Cursed Souls [p]

[Estilo]

Memory Moves

---

Her words stung hot like knives into my heart. These feelings I had bubbling in the pits of my stomach... I did not understand them. It was a conglomeration of pity, hate, desperation and love. But the reasons behind these emotions were still unclear, the fog that plagued my memories only slightly beginning to recede. I tried to see past that shadow her hood cast, tried to root out those beautiful ocean blue eyes I had expected to see. But when a scuffle ensued between Tenryu and the other, I was forced out of the trance. I turned, pivoting away from the course of the projectiles. And I saw the cloaked man defend himself out of the corner of my eye. But when I looked for Vera, she wasn't there.

I spun around, towards the trees from which we had come, the tattered tail of my long cloak flapping with a gust of wind- paying homage to the battle with the four-tails. And when I found her, perched upon a tree fifteen meters away, she spoke. Disgust, confusion- all at the sight of her disfigured hand. If she was really Vera... if she was really the woman I had loved, I could see past that. But I couldn't believe it, I didn't want to. I was now hoping that it wasn't her, that the woman before me was but a creature. A cruel shapeshifter who beckoned the weak of will with familiar faces and the pity one would give a tortured and scarred soul.

Yet, even when common sense pleaded for me not to follow, I could not hold myself back. Vera had leapt away, further into the forest, and I had to react now. She was leading me somewhere, pleading for me to refrain from leaving her once more. My body now seemed to be making the decisions, a single footstep progressing into an abrupt and quick leap into the trees- while my thoughts struggled with the reasoning, doubted I was even alive. The soles of my boots landed with a 'thud' on the branch where she had been standing before. And when emerald hues caught the sight of her lithe and cloaked figure amongst the leaves afar, I chased after her. The dexterity of my pursuit managing to keep up with the woman as she lead me away, deeper and deeper.

I didn't want to imagine what kind of torture she expected me to see, and I realized that I would rather not know. But during the course of all this, I discovered that perhaps the only benefit I would garner from chasing her down was obtaining the answers to the plethora of questions I had. She was part of this world, that much I knew. So she would know something crucial.

[suzaku]

It was astonishing; Akibane did not flinch as my bullets tore across the distance separating us. He did not bring his arm to deflect them, nor did he bend his body to evade them. Instead, a massive growth of flesh spewed from beneath his cloak and shielded him. I had heard of such a power before; not surprisingly, it was this man before me—a man who I once called brother—who had told me the tale of this power; it was in Akibane's voice that I reminisced of the story of the Cursed Seal.

"Namitsuki, you say?" I said, my body growing slack as I assumed a posture more appropriate for combat. I took hold of the blade at my side, Amatsubaki, slightly lifting the blade from her sheath, allowing a small sliver of radiance to pour forth from her housing. "Perhaps I should show you the ferocity of the wolves which lunged upon him."

In the corner of my vision, I saw Atlas pursuing the woman to a different location; I was able to gather a few clues to their relationship based on scarce excerpts of their dialogue, and as I did, an unsettling feeling overtook me. There was a convenience about this conflict which seemed disturbing. Was this really Akibane standing before me?

As much as I wished to strike him down with my rage, I couldn't allow myself the pleasure; it would be foolish to charge in, uncertain of what nature of an opponent stood before me.

[King]

The woman continues through the forest, leading her benevolent, following lover deeper into the darkness of the vegetation's embrace. She continues until, at one point, she trips -- her fragility and the cementing of her humanity, that of a flawed existence, becomes apparent. She plunges the many feet toward the earth below, seemingly unable to catch herself, before breaking her fall against a bed of grass.

She bounces several times along the earth before coming to a halt against the foyer of a large, fully grown tree. A cloak which once covered her entirely now haphazardly clings to her figure, exposing more than ample thigh, arm, collar and face. It is then that he will realize it is, without a doubt, her -- not even the mangled, marred flesh that blemishes her features in random intervals can deny her this truth.

"You were supposed to protect me-- I waited for you," she speaks softly, her voice breaking several times. "They came and took me; I've been here for so long. I'm just. . . tired, but they will not let me rest."

She braces herself against the tree, standing to her feet. "Why, after so long, have you come? " A steady stream of tears course from her left eye, the other covered by what remains of her hood.

Meanwhile, the man revealed as Akibane, stands entirely unamused by his sibling's antics. The mention of their third sibling, the black sheep, stirs no emotion within the husk of a being. "I've crossed the bridge of life and death far too many times to be intimidated by a pack of rabid dogs, Tenryu."

His left arm vanishes within the sleeve, bulging out as his chest, to peel back half of the cloak and reveal a naked, pristine chest. The bubble and shifting of bones beneath the thin layer of flesh is, for the moment, of no consequence to Tenryu; neither is the wing of bone and hide that sprouts out from his right flank, lingering much like a grand shadow.

"Lets see what you've learned in my absence, little brother."

[Estilo]

Wishing It Weren't

---

I remember. I remember the world crashing down all around me. The forest fires, the refugees, the soldiers that fought a war they never asked for. And I'm running, ducking past blazing branches and leaping over fallen, fiery trees. Conflagrations cover the expanse of Kaminari no Kuni, overshadowed by an ominous, thick thunderstorm. Voices call and cry, forks of bright blue lightning tear the night sky apart. And throughout all of this... I'm thinking, 'Vera and Sam, they have to be alive. I'll save them.'

My head throbs, and I catch a glimpse of her falling through squinted and pain-filled eyes. My mind tries not to wander again as I leap down from the trees, determined to stop her myself- before she bounces away towards the base of a fully-grown tree. When she stops, I take notice of her exposed regions of flesh. Her face, her gaze, confirms it. It's my Vera... it... it has to be... right? I stop meters away from her, holding out a gloved hand as if I want to touch her- but not fully aware as to why. Memories still flood my thoughts with once forgotten tidbits of information.

She had asked me to return from the war prematurely, to retire and leave with her and Sam to some 'across-the-sea' country. But I stayed. We had a heated argument about it, the last time I had seen her. And in the end, she had been right. I had put my country before the both of them... and it came with consequences. I... I suddenly find the rush unbearable, painful even. And as she speaks, each precise word hitting me like a bag of bricks, I stumble forwards- then drop to my knees. "I'm sorry..."

Her tears, the raw hurt in her voice- it pains my confused and uncertain mind, an amalgam of emotions tearing me apart. "I'm... sorry." I repeat, slouching forwards as my eyes clamp tightly shut- forcing back tears. But the strain in my voice gives away the heartache within. "I didn't... I didn't remember, Vera. It isn't my fault... I didn't mean for all of... this." Whatever 'this' was. "You have to believe me. Please. I don't.... I don't even know why I'm here." The memories keep coming in, and I'm surprised to feel myself withstanding it. How long, before I reach the brink?

"I just... I need to know what's happening here."

[suzaku]

Something wasn't right.

My comrade, Atlas, had begun to drift into the woodlands to our side with the woman from his past, leaving me opposite Akibane. Had it only been one of the two to appear before us, I would have more readily accepted this as reality—however, for a crucial person from each of our memories to appear before us, in this strange area? The convenience was undeniable. There was a higher power at work here.

"Are you really Akibane," I mused, resigning myself to accept an attack from my alleged brother should he decide answering my questions wasn't to his liking, "or are you just a shadow; a dark figment of my unrequited past summoned forth to haunt me?"

I did not draw my blade; I did not summon my chakra; I did not bring forth my hatred. I took a deep breath and calmed myself, feeling that a relaxed mind could better assess the situation before me. "If you are Akibane, then tell me..."

I fell silent for the briefest of moments, allowing the chilling wind to swirl around me. In that short instance, I released the burden of my anger and allowed tranquility to overtake me. When I spoke, it wasn't with the same disdain that had corrupted my voice before; there was a genuine curiosity, and a docility that was unbecoming of the man I had been seconds ago.

"...why do you wish to clash blades here, and for what reason do you stand before me now?"

[King]

Estilo is not alone as his knees greet the earth.

The woman before him rushes to his side, clearly pained to see him in such a state. Perhaps it was his fault she'd been locked in such a maze of pain and torture; perhaps it was his inability that had resigned her to such a fate. Yet, in that instant, none of it matters; they are together again.

Slender arms find themselves wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him closer to her fragile, partially naked body. Her face, stained with rivers of tears, seeks to press to his shoulder.

"I don't know," she admits. Her voice is meek, yet beneath is a strong resolve -- she has found her love. "They said that, if I waited long enough, you would come for me."

Were he able to discern the euphoria flooding his mind at this point, perhaps he would be able to feel the warmth spreading throughout his back as her fingertips, as delicately as the pad of a rose petal, caressed his muscled back through the cloth.

Meanwhile, Tenryu's words cause the shade before him to flicker, as if his existence is being threatened by the claim the kaguya presented. "Answering you would be fruitless, my brother," he begins as a shadow rips from the center of his cloak -- a pillar of mangled, twisted flesh, crossing the distance between the two of them in the blink of an eye.

Were it to slam into Tenryu's chest, he would feel the pillar of scales and pike-orientated fingers skewering him effortlessly. The pain would be quite real, yet-- was it really?

[Estilo]

Her Touch, Devine

---

Her embrace, though surprising, comforted me to the core of my very soul. My love, the woman I had devoted myself to all those years ago. The woman who had borne my one and only son. To be reunited with her was sublime... albeit somewhat beyond belief. But her touch relayed a thousand truths, truths I so desperately wanted to believe. That she had realized the weight of her words, and the effect they were having on me. That she knew, at this point in time, I could no longer withstand what was overwhelming my conscious mind. Not alone. And that our love, as fragmented and consigned to oblivion as it had seemed, was still something capable of saving. Something we could build on hereafter.

Her intervention seemed to provide a temporary escape from the cascade of memories barraging my mind. Though I remained stricken with mental exhaustion and uncertainty, I snapped back into this reality- into the comfort of this moment. A euphoric warmth spawned in the center of my chest, spreading like a gentle ripple of water across the entirety of my body. My arms remained at my sides, limp and light, allowing Vera the liberty of entwining herself around my frame with no resistance. I needed her solace, more than she knew. She seemed to be the only thing fighting against the memories I found so painful and overpowering.

But there was still a truth that yearned to be revealed.

This much I knew for certain. Why else were these recollections resurfacing at this point in time? And what was the basis behind the feelings of disdain and odium that still bubbled deep within? I... I didn't know. I wasn't even sure I wanted to know. Maybe, having Vera back... maybe I could avoid ever finding out. She was proving to be the only barrier that held back that ominous tide. But was not knowing the truth really all that great? Could I succumb to the promise of a idealistic love-life with Vera, oblivious to the seemingly paramount truth locked away within my mental faculties? After all, 'ignorance is bliss'... right?

I turned my attention to her words, her soothing and familiar voice telling me that she was unaware of what our true purpose here was. That 'they' had assured her I was coming. Coming for her. And although I had half a mind to tell her that I was brought here against my will, that I had no idea she was even alive, I refrained from doing so. I could tell her about everything... from my battle with the four-tails, to the voice that boomed in that plateau of nothingness I had awoken from. But there was something that perturbed me, something I desperately hoped she would have an answer to. With her nose dug in the comfort of my shoulder, her warm touch caressing my back, I whispered- tentatively.

"Vera... who... who are 'they'?"

[suzaku]

Akibane—no, this thing which wore Akibane's face—began to flicker; as I voiced my doubts of this reality before me, a ghastly transparency overtook the man who called himself my brother. He did not quell my suspicions; he did not satisfy my thirst for knowledge. With a haste of panic, he thrust an abomination of flesh upon me, but I was stalwart in my stance.

"Begone," I said, clasping my hands into several swift seals. A chakra of dispelling was forced from my body, aiming to seize hold of whatever perceptive magic was afoot and shatter it. I would bring an end to whatever illusion had manifested before me with the power of Genjutsu: Kai. "You are not my brother."

Should the foul beast vanish, I would be left with one final task; this man who stood at my side and called himself Atlas—had he learned the nature of these which had stood before us? I recall him going off into the treeline with the woman. I would begin to head in that direction. I could ill afford losing a comrade, not after the warning that was voiced to me in that terrible darkness.

[King]

"I'm not sure," she whispered. Her fingers continued to sooth his back, the heat radiating deeper through his flesh. Even the words she speaks will, at that point, seem euphoric to the captured Raikage. It's been quite some time since he's been ensnared by the vixen's vexatious genjutsu, and this deep within, there is little he can do to break free.

Her expression becomes soft, her eyes expectant. "They wore black hoods; they spoke to me cryptically. I'm sorry, my love - I know nothing else."

Meanwhile, the illusion of Akibane snarled before being vanquished from the makeshift reality. Tenryu was far more observant than his comrade, and should he hasten his rescue attempt, he may be able to reach him in time.

Otherwise, the road would only continue to become more treacherous ahead.

[suzaku]

As i crossed the treeline, I came to the stark realization that my comrade was more inept than I had once thought. For some reason I couldn't fathom, he felt little need to question the circumstances around him, and had foolishly allowed himself to be taken prisoner by some strange genjutsu.

for a moment, I thought of freeing him. I felt, perhaps, that with him at my side, I would be better prepared to face the trials ahead of me. The thought soon lapsed, however, and I was confronted by the understanding that, should I allow this man to stay at my side, he might complicate the road ahead, and perhaps even put my very life at risk.

I performed several quick handseals, and then waved my hand in the direction of the shinobi and his fallacy of a mate. There was a brief moment of nothingness, and then a spark tore across the distance towards the two. This spark, should my assumptions prove true, would latch onto the chakra born form the genjutsu ahead of me, and the by product would be a wicked flame that would put an end to both the illusion and the man named Atlas.

The two, embracing, would become a funeral pyre.

SPOILER: Click to show

Senshu Enkou (Tyrant Flame)
Rank: S
Type: Supplementary / Katon Ninjutsu
Range: See Special!
Handseals: Yes
Chakra: Massive
Special: Range is equivalent to one's Enkou Shinka Rank halved. Speed is determined by 100% of Enkou Shinka Rank. Requires at least one mastery in Katon. Cannot ignite the chakra contained naturally within one's body under typical circumstances. This flame is produced using the user's chakra and can survive for 1 Turn after being projected outwards unless it latches onto another chakra source. Physical flames last until extinguished.
Description: After learning to ignite one's own chakra, the Katon Master can learn to create a unique flame. By producing a violet spark, the user is able to generate the catalyst for a flame which burns and devours chakra. This flame does not deal physical damage, and cannot burn a physical object. Should the flame come into contact with(or spark within) a source of chakra, such as that which is present between a shinobi and an object he is focusing his chakra on(such as a shinobi using Doton to manipulate nearby rock) or any other chakra not contained entirely within the Tenketsu, it will begin to burn and devour that chakra: if this happens to a stream of chakra connecting a shinobi to an element he is attempting to manipulate via Ninjutsu, it can effectively nullify the jutsu, and follow the stream of chakra back to the shinobi. When this flame burns chakra, it does not create smoke, but instead, spawns a physical flame in its wake; this physical fire is very intense, and can quickly consume a shinobi should a trail of chakra lead the Tyrant Flame to him.
Domain: Chakra Tenka; Enkou Shinka 'S'

[marvolous.]

SPOILER: Click to show

Estilo had an opportunity to respond to Brad's attack attempt, and since he did not and missed the IIC again, Atlas is now dead.

[.DEVIOUS]

SPOILER: Click to show

I'm gonna step in here really quick. We already know that Estilo is in a time where he's having difficulty posting, I'm not going to let his character die at a time when he's literally incapable of responding. Brad, your attack is successful and it strikes him. That being said, his character is going to be severely wounded and unconscious, not dead. This thread may now continue without having to wait for Estilo's response. If you have any questions, please feel free to respond to me via PM or YIM.

[/justify][/spoiler]

[☆ F ☆]

Estilo has been officially labeled away from the forum, so he should've been knocked out of this thread long ago. Suzaku appears to have deleted his account. This thread is thus closed until further notice. Finally, because of inactivity, Estilo's Relic, the Crystal Gem Necklace, is now open and thus up for grabs.