Exploring the Ruins (Shini)

It was early in the morning as three figures moved through the ruins. One was a young man with spiky green hair and a tired expression on his face. The other resembled that of a four foot tall bipedal rabbit whose eyes seemed to be constantly scanning her surroundings. And the third was a small yellow rodent that happily ran around the other two. The sounds of falling water could be heard echoing as the human and the rabbit began to talk.

"If you don'y mind me asking. Why did we have to get here so early?" Malm asked with a small yawn as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"I told you I tell you later. Besides, aren't you the one who always like exploring new areas like this?" Mouse responded as she glanced back towards the mage.

"Yes, but I usually prefer to have a full nights rest first." Malm rebutted as he thought back to when Mouse woke him up in the middle of night so they can make it to the ruins by morning, "I was having such a good dream too."

"Oh quit your whinning will ya. You don't see Phosphera here complaining, do ya?"

"No, but she also was able to sleep in my backpack for most of the trip." Malm countered as he wished right now that he could of done the same.

Mouse stopped. "Fine. If it'll stop you from complaining, we can take a short break here." She said with an annoyed sigh as she turned around.

"Thank you." Was all Malm was able to say before collapsing to his in exhaustion. Mouse could only facepalm at the pitiful sight. To think that he was the one that saved her life that day.

Shini sat under the waterfall, meditating. It was an odd fountain that was behind the large castle in the center of the kingdom. She had ventured out of her village to tend to herself. Her village didn't need her, they were all strong. She had to discover Pandora on her own. There was something about the new world that didn't add up.

She sat with her legs crossed and eye closed. Her mind drifted about into to the ruins. Surely this was something out worldly, but if what Kaseki said was true, then this place was from his own past. The only question.. was it in the time before or after her own.

She could hear sounds of another group entering the empire, but it concerned her not. Perhaps they were looters, or simply came for the sightseeing. It mattered not to her. If they came to destroy the place, it seemed that their work was done.

She had to piece herself together before anything.

Malm just laid there for a minute or two. The sound of cascading water slowly lulling him to sleep. Yet there was something that was preventing him from doing so. Something that just didn't sit right with him.

Why was Mouse so anxious to get here in a hurry?

It wouldn't make much sense for her to want to loot this place. She knew his opinion on such matters, and wouldn't have dragged him here for that. And that's to say that there is anything to loot here in the first. No. There has to be another reason. Yet what could it possibly be?

Malm picked himself up a little in order to look at Mouse. She was keeping guard, her eyes scanning around the ruins for anything of note. Malm sighed as he decided to just let the matter go for now. She said she'll tell him when the time comes and he can only trust that she will.

"That was quick." He heard Mouse say as she took notice of him.

"What can I say? I may be tired, but you got me to curious about this to rest now." Malm said as he scratched behind Phosphera's ears before standing up. While he may be tired, his curiosity wore off some of his exhaustion. He now wanted to find out what got his companion like this.

"Hmm... Good. I better not hear you complain about being tired again, or else I'll knock you out myself." She stated before walking off further into the ruins.

"And I'm sure you will." Malm sighed before following after her. As he did so, he stopped for only a second as Phosphera climb up onto his shoulder before continuing onward.

"Ironbark..." She said to herself. Her legs remained crossed as she sat on the ground, her eyelids closed, and her fists touching, held end to end in front of her chest. "Shinju..." She whispered. That was it... He wasn't just the Jinchuriki with the ten-tails, he WAS the Ten-Tails. They were both creatures of a myth of some world. They were both crafted from an odd wooden material. That had to be it... but then what was this ruin?

It held massive amounts of water, that seemed to be perfect for Kaseki. However it seemed desolate and empty. But this must have been from another land, so why was this the place that was taken from that world? Was it a great war? What made this place so important?

Then she heard them get close.

She heard the footsteps...

But who could it be?

"So Malm. Do you remember what you told me about this world?" Mouse asked suddenly as she came to a stop.

Malm seemed stunned before trying to think back. "I think I told you quite a bit from my travels. Could you please be more specific." Malm asked as he rubbed the back of his head.

Mouse sighed in frustration. "About what that Aknaid person told you?" She clarified.

"Oh yeah. That." Malm said as he remembered his meeting with the armored insect-looking man. That was a pretty nerve wracking experience, but he did learn quite a bit. "Are you talking about the fact that this world was created by Kaseki? What about it?" Malm asked as he then thought back to when he finally made it back to the bookstore and informed Mouse what happened.

"Well think about the rest of Pandora. What does it all have in common when compared to the kingdom?" She asked him as her eyes look gazed at the ruins around them.

"Umm... I don't really know."

"Think. The answer is more obvious then you believe."

Malm sighed as he tried his best to think back. What set apart Pandora from the other kingdoms? It wasn't much different except for that whole soul thing Aknaid informed him about. Actually. Now that Malm thought about it. There was one other thing.

"Other then the kingdoms here, there were hardly any signs of civilization." Malm blurted out as he had an epiphany.

"Exactly. And why would there be. From my understanding, before this starfall event you spoke of, only Kaseki and a few others lived here. So that begs the question why these ruins are here?" Mouse informed Malm.

"Yeah. That is weird. Do you think it's just another kingdom brought here like the others?" Malm said as he took another look at the ruins around him. Then something occured to him. "Wait a second. Is that what your so anxious about?"

"Perhaps" Was all Mouse said before continuing forth. Yet, as Malm moved to follow her, there was something still bothering him about this. There was more that Mouse wasn't telling him, but what could it possibly be?

Shini opened her eyes to see a boy. Not just a boy, but a bunny and a boy. Well actually a bunny, a boy and a mouse. She slowly rose from her seat, finding part of the answer she sought out. Surely more would come to her in time.

"Are you talking about the fact that this world was created by Kaseki? What about it?"

She paused, only to listen to that one word. He knew Kaseki's name, that meant he was surely the son he spoke about... or maybe a friend. But then again, with Kaseki, she expected something more odd to be his child. Almost imagining a demon, or something of that sort. She listened to his conversation, only to find out a bit more than she had hoped for.

"These places are locations of battlegrounds." Shini said to the group. "Not necessarily fighting, but battles. Of the body, mind, and heart." She smiled as she looked around. ".. From the looks of it, this is where he found hope." She came to conclusion only at the sight of water. She remembered his words when they were both just children, "I must be one with the world. I must learn to fend on my own. Alone." This must have been the place that changes his will, and gave him a reason to live.

After all, his elemental affinity was water.

Malm was taken aback as he heard an unfamiliar female voice add to their conversation. A quick look around revealed that the voice belonged to a young woman by a fountain under a waterfall. What was she doing here? How much of their conversation did she overhear? And what exactly did she mean that this place was a battlefield of body, soul, and mind?

"What do you mean?" Malm asked in hope for some clarity, "Why do you say that these places are battlefields? And for who were they battlefields for?"

Mouse just remained silent as she looked between the woman and Malm. There was something off about this woman. She obviously been overhearing at least a part of the their conversation, and hasn't questioned a thing either of them said. Instead she just added to it as if she knew what this place is. Who could she possibly be?

That had to be it. That was the world. No one could run from their past. Not even him.

"I knew Kaseki for the first half of my life. I was the last person to see his brother." She said to the boy. She didn't know why she was telling him that. She didn't know why she did anything anymore. She wanted answers to this new world. She was going to help... she would honor the promise she made years ago. She would help Kaseki find who he was.

"Konahagakure was the village he first made friends, and so, that world exists here. Fiore was the world he found his lost love, and so, that world is here. Toonville was where he fought Kodai, and so it is here. These ruins..." She thought about it for a moment. She felt like a researcher for once. For the first time since she was in Pandora, she was out of the village and free from administrative means. Her mind ran wild. She had all of these conclusions, "The waters must have soothed Kaseki a long time ago, don't you think?"

She had her idea in her grasp, only to have it escape her tongue. This was a battleground of Kaseki. So why was it so empty?

Wait. She knows Kaseki as well? And Kaseki has a brother? What in the world is going on here? Malm thought as he tried his best to process all the information that was being given to him. Yet all this did was give him more questions then it answered.

"Is that... so?" Malm asked questioningly as Shini mentioned that the waters must have cleanse Kaseki, "Yet I thought it was the starfall was what the different kingdoms here?"

"Don't you wonder why these kingdoms were chosen though? I doubt they were chosen by random. Most likely this so called Starfall chose these kingdoms because of Kaseki's bond of it. At least, that would be my guess." Mouse added in to share her theory with the two.

"Well I guess that makes sense to me." Malm said before returning his attention back to Shini as he noticed he nearly forgot something, "I'm sorry. I guess we should introduce ourselves. I'm Malm, and my companion here is Mouse." Malm said introducing the pair, "Oh... And this is Phosphera." He then quickly added as he remembered the yellow rodent on his shoulder.

She smiled at the green haired boy, "I am Shini Chikai!" she said with happy mood. It was great to finally leave her city walls. But she had some answers for the group. She listened, trying to think about the story Kaseki told her just a few days ago.

"You see, Pandora is where you do when you die, so... well all of these starfalls die when they make a wish. As they die, they come back to Pandora. The places they landed, well, that was at complete random. However, Kaseki lived for.. well a long time I think. I remember him telling me something about Portal Jumping. Said that's how he ended up in Fiore and other worlds. It would be only by chance that Kaseki visited these worlds. However, not every world he went to is here... yet..." She pasued, she wondered about her little story. It was a bit confusing, but she thought she covered all the points. But maybe a little more was to be added. "I mean, if you were stuck in a world of nothing, wouldn't it make you feel better to have pieces of your life and past around you? To make you feel at home?" she asked.

She was tired, and on her way to Kaseki's castle. She had a favor to ask of him. She wanted to solve the world and the story behind each world... but that was maybe for another time.

Maybe.

So her name is Shini, and she appears to know a lot about Kaseki. So much so that he wouldn't be surprised that they were still pretty close friends. It just made Malm realize just how little he truly knew about the eccentric treeman. How little he truly understood about everything Kaseki must have gone through. Something that he now wished he could of changed.

So he listened carefully to the womans tale. While he didn't quite understand everything the woman had mentioned, he did get the gist of it. Mostly because he heard some of it from Aknaid before. Pandora was the place where souls go before being departed to the afterlife, whenever that may be.

Yet there was something Shini mention that he found interesting. She mentioned that when Starfalls die, they go to Pandora. He remembered when Aknaid was talking to him about the Starfalls, but stopped when he reached a similar subject. Could this be what he was about to say?

"I guess so. Though I can't say for certain if I would take it to this extent." Malm answered honestly as he looked around his surroundings again. Now that Malm thought about it, Pandora was sort of a museum of Kaseki's life. Varies of pieces from several different places he's been all gathered in one area.

"Wait a second. Let's go back a bit. What do you mean by yet? Are we to expect more kingdoms and worlds to suddenly appear in Pandora like the others?" Mouse questioned, not letting that one word just go by her unchecked.

Shini stood there, her hand on her hip as she had it all come to her at once. "With the way Pandora was built, the starfalls owe their lives to Pandora. With it, they are able to continually live again and again. With everyone making these wishes, the closest thing to a utopia, has become Pandora." She thought about the girl she watched die before her eyes. She had been the one to wish for Kaseki directly. But it was not that he appeared at her side, but rather she got the chance to see him. She could have ordered her men to fight him off, but that was choice. These starfalls granted opportunities, not wishes. That was what they did.

She knew that only one thing in Pandora was built from the ground up. It took a million years for him to do it by only himself. That thing? That was Kaseki's castle. He borrowed places from his past, trying to give everyone a better life. He took cities of ruins and made them alive again. That's all he wanted to do... was create the perfect world, full of peace.

"If anyone knows Kaseki better than me, it's his wife." She smiled, "That was the promise we made to each other as children. You could say that I'm his younger sister, or that he's my elder brother... much... much more elder."

"Utopia huh?" Mouse scoffed, "Try telling that to those who were forcibly taken away from their families and loved ones because of this whole mess. They may be a minority, but back in Fiore, it's hard to not take notice of the amount grief this has caused to them." It didn't take much for Malm to notice that this whole thing was more personal then Mouse let on.

While Malm didn't want to admit it, Mouse did have a point. Pandora wasn't anywhere close to being a utopia. Fiore itself was still in the process of recovering from the wounds it suffered during the war before it was dragged all the way to Pandora. Now there were numerous of people who's families have been split up as some chose to evacuate the country during the war, while others chose to stay. And there were also those who weren't from Fiore to begin with. Tourist, traders, and other types of foreigners. All of them were now stranded on Fiore like the rest of them, with no way to go back home.

Malm really wished he could help these people. Comforting them could only do so much. Maybe... maybe if he could find a Starfall, he could make a wish that could fix this? No. He couldn't possibly do that. Despite how much good this would cause, he couldn't sacrifice a life to do it, not even when that life would simply be resurrected. It's just a cruel thing to do in his eyes and he doesn't believe the end ever justifies the means.

Besides, what would he end up wishing for? Bringing Fiore back to Earthland would only create the same problem as those from the other kingdoms who were visiting would end up in the same exact situation as the others were before them, and that's not even mentioning those who are from Fiore currently exploring Pandora and the other kingdoms. Maybe they could bring the other contries to Pandora, yet Malm could only see that bringing up it's own set of problems. This wasn't exactly an easy problem to solve.

Now that Malm is thinking about it though, how exactly are the other countries back on Earthland doing? He has his doubts that they are currently okay since one of the most powerful countries in the world would have just vanished. Could they possibly believe that Fiore was destroyed somehow? He wouldn't be surprised seeing how sudden their disappearance must of been. Heck. Chances are that there is now only a gigantic crater where Fiore use to be.

Malm sighed as he exited his train of thought. He may never truly know the answers to these questions. What happened has happened, and there is no way they can change that. All anybody can do now is to move forward from it. That is something Malm had learned from experience.

"I have told them." Shini said softly. Everything came back to her, just as if it was the other day. Her pain returned, as well as the memory of hunting her friend.

"I'm sure you all have better things to do than to spend them here listening to my stories, so I'll make it short.

In my world, a place where Kaseki spent the rest of his childhood, was chaotic. A month before we all appeared in Pandora, an epidemic broke out. A virus claimed lives of many, not killing them, but possessing them. This was far beyond out control. It took over our tailed beasts and slaughtered every village it could touch. Everyone fled for the sake of survival. Everyone ran to the last place that could be corrupted. This was Konohagakure, my home.

The tailed beast were all within a second from destroying us all. Ninja from all villages came to our city as a haven, for the one place that held hope... then it happened. Our leader, Naruto Uzumaki died in my arms, and the city fell to ruins... then I found the starfall.

She told me of her cost of granting me a wish. She would give her life to bring joy to our village. Then I made my wish. I did not wish for peace, I did not wish for it all to end. I did not wish for the virus to stop. All of those things would have stopped the war, but they would not heal the damage. I wished to see my friend, one last time.

You might think I was selfish, and maybe I was. But my friend was always there when it mattered most. He always manged to make everything heal and come back to life... then he appeared at my city gates... and all the pain went away.

And so we appeared in the world of my friend, Kaseki. The virus no longer existed. Our dead were brought back to life. Our leader made his wish too. He wanted me to lead our kingdom.

So my world was in ruins, just seconds away from genocide and becoming a desolate wasteland... Pandora saved us. And we may never understand how."

Everything came back to her, her death, her life. The death of her family. There was nothing for anyone back in the world they once had. All they could do was wait, now. All they could do was build. Kaseki would bring pieces of their realm back. He would cleanse it and put it into Pandora. That's why Pandora was empty. He was preparing it for new guests. He was building the perfect world.

All they needed, was patience.

Malm politely and quietly listened as Shini told her story. While he didn't quite understand what exactly she was talking about, especially when it came to what she meant by a virus possessing lives and tailed beasts, it all still seemed to be very bad. Yet, when it seemed like everything was going to be lost, a miracle happened. Shini had somehow came across a starfall and made a wish. A wish to meet with her old friend one last time.

Malm couldn't blame her for making this wish, for while he wasn't sure he would make the same wish if he were in her situation, he did understand her reasoning. Kaseki was a dear friend to her that she felt made everything better. Yet that did not seem to be the only effects of this wish. Not only was that how Ninja Town appeared here in Pandora, but the virus vanished as well as the dead being brought back to life. Hearing that last part brought a dark look to Malm's eyes.

"They were all brought back to life? That can't be." Malm stated as her story came to an end. This was definitely not a good thing in his eyes. Especially not in such a massive scale that Shini had suggested.

Mouse was starting to grow slightly worried about Malm. This was a side of him she has never seen before. The normally calm and level-headed young man she knew now appeared to be very tense and foreboding as he stared at Shini. She expected him of all people would be happy to hear such a happy ending, but he wasn't. Could this whole 'bring back the dead' thing really be weighing so much on his mind?

"No," Shini said, "Not everyone."

She sighed as she continued on, "Now this I heard only from a talking crow that deemed himself Kaseki's Guardian, so take what I say with a grain of salt." She paused to look at Malm. He wasn't far from her, nor was he near. He was just in earshot. "Kaseki is the supposed son of Death himself. I'm sure you've met his son Aknaid already. You see, that's the three you have to remember. You have Aknaid, who watches over the dead in Pandora. Then you have Death who takes the dead where they need to go. It's Kaseki who sidetracks these souls to offer them a..." She stopped to think of the word that the bird told her... "... Higher salvation, or something. This... Pandora, is a cross between te living and the dead who have been given a second life. From here, Kaseki decides if you remain here, or Death will take you away to Heaven or Hell." Shini had much to say, and little to think about it. Everything was a tale to her, even her friend had become a myth in her world.

It was told to her by a talking crow, something strange even for a dear friend of Kaseki.

"Look. I should apologize. It wasn't right for me to speak out of term like that. Especially after everything you must have gone through." Malm said as his gazed shifted away from her as he thought back to something. "It's just... I've seen my fair share of death too, and had to learn the hard the way that the dead never comes back to life. To break that rule is to swim against the tide of Mother Nature herself."

"Malm... Please... You have to bring her back to me..." Malm eyes closed as these words echoed in his mind. He could still hear his old friend beg even after all this time.

"Yet Pandora is a place where such rules don't truly exist anymore. At least, not in the way it use to. The Demon of Life having the ability to make such decisions on who to give a second chance to creates ripples in Mother Nature's tides. Ripples that could prove dangerous if they are left unchecked.

"Now please don't get me wrong. I'm happy to hear that such an event happen after everything that transpired with your people. It's just that I'm not sure how to feel about Kaseki being able to do such a thing. I understand that we are in his world and everything. And that his heart is usually in the right place. But does that still make it right for him to have that kind of power when our lives come to an end?" Malm sat down as he seemed to be deep in thought for a second.

"I'm sorry. I should of probably not brought any of this up in the first place. To be completely frank with you, I personally don't like pondering on such philosophy to much. It tends to always get depressing on my part, and it's probably just best for us to just move forward from the subject. Not like we can do much about it anyways." Malm then stated as he petted the Pichu on his shoulder.

"So... Uhh... If you don't mind me asking. How has your village..." While Malm thought Shini had mentioned it's name before, he was drawing a blank on what it was now, "...been doing ever since it's been brought here to Pandora?" Asked Malm as he wanted to just get away from the whole 'bring-back-the-day' subject that he brought himself into.

Shini paused, feeling the same pain that she had run away from her entire life. She had been trained to kill her only friend, and watched the other ones close to her die in his place. She could only wonder how things would have changed had Kusatta not given up her life to save Shini's. But that could unfold another mess of problems.

"Our leader is dead. Our clans are missing. Our Tailed Beasts run out of control." he told him, "But this is Pandora, even if Kaseki controls our souls, he cannot control our lives. I will never see my family again. Our ancestors will be dead forever. Not because he won't bring them back, but he can't bring them back. Even Kaseki has rules..." She was on the verge of tears, remembering how she was once the Forgotten Team Six of Konoha... the team of orphans. The rejected shinobi. "Only when the gods cannot reach a consensus, does Kaseki play his hand...."

It was a wound she would never recover from.

There was only five people who knew Kaseki as she did. Two of them were dead, one was his wife, and another was a bird.

Perhaps I shouldn't have asked her that. Malm thought as the news he heard was not what he was hoping to hear. After everything that had happen, her village still had a lot of problems to deal with. She also seemed concern about what Malm had said about Kaseki as she informed him that Kaseki had rules too. Those who have already passed on will never come back, and Kaseki will only get involved when the other gods are unable to make a decision about the matter.

"Great job genius." Mouse said in a whisper so only Malm could hear, "You just had to ask her about what happened next. And you nearly made her cry too. What a gentleman you turn out to be."

Thank you Mouse. I noticed that... Malm thought as he felt his guilt about this growing even more. Yet what exactly could he do to fix all this.

"I'm sorry to hear all that has happened Miss Shini. Please now. There's no need to wallow in this sadness." Was all Malm could say as he rubbed the back of his head. If only there was something he could do to help them out.

Then a thought occurred to him. Why couldn't he help them out? There's nothing stopping him from checking the situation over at Ninja Village himself the next time he has the chance. So maybe that's what he should do. He's been meaning to pay it a visit for a while now anyways.

"No, it's okay," Shini assured the green haired boy, "Perhaps everyone has to their mistakes. After living lives of power hungry killing, maybe this is how we will finally change." She wondered if what she started to believe in was right. Everything seemed to be turned upside down and inside out. Nothing made sense to her anyways.

"But I've taken up too much of your time." she admitted, "I came here to find an answer to a question I never asked. Maybe it's time I go ahead and ask the question." She turned away from Malm, only to take a few steps away. She had planned to go to his castle for weeks now. And perhaps today was the day.

((Sorry for the wait.))

"You didn't waste any of our time at all. Quite the opposite really." Malm said with a small grin on his face. Shini had definitely told them quite a bit about Kaseki, Pandora, and these ruins that they wouldn't have learned otherwise.

Malm paused for a second as he looked over at the castle before looking back at Shini. "We were planning on exploring the castle anyways. Perhaps we could do just that together for the time being, and see if we can't both find the answers we seek. That is, if you want to of course." The young man offered, hoping that she would accept. He had to admit that he was now curious about what this question she wanted to ask was. If he had to guess though, judging from her first comment when they first met, it was probably something to do with Kaseki.

Shini gave a slight bow to the boy, before starting her walk away. "No, perhaps it's best I confront Kaseki directly." She was eager to met him again on the gift fir her lover, yet she felt the need to explore the ruins.

"Perhaps another time. I just..." She paused at the words, trying to grasp reality. Could Kaseki bring back her friend... their friend... or rather, the third member of their clan? Could he? ... would he?

"I really have to go. I'm sorry. I hope you will find adventure in the ruins!"

And with that, she ran off. She had to find the creator of the realm.

[exit]

"Alright then. I hope that goes well for you." Malm said as Shini ran off. He was a little disappointed that their meeting had to be cut short so soon, but understood that she had her reason. Knowing Kaseki, she was gonna have a hard time getting any straight answers from him. Or was just Malm's experience with the treeman.

All alone now, Malm turned to look over at Mouse. "Well I guess that just leaves us three. Care to explain why you drag me all the way over here now?" Malm asked as he began to pet Phosphera on her head. However, instead of saying anything, Mouse just began walking away from the ruins.

"Hey. Where are you heading? Weren't we going to explore the castle?" Malm asked.

"There's no need. There is nothing of interest in there anyways." Mouse stated plainly.

"What do you mean? We haven't even looked-"

"This isn't the place I thought it was, okay?!" Mouse exclaimed as she stopped for a second, "Now if you want to explore the ruins yourself, that's up to you, but I have a shop I need to get back to." Mouse then continued on her way.

Malm just stood there for a moment as he looked at Mouse leaving, then over at the castle, then back at Mouse again. "She dragged me all the way out here to explore the ruins to only now tell me that she didn't want to anymore. I don't think I will ever understand her." Malm said to himself with a sigh, "Well I guess we should follow after her. We can't exactly leave her to fend for herself." Malm said with a small grin to Phosphera, "Just don't tell her that I said that."

With that cheeky comment, Malm began to walk after Mouse. Pondering on what her reasons could be to bring them here in the first place.