The Elusive Dream State [Part I]

Age : 31 Posts : 1836

Training | Special Characteristic | Unique Traits | Lucid Dream State

Spoiler:

• Continued From •
Seven of Nine

“You’re sure? You’ve tried it before?” asked the man with the deep-blue hair, forehead wrinkled in dismay. The Nukenin facing him nodded his head in silent response, which elicited a sigh from the man. Yuuji Subaru scratched the back of his head thoughtfully, glancing around at the surrounding area as he fell into a state of contemplation. At the moment, he and Masquerade were situated in a large, spacious garden located behind the much larger mansion owned by Subaru. The rectangular garden was surrounded by concrete walls nearly three times an average man’s height, making the back of the mansion the only route of access. While he had been in the mansion, Masquerade had formed the opinion that Subaru had an eye for aesthetics. The inside of the mansion had been decorated with an artistic and extravagant style, and the same could be said for the outside of the mansion - or more specifically, the garden outside the mansion. Masquerade had no eye for aesthetics (implied perhaps by his unique dress code), but even he had to admit that Subaru’s backyard was a sight to behold. If he was to describe it in one word, it would be “lively”. The garden was just that: full of life.

“Dang, that complicates things,” Subaru mumbled, now stroking his goatee. His golden eyes were still swooping over the surroundings inattentively, as if the answer he sought could be found among the mass of lush vegetation. “If you can’t meditate, then that’s going to make things tough…” The man was referring to an earlier statement Masquerade had made to him. Shortly after mentioning his desire to commune with the Shichibi to Subaru, Masquerade had been led to this backyard. Once Subaru had given a cheerful remark of how he had always wanted a garden to decorate for himself, the bearded man had then brought the focus of the discussion to Masquerade’s request. Subaru had begun by explaining that Jinchuuriki could converse with their Bijuu mentally by entering a special trance, whereupon their minds were “transported” to a realm where time was seemingly non-existent. It was in this state, according to Subaru, that a Jinchuuriki had the capability to speak to their Bijuu. Once he was done elaborating on that matter, the man had then proceeded to explain how a Jinchuuriki could access this trance-like state (or - as he had called it - “The Lucid Dream State”). The first method that Subaru revealed was meditation: by calming their mind and “delving deep enough into their subconscious, so as to reach the Bijuu’s soul merged with their own” (as he had put it), the Jinchuuriki would be able to interact with the chakra beast within their subconscious. At this point, Masquerade had interrupted to notify the man of his inability to meditate. This, in turn, had brought about the aforementioned responses from Subaru.

Present time, Masquerade decided he had best elucidate on his earlier comment. “It’s not that I cannot meditate; rather, I cannot calm my mind enough to obtain the level of mental peace required of such a feat.”

Subaru cocked an eyebrow at the masked Nukenin, one hand resting on his hip. “Really? And here I thought you’d be an ace at calming your mind.” He gestured meaningfully at Masquerade with his free hand. “You know, what with you being so composed and stuff all the time.”

The comment elicited an amused smirk from Masquerade. Indeed, one would assume as much. “Just because someone is calm on the outside, does not mean they are the same mentally. Often, suppressing emotions can have a detrimental effect on one’s mind. That aside, I have tried to communicate with the Shichibi before through meditation. The results were less than satisfactory, unfortunately. Every time I tried, I would instead begin thinking about everything that irks and infuriates me in this world.” The boy elected against mentioning that one of the causes for his rage during these meditation attempts was the fact that the very being he was attempting to contact was one of the sources of his aggravations. The beast had, after all, seized control of Masquerade’s body without his consent; not once, but twice. There was nothing which infuriated Masquerade more than not being in control of his body, both literally and metaphorically. As such, whenever he had tried to meditate, the boy’s mind had instead chosen to brood over how angry his Bijuu made him because of its actions, with the result that he never managed to calm his mind at all. Even now, Masquerade was certain that if he tried to empty his mind, he would face the same predicament.

Subaru sighed heavily at Masquerade’s statement. As he had said, matters were now complicated. “Well, if you can’t reach the Bijuu through meditation, then there is another method we could use. But, I’m reluctant to use it… It’s quite risky, you see.” Subaru did not elaborate on this “risky” method any further, for he paused to think for a moment, his hand once again stroking his facial hair. After a moment, the man returned his attention to Masquerade. “I suppose I could try casting a Genjutsu on you that’ll make you fall into a sleep-like state; hopefully, that’ll help you reach the state of mental serenity you need to communicate with the Shichibi. Whaddya say?” Subaru looked at Masquerade expectantly, waiting for an answer. After thinking it over for a few seconds, Masquerade nodded his head in agreement. It was worth a shot, especially if the alternative was something “risky”. Needless to say, Masquerade was not one to take risks if there was a much safer option to take into consideration.

Subaru rubbed his hands together happily at Masquerade’s answer. “Sweet. Let’s jump right into it, shall we? So, have a seat, and we’ll get started.” Funnily enough, despite there being a bench situated not a few meters from the pair, it was not towards that which Subaru gestured as he uttered these words. Instead, he had directed the boy’s attention to a spot behind the latter. The man’s pale-skinned finger was pointing at a miniature pond some feet away. Well, it was not really a pond: the circular body of water was only a foot deep at most, and perhaps four at its widest. A constant stream of water fell into the pond from the stone lion positioned at its edge, the transparent fluid flowing steadily out of the statue’s mouth. The basin of water broke off into fine channels of water that (now that Masquerade took the time to notice) twisted around each other in some intricate manner. Like everything else in this garden, this feature held an artistic look to it. Of course, a mind as narrow as Masquerade’s on a subject such as this did not care for the beauty of it all, so he merely walked in the direction Subaru was pointing without commenting. Once the boy had crossed over the shallow body of water and stepped onto the dry rock in the center, he turned around to face Subaru before seating himself onto the hard surface. Subaru walked over to him, standing at the basin’s edge as he surveyed the Nukenin seated cross-legged on the “island”.

“Ready?” asked Subaru. Masquerade gave a silent nod for the third time, after which Subaru brought his hands up and began to form a series of handseals. “Nehan Shouja no Jutsu!” he declared. A rain of pure-white feathers suddenly appeared before Masquerade’s eyes, and as the boy was just beginning to register this unexpected phenomenon, his vision began to go hazy. In a matter of seconds, his mind had gone blank and his eyelids had dropped shut. The blonde’s chin dropped to his chest and his posture slackened noticeably. He had dropped out of consciousness.

Over at the edge of the basin, Subaru nodded to himself as he witnessed the sight. Though Masquerade would not realize it, he was actually in a state of deep sleep now. At the moment, the boy would not be aware of anything in his surroundings, nor would he be so easily pulled out of this slumber. He would be completely detached from the outside world, and would therefore be able to focus only on his subconscious world. With this state of unconsciousness, Masquerade ought to be able to reach the state of mental tranquility he needed to complete this exercise. Such were Subaru’s thoughts as he strode closer to Masquerade, stepping across the water until he too stood on the small rock island upon which the Jinchuuriki sat/slept. The blue-haired man crouched down so that his face was level with the boy’s slumped head, looking at him with a scrutinizing air. After a few seconds of silent observation, Subaru rose to his feet with a grunt and walked around Masquerade to stand behind him. Crouching down once more, he reached inside the slumbering Nukenin’s ninja pouch and, after a second of fumbling, pulled out an item. Glancing down at it and nodding to himself, the man then returned to his initial position in front of Masquerade, though he remained standing this time. Subaru glanced down at the kunai in his hand, lips pursed in thought. He slipped his finger through the metal ring at the weapon’s base and twirled the weapon around it with the skill of a ninja, before glancing back down at Masquerade. As expected, the boy was completely oblivious to what Subaru was doing. It was anyone’s guess what experience the boy was undergoing at the moment.

Subaru soon ceased his twirling of the kunai and grasped it firmly in his hand. A neutral expression present on his face, he then bent down and thrust the weapon forwards: straight into Masquerade’s heart. The effect was almost instantaneous. A deep red stain appeared on Masquerade’s white coat around the spot where the kunai was embedded; liquid of the same shade seeped out of the youth’s closed mouth abundantly, flowing down his chin and dripping onto his clothes. The boy, however, did not react at all, maintaining his flaccid position. Subaru straightened up and folded his arms over his chest, hovering over the wounded Nukenin as he watched him silently. Due to that stab, the boy probably had a few minutes before he kicked the bucket.

Word Count: 1721/1000

Age : 31 Posts : 1836

Training | Special Characteristic | Unique Traits | Lucid Dream State

Spoiler:

Darkness.

That was all he experienced at first: darkness. Then…

Pain.

Masquerade’s eyes snapped open, his mind starting up like a car engine given a jump start. The first thing he realized was that he lying down on his front on a rough, stone floor. The second detail he registered after that was the aforementioned pain: a sharp panging pain on the left side of his chest. He would not say it was excruciating or unbearable; just discomforting. It felt as if he had a severe migraine inside his chest. Despite not being too agonizing, the suddenness of the pain caused him to gasp out - or rather, he tried to. It was at that moment that the boy noticed a third detail: he was submerged in a liquid of some sort, and this very liquid had just gone down his throat via his mouth and nose. The boy’s eyes widened and he gagged, shutting his mouth and shooting up to a kneeling position, his hands flying to his throat in panic. However, a moment later he froze, noticing a fourth fact, which was the most surprising of them all. Slowly, the startled Nukenin lowered his hands from his throat and blinked confusedly from behind his mask. Although Masquerade could feel the liquid around him, and had certainly felt it go down his throat, he was not drowning. Against his better judgment, the boy took another breath (this time through his nose), yet the result was the same: he felt the liquid go in, but nothing happened. Though he could not comprehend the reason why, it seemed the Nukenin could breathe despite being submerged in this dark solution of… whatever it was. With his attention no longer fixed on the fear of drowning, Masquerade could concentrate on the pang of pain he felt in his chest once more. Wincing violently, the boy clasped a hand over the affected area, but he could feel no deformity or injury on his body that could explain the pain. Needless to say, this only increased Masquerade’s state of bewilderment.

The blonde’s thoughts were interrupted as his awareness returned to the environment he was in, and the oddity that it was. The boy glanced around himself, but all he could see was an opaque, murky haze; thick enough that he could only see a few inches ahead of himself. He could tell that he was kneeling on a rough, rocky surface, but other than that, he had no clue where he was, or what the place he was in looked like. The boy then did the only action he could think to do, and that was to stand up. As the boy rose to his feet, he discovered that the water was not as deep as he had assumed it to be. He had barely stood up completely when his head broke through the water’s surface and was hit by a blast of cool, damp air. Right hand still resting on his chest, the boy straightened up to his full height before glancing around. He was in a dark area of some kind, with the walls and ceiling composed of stone just like the ground. The ceiling seemed to glitter with a faint, yet bright, hue of purple, as if the stone’s surface was embedded with small jewels. Behind the boy was a curved wall of rock: a dead-end. Ahead of him, however, was a passage that led on into darkness. If he was going to go anywhere, then it may as well be in that direction. But first, he needed to try and figure out where he was.

At that moment, his attention was diverted to the liquid around him, the level of which brought it to just above Masquerade’s midriff. Strangely enough, he was completely dry despite having been fully submerged a few seconds ago. The Nukenin inspected the liquid, and as he had suspected, found that the fluid was not water. The fact that it was much more opaque implied as much, but the detail that made this most obvious was the color of the liquid. A pensive Masquerade scooped a handful of the solution into his hands and raised it closer to his face, examining it with narrowed eyes. The liquid was a deep shade of purple, and luminous to boot, almost as if it was some kind of ghostly water. Masquerade’s eyes narrowed even further as he realized what this liquid actually was. “Santon…,” he whispered as he let the liquid fall back into the pool, his voice echoing slightly in the cave. “Acid…”

Masquerade glanced around the cave once more, finally realizing where he was. Understanding had finally reached him. He had temporarily forgotten that he had been trying to communicate with the Shichibi, and that Subaru had placed him in a Genjutsu to help him complete this task more easily. But now, he could remember all of that, and he could also tell that their plan had worked. This place was clearly a representation of Masquerade’s subconscious - or at least the part which housed the Shichibi. That would explain the acid and why he did not drown in it: none of this was real. This revelation did not explain the pain he still felt in his chest, however. The boy thoughtfully stroked the area in question, wondering if the pain was due to the fact that he was attempting to meet the Shichibi, and was actually succeeding at doing so. If he recalled correctly, his Bijuu’s seal was on his chest, so this could be the explanation. Deciding that would suffice as a reason for now, Masquerade lowered his hand and ignored the throbbing pain, instead focusing on the dark passage ahead of him. He was pretty sure he would find the Shichibi somewhere down that passage, and as he had come here to do just that, he was not going to waste any more time by procrastinating. Therefore, clenching his hands resolutely into fists, the boy began to wade through the pool of purple acid down the passage.

For several minutes, Masquerade walked in a soundless and uneventful world. The liquid he was pushing through made no sound as he displaced it, nor did anything in his surroundings. It was kind of depressing to see how empty and lifeless this part of his subconscious looked; well, it might be depressing for some people, but Masquerade had more important things to focus on at the moment than how boring his mind might be. One of these important things came in the form of the passage’s end, where the boy spotted a dark opening in the wall ahead. Some steps led up to a stone landing where this opening in the wall was located could also be seen. Without delay, Masquerade climbed up to this platform and stepped towards the opening. A closer inspection revealed that the opening was actually the mouth a short tunnel, one bathed in shadows. Inside this tunnel, Masquerade could make out the outline of a pair of stone doors, these ones colored a dark purple and sporting a design that he could only describe as “insect-like”. Knowing full-well that he would find what he was seeking just beyond those doors, Masquerade took a step forward, eyeing the doors apprehensively. They towered nearly twenty feet above him, and since the light from the pool of acid behind him did not seem to reach this tunnel’s interior and thus the doors, it meant the doors held a strangely sinister look to them. Or maybe it was due the presence of what lay in wait behind them: a beast of immense chakra; a monster.

Tentatively, Masquerade stepped forward and placed a hand on the rough surface of the door. Bracing himself, the blonde pushed the door open slowly, unsurprised at the effort it took to move ones as thick and sturdy as these. Once they had been opened enough, Masquerade looked ahead into the room, seeing only darkness at first. But the next second, he felt a sudden force exert itself on his body - an invisible force. Masquerade grunted, teeth clenched tightly, feeling as if gravity’s pull on his body had tripled; he could barely move his limbs, let alone his head. Since his gaze was fixed ahead, it allowed him the perfect opportunity to spot the eight glowing yellow eyes staring unblinkingly at him through the dark. The instant his gaze met these eyes, Masquerade felt the weight on his body intensify even further, forcing him down on his knees. His widened eyes were now locked onto the ground beneath him, his windpipe seeming to have narrowed and left him incapable of drawing clear breaths. Masquerade felt his body weakening from the pressure exerted on it. He could feel his mind slipping out of consciousness. Sluggishly, with all the strength he had left to muster, the boy lifted his head up enough to lock his gaze with that of the multiple eyes; the eyes which resembled his own insectile ones so much.

A smirk appeared on the boy’s face, before he lost consciousness within his own subconscious.

Word Count: 3410/1000

~ Topic Concluded ~