[Graded] Commotion at the gate

[Zao]

The desert winds were as relentless as ever, clouds of sand particles obscured the vision of the main gate outpost but this was not something unaccustomed and they were still able to see quite the distance out into the sand through eye protection they wore and training in this harsh environment that the shinobi called their homeland. This too was Zao's homeland as the man who had been absent for a few years now from this place he called home but it was not because of his own wishes but because of his foolishness that brought forth that 'Demon' into this world who used his body as a vessel to spread evil and chaos during a time when the world was at turmoil during the great war. But through the creature's own arrogance was the Bannin able to regain his own body and self only to retain all the memories of those times when he could do nothing to stop and even though he didn't do any of those vile things he was still to blame. This in itself was still something he was trying to rectify and deal with mentally...but only time would be able to help heal the mental wounds.

He could have kept running, locked himself away in the edges of the world like some hermit or deep within his own personal realm or for that matter some other spirit realm. Yet, none of those things were something could do as it was the coward's way of dealing with his issues, instead he was the type of man who his father raised to deal with his problems in a straightforward manner and to take responsibility for his actions. Finally through the churning sand that had begun to die down just a bit, a white robed figure with waist length white hair that didn't appear to have been cut in years could be seen as an outline at first before breaking through the sand to reveal himself. Zao's face was more mature as it had been almost five years since he'd been within the walls of Sunagakure, how he had missed his father and mother. The thought of family caused the man to shed a single tear that was whipped off his face by the wind that swirled around his figure, that tear was for what remained of his wife that he'd been forced to lock away within his personal realm.

The Demon's chakra corruption was something that not even he had found a way to deal with on humans yet, leaving Wei and TOushi shells of their former selves that were a danger to everyone around them. Sighing to himself the man's bright crystal blue eyes were able to pierce the veil of sand and meet with the shinobi guard post. To them the man wasn't someone they knew or remembered off hand and could have been confused as a monk with the prayer beads that were wrapped around his right arm as his normal plant spirit companion pets were nowhere to be seen. As he stepped up to the checkpoint that would need to be crossed to gain entrance into the village he stopped like any normal visitor would do as two shinobi, one chuunin and one jounin, greeted him and asked for his identification and reason for visiting Suna. The war had ended but the security was tighter than ever as tensions were still very high and peace talks between the big five and other budding nations hadn't really happened, only old alliances holding things together. "Hello." A warm voice drifted through the cloth fabric that had concealed the lower portion of Zao's face from the beratting of the sand on his journey here as he reached up and removed the arb revealing his smooth sun kissed skin to the jounin.

While the right hand with the beads reached inside of his robes and removed a single, ragged piece of tan cloth, before the hand then turned over the cloth to reveal it to be a Suna headband that was barely holding together. He had recovered this from the ruins where it had been lose when he accidently opened the portal that the demon hegemon used to escape the demon realm and possess his body. "I am Saisuko Zao and I have come home.'' Revealing his name and offering the old headband he wore as a jounin to the jounin the man then extended both of his hands outwards with both palms facing the sky as if offering himself into their custody without any attempt to resist or fight them. The demon had done a number of heinous things while in control of his body, somewhere even linked back to Zao and while nothing serious had been done against his homeland, other allies such as Konoha had suffered damages. Some might even have labeled the man as a war criminal and this was amongst only some of the reasons he had to return to his homeland...perhaps if the Kazekage heard his story then he would be able to rebuild the broken trust between the village and himself through whatever means the Kage deemed necessary for him to do or be subjugated to.

He felt that his current life was in shambles and the only place that he could come to in order to start picking up the pieces was here, where his only living family and friends still lived and worked. The now middle aged man didn't know what path or how he would do it but if he couldn't do it here then there truly was no other place for him. "Please take me into custody and inform the Kazekage-sama of my return." Both of the man's arms were still extended towards the two shinobi as he finished his words for now, one would notice that the left arm seemed slightly different and that it was concealed through layers of bandaging as the white haired Bannin attempted to hide the remaining scar from the Hegemon's influence over his body.

[TyDie]

Of all of the things that the Juunidaime Kazekage expected to deal with on this morning, this was the furthest thing from what she considered to be plausible...

"Repeat that? WHO just showed up at the guard post to the north!?" Kiyori, clad in her official outfit, slammed her fist on her desk in a mixture of emotions as one of the chuunin from the guard post explained the situation to her. "S-Saisuko Z-zao, you worship! He just... walked up to us! No resistance, no fuss, just... handed himself over!" Kiyori let out a long sigh and leaned back in her chair for a moment, her mind a whirlwind of possibilities and thoughts as she considered everything revolving around Zao's sudden departure from the village. "Our foremost expert on spirits and their powers, gone in an instant. Then reports from all over of heinous acts, a callous man performing dastardly deeds. Suddenly he just turns himself in? There's something going on here... Take me to his holding cell." Kiyori rose from her chair as she gave the order, and the Chuunin gave a small bow without a word before turning to head out the door.

The trip to Zao's cell was silent. Kiyori passed by numerous other shinobi, all worked up at the news, but she spoke not a word as she made her way through the winding halls of the Sunagakure Administration building. Through the streets towards one of the few lifts that lead under the village, The Kazekage's mind was working at light speed as she considered every conceivable possibility. Was there some greater plan here? Did he come back to attain something left behind, or steal something from the village? Perhaps he sought the Genma, or village scrolls... or her life? With Zao, the possibilities truly were endless..

The lift carried her down, down deep into the earth... into The Pit. The prison had been improved upon significantly in the years following the Jail break that lead to the release of Habimori Manza's disciples. And given Zao's immense powers, there was only one location fit for him; Maximum Security. The floor itself was largely empty, with shinobi patrolling constantly and checking every single cell as they passed. Kiyori's presence was admittedly stunning to some, as she didn't make a habit of coming down here, but they were specially trained not to let anything interrupt their vigil; not even her, unless she commanded it. The chuunin continued to lead her down towards the bottom of the pit, towards the most well guarded cells, and finally they arrived at a large steel door with only a spyhole to look in through.

Kiyori slid the spyhole open with a loud 'clang' and peered inside to see the shell of the former Zao she knew. Disheveled long hair, bandages, dirt and grime... she hardly recognized him. The man had been outfit with various Fuuinjutsu, most notably the Chakra Forbid Seal with an additional explosive seal laced within the formula, to prevent tampering. This seal would be placed between his shoulder blades, making it even more difficult to tamper with. The man was also chained, his hands and legs bound together and further chained to the wall. And of course, there was a Paralysis seal that could be easily activated by any of the guards to render an inmate immobile, also placed between the shoulderblades, just above the Chakra Forbid Seal. With all of those seals and a dozen seasoned Jounin patrolling the Maximum Security area, it was safe to say not even Zao could escape.

"Open the door." Kiyori spoke softly to one of the two guards posted outside of Zao's cell, and with only a nod, the keys were produced and with a resounding 'clang' the door was opened. Zao would see the silhouette of the Kazekage standing in front of the portal to his cell, the unmistakable hat and robe combo recognizable in an instant. And as the door was shut behind her, the spyhole closed, Kiyori took a few steps towards Zao, clearing her throat as the scent of the place made her uncomfortable... or was that Zao's scent? "So... what brings you back, friend?" Even here, amidst the dank prison of Suna, Kiyori found it within herself to give the man a warm smile and a proper, happy greeting. "I was told you wanted to see me personally... You've risked a lot to earn your audience, Zao. It's only fair that I hear the words of a man willing to risk it all for one chance."

She'd let the white haired 'demon' begin, letting out a deep breath as she prepared for the story of a lifetime.

[Zao]

The desert winds were as relentless as ever, clouds of sand particles obscured the vision of the main gate outpost but this was not something unaccustomed and they were still able to see quite the distance out into the sand through eye protection they wore and training in this harsh environment that the shinobi called their homeland. This too was Zao's homeland as the man who had been absent for a few years now from this place he called home but it was not because of his own wishes but because of his foolishness that brought forth that 'Demon' into this world who used his body as a vessel to spread evil and chaos during a time when the world was at turmoil during the great war. But through the creature's own arrogance was the Bannin able to regain his own body and self only to retain all the memories of those times when he could do nothing to stop and even though he didn't do any of those vile things he was still to blame. This in itself was still something he was trying to rectify and deal with mentally...but only time would be able to help heal the mental wounds.

He could have kept running, locked himself away in the edges of the world like some hermit or deep within his own personal realm or for that matter some other spirit realm. Yet, none of those things were something could do as it was the coward's way of dealing with his issues, instead he was the type of man who his father raised to deal with his problems in a straightforward manner and to take responsibility for his actions. Finally through the churning sand that had begun to die down just a bit, a white robed figure with waist length white hair that didn't appear to have been cut in years could be seen as an outline at first before breaking through the sand to reveal himself. Zao's face was more mature as it had been almost five years since he'd been within the walls of Sunagakure, how he had missed his father and mother. The thought of family caused the man to shed a single tear that was whipped off his face by the wind that swirled around his figure, that tear was for what remained of his wife that he'd been forced to lock away within his personal realm.

The Demon's chakra corruption was something that not even he had found a way to deal with on humans yet, leaving Wei and TOushi shells of their former selves that were a danger to everyone around them. Sighing to himself the man's bright crystal blue eyes were able to pierce the veil of sand and meet with the shinobi guard post. To them the man wasn't someone they knew or remembered off hand and could have been confused as a monk with the prayer beads that were wrapped around his right arm as his normal plant spirit companion pets were nowhere to be seen. As he stepped up to the checkpoint that would need to be crossed to gain entrance into the village he stopped like any normal visitor would do as two shinobi, one chuunin and one jounin, greeted him and asked for his identification and reason for visiting Suna. The war had ended but the security was tighter than ever as tensions were still very high and peace talks between the big five and other budding nations hadn't really happened, only old alliances holding things together. "Hello." A warm voice drifted through the cloth fabric that had concealed the lower portion of Zao's face from the beratting of the sand on his journey here as he reached up and removed the arb revealing his smooth sun kissed skin to the jounin.

While the right hand with the beads reached inside of his robes and removed a single, ragged piece of tan cloth, before the hand then turned over the cloth to reveal it to be a Suna headband that was barely holding together. He had recovered this from the ruins where it had been lose when he accidently opened the portal that the demon hegemon used to escape the demon realm and possess his body. "I am Saisuko Zao and I have come home.'' Revealing his name and offering the old headband he wore as a jounin to the jounin the man then extended both of his hands outwards with both palms facing the sky as if offering himself into their custody without any attempt to resist or fight them. The demon had done a number of heinous things while in control of his body, somewhere even linked back to Zao and while nothing serious had been done against his homeland, other allies such as Konoha had suffered damages. Some might even have labeled the man as a war criminal and this was amongst only some of the reasons he had to return to his homeland...perhaps if the Kazekage heard his story then he would be able to rebuild the broken trust between the village and himself through whatever means the Kage deemed necessary for him to do or be subjugated to.

He felt that his current life was in shambles and the only place that he could come to in order to start picking up the pieces was here, where his only living family and friends still lived and worked. The now middle aged man didn't know what path or how he would do it but if he couldn't do it here then there truly was no other place for him. "Please take me into custody and inform the Kazekage-sama of my return." Both of the man's arms were still extended towards the two shinobi as he finished his words for now, one would notice that the left arm seemed slightly different and that it was concealed through layers of bandaging as the white haired Bannin attempted to hide the remaining scar from the HegemonThe man was quietly taken into the custody of the village's security unit, numerous jounin appearing rapidly as he was detained and quickly escorted away from the prying eyes of the rest of the village. Shifted down into a series of lifts that led down into his initial holding cell where he was disrobed and a number of fuuin inscribed upon his body, the most powerful ones upon his back between each shoulder blade that restricted his chakra flow and the others were additional layers of protection that were placed on all prisoners that resided within the infamous 'Pit'. During this time the man offered no resistance and simply obeyed the commands and didn't speak another word as he was placed into shackles and then moved to the deepest region of the prison where only the most dangerous shinobi were placed, the maximum security sector. Zao had been here before just after the prison break that seemed so many years ago as he was one of the jounin assigned to hunt down the escaped shinobi and return them back into the dark depths of the Suna prison system where they rightfully belonged. Never would he have every thought at that time in his life that he'd also become a member of this cell block.

The long haired man could only sigh as he was more or less dragged along until he was placed into a cell with a massive iron door with various fuuinjutsu placed on the door and inside the room to serve as other measures of security that had been installed after the prison break occurred to ensure an incident of that level would never occur again. His shackles were attached to the wall leaving him only able to move a short distance and set down against the same wall. The man's waist length hair was disheveled and it hid his once vibrant blue eyes that had lost a bit of their brightness due to the events in his life over the past five years that the world itself was in turmoil and his body snatcher had become a heinous villain who's acts made their marks in other countries throughout the time of the war. He sat slumped against the dirty floor as the long white locks of hair covered most of his shirtless upper torso as he simply sat wordlessly staring down at the floor as if searching for something. Sooner than even he had expected, the quiet sound of footsteps that did not belong to the normal guard patrols could be heard ever so faintly approaching his cell, within the darkness he couldn't see his hand in front of his face and when the door was opened for the new figure it blinded him somewhat.

His chains rattled gently as the bandaged left arm was lifted before his eyes to help fend against the sudden envelopment of the light as he could only see the shadow of the figure standing in the doorway, but even in his years of absence the man would not forget the image of his Kazekage as the man remembered back to the day of the coronation ceremony and Kiyori took over the roles and responsibility of Kazekage. Her stance of neutrality and personal values had helped to bring Suna to a better place than it had been in the past. Placing his shackled hands on the floor the man struggled slight to lift his frail looking body off the cold stone floor into a standing position as he heard the first words from the young woman. Most would have taken her friend comment as some form of jest or insult but there was a warmth that flowed from the Juunidaime Kazekage. His soft voice replied, a hint of weakness in his words as both hands came together as though he was praying before he bowed his head to the strongest shinobi within the Sand village, a title fitting for the woman before him. "Greeting Kazekage-sama. "

As he words would continue the man stood up find himself a bit off balance as he leaned back against the wall in order to keep from possibly falling now as the dirt covered body and clothing of the man could have caused someone to mistake the formerly great bannin as a simple beggar if he was on the corner of a street or alleyway anywhere else. To risk his life, her words were not hollow as the deeds that the demon hegemon had done over the course of the war could have earned him a kill on sight from other countries and even in his home country things were not the best for him either. But first and foremost he thanked the fellow shinobi for coming to visit him as he was unsure if after all this time his request would be heard...there was a high risk in everything he'd done so far. "Thank you for coming." Zao glanced up through his messy white hair that shielded a portion of his face but it couldn't hide the dishonor the man felt for the memories he had of the times that led to this point nor could he fully take in these memories. But the man could only start off with a few words, "Please forgive me for the misgivings that I have committed against my homeland..." The bannin paused, shaking his head as he slide down the wall to a seated position allowing his knees to remain propped up as his arms came to rest upon them and his head and eyes tilted back down to the floor as if he wasn't worthy to look at the Kage.

"My recklessness and compaliceny cost me more than I had ever imagined. Please let me tell you my story from before the war broke out." He asked permission to speak further even though she had said that she would already hear his words, the apologetic man simply shook his head as he ensured that Kiyori was ready for him to begin. "Back then myself and others had managed to finally step foot into the mysterious country of Juu no Kuni, even though that came with sacrifices made by my friends for us to reach that point. But I am sure that you are aware of that as we had the Scribes venture with us to document the strange spiritual place and the way chakra was affecting the landscape and animals there. We tried to formulate hypothesis about where the residence of such an advanced country could have disappeared to and during the exploration of several ruins we began to piece together that they had managed to build a gateway to another realm." A long sigh could be heard from Zao as he simply shook his head, at the time of these discoveries and exploration attempts he had been filled with such excitement and his wife had been there exploring these ruins with him at the time. "My wife Wei and I were down in one of the deepest chambers that we had managed to locate where we discovered a completed gateway ruin. As we were documenting it the altar was activated by mistake and from a dark realm a powerful spirit was able to invade our realm without warning...".

"I was caught off guard to defend and the spirit latched onto my body, it had a strange corrupted chakra that sealed my soul away much like how we deal with spirits in our world. With no way to fight back I was sealed into a pit of darkness as the strange demon that called himself the 'Hegemon' corrupted all my spirit companions with his strange chakra turning them into demons for a lack of a better word. Not even Wei..." He paused when he was about to talk about his wife, could he even call the demon that controlled his wife's body serving only the Demon Hegemon his wife anymore, the man still held onto a string of hope, no matter how tiny or thin that string might actually be, that perhaps there was still a way for him to fix his wife. The bandaged left arm of the man lifted as the back of hand and its dirt smeared bandages were used to wipe the man's eyes...when he had married the young Dasu clansman he had promised the young girl's mother and father that he'd always be there to look after and protect her. A promise that he had not been able to keep as she was locked away within his personal realm at this moment in restraints not unlike the ones Zao wore here. Taking a deep breath the man continued, "The Demon was a plague as he began to use his corruptive chakra and its ability to take over the body's of others to slowly start building a force to help him with his goal of standing above the humans of this world. The shinobi war broke out at the perfect time as it enabled him to move about and conduct numerous vile deeds that now rest on my head I'm afraid..."

Yes, the deeds done by the Hegemon were also his own as if not for his unique skills and strength as a shinobi the Demon would have have been able to easily do what he did during the chaos that was enveloping the work with the countries and village's fighting against one another and their neighbors. The Shrimp continent perhaps suffered the most as the man had taken over the majority of its countries and clashed with Konoha forces as they invaded the western end of the continent. "...along with Wei the man even conquered a Kumo bannin from the Arashiyama clan..." Then he spoke about the Kumo bannin Arashiyama Toushi who had happened to cross paths with the Hegemon and ended up also becoming one of the man's demon slaves and whose strength was used to subjugate numerous innocent people and take the lives of perhaps just as many. "During the war the man attacked and subjugated a large portion of the Shrimp continent, even clashing with Konoha's forward forwards on the western end of the island on a number of occasions. All for the purpose of attempting to open a gateway to his home realm and bring forth an army of demonic spirits who served him." The crimes were perhaps too numerous to list out at the moment and he was unaware if the woman knew everything that was being traced back to either the Hegemon or Zao himself as honestly not even he was exactly sure about it. "But that arrogant demon thought he might be so grand that he attempted to trap the 'Death God' spirit from the underworld and use his grand power as a weapon. This was when it all went bad for the Demon as the tables to turn and the God retaliated by ripping the demon from my body and sending it back somewhere into the spirit worlds but even still the demon was able to leave a trace of itself in my body...

Slowly he reached over with the chained right hand and the delicate fingers began to unwrap a portion of the dirt soiled bandages on the arm as it revealed the elongated fingers and fingernails of the left hand and the deep purple hue of the skin that looked like it might be from some type of disease. This chakra had given him a somewhat demonic looking left arm from the shoulder down, phantom pains echoed through it as the man winced slightly while attempting to wrap the ugly arm back up and place it out of sight of the mighty Kage who stood before him within his prison cell. The man had only been seeking knowledge and in return had lost so much from his pursuit of it. He paused his tale for a moment, partially to let the strange twisting monologue sink in and also for himself to close his eyes as it wasn't something he was comfortable remembering..wishing that it was only a dream and could be forgotten...but there was no way for that to ever happen. After several awkward moments of silence from Zao he lifted his head, dim crystal blue eyes peering through the unkept white locks of hair allowing for his eyes to meet those of the younger woman's gaze as he finally spoke again. "A man must be held accountable for his actions, I have to much pride as a shinobi of this village to simply run away and hide for what I've done. I came here so that you could speak with the council and the leaders of our village and those of the other villages alike to determine what those consequences are Kazekage-sama."

With his closing words Zao bought his hands back together like prayer hands before bowing his head once more to the leader of his village. He could not know what was going on in the mind of the woman after he retold the short version of what happened to him and Wei over the past five years of his absence from the village and the troubles it had caused not only for himself but also most like for her and the village, as well. The middle aged man also knew that decisions at this level couldn't be made immediately and would require thought and deliberation and that their would be different things required of him in order to validate any of the words that the Bannin had just spoken to his Kage....

[TyDie]

The sorrow that flowed out of this poor, broken man touched the girl's heart, before he even spoke a word... He was a shell of the man she knew years prior. With a deep breath, Kiyori's tattoos would ignite with power, and a moment later a soft, glowing orb of golden light would take shape in her hand. It was a warm glow, not bright enough to blind and not hot enough to burn. Just enough to illuminate this hellish dungeon which they had to use to contain the white haired shinobi. With the light filling the room, she was able to better examine the man's disheveled state... she wanted to weep.

And then he told her his story.

Twists and turns the likes of which she never could have predicted, even with her immense mental prowess. Sorrow unending. A few tears streamed down her face, as it became clear that Zao had lost almost everything in his life. "Zao... You've been through so much. I've never felt so conflicted in my life... not even during my tests to become Kazekage." She wiped her tears and walked closer to the man, within touching distance, that she might run her hand along the man's cheek and face. "I will not speak to the council on this matter. My council are advisors, and I need no advice to make my decision regarding your judgement."

It wasn't often that Kiyori made decisions without the input of her council. In fact, the amount of times she had done it could be counted on one hand in her entire time as Kazekage. But this would be one of those times. "I... cannot give you free reign of the village, Zao. As much as I would like to trust that you are truly returned to us, it will be a long, long time before anyone else can be convinced of your innocence. You will be watched, constantly. You will be outfit with a number of crippling fuuinjutsu, meant to keep you from fleeing again or injuring our citizens. You are far too powerful to be left to your own devices... I'll even have to implement security provisions around your home, to ensure you're not plotting anything. Privacy and trust will be hard to earn... But I refuse to believe that you can't be redeemed in the eyes of Her Light, Zao. I won't give up on you."

She finally stepped away from the man and stood near the center of the room, underneath her light, casting her shadow down on the floor by him. "Just don't give up on yourself. Amends can only be made in life... not death."

[Zao]

The man could not hold his head up to gaze at the soft golden light that the woman before him produced, in the darkness and silence of the dingy cell the faint sound of droplets of water falling from his own Kage's face cause his tired and half open eyes to force themselves open fully. It was the sound of tear's from the Lady of the village...for him...thought nothing could truly life the darkness and sorrow currently placed upon his hear this was enough to cause the man's broken heart to stir once more. "Lady Kiyori..." Zao could barely make the words and push them from his weak through out his thin lips, but he still found the strength to lift his head and allow for the dim blue eyes to look through the mess of white that was his wild looking hair in order to speak to her.

"I understand my Kage..." He allowed for his head to drop, not out of sadness or anger of her words but out of a sense of relief that was slowly building in his body as he hall fell back from his knelt position against the wall as he grunted slightly as he ended up in a somewhat sitting position still leaned forward but with his backside on the floor and his lower back against the cold stone of the wall. His movements caused the chains on his arms to rattle in the quiet air as he managed to lift his head, the faintest semblance of a smile trying to form on the man's lips, but he was too weak personally to form a true smile. "...no matter the restrictions, at least I will know that I am able to return home. It is the only thing I have left..."

"My Kage...thank you." No other would were able to come to mind to express the true level of thanks and gratitude that Zao felt, the well educated and respectful figure in his current state could only offer the simplest but most sincere thank you to the leader of his village. Just the simple chance to redeem himself in the eyes of his family, friends, and village. But it was more the last words that she would mention to him, that amends can only be made in life, not death. Zao had been walking the slippery slope that had him on the edge, one was life and the other was death. Yet, in the end he couldn't do it himself and had honestly returned to his village to allow them the ability to pass judgement on him for his crimes in life.

Their was only the tiniest of a piece of the man's mind that had even clung to the possibility that he would be given a second change. But what he would be able to do and how much the man would be able to recover from the dark hole that his heart and soul were within was still left to see. At least now, no mater how small it was, their was a faint light that had been able to penetrate the darkness and fall upon his body. Like a gentle warm he felt it from his dark place, perhaps there was a way forward that he had not anticipated. A slow exhale could be heard from the man as he set back, as if a large burden had been lifted from his shoulders as he passed out as his head came to rest against the cold, damp wall of the high security cell.

Would he ever be at the same level as his previous self? There were many questions to answer, but each of them would take time as he fell into a gentle state of sleep after his last words had passed with the Kazekage...