Mostly a fill chapter. :| Not a filler, but, you know lol.
Tenzu walked slowly through the long, dark hallway. His arm was extended, and where his hand should have been, his sharp dagger-like blade stuck out of his sleeve, making a shrill metal-against-metal sound. He purposely allowed the blade to slightly cut through the bars, giving the prisoners some sort of desperate hope of escape, only to be reminded that the bars were more for show than to keep them in. Most of the prisoners were skilled ninja, who would be able to devise a plan to escape from simple bars within seconds. But from a powerful shield of pure chakra was totally different. It literally sapped their strength the longer they stayed, taking their ability to use jutsu almost instantly.
He looked up, looking through the large hole in the top of the incomplete Akatsuki spire, the dark walls slowly closing as they went up, but suddenly opening back up where the gap was. Their group had become much less concerned with being inconspicuous due to Tenzu?s powerful genjutsu being able to cover practically anything they ever did, this tower being planned to be numerous meters tall, some rumors spread of those meters instead going up to a single kilometer tall; exaggerations of course, but Tenzu had to wonder by how much. Though Akatsuki had grown less concerned with secrecy, they hadn?t fallen to stupidity. This tower would be practically invisible to all who looked in its direction. In fact, it would be completely invisible, without the dirt below it even seeming to part where the tower was.
Tenzu whistled as he walked through the dark corridor, and finally came upon his favorite prisoner. He looked at him closely. As usual, the man was leaning against the wall with his hands comfortably behind his head and both legs stretched out along the floor, one crossed over the other. Both of his eyes were closed, but it was obvious that he wasn?t anywhere near sleeping.
?You seem to be enjoying this place,? Tenzu said, bending both legs so his eyes were leveled with his prisoner?s. He kicked his foot forward, slipping the small bowl into the prisoner?s cell, as he did with all of the others.
Shinru opened one eye slowly, turning his head slightly to look at Tenzu, then he shrugged, ?People making food for me, no one to look after, got my own cozy little room, what?s not to like??
Tenzu scowled towards him, but being that the hood was pulled over his head, all Shinru could see were his narrowed eyes. Shinru was lying, of course, but he had been in many
tougher situations than this to refrain from losing sanity like most of the other prisoners.
And, of course, Shinru knew that Tenzu always got a kick out of how prisoners groveled for their food. He seemed to like how they longed for their release, a release that anyone in the dreaded spire could tell wasn?t coming. In here, you were either executed, or you were left in here for so long that the cell sucked all of the power out of you. This was a process that took years, the cell sucking enough of your power to make you feel worse by the week, but with you regaining that power from rest and the occasional increase in food, the process took much longer than it should. The maniacal torturers in Akatsuki, of course, preferred this method, especially for such hated prisoners as Shinru. Shinru, unlike the others, refused to give any of the rotten murderers the pleasure of witnessing the same happen to him. Tenzu, and many, if not all, of the other members, seemed more and more angered by it every time they came.
And Shinru so very enjoyed the irony of it all.
Tenzu held his scowl for a moment longer, locking stares with Shinru, who returned the stare with a lazy look. Tenzu seemed as though he wished to execute the man on the spot, but just as he seemed ready to reply, another man walked in. Shinru recognized him immediately?Ryuu. Slumped over his shoulder was another man who Shinru didn?t recognize, another prisoner he guessed.
Tenzu looked towards him and stood up, ?You told me that I might have a bit of fun with him,? Ryuu said, a massive disappointment in his voice.
Tenzu shrugged and reached out for the unconscious body with one arm. Immediately, as if not having to think about it, and without even bothering to carry the body with both hands, Tenzu swung his hand to the side as the man limply flew into the cell across from Shinru?s. From the top of the square opening in the cell, bars shot downwards onto the ground. Shinru, unlike most of the other prisoners, knew about the chakra shield. The bars were simply to trick the prisoners who thought that they were clever enough to eventually get through the bars, only to be blown into misery to find that they had wasted their time once they succeeded, and Shinru witnessed this happen many times. His cell was one of the few with untouched bars, aside from the cuts that Tenzu and some of the others had put in it themselves.
Tenzu turned back towards Ryuu, ?Just the boy?s left, then??
Shinru did well to hide his sparked intrigue when he said that. It was obvious who ?the boy? was. He knew ?the boy? would be hunted more thoroughly now. Shinru hoped that his apprentice had been wise enough to surround himself with allies by now.
Ryuu nodded, ?It?s all your show now.?
Tenzu returned the nod and walked away, slowly fading into a dark void with his arms behind his back as Ryuu stared closely at him as he vanished.
Showtime.
~
Raiden and Reina both walked out of their rather large home together, looking back at it one last time, slightly mourning at the thought of them possibly never seeing it again, even though Konoha wasn?t too far, the reason they were going would probably take them much further.
?Akatsuki?s messed with your life too much, and once is enough for me,? Raiden said, reassuring Reina that they were making the right choice.
She nodded and walked behind him to the gate where Riku and Deirous both impatiently waited, leaning on opposite sides of the gate. Deirous?s head swung back as he looked towards the two, ?Took ya long enough.?
Riku looked back towards Deirous, ?You?re one to talk,? Riku said, reminding him of how long it had taken him to finish packing back in Kumogakure.
?If you guys are done,? Raiden said, looking towards the long path. From where they were, he could see out on the other side of the forest where grassy plains seemed to go on forever, ?then we should get on the road.?
Raiden, seeming as though he just remembered something, looked towards one of the guards near the gate, ?Oh, keep an eye on him,? he said, attempting to avoid any further conversation about Sasuke by branding the man as ?him.?
The guard nodded, ?I?ll do what I can,? he said, knowing that there could only be one possible person who needed to be watched in this very peaceful, save the events of the last few days, village.
Raiden nodded, he couldn?t ask for much more than that. Sasuke could likely defeat Raiden, but Raiden was the only one who not only knew this, but still had the guts to stand up to the dangerous man.
Raiden walked forward and then turned around, shaking his hand out, unraveling the map in his hands, ?Well, we have quite a way to go before Konoha, better get going.?
Riku, Deirous, and Reina all nodded, following. Reina and Raiden looked back on the village several times before they left, trying to keep the image of it in their head.
All of them unaware that they were not only walking towards Konoha, but straight to Tenzu as well.
Chapter 21
Tenzu walked slowly through the long, dark hallway. His arm was extended, and where his hand should have been, his sharp dagger-like blade stuck out of his sleeve, making a shrill metal-against-metal sound. He purposely allowed the blade to slightly cut through the bars, giving the prisoners some sort of desperate hope of escape, only to be reminded that the bars were more for show than to keep them in. Most of the prisoners were skilled ninja, who would be able to devise a plan to escape from simple bars within seconds. But from a powerful shield of pure chakra was totally different. It literally sapped their strength the longer they stayed, taking their ability to use jutsu almost instantly.
He looked up, looking through the large hole in the top of the incomplete Akatsuki spire, the dark walls slowly closing as they went up, but suddenly opening back up where the gap was. Their group had become much less concerned with being inconspicuous due to Tenzu?s powerful genjutsu being able to cover practically anything they ever did, this tower being planned to be numerous meters tall, some rumors spread of those meters instead going up to a single kilometer tall; exaggerations of course, but Tenzu had to wonder by how much. Though Akatsuki had grown less concerned with secrecy, they hadn?t fallen to stupidity. This tower would be practically invisible to all who looked in its direction. In fact, it would be completely invisible, without the dirt below it even seeming to part where the tower was.
Tenzu whistled as he walked through the dark corridor, and finally came upon his favorite prisoner. He looked at him closely. As usual, the man was leaning against the wall with his hands comfortably behind his head and both legs stretched out along the floor, one crossed over the other. Both of his eyes were closed, but it was obvious that he wasn?t anywhere near sleeping.
?You seem to be enjoying this place,? Tenzu said, bending both legs so his eyes were leveled with his prisoner?s. He kicked his foot forward, slipping the small bowl into the prisoner?s cell, as he did with all of the others.
Shinru opened one eye slowly, turning his head slightly to look at Tenzu, then he shrugged, ?People making food for me, no one to look after, got my own cozy little room, what?s not to like??
Tenzu scowled towards him, but being that the hood was pulled over his head, all Shinru could see were his narrowed eyes. Shinru was lying, of course, but he had been in many
tougher situations than this to refrain from losing sanity like most of the other prisoners.
And, of course, Shinru knew that Tenzu always got a kick out of how prisoners groveled for their food. He seemed to like how they longed for their release, a release that anyone in the dreaded spire could tell wasn?t coming. In here, you were either executed, or you were left in here for so long that the cell sucked all of the power out of you. This was a process that took years, the cell sucking enough of your power to make you feel worse by the week, but with you regaining that power from rest and the occasional increase in food, the process took much longer than it should. The maniacal torturers in Akatsuki, of course, preferred this method, especially for such hated prisoners as Shinru. Shinru, unlike the others, refused to give any of the rotten murderers the pleasure of witnessing the same happen to him. Tenzu, and many, if not all, of the other members, seemed more and more angered by it every time they came.
And Shinru so very enjoyed the irony of it all.
Tenzu held his scowl for a moment longer, locking stares with Shinru, who returned the stare with a lazy look. Tenzu seemed as though he wished to execute the man on the spot, but just as he seemed ready to reply, another man walked in. Shinru recognized him immediately?Ryuu. Slumped over his shoulder was another man who Shinru didn?t recognize, another prisoner he guessed.
Tenzu looked towards him and stood up, ?You told me that I might have a bit of fun with him,? Ryuu said, a massive disappointment in his voice.
Tenzu shrugged and reached out for the unconscious body with one arm. Immediately, as if not having to think about it, and without even bothering to carry the body with both hands, Tenzu swung his hand to the side as the man limply flew into the cell across from Shinru?s. From the top of the square opening in the cell, bars shot downwards onto the ground. Shinru, unlike most of the other prisoners, knew about the chakra shield. The bars were simply to trick the prisoners who thought that they were clever enough to eventually get through the bars, only to be blown into misery to find that they had wasted their time once they succeeded, and Shinru witnessed this happen many times. His cell was one of the few with untouched bars, aside from the cuts that Tenzu and some of the others had put in it themselves.
Tenzu turned back towards Ryuu, ?Just the boy?s left, then??
Shinru did well to hide his sparked intrigue when he said that. It was obvious who ?the boy? was. He knew ?the boy? would be hunted more thoroughly now. Shinru hoped that his apprentice had been wise enough to surround himself with allies by now.
Ryuu nodded, ?It?s all your show now.?
Tenzu returned the nod and walked away, slowly fading into a dark void with his arms behind his back as Ryuu stared closely at him as he vanished.
Showtime.
~
Raiden and Reina both walked out of their rather large home together, looking back at it one last time, slightly mourning at the thought of them possibly never seeing it again, even though Konoha wasn?t too far, the reason they were going would probably take them much further.
?Akatsuki?s messed with your life too much, and once is enough for me,? Raiden said, reassuring Reina that they were making the right choice.
She nodded and walked behind him to the gate where Riku and Deirous both impatiently waited, leaning on opposite sides of the gate. Deirous?s head swung back as he looked towards the two, ?Took ya long enough.?
Riku looked back towards Deirous, ?You?re one to talk,? Riku said, reminding him of how long it had taken him to finish packing back in Kumogakure.
?If you guys are done,? Raiden said, looking towards the long path. From where they were, he could see out on the other side of the forest where grassy plains seemed to go on forever, ?then we should get on the road.?
Raiden, seeming as though he just remembered something, looked towards one of the guards near the gate, ?Oh, keep an eye on him,? he said, attempting to avoid any further conversation about Sasuke by branding the man as ?him.?
The guard nodded, ?I?ll do what I can,? he said, knowing that there could only be one possible person who needed to be watched in this very peaceful, save the events of the last few days, village.
Raiden nodded, he couldn?t ask for much more than that. Sasuke could likely defeat Raiden, but Raiden was the only one who not only knew this, but still had the guts to stand up to the dangerous man.
Raiden walked forward and then turned around, shaking his hand out, unraveling the map in his hands, ?Well, we have quite a way to go before Konoha, better get going.?
Riku, Deirous, and Reina all nodded, following. Reina and Raiden looked back on the village several times before they left, trying to keep the image of it in their head.
All of them unaware that they were not only walking towards Konoha, but straight to Tenzu as well.
