Starring:
Freyr (emitter), Naruko
Date: June 8, 2015
Summary:
Naruko undergoes the first of three trials intended to gain Matatabi's confidence, trust and friendship.
Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.
"Nine Live, One Host - Part Two"
Inside Naruko's Soul
Once again Naruko would find herself in the cavern that houses Matatabi, having been snatched while she slept once more. Matatabi would be awaiting her to wake up and says, "Well? We don't have all night?" He taps his foot, "I've decided to dispense will all the games and leave it up to you to prove to me that I can put my complete trust in you. So… on that note, I am going to test your mind, heart and body to see if you've got what it takes to master me. Pass them all and all my power is yours to do with as you will… fail, well, let's just say it's not a good idea if you fail."
Back in the hole… I wasn't as if Naruko was pleasantly sleeping above. She was trapped in that fortress, unable to leave. She knew very well that if this power wasn't mastered that Matatabi would over take her, they'd have to find a new host to replaced her shriveled up prunelike body. On that note she did awaken within herself, pulling herself from the ground and lightly rubbing at her noggin. "Ugh… are you going to let me wake up first? I'm totally…totally not used to this…" Naruko whined quietly under her breath. Finally listening and understanding exactly what he was trying to relate to. " So…. mind heart and body. Sounds… easy enough. So what are you going to do? Poke around my brain?"
Matatabi smiles a bit evilly and backs into the shadows, saying, "Not… exactly…" As soon as he says that, you feel yourself cut off completely from chakra, whether it be from Matatabi, or even your own as the torches on the walls blow out, leaving you completely in darkness. Seconds later a huge rock wall with an entrance carved into it grows up out of the floor and Matatabi's voice can be heard in the darkness, "Here is your first test, before you is a maze, a maze where you will have to find your way through, using your own skills without the aid of chakra. You task is to make it to the center of the maze and find me. Do so, and you pass… but beware, there are traps inside…" He trails off then leaving you to decide whether or not to step into the maze.
"Walk into the center of a maze and find you? Easy enough…" Naruko states as she simply looms forward and considers her options. All she had to do was fine him…Without chakra? She'd be able to walk as long as possible to find what she needed… " Easy peasy," Naruko merely states as she huffs slightly and begins her rite of passage, walking straight into the maze. She didn't seem concerned at all. "This is a good way to loosen up by the way! Playing a game!" Was Naruko mentally prepared? Maybe.
The problem is, as soon as Naruko steps through the opening, the tunnel-like entrance through the thick wall into the actual maze itself starts to close, making a speedy exit a necessity.
With steady steps Naruko merely goes on a bee walk through the tunnel. There really isn't a method to her madness, Matatabi knew well that Naruko plowed through things…mostly on pure instinct. So she merely continues forward, taking any right turn that might spew up while continuing forward along. "Just need to feel this area out a bit… Promise me you won't morph the maze while I'm in it! That would be cheating!"
Sadly, it's because Naruko didn't actually stop and think things through that the floor drops out from underneath her, sending her plunging into a bottomless pit. She ends up right back where she started and Matatabi's voice can be heard, "Strike one Naruko… you only get two more before you fail. If you can't think things through, how are you EVER going to be able to use me to my fullest potential?" His voice trails off again and the maze opens once more to admit Naruko.
And just like that she…failed? Her face smacks down onto the ground as she is literally right back to where she started… a huff escapes her lips as she instantly sat up with a hint of frustration. "Alright… whatever…" Naruko grunts as she wipes at her lip and moves forward again, she passed the entrance and this time looks about a bit more keenly. "It's just a stupid maze…" She wasn't even sure what a trapped area could look like. "Did you say to do this without the aid of chakra…?"
Matatabi says, "Of course, what sort of test would this be if you could use all your abilities! This is a test of your mind, something which you seem to lack… much as I LOATHE that stupid dog-man-thing that you hang around with in Konoha, he at least could solve THIS maze without breaking a sweat." His voice trails off again, leaving you to make your way through the maze again.
"Hey now he does have a name you know? That also makes me a loathful cat-girl thing. Maybe you just have a thing against dogs?" she grins lightly at this comments, pacing herself a little bit as she navigates the maze. There wasn't much of an art to what she was doing, but she continued to be weary of any mazes that looked 'off' in a place like this. Not to mention that the whole place was odd to begin with. "You know if you just let me use chakra, all I would have to do is destroy the walls until I get to you. That's something I would do if that is what it would take to get to you…"
Being much more cautious is proving to be the better choice as Naruko would be able to avoid several traps and navigate deeper into the maze. The voice of Matatabi snorts, "And what would you learn that way? Is your only option to HULK SMASH! everything to achieve your goals? How ever did you graduate the Academy with an attitude like that?"
"Just because I don't mind destroying things to save people doesn't mean I don't think about what I do…" Naruko comments as she bites down hard on her lip. "I will always take the easy way if it's an option, sure life throws you lemons at times but there isn't a reason to punish yourself if there is an easy option right infront of you… at the same time I have to make sure that same option accomodates others. I can go out in the wild and rub sticks together to get a fire started, or I can raise the fires of hell to get some real fire going…" She grins and wanders on through the maze a bit further. " I will make things easier for everyone,"
As you progress further into the maze, the traps are trickier and harder to spot, some are puzzles that you'd need to figure out before you can progress. Matatabi says, "What if raising the fires of hell would bring down an army upon you? Haven't you realized yet that not everything can be solved with the 'easiest' solution? I think you've become lazy, you've relied on my strength for too long, maybe I should just keep you cut off from your chakra until you can learn to not rely on the 'easy methods'" The voice is definitely nearby, a few more turns or so and you'll probably make it to him.
"You forget that lately I'm the one that cut you off. I've been fine without your power. No one really needs this sort of power… If only to make sure such power doesn't get in the wrong hands," Naruko states as she continues to make her way through the maze. She can tell she is getting closer, licking at her lips idly as she slips through a few of the puzzles, she stalls for a moment, but gradually makes her way through the maze. " Your right though, maybe I should try harder. I turned you off because it is easier to not lose control by not using you at all,"
Matatabi grumbles, "Yeah, I know, and it strays me off terribly since I can't see what your doing when you do that." The sound of his voice leads you around a bend and then all of a sudden, you've made it to the end of the maze. Matatabi looks up and blinks, "Eh? You made it?" He almost seems a bit shocked, "But… how?"
"I'm smart… I know how to work my way around traps and puzzles. I don't mean to come off as /brainless/" Naruko emphasises as she grins at Matatabi. Soon enough though she snorts and rolls in a fit of laughter. She merely waltz over closer towards Matatabi, grinning ear from ear. "Haha! I'm just joking, well just a bit anyways. You have are a pretty big count with a very loud voice. The best way to find you is just for you to keep talking and let me follow your voice. You know, the easy way to do things."
Metatabi sighs then, "Hoisted by my own petard I suppose… very well… you've passed the first test." He says this grudgingly, and just then you feel your chakra back, as it was never gone, probably he used Genjutsu to make you THINK it was gone and unaccessible.
The feeling of her chakra returning was nice… though she was still excited the hearing was the only thing she really needed. Aside from avoiding the bad traps. " Looks like I have two more to go then… " Naruko speaks softly, clasping her hands together. "Hopefully it won't be as easy hmm? Or maybe I just got a little lucky…"
Matatabi raises an eyebrow, "No, I got careless, which I suppose in the end is still a victory for you at any rate. The next one won't be easy, I'll be forcing you to face yourself and see just where your heart lies." He says this omniously.
Face myself… I do that all the time… with clones…" Naruko thumbs a finger at her cheek, honestly a little confused about the matter, nevertheless she felt like she was ready for it. "Okay then… I'll just do what I can to prepare for it. " Naruko then points to the sky above…well more like a shroud of darkness. "Mind putting me back up there…There are some things I want to consider… You know what a bit of privacy…"
Matatabi nods and you find yourself leaving the cavern inside you and awakening in the fortress once more.
