A Broken Home...

Awakening from his deep slumber after making a pact with the spirit of the Zero World, Kairo would find himself in a place completely unknown to him and nowhere near like the place he'd remember being in before his arrival.

"What... Happened...?" he muttered, trying to piece together all of the information. All he remembered was calling forth the Zero Moon and then seeking the Swamp Witch, only to find that she'd been replaced by a rather Grim figure. After that, there was some fulfillment of a contract and... Then, infinite darkness.

"... I wonder if Volcanon is still inside of me... Or did something happen to him, too...?"

He wasn't sure, but he felt like something about him calling upon the Zero Moon caused all of this... (5:25)

This place looked run down and muggy; like it hadn't been taken care of... Or perhaps that it could no longer be taken care of. He wasn't sure if all of this ruination was caused by him or if it was like this before he came, but one thing was for sure... This was definitely not that beautiful place he was once in.

"How do I get back there...? And what of the Zero World...?" He thought longingly of his lover, who probably got left behind, wherever she was. "... Celle..."

Within his mind, a voice abruptly spoke out to him like the rumbling of a volcano, "Hmhmhmhahahaha!! You truly know nothing now do you, young one?" Twas the voice of the Vulture that lived inside of him now; the beast bound by the summoning pact to Kairo's being. "You're no longer where nor what you once were... You entered the Zero World and became the new Keeper. That was the price of calling forth the Zero Moon..."

His heterochromatic eyes widened, partially with shock, partially with fury.

"So... You're still in there..." he'd say calmly, composing himself rather quickly, "... What of my old Clan? Was that--"

"A lie. Haven't you figured it out yet, boy? HmhmhmHAHAHAHA!"

Kairo wasn't quite understanding all of this... In fact, it was actually quite difficult for him to hear, or even conceive that his entire history as he knew it was a lie. He wouldn't believe that. The vulture was just yanking his chain.

"No. You're lying. I remember everything... All of the horrible experiments... For the sake of that clan you claim is a lie. I remember all of it..."

He winced, narrowing his eyes and scowling sharply, as if bringing up memories that he wasn't yet prepared to venture back into. He hated all of it... With his utmost, he hated it.

"... Leave it to a brat to think he knows the truth, when really... You've been deceived. Just as all the others that are in your position..." The Vulture resting on the back of his mind would suddenly take Kairo into his recesses, burning away the blockage on his memory with the Ashen Flame. "Look deeper... And know the truth, boy..."

At that moment, a binding that was once on Kairo's Mind would be released, having the power of the First Restriction pour into his mind. Not fully, but only slightly, allowing him access to information he had no recollection of before. He'd be able to see from that point on everything that transpired, as well as the truth of those who experimented on him before.

"Dr. K... Kelcifer..." He couldn't see his face, but he knew of his voice anywhere.


His eyes grew wide with mind-shattering awe, now able to see the face of the man who did this to him before. "Khrona...!?!?" He only scarcely knew of and heard that name before, but in the end, he knew that the scientist that was working on him for so long was indeed he. "... But, isn't he a--"

"A Tensei," the vulture continued on, "And merely prolonging his clan. You were the family's latest experiment... The one who freed them of their accursed attachment to the Zero World. But, in exchange... You not only became a [Tensei, but also... The new Keeper of the Zero World, itself." The same way that Kaerei had been bound to the Black Swamp, her own personal section of the Zero World, Kairo was now in the same position.

"From the very moment you were created, this was to be your purpose. The Tensei that worked on you, the ones who clouded your mind and trapped you in a reality that was a falsehood... They were the ones who made you who you are and what you are. Your purpose was predetermined by them. Haven't you realized this yet?"

To have this information spoken to him after just waking up... he shuddered with fury, clenching the blankets of his bed tightly, gritting his teeth as Volcanon pressed on.

"It is the same thing that happened to every 'new' Tensei; to unlock their abilities, their minds were trapped in an alternate reality to bind their true potential from being Awakened. This is known as their 'Fake Life,' something that is meant to either make or break them. If they break free of the lie, they learn the truth of their heritage. If not... They do not ever awaken and their power remains suppressed and untapped until the day that they die."

To think, for this long, he'd been tricked by that infernal Dr. K... How could he have been such a fool? The clansmen that he was serving at the time were the Tensei! Not that he had any knowledge on who they were, either, but...

"The mark of your eyes is the living proof. The Tenseigan, of which they attempted to master within you. They sought to make you the perfect entity... to maintain the Zero World. Not for any other reason you may have been led to believe. (5:50)"

Kairo remained silent, unsure of how to feel or what to do. All he could do was sit there and take all of this in... And try to contain his own anger for being deceived.

The boy, harboring the great flame of hatred sparked by the blazing vulture in his heart, would continue to think deeply on these matters. He did not want to believe that he was deceived, but it seemed to be that this was the only true answer. He may have been missing some key information, but it did not quell his burning rage inside. Not until he had all of his answers.

"... I do not know who to believe," he finally said, rising out of his bed, "... But what I do know is this; I will acquire all of the answers I seek... And burn down anyone and anything that gets in my way." Until he had all the answers, everyone was a target to him; either for information or as an adversary. He wasn't sure who he could trust, and thus, would trust no one... Not even the beast that lived inside of him.

He did not even know where he was, truthfully, and none of this struck him as familiar, even with what hazy memories he had of the world before. It was empty here, though probably not because there were no people here... They were either asleep or hiding, or perhaps had been gathered up to do something else. Whatever the case may be, he was alone presently... But wanted answers. With that, he'd ease onto his feet and start down the stairs of the building. If this place were to be his shelter, then so be it, but that did not mean that he was not going to go survey the area and the surrounding area. He was still a shinobi and knew and kept the Shinobi Way deep inside of his blazing heart...

He made his way downstairs and saw a spindly bunch of children drearily frolicking to themselves. Some seemed to wish to play with the others, but most of them seemed rather downtrodden and depressed; much too much to interact. It almost looked like they were broken... or lost deep within their own thoughts that should not be for children to have.

He winced as he looked at them, somehow able to feel their pain and strife inside of him... Certainly due to the accursed eyes that he was given. He was able to copy the physical condition of others with one eye and the mental condition of others with the other, making him quite the empathetic child himself. He could feel their pain inside of him... And part of it made him sick.

It was so much for him to bear that he ended up storming outside without saying a word to anyone. He looked all around him in utter shock and horror, seeing the wasteland of ruination that was this entire city. It was almost like looking at hell on earth, after coming from such a land that was beautiful and filled with life and prosperity.

"What... Happened here...?" that was all he could wonder. None of this, from the moment he woke up, made any sense. After learning the supposed truth of himself, seeing those kids and now this wasteland, something in him snapped. The burning hatred of the Ashen Flame... that which would reduce all to ash... It flared up inside of him. It was then that he heard the bird's voice, an image of the great black, gray and red vulture looming over him with molten wings oozing and dripping with the fires of hatred. Whether it was actually there or not was unknown, but could certainly felt this abhorrent heat as though it were right there on his shoulders...

"Put them out of their misery."

For some reason, the overwhelming urge to burn the entire orphanage to the ground came over him; a destructive impulse that he felt was best in order to free them of their suffering. (11:22) He would flash some hand signs, his eye growing dim and lifeless, as though under an influence not his own. From behind him, a great geyser of magma erupted from the ground and high into the air, before falling back down into the hole from whence it came. Lava soon pooled up in the pit and eventually overflowed, spilling out onto the streets. Kairo seemed to be able to not only stand on this lava, but remain unaffected by its powerful melting heat. It would gradually make its way down the street and before the Broken Homes orphanage, of which he would merely watch as his lava threatened to burn down the entire city.

El stopped in his tracks a short distance away from his, and Tzita's, destination with a skid and a few hops until he completely stopped. El knew of his speed, his gift, but on this world it seemed to be much stronger than on his home world. He didn't have time to worry about that now, the lava was stopping him from getting across to the building that he needed since it was flooding the streets. As he looked around, it seemed that any people that were in the other buildings that were being threatened by this lava had already vacated the premises. It figured as much.

As concerned as he was for the children, he hadn't forgotten about Tzita in his arms, and he looked down to her to make sure that she was alright. He wasn't sure if moving at the speed he'd been moving had brought her any harm. "Are you alright, Lady L'sia?" He asked, wanting to put her down but not doing so since she'd asked him to carry her. If she truly was faint, then he'd rather not have her sit on the ground and be easy pickings for any ruffians he'd been continuously warned about.

Though at first, Kairo was rather wrapped up in his twisted thoughts of burning down the orphanage as well as the city, he snapped out of this psychotic trance when he saw a chain extend from the distance and into the wall. His eye suddenly retained its focus and traced where the chain was coming from; two interlopers that probably felt the commotion. For some reason, even as he was trying to burn down the building, he felt even more pain and suffering within himself growing worse and worse as time progressed. All he could think of was... those suffering children...

"Do not interfere..." he'd say sternly, but in a low tone, looking up to the sun, from which his Eruption Release drew strength from in the Day time. The pooling lava would, at his attention, all begin to rush toward the two newcomers in a rapid wave, drawing the lava from down the street and before the building in order to flood them with the molten liquid and wipe them off the face of the planet in one fell swoop.

El was glad she still had her senses about her, even in this dangerous situation. He usually could assess when a situation was dire, but being overly serious about it wasn't ever really the answer. It could cause you to make silly mistakes and blame yourself heavily for failures. It was something... El had a lot of experience with, but those were depressing stories for another day.

Right now, he looked to where she was pointing, seeing the frame of a boy standing atop the lava? El wasn't even sure how something like that was actually possible, but it supported her hypothesis that he was probably the cause of this. Stopping him would probably handle this situation quickly, but the screams of the children resonating in his ears were a much more pressing concern to him. Saving their lives was more important.

"On your mark then." El said, nodding his head as he did so. He'd seen her conjure a chain in the hotel, so he hadn't forgotten she could do so, and he'd felt her snake it around his neck earlier as well. Anything that could get him to the orphanage faster was much obliged and Tzita was much more help than she probably realized.

Of course, before he could get her the time to get ready, they were spotted relatively quickly and he jumped as high as he could to avoid the lava. The push off the ground carried them rather high, higher than how tall some of the buildings were around her, and it seemed as if El could have jumped them right to the top of the orphanage with no problem at all. It shocked him. Unfortunately, he had only jumped straight up, so Tzita would have to reel them in as planned.

The boy merely glared at them with his single red eye as they flew up to the top of the building, a calm aggravation building within him. He said no words, but merely motioned for his lava to seek them out and completely wipe out the Orphanage at the same time. He was through playing games with them.

... Yet, at his command, the lava would not move. "What...?" he muttered, turning to see what the cause of this was. Whatever that woman on top had done, it was keeping his lava from moving at all. It did not even spread down the street. He noticed the glowing green keyhole upon it and sneered, knowing that this had something to do with that.

"No matter..." he muttered again, walking over to the stationary lava. He would, at that point, touch the it with his open palm and draw from it all of the heat and fire chakra that rested within it, quickly causing it to harden into solid earth. With the drained energy, he flashed through a set of hand signs again and shouted, "Ra-Zhuraah!!" Before a white hot stream of concentrated magma would spew from his mouth and barrel toward the woman atop the building. For some reason, as he looked at her, he felt a strange sort of familiarity about her, even though he knew that they'd never met before. He only wondered... What this could be...

El could understand, she was an escort not a warrior, he assumed her powers weren't exactly for fighting. "Thank you." He said to her as she prepared for what she was about to do, to hold the boy down on the ground back while he saved the children, before looking down at the roof of the building. El couldn't see through it, but he could identify that all of the child had congregated in the same room in a corner towards the back to be as far away from the lava as possible. He nodded his head before cocking his fist back and slamming it into the floor, shattering the brick it was made off causing him to drop inside. With his weight, he slammed through the floor of the second floor as well and landed heavily on the first floor.

Smiling at the children, he approached them and knelt down while holding out his hand. "It's alright you guys, I'm here to save you." He reassured them, "Now, all of you come here, I'll take up to the roof," just as the white hot steam of energy breezed past the window and towards the roof. El turned his head to look out the window, before looking towards the roof. Not giving the children much time to decide, because they didn't have much time, El scooped them all up in his arms and piled some on his shoulders before jumping back up towards the roof.

"Gem of the Blue Dragon!"

Yelled a female voice which echoed through the empty streets Valparaiso before a tightly compacted body of water, about the size of a super bouncy ball, flew in between Tzita and the stream of magma. Where it'd come from seemed relatively unknown for the moment, the user of the technique choosing to remain hidden from the moment, even if her voice had announced her appearance. The ball unraveled at contact with the stream of magma, bursting open to reveal that it was a massive amount of water, about a lake's worth super condensed into the size of the ball, ready to quench the boy's stream.

The technique was usually quite destructive and, when used in other instances, it could completely deform the terrain and create new lakes, rivers and oceans in its wake when it unraveled. However, the user felt confident in using it around here because most of the water would be evaporated by the boy's technique, but, overall, it would stop it and leave enough, traveling at a crazy amount force, to seriously injure him.

The user, stationery in a building relatively close by, kept eyes on the boy, but chose not to immediately intervene. It seemed there were two others here to save the children of the Orphanage where she'd been raised. If need be, though, she'd step in and kill the boy causing all the trouble, with her element of surprise, if the other two couldn't stop him.

The stream of fire from the Sun God's Shout technique would immediately be thwarted by the unknown source of water of which he presume came from the woman up above. The speed and force of the explosion was something he was unprepared for and, naturally, upon impact, he'd be blown back and into a nearby building wall with great force. He was not dead, nor was he unconscious, but he was teetering between consciousness and unconsciousness as he looked up to the sun in the sky. It was starting to set, but he could still feel its warmth.

"nnnghh... What was... that...?"

As El rose to the roof, with the children all piled in his arms and on his shoulders, he was prepared to have to snatch Tzita up as well and clear the roof to another, if he had the time. From where he'd been, the attack looked super dangerous and El didn't even think that he would have the time to get to Tzita before she was hit with it. He could see the waves of heat as it traveled too, so if she got hit then it would probably melt her and the building too.

"Lady L'sia!" He yelled as he landed on the roof, just as she fell on her butt and the orb of water quenched the the white attack and went on to try and incapacitate the boy. El heard the voice as well, and looked around to see if he could identify where it had come from. Unfortunately, the woman was well hidden and even with his heightened sense of hearing he could tell where she was. Perhaps she'd launched her attack and then move.

El started to place the children down on the roof, specifically around Tzita, as he looked towards where the boy seemed to be recovering from impact the water had on him, and his body had on the wall. "I should go talk with him, see what the problem is. He could be a resident of this orphanage as well." El said, feeling a bit of sympathy for the boy. He was sure there was some good in him somewhere and this was probably just an overwhelming explosion of emotions. If El could talk him down, then everything would be fine.

"Look after the children, Lady L'sia. They seem to like you." El said before jumping from the roof and landing on the wet ground in front of the culprit in question. He had a rather imposing frame, and a fairly bulky build, so as he stood there, towering over the boy, with his arms folded it could come off as an intimidation tactic. Of course, nothing like that, at least not right now, was ever El's intention.

"Hey, young man, are you alright?"

Tama held her breath as she spied on them, it didn't seem like the woman and boy had noticed her, but she wasn't quite sure about the man that came from inside the building with all of the children in his arms and on his shoulders. The way he was looking around seemed rather unnerving, like he was trying to figure out her location. Luckily, she had threw out her attack and then hid in a different location so that she couldn't be easily figured out.

She kept her hands clasped to Kon's mouth as well, gently, to make sure the cute thing didn't make any noise either. She needed to keep the element of surprise, just in case, but the man from before seemed to be moving to handle the boy.

The light and heat of the sun seemed to fill Kairo with a bit of energy, slightly rejuvenating him through means of his own natural Photosynthesis that he learned through control of his Fire and Earth chakras. His body, like a plant, could take in the light and convert it into more chakra for him, which would flow through his body in order to gradually give him strength as long as he remained in the sun's light. However, before he could be restored to full strength, the blurred silhouette of a towering man stood over him, barely visible in his squinted eyes. This stopped his initial energetic restoration, but at least he wasn't feeling faint anymore.

"Nnn... Those kids..." he started, completely ignoring the question of concern for himself, "... They're suffering..." he would not rise, even though he wanted to, but simply let whatever energy he got flow through him in order to maintain his steady consciousness, "... Why do you want them to... Suffer...?"

"Is that true?" El asked, deciding to go along the path of discussion the boy has switched too. If he didn't care to talk about himself, for the moment, then El wouldn't push for it, yet. As far as El could see, as he saved the children, they were only suffering when their lives were in danger. Of course, El was new here and so he didn't really know about the workings of Valparaiso. Still, he knew taking their lives wasn't going to be the answer.

"They only seemed to be suffering when you threatened to melt them with your dangerous attack. Why would you want to be the cause of their suffering?"

"No..." he muttered, wincing a bit, "... No, they were suffering before..." He knew that they were. He could feel it. He could see it. The life that they led hear was filled with suffering and turmoil... "They live here... and they suffer... Living... Is suffering..." he huffed, suddenly feeling the burning desire rising up inside of him again. Even without the sun, there was something else within that gave him strength...

"So let me END THEIR SUFFERING!!!"

His red eye gleamed, gazing at El with a malicious glare, copying his physical condition in order to force his energy within to match it in its own way. The perk of the Red Eye active during the day was to be able to copy the physical condition of those of whom he peered into the eyes of, and at this point, that would be he who stood over him. With the vile, blood-curdling screech like that of a flock of birds screaming discordantly in unison, the boy's form would burst into a cloud of hot ash that would spread out and around El as a flock of crow-like ashen vultures, shooting off into several nearby buildings. It was clear that whatever this feeling he had for them was, it was due to their very lives being lived in poverty and disdain. He could not allow them to suffer any longer. That was why those who sought to stop him were his enemies, and he would dispose of them all in order to save the children from their painful lives of eternal strife.

From wherever his true form manifested, he gazed at the sun, taking from it as much energy as he could. It was going down... That meant he didn't have much time left to get this done. If the sun went down...

He flashed hand signs from his location, and from the shadows of the windows in each building that he dispersed into the vultures, he would send a barrage of the ashen birds soaring toward the top of the Orphanage, which was in clear view. They would be sent out to snatch up the children at a high speed.

'Shit.' Was her only thought before she moved, zooming to the top of the Orphanage and appearing there like she'd come out of thin air. It would probably take the children, or anyone else on the roof, to realize what was happening, but Tama clapped her hands together and spreading them out, manifesting a giant dome of water around her and all of the people standing on the roof to protect them all from the birds.

"Kill him!" She yelled down to the man on the ground, who had thought it was a good idea to talk down a psychopath that would kill children in such a gruesome way to use lava. She had thought he would kill him there in cold blood with how imposing his figure was, but was mistaken. This was Valparaiso, none of the denizens knew what remorse was, or compassion.

Her silvery white ponytail flowed with the wind and, as she turned her head to look towards the woman with the children, her periwinkle eyes gleamed with a familiar sparkle. The hair and the eyes alone might clue the woman into who she was, or who she was related too. Her Chomao, Kon, appeared at her side, but it didn't do much but float there.

Even though the boy was murmuring, El could hear him fully and clearly. At such a close range, El's heightened sense of hearing was able to pick up exactly what he was saying, no matter how incoherent it seemed to be as El listened. This boy was clearly disturbed, but that was all the more reason, El felt, to talk to him and see what was wrong. He couldn't agree what the boy's philosophy at all, since, if it were true, then the boy, El, and Tzita were all suffering too.

El opened his mouth to speak, but rose his hand to shield himself, mainly his eyes, as the sudden bursting into birds and high pitch screech pushed the man back with a short slide. El looked towards the roof, knowing that that was where the boy would attack. He, clearly, had a one track mind about this. El was right of course, since the birds seemed to fly out of all the buildings they'd flown into and toward the roof. Luckily, their mysterious savior had appeared in full to protect everyone there.

"I can talk to him, I can stop him. Just keep everyone safe!" He yelled back, before looking around for any hint of where the boy could have gone. He wouldn't kill him, El knew better than that. This boy was just hurting, for whatever reason, and El wanted to help him too. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell where he'd gone because he couldn't see through buildings and could hear him either.

"Lady L'sia, is it true you might know this boy?"

Even with his flurry of hazy vultures, his attempt at killing the children was thwarted once again by the mysterious figure with the great water power. He cursed her with his stare, his red eye gleaming in the darkness of the building he was within.

"Why do you want them to live such a terrible life?!?! They are not like us!! Their fate cannot be changed!!!" He winced again, still feeling the pain of impact on his body, even if his motions were adjusted to match El's currently. He was able to physically move like he was, but it didn't stop his pain at all. "I want them to be free of a life of misery and poverty... I saw it on their faces... How much they hate this life..." As he stared at the sunset, nearly ready to go down, he would have to make a last ditch effort to destroy everything with as much power as he could muster. "I have to... Before I..."

He flashed through a series of hand signs, but did not show signs of stopping. Whatever he was about to do, it was going to be on a fairly grander scale than what he'd done before...