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Daraku chased his father past the borders of the village and into the dunes, having to rely solely on his speed to get him there. This left Tsurugi with a clear advantage, as the unique, four-winged moth that he was mounted upon carried him above the obstacles of the sand below, and flew rather quickly. He called from his place down below. "You can't run from me, damn it! I'll hunt you down!" The passion in his voice was a clear sign of his conviction. His fists were clenched so tightly that his fingernails dug into his palms and blood seeped from them. It dripped to the sand, leaving a long trail of red as he ran on, determined to end it all. Tsurugi turned to face the boy and looked on with a smile. He didn't say a word, and only jumped off of his moth and landed in the sand below. The two were face to face, and the moth disappeared as the summoning jutsu was released.

Sandstorms whipped around them fiercely, and the fine grains obscured their visions. Daraku called out over the raging winds' echo. "Do you remember the day you killed all of them? When you killed mother? I was happy. There was a smile on my face after you bore this very sword," he unsheathed Kage no Ken from his back, and held it out in front of himself to show Tsurugi before he continued, "right through her, and let her die there in the middle of the courtyard next to all the other bodies. Why was I so happy? Because you raised me that way. Death was a gift in your eyes, and you impressed that ideal into me every single day as you trained me to be the killer I am today. I was essentially a carbon copy of you, until I finally figured it all out. Killing isn't right, it just isn't. It's too late to go back and fix all my mistakes, all my problems; I'll always be a killer, it's in my nature now. My heart will always feel regret over that day, in that I didn't stop you. I could've prevented mother's death if I'd just killed you then...but you were my idol." Tsurugi looked on at him as if he were an annoying pest rather than a son.

"What I did wasn't right, I never said it was. It was necessary. You're just babbling on..." Daraku couldn't take it anymore. He ran forward and threw a punch, smashing his fist into Tsurugi's face at full force; to his disadvantage, his strength was only enough to leave a slight bruise. Tsurugi staggered back and lifted a hand to his face to feel the bruise. It stung, obviously, and his expression became very grim. He summoned his Raiton blade and swung at supersonic speed, causing a loud boom. Daraku barely reacted at the last moment and drew Hikō to counter but found himself still overpowered by the superior and more precise swing. Hikō was knocked out of his hand and he fell backwards, landing in the sand with a thud. The sandstorm intensified and he couldn't see anything at all at this point. Tsurugi's voice sounded from an unidentifiable location, though it did still sound to be nearby.

"I'm not just going to kill you off, not yet at least. That would be too easy. I want you to not only see the fault in your methods and purpose but also see my own purpose and how I see things. If that won't get you to join my cause and drop this rebellion, then I'll take it to the point of no return and end you. I'm giving you a chance here, son, listen closely..." A bright glow appeared past the sand, and Daraku could tell it was chakra. Suddenly, the sandstorm began to slow and fade until the area was blanketed by the soft, black night sky. Stars painted the blank canvas of the firmament and the moon shone in the center of them all. The sand was shimmering white in its moonlight. The scene was now peaceful. Tsurugi was no where to be found, but someone else stood in his place now.

"M-Mother...!?" Sayuri looked back at him with a kind smile. She was just as he'd remembered her, back when she was alive. Her straight hair fell down her shoulders in an unbroken sheet, and her figure was petite like a queen's. Her shimmering blue eyes were almost exactly the same as Daraku's; he had inherited them from her, after all. Her pursed lips opened just a tad, and a gentle voice escaped. "Hello, Daraku. It's been so long..." He held back the tears and looked at her straight on, fully aware of what Tsurugi was doing. It was all a trick, a mind game, and he wouldn't let it break through his shell. This was like a test, if not the final test to prove whether or not Daraku had become the man he thought he had.

"I know that you're not real. You're just an illusion, my father is proficient in Genjutsu."

"But does that really mean anything, Daraku? I'm here now, in front of you. I know what you're feeling, I see right through that tough look you're giving me. But I don't care, not anymore. You watched me die happily by the hands of this monster and I'll never forgive you for that. You chose him over me, in the end."

"But that wasn't the end. I was just a kid, I had just turned 14. I didn't know, how was I supposed to? He raised me to love the thrill of the kill, and your death only fueled my insatiable drive to continue that path. I was his pawn...but now, this is the true end. It's a terminus for all of us; I can see clearly, and Tsurugi's manipulative ploys are useless. He's the real enemy, no matter how much he tries to antagonize me or anyone else. He turned this clan into the disgrace that everyone despised, and that caused the domino effect of Fuiyoka leaving and everyone's lives being ruined. He's the last target on my deathlist before things are sanctified, at last..."

"You do realize that you sound just like him, going on and on about how you need to do just this one kill to make things 'right'? How everything will suddenly be fixed because of his death? How he's the only one at fault? He did the same thing with his mother, he antagonized her until everything was pinned to her and thus her own fault; but that only bolstered hatred in his heart and didn't accomplish anything. And nothing has even changed since you killed her..."

"You're wrong! I'm done talking to you, you're just an image of a loved one lost. You're not really her, I don't know why I bother." Daraku thrust forward, but no movement occurred. Something was restricting him, most likely a part of the Genjutsu. "Release!" he yelled, and a burst of chakra flowed through him, freeing him of the illusion. Tsurugi, however, was still no where to be found, and the sandstorm was only growing more intense. Daraku took up a confident grin and leaned forward on one leg, holding out his sword ready to strike. "Oh, I LOVE hide and seek. Let's play..." His figure faded into darkness, and he became a phantom, letting the sand from the sandstorm pass right through him as it blew around. His eyes scanned the area, still no sign of his father. He'd have to draw the man out with some jutsu, it seemed...he made a hand seal.

"Kagakuton: Hakaiten!"

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The Battle of the Phantom Kings

Daraku's chakra intensified within as the jutsu built up, and was finally released in a shockwave that expanded outward around him, engulfing the area in a deep red chakra. Its purpose was simple in effect, it was just to coax Tsurugi out of hiding with the pure, human essence of rage by using the potential of medical ninjutsu. A jutsu that Daraku had engineered and perfected himself...he was quite proud of it. As expected, Tsurugi sprinted out from the cover of the sandstorm, although still pitch-black in color and lacking corporeality, two signs that the Ishido kekkei genkai was active on him as well. This battle would be useless with Bukijutsu, since neither of them had any physical body, really. They were essentially phantoms for the time being...and so Daraku figured he'd have to rely on chakra and jutsu. He ducked past Tsurugi, and made his way to Hikō, which was still buried in the sand. He took the blade out from the sand and sheathed his secondary weapon, keeping a close eye on Tsurugi's position as he did so. Tsurugi was still regaining his footing in the sand, and when he did, they glared at each other, maintaining the eye contact for a long period of silence. Eventually, due to the effects of Daraku's medical technique, Tsurugi's violent rage overtook him again and he took out a summoning scroll. "Kuchiyose: Tsukiakara no Dai Sanji!" The scroll exploded forth in a swarm of sphinx moths, which all crowded around Daraku. If he couldn't see before because of the sandstorm, he was now surely blind in the swarm. He struggled to escape, but they seemed to be able to hurt him still even though they were attacking his body.

Tsurugi's voice emanated from nearby. "How do you like my moths? Aren't they so interesting? I trained them to attack their targets' chakra systems using a unique jutsu that they can use...you'll be dead within seconds, Daraku. I'm sorry that it had to end this way." Daraku couldn't reply, still overwhelmed by all of the summons. If he were to even try to respond, he'd choke on at least 3 of the massive moths. By the tone in Tsurugi's voice, however, it was clear that the rage had worn off, meaning that his neural pathways were reconnecting and his emotions were becoming balanced again. As Daraku had made the technique to be, it left a delayed reaction time on all targets once the rage subsided. If he could get out of the damn cloud of moths, he could have a decent chance of wounding or even killing Tsurugi. His brain raced for a strategy but he could feel his body growing weaker as the moths began to drain his life force...he held Hikō above his head and spun it as fast as he could. A vortex of wind whipped around him, spiraling at insane speed. The vacuum created by this sucked in each and every moth and ripped all of them to shreds, effectively ending their swarm. Daraku, although still weakened, stopped spinning the uchigatana and instead swung it at full force. The goal was not to hit Tsurugi with the blade itself, but rather unleash the blade's true power. Another torrent of wind burst forth, hitting Tsurugi head-on before he could react and slicing away at his flesh as it blew past. The force of the torrent was enough to blow away the sandstorm, and now the air was clear and the dark sky was visible. Stars shone brightly overhead as Tsurugi fell to his knees, covered in grievous gashes and cuts. Blood seeped from his wounds as he groaned in pain, still looking up at Daraku.

The two shadows stared at one another for a long time, Tsurugi holding back tears of pain and Daraku trying not to fall over from the moths' lingering jutsu. If anyone were to look at the scene, they would've only seen kilometers of pure desert and night air, as they were nearly invisible and undetectable in every way except to each other. Daraku had sometimes played with the idea of actually being a ghost...he figured this active use of his kekkei genkai was the closest he'd ever get. "Do you surrender yet, father? You cannot beat me, I've surpassed you in skill and determination." Tsurugi didn't reply, just continued looking into Daraku's blue eyes. "Daraku, did you know that I always wanted to be a Sage?" Daraku listened on with a blank expression, seeing as the man's wounds were fatal, by the looks of it. Why not humor a dying man by letting him tell just one last story? "I always thought that the sages that were always told of in tales, like the great Toad Sage, Jiraiya, were so amazing...and the Sage of Six Paths, the very first ninja. I wanted to be just like all of them when I was young, to be a hope for my clan, to be strong enough to guide and protect everyone similar to your goal right now. So I made a summoning contract with the moths that you just saw, in hopes of becoming a moth sage. They agreed to be my summons, but when I began Senjutsu training with them, I failed, time and time again, to do the required tasks to become a sage, like use natural energy or meditate properly, and I thus could never master or even learn to go into Sage Mode. I just wasn't strong enough..." he paused for a moment and coughed loudly before continuing, "but that doesn't mean that my legacy, my hopes and my dreams all have to die with me. Promise me, Daraku, if I die here, once this battle is over...become a moth sage. Be the true leader of our people. Find happiness in your own life and in the lives around you. Because if you do defeat me, it only proves that you can be all of the things that I never could, and you can finally be at peace."

Tsurugi finished his statement with another cough, and got back to his feet. His chakra was running low, so he released his kekkei genkai and the shadows faded from his body as he regained his corporeal self. Daraku figured it was only fair to follow suit, so he released his kekkei genkai as well. Tsurugi's Raiton sword sparked with vibrant energy, and he held it in a standard grip in his left hand. "Don't think that I'm going to go easy on you just because I already gave you my dying wish." he said as his chakra intensified. It was glowing a sky blue color, and whipping around him in raging wisps. It suddenly burst outward as he sprinted, with his usual, supersonic speed. The sonic boom was Daraku's cue, but it was too late too react, as Tsurugi was already right in front of him. He stabbed with the Raiton sword, successfully striking Daraku in the gut. Daraku backed away quickly, holding the wound; it wasn't deep, but it was painful. Tsurugi spun to the right in a blur and used the momentum to slash to Daraku's right. The blade cut him rather deep across his face, revealing red flesh and causing him to bleed. Tsurugi continued to slash and stab and prod, hitting Daraku time and time again as he far outclassed his son in speed. Daraku wouldn't take this assault without at least trying to fight back, however. He finally blocked one of the incoming slashes with his own weapon, and dropped to his feet. He used his leg to sweep Tsurugi, causing the man to fall into the sand, then slashed him a few times before he could get up. Tsurugi rolled to the left and somersaulted to his feet, but Daraku was charging chakra for a jutsu. He reached to his ninja tool pouch strapped to his hip, and took out 10 senbon, keeping his hand behind his back for a nice element of surprise as his other hand formed the necessary hand seals.

"Let's try this technique again, shall we? Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!" Daraku spat a multitude of fireballs, and threw the senbon into them, letting the flames augment their power and guide their trajectory. Tsurugi looked at the incoming vortex of fireballs in horror, an expression which soon faded to acceptance. He dropped his sword and held his arms out, welcoming the attack. Each fireball collided with him, leaving a senbon jammed into the point of impact, and the result was a man left covered in burns and still-burning embers, with needles pressed deep into his flesh all over. He fell again to the sand, and laid himself out face-up, struggling with each breath. His eyes settled on Daraku's face once more, his final moments were near. Between the lacerations across his body from the wind torrent and the burns and stab wounds he had just suffered, his body was beyond repair and he was dying of blood loss. Daraku sheathed his weapons and stood over the man, keeping a calm demeanor.

"Father, I didn't want it to come to this...I'm sorry. Just know that I do love you. You'll always be the one I cared for the most, even in times like these, even after everything both you and I have done. As corrupt and misguided as we were, we still had each other, and I appreciate that. Forgot everything I said, and just remember...what happiness felt like." Tsurugi didn't have enough strength left to even nod, so he made an effort to try and some worthy last words.

"I..I love you too, Daraku. It's alright, I understand now that you were always meant to be a shining beacon for our people, and not the angel of death I raised you to be. I'm sorry, too, for everything I've done and everything I've put this clan through. All I ask in my final moments is that you fulfill my dying wish, and I will be an eternally grateful man in whatever afterlife takes me..." he coughed up some blood as he said this, and he gave one last smile to Daraku before the life faded from his eyes. Tsurugi was dead. Daraku gazed at the corpse for a long while, accepting the situation for what it was. The man deserved a proper burial, among the rest of the clansmen...Daraku picked up the body and headed back to the village, reactivating his kekkei genkai in order to remain hidden as he returned to the Ishido Castle. A lot had been done, but there was still plenty to do; the only way to look was ahead.


(Exit, Thread Closed)

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