Souls of the Damned

Kana's eyes tiredly followed Xen as he sat back down next to her. He was close to her, but...not too close. It reminded her of that one ridiculous book one of her female squadmates had her read on a mission. Not for any actual intel, mind you, just because she'd thought it was a 'wonderful read'. In one part there had been a boy who had a crush on the main girl, and sat just close enough to her to be familiar, but not close enough to seem pushy. Jesus that book had been stupid. She hated romance novels. They didn't do anything for the reader besides make them feel like their own love life was inadequate. And for Kana...well, it had honestly just made her feel kind of lonely. "Thank you," she said quietly, when the tea and food were brought to them. She picked up her cup softly, faintly remembering how her parents had taught her was the correct way to hold a tea cup. How they'd taught her as much in Japanese, as that was their custom. Her father had been Japanese. A kind, strong man. Her mother had met him while on a mission. He'd been an enemy ninja when they had first met. He had refused to kill her because it was against his code to kill an enemy who no longer posed a threat. She had been pinned down by one of his jutsu. She really hadn't been a threat to him anymore. Kana remembered asking about the story more times than she could count. To her, that had been true romance. Meeting fatefully one day, and even though they'd been enemies, their ninja way had allowed them both to survive the day to meet again and fall in love later in their lives.

The brown haired woman slowly sipped at her tea. Why did she have to have so many fond memories of the two of them? Why were they always in her thoughts? Why couldn't she bring herself to hate them even though they'd betrayed her like that? "Xen." She didn't look up from her cup. "If there's nothing you like or desire, other than to be used...is there anything you hate?"

The dark skinned male turned his head, just enough to let Kana know that he was listening. She asked him if he hated anything. Xen took a moment to think, even though he already knew the answer. "I don't hate anything," he replied. He took a moment before he spoke again. "I have an aversion to poison," he elaborated. "It becomes difficult to properly function." Poison killed his senses and reintroduced him to pain. He didn't like it at all. For the most part he was neutral on all things, and the things he came to like while under someone's command usually faded away after a short amount of time if it wasn't constantly reinforced. He looked at Kana. "Do you hate anything?"

Kana slowly blinked at his response. An...aversion, to poison. "...I guess that counts," she muttered. Wasn't really what she was looking for, but it would do for now. She was starting to realize that getting the answers she wanted from this guy would be damn near impossible. At least, until she learned how to ask the right questions. "About how long does it usually take for a poison to leave your system? Do you know?" That would be good to know if she was keeping him around. Especially since she was pretty damn sure they'd both been poisoned in that attack launched against them. She blinked a couple times in surprise when he asked her if she hated anything. She opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it. "I..." She deflated a bit. "There's a lot of things I hate," she told him plainly. That was a good enough answer. There were a lot of things she hated. But those were mostly all things that a person would do. Not any particular item or actual thing.

Xen could hear it in her voice. She wasn't satisfied with the answer. He couldn't give her more because he had nothing more to give. The black haired male looked down into the water, his expression remaining plain. "It depends on how potent the poison is," he replied. "This poison will take a few days, three to five I believe. The doctors removed what they could. I can hear properly once more, but my distance is limited." This time he'd actually tried to explain this time. He would have just waited it out had Kana not suggested they find help. When she told him there were a lot of things she hated he remained silent. What was he to say to that? He looked directly at her, brown eyes unwavering. "Do you want me to eliminate the things you hate?"

This poison wasn't the most potent, but it had been pretty bad. Well...for a normal person, it might have been able to kill them within a day if help wasn't found. But for her and Xen...that simply wasn't the case. "Your distance? What do you mean?" What, that he could only hear a certain distance away? That felt like a strange reaction to have to poison. But he said his hearing had actually been compromised by the poison. Definitely a strange effect. Kana paused in surprise when Xen asked if she wanted him to destroy that which she hated. After a moment she gave a small scoff that was half a chuckle. "As strong as you are...I don't think you would be able to," she told him.

He hadn't explained it well enough. He tried again. "I am able to see the vibrations of the world around us. To feel them, as if they have a physical form." What had someone once said to him. "Like echolocation." He took a moment to phrase his words. "From the smallest pin drop to the loudest explosion, I hear it all. I can stretch my senses to a certain degree, but poison shuts everything down. Almost leaving me deaf to the world. I use hearing more than sight," he finished. Xen was silent when she told him he couldn't rid of her hatred. "I removed Kyla's essence, what more do you desire to be free from?"

Kana blinked. The way he described it made him sound like a bat. And then he said echolocation and that just made it more concrete. "I see..." She fell silent. That was interesting, and very useful. Many people thought being quiet would give them the element of surprise when attacking someone, but something like that wouldn't work for someone like Xen. When the tan male questioned her, she looked off to the side, away from him. Would it really be prudent to tell him? What if he took it too far? If she couldn't get rid of them completely, which she was sure she couldn't, she would rather him not try by committing genocide in her name. "Humanity."

Humanity. That was a very broad answer. Xen was immortal, and he had been raised and trained to take others without hesitation. He could manage. He could wipe out all of humanity, but it would take time. Without humanity, the world would grow eerily quiet, but nature would flourish once more. "You are part of humanity, as am I. Do wish to rid of me as well?" It was a logical question in his mind, but probably an irrelevant one in the eyes of others. Sometimes one needed specifics. Xen would at least be put to use and it would give him more than enough things to do, but who would command him when it was over. Who could he service if everyone was dead? The inky haired male supposed that the easiest route would be to end Kana. Then she would no longer have any hate left and humanity could remain. He'd never killed anyone while serving them, but there was a first for everything.

Kana didn't really consider herself a part of humanity anymore. Could someone like her be human? She wasn't completely engulfed in Madness anymore, but she rarely ever took part in staying in human villages or anything like that. She rarely interacted with other humans anymore except to slaughter them. But...that was before Xen had removed Kyla's essence. Something inside her though...told her it was prudent for her to not consider herself a human regardless of that. Brown eyes slowly blinked when Xen asked her if she wished to be rid of him as well. "No offense...though I doubt you'd take it as such," Kana started in a mumble, "but neither you or I can technically be considered a part of 'humanity' anymore. At least, not the kind of humanity that I hate."

Xen would not take offense. Nothing 'got under his skin' as people phrased it. She said they were not part of humanity. He assumed it was because she was immortal and because he was altered. Then she said there was another part of humanity that she hated. "I understand." There was nothing in this world that he despised, but Kana was different in many ways. She was very different from the others he'd vowed to serve, but he neither liked not disliked her ways. He was very indifferent to many things, mostly all things. The plus side was that she was immortal like him and he could provide endless service, but the downside, if any was the possibility that she would eventually turn out like Kyla. Xen didn't think she would stoop as low, but revenge and hatred drove people to do things much worse than intended, and Kana was inflicted with Madness. Nothing good would come of that. He had watched the progression of Madness and how it destroyed the purest of souls, consuming the heart, mind, body, and soul like wildfire until there was nothing left but an empty shell to be mindlessly controlled by a force that had long been forgotten and had now risen to unspeakable power. Madness had warped the world and destroyed it, and the only people who were capable of stopping it had been consumed by it. Xen looked off to the side, this time in the direction of the trees. The world had grown to be such a dark place. "May I have some," he asked after a moment, directing his attention to the finger foods the women had brought out. He wasn't particularly hungry, but he hadn't recalled eating in a long time and maybe it would help him feel better. He still wasn't feeling all that great after helping Kana get rid of Kyla.

Did he really understand? Kana knew that he had few likes and dislikes, but she had to remember too that he probably wasn't an idiot. He was just a bit...vague. She let her thoughts wander until he spoke again, blinking at his question. Woah, wait, what? He actually wanted something? If she thought he would respond, she might have played around with this a bit, but as it was, she knew that he wouldn't. "Yeah, sure," she said casually, bringing the plate over in between them before taking one of them for herself. She could use some food, actually. She didn't really eat too often anymore. Only when Azazeal brought her food and told her to keep her strength up. She wondered if her soul tasted better when she had a full stomach or something.

Xen didn't pick up on her surprise, or maybe he wasn't paying attention. "Thank you." He moved two inches over and reached for the food, taking what looked like sushi into his hands before he took a bite. It was practically tasteless to him. Xen didn't pick up another, instead he faced forward once more. The soft lapping of the water was pleasant. He was watching the crow that was perched on the fence. It was the only creature he'd seen around here. What could it possibly want? He shifted in the water before relaxing once more. A breeze moved through the trees, rustling the leaves and providing a break in the silence. The sun broke from behind the clouds, spilling light over the water, warming his bare skin. He thought back to madness. How could a day be so peaceful, yet so dark. He glanced at Kana. Would she ever find her way back to the light, or would she too be consumed in eternal darkness? What pleasure could come of such a lonely existence?

Kana put the tray on the ground behind them so that it was still between them and took another piece off of it once she was finished with the first. They didn't taste too bad. Now that she thought about it...did the village's hospital normally do this for outsiders? How was all this even paid for? Did the village fund it? It wasn't like she didn't have the funds to pay for it herself, but that was entirely besides the point. Kana took a breath and shook her head lightly. The way the leaves rustled was nice, but the wind provided a light chill over her skin that she wasn't quite comfortable with. They'd been in here long enough. Xen could stay in if he wanted, but she was starting to get restless. Putting her hand on the step, she went to lift herself out of the water, but stopped and cringed, freezing in place. Her breaths started coming in a bit heavier. She felt stuck in place. Lowering herself would be painful, and trying to get up anymore than she already was would be painful as well. Taking a small, shaky breath, Kana tried to lift herself again, but instead ended up back in the water, her hand over her stomach. She was almost doubled over again. If she had doubled over all the way it would have been way too painful. "Ghn..."

Xen turned his gaze to Kana as she started to get up, only to end back where she had began. He looked to her for a moment, almost as if waiting for her to give him some command before he moved to her side. His intentions were to help her as he gently placed one hand under her arm and another carefully over her stomach to steady her. He was going to help her out of the water and to the building, but they would have to split eventually. He stretched his senses until he picked up the first vibration of a human. They were close by and could take Kana. He didn't know if they were male or female, just that they were human.

Kana glanced to Xen when he went to help her up. She appreciated the help. Or, she would have, if something in her didn't get very aggressive when he placed his arm over her stomach. She immediately recoiled, pushing Xen away from her and putting an arm over her stomach in an almost protective way. If she'd had any weapons on her, she might have stabbed Xen, but as it was, she came to her senses just before she could throw a punch or any other type of attack at him. She stopped and coughed, flinching heavily when her stomach shifted because of it. If she didn't know any better, she would think she had internal bleeding or something. It hurt so freaking much. "Don't...t-touch my stomach," she muttered quietly, looking off to the side. She didn't know what had come over her, or why she was suddenly so afraid of him touching her stomach of all things. He'd ripped Kyla's essence out of her, there was no reason to believe he would cause anymore harm to her stomach. As it was, Kana was standing up, but couldn't find the strength to move herself out of the spot she was currently rooted to.

Xen didn't have control over his clairvoyance. Usually he could catch glimpses of the near future, but never intentionally. He could also do more, he was able to see glimpses of the past whenever he touched certain objects with great significance, things that held love or hate or other strong emotions. Never had he touched another person and gotten the effect, until now. It had only been when Kana pushed his hand away did a small spark rush through his hand and spread throughout his body. He stumbled back, his balance lost between being pushed and the overwhelming feeling of a mother's love and sorrow. He hadn't even heard her when told him not to touch her stomach. He saw Kana and a man with black hair and green eyes, they looked happy, then the man was gone...dead, he felt Kana's pain, it nearly caused his knees to buckle but he stood fast, there was a doll and fire and then it was over. Xen didn't move, but his fists were lightly clenched. "I'm sorry." He stepped back from her, recovering. "Is that why you despise humanity? Because of your loss?" Losses would have been the proper word, but she had ended the life of the man she'd love. Had it been because he'd snatched away her happiness in more ways than one?

Kana hadn't realized she'd pushed Xen that hard until she saw him stumble back. Quite honestly? Part of her couldn't care less. Another part felt bad. He'd only been trying to help her, and what she could only assume to be Madness overtook her for a brief moment. She saw his hands clench and thought for a moment that he might try to strike her for having pushed him like that. And then...he apologized? For...her...loss.

It hit her like a brick. He'd mentioned before that he was clairvoyant. He'd said so himself. And just the mention of her 'loss', reminded her all over again and a wave of hate and pain and just outright rage washed over her. "Don't you fucking dare," she growled. With the mention alone, the hate she felt was enough to make her want to cut Xen down where he stood. It was the same hate she felt every time she thought of Kymin. She would cut him down again and again and again if she could. Every single life he lived. She wouldn't waste her time hunting him down, but if she ever came across him, she would end him without hesitation for what he'd done.

The hate alone was enough to wake the Blue Demon from its light sleep. He knew that every time she got like this, a blood bath would follow. Didn't matter if it was one person's blood or a hundred. All over again Kana felt the overwhelming pain of the loss she'd felt when she'd found out what had happened after Kymin's death. She'd lost not one, but two. Had she not lost the one, she wouldn't have lost the other. It was his fault. It was their fault. If Felix had listened to her, if he hadn't been so blind, so infuriatingly selfish, Kymin would have never had to..! Her hands clenched into fists, blue chakra started radiating off her almost immediately, intertwined with her own forest green chakra. She couldn't stand this feeling. She. Wanted. To. Destroy.

Everything.

Xen didn't say anything when Kana basically told him to shut up. He stood in the water, unmoving. Xen hadn't meant any harm. He hadn't purposely tried to see what he'd seen. He didn't have control over it, but he'd never shown a great deal of caution either. It was nearly impossible to touch things, even by accident and he'd never saw anything by simply touching a person. Had he known, he'd have been more careful. He felt the chakra. It disturbed the natural vibrations around them and then it became visible. He still didn't move. Kana was going to lose it again, and perhaps he'd get caught in the crossfire, but it had been his fault to begin with. He could feel people drawing close. He had no obligation to warn them, but there was no need for Kana to take her anger out on then either. Where was the shadow creature and what good would it possibly do? The first woman came out, looking startled. "Is everything alright?" Xen didn't answer.

Kana's gaze shot to the first person who made a sound. She didn't have weapons on her, but she wanted the woman dead. She could snap her neck. Simple. But then there wouldn't be any blood, or any suffering, the Blue Demon reminded her. Kana briefly wondered if Xen could rip out the Blue Demon like he'd ripped out Kyla. Along with the blue mixed in with her green chakra, strands of black started filtering into the visible force like little veins taking root. The brown haired female ignored Xen for the moment. His time would come. Or...brown eyes slowly turned to Xen. Or. Or. He could do it all for her. But what satisfaction would she gain from watching? She guessed it was time to find out. "Xen," she spoke, her voice cold and controlled. "Kill her. Now."

The silence was eerily still. It was a brief moment in time where nothing moved. It was merely an illusion to think the trees had stopped swaying in the soft breeze, or the water had frozen, no longer lapping at the edge of the spring. Only Kana's voice brought things back into normality. She had spoken his name. Deep brown eyes looked to her, waiting for whatever she had to say. What escaped her was an order. It was firm, real. It was the first meaningful thing she'd ordered him to do. This wasn't a test to see how he worked, this was a command, an order. Xen never rejected an order.

The woman at the door looked as though she had misheard. Her eyes widened. "Wait, w-wh-" She was cut off as an almost visible force cut through the air like a well tended blade. It narrowly avoided Kana. The woman screamed, her arm, up to her shoulder, separating from her body. She fell backwards, writhing in pain. Xen moved past Kana, exiting the water with ease. The women never stopped screaming, even when Xen knelt down beside her. He could hear her heart racing, her unsteady gasps for air, her blood rushing through her veins. So much sound, so many vibrations. They were almost tangible to him. He looked down at her, his eyes empty, hers filled with fear and pain. He would end them both. Her eyes narrowed and she looked unsure as to whether she should hold her ears or her severed arm. Her screams grew louder until there was an almost inaudible pop. Blood leaked from ears, poured from her mouth, and red tears spilled from the corner of her eyes. She coughed, choking on her own blood, and then the fear and the pain faded from her eyes as she drew her last breath. Xen stood up straight and turned to Kana, awaiting his next orders.

Brown eyes followed along with Xen as he went over to the woman. Kana's expression was rather impressed, satisfied, maybe even excited, when she saw the woman's arm fall from her body. And then came the screams. The Blue Demon loved them. Loved the blood and the agonized screams of the dying. Kana loved neither. She could deal with blood, but the screaming...it was infuriating to her. She could deal with begging and pleading and gasping for breath after painful breath. But the screams. No, she couldn't quite learn to live with those. Kana was glad when they stopped, replaced with the choking, gurgling sound of the woman choking on her own blood. Kana looked to the building. The screams would have alerted someone. They could potentially have ninja on them in moments, and she was injured and unarmed. The brown haired woman walked from the bath, her arm carefully over her stomach. It was painful, but she managed. What she didn't know was if she could manage to fight. Maybe with how strong Xen seemed to be, she wouldn't have to. She hadn't even seen him move the first time, or use jutsu of any kind. The woman's arm had just fallen off her body, and then the screaming stopped as blood had pooled from her orifices. Strong indeed. "I'm going to fetch my weapons and clothes. Guard me," she told him simply, walking into the bathhouse. She paused in her steps and looked back to Xen. "Stay in the room with me. Kill anyone who enters," she said, an almost unnatural smirk crossing her face as she gave a chuckle and continued into the room with her clothes. She wondered how far Xen would follow her orders. He didn't seem to hate or like anything, but did that mean he didn't have a conscience?

Xen looked at Kana as she walked passed him, his deep brown eyes careful not to look at her too closely. It wasn't hard. He didn't care for what lay beneath her clothes or towel. He didn't care to partake in such things, and the times he had, it had been under orders by Ava. He had neither taken pleasure in it or been displeased with it. He followed after Kana as she told him to guard her. "Understood." He followed after her without another word. He turned towards the door as they entered the room. He waited like a statue, unmoving. He was listening for the sounds of anything that moved within the radius of three meters. He should have been quieter, but Kana had not specified whether she wanted to hear the screams of their previous victim. As he picked up vibrations he moved for the door. He silently counted the number of individuals. Three...four...five. They would need more than that. Kana had told him to kill anyone that entered so he waited for them to open the door before he lashed out. The first ninja went down with a severed head. The others flooded in, weapons in hand. They surrounded Xen like sharks circling their prey.

"Surrender and save yourself heartache. You're wanted on charges of murder," one spoke. Xen didn't respond, so another spoke up.

"He doesn't understand you. Damn foreigners, think they can come in here and do whatever the hell they like."

The four of them closed in. Xen didn't hesitate to act. He was under others. Orders that he could not disobey. Orders he didn't want to disobey. He turned and slammed the one from behind into the wall, stepping back as a blade sliced into his shoulder. The pain registered briefly before fading like a dull nagging in the back of his mind. He gripped the blade and pulled the Shinobi closer, ignoring the guy's surprised squeal as Xen turned the blade around on him and drove it into his chest. Three down, two to go. He turned on the other two, meeting a barrage of kunai. Xen didn't stop walking. The vibrations changed, slicing flesh and muscle until there were nothing but chunks left. He then turned back to the door, pulling the kunai out, but leaving the injuries as they were. He couldn't feel them, so they were of little importance to him.

Kana changed with little concern for the ninja who came into the bathhouse. She did, however, occasionally glance over to see just what Xen was doing. She tried to see how he was taking off limbs and slicing the guys open so cleanly, but there was nothing. She couldn't see how he was doing it, and that made her curious. Kana had barely finished dressing by the time Xen had finished up with their attackers. She was taking it slow, since the black haired male seemed capable of handling things. Nevertheless, she kept a kunai unsheathed within arm's reach, just in case. She couldn't just ignore years of training because she had her own personal bodyguard. She didn't bother responding to the ninja's ignorant claims that Xen couldn't understand them. She half wanted to tell them that Xen was acting on her orders, but knew they would be too dead to understand in a few moments. Kana slowly finished pulling her shirt on, trying to keep a stone face as she did. Unless she could find a capable healer, this hole in her stomach was going to hurt for a very, very long time. Kana strapped her weapons onto her person and walked over towards her companion. She looked over the damage, tilting her head. There were bits and chunks of flesh everywhere. It was only slightly different from what she was used to. "Xen. How do you do that?" she asked. She didn't want to move just yet, but more people were bound to be heading this way, so she waved Xen forward and casually walked around the back of the spring with him in tow. "You deal damage without even moving. Lacerations, internal bleeding...it's not a jutsu, obviously. Is it a kekkai genkai?"

Xen stretched his senses again, feeling the vibrations of the earth. They were sending reinforcements, but it wasn't enough. Perhaps they would be dissuaded upon seeing their fallen comrades, or perhaps it would fuel their desire to destroy the enemy. He turned to a fully dressed Kana as she called his name, asking him about his abilities. She didn't even wait for an answer before motioning for him to follow. He did so without question. As Kana elaborated, he listened. "Sound." That was the answer to the first question. "It is not a kekkei genkai." He could feel the ninja getting closer. "Sound waves are invisible to the human eye, but I can feel it as though it is a physical thing. Sound is everywhere from a person's blinking to the blood rushing through their veins. It can be manipulated by changing the wave pattern to cut and sever, the pressure to damage internal organs." Xen had made an effort to put it simple and short. He wasn't much for talking as it was. Xen had told her he used sound more than sight, but he hadn't elaborated that he'd used it in combat as well. He hadn't felt the need to reveal as much.

Kana's brown eyes blinked and turned to Xen. Sound? That...actually made sense. He had somehow managed to amplify the noises of nature around them earlier. It was clear now that he'd done it because he could manipulate sound waves. Either way, it was a scary thought that he could control something invisible like that, and kill a person in an instant with it. Kana almost stopped walking when she heard footsteps and shouting in the distance. She'd wanted to keep this place around. She really did. But there was that burning desire to have everything around her crumble. The reminder of her lost child, and the loss of the one man she's ever truly loved...it reminded her of her hatred. All that hatred that she'd forgotten. "Xen...say I'm standing near you when these ninja arrive...if you used sound to destroy them...would I get caught in the crossfire?" she asked, looking to the black haired male. She wanted to watch this place burn.