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Post by Eboshi Seiichi on Oct 31, 2013 22:57:30 GMT -5
Seiichi noticed the flinch, though just barely. He wondered what the reason was, but when she moved slightly closer and handed him the jacket, he thought he realized the reason. She’s still a snake, no matter how you cut it. Being close to someone wasn’t something she had likely ever done, and from what he had learned of the Yun, she still probably thought lesser of him. His eyes narrowed as he began to remember the difference between them. Neither was greater, but in her mind, when all this was said and done he’d be another subordinate.
A flash of anger burned hot in his head, and Seiichi closed his eyes to quiet it. But when he closed his eyes all he saw was blackness and a dead dragon, same as when they were opened. Perhaps if the blackness had been caused by someone or something else, he could have ignored it, but not now. Maybe not ever.
“Why did you invade my country?” Seichi asked when she moved in close. There was just the barest hint of something malicious in his tone, but he was taking great care to control it. “No, a better question is why build an empire in the first place?”
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Post by Yun Luán on Oct 31, 2013 23:15:39 GMT -5
She had anticipated the question to be asked sooner or later, though she could not deny that later-much later-was far more welcome than now. In their proximity, she knew the next few words would have to be used delicately. Though the Takigakure lord was at a physical disadvantage, she couldn't dismiss the possibility of a confrontation-and perhaps better to damn them both, than to settle in the company of his nation's usurper.
So she opted for the truth.
“Because unification brings peace. Tend to your history tomes if you need examples, but you do not have to go as far as ancient times to see that when cultures are left to their own devices, when men of separate nations are left to vy for what they don't have and their neighbors do, wars are ignited.” The Snake Yun drew a line in the caked earth, a line that eventually formed the characters that illustrated “conflict” in sandy Kanji. “An empire that is uncompromising, prosperous, where the ambitions of lofty rulers are silenced under a a just calm is a land of growth and harmony...”
“The late Uzumaki had the opportunity to forge what so many aspired to, even the great Kaguya had once done...a land entirely unified by unfaltering power and borders were in cultural name only...instead, he opted to leave the world back to what harbored animosity in the first place, a tenuous false peace that only existed because one nation feared of being obliterated by the others...”
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Post by Eboshi Seiichi on Oct 31, 2013 23:56:38 GMT -5
Seiichi listened to what Luan said, and to a degree he even agreed with it, but to say that it was just or right would be a lie. The misguided dogma of a fallen clan spoke through her, and with every word he began to realize how young the Tsuchikage really was. She wasn’t some wise woman, and despite her textbook knowledge, it was becoming painfully clear that she hadn’t fully thought through what she was saying.
“In Taki no Kuni, there’s a tale we tell to children when we catch them fighting or bullying. It starts out with a warrior who is preparing to enter into a great battle. He wants to ensure that he wins, so every day he goes up to the temple to pray to the gods. He does this for twelve days, once for each victory he had gotten in the past. On the thirteenth day the gods answer his prayers, and he finds a piece of parchment, a quill, and ink resting at the statue of the dragon he worshipped.
“‘How can I best my enemies with a quill?’ he asked, but he received no answer. He went into battle with his weapons, and when he lost he came back to the temple to curse the gods for abandoning him. They answerd his curses by granting him a greater opponent this time, one who controlled the world and sent many men after him. Again and again he met defeat and had to run, and every time he cursed the gods. In his desperation he put down his sword, and when he knew he would die, he wrote to this great enemy a plea for peace between them. The great enemy had used many resources to kill the warrior, and he knew that he hadn’t much time left.
“With the letter written, the two had peace and the warrior lived to become an old man. In his age he had forgotten the letter he had written with the materials given to him by the gods until he revisited the old temple. He knew that he was to die of old age, and he did not want to be forgotten like so many others. He prayed for twelve days and nothing happened. On the thirteenth day he was given another quill, ink, and parchment, and he realized that it was with these same items that he won his last great battle.
“And so he used them again, this time to defeat death by writing his will to his clan. Instead of fighting with swords and arrow and chakra, he fought with the pen and paper. Instead of leaving a trail of blood, he left a trail of ink. He proved that the written word, that the peaceful word, could be just as effective as force. He proved that if you want something in this world, if there is something you cannot do with brute force, then there are other ways to achieve it.”
Seiichi finally paused in his story and looked back up to Luan. There was a sadness in his eyes, one that was not only understanding but alienating as well. “There is more to greatness than shattering your limits physically, Luan. If Tsuchi no Kuni wanted resources or help or an alliance, you did not need to invade my country. You did not need to kill Seiryuu. You did not need to sow chaos and paranoia. And whoever counseled you to do so was foolish and uncaring of the world around them. If you are to be great, Luan, you cannot be selfish. That is the path of the tyrant, not the divine.”
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Post by Yun Luán on Nov 1, 2013 0:43:45 GMT -5
“I don't recall asking to be sermonized, Eboshi.” The sans of a typical honorfic telegraphed a budding hostility she knew was likely to come of this engagement of ethics. For as much as Seiichi sought to bring the Yun princess down to earth, he abandoned hiding his own brand of superiority lording over a suspected child. The snake coiled up in lieu of a challenge, ready to strike violently before she would allow this one to harbor such thoughts.
“Wise as your story is, the undeniable fact of that parable is that warrior is one key facet that we do not recognize”
“He lost.”
The serpent closed in, inching over to the Takigakure ruler as her eyes narrowed upon him almost invitingly, a predator evaluating a ripe kill that lingered in the shadow of dancing flames. The winds, once racing upon the walls in a dance of cool taunts had come to a brutal still, only leaving the words exchanged between them and the murmurs of wildlife that played audience, to fill the ambiance of their rising spat. “The warrior failed in his goal, to defeat his enemy. Instead, he settled with complacency and cowardice. He only lived because the enemy that conquered him, one that the 'gods' pit so he would be denied victory for the last of his days, allowed him to live because -he- had the warrior's life in his hands.”
“He didn't conquer death, instead he left a legacy of incompetence and disappointment. The way he immortalized himself to his clan is he left words that would be best translated as a man who not only possessed nay of the strength to forge his own destiny, but only lived in the parameters of everyone who was greater than he. His enemies, the gods, and by extent...the clan he served...”
Another inch closer, the Yun snaked closer to Seiichi, moving on nearly fours as the words evolved from whispers to vehement hisses. Emerald eyes narrowed into predatory slits, becoming vicious gemstones in the twinkling fires that licked in the foreground. “The nature of peace is a river, Seiichi. Sometimes the waters are even and flow gently, covering the lands far and wide...”
“Sometimes it must fight with the land, cracking with rapids, and breaking the stone to reach it's destination....”
She neared his face, leaving only a few breaths apart, the emblem of the her tattoo animating into a threatening shape along her arm. “If being the rapid, that sweeps away the land of uprisings, injustice, chaos—where all is still and madness is clenched out with an iron fist, if that is the role of a tyrant, then I would find that a role far more noble than the monarch who opts for lazy liberty, allowing inequity to spread like wildfire...”
“You could have said yes to our alliance with a pen and quill and assisted us in our aims to a better world...or you could have opted no, and left one more uncertainty in a land without guidance. And if there is something, a few things you must know to understand -us- Seiichi, as you are so insistent on.”
“We only deal with absolutes, We do not settle for anything less than victory, and mark my words, by the end of this conflict--
You will see that We cannot be stopped.”
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Post by Eboshi Seiichi on Nov 1, 2013 1:06:17 GMT -5
Seiichi closed his eyes and said nothing for a long while after Luan spoke. Her threats, her hostility, her anger, all of it came all at once, but no aggression met hers. Arguing would do nothing but prompt her to attack him, damning them both, but it was impossible for him to deal with this type of person. She was blind to the world and everything in it. She was blind to her own faults, blind to her own strengths, and blind to the reality she was facing. Seiichi didn’t know if Luan even had her own personality, or if this dogma she spat out so fervently had dominated everything the girl had once been.
Finally, after several minutes of silence, Seichi spoke, his eyes still closed. “The Yun cannot be stopped, yet they were stopped by Kaguya. The Yun cannot be stopped, yet they were not the Shodai Tsuchikage, nor the second, third, or fourth. The Yun know nothing but greatness, but they did little to stop Madara and Obito sixty years ago. The Yun know nothing but greatness, but their paragon is stuck in a foreign land thousands of miles away from her empire after having her life saved.”
The cold wind wrapped around Seiichi then, but he shrugged the cloak off. Luan would need it more than he, with her slender frame. With a wince he used the spear she had made earlier to help himself to his feet, and he moved to the edge of their shelter. He spoke as he moved. “Use my jacket and cloak and curl up by the fire. I’ll find another way to keep warm.”
He waited a moment to hear what she said before he motioned to disappear into the Land of Nights.
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Post by Yun Luán on Nov 1, 2013 1:21:17 GMT -5
“Eboshi Seiichi,”
Above the chilling winds, crackling fire, the echo of her words through the the dome of rock, she called out that snuffed the rest of the world to silence.
“I have not put your character under scrutiny the same as you insist on illustrating mine, but I am growing more inclined to believe I aided the citizens of Taki no Kuni a favor...”
Part of her hesitated, rationale beat in the woman's chest that deigned what she felt was little else than misplaced frustration. Somewhere she concluded that the stress of the other days conflicts and antics had wore on them both, to discard this prattle for the greater goal of working together. Somewhere she found solace that Eboshi could preach as much as he liked, but still knew little of the heart and soul of this leader of Hidden Rock. There was a place in her that pleaded to steer away from what would inevitably spill out into conflict, an ill omen for this exhausted pair.
And it all gave way to the greater part of a woman that quite simply wanted to be out right vindictive.
“I suppose you'll just grab a pen and parchment and beg Youei to return your lands back to you? Pity that your Dragon fellow died to save...” she motioned dismissively at the figure she barely wanted to recognize as a man.
“This...”
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Post by Eboshi Seiichi on Nov 1, 2013 1:40:41 GMT -5
Seiichi froze at her words and he found something stir inside of him. A calculation passed through his head; if he invoked the pearl now, he could turn and throw the spear with enough strength to kill her before an eye could be blinked. But just as Luan had rationale beat inside of her, so did he, and he stayed his hand. His fist clenched tightly around the hard earth so hard that his knuckles burned white.
“Luan,” Seiichi began, his voice slow and strained, but he did not continue. He was struggling with what to say next, struggling not to let his rage control him. Long cracks began to spiderweb up the shaft, and soon the entire weapon crumbled in his grasp. Sorry, Seiryuu.
It didn’t even take a fraction of a second for Seiichi to have Luan in his grasp. Even with a wounded leg, he could produce the strength of the legendary Senin Modo by invoking his pearl. He knew that he’d have less than a minute or so of its power before it waned, but that would hardly be too much time. His good leg kicked off the ground, shattering the stone, and as he passed the fire the shockwave of his movements blew it away.
Embers floated on the cold night wind, which now met no resistance as it washed over the two shinobi. The back of their shelter had been destroyed in a single strike as Seiichi barreled through it, and the debris and dust settled over them, invisible in the night. When the shadow that was Seiichi turned, only his eyes, golden and slitted, were visible.
Pain shot up Seiichi’s left hand, the result of using the dragon pearl and punching straight stone with no resistance. His breath was ragged, his aura sharp, his chakra primed. Forty-five seconds, he thought, but he knew he wouldn’t act again.
“Memento mori,” Seiichi whispered, so low that Luan could have mistaken it for the wind.
And with that the golden eyes disappeared, and the sound of splashing water could be heard as Seiichi moved into the night.
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Post by Yun Luán on Nov 5, 2013 20:16:00 GMT -5
She felt the spike of chakra before her consciousness could digest what had happened, acting on instinct that nearly completed her sidestep before the wind rushed by, the clap of crushing stone, and debris pelted her back. The same instinct ushered her swords to her hands, moving through the night sky hissing as twin serpents while the earthly shelter crumbled into a quiet. Something, words perhaps, danced in her ears just as the wind did, only to be drowned out by the waves yonder and the last cry of defiance as their makeshift retreat rejoined the dust.
His back turned, golden eyes just short of issuing a challenge, she had already played the scenario of striking him down where he stood. His hostilities, the mistrust, she could digest. Invading one's country an in such a scale she had done so, she was under no illusion that they were beholden to be friends. Yet the Yun's rationale dissolved in anger. Where she should have given some pause, perhaps recognition from his strength, only fury coursed through her veins, setting a wildfire of passion that only fueled her vehement distaste for the man.
It would have been a simple thing, she concluded, to snuff his life out with the edge of steel. To lord his head as a trophy in the many list of conquests she had obtained in her short lifetime.
Yet the image of the Dragon's dying request, her promise...if stubbornness was a hallmark of the Yun, as Luan recognized, it was enough to return her blades to her hips, the tremblings rings now silent.
And reluctantly, she followed him into the night, the cool winds beating at them both in the black mouth of the horizon.
What will you do now? She thought, emerald slits pinning to the back of his neck. When the gods are silent and a quill is useless?
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Post by Eboshi Seiichi on Nov 5, 2013 22:32:23 GMT -5
Seiichi moved slowly through the darkness, too tired to take notice of Luan behind him. His leg was screaming and a dull ache had settled in the small of his back. With every step, however, that dull ache became a sharp pain, and it was all he could do not to yell out. But there was something else in his thoughts that ate away at him. Something that he couldn’t ignore, though he tried his best too. It’s like a part of my mind has died.
By instinct alone Seiichi reached out, his hand grabbing hold of one of the massive teeth of Seiryuu’s corpse. His nails dug into it until they cracked and bled, but the pain didn’t register anymore. A void was yawning in his head, sucking up everything he felt. It hurt, or at least it should have hurt, but the nothingness was just pain with a different name.
A cold pulse raced through Seiichi’s body, and his freehand pressed itself to his stomach. He had to bite back the urge to throw up the pearl that had rooted itself to his body. It was dead, and it would suck up his chakra in an effort to live again. Few Eboshi had ever overcome the pain that came with that, but if he retched it up everything he had trained for would be gone. But would this feeling be gone too? Would I be free of this fucking void that is eating me?
There were no answers to be had.
Off in the distance, out of the corner of Seiichi’s eye, a light twinkled. He looked up to it, lost in the tiny glow that threatened to blink out of existence. Another joined it, and with it a sister and a brother and a whole family. A wind swept over the two shinobi as the clouds above were peeled back, and suddenly everything was bathed in the light of a million million stars.
“A queer couple, these two,” a voice called out, thickened by a heavy accent. Seiichi looked down from the sky and to the group standing before him, Luan, and Seiryuu's corpse.
There were a dozen, at least. They were wearing thick furs and carrying spears, tridents, nets, and other objects. Behind them was a large sled with several horse-sized wolfs leashed to it. Seiichi couldn’t pick out any facial features; their furs and skins let only their eyes visible, and those were covered in black visors.
Despite the heavens everyone seemed to float in, an ominous feeling was slowly filling the air. Hostility, Seiichi knew. I’m going to die here. Thank Kami for the mercy.
“What should we do wit’em, boss?” asked a younger voice from the back of the group.
“Kill the man, take the bitch back for some feedin’.”
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Post by Yun Luán on Dec 17, 2013 20:03:54 GMT -5
Though her legendary stubbornness provided no warmth, she mustered enough defiance to will her muscles and chattering teeth to still themselves against the betting cold. Winds that tantalized every inch of delicate flesh only invited more quivers hushed by force of will as she paced at a distance being Seiichi, her eyes set like daggers upon his back through the black of night. She wanted to say something to him, nearly inclined to have the last bitting remark from their squabble from before, but she too was feeling the exhaustion, if not from the heightened awareness that their survival was on the line, but in the realization that Seiichi was as iron-willed as she.
'He'll come around,” she thought triumphantly, feeling much more at ease to fill her mind with assurances as opposed to anything else that would deter from her agenda. Silently ruing the possibility that future conquests would turn out the same way. Seeing exotic lands and people was one thing. This however, was hardly her ideal scenario. The thought surfaced an odd feeling of bitter humor and dread, killed swiftly by the Taki's lord's pause and the twinge of approaching energies felt.
The Tsuchikage spun around, caught like a deer in headlights as bodies seemingly crawled out of the darkness, painting a spotlight upon the Yun, the Dragon's master, and the slain serpent denied a proper burial. Her lip quivered, not in fear, but annoyance, the reluctance of having to deal with more surprises, friend or foe, tore at her patience far more than the less than amicable stares the gathing crowd at offered.
“Eboshi-san,” she began quiety, positioning herself to the Lor'd side as she kept her eyes fixated on the sinister entourage, speaking in hushed tones. “If it is all right with you...I'd like to put our fued on holiday...”
Not bold enough to draw her weapon but certainly not appearing to be easy prey, Luan merely held her hands up apologetically, adopting the most courtly and demure voice she could muster. “Ah, so pleasant to see others. My...friend here and I were stranded, marooned for a lack of a better word.” A warm smile radiated, nearly more luminous than the rays the grouping placed upon the out numbered pair. “We would be eternally grateful if we could have some accommodations and then directions out of this chilling land.”
The noble in her nearly begged for a diplomatic solution, praying that these natives would opt for cooperation opposed to conflict.
The rest of her wished for otherwise...
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Post by Eboshi Seiichi on Feb 26, 2015 22:50:49 GMT -5
There were thirteen men. One of them, a big, burly bastard, let out a haughty laugh when Luan spoke. “She wants us to help’em,” he said. The other men behind him laughed.
Seiichi said nothing. Those that lived in the Land of Salt were not kind people. They preyed on the shipwrecks that came to their shores, and when actual powers came to their few coastal towns, they were never allowed into the heart of the country.
Looking around, Seiichi realized that’s exactly where they were; the lowlands of the Land of Salt. The country, he remembered, was shaped like a crescent, and they were close to the middle.
“Now, little lass, if you would be kind enough to come over here, we could keep ya’ warm for the night,” the burly bastard said. “Of course, we gonna’ be chargin’ a nice fee too.”
Seiichi rubbed his chest gingerly. As he did, something bubbled within him.
“He must live,” Seiryuu said. Or at least, that’s what Luan had told him.
All throughout life Seiichi had learned that in order to grow, others had to be consumed. Many had died as he united the five clans, and many more had fallen in order to keep them together. This was a principle not only inherit in the Shinobi world, but in nature as well—and no ninja were as in tuned with nature as the Eboshi.
The pearl within pulsed. Seiichi’s eyes were gold.
“Luan,” he said, voice low as wind. “The six on the left, if you would.”
As uncharacteristic as Seiichi sounded right now, there was a truth to his words that became suddenly clear as his jian found itself buried six inches into the chest of one of the locales.
Forty seconds. Seiichi rode the man down, one hand wrapped around the handle. Before the others could react, the sword was pulled from the body and slicing the face off another brute.
Thirty-eight seconds. The Dragon’s Eyes noticed the movements in the water. Seiichi ducked, turned, came back up and stepped through the two halves of the brute that had come behind him.
Thirty-five seconds. Like the wind, Seiichi’s sword grazed the throat of yet another bastard. The man stumbled back, seemingly unharmed. Then a red necklace formed at his throat, preluding the sudden gush of blood.
Thirty-one seconds. Seiichi felt good. His anger pushed him on, his despair empowered him, and his pain honed his senses. One of the foolish hunters rose his spear in defense, ignorant to the fact that he had already been disemboweled.
Twenty-seven seconds. One of the survivors had leapt for his sled. As he did, his back exploded not unlike his friend’s throat.
Twenty seconds. The last survivor was the big, burly bastard that had threatened Luan earlier. Seiichi did not attack him. Instead, he let the pearl extinguish itself, and felt the power within him dwindle. He had not used his jutsu to its fullest—if he had, the iota of power it had regained would have died in a single breath. Instead, he simply used it to bring him up to the baseline of his abilities.
Now, he was weak again, and the bastard stood there, staring at him, confused.
“H-how did…”
“Take us to the Bleeder.”
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