Oka-san... [IO]

Kozai had received exciting news that lay on his desk. He sat down, wondering how to handle this wonderful, yet somewhat bittersweet piece of news. His father had disappeared, and so now his mother, who had finally located him, was coming to live with him. He sighed, and stood up from his desk. He felt... odd about this. He was about to meet his mother, who he had loved for a few years, until they had been separated. He shook his head, clearing the emotional taint from his thoughts. He would have time for these sentiments later. He sat down, signed a few papers, denied a couple of permissions, and slammed the pen down on the table. This was ridiculous. Why was he feeling so apprehensive? Was he afraid of his mother, now a frail old woman? She had even failed to develop the bloodline. Noramally, Kozai would have hated her for her lack of ambition, but this was different. She had given life to him, and set the foundation for where he was now. How could he hate her? He groaned and walked over to a large building. Melding into its shadow, he would teleport to the front gates. He would not be late for his Oka-san's arrival.  

[TWC 209, requesting a mod for NPC as my sweet mother]

(Hi, i shall mod this.)

Maka walked down the streets of the village her son now ruled, this place was as peaceful as it could get, no violence, or hate for the time being, Maka walked up the street to her son office, her mind was that of a old woman's, who was still in her prime, Maka walked up to the stairs climbing them without a hesitation, she climbed up the stair until she got to the office, she knocked three time with a smile on her face, she wore a working kitchen apron, she had a nice blue cap on her head still letting her brown hair out, she was mildly chewing on a tooth pick when she entered she would let the tooth pick fall and smile at her son proudly.

Kozai had gotten back to his office, when the door opened. There... stood his mother. She hadn't changed much, but her facial features had mellowed out since he had last seen her about eleven years ago. How soft she looked... hmm. He slowly stood, and walked toward her. "Oka-san.... mother... it's been too long. Come, sit down." He pointed to a soft, comfortable chair. He too would sit down, but not at the chair behind his desk. That would seem to authoritative, so he sat on a chair next to her. The office was dimly lit, and was a mahogany, brown leather affair, that gave off an aura of extreme professionalism. He hoped that this would be to her liking. "How have you been these eleven years, mother? I hope you'll enjoy your stay here."

[TWC 344]

"Fine" she said with a smile, "I see you have done well" she said with a smile placing another tooth pick in her mouth, she placed it ever so slightly on her teeth and began chewing "After i left, i just journeyed" she replied "Sure, i will stay for a bit" she said with a mile before she sat down and looked at her soon "You sure look old" She said with a laugh "Like me" she added with a smile.

Kozai listened to what his mother had to say, then chuckled a little. Did he really look that old and tired? Perhaps he did. "Am I that tired-looking, Oka-san?" He laughed quietly, then sat back. "You must be tired, or perhaps hungry or thirsty. Do you need anything, mother? I would be happy to get you anything you like. After all, I am now kage of this village. My resources are yours, as you are family indeed." He truly loved and adored his mother, and now that he had been reunited with her, he vowed not waste as single second in interacting with his family member. "How is Konoha? I've heard it's pretty crowded, but friendly." With this, he could also gain information about Konoha as well. That would be useful indeed.

[TWC 476]

Maka smiled at her sons willingness "No, i am good" she said happily, She stretched out a bit, she opened her eyes a bit.She looked back at her son asked the question about the village "A bit crowded a bit weaker than here" Maka said bluntly without a blink, she turned her eyes to her son "Why you askin?" She asked with a smile, that slowly faded away into a serious face when she realized why he wanted to know "Your not thinking of something... risky are you?" Maka asked with saddened eyes glaring at him she looked worried for her son even though she had just reunited with him, it seemed as though all he wanted was more power than what he had now.

As he spoke, he saw his Oka-san become more concerned. He stopped, and gave her a concerned look. Had he made her worried about him? Or was she more worried.... about Konoha? The first one was alright, it was both kind, loving... and expected. But if she was more worried about Konoha, that was disturbing indeed. Had the span of time really separated them that much? Such a thing was very saddening to Kozai. He didn't want his mother to love another city more than him. He was her flesh and blood, after all, and such a thing was only natural. Visibly disconcerted, he consoled her.

"Oh! I'm sorry if I made you worried, mother. I just don't get much news of life in other villages. Very often, I'm so buried in finance, paperwork, and business matters that I don't get out much, I'm afraid." Here, he grinned sheepishly. "But risky? No, I don't want to put myself, or anyone in my village in danger. That would bring me eternal shame as Tsuchikage." He hoped his mother wasn't too worried about this.... but he couldn't helped shake that they had been separated by the eleven years they had spent apart from each other.

[TWC 679]

"Oh it's alright my dear. You know how mothers get when they get their little suspicions." The fact remained that she had her suspicions. Although her son's motives weren't conspicuous she had an idea of what was in store for Konohagakure, her beloved home. "Ah, but of course my son. Those are the duties that come with being Tsuchikage. It's not always about the perks you receive from holding the title." Maka smiled, her little front to assure him that she was unsuspecting. "Oh thank the heavens. Now that's the mentality I truly admire. You remind me of the Lord Hokage Yukio, such a bright man with great leader attributes. Keep it up my child and you may even surpass him as a leader. Your village will praise you. Oh, I can just see it now my son." She seemed to drift off into space, most likely visualizing her ideal future. A future where her son was a kind and just Kage.

Kozai would smile at his mother. He wasn't sure whether or not she really was assuaged by his reassurances, but he was satisfied by her outward reaction. If she chose to trust others over him, then so be it, he couldn't force her to love him. The village had been doing well under his guidance, but he wanted to propel it to something more. He wanted it to be the new symbol of justice and order in the ninja world. And he.... would be the leader. His mind was brought back to the actual world by his mother. So, she was comparing him to the hokage, Yukio Inuzuka, huh? An Inuzuka clan member.... he would have to research them. He knew from the prefix "Inu", that their clan techniques revolved around some kind of dog theme. How interesting. Still, the fact that his mother admired this kage... it was natural, but Kozai couldn't help but feel a little angry... and maybe jealous? Nevertheless, he would speak to his mother. "Oka-san, would you like to see your quarters now? I would imagine you would love to get your things unpacked." He was a little nervous about this, but he was sure his mother would like the room.

[TWC 885]

"Quarters?.Ah! Yes, I have to see this! I could only imagine how the room looks. Oh, do I hope it's beautifully decorated." What was this nostalgic feeling? Did this remind Makka of how she had raised her son? Of the times where she had been with her child living under the same roof? Where she didn't have to worry about traveling so far to see him or worry about him becoming someone she didn't want him to be, due to the absence of her influence. It must have been so. To know that her son had made her her own quarters eased her of the stress that had befallen her earlier. She was satisfied with this and that's all she really needed. Although she wouldn't be living there and that it wasn't her official room, it still seemed that way to her. Truthfully, she wanted her little Kozai back. "Thank you so much Kozai. I really did need a place to put the luggage; they were so heavy and my feeble self wouldn't be able to carry them everywhere."

Kozai hopped up from his seat, eager to please his mother. This would not only solve the issue of his mother's mistrust and perhaps devotion to another village, but also his own anxiety to see his mother in a safe and comfortable environment. He loved his mother quite dearly, and wanted to give her only the best of the best. However, he knew that she loved simple things, and so tried to bring those two properties together. He led her into the hallway.... and then stopped. "Eh, eh! Hmm.... oh, it was this way." Kozai flashed back to the time when he had built an enormous maze out of a hedge. He had led her, toddling unsteadily this way and that... "Oka-san! Oka-san! This way.... uh, no no this way!" He had led her excitedly through the hedges, getting lost until he put his little hand to his plump chin, and thought. He had found his way back out pretty quickly, for sure. He didn't remember what his mother had thought of the hedge maze and his initial ineptitude in finding it. Indeed, it would be pretty embarassing for a kage to get lost in his own building. Yet, in the presence of his mother, he felt all his confidence and negative emotion drain away.

He began to walk beside his mother, carrying her luggage, being careful not to bump anything or anyone. He pressed up on the elevator, and went up to the next floor, which were the residential rooms above the kage office. Kozai had made this building just so, so that when he looked at the symbolism, he would value life over administration. The purpose of man was to live. To die, even while.... no... he simply couldn't think that in the presence of his mother. Only happy things.

As he exited the elevator, and opened the door immediately to his left, he stepped back and motioned his mother inside. The room was simplistic, but what it had was good. Even though this room wasn't overly technologically advanced, it had a little more than what the higher-middle class had normally. However, it had upgrades. The fabric, floor tiles, and wood upholstery were significantly more expensive. Kozai was nervous. Would his mother like it? He flashed back to the time when he showed his mother a drawing he had made.... it had been of the park they had just gone to. He had been so nervous, and so relieved at her approving smile.

As he waited for her, he would age himself three years backwards, turning himself into a thirteen-year-old boy. This was so his mother could see what he had looked like while he had been gone.

Makka followed her son into her quarters, so eagerly waiting to see how it looked. By God, when the door opened she had fell into a trance-like state, marveling at the beautiful interior design. She hadn't seen anything like this in her life. These ceramic floor tiles were simply amazing. Nicely cut to take up the entirety of the room. Then there was the fine wood; and the curtains! Makka couldn't help herself from feeling the silk. "Kozai, this room is so beautiful. Did you design this yourself or-" She turned around to face her son and was surprised to see a thirteen year old version of himself in place of the adult who was just here a minute ago. She was suddenly brought back to her past, when she was with her little boy. The day he had departed to live on his own and begin his own adventure. Was this how he looked when he was gone? "Oh Kozai....." Tears ran down her face; this was truly an emotional moment for the mother. She opened her arms to embrace her son in a hold.

As Kozai hugged his mother, her tears slowly dripping down the back of his shirt, the missing emotions that he had so long desired worked their way into his heart.

Sadness…. He had longed for his mother so long, and it had taken them such a long time to find each other. He had truly wanted her so badly, and hadn’t been able to seek her out. She had been halfway across the world, separated geographically. How much of his resources had he poured out into finding her? Probably a lot. He had spent much effort in recovering his past, obsessed as he was with reuniting himself with his parents. Now that he father was gone, he only had her…. to lose her would probably send him into shock and immense depression. Shock, that is, the lowering of the blood pressure in the human body, resulting from sudden or extreme stress. This results because of the body’s priority system. In cases such as severe stress, the body assumes that the human’s systems are shutting down, and directs blood flow to the main center of the body, the brain, of course. Thus, less oxygen and nutrients would be delivered to the other parts of the poor man's body, and thus, certain physiological changes occur at that point. For example.... the subjects skin becomes cold and clammy, even in hot environments. His speech becomes incoherent, and he has trouble delivering clear communication. His heart, which at this point, is somewhat weakened and deprived of essential oxygen and nutritive substance, is also altered. The subject's pulse becomes very weak, and very rapid, as it tries to maintain blood flow both around the body and in the brain. However, one of the most obvious outward signs is a direct result of the severe lack of oxygen in peripheral tissues. This is cyanosis. Specifically, cyanosis is the blue coloring of tissues. Now, in shock, cyanosis of the lips or extremeties is highly common. After all, it would only make sense for oxygen-deprived tissues to change color, to either white or blue. Because of the lack of central heating and countercurrent exchange, the skin on the distal parts of the body will indeed display varying degrees of cyanosis. However, Kozai was not in shock. No, he was merely hypothesizing what would happen if his mother did, indeed, pass away. How could he bear losing her? It was almost too much to think of.

Now, another potential consequence of this would be stress and depression. After all, what cruel human being.... no, what cruel monster would not be sad at the death of his mother? Surely, not he. Now, as to depression.... Kozai knew the biological mechanisms of that as well. He hadn't created biomancy for nothing, after all. He had made that power from his own knowledge, and from his own immense chakra. Now, back to depression, Kozai really had to stop getting distracted with such petty things. Using biomancy was easy, after all. At least for him.

Depression.... how to sum it up? It involved so many body systems. Well, he may as well begin with the hormonal system. With the stress placed on the brain, the brain itself would be forced to respond. The main control center for the hormonal system itself, was located in the brain. This small organ, the hypothalamus, would have to react to stress, lest the inner ego of the person himself become small and collapsed. About the ego.... uh, that would be another lesson later. Kozai knew a little less about psychology than he did of normal human anatomy and physiology, and biology in general. He realized that he also had to stop getting distracted.

Now, the hypothalamus would secrete stimulating hormones at the signalling order from the large organ above it, the thalamus. The particular gland that it would stimulate would be a more or less cone-shaped gland located above the kidney. This gland, known as the adrenal gland, secreted many things. For example, it was the source for the crucial hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine, which were involved in the flight response. It's a rare bit of knowledge that upon the release of one molecule of epinephrine (also known as adrenaline), hundreds of millions of glucose molecules are released from their glycogen storage.... from merely one cell. Imagine the effects it would have upon more! Now, norephinphrine plays a key role as a minor neurotransmitter as well, creating unique signals across neuron synapses, or the gaps between neurons. There was a second part to the adrenal glands however, that secreted stress hormones, also called corticotropins. These thing were extremely pleiotropic, meaning that they had a variety of effects. Corticotropins were released from these adrenal glands because of stimulation through the bloodstream via hormones by the hypothalamus all the way up in the brain. The hypothalamus just so happens to release corticotropin releasing hormones, (CRH) that would reach the adrenal glands and stimulate them.

Now, as to corticotropin effects.... Well, there were many. For example, they stimulated cells to take up lipoproteins, and one, ACTH, specialized in such a thing. However, after a long period of stress and depression, this would all take a toll on the body, weakening it, and depriving it of bloodstream nutrients that it so needed. As a result, the subject becomes thin and emaciated, he loses sleep, and loses focus and concentration. He loses the will to fight. That was a bad thing for a ninja, and a bad thing for Kozai. He was the kage, after all, who would do his work for him? Surely not his mother, that would be monstrous.

That was one of the many emotions that Kozai felt while holding onto his mother.... sadness, and as he thought about its consequences, he realized that the feelings of stress and depression would not be good for him. As to the rest of his emotions..... happiness, apprehension.....love... he would have to meditate on these later. But sadness and the feeling of "missing her" was the first that came to mind. He cried a single tear which would drip down his cheek.

"Oka-san....mother.... can I stay in this room tonight.... with you?" He would ask timidly, with the not-so-deep voice of a barely pubescent teenager. He wanted to be with her..... if just for this one night. "Tomorrow.... maybe I can introduce you to some of my staff."

"Oh, of course you can sleep here with me my dear. Your mother would love that." Makka was in a deeply emotional state right now. Just the embrace between these two was enough to ease her of the depression she was dealing with over the past years her child was gone. How she was so elated to be here spending some quality time with him. She even began contemplating on joining Tsuchigakure to stay with him. Serving as an adviser or a secretary would be the most suitable job for her here; that is if Kozai wanted her to remain here. Not to return to Konohagakure where her life was simple and lonely. Depression would just continue to creep up on her and trouble the poor lady. Notes via hawks wouldn't be enough to fill the gap between them. It felt better being here in person. Makka released herself from the boy and looked down at his young form, the expression of jubilance written all over her face. "Kozai, do you mind if I shower? I have been traveling for quite a few days and could use a refreshing bath. Perhaps I could make you your favorite meal afterwards? Before we go to bed." Before doing anything else with her child, she wanted to make sure she was clean. She wanted to rid herself of the filth that had attached to her during the travel here. This room, better yet the bed, did not deserve to be defiled. "I'll be quick my boy." She reached for his cheek and pinched them, just like she used to when he was a child.

Makka then proceeded to the hallway. Aimlessly walking throughout the compound, she began a short search for the bathroom. It didn't take long for her to give up and just ask her son where it was though. "Kozai! One little question, where is the bathroom. Oh dear, I've just gotten myself lost trying to look for it." She giggled to herself as she called from downstairs. My goodness was this place big. Must have been one of the perks of being Tsuchikage; access to a fortune and a marvelous living space. "I've just noticed that this place is humongous Kozai! Do you have any maids here to clean up?" That's when it hit her! The perfect occupation that she could undertake. Not only was it the most suitable job yet but it would allow her to relive her past. When she was an average housewife caring for her child. She'd definitely let her son know about the idea after refreshing herself. "Nevermind! I found the bathroom Kozai!" She entered the room and gently closed the door behind her. Makka removed her clothes and set them in the hamper, stepping into the large tub. "I'm feeling a bubble bath." She twisted the handle and watched as fresh water filled the tub up. Finally, she could relax in peace. "Oh Kozai, thank you for this."[/b]

The mother rested her head back and closed her eyes. How good this had felt. Makka was enjoying every single moment of the tranquility inside her son's bathroom. Reaching for the handle, she turned the water off. She was beginning to drift off and pretty soon she was well asleep. Yes, she had fallen asleep inside the bath tub. During her state of dormancy she began dreaming. She was older and looked saddened. The village was far lager than it is now and there were military outside marching. Her son stood atop a podium and rallied his men. Then the vision transitioned to complete destruction and ruin. Deep within the embers a figure emerged unscathed, eyes glowing a blood red. Makka was frightened by the figure and tried to flee but she couldn't move. Something was restraining her. As if she had to witness the chaos before her. Upon learning of the figure's identity her eyes widened. It was none other than her son Kozai. It was then that the vision had ended, a dream had become a nightmare for her.

Kozai walked in, and felt his mother pinch his cheek. Oh, the happiness that washed over him then. Ah... but wouldn't that mean that happiness in and of itself was a hormonal (or at the very least enzymatic) reaction? Hmm.... it was, perhaps, more than that.

Happiness..... at its base level, it was more of a satisfaction thing, then anything else. If animals could experience happiness, then it would come from their hormones. A similar mechanism existed, of course, in humans as well. There were so many hormonal mechanisms that brought about the feeling of happiness, the base one of which was linked to one of mankind's most basic instincts. This was the primal instinct to eat. Well, where to begin? Kozai decided that he would start with the first major organ other than the mouth, that would be the stomach. The stomach was an organ that churned and secreted acid to digest food. However, that wasn't the thing that Kozai was looking for. It wasn't the stomach's main function that supplied the feeling of satiety. The stomach had to be regulated, and should regulate other parts of the body, as most organs should. After all, the digestive system was a very meticulous, and well-organized system.

So, what exactly did the stomach do? Well, incidentally, when it becomes full, it secretes a hormone called ghrelin. Ghrelin just so happens to be a very small polypeptide, not quite a protein, that causes a satiety feeling. How would it do this? Well, being a hormone, ghrelin would have to go through the bloodstream, which it did. It travels through the blood, and up to the brain, where it interacts with that godly organ, the hypothalamus, which is located behind and above the back of your nose, which is interesting. It interacts directly with the olfactory nerves that led from the nose. That was pretty cool indeed, as the olfactory nerves didn't have to go through the same immense processing centers that the other senses did.

For example, the optical nerves went through the occipital lobe, which was at the back of the brain. Kozai had figured this out first hand when, at the age of two, he had bumped the back of his head, and seen the bright lights and stars whizzing across his vision. Hmm... even at that age, he was able to deduce that the back of the head had something to do with the eyes, or at the very least, the sense of sight.

Also, the movement factor. It had to go through two separate, adjacent complexes. When a person sensed a stimulus, such as the smell of candy, the smell is first passed and formulated into instincts in the hypothalamus. Directly afterwards, it 's passed to the sensory cortex. This engages the motor cortex next to it, which sends signals down the spinal cord, and through the muscles, which then contract. These muscles have a complex mechanisms of contraction and movement, which will probably be described later by Kozai.

However, back to the main topic of happiness and ghrelin. So, ghrelin's interaction with the hypothalamus generates a feeling of satiety. So too, did insulin. Think about it, what does insulin do? Well, think, think! It is secreted by the pancreas, a gland that connects to the duodenum and to the bloodstream at the same time. The pancreas secreted it under the condition that the glucose concentration in the blood is higher than a certain homeostatic set point.... as to homeostasis itself, that honored mechanism of balance would be brushed over at this point. Kozai would have to think about it later.

Now, the glucose concentration in the blood increases when a person eats, due to the sugars and carbohydrates in the food being broken down and absorbed into the bloodstream. Therefore, the amount of glucose monomers in the blood would go up. Common sense, right? Well, insulin signals cells to take in excess glucose, packaging it away into the starch-like material known as glycogen, or animal starch. That stuff is amazing, Kozai thought. Now, at the same time that the insulin went to the hypothalamus, that godly wonderful control center below the center of the brain, it being the center for hormonal control across the body. Kozai was very happy about that. So many hormones, and so little time! What else was there, that would cause happiness?

Well, there was the more advanced and sophisticated system that was the nervous system and its various neurotransmitters. There was also the question of foreign chemicals, such as caffeine. These two matter deserved discussion at the same time, as they were very closely related. After all, some foreign chemicals did interacts with some neurotransmitters, and especially neurotransmitter function. That was obviously apparent in the case of sarin, a nerve gas that inhibits acetylcholinesterase function in the synapses of the nerves. As a result, acetylcholine can just pass through and stimulate the nerve endings for motor muscles, causing them to contract endlessly, resulting in an everlasting tetanus that caused paralysis and potentially death.

So....  what was Kozai originally thinking about? Uh.... right, neurotransmitters. There was something similar to ghrelin that had a much wider range of function, this was seratonin. It was one of those basic neurotransmitter chemicals that had a variety of effects on the body, but the main one that it was known for in humans was the feeling of happiness after a job well done, or after a good meal.

Speaking of a job well done.... what about exersize? Kozai knew that after a good day's worth of training, his body was exhausted, but he felt oddly good. Well, the mechanism for that was obvious. The "athletes high" was merely a system of chemicals, as most basic emotions were, a mere reaction and binding of hormone to receptor, of neurotransmitter to synapse in order to cause an effect chain, a chemical, enzymatic cascade that reached into the depths of a cell and caused a result, some kind of response, a reaction.

This was, of course, dopamine. This molecule had a group on its terminal end that stimulated a pleasure center in the brain. The chemical reactions caused by such a connection between the protein dopamine and its receptor. Kozai knew that the mechanism of protein and receptor was outwardly simple, but actually extremely complex, because if one amino acid was aligned incorrectly, the entire system would come undone, and the receptor would not be able to receive its ligand molecule.

Speaking of ligands.... the word "ligand" refers to two different things. The first was an attachment of some kind of inorganic molecule to a protein or protein complex. Things like the zinc ion ligand for the programmed cell death. Sometimes, these were to help the protein bind, other times they were metabolically aligned, to help the enzyme function. However, when generally speaking about biology outside of the small field of molecular biology, one should usually refer to the ligand as a particular molecule that attaches to a receptor on a cell surface, for example. Generally, interactions like these are called, obviously, ligand-mediated. The way enzymes and proteins bind to other molecules results in a complex, which is faciliated by the induced fit model.

At this point, Kozai walked into the room, and heard his mother say something from downstairs. What was this? Could she not find the bathroom? Huh, it was a fair point that the kage building was pretty big and complex, but considering that there were directories, it shouldn't be too difficult for her to get around. Was she really that old now, and that senile? To Kozai, this thought was highly disturbing. He wondered... had Konoha really made her that senile? He noticed how suspicious she had been of him. Had she truly listened to those outside, the ones who called him the devil, and who called Iwa the "demon village"? No.... he couldn't have any of that. How could they do that? He had created another human being, and given her a chance to prove herself.

Or was that it? Was it that he engaged in such.... unconventional practices? Was creating Hanako such a bad idea? And how had knowledge of her gotten to the outside, anyways? He didn't know how that could even be possible. Had the man in the black city really known his true purpose in gathering that tissue? Kozai didn't know how that was possible. Then again... people had been calling him a demon for quite some time. So what was it?

Kozai thought about himself. He was confused. Throughout his entire life, from small, lost child, to genin, to chunin, to jonin, to his career as the ANBU captain, to finally the kage of this village. What had he done? Well.... come to think of it, he had appeared out of nowhere, as a shadow among men. His power, and his doujutsu, had gained him infamy and fear, even amongst his own people. He opened his hand, and a small sphere of black shadow collected there and began to rotate. Hm, angular velocity and momentum. Such things were different from normal velocity and momentum because they pertained not to linear motion, but rotational motion, that which was occurring in his hand at that very moment, represented by the sphere of black shadow that was now turning into a spiral. As it rotated, it formed and shaped into a figure of the galaxy. Kozai was no good with astrophysics, but he knew some advanced things about the universe outside of the planet. He knew, for example, that his own galaxy spun in a spiral, and was a key example of such a galaxy, a spiral galaxy.

Kozai wondered how many other galaxies were out there, and what other worlds he could find. Maybe someday, he would elevate iwagakure to the skies, and have it roam the universe.... no, he could do that already. He had the improbability drive. That thing in and of itself was a marvel. Kozai couldn't take the full credit for the discovery, as it had been his coffee that had done it. Oh, such was the mechanisms of that marvelous scientific "fairy godmother", the fabulous result of chance, serendipity. Kozai didn't know how many scientific discoveries had been made on accident, but there must be plenty. Now, as to the coffee... he didn't know what caffeine had to do with space and time, but he knew that it had worked. Now, that orange-sized golden sphere was now in his office, ready to be used.

What inventions.... he remembered the day he had created the barrier. The barrier itself shunted things from one side to the other, preventing powerful ninja from jumping in or shooting an big beam into the village to destroy it. Such things, to Kozai, were unacceptable. He would not have some imperinent, rude jinchuuriki come storming in to shoot a giant laser at his home. So, he designed the spatial warp barrier to counter such things. Only a mind that could comprehend space in four dimensions would be able to knock it down, and even then, it would be extremely difficult. Kozai knew that only a barrier of equal or higher strength parallel or skew to it in the fourth dimension alone would be able to upset the barrier. He hoped for the sake of his own village, that a person with such a mind other than himself did not exist.

But the barrier.... oh, its power. After he had come to power, he noticed that one of the ANBU before his rise had left, so he would have to change the password. However, rather than a spoken password, he created seven unique thought syllables. Thus, he would be able to regulate travel in and out of the village. Amazing, wasn't it, what a little thinking can do? Since there were, after all, arbitrarily infinite thought syllables, there were arbitrarily infinite combinations of said thought syllables. Well, that is, consider a finite number of them. If there were an infinite number, than that was a different question.

Now, considering a finite quantity for arrangement of thought syllables, a person, considering that he probably had a limited mind, could produce thought syllables in two main catagories: those of vocabulary which were the ones that people commonly used in speech, such as vowels, consonants, grunts, groans, and so on. Such things were even thought syllables that even monkeys could understand, albeit with some difficulty, perhaps. Kozai could see it now, a monkey could at the very least learn to shape souds with its primitive, prognathous mouth. How humorous that would look; Kozai would have to acquire a monkey someday, just for the sheer purpose of amusement... and maybe some testing as well.

However, the other kind of syllable was so much more interesting and discrete.... emotion. Now, the ones that Kozai were thinking about weren't base emotions such as happiness or fear, but more... innate, complex things. These were emotional thoughts that were subjective to past events. For instance, the emotion of dread and love that came from seeing a parent be angry at another sibling. Such emotions were key to the existence of the human soul. So, Kozai took advantage of that, and integrated it into his password. Certain key syllables.... heh.

The integration was easy enough, all it had taken was a few key syllables inserted into the barrier repeatedly through tandem conditioning of the barrier itself. The hard part was getting the barrier up. However, once it was up, it was easy enough to handle and maintain. The people inside were now safe from any mass invasion, any infiltrators, any unauthorized influences, and any enormous blasts that might annihilate the village. Things like gravity bombs, or bijuu spheres of highly condensed super chakra. Kozai knew that all of these were threats, so he created the spatial barrier, as already mentioned.

Kozai moved to the other side of the room, and looked at the wallpaper. At first glance, it appeared to be the painting of trees, their branches poking and extending, splitting and growing upwards. Kozai almost laughed out loud to the empty room. That was the result of plebian, ignorant perception, the sight and comprehension of an idiot. It was obvious, what he had put on that wall, what beauty and effort had gone into that wallpaper, what calculations and tired nights spent in his office drawing angles and trigonometric functions.

This was a specially built, geometrically aligned, trigonometric fractal. When a person saw things in nature, they failed to comprehend the mathematical beauty that was inside each and every snail shell and tree, every floral phyllotaxy, and every pinecone. Such was human perception, he supposed, only able to see the beauty in things crafted by human hands. Wait... what was he thinking? Of course things crafted by human hands were more beautiful. Beauty created from beauty, intelligence created from intelligence, such was the way of the human race, such was the way of life.

Kozai picked up the orange-sized golden sphere, the improbability drive. In response to his chakra, it began to glow, ready to run and make the village, for one instant, omnipresent. Kozai wouldn't activate it, he wasn't ready to move the village again. But this.... it was forbidden power. No one had ever moved a village as far as he had. No one had dared mess with time and space on this scale. And he was absolutely sure that no one ever, in the history of the most serendipitous discoveries, had discovered a great machine with the wonderful beverage called coffee.

Kozai put the sphere back in its old drawer, where it would be hidden from prying eyes. He walked downstairs and into the map room. He touched the spot where Iwagakure was on the map. In the Northwest part of the continent.... hehehe.... Soon... it would all be his. Shadow began to spread, moving first to the south, then to the west, spreading faster and faster all around the world. The globe was soon covered in darkness. Kozai picked up the round sphere in both hands and stared at it, gloating at his own, immensely great ambitions. He would only be satisfied when it was his.

However, he stopped, and the grin evaporated from his face. What was this? KONOHAGAKURE WAS THE ONLY VILLAGE NOT CONSUMED BY DARKENSS??? NO.... that couldn't be. He dashed the sphere on the ground, and roared with fury and rage and ambition. How could this be? Impossible! He calmed himself and placed his hand on Konoha. That place... was a place of light. And in the light, bugs flocked to the source to flee from the darkness. Kozai grinned. Flee, insects, flee. In time, they would go the light, which they thought would save them, but it would merely burn them to death with its heat.

The darkness would save the insects... it didn't consume, or destroy. It merely... existed. It spread, across rooms, inside closed containers... and inside people's hearts. It sat there, like a heavy weight, and corrupted. Yes... shadow corrupted. It made people do evil things through fear, though ambition, through insanity, and through sheer pressure. Darkness was the ultimate force in the world, and Kozai was its master. With it... he would take every inch of land as his own, even if he had to drive out all truth, brightness, and purity from his soul.

Kozai had already begun that process in the creation of his eldest and first, Hanako. She was a good-natured girl, and regardless, was still completely subservient to him. He grinned. Only a mind like his could have conceived of such a wonderful form from the cells of such a hideous man. In the Black City, no less. Kozai wondered what kind of a place it really was. Was it the foundation for the future? Was it merely a hideout for criminals? Or was it a mixture of both? He wouldn't be surprised if it was.

Now, all that remained was to achieve absolute impenetrability of defense. With that, he would be able to crush anyone in his path simply by rolling them over. It was like the juggernaut of old tribal sacrifices. Simply roll them over, and all that remained was the victim's flattened, crushed body. Kozai wondered if he should rebuild one of those things and upgrade it... it would definitely help, if not for nothing more than simple ornamentation purposes. An enormous juggernaut would further impress upon outsiders the image of Iwagakure as the dark demon village, ruled, assumable, by the Devil himself, come forth from hell to wreak havoc on the world.

He looked at himself in a mirror. How convenient. He didn't look too much like a demon... but then he turned himself into a whirling vortex of shadow, and there.... there was the demon. Oh, how horrible! But yet... how splendid. Such an aura of absolute power. Kozai turned back into his physical self, satisfied with his own level power power... no. He would never be satisfied. He had to become even better than how he was now, but he didn't know how.

Well, he had to had to make his own shadow more powerful first, but then what after that? He would already be master of all darkness, but he knew he wanted to be the pinnacle of supremacy. He spread his arms, and darkness spread from his own shadow throughout the room. It crawled over the furniture, and up the walls, finally spreading to the ceiling and over the lightbulbs. "Darkness! REVEAL!" In that moment, as the darkness retreated to reveal the light once more, Kozai saw it. His own reflection... with his eyes. He had to reach the next level, the greatest level.... and he had to become more adept with his ocular prowess. Yes... but how? He had to kill someone who he loved dearly.

Who might that be? Hmm... he could try and kill Hanako, but he hadn't spent enough time with her yet. Perhaps if he spent more time with her.... no. That would take far too long. He was impatient now, impatient and waiting for power. He walked out of the room and down into the boiler room in the basement. It was nice and dark down here, and Kozai could easily meld with the shadows.

MMph. NO. This was not the place to be. Kozai needed to take a break from thinking, he needed to sleep. But there was one last thing he had to do before he was able to rest. He had to deal with something that had been brought to his attention previously. That paperwork, that was what it was. He teleported back up to his office through the shadows in his sewer system. He felt the water running in some of the other pipes, and remembered that his mother was still there in the bathtub. Hmm.... she was very close to him, and the feeling was reciprocated.

As Kozai arrived in his office, he re-materialized. He sat down at his desk, and picked up a file. This one said "power outages". Hmm... what was this? Apparently, it corresponded with a certain location in his probability drive. So that meant that the probability of getting to that certain spot in the world, corresponded with the probability that at a certain point in time, the power would go out in that part of the village. How interesting. Factoring said probability into the electrical infrastructure, and the state of the power system, yielded the most interesting results from Iwa that he had seen in a while.

Because of the probability, he was not able to derive pleasant conclusions, but he was able to derive useful data on the current village status. He immediately filled out paperwork, approving the release of worker teams to improve the infrastructure, and help out the power grid. Hmm.... now, what was next? Kozai was getting bored very quickly with the paperwork. One more, and he would be done for the night. Whoof! He was looking forward to a good night's rest before getting up and at 'em again. Hey-ho. What a life as kage. He would really have to take a rest soon.

Kozai sat back down in his comfortable office chair. As he did, darkness spread across it, and turned the chair a matte black. Ah, now that was comfort. A chair that could double as a weapon and a seat at once. How comfortable. Kozai mind began to wander again. Ergonomics was the study of comfortable seating, positions, and furniture.... ARGH. Get back on track, man. Kozai turned back to the paperwork at hand and picked up a sheet that read "opera next week". OOh, he loved operas. He looked at it, and found that it was a modern opera (or at least relatively so). He had heard this one, or at least good parts of it before, and resolved to go see it with his mother, if he could. He wondered if she liked opera. Oh, if she didn't, he would be disappointed, and maybe even angry. He was a little angry with her already. She loved Yukio Inuzuka more than him. Was he too, not a kind, loving leader?

No.... he wasn't. But that was why he was a good leader. The only thing the common, idiotic human mind understood was fear. Fear and control. He was there, as kage of Iwagakure, to establish that fear and control in the lives of others. He stretched forth his hand, and a dart of shadow pinned the notice to his personal notice board. Ah, opera... how it did intrude into his business life. Well, that didn't technically count as paperwork, so he went on to the last one. Ah, how fascinating! This was an astronomical report that he had been wanting to look at for quite some time now. Ah, so such and such a celestial body was going to be aligned at such and such a time and place....  

Hmm..... interesting. Of course, cosmic alignments in relation to fortune and astrology meant nothing to Kozai, as that was mere superstition. He didn't believe in such things, and no rational man should. That was mere wives talk, and Kozai wanted no part of that. However, this was a much more professional report, and Kozai liked it quite a bit. So, it looked like Mars would be in the sky tonight, for all the interested stargazers who were out there. He went outside on the balcony, and gazed up at the stars, sharingan activated.

Oh, what a marvelous sight! There was the moon, high in the sky, and Mars, hanging distantly in the air. Oh, how fabulous! Kozai wondered if someday, he would be able to settle a colony on every rock in space for Iwagakure. Could he potentially rule the universe? Perhaps.... sooner or later. He already had the means of transport, and protection from space debris. All he needed now was life support. Hmm... pure oxygen wouldn't do, and there was little chance of him retrieving some from Earth. He would have to think about it, and implement some test systems in vacuums.

Hmm.... enough of stargazing. Kozai went inside and locked up for the night. He slept in a room right above the bathroom below, where he could still sense his Oka-san. What was she doing in there? Hmmm.... maybe she was old and senile, and took a long time regardless. He had no problem with that. After all, old age would consume them all eventually. Kozai needed to find a way around that. Hmm.... but how would one counter the greatest and most disrupting influence on human life ever to exist? Kozai sat down and pondered this. Ninjutsu, that was almost always the answer. With the nuances of chakra, he could turn himself into an eternal god.

Oh, how marvelous that would be! To live forever, and never have to worry about old age destroying your mind and body. Kozai pondered on the consequences as well. Of course, he would have to design the mechanism so that way he would be able to choose a time that he would die. After all, it didn't pay to have no choice over one's death. Kozai frowned on people who did not appreciate death. As a great poet once said, "all things MUST die". Kozai laughed, how true. It wasn't just because that was the natural order of things (which in some cases, it was), it was because in the passing of mortal things came the time for the blooming of new things. Ah, how deep. Kozai loved thinking such thoughts. They made him feel peaceful and bubbly inside.

However... shadow was eternal. And because of that, Kozai must be eternal, because he was shadow. No... not just shadow. Shadow itself was inferior. HE WAS DARKNESS. And as such, he must corrupt, he must subvert, he must leave his tough on everything and everyone. Thus, for the sake of the world, and for the sake of darkness, he must live on, forever burdened by his own suffering and amorality. Yes... for the sake of everything. But most of all... FOR HIMSELF. That was what he existed for in this world, he was there for him, for himself, and no one else. His daughters were mere tools, chess pieces to be moved on a board.

Kozai got into his bed, and kept reading the report. Whoff, it had been a long day. He had not spend much time with his mother.... but then again.... did he really care?

He smiled. His mother's time was over. For the new generation to begin, for the old to bud into the new.... she must... be... exterminated. Heh! It was time to begin. He fell asleep, after telling his shadows to perform a specific task. He set a spider of shadow on his desk, and fell asleep, slipping quietly into the land of dreams. Oh, and what dreams they were! He saw, as if outside of himself, (which was very interesting), him, walking through a garden in Iwagakure. He looked worried, and kept glancing up at the sun for some reason.

The view shifted, and Kozai saw "the mistake" in Konoha. She was still alive! Hmph. She was hunched up in a chair, and crying. Hmph, well, it was just a dream... the kid was probably dead by now... or so he hoped. He didn't want her leaking his secrets to the world. After all, he just needed some time to get things moving. He didn't want people figuring out that he was trying to colonize the stars, or the moon, or anything. What was in his mind would stay in his mind. What he had... he was obsessed with keeping.

Kozai tossed and turned in bed. Meanwhile, the spider turned into a liquid shadow and made its way into the sewer system, and slithered into the pipe that led to the bathroom.

The dream continued. He was now on top of the kage palace, making a speech to.... ninjas? People? He couldn't tell, the scene was passing too quickly, it was too blurry! Ugh, he had to get on to the next scene. What.... what was this? He was standing in the middle of the wreckage of some village... dead bodies were all around him. He heard something, a gasp, behind him! Heh.... a survivor. He grabbed the survivor and turned around to see who it was....

Then, the screams woke him up. They were real screams. OKA-SAN!

TASK COMPLETE.

Kozai went down to the bathroom. All that was left of his Oka-san would be shreds of flesh and a few shards of bone, along with bloody bathwater.

Kozai got rid of the mess, and went back to his room. He sat down on the bed, and cried a single tear for his beloved Oka-san. He had loved her so much, that he had done what was best for her, and retired her safely.

No.... in his own ambition, he had murdered her.

"Oka-san.... I swear... by my power as Tsuchikage, your death will not go to waste." He walked out on the balcony, where he inclined his head, silent for a few seconds, respecting the woman who had raised him, who had given him life..... and now, who had had killed mercilessly. When he opened his eyes, they burned. They burned with power.  

[TWC 9020, my wc 7480, so 59 xp, Mangekyou Sharingan]

I want this eye pattern:

Wtf?? Ah, forget it.

Unless another mod sees anything...