Needless to say, the task seemed daunting at best, and almost impossible at worst.
But as he walked, he looked to the night sky. The twinkling stars above had always brought him some kind of comfort. Being in the desert, the sky was almost never cloudy, so he could always count on looking out his window and seeing the moon and stars above him. On this particular night, a crescent moon hung in the sky, and the twinkling lights surrounding it seemed somehow brighter than normal... It was probably his imagination. Making one last turn down a back alley, he arrived at the place he had been instructed to go to by Akihito; In this alley, a single figure stood, clad in a black cloak that obscured all of their features. The figure noticed Takuma's approach, and turned to face him, a silhouette of darkness preventing Takuma from identifying them.
"You're late." The voice rang out, feminine in nature by the sounds of it, though harsh and duty driven. "Let's go." The voice called out again before turning to walk further down the alley. "Wait, where are we going?" Takuma asked, though he continued to follow the shadowy figure. "Surely you can at least tell me that much." As they reached the end of the dark alley, the figure turned to face Takuma and shook her head. "Actually, no. I can't." Reaching into her cloak, she would produce a black bag and hand it to Takuma. "Put it over your head." Again, clear and concise, authoritative; This woman, whoever she was, knew her duties well.
With a gulp, Takuma shakily took the bag from her, and pulled it over his head, at which point she would take his hand and lead him in a myriad of directions. He heard the sound of stone shifting this way and that, and then they were walking down some stairs it felt like. He stumbled a few times, but the woman leading him was always quick to steady him, preventing him from falling over or peeking from under the bag. "You are to become the next host to the Toukougenma, Takuma." The voice would finally speak as the stones shifted back in place behind them. "Surely you realize that this is a well kept secret within our village. Few shinobi even know the existence of these creatures, and even fewer civilians. Secrecy is paramount until you better understand the powers of the Genma. Your parents will be informed and sworn to secrecy, as will you. No one else, aside from the handlers tasked with overseeing your growth, will know the secret you bear... not until such time as you are deemed successful."
When she finally finished speaking, They stopped moving, and a sudden force removed the bag from Takuma's head. He squinted against the light of several burning torches, and before him rose a large stone door, with two other cloak-clad figures standing before it. The woman who had been speaking to him finally let down her hood, revealing stark white hair and yellow eyes; A Naegi, if Takuma had ever seen one. Her white hair was kept short, in the form of a pixie cut, and her pale skin lent to her exotic beauty in a harsh land full of tanned skin. "We will not be exchanging names, for the sake of anonymity. But you may call me "Fox"." As she gave her psuedonym, she pat Takuma on the shoulder and turned to face the doors. "Through there, the ritual will begin. There will be pain, there will be struggle. It is entirely possible you may not survive." She spoke with such conviction, such cold objectivity, even the possibility of Takuma's death didn't phase her.
The young boy took an instinctive step back, fear gripping him, as he looked at the daunting doors of stone before him. "I... Hadn't thought of that I guess. I read the reports, but it hadn't dawned on me until now..." He shuddered for a moment, clearly shaken by the revelation of his own mortality. "This is your last chance to back out, Takuma. But before you do, consider these things." Fox would walk towards him, then begin to circle him as she gave her analysis of the facts as she saw them. "You were chosen from a wide selection of Genin and Chuunin for a variety of reasons. You were a young graduate who took to a complex ninjutsu style well; very few genin come out of the academy as fully realized puppeteers. Your age also gives you far more room to grow, and increases the rate of sealing success. Your personality and your upbringing also lend themselves well to a comfortable, rich home life, reducing stress and the potential for failure as a host."
The woman stopped in front of him and knelt down, showing kindness for the briefest of moments as she put a finger under his chin, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "We've done our homework. Of all of the thousands of shinobi candidates, you rose above the rest as having the best chance of success. If you turn this down, the next shinobi's odds will not be as good as yours. Now decide; will you go through with the sealing ritual and house the Toukougenma within yourself?" Takuma's eyes wavered ever so slightly, his fears being pushed aside by the various facts Fox had given him. But that last fact... the fact that the next candidate would be less than ideal, and would have less of a chance of success... That was what convinced him. "I couldn't send a fellow comrade into a situation like that. Not if they would be more at risk than myself. Alright Fox... I'll do it."
Fox simply nodded to the boy and put her cloak back up, turning to nod at the shinobi in front of the door. They simply turned to the door, performed a series of seals, and a moment later the doors lit up with fuuinjutsu and swung open. Fox would then motion for Takuma to follow, and as he did, dank smell could be detected, and torchlight gave him a view of what was within. 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.
Within this room, six additional shinobi stood on the rising platforms, in medatative poses with their legs crossed and holding different hand seals, funneling their chakra into the fuuinjutsu that filled the room. The two shinobi who had opened the door dashed to their places, occupying the last two platforms. "Prepare the barrier." The two hooded shinobi nodded, performing 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. Fox would then gesture to Takuma, instructing him to follow Fox into the barrier. Takuma would find that, while the barrier was made of chakra, he was able to pass freely through it with no problems. It was amazing, seeing this much power amassed before him... all to suppress and seal this "genma" within him.
Once in the center of the room, Takuma was instructed to stand in a specific location, near the center of the fuuinjutsu, right next to the canopic jar. From the jar, he could sense an immense power... It was pushing, scratching, clawing; trying to free itself from within. "...It's in there, isn't it?" Fox merely nodded, then walked over to Takuma. "Remove your cloak and shirt. The seal must be placed on your bare flesh." Takuma, with a slight blush, would oblige, slowly removing his cloak and blue poncho before finally getting to his white shirt underneath. This left the boy's chest, stomach and back exposed, and a sudden chill caused him to shiver. Fox would take the boy's belongings and set them aside... he would not be needing them. Then, Fox would reach up to grab a couple of dangling manacles on chains, and quickly apply the manacles to the boy's wrists. "This is for everyone's safety. Especially yours."
Takuma gulped again, as an additional set of manacles was placed on his feet, and the ones around his arms were pulled taut, but not so tight that they would hurt his arms or shoulders. "This may sting." The woman said, as she performed a few small seals and started to draw an intricate fuuinjutsu seal on the boy's back, between his shoulders, that would stretch up the back of his neck slightly and down to his mid back, as well as across both shoulderblades. The pain was tolerable, though noticeable, as Takuma winced a few times during. "Alright. The seal is prepared. The barrier is erected. I will now begin the sealing. Everyone reacts differently to this Takuma. Some feel immense pain, some pass out, some feel almost nothing at all. React in whatever way feels natural, but whatever you do, do not give in to the beast's demands."
"Okay... I'm ready, fox. Just... let's do it. Quick." Fox was all to happy to oblige, as were the rest of the shinobi arrayed around them. The fuuinjutsu surrounding the room ignited with power, all funneled down their platforms towards the center of the fuuin... towards the Canopic Jar. A moment later, the jar itself was engulfed in power, it's fuuinjutsu igniting. And then, with a "POP", the seal on the jar shot through the air and landed on the ground with a heavy "THUD". Takuma watched as thick chakra began to emerge from the jar, pitch black power at first... but then, it took on an appearance not unlike the Night Sky he had been looking at naught but a few minutes ago; white speckles of chakra throughout a black void of chakra. And then, a white hand burst forth from the jar. And then another, before eventually the jar itself simply shattered.
Now, standing before Takuma and Fox, was the Toukougenma herself; A humanoid figure clad in white chakra, with a swirling array of planets in the entity's hollow stomach. Surrounding her body, twinkles of white chakra would fade in and out of existence. Truly her appearance was awe inspiring... But while Takuma gawked, Fox was performing an extremely lengthy series of seals. Once completed, she would put one hand on Takuma, and another pointed towards the Toukougenma. All of the chakra gathered throughout the fuuinjutsu array was funneled into her body in that moment, and great maroon chains of power would wrap around the Toukougenma, binding it and forcing it to take a state of pure chakra. The chains would then recede, bringing the Toukougenma within Fox's body as they did, as she let out a cry of pain. It took everything she had to maintain composure, but she managed to do so, and funnel all of the Toukougenma's chakra through her body and into her other hand... funneling it into Takuma.
At first, there was pain as the fuuinjutsu seal on his back ignited, it's power serving to house the beast safely within him. More and more of the Toukougenma's power would flow into him, the pain growing until it was beyond measure. He couldn't help but cry out in agony, tears flowing down his face. And then, as the technique finally finished... he was gone. Out like a light, completely unconscious.
As Takuma awoke, he started awake, jumping to his feet quickly to take in his surroundings. He looked around him, and at first all he saw was darkness. Pure, unending darkness. A void of nothing, a literal hell. But before the fear could set in, a voice rang out throughout the void.
"So... You're my new prison, eh? Hmm... a little young, but my oh my I can see you being absolutely stunning in a few years."
Takuma looked around for the source of the voice, but found nothing but more darkness. "W-Who's there? Show yourself!" He called out to the void, searching for something, anything that might reveal the source of the voice. In response, a sultry chuckle would ring out, and in a sing song voice it would reply. "Ah ah ah... Now now, is that any way to speak to your new best friend? Surely you can manage some manners. After all, first impressions are important." For some reason, Takuma found himself actually humbled by the voice's words... and so, he agreed. He took in a deep breath, exhaled, and tried again.
"Please... Would you be so kind as to reveal yourself to me?" In response, he got a... moan? It sounded like a moan of delight, of satisfaction. "Mmmm... That's much better. Was that so hard?" With a playful giggle, the voice continued to speak. "I suppose I can turn on the lights..." Suddenly, Takuma would hear a "clap" as if two hands clapping together. And then, an explosion of colors! Blue, yellow, green, white, black, pink, a chromatic assault on the senses rang out all around him! Accompanying the sounds was an ear shattering "BOOOOOM" that could be felt in his chest, like rolling thunder bombarding his body with wave after wave of sound. He dropped to his knees and closed his eyes, put his hands over his ears, and prayed that the sensory attack would end.
And then, finally, he heard the noise die down, and through his closed lids the colors seemed to fade. As he opened them again, his eyes grew wide with amazement. As he looked down, he saw... the world. Their world. From what he could tell based on maps he had seen in the library of the Scribes, it was the world they lived in. And directly below them, the great Zentouyuubou desert; the desert within which Sunagakure could be found. His gaze looked upwards, and before him he saw space itself stretched out before him. He could look to the sky and see the movements of celestial bodies far greater than he had ever thought possible. The planets themselves orbitted the sky above him. He could even see the moon in all of it's glory, hanging just overhead, it's bright light reflected off of the Sun on the other side of the world.
"Pretty, isn't it? I know, I know... You're amazed, astounded, perhaps even shocked and awed." As Takuma looked around, his fear was replaced by wonder and excitement, his frown with a smile. "It's... Beautiful." He finally got out. As if in response to his words, several stars that dotted the scene before him seemed to shift and compact themselves together, forming a constellation of a female figure. And then, the constellation began to move, as dark chakra encircled it's humanoid form. The woman appeared no less than 10 meters away from Takuma, and from here he could make out the details of her form. Though she wore no clothing, there was no detail to be found on her astral skin; It was like the living embodiment of the cosmos was walking towards him, and though nude, he could only see stars and space. Her long hair, bright purple in color, flowed freely behind her, as if it were not bound by gravity. Her hips, thick and voluptuous, swayed with her every move. Her hands, charged with fiery white power, glowed vibrantly, like she held literal stars in her hands. And lining her shoulders, breasts, thighs and forehead were tattoos, made of the same white power that her hands were coated in. Her eyes glowed with this same power; Chakra, if Takuma had to name it.
The Lady of the CosmosShow
"Wh...What do you mean?" Takuma managed to choke out, wishing like hell he could stop blushing so damn hard. "Oh, right... you can't see them. Duh. Here, have a look! I think you'll like what I've done with those pretty blue orbs you used to have." With a snap of her fingers, the woman created in her hand a sort of hand mirror, which she would hold up to Takuma's face... And in response, his jaw dropped. His eyes... they were made of stars. Looking up to the skies above, he could spot a spiral cluster of stars above him. His eyes looked just like it; spirals of stars with a bright yellow star in the center, serving as his pupil. "Wow... they're..."
"Yes yes, they're beautiful, can we get back to me though? I was trying to make a point, but of course the mortal in you was caught up in something so trivial." The creature got closer to Takuma again, wrapping her hands around his waist and pulling him close to her, so that his head was inches from her face again. "Now then... Why don't you just do me that teensy favor I was talking about... and let me go free? Let me share this beauty with the world!" Takuma... actually considered it for a moment. She was made of stars, she belonged with them. But with a shake of his head, the fascination dissipated and the illusion was broken. He pushed away from her with a huff and narrowed his eyes at the woman.
"No. You're the Toukougenma. And I'm your prison. I will never let you free, not while I live!" The figure put her hands on her hips and cocked one hip out, clearly unimpressed with the boy's willpower, but then held a hand up to her forehead and sighed. "Janesisu, love. Call me Janesisu. If i'm going to be trapped with you, we can at least go by proper names, eh Takuma?" He was a little stunned that the beast knew his name, a gulp being his only response, as he was once more frozen and captivated by the figure's beauty. "Well... I guess you can't blame a girl for trying. I really didn't want this to end with you dying, y'know. You're really a looker. It's going to be a shame when you finally kick the bucket and free me. But, I suppose that's your choice... and your problem."
She walked closer to Takuma, her hips swinging back and forth as she got within inches of him, tracing a finger up his chest and making him shudder at her touch before eventually ending at his chi, lifting his head up to look at her face. "You can't say I didn't give you a chance, Takuma. Now... go back to the mortals, love. Leave me to my creations." Without a moment's hesitation, the manifestation of Janesisu kissed Takuma on the lips, and as his eyes fluttered, he suddenly felt a sensation he hadn't noticed the entire time...
Gravity.
In an instant, he began falling back down to the planet below, the winds ripping at his flesh and clothing as he screamed in fear. He fell and fell, until he could see the village below him, and then the hospital building and then-
Takuma gasped as his eyes opened suddenly, he shot up in his bed and hyperventilated, looking around the room to get his bearings. And sure enough, he was in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV. He fell back in his bed with a huff, wiping the cold sweat from his brow, before looking around for some kind of drink; he was dying of thirst. Luckily, there was a glass of water nearby, and as he leaned up again to grab the drink, he started to put it towards his mouth... but then, in the reflection of the water, he saw his eyes and gasped. It was true...
They were stars now. The sealing was complete. Takuma was now a Jinchuuriki; host to Janesisu no Toukougenma.
