The hold that Yuii had on this dream world that also had it's genjutsu claws deep in the mind of Kaen was impeccable, that was to be sure. The phasing from one scene to the next was seemingly flawless, the resolution and articulation was spectacular. So much so that Kaen was still completely unaware of what was going on, still assuming this was just a friendly outing with some dear friends of his, Kaji and Yuii.
After the scene returned to the grassy knoll everything smoothly picked up where they left off. Kaji was stuffing his face with biscuits and Yuii was inquiring more about his sister, Kasen. Kaji was right however, those biscuits did look good...
"Kaji could you pass me a..." Before Kaen could finish his request, a small plate of biscuits magically appeared beside him.
"Oh never mind, I have some right here." Kaen took a single biscuit and bit off half of it. It was warm and buttery, not at all dry like you mind find sitting on a shoddy restaurant table, all stale and hard. No, these genjutsu biscuits were amazing! But how did they magically appear simply by Kaen wishing for them? Was Yuii's grasp on this reality slipping? Or was she not the only one pulling the strings here...
"Are you close? I would love to hear about her." Yuii insisted on knowing more about Kasen. While it may have felt a bit odd for her to wish to know more about her in the real world, this was anything but. Her genjutsu told him that Yuii was a person to be trusted and that he could confide in her, and Kaji, what he had never told anyone else before.
"Well it's rather a long story... But I suppose we do have time, I don't think he is expecting us anytime soon." Kaen's defenses were naturally down, as they were meant to be. He agreed to tell him another story, but who was this "He" that he spoke of?
Kaen dusted off his shirt free of the biscuit crumbs and set the other half of his treat down on the plate with the rest of the pieces of pastry.
"Dear Kasen... Well she was special, to me at least. A few years after my conception my sister, Kasen, was born. It was unmistakable that she was of my kin, her skin tone, the same, her facial features, so very similar even her hair… yes the crimson hair is what would bind us together from that moment on. I knew I would have to be the one to help and care for her. To watch over her like a guardian angel to be sure that no harm ever came to her in any way shape or form, especially since our mother started acting strange. It started out relatively unnoticeable, given you weren’t looking for it. It started with brief moments of silence as she appeared to stare out into the distance or dark windows of storage buildings. This in itself was rather harmless, but as time went on, so too did the intensity of her illness." This time the scene didn't morph and contort to fit the description. Instead apparition would materialize in front of their eyes. Still, unmoving and lifeless. But still pretty to look at. A image of his mother holding a mini Kaen clone in her arms with a smaller two year old version of Kaen at her feet looking expectantly upwards. The image would collapse into a sparkling sand like substance and reform to match the next image of a little girl.
The image of the little girl would collapse and the sand would be magically blown away, even though there was no wind. As Kaen continued the clear skies above seemed to form dark clouds, slowly billowing in from the sides of the sky. Angry blobs that somewhat appeared like townsfolk appeared in shadowy stills upon the murky clouds. There were no voices but their intent was clear and coincided with his mentioning of the villager's insults.
"In time, mother's “occupation” slowed to a complete halt, it’s really no surprise though. After all, who would want to sleep with the “town nut job”? Yes… everywhere we went with her, all we heard were faint whispers and the occasional “get out of town you crazy bitch”. Her illness had gotten the better of her after all this time. Often I would catch her sneaking out in the dead of night and yell at the ground or a tree, going on about intruders and demons coming to take everyone away. This was our life though; we made do with what we could." It was never a good thing for children of such a young age to know about sex, but even more so wrong that your child knew exactly what you did for a living. Kaen would continue despite the disheartened look on his sullen face.
"It didn't take long for mother to become all but useless; her moments of “clarity” grew scarce and rare. I despised those moments… Each time it was more heartbreaking, to see her realize what was happening to her and us. The fear and remorse in her eyes told that little boy that was me more than he needed to know. This is how life went on, nearly until I was the age of 5. I awoke one cold morning, it was winter." Upon his final word the clouds burst open in a torrential downpour of snow that threatened to bury the trio alive. Any struggling they attempted would be futile as the sand was relentless in its attempt to bury them in a icy grave. But the moment they gave in to their fate, their bodies and visuals would be transported once more to a new scene.
Kaji and Yuii would find themselves in a familiar alley, but this time the shack was near unrecognizable in its current state. Boards have rotted in the elements, other pieces missing. Instead of a plywood roof, a blue tarp with holes in it was used to shield the residents from the rain. Within the confines of the stick perimeter was an array of cardboard pieces fashioned together with loose string attempting to hold them together. A small groan could be heard from within, not like the ones from the last time the shinobi couple visited. No, these were the soft subtle noises of a child. If Kaji or Yuii approached the box fort, they would see a five year old Kaen stirring from his shivering slumber. The boy shivered in the arctic like winds that licked icy gusts upon his face. He looked around sleepily around and noticed his three year old sister Kasen shivering violently without a blanket. The boy rose from his bed with his own blanket in toe. He grabbed some loose newspaper that was strewn about the box on his way over. He tucked in the papers underneath the blanket wrapped her up in a blanket cocoon. He looked around the small cardboard shack once more before calling out;
"Mama?" That was the only thing out of place, aside from the obvious state of living they were in, but without money and a quickly deteriorating mother, what else could be expected. The Shinku sibling's mother was nowhere to be found, yet the boy continued to search for her. The young Kaen exited the confines of the cardboard area and ventured out into the snow covered alleyway.
"MAMA!" The boy cried out into the dark abyss of a night, searching for his absent minded mother. He glanced back into the boxes towards Kasen, assuring she was well covered. With a nod he set off in search of his mother, thankfully it had snowed and her footprints were fresh on the snow.
Assuming they followed, Kaji and Yuii that is, they would again find themselves in a familiar place. The center of town, only with a blanket of white encompassing as far as they could see. Even in this genjutsu dream like world, they too would begin to feel the icy chill of this wintery night. There she stood, not but a few feet from the well. Her back was turned to the small boy. Just another one of her usual sleep walking fits, or so it seemed. Kaen approached her side and grabbed her hand, in a soft conserved voice he muttered;
“Mommy, we need to go home. It’s too cold to be doing this.” But all he was met with was another blank stare. She appeared to be staring down into the well. Kaen being the curious and supportive child he was, looked over the edge as well. From the edge of the groups sight a dark figure appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Not unlike static, the scene cracked and distorted. A skip in the scene if you would. Instantaneously the figure appeared behind the mother and son and pushed the small boy over the edge.
This is when something strange happened. Upon the audible cracking impact of the boy hitting the frozen bottom of the well, The scene skipped and static noise ensued for a brief moment. The shadowy figure and Kaen's mother was gone from view. A crunching noise would eerily compel Kaji and Yuii to turn their back to the scene at the well. What they were met with might have been a surprise. Kaen, as he was approached them, snow crunching under foot as he drew nearer. The scene didn't seem to bother him, this and he didn't seem quite here at all but rather still atop that grassy knoll, telling his story.
"Either way you looked at it, I was screwed. There was intense pain coming from my sides and I felt like crying, but no tears came. I called out for mother only to be met with silence. The bucket was just within reach, enough so that I could grasp it and pull myself into the bucket. I used every ounce of strength that my little body could muster and attempted to pull myself up… but I could not. I cried out for my mother once more, what came next would haunt me for the rest of my life." The scene shifted once more, the shadowy figure and mother appearing before their eyes again. There seemed to be a struggle, but it ended abruptly with a rope around her neck.
"A blur rushed by and I was rocketed to the top of the well and shot out of my seat and rolled as I hit the snowy ground. Pain surged through my body once more, flaring up the wounds I had suffered earlier. Mother was nowhere in sight, but a horror scene instead took her place. There was so much blood… A trail led to the well, I crawled slowly over to it and slowly peered over the edge. What I saw scarred my child mind to a state of irreparability." The scene matched and flowed perfectly with his words as the trio looked onwards to the little movie that was Kaen's memory. Kaen would approach the well, beckoning Kaji and Yuii to follow. If they followed, they and both current Kaen and toddler Kaen would be staring down into a deep frozen well. Kaen's mother hung there, suspended just above the ice’s surface. Her feet grazing the ice and she swung to and fro. Blood dripped out of every orifice she possessed and was quickly filling the floor of the well. Kaen and the little Kaen both backed away slowly away from the well. The little boy appeared as if he might burst into tears, but perhaps the sheer shock kept his emotions numb.
"I heard movement behind me and with much fear I spun around scared for my life. I was met with the visage of a little girl, standing bare foot in the snow. It seemed Kasen had followed me, perhaps realizing she was alone and maybe grew frightened." She would stand there with a little blanket being toted behind her in one hand, the other sleepily rubbing an eye.
“Why are you out her nii-san?” "I rushed to her side and held her close, begging her to not look. One mind was already enough to be ruined. But the mind of a 3 year old is ever curious and she slipped from my grip, the pain in my sides preventing me from maintaining a proper hold. She rushed into the blood bath scene and just stood there. It still bothers me to this day, that she had to see that..." Again, the scene matched his descriptions. Had Yuii or Kaji attempted to interact with the Kaen telling the story, his body would simply reappear somewhere nearby in some sort of defensive action and would continue his story.
“So pretty… I’ve never seen red snow before!” Her excitement was anything but cute, for it seemed she didn’t understand what she was seeing. She reached down and picked up a handful of the blood soaked snow and dropped it immediately.
“ech, its all sticky though… oh well, oh what’s this?” She shuffled over the well’s edge and peered over. The little Kaen could only watch in horror as Kasen saw the things no child should ever see.
“why is mommy playing down there Nii-san? Mommy? Mooooooommmmmmyyyyyyy…. I guess she is tired, she’s so silly sometimes. Nii-san I’m tired and cold, can we go home now?” "I walked over and took her hand in my own, her own still fresh with the blood of our mother… I could only pray that she would never realize what had happened this night. Or rather… I wish everything that happened that night could be undone, so many things that came about because of that night… I should have just stayed in our box, if I had stayed… maybe Kasen and I would have never endured all those years…" Kaen's voice trailed off as if he was contemplating another horrid story, and he was... The little boy, with Kasen's hand in his own, started off towards the direction of "home". Or at least that is what he would have wanted to do. The now orphaned pair of Shinku siblings, Kaen and Kasen, wouldn't make it more than 10 feet or so before the shadowy figure appeared before them, blocking their path. The figure would raise a singular hand forming a jutsu seal of some form and a concussive wave would swallow up the children. Then everything went black...
The scene abruptly caved inwards on itself and was swallowed up into nothingness. Both Kaji and Yuii would be alone in a vast expanse of void. They would have a moment to reflect and converse with one another, whether it was about what they watched or where they were now, it was pale in comparison to what now took place in the real world...
Meanwhile, in the real world, Sara was unwrapping her alleged "present". Thankfully Kaen was fully sedated and the "accidental" removal of bits of skin didn't stir him from his deep genjutsu dream state.
"Opps...err...Should be fine?" As she continued to search for some sort of symbol or seal, the orb that she had placed elsewhere crackled to life, if only for a moment. The sound was quick and loud, it sounded like a glimpse of an inferno eating away a forest fire. The orb glowed red brightly before dimming back to its original view of the dream world. Whether or not Sara was aware, nobody could say. Perhaps she was too engrossed in Kaen's perfectly crafted, yet charred, body. Either way, she would find what she was looking for embossed upon his chest.
Centered just about where his heart should be, a black inky substance was swirling in an enigmatic and maliciously looking way. The substance looked tangible and thick, but if she attempted to touch it, it would simply feel like flesh. She had found what she looked for, but what was she going to do with it now that she found it? Before she might have tried anything, the orb roared back to life. A flaming eye filled the frontal most area of the orb. A deep voice echoed from within, beckoning for Sara's attentions.
"What do we have here... A little window to the outside world?" For the time being, the eye would be unaware of Sara's presence, unless of course she made herself known. What would she do? Who was this mysterious voice? More importantly, how did it get into the orb that was supposed to be viewing the dream world that Kaen, Kaji and Yuii were inside?
Assuming they made their way down the dark alley, they would eventually come across a decrepit shack. Or at least that is what you COULD call it, in reality it was just a bunch of loose wood loosely bound by miscellaneous ropes and twine, hell even some mud in some places. Up until now the noise was barely audible, noises that couldn't really be made out until they got closer to the rundown shack. It was undeniable now, the noises. These were the noises of assorted grunts and moans, both female and male contributors. It was distracting of course, but something else may have caught the duo's eyes. A faint glimmer of color among the absolute void of black and grey. A glimpse of red could be seen inside a nearby box. A lightly audible whimper could be heard emanating from within. Should the pair investigate, they would be met with the visage of a young Kaen. The features were undeniable in resemblance to the pyro. The bottom of the box was lined with shoddy blankets save one kind-of nicer blanket that was meant to cover baby Kaen and keep him warm. His hands and feet were starting to turn a slight hue of blue from being exposed to the elements. But the poor guy had kicked them off, silly baby. But sadly this was just a memory and even should one of them wish to pick the blanket up and cover him, the memory would instantly correct itself and the blanket would again be removed from atop Kaen. A moment later the noises would have stopped. A shady looking man would hastily exit the shack with a woman following behind. The man was butting up his shirt while the woman was covered loosely with a blanket only. 
