Your family needs your help, chylde...

What family? You're all dead!

Not all of us, dear. Don't forget your cousin...

Cous--... Kensei?

Yes, him chylde. He needs you. Go to him. Go to your family.

... I miss you daddy.

I know, chylde. But I'm here. I'm always here. I always will be.

Good!

A chuckle echoed through her head before fading off into silence. Demi opened her eyes and stared upwards at the ceiling of the hotel room she had rented. The amount of light coming through her window and the angle of the sunlight told her that it was sometime around eleven in the morning. She had, like usual, slept the morning away. With a yawn Demi glanced sideways to the clock on the bedside table to confirm that it was eleven twelve in the morning. Well, she hadn't lost her skills at least - just her mind. Though, one could argue she had never had that to begin with.

Demi sat up, throwing the blankets off of herself. She wasn't worried about making her bed, chances were housekeeping would come by while she was gone. Stepping into the bathroom she closed and locked the door behind her - paranoia was a thing after all - not that locks would do anything against a trained killer or some large beast trying to get in. Cookoo! After a quick strip of her night clothing Demi turned the water on and let it get as hot as possible before stepping under the spray. The scalding hot water wouldn't actually leave a mark but the burn was more than enough to satisfy her affliction: pain addiction. She spent nearly five minutes allowing the water to scald her before lathering up her hair with shampoo and then her body with soap. After she was rinsed and clean of bubbles she stepped out into the chilled air and dried herself off quickly before getting dressed in the outfit she had picked out the night before: a black v-neck t-shirt to match her black painted fingernails, a pair of comfortable black pants that would hang low on her hips, and undergarments.

Once dressed and clean Demi stepped out of the bathroom after unlocking the door and slipped on her standard shinobi open toed sandals followed by her weapons. Glasses and jewelry in the form of leather bracelets were added on last along with the chain she always wore from which the Malkavia clan symbol hung: she was crazy and proud after all. Once fully dressed she checked her appearance in the full length mirror on the front of the bathroom door, adjusting strands of red and black chin length hair was needed.

So where should I start looking for him?

You already know where to go, chylde...

That's not helpful. More chuckling followed the thought and Demi shook her head as she snatched her keys off of the bedside table where she had left them when she had came 'home' the night before after a grand time drinking in one of the local bars. She liked to drink the patrons under the table via betting and then make a killing on the reward. Keys were slipped into her right pocket as she made quick work on hiding the few weapons she bothered to own to her person in various places.

Demi stepped out of her hotel room, locking the door and double checking it behind her. She wasn't as paranoid as other members of her clan but she certainly didn't like leaving doors open for anyone to walk through. Once down the hall and outside Demi paused and looked around. She had been in Kiri or a few days but she hadn't really explored everywhere. If she was going to look for her cousin then she was going to have to be creative, and remember a lot of details about him from the past. It was going to be hard but not impossible.

Deciding to start with the least populated areas first she headed towards the closest temple. It wasn’t so much that she was expecting to find Kensei here given it was the first place she chose to look, but she would at least be able to look around - this place was a curiosity to her after all. Demi loved ruins and other old buildings and things; hell, she would have likely collected antics had she decided to settle down somewhere. But, she had the soul of a wanderer now… though, chances were they could change.

Wordcount: 773

Meditation.

Meditation was key.

Meditation allowed him to stay within the Vessel of Kensei and reach out into the vast expanse of the universe and reconnect with his true self, if only briefly. It was during these sessions that his powers returned at their maximum in all their glory. It was in these times that he could manifest himself in the Temple of Fate in Kumogakure to direct Lamb and Wolf as he saw fit. He could check up on the state of the world while he was within the trance, and adjust the pieces of the world to move how he wished.

Coming to rest beside the altar, the male plopped down on his ass and folded his legs. Moving slowly, the male removed his shirt; given what was about to happen, the thing would be reduced to ashes, and he happened to like that particular shirt. Tossing it onto a nearby statue, the male settled himself down, placing his hands on his lap with the palms turned down to rest on his thighs. Humming softly to himself, the male began the first part of his meditation.

As his eyes closed, the vessel's senses were flooded with a rush of stimuli; a bizarre mix of suddenly being everywhere and when at once, the entirety of this cycle displayed before him for him to analyze and direct as he saw fit. And as he sat there, watching, waiting. The model seemed to be going smoothly. Sunagakure no Sato remained quiet, save for the reintroduction of several previously removed variables. There were several other variables on the board that he was very interested in – several strong powers in the village of Konohagakure no Sato that he wanted to keep track of, as well as a few in Kumogakure. As per a recent play, several different variables were departing Kumogakure no Sato and Iwagakure to head towards Kirigakure no Sato. It was about that time that the male would begin to notice something strange.

The system was going haywire in the village of Kirigakure no Sato. There was something, something interfering with the model, removing and adding variables at a rate he could barely process. His senses would focus, attempting to locate the reason or source of the disturbance. And as he brought his attention to the disturbance, he would be met with howling laughter, and a rush of indecipherable stimuli.

Oh god.

No, no, no.

There was only one type of person who could cause his predictions and systems to off like this.

“Please.. don't let it be.”

A Malkavian.

But what was it doing in Kiri? What fucking reason did It have to be in Kiri?!

WHY?!

448

There was something about temples that had always interested Demi. Even when she was a young child she would often visit the old temples in her home village and spend hours exploring them - and often getting into 'trouble'. Not that people had actually yelled at her given her position as daughter of a Kage, but they had done some grumbling to her father about it all. At the thought of her father a familiar pang of hurt hit her chest and she found herself lifting her right hand to the spot over her heart as if she could physically dampen the emotional pain. It, of course, did little to nothing to stop the emotion of sadness and the overwhelming sense of loss. Demi stood still for several seconds while allowing the thoughts and emotions to process and waiting for the familiar pain to fade.

There is no need to be sad, chylde. I am always with you. You know this.

That doesn't make it hurt any less.

I know, but you need to focus chylde. Your cousin is close. Go on, find him.

Yes, daddy.

Good girl.

Almost immediately Demi blocked out the emotional pain that she had been feeling and dropped her hand back down to her side. She began to walk again, each footstep as silent as the last thanks to the dirt and dust coating the path she walked. She allowed her fingers to trail along the tops of old seating as she made her way forward and toward the alter. Roughly fifteen yards or so away she would stop and finally seem to notice the individual there - though how long she had actually known of his existence she gave no outward sign. Her head would tilt to the right and she would simply stare in silence for several long seconds.

If the individual didn't speak first Demi would finally open her mouth, "Cousin Kensei? Is that you?" She couldn't imagine the voices in her head leading her here only to find someone outside of her cousin, so for now she simply fell silent and waited. Was this Kensei? The cousin she hadn't seen in quite some time? If not she would simply move on and look elsewhere, but a gut feeling... well, it was telling her she was in the right place and at the right time. Weeee Crazy People!~

Wordcount: 401 + 733 = 1,134

"Cousin Kensei? Is that you?"

Cue the internal screaming soundtrack. He did not know why, or how, this Malkavian knew he was here ; the clan was somehow largely immune to his whims as an Aspect. And for this one to call Kensei, the vessel, out as her cousin was baffleing him; surely they were not related? They could not be, unless...

He remembered at that moment; as he had attempted to plot out this course of action long ago, the movements of Kensei seemed to become erratic for the longest time. Now, he realized that it was because of this moment here, this moment would alter the entire system. How it could affect it, for good, bad, or not enough to leave a ripple, he could not say. For now, all he could do is ride the wave and attempt to do damage control. He had no idea how this encounter would end -- where was no way to tell when a Malkavia was involved. This persona would either assist him with whatever he needed, try to take him sunbathing, or attempt to convince him that he could breathe under water. It was literal madness. He had no idea how such being came into existance; it certainly was not his hand that created them; he was not in charge of sowing life into the world; he was merely the sheppard that guided it along the paths that it needed to take. Never the less, he had to do something right now, before this one became curious as to what color his liver tasted like or something.

The male pulled himself from his trance upon the altar, dusting off his pants and reaching up to retrieve his shirt from the statue that he'd tossed it on. Slipping it on, he turned to face to the arriving female, face still hidden partially by the mask he wore. For a moment, he mentially froze as he tried to rack Kensei's brain an answer; who was this person? It took only a moment, but the answer came to him; she was a distant relation of his Vessel, someone he helf fond memories of.

frick.

While Fate had access to all of memories, he was still very much /not/ Kensei. It was possible that he could fool this Malkavia for a while, eventually he would have to get away from her before the chaos that was seeminly imprinted upon her very DNA threatened to undo eveyrthing he was attempting to do. He had to find a way to get away. "Hey, Demitria."

425 | 874

Happy giggles escaped Demi as her cousin stood up and responded to her. Bingo, she had found the right person. Her own happiness was enough to flood out the thoughts - not her own but those of the other voices within her mind - that would attempt to flood her mind with ideas and yearning to have her utterly messing with another person for her own amusement. No, she couldn't do that to her cousin. There were rules. Very simple rules.

Do you remember the rules, chylde?

One: don't mess with a Malkavian. Two: do not mess with a Malkavian when there are other Malkavians around. Three: do not mess with a Malkavian whose packing enough Genjutsu to make you act like a playful puppy (sit, fetch, roll over, play dead... GOOD BOY!). Four: don't mess with a Malkavian (did I forget to mention that?).

There's one more chylde. One I scribbled in when you were a young girl...

Oh right.. do not mess with a Malkavian's family, distant relative or otherwise.

Good, now continue...

How long had Demi been lost in this mental conversation? A few seconds? A few minutes? An hour or more? Hell, she could have been standing there for an entire year... Shaking her head for a second she plastered a grin on her face and attempted - but failed - to make it as little psychotic looking as she could manage. "Kensei, daddy sent me to help you. He told me you needed my help with something. By my daddy I mean his voice in my head since he is very, very dead." Another smile and she was practically bouncing in place in excitement.

She had always followed her father's very whim, done what he had asked without question or hesitation. She had grown powerful at a young age. It was a fluck, a frick you by the God's themselves in Demi's opinion that her father was now dead. So the idea of having another person to 'help'? Another person to protect and care for and follow without question? It was exciting.

Wordcount: 350 + 1,134 = 1,484

There was a silence that seemed to stretch on for eternity; in reality, it was no more than a few seconds. Kensei watched in silent fear, attempting to figure out what was going on here; why was this Malkavia here? She'd apparently been seeking out his Vessel, but for what reason? He'd been about to speak when the Malkavia did first.

"Kensei, daddy sent me to help you. He told me you needed my help with something. By my daddy I mean his voice in my head since he is very, very dead."

An eyebrow was raised; her father told her to seek him out? Who was her father -- oh god. The aspect searched through the memories of this man, and came upon a startling revelation. Her father was none other than one Maximillian Aoyagi King, the former Kusakage. Fate could remember it clearly, this man was very well loved in Kensei's mind, and there was something else -- memories of Fate himself, striking a deal with this man. The exact reason as to why, along with the terms and conditions did not matter at the moment, but the former Kusakage had promised him aide should Fate ever require it. While this was not what Fate had in mind, perhaps this is what he needed? Someone to assist him in his travels.

Kensei thought for a moment, carefully considering her words. He did have a small inkling of a plan forming in him mind, something he'd been meaning to do for the longest time. He wanted to pay a visit to the temples of the elements; shrines that were erected long ago in his honor with a clan dedicated to protect them. He was curious; how were they faring after all this time? There was one right here in Mizu no Kuni; perhaps that would be the best way to start. He could send a message to Lamb and Wolf and have them pay a visit to the temple located in Kaminari no Kuni. But then again, there were three more to visit...

"He did, hm?" Kensei's frowned, having finished buttoning his shirt by that point, and was reaching for his jacket to put it on. When he was done, he stepped down from the altar, slidding up the mask to reveal his face. "Well then, I shall not disappoint. I do in fact need your help, Demitria."

397 | 1271

Demi's head cocked to the right side at Kensei's answer. For some odd reason, in a brief moment of lucidity, she had expected him to go running in terror from her - she had mentioned after all that her very dead father's voice in her head had told her to find him. Yet, this was not the reaction that had been given: no, Kensei seemed to accept what she said at face value and move on from there.

Kensei mentioned that he did indeed need Demi's help and this caused her head to straighten once more and a happy, albeit crazed, smile to form on her face. She even began to bounce in place like a happy child - though she was far from a child anymore. "Yay! I have a purpose once again!" This was truly exciting news, though she had no idea what exactly it was she was needed for. Given how crazy she was though? It didn't matter for the moment.

See? Daddy always knows just where to lead you...

I never doubted you!

I know, chylde. I know.

Is this going to be fun times?

Perhaps. I suppose that depends on your own personal definition of fun...

What was Demi's own personal definition of fun? Burning bodies? Scaring the daylights out of children by threatening to eat them alive? Sneaking into peoples houses and standing over them in the dead of night just to wait for the moment that they woke up in terror that a creepy stranger was in their home? Some of those were rather appealing...

Focus my chylde.

Oh right. Kensei. Snapping out of her train of thought she focused once more on her cousin. "So, what do you need help with? Lots of stuff I hope.. I like being helpful, and having a purpose." Her head tilted to the left as curiosity filled her once more: he could have told her to murder someone and she wouldn't think twice about it, but she was curious as to what he needed and what goal he wished to accomplish. She doubted her father would have sent her the whole way here for some small task, but then again... he too was unhinged just as she was, likely more so. Even now as the thought crossed her mind she heard a  playful chuckle echo throughout her mind: daddy was amused and it made Demi giggle outwardly for seemingly no reason at all.

Wordcount: 414 + 1,484 = 1,898

-Exited due to inactivity-

This thread was exited, just doing my math for my stats...
Due to my genius perk I recieve a 20% reduction to all WC's and have adjusted my numbers to reflect that.

Total WC is 1898 + 337 from This thread
Total: 2235
Perception C - C1: 2235 - 460 = 1775
Perception C1 - C2: 1775 - 480 = 1295
Perception C2 - C3: 1295 - 560 = 735
Perception C3 - B: 735 - 560 = 175

Remaining: 175