The Heart of Darkness [DE]

[Master Game]

Somewhere in the Land of Water, on the outskirts of a small town, isolated on a small grassy hill lies an archaic erection of stone and mortar resembling the gothic architecture of a 15th century church building. A beige dirt path snakes up the hill leading into the mouth of the building, like the tongue of something sinister.

Solemn sentinels of the world below, grand clouds drift through the dull grey airspace, endlessly. Where they came from or where they were going was impossible to tell. They were not bound by the same restrictions of the pathetic creatures they towered over. The air they claimed legion over was cold and chilly, innocently devouring the heat energy from everything that breathed. How many lives had the gluttony of cold wind claimed over the eons? How many poor souls did the shivering gales leave pale, blue and dead over the ages? It matters not. They are far worse ways to die.

On the bright red rooftop whose freshness did not match the that of the building it sat on top, a flock of crows stood perched. These creatures, though miniscule and irrelevant, watched over the the land like the clouds did. Their beady black eyes reflected the world in a different light, ominously, yet mockingly. As if they could see the things men could not. As if they could see the things men will not.

They watched and watched as members of the prominent race of two-legged creatures strolled up the dirt path. Men, women, children. Some in groups, others alone. Many entered the two large oak double-doors that were the mouth of the building, others stood outside and took pictures for a bit before doing the same. It was rather clear the final destination of those who came up the small hill. The building's face bore a large banner over the middle of it; Grand Opening of Akihabara Library.

Those who came here had heard of the grand opening happening today and many sought the knowledge that hid behind the building's ancient brick walls. At the very least, the grand opening of the new library was an exciting new event for the average people of this small town where nothing unusual ever happened. A pair of uniformed young men stood by the entrance, wearing batons and handheld radios on their belts. They looked to be alert, energetic and eager to do well on their first day on the job as security guards for the public establishment.

Sabo
Tetsu
🔥Bootysmith🍑
Cadoc  

[Sabo]

Grey skies, cloudy and that chilly sensation, It was exactly the type of weather that the boy liked. In his usual attire, a long black kimono, black socks, and a classic pair of Geta's to go as his footwear. The boy didn't carry much as he was only here on tourist business. The unveiling of the Akihabara Library certainly interested Touka as libraries were one of his favorite places. Like always his Grimfrost sword would be strapped to his left hip, he didn't come here to fight nor was he expecting one but the sword never seemed to leave his side. As Touka melted into the crowd, civilians of different genders would scamper past him all feeling some sort of cold sensation around him; this was sword emanating some cold aura.

Book opened and held in his right hand as he used his left hand to flick through the pages, he stood not too far away from the building yet to make his way up the dirt path. He moved slowly, each footstep not even making a sound, he pocketed his book into one of the pockets of his kimono. A flock of crows on the roof, stared deeply into his eyes "Hacheew" Touka sneezed, it was cold, or at least his transitional membrane found it to be.

He wasn't to make his way into the building just yet. From a distance his mint green eyes stared down the guards, not catching their attention but through the gaps of the humans that wandered around him, he found an opening.

It was time to strike.

[🔥Bootysmith🍑]

TEv was still on a quest to find a weaponsmith when he spotted an isolated building up a hill and immediately headed for it. Who lives here? wondered the male as he scanned the building from outside. The air around him felt cold and chilly but that did not bother him even the slightest, actually he preferred this kind of weather as it is good for kicking back and smoking trees. Thinking about how perfect the weather is made the man want to go back to being a stoner, but he fought the temptation.

Dressed in a white, short sleeved shirt with pink flowers, black jeans skintight from the knee down, a pair of pink Chuck Taylor's on his feet, and a pink bandana on his head. He had his long, black hair pulled back in a low ponytail exposing the X shaped scar and tattoos on his cheek. A silver, curb chain with the Takigakure village symbol dangled from his neck. Aside from the two sheathed katana by his left hip, the face tatted ninja carried no other visible weapon, or at least that's how it would seem to normal eyed people. Those with special eyes that can pierce through solid objects would be able to see 80 exploding tags, 2 smoke grenades, 15 hira-shuriken, 15 bo-shuriken and 6 kunai (4 of which were marked with a hiraishin mark) all of which were safely stored inside his buttbag.

He made his way through the dirt path leading to the mouth of the building, paused for a second outside the large oak double doors to make sure he still looked fresh as fuck.

"I crack your cranium, my bars titanium
Best put a helmet on when I spit
I might be the devil I been through hell
My flow angelic from heaven I fell
I don't need no Airforce I'm too damn fly
Even ninjas who ain't touchy feel my shit
Strive for greatness I want nothing less
I don't knock on doors, I knock 'em down
All my competition I'm fitna knock 'em dead
I want money and power, pay me respect
Climbing the ladder, boy, I'm after success
All you suckers say less your words don't matter
Real one over here I ain't no phony
Switch my flows I ain't no one trick pony
Ride the boy, girl, he a stallion..."
The face-tatted ninja began spitting from the top of his dome the moment he walked in through the doors, loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.

[Cadoc]

The grand opening of a library, in her own country no less, such whisperings rarely escaped the Mizukage's attention. Ever the student, Yoko and her companions had departed from the hidden village, keen to plumb the depths of this new resource. Rare and ancient books, manuscripts, and tomes, she wondered what, if, anything she'd find on this journey. Yoko was, after all, an accomplished scholar; her vast wealth and network of agents meant the Mizukage had been able to access all but the rarest of pieces of information. As such, commonly available books were of little interest to her, of which she suspected the library would have many.

Still, a journey out to such a remote part of her country afforded her the opportunity to provide aid and care to the residents. As such, she had come dressed for the occasion, with both Yoko and her soul clone wearing what appeared to be a set of clerical robes, yellow in colouration and visibly worn. Between their attire and actions, it should have been clear to onlookers that they were members of a religious order. For amongst the first things she and the rest of her party did upon their arrival was offer alms, both by way of food and medical care for the needy.

Still, whilst most of their attire seemed simple with dull earthy-toned boots, gloves, belt, and a cloak fashioned from an animals pelt. There were certain aspects of her appearance that may have caught the eye of onlookers, foremost amongst them, her short stature, at only two foot eight inches, she was by all accounts a tiny individual. Add to this the mask that she wore—fashioned from the skull of a green hag—and the fact that her eyes were always glowing a faint blue, it was safe to say that the arrival of such an individual should have stirred the interest of the local villagers.

Indeed, if her appearance had not piqued their interest, that of her companions would almost certainly for, she had travelled atop of Barbas, her kirin companion: a scaled horse-like creature. Not that he could pass for an ordinary kirin—if such a thing existed—instead, it appeared as if his scales were made up of leaves, giving him a notably different appearance to that of his kin.

As ever Yoko's party had not walked to their destination, but instead had travelled by way of a cart, aboard a large wagon that was pulled by two huge hyaenodons, large creatures that resembled spotted hyenas but with grey fur. Such means of travel meant that they were well-rested, and had plenty of provisions to hand to others if required, with medical supplies and food plentiful onboard. The hyaendons themselves had a saddle system attached to their back, consisting of a belt and a ten-gallon barrel of water and covered bedrolls. These saddles were then attached to the cart to provide the means of movement. The cart itself was fully enclosed, having both a wooden roof and sides. Inside of which the party had stored various provisions, including a tun barrel filled with water containing 242 gallons of water, along with the group's backpacks.

And whilst she had not come seeking a fight, the youth was equipped for one with her recurve bow Khryselakatos: of the Golden Shaft affixed to her back, along with two quivers filled with some four-hundred arrows. She had a lightweight shield buckler strapped to her bow arm, in addition to a large tower shield that hovered close to her person without being in contact with her.

Her soul clone was similarly provisioned with a quiver of arrows and the bow, Tauropolos: Bow of Heaven. Furthermore, Barbas, the soul clone, and Tiramie all carried their own heavy shields for quick deployment in the event of a fight.

A small mouse-like creature approximately the size of a Pomeranian dog, Tiramie, was the final member of her party. He to was offering alms to the residents; his clerical attire and ability to speak in common should have been clear enough that he was a sentient creature.

[Master Game]

“Hey man I can’t let you in here with those weapons.”

Tevin was greeted by a cheery brown-haired security guard that positioned himself between Tevin and the open doorway. He had his right arm raised in a gesture that suggested he stop while his left arm remained slack at his side, but within easy reach of his baton. The young man spoke in a friendly tone even as he stood his ground, although there was a slight nervousness in his facial expression as he stood dwarfed by the much taller man. His emerald green irises held a warmness that indicated he did not want any trouble.

His partner, a slightly older black-haired man with a small moustache, remained just a metre behind him watching the encounter with a stony gaze.

A couple metres away from the entrance some of the townsfolk had congregated near the party of the dwarfish priestess.

“Thank you very much.” Piped a young boy cheerily as he collected a container of food.

“Bless your soul.” An elderly woman proclaimed joyously with a small bag of ryo in her grasp.

Few declined the charity of Yoko’s party, despite being taken aback by the priestess’s visage at first.

“Pardon me madam, but does your party come from any religious order?” A balding man walked up to Yoko and her steed. He had his pockets full with food he’d just received from Tiramie. His gaunt and bearded face held a beaming smile as he looked up at the skull-faced priestess for a response.

[Cadoc]

Yoko and her companions continued to offer alms to the people in the surrounding area, a practice that they regularly undertook. As always, some did not accept the offerings, and that was okay: the majority, however, took the offerings, and through this, the group started to understand the composition of the local area. Accepting food suggested that there was hunger, medical care, the lack of doctors, and so on. Indeed, through her actions, she learned more about everyone and helped foster a positive relationship from the outset with the villagers.

Then the inevitable question came, if the priests were part of a religious order, this question was always without failure asked by those who received alms. There was a range of motivational factors that made people ask this question. Perhaps the most common was a desire to learn. People wanted to know what would drive someone to give out aid for free. They wanted to know to who they should direct their gratitude.

Naturally having, been asked the same question hundreds if not thousands of times had provided Yoko with a wealth of experience to draw from, she had met all manner of reactions when disclosing the exact nature of her religion and had learned from them all. As such, she put all of her experience in this area to use when formulating her reply. She drew upon her mastery of perception to paint her group in the best possible light.

Still, this was not the time for conversion: she didn't need to discuss the in-depth workings of her religion, only give a small introduction. Thus, she spoke of the pantheon of gods that they worshipped, how they believed them to inhabit the light between the stars in the night sky, outside of their reach. That they believed in a god of omniscient knowledge, another of fertility, and even an all father. And that by their teachings, all life was to be valued, a core edict of their religious order.

[🔥Bootysmith🍑]

A shorter man blocked his entry to the building informing him of a no weapons policy. TEv stopped, looked down to meet the man's gaze for a few seconds before looking up at the heavens and rubbing his chin as he tried decide what to do. Although they were only ordinary blades that could be bought at any weapons shop, he hated parting ways with his swords. Sure, he still posed a threat even without them, but they held sentimental value. Not having them around would feel like he was walking around with an arm missing.

As of late, the Lyrical Warrior has been having problems making decisions. All the kicks he owns are Converse All Star of the same size and shape, they all offer the same comfort, flexibility and protection, but he has a hard time deciding which colour to rock even though he knows he always looks fly in every set of chucks. He stood there looking at the sky lost in thought. One thought told him to knock this guy the fuck out and carry on into the building like a boss. Another told him to hand over his swords to avoid attention and conflict. After about 2 minutes of deep thought, TEv let out a sigh before looking back down at the shorter man with a gentle smile on his tatted face. "Here ya go, my good man." He retrieved his blades from his hip and handed them over to the security guard. "Those blades are very special to me. Keep 'em safe if you love yo limbs." he spoke softly maintaining a smile.

"Anyway, what's behind these walls? Why are all these people here?" TEv asked curiously. Looking back, he spotted a familiar face, a boy he remembers by the name waterboy, and gave him a chin lift which meant 'sup'. He also saw a congregation and wondered what that was about. An idea to go slang bars for them popped inside his head. Not long after, words began flooding inside his head.I don't slang lines I slang bars, that's the new addiction.

[Master Game]

The dishevelled man in front of Yoko nodded his head eagerly, not quite fully understanding what was being said about Yoko's order, but gleaning enough to understand that they were a force of good. "Bless you madam." He said as he walked away with a skip in his step.

10m away from Yoko, Tevin had just given away his weapons and been let into the building. Tevin would find himself in a 40x50m enclosure that was slightly archaic in its ambience and undertones. Cobblestone flooring, candles, hardwood shelves. It was hard to believe that this was supposed to be a new library. But at the very least the room was orderly and free of visible dirt and grime. The ceiling was about 15m high. The 3m tall bookshelves were arranged in rows with equal amounts of space between them. Adjacent to the bookshelves and also in rows were wooden tables with chairs accompanying them, half of which had already been occupied by guests. Two arched, mosaic glass windows were fitted in both the left and right walls of the room, roughly 3m tall and 1m wide. A good majority of visitors of the Akihabara Library were milling about, checking out bookshelves and chattering.

5m in front of the entrance was a receptionist desk where a dark-haired young blue-eyed woman with glasses sat. She was quarrelling with a man, or more like trying to defuse the situation as the man's tone was becoming increasing louder and his words more aggressive.

"No YOU, listen to me!" The spectacled grey-haired man slammed his wrinkled fist on the table. "People are going to DIE unless you evacuate everyone from this building."

"Sir, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to call security to escort you off the premises unless you calm down."

The man grit his teeth so hard it could almost be heard amongst the surrounding chatter. His aging facial expression was mixture of frustration, anger and desperation.

"I'm not leaving. You better listen to me if you value your life." His voice spoke in a low growl, his eyes narrowed at the poor young woman through circular lenses.

SPOILER: Click to show

[🔥Bootysmith🍑]

Weapons confiscated, the guard moved out of the way allowing TEv entry. The Kamyuja threw his hands inside he pockets, and walked in confidently with a bounce and a grin on his face. He hoped to find something rare and precious like ancient swords once used by legendary masters, and maybe steal one or two of them, but wasn't at all disappointed to find shelves with lots of books on them. It had been a while since he'd read a book, maybe a little reading was what he needed. So all these people are here for books, huh, thought the face tatted ninja as he scanned the Library from wall to wall. He had only been to a few libraries, and out of them all found this one to be the finest due to its unique style. Hopefully he shall learn something about swords here or at least acquire a little knowledge about the world around him.

"When it comes to love making it's war
I like to swing my big dick like a sword
Have her moaning from night till morning
Yeah I can go all night long, all night long
Baby, I can hit it all night long, all night long
Yeah, I can go all night long, all night long

When it comes to love making it's war
I like to swing my big dick like a sword
Have her moaning from night till morning
Yeah I can go all night long, all night long
Baby, I can hit it all night long, all night long
Yeah, I can go all night long, all night long..."

He mumbled his little tune to himself, headed for the first row to check out the books there, but stopped at the receptionist's desk where there appeared to be a misunderstanding between the receptionist and a grey-haired man. "Calm down, pops. This is only a library, and last time I checked books don't bite. If the ones in here have a way of growing fangs, worry not I am here. See this," he grabbed the pendant dangling from his chain, showed it to both the receptionist and the man as if it were a symbol of great power and not just a mere village symbol, "this is my medal of heroism. It represents Truth and Justice. I'm a hero to the people, a villain to the villains. Long as I'm here, everyone's safety is guaranteed." A load of bullshit but he said it with enough confidence and charisma that it almost sounded true [acting: 125].

"Anyway, why do you think there's danger in this lovely library?" The question was obviously aimed at the man, but the Waterfall ninja's gaze was fixated on the dark-haired, blue eyed woman with glasses as he was checking her out.

[Cadoc]

It was now time to enter the library: Yoko and the rest of her party had given alms to the villagers and even offered a short description of their religious order. As such, assuming that nobody required any medical care, they made their way over to the library, keen to plumb the depths of knowledge that this old structure held.

The first potential obstruction was the guards: there seemed to be a no weaponry policy, but Yoko hoped that with her honeyed words that she'd be able to retain the items on her person; she was after all, there for the same reason as the guards, a colleague of such. Her years of training as an assassin had granted her the uncanny ability of neutrality: she usually shifted people's disposition towards neutral on the spectrum. In this particular instance, Yoko hoped that her alms and short dialogue with the guards would be sufficient to shift them into a friendly disposition.

The conversation taking place at the reception pieced her interest, was there something untoward occurring at the library? Why was the old man this worried? Yoko quickly scanned the area, utilising her true sight to reveal anything in the area that was not as it seemed, the presence of chakra or illusions; she was keen to see if this offered any insight into the library or its inhabitants.

[Master Game]

"Right this way madam." Nodded the brown haired guard as he stepped aside for Yoko and her party to pass. He did not feel the slightest bit intimidated by Yoko and the rest of her diminutive party and that played a significant role in him permitting them to pass with their weapons. He guessed that the party only carried weaponry in the first place to dissuade robbers from attacking them while on their philanthropic and missionary pursuits.

How noble...., he thought to himself.

Once inside, Yoko's true sight revealed the presence of chakra, but not any illusions.

Meanwhile the elderly man did not seem convinced at Tevin's display of confidence and righteousness. Nonetheless he took a few moments to control his breathing.

"I..." He sighed.

"... I just know. You wouldn't get it but you have to believe me. This place is tainted by an evil that will consume everything. We need to get everyone out of here before it does."

[🔥Bootysmith🍑]

Disappointed by the man's answer, TEv shook his head before sitting on the receptionist's desk with one buttcheek. He stood silent for about 10 seconds, right hand rubbing his chin as if he's in deep thought, before opening his mouth to speak in a gentle tone, "Look pops, I get that you believere there's danger here, however your failure to provide reasons for your claim is why nobody's going to be convinced. You can scream and shout all you want, we're just gonna think you're one of 'em senile dudes and ignore ya. My suggestion, get your old ass outta here before security comes for it."

The rapper's sexy brown eyes shifted to the blue-eyed beauty behind the desk. A gentle smile covered his face as he studied the girl. "Is your name Rose? Cause I'm thinking of deflowering you." His voice sounded a little deeper than before and was seductive.

[Cadoc]

00/10

Yoko and her companions entered the building; it seemed that the guards acknowledged that their interests were aligned and saw the merit in allowing the small priestess to retain her equipment on her person. Still, she hoped that in the future, this point would be a non-factor, not because she'd sneak past the guards, but instead because she hoped to acquire the means by which to teleport her equipment; via an advanced summoning ritual that she had heard whispers of. Perhaps this library would cast some further light on the subject, a book that would help her learn more.

Still, as she made her way to the reception, she encounter yet another situation unfolding before her eyes. An elderly gentleman, clearly distressed offering words of warning, it seemed that the others were used to his stories, for they did not seem to be heading his words of warning, or perhaps they just felt that assured that what he was saying was incorrect. Either way, Yoko was reminded of a quote one of her instructors used to espouse 'those who dance are considered insane, by those who cannot hear the music.' Perhaps there was some form of evil around the library, a reason to fear. 

Still whilst Yoko was incapable of feeling fear, she did possess an immensely strong drive to remain alive, and any threat to her being no matter how small, needed to be investigated. Her initial observation of the library told her that there were no illusions or chakra at play, meaning that whatever was a threat either remained out of view or was a figment of the old man's imagination. Still, despite her vast knowledge, Yoko lacked a way in which she could remove genjutsu effects from people—short of inflicting great bodily—harm on them.

Instead, all she could attempt to do was remove the 'fear' effect from the man, perhaps calming his mind would allow him to explain his plight in a much more logical manner, something that they could all understand and investigate together. Yoko had never attempted the technique before, but she felt she was able to perform it on account of how low ranked of a technique it was. As such she channelled her chakra as per the book she had read, and focused her attention upon the old man, leaving her allies to provide overwatch whilst she was busy. 

Failing that Yoko felt that she had little that she could offer outside of observing small signs from his appearance that would indicate where he had recently been, the dried mud upon his boots, the tattered cobwebs still clinging to parts of his hair. 


Cleanse Fear
Rank: "C"
Skill: NinJutsu
Effect: A Healer gains the ability to Cleanse Fear.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: User may perform this on up to 1 creature per Class Level, no two of which can be more than 10 meters apart within a distance of 7 meters plus 6 meters per Class Level. User instills courage in the subject, granting it a +4 morale bonus against fear effects for 10 minutes plus 5 minutes per Class Level. If the subject is under the influence of a fear effect when receiving the Jutsu, that effect is suppressed for the duration of the Jutsu.
Limit: Must be a Medical Doctor.

[Master Game]

The bespectacled elderly opened his mouth to object to the younger man's statement, only to hold his tongue. Something came over him at that moment, changing his demeanour and causing him to compose himself.

"My apologies, I see now that I was acting out of hand. No need for security I will excuse myself for a bit."

The man nodded apologetically before turning away and walking deeper into the library. As his figure disappeared amongst the crowd and bookshelves, his right hand produced a walkie-talkie from the depths of his brown trenchcoat and raised it to his ear.

The receptionist giggled at Tevin's question.

"My name is Tessa thanks for asking." She said with playful sapphire eyes that radiated a child-like innocence yet deviousness.

[🔥Bootysmith🍑]

The face-tatted ninja's gaze dropped to the girl's lips and stayed there for a brief while before falling down to her chest. "Wow Tessa! You've got very lovely..." he paused, returning his gaze back up to meet that of the receptionist, "eyes." Recalling that he hadn't introduced himself, he quickly stood straight and held out his right hand, reaching for a shake, "I'm TEv by the way. Nice to meet ya, Tessa."