Continuation to the IBC series. Enjoy I suppose. .-.
Riku couldn?t remember the last time that he smiled... he couldn?t remember the last time any joy was found in his now melancholy heart, painted the darkest shade of black and locked in a diminutive, lightless room. When was the last time that he had grinned? Not the fake grin that he gave at Tenzu or Reaver?s ill-humored, often having something to do with blood in Reaver?s case, jokes. A true, genuine smile, even a smirk, a sneer... anything.
Perhaps it had been those few weeks ago before he had joined them, during Tenzu?s genjutsu. He could remember his smile as he reached for Reina?s hand, and from then on, he wore a permanent frown, or an indifferent look, a distant one, as if the life had been sucked right out of him. He felt as though someone had reached into his chest and grasped his heart, and slowly they were pulling it out.
However, for some odd reason, he liked this.
Feelings of joy were replaced by logic, and as far as logic goes, he was in perfect condition right now. Surrounded by powerful allies and pitiful enemies. Fighting with the side that would definitely prevail, as Tenzu said, it was only a matter of time.
The opening of a grand doorway awoke Riku from his thoughts, bringing him back to Earth. Through it, two men of similar bodily stature walked in, both with their hoods tucked over their heads. One was Tenzu, his sharingan, showing from behind his hood, clarifying that much. The other was the leader of Akatsuki, walking through the door with reddish orbs for eyes as well.
Riku looked around him, seeing that there were only a few others in attendance. Reaver sat at one corner, holding his chin in his hand, the one without claws on it, with his elbow on the table in front of them. The only others were Fumio, finally returning to the spire after capturing Kirabi, and Ryuu, one of his two giant swords on the table in front of him as he sharpened it.
The room they were in was more like a hallway. There were two long tables on either side of it, and in between there was a path, on which their leader walked on when Tenzu branched off to take a seat near Riku. At the opposite end of the path from the doorway, there was a giant map of the world as far as Akatsuki had discovered it. It was much more detailed than the map in Konoha?s war room, with many notable landmarks, likely places that they were planning to set bases up at later on, named.
A day earlier, their leader had announced the ?Akatsuki Crusade,? the name jokingly given by Reaver. He summarized that there were too many enemies to fight while using only this stronghold, and so this would turn into a war. Villages would be captured in Akatsuki?s name and leaders will die and be replaced by some of the top members of the organization. Konoha had already begun attacking, and so the time for secrecy has been passed.
And the time for conquest had come.
Their leader began speaking, standing in the middle of the room on the pathway, ?Tenzu and Riku, you know what to do, correct??
The two looked at each other, and then gave slight nods, and then he continued, ?Reaver? Ryuu??
Reaver gave a half-nod, half-shrug in response, while Ryuu, ever the serious type, gave a heavy nod.
?Alright then...? he said, as all in the room stood up, ?Let our campaign begin.?
When in two different places, when kilometers away from another person, do you both still see the same moon at night? Are you both still looking at the same things in the sky? Reina couldn?t believe that, she knew that wherever he was, he was seeing a different moon.
Her moon was light silver, glimmering in the night. It held hope; it was symbolic of showing that even in utter darkness, light never completely goes out. Her moon was surrounded by far away stars that supported it, the allies of light that helped it stay.
She wondered what moon Riku was seeing, only kilometers away. His moon was scarlet red. His moon looked like a ball that had been dropped in an ocean blood. His moon was the symbol of all that is evil; it said that when darkness rises, it is replaced only with bloodshed.
Reina turned around, standing outside of Konoha?s gate, to see Raiden walking up behind her, ?Hey, you should get some sleep. We?re leaving tomorrow.?
Reina looked up at the moon once more, trying to envision Riku?s moon, and then looked back to Raiden and nodded, ?Yeah... ok,? she replied.
They were going for a rather simple mission tomorrow, but with big purpose. They had to go
to the Water Country, considering that, though it was one of the Five Great Nations, it was very distant from the others, being an island, and inform them of Akatsuki?s actions.
Reina walked past Raiden without another word, and he stared after her, helplessly.
All he could do was hope that they didn?t run into Riku any time soon.
Reina was right?Riku was seeing a different moon. He looked up, using his elbows to perch the upper-half of his body up while the lower half sat on the grassy plains, staring at the moon. He looked at it closely, at the scarlet moon. Was it simply his perception that changed, was this simply symbolic of his way of perceiving everything? Or was it more? Was the world slowly becoming Akatsuki?s?
Would everyone, someday, be staring at this same red moon?
They were on a wide, grassy plain. Tenzu had gone ahead to scout, saying that he?d move more easily on his own, and saying that Riku looked like he needed some rest. The plains were more like highlands though. The area sloped down greatly and a small village was at the foot of it?where Tenzu had gone ahead to scout. It wasn?t worth attacking, Riku already knew, though. He would likely steal some supplies and they?d be on their way.
Riku sat for a long while, deep in thought and then reached on the back of his neck, pulling off the rope-necklace that was tied around it. He stared at the gem on it for a long while, the ruby color of it gleaming brightly, in the palm of his hand. This and Soul Eater... they were not just tools, not just items for him to use at his convenience?once he figured out what the necklace did anyway?but they were symbols. They were the only thing that tied him to his original life. He looked from the gem to Soul Eater, the blade lying on the ground at his side.
Riku had to wonder what this all meant? Had he sunken or risen? Had he declined to the level that only the worst of scum could attain, or had he taken a great leap upward in life. He couldn?t tell, couldn?t say anything for sure. He looked into the sky, and saw Shinru?s face at the last moments in his life. Saw him falling to the ground, and eventually leaving sight. He stared at the ground for a long while, and in the distance, he could hear Shinru?s screaming.
Riku looked up again, tried to imagine how he felt at that moment, what he saw, what he thought, but he couldn?t see anything, no matter how hard he tried.
All he could see was a scarlet moon, shrouded by crimson clouds.
Sitting Under A Scarlet Moon
Riku couldn?t remember the last time that he smiled... he couldn?t remember the last time any joy was found in his now melancholy heart, painted the darkest shade of black and locked in a diminutive, lightless room. When was the last time that he had grinned? Not the fake grin that he gave at Tenzu or Reaver?s ill-humored, often having something to do with blood in Reaver?s case, jokes. A true, genuine smile, even a smirk, a sneer... anything.
Perhaps it had been those few weeks ago before he had joined them, during Tenzu?s genjutsu. He could remember his smile as he reached for Reina?s hand, and from then on, he wore a permanent frown, or an indifferent look, a distant one, as if the life had been sucked right out of him. He felt as though someone had reached into his chest and grasped his heart, and slowly they were pulling it out.
However, for some odd reason, he liked this.
Feelings of joy were replaced by logic, and as far as logic goes, he was in perfect condition right now. Surrounded by powerful allies and pitiful enemies. Fighting with the side that would definitely prevail, as Tenzu said, it was only a matter of time.
The opening of a grand doorway awoke Riku from his thoughts, bringing him back to Earth. Through it, two men of similar bodily stature walked in, both with their hoods tucked over their heads. One was Tenzu, his sharingan, showing from behind his hood, clarifying that much. The other was the leader of Akatsuki, walking through the door with reddish orbs for eyes as well.
Riku looked around him, seeing that there were only a few others in attendance. Reaver sat at one corner, holding his chin in his hand, the one without claws on it, with his elbow on the table in front of them. The only others were Fumio, finally returning to the spire after capturing Kirabi, and Ryuu, one of his two giant swords on the table in front of him as he sharpened it.
The room they were in was more like a hallway. There were two long tables on either side of it, and in between there was a path, on which their leader walked on when Tenzu branched off to take a seat near Riku. At the opposite end of the path from the doorway, there was a giant map of the world as far as Akatsuki had discovered it. It was much more detailed than the map in Konoha?s war room, with many notable landmarks, likely places that they were planning to set bases up at later on, named.
A day earlier, their leader had announced the ?Akatsuki Crusade,? the name jokingly given by Reaver. He summarized that there were too many enemies to fight while using only this stronghold, and so this would turn into a war. Villages would be captured in Akatsuki?s name and leaders will die and be replaced by some of the top members of the organization. Konoha had already begun attacking, and so the time for secrecy has been passed.
And the time for conquest had come.
Their leader began speaking, standing in the middle of the room on the pathway, ?Tenzu and Riku, you know what to do, correct??
The two looked at each other, and then gave slight nods, and then he continued, ?Reaver? Ryuu??
Reaver gave a half-nod, half-shrug in response, while Ryuu, ever the serious type, gave a heavy nod.
?Alright then...? he said, as all in the room stood up, ?Let our campaign begin.?
~
When in two different places, when kilometers away from another person, do you both still see the same moon at night? Are you both still looking at the same things in the sky? Reina couldn?t believe that, she knew that wherever he was, he was seeing a different moon.
Her moon was light silver, glimmering in the night. It held hope; it was symbolic of showing that even in utter darkness, light never completely goes out. Her moon was surrounded by far away stars that supported it, the allies of light that helped it stay.
She wondered what moon Riku was seeing, only kilometers away. His moon was scarlet red. His moon looked like a ball that had been dropped in an ocean blood. His moon was the symbol of all that is evil; it said that when darkness rises, it is replaced only with bloodshed.
Reina turned around, standing outside of Konoha?s gate, to see Raiden walking up behind her, ?Hey, you should get some sleep. We?re leaving tomorrow.?
Reina looked up at the moon once more, trying to envision Riku?s moon, and then looked back to Raiden and nodded, ?Yeah... ok,? she replied.
They were going for a rather simple mission tomorrow, but with big purpose. They had to go
to the Water Country, considering that, though it was one of the Five Great Nations, it was very distant from the others, being an island, and inform them of Akatsuki?s actions.
Reina walked past Raiden without another word, and he stared after her, helplessly.
All he could do was hope that they didn?t run into Riku any time soon.
~
Reina was right?Riku was seeing a different moon. He looked up, using his elbows to perch the upper-half of his body up while the lower half sat on the grassy plains, staring at the moon. He looked at it closely, at the scarlet moon. Was it simply his perception that changed, was this simply symbolic of his way of perceiving everything? Or was it more? Was the world slowly becoming Akatsuki?s?
Would everyone, someday, be staring at this same red moon?
They were on a wide, grassy plain. Tenzu had gone ahead to scout, saying that he?d move more easily on his own, and saying that Riku looked like he needed some rest. The plains were more like highlands though. The area sloped down greatly and a small village was at the foot of it?where Tenzu had gone ahead to scout. It wasn?t worth attacking, Riku already knew, though. He would likely steal some supplies and they?d be on their way.
Riku sat for a long while, deep in thought and then reached on the back of his neck, pulling off the rope-necklace that was tied around it. He stared at the gem on it for a long while, the ruby color of it gleaming brightly, in the palm of his hand. This and Soul Eater... they were not just tools, not just items for him to use at his convenience?once he figured out what the necklace did anyway?but they were symbols. They were the only thing that tied him to his original life. He looked from the gem to Soul Eater, the blade lying on the ground at his side.
Riku had to wonder what this all meant? Had he sunken or risen? Had he declined to the level that only the worst of scum could attain, or had he taken a great leap upward in life. He couldn?t tell, couldn?t say anything for sure. He looked into the sky, and saw Shinru?s face at the last moments in his life. Saw him falling to the ground, and eventually leaving sight. He stared at the ground for a long while, and in the distance, he could hear Shinru?s screaming.
Riku looked up again, tried to imagine how he felt at that moment, what he saw, what he thought, but he couldn?t see anything, no matter how hard he tried.
All he could see was a scarlet moon, shrouded by crimson clouds.
