6 Feet Under

[Ace Trainer]

Indra had stripped his vest and shirt off, leaving nothing but his palazzo pants and shawl wrapped around his waist holding them in place. Sweat rolled down his back, his entire torso drenched as he breathed heavily. His bare feet pressed against the tile floor before he launched his body forward again, striking elbows with shinobi opposite of him. The dark room, illuminated only by the candles the lines the wide walls, echoed with each grunt and step. They would clash for a moment, exchanging a few blows before leaping back and sizing each other up as they determined their next move, only to lunge back at each other once more. While Indra appeared increasingly exhausted, his chest rising and falling at increasing intervals, his opponent seemed unphased, suggesting whoever this hooded figure was outclassed him by a fair degree.

The back and forth continued for several more minutes until Indra jumped backwards only to stumble several steps before falling. He made no effort to get back up, instead stretching out his legs and leaning back on one hand, continuing to breath heavily. "Tired?", his opponent asked him, slowly walking up and looking over the boy. The shinobi was dressed in full mission, a proper flak jacket, covered neck down in a form fitting suit, and wearing a mask that indicated he was part of some covert operations group - covert enough that he didn't even show his face to the Soul genma host. "Good", declining to give Indra a chance to answer, "At your stage, the soul genma will only make a path for you to communicate when it feels your emotionally or physically vulnerable. Remember, the beast wants nothing more to seize control of your body. Its listening now, it knows this is an attempt to draw it out. But it will take it as you become more and more worn down. You need to build these connections, the more your chakra intermingles with its on this deeper level, the more access to it's power you will obtain.", he instructed.

The figure would raise one hand, the candles around the room slowly extinguishing themselves one by one until only one was left. He'd walk over and pick up the candle, returning to Indra and placing it directly in front of him. "This room is meant to contain you in the event you lose control to the Genma. If that happens, we'll extract him from you so you're incentivized not to lose control. But focus, and go and meet the supposed god you have stored in your belly.", the last words came out with a bit of venom on them, representing the clear distaste the man had for the genma.

Indra nodded without a word, slowly catching his breath he'd sit upright, crossing his legs and taking a meditative stance. He kept his eyes trained on the candle in front of him, attempting to focus.

All of this was a bit much for him, if he was being honest. He hadn't seen his parents in several days, but they'd been off to handle some impotant business, and it seemed the village decided in their absence that now would be a good time to push him a little. He'd caught hushed conversations as he'd been guided through the Kazekage's tower every day, but this trainer he'd been assigned, who hadn't even given Indra a name let alone showed his face, didn't seem to leave Indra's side. Even when he was left 'alone' like this, Indra could still hear the whispers from the man's soul nearby. Indra wasn't sure if they were even aware he could do that, he'd played his genma abilities close to his chest so far, and the information they'd given him about previous hosts - albeit limited - hadn't mentioned any particular abilities like Indra's. When he was in the tower, everyone's souls sounded....agitated? If that was the right word. Not excited, but with the same level of energy as excitement with a bit of worry overlaid it. Of course the whispers of souls never revealed anything of value, but the energy that came from them was informative enough. He couldn't help but feel it was a product of his presence, like his very existence was putting people on edge. Was the soul genma, and consequently it's host, really seen with so much animosity? It did make him self conscious to a degree. The idea of being a genma host had been exciting, and he'd heard stories about them and the hosts, so he knew it was a great opportunity. But he knew the stories of the Soul genma too, the hosts it killed, the problems it had caused the village, and he was worried how much it would rub off on how people treated him.

Was the current experience an indication of the future to come? He really hoped not.

He continued to stare into the flame, not sure what he was supposed to focus on. He'd yet to convene with the soul genma, and he wasn't really sure how it was going to play out. He worried that it would end up being some sort of fist fight or something, but like against a ghost. Not exactly an experience he was looking forward to, it sounded creepy. The candle before him had melted a fair bit, so much that the small flame was starting to dim. How long had he been in here, lost in his own thoughts? Would that shinobi get angry with him if he hadn't figured out how to convene with the genma prior to the candle going out? Was it intentionally timed like this? That wasn't exactly fair, he was working with so little information. The flame continued to dim, until suddenly it went out.

No sooner did it go out did he feel the hairs on his neck stand up. And suddenly, a hand on his shoulder. As quickly as the flame went out, it would reignite, and immediately to Indra's right was a face, looking back at him. Indra would jump, leaping fully into the air and landing on his feet, facing off against another boy suddenly in the room.

"Hello boy." the voice whispered.

[Ace Trainer]

Indra took several steps back, his hands immediately going up to a defensive stance. Where did this boy come from? But slowly the realization dawned on him as the light from the flame illuminated half the boys face, the shadows dancing against his wiry frame. "You're uh...the genma, huh?", he asked cautiously. He quickly began to worry how the genma had escaped from inside of him, and why he looked human. He'd always thought it was some sort of gigantic beast. Instead what stood in front of him was a boy likely no older than himself, olive skin with a red undertone, short hair, and...mostly notably eye black just as Indra's own. The boy was dressed in normal shinobi clothes, which threw Indra off even more. Was this really the soul genma.

"At your service.", the beast whispered with a pleasant bow. It was hard to place it but there was something off about his appearance, the gaunt texture of his skin, the way his lips curled up, the slight points to his ears. All of it just was vaguely inhuman enough to make Indra feel deeply uncomfortable, "Its a pleasure to finally be face to face. Ah, this little chamber of theirs, how I missed it.", the genma began walking around the dark room, disappearing into the shadows. Indra squinted his eyes to try and penetrate the darkness, just barely able to make out the outline of the genma as it ran its hands against the wall, a sharp metallic sound resonating from it. "The previous host and I spent many an hour in this room becoming quite well acquainted, and I imagine you and I are in for a similar fate.", the whispers echoed through the room.

"I didn't realize you could just....come out of me like this.", Indra said, still trying to watch the beast through the darkness. If the genma could manifest like this, what was the purpose of the host at all? Why had he stayed inside him for this long if he could just...come out? Was there some sort of trick here. The boy in the darkness would just laugh, a childlike giggle echoing through the dark empty room. Indra couldn't help but shiver, "I'm supposed to be learning to control your power.", he forced out, deciding he'd rather try to take control of this situation than spend too much time with the genma. As soon as he said that a strange shriek would ring through the room and the genma would rocket out of the darkness appearing suddenly in Indra's face, his hands reaching for his neck.

"This isn't a power you can control.", he hissed. It was at this point Indra noticed the genma's hands for the first time. First, they were long - longer than what seemed natural - and clawed. Second, the nails were dirty and jagged, but sharpened to a point like a birds talon. Third, much like Indra's own fingers that had a red coloration to them, the genma's hands were completely red, and seemed to even be dripping to some degree. He stumbled backwards, falling on the ground again, and looking up at the the genma who was standing over him, it's head cocked to the side and it's eyes wide and locked in on him, "Scared?"

It took several steps back, before turning it's back on the boy on the ground, quietly humming a lullaby under it's breath as looked around the dark room, still illuminated by the single candle. Indra gritted his teeth, trying to sort out how to approach this matter - what exactly was to happen here. He listened to the lullaby, what a strange song for the beast to be humming at this moment. "If you've done this before, can you tell me what exactly to expect? How is this going to go down?", he had been told that the soul genma was overconfident and condescending, perhaps if he tried to appease to that he'd get more information out of it.

The Soul Genma continued to walk, slowly disappearing into the darkness once more. This time, the only indication Indra had for where the beast was was the sound of a slow drip, like water from a faucet. He'd noticed the small splotches of red on the ground by him, apparently from the genma's hands, was it blood? The genma gave no answer, the slow dripping continuing from the darkness, first continuing in front of him, then slowly moving to the left until it was behind Indra. "Expect? Well. The village will compel you to control me, and you will act like a little puppet and listen. You'll come here with your chest puffed, as every host does, acting like you're some grand miracle because you were chosen to host me, and that you will subjugate me like none others before you have managed.", he'd stop talking to let out a shrill laughter. "and the more you train, and use my power, and try to control me, the more my influence will seep into you. And soon enough, you little puppet, the puppeteer who controls you will stop being the village and will be me instead.". The dripping had stopped, Indra noticed it almost right away, not that he'd say anything about it. But when the genma paused in-between his sentences, the silence hung between them for what felt like an eternity. "I tell you boy you can expect to be nothing but a thrall for my will. And when that happens, and the village notices, they'll extract me from you and toss you carcass aside like the trash you are.", the genma spat from the darkness.

Indra frowned, he had no reason to believe the Soul Genma, but the words he were saying sounded remarkably true, like he'd be a fool to doubt them. He sighed, remaining sitting on the ground while he tried to process this. "Presuming what you say is true, my days were numbered the moment I was sealed, weren't they.", Indra said, the question coming off more as a statement than anything, "Does anyone ever manage to do it, control your power? How long have you been jumping from host to host?", this time a question in sincerity.

The beast laughed from the darkness once more, this time walking slowly up from behind Indra and standing over him, peering down at him from the boy's seated position. "Not a single one. They all fail. Either they're too weak willed to ever gain access to my power fully, or they do and fall under my control, convinced the actions they're taking against their 'brothers in arms' are of their own will.", he laughed, licking it's lips with a long inhuman tongue. "You think you're different, boy?", it side, a wide grin forming on it's face, quite literally spreading from ear to ear.

Indra shook his head, however, oddly lacking in the confidence he often projected, "No, actually. I'm quite afraid right now that I'm not...", he said earnestly. "And I'm not entirely what that means for me...or us.", he gave a heavy sigh after this comment, trying to keep his wits about him in the increasingly creepy room they were in. "What exactly is it that I can do with your power? These sounds I hear all the time, I've determined they're souls, yeah?", another pivot in topic, seemingly attempting to keep control of the conversation now that he felt he'd gained some.

"Indeed.", the genma responded. Vanishing from above the boy, he'd quickly appear directly across from him, sitting cross legged with the candle light behind him. "I'll tell you this boy. I have no issue sharing my power with you. The more I do, the more vulnerable to me you become. After some time, you won't know my words from your own thoughts. My grip will be deep in your brain, I can tell you all this and even still feel confident that you'll just be a plaything for me child. So, ask what questions you have, but know what it will cost."

Indra sat up, looking at the genma with a solemn look, "Let me guess, my soul? It seems I don't have much of a choice in the matter either way...", he sounded defeated. It seemed already the soul genma's influence was in him.

[Ace Trainer]

The silence hung between them for what felt like eons, Indra doing his best to divert his gaze from the creepy looking child sitting opposite of him. Eventually, he posited a question, "Why do you look like that? I thought you were a monster?". He looked up and finally locked eyes with the beast for a moment, before his eyes shifting across the beasts body. He had sharp elbows, looking clearly malnourished, his features all seemed elongated, his hands, fingers, arms, even his torso seemed almost birdlike in how his sternum clearly jutted out being visible despite his clothes being baggy. Part of Indra wondered if this is what he'd look like eventually...a bit concerning.

The genma laughed, seemingly reading Indra's critical thoughts on it's appearance, "I seized control of the last hosts body...and when I did he experienced certain...physiological changes. Unfortunately for him and for me, the village was watch far more closely than I expected and when I took control, well they tore me from him. Since then, its been that pot until now. However, it seems that the seizure of his body had a more..permanently effect on my spiritual appearance. This is just a mask though, my true form exists still."

Indra furrowed his brow, the light of the candle behind the soul genma illuminated his face with random rays of light, giving a creepy 'camp fire' sort of look to him.

"Well, that means you're scheming to take mine aren't you?"

"Of course."

"So then what am I to call you?", he asked quickly.

"Knowing the name of a spirit is an indication of a powerful bond. Not one I intended I share with you."

"You said you'd share with me your power though?"

"Some. Truly all my power would destroy you. But, parts of it, I will."

"So, I won't know what your power is, what your name is, even what you look like? Some partnership this will be.", partnership? As this conversation unfolded, Indra had been doing a careful calculus in his head, it seemed this outcome of this relationship was an inevitable one, the pot the Soul Genma had been in was only a temporary home, the data files he'd been given had told him that much. Sunagakure had no expectation for Indra to survive, to master the beast, perhaps a tenuous hope. But the reality was he was no different from the pot, just slightly more durable. He'd contain the beast for a few years until it corrupted him, then they'd rip it from his body and toss it back into the pot until a new sacrifice could be selected. This inevitability was...depressing to say the least. But if that was going to be the case, Indra had resolved that his greatest odds for survival laid with the soul genma. With little understanding of what he was signing up for, perhaps a partnership with the genma would stave off this inevitability.

The genma gave him a scowl, then a smirk, "Very well."

There was a sudden stillness, even without an airflow before, suddenly everything felt stagnant. Then suddenly the boy would lurch forward, falling to his hands and knees and seemingly vomitting some black liquid. His body would furl backwards as the black liquid continued until it formed into a sort of fine mist. Indra would stagger backwards as the mist continued to rise through the darkness until it compressed against the ceiling. Suddenly, the ceiling would break away, rubble collapsing to the ground arond both Indra and the carcass left behind from the mist as it continued to rise in the air. For the first time, Indra realized he was not still in the chamber below Sunagakure. Instead, the sky beyond these walls that he could now see was a deep blood orange. The mountains in the distance a dark purple hue, the sky filled with clouds and no visible sun. The mist writhed and contorted until it took full shape, and before him hundreds of meters in the air was a beast. With a large boney skull for a head, multiple skeletal arms reaching from its torso shrouded in a black fog. The walls around Indra seemed to stretch away farther and farther until they were gone and he was left on a dead stoney terrain, the only plantlife being the rotting remains of trees that had died long ago.

He stared up in the sky, this was the soul genma? His mouth felt dry, the whispers and screams he often heard as echoes were loud in his ear as if he was surrounded by the lost souls. He felt frozen, stuck to the ground, in utter shock and disbelief.

In his ear, he heard a soft whisper, "This is my form, boy. And here is just a taste of my power.", suddenly he felt two hands on his shoulders and he body was thrust to the ground. Before he could scream, he realized the very same boy he had been talking to previously was the one that had attacked him, and his long boney hands reached forward and thrust themsleves onto Indra's face. His entire body tightened, his arms felt as if they were twisting in the wrong direction and his body lurched and twisted, flailing through the air.

And then the world went blank.

And as quickly as it went blank, he shot upwards, sitting up. Looking around, he was in the chamber again, the candles all around the room still alight. His body was drenched in sweat, his breathing heavy.....none of it was real.

[Ace Trainer]

The chunnin exams were coming up and Indra had done little to prepare at the Iron Banner event where he and Ashura had been distracted by foreigners and scoundrels. His trainers back in Suna were disappointed that he had little to show for upon his return and had began pressing him to train more intensely. The soul genma host had a long history of unsuccess, and if Indra didn’t take training and getting stronger seriously, there was a real possibility that they might eventually decide to simply rip the genma out of him as they had with so many hosts before him. In truth, Indra had been avoiding training to some degree - at least in training with the genma. His experience with ‘The Soul Genma’ had been less than positive so far, the creepy boy in the dark seemed to invade his mind at random intervals. Indra had taken to sleeping with the light on, and avoiding spaces that were too dark. He didn’t fully understand how or why, but the darkness seemed to invite the genma to contort the world, small sounds or sudden images that would vanish as quickly as they came pushing him to be on guard. So long as it was not too dark, that was not a problem.

His trainers and guards had seemed to catch onto this, because the large basement they had been using for Indra’s training had been modified slightly in recently days to include much more lighting fixtures. The candles that kept the room dimly lit and cast long shadows had been exchanged for bright fuuinjutsu that made the training area seem almost sterile. A decision that had removed some of the edge for Indra.

Today, he was working on simple things, getting faster and improving his chakra control. Not hard things to do, but if he was going to contend with the Soul Genma, his chakra control would need to improve, and if he was going to participate in the chunnin exam he would need to be fast enough to manage chunnin level combatants. One thing was apparent, Indra was lacking in a consistent fighting style.

For now, he ran in circles. It was hardly ineffective, but it wasn’t exactly effective either. He watched his breathing, slowly pulling air into his nose and breathing out of his mouth as each step struck against the hard floor. The sound of his foot steps echoing through the enclosed room. He wasn’t keep track of how many times he had circled the room at this point, maybe fifteen or twenty times? Perhaps even twenty five. Part of him thought if he kept count, he would only get bored faster. Instead, he was meticulously attempting to count how many seconds it took him to circle the room. His pacing was faster than a step a second, which meant he couldn’t time he running with his timing, and he often found himself falling into the habit of doing so. He had been instructed to simply run until he couldn’t anymore, and then that was when he should train his chakra. Alternating between the two would continually press against his limits, and force him to get better. Or at least, that is what they alleged.

His foot crossed the starting point and once more he started at zero. Trying not to sync his steps with his counting, he attempted to push his his mind out of his body, leaving it on autopilot and letting it operate without him really thinking about it. Instead, his mind focused on the sound of souls resonating in the distance. When souls were idle they had a certain hum to them, seemingly waiting for some feeling to strike them. This vibrant hum had become like a lullaby to Indra in recent weeks, something he’d become very attuned to as his range and ability expanded. Many passed souls felt nothing, they simply existed out in the world passively, and that vibrant hum was what they projected and what he tried to focus on. By clearing his mind of everything but that hum, he could get his pacing just right. Timing each second to the resonating of the souls around him. As he ran, Indra focused on the nothingness but the hum, vibrating in his mind as he floated through it.

Like space.

He continued to run, the timing in his head keeping up. Thirty five. Thirty six. Thirty seven. Thirty eight. Thirty nine. Fourty. Forty one. Forty two. Forty three. Forty four.
Starting line.

Forty four seconds to circle the room. It was a big room, forty four seconds wasn’t bad!

He turned the corner, only then realizing he had not continued to count. Whoops, that meant another lap, not a good thing, he was starting to get tired. He’d continue to run, attempting to pick back up on the counting before mentally giving up on the attempt and focusing on his running, picking up the pace slightly on this go. Before he knew it was back at the beginning, and now it was time to count again. His mind separated from his body again, letting the resonating sound overcome him as he counted. His breathing felt a little more labored now, perhaps his speed was a little higher now as he attempted to push himself to his limit. Thirty five. Thirty six. Thirty seven. Thirty eight. Thirty nine. Forty.

Just like that! Forty seconds.

He'd pause for a moment, standing at the line and letting his breath move his chest up and down in heavy heaves. He wasn't really supposed to stop but at this point he wanted to be able to get himself back into the zone and hopefully try and get a faster time than previous. He would push his heels up and down a few times, letting the blood continue to circulate through his calves before giving himself an affirmative nod. He'd get it down to thirty seven this time at least!

And with that, he would take off, kicking off the ground and propelling himself forward. Making sure he didn’t lose it this time though, he dropped right to zero and counted off from that, focusing on his counting and let his body operate on autopilot. Could he beat forty this time? He felt a rush of adrenaline with the success, so he’d continue to let his body run, his stride getting a little longer this time, feeling his pacing increase. His mind focusing on the resonate sound of souls around him. The vibrant hum of life no longer with them being the perfect white noise for his mind to sharpen. Thirty five. Thirty six. Thirty seven. Thirty eight. Thirty nine. Forty.

He let out a frustrated groan as his feet continued to strike against the ground. He felt for sure he had gone faster this time. He'd wheel around the corner, continuing on pushing himself even more this time.

Thirty nine. Forty.

No, he’d definitely gone faster this time. He pushed his body more, he was going faster. He could tell. So why wasn't he getting to the line faster? Harder, he'd push harder, trying to get to the end quicker.

Thirty nine. Forty.

That couldn’t be right. His breathing becoming more and more shallow, the frustration feeling more in his face. Why couldn't he get there faster?! He'd push even more extending his stride into practical gallops as he tried to find his destination.

Thirty nine. Forty.

He skid to a halt. Maybe this was his limit? Was he at it? If he was, that meant it was time to focus on his chakra control. They had a task for him for that, too. One just as mundane and I practically impractical as running in circles. Walking over to the center of the room, he positioned himself in front of three small cups that were sitting directly on the ground. Each one with a mint leaf sitting on top of the water, just under the brim of the cup. The task he’d been assigned for this was relatively simple: the mint leaf could be made to spin by using chakra to create a small current in the water, something that could be done even without the ability to use suiton. Indra simply had to bring motion to all three leaves at the same time. Once he did that, he simply needed to maintain their movement.

He would then cross his legs, his chest still moving up and down rhythmically from the running he’d been doing. He’d focus first on the middle cup, closing his eyes and holding out a hand above it. He envisioned his chakra reaching out from his open hand down into the water, first just trying to make contact with it. It wasn’t as important if he could make it move, first he needed to make sure he could even contact the water. This was basic chakra control, he could do shape manipulation pretty easily. One could even say Indra was a natural when it came to chakra control, it was one of his better talents. So when he felt the wet sensation of the water against the chakra, it didn’t surprise him or feel like an accomplishment, it was basic shape manipulation.
The complicated part was what was next. He couldn’t touch the leaf, which is why he had directed his chakra towards the rim of the water as to not disturb the soft green mint leaf. Now that it was in the water though, he needed to put together a plan. The plan he had in mind was relatively simply, he would functionally create a bubble of chakra around the leaf. Part of his chakra forming an umbrella above the water, the other part expanding down from it and into the water, then he just had to spin it.

This was slightly more complex than just basic shape manipulation. He was making a shape, yes, but it was intricate: it would be hollow and abnormal, a two dimensional shape folded to become a three dimensional one so that he could avoid touching the leaf but still manipulate the water around it.

Slowly the chakra would take shape expanding out like a bubble from his hand back down onto the glass, inflating itself to carefully not touch the leaf sitting motionless in the center of the glass. The wet feeling returned to the chakra, but he tried to focus not just on the feeling but where it was coming from. This wasn’t a dense enough amount of chakra to have a visible component, he had to feel it or it would not work. He could feel a small amount of it, so he focused on the rest, trying to level out the chakra he had expended to be all at the small point of the glass as the amount he could feel. If he did it right he would be able to feel the water all around the edges of the small umbrella he had made but not along the center. Much like he did went running, Indra’s mind began to pull away, focusing on the resonate hum of souls in the distance as he allowed the chakra to slowly flow from him. He had no idea how long he’d sat there, he focused on the hum as time slipped by him, attempting to be successful.

Finally, he could feel it all around. He tried not to jolt to attention, next was the hard part. He’d low it all slowly, allowing the umbrella he’d formed to submerge slightly so that the chakra would still not be touching the leaf but would be further into the water. Then, once it was, he just needed to have it touch. It reached out from the edges, crawling through the water to merge into a single unit. If he did this right, he would be able to just replicate it with the other three. This was just like learning puppetry, a small task he’d been successful in during the Iron Banner. He would hardly consider himself a puppeteer now, but it was a good skill to have.

Then, just as quickly as he’d gotten the last step (whether that he’d been quick or not was hard to know) he felt everything connect. Without hesitating, he’d open his eyes and begin to focus on the cup in front of him, attempting to make the strange shape of chakra he’d created to spin. It would spin slowly, he could feel it spinning even if nothing was happening in the water. He’d watch intently, trying not to lose focus on the chakra extending from his hand. It would keep going until finally there was give, the water was beginning the move and the small mint leaf shifted just slightly. Drifting in the water, it began to move. It was hardly a big movement, but it was movement nonetheless and it meant that what he was doing was working!

He didn’t need a lot of movement, just enough to know that this would work. Lifting his other hand, he’d hover it over the other glass, trying to recreate the same shape he had before. His eyes returned to being closed. He hadn’t realized it, but his heavy breathing had started to return, focusing so intently on his chakra was hard work, and this complex shape took a lot of energy even if it was for a simple outcome. He continued to focus, tryin to build the shape into the new cup. This time, though, his chakra felt inky. It came out of his hand heavy, feeling almost like it was dripping out of him. As he pictured it in his mind, he unconsciously likened it to blood as it dropped out of his palm. His breathing increased even more as he tried to focus. And then suddenly he’d feel a hand on his shoulder. Indra would slowly open his eyes, expecting to see a trainer there.

”Worthless boy.”

The words filled his ears like a car crash, and in front of Indra was that boy that said he was the soul genma, his eyes dead, his mouth in a wide unnatural grin. Indra would panic, look down to see blood pouring from his hand just as he’d just felt was his chakra and then look up again only to find the boy was gone. He’d shake his head, looking back at his hand to find no injury.

His heavy breathing continued, this time panicked as he looked around the room. The genma wasn’t there. He knew that. But he couldn’t help but feel tense now.

Pushing himself to his feet, he’d slowly walk over to where the starting line from before had been. He’d return to the chakra training later. Back in the center of the room, water from a shattered glass slowly spread over the floor, not noticed by Indra, but with a soft hint of red to it, as if blood had been mixed into it.

[Ace Trainer]

It was not unusual to find the young Gekko, Indra within a temple. For his entire childhood his parents had ensured he spent time within a temple at least twice a week if not more often. They were both devout followers of the Light and Indra was no different. As he got older, their insistence on his participation was no longer needed, as he found himself within the temple on his own more frequent than they would have ever demanded of him. As an academy student, the temple was a place he found himself after training, after long days, whenever he struggled with content or excelled in it, either for guidance or gratitude. Indra had no doubt that most would be surprised to learn of his willful participation in the sometimes excessive demand of the temple, but Indra knew that regardless of how he sometimes acted out, the Sun saw the truth in his heart, and the devotion he had to engaging in her mission.

Today was no different than that. Indra knelt before the small display at the front of the temple, the candles surrounded it all ignited. It was the middle of the day, though it was hard to believe given how dark it was within the temple. There were no windows, except for four concave lens that directed the sunlight so that it was cast directly on the small display Indra’s was before. The beams of sunlight made the rather small display seem must larger and more pristine than it truly was, the eye being naturally drawn to it the moment you entered the room. There were several rows of seating behind where Indra knelt, and along the walls of the temple were shelving and tables with books and small statues on it, all discussing or representing the Sun and her Light.

Indra gave a frustrated sigh, lifting his head from the ground and leaning back on his bare heels.

”This is hard, you know.”

He looked up at the ceiling where the sunlight was being directed down before him, twisting his lips in frustration. ”It seemed like it was going to be an honor. We talk about it like it’s an honor. But it’s hard.”. There was no one around him, but there didn't need to be, today Indra wasn't seeking guidance from any of the keepers of the temple or a lens for Her Light, he just wanted to talk with Her. Truly they were always surrounded by Her Light and he could speak with Her anywhere, but within the temple, where Her Light was focused and her presence was called for, her felt better about it.

"He's in my head. He's hearing everything. But he just waits. At night, I can see him in the shadows out of the corner of my eye sometimes.", he sighed. "When we talk about the jinchuuriki, we talk about them like they're great shinobi. Meant to protect the village and channel the power of these mighty beasts to make themselves even stronger. And now, well, I'm realizing I'm just a box.", he looked up at the display in front of him, the statue of a woman meant to be one of the many mortal incarnations of the Sun at some point in her long and beginningless history. "The guards always around me. The secrecy and underground training sites. I don't even know if they care whether or not I master this beast...I'm just here to contain it. I'm a stop gap because they have no better way of storing him."

With another frustrated sigh, Indra moved quickly to his feet, turning his back onto the statuette with clenched fist. "Its not fair.", a childlike response, Indra would clench his fist and stomp his foot on the ground. Before looking down to the ground red across his olive face.

"Sorry.", he said in a hushed tone.

He paced, moving through the first row of seats and circling around them, never actually sitting. When he reached the end, he'd run a hand along the shelf of books in front of him.

"Its just...I thought I was being chosen for something great. And instead...its like I'm being haunted by Darkness. I've always put myself in Your Light and instead I'm now literally carrying around this beacon of Darkness. I can sense the souls, and there's so many of them just miserable. Angry and upset. So much of it. At night it's even worse. Then with the Genma haunting me. It's like there's always someone following me. And it doesn't help that the guardians are always following me."

He looked at the ground again, "Did I do something wrong?", he asked. "Is this supposed to be punishment?"

When Indra had been made the Soul Genma host, he had been given a folder that had profiles on the many previous hosts, ones that they wanted him to take lessons away from. Having gone through the folder front to back though, Indra had taken one major lesson away from it - every single host died young. Ashura's genma, Heaven? That one had several hosts that had lived well into senior years...the Soul Genma hosts though?

23.

16.

19.

15.

21.

12.

Twelve.

Twelve!

Indra's jaw clenched again just thinking about it, staring down at the ground his shoulders shaking in frustration.

"I don't know what to do!" he finally shouted. He lashed outt with her arms, knocking books on the shelf in front of him onto the ground. As they laid out in front of him. He just stared for a moment before dropping to his knees, putting his forehead directly on the ground.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry.", in the time it had taken him to fall to the ground tears had began streaming down his face.

At only fourteen, regardless of the duty he'd been chosen for, Indra was only a child. He'd been given an enormous task in containing the Soul genma and he was increasingly realizing how unprepared he felt for the task that had been given for him. For a moment, he stayed on the ground. Apologetic to The Sun for acting as he was in Her temple. Even in all his anger and frustration, he knew not to act like this in her space. Finally, after however long it had been, Indra would pull his head up. The tears still wet on his cheeks, his eyes red from the anger and crying, he'd wipe them with a soft sniffle from his nose.

Slowly, he'd begin picking up the books he knocked to the ground, slowly stacking them as he collected them together. As he reached for the last book, he looked at it. The book at fallen open, a page of scripture on one side, a large picture of a candle on the other side. Indra would look at it, pulling the book to his lap and running his finger along the scripture next to the candle.

"And should you ever doubt Her Light.
Remember it is there.
Ever present.
Ever glowing.
Illuminating not one path.
Not two.
But every path you may need.
Seek The Sun.
Seek Her Light.
Seek Her and you shall find a path to Her.
Even in the smallest of candles.
Her Light is there.

For a moment, Indra sat with the book in his lap, a small smile on his face. Then, he'd push himself to his feet, standing up and staring up at the ceiling.

"Yeah.".

"Candles. Yeah. I'll put candles in my room at night. That'll help."

He'd give a nod, picking up the stack of books he'd created and placing it back on the shelf. Moving back to the front of the temple, he'd return to the spot he'd been earlier, kneeling again and bowing once more. "Thank you", he whispered quietly.

If there was anything Indra knew, it was that even if he was stuck with the Genma, still She was there. Always.

[Ace Trainer]

"You've been spending a lot of time in temple, lately."

The voice called out from the back of the temple, causing the young boy who had been mid-prayer to perk up suddenly. The long hair that had hung around his face when his forehead was on the ground whipped about untamed, so as he pushed to his feet he swept his hands behind his air, wrapping his long hair into a ponytail. In this temple, the various skylights all directed light away from the walls and towards the center, so it was difficult to see the doorways of the temple when you were in the middle of it. Squinting his eyes, the boy would give a sheepish laugh, "Her Light shines on us always, but it is brightest here in her temples.

Stepping from the edges of the room, the original speaker would give a gentle chuckle as he moved into the light that Indra stood in. "You aren't wrong to say that.", the long tan jacket the man wore was buttoned up to his neck, and swept long the ground as he walked until he was side-by-side with the young genin. "That is in fact quite a strong observation to be made in my temple of all places, you know. Most people come to this temple when they are struggling with understanding her purpose for them. Citing scripture doesn't happen often in those cases.", he laughed again. He would gesture towards a pew, moving over to take a seat as well.

Now that Ikinari had moved into the light, Indra could get a better look at him. As he sat, Indra could help but notice the clear scars on the mans' neck, just barely hidden by the neck of his robes. Indra would follow his gesture, giving a sort of defeated sigh, "You don't know the half of it.", he retorted. As Indra went to sit, he'd look at Ikinari even closer, before giving a sort of odd look. It was clear by his eyes and hair that this man was a Hizashi, but it was well known that Hizashi had their own beliefs and despite their good standing in the village did not follow Yuumegure. "You're a uh...?", Indra began to ask.

"A Hizashi?", the brown haired man gave something of a boisterous laugh, "Yes, indeed I am. Contrary to what most non-clan members realize, the beliefs of my clan and the teachings of the Sun are not mutually exclusive. I find truth in my clans beliefs, and I find peace in Her Light. Both can be true.", he gave a gentle smile. Yes, Ikinari was a Hizashi and had been raised with the beliefs of his clan. Their beliefs in Buddhism, however, did not provide exhaustive answers to the universal canon, nor were they meant to be. Buddhism for the Hizashi was about rebirth and Nirvanna. Yuumagure was about finding peace in her light to join her. For Ikinari and Hizashi like him, this simply meant that the end goals were the same place by two different names. "My clan and the temple teach the same lessons in many ways. All to achieve the same goal. Create good. Be good. Bring joy. And find Peace. And while they use different words to describe this process sometimes, at the end it is all the same. That is why I have this temple.", he gestured out at the temple. "I know as good as any that sometimes doubting what you're doing is the right thing happens. I've done it a lot. And doing all that doubting has gotten me pretty good at getting back on track. So tell me. Why have you been here so much?", he redirected.

The young boy gave a soft sigh, nodding. "It doesn't matter how good at the scripture I've gotten. With everything going on, its been hard for me to have faith that this is all correct.", he admitted. "It feels like a constant test. Darkness is always closing in on me and I'm expected to find Her Light. Follow the Sun as they say. And that's just getting pretty hard when following the Sun seems to lead to more darkness.", the frustration on his face as he explained this made it clear how defeated Indra seemed to feel. "Its beginning to feel like the darkness is already in me. That I'm chasing the Light to escape something I cannot. Or at least, thats what it feels like I've been cursed with since I was chosen."

"Chosen?"

"I'm the host of the Soul Genma, you know"

"Ah.", Ikinari's face softened quickly.

Lifting his hand he'd place it on Indra's shoulder, squeezing the boys deltoid for a moment in solidarity. The fact that he was a host was intended to be a secret, but in Temple, in her light, there were no secrets to be had. Ikinari could recognize the vulnerability Indra was providing in this moment, quite mature for a boy his age, but also revealing of the inexperience of youth in him that left him so defeated. Perhaps someone older would better tolerate the stress of such an enormous and yet important burden. Though, they chose young hosts for a reason, even Ikinari knew that longevity was not promised to the host of this particular beast. "So no need for shading then, hm? You carry a sin you didn't commit.", the Hizashi observed.

Indra gave something of a gentle nod affirming Ikinari's comment. Shading was for when you strayed from the light. There were other temples for that. Oftentimes, when people presented to Ikinari he would be able to guide them through their lost feelings and help them identify what they'd done that had resulted in them losing Her guidance, and shading would help in resolving it. Indra's case was not like those, he was gifted with a glorious burden that would almost certainly continue to cast him into darkness for the years to come until it no longer mattered - as had been the case for his predecessors. Shading would do nothing to prevent that.

"So I come to sit in Her Light. As I'm expected. When I'm here, it doesn't bother me. The darkness stays at bay. There are no shadows here.", somewhat ironic given the temple was in fact full of shadows. But Indra wasn't referring to true shadows anyways. When at home...when alone, the genma would play with his mind. The beast inside of him would do little things to scare him, to set him off, to stop him from sleeping. His guardians said that it was how the genma aimed to weaken him, by making him paranoid and scared, by not letting him sleeping, and that would create opportunities for it to break out. But in the temple, those moments didn't come. So long as he stayed in Her Light, he was safe from the deception of the genma. For now, the only thing that offered him solace was The Sun. So the temple was where he was at. "This temple just makes the most sense. If She casts Her Light on me here, perhaps She will illuminate a path.", the words Indra used sounded hopefully and confident, but the tone betrayed the desperation. Indra was here because above all else, he didn't know where else to go.

Giving a gentle nod, Ikinari would squeeze the boys deltoid again before giving a gentle ooph and pushing himself to his feet. "Perhaps she will.", was all he responded. "But is it a path you want?", he asked, taking a few steps forward, keeping his back towards Indra.

"Doesn't matter what path I want. I exist to serve the village, which exists to serve Her Light. If she illuminates a path for me, I walk it."

"Isn't that what got you hear, cursed, in the first place?", Ikinari retorted.

The words must have stung, because Indra physically recoiled when he said it. Clenching the cloth of his pants between his hands, his faced crunched together partially in frustration partially in disgust, though it was difficult to tell who it was directed at. "Her Light guides me on the path I am meant for. No matter where.", he challenged back.

"So Her Light led you to a temple meant to help you in finding Her Light? Does that sound right?" the jounin challenged the young boy back. Turning on his heels to face the boy sitting on the pew, inspecting him for his response.

"No. Its not that. Its just. Its just. I don't know, okay!", his arms would be thrown into the air, the frustration and disgust merging into anger. "I don't know! I come here because I like it here! I'm safe here! If that's where She wants me then okay! I'm not going to complain about having one place to be safe from this monster inside of me!", quickly melting away into defeat, Indra could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. "I just want to feel safe.", he muttered.

Taking two steps towards Indra, Ikinari would kneel down, placing a hand softly on the teenagers knee. "And here, you are.", he affirmed. "If this is where you feel safe. Then this is where you should be.", Ikinari's voice was a gentle whisper, seemingly attempting to reassure Indra. "So be here.", he offered.

Indra ran the back of his hands against his eyes. "What do you mean?", he asked confused.

"Well. I am the Lucent of this temple. And part of my responsibilities are to identify Vivids and Prisms to join the House of Salvation. Her Light guided you to this temple. So why don't you join it?", he gave Indra soft smile, "As a prism.", firmly.

The word resonated with Indra, who would mirror the soft smile coming from the jounin before him. Sniffing his nose, he'd wipe his eyes again and the nod. "I can? Yeah. I would like that. I think I would learn a lot."

Ikinari would rise to his feet, gesturing for Indra to follow as he approached the small altar kneeling before it as well. Indra moved to his feet and then shuffled after the Lucent before him, kneeling directly next to him we he did. "If I'm being honest with you. Its not really about learning. Sure, we bask in Her Light and learn Her way. But, thats just part of the journey. In truth, being a Prism is more about becoming someone who can direct Her Light. Who can stand in The Sun and cast away shadows. Then you grow, and as Vivid, or a Lucent, you become able to cast Her Light yourself. Up until you well, you know.", he smiled at Indra before turning his head and closing his eyes, placing his forehead at the foot of the altar. "Lets pray together for a moment, and then we can go in the back and I'll walk you through the first parts.", Ikinari offered.

Indra gave a confident smile and nodded, "Okay.", following suit. His head would touch the marble floor before the altar and for a moment a single tear would form in his eyes, this time not out of frustration but relief. Maybe Her Light was shining on him indeed. While the two knelt before the altar and prayed, unbeknownst to them, a soft light would rise from the altar and fall on Indra's back, a blessing from Her Light joining his body.

[Ace Trainer]

The candles around the room flickered slowly, the wax pans that sat on were each full of melted wax, indicating how frequently the candles were lit. Indra sat in his bed fully upright, his back against the wall, his eyes closed but teasing open each time a light flickered for a little too long. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept properly in his bed. Laying down felt too vulnerable. Even with all the candles lit, the room was dark. There were at least 20, if not 30, candles situated around the room strategically illuminating ever corner and cranny, but they still cast long shadows and danced in the light draft of the room. But at least if he was sitting up, his head resting against the corner of the room, he could see the entire room if anything happened.

If anything happened.

He felt stupid thinking it, honestly. Because nothing was happening. He knew it was all in his head. The genma messing with him. The shadows reaching at him, the sounds suddenly in his head, the creatures in the corners of his eyes? They were all fake. He knew it. Nothing was happening. But it was hard not to treat it as real. That was really the dilemmia. Whatever the genma was doing to his head, it was good at it. It all felt so real even if Indra knew it wasn't. And the more tired he got, the harder it was to ignore it all. The guards in his brain would slowly fall away and then the tricks the Genma was playing felt all the more real.

He took a deep breath, looking around the room once more. The candles continued to flicker, until out the corner of his eyes he saw one go out, feeling as if something had extinguished it. His head snapped in that direction and as quickly as it had gone out, the candle relit itself as if it had never gone out in the first place. "Its not real.", he reassured himself. He closed his eyes, putting his head back against the corner. What time was it? One am? Two? He barely slept these days, 3 hours most night if that. And rarely all at once, he'd get thirty minutes here, thirty minutes there. Typically rocked awake by some nightmare of his body splitting open, or of dead bodies pulling at his body. He'd panic for a moment. Relight candles that had gone out, and sit at guard until he inevitably fell back asleep from exhaustion to repeat the process. This was just his life now.

He stifled a yawn, then took another deep breath to calm himself, his eyes closed now. Through his eyelids he could still see the many candles around him, the flames dancing and flickering. CHCHCHHCHCHCHCH the sound was sudden and in his ears, causing Indra to shake quickly, pushing his body against the wall as he locked his eyes onto the opposite corner. A dark figure in the corner of the room stared at Indra with glowing red eyes, locked onto him just as much as Indra was locked onto it. He felt his chest lock as he stopped breathing, staring at it. For a moment, they were locked before Indra lifted his hand, a chakra string shooting from his finger at the creature. He'd blink and the creature would be gone, the string attaching to the wall where it was. He would release his breath, looking down and relaxing his hands the chakra string vanishing.

Rubbing his eyes, Indra's shoulders would move up and down, his breath heavy for a moment before he let his head fall back again. "Its not real.", he muttered to himself. It wasn't real, he knew it wasn't real.

"Oh. I'm real.", the genma whispered in his ear.

This time, Indra didn't open his eyes, instead keeping them closed in a failed attempt to ward off the genma. The genma had full access to his mind, this was one of the things Indra had established. Early on, when they had first been merged, Indra really only seemed vulnerable to him when he was in that little training basement they had for him. It was dark and damp, and the genma seemed to be able to fully pull Indra into some false reality. The hallucinations he had had been extensive, but they happened in his head entirely. As the genma and Indra had further mixed, though, it seemed like the genma's ability to interrupt Indra's perception of the world was getting stronger. This, what he dealt with every night, was different. The hours ticked by and the hallucinations and tricks and thoughts injected into his head were happening in real time. They happened during conversations, time passed. It made it so much harder for Indra to know what around him he was real and what was tricks by the genma. In many ways, it felt like torture.

Slowly, Indra felt his body drifting to sleep, the exhaustion too much for him to push off any further. His lids were no longer being forced to be closed. The sounds in the corner of the room, the strange movements of the flames, all faded to nothing as Indra finally fell asleep. Sleep wasn't a respite from this, though. That was why Indra only got 30 minutes of sleep at a time most nights. As quickly as he dozed off, the genma would grab onto Indra's mind, infecting it with visions and nightmares to haunt his sleep.

For a moment, Indra felt like he was floating. Watching his own body sitting in the bed, the candles around him flickering about. He looked so peaceful. Perhaps tonight he would actually get some good sleep. Or perhaps that thought was too soon as the walls began to look like their were sweating, clear fluid leaking from it like ooze. His vision warped around the room and he felt the walls closing in and then suddenly, two hands would reach out from the bed and grab at his legs.

Suddenly Indra would jolt awake, his breath heavy as he jumped to his feet, spinning in a quick circle to assess the full room. No. He couldn't sleep right now. Grabbing his cloak he'd sweep it over his shoulders, pushing open the window fully and leaping into the darkness of the night. This felt no better, the sound of peoples souls could be heard throughout Sunagakure. He could feel the soul of his guardian stalking behind him from a distance to make sure he wasn't off getting into any trouble. The feeling of someone following him, the knowledge that they truly were, wasn't helping much. He leapt from building to building and then descended down into the dark streets without much thought to what direction he was taking or where he was going. He was just moving. Every ounce of DNA in his body felt like it was screaming at him to run, this was purely instinct.

As he ran through the corners on occasion the shadows would reach out and grab at him, causing him to stumble on his feet as he quickly changed direction. The few people he passed looked dead in the face as they locked eyes on him, causing him to push away from them quickly in any direction but the one near them. Danger. Danger. All of this was an indication that he was in danger. The sky, despite the darkness of the night, had a red hue to it. The sound of laughter in the distance seemed to be getting closer to him, overruling the sounds of the sleeping souls all around him. Indra's breath was getting heavier and more panicked. Quickly, he would round a corner only to bump head first into someone. Stumbling backwards onto the ground, Indra wouldn't even look to see who he'd just ran into, very literally pulling his body through the dirt as he scrambled to get to his feet.

But as he tried to stand, he could feel a hand on his shoulder. He swung back against it, "Let go!", he shouted. His voice was waivering and panicked, like a child about to be punished, in this moment Indra felt fear.

"Hey now. Calm down."

The voice was calm. Soothing. Patient. "Indra whats wrong?", he asked. It was Ikinari. The Lucent that Indra had just became a Prism for. Indra's eyes locked onto the Hizashi who's hand was still gripping onto his shoulder. The young boys eyes were wide, panicked still, trying to tease apart if this was really Ikinari, if he was really safe. The tears that had formed in Indra's eyes from fear seemed to melt away instead into a mixture of sadness and relief. The 14 year old genma host would fall back to the ground, this time sitting on his butt as the tears began to stream down his face, causing Ikinari to kneel and place his other hand on Indra's shoulder as well. "You're alright. You're safe."

Indra shook his head, transitioning from a silent cry to a practical sobbing. He kept trying to talk and instead found nothing but panicked wails coming from his mouth as the adrenaline in his body coursed through him. Ikinari before him reassured him he was safe but every part of him felt still he was in danger. Why. Why was he cursed like this? What had he done to be given this impossible burden to carry? He grabbed onto Ikinari's arms, despite still practically being a stranger to Indra, Ikinari was a man of faith, and a leader of the temple and in this moment, he seemed like the great ally Indra could have. For some time, minutes? Hours? Indra sat there on the dirt street of Sunagakure sobbing as Ikinari patiently held onto him and looked at the boy. Finally, his body began to calm, and Indra's grip on Ikinari's arm lessened until he fully let go, wiping his face.

"I can't do this.", his voice was hoarse, the sobbing having torn at his throat.

"You were chosen for this. That means you can.", Ikinari said reassuringly. In truth, he had no idea what the boy was going through, but he knew that Indra was devout, and that Indra had a purpose. Whether that purpose was to be a temporary hostage to the genma until a better host was identified, or if it was to conquer the genma, Ikinari wasn't clear. But he knew the boy had purpose, and he would need help in it. "Tell me whats going on.", he asked.

Indra shook his head in frustration, "I just cant sleep. This monster is constantly haunting me. He's in my head. He keeps me up at night. I'm so...tired. But I can't sleep without the nightmares and the terror. I just want to sleep.". He sounded defeated. Going so long without any good sleep had really pushed him to his limit. He was running out of fuel to fight against the Soul Genma with. Ikinari nodded, seeming to understand what Indra was going through, or at least indicating an inkling of what he needed.

"Lets try this. I'm going to give you a mantra. For The Sun. About the Light she uses to Bless the world and ward off darkness. You memorize it. And you use it to sleep, okay?", he suggested. Indra gave a cautious nod, betraying his lack of confidence in this solution, but willingness to give it an attempt nonetheless. Ikinari was begin with it, Indra recognizing the verse and joining Ikinari as he did.

Huk ratulla naturalezata qhawarisaq.

Paqarin lamar qochaq k’ancharishaq azul, mana phuyuyoq hanaq pacha.

Q’illu mama qucha pata; llapanku munasqa, llapanku k’anchaypi bañasqa.

Gracis chay kawsay qowasqaykimanta

Pausayta pusay hinaspa tukuy ruwasqay saminchasqa kachun.

Yachayta, kallpata qoway, tukuy tutayaqpi kallpawan sayanaypaq.

Gracis kay mañakuymanta, chaymi Graciaykiq sonqonpi tarpusqa muhu.

Inti lluqsimuqmi urqukunata coronarun.

It wasn't often Indra recited mantra in the language much of the scripture was natively written in, but he was still familiar enough with it to do so. As he recited the final line in tandom with Ikinari, he would feel a surge of chakra as his hands began to glow faintly with a yellow light. He would look up at Ikinari with a confused look, before looking back down at his hands. "What did you do?"

Ikinari looked at Indra's hands with a look of surprise on his face, slowly taking them and cupping them in his own hands as he inspected the glow coming from the boy. "Could it be?", he said, reaching down to pull out a kunai from his weapons pouch. He would place it in Indra's hand, the glow extending to the kunai as Ikinari took it back, the glow fading from Indra's hand and instead moving to the kunai. A small smile would form on Ikinari's face, further impressing the confusion on the poor Jinchuuriki who had no clue what was going on.

"In the text....in very old and often losts texts. It is said that men and women sent on very important paths by The Sun would be gifted with the ability to carry Her Light. At a time, only those who could do so could be chosen to be Kazekage...but over time the skill stopped presenting itself and fell to rumors for most laymen. They called it Holy Light, and it was said one who could control Holy Light could Bless in Her name. They could recite her doctrine and Bless in Her Light. It was an enormously important responsibility to have, and a critical task to impart. And it seems, young Indra, you've been chosen. If you didn't think you were on the path she set for you...this is a sign from Her that it is., Ikinari slowly rose to his feet, flipping the kunai in his hand and holding its handle out to Indra who followed Ikinari to stand, his eyes locked onto the kunai.

This was....a blessing? He held his hands out in front of him again, staring down at them and then back at the kunai, the light still shining off the ninja tool. This light, whatever it was, was a gift from Her. Maybe this would help him sleep at night. A soft smile formed on his lips, the streaks from the tears still on his face, the young boy would take the kunai, holding it gently in his hand as he stared at it. "Thank you.", he whispered. Perhaps to the casual observer they'd think he was thanking Ikinari, but Ikinari knew that Indra's gratitude was addressed beyond him. "Will you be able to teach me more about it?", he asked, this time his words directed at Ikinari.

"Get some rest tonight and come to the temple tomorrow. I'll do some reading. And we'll see what we can figure out.", Ikinari responded. He gave a gentle tap on Indra's shoulder and then took a few cautious steps back, "She illuminates a path for us all.", he said with a wink, turning on his heel and walking off into the darkness.

For a moment, Indra would stand, still staring at the kunai in his hand that continue to shine with the light he'd blessed it with. While he didn't understand what was happening, he did understand what Ikinari was saying. And that was enough, enough to keep him on the path and give him confidence. Regardless of how he felt about it all, it was clear he was on a path that She wanted for him, and that was enough.

This was a blessing.

[Ace Trainer]

The night had gone well for Indra, who had taken it upon himself to use this new power he’d obtained from the Light to ‘Bless’ as Ikinari has called it, much of the things in his room. By time Indra had fall asleep, more than half of the belonging in his room were glowing with the Light he’d embedded in them. He awoke for the first time in months having gotten at least a few hours of consecutive sleep. By time he’d awoken it was nearly noon, and he’d quickly gathered his things and rushed off to the temple to meet with Ikinari as he had agreed to. Upon arrival, he’d found the Lucent Jounin surrounded by books within the back rooms of the temple, smiling happily at the arrival of the young prism and quickly going through various books he’d found for Indra to read and inform himself on. For the first time in longer than he could remember, Indra was having a good day.

He’d very quickly learned a few things about this new power he’d obtained. First, when he Blessed an object, the Blessing seemed to last a short period of time, but combining multiple Blessed objects seemed to allow them to remain Blessed for much longer. Similarly, a Blessed object was a conduit for other objects to become Blessed. He could Bless a candle, then place it on a holder and the holder too would become Blessed. This process appeared to happen naturally, but he could concentrate to prevent it from happening, which seemed to indicate he was consciously in control of the Blessing. He also determined it definitely used chakra, he had an inkling of this from the night before, but as he continued to test out the ability with Ikinari, it was clear he was getting tired and expending chakra in repeatedly Blessing things. Even if it was a gift from the Sun, it did not appear to be limitless. However, the next thing he had established was that even if the process used chakra, it was not as straightforward as ninjutsu. While he could generate the Blessing light by channeling chakra, it was substantially weaker than if he recited verses while doing so - reinforcing that there was some inherent relationship with the Sun in order to confer this Blessing. The verses he recited also seemed to be directly linked to the power of the Blessing. Through Ikinari’s guidance, they’d identified a number of different verses that Indra could recite that seemed to produce a ‘stronger’ Blessing than others. Initially, Indra and Ikinari suspected there might be certain words that were tied to the Blessing, but through their testing they were struggling to determine what the line between the more effective verses were.

”How are you feeling, should we try another?”, Ikinari asked, picking up another tome and flipping through the pages as if he was looking for a specific one.

”I’m starting to get a little worn down, but I’ve got a few more in me.”, Indra said with an inkling of hope behind his eyes. The three books on the floor in front of him had a soft golden glow to them that was slowly getting weaker and weaker, the blessing he’d placed on them beginning to fade. The room they were in was will lit, two large windows on the ceiling allowed light to flood in. The study wasn’t that big, perhaps 15 feet across in each direction, a single desk against on the of the walls, with the entirety of the walls lined with shelving full of books with the exception of the door into the room. Ikinari and Indra both sat on the floor, surrounded by stacks of books that they’d gone through, partially used to test Indra’s power, partially read to try and find anything that might hint towards what it could be used for.

”Alright, so the verses that seem to work best are written in anapestic tetrameter when translated to the common tongue. This is not an uncommon meter for Her texts, but it’s far from the most frequently used. This verse is from a story of the consequence of seeking darkness, so it’s thematically a fair bit different than what we’ve been trying. I think it’s a good test as it will help us eliminate a few things.”, he’d offer forward the book, leaning back on his hands after Indra took it and watching the young jinchuuriki carefully.

Indra would take it, reviewing the page in front of him for a moment, mouthing the words to make sure he had them right. He’d realized that trying to channel chakra and read verses simultaneously was a little difficult, so it was easier to just memorize them first and then recite them. He would do this a few more times before giving a confident nod, placing the book down and closing his eyes, channeling chakra into his hands.

Nina rawraypipas, urqukunapa puntankunapipas ninakunam rawrarirqa

A faint glow would begin to radiate from Indra’s hands, he’d smile as he continued.

tutayaq chawpinta, espiritukuna mana samaspa phalasqankuman hina

The glow would become slowly more and more intense, getting brighter, brighter than any of the previous. Indra’s smile grew wider.

tutapi chinkasqa almankuq chispakuna hina

The glow became even more intense, radiating brightly from Indra’s hands. It wasn’t a blinding light, but Ikinari would quickly notice that nothing the light was touching was becoming blessed. It grew more and more intense, basking the entire room in light. It became even more intense, Indra’s smile had faded, his eyes locked forward unblinking as they stared off into space in front of him, seemingly suddenly oblivious to Ikinari.

Kawsaqkunapa chawpinpi disfrazasqa kachkaspanmi manchakuq runakunaqa kutirirqaku

He would continue, his voice losing its vigor and becoming monotone as he spoke. The light would become even stronger, filling the room until suddenly….it vanished. The light coming from the windows above the room vanished as well, the room becoming enclosed in darkness. Ikinari’s stood to his feet, and suddenly the candles that dotted the room would ignite with a blue flame, casting a mild light onto the room, enough to see a inhumanly wide grin on Indra’s face, his black eyes locked onto Ikinari.

The moment would hang between them for what seemed like an eternity. Indra’s eyes seemingly freezing Ikinari in place as the jounin stood, staring back, his mind doing a careful calculus. What was going on? What was wrong with Indra, why was he like this? Ikinari’s eyes slowly moved off Indra who was on moving, his eyes going up to the ceiling. He could not see the windows, despite it being one in the afternoon a darkness seemed to be obscuring the windows, preventing any light from getting into the small study room. As his eyes dropped back down to Indra, he’d find that the boy was standing, his shoulder hunched forward, his eyes off of Ikinari and instead staring at the stack of books directly next to him, unmoving.

”Indra…?”, Ikinari took a cautious step forward, reaching out to the boy.

”Wrong!”, Indra’s neck snapped to look at Ikinari, unnaturally bending over his shoulder to look back at the Hizashi. ”Sorry to say he’s checked out!”, the voice was vastly different from Indra’s. Deeper, Indra’s native accent gone in exchange for a voice that seemed somewhat ancient, like gravel was in his throat. ”That verse was a good choice. Haven’t heard it in a long time. Good for people of your…stature with the mission you carry. But, doesn’t carry much purpose in common uses.”, the smile on Indra’s face seemed impossible, reaching further into Indra’s cheeks than what could be natural.

”Ah.”, Ikinari took a step back, straightening out and nodding, ”I see.”, he said thoughtfully.

Indra, or it seemed the beast possessing Indra’s body, would straight up as well, stretching out its arms, each movement seemed to be accompanied by an unnatural cracking and breaking sound as if his bones were out of place. Ikinari attempted to keep an unaffective face, but it was clear the sound made him uneasy. ”Been a while since a host has been this exposed to me…”, confirmation of what Ikinari feared, this was the soul genma. ”You know…if you tell them this has happened, they’ll kill this boy.”, the soul genma said, the grin on his face getting wider.

Ikinari nodded. ”I suspect as much. A shame.”, he said thoughtfully. ”I expect that is what you want though? The boy is gifted by Her Light. You don’t like that, do you?”, he challenged, a facade of bravery in this moment.

The genma cackled, ”BOLD!”, he bellowed, a voice much louder than what seemed natural for Indra. ”You assume much. But perhaps yes, this boy would be better off dead to me…exposure like this though…I could just do it myself.”, he held a hand out, a sickly black glow resonating from it. In this moment, Ikinari would notice for the first time that the natural red coloration on Indra’s fingers had extended and now reached his wrists, his nails seemed sharper than usual, and a soft black fog was resonating from his entire body just a few inches. It seemed Indra was advancing through the genma’s stages. The soul genma channeled something, and suddenly Ikinari would be able to see contortions in Indra’s chest, as if his very insides were rearranging.

”Stop.”, Ikinari commanded, a hesitant step back that he seemed to catch himself in and tried to stop.

”Stop?”, he cackled again. Indra’s arms would begin to twist and writhe, his elbows snapping back in unnatural directions, his fingers and wrist bending and breaking with sickening cracks in the process. ”They’re going to kill him anyways.”, he repeated. ”What matter does it make if I do it or they do?”, the genma taunted. ”Look.”, Indra’s hand practically rotated in the wrist, a black flame forming in it’s palm. ”This is the boys soul. A gentle poke and…”, with he tapped it with the middle finger of the hand the soul floated in and Indra’s head snapped to the side as if his neck had just been broken. Laughter echoed from his mouth, filling the darkened room.

”They don’t have to know.”, Ikinari blurted out, his increasing panic becoming more obvious. ”When he’s with me, the guardians take a break. There are no sensors. No guards. The only ones here are you and I. No one has to know.”, he was practically begging.

”HAH.”, Indra’s body flailed about, all the bones cracking back into place and standing up straight, taking a confident step forward towards Ikinari, still holding the blue flame that represented Indra’s soul in his palm. ”I can help him too you know.”, he would poke the soul again, this time a third eye growing on Indra’s forehead, blinking upon and scanning the room before landing on Ikinari and locking onto him. ”Think of the things I could give this boy by shaping his soul.”, he grinned, the unnatural size of the smile returning. ”You won’t tell anyone, hmmmm?”

Ikinari nodded, straightening out and brushing off his clothes in yet another facade of confidence. In truth, he’d just said it, he wasn’t quite sure yet if that was true or not.

Indra, or the beast controlling him would reach out with his other hand running his fingers along Ikinari’s cheek, the sharp nail cutting Ikinari’s cheek, a small droplet of blood forming from the cut. Slowly, a small mouth would form on Indra’s hand, a tongue reaching out from his palm and licking up the blood. The small mouth would whisper quietly at Ikinari, ”I like you. You better stick close to this boy…or who knows what will happen. We shall see, won’t we?”

Suddenly the candles all around them would extinguish. In a moment of darkness, and then a thud as light filled the room from the windows above them. Ikinari’ would bring his hand to his cheek, the cut still there as he look at the boy laying on the ground. The third eye on his head was gone, but he laid on the ground unconscious, quietly snoring in a deep sleep. Falling to the ground, Ikinari would allow himself to breathe heavily, his mind racing as he tried to figure out what had just happened. It seemed he was now Indra’s guardian, he did not appear to have a choice.

[Ace Trainer]

(I don’t want to flood my thread, so I’m doing multiple posts but treating each training as its own post, so view each hr break as a new post rather than a continuation.)

The heat of the forge in front of him beat across Indra’s face, sweat having already formed on his brow to try and protect his skin from the intensity of the flames. Living in Suna, Indra had gotten used to the heat long ago, but this was a different level of heat. The fires from the forge were hot enough to burn wood to ash in seconds and melt metal into a liquid, it was not meant for long exposure. His eyes sized up the forgemaster next to him, he would pumping the billows into the fire seemingly without effort. H was fully covered in heavy, dense clothing, likely to protect him from the flames but Indra expected it did nothing against the heat but make it more miserable. He would continue to watch until finally the forgemaster would do a final pump of the billows and let out a heavy sigh, removing his hood and mask. ”That should be good to go! Go get the mold boy, hurreh!”, he commanded.

Indra would shuffle off, grabbing the mold that the forgemaster was referencing and lifting it up with a heave. Boy was it heavy! He was forced to throw it up over his head, hobbling back over to the forgemaster and slapping the mold down on the table, the forgemaster almost immediately poring the molten metal into the mold. Indra would take a cautious step backwards, the heat from the metal blasting against his face, but the forgemaster would take his free hand and press it against Indra’s back, forcing him back in place close to the mold. ”Now watch what I do as it settles into the mold.”’, the forgemaster would reach out for some tongs, and began to press at the metal as it settled in, slowly forming into shape. Indra watched intently, following the mans methods as he dexterously manipulated the metal and shaped it within the mold to move always slightly from the sides of the mold, altering the shape just enough. The way the metal responded to the tongs was interesting, and Indra wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but he was quickly picking up on the motions, even beginning to subtly mimic the movements with his own hands.

”The small changes I’m making will make the joints on the mold smoother, and slightly smaller than the standard form. When you add the joints on it, it will be slightly smaller, allowing for a more seamless fit into the joint, and more maneuverability. Do too much, and the joint won’t fit. You have to get it just….right.”, he slapped the mold with his bare hand. ”That easeh!”, he exclaimed. Indra gave an obedient nod, well, at least now he knew this!

SpoilerShow

[Weapons Crafting - Reforged: Swiftening]
D-Rank Weapon Crafting Maneuver
The user uses their refined knowledge of special blacksmithing methods, their chakra, and other materials to enhance the capability of a weapon or item by increasing its [Speed] stat by 5 points each time the technique is used on the item. Due to the crafter's level of proficiency, they are able to perform this crafting enhancement at half the normal cost.

---

Today, Indra wasn’t in front of the forge, something he had secretly been relieved to learn. Instead, he wears standing over a stack of molds that hadn’t yet been made into form. This part was not a relief, because he had a feeling he knew what it meant. These molds were wooden, at least, which would certainly be easier to shape than the metal ones. But as Indra understood it, you had to make a wooden mold first, and then you used that to make a metal mold. It was the real experts that could go right into working a metal mold, and Indra had a feeling he wasn’t quite there yet. The forgemaster walked up to him, a wide grin on the mans fast as he handed Indra the hammer and chisel in his hands. ”Alrighteh boy. This one is easy. I got a mold here that’s done.”, he slapped the mold to the left. ”And a mold here that ain’t done! Make ‘em match. If you wanna be a smith, ya gotta be able to make your own molds! Show me what you can do!”, he let out a hearty laugh, indicating how much he was going to enjoy this.

With a defeated sort of sigh, Indra nodded. ”You got it.”, he said, leaning forward to look at the reference mold and then back at his original. It was not going to be easy. But, the forgemaster was correct. Indra would need to be able ot make his own molds, and if he could mimic the mold simply by looking at it, he would be able to make his own as long as he had some sort of reference material. Taking the chisel, he would begin, striking into wood. For hours, Indra would continue, meticulously carving away from the block of wood as he dug deeper into it, striking away the shape of an axe as he did it. The shape of an axe head was wildly different than that of a sword, and creating the right shape and formation was a lot more difficult than a blade. But slowly yet surely, Indra began to cut away at the wood until the shape he was making was almost seamlessly a match for the one he was mimicking. His arms were sore and his back drenched in sweat, but after what was surely hours, he stumbled backwards and fell on his butt, ”All done!”, he exclaimed excitedly.

SpoilerShow

[Weapons Crafting - Alternative Weapons]
D-Rank Weapon Crafting Maneuver
This smith has specifically learned how to craft various types of alternative weapons such as axes, shields, polearms, flails and the like, reducing the production cost by half.

---

"I mean, I can do it with my hands.", Indra groaned. Looking at the small cup being presented a few feet away from him.

"Yes, but if you're going to integrate this into how you fight, you'll need to be able to do it from a range. You're not exactly the strongest taijutsu fighter. You need to be able to disarm your opponents as much as possible so that they have to rely on ninjutsu where you excel. That means getting ready of weaponry.", Ikinari instructed.

Indra gave a sort of huff before closing his eyes and placing his hands together, each of his fingers touching and his palms separated. Quietly, he began chanting under his breath, a soft golden glow beginning to come from the center of his hands. When he prayed and channeled chakra at the same time, he could produce this golden light which allowed him to use the holy power granted to him by the The Light. As the light formed in his palms and settled, he would quietly stop praying and separate his hands, holding the orb of golden chakra in his hand and extending it out. He'd made the ball, great, but now he needed it to stay stable even once he let it go.

Taking in a deep breath, he'd thrust his hand forward, the ball gently and slowly coming off his hand and floating forward. The ball would hover back and forth, not quite going on a straight line, and then as it neared the cup with shake and destabilize and then pop vanishing away. "uGH!", he groaned.

"Just try it again. Faster this time. You're giving it too much time to destabilize." the jounin instructed.

Nodding, Indra would bring his hands back together. Perhaps Ikinari was right. Closing his eyes, he would quietly begin chanting, the incantation praising the Sun and asking for guidance from Her Light. Just as before, the space in his hands would begin to glow with a soft golden light, the orb of chakra forming and settling into his hands. This time, Indra wouldn't wait, but would open his eyes and smile at the light, and then thrust his hand forward, this time with more oomph behind it. The ball of light would shoot forward at a decent speed, striking the cup Indra was focusing on and causing the small cup begin to glow with the same light. A wide grin formed on Indra's face, "Yes!", he exclaimed.

"Okay, but keep practicing. Give it a few more goes. You've got it, but you gotta master it.", Ikinari told him. Indra would give a dutiful nod, but he was happy, another jutsu down.

SpoilerShow

Holy Release: Imbue
D-rank Ninjutsu
The user does a series of hand seals, forming a small tennis ball sized ball of chakra made of Holy chakra in their hands. The user can push the ball of chakra in any direction at [Control] speed. The ball will merge into the first object it touches and imbue it with Holy Energy for the next 5 posts. This allows the object to become a conduit for Holy Energy.

---

SpoilerShow

Holy Release: Return
D-rank Ninjutsu
The user will do a series of hand seals, targeting anything Blessed with Holy energy. This will cause the object to move to the user’s hand at [Control] speed.

"Alright, today, we're working on taking this to the next step. You've gotten good at embedding Her Light into things, but now you've got to start being able to manipulate it. The Sun is doing some of the work for you, spreading Her Blessing. But once something is Blessed, you need to be able to manipulate or control it. So today, we're working on simply calling it back to you.", Ikinari instructed. In his hand was a single kunai, glowing with a soft golden glow that Indra had bestowed upon it earlier. Holding it out, Ikinari would simply nod, "Pray for Her Light to return it to you.", he instructed.

Indra nodded, this one seemed simple enough. In many ways, this was just standard ninpou jutsu, which Indra excelled at. While it was using a different shape of chakra, the properties were almost identical, and he was working to accomplish the same outcome. Indra would extend his hands out in front of him, as if they were being washed under water, and hold them out with the palms face up. Closing his eyes, he would bow his head and begin to chant quietly, murmuring a prayer to Her Light about being lost and following Her Light home. For a moment, he did nothing but pray, but slowly the kunai in Ikinari's hand would begin to float out of his palms. It lifted only a few inches, waivering for a moment as it hovered aimlessly. Ikinari would smile gently, but allow Indra to continue to pray, not giving him any indication that it was successful which might distract him. Indra would continue to pray, this time his voice getting slightly louder as he repeated the prayer. The kunai responded to this, and would lift further into the air before spinning to face Indra and slowly floating over towards him at [2] speed. It wasn't fast, but Indra wasn't even watching it. As he finished the prayer, he would feel a gentle drop in his hands as the kunai gently placed itself in his grasp. He would open his eyes, closing his hand around the handle excited to see he'd been successful.

"Yes!", he exclaimed happily.

"Well done. Now again. We keep practicing until its second nature"

Indra would toss the kunai back to Ikinari. While this was another jutsu learned, it was yet another jutsu to master, Indra had his work set out for him.

---

SpoilerShow

Holy Release: Explode
D-rank Ninjutsu
The user will do a series of hand seals, targeting anything Blessed with Holy Energy. This will cause the object to explode with [Control] strength.

"You did great yesterday, and now that we know you can exert your control from a distance, you've got to find other ways when disarming doesn't work. The good thing is, there is an easy solution. Just destroy it.", he smiled, mimicking an explosion with his hands. It was clear what Ikinari was expecting, and so he would just take a few steps off to the side. Unlike normal, they weren't inside the temple, but instead in the small garden behind it. Indra sat on a small stool about 15m away from a small glowing cup on a pedestal, the soft golden glow indicating Indra had already blessed the cup. Ikinari continued to take a few steps, clearly trying to get out of range of what Indra was going to be doing, and would leave a final comment, "All you have to do is make a burst of chakra, just like you normally would. This should be a breeze for you.", he gave a polite nod and would sit, leaving it now to Indra to sort out.

Indra would hold his hand forward, his palm square with the cup on the pedestal. Chakra would surge to his hand, focusing it to try and get a link to the blessing on the cup. He knew this jutsu would be pretty easy to do, so he wasn't too stressed about it. It was really more about finding the right prayer to elicit the effect he was looking for. It was clear that the praying was the most effective way to utilize this new skill set, so he just had to find the right verse and scripture to get what he wanted. Closing his eyes, he would feel his chakra synch up with the blessing on the cup, and then he would begin to chant. Quietly under his breath he would recite a verse he thought would work, focusing on the feeling in his chakra as he did. He could feel the chakra trembling as he continued to recite it, trying to simultaneously focus on the link between himself and the cup, and the verse he was reciting. At the end, he was confident he wasn't actually doing any of this, but instead asking The Light to do it, and using his chakra to feel her presence.

The cup would continue to shake and rattle, and then with a sudden surge it would burst, ceramic shards flying in every direction with 20 speed and strength. He would narrowly weave out of the direction of one flying towards him, then look to Ikinari where they would both laugh, "Too easy!", he'd say with a grin.

"Great. Now do it again.", Ikinari laughing.

---

SpoilerShow

Holy Release: Halt
D-rank Ninjutsu
The user does a series of hand seals, targeting anything blessed with Holy Energy. This will cause the object to lose all momentum, causing it to fall to the ground.

Another day, another jutsu to train. Back in the small garden, Indra and Ikinari stood opposite each other, the full width of the garden between them as each had their backs against the brick wall that surrounded it. Indra was sitting, his legs crossed, his hands already together in a praying motion as he looked forward at the jounin opposite of him. Ikinari stood, his posture straight as always, his eyes casually bouncing between the two kunai in his hands. Each of the kunai were glowing with the soft golden glow to indicate that Indra had blessed them. ”You’re not allowed to dodge. The increased stakes will make sure you get it right. Don’t worry, we’re surrounded by medicinal plants, easy to fix stab wounds.”, he said with a chuckle. Indra gave him an unconvinced look, but nodded. No dodging. That meant he needed to get it right on the first go. He was sure Ikinari wouldn’t throw it so hard as to really hurt him if he failed though…right?

The concept for this technique was relatively simple, something any average ninjutsu user should be able to do. You launch a technique, you should be able to stop it. Plenty of ninjutsu users could send blasts of ninjutsu and then if needed, cancel out the technique or take control of it. The ‘controlled’ class of techniques were slightly more difficult than ‘fire-and-forget’ class, but that wasn’t an indication that they were a challenge in any meaningful capacity. This was really no different, once something was blessed, it was as if he had created it. So he just needed to call upon it to stop, right?

He held up a hand for Ikinari to wait, taking just a moment under his breath to whisper a prayer to the Sun. One for safety and success. Then, he would nod to Ikinari, indicating he was ready. ”Let’s give this a go.”, he said, his voice betraying his slight concern over how this would go. Ikinari would pull back his arm and then quite casually flick the kunai forward. It would fly through the air, a slight trail of golden light behind it as it sliced forward towards Indra’s chest. Indra would begin channeling chakra, into his hands as they came together into a prayer formation. His chant this time was brief, the type of technique did not leave a lot of time for a long incantation. Only a few words would breathlessly leave his lips before the kunai froze, hovering in the air for just a moment before dropping to the ground with a clang, just a foot in front of Indra. He smiled, doing a small fist pump, another jutsu completed.

”I’ve got one more for you. Let’s go again.”, Ikinari instructed.

---

SpoilerShow

Holy Release: Window
D-rank Ninjutsu
The user does a series of hand seals, forming a barrier of Holy Energy 3m x 3m in size to form anywhere within 10m of the user with [Control] Speed and Strength.

”Its a simple barrier just.”, Ikinari instructed. Another day had passed and Ikinari and Indra were back in the small garden behind the temple to train another technique. Indra was getting better at using and controlling this Holy chakra that he’d been ‘Blessed’ with, or so the story went. More time to practice and train the new art was needed, though, and Indra needed to expand his repertoire. The Holy jutsu were unique in that they were really just ninpou techniques, so Indra could apply many of the basic principles he understood with ninpou to this…the difference was he had to do it while praying. ”You do better under pressure so, I’ve got some pressure for you.”, Ikinari would brandish a kunai, waving it at Indra for a moment before gesturing back to indicate he was ready to throw.

”Alright, alright. I’ve got this!”, Indra exclaimed. His hands would come together to begin a prayer, closing his eyes and not even concerning himself with what Ikinari was doing. Instead, the young soul genma host would begin praying under his breath, chanting the short prayer as he used it to channel the holy energy. As always, his hands would begin to glow with a soft golden hue as the chakra formed around them as he incanted the prayers to the sun. Ikinari would see this as his sign, and with a gentle chuck would throw the kunai forward at his young disciple. Indra seemed to hear the motion, because his eyes would come open and he’d push his hands forward, coming apart from the prayer as he continued to chant and directing both open palms towards the incoming kunai. Mere feet in front of his face, a golden barrier would form in front of Indra, the outline taking shape and then filling in. The barrier formed at [25] speed, plenty fast as the kunai cut through the air at Indra. It would solidify just in time for the kunai to clash with it, striking the barrier and falling to the ground, a soft golden glow now enshrouding the kunai. A small crack would form on the barrier, showing how strong Ikinari had thrown it with - enough to cause damage, not enough to break it.

Indra would grin wide at his guardian through the golden window, ”Another jutsu down!”, he would exclaim. But he knew full well that Ikinari would just tell him to do it again - he’d have to keep practicing until he could be sure it was mastered.

[Ace Trainer]

”So you’re going to be following me around like the others?”

Indra’s tone was incredulous, a hint of annoyance noticeable in the question. The relationship he had with his guardians was tenuous, unsurprising for a teenager. While he liked them for the most part, he didn’t like constantly being shadowed, especially given he could always hear their souls creeping around him. He was at the age where he wanted privacy, so being told that someone he’d grown to have respect for was joining a cohort of people who existed to render him without any privacy was a bit frustrating.

”Not quite. I’ve been tasked as the lead for your guardian squadron. I don’t use Tenkujutsu, so it wouldn’t make a lot of sense for me to be one of your normal escorts.”, he gave a bit of a shrug, ”If you get out of control with me, I’ll just be subduing you until you wrestle control back from the beast within you.”, Ikinari would wink at Indra with this one, being a bit light hearted about it. The jounin had yet to tell Indra about what had happened previously that lead to this change, the interaction he had with the demonic genma in the temple when Indra inadvertently summoned him with an incantation. His tone and face wouldn’t give away the rather dark truth behind his honesty, or the bit of powerlessness Ikinari truly felt if Indra did lose control to the genma again. ”But, I’ll be acting in much the same capacity I already was. Training, support, guidance. It comes with some new administrative tasks you don’t really have visibility to, but, all in all, you’re now my responsibility. And when I’m with you, the other guards get to take a break.”, he gave a soft smile.

A Lucent, a diplomat, and a friend, Ikinari had a good way of bringing solace to people’s concerns. Indra would inspect him suspiciously, but so far Ikinari had done nothing that gave Indra pause. The man had been a good support system for Indra who had struggled to be entirely honest with his parents. The haunting from the soul genma, the visions and things he was hearing, all of that was difficult to communicate to people who spoke nothing but praises and pride for what he was doing for the village. And of course, his guardians who were constantly monitoring him didn’t seem like good people to tell about what he was certain they’d interpret as psychosis or worse; failure to control the genma. Ikinari had been - for lack of better terms - a light in the darkness, so knowing they’d be mandated to spend more time together and that his mentoring ship was more official did feel reassuring to a degree. Finally, with a long hmm Indra would nod. ”Alright, so what now then!”, back to business it was.

Ikinari would laugh, leaning back in the chair and putting his hands behind his head. The small office was illuminated by the sun high in the sky, casting light through the various windows in the tall tower that allowed light to fill the room without directly landing on anyone, good to keep it well lit but not too warm. They had tall shelves all around them, filled with books interspaced by candles they would be lit in the darker hours of the day. Between them a single wooden desk, covered in papers and books that Ikinari would spend hours reading through, both for his duties as a Lucent and his duties as a diplomat. Indra stood opposite, sitting upright and intently watching his new guardian. ”Well. We need a plan. My responsibilities fall down to three spaces. One.”, he held up a single finger above his head. ”Make sure you can control the Soul Genma within you. This mostly means training your mental fortitude to resist the influence of it. Your chakra intermingles with it’s, and as a beast of chakra, it has a much easier time accessing your body and psyche the more your chakra’s intermingle. As you get stronger, so will the Soul Genma’s influence on you. So, part of our responsibility is ensuring you can resist that. What we do here, praying to the Sun, learning Her Light, does exactly that.”, he nodded, holding up a second finger, ”Two. Prepare you socially and politically for the responsibilities of being a host. When the village at large learns of your status, much will be expected of you and many more eyes will be on you. We need to ensure you’re knowledgeable on anything you may need to know as you move about the village as a host. Politics. Religion. Social norms. So on. Boring adult stuff, but important nonetheless.”, a third finger would rise. ”And third…Ensure that you’re adequately trained in shinobi arts. You need to be able to fight. Both as a shinobi, and as a jinchuuriki. This means we have to ensure you can learn skills that don’t rely on the soul genma…and master skills that utilize it’s power.”

”Huh??”

Indra shot to his feet, standing out of his chair and shaking his head, ”Why would I do that?”, he shot back. ”The Soul Genma’s power is darkness. It is evil and a sin. I won’t use its powers. I am learning ninjutsu that is blessed by Her Light. The Soul Genma is not.”, he crossed his arms in defiance, but also frustration. In truth he felt a little betrayed, he’d agreed to Ikinari being his guardian because he thought Ikinari understood this stuff, but what he was saying now seemed incredibly out of character, and not at all something Indra was interested in.

Ikinari would sit straight up, placing both hands on the desk calmly, ”You already use some of his power. You sense the souls around you all day.”

”Not voluntarily!”, Indra refuted.

”Even still. You are the host of the Soul Genma. Even if it is a being of darkness, it grants its host incredibly potent abilities and powers that you could utilize to be quite powerful on a battlefield. A power the village needs.”, he insisted. Ikinari wasn’t wrong, with everything happening internationally, the day Indra may very well be in a way could easily be approaching them. ”You have a responsibility as the host to master as much of the power as you can.”

Indra shook his head, ”I won’t.”, he said plainly. ”I am strong enough on my own, and Weill continue to be. But I will not use the soul Genma’s power. I am its container. I am it’s jail. And I will be as such to lock away as much of its darkness as I can. Its power will not see Light through me.”, it was clear the young boy wasn’t going to budge on this. The impassioned and defiant look on his face made it obvious this was not a matter he would compromise on. A boy of principles, this was good for the host, that was for sure. But it would definitely make things more difficult for Ikinari, especially if Ikinari was to help Indra meet his true potential. Jinchuuriki, especially those for the genma, were expected to be weapons of mass destruction. The raw power output accessible to hosts of the mighty genma was unmatched by average shinobi. If Indra was unwilling to utilize the power of the Soul genma, there was a deep well of power he would have inaccessible to him.

”Hm. Okay. Okay.”, Ikinari held up both hands as if to mimic surrender. ”Very well. We’ll leave that part on the table for now.”, he relinquished, recognizing he’d get no where with Indra if he pressed this now. He would have to convince Indra to use the power in the future, but for now Indra still had much to learn and they could put that on the back burner while the young host grew into his role.

Indra let out a soft breath, seeming to indicate his relief in Ikinari’s surrender. ”I am here to serve the Sun, and help spread Her Light on Sunagakure and beyond. I became a shinobi because I want to represent her. I won’t do that by using dark powers. No matter what that means.”, he doubled down, ”Besides. She can guide me to being the strongest shinobi I can be without the use of the Soul Genma. I will be mighty on my own.”, he smiled confidently. ”So I’m not worried about that.”, to be young and bold. Ikinari would smile and nod gently, giving Indra his victory. ”Alright. So more training, and more books. I can manage that!”, he said with a grin.

”Now that you are a chuunin, the village will want to announce you soon. The stronger we can get you before that announcement, the better. So, we’ll do some more training. We’ll focus on getting some of your Holy techniques stronger and getting better at incorporating the Talisman’s you’ve found with your puppetry. You already have quite a diverse skill set, so we have plenty we can focus on developing.”, he reassured the young chuunin. Indra would smile, dropping back into the chair.

”Alright. So what’s your plan?”, he asked. It was time to beginning planning.

[Ace Trainer]

It had been three days now. It was constant, almost unending, in a way that had permeated down in the far reaches of Indra's brain. At first, he thought it was the Soul Genma in his mind, finding new ways to taunt him as it learned more about Indra. But at some point in the second day he realized that wasn't the case - there wasn't any laughter, no hallucinations, none of the normal hallmarks of the Soul Genma's games it was just a constant, minor but unignorable buzz. Even as the sun set and the dark of night came, whether he was at the temple or at home, the buzz continued. After he determined it wasn't the genma, he wondered for a moment if a bug had been caught in his ear, and then he considered perhaps he was truly going insane. Something wasn't right.

But now laying in his bed and unable to sleep from the sound, Indra decided his only option was to focus on it. He would close his eyes, attuning each of his senses to the feeling. He knew in his heart what it was, but part of him had admonished the notion and his other explanations had taken priority as he did not want to consider the reality of what it was. But now as he was focusing on it, it was indisputable, he wasn't hearing anything - he was sensing a soul. Souls 'felt' like sound to Indra, but they weren't actually being heard, it was a completely separate sense that Indra felt was like hearing. This wasn't something he'd told people, at first he thought he was crazy for it, and after the fact he realized that it was a good skillset for him to use to his favor. Every host had the genma's powers manifest differently, so far the village knew Indra could invoke some strange form of psychosis through physical touch though it was not a skill he spent much time exploring. But that would explain why the 'sound' was almost painful to him, and why it felt so deep in his brain. It was. And that brought Indra to one conclusion:

The strange, quiet, mechanical sound he was hearing was someone's soul.

It was undeniable at this point. But it was frustrating, because as he grappled with that truth he grappled with another - he realized that the feeling of this one had been so present that he couldn't sense the other souls around him. It had become so second nature to him that he hadn't even realized it was absent. But now, he realized he couldn't hear the gentle wavelike soul of his favorite guardian, or the gentle drumlike one of her partner. Instead, all he could hear was the mechanical whir of this one soul. It was soft, distant, but ever present in a way that was oppressive. As he continued to ponder it, he tried to place where he had heard it first. When had it first entered his psyche and who was he with at the time?

You know who

The voice of the Shigenma echoed through his brain, causing Indra to jostle for a moment. And as if he'd been there the whole time, sitting on the opposite end of the bed was the red haired boy that had been torturing Indra all along. Think you idiot. You know who., it goaded him. Indra continued to think, now his brain shifting through moments the Soul genma had been present. And then the moment came to him. He wouldn't admit it to the soul genma but he did feel like an idiot because it was so obvious.

"The former Kazekage."

His tone was grave, but he was intuitive enough about it not to speak out loud. But as he realized it, his mind went back to it. Indeed, this was the way Hito's soul had felt, Indra just hadn't noticed it in the moment because of how unusual the interaction had been. But now that he was thinking about it, the feeling had faded when they left the building, only for it to return shortly after they left and it had remained since. Why was he still sensing the former Kazekage's soul? 'He's monitoring you. He's smart about it. Staying out of range. Out of sight. Sound. I doubt that bore Ikinari, or any of your guardians have even noticed despite all their abilities. That whackjob doesn't know how strong I am though, and they don't know what power I've gifted to you. But it is certain. He's monitoring you.'

Indra watched the genma opposite of him suspiciously, trying to decide if he should believe the beast or not. Why?, he asked. The Genma seemed chatty today. It gave Indra the sense he didn't enjoy being watched either. Perhaps Hito's final comments to Indra hadn't been completely off base, maybe this was just the genma's way of manipulating him? Could it all be fake? Surely the genma could make fake souls for Indra to sense if he wanted but what would be the end game? But why would the former Kazekage be monitoring him? He already had guardians on him 24/7? Did Hito have ulterior motives too? It was difficult for Indra to figure out on his own.

"I'm sure he just wants to control you like the others. Manipulate you to his own ends. You're nothing but a tool, he doesn't trust you. None of them do. You're my feckless, worthless, to-surely- fail cage, and they're wanting to get what they can out of you for their own ends before you fail like all the others before you.", the genma taunted him. Laughing with his demonic grin as he said this. While Indra wanted to refute it, he felt almost as if the genma was right. Why else monitor him when he was already under surveillance? It did reassure him though of his initial evaluation, Hito was not blessed in Light. His return, as many would say, was indicative that he was a false prophet, definitely now and perhaps all along. What would this man do to this village?

Indra closed his eyes, a meager attempt to shut the genma out and he would begin to pray, quietly reciting a verse in a hushed tone. He needed guidance. But he would feel the hands of the genma on his shoulder, the breath of the gemna's proxy body against his ears, 'I'll leave you to pray tonight. No need for me to haunt your mind with your lightless Kazekage is doing it for me.', and like that the genma's presence would vanish, the echoes of his laughter hanging in the air, accompanied by the constant, mechanical whir of Hito's soul in the distance, resonating from his drone.

[Ace Trainer]

The village was tense. Everywhere Indra had been today there had been a tenseness in the air. Even if he couldn't hear the souls all around him, their sounds tighter less vibrant and sharper, he would have been able to tell just from how everyone was acting. Normally friendly vendors were either no where in sight, or quietly keeping to themselves seemingly making no effort to sell to the few people walking at a pace slow enough to be stopped. Everyone's shoulders were tight, their pace quick as if they were going somewhere important. There hadn't been any kids on the streets, and when Indra showed up to the temple he was surprised to find a large group of people there but not a single word being shared between them. Instead, people sat at small tables or knelt on the floor and silently prayed without a word. His eyes locked on Ikinari, who stood at the front of the temple silently looking back at Indra before giving a ever-so-slight beckoning nod signaling for the young jinchuuriki to begin his duties but say nothing.

So, as the good young prism he was, Indra would begin. Silently walking around the temple, lighting candles, bringing forward small glasses of water and setting them next to people. Unlike normal where this was an opportunity to engage and pray, Indra instead left it without a word

[posting this so i don't lose it it doesn't count]