[Deleted]

chapter 01. ruination

"You are weak."

It was dim - their abode hidden deep within the leagues of land between places. Akira had been summoned there. He did not know for why, but the fact the Brain and the Harbinger themselves were there did not bode well. Sozin did it immediately and without question. Sozin had split up from Akatsuki for a while, having urgently needed to attend to something under the guise of delivering documents elsewhere for safe keeping purposes.

"You, Sozin, persist for as long as you are useful." The name had come to stuck since he had been communicating as such as the Councilman of Kusagakure.

"Yes." The man corrected. The Harbinger did not take kindly to the interruption to their flow. "If you address or talk another time without speaking, you will suffer consequences." They were stern - unforgiving. They had been doing this for much longer. "Yes, Harbinger. Please forgive this one." Sozin would show deference, his kneeling position had remained as such: in view of divine piety, he had no desire to anger the man with the connection to their irreverent God.

"Your body is sullied. Why?" The Harbinger asked initially. It seemed they knew something that he yet did not. "I was captured, Harbinger." Akira's voice was full of blame of himself, and it caused the Brain to tut. "You are still here..." their voice was almost... forgiving? Sozin could not tell at all.

This had been similar too, when he'd sat in the halls waiting to be judged by Takara - this was certainly more willing and if he ws no longer of use to Akui, his life would be forfeit and that would be it. The power of domination the Harbinger held over the other three - and those of the cult was maddening. But, it was just. It was right: his place was correct for as long as he was required. "If it pleases you, Harbinger." The brain wished to speak, only lightly stepping forward to make themselves known. The Harbinger would gesture with their hands to allow them the floor, but did not step backward or otherwise even provoke the thought that they were relinquishing control by the movement. The Brain however, did step forward - facing diagonally so as to not perceive themselves as ahead of the Harbinger. "I felt my connection weakening to you. This is not unusual... but you remained that way. Were you captured by Jihi?" Sozin thought about the response. "Yes, and no, I was not." Sozin answered both questions in the same breath. I was waiting for a time to regenerate but before I could, someone from my past entered ... the religion was unharmed. They were rogues. They are dead." Sozin gave his honest transcription. "Is this person an issue?" The brain would ask, flitting their look between the Harbinger and Sozin to see if the question was not pushing too far into their own jurisdiction.

Akira shook his head. "No. My mission and our purpose will always remain hidden." silence permeated the room like a rot. The Brain was deferring to the Harbinger to speak but they did not. It was a painful amount of time before the Brain spoke again, having assessed the long silence as permission to continue speaking. "I will be training you, as will the Tongue. If the Harbinger wishes to take over the act, they will." What they hadn't added was that this was at the behest of the Harbinger who continued to stare down at Akira wordlessly.

"I give my life to your servitude, Harbinger as our Lord's shepard." Noticeably not saying it to the Brain, and their face would show a look of anger. But, while the room was dim, it was tense: they did offer an olive branch. "This training is to toughen your soul. You are not mortal, arm. Know your place. To ... the Harbinger." It was almost as though they'd wanted to say something else but remembered their own place. "You will be tortured and we will see you fit to fight for Akui." The Brain stepped forward again - and immediately back when the Harbinger did.

"We are in need of more abominations, so if you find yourself desiring to back out now, this is a good time to do that." The Harbinger offered. "You will wish to forfeit, it will all be over in twenty four hours. Once you accept here, you will not get another chance to do so." It caused Akira to pause, would it truly be that bad? It was only twenty four hours. But, he believed their warning and would persist in spite of it. "...Harbinger, my Lord. I do not accept your mercy and wish to prove myself. I am found willing to serve, and will not be found of wanting."

They would let out a wicked grin. "Away with you." the smirk was still evident on their face, and the Brain would bow to the Harbinger - just as he would, and quickly begin walking away. "Come. Now." And rising to his feet, would leave throughout the way he'd came: down the dark corridor.

---

Minimum turn in date 10/01/2023

[Deleted]

chapter 01. ruination

Dark corridor led to bright room: bright by virtue of the candles, and the wax. It was a large room. If Sozin didn't know any better, since he had not been here previously: it was used to sacrifice people. That was because of the raised platform in the centre of the room, the circle, and the... abominations. They stood in the room, grunting - making their ethereal noises not born of this world. Disgusting, foul creatures found of wanting: and they paid the ultimate price, stewing in their own servitude and poor existence. Sozin willingly followed the Brain.

The Tongue was there, too: and they were as equally equanimous in the moment. Waiting in the centre. This was apparently their training room for the next twenty four hours. There seemed to be nothing to tie him down. "Strip down." Akira was ordered. Which he followed, without a doubt. "I'm glad to see you, little arm." The Tongue spoke salaciously. Pleased to see him - struck down. "If you want, we could fuck? Spend the next 24 hours rolling about the mud?" Their head tilted. By the way they spoke, Sozin couldn't help but feel lit up to their desire. But, it did not excite him: for he knew the Tongue, and knew that it was folly. No such offer had any substance.

Akira did not respond. They made a noise of ... whining? "Shame. Anyways. I'm going to torture - we're going to torture you." Their long fingers would point between the brain and themselves. "The Harbinger has confirmed to the Arm that they cannot back out now. 24 hours will begin. Maybe you'd like to pray to Jihi, arm?" They would speak cruelly, referencing to his past. Akira didn't need to look at their face to know they had spun a wicked grin in their cruelty. Akira shook his head. "No." It was hard to fight back to these two, he was considered the least favoured. But they were four: only the Harbinger truly held rank over them... even if he did feel equal.

He still had learning to do.

The Herald would make his way atop the platform.

They had managed to hide a table though at the foot of one of the corners of the raised altar he found himself on. It was full of all of the tools he would have expected to see. "Where should we start first, mind?" The Tongue spoke. "....Brain." The Brain corrected. The Tongue shrugged their shoulders. Three deviants and their abominations left alone in a room, where could they go wrong?

"Stay standing." The Brain would instruct Akira, and Akira would oblige. They selected an item. That item would be inserted to Akira - not in any natural opening, causing him to breath in deeply, but remain standing. They did it again: only in a different corner. They were really not holding back with the lethality, which he was already wracking himself with pain. And had less than a minute already passed? "If you can't stay standing, we'll set you on fire~" Their voice indicated enjoyment from the procedure. This would be done to all heretics taken alive: those found to refuse the corruption. In the world of Shinobi, many would fall to strong moral guidance. Sometimes with a God: sometimes without. Given that Akira was not fighting back and his only prerogative was to remain standing it was a simple enough task. It hurt like a bitch, it would cause him to draw breath: he was still human, and that was perhaps his own fault.

If he were fighting he knew his functions would shut down. And he'd realised that in this day and night and morning to pass before he was released: that death would come for him. Over and over again. Another stab - this time in one of his lungs, causing him to start having laboured breathing. "Ah ah ah-" Akira was heeled over, but not quite on the floor, bent at the hip. A kick from the behind would cause him to stumble forward and eventually fall - but not without lack of trying.

"...Aw.." They couldn't seem further from sadness if they tried.

Twenty three hours, fifty six minutes to go.

[Deleted]

chapter 01. ruination

Trigger warning: burns, horror, implied harm

SPOILER: Click to show

For what it was worth, they had fulfilled their promise within long. Something had been poured over him - a foul smelling gel or tar like something. That burned, by itself: every time it went over an open wound- it stung. But on top of the wounds he had been caused, his mouth and lungs filling up with blood, his laboured breathing it was only going to get so much worse.

One of the candles would be thrown at Akira's body: and it would set alight. Though he had been at death's door, received a second comeuppance as he began to writhe. Red hot. White hot. Nothing else. Put it out, he thought. His skin was coming off. Noise bufooned from him like a dying animal and it was only met with either laughter or silence - laughter from the tongue, silence from the Brain. It took too long for Sozin to die, everything was alive. On fire. Burning. Things were blackening, but the fire wasn't burning out. Why wasn't it burning out?

There was no way to describe how alive Akira felt. How real he was, how everything was active and working in beautiful harmony to remind him that he was alive and like anything that was alive, how the desire to alleviate its pain was present. It was...horror. Hell on earth and it was so far from over - it wasn't like Yoko, wasn't like poison. No, they had intended on taking every benefit that he received and turned it on his head. By the stench of Akui, gods it reeked: to some deviants, a delectable smell. To Akira: his own nightmare.

He did wonder - how was this supposed to help? Help him? This was morbid. Evil. But he was evil. Maybe he deserved it. It was all with good purpose. So he could be a better servant - but Gods he already wanted it to end. There was no end to it, and it would not take the man long to begin wishing he had taken the easy road.

The flames did eventually run out of tar, leaving back a blackened husk - alive, but wishing it were dead. The noise had stopped, though, he couldn't make anything - but there was movement. "It's alive still." The Brain would comment. "Indeed. Another round of fire?" They wondered with an inquisitive tone. "No." And the Tongue would oblige the intended request, pushing deep into his internal side their own arm - and that would conclude a life.

[Deleted]

chapter 01. ruination

It was a cool and rejuvenating feeling to be brought back. Sozin's body would bring itself to standing as the body rapidly repaired itself - skin knitting together and bringing back its color. An eye returning, from what had been lost. It had been a boon to bring him back to standing - as his muscles tensed and it was uncanny the way he returned back to form. One blink. Back to alive. Currently: he felt great. That would not last for long. "I don't have unlimited favour with Akui. Be qualitative." Akira would ask. The Brain would immediately respond with a devastating kick that would send Akira flying from the arena and into a stone wall, crushing his back against it. "You dare to tell me what to do?" The Brain hissed. Akira would have brought himself to a stand had one of the many abominations not plucked him from the air and thrown him right back into the ring again.

"You had best not die enough, it matters not to me - just don't die, cockroach." The Brain's voice was seriously demented, warped, evil as they hissed: and though they tried to use their dark whispers, it was for naught - they all had it. It would not bother Akira at all as he came to a stand, but would be stopped as the Brain grabbed him by the hair and held him out of the way of being able to stand upright himself.

"You can. I'm not going to offend the Harbinger." The Tongue would not back the Brain up on this - causing a look between them. There was... a definitive power struggle between the two of them, but even Akira wasn't being considered a part of it. That was how full of themselves they were. The Brain dropped Akira, and he would thump against the floor. Still - it wouldn't break him yet for this death and he was a little bit stronger this time around, because in this lit arena room, light breaths of steam would come from his own mouth.

So what else could they come up with? Akira didn't dare dream because that might've made it real. They both stood before him having their own little discussion - but then they turned to face Akira. "My turn..." The Tongue spoke. Again, happy enough. They were truly a fanatic. And - try as he might, Akira tried not to fight back as they beat him up using Taijutsu. His naked body was being bruised away, broken: but right now, it was all internal. This wasn't too bad, though he felt himself numbing, swelling up. He had been beaten up a lot in his life and this was just training right now. But, it was devolving. What were punches were becoming heavy hitting strikes. Until, at some point, Sozin had awoken from a round of trying to see through his swollen cheeks and eyes and bruises to know that he was being held up by two abominations as the Tongue was wailing on him constantly, drawing out breaths, coughs and blood from his body. This was a Taijutsu beating for sure. So many bones inside his body were broken and his breathing had become laboured yet again. Fractures, his jaw was broken - so the only noises he made were garbled messed. The Tongue would take it as an opportunity though to move on to a new area: testing where and how the anatomy of the body worked. That would begin by dislocating his joints.

One by one. And back in again. And then broken: fingers bent back. The damage was certainly accumulating as time went on and while it was primarily blunt in nature, it was still taking a toll of a different kind. Akira had not yet mustered the braveness to fight back yet though he knew it was within his power to...

His mind was being focused on other things. It didn't stop the pain: Akira still felt every bit of it. But there were moments he was able to have clarity. His head bobbing above the waves of a crashing ocean, a breath every once in a while. That was the feeling he would cling to as he was being beat up. And at some point, they'd moved from body to a blunt object: a bat. It was the loss of a couple of teeth and Akira running his tongue inside his mouth to realise they'd gone.

[Deleted]

chapter 01. ruination

OOC Note:
Now that everybody gets the jist about what is going on, I'm going to focus on Akira's responses rather than being unnecessary and adding unnecessarily gory/descriptive horror, and this is a PG13 site.

---

How much time had passed?

Between mental states and awareness, what did it mean to be a Herald - being stripped of humanity but expected to do the bidding as one? It was a difficult state to try and comprehend, and while there were lessons to be learned here about why he was being prolifically harmed by the dark Religion, it was not without cause. Currently, he was averse to logical thinking in response of being over exposed and over stimulated in all the regions in his body lit up like a pain christmas tree.

When you were in the latter half of the pain scale (/10) reason tended to abandon the logical faculties and focused on the desire of wanting it to stop. The need - and when he would think on it in the future, it was the desire that needed to stop. There was purpose behind the choices they were making, even if evil. The need for it to stop: daydreaming about it - and the harm they caused was to try and separate the two.

And truly, because they had time, and they had a body that would not - could not quit, he was the perfect puppet for a sicko's mind. and any machinations they wanted to perform. Whether by curiosity - wonderment of what would hapen if this was done, or that was performed. It was finite though - he could not last forever. A toy that still held a shelf life.

There was development there, slowly. It might have only been a day and growth happened - but trauma was a great teacher for all of the wrong reasons and his mind had long since been separated from his body. It felt similar to lucid dreaming - feeling every bit of it while he just began to respond less and less to it.

But that didn't seem to stop them. "How long have we been...?" The Tongue asked, not that Akira could really hear it, let alone respond to it. "Less than two hours." The Tongue laughed. "Really? It felt longer."

The numerical figure made Akira stir. The what? Noises began to pour of of his body, but even that received harsh disciplinary response: more attacks to him, unrelentless. Still - this body would perish and the point of regeneration happened again. Stronger, harder: the man was taller, more muscular. Steam riding from every breath as he came to a stand. "Ohohooh - he's angry." The Tongue seemed happy with the fact, and it made them even more demented for it. "I'm fine," Akira would spit out - on the floor. Lines were crossing from all over his body, making him very lightly glow - if the room had been darker, his body would have been illuminated in it red. dark, purple, whatever it was: illumination.

"You were ordered by the Harbinger to endure." Akira rose a brow. They said no such thing, he thought to himself. This was training - and yet, Akira had only participated as a doll to be experimented on. The Brain expected deference to them - even though they were equal. Kind of. "What now?" Akira would wonder, standing there as he moved to the middle of the arena. "You stopped responding about half way through, so we have to up your dosage. Take some medicine, it's on the table." Medicine. Akira scoffed, but otherwise did as he was told. It was drugs. It was obvious enough as he took them. The Tongue used poison - obviously. The poisoned used poison. Either through their words or their actual combat abilities.

And he did feel it. And it made him feel great. That was bad. "What is this for?" It had been five minutes since he had taken them. "Oh, nothing special... but it'll stop you from going unconscious! People use it for... staying awake for long period of time? Complex operations? I heard it was used to keep people awake when Shinobi were working on brains." They shrugged. No idea. But, that was very, very bad.

And so they set out on their cruelty again, much to the chagrin of his mind - ignoring any screams and noise that came from him.

[Deleted]

[Post-FTB]

Akira began to stir after a while. "-responding, that's good..." ^{"... working ...."} Noises were in and out of focus, they were ringing. The room was mouldy, stained: disgusting. Abominations- he looked up. Abominations were dead: somehow killed.

How long had it been?

He'd remembered that he had taken drugs. They'd got him to fight, naked. All Taijutsu: which was almost pointless against the Tongue, when he did not have his own weapon. Sure - he was a good Taijutsu fighter. Not as good to someone who spent their time doing it, whereas his own focus had been on the blade. The Tongue was an exceptional opponent.

How many times had it been? In his own consciousness returning, he looked down at his body. It was a picture - he wanted to know where he stood, and lines ran through his body... of what he could see. He was not... whole... steam ran from his breath, more than not. Energy seemed to flow through his body.. and he finally looked up to see the Brain and the Tongue talking to one another. "Welcome back, Sozin!" They waved a weapon in front of Akira, and for a while Akira wondered why they were doing that? That was silly.

Ah, he was dissasociating. "He's out of it still." The enjoyment in their voice seemed to cease. Akira would grab the woman by the throat from the arm and hand that still remained, or what was left of it: grabbed her with what he had left and would throw.

Hard.

It might have just been a simple movement, but the Tongue was light and they would crash against the wall. Like they'd done to him: only, his crater was much larger. If.. yes. Through the wall, spilling over into what was the next room. Akira went to stand and fell forward. That wasn't possible either. Why wasn't it possible?

Akira sighed. Carry on fighting now, you'll regenerate, he thought to himself. Had it been 24 hours yet? "Nine hours, if you're wondering." A voice caused Akira to turn his head, and focus, toward the Brain. It took him a few seconds for the words to register. The Brain didn't look pleased. "Did I do good?"

"Akira. Come on, come out of the little shell. Yoko - that was her name, right? They didn't come out here for nothing... did they?" Akira would confusedly look at them. "Who is Akira?" He spoke with a smile. Confused. "Yoko did what they needed to... for Akui...." Were they trying the mental anguish route now? Had they already?

"You little $&%%*$*£"(&"£&(%"£&(%"£&$((%"&(&" The spew of verbal violence blew from the Tongue as they rushed at the near corpse as they returned through the hole that had been created.

Akira looked down. A hand through his chest?

Oh, good.

He began to regenerate again. Out were the drugs: evaporated from his system. Limbs back. "Get the fuck off me," Sozin was not pleased: ripping the Tongue's hand from them, bending it in the direction it was not supposed to go- and delivering a bone shattering kick. Their- his own eyes blew out with light. An array of blue, or red, or purple: the dark light made it hard to tell as lines illuminated all across him as though the gates had broken free, the Bijuu released or a new level of darkness had been attained?

Sozin wiped himself down. "The training is over." The Brain would interject "The Harbing-" "Said absolutely nothing, look-" Sozin pointed at the wall. The Harbinger stood there, watching, from where the Tongue had been flown through. "Harbinger, may this one leave? Our outcome was achieved," The Harbinger did not respond. They walked away from it - out of view. The Brain turned back smugly. "You inferior thing," They were powerful in their own right as the noise inside Sozin's mind grew to a deafening scream and he began to claw at his own head. New pain. A different kind of pain. 'you are inferior to me, worthless nothing, ingrateful sinner, heretic' all manner of vile words were thrown at him, and the Brain began to also attack Sozin, in response causing the man to swing back: the air was so sharp around his attacks. So strong. The Brain would, dodge out of the way and step back.

They looked alarmed. The Brain looked at the Tongue, who looked back at the Brain.

Had they forgot what they were instilling into the Arm? The Herald of bidding? The harbinger of death? The doer of evil?

Sozin rushed at the Brain - and went from swing to down into a bow as the door they'd come from creaked open, and it was the Harbinger. The other two did as well. They had disappeared, only to take the correct opening rather than the incorrect one.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}Add any jutsu, relevant information here

[Deleted]

"Stand." The Harbinger's voice left no room for disagreement, and they would begin to approach and the three of them filed into single line as though they were a platoon for inspection. "Are you trained, Akira?" Sozin would try not to outwardly react but that had been the second time he'd been called Akira. Why? Given the Harbinger had stopped in front of Sozin, "Brain?" They looked to them for an answer. "He stopped responding to stimuli somewhere an hour ago. No matter what we did." Whether it had been disassociation or if he really had blacked out. "Was the Arm still fighting?" The Tongue, who had been doing the doing, would respond. "For a while. We moved on to the next stage but it didn't last very long."

"You didn't answer me, Arm." The Harbinger was stood in front of the Tongue but their focus was on the one to the side: him. "If this one believes so, Harbinger." They stared. "His training is not complete" "-Silence." The Harbinger hissed. They were growing more angry with the petulant children they managed - their testy natures were why they had been chosen, but that it was not without angst at times.

"Your training is useless if you cannot fight. Stay alive." The Harbinger left. It left the three of them - Akira was already channelling his anger toward the Tongue and the Brain. "You heard the Harbinger. Arm, you can leave if you beat the Tongue. I mean, you won't. Don't die, you haven't got much favor left." They were being dismissive yet again. "If the Tongue doesn't have you, then we can see about dishing you some actual work." The Tongue wouldn't wait to deliver a knee right into Akira's body, sending him flying up into the air.

But, some clicks were clicking - and somehow, Sozin found himself in darkness.

---

"Wake up."

Sozin stirred. Akira stirred. Which?

He came to view with himself.



The oranged haired man wasn't happy to be there. Was this a representation of himself - a way to understand what was going on? This certainly wasn't real on any account.

"You're using my fucking memories, imitating me, and yet you aren't even a good copy." The orange haired man snarled at Sozin. "We weren't like that. Did you forget that you converted to the inferior brother?" Sozin smiled all too sweetly at the oranged haired man. "Didja forget you got the Steam from me?" "We got the steam from Kokuo-" "And Kokuo was using us-" Were they already going to come to blows already? The oranged haired one stepped forward. So did the brown haired one.

"You're Sozin-" The one known as 'Sozin' grabbed the Akira by the neck. It was Akira's turn to hiss at the other Akira. "I'm Akira, you fuckwit. The one that wouldn't give over so easy - Sozin is dead, the moment Yoko put poison in them. You're the inferior that gave himself for a girl, and you couldn't even get into your own heaven. Pathetic." "For the girl we love-" "You shut your fucking mouth. It's bad enough you share some sort of space in my mind. I needed your memories, I don't need you." Sozin spat down on the floor at him, throwing himself away. They would push the man away. "That's it? We come back again and somehow you're just fine? You could barely fucking walk, you saw Akatsuki and nearly shit your pants. Jihi forbid you actually run into someone else important lest you implode!" Akira didn't like the way that Akira was speaking to Akira.

"Do I look like a god myself you ... shit?" So-Akira would gesture to his own body. "I was happy being dead, but yet I am here. Get over yourself you self righteous fuck, stop pretending like you weren't out for yourself. You were jealous. You were vain. You were too proud and you got us killed. You weren't out for your own village, you weren't out for Taki, or Kyoko, or even Yoko! At least I have the balls to not pretend to care!"

"Except for when you do, hey? How's that time with Akatsuki doing? Doing some real good converting, aren'tcha? Before you go riding me for my choices let's not forget what a wonderful time you're having trying to bring everyone else down with your evil shit." The pointing and the gesturing between the two was interesting. But - they had somehow come to an agreement not to touch each other physically and they mirrored one another in the way they held their postures, because... well. They were one and the same.

"I have the decency to accept that I'm evil, I can't say the same for you -" "You're evil now are you? We killed people before you were ever in my view. How many times did we wonder if we were or not? Just because you add manipulation on top of the murder doesn't make you any fucking better than me, Akira, because you somehow learned to admit it. You can admit you're a piece of shit to me, but don't let our God hear you." The orange haired man snarled as he pointed upward.

Even if he was having an imaginative conversation with himself as his body was trying to process learning and making the connection between who he was - and who he had become. So-Kira did not respond, instead letting Akira continue with his point. "I liked the version of you that had integrity. You aren't me. You're just the thing brought back with my name."

"I liked the version of you that was a pushover with that pussy Jihi, because then you wouldn't be saying this shit." They were both still witty though, apparently. "Yeah, well this pushover is getting his ass kicked. Why don't you go focus on that for a minute, or are you still too busy shadow boxing your memories, your majesty?" The orange haired one did a faux bow.

SPOILER: Click to show

Confusing TL;DR
you ac
"Akira" as mentioned in the dream sequence is the original.
"Sozin" is the 'now' version.

If you're getting confused with the switching of the names here and there, that means it's doing its job of confusing the reader of who is who (spoiler alert: same person)

Second note: "don't let our god hear you" - referencing that still in the here and now, he's still being manipulated so even in an imagined conversation, he's still loyal.

[Deleted]

[the final fight]

Sozin would fall down, and inevitably that would lead to the Tongue's next battery; keeping Sozin in the air and not even able to get a second moment in edgeways. Up, down: grabbed, slammed. It was relentless, knowing that his body was strong right now - Sozin just wished he had a weapon.

It hurt.

Something broke.

Was that a rib?

Sozin was able to get a block in from a kick by the Tongue, and sending him instead spinning across the floor. One of the abominations had come across - creatures of want, and Sozin would turn onto his back: as the abomination attacked, he blocked, grabbed the arms and pulled it into him: legs into its mid section, sending it flying toward the Tongue only to be killed as it split in half from an attack of sorts. Up Sozin got, with no time to compose himself before they got into it. Sozin was not the greatest Taijutsu fighter, but when one's abilities multiplicated the way they did - his speed and dexterity was all he needed. The adrenaline pumped through his body harder than it ever had before, and it wasn't even making a dent through what should have killed him.

---

"Give him a left, Akira." Akira still held his arms crossed. "Get the fuck out of my mind. I'm busy." "It's our mind. After this conversation, I won't be cropping up again. This is just a formality. A function of your mind being the broken little thing it is."

"If you're going to say something, at least let it be intelligent than reductive. 'Give him a left' be useful. Not sarcastic. We don't have any time for that." "You're right. What do we have time for?" "It doesn't escape me that this is the best time to learn about me and yet you're making stupid little thoughts? Akui save me," Akira thought to himself. "Don't you mean Jih-" "I don't mean Jihi you heretic," So what were they there for? Sitting in silence? Akira's eyebrows would furrow - "We don't do that anymore." Sozin would re confirm. "Yes, I know. I'm not you. I'm me. You don't like tea. Besides, you can't have a monopoly on 'eyebrow stress'."

Sozin would sigh. "So we're both me. Don't you have anything important to actually bring to our attention? Yes. I'm Akira. I know that. I didn't take our memories, they returned to us, but the connection is back." Akira would sigh and shrug his shoulders in response. "I'm an extension of your imagination. I don't know more than you. But, we do remember our past. How are you gonna' deal with the future?"

"Well. We can start by accepting who we are? We were morally grey, and now we're... morally dark?" Sozin would put a finger to his chin. So would Akira. "Leave Akatsuki alone?" "Can't do that." "Good try though." "Yeah."

"But more importantly, you're still you - so where does whatever you are start and Akira end?" "That's a large yen question we don't know how to answer." "Are you capable of good?" Akira would ask. "Is that a trick question?" "I know we love what we do. I'm asking about actually good things. You know, help old people across the street." "We didn't fucking do that in Iwagakure either, Akira. Don't patronise me."

The orange haired man would pull up some of his other memories. "At the Academy... other villages... you fought for injustice. You didn't always do the right thing but you didn't do explicitly wrong things. You fought injustice" "Now that's where I know you're a liar." Sozin wagged his finger.

A memory shifted to being in their apartment, taking down notes. Notes of Suikazura's splitting technique. "You did everything in the interest of your own betterment. We only took on a team to become a Jonin and couldn't shake them. Don't try to pretend you did everything in the interest of good." Sozin was chastising him for himself and his own actions. "I do good things." "I did better things when I followed Jihi." "You prayed at a temple?" "I would have done more. Could have." "Yeah, the only selfless thing you did was take a shot for someone who would've survived with an automatic sand shield." "You remember what reflexes are, right? You're ignoring the point." "Yeah well, you're being biased and you're stupid and died a stupid death."

There was definitely an internal struggle as they spoke. So many caveats: nuances, points of view - realities and understandings, and yet it was only from the confines of the beliefs he held there in that moment. It was the merging of the past and the present to become what would be his future.

"What next?" The original asked.

"We live. I try to not get us killed. I show them all the truth. The world will know us. One day. I feel things on the horizon." "I suppose you will, won't you?"

"We will." "We will."

[Deleted]

The Tongue was reincarnated again. Their poison grew stronger. It was murky around them, even as their own body began to twist and contort to the forms of a monster. It was not unlike his own, where Sozin grew stronger and larger in the reflection of their god's true strength, the Tongue's... tongue would reflect the nastiness and vile nature of word in the way their appearance reflected their boon.

They were crazy. Much more sinister than Akira himself: and they had been fighting for a time. Without his own weapon, he was struggling.

"He is a sickness." The Brain affirmed, in the Tongue's corner. It seemed to enrage Akira, being viewed as lesser than. For no other reason: they were equal in the eyes of the Lord and the Harbinger. "Deal with the inconsequential rat," They were urging the Tongue to beat the Arm back into obscurity. It was in the way they spoke about him that bothered him so. As though he were the scum off their own boot - like the people they converted. Like those in wanting. The poison being exuded though was making Akira woozy. It was attacking his own skin in some way as well. It burned. In his eyes, his fingertips: everywhere. And he was right in the middle of it, he would be given no chance because the Tongue's onslaught was relentless in their kicks and punches. They were better than Akira in the art of hand to hand and although Akira was still delivering strong strikes, he was being technically humiliated. Had it been with a weapon he would have done so much better.

So while he traded blow for blow, managed to hurt - it wasn't before long that Akira was simply on his knees, breathing in the poison which was getting into his bloodstream. The Tongue on the other hand had lost all will to be joyful as they used the opportunity to continue just beating him. But, what wasn't the poison: was Akira still fighting. It might've been pointless but over time, the poison had been wearing him down.

"Get. Fucking. DOWN!" Had it not been the act physically removing his ability to respond he would have continued attacking. The pain was... inconsequential now. And Akira passed. Yet again. The change from here was palpable, while the Tongue wanted to give no opportunity - their own blood messing around the floor, they would try to take the attempt to end the fight there by doing a heinous act, and grabbed Akira's knife.

But before they could reach the table - Akira was regenerating. They would speed up, hasting to return to his returned body: and would lose an arm for it. He ... had come to a stand. Alive. Body on fire - not literally but an expression of the energy that flowed through his body.

Oh, a truly wicked grin: as they grabbed the tongue and spun them about their body, removing the weapon from them. Now.... Now Sozin had it. "I'll show you.... your own hubris."

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[Deleted]

Akira was at a point, difficult to handle. Weapon in hand, try as they might: but given the state he was in himself: drew blood from the Tongue rather quickly. They'd tried to flick blood in his eyes, tried to get it in him, on him any way possible. But, their technical capabilities were being removed as they spoke. Yes, the poison was a difficulty: but he bought himself a bit of time.

The knife that he'd been using - he ripped and sliced, using it exactly how he'd designed it to. It was hard to kill one of the Heralds. Akira was counting on it. "I am NOT your slave," Akira would remind them. His voice loud, his actions bold: his body perfect and untouched, but the bite of the poison was working its way at his body.

Akira scored a lucky shot and it caused the Tongue to falter back, clutching at their stomach area: they were about to die. Not that they wouldn't return. He would hit the Tongue by the butt of the hilt.

"Stop- STOP, I'M TELLING YOU-" Akira kept on pummelling. The Tongue fell and died, and Akira straddled atop the Tongue, forgoing the weapon: they wouldn't dare produce more poison. But, it would grow more toxic and he was right in the epicentre of it.

Grabbed the Tongue's head with his own two hands, and began to rock it back and forth against the hard rock. The Brain stood back - still. But, where they had been still before: Akira had been too in his own attacks to notice they had moved several yards back, retreating from the arm. That was even further than the distance the Tongue's powers reached. The way the poison was exuming into the air... Akira didn't care.

His own body was falling apart, the poison clung to him like a disease in the way his body was just pushing through the pain. It stimulated him: and though he knew he had succeeded yet again in causing a death because the Tongue began to regenerate, regrowing where the head had previously been, he pinned the being down at the throat - his own body falling apart by the poison eating away at his body. Raw, unbridled fury: screams of death. He had been through this with a Bijuu. He had been through it all this time and he persevered, body alight with energy - he had never been this far in and he was SO alive.

And... he kept attacking. Body falling apart or not.

The calls of the Brain telling them to come to an end, for the Arm to obey - and it fell on death ears. Their dark whispers projecting it right into the heart of his soul and brain: and all others, except the Harbinger. The abominations were scrawling around in pain, and it didn't deter him: if anything, it would exacerbate his haste and cause him to go faster. There was nothing there at the time, though the Tongue was trying to regenerate, would have no opportunity as Akira screamed and continued obliterating what was left of it.

And eventually, Akira would stand up.

So much poison.

So much pain.

But his eyes were alight with fury as he turned his attention toward the Brain, and began walking.

The poison had subsided: in his body, but he would finally take a breath. He had been holding it for some time. Not enough to be free of its affects, but enough that he was going to kick the absolute piss out of the brain.

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[Deleted]

"I have someone I need to get back to." Akira stood by the Brain's side. They weren't looking at one another, and the quiet was so loud. "If you command me for anything again, I will turn your body to dust." Akira would warn him. The Brain thought about responding - to degrade Akira. But, they caught Akira's gaze from the side, and the way Akira was looking at him.

Eyes so wide. So much white. You'd have thought the heralds would have seen horror, but never upon their own doorstep. The Tongue had regenerated by this point, and they were sat up, watching the exchange take place. "I am equal," Akira hissed. He would turn, a quarter step: and to the Tongue. "I am equal," his voice grated from the back of his throat as it was growled out.

His voice was deep, low, growling: loud for their room - even the abominations had grown silent. This was the time for him to assert his own authority. "You are in my domain, for as long as the Harbinger is not here. You are my equal, for as long as you breathe. If you so much as think otherwise, you will regret it. You may be the Harbinger's advisor, but I am his arms. Whisper your little wretched thoughts to them, and I will be the arm to guide you from this world." Akira wanted to defeat any future plot here and now.

And by that purpose, by the hand he picked up the knife with: departed the Brain's jaw from their body, only revealing a slit of screams that would come out awkwardly in part of the lack of noise making faculties. Akira would look up, and again: it was the Harbinger. The Brain kept making their noises, and from afar the Tongue would also get down into a bow. "Are you trying to murder my Advisor, arm?" They asked, putting their own hand onto Akira's shoulder. Akira averted his eyes, downward. Completely diffused by the Harbinger on account of their authority. "No, Harbinger."

"Then what were you doing?"

"Fighting as you decreed, Harbinger." "Are you my advisor?" "No, Harbinger." "Then you know your place?" "...Yes, Harbinger?" "Why did you delay your response?" "We are all beneath our Lord, Harbinger." The Harbinger would stop to consider Akira's words, and then began to cackle. "You're correct."

Even though it was tense, Akira knew what was up. Though they hadn't directly disapproved, it was a reminder. Though Akira wanted to ask a question, he remembered what he had been told - and dared not speak without a question from the Harbinger. The Harbinger examined the room from their position in front of Akira. They examined the Tongue from afar. The Brain, whom had been receding their noises until it was a very quiet drone. "They did exactly what I told them to do, Arm. I see it worked..." Akira didn't respond: not a question. Again, the Harbinger grinned. "Do you remember who you are?"

"Yes." Their grin grew wretched still. They did turn around - allowing Akira the freedom of movement again. "You are not less favoured, but remind yourself, you are just as unimportant as the Brain and the Tongue. Obey." They would state, one final turn to the room. "Begone. All of you."

Though the three remaining ones couldn't have known it: the Harbinger could influence them against their own will. And they had. And what they wanted, made it so. It was so. "Yes Harbinger," the three (well, two) of them responded, with the third merely making a noise.

Akira began to fetch his clothes, the power of his body receding. Slowly: it would take time. His clothes came back on... and he would leave. "Ah." Akira would stop, before he left: and would kill the Brain - letting them regenerate. He waited for the thing to return. "Just so we're clear. The Harbinger did not dissent. Don't forget my threats. If you think to reveal who I am to anybody for your little machinnations, this will be the first place I return to. Don't put our Lord's plans at risk." He pointed the knife at the Brain.

It hadn't yet been twelve hours: and he left the temple.

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[Deleted]

Once the stress had run off, and by stress - Akira had left the temple and began to run back toward Frost Country. Though he would eventually settle into a jog later, he was currently moving at a pace befitting of his current abilities at the time. About an hour would pass - a great distance had already been put in his rear view.

And that was there, he would have an opportunity in the morning to actually process what had happened. It was a barely reaching sun coming from the clouds. And he would seat himself against a tree trunk, much how he would... he was still in Nohara no Kuni right? His breathing began to labour as he began to think about it all - it was so much information. So many things that he hadn't fully comprehended. Before he knew it, he was hyperventilating. Was this a panic attack?

Heralds didn't have panic attacks. No - it could not be so.

He was dead, he'd been dead - he'd died again - how? There were too many questions. And, for about another hour, Akira remained paralysed there, letting the cold get to him as he shrivelled into himself. It wasn't just the remembering either, he had the memories, why was he unable to know? There was so much happening behind the scenes. But he knew. Akira felt so numb, and that was moving onto the second part. Eventually, he came to a stand - he needed to get to Akatsuki and know she was OK. In a sea of his misgivings, one good thing he could do was to see her through.

The pain he'd been in - they had been exceptional. Whatever the weather, they had managed to get underneath the skin, with a knowledge that seemed otherworldly to bring him at a constant barrage of pain. It might've only been nine hours, but for him - he really thought it had been days. In the way he had been kept down, kept alive: and pushed to the absolute limits of human durability. There was no way to describe the level of pain he had felt other than wishing through thousands of times that he had died.

Right now - he was emotionally exhausted. Numb. There would be a time for him to work through his emotions, bit by bit. Right now, he had to be Sozin. There were things to do, he had to serve Akui. That much he believed was right even in spite of his own feelings. Sozin started off in a walk, and then a sped up pace; eventually to a jog. Cognitive thoughts were coming back. Humanity was returning, albeit, in a new way.

He needed to write a letter. Then he'd be on his way.

[fin]

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