To Build is to Break

[Kao]

The jagged crests of the mountain range that surrounded Iwagakure, known as Minami no Kabe, were typically a perpetually frozen wasteland. The frigid temperatures penetrated the cracks and crevices of the ancient stone, leaving the caves and caverns with an often thick layer of ice layering the walls and ground. One cave deep within the mountains, however, was sweltering. A film of filthy water dripped from the cave walls, much of it evaporating before reaching the damp floor. It created thick, swirling, smelly steam that wafted up towards the nearly five hundred foot high ceiling.

In the center of the cavern was what appeared to be a workspace of sorts. There were half a dozen tables arranged almost haphazardly, some nearly bare and others covered with instruments meant for poking, prodding, and cutting. For stabbing, burning, and slicing. The area was prepared by Iwagakure’s Akari Kotaru for a very special and very dear guest. The man sat on the cave floor, not caring that he was sitting in a particularly damp spot. Four long tendrils were spread on the ground behind him, swaying gently while avoiding the equipment around him. The bannin peered up at a man a few years his junior, strapped on a vertical metal slab with each arm tied separately above his head. He was unconscious, shirtless, and his grimy auburn hair fell past his shoulders and concealed his face from view. His torso was covered in black markings, a fuuinjutsu that prevented him from molding chakra.

Kotaru hummed a slow tune and brought one of his melashiin up to his captive’s cheek and, in an almost intimate gesture, pushed away some of the hair that was sticking to his sweaty skin. Yozei had been unconscious for two days now, his condition initially closely monitored by Natsumi, the tsuchikage’s wife and Kotaru’s sister-in-law. But after ensuring he was ready for it - or, as ready as one could be - she turned him over to Kotaru’s custody. When Yozei’s face was fully in view, Kotaru flicked his shiin across his cheek, more than hard enough to wake him.

“Wakey wakey, shithead.”

[Izanagi]

The world had grown dark, voices distant as Yozei slumped over against the scorched earth. And then he found himself entering the great throne room of the Shittenou-Ji Ryu palace. Large stone pillars wrapped in red velvet and golden dragon patterns lined either side of a large throw-rug of swirling black and red designs. Light shone in from terrace walls, casting shadow on the large throne at the end of the room. As he approached, Yozei smelled smoke and sulfur and then saw the flames, licking at the walls and encroaching closer. Darting his head around his gaze fell upon a looming figure that had appeared on the throne, glowing marks illuminating his skin, eyes aflame. Flames swirled behind Yozei, forcing him to approach the throne. But as Yozei drew closer his steps became heavy, his footing meeting resistance. His eyes cast downward, finding himself standing in a river of blood. Panicked, his heart raced, his hands clammy with sweat as he reached for his sword only to find his hands grasping at empty air. He could see the bodies now, his father, Zakuro, Noeru. Collapsed at the foot of the throne, their vacant gazes stared back at him, blood poured from cavities in their chests and slit throats. He tried to yell, to cry out in rage but he found he couldn’t speak.

‘This is your destiny’

The voice was familiar. It was his own, but lower, roiling and crackling like flames and filled with malice. Yozei tried to move, to turn away. Stumbling backward he found himself seated on stone. A throne. The bodies were at his feet now, a bladed chain wrapped around his left arm, drenched in the lifeblood of Konoha. Wisps of fire and glowing marks emanated from his body, caught in the reflection of the glint of steel as it snaked around almost with a will of its own.

“Wakey wakey, shithead.”

The voice sounded distant and then suddenly it felt near. Heavy eyelids flitted in and out of consciousness. A dull pain throbbed across his face, lancing down his neck. There was a smell of smoke and a permeating heat. Memories flashed back to him as a familiar face greeted his awakening. Kotaru, he had been fighting him. Zakuro had been hurt.

Slowly, Yozei turned his head as he took in his surroundings, a cave. Normally that was good for him, but he could feel his chakra was being blocked. He couldn’t infuse his surroundings and use it to his advantage. “Where am I? What happened to the others?” he questioned groggily. He was so thirsty, his body felt weak and his stomach ached. “How long have I been out?” he further inquired. It seemed he didn’t truly grasp the situation nor understand the depths of Kotaru’s malice. Only then did he notice the torture equipment prepared before him. Exhaling slowly, he felt a growing pit of dread. He had been captured before on more than one occasion, but he had always been used for ransom, never truly tortured. However, he knew his duty to Konoha and Fire country. He had to endure, somehow. Whatever it was Kotaru wanted from him, he was determined to resist.

[Kao]

For several tense seconds, Kotaru said nothing. He sat perched in front of his prisoner, staring with a dark expression as Yozei tried to get his bearings. Eventually he replied with, "I'm not surprised that the first thing you ask about is your friends. But it's a little funny that you ask since when they needed you most, you were hiding underground." The Akari tilted his head and smirked as he gauged Yozei's response to the quip. To his surprise, he didn't immediately detect terror. It seemed that Yozei didn't quite understand the predicament he was in. So Kotaru stood, taking care to drag one tendril of his melashiin across Yozei's bare chest before turning toward one of the tables covered with sharp instruments.

"You've been out for a few days. It gave me enough time to mull over what I'm going to do with you." He picked up an oversized scalpel and ran his finger on the blunt side of the blade. "I'm honesty disappointed in you, Yozei. You've had years to get strong enough to get on my level. But instead of working for it, you let that thing inside you do the brunt of the work." Kotaru turned on his heel and then took slow, deliberate steps forward. The scalpel in his hand glinted in the dim light as he twirled it between his fingers and purposefully kept it within Yozei's line of sight. Once he was in front of Yozei once more, Kotaru grabbed the man's face with his free hand and roughly turned it to expose his left cheek. "Make no mistake, Yozei. You deserve everything that I'm gonna do to you over the next few days." He pressed scalpel to skin, digging the metal into the flesh until he drew blood. But then suddenly he stopped, and he craned his head so he could meet Yozei's gaze. Once they made eye contact, the Akari smiled.

"Silly me. I forgot to answer all of your questions first." He tossed the scalpel back on the table and walked to Yozei's rear. While out of sight, the bannin performed a long and complicated string of hand seals. As he did, he taunted his rival. "You're where no one can get to you, Yozei. My country has massive mountain ranges with caverns within them that are labyrinths. You're beyond the help of even the best of your scouts and sensors. The pretentious light of Konoha can't touch you here." With the hand seals finished, Kotaru flipped one of the tables over and muttered, "Oops," as the instruments on it clattered to the ground. He then grabbed two of the empty tables behind Yozei and dragged them in front of the man. But he wouldn't see the tables as empty.

On each table would be partially blackened corpses, evidently burned by the hottest of flames. The lower halves of each were encased in what was unmistakably long-cooled lava. Their top halves were far from unrecognizable. Even through the burns and abrasions their faces were clearly that of Zakuro and Noeru. "Your comrades, Yozei. I didn't have to bother with taking them out. You took care of that on your own."

JutsuShow

Master of Sight
S-Ranked Illusion Genjutsu
Pre-Requisite: 40 Willpower
After performing the needed hand seals, Kotaru will create a loud noise. When the target hears the noise, Kotaru will gain full control over their vision. He can cause the target to see anything he pleases, and he can make things unseen to his target. This genjutsu lasts 5 posts.

[Izanagi]

Yozei’s eyes met with Kotaru’s, taking a moment to observe how much the man had changed since they were kids. ‘Since when does he have horns?’ he wondered, then observed his blackened fingertips and even his tongue as he spoke. He felt cold. More so than before. His hair was longer now, reminding him of a great lion’s mane. But the way Kotaru spoke was that of a serpent, words like venom dripping with contempt. But the Prince of Fire country felt no such disdain, not toward Kotaru or any Iwagakure shinobi for that matter. His cerulean blue eyes shone valiantly, unbothered by the quip. “I was doing my job, protecting the tower. I knew they could handle themselves” he said, smiling as he thought of Zakuro’s strength. He believed in him as a mentor and a friend. “Besides, from what I recall my stone dragon arrived just in time. Wasn’t it your friend that got burned in your own attack?” he countered, daring to smirk despite his predicament.

For whatever reason, even in this situation Yozei was not afraid. His only concern was for the wellbeing of his friends. His eyes followed Kotaru’s tentacle as it almost sensually rubbed against his bare chest. His heart rate increased, but not from fear. Previously Kotaru had only revealed his tentacles to him under the guise of them being an illusion, but now he seemed to brazenly flaunt his true form. “Is this who you really are, Kota?” he spoke softly, his breath hitching as the tendril touched him and then exhaling sharply as it left his skin.

As Kotaru prepared himself for what was to come the captive Prince simply stared ahead, resigned for whatever fate was in store for him. He had been a prisoner before, many times in fact. And always it had amounted to keeping him alive and using him for ransom. He was a valuable commodity, and he was not afraid to use that for leverage. As both a Prince and the eldest son of the Hokage he was among the most influential men in Fire country. And that came with a price, as his rivals internally within the royal family, and those enemies of Konoha alike each vied over him. Again, he didn’t let the goading get to him, his expression only faltering at the mention of the spirit within him. A brief look of concern before he composed himself. “My fire burns just as hot as yours. It always has” he insisted. “I think we both know that without your mind games you wouldn’t stand a chance” he declared. It had been obvious Kotaru had no desire to risk getting close to him, not unless Yozei was helpless and restrained. But he sighed, his mind refusing to ignore the underlying truth to his rival’s words. “That thing inside me…” he started, looking downcast now for the first time as his words trailed off. It wasn’t as if he chose to use its power, nor had any say in it possessing him in the first place. Ashamedly, he still struggled to keep its influence at bay. Whenever he reached his threshold for pain or emotional turmoil it burst forth like an all-consuming inferno and he was at its mercy until it had run its course. He recalled nothing from when the spirit was in control, but it taunted him in his dreams, finding that to be the only plane in which they could communicate.

The glint of a scalpel and Kotaru’s sudden close proximity snapped the bound man from his reverie. Yozei did not shy away from meeting the Akari’s gaze. And in those seafoam green eyes he saw only hate and malice. “What happened to you?” he questioned, his voice straining and his heart feeling heavy with betrayal. He had thought perhaps Kota was simply putting on a show, his usual snide air of confidence. But he could see now that he truly seemed to disregard the friendship they had shared. “Weren’t we friends?” he whispered softly, even as the scalpel cut into his flesh. Perhaps it was only childhood nostalgia, but he had genuinely felt like he and Kota shared a connection, the kind of bond that transcend village allegiances. Kotaru had been the first person to truly inspire and motivate him, before even Zakuro. Within Konoha everything seemed so easy, his peers were no challenge at all to him and even Jounin tended to joke around more than actually train with any kind of intent. Only Kotaru had been able to display to him what true strength felt like. Was that what he was still doing? Trying to push him to overcome the corruption eating away at his soul? Not one person in Konoha had been able to help him understand or control his condition. But perhaps that was his own fault for walking away from them, keeping his demons buried and allowed to fester as he attempted to rule with benevolence while harboring a growing rot inside himself.

A growing unease grasped the captive as his torturer stood behind him, lingering menacingly. With his arms tied above his head and the cold steel slab pressed against his back, Yozei was unable to see what Kotaru was up to behind him. Sweat dripped down the prince’s toned body and long auburn hair clung to the nape of his neck. Assuming his feet were also tied and fastened tightly, the man would be quite helpless. He would take this time to test the strength of the restraints, finding that they were well beyond what he could break. He wasn’t a weak man by any means, but his physical might paled in comparison to his father or even his younger brother. Instead, Yozei relied on his immaculate chakra control and quick reflexes to prevail. Only with Kotaru out of sight did he begin to plan for a potential escape attempt. The Fuuinjutsu seal across his chest was a problem, but not one that was insurmountable.

His mind raced. Despite Kotaru’s taunts that he hadn’t progressed enough, Yozei was still a Jounin and had led legions of samurai to victory during the war. ‘Rock country’ he noted, exhaling slowly. They intended on keeping him for some time then, not just a quick exchange. No doubt they wanted intel, whatever he might be able to provide on Konoha or Suna defenses. But this didn’t seem like that, it felt more personal. Yozei smirked at the notion that he expected to be rescued. He had been captured before. Countless times. And never once did he need to be rescued. Always he had managed to escape himself, in fact it was something of a preference of his, to allow others to feel they are in control and learn as much about their desires as what he reveals himself. “What do you want from me, Kota?” he treaded carefully, wondering what his angle was, what it was he truly needed him for. And then Yozei saw the corpses and heard those haunting words. He had recalled briefly waking up next to Zakuro, seeing him bleeding profusely from a gaping wound where his arm should have been. But he had rescued him from Kota’s fire, he knew he had. Yozei’s eyes widened suddenly in recognition of the blackened crust that encased the bodies. Youton. “No…I couldn’t have. I wouldn’t. He wouldn’t.” he insisted shakily, his body beginning to tremble as he refused to accept what he was seeing. “You’re lying! I know you Kota, I know your sick games.” He sneered, disgusted by the cheap trick. But it felt so real that he genuinely didn’t know for certain, some part of him screamed within, begging for it to be a genjutsu. And so he had to convince himself that it was, lest accept responsibility for yet another failing.

[Kao]

The comment alluding to Enzaragi foolishly running into Kotaru’s inferno was met with an eye roll. The situation annoyed the man even now. “A mercenary is no friend of mine,” was all he had to say about that. He started to mention that he would never befriend a missing ninja from Iwagakure but admitting that he worked with such a man rather than kill him on the spot was a blemish to Kotaru’s pride. The rest of Yozei’s comments prior to the genjutsu went coldly unanswered for the time being, though Kotaru found himself inexplicably nostalgic at the mention of their childhood friendship.

He pushed down any sentimentality and wrapped it in a fresh layer of vitrol. He remembered things differently. Whatever relationship he had with Yozei had been kept beneath a thin veil of disgust and intrigue, its fibers formed from his hatred toward Konoha and their influence on its citizens and on the world. But now that he had the man firmly in his grip, perhaps he could scrutinuze Yozei under new light.

Finally, with the help of a well placed genjutsu, the first cracks formed on Yozei’s crafted calm countenance. “Sick games? Think what you want, Yozei. Game or not, it doesn’t change the facts. The fact is, that thing in you? It – he – whatever, wanted to trade your life for theirs. It even gave up Suna, all to save your ass. I’ll admit that sometimes I don’t give a fuck about other people, but coming from you? Konoha scum? It was fuckin' shocking.” Kotaru raised his brow and smirked. He felt a rush as Yozei, faced with his personal horror, began to tremble. That was the fear he had been looking for. He got off on inflicting psychological torture, and this was only a taste of what was to come. But even as Yozei began to question and doubt, so too did Kotaru. The very beginnings of these sessions always filled the Akari with the sort of anticipation of pleasure that made him shiver. He found that this, somehow, was lacking.

Even so, he continued on. “You turned on your friends. Notice that – was it Zakuro? – is missing an arm. Not completely sure what you did, but you did it. You can accuse me of many things, Yozei. But at least you can’t say I betray my friends. You asked me if we were friends. Seeing how you treat your friends, I'm not sure I want you to think of me that way." He took a few steps back, stopping when he was behind the two tables. His heavy stare conveyed a mixture of loathing and displeasure. Then, after channeling a small amount of chakra, two of his melashiin tendrils became coated in flames. The firelight was rather dim, no brighter than a few candles, and the man made them slither forward on the ground until they were just below Yozei's feet. Kotaru then channeled more chakra, and the light from both his flames and chakra illuminated him with an unearthly glow.

"They were afraid of you, Yozei. You burned them alive and they were terrified. I think it's only fair that I show you how they felt."

JutsuShow

Devil’s Graze
D-Ranked Ninjutsu
Prerequisite: Basic Formation: Melashiin
By channeling chakra into his shiin, Kotaru coats his melashiin in katon chakra, which covers the entirety of the tendrils in flames that add a one foot diameter of katon chakra to each tendril, and extends one foot from the tip of the tendrils.

Immolation Sensation
C-Ranked Illusion Genjutsu
Pre-requisite: Katon technique
Kotaru performs a katon technique and then channels chakra for this technique. When the targets see the flames of the katon jutsu, this genjutsu will activate. The targets will see their immediate area on fire, and any exposed skin will appear to be burning and suffering from second degree burns. The genjutsu lasts for 4 posts.

[Izanagi]

Yozei continued to stare at the blackened bodies of his comrades, all the while Kotaru’s words seeped in. As much as he wanted to believe he was being deceived he knew the dark truth. He was not in control of himself, of the thing inside of him, and he never had been. He had no memory of what had happened while the Dark Prince had been in control and he knew well that the spirit cared for nothing but self-preservation. Slowly the captive's face shifted from doubt to defiance and then despair. Cerulean blue eyes welled with tears as pain permeated his expression. The Jounin’s mouth opened but no words came out. What could he say, he could never make amends for such betrayal nor could he rebuke his captor's claims. Instead, he clamped his mouth shut, gritting his teeth and closing his eyes. His body hung loose against his restraints and despite his best efforts, a steady stream of tears began to run down his face. ‘I’m sorry. I failed you Zakuro. I deserve it all’ he resigned himself. It would be easier to feel pain rather than the creeping sorrow that threatened to consume him. Despite the tears, he managed to refrain from feeling the loss completely. Zakuro was his mentor and closest friend but also more than that. He was perhaps the only person he felt truly understood him. To lose him was to lose a piece of himself.

Blinking away the tears, Yozei’s eyes opened once again with a sharp inhalation. “You’re right. There is evil inside of me I thought I could control it but I was wrong. So do your worst. Punish me. I deserve everything you do to me” his voice came out as an even tone, numb as he began to mentally withdraw and burry his emotional turmoil. Yet even so he felt the sting when Kotaru dismissed their friendship, wincing as if physically struck. As Kotaru’s tentacles became engulfed in flames and moved beneath Yozei’s feet, the captive remained relatively calm. He had been burned more times than he could count, the pain never got easier but he knew what to expect. “Do it then” his tone remained neutral but a hint of defiance returned through his gaze. He would suffer surely, but that didn’t mean he would break. If all Kotaru wanted was to inflict pain then he would get his fill, but no matter the cost to himself Yozei’s Will of Fire would continue to burn for Konohagakure. As the flames licked at his feet and the familiar scent of burning flesh filled his nostrils, Yozei gritted his teeth and slowly released a low, guttural scream.

[Kao]

’Punish me.’

Those words were a melody that made the bannin’s chest swell. It had been easier than he thought to break down Yozei, to form cracks in that armor of his. Those from Konohagakure liked to walk around with their chests puffed, touting their strength and that Will of Fire nonsense. But at their core they were all soft and malleable. Weak. When Kotaru was done with him, Yozei wouldn’t be so soft-hearted. The bannin would reform him into a pillar of strength made of stone and metal. He could keep that fiery core of his, but Kotaru would change its fuel to match his own. The jounin would burn instead for Iwagakure, for Kotaru. In their years-long rivalry Kotaru had consistently outpaced him; once Kotaru had become a bannin at age fourteen it seemed it had been nearly impossible for the Konoha nin to catch up. But now he could finally cast away all that held him back and gain the strength he needed to truly rival the Akari.

Kotaru chuckled at his captive’s tone. It was subtle, but he could tell that Yozei hadn’t completely resigned himself to what was coming. There was still a hint of resistance in his voice, and the bannin was determined to snuff it out completely. “Patience, Yozei. We have all the time in the world.” His flaming melashiin inched forward and then became still. The man began to glow with chakra faintly, and once he was done channeling he made his fire surge. Yozei’s surroundings would erupt in flames and consume him, and Kotaru would allow him to roast mentally for a while before cancelling the genjutsu. There would be no burns, clear evidence that the fire was an illusion. That, of course, didn’t matter. The pain would be real. The anguish would linger and compound. Kotaru would do this over and over again for hours, only stopping when Yozei collapsed and passed out from the mental strain of constant agony.

Days would bleed into weeks, and then into months. In the depths of the torture chamber Yozei wouldn’t know night from day. He could estimate how much time passed based on Kotaru’s comings and goings, but the bannin never discussed the amount of time Yozei had been captive. The first few days Kotaru punished Yozei with immolation. They were mostly illusions, but there were plenty of times when the burns were very real. The bannin used iijutsu to heal the to the point where the new skin would be pristine and the process would start anew. The burnings certainly weren’t the only forms of torture he would endure. A master of genjutsu, Kotaru used some of his cruelest techniques against Yozei.

His favorite was the Centum. A hundred dead and tortured bodies rotated in and out of Yozei’s line of vision, changing only after Kotaru explained just what happened to each of them. Yozei would feel each of their experiences in quick succession. Many of the dead were Kotaru’s victims in the war, while others were his comrades who had been killed at the hands of Yozei’s allies. Every so often Zakuro and Noeru would be among the dead, just to remind Yozei of his transgressions. Their early days and nights were more often than not filled with one-sided conversations about death. Kotaru spoke of Konoha and its allies at each torture session. Whenever Yozei showed signs of resilience he was punished severely, and each time Kotaru would tut, ”Still holding on to that Will of Fire? You should thank me for not killing you like you killed Zakuro and Noeru. Konoha wouldn’t show such mercy after what you’ve done.” In between the burnings Kotaru would regale Yozei with tales of Iwagakure’s greatness, with stories of how they were betrayed by Sunagakure especially, and that any hell they unleashed was righteous. It was convincing, especially when heard during a healing session. Iwagakure’s glory would be associated with relief; Konoha and its allies, with pain.

There were respites. Early on Kotaru would reward Yozei with silence and allow Yozei to be alone for almost an entire day. Alone with his thoughts, his regrets, and his shame. He returned with gruel at first, disgusting bits of runny food that tasted almost as bad as it smelled. If Yozei managed to endure a round of burning without crying or screaming out, he was sometimes rewarded with more decent food - but only if he essentially begged. Occasionally Yozei would be allowed to sit on the ground, his legs still tightly bound, but one arm loose enough to grab a spoon to feed himself. Whenever he was too weak, Kotaru would feed the man himself. At those times Kotaru seemed to emanate fondness, and he showed that despite his cruelty he could be gentle and almost kind. Those moments were infrequent. It would be something that Yozei could only hope for - long for. The Akari, at first, regarded Yozei only with contempt. But as the weeks passed there were hints in his eyes that the hatred was waning. Whenever Yozei addressed Kota with the upmost respect were the times he was most likely to see that softened gaze.

This was Yozei’s life for just over four months. He was kept isolated; the only people besides Kotaru that he saw were masked, silent, only there to check on him whenever the bannin was kept elsewhere for more than a day. There came a day when Kotaru trusted Yozei enough to free him completely of his restraints. There were conditions, of course.

”You’ve done well.” He began with a rare compliment. ”We can leave this place, but only if you’re strong enough to completely pledge yourself to me. If not,” he shrugged and crossed his arms, “this cavern will be your prison until you die. So what’ll it be?”

JutsuShow

Immolation Sensation
C-Ranked Illusion Genjutsu
Pre-requisite: Katon technique
Kotaru performs a katon technique and then channels chakra for this technique. When the targets see the flames of the katon jutsu, this genjutsu will activate. The targets will see their immediate area on fire, and any exposed skin will appear to be burning and suffering from second degree burns.

The Fifth Ring: The Centum
S-Ranked Overlay Genjutsu
Prerequisite: 50 Willpower
After performing the needed hand seals, Kotaru makes physical contact with his target's head to initiate the genjutsu. The target’s immediate area will warp and they will feel as though they are being squeezed from all sides as the area transforms into a large room with a ceiling too high to see. Surrounding the target on the wall are one hundred bodies. Each body has the appearance of the target in various states of torture, such as being dismembered, burned, impaled, or disemboweled. One by one the bodies rotate along the wall, each stopping just across from the target. For the next 15 posts, Kotaru will explain exactly how each body came to its current state in detail, and as he describes each wound the target feels the pain associated with the injuries. Within the genjutsu the target will experience the pain of each body for at most what feels like 24 hours before the next body rotates into place.

[Izanagi]

Yozei had been captured before, and burned countless times during training. He had thought himself stronger than he let on, that despite his privileged upbringing he was a true Konoha shinobi whose will of fire rivaled his father’s. But he was wrong. From the first moment that the flames engulfed him, Yozei experienced more pain than he ever had before. Every nerve screamed out in agony and for the first time in a decade, he had to bear it all himself, unable to retreat into the confines of his mind and allow the Dark Prince to take the pain in his stead. It was a sobering experience, and his screams echoed throughout the cavern, raw and guttural. Even as the illusion left him, his body shook as he stared blankly at the stone floor, unfocused as his ragged breaths struggled for air.

His mind would retreat, attempting to numb himself, but each wave of pain elicited a similar response and soon he would find himself whimpering and begging for relief from the pain. Nonetheless, for the first few days, perhaps even a week he allowed the pain to fuel his desire to escape, waiting for Kotaru to slip up and burn or otherwise mar the fuuinjutsu seals locking away his chakra. But his captor was a true professional, relying most heavily on genjutsu or otherwise burning his limbs or back rather than the chest where the seal was drawn.

Often Yozei cried himself to sleep, reliving memories of innocents he had burned alive during the war. Zakuro had joined him then, each leading platoons of fire country samurai. But in his dreams Zakuro had died alongside them, burned by his flames. And as the memories of Kotaru’s victims bled into his own, soon he recalled the samurai of fire country burning as well. This was what it meant to be a Konoha shinobi, wanton destruction and genocide. Their war was not just, they were the true conquerors, and destroyers.

Kotaru was opening his eyes to that fact, and in those tender moments of being healed, Yozei had begun to listen intently to the Iwagakure Bannin’s perspective. They had been friends once, and they could have turned out just like one another should their upbringings have been reversed. Each of them had killed many, burned them alive. And now Yozei was beginning to understand. He was not a hero and Kotaru was not the villain. They were each simply fighting for their village but neither was inherently more just than the other. In that understanding Yozei came to realize that the true difference was that shinobi of Iwagakure accepted their cruelty where it was necessary, they embraced that part of themselves and found true strength in being honest with themselves. Konoha was a den of lies, delusions of grandeur, and self-importance while refusing to admit to their true nature.

It was in this understanding and through talking to Kotaru that Yozei came to accept that the Dark Prince was not simply an evil spirit that possessed him but rather a part of himself. The spirit had left behind only a piece of itself, corrupting Yozei’s soul and changing him irreversibly. If he were to have true control he needed the strength to accept the darker parts of himself. Iwagakure would accept him where Konoha never could. The torture sessions didn’t have to be a punishment but rather it was Kotaru’s way of helping him to be honest with himself, to move past his guilt, and to strengthen both his mind and body to Iwagakure standards.

And as weeks turned to months, Yozei felt himself growing harder. As he learned to endure pain without crying out and became more obedient, he was rewarded with better food and the opportunity to exercise his atrophied muscles. He had never known true hunger before, always provided with rich, succulent full course meals, waited on by servants and filled with ample sweets. Exercise was always a chore to him, something he would put off in favor of games or socializing, relying on excellent genetics to easily keep pace with his peers. But now he knew true discipline and routine. He now knew what it was to suffer and he felt more clear-headed than he had in years. Through pain he had atoned for his sins. But he could never go back to Konoha, he was no longer the person he once was. That version of Yozei had died and he never wanted to be that deluded, guilt-ridden person again, even if it meant never seeing his family again. They were better off without him, his life would begin anew in Iwagakure, if Kotaru permitted it.

It didn’t quite feel real when Kotaru finally told Yozei he could leave the cave that he had come to know as his home. The captive nodded his head slowly, dark sunken eyes and hollowed cheeks belying just how much body fat the man had lost. His skin hugged tightly to lean muscle, managing to retain a strong core but his legs and arms seemed lithe, retaining only functional muscle from the basic bodyweight exercise he was permitted under supervision. “Thank you” the red-haired man whispered, wary and hesitant. His long hair draped down to his lower back, having lost much of its lustre and a shaggy beard clung to his face. His cerulean blue eyes had dimmed, no longer bright and defiant, instead, they desperately sought Kotaru’s approval, watching the man closely at every turn. His eyes widened, a glimmer of hope, of praise and acceptance. “I do” he said suddenly. “I pledge myself to you. Whatever you ask” he asserted, his hardened gaze conveying a deep respect and admiration. A fire burned inside him once more. Ignited not for Konoha, but rather Kotaru and all that he stood for.

[Kao]

His work was immaculate. Kotaru had spent the better part of a decade perfecting his craft, becoming a master of torture and re-education. It felt as though all of his efforts had culminated into this very moment. His once rival stood before him broken and rebuilt. Gone was the idealistic shinobi, a Prince of Fire Country, who lived and breathed for Konoha and its Will. The person today was someone else entirely, someone who Kotaru could continue to mold as he pleased. He sensed nothing but devotion from this man, and Kotaru relished in it.

They were both a far cry from when they first met as genin. All those years ago Kotaru would have never envisioned himself as someone's master, as someone who could command respect from others. He had been skittish and had shied away from recognition and leadership and had stuck to the shadows. The man never fully escaped that shroud, but he had learned how to take root there and flourish within it. His protégé, on the other hand, had once dwelled in the light but, in Kotaru's eyes, had never truly thrived. Now that he was subdued, Kotaru would teach him how to blossom within darkness.

He responded with a jerk of his head, gesturing toward the lightless tunnel that would lead them on a long trek out of the cave and to the surface."Good. Let's go, Haziwara Youji. chuunin of Iwagakure no Sato. We've got work to do."