Four. Little. Words.

That's all it took to turn her new, meticulously crafted world and turn it upside down. To send it spiraling.... ricocheting back to those first few days and force her to walk those same scorched footprints once more. It didn't matter how much time she put in to releasing that furnace breath by breath. It didn't matter how much effort went in to controlling those searing fumes. All of it... every piece she had put together over the years came apart like a dying land under the force of a volcano. And Tenmei Sotsuji never saw it coming.

----

It was about three days ago when Tenmei returned from restful walk across the untouched shoreline of Kiri's borders.
With bag slung casually over shoulder, skin of sand clinging to her calves, creeping to the damp bunched up trousers, gathered around her knees: It had been a long time since she wore that careful smile.
It felt good.... freeing. Almost like she was back to being her better self.
Without breaking her stride, the ebony haired female dropped the bag by the table top, placed the tea on the old wooden bench...and just as she was sliding the selection of novels back on to the dust free shelf, she heard it.... The multi toned voice parting it's ways through her thoughts. . It wasn't until the sounds had dissipated in to a vivid memory, did Tenmei understand just what those four little words meant.

And then everything changed.

Everything... Stopped.

The chaotically fluctuating heart beat, no longer sure of it's pattern. The gasping breaths only just refreshing her lungs. The nerves frozen by the late Kiri winds. All of it. All of her. It just.....stopped. Paused.
A marble stilled statue trapped in the moments of a partly opened door. Unable to move. Unable to breath......
That was until the shock was exhaled from her system and the painful reality broke through the numbing haze that kept her standing there. 
She was cold. For the first time since that day; Tenmei was cold. Frigid. Freezing. Her trembling hands, as white as the sand around her ankles, could barely move to grab the wall as her muscles finally unclenched and she was lost to the ground.
It didn't matter that the open door was letting in the beginnings of an on coming storm, or that the cold that had wrapped around her had developed in to a deep ache. All Tenmei could do was crawl over on to a blanket and sleep until she was still once more.

Then Tenmei brought hell to the forest of Kirigakure

-------

She barely remembered the days after the incident.
Locked inside, curled up with woolen blankets and corner shadows. Hiding from the whispers that crept up to the window sill and snuck through the cracks. Avoiding the eyes that chased her to the front door. Even the walls with their scorch marks and stains seemed to judge her for the damage she had done. It seemed that the only place where the female could seek solace was the blissfully numbing world of sleep. The quiet abyss hidden beneath the state of dreaming where the images, the voices.....the cold couldn't reach her.
For the past two days Tenmei had barely eaten. She had stopped drinking, stopped going out. She had stopped caring about the people that stared through the cracks. Until that one day when yet again, things changed. But this time it wasn't voices or feelings that had forced her path. It was a rock. A simple hunk of solidified earth flying through her window and cracking in to the treated old table. 

It wasn't much...but it was enough. A decision had to be made. And with the mocking rumours drifting about that she was alive....
The Special jounin new what she needed to do. She called for the twins and left a simple, blunt message.

"I'm leaving for a while. I will come back.
I just.....I just need some space.....Time. I'm sorry"


And that was how she found herself now.
Moving around the house, shoving clothes in to a bag, food, bottles of water; Finding which books to carry and which to pack up in the heavy wooden chest was the hardest choice she would have to make.
She packed up the tea set in a small wooden box and made sure both sword and knife were sharp and ready. Bandages, blanket, bangles, and the food for her pet. Within an hour the ebony haired girl was all packed and ready to go. Just as soon as she had....

A knock on the door?

Tenmei carefully adjusted the sheet over the table and dusted off her hands with edge of her shirt. She turned took one step...and paused. The only people to knock on her door were messengers and strangers. Neither which she had spoken to since that incident those days ago.
But today....today had been different. Full stomach, moving around, clear and direct plans for the horizon. The idea of saying goodbye didn't terrify her as it had done before. It was a new day. A good day.

...and then she opened the door.

-------

Words: 886
Total (886/5000)

It felt like months since Aya had been back to this house, so much death, a war had been between her and Tenmei for the last week and a bit, and the city was only now just recovering from everything which had gone on around it. There was so much to do, and some of the missing ninja who were under the command of Seven Bells were still at large, people claiming that they are the new leaders of the bells clan as the group continued to fragment beyond the point of reconstitution. They were broken, and Seven bells himself was nowhere to be found... that was the biggest scare of them all. His plan had not succeeded, and he would likely be out for vengeance at one point or another, or, perhaps he was wounded amongst the giant conflict. One of the many lost souls of the devastation... Well, She wouldn't know... how could she? Aya, through all of her strength was still only human...

Looking out over the skylight, she headed towards Tenmei's house, she had even died among the conflict, she could still remember the feeling of falling as she was struck from the cliff by seven bells himself. She should not have tried to fight him while she was still wounded from the attack Io had commenced against her. The scar was no longer apparent on her skin, neither was all of the others which had been caused along her journey to become Kage, while she was unconscious she was not able to tell the medic who healed her to not focus on the scars which covered her body, leaving her marble skin looking pristine and scarless, as if she had never been touched by a blade or battle. She guessed that this was the form which Kage often had, but, she wanted to show the world that her body had been through strife, and how she had known pain, more than most...

Like Tenmei, she had watched her father die at a young age, without the power to do anything, she had lived through the ridicule of people thinking that she and her family were traitors, unlike her, she had seen her mother wither away under the weight of her depression, becoming a husk of her former self, and lost in a haze of sorrow which lasted more than a decade. Aya had come so far, and so had Tenmei, ever ounce of her body prayed that she would not be mad at her re-appearance, or at the very least would understand why she did what she had to do to try and protect this city. Aya did notice the black scar in the kiri forest in the far off distance, which she could only assume was the power of the Sotsuji family fire being let out...

Finally reaching Tenmei's door, she raised her golden gauntlet, knocking softly on the door a couple of times before standing back far enough, so that Tenmei would be able to take in her full form. From head to toe, her sapphire blue hair which glimmered in the smallest ray of light, her single blue eye, the other now covered with an eye patch, a rather clean wound, but one which she would soon fill, she had her mother constructing her replacement eye in the mean time, but, for now the patch would have to do, Mizuru, in the fight with her, she had unleashed true power in the form of a potion, taking Aya by surprise she had cleaved straight through to the irreparable nerve in the back of her eye. Aya would not miss it, so long as she had one... for her country, for Tenmei, she would gladly forsake an eye.

"Hey..."

Aya felt like a shy schoolgirl, as she wanted to say so much more, her voice caught in her throat, and the Kage was reduced to the mental state of an introverted teenager for a moment. Aya wanted to explode with explanations and apologies which she knew would not be enough, she wanted to hold Tenmei in her arms and tell her, that she promised her that she would never leave her, and that she was back, and had not broken that promise. Tears began to well in the Kage's eye, which froze into a crystalline dust scattering to the winds as she blinked, feeling awkward, and powerless, but she needed to give Tenmei some time, and let Tenmei come to her, and speak in her own time. Staggering only to follow up with...

"I'm still here..."

Nothing.

There was simply....nothing.
No flicker of emotion against her stark expression. No wavering in her silently unfocused eyes. Even the chaotic rhythm in her chest and the sporadic breathing, mingling with afternoon mist; had frozen in the open door. The only movement that moment held was the racing of the young girls mind as it struggled...fought to comprehend the vision in front of her. That perfect... precise...detailed image painted as clear as the suna skies, straight from the forefront of her memories.
And what a cruel image. That sapphire hair, blown free from her shoulders... only to fall around those piercingly stern Aisu eyes. The regal attire boasting her rank, the confident stance parading her status. Hardly a scar to be seen and strong as ever. It was just how she appeared every night in those haunting dreams

"Hey..."

She never spoke in the dreams.

"I'm still here..."


Shock. Confusion. Releif. Anger. Pain. Sadness. Confusion. Shock.

Tenmei could almost hear her world shattering.
With every clear cut emotion....every feeling that danced through the silver of her eyes, another glass knife twisted in her back. Stabbing clean in to her heart, choking out the words before they could be gasped from her lips. It was no where near as painful as the indifference tearing her consciousness in two.
What was she supposed to think? Logic knew that it couldn't be possible. That the heavy solemn words spoke more truth than the distant clouds. But then again the desire...the want, the need for her to not be alone any longer was so strong that she almost believed that what she wanted was true. That the figure in front her her was really there...and it was not just another hallucination.

"No"


It sounded like her voice. Though it's echoes were distant, she could feel the strain in her vocal chords and the tones that reverberated up her parched throat.

"I was scared, Solstice. I was so....scared.
There was no one"

No one

"You..... you said you would protect me. That you be here if I....
 You were gone"


One tear. That's all it took.
The crystal droplet traced a salt line down her cheek, reaching to the lower curve of her lightly trembling lips before fading unnoticed in to the pale blush of her skin.
Stuck in that moment. Frozen in that breath: That one single...fragile droplet crushed the stillness that had washed over her, and forced the
Sotsuji back another step in to the house. Her hands trembled in their death grip around the edge of the door, her legs felt like they could fail her with any step. And yet....Tenmei still managed to back further in to the safety of her house where the heat continued to rise and steam started to leak from the damp wooden floor boards. The dark haired female still managed to turn away...turn back again. To make sure that she was still there and her words were not lost to the mist.

But when Tenmei saw that Solstice was still there.....
Everything changed,

"On my own...I could hear whispers. They were taunting me. Saying you were alive. I wanted to believe them. I did...but. The twins, they told me..... Why didn't you tell me that you were alive? Why didn't you come to me? Why didn't....."
Her voice trailed off in to her hand as it subconsciously reached for her chest. As if she was feeling the same, stabbing pain that she thought she had left at the shore line. A sensation that rivaled a further twist of those lethally sharp glass knives.
 "Why....why didn't you trust....why didn't you trust me to tell me that were alive? I thought...i thought we were close. I thought I meant something to you. Is it just not true? After everything that I...that we have been through. Do I mean that little?

Was it something I did?"

With every breath between every word, the emotions continued to flicker across her paler expression. Rapidly transitioning from one to the other like branches in a storm, until all that was left was the hoarse whisper that not even she could recognize anymore.
At least this time when the pain got too much...when all she knew started to collapse on her like the burning forest. There was nothing left for her to let go of. Tenmei had lost everything.

"You were all I had and you took that away. There's just....nothing.

Nothing.


-----
Words: 768
Total: 1694/5000

Aya's heart sank, her mind falling into the darkest of places, she could only think of those moments where she had thought that maybe Tenmei would have understood what she had done, that, it was her duty as Mizukage to throw her life on the line for the good of the village. Were it not for Tenmei, Aya would have died for the country without looking back, but she, and only she had the power to make her regret her decision for doing exactly what it was her duty to do if the time came for it. She had tried to cut the head off the snake, but she was wounded at the time, and it had almost cost Aya her life... She hadn't meant it to, though she knew it was a possibility, such is there possibility for death in every mission, ninja had to be ready to die, and especially Kage, for where ninja were pressured to die for their ideals, lifestyle, friends or family, Kage were pressured to die for thousands upon thousands of people, in service of the country.

Aya bit her bottom lip, simply to stop it from trembling in the presence of her sister, Aya's pride, was the only thing that stopped her from dropping to her knees and begging for forgiveness, because, deep within the doubt and regret that Tenmei sewed in her heart, Aya knew she had still done the correct thing for her country. Kirigakure...

It took the weight of an entire country to balance the scales in par with Tenmei...

Looking at her, looking at Tenmei's saddness, her grief, shock, anger, surprise, she knew she was right to have it all. And perhaps this was to be Aya's punishment, for her reckless action, for being Kage, the weight of her responsibility lead to her hurting or disappointing the ones she loves. But Tenmei would eventually grow out of her grief, a large part of her would have to be thankful that Aya was still alive, it would have to be. Feelings did not disappear overnight, but, Aya opened her lips to begin to explain, and try to undo the damage.

"Tenmei... the world thought i was dead... I had to use that advantage against them, we were at war, and it could well have undid the damage. Me faking my death, gave all of kiri some-one to hate, and they crushed Seven Bell's army with that hate, and showed themselves that it was not their Kage who made them strong... I could not reach out to you after, because if 'anyone' found out, it would undo everything... It was too risky, with spies, and even if the people of kiri saw me... I'm so sorry Tenmei... I'm so... so sorry... The pain I caused you... I don't..."

Aya's eyes welled up with tears as she trailed off with her words, though as they began to roll down her cheek, they crumbled into diamond dust, and scattered to the winds. Aya held her eyes closed for a moment, as she felt like her heart was going to explode out of her chest...

"I understand if you hate me for what I done, I deserve it... I failed you... As a Kage, as a sister... as a friend... I understand if you want to take your hate out on me, and I would gladly accept it..."

Aya held out her hands to either side, splaying her fingers and revealing her soft, marble skin underneath her coat. Save for what bound her breasts and her pants she was almost naked under the shroud of the mizukage without her armour. Opening herself up for a strike she closed her eyes and prepared herself for the pain and the impact of what was to come. She would deserve it, she would not guard herself against Tenmei or her heat, she would wear the mark with regret and not have it healed should Tenmei use chakra to imbue her strike.

Tenmei's response and seeming lack of understanding made Aya furious... Aya was short tempered at the best of times, and as of this moment she was particularly volatile. Her chakra began to rise to the point that a small black scar began to crawl around her side, breaking her skin, converting it to frostbite like a stab wound as Aya had failed for a moment to control her own inner power, her eyes closed as she reigned it under control, the flare of power, the scar, and her bringing it back under control didn't take any longer than a couple of seconds but when Aya managed to break out of it, there was an edge to her tongue, a cold venom as Aya began to get angry, part of the Mizukage simply wanted to this to be over, and for it to be done with. Though Tenmei did not seem to want to end it, it seemed she did not want to accept the facts which Aya had presented to support her.

It did not seem to her that Tenmei understood, nor wanted to understand Aya's side in all of this, she didn't seem to comprehend through her pain and her anger that of all people it was Tenmei that she wanted to reach out to the most, to tell her that she was still alive, though, would it have really mattered? It was Aya's duty to lay down her life for her village, and even if she had failed to kill seven bells that day, she had saved hundreds of lives by occupying him during the battle rather than allowing him to take part in the fight himself.

Ayas fists tightened as she strained to hold herself back, but she couldn't, she found her lips moving against her personal restraint, she found herself giving in to her anger and pain, slipping in a moment of emotional weakness as Tenmei did not even take her up on her offer to resolve the issue, leaving Aya unpunished for her wrongs...

"Then it seems you don't understand... how could you...? You don't understand what it is my job to do as Mizukage, you don't understand the pressure and the sacrifices I am expected to make for this village. My life, my well being, my time, this city, this country, owns them. And I would lay down my life if i had to for them, for you, to keep you safe. When I almost died OF COURSE i thought of you, you were all I thought of, but I was UNCONSCIOUS and on ice for almost 24 hours! The only person who saw me, I made SWARE to tell no-one, to DIE before revealing my secret... not telling you was my greatest regret... your friendship, alone, is the only thing that can make me regret a choice I made for the good of ALL of Kirigakure. Saving thousands of lives, yet I still feel like the villain..."

Aya's body tensed so hard, her fists compressed the dry ice that formed within them into its own form of stone, then crumbled it into dust dropping between her fingers, tears all the while beginning to flow freely from her ducts, only to freeze and crumble by the time they met her cheeks as her chakra was barely under her control, the violent ice which much like Tenmei's flame threatened her when left unchecked and un maintained.

"But you don't see that... I thought, YOU, of all people would understand what i had to do... You, my closest, and dearest friend... But fine..."

Aya lowered her arms to her sides, looking away from Tenmei and dropping her arms to her sides, biting her lip so hard it began to bleed while spitting the blood to a side and looking at Tenmei sit at her table, while Aya stood at the door, never feeling like more than an outsider than this in her entire life. Her chest tightened as she could feel the pain of her words making her voice hoarse and crack as she spoke them, rasping as she rose her voice into a strained and desperate yell before her finishing comment, where she spoke it clearly, but more affirming it to the air around her, so she could hear herself than directing it at Tenmei.

Aya was about to leave, but she would stay to hear her reaction.

Aya watched as her attack went to her blade, she felt the pain of Tenmei and accepted it, but, something was... off... Aya listened to her words but she was not so lost in her emotion that she could not hear the true undertones which were being said between her words, but then there was the one thing which Aya had heard about, Tenmei mentioned the voices. But before Aya was able to react Tenmei was on her, lightning fast, drawing her blade and bringing it down for Aya like a strike of thunder for her shoulder, Aya would have accepted the blow, were it not for her realising that there was something wrong with this attack... It was not intended to hurt Aya, or wound her, it was intended to KILL her. The strength and speed were not stopping nor slowing, so Aya had to react with all of the speed that the Mizukage was trained and bred to be able to do, lifting a gauntlet clad hand, Aya flashed it up to her defense, as the blade cut into Aya's skin she did not flinch as it bit into her, cutting her like a razor but not deep enough to cleave through her bone as Aya parried it to a side.

A kick followed soon after but Aya jumped meter's backwards, holding her wound as blood flowed from it in the rhythm of her heartbeat. Aya's mind was spinning round, the world around her was becoming hazy, something was wrong, the ice was beginning to creep in from beneath her, the world began to freeze before her eyes, her hands began to frost over, was Aya losing control? A cold sweat began to drip down her forehead as she looked down at her blood soaked hand, but then she saw an iced flower, like a crystal made of razor sharp blades... That's when Aya knew, that's when Aya could finally understand what was going on, there was something, something meddling with her, those voices were like his, the Sage master who had used Genjutsu to train her from miles away, it was the same, though different, stealthier, and probably far more complex... But it had to be it, Genjutsu...

Aya rose her hand to ward off Tenmei's attack, for a moment, fear within her eyes as she knew something was vastly wrong, and if someone was controlling Tenmei with a mind controlling Genjutsu, the puppeteer using it would more than likely become all the more dangerous as soon as he knew Aya was onto him about his strengths, and his plans.

"Tenmei, use Genjutsu Kai, now, at the highest rank you possible can... please."

Aya began to enter her own Sage mode, but before she could focus her energy, Tenmei came in for another attack, striking for Aya, though this time Aya was ready, Anger fuelled her, the person within her friend, forcing her to attack Aya, turning her against her, that was enough to make Aya's frost bitten blood boil red hot. Raising her hand to block the second strike, Aya would wrap her armoured fingers around the blade and death grip it, throwing a roundhouse kick for Tenmei's head, strong enough that if it were to connect, it would be impossible for Tenmei to hold her weapon without ripping her own arm off, or at least dislocating her shoulder and send her flying if she let go. Though the kick was only strong enough to stun her, to daze her. Aya needed to use Ga-kabe no Jutsu, to sever the connection, but, if Tenmei was relentless with her martial attacks, the chances of entering such a state and performing a complex jutsu were minimal to none.

Coiling her fists and letting go of her sword, stepping back again, Aya would be ready to protect herself from Tenmei's inner heat, all the while, she needed to assess how powerful a mind technique like that would be... it would have to be powerful, otherwise it would not be able to extend over the colossal distance it would take to be able to reach her... assuming it was colossal, he could be like the twins, and have an enormous sum of natural talent with projection, but, such traits were rare, and hard to train... There had to be another answer, but, Aya was lost in the middle of struggle, with no answer immediately apparent...

"Tenmei,"

Aya began to beseech...

"Those voices? How long have you had them? Are you hearing them now? Are they talking to you Tenmei!? If they are, don't listen to them! They're not friendly! They're not you! someone is trying to control you Tenmei... I'm not your enemy...!"

Aya pleaded, though she had a gut feeling that the person pulling the strings was trying to force Aya's hand in this matter, attempting to end things here, but Aya needed more information, she needed to gauge what was going on through the hate, through the sorrow and resentment. She needed to fight, or Tenmei would kill her, and she needed to subdue the voices within her at the same time, whether it be by knocking Tenmei out, or by being able to perform her skill which shut off techniques like these.

Aya followed through with her kick, as Tenmei dropped down to her knees and threw out a blow for Aya's supporting leg, with a subtle bend, tensing up in preparation for impact, Aya leaped using it, the spin from her round house kick sent her spiraling into a corkscrew spin as she launched herself backwards letting go of her weapon, landing on the foot she kicked off from, the other foot swept in behind her, rounding off her momentum and stopping her spin so that she was once again facing Tenmei, there was not a sweat broken on Aya's forehead, all things considered, Tenmei was slow in comparison to her, though she was relentless, Aya was worrying about what might be taking over her mind, though as she opened her mouth to speak, something was off about it, she was saying things which Tenmei would not normally say, was this the deeply hidden truth? Or was she being manipulated by some distant force which Aya needed to cleanse her of? Either way, this needed to end.

"...They never did. None of them ever lied to me or kept things from me or....."

Aya saw the enigmatic crack in that iron clad armour, she read into it, analyzed it, Tenmei was in a state of mind right now that there was no way she would have cut off that sentence if something had not of happened. Which meant that Aya now had a weapon of which to fight back with, putting the 'voices' whomever, or whatever they were more on her level, as something she was able to fight, even if it was not with her fists, she was able to fight against them. Aya's mind searched for the words as she opened her mouth to capitalize on the opportunity she was offered on a silver platter.

"Or what Tenmei? Or have you only just realized that maybe they have not been there for you all of the time..? When weren't they Tenmei..? Was it a time when you needed them..? "

Then it was dropped that the voices were her father, and that changed the game... She still did not understand the risks which would have had to be taken, if Bells had of discovered that Aya was alive and waiting to strike, he could have used that as a weapon of mass destruction against Kiri's morale, Aya saw things in the much grander picture, Aya had no resources, there were spires integrated within Kiri's troops, and people had a tendency to chatter, the only person who ever knew was the ninja who had healed her in the forest, and even she was reluctant to try to pull Aya back from the brink of death... least she forever be the person who failed to revive the Mizukage. Aya while she was recovering barely had the strength to move, yet alone get back to Kirigakure, she remembered the pain that was caused to her, the guilt, the wound, the cold, but, she could not dwell on such things, Tenmei needed her.

But as things got heated, Tenmei's words stung deep into Aya's tough skin as she attacked with her blades, Aya felt a spike through her heart after having lost Tenmei's trust, seemingly irreparably, though she said she loved her... you trusted and forgave the people you loved, through the bright, burning sapphire eye of Aya, she would have forgiven Tenmei for murder, she would have bent the laws of the land to keep her safe, and killed an army for her. She would have understood and forgiven should Tenmei have ever done something reckless and gotten hurt, hell, Aya had, when she was almost killed by Seven Bells, Aya was there by her side as soon as possible, not a word to be said in negativity, but it seemed to Aya, that feeling was not exchanged here. Perhaps she felt like Tenmei's love for her, was not equal to Aya's reciprocating feelings of trust, and devotion to Tenmei.

And as Tenmei charged in for her attack, she would notice something change in Aya, in her stance, in her eyes, they were closed, unable to look at Tenmei as she attacked, but, lines and the faintest of butterfly wings exploded from her back, as symbols covered her body, as well as her clothes, her Sage mode, the chakra flowed through her as she could now feel and see the world and the chakra around her through the chakra which was apparent in all natural things. Aya's blue fire eye burned like vaporous ice through her closed eye as Tenmei got closer and closer, Aya was biting her lip so hard blood flowed freely from her wound. The Blade came down for Aya, sweeping for her side as Aya combined the transformation technique with not only the substitution technique, but also her ice statue technique to create a complex sequence of events, resulting in an illusion.

Tenmei would cut through Aya, but, Aya had already moved to a crouching location behind her, maintaining the transformation technique, which was not unlike a massive bubble, painted scenery which allowed Aya to become virtually invisible. Tenmei would cut through the ice statue which Aya left behind, the two techniques in combination making it seem like blood exploded from her wounds as Tenmei cut down the Mizukage right in front of her, Aya had hoped to shock her with what she had done, the ice statue making it feel like there was substance to the impact, further adding to her complex illusion. Aya waited a couple of moments, waiting to see if Tenmei would be shocked that Aya would have let something like this happen. Before too long however, the illusion would dissipate, revealing Aya standing a few meters behind Tenmei...

"Well... If I am undeserving of your heart... or your trust... or your forgiveness... or your reason... then you... you are undeserving of my mercy..."

Aya lowered her mask, covering the full frame of her face and hiding the tears which were falling freely, she did not want Tenmei to see her weakness, her guilt, her hate for herself for letting this happen to their relationship. But more notably, Aya's mask was a symbol, it was a symbol of combat, of her beginning to take things seriously, clenching her fists, she rushed Tenmei with everything she had in the vicinity of speed, though she was pulling her punches to be nothing more than normal human strength, Aya would charge Tenmei head on, and with her first fist, she would bring it for her gut, hard enough and strong enough to attempt to wind her, should her initiation be successful, and Tenmei would coil over it, Aya would throw dozens of rapid punches into Tenmei's chest like lightning striking at her torso, one after the other, Aya's fists were a golden blur before to end the sequence, Aya swung out a single leg to knock out Tenmei's from beneath her, and spin her horizontally and while in mid air, she would throw a single open palmed strike for her solar plexus, strong enough to send her hurtling into a nearby oak.

Aya rose up from her crouched stance, standing tall, defiant, assuming her attacks had landed, Aya wanted to end this, she wanted for all this ti disappear, for none of this to have happened, for them to be happy... Regret bubbled up inside her, like a pressure building in her chest wanting to get out, wanting to explode outwards and freeze everything so deeply they would become nothing but flaking crystals.

Solstice watched, and she listened, though she hid her face and her tears behind her iron clad mask, she hid them in such a manner than Tenmei would not be able to see the weakness which covered her, so that the mask itself would cover the flaws and the inherent shaking of her voice as the Mizukage spoke, the entire reason for the Mask, was simply so that Aya could seem strong, when she really was not holding up well at all, wearing it made herself feel more confident, it made Aya feel like she was in control of herself, when really she was not. Coiling her fists, Aya saw the tree explode behind Tenmei into fire, it seemed she was beginning to lose control, though, she had released all of her inner heat in an explosion days ago, there was no need for Aya to worry about a large explosion now, not that there was ever any reason to fret about Tenmei exploding, as long Aya was here, destruction would be made minimal. The ground beneath the feet of herself was beginning to freeze as Aya's inner cold was increasing to match her inner heat, cold enough to create crystalline fractles of ice expand across the ground, steam rising from them as the heat from Tenmei's fire collided with them.

Though, Tenmei's words seemed to fall on an emotionless wall. Aya was guarding herself from pain so harshly that she was falling into a logic machine, she had become transformed into the Mizukage, rather than a person as a defense to protect herself from Tenmei's words. Bringing the persona over herself like a cloak, and hiding within it like a scared little girl hiding beneath her bed, hoping the men who were attacking their house would go away, and that mommy would be okay, and that daddy weren't gone...

"I gave you my honesty Tenmei, I told you there was no way I could reach you without possibly giving myself away, with all my power I could not... But, I think you fail to see what you've become... Twice now, you have attempted to strike me down, without me reacting, you would have killed your sister... Killed your family, who gave you a home, training, love, companionship. Not once, but twice, and I wanted to show you just how far you were falling, how much control you were loosing. It looks like it scared you... The Tenmei I know would have never struck me down~!"

It was then Tenmei exploded into movement again, bridging the gap between them and aiming for a slash to Aya's shoulder, sidestepping the blade only so slightly as to have the blade miss by millimeters, suddenly a follow through kick was launched to Aya's ribs, there was no dodging here, reaching out one of her gauntleted hands, she would catch Tenmei's leg and grab it, not letting her go, no matter how hard she pulled, she would break her knee before releasing tenmei. While grabbed, in the other Aya would prepare an orb of purest Hyouton, and with an open palm she would drive it towards Tenmei's chest, the effect would be intense, amazing, dazzling, and violent all at the same time, the intense cold would merge with Tenmei's body, making her the epicenter of Aya's justu. The cold would connect with her inner heat and intermingle with her chakra, the polar opposite natures of the chakra would become as chaos, but ultimately negate each other, as the heat down Tenmei's skin would protect her from the cold, and since she was at the storm of wind's center, she would be largely unaffected by the gust. Aya however would be knocked meters away, and with a rather sizable amount of physical force, temporarily having used her own Hyouton chakra to actively negate Tenmei's inner heat, resetting it forcefully assuming it would land her in the chest as Aya attempted...

As the storm calmed, Aya would look to her friend, the aftermath from their jutsu would have put out the tree behind Tenmei, thanks to the strong blowing winds, puffing it out like a candle. Aya simple watched, her mask ever expressionless as she looked to her own hand in a sense of wonder. She had created this technique solely for the purpose of putting out Tenmei's fire, to control her, to stop her from burning if she ever thought she was going to far. She wished she was able to reset the clock and use it on her before she detonated in the kiri forest. But, hindsight is 20-20. Aya did not think that this might be a consequence of her actions at the time, although she had known that Tenmei would be devastated, Aya could never have imagined this reaction from her sister.

"I-I made this Jutsu just for you you know... ... ... "

Aya began, though her voice was calm, her stutter was still expelled through the voice of the mask, as calm, making her seem more hesitant than distraught. Aya clenched her fist in anger, both at Tenmei for not accepting her apology, and for herself feeling guilty for saving thousands over one girl. Kiri did not need a Mizukage who was this emotionally conflicted over one person, they needed the iron mask she was wearing, the needed someone who was willing to make the sacrifices necessary and bear the sins of the world to make this country better and stronger than it has ever been. They needed the soldier who ruled with justice, which never wavered, the did not need a sentimentalist who regretted every decision she ever made.  

When I studied how your family's chakra worked, I discovered it was the opposite to mine... that when they collided with each other the natures created a chaotic imbalance, the fire and water countered each other, leaving only the air nature remaining, in a weakened state... It was meant for you... to stop your inner heat... to stop you from going too far without hurting you. I spent... weeks, developing it, studying both of our family histories from whatever i could find to be the one to save you...

... I'm sorry I wasn't there...

And with that, Aya felt like she had lost the fight, turning her back she looked back over to Tenmei's house, beginning to walk away, taking a deep breath and looking up to the sky, everything here just seemed pointless now, nothing seemed to matter, Tenmei was packing to leave before, and now, she was more than definitely going to leave, so, there was no point in fighting for her to stay... Aya could not feel that she was going to forgive Aya here or now, so, their fight was only destroying assets and landscape of Kirigakure, if it went any further, they may hurt someone other than themselves in a rather serious manner. So, looking over her shoulder to her friend, Aya took something from her back, It was a small mask, the original mask of the Serial killer, the one she had killed, little more then a cloth mantle, shaded black with a crimson star over one eye. Upon the forehead was sewn a kirigakure headband, which had been repaired to no longer bear the strike of a missing ninja running through it.

"Here... If you're going to leave, take this, as my last gift to you. To me, it always symbolized that I could overcome my demons, be they the ones standing in front of me, or the ones inside me. I've held onto that mask for over a decade as a keep sake... take it with you... I think you have some demons left."

And so, unless Tenmei, reengaged Aya, be it in conversation, or in combat, Aya would begin to leave. She could deduce when she was not wanted.

There was a single moment, a slip, something had changed in Tenmei's voice the moment that Aya had for a moment severed the active Katon in her body, when Tenmei called out her name, there was something in her voice which was true, pleading, honest and full of emotion and desperation. It was enough to pull at Aya's heart, and give her hope, though Aya continued with her course of action, allowing her to leave should she want to, she was doing it under false pretenses now, she knew that there would likely be little way for her to cleanse Tenmei's body without killing her, Aya would need to find another Genjutsu user of equal strength in an attempt to rid Tenmei's body of the threat within her...

...Genjutsu...

Aya rapidly performed the calculations, though she was tipped off to it being something other than that a moment ago, the fact that Tenmei changed when Aya had delivered a shock to her own chakra system meant that there was some form of foreign chakra within her, and if not foreign, then it was something to do with her chakra system. The most available form of intravenous control in the ninja world was medical tampering with her mind, which was one very good option, the other was that she was under the spell of some form of Genjutsu master... Though from what she had ascertained about her Family, Tenmei's mother was an extremely famous swords-woman and master of her own bodies' Kekkei Genkai, her father, was less famous, and although there were little records of him, there was her clan to consider. The Sotsuji clan were known for their use of ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and in her mother's case, Bukijutsu, there are very, very few known Genjutsu masters among her own clan, so, at the thought of it being related to her, it was more than unlikely. So, her claiming that it was her father telling her things, was more than unlikely, it was wrong...

Someone was using her, and Aya thought at first it was to attempt to kill the Mizukage, though now, Aya was not so sure, there were beginning to be other things, other possibilities which could be apparent here. Tenmei was going to leave before Aya had gotten there, what if Aya showing up here was a coincidence, Tenmei had obviously thought she was dead, and was upset about it, if she was being controlled, why would the controller not have left? What if the target was not the Mizukage, but the target was Tenmei all along? But why her? Why Tenmei? It could not be to get at the Mizukage, so then what? What was the goal of this possession? What was the goal of someone controlling Aya's sister!?

Her Family...

Tenmei's mother, as a famous ninja and Sannin would more then likely have had enemies, perhaps all of her debts had not been paid in that respect, and dying in birth for her only daughter, passed on her enemies to her hereditarily... It was one explanation, though, Aya was getting closer and closer to the truth, her calculator like mind realizing more and more that Tenmei was going to have to leave, and Aya was going to have to prepare for her return, to be able to remove the influence on her mind, Aya was going to need to be better, and stronger, or find someone else who was. As Aya had turned to look at Tenmei, she talked about how Aya had tried to change who she was... it was now clearer than ever that these are not the things which Tenmei would say, some force was trying to distance the two of them, and now, Aya would oppose that with her own logic.

The glass had cracked... and now Aya could see the fissures in Tenmei's arguments.

A dagger whipped through the sky and planted itself into Aya's arm, letting out a gasp of pain and clutching her arm, Aya's eyes moved from the wound to Tenmei, over and over, realizing it was her own family knife... the shot was aimed for her arm, but, Tenmei was stronger than that, she was better than that... She was fighting back, and Aya looked into the eyes of her sister to see if she could find a glimmer of truth to confirm her beliefs. There had to be something, so standing tall, Aya ripped the knife from her arm, the wound becoming nothing but a frost bitten line, the knife itself freezing through so strongly under her demonic ice corruption that it became brittle, brittle enough that Aya could grind it to dust with her own bare hand if she wanted to...

"Tenmei... You're wrong, the person inside you, is not your father... your father would not want you to die, your father would want you to live, be happy, but most of all, be safe, and keep the others around you safe... Isn't that why the two of you moved so much? I'm not trying to control you, or change you, I'm trying to help you control yourself... like I control myself, when you lost yourself, how did you come back? When it hurt, so bad, you thought you would burn up? You lived... You are strong Tenmei, as strong as your Mother, as strong as me... And the person making you do this, knows that...

The person who you think is your father, is trying to separate us, because he knows with me, we can get rid of him from your head. Your father died Tenmei... you know he did, he burnt up... So, how is he in your head? Think, what is happening, what you think is right, makes no sense... Think, and fight, he may have your chakra, but, this is your body, your mind, and you're better than this Sis.

I love you Tenmei...

And I'm not in your head, I'm right here, in flesh and blood, right in front of you. You think this is who you are? I don't, all i can see, is a scared little girl, in the arms of her corpse of a father plaguing her mind, not wanting her to let her go of him.

Let him go Tenmei... And hold onto me instead."

Aya spoke with all of the love she could muster, her voice breaking slightly as she spoke, shaking under the pressure, looking at Tenmei's wounded body, bruised from Aya's blows and regretting her actions slightly... she had snapped, but, she was fine now...Looking at her own wounds as well, the black gashes in her body which had frozen over, her wounds were serious, but they would heal in time, and they bore no immediate threat on her health currently which was the main thing. Staring Tenmei down, she waited for her reaction to Aya's defiance, trying to seperate exactly where Tenmei ended and the person controlling her began, attempting to assimilate more information, because, the person who was holding her prisoner would pay for doing this... They would pay with their life.

...

Aya remembered back to her training with the man who had taught her, her sage power, the butterfly man who had used his Genjutsu to not only train her, but to predict a moment in her future, a battle with Kaguza which did inevitably come to pass. But what Aya had attained from it was more than simply training, it was the mastery of her Sage more, a form where, if she could get into it, and perform the jutsu, she would be able to use the Gakabe technique to potentially sever the control of every long range technique within a large radius, one which she would be able to move to keep Tenmei within... but even that was temporary, if Aya could get that down, she would be able to tell Tenmei her plan without whoever was within her, medical or otherwise listening in on it... But she would only get one shot, and then it would more than likely be goodbye for some time, as Aya did not have the room or the equipment to hold a member of the Sotsuji clan against their will, Tenmei would simply break out, and it would cause either the loss of life in Kiri, or the loss of her own life, both of which were unacceptable...

"So, what say you?"

Each of Tenmei's words hit like a serrated red hot dagger, she was too blind and misled from the spell she was under to read into the lessons which Aya had tried so hard to teach her, she was too far gone to see the many wounds Aya had given herself in losing control of her own emotions, as well as the wounds she had sustained from Tenmei, wounds which, near fatal, she had given Aya, she would have killed her if Aya had not defended herself and snapped, and that was something that Aya probably could not get out of her head for a long, long time. She listened to Tenmei's emotional speech, and, with each enigmatic and faux point, made Aya want to argue each and every one of them to the death… but it was already an argument she had made 'I told you I couldn't, It's a trick, there were so many more I needed to protect, your father is dead, because of me, don't give into him, we won this war, I'm strong enough to protect you, I was too weak to be the living figurehead of our struggle, don't leave me, I did all that I could just to protect you... Why can't you see that...? Why can't you see that...?' Aya’s eyes began to flicker with the chilled rivers of tears.

"Why can't you see that...?"

She whispered as soft as the evening breeze, the first of her tears managing to fall from her face before it crystallized. Managing against all odds to hit the ground around Aya's feet to only then become a diamond like crystal shimmering in the evening sunshine. Aya 's eyes and her features brightened a little, and she removed the mask entirely from her porcelain face, though she had worn it to try and beat Tenmei into submission, both physically and emotionally, she realized now that there was nothing in that vein she could accomplish. Knowing that now if she were to try, she would only be falling into the hands of the person who was controlling her from behind the scenes. Tenmei would fall into his arms and trust her less and less the more she acted out in violence and impulse, and, in the truest sense of the words, that was what was making Aya furious. The Helplessness, the weakness, the sense of inferiority, whatever game was being played here, Aya was clearly losing at it...

"You don't understand Tenmei..."

Aya began, and with her face and her hair unsheathed, the billowing sapphire strands flowing behind her, down to her waist which shimmered in the sunlight and swayed with the wind like fine silk. The eyes which had been as blue stone when she had snapped, had long faded into pools of regret, guilt and sorrow, but also love and affection budding within them, overpowering the negativity with ease and blooming into those positive feelings. Hate, was nowhere within those eyes to be seen, other than for the shame and hate she felt deeply for herself, for not being able to be there for her friend at her desperate time of need... Taking a step closer Aya found herself drawn toward her friend, her own blood leaking from the wound in her arm, and more from the other wound in her shoulder, and staggering from the painful frostbite which had carved into her body like the strikes of blades due to her mental instability during this entire fiasco.

Aya controlled herself and moved forward to look into Tenmei’s eyes. Raising each of her hands she would lay them on Tenmei’s shoulders, no matter how hot she was, Tenmei was not able to burn Aya, Aya regulated her cold to match the temperature of her heat, becoming a happy medium. Aya was able to touch Tenmei, to embrace her warmly as a sister, something which Tenmei needed for a long time, and it seemed only recently she was able to attain it through the current Mizukage. Aya was done apologising, she had done it enough, she was not at this moment sorry for her actions during the war, but she still had a friend she did not want to lose. Looking Tenmei deeply in her eyes, she smiled a quaint smile, knowingly, wisdom perking at the corner of her lips, like a cunning feminine tell of something bigger, something more than things seemed.

"Remember what I taught you about control my darling… Your fire, the most dangerous thing you can do with it is allow it to build up, if you release it often, bit by bit, you will survive the explosions. Craft your heat into complex techniques, and use them often. That is the control I was trying to teach you Tenmei, but, you don’t need me now… You need to find your way, and I understand that. So, you may go with my blessing, wherever you need to so that you may find yourself, but remember that, Kirigakure will always be your home. You weren’t alone when I was gone, the people of Kirigakure tried to save you, the people, our friends, people I asked to watch out for you were there to help you in your time of need. And we will always be here to help you Tenmei. Cos we’re your family, and we’ll protect you...”

Aya smiled and opened Her arms for an embrace, Aya did not want Tenmei to leave with negative thoughts on her mind, though she would need time on her own, she would be back in weeks, months, or whatever. But she still had her home here, her books, her bed, her house. They would remain, and they would be kept safe for her return. And Aya would be here too, with her mother and her friends who would wish her all the best, as she would do what she had to, to find herself, to hopefully grow and understand the things which Aya had done from a wider perspective. Though Ayakashi still felt the tugging at her heart strings. Every inch of her was begging Tenmei not to leave like this, but there was ultimately nothing she could do, save for one, more, sisterly kindness.

"Is there anything you need a hand with?”

She spoke, moving toward her house, looking to see if there were bags, or anything she needed to get moving, or if she needed a horse, or means to travel to one of the ports, an escort, or whether she would like any messages past to other members of the city she would like to part with on better terms.

And the first time was with her father:
With eyes like the sun, and a touch like fire, he was so kind to her child like mind. How he handed her those promises and smiles through the cracked narrow bars. Reassuring that it was for her own good. That she would thank him for those walls. One day you will understand. he had whispered softly. One day my sweet candle.

The next was the old man. That wise old soul with the crackled smile, keeping his silent distance as they distanced themselves across the land. There was no promises with him. No lies or masks. Just quiet thoughts and flickering glances. She's too young to understand.
And then there was Aya. Her sweet sister Aya. A kage so strong that she could freeze a world to it's core and shatter it with her words...
I though you of all people would understand. How could you?
You don't understand.

Cold. Burning. Sharp. Like razors carving through her heart hacking at her veins, her lungs, time and time and time again.
It was the same. The words, the feelings... it was always the same.
And they were always wrong.

As Tenmei stood there, watching her, watching her pain:
Seeing the tears that rolled in to diamonds down her snowy pale cheeks, her hair billowing out behind her like the gleaming cloak she wore. The bleeding wounds, the ice bitten scars, the frosty lines around the stern eyes... the special Jounin understood it all.
When those sorrowful two toned voices echoed in her mind,  Tenmei felt like there was a knife pressing in on her chest. Cold, aching, sharp. With every breath it would slowly press in towards the sensitive muscle. Digging deeper and deeper, lingering and cutting... until it suddenly changed. The pain changed from creeping in to pushing out. A pressure that drove a knife through her thigh. Burns on her skin, cuts on her hands, bruises, broken bones. It didn't stop. Even when Aya came back alive it kept going. More burns, more splinters, the ice tipped knife. It didn't...stop.

Tenmei understood the pain. She understood the tears.
Her naivety, the lack of control, the pain she was causing. They were wrong. She understood... every.... time

Every. Time.

"I've always understood. I....."


The words. The thoughts.
The moment Ayakashi's ice dusted fingers made contact with her lightly trembling shoulders all idea of what she wanted to say was gone. Lost to the clash of temperature against her skin and the gentle... kinder words whispered through the air. Words she didn't expect to hear. Not now. Not after everything she had said.
But that didn't stop her. Despite the blood shed and the tears and the scars and all the pains that had passed between them in those few moments, she still spoke to her as if nothing had happened between them. It had always been clear that the Mizukage was a forgiving person. Compassionate. Caring.
Tenmei could only hope that one day she would share those qualities.... but today was not that day

"....you don’t need me now… You need to find your way, and I understand that. So, you may go with my blessing..."

"You really...."

There was no stopping it. The tears that mirrored the lines around Solstice's complexion. The sobbing breaths that nipped at her lungs. When she stood there with open arms, Tenmei could almost feel like her chest was splitting in two.
So badly. So...badly she wanted to feel the embrace of her teacher's arms and dissolve in to the feelings of home. So desperately she wanted to give up these feelings and stay in this sodden place... But the rest of her pulled away with such force that the special jounin could no longer ignore it. Beyond yearning. Beyond aching. She had to get away. Even if it meant....

Come Tenmei. Let's go.

Quiet. I need a minute

Pushing through her feelings Tenmei stepped in to her grasp and let her arms fall loosely around the older female's thin frame. Holding her just long enough that she could remember this feeling. The feeling of a place she once loved and placed she still lived. Hope. Calm. Peace.... Before the memory of her first embrace could ground her heart to stop her from leaving, the Sotsuji stepped away and retraced the first footsteps back to the house.
Her bags were already packed, the house safe and locked. She had said all the goodbyes she needed to and had received her permissions. There was just... only one thing that was left to do.
Just one more thing.

"No. Everything is sorted. I missed you Aya...when you were gone. And I will miss you again. But I can't stay here right now. Not anymore. Not after everything that has happened.

I'm sorry

I love you

Goodbye"

The door closed behind her with a soft click and then....the next time it opened... she would be gone.


--Exit Thread--

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Words: 859
Total: (Stats - Strength E1 to C3 4250/4250)

Aya walked away from the scenario with her head bowed, looking back over her shoulder filled with nothing but a deep seeded regret, she would think about all of the good times that they had together, she would think about the best things, all of the smiles which had crept across Tenmei's face, even to her own surprise, Aya began to think about all the memories they had shared during their training, when Aya had told her to release her inner heat, and taught her about her tanketsu and how to manipulate her chakra gates to achieve a state which few other than the mysterious Hyuga clan were able to achieve, but, it had gone beyond that now... Aya's mind wandered to the fights the two of them had been in, she could feel the blood still trickling down from her wounds... She could not escape the thought that Tenmei would have killed her should Aya not have moved... her sister... would have murdered her in cold blood were it not for Aya's extensive skill in the art of movement. The thoughts of watching the knife pierce through her clone repeated through her head, as she saw the shock on Tenmei's face as it seemed like she had truly penetrated Aya's flesh. It was almost more than she was able to handle, Aya had felt the temperature of the area rise violently afterwards, but, as Aya appeared again, that shock turned to rage directed at her...

'I didn't hold the blade...'

Aya thought to herself, as she continued to walk through the city, leaving behind her a trail of frigid blood, trickling down her arm and dripping off the tips of her fingers, as people on the streets saw her, none approached the moment they saw the blood, they recoiled in fear, but, with what little amount of bravado she could muster, Aya waved to them with a smile on her face, watching their anxious expressions continue, but lessen slightly as she attempted to show them that everything was okay. They likely thought that she had been training with the Sannin or something of the like, something which she would actually be able to be injured in rather than the truth of the matter. That she had let herself be almost grievously injured by the woman she had considered the closest person in her life... The thought as it was dwelt on pulled on Aya's heart strings to the point it caused physical pain, stunting her forward momentum for a moment as she looked up to the skies before her... she wanted to see it... the place that Tenmei had detonated...

Aya had heard stories of what had happened with Tenmei, though she had not seen the result of the destruction herself. Moving through Kirigakure's residential district, she could still see the destruction plastered across the landscape, as well as view the potential of Tenmei's power. Walking through the debris of the city it took Aya an hour to reach the gates and begin to move through the rain forest which covered the remainder of the island. Step by agonizing step, Aya could feel her strength waning, but, as it seemed someone had alerted the Jounin of her position, several ninja appeared around her as she began to progress through the forest. Each of them protesting and offering their services in some way or another, but Aya stubbornly refused each of them one after the other. There was a reason for it, Aya felt like the wounds which graced her body were her punishment for her actions, and when they all had recovered naturally she would be forgiven, and if they killed her? So be it. Tenmei had administered her punishment, and Aya would whether it as best as she could, it was her duty to prove to everyone that she could handle any burden.

And that was when she saw it...

Aya and the Jounin which were standing nearby walked into the desolate plain, which had been kissed with flame in the most intimate of means. There was fury, agony, despair and loss ridden within the broken, burned bark which covered the ground. Branches had snapped from their perches and ash covered the ground. Ninja would have had a hard time extinguishing this mess, but as Aya saw it, she was not herself. She walked like the living dead into the middle of it, looking to and fro as her chakra began to bubble outside of her free will... Looking around herself, her eyes darting from side to side she could track the eppicentre of the radius, she could see exactly where Tenmei's feet had burned into the ground, the dirt had become baked where her skin had touched it, more like clay and rock than simple dirt... and as Aya reached the center of it all, she began to turn slowly, she began to turn to see the effect that her fate and her choice had had on the person she loved more than anyone else in this world.

her blood tail mixed with the Ashes, and Aya drew her sword, moving her palm to the kunai in her hand. Moving her hand to her eye-patch, she removed it, underneath was the grey pupil'd eye which the bitch of Seven Bells had managed to cut, though she was blind in it for now, the eye was repairing slowly over time, with medical ninjutsu, she was bound to retrieve her sight eventually. Though, Aya didn't want it back. The kunai in her hand, the Jounin around her wondering what her next move was to be began to approach her, Aya's eyes, filled with fury barked at them to stand back, the Kunai in her hand she rose it, looking at her reflection int the blade's frosted mirror like surface. And in its reflection, she saw the object of her loathing. Herself, and everything she had done...

"For her... I would gladly loose an eye..."

With a single motion, and with the guide of the mirror she took her fingers, and in a single fluid movement lay her hand upon her wounded eye, as her chakra froze its surface. Aya did not scream in pain, rather than let out a gasp of frustration as she pulled the eye from her own socket with her own strength of body and character, holding it out before her as the blood leaked from the open hole in her face, her lid closed so to not see the gaping chasm, and Aya looked into the eye in her hand as it began to frost over, inside and out in her palm. The Jounin around her cried out to her as she looked to each of them. The pain Aya felt was nothing but a dull ache now, the eye in her palm was a symbol of her failure to her friend, a sacrifice for her possibility of redemption. She needed to be stronger, and this wounded eye was a metaphor for her weakness, and as such, she crushed it in the palm of her hand. It became nothing like dust intermingled with the ash which surrounded her, but with that, her chakra began to swell, the pain of everything came flashing back to her, her chakra so palpable in the nature chakra around her that even the ninja surrounding her could feel it.

Aya's sage mode activated as her chakra synced with its third aspect, becoming a perfect triad, a trinity, a triamverative force which threatened each of the Jounin around her, who now had a hint as the ice corruption which flowed from her body expanding outwards was going to be indiscriminate. Aya was at this point no longer in control of herself... Her perfect butterfly sage mode erupted around her, the symbols which represented everything she had worked for lit up like blue magnesium lights glowing brighter and brighter until the air around her began to freeze. Aya's skin turned black, and her true power was becoming unleashed. The beast within her, the one she had tamed was beginning to break free. Aya's primal nature was taking control of her once again, like it had done so many times before as she had slept. But this time, Aya wasn't trying to fight it. Deep in the recesses of her mind, Aya could be heard willingly handing herself over to the beast.

And the beast roared.

A gearous churning of Aya's scream overlapped with something more, a bestial rasp belonging to something more of a monster than a woman, each of the voices were filled with pain as the icy Armour came over Aya's form, but into something more... Rather than the gillian beast which her ultimate jutsu usually portrayed, what came to pass was all the more terrifying... The beast was like the mix of a dragon and an insect, large crystal multi faceted eyes covered Aya's own as the head seemed to be more independent of her own, the ridges on her back were more pronounced as blazing vestigial chakra wings exploded from her back, little more than a show of the incredible power which was pent up within her. Her claws expanded over her hands, but seemed sleeker than before, more streamlined and more like something which was more agile and functional than being made of raw power. And finally the tail expanded from the base of her spine, for balance, made of flexible ice as it waved from side to side.

The ground around her was frozen solid and deep, and from around her the air itself was falling out of the sky in dry ice crystal formations like snow. The pain of everything welled up in Aya's throat as she could hear the sound of her mentor attempting to use his Genjutsu to contact her, but this time, she was too far gone for him to be able to reach. There was no visual trigger for him to contact, Aya could no longer see while in this form, there was nothing other than the sensory area from her Senjutsu chakra, and his Genjutsu did not effect such sight. She could hear his voice, but it was nothing more than an indescribable whisper against the roar of the monster which surrounded her... Raising her claws to the sky, Aya grabbed the space above her, the surge filling her body as the chakra for her three most potent abilities all flared at once. Filling her fist with power as the pulse from Himiko, the singularity from entropy pulse, and the power from fist of the Yuki oni fused together momentarily as she plunged her fist into the ground.

The wave of ice expanded over the area, flash freezing everything within its path into a statue which would take a couple of days to thaw naturally. But with this exhausting use of chakra, Aya was spend, and her wounds had stopped bleeding, sealed shut by the intense cold which had surrounded her body. Her techniques faded from the frostbitten epicenter of her own explosion, her body a little frostbitten from the extensive use of her own power, overpowering even her own resistances to her cold. But, in its wake, Aya at least found some rest... But it was her mother which woke her up from her nightmares in the middle of the snow-burnt clearing, Aya took her hand, exhausted, the two of them left for home... Aya could feel that she was significantly weaker than she remembered, she had pushed herself far too far, but in the wake of her emotions was just void... she didn't know how to feel.

"I need a drink... ... ..."

Exit thread. 10,064 words. Strength A-S (5000/5000)
Endurence B2-A3 6114/ 5350.
(1050 words cont. from http://www.narutosaga.com/t11947-infiltration-in-the-night-a-whisper-and-a-secret-kept-training-no-kill-invite-only#119898)