"Praise Malkav, The Eater and Harbinger of the Final Nights"
A voice would declare, the sounds of whatever audible melody that came bringing itself to release Hotaka's eyes from the sweet nothingness, a Dreamland without dreams, and force him into a new view. This vision was one that was similar to the rest, where he would hear the name "Malkav" and see multiple figures gathered together, each one as unknowing about why they were here as the next, though still blindly following what the voices direct. Here he would stand, cloaked in a black robe of shadow, his yellow eyes glowing through the world he stood in. The surrounding world would be one of blacks and grays of varying shades, his glowing yellow eyes leaving a soft and short trail behind him as he looked around. "The air has lines of gray, the air is visible, the air isn't real!" He would blurt out within the confines of his own mind as he looked around, the barren grassland holding nothing more than a single tomb, one of which would have three others standing there.
Approaching the three, Hotaka would have to urge to see underneath them, so see what his dream was telling him, and so he shall. Pulling off the hood of the first, the shadows would fade, revealing a head of pure white hair, which would have splotches of red upon it, and skin as pale as the dead itself. In her hands hold a wilted white flower, one of which had odd stains upon it. "I am the one born to seek, to find that which cannot see, to speak to that which cannot talk, to make red that which is white. This is the message I carry." She would say before disappearing, her shadowy cloak falling and breaking apart at the same time, leaving not a trace behind, her own flower breaking down into dust.
Approaching the next, Hotaka would pull away the hulking figure's hood, revealing that which appeared to be a large pyramid over his head, blade in hand. "I kill those that the voices do not tell me to let live, I bring agony and misery in every step I bring. I am he that destroys innocence, a force of nature only subservient to Malkav. This is the message I bring." And with that, he too would begin disappearing, though unlike the female from before, he would break apart, bits and pieces of him falling off, as if he were being cut apart, until there would be nothing left but his great blade, and even that too, with time, faded away.
Reaching the final one, he would pull back the female's hood, revealing a face full of pleasure, and a head of flowing black hair. Tears would be streaming down her cheeks as within her right hand would be a serrated blade, which would be dragged along the skin on her left arm at random. "I am the one born from suffering, a budding flower, a torturer of lives, and a bringer of chaos. I am she that will come like the tide, and drown out the sorrows of those that oppose my torment. That is the message given to me by Malkav." And with that, like the waves crashing upon the shore, she would liquefy, leaving nothing but dripping blood behind as she would retreat into nothingness, and that too, would fade away.
All that would be left would be Hotaka and the tomb, the door of which would begin to open, only to reveal a final hooded figure, one of which stood there with nothing at all, waiting silently. Hotaka would approach the figure and reach for their hood, aiming to remove it, though he would back away with a cry as, suddenly, a large array of loud whispers came forth, accompanied by random images, some of which were horrific images of gore and suffering, while others were nothing at all, paintings or the past, or images of the future? "You are a lost child, one that has not yet taken the first step like my three children have, and many, many before them. The Seeker of that which cannot Seek, the Force of Nature, the Tide of Torment. These children and many, many more are children of Malkav, the Plague-Bride. Compared to them, your path is one that holds no destiny, and your impulses and instincts have been your masters until now."
"You will recall nothing of this, not until the time is right, not until you have taken your steps. Your brothers and sisters of madness are waiting, child. The Final Nights near, and yet another Harbinger must appear." With that, the whispers cease, leaving a deafening silence as Hotaka's surroundings would have a slow darkness crawl in, surrounding and eventually devouring Hotaka entirely, leaving him in darkness.
Eyes would open, and there Hotaka would be, seeing water around him and the land of a small island ahead. Waking up, he would feel odd, as if he had just heard something important. He guessed that would be a sign that he shouldn't eat before being taken across the water in a ferry, however. Too much noodles, needs more water. He would try to remember what he was doing out here and not at home where he rightfully belonged, cozied up on the floor, cuddling the leg of his beloved bed. Closing his bright yellow eyes and sticking his fingers in the spiked red hair of his, pushing the pointer fingers into the sides of his skull, Hotaka would try to remember what exactly brought him to be arriving here at this time, to be on his way to whatever unknown adventure that arrived. The priests would tell him that it was a God or the Sage of Six Paths that has brought him here, though his memory says otherwise.
"Meet me where the water gouges the land at Mt. Ikkyu.", his noggin said to him as he recollected his memories, waking up fully.
"Ah, the squad, fresh fish, like friends!" He would say as he snapped his fingers happily as the ferry reached land, and he would begin stepping out.
"Hey, w-what about my pay, you nut?!" The ferryman would ask, only for Hotaka to face the man, one foot on the shoreline. After staring at the man silently for a solid minute, doing nothing but smile at him, he would pull out a bag of ryo, handing it to the man.
"You are a fine mermaid. Be off!" With that, he would step off of the boat entirely, allowing the ferryman to leave with haste. Thankfully his Guardian had connections, connections of which he was able to use to his advantage and find a ferryman that was able to take him here. Also, just as thankfully, he had decided to wear a blue hoodie with jeans and a pair of black boots, his pouch on his back right side. It was empty, of course, but still, it was something he liked wearing for fun.
He didn't expect to be doing any fighting, so he had left his battle apron at home, instead deciding to be happy with the clothes on his back and the jutsu he knows if training absolutely had to come. He figured however that, considering this was the first time they as a squad was meeting one another, that it wouldn't exactly come down to that, at least not right away. He wondered what their Sensei was like, actually, and if they had known anything about these whispers that he hears ever so constantly, which keep attempting to tell him things, to give him ideas, though only drowned one another out in a constant wave of white noise. If they could tell him more about it, perhaps he'll buy them something nice in order to make up for it, like a bird or something of the sort. Frankly, he would be excited to meet his Sensei and squad members. He can still recall being told about how because he has certain complications it may be harder for him to be assigned to a group, but take that daddy, you were wrong.
Soon enough, after spending some time wandering around, Hotaka would come across two others or, counting the furry white monster accompanying one of them, three others. Looking at them, he would see one of them would wear rather fancy clothing, one that consists of a blue kimono with pastel pink borders, a black leather-wrapped scabbard resting against her hips and around her pink waist sash. A sharp weapon, scary, Hotaka considered heading home to get a knife, but decided that the trip there and back would most definitely be too long, so instead he decided that he wouldn't just go out of his way to get sliced like week-old sushi. Just looking at the white beast next made the red-haired male raise his left arm, biting down on it, hard enough to begin breaking skin, though stopping at the last second. This small amount of release helped, as the anxiety he felt from the idea of facing that thing down was enough to make him tempted to hide behind the kimono sword wielder.
'The secrets bleed from the waters.' He would hear one of his whispers advise, though would ignore it. That isn't exactly useful information, even Hotaka can see that, and he's the one that constantly chews on himself.
Looking over to the other present stranger, the supposed keeper of the death cat, he would see that the only black part of her attire was seemingly some sort of blunt weapon, one of which he assumed would hurt if he got struck by it. 'So many dangerous things, and all I have are fingers..' he would think to himself as he would pull at the collar of his hoodie as he realized that he was the only one out of the them that are currently present that isn't wearing a kimono. Was there some sort of dress code he missed in the letter? Was there even a letter? Erratically waving his right hand in greeting to the two, he would bow shortly afterwards, speaking as he straightened himself back up.
"Hello, soon-to-be friends." He would say in greeting, a friendly smile appearing on his face.
Wc 1742