5
Black cloak with red clouds.
Akatsuki.
Which would make my current location Amegakure.
But more importantly, Akatsuki.
Ha ha.
Nope. Fuck that, I'm leaving.
I darted away.
There was no way in hell I was going to stay here. Akatsuki were bad news, Heartless or not. Especially considering some of the members on that group.
Behind me, the Akatsuki member raised their arm, barely visible from beneath the cloak.
A Kunai flashed out, flying towards me and sinking into the ground right where my torso was.
As a shadow on the ground, I really couldn't care about that. It did absolutely nothing to hurt or impede me, so I just kept moving.
"Kukuku, how interesting."
I spared a look backwards, glancing at a pair of yellow, slitted eyes and a pale, snake-like face.
I ran faster, because holy shit that was Orochimaru.
If I got caught by that guy, I was fucked. Most of the other Akatsuki members would have just killed me, but that guy?
I do not want to find out.
On the other hand, that did give me a nice indication of when I was.
Faster than I could react, a sword shot out of his sleeve, extending and piercing the ground were I was. The Kusanagi, Orochimaru's signature blade. Even considering the nature of that blade, it still couldn't cut a shadow.
However, I wasn't too sure about my ability to survive Jutsu. And if I stayed in the open much longer, he might be tempted to start using exactly that.
I rounded a corner, trying to find a place where Orochimaru couldn't go.
Alleyway. No escape on the other end. And Orochimaru was right behind me.
Fuck.
"Kukuku, bad choice." Orochimaru cackled. I realized that the bastard was playing with me.
His hands appeared from his cloak, before beginning to slowly form Hand Seals.
Oh shit.
I needed to escape, like right the fuck now.
But to where? I couldn't go further into the alley, I couldn't leave, because Orochimaru was in the way and the last thing I wanted was to get even closer to him.
I paused, staring at the shadows around me.
I... I could stick around see what the Jutsu did, but I really, really, did not feel like risking it.
Perhaps I could-
Orochimaru finished his Hand Seals, a muttered "Fire style:" and a deep intake of breath warning me what was about to happen.
The alleyway filled with white-hot flames, right as I plunged further into the shadows, closer to Darkness and further from the world.
Falling.
Comfort.
Hate. Anger. Sadness.
Love. Calm. Happiness.
Empty. Full.
Doom. Salvation.
Malevolence. Benevolence.
Ignorant. Knowledgeable.
Evil. Good. Neither. Both.
light
DARKNESS.
I pulled, out and away from the Darkness, out of the screaming abyss that had briefly occupied my entire existence.
Frantically, I dug my claws in the world, dragging myself into materialism once again. I only stopped once I hit the barrier, between true reality and nothing but shadow. That had been Darkness, One Full Half of Everything, Precisely Half of Anything, the counterpart of Light.
I shuddered.
It had been, and still was overwhelming. Steeping yourself deep into the Darkness with preparation or protection, I can certainly see why Xehanort sought its power.
I paused at the thought.
And if I wasn't careful, I would likely end up the same.
If I actually could end up the same, anyway. Shadows were Pureblood Heartless, devoid, completely, of Heart and Soul. Little more than Darkness given flesh. The mystery of how I was thinking could be answered if both, but a Shadow shouldn't... I didn't know. Doesn't mean I wasn't going to be careful.
What an odd little existence I had here.
I shook my head. Now was not the time to think on such things. It could wait until later.
Looking around, I immediately noticed that I was no longer in Amegakure. Tall gunmetal buildings had been replaced with tall forest, though the trees were less massive than the buildings in Amegakure.
In other words, far, far away from the snake-like lunatic.
Good. The further I was from that maniac, the better.
Now, to figure out where the heck I am again.