Ninpocho Chronicles

Ninpocho Chronicles is a fantasy-ish setting storyline, set in an alternate universe World of Ninjas, where the Naruto and Boruto series take place. This means that none of the canon characters exists, or existed here.

Each ninja starts from the bottom and start their training as an Academy Student. From there they develop abilities akin to that of demigods as they grow in age and experience.

Along the way they gain new friends (or enemies), take on jobs and complete contracts and missions for their respective villages where their training and skill will be tested to their limits.

The sky is the limit as the blank page you see before you can be filled with countless of adventures with your character in the game.

This is Ninpocho Chronicles.

Current Ninpocho Chronicles Time:

Evening Wonderland [Private]

Muramasa Maya

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2012
Messages
2,827
Yen
1,734,336
ASP
0
Deaths
0
*Pull* *Pull* *Pull*

It was that sunset twilight when half the lights of the streets would still be off, and half of them just turning on for the evening. Some shoppers were going home for the night, while others were just arriving for the evening. Yet hidden amongst the sounds of the crowd, the sounds of strained pulling and tugging could be heard in one of the many alleyways during this almost-early-evening. An inquisitive person investigating the alleyway might have found that the sound seem to be coming from above, from the higher floors of one of the more run down, emptier buildings.

*Pull* *Pull* *Puuuuuuull* "Haa...haa..." (That should be tight enough, right Shiro?) The girl thought (yes, thought, speaking was difficult for her at this point) in the direction of her companion; a small vaguely rabbit-shaped puppet perched upon a nearby chair, overlooking the room the small girl had been working in. Her project; a large hammock composed of many thin black threads. It looked as if it were made by hair (Really, really long hair), woven into a large net. Although the fibers were much, much more durable than than hair...

Oh, and she was in her self-claimed "territory"; part of the top floor of a semi-built building that had looked like the constructors gave up finishing the job two-thirds of the way through.

Ever since her unfortunate mission earlier this week, she discovered she had some strange ability to create weird fibers. (I don't remember hearing about any Jutsu like this...) She thought. And the knowledge to manipulate said threads seemed to come rather naturally as well; perhaps this was her bloodline? (Uchiha...Hyuuga...Toujigikou...Kyoujouran...) She recited several bloodlines she was able to recall, yet nothing she remembered seem to match up with her situation...

Oh; she didn't know who, what, where, or when she was. What she did know was that she was really hungry, and the setting sun seemed to declare it was dinner time. With a spin in place, she reached for her dearest companion, Shiro, and climbed out of the window to descend to the alley below, and from there the streets. But not before wrapping a thick scarf around herself, shrouding her neck and lowerface.

There were all sorts in the streets, but the little girl looked completely out of place being shoeless, wearing a light dress and a several-sizes-too-large scarf, while carrying around a strange doll. Toss in the stitchwork along her limbs, and it was no wonder that she preffered to wander the alleys and sidestreets rather than the main street...

[Marked]
 

Akechi

Active Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
1,223
Yen
582,524
ASP
0
Deaths
0
*Pull* *Pull* *Pull*

Life for the people in the village seemed to be going into somewhat of transition. The evening dew took over the sky as the sun became covered in clouds. Walking through the streets, Akechi could even see this transition in the people that inhabited the wide brick sidewalk. Not that this was an overly shady part of town but the nightfolk were quite colorful, seemingly stumbling out of their daytime naps and back onto the night scene, filling local taverns and restaurants that had transitioned into bars. Yup, even respectable businesses had suddenly transformed under the night’s eye. Iwagakure, like many other nations, had mastered the art of capitalism with businesses charging a pretty penny for the services that customers seemed to beckon for. I guess it made sense to change as the occupants of the streets changed. It was the only way to make money amongst healthy competition.

Making a small stop at a convenience stand, Akechi picked up a couple of snacks for himself, delicious little biscuit sticks called pocky. He’d normally wait until dinner before he killed his appetite but the different flavors of the candied sticks is what caught his eye. Sunagakure only managed to come up with the standard chocolate with the occasional strawberry option, but this place had managed to create honey, banana, coconut, milk and all other types of flavors. Cheesing like a child in front of his own birthday cake, the man purchased one of each of the flavors, fully intent on trying all ten of the wonderful little sweets.

He had just ate the first one, filling his taste buds with a savory lime flavor as his ears caught wind of a weird tugging sound. *Tug* *Tug* *Tug* ”Just what on Earth is that sound?” Akechi questioned, curiously poking his head in the alleyway from which it came. There was nothing but eerie silence for a couple of seconds. However, just as the young Uchiha had taken his second bite, he heard that same odd sound again. Being the man that he was, he grew curious and began his journey to find its source.

Finishing the lime flavored pocky stick, he came across a large half finished building where the sound seemed to be coming from. Naturally, it was vacant, setting the scene for what seemed like some type of horror/slasher flick. It only seemed right if today’s hero ventured into the run down building. After all, this was how all of the movies started.

Eventually, the man’s Sharingan filled eyes came across a rather disturbing scene as he entered a room on one of the higher floors of the rundown building. A girl, a young disturbed looking girl seemed to be yanking on what looked like some type of large fiber. The fiber seemed like hair to the untrained eye but the Sharingan could see chakra running through each thread of that black substance that the young lady had pulled on. He moved closer to expect it but as he did, the girl had hopped out of the window…

He had to go after her… I mean… what the hell was she up to?

Warping right in front of the girl, he knelt down in front of her, extending the hand filled to the brim with those salty, sweet pocky sticks. ”Let’s trade. I’ll give you one of my pocky sticks if you tell me what that thing was up there?” He asked, sheepishly smiling as his other hand pointed in the direction of the room that she had just “escaped” out of.

What a weird one she was….
 

Muramasa Maya

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2012
Messages
2,827
Yen
1,734,336
ASP
0
Deaths
0
*Crash*

Okay, fine...That might have been a little of an exaggeration, it was more of a *Bump* "...Hyan..."

She walked right into the man's outstretched hand, stumbling into him. But in her defense, people don't just randomly appear in front of you on a daily basis. Like, poof! Out of thin air! She didn't even catch onto the trick, and just assumed she must have somehow not been paying attention to her surroundings hard enough. What a weird one he was.

Obviously, she was confused. Not just by his appearance, but the fact that he had knowledge of her personal sanctuary.
"Eeeh?! He was in our room, shiro..." She mumbled beneath her scarf, hiding her face shyly with her ultimate bangs-scarf combo...but not before making the briefest of eye contact, noting eyes unlike any she's seen before (not a big achievement, considering he only had a few days worth of memories to compete against) (...Kinda cool...they're red like a squashed kitty...Kawaii...) Yes, she declared (mentally) that the Uchiha's eyes were cute as opposed to threatening.

As for his offer, she was hungry..."Umm...I like those...but my belly doesn't like them...Its kinda picky lately..." She explained, glancing down the alleyway she had came from. Amongst the trash one could usually expect scattered in an alleyway, one would be able to notice a variety of partially eaten snacks and food items littered together in a small area (coincidentally, it was just below the window she had "escaped" from). "Partially eaten" was another exaggeration; it was mostly either one bite or a few pieces of something, leaving 90% of things untouched. Pocky was amongst them.

But this man seemed to be loaded; odds were at least one of the flavors would be too her body's liking, right? "...But some of flavors I haven't tried." she mumbled again shyly, accepting the conditions lain before her. Gluttony could be tempting.

"That was my bed (I hope he didn't lay in it!)...th-the ground is kinda cold, sometimes...B-but S-shiro says weird people go into other's rooms without permission...You're weird." She admitted, raising her puppet up infront of her face to increase her layers of defenses from two to three. The legendary puppet-bang-scarf formation, a secret technique amongst immortal shy zombie girls. "...is what he says." She quickly added on that last bit, shaking her puppet slowly for emphasis.

"I want the yellow box." She demanded; there was no timidness in that final statement.
 

Akechi

Active Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
1,223
Yen
582,524
ASP
0
Deaths
0
“Shiro?”

Who on Earth was Shiro? I mean, she may have thought that she was whispering to her “friend” but Akechi could make out those faint words of hers. Honestly, he thought that he was missing something. In fact, he looked around a couple of times as she spoke to this mysterious Shiro, goofily doing a little salute as he looked around as if he were attempting to find her friend. Seriously though, what was she talking to? Herself, perhaps?

”Your belly doesn’t like them? No such thing.” Akechi responded, grinning as she outed herself as the litterbug of the alleyway. If her innocent but guilty eyes didn’t sell such an idea, the fact that this “mountain” of garbage just so happened to be directly under her window was a dead giveaway. Actually, her trash did tell the story of a malnourished kid, stuffing herself with snacks and junk food in lieu of real food… or at least nutritional foods. ”I think your belly is asking for real food. See… our bodies require more than just candy to fully develop and evolve.” Then again, how did she survive out in the world on her own anyways? A child surviving on her own was simple luck, and they tended to be a bit luckier when they were out in the wilderness. Why? Because the jungle was source of most survival skills, and the child that lived by themselves in the jungle would have to figure out how to survive or simply die. Conversely, a child living in the city knew no such thing, nor would they. They’d survive based off of what was readily available but most kids went with candy… a fine treat in moderation but crippling otherwise.

”I’m weird? I don’t think so. I thought I heard a little girl in trouble… now I find out it’s just one that seems to be hungry.” He responded, holding out the yellow lemon flavored treat so that she could have what she demanded. Interesting side note, all of the females that Akechi had met in this village were ridiculously bossy. Perhaps it was the Iwain culture that they were raised in but Sunagakure’s women were a lot more submissive… and more reasonable more often than not.

”So Shiro is the puppet? Are you sure it can talk? I don’t hear anything.” He teased, grinning as he casually pointed in “Shiro’s” direction.
 

Muramasa Maya

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2012
Messages
2,827
Yen
1,734,336
ASP
0
Deaths
0
This talk about "real food" was astonishing to the girl; "...Then, I don't think I know what real food is..." When she was hungry, she had thought it would be as simple as finding something that might be good and attempting to eat, but so far had failed to keep any of it down. Zero success in the past few days. "Eating...is alot more complicated than it should be..."

As for her companion? It seemed obvious to her; Shiro was right there with her the whole time. Shiro was always there, always keeping her company. If Shiro wasn't there, then that would mean that she'd be alone; and she didn't want that, no matter how timid or discomforted she may have been around others. So, of course there was something with her all the time. Perception is reality. "S-Shiro is Shiro, so he's...Shiro." She confirmed, holding up her puppet to the weird one's face. That meant Akechi, by the way.
"...say something, Shiro..." She mumbled, shifting her attention away from Akechi. After a brief pause, she returned her hidden gaze back to Mr.Appears-in-front-of-you. "...He only talks to me, he says. But he said its fine if I translate."

Another moment of hesitation, and she let go of Shiro with one hand in order to claim her lemon-flavored reward slowly, as if she expected him to pull it back at the last second. "...Thank you. Weird people could still be nice..." She claimed, her cheery expression quickly becoming one of surprise in response to her own comment. "Sh-shiro said that, too, though! N-not me..." Though rather than relief at her attempted recovery, she became even more flustered. "I-I-I said th-thank you...since Shiro doshan't eat, so he's no help for m-me..." Each time she spoke she felt more timid, so once her biological word limit was reached, she began struggling to speak clearly. Had her circulatory system still functioned as normal, her heart would have no doubt been beating quickly as well as her face flushing, but this wasn't the case and both remained deathly unchanged, with the exception of her hidden expressions. She adjusted her scarf to conceal even more of her neack an face, managing to hide everything below her nose now. That meant she was hiding from Akechi now.

[Marked]
 

Akechi

Active Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
1,223
Yen
582,524
ASP
0
Deaths
0
”You don’t know what real food is? Ah! Who takes care of you?” Akechi asked, wondering just how the girl had managed to survive for this long. Parents were generally proprietors of the food chain. Put simply, children learned the basics of nourishment from this little triangle that basically took all of the basic foods that a human being requires and boiled it down to a concept that was relatively easy for even a child to understand. Human parents were generally the individuals that facilitated such learning, and if not parents then an instructor or mentor of some sort. Basically, someone needed to tell the girl that she’d more than likely perish if she continued to eat the way she did. Then again, she wasn’t entirely normal…

Not with chakra levels that resembled a fully grown and truly talented adult. Perhaps, she was a demon masquerading around as a child, or at least a host for a demon, keeping the body of a small frail child just so that it could sneak around in the darkness and play on human emotion to get what it wanted. Akechi found himself perplexed but also intrigued by such a notion. Again, he found himself in the middle of a fact finding mission on demons and the paranormal. He may as well been a character on Supernatural or Grimm…

Something like that…

”Well… I have to do my duty as a gentlemen and show you what real food is. You… or Shiro, wouldn’t happen to know of where you could find a change of clothes though?” He asked with a smile on his face, grinning as he stroked his chin as if he were in deep thought. I mean, he was a cool guy and all, but he had an image to uphold. The girl was basically in rags… she’d need a change of clothes if she were going out for dinner with Akechi. Sure, he understood the perils of living alone but he was working nowadays…

And he had one hell of a character to portray. Rags simply weren’t allowed…

”Ya know. I wonder if Shiro can make himself tangible. You know like… move things and help you out with stuff. I mean, no offense to him but the sock puppet is kind of useless as is.” Akechi giggled, his Sharingan covered eyes staring at the sock puppet, wondering if it could feel the sting of the insult. Pushing the envelope was something that he needed to do, especially after his other plans seemed to fall through.
 

Muramasa Maya

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2012
Messages
2,827
Yen
1,734,336
ASP
0
Deaths
0
Akechi's comments seemed to be remarkably adept at causing her cheeks to inflate with the very air that her body really didn't have any need to be inhaling in the first place, but did so out of habit. Err, anyways, that meant she was pouting. "...I can take care of myself you know...I'm a genin..." She muttered under her breath. Although the man's concerns really weren't unwarranted; had her body adhered to the rules of nature more strictly, she more than likely would have perished some time ago due to poor nutrition...or lack of proper wound treatment. Scarves weren't exactly proper bandages, afterall.

That being said, her face tilted up and seemed to brighten in response to being shown what "real food", apparently was. She was obviously excited, and readily accepted any of the terms and conditions. "....Change? Y-yes!...I do! I...I can change...if this dress is a bad one..." She agreed as enthusiastically as her stuttering allowed, nodding her head. Despite that, she actually felt it as one of her better dresses...it was her favorite. Sure, it was tattered, worn out, faded...but it was comfy, and she liked the color red.

"W-wait here....please don't go in my room while I change..." She spoke, still distraught over his earlier intrusion. She clutched her doll, running a hand over it as if she were petting it. "Shiro...says he's going to stay here, too. He can't move without me...but he can help with stuff sometimes..." She placed it down on the ground were she stood, positioning it to face the man. Watching him with its dark, empty eyes.

Staring.
Judging.
Mocking.
Daring the man to go spy on its strange little master.

...Okay, maybe it wasn't that dramatic. But! The once-lifeless puppet did seem to begin to steadily fill the same chakra as the girl that left it there.
And then, it really did stare at him. Well, halfway; some kind of change had occurred within one of the puppets eyes, some movement that seemed to lead to it getting an optical receptor through which to view the world. The socket just sort of turned upon itself to view at him through a feline-like eye.

aUx9krt.png


Equally notable was that as the girl left to her run down "home", several hidden strings seemed to connect her to her puppet. No, it wasn't the puppeteer technique, these were physical, and were one point away from being nearly invisible, unless of course they were viewed by someone with hax eye powers that could clearly see the glow of chakra coursing through them, spoiling all the fun. But, assuming someone gazed upon them with said superpowered vision it'd be obvious they were the same thin fibers that composed her mesh of a bed in the building.

Changing clothes was boring, so the least she could do was toy with the man abit. While she changed, Shiro seemed to focus its attention on Akechi, in some sort of attempt at comunication that involved slowly wiggling ears, twitching stitches and struggled attempts at making sounds that were eerily reminiscent of a cat's meow. A weak, guttural sound.

It would continue for several minutes until the girl managed to return in...*drumroll* A white dress instead of a red one. "....I'm back...This is all I had..." No rips or torn fabric, and it would actually be a legit outfit...minus the dirt and wrinkles. And the lack of socks, and unmatching red scarf, but you win some you lose some.

[Marked]
 

Akechi

Active Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
1,223
Yen
582,524
ASP
0
Deaths
0
”Guess I’ve turned into my father without even realizing it,” Akechi giggled, responding to the girl’s comment made under her breath. Honestly, he didn’t really need to be lecturing the girl like this. He didn’t mean to nor did he have to, considering that she seemed to have defied the odds so far. Not that she didn’t seem inviting to the man’s suggestions but Akechi needed to learn how to take himself out of other people’s issues. It served as nothing more than a distraction for what he should’ve been doing. A man with the goals that he had shouldn’t be involving himself with taking care of children in rags with sock puppets that talked in secret. Then again, perhaps he shouldn’t forsake his own human nature and compassion. Striking a balance between the two seemed to be the key toward the eternal dilemma of staying proactive while not being a complete bastard. It was hard to do nowadays.

Oh well… at least the tiny woman was interesting…

”It’s not a bad one. It’s just not a proper one.” Akechi corrected, attempting to soften the blow to the girl’s ego. I mean, it seemed like she really liked her dress. It wasn’t like the dress was ugly… well… it was but it had seen better days. Obviously, the dress had a very beautiful shade of red. It just lay dormant, underneath all of grime, wear and tear, and filth that the girl had put it through without supervision. She’d get the hang of taking care of things. It’d just take time... ”Anyways, I’ll wait here. PROMISE!” Throwing two thumbs up toward the girl, hopefully reassuring her that he wasn’t into peeping… especially on little girls. The funny thing was what happened next. The girl left the puppet with Akechi, placing on the ground where she once stood…

However, the chakra that Akechi could clearly see within the small girl was still present… right where she stood… even as she had left. Stroking his chin, Akechi wondered just how something like that could be possible. Unless his initial hunch was right. He never thought that he’d find himself in a staring contest with the dark, empty eyes of a puppet but here he was; staring into the eyes of this puppet with his Sharingan, practically begging it to make a move.

He stared…
Found himself amused…
Found himself intrigued…

And then something truly curious happened. The damn thing seemed to look back at him. Only for a second, but Akechi knew that he saw. Not just that but there seemed to be the tinge of chakra on the ground, filling what looked to be “strings” connecting the puppet with the girl. Peculiar to say the least. ”You can talk can’t you? Just what are you?” Akechi asked as the puppet wiggled its ears at him. He wasn’t sure if it were an extension of the girl or a separate entity altogether, but he was pretty keen on finding out exactly what he was dealing with.

Regardless, little Miss Cinderella had returned to the ball—alleyway. ”Ah! That looks much better!” Akechi clapped, squinting his eyes to hide the fact that this dress wasn’t much better. Well… at least it wasn’t ripped to shit…

”Well I already met little Shiro-san over here. My name is Akechi. What’s yours little one?” He’d ask, bowing his head slightly as he introduced himself to the young woman. After a small introduction he’d ask a question that would surely get her tummy all excited. ”Ever hear of pizza, ramen or dumplings?”
 

Muramasa Maya

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2012
Messages
2,827
Yen
1,734,336
ASP
0
Deaths
0
"Heehee~" She giggled shyly in response to his praise, pleasantly pleased that her only other outfit was to his liking (at least to her knowledge). "....Did you have fun with Shiro?..." She questioned, reclaiming her companion from the ground. The puppet became dormant once again when the girl returned, its chakra levels falling to still-there-but-ony-barely levels once in the possession of its counterpart.

As for the strings; rather than bunch up with extra length as the girl approached they seemed to shrink, always having the exact distance needed to connect the two; no more and no less. Eventually they disappeared entirely once the girl's hands made contact with her puppet once more, not "vanishing" as Akechi was prone to do, but rather seemed to merge into the sutures of the girl's wrists. The shared chakra would hint at Shiro being an extension of the girl, yet it differed slightly, maybe by 7% at most.

All of that, of course, was info only noticeable to those with super-ultra-forensic-crimsongan vision.

As for "Akechi"..."...Hello, A...A-Akechi..." She mumbled, returning to her earlier behavior of hiding behind her bangs.
"Sa-Sawako...My name is Sawako." She muttered, the name that she had been given. Her old name may have been lost...but this was her name now.

"D-Dumplings for sure!" She nodded assertively (complete with various "agree"-ment sound effects). She knew she liked them despite having no memories of them; she was surprised that she hadn't actually thought of trying some up to now. It was like that for most things in her mind actually; she struggled to remember things until she was reminded of them. It may have meant some of her lost memories returned, but she still found it frustrating.

"...D-Do you like dumplings...A-Akechi-san?" She (not Shiro) quietly asked, barely above a whisper. Fun fact; her voice was quiet and stuttery when "she" spoke, while it was louder and steadier when she rephrased what "Shiro" said. "....Do you know where Du-dumplings are? D-Do you live here...in Iwa?...Are you a shinobi? Have you killed people?" She gazed towards the man curiously. The eyes gave him away as someone above the common rungs, but exactly how special he may or may not be was something she intended to dissect from him with her questions. Perhaps in otherways as well at a later point in her storyline...but for now, we'll thankfully stick with just the questions.
 

Akechi

Active Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
1,223
Yen
582,524
ASP
0
Deaths
0
”It ignored me. Unless I’m reading this wrong,” Akechi said to himself, clearly preoccupied with the puppet as the small girl “snuck” her back into the conversation. ”I wouldn’t call it fun.” Akechi laughed, his eyes quickly readjusting themselves to the child, especially after the difference in chakra levels when she had returned. See, for whatever reason, when the child in the white dress returned to her previous station the chakra that seemed to radiate off of the sockpuppet had returned into its fainter, dormant state. Even the strings that attached the girl to “Shiro” had seemed to shrink as she got closer, eventually disappearing as she reestablished a connection with the puppet. Something was amiss… However, one thing was entirely clear to Akechi in this moment. He realized that the puppet was nothing more than a conduit for something else that lie dormant within the girl. Something else entirely.

”What I mean is, “Shiro” doesn’t talk much. Interestingly enough, he did glare at me though. Looked like a single yellow, feline-like demon eye in one of its sockets. Sound familiar at all?” The man asked, stroking his chin as he noticed that the chakra within the puppet, while obviously shared between the two, was slightly different. However, it was this difference that led him to believe that there was something else inhabiting the girl’s body. In fact, he wasn’t sure if this girl was indeed a fantastic actor or an unwilling participant, but he was dead set on figuring out what was what. ”Sawako-chan? That’s a beautiful name.” He had a habit of calling every woman’s name “beautiful,” he just found it to be polite. No other reason than that… at least not with a girl this young.

“Dumplings for sure!” She answered with such assertiveness as if she had the pleasure of actually eating the food before. He didn’t notice it among the trash at the feet of her “apartment,” if you’d call it that, but it wasn’t a stretch to imagine that she had them before. Nonetheless, it would make the girl trust him a bit more as now they had some common ground to stand on. ”I love dumplings, Sawako-chan. They are amazing. Especially the kind with pork in the middle! And don’t forget that wonderful dipping sauce!” He really did love dumplings. He kind of chuckled and chatted about it like a schoolgirl or something. These days he loved the little things in life and clung on to them because life as he knew it could change in a second. He wasn’t afraid of death, he didn’t believe that anyone held the power to kill him until he reached his goal, but he was afraid of change. Change forced him out of his village and on to a harsher life because of necessity. He hated change… in fact, he loathed the day that would eventually come when he’d be an enemy of Iwakagure. After all, that’s what normally happened to people like him. Getting framed or committing crimes of his own were simply a part of the life of being a missing nin. Most villages only believed in fundamental rights to the extent of their own people…

Missing nin…

Their lives were forfeit…

”I live here now, Sawako-chan. And I am a shinobi. I have killed before.” Akechi answered, his voice grew noticeably serious upon that last statement. He took human life very seriously. Killing people was something that he didn’t take lightly, but in his life… ”Only when necessary though. Human life is precious.” But now he wondered…

”We can get dumplings in a second but before we go… I’d like to know… Have you killed anyone? Have you always lived in Iwagakure?” Weird questions to ask a minor but perhaps he was hoping that something else would slip out. Something he could use to ascertain a bit more of her lineage and nature…
 

Muramasa Maya

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2012
Messages
2,827
Yen
1,734,336
ASP
0
Deaths
0
"..." She muttered silently. Yes, the girl could mutter ellipses; it was some kind of adorable sound that couldn't really be translated to writing. Anyways, it seemed Akechi wasn't particularly impressed with Shiro. This puzzled the girl, who wanted the two to be friends...But perhaps She...or Shiro...was right; Shiro existed only to be her friend and protector. Still, perhaps it would change. Afterall; Shiro could do all kinds of neat tricks. Providing he had his owner's assistance, of course...At least, for now.

"Shiro says he can't talk yet because he's not complete. He says he's still missing some pieces, and the ones he has are wrong. Shiro says he's a rabbit, not a cat." Sawako spoke in a matter-of-factly tone. The exact meaning of her words were left to the imagination, but suffice to say there was a reason "Shiro" had the same sutures across its figure as its owner. "...O-our eyes aren't t-too good...And Shiro says he doesn't like having only one, either." She continued, revealing the poor eyesight both she, and apparently her puppet, possessed. No doubt resulting from all the crawling around she did underground for nearly a decade, albeit thankfully she was spared from having to recall such dark memories that no longer existed within her mind.

"...I-I really like my name!" Sawako spoke, proudly, of the name given to her. Well, everyone had their names given to them, but considering she couldn't remember anything about her previous one, it made her treasure her new given one that much more. Even more than dumplings, not to put them down of course! "The sauce...I-I really like the sauce, t-too!" She hummed happily to herself, swaying her head side to side. Had the topic ended there, it would have been a happy one!

But..."Human life is precious..." She muttered to herself, the figurative gears in her head clicking.
"I..I think I've always lived here, I think. I-I don't remember anything past a couple of days ago though...I don't have any memories." She revealed. Hence, her odd mannerisms and appearance.

"I...don't know if I ever..." She began quietly, but shortly after her voice trailed off into silence...
Then she tried a different approach to the subject; "Shiro says he's sure I never killed anyone. But, we're not sure if its scary or interesting. Shiro says "precious things" are sometimes the funnest to break." Like accidentally tripping into an expensive vase, stubbing your toe on a table holding up a tall tower of cards, or challenging an old statue to a game of catch using a few old eggs. Sawako wasn't sure if the idea of death frightened her or fascinated her. Perhaps it was mix a both.

"...Sometimes...when I'm alone...I'll have dreams wondering what its like. I don't know if they're...g-good dreams or...bad ones..." "Dreams" may have been the wrong word considering she hadn't actually slept in over half a week, but she wasn't big on saying she fantasized on the thought of killing. Still, when alone, she'd space out and recall the scene when she woke up earlier in the week; in a boat, with a corpse. She had no memories, but she felt that it was a corpse rather than a person because of her...and it frightened her at the time, she was afraid at that moment. But then, later, regretted not investigating it further. Her mind would wander back to that time whenever it had the chance, so she tried to keep herself busy.

"A-Akechi...I-If...you live here...m-maybe we could be...friends?..." She asked timidly. "Shiro says since we both like dumplings and live here we have alot in common." She reaffirmed boldly.
 

Akechi

Active Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
1,223
Yen
582,524
ASP
0
Deaths
0
”Shiro says he isn’t complete and the one’s that he has are wrong?” He echoed, a thought said aloud as he began to think about what that could possibly mean. This “Shiro” mentioned to the girl that he was also a rabbit, not a cat, which was strange considering the rather feline-looking eye that appeared when Sawako went to change. Perhaps it had something to do with what she claimed was “bad eyes,” but Akechi reckoned that it was about more than just that. Something just didn’t sit right with the Uchiha. ”Since your name is so pretty, who gave Shiro his name?” A valid question and a curious one. Akechi simply wanted to know where the name came from, and if Sawako knew of the puppet’s origin. I mean, if it truly were a “sentient being” then surely it had a place that it originated from. If it didn’t or if Sawako truly didn’t know then that would be a bit more telling of her situation.

”You don’t remember anything past a couple of days ago? That’s sad,” Akechi spoke, his voice slightly tinged with sorrow as he looked at the girl with solemn eyes. Now things were getting interesting, especially if the young woman indulged the man’s curiosity. He honestly didn’t want to prod too much but Akechi’s curiosity was getting the best of him. He wanted to figure out exactly what had possessed the girl, or what had influenced the girl’s memory erasure. ”Precious things are the funnest to break?” The man repeated, stroking his chin as he sensed something a bit more diabolical in comments. The fanaticism with murder, masquerading as dreams is what frightened him the most about the child’s comments. She definitely wasn’t who she said she was, and the most terrifying of all, she didn’t realize it. In fact, this girl, “Sawako” seemed to be completely ignorant of her true nature…

Something had grabbed hold of her… something dark…

Something evil…

Something sinister…

”We sure can Sawako-chan. But only because we both like dumplings,” Akechi joked, nodding his head in acceptance before his voice grew slightly more serious without him even realizing it. ”And as your friend, I think I can help you with some of your memories.” Of course that depended on just how impenetrable the girl’s “mental block” was. Forms of schizophrenia were especially prevalent in the shinobi world. Their connection to chakra, and in many cases, their fanaticism in dark chakra and the power that it possessed…
 

Muramasa Maya

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2012
Messages
2,827
Yen
1,734,336
ASP
0
Deaths
0
"...When I woke up, I had no memories...I didn't know where I was, where I live, or what my...name...was." She began to admit, "It was....scary and lonely. B-but I accidentally forgot about Shiro; I-I don't remember...but I'm sure that Shiro was always with me, with or without memories. He's my friend." She began rubbing her hand, petting the puppet. "I-I gave Shiro his name...I-I couldn't name myself, but I can name someone else. So he was Shiro. " It was true she had no recollection of her previous persona, with the odd exception of minor details like her apparent fondness for dumplings. That void was scary, the scars she woke up with across her body were scary, the wound that wouldn't heal beneath her scarf was scary, and even her very reflection was foreign to her. So relying on someone...or something...to relieve some of that burdened, even if only through her imagination...

Well, it became her reality. Her wish for a friend was granted, even if she understood him to be "incomplete" and "missing a few vital pieces" at this point. But thats what friends were for, helping eachother, right?

"Even if Shiro can't move...he-he's not useless. He's smart and brave. He keeps me from being alone." She spoke again, relieved. Nights were difficult for her to make it through; " I...think I'm too afraid to go back to sleep, in case I forget things again. I haven't felt sleepy since I woke up a few days ago. ...So Shiro and I talk...or do projects...until its morning..." Long discussions, between her an unresponsive puppet. Hence, why she was prone to juggling between "her thoughts" and "Shiro's".

"Right now...I'm not strong...and I'm not g-good with people...But I don't like being alone. So I have to rely alot on Shiro until I become strong too. He's my first friend." She nodded, clutching the puppet to herself as she was prone to doing. But her grip loosened (sightly) when she realized that Akechi may or may not have been jealous of Shiro. "B-But its okay to have more than one friend, right? I-I don't think your a bad or scary person..." As for her memories? She looked perplexed. "My memories...Did...you know me before I was Sawako?"
 

Akechi

Active Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
1,223
Yen
582,524
ASP
0
Deaths
0
”So Sawako may be someone or something different entirely. Perhaps, she is a child possessed, or maybe she isn’t a child at all. This thing may even be older than myself… just what am I dealing with here?” Akechi asked himself, unconsciously rubbing his chin again as he stared into “Sawako’s” eyes, a relatively involuntary body response that occurred when he was perplexed and/or in deep thought. The same question seemed to plague him the more he conversed with the girl and the more he learned about her “shady memory.” Part of him felt that he should help the child in some way. You know, the basic human emotion of compassion, especially when it came to innocent children. The other half seemed to believe something quite different. The inquisitive side of the man felt that it had become his job to figure out the girl’s true nature because of the possibilities that could arise from such an action.

”Maybe you are a bit stronger than you think you are…” The man’s voice kind of drifted off, sounding almost a bit ominous. He wasn’t afraid of her, he didn’t even mean to sound as if he didn’t trust her words, but the fact remained that she was something entirely different than what she seemed. It was part terrifying and part opportunity. ”I think it’s healthy to have more than one friend. Health is pretty important. It’s why you should strive to get a little bit more sleep.” Grinning, he slapped his hands together as if he had some type of epiphany. The girl seemed to have the ability to reimagine some of her misdeeds, stripping them down in pieces and relaying them to herself as dreams.

”No. I’m sorry but I don’t believe we’ve met before.” He responded before giving the girl the low down on his plan so to speak. ”Your eyes are a gateway into your innermost thoughts, your subconscious, your soul. I can enter that gateway with the Sharingan. Depending on how resistant you are, it may take multiple tries to see if I can tap into the part of you that remembers who you truly are…” The Sharingan possessed a plethora of abilities, and this was just an aspect of one of them. Honestly, it would be a test for Akechi.

”Want to try it?”
 

Muramasa Maya

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2012
Messages
2,827
Yen
1,734,336
ASP
0
Deaths
0
Fidget. Fidget. Shiver.

"...Umu..." She muttered to herself, unable to conjure up any words to speak with. Akechi's gaze, unintentional as it may have been, weighed heavily upon her. It was nothing short of critically effective at such close range.

So, naturally, someone like her couldn't have been strong like Akechi mentioned. Case in point; she was unable to speak in response, and slowly shook her heard side-to-side, swaying her messy long hair back and forth as if to say "I-I-I...can't be strong...". Shortly after, Akechi would then find himself not staring at the eyes of the girl, but again staring at the (empty) eyes of Shiro once again as the girl raised her creepy puppet infront of her face. Sawako had decided that, as stunning as his crimson eyes were, that was enough eye contact for the moment. If eyes were the gates to the soul, than her soul was cautious and reclusive.

Sharingan? To her limited, broken knowledge she only knew of the sharingan being a ring of dots in their eyes. If so, than Akechi must have had the prettiest Sharingan of all. She felt a small sense of pride in being able to see them up close, but back on topic; "Shiro says its confusing when people talk in confusing ways. It confuses us." She declared, again switching from her timidness a moment ago to a more bold, somewhat condescending, tone while she manipulated Shiro. In case it wasn't clear; it was confusing. The concept of subconscious souls and eyegates and passing through them was several levels above her comprehension. That being said, she felt as if Akechi intended to help her...she could understand that part.

Afterall; Akechi said that he would be her friend. To the girl --naive, trusting and innocent to the world-- that was nothing less than an absolute truth.
Of course, that wouldn't stop her from adding a certain condition...

"...I'll trust Akechi...But...Only if you either pet my head....Or give me one of your eyes....or give me extra dumplings..." It didn't matter which. Each prize stood equal amongst the others in her personal ranking. "....Do I have to sleep?...Or...Shiro's not sure what you want us to do..." She tilted her head, curious. As much as she was lost, she couldn't say that she wasn't curious as to how Akechi intended to find something in her.
 

Akechi

Active Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
1,223
Yen
582,524
ASP
0
Deaths
0
”I can tell that I am confusing her but there really is no other way to explain it,” Akechi said to himself, weighing the risks of dialing into a relatively unknown subconscious. Part of himself would even be at risk, especially if the girl turned about to be an exceptional practitioner of Genjutsu. It was an art that few could master, and that those that believed themselves to be a master could be unraveled in seconds. Respect for the arts was something that Akechi fully believed in. If one didn’t respect the art or if they believed that they were suddenly above the art, it opened up the prospect of that power being used against oneself. That was part of a mantra that was taught to those of the Uchihan stronghold that Akechi came from. It was specialized training that produced some of the most powerful shinobi in the current world, and was a belief that caused the Uchiha to be hated among most. Perhaps that was why they were forced in such a stronghold, and even hunted shortly thereafter…

”Sorry. I’ll try to speak a bit more clearly this time.” Akechi laughed, suddenly jumping backwards as she threw the doll in his face along with what sounded like a slightly annoyed tone. He had been speaking like this the entire time, which made him believe that whatever resided inside the girl didn’t truly get what he was attempting to do. Though it was considerably obvious at this point, Sawako was not herself. Her name probably wasn’t even Sawako. She was a conduit, used by this entity to cover her tracks as she “broke the precious things” that were native to this world.

Who truly knew what he would find?

Especially after her second option in her list of demands that she’d like in return for indulging his curiosity. “His eyes?” Why would she say something like? It was something that an innocent child probably wouldn’t mention…

”How about I pet your head and give you extra dumplings? Only after we’re done though ok?” Akechi responded, preparing his eyes for what would be a journey into Sawako’s mind.
akechisig3_zps7551d0a2.png

The red eyes of the Sharingan would suddenly invert, a red star further accented with a smaller black star surrounding his pupil plastered across the black backdrop called a “sclera.” These were the eyes of the Eternal, the ability that gave Akechi the insight of a god, even to the point of digging into the underworld to find its answers. It was then that he’d lock the girl in a trance as they locked eyes. ”Open your mind.” He spoke, quietly forming a handseal in order to influence the girl to maintain her eye contact with him.

”Open your heart.” Little by little, he attempted to weave through her mind, each time attempting to break through the façade of innocence that her “Sawako” personality seemed to project. ”Show me your soul.” Almost simultaneously with the words that would echo throughout the girl’s imagination, Akechi would place the girl in a white room with only himself as company.

”Write your memories on the walls. This world is what you want it to be.” It was like turning the keys over to Sawako and whatever else was inhabiting her.

It was here that they would start…

Here where she could show him what memories that had long been suppressed.
 

Muramasa Maya

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2012
Messages
2,827
Yen
1,734,336
ASP
0
Deaths
0
"...Okay." She agreed to the terms and conditions, even if it meant again having to gaze into the mysterious Akechi's eyes. It was difficult for her to reveal herself from beyond her puppet...but her eyes kept darting towards him, and away, towards him...she really was interested in the process of his eyes transforming, despite her shyness. Fortunately, or unfortunately, she found that eventually the gaze was...mesmerizing, and she was unable to pull her own sight away.

Instant dizzyness, both from her embarrassment and the process occurring to her. "...Okay..." she whispered. Red. Black. Red. Black. Red. Black. His eyes felt like a maze that she couldn't finish, a puzzle that she couldn't complete. No matter how much she stared, she felt she couldn't understand that pattern. It felt as if it swallowed her whole...

...And her own eyes grew dim, dull.

She was swimming in a sea of Red and Black, unable to tell up from down or back from front...and then her nausea began to settle, and she found herself in a room full of barren whiteness, along with Akechi. Yet...she didn't feel confused. She felt at home, at ease. This...was her home. This was her room.

Nodding to Akechi, she reached out slowly, her frail hand moving to touch at the white "space" ("air" wasn't the correct term for this white realm), and the space began to ripple outwards from her touch as if she had disturbed the surface of some vertical pond. A pond that the small girl seemed to be absorbed into, dissolving into the surface of this space. Her black hair, pasty white skin, faded white dress, crimson scarf all dissolved into a myriad of colors, washing over this white room in her colors quite literally.

When the ripples in space settled, Akechi was no longer in an empty white room, but one that was nonetheless bright. It was of a similar shape an size to a room he had been in not too long ago; and yet it would be immediately apparent that it was something else altogether.

Rather than dusty stone, the floor was a warm fuzzy carpet.
Rather than webs and dead insects, rows of puppets lined the room.
Rather than discarded food, piles of candy of all shapes and colors.
In the center of the room was not a weird hammock composed of hair fibers, but a fluffy warm bed with even puffier pillows.

This was Sawako's room Akechi had stumbled upon earlier. Only it wasn't. Akechi stood in a world reflecting the girl's subconsciousness; this was her mind. Her memories may have resided here, among other things personal to her...But everything was filtered through the layers of her perspective. This was her (un)reality. This was her wonderland.

And in her wonderland, there existed 3 separate doors connecting her room to the worlds beyond. One by one they would open, inviting her guest within...But rather than have to move, he'd find that the door frames seemed to move to swallow him. Which door he went in was irrelevent, as the scenes would play out in the same order;


The first door;
The first door lead to a room strikingly similar to the previous room, and open entering one would experience a nauseating surge of emotions resonating within the space; anguish, loneliness, fear. "I'm alone." "If I had friends or family, I forgot them." "Not knowing who I am...is scary. I should stay in my room."

Once the initial wave of emotion passed, the room began to take form; the center of which did not have a bed, but a pair of swingsets. One of which was occupied by the small realm owner in a frilly blue dress. "....."
*Swing. Swoosh. Swing. Swoosh

After a few intervals, her eyes rose up to meet her guest, and she jumped off the swingset to move over to Akechi and tug at the hems of his shirt. "....." Silently, urging him to follow her to the swingsets. Her gestures and motions would attempt to indicate that one of the swings were for him.

The other difference of the room were the walls. After a few moments passed, whether Akechi accepted her invitation or not, the walls would begin to display images, as if they were in their own personal movie theater.

The first set images showed the girl slowly backing away from a group of a similar age group. Or at least apparent age group...only, in place of their eyes were menacing, gaping holes of glowing emptiness. Something that sent chills up the spine upon eye contact, and made you want to avoid contact at all costs.
"-on't think she should play, she gives me a bad feeling." "...Ah, wh-why wou-" "-Yeah, her arms and neck have weird marks like a doll, are you hurt or something?" "...N-no, I'm no-" "And her clothes are all ripped up, it looks gross." "...Th-thats.....b-becau-" "I think she's weird. We could play somewhere else." "....." The group slowly disbanded, leaving the blue dressed girl alone.

*Fast forward*

The scene now was of a girl back in the very room she and Akechi resided in. Only according to the memory walls, she was alone...but she wasn't. She was staring at a familiar puppet on her lap and...that was it. Nothing more happened. Anyone staring at the memory-walls would lose track of time, unsure whether they were watching for seconds, minutes, or hours...but regardless, they would suddenly find the knowledge that for hours on end, from night to morning, Sawako simply sat there staring at her puppet. As if having her own staring-slash-unmoving-contest.
That was what night consisted of for her.

Afterwhich, the walls would gradually dim. Power [OFF]. Followed by the dimming of the room itself. It was time to leave this room, and the girl in blue again reached to tug Akechi's shirt. "....." As if wanting to be his silent guide.

The Second room;
was different; upon entering (or being swallowed by) the room one would feel a sense of awe, wonder and curiosity.

Rather than being painted on the walls, the scene began to unfold in the very room they were in; except they were no longer in a room.

But then a voice that didn't belong to the girl, but another echoed out into the dark scene; "-Sawako.” The area seemed to become alittle more defined, alittle more clearer. “Yeah… Sawako seems like a good name for you, right?"

Color and brightness corrupted the area; It was a (bright) beach, with (bright) waves and (golden) sandy shores lined with shells of all (strong) colors. The scene was painted with colorfully intense colors that were pleasing to the eye, a scene that looked like a brighter version of the Arcadia that existed beneath the stone village.

Unlike the previous Sawako, this one was dressed in a light green top and equally green shorts. And the woman who had spoken to her was a tall, strong woman shining with a radiant aura that demanded attention. She was the strong Anbu woman who had given Sawako, who had had nothing at the time, lost in a sea of darkness, her name. It was a special treasure to her...


...And the scene began to change once again, to a bright alleyway in between grand and expensive-looking buildings. The girl in green skipped to herself, humming, before accidentally skipping into a figure that manifested from nowhere.

The man, with dark hair that cast a shadow of his mysterious face, then looked up. The dim light fell upon a face to reveal it to be a replica's of Akechi himself. Only bishounen-ized. Her memories were even kind enough to include his own "bishie sparkle" effect! He mumbled, and offered her a box of pocky. The brightest, most sparkly box of pocky ever.

The scene retreated with her as she returned to her room, centering it upon her shelf like a treasure. She really did save it, albeit her room in reality was hardly as bright as the one in her memories. She quickly moved to change before leaving, and scene seemed to fade away as the memory was over, leaving an empty black room...


...And then a voice called out from above, from a girl hanging upside down from threads that extended infinity into the abyssal void above them. "Oh? Akechi's here! Even though I told him it was embarrassing to go into my room...He must be bold to keep teasing cute little Sawako~" She spoke while swinging back and forth. It was fair to say Sawako really, really enjoyed swinging. "Hey, hey! Are you here to play? Theres one more thing I wanna show you, then we could play forever if you want! It'll be fun!" "....." Both Sawa-green and Sawa-blue tugged on both Akech's arms, leading him onwards.


The third room;
Upon entering this one, one would be assaulting by feelings of anger, spite, and relief. "Its not fair." "I don't want to be weak. I'll be strong. If I can cut things, I'm stronger than them." "I'll never let myself be weaker to someone. I don't know who I am, but I won't be someone weak."

The room was an outside scene; a tall tree located somewhere within the village of stone. Perched in the branches high above the ground was a black cat, while halfway up the tree there climbed a purple-cloaked girl that was not unlike her Blue and Green dressed counterparts that stood by with Akechi. She scaled and climbed, and the knowledge that she was attempting her first mission since "waking up" was given to those who watched, a simple mission to obtain a cat.

Only, when it seemed she had reached the top of the tree to claim her objective, the branch supporting the two failed, dropping the two to the ground below. Only cats had nine lives, so the feline managed to land on its feet on a nearby branch.
The girl in the purple cloak...well....The only thing she could land on was a sharp fence below, and land on it she did. She managed to catch it with her neck. Or throat. She had a pretty firm grip on it, or the fence had one on her, one of the two.

At some point later (like before, memory time was vague; it seemed as if her eyes were closed for but a second, but by watching the memory one would simply "understand" that it was nearly half an hour later), the girl's eyes opened. She pushed against the gate to struggle to free herself, and dazilly wobbled over to the cat that was still loitering the area. A dark liquid oozed from her neck wound, a dark maroon color that was only a few shades away from black. With a scrape and fling, the girl launched some of the blood at the cat, causing it to meow agitatedly and convulse in place. The dark blood possessed some sinister effects to things it made contact with, and more importantly, it made it easier for the girl to finally catch the target of her mission.

...However, by this point, her objectives had changed. It was personal. "You made me hurt my neck. It really hurts." She muttered. Any normal person would be unable to speak or breath with such a gaping wound on their throat, but Sawako wasn't exactly normal. Fibers squirmed within the wound, perfectly mimicking the vocal sounds of a normal situation.

She held up the furry feline by the scruff of its neck. With her free hand, she drew a pair of scissors hidden in her dress, splitting the blades and centering them one the cats neck. "You shouldn't have made me fall."

Snip. Rather than gorey crimson, rainbow-y light squirted from the cats neck, bathing the area with a sense of calmness and relief. The agitation and anger felt from entering the room before? Subdued by a sense of tranquility.

The look on the girl's face was one of surprise, finding that it took quite abit more force than she expected. She gazed MUAINGLY at the squirming animal, her dull grey eyes absorbing every single detail of the scene as possible...and then giggled once the animal ceased to squirm. "You make a funny noise when you finish breathing. It's kinda cute." Dying breaths may have been cute to her; or at least those of cats were.

Not finished with her target, she placed the husk down and added several more rough, unprecise snips and cuts to the furry creature. "Here you go Shiro, we'll share. I kinda broke some of the pieces though." The girl teased, slicing open her doll with the same scissors that had dissected the cat. She dequipped the feline of a few vital pieces and equipped them to her puppet, one of which a familiar looking eye...and began to "sew" the doll back together with the same hair fibers that she seemed fond of using.

At the end, she salvaged a scarf that was hanging on a nearby wire to dry. It was long, scarlet, and coincidentally looked exactly like the one she had been wearing back in reality. She wrapped it around her neck, concealing the wound of impalement near her throat....and then finally acknowledged the bystanders watching her. "Don't forget your promise, Akechi. Dumplings. Petting. Or a Sharingan."

"......." Sawa-blue stared at the ground, weakly tugging at Akechi's sleeve. Apologetically.
Sawa-green giggled and rubbed the back of her head. "Uh-oh! This one was kinda personal, mister Akechi. This memory makes us embarrassed. It'd be really nice if you didn't hate us."
Sawa-purple was disinterested. "This room is dying. There won't be anything left soon. Leave."

As she finished speaking, the scene itself did seem to set into afternoon, then night, then darker than night, and darker still...at an alarming rate. The room also vanished...

And now, back in the main initial room;
The previous three doors were no longer present. Instead, a new one, a fourth, had appeared. Unlike before, it seemed to reject approach rather than welcome it, and was bound by dark hair-like fibers to boot. Sawako (none of the 3) made any effort to approach the door.

"!.....!...." She distressingly trembled, avoiding eye contact with the door.
"Ehh...This door is no good, really. I can't get passed." Sawa-green stuck out her tongue playfully.
"I don't remember what is behind it." Sawa-purple bluntly admitted.

"Y'know, its not really important. Whatevers's past the door. You could stay here and play with me." She offered, gazing up to Akechi inquisitively. "Forever. It'll be fun." Her purple counterpart added. As if to assist them, the room itself began to materialize countless (yellow) boxes of pocky and plenty of hot dumplings, soaked with aromatic sauce (associating the two with Akechi). The Blue-dressed girl offered a plate of dumplings and pocky to her guest, "....!!!...." *Tilt up* *Tilt down* *Tilt up* *Tilt down*, nodding at him.

Sawako, all her personifications, were eager to show Akechi each of the previous rooms, but none showed that same eagerness when it came to the fourth door. None of the previous rooms revealed anything new to her; they were all memories she was aware of. The one that remained now was full of mystery to them. And it seemed her mental world was trying to persuade Akechi not to proceed, to try and shut him out from whatever lied deeper within.

"I'll even feed you. Say "Ahhhh"!" The green one added, snatching a dumpling from the (distressed) blue one. Now she was really trying to give a hard bargain!

[Marked]
 

Akechi

Active Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
1,223
Yen
582,524
ASP
0
Deaths
0
As the small girl accepted Akechi’s terms and conditions, the both of them were sent into somewhat of a trance. The two of them seemed to cast aside reality in favor of the world that Akechi built for Sawako and all of her memories. While Sawako herself couldn’t figure out exactly where she came from, Akechi was betting on the fact that tapping into her subconscious would yield a different result. He could tell that she was nervous but the hypnosis of the Sharingan seemed to have put the girl at ease. This was a world that she could mold and create to her liking. It was a place that she had complete control over, and as she reached out into the white void; the girl had managed to do just that.

The entire environment around him had changed, a metamorphosis into colors that filled Akechi’s blank canvas with the colors that Sawako had identified with. Shockingly enough, the world that she had created seemed to be just as bright and optimistic as the white room before it. Perhaps more curious was the room that it seemed to resemble, and also the stark differences between the world that she had created with reality. Through this world Akechi could see things as Sawako did, a rather delusional paradise that seemed to replace the dark and decrepit with the warm and fuzzy. Instead of the disgusting floor of the vacant apartment, the girl envisioned a carpet perfect for a small child’s room. Even the dead insects, cobwebs and half eaten food had been replaced with puppets, toys and candy. Akechi even noticed that the weird hive crafted from what looked like hair fibers had also been replaced with a comfortable bed. ”Is this how she sees the world? This is the world that she believes that lives in. Can’t be. This has to be an illusion created to force her into believing that she was nothing more than a child. Perhaps, even a genjutsu that she or someone else casted on her to keep her power in check.” It was an interesting prospect. After all, how didn’t she see reality for what it truly was? Optimism and even naivety were one thing, but this delusion was on an entirely different level.

However, before Akechi could question it, doors suddenly appeared on either side of the room. One would imagine that he could choose a door, but Akechi found himself completely unable to move within this realm. ”Damn. Her mind is incredibly warped. I have to make sure that I don’t lose my sense of self.” Akechi said to himself, helplessly watching as the first door swallowed him whole. It was then that he realized exactly what he was seeing…

The First;
The door had swallowed him up, transporting him into a memory that seemed incredibly similar to the room that he had arrived from. Immediately upon touching the ground in the room, Akechi found himself overcome with negative, fearful emotion. Loneliness, anguish, despair and confusion, figuratively tackled him as he arrived, causing the man to drop to his knee from the experience. ”What was that?” He questioned, looking up toward scene that unfolded right before his very eyes.

A girl and a pair of swings. In particular, this was a quieter, more timid (if that were even possible) Sawako, clothed in a blue dress that resembled a fancier version of her white one. Quietly, she motioned for Akechi to take one of the swings, an act that allowed him to move on his own toward the swing. ”What is it that you want to show me?” He questioned, watching as the girl pointed toward the wall in front of him; an eerie look into a dark memory that the girl held deep within her subconscious. There, he witnessed a group of children, eyes almost as vacant as her puppet, harassing her because of her appearance to them. It was a short memory and even an incomplete one, but it effect it had on the girl was unquestionable. It was clear that she feared them. An emotion that Akechi could feel by simply seeing the world through her own perspective.

Within seconds, the memory wall suddenly changed. Sawako sat in an empty room with Shiro, staring at the puppet while it sat in her lap. That was it. Nothing else happened. The two of them didn’t move or flinch, nor was their sound or conversation. It was just the two of them. Staring at one another… for hours…

Or at least that was what it seemed. Before Akechi knew it, the blue Sawako had tugged on his shirt; seemingly leading him toward the second room…

The Second Room;
The door burst open, swallowing the Uchiha into another world; this time filled with a sense of amazement and unending curiosity. It was a world that was hopelessly optimistic, one that Akechi could understand, and one that seemed a bit more interactive, despite not being interactive at all. The room was dark but a woman suddenly called out to them. “Sawako. Yeah, Sawako seems like a good name for you, right?” It was a voice that sounded familiar to Sawako, and a voice that filled the room with color so intense that it forced Akechi to squint as if he looked toward the sun.

Akechi’s surroundings had transformed into a beach; complete with shores of sand laced in gold, decorated with an assortment of bright and colorful shells, and an ocean of optimism tinged in a bright blue color. It was Arcadia, a beautiful place that Akechi had visited once, recreated into something even more beautiful… artificially beautiful. It was there that another version of Sawako inhabited. This one wore green shorts and a green top, staring up at the strong ANBU woman that had given her a name. She seemed to cherish this memory…

Again, the room had changed; skipped ahead is probably more accurate. The girl had skipped her way through buildings of grandiose designs before turning into an equally beautiful alleyway. It was there that she skipped into a man… a man that greatly resembled Akechi… except he was incredibly more handsome. As she looked up at him, he noticed that all blemishes seemed to have disappeared from his face, replaced with a certain sparkle that caused him to glimmer as she stared at him. In his hand, a box of pocky, shimmering as he handed it to her. It was clear that this memory was of their first encounter, but the details had all been changed into something a bit more optimistic. Clearly she held the pocky dear, even saving it on her shelf that along with her most prized possessions…

He reached out for the golden pocky that sat on the shelf, but something stopped him. It was another Sawako, swinging from the ceiling, chiding Akechi for visiting the room without rights to visitation. ”Not really my fault this time Sawako-chan. This is all you.” Akechi spoke, his voice drifting off as she asked if they could play forever. Was she trying to keep him locked up here? Honestly, he wondered if that were the case. This technique always had an inherent risk that could’ve proved deadly. “Eyes going silent” was the term that they used. Wasn’t much time to think at this point though because he was suddenly swept off into another room by Sawa-green and Sawa-blue.

The Third Room;
The next room filled Akechi’s emotion with anger… with spite… with relief… with desperation. This iteration of the Sawako personality didn’t want to be weak. In fact, she seemed to declare that she will never be weak, and those that she appeared weak to, she’d cut them “If she could cut things than she was stronger than them.” It was kind of what “Shiro” alluded to about it being “fun” if those precious lives had been altered with strife, with violence… with death. In fact, the memory of this room was another that she seemed to cherish… this time that may have not been for the best.

A tree grew from the ground with a black cat perched in the branches, clearly afraid to get out of the tree it climbed up to in the first place. Evidently, the girl had been a newly appointed Genin and assigned her “first mission” to rescue a cat. Quite the menial task, but one that most Genin were anxious to get their feet wet with. It was here that he understood her true nature… or at least part of it. The part that was most curious about death… about vengeance… about killing her prey without remorse and determining exactly what she could get away with. This was the girl in her most simple form. She acted on nothing but instinct, the need to satisfy her own ego, and the thrill of taking life from another. She was menacing… she was powerful… she was a predator…

The scene that unfolded before Akechi seemed to carry itself out in slow motion, with the girl falling into a fence as she slipped from the tree. However, as she proved to be unnatural and much more resilient than she looked, she hooked on to the cat with a dark liquid. It was then that Akechi could see it… the same malevolent chakra that seemed to cover the girl and this “Shiro” entity. ”No don’t!” Akechi yelled, his voice muted from the scene as it were not a part of her memory. He wanted to close his eyes but he felt her influence… forcing them to stay open as she calmly but sinisterly explained to the cat that Sawako’s injury was its fault.

…And in seconds the girl had severed the cat’s neck while Akechi continued his muted pleas for her to stop. However, instead of blood squirting from the cat’s neck, a burst of light squirted from the spot. “You make a funny noise when you finish breathing. It’s kinda cute,” the girl said as Akechi knelt to the ground, a feeling of peace and tranquility feeling his mind. ”No. This is wrong.” He repeated it to himself… over and over again before glancing back up at the scene as Sawa-purple spoke directly to him.

“Dumplings. Petting. Or a Sharingan.” Did she even know what she was asking? Or deep down in her soul, did she want to hear him make the same sound as the cat did as it “finished breathing?” Exactly what was he dealing with…

He pondered the thought for quite some time. Words were but a blur as the scenery around him dissipated into nothingness, Akechi finding himself in the first room as before…

—The Original Room—​
Their words still rang hollow to him as he remained on his knees, staring down at his own hands. The feelings of self-doubt clearly evident on his face, though he chose not to speak at all. He wondered if he should keep going or if he should even leave the world that Sawako created for the two of them. Seductive was the world full of innocence, even among the deeply demented Sawa-purple. However, Akechi would rise from his kneeling position and force himself by the innocent and joyful Sawa-green. He’d also move his way past the shy and timid Sawa-blue. ”You don’t want to remember. But you will.” Akechi commented, his voice sounding more resolute than before. He had gotten this far… he had to keep going. That was what he continued to tell himself as he reached the door of dark hair-like fibers.

”Cmon. Show me! Open up!” Akechi shouted, punching the door in front of him with all of the chakra he could muster. He didn’t know what was behind door number four, or even if he could get inside the door…

But he sure as hell was going to try…

[Marked]
 

Muramasa Maya

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2012
Messages
2,827
Yen
1,734,336
ASP
0
Deaths
0
Akechi would find that lthere was little effort actually involved in entering the door; he simply required to show the intent to go through and the passage, an impassable gate to the various manifestations of Sawako's mind, easily fell apart at his touch. The dark fibers unwound from their tight coil and fell apart, and the door itself blew away in shards as if it were little more than dust in the wind.

While every room and memory up to now had been painted in Sawako's colors, what lied beyond that door was darkness. No room. No hallway. No light. Just darkness. While one might be quick to dismiss this as a void, make no mistake; this abyss was far from "empty". The blackness itself had weight, as if painted by physical shadows. If this made no sense, it was because Sawako's mind made no sense to herself.

Furthermore; the room Akechi had been in previously, as well as each colorful incarnation of Sawako's mentality, vanished in the same disintegrating manner the door had gone. While Akechi himself may not have moved, the area around him was nonetheless different. He may have felt as if her were floating. Or falling. Or standing. Hell, maybe all three at once.

Unlike before, he was not being "shown" memories; He was "living" them. For all intents and purposes, Akechi was Sawako throughout these memories. Within her mind, he would feel as she had. He would see as she had. He would experience as she had. No filters, no diluted secondhand experience.


His name was "Ashuri". A name that had been long forgotten, and yet belonged to someone he would no longer ever be.
His name was "Kuroyuki". A name that had been forgotten, and yet belonged to someone he would inevitably become.

He would see a mother and father, the joy of telling them about having passed the test to become a Genin.
....And the pain of knowing that they were lost years, upon years ago. They joy of remembering he had warm, loving parents...and the hard realization of them being "gone".
He would see a beautiful youkai, a demoness of great strength, whom he was attracted to and yearned for nothing other than their affection.
...Andthe pain, the sorrow of losing them.


He would see a close group a children; eagerly discussing ways to become genin. Looking up upon Akechi as if he were one of their leaders. And then, that same group graduating from their first exam, becoming shinobi of the Stone Village. The pride. The joy.
....And then the pain of having his friends turn upon him, and in turn turning against them. Of having his mind pushed well beyond the breaking point.
He would see a group of powerful youkai, of which he was one, and feel betrayed over their lack of care over losing one of their own, the one he had loved.

He would feel the pain of having his body torn apart and regrown, rebuilt, into something inhumane. He'd feel the pain of having his head severed, held to face his limp body, until the fibers in his neck managed to reconnect and sew both parts of himself back into place some time later.
He would have firsthand experience of the unbearable hunger that rotted away his flesh and muscle, exposing the shrunken dark fibers within. How, even without a limb or a head, his life itself could continue in painfully cruel, unfair ways.
...The pleasing, saving grace of sinking his teeth into the decayed flesh of those who had been his friends, the same friends that had attacked and been attacked by himself. How each bite eased the pain in his own body, each taste surpassing any possible Pocky or Dumplings. This taste was to die for.
He would become a rebel, turning his back to his companions, to pursue his own guest of anger and revenge.

He would have horrific revelations that he had murdered his friends to ease her own pain and suffering, only to find it replaced with apathy and anguish. The pain of being unable to end his own life, because his body was simply too durable.
He would feel the wrath, the scorn, of failing, losing his physicasl body and being bound for decades upon decades, over a century, with only temporary freedom gained through human vessels.
...He would feel the desperate attempts at finding any way of escaping the pain, welcoming anyone...or anything that would protect him from further pain.
...He would feel the joy of having a a new vessel, a new physical body, that could withstand the corrupting chakra of his spirit. A body he could gradually merge his consciousness with, overwritting the painful memories of his host and assimilating them into his own as he had done many times in the past.

...It was not one set of memories hidden behind the door; but two. Neither were fake. Both were real. And, their simultaneous existence and being experienced at once would no doubt be quite painful. The process itself may have taken anywhere from seconds, to hours, or even days to Akechi; but the memories he had been given access to were not gentle with him in the slightest, and could easily have caused mental overload, or worse, if he dropped his guard. The weight shadows of the black realm? All subconscious mental attempts at breaking his will, overwriting them with her own. It wasn't intentional, of course.


At the end, when Akechi's mind regained itself after living through memories that were not his own, he would find himself seated at a floating table, sailing amidst a sea of blackness, with two new Sawako's for company; Sawa-Black and Sawa-Red. Both wearing the same dress Akechi had initially met her in, albeit of their own respective colors.

"Never did I expect someone to dive into the mind of a small girl in search of her memories. Very admirable, Akechi-san." The first one spoke, the black one, acknowledging Akechi's presence. "Now that you have found them and know them for what they are...Do you still wish to return them to her? To us? To take away my bright-colored fantasy and replace it with the dark of the past?" Sawa-black spoke, leaning against the unresponsive Sawa-red. "....." The expression on the red-dressed girl's face mirrored the one on her face in the real, physical world. The mesmerized gaze...

"Welcome to my mind, Akechi-san." "...Please...don't....hate me...." "You are our precious guest."

[Marked]
 

Akechi

Active Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
1,223
Yen
582,524
ASP
0
Deaths
0
His body pierced through the door as momentum from his weightless punch carried him forward into the void. Stumbling into the locked corner of Sawako’s mind, Akechi noticed that the path from which he came had suddenly been sealed behind him. Sawako’s mind, at least the part that she had attempted to hide, seemed ready to unveil itself to all that managed to enter. The Uchiha stood in the middle of darkness, a void that placed the man’s body in an unending sensation of vertigo. The world around him felt as if there were no weight to it but somehow his body felt as if it were being held down by something. He felt as if he were immobilized by the feeling of being sucked into some type of sinkhole, his futile attempts to scan the area for clues on his whereabouts defeated by the girl’s hidden malice amongst the shadows. He felt lost but perhaps it was because the girl felt lost.

”What are you trying to show me?” Akechi asked, his voice still inaudible within the world crafted by Sawako. Almost as he asked, Sawako seemed to answer with another creation as if he had suddenly been tossed into a memory. Looking down at his feet, he noticed that he had found firm ground, however, he also felt displaced within the world. His body was his own but not his own at the same time. The world that he was in had changed, his mind filling itself with memories that he had never experienced before. Overriding all of the man’s senses were the vivid memories themselves, both of the memories that seemed to be happening concurrently. He was unable to describe it nor would he ever be able to fully comprehend how or what he was actually seeing. Akechi felt as they felt, saw what they saw, and experienced as the memory had experienced; his body nothing more than a conduit for these thoughts and emotions as they told the story.

His name was Ashuri, yet it was also a youkai named Kuroyuki…

He felt lost. He could feel the warm embrace of parents that he didn’t remember as his own, and even the excitement of him passing the test to become a Genin. However, he could also feel the agonizing tinge of pain that came with the realization that they were gone… lost to him forever.
Parallel to the human memory, he envisioned a beautiful demon of great strength; one that he would gladly give his life for. The realization of her dying brought him great sorrow and shame, however.

Akechi would see his comrades, the individuals that he led through the Genin exams. He was from Stone, and he had finally become a shinobi. However, as time would pass, those very same people that he called comrades betrayed him… He fought to survive…
He found himself among powerful demons, each with their own desires and goals; each uninterested with avenging one of their own… He loved her so much…

Akechi knew that he wasn’t this person, but somehow his body and mind told him otherwise. The man agonized as wicked experiments were done on him against his will, his body ripped apart, regrown and rebuilt into something not human. He’d feel the pain of having his head removed from his body, even forced to look at his body from across the room before the “fibers” reconnected itself to his body. What was this? A test. A trial. He wanted answers, yet he received none.
…And in time, he felt pure ecstasy. He felt it as he sunk his teeth into the decayed flesh of the friends that had attacked him. Each bite nourished his body, each bit eased the pain within his own body. Each bite and each snap of their bones was nirvana. Akechi knew that it was wrong. He knew that it was detestable… but yet he relished in it. He loved the feeling… he felt as if he’d die without the feeling.
…He simply couldn’t stop himself.
For different reasons than his normal self, he would become an avenger. He turned his back on this powerful, selfish demons and pursued his own goals.

And then he felt the regret… the pain of killing his allies just to ease his own pain. He felt intense pain… guilt… until he felt nothing at all. Akechi couldn’t kill himself… he was simply too powerful… too durable.
Akechi failed. His demonic body bound for centuries with his only chance at revival being temporary human hosts.
He felt desperate… alone… Akechi sought anything or anyway to diminish his pain. Even if he needed to accept something else…
A new vessel. A new physical body. A durable one that afforded him a prolonged stay in this world, and the ability to finally take his revenge. He’d gradually merge his consciousness with that of the host, answering the wishes of the host and nullifying his pain. He was now one with the host…

Falling to his knees, Akechi’s eyes grew dim as the memories let go of their grasp on him. Catching himself on the ground, he realized that he sat in front of two Sawako’s; one dressed in black while the other garbed in red. A voice echoed throughout the room, Akechi’s eyes rose to meet the demonic tone that met him as he was lured to the table. ”You speak as if you are the same, yet you are not.” Akechi spoke weakly, holding his head with the palm of his hand as he struggled to maintain consciousness.

”Still. You live in the real world so you must face the real world. Hiding here… away from your sins is mere cowardice, Ashuri.” Akechi commented, his eyes weakly shifting over toward “Sawa-red.” ”You must be Kuroyuki then,” he spoke, the black and red Sharingan switching over toward what he assumed to be the demon that inhabited the dark recesses of the girl’s mind. ”I could feel you… hiding in that puppet. Tell me. What is your true form? Can you return to it? What do you plan on doing with this girl’s body?” Wasn’t like either of them were innocent. Both this demon and the girl named Ashuri… they both could’ve been categorized as monsters. Perhaps, Akechi would be categorized as such…

Eventually…
 

Current Ninpocho Chronicles Time:

Back
Top