The last rays of the red sun shines before the night sky finally fell upon the world. After traveling passed the mountain ranges and through the last thin layers of snow and ice, the signs of plant life began to sweep over the scene more and more. Thick grass grown up to the knees, trees that had lived for so long that they were covered in green vines. The sight was like nothing else you would see in the kingdom of Flames.
Sadako used her hand to push some draping branches from her path. She followed the curious sound of constant roaring from the distance and stumbled upon a wondrous display of nature.
"It's a waterfall, I've never seen this before…"
"I wonder where it all comes from."
Evan had caught up and found the same sight as well.
"I believe this is the great river of Jigouku, it flows south through the kingdom of Flames and even meets Selina as well. That means this river flows possibly throughout the entire world."
Damien spoke while looking up towards where the water was flowing from with great interest.
"I guess we have to do some more climbing, that wall is at least a hundred feet tall probably more."
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After some hiking through the forest they ended up perched outside what seemed to be a Japanese village. The red sun had set and darkness had fallen upon the land.
"Caw Cawww!"
A large crow swoops down from a tree top and flies passed them disappearing into the dark. Shortly afterward sounds of metal came gliding in the air breaking the silence and startling them. Over fifty shuriken were heading directly towards them with great speed.
"Shield your eyes."
Cera shouted. She shot off a bomb of lightning that exploded which sent a shockwave hurdling back in many other directions. Appearing suddenly were Shinobi blocking the path in front of them.
"You are trespassing on this land. Turn away now."
An older man with a deep raspy voice stepped forward. Though he sounded well on in years his stance proved that he was still a fierce warrior not to be trifled with.
"I'm afraid we can't do that. We are here on important business, please allow us to speak with your representative."
"Hmmm"
The older Shinobi hummed with a look of curiosity on his face.
"It's fine Akabei, I'll handle them from here."
A girl wearing a bright purple and blue yukata seemingly walked out from the shadows. The way the other Shinobi bowed at her presence gave the impression that she outranked them or perhaps they just greatly respect her. She had brown and orange hair, as well as some sort of mask resting on her head.
"Hello travelers, my name is Kitsune. What brings you to Kawagakure?"
Kitsune tilted her head to the side in puzzlement, she looked just like a fox somehow.
"Is there someone here by the name of Jack?"
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Inside the hollow forest was a village called Kawagakure. It was here that the travelers were led to a larger building, taken down a long narrow hallway laid with hard wood flooring. Kitsune opened the shoji, a sliding door made of wood and paper. The room inside was filled with a cloud of smoke that oozed out with the natural current of the air.
*cough cough* "I told you to stop smoking inside so much Jack."
Kitsune glared at the man with an annoyed look on her face while waving the smoke away. The man sat alone at the back of the room facing the door, he was taking a drag off a cigarette and grinning back at her.
"By whatever do you mean? Doesn't feel like it's been that much, anywayyyy."
"Pfft, whatever."
Kitsune retorted.
"You have some visitors who would like to speak to you."
Kitsune added before turning on her heel and walking out. Jack sarcastically waved back in response.
"And how may I assist you?"
Jack looked up at Damien who fronted the group of 13 foreign faces.
"I'm here to speak to you about Kayako."
A minute of silence passed before Jack pointed at the other side of the table telling him to "sit".
"I've been made aware of a certain curse that plagues Kayako, she most likely lost all her memories by now and can do no more than stare blankly at the wall I imagine. Correct?"
Damien's blatant statement set the tone of negotiations immediately. Jack took a long drag of his cigarette, thinking for a moment before motioning for Damien to continue.
"As you may have heard, the king of demons has destroyed my country. As of right now the vampires have nowhere to go…I propose that you let the remaining survivors of my people stay here in the hollow forest."
"And we would just do this out of the kindness of our hearts?"
"No, you will let us stay here and in return…I will reverse the curse that Kayako is afflicted by."
"Can you do that?"
"I will have to study it to be absolutely certain, but I am confident in my knowledge of curses and magic circles. So basically, yes I can do that."
Damien looked directly into Jack's eyes and waited for his response. The tension was getting pretty high so Kitsune had shown up at some point to lead everyone else into the next room.
It was at that moment however that something caught Jack's eye. It was the flutter of Sadako's long black hair as she turned to follow Evan and the others into the next room, her profile had looked so familiar to him even though he had never met her, a brief moment of silence had fallen. Damien turned around to see just what Jack was looking at, and he immediately understood that now would be the best time to use Sadako's existence to his advantage. Thus he politely asked her to come sit down at the negotiation table with him and Jack.