Starring:
Yuuto, Maren
Date: July 1, 2014
Summary:
Yuuto and Maren follow a lead on strange activity on an island.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Blood and Betrayal - Awakening"
Island south of the Land of Tea and Land of Water
The coming of night in a small island village south of Tea Country and the Land of Water, and the duo of Yuuto and Maren sit on the deck of a small merchant vessel that came back to shore and reported strange activity on the island then brought them back. About a half mile out in the water, the ship appears to just be moving past the island, though the Uchiha on the deck of the ship uses this moment to gauge the activity and pick a spot to go in at. After a moment, he'd look down at a piece of paper with a rough drawing of a marking that men standing guard at the docks and other spots on the island bore, the mark Scarecrow's gang wears proudly. Seems something's going on here, and Yuuto prefers to find out himself before reporting back to Sunagakure….
Maren wore something a bit more appropriate for the weather than her usual short kimono. Rather she wore black pants and a black long sleeved top, her weapons belts about her waist. She had been watching Yuuto closely through the journey. She looked at the paper as he did and memorized the symbol. She knew what it meant and had fallen under thier poison at one point. She looked up as Yuuto did and raised a questioning brow. "What are you planning?"
After letting Maren memorize the paper, Yuuto would tuck it into his coat then look over at her. "Simple… We get in there and find out what's going on," he says then shows a rather evil smirk. "Then act accordingly." With that, he'd step to the edge of the ship to step up on the railing then off onto the water to dart toward a part of the island where the guards are currently moving away from on their patrol, as it's rather hard to get up, a rounded out rock-face with many deep crevices. Not much of an issue for a guy that moves through rock, though.
Maren shook her head ruefully and stood with Yuuto, following him. Sometimes she wanted to snicker at him, but there was no time for that. Over the rail and onto the water, chakra keeping her on to pof it,she went. And kept up with Yuuto's speed until she reached the rock. She assumed that he had a plan to help her up or she would fall behind him working her way up the various crevaces and such. Thu shs elooked at him and waited for his signal.
As they reach the rock, Yuuto would hold up a hand to signal for her to wait a moment before stepping into the rockface itself to vanish momentarily then get a glance around at the current patrol routes as his eyes light up the crimson of Sharingan. After a few moments, his torso would appear out of the rock to look down at her and offer a hand to pull her up to a spot it won't be as difficult to get up from if she can jump and grab his hand.
Maren nodded, waiting as Yuuto disappeared. She kept in the shadows of the rock face until she saw Yuuto reappear and offer her a hand up. It wasn't hard to jump up and grab his hand. Her feet affixed to the rock and she nodded again, heading up in the direction he indicated she should go, keeping an eye around her just to be sure she doesn't set off an alarm or something as she moved.
Once Maren is up on the path, Yuuto would rise up full from the rock and walk up beside her, holding a hand up as he glances around for traps… And it's a good thing he does. His fingers start to point out trip wires linked to explosive tags and nets among other things and then to the path where the guards would be approaching again. He then looks down the path at the town, which is oddly quiet, even for it being night. The few civilians that are out in the streets aren't there for long, and they keep their heads down as they walk past Scarecrow's men.
Maren stopped when Yuuto motioned and noted each of the traps he had pointed out. She glanced at the path where the men would be comming from next and then back to Yuuto. She followed his gaze toward the towna nd saw what he did. The people were obviously not happy with thier situation. And they were here to find out why. She motioned with her hands, conveying that she would follow him and that she had seen the traps he showed her. She wasn't as skilled in stealth as Yuuto was but she could keep up to him when he pointed out traps. She didn;t want him facing this alone though, and hoped her presence wouldnt be a hinderance.
Soon as Yuuto as certain Maren is up to speed, the Uchiha turns and starts to make his way down the path toward the town, stopping between a pub and a restaurant on a thin path betweeen them as he tries to spot someone to question first. His eyes narrow as he spots a patrol getting near and holds up a hand to signal for Maren to wait.
Soon as Yuuto as certain Maren is up to speed, the Uchiha turns and starts to make his way down the path toward the town, stopping between a pub and a restaurant on a thin path betweeen them as he tries to spot someone to question first. His eyes narrow as he spots a patrol getting near and holds up a hand to signal for Maren to wait. As the troop approaches, he'd lock his eyes on them and say under his breath, "Fear." This causes them to lock up, the Uchiha asserting his will to make them walk over to himself and Maren. "… Who's the boss here? What are you doing in this town?"
Maren followd Yuuto into the town, between the buildings and glanced around warily. She trusted Yuuto usually but when it came to Scarecrow she wondered if he would go too far. She had nothing to worry about it seemed though. She paused as the troop came up, subdued under Yuuto's fear command. His questions were well asked but she wondered if they could even speak after being hit by such a thing.. It could have been worse.. it could have been Dread….. She kept watch as Yuuto questioned them, prepared to kill the genin whenever Yuuto wished it.
Just as the lower ranking guards are about to speak up, it becomes apparent that they've been spotted. Seeing the gleam of metal just at the last second, the Uchiha brings a piece of paper from his sleeve, but to no avail as the shuriken move faster than he reacts, one stabbing into his shoulder and the other into his side. "Looks like we won't get to do this the easy way," he grumbles, looking over to Maren to see how much damage she's taken, if any, before grabbing the war fan from his back and swinging it across at the throats of each of the guards in front of him with intent to dispatch them before they can be used to amp the numbers game against himself and Maren up.
Maren winced as the jounin spotted her. She sent a look of appology to Yuuto and drew her blades to try and deflect the shuriken, managing to deflect a few of them, but two of the shuriken sank into her thigh and one drew a line of blood across her cheek, irritating her. Yuuto took more damage and she winced. She yanked the shuriken from her leg and tossed them aside, launching at the jounin, trying to slash at his throat and gut with her blades, if nothing else she would be a distraction….
With the lower level guards struck down, the Jounin level ones waste no time in coming after the pair of intruders. "Oh, look who's back to get locked up again," one of the calls out as she charges Yuuto, sword drawn and intended to slash across then stab it directly into his gut. "What, life in the real world get to be too much for you?"
The initial slash catches Yuuto on his bare arm, drawing a bit of blood from it before the jab strikes, this time causing him to splatter into ink. A pair of clones then descend on the man from either side as Yuuto moves down from the rooftop behind him. "So, are you going to tell me what I want to know, or do I have to light this village ablaze so bad that it Kirigakure comes to investigate a huge pillar of smoke?"
Maren heard the taunt the jounin sent at Yuuto and glared openly. But her attention and her expression was soondiverted to something a bit more personal. She managed to deflect the first blade, catching a shallow hit on her arm. But the second thrust of the opponent's blade struck her in the shoulder, slamming her against the building she was standing by. Luckily for her shoulder, it hit her stealth armor. It was enough to try and use to her advantage though. She brought up her blades, crossed them at stomach levela nd tried to gut the man…. "Cowards…"
The guard Yuuto is fighting manages to get one more lash at the Uchiha's arm before the clones restrain him, striking at his face then gut. Before Maren's opponent can get off another attack at her, that familiar command rings out from Yuuto's lips, calm yet haunting and stern. "Fear." The men attempt to use a Genjutsu Kai to break themselves out, but to no avail, as they fall to their knees in front of Yuuto and Maren along with the last man that was to be their backup.
"Now, let's try this again," Yuuto says, holding up a hand to tell Maren to hold on before attacking. He seems to increase the force of the Genjutsu again as he asks, "What are you doing here? Who's in charge?" It takes several moments before one of them finally utters. "B… behind… the counter… in the… bar." The others' eyes widen in a sense of horror at the man, knowing the betrayal he'd just done… and what they would suffer for it. Yuuto gives a simple nod before the clones would go to knock all three men out then move into the bar, which is non-so-conveniently filled with grunts of this squadron performing various activities of gambling, drinking, and even scandalous sort, all of which who turn to look as they shinobi walk in. "… If any of you plan to live 'till morning, I suggest you run."
Maren's snarl turned to a smirk as the mana ttacking her hit his knees. She was sorely tempted to kick him… But Yuuto held up his hand in time to stop her, though her foot was already pulled back. PLacing her foot down again they would listen to the man's betrayal and she narrowed her eyes at the others reactions of horror not brought on by Yuuto's spell. Interesting and certainly it meant that person was above her level. She looked to Yuuto and nearly pouted as he simply knocked the guards out. Oh well. She followed Yuuto into the bar and watched the entire place look up. Gee wasn't this a familiar scene…. She readied her swords, knowing alarm well what they'd try to do…
And she was right half the place stood up alla t once, which of course meant they were the weak ones out to prove themselves in a fight…. Maren wandered forward and as one of the idiots lifted his blade she simply knocked it from his hand and pointed her sword at the man's throat. "I'm not the one you need to /fear/."
Yuuto watches curiously as Maren steps forward, a slight grin tugging at his lips. Using her own words as the trigger, he would send out that Genjutsu again, intending to ensare the entire bar at once, civilians and all. Seems he doesn't have that much sympathy for this town, as he doesn't look like the bandits just recently moved in here. With them all locked down, the Uchiha would step through the bar easily to walk behind the counter. His crimson eyes scan and find a lever that seems to be out of place amongst those that control the tap, its pipe leading to nothing. Upon his pulling of it, a hidden door would open itself up in the back wall, leading to a staircase that leads down into the underground parts of the island. "… It seems we've found what we're looking for."
Maren smirked as the bar dropped as one as if she were the one using the genjutsu. And a few of the less intelligent underlings made that mistake including the one she'd put her blade to. She shook her head and followed Yuuto to the bar, watching just in case anyone was able to free themselves. She laughed. "Even the serving women? How cruel." Her tone should tell him she was joking and honestly didn't care. When the trap door opened she nodded to him and put a hand on his shoulder. She knew he wouldn't back out now… But she still asked. "Should we go?" She would of course follow him.
"Perhaps they should learn not to serve such buffoons," Yuuto says with a shrug of his shoulders before looking down the staircase. "… Yes, let's go." With that, he'd make his way down the stairway, which is lit every once in a while just enough with lanterns. As they get down, they'd find a hallway with many rooms, some glass rooms and some cells, designed rather akin to a place they were once locked in. "… One of his labs," the Uchiha growls under his breath as he scans the area over, spotting scientists and guards, who bit by bit seem to be noticing them. His eyes suddenly get incredibly wide as he sees one, who turns right back around and starts to dart down the hallway toward the only doorway that's not transparent glass to lock herself in. "… It can't be," he says, seeming rather shaken and even shaking his head a few times as if trying to wake himself up.
Maren looked around as the people seemed to start noticing them. That could be nothing to worry about and it could be a problem. The cells made her a bit nervous, memories of her own captivity flashing for a moment in front of her. But that wasn't anything to worry about. Yuuto had saved her then and would protect her now if she needed it. The only thing they actually lacked was the assurance that a village would come to thier rescue as well. The woman running into the one room and locking herself in made her raise a brow but it was Yuuto's reaction that made her worry. "What is it? Yuuto…." She reached out to touch his arm, trying to offer physical support if he needed it, concern on her face though she did try to keep track of what the other people were doing….
Yuuto's eyes move to Maren briefly, something rather twisted about his visage now, pained, confused… Without a word he draws his gunbai again, a rather mad look in his eyes as he looks to the guards approaching and scientists getting as far away as they can. He charges forward, wind racing around his form as he strikes again and again to destroy any in his way as he moves toward one purpose…. that door… As blood flies all around him, he seems unmovable, unshakeable. Something has gotten to him like nothing else before that Maren has seen.
"Well snooze." Maren followed on Yuuto's heels, keeping just close enough that he would recognise her presence and not attack her. She'd never seen him like this. Who was that woman that ran ahead of them? The guards behind her got close enough that she turned and drew, slashing at them with heavy cuts of her blades. Hopefully she'd be able to take them down and still keep up to Yuuto. She let out a growl. He did not scare her.. not yet..
The guards on duty down on the main floor down here aren't that tough, at least in comparison. Enough of them are carved down for the pair to charge through the hallway. Without thinking Yuuto carves the door down in a single swipe, busting it open to send it in pieces to the desk, which a figure is now seen ducking behind, and the wall. "… Get… up," the Uchiha growls out, gripping the gunbai tight with intense eyes staring at the figure. "… Who… are… you?!"
Maren narrowed her eyes as the guards fell to her blades but she took no time to wonder and bolted down the hall after Yuuto. She paused as Yuuto obliterated the door. With a blilnk the woman followed Yuuto in and when she saw the figure ducking behind the desk she stepped forward, watching Yuuto closely. "I suggest od you as he says before he rips you apart and interrogates your entire staff instead." She spoke to the woman that was hiding. She was about to step forward and force her up but a glance at Yuuto and his crazed expression made her pause. Would he recognise her in this state? She would move forward if the woman did not stand up…. Behind her was silence, half the people watching from hiding places, not wanting to interfere.
The woman seems to hesitate a moment behind the desk before finally rising and lifting a hand to move brunette locks away from her face, appearing about middle aged as she looks to the two who've invaded her office. "… I suppose you had to find me sooner or later," she says a bit solemnly as she drops her hand back to her side to look Yuuto dead in his eyes, seeming a bit pained herself, though nowhere close to losing herself.
Yuuto seems completely stunned, eyes wide as he tries to process this information. "No… No… I… saw… you… die… You can't… be… here.." Clenching his fists around the gunbai, he stares her down, blinking several times. "… You've got… You've got to be a hallucination… Why do you have chakra? My hallucinations can't have…."
"… Hello, son. I know this is a lot to take in, but I am glad to see you…"
Maren watched Yuuto and the woman carefully. Yuuto's expression when the woman stood up made her glad she hadn't gone further than she had. Yuuto's mind was clearly having trouble with this woman whoever it was. But then he spoke and she BLINKED at him. Dead? Another glance to the woman and then toYuuto and she tried to search her memories… "Yuuto.." She stepped forward again and the woman spoke, gaining her attention only when she called Yuuto 'son'. She BLINKED again and went to Yuuto's side, trying to lay a hand on his shoulder, trying to bring his attention to HER rather than the woman.. his mother? She tried to step into his line of sight, reaching up to try and touch his face. "Yuuto… Love… Focus."
Yuuto goes silent for a long moment, staring hard at the woman before them. He reaches to his back, grabbing a scroll and laying it out. Oddly, this one is one of his portraits of Sunagakure, one he's kept with him, actually the one he was making the day he met Maren. He points his finger at one of the apparitions in the crowd, one of the few that look benevolent rather than malevolent… The same face as this woman in ghostly form. "Is… is that… Is that who you see there too?" Meanwhile, the woman seems to be waiting patiently, folding her arms over her chest as she waits for Yuuto to decide if she's real or not.
Maren blinked as Yuuto pulled out a scroll. Was he going to attack the woman? She backed up, giving him space, not wanting to be in his path should he blow up. She had never seen him like this and she did not like it. But then he motioned to her and opened the scroll. His question made her blink but she looked closely at the drawing then back up to the woman thenback down to the drawing. She was being very very careful but there was no denying it. that was the same woman. She peered up at Yuuto and hesitated before speaking . "Yes.. It's the same woman, Yuuto…"
"'Love', you called him?" the woman asks with a pointed glare at Maren, still allowing Yuuto to process things. "So the boy with the potential to wield the power of a kami still has a habit of bringing home things like you," she says as she reaches under her desk, brows furrowing as she frowns. One of those haughty 'You think you're good enough for my son?' looks. With Yuuto still too stunned to react in time, Nanami lunges across the desk, revealing a short sword soaked in some sort of liquid that she attempts to impale Maren on with a single thrust. "How many more of you do I have to kill before he wakes up?"
Maren's eyes went straight to Nanami as she spoke, her crimson eyes practicly glowing in hatred for the woman if only because of Yuuto's current state. How could a mother leave her son like that? Just abandon him to a monster like Scarecrow to raise as he saw fit? Yet her answer was there in Nanami's words; 'the boy with the potential to wield the power of a kami'. Maren didn't care what the woman thought of her personally. She had nothing to be ashamed of in her past except the legend of the demon in her lineage. But she could not comprehend a mother abandoning her son for such reasons as these. To intentionally put him in harm's way just to draw out the power of the sharingan… It was deplorable.
And that was all the distraction Nanami needed. Maren had not thought the woman who had cowerred from her moments before behind a desk would attack her while she stood next to Yuuto. Yet there she was, comming over the desk at her. There wasn't enough time to draw her own blade to block the attack and as Maren spun to try and avoid the blow she ended up turning into the thrust. The woman's sword seemed to hesitate then pierced the stealth armor Maren wore, comming out her back at an odd upward angle. The two woman were face to face as the seconds ticked past, shock on Maren's face, dark anger and a kind of glee on Nanami's.
Maren's hand covered nanami's and she scowled, teeth clenched in a rare show of pain. "You.. won't.. win…" The hand slippped, Maren's eyes seemed to deepen then glazed and she fell. The elder woman allowed the sword to go with her and Maren sunk to her knees, a cough and blood slid from her mouth. A look toward Yuuto and he seemed to see the life fading from her crimson eyes. She fell then and unless caught she would end up on her side, her breathing already far too slow and shallow.
Feeling the hand touch her cheek, Nanami smirks against at Maren as she watches her fall to her knees. "Oh, won't I?" she asks as she starts to reach for the blade, intending to use it to rend the unconscious woman's innards to shreds. She is interrupted, however, as Yuuto would move to catch Maren's body, halting her motion to watch what happens. "… It had to be done, Yuuto… There is too much for you to accomplish to let something like her stand in your way.."
Holding Maren in his arms, Yuuto stares down at her, shaken completely and eyes wide. "O… Oni… Hime… Don't," he stammers, his body beginning to shake as he takes all this in. Meanwhile the guards begin to gather at the door, starting to slip in around them as the Uchiha holds the woman tight. "You… can't… Don't… go…"
"You put her here, son," Nanami says with a shake of her head. "You always knew anyone close to you would meet their fate in your past. It was only a matter of time." With that, she'd reach to take a sword from one of the guards, saying, "Now let her go." Bringing the sword back, she'd start to swing it down at the lifeless body of Maren, intending to be certain she's dead.
As the sword starts to come down, a mad scream rings out from Yuuto, pain worse than any he ever exclaimed in any prison cell. Bits of blood drop from his face down onto Maren's forehead, their source invisible with his head turned down… yet the blade is met with a clump of rock so hard it literally breaks around it and flies to bounce off the wall as a chakra far beyond malevolent begins to emanate from Yuuto. His face slowly turns upward as the black rock that appeared falls to the floor, meeting his mother's eyes with deadly crimson eyes bearing a new design of three spiraling strands with spikes sticking up from around the pupil and off each spike that spiral out into his eye. A drop of blood runs down each side of his face like tears, a look on his face twisted with rage, pain, love, hate… insanity. "You've… taken… my last piece… of life… Now… you get your wish…. I'll become Death…"
Maren's body, caught by Yuuto before she could hit the ground was limp, her head falling back overYuuto's arm as she's cradled. Seemingly lifeless, she quickly starts to pale as blood soaks her clothes front and back. Yuuto's frantic cries have little effect on the girl and even the dripping of blood onto her forehead, dripping into her eyes in a parody of his own bloody tears, still there is no reaction.
With the breaking off of the blade, Nanami stares down to try to figure out what's going on. to find a rather intriguing yet horrifying sight. All those years of experimenting and research… This is what they've led to. It is glorious to see it pay off, but that look… The woman looks up at her guards, who themselves look horrified now that they see something they've never seen on her face… Fear. "Yuuto," she says as she starts to back up. "Don't… Don't do anything rash… I've only done what I've done to care for you… Please… Calm down…"
Raising a hand, Yuuto would gently remove the blade from Maren's abdomen, eyes pulsing with anger as he tosses it aside. "You talk like you've treated me like anything human," the Uchiha says as he scoops Maren's body up to set her on the desk, breathing heavily in rage… Which he is no longer able to contain once she is set down, chakra surging around his body in a form so malevolent even the lower ranks can feel the deadly intent preparing to annihilate them. One of them is actually scared into action, drawing a sword and swinging it right at the back of Yuuto's neck… only to be interrupted by the appearance of a chunk of black rock that breaks his blade upon impact. "I am the demon you've created," the Uchiha says as he looks back at that guard, that twisted look growing more as more blood starts to pour from his eyes. That look could pierce through souls, but there is no need apparently as spikes of black rock begin to form in around him and fire off at the guards, striking with deadly intent, no mercy shown as blood and bits of flesh and organ begin fly through the air. With no chance to really defend themselves at all, bodies begin to fall to the floor in mass, puddles of blood beginning to leak out and form a larger pool. "This is what I've become because of you… Aren't you proud?"
Maren didn't flinch when the blade was removed, not suprisingly even if she was alive she might not have. Once placed on the desk gently the blood seemed to have stopped flowing. Her head fell to the side, looking oddly peaceful like a porceline doll, her complexion evening out in a kind of pallor that only made the blood on her face stand out more starkly. Nanami had thought to separate them, but all she's done is allowed Yuuto to create a stone barrier around them and then he attacked. If Maren had been alive she would have laughed in the woman's face, Yuuto could be sure of it, for she was reaping what she'd sown. And as was usually the case, the demon created was too much for the creator to handle…
As she watches her guards slaughtered, Nanami steps back more, but she soon finds herself against the wall with nowhere else to go since Yuuto is between herself and the door. "Y-Yuuto… You've got to stop," she pleads. "We'll explain it all to you… I'm sorry for the pain we caused you, but it was the only way to make you strong, to make you as strong as you should be… As… As.. As you are now…"
With the guards dispatched, Yuuto now turns his attention on Nanami. She finally seems to gather what little resolve she can as she reaches down for the sword he threw, but not to much avail as she swings it to try to block a black earth spike that flies her way, only for it to leave her with half a blade as the spike digs its into her shoulder. It's then knocked away by another spike that jabs into her other shoulder to shatter bones as it knocks her back against the wall. A loud cry of pain rings out as she starts to plead for her life.
"Yuuto… stop… please…."
But it's too late now. The demon inside Yuuto is fully awake, the curse of the Uchiha in full fruition, and Maren is not awake to be able to stop him from going into the dark this time. "… /He/ will die next… You say I am to wield the power of a kami… And I will use that power tear apart both Heaven and Hell… to put an end to the work of Scarecrow…. to get back my Oni-Hime…"
Nanami let out a scream as she was pinned against the wall by the spikes. Her pain was nothing compared to what they'd put Yuuto through but it was still enough for the older woman. And as she watched her son's anger manifest in bloody tears over the death of a tramp, she knew fear real fear, not the horror conjured by the genjutsu command. Her eyes landed then on Maren's body and she had a single moment where she wondered if she hadn't gone too far by killing the little wretch… but then she looked back to Yuuto and even as she saw her own death in his eyes and his words she gloried in what they had created.
Yuuto's intense eyes stare long at Nanami before he actually turns away from her and goes to scoop Maren's body up off the desk. "… You love this science so much… I'll let you be buried with it," he says as he looks over his shoulder at her, huge chunks of black rock beginning to break through the ceiling and pummel her, burying her screaming form under rock after rock as her bones and flesh are shattered and shorn while the Uchiha coldly starts to walk back out into the hallway. Eyes of remaining guards and scientists meet him in horror as they see he's made it out, but it's too late for them… The blood continues to pour from under his eyes as spikes of black rock begin to form around him and fire out at each of them without discrimination, slaughtering any in sight. Those who attempt to fight back or run do so only in futility as the newly awakened level of Sharingan rends them asunder one after the other while Yuuto calmly walks toward the exit to start heading back up into the bar where those he Genjutsud earlier may yet be waiting… to die.
