Zenith - Battle of Fates

Zenith

When fates collide and immense powers are unlocked, what chance do 2 men have of following their normal lives?


The long shadow of the man once known as Hara lurked behind the tree line. Whomever saw him now wouldn't have recognized him. As the demon took over him, his body was longer, slimmer, with a thick black fur covering it and red tribal markings decorating his chest and arms. Six powerful and long tails were sticking out of his back, moving like snakes or, as some may put it, like they have a mind of their own. Hara sniffed the air, sensing the smell of fresh blood. Jumping over rocks and trees, he got to the source of the smell: a killed deer, with blood dripping from its side. Hara approached the deer carefully, looking around and sniffing the air and ground.
No other smell than the one of blood. The man-demon started feasting on the deer, the blood of the deer making his red markings appear to glow.

Meanwhile, in the shadows, a male was waiting, seeing this grotesque scene of an animal eating. No, not an animal, for Hara is much more than just an animal. He is a demon, a being of pure hatred and destruction, as the name of the demon suggests: Metsubou. Hara wasn't like this, but the demon inside him was evolving, starting to take over. The demon already manifested 6 tails and it was said to have 10 tails.
The male placed his hand on the handle of a katana.
~There is no other way. This is how I can get close to him~ the man though as he jumped from his hiding place, making a swing with his blade towards the demon's neck. The sword hit Hara's neck, but with no visible damage, other than drawing his attention. A part of Hara's mind recognized the man, perhaps by smell or by his appearance: Makoto, his sensei. Or better said, his former sensei.
Hara roared, hitting his master's sword with his claws, sending it flying away. In the same moment, Makoto made a backflip jump, landing a few meters away from Hara.

~Keep in mind, Makoto. He is not your apprentice anymore. You have to stop him by all means~ Makoto tried telling himself, knowing deep down that there was only one way of ending this.
He jumped, attacking Hara with powerful jets of water spun from the ground. Hara deflected them with his tails and roared, jumping towards Makoto. They met in the air, exchanging punches and kicks. Makoto's punches seemed to have no effect on Hara's muscular body so he pushed him away with another powerful jet of water.

In his mind, Hara was in a room of some sort, looking at a dog-demon with 10 magnificent tails.
"Metsubou... I can sense that there is something wrong" Hara, the real Hara, said.
"Your power has grown several times, Hara, it's only natural to feel this way" the demon replied. "But there is more power, you know... more power than you have now."
"What do you mean? Isn't this the maximum of my powers? Being able to use you?" Hara asked, confused.
"In a sense of speaking, yes, this is the peak of your power. But there is more and all it takes is a word" the demon said, waving his tails around.
"What word?"
"My name. My true name, not the one you know right now."
"And... saying it will grant me maximum power and potential?"
The demon nodded, his blood-red eyes looking into Hara's hazel eyes.
"W... What is your name then?" Hara asked.
"You know it, Hara. Deep down, you know it" Metsubou said, coming close to Hara, wrapping his 10 tails around the boy.
Hara looked down. Yes, indeed he knew, but it was like a distant memory. He paused.

Makoto's attacks seemed to have no visible effect, just irritating Hara.
~So there is no choice~ Makoto thought, making some handsigns. His chakra glew black, surrounding him and projecting spikes on his back and blades on his fists. With increased speed and reflexes, Makoto attacked, making deep cuts into Hara's body. Hara roared as his blood was coloring the ground in a dark red. Makoto was so fast that not even Hara was able to see him.

"So what is it, kid? What is my name?" Metsubou asked Hara.
"Your name... your true birth name... is Toukai" Hara said, meeting Metsubou's gaze.
Metsubou nodded and smiled, as much as a dog face could smile. Then the room filled with light.

~Come on... one more shot and he'll be vulnerable~ Makoto thought, preparing for a final assault. But then Hara fell to his knees, his chakra glowing strong and slowly 4 more tails starting to form. His body increased in size, his eyes went pure red and his marking appeared to literally glow. With a mighty roar, Hara's body changed into Metsubou's ultimate form: a huge, black-furred demon dog with 10 tails and immense strength, both physical strength and inner strength.
After the painful transformation, Hara roared, the roar echoing across the valleys.
~It's... too late~ Makoto thought. ~No. I cannot let this happen. I read the scrolls and know what Metsubou is capable at full power. I cannot let it happen again.~ The Mizukage drew on his strength, making the dark chakra even more darker than before. He charged Hara at full speed, being almost invisible to the naked eye. Yet Hara was even faster. He caught Makoto's hand as it was about to hit his chest. The demon then sent his claw straight through Makoto's abdomen, making the male cough, yell in pain and spit blood.
But even like this... Makoto smirked. "Got you now... *cough* Hara" he said as he slammed a red crystal against Hara's chest. The dormant crystal started glowing and Hara roared in pain. The crystal was suppressing the demonic chakra, as it did the first time it was used. Hara's body started shrinking, his tails disappearing and his marking vanishing. Slowly he was becoming the man they all knew.

It was done. Hara woke from his self-induced coma and looked around. He saw the destruction around and the blood on the ground. But what frightened him the most was seeing his master on the ground, laying face down in a pool of blood. His eyes widened and ran towards his master, turning him face up. Makoto didn't move. He didn't even breathe. His body was motionless in the arms of his student.

~No... I did this? Did I kill him?~ Hara thought in terror, seeing how he was covered in blood as well. ~Sensei.... I'm sorry... You... you tried to stop me, didn't you?~ he asked mentally, seeing the red crystal in Makoto's hand.
~Sensei...~ Hara closed his eyes, a tear falling on Makoto's dark-blue cloak. He then tried to pick his master up, but the transformation and the pain was getting to him and he couldn't. His muscles gave up and he fell, laying on his back next to his master. Hara tried getting up... but that only ended up with him passing out.

As student and master laid on the ground, motionless, one alive and one dead, a female silhouette was watching from the shadows. Seeing them both on the ground, she chuckled.
"Well... now this is an interesting outcome" she said to herself, laughing again.