Two Crowns [FLASHBACK]

Silence in the water village.

A sound that could only be heard around 3 a.m. every night when everyone from the Kage to the the groundskeepers had retired by then. Only the village guards could be found walking through the streets or guarding the walls of the city. A full moon, how fitting? Gekkido walked into the misty wood wearing a short-sleeve black shirt and matching black pants. The perfect complement to his very white skin, he silently wove in and out of trees until reaching a small patch of land unencumbered by plants. The moon shown quite brilliantly on this small patch within the forest, and it was the reason Gekkido had chosen it for this particular meeting. Weeks ago it’d been revealed that a young girl in kirigakure was found raped and killed outside the village perimeter. The man who had been suspected as a Kaguya, much to the horror of the Kaguya elders. Conspiracies as to the true intent of the Kaguya had increased in volume and intensity the past year or so, and this more than icing on the cake. Finding this kind of behavior not only repulsive in nature, but disloyal and even treacherous, Gekkido had set out to find and kill the fugitive. It was not far away from where he currently stood that he’d found himself hunting the man at that time. Gekkido was stealthily moving about the forest whilst being under a sly genjutsu that made seeing the man nearly impossible. He’d turned around to go home, believing the fugitive to have escaped his chase when he’d heard the sound of wincing. Gekkido turned around and looked up to see the man he’d been chasing leaning against the base of a tree with arms outstretched. Gekkido quickly appeared on the same branch not a full meter away from the man, bones beared. It was then that he suddenly realized that the man was being restrained by some force he could not see.

“Do it,” a voice said to him. Unsure if it were his demons or a real person, he looked around quickly and sharply. Out of the corner of his eye, on a branch slightly above was a young man around his age. Senjiro Nara. He looked into the man’s eyes, shocked that he’d escaped his senses, and even more so that he seemed to share his sense of private justice. It was not law-abiding that Gekkido should be on this mission. His own anger at the damage to his clan’s pride that had occurred at this man’s hands was enough to awaken his bloodlust. Looking in Senjiro’s eyes, a man he knew nothing of, he saw something eerily familiar. Without any questioning, his momentary gaze on Senjiro turned to the fugitive, restricted by his own shadow in a merciless jutsu Gekkido had never seen. There could be heard no cries or whimpers from the man as Gekkido drove his bones in and through his most tender cavities. The first blow was so fast and deafening that life left him instantly. Every thrust into his body afterwards was merely rage coming out. When he finished administering his own sadistic justice, he turned to see the boy Senjiro looking at him with a stare of eerie approval. He could tell the lad was not one to show passionate emotion, Nara’s were rarely emotional people, but Gekkido could sense something emanating from him that came from his soul.

A strange moment indeed, one which Gekkido presently remembered as he stood within the moonlit patch, awaiting a meeting with his new… colleague.

[thats a cool way to introduce our characters. let me know if you have any other ideas about stuff. i like it. a bit random but cool. i hope my post aint so bad ]

Sometime ago Senjiro was made aware of a prowler. One that was lacking in honour and dignity. The despicable act by the assailant left a bitter taste in his mouth. And while justice wasn’t swift, Senjiro was given an opportunity to bring this person to justice. The young man of the nara clan was out and about. This wasn’t the first time that a rape and murder was committed. And the motive, style and general sickening act was familiar. This either had to be one person or multiple persons all in cahoots with each other.

Senjiro narrowed it down to only one person committing the crime. And while it was sporadic based on time frame, it was becoming more frequent. Therefore, he decided to act, taking it upon himself to move about in this moonlit night. The night was dark, and the morning was almost upon them. They often saw that the night was at its darkest at 3 am in the morning. How strange to consider it night when it’s in fact morning?

Senjiro was already tracking the wicked and vile person. His blue hair wasn’t allowed to dance in the moonlight. Such a thing could give away his position. He was close by, knowing exactly who he needed to seek out. In the mean time Senjiro noticed another person on the prowl. A strong looking individual, and soon wondered if he would have to fight this person. Then after some closer observations, the nara noticed that this person was also a tracker. It took a Kai release to undo the curtain that was drawn over the man.

Not that the person being followed noticed what had transpired. Maybe he was far too busy seeking his next victim. Senjiro positioned himself in such a way that the man came to him. The assailant was heading into a trap without even knowing it. The nara used one of his clan’s signature techniques. It was the first one taught to him by his father. He was able to prevent any movements that the hunted may make. By the time the white-haired man appeared before his target. The man was already bounded by the shadow.

Senjiro encouraged the man to end the wicked person’s life. “Do it” was the command as his eyes met that of Gekkido’s. Senjiro felt a certain happiness knowing that the fugitive was about to get what he deserved. ” flawless” he pondered as Gekkido moved in for the kill. Watching the bone wielding man in action, Senjiro confirmed him to be of the Kaguya clan. It was truly amazing seeing such a kekkei genkai in action. Senjiro liked what he saw, so much so that his facial expression was a giveaway.

The life of the murderous fugitive was taken, and Senjiro released his hold on the lifeless body. It felt forward and crashed into the branch before falling to the ground. “Leave him to the wolves?”. The man inquired while dusting his hands off. “I suppose we both accomplished what we set out to do. Though I wonder if it was for the same reasons. Doesn’t matter now, he got what he deserved. I’m Senjiro Nara by the way, and you are?”. He asked with an innocent grin on his face.

The look on Senjiro’s face would be mistaken for innocence to the average observer. To Gekkido, however, it was like looking into the gaze of a serpent. Desires show up in words and appearances, but character in the actions. Senjiro consented to the illegal execution of the criminal whose remains were now spread across the forest floor. He was just as guilty as Gekkido and at this moment they were truly equals because of it. In the middle of the small patch, Gekkido’s purple eyes glowed in the moonlight as his bones returned to inside of his body.

“Gekkido,” he said in a majestic and inviting tone.

He looked at Senjiro curiously for a moment, wondering not so much about who the boy was, but what about him seemed so eerily familiar.
They were three meters apart, the silence of the forest enabling the moment to feel as though time itself stood still. He didn’t normally stick around for long and drawn out conversations with foreigners, but he was in a weird position. If he simply left, than he could be accused of being the lone assailant of this crime by the Nara. If he killed him, well then that would be two illegal deaths on his hands and one of someone outside of his clan. Neither option seemed pleasant, but the latter was too high of a risk, so he went with the former.
Rather than sweet talking, he decided to go a more direct route.

“Here we are,” he grinned.

“Two men who have become criminals because we have killed a criminal.” he paused.

“What a law we live under where such things are accepted. One can’t help but wonder if there exists a better way to live than what our ancestors have accepted for so long.”

Gekkido smiled ominously and looked up to the moon. His thoughts were on something the Nara could not possibly anticipate, but if the conversation continued with enough fluidity, they might indeed be revealed. He had casually planted seeds in order to test the soil. If the Nara turned out to indeed be of a similar mind… well who knows what would happen next?

Senjiro nodded at the sound of Gekkido's name with a soft smile accompanying his acknowledgement. The blue orbs of the young man flickered as his eyelids closed and reopen in what is called a blink. Both men seemed keen on observing each other, carefully sizing each other up. Gekkido spoke up once more bringing a grin to Senjiro's face.

"I think I prefer your more cold and calculated self. Then again this side of you is quite intriguing too, Gekkido. I don't know ya, but I feel like a know ya. In any case I say screw what the ancestors think. Only a few of them ever had any sense to begin with. The rest, well not so much".

He declared while jumping down onto the same branch which Gekkido stood. The Nara managed to keep the same distance of three meters. The young man soon glanced down below at the lifeless body. Blue orbs set upon the frame of Gekkido stood opposite of him. There was a question begging to be asked, but Senjiro refrained from doing so. "What to do about that thing down there?".

Looking around it wouldn't be long before the mist sets in again. They are in Kirigakure after all, as such it come natural to the land. "What we gonna do about that down there?". He finally said while pointing down at the lifeless body. Senjiro figured that the two were now connected if by fate. That much was a certainty.

It was easy math for Gekkido to calculate just how likely it was that he and the Nara would escape this incident without blood on their hands. The major risk was for himself of course. Being a Kaguya, his guilt in the incident would be almost assumed. It really wasn’t that big of a deal for one clansmen to kill another for committing such a crime, but things were more complicated than that at this time. The Kaguya clan were on high watch for threats of treason. The idea of treason is that a clan is essentially taking the law into their own hands. Any sign of this would confirm the suspicions of the elders and mean trouble if not dismissal of the clan from the country. Gekkido could not allow the peace he and others had worked so hard for be shattered over this… animal.
Blackmail perhaps… He began to ponder as to how he would get out of this situation with some leverage. If he told the authorities that he’d had a Nara accomplice his words would fall on deaf ears considering the carnage and the reputation his clan carried. Senjiro could easily lie himself out of this, leaving Gekkido alone to take the blame. He looked up to the moon as his new found friend began light chatter. As the moonlight shown upon him, he was warmed from the inside out by the sensation one feels when a dream of the heart begins to bleed into reality. Unknown to anyone, Gekkido’s dreams involved the moon quite a bit, and everytime he looked up at it a sense of empowerment and inspiration came over him. His feelings were almost celestial in nature, and his rich purple eyes could be seen to almost dazzle and hum as his gaze dropped from the moon back down to Senjiro. In his eyes now was a look of resolve, and in his manner could be seen the majesty of calmness afforded by it.

“Let's cut to the chase, Senjiro. You and I have murdered a man tonight. The reasons for his death will not justify us in the sight of the law. A life for a life; we will either be executed or excommunicated for this act, and we both know this.”
He paused.

“It seems we can walk one of two roads. The first is we can clean this up and hope no one finds out we were here, though we both know others who know of our whereabouts at this time. The man is a fugitive and the authorities are looking, they will want to know what happened to him. In other words this road ends in our banishment once we are found out.
The second road may lead us to the moon.”

Again he paused, this time looking up briefly as a tender grin spread across his face.

“We can run. We become invisible and roam the outskirts of Kirigakure.
You are as dead as I am right now, so I suppose I will let you in on a little secret that I’ve told no living person. I hate this country…

The equality of clans and this pretentious peace sickens me. My people have eaten the scraps of Kirigakure since its inception, cast off as a sub-human breed not capable of humane interaction. The Kaguya possessed greater physical prowess than any living clan and yet we are left out of battles and wars of any real significance. The elders wouldn’t dare give our clan due credit for any monumental victories in this countries history. Ironic don’t you think? Or perhaps you’re unaware… The kaguya are the descendants of the first beings with chakra. Our bloodline is the origin point of all KKG!”

Gekkido’s appearance darkened as a passionate anger emerged and his voice rose in volume.

“The world is the disgusting place it is because those in power have suppressed those that ought to be, and confused them into believing that a system like this is peace. There has never been peace, and there never will be until power is in the hands of those whom it was destined for. I will rule this village one day, Senjiro. I will rule this world.
The Mizukage’s power has made him apathetic to the affairs of the common man, he will not be able to protect this country from what is coming. It is destiny, not misfortune, that brought us here tonight.
I put before you today life and death - which do you choose?”

Senjiro kept his composure throughout, gathering as much information as he possibly could. He was observing Gekkido's every move. The youngster wanted to find out what makes this man tick. The purple gaze of the man held within it a deep desire. Those looks at the moon, the constant basking. And that longing were all triggers and signals. The Nara needed to be careful, otherwise he could end up like the fallen one.

The blue haired teen fell silent now awaiting a response to his question. It was a valid question by any stretch of the imagination. What should they do with the dead body? Leaving it out in the open was a bad idea. The relevant authorities will come across it. And from there comes the numerous investigations. If they were lucky, they would get away squeaky clean. If they turned out to be unlucky, then the worst may be yet to come. There were numerous possibilities to consider, and Senjiro was mulling over each one.

Senjiro now held a blank expression as Gekkido looked at him. The Kaguya clansman had changed, it showed in his mood. "Murder? All I did was stop him moving. You stabbed him". Senjiro thought while listening to Gekkido. This man was clearly looking for an accomplice to share the burden. Senjiro already know ways in which to absolve himself from any crime and punishment. Gekkido on the other hand appeared far more paranoid and ill prepared. This is where having a Nara as a friend comes in handy. They're not all genius Shinobi, but they were considerate in thought. And are usually great problem solvers.

Senjiro listened carefully as Gekkido made a revelation. The statements flowing off his tongue was enough to get one killed. Preventing Gekkido from having his say would be fruitless and ill advised. The blue eyes of Senjiro gazed upon Gekkido with a hint of scepticism. What Gekkido was saying was in fact dangerous and out of this world. Nonetheless this was also a very good opportunity for Senjiro. The Nara waited until the Kaguya clansman finished his rant before breathing a sigh of relief. Things was about to get serious now. Evidence by Senjiro raising his left hand and pointing his left index finger upward.

"One. I murdered no one. This was merely justice, the sooner you see it as such the better it will be. Also no one will be finding out just who killed him. In fact, I am certain that he's been on the hit list for a while now". He stated while obviously now more serious than before. A second finger stood erected next to his index finger. His middle finger to be precise.

"Two. I will be running nowhere with anyone. And as for your plan I have to say it sounds bat shit crazy. That's just my honest opinion on the matter". The Shinobi raised a third finger. This time his ring finger which joined his index and middle fingers erected. He didn't utter the word "three" but fully expected Gekkido to get the gist.

"I can honestly say that I sympathise with your plight. I really do, because my own existence is a curious one. Equally though your plan also sounds incredibly dangerous. Such ideals are those of persons walking a path filled with destruction. At the same time, you seem proud, which is why your current situation is horrible. If there is one thing we can agree on, is that the world is indeed disgusting. But do I care to rule over it? Not really. But, I am not adverse to seeing another person try. Ultimately, we have different ideals, but by traveling the same roads, we might come to accomplished what we set out to do. And as for life and death, I choose neither. I will tag along though Gekkido. Just remember one thing, don't cross me and I won't cross you".

Senjiro managed to say a mouthful but it was warranted. He needed to set the record straight anf allow Gekkido to process it all. He could sense that Gekkido will go out seeking strength and new challenges. The man seemed driven, and so too was Senjiro. But now he had someone around him to motivate him. It was best not to get left behind, or to become too naive. Such things could quickly lead to one's untimely death.

Gekkido listened patiently, not yet having enough regard for the Nara to be offended or take his wisdom to heart per say. He was looking for an accomplice, not a teacher. Seeing that it was the Nara way to be a bit shadowy in the way they went about things, Gekkido thought to add a few words of clarity.

He chuckled for the intro, naturally.

“Pride you say? Are the meek and humble among us so much better off? Don’t be naive Senjiro. Innocence and meekness are the tradeoffs for power in this world.” Gekkido chuckled once more stretching his limbs and looking behind him towards the dark wood leading to the edges of Kirigakure.

“Stay here if you wish, or follow me down the rabbit hole. Whichever you choose, just know that there will be no turning back.”

With that, Gekkido took up to a high branch. He looked up once more to the moon with a small smirk, and then proceeded in the direction of darkness and forest.

Senjiro smiled softly at the words of Gekkido. He could tell that they won't always agree on everything. But they may end up complimenting each other in other aspects. Either way this meeting was turning out to be a fated one. The Nara could not help but agree to such thoughts. From what Senjiro could tell they are both a little naive in thoughts and actions. These difference may come to the fore a lot more often in the future.

The night was at its darkest even with the wonderful light of the moon shining down. They will have to leave the forest behind and embark on a new journey. "Down the rabbit hole it is". he said in reply to Gekkido while following after the man. Whatever happens now, there was now turning back indeed. Senjiro will have to be on his guard at all times. Gekkido was driven, and that focus could only help him in the future too.