Resonance

[ShinobiTruth]

Ookuri’s first day at the Academy had been a day filled to the brim with activities and paperwork. Moving into his dormitory room, filling out his emergency contacts and beneficiary forms, checking in his armaments with the dorm overseers... He was thankful that he’d had a much larger amount of experience with filling out paperwork than other genin his age; without the prior exposure due to all of his mission failures and training sessions, he likely would have felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of red tape he’d had to go through. It was with a content sigh that he took a moment to sit down on his bed to reflect.

It still felt unreal to Ookuri that he was here. It seemed like an eternity ago that he’d had his fateful encounter with the reigning Raikage, Nakajima Hayate, and had his entire life flipped upside down. That long talk at the restaurant, the brief but impactful journey to the Academy with him... He’d had to move so quickly, with such urgency, that he hadn’t had the time to reflect on all that had transpired, the events that had joined together to bring him here. And it was during that reflection that he recalled the strange happenstance that had occurred in class.

Yasu’s face came to mind, the sense of understanding in her eyes as strong now as the moment it happened. She obviously had no way of knowing for certain. No one did. But something about her granted insight into the constant war Ookuri waged inside his mind, the struggle against the limits of his body. He’d said they’d talk later, but he’d not had the chance to even ask here which dorm building she was staying in. Then again, perhaps it was better that he didn’t. That would likely be awkward having him show up at her room right out of the blue.

The beast’s face flashed through his mind’s eye, the seventh episode this day. It didn’t last as long as it had in the classroom, but the intensity was the same. Perhaps a little fresh air was in order.

Stepping out of his dorm and locking the door behind him, Ookuri exited the building and descended the stairs to the courtyard. Finding an isolated corner, he sat down on a bench, overlooking the mountain scape as the evening sky was beginning to give way to the stars. He had the weight of hope on his shoulders now. Ookuri felt both honored and burdened by the privilege he had to simply be here. He could not afford to fail here. He could not betray the hope that Hayate had charged him with carrying.

[Willoria]

Some might have hated the arrangement that Kenshin Yasu found herself in, but honestly she loved it. Every morning she traveled to the academy very early, and once classes were done for the day she had the trek home. Ieyasu helped her make it in fairly record time though the journey still took awhile and felt tedious. On days like this her time at home was spent sleeping, with no time for training or her mother's lessons accept for days off. But she loved it simply for the break she had from her mother's insanity, not to mention her mother didn't have control over her diet here.

During a break in classes the girl took to wandering hallways and buildings, she did technically have an assigned room but she didn't sleep there, her role as host to Konegu meant she was a risk that had to be guarded, watched, and definitely not left to sleep in large dorms where she might be a danger to others should something go wrong. She had briefly found herself upset by this, but no longer.

Before long that day her wanderings found her in a courtyard, enjoying the combination of sunlight and cool air until she felt a prodding in the back of her mind. 'I keep telling you to talk to him... there is something else there... can't you feel it?'

"What? Who?" Yasu stopped suddenly and blinked, glancing around before she realized what Konegu was trying to point out to her. She turned and saw Ookurikara on a nearby bench and smiled, ignoring the proddings of the spirit yet approaching the boy from her class. "Hey."

[ShinobiTruth]

Ookuri’s eyes were fixed on the sky, the pain from the episode subsiding. The chance to simply sit and be in the moment was cathartic. He had to take every moment like this he could. He suspected that his education and training at this academy would be like nothing he’d ever experienced, even up until now.

It was during this meditation that a familiar, gentle voice broke the silence. Yasu’s soft features entered his line of sight, and his eyes brightened in recognition, the first (and so far only) person to treat him with any level of compassion here. He knew he knew practically no one anyways, but he sensed that he would not meet many others as natural considerate as her. ”Hi,” he replied, his voice carrying a gentle sense of admiration. ”Did you get everything squared away for class tomorrow?”

Ookuri figured he wouldn’t force the topic if she didn’t want to force it. For now, simply being a good person and willing friend would be enough.

[Willoria]

"Yeah I guess." Yasu replied, biting back the rest of what she had wanted to say. She was going to make a comment about having to get up really early and get home late, but since that wasn't the norm for any of the other students she realized Ieyasu might have popped up long enough to smack her upside the head for it. She wasn't supposed to reveal the spirit the resided within her, no matter how sick she was of keeping the secret for now, but it seemed like such a special arrangement might give it away somehow.

The girl sighed and moved to sit beside Ookuri on the bench, looking up at the sky briefly before looking over at him. "So... are you okay?" she asked rather suddenly, tilting her head. "During our first class with Sensei Roku, I saw you get this look a couple times, like you weren't really there. I get it sometimes too but... I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

'Could I sound anymore creepy cryptic? Ugh.'

'Just out with it, child. Ask him what spirit resides in him. It doesn't feel familiar, but it is most certainly there.'

'Oh shut up. If you don't recognize it then it isn't a genma, and if it isn't a genma then its... just stop trying to make me pry into his life. Seriously.'

[ShinobiTruth]

Ookuri sighed, both grateful and apprehensive of the conversation he was about to have. He couldn't recount the number of times he'd tried to tell people before about the visions, the nightmares, the flashes, the physical pain he felt whenever he saw that blasted creature in his mind's eye. Perhaps he'd made a mistake and projected his desired perception onto her show of concern? There was really only one way to find out. "...When you asked me if I was okay, it wasn't just the same sort of pity or sympathy I've gotten from everyone else. You spoke with understanding in your eyes," he said, more quietly, clasping his hands together nervously. How much further was he really willing to go with this admission of his?

He had to make certain first. Perhaps he was being overly cautious, but he needed to be absolutely sure.

Turning to her, he posed a question. "You said you have these experiences, too. When you have those moments yourself, do they... Do they hurt for you?" he asked. He wouldn't look at her directly, as he felt that right now, his eyes might be a little bit too intense or intimidating for her to handle. For now, he would simply await her answer. He was already giving a little bit more context with just that question alone. If it were only images, he'd be able to handle it, more or less. But the only way he could describe it was a great pressure building up from within him, threatening to explode. He wasn't certain if that's what a seizure or severe migraine felt like, but he honestly couldn't find a way to properly describe the sensation.

[Willoria]

Yasu looked at him a moment, but shook her head. "No." she admitted. "I..." her words trailed off briefly as she glanced around a moment. "I mean sometimes its like I'm really not there, I'm somewhere else, talking to someone else. But no it doesn't normally hurt." she admitted, tilting her head as she tried to think of how she could explain it to him. 'I can't even tell him enough of the truth to really tell him... how I wound up in the hospital after the sealing, they told me I almost died but all I remember was talking to you in that port. Or the time I demanded your power to help Ieyasu and the handlers restrained me... how much pain I felt then...' Her eyes shifted to the ground as she tried to think of a way to say it, and she couldn't find it.

'Ridiculous, just say it then, child. It is important you stay safe though, find out what is in him first if you can.'

"It's hard to explain..." Yasu finally managed, turning to look at Ookuri again, her eyes looking him over as if searching for an answer, or a sign. 'I have spikes on my elbows, shouldn't he have something like that? Something obvious?' She swallowed hard as she thought it over before suddenly asking, "What do you see in those flashes? Does it speak to you?"

'Not necessarily, his spirit is probably lesser than yours, doesn't mean he'll show any obvious signs, child. Perhaps this was a bad idea, simply tell your would-be murderer and let him handle this then. Keeping you safe is more important than knowing his secret this moment.'

[ShinobiTruth]

Ookuri's sharp intuition trained him on the reserved nature, the hesitation in her response. It made sense. Just as he was anxious to reveal the full details to her, she had a similar reservation. This was to be expected. He surmised that whatever it was, perhaps it had something to do with the admittedly intriguing spikes on her elbows. But Ookuri would not do something as cruel as force her to say everything. The fact that she felt okay with sharing anything at all was a show of confidence he deeply appreciated. "I completely understand if you can't share everything. I know that's asking a lot, especially for someone you've only known for less than a day," he reassured her, a slight, relaxed smile on his face. "Thank you for helping me not feel so alone about it."

His face darkened a bit as he tried to find the best words to describe his own chains. "It... It doesn't speak to me, which honestly makes it worse. Maybe if it could talk, it would explain its reason for tormenting me," Ookuri explained. "It doesn't talk... but it hurts me. It's been with me, ever since birth. Despite hundreds of medical exams, doctors have never been able to find a cause. I barely can remember certain parts of my childhood, but I have never forgotten its face. I can't help but wonder if it's why I look so strange compared to the rest of my clan. It used to merely be a pair of glowing, impossibly ancient eyes amidst darkness blacker than the deepest shadows. It used to spare my waking hours. But as I grew, as I started my pre-academy training... things got worse."

Softly tapping his temple, Ookuri continued. "I eventually started getting flashes of its face during the day. They didn't hurt at the time, but they took a hold of my senses so strongly that, just for a moment, I felt like I was outside of my body. I couldn't focus. During the flashes, I couldn't even control my chakra. And as I've grown, they've only gotten more frequent. It's not uncommon to have the flashes occur several times a day now, and each time, my chakra will just... vanish. It's there, but it's not. Despite all of that, the sight never changed. It was always those same, impossibly old, impossible to know eyes glowing brightly among a sea of flowing onyx. But today was different."

He looked down at his hands as he let the words simply flow. "Today, I saw more of its face for the first time. It looked like a black beast of some sort, bigger than anything I've ever seen... and it wasn't just for a split moment. It held me captive, for a few seconds, and what used to be momentarily pangs of pain changed into... a powerful force trying to rip my mind apart. When you asked me if I was okay... I'd just regained my senses... I didn't tell you then, but the pain was almost beyond words."

Finishing his explanation, Ookuri exhaled. This was it. Would she run from him? Run from the strange boy and his hallucinations? He wouldn't blame her if she did. Who could accept such a story?

[Willoria]

Yasu sat quietly as Ookuri went on to explain everything to her, her eyes fixed on him though as he wrapped things up she glanced around, the spirit in her mind all of a sudden nagging at her. 'What is it?'

'Could be a spirit, or something similar... sounds as if he fights against it... intriguing.'

Yasu blinked. 'Spirit... so he would be sensitive to your power right?' Yasu didn't receive a verbal answer, but it was as if she could feel the spirit within her nodding and a sudden idea came to her mind. Yasu sprang up to her feet and glanced around, certain her guardians weren't around, and neither was anyone else. "I think I need to show you something..." she told him, taking a deep and shaking breath as she focused her chakra, and reached for her spirit. Slowly red chakra began to pulse from her, and the red spikes in her elbows shifted briefly, more of them beginning to slide out of her flesh up the backs of her arms and up her back as well. All around her the aura of her genma seemed to flicker, but that she seemed to try and keep at bay. As she opened her eyes all color began to drain from her skin and suddenly she was paler as she looked at him, shaking as she silently hoped none of this scared him yet.

After all, there was more.

Yasu held out a hand for Ookuri to take. "Trust me." she told him quietly, waiting for him to take it. She had never met someone sensitive to spirits before, this was her first time and so she hadn't quiet expected the shift. Normally for her it was as if she were suddenly there, but this time it was like something pulled her by her navel and in a swirl of motion she was suddenly there, standing on the beach. The chill of the icy air swept over her and the girl smiled, turning to see Ookuri standing beside her. "I can speak more freely here, and explain things more." she told him. "What I have in me is a spirit that holds great power, this place is his, its where I go to see him. And I think you have one in you too."

[ShinobiTruth]

Of all of the responses he had been expected, he had to admit that he hadn't been anticipating this. His brow furrowed slightly, confused as she checked their surroundings. Why would she need to do that? It wasn't like there-

Something in his mind clicked when she told him she'd something to show him. Were... were they being watched? By whom? And more importantly, why? As the questions rose in his mind, they were almost just as quickly quashed by the sudden display of unearthly power, the flicker of red chakra and the shifting changes that occurred with the curious red spikes on her elbows. Though he knew he didn't have the full story yet, he was starting to understand why she understood him so well.

She was different, too, much more so than him. And though to some, the changes Yasu underwent would be unsettling, Ookuri couldn't help but find them strangely... fascinating.

Even before he started reaching out his hand, he could notice her shaking. Was this transformation of hers straining her? Was she in pain? He fervently hoped she wasn't hurting herself for his sake. The tiniest tinge of uncertainty stayed his hand for a few brief moments before he gently took hold of her hands, his fingers softly clasping around hers. In a blindingly fast motion, his mind was ripped to an entirely new reality, but though he stumbled, he did not let go of her hands. A sudden chill struck his skin, and he blinked repeatedly as his disoriented mind suddenly realized that they were not in the village anymore. Rather... they were in another place entirely. His eyes wide with astonishment, Ookuri looked around. What... what was this? Had they been teleported by some jutsu? Did such a jutsu even exist? He wondered if it was an illusion, but everything felt so real.

There was apprehension, yes, a struggle to fully understand, but there was no fear in his eyes. And as Yasu's words brought her focus back to her, he slowly pieced things together. This... This was so intensely personal, for her to show him this place, where she communed with this spirit. He had so many questions for her, so many things he wanted to ask... but they were not the first words that came from his mouth.

"You have my word... Upon my life, not a soul will know," he promised as he calmed his breathing. He didn't even control the words as they came out. They simply... felt right to say. He'd leave this world a corpse before he left it a traitor to this young girl's trust.

[Willoria]

Yasu dropped her hands, but kept a hold of one of his in her right. She smiled at his promise, though it was a bit of a sad smile. "A couple months ago, Raikage Nakajima came to me and my family. He talked to me about my duties as a shinobi, protecting my village, and that I could have a chance to do more, to be stronger." she began to tell him, taking a deep breath and sighing. "It was barely a day later that I was taken and this spirit sealed inside of me." With her free hand she lifted her sweater and the shirt underneath slightly, showing the edges of the seal on her pale flesh of her stomach. "They call it a Genma." she added, letting her shirt and sweater back down to cover herself. "His name is Konegu no Okigenma, or the Phantom Beast of Hell. I just call him Konegu for short usually." she continued, turning towards the inner part of the beach and keeping a hold of Ookuri's hand as she led him along.

The beach was riddled with buildings and shacks. There was a dock with wooden ships and shields, the buildings were on the shore and also on the grass and Yasu led Ookuri between buildings on a path, past an empty market stall or two, and towards a large building in the middle. "Because he is in me, I can use his power. The change you saw before we came here, that is my first form and grants me small access to what he can do. I'm told I'll have more forms, but honestly gaining them sucks. It's pain the first time, the second comes easier." She sighed and paused at the doors of the building, turning to look at Ookuri directly. "The first time I came here was the night I was sealed. I don't remember pain, or even anything going wrong, but I woke up in a hospital with a shinobi at my bedside who told me that I actually died during the sealing. They used Iijutsu to keep me alive to finish their work, and by some stroke of luck I survived."

[ShinobiTruth]

The sadness in her eyes could not hide behind the smile that stood in front of them. Ookuri was drawn, laser-focused, on every word that next passed between Yasu’s lips, even as the kunoichi led him through her inner world with her gentle, delicate hand clasped onto his. Even as she first began divulging her story, Ookuri realized why she’d decided to trust him. The commission from Hayate-sama (which admittedly shifted his perception of the man, ever so slightly), the nature of the Genma sealed inside of her, the fact that like him, she suffered pain... and pain likely far worse than anything he’d experienced thus far... Everything just was one more thing that set herself apart from those around her. And considering she’d taken the precaution of making sure they weren’t followed or being watched and drawing Ookuri into her inner world, he suspected that she wasn’t really given the authority to share this information herself.

Ookuri couldn’t help but feel mad. Mad for her, specifically. He doubted that Hayate-sama, with how he’d been so compassionate as to rescue him from his own despair, would have ever done such a thing if he’d had any other choice... but Ookuri would never have wished even what he suffered on anyone, even if this spirit, if it was such, had power that could be harnessed. She’d been through all of that and more, and not only did it almost kill her, but she’d also been bound to secrecy. The injustice of it all was difficult to bear.

Yet, Ookuri knew that to project his opinions was ignorant and selfish. He kept his words focused on the present. ”You said in this world, you can see the Genma. I take it this Konegu controls who sees him in here? And what about me makes you think there’s a spirit in me, too?” Ookuri posited, doing his best to keep his feelings of indignation for the girl’s sake to himself.

[Willoria]

Yasu gave Ookuri a sad smile as he asked how she was sure. "If you didn't have one, I couldn't have brought you here." she told him rather simply. "Interacting with me, with my genma and my mindscape," she began, motioning to the world around them. "It requires something called Tenkujutsu. I know you don't have access to it because no one of our rank really can, its too complicated and requires too much. Our minds are here but in reality? You're still sitting on that bench and I'm standing in front of you. I didn't use jutsu to bring you here, I used my form and you were sensitive to the rest and so I was able to pull you in here. This isn't supposed to be possible, my guardian, the shinobi who teaches me all this, doesn't even have access to this. He can't see this even with Tenkujutsu." she did her best to explain all of it before pulling him by the hand again and going to the doors of the large building, pushing them open.

Opening the doors revealed the great hall, the tables on either side and fire in the center. All around them within the building however, red stone much like the spikes up Yasu's arms pushed through the ground and broke through different parts of the decor. Yasu led him around these and towards the end where the two thrones stood up on a three step dais. Before the thrones she stopped, the red stone pushing up through them as well, shadowing the entire room in an eerie red light as she turned to look at Ookuri again. "This is where I usually speak to him, though I haven't seen a face yet. He likes to appear like people I know still, so I haven't seen what he really looks like. But he's the one who told me what you are, because he's the one who can feel it."

"Welcome to my world, child."

Yasu turned and looked as a man stepped out from behind the divider behind the two thrones, a man who looked almost exactly like Yasu and Ookuri's Sensei, Ieyasu aka Roku. Except for the fact that his eyes were glowing red. Yasu herself rolled her eyes at the choice of form, but said nothing.

[ShinobiTruth]

Each time he spotted the sadness behind Yasu's smile, the more frustrated Ookuri became with Yasu's circumstances. It was clear that this was no gift for her, either. It was a burden, one she'd likely only had a marginal choice in carrying, if at all... much like himself. The only good that came of this was that, probably for the first time in his life, he didn't feel alone. And though it was presumptuous to think so, Ookuri hoped that through this moment, she might feel the same.

As Yasu explained further, more and more pieces continued to fall into place. So, the reason for all of his suffering was finally uncovered: a spirit. It was the reason he could even be here, walking with her, in this strangely beautiful place. He filed away the information about Tenkujutsu for later research. He would certainly be investigating that school of jutsu further, both for himself and for Yasu's sake. Though the full extent of this connection would need to be explored further, it seemed that those who had spirits inside of them could somehow connect? He wondered if it was only spirits of a certain level that could do this. Despite all of this revelation, despite everything that was transpiring, however, his own spirit remained silent. It raised more questions for him to meditate on. What was the spirit's name? Why had it cursed him? What was its purpose? The answers that were given gave birth to more questions, even as he followed Yasu's lead into one of the buildings, a large hall of sorts. He still marveled at how real everything seemed.

Ookuri nodded in understanding at Yasu's note of this hall being where she would most often commune with the Genma before a third voice, one chilling and ancient, broke the conversation between the two. Ookuri's eyes locked on to Ieyasu-no, wait, it wasn't. This was the Genma, Konegu, taking the form of someone who he suspected Ookuri would recognize. Gripping Yasu's hand a little more tightly, he mustered his courage to speak. "Hello... It's a very lovely place you've got here," he offered, uncertain how to speak with a spirit in general. It wasn't like he'd had any chance to practice before.

[Willoria]

As Ookuri gripped her hand tightly, Yasu gave his hand a squeeze meant to reassure him. "Sensei Roku, Ieyasu, is the shinobi guardian I mentioned to you... honestly he'd be pissed if he knew I was showing you all this.. and Konegu likes to be a bit ironic." she said, explaining to him what she assumed was a question he probably wanted to ask as the spirit appeared to look like their Sensei. She turned and gave him a small smile. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone yet, they say I'm not strong enough for others to know yet but... you're right. I understood what I saw you go through in class and I wanted you to know you aren't alone."

"Interesting choice, bringing him here." Konegu spoke, crossing every pair of arms over his chest and abdomen as he did so. "I don't know if I've seen another of my hosts do so before..." But the smile on his face turned to a grin of dark origins as he turned his glowing red eyes away from Ookuri and to Yasu herself. "I don't think you were at all ready for it." he told her.

Yasu turned her gaze from Ookuri and gave Konegu a strange look. "What are you talking about?"

At first Konegu simply grinned, even as small spikes began to rise from the skin of her cheeks, angling back towards her back and her skin paled further. "Pushing emotional and physical limits causes you to unlock forms, remember? Did you think showing your greatest secret to a boy you barely know wouldn't push those limits? Even more you brought him to a place you aren't supposed to be able to... what affect did you think it would have?"

Yasu blinked a moment, blood beginning to trickle down her face from the corners of her eyes.

[ShinobiTruth]

Ookuri was quickly discerning that this spirit, this Genma, Konegu, was not a benevolent one.

It was difficult to know what to do. They barely knew each other, yet due to their shared suffering alone, Ookuri had a great desire to help and protect his new friend Yasu. Thus, Ookuri found himself instinctively pulling Yasu just a bit closer to himself as Konegu’s sinister eyes set upon her. Ookuri did not have the privilege of knowledge beforehand, and when Konegu spoke of forms, he searched his recent memories before remembering how Yasu had looked before they’d touched hands in the real world.

He looked to her, and it was in the midst of the onset of Yasu’s agony that he understood. New forms required a catalyst, and his selfish imposition was being used to cause his new friend even more pain.

A mix of anger and profound anxiety on his face, realizing that he was part of the cause of this, Ookuri turned to the Genma. ”Konegu! Eject new from this place, please! I won’t be the cause of my friend’s pain,” he pleaded, ready to catch Yasu should she threaten to fall.

[Willoria]

"Kekekeke... just give her a minute, child." Konegu told them both, watching carefully as the world around them began to waver.

Just as it was Yasu's actions and will that held them in the mindscape, so it was that when she started to lose control, everything around them seemed to waver and a moment later both were pulled into the real world once more. Yasu might have felt sick, if she wasn't preoccupied with the new power and transformation. She could feel the pavement under her feet and realized that Ookuri was back on the bench, and she in front of him. She suddenly yanked her hands from his and took several steps back. "Stay back!" she warned him. "Don't touch me!" The aura of the Hell Genma surrounded her, red chakra pulsed as the spikes on her cheeks had appeared even here, and blood ran down her face from her eyes. Panicking she stepped further back from him. "No no no..." she whimpered, dropping to her knees as she tried to catch her breath, closeing her eyes.

"Take it back! Stop!" Her yells were screams and screeches now, darkness started to crowd in on her vision even as she listed to the side, finally passing out entirely.

[ShinobiTruth]

Ookuri felt the world around him shift and rend asunder, like being inside of a book being ripped in half. Almost as quickly as they had been taken into her inner world, they were thrown out of it, and Ookuri’s eyes opened to the same transformation he’d seen transpiring inside. His first instinct was to draw her close, but her quick hands pushed her away from him the moment before the world before them erupted into chaos.

In all other contexts, Ookuri would have run from such a sight, and he had to admit that he was scared. But he knew the person in the middle of all that, someone who’d cared enough to make sure a nobody like him was okay. She was not the villain here. She didn’t deserve to have to suffer alone, and he would not run.

As the Genma’s chakra erupted outward, Ookuri struggled with everything he had to not be pushed back. Taking a single step forward at a time, he could feel the power of the spirit as it poured out from Yasu as he inched closer. Reaching out to grab her, his hand came into contact with a corrosive chakra that burned his skin. He flinched and pulled his hand back, but in his frustration, he pushed it, full force, into the chakra cloak, and he bowled in fury as he pushed through the pain. Eventually, moments before she passed out, his hand grabbed her wrist, refusing to let go even as his skin peeled and burned off his hand. Eventually, her aura would die down, and Ookuri would rush her to the infirmary, carrying her in his arms.

Ookuri hadn’t ever had a friend before, and he’d promised himself that when he found his first, he would never abandon them. This searing pain, the smoke and skin rising from his arm, were his conviction in action.