tab Her eyes, they gave off a familiar look. His fists would ball up and he'd bite back anger. For his families sake he needed to cool it. Plus, she wasn't exactly wrong. Kiichi had bartered with Isao, not Takumi. He stared back, listening to her words, and nodding along. With the last of the words she spoke to him, something seemed to click, a spark echoed through his mind. Gears in his head would start to turn, and he'd start to say something. But in the end he kept his trap shut. He didn't want to get all of them in trouble. Kiichi's ears flicked when he heard he'd be pawned off to Isao, they seemed like the only personable person around. Though he wasn't too sure about Junpei. Hadn't met him yet. He didn't like that he also called him, 'Loud One.' "Oi, I don't need any rest! Just show me where me and mine will be stayin'." He'd follow along, through the inn and into their new home.
tab He scanned the common area, dust thick upon the furniture. There was a kitchen nook too, and a bathroom so already their digs were better then Arashi. "Honestly, I was expecting worse. Anyway, you can just take me to a market." Then Isao's display, it caused the cat to cringe away a little bit. "I'm sure it'll be funnier next time. But uh, we'll take what we can get. Fish, veggies, meat, potatoes. We've been on the road for a good chunk of our lives so there's not a lot we won't eat." There was no time to be the angsty a*****e, this stuff was important to their survival as a family.
N E K O N O K A M I เน T O M O โฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌ Rogue | D Rank | CP:400 | SP:300
Now he had a name to put to that grim face. He was starting to build an idea of the person behind those demonic eyes. Takumi was easily the most dangerous person he had met. Zealotry didn't leave much opening for an angle to play. Right now the best he could work on was staying useful, staying alive. Maybe an opportunity to come out ahead would present itself but it was unlikely to come at her expense. No it was more likely that it would manifest in the chaos these cultists seemed intent on unleashing on the lands. There were more important things for Tomo to worry about now but he never was able to help himself from scheming.
"Tomo's the name. The scaredy cat is Fuku and the loud one Kiichi." He introduced his kin by the traits that were most apparent. Takumi warned him about Kiichi's behaviour, of course he knew all that but it wasn't like he had much control over his cousin. It was honestly a miracle he had kept that boy from getting himself in too much trouble for this long. "Kiichi is... very passionate. I've found it's best to direct that fire rather than try and snuff it out. Give him a task and he'll prove his worth. " He answered her warning as if it was no big deal. After all it was only a matter of life or death...
The group continued on their path through the city. Tomo had no idea where they were headed but he took the opportunity to get a bit of a feel for the Jashinist enclave. While it didn't seem overtly different to any other city there was a certain feeling hanging heavy in the air. It was thick with the oppression of religious law. Not to mention the smell. Even without his animalistic senses it would have been hard to miss. This place stank of death. It was as if the very pavings on the street had been flooded with blood. From what he was gathering of the Jashinists he didn't doubt that was a very real possibility. The threat of being sacrificed to their god had been thrown around enough that he believed it. between the feel about this place and Takumi's silent shadow looming about it was hard even for Tomo to keep his cool. He couldn't get a read on the other cultist, there was nothing to decipher, they simply acted like a well trained pet acting only on their master's orders.
The normally care free feline was trapped in a bad situation. His survival instinct screamed for him to grab his family and run. It was far too late for that now. He buried those thoughts and concerns, there was little he could do to change things and broadcasting his misgivings about the situation to the world would only worsen things. Besides, there was a certain thrill to this dangerous situation, a certain familiarity. He chose to focus on that instead. The strangely comforting nostalgia. It was as if he was a young lad on the road with his family again, not knowing what threat lay around the corner.
โI suppose you are wondering why I brought you with us, child.โ
" Well it had crossed my mind..."
Tomo's ever mischievous grin had returned. Concerns over his family's safety were pushed from his mind for now. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious as to what the cultist's plans were. " I'm all ears and at your service. I am rather fond of being alive after all... "
pyrategross
Brooy
Eifer
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Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2021 11:38 am
Quote:
ใ Junpei
Junpei wasn't sure what to make of the little cat. He was clearly an opportunist and not a devotee of Jashin, though it seemed Takumi could find some use for them. He wasn't sure it wasn't just as sacrifices, but it wasn't the kind of thing he would question their leader about, either. "Market's on the backside of the inn. Look out the window." Outside of it would be a series of stands with goods. People spoke fairly quietly below, reverent about the return of the group and probably seeking to overhear anything from the group of them inside the inn. "Keep an ear out for Takumi. She will make it clear when she wants something from you."
With that, he turned and looked at Isao, wondering when Takumi would next expect something of them. And there was a question sitting on the tip of his tongue about why the cats felt escaping with the Jashinists was the right move for them, but he wasn't sure how to phrase it.
N E K O N O K A M I โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ F U K U
When addressed by the lady in charge, Fuku couldn't muster words. So, she nodded a hundred times to show she had heard Takumi's order and would so as she said! But when she insisted Tomo to go with her and Kiichi with the other two, the little lady started gnawing on her bottom lip nervously. Her troublemaking cousin patted her on the shoulder, giving words of encouragement. Fuku felt like crying, getting the hint they had maybe fallen into a bad situation. But, in times like this when her cousin's golden eyes got serious, Fuku knew she had to put in the extra effort to stay calm and trust her instincts. "Tomo," she whimpered in their native tongue, ears down and tail between her legs as he walked away with that woman and a scary looking one-eyed man. Then, Kiichi was chaperoned off as well with a pair of lively cultists. "K-Kiichi," she cried softly as she was left alone with the Tabe, who laid down on the ground.
With an uneasy gulp, she watched the girl close her eyes and breathe. Stay calm and play doctor. Make yourself useful, Fuku and don't get sacrificed! "That's it. In.... and out. In.... and out," Fuku breathed with her, waiting for the herbs to settle her stomach. "Feeling better? Try sitting up and taking a sip of normal water," Fuku asked after some time, thinking Tabe should be good now. "What do you think? Want to try walking to your home? We'll take breaks often so vertigo don't set in again, nyah?" she suggested, offering an encouraging smile not sure how a girl in a death cult would react to being taken care of...
โMost people are.โ Takumi answered flatly. โIt is human nature to be afraid of the unknown, and there is nothing less understood than death. It is because of this fear that people strive to carve a name for themselves in this world, in the hopes that others will remember them while they pass on to the next. To create some kind of permanent legacy in this ever changing world. Truly, to live in the hearts and minds of others is immortality. Or so people have said.โ The Kaguya cultist finally lead Saiko and Tomo up to the spire that stood tall in the middle of Milos. The three of them were barred entrance by two, rather heavy looking wooden doors. โI think such a goal is short minded.โ She stopped to turn back to her followers. โLegacies fade in time, even the Kage die to the shadows. The only thing inevitable in mortal life is the meeting of a mortal end, child.โ
She paused for a moment before pushing the doors open with her good arm, the wood groaning as it moved. The inside of the spire was dark, lit up only by runes. These runes travelled up the walls as far as the eye could see, glowing with a dull blue light. Takumi led the two of them up a set of stairs. They spiraled up through the tower, protruding from the walls without so much as a handle for support. At a certain, dizzying height it would become apparent that a single careless step would send most to their demise. Still, Takumi moved forward along these stairs, her path unwavering. โAs followers of Jashin, we see a lot of death. Both at our hands and at the hands of our enemies. You will soon find, child, that the only way to stave off death is to worship it. Do as Lord Jashin commands and you will have no reason to fear death. Because the only thing worse than death is to avert your eyes to it. Look straight at the people you kill, and never take your eyes off of them for a second. And never forget them, because I promise that theyโll never forget you. And only once you are able to look death directly will you be granted true immortality.โ
N E K O N O K A M I เน T O M O โฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌโฌ Rogue | D Rank | CP:400 | SP:300
Tomo could smell a sermon coming from a mile away. In his youth he had become quite adept at dodging the teachings of his clanโs religion. The gods and their games were not something he ever particularly took interest in, it wasnโt that he was a non-believer it was more a matter of such things being beyond his influence. In his eyes there was little to gain from trying to appease the whims of unforgiving gods, especially a pantheon as neglectful as his familyโs own. However, this was one sermon he would pay attention to. The curious cat knew precious little about his host and her beliefs, even less about this death god Jashin. He couldnโt help but find some truth in her words, they oddly mirrored his own views on foolish obsession with station and legacy. The fall of his once proud clan had shown him what such ideals brought and unlike many of his fellow clan members Tomo had no desire to reclaim what was lost.
โOddly enough I canโt help but agree. I enjoy this game of life but thatโs all it is, a game. One Iโll eventually lose, we all do. Iโve more concern for my time in this world than what I leave behind.โ He paused his musings for a moment to take in the sight of the massive spire before them. Takumi led the way and he followed behind, drinking in the endless rows of glowing runes marching off into the shadows above. He couldnโt help but wonder how many outsiders had seen what he was seeing now.
As they made their way through those dizzying spiralling heights the zealot continued her preaching. Tomo was all ears, not even the precarious nature of the ever-shrinking staircase and growing void could steal away his attention. He moved upwards with all the unconcerned grace of the animal he shared the features of. โIโve witnessed my fair share of death, though no doubt that pales in comparison to your own experiencesโฆ"His comment was no attempt to stroke the cultists ego, he truly believed she was beyond the reach of such tactics. It was a simple statement of facts. Takumi spoke with the words of someone with an intimate relationship with death. "You see my clan, the Nekonokami were the kind of people you spoke of. Obsessed with their legacy and the clanโs station. All that earned us was the contempt of our neighbours. Our legacy was war, one we lost. My clan is all but dead and our gods did nothing to stop it. Something tells me your godโs promises donโt ring nearly as hollow. I can get behind the absolute truth of death, itโs one of the few things I do believe in. Besides am I not already staring death in the face throwing in with you lot?โ He couldn't help but bare that ever playful grin in accompaniment to his last comment. He knew he was gambling with his life by engaging with these cultists but there was a thrill in playing those odds that he craved. Besides, the bigger the risk the bigger the pay off.
tab When he was told to look out the window, Kiichi took himself over there and peeked on through. It didn't look too bad, had the basics they'd need to keep full and healthy bellies. "Right, the crazy cat lady?" He'd joke a bit, trying to cut the tension in the air, its what came natural to him. "I-I mean, I...I..." Though his realization prompted a gut worry in him, he hadn't meant to make that joke. All of a sudden the weight of it all was on his shoulders. "Look I didn't mean that." His fists were clenched, held to his sides, before he plopped his rear on one of the beds. "I know what you're thinking, why the hell did I think this was such a good idea. Honestly it wasn't, I knew it then and there, back in the temple. I hated Arashi and I hate it here. I hate it anywhere else but home. But the only choice I had was getting those two off that damn falling rock." Tears were in his eyes, threatening to fall, but his face was stone cold, and they had an icey look to them.
tab"But there's nothing you Jashinists could do that's any worse than what we've been through all our lives. Plus, if you knocked a major village out of the sky, then I knew who I should be watching and learning from. I didn't wanna be a stupid Ninja and I definitely didn't wanna be a police officer. I just want to march back home, and murder every single one of the Inu Clan. I would slit their throats as they lay sleeping in their beds. I mean all of them, women and children. The pain I feel in my heart, for those I've lost. The childhood I lost, to a constant game of cat and mouse on the road. All the times I've had to look over my shoulder for on of those b*****d dogs and his lackeys. Aside from a handful of cousins, we are all that's left of my clan. So I took the risk, all for a chance at some power I may or may not be able to glean from the work I do for you cultists. Selfish, I know. Maybe I'm crazy, that I'd risk my family for that. But I've had to do whatever it's taken to get this far alone..." The tears had dried up, and he stared a hole through Junpei. He didn't care what his response might be, he could call him a fool or an idiot. It didn't matter. It didn't change their current situation one bit, how the cultist might feel about the loud mouthed Kiichi.
โIndeed.โ Once the trio reached the top, Takumi stopped just before a set of doors. These doors were made of the same glowing stone as the inside of the tower and designed with circular, looping patterns and runes. โI see that my teachings fall upon a knowledgeable mind. I have the feeling that you will not take long to fit in here, child. But by throwing in with us, as you say, you must remember. We are not immune to the tides of war ourselves. We fight our own war for our own goals. And I would be remiss if I said I didnโt enjoy the thrill.โ Takumi let out a grunt of discomfort as the ever encroaching stone on her arm covered up another inch of her limb. โNow come, we have work to do.โ
Takumi opened the rune-covered door and led Saiko and Tomo inside the auditorium. It was large, large enough to contain many small buildings. However, despite its size, it was only occupied by six people. Takumi and her group, two men (one younger with piercings and one older, dressed in regal attire), and a woman with red hair. Behind them all was a giant red crystal that hovered over a chasm that stretched down into infinite darkness.
โTook you long enough.โ Said the woman, glaring daggers at Takumi as she clenched her fists. โDo you know how long weโve been waiting for you?โ
โShe was probably too busy playing with her dolls!โ The younger man taunted, sneering specifically at Saiko.
โBrother, sister.โ Takumi nodded to them, ignoring their taunts and jabs, before turning to the older man. โPraetor Amalthus.โ She focused on the older man, who quietly nodded his head at her.
โIโm glad to see you and your group back, Takumi. And you even brought us new blood.โ The Praetor gave Tomo a piercing look around Takumi, but continued speaking. โOur goal of obtaining the Bijuu to summon our Lord Jashin is all the closer thanks to you three siblings and your followers.โ The Praetor spread his arms wide above his head, in a way that gestured to the glowing crystal behind him. โAnd a good thing that you all have returned, just in time for me to blessed with the gift of knowledge.โ
Takumi rose an eyebrow out of interest but said nothing. โIt turns out that Evergreen and her chosen champion has been purifying the Bijuu in a futile attempt to keep them away from Jashinโs influence. After your attack on Arashigakure, he has called for a summit of the Kage in his castle in the Lightning Country.โ Even in the dull lighting of the room, it would be obvious to see the Praetorโs face twist into a gruesome smile. โWhy should we squander a blessing from our Lord to annihilate those heathens all at once?โ
โIf that is the case, then I would request to hold on to Saiko for a little longer.โ Takumi finally spoke up. โHe carries to powers of the Bijuu we have obtained already. If we are to fight the chosen champion of Evergreen, then we will probably need all we can get. As well asโฆโ She paused, revealing her stone covered arm to the room. โThe blasted squid cursed my arm to stone and soon it will curse me as well.โ
โYouโre such a wuss Takumi.โ The red headed woman snapped as she stomped her way over to her. โHere.โ Was all she said before striking at Takumiโs with a blindingly fast punch and quick burst of explosive chakra. Takumiโs stone arm shattered in the explosion, sending small chunks of stone skittering along the floor. โThere. Problem solved. Donโt worry, itโll grow back.โ
As if on cue, bone burst from the stump of Takumiโs wound. It was quickly followed by tendrils of muscle before being covered in heavily tattoed skin. โItโs probably weird to say, but I think I liked the old one better.โ Takumi said, unbothered, which resulted in a scoff from her sister. โIf that is all, then we shall be on our way. Saiko, Tomo.โ Takumi made a motion with her new arm, indicating for them to follow. โI will see you at the Citadel, brother, sister.โ
Isao sighed. It was a long, noisy, and well overdue sigh. "Oh, the drama." Tears needlessly spent over the dead. It was perhaps too soon to offer a consoling word about the truth of death, rebirth, and the goal that was "inshou". Besides. Isao didn't feel appropriately dressed to play his soothing monk exterior. โSlit throats as they sleep? Now that selfish and no fun. Save any hope of showing some altruism with a quick death for the starving, the needy, and the recluse holyperson who all relies on your charity. You gotta' let those puppies suffer a little. Make them suffer for being stinky, dirty dogs if you absolutely loath them that much!" He turned up his nose to the very idea of slitting throats in another's sleep. It was boring. Tasteless. Anyone who hangs out with Jashinsts, he thought, should be more creative than that. Isao wordlessly passes a snotty look to his oni companion before another thought had the monk biting his lip and talking again. โ Eh. Backtracking," He adds. His voice creaking behind uncertainty. "When I said 'charity' I mean the charity of the everyday sort. I'm not saying go and kill the holy-people." Even as he was embellishing clarity on his own advice, through Isao's firm prodding at the details he could still hear how he was sounding absolutely backwards in regard to the conventional jashinist. What was said was said. He meant it. But he preferred swaying the topic to poke at someone else.
โ By the way," A devious smirk crossing his face. "Takumi is absolutely a cat lady and she knows it!" He scowled and paused to carefully part his hair out of his eye. It might have been an unusual sight for the third eye to blink and roll before he could finally replace the horned headband. โ Pff. I am so sick of sand." He could only bring himself to sigh. Once morel, Isao was looking a lot like a two-eyed nobody who gave another glance to Kichi. A hard glance. A hard glance where he couldn't help but furrow his brow and suddenly stomp toward the young feline. He raised his arm up and forward. Palm flat and held firm to about the height of Kichi's person. "No." Isao sounds, teetering into the doldrums of denial as he stopped squarely before the boy. Isao firmly held and shifted his arm upright between himself and Kichi. "No!" The boy was taller. Kichi was taller. "UGH!" The monk wails through an exasperated sigh, waving his sullied sleeves, and turns back to the towering Oni. "No! Why! He's taller than me too! Ugh! I thought I was just seeing things at first and calling s**t out of habit! But now I'm certain he's a whole 10 centimeters taller than me!" Instead of throwing a fit in front of the new kid, Isao huffs bitterly and holds his arms out to Junpei. "Carry me. Please," he pleaded. Bestowing two glorified puppy-dog eyes up to Junpei. "I despise the whole world but you in it makes this immortality livable." He pursed his lips into a grumpy pout. "I used to be worshipped, cat boy! Worshipped! Enlightened in a past life, they said! Isao laments over his shoulder not once turning from Junpei. "But what did I do in a past life to be shorter than a teenage boy?"
ooc: In Junpei's arms, Isao would be dead weight upon the oni's chest....
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ghostfinch
pyrategross
Roy-schach
Quote:
Wind & Fire โฑ Genjutsuโ Master of Deception โฑScholarโ Infinite Perception โฑBloodline โ Blood Knight
โข Magician Performer - Maestro : Magicians may pay 10 less chakra for genjutsu they successfully activate using misdirection. โข Magician Performer - Virtuoso : Magicians may apply 2 genjutsu with 1 activation so long as both genjutsu are used with misdirection.
โข Bard, Spoken Word 1: Genjutsu โข Bard Maestro Word 2: Ninjutsu: Wind โข Bard Virtuoso: Bards become capable of shortening their performances into very simple and almost non-performance. Allowing them to speak simply and plainly should they wish or simply make noises akin to what they want to do to use jutsu from their spoken word. The time for jutsu to form is still the same amount of time for doing hand seals.
Posted: Fri Jul 16, 2021 4:14 pm
Quote:
ใ Junpei
Junpei felt uncompelled by the cat boy's reasoning. Still, an uncomfortable feeling uncurled in his chest as he tried to rationalize why he didn't like the little one's speech. It seemed like a misguided approach to being welcomed into Jashin's eternal fold, but Junpei realized that he felt his reasons were the same. Coming to Jashinism was to save him from his loneliness; he hadn't belonged until he had found those that were tied to him through blood and faith, something he'd never known before Takumi.
He pointedly refused to dwell on it.
He accepted Isao into his arms and a small smile flickered across his face despite his best attempts to stamp it down. He loved the sound of Isao's voice, even when the man was petulant and pouting. His heart melted as Isao's casual confessions of love and it kept Junpei tied to the group as a whole, kept him grounded in this life and whatever lives came next. "If a little worshipping is all you're missing out on..." he intoned suggestively, looking over Isao's form with a gaze heavy enough to be an actual touch. "Anyone would kill to be like you, beloved. You are the item of our envy." He held Isao firmly and looked to him like the most precious thing he'd ever handled.
"But if I'm not mistaken, we need to make our leave. We have spent enough time settling back in here in Milos."
tab Isao's sigh, prompted the cat boy to turn from them and growl out of annoyance. Kiichi hated that feeling of being judged, though he needed it more than he realized. And at first he thought he was being lectured to by the short priest. Then the realization hit, and a Cheshire cat grin spread across his face. "Suffer they will, I promise you that much. I gotta get more creative than that, but I was mainly uh making a point. I have plans for how I'll murder the dirty dog bastards." Isao thankfully had the poor cat smiling at the least, and the revelation about Takumi prompted a snort. "Well maybe that's why we're alive then."
tab Kiichi watched as he seemed to stare right through him, all of a sudden. The short three eyed guy, seemed to be analyzing him. The stomp made him jump, ears flicking, the fur on his tail standing straight up, making it look poofed out a bit. Then the Priest compared their heights and Kiichi relaxed. Just being in the Holy City of the Jashinists kept him on edge. His mental breakdown, prompted a nervous chuckle, the boy scratching the back of his head. "I can barely tell, if it means much? Aaaah I'm sorry..." Isao seemed pretty upset and aside from their quirks the Priest had been nice to him, so Kiichi felt a little bad. Though its not like he could control his height. A yawn would break free and Junpei would console his whiney partner, Kiichi took note of their closeness, it was almost cute if they hadn't have been psychotic cultists. "Well, I think I'm gonna get some rest, then try and head out and train. You guys don't know anyone proficient with the Particle style, do you?" It'd be his final question to the pair before he'd wave them off and curl up in his bunk.
A black vortex of chakra appeared in the holy city, Milos. Within moments of the vortex appearing, so would three of the jashinists; Isao, Junpei, and Saiko. Upon appearing, Saiko immediately stepped forward in front of the other jashinists. He would then bite his thumb before forming a few handseals. At the completion of his handseals, Saiko would press his palm against the earth. Plumes of smoke appeared on either said of him to reveal the rest of the jashinists; Takumi, Tabe, and of course Mr Meowgi. With the summoning completed, Saiko would step to the side of everyone else to await what Takumi had to say.
Pre-Summoning Tabe now stood still once more, the woman...the Tanikage taunted her. However Tabe wasn't sure she knew exactly what she was taunting her for. The little jashinist girl growled at Usagi. "You know nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing nothing." She repeated and swung her arms around almost as if throwing a tantrum. She was in a bad position, sure she could keep fighting however now she risked dying in a way that she didn't want to die. Jashin's favor was all she wished for, and by no means did she doubt her own abilities. No, instead she now was simply wary of the other person's abilities. If it came down to it...she knew what she had to do. No more games, she would have to even the odds. Killing the others aside from the Kage to distress her and then taking out the Kage. That was the best plan, and she would do it even if she had to die to do it. "If I'm going to die, I'll die how I want. How Jashin wants..." She said with a pause, chakra bursting forth from another part of her body. Another gate suddenly opening within the little girl. "Not throu-" And before she could even finish her sentence she would be gone. A burst of smoke exploding from where she had been once before.
Post Summoning. As Tabe appeared she had been mid-sentence. "ough, your disgust..." She soon realized she was no longer in the room with the others. And unlike what one might have expected she breathed a sigh of relief. It was over, however she knew there was a new problem. "Guys, the Tanikage lady seems to know how to reverse your immortality. And she had this real scary looking demon spirit thing that tried to pull my soul out and eat it. I didn't like that, I have to die in a way that will let me become one with Lord Jashin...not with my soul eaten."
Time. If there was one thing members of this faith had, it was time. Time to prepare, time to reflect. Time to perform the duties required of them by their Lord. Takumi, since the Citadel, had been using such a gap in time to do just that. The battle against the shinobi had been difficult for her, even more than she had anticipated. So she, and presumably others of her group, had been training. Praying. Reaching out to Jashin for some kind of answers. Takumi specifically was given a task of interest. During her fight, the woman had sealed away the Sentinel Spirit used by Lord Hyuuga. It was a curious thing, powered by the very essence of Evergreen. Most of her time had been spent analyzing it, attuning herself with it, becoming familiar with the way that the energy of the goddess moved. Like becoming one with the flow of a river. It perplexed her at first. The power given to her by Jashin was usually vast, overwhelming, like a storm at sea. But the power Evergreen gaveโฆ was like a clear day on the ocean, peaceful but no less powerful.
It wouldnโt take Takumi long after that to learn how to harness it, however. Power was power, after all. Even if it was from a different divinity. It was a tool, something the woman could use to reverse Kenshinโs purification of the Bijuu. Takumi would be lying if she said she was thrilled about even converting Evergreenโs power. But she reminded herself that adaptability was what human beings did best. If it gave her an advantage at the end of the day, then so be it. Once she felt the power of Evergreen mixing alongside the power of Jashin within her, she finally left her meditation chamber. The stone door opened up for Takumi with a thud, giving her access to the rest of the Spire.
โI assume the processes went well.โ Takumi turned to look at the speaker. Praetor Amalthus was the first to greet her, garbed in his usual ornate robes. He seemed orderly, but something about the way he wrung his hands together betrayed his nervousness.
โIt went fine.โ Takumi paid him no more attention than she needed to as she continued walking. She had used her time wisely, but she didnโt want to waste another second. The woman reached for a hook, grabbing her jacket from where it was hanging, and slipped it onto her shoulders. โBring me Saiko. There is work to be done.โ Her order was carried out within the instant, as she hadnโt taken more than a dozen steps before her requisition was fulfilled. Her doll was brought before her, right where he belonged. โI am going to draw the Jinchuriki to me, as thereโs no time to waste hunting them down one at a time. I will be going alone, but I will be taking what is mine first.โ Takumi pulled out the red crystal from her pocket, the jewel shining blood red as it resonated with the demonic energy within Saiko. Even with just the few theyโd managed to capture, the energy levels were astounding. But it wasnโt enough.
Wordlessly, Takumi thrust her hand into Saikoโs chest, just inches from his heart. Then, just as methodically, she removed her hand along with the dollโs own crystal. The container for the demonic energy, with all of its power, was in her palm. Blood splattered along the stone floor but Takumi paid it no mind as she turned away from Saiko. โBringing the energy we have now, with proper preparation, will call upon the nine Jinchuriki. They wonโt be able to resist it.โ Takumi knelt down as Mr. Meowgi rubbed along her shins, running her hand along the catโs back before she picked him up. โGather the rest, send them out to other areas as a distraction. Iโll bring the demons to Gengechisou Fault myself, and I donโt want any interruptions. Understood?โ Amalthus just nodded. By design, the man was the true leader of Milos. But even he had to respect power when he saw it, which gave Takumi more than enough comfort in giving him orders. With her purpose clear, Takumi left the Spire, to set the next part of Jashinโs will into action.
