The Dark Heart [Semi-Open]

[Keigo Oen]

~:Hello darkness my old friend...:~<i></i>​

The darkest nights seemed to wallow on in the despair of life itself. There were definitely things and ways of thinking that troubled Souji to the point where he could barely stand to breath. A majority of the heart he once had was left on the cliff sides of an Oasis in Outer Maruishi. What could he do for his country if he could barely defend himself? If he was always so afraid of death that he would not embrace life. What kind of man could he ever be for a child if he was yet still a boy? A Mere toddler in many ways. A child with no direction. He 'followed orders' for a living. From the Kage from anyone above him with no direction or cause anymore. Yes he had the powers from the Gods, the power to see life after death. Which troubled him, what would it matter anyways? It was wrong to even practice and study here. Even with the teachings he had gotten from Sakezuki before Haruka went missing. He distanced himself from the family. For reasons that he would never be able to explain, was it that he didnt care anymore? Maybe. Did he feel guilt for not caring? Not even the slightest. What kind of man did that make him? A shadow? Who everyone wanted and expected him to be. he was so much more than that... so much more that he could not speak.

He wanted to become more. Was it selfish to want more for his family? To want more from everything, everyday, every moment, more from himself. Souji was tired. You could see the bags under his eyes from how much he worked for his village. How much he worked for his branch. Though, what more would come of this life. It was not his Sennin, it was everything else. Everyone seemed to get a deal. Something to move them ahead and Souji being the noble he was didnt want the 'easy life' he wanted to work hard for everything he gained. Much like the writer writing this piece. Though, nice men finished last right? Not just with the women they wished to be with, but in life. Souji was passive mostly. He tried not to start trouble, and for good reason. But why did it seem like everyone got ahead in life. Life, love, friendship, family. Was it because of his eagerness to make friends with most people? Maybe. Maybe he was just alittle naive. Maybe he was a bit too trusting of humanity to be anything... people would only screw him out of his hard work. Like his younger brother. Taking complete advantage of his putting his earned money into his schooling only to piss it away by fucking around in his classes. Souji was frustrated to the point of breaking. And then when news hit him that his father was hospitalized by an unknown virus. He couldnt help but take himself away from everything. It was too much. Far too much for him to handle. Not right now...

They needed him to be strong. The Yukata. Their Head. No one aside from Kimi seemed to care about them. They were a trash family. Always over thought, under achieved. Yet they had always been around. Always helped. They took pride in helping the village the way they did. How under the radar they were... but what had come of it? Rumors of evil. Deals with demons. And a thought so subtle that it continued to creep in the mind of Souji. They would never amount to anything. Even after Souji himself found out their lineage to the first Tsuchikage. He could tell no one. He could not take pride that he was blood related to the first of the Major military leaders in the nation. Even then how could he compare... he was weak. Frail. He lacked the confidence to really move forth. Could he move on with his life? Could he learn to feel again? To love? To cherish? It was all so murky now...

So he sat in the fog of the day looking out into nothingness taking his mind off of his life. His feet dangling over the cliff side as the fog of the early morning seemed to settle in... he would be going to work soon... the point of it all... just to keep trying until he made a breakthrough. . . or died.

 

[Ko]

Sunuke hadn’t really been to the Pearl Tenements all that much seeing as his family had its own clan house (albeit an incredibly empty one) but he felt that if he was going to make sure that his family was known and respected he would have to do work all around the village. Now that he was essentially the patriarch then he was going to have to go around and make sure that his clan was well liked, respected and was influential in the village. Just like many of the village’s clans he was going to try and get into the big leagues. But that was beside the point when it came to understanding how he was going to take them down a good and honourable route. Like the roots of his clan it was time to shackle off any disgust and disillusions the past had created.

So he had spent the better part of the early morning trying to clean up the place, help around the area and be a generally nice guy. It wasn’t to say that much of the work he did was hit back by confused villagers, suspicious civilians and those afraid of typical stranger danger. But he was just trying to help them in his own way.

The village was pretty safe though, hardly any kind of crime throughout the area besides maybe some petty theft and a murder here or there. It was more that the ninjas would go around and kill each other rather than people who couldn’t control their chakra. It was strange… that chakra seemed to make people become psychotic and evil, if not that then at least incredibly aggressive. Maybe it was just something in the water that made them so angry at each other. Maybe puberty had not ended for most of these people…

Musashi on the other hand did not approve of spending all this time doing these deeds. In fact as they were walking around the tenements he was trying to lecture Sunuke in what he was doing and how he was going about showing how good the Nanjirou clan was.

”I’m telling you Sunuke you cannot keep trying to show the village that we’re strong by carrying groceries for old ladies and making sure that people get back home safely. You should be doing missions and leading people. You should be pushing for Sennin and you should be encouraging your younger siblings to be doing just the same.”

”Look I’m not going to push my brother and sister into the job that I do for the family. They don’t deserve it right now since we only recently lost our parents in a way that even you won’t tell us what had happened. You’re not that charismatic Musashi, and I’m going to refuse your ideas about what I am going to do with my life. You already sealed me in a contract with you to be in my weapon, so maybe you should just stay in my weapon or stay home!” He would push past the ghost that tried to block his way, moving through him like he was just a cloud of fog or mist.

Speaking of, it was incredibly foggy that day as the sun continued to rise over the village. Not that he could really tell that well since it was just a giant hole in the ground. Maybe it was time to possibly relocate to a nicer area of the village, somewhere where he could sit in the warmth rather than tread through fog. It was hard to see through it though he could see a figure just sitting down without any legs! Either they were an unfortunate person, or that it was the edge of the tenements. He figured to walk a little closer and hope the person wouldn’t just jump off the cliff there.

”You’re not planning to jump down from here are you? It’s a pretty steep fall,” he said politely and yet with a little joke in his tone, Musashi following him close behind in his ghostly figure. He would shake his head and sigh, trying to motion Sunuke away from it. But if he could save one more person today, then so be it.

[MFT- 706 words]

 

[Kokomo]

BG Music

Stuff him in a sack, and throw him over.
Ear-lie in the mornin'...​

"Dia dammit! Cén fáth?! Ní féidir liom a thuiscint! Cá bhfuil sé?!" A frail appearing hand would slam repeatedly onto a wooden table, over and over, as the foreign girl cursed and screamed. How angry she was, indeed. Days. Weeks. Months. They all passed with no success. Day after day she woke up, and put on her shoes and left her home just as the sun peeked into the village. Day after day she walked and walked, until the moon took the place of the sun. Day after day, she searched until too physically exhausted to move on. Too mentally exhausted to move on. She was failing. There was no success. Nothing. Not a single trace. And that left her to where she was now, her little make-shift kitchen in her middle-class apartment in Iwagakure. It was rather messy, and it was obvious that she didn't have much money (at least to spend on decorations) or even any idea of style. Her table was a dark wood, and it was a small circular one that only sat two. It was right in the kitchen, which was--well used to be--white, with beige walls through the entire apartment. And it was there, in that kitchen, that she sank to her knees beside the table. Her tired and sore legs trembling as they touched the cold tile, and her head fell to the table, and she began to cry. "Le do thoil, thighearna, dó a thabhairt dom..." She prayed silently to herself, her head shaking back and forth.

Kurai was an average looking girl, rather pretty, but nothing extraordinary. But today, she was a mess. In shorts and a white tank top, a strap from her bra falling off her shoulder, and her shorts smudged with some sort of dirt. The tank top... not so white anymore, but grey. Her feet were bare, and were a slight red color from her days of walking. Her legs were tight and muscular from the work they were forced to do, and they hurt. All of this pain, and she hadn't even come across a single clue as to where she should look next--or even if she was in the right fucking country. There didn't seem to be much of any hope anymore, and as she lifted her head and stared across the kitchen, through the door, and to the living room, there was evidence of her unlucky life. Standing, she walked slowly, wiping her cheeks of the salty tears, into the living room. Her sore feet moving from the white tile to a tan carpet. The room was rather modest, with a small couch facing a beaten up television on a stand that didn't seem to of ever of been turned on. Various newspapers scrambled across the coffee table between them, high lighted in different colors--but, you can't read them from over there, can you?--and some crumpled and thrown around a waste basket in the corner. There were also a few plants, that seemed to be the only thing in the house well taken care of, and on the back wall, over the beige paint was something that made Kurai's apartment rather unique.

A large map of Iwagakure was plastered to the wall like wallpaper, and various pins stabbed through out it. Photographs of shadowy figures, places, and a young girl (who was on there quite a bit) pinned all over it, and red yarn attaching various places on the map. There was a lot of red, which wasn't good. The small plastic box of blue pins on the counter in the kitchen hadn't even been opened yet. Not a single clue. Just a large map with lots of denials and failures on it. A hand reaching up and running across a photo of the repeating girl. A slight smile touching Kurai's face as she looked upon it, a girl with white hair, and eyes as gold as the sun... "Satsujin..."

It was too much to handle. Looking upon the map of disappointments, and the beautiful face of Satujin... it was too much. Kurai's heart seemed to squeeze, and her eyes tremble as she stepped away, and out the door of her very modest apartment. Moving down the grey street with a fast walk, then a faster walk, then a job, and then into a sprint. Her long fire red locks snapping behind her like a flag in the wind, and her legs crying out in pain. It burned to run. It hurt to think. There was too much pain, and not enough relief--which is what she had said before. Before she spoke of the city, and how broken it was. She spoke of how it reeked of murder, betrayal, and depression--but perhaps that was her reflecting on herself? Perhaps, after all, she was not fit for such a mission. Or any mission? Surely, she was doing a good job with some of it. She dressed as a civilian, and pretended she was one. She spent days looking, and doing researching--the only thing she failed at was... well... getting anywhere with it.

Her pounding legs brought her to a place she had never been. The land began to curve upwards, and the rock became more difficult to run on. They sky got grayer, and the fog thickened--almost to the point of a solid. She felt the droplets of the land-clouds on her face as she moved up and up towards, what she would soon know as, Skyfall. A place she had never been, and had no intention of ever going to--as it was a pointless place for her to look--but that was where fate brought her today, and as she slowed to a stop, and her breath tried to catch up with her body, she noticed through the fog that she was not alone. Before her, on the edge of the cliff, were two men. One was familiar, and one was not. They were speaking, but her heartbeat in her head was too loud for her to hear them clearly from where she was. She approached them slowly, her hair sticky to her back and clinging to the water droplets on her clothes and neck as she stood slightly behind the stranger, who asked the familiar one, Souji, if he was thinking about jumping.

Frankly, she was thinking about it herself. It was a long fall, and certainly would kill her before she even hit the ground. What was this place, anyways? Why would such a dangerous cliff exist? Was it some sort of suicide location? "I surely... hope not... Souji..." Kurai tried to speak, and probably was not understandable at all through her thick accent and lack of breath. "Unless... you take me....with you..." She tried to give a nervous laugh, and it was as weak as she was. It appeared as a joke, but... honestly? Was it?

 

[Keigo Oen]

~:Safe in these steep Cliffs:~<i></i>​

The darkness always seemed to creep in. Everything surrounding Souji both literally and figuratively fogging in on itself, though, with these days... things seemed gloomy. Souji couldnt take the world around him. He much enjoyed life, breathing, but right now it burned his lungs. Though he had too much clinging to him for him to quit now. So a huff from his lungs, before taking a hookah and bringing up to his lips. Strawberries. His favorite. Then flicking it from his fingertips as he heard someone approaching. There was much running through his head, much running through that noggin. And with Souji's demeanor being something that would make him so... emotionally conflicted, it wouldnt look good. His mind grew a bit haze as he felt two presences approaching him. One physical, one not of this world anymore. Or maybe it never was. Though, Souji wasnt perfect with his abilities yet. So he was slightly off with the amount of details he could sincerely put into what it could be without looking back but they seemed to be talking to one another. It was something that Souji too could level with, he didnt want to push his brother... but someone needed to. Lazy bugger.

"N-...", then a familiar voice appeared as he would turn around fully this time, to see the woman he knew as Monogomi Kurai, and what she would retort to the mystery man with, "...Certainly not. I will not be ending it all until its my time... I have too much to do. And I cannot protect this nation and show the people of this world the Heart Of Stone.", sighing a bit he'd move up to his feet before looking the woman up and down. She seemed winded, her feet blistered from an anguishing run, and her very spirit seemed driftly distant from her body. She was tired. Beyond her means. Souji'd huff under his breath a bit, "Miss Kurai, surely we can have some more time together, I still wanted to find out more about you...", nodding he'd turn his head to Sunuke, to whom he did not know the name of quite yet, "And to you sir... Hello, and thank you for your concern. I am Souji, as you may well know, and this is Kurai. What might your name be sir?", tilting his head but before the man could give his name Souji would smirk, the usual him coming back.

"Well, maybe the fog has tainted the land a bit cant enjoy the beautiful scene thats usually here but with every sunrise comes a lovely new day in the land of Iwagakure, Maruishi, or whereever you want to speak or call the place as a whole.", Nodding to them he'd turn his face back to the cliff side, "Kurai, you're a silly woman to come out here on those feet of yours barefoot. A warrior, is nothing without their footing... Am I right?", nodding more so to himself though, he felt like he was more of a warrior... more than most, even though he fought not hand to hand anymore. He was more centered around the magics of the world, using tactful strategy and cunning to take out an enemy. "Sorry where are my manners...", he was talking an awful lot, "So, sir... What was that name of yours?", Souji tried to bounce conversation around too much it ended up with him being... abrasive and wrong at times... but maybe this was again a new start. He had to get to his father before time ran out but he didnt have it in his heart right now.

Not now.

 

[Ko]

It seems that they weren’t the only ones for that in the moment that Sunuke and Musashi arrived so did one other. From the voice he first heard it sounded almost like gibberish but he could just about work it out from the accent. He turned slightly to see a female, covered in droplets of water or sweat as she was trying to catch her breath but she obviously seemed just as concerned. Maybe she was a friend of his? Since she did mention his name, but maybe a carer if he really was on the verge of jumping.

”What? No I meant I hope you were thinking of climbing down to Iwagakure. The fall leaves a few people with broken bones. But I’m glad you are doing well, as for your enthusiastic devotion to the village.” Enthusiastic devotion? The hell was he talking about to Souji? Either way he was glad that he wasn’t talking someone down from committing suicide, nor talking to a coroner about someone’s death. This was a good situation for the Nanjirou indeed, but for Musashi this was a waste of time.

The ghost would shake his head as the man would introduce himself and Kurai. He didn’t really care about the formalities, only that Sunuke would be on his way and train some more to become stronger. Sunuke saw this as a way to gain contacts and know more people in the village. Souji and Kurai were names he would remember to faces. And by being able to have more people known in the village, maybe he could finally bring his family some kind of influence and honour.

"Well my name is Nan-“ He was cut off as the man’s disposition changed slightly to become slightly… happier? He wasn’t sure what it quite was, and nor did he really know much about the psychology of people at all. But he was addressing Kurai a lot better and even apologised to him for the way he stopped him.

”Ah my name is Nanjirou Sunuke,” he said as he smiled politely. ”I was just in the area and figured it would be nice to see the views. But I guess the fog is just a little too much for now.” Small talk huh? That was your little idea Sunuke? Musashi then feinted a sigh as if to show annoyance at the samurai as he then tried to motion him away from the two in front of him. Sunuke would just look and frown at him before turning back to the two.

”Oh I’m terribly sorry,” he said, apologising for the actions he had done, ”have I interrupted you two? Were you two meeting here and I was getting in the way? If so I’m truly sorry and I’ll be on my way very quickly I don’t want to get in between your plans here.” Maybe they were going on a friendly trip, or a date? It was probably the latter since Souji did say he wanted to get to know her more. Maybe they were going for coffee, or a ramen. Ninja seemed to love ramen for some strange reason.

[MFT 524 words]

 

[Keigo Oen]

[Topic on hold]