Bai Don

[The Wild Hunt]

 

[The Wild Hunt]

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xxxx𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓮𝓲 𝓴𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓪𝓽𝓪
(The Chronicles of Kleine: Shahnz, Phase One)

Before: 5 Years Ago

"Dad--" He started. The boy was ill, laying beneath his silken sheets and trying to sweat out the sickness. His father, Shahnz, sat beside him. He took his hand and listened to anything that he dared to say -- which could be a lot, sometimes. It was hard to ever get Kleine to speak his feelings, unless he had nothing else to do. In that case, he was an ever-flowing fountain of words and questions. Shahnz had always found it quite cute. "How do you learn to love?" He asked. Shahnz raised an eyebrow, and leaned in slightly. "Clarify?"

Kleine sighed, and averted his eyes to the ceiling above. "I used to feel something for a lot of people. I used to feel content just knowing they were around, that they -- they were there for me. I wanted to be there for them too. But I guess somewhere along the line it stopped being so simple. Just their presence wasn't enough. I started to want other things from them, like entertainment. I started feeling like they needed to do something for me in order for me to feel for them. It became about mutual interest." He stopped for a moment. Shahnz noted as he often did that his son was a very observant man. He understood just why things devolved the way they did -- with age and desires came ambitions and wants that sought to fulfill themselves. This often meant -- for most people -- using others as supplements to get them what they want. And so these parasitic relationships began. It was how many people became when they got older. It was how many people still lived today.

He smiled at Kleine, and grabbed his hand. "You don't have to learn anything when it comes to that. You have to unlearn. Unlearn -- everything. Everything society's taught you. Everything you feel you've come to know as a part of your transition to a more 'intellectual' life. I'm not saying to dumb yourself down or to abandon your wits, but perhaps you should begin to accept feelings for what they are -- feelings. They are not a show of weakness and they don't need to benefit you. Appreciate the good ones and get over the bad ones. If you feel you care about someone, don't second guess yourself. Let it happen the way it naturally will. That's how I've always lived life, and as a result I'd say I'm pretty content with how things developed. I have two beautiful sons, my family is with me -- it's all I could need." He nodded his head and seemed rather content with his explanation.

But Kleine only stared, blankly, as if it changed nothing. "I got that already. That's not what I'm asking." He looked away to the right, staring at a mirror that stared back at him. His lips parted slightly. "I'm asking, how do I learn to love? It's not that I have small feelings that I'm second guessing. It's that I don't feel anything. Not love or hatred. Absolutely nothing. I don't care about anyone anymore. It is a complete grey." He finished, and his father stared at him with a look of utter confusion. "You don't feel anything? Are you being pretentious, Kleine? Do you really not love Lucifer? And me? And Hysteria?" His expression grew stern.

Kleine didn't look back at his piercing eyes. Instead, his own. "I don't know," he replied. "I don't understand you, just as you don't understand me. How can that not inhibit our emotions? You're my father and yet I can't claim to completely trust you. I can't claim to know how you're feeling. Even Lucifer -- my twin brother -- is completely separate an entity from I. I will never understand him. If that's the case, then what is the point of love? Is it not fear? You can never trust someone. You can never fully control someone. You can never make someone ever feel as if you matter to them more than they matter to them. There is no such thing as love. It is only a word used by people who dream of casting aside the loneliness of their temporal lives. How can I learn to engage in an action that is not real? Must I dumb myself down, father? Must I dream of sincerity until I forget that it's a lie?" He finally turned to Shahnz, and his face was once again fully apathetic.

He scooted himself backwards, raised his head and slid his back against the board. He sat more respectably. "For how many reasons do you love me, father mine? Is it solely because of a bond forged by the pretense of familial ties? Or is it a collection of many more lurid things -- like, perhaps, the fact that you desire to control the world? Would you continue to love me if I became a thorn in your side, rather than a rose?" He stared intensely into his pupils, and then grinned slightly. "Answer that for me, why don't you, father?"

(Phase Two)

But how is that possible, father?

Some things are beyond our reasoning. Not everything is designed by people. The sea, the plains, the sky above - it's all a gift to us from something greater.

From God?

You can believe so if you want. I believe so, but that's my choice. You'll make your choice as well one day, Kleine. Whether you want to believe in a celestine above, or the men below who walk the plains, that is your decision.

He remembered that moment. It was serene, but not because of the fields, the winds or the night sky. It was serene because it was the moment where he made peace with God. It was the moment where he decided to believe in something greater than himself. At first he believed it was benevolent. For years he did, gazing at the beauty that followed his steps. He looked to the tree of life, to the mountains, the waterfalls and the men and women who danced in the breeze. How could God not be good? Such a naive question. He looked in front of him, at some point, and he did not see the same as before. He saw blood, and pain, and fear. He looked to the corruption in people, corruption that would spread to every single person around them. If you did not want to be destroyed, you had to be strong, in some way.

Some liked to use others, or be used by others, or kill others or mend others illnesses. They fought for knowledge, power or both, or simply the ability to manipulate the people around them. Everyone survived in some way. Some by clinging to their families. Humans conformed and conformed and changed every single thing about them in the game of life and death. They moved from their nature. And all because they feared the wrath of God; inevitably, life and death were not constructs that were designed by men. They were far too powerful, far too dark and yet often benign, to be something that we created for ourselves and in ourselves. It was the work of a God, whether sentient or not. Whatever the case, they did not dance in the breeze because they enjoyed it. They did not smile and laugh because they wanted to. But because they needed to. It was a reprieve from the constant battle that they fought, it was a momentary release, an escape from the specter that stood over them all: the end.

When he realized this, there was a distinct change in him. He did not pray any more, not with words or clasped hands at least. He prayed by offering of others, wondering if perhaps a celestial hand would reach out to greet him. He was anxious, eager, to see what lied beyond the great door where souls collided with a realm unknown to them. But the voice was silent, and he was left alone.

He began to realize that God must be asleep. How else could it simply sit back and watch? It would want to be a part of the world. It would play with its toys. It was too dark for a passive, benevolent existence beyond the screen door. He knew of it. He felt it. It was not ancient wisdom, but a human intuition that recalled something important: that emotion was inescapable, even by a God. Even such a creature must have desires, needs. Unless it was incapable of them.

His relationship with this entity grew. It grew on him like a great set of scars that twisted him and blackened his heart like how his father's once was, back in those ill and dreaded days that he remembered so clearly. Shahnz. Father. An evil man, a wicked creature. So full of lust and need that even Kleine's variation of the Almighty could not compete. He was a betrayer, a monster, a wicked servant of sin. There was no one that could surpass him in those areas. Except, of course, a child from his own body. Kleine inherited the sins of his father, indeed. His mother too, the whore that whipped herself with her own zeal until she crippled her ability to reason. In the union of the two, an ultimate blackness was created, and one that would come to consume him.

Kleine, why?

They both asked the same question. Both of them knew the answer and yet they asked. Perhaps it was a desperate plead to God to help them see why their own son would betray them like that. Perhaps it was that a dying mind could not articulate. Either way he gave the same answer. Because I can. Because I want to. Was that not the only reason he needed? It was God's reason. His ultimate rolemodel followed no rules, and so neither would he. He was not the slave of such a creature, just the spawn of it.

The Dancing Plains, that was where he took his father's life. That creature slithered and screamed as his skin was ripped from his flesh. He was a Divine Beast, a creature of great prestige. A man who would live for all time if his life had not been stripped away. More, an Uchiha. A strange one at that, but powerful. He had murdered his own best friend for a new pair of eyes. Perhaps he did not realize, however, that all power was a curse as well as a gift. In his hubris he did not see that the one closest to him was the only one who would ever manage to destroy him.

He remembered spreading the man's corpse across this field. Yes, it was so dark but he could see the color perfectly; red, brown, a burgundy. It was a mixture of the organs, the flesh, the blood. He desired to see that color again.


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[The Wild Hunt]

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xxxx𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓮𝓲 𝓴𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓪𝓽𝓪
(The Chronicles of Kleine: Hysteria, Phase One)

Step One: The Wrath of the Old World

No Particular Day, No Particular Month

My name is Shinsei Karnata. I am the Shogun of Hi no Kuni, the lord of the Fire Nation and the leader of the Heiland Clan. They call me "the Terrible," because that's what I am. Or perhaps only by their perspective. What am I that they lack? That causes them to raise words beyond the titles that follow my birthright? It is my freedom. I have always been one to do as I desire, to abandon the trivialities of laws and rules. I have always been one to act based on what brings me pleasure. With elevated position the stakes rise, but not far beyond what they were before.

As a young man I was known as Kleine. It was my birth name so I had no choice but to accept it. It brought me pride, you could say. It was a sort of primitive pleasure that I buried deep inside of me and did not speak of; that my name could be attached to feelings, of the past life and the past family in it. Eventually as my road developed and the obstacles changed, I gained a new family that came with my lineage: Karnata. I was no longer a Heiland to anyone, only the heir apparent and all that such entailed. I met with the lavished, posh bastards and their manipulative whores and professed my disgust with them. They schemed to try and kill me, favoring themselves for the position, but they could not. It was so cold and dark in their cells that they began to rest in for all time after their schemes were discovered. No one gave them food, either. They lived in there only with each other. They all faded to dust and died, unwilling to make the commitment to eat the flesh that they could.

My reign began with the death of many people that considered themselves great, influential and powerful. Family members that didn't consider me family in the dark, but rose to call me brother when it suited them. Brother. I am not that. I was not that. My only brother is a trickster and a weakling but even he is better than what they were. Nobility and birthright are not what make a man. The moment people begin to think that they're more than human simply by name rather than their actions, they will fall from prominence and burrow into a blade. I knew this. I know this. I always have.

When I first sat on the throne within the Sacred City, I felt my place desolate and dull. I charged people from all over the land to change the foundation of the land, to cultivate the people and teach them of a different way to live. One that tolerated the strong and abused the weak, one that reveled in war and pain; it was as if the Gods were striking down the miscarriages that walked across the realm. The Leaf would be harrowed with fire and blood for years to come until it was ready. It will be the land of the powerful and the worthy. Without strength and discipline you won't have food or a place to go, or arms to embrace you or laws to protect you. You prove yourself in this one life of yours or you die and meet your end.

I am the flail of God. I am his executioner, the man who wields the blade that will divide what we believe and what we see. I am the wrath of the old world, come to destroy the new.

Step Two: The Outside

11, 1st Month, The Cold March

I was once told that there's a billion different people in the world, with a thousand different complex emotions in each of them, and the complexities are ever-evolving and growing to refine themselves even more from within each man and woman. It seemed like people must be the most interesting of all animals, so attuned to their intellect that they create new worlds inside of their heads. But then I looked to the east, and then to the west, and I saw that their worlds are not so complex. Their stories do not even match up to the marvel of the world around them. Their illusions are cast upon them by means of desperation and fear. Their compassion is fueled by idiocy and simple-thinking. If we were to allow your average person to rule the fate of the world, then we would all die in a matter of years. They are not intelligent. They are only animals wearing masks, playing at men. When I realized this, I was completely stunned. The feeling of my delusion being cast aside brought me some form of pain -- you could say -- but also an intense pleasure. There was no need to allow my inhibitions to survive or thrive, and I felt free to simply reshape the world as I felt appropriate. So it began: the first campaign.

We moved against the River Country. They didn't see it, how could they? Thousands of years of peaceful coexistence and then -- to their immediate dismay -- their wives had their wombs cut open with their children torn out, their sons were being enslaved and daughters thrown into the bay and told to swim. Swim, something you don't know how to do. Persevere. If you can't survive then you die, and you are of no consequence to the world.

The men were nailed to the walls of the city, and I walked around the orb time and time again looking into their eyes. Seeing who had worth, who had strength. I refused to allow myself to believe that not even one man could be so far detached from their origin. In the face of them all, I ended up only picking one. He was only barely of age and had a weakness in his expression, but a fire that seared into him; his mind could turn the others to ash. He was a thinker, an inquirer, a wise man who could admit that he knew nothing. I asked him later that night: what do you believe, Ryuu? And he told me, "I believe in the earth and that it spans so that the two sides meet. I believe in the mountains and the deep floor of the seas. I believe the sky is blue, at least to my eyes. I believe that the sun often rises in the east and sets in the west at the fall of the equinox. I believe that I am alive, and that you're alive, and that people dream. And not much else."

From that moment, I knew that he would be my wisest man. He quickly rose to my right hand, Hashao on my left, and a legion of soldiers and slaves behind me. My horde grew and my enemies thinned. I began to set my eyes on my spirit, so that it may be at peace for the battle that would come next; one that duly involved the fate of the world.

Step Three: Imitations of Immortality

26, 3rd Month, Dawn of the Lotus

With nothing to unify them, my people will surely break apart. It may not be now. It may not be in the time where my son reigns or his son after. But the time will come when fear and authority are lost on the people and they will rise up and split as they once did. Some nations build their community based on tolerance, some on money and opportunity, some on faith and duty. Some factor in all, some factor in none and are fit to expire. Ultimately it all boils down to fear in some way, but that does not consume it all. There is a special element that is required to truly appeal to another human. It is applying logic and emotion to one plate, an intersection, a meeting between wisdom and heart. But how can such a thing exist in a country that only admires strength and nothing else? Perhaps you could say that our ability to ignore other factors implies great tolerance? Perhaps you could say that it implies opportunity for those who wouldn't otherwise have it?

One thing I've always been unsure of is how to really understand a human's mind. It can often seem like a man has been broken and reserved, consumed by another person's will. Eventually however humans always choose themselves over others. If I can build admiration and respect for the strong and the worthy, instead of simply hatred and scorn for the lesser of men, then perhaps I can build a community spirit and also cater to the self-interest so evident in people. That will require the media, the manipulation of the masses and their thoughts, constantly directing it to the feats of others. It will make them strive to become better and if not, they will recognize their peers. It is the beginning.

Education is required, generations of it, in order for people to leave behind what they have and remember the new order. But even then, they will look to the other nations and see people who claim to be free. And the other nations will declare us an enemy and pressure our people to think differently. It will not be enough. So with that in mind I have one remaining alternative.

My people, the Konohakara, will believe that they are the apex of all humans. They are superior to the rest, blessed by God to send a message to the world. We will take slaves from other nations and create hatred and disrespect within our own borders. In the face of that, the brunt of my people will feel as if they are being locked into a corner by hordes of clueless peasants that fall jealous to their divinity. They will decide that -- naturally -- it is their right to war, to fight, to judge the fate of the world. And they will be eternally loyal to the man who perpetuates this belief. Eventually the foreign slaves within my nation will perish as they will have bore no children, leaving behind thought of unnecessary rebellion. In their wake my people will educate their own children on what it means to be from the Fire Nation, and my Empire will reign in immortality.

That's my gambit. I can't afford to attempt at anything else. I need to think differently than the others before me. I'm not trying to create a stable, peaceful nation, but a land of hateful beasts with no regard for others. How can that be accomplished by love and community? Tell me that.

14, 4th Month, The Intermission of the Lotus

Do you ever wonder why you do what you do? What fuels you to act the way you feel is right -- your conscience, your culture, your lessons, your better judgment? I've always felt like it was something beyond that, a singular purpose known as self-sustenance. Was not man designed to permeate his own existence? Love, loyalty and protection -- people teach that they must all be mutual, that they must be emotions and desires shared by the ones that make up the whole. Have you wondered why that is? Why humans have morals that essentially abandon the idea of selflessness? It's because all of these 'positive' emotions are fueled by a greater desire. Men 'love and protect' women for the sake of physical pleasure and the creation of their sons and daughters. Women 'love and obey' men for the sake of protection and sustenance.

Each hint of knowledge such as this is important to learn for a man such as myself. Whether they be concluded by means of science, reasoning, logic or even a spiritual projection, every thought that throws itself into the fray known as my mind is considered by me a gift from God. I have come to a complete understanding with Him; I finally see who He is. He has showed me all of the doors, and what is behind all of the doors. I am resolved to open each of them and experience their realities for myself.

In my future I see a great, white light. I don't know where it leads. Perhaps home. Not Konoha, not Kusa or Yuki, but a place that I can build of my own will and shape the way I please. A place where the world can be reimagined. I hope that such a place exists, for although I am long from it, I yearn for it more and more with each passing day. I imagine pale creamy sands and clearer shores than the ones here.

9, 5th Month, The Fall of the Lotus

I saw a great statue of a man. It was in memory of the Hierophant of Kana, who founded the religion of the River Country. It is the worship of the great God of the Spring, a female entity that guides water and crops to the hands of the farmers. When I looked to my left and saw my generals, I commanded to them: tear it down.

This is not a land that can worship the primitive creatures of the time before. Who is this river goddess? What relevance does she have? Does she also dwell in the land of non-existence alongside Amaterasu, Izanagi, Izanami and the rest? If not, then she'll have to prove it by smiting me down from my perch. I've been endangering these people, carving them out by the tons of millions. A chaotic maelstrom constantly approaches them, and I wish to look inside of their head to see the way they feel. How does it feel to watch your family torn from you, your friends, your nation, your identity? And to know that probably, you're next. And if not, an existence below the boot of the ones that took your life from you. Is that not the ultimate despair? How does such a thing feel? Is it as my family once felt when the hordes of shinobi invaded their land?

It is a constant cycle of war and demise, so easily reciprocated. The one thing that is complex about it all is why it happens? If humans are fueled by self-sustenance, then what is the need for war and hatred? Why do they, and no other creature, feel something beyond survival? Why does it fuel them to endanger their survival, as well? It's not even a liberating factor. It exists solely for the purpose of degrading them and destroying the peace they fail at trying to create. Was it perhaps once different? Maybe one particular man -- such as myself -- existed outside of the norm and made the first act of war, forever creating a world of fear and hatred. If so, then I should like to meet him, and offer my gratitude for his efforts in creating the ideal world.

Step Four: It's All A Big Dream

2, 7th Month, the Second Summer Cycle

My name is Kozuke, a slave from the River Country. A month ago I was taken by a Konohakara raiding party, one that was consequently led by the Shogun himself; Shinsei Karnata. He looked me in the eyes like he did the rest, but more, he sent his palms flying over my skin. I was 'ideal' by his words and so he took me for a slave.

"Fetch me a different cloth, Kozuke," he commanded me. "Why?" I asked. I had become quite attuned to the way the man's mind worked. He enjoyed being asked questions, explaining his reasoning, letting others look into his mind. Perhaps because he thought it was so utterly perfect. This story wasn't going to be one that I'd enjoy. I heard only his voice. When he actually arrived and let me gaze upon him from the hallway, he was completely covered in red; blood. His skin was red, his hair, his eyelashes. He had a towel tied around his waist, implying he'd just gotten out of the shower. Sort of a waste of time if you were going to smear yourself again.

He smiled at me, and told me: "I killed Moki." At that moment, if this was even just a few days prior, I would've immediately fell to my knees and began to cry. Moki was my best friend. He was the greatest, most loyal man I'd ever known. He wasn't that smart or attractive or strong, but he had a real passion for others that could never be replaced. And yet I found myself devoid of the power to feel anything but joy at where he'd gone. The afterlife, even if you only swum with the shinigami, was a better venue than the palace of this forlorn King.

He stepped forward, and began to unwrap his towel from his waist. I stared blankly, and didn't move at all. I barely even breathed. When he was ultimately close, he removed the concealment and wrapped his bloodied body around mine. He asked: "Does that excite you?" He knew it didn't. He knew I hated it, hated him. Hated everything about him. But that only made him pursue me more. I don't know what it is that he wants from me, why he took my friends and has slaughtered them one by one. I don't get why he pursues me in such a manner, or pursues me at all. I just wish that I could be free again, perhaps even return home to help protect what little my people have left. I don't know. I just can't stand to be here anymore, with this man, this Shinsei Karnata. Kleine Heiland.

Hours later, I'm looking at the ceiling. The Shogun sleeps beside me. I stand up and get myself dressed, hoping to find my way to my room before he opens his eyes. His torment only continues for as long as he can see me. If he can forget me -- if I can be cast from his sight -- he won't come bother me, at least not until he recalls from purely his morbid gut alone.

When I'm in my room, I look back and begin to draw, begin to write. I start to detail my past experiences, and the ones I have now. I no longer complain about what I had, back when things were simple. I miss my little brother and my big sister, even though we used to fight all day and night over stupid things. I miss my mother even though she was a drunk, and my father even though he was never home. I miss my aunt and uncle even though they're sometimes a little crazy. I miss my grandmother who died in the raid, and my grandfather who died years before. I can't help but miss them all, I can't help but long for them to come back to me. I wish I could save them from whatever hell they reside, if they even still live at all.

I painted Kleine Heiland all over sheets he offered me. I painted his face that contains a thousand years of hatred and pain. I painted his body that he uses to exploit mine. I drew the future I predict for him; with my brush, I slit his throat and tore him apart from page to page. He saw it and smiled at me. He came over me and did what he always did, and then took the pages to his room and hammered them in, one by one, day by day. He read my notebook as I slept, of how I longed for my family to return. He told me he'd find them for me. I told him, no -- please don't. I know what you'll do them. I asked him, why do you so deeply desire my hatred? Why does it make you go to the lengths that you have?

He responded,

Because I feel like it. And again, he overcame me. And again, he did what he always did. What he always did. What he always did. Again.

I'm going insane. I can't take this anymore. I've come to a conclusion: take my own life, or let myself become absorbed by the evil. Embrace what he considers his devotion to me. Leave my old life and my old dreams behind. Live Konohakara. Die Konohakara.

Step Five: It's All A Big Lie

3, 7th Month, Second Summer Cycle

My name is Miri, of the Tea Country.

I remember the piercing gaze of the sun as it rose up in the sky and took its rightful place. My people always told me that the sun was a God, its wife a Goddess. At the dawn of every year -- the first day of the first month -- it would take the form of a mortal and attend a celebration with the people. We would play a game every year to determine just which man might be the sun himself, although it's always for fun and play -- we could never quite spot him out. Looking back now, I can't imagine that those days were anything more than a dream. This reality -- his reality -- is far different than those days.

I will never forget my first sight when they came down upon us, as I laughed with my sister in the fields. I saw a horde of shinobi running down from our tall hill, throwing blades at us and screaming: charge, charge, charge.

How could we ever be so naive to think that it wouldn't happen? That Konoha wouldn't come down on us bearing the same fangs as with the other nations?

When it was all over, most of my family and friends laid dead. The young ones, the attractive ones, the smart ones, the strong ones -- we were kept alive. We were tied down and presented before "His Majesty", Shinsei. Most of us, even after being initially spared, died anyway. Some still lived, as slaves, as mongrels. I was taken as the Shogun's slave. Me. I was "chosen". He said from every city he razed, he took one person as his own as spoils, and if he couldn't find someone adequate... then he would kill every single person that still remained. He said that if the world ever wanted to survive him, that they would have to become ultimately strong. That they would have to all mirror me, and Kozuke, and Ritsu, and Kalati, and Oda, and Nara... the other slaves. They would all have to shape up into deadly weapons in the face of adversity. He said he dreamt of it.

He dreamed of a day where the hordes of men came marching to his city, screaming his name, ready to remove him from the world. It showed that he had made his mark; he had created a generation of beasts to surpass their forefathers and beyond. I didn't bother asking why he wanted this. I didn't need to ask why, I already knew. He told me with the look in his eyes.

He just felt like it. That's all there was to it. A man beyond all other men, a force of darkness that consumed not to survive, but to watch the darkness spread. He wanted a legacy. I understand that even the most complex of creatures have simple motivations. His was so simple that I couldn't even pity him for it. I only feared.

If a person can enact such evil for something so trivial, then maybe there really is no hope left for the world. Maybe he's right and darkness will consume humanity, the people either becoming monsters to stop the monster, or taking up arms to join him. I can only imagine what such a reality would be like. Perhaps it would be much like my life right now, for your average person. It'd be full of fear and hopelessness. Yes, an absolute nightmare that cannot be escaped. I'm waiting for it to end. I'm waiting for him to end it. Because I can't. I have simple motivations too, and simple obstacles -- fear. I don't want the sun God and his wife to smite me, if I appear at their doorstep with a blade lodged into my own heart.

This Empire is the dream of a man who could've hailed the greater good. He told me that when he was a child, he was loving and compassionate like no other. So what changed him? How can this all be as simple as a realization that God was evil? How can a blanket of light turn to a shroud of darkness with such a simple change of mind? There must be something else. There is something beyond this visage that calls itself Shinsei Karnata. Beyond the depths of what he wants us to see, there is a Kleine Heiland, and he is real and tormented by an affliction that I have never once seen.

What we see is a lie. The dream. The reality. Everything. There is only one truth, and it is beyond our eyes. It is in the soul, a body that connects to the universe beyond.

Step Finale: The Real You

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"Kleine," she said. Her hair was dark black like the night sky. Her eyes were a summer sea color and she -- she was not from this world. She couldn't have been. She was too kind, too beautiful to be real. You remember that, don't you, Kleine? My son. She was your greatest friend as a child. She was my sister, and her name was Hysteria. "Auntie H!" You replied so jovially. You had known her to be such a bright face that was so full of love. Little did you know the deep issues embroiled into her soul that she and I both faced as the children we were.

When I was a young boy growing up in the same palace you rest in today, my sister and I were the pride of the Fire Country. Our mother and father both loved us dearly and granted us much adoration. But there was another. It was our older brother, a b*****d son known as Kanu. He was the scorn of everyone around him, the sight of him triggering laughter in some, and hard gazes in others. You would've been so kind to him, back when you were a boy. You would've seen how much he hurt -- what pain he was in. I wasn't as kind or as wise as you were, and I only added salt to his wounds. Hysteria and I would tease him and bully him as if he were worse than filth. We were so horrible to him. We caused him so much misery. Why? Why did we do that?

I turn my gaze to those days and can only feel regret. When I was younger however, there was a different feeling. My scorn for him became fear. One day as we grew older we realized that he had grown dark in the face of his misery. He had begun to dabble in the faith of Jashin, and he had learned the ways of the shinobi. He was the strongest of our family, quickly rising through the ranks and becoming a formidable opponent. He, like me, had two kekkei genkai -- Sharingan, and Heiland. He was absolutely dedicated to becoming as strong as he possibly could. We figured he wanted to escape the scorn and become a shinobi that could find respect. That was at first, at least. He began to evade us and when he saw us, he'd unleash rage and scare us even knowing the punishment for such offense. He grew more and more detached from us -- his own family.

One day, he became so powerful that he was appointed to the rank of Sannin by the Hidden Leaf. And yet despite his raised stature, he tried as hard as he could to remain close to his family. He said he wanted to protect father. Around the same time, Hysteria began to grow exceptionally deranged. At first I didn't understand, but then I learned why.

One night, as I lay in my room, he came to me and grabbed me by the neck. He pressed me against the mattress, and needless to say he invaded my body. He kept whispering to me, There's nothing you can do, b*****d. You were just born wrong.

Words I used to repeat to him.

I could say nothing of it. I began to notice the little things he did and why he did them -- his late night patrols, his examination of all the rooms. He was setting up traps, chakra signals, all sorts of things. We no longer had privacy in our own home. He was constantly watching, waiting for my sister and I to slip.

I fought hard and kept trying to find ways to outdo him. Eventually I realized that the only way was to train myself, and I sought guidance under many great masters and quickly rose to prominence. There eventually came a day where I was stronger than him, perhaps as a gesture from God to save me from this hell. When the time came where I faced him, however, Hysteria was damaged beyond what could be fixed. She had become so absolutely distorted that reality was no longer the realm she walked on; he caressed her in her dreams, and in her sight she could see his body engaging with hers. She was so constantly afraid that she was going to die, that I was going to die, that mother and father were going to die. Even after the threat had gone.

I took my brother's eyes and gained the eternal mangekyo sharingan. I became a warrior with absolutely no comparison.

Eventually, Hysteria and I moved to the Heiland Compound to get away from our past. She never really recovered, however, not until I fathered you. There was something in your eyes that she so adored -- I don't know what it was, but you made her feel safe again. She began to return to normal, and she treated you like her own child, regardless of all your mother's complaints. She saw the sun rise and set once more, and danced in the meadows like she'd always wanted to. I thought things had changed. I thought our lives could be happy.

Perhaps it was a skewed reaction of yours to the adversity that you faced, or perhaps you did not even understand it, but I believe your compassion was a result of what you dealt with in the night. Her hands on you -- her abuse of you, as our brother did to her. I believe that further, when you discovered just what she had done, that was when your corruption began to set. All of the lust and anger appeared, and I could no longer recognize you as my son. But I still loved you. I always loved you. I never stopped. I hope that you can understand that this love carries a dream, as well; the hope that one day, you'll return to who you were before she did that to you. That you'll once again recognize him -- the real you.

Step Forward: The End of Kleine

Present Day, Present Time

"You don't understand, Miri," he told her. He held a blade suspended in the air, against her throat as she levitated high off the ground, being pulled into the sky by his force of will. He looked her in the eye, and smiled slightly. "I'm the master. You're the slave." He pulled her head down slowly, sliding it into the shaft of the blade, his eyes gleaming as he watched the blood spill from her skull. He grinned as he watched her die, and then threw her body onto the floor afterwards, for another of his indentured servants to clean up. He stepped away, and looked on to another horizon. It'd been a while since the time outside.

- - -

His eyes were set towards Konoha, and soon enough he made it there. He stepped through the city and made it eastwards to the fields where shinobi remained, looking for two chakra signatures that he'd remembered, fondly. He missed them. He was envious that they were together, without him. He wanted to be a part of that group.

The man stepped behind Asher, and smoothed his hand over his shoulder. He spoke: "It's been a while." Obligatory, obvious words. He didn't care for the words themselves, only that he managed to finally speak to his partner who had crossed ways with him. "I'm different now. With the settlement of succession in my family line, it seems I've become quite royal since the last time we met. They all call me Shinsei Karnata. You two, and only you two, should call me otherwise." He did not want to abandon "Kleine", and who that was. It was the last piece of him that could still feel fond of anything other than the scent of blood and the feeling of tendons and skulls. He would like to keep the name alive, at least for a while. While it lived. "I missed you guys," Kleine admitted, his lips awkwardly rising.

(Phase Two)

Last Night
Il fait froid ce matin. Il fait chaud ce soir. Ce n'est ni dans l'après-midi. Ah... He began to think, to sound in his mind. He felt something, some sort of passion. Some flick of the moment, some emotion. Some pain. "I hope there's an escape from this place," she said. Who was she? He only slightly remembered. He remembered the nails, the talons. They were against his skin. He remembered the legs, that walked so delicately that they were about to collapse. He could remember everything but the face, and the eyes. "I hope that one day you can be free." She gave him a warm hug, and then pressed herself against him. His thoughts faded to nothingness. He did not allow himself to remember the fate of the night.

This Morning
He screamed. He couldn't explain why, but he screamed at the top of his lungs until he couldn't hold onto the sound anymore. He couldn't remember anything but a voice, and it was only so vague in his mind. He felt everything that he didn't want to. He felt so weak. His strength was his sun and without it, the world was so cold and dark that he couldn't take it anymore. A servant knocked on the door. He didn't respond, which was sufficient to let them in. The girl spoke, "My Lord, Madam ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ wanted to inform you that she'd gone. She won't come back until the winter, she says." He looked up at the servant, and eyed her slightly. His face was drained of color, his body seemed invariably frail. "Madam what?" He asked. It seemed like she cut out as she spoke, like her voice ran dry in place of the name. "Madam Hysteria."

This Afternoon
"Shinsei, why did you kill her?" He asked. He grabbed onto his Shogun's arm and shook it, his eyes full with tears. He didn't say anything. He only looked forward, at the big blank that was the world. His thoughts faded into nothingness, a stillness that could be compared to the trance of sleep. "Shinsei!"

Now
"I need a break, my dear friend," he said. Over his shoulder lay an unmarked stone with the body of a man buried deep within. He knew who it was, and yet didn't. He was always drawn to it.

He went to the training grounds, and surrounded himself with people. That was how he revived himself, wasn't it? By means of soaking his thoughts with other words -- other things, ones that distracted from that spiteful creature's control of his mind? It was how he survived for this long. He did not know how else. How else did a young boy recover from -

I hate the world I live in. He reminded himself of that. He did not see the smiles of the children as they played, or the grins of the adults. He only saw another face beyond what they portrayed, a dark expression that revealed their inner evil. He could not come to love humanity. He could not come to love himself.

(Phase Three)

"I was buried at sea," he said. He sat along the edge of the rail, only a stray movement from descending hundreds of feet down to his doom. This was a hiking path, a source of amusement for villagers during times of peace. For him, it was a form of self-flagellation. He needed to feel the rush. The fear. It kept his energy alive. "What do you mean, Kleine?" The lady asked, her arms wrapping around his waist to keep him from falling over. She couldn't bear to see that -- not ever. "For so long, I was lost. Even the mention of you brought me an intense feeling of fear. I could not stand the sound. The sight of you paralyzed me. But now, I think I've changed. I've realized something important, Auntie H." He turned around slightly, and grabbed her by the arm. He lifted her up and carefully seated her atop his lap. He wrapped his arm around her chest, and he smiled as he whispered into her neck.

"I don't care why you did what you did. I don't pity you. I don't forgive you. And I will never love you like I did when I was a child. In fact, I will always hate you. Always. I'll hate you when I'm alive and when I'm in the black void that consumes us all; the place where love goes to die. The place where I'll be at home. Would you like to go there now?" A worried look came over her, and Kleine grinned. He let go of his inhibitions; he slid off the rail, and the two of them descended to the floor of the valley where their bones crushed and they died.

- - - -

He screamed. It was just a dream. It was one he wanted to forget instantly.

...

Bam. Forgotten. He moved on to the morning.

This place was not where he belonged. It was spiritual, but it hailed the wrong Gods. It was not a monotheistic order, but a pagan belief that hailed the false creatures of Izanagi, Izanami, Amaterasu, Susano'o, Kagutsuchi and Tsukiyomi. Yami, Shinryuu, Yamato-no-Orochi, Okami. All of these creatures that bore no relevance to the world. They all existed as a lie. There was never a time where they once roamed the earth. Never. He knew that.

But he was still drawn to them, somehow. Or perhaps by the energy around him that radiated within their temple; followers, people, alive and dead. He was the Shogun, but in this place he was just a man beneath a much higher purpose. He went through the recital and the whole slew of practices that could bore a child to tears. He wasn't bored, though he did question the excess of tedium in religious practice. Who devised this sort of thing, anyway? Did they do so only to make it seem more professional? Or did they really feel as if God contacted them and told them to spend countless hours doing the same thing all day, every day?

He saw the face of a man. He went forward to see him, to watch the veil of his eyes dissipate so he could see clearly -- basking in the light.


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[The Wild Hunt]

nu███████ XXX ███████ XXX ███████ XXX ███████
numineI AM THE WORD ` AND THE LAW ♕》*THAT PRESIDES OVER MEN
bad apple


xxx
n×◞JOUNIN ⊰OF ( BAIDON ) *⇣LORD OF ♕HI NO !
by numinex for the food chain do not steal! c:THE PSYCHO DEMON


The New Step One: The Beauty and the Beast

The world's going to end, Kleine. Do you remember that feeling of being buried beneath the weight of the sea? Except -- it was only ever metaphorically. Perhaps you could describe it more as -- the feeling of being smashed beneath an endless tide of emotion. What sort of emotions did you feel back then, in that moment? And what of the moment when you realized that God is dead? Was it something you detested the idea of, or enjoyed? Or perhaps neither -- did you simply not care, knowing that reality to be far beyond this small life of yours? I think that you felt something. It was something powerful. A compelling pull. Perhaps this pull was of your own devising, or perhaps it was a creature beyond your own power. Do you know what that creature may be, Kleine? Have you an idea of it?

The Enemy. I do not know why, but I have always been compelled towards one of two sides, the line blurred to the point of seeming interchangeable. I have not yet seen the peak that separates thee and me, even far off in the days of yore, I could not see. I imagine this poetically, of course, with fanciful words though they are only thought, never spoken. I imagine this as if a current of energy, emotions rising towards the climax; a battle between two opposing forces, like with all things. Perhaps you could say I imagine it to be a game. There are two sides pulling at me, and I'm not sure which is me and which isn't. One imagines that God is evil, and by extension deceased. One imagines that he is benevolent and watches over us. One is Kleine Heiland, or at least, what he used to be -- and then the other?

Shinsei Karnata. Double Take. The Enemy. I did not know of this creature's presence in my life until I first heard his voice. It was so deep, so chilling. I knew that I did not possess such a voice. Even on my darkest days, and even when my mind imagines the most gruesome of things, I do not possess such a pure evil. There is always at least some ends to the means, even if that end is simply my own enjoyment. But with this creature, I do not imagine such a thing. I do know that perhaps -- maybe it's true -- he's been influencing me. Maybe even beyond Hysteria, there was always the predetermination that I would become the way I am. This potential reality makes me fear, you could say. I have always believed that I act by my own free will, searching for what I want rather than what I'm told to want. I never lie, only speak the truth, especially to myself. If I want to kill, I will not resist it. I will not let morals control me the way others do. But if, in reality, the only reason I enjoy such grim things is because I am pushed to it by another force -- then what does that make my life? Is it not a lie in itself? Am I not a puppet upon a string?

And that brings me to something further. If this creature can control my actions, emotions and desires, then how am I ever to resist it? Should I succumb to it? And if I did, would I lose myself? Would Kleine Heiland even exist anymore? Would I really be living, or simply staring through a lens far gone?

This creature is one of ultimate evil. Even without being told as such, I would have known. If any monster were to exist inside of me, it would not be one of passive longing, silent presiding or even compelling wants. It would be an aggressive creature that would be the epicenter of my change in desire -- a creature that would have resulted in my change, and my many changes. I've always known that I'm changeable. I always wondered why.

- - - - - - -

Are you the type of person to hunger for food, or for passion? The type to survive, or the type to risk it all to thrive? Are you one that would risk anything for those you love -- or even for the common good -- or will you leave that to others? Perhaps, could you be the type to work against that? Could you be evil? Could you use and abuse others simply for your own gain? Or even for no gain? What type of person are you, Kleine? Tell me that.

Let's take a moment to look at this from his perspective -- Kleine's. Not Shinsei's, the other side of mine that would most assuredly answer in one of two ways -- I am whatever I want to be, or I will gladly use and abuse others, work against the good, all of the like simply for my own enjoyment. How does Kleine view the world? Does he care about people outside of only him? Was evil not brewing long before Shinsei was born? Before, it was Double Take. Yes, I mention him a lot, though I consider him to be a dead soul. He was my radical perspective on reality, or perhaps you could say my most common and pure perception. I hated people that were different than me. I suppose it's because I felt so isolated, so alone. There were so few that made me ever feel comfortable. I don't really come from these lands, and that's how I've honestly felt. I don't look like the people here. My name isn't made up of syllables. I don't believe in their shrine Gods, I don't believe in nature or balance. I don't believe in karma or the universal spirit. I have always been different, only believing in a Him, He, His, God. And then I look to myself -- who am I to these people? I am from the land of the snow. I am from Yukigakure, right? But it was named something before that. Not unanimously, but by my people,

Sorana. That's my home. It's where the giants roam and the dragons communicate with men. It's where the psycho renegades first realized their potential, through pain and duress. It's where the white-haired northerners presided over all else with power and ability to wage war -- and yet only demanded one thing. That they live in peace.

I suppose you could say a great part of me despises these creatures, these shinobi. I despise them for the fact that they destroyed what was once mine, or belonged to a great ancestor of mine. I despise them for the fact that I am Heiland and they are not. I'm one of the only ones of my kind left in the world -- a man of the north. What does that mean for me? Is that how Kleine feels, or Shinsei? Is Kleine the one who feels this way -- who fears -- and Shinsei the one that feeds off of this fear? Is that not a perfectly putrid romance, that we are engaged in? Perhaps it is a show of how darkness will always consume the light. I remember feeling that way long before now.

I felt for a long time that the world was made of good, sanctioned by God. That people were naturally selfless and could be made to love if shown the path. But then, I looked to the west, and then the east. I saw all of the hatred and the war, over simple things. Stupid things. And then I re-examined my own heart. I was not so pure myself, was I? In my natural state, as a child, I recall cruelty of many a magnitude. Even as a gentle soul, I was still capable of such greed and corruption. You can see this even in the most uncivilized interactions -- on the playground, at home with my brother, or with my mother and father. I was naturally evil, but my religion forced me to see the good. In that way, you could perhaps imagine that maybe God does desire good.

But then I also examined, further, that this God of mine is not widely known or widely loved. There are others, and they all teach similar virtues, but these virtues remain only spoken, never followed. So, I realized that the virtues were in fact only laws taught from man to man, disguised as the word of Gods and spirits. My God, the pagan Gods, they are perhaps only an imagination. There is something above them, far out there, a creature looming over us. By nature, it is chaotic. I don't know if I would go as far as to call it evil anymore. I would call myself evil. If I had absolute power, the world would be a much darker place than now. This God is capable of both good and evil, just like me. Just like everyone else.

The world is made up of two factors: darkness, and light. And I am made up of two factors, the same in spirit but different in name. The Friend, the Enemy. Me, Thee. Kleine, Shinsei. I understand this now. I understand this as Kleine, who is not in fact evil, and not in fact good. He is only searching for happiness. Then Shinsei -- he seeks to destroy happiness. Does he also destroy my own? Does he exist for such a purpose? Or -- is this man a part of a much greater scheme, just as the Enemy may be?

There is an endless whirlwind -- a breeze that swept into the sky and gathered traction among the leaves. This "whirlwind" is what I would call the inner spirit, a complex center of energy that not even one on earth can truly describe. I have always sought to understand it. The more I understand it, the more I see the truth, about me.

That I'm not everything I told myself I am. That I'm what I used to be -- what I knew myself to be, if only there were someone to watch over who I was and allow it to remain "who I am".


- - - - - - - - -

The New Step Two: The Men of the Northwest and the Women of the Southeast

"Kleine!" She yelled my name. The 'she' we speak of would be a regular woman named Lydia Lyrenberg, an individual that never had it within her to fight as many others do. She had talent for other things -- for art, for song, for beauty. In her own way, she was "apex", as I liked to refer to the people that deserved to be alive. People that developed skills that transcended their peers. She was the creative mind of her generation, at least in the small world known as Kusa no Kuni. This was not long ago, this memory. You could consider it to be only a short while ago, a time before I was a Jounin. A time where I still donned the name "Double Take", and terrorized the streets. I met this girl because he had come across her paint shop in the upper district, where she sold her work in order to survive. I witnessed a piece of art in particular that struck me: the taboo, she was not afraid of it.

It was him, Double Take. She drew him as she imagined him. A man in a mask with a large letter "2" over the material. Black hair and dark eyes. A muscular frame, with black leather clothing covering it. It was not far off from how he really appeared -- this made me wonder if perhaps, she carried a similar such exotic mind as I. Perhaps she had an affliction as I did, a dark impulse or an obsession with things that possessed such a dark impulse. The woman herself -- she was a tall blonde with long hair, silver eyes and naturally pink lips. She had a pale, creamy skin tone and she liked to wear casually. She was not the only one, however. She was only one of a few people that I had come across -- people that impressed me. People that reminded me of what human beings could, well, be.

There was a man named Brighton. He was something of a different note, a man of musical talent rather than the visual arts. He was such a worldly person, one could immediately recognize that he was not lying when he claimed to have traveled the world and all the seas. He spoke of the barbarians, he spoke of the handsome men of the far northwest, and the beautiful women of the far south. He did not live to imagine his own glory. Instead, he desired to make other people "happy", you could say. Everything he did, every word he spoke, there was a silver lining; an attempt to let the interest of another rise, and let their worries fall. He would sing and compose and sing to his compositions, and then every now and then he'd sail off in a ship to bring his talents to the other lands far from here. I had become quite possessed by the beauty of such a man that reveals all yet remains mysterious; I did not believe someone could exist as he did, not until I met him.

He had short brown hair and green eyes. He had stubble, though his skin was still smooth at the touch. He was a little shorter than me, and he was athletic in appearance despite his lack of exercise. I remember him. I remember him the most, more than Lydia, and Kamitachi, and Sosuke. The reason I can recall him so well is because often, in my head, I can hear his music. I long for it, to hear those compositions once again. To be able to sing with him again. There are some people that can make even a monster such as myself smile, and laugh. He made me laugh indeed, with his stories of the natives to the south and their strange habits of clothing, their ragged hair and their rough skin. I miss such stories.

You could say that I've always wanted to explore the world as he did, rather than confining myself to this nation of mine. Yet you could say I was bound here by my own ambition: I did not want to leave a place that was not yet ready to leave me. But still, I wonder what sort of world awaits elsewhere. What sort of Gods do they possess? Do they even take kindly to foreigners, like me? Would they respect my strength? Would they bow to it?

See, that's the sort of thinking I go through. It is never about enjoyment, or love, or peace. It's about my ability to control others. I would like to see them. But I do not imagine that simply glances and shared mutual words would last me for long; I would always want something more, something as compelling as life and death. I would want to gain, to control. After all, what am I if not a conqueror?

I can only imagine that I must be something more than that, however. Even though I seek to be everything else, I am still a man. I have simple dreams, like love. I know that -- I've tried, and I'm trying, desperately hard to love Renjin. But then, what else? Could I exist in a simpler world where you are not judged by your power alone? What else do I have, other than worldly knowledge and worldly power? Could I bring music, art, beauty to life?

I don't want to be just one type of person. Perhaps the man I live as now is the man that allows The Enemy to roam free. Perhaps what I have always wanted was simply a wedge to fit in. I can remember desperately dreaming, as a young boy, to find my place; to find where I can be happy. All I remember, though, was my disillusionment from the world as I grew older. Is that what bound me to this predetermined position of mine? Is that what made me forget the joy, and recall the pain?

I look back on my life now and ask myself -- is this what I really want?


- - - - - - - - -

The New Step Three: Imagine This

In the back of my mind, there's a place where no sane man belongs. Not because it's mine -- not because I do not wish to share it, but rather, because they would surely be killed if they were ever to invade this personal space of mine. Of His. Sometimes, in the dark of night as I dream, I find myself there. I had never known before now what this place was -- what the entity inside of it was, this black sphere of first enigmatic interest, and then dark and furious fear.

"Welcome back, Kleine," it said to me. The Enemy -- it spoke in that horrible, dark, looming voice. I could not understand it. I never wanted to hear it. Merely the words contained a darkness beyond human comprehension. It was . . . beyond evil.

"What games do you like to play, Kleine?" It asked me. I did not answer, I only stared, as I always did. I would not speak to it; it would, in response, speak back. I would have to hear more of it. I would have to feel the chill on my spine evolve into a blizzard against my back. I did not want to be around this entity, but sometimes, it took me in.

"I enjoy my own games," it said. "Ones that sometimes, we mutually engage in. These games have more meaning than poker and mahjong -- they split the divide between life and death. You know of these games, yes? I taught you how to play them. The Hunt being the first; find them, discover more about them, make them aware of your presence. Then, the game begins. You were always my greatest player. Even the most elite targets were always so easily dispatched by you. You are my favorite, do you know that? The best of the Psycho Demons. I chose you over all the other Renegades, thousands in number. You were the most loving, the most sweet of them all. I wanted to destroy that." The evil entity began to laugh. I wasn't sure how to respond; it had always been so easy to just ignore it. But now, I wanted to know. I was stronger than ever now. I wanted to be able to speak to this creature toe-to-toe, demon-to-demon.

My lips parted to speak, and I began. "Imagine this," I said. "Imagine a world with you and I -- as always. You are the darkness that swells in my heart, the impulse that controls me. I am the one so subjugated by you -- a boy barely able to stand against your might. How could I, after all? You rigged the game perfectly to your own interests. How could anyone ever overpower you, when you control and regulate their ability to do so? But, imagine this. Imagine you aren't needed. Imagine the one you came to possess was even more wicked and spiteful than you are. Imagine the idea of him enjoying the pain and suffering of others just as you do. Imagine that without your influence, the dark impulse still exists. Then, imagine him becoming the most powerful shinobi alive, and shaping the world as he pleases. What aspect of him is so powerful? We're speaking of a Psycho Demon. Are you not the source of our power? So, with that in mind -- if I did not need you, did not require your pull, and yet still used you for my own benefit . . . did I not win the game? Are you not simply a cow to be milked for your resources, at that point, oh Enemy of mine?"

Back to third person perspective. The demon began to move, slightly; or rather, something within it began to move. It began to split something open -- it allowed room to reveal an eye, and many other eyes. It looked at Kleine and his visage reflected off of it. The glare in its eyes was terrible in itself, but nothing was ever more terrible than the voice. If he could survive that, then he could survive anything. Kleine knew that he was strong. Very strong. No one else had ever come as far as him, with this curse. He was able to resist it for so long. Who else but him had ever been able to do so? Did they not all die young, passing on the power to a fresh and exciting new specimen?

Perhaps his desire to fight back -- to retain himself, was what kept him alive. He wasn't so sure anymore. But he kept surviving. He always kept going on, marching . . . on.

"A brim cap. A mechanical pencil used to detail the map of each sea. An infinity brooch. A boy with a purple sock on one leg and a red on the other. A girl who loved to hate as much as she hated to be loved. One tall, one short, one stubby and one slim. The sun was in their eyes. The sun was in their ears. They could see the light. But they could not see me, in their hearts, in their minds. They were so happy, for the brief period that they remained. It was the same with you; you were such a good person. But then I made you mine. The sun became the moon. The stars became veiled by the darkness of the night sky. I was the only thing still left in your eyes." Kleine did not understand where he was going with this. He already knew this creature's insidious desire to destroy others for his enjoyment. If he was trying to intimidate him, then he was not making any new ground.

But, he knew that such an entity could not be so mindless. He had a point. "The light is in you. Not in me. But it never meant a thing to you. If anything, your perfect atmosphere, all of your dreams and hopes for humankind -- they weakened you. You believed that people were inherently good, and that the world was naturally designed for benevolence. How could you not? Everyone brought you up and raised you, trying to make you believe that such a thing as hope existed. Your father covered your eyes from the grim sights, and your mother told you only of stories with morals and happy endings. They did not prepare you for the darkness ahead, Kleine. They didn't allow you a single defense from a creature such as I, in the form of that woman, Madam Hysteria. After what she did to you, with your inability to understand or resist, your body was corrupted and the rift in your mind that she created allowed for my arrival. From that moment on, you and I have always belonged together, but not mutually. You can never be free of me. But I can be free of you." He shaped himself into a humanoid form; a man, veiled much like the stars.

He stepped forward, and handed Kleine something of use: a map. "What does life mean to you, Kleine? Why do you not search for your own happiness - but others' despair? Why are you so unlike other humans? Why do you judge them as you do? Do you feel as if you are not one of them, as if you're a creature beyond their margin? Is this feeling of contempt for them something that you believe to be normal, while at the same time, you also believe that humans are biologically designed to support each other in order to preserve themselves? Perhaps you feel as if you've broken the evolutionary chain? In one way, you have. You don't want to reproduce -- you're privy to the bodies of men, not women, after all. But there are still biological weaknesses inside of you that all humans possess. Your mind is weak and flimsy, and that is what allowed me to assume control of it in the first place. You can never run from me, Kleine. How could you? Can a man run without legs? Can a bird fly without wings? As the sun rises in the sky, so do I rise within your being. One of these days, there will truly be no distinction between the Friend and the Enemy. Between Shinsei Karnata, and Kleine."

He awoke.

He was not exactly positive as to how the creature managed to obtain this map, but then, he wasn't exactly sure how he managed to wake up in a different place than where he slept. He was surrounded by corpses. By people that were -- presumably -- killed by him.

His body was not his own anymore, was it? For only a moment, a short breath in his life was he free. He began to wonder if he could ever be at ease like that again.

 

[The Wild Hunt]

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numineI AM THE WORD ` AND THE LAW ♕》*THAT PRESIDES OVER MEN
bad apple


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n×◞JOUNIN ⊰OF ( BAIDON ) *⇣LORD OF ♕HI NO !
by numinex for the food chain do not steal! c:THE PSYCHO DEMON


Flashback: Step One, Lucas Merallus

He looked into his eyes, and saw a sort of dread. Kleine -- you could say he was an enigma to most. Lucas considered himself quite the debunker of myths, and men that would like to remain as such. With that in mind, you could say he immediately grew interested in the recently-crowned Shogun that had been making a number of... changes to Konoha's international policy. From an elderly isolationist to a young, ambitious warlord -- it was quite a leap indeed. This was possibly the issue with monarchy -- that the nation had to adapt to the leader, and not the other way around. Here was the thing, however. Not every nation could adapt, or wanted to adapt. You had leaders with all sorts of radical, new and astounding ideas that would never make it beyond the reaches of their journal or simply their mind. Or, there were some that spoke these thoughts, and immediately were cast aside as a heretical false prophet and then the nation divided and picked and chose which of them truly still remained loyal to the monarch's side. Many Kings had fallen from trying to make change, and many more had fallen by simply doing nothing.

It was a delicate profession. It was not meant for one with a delicate heart. Often times the ones with the most tender of beings were the most vulnerable to the blade, to the bow, to the flames. They were vulnerable to betrayal and espionage. Kleine -- he knew he wasn't delicate. Not at all. Lucas could see just from the look in his eyes that this man was quite a monster.

One that, desperately, he wanted to uncover from inside and out. And so he asked: "Do you have any experience with psycho analysts? Strange, observant little wallflowers coming by and asking you far too personal of questions? Or, some of them asking hardly anything and letting you simply speak on your own? People that seem to be there only to... hear you talk?" He wasn't sure if Kleine could recognize one. He knew that before Shahnz died, he had become exceptionally worried about the degrading mental state of his son. It's highly likely that he hired someone -- even in secret -- to discover his ails. What they found however, and if they even existed, was something that he could surely not ascertain.

"Yes. Boyfriend. My first. The man that plucked my flower. Handsome, charming, gallant. Too much so. You could say that I was a little flabbergasted by the fact that my life had suddenly changed so greatly -- that someone that had only just been admitted to my world had come to "love" me. That he asked me so many personal questions without much regard to his own... person. I investigated his belongings. It wasn't something obvious that led me to discover his latent profession. No, instead, it was a bill. It was a particular bill that I remember -- because I spilled a bit of ink onto it and ended up fading the text as I tried to rub it off. It was the exact same. So, then I investigated further, and managed to pay a clairvoyant -- or some form of Yamanaka -- to inform me of where he may have gotten this bill. My father's money." He looked back, to that time. That was before he'd become as he was now -- completely honest. Instead, he simply felt demented. Like a demon had come over him and he couldn't help but be evil. He didn't want to be anything else. He only wanted hatred and desire, and that frightened him.

Everything frightened him. The coincidence frightened him. And that was why he looked into it, and discovered its meaning. "My father handed him a wad of cash in private. To be exact, it was 43,000 Ryo. Do you realize how great a sum that is? From that, I managed to gather two possibilities in my mind: either he was paid off to keep some secret about me hidden, or he was paid to spy on me and reveal something of value to my father. I hate acting based on assumptions, so I investigated further. By that, that is to say he awoke surrounded by brown walls with little to no light. I tortured him until he revealed his profession as a psychologist, one excellent at subterfuge and lies. But, you see, I'm sort of a psychoanalyst as well. I could tell from that conversation that he only recognized evil as a part of his own form of evil. He deeply desired death and the meaning of it. He enjoyed pain and fear and submission. Even as I cut off his arms and legs, the only thing he would reveal to me was his name and age, over and over. And finally, my psychological profile: pure evil." He stared back into Lucas' eyes -- his blue, and smiled as a devil would.

The man's expression did not change much. He was already prepared for this level of wickedness. He knew what he was walking into far before he ever sent off that letter. "Would you disagree with that assessment?" He asked, which caused Kleine to shrug. "I'm whatever I want to be at the time. At that moment, you could say I was as he said. Right now, I'm not. I don't feel like it. Especially because I'd rather not the same assessment from two different psychoanalysts. Why don't you give it a shot, doctor? Didn't you come here to diagnose me?" He was fairly jumpy in his seat, gaining a form of pleasure from the doctor's reactions -- even silence was a reaction to him. Kleine sought to discover what was in his head, not out. You could say his words and expressions meant nothing at that point.

The man laid his arms over the table, and leaned forward slightly. He began to smile, and that caught Kleine's attention. "You think you're a prophet. A man with no equal in any field. I can tell that much simply by the fact that you believed yourself to be something of a psychoanalyst even for your lack of training. You believe that chaos is the natural order, and that discipline is a lie meant only to tame the beasts that walk and claim themselves as men. You don't train, or learn in a professional environment, you only see and adapt. You're naturally talented and so that reinforces your blatant arrogance. But you're not as good as you think you are, Shinsei. You're likely only as good as I think you are. A man that bases their perception of the world solely on what they've seen -- and all they ever see is fear and carnage. You do not understand light, only darkness. I didn't come here to diagnose your darkness, or your light. I came here to realize the full picture."

He was strong, Kleine could say that. He respected that in a man. Someone as fearless as Lucas was always someone that Kleine could stand to be around. He appreciated even the most ridiculous opinions if they were backed by valor. And so, he leaned back and simply allowed him to speak, nodding slightly as a go-ahead. Thus, the man's first question began. "What was your relationship with your mother? Your father? What is your relationship with women in general? Men in general?" He asked this simply as a basis, as he was almost sure that Kleine's issues stemmed from his childhood. Even those born the sort of dark impulse that Kleine possessed... never got quite so vicious as he did. He knew there was something more to it. And so it began.

"My mother? Fake. Materialistic. Whore. Liar. So obsessed with public opinion, even when all she did was talk s**t about everyone all day. Genuinely weak-minded person. I never got on with her. Nor did my brother. She was barely a mother at all. As for my father, I had my golden years with him. He was strong, charismatic, wise. He is everything a man should be. However, he sought to control me as I grew more... intense. That was a mistake of his, was it not?" An obvious implication that he killed his father. Lucas expected that already, however. It was not the official story, but many already guessed as much. Kleine was not quite the loyal type -- not to family, nor anyone. He was only loyal to him. And even then, only partially. "Women . . . my life doesn't involve them. I'm not attracted to them. I have nothing to gain from them. Even if you were to look at it from the point of sadism; domination, I have nothing to gain. I don't enjoy controlling them. They're too weak-willed or just boring for me to really care to torment. That's where men come in: attractive, often strong, often smart, often weak, often stupid. You could say I consider men more diverse, which makes me more drawn to them. As someone of many moods, I could never consider myself content going through a folder filled with xerox sheets. Men are more entertaining to me; in bed, in words, and in subjugation. In reality though, I don't care much for either. They're both just different variations of the genetic abortion that calls itself human. There are only a few that I can really place in my sight -- and for those few people, gender isn't a factor." Though obviously, there was still the physical attraction that played in. No matter how strong she was, a woman couldn't ever fulfill that side of him.

It was possibly a reaction to his experience as a youth, or maybe he simply naturally fell away from that thought. That actually brought up a very important question: it involved Kleine's desires, his sexuality, what it all was to him. "What is it that you like about a man? That might seem strange a question, but simple unconscious things can often indicate a lot about someone. For example, if I'm attracted more to strong men over weak men, it's often a sign of a certain need for dominating presence in my life. Of course, I don't really expect you to fit that clause. You have yourself as a self-sufficient battery of domineering." That was a bit of a joke, you could say, although he couldn't really put it in a better or more accurate way. "d**k and a**. What more is there to say? Next question?" His expression didn't change. He wasn't being evasive, there was simply nothing to gain from this line of questioning. Kleine didn't care for sturdy or fragile or in-between, attraction was attraction.

Lucas looked down, and began the next line of questioning. "What are your fears? Feel free to lie or tell the truth. The way you react will give me the answer." Even revealing that he was analyzing his reactions wouldn't change the perspective. If Kleine lied and played rather than approaching it directly, it meant he feared something greater than even his fears; appearing weak. Kleine knew that -- and he knew that it was what Lucas was going for. So, he decided to be honest, especially since he hated to be anything but. He leaned back, his fingers tapping the back of the chair, and revealed. "Death, decay, ugliness, weakness, exploitation, losing, dying alone. My primary fear out of those would probably be losing. I care quite a bit about my reputation. I don't like the idea of sullying it." Surprisingly forward, he was. Lucas found it fairly interesting that he didn't even try to be subtle. It was as if he was looking for something -- like he wanted him to come to a conclusion. Perhaps erroneously? He wasn't sure. But he knew that Kleine was extremely dangerous, so essentially everything he said and did pointed to something much more grim than what appeared.

"Lucas," he called his name. That alerted the man; deep in thought, and even what you could consider fear, he came to feel a powerful darkness loom over him. He looked up, suppressed his emotions, and looked into Kleine's eyes. "You can't diagnose me, can you? We could go on for hours, but you wouldn't have the ability to do so truthfully. I know why that is. It's because you realize that there's nothing wrong. I am not a human that has developed a mental disorder, but rather, a human that hasn't. The people on this planet all have one particular disorder that I don't possess -- moralism. A trick. I am the base of what a man could be. Perhaps not should be, but could be. Beyond that, even if you believed that such a thing was another disorder, you can't properly place it, can you? You don't entirely believe me, and yet my demeanor makes it impossible to discern what is truth from what is a lie. All-in-all, I'd say it's safe to assume that you have met your match. So, that leaves a question from me to you--" He raised his arm slightly, and began to bring it forward.

"Is psychology the discerning of unnatural and inhuman disorders, or is it the practice of suppressing what is most human about us? The "ID" as you so call it. You could say that I practically live on the thing. There is nothing else, no third or second dimension. No rules or regulations. Only want. Is that a problem, doctor?" This was -- undeniably -- the last question he would ever be allowed to answer. He could feel it . . . the instinct, that degradation into a killer. The arrival of the "Pure Evil" Kleine, the one that did not care of what ill may befall him. He had to make these words his last. "No one knows what psychology is. In truth, it's only a way of narrowing the dilettante from the earnest; the people that are willing to risk their lives over those that would rather relate their findings to their horoscope; their social life. No one knows what anything is, Kleine. We're all humans. We're all fools. Even you. You're not a God. You can't claim to know anything but yourself." And that was it.

That was it.

"You're right, doctor Merallus. Only I know myself. Only I can diagnose myself. I'm pure evil."

And, that was it. It was the end.

 

[The Wild Hunt]

reserved  

[___youwillknownihilism]

Kya arrived at the outside of Bai Don, her eyes fixated on the large city but barely seeing it. She wandered through the city, a large gourd as dense as it was heavy tied to her back. She made a Beeline for the castle, many recognizing the kusakage even though her hat was tilted over her face. Hmmm. Maybe the hat was the reason so many people knew it was her... it did say kusa at the top after all. Upon reaching the castle her lazy controller simply knocked on the door and crossed her arms.  

[The Wild Hunt]

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xxxx𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓮𝓲 𝓴𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓪𝓽𝓪
Ahahaha. He laughed a little, then a lot. He watched from the distance as the woman screamed and wailed over her lost love. It was so unfortunate. Hades was such a man. So young, so much potential. A true apex. But Kleine needed to kill him in order to prove himself. It was his test. It simply had to be done. And the consequence -- or rather the benefit -- of Kirumi's tears, brought Kleine immense stimulation. He could feel his body begin to rile up. He stepped away from the field and ignored the strikes of lightning that crossed miles behind him, and eventually made his way home to Bai Don. There, he noticed the Kusakage possibly a long time before she noticed him. He had an eternal mangekyo sharingan at the moment. His eye was essentially out of commission and would be for possibly a few weeks. This left his depth perception reduced, though he could honestly fight about the same regardless. Still, he was perplexed by her presence. Perhaps she was here to kill him for going rogue. No matter, he had a duty to his nation and by birthright he deserved the throne.

She could do nothing about what had already come to pass. "I'm not behind the door. At least in the literal sense," he said. "What do you want, Kya, my esteemed Kusakage?"


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[___youwillknownihilism]

Kya turned as she heard him approaching, her eyes narrowing as she saw the Shogunate himself. His words, as usual, were laced with so much poison she was nearly ill from hearing them. "You ever get tired of being so irritatingly disgusting?" She indifferently asked as iron sand started streaming up out of her gourd. It was clear she wasn't here to be social, or at least that wasn't the vibe she was giving off. She had a bone to pick, and more likely than not the expression would become literal. "You know you have quite the bounty on you Kleine. Considering you annihilated a village under my banner, and then fled to konoha, leaving me to deal with it. Shogunate or not, you went rogue from my village. I guess you could say I'm here for closure..." She'd muse as a fair amount of sand was floating around her now.  

[The Wild Hunt]

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xxxx𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓮𝓲 𝓴𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓪𝓽𝓪
The Shogun laughed a little, stepping some paces back as the sand began to surround the Kusakage. "Tired? No. I'm known for my legendary stamina." He grinned, and rapidly began to convert the earth around him into a thick material; it was diamond. He began to shape it into a slew of shapes around him, watching the chips circle and increase in number. "You have the story a little messed up, anyway. I didn't annihilate the village under your banner. I was never under your banner, but Kusa no Kuni's. Before, and now, you were never anything to me but a signature on a sheet of paper. Which, however, means that my contempt for you is so vast that I don't need to consider you my enemy."

The shapes around him stopped moving, and he pointed at the bandages covering his right eye. "I have an eternal mangekyo sharingan now, Kya. I am far beyond what I was even just a day past. Soon enough I'll eclipse the rest of my compatriots here in Konoha. Now, what does that mean for a gal like you? You could try and kill me and weaken my village substantially. But you'd only fail. I can't be killed unless I want to be killed." At any moment, Psycho Freedom could be a ticket to a land far beyond. And that was only if he felt he could not win. He wasn't sure if he could beat Kya. He needed his eye's condition to be fully restored before he could consider a conflict with her. And either way, he didn't really care to begin one. Back in the days of yore, when she was the greatest in his country, he desired to slay her. Now, they were in two separate realities. They did not overlap. He didn't care.

"I don't think you're the type of lady to attack me so blatantly. You're the type of person who doesn't take risks -- they secure their position, allowing the gambit to be less so "gambit" and more so "profit". You come here and act threatening, but you only threaten as a precaution. You want me to understand that I'm in a precarious position? Fine. I throw myself into this position on purpose, dear Kusakage. I love to live life on the edge of danger. There is no other life for me." He grabbed a jar from his left jacket pocket, and gripped the opening with his fingertips. Inside, was one of Hades' eyes. "The thing with rogue ninja and why they're so dangerous is that they know secrets that other village shinobi don't know. For example, I know about all of the skillsets of all the high ranking officials in Kusa. I know about your emotional and physical weaknesses. I know about your ambition. This makes me a threat. You don't like threats, so you came to remove one. In some form or another."

He ripped a slab of metal from the ground, converting the material to iron. He manipulated it to shape into a binding contract, the words forming ridges of bronze. "If you're so worried, then the solution is right here. This is a ten-year truce. You don't attack me or my shinobi, I don't attack you or your shinobi. As a token to bind the contract, I'll offer you this mangekyo sharingan. I suggest you use it with some form of integrity. I'd hate to see you break the contract and suffer in shame before the civilized world for the rest of your life. That would be quite... disadvantageous." He offered her the slab, throwing the sheet of metal at her to carve her signature into.

Again, just a signature on a sheet. Perhaps it was to symbolize something between them -- their formal, and business-only relationship. Kleine wasn't rather clear on what it meant. But judging from the grin passing over his lips, it was fairly obvious.


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[___youwillknownihilism]

Kleine was playing a dangerous game here. As the sand streamed out and he began converting the ground her arms crossed just below her bust and anything made of metal in the area would begin to feel her pull. It wasn't threatening, it was just her natural state of being. His words, double meanings and menial threats galore. But she took them more seriously than he knew. He knew of her villages secrets, sure, but he knew a stark amount less than he thought he did about Kya. Her emotional fallacies meant nothing when it came to matters of the village. She'd have both Aki and Kurozawa's heads on plates if a situation demanded it. Even the mossy rock treaty could only do so much to curb her ambition. When he spoke of his eternal a grin cracked its way through her look of impasse and she couldn't help but be amused. He had beat her to that goal, but it was of no importance really.

Especially since he showed her what was in he jar. Immediately, she had made the decision to kill him and take the eye for herself, but she was halted by the contract's creation. The contract he formed meant little to her. It meant little to him. But it would put Kusa and Kumogakure at ease for her to sign it, and she stood to gain from it. What an offer, what an offer. She mused as a bit of iron sand reached out and took both the contract, plucking it out of the air, and the eye. She didn't read much into it, just enough to know he wasn't setting her up for anything, damn lawyers and their fine print. Seems like you get to live another day, Kleine. She said as her signature was magnetized in sand to the paper, stuck to it until she decided it would fade off. But as far as he knew she was all for the contract. But fair warning, Shinsei she paused and began to levitate against the earth's natural magnetism and rise above the small city, out into the clouds. You should consider this a lucky break. You may have never met a challenge you couldn't face before today, but I know you just as well as you know me. And that knowledge is both as defeating as it is empowering. And at the end of her sentence, she would be gone, sitting on her flying nimbus of sand and headed back home again.

 

[The Wild Hunt]

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xxxx𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓮𝓲 𝓴𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓪𝓽𝓪
The Heiland stared at the sheet of metal long after she left. After some period of time, he filled in the words with a molten golden substance and cooled them. He encased the contract in a diamond layer and innervated it, then headed into the palace to file it where it belonged. "You can't outplay me, Kya," he whispered under his breath.

"I made the game."

(Innervate: A>SS)
--exit--


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[The Wild Hunt]

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xxxx𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓮𝓲 𝓴𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓪𝓽𝓪
Bai Don; the capital city of Hi no Kuni. A population only given approximate; 4,000,000 or so. It was a city that was massive, encompassing a large portion of the western coastline. It was the source of wealth, power and prestige for the nation. But being so numerous and filled with such bustling excitement, it was also full of crime and controversy. It was loaded with the poor and the sick, and Shinsei was far from sympathetic to their pain. Even ones who never had a chance in life -- the disabled, the mentally incapable -- he felt they were simply cursed by God. They were not allowed a chance due to an imperfection far beyond the physical. It was their penance to live as such. Now, beyond that, there were the noble and the wealthy. They controlled the pockets of many shinobi loyal to them, and just the ones in this city personally paid for a large portion of Konoha's force. This made them deadly and Shinsei was often put into a precarious position when dealing with them; it was a choice in-between letting them get their way perhaps to Shinsei's own squalor, or letting them slowly build into the path of revolution. The nobles loved a Shogun that served their needs. Hated one that did so blindly, as their needs often intersected with each other. And one that didn't serve any needs -- perhaps because of their moral impurities -- would quickly become an enemy of them all. There was a fine line between moderation, weakness and blatant oppression. How did one fall into that line?

The Karnata did so in one way that secured his position. He decreased the significance of the nobility. All around him, the wealth was being redistributed. The slave-owners and soldiers were becoming the new middle class, starting their own businesses or becoming self-reliant. The monopoly on the market held by the nobles was no more. Thus, they could no longer afford a rebellion. They were weak of themselves. They became less important by the day, only second-rate in comparison to the true noble families of Hi no Kuni; Hyuuga, Uchiha, Senju, Uzumaki, and Heiland. Kleine had his family at his back, and they were far more deadly than a bunch of prissy first-class silk weaved fatsos.

Enough about that, however. He was here with Renjin -- who he invited to the city. He hadn't really informed him of his role here, however. "I feel it's important to mention that I'm the Shogun. Though in honesty I'd rather be seen as a simple commoner today. I'm not here to act noble. I'm here to engage in something I find a lot more exciting -- military duty. Of at least some sort." He spoke somewhat quietly, as the two of them walked across a wooden bridge to enter a fairly quiet market district. This was on the more wealthy side of town, so there weren't hordes of diseased peasants crossing over. It was the "elite" -- or the proclaimed elite, anyhow. Kleine at least preferred the sight of the nobles to the folks that would threaten him at knife-point for a Ryo.

He turned his gaze to Renjin, as he stepped past the small crowds of the pale-skinned ladies with their umbrellas and other excess of decoration that were far from necessary. "Tell me some of your personal details before we get into anything. I don't know much about you other than that you're a weak greenhorn named Renjin. And you let a filthy mutt follow you everywhere. That's not much to go on."


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[Treyj130]

The city Bai Don was a prestigious and old, two things that Ren didn't much care for, its crowded streets and hordes of shambling paupers; yes, he could very well go without all of these things. Even still the city had an undeniable beauty too its architecture, it had a style all its own.
"I feel it's important to mention that I'm the Shogun. Though in honesty I'd rather be seen as a simple commoner today. I'm not here to act noble. I'm here to engage in something I find a lot more exciting -- military duty. Of at least some sort" Kleine said quietly as they walked across an old wooden bridge. The thought that this man ruled over all of this dumbstruck Ren, even more appalling the fact that he had no idea Klein was all along. His mind grappled with these facts as Klein led him farther into the wealthy market district. They maneuvered through the streets they passed crowds of oddly dressed women, many fine fabrics and odd styles of clothing. Many of the men and women gave Ren looks of worry, probably because of Gino who was nonchalantly laying on his shoulder. Continuing through the streets Klein turned around to speak ",Tell me some of your personal details before we get into anything. I don't know much about you other than that you're a weak greenhorn named Renjin. And you let a filthy mutt follow you everywhere. That's not much to go on."
Gino barked at the comments, obviously not pleased at what was said. "Well I don't know about weak" Ren said frowning at the quip. "Well I grew up in Konoha and stayed there my whole life up until this point, it became rather boring their after such a long time so im happy to have left. Im a genin if you couldn't tell already and I descend from the Senju bloodline. Also this filthy mutt here is more loyal then any other creature I have met, Gino would protect me with his life, as would I for his." Ren said getting a little defensive of Gino towards the end, instinctively reaching a hand up to rub Gino.

 

[The Wild Hunt]

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xxxx𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓮𝓲 𝓴𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓪𝓽𝓪
Renjin got fairly defensive over his dog, which made Kleine laugh. It was so easy to upset people; you didn't really need to go far, insult them or something that belonged to them, and that was all it took. Even so, despite being offended, Renjin did not simply walk away. Perhaps he was so absorbed by the idea of the self-benefit that would come from the Shogun's presence that he was adrift from what would normally set him off. Or perhaps he was naturally non-confrontational. "A dog is still a dog regardless of what it does," he said. "Just as I am still a man, even though I strive to be much more than that. Have you ever thought something on that level? Like -- that you're not content with who you are now, or will ever be? Like there needs to be a next "step" in some form or another? Like the body that contains you does not allow you any liberty?" He continued to walk, though he stopped before an empty shop that was closed and barred to the brim.

He began to smooth his hand across the surface of the steel, a faint smile over his lips. "I'll tell you some things about myself, to pass the time. I was born in Bai Don, in the palace where I reside now. But it was only a formality; I spent most of my life in Kusa no Kuni, within the confines of my clan compound. There, I discovered something very interesting about the world. It went beyond theory into the depths of pure genius -- I discovered that God is real." He glanced to Renjin slightly, wondering how he'd feel about such a statement. Most either laughed or said nothing. But there was often a feeling of disbelief.

"It was not something so blatant as an appearance before me. I did not hallucinate him. No, it was a subtle whisper in my ear that I could not notice until it became evidently apparent that the whisper was entirely hollow. At first it was an endearing sound, but then I began to see that it was evidence of something far beyond our own lives and dreams; a game on the celestial scale that we can only helplessly dance to. I realized that God is real, but that he does not care. That, if anything, he has long since abandoned us. He has left this world to anarchy; a place where the fittest survive, where the self-interested reign. I aspired to abuse the absence of this deity to control the world for myself. And so I became a shinobi." The bars began to open, the brunt of them disappearing and making way for Kleine's entry. This was his own personal "base of operations", one that led into the lower levels of the palace. He had also ensured that no one was around to witness the activation of it.

He stepped inside, and beckoned for Renjin to follow. After not long, he began to speak again. "I am more than just a shinobi, however. I am a noble, a leader, a philosopher and a manipulator. I strive to be the best in every field. I've worked actively to be absolutely perfect. The most attractive, the smartest, the most studied. In place of the dead God, I wish to become a figure that looms over humanity as he once did. But that requires... possibly, a lifespan that I have not been granted." He sighed. It was a sad truth of his; he would never be able to get to the place he wanted. Not even if he lived for a thousand years could he improve enough to be considered "absolute". So it was something of an impossible dream. But there were secrets of this world that could make it possible, and he knew that.

"Before, I did not try to pull you into my clutches. I revealed to you everything you needed to know, at the time. One thing you'll learn about me is that I never lie. Even under risk of death I will not lie. It is against my code. And so, I'll be truthful to you now: you are here because I seek to gain from you. Power, wealth, prestige, pleasure and service -- whatever it may be, you are here for my benefit. But that doesn't mean I can't benefit you." The doors shut behind them, and Kleine began to pull a slip of paper from his pocket. He straightened it out for a moment, then handed it over to the Inuzuka. "I'm offering you a job, essentially. I'll train you to become an elite soldier with little comparison. But that's what you'd be to me -- a soldier. You would fight for me and risk your life for me. Even knowing that I'm quite frankly an evil man, you would do this for your own benefit. You would silence your morals for your own personal gain. You would gain money and influence and in exchange, a trickle of blood on your hands. Does that sound impossible to you, Renjin? Or are we partners in crime?"

His eyes eagerly stared into the other boy's, an intense and leering look on his face.


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