Chapter 1: When you sleep
Misaki, Genbyorou slouched in the doorway of his bedroom, bottle in hand, shadow looming over his precious daughter. As she stirred, the hand of his clone pat her head and lulled the terrified girl back to sleep. The house was quiet that evening, which disturbed him greatly. Normally he would be scrambling with reforming the protective array to guard against that which tormented his child. Night after night, it never ceased to show itself. Like a looming storm cloud in the distance, it remained in the background prodding at their lives. He stepped out to the ground floor of the home, forming hand seal of the ox, to rush his system with chakra. Loose papers flew about and a determined gust of wind shrieked within his home. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the same unwavering silence. He exhaled and began to walk to his kitchen, to crack open another bottle.
He pivoted and met a kunai with his own, sending a clang of steel reverberating throughout the house. The assailant grunted, only to convulse as the sound of various shuriken pierced its flesh. A clone of Genbyorou stepped out and yanked the assailant's hair back, to reveal her pristine neck. " Tis a shame beautiful, I'm sure you would have liked my 5 o clock shadow", he said. The woman growled and spit back at him, before an audible crunch resounded through the hallway.
Kyoko sat up and gasped at the sound. His clone sat up as well and asked, " What's the matter dear"? She looked to the figure enshrouded by darkness and said, " I heard something downstairs daddy". It shook its head and explained that it was just a mouse probably. She grasped her blanket and gave paused for a few moments, before finally relenting.
Genbyorou lifted his elbow from the woman's lifeless body and sighed once more."I'm getting too old for this...", he said before disposing of the assailant's corpse. Outside his home a figure arrived in a gust of wind before his home, in a kneeling position. The corpse flopped on the ground with its head rolling away upon impact. " Heh, sorry we missed one mister misaki". The man gave him an incredulous look before grinning with a knowing shrug, " Doesn't an apology mean you won't let it happen again"? A giant man eating plant sprung from the sand and wrung itself around the body, before slowly disappearing in the shifting sand. "I suppose so. You have a good night Mr. Misaki".
He looked at the display with a sense of indifference that chilled his blood to bone. He took a swig of his sake and ran his fingers through the sand where the corpse disappeared. Sound had returned to his world once more, with an array of insects chirping in the background and the pitter patter of nocturnal critters. There he kept watch, staring at the same wall until he was needed, never he had hoped. His tormentors were becoming bolder as his little girl grew stronger physically, but her mind remained flimsy. "Aki my dearest, I've watched over our little one since that day. Sometim's my bones ache and my mind becomes cloudy...I'm tired...so...very...ti--red ", he said himself as he felt a sharp pain on his chest. He grinned at the wound and sauntered to the bathroom. " Would it...be wrong..if I wished it was just an inch lower"? The drunken grinned in the mirror, marveling at how close the wound was to his heart. Though as he disinfected it and wrapped himself in bandages he felt a tear trickle off his nose.
Hours passed and the sun rose without a hitch after that, prompting the weary father to rest his head upon the pillow where his clone had been. It poofed just a moment before, to relay what it observed of Kyoko. He felt a slight bit of guilt that he himself rarely interacted with the girl himself. He felt phantom sensations, but none which could match the feeling he experienced when he actually patted his daughter's head. She stirred under the covers, but it was merely to get comfortable. As the weary father lied his head back down she said, "I ---uh like my real....daddy". He grinned and rested his head while he could, because his daughter was an early bird. He wouldn't have much time to get his own rest.
word count: 729
Misaki, Genbyorou slouched in the doorway of his bedroom, bottle in hand, shadow looming over his precious daughter. As she stirred, the hand of his clone pat her head and lulled the terrified girl back to sleep. The house was quiet that evening, which disturbed him greatly. Normally he would be scrambling with reforming the protective array to guard against that which tormented his child. Night after night, it never ceased to show itself. Like a looming storm cloud in the distance, it remained in the background prodding at their lives. He stepped out to the ground floor of the home, forming hand seal of the ox, to rush his system with chakra. Loose papers flew about and a determined gust of wind shrieked within his home. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the same unwavering silence. He exhaled and began to walk to his kitchen, to crack open another bottle.
He pivoted and met a kunai with his own, sending a clang of steel reverberating throughout the house. The assailant grunted, only to convulse as the sound of various shuriken pierced its flesh. A clone of Genbyorou stepped out and yanked the assailant's hair back, to reveal her pristine neck. " Tis a shame beautiful, I'm sure you would have liked my 5 o clock shadow", he said. The woman growled and spit back at him, before an audible crunch resounded through the hallway.
Kyoko sat up and gasped at the sound. His clone sat up as well and asked, " What's the matter dear"? She looked to the figure enshrouded by darkness and said, " I heard something downstairs daddy". It shook its head and explained that it was just a mouse probably. She grasped her blanket and gave paused for a few moments, before finally relenting.
Genbyorou lifted his elbow from the woman's lifeless body and sighed once more."I'm getting too old for this...", he said before disposing of the assailant's corpse. Outside his home a figure arrived in a gust of wind before his home, in a kneeling position. The corpse flopped on the ground with its head rolling away upon impact. " Heh, sorry we missed one mister misaki". The man gave him an incredulous look before grinning with a knowing shrug, " Doesn't an apology mean you won't let it happen again"? A giant man eating plant sprung from the sand and wrung itself around the body, before slowly disappearing in the shifting sand. "I suppose so. You have a good night Mr. Misaki".
He looked at the display with a sense of indifference that chilled his blood to bone. He took a swig of his sake and ran his fingers through the sand where the corpse disappeared. Sound had returned to his world once more, with an array of insects chirping in the background and the pitter patter of nocturnal critters. There he kept watch, staring at the same wall until he was needed, never he had hoped. His tormentors were becoming bolder as his little girl grew stronger physically, but her mind remained flimsy. "Aki my dearest, I've watched over our little one since that day. Sometim's my bones ache and my mind becomes cloudy...I'm tired...so...very...ti--red ", he said himself as he felt a sharp pain on his chest. He grinned at the wound and sauntered to the bathroom. " Would it...be wrong..if I wished it was just an inch lower"? The drunken grinned in the mirror, marveling at how close the wound was to his heart. Though as he disinfected it and wrapped himself in bandages he felt a tear trickle off his nose.
Hours passed and the sun rose without a hitch after that, prompting the weary father to rest his head upon the pillow where his clone had been. It poofed just a moment before, to relay what it observed of Kyoko. He felt a slight bit of guilt that he himself rarely interacted with the girl himself. He felt phantom sensations, but none which could match the feeling he experienced when he actually patted his daughter's head. She stirred under the covers, but it was merely to get comfortable. As the weary father lied his head back down she said, "I ---uh like my real....daddy". He grinned and rested his head while he could, because his daughter was an early bird. He wouldn't have much time to get his own rest.
word count: 729
