felt herself being lifted over the boy's shoulder, her hair draping over her face. it'd take more than sugar coated words of kindness to win her over, not with what she had endured through. Nudging away, she found his grip to be quite firm as something cold touched her lips. Was her trying to help her, but why? Not long ago he had sent her into a nightmare, one of which she never thought she'd awake from. Loneliness still gripped her tightly, it made her human to say the least.

"Ashura?"

The top of the bottle slipped between her lips and the healing liquid begin trickling down her throat. It had a bitter, rough taste to it, one that didn't sit quite well with her. Once the bottle was removed she coughed a few times before she could answer him.

"It's Sayomi."

She hadn't used that name- her true name in so long. The name Anzu had been branded onto her soul by her abductor and it simply stayed with her. She didn't know why but something had changed when she lost contact with her All Mother, something within her clicked and she was frightened of this sudden change. Anzu's eyes peered from behind his shoulder, she was confused still and had no idea what he planned for her. She was scared to ask, she even question herself for feeling fear, she had no idea what to do with herself.

It was two years all over again

"What are you gonna do to me?"

She whispered into his ear.