The First Pillar of Heaven

[vegapunk]

♔

protect the light

With his raven hair curling in the wind swept landscape, Masafumi halted his retreating steps as fear quickly turned to surprise. His emerald eyes were open in awe, his gaze fixated on the godly structure before him. As quick as its threatening stare came at him - it left - replaced with tears so large that a single drop could consume a house.

His mind wandered back to those words again. Was this,..thing...mean't to be protected? It seemed like such an absurd notion, but then again, this whole situation was the most absurd thing he had ever encountered. However Akuseru seldom held the same reluctance and launched himself up onto the creature. Here we go Masafumi thought as he winced, it was one of those moments which made him cringe, and he fully expected to see his ally's pale frame crushed like twig. But instead, the torrential storms seemed to subside instantly. 

As the air calmed so did the presence of chakra around him, like that of a wave once pushing up against him, it seemed to retract backward once more to its center. Without warning his senses were hijacked as flashing images entered his mind. A montage of great events circled his mind, taking snapshots of stars, galaxies, and many things he struggled to comprehend. Except for one image which seemed to elapse longer than the others. It caused him to dance in-and-out of the thoughts and feelings of a shrouded group of men. MANJI. The word lingered before darkness enclosed in on him, spitting the Konoha shinobi back out into reality.

Dazed and confused his legs walked on there own as his eyes emerged blurry and unfocused. His ears followed the sound of voices until he was within 10 meters of the other ninja that gathered around the epicenter. Feeling a sharp burn he looked down at his palm noticing a tattoo which hadn't been there before, its glow fading just as his eyes gazed upon it.

With the major threat gone everyone had once again remembered why there were here - and who they had come with. For now the mission would come first and regaining focus he marched towards Jack and stood next to him as he spoke. His eyes fell upon all those he didn't recognize.

[ xx | event ]

MADE BY ♔
KOJIHIME

[Axcel]

Though the howling winds ceased, Akuseru hadn’t taken notice. It wasn’t until the god itself plucked him and placed him onto the ground that he realized his plan had worked. The statue seemed to be stable enough, but before Akuseru could speak to it he was suddenly pulled out of this world.

Engulfed by a flash of visions, Akuseru felt as if he had experienced several lifetimes. The visions were happening so fast he could barely comprehend what was going on the intensity ramped up with every passing second. The feelings, sights, knowledge—it was all gone just as fast as it had came. Then witnessed a cult of some sort performing a summoning ritual before the vision jumped to just a few minutes into the past, and before Akuseru knew it he was back in reality—having completely disconnected to whatever was showing him those visions. Only one thing had stuck with him.

“Manji.” He spoke while looking towards the god in hopes for an answer of any kind. What he got was no answer though—only a farewell. Akuseru didn’t understand what he was feeling, some sort of sinking sensation in his stomach that he couldn’t simply will away as he had to watch the statue slowly disappear. He extended a hand outwards, as if that would accomplish anything. “Stop,” he mumbled. Akuseru did not know this being long enough to care for it, yet a connection had been formed during the flash of visions and he wasn’t quite ready to let go yet. “Now just wait a second!” He tried once more.

“. . Thanks, Akuseru. .”

“Sayonara, Yokozuna.” Knowing it was futile, he felt the godlike being at least deserved a name before it went a way. Inspired by the statue’s huge belly, Akuseru named the god after the highest achievable rank in the sport civilians engaged in known as Sumo wrestling.

A single glance at his palm was the most acknowledgement this new marking would receive from Akuseru. He didn’t really care at the moment—it was something he could address later. Before he knew it, everyone Akuseru had noticed arrived.

“You should give your own name before asking,” Akuseru said while looking at the sprout that had emerged from the ground. He ignored Aneun’s rant and looked towards the Iwa shinobi who had asked him of his thoughts on the subject she brought up. Before he could reply, Jack had given a response that fell in line with standard protocol.

“Err, what he said. . .” Akuseru said sheepishly before turning back to the sprout. Nothing but dirt, large rocks, and death surrounded these lands yet this sprout was here. Akuseru didn’t intend on leaving it die with the rest. 

“Jack, can you help me get this thing home?” He trusted Jack to get the job done without killing the thing in the process. Akuseru, afraid of his own clumsiness, delegated the task to his comrade.

[Winter]

Edric wished to have further understood the situation, or more personal involvement with it, but just as it quickly started, it so ended. Beginning with the friction of an amalgamation of experiences, his vision went dark, and instead only sensed from his own internal thought. Images of cities that stretched far across the horizon, their towers cutting into the clouds. Scaled beasts with a half-dozen wings that kept them afloat over a sea of cerulean waters. Plants of colors that tested his own idea of the color-wheel. Galaxies, stars, moons. And a circle of ominous figured, manji. When it ended in darkness, his widened eyes finally comprehended the fading figure in the distance, all before being brought back to reality by his squire.

"Ser, are you well? Has it cast another curse upon you?" the boy asked earnestly.

Edric shook it off, distraught by the questions that were raised with no answers. In the distance, the others still stood around - perhaps a victim to his own experiences. But for all he knew, they could be responsible for this all. And it wasn't worth the risk - especially not with what he intended to share to his superiors. 

"I-I'm... fine. We'll fall back for now. We'll continue our search in the morn." Edric commanded with a wary voice. His squire nodded and they slowly started off, his own eyes occasionally watched the hand hidden beneath his gauntlet as a warm sensation lingered at his palm.

/exit

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}Used:

[King]

"Apologies," Kouketsu replied with far less fervor than those around him. "However, my inquiry was made for the young lady and the young man here -- I hadn't really noticed the rest of you until just now." While they may have been present, skulking in the shadows and allowing the others to take the real risks, the Uchiha's attention had been garnered by those that took action. Regardless, it wasn't on his agenda to stir up conflict and tension. "My name is Aka Mu-n..."

He paused, mulling the idea of offering more. Finally, after a moment, he said: "...Kazekage of the Hidden Sand."

"You shouldn't be so distrusting in the future," he commented further. Idly, he glanced at his gloved hand, as if he could still see the mark that now stained his flesh. "I would have thought this encounter with that... strange creature... would have taught you all that much." With a light shrug, the elder Uchiha started on his way. "May your returns be safe ones. Akuseru. Mimi."

As for the others? Well, as he said - they were irrelevant.


- Exit

[daisy]

the shade of it all ♥

So these were the shinobi of the leaf? A singing fool, a jester in all but his motley, a shinobi who's bravery was indistinguishable from utter thoughtlessness, and the ill-mannered lout who spoke for them. I laughed softly, covering my mouth.
"Oh, how silly of me. I should have invited the Hokage to tea years ago. There are no official channels, there has been no contact between shinobi villages for a long time. Pardon my attempts at diplomacy, I see now that they fall upon incapable ears." I smiled, waving an elegant hand at my dismissive words. Whether they noticed me abandoning my previous attitude, I cared little at this point. I would make no headway with these... boys.

Now, the Kazekage himself? That I could pursue. As he made his farewells, seeming as unimpressed with the others as I, I followed suit.
"It has been most charming. Tell your Hokage Iwagakure is eager to hear from him, if he has such use of these wonderful official channels. I shall remember your name, Akuseru. Do take care, darlings," With that, I blew a kiss in the white haired boy's direction, and teetered after the Kazekage - Aka Mu-n.

It had been a most enlightening experience. We had been blessed with a glimpse of future intentions, a taste of the aims of this Manji, and I, for one, intended to act upon them. The encounter with a god, albeit a god of ill make, had shaken me, but it had rather opened my eyes. Powers were at work here, powers beyond, perhaps, the entire might of our shinobi villages, of which we were so proud. And, though it was likely just a small, motley selection, I had seen that the Leaf was... Well. Not quite as intimidating as I had feared. Still, it wouldn't do to judge entirely on impressions.

"Lord Kazekage, darling, I wonder if I might have a word..."

/exit~

[Anmida]

". . ." silence. No response from the new seedling god prompted Aneun to abandon his pent up rage and seek solace elsewhere.

Catching the latter part of the conversation between Mimi, Aka, and Akuseru, he watched the pair of Shinobi depart together before looking to Akuseru. Approaching casually, he eyed the plant whom his ally had requested to bring back to Konoha. He would wait until the other Shinobi were out of hearing range before posing a question to his squad leader.

"Shall we kill them?" Aneun asked nonchalantly to Akuseru. A question completely opposite of his usual demeanor yet his tone made the question sound strangely natural. Waiting for a reply, Aneun focused his attention on the seal that appeared on his right hand not long ago. Its unnatural energy putting him on edge; unsure of what this unknown "gift" actually meant for the lot of them.

Whether Akuseru chose to give chase or go about his own agenda, Aneun would follow his lead. Cause in the end, all responsibilities for this mission would fall upon the leader of the group meaning Aneun had nothing to worry about.

/Exit.

[Hecatus]

“Jack, can you help me get this thing home?”

Against his better judgement, the shinobi nodded in agreeance without further questioning. Closing the distance between him and his allies, he’d kneel down momentarily while a hand delved into the large brown leather bag at his side. Given a moment or two, the lad finally retrieved what appeared to be molding clay. Unlike his explosive clay used for familial arts, this rather mundane substance served one purpose and one purpose alone – practice and diversion.

“Uhh, yeah. Sure, why not? You want a to-go box or a pot or what?... We need sprouts for stir fry tonight anyway.” With a masterful skill that seemed almost wasted in doing so, the shinobi’s nimble hands quickly created a reasonably sized, cylindrical container to house the plant in. Though not baked, and thus lacking solidarity one would expect from a normal clay pot, it’d still serve the purpose of housing vegetation rather comfortably while remaining in transit.

After doing so, he’d move over toward the sprout and gently scoop small handfuls of earth around the plant, clearing out the surrounding dirt in order to properly unearth the roots without damaging them. With enough patience he’d eventually retrieve the article in question, intact and whole. With a bit of care and caution, he’d then replant the sprout safely in his make shift pot, housing it in the soil which it had survived in. Brushing his hands clean of loose debris and dirt, he’d then force Akuseru to take hold of the container, both physically and metaphorically passing over the burden wrought by this thing to his team leader. “Well then, shall we?” And with that he’d take his leave.

/exit

[vegapunk]

♔

protect the light

With the events transpiring it was revealed that within the company were two leaders of the other hidden villages. Kazekage of the Sand, and Tsuchikage of the Earth. These were two powerful figures and looking upon them both in new light, he listened casually from a far before they each left of their own accord.

His party had gathered the remains of a plant that sprouted in the epicenter of the great creatures desertification. Fumi glaced over at Jack as he constructed a case for it, what mystery lay within the plant would be extracted by the Hokage and his team, but the thought of its properties peaked curiosity in the young ninja. 

Silent, he simply observed as the mission met its climax, setting off with Jack, Aneun, and Akuseru back to the village to try and explain something that he barely understood himself. 

/exit

[ ooc - sorry big work day | event ]

MADE BY ♔
KOJIHIME

[Axcel]

"It isn't a matter of distrust, but manners." Akuseru had replied to the Kazekage. It was possible Suna lacked common etiquette, but it wasn't too much to expect the head of one of the great shinobi villages to know that. Now that he had introduced himself as the Kazekage, it was a different story though. He would be spoken to respectfully if their conversation had continued any further, but he had already taken his leave along with the woman from Iwagakure.

With Yokozuna packed and ready to go, it was time to head back to Konoha. Akuseru snatched Yokozuna away from Jack, unable to tell whether the Chuunin was joking about stir frying the plant or not. He hadn't paid Aneun's remark any attention--these sort of comments were beginning to feel common place as he spent more time with his squad.

EXIT

[lash]

Continued from here.

As I stepped through the shadows of the cover of night, the first thing I noticed wasn't something that I saw, it was something that I felt. An almost stifling energy coursed over my body, and the feeling of intense gravity struck me square in my gut. Was this a feeling of fear that washed over my body? If it was, it was something that I was so unused to feeling that I found myself beginning to question why I had even come here. What in the world was this place? Resisting the urge to dry swallow as a reaction to my sudden emotional outburst, instead I chose to continue walking forward through the cover of trees and rice paddies.

At least, that was my intended goal, until I took one step too far and found myself in what I could only describe as a scene of Armageddon. For miles around, as far as I could tell, the place had simply been flattened. No vegetation grew, no flora or fauna were wandering about. It was as if the animal kingdom itself knew not to come to this place, for if they did, they were sure to perish. I clenched my left fist so hard that my knuckles whitened, and I continued to look around, looking for some clue or sign as to what had happened here.

"Ru? Can you make any sense of this destruction?"

[Ning Ru]

“Ooooohh…” The lad’s eyes widened with amazement as the scene before him came into view. The devastation and destruction portrayed to such a magnitude left an impression that the entire field was nothing short of a dream or perhaps more fittingly a nightmare. Boldly stepping onto the field of carnage, he’d stare in wonder at the absolute disparity between his left and right. To one side rest a field of grass. On the other rest a wasteland completely devoid of life.

His footsteps pressing on into the darkened cataclysm, he’d wave frantically for Rasshu to follow. Upon catching up, the man would notice a large, hollowed out crater. This massive depression into the earth must have been made by a boulder or something of equally large magnitude. Upon further inspection, several more lie about, scattered in a seemingly random fashion. The youth’s search didn’t stop there however. Delving further towards the epicenter of the destruction, he’d stop and bend down curiously at a single point. Though their surroundings were for the most part uniform and even, the dirt before him lie upheaved, as if dug out by human hands. Was something important here before? This same point also happened to be the epicenter of the abnormality.  Shaking his head twice at his companion's question, he'd bounce the same one right back at him.   “What do you think was here Rasshu?”

Head turning up to look at the man, Ru’s eyes averted quickly upon spotting several marks scuffed deeply into the earth. It was as if some bodies had been thrown into the air and crashed inelegantly onto the surface. Whatever had happened here, humans were most likely involved.  "People?"

[lash]

As I continued to stare around the place in wonder, I found myself becoming more and more intrigued with what could have caused such wide-spread destruction. There were very few techniques in any shinobi's arsenal that could cause such devastation. But was I entirely certain that this was some kind of destruction and not how the place had always been? Judging by the surroundings behind us, I found myself doubting it, but still I wanted to make sure. When Ru bounced my question right back at me, I decided to try and test something.

Kneeling down, I extended my right hand towards the ground. Touching it, I would clasp my fingers together, gathering a small sample of loose dirt. This confirmed my suspicions before - whatever happened here, this was not how the land had been prior to it. Could that giant pillar of light been the cause of it? As my brow furrowed, I'd stand up, dirt still in my hand, before opening my fingers and allowing the dirt to filter out into the breeze. Nodding once, I'd look over towards Ru.

"I think we have to assume that much, at least. It's unlikely that that pillar of light was a natural occurrence, and whatever it was was what most likely caused this destruction. Although, to be fair, I'd be very concerned about what could have caused it rather than the destruction itself."

As I spoke, I began to move forward, allowing my eyes to roam around, looking for any signs of a struggle, some place where a battle had been fought. Could such a spot even be found here, though? What could have resisted an attack strong enough to do this to a place?

[Ning Ru]

Continuing to scrounge about their surroundings, the young lad eventually stumbled upon not one or two, but rather several sets of footprints. Pointing these out to Lash as well, he’d proceed to trace them step by step, as if attempting to relive the event itself. Hoping from one indentation to the next, the set he followed in particular eventually forced him to grind to a halt. Freezing several meters outside of the epicenter, he’d look curiously at the ground where his trail of tracks had faltered. From the looks of it, this individual vaulted upward onto this giant rock wall that stood before him.

Was it the work of ninja art? Or had this structure been here from the start? Unsure due to his lack of familiarity with this particular elements, he’d flag the more experienced man over to ask for an opinion. “Ru thinks this wasn’t here before. Why does it stand when everything else falls?” With that, he’d flop over onto the ground as added emphasis for his words.

[Axcel]

Coma: +40 exp

[lash]

As I roamed about, I allowed my attention to be called over by Ru. While it was clear to me that the boy was eccentric, he had an eye for detail that few others had, at least by my experience. As he spoke, pointing out the fact that this one singular rock stood in the epicenter where everything else had been pushed away, shattered and broken, with an upheaval in a scale that I hadn't seen before. As the boy spoke, however, he seemingly decided that a greater emphasis was required, and he flopped himself down upon the ground.

I recognized the maneuver, at least somewhat. Having seen his flair for the dramatic with his shadow puppetry earlier, I understood now that there were times when the boy would feel inspired to simply act out a situation instead of explaining it all with words. Once more, I tucked this information into the back of my mind as I continued to look around. Attaching chakra to my feet, I'd leap forwards, allowing the chakra-infused soles to land onto the rock, granting me the ability to move about it even at strange angles, and proceed to walk towards the tip of the rock. Upon reaching the peak, I'd kneel down, allowing my hands to touch the surface of the rock, where a flash of insight rolled over me.

"Ru... it wasn't a someone who did this. It was a something. Not human." I wasn't sure how, exactly, I was aware of this, for I had no preternatural sight that showed me what had happened in the past. It was merely an impulse, granted to me in a strange moment of clarity. However, I was as sure of it as I was that my name was Hitogoroshi Lash, and I found myself becoming even more concerned about the situation that had unfolded here.

Jumping off of the rock, I'd land with a soft thump on the loose dirt and continue to glance around. It was then that I noticed something peculiar in the distance. A small hole, apparently dug when the aftermath of whatever leveled the assault had ended. Deciding it needed further investigation, I'd move towards it while calling to Ru, beckoning and gesturing towards the hole that I saw.

"Ru! There was something here. Something important, I'd wager."