[Sealing] Binding of Two Souls

[TyDie]

The sun was just rising over the valley that surrounded the great village hidden in the sands, and atop the largest cliff of the canyon, a priest of Yuumagure stood along side a family who had recently lost one of their beloved sons in the line of duty as a shinobi. He chanted and praised, bowing before the rising sun as he prayed for Her Light to welcome the young soul into her loving embrace. He spread his ashes to the winds, the ashes slowly scattering and spreading out over the village of Sunagakure, illuminated by the rising sun until they dispersed into the winds. Their belief was that the soul of the young shinobi would become one with Her Light, become one with the Sun itself, and that the rays of the sun would forever bless the family they had left behind.

Not all souls had such glorious ends...

Down in the village proper, deep in the Henrin compound, a message was being delivered to one Henrin, Sachiko. It was no later than 6 AM, the literal crack of dawn, when the light rapping against the door came. It would be Sachiko's mother who received the scroll presented by the older, gruff looking shinobi, no doubt at least a special jounin if not a jounin himself. While she was tempted, she had been instructed on the serious nature of this scroll, and that it was not for her eyes to view. Instead, she would wait for her daughter to rise. "Sachiko, honey, an older shinobi left this scroll for you this morning. It's specifically for you and you alone, something serious..."

After receiving the scroll and opening it, Sachiko would read the following words:
Henrin, Sachiko;
You have been summoned to the office of Councilman Mikado, Akihito, in regards to a potential opportunity for greatness. The details of this opportunity will be discussed in person. You are forbidden from informing anyone else of the contents of this scroll, or where you will be going today. You are expected within the hour. Do not be late.

Mikado, Akihito It was 6:30 Am at the moment. How would the young chuunin proceed?

[Willoria]

Sachiko was up and ready pretty early, getting dressed and planning out a day in her head that involved a great deal of training. A few instructional scrolls in hand, she left her room for the kitchen and was rifling around for something to eat before her mother interrupted her search for food. She frowned slightly giving her mother an odd look as she set her training documents aside and took the scroll her mother offered her. Her light frown deepened as she read over the scrolls contents and she realized her mother was watching her. "I guess I'm getting help training." she muttered, feeling more than a little uncomfortable lying to her mother. But somehow she knew her mother wasn't going to let her go without some kind of explanation. Shoving a piece of pocky in her mouth, the girl took off at a jog out of the house.

She hadn't even realized she left her training scrolls behind, inadvertantly ruining her own excuse for what she was doing. But a grin was creeping across her lips as she left the house. 'Greatness huh? Finally! I'll shove their faces in it!' she thought to herself as she made her way through the village and soon came to the building that would hold the council offices. As she got to the office she sought specifically, she suddenly felt uncomfortable. There was an assistant staring at her as she rounded the corner and a blush crept across the girl's lips. "Uh... I'm here to see Councilman Mikado Akihito." she said quietly, hugging the scroll to herself as she spoke. "I'm... Henrin Sachiko."

[TyDie]

The young woman behind the desk, Akihito's secretary and assistant, was a Naegi from what Sachiko could tell; light green hair down to her shoulders, lithe figure, proper looking Kimono; clearly a professional who takes her work seriously. Still, cute nonetheless, and her 'womanly features' weren't half bad either. "Yes, good morning Sachiko. Mikado-san is expecting you, please step right in." The woman would gesture to the door behind her, a large set of mahogany doors with a golden-gilded doorframe. Upon opening the door, she would find Akihito in a large, circular office, about 5 meters in diameter. He sat behind a fairly simple desk, with everything that was on it kept orderly to an almost obsessive level.

"Ms. Henrin. Come in, shut the door." He was blunt, as always, but not overly so to the extent he would come off rude. He was a man of business, and he intended to get to it. "You're early. I appreciate that, it lets us get to the point quickly. First, I must ask a question; Does anyone else know that you are here? Your parents, your family... Kiyori?" The man had dealt with the woman personally more than once, and knew the relation between the two. He needed to ensure that no one knew what was happening here, for the sake of protection, for all parties involved.

[Willoria]

"Thank you." Sachiko replied, still blushing lightly as she went to the doors as indicated and pushed one open. She wasn't sure what she was expecting through the doors, but she still found herself suddenly shy and stepped through slowly. She wanted to know what was going on, but she was also worried about what it meant to meet a man such as Akihito. Honestly she was glad he got straight to business though, at the least it gave her something else to think about. Even if that something else was her sister.

She couldn't help the way her nose wrinkled up slightly as the mention of Kiyori, but at least she managed to keep a look of actual disgust off her face. "My mother thinks I'm out training." she replied, sighing heavily as she fought the urge to cross her arms. Such a move would seem disrespectful, and she didn't want to come off in such a way to a man like Akihito. "No one else was home, so no one knows anything." she added, frowning still. 'Not sure why mother was even home... probably had something else to do with Kiyori...'

[TyDie]

Akihito nodded in understanding, running his hand through his long gray hair to loop it behind his ear. "Good... That is for the best. Now let me be forward; As I stated in the scroll sent to your home, I have an opportunity for you to serve our great village in ways that only few have ever had the chance to. The skills, the ability that would gain as a result of this are unparalleled, even among our village. In fact, this very same opportunity was presented to a shinobi who ended up becoming one of our greatest Kazekage."

Well, now he had said the good side... but next came the bad. He stood from his desk and came around the side, grabbing a scroll that was placed on the right edge of the desk as he did so. "However, it comes with incredible risk. You could very easily die as a result of this, or worse... you could turn on us. You could hurt the ones you love, you could become a greater threat to this village than the very threats you would be trained to combat. Many, many shinobi before you have failed, some more bombastically than others. In fact, just recently, one of the greatest wielders of this power failed in his duties... A special jounin, Setsuya, Inka"

The name would probably not register with her immediately, but if she knew her history, she'd know that there was only one Kazekage who had ever held some great, secret power; The Sun's Sorrow, the 8th Kazekage and one of the most well known hosts to Shishire no Shigenma: The Soul Genma.

[Willoria]

Sachiko fell quiet rather quickly, a look of confusion crossing her face as she listened to what Akihito had to say on the subject. It sounded like a bunch of riddles to the young girl, and she wasn't sure what to make of it. He spoke of a Kazekage and spoke of opportunity, but then he want on as if to speak of death and betrayal. She hadn't heard of the Special Jounin he mentioned, this Inka, though the name sounded oddly familiar. She just wasn't sure why.

But as he spoke and her mind went over the information over and over again, she went to a chair in front of his desk, one obviously meant for guests, and sat down in it rather heavily. She gave Akihito another confused look as she remembered her village's history, and The Sun's Sorrow. "...I can't tell if you think you're offering me greatness... or death." she remarked quietly, looking at the man. She had her suspicions now, her thoughts running fairly rampant, but she didn't speak them aloud.

That might have been rude.

[TyDie]

As he held the scroll in his hand, tattered and ragged from being read countless times by countless hosts before Sachiko, he thought of how best to respond to her statement. The irony of the mention of 'death' wasn't lost on him, and he could only chuckle at the fact, though she did not realize the irony of her own statement. "I suppose you could say I offer both. Here... Open the scroll. Read it's contents." Akihito would hand her the scroll, one foot long and when fully unraveled 2 feet long.

Once she opened it, Sachiko would be awakened to information only known intricately to few; Within the scroll was information regarding Shishire, the Soul Genma. It detailed the powers of the genma, most notably the ability to interact with and control the very soul of any living being. Shishire could raise an army of the dead, Shishire could destroy the very soul of an opponent, and Shishire's very presence gave the host a level of ninjutsu prowess that many were simply incapable of achieving. The power was immeasurable... But it also went into detail of previous failures.

It told of how the 8th Kazekage, Shibata, Yosuke, was lead to his death by Shishire after he had been convinced by the spirit that the only way to protect Sunagakure was to Hunt Habimori, Manza. In his fateful hour, the genma abandoned him, and Manza killed the host, releasing Shishire to the world. It told of dozens of hosts and their failures, many either succumbing to Shishire's manipulations or simply being entirely overpowered by it's will. It even told of potential hosts who had died during the sealing. "This is the opportunity I offer you on behalf of Sunagakure, Sachiko.. The power, the potential... it is beyond what many will ever achieve, or ever could achieve. But now you see the risks... and you see the failures."

"Shishire is a liar. It is a deceiver, a manipulator. It will take any and every opportunity to lead you away from Her Light, to turn you against us. It will always be one step ahead of you, always planning and preparing for the day you slip up, for the day you fail. And if that day comes, your name will be added to that list of failures." Akihito slowly paced around the circular office, and Sachiko would no doubt notice minor scuff marks all along the hard wood floor surrounding his office. It was clear he paced quite often, a method of organizing his thoughts.

"No one will think poorly of you if you decline this offer Sachiko. You are the first on our list, but you are not the last. You are in no way obligated to take this evil upon yourself. If you like, you may even take time to think it over." Akihito finally stopped at his chair, though he did not sit, He leaned against the desk on his arms, looking down at the young Henrin. He awaited a response of some kind, whether it was asking for a moment to think or an answer to his offer.

[Willoria]

Sachiko took the scroll she was offered and opened it carefully. Some of the paper felt so brittle under her fingers she honestly was worried it might begin to break apart if she wasn't careful. But what really began to concern her wasn't the paper at all, rather the contents of that scroll. Her eyes skimmed at first, but in skimming all she could see forming in her mind was a form of darkness. She saw words such as 'soul', such as 'death', such as 'failure', and her eyes quickly went back to actually read from start to finish, as if that would reveal something better within the document. She still heard the words of Akihito, but the girl's focus was primarily on the document in her head and this revelation before her. "Shishire..." the girl muttered, blinking rapidly at what was before her, and she looked up at Akihito. 'No one has had real success before have they? That's how it sounds. Even one of our own Kazekage failed to keep this thing under control and maintain his own life.'

The girl sighed even as Akihito fell quiet and she rolled the scroll up before offering the scroll back to Akihito. "I won't fail." she told the man, an odd and sudden seriousness taking over the girl's features. She knew full well that perhaps she was carrying far too much confidence in herself, but as she had read that scroll she saw the greatest opportunity she had ever been offered. 'I can make history. I can be the first to succeed where all before me have failed.'

The young Henrin girl stood and fixed her red and black eyes upon the Councilman. "I assure you, if I feel myself slipping, I will come to you before anything falls apart." she told him. "I will learn to control this beast, it won't control me. And I won't let it use me against this village. Her Light assures me."

[TyDie]

Akihito merely grumbled at the girl's confidence... as much as he wanted to believe it could be done, Akihito lost faith long ago that Shishire could be controlled. "You are far from the first to say those words Sachiko. And history says that you will not be the last. However, I am duty bound to follow through on your acceptance..." Akihito, came round from his desk again, accepting the delicate scroll and placing it carefully back on his desk. "Follow me." Akihito would then walk passed the girl and towards the doors, opening them and striding out into the hall. The doors would seem to shut on their own when Sachiko exited the room, the sound of a tumbler shifting behind her as she followed the councilman through the building...

---

After a long trip through the administration building, the two would find themselves in the basement, the dim stone walls lit by overhead lanterns as they descended down the steps and into some sort of vault. Two masked shinobi guarded the doors, clearly Akihito's assistants. "We have our host... Prepare the chamber." The two shinobi nodded before disappearing through a large entryway, a giant stone door closing behind them and glowing with chakra as it was sealed shut.

"We need Tenkujutsu experts down here, we're ready to perform Shishire's Sealing." Akihito spoke through the seal in his ear to his attendant, who then passed on messages to the chosen few who would take part in this ritual. However, Sachiko would no doubt take note of the fact that he said it was Shishire's sealing, not Sachiko. Clearly Akihito had little confidence in Sachiko's determined stance. He had seen far too many succumb to this beast... In his mind he was only damning another to a living hell, followed by death.

"Take a seat... This won't take too long." Sachiko would find a small wooden chair next to her, no doubt where the guards would sit if their feets were hurting or something.

[Willoria]

It took everything Sachiko had not to roll her eyes as Akihito made his lack of confidence in her clear. Despite her young age and own immaturity, the girl couldn't help understanding at least a little bit. She had read the scroll, she had seen the list of failures and how miserably so many had failed. He had no reason to think she would be any different. Still, as she followed him out of the office and down into the chamber, a light smirk never left her lips. 'I will prove him wrong... I show all of them what I can do. Even with her own blessing of Her Light, I will outshine my sister. Shishire will become my gift.' she told herself as she walked.

Though she had to admit, entering what looked like a great cave didn't add to her own confidence. Her smirk waned and she took a deep breath to steady herself. Like others of the faith of Yuumagure, she wasn't fond of these dark places. Still she followed Akihito and took a seat when indicated. "Akihito-sama?" she asked quietly, turning her head to look up at the man. "What of the last host? His failures were not in the scroll. Can you tell me what happened with him?" she asked. Some part of her didn't really want to know, but she knew the most recent hosts actions were likely the most important right now. After all, the last host was what Shishire knew, and Sachiko wanted to be prepared for anything the spirit might say or do.

Though in reality, the entire thing was all new to her. No matter how she tried to prepare herself, even activating her doujutsu as she awaited Akihito's answer that she might commit that one to her memory, she knew she couldn't possibly be ready for what she was about to face. She could only be confident that she could handle what she faced.

'I'll show you, Kiyori.... you'll see me now...'

[TyDie]

Akihito stood and listened intently on the information being passed through his Link seal, but he did notice Sachiko's question about the previous host... Inka. The name brought a mixture of emotions to Akihito, mostly disappointment and anger. "He was promising, the most promising host since the 8th himself. But Shishire finally convinced him to do something unspeakable... He merged his soul with the spirits. The two became one, and there was no way of knowing who was in control, and when there is even a slight doubt of that..." Akihito trailed off, hoping that Sachiko could probably figure out the rest.

"That is why you will be watched even more closely than the last. You will be under 24/7 supervision, and you will ask before you use Shishire's power for anything. I will be meeting with you personally to discuss the beast's influence on you, and if at any point you feel weakness you will come to me. And above all, you will *not* tamper with your own soul, or the seal that contains the beast within you. And this is all assuming that you survive this day, Sachiko... There is no guarantee that you will walk out of this cavern."

With his information passed on, the sound of footsteps echoed down the stone steps behind them. Pretty soon, a group of eight masked shinobi ranging from chuunin to jounin entered the room outside the great stone door. As if on queue, the great door's chakra dissipated, and the doors opened to reveal the first two masked shinobi. "We are ready, Akihito-Sama." Akihito gave a nod, then turned to Sachiko. "Derobe, barest clothing only." He would command. Once his instructions were followed, he would lead the girl into the chamber.

Once inside, Sachiko would be met with an awesome sight; This 30x30x30 meter room was covered almost entirely in intricate fuuinjutsu designs. The cavern was supported by a total of eight columns lining the outside of the room's interior. In the middle, all of the fuuin of the room connected to what appeared to be a large fuuinjutsu array, with a total of eight small circular platforms rising from the ground a few feet. On each of these platforms was a fuuinjutsu seal, which was connected to the central seal. Within this central seal sat what appeared to be a large canopic jar, complete with a giant cork in the top. The jar, too, was covered in seals.

"Prepare the barrier." The first two masked shinobi, the ones who guarded the door, nodded in affirmation before dashing to opposite sides of the room. They then performed a long series of hand seals, mirroring each other as they gathered chakra. They then pointed their hands towards each other, and from their hands maroon chakra would flow out into the cavern, connecting to each other before expanding into a large circular barrier. Akihito would then gesture to Sachiko, instructing her to follow him into the barrier. She would find that, while the barrier was made of chakra, she was able to pass freely through it with no problems.

The other eight shinobi would follow them, each taking a place on one of the eight fuuinjutsu platforms, taking a meditative pose and holding the Tiger seal in preparation. Meanwhile, Akihito would lead Sachiko to the central fuuin, where she would notice a series of large chains. "Stand still" Akihito commanded before approaching her with the chains, binding her arms and legs with the chains, which were connected to the floor and to the ceiling. By the chains, Sachiko would be raised slightly into the air, and the chains pulled taut to prevent limb movement. He would then lift her shirt enough that her stomach was exposed before channeling a small amount of chakra into his finger, tracing it across the girl's belly to great a detailed fuuinjutsu seal.

"This is your last chance to turn back Sachiko. Are you sure you want this?"

[Willoria]

Sachiko swallowed hard as Akihito explained to her what had happened to Inka. "..merged souls?" she whispered, incredulous at the thought. Granted the spirit had power over souls, but she could see the concern already over what had been done. It'd be a lie for the girl to act as if that didn't shake her confidence at least a little bit. Akihito had made clear that soul was manipulative, that it would do everything it could to convince her to do something against the village and herself. 'I will have to become stronger than it then... but how do you convince something so ancient that its best interest is to be in line with the village interests?' she didn't have an answer for her own question honestly, not yet anyway. She buried the question for now, knowing the opportunity for answer would not yet come. That would take time, and it probably wouldn't happen soon. No, first she'd have to try and get to know this spirit. But how does one get to know a liar? Another question to hopefully be answered later.

She fought a blush as she was told to disrobe, but did as she was told. She removed her jacket and skirt, leaving herself in a pair of black yoga-shorts that nearly reached her knees and a black tanktop. It was all skin tight and she felt immensely uncomfortable in such minimal clothing, but she tired to bury that embarrassment as she followed Akihito. The entire situation was tense already and only getting worse, the chains of course didn't make her any more comfortable either. Her hands were shaking and she yelped quietly as she was pulled into the air.

She tried to steady her breathing as Akihito lifted her shirt and drew the fuuin and the girl tried to stifle her own fear as he posed that question to her. She did her best to smile at him. "Let's light a fire." she said quietly, using her own nindo to bring back her own confident. 'No turning back...'

[TyDie]

He had to fight back a grumble at the girl's headstrong response, but let out a sigh before he resolved himself to the task at hand. He nodded to the men and women surrounding him before he performed a small series of hand seals. He would slam his hand on the ground to activate the fuuinjutsu with his chakra, and in an instant the once dark and dank room was lit up by the glowing seals that lined the room. The change in light level would no doubt take Sachiko by surprise, but what followed would be even more shocking. The eight shinobi began to gather chakra within themselves, each person surrounded by a light blue vignette of chakra before channeling this chakra into the fuuinjutsu they sat on.

This blue chakra would pass through the fuuinjutsu, down into the central fuuinjutsu, working it's way through the design until it reached the very center, where the pot sat motionless. Akihito would place a hand on the pot lid before letting out a small sigh and funneling chakra into the pot. The pot would then glow with maroon chakra for a moment before the lid popped off on it's own. A dark, black mist bellowed out from the pot, crawling out across the ground and obscuring the glowing fuuin as it reached the edge of the barrier, stopping as it reached that barrier.

And then that voice... It filled the room.

"Is it already time? It feels like only yesterday..." The beast trailed off into a deep, ominous laugh, more of that mist flowing out of the pot until finally a large plume of black chakra escaped from the pot, filling the room but being held fast by the barrier. Akihito wasted no time in forming a series of seals before leashing Shishire with the chains of Shizumeru, which Shishire didn't even bother to fight against. This was merely another day to the Phantom Beast of Souls, another poor soul to turn to it's will... And just like the 8th, it awaited the day it successfully escaped from it's wretched flesh prison into the world once more.

Taking in a deep breath, Akihito formed another long, strenuous set of hand seals before yanking on the chains, pulling Shishire in. He'd use all the chakra gathered up within the seal, welling it within himself, before placing his hand gently on Sachiko's stomach. The great beast stared down at the young woman who would serve as it's next prison, tilted what appeared to be it's head, and laughed once more. And then, a moment later, the beast turned back into the pitch black chakra before being drawn in to Akihito's palm by the chains.

He grunted and strained with pain as this chakra visibly passed through his arm into the other, causing the seal on Sachiko's stomach to glow with power... and burn. It burned with pain unimaginable, as if her gut was being ripped open by a dozen flaming knives, and the pain spread and spread until her entire body was wracked with agony. It wouldn't last long though; eventually, her body would fall limp, and the girl would lose consciousness...

[Willoria]

It wasn't often that Sachiko wished for the company of her sister, of her family that she felt had forgotten and even abandoned her at so many points in her life. But as the room lit up with that eerie light of fuuinjutsu and chakra, as the darkness emerged from its jar and fear washed over her body in a fever. Sachiko wished for a moment there was someone there to let her know it would be okay, that this too was a challenge she could rise to, face, and overcome. As those glowing eyes stared down at her and she stared back, she felt her heart racing and the fear threaten to cloud her mind. But with all the might she possessed she pushed it back and took a deep breath. 'You won't find me so easy to sway.' she told herself as she stared down the spirit, concern crossing her fingers as it seemed to turn into that smoke again.

The voice had sent a shiver down her spine and she swallowed hard as it seemed to push into Akihito's hand, worry lined her face as she watched the pain he was in as he felt the power of the spirit that would soon share the girl's body. Yet soon she would realize her fear was misplaced, the pain that Akihito seemed to feel paled in comparison to what would soon overcome her own flesh and bone.

The burn didn't start as a tickle, there was no fading into blinding pain. The pain came on fast and Sachiko didn't get to whimper or gasp in shock. Her hands gripped at the chains on her wrists, pulling at them as the pain forced her back to arch and she lifted her own body just a bit higher out of reflex. She felt the chains digging into her ankles as she did so but couldn't stop herself. There was a moment of silence, the pain too much for her to voice a response, at least for a moment. But then as her back arched and her head reared back, eyes rolling back, she screamed. There were no words to describe the pain that lit up her little body before she finally went limp. Her hands released the chains and the girl hung there, head rolling forward and hair in her face as she slipped into unconsciousness.

There was no bliss waiting for her, no sweet dream. When she 'woke' she found herself in emptiness. Her feet stepped through swirling black smoke, there was no ground, and when she turned she could see the glowing eyes of formless spirit before her. "Are you so new to this you cannot even form your own mindscape for me, Child?" The spirit's voice sent that same shiver up her spine from moments ago, and then simply laughed as she stared up at Shishire.

"I guess I am." Sachiko said quietly, sighing as she glanced around her at the nothingness and closed her eyes a moment. When she opened them again she found herself standing in a great empty field, a large willow tree in the center and a small bench beneath it. The spirit itself seemed to sigh and look around before taking on an almost humanoid shape before her. Not that that put Sachiko anymore at ease. She could still feel what stood before her. "I am Henrin Sachiko." she said, introducing herself before Shishire interrupted.

"You are hardly fit to hold me. My last container was far stronger." it mocked.

"Far weaker by my perception." Sachiko retorted, earning another laugh from the spirit.

"As if stubbornness is all that is necessary to hold me!"

[TyDie]

Akihito continued to funnel this black, profane chakra through the young girl's body, the chakra from the eight surrounding him starting to wane as the ritual was nearing completion. He continued to grit his teeth in pain, never once faltering or removing his hand from the girl's stomach. To falter now would ensure her death... and restraining Shishire after a failed sealing was almost as dangerous as the sealing itself. Finally however, the last of the black chakra left the canopic jar, flowing through Akihito's body and into the young Henrin. The black fog had passed, the fuuin's light once more radiating within the room...

Akihito dropped to a knee as the ritual was complete, and the eight shinobi leapt down off of their platforms to rush to his and Sachiko's aid. "Let her down, now!" The chains fell limp on his command, and Sachiko was slowly lowered to the ground, though still restrained by the chains. One of the shinobi immediately began monitoring the girl's medical condition via Iijutsu, while another was channeling maroon chakra into her body to monitor the merging of the Spirit's chakra with her own.

"Vitals are critical, stabilizing." "The chakra is binding at a slow rate, this is going to be a long one." "Do what you can to make it go faster. The longer she sits in this state, the worse her chances of survival become." "Yes Sir." Sachiko's body would slowly begin to leak black chakra, which was suppressed by the Tenkujutsu using shinobi and forced back into her body. They had to force the containment to stick, trapping the beast so that it would be forced into the seal. The Iijutsu user was working on keeping her heart rate stable and fighting off the intense pain her body was going through...

During all of this, the telltale black rings of Shishire took form around the girl's wrists. The bond was forming...

[Willoria]

"I will hold you! You will bow to me! You're a spirit! A tool! A weapon! And by her Light I will make use of you!" The young girl was defiant in the face of the spirit, and yet her hands shook, she felt pale, she felt as if standing on her own two feet would not last forever. The thing before her was far more than she had expected. The spirit's reputation had been written on the scroll, and yet somehow Sachiko had never imagined something that would strike such a pure form a fear into her, and it was only going to get worse.

The spirit laughed at first, the idea of a child holding Shishire in place in any way wasn't just laughable, it was foolish. But as she spoke the word 'bow', an anger rose in him and he loomed over her. Skeletal in form, fire burned in his hands and his eyes as he raged. "You dare... YOU DARE!" he roared, reaching for her. Between the two the pattern of a fuuin glowed as Shishire reached for the girl's very soul in his anger and she whimpered at the pain that came with it, even though for the moment the seal protected her soul from his grasp.

---

On the outside her body twitched, hands grasped at the stone and sand beneath her. Her nails dug in so deep that blood began to seep from her cuticles and tears slipped from her eyes. A cough came as her body buckled and blood splattered her lips and face, as well as those too near to her. A whimper pulled from her body before a scream erupted and her back arched once more. The fight within her mind tore at her very body.

[TyDie]

Akihito visibly recoiled for a moment as Sachiko's body reacted violently to the sealing, her nails breaking and blood escaping her mouth. "Lungs are filling, should I expunge?" "Immediately, we can't have her dying that easily!" Without a word the Iijutsu user used a technique that would force Kiyori to cough up the blood welling in her lungs, no doubt covering her face with the red liquid. Of course, she would then immediately heal the damage itself, keeping a close eye on any other vital damage. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do about the pain... Sachiko would just have to grin and bear it as best she could.

Meanwhile, the Tenkujutsu user monitoring the merging of chakra had some relatively good news. "The two are becoming one, her blue chakra is turning black and Shishire is receding into the seal." "Good... Keep it steady, she's almost through this. Once that spirit is in the seal, it's over."

[Willoria]

Sachiko was visibly struggling, whimpering even as she was forced to cough up more blood, decorating her face with the red smears. It seemed she wouldn't get relief any time soon either, though her eyes suddenly snapped open. It took a moment for the truth to become clear however, her right hand quickly drawing a kunai from the unwary Iijutsu user's holster and giving it a spin before pressing it to her own neck. Black eyes turned to Akihito as her other hand reached out and grasped the collar of his shirt, blade pressed to her own throat as she grinned at him. "Lovely choice this child." came Shishire's voice from the girl's body. "Tell me, how bloody should I make her?" he added with a haunting laugh, blood dripping down from Sachiko's neck slowly as the blade was pressed with just enough pressure to leave a small cut behind. "You think Inka was a masterpiece, what shall I make her, Old Friend?"

---

"YOU CAN NEVER HOPE TO CONTROL ME!" he was roaring at her within, the girl falling backwards as she felt weakness in her own limbs. His skeletal fingers pressed against the seal, beginning to push through it and the pain become something far worse than it had been moments before. She could almost feel the genma's touch on her very soul. "Weak!" he accused her. "What made you think you were fit for this, child?! You cannot contain me! You cannot even stop me!"

Sachiko felt darkness looming into her vision, life leaving her slowly even as the spirit railed against her, and yet she felt a defiance returning to her. "NO!" She wasn't sure if she shouted it, if she had channeled chakra, or what she had done. But the hand suddenly left her and the spirit recoiled.

---

The kunai was suddenly dropped and the girl fell back, releasing anything she held in her hands and gasping for breath. "No..." it was just a whisper here, but even as tears made tracks in the smears of blood on her face the girl managed a small smile of bloody teeth as her eyes fluttered. "...I have him..." she said quietly, her head turning slightly to look at Akihito, and this time it was truly the girl herself in her eyes. "...its okay."

[TyDie]

The snap of motion towards the Iijutsu shinobi's kunai holster was noticed, but mere milliseconds too late, as she successfully pressed the blade to her own neck. The Iijutsu user wanted to react, but if she took her hands off of Sachiko for even a moment, the girl would be lost anyway. Akihito cursed and pointed to the rest of the team before ushering commands. "Strengthen the barrier! Prepare the jar! Get back in place!" the half dozen shinobi who were merely spectating went quickly to work, repairing the fuuin along the Canopic jar while the two holding the barrier were joined by two more, the barrier glowing stronger with Maroon Tenkujutsu chakra as the four began to maintain the barrier.

Akihito stared down at the child, a momentary sadness crossing his visage, but it was swiftly replaced by fury. Another failed sealing... He was already in the process of preparing hand seals, ready to scrub the entire sealing and cut his losses. But then her voice rang out clear, a whisper of course but no longer influenced by the beast within her. "Their chakra... it's merged entirely. The beast is sealed." "Vitals... still erratic, but stabilizing. Akihito-sama, please forgive my fail-" "That's enough! I'll deal with that later woman, focus on the girl. Her life is still in your hands, and any punishment you may face will be ten times worse if she dies now."

The woman faltered for only a moment, but reaffirmed herself and sent more light green chakra into the girl's body. Akihito looked down at the young Sachiko, her body wracked with pain and the seal on her belly still glowing ever so slightly, so freshly sealed. He tried not to show the concern in his face, but given how close that came to a failure it wasn't easy. Personal attachment or no, he hated seeing what Shishire did to those who died during the sealing... it was almost as bad as those who failed as jinchuuriki. Almost.

"Rest now Sachiko. You need it." He turned back to the shinobi preparing their contingencies and gave a nod, prompting them all to drop their defenses, many of them heaving and sighing as the exhaustion set in. "Stabilize her, then prep her for transport to the nearest hospital. She'll need round the clock care for a few days until she's back to normal." The shinobi went to work on the young girl, a couple more of them providing what little chakra they had to spare in the form of light green Iijutsu. Meanwhile, his task complete, Akihito wiped the sweat from his brow and stumbled out of the dank cavernous chamber.

He hoped this would be the last time he needed to seal this damnable beast. Janesisu was at least tolerable... but Shishire was nothing but concentrated, pure evil. He felt nothing but pity for the newly sealed Shigenma Jinchuuriki.

[Willoria]

Vaguely aware of what was going on around her now, Sachiko had a lot she wanted to say. She wanted to thank Akihito for the opportunity that he so clearly hated giving her. She wanted to assure the other shinobi that she was okay, even if she didn't yet remember why the woman was apologizing or what her failure supposedly was. But when she opened her mouth to speak only a sigh of exhaustion came out and the girl's head dropped back to the ground even as she turned and saw Akihito starting to stand.

The most she managed was to reach out and grab one of the man's hands and give his fingers a light squeeze with that smile still on her face before she passed out. But this time her mind did not go to some unfamiliar place, this time her mind fell into rest.