[Plotboard] Starry Eyed Surprise

[Tsedas]

The Sun had already crested over the Horizon, but to the people of Sunagakure, the direct rays of light were only just starting to peak over the top of their valley. Illuminating the rest of the village, the Sun climbed higher into the sky and people went about their lives. Within the offices of the Kazekage however, there was a life that was about to begin the first day of a changed life.

Beams of light came through the window of a room within the Kage's building, to reveal the bed and work space designating it as some kind of infirmary. Resting atop the bed lay the still and snoozing form of Ishikawa Hanzo. As the sun touched upon his skin, it shimmered like fractured glass that had spider webbed out to an extreme level. His shirtless form revealed a large fuuin marking upon his stomach where the Genma now lay dormant.

A groan signaled his awakening as he stirred on the bed, his arm rising up as it feebly moved to his face. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, the youth managed to open shift his other arm to try and prop himself up. After what seemed like minutes of attempting to sit up, Hanzo collapsed back onto the bed and gave up. His body felt weak and battered, like he'd picked a fight with a whole army of angry bears and get passed around like a volley ball in their annual angry grizzly bear bonanza.

While his everything hurt like hell, it didn't stop his sense from working just fine. Turning his head, he opened his eyes and glanced about the room, not yet made aware of the changes to his physical appearance. The sit of shifting light caught his eye as he stared at the ceiling and watched colors move about, as if someone was waving a crystal around and letting the light refract through it onto the ceiling. "What's causing that?"

[Willoria]

Souta sat back in a darkened corner, much as he had done the day Sakaki rose from her slumber too. He did not move, did not shift, his eyes fixed on the infirmary bed as he waited. 'This approach seems to be working with Sakaki already... perhaps it will work with this one as well. Makes me wonder more and more why they told us no contact when it came to Sachiko. Seems obvious to me that her death was inevitable the day they told us that. These kids thrive better with a guiding hand than an invisible threat...' As the boy shifted in his bed, Souta blinked, suddenly aware that he seemed to be coming to. He watched him a moment, seeing him have trouble with even the basics of propping himself up.

"Careful, your body needs rest." Souta told him, ignoring the question for now as he stood from his corner and, in near a single stride, he came to the foot of the bed looked down at the new Jinchuuriki. "You've been through quite an ordeal, might be some time before your body is ready to move. Tell me, Hanzo, what do you remember?" As he asked he realized he hadn't yet introduced himself, but for now he ignored his own rudeness. What he would tell the boy next depended entirely on what the boy remembered anyway. He could introduce himself after he knew more.

[Tsedas]

The sound of a voice drew Hanzo from any musings he had beyond that point as he struggled to lift his aching head. His dark eyes scanned the direction the voice came from until a man appeared. The man reminded him of an 'ordeal' and asked what he remembered which prompted flashes to slip through his mind. It was like a series of still life images, coming and going as he remembered the night in which he was led down to that room. "I remember... going to the sealing room. Laying on a futon or something with a pot nearby. Then there was this voice. It felt like the voice was coming from everywhere when it spoke. Soft, giggly..." Hanzo lay his head back as he frowned while recalling some other details.

"I remember the room changed. Like the stone turning to metal, torches fire becoming ice, and roots sprouting from everywhere. Then mist? But it was also fire and water. Dust and clouds." Hanzo shook his head as he couldn't quite get an image in his mind of the Genma they'd sealed into it. "Everything gets kind of hazy after the strange things started to happen to the room." There was a heavy sigh as the young genin stared at the ceiling from where he lay, pondering what had happened. He could only assume they were successful... right?

"Is the beast inside me?"

[Willoria]

"It is. If you cannot hear its voice in your head yet, you will soon enough." Souta answered rather bluntly, walking over to Hanzo's bedside. "Let me help you sit up." he said simply, picking up a couple of spare pillows from a nearby cabinet and, if Hanzo let him, he'd put them behind him so he could better sit up and see the rest of the room. As he was having trouble lifting his head, he would put a hand behind Hanzo's back and lift him a bit as part of this help. The man was certainly strong enough to do so.

Once he was propped up, Souta would move to a nearby table on wheels and move it over to him. On the table was a couple of drinks, clearish and probably juice, and a bowl or two of clear soup. "Don't rush yourself, but you should eat, drink. You'll need your strength for what is coming." Souta told him, taking a seat beside the bed. "You may have already been warned that you'd have eyes on you as you grow, as you train and interact with the Genma now within you. You were probably also told those guardians would be invisible, rarely seen. But that is not an approach I tend to take. I am Meiyo Souta, and I am one of those guardians, just as I am for another Jinchuuriki you may get a chance to meet later."

[Tsedas]

Hanzo thanked Souta as he was helped into a sitting position, his back propped up by several pillows. The whole endeavor of just sitting up seemed to drain him of what strength he had mustered, but not enough to raised a hand to rub his eyes. When he brought his hand up, he stopped and looked at it for a moment before turning it over and staring at his palm. His skin was glimmering from where the light fell upon it. Bringing his other hand up, he looked at it before shifting his gaze down to his shirtless torso and seeing it was in a same state of glitter covered strangeness. The large seal upon his stomach symbolizing that he held the Genma inside him. "Why am I so shiny?"

Hanzo shifted his gaze up to Souta as the man spoke, listening to his words as he absorbed the fact he was now going to be watched. Even the man beside his bed was going to have an eye on him. "Is there anything I should know about this? You mentioned a voice, what did you mean by that?" He asked as he was going to have to process this if he was going to fully grasp the severity of his new situation in life. While he wasn't opposed to the idea of housing the Genma, he was going to need to get a handle on what it fully entailed. He remembered something mentioned by the Council Member when they originally talked about him becoming the next host before the faithful night of the sealing. The Genin felt a tickle in his mind, like he should be concerned and wanted to express his desire to be alone, but the tickle told him to put on a strong face. He felt like some part of him was saying that he should make it look like it wasn't bothering him.

But it was bothering him.

Something felt like it was trying to guide him, like a soft prodding in his brain to push him towards the direction it wanted him to go. Giving the other man a look, waiting to hear his reply to his early question to see if there were more things he should know or to ask about. If anything, Hanzo would have had a clearly concerned look in his eyes if it wasn't for the fact they appeared to resemble the starry night sky staring back at Souta.

[Willoria]

Souta tilted his head as he looked at the boy, watching him discover the physical changes for himself and at first only nodding at questions. "For my other Jinch I help with, for her its a voice. It constantly talks to her, though what about I'm not always certain. Probably about me, about life, what it thinks she's doing wrong, its desires to escape... all of it. It might be similar for you. Though it could also be inclinations, feelings, or something similar. In truth hosts like you often know better than we do." He looked at him a moment, noticing not just that something seemed to be bothering him, but that something just felt off.

"Honestly it may even try to convince you that my job is to eventually kill you. My job is to be your Sensei, to help you as much as I can. But it maybe be difficult..." he pointed to the boy's seal and at him in general. "The glittering you're seeing on your skin, its a sign of the spirit that you now share your body with." he continued to explain, falling quiet once more as he watched and waited to see just what other questions he might end up having.

[Tsedas]

Hanzo shifted his gaze from Souta back to his hands as he listened. There was a voice in his head, but it remained silent. There was a monster inside him, but her felt no different. The only sure sign that something was accomplished was his dazzling skin, they way it danced with light as the sun's rays kissed his glittery flesh. Looking back up towards Souta, he heard that the voice would try to convince him that they were enemies and Souta would try to kill Hanzo. 'I see you're having 'the talk'. Should I come back later? Oh wait, I can't leave.'

Hanzo heard the voice as it seemed to spread through his mind like a wave of warm whispers. The giggle of amusement that accompanied the voice in his head made the boy shift a bit as his eyes seemed to dart around the room. 'I do wish he would get to the part where he talks about all the wonderful gifts you get from being my new vessel. It's oh so nice to hear people describe the gifts.' Hanzo swallowed as he brought a hand up and tapped his head. "They said something about a gift. They're... amused by all this."

Hanzo's heart had picked up it's pace the minute the voice started to speak up, it was more unnerving than the change to his skin. He wasn't sure how comfortable he was going to be with a voice in his head at all hours of the day. "This other jinch you mentioned, did they get some kind of gift too?"

[Willoria]

Souta raised an eyebrow as he saw a shift in Hanzo's body language, and before the boy spoke again he knew the spirit must be speaking to him. He wasn't entirely surprised when Hanzo told him, but still couldn't help a bit of a chuckle. "Yeah, gifts could be one way to describe it." he told him. "This spirit in you has power, abilities that you didn't have before. It will probably be able to teach you more about them than I ever could, but some refer to the abilities simple as 'creation'. My understanding is that you'll pretty much be able to create something out of nothing with the aid of this spirit." He watched Hanzo carefully as he spoke, knowing the boy was already in a shock of his life, and things would only get more jarring from here.

He nodded as Hanzo asked about Sakaki. "Her name is Sakaki, and her genma has power over souls. In truth if I had to choose, I'd much rather be in your position than hers. Her spirit is notorious for burning through hosts fast as well as being a manipulative shit. But she's done well so far, and you could learn a lot from her about working with a genma. I'd happily introduce the both of you any time. She can be a little dark, and you two may find yourselves as much polar opposites as you have in common, but I think you'll learn to appreciate her advice and experience." Souta wished he could do more, teach more. But even he only had access to so much information about the Genma. After all, before his time with Sakaki the guardians weren't supposed to take on a Sensei role with the hosts. It was rare, but he hoped just as with Sakaki that this one might benefit from the additional experience and teaching that he could provide.

'I have much to learn myself.'

[Tsedas]

Hanzo tried to wrap his head around the idea of being able to make something from seemingly nothing. The idea that he could just hold out his hand and make a ball of steel appear or create water seemed to go beyond simple jutsu as he knew it. It would definitely push his creativity to the limits of where it currently was as he pondered the best place to start looking into the subject. Looking back at his hands, he could only think to himself 'Why is my skin so shiny though? What's that about?' His voice filled his mind before there was a gigging that almost made him jump as his shoulders tensed and he looked around the room again, as if trying to assure himself that that voice actually belonged to someone and he was merely being pranked.

"Merely a side effect of my presence. You should see your eyes right now, they are certainly breath taking to say the least. You're so very welcome for that." The voice said before Hanzo tried to spot a mirror in the room. There was one on the far side of the room, mounted to the wall, but he barely had the strength to sit up, let alone casually walk over to the mirror. Souta started telling him about the other Genma host in the village however and his gaze shifted back to the older man. His dark, starry eyes met with man near his bed as he took in what he said about Sakaki.

"Souls? That sounds just as out there as this creation thing." He said before thinking on it some more. Her genma burned through hosts quickly and seemed like a real danger, but how dangerous was this Heaven Genma inside him? Still, if he could learn about this genma host situation they were both in from her, then it would be worthwhile to try and talk to her. Maybe she had some advice on how to deal with a disembodied voice in his head. He didn't much like that fact that this genma could just pipe up whenever she pleased.

'Awwww, already thinking of making a new friend?[/'i]' The voice spoke up as Hanzo furrowed his brow. "Do you always know what I'm thinking?" Hanzo asked aloud, not thinking that he might look odd to Souta at first. THe voice gave another giggle as he swore he could hear a smile in her words. 'Oh don't worry, you'll get used to it. Perhaps I'll help you make many more friends! But you can never hide your thoughts from me, not fully at least. I am in your head after all. If I had control of your body, you'd probably be a forced to be reckoned with. How does that sound? Wanna give me the reigns so I can show you what you're capable of now?'

Hanzo shook his head at the offer, "It's one thing to have you in my head, but you're not gonna just casually get my body like it's some toy to play with." Hanzo said, focusing more on his conversation with the genma than Souta at this point. "I'll listen to your advice, but this is my body and I'm not gonna just let you use it as you have it." Hanzo stated as sternly as a thirteen year old could, sadly it didn't sound as tough coming from him as it might of from someone like Souta. Speaking of Souta, Hanzo blinked as he realized he was talking aloud and looked at the other man before clearing his throat. "Sorry... I probably look crazy, don't I?"

[Willoria]

Souta fell quiet as Hanzo did. Though as the boy spoke aloud to the genma, the man had to hold back a bit of a smirk and a chuckle. He had seen Sakaki behave similarly before, and Sachiko before her, so the action hardly surprised him. He simply remained where he was and watched Hanzo, listening to his half of the conversation. When the boy clearly realized what he had done and tried to apologize, Souta shook his head. "You're not the first host I've met, and this is normal, not crazy." he told him, allowing himself a small smile for a brief moment. "It takes getting used to, hearing their voice in your head, and learning to reply the same way rather than out loud. It takes time, but you've already made one major stride on your own."

Souta took a deep breath and let it out slow. "One thing that is true of every Genma Spirit is that they wish to be free. They will try to find their way out, or find their way to controlling you. Shishire may be seen as being more dangerous than Janesisu, but that doesn't mean they aren't dangerous. I heard your side of the conversation, and I know you already turned it down when it asked nicely for control. It may not always be so kind, or so blatant. But you're already making strides."

"Now there are some ways I can help, some you might be okay with, most, it certainly won't be." Souta held up a single finger as if to say 'wait' before forming a few hand seals. His chakra seemed to swarm his hands briefly, turning a shade of maroon before he reached out and touched Hanzo on the shoulder, knowing the spirit would likely know before Hanzo did what he just did. And Souta would be able to hear it for himself this time.

Jutsu UsedShow

*Shizumeru • [Voice of Spirits]
C-rank Tenkujutsu (Nin)
After performing the needed hand seals and focusing chakra into their hand, the user places their hand on the head of a Spirit host, or on the object containing a spirit. This allows them to speak directly to the spirit in a telepathic link.

[Tsedas]

Hanzo almost breathed a sigh of relief as he was told this was a perfectly normal part of being a host. He knew it would take some getting used to and more than a touch of self-discipline to keep from speaking aloud as he talked with the genma. Souta spoke of every Genma's desire to be free from the bondage they had found themselves in, this statement giving way to a feeling in the back of his mind that earned a scoff of amusement from the genma. 'Ha! Please tell me that isn't pity! You humans are hilarious!'

Hanzo shifted his gave away from Souta for a moment as he silently wished the being wasn't in his head. This silent pray was met with only more stiffled giggling before Hanzo's attention was caught by the utterance of two names. "Janesisu." He almost whispered, as if in some strange sort of awe. 'Yeeeeeeesssss?' the voice gushed at him. He was about to tell the spirit to hush but his words weren't given a change to leave his mouth when he saw Souta forming hand seals. The color of the chakra was similar to that of the night that Janesisu was sealed into his body.

As Souta touched his arm, Hanzo expected something to happen but found himself staring back at the man in confusion. "Was that supposed to do something?" 'Oh it did something all right. He wanted to make this a little threesome and rob me of my alone time with you. Isn't that right Souta-kun?' The voice seemed to grow sultry when addressing the older of the two shinobi. Hanzo gave Souta a quizzical expression before the voice in the boy's head broke into laughter. 'Oh this is precious! Poor little Hanzo doesn't know a thing about the duty thrust upon him, nor does he have a clue of what people can do around him! You are just so adorable!'

"Would you stop that!" Hanzo snapped at the air, yelling at the voice in his head like it was another person in the room. "IF you know so much, why don't you tell me something then?"

'Oh? And what would my little Hanzo love to know, hm?'

"Why don't you tell me what he did, since you seem to find it so amusing? What is your power, really? And why in the Light's name are you trying to piss me off so much?!" Hanzo swore his eye twitched a little bit and both of them would hear the voice sigh in what sounded like a happy amused way. 'That's three somethings little boy... but I'll answer them because I'm feeling generous. Firstly, Souta-kun there used a jutsu that let him listen in on us, even if for a brief time. Second, my power is like he said. Creation. You can build the world, shape it from nothing and maybe even shape your own world if you dare to dream big. Water in a desert is always a burden for you humans. You could make a deluge to drown this dry land. You can build monoliths to my glory, convert this arid and bleak place into an endless oasis, you can craft a Moon and drop it on those that oppose me. You are my vessel and you have my powers, even if just a fraction. I just ask that if you erect any statues of me, you make them as beautiful as you can.'

The voice seemed to go quite for a moment before seeming to realize it was still stuck in Hanzo's head and snapped out of what one could only assume was a happy day dream before clearing her non-existent throat. 'As for why I test your patience, well that's easy.' The voice seemed to get low and quiet, as if whispering into Hanzo's ears. 'I enjoy watching your reactions.' Hanzo swallowed as he knew he was now going to have to deal with this constant test of his patience for the rest of his life. Shaking his head, he sighed heavily as he would have to find a way to cope.

[Willoria]

Souta had been about to answer Hanzo's question about his jutsu, but the spirit spoke up rather quickly. As he referred to him as 'Souta-kun' he couldn't help a smirk and a bit of a chuckle. 'I guess I'm not the oldest one in the room anymore.' He removed his hand from Hanzo and broke the jutsu shortly after, not wanting to fully share his thoughts with the genma. But the few moments did give him confirmation of the spirit's demeanor. While similar to Shishire in some ways, this one was more playful it seemed, adding to an idea and assessment already forming in Souta's mind concerning the genma.

But he did finally answer Hanzo's question. "Tenkujutsu." he stated at first. "Though it can play on genjutsu, taijutsu, or ninjutsu, it isn't technically any of the above. It only affects spirits such as genma. You saw it during your sealing when they sealed Janesisu into you. I'm no sealer but I knew a few techniques myself. That one allows me to hear the spirit in you, so long as I'm touching you. I also know a couple techniques to help if you should start to lose control. As you learn to work with the spirit in you and control its powers, you'll start to learn about forms. Forms are ways your appearance will change while also granting you access to greater powers with the spirit. The techniques I know can restrain the spirit, or even knock you out of form, but that's all part of my job as your guardian."

Souta took a deep breath, simply because he'd been tap-dancing around a particular subject but he had to come closer to speaking on it once more. "I won't be your only guardian though. I work with a team, though the others you're less likely to see unless something goes horribly wrong. They'll always be around, its part of their job, so I hate to say it but if you ever feel like you're being watched, its probably true." he looked at Hanzo a moment as he tried to think what else the kid might need to know. "I know it's all a lot to process at once... but if you have more questions I'll answer what I can."

[Tsedas]

Hanzo was pulled from his attempt at brooding as Souta went into more detail about the technique he used to listen to the spirit. He went on to explain how it could be used to help keep him from losing control over the Genma's power and knock him out of 'forms'. Hanzo's expression changed yet again as he seemed to have a puzzled expression cross his features as he looked to Souta. "You wouldn't happen to know how these forms work by chance, would you? Does this Sakaki person you spoke of have access to these as well?"

'Look at you, so hungry for knowledge.' Janesisu mused, her tone still sultry as if Souta was still listening in. However despite her amused statement, she seemed to be holding something back from Hanzo. It was like she could elaborate for Souta, but didn't out of the fact that Hanzo stumbling through this new situation in life was all for her amusement. It definitely irritated the poor boy, but he kept his cool and continued to focus on Souta. If anything, Souta was keeping Hanzo from questioning his own sanity at this moment as he seemed to help the Genin unlike the Genma who was more interested in tormenting him for a chuckle.

[Willoria]

As he was asked about the forms, Souta held a hand out in front of him and moved it back and forth a little. "A little." he admitted. "Typically forms are unlocked in moments of intense emotion. It can be as a result of the genma trying to take advantage and pushing power on you, or perhaps something drives you to access that power and you reach for it. Each time you unlock a new one it will be draining, Sakaki herself has passed out more than once after her own. But after that it gets easier, and accessing that power won't overload you." he explained. "Sakaki has already unlocked most of her possible forms if I'm not mistaken. Honestly she'd be a good person to talk to about it."

Souta paused for a moment, looking at Hanzo as he debated how to approach the last subject. "There is one more thing you need to be aware of, and for some it proves the scariest." he admitted. "But in Sakaki's early days with Shishire he tried to use it against her, and I'd rather you know now rather than later." he started, taking a deep breath as he thought over the words that he would speak next. "As guardians myself and my team aren't just here to guard you. We're here to guard the village against the genma getting out, against you losing control. I will do everything I can to help you, to be your Sensei even, and if you start to lose control, to restrain you. But sometimes we don't have a choice. I have had my hand forced in the past and I have had to kill a host of Shishire before. He had destroyed her soul and taken over her body, so in truth she was dead already, but regardless it is a burden I am expected to bear if the worst comes to pass." He looked over at Hanzo a moment, watching how he might absorb the information. "That spirit in you may try to convince you that I'm to be your murderer. But I'm telling you the entire truth here so she can't surprise you with it, that the only way that happens is if you're gone already."

He wasn't sure if the kid would get upset at the news, or somehow just absorb it. He only knew he had to make sure the kid knew. "I'm going to do anything in my power to make you stronger in this... but I need you to promise me you'll do everything you can to help yourself, and to hold on to yourself, deal?" Souta reached out a hand towards Hanzo, offering it for a handshake to seal their deal.

[Tsedas]

Hanzo took in what Souta said, but his features hardened as he was informed of Souta and the other guardians purpose in regards to his status as a jinchuuriki. His eyes looked away from Souta as he silently contemplated the knowledge given to him. Then came the offering of a hand. Hanzo shifted his hand out and shook Souta's without hesitation, his eyes looking at where his shimmering sking met with the older man's more normal skin. "This is gonna take some time. I'll have to talk to this Sakaki person when I get the chance, but for now I think I need to rest." Hanzo had tried to give Souta's hand a firm grip when they shook, but Souta would feel little more than the limpest grip possible.

'Good idea, it'll be hard to get all those sexy statues of me built if you're too tired.' Janesisu teased before Hanzo closed his eyes and shook his head. "I think it best that I lay down no anyway. I'm not sure if the voice in my head is giving me a head ache or if I'm just reeling from the sealing process. I'll probably need your help understanding the rules of being a host and what actions to try and avoid later on." Releasing his grip of Souta's hand, Hanzo shifted back down onto the bed, practically sliding down under the covers from how little effort he put into reclining himself so he could go back to sleep. He rolled onto his side and stared at the wall for a moment as he tried to ponder what exactly he was gonna do now. He was given a wholly different impression on what he'd be doing as a host compared to the reality of it all.

'This is so screwed up.' Hanzo frowned as the Genma laughed, having voiced his own thoughts with him. It was definitely going to take some time.