Jo didn’t flinch as the door slammed in his face; he was honestly more surprised that he got an answer than he was at Ms. Takahashi’s reaction to his appearance on her doorstep. He hadn’t even had time to ask about Ren before the wooden door was smashed back into its frame and the deadbolt slid into place. As had been happening so often of late, his emotions boiled within his chest, threatening to burst out. Every fiber of his being wanted to kick down the door and interrogate Rens mother for her whereabouts. She was his best friend for Raidens sake! They had survived the Academy together! Kept each other alive where all their other classmates had failed! They had taken their first lives on the same mission! There was no one else in the world who understood what Jo was going through at this moment than Takahashi Ren. He MUST speak to her!
No… Jo swallowed back the rage that threatened to consume him and turned his back on the door. If Ren’s mind was as broken as the Psyche Eval seemed to reflect, then what was left of his friend was gone now. Some people could look into the dark depths of the void of death and come out unscathed, others were consumed by it. Jo was neither. He, like so many other soldiers and shinobi before him stood on the edge of the void; diving in when duty calls, and clawing their way back out when the job was done, only to be left standing at the precipice between life and death. They attempt to live their lives as best they can, but the void is always there; sometimes just a shadow on the periphery of their vision, other times an all-consuming gaping maw.
The two women Jo loved most were the other two extremes. Takahashi Ren, his best friend whom he loved like a sister, had fallen into the depths after their second mission. As he stepped down the three steps from the front stoop of her mothers house to the sidewalk, Jo felt as if he was abandoning her there. She was his friend! He should be there for her during her trials and tribulations; but she didn’t want to see him (or so her mother had said countless times). His black, steel-toed boots crunched in the newly fallen snow as he left the shelter of the porch and walked towards the heart of the city; each step the knell of a funeral bell as he mourned the loss of his one true friend.
Snow flew thick this evening; fat flakes flung furiously forward by the ferocious gales frighteningly familiar to Kumogakure citizens. The buildings that lined the streets creating wind-tunnels that threw the frozen precipitation sideway and threaten to do likewise to anyone foolish enough to be caught out and about on such a tempestuous night. Jo wasn’t perturbed by the weather; he was raised in this town all his life, and he was well used to it by now. Besides, he was adequately clothed to defend against the frozen fury his homeland was famous for. He wore thermal pants beneath his blue-jeans, and his feet were clad in thick socks beneath his water-proof leather boots. His torso was triple-layered with a t-shirt, a dark-grey hoodie, and a brown leather jacket. He hadn’t bothered with adding more headwear to his usual garb, the hood on his sweatshirt was working well enough. Besides, the cold winds nipping at his face helped clear his head and sharpen his focus.
As he stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, his mind wandered to the other woman in his life; Takaki Saeko. He’d fallen for her when they’d met at the Shoguns Nameday Ball, and their love had blossomed ever since, culminating with his confession to her during his last mission over the soliton chakra radio system. Everyone in the Torre’s control center heard it, including her father; Sennin Takaki Masao. Not to mention that, due to some sort of signal crossing, super-technical something-or-other, everyone everyone on a similar system in Lightning, Marsh and Bear Countries heard his confession! The resulting praise and forest of lady-boners he’d been given and informed of (respectively) was flattering, even if it was a little embarrassing.
The only problem was that her father hadn’t known about their seeing each other; he was also Jo’s immediate commanding officer and one of the most powerful shinobi in Kumo. As such, Jo had expected a not-so-enthusiastic meeting shortly after his return to the Village; more-than-likely involving death by hairbrush. He was surprised to find that the Sennin wasn’t in his office when he went to the Torre to face the music. He wasn’t in his office, and he didn’t return all day. Jo had tried to find Tama, or Zaku, but he hadn’t seen them since they returned from their mission, and he couldn’t find them anywhere. A lone shinobi trying to canvas an entire city was hopeless; and he didn’t have access to their personnel files, so he couldn’t go to their homes. In the end, he was so frustrated that all the emotions that he had been holding back burst forth. Luckily, he was at the training grounds behind the Academy when it happened. No one was going to miss six or seven training dummies (now smoldering piles of charred wood).
Once he was drained of all his anger (and consequently, his chakra), he started wandering the Village. He hadn’t been paying attention to where he was going, he just ended up at Rens house. He needed to talk to someone, and who better than his best friend? Now she was gone, and Jo was alone. The boy wasn’t very social when he was a student at the Academy; and his time since his graduation had been spent on back-to-back missions. The little down time he had was spent training. As a result, he didn’t have many friends. Sure he had his teammates, but he’d never hung out with them off the clock. He loved Saeko, and he wanted to spend the little time he had away from work with her; but he didn’t know where she was, her or her father. He was alone.
Once again, he hadn’t been paying attention to where he was going. He vaguely remembered seeing illuminated shop windows through the flurry of flakes, but those were just images flashing by at his periphery. His vision was more filled by the gaping maw of death.
Jo wasn’t sure what woke him from his revere. Was it the laughter of the beast within, or the fact that the wind had stopped blowing? Jo glanced around, realizing where he was. Dawnbringer Plaza was at the crux of five streets, the statue of Aion stood tall at the center of the circular courtyard, dominating the cobblestone expanse. Where the five streets focused the winter gale like a wind tunnel, when they met at the Plaza they canceled each other out. Instead of the driving snow and howling winds, the air was dead, and the snow fell in giant, silent flakes. It was like standing in the middle of a snow globe; save for the falling snow, the world was silent and still.
Jo walked to the center of the Plaza, his gaze turned upward towards the face of the Dawnbringer. What was going on inside him? What was the beast? Where was Saeko and Masao? Why was he alone?
”Why…?”
{MFT: 1494)
No… Jo swallowed back the rage that threatened to consume him and turned his back on the door. If Ren’s mind was as broken as the Psyche Eval seemed to reflect, then what was left of his friend was gone now. Some people could look into the dark depths of the void of death and come out unscathed, others were consumed by it. Jo was neither. He, like so many other soldiers and shinobi before him stood on the edge of the void; diving in when duty calls, and clawing their way back out when the job was done, only to be left standing at the precipice between life and death. They attempt to live their lives as best they can, but the void is always there; sometimes just a shadow on the periphery of their vision, other times an all-consuming gaping maw.
The two women Jo loved most were the other two extremes. Takahashi Ren, his best friend whom he loved like a sister, had fallen into the depths after their second mission. As he stepped down the three steps from the front stoop of her mothers house to the sidewalk, Jo felt as if he was abandoning her there. She was his friend! He should be there for her during her trials and tribulations; but she didn’t want to see him (or so her mother had said countless times). His black, steel-toed boots crunched in the newly fallen snow as he left the shelter of the porch and walked towards the heart of the city; each step the knell of a funeral bell as he mourned the loss of his one true friend.
Snow flew thick this evening; fat flakes flung furiously forward by the ferocious gales frighteningly familiar to Kumogakure citizens. The buildings that lined the streets creating wind-tunnels that threw the frozen precipitation sideway and threaten to do likewise to anyone foolish enough to be caught out and about on such a tempestuous night. Jo wasn’t perturbed by the weather; he was raised in this town all his life, and he was well used to it by now. Besides, he was adequately clothed to defend against the frozen fury his homeland was famous for. He wore thermal pants beneath his blue-jeans, and his feet were clad in thick socks beneath his water-proof leather boots. His torso was triple-layered with a t-shirt, a dark-grey hoodie, and a brown leather jacket. He hadn’t bothered with adding more headwear to his usual garb, the hood on his sweatshirt was working well enough. Besides, the cold winds nipping at his face helped clear his head and sharpen his focus.
As he stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, his mind wandered to the other woman in his life; Takaki Saeko. He’d fallen for her when they’d met at the Shoguns Nameday Ball, and their love had blossomed ever since, culminating with his confession to her during his last mission over the soliton chakra radio system. Everyone in the Torre’s control center heard it, including her father; Sennin Takaki Masao. Not to mention that, due to some sort of signal crossing, super-technical something-or-other, everyone everyone on a similar system in Lightning, Marsh and Bear Countries heard his confession! The resulting praise and forest of lady-boners he’d been given and informed of (respectively) was flattering, even if it was a little embarrassing.
The only problem was that her father hadn’t known about their seeing each other; he was also Jo’s immediate commanding officer and one of the most powerful shinobi in Kumo. As such, Jo had expected a not-so-enthusiastic meeting shortly after his return to the Village; more-than-likely involving death by hairbrush. He was surprised to find that the Sennin wasn’t in his office when he went to the Torre to face the music. He wasn’t in his office, and he didn’t return all day. Jo had tried to find Tama, or Zaku, but he hadn’t seen them since they returned from their mission, and he couldn’t find them anywhere. A lone shinobi trying to canvas an entire city was hopeless; and he didn’t have access to their personnel files, so he couldn’t go to their homes. In the end, he was so frustrated that all the emotions that he had been holding back burst forth. Luckily, he was at the training grounds behind the Academy when it happened. No one was going to miss six or seven training dummies (now smoldering piles of charred wood).
Once he was drained of all his anger (and consequently, his chakra), he started wandering the Village. He hadn’t been paying attention to where he was going, he just ended up at Rens house. He needed to talk to someone, and who better than his best friend? Now she was gone, and Jo was alone. The boy wasn’t very social when he was a student at the Academy; and his time since his graduation had been spent on back-to-back missions. The little down time he had was spent training. As a result, he didn’t have many friends. Sure he had his teammates, but he’d never hung out with them off the clock. He loved Saeko, and he wanted to spend the little time he had away from work with her; but he didn’t know where she was, her or her father. He was alone.
Once again, he hadn’t been paying attention to where he was going. He vaguely remembered seeing illuminated shop windows through the flurry of flakes, but those were just images flashing by at his periphery. His vision was more filled by the gaping maw of death.
Blink
A dozen broken bodies lay splayed out before him, his now-empty bolter lay steaming in the snow. They were shredded and torn by steel, their blood steaming as it stained the snow crimson. He drew his handbolter, fired twice into another. The man fell to the ground, silent. He stepped forward, he heard screaming. He looked down. One of the bodies was writhing, his face twisted in agony, his voice ragged with blood and chunks of lung. He was screaming in Hangul. He was crying for his mother. Jo lined up his sights with the center of his forehead. He pulled the trigger. Blood and brains everywhere.
Something was wrong. More wrong than one boy killing another. There was an unintelligible sound. Jo searched for it. Stopped in horror. The wolf was massive. Fur so black it rivaled the night sky. Glowing red eyes burning into his soul. It was feasting on one of the bodies. The sound was it crunching on bones. It noticed him looking. It smiled. Blood and bone marrow dripped from its teeth.
”Who are you?” Jo’s voice echoed through the memory, rending what had once been a past reality that was horrible enough without this intrusion. The sound of thunder rolled through the images, sundering them like a stone thrown through glass. It took a moment before Jo realized that it was laughter…
Something was wrong. More wrong than one boy killing another. There was an unintelligible sound. Jo searched for it. Stopped in horror. The wolf was massive. Fur so black it rivaled the night sky. Glowing red eyes burning into his soul. It was feasting on one of the bodies. The sound was it crunching on bones. It noticed him looking. It smiled. Blood and bone marrow dripped from its teeth.
”Who are you?” Jo’s voice echoed through the memory, rending what had once been a past reality that was horrible enough without this intrusion. The sound of thunder rolled through the images, sundering them like a stone thrown through glass. It took a moment before Jo realized that it was laughter…
Jo wasn’t sure what woke him from his revere. Was it the laughter of the beast within, or the fact that the wind had stopped blowing? Jo glanced around, realizing where he was. Dawnbringer Plaza was at the crux of five streets, the statue of Aion stood tall at the center of the circular courtyard, dominating the cobblestone expanse. Where the five streets focused the winter gale like a wind tunnel, when they met at the Plaza they canceled each other out. Instead of the driving snow and howling winds, the air was dead, and the snow fell in giant, silent flakes. It was like standing in the middle of a snow globe; save for the falling snow, the world was silent and still.
Jo walked to the center of the Plaza, his gaze turned upward towards the face of the Dawnbringer. What was going on inside him? What was the beast? Where was Saeko and Masao? Why was he alone?
”Why…?”
{MFT: 1494)
