The Elusive Dream State [Part II]

Age : 31 Posts : 1836

Training | Special Characteristic | Unique Traits | Lucid Dream State

Spoiler:

• Continued From •
The Elusive Dream State [Part I]

Ugh, not agai-!

The mental complaint could not be completed in time, for its thinker had fallen into the acid and land face-first on the rocky bottom underneath. A hiss of irritation sounded from the boy’s mouth, muffled thanks to the liquid surrounding him, and the fact that his face was presently squashed against the stone ground. Teeth clenched and lips drawn back in an animalistic snarl, Masquerade pushed himself to his feet and emerged from beneath the acid’s surface. The dry Jinchuuriki massaged his shoulders, still snarling in aggravation. “Ugh, I need to work on my landing,” he angrily muttered to himself, now massaging the back of his neck as he began to step forward through the chest-high acid. He made his way down the dim passage in front of him, still sour at his ungraceful entrance into this realm within his subconscious. Despite his best efforts, he had kept entering the same way every single time he came to this world: embarrassingly, and painfully. No one could get used to such an awkward entry, no matter how many times he or she experienced it, or witnessed it.

After blacking out during his initial attempt at meeting the Shichibi, Masquerade had awoken to find himself lying in a comfortable bed in a decorative bedroom. There had been a second’s pause before he had noticed the bandages wrapped around his chest, as well as the inexplicable lethargy in his body. Another second had passed when the boy had spotted Subaru standing beside his bed, cleaning a set of surgical items laid out on a table. When Subaru noticed that Masquerade had regained consciousness, he asked the boy how his mission had gone. Masquerade had replied with the simple truth, that upon entering the room where the Bijuu was held, he had lost consciousness in moments. “A Bijuu... It has quite an overwhelming presence,” he had murmured, his voice clearly filled with awe. “I cannot believe that something with so much power has been inside me this whole time. It’s… incomprehensible…” Subaru had not been surprised that Masquerade had failed, or even fainted. As Subaru proceeded to explain, most Jinchuuriki’s first encounter with their Bijuu was seldom one easily handled; what had happened to Masquerade was a common occurrence. As Subaru, he continued to clean his surgical instruments, all while under the watchful eyes of Masquerade. The boy slowly put two and two together and realized that Subaru had been performing surgery on him.

This knowledge had brought out two queries from Masquerade. The first was whether Subaru was an Iryou Ninja, to which the man replied with an affirmative - though he admitted his skills were mediocre at best. The second question, and this one was asked in a quieter tone, was why Subaru had been operating on Masquerade. At this point, Subaru had smiled weakly, looking rather embarrassed and uncomfortable as he explained to Masquerade how he had been healing the stab to the heart that the blonde had suffered. The boy was speechless as Subaru then mentioned how he had been the one to stab Masquerade shortly after casting the Genjutsu on him. Before Masquerade could ask why he would do something like that, Subaru had graced the Nukenin with an answer: “You see, kid, our plan wasn’t going to work so easily. The Genjutsu alone wouldn’t be enough to get you far enough into your subconscious to let you meet the Shichibi. Sure, it would get you to calm down enough, but you were basically just asleep; you weren’t even conscious enough for your position to be considered as meditating. Since that way wasn’t going to work, I had to fall back on the alternate method, the one I was talking about earlier: to put your life in danger, so as to force the Shichibi to bring you to that part of your mind. So, I knocked you out and then stabbed you in the heart. Since you were unconscious, there was no way you would be able to save yourself, so the Shichibi would have to step in. In taking action to save you, she ought to (whether voluntarily or not) drag you into whichever part of your subconscious she was located in - or so I’d hoped. I waited long enough to see if my plan had worked, but I soon realized that the Shichibi wasn’t coming to your aid. When that happened, I abandoned the plan and began to heal you. I figured the whole thing was a bust; I had no idea the Shichibi had brought you to herself anyway… I suppose she knew I would end up saving you, so she just brought you straight over and left the healing to me.”

As Subaru had finished speaking, Masquerade had been left with two thoughts. The first was that Subaru kept referring to the Shichibi as a female, which Masquerade initially thought to be strange (he had not known that Bijuu had genders), but on further consideration had realized that this could indeed be true. After all, when he had first heard the Shichibi’s voice in his head some years ago (shortly after killing his father), it had definitely had a feminine quality to it. The second thought was that Subaru had been a complete fool for doing something so reckless, particularly without Masquerade’s consent. Yes, the Nukenin would have outright rejected the idea if he had known the full details, which meant he would never have gotten as far into his mind as he just had. Regardless, the fact remained that Subaru had just made a decision for Masquerade. He had taken control of Masquerade’s life against the boy’s wishes, in a way at least; and that infuriated the Nukenin more than anything. If it wasn’t for the fact that he did not have the strength to do so, Masquerade would have assaulted the man for his actions. But the youth did not give in to his rage, for he still needed the man’s help. Plus, despite the severity of his actions, Subaru had only meant well - even if it had resulted in his doing something which Masquerade would never forgive him for. Such was how importantly Masquerade viewed the concept of remaining in control of his life, body, and mind.

After that incident, Masquerade had remained in bed rest for a few days whilst his strength returned. According to Subaru, the encounter with the Shichibi was what had sapped the boy of his strength. The mental strain of seeing a beast as mighty as her for the first time had been quite great. Eventually, the boy recovered enough strength to resume his attempts to contact the Shichibi. This time, however, he made it clear to Subaru that he would not be using any method where his life would be put in danger. In reply to this, Subaru had informed the Nukenin that the only remaining option was for him to reach that realm through meditation. Once Masquerade had stated that he would rather meditate than put his life at risk, an acquiescent Subaru had agreed to help the boy improve his meditation skills. Thus, the two had gotten down to it. For the next few weeks, Masquerade would attempt to calm his mind and empty it completely. It was a slow and tedious training regime, for the only approach they could employ was practice. Masquerade could either do it, or he had to force himself to do it; and boy, was it hard. The Nukenin could safely say that this was one of the most tiring and irritating things he had ever tried to do. Never had anything tested his patience as much as this training. It was almost hilarious how hard the two males were trying to get the younger one to master the art of meditation. The only solace was that Masquerade already knew the basics of mediation, courtesy of his days under the tutelage of his deceased instructor, Sakamoto, who had also tried to teach the boy how to meditate. However, back then, Masquerade had not had the patience or tolerance to learn it, and though he was much better off these days in those areas, his skills in performing this act had hardly improved.

He just straight-up sucked at mediating.

So, the weeks passed by slowly and tiresomely, with Masquerade improving at a slow and infuriating pace, yet improving nonetheless. The ordeal was not made any better by Subaru, who kept suggesting every three days or so that they try fatally wounding Masquerade again, to which the boy would reply with an obscured death glare and a curt repudiation. At one point, the Nukenin had actually asked the man in irritation whether the latter wanted the boy to die, which had caused an ashamed Subaru to close his mouth and leave Masquerade to his training. That being said, the man did do plenty to help Masquerade calm his mind on his own, utilizing several relaxation methods to calm the Nukenin’s mind. With the man’s added assistance, and Masquerade’s own determination (the only other time he had been so fixated on accomplishing something was when he had been searching for someone who had known his father), the fruits of their labor eventually began to pay off. The boy could enter a trance deep enough to allow voluntarily entrance into the part of his mind where the Shichibi’s subconscious lay; although, there were further challenges to face afterwards. Try as he might, Masquerade just could not bear being in the Shichibi’s presence for more than a few seconds. The first three times after his initial attempt, he had fainted in a similar fashion to the first. For the next five instances, he managed to remain in that realm for a considerably longer time frame, but he lacked the strength to even look at the Bijuu, much less talk to it. It took all of his might just remain in that world, leaving him with no energy to actually interact with the beast. However, with time, practice, and determination (and controlling his desire to curse the whole world to Hell), Masuqerade had soon managed to improve his performance in this situation as well. So much so, that a point had come where Masquerade was confident he could be in the Bijuu’s presence and not be fazed at all. With this belief fueling his resolve, the Nukenin had decided to see if the hundred-and-something time would be the charm.

These events were what led to Masquerade currently standing outside the double doors behind which the Shichibi waited. This time, he was confident he could do it. This time, he was certain he could face the Shichibi, and say to it (her) what he wanted to say for so many long. It was time the guest met its host.

Taking a deep breath, Masquerade pushed the doors open, and stepped through them into the room beyond.

Word Count: 1825/1000

Age : 31 Posts : 1836

Training | Special Characteristic | Unique Traits | Lucid Dream State

Spoiler:

It was massive; huge; gargantuan; its size was almost incomprehensible. Not the Shichibi: the room. The space was so vast that Masquerade could not see or tell how far away the edges of the room were. He could not even tell what shape the room was - that was how large it was. It did not help that the background was nothing more than a canvas of darkness; darkness which seemed impenetrable by any source of light. Masquerade had no trouble seeing the stone wall directly behind him, but he could not see where it ended or joined with the other walls; the same could be said of the stone floor upon which he stood. Both just stretched on and on, vanishing into the darkness beyond for a seemingly endless length. To add to the peculiarity of it all, the room appeared to have a strange effect on the mind as well: it seemed a different size the longer one stood there, and the distances one might judge through observation only seemed incorrect the longer you stayed. While at one moment the room appeared only a hundred meters long, a few seconds later it would feel twice as large; at another, it would feel only a third that size. It was like the room was alive itself, expanding and contracting in some bewildering pattern. Not only that, but Masquerade could swear he heard a faint, periodic thumping sound in the backdrop, a sound whose source he could not discern; it seemed to come from the very walls themselves, further making the boy wonder if the room was indeed alive or not. It was all so mind-boggling, so disorienting. In fact, the only details in the room which were clearly distinguishable were Masquerade, and the Bijuu sealed there. Said Bijuu was situated several meters in front of Masquerade, in what he assumed to be the center of the room (certainly fifty meters away at the very least, but he could be wrong; the bizarre effect of the room made the Nukenin doubt even this assumption).

Inexplicable oddities aside though, there was one element in this situation which comforted Masquerade: he could at last behold the Bijuu without fainting, without issue; and what a sight it was to behold. A giant horned beetle, maybe eighty meters tall, with an armored exoskeleton that seemed impervious to all damage. Three pairs of magnificent wings grew from the base of its abdomen, as well as a long reptilian tail; collectively, they formed the seven “tails” from which the Bijuu’s name was derived. Despite not being as overwhelmed by it as he had been during his initial trip here, Masquerade was still awed by the weight of the chakra he felt emanating from the being before him. It still managed to have a slight suffocating effect to it. The feature that was most bewitching was perhaps the eyes, though: those eight, luminous eyes of a bright yellow color that resembled his green ones. As Masquerade gazed upon those optics, he felt like he finally had a good idea how others probably felt when they saw his own bug-like eyes. No, wait; they definitely didn’t feel as much intimidation and fear as he was feeling right now. If he recalled correcrlt, they felt disgusted more than anything else. But back to the Shichibi: Subaru had told Masquerade that all Jinchuuriki had their own way of manifesting their “dominance” over their Bijuu. He had informed Masquerade that every sealed Bijuu was trapped in a cage or confinement of some sort within the Jinchuuriki’s subconscious, which served as a means of representing the Bijuu’s sealed status. According to Subaru, the type of confinement differed for each Jinchuuriki, so there was no way to predict how the Shichibi’s seal would be manifested within Masquerade. That did not stop the Nukenin from imagining certain possibilities. In spite of this, as Masquerade examined the prison holding the insect Bijuu, he had to admit that it was not what he had been expecting. He had no idea what the other Bijuu’s cages looked like in their respective Jinchuuriki, so he had nothing else to compare his prison with; but he would be lying if he said that what he saw did not seem cruel to him.

The Shichibi was suspended several meters above the ground. Long chains, each as thick as the Bijuu’s spindly legs, extended out from the surrounding shadows to bind the creature in thick metal restraints. The Bijuu’s six wings were bound in shackles that left them crumpled and bent, all drawn back and stretched to their full length behind its body. Its abdomen, thorax, horn, and even its “neck” were all bound in these same constraints. The same could be said of its reptilian tail and thin legs, the former of which was curled down along the Bijuu’s underbelly to be bound in the same brace as the six legs. Each compact restraint was connected to one of the aforementioned chains, all of which were keeping the Bijuu lifted far above the ground. It was almost pathetic, heart wrenching even, to see a creature this mighty being subjected to such humiliation.

But Masquerade was not here pity the beast. He was here to fight for his beliefs.

“Well, well; looks like someone’s finally ready to talk,” spoke the soft, compassionate voice of the Shichibi, echoing throughout the room as well as in Masquerade’s head. There was certainly no doubt now: based on the quality of the voice, the Shichibi was definitely a female. Not that would make the situation any different.

Masquerade tilted his head to the side as he surveyed the Bijuu. “So, you’re the Shichibi…,” he remarked thoughtfully in a slow voice. “Not what I was expecting. I’ll admit. I imagined something a little more… demonic.”

This comment earned a laugh from the Shichibi, who answered smugly, “Appearances can be deceiving, boy. But I’m sure you already knew that. After all, no one would think you were a Jinchuuriki, would they?” The fact that the insect lacked an actual face to make expressions with meant that Masquerade had to resort to analyzing the being’s voice to determine her feelings and thoughts. There was also the lack of body language to decipher; the Bijuu barely moved at all while she spoke, probably due to the tightness of her restraints. But the lack of a face to read was the main issue. It was almost like the Shichibi was wearing a mask on her face, and thus her expressions were completely hidden from… well, that was kind of amusing. Perhaps this was the same difficulty that others faced when dealing with Masquerade and his masked visage? Huh. What a strange coincidence.

“Now then, what brings you here after so long?” the Shichibi inquired in a clearly sweet tone, as if the conversation was a casual one between friends, and nothing more than meaningless gossip. Masquerade opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted as the Shichibi resumed speaking in her saccharine voice. “Wait, let me guess: you’re here to tell me that I have to follow your every order because you’re my “master”. Or, that I have to lend you more of my power whenever you ask for it, without complaint or argument, as a form of “rent” for living inside your body.” Her voice was almost teasing now, yet still held the kind tone to it. Masquerade was sure that, if the Bijuu did have a face that could form human expressions, then it would have been smirking at him now in a style reminiscent of his own. In fact, he could almost imagine his own smirk on her inhuman face.

However, pointless observations were just that right now: pointless. He had a reason for being here, and this massive insect had pretty much given him the cue he needed to do steer the conversation in that direction. Looking the Bijuu steadily in the eye (or eyes, he supposed he should say), he said in a clear, determined voice, “I want you to stop. You’re habit of coming to my aid whenever I’m in danger, of saving my live whenever I’m about to die - I want you to stop that. I do not want you helping me or lending me your power, unless I specifically ask you to.” He took a confident step forward, raising a clenched fist so that it was level with his obscured eye. “Even if I am at death’s door, until I ask for your assistance, I do not want you assuming control of my body. I do not want you to protect me; not without my consent.”

Whatever the Shichibi had been expecting Masquerade to say, it had clearly not been this. Despite not having a face to show emotion with, the Jinchuuriki was positive that his Bijuu was gaping disbelievingly at him. Numerous silent seconds passed before the Shichibi gave a small chuckle at the boy. “Well, you’re certainly the first host I’ve ever had who’s asked me not to help them. But answer me this: what makes you think that I did all I did to protect you? Maybe I was just doing it to ensure my own safety? Have you considered that, hmm?”

The reply came with such swiftness, that it was as if the speaker was expecting the questioner to pose that question: “I think not, Shichibi. Yuuji Subaru told me what would happen if I died. He said that you would not die along with me, but would instead be freed of your imprisonment. With my death, you would earn back your freedom.” The blonde spread his arms apart meaningfully as he continued with surprising confidence for someone facing a creature as large as a Bijuu. “There is no danger posed to you if I die; only salvation. In fact, you should be aware of his telling me this. Or do you not observe everything that goes on outside from in here?”

The masked youth’s words caused the Bijuu to lapse into silence once more, no doubt because she was considering the situation. Masquerade stood his ground quietly, waiting for the Shichibi to respond, his face as devoid of emotion as that of the beetle looming above him. It was certainly frightening how gargantuan this entity was; Masquerade had not expected it to be this large in comparison to a human. He would be lying if he said that he was not intimidated by (maybe even afraid of) the creature chained in front of him. Really, if he came across anyone who had been in a similar situation to this and claimed not have felt the same, he would call that person a liar. It was impossible to be in the presence of a creature as mighty as this and not feel even feel a little insignificant in comparison.

Masquerade’s wordless admiration was halted as the Shichibi spoke up at last. “Are you sure you want this?” she inquired, sounding genuinely concerned now. “Are you sure you don’t want my help, even if you’re about to die?”

The Nukenin’s response was brusque and firm. “Unless I ask for it, then no - I do not want your help; even if I am about to die.”

“And if I refuse?”

Once more, the response was swift and confident. “If you refuse, then you refuse. However, should you do so, then I shall continue to despise you as I have been all this. Therefore, unless you want to live in the body of someone who will hate you for the rest of his life, then by all means - refuse...”

That seemed to settle the matter, for the Shichibi sighed in what was clearly defeat. She remarked softly in her affectionate voice, “You certainly know your place, don’t you, boy? Very well; I’ll honor your wishes, and only help you when you ask me to.”

Masquerade nodded at her, a small smirk of triumph appearing on his face for a millisecond before vanishing. “Thank you, Shichibi,” he stated, turning around to depart. That was all he had come to do; he had no other business with the Shichibi, so he was taking his leave. However, his approach towards the door was halted by another question posed at him by the Bijuu behind him. Pausing, the Nukenin turned slightly so as to face her while she spoke.

“Does your wish to not have any of my power also apply to the Santon?” she was asking, her tone distinctly taunting now.

If the giant beetle was expecting an extreme reaction from Masquerade, she did not get one. The blonde’s voice was rock-steady as he replied, “Yes, it applies to that as well. Unless I ask for it, you are not to let me use the Santon. That is -.” The youth turned his back to the Bijuu as he paused in his speech. “- assuming you can moderate my ability to access it.”

Once again, the Shichibi laughed out loud at Masquerade’s statement, the same laugh of amusement as before. “Fear not: I can’t control whether you can use Santon or not. That’s an inherent trait granted to all my Jinchuuriki, regardless of my wishes. However, as promised, I will not grant you anymore of my power until you request it.”

Masquerade turned his head so as to allow the Bijuu a view of his profile, and the smirk on his face. “I’ll be sure to say “please”,” he commented mockingly, taking a step towards the door. As he pushed it open and passed through, he could feel the Shichibi’s eight-eyed gaze on his back even as he left.

Masquerade’s eyes flew open behind his mask, and the subsequent motion from his body as he rose to his feet indicated that he had regained consciousness. Upon seeing this, Subaru hurried over to Masquerade from the bench he had been sitting upon. The boy himself had been seated on the same rock in the middle of the garden’s “pond” as before; this journey had ended where it had started, fittingly enough. The Nukenin stepped across the water and onto the grass as Subaru neared him. Looking at the blonde excitedly, the man asked how it had gone. “Very well; she agreed to my terms,” was Masquerade’s response, which made Subaru smile victoriously. The duo began to walk back into the mansion, and Masquerade proceeded to inform Subaru of all that had transpired inside his subconscious. Subaru did not question Masquerade as to what his terms had been, for he had already asked and been informed by the boy at an earlier date. All the subsequent arguing and convincing had already come and gone. The result was that Subaru now respected Masquerade’s decision to not want the Bijuu’s help, even if he thought it a risky endeavor. But as Masquerade had pointed out, it was his decision to make; therefore, it did not matter what Subaru thought.

“Well, since that’s finally done, I guess you’ll be leaving, huh?” Subaru remarked as they entered the living room of the mansion, the one where Masquerade had been led to after being released from the basement. The bearded man looked genuinely saddened that Masquerade was going to depart, but the boy had made it clear that he would be leaving once he had successfully spoken to the Shichibi. Since he had completed that objective, it was now time to leave. Although Subaru might be sad at the boy’s departure, Masquerade was not: he was more used to being by himself now. It was far too dangerous for him to remain in another’s company for long, or at their residence. As a Nukenin, he was always on the run; and right now, he needed to run.

“Thank you again for your help, Yuuji Subaru,” Masquerade said gratefully, before heading out of the house. Just as the Shichibi had watched him go, so did Subaru. This time, however, the boy did not fully register the watchful gaze, for he was too lost in his triumphant thoughts to notice.

Word Count: 4506/1000

~ Topic Concluded ~