Fill out to damn thing already!

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune, like the others, downed her dose of the liquid only to find that it didn’t have quite the same effect on her. This was most likely due to her altered metabolism, so she grabbed another shot and downed that as well. That had the desired effect of knocking her right out and tossing her consciousness the same way as the others. At first nothing happened to her mind, then, everything grew incredibly heavy, then it felt like she was falling from a great height, which… When she opened her eyes… She was! But when she hit the ground, it wasn’t that she died from the impact, or even got injured, it was that cartoony moment where you punch through the ground, and drag all the scenery with you, as if it had been a cloth background getting pulled through a hole, to leave only nothingness behind.

So there it was. Darkness. All around her. Now see, for most people they’d just close their eyes and wait for a light. Kitsune? Not so much. She had once before been stuck in a darkness like this. And she knew, if she stayed still for too long, the… thing… hiding in the darkness would devour her whole. It was as if she was reliving her worst nightmare, being dead all over again. It was one of the traumas she had only spoken to one person about before, and at the time, that person didn’t exactly seem interested in listening to it. Who would after they had just been told, that the person that adopted them, had done absolutely nothing to save the leader of the village? And Kitsune didn’t blame Kahako for it one bit. She wouldn’t have listened either.

Then, sudden brightness, filling out every point of Kitsunes field of vision. A much welcome relief from the tar-like restraints of the utter pick black darkness. She looked around, seeing Kahako and Ayumu on the couch with her. This seemed like the beginning of a TV-Show couch gag, but no. Ayumu seemed as confused as Kitsune, and she couldn’t blame him for that, this was an all-together surreal experience. Kinda like an acid trip gone bad. Or an episode of ‘Don’t Embrace Me I’m Frightened’.

Then, the first turn of the knob. Suddenly they were in a desert, drying up like meat on an open grill attended by an imbicile. Then, the second turn. Boom, ocean everywhere. Icy cold waters, momentous pressure, and deeply darkened depths. Then… The third turn. And they were in a forest. I hate channel surfing! was the only thoughts that came to mind for Kitsune after that rapid change in scenery. She blinked a few times after realizing that they were now in a forest, and that there was a Satou walking right towards them.

Then, a series of events occurred, ending with Ayumu drawing his sword and giving orders, spoken like someone that was used to being obeyed. Which, wasn’t exactly odd, considering his position as Main Branch sennin. Kitsune cracked her neck and took up a combat stance, ready to fling mental assaults as well as fiery doom upon the enemies that dared come closer to Satou and the little girl.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

Kahako always loved the thrill that came with freefall. However, most of the time she was prepared for it. This was not one of those times. A small sense of panic and confusion filled her as her body rammed into… darkness.

Her hands rose to protect her eyes from the growing brightness. Once again she was in the room with the demon. The screen to the TV clearly hadn’t been fixed since her last visit, but when there is only one viewer, and nothing but reruns, it made sense that it wasn’t on the top of the list of maintenance list.

The demon-child before her was different this time. Where he used to be crisply dressed, now he was in nothing but rags. But he would not leave time for her to speak out to him. Suddenly, Kahako felt excruciating pain. The desert landscape unfamiliar and slightly uncomforting to the woman who had never travelled out of her mountainous homeland. When she entered the scene of water, she immediately spotted Satou in the ice. She tried to reach out to him only to realize that she too was trapped. She wouldn’t have a chance to worry about breathing, however, as the scene stopped in a forest. Satou rose from the ground, beckoning them through ages, memories, maybe even souls.

Fear raced through Kahako’s mind when the demon gave them free reign to move through this memory. But Kahako seemed to be the only one who feared the repercussions of their actions. “No! Ayumu! Mother!” She called desperately to not avail. The men with primal weapons would stand no chance against the two Sennin. She was not worried about their wellbeing. They encountered blade for blade, already locked in battle before they could even register her shout. She knew their train of thought, she had it herself the first time. All the way until Sukino’s death did she hold the same belief herself. “This isn’t real to us, but it was to Satou,” she all but screamed as she made to tackle Ayumu.

Knocking the Sennin out of the way, Kahako took the sword meant for his blade to her shoulder, and allowed another two assailants to pass for the girl. “Every move you make, could change his memories,” she gritted through the pain hoping they would understand the butterfly effect that came with their interference. Slamming her foot on the man’s chest, she forcibly dislodged the sword as she forced him back a few feet. Blood spurted as Kahako fell to her knee, immediately summoning medical jutsu and applying it to her shoulder. She vocally cursed, turning around to see if the two men would meet the same end they did the first time. But it was too late. The die had been cast, and they already made an effect on his memories. And to Satou, they already changed his past.

 

[Ketsueki Satou]

The child ran with panic as the armored warriors approached, their stances and forms were almost flawless. These men were not simpletons or vagabonds. They were veterans in martial arts and well trained with each weapon they carried.

The one to have combated against Ayumu was a bit taken back to see a woman come forward to take the blow so readily, as well to the amount of strength she had sending him backwards with a stern kick alone. It was when she used her healing jutsu that the warrior panicked. He yelled out loud to the others. "They are demons as well! Kill them all and take the lady back to the castle!" He yelled to the other men as the small brigade of four rushed in, two upon Ayumu and Kahako, One charging forward at Kitsune, and a fourth to rush after the girl who retreated behind Satou.

The man rushing Kitsune had a spear in hand as well as one of the two facing Ayumu and Kahako. Kitsune's opponent launched full force running head long as if to impale her at the end of the spear, but instead drove the head in to the ground which cause a springboard effect which launched the man into the air above kitsune and was coming back down at an alarming rate with a massive Kanabo he pulled off his back and was wielding to aim for Kitsune's head.

The Spearman who face Ayumu was no slouch either, his footwork was fluid yet sturdy as his spear blurred and flickered ever close to Ayumu's cutting range. The thrusts rained forward covering all forward approach of attacking the Spearman. Kahako was faced with a blade sharp as a razor swinging at lightning speed from the charging swordsman. His footwork on par with the others as his swings were wide sweeping motion, aiming to cut her chest open with a cross slash.

The fourth warrior had a bow in hand and had notched several arrows already at the demonic man standing in his way before the child. The arrows flew out as fast as any fired from a Yumi bow, but none had stuck their target or even hit ground. They simply, stopped. All shots fired floated about Satou, his eyes a burning hellish glow as he stood as still as a statue, his face showing almost no emotion as he simply glared down the warrior who then discarded his bow in favor of the Katana, rushing forward with no fear in his eyes.

Satou barely made a gesture with his hand and the man was sent hurtling to the side till his body came full force at bone crunching smash into a solid tree. The girl behind him gave a wince as she witnessed the first kill. Satou, turned to look upon her. This dainty little creature, shivering and crying, filled with fear. A burning in his throat.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Ayumu prepared to lock blades with one of the attackers, prepared to defend the child as was his instinct to do. Unfortunately, his significant other had different plans. Kahako shouted her concerns as she tackled Ayumu from behind, pushing him out of the way and instead allowing the blade to meet her shoulder. "What the hell are you doing?!" Ayumu roared as he watched, in horror, the blood spurt from her fresh wound. Fortunately, she was a Med-nin and more than capable of healing the wound. Her warning, far too late, was in vain now.

"We're already here. It's already changed," he responded moments before the men began to panic about Kahako's use of healing jutsu. Demons, he called them. Did they know what Satou was already? They also referred to the young girl as "the lady" that they would return to the castle. 'Who is she?' Ayumu pondered, casting a quick glance in her direction. He had little time to think on it as the warriors began their attack, a spear wielder assaulting him with his superior range. "They leave us no choice. I'm sorry, Kahako," Ayumu said as he deflected attacks with his blade. The man was skilled with his weapon, but he was just a man. He didn't know how to fight a shinobi. Without warning, Ayumu grasped the spear just behind its point and pulled it towards himself, driving it into his own gut.

The clone held Ayumu's appearance for a moment, his face remaining stoic despite what should have been a grievous wound, and then it distorted and faded into a shadowy figure. Unbeknownst to the spearman, Ayumu himself had taken up position behind him while the Shadow Servant had taken his place as a Stunt Double. Taking the opportunity of the spearman's likely shock, Ayumu struck from behind with practiced silence. At the last moment, he chose to turn his blade around and strike with the dull side at the back of the man's head, attempting to knock him unconscious rather than kill. Perhaps it was some weak sense of mercy, but something about killing them didn't sit right with him. Then again, from this new angle he could see that Satou had already killed one and who knew what his allies would do.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune stepped backwards as she saw the man coming down from above. ”Not today Thuggy McThuggins.” she exclaimed before unleashing the fury of black fire upon the man. ”Ayumu-kun is right. The fact that we’re here means things have changed. Changing it further could help Satou-san.” she replied to Kahakos warning. Then, when Kahako received that wound, Kitsune rushed to her side and immediately began healing it. She was not about to let Kahako down again. Sadly, there wasn’t exactly much Kitsune felt comfortable doing at this moment besides being on the defensive, merely retaliating against aggressors, and then healing her team mates, so to speak.

[Sorry for the short post.]

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

“Shit,” Kahako cursed for the second time that day as she narrowly dodged the first strike. The second cross slash forced her to flip her body backwards, taking a few strands of hair with it. However, the maneuver also allowed her to take the moisture she felt in the ground into her hands. It wasn’t much distance with the blades man pushing his attach forward, but it was enough time for her to turn the water into sharp spikes of ice. He certainly intended to kill her, and so she aimed her shards at the vital points in his body. His dodging them would prove almost useless, however, as with a quick clench on her fingers each spike exploded into cold shrapnel.

She heard the words of her sennin, but she far from liked what they were saying. Yes, they were already here, already changing his world and his mind, but how much would they change before the man she now looked at was no longer the man she grew up with?

Kahako looked upon the girl as her four protectors stood upon the small battlefield, clutching Satou’s side desperately with nothing but the sound of Kitsune’s black fire crackling in the background, eating away at human flesh. A chill ran down her spine as she remembered her own first encounter with her demon friend. How strangely similar this scene was to her own. “Hello,” she simply said to both of them. Crouching down, she reached her hand out to the young girl, offering a kindly smile her way. “I promise we won’t hurt you.” She said softly as her eyes rose to meet Satou’s red ones, silently offering the same sentiment to him as well.

 

[Ketsueki Satou]

The world seemed to crackle with life. the moisture on your skin condensing, the heat suddenly chilled as death calm silence fell over the woods. The demonic eyes looking at his companions, their faces seemed to blur sometimes, he had to blink. Looking at the young women who addressed the rescued child from kidnappers. He thought he knew of her, looking down to the frightened little creature.

Another crackled along the air. the travelers through the mind could feel it, like the world tilting slowly as the feeling of gravity changed. In seconds their eyes had split vision. Their eyes were seeing the scene they had changed. In the other, everyone was given a quick crash course on what had happened without intervention.

Spoiler

The men were slaughtered, torn apart. The girl looked upon the demonic man with awe. "Will you help me save my people!? Please, my father. He's the lord of these lands. I am Tokugawa Sakana. My father used to be a kind man, but now. I think he may be possessed by a demon." Satou stood in the rain, covered in blood, his eyes shinning like the sun.

"A demon?" He whispered as a crooked smile played on his lips. "Lets go see this Demon, to save your father." Then a quick blink. A castle, lavished and massive. Surrounding it a great large commerce city. Bustling with people. The group could feel the heat and bustle of bodies around them as Satou felt them. Their eyes looking hatefully upon him, hearing the whispers and gossiping about a demon coming to their village.

A blink to the castle itself as one could feel their feet walking upstairs. Satou was heading upwards. Flights upon flights of stairs. Following Sakana up to the main room of the Lord who ruled over these lands. Armed men followed them at every turn. Though they did not attack the demon. They feared him, as he was giving off the sense of death, being covered head to toe in blood and dirt. Looking more monster then man.

The child and monster entered the lords room, whom was sitting upon lavished pillows, surrounded by lustrous and gorgeous women fawning over their lord. The joyous laughter stopped when all eyes focused on Sakana as she yelled. "I've returned father, and with the monster you asked for!" She spoke calmly and with such a devious smile. Before Satou could react to her words he felt intense pain shooting from his back through his stomach. Those who traveled could feel what he felt.

Looking down to see to elongated blades cutting from his stomach, a tilt of the head he could see it was two guards from behind who impaled Satou with spears. Forcing him to the ground as they pressed the spears deep, more guards were running in with blades drawn, before he could blast them all away with the swell of power in him. Sakana lunged at him, cutting his throat. Satou's eyes, wide in shock as he felt the heat run down his neck. Weaker and weaker, he couldn't stand past the pain. Couldn't force himself to get up, the world was growing darker. The last thing seen before blacking out was Sakana standing over him, smiling as she licked the blood off the knife. The lord standing behind her laughing as his eyes shinned with malevolence.

When awake, the feeling of iron shackles bind you're body, but most of the feeling is lost in you're arms and legs. Eyes blinking, you look down to see in horror that you're, no Satou's body has been badly mangled and torn, the sudden rush of pain as you jerk about seeing rats from the dungeon biting and eating at you're skin. Satou screamed and yelled for help as he pulled himself up, trying to kick and struggle. The critters run when the sound of the door opening to the cell. The soft hue of the flame sitting upon the torch blinds his eyes. Shaking, uncertain, he listens. Only to hear the soft giggle of Sakana before feeling the sharp stab of a heavy stone crack across his forehead. Darkness.

Seconds felt too quick as eyes open to see the blinding light of a dinning room. Laying upon a hardwood table, his body bound to it. Though what greeted him was the laughter and talk of mortals around him. He could hear their laughter and gossip of their immoral lives. Till one silenced them. Trying to lift his head, down at the end of the table he saw them, the wicked father and daughter, staring upon him with sickening glee. They both now looked sickly, inhuman, their eyes aglow like his own. To his side he saw them, a row of humans on each side, plates before them. Filled with what looked like bloody meat. But a closure look, he saw it was parts of the human body. His body.

He tried screaming and yelling, but his body wouldn't move. He just laid there, forced to watch as everyone at the table ate from him. His eyes locked on the father and daughter as they as well ate from him. Again, and again. Nights after what felt like days. The passing of time only conscious when in pain from the animals in the dungeon biting at him, and times when he felt the knife in his body to cut away parts of him. Night after night, everyone within his mind endured it but for moments. Yet they all felt his misery, his despair. Till one night, one gruesome night.

He awoke in his cell, it had been a few years of this torture. The last, as his eyes looked up, not to see the rats and insects, but grotesque creatures. Monsters. Sitting at his feet, staring upon him as if waiting. The demon smiled as his voice changed. "Free me, my beauties." He whispered in horsed voice. The monsters did so, he couldn't count how many there were in the room. But the floor covered with them. Rats the size of dogs so torn and mutated that their tails twisted and broken into blade like pieces cut the chains around his legs. The insects with mandibles the size of the human hand bite and chomped through the chains that held his arms.

These creatures, they were made of him, made from him. They carried him upon a bed of their bodies as he was taken from the dungeon, slowly marched through the vast castle. Everywhere he looked, he saw humans changed, monstrous and grotesque as the creatures. And with a wave of his hand, his creatures lashed out at the demonic humanoids. Their screams filled the castle and the infestation spread and killed whatever they found. Glimpses through the eyes of the monsters as they tore through mutated flesh.

A large embroidered door swung open as Satou was lead into the grand dining hall he knew all to well. At the table seated all the lords generals, now transformed into just the same way as the people of the castle. Monsters of great size, covered armor that seemed to big or too small for their twisted bodies. And at the end, his eyes narrows with a heated glare when staring upon the changed lord and princess. The Lord had grown quite large, not in stature but in girth. The man looked like a sickly bloated whale of a human, his eyes beady and blackened. His maw a plethora of different sized fangs, his hands sausages and sprouted talons. Yet the princess looked much more then any monster. She appeared normal, petite, her skin more paled, his eyes a glow like tiny fires. She had become much more like him then anyone else. And it made the demon shiver, not with a feeling of unrest, but with excitement and joy.

His body slowly rising from the bed of critters as the generals stood armed and ready to fight the demon. But they were insignificant, they had become monsters but they were still just mortal creatures. A wave of his hand and the room was covered with gore as each general exploded with kinetic forces taring their bodies apart. Their screams sounded muffled as Satou stayed focused on the lord and princess while moving forward.

The group could feel the awkwardness of walking after years of being unable to. The tingling sleepiness of the skin coming alive. The shrill laughter that came out of Satou somewhat startled the Lord as the giant bloated being lifted the table and threw it at him. Of course this was useless, the sheer forces around Satou wouldn't allow anything to approach. The table splintered and disintegrated before him into tiny pieces.

A raised hand once more and the lord felt the vice like fingers of the Elder one grip his neck, lifting the massive man off the ground with ease as he was slowly being levitated past Satou. "Enjoy my sweet beauties." He spoke softly as he lowered the lord slowly into the group of hungry mutated insects and rats. Watching as the lord screamed and cried as his amorphous size was devoured by the horde. His attention was away from the princess, and so she used this as the chance to leap upon Satou's back. He didn't react, even as she tore and bit into his neck with razor sharp incisors. Feeling the sharp sting and tingle of heat run from his neck.

He stood there, eyes closed, breathing softly, not even struggling as the creature on his back drank from soft flesh. His voice came out slightly gurgled, weak, yet seething. "How I wished you were the one." And then, she stopped, her arms wrapped around his neck tight as she began to cry, withdrawing from his throat as the wound slowly began to close. Behind him she hung by her arms, her lower half from chest to legs were torn away, thrown across the room.

His cold hands holding her arms in this last few moments of embrace. He sighed softly. Biting into her arm, tasting that sickened blood. Her gentle crying, slowly turned into a whimper, then silence. Only the sound of the monsters devouring and chewing upon flesh and bone.

His powers were beginning to recede, the vision ended and Satou pulled away from the girl, looking shaken and confused. He looked at the travelers. Scared, uncertain what to do as he stared at the girl who was now close to Kahako. Holding onto Kahako's hand as she started her introduction to Kahako.
"Please, my father. He's the lord of these lands. I am Tokugawa Sakana. My father used to be a kind man, but now. I think he may be possessed by a demon." She looked shaken and scared, worry in her eyes. Holding Kahako's hand tightly with both of her own. "Please, I have no one to turn to. Please save my people."

Satou stared at Kahako, to Ayumu, to Kitsune then back to Kahako. His voice shaking as his body. "What do I do?" He whispered.

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Though Kahako may not have wanted this to happen, the arrow had already been loosed from the bow. It was too late to stop it now. The men went down with relative ease and only Satou, the girl, and the shinobi were left standing. Once he was sure the perimiter was secure, he glanced around to his allies. Satou was staring at Kahako. Ayumu started to walk towards the two of them when a flash of something seemed to override what he was seeing before him for a brief moment. He stopped and shook his head, but the vision came back and remained this time. He was in the same clearing, but the scene he looked upon was different. Kahako and Kitsune were gone. He tried to call out to them, but he had no voice. He had no body. He realized now he was seeing a vision. What happened when they were not here. A girl that should have been terrified was instead pleading for Satou to help her save her father. The smile Satou gave was not reassuring- Ayumu worried for the girl and her father. The vision skipped forward and now Ayumu found himself witnessing a scene in a grand castle. The girl was leading Satou to her father, the lord of the castle, and the staff was terrified as they rightly should have been.

When they reached the man, he was busy flirting with young women, all of them having a lovely time. At first, Ayumu felt bad for the girl. She was off alone in the woods seeking help for her father, when here he was acting the playboy. Yet her words drew his attention away from the man and back to her. Did she say the monster he asked for? What was this? That smile she gave. Suddenly, Ayumu's thoughts were cut short and overriden by pain as Satou was impaled through the back with spears. 'Fuck! Why do I feel it?!' Ayumu cursed in his thoughts, all he had to express the pain he felt. He felt the slicing of the throat as well, a searing pain followed by lightheadedness as Satou lost blood. His descent into unconsciousness was Ayumu's. Everything went black.

When he began to come to, Ayumu looked down to see an unfamiliar body. It felt foreign, but he could tell that his mind was currently occupying it. It took a moment for the pain to register as his mind became accustomed to the idea that the body he was seeing was his own. The pain was excrutiating and came from all over. Ayumu could see gnawing wounds covering Satou's body, the rats still remaining despite the thrashing body resisting them. He noticed the heavy shackles keeping him prisoner. Even if he could be free of them, he felt so exhausted he could hardly bring himself to move. The sound of the cell door opening brought his attention up to the light. For a moment, he dared hope that someone had come for him, but it was met only with pain as a blow was struck to his forehead. He was out again.

The rest was, mercifully for Ayumu, a blur. He woke upon a dining room table to the horrifying and disgusting sight of men and women eating human flesh only to realize the flesh belonged to Satou. He could feel the pain as knives carved away at him, if only briefly. For him, it was only moments, though he had a sense of how long it lasted for Satou. He imagined that it was enough to break a man to endure it so long. For him, it only enraged him. These monsters could not claim to be human. They all deserved death, and Ayumu so desperately wanted to give it to them. As the final scene opened the rats from before were revealed to be hideous monsters now. It was demonic corruption, something Ayumu had seen before. This was a very extreme case of it, to be sure. Satou commanded them to free him and they obliged, biting through the shackles and freeing him. They carried him out of the dungeon, through the castle. The humans of the castle had changed to, and they died in agony to Satou's new pets. In the dining hall the generals awaited. They were nothing to Satou, despite their transformations. They were torn apart by a wave of his demonic energy. Strangely the girl was still mostly normal looking despite a few telltale signs of demonic influence. The lord himself tried to fight back, throwing the table at Satou but it was dust in the wind before it ever reached the demon. Satou laughed maniacally as he fed the lord to the monsters behind him, leaving him alone with the girl. Ayumu could feel the sting as she bit into Satou's neck, though it did little to help her situation. She, too, was slaughtered.

Now they were back in the clearing, the visions having ceased. Ayumu had taken a few steps towards the others and nearly stumbled as his mind reentered his own body. He stopped, shaking his head again. "Shit..." he muttered, raising a hand to his face. Though what he experienced was only a fraction of Satou's torture and pain, it was still jarring for his consciousness to be tossed around like that. He felt like he might be sick. Taking a deep breath, he looked up to see Satou looked shaken and afraid. Had he seen it too? Had the others? He saw the young girl, a wolf in sheep's clothing, take Kahako's hand and put on her act. She pleaded for Kahako to help her father, what Ayumu now knew to be a lie. Ayumu could see it from the expressions on his compatriot's faces. They had seen it too. Satou whispered a question to the group, asking what he should do. Ayumu could still see the flashes of what had happened in his mind almost like his own memories. He boiled with rage over what the people had done. He found his hand gripping the hilt of his blade tightly.

"Maybe we should go. Help them," Ayumu suggested with a barely concealed anger threatening to burst out. Naturally he had no intentions of helping them. They knew what was in store for them, and things would not play out the same way with that foresight. Perhaps it wasn't the wisest idea, but Ayumu felt a need for vengeance even though nothing had technically happened yet.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

A soft touch was all it took for the whirl of Satou’s memories to flood through her body much in the same way Sukino’s had in her last venture. Every step blurred as time flashed forward, but the most painful memories remained crisp and clear.

His screams were hers, his flesh torn to pieces came from her skin. Everything that the true monsters of the castle took from him, she felt in each slice. But she also felt his resolve, his and his demon’s thirst for vengeance and their need to fix their maimed pride. She would have never wished this upon her greatest enemy, let alone a friend, and she reveled in his satisfaction as his energies sliced the sick bitch in two ending the memory.

By the time she returned to the ‘present’ she was physically and mentally sickened. She heard her lover curse behind her, confirming that she wasn’t the only one to experience that level of hell. Her skin paled to a sickening white as the girl held her now limp hand tightly. There lay a silence amongst the group as Satou brokenly begged on what he should do. Kahako returned his second gaze, this time filled with worry and fear for his being. How many times was he subjected to this memory? How many more would this twisted soul force him to relive it again and again?

"Maybe we should go. Help them," Ayumu said in a barely restricted tone. His anger at what happened was understandable. But Kahako did not want to go to that castle. True, unaltered fear coursed through her as she remembered what she just experienced. No, Kahako didn’t want anything to do with this memory. She didn’t want anything to do with this fear. Suddenly, the mednin was the thirteen-year old girl again. Cowering in an alley as Satou agreed to save her from her fear. Equally, she wanted to take it away. The pain, the memory…

And just like that, in almost an instant a solution came to her. A span of quiet thoughts flashed within her mind, a grim understanding of what needed to be done to end this nightmare before it even began. Kahako’s shaking grew even more as she resolved herself with what she was going to do.

“Aaa…” Kahako agreed as she re-strengthened her grip on the girl’s hand. The quiver in her voice could be clearly heard. "We will help you." She pulled the young hime-sama into a tight hug, slowly patting the girl’s back to calm her down.

“We will help you save your father.”

Faster than any could react, Kahako’s body began to pulse blue as a stranger’s voice accompanied her own. Only the demon overseeing this demented little show would realize it was the voice of Sukino. And he would probably be the only one to realize what Kahako had decided to do.

From Ayumu and Kitsune’s perspective, all they would see was the princess’s expression change from hopeful worry to pained horror before a tightly spinning jet of water pierced through Kahako’s back. Blood trickled from the girl’s mouth as they both fell to their knees. The red liquid quickly bled through Kahako’s clothes as they touched the ground.

Before Kahako’s body gave out on her, the strange female’s voice echoed from her mouth again. “Shhh… my fellow captive. It is much quieter here. You can rest here… and eventually, you can finally die here,” The blue-colored glow engulfed the dying woman before pulling a red orb from her body and making its way to Kahako.

By the end of it, Kahako’s body glowed a vibrant red as the princess’s limp form fell to the side. The unnamed girl no longer took her human form on the forest floor, but instead the demon-esque transformation they all saw at the end of the flashback. The dying form of another soul consumed by the Elder one.

“I see,” Kahako whispered quietly as she struggled to remain conscious. Her eyes glowed a deep red as she continued to stare at him. She reached a bloody hand out to Satou, tears welled up as her vision blurred. The feeling of dismay chilled her to the core. "I see..." she brokenly whispered again as the tears freely streamed down her face. Oh how the demon must be laughing as her foolish choice to save Satou from this pain. From the truth she now saw from the dead princess’s memories, she realized she cursed herself in a way that not even Satou could remember.

She tried to gain the breath to say something to the probably horrified group around her. She had to explain to them what she did, why she did it. Instead, she coughed one last time, blood spurting from her mouth before she fell completely to the side, slowly losing consciousness as she stared back at the face of the dead woman who’s soul she just took. The face of his first true Master.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune blinked several times as the images of Satous memories flooded her mind, then, she bent over in pain as somehow the memories affected her synapses in such a way that it triggered a body-wide pain response. She looked up with gritted teeth as Ayumu mentioned to helping them, clearly enraged at what had happened. She then looked at Kahako and saw her practically shaking with fear as she seemed to come up with a plan regarding what to do in this horribly confusing situation, before hugging the little girl and speaking with a strange two-fold voice. Not only that, she began to glow blue which made Kitsune blink.

What in the blazes has Kahako done to herself? Kitsune wondered and stood, almost dumbfounded at seeing her adopted daughter glow blue and then be pierced by a spinning jet of water. This snapped Kitsune out of her stupor and she rushed to Kahakos side and pressed her hands on the fresh wound before pouring as much healing chakra into it as she could possibly muster. There was no way in hell she’d lose Kahako inside the head of a demented demon. Well, not so much demented as tormented by memories, but still.

After nearly exhausting herself of chakra, Kitsune sat down next to Kahako, and placed the young womans head on her lap. ”Wake up Kahako” Kitsune whispered, looking down at her adoptive daughters resting face. ”Please wake up…” If this didn’t work, Kitsune would have to break out the backup reserves of chakra and pump everything into Kahako. She would not let her daughter die here. No friggin’ way that was going to happen, ever.

[MFT; WC: 276]

 

[Ketsueki Satou]

As he stood with them, he listened to each, but when it came to Kahako. She proved to peak the demon's curiosity once more. As Satou was to speak to Ayumu about his plans to help them, a look of worry in his eyes. He only took his attention of the girl and Kahako for the moment, and it allowed for a blunder. The child was dead in Kahako's arms. And the woman before him became someone else. And then someone different. She reached out to him. The smell of her blood stung at his nose as he reached out to her but didn't reach her as she fell.

It was the trickle of blood from her mouth, collapsing wounded by her actions. He felt powerless. He just stood there, fear filled. His eyes stricken with confusion. "What do I do?" Was all he could whisper. And a soft voice echoed around them all. "Nothing. It was the Master's choice." It was his voice. But it didn't come from his mouth. He shook his head, The world twitched and gave a spasm, the body of the girl morphed had begun to fad and turn to ashes. The group was not in the woods. A nice, lavished room, architecture of old wood carved furniture and fixtures. The drapes about the windows cast ominous shadows that moved about the room from the light of the fire.

The room had no doors, but the walls were covered with book shelves of magnificent height that spiral all the way up into an infinite space above with no sight of a ceiling. Though there was no way of climbing such a height. At the end of the room a poker stoked the flames as it slowly crawled back to its stand.

The efforts of Kitsune were not in vein, Kahako's mental form would heal. But what of her outer form? Here she was unconscious. And so she slowly drifted back to her body. Her form would break away in a silhouette of blue with a red swirl. Of course Ayumu would have been given time to react if the demon didn't interject. If he wasn't jostled from his sleep after looking up from movement in his peripheral vision of a giant squid like creature dressed in a fine suit. It's giant massive form towered over two men and it's fine clothing looked well fitted over It's tendril body. "You've both been rather fun. Sorry it was cut short, would have loved to see how it played out. But the Master has become more wise to my games. Cutting things short and sweet." It waved a grotesque hand. "Bye bye." And with that both Ayumu and Kitsune woke up.

Satou was left within his mind. Outside Keiji was quickly yanking off the devices and in a panic. "I'M A DAMN PHARMACIST NOT A DOCTOR! Either one of you can treat wounds?" He looked at the suddenly awake Ayumu and Kitsune. Then ducked a chair spinning about the room because Satou was still unconscious. Yet he was in Demon Cloak Omega(M). Moving things about the somewhat empty room with kinetic energy as he slowly levitates from the bed as the chakra pushes around him forming the creature, it's dark tendrils laying about the floor as the chakra spreads outward.

Spoiler

Satou stood and faced the beast as it stared down at him, its laughter chilled Satou's bones. "I don't know how she does it." He spoke and Satou couldn't follow as his brow furrowed. "Kahako, she has a power that interests me. The more she pokes around in your head, the closer she's getting answers. She's learned my game already. It didn't take her long this time to take the reigns. " The creature sipped its drink. "Her body will be amazing to walk around in, I wonder what it feels like to-" The creature didn't finish as Satou's fist connected to the monsters face. Halting its speech for a moment, the sound of some kind of bone had broke. But Satou felt like it was his hand he shattered as he stepped back. Accepting the massive fist that was soon to connect to his face, sending him flying through a bookcase and ending up in an ocean.

Satou coughed and choked on water. His hands clenching into fists.

Spoiler

Satou was sinking deep into the dark blue as the sun slowly kept away to the inviting arms of darkness. Only to fall from the darkness and hit the floor of that cursed room. The carpet beneath him soaked as he coughed up several mouthfuls of water. "Gonna interrupt me again?" Whispered the demon as it sipped from a glass filled with blood.

Satou looked up, his eyes aglow. "You gonna let me out or are we going to be doing this all day?" Slowly he stood while heaving, but standing straight up to face the monster with a glare, and the demon felt a small chill as Satou stood so defiantly, it made the creature want to rip Satou in two. And it tried. It's ethereal tendril lashed out and struck at him, but with a wave of Satou's hand, the tendril stopped. It twisted backwards.

The demons hand clenched hard against the glass that it began to shatter. It was straightening to fight against Satou's force of will as the men began pushing the demon back with his own power. His hand was as if pushing against a wall. "Let. Me. Out!"The last word made a fight and it shattered through the force as Satou woke up.

The aura exploded from him without much force, no more then a nudge of kinetic energy as he fell back. A heavy gasping wheeze as he doubled over and was coughing violently. His head pounding, his body aching and sore. Mouth was dry, thirsty. Vision blurry, could hear muffled sounds. "Kahako." He mumbled while trying to get up. The world felt so heavy, like something was pressing him down to the floor. His arms didn't have the strength to even push himself up.

 

[Shinrya Kahako]

There were many times where Kahako woke from a ‘death dream’ those dreams where you wake up at the moment in your life where you died. They grew in increasing frequency after the first dream walk.

But none of them, not a single one could prepare her for the gaping hole in her chest. "I'M A DAMN PHARMACIST NOT A DOCTOR! Either one of you can treat wounds?" she heard in the distance as she struggled to stay conscious. Damn. Why didn’t she think to consider applying a medical ward on the three of them before she went in?

And then there was the problem of the truth. What she learned from absorbing the soul that now pushed gleefully at her weak control. It took all of Kahako’s fading strength to keep the mind of the princess at bay. It wanted to control. It wasn’t a she any longer. No… it wanted Kahako’s body. It wasn’t content on living vicariously through Kahako as she aged and died like Sukino did. It wanted to be the one alive. And even more than that… it wanted to be the master. But weight of the completed contract was like a buzzing irritation in the wake of her current problem. Trying to stay awake... Trying to stay in control.

“Mother…” Kahako mangled out in a desperate whisper of help. She grabbed at whatever hand currently reached out to her. She would never know who comforted her. The next words that came was intelligible, and with a final shutter, Kahako lost consciousness.

TL

 

[Kogami Ayumu]

Blinking, Ayumu looked to Kahako as she informed the girl that they would help her. Was she really going to go along with his plan? She was usually the rational one when it came to his anger issues. She would pull him back from the brink before he would do anything stupid. Yet, here she was seemingly in agreement. Ayumu pictured it now, turning the tables on the ones that had… or at least were going to torture Satou. But Ayumu was dead wrong about Kahako’s intentions. He’d fallen for it as much as the girl herself had. Her voice as she promised to save the girl’s father was unfamiliar. All of Ayumu's training could not prevent was occurred next. It didn't matter how fast he was. It meant nothing.

”Kahako…?” Ayumu questioned, glancing at her with uncertainty. Shock and confusion filled Ayumu’s mind as the jet of water burst through Kahako’s back. She and the girl both fell over as Ayumu watched in stunned awe. ”KAHAKO!” he screamed, his eyes widened in horror as he realized what had just happened. He heard the unfamiliar voice again as a strange red orb floated from the girl’s limp body to Kahako, whom was now glowing red. Rushing to her side, Ayumu slid on his knees across the ground to where she lay. Kitsune, too, was there with her immediately, her healing jutsu immediately activated. Ayumu wanted to hold Kahako, but he knew he needed to let Kitsune work. For the moment, Ayumu had completely forgotten where they were. The change of scenery to a bizarre library barely registered. The thought of whether this damage inflicted to her within a dream was illusory or actual didn’t cross his mind. He could barely hear the demon’s words. He just wanted to see her open her eyes.

Awakening back in the hospital room in his cot was jarring, to say the least. He sat bolt upright, confused for a moment before remembering what was going on. ”Kahako!” he shouted, looking around. Objects were floating around the room like they were in an abandoned old haunted hospital. Ayumu ignored them, his eyes fixing on Kahako’s form nearby. He reached for her and nearly fell out of the cot before righting himself and stumbling to her bedside. She was barely conscious, calling for her mother. More concerning, the wound from the dream was reality. Kahako was unconscious before Ayumu could even reach her. Taking her hand, he looked to Kitsune.

”Kitsune… please…” he begged, unable to stop the tears from welling in his eyes. She was the only one that could save Kahako now. He cared not for whatever Kitsune had done in the past at this moment. It no longer mattered. They needed her now more than ever. He looked back to Kahako, the terrifying thought of losing her ruling his mind. He gently caressed the side of her cheek with the back of his hand. ”You’re going to be okay, Kahako…” he said, more an assurance for himself than anything. He prayed that he was right about that.

[TL as well - considering this thread wrapped up at last.]

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

For the second time in as many realities, Kitsune blinked several times. This time, it was due to waking up from that drug-induced comatose state she was put into only a short time earlier. Strangely it felt like it had taken over a year to get to this point. Either way, Kitsune felt her senses overwhelmed rippling energy due to Satous omega cloak, but she was snapped back to reality due to a shout of “I’M A DAMN PHARMACIST NOT A DOCTOR!” ”Well I’m a doctor.” she proclaimed and got off the bed and went to Kahako as fast as inhumanly possible right as the young girl whispered a mangled cry for her help.

Kitsune gave Ayumu a pat on the shoulder, then nodded and went to work on her daughter. ”I’m gonna need a crash cart in here, STAT. Call two nurses and a second doctor as well. This is critical, and if we don’t act fast, we’ll lose her!” she barked, giving orders to both Keiji and Ayumu, entirely disregarding that none of them were in her branch or even under her command. She needed their help, and she needed them to get right on that.

Assuming Ayumu wasn’t in total shock, and he actually went to get someone to bring a crash cart, Kitsune would begin with a basic chakra stitching of the flesh to prevent Kahako from bleeding out, but the more complicated work came second. Healing a small wound was child’s play. But this? This was a gaping hole through her chest. Kitsune and her team would have to recreate organs and flesh from nothing. Well. Almost nothing. Kitsune had an experimental procedure she could try, but it could have side effects on Kahako, and she’d need permission to actually do it. Regardless, priority one was to stabilize Kahako and then get her fixed up, procedure or not.

[TL - Whoo; MFT; WC: 313]

 

[Ketsueki Satou]

A throbbing pulse through his mind caused the room to go dark over and over again. Maintaining the large flow of chakra in the room back down to the center of his body took almost all of his effort. He had to remain calm, which require breathing in the smell of Kahako's blood, causing him to try and force more energy back down as the demon fought to take control to get at her. He had to leave the room, he had to leave her side. Getting up was easy, but controlling his limbs was like trying to casually bend planks of wood without snapping the boards in twine. His bones flexed under the kinetic pressure as he walked out the room, one could hear the loud sounds of bones snapping along his body as he grunted his way through the pain. He had to leave Kahako's side, he was too much of a danger to be around her in such a condition.

Satou tried to stay by the door but the smell kept hitting him and he had to continuously stop himself from re-entering the room. He didn't know of anything more then to leave. "I'm sorry Kahako.." Was all he could say in between holding his breath. Forcing his limbs to move he went out with Keiji already disappeared when Kitsune barked about some sort of cart and another Doctor. As Satou was heading out he saw Keiji Running with the Doctor sitting on the cart in a mad dash back to the room.

Maybe this could have been avoided, if he had told them to just lock him away this would have never happened. No, he knew Kahako wouldn't allow him to be locked away, she would raise hell on his account if it meant helping him. He cussed under his breath when leaving the hospital. His blackened aura erupting form his body uncontrollably from time to time.

(tl)