[Tateyama Yakitsukeru]

They had already been careful enough to reach the summit. They had been strong enough to face the challenges, including that of that wannabe Manda that they had had to pass on the way here. It was now just a matter of reaching the top and completing the final trial that they would be given. Whatever that was. Earnestly, Yakitsukeru felt confident, even if they weren't likely to live if they failed that just incentivized her to succeed. She could pass anything, and with Mairasu as her companion in this hell yet to bloom then she was certain that nature would bend to them both. That was at least, a front for her nerves. Psyching herself up as they reached the peak, a humanoid figure dressed purely in white smoking a massive pipe staring down at them, his face distinctly cruel and capricious despite its gentle smiling features. Behind him stood not one, but many people the two had or had not met. The sages of the snake that they had so far met, the one's that had been the figures of power in both past and present, or the living ones anyways. A woman dressed purely in red that matched her hair, Mitsuda in the flesh, the strangely sleepy woman they had seen before, Mairasu's original mentor in the ways of nature. All present, yet not. Upon getting close it was clearly a fabrication, a mirage of smoke from the smiling sage. Getting within distance that she didn't guess, but felt, she was supposed to stop at she bowed to the 'man'. She recognized this figure if only from lore and warning of this moment from Mitsuda, though this wasn't even the sage's real body at all. A pull like a dragging sensation found her no longer where she was, but in the main cavern of Ryuchi cave, a place that she realized now they had been directly above only moments ago. She had assumed the cave was in Hi no Kuni, and perhaps it was there as well as here? She recognized nothing here, but she didn't dare lift her head from the bow before she was spoken to. Until they were both addressed by the titan of a serpent that they found themselves before. "You both have managed the tasssk put before you, a wonderful ssscene for one of my age. Entertainment isss hard to come by without my sssagesss providing me with new ssstimuli. I have, in that regard raisssed many sssagesss from nothing, but never have I ssseen a pair grow like you two have. What sssay you, will you take a trial and become one of my sssagesss or will you be my next sssource of sssusstainence?" A voice would speak, out loud and in the mind, jarring and overpowering in feeling. Yaki would only lift her head to nod. Hoping Mairasu would have more to say then she did in the moment. TAGGED | Here NOTES | Here MUSE | Sealing You In Sound

AI ♥

[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

The time had finally come, the object of not only his curiosity but desires for so many years was rapidly approaching, he only need to finish ascending the stone steps ahead of him. Twinges of anxiety washed over him as the duo neared the summit, doubts of whether the powers at be would recognize them as sages. They had been seen as apprentices for some time now yet that was but the first step on their journey, a first step that Mairusu felt he had taken quite a few times, but he and Yaki had put in the work to reach this point and though there were nerves there was also confidence. They had studied, they had trained, reached far beyond the station of a lowly genin in pursuit of their goal.

As they reached the top a figure would be waiting for them, not one that the boy recognized but it looked human enough even if the smile he was giving them seemed everything but. Mairusu's eyes were drawn past the man to more familiar sights: Kasumi, Mitsuda, and the odd woman they had encountered at the base of the mountain. Had she been... The boy wanted to speak so badly, to ask where and why his former teachers had left him without so much as a word to drift aimlessly and struggle with the thoughts that this may not have been the path in life for him yet before a word could be uttered the shimmer of their forms hinted that they were not the true forms of sensei past and present but merely images.

Turning his attention back to the man dressed in white and out of the corner of his eye Yaki he'd see that she was bowing to him and would be quick to emulate. The next thing he knew the unforgettable smell of rancid flesh had filled his nostrils once again reminding him of the cave the two had survived against that giant snake. Could it have been one in the same? They hadn't actually done any walking when Mitsuda took them there, simply appeared, so it was likely they were sitting under the very summit they had just worked so hard to climb.

A jarring, all encompassing voice would fill his ears and mind, the source having to be massive to produce such a sound. It would speak of being surprised that there were two who had managed to reach this far yet one final trial remained for the duo else they become food. He should have known that there would be another thing to cross off the list, as if all the meditation and training and traveling wasn't enough, but Mairusu wasn't stupid enough to voice his displeasure. Slowly the boy would raise his head still attempting to keep from losing his lunch. "Whatever trial it is let us take it, and see that we are sages." He replied before lowering his head once more, it was all he could muster until his body got used to the smell.

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WORDS ● Tateyama Yakitsukeru ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Tateyama Yakitsukeru]

Thankfully Mairasu had recovered his stomach first, he did seem to fair better last time too from the stench of decay that permeated here in Ryuchi cave. Yakitsu shivering from the scent would center herself as best as possible before raising herself to look upon the titan of white scales, "Pleassse tessst usss if you wish to, we shall reach expectation by any meansss necesssary." Silence protuded for only a moment after as she two lowered her head, before the sane hissed in a more insidious fashion then before. A different kind of shiver running down the girl's spine, "Good. Eagernesss for power and growth isss sssomething that all thossse within our fold should have. Then I shall tessst you both, the true tessst of a sssage of the sssnake contract. Ssstay as you are, this will hurt firssst," Came the command as suddenly the giant snakes open maw was above them, a simple touch of fang to the nape of their necks, enough to prick just into the two of them. A sensation like decay would run into both of them before it began to feel more invigorating. Natural energy gathering to the two rapidly, "Prove you can control and tame the raging ssstorm of the energy. Gather it, control it, and releassse it back into the world asss an extension of you. Fail and it will not be ssstone you become at thisss juncture." In an instant Yakitsukeru felt paralyzed with the sudden surge, but she felt it was far to dangerous to leave it, and so she began to channel not just this surging energy, but the energy her Senpo seals had already been gathering. Her body a churning tide like the water they had been upon. She had no good way to release the energy though, she needed to find a good way to release it besides just burning the clock. TAGGED | Here NOTES | Here MUSE | Sealing You In Sound

AI ♥

[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

The apprentices had accepted the challenge from the elder snake yet the sound it responded with sounded like they had just spit in its face or something given how much malice it was laced with. Thankfully its words would show the approval instead though they came with the promise of pain. Mairusu could barely spare any extra energy to think of what that possibly meant as he was still working on not letting the smell get to him; one day he'd be able to show up to this place and not want to immediately throw up but that day was not today.

Skin pierced ever so lightly by a sharp fang would precede the feeling of literal death coursing through Mairusu as natural energy began to flow through his body before shifting to something less dreadful but still just as deadly. The snake commanded them to harness the power and release it less they succumb to a fate far worse than turning to stone. It was a feeling that the genin had only experienced a few times before: once with Kasumi, another on the boat ride from Kumo, and most recently against the spear wielding woman, though this time the natural energy was considerably more fierce, for lack of a better term. Like trying to put a storm inside a glass bottle.

But it would have to be done.

Mairusu would focus on his breathing first, ignoring best he could the stench of decay that assaulted his sense of smell, to try and right himself. He had spent so much time over the years practicing his meditation for moments such as these and now it was time to see the fruits of his labor. There still begged the question of how exactly he would release the power back out as an extension of himself, whatever that meant, but the boy would cross that bridge when he got to it as for now his focus was on weathering the storm within.

▲

WORDS ● Tateyama Yakitsukeru ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Tateyama Yakitsukeru]

It was awful, the instant feeling of need to release the energy. However, Yakitsukeru didn't struggle to enter into Sage Mode, at least burning some of the energy that had been pushed into both Mairasu and herself. It was a relief, but it was like the moment one stopped exercising and their muscles got to relax right back out. It was still on fire, she simply had quelled the initial tension to relax herself back to nothing. If this was the challenge though, the she found this to be a surprisingly simple thing to work with. Though it was perhaps that the Great White Snake Sage did not expect a mere apprentice to have mastered the ability at a rudimentary level yet? She didn't know but, if only to pretend to need assistance, since her transformation was far more hidden then with Mairasu she would sit and begin to meditate, needing to at least center herself before she could begin the next step of her plan. Or what she was calling a plan. Letting seconds turn to a full minute felt like the passing of a full century to the young woman, but it was necessary to show struggle when she admittedly hadn't. Though she was hoping it would not cause issues, if Mairasu was smart he would pass. After all they were flooding and needed to be flashy to succeed. He would certainly succeed as soom as he got a handle on transforming, after all even that was barely stimming the bleeding of energy that she was taking in. TAGGED | Here NOTES | Here MUSE | Sealing You In Sound

AI ♥

[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

A fleury of feeling rushed through the boy, noise from every conceivable direction a it sounded like the very earth was screaming at him. He had felt a similar sensation when Kasumi opened his eyes to the world of natural energy and that experience had nearly killed him as he witnessed the last moments of that unfortunate man turned statue, but even that moment paled in comparison to what was going on right now. Mairusu felt like he could hear the heartbeat of every creature in the immediate area, every breath and step they took was his to witness whether he wanted to or not.

It would have been nothing to let the power overwhelm him and fail the great snakes challenge but the genin had come way too far for that to happen, he had trained and despaired for far too many years to come up short at the finish line. Slowly moving himself into his usual meditating pose the boy would begin to focus the raging storm within, guiding the natural chakra through his body as he worked to combine it with his own chakra and show his mastery. The process was not an easy one, nor would it be quick, but Mairusu had at least righted himself and took the first steps towards showing the great snake that they were worthy of being called sages.

▲

WORDS ● Tateyama Yakitsukeru ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Tateyama Yakitsukeru]

Yakitsukeru was pulling out tags and ink as soon as her psuedo-meditation had ended. She needed to start pouring this energy into something before she felt like exploding. It was a painful amount of energy despite her greed in gathering having been a trait that had shown its head very literally into her sage mode. She had her back to her companion at this point, but she could sense him in the catastrophe of the matter. Her pen moved over ink as she poured chakra from limb to paper, an art long practiced, calming and within her path. The calligraphy held the strength of her path as it would hold the weight of her power. Which lead her to almost subconsciously have a thought that became verbal, that felt correct to verbalize, "You need to condenssse and conduct on your end Mairasssu. The lightning isss your coil, your mecca. Control it, and prove that your work hasss been worth it. You have made it to thisss sssummit with me, but we ssstill have a long trek to the peak. You will finish thisss climb with me, ssso find that center and adapt yourssself to it. You will feel it find itsss place." In the center of the papers before her she would write the kanji for one thousand, a sudden sound like cracking as she drained herself of a large portion of the energy, and then again as she felt the energy condense enough to do it again. It was all that she could do to keep control of the energy as it tried to fill her. She needed to slow it, but she felt that required far less of it in her. Something she was barely getting close to. TAGGED | Here NOTES | Here MUSE | Sealing You In Sound

AI ♥

[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

Power was a funny thing. It could be a goal yet overwhelming once obtained and no amount of daydreaming or yearning for the moment could truly prepare someone for that moment when what they had been searching for finally arrived, and that was how Mairusu was feeling at the moment. From his days in the academy up to this very moment he had been enthralled with the mythos of sages and the power they supposedly wielded. He had given an innumerable amount of blood, sweat, and tears trying to reach the pinnacle. Friendships had waned, those he had once been on even keel with had surpassed him and there was more than one time he had wanted to quit, join a genin squad and go on with his life, but progress had slowly but surely been made and now at the very summit the power the boy had been seeking was threatening to take him over.

While there was use in meditating it was but a conduit used to help gather natural energy and in this scenario where more than enough of it had been supplied by the great snake the genin was unsure what to do next. He could feel his body beginning to alter as the natural energy began to take root: black scales covering his arms and legs, the famed hood of a cobra extending out from his neck, and perhaps strangest of all his top two incisors growing into slender yet oh so sharp fangs as his tongue thinned. That would help direct some of the energy but there was still so much more that begged for direction.

Then, words, but not an inner monologue or even instructions from the snake but wisdom --encouragement?-- from Yaki. She could no doubt feel his struggle with the challenge laid before them and had done well to remind him that simple meditation would not be sufficient to survive and that he would need to do something with the power, namely in the form of the lightning he loved so much. How that had slipped his mind was beyond him but there would be time for introspection after all was said and done. The prospect of super powered jutsu had been one of the driving forces for the apprentice and had even used to a degree once before, not to mention it being a perfect outlet for the built up energy as well as a show of his growing mastery.

"Right... lightning... I can do lightning." A strained reply but one that offered acknowledgement and understanding. Bringing his hands together to form a set of seals the boy would end in a triangle formation as he focused the combined raiton and natural energy together to a singular point, the usual color now replaced with a beautiful black crackle. He would not loose the technique just yet, but as he had done with the Uchiha a while back hold his focus and let it continue to gather; in that training it had been an effort to produce a stronger attack but for now it would serve as an outlet for the excess energy.

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WORDS ● Tateyama Yakitsukeru ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Tateyama Yakitsukeru]

Yaki didn't need to immediately say anything. She had said enough, at least from what she could tell, to get the young man to move his body to action. Her only hits to this the almost purple-esque crackle of the black light in the already dark cave. The illumination something of a marvel even as the girl eschewed any and all sight for the second half ton tag that she had managed to work her way up to. This one would deplete her natural energy to just enough to sustain her sage mode, and like a snake springing on its prey. A crushing grip of pure will as she fought the energy to contain its rampage to one she could manage. She didn't have the luxury of speech and it was clear that she needed to give up on the idea that she could comment and help Mairasu yet. She was far closer then he was to fully reaching the peak of her ceiling, but that didn't matter since she was also closer to being able to handle the energy that was currently coursing through her body. It was like batting at a pond with a bucket, only to find that the heat was doing more work. Patience met with intensity manifesting a wrathful will of control over the otherwise unchecked power of nature. That was the truth to Yaki - to control one needed to become the apex, but that took time to 'evolve' something she was more then willing to do. TAGGED | Here NOTES | Here MUSE | Sealing You In Sound

AI ♥

[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

While it wasn't the equivalent of an ice cold glass of water after a hot summers day of training, channeling the mixture of natural energy and chakra into the jutsu had brought some relief to the boy. He didn't feel as overwhelmed by the power coursing through his veins and having something else to focus his efforts on --maintaining a jutsu-- had pushed the less than pleasant sensations to the back of his mind; the storm was still raging but Mairusu had managed to put at least some of it in the proverbial glass bottle.

The held technique would continue to churn within his hands, the central point swirling and crackling with a brilliant display of color that lightning never usually took, no doubt an effect of the chakra being mixed with natural energy. The apprentice could feel that this jutsu was stronger than anything he had ever used before and if he could afford to let his mind wander but for the briefest of moments he may have shed a tear, but lack of focus would be his undoing and as such the celebrations would remain on ice until after they had completed the great snakes challenge. For the time being he would continue to hold the technique though sooner rather than later the limits of chakra that could be contained and need to be loosed.

▲

WORDS ● Tateyama Yakitsukeru ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Tateyama Yakitsukeru]

She was starting to get the energy to go down, her own seals not even gathering anything actively as she quelled the natural roil to a ripple in the surface. It was horrid to do given that the cave was wretch worthy, her scarf not helping in the slightest with being down here. Working to write the third seal still despite that it was slowing Yakitsukeru hissed with agitation at the sensation. She needed to cut off the energy completely, Mairasu would be fine without her for the moment. She needed to finish her own problems first, and the rest would fall into place she was so sure. Setting the number to the seal she would bottom out another heft chunk of her own chakra, though it had been continuously less then if she had done anything else. The feeling of energy subsiding some, and she capitalized on that. Quashing the energy under a true iron grip as she exhaled and felt herself revert back to normal, the change practically unnoticeable below her layers of clothing. Seeing herself complete the goal at hand she turned, Mairasu still had more to go. She could feel the crackling energy though and as she turned she found herself staring down the power she had only seen hints of from the boy. Mairasu was really outdoing himself this time, and as she stood she spoke again, "Releassse that energy, and keep releasssing asss much asss you can, I will help you ssstabilize after. We're in thisss together right? You're sssupposssed to be my sssenior here, hurry up and catch up ssslowpoke." TAGGED | Here NOTES | Here MUSE | Sealing You In Sound

AI ♥

[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

More words from Yaki, annoying ones this time, but it was a sign that she was doing well herself. At this point if she was too nice then the boy knew something was wrong and he didn't really know how to feel having come to that realization. They had spent quite some time together so it was only natural to pick up on one's tendencies after a while, but for that to happen even though most of their words were bickering was a little odd. Regardless, she was correct that it was time for him to release the technique and he could feel that this normally average jutsu was at its limits concerning how much chakra it could hold.

With a deep breath the apprentice opened his eyes searching for an open point to loose the super charged lightning bolt. He wanted to avoid hitting the snake as well as putting either himself or Yaki in danger of any possible feedback from such a strong jutsu. An empty point on the far wall of the cave would serve well and with a thought a brilliantly shining lightning bolt would erupt from the triangle point in the center of his hands before leaving a decent sized scorch mark on the wall.

There was still plenty of natural energy within him made evident by his still transformed visage, but the storm for all intents and purposes had passed or, at the very least, Mairusu had found the eye. "Woah, that wasss... wasss-- powerful jutsu." A lengthy forked tongue had brought with it an oh so familiar speech impediment and that was going to take a while to get used to.

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WORDS ● Tateyama Yakitsukeru ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Tateyama Yakitsukeru]

"You think? Get over here you oaf, that alone isssn't going to drain you clean of the energy that'sss invading. Ussse that technique one more time, I'm going to try sssomething akin to the ssseal on you. I don't know if I can make it block everything, but perhapsss I can help you ssstop gathering for now?" Yaki would state as she snapped from the stupor of watching the technique go off. It had been more powerful then any technique she had seen to date, likely the strongest raiton she would ever experience first hand - though that was so obviously not true. Mairasu had room, and a repertoire to extend his strength with in the future. For now she was focused on keeping him in that path to the future. No one managed to go through life alone, and if she couldn't get rid of the stubborn bastard then she sure as hell wasn't about to let him die either. It was a hypocritical statement from her, as she alone coveted to hold the title of sage, it was not something that she wanted to share. Yet she had found that she couldn't grasp that away from Mairasu, he would not yield and while she never stated it, she was not so cold-blooded as to kill him for it even with their original conversation so long ago. Besides he was actually enjoyable company when he wasn't being a complete and utter moron in her eyes. Further he was the only person she would ever explicitly show her back, his forthright nature and his honest, stubbornly hard-working attitude was enough proof of that despite now years of time to do it. She could trust Mairasu, that was a revelation in and of itself. Pressing her hands to his back she tried to push the seal on his back to help stop the flow, to consume what was still trying to come in, and if all went well, they would be free from this trial - no, victorious in this trial soon. Assuming Mairasu managed to calm himself from his state Yaki would turn her gaze finally back to the great sage who was watching them both intently. She could only get the general idea of amusement from the ancient serpent, but amusement all the same. Had they passed? TAGGED | Here NOTES | Here MUSE | Sealing You In Sound

AI ♥

[Hiesin Mairusu]

TAKE ME TO VALHALLA WHERE MY BROTHERS WAIT FOR ME

A couple moments to admire his jutsu would have been nice but instead there was a quick reality check and a reminder that their trial had yet to end. The genin pouted slightly as he nodded in agreement, while overcharging the lightning bolt had helped a great deal in regulating the swirling energy within him it hadn't gotten rid of enough and he needed to further drop the levels of natural energy to a state that the apprentice could manage. Yaki had decided to try and use the seals that each of them had drawn on their backs to absorb some of the extra energy while Mairusu would charge up another lightning bolt and hopefully between the two it would get rid of the excess.

The boy couldn't help but glance over at the great snake and though the giant serpent was silent the look on its face was anything but quiet. Feeling his fellow apprentices hands on his back Mairusu would once more perform the now familiar three seals before locking his hands into a triangle formation. He would begin focusing the combination of raiton chakra and natural energy into a singular point as lightning crackled around his hands. While he couldn't feel any acute differences the boy assumed --hoped-- that Yaki would be able to use the seal to siphon off what was needed.

▲

WORDS ● Tateyama Yakitsukeru ● NOTES

deltra of gangnam style

[Tateyama Yakitsukeru]

It take a moment of concentration, but she could feel it, the energy in his body coalescing and the warping of more towards his body, she just needed to redirect that flow away from him, and she started to immediately, hoping to push it into the tattoo, or to just simply repel the energy entirely. Something that she was finding considerably harder then it maybe needed to be in this moment. As Mairasu inevitably would release the lightning from his hands she could feel a moment of emtiness from the energy coalescing around the two and she pushed, a feeling of someone trying to drip something more fundamental being passed from her to Mairasu as the two would, with hope be fully reverted back to human, having survived the energy. Her answer came from the snake beyond both of them as a hissing laughter began. A crawling sense of dread going down her back despite the feeling of triumph, "Good. You ssstruggled through, and with sssome interesssting tricksss to your belt. It ssseemsss Mitsssuda wasss correct to take on both of you at once. What an entertaining path you two have chosssen for each other." A piercing gaze like the assessing look of a smith with a blade came over both as the cave suddenly seemed to shifted, or rather the great white snake sage had shifted. The giant snake once more just a hair's breadth away as he spoke to their minds, "Become two of my Human Sssagesss, a pair. You both lack assspectsss the other ssseemsss to excel in, but together you make up for thisss. Thisss isss my ruling for you both if you accept, and in doing ssso I will sssee you properly tried and trained to truly powerful sssagesss. If you continue thisss path together then you will alssso be unmatched by any of the othersss, I am certain." It was moving fast now, but Yakitsukeru would nod and respond, "In for an ounce, in for a pound. I will do asss I need to to get ssstronger, no matter what. What do you sssay Mairasssu?" The final response of resolution left to the boy. TAGGED | Here NOTES | Here MUSE | Sealing You In Sound

AI ♥