Post by Zaru on Feb 1, 2020 4:41:35 GMT -8
Name: Zaru
Starting Land: Southlands
New Land: Southern Islands
Steps Required: 2
Thread Type: Personal Saga
Thread Link:
Mode of Travel: Enhanced Flight
Zaru felt torn. He sat inside his own house in Satan City, staring down at the floor as he'd planted himself on the bed. He wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do, where he was going to go from here. He could still see the men in that corridor, the one he was holding in his arms. Despite the fact that he'd tried not to think about it, he remembered everything in perfect clarity, different to most other memories. Most of all, he could recall the smell. It was still so vivid, and even now he could smell it. He wished he could just wipe it away, but it was never going to leave him. The martial artist stood up in frustration, moving over to his window to look out and watch outside at the people going past. He just tried to relax and take his mind off things, knowing that he couldn't stay here forever. The Southern Demonlands were bad territory for him now, and if they thought he stayed here - anyone looking for revenge straight away might try and target the city. That was unacceptable.
Still he felt frustrated, throwing his arms up as he walked around the apartment, unsure of what to do with himself. He had considered just catching a boat, but he would be here too long. He supposed he would need to go with the more noticeable option, then. Zaru rummaged around drawers to find his phone, opening up and quickly moving through the contacts to find his cousin Lina amongst the lists and lists of other relatives. She was the biggest social butterfly he knew ; if he told her anything, that was a good way of making sure most others in the family would. Zaru went back to the window, watching people outside mill about to their daily business as he held the phone to his ear, listening to it ring. Voicemail - typical. She was probably busy doing something else. He'd leave her a message, anyway. "Hey, Lina. It's Zaru. This is just to let you know that I'm coming back to the islands for a bit. I don't know where exactly I'll be or what island, but I'm around the area. Just let me know if you need anything. Bye." Zaru hung up, and sighed. Well, that was the easy part over with. Now he had to get to the hard bit. He looked down at his phone again, once more going through the list of relatives he had, huge as it was.
There it was. Zaru stared down at his uncle Amon's name, trying to deliberate how he would handle this. He knew that his uncle wasn't going to answer, not at this time in the morning. He'd have it put away and be handling training sessions. His 'leisure' time where he could look at it now and again to see if someone had been in contact wasn't until a few hours from now. He'd definitely be gone, by then. Still, staring down at the call button made Zaru's anxiety start to spike a little. What was he supposed to say? How was he meant to explain what had happened, what he had done? How could anyone ever understand it? They couldn't, he knew they couldn't. He had to make sure he was still around for the sake of protecting others, so letting anyone know his part in this would be foolish. He would just...keep it quiet. Yet, his uncle Amon would understand and empathise with that part of his nature more than anyone else. Despite that, it was Amon who had tried to give him discipline and control, who had taught him to keep that darkness buried within him and never to let it out. For so many years, Zaru had stuck to that faithfully. Yet, now he had to call and try to explain that in a heated moment, he'd let it all go? That now, he was the murderer Amon never wanted him to be, that he never wanted to be. He really wasn't that different from Chasnu, huh? Not much different from Macad, either. The thought disgusted him, and his body began to tense up. One thing the two of them would never do was admit when they had done wrong, or when someone else had been correct. That's what he would do. He called his uncle, the voicemail request playing as he let out a deep breath, trying to prepare himself.
"Hey, uncle Amon. It's Zaru." There was dead silence for a few moments as he tried to think of what to say, of how he could possibly put this and explain himself. Did he need to explain himself? There was no point in excuses; he'd broken his vow and let go of the discipline and ideal he'd spent most of his life working towards. In a moment, he'd cast aside everything into the dirt that Amon had shared with him, along with the good will and care that had been shown to him to try and turn him from that path. His mind cast back to the old lady, what she would have thought. He still couldn't tell what she saw, what had convinced her. He'd thought so hard over it, and yet he still couldn't. Eventually, Zaru relented to break the silence. He didn't want to leave his uncle hanging when he came to listen to this later. "You were right. I'm sorry." He hung up, unable to get out more than that. The worst part was that, he knew that there was no other choice to make in the situation he was in. Atalan had already made him party to the slaughter of men just trying to protect themselves and their families, and he would only cause more death if he was left unchecked. Yet, he would never have been in that situation if he hadn't been so stupid, so big-headed that he didn't see what the Baron was. What had he been thinking? He was a demon, and he was so clearly bad-natured from the start. He had idly put trust in an imp and a demon lord because he just hadn't cared. He'd been so confident that he was better, that he was above those petty issues like being gullible or possibly besmirching his word and honour, that he had let it all slip. He had become nothing, dead on the inside and replaced with a hollow idea of 'winning'. He felt disgusted with himself, even now. The smell entered his nose again.
Zaru decided to get changed into his gi, since he was going to be travelling and things were still dangerous out there, especially in the Southlands. Once his shirt was off, he passed by a mirror for a moment and stopped, stepping back to look in it and stare. There was still the scar across his chest from his wounds he'd sustained against Atalan. Along with that, there were still some bruises across his body that were healing, and a cut on his head that was taking a little while to go away. He'd covered it up with a heavy-duty plaster after it had been closed up, for now. Still, it was the only visible part to anyone else of what had happened, and he didn't like having it in particular. The bruises were across his body along with the scar; nobody could see them when he walked around in public, and in a way, that made him feel like somehow, things that had happened were easier to hide, easier to deny. He didn't have to think too much about it, even with how raw everything still was. He could just pretend that he was moving on with his life, even if he couldn't yet. The bruises were still fresh all over him, enough that it hurt just to get dressed, to lay down, to do anything. At least they would go away, eventually. The scar he'd been left with never would, and perhaps one day he'd have to explain it to somebody. He leaned forward, placing his hands on the sink as he stared forward even more intensely, looking into his own eyes in the mirror. His mind kept trying to pull him back, and he heard the words in his head again. The ones he'd tried to ignore the first time around.
"You have so much talent, and so much anger within you....you are the outcast of your family, yes? The black sheep." He narrowed his eyebrows and moved away from the sink, trying not to dwell on it any longer as he focused on getting changed. Putting on his gi was painful and made his body sharply sting, but he got there. He was just glad he had spares, what with wrecking the one he'd been wearing. He had some of his stuff packed, though it was all compressed down and shoved into little packets he was holding inside of a rucksack, along with a couple other things he figured he should bring. Mostly it was just changes of clothes and some food, nothing really sentimental. It wasn't like he kept anything here that meant something to him, but it was a nice to have a home to return to later. Zaru hoisted the pack over his shoulder and headed out of the house, locking the door behind him as he was now out in the city proper. He felt he looked a bit more normal without the handwraps on, since it wasn't like he was in much shape to fight right now - he would recover fast, but he hadn't given himself a lot of time. There were plenty of martial artists passing through the streets, especially with that big library-like building that the Duke had put up as part of the city's construction. It explained about Ki and how to make use of it, probably one of the best things about this place. He hadn't been able to check out the tournament arena just yet, but he'd get to that. There weren't really any events taking place with the arena just opening up, whether minor or major. Zaru noticed he got a couple of passing glances from other martial artists, and he wondered if he'd done something to earn ire or notice from them. He'd won his fair share of tournaments, but he hadn't hit the big time. It wasn't like they could have heard of him yet. Right?
Once he got past the actual city limits and there wasn't anyone to see him, Zaru felt safe to go with the actually fastest form of travel. Burgen had always argued that they should build some kind of underground train between the Southlands and the islands, but he didn't have to bother with anything like that. Zaru slowly floated up into the air from where he was standing, then his aura suddenly exploded from around him, and the martial artist was rushing through the air. He left a trail of white energy behind him as he rushed over the ocean, towards the islands he considered him. Zaru glanced down towards the water, watching as he saw a couple of large fish leap out of the water and land back in with an impressive jump. He moved to his pocket, trying to check what notes he'd collected about where the guy he was looking for would be. How hard could it be, really? Kiryu didn't exactly seem the subtle type, what with setting off a huge energy pillar to cause them and others to meet. Zaru knew that if there was anyone who had real, fundamental knowledge of martial arts he'd be missing, it was that guy, and besides - he hadn't ever gotten to study anything about the Path of Joy. He was curious; he'd studied more than enough obscure styles that he was positive he wouldn't be shocked by anything it had to offer. Putting the note away and speeding up, Zaru went lower, water skimming up into the air as he rushed past, finally feeling like he was heading somewhere.
WC: 2,022
Starting Land: Southlands
New Land: Southern Islands
Steps Required: 2
Thread Type: Personal Saga
Thread Link:
Mode of Travel: Enhanced Flight
Zaru felt torn. He sat inside his own house in Satan City, staring down at the floor as he'd planted himself on the bed. He wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do, where he was going to go from here. He could still see the men in that corridor, the one he was holding in his arms. Despite the fact that he'd tried not to think about it, he remembered everything in perfect clarity, different to most other memories. Most of all, he could recall the smell. It was still so vivid, and even now he could smell it. He wished he could just wipe it away, but it was never going to leave him. The martial artist stood up in frustration, moving over to his window to look out and watch outside at the people going past. He just tried to relax and take his mind off things, knowing that he couldn't stay here forever. The Southern Demonlands were bad territory for him now, and if they thought he stayed here - anyone looking for revenge straight away might try and target the city. That was unacceptable.
Still he felt frustrated, throwing his arms up as he walked around the apartment, unsure of what to do with himself. He had considered just catching a boat, but he would be here too long. He supposed he would need to go with the more noticeable option, then. Zaru rummaged around drawers to find his phone, opening up and quickly moving through the contacts to find his cousin Lina amongst the lists and lists of other relatives. She was the biggest social butterfly he knew ; if he told her anything, that was a good way of making sure most others in the family would. Zaru went back to the window, watching people outside mill about to their daily business as he held the phone to his ear, listening to it ring. Voicemail - typical. She was probably busy doing something else. He'd leave her a message, anyway. "Hey, Lina. It's Zaru. This is just to let you know that I'm coming back to the islands for a bit. I don't know where exactly I'll be or what island, but I'm around the area. Just let me know if you need anything. Bye." Zaru hung up, and sighed. Well, that was the easy part over with. Now he had to get to the hard bit. He looked down at his phone again, once more going through the list of relatives he had, huge as it was.
There it was. Zaru stared down at his uncle Amon's name, trying to deliberate how he would handle this. He knew that his uncle wasn't going to answer, not at this time in the morning. He'd have it put away and be handling training sessions. His 'leisure' time where he could look at it now and again to see if someone had been in contact wasn't until a few hours from now. He'd definitely be gone, by then. Still, staring down at the call button made Zaru's anxiety start to spike a little. What was he supposed to say? How was he meant to explain what had happened, what he had done? How could anyone ever understand it? They couldn't, he knew they couldn't. He had to make sure he was still around for the sake of protecting others, so letting anyone know his part in this would be foolish. He would just...keep it quiet. Yet, his uncle Amon would understand and empathise with that part of his nature more than anyone else. Despite that, it was Amon who had tried to give him discipline and control, who had taught him to keep that darkness buried within him and never to let it out. For so many years, Zaru had stuck to that faithfully. Yet, now he had to call and try to explain that in a heated moment, he'd let it all go? That now, he was the murderer Amon never wanted him to be, that he never wanted to be. He really wasn't that different from Chasnu, huh? Not much different from Macad, either. The thought disgusted him, and his body began to tense up. One thing the two of them would never do was admit when they had done wrong, or when someone else had been correct. That's what he would do. He called his uncle, the voicemail request playing as he let out a deep breath, trying to prepare himself.
"Hey, uncle Amon. It's Zaru." There was dead silence for a few moments as he tried to think of what to say, of how he could possibly put this and explain himself. Did he need to explain himself? There was no point in excuses; he'd broken his vow and let go of the discipline and ideal he'd spent most of his life working towards. In a moment, he'd cast aside everything into the dirt that Amon had shared with him, along with the good will and care that had been shown to him to try and turn him from that path. His mind cast back to the old lady, what she would have thought. He still couldn't tell what she saw, what had convinced her. He'd thought so hard over it, and yet he still couldn't. Eventually, Zaru relented to break the silence. He didn't want to leave his uncle hanging when he came to listen to this later. "You were right. I'm sorry." He hung up, unable to get out more than that. The worst part was that, he knew that there was no other choice to make in the situation he was in. Atalan had already made him party to the slaughter of men just trying to protect themselves and their families, and he would only cause more death if he was left unchecked. Yet, he would never have been in that situation if he hadn't been so stupid, so big-headed that he didn't see what the Baron was. What had he been thinking? He was a demon, and he was so clearly bad-natured from the start. He had idly put trust in an imp and a demon lord because he just hadn't cared. He'd been so confident that he was better, that he was above those petty issues like being gullible or possibly besmirching his word and honour, that he had let it all slip. He had become nothing, dead on the inside and replaced with a hollow idea of 'winning'. He felt disgusted with himself, even now. The smell entered his nose again.
Zaru decided to get changed into his gi, since he was going to be travelling and things were still dangerous out there, especially in the Southlands. Once his shirt was off, he passed by a mirror for a moment and stopped, stepping back to look in it and stare. There was still the scar across his chest from his wounds he'd sustained against Atalan. Along with that, there were still some bruises across his body that were healing, and a cut on his head that was taking a little while to go away. He'd covered it up with a heavy-duty plaster after it had been closed up, for now. Still, it was the only visible part to anyone else of what had happened, and he didn't like having it in particular. The bruises were across his body along with the scar; nobody could see them when he walked around in public, and in a way, that made him feel like somehow, things that had happened were easier to hide, easier to deny. He didn't have to think too much about it, even with how raw everything still was. He could just pretend that he was moving on with his life, even if he couldn't yet. The bruises were still fresh all over him, enough that it hurt just to get dressed, to lay down, to do anything. At least they would go away, eventually. The scar he'd been left with never would, and perhaps one day he'd have to explain it to somebody. He leaned forward, placing his hands on the sink as he stared forward even more intensely, looking into his own eyes in the mirror. His mind kept trying to pull him back, and he heard the words in his head again. The ones he'd tried to ignore the first time around.
"You have so much talent, and so much anger within you....you are the outcast of your family, yes? The black sheep." He narrowed his eyebrows and moved away from the sink, trying not to dwell on it any longer as he focused on getting changed. Putting on his gi was painful and made his body sharply sting, but he got there. He was just glad he had spares, what with wrecking the one he'd been wearing. He had some of his stuff packed, though it was all compressed down and shoved into little packets he was holding inside of a rucksack, along with a couple other things he figured he should bring. Mostly it was just changes of clothes and some food, nothing really sentimental. It wasn't like he kept anything here that meant something to him, but it was a nice to have a home to return to later. Zaru hoisted the pack over his shoulder and headed out of the house, locking the door behind him as he was now out in the city proper. He felt he looked a bit more normal without the handwraps on, since it wasn't like he was in much shape to fight right now - he would recover fast, but he hadn't given himself a lot of time. There were plenty of martial artists passing through the streets, especially with that big library-like building that the Duke had put up as part of the city's construction. It explained about Ki and how to make use of it, probably one of the best things about this place. He hadn't been able to check out the tournament arena just yet, but he'd get to that. There weren't really any events taking place with the arena just opening up, whether minor or major. Zaru noticed he got a couple of passing glances from other martial artists, and he wondered if he'd done something to earn ire or notice from them. He'd won his fair share of tournaments, but he hadn't hit the big time. It wasn't like they could have heard of him yet. Right?
Once he got past the actual city limits and there wasn't anyone to see him, Zaru felt safe to go with the actually fastest form of travel. Burgen had always argued that they should build some kind of underground train between the Southlands and the islands, but he didn't have to bother with anything like that. Zaru slowly floated up into the air from where he was standing, then his aura suddenly exploded from around him, and the martial artist was rushing through the air. He left a trail of white energy behind him as he rushed over the ocean, towards the islands he considered him. Zaru glanced down towards the water, watching as he saw a couple of large fish leap out of the water and land back in with an impressive jump. He moved to his pocket, trying to check what notes he'd collected about where the guy he was looking for would be. How hard could it be, really? Kiryu didn't exactly seem the subtle type, what with setting off a huge energy pillar to cause them and others to meet. Zaru knew that if there was anyone who had real, fundamental knowledge of martial arts he'd be missing, it was that guy, and besides - he hadn't ever gotten to study anything about the Path of Joy. He was curious; he'd studied more than enough obscure styles that he was positive he wouldn't be shocked by anything it had to offer. Putting the note away and speeding up, Zaru went lower, water skimming up into the air as he rushed past, finally feeling like he was heading somewhere.
WC: 2,022