KeotsuEclipse
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Keotsu was the first to return from the blackness. His head was throbbing and he could feel the stickiness of the blood that was slowly seeping from wounds on his body. His sight was sketchy – white dots filled the air. There was a terrible ringing in his left ear, and he had a terrible headache.
That was one heck of an explosion.
As his senses returned he examined the aftermath of the event. The chamber was littered with rubble and large stones dislodged by the titanic force. Small fires crackled on the ground, making the room slightly uncomfortable with their scattered heat.
He hoisted himself up from the rubble that surrounded him, small pebbles and amounts of dust streaming off his body as he rose. The first thing he did was to make his way over to Hitoshi and bind his hands behind his back. There was no chance of him waking up, but it would be easier if you couldn’t you his jutsu. One look at the shattered scythe showed that he would not have to worry about the weapon.
He made his way over to Rena, and placed his hands over her chest, radiating chakra into her body the same way that Shizune, Tsunade’s assistant, had showed him to when she taught him his Medical Ninjutsu. After a moment, her wounds were healed and she regained consciousness in a much better state than Keotsu had been, and was in.
He didn’t have to say anything to her, and they both got to work. Rena moved over and started healing Torvald first, the titan of a man having the most wounds, having stepped between the explosion and the smaller Saburo to shield him from the blast. Keotsu was healing Shikamaru, who had entered during the fight to assist Keotsu with the onslaught of elite guards that seemed never ending.
They made slow progress, each having low chakra reserves. They resorted to healing the more serious wounds, and left the more superficial wounds to heal on their own. Saburo had lifted himself from the rubble and had refused healing. Instead, he made sure Hitoshi was still alive, which he was, and restrained him. He wasn’t taking chances with his bounty.
Upon closer inspection, out of sheer curiosity, Keotsu was able to discover why Hitoshi was able to survive such a powerful blast. The bandages that were wrapped around his body were heavily saturated with chakra, and they were used to heal him. Basically, the bandages continued to heal him even as he took damage. Keotsu had heard of a similar thing being done before. Kabuto Yakushi had done a similar thing when he had been hit by a Rasengan by Naruto.
After everyone was healed, the squad (with Torvald hoisting Hitoshi on his shoulders) made their way back out of Copper Hill, which was both easier and more difficult. There were no enemies to fight and there was no need to be stealthy, but the tremors had collapsed several tunnels and they had to backtrack several times to find their way out.
Finally, the light of day kissed at their faces.
Keotsu squinted as the heat and light bombarded him. Their entire operation had taken less than five hours to complete.
They were able to return to town without incident. Apparently, news spread fast. Many of the bandits had packed up and left, while others celebrated. Apparently, the gang’s tattoo was also a kind of seal, one that only Torvald had managed to release.
Asuma decided to wait a few days before returning to Konoha, to let everyone rest up. Saburo was going to tag along, as Konoha was the closest place to turn in Hitoshi and claim his bounty. Torvald was going to come along in hopes of find a quiet place to retire.
The day was uneventful, with Asuma binding Hitoshi with chakra-binding ropes and then throwing him in jail, with Torvald, Saburo, and himself taking shifts in making sure he caused no trouble. Shikamaru slept for the remainder of the day, while Rena went to their room and read a novel she had brought along.
Later that night, Keotsu sat in the hot water of the Inn’s bath. Bubbles slowly rose to the surface as he exhaled. He sat crossed-legged and was meditating, his nose just barely out of the water.
The water was refreshing. It released the tension in his muscles and seeped straight into his bones, reliving him of a large amount of weariness that had set in from lack of a good night’s rest. His hand strayed to an area just above his heart.
The cause of all his unrest.
A small black dot was on his chest right were his heart was. At first, Keotsu had thought nothing of it, shrugging it off as a dark freckle. But, as time progressed, something happened; it morphed.
It had been nearly three months, and it hadn’t evolved any farther than it was now. A comma like crest came close to the circle, caving in almost as if to allow the sphere to fit in the crevice and extended snake like to his shoulder, almost like a wavering flame. Two more of those crests where on the bottom of the sphere, and they extended across his upper chest and down his side, expanding and branching off into other pieces, like some kind of black flame spreading across his chest.
Nobody had seen it. Yet.
He would be found out eventually, he knew.
How it got there, he had no idea. But he knew a few things for certain. Whatever it was, the mark was responsible for his slacking strength and the nightmares he had every night.
And then there was the man. Why had he appeared before him? And why had he tried to kill Keotsu? He didn’t bear the mark of the gang.
Keotsu shuddered. That man seemed to have come from some pit of darkness. That blood red blade…those malevolent eyes…
Keotsu thought back to the fight. The man was evil, that much was certain…But there was more to it than that.
Keotsu would have called the man insane, as he could see the bloodlust in his eyes, feel it radiating from his body. Keotsu had fought him with all he could manage, and the man had just shrugged it off.
The unbridled rage, the tremendous strength, the bloodlust. This man was beyond evil, beyond savage. Something about him…he was the manifestation of something. Some dark force. Was it savagery? Hate?
Keotsu didn’t know, and hoped he wouldn’t ever meet the man and be able to find out.
He let out a sigh from deep within his soul, and leaned back into the water.
He wished the water could cleanse him of all of these troubles as well as it did his aches. He was tired.
Tired of everything.
He leaned back into the water, sinking to bottom, wishing he could just disappear.
Keotsu and Rena walked in silence, Keotsu holding a map in his hands. They had left earlier that morning before anyone else had been awake. Asuma knew they would be leaving, and Keotsu would leave it up to him to explain.
They had left the dusty town behind for a trail leading to the north. They traveled for days upon end, moving at a comfortable pace. Though they had tried, but it seemed impossible to even try and travel faster, the anxiety in their chests building up to where it made it hard for either to exert themselves.
Neither spoke much during the trip. Strangely, Keotsu became aware of Mikomi on his hip. This raised some concern within him, since the blade had always been as light as a feather to him.
After about another week of travel, the duo found themselves in a forest far to the north of where they started their journey.
The canopy above their heads was painted in deep reds, lavish gold, stunning browns, and vivid greens, spreading their colors upon the floor as well, though there was not a sign of life anywhere.
It would have been beautiful, had it not been for the ominous silence. No bird sung, no crickets chirped; there was no rustle of animals trekking through the forest.
The place held death in the air, with even the wind holding its breath, and the trees rigid as stone.
Though they continued to delve deeper into the forest Keotsu didn’t reference the map anymore, as something seemed to be pulling at him, and he knew it would lead him to the place, or thing, that his father wanted him to see.
As they progressed, the space between the trees changed from that natural randomness to a menacing grid-like pattern. No matter where you looked, it was always the same view that seemed to stretch on into eternity.
The farther they went into the grid, the more Keotsu noticed himself taking quick, short breaths as a feeling of panic and claustrophobia set in.
And then, he was running.
He had to escape. It seemed as if everything was closing in on him and that no matter which way he turned, he couldn’t escape.
He barreled onwards, zigzagging though the trees, trying to cut some kind of path that would set him free from their tantalizing grip. Everything was mashing together, with nothing different in any direction.
He let out a yell as he ran forwards, making a break through the grid, trying to escape this prison.
“Keotsu!”
Keotsu awoke gasping for air in Rena’s arms; she was shaking him violently, trying to snap him out of it. He broke down and started to cry in her arms. That was terrible. It was like some kind of torturous prison: the same thing no matter where you looked paired with the absolute silence dwelled into a primal fear in your mind that should never be exposed.
Her face was streaked with tears and red from crying as well.
“Did it get you too…? This place…it isn’t natural. Do you think your dad knew about all this?”
His dad. That’s right, he was looking for something.
He stood up and took a few deep breaths to regain his senses and to release the tightness in his chest, and then focused, feeling for that pull that had been guiding him earlier.
As the pair continued on, Keotsu placed his hand in Rena’s, her reassuring grip made him feel like he could handle whatever was thrown at him.
It came upon them without either ever noticing.
Suddenly, they were inside a cave. The walls of the cavern were perfectly rounded, like some strange sanctuary formed by some higher being. The cave wasn’t very deep; Keotsu could see then back maybe five hundred feet off.
And so they went further in.
“This is it. This is the place Dad sent me to…,” Keotsu said.
He was in awe from the beauty here. Somewhere out of sight, a river flowed and a breeze blew in from off the mountains. In the room of the cavern there was a large hole that opened up to the sky, rimmed with beautiful trees. This place was not ominous…it was almost…perfect. Serene.
What he noticed next, he noticed only because Rena stood by it, unmoving; captivated.
There was a stone pedestal jutting from the wall, unremarkable. It was square with some kind of inscription engraved upon a tablet on its face.
The thing above the pedestal, however, was marvelous.
A necklace floated in the air, casting a faint golden light and giving off the sound of distant chiming bells. It had a golden cylinder bound around a leather strap with a jade stone set in the middle of the golden piece. It was simple, but beautiful, and had a mystical, ancient, and ethereal aura about it.
Was this what his father had led him too?
Keotsu’s hand inched towards the necklace, only to have his wrist seized by Rena’s hand, stopping him inches from the necklace.
The look on her face was fierce and jealous, and then Keotsu realized: the necklace had captivated her. Once her eyes fell upon his face, though, she was returned to reality. She then gingerly laid her hand on top of his.
“Something doesn’t feel right…Something about this necklace is strange…And I can feel…something coming from it. But, whatever it is…I want to face it with you.”
Keotsu smiled at her. That comment hadn’t been brought about from her captivation by the necklace, but by a deep caring for Keotsu.
He nodded, and then gripped the necklace.
A brilliant white light shone, engulfing them both…
That was one heck of an explosion.
As his senses returned he examined the aftermath of the event. The chamber was littered with rubble and large stones dislodged by the titanic force. Small fires crackled on the ground, making the room slightly uncomfortable with their scattered heat.
He hoisted himself up from the rubble that surrounded him, small pebbles and amounts of dust streaming off his body as he rose. The first thing he did was to make his way over to Hitoshi and bind his hands behind his back. There was no chance of him waking up, but it would be easier if you couldn’t you his jutsu. One look at the shattered scythe showed that he would not have to worry about the weapon.
He made his way over to Rena, and placed his hands over her chest, radiating chakra into her body the same way that Shizune, Tsunade’s assistant, had showed him to when she taught him his Medical Ninjutsu. After a moment, her wounds were healed and she regained consciousness in a much better state than Keotsu had been, and was in.
He didn’t have to say anything to her, and they both got to work. Rena moved over and started healing Torvald first, the titan of a man having the most wounds, having stepped between the explosion and the smaller Saburo to shield him from the blast. Keotsu was healing Shikamaru, who had entered during the fight to assist Keotsu with the onslaught of elite guards that seemed never ending.
They made slow progress, each having low chakra reserves. They resorted to healing the more serious wounds, and left the more superficial wounds to heal on their own. Saburo had lifted himself from the rubble and had refused healing. Instead, he made sure Hitoshi was still alive, which he was, and restrained him. He wasn’t taking chances with his bounty.
Upon closer inspection, out of sheer curiosity, Keotsu was able to discover why Hitoshi was able to survive such a powerful blast. The bandages that were wrapped around his body were heavily saturated with chakra, and they were used to heal him. Basically, the bandages continued to heal him even as he took damage. Keotsu had heard of a similar thing being done before. Kabuto Yakushi had done a similar thing when he had been hit by a Rasengan by Naruto.
After everyone was healed, the squad (with Torvald hoisting Hitoshi on his shoulders) made their way back out of Copper Hill, which was both easier and more difficult. There were no enemies to fight and there was no need to be stealthy, but the tremors had collapsed several tunnels and they had to backtrack several times to find their way out.
Finally, the light of day kissed at their faces.
Keotsu squinted as the heat and light bombarded him. Their entire operation had taken less than five hours to complete.
They were able to return to town without incident. Apparently, news spread fast. Many of the bandits had packed up and left, while others celebrated. Apparently, the gang’s tattoo was also a kind of seal, one that only Torvald had managed to release.
Asuma decided to wait a few days before returning to Konoha, to let everyone rest up. Saburo was going to tag along, as Konoha was the closest place to turn in Hitoshi and claim his bounty. Torvald was going to come along in hopes of find a quiet place to retire.
The day was uneventful, with Asuma binding Hitoshi with chakra-binding ropes and then throwing him in jail, with Torvald, Saburo, and himself taking shifts in making sure he caused no trouble. Shikamaru slept for the remainder of the day, while Rena went to their room and read a novel she had brought along.
Later that night, Keotsu sat in the hot water of the Inn’s bath. Bubbles slowly rose to the surface as he exhaled. He sat crossed-legged and was meditating, his nose just barely out of the water.
The water was refreshing. It released the tension in his muscles and seeped straight into his bones, reliving him of a large amount of weariness that had set in from lack of a good night’s rest. His hand strayed to an area just above his heart.
The cause of all his unrest.
A small black dot was on his chest right were his heart was. At first, Keotsu had thought nothing of it, shrugging it off as a dark freckle. But, as time progressed, something happened; it morphed.
It had been nearly three months, and it hadn’t evolved any farther than it was now. A comma like crest came close to the circle, caving in almost as if to allow the sphere to fit in the crevice and extended snake like to his shoulder, almost like a wavering flame. Two more of those crests where on the bottom of the sphere, and they extended across his upper chest and down his side, expanding and branching off into other pieces, like some kind of black flame spreading across his chest.
Nobody had seen it. Yet.
He would be found out eventually, he knew.
How it got there, he had no idea. But he knew a few things for certain. Whatever it was, the mark was responsible for his slacking strength and the nightmares he had every night.
And then there was the man. Why had he appeared before him? And why had he tried to kill Keotsu? He didn’t bear the mark of the gang.
Keotsu shuddered. That man seemed to have come from some pit of darkness. That blood red blade…those malevolent eyes…
Keotsu thought back to the fight. The man was evil, that much was certain…But there was more to it than that.
Keotsu would have called the man insane, as he could see the bloodlust in his eyes, feel it radiating from his body. Keotsu had fought him with all he could manage, and the man had just shrugged it off.
The unbridled rage, the tremendous strength, the bloodlust. This man was beyond evil, beyond savage. Something about him…he was the manifestation of something. Some dark force. Was it savagery? Hate?
Keotsu didn’t know, and hoped he wouldn’t ever meet the man and be able to find out.
He let out a sigh from deep within his soul, and leaned back into the water.
He wished the water could cleanse him of all of these troubles as well as it did his aches. He was tired.
Tired of everything.
He leaned back into the water, sinking to bottom, wishing he could just disappear.
Keotsu and Rena walked in silence, Keotsu holding a map in his hands. They had left earlier that morning before anyone else had been awake. Asuma knew they would be leaving, and Keotsu would leave it up to him to explain.
They had left the dusty town behind for a trail leading to the north. They traveled for days upon end, moving at a comfortable pace. Though they had tried, but it seemed impossible to even try and travel faster, the anxiety in their chests building up to where it made it hard for either to exert themselves.
Neither spoke much during the trip. Strangely, Keotsu became aware of Mikomi on his hip. This raised some concern within him, since the blade had always been as light as a feather to him.
After about another week of travel, the duo found themselves in a forest far to the north of where they started their journey.
The canopy above their heads was painted in deep reds, lavish gold, stunning browns, and vivid greens, spreading their colors upon the floor as well, though there was not a sign of life anywhere.
It would have been beautiful, had it not been for the ominous silence. No bird sung, no crickets chirped; there was no rustle of animals trekking through the forest.
The place held death in the air, with even the wind holding its breath, and the trees rigid as stone.
Though they continued to delve deeper into the forest Keotsu didn’t reference the map anymore, as something seemed to be pulling at him, and he knew it would lead him to the place, or thing, that his father wanted him to see.
As they progressed, the space between the trees changed from that natural randomness to a menacing grid-like pattern. No matter where you looked, it was always the same view that seemed to stretch on into eternity.
The farther they went into the grid, the more Keotsu noticed himself taking quick, short breaths as a feeling of panic and claustrophobia set in.
And then, he was running.
He had to escape. It seemed as if everything was closing in on him and that no matter which way he turned, he couldn’t escape.
He barreled onwards, zigzagging though the trees, trying to cut some kind of path that would set him free from their tantalizing grip. Everything was mashing together, with nothing different in any direction.
He let out a yell as he ran forwards, making a break through the grid, trying to escape this prison.
“Keotsu!”
Keotsu awoke gasping for air in Rena’s arms; she was shaking him violently, trying to snap him out of it. He broke down and started to cry in her arms. That was terrible. It was like some kind of torturous prison: the same thing no matter where you looked paired with the absolute silence dwelled into a primal fear in your mind that should never be exposed.
Her face was streaked with tears and red from crying as well.
“Did it get you too…? This place…it isn’t natural. Do you think your dad knew about all this?”
His dad. That’s right, he was looking for something.
He stood up and took a few deep breaths to regain his senses and to release the tightness in his chest, and then focused, feeling for that pull that had been guiding him earlier.
As the pair continued on, Keotsu placed his hand in Rena’s, her reassuring grip made him feel like he could handle whatever was thrown at him.
It came upon them without either ever noticing.
Suddenly, they were inside a cave. The walls of the cavern were perfectly rounded, like some strange sanctuary formed by some higher being. The cave wasn’t very deep; Keotsu could see then back maybe five hundred feet off.
And so they went further in.
“This is it. This is the place Dad sent me to…,” Keotsu said.
He was in awe from the beauty here. Somewhere out of sight, a river flowed and a breeze blew in from off the mountains. In the room of the cavern there was a large hole that opened up to the sky, rimmed with beautiful trees. This place was not ominous…it was almost…perfect. Serene.
What he noticed next, he noticed only because Rena stood by it, unmoving; captivated.
There was a stone pedestal jutting from the wall, unremarkable. It was square with some kind of inscription engraved upon a tablet on its face.
The thing above the pedestal, however, was marvelous.
A necklace floated in the air, casting a faint golden light and giving off the sound of distant chiming bells. It had a golden cylinder bound around a leather strap with a jade stone set in the middle of the golden piece. It was simple, but beautiful, and had a mystical, ancient, and ethereal aura about it.
Was this what his father had led him too?
Keotsu’s hand inched towards the necklace, only to have his wrist seized by Rena’s hand, stopping him inches from the necklace.
The look on her face was fierce and jealous, and then Keotsu realized: the necklace had captivated her. Once her eyes fell upon his face, though, she was returned to reality. She then gingerly laid her hand on top of his.
“Something doesn’t feel right…Something about this necklace is strange…And I can feel…something coming from it. But, whatever it is…I want to face it with you.”
Keotsu smiled at her. That comment hadn’t been brought about from her captivation by the necklace, but by a deep caring for Keotsu.
He nodded, and then gripped the necklace.
A brilliant white light shone, engulfing them both…
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