[VIDEO] Week 8, Day 1

[parousian]

[ The screen goes on in a tumble, something bright and red smearing across the upper left corner. It drops onto the ground and rolls, once, twice, then stops, flecks of dirt and dust obscuring the camera. This feed continues on for quite some time. An hour passes with only the sound of waves and labored breathing that eventually even out and

Comments

[voice]

[behindhiseyes]

Gods often disapprove of those who seek to challenge them.

[voice]

[parousian]

I am of the opinion that these tyrants that call themselves gods believe if they can break us, they can control us.

I am not so willing to submit.

[voice][private]

[behindhiseyes]

[ Itachi supposes there is no point in offering the observation that he feels less broken and controlled at this point in his life and in this world than he ever had during any previous life.

That is not what is important. Not now. Because he knows. He knows -- ]

Did you ever find your brother, Madara-sama?

[ And the trace of concern in his voice, at that, is sincere. ]

[voice][private]

[parousian]

[ Madara falls silent for a long moment, the sound of the ocean, this false sense of calm nature, falling into the space where words normally would reside. He is searching for a memory, he is not sure if he imagined it. If it was some kind of a hallucination, or if it actually happened. But he is certain of one thing. ]

He is no longer here.

[ His voice sounds like rust in the rain, the sharp edge of a knife turned dull with blood. ]

[Reaction]

[guerrilla_morph]

[Marco has nothing to say with this guy. He always have something to say - something about rebelling against those who brought everyone here. Weeks ago Marco might be tempted to join. To rebel those who took Marco away at a time where his dreams were starting to come true, at a time where the war is at a turning point for the worse.

But Marco is a little wiser now. If Marco has to pick a fight, it's something that he has no choice but to fight in. He's not Rachel, and he'll never be like her. (She's not here.) There's just something in this place that is a little more complex than just black and white, freedom or slavery. There's always something that little line in between those opposites. Cassie is not here. But Marco can see that he might need to be a little like her, if he has any chance in this place.

So he says nothing, because Cassie knows the need for silence in order to see how a person is feeling.

This guy.

This guy is feeling empty.

And ready to fight.]

[Video]

[movingpawns]

[He watches the feed. So, there was water here- an bay, perhaps, or perhaps a proper ocean. Walking from one village to another, he really had nothing else to do, so he walks, his gaze occasionally flicking back to the screen.

He stops when he sees movement, and he watches carefully. There was something predatory about the man, something in those eyes that he approved of. Perhaps this man could be of use. He would have to see.

He puzzles out his words, and there's a question that forms there, one that he waits a few moments before voicing.]

I take it that you left this place?

[Video]

[parousian]

[ Leaving? No, it wasn't so much a departure as it was a falling deeper into the earth of this place. To the very center, under the ground, where the sky was as dead as the cracked earth he walked upon, blistering with the ashes of ten thousand dead. In that place, bodies and monsters grew from the earth, and a film of blood hung in the air. For some, it would be a living nightmare. For Madara, it was familiar. That place was like war.

And Uchihas know war. They bleed it.

Madara looks down at the screen, squinting a little at the stranger in it. ]

No. I was in the place that they call Yomi, in this world. Some might call it hell.

[Video]

[movingpawns]

[The smile doesn't fade. If anything, it inches wider, and he nods his head softly.

Hell. What a simple, human concept. He had lived for long enough to know that there was no hell- simply Soul Society and Hueco Mundo. He was going to leave one for the other, and he knew that once he reigned over both, his power would be absolute.]

Ah. Congratulations on your return, then.

[Video]

[parousian]

[ Madara's expression draws flat, his eyes still glowing red with the power of Uchiha running through his veins, with the adrenaline that pumps his heart and places his guard on edge. Armed. His eyes are armed like the rest of him. And this stranger with his platitudes is only an irritation Madara does not wish to entertain at the moment. ]

What fool in his right mind would enjoy being caged and made to run about in a world that may as well be a prison?

[voice]

[neargenius]

[The sound of water gets Near's attention first, makes him look to the Hitomi. It's a dim reminder of something half-remembered. He would normally turn it off, put the Hitomi way where he can't hear the noise--breathing is an irritating sound--but the water holds his attention for longer than usual.

When the person on the other end comes on to the feed... Blood is first evident. From some harsh origin. And that would be enough, too, just an observation--but. Return me back.]

Then hell is the same?

[voice]

[parousian]

Hell is the same anywhere.

[ This place had been more bearable with Izuna by his side, and for some time Madara thought that maybe he could manage to survive within it, if it meant only that he could have Izuna near him for a little longer. But now, it is as it was.

Hell. It is not so different from what Madara has always known. ]

1/2 reaction;

[transient_art]

[Deidara drops his hitomi like it had burned his fingers. Drops it like a venomous snake, and keeps staring at it with wide eyes.

Sharingan...

What does it mean? What in all HELL does it mean?

This man, he claims to be the rightful leader of Akatsuki, someone whose commands Deidara should heed as much as he did Pain's. He is the person who makes the decisions for the organizations, he alone as a single figure of power.

And he...
--Uchiha.
A fucking Uchiha!

Those eyes. Those eyes! What is it that makes them so important?

No, didn't Itachi kill them all?

Who is this man?

It makes his chest heave, his stomach tighten, and he feels a burn of nausea rising. Nevertheless, anger is what makes him move eventually, bend down and pick up the hitomi. His face is like frozen surface of a lake, unmoving, cold and smooth.

He flicks on the device...]

2/2 video; (finally .__.)

[transient_art]

[...and stares at the screen for a moment quietly, then tilts his head back, breaking the thin ice that kept him immobilized before. Animated with narrowing of his eyes, he gives a small grin, lips pulling back to reveal a brief glimpse of white teeth.]

...so, you're an Uchiha?

[Video]

[parousian]

[ This certainly is not pleasant. No, it is not at all. The very sight of Deidara's face sneering up at him with the name of his family curling with disgust in his tone draws Madara's mouth down in a thin line. He does not respond for some time. It will not do to have Deidara see him in such a state.

When he finally does respond, it is hours later. Madara has cleaned the blood from his face and straightened out his hair. He has found himself something clean to wear and has taken refuge in the woods near a shrine, where it is quiet, and he can gather himself in solitude. There are too many people in this world now.

His eyes are dark. ]

I am.

[Video]

[transient_art]

[ This smile here, it's sharp as a razor, and flashed out with venomous sweetness that could be a solid smack to the face, it sure is violent enough. It also says he doesn't care, it says it loud and clear, lying right to Madara's face.

He doesn't care, he doesn't. Maybe he is lying to himself as well.

It is unfair, and this man has just made everything so difficult. ]

It just... [ he begins, grin softening into a smile, his eyes hooded and staring at the hitomi, daring Madara to lie back at him. ] ...happened to slip out of your introduction, right?